Blind completes Ajax return from Manchester United

Manchester United marked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer s appointment as permanent manager with an unconvincing 2-1 victory over Watford on Saturday.

Goals in each half from Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial got the Red Devils back to winning ways after losses to Arsenal and Wolves in the Premier League and FA Cup, despite Abdoulaye Doucoure s late strike.

It was a mostly uninspiring performance from United at Old Trafford, but the result moves them back into the top four at the end of a week in which Solskjaer was confirmed as their next full-time boss on a three-year deal.

Doucoure dragged a shot wide from inside the United box as the home side endured a strangely sluggish start in the Manchester sun, but they took the lead 28 minutes in, with Rashford clipping a clev…

Marouane Fellaini scored twice as Manchester United cruised to a 4-0 victory over rock-bottom Crystal Palace in the Premier League at Old Trafford.

Juan Mata, one of Jose Mourinho s five changes from Wednesday s win over CSKA Moscow, struck early on, netting his first Premier League goal since February on his 200th appearance in the competition.

And two close-range finishes from the in-form Fellaini either side of half-time took his season tally to four before Romelu Lukaku sealed a comprehensive victory late on as United continued to impress even without the injured Paul Pogba. 

United s win, which saw Marcus Rashford also shine with two assists, moved them top of the Premier League, a position they will keep unless Manchester City can defeat fellow title riva…

Mesut Ozil s fall from grace continued on Thursday when he was left out of Arsenal s Europa League squad.

The 2014 World Cup winner was the biggest omission from the 24-man list submitted to UEFA ahead of the group stage, when the Gunners will face Rapid Vienna, Dundalk and Molde.

Ozil, 31, has not been included in any of Arsenal s six squads across the Premier League and EFL Cup in 2020-21, and he has not appeared for the club since March, when leagues and competitions were shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic.

There was little suggestion that Ozil would move ahead of Monday s transfer deadline, though, given his reported £350,000-a-week deal which expires next year.

On Tuesday, the German offered to pay the salary of Arsenal mascot Gunnersaur…

According to a recent report from Sky Sports News, Benfica midfielder Gedson Fernandes still prefers the idea of moving to West Ham United ahead of any other potential English – or European – club. 

Manchester United and Everton have both been linked in the past and even recently, but it seems like the ship has sailed for them in this instance. 

Fernandes is currently over in Lisbon alongside his representatives who are discussing the possibility of a move between the two parties. The deal that is currently on the table would allow for an 18-month loan switch to go with an option to buy at the end of that period. 

The Hammers seem to be going for it in regards to what they want to accomplish in the January transfer window, and their optimism and quick a…

Jose Mourinho has little interest in external scrutiny after three consecutive Tottenham defeats, insisting he places enough pressure on himself.

Spurs host struggling West Brom on Sunday but head into the weekend eighth in the Premier League, 14 points off top, after losing to Liverpool, Brighton and Hove Albion and Chelsea consecutively.

That miserable run has made Mourinho the first Tottenham boss since Andre Villas-Boas in November 2012 to suffer three defeats in a row in the league.

Indeed, the reverses against Liverpool and Chelsea represented the first time in 327 home league matches in Mourinho s managerial career he has lost back-to-back games.

Speaking ahead of the West Brom game, where Spurs will aim to bounce back at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium,…

Real Madrid turned on the style in a 4-1 win at Granada that showed Carlo Ancelotti s team at their most vivacious.

It took them to the top of LaLiga, if only perhaps for a few hours, with Real Sociedad playing later on Sunday, with Marco Asensio, Nacho, Vinicius Junior and Ferland Mendy all on target.

Carlo Ancelotti inherited a side who lost out to city rivals Atletico in last season s title battle, but all evidence at the Nuevo Los Carmenes pointed to this incarnation of Madrid being hard to stop.

Granada had Monchu red-carded midway through the second half, but Madrid were already 3-1 up and pressing for more at that stage.

10 Real Madrid s Vinícius Junior has become the first LaLiga player born in 2000 year to score at least 10 goals in all competit…

Diego Simeone called upon his Atletico Madrid players to be constantly prepared going into the second half of the season and warned of the traps that lie in store as they aim to win their first LaLiga title since 2014.

Luis Suarez scored in the 90th minute to earn Simeone s men a 2-1 victory over Deportivo Alaves on Sunday, extending their domestic winning streak to four matches and moving them two points clear of nearest rivals Real Madrid, who have played two games more.

Asked to assess his side s performance after 15 games of the season, Simeone said he expects the challenge of staying at the top of the table to be one of increasing difficulty.

We understand that the league is complex, Simeone told reporters. It is difficult, it has traps, you have to be con…

Dele Alli admitted Tottenham have lost an unbelievable player in Christian Eriksen.

Eriksen, 27, finalised a long-awaited move to Inter on Tuesday in a deal reportedly worth €20million (£16.8m).

Spurs accepted the cut-price offer after the Danish playmaker entered the final six months of his contract.

Jose Mourinho claimed Eriksen lacked motivation but England international Alli had nothing but praise for his former team-mate, who spent six-and-a-half seasons in north London.

He s a worldie, Alli told Sky Sports. I sent him a sad face on message, but I m sure I ll speak to him.

He s an unbelievable player. Yeah, he ll be missed here, but this is a different step in his career.

Since the start of the season there s been a lot of specu…

While Newcastle might have been forced to settle for a 0-0 stalemate at home against Leicester on Monday night, Eddie Howe’s side did officially punch an emotional Champions League return at St. James’ Park.

Although the Magpies might have been disappointed after missing out on the chance to make another major statement here, Newcastle dominated large spells and largely didn’t have to get out of third gear.

Securing their first top-four finish in 20 years and met by a wave of emotion at the full-time whistle, Howe’s side have certainly enjoyed a history-making campaign in the north east.

However, while Howe’s men might have officially punched their Champions League ticket here, Leicester will know that a single point was not enough on a night when they…

England must be considered among the world s very best sides and they are capable of going all the way in Qatar, says Kalidou Koulibaly.

The Three Lions defeated Koulibaly s Senegal 3-0 on Sunday at Al Bayt Stadium to seal their place in the last eight of the World Cup.

England, World Cup semi-finalists in 2018 and Euro 2020 finalists last year, are the tournament s leading scorers with 12 goals, while they have conceded only twice across their four matches.

France are next up for England on Saturday and while Koulibaly knows the Les Bleus will provide the sternest of challenges, he believes Gareth Southgate s team have every chance of going even deeper into the tournament.

They are very good. We know that they have a lot of talent, a lot of big players,…