Pele dies: Mbappe leads tributes to ´king of football´

Sheriff s win over Real Madrid was a dream come true but captain Frank Castaneda warned the Champions League debutants will not dwell on the upset as they target the last 16 amid their giant-slaying run.

In one of the biggest shocks in Champions League history, Sheriff claimed a late 2-1 victory at Spanish giants Madrid on Tuesday.

Jasurbek Yakhshiboev s first-half header was cancelled out by Karim Benzema s spot-kick after the interval in the Spanish capital, given following a VAR check after Vinicius Junior went down in the box.

However, Sheriff had the final say to maintain their 100 per cent record in Group D, Sebastien Thill s thunderous strike in the 89th minute earning the Moldovan visitors a remarkable triumph.

Champions League debutants Sheriff…

Crystal Palace central defender Scott Dann is on the radar of other clubs in the Premier League, according to . Dann is out of contract at the Eagles at the end of the season and is reportedly in demand.

The report in the British tabloid has not named the clubs who are interested in Dann, but it has been claimed that offers will be made to Palace for the 33-year-old in the January transfer window. It remains to be seen if the Eagles would accept those potential offers and sell the former Birmingham City and Blackburn Rovers centre-back in the middle of the season or simply let him leave on a free next summer.

Dann has been on the books of Palace since 2014 and has been an important figure in the team over the years. According to , the 33-year-old has played thrice in th…

Ivan Perisic believes the sky is the limit for his former Bayern Munich team-mate Alphonso Davies, who he is excited to face when Croatia take on Canada at the World Cup on Sunday.

The 2018 runners-up Croatia began their Group F campaign with a goalless draw against Morocco on Wednesday, failing to score in a World Cup match for the first time since 2006 (0-0 v Japan).

That result leaves Zlatko Dalic s men needing a win when they face Canada, but Bayern s all-action full-back Davies could represent a major threat to their hopes of victory.

Davies impressed despite seeing an early penalty saved by Thibaut Courtois in Canada s 1-0 loss to Belgium, creating more chances (three) than all opposition players except Kevin De Bruyne (four), and Perisic is all too aware o…

Celtic beat Rangers 2-1 at Parkhead to consolidate their place at the top of the cinch Premiership.

Brilliant strikes from Paulo Bernardo and Kyogo Furuhashi put the hosts into a commanding position which seemed to be strengthened by Leon Balogun’s red card.

However, James Tavernier’s superb free-kick sparked a late fightback from Rangers in an exciting finale.

Here are five things we learned from the final Glasgow derby of 2023.

Don’t write off Kyogo Furuhashi

KYOGO ON HIS LEFT! | |

— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC)

The Japan striker had only scored twice in his previous 14 matches but continued his impressive record against Rangers when he swept a magnificent effort into the top corner from 22 yards. The pass looke…

The round of 16 at the 2022 FIFA World Cup has been pretty intriguing so far but for the most part, there haven t been all too many surprises. That continued to be the case yesterday afternoon as Japan went head to head with Croatia, in a game that many weren t able to call.

In the end, it was the European side who managed to come away with the win and a place in the quarter-finals of the tournament.

Tight and tense

This was more a game of moments than anything else which has been a pretty popular trend thus far. Japan started brightly with Croatia needing one moment of brilliance to fight their way back into it, and as we progress through the latter stages, we expect to see this trend continue. It isn t always going to be pretty but it s certainly going to provide us …

New recruit Sam Lammers admits he was impressed by Michael Beale’s vision for Rangers as he signed for the Ibrox club on a four-year deal.

The 26-year-old Dutch attacker has joined Gers from Serie A side Atalanta after spending the past season out on loan at Empoli and then Sampdoria.

Lammers explained how Beale’s willingness to travel to Italy to meet him helped persuade him to pledge his future to Rangers.

“I am really excited to join Rangers, my first impressions have all been good, so I am even more excited for the season to start now,” he told Rangers’ website.

“I came in contact with the manager and he came over to see me in Italy, we had a good talk and he gave me a presentation about the club and about how I could fit in, so ever since…

West Ham United are interested in signing Demarai Gray from Everton in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that Everton are ready to listen to offers for Gray, and that the Hammers are keen on him. Crystal Palace and Brentford are also interested in Gary, and so are clubs from Saudi Arabia.

Gray has been on the books of Everton since the summer of 2021 when he joined from Bayer Leverkusen. The 27-year-old winger has not been at his best for the Toffees and has failed to become a regular in the first team. Last season, the Jamaica international made 27 starts and six substitute appearances in the Premier League for the Toffees, scoring four goals and providing one assist in the process.

During the 2021-22, Gray made 28 starts and six substit…

Stefano Pioli set Milan the target of securing a top-four finish in Serie A as he declared himself satisfied with the Rossoneri s response to a dire run of form.

Milan went seven games without a win across all competitions recently, losing three successive league matches before stopping the rot against Torino last Friday.

The Rossoneri then built on that victory with a 1-0 win in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Tottenham, with Spurs failing to respond to Brahim Diaz s early header.

Having been heavily criticised for his tactical switches during Milan s poor run, Pioli has been vindicated by those victories, although he maintains they have work to do to secure a top-four finish.

Everyone experiences the results with their gut; …

Harrogate left fellow League Two play-off hopefuls Gillingham shell-shocked as a devastating second-half comeback secured a 5-1 home win.

Matty Daly (two), Anthony O’Connor, Jack Muldoon and Abraham Odoh emphatically turned the tables after George Lapslie had given the visitors the lead, meaning the Gills also lost after scoring an opening goal for the first time since January 2022.

Earlier, away keeper Glenn Morris made a brilliant first-half reflex save to keep out Rod McDonald’s powerful header before Lapslie netted in the 41st minute.

The ex-Mansfield midfielder was initially denied by an excellent save from James Belshaw but when the ball rebounded off the underside of the crossbar, he was quickest to react with a diving header from six yards out.

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Prediction: Aberdeen to win 2-0

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Aberdeen and BK Hacken will lock horns with each other in the second leg of the UEFA Europa League Qualifying Playoff Round this week. The match between the Scottish Premiership club and the Swedish Allsvenskan outfit will be held at the Pittodrie Stadium this week. The match is scheduled to kick off at 7:45pm UK time on Thursday. The first leg was held at the Bravida Arena in Gothenburg and ended in a 2-2 draw.

Aberdeen

Aberdeen looked down and out for most of the match against BK Hacken last week, but two late goals means that the Scottish Premiership club are now the favourites to go through to the group stage of the UEFA Europa League. The tie, though, is far from over, especially when you cons…