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Sydney FC surrendered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Newcastle Jets on Saturday and prolong their winless start to the season.

The 2020 champions looked in control against a side they had beaten nine times in 12 previous home games, Adam Le Fondre opening the scoring from the penalty spot before cleverly setting up Elvis Kamsoba for a 2-0 half-time lead.

However, Valentino Yuel puled a goal back before the hour mark and struck again seven minutes later, firing high into the net after a strong run into the box.

Le Fondre thought he had scored a winner 13 minutes from time only for VAR to intervene due to an offside in the build-up.

Your defence is terrified.

— Isuzu UTE A-League (@aleaguemen)

While Sydney remain without a win in th…

Everton s Maarten Stekelenburg will join Ajax as a free agent when the 2019/20 Premier League season is over, according to of The Times.

The 37-year-old goalkeeper joined the Merseysiders from Fulham on a four-year contract back in 2016, and has mostly played second fiddle to England international number one Jordan Pickford. Overall, he made a total of 26 appearances at the club, none which was this term. With his contract set to expire at the end of June, he has put his name on a one-month extension to enable him to stay put until the season is over, and he will then move to Amsterdam.

Over at Ajax, 24-year-old Andre Onana has been the first choice between the posts for a while now, but his backup option, Bruno Varela, is there on loan from Benfica which expires this …

Gareth Bale was named in the starting line-up for Real Madrid for the first time since August for Saturday s LaLiga clash with Villarreal.

The Wales international started each of Los Blancos first three league games of 2021-22, scoring in the 3-3 draw with Levante, but has not played for his club since.

Injury problems and a positive coronavirus test have kept Bale firmly on the sidelines, although he was an unused substitute in the past two league matches against Elche and Granada.

Carlo Ancelotti elected to start the 32-year-old at Estadio de la Ceramica as part of four changes from the 1-0 win over Granada.

Casemiro, Federico Valverde and Vinicius Junior also came into the side, with Eduardo Camavinga, Luka Modric, Isco and Rodrygo dropping out.

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Real Madrid president Florentino Perez said he will do everything possible so the LaLiga giants do not lose their rightful place as one of the world s leading clubs amid strong links with Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe and Borussia Dortmund sensation Erling Haaland.

Madrid have long been linked with PSG s Mbappe, while in-demand Dortmund forward Haaland has emerged as a transfer target in the Spanish capital.

While discussing the new European Super League, which he is chairman of, Perez addressed the speculation regarding Mbappe and Haaland.

The fans always ask me to buy Mbappe, Perez told El Chiringuito. My answer? I say: don t worry the truth is that he is a good player, yes.

I ve never talked to Mbappe. At least now I don t know what s going …

FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirmed the governing body is proceeding with plans for a 32-team Club World Cup, while the format of the next World Cup is to be revisited.

Infantino was addressing the media in Doha on Friday for the first time since his extraordinary press conference at the start of Qatar 2022.

He opted against a 45-minute opening monologue on this occasion, instead taking the opportunity to provide an update following a FIFA Council meeting earlier in the day.

During that meeting, plans were approved to push on with a previously proposed expansion to the Club World Cup.

The competition currently pits the winners of the main continental club competitions against each other every year, but the new version will feature 32 teams from acro…

The race for the signature of Sassuolo s Manuel Locatelli this summer is wide open, according to .

The midfielder, who usually plays the role closest to the back line, came through the youth ranks at AC Milan. In the summer of 2018, he joined Sassuolo on an initial loan spell which was made permanent a year later. Since then, he s gone on to make 96 appearances in all competitions for the Serie A side so far, scoring six goals and producing 10 assists. He became a senior Italy international in September last year, with seven caps to his name at the moment.

Real Madrid, Manchester City, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain have been credited with interest in his services in the last few months. The 23-year-old recently spoke to L Equipe about the prospect of joining PSG, and…

Athletic Bilbao avenged their Supercopa de Espana final loss by defeating Real Madrid 1-0 in Thursday s Copa del Rey quarter-final.

Alex Berenguer struck a brilliant winner in the 89th minute to send Marcelino s men into the last four, where Valencia, Real Betis and Rayo Vallecano await.

Madrid had beaten Athletic 2-0 in last month s Supercopa final but could not find a breakthrough at San Mames in the absence of Karim Benzema.

It means Athletic, who eliminated Barcelona in the previous round, could now reach their third consecutive Copa final, having lost the previous two to Barca and Real Sociedad.

Clear-cut chances were scarce in the first half, but it was Athletic who carried the threat, with 10 shots to Madrid s three despite having only 41.3 per …

Market: Spain win

Odds: 1/2 @

Looking to continue on their unbeaten start to this year s Nations League, Spain will make the trip to a struggling Ukraine on Tuesday night.

Starting with the hosts, while Ukraine might have shocked many across Europe as they stormed their way to next year s delayed European Championships, they have struggled to keep up that momentum since opening 2020. While the Yellows might have managed to open up this year s Nations League with a 2-1 win against Switzerland last month, Andriy Shevchenko s men were hit with a 2-1 defeat against Germany over the weekend and Ukraine now find themselves in the midst of a three-match losing run, their worst run since June 2016. Now shipping 13 goals on that losing run, including a 7-1 drumming at t…

Nacional are in danger of missing the Copa Libertadores group stage for the first time since 1996 as they prepare to host Oriente Petrolero.

In last week s first round first leg, a blistering strike from Gualberto Mojica gave Oriente a 1-0 victory at home in Bolivia.

Oriente will head to Montevideo on Tuesday knowing a 2-1 loss would be enough for them to advance at the expense of Nacional.

It would be a huge shock for Nacional perennial challengers for South America s premier continental club competition.

Nacional have won the Copa Libertadores three times (1971, 1980, 1988), while they made the semi-finals as recently as 2009, but having qualified as Uruguay s third-best team this year, they were forced into a play-off to earn a spot in the group stage.

I…

Spain international midfielder David Silva has signed a new five-year deal with English Premier League champions Manchester City F.C.

Silva, 28, joined City from Valencia for a reported fee of £24 million in the summer of 2010 and has since established himself as one of Europe s best playmakers.

The 28-year-old, who has won six major trophies English Premier League (twice), Euro 2008, Euro 2012, FA Cup and World Cup (2010) for club and country is absolutely delighted to commit his long-term future to the reigning league champions.

From the moment I joined four years ago it has felt like a second home to me, Silva said.

On and off the pitch, I feel incredibly content and fulfilled professionally and personally, so why wouldn t I want to st…