Goals from Charlie Adam and Steven N Zonzi earned Stoke City a 2-0 win over 10-man Sunderland at the Britannia Stadium.
Adam was in the thick of the action in the first half, opening the scoring on the half-hour mark before being involved in the incident that saw Wes Brown sent off nine minutes before half-time.
Brown was adjudged to have recklessly tackled the former Liverpool midfielder and was given his marching orders.
N Zonzi doubled Stoke s lead nine minutes from the end as Mark Hughes men made the most of their numerical advantage to record a first Premier League win since the end of August.
The result moves Stoke three points clear of the relegation places and drops Sunderland to bottom.
Hughes made one change to his Stoke starting line-up, with Gl…
Manchester United have allowed twins Michael and Will Keane to head out on loan to gain further first team experience, .
Striker Will has finalised his protracted move to Wigan Athletic, where he will link up with fellow United youngster Nick Powell while defender Michael has switched to Derby County.
It is the second time that Michael, who has made three Capital One Cup appearances for United, has moved to the East Midlands following a brief stint with Leicester City last season.
Will meanwhile has made on appearance for the current Premier League champions – a brief cameo in a 3-2 home defeat to Blackburn Rovers in December 2011.
Both have represented England at U21 level, though they could come face to face as the Rams take on the Latics at the…
Ernesto Valverde hopes Jasper Cillessen remains at Barcelona after the Netherlands goalkeeper suggested his future is unclear.
Barca paid an initial €13million to sign Cillessen from Ajax in 2016 and he made just four appearances in LaLiga and the Champions League over his first two seasons, with his main usage being in the Copa del Rey.
The 29-year-old has started all three of the Catalan giants International Champions Cup fixtures but was replaced by Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who only returned from a post-World Cup break this week, at half-time in Saturday s 1-0 loss to AC Milan in Santa Clara.
When asked in the mixed zone after the match if he will move on before the end of the transfer window, Cillessen simply responded: I don t know.
Great feeling …
Former Liverpool midfielder Emre Can has revealed Jurgen Klopp wished him luck after he finalised his move to Juventus.
Can spent four years at Anfield, making over a century of Premier League appearances for the English club while also breaking into the Germany team.
However, the 2017-18 season was overshadowed by rumours over his long-term future, as he played regularly in the first team despite being in the final year of his contract.
The 24-year-old eventually announced a move to the Serie A champions on a free transfer but is full of praise for the manager he left behind.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Can said: My relationship with Klopp was always good. He wished me all the best when I told him I was leaving.
Not a lot of managers would let …
There may still be eight games left to the end of the season but champions Inter Milan s visit to AS Roma on Saturday could have a crucial bearing in the title race.
Inter lead the Serie A table by four points from Roma and AC Milan who are level on points as well as goal difference.
Roma and Milan may be locked together, but many observers believe it is the giallorossi who have the best chance of denying Jose Mourinho s team a fifth straight league crown.
That is because since a disastrous start to the season, Roma have already clawed back 10 points on Inter.
They lost five and won only three of their opening 10 games and when the sides met back in November, they were separated by 14 points with the capital-based club hovering just above the relegation …
Portsmouth can look forward to a much-needed cash boost of after a stunning 2-0 win over Tottenham in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
Victory for the south coast strugglers, achieved a day after they were relegated from the Premier League, set up an improbable FA Cup Final against holders Chelsea at Wembley on May 15.
The match will pit a bust club in Portsmouth, a team with debts of some 76 million pounds (115 million dollars), against cash-rich Chelsea, a team Pompey boss Avram Grant managed when they lost the 2008 Champions League final to Manchester United.
But while the 900,000 pounds in prize money for reaching the final, with an another one million coming from television money and gate receipts, will be a welcome addition to the Fratton Park coffers, Po…
Southampton keen on Imbula
Portuguese daily newspaper that Southampton are hot on the trail of FC Porto hotshot Gianelli Imbula.
The Frenchman surprisingly snubbed interest from some of Europe s biggest clubs in favour of joining the Dragons in a €20 million move last summer.
But, the 23-year-old has utterly failed to justify the hefty price tag and following the poor showing against Dynamo Kiev, the midfielder was left out of the squad for Saturday s fixture against Tondela.
With the Dragons considering cashing in on Imbula, it has been reported that Premier League outfit Southampton are closely monitoring the situation.
The Saints have been keeping close tabs on the France Under-21 international for a while now and they could soon be steppin…
Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu says the Spanish champions will examine how Real Madrid were able to have their transfer ban halved.
Madrid were hit with a ban from registering players in January 2016 after FIFA s Disciplinary Committee found them to be in breach of regulations relating to the international transfer and registration of players under the age of 18 .
However, on Tuesday the European champions confirmed that an appeal against the sanction to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) had found partially in their favour, with a two-window ban cut in half, meaning Madrid will be active in the transfer market come the end of the season.
News of the appeal s partial success broke as Bartomeu addressed the media. Barca were given a two-window ban…
Nuno Espirito Santo is unsure if Lucas Moura and Steven Bergwijn will be available for Tottenham s Premier League clash with Chelsea after limping off in the 2-2 draw with Rennes on Thursday.
Tottenham hit back through Pierre-Emilie Hojbjerg s deft finish to claim a point in their opening Europa Conference League group match after Flavien Tait and Gaetan Laborde had struck to cancel out an early Loic Bade own goal.
The draw at Roazhon Park came at a cost for Nuno, however, as Bergwijn hobbled off in the first half with an ankle problem and Lucas was replaced before the hour after being caught by a strong challenge from Tait.
Spurs are already without Son Heung-min due to an injury sustained on international duty last week, while Eric Dier is also sidelined and a …
Pedro Neto will miss the rest of the Premier League season for Wolves, with knee surgery placing the Portugal forward s Euro 2020 participation in doubt.
Neto was substituted during Wolves 1-0 win at Fulham last Friday and visited a specialist in London to assess the extent of the damage to his knee cap.
The 21-year-old winger will require surgery, planned for later this week, that is expected to see him play no further part for Nuno Espirito Santos men this term.
He scored five goals and supplied six assists in 31 Premier League appearances, having started all but one of Wolves top-flight games in 2020-21 and featured in each of them.
Neto made his senior international breakthrough with Portugal this season, scoring on his debut against Andorra last Nove…