Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni believes Lionel Messi could be back playing within two weeks as he nears a full recovery from his ankle injury.
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Liam Reddy s 90th-minute penalty save earned Perth Glory a 2-2 draw with Wellington Phoenix at Eden Park in a result that leaves both sides A-League Finals hopes hanging in the balance.
Phoenix opened the scoring in Sunday s match through Tomer Hemed s fifth goal in four games.
That well-taken strike was cancelled out by substitute Bruno Fornaroli s composed finish past Oliver Sail, before Callum Timmins completed the turnaround with a sensational long-ranger.
Perth were unable to hold on for a first away win in seven attempts, though, as another Wellington substitute in Jaushua Sotirio curled in an equaliser six minutes later.
There was still time for more late drama as Cameron Devlin went down under a challenge from Nick D Agostino, only for Ulises Davi…
Chelsea have announced profits of £18.4million and a record turnover of £319.8m for the year ending June 30 2014.
The results see the club satisfy UEFA s Financial Fair Play regulations and represent a £17m hike in profits compared to two years ago.
Turnover, meanwhile, rose for a fifth consecutive year, with broadcasting revenues credited as a major contributing factor.
The club is naturally pleased to record a significant profit for 2013-14, said chairman Bruce Buck. By reaching the Champions League semi-final and maintaining a challenge in the Premier League until the final week of the season we demonstrated that, while improving our financial figures, we remained competitive in football s toughest club competitions.
We financed player purchases f…
Juventus general director Giuseppe Marotta has insisted the Serie A champions will not allow Paulo Dybala to represent Argentina at the Olympics.
Argentina coach Gerardo Martino opted to leave the 22-year-old out of his squad for the Copa America despite his fine performances for Juventus in 2015-16, but did include him in his 35-men roster for Rio 2016.
Nevertheless, Juventus are adamant they will not allow their star attacker to travel to Brazil for the tournament.
He has been included in Argentina s provisional squad for the Olympics, Marotta told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
But the FIFA regulations allow us to prevent him from actually going.
We have the desire to keep him here because the Olympics coincide with the new season.
Dybala…
Kolo Toure has backed Liverpool to return stronger next year after just missing out on a first league title in 24 years.
Brendan Rodgers men looked on course for the Premier League crown after a run of 11 consecutive victories, but a defeat to Chelsea and a 3-3 draw at Crystal Palace having led 3-0 scuppered their chances as Manchester City overtook them to claim glory on the final day.
And Toure, who lifted the Premier League trophy while at City in 2012, insists Liverpool will be stronger for the disappointment when they return next season.
I think we did everything we could and at the end City won it, he said.
The most important thing was that we have been fighting until the end. We will learn from the mistakes we made and next year we will be better.
No…
Sergio Aguero s 100th Premier League goal was not enough to earn Manchester City all three points at Newcastle United, who claimed a 1-1 draw that could prove vital in their battle to avoid relegation.
In-form striker Aguero scored five times in this season s reverse fixture, and he put City in command in controversial fashion after just 15 minutes at St James Park on Tuesday.
The Argentinian was clearly offside when he glanced home Aleksandar Kolarov s free-kick to break the deadlock, but Newcastle did not let their heads drop and deservedly equalised just after the half-hour mark through Vurnon Anita s first goal in over two years.
City, who saw captain Vincent Kompany return to the starting XI after his month-long lay-off from a calf problem, shaded the second…
Everton s Nigerian striker Ayegbeni Yakubu expects to terrorise Premier League defenders again this season after setting his sights on another 20-goal haul.
Yakubu, 25, became the first Everton player to score 20 goals in a single season since Bob Latchford in 1978 as he netted 21 times in all competitions last term.
The Super Eagles star, who signed from Middlesbrough for a club record 11.25 million pounds last year, believes he can do even better in 2008-09 because he is playing with such talented team-mates.
I m confident about scoring more than 20 goals again in this season, Yakubu said. It s not easy to score 20 goals in a season and it has been a long time since an Everton player managed it, so you can imagine how pleased I was.
But with the qu…
Chelsea sacked Graham Potter on Sunday after barely seven months as their manager.
Potter, who took over from Thomas Tuchel in September, led the Blues to 12 wins, eight draws and 11 defeats.
His demise comes amid numerous changes of managers at Premier League clubs, with Tottenham last week parting with Antonio Conte.
TOP STORY – CHELSEA APPROACH TOP CANDIDATE NAGELSMANN
Chelsea have identified ex-Bayern Munich head coach Julian Nagelsmann as their top candidate and approached him already, claims Fabrizio Romano.
Romano said talks will be ongoing before a final decision, while he added the Blues hierarchy are admirers of Sporting boss Ruben Amorim.
However, Sky Sports Germany claims Nagelsmann is not interested in taking over at Chelsea…
When Paris Saint-Germain made their world-record €222million move for Neymar, Barcelona were caught off guard as the Ligue 1 giants paid the forward s release clause and left the Catalans powerless.
Barca could only sit and watch as the Brazilian made his exit, stepping from the shadow of Lionel Messi in the hope of one day usurping his former team-mate and Cristiano Ronaldo in the battle for the Ballon d Or.
But Barca appear to have learned from their mistakes with respect to release clauses and the opportunity they present clubs willing to spend big.
Thursday s confirmation of Gerard Pique s contract renewal also brought news that the Spain defender s clause has been boosted to a whopping €500m, while Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho signed since…
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Top-four hopefuls Arsenal travel to rock-bottom Swansea looking to notch the third win on the trot but face a testing challenge against an improving side. Carlos Carvalhal has done a great job at the beginning of his stint at the Liberty Stadium and will be looking for another big-name scalp following the Liverpool beating.
Swansea
With only 20 points from 24 Premier league rounds, Swansea are at the very rock bottom of the English top flight. The Swans have endured a difficult campaign to date but things have started to show clear signs of improvement under the guidance of new boss Carlos Carvalhal.
The 52-year-old much travelled Spanish tactician took over from Paul Clement back in Dec…
West Brom goalkeeper Ben Foster deserves a recall to the England squad, according to Swansea winger Wayne Routledge.
The 29-year-old announced his retirement from international football in May 2011 in an attempt to prolong his career after a vigorous schedule and travel commitments.
However, Foster made himself available for selection again last month, and Routledge believes his excellent performances this season sees him as a challenger for current number one Joe Hart for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
He is a very good keeper. Some of the saves he made against Chelsea the other day were just world class, Routledge told reporters ahead of Swansea s trip to face WBA on Saturday.
He is more than capable of performances like that and he is up there wi…