PSV beat BATE in Champions League thriller, Benfica held at home

PSV hold the advantage in their Champions League play-off following a thrilling 3-2 victory at BATE that was sealed by an 89th-minute header from substitute Donyell Malen.

PAOK held Benfica to a 1-1 draw in Lisbon while the first leg between Red Star Belgrade and Red Bull Salzburg ended goalless in Serbia as they battle to secure a place in the group stage of the competition.

BATE took a surprise lead in just the ninth minute of Tuesday s tie at Borisov Arena when Jasse Tuominen turned a low cross from Aleksandar Filipovic through the legs of Netherlands goalkeeper Jeroen Zoet.

The Eredivisie side were level before the break when referee Felix Zwayer gave a penalty for a handball by Nemanja Milunovic, Gaston Pereiro drilling home the penalty despite Denis …

Chelsea edge past Newcastle on penalties after late Mykhailo Mudryk equaliser

Chelsea booked their passage to the semi-final of the Carabao Cup on penalties after Mykhailo Mudryk’s stoppage-time equaliser rescued a 1-1 draw against Newcastle at Stamford Bridge.

Mudryk slotted home after a mistake from Kieran Trippier just as Eddie Howe’s side looked to have done enough to ease past the hosts, who struggled to create for much of the game.

Earlier, Callum Wilson had given the visitors a first-half lead on the counter-attack.

A big moment!

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC)

But as the game went to spot-kicks, Trippier again was culpable, firing wide from 12 yards before Matt Ritchie saw the critical kick saved by goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic to see Chelsea through.

The first chance went to the hosts. Enzo Fernandez’s c…

Bitesize Prediction: Huddersfield vs Middlesbrough – 01/04/23

Market: Middlesbrough win

Odds: 8/11 @

Two sides who find themselves battling it out at opposite ends of the Championship table, a high-flying Middlesbrough will make the trip to Huddersfield on Saturday afternoon.

Starting with the hosts, managing to claim a much-needed boost when heading into the international break, Huddersfield will be desperate to find a similar display on Saturday afternoon. Eventually snatching a shock 1-0 victory away at play-off contenders Millwall, the Terriers know that they must find some crucial stability over the coming months. Marking their return to action this weekend sat three points adrift in the drop zone, Neil Warnock knows that he has quite the job on his hands in Yorkshire. Mustering just a pair of victories from any of th…

Javier Hernandez becomes Sevilla´s 12th signing of transfer window

Javier Hernandez has left West Ham for Sevilla in a reported €7.7million (£7m) deal, becoming the Spanish club s 12th signing of the transfer window.

Mexico international Hernandez, 31, leaves London after two seasons and has signed a three-year contract in LaLiga.

The striker made the leap to Europe in 2010 when moving from Chivas to Manchester United, becoming a fan favourite during four years in their first-team squad, before going on loan to Real Madrid and then being sold to Bayer Leverkusen.

Hernandez s form in Germany brought about a return to England with West Ham and, although he has not always been their first-choice striker, he scored 16 goals from 31 Premier League starts.

He becomes Sevilla s 12th new arrival of the transfer window – whi…

Kompany ´relaxed´ amid contract uncertainty

Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany insists he remains relaxed despite some uncertainty over his future.

Kompany, 32, is out of contract at the end of the season and is dealing with yet another injury setback at City.

The centre-back has been at City since 2008 and said he had no concerns over his contract as Pep Guardiola s men remain in contention for four more trophies this season.

I am in a privileged position, I have such a good relationship with the club. We re in this as partners, Kompany said, via Sky Sports.

Nobody is making any hasty decisions. We have fixtures and fixtures and fixtures coming up – four trophies still to play for – and a contract that still exists.

That is the key thing. There is no need to look too far beyond…

Chelsea 1-1 Crystal Palace: Eze stunner denies Maresca´s side

Eberechi Eze s stunning goal gave Crystal Palace their first point of the Premier League season, as they held Chelsea to a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.

The England international s 20-yard strike cancelled out Nicolas Jackson’s first-half effort and ensured the spoils were shared in an entertaining London derby.

Chelsea controlled large periods of the first half and broke through in the 25th minute. A swift counter saw Noni Madueke burst away from Will Hughes and feed Cole Palmer, who delivered a low ball across the face of goal for Jackson to tap into an empty net.

Dean Henderson, who produced a superb reflex save to deny Madueke earlier on, then kept out Palmer s free-kick just after the restart.

His intervention proved crucial as Palace equalised in t…

Inter Milan went after Kessie

According to a recent report from Calciomercato, Inter Milan attempted to sign Franck Kessie from city rivals AC Milan during the January transfer window but couldn’t quite get a deal over the finish line. 

The 23 year old midfielder was at the heart of great speculation during the month of January and for a good few months prior to that, with Wolverhampton Wanderers being heavily linked during the summer transfer window. 

As it turns out, though, while he may have wound up staying at the San Siro, the closest threat came from within the city with Inter Milan throwing their name into the hat. 

They’ve been on something of a rampage across the last six months whereby they’ve gone after every notable name in European football. While they’ve manag…

Solskjaer to give Man Utd debuts to academy trio against Astana

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed he will hand first senior starts to academy trio Ethan Laird, Di Shon Bernard and Dylan Levitt in Manchester United s Europa League clash with Astana on Thursday.

United have travelled to Kazakhstan knowing they are already assured of a place in the knockout phase of the competition, having taken 10 points from their four matches.

With the Red Devils still nine points adrift of the top four in the Premier League, Solskjaer has taken the opportunity to rest key players and thus taken an extremely young squad to Nur-Sultan.

While United have not confirmed the full squad, it has been reported 14 of the 18 are teenagers.

James Garner, Tahith Chong, Angel Gomes and Mason Greenwood have all been photographed and are expected to fe…

DR Congo keep qualification hopes alive after holding favourites Morocco

Favourites Morocco missed their chance to seal a place in the next stage of the Africa Cup of Nations after being held to a 1-1 draw by DR Congo in San Pedro.

The 2022 World Cup semi-finalists grabbed a sixth-minute lead through Achraf Hakimi but rode their luck when Cedric Bakambu hit a post with a 41st-minute penalty.

The visitors pressed forward in the second half and got their reward when substitute Silas swept home a 76th-minute equaliser that keeps Congo’s hopes of qualifying from Group F alive.

Hakimi’s world-class volley from a Hakim Ziyech corner suggested Morocco, who had cruised through their opening match against Tanzania, would have enough to claim a second straight win.

Congo captain Chancel Mbemba almost turned the ball into his own net…

Zlat´s back but Ibrahimovic alone cannot save this Milan

Milan spent much of the previous decade battling Manchester United to decide which of Europe s grandest clubs could fall hardest from their perches.

Such has been their relative misery that each team was linked with bringing back a former star, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, to inject a little optimism at the start of 2020.

It was Milan who made that particular move, Ibrahimovic returning this week to much fanfare to the club he led to the 2011 Serie A title. He came on as a substitute against Sampdoria on Monday, the self-professed lion greeting the San Siro cheers with an encouraging roar of this own.

If bravado bought points, Ibrahimovic s arrival would have Milan pushing Juventus at the top of the table before the season is out. As it is, his 35 minutes on the pitch ser…