Virgil van Dijk will never forget the special feeling of returning from injury alongside Liverpool centre-back partner Joe Gomez.
Both Van Dijk and Gomez watched much of last season from the sidelines as the Reds were hit by injury woes in their Premier League title defence.
Van Dijk had started every league game in the prior two campaigns but sustained anterior cruciate ligament damage in a challenge with Everton s Jordan Pickford in October 2020.
Gomez started alongside the Netherlands international on 22 occasions in 2019-20, with Liverpool winning 19 of those games and conceding just 17 goals, but he also suffered a knee injury while away with England last November.
However, from the date of Gomez s injury to the end of the 2020-21 season, only Manche…
Chelsea recorded a loss of £96.6million for the 2018-19 season, the club announced on Tuesday.
The Blues had posted profits in the previous two years, but a club statement reported the loss was due to player signings, a lack of Champions League football and the dismissal of Antonio Conte and his coaching staff in July 2018.
Conte led Chelsea to a fifth-placed finish in 2017-18, meaning they missed out on Europe s elite club competition in the following campaign.
However, with the arrival of Maurizio Sarri, along with the signings of Kepa Arrizabalaga, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic, Chelsea then finished third and won the Europa League.
Christian Pulisic s arrival was also included in the results.
The club s revenue improved to £446.7m for the year …
John Terry says Chelsea will manage without Nemanja Matic in the League Cup final against Tottenham.
Chelsea captain John Terry insists his side can cope with the absence of suspended midfielder Nemanja Matic against Tottenham in the League Cup final on Sunday.
Matic was sent off for his reaction to a coming together with Ashley Barnes as Chelsea drew 1-1 at home to Burnley in the Premier League last weekend.
The Serbian responded furiously when caught by Barnes studs in the second half, with manager Jose Mourinho, and Chelsea as a club, subsequently highlighting four instances in which they believed referee Martin Atkinson made the wrong decision.
Matic had his ban reduced from three to two matches, but he will still miss the Wembley showpiece.
Carlo Ancelotti was reluctant to blame the referee for Real Madrid s defeat to Villarreal because he thought neither team s penalties should have been given.
Madrid were beaten 2-1 at Estadio de la Ceramica on Saturday as Los Blancos were denied the chance to return to LaLiga s summit ahead of Barcelona playing Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
Yeremy Pino gave Villarreal the lead just after half-time, before referee Cesar Soto Grado took centre-stage.
Juan Foyth was penalised when the ball brushed his hand as he tried to grapple with Vinicius Junior, allowing Karim Benzema to equalise.
But Foyth then won a penalty at the other end on the very next attack as his pass was cut out by the hand of David Alaba, whose arm appeared to be outstretched to break his fall.…
A host of Premier League clubs are ready to pounce for Watford forward Troy Deeney, according to the Mail Online.
The Birmingham-born striker is in demand after reaching double figures for the second top flight season in succession.
However, the Hornets are holding out for around £35m for their captain, who joined them from Walsall in the summer of 2010.
West Bromwich Albion are closely monitoring the situation while Everton and Leicester City are also interested in securing his services.
In total, he has racked up three hundred and three appearances in all competitions, scoring one hundred and six goals while he was part of the squad that achieved promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs two years ago.
Having twice rejected advanc…
Steve Clarke insists Scotland simply have to move on after Scott McTominay had a goal chalked off after a VAR check before losing 2-0 to Spain in Seville.
The Scots had won their first five Group A qualifiers including a 2-0 win over the Spanish at Hampden Park in March, and they thought they had taken the lead when McTominay, who scored twice in Glasgow, fired in a wonderful free-kick in the 59th minute only to see it ruled out after a VAR check for a Jack Hendry infringement.
Alvaro Morata headed in after 73 minutes and substitute Oihan Sancet, making his debut, added a second in the 86th minute to leave Group A leaders Scotland three points ahead of Spain having played a game more.
A performance we can be proud of.
Despite a difficult final result, R…
Best odds: 7/10
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The Champions League campaign continues this week, and on Tuesday evening, at the Estadio Dragao, FC Porto will welcome Liverpool in the second round of Group B. The other match of the group will see AC Milan play host to Atletico Madrid at the San Siro.
FC Porto
Sergio Conceicao s team opened their involvement in UEFA s elite club competition with a goalless draw against Atletico in Madrid, in which they gave the La Liga champions a fair fight at the Wanda Metropolitano and arguably deserved the point they walked away with, even though they finished the match with 10 men after defender Chancel Mbemba Mangulu picked up a straight red card deep in injury time for denying Antoine Griezmann a clear goalscoring opportunity with a deliber…
Former Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann believes new manager Jurgen Klopp is destined for success at Anfield and feels the task his compatriot faces at the Premier League side is nowhere near as big as when he arrived at Borussia Dortmund.
The 48-year-old turned Dortmund from a relegation candidate into Bundesliga champions during his seven-year spell at the club from 2008 to April this year and Hamann is hopeful he will be equally successful at Liverpool.
He’s the right man for the job, Hamann told the official Liverpool website.
He s a genuine, honest guy who will tell the players and the fans how it is, and I think for a club like Liverpool that s been missing for a number of years.
When he went to Dortmund he joined a team on the verge of go…
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag is not expecting Luke Shaw to make a return to action before the next international break.
Left-back Shaw has not played since the 2-0 loss at Tottenham on August 19, United’s second fixture of the season, due to a muscle injury – sitting out nine club games as well as four England matches.
Ten Hag’s men are set to play seven times between now and England’s next game, against Malta on November 17.
United have been blighted by injuries in defence, with right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka another who has been sidelined since sustaining an injury against Brighton on September 18.
Ten Hag said: “Of course they are closer. (But) for Luke Shaw, I don’t expect him back in this block of games. Aaron Wan-Bissaka, I don’t …
Crystal Palace have completed the signing of midfielder Cheick Doucoure from Lens.
The Mali international has signed a five-year deal for a reported fee of £18million (€21.3m), rising to over £22m (€26m) with add-ons, and is the third arrival at Selhurst Park since the end of last season, joining Malcolm Ebiowei and Sam Johnstone.
Patrick Vieira guided the club to 12th place in the Premier League in his first campaign in charge, and has now added one of the more impressive performers from Ligue 1 in the 2021-22 season.
Welcome to Palace, Cheick Doucouré
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC)
Only Aurelien Tchouameni (101), who joined European champions Real Madrid from Monaco last month for a reported €80m fee that could rise to €100…