Thomas Tuchel was unimpressed by the performance of Romelu Lukaku after Chelsea lost 1-0 to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

A stunning goal from Kevin De Bruyne sent Pep Guardiola s City 13 points clear of Chelsea in the Premier League table, with the Blues having won just four of their last 12 league games.

Lukaku cut a lone figure for much of Saturday s game, having just 21 touches – the fewest of any starting player for either team – while completing just seven out of 12 passes, and he did not win any of his seven aerial duels.

He also saw a shot saved by City goalkeeper Ederson when through one-on-one at the start of the second half, a chance that Opta measured with an xG (expected goals) score of 0.365, meaning that he would be expected to sco…

Samuel Eto o is in no doubt that Neymar will be the best player in the world once Barcelona team-mate Lionel Messi and Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo are past their peak.

The trio make up the shortlist for the 2015 FIFA Ballon d Or, an accolade which the Argentine and the Portuguese have dominated for the past seven years.

Former Barcelona and Madrid forward Eto o is confident if Neymar applies himself appropriately, he will be the sport s leading performer in the future.

Neymar has a lot of potential. After the era of Messi and Cristiano, surely he will be number one, Eto o, who played for Barca between 2004 and 2009, told ESPN Brasil.

But he has to remember that it depends on him a lot. He must remember that he hast the talent and needs to t…

Guus Hiddink has challenged Chelsea to step up their defensive efforts as they look to extend their dominant record against Arsenal on Sunday.

The champions are unbeaten in the Premier League since the 2-1 reverse to Leicester City in December, though they have conceded five goals in consecutive draws with West Brom and Everton.

Arsene Wenger s side who head into the weekend top of the table have not beaten Chelsea since October 2011 in the top flight and have gone more than eight hours without a goal in that run.

And Hiddink has demanded an improved defensive display from his side as they aim to preserve that recent record and inflict a first home league defeat on the Gunners in 10 matches.

It s not just a matter of the four defenders, nowadays if you d…

Luis Diaz’s father has been released almost two weeks after he was kidnapped, the Colombian Football Federation has confirmed.

Luis Manuel Diaz was taken along with his wife Cilenis Marulanda 12 days ago, although Diaz’s mother was freed swiftly.

After days of negotiation with guerilla group the National Liberation Army, the Liverpool winger’s father has now been released.

We are delighted by the news of s father s safe return and we thank all those involved in securing his release

— Liverpool FC (@LFC)

An FCF statement read: “The Colombian Football Federation thanks the national government, the military forces and the national police, as well as all the institutions and officials that made the release of Luis Manuel Diaz, father of o…

The Greek Superleague has been suspended indefinitely following the remarkable scenes that forced Sunday s title clash between PAOK and AEK Athens to be ended early.

PAOK president Ivan Savvidis entered the field with his security team to confront the referee after his side had an 89th-minute goal from Fernando Varela ruled out for offside with the score at 0-0.

Images taken on the pitch showed Savvidis apparently carrying a gun in a holster during the chaos that followed, with players and officials eventually leaving the field.

The match was abandoned two hours later and, although PAOK tweeted to claim a 1-0 win, the goalless draw was upheld, meaning the hosts remain five points shy of AEK in third and winless in their past three games.

When they will ha…

Cristiano Ronaldo s stunning hat-trick earned Portugal a dramatic 3-3 draw in their Group B opener against Iberian neighbours Spain.

Spain led with three minutes to go after Nacho Fernandez hit a wonderful 25-yard drive but Ronaldo was determined to steal the headlines for himself.

And he ended the day with a World Cup match-ball after hitting an outrageous late free-kick to ensure the spoils were shared in this blockbuster clash in Sochi.

Captain Ronaldo had given Portugal a fourth-minute lead from the penalty spot after he was fouled by Madrid team-mate Nacho, restoring the lead thanks to David de Gea s horrible mistake.

Diego Costa replied twice to get the 2010 champions level, with Nacho s beautiful goal having seemingly settled a high-class encounter…

AC Milan are interested in signing Jakub Kiwior from Arsenal in the January transfer window, according to . The Italian news outlet has added that Premier League club Arsenal do not want to sell Kiwior in the middle of the season.

Kiwior has been on the books of Arsenal since January 2023 when he joined from Serie A club Spezia. The Poland international is able to play as a centre-back or as a left-back. Kiwior has made 11 appearances in the Premier League for the Gunners so far in his career. The defender has scored one goal and kept two clean sheets in those games.

Arsenal are third in the Premier League table at the moment with 27 points from 12 matches, level on points with Liverpool in second and are a point behind leaders and defending champions Manchester City. M…

Frank de Boer is the favourite to be the next Everton boss

The inevitable axe has fallen on Roberto Martinez, as the Spaniard lost his job as Everton boss on Thursday afternoon.

The Spaniard had been in charge on Merseyside for three years, but the Toffees have struggled to fulfil their potential in the last two campaigns.

The hunt is now on for a replacement for the Spaniard, but speculation and rumours were rife long before Martinez was officially sacked over who would be the next man for the job. Here are five of the favourites to be the next Everton boss:

Frank de Boer

The Dutchman is still a relative youngster in the managerial game at 45, but has been highly successful in the Eredivisie with Ajax, winning the title four titles in six seaso…

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in signing Manuel Ugarte from Sporting Lisbon, according to . The report has claimed that the midfielder has played his way onto the radar of the Premier League club. 

Ugarte has been on the books of Sporting since 2021 when he moved from Famalicão. The 21-year-old Uruguay international midfielder has made seven starts and two substitute appearances in the Portuguese league so far this season. The youngster has also played three UEFA Champions League games so far this campaign.

The youngster made 10 starts and 15 substitute appearances in the Portuguese league last season, providing two assists in the process.  Ugarte made two starts and two substitute appearances in the UEFA Champions League for Sporting last season.

…

Everton winger Anthony Gordon must be careful about developing a reputation for diving after the youngster was denied a penalty in the 2-0 loss to Liverpool.

That is according to former Liverpool captain Jamie Carragher, who hailed Gordon but expressed concern for the 21-year-old potentially gaining a deceitful image among Premier League referees.

Gordon was cautioned for an apparent dive in the first half at Anfield following a Naby Keita challenge inside the area, before he saw penalty appeals for a foul by Joel Matip waved away after the interval.

While suggesting his alleged play-acting might be an issue with referees, Carragher believes the latter incident should have seen Gordon and Everton awarded a spot-kick.

He s got to be careful Anthony Gord…