Manchester United ready to sell Luke Shaw for £20m in January

MANCHESTER, England—Raheem Sterling scored in the sixth minute of stoppage time to earn Manchester City a dramatic 2-1 win over Southampton in the Premier League on Wednesday, re-establishing his team’s eight-point lead. Amid wild celebrations from City players and coaching staff, manager Pep Guardiola ran onto the field, pumped his fists and jumped in delight […]
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MOSCOW — FIFA’s anti-discrimination advisers are warning gay soccer fans going to the 2018 World Cup in Russia that displays of affection could be met with an aggressive response from intolerant locals. Homosexuality was decriminalized in Russia in 1993, but anti-gay sentiment remains strong and intensified after a law was introduced in 2013 prohibiting dissemination […]
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LONDON — Only a third of the way into its Premier League campaign, Manchester City is already making history. Pep Guardiola’s City defeated Huddersfield 2-1 Sunday to equal a club record 11th straight league win. City also moved to 37 points from 13 games — the highest ever points total at this stage of a […]
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Global Cebu’s historic run in the RHB Singapore Cup 2017 came to a heartbreaking end on Saturday after the Philippine club bowed to Albirex Niigata in a penalty shootout at Jalan Besar Stadium.
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BARCELONA, Spain — Barcelona enjoyed a big win on Saturday (Sunday Manila time) without even playing. Lionel Messi finally put Barcelona and its fans at ease by signing a new contract that will keep the Argentine forward at the Spanish club through 2021 when he will be 34. “The club … is my home,” Messi […]
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MILAN — Mauro Icardi scored twice as Inter Milan reinforced its title credentials by winning at Cagliari 3-1 to move to the top of Serie A on Saturday.
Icardi and Marcelo Brozovic scored for Inter before Leonardo Pavoletti set up a nervy final 20 minutes for the visitors.
However, Icardi scored late. The Inter captain moved level with Lazio’s Ciro Immobile at the top of the goal-scoring charts, with 15.
Inter moved a point above Napoli, which visits Udinese on Sunday. Cagliari, which tested Samir Handanovic several times, remained 13th.
"We’ll enjoy a night at the top of the league," Icardi said. "The others should know that we are there, right up with them.
"Not playing in European competition this year allows us to work well during the week and build the basis for doing something important."
Cagliari dominated the opening half hour and Handanovic pulled off good saves, notably denying Pavoletti from point-blank range.
However, Inter took the lead against the run of play in the 29th minute when Antonio Candreva crossed from the right to Ivan Perisic at the far post and he knocked it back for Icardi to tap in.
Inter’s Matias Vecino limped off early in the second half and was replaced by Brozovic, who scored with his first touch, firing home another Candreva cross from the right.
Cagliari reduced the deficit in the 71st. Paolo Farago swung the ball in from the right for Pavoletti to volley home.
Farago, however, was partly at fault for Inter’s third as he failed to clear the ball and Rafael’s punch fell straight to Icardi, who rifled it into the bottom left corner.
GREAT START
Sampdoria followed its surprise victory over Juventus by losing to Bologna 3-0 despite Bologna playing the second half with 10 men.
Samp’s third defeat left it in sixth place, six points above Bologna, which moved up to seventh ahead of the rest of the weekend’s fixtures.
Sampdoria beat Juventus 3-2 in the previous round.
Bologna got off to a great start, taking the lead inside three minutes. Sampdoria goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano could only parry Mattia Destro’s effort and Simone Verdi tucked away the rebound.
Ibrahima Mbaye headed in Verdi’s corner in the 23rd and even the loss of defender Vasilis Torosidis to a second yellow card in first-half stoppage time made little difference.
Bologna withstood Sampdoria’s siege in the second half and added a third on the counterattack in the 73rd as Godfred Donsah ran from inside his own half before rolling the ball across for substitute Orji Okwonkwo, who had been on the pitch for less than four minutes.
OTHER MATCHES
Relegation-threatened Hellas Verona snapped a run of five successive defeats by beating Sassuolo 2-0. Verona played the final 24 minutes with 10 men after Thomas Heurtaux was sent off for two yellow cards.
Verona remained in penultimate place, two points below Sassuolo and a point behind 17th-placed Spal, which lost at Chievo Verona 2-1.
BARCELONA, Spain — Lionel Messi received his fourth Golden Shoe award on Friday (Saturday Manila time) for leading all of Europe’s leagues in scoring last season. It was the fourth time the Barcelona forward has received the honor, drawing him even with Real Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo as the award record-holders. Messi scored 37 in […]
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In line with its continued support in helping Philippine football grow, ABS-CBN Sports is taking a extra step in exposing the Filipino audience to the greatness of the sport. Football superstars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will soon be a regular fixture on local free TV after ABS-CBN Sports+Action forged a partnership with Hong Kong-based […]
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Chelsea advanced to the knockout stage of the Champions League with a game to spare after beating 10-man Qarabag 4-0 on Wednesday, securing manager Antonio Conte’s 50th victory in all competitions with the Blues.
Barcelona needed only a point to reach the Round of 16 and the Spanish superpower got exactly that against Juventus. A 0-0 draw at last year’s runner-up was enough to ensure top spot in Group D.
Already through, Paris Saint-Germain conceded the first goal of its European campaign in the first minute – before then unleashing its unstoppable firepower to thrash Celtic 7-1 in Paris.
A goalless draw at Basel would have been enough for Manchester United to top Group A, but the Premier League club slipped to its first group stage loss, going down 1-0 to a goal conceded just a minute from time.
Here is a look at what happened in Wednesday’s games.
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GROUP A
Manchester United was deservedly beaten 1-0 by a spirited Basel, leaving all the qualification places open with one game remaining. Basel defender Michael Lang struck in the 89th minute to earn a win for the Swiss champion.
Still, United leads the standings with 12 points, three clear of both Basel and CSKA Moscow, which earlier won 2-0 at home to last-place Benfica.
In the final round on Dec. 5, Basel plays at last-place Benfica, and United hosts CSKA.
Georgy Shchennikov gave CSKA an early lead, despite an apparent offside. Then an own goal from Jardel ensured that Benfica — which is eliminated — suffered its fifth defeat in five Champions League games.
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GROUP B
Neymar scored twice and set up another goal as Paris Saint-Germain produced its biggest Champions League win to extend its perfect record in the group stage this season.
PSG leads Group B with 15 points, three more than Bayern Munich, which won 2-1 at Anderlecht. Both PSG and Bayern are guaranteed a spot in the knockout phase and will battle for group supremacy on Dec. 5.
Celtic forward Moussa Dembele surprised the hosts with his first minute goal, but PSG responded with four goals in the first half – two from Neymar, one from Edinson Cavani and the other from Kylian Mbappe.
The one-way traffic continued after the break with Cavani scoring again to take his career total with PSG to 151, while Marco Verratti and Dani Alves also found the net.
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GROUP C
Following a humbling 3-0 loss in Rome, Willian led Chelsea’s efforts to get its European campaign back on track, scoring a goal in each half and winning a penalty.
Eden Hazard made it 1-0 from the penalty spot in the 21st minute, calmly sending the goalkeeper the wrong way. Home team captain Rashad F. Sadygov had received a straight red card for tugging back Willian just inside the area as the Chelsea forward ran onto Eden Hazard’s pass.
Hazard then fed Willian with a back-heel pass to make it 2-0 in the 37th.
Qarabag, the first club from Azerbaijan to reach the group stage of the Champions League, had no better luck in the second half. Cesc Fabregas scored from the penalty spot in the 73rd minute and Willian added his second goal, a drive from 20 metres, five minutes from time.
Antoine Griezmann found the net with a stunning overhead kick as Atletico Madrid defeated Roma 2-0 to keep alive its hopes of advancing.
Substitute Kevin Gameiro scored the second to seal Atletico’s first Champions League victory this season.
Atletico has six points, two less than Roma, with one match to play.
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GROUP D
Juventus will have to wait until the final round to try and qualify for the knockout stages. The Italian side remained second in the group but is only a point above Sporting Lisbon, which beat Olympiakos 3-1.
The Italian side — which reached the final in two of the last three seasons — next visits Olympiakos, while Sporting travels to Barcelona.
Barcelona, which rested Lionel Messi until the 56th minute, went closest to breaking the deadlock when Ivan Rakitic hit the post with a free kick.
In Portugal, Bas Dost scored a goal in each half for Sporting Lisbon. Bruno Cesar added the third while Vadis Odjidja scored the consolation goal for Olympiakos.
BASEL, Switzerland — Manchester United defender Chris Smalling says he has nothing to prove to England manager Gareth Southgate after being dropped by the national team and having his ability publicly questioned. Smalling was overlooked for England’s recent friendly games against Germany and Brazil, with Southgate picking younger players and saying he wanted his team […]
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NYON, Switzerland — UEFA has fined Everton 30,000 euros ($35,300) after a fan tried to punch an opposing team’s goalkeeper when a clash between players spilled toward the stands.
UEFA says Everton was guilty of "aggressions by supporters against players" during a Europa League game against Lyon last month.
The fan was holding a child with one arm when he targeted Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes during the melee.
Everton said it would ban the supporter from attending games.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – When Michael Bradley speaks, people listen.
Toronto FC’s captain is not the type to rant and rave, or make a spectacle of himself when he’s trying to make a point. Bradley’s approach is far more measured – even keeled and thoughtful, he speaks simply and plainly, and chooses his words carefully, always managing to get the point across in a forceful way without so much as raising his voice.
When Bradley has something to say, he makes himself heard. One such moment came when he penned an open letter to TFC fans in early October, explaining why winning the Supporters’ Shield, the trophy given to the team that finishes the MLS regular season with the most points, was so important. Winning the Shield, Bradley noted, was part of a larger philosophical shift within the entire organization after the Reds suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Seattle Sounders in last year’s MLS Cup final.
“When we sat down as a group early in pre-season this year, we talked about this idea of being different,” Toronto’s captain wrote.
“The loss in the final was still clearly on everyone’s mind, but we understood that the only way to ever give ourselves a chance at redemption was to play 90 minutes at a time, for 34 games. Go after every game with the same mentality that we played with during the second half of last season.”
The entire letter, and that passage in particular, struck a chord within TFC’s fan base, as supporters in the south end of BMO Field unfurled a massive banner honouring Bradley prior to kickoff of the next home game that read, “Redemption: 90 minutes at a time.”
https://twitter.com/JohnMolinaro/status/927266054656503808
Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco garner the majority of the headlines with their goal-scoring prowess, and newcomer Victor Vazquez’s playmaking ability has elevated TFC to another level. But make no mistake about it: Bradley sets the tone at the club. As he goes, so goes Toronto FC. Bradley’s words carry a lot of weight – not just with the fan base, but also with his teammates.
And they mean even more now with Toronto set to take on the Columbus Crew on Tuesday night in Ohio in the first leg of the Eastern Conference final.
“Michael is our emotional, our technical, tactical leader. He does a lot for the club on and off the field. Part of that is his voice. He commands a big presence on the field,” defender Justin Morrow told Sportsnet.
“He’s always talking to his teammates, whether that’s conversations before the games about things we need to take care of, conversation on the practice field of how we can do things better, conversations during the game about things we need to change on the fly. His voice is massive.”
It’s a sentiment echoed by Nick Hagglund, who calls Bradley “the heartbeat of our team.” The young defender explained that Bradley has garnered the respect of his teammates by holding them accountable and expecting the same commitment that he expects from himself at all times. Bradley has also earned the trust of the entire TFC locker-room.
“He’s our captain. We follow him wherever he wants to take us. We trust everything that he says. Everything that he says is huge,” Hagglund said.
“He knows what it takes to be a winner and I think everybody sees that and respects that. His determination, his heart and leadership are amazing. For us, whatever he says it’s something we have to follow.”
Getting a young player such as Hagglund to heed your words is one thing. It’s quite another for Bradley to convince a veteran such as Drew Moor to follow his lead. Moor has far more MLS experience than Bradley, having played in over 360 regular season games and has won an MLS Cup in his 13 years in the league.
But like his younger teammates, Moor has no qualms about taking directions from his captain.
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“Everybody knows Michael’s experience and knows what he’s been through, both internationally and domestically. When he talks in the locker-room, in video sessions, in the meal room, wherever we are, everybody listens,” Moor stated.
“His words to the fans are very similar to the kind of stuff that he motivates his teammates with as well. There’s been times since I’ve been here when there’s been an opportunity for him to make a speech or share some words, and anytime he does it, it means a lot to the players.”
Bradley’s influence at TFC goes well beyond the pre-game pep talk, or what he says on the training ground. His imprint is far greater than that, with his influence reaching the upper echelons of power at MLSE.
“When he came to Toronto, his message to this organization was that he wanted [TFC] to compete for championships year in and year out. And not just with his words, but also with his actions, and the ways he speaks with the front office, he’s a big part of what this club is where it as right now,” Moor said.
“He’s everything you want in a captain, and his words are huge.”
NOTES: Giovinco and Altidore are suspended for Tuesday’s first leg in Columbus. They are eligible to return for the second leg on Nov. 29 at BMO Field… Toronto topped the Eastern Conference and the overall MLS standings with a 20-5-9 record and a league-record 69 points. Columbus (16-12-6) finished fifth in the East, 15 points adrift of Toronto… The Crew did, however, hand TFC one of its five losses this season, earning a 2-1 home win on April 15. The Reds returned to Ohio the following month and beat the Crew 2-1, and then hammered Columbus 5-0 on May 26 in the final match of the campaign between the two sides… This Eastern Conference final marks the first playoff encounter between TFC and the Crew.
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LONDON — Shkodran Mustafi and Alexis Sanchez scored first-half goals for Arsenal in a 2-0 victory over Tottenham in the Premier League on Saturday, as the Gunners looked to restore a sense of supremacy in north London after a disastrous campaign last season.
Mustafi’s header looped over the Spurs defence from a disputed free kick and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was unable to get anywhere near the ball as it pinged off the crossbar into the goal in the 36th minute.
Sanchez’s goal came five minutes later after Alexandre Lacazette’s run down the right. The forward put in a crisp cross, which Sanchez had trouble controlling at first as it bounced down off his knee. But the Chilean composed himself at the near post to fire the ball over Lloris, who hesitated coming off his line to deal with the danger.
Just when Spurs fans thought the balance of power had irreversibly shifted in north London, Arsenal turned back the clock to offer a glimpse of its past dominance. There was slick passing, the three Arsenal forwards galloped past Spurs defenders with ease at times, and the usually shaky back line managed to hold its nerve this time.
Tottenham had come into this match on a high, sitting third — three places above Arsenal — in the league and finishing in front of the Gunners last season for the first time in more than two decades. Spurs are in the Champions League this season — and Arsenal in the Europa League — and impressed the football world with a shock win over Real Madrid in the group stage.
But Arsenal was the bigger side Saturday, managing to shut down star players Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen to claim bragging rights in north London. Eriksen looked nothing like the player who scored a hat trick for Denmark against Ireland during the international break.
Before the match, many observers sniggered when Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger claimed his side wasn’t the underdog going into this fixture.
But it was Wenger who had the smug look on his face at the final whistle, while Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino appeared dejected after suffering his first Premier League defeat in a north London derby during his more than three-year tenure.
The only boos Wenger got Saturday was when he made a defensive substitution, taking off the prolific Lacazette for holding midfielder Francis Coquelin. There were even ironic cheers from Arsenal fans for Kane and Alli, when they were taken off with 15 minutes to go after a poor showing from both.
PARIS — Defending champion Monaco dropped more points after drawing 1-1 at Amiens in the French League on Friday.
It could have been worse for second-place Monaco after forward Serge Gakpe gave promoted Amiens the lead in the 31st minute, but Montenegro forward Stevan Jovetic equalized midway through the second half after being set up by Brazil midfielder Fabinho.
The draw means that league leader Paris Saint-Germain can move six points clear at the top if it beats Nantes at home on Saturday.
Radamel Falcao returned to the Monaco side after a spell out with a hamstring injury, but the Colombia striker had a quiet game and rarely looked like adding to his league-leading 13 goals.
Monaco was thankful for Fabinho’s fine piece of skill down the right flank as he skipped past three players before cutting the ball back to Jovetic, who swept the ball inside the left post from just inside the penalty area.
In Friday’s other match, Lille beat Saint-Etienne 3-1 to give under-pressure coach Marcelo Bielsa a second straight win.
Saint-Etienne lost 5-0 at home to Lyon in the last round of games, leading to Spanish coach Oscar Garcia resigning after just five months in charge. Former Saint-Etienne midfielder Julien Sable replaced him and took charge of his first game.
Striker Nicolas Pepe made it three goals in two games when he put Lille ahead in the 20th minute.
After forward Jonathan Bamba equalized for the visitors with a penalty on the stroke of halftime, Brazilian midfielder Thiago Mendes made it 2-1 in the 71st and Spanish forward Ezequiel Ponce wrapped up the win late on.
Lille moved out of the relegation zone and up to 16th place, while Saint-Etienne is sixth ahead of this weekend’s games.
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