Celtic skipper Charlie Mulgrew has warned his team-mates not to let any awkwardness ruin their second chance in the UEFA Champions League.
The Scottish Premiership champions are set to play Slovenia s Maribor on Wednesday in the first leg of a Champions League play-off, with a spot in the group stage up for grabs, but Celtic will only be there due to a clerical error by Legia Warsaw.
The Polish champions thumped Celtic 6-1 on aggregate in the third qualifying round of the Champions League but Legia fielded an ineligible player in the second leg and have since been denied the opportunity to play Maribor.
But speaking on Thursday, Mulgrew urged Celtic to take advantage of their opportunity rather than focus on any feelings of embarrassment over how they got into th…
Jose Mourinho is convinced Gareth Bale will return to fitness following a knee injury ahead of schedule because of his desire and motivation for play for a club he loves.
Bale, 31, completed a sensational return to Tottenham from Real Madrid on a season-long loan on Saturday, having originally departed seven years ago for a then world-record fee.
Although he enjoyed great success – including winning four Champions League titles – in Madrid, he increasingly found himself on the periphery of the first team under Zinedine Zidane over the past few years.
A return to Spurs proved a welcome move for Bale, who developed into one of the Premier League s most devastating players prior to joining Madrid.
The winger sustained a knee injury on international duty…
Australia goalkeeper Mathew Ryan feels his side s malfunctioning 3-4-3 system cannot be held entirely accountable for the 3-2 Confederations Cup defeat to Germany.
Ange Postecoglou s experiments with the expansive approach, which allows plenty of options in attacking areas, left the Asian Cup holders vulnerable to a vibrant start from Germany, who took a fifth-minute lead through Lars Stindl after Julian Brandt tore down their left flank.
Tom Rogic equalised against the run of play but Julian Draxler and Leon Goretzka were on target either side of the interval, before Tomi Juric reduced the arrears to leave an improved Socceroos pushing for an unlikely point.
The eventual tightness of the scoreline was in part down to the efforts of Ryan, a recent signing for Pre…
And so, farewell from St Petersburg and Russia. Chile and Germany brought the curtain down on Confederations Cup 2017 on Sunday before a star-studded audience as Lars Stindl secured a 1-0 win for the world champions in a pulsating contest.
Following a couple of days that could at best be described as autumnal, the grand old city was also bathed in sunshine for the occasion, delighting fans and that famously sizable Chilean travelling contingent.
As if that wasn t enough, a veteran striker was threatened with the same humiliation once endured by a Motown superstar. How would he get on?
PARKLIFE
The stroll up from the matchday bus drop-off point to Krestovsky Stadium is certainly a very pleasant one.
Four hours before kick-off, fans were rubbing sho…
Having already lost key midfielders Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay to serious injuries, Manchester United now face the prospect of being without top scorer Marcus Rashford for the most important part of the season.
The England international aggravated a back injury during a second-half cameo against Wolves in the FA Cup third-round replay victory, and after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer downplayed United s worries, it was later confirmed to be much more serious than first thought.
Reports began to emerge during United s 2-0 defeat to Liverpool that Rashford had actually been playing through the pain and Solskjaer confirmed he suffered a double stress fracture against Wolves, meaning he could potentially be out for three months.
As such, Solskjaer acknowledged United might…
Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini has signed a new five-year contract at Goodison Park.
The Belgium international had 18 months remaining on his existing deal, but has now agreed to stay with the Toffees until 2016.
Fellaini, who has made 14 appearances in all competitions this season, became Everton s record signing when he joined the club for 15 million pounds from Standard Liege in 2008.
We re all pleased that Marouane Fellaini has signed his new contract and we re looking forward to working with him in the years to come, manager David Moyes said.
Everton chief executive Robert Elstone was equally delighted to have secured the 23-year-old s signature.
As everyone is aware these negotiations have been ongoing for some time but both partie…
Odell Beckham Jr s father is not happy with the Cleveland Browns wide receiver s numbers this season, and a famous fan shares that sentiment.
Ohio native LeBron James took to Twitter to voice his frustration at Beckham s production, though, like the wideout s father, he appears to not blame the man himself.
The four-time NBA MVP posted on Tuesday: OBJ will show again why he s special. WR1 #FreeOBJ.
That tweet followed an Instagram post from Odell Beckham Sr featuring an 11-minute video showing clips of Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield eschewing chances to throw to an open Beckham.
OBJ will show again why he’s special. WR1
— LeBron James (@KingJames)
The social media posts came on the day of the NFL s trade deadline, but Beckham is…
The Football Association has condemned the rise in terrace chants relating to the Hillsborough disaster, calling them abhorrent and stating they will continue to work with survivor groups.
An apparent increase in derogatory language referencing the 1989 disaster, when 97 Liverpool fans died in a stadium crush during an FA Cup semi-final at the Sheffield Wednesday ground, has been noted over the past year.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola condemned the behaviour of supporters during an incident last season, and did so again last month.
Manchester United also criticised fans over their actions in April, and now the FA have moved to clamp down further on the matter.
We are very concerned about the rise of abhorrent chants in stadiums that are related to t…
Bayern Munich striker Ivica Olic has refused to rule out a transfer to Villarreal in the January transfer window.
La Liga outfit Villarreal are understood to be in the market for a new forward after learning that Giuseppe Rossi will have to spend six months on the sidelines because of a knee ligament injury.
Olic, 32, has been at Bayern since 2009, when he joined the club from Hamburg on a free transfer.
On Thursday, Olic admitted he could leave the Allianz Arena in January after growing unhappy at his lack of first-team opportunities at the Bundesliga leaders.
Quizzed on the reports about a potential move to Villarreal, Olic said: It is too early to say anything. The season has just begun. We shall see in the winter (transfer window).
This is …
Sydney FC midfielder Karol Kisel has backed teenager Terry Antonis to help continue the Sky Blues resurgence against the Perth Glory on Saturday.
Superstar Brett Emerton will miss Sydney s trip to Perth due to international duty with the Socceroos for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Oman and Thailand.
The loss of the former Blackburn star is a blow for the Sky Blues, especially as Emerton played his best game for the club in Sunday s come-from-behind 3-2 win over Gold Coast United, however Antonis will take his place for the clash with the Glory.
Antonis is expected to come straight back into Vitezslav Lavicka s side for the difficult trip west after a successful Asian Championships qualifying campaign with the Young Socceroos.
The 17-year-ol…