Real Madrid's latest Champions League flop will spark a £30million summer move for Liverpool's superstar skipper Steven Gerrard.
Spanish sources say Real, who crashed out of the European Cup against Lyon last Wednesday, believe Gerrard, 29, is ready to quit Anfield after another frustrating season. Click to continue reading...

Wenger accepts the loss of Arsenal's talisman - who has an outside chance of returning for the trip to Hull on Saturday - is a big blow. However, the Gunners boss insists his side have the quality to nevertheless secure their place in the quarter-finals by overturning a 2-1 deficit from the first leg. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool FC talisman Steven Gerrard admitted he was extremely proud to surpass Newcastle United and Blackburn Rovers legend Alan Shearer's European scoring record during Liverpool FC's 3-1 win in Unirea on Thursday night.
The Liverpool FC star scored the 33rd European goal of his career in the second half against Unirea Urziceni in Budapest last night, to better Newcastle United hero Alan Shearer's tally and in doing become England's all-time leading scorer in European competitions. Click to continue reading...

Leave it to the American soccer twittersphere to highlight our country's predisposition to being reactionary, not to mention exposing our inferiority complex. Rory Smith from the Telegraph wrote a sly article, essentially saying that Landon Donovan and David Beckham are starting to force many to reevaluate their long held anti-MLS stereotypes. Click to continue reading...

West Ham forward Carlton Cole has revealed that he rejected a number of advances from admiring clubs in the January transfer window.
Sport.co.uk understands that the clubs in question are believed to be Liverpool and Arsenal.
Although a number of reports suggest Arsenal's North London rivals Tottenham Hotpsur were considering making an offer for the West Ham and England striker. Click to continue reading...

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has urged Fernando Torres to delay his return from injury with Liverpool.
Torres returned to training in midweek following a lay-off with a knee problem and is line to return for the clash with Wigan on March 8.
European champions Spain are amongst the favourites to take the Word Cup crown in July and 59-year-old Del Bosque insists his country's chances would improve by Torres being kept out of action. Click to continue reading...

Sunday, January 31, 2010
Stade de Gerland, Lyon
3pm(21:00CET, 20:00GMT)

Well, in the span of just three, short days, Lyon have managed to get themselves knocked-out of both domestic cup tournaments. The storm cloud of inconsistency that has hovered over OL since Puel's taking-over the squad, has rolled back in has parked itself once more over the team, just as a short but tenous four game winning streak to open the second part of the season had given us hope of better days to come.

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We can start with good news this morning and thankfully the news regarding Thomas Vermaelen wasn't as bad as he had expected. I have to admit, if the official site had put up a headline saying 'Vermaelen's leg requires amputation' followed shortly by one saying 'Belgian defender dies on operating table', I wouldn't have been even slightly shocked.

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Manchester United star Wayne Rooney has admitted he would love to see Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard play for the current Premier League champions at Old Trafford.
The Manchester United talisman claims the Liverpool captain would be a brilliant player under Sir Alex Ferguson, but admits it would be impossible for the Anfield hero to move to Old Trafford because he is "a Liverpool man through and through". Click to continue reading...

Fernando Torres has had successful keyhole surgery to save his season.
The Liverpool striker needed the op on his damaged right knee and his surgeon later revealed everything had gone to plan during the 45-minute procedure.
Dr. Ramon Cugat, the specialist who operated on the troublesome cartilage in a Barcelona hospital, said: "The surgery was a success and, if there are no problems, Fernando will be OK in six weeks. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool striker Fernando Torres believes the Reds must win the Europa League and secure a top four finish if they are to salvage their season – and has challenged the club's owners to splash the cash or get left behind.
A shock defeat to Championship strugglers Reading in the FA Cup on Wednesday added to a succession of disappointments this term for the Anfield outfit, who have already been eliminated from both the League Cup and Champions League and lie 12 points adrift of Premier League leaders Chelsea. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool were knocked out of the FA Cup by lower league opposition on Wednesday evening, but their problems have worsened by the sight of Fernando Torres being substituted after 26 minutes of play. The prolific marksmen, it has since been confirmed, damaged cartilage in his right knee, and will be out of action for a six week period. Click to continue reading...

FIFA's latest world rankings were released in December 2009, with the next assessment due at the start of February, just after the African Cup of Nations is due to end. So with the tournament about to get underway, how do the teams involved fare? The number on the left represents the nations' standing within Africa, the number in brackets their overall world ranking. Click to continue reading...

Jozy Altidore and Hull will try to find a way to beat Blackburn with their attacking talisman again sidelined while Tim Howard and the Toffees face a rough time at the Bridge. Click to continue reading...

And when I say down to the wire, I'm not talking about McNulty, Bunk or Omar.
The Campeonato Brasileiro 2009, Brazil's top division, comes to a conclusion this weekend and, just like last season, the destination of the league title remains undecided. It was dramatic enough last year when just two teams (Gremio and São Paulo) vied for top spot. Click to continue reading...

Porto vs. Chelsea

As Porto look to follow already qualified Chelsea into the last 16, coach Jesualdo Ferreira is plotting a route to trump Chelsea to top spot in the group. A win tonight in front of the bouncing Porto fans would put them in pole position to do so.

John Terry makes his 300th appearance as captain in what promises to be an historic night for Chelsea but they'll have to do the job without former Porto right back José Bosingwa and talisman midfielder Frank Lampard.

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Home to Standard Liege tomorrow. A draw would clinch advancement to the group stages, and a win would win the group outright. As I've said previously, I think winning the group this season is definitely in our best interests more so than in past seasons, some of the clubs that look likely to finish second in their groups are not traditional European powers.

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It took 20 seconds to shatter the France's march to the 1994 World Cup. In the 90' minute Emil Kostadinov lashed a ball past Bernard Lama to win the game for Bulgaria, 2-1 and shatter French hopes for qualifying for the 1994 World Cup. David Ginola could have run out the clock but his errant cross led to the Kostadinov disaster.

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Cristiano Ronaldo is irreplaceable according to most pundits if not all of them; and the signing of Antonio Valencia in the summer wasn't to replace the talisman but was instead brought because of the quality in which he had.

Valencia only scored three goals for Wigan last year, and this time around with United, not even halfway through the season, he has scored that many.

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Fernando Torres has undergone tests at a private hospital as Liverpool look to find a cure for their talisman's groin injury.
The Anfield hierarchy are desperate for their Spain striker to avoid surgery as they attempt to put Liverpool's season back on track after six defeats in eight games. Click to continue reading...

Fulham manager Roy Hodgson has warned the Premier League's top teams not to write off Liverpool in the title race.
The Reds are nine points behind league leaders Chelsea after losing 3-1 at Craven Cottage on Saturday but Hodgson still believes they are challengers.
"If I was Manchester United or Arsenal or Chelsea I don't think I would be writing them off," Hodgson told 5 Live's Sportsweek programme. Click to continue reading...

Sunday's match between Manchester United and Liverpool has all the ingredients for an October classic: Fernando Torres v Nemanja Vidic. Antonio Valencia v Glen Johnson. Alex Ferguson v Rafa Benitez. All of it being played against the backdrop that one more loss for Liverpool would mean curtains on their title aspirations.

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You can watch Fulham v Roma Live online here.

Fulham v Roma
Craven Cottage
Europa League
Thursday 22 October 20:05 BST

Claudio Ranieri will be hoping that his good record against Fulham FC – and their manager Roy Hodgson – will count for something as AS Roma visit Fulham FC in UEFA Europa League Group E, seeking a first competitive win in London.

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Situated in the heart of every great team is always a truly special central midfielder who is capable of taking matches by the scruff of their neck and dominating them.

Some midfielders are specialists in the holding role, others have an uncanny knack of scoring goals but every so often a player comes along that can excel in all areas.

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With the Ballon d'Or nominations finally releasing this weekend, the headlines have mostly been devoted to the fact that world champions Italy have no representation whatsoever. But why blame the press for paying excessive attention to an irrelevant detail? After all, the award itself is destined to be heading Lionel Messi's way, which means very little is there to be talked about in terms of debating the winner, right?

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Arsenal 6 (Vermaelen 17, Van Persie 33, Arshavin 37, Fabregas 57, Walcott 75, Bendtner 89) Blackburn 2 (Nzonzi 4, Dunn 30)
(Premiership)

Arsene Wenger's time in charge has been characterised by some fantastic flowing football, spectacular goals, crisp passing, the coming of age of outrageously talented youngsters, and the odd bit of defensive frailty.

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For Premier League fans around the world, the last couple of weeks have been almost too painful to endure as something very important seems to have disappeared out of our lives. But with yet another international period finally in the books, we can once again look forward to the return of our most beloved brand of football this weekend.

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August has been short but sweet for Wayne Rooney as his consistency in front of goal is exactly what was needed of him with even more responsibility on his shoulders due to the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Rooney has looked all the more dangerous this year, and stats don't lie, with five goals in five games so far this term.

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Big losses to Spurs and Villa are not what Rafa Benitez had in mind when the season began. The pundits were pegging Liverpool to win the Premiership. The stuttering start has taken its toll and there are rumours that the Reds dressing room atmosphere is less salubrious nowadays.

Rafa had gotten into a well publicized spat before with Steven Gerrard who looked like a shadow of himself in the Spurs match but it is Ryan Babel who is getting the business end of the stick and was singled out for the team's pathetic display.

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A great majority of the football world has grown used to laughing off Arsene Wenger's dramatic remarks over major incidents in recent years. This is precisely why the Arsenal manager was largely ignored when he labeled the accusations over Gunners striker Eduardo's recent "dive" against Celtic as a "witch-hunt".

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If you are Paul Hart - by far the bookies' favorite to become the first sacked manager in the Premier League this season - you would need a miracle to save Portsmouth from relegation at this point. Four games into the new season, Pompey are yet to scrap up a single point, which is a clear indicator of how the team roster was in desperate need of major bolstering on the final day of transfers.

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Steven Gerrard has shrugged off suggestions that Rafa Benitez singled him out for criticism and feels Liverpool got their just rewards after twice coming back to beat Bolton on Saturday.
The Reds responded to Monday's disastrous 3-1 humbling by Aston Villa as Gerrard netted a thunderous winner at the Reebok to reignite the Merseysiders' 20-year-long quest for domestic glory and silence a few critics along the way. Click to continue reading...

Eduardo's dive might have been despicable but here is a video of Steven Gerrard elevating it to an art form. Its the complete package. No one talks of the Liverpool talisman because it provides a different narrative from foreign footballers ruining the English league with their cheating ways.

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Open question to Toronto FC supporters? Does Danny Dichio deserve better? A guy who many consider the talisman of Toronto FC has spent a lot of time on the bench lately. Is it justified or is he wasting away due to club politics and personality conflicts?
That's the question posed below. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani has spoken of his pride at wearing the same colours as Steven Gerrard.
Aquilani was presented to the media today after arriving from Roma for a fee reported to be about £15million.
He was keen to point out he is a long-term admirer of Gerrard's qualities. Click to continue reading...

It was a shame that such a tightly contested affair had to be decided by penalties, but despite the loss fans at Wembley saw how life was like without last season's talisman Cristiano Ronaldo or Carlos Tevez.

A more constructive, passing team may have risen through the shadows with both central midfielders (Carrick and Fletcher) gaining major roles, and included more involvement with not only the midfielders but the striker, who (Rooney and Berbatov) dropped back on many occasions to help link up play and the strike duo's positioning and link up was particularly impressive in the first half.

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PanMacmillan.com are to give one lucky person the chance to win the prize of a lifetime, a Manchester United home shirt signed by Eric Cantona! The luck doesn't stop there, though. The winner will also receive a copy of the book signed by the author, Philippe Auclair. Five runners up will also receive a signed copy of the book.

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Those who saw last night's World Football Challenge clash between Internazionale and Chelsea must have noticed a solid performance from a rapidly emerging star wearing the blue shirt. Branislav Ivanovic, who played fullback for 65 minutes of Chelsea's dominant 2-0 victory over the reigning Italian champions seemed to be the player who was more eager than anyone else to cement his reputation during the high-profile friendly at the Rose Bowl.

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It has been reported that Samir Nasri has broken his leg in pre-season training this morning, thus leaving Arsenal short of players already before the season begins.

Now while the sale of Adebayor has caused mixed emotions throughout the Gunners fans, with most pleased at his departure. But in selling Adebayor, have Arsenal sold fourth place?

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Summer lovin', happened so fast... This from the puckered mouth of Chelsea's chief suit, Peter Kenyon: "I don't know what they [City] are offering but I'm confident John is going to remain with us. John is a talisman, he's...

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