Fonseca fumes at penalty ´circus´ from referee as AC Milan beaten at Fiorentina

AC Milan boss Paulo Fonseca was in an angry mood following his side s 2-1 loss away to Fiorentina on Sunday, suggesting the decisions to give three penalties turned the game into a circus .

Remarkably, all three spot-kicks were saved during the match. The home side initially saw Moise Kean s penalty kept out by Mike Maignan, while David de Gea then saved from Theo Hernandez who was later sent off and Tammy Abraham either side of half-time.

But after the game, Fonseca s attention was on the performance of the officials rather than the goalkeeping.

I don’t like to talk about refereeing but this isn’t football. Football is about contact and a mere touch shouldn’t be enough to award a penalty, he told DAZN.

Just a simple touch can lead to a penalty, w…

Harder hat-trick downs Arsenal in Women´s Champions League opener

Pernille Harder s hat-trick handed Bayern Munich a winning start to their Women s Champions League campaign, beating Arsenal 5-2 in Group C.

Harder, who scored 24 times in 48 appearances for Arsenal s London rivals Chelsea, once again haunted the Gunners, striking her first goals in the competition in almost two years.

After three games in the Women’s Super League, Arsenal sit sixth, having won once and drawn twice, with the latest defeat piling more pressure on head coach Jonas Eidevall.

The Gunners started brightly at the FC Bayern Campus and took the lead in the 30th minute when Katie McCabe s delivery was swept home by Mariona Caldentey.

However, the hosts drew level two minutes before the break when Georgia Stanway s searching ball picked out th…

Aston Villa eye move for Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams

Aston Villa are interested in signing Nico Williams from Athletic Bilbao in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that Villa could loss Moussa Diaby in the coming days to the Saudi Pro League, and the Villans, who will play in the UEFA Champions League next season, have identified Williams as a potential replacement.

TEAMtalk has reported that Villa have held talks with Williams’s agents over a move, but Unai Emery’s side face stiff competition from Chelsea and Barcelona. Both the Blues and the Blaugrana are also in touch with the entourage of the 22-year-old winger, who helped Spain to UEFA Euro 2024 finals.

Williams is one of the best young wingers in Europe and has been superb for Bilbao for a while. The 22-year-old scored five goals a…

´We asked people to believe in us,´ says Messi after leading Argentina to another World Cup final

Lionel Messi revealed I don t know if it s my best World Cup after his inspirational performance against Croatia helped Argentina reach another final.

Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot before providing a remarkable assist for Julian Alvarez s second goal at Lusail Stadium, where Lionel Scaloni s side will face France or Morocco in the showpiece on Sunday.

The Argentina captain has now found the net five times in Qatar – moving him level with Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Kylian Mbappe in the race for the Golden Boot.

The 35-year-old surpassed his tally of four when he guided his nation to the final in 2014, where he won the Golden Ball for the tournament s best player despite narrowly missing out on glory following a 1-0 defeat to Germany.

Zidane: France cannot deny Benzema Euro 2016 chance

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane believes the French Football Federation (FFF) would be making a big mistake by allowing Karim Benzema s ban from international football to move into the European Championships in June.

Benzema was suspended from representing France at any level by the FFF until the legal investigation into his involvement in an alleged plot to blackmail international team-mate Mathieu Valbuena has been concluded.

France is the host of Euro 2016 and Zidane believes his country will be severely hurting its chance of a home triumph by not selecting Benzema.

France cannot afford to ignore a player of Benzema s calibre, Zidane told Le Foot.

When we look at his numbers and everything he does on the field, we cannot let a play of this level go…

Drmic out of Euro 2016 after knee surgery

Switzerland striker Josip Drmic will miss Euro 2016 after undergoing surgery on a knee injury.

The 23-year-old came on as a substitute during Hamburg s 1-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday and sustained cartilage damage.

The club confirmed the diagnosis on Tuesday, adding in a statement: The Swiss must be operated on and will be out for the rest of the season .

Drmic, who is on loan from Borussia Monchengladbach until June and has subsequently played what will likely be his last game for Hamburg, vowed to battle back to fitness as soon as possible.

Hallo Fans,heute ist ein trauriger Tag für mich: Ich habe gerade die Diagnose erhalten, dass ich mir im Spiel gegen

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Premier League data dive: Relentless Man City march on, Villa fight back against Man Utd

Kevin De Bruyne came back to haunt his old club as his fine strike handed Premier League leaders Manchester City a 1-0 win over Chelsea on Saturday.

Against no side has De Bruyne scored more Premier League goals than he has against the Blues (five), with this total the most against Chelsea by any player who has previously played for them in the competition.

Elsewhere, Manchester United threw away a two-goal lead at Aston Villa to draw 2-2, with Philippe Coutinho sealing a point on his debut following his loan move from Barcelona.

Wolves beat Southampton 3-1 and Norwich City piled the pressure on Rafael Benitez with a 2-1 win over Everton, while strugglers Newcastle United and Watford played out a 1-1 draw.

Here, Stats Perform unpacks the pick of the Opta …

Berhalter believes ´American spirit´ will win over World Cup viewers as United States advance

Gregg Berhalter believes his United States team will capture the imagination of viewers at home after drawing on the American spirit to reach the World Cup s last 16 at Iran s expense.

Christian Pulisic s close-range finish fired the USA to a 1-0 win over Iran at the Al Thumama Stadium on Tuesday, ensuring the Stars and Stripes leapfrogged their opponents to finish second in Group B, behind England.

Pulisic was forced out of the contest after colliding with Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beyranvand as he scored the goal, but that blow was not enough to dampen Berhalter s spirits.

With the 2026 tournament taking place across the USA, Mexico and Canada, much of the talk around Berhalter s team has focused on their ability to win over new fans at home, and the head coach b…

Declan Rice confirms ‘tough’ West Ham departure with Arsenal move imminent

Declan Rice’s ambition to play “at the very highest level” was behind his “tough” decision to leave West Ham.

The 24-year-old’s departure from the club he joined a decade ago in a club-record £105million deal – making him the most expensive English player in history – was confirmed by the Hammers ahead of his imminent move to Arsenal.

Rice’s last act as a West Ham player was to become only the third captain in their history, behind Bobby Moore and Billy Bonds, to lift a major trophy after last month’s Europa Conference League victory over Fiorentina.

Declan Rice has penned an open letter to West Ham fans.

— West Ham United (@WestHam)

But the England international wants to play in the Champions League and that is something A…

John McGinn felt Georgia were reluctant to resume Euro 2024 qualifer

Scotland midfielder John McGinn felt Georgia were “at it” when showing reluctance to get their Euro 2024 qualifier resumed at a sodden Hampden.

McGinn was full of praise for the team of ground staff, ball boys, stewards and Scottish Football Association officials who helped sweep the pitch of excess water following a heavy downpour in the hour before kick-off on Tuesday.

The game was suspended immediately after Callum McGregor fired Scotland into a sixth-minute lead and only resumed close to two hours later following extensive work on the pitch, several pitch inspections and false dawns.

Georgia did not appear ahead of one scheduled restart time before the game eventually got back under way at 9.33pm before Scotland went on to win 2-0.

McGinn said: �…