Brahim Diaz s first goal since October gave Milan a 1-0 victory over Tottenham in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie.

Diaz had gone 12 games without a goal for the Serie A champions but stunned Spurs with an early header on Tuesday.

Tottenham saw plenty of the ball but were unable to come up with an equaliser on former Inter boss Antonio Conte s return to San Siro.

Milan had been without a win in seven matches before beating Torino last Friday, but Diaz gave them back-to-back victories and a slender advantage to take into the second leg at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on March 8.

— AC Milan (@acmilan)

San Siro erupted when Diaz opened the scoring in the seventh minute, diving to nod in on the goal-line after Fraser…

UEFA president Michel Platini on Thursday vowed to ask authorities in Kiev why Ukraine s preparations to co-host the 2012 European Championship with Poland have been delayed.

We ll see if there is political stability (in Ukraine), said Platini after the UEFA Congress meeting here.

I ll go to Kiev in April and I will have a frank and serious conversation with the new government to see the situation, and also maybe bang my fist on the table a bit.

We are confident (that Ukraine will be able to co-host the tournament) but I ve seen photos of the stadium and I m not completely reassured. We can t change the date. It will be Euro 2012, not 2014.

Ukraine s preparations to organise the quadrennial football showpiece have been hit by political turmoil and se…

Antonio Conte believes he witnessed a turning point for his Napoli side as they strolled to a 3-0 win over Bologna in their Serie A home opener on Sunday.

Napoli were trounced 3-0 at Verona in Conte s first league game at the helm last week, but they bounced back with a comfortable win over the Rossoblu on Sunday.

The Partenopei s victory was their first on home soil without conceding since they beat Sassuolo 2-0 in August 2023, and Conte feels it was an important moment in his team s development.

Today we had a great responsibility, that of giving a great response after the second half in Verona, Conte told reporters.

I had no doubts, these guys are good guys. I see them working and I got important answers.

These are three points that are the …

Former Manchester City playmaker David Silva has said his goodbyes to football as the World Cup winner and four-time Premier League champion announced his retirement.

The 37-year-old played 436 games across 10 seasons at the Etihad Stadium, helping to turn City into the best team in England and winning a total of 11 major honours with the club.

Silva started his career in the youth ranks at Valencia, making his senior debut in 2004 and spending six years in LaLiga before signing for City.

Muchas gracias…fútbol

— David Silva (@21LVA)

He was capped 125 times by Spain, scoring 35 goals and winning the 2010 World Cup, Euro 2008 and 2012.

“Today is a sad day for me,” he said in a message posted on his Twitter account.

“Toda…

“It will be interesting to see what effect the (new independent football) regulator has. I think none of us are too sure quite how it is going to work and there are certainly grey areas there.

“I read clubs are going to be need to be licenced annually and if they can’t prove they are financially OK then they wont get that licence. Well, what happens to that football club then?

“New owners are not like apples from trees – it is really tough to find someone to back your football club.

“But on the positive side, if there is control over what (money) the Premier League give to the EFL and thereby the entire pyramid, then that has got to be a good thing.”

Stelling, who has been honorary president of Hartlepool since 2015, accepts facing up to the…

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Hoping to find a route back to the top of the Premier League table, Manchester City will welcome Tottenham to the Etihad on Sunday afternoon.

Manchester City

Starting with the hosts, mounting a stellar Champions League comeback earlier in the week as they secured a thrilling 3-2 victory at the Etihad, Manchester City have breezed their way to the knockout stage. Making real history last season as they became the first English club since 1999 to be crowned treble champions, Pep Guardiola’s men will know the importance of making a domestic statement here. Dropping points against Liverpool and Chelsea on either side of November’s international break, the Sky Blues have also lost their top at the top of the Premier League table. Howeve…

Chris Coleman maintains his only focus with his homeland in the throws of Brexit is to ensure Wales stay in Europe through their Euro 2016 campaign for as long as possible.

Voters in the UK decided by a margin of 52 to 48 per cent to leave the European Union on Thursday, with the majority of Welsh voters also in favour of that course of action that prompted Prime Minister David Cameron to announce he will step down.

Ahead of the all-British last-16 tie against Northern Ireland at the Parc des Princes on Saturday, Coleman was understandably forced to field questions at his pre-match news conference over a subject he feels his side simply cannot afford to be concerned with at this stage.

Talking about being in or out of Europe we re still in [Euro 2016] and that s…

Enzo Maresca is glad he has a tough choice to make in terms of his team selection as Chelsea prepare to face Brighton and Hove Albion.

Chelsea have won three in a row without conceding in all competitions, most recently beating fourth-tier Barrow 5-0 in the EFL Cup on Tuesday.

Christopher Nkunku scored a hat-trick in that third-round tie to make it six goals in nine games this season, yet he has made just one Premier League start.

Nicolas Jackson has himself been in good form with six goals in 10 games four of those goals in the league and looks set to return upfront for the visit of Brighton on Saturday.

They re both doing fantastic, Maresca said. Not only because they score, but because they work off the ball.

The way they sacrifice for the t…

China will play host to the Trophee des Champions in 2018 and 2019, the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) has announced.

The deal was made in partnership with the Kaisa Culture Sports and Tourism Group, with the games to be played in Shenzhen.

A third edition will also take place in China between 2020 and 2023.

The news comes just two days after the LFP announced a broadcasting deal with CCTV, the nation s predominant state television network.

The curtain-raiser has been contested outside of France since 2009, with last year s match between Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco, which the former won 2-1, taking place in Tangier. 

…

Ethan Nwaneri marked his first Arsenal start with a double as the Gunners swept aside League One side Bolton Wanderers 5-1 in the third round of the EFL Cup.

While Nwaneri was one of the youngsters included in a line-up that featured 16-year-old goalkeeper Jack Porter, it was one of Arsenal s senior players that opened the scoring at Emirates Stadium, with Declan Rice curling in from the edge of the area.

The Gunners doubled their advantage eight minutes before the break, with Nwaneri sliding home to net his first senior Arsenal goal after being found by Raheem Sterling.

Nwaneri netted his second of the contest soon after the restart, with the youngster capitalising on a mistake by Chris Forino before squeezing the ball under Luke Southwood.

Mikel Artet…