Tottenham defender Kyle Walker was relieved to hear head coach Mauricio Pochettino verbally agreed to a new contract extension.
As second-placed Tottenham vie for the Premier League title, Pochettino revealed on Friday that he had agreed a fresh contract, which will tie him to the London club until 2021.
And Walker was delighted by the news after Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain reportedly showed interest in the Argentine tactician.
I ve been waiting for someone to say that for ages now! He s said it? Thank goodness for that. I m over the moon, Walker said.
It is a relief. There is always going to be speculation. It happens all the time.
This player is going here, this manager is going there but I think that s not for me to talk abo…
Gareth Bale is confident Tottenham will seal qualification for next season s Champions League.
The winger also believes their disappointing form in the second half of the 2011-12 campaign has proved a positive learning experience.
The north Londoners finished fourth in the Premier League last season but Chelsea claimed the final Champions League place by winning the competition.
Bale insists that Spurs are a more assured team this season under Andre Villas-Boas and has predicted that they will maintain their grip on a place in the top four despite pressure from the likes of Arsenal.
We have learned from our mistakes from previous years and now we can be a lot stronger going in to the finishing end of the season so I hope we can do it, Bale told Tottenha…
Australia defender Sasa Ognenovski admits his side are using the 2011 Asian Cup final loss to Japan as motivation ahead of Tuesday s clash.
Ognenovski was part of the Australia side which lost 1-0 in extra-time to the Japanese in Doha almost 18 months ago.
Speaking ahead of the AFC World Cup qualifying clash between the teams, he told reporters Australia would draw on that loss as motivation.
For the ones who played that night there s a motivating factor there, said Ognenovski, who plays his club football in South Korea.
We felt we probably should have won that and hopefully we can get the result on Tuesday.
We ve just got to make sure that, like in that game, that we play well and that we do the things that we re meant to do right.
T…
Verdict: Over 2.5 goals scored yes
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It s the final week of the 2018-19 Ligue 1 season, and fifth place is at stake between Marseille and Montpellier. The visitors currently hold the edge since they own a one-point lead over Les Olympians, but everything is up for grabs here. Who will grab the honour of obtaining a Top 5 finish in France s top-flight?
Marseille
Rudi Garcia s farewell match at Olympique Marseille will be in front of their own crowd, where they have gone W10, D4, L4 across the entire season. However, they haven t looked very good in recent weeks. The French giants have gone W2, D1, L2 over their last five league outings, and at home they re currently riding a two-game losing streak following their 0-3 defeat agains…
Former Liverpool midfielder Gary McAllister admits he has been shocked by the form of Mohamed Salah since his move from Roma.
The Egypt international, who joined for what was then a club-record fee of an initial €42million last June, has scored 28 goals in all competitions in 2017-18.
Salah s latest strikes, including a sublime solo effort, came in the 2-2 draw with Tottenham last Sunday, which took him to 21 league goals in 25 appearances – already six more than he managed in Serie A last season.
McAllister did not expect the 25-year-old to hit the ground running quite so impressively on his return to England s top flight, after he struggled in a short spell with Chelsea.
Watch all 21 of Salah s goals so far
— Liverpool FC (@…
Atletico Mineiro striker Jo will make his first start this year when the 2013 champions start their Copa Libertadores campaign on Wednesday.
Atletico Mineiro coach Levir Culpi will start striker Jo in his team s opening match of the 2015 Copa Libertadores away to Colo Colo on Wednesday.
Jo has yet to start a match in Mineiro s 2015 campaign with the lanky forward having come off the bench in his team s opening two matches of the Campeonato Mineiro the Minas Gerais state championship.
Mineiro have won both those games but will face a step up in class when they travel to Chile for their clash with Colo Colo, and Culpi will turn to Jo due to his experience the 27-year-old scored seven goals when the Brazilian club won their maiden Libertadores title in 2013.
Inter have confirmed defenders Andrea Bandini and Simone Pasa will spend the 2014-15 season on loan at third-tier side Prato.
The 20-year-old duo are not part of Walter Mazzarri s plans for the new campaign and will instead continue their development in Lega Pro 1.
Both players came through Inter s youth system, with Pasa making his debut for the club in a UEFA Europa League tie against Neftchi Baku in December 2012.
Pasa went on to feature in four top-flight games at the end of that season, but spent last term out on loan in Serie B, initially at Varese and then at Padova.
Bandini has yet to appear for Inter s first team and was also loaned out for the 2013-14 season.
He made 18 appearances for Reggiana, receiving a red card in his final appearan…
Normal service was resumed as Chelsea responded to their defeat against leaders Liverpool by beating Hull City 3-0 here on Wednesday and bringing the home side back down to earth after their excellent start to the Premier League season.
The outcome at the KC Stadium was never in doubt after an early goal from Frank Lampard.
Further strikes from Frenchmen Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda were scant reward for Chelsea s domination.
Luiz Felipe Scolari s may have started the game level on points with Hull, but there was a massive class gap between the two teams.
Hull had not conceded a goal for 309 minutes going into the game. It was an impressive record that they managed to extend until only the third minute of this match.
Lampard seized on …
Rodrygo joked Brazil s Real Madrid contingent are all eagerly awaiting Carlo Ancelotti to take over as the Selecao s new head coach.
Madrid boss Ancelotti has been strongly linked with the job, despite still having another year to run on his contract at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Rodrygo is one of three Madrid players in the Brazil squad, along with Eder Militao and Vinicius Junior, and he would welcome the appointment of Ancelotti as Tite s successor.
We joke with him: Wow, coach, we re waiting for you there , Rodrygo told Globo. He jokes that we ll make the squad list together, the four of us in the same room.
We talk in a joking tone, but every joke has a bit of truth. The situation is difficult because it means he d have to leave Madrid.
That w…
Juventus forward Paulo Dybala has warned new team-mate Gonzalo Higuain that he will not find it easy to seize a spot in the starting line-up.
The Serie A champions spent a club record €90million to sign Higuain from title rivals Napoli, following a remarkable 2015-16 season in which he scored 38 goals in 42 appearances.
But Dybala says his compatriot s price tag is no guarantee of a place in Massimiliano Allegri s first team, such is the strength in depth of the squad.
We hope he can help us score many goals and that he can help us in the league, Dybala told La Gazzetta dello Sport. It ll certainly be difficult at Juventus because there s so much competition. Mario [Mandzukic] is already doing well.
Higuain was the marquee signing in a stellar tran…