Taiwo Awoniyi s goal handed Nottingham Forest a famous Premier League win over Liverpool at the City Ground, as last season s runners-up saw their dismal away form continue.

Jurgen Klopp s side struggled to carve out openings in an even opening period and fell behind when former Liverpool youngster Awoniyi tapped home his third Premier League goal shortly after half-time.

Virgil van Dijk went closest to equalising for desperate Liverpool, who have failed to win a single away league game this season after once again falling short of last term s lofty standards.

While the result lifted Forest off the foot of the table, it left Liverpool 11 points adrift of leaders Arsenal, dealing another blow to the Reds increasingly forlorn title hopes.

Dean Henderson st…

Roberto Mancini said that Domenico Berardi and Manuel Locatelli did what I m always asking them to do in combining for Italy s first goal in a 3-0 win over Switzerland.

The result, which came courtesy of a Locatelli brace and a third goal added by Ciro Immobile, confirmed Italy s place in the knockout stage of Euro 2020 after just two games played.

Mancini s men dominated the contest at Stadio Olimpico and were rewarded with a second consecutive 3-0 victory, having beaten Turkey by the same scoreline in their opening Group A match.

Mancini hailed his side s performance, telling reporters: Switzerland are a strong side. We knew it would be a tough game and it was.

We created several chances and we deserved the victory. We were struggling in the opening mi…

The Scottish Premier League title race is still too close to call after leaders Rangers drew 0-0 at home to second-placed Celtic.

Celtic missed a chance to overhaul their fierce rivals when Greek striker Georgios Samaras had a penalty saved with eight minutes remaining at Ibrox Stadium.

Sunday s draw leaves defending champions Rangers top by one point with four matches left.

Celtic, meanwhile, have five games still to come, leaving Neil Lennon s team slim favourites to collect their first league championship since 2008.

The match was played against a backdrop of mounting sectarian tension after a parcel bomb was sent to Celtic manager Neil Lennon.

But despite the usual deafening atmosphere inside Ibrox, the match appeared to pass without incident…

Julian Nagelsmann praised Bayern Munich s very mature performance as they eased to a 3-0 Champions League win against Barcelona at Camp Nou.

Goals from Sadio Mane, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Benjamin Pavard – all assisted by Serge Gnabry – earned the Bundesliga side victory against the beleaguered hosts.

Barca had already seen their elimination from the Champions League confirmed after Group C rivals Inter s 4-0 win over Viktoria Plzen earlier on Wednesday.

Similarly, Bayern were already assured of a last-16 place and went on to clinch top spot with another three points against the Blaugrana.

The performance was very strong, very mature, Nagelsmann said after the game, in which his team denied Barca a single shot on target.

We knew we need…

Manchester City are ready to hand bumper new contracts to key duo Vincent Kompany and Nigel de Jong.

City officials have already begun negotiations with Kompany over an improved five-year deal and will then turn their attention to de Jong.

It is understood the pair, who are regarded by manager Roberto Mancini as two of the most important members of his side, will rocket up the City pay league.

Kompany, 25, who has three years to run on his current deal, will more than double his wages to around 120,000 pounds a week, while De Jong, 26, can expect a similar agreement when he sits down to discuss terms with the club.

Kompany s new contract should be sorted out soon and de Jong is also due for a renewal and will be offered a new deal, although he is consid…

Alex McLeish opens his English Premier League account as Aston Villa manager at Fulham on Saturday.

Scotsman McLeish made the controversial switch from relegated Birmingham City to cross-city rivals Villa in the off-season, a decision that has won few McLeish few friends on either side of England s second city.

After taking over from Steve Bruce in November 2007, the former Scotland and Rangers manager presided over Birmingham s relegation from the top flight that season.

He guided them back to the Premier League at the first attempt and took the club to an impressive finish of ninth in the 2009/10 campaign.

An upset victory over Arsenal in the Carling Cup final followed last February, but that proved the high point of Birmingham s season, as they succum…

Eusebio Di Francesco reaffirmed his commitment to Sassuolo and said he is ready to extend his stay at the club following interest from AC Milan.

Di Francesco was reportedly a contender to replace Sinisa Mihajlovic at the San Siro before Cristian Brocchi was appointed less than a week ago.

With Brocchi only under contract until the end of the season, Di Francesco continues to linked with Milan, having established Sassuolo in Serie A.

However, the 46-year-old insisted he is happy at the Mapei Stadium with a new deal imminent.

I have a contract with Sassuolo, Di Francesco, who first coached the club in 2012, told Rai Sport.

I ve been very happy at the club over the past few years. I still have a year left on my contract.

During the week …

The organiser of the International Champions Cup has outlined his desire to add rivals Celtic and Rangers to the competition in an Old Firm derby hosted by Wembley Stadium.

Celtic and Rangers met for just the second time since the latter s financial woes and demotion through Scottish football s leagues in the Scottish Cup semi-final this month the Ibrox club beating their great rivals after a penalty shootout.

Mark Warburton s side have wrapped up the Championship title in Scotland, ensuring their top-flight return for next season as well as the prospect of playing a first league derby since 2012.

The Champions Cup pits Europe s biggest sides against each other in pre-season fixtures staged across the world and organiser Charlie Stillitano believes the addition …

Stevan Jovetic s representatives claimed the Montenegro international will sign for Monaco and wear Kylian Mbappe s number 10 shirt before deleting their intriguing Instagram post.

Paris Saint-Germain are reportedly on the verge of securing the stunning capture of France striker Mbappe from the Ligue 1 champions.

The 18-year-old is set to join on an initial loan deal, with PSG having obligation to buy at the end of this season for a fee understood to be €180million.

Bernardo Silva, Benjamin Mendy and Tiemoue Bakayoko have already departed from Leonardo Jardim s title-winning squad, with Liverpool reported to be pursuing a deal for winger Thomas Lemar.

Monaco have targeted Jovetic as a player to bolster their attacking ranks and his management company Li…

Pep Guardiola looked to avoid the wrath of Mauricio Pochettino before Manchester City s Champions League showdown with Tottenham – insisting his next opponents are not just Harry Kane .

Pochettino branded Guardiola disrespectful when he referred to the Harry Kane team while listing expected Premier League title contenders last season.

The City boss has since admitted he was wrong to do so and was glowing in his admiration of Spurs ahead of Tuesday s all-Premier League quarter-final first leg.

No I can t say that, Mauricio will be angry with me, I don t want it, he said when his infamous remarks were raised during a pre-match news conference at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

I think my colleague misunderstood me during that period. It was to express an…