Soccer (FIFA)

Soccer (FIFA)

Once the whistle blows he expects his players to score, and score, and then after that? Score some more. That's according to a report from Sport Bild - as captured by @iMiaSanMia: Vincent Kompany demands not only wins, but also big wins from his players. Even after 3-0 or 4-0, the coach wants more goals. Big wins are "important for psychology" and "are also noticed by the other teams". His team should perform like a "hurricane" on the pitch, demands Kompany [@SPORTBILD]

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe said his side were denied a "stonewall" penalty in their 2-2 draw with Chelsea - so, does he have a point? Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah barged Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon to the ground inside the penalty area in the 53rd minute at St James' Park. Howe and the home fans demanded a penalty but, following a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review, the on-field decision not to award a penalty was upheld.

Did I feel we'd go through periods without a win? Of course I did. It's how the Premiership works, when you're one of the smaller clubs. Did I think it would be as long as it has been? No, I'll be honest with you.

You can see the stadium is nearly empty at the end, it's not full at the start, but we're just lacking belief that we can actually win the games. We're afraid and scared to win the game, almost nervous about actually going ahead in the game and having to try and hold on. We've just got to somehow keep trying to find something.

The characteristics of a reckless challenge, originally identified by the on-field referee, were not evident in the footage presented to the VAR team when reviewing the incident. Attwell, would have been very uncomfortable with Simons action, feeling the contact on the back of Van Dijk's calf, with a level of force and speed, endangered the safety of his opponent and met the threshold for a possible red card.

Brighton's winless streak in the Premier League stretched to four matches following a 0-0 draw with Sunderland. Saturday's contest at the Amex Stadium was distinctly lacking in attacking quality, as the spoils were shared in the first Premier League meeting between these teams. Sunderland, without a glut of key players due to the Africa Cup of Nations, turned in a resolute display, and may have won it if not for some fine goalkeeping from Bart Verbruggen.

However, Brentford broke through in the 63rd minute when Lewis-Potter neatly steered home after the Wolves defence were slow to react to Vitaly Janelt's lofted ball into the box. Lewis-Potter then nodded in Mikkel Damsgaard's cross seven minutes from time to seal all three points, though the Bees survived a late scare when Strand Larsen's spot-kick was thwarted by Kelleher, who tripped Matt Doherty in the box.

Substitute Armando Broja headed in a last-minute equaliser as Burnley salvaged a 1-1 draw with Bournemouth, which ended the visitors' seven-game Premier League losing run. Bournemouth had been in charge of the contest and looked on course for victory when Antoine Semenyo picked out the bottom corner with a fine finish, capitalising on an untimely slip from Josh Laurent in the 67th minute, before it was cancelled out.

It's been a time of celebration for some, of speaking out against terrible crimes for others, of 1990s nostalgia, major upheaval, and more. Our writers Kim Bielenberg, Kirsty Blake Knox, John Meagher and Tanya Sweeney take you through it all. It was the year of new faces at the Áras and in the Vatican;

The Blues then did not get going at St James' Park, a ground where they had lost 15 times in the Premier League era, and found themselves 2-0 down through a pair of first-half goals from striker Nick Woltemade. So poor was the first half that Chelsea gave up an expected goals figure of 1.97 - their worst in a first 45 minutes for more than two years.

Could Chelsea lose Josh Acheampong? Acheampong is surely good enough to be playing more often than he has been, with the 19-year-old managing just five Premier League appearances so far this term. There's always bound to be competition at a big club like Chelsea, but central defence is not even a position where Enzo Maresca is blessed with that much quality or depth. Trevoh Chalobah and Tosin Adarabioyo have had a lot of opportunities to start for CFC,

Woltemade scored twice at St. James' Park, opening the scoring in the fourth minute before doubling up 16 minutes later with a fine finish from Anthony Gordon's pinpoint cross. Indeed, the German international became just the fourth player to score twice within the opening 20 minutes of a Premier League game, after Robbie Fowler for Liverpool in November 1994, Paul Scholes for Manchester United in October 1995, and Sergio Agüero for Manchester City in February 2019.

Five consecutive penalties were missed or saved after Lautaro Martinez and Lewis Ferguson converted the first two kicks, but then, with Bologna boasting a narrow advantage, Jonathan Rowe and Immobile both held their nerve from 12 yards. Immobile's powerful kick, which crashed in off the underside of the crossbar, sealed Bologna's first shoot-out win in any competition since December 13, 1995 - versus Milan in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals.

One dictionary definition for you: Optics (1) The way in which an event or course of action is perceived by the public. It appears you do want a coach or manager who doesn't care about optics. But at the same time, optics are important, because it is all we have to work with when results aren't in your favour. But it's a fine line between the perception of the event, and the event itself.

"For sure, it's difficult, because I know what we can do," Nancy said of Celtic's form. "I know what I can do also. But I know that, as a coach, we are judged on results. "That's why this is difficult to accept personally, because I know that we are on the right track. And it's difficult for me. But, again, I'm going to take it."

NRG Stadium is the closest of the 11 United States stadiums hosting matches at World Cup 2026 to the three venues in Mexico. Houston, Texas is just inland from the Gulf of Mexico in southern USA. It's one of 16 World Cup 2026 venues across the United States, Mexico and Canada, and will host five group stage matches and two knock-out games under the name 'Houston Stadium'.