Bayern confirm Stanisic to miss start of Bundesliga season after knee surgery

Chelsea secured the loan signing of Gonzalo Higuain on Wednesday as the club seeks to plug the hole it never quite filled following Didier Drogba s departure.

Over the last few years, several strikers have arrived at Stamford Bridge, with decidedly mixed results.

Even Drogba himself, who left after inspiring the 2012 Champions League triumph, made a return in 2014-15 to help the Blues to another Premier League crown.

Higuain, who could make the move permanent if Chelsea are willing to pay Juventus €36million, hopes a reunion with former Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri will spark a rediscovery of the form that saw him rattle in 36 Serie A goals three seasons ago.

And Chelsea, whose 40 goals scored is comfortably the lowest among the Premier League s top six, …

Verdict: Manchester United win

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Manchester United will look to continue their FA Cup form in London when they visit Chelsea on Monday night.

Chelsea

Starting with the hosts, while Chelsea s unbeaten start to the season may have had them believing they re title dark horses, the Blues are enduring a very worrying run of form. Shipping six against Manchester City last week and some feeling Maurizio Sarri s short tenure could be coming to an abrupt end, they have now lost two of their last three domestic outings. Now sat outside of the top-four in the Premier League, last year s FA Cup winners will be glad to be making a return to Stamford Bridge on Monday night. Returning to West London after a 2-1 win away at Malmo in the Europa L…

Lionel Messi could stay at Barcelona after all.

Messi, 33, sensationally asked to leave the LaLiga giants after a tumultuous 2019-20 season, which ended without a trophy.

But the saga goes on – and it may conclude with Messi remaining at the club.

TOP STORY – MESSI CONSIDERING BARCELONA STAY

Messi is considering staying at Barcelona until the end of the upcoming season, according to Sport.

The Argentina star, who is contracted through until the end of June 2021, would begin negotiating with another club from January, the report says.

 Se lo piensa

 Messi estudia ahora quedarse en el Barça

— Diario SPORT (@sport)

Messi has been heavily linked with a move to Manchester City, while Pa…

Brescia beat Ascoli 1-0 and clinched promotion to Serie A, ending the club s eight-year absence from the top flight of Italian football.

Daniele Dessena s 36th-minute goal was enough to earn Eugenio Corini s men a victory that means third-placed Palermo, who drew 2-2 with Spezia, can no longer catch them.

Le Rondinelle s last appearance in Serie A came in 2010-11, and relegation preceded a tumultuous period in which the club diced with bankruptcy in 2015 and narrowly avoided relegation to Serie C in 2016-17.

Corini s success will delight Brescia president Massimo Cellino, who sacked David Suazo after three weeks of the season, and the club that launched the careers of Roberto Baggio and Andrea Pirlo will be among Italy s best in 2019-20.

Victory for Lecc…

God willing we would like to lift the World Cup trophy. That s what we re here for.  

Dejan Lovren followed a similar theme to Domagoj Vida when he said:  We have a chance to outdo the 1998 generation with luck and hard work.

Talk of winning the World Cup and outdoing the famed 1998 generation dominated the pre-match build-up of Saturday s quarter-final against Russia as confidence oozed through the Croatia camp.

Two decades ago, Croatia announced themselves on the international stage with a third-place finish in France. And quite rightly, this group were considered a dark horse to get their hands on the trophy after years of promise and close calls.

Croatia reached Euro 2008 quarter-finals and the last 16 of Euro 2016. And with Luka Modric, Ivan R…

Jordan Henderson had big shoes to fill when he took the Liverpool captain s armband in 2015. Many (understandably) doubted his leadership qualities in comparison with those of Steven Gerrard, but it s now five years, a Champions League, a UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and a Premier League trophy later, and nobody doubts him anymore.

Here he is, supporting his teammates at the top of his voice while putting in some extremely hard work in the middle of the park himself.

https://twitter.com/LFC/status/1325005569766404096

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Arsenal are interested in signing Jerome Boateng from Bayern Munich this month, according to Sky Sports.

The 31-year-old defender has been at the Bavarian club for eight and a half years, during which he made over 300 appearances for them, and won seven consecutive Bundesliga titles and the 2013 Champions League.

However, Bayern have been going through some big changes in the recent few seasons, with the likes of Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery and Mats Hummels among the notable names no longer present at the club. Also, they are apparently on the lookout for a long-term replacement for Robert Lewandowski, though the Poland international is still pretty much on fire these days.

Boateng has been drifting down the pecking order and has been linked with departure for a…

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said Manchester United were given more belief in their Premier League ambitions after Saturday s 0-0 draw at Arsenal.

The Red Devils, three days on from a shock home defeat by Sheffield United, failed to take advantage of a weakened Gunners side as their winless run over Mikel Arteta s men stretched to five league games.

Alexandre Lacazette hit the crossbar with a free-kick but Edinson Cavani missed perhaps the best two chances of the match as United made it five consecutive league meetings with so-called big-six sides without scoring a goal.

The draw means Solskjaer s men are three points behind league leaders Manchester City, having played a game more, as their title aspirations took another blow.

Although manager Solskjaer was not…

Bukayo Saka scored twice as England made a flying start to their World Cup campaign by thrashing Iran 6-2 at the Khalifa International Stadium on Monday.

Saka – whose penalty miss proved decisive in the Euro 2020 final last year – netted a stunning volley to help Gareth Southgate s side take a 3-0 lead into half-time, before he doubled up after the break.

With Iran crumbling after goalkeeper Alireza Beyranvand suffered a nasty head injury early on, Jude Bellingham set the tone by scoring his first international goal, while Raheem Sterling prodded home England s third.

Mehdi Taremi denied England a clean sheet with a powerful finish, but substitutes Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish responded as the Three Lions sent out a message to their Group B rivals despit…

Jurgen Klopp will not let the frustrating draw with West Brom distort his impression of the Liverpool team he still regards as a top group .

The champions have not had it all their own way this season, but they are top of the Premier League again as others scrabble to stay in touch.

After dominating the first half at Anfield against West Brom on Sunday, Liverpool s levels dipped and they had to settle for a 1-1 draw with their lowly visitors.

Klopp s side have not lost in the English top flight since the freakish 7-2 loss to Aston Villa on October 4, however, and they head to Newcastle United on Wednesday looking to end the year on a high note.

Match highlights from Sunday s Anfield stalemate. |

— Liverpool FC (@LFC)

In their game…