Benoi Assou-Ekotto linked with France return

Cristiano Ronaldo s first Champions League goals against Barcelona helped Juventus to a stunning 3-0 away win to top Group G.

The Bianconeri had lost 2-0 in Turin in the reverse fixture as an absent Ronaldo recovered from coronavirus, meaning they would have to improbably better that result at Camp Nou to leapfrog their hosts.

But Barca s recent defensive woes continued on Tuesday and two Ronaldo penalties one contentious, the other routine and a Weston McKennie volley carried Juve to a deserved victory.

Ronaldo had not previously netted in five European matches against the Blaugrana yet delighted in piling further pressure on under-fire home coach Ronald Koeman, whose side are ninth in LaLiga.

2 Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first player in Champions …

Roma have signed France international defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa from Newcastle United on a permanent basis for a fee of £5.5million.

Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa s loan move from Newcastle United to Roma has been made permanent for a fee of £5.5million, it has been announced.

The France international moved to the Serie A outfit on a temporary basis on transfer deadline day in September.

Sunday s 1-1 draw at Fiorentina was Yanga-Mbiwa s 20th game for Roma, triggering a clause that makes his switch a full-time deal.

Newcastle United defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa has completed a transfer to AS Roma after meeting a contractual condition contained in the loan agreement between the clubs, a Newcastle statement read.

The French defender joined Roma on a loan d…

Philippe Coutinho has committed his future to Liverpool by signing a new long-term deal.

Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho has agreed a new long-term contract.

Coutinho, who moved to Anfield from Inter in January 2013, was already under contract with Liverpool until 2018 but he has been rewarded with a renewed deal on the back of some impressive performances in recent weeks.

The 22-year-old laid on both goals during Saturday s 2-0 Premier League win over West Ham and declared his delight at agreeing a new contract.

Today I ve committed my future to the club and for this I m feeling very pleased, he told the club s website.  This club is great and the fans have always supported me, so I ve been eager to sign this new deal since conversations starte…

Time for another round of predictions. I got five results right out of ten last week and although I only got one actual score correct, I was pretty pleased with myself.

I’ll try to avoid ridiculous predictions this week as my hunch that Chelsea would thrash Manchester United ended up making me look silly!

Saturday 27th September

Arsenal v Hull

Hull have made a pretty good start to the season and they have shown enough to suggest that they will fight all the way to maintain their Premiership status. Having said that, one thing that none of their fans, staff or management would expect, if they were honest, would be to get anything from a trip to the Emirates.

Arsenal are playing well and have looked good after their opening day defeat at …

Italy coach Marcelo Lippi insisted on Tuesday that the world champions must beat Montenegro in Lecce on Wednesday or this will have been a bad week for the azzurri.

Italy battled to a 0-0 draw in Bulgaria on Saturday, dropping points in their World Cup qualifying Group Eight for the first time after two victories.

And the veteran coach, who this season returned to the job he left following World Cup success in Germany in 2006, said that a four-point haul from the international break would constitute a success but anything less would be a failure.

We really want to win this match. If we win then the draw in Sofia will become a good result but if we don t win then they will become two bad matches, he said following training at the Stadio Via del Mare.

…

Western Sydney Wanderers suffered a fifth successive loss as Perth Glory s resurgence continued in a 2-0 win in the final game of the A-League s triple-header on Saturday.

Glory defenders Gregory Wuthrich and Alex Grant scored from set-pieces either side of half-time to pile further pressure on beleaguered Wanderers boss Markus Babbel.

His team went unbeaten through the opening four rounds but have now failed to gain a point since the beginning of November.

Reigning premiers Perth, convincing 3-0 winners over Melbourne City last weekend, are up to fifth.

 FULL TIME! 2-0

Gregory Wuthrich and Alex Grant get their names on the scoresheet as Perth pick up a big three points at HBF Park!

— Hyundai A-League (@ALeague)

Marco Kurz …

Romelu Lukaku believes Jose Mourinho sees him as a sergeant on the pitch at Manchester United.

The 24-year-old has been a key part of Mourinho s plans this season since joining from Everton for a reported initial fee of £75million, starting 28 of United s 29 Premier League games in 2017-18.

Lukaku has scored 23 goals in all competitions but has regularly been praised by his manager for his work rate and overall contribution to the team.

The Belgium international thinks it is that sort of selfless solider mentality that has made him indispensable to his manager at Old Trafford.

I think the manager in his mind thinks that I m like his sergeant on the pitch, and that s strange for a striker because it s usually the midfielders, he told Sky Sports.

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Leaders Omiya Ardija will be looking to bounce back from their first loss this J.League season, when they host Shonan Bellmare on Saturday.

The Omiya-ku club suffered a 2-1 loss on the road to mid-table Vegalta Sendai, while their upcoming opponents snapped a three-match losing streak with a 3-2 win over Tokyo.

The Hiratsuka-based club, who were promoted from the Japanese second division last season, still have only nine points to show for their first 11 matches 17 fewer than Omiya.

The league s pacesetters will be confident of getting back onto the winners list, as they have beaten Shonan Bellmare in their past six contests dating back to 2004.

The two most recent battles between the clubs both in Hiratsuka ended 3-1 in Omiya s favour, while their last c…

Vedad Ibisevic has penned a one-year contract extension with Bundesliga outfit Stuttgart.

The 30-year-old, who featured for Bosnia-Herzegovina at the World Cup, still had two years left on his existing deal, but has now agreed to stay with the club until June 2017.

Ibisevic s new contract appears to have curtailed West Ham s hopes of signing the forward.

Sam Allardyce had been linked with a £7million deal for the former Hoffenheim man before he committed to stay at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.

I love playing for VfB, so I am delighted [to sign a new deal], Ibisevic told Stuttgart s official website.

We can develop something here again, and I would like to contribute with my services. We can experience all together better times with the club.

…

Brendan Rodgers explained Chelsea target Wesley Fofana was not in the right frame of mind to play after leaving the defender out for Leicester City s 2-1 Premier League defeat to Southampton.

Chelsea have been strongly linked with a move for Fofana since missing out on Jules Kounde to Barcelona last month, with the Blues reportedly seeing  several advances for the 21-year-old rebuffed.

Leicester manager Rodgers insisted Fofana was not for sale as recently as Friday s pre-match news conference, but he shifted to a back four on Saturday and left out the centre-back as Daniel Amartey started alongside Jonny Evans as a Che Adams double fired Southampton to a comeback win.

Speaking after Leicester slipped to just their second defeat in 11 home Premier League matche…