Football

Barcelona's faint hopes of catching LaLiga leaders Real Madrid suffered a huge blow as they slipped to a shock 1-0 home defeat by relegation-threatened Cadiz on Monday. Real's last-gasp victory at Sevilla on Sunday extended their advantage over Barca in second to 15 points, but Xavi Hernandez's in-form side were expected to close the gap by beating Cadiz at the Camp Nou. The hosts never really got going, however, in front of a disgruntled crowd and Cadiz had the better first-half openings with

Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich restored their nine-point cushion at the summit of the standings with a solid 3-0 victory at relegation-threatened Arminia Bielefeld on Sunday, taking them within touching distance of a 10th straight league crown. With only four games left, the Bavarians rebounded after their shock Champions League exit and regained their lead over second-placed Borussia Dormund, against whom they can win the title in next weekend's Der Klassiker in Munich. Bayern took the lead with 10 minutes on the clock after

Chelsea reached their third straight FA Cup final with a hard-earned 2-0 win over Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium on Sunday to set up a showdown with quadruple-chasing Liverpool. Second-half goals from Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Mason Mount fired Thomas Tuchel's side to victory in the semi-final and secured a place in the May 14 showpiece match versus Liverpool, who beat Manchester City 3-2 on Saturday. In their fifth FA Cup final appearance in six years, Chelsea will look to make amends after being

Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick, speaking to MOTD: "After we scored our second goal we should have made life easier for ourselves but we didn't. "We lost our structure and weren't aggressive enough. "It's about being clever and smart. All of a sudden it was 2-2 and David de Gea kept us in the game. But we definitely have to raise our play." On Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick: "We should not only rely on him. We played well at times but we sometimes

Ukraine's delayed World Cup qualification playoff semi-final against Scotland has been rearranged for June 1, with the winners facing Wales four days later for a place at this year's tournament, FIFA and UEFA said in a statement on Thursday. The match was due to be played at Hampden Park in Glasgow on March 24 but Ukraine's Football Association asked FIFA to postpone the qualifier following Russia's invasion, which Moscow calls a "special operation". Wales beat Austria 2-1 in their semi-final and will host

Manchester City produced a disciplined performance to secure a fractious 0-0 draw at Atletico Madrid on Wednesday and reach the Champions League semi-finals 1-0 on aggregate. Tensions boiled over in the closing stages and Atletico defender Felipe was sent off after receiving a second yellow card before the teams played out 12 minutes of added time. Scuffles broke out among the players following Felipe’s dismissal for kicking out at Phil Foden and continued after the final whistle as the teams went down the

Bayern Munich were stunned as underdogs Villarreal scored an 88th minute equaliser through substitute Samuel Chukwueze to snatch a 1-1 draw and reach the Champions League semi-finals with a 2-1 aggregate win over the Germans on Tuesday. Six-time European champions Bayern, who had won 12 of their previous 13 home games in the competition,levelled the tie when Robert Lewandowski drilled the ball in off the post after 52 minutes with his 13th Champions League goal of the season. Yet despite controlling the game

Erik ten Hag was never really one of those people who made it clear he had massive ambitions to be one of the world's top coaches. He is a very humble man and a modest coach. That has a lot to do with his background. He comes from the east of the Netherlands where there's a very down-to-earth mentality and where people speak with a very strong accent. They are a bit less flash there and they look up to those from Amsterdam,

Barcelona were shaken up by Eintracht Frankfurt but took a first step in their bid to reach the Europa League last four as a second-half goal by Ferran Torres salvaged a 1-1 comeback away draw in their quarter-final first leg on Thursday. Torres cancelled out Ansgar Knauff's first-half opener in a lively clash at the Waldstadion, which the hosts finished with 10 men having put the competition favourites on the back foot. In the other last eight ties, West Ham United battled to

Nigerian-born Dutch forward Arnaut Danjuma's eighth minute strike gave Unai Emery's side a slender lead for the second leg at the Allianz Arena in Munich next Tuesday. Villarreal stunned six times European Cup winners Bayern Munich with a deserved 1-0 win after creating a hatful of chances in a frantic Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday. In the end Nigerian-born Dutch forward Arnaut Danjuma's eighth minute strike gave Unai Emery's side a slender lead for the second leg at the Allianz Arena

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone was happy with his side's defending in Tuesday's 1-0 Champions League quarter-final first leg defeat at Manchester City but said they must get a bigger share of possession in the return leg if they are to advance. Kevin De Bruyne's 70th minute strike was the only goal in a game that featured few clear-cut chances, with Atletico failing to produce a single shot on target after spending much of the contest camped in their own half. "In the

Wayne Rooney said he would pick Paris St Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino over Ajax Amsterdam manager Erik ten Hag to take over his former club Manchester United. British media has linked Pochettino and Ten Hag to the top job at United, with interim manager Ralf Rangnick's tenure set to end after this season. Pochettino led Tottenham Hotspur to the Champions League final in the 2018-19 season before joining PSG in January 2021, where he has helped them win two trophies. "Pochettino has done

La'eeb is an Arabic word meaning super-skilled player, and he will be welcoming the world, inspiring young fans and cheering the action during the tournament, which will take place from November 21 to December 18 La’eeb, the official mascot of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar is playful, adventurous and curious. Sporting the flowing Qatari national dress, the mascot seems to be trying to stop a football in the air in the illustration released by FIFA and the tournament organising body —

Brazil are favourites to win the 2022 World Cup according to bookmakers after the five times champions were on Friday drawn with Serbia, Switzerland and Cameroon in the group stage of the showpiece event in Qatar. William Hill installed Brazil, who rose to the top of the world rankings this week, as 5-1 favourites to win the tournament ahead of France (11-2), England (6-1), Spain (15-2) and Argentina (11-1). BetMGM also had Brazil as (5-1) favourites followed by France and England (both 11-2).

The United States and Mexico both booked tickets to this year's World Cup in Qatar in the final round of CONCACAF qualifying on Wednesday. The United States, who missed out on the 2018 tournament, lost 2-0 to Costa Rica but still progressed along with the Mexicans, who beat El Salvador 2-0. On the final matchday of CONCACAF qualifying, the United States knew that a win, draw or loss by less than six goals would ensure a return to the World Cup finals. "It's

Luis Suarez moved ahead of Lionel Messi as the top scorer in South American World Cup qualifiers on Tuesday with his 29th goal, a bicycle kick that helped Uruguay to a 2-0 win over Chile. Messi failed to hit the net in Ecuador, where Argentina drew 1-1. “Special night, special game, special shirt and a goal,” Suarez wrote on social media alongside a picture of him holding his shirt from the match. “What more could I ask for in unique and unforgettable moments

Christian Eriksen said he made his return to international football in the "perfect way" by scoring two minutes after coming on for Denmark on Saturday following a near-fatal heart attack last year. Denmark lost 4-2 to the Netherlands in the international friendly, with Eriksen producing a stunning finish into the top corner in the 47th minute after he came on as a half-time substitute. The 30-year-old playmaker collapsed on the pitch and received life-saving treatment during Denmark's Euro 2020 clash with Finland. Nearly

Portugal are through to a decisive World Cup qualifying play-off final next week after beating Turkey 3-1 in Porto on Thursday, but only after Burak Yilmaz missed a crucial late penalty for the visitors. The home side were cruising at the Estadio do Dragao thanks to first-half goals by Brazilian-born midfielder Otavio and Liverpool forward Diogo Jota. But Turkey's veteran skipper Yilmaz pulled a goal back in the 65th minute, setting up a tense finish. Turkey were then awarded a late penalty when

Paul Pogba is attracting plenty of interest with his contract at Manchester United winding down this summer, with Premier League clubs among those keen on his services. A number of European clubs - including Real Madrid, PSG and Juventus - remain in contact with the France international's representatives about signing the midfielder on a free transfer this summer. Sky Sports News understands no official offers have be made yet, but two Premier League clubs have also been in touch with Pogba's camp. The

France midfielder Paul Pogba said his World Cup winner's medal was among the items stolen during a burglary at his home last week. Pogba's house was broken into on March 15 while his children were sleeping, with the incident taking place during Manchester United's Champions League match against Atletico Madrid at Old Trafford. The 29-year-old won the 2018 World Cup with France after they beat Croatia in the final in Russia. "There were jewels from my mother, my world champion medal," Pogba told