Defoe returns to England after father dies

Central Coast Mariners missed the chance to guarantee a top-six finish in the A-League regular season as they suffered a shock 2-0 home defeat to lowly Newcastle Jets.

The division s bottom team ended a run of 14 games without victory as they enhanced their chances of climbing off the foot of the table before the end of the campaign.

The Mariners sit third but their finals series hopes will go down to the last round of games, which sees them host Western United on Saturday, if Perth Glory beat Brisbane Roar on Wednesday.

For our fans, our supporters and the badge we wear. We win the and take home 3 points  

— NEWCASTLE JETS FC  (@NewcastleJetsFC)

Having dominated the opening exchanges at Central Coast Stadium, the hosts evening took a…

Market: Both teams to score

Odds: 10/11 @

In what could prove to be another lively Serie A showdown on Saturday evening, Atalanta will welcome Udinese to the Gewiss Stadium.

Starting with the hosts, while Atalanta might have signed off January sat in pole position to claim a Champions League spot in 2023, La Dea have come crashing back down to earth in some style. Last seen putting in another downbeat display as they were hit with a 2-0 loss away at AC Milan, Gian Piero Gasperini s men have come under growing scrutiny. Although the Bergamo-based outfit might have claimed a much-needed 2-0 victory away at Lazion on February 21st, it looks like it might have just been a minor boost for Atalanta. In fact, along with being last seen on home soil getting hit with a s…

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer warned Alexis Sanchez and his Manchester United team-mates that the Red Devils cannot carry players as he looks to restore the club s former glories.

The United manager has made no secret of his belief that helping United challenge at the top in the Premier League and in Europe will be a long-term project at Old Trafford.

Five defeats in their past seven competitive outings has taken the shine off the fine start Solskjaer enjoyed in the Old Trafford hotseat and his frustration at the dip in standards has been evident.

The future of Sanchez is sure to come under scrutiny ahead of a close-season of rebuilding at United, with the Chile forward having continually struggled for form and fitness since joining from Arsenal in January 2018.

W…

Liverpool are working to identify and ban the pitch invader who collided with their players during goal celebrations in Sunday s 7-0 win over Manchester United.

Jurgen Klopp s side claimed a record victory against their rivals as Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah each scored braces on a stunning day at Anfield.

During the celebrations for Roberto Firmino s seventh goal of the game, however, a supporter ran onto the pitch to join the players, slipped and collided with Andy Robertson.

Liverpool left-back Robertson was knocked to the ground, and the incident prompted a furious reaction from Klopp, who could be seen shouting at the culprit as he was removed by security.

Further action is to come, the club confirmed in a statement on Monday.

L…

Pride is the only thing at stake when Uruguay and Jamaica look to avoid finishing bottom of Group C at the Copa America Centenario in Santa Clara on Monday.

Two defeats apiece in their opening games against Mexico and Venezuela has left both nations without a point and unable to reach the quarter-finals in United States.

It is particularly disappointing for record 14-time champions Uruguay after reaching the knockout stages in the last six editions of the tournament and they have just a solitary goal from Diego Godin to show from their 180 minutes of action.

Edinson Cavani has been charged with leading the line due to a troublesome hamstring injury to star forward Luis Suarez, and the Paris Saint-Germain striker has been guilty of wasting a host of chances.

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In a refreshingly honest and open critique of his time as Barcelona coach, Gerardo Martino has conceded he left nothing at the club.

Martino left Barcelona at the end of the 2013-14 season less than a year after replacing Tito Vilanova having failed to win a trophy apart from the Spanish Super Cup.

The 52-year-old Argentine has gone on to become his country s senior coach but, in an interview with Argentine newspaper Clarin, it is clear his experience in the Catalan capital still rankles.

When asked what he had taught Lionel Messi who he still works alongside with Argentina Martino said: Nothing. Nothing at all. Not to him or to Barca.

Martino added: I am just being critical with myself about what happened when I was there.

I left nothing at Ba…

Euro-2008 semi-finalists Turkey beat Chile 1-0 in a hard-fought match that will raise their spirits before they start their campaign next month for a berth in the 2010 World Cup.

Halil Altintop scored the winning goal in the 74th minute as the Turks finally organized themselves against the Chileans who stretched their rival s defence with fast attacks led by striker Humberto Souza.

The result was a sigh of relief for Turkey coach Fatih Terim who was facing his first real test after his team made it to its first European championship semifinal this summer in Austria and Switzerland.

Although hit by a recent spate of injuries, Turkey took the field with the backbone of the team that played in the Euro 2008, with Semih Senturk and captain Tuncay Sanli leading th…

Verdict: Draw/Manchester United

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Manchester United are in a desperate need of a quick return to winning ways following the midweek Wembley disappointment and Jose Mourinho’s charges get back into Premier League action with a point to prove against out-of-form Huddersfield.

Manchester United

Red Devils lost their trident and were rather toothless against Tottenham who properly dismantled them at Wembley on Wednesday. Having conceded the third-fastest goal in the Premier League history – courtesy of Cristian Eriksen who put the ball in the back of the net after only 11 seconds – Manchester United failed to recover and ended up suffering their first defeat since December.

Alexis Sanchez was handed his first start as a Ma…

Manchester United enjoyed record shirt sales in January thanks to the arrival of Alexis Sanchez, after suffering a £21.1million half-year loss at the end of 2017.

The club s latest financial results, which were released on Thursday, show a four per cent revenue increase to £163.9m, giving them an adjusted projected revenue of £585m for 2018.

The loss in the latter part of last year was down to changes in corporate tax rates in the United States, which were passed by Donald Trump s administration.

As a result, the current quarter expense includes a non-cash tax accounting write off of £48.8million, United said in their official release.

Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward said: Our solid business model has allowed us to invest in the future of the clu…

Daryl Janmaat has vowed to impress coach Louis van Gaal and earn recall for Netherlands FIFA World Cup quarter-final against Costa Rica.

The Feyenoord defender appeared to be the first-choice option after starting all three Group B games as the Dutch claimed top spot ahead of Chile, Australia and Spain.

However, the 24-year-old was not involved in the victory over Mexico in the second round as Van Gaal preferred Paul Verhaegh at full-back.

But Janmaat, who confessed to his surprise at being dropped, hopes to convince Van Gaal to restore him to the starting line-up in Salvador.

It (being dropped) was a blow that I did not see coming, Janmaat is quoted as saying in AD. But you cannot dwell on it too long.

I will continue to train continue to trai…