It was difficult to put a price on this victory for Sheffield United. Chris Wilder’s side had surprisingly lost their last three games in a hugely damaging blow to their automatic promotion hopes. But Gustavo Hamer’s typically impish first-half opener and Ben Brereton Díaz’s late strike were enough to revive home spirits on a soggy evening at Bramall Lane. Crucially, victory lifted United back to within five points of Burnley, who won 2-1 at Watford earlier in the day, ahead of the Blades’ important trip to Turf Moor on Easter Monday. Continue reading...

Burnley romp past 10-man Luton 4-0; Blades 1-0 LutonCoventry beat Stoke 3-2 in thriller; West Brom 1-0 QPR Burnley and Sheffield United had contrasting days but both came up with victories to put pressure on the Championship leaders, Leeds, who visit Portsmouth at lunchtime on Sunday. The Blades were made to work for their 1-0 victory over Preston at Bramall Lane, with Tyrese Campbell scoring the only goal 11 minute after half-time. Campbell had a huge chance within the first 90 seconds when Harrison Burrows’ low cross fell to Campbell at the far post but he somehow missed the target, albeit from a tight angle. Moments later, Ryan Porteous nearly turned Ben Brereton Díaz’s cross into his own net before Gustavo Hamer had a go from distance but his curling shot sailed harmlessly over the bar. Continue reading...

Ben Brereton Diaz changed his name as he made his international debut for Chile, although the story behind it is different to how Formula 1 icon Lewis Hamilton came to make a similar decision

David de Gea, Alexis Sanchez and Kaka were among the players who saw their prospective moves collapse in the dying embers of transfer deadline day

Sheffield United sign Southampton striker Ben Brereton Diaz on loan until the end of the season.

Manchester United make the trip to Arsenal on Sunday as two English giants revive their FA Cup rivalry - and Alexis Sanchez has already made it clear who he'll be supporting

Alexis Sanchez rejoined former club Udinese back in August but had to wait four months to make his second league debut for the Italian side, and it came during Sunday's 2-2 draw with Torino

Natalie Henderson’s side meet La Roja in Thursday’s semi-final after a shootout victory over Japan in the last eight Character, grit, resilience – a few words that could be used to describe the England Under-17s ahead of their eagerly anticipated World Cup semi-final against Spain on Thursday night in the Dominican Republic. Natalie Henderson’s Young Lionesses have navigated a path to the final four. It has been far from plain sailing but their bravery and courage has shone, underpinned by talent and potential. A core value of this team is to “find a way”. It is a motto that courses through the squad – a belief that no matter what is thrown at them, they will dig in, adapt and come out the other side. Continue reading...

Tactics and team news for Spain v Germany, Portugal v France, England v Switzerland and Netherlands v Turkey By Ben McAleer for WhoScored An absolute blockbuster showdown to kick off the quarter-finals of Euro 2024. Spain were excellent in setting up a meeting with Germany as they put four past Georgia, though they perhaps should have scored more. La Roja managed 35 shots and 75% possession in the 4-1 win. Rodri returned from a one-game ban in that victory to score a fine equaliser after Spain went behind in the 18th minute. Continue reading...

La Roja midfielder magisterially dictated tempo and alleviated emotions in comeback win against Georgia Rodri Hernández stopped, which was when Spain started again. “Sometimes,” the Manchester City midfielder said, “20 or 30 seconds of saying to people ‘Calm down’ is more productive than going on the attack” – and this was one of those times. The selección were half an hour into their last-16 tie with Georgia and they had taken nine shots to their opponents none but to everyone’s shock, especially their own, they were losing through a Robin Le Normand own goal. Worse, they were losing control. Continue reading...

Lautaro Martínez scores in 88th minute for championsCanada break down 10-man Peru in sweltering heat Lautaro Martínez scored from a rebound in the 88th minute, giving defending champion Argentina and Lionel Messi a 1-0 victory over Chile on Tuesday night that guaranteed a berth in the Copa América quarter-finals. Messi’s corner led to a shot that was blocked by Chile goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, and Martínez was on hand to score his second goal of the tournament from Argentina’s 21st shot of the match. Players stood and waited for three minutes while the goal, Martínez’s 26th for his country, was confirmed by video review. Continue reading...

Chile’s scoreless draw with Peru leaves both sides with a point in Group ACanada Soccer investigate racist abuse claim in 2-0 loss to Argentina Chile had goalkeeper Claudio Bravo to thank for securing a 0-0 draw against Peru in their Copa America opener on Friday in a result that left Group A wide open. The teams nullified each other in a bruising first half that was low on quality, with the best chance falling to Chile’s Alexis Sanchez in the 15th minute, but the attacker sent his shot over the bar after making an intelligent run into the six-yard box. Continue reading...

German champions will find the mood at the Emirates in stark contrast to that for their last Champions League visit in 2017 There was barely a flicker of expectation among Arsenal fans before Bayern Munich’s most recent visit, in March 2017. Among a few hundred, there was active disdain: a march to the Emirates from Avenell Road, where the facade of Highbury’s art deco-fronted east stand remains, that featured banners calling for Arsène Wenger to terminate a long but fading tenure. Within three hours those placards were being brandished inside the ground by the masochistic souls who had stayed to the end of another 5-1 defeat, a third successive shaming by that scoreline against the serial Bundesliga champions. This should have been a meeting of continental powers; instead it was another sheer embarrassment. On Tuesday the same supporters will bounce into the stands. It is much too soon to state the tables have turned entirely but, for the moment, Arsenal and Bayern have seen their situations flip around. A slick, clinical, tightly drilled machine will face an erratic, porous side filled with gifted but mercurial individuals and helmed by a manager whose time is almost up. The fact Mikel Arteta’s team can claim to be the first of those, and will enter this quarter-final tie as slight favourites, would have appeared unthinkable when Arturo Vidal completed the rout to boos and an emptying of the stadium seven years ago. Continue reading...

Rodrigo Muniz’s superb stoppage-time equaliser denied Sheffield United a rare Premier League win in a six-goal thriller against Fulham at Bramall Lane. The Brazilian striker Muniz volleyed home in the third minute of added time to make it 3-3 and cap a pulsating second half which followed a tame and goalless first period. Ben Brereton Díaz put the Blades in front and after João Palhinha had headed Fulham level, the Chile striker set up Oli McBurnie for the home side’s second before heading the Blades into a 3-1 lead. But the substitute Bobby Decordova-Reid reduced the deficit for Fulham with his first touch in the 86th minute and Muniz acrobatically silenced the home fans with his eighth goal in as many top-flight appearances. Continue reading...