What a lot of unnecessary fuss that all was. For all the rigmarole over interns spying at golf courses and which team should be allowed to play at Wembley, it was Hull who were destined to become a Premier League club all along.Head coach Sergej Jakirovic had described his side as “collateral damage” in the spygate saga that had provided the most extraordinary precursor to this Championship playoff final, forcing him to prepare for the £200m match by analysing the wrong team for more than a week. Best laid plans and all that. After nine years, Hull are back in the top flight. Continue reading...

Saints’ self-destruction has left Kim Hellberg and Sergej Jakirovic tantalisingly close to fulfilling their dream in Saturday’s Wembley tripWhen the television cameras zoomed in for a closeup it became clear Hayden Hackney was crying.Middlesbrough’s best player had just watched his teammates lose the second leg of the Championship playoff semi-final 2-1 in extra time at Southampton. As he left his seat behind the away dugout and wandered across the pitch, the Redcar-born midfield playmaker looked utterly heartbroken. Continue reading...

Hull City boss Sergej Jakirovic says the EFL's decision to switch play-off opponents has left his side's preperations in limbo.

Millwall’s Championship playoff curse continues. It is now four times they have come within touching distance of reaching the promised land of the Premier League only to fall at the semi-final stage. After defeats in 1991, 1994 and 2002, this one will be especially hard to take given that Alex Neil’s side finished 10 points clear of Hull, narrowly missing out on automatic promotion on the final day. But on a night when Millwall were heavy favourites to make it to Wembley, instead it was Mohamed Belloumi who stole the show for Sergej Jakirovic’s side with a stunning opening goal before fellow substitute Joe Gelhardt rubbed their noses in it.While the only silver lining for Millwall’s supporters is that it looks like they will get the chance to renew acquaintances with West Ham, whom they last played in 2012, Hull become the first team to finish sixth and reach the playoff final since Frank Lampard’s Derby in 2019 and will fancy their chances of upsetting the odds against whoever they face. Continue reading...

Frank Lampard, Alex Neil, Sergej Jakirovic and Kim Hellberg are shortlisted for the EFL manager of the season award.

The story will be of another Italian apocalypse, yet another infamous occasion for a nation that has won four men’s World Cups but is starting to believe it might never go to another after missing out for the third time in a row. After a North Macedonian bolt from the blue in 2022, and a stultifying two-legged defeat to Sweden five years before that they found a new way to come up short in 2026 – eliminated on penalties in their playoff final against Bosnia and Herzegovina.But this night should also be remembered for an electric performance by the hosts, who richly deserve the place they have claimed at this summer’s tournament in the USA, Mexico and Canada. Despite falling behind early to a Moise Kean goal, Sergej Barbarez’s side kept their heads, kept attacking and ultimately played the Italians off the park. The only area in which they came up short was scoring the goals their performance deserved. They put that right in the shootout, converting four out of four. Continue reading...

Pedro Neto scored a superb hat-trick as Chelsea made light work of Championship promotion hopefuls Hull City to saunter into the FA Cup fifth round, as Liam Rosenior marked his return to his former club with a convincing victory.This had all the makings of a potentially tricky evening for the Blues, with Hull nestled inside the Championship’s top six and pushing for a return to the Premier League under Sergej Jakirovic despite operating under restrictions in the last two transfer windows. Continue reading...

BBC Sport looks at Hull City boss Sergej Jakirovic and how the unheralded appointment has them challenging for promotion to the Premier League.

Saudi Pro League is ready to offload Cristiano Ronaldo for £43m, Chelsea set to rival Tottenham for Dusan Vlahovic, while Sergio Ramos offers his services to Marseille, plus more.

Everton need more edge in attack, Potts lifts West Ham’s leaden midfield and Liverpool face a rampaging Haaland Premier League top scorers: the latest standings Time is running out for Richarlison. Injuries to Dominic Solanke and Randal Kolo Muani gave the Brazilian a consistent run in Thomas Frank’s starting XI but, with just one goal since the first league game of the season, he has not taken his opportunities. Now, with Kolo Muani fit, the former Everton striker has had to make do with a place on the bench and failed to impress against FC Copenhagen in midweek, missing a penalty that another striker, Dane Scarlett, won. Competition is fierce, even for a Spurs side that registered 0.1 xG in the defeat to Chelsea – the lowest by any Premier League team this season – and speculation has already begun before the January transfer window. Both Ivan Toney (who played under Frank at Brentford) and Dusan Vlahovic (whose contract at Juventus is up next summer) have been linked. Tottenham have money to spend so Richarlison must make the most of his minutes if wants to have a future at the club, as well as keep himself in contention for Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil squad with the World Cup coming up next summer. Michael Butler Tottenham v Manchester United, Saturday 12.30pm (all times GMT) Everton v Fulham, Saturday 3pm West Ham v Burnley, Saturday 3pm Sunderland v Arsenal, Saturday 5.30pm Continue reading...

Dragan Stojkovic resigns as boss of England's group rivals Serbia immediately after his side's 1-0 World Cup qualifying defeat by Albania on Saturday.

Qarabag fight back from 2-0 down to beat Benfica Union Saint-Gilloise win at PSV on league phase debut It was a dramatic opening night in the Champions League, with Juventus and Borussia Dortmund sharing eight second-half goals while Qarabag shocked Benfica. Dusan Vlahovic and Lloyd Kelly scored in stoppage time to inspire a dramatic Juventus escape, as they secured a 4-4 draw in a game where all eight goals came after the break. Continue reading...

It was the night when Thomas Tuchel located the ignition point for his England tenure, when all of the grumbling that had followed him to Belgrade seemed to float away. The head coach needed a result to allow his team to take control of this World Cup qualifying group – and a performance, too, after the flatness of much of what had gone before. Tuchel got both, his players a class apart from the first whistle, Serbia left to look dishevelled, their problems everywhere. It is a troubling moment for their country, anti-government protests gaining in intensity and there were chants of that nature here. Dragan Stojkovic, the manager, is under heavy fire. Where now for him after this? Continue reading...

Guirassy scores double in 3-0 victory over Union Berlin Juventus scrape 1-0 against Genoa after Vlahovic header The Borussia Dortmund striker Serhou Guirassy scored once in each half to help steer the hosts to a 3-0 victory over Union Berlin on Sunday and notch their first Bundesliga win of the season. The 29-year-old has now netted in his seventh consecutive Bundesliga match, with only two players in Dortmund history having achieved a longer streak. The Guinea international missed two golden chances early in the first half, including a one-on-one with the goalkeeper Frederik Rønnow. But it was third time lucky just before half-time when Yan Couto found the striker with a superb pass. Guirassy then scored his third goal in two league matches in the 58th minute after a one-two with Maximilian Beier and a smooth chip over Rønnow, before the substitute Felix Nmecha sealed the win. Juventus scraped a 1-0 win away to Genoa in their Serie A clash, with Dusan Vlahovic coming off the bench to score for the second successive game. Vlahovic, who also scored in the opening-day victory over Parma, looked set to leave Juventus in the close season, with the club eager to sell the striker rather than lose him for free when his contract runs out next year. Yet for now the Serbia international is proving vital at this early stage of the campaign. This story will be updated Continue reading...