David Wagner insists Alexander Nubel did not intend to do harm to Mijat Gacinovic with his horror challenge in Schalke s 1-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Schalke goalkeeper was shown a 66th-minute red card for a wild lunge with his foot that caught his opponent high on the chest.
Head coach Wagner accepted referee Felix Zwayer had little option other than to give Nubel his marching orders but defended his captain.
Alexander Nubel wasn t trying to catch Mijat Gacinovic when he was sent off, but just arrived too late, Wagner said in quotes reported by Schalke s official website.
It obviously looks really bad. The referee s decision was definitely correct. Markus Schubert was great after coming on, as was Juan Miranda.
Gacinovic later post…
Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola was unsurprised by Porto s early pressure in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final, conceding the match did not go well for his team.
A brace from Ricardo Quaresma in the opening 10 minutes set up Porto s surprise 3-1 victory on Wednesday.
Thiago Alcantara pulled a goal back for the 2013 European champions, before Jackson Martinez s second-half effort put the Primeira Liga giants in control of the tie.
We were not surprised by Porto s start to the game. I knew we were going to face a very good team, we knew they had a good attack, Guardiola said.
The quality of this game was at the highest level, we are lucky to be in this phase of the competition. Jackson Martínez is a top player. Casemiro an…
Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola believes his team s performance against Borussia Dortmund was their best against their rivals since his arrival.
Dortmund advanced to the DFB Pokal final on Tuesday after the clash finished 1-1 through 120 minutes, before Bayern missed four penalties to go down 2-0 in the shoot-out.
Guardiola, whose team had Arjen Robben, Robert Lewandowski and Thiago Alcantara suffer injuries, felt it was one of their better displays against Dortmund since he took over ahead of the 2013-14 season.
I am prouder than ever of my team, he said.
We have done everything, so I am very satisfied. We played well it was our best game against BVB [Dortmund] in my period here in Germany.
In a penalty shoot-out we were a bit tired. I congr…
Crystal Palace co-chairman Steve Parish has insisted the newly promoted side will not be spending crazy money on players in the off-season.
QPR – who were relegated from the Premier League last season – spent heavily in both pre-season and in the January transfer window for little reward.
Their influx of overpriced veterans and big names failed to show the steel required to keep the Loftus Road outfit in the top flight as many of the players who helped QPR to the Premier League – and who then played a big role in keeping them there in the 2011-12 season – were cast aside.
While new signings at Selhurt Park are inevitable, and necessary, Parish revealed that the club will be spending sensibly.
We had a good structure in the league we were in (last season), said Parish, w…
Stoke City chief executive Tony Scholes has expressed his disappointment at the departure of director of youth development Terry Robinson.
The former Sheffield United director has been at the Britannia Stadium since 2011 and helped the club gain Category One status in the Premier League s Elite Player Performance Plan.
Losing Robinson comes a month after it was confirmed that Under-21 coach Dave Kevan had also left the club s academy set-up as part of the coaching changes following the end of the Tony Pulis era.
Robinson is now poised to join a Championship club.
Terry has done a great job in terms of restructuring the academy and putting in place a set-up which was successful in securing Category One status, therefore ensuring we are among the elite academies in the country, …
Everton manager Frank Lampard has denied Chelsea have made a £60million bid for Anthony Gordon and reiterated he intends to retain the winger.
The 21-year-old has been widely reported to be a player of interest for Chelsea, who continue to push for new acquisitions before the close of the transfer window next week.
Eye-watering amounts of money are claimed to have been put on offer for Gordon but Everton are standing firm with their intention not to lose his services.
Lampard refuted claims of a £60m bid for Gordon, while comparing him to other young players he has worked with at Derby County and Chelsea.
It hasn t come in. He s our player and remains so. He s in the squad for tomorrow, Lampard said at a press conference on Friday ahead of the Prem…
France signed off before the summer recess with a much-needed 1-0 victory over Euro 2008 semi-finalists Turkey in a rain-sodden friendly here on Friday.
Jeered throughout their 1-0 defeat to Nigeria on Tuesday, Raymond Domenech s side responded with a more industrious display against a side reduced to 10 men for over 50 minutes following Uzulmez Ibrahim s dismissal.
Karim Benzema s goal from the ensuing penalty was enough to decide the match, which was held up in the closing stages when visiting fans hurled missiles onto the pitch before being placated by Turkey coach Fatih Terim.
Driving rain made for a slippery pitch and sloppy touches, despite France s best attempts to atone for the loss against Nigeria in Saint Etienne that was marred by enthusiastic barrack…
Manchester United s former FA Cup-winning manager Tommy Docherty has died at the age of 92, the club have confirmed.
Docherty, nicknamed The Doc , passed away on Thursday surrounded by his family, after suffering from a long illness.
He made over 300 appearances for Preston North End and won 25 caps for Scotland as a player, before going on to manage 12 clubs.
Docherty led Chelsea to the 1964-65 EFL Cup, won the 1976-77 FA Cup with United during a five-year spell and managed one of the club s greats in the form of George Best.
His time at United followed on from a one-year stint in charge of Scotland, which came after a season at Porto in 1970-71.
In a statement on their official Twitter account, United said: We are deeply saddened by the passing …
Manchester City and Pep Guardiola are working on the margins to make Erling Haaland even better after his blistering start to life in the Premier League.
Haaland joined City on a five-year deal formalised in June after the club activated a €60 million (£51.2m) release clause in his deal with Borussia Dortmund.
The Norway striker has quickly illustrated why he has developed a reputation as one of the most fearsome strikers in world football.
Haaland has found the net six times in his first four Premier League games, scoring a hat-trick to help City come back from two goals down to beat Crystal Palace 4-2 on Saturday.
Yet ahead of Wednesday s meeting with Nottingham Forest, Guardiola indicated he believes Haaland can reach an even higher level.
Jesse Lingard has described losing in the FA Cup final as the worst feeling he has experienced in football.
Lingard was the match-winner as Manchester United came from behind to beat Crystal Palace in the 2016 final, which proved Louis van Gaal s last match in charge.
But Saturday s showpiece saw Chelsea come out on top thanks to a first-half Eden Hazard penalty, leaving United without silverware this season.
Lingard s focus will now turn to the World Cup as he goes on England duty, but the midfielder will need to recover from his Wembley woes.
…