Pocognoli leaves West Brom on loan

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.

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I remember when I was younger about Stand Up, Speak Up . It just reminded me of that.

Pogba was subjected to racist abuse earlier this season after missing a penalty in United s 1-1 draw with Wolves one of a number of high-profile incidents in recent months.

Jesse Lingard and Fred were also allegedly targeted during this month s Manchester derby, while Chelsea s Antonio Rudiger had a similar experience against Tottenham last week.

A lot of players in a lot of leagues not only in the Premier League but in Italy, Spain, everywhere [have been racially abused] and we keep hearing this, Pogba said. 

I don t want to be president, I don t want to be a political guy. We are just football players, we want to enjoy that. The fans needs to enjoy coming and se…

Suffering a against Leicester in Saturday s Community Shield showdown at Wembley, many across Europe are still expecting plenty of activity at Manchester City before the transfer closes in under three weeks.

Breaking the bank this summer as they announced the arrival of from Aston Villa in a deal worth £100million last week, there still remains a string of speculation surrounding another move for England skipper Harry Kane.

However, while Pep Guardiola s side might be putting together their final preparations before they open their Premier League season against Tottenham on Sunday afternoon, it appears that a number of Man City aces could be heading for the Etihad exit.

With only a few weeks until the transfer window slams shut, we have taken a look at a numb…

Nigeria may be forced to pull out as hosts for next year s FIFA Under-17 Championship after the country s government said they cannot afford a budget of about 30 million US dollars to stage the competition.

Nigeria President Musa Yar Adua told his cabinet last week that he is not convinced that hosting the tournament in November 2009 will help develop the country s sports.

Yar Adua further argued that Nigeria faced more pressing needs than spending such a large sum of money to host a sporting event unless the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the tournament could get most of the money it needs from the private sector.

It is clear that hosting the competition, as prestigious as it may appear, is not a priority of government and the president has made it cle…

West Bromwich Albion manager Steve Clarke said the pressure of playing for England was too much for goalkeeper Ben Foster to handle.

West Bromwich Albion manager Steve Clarke said the pressure of playing for England was too much for goalkeeper Ben Foster to handle.

The Albion keeper, who is enjoying one of his best spells in the Premier League, announced his international retirement just under two years ago.
The 29-year-old was once tipped to be the England goalkeeper for the next decade early in his career at Manchester United however he failed to become a first-team regular Old Trafford and left the club in 2010 for Birmingham before moving onto West Brom.
However, on the back of Foster s man of the match performance against Liverpool in his team s latest outing in t…

Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri says more competition from the Milan clubs in Serie A this term mean his side s final position remains something of a mystery.

Since Sarri replaced Rafael Benitez in June, Napoli have brought in the likes of Mirko Valdifiori and Vlad Chiriches, although the squad remains similar to the one that finished fifth last term.

Napoli have featured in both the UEFA Champions League and the Europa League over recent seasons but with Inter and Milan heavily strengthening, Serie A looks set to see greater competition at the top.

I do not know where we fit in the table, Sarri said ahead of Sunday s trip to Sassuolo.

Napoli finished fifth in a league in which Milan and Inter were absent from the top, they are now coming back and it …

According to , AC Milan have decided to step up their pursuit of Jean-Clair Todibo of Barcelona.

Todibo arrived to Camp Nou from Toulouse last winter, six months ahead of schedule. After initially agreeing a deal to bring him in in the summer of 2019, Barcelona eventually paid a fee to bring him in early. However, the centre-back, who has just turned 20, hasn t been able to get much game-time with Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet around, even with the frequent injury niggles troubling Samuel Umtiti.

Several clubs have been linked with him recently, but it seems Milan are showing the most initiative. The Rossoneri sporting director Frederic Massara has reportedly traveled to Barcelona and had dinner with the player, in order to convince him that the club that has won sev…

Prediction: Barcelona to win 2-1

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Real Betis and Barcelona will face each other in La Liga this weekend. The match is slated to kick off at 8pm UK time on Sunday at Estadio Benito Villamarin.

Real Betis

Real Betis are having a good season at the moment and are in the running for the European places in the La Liga table. The Andalusian club are seventh in the standings at the moment with 30 points from 21 matches, nine points behind fourth-placed Sevilla, who have played 20 games.

Manuel Pellegrini’s side will head into the match against Barcelona on the back of a defeat to Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey. Betis, though, got the better of Osasuna 1-0 at home in La Liga on Monday..

Team News:

Diego Lainez is…

Stuttgart said Friday they have fined their ex-Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann for publicly criticising his club bosses for giving in to fan pressure prior to sack coach Markus Babbel.

Our players can freely express themselves, but what he said was not to be tolerated and damaged the image of the club, chairman Erwin Staudt said, without specifying the amount of the fine.

Anyone can have an opinion and voice criticisms but that must not be done through the media, Staudt told broadcaster Sky.

New coach Christian Gross said for his part: I need players who roll their sleeves up. Jens knows the situation in which we find ourselves.

Babbel was fired on Sunday and replaced by former Tottenham Hotspur boss Gross before the side s impressive 3-1 win over Rom…