Alexandre Lacazette fired Arsenal to an accomplished 1-0 win at Napoli as Unai Emery s men cruised into the Europa League semi-finals 3-0 on aggregate. 

The Premier League side began confidently in defence of their first-leg advantage and did not allow a couple of close defensive shaves and a hamstring injury to Aaron Ramsey to throw them off course. 

Lacazette s wonderful 36th-minute free-kick proved the difference on the night, leaving Carlo Ancelotti s hosts with a mountain to climb. 

Arkadiusz Milik s wayward finishing did little to help their cause and Emery can look forward to a semi-final showdown with his former club Valencia. 

It was Napoli who threatened first when Lacazette was dispossessed by Kalidou Koulibaly, who charged fo…

England are looking to all but guarantee their place in the last 16 of the World Cup when they take on Panama in Nizhny Novgorod on Sunday.

Three points for Gareth Southgate s side will secure their spot in the knockouts if Tunisia do not beat Belgium, who lead Group H after the first round of matches after dispatching Panama 3-0.

An injury-time goal from Harry Kane handed the Three Lions their opening victory over Tunisia in Volgograd and they are firm favourites to make it back-to-back successes in their first competitive meeting with Panama.

England s time in Russia has largely gone smoothly but one or two concerns have seeped into Southgate s plans over recent days.

A thigh injury to Dele Alli looks set to keep him out of the match, while a leaked tea…

Burnley are set to re-sign Jay Rodriguez from West Bromwich Albion, according to multiple sources including and .

The striker started his professional career at Turf Moor, and he scored 41 goals in 128 games for the Clarets between 2007 and 2012, when he moved to Southampton. Having produced a very similar outcome for the Saints (35 goals in 125 games), his next stop was West Brom in 2017, with Southampton receiving a £12 million fee. He produced 33 strikes in 89 outings for the Baggies.

The 29-year-old is now set to return to the place where it all began for him, with Burnley preparing an offer of £10 million which would activate his buyout clause. The Clarets are hopeful, though, that they will be allowed to pay £5 million now and £5 million guaranteed in 12 m…

Barcelona star Lionel Messi has been sentenced to 21 months in prison after being found guilty of fiscal fraud.

The 29-year-old has also been given a €2million fine for three counts of tax fraud. His father has been handed the same prison sentence and a smaller fine of close to €1.7m.

Neither Messi nor his father is likely to spend any time in prison as any sentence of less than two years for non-violent offences can be served under probation, according to Spanish law. The pair can still appeal the decision.

Messi and his father were accused of defrauding Spanish authorities by failing to pay tax totalling €4.1million on image rights in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

It was claimed they used tax havens in Uruguay and Belize in order to conceal the true amount…

Cristiano Ronaldo is not the most naturally talented player on the planet, but hard work and dedication have elevated him to his deserved status as one of the world s best, according to former Manchester United midfielder Quinton Fortune. 

Ronaldo became the first player to score 100 Champions League goals with a hat-trick in the second leg of Real Madrid s quarter-final victory over Bayern Munich this week and on Sunday will hope to guide his side to Clasico glory against Barcelona.

The fixture will once again pit Ronaldo against Lionel Messi  his biggest rival for the best in the world mantle, with the pair having shared nine Ballons d Or since 2008.

Messi is widely considered to be the more naturally gifted of the two and it is a viewpoint shared by Fortun…

Brazil great and former Real Madrid striker Ronaldo has become the majority shareholder of LaLiga outfit Real Valladolid.

The World Cup winner has acquired a 51 per cent stake for a reported €30million and will serve as chairman of the board of directors.

He was presented during a ceremony at the Valladolid town hall on Monday alongside club president Carlos Suarez, who will continue in the role, and city mayor Oscar Puente.

Ronaldo, 41, retired from football in 2011 following a decorated career that included five full seasons in Spain with Barcelona and Madrid.

I want everyone to form this club and invite the fans to participate in this project, he told a news conference.

Give us ideas, opinions, criticisms and hopes. I want you to be part of…

Barcelona forward Neymar cannot wait to take on former Santos team-mate Ganso when his side lock horns with Sevilla on Sunday.
 
Neymar and Ganso played alongside each other at Santos between 2009 and 2012, both having come through the club s renowned youth academy.
 
Ganso eventually left Santos for Sao Paulo in 2012, with Neymar joining Barcelona a year later.
 
I am really looking forward to the match. It is going to be a really good game to play in, the kind of game that every player loves to be part of, Neymar told Barca TV ahead of their away fixture.
 
Plus I am playing against a former team-mate and friend as well. He is a friend not just on the field, but off the pitch as well. 
 
Ganso is a great person. He is a quiet guy, very relaxed, always making jokes a…

Didier Deschamps has told his France players to clear their heads after Les Bleus dreadful Nations League title defence was ended by Croatia.

Luka Modric s fifth-minute penalty at the Stade de France earned Zlatko Dalic s side a 1-0 win on Monday, with Croatia gaining a measure of revenge for their 2018 World Cup final defeat.

The loss means France can no longer finish top of Group A1, and as such prevents them from qualifying for the Nations League finals and retaining their crown.

France are not in action again now until September, when their objective will be avoiding a humiliating relegation from the Nations League s top tier.

They certainly have work to do on that front as they sit bottom of the group after four games, having only mustered two draws …

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has insisted he has full confidence in Andre Onana and said there would be nothing to be gained from taking his under-fire goalkeeper out of the spotlight.

Onana’s form is once again under scrutiny after the Cameroon goalkeeper was culpable for two of Galatasaray’s goals in Wednesday’s costly 3-3 draw in Istanbul, as United surrendered a two-goal advantage to leave their Champions League fate out of their hands.

But Ten Hag has strongly defended his £47million summer signing, a player he previously worked with at Ajax, and pointed to statistics showing that Onana is second in saves made, save percentage and goals prevented in the Premier League.

He s a strong character and he will deal with it.

Erik has backed …

It was another Premier League weekend where off-the-pitch (well, sort of) matters dominated the headlines, with Manchester United s home game against Liverpool postponed as a result of anti-Glazer protests.

That also meant Pep Guardiola had to put the Cava back on ice for another week, with Manchester City s title celebrations on hold.

Nevertheless, there was still plenty to keep us occupied, with Mike Dean adding another to his red card haul for the campaign and Gareth Bale proving he can cut it against the best with a hat-trick against *checks notes* relegated Sheffield United.

Using Opta data, we look at some of the quirky facts from the latest Premier League matches…

Crystal Palace 0-2 Manchester City: Guardiola s men unrivalled going for…