Benzema sends ´almost there´ message to France ahead of World Cup semi-final against Morocco

Former Bayern Munich manager Jupp Heynckes has derided the lack of patience in modern football, insisting the recent transfer window shows football has gone off the rails .

Premier League spending exceeded £1billion in the window, while European giants Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Juventus and Borussia Dortmund all invested heavily in their squads.

Heynckes, who led Bayern to treble glory in his final season as a coach in 2012-13, says football has now lost its spirit as a result of the demand for immediate results.

Just look at this inflated transfer window, Heynckes told Die Welt newspaper. Football has gone off the rails.

It s lost its spirit. Football is business. It s all about being quick, quick, quick nobody has any patience nowadays.

B…

Bournemouth have signed Danish midfielder Philip Billing from relegated Huddersfield Town for a reported £15million.

The 23-year-old has signed a long-term contract with the Premier League club.

A former Denmark Under-21 international, Billing has shown promise since joining Huddersfield six years ago and successfully made the transition from the academy to the first-team squad.

He played a rotation role as the Terriers earned promotion from the Championship in 2016-17, and eventually became something of a regular last term, featuring 27 times in the Premier League.

Can we have the bill please?

— AFC Bournemouth (@afcbournemouth)

A physically imposing yet technically gifted midfielder, Billing was one of few standout performers for Hu…

West Brom boss Alan Pardew hopes Daniel Sturridge can show he is as good as Harry Kane during the rest of the season.

The striker signed from Liverpool on loan on Monday after struggling for game time at Anfield in 2017-18.

Sturridge is also believed to be desperate for regular football to force his way back into the England squad ahead of the World Cup in Russia, which begins in June.

Pardew feels the 28-year-old is of the same calibre as Tottenham sensation Kane and is confident England boss Gareth Southgate will monitor his form at The Hawthorns closely.

You would have to put him in the same category as Harry Kane, Pardew said. Harry has had a great spell in terms of fitness and is at the top of his game. It s understandable that he is probably ahead …

Teams will be allowed to make five substitutions from nine players on the bench for the EFL Cup semi-finals and final. 

The change in the rule was introduced following consultation with Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham and Brentford, the four semi-finalists in the 2020-21 competition. 

VAR will also be introduced, having not been involved in previous rounds. 

The EFL added in a statement on Monday: Each team is only permitted a maximum of three opportunities (excluding half time, full time and half time of extra time) to make substitutions during normal time. However, if a tie goes to extra time, an additional opportunity to use a substitute(s) will also be permitted but only from the five substitutes allowed.  

The decision comes despi…

Fabrizio Romano has claimed on that Matteo Guendouzi will not return to Arsenal from his loan spell at Hertha Berlin. The well-known transfer market expert has said that German club Hertha want to keep the French midfielder for the rest of the season.

https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1348966224881995776

Guendouzi with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta last season and was offloaded to Hertha in Germany on a loan deal in the summer of 2020. The 21-year-old midfielder has made an immediate impact at the Berlin club and has established himself as an important player in the team.

According to , the France Under-21 international has made nine starts and one substitute appearance in the Bundesliga for Berlin so far this season, scoring two goals in the process. D…

Gareth Bale accepts it will be difficult for Wales to keep their World Cup dream alive following Friday s demoralising 2-0 defeat to Iran.

Bale became Wales most capped player by making his 110th international appearance at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, but he was virtually anonymous as Iran dealt a huge blow to his team s hopes of progressing from Group B.

Stoppage-time goals from Roozbeh Cheshmi and Ramin Rezaeian saw Iran take advantage of goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey s red card, posting their first win over European opposition at the World Cup (W1 D2 L7).

Wales, meanwhile, must now beat England in Tuesday s final group-stage game to have any chance of extending their first World Cup campaign since 1958, and Bale knows they face an uphill task.

It s guttin…

Manchester United walked away triumphant from Carrow Road on Saturday, having beaten Norwich City through a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty.

It s fair to say the Canaries boss Dean Smith wasn t too happy with the way referee Darren England conducted the show.

It was too easy for Man United to referee the game today, Rashford game himself a free-kick in the first half.

Dean Smith questions the decisions in the game as he felt it was not a foul on Ronaldo for the penalty

— Football Daily (@footballdaily)

…

Luton Town missed an inviting chance to escape the Premier League s bottom three after Friday s hard-fought 1-1 draw with Everton at Kenilworth Road.

Rob Edwards side would have leapfrogged 17th-placed Nottingham Forest – who visit Sheffield United on Saturday – with a victory, but were instead left level on points with Nuno Espirito Santo s team.

The fit-again Elijah Adebayo cancelled out Dominic Calvert-Lewin s 24th-minute penalty in an entertaining first half, though neither side could find a winner in an end-to-end second period.

Despite an encouraging performance, Luton – who almost snatched a late victory – stay 18th and below Forest on goal difference, while Everton remain 15th in the table.

It finishes level.

— Luton Town FC (@L…

Julian Alvarez’s fine first-half strike handed Manchester City a hard-fought 1-0 win over Newcastle in their first home match since winning the treble on Saturday.

The World Cup winner curled a shot into the top corner after 31 minutes of a tight Premier League encounter at the Etihad Stadium and it proved enough for the champions to claim all three points.

Newcastle, buoyed by thrashing Aston Villa 5-1 in their season opener last week, had travelled in hope of claiming their first league win at City for almost 23 years.

FULL-TIME | ALL THREE POINTS! |

— Manchester City (@ManCity)

Yet the hosts, despite making just two changes following their draining European Super Cup venture in Athens in midweek, were too strong and successfully nullifi…

Head coach Mauricio Pochettino will be hoping star striker Harry Kane can finally end his goal drought when Tottenham host Qarabag in the Europa League on Thursday.

Despite netting against San Marino and Switzerland in England s Euro 2016 qualifiers earlier this month, Kane has yet to convert in five appearances for his club this campaign.

Such form is a far cry from last season, when the youngster catapulted himself into the elite class of Premier League strikers with 31 goals across all competitions for Tottenham.

Pochettino is unperturbed by such a poor return this term, however, and backed Kane to rediscover the Midas touch in front of goal soon.

He said: I am happy with him and he gives the best for the team. He only needs time to score again. The mo…