Cristiano Ronaldo scored a stunning winner before being sent off for a dive in Real Madrid s Supercopa de Espana first-leg triumph over Barcelona.

The Portugal star came off the bench to blast home the third goal of the visitors 3-1 win at Camp Nou but earned a second yellow card for going to ground in the penalty area two minutes later, having earlier been booked for taking his shirt off in celebration.

Zinedine Zidane s side took the lead early in the second half through an own goal from Gerard Pique but Barca levelled thanks to Lionel Messi s penalty, which was won in controversial fashion by Luis Suarez.

Ronaldo put Madrid back ahead with a spectacular strike but was dismissed within two minutes of that goal and risked further punishment when he pushed the re…

Antonio Conte has welcomed the end of a nightmare after the Italy boss was acquitted of sporting fraud.

In April, the prosecutor of Cremona recommended a six-month suspended jail sentence and an €8,000 fine for Conte as part of the ongoing Scommessopoli case,  but judge Pierpaolo Beluzzi dismissed the charges on Monday.

Conte, who will take charge of Premier League club Chelsea after leading his country at Euro 2016, was accused of failing to report an attempt to fix a match against AlbinoLeffe when he was in charge of Serie B side Siena in 2010-11.

The 46-year-old, a decorated former player and coach at Juventus, denied any wrongdoing and posted a statement on his Facebook page after the verdict, detailing his experience of the ordeal.

Four years a…

Newcastle United boss Rafael Benitez is not getting carried away by a run of three straight victories even if the club s supporters are already thinking about Europe .

The Magpies saw off Stoke City 2-1 on Saturday to improve their Premier League points tally to nine points from five games, a tally they last managed to reach this early in the season when they finished fifth in the top flight under Alan Pardew in 2012.

But Benitez, who returned to the touchline following hernia surgery, is keeping his feet firmly on the ground.

The fans, when you win so many games in a row, they are excited and thinking about Europe. For me it is one game at a time, the former Real Madrid manager told the BBC.

It is a very competitive league and we are learning from that…

Germany general manager Oliver Bierhoff claims close friend and United States boss Jurgen Klinsmann is in talks with the Football Association to fill the England vacancy.

England are on the hunt for a new manager after Roy Hodgson walked away following the country s embarrassing last-16 exit to Iceland at Euro 2016.

Former Germany coach Klinsmann who has led the Americans since 2011 was immediately linked to the post, talked up by ex-England international Jamie Carragher having guided USA to a semi-final appearance at last month s Copa America Centenario.

Klinsmann has also been credited for laying the foundations for Germany s World Cup triumph in 2014, after his two-year spell in charge of the European giants from 2004 to 2006.

And Bierhoff believes ex-…

Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde defended Luis Suarez after the forward s struggles continued against Olympiacos.

Suarez attempted seven shots – the most he has had without scoring for Barca – as his side were held to a 0-0 draw in Piraeus on Tuesday.

The Uruguay international has netted just three goals in 13 matches in all competitions this season.

But Valverde praised the 30-year-old, backing the forward to turn his fortunes around.

I like this version of Suarez a lot and sometimes the goal depends on one more centimetre to the left or to the right, Valverde said.

I like that they have chances to score. The success or not will come. I liked the team.

7 Luis Suarez attempted more shots without scoring vs Olympiakos than in any oth…

Former Portugal manager Carlos Queiroz believes Cristiano Ronaldo was destined to become the Michael Jordan of football from a young age.

Queiroz, who is now the Iran national team manager, coached Ronaldo during his time in charge of Portugal between 2008 and 2010, making the Real Madrid superstar captain of his country at the age of 23.

The 60-year-old also worked with Ronaldo during his two spells as assistant manager to Alex Ferguson at Manchester United before his compatriot left for Real in a then world record deal in 2009.

And Queiroz, who was at Old Trafford when Ronaldo arrived from Sporting Lisbon in 2003, had no doubt that the forward would establish himself as a modern-day great even likening him to Chicago Bulls legend Jordan, who is widely considered t…

Valencia have confirmed general director Mateu Alemany is to leave the club following a meeting with club owner Peter Lim in Singapore.

Alemany and the club agreed to terminate his contract last week and he has now said goodbye to Lim ahead of his formal departure.

Valencia wish to publicly express gratitude to Mateu Alemany for his enormous dedication, effort and achievements throughout his time at the entity, and wish him all the best in his professional career, the club said in a statement.

While the news has not come as a surprise, it raises further questions of Lim s management of Valencia after a turbulent few months.

Marcelino s two-year reign as head coach was controversially ended by Lim in September, with the tactician claiming he was sacked fo…

James Maddison denied Claudio Ranieri a victorious reunion with Leicester City as his second-half equaliser forced Fulham to settle for a 1-1 home draw on Wednesday.

Beaten by former employers Chelsea on the weekend, veteran manager Ranieri looked set to enjoy more fortune against the club he famously guided to the 2015-16 title following Aboubakar Kamara s maiden Premier League goal.

That was until playmaker Maddison picked out the bottom corner 16 minutes from the end to extend the Foxes unbeaten run to six Premier League matches.

The 22-year-old s second goal in as many outings scuppered the bottom-placed Cottagers hopes of a first clean sheet of the campaign and left them ruing a wasted opportunity.

Jamie Vardy missed out with a groin problem and Leic…

Kylian Mbappe was sent off as Paris Saint-Germain booked their place in the Coupe de la Ligue final with a 3-2 win over Rennes on Wednesday.

The 19-year-old, who returned to the starting line-up after missing two games with a back injury, was shown a straight red card for a poor challenge on Ismalia Sarr in the second half at Roazhon Park.

The dismissal did not prove fatal to PSG s hopes of keeping alive their quadruple chase, though, with Thomas Meunier, Marquinhos and Giovani Lo Celso having put the game beyond Rennes reach inside the hour, although they were forced to hold on in the dying minutes.

PSG came into the fixture having not lost a Coupe de la Ligue match since a penalty shootout defeat to Saint-Etienne in November 2012, but they struggled to find …

Tottenham Hotspur have reached an agreement with Sevilla over the transfer of Jules Kounde in the summer transfer window, according to . It has been reported that Tottenham will pay Sevilla €30 million in transfer fees and will also include Davinson Sanchez in the deal.

While Spurs and Sevilla have agreed on the deal, the big issue is whether Kounde wants to complete the transfer. The report has claimed that the 22-year-old central defender is thinking about it and has yet to make a decision. If Tottenham are unable to sign the France international, then they will try for Milan Skriniar, although the 26-year-old Slovakia international is not convinced to leave Italian champions Inter Milan.

Kounde has been on the books of Sevilla since 2019 when he joined from French …