FOOTBALL NEWS

Liverpool's perfect Christmas - Klopp's Reds are top and looking like they can stay there The Merseysiders have opened up a six-point gap at the top of the Premier League table after a flawless festive period. They’re starting to believe at Anfield, and who could blame them? Liverpool fans are often mocked for their optimism – “it’s their year,” is regular retort from rival supporters – but there’s something different brewing this season. The cheers which greeted the final whistle against Newcastle on Boxing Day were topped a few moments later, as news of a late Christmas present filtered through from the King Power Stadium. Did anyone order a six-point lead at the top of the Premier League table? Leicester’s victory over Manchester City means it is Tottenham, not the reigning champions, who stand as Liverpool’s nearest challengers right now. City, who have lost three of their last four in the league, have seen a two-point lead become a seven-point deficit in th...

Ronaldo, Messi & the winners of the world’s top individual awards from past 12 months Ronan Murphy   With the Goal 50 set to be unveiled next week, we take a look back at all the major award winners since Cristiano Ronaldo lifted last year's prize It has been 12 months since Cristiano Ronaldo lifted the Goal 50 prize for 2016, with the Portugal and Real Madrid superstar following that triumph with many more personal honours. However, the 32-year-old has not had it all his way in the past year, with many other major names picking up individual awards. Ronaldo's long-term rival for greatest player in the world - and former Goal 50 winner Lionel Messi - topped the goalscoring charts in La Liga, which also saw him take the European Golden Shoe award. Although Ronaldo could not match Messi's 37 La Liga goals, he was the Champions League's top scorer with 12 goals as Madrid lifted the trophy. Many of the award winners gained ...

Morata confident of coping with pressure from fans, coaches, and Chelsea record transfer fee     A little over 24 hours before his first ever Premier League match — one he’s not actually guaranteed to start — Chelsea record signing Álvaro Morata sat down for an exclusive interview with Marca , quotes from which have started making their across to England and framed (or re-framed) into silly headlines (“they’re already killing me”). But that sorts of narrative is just one of the pressures on the shoulders of Chelsea’s newest no.9, tasked with the challenge of not only replacing Diego Costa’s goals and impact, but also breaking the curse that has hung over that particular shirt number for much of the Roman Abramovich era. There is also the pressure of his transfer fee, a Chelsea club record, the pressure from the fans and media, and most of all, pressure from the coach who believed in him in the first place and now will rely on him to avoid a sophomore ...

‘Mesut Ozil will take centre stage for Arsenal this season’, says former midfielder Stewart Robson   Mesut Ozil will ‘take centre stage’ as Arsenal’s main man this season, former Gunners midfielder Stewart Robson told talkSPORT. After months of speculation over his future, recent reports have claimed German playmaker Ozil is finally ready to commit to the north London club and sign a contract extension. With Alexis Sanchez likely to leave either this or next summer, securing Ozil's signature would be a huge boost for Arsenal  and their future plans. And Robson believes the 28-year-old can put his recent inconsistent displays behind him and be the Gunners’ stand-out star this term. Previewing Friday night’s Premier League opener against Leicester City at the Emirates Stadium, Robson told the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast : “The way Arsenal are going to play with this 3-4-3 system, Ozil and Sanchez would be absolutely ideal for it. “Playing i...

Leicester City warn Chelsea off midfielder   With the new Premier League season set to begin this weekend — tonight in fact, for Leicester City as they travel to Arsenal — teams that already had little reason to let go of players have become even less willing to do so. This certainly does not bode well for Chelsea, who are looking address holes in the squad’s depth by completing a few deals for Premier League-proven players before the end of the month. One of these players is Leicester City's Danny Drinkwater, who partnered N'Golo Kanté during Leicester’s Premier League-title winning campaign back in the 2015-16 term. After getting Kanté last summer, Chelsea have now been increasingly linked with the other half of that duo, especially after sanctioning Nemanja Matic's departure to Manchester United last weekend. However the Foxes are less than inclined to agree to any of Chelsea’s overtures as they do not want to become known as 'selling club...

Liverpool receive good news regarding Coutinho’s transfer saga   According to reports , Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho will not force through a move to Barcelona. The Brazil international is a priority target for the Catalan giants, who view him as a replacement for Neymar and wishes to move. The Reds are hoping to keep Coutinho as he is a key part of their team and have already rejected two bids from Barcelona. Coutinho scored 13 goals and provided several assists for Liverpool last season, playing a key role for the club as they gained Champions League qualification by finishing fourth in the Premier League. Though the player wishes to leave and join the Spanish giants, he will only do so if a mutual agreement can be reached by the two clubs.  Barcelona also have Ousmane Dembele as a target. While Barcelona may try again with another bid, it will be very difficult to persuade the Reds to sell at this stage – especially if Coutinho does no...

Neymar set for PSG debut as Barcelona receive transfer fee   The world's most expensive player is expected to make his first appearance in his new club's colours this weekend The bank problem holding up Neymar's Paris Saint-Germain registration has cleared and the Brazil international should be free to make his debut on Sunday against Guingamp, Goal understands. The 25-year-old made a world-record €222 million move from Barcelona to PSG last week but was unable to play because final details of his registration had not been completed . Those issues are set to be ironed out over the next 24 hours, allowing him to play at Stade du Roudourou. Neymar evens to win the Ballon d'Or this decade Neymar had been waiting on his International Transfer Certificate (ITC), but Barca refused to clear it until they had received the funds from the French outfit into their bank account. The Camp Nou side have now received the money and as such have given...