ROY KEANE wants a sensational return to Scottish football to take the vacant Celtic manager’s job.
While we have the latest on Cristiano Ronaldo’s Juventus future and Sergio Aguero’s Barcelona link.
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Follow our LIVE blog below to get the latest from around the clubs…
LAMBO PROBE – EXCL
Chelsea star Callum Hudson-Odoi is caught up in a fraud probe over a crash in his Lamborghini.
The England and Chelsea winger’s £215,000 supercar was in collision with a ten-year-old Renault driven by a junior doctor. Callum, 20, and two others began filming the medic while asking him to admit liability.
The 29-year-old refused, claiming his car had been hit from behind by the £100,000-a-week player driving the Lamborghini Urus. Callum did not produce documents and is not under investigation after the crash in Wandsworth, South West London, in August.
His lawyers said a “third party”, believed to be his soccer player brother Bradley, 32, submitted the papers. The doctor said: “There was a big jolt when his car hit me.
“I recognised Callum the moment he jumped out of his car. He was wearing his full Chelsea kit and was angry. They started videoing me but I wouldn’t admit it was my fault.
“I waited for his brother to turn up. They mocked me for driving an old car. My insurance company received documentation for a Ferrari and then a Mercedes. I want police to investigate.”
SCORE ARMS – EXCLUSIVE
Premier League aces are to be enlisted to encourage Brits under 30 to get the Covid jab.
Clubs have been asked to use the “star power” at their disposal to help roll out the vaccine.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has written to the top football clubs seeking help after last month asking them to encourage more ethnic minority Brits to get the jab.
A Whitehall source confirmed: “The Premier League are involved.”
OLE’S NOT GUNNAR SULK
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says his Manchester United team should have won by more against West Ham.
MOODY MOYES
David Moyes was not happy after his side’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester United and was particularly annoyed Martin Atkinson did not let his team take a corner right at the death.
NEW ART-ITUDE
Mikel Arteta says Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has to start showing respect to his Arsenal team-mates.
The Gunners boss dropped his captain to the bench for a ‘breach of pre-match protocol’ – after the star allegedly turned up late to the derby. Arteta said: “We have a way of living together. We have to respect each other and that’s it.”
Aubameyang was due to start in the 2-1 win against Spurs, but ended up being left on the bench. Arteta explained: “He was going to start the game, we had a disciplinary issue, we have drawn the line and we move on.
“We have a process that we have to respect for every game and that’s it. It was a decision made after evaluating everything and who Auba is and what he’s done.
“We have other players who can play. Recently we have changed the team quite a lot and there are players who are willing to play and deserve a chance, so I’m comfortable with that.
“I made what I thought was the right decision. We draw a line there. Now let’s move on again. We know how important Auba is for us, for the club. That’s it. That’s been dealt with so let’s move on.”
Credit: Kevin Quigley-The Daily Mail
Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
GAB SHOCK
Brazil striker Gabriel ‘Gabigol’ Barbosa has been detained by police for flouting coronavirus restrictions at an illegal casino in Sao Paulo.
The former Inter Milan star, 24, was found hiding under a table after the hall was raided in the early hours of Sunday morning, according to local police.
Gabigol – now of Brazilian giants Flamengo – was pictured being led away from the premises and placed into a vehicle. A staggering 200 people are claimed to have been inside the makeshift casino, with Sao Paulo currently in the ‘red phase’ state of alert due to a shocking rise in Covid-19 cases.
A police task-force had been tipped off to a party happening at the address – but instead stumbled upon the casino. Sao Paulo officials claimed they saw hoards of people ‘flagrantly consuming alcohol, violating social distancing rules and [not] wearing masks’.
Police chief Eduardo Brotero added he witnessed ‘a rather large underground casino’ where ‘many people crowded together, exposed to contagion’. And Sao Paulo’s vice-mayor, Ricardo Nunes, claimed: “We got a tip-off about a party.
“When we got here we found that in addition to an enormous number of people, more than 200 people in an unventilated room.
Credit: EPA
McTOMINAY’s THOUGHTS
Scott McTominay got a vital touch on the ball to steer into onto Craig Dawson’s head and into the back of the net as Man Utd beat West Ham 1-0 at Old Trafford.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “Really important to win the third tough game of the week.
“West Ham set up really well, they made it hard for us first-half.
“The message at half-time was to keep it the same, keep playing the best tempo you can possibly play at, and keep moving the ball from side to side.
“A lot of the boys were frustrated, but it’s not moaning, shaking your head, when you play against teams who sit in, and do it well… you have to play to the tempo that you normally play at and be positive in everything you do.
“It’s difficult to look at top four because we had a time when we were looking at the league… but Man City have had a terrific run of games, and we’re just doing our best to try and keep on them.”
PEL OF A RECORD
Pele has congratulated Cristiano Ronaldo for beating his career goals tally.
The Juventus superstar netted a hat-trick today, as Andrea Pirlo’s side downed Cagliari 3-1 in Serie A.
Many believed that Ronaldo, 36, surpassed the Brazilian’s record in January, when he netted his 757th and 758th official goals against Udinese.
So some eyebrows were raised when Pele sent a tweet this afternoon, congratulating the Portuguese forward.
The 80-year-old tweeted, alongside a picture of the duo: “@Cristiano, what a beautiful journey you are having!
“I admire you a lot and this is no secret to anyone. Congratulations on breaking my record of goals in official matches. I leave this photo in your honour, with great affection, as a symbol of a friendship that has existed for many years.”
Credit: AFP
PORT OF CALL – EXCLUSIVE
Portsmouth are lining up Neil Harris to be their new manager.
The former Cardiff boss is among the candidates to take over at Pompey following their sacking of Kenny Jackett yesterday.
Jackett, who had been in charge for almost four years, was axed after Saturday’s Papa John’s Trophy final defeat by League Two Salford at Wembley.
It came on the back of three successive League losses. And they have resulted in Pompey dropping out of the League One play-off places.
Chief executive Mark Catlin said: “Portsmouth Football Club would like to place on record our sincere thanks to Kenny for the work he has done during his near four-year spell at the club and we all wish him well for the future.
“It has been an emotional past few weeks for everyone associated with Pompey and we now begin the process – which will be as short as possible – of appointing someone who we believe can give us the best chance of finishing inside the top six. These talks begin now.”
Credit: Rex Features
MAN UTD MATCH REPORT
Harry Maguire turned in a captain’s performance as Manchester United continued to be the best of the rest.
If the title is Manchester City’s, United want that runners-up spot to show continued improvement under Ole Solskjaer after last season’s third placed finish.
Nobody is more determined than Maguire who has been at the heart of a defence that has kept four consecutive league clean sheets for the first time under Solskjaer.
Given that the last two of those have come against champions elect City and inform West Ham tells you all you need to know about the improvement at the back.
They needed an own goal off the head of Craig Dawson in the 53rd minute to win this, but they more than warranted the three points.
FULL MATCH REPORT AVAILABLE HERE
BRUNO FERNANDES – 8
Was once again United’s saving grace, and the only player seemingly capable of producing some magic in an otherwise drab game. Delivered the corner that led to the winner.
DANIEL JAMES – 6
The Welshman is getting his chances this season under Ole, but whether it is enough to force himself into contention for a starting spot remains unsure.
MASON GREENWOOD – 7
Energetic and was denied by a wonderful save from Lukasz Fabianski in the first half, and then the post in the second. Yet one Premier League goal so far this season is not good enough for a player of his talent.
LUKE SHAW – 6
Continues to produce performances at left back that will keep England boss Gareth Southgate occupied.
FRED – 6
Despite the protection beside him, the Brazilian was not as effective on the ball in attacking areas as the game drifted by him.
SCOTT MCTOMINAY – 7
Kept United ticking in the middle and played his part in attempting to header the corner delivery that was eventually put into his own net by Craig Dawson.
MARCUS RASHFORD – 5
Missed several sitters in a game that he should have taken by the scruff of the neck. Instead, his confidence appears to be dropping with every chance wasted.
MAN UTD RATINGS
Here’s how SunSport’s Jordan Davies rated Man Utd’s performances during their 1-0 win against West Ham tonight.
DEAN HENDERSON – 6
Had very little to do as West Ham limited their attacking intent in an attempt to nullify United.
AARON WAN-BISSAKA – 6
Another clean sheet as Wan-Bissaka’s defensive side of his game gains momentum, but was rarely tested.
VICTOR LINDELOF – 6
Stood firm and looks to be putting his injury worries behind him with some consistent performances in the back-end of the season.
HARRY MAGUIRE – 7
Looked like he was going to be subbed after a nasty head collision with Michail Antonio, but battled on and was a threat at set pieces.
FULL-TIME!
Man Utd 1 – 0 West Ham
Dawson’s own-goal is all that separates the sides on a grim night at Old Trafford.
West Ham offered almost nothing going forward until they’d conceded but United just sat back and absorbed their attacks as they chased an equaliser.
Very little quality on display from either side.
United go back into second and West Ham stay fifth.
PLANE AND SIMPLE
The father of Ilaix Moriba has revealed he cancelled his son’s flight to Manchester City so the teen could remain at Barcelona.
Moriba, 18, is the latest youngster to burst into Ronald Koeman’s team this season. However, Moriba came close to joining Pep Guardiola at City two years ago when doubts emerged over a new Barca deal.
The Spain youth international, who has reportedly chosen to represent his country of birth – Guinea – at senior level, had even booked a plane ticket to the Etihad as he searched for his first professional contract.
However, Moriba’s dad Mamady Kourouma cancelled the ticket on the morning of the flight after a breakthrough in contract talks with Barca.
He told Sport: “With Barcelona, the negotiations did not advance. We met with Txiki Begiristain [City’s sporting director] and he explained his entire project to us. We liked it because they bet a lot on him. A few weeks later we had the tickets to travel to Manchester and sign the contract.
“I cancelled it the morning that we had to go there. I wanted Ilaix to be an example and a reference for the next generations of Barcelona. His friends were gone. If he stayed, it was proof Barca was betting on the youth players. We managed to reach an agreement where we all came out winning.”
Credit: AFP OR LICENSORS
GOOOOOALLLLL – DAWSON OG
53. Bruno Fernandes swings a corner in from the left.
A thick knot of players go up for it and replays show it hit Dawson’s head and nestled in the bottom left corner.
Scott McTominay claimed it but that’ll go down as an own-goal.
HALF-TIME
Man Utd 0 – 0 West Ham
Well that was a half to forget.
ONE OF A KIND
Borussia Dortmund chief Michael Zorc has boasted he has never seen a striker who can rival Erling Haaland’s quality.
The Norwegian wonderkid, 20, is enjoying a terrific campaign with a whopping 31 goals in 29 appearances in all competitions this season.
Zorc told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag: “I have never seen someone like him. We can search Europe-wide.
“If he ever left us somewhere, there would only be a handful of clubs, but we’ll try to keep him as long as possible for sporting reasons.
“We don’t want to play in the Europa League on Thursdays. We want to give our calling card in the Champions League.”
Credit: EPA
ALL HAIL THE MOYESIAH
Ex-Man Utd manager David Moyes called on his side to be flexible at Old Trafford before the game.
West Ham welcomed Ben Johnson and Mark Noble into the starting XI and the Scot wants his new look side to adapt to United’s attack.
ALFRE-GO MORELOS
Alfredo Morelos has revealed he had a heart-to-heart meeting with Steven Gerrard after his hopes of a big money move died.
The in-demand striker said: “There were many difficulties with Rangers about my departure because proposals came in and the club asked for more money.
“Then the transfer market closed and I spoke with the manager and said that I was going to focus on the team. The situation got back to normal and I started to raise the level of my game.
“There are opportunities now for me because I have won the league in Scotland and we are still in the Europa League. If we get through to the next round, we will have the opportunity to play against some very big teams and they will be watching me.
“One of my big dreams is to play in the English Premier League. It is one of the best leagues in the world and there are a lot of important players and important teams.
“So if the opportunity presents itself in my career, I am going to take it. It’s a style of football very similar to Scottish football and I would enjoy it.”
Credit: AFP or licensors
‘BARE BONES’
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said he is down to the bare bones of his squad.
Mason Greenwood and Dan James are starting and the Norwegian explained why.
T-MINUS FIVE MINUTES TO KICK-OFF!
Manchester United and West Ham kick-off at Old Trafford at 7:15pm.
And you can follow our LIVE match blog for kick-by-kick action HERE.
‘NO REF INTERVIEWS’
Jose Mourinho called for referees to be interviewed after games.
The Portuguese spoke after Tottenham’s North London derby defeat to Arsenal.
Michael Oliver gave Arsenal a penalty and sent Erik Lamela off and Mourinho tried to hide his anger behind a smile.
RAM-NO
Aaron Ramsey will miss Wales’ upcoming World Cup qualifiers with a thigh injury.
The 30-year-old, who played in Juventus’ Champions League defeat to Porto in midweek, was unavailable for tonight’s Serie A clash with Cagliari.
Discussing Ramsey in his pre-match press conference, Juventus boss Andrea Pirlo said: “He has physical problems and is unable to get continuity to his performances because he has to stop every two or three games.
“In the past, he has had major problems that have kept him away from the pitch for months.
“He is precious because he knows how to make the team play well and he plays well.
“He has only this physical weakness that forces him to stay out every now and then.”
Credit: Getty Images – Getty
REDS ARE IN THE BUILDING!
Man Utd’s players have arrived at Old Trafford ahead of their game against West Ham.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be hoping his side can bounce back from the disappointing Europa League draw against AC Milan.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
