French football has gone through a proper renaissance over the past couple of years.

With Ligue 1 back on the map and elbowing its way against the more bulging football competitions around the western Europe, French football not only has PSG to thank for its rise back to prominence.  

It is the likes of OGC Nice and especially AS Monaco that raised the profile of the French football significantly over the past couple of seasons. The Principality club as the current French champion stands as the most exciting specimen with its most recent dealings being a perfect reflection of everything that has been going on through the history of the eight-time Ligue 1 winners.

Tumultuous Years

As a club formed through a unification of numerous local clubs based in the p…

Former Everton and Nigeria striker Yakubu has retired aged 35.

Yakubu scored 95 goals in 252 Premier League games across spells with Portsmouth, Middlesbrough, Everton and Blackburn Rovers, and is the second-highest African goalscorer in England s top flight behind Didier Drogba. 

He also had spells with Leicester City, Reading and Coventry City in English football.

Yakubu represented his country at four Africa Cup of Nations and the 2010 World Cup.

3 Yakubu is one of only three teenagers to have scored a hat-trick in the Champions League (19y 306d for Maccabi Haifa v Olympiakos in 2002), alongside Wayne Rooney Raúl. Retired.

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe)

He told Sky Sports: I would like to officially announce my retirement from professional …

Virgil van Dijk immediately began repaying his £75million transfer fee as he scored Liverpool s winner in a 2-1 FA Cup third-round triumph over Merseyside rivals Everton.

The former Southampton star, who this month became the world s most expensive defender, headed in the winner six minutes from time on a night not short on controversy at Anfield.

Having bemoaned the decision to award Everton a penalty in last month s Premier League draw between the two, Jurgen Klopp saw his side get the benefit of some considerable doubt for another spot-kick call on Friday.

Mason Holgate was the man punished for a supposed foul on Adam Lallana just inside the area and James Milner stepped up to convert his first goal of the season.

Tempers flared before the inte…

Market: Both teams to score No

Odds: 19/20 @

Two sides looking to pick up their first Premier League victory on Saturday lunchtime, Aston Villa will welcome Everton to the Midlands.

Starting with the hosts, enjoying what was an eye-catching pre-season run this summer, it was no secret that Aston Villa have their sights set on trying to mount a European charge. However, despite smelling a golden chance to lay down an early marker when they made the trip to Premier League returners Bournemouth last weekend, Steven Gerrard s side got off to a nightmare start. Eventually getting hit with a shock 2-0 defeat on the south coast, the former Rangers boss does find some growing pressure on his shoulders at Villa Park. Having to settle for a sluggish 14th-place finish last…

Roma have appointed Luciano Spalletti as the new man in charge at the Stadio Olimpico following the dismissal of Rudi Garcia.

The Serie A outfit fired Garcia as their head coach on Wednesday following their poor run of form in recent months, with Roma dropping to fifth place in the table after just one win in their last seven league games.

Several reports suggested they had lined up Spalletti as Garcia s replacement and the 56-year-old s return to the Italian capital has now been confirmed.

Spalletti previously worked at Roma between 2005 and 2009, guiding them to two Coppa Italia titles and one Supercoppa Italiana wins.

He left Roma in September 2009 after an underwhelming start to the season.

The former Udinese boss returned to coaching at Zenit…

Inter Milan booked their place in the Champions League knockout stages with a dramatic 1-0 win away at RB Salzburg.

The in-form Lautaro Martinez came off the bench to secure the victory, netting from the penalty spot in the 85th minute to put the Italian side on 10 points in Group D, seven above their opponents.

Salzburg relied on the heroics of goalkeeper Alexander Schlager but they finally succumbed to Serie A leading scorer Martinez.

The hosts started strong and enjoyed touches in dangerous areas where they produced half chances through Roko Simic and Mads Bidstrup, whose 12th-minute shot failed to hit the target.

VOLIAMO AGLI OTTAVI

— Inter (@Inter)

Inter were fortunate not to concede a penalty when Carlos Augusto appeared to bu…

Shakhtar Donetsk travel to Belgium on Thursday keen to maintain their unbeaten run in the Europa League and book a quarter-final place at the expense of Anderlecht.

Mircea Lucescu s side earned a 3-1 lead in the first leg last week thanks to Taison, Olexandr Kucher and Eduardo and are strong favourites to reach the Europa League last eight for the second time, although Frank Acheampong s away goal gives Anderlecht hope of turning the tie around in front of their home fans.

The last time the Ukrainian side progressed to the quarter-finals, they went on to lift the trophy in 2009, beating Werder Bremen 2-1 after extra time in the final in Istanbul.

Lucescu opted to rest some of his star names against Dnipro in the league last weekend to ensure they are fully …

Alvaro Morata and Rodri have been charged by UEFA following their actions during Spain s trophy celebrations after winning Euro 2024.

The Spanish duo, who were a key part of La Roja s record fourth European Championship success, were at the centre of complaints from Gibraltar s FA over unacceptable chanting during the trophy parade in Madrid.

Manchester City midfielder Rodri could be seen chanting Gibraltar is Spanish on the stage, with Morata later encouraging the crowd to join in with the same chant.

Last Friday, UEFA confirmed they had opened an investigation and have since come to their conclusion.

The pair have been charged with violating the basic rules of decent conduct, using sporting events for manifestations of a non-sporting nature, and brin…

The Premier League will return to action this weekend following 2023’s final international break.

Here, the PA news agency takes a statistical look at how things stand through the first 12 games of the season.

Goals galore

Three 0-0s from 120 matches so far this season

The Premier League keeps on serving

…

Call it a coming of age if you like, or was this just a ringing endorsement of Pep Guardiola s verdict?

Either way, Arsenal are a thrill-seeker s delight at the top of the Premier League.

It used to be said that a 21st birthday marked a key to the door moment, a moment of growing maturity and responsibility.

A new level of trust was what it signified, and perhaps Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka can now be trusted to deliver on their promise for Arsenal. Their abundant talent has never been in question, but now it s about consistency, being a grown-up in a grown-up s league.

Sunday s 3-2 win against Liverpool only served to show that Martinelli and Saka, who have both celebrated that landmark 21st birthday since the end of last season, are not merely gi…