River Plate and Defensor Sporting continued their superb starts to the Uruguayan Primera Division season with wins on Sunday.

Table-toppers River entered their home fixture with Cerro Largo on the back of three consecutive victories and proved too strong for their bottom-half opponents.
Goals in each half from Bruno Montelongo and Felipe Avenatti helped them to 2-0 triumph in Montevideo.
Midfielder Montelongo – who left River Plate to join Milan in 2010 before returning via Penarol – scored after 34 minutes to give the hosts the lead.
In-form forward Avenatti sealed the victory 15 minutes from time with his sixth goal in his last nine matches.
Cerro Largo had Brazilian striker Marcos Neves sent off in the second half as they slumped to their third away defeat in a row.
Riv…

Barca keen on Porto starlet

Spanish giants Barcelona are keeping close tabs on FC Porto midfielder Ruben Neves, according to AS.

The Catalans are expected to reinforce the centre of the park in the winter transfer window and have so far been linked with quite a few high-profile footballers.

However, they also appear to be looking towards the future, with FC Porto s Ruben Neves reportedly on their radar.

Barcelona are closely monitoring the midfielder s performances and are pondering a €10 million offer for his services.

The 18-year-old has already shown a great deal of potential at Estadio do Dragao, making 26 league appearances and scoring one goal.

However, knowing how FC Porto chiefs go about their business, chances are that it would…

Billy Knott has urged Bradford City to retain their underdog mentality against Sunderland on Sunday, despite their previous FA Cup heroics.

Bradford City midfielder Billy Knott believes the League One club must make the most of being underdogs when Sunderland visit Valley Parade in the FA Cup on Sunday.

The Yorkshire club have gained a reputation for claiming Premier League scalps in recent years knocking out Arsenal and Aston Villa in their 2012-13 run to the League Cup final before beating Chelsea in the fourth round of this season s FA Cup.

While Knott wants City to take confidence from their 4-2 win at Stamford Bridge, the former Sunderland man also warned of reading too much into their previous exploits.

We know people might get carried away but w…

Andros Townsend (Crystal Palace) v Manchester City – December 22, 2018

City do not concede many and they lose even less frequently. Townsend s ferocious effort in December helped Palace to an unlikely 3-2 win at the Etihad Stadium. The champions cleared a corner, but Bernardo Silva s header went as far as Townsend, whose sweetly struck volley flew into the top-right corner with remarkable power from at least 25 yards.

Daniel Zsori (Debrecen) v Ferencvaros – February 16, 2019

Eighteen-year-old Zsori announced himself to Hungarian football in astonishing fashion in February. On his league debut, the attacker met a cross from deep with an overhead-kick just inside the area, picking out the top-far corner in stoppage time to secure a 2-1.

…

Aurelien Tchouameni said he is inspired by Paul Pogba and N Golo Kante as the Monaco sensation continues to be linked with Chelsea and Manchester United.

Tchouameni is reportedly wanted by Premier League giants Chelsea and United following his exploits in Ligue 1.

Before the weekend s fixtures, the 21-year-old midfielder ranked first in possessions won (209) and tackles won (52) in the top five European leagues in 2021, while he was tied for fifth in duels won (221).

Tchouameni s performances under Niko Kovac earned a France call-up for the first time as Les Bleus face Bosnia-Herzegovina in a World Cup qualifier on Wednesday before continuing their road to Qatar 2022 against Ukraine on Saturday and Finland on September 7.

1st session of the get-together a…

Leighton Baines will be richly rewarded if he decides to stay at Everton, according to new boss Roberto Martinez.

The England left-back has been linked with a move to Premier League champions Manchester United, where he would join up with former Everton manager David Moyes.

Baines signed a five-year deal at Goodison Park in 2010 but Martinez insisted that his performances since then merited a new offer on improved terms.
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Manuel Pellegrini has labelled Sergio Aguero as the best player in the Premier League after his recent performances for Manchester City.

The Argentina international has scored 14 goals in his last 10 matches for City in all competitions and is the top scorer in the league this season.

Aguero arrived at the Etihad Stadium in 2011 and has netted 45 goals in 75 Premier League appearances, including the goal that sealed the title for the club in 2012.

After scoring twice in last weekend s 6-0 demolition of Tottenham, Pellegrini described him as one of the top performers in world football, behind only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

I said last week after Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo he is the best, the Chilean said. Both are not playing in the Premier League so he…

According to Sky Sports, West Ham United are interested in Lucas Perez. The Arsenal striker has failed to make much of an impression at the Emirates since arriving in 2016, and despite a somewhat impressive tenure with Deportivo La Coruna on loan last season, there are still plenty of questions surrounding whether or not he ll be able to live up to his potential.

The 29-year-old certainly needs a change of scenery if he wants to find success in his career, especially given the depth of attacking talent on display at Arsenal right now.

A move to West Ham could open the door for him to start fresh in English football, which is something that few people could ve anticipated would happen. The Hammers have been slowly adding to their squad over the course of the summer trans…

Sevilla have completed the signing of France Under-21 international defender Joris Gnagnon from Rennes.

Gnagnon has signed a five-year contract with the LaLiga side for a fee reportedly worth €15million.

The 21-year-old played 79 matches for Ligue 1 outfit Rennes and scored two goals in three seasons with the Brittany club, including 36 in a breakthrough 2017-18 campaign.

Gnagnon – who is of Ivorian descent – had previously chosen to play for the Ivory Coast, but never made an appearance and has subsequently appeared four times for France at youth level.

¡Bienvenido a Sevilla, !

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— Sevilla Fútbol Club (@SevillaFC)

He is Sevilla s fifth signing of the transfer window having already completed deals …

West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola has hinted he may quit Upton Park in the aftermath of Saturday s 1-0 defeat to Stoke.

Only goal difference is keeping Zola s side above the Premier League relegation zone following the east London club s sixth successive defeat.

The Italian, who was strongly criticised by Hammers co-owner David Sullivan after the midweek loss to Wolves, could be ready to walk away as the pressure starts to take its toll.

Asked whether he would consider resigning, Zola said: I have to find out what the problem is. If the problem is me then why not?

The players are trying hard for us. The bottom line is to see whether I can help them or not. I will consider overnight whether I am doing a good job or not.

Former Chelsea forward Zol…