Rakitic set for new Barcelona deal

Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick and Neymar made his return from a three-month injury lay-off as Paris Saint-Germain began their Ligue 1 title celebrations with a 3-1 win over visitors Monaco on Sunday.

PSG were already confirmed as champions earlier in the day after second-placed Lille could only draw 0-0 with Toulouse, and Thomas Tuchel s men subsequently played with freedom in an emphatic triumph inspired by Mbappe against his old club.

The lethal Mbappe took only 15 minutes to make his mark at the end of a stunning counter-attack and he doubled his tally just before half-time, rounding off another well-worked move.

Neymar – fit again after breaking his foot in January – came on at the interval to a huge cheer, before Mbappe completed his treble in the …

Wilfried Zaha described his time at Manchester United as hell and slammed the club for failing to offer him adequate support as a young player.

The Ivorian forward arrived at United from Crystal Palace for a reported £10million in June 2013 but played just 28 minutes of Premier League football for the Red Devils before being temporarily sent to Cardiff City.

Zaha returned to Selhurst Park on loan in August 2014 and made a permanent switch to the Eagles in February 2015, bringing end to his association with a club he says never gave him a chance.

Obviously, getting to United isn t easy, so not being given a chance is hard to take, the winger told The Sun.

I went through so much with United, with England. There were rumours that the reason I wasn t play…

Eden Hazard has consistently been one of the Premier League s best players since he joined from Lille in 2012, but he has seemingly found another level following Maurizio Sarri s appointment.

Hazard s start to the 2018-19 season has been truly exceptional, with the Belgium international scoring seven times in eight Premier League games ahead of the visit of Manchester United and former coach Jose Mourinho this weekend.

Sarri s appointment as coach was always highlighted as a potential boost to Chelsea s attackers following more the more pragmatic approaches of Antonio Conte and Mourinho.

It was under the latter that Hazard enjoyed two of his best seasons at Chelsea, but Sarri seems to have transformed him into a player capable of challenging for the Ballon d Or.<…

David Henderson, the organiser of the flight responsible for the deaths of Emiliano Sala and David Ibbotson, has been sentenced to 18 months imprisonment.

Henderson, 67, was last month found guilty of endangering the safety of an aircraft.

Sala was on his way to Cardiff City on January 21, 2019, after signing from Ligue 1 club Nantes for £15million (€20m) when his plane came down over the English Channel, killing the striker, 28, and the pilot, Ibbotson, 59.

The court was previously told Henderson arranged the flight with football agent William McKay and asked Mr Ibbotson to fly the plane as he was in Paris on holiday.

Mr Ibbotson – who did not hold a commercial pilot s licence – was not qualified to fly at night and his rating to fly the single-en…

Australia were forced to settle for a point in their World Cup qualifier against China after a 1-1 draw in the UAE.

After winning 11 games in a row, including a 3-0 victory against China in the reverse fixture in September, the Socceroos are now winless in three – their worst such run since June 2018.

Australia led in this match, though, following a quiet start, as Martin Boyle s cross was headed in emphatically by Mitch Duke seven minutes before the break.

Despite creating little for the first hour, China were level on 70 minutes when James Jeggo was adjudged by a VAR review to have handled in the penalty area, allowing Wu Lei to send Mat Ryan the wrong way from the spot.

Both sides pushed for a winner in the closing stages, but neither came …

Vinicius Junior insisted he wants to stay with Real Madrid when asked to put a price tag on his potential worth amid an excellent run of form.

The Brazil international is into his fourth season with LaLiga s leaders and has formed a fruitful partnership with Karim Benzema this campaign to put Madrid eight points clear after 16 games.

The pair rank as the joint-best attacking duo across Europe s top five leagues this term with 22 goals between them, the same amount as Bayern Munich s Robert Lewandowski and Serge Gnabry combined.

Indeed, Vinicius has netted 10 times in 16 top-flight appearances so far, becoming the first player born in 2000 or later to reach double figures for goals in a single LaLiga season.

The former Flamengo attacker was asked to valu…

Vitor Pereira will succeed Andre Villas-Boas as head coach at Shanghai SIPG, the club announced on Tuesday.

The former Olympiacos boss had been out of work since leaving 1860 Munich in June and replaces Villas-Boas – who quit to take part in next year s Dakar Rally – at the helm, just as he did at Porto in 2011 having worked as his assistant.

Pereira will be hoping to emulate his achievements at Porto, where he won back-to-back Primeira Liga titles. He also oversaw a domestic double during six months at Olympiacos.

Shanghai SIPG are delighted to announce Vitor Pereira as the club s new head coach, read a statement.

Pereira is renowned for having an eye for developing young players, which is tallied with our club s high regard for youth developmen…

Brighton have confirmed the signing of 18-year-old midfielder Malick Yalcouye from Swedish side IFK Goteborg.

Yalcouye joins the Seagulls on a five-year contract, arriving at the AMEX Stadium for a reported £6million fee.

The teenager, who holds dual nationality with Mali and Ivory Coast, joined Goteborg last year after making his debut in the African Champions League for ASEC Mimosas.

He made 11 appearances in the Swedish Allsvenskan, making his debut in February and scoring his first goal six games later against IF Brommapojkarna.

We’re delighted to confirm the signing of central midfielder Malick Yalcouye from IFK Goteborg on a contract until June 2029.

— Brighton Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC)

He is a talented midfielder with …

James Milner s future at Liverpool is uncertain as the veteran revealed he was still waiting to hear about possible contract talks.

Milner is out of contract at the end of the season and could be set for an exit from Anfield, where he arrived on a free transfer in 2015.

The versatile 33-year-old, who helped Liverpool win the Champions League last season, said he had not heard back from the club regarding a possible new deal.

As it stands, last year we spoke to the club and asked them if they wanted to do something and they said not at that time, Milner told UK media.

We haven t heard anything since, so that s where we are at.

All I can do is concentrate on my football and do what I can, but in terms of where I am with my contract, that s what h…

Manuel Pellegrini warned former club Manchester City of the difficulties they face later in the season in their bid for a quadruple.

City won the EFL Cup on Sunday and are still in contention for the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.

Their busy schedule may have already started to take its toll as Fernandinho and Aymeric Laporte suffered injuries in the win over Chelsea.

Pellegrini, who led City to a Premier League title in 2013-14, said it would be tough for Pep Guardiola s men to compete for every trophy.

All is possible in football, he told a news conference as his West Ham side prepare to visit City on Wednesday.

The way that you continue in all the competitions is more difficult, but I said during the first season that I was in c…