Mk Sports News

Ronaldo has scored 42 goals in 48 appearances in all competitions since joining Al-Nassr Al-Nassr forward Cristiano Ronaldo has been banned for one match for "provoking fans" following the Saudi Pro League win over Al-Shabab. Al Shabab supporters chanted "Messi" - Ronaldo's long-term rival Lionel Messi - after Sunday's 3-2 defeat in Riyadh. Portugal captain Ronaldo, 39, cupped his hand to his ear and made a gesture to the fans. He has also been fined 30,000 Saudi Riyals (£6,300) by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF). The SAFF disciplinary and ethics committee said Ronaldo cannot appeal against the decision. Ronaldo opened the scoring from the penalty spot, but Al-Shabab twice came from behind before Talisca scored an 87th-minute winner. Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr on a free transfer from Manchester United in December 2022 for reportedly the biggest football salary in history. He has scored 20 goals in 22 league games this season for Al-Nassr, w...

O'Shea, who won 118 caps for the Republic, had been an assistant coach under previous manager Stephen Kenny and with the under-21 side. Kenny left the role in November after failing to qualify for Euro 2024. The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) have also confirmed Kenny's permanent replacement will be appointed in "early April". O'Shea will lead the team for the Republic's friendlies against Belgium and Switzerland in March. The former Sunderland defender also had coaching spells with Reading and Stoke City before joining former Manchester United team-mate Wayne Rooney's backroom team at Birmingham City. The 42-year-old left the Championship club in January following Rooney's dismissal as head coach. O'Shea, who retired from playing in 2019, said it will be an "incredible honour" to lead the Republic in next month's friendlies. "As everyone will know, I've always had immense pride representing my country, whether ...

Jarrod Bowen scored his first senior hat-trick to ease the pressure on West Ham manager David Moyes as his side claimed a much-needed Premier League win over Brentford. The hosts had not won a game in 2024 before Monday night, with their last fixture at London Stadium a 6-0 loss to Arsenal that saw hundreds of home fans leave at half-time. But West Ham responded in style as they went 2-0 up inside 10 minutes against the struggling Bees. Bowen got his first goal in the fifth minute with a strike that went in off the post, before the England forward scored again two minutes later as he slotted in Vladimir Coufal's pass. Neal Maupay swiftly halved the deficit with a scooped finish, then Brentford had claims for a penalty waved away when Mohammed Kudus nudged Sergio Reguilon over inside the box. A nervous spell followed as Brentford threatened to level but Bowen headed home his third midway through the second half, much to the relief of the Hammers fans. Emerson capped a...

Jurgen Klopp's swansong season has guaranteed at least one piece of silverware for the club, but it took a long time to get there in a topsy-turvy encounter that somehow stayed goalless for nearly the duration at Wembley. Liverpool's 10th triumph in the competition was achieved without a host of injured star names, including forward trio Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota, also losing Ryan Gravenberch when he was taken off on a stretcher after Moises Caicedo's first-half challenge. It means Jurgen Klopp's side have achieved the first part of a potential four-trophy haul in the manager's farewell season, but it was a bitter blow to Chelsea and manager Mauricio Pochettino. They have now lost six successive Wembley finals, including three against Liverpool, and wasted a host of opportunities here. At the heart of it all was the imperious Van Dijk along with keeper Kelleher, who once again decorated Wembley with an outstanding, calm performance, coming to ...

Manager Brendan Rodgers says Hart, who played 75 times for his country, will be a "huge miss to the game". As well as double title success north and south of the border, Hart has won six cup medals with City and Celtic. He told Celtic TV: "I wanted to get the message out as of June I am going to stop playing football. This is something that I have thought about for a while, there's no right or wrong time is there? "There is obviously a conversation around the goalkeeping position for next season and I think it's really important that with the blessing of the club we get the message out and it takes one thing out of what people are going to speculate over. "Physically I feel great, I feel as good as I possibly can do. For my age and what I have done to my body, I have been on the bench since I was 15, have been involved in professional football every day since I was 16. "I have gone down every avenue to keep myself in the best possible shape to...

🔴 Jurgen Klopp: “Xabi Alonso is doing an incredible job”. “Even if you would have asked me eight weeks ago about Xabi Alonso, I would have gone: oh my God!”. “The next generation is already there and I would say Xabi Alonso is standout in that department” “He’s exceptional”. Liverpool, describing the Bayer Leverkusen coach as the “­standout” of the next generation of leading managers. Alonso is favourite to replace the Liverpool manager this summer having taken Leverkusen from second bottom of the Bundesliga to a five-point lead at the top in 16 months. The 42-year-old’s team are also in the German Cup semi-finals, reached the Europa League semi-finals in Alonso’s first season and comprehensively outplayed Bayern Munich in a 3-0 victory last weekend.

The Zambian superstar has signed from Madrid CFF in the biggest transfer in women's soccer history, for a staggering fee worth €735,000 ($788,000/£625,000). The 23-year-old striker will travel to the United States to now be one of the highest-paid players in the league, with a deal that will pay over $2m across her contract through 2026, according to The Equalizer. Kundananji, who has eight goals and two assists this campaign in Liga F, is one of the top prospects in all of women's soccer. After signing in Spain in 2022, she ended her debut season with 25 goals across all competitions for Madrid CFF. Now, she's taking her talents to the West Coast to be the first-ever superstar signing for Bay FC ahead of their inaugural season The 23-year-old Zambian superstar will now travel to the United States to prepare for the 2024 NWSL season with her new club. The first Bay FC match of the year arrives on Saturday, March 16 against Angel City.

Crystal Palace vs Chelsea Preview Crystal Palace are currently in 15th place in the Premier League standings and have not been at their best so far this season. The home side slumped to a disappointing 4-1 defeat at the hands of Brighton & Hove Albion last week and will need to bounce back in this fixture.Chelsea, on the other hand, are in 11th place in the league table at the moment and have failed to meet expectations over the past year. The Blues eased past Aston Villa by a 3-1 scoreline in their previous game and will look to achieve a similar result this week. Crystal Palace vs Chelsea Head-to-Head and Key Numbers Chelsea have a good historical record against Crystal Palace and have on 37 out of the 64 matches played between the two teams, as opposed to Crystal Palace's 12 victories. Crystal Palace have lost their last 12 matches against Chelsea in the Premier League - their longest such run against a single opponent in the top flight. Chelsea have won their last 12 matche...

The tournament has been full of drama, excitement, stoppage-time goals, VAR interventions and incredible storylines. This year's edition will come to be regarded as one of the greatest of all time and the final is set to be a fascinating encounter. Nigeria advanced through the semi-finals by defeating South Africa after a thrilling penalty shoot-out after 1-1 draw after extra time. It has been a much more dramatic journey for the Ivorians. The hosts sacked their head coach in the group stages after being on the verge of elimination before getting through to the knockout stages, knocking out defending champions Senegal and seeing off DR Congo in the semi-finals. Both nations met in the group stages with Nigeria claiming a 1-0 victory over Ivory Coast courtesy of a penalty from captain William Troost-Ekong. Will Nigeria come out on top once again on Sunday to become four-time champions or will Ivory Coast complete a sensational turnaround to win the tour...