Liam Cullen’s stoppage-time free-kick earned managerless Swansea a 2-2 draw at Coventry.
The Swans had earlier been ahead through Liam Walsh’s first goal in almost four years, before Haji Wright and Ellis Simms put Coventry 2-1 in front.
Swansea had been thrashed 5-0 by former head coach Russell Martin and Southampton on Boxing Day, but Cullen fired in a last-gasp set-piece to give his side a hard-fought point.
Former Coventry loanee Walsh put Swansea ahead in the seventh minute after he latched onto a poor touch from Jamie Allen and picked out the bottom corner, his first strike since scoring for the Sky Blues in January 2020.
It was just the ninth goal that Coventry had conceded at home this season.
They were ahead for just three minutes bef…
Chelsea are reportedly closing in on the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino as manager.
The Blues have agreed terms with the former Tottenham boss, according to reports in various media outlets on Saturday evening.
The 51-year-old Argentinian would take over from interim manager Frank Lampard at the end of the season.
There has been no confirmation from the club. The PA news agency has contacted Chelsea.
Chelsea are seeking a new full-time manager after sacking Graham Potter amid a run of poor form just seven months into his five-year contract in April.
Lampard, who previously managed the club from 2019-21, was brought in on a temporary basis but the team’s struggles have continued and they sit 11th in the Premier League.
Pochettino, who…
It was 16 years to the day since the world was first treated to a competitive glimpse of Lionel Messi as a fresh-faced teenager in the famous Barcelona jersey.
Few could have imagined that his appearance as an 82nd-minute substitute for match-winner Deco in a 1-0 victory at Espanyol would be the first step towards a career many consider the greatest of all time.
Since that day, Messi has won 10 LaLiga titles, the Copa del Rey six times and the Champions League on four occasions, as well as becoming an unprecedented six-time winner of the prestigious Ballon d Or award.
To mark the anniversary of Messi s LaLiga debut, we have analysed the Opta numbers behind a genius.
Nine years ago
Leo
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona)
…
Best odds: 8/15
Bookmaker:
With their stadium of Santiago Bernabeu still not ready to host matches through reconstruction, Real Madrid will play their first home game of the 2020/21 season in La Liga at their Castilla side s venue of Alfredo Di Stefano where they will welcome Real Valladolid on Wednesday evening.
Real Madrid
Los Blancos will have been disappointed by the fact that they were knocked out of the Champions League in the round of 16, but finally beating arch-rivals Barcelona to the La Liga title certainly classifies last season as a relatively successful one for them. In fact, Real are now on a run of 13 games in the Spanish top flight without defeat, winning 11 of those. The last two on that run came at the start of this campaign and both away, a g…
Tottenham’s top-four prospects have been dealt a blow after full-back Destiny Udogie was ruled out for the rest of the season.
Udogie has flourished in his first campaign in the Premier League and made 30 appearances in all competitions for Spurs.
The Italian defender has caught the eye with his ventures into midfield under Ange Postecoglou, but revealed in a post on Instagram that he had surgery on an unspecified injury and would not play again in the 2023-24 season.
…
Brazil coach Dorival Junior announced his 23-man squad for the upcoming Copa America, with Casemiro one of the big names missing out on a place.
The Manchester United midfielder, who has 75 caps for Brazil, has struggled in a difficult season and was omitted from the squad along with Tottenham forward Richarlison, Selecao’s top-scorer at the 2022 World Cup.
17-year-old Endrick, who is due to join Real Madrid in July, is in the squad after scoring two goals in four appearances since his debut for Brazil last year.
He became the youngest male player to score an international goal at Wembley when he netted the winner against England in March.
While announcing the squad, Dorival Junior explained the reason for Casemiro’s exclusion.
He said: He des…
Given he delivered back-to-back LaLiga titles and left Barcelona still at the summit, Ernesto Valverde s departure appears perplexing on the surface.
There has been no great decline to speak of, no obvious player revolt and no boardroom bickering.
Why then have the Blaugrana opted to part ways with their head coach and replace him with Quique Setien, a man who could only lead Real Betis to a 10th-place finish last term?
We have taken a look at the five games which might have ultimately resulted in Valverde s exit.
Agreement between FC Barcelona and Ernesto Valverde to end his contract as manager of the first team. Thank you for everything, Ernesto. Best of luck in the future.
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona)
Roma 3-0 Barcelona. Champion…
Barcelona have confirmed the dismissal of head coach Xavi, just 30 days after he had revealed he would be staying on for next season.
Xavi said in January that he would be leaving Barca at the end of the season, yet he was convinced to remain in charge by club president Joan Laporta.
Barca have gone on to secure a second-place finish in LaLiga, yet on Friday, before their final match of the season against Sevilla on Sunday, it was confirmed Xavi would be leaving after all.
A statement released on the club s official website read: The president, Joan Laporta, announced this afternoon to Xavi that he will not continue as coach of the first team in the 2024-25 season.
The meeting took place at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper and the sports vice-president,…
Liverpool have taken a big step towards securing a place in the Champions League final by beating Villarreal 2-0 in the first leg of the semifinal on Wednesday at Anfield, courtesy of an own-goal from Pervis Estupinan and a composed finish by Sadio Mane.
On the previous evening, Manchester City triumphed over Real Madrid at the Etihad in the other semi by 4-3, and the name of the other finalist will surely be decided at the Santiago Bernabeu next week.
Villarreal came to defend
Villarreal boss Unai Emery obviously felt his team would be no match for Liverpool in an open contest, so it was undoubtedly prudent to set up a defensive approach at Anfield. Arranged in two banks of four, glued together with no space in between and with two forwards playing mostly around 30 ya…
Son Heung-min says Dele Alli will always be part of the family and hopes his former Tottenham team-mate will not “have tough times anymore” as he looks to kick-start his career.
Things have gone awry for the 27-year-old since he helped Spurs reach the 2019 Champions League final, with the England international failing to make an impact at Everton after moving there in January 2022.
Alli recently revealed he had considered hanging up his boots in an emotional interview that saw him talk about how he was “molested” as a six-year-old and dealing drugs aged eight.
The attacking midfielder also spoke about alcohol problems, sleeping-pill addiction and addressing his mental-health issues by spending six weeks in a rehab clinic – situations he kept away from m…