Ivory Coast striker Dadi on loan to Swiss club Vaduz

Compared to the domestic and European woes of five-times European kings Liverpool, life is bliss for Manchester United and Chelsea as Premier League glory and the knockout phase of the Champions League beckon.

Liverpool, six defeats in seven games, have run into a brick wall in the Premier League where a first title in 20 years already looks beyond them.

Failure to win at Lyon on Wednesday could derail their Champions League ambitions after defeats to the French side and also Fiorentina.

Meanwhile it s been relatively plain sailing for United and Chelsea, both at home and abroad.

Sir Alex Ferguson s 2008 European champions are just two points off the Blues in the league while in Europe both sides have posted three wins already.

Despite veterans R…

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas says Anthony Martial s proposed transfer to Manchester United will initially earn his club €10million in sell-on fees.

Martial moved from Lyon to Monaco in June 2013 for €5m, and the France international is now poised to make the move to Old Trafford after scoring just 13 goals for the Principality club.

Various fees have been reported, with some in France suggesting United could pay as much as €80m (£58.2m) for the 19-year-old.

That is good news for Lyon, who stand to benefit significantly from the deal.

He is great prospect, which is why we had rights for the resale, Aulas said. It is a very nice deal for Anthony and I am very happy.

We were smart enough to handle the short and the long term.

Mo…

The Premier League season may still be in its infancy, but Saturday s clash between Manchester United and Liverpool is already being billed as a potentially crucial encounter for the fierce rivals.

There is no love lost between two sides that always manage to produce great drama when they face each other and the teams go in search of morale-boosting bragging rights after disappointments before the international break.

United are looking to bounce back from a 2-1 reverse at Swansea City that followed laboured 1-0 wins over Tottenham and Aston Villa, as well as a 0-0 draw against Newcastle United.

With plenty of investment made during the transfer window, manager Louis van Gaal is expected to challenge for trophies this term and the Dutchman whose side did the d…

Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has warned Gareth Southgate s side of the extremely difficult task they face to break down Sweden s defence in Saturday s World Cup quarter-final.

The Three Lions are on a high after Tuesday s penalty shoot-out victory over Colombia following a 1-1 draw, which booked them a trip to Samara to face a Sweden side Eriksson rates highly for their defensive resilience and team ethic.

Janne Andersson s men have won three of their four World Cup matches so far, scoring six goals and keeping a trio of clean sheets as they topped Group F and beat Switzerland 1-0 in the last 16.

Eriksson, who managed England to 40 victories and only 10 defeats between 2001 and 2006, said his home nation would prove a stern test for his former emplo…

Southampton defenders Virgil van Dijk and Jose Fonte will not leave in the January transfer window, according to manager Claude Puel.

Van Dijk has been linked with a big-money move away from St Mary s Stadium, with Chelsea and Manchester City said to be chasing him after his impressive form since signing from Celtic in 2015.

Captain Fonte, meanwhile, has reportedly attracted the interest of Everton and Manchester United, with only has 18 months left on his Saints contract.

But Puel has reiterated he does not have any plans to sell the duo in January and is not worried that Van Dijk has become distracted by the speculation.

With Jose [the situation] is a little particular but he is contracted with Southampton, Puel said ahead of Saturday s home Premier Le…

David Neres scored a second-half winner as Juventus continued their poor start to the season with a 2-1 defeat at home to Benfica in the Champions League.

Having seen a late winner ruled out in Sunday s ill-tempered draw with Salernitana, Arkadiusz Milik took just four minutes to open the scoring, flicking past Odisseas Vlachodimos to seemingly put the hosts in control.

However, Joao Mario levelled things up with a first-half penalty and Neres volleyed in the winner after 55 minutes, putting Benfica joint-top of Group H alongside Paris Saint-Germain.

There were chances for a late equaliser, Dusan Vlahovic seeing an effort disallowed and Bremer squandering a golden opportunity to leave the pressure mounting upon Massimiliano Allegri.

3 Juventus have conc…

Bologna have completed the signing of Palermo striker Davide Succi on a six month loan deal.  The Rossoblu also have the option to sign him on a permanent basis at the end of the season for a fee of around 3 million euros. Succi, 28, was born in Bologna but started his professional career with Chievo Verona.

He had loan spells at Poggese,  Padova, SPAL, Como and Lucchese before transferring to Ravenna in 2005. In September 2008, he was signed by Palermo. His first league goal for the Rosanero was scored against Bologna.

Bologna were in the market for a striker after losing Pablo Osvaldo to Spanish club Espanyol. Apart from Succi, the Rossoblu currently have Marco Di Vaio, Marcelo Zalayeta  and young Henry Gimenez as the strikers in their lineup.

[Source:- Bol…

Barcelona received an offer for Neymar from Manchester United in the previous transfer window, according to the player s father and manager.

The Brazil captain  who remains embroiled in legal issues surrounding his transfer from Santos to Camp Nou in 2013 and Neymar Sr were apparently asked if they would be interested in a move to Old Trafford.

However, Neymar s father insisted that neither the Catalan club or player wanted the deal to go through and the offer is no longer on the table.

Barcelona received a proposal, and the club told us they were not going to sell him, Neymar Sr said on Boa Tarde Fox.

They asked if we were interested, but it was not the case. Barcelona did not sell because he has three years left on his contract.

It was…

Barcelona played their best football in two years in the first half of Tuesday s Champions League defeat to Manchester City, according to Luis Enrique.

The Spanish champions took the lead at the Etihad Stadium through Lionel Messi, but were made to pay for some sloppy mistakes as Pep Guardiola s side ultimately ran out 3-1 winners.

Errors from Sergi Roberto and goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, combined with a general slump in their performance in the second half, prompted criticism of Barca both in England and Spain.

Luis Enrique, however, says their football early on was the finest he has seen since taking charge in 2014 and insists the detractors do not concern him.

If you look at the first 40 minutes in Manchester, I think they were the best in thi…

Jurgen Klopp has dismissed suggestions he could succeed Joachim Low as Germany head coach.

The Liverpool manager said on Tuesday that he remained committed to last season s Premier League champions.

Low announced earlier in the day that he would end his 15-year career as Germany boss after the Euro 2020 finals.

Klopp s name led the way in polls conducted in Germany to judge the public view of who should replace Low, but the 53-year-old former Borussia Dortmund coach counted himself out.

When asked whether the job may have come too soon for him in his career, Klopp said: Maybe you should ask the question differently, if I m available for the job of manager or coach of the German national team after the summer no.

Joachim Low did an incredible job…