Pep Guardiola hailed Bristol City s tactics after Manchester City needed a stoppage-time header from Sergio Aguero to claim a 2-1 win in Tuesday s EFL Cup semi-final first leg.

The Championship side – who knocked out Manchester United in the last round – led at the interval thanks to a Bobby Reid penalty that the striker won himself after being fouled by John Stones.

But Manchester City improved markedly in the second period, captain Kevin De Bruyne levelling 10 minutes after the break before Aguero came off the bench to head in Bernardo Silva s pinpoint cross.

While the runaway Premier League leaders dominated possession, the match was far from a procession and Guardiola believes the visitors  willingness to attack made the game a more entertaining conte…

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp explained his decision to leave Xherdan Shaqiri out for his side s trip to Red Star Belgrade, saying his team s focus was purely on the game.

Shaqiri was born in Kosovo, an ethnically Albanian province that fought a war of independence against Serbian-dominated Yugoslav forces in the late 1990s. The Serbian government refuses to recognise Kosovo s independence.

The 27-year-old made headlines during the World Cup after celebrating his winner for Switzerland against Serbia by crossing his hands to imitate an eagle, which appears on Albania s flag.

Klopp opted against taking the attacker to Belgrade for Tuesday s Champions League clash and said Shaqiri had accepted his decision.

I took a lot of times in my life a decision abou…

According to a recent report from Sky Sports News, Chelsea are unlikely to trigger the buy-back clause which is currently in place in Nathan Ake’s Bournemouth contract. There are a lot of spinning plates when it comes to what both of these clubs are going to be doing between now and the end of the January transfer window, but one thing that seemed to be fairly certain was that the Blues were going to be exploring the option of bringing Ake back to Stamford Bridge. 

Despite the fan support which has been put behind that idea in recent weeks, it no longer seems likely to happen. This’ll come as music to the ears of Cherries fans who, in the wake of an incredibly bad run in the Premier League, could really use a bit of good news as they attempt to claw their way out of trou…

Born in Bosnia-Herzegovina to Bosnian Serb parents in 1989, Marin – a Europa League winner with Chelsea (2013) and Sevilla (2014) moved to Germany at the age of two and 16 international caps for his new country followed.

Marin waited for calls from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia but they were not forthcoming as he opted for Germany – he was rewarded with a spot in Joachim Low s 2010 World Cup squad after impressing for Bremen.

While he represented Die Mannschaft, Marin s love for Serbian powerhouse Red Star – who snapped a 26-year drought from Europe s premier club competition last term – runs deep and a second successive season of Champions League football means a lot to the club captain.

It s different because you play with more passion for the club, Ma…

Cristiano Ronaldo s potential arrival at Juventus would be welcomed by Gonzalo Higuain, according to the striker s agent.

Reports emerged on Tuesday that Juventus had lodged a bid to Real Madrid for Ronaldo, who is heading into his 10th season with Los Blancos.

Ronaldo and Higuain played together at Madrid between 2009 and 2013, before the Argentinian moved onto Napoli, where his scintillating form earned him a switch to Turin.

And although Ronaldo s hypothetical arrival at the Serie A champions could threaten Higuain s place up front, his sibling Nicolas is positive there would be no issues.

We don t know anything yet. He was team-mates with Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid, but they haven t spoken about it, Nicolas Higuain told Sky Sport Italia.

…

Borussia Monchengladbach s Manu Kone appears set to be the object of a fierce transfer battle this summer, according to Fabrizio Romano, with Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United all interested in his services and monitoring the situation closely.

Primarily a box-to-box midfielder, the 21-year-old is a product of the academy at Toulouse, and he joined Gladbach initially on loan in January 2021. Since then, he s gone on to represent the German club on 54 occasions, scoring four goals and providing two assists for his teammates. Having represented France at several youth levels, he is yet to earn a cap as a senior international for the World Cup runners-up.

At the end of the season, Kone will have two years left on his contract, and in case he shows a desire…

Harry Kane must leave Tottenham if he harbours ambitions of winning trophies, according to Jermain Defoe.

Kane is contracted to Spurs until June 2024, but the England captain revealed he will make a decision on his future after Euro 2020.

Defoe believes the prolific 27-year-old striker will have to turn his back on his boyhood club if he is hungry for medals.

The Rangers and ex-Tottenham striker told Darren Bent’s Boot Room on talkSPORT: If you d have asked me this question a few years ago, I d have said he should have stayed there, what he s done at the football club – he s a legend.

Since I ve come away from that and gone to Rangers, I ve seen that mentality and played for another big club, the importance of playing for that club and winning every …

Guillaume Hoarau scored Young Boys first Champions League goal as the Swiss side came from behind to deny Valencia in a 1-1 draw at Stade de Suisse.

Both teams came into the game without a goal to their name in Group H, but Michy Batshuayi s second of the season gave Valencia a first-half lead.

Veteran striker Hoarau struck from the spot 10 minutes into the second half, and Champions League debutants Young Boys looked like the more likely side to grab a winner.

Sekou Sanogo saw a late header turned on to the post for Young Boys, the result leaving both sides without a victory after three games, with Manchester United hosting Juventus in the group s other game later on Tuesday.

Miralem Sulejmani s swerving free-kick for the hosts was comfortably saved by…

Freddie Ljungberg hopes Arsenal have now hit rock bottom and the club can rebuild as they face missing out on European football for the first time in 25 years.

The Gunners could only draw 0-0 with Villarreal – led by their former head coach Unai Emery in the second leg of Thursday s Europa League semi-final tie, meaning they crashed out 2-1 on aggregate.

It was a result that ended Arsenal s hope of reaching the Champions League, while their chances of making the Europa League or Conference League next season look slim given they sit ninth in the Premier League with four matches to go.

After the match, manager Mikel Arteta claimed he always feels the pressure as he seemingly conceded his position at Arsenal may well be under threat.

0 In 2020-21, Arsena…

Fernandinho will be Manchester City s captain for the 2020-21 season, manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed.

David Silva took the armband after the departure of long-serving skipper Vincent Kompany last season before the Spain playmaker opted to call time on his decade-long stay at the Etihad Stadium.

It means the responsibility will now be passed to Fernandinho, another stalwart of City s modern era, after the 35-year-old was voted captain by his team-mates and other members of staff.

He will be good [as a leader], as he always has been since I met him, Guardiola said of the Brazil international who joined City from Shakhtar Donetsk for £30million in 2013 and is out of contract next June.

It doesn’t matter [whether or not Fernandinho has] the armband…