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Jose Mourinho's progress at Manchester United has been endorsed by the club's most successful manager, Sir Alex Ferguson. United turned to Mourinho in the summer after deciding neither David Moyes nor Louis van Gaal was the right man to replicate Ferguson's glory years at Old Trafford. The Portuguese's first season has not been without its troubles, as the autumn brought two touchline bans and a run of one win from eight Premier League games. But United, who face Hull in the EFL Cup semi-final second leg on Thursday, live on Sky Sports, are unbeaten in 17 games and Ferguson believes Mourinho's players are taking their lead from the manager's growing sense of belonging in the job. "I think Jose is finding solutions now," the Scot told BBC Sport. "There was a period earlier in the season when he wasn't getting the decisions and his emotions boiled over. "You see him now - he is calm and in control. That is the obvious observati...

Sir Alex Ferguson has hailed Wayne Rooney's “outstanding” achievement and says he cannot see anyone beating his Manchester United scoring record. The 31-year-old notched his 250th United goal in Saturday's 1-1 draw at Stoke to move clear of Sir Bobby Charlton, with the World Cup winner also calling Rooney a "true great" after breaking a record that had stood since 1973. Ferguson, who led the Old Trafford side to 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups and two Champions League crowns, praised Rooney and said the United captain's record may well stand the test of time. "Well, it lasted for 44 years, I think, and when Wayne Rooney joined the club I could never imagine anybody could beat Sir Bobby's record," Ferguson told MUTV. "So his achievement is outstanding. It's amazing. He's 200-odd games short of Bobby's playing record and that makes it even more amazing. "I don't think [anyone can overtake Wayne]. I couldn...

The Football Association has charged Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger with misconduct in the wake of Sunday's game with Burnley. The Arsenal manager had been sent to the stands by referee Jon Moss for complaining about the decision to award Burnley a penalty. Wenger had a heated exchange with fourth official Anthony Taylor before walking to stand in the tunnel, and was caught on camera pushing the fourth official before stewards stepped in between the pair. Wenger, whose team went on to win the game 2-1 with a dramatic and controversial penalty of their own, later apologised for his actions. Arsene Wenger apologised for his actions after being sent to the stands against Burnley in the Premier League The FA confirmed on Monday afternoon that he has been charged. "Arsene Wenger has been charged for misconduct following Arsenal's game against Burnley on Sunday (22 January 2017)," a statement on the FA website read. "It is alleged that in or around the ...

Alexis Sanchez's 98th-minute Panenka penalty rescued 10-man Arsenal's title charge as the Gunners moved up to second with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Burnley. In a thrilling finale at the Emirates Stadium, the Chilean struck five minutes after Andre Gray's injury-time penalty moved the Clarets to within touching distance of only their second away point of the season. Arsene Wenger was sent to the stands for his protests to Burnley's equaliser, but, with seconds remaining, referee Jon Moss penalised Ben Mee's high boot on Laurent Koscielny - who was offside in the build-up - handing Sanchez the chance to restore their lead. Arsenal went ahead on 59 minutes through Shkodran Mustafi's first goal for the club, but Granit Xhaka's 65th-minute dismissal, for a lunge on Steven Defour, opened the game up for the Clarets. But the Gunners produced another stirring comeback to seal a fourth victory in their last five league outings that sees them leapfrog nor...

Tottenham fought back from two goals down to grab a dramatic 2-2 draw with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. City were largely dominant against an out-of-sorts Spurs and looked to be coasting to victory after Leroy Sane opened the scoring in the 49th minute and then Kevin de Bruyne tapped in after Hugo Lloris spilled the ball at his feet. But Spurs levelled with their first shot on target as Dele Alli headed in from Kyle Walker's cross. The hosts were then denied a penalty when Walker shoved Raheem Sterling in the back when he was through on goal. City manager Pep Guardiola was left furious by the decision and his mood soured even further shortly afterwards as Heung-Min Son fired in to snatch a point for Spurs. The draw does little to help either side in their bid to catch Premier League leaders Chelsea, who will go nine points clear of Spurs if they beat Hull on Sky Sports on Sunday. But Spurs should be more content with the point after being outpla...

Wayne Rooney's record-breaking free-kick in injury time earned Manchester United a 1-1 draw at Stoke on Saturday. Substitute Rooney hit a fine effort into the top corner from the edge of the box in the 94th minute, his 250th Manchester United goal, to break Sir Bobby Charlton's long-standing goalscoring record. Stoke had taken the lead in the first half through Juan Mata's unfortunate own goal after Erik Pieters' cross from the left byline deflected off his foot, before Mata missed a fine opportunity from six yards at the other end. United relentlessly pressed in the second half, hitting the bar through Jesse Lingard and going close on several other occasions, before Rooney stepped up to slot home a superb free-kick. Wayne Rooney says it’s a huge honour to eclipse Sir Bobby Charlton’s record and become Manchester United’s all-time leading goalscorer. The 31-year-old hit his 250th goal in 546 games having joined United from Everton in 2004, having played 212...

Antonio Conte has confirmed Diego Costa is in contention to play for Chelsea against Hull City on Sunday, live on Sky Sports. The Spain striker returned to training with the Premier League leaders this week after missing their 3-0 win at Leicester last Saturday. Although the official reason given for his absence then was a back injury, Sky sources understand Costa was involved in a training ground row with Conte last week. That came against the backdrop of a £30m-a-year offer from Chinese Super League side Tianjin Quanjian. According to Chelsea, Costa worked with a fitness coach on Sunday and Monday in order to recover from the back problem they reported. He then had an hour-long meeting with Conte at the club's Cobham training base on Tuesday and he could now return against Marco Silva's side on Sunday. The Italian head coach said: "I think the player wants to stay at Chelsea. He is very happy to play with us. "This idea (the move to China) is far in...

 Memphis Depay has completed his move to Lyon, but Jose Mourinho thinks the forward could still return to Manchester United in the future Lyon will present Memphis Depay on Friday afternoon after completing a deal to sign the Manchester United winger. Depay makes the move to France for a fee that could rise to £21.7m after 18 months at Old Trafford, having been brought to United by previous manager Louis van Gaal. He struggled for playing time under Jose Mourinho, who took over from Van Gaal last summer, having made only eight appearances in all competitions this season. Depay said his farewells to Manchester United on Friday lunchtime, just before Mourinho spoke at his press conference, where he had nothing but praise for the 22-year-old. Mourinho also confirmed United have a buy-back clause in the Depay deal. "He was a fantastic professional so if somebody thinks it didn't work because he was not a great professional, that is totally wrong," Mourinho said...

Manchester United have returned to the top of the Deloitte Football Money League for the first time in 11 years after recording the highest annual revenue for a football club in history. United's record revenue for the 2015/16 season of £515.3m sees them leapfrog Spanish giants Barcelona (£463.8m) and Real Madrid (£463.8m), who sit second and third respectively. Champions League holders Real slip to third after 11 years at the top, despite breaking the €600m revenue barrier for the first time. The Deloitte Football Money League measures a club's earnings from matchday revenue, broadcast rights and commercial sources, and ranks them on that basis. The study does not include player transfer fees. Da n Jones, partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said: "Manchester United have had to wait 11 years to regain their position as the world's leading revenue-generating club and it has taken phenomenal commercial revenue growth to help them achieve this. ...

Manchester City’s woeful record on Merseyside continued as they slipped to a damaging 4-0 loss at Everton - Pep Guardiola's heaviest-ever league defeat as a manager. Romelu Lukaku opened the scoring in emphatic style 34 minutes in, before Kevin Mirallas scored just over a minute into the second half to put City on the ropes. Local lad Tom Davies netted a deserved third 11 minutes from time, before a stoppage-time debut strike from Ademola Lookman ensured City’s miserable record on Merseyside, where they have won just five times in their last 40 Premier League matches, continued. More pertinently for City fans, the result sees them sit an imposing 10 points behind leaders Chelsea in fifth place, while Everton remain in seventh, but have opened up a four-point cushion over West Brom in eighth. New signing Morgan Schneiderlin had to make do with a place on the bench, but Everton didn’t need him early on as they had the better of the opening exchanges. Mirallas did have th...

Barcelona moved into second place in La Liga by thrashing Las Palmas 5-0 at the Nou Camp on Saturday. Luis Suarez scored twice - his 101st and 102nd goal for the club - in between a tap in from Lionel Messi before Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal completed the rout. The Uruguayan swept the Catalans into an early but controversial lead with a first-time right-footed effort in the 14th minute after he was found unmarked by Andre Gomes' pass from the byline. Las Palmas could feel aggrieved at going behind to the strike after the supplier Gomes appeared to have strayed offside when he was played in by Vidal from defence. Quique Setien looked to former Portsmouth and AC Milan striker Kevin-Prince Boateng for their attacking impetus but he spurned two good chances to claw the visitors back into the game. The victory meant Luis Enrique's side leapfrogged Sevilla into second place and to within two points of arch rivals Real Madrid while the visitors remain eighth. The hosts ...

Harry Kane scored a hat-trick as Tottenham beat West Brom 4-0 at White Hart Lane on Saturday to go second in the Premier League. Spurs dominated from the start and struck twice before half-time, first through Kane (12) and then thanks to a Gareth McAuley own goal (26). Kane - who missed last weekend's FA Cup win over Aston Villa for the birth of his first child - added his second with a fine volley on 77 minutes and repeated the trick five minutes later, firing home from Dele Alli's scooped pass to cap a brilliant performance from the hosts. The victory sends Tottenham, who also lost Jan Vertonghen to an ankle injury, into second in the table above Liverpool, who face Manchester United at Old Trafford on Nissan Super Sunday. It is also their sixth consecutive Premier League win, matching a club record they can break with three points at Manchester City next weekend. Mauricio Pochettino, taking charge of his 200th game in English football, made nine changes from To...

Swansea scored two own goals as Arsenal gave Paul Clement a home debut to forget in a 4-0 thrashing at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday. Swansea had a chance to move out of the bottom three for the first time since October 15 with a win but their task was made tougher when Olivier Giroud opened the scoring just before half-time - his fifth goal in five games. Jack Cork and Kyle Naughton then put through their own net after the break - both from Alex Iwobi crosses - before Alexis Sanchez also got in on the act with his 14th goal of the season. However, all didn’t look well with Sanchez when he was substituted, the Chilean cutting a frustrated figure on the bench with his overcoat pulled over his head. Arsenal have now taken 29 points from a possible 33 against teams in the bottom half this season and their next three home games are against Burnley, Watford and Hull. They move to within five points of league-leaders Chelsea, who play Leicester City on Saturday evening. Mesu...

Chelsea restored their lead to seven points at the top of the Premier League with a comfortable 3-0 win against Leicester at the King Power Stadium. Antonio Conte’s side, who were without top goalscorer Diego Costa, were sent on their way in the sixth minute when Marcus Alonso opened the scoring. The wing-back doubled his side’s advantage six minutes after half-time with the help of a deflection before Pedro rounded off the scoring in the 71st minute. The win leaves Chelsea with a healthy gap at the top over nearest rivals Tottenham, who beat West Brom 4-0 earlier in the day. For Leicester, defeat leaves them in 15th and five points clear of the relegation zone. Much of the build-up to this game was dominated by Costa, who was left out of Chelsea’s squad with Sky sources saying the Spaniard had fallen out with boss Antonio Conte after he was the subject of a £30m-per-year offer from a club in the Chinese Super League. However, Costa’s absence - which Chelsea claimed was ...

Diego Costa has not trained for three days after receiving a £30m-per-year offer from a Chinese Super League club and will miss Chelsea's game at Leicester Diego Costa has been dropped from Chelsea's squad to face Leicester after a row with manager Antonio Conte, according to Sky sources. It is understood he has not trained for the last three days after he was the subject of a £30m-per-year offer from a club in the Chinese Super League. Sky sources understand the Spain striker has become unsettled by the approach from China, which would make him one of the highest paid footballers in the world, and he became embroiled in an argument with two fitness coaches. Graeme Souness has warned Chelsea they must keep Diego Costa for at least the rest of this season or they will risk missing out on the Premier League title Conte then stepped in and, according to Sky in Italy, the row ended with the Italian shouting: "Go to China!" It comes as a major blow to Chelsea...

Everton have announced the £24m signing of Manchester United midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin. The France international has signed a four-and-a-half-year deal until the end of June 2021, with the Toffees paying United an initial fee of £20m. Schneiderlin says he is relishing the prospect of being reunited with Ronald Koeman, under whom he worked at Southampton prior to his departure to Old Trafford 18 months ago. The 27-year-old said: “Everton is a big club in the history of English football. I’ve always loved the atmosphere in the stadium. I’ve always liked playing here. I can’t wait to play and to represent this great club. “There is a manager in place here that I know, and I know he can get the best out of me. I know his style and how he likes to play football. He was very good with me from the start and I enjoyed playing under him Morgan Schneiderlin can recapture form at Everton after Man Utd struggles “He was very good for me and, obviously. At Southampton he gave me ...

Barcelona's hopes of offering Lionel Messi an improved contract face a stumbling block because of spending caps imposed by La Liga, the club's CEO Oscar Grau said on Wednesday. Luis Suarez and Neymar have each signed new deals until 2021 but Messi's contract runs out in 2018, giving Barca a window of 18 months to prevent him leaving the club for free. The Argentina international earns a reported €22m (£19m) per year after tax, while Neymar and Suarez's salaries are believed to be €25m (£21.6m) after their latest contract renewals. Grau said any new deal for the Argentine would put considerable pressure on the club's finances. "Barcelona has to analyse this situation with a cold head and common sense," Grau said on Wednesday at the Forum Europa. "Barca can't exceed 70 per cent of its budget on wages and therefore we have to make the numbers add up." La Liga agrees budgetary limits with each club at the start of every season and ...

Mesut Ozil maintains he is willing to sign a contract extension at Arsenal but wants clarity on Arsene Wenger’s future first. Both Ozil and team-mate Alexis Sanchez have 18 months remaining on their existing contracts but are stalling on signing new terms. Wenger is keen to tie his key attacking duo down to long-term deal deals and is adamant neither player will be sold, even if they fail to agree extensions. It was reported last month that both Ozil and Sanchez are seeking parity with the Premier League's top earners before putting pen to paper on new contracts. Arsene Wenger dismisses reports Alexis Sanchez could leave Arsenal after appearing frustrated during the 3-3 draw at Bournemouth Ozil, who joined the Gunners from Real Madrid in 2013, says he is ready to commit to Arsenal if the club are willing to satisfy his demands. "I am very, very happy at Arsenal and have let the club know that I would be ready to sign a new contract," Ozil said, in an interv...

Barcelona are now five points behind Real Madrid in the La Liga title race, having played a game more, after they drew 1-1 with Villarreal. They had looked set to resume their league campaign following the winter break with a defeat after Nicola Sansone put the hosts in front five minutes after half time. But a sublime free kick from Lionel Messi, as the game crept into stoppage time, salvaged a deserved point for Luis Enrique's side in his 150th game in charge. Barca remain in third, a point behind second-placed Sevilla, while Villarreal stay fifth, just one point adrift of Atletico Madrid. Lionel Messi scores a wonderful free-kick to bring Barcelona level with Villarreal in the dying minutes of the match at the El Madrigal. All of that means Real are firmly in control of the championship following their 5-0 win over Granada earlier in the day. Barcelona had the bulk of possession in the first half and registered the first shot on goal when Andres Iniesta's firm...

John Terry was sent off on his return to the Chelsea starting line-up as the Blues beat Peterborough 4-1 in the FA Cup third round on Sunday. The club captain was given his marching orders after a foul on Posh striker Lee Angol in the 66th minute, although the home side were already on their way to victory. Pedro book-ended the scoring - netting in the 18th minute and again with 16 minutes of the game to play - with strikes from Michy Batshuayi (43) and Willian (52) sandwiched in between. Tom Nichols replied for the hosts four minutes after Terry's sending off, but it could not inspire a comeback as Chelsea cruised into the fourth round. It was a fast start at Stamford Bridge from both sides, with Peterborough goalkeeper Luke McGee saving from a Gary Cahill flick, before Asmir Begovic denied Angol at the other end. Peterborough again tested the Blues defence on the quarter-hour mark as Nichols saw his shot put wide by Cahill before Ryan Tafazolli also nodded past the pos...

League Two Plymouth Argyle held on for a famous goalless draw at Liverpool on Sunday to earn themselves an FA Cup third-round replay. Having named their youngest-ever starting line-up with an average age of 21 years and 296 days, Liverpool dominated the first half at Anfield without creating many clear chances. Sheyi Ojo missed a close-range header and Ben Woodburn saw an effort saved by Luke McCormick. But they lost their rhythm after the break and could not find a way through despite the introduction of Daniel Sturridge, Roberto Firmino and Adam Lallana. The tie will now be decided in a replay at Home Park in the week of January 16. In a month where they already face a two-legged EFL Cup semi-final against Southampton and three Premier League matches, another fixture would not have been top of Jurgen Klopp's wishlist. He made 10 changes from the draw at Sunderland on Monday, with only Emre Can keeping his place in the side. Five teenagers started - Joe Gomez, Woo...