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Celtic  manager Brendan Rodgers believes the time has come for the SPFL to move to a summer season to give teams a better chance of competing in Europe. The Hoops were again Scotland's only representative in the group stages of European competition for the sixth successive season. But with one game remaining in their Champions League campaign Celtic have already been eliminated, finishing behind Barcelona, Manchester City and Borussia Monchengladbach. Rodgers took charge at Celtic Park in May and was quickly involved in Champions League qualifiers with a double-header against Lincoln Red Imps, followed by clashes with Astana of Kazakhstan and Israeli side Hapoel Be'er Sheva. Celtic made it into the group stages of Europe's premier competition for the first time in three years, having dropped into the Europa League in those seasons, but Rodgers concedes the current set up in Scotland is making it difficult for teams to progress beyond the preliminary rounds. ...

Sevilla moved above Barcelona into second spot in the La Liga table, as they held off Valencia with a 2-1 win at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium on Saturday. An own-goal from Ezequiel Garay and a second from Nicolas Pareja secured victory for the home side, who now sit just seven points behind league leaders Real Madrid. El Haddadi Munir pulled one back for the visitors just after the hour mark, but it wasn't to be for Cesare Prandelli's men who were denied an equaliser in the last kick of the game when Sevilla's Sergio Rico somehow kept out Jose Gaya's goal-bound strike with a stunning save. The first half saw little in the way of chances created, as the home side were forced to defend to keep Valencia at bay.  Los Che were gifted an opportunity inside the first three minutes when Sevilla goalkeeper Rico delivered a poor kick straight to the opposition, but much to Rico's relief his defenders were on hand to clear the danger. The home side closed do...

A last-minute penalty from Islam Slimani rescued a point for Leicester as they drew 2-2 with Middlesbrough on Saturday. It had been Alvaro Negredo's afternoon as he got his first goals since the opening day of the season to twice see Boro ahead, putting the visitors in front in the 13th minute as he chipped a delightful effort over the Foxes defence.  Riyad Mahrez got Leicester level from the penalty spot just after the half-hour mark following a Calum Chambers handball but Negredo once again found the net with just under 20 minutes to play. But the Premier League champions were to have the final say as Marten de Roon fouled Wes Morgan in the box to see referee Lee Mason point to the spot for a second time, and Slimani stepped up to seal a last-gasp draw for the hosts. Leicester now move up to 13th - two points above the relegation zone - while Middlesbrough sit in 15th just one point ahead of the bottom three.  Boro started as the stronger side and drew a fine s...

Chelsea kept hold of top spot in the Premier League after coming from behind to beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening, ending the visitors' unbeaten run in the process. Mauricio Pochettino's side opened the scoring after only 11 minutes thanks to Christian Eriksen's brilliant long-ranger - the first goal Chelsea had conceded in over 10 hours - only for Pedro to level just before half-time with his own sensational strike. The home team claimed all three points when Victor Moses - making his seventh consecutive league start - slotted home after 51 minutes as they made it seven league wins in a row, their best run for six years. As a result, Chelsea remain a point clear of second-placed Liverpool and third-in-the-table Manchester City, who both also won earlier in the day, while Spurs stay fifth and are now seven points behind their London rivals. As expected, Blues boss Antonio Conte named an unchanged starting line-up for the...

Fernando Llorente’s stoppage-time double gave Bob Bradley his first Premier League win as Swansea claimed a thrilling 5-4 victory over Crystal Palace. Wilfried Zaha had put Palace ahead at the Liberty Stadium before Gylfi Sigurdsson's sensational free-kick sent the teams in level at half-time.  Leroy Fer scored two goals in three minutes after the break to put Swansea clear of their opponents, before James Tomkins and a Jack Cork own-goal brought Palace back to 3-3.  Christian Benteke looked to have won it for Palace in the 84th minute after turning in Scott Dann's header, but substitute Llorente poked in two goals in added time to condemn Palace to their sixth Premier League defeat in a row.  Connor Wickham earned a place in Alan Pardew's starting line-up in place of Andros Townsend after coming on for the winger at half time to score against Manchester City last weekend. Swansea remained unchanged from their 1-1 draw with Everton, with Sigurdsson again lea...

Sergio Aguero scored twice as Manchester City came from behind to beat Burnley 2-1 at Turf Moor in the Premier League. The Clarets, for whom 37-year-old Paul Robinson started in goal in place of the injured Tom Heaton, took the lead in the 14th minute thanks to a brilliant volley from Dean Marney. But Aguero replied for City before the break and, after being denied by a superb save from Robinson, netted a scrappy winner on the hour mark after the hosts spurned several chances to clear their lines. The win moves City two points clear at the top of the table ahead of the rest of the weekend's action. City manager Pep Guardiola said beforehand that the match was "key", and the visitors managed to come away with all three points despite looking unconvincing at the back throughout. Perhaps some of that was due to the absence of centre-backs Vincent Kompany and John Stones, the former out injured and the latter rested. But they did have Aguero fit to start after...

Granit Xhaka is struggling to adapt at Arsenal, according to Arsene Wenger Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has conceded that £34m summer signing Granit Xhaka is struggling to adapt to the Premier League. The Gunners purchased Xhaka in May 2016 from Borussia Mönchengladbach for the third highest transfer fee in the club's history behind stars Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez.  As yet, the Switzerland international has failed to establish himself in Wenger's plans and it's something which the Arsenal boss admits needs to change.  "He needs to adapt, then we need to find the balance," Wenger said when quizzed on Xhaka's absence from the team.  Wenger was speaking of Xhaka ahead of his side's fixture with Bournemouth  "We have the positional play, he plays in a deeper lying midfield position, he passes through the lines. He needs to adapt to the way we play and the tactical pace of the English game. I am confident he will do very well. "...