Chelsea close to agreeing deal to re-sign Inter striker Romelu Lukaku

Some players thrive under the spotlight more than others – Liverpool will hope Sadio Mane proves his mettle against Manchester City, when the focus will be on him for more than one reason.

Mane has established himself as one of the Premier League s great entertainers and arguably Liverpool s biggest attacking threat, yet he has also earned himself a reputation as a purveyor of the dark arts – or diving , as Pep Guardiola put it on Saturday.

Earlier that day, Mane had gone down very easily in the penalty area during Liverpool s 2-1 win at Aston Villa. Under pressure from Frederic Guilbert, the forward theatrically went to ground and was swiftly shown a yellow card for simulation by referee Jon Moss.

Jurgen Klopp and Mane have had their say since and come to …

Wales overcame the absences of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey as Harry Wilson s stunning free-kick earned a 1-0 away Nations League victory over the Republic of Ireland.

Wilson scored with a wonderful set-piece in Derby County s penalty shootout defeat of Manchester United in the EFL Cup last month, and the midfielder produced a similar moment of magic to light up a tight contest Dublin.

Buoyed by a point against Denmark in their last outing, Ireland had started well, but Cyrus Christie and Shane Duffy squandered the best of the chances Martin O Neill s side managed to craft.

Wilson made the difference with a wicked 58th-minute free-kick, with Ireland then mustering little in response as Wales moved top of League B Group 4.

1 Other than Gareth Bale, who had…

Manchester City are celebrating a trophy treble after their Champions League final win over Inter Milan.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the key games in their successful campaign.

October 2, Man City 6 Man Utd 3

City did not really find consistency until the spring but there were some awesome demonstrations of their firepower – and particularly that of Erling Haaland – in the opening months. Their thrashing of arch-rivals United was especially sweet. Haaland helped himself to a hat-trick, his third in successive home games and one of six in a record-breaking campaign, while Phil Foden also hit three.

January 19, Man City 4 Tottenham 2

Pep Guardiola let his anger at his side be known after they rallied from 2-0 down at half-time with goals from Ju…

Celtic manager Neil Lennon is hopeful of keeping the services of goalkeeper Fraser Forster and winger Mohamed Elyounoussi for next season, even though their loan spells from Southampton are set to expire at the end of June.

The pair joined the Scottish champions from the Saints last summer on a temporary basis, and both have played an important role in the team winning the Premiership again, particularly Forster with his 28 league appearances, starting every game since making the switch. Even though nothing has yet been agreed regarding the future arrangements, they ve joined the team in their pre-season preparations.

As quoted by , Lennon said it was good to see the two back working with the team, but admitted that they are not Celtic s players and it remains to be see…

Jonas Eidevall wished former Arsenal forward Vivianne Miedema all the best after her move to Manchester City, as the Gunners prepare for the upcoming Women s Super League season.

Arsenal are set to begin life without the WSL s all-time leading scorer, who left the club after netting 80 times in 106 appearances during her seven-year spell.

Miedema also holds the WSL record for most shots (452), efforts on target (198), touches in the opposition box (816) and goals from inside the area (70).

In WSL history, only Bethany England (48) has converted more big chances than the Netherlands international (44), while Miedema has also provided 35 assists.

Ironically, Miedema s first WSL appearance for her new club will come against Arsenal on September 22, two days …

Hannah Dingley’s historic appointment at Forest Green has “smashed the glass ceiling”, anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out has said.

The League Two club announced Dingley as their caretaker head coach late on Tuesday night, making her the first woman to manage a professional men’s team in England.

Dingley has been the head of the Gloucestershire club’s academy and succeeds Duncan Ferguson on an interim basis after his departure from the club was confirmed earlier the same day.

That’s the sound of a glass ceiling being smashed!

Congratulations Hannah on becoming the first woman to manage a men’s professional football team in England

— Kick It Out (@kickitout)

Kick It Out welcomed the news in a tweet on Wednesday mornin…

Donny van de Beek should not have joined Manchester United as he struggles for game time at Old Trafford, insisted Dutch great Marco van Basten.

Van de Beek is yet to start a Premier League match for United after arriving from Eredivisie champions Ajax at the start of the season in a deal that could rise to £39.1million (€44m).

An unused substitute in Saturday s goalless draw with Chelsea, Van de Beek has only played 60 minutes of football in four Premier League matches amid growing doubts in Manchester.

Van de Beek, who was previously tipped to join Real Madrid, played the final two minutes of United s Champions League win at Paris Saint-Germain, while the 23-year-old started both EFL Cup games, having scored off the bench in the club s Premier League opener.…

Dele Alli scored twice as Tottenham claimed a 3-2 Premier League victory over Bournemouth to maintain their winning start under new head coach Jose Mourinho.

Tottenham beat West Ham and Olympiacos in Mourinho s first two matches and were good value for their latest triumph at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, despite another late collapse.

Alli scored in either half to give the hosts a two-goal advantage, which Moussa Sissoko added to with his first league goal in his past 69 appearances.

Harry Wilson pulled two goals back for Bournemouth a concerning repeat of the tense finale against West Ham for Mourinho  but Tottenham held on for back-to-back league wins for the first time since April to climb to fifth, six points off a Champions League place.

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Lionesses captain Millie Bright is proud to be carrying on the legacy of “fearless” ex-England skipper John Terry as she leads the European champions in the World Cup.

Bright vice-captained Sarina Wiegman’s side last summer and for this tournament inherited the armband from Leah Williamson, who was ruled out after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in April.

The Blues defender herself underwent a “brutal” rehabilitation process from a March knee injury to ensure she would be fit to fight for England’s first global title in co-hosting Australia, where they are next set to face Nigeria in the last 16.

She said: “JT was a big one for me. I think the way he carried himself and he always stepped out on the pitch fearless and stepped up…

Alvaro Morata believes he is a more complete player since his return to Juventus, as he matched his best goals tally in a Champions League campaign.

Morata scored his fifth Champions League goal of the season on Tuesday, with his stoppage-time header – which was flapped at by Denes Dibusz – sealing a 2-1 win for Juve over Ferencvaros, and earning their progression to the last 16 with two Group G games to spare.

The Spain international has been in fine form since his move back to Juve, where he spent two seasons between 2014 and 2016 and scored 15 Serie A goals and registered 12 assists in that time.

In 2014-15, the forward scored five goals – his best haul in the competition – as Juve reached the Champions League final, where they were beaten by Barcel…