Hleb confident of success

Pep Guardiola would rather retain the Premier League with Manchester City than win the club s maiden Champions League title next season.

City stormed to glory in England s top flight this term, finishing 19 points ahead of rivals Manchester United in the final standings after Gabriel Jesus last-gasp winner at Southampton took them to 100 points.

Guardiola s men are the first team to reach that landmark and also tore up a succession of other competition records on the way to a third Premier League crown in seven seasons.

That level of regular success is something City have been unable to take on to the European stage, reaching the Champions League semi-finals just once in seven attempts and bowing out to finalists Liverpool in the quarter-finals this time around.<…

Chelsea midfielder Marco van Ginkel has joined Premier League rivals Stoke City on a season-long loan. 

The Netherlands international becomes Stoke s fourth signing of the close-season after Philipp Wollscheid joined on a permanent basis, while Jakob Haugaard and Joselu have also switched to the Britannia Stadium.

Van Ginkel moved to Chelsea from Vitesse in July 2013, but a serious knee injury in September of that year hindered his progress.

Subsequently, the 22-year-old was shipped out on loan to Milan last season and he made 17 Serie A appearances during his time at San Siro.

The deal is sure to increase speculation that Asmir Begovic will move in the opposite direction to Stamford Bridge.

The Bosnia-Herzegovina goalkeeper has been linked with…

Eric Dier has been ruled out of Tottenham s pre-season tour to Singapore and Shanghai having undergone an operation on an unspecified injury.

The England international featured in the Three Lions penalty shoot-out win over Switzerland in the Nations League third-place play-off on June 9, and had been hoping to play a full part in Tottenham s preparations for the 2019-20 season.

But the club have confirmed that, while the procedure to correct Dier s injury was successful, the 25-year-old midfielder will not travel with the rest of Mauricio Pochettino s squad when they visit Singapore and Shanghai for matches against Juventus and Manchester United.

Dier has been troubled by a groin injury in recent months, and he started just 18 of Tottenham s 38 Premier Leagu…

Paris Saint-Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino has defended Kylian Mbappe amid accusations the forward has lost form and focus.

France star Mbappe has scored only twice in his past seven games in all competitions, having started the season by hitting nine goals in as many games.

Beyond a lack of goals, the 22-year-old has been enduring a run of performances in which he has made few decisive contributions.

In his most recent five outings, Mbappe has twice failed to have a shot – including in Wednesday s 2-1 Trophee des Champions win over Marseille – and failed to create a chance for team-mates in three separate games.

He has also completed more than two dribbles in a single game on only one occasion in that run and has been criticised for losing the ba…

Brazil, Italy, Egypt and the United States were drawn together Saturday in much the tougher of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup first round groups.

The other group includes hosts South Africa, Spain, Iraq and New Zealand in a draw conducted by FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke with assistance from the reigning Miss World and seven contestants for the 2008 event here.

Highlights of the first phase include World Cup holders Italy against South American champions Brazil in Pretoria on June 21 and South Africa against European kings Spain one day earlier.

Italy coach Marcelo Lippi was excited at being drawn with Brazil in a competition which he regards as an important test ahead of their World Cup title defence in 2010.

Something that hasn t happened …

Argentinian superstar Sergio Aguero opened the scoring in Manchester City s 3-0 victory over Chelsea on Sunday

Manchester City have made an impressive start to their Premier League campaign. The Citizens made a good start to season by beating West Brom 3-0.

They produced a dominant display at the Hawthorns, but a City victory was not a major surprise result.

Their second 3-0 victory of the season was even more impressive, as they put champions and title rivals Chelsea to the sword on Sunday at the Etihad Stadium.

Deserved

City richly deserved the victory over their main title rivals. City dominated for much of the opening half hour and it was a surprise it took them 31 minutes to open the scoring. Argentinian Sergio Aguero was starting his first …

Paris Saint-Germain turn their attention to getting their Ligue 1 campaign back on track when they travel to Bastia on Saturday.

The champions finished last year in disappointing fashion as they were held to a goalless draw by Montpellier in a lacklustre clash at Parc des Princes following a surprise 1-0 defeat at Guingamp.

Laurent Blanc s side slipped down to third place as a result of those setbacks and trail leaders Marseille by three points, with second-placed Lyon one point better off than the Parisian giants.

PSG should travel to Stade Armand Cesari in high spirits though, having beaten Montpellier 3-0 in the the Coupe de France on Monday.

There will be no away supporters to back Blanc s men this weekend, as PSG fans have been banned from att…

They say sport and politics should never mix, but as Samara enjoyed a break from World Cup action on Friday, a visit to Joseph Stalin s top-secret bunker was an opportunity not to be missed.

The notorious dictator, who presided over the Soviet Union for 12 years in the mid-20th century, had the hideout constructed in the event of German invasion during World War Two.

Built 37 metres below street level, the bunker consists of a number of rooms including a private office for the man himself so that the top officials would have a safe retreat had Adolf Hitler s Nazis reached as far as Moscow.

Although that threat never quite materialised and Stalin remained defiantly in the capital, some of his government leaders were evacuated in 1941 and set up camp in Samar…

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Looking to head into the international break with three points on home soil, Manchester City will welcome Arsenal to the Etihad on Saturday lunchtime.

Manchester City

Starting with the hosts, after watching Leicester lift the Community Shield earlier in the month at Wembley, Manchester City will be hoping that they have put their early-season stutter behind them. Opening up the 2021/22 Premier League campaign with a shock 1-0 loss away at Tottenham on August 15th, Pep Guardiola s side certainly picked up a real morale boost last weekend. With the defending champions tipped as a landslide pick to collect their first top-flight victory, City breezed their way to a 5-0 romp against Norwich as fans returned to the Etihad. Desperate to he…

Leon Goretzka says he is annoyed by reports about unrest within the Bayern Munich squad which he claims are not true.

Bayern and head coach Julian Nagelsmann have come under pressure following three straight Bundesliga draws, but they maintained their winning start in the Champions League with a 2-0 victory over Barcelona on Tuesday.

There have been reports of friction within the Bayern squad towards Nagelsmann, with issues including rotation and game time.

Goretzka came off the bench at half-time and played a key role in Bayern s win over Barcelona, with both goals coming in the second half. The appearance was only the 27-year-old midfielder s fifth of the season in all competitions after missing six weeks late in pre-season following knee surgery.

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