Fernando Hierro has a plan to combat Russia s threat and end Spain s miserable record against host nations at major tournaments.

Hierro, who took over from Julen Lopetegui the day before the World Cup got underway, watched as his side limped through Group B after winning just one of their three games, and that solitary success was a scratchy 1-0 defeat of Iran.

But he is confident of an improvement against Russia to give Spain their first win against either a World Cup or European Championship host at the ninth attempt.

He said: We have a clear plan in mind. We know Russia s qualities but we have faith in our work and we have players that anyone of them can really make a difference.

We have analysed them, we are doing everything we can. The team have t…

Bayern Munich coach Carlo Ancelotti is unfazed by the rising figure of transfer fees, insisting it is simply a result of clubs receiving increased money from lucrative television deals.

Ancelotti was responding to questions in relation to the present transfer market, which is reportedly set to see Manchester United spend a record-breaking £100million to lure Paul Pogba back to Old Trafford.

Juventus also forked out €90million to sign Gonzalo Higuain, the third most expensive deal in world football following Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale s moves to Real Madrid in 2009 and 2013 respectively.

But speaking ahead of Bayern s International Champions Cup match against Inter on Saturday, Ancelotti told reporters: I think that not only football, the market is the m…

Lokomotiv Moscow defender Benedikt Howedes lapped up a dreamy return to Germany after his side s 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen in their Champions League Group D opener.

Goals from Grzegorz Krychowiak and Dimitri Barinov secured the win for Lokomotiv at the BayArena on Wednesday – their first away victory in the competition since the 2002-03 campaign.

Howedes, a World Cup winner with Germany in 2014, was back on home soil for the second time since his move to the Russian side in July 2018.

He played in Lokomotiv s 1-0 defeat at his former club Schalke last season but was triumphant this time around.

This win is incredibly important for us, Howedes said. We came into this group as massive underdogs; Atletico and Juventus are without a doubt the favourite…

Mason Greenwood s first senior goal earned a callow Manchester United team a stuttering 1-0 home win over Astana in their opening Europa League fixture on Thursday.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer put his faith in Greenwood, Angel Gomes and Tahith Chong, the trio s inclusion contributing to United s youngest XI in a Europa League or Champions League game since December 2012.

Yet with Marcus Rashford particularly inefficient in front of goal, the Premier League giants struggled to find a way to beat Astana goalkeeper Nenad Eric, who was in excellent form.

The hosts did at least claim victory. With 17 minutes to go at Old Trafford, Greenwood had the crowd off their feet with a stirring run and finish through Eric s legs to win the Group L game.

United s young side…

Erik ten Hag says Manchester United are conceding too many goals but refused to blame Andre Onana despite the goalkeeper’s errors at Galatasaray severely damaging their chances of Champions League progression.

Having lost three of four Group A games, Wednesday’s key clash in Istanbul began in dream fashion as Alejandro Garnacho’s early effort was followed up by a Bruno Fernandes rocket.

Hakim Ziyech pulled one back from a free-kick that Onana will be disappointed to have been beaten by and he was guilty of an even worse error after Scott McTominay scored United’s third.

Here s the manager s verdict on tonight s game in Istanbul ||

— Manchester United (@ManUtd)

The summer signing somehow failed to deal with another Ziyech free-kick an…

Arjen Robben has admitted he had his doubts about leaving Real Madrid for Bayern Munich in the summer of 2009.

The Netherlands international was sold as Madrid looked to balance their books after bringing in a number of high-profile names, but he was initially reluctant to leave the Santiago Bernabeu.

Bayern were persistent, though, and Robben eventually put his concerns about the club s stature aside and opted to move to the Allianz Arena.

It was a bit of a weird summer with the return of Florentino Perez as president. And then all the new signings arrived. Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Karim Benzema and Xabi Alonso all came to Madrid for a huge amount of money, Robben told Fox Sports.

We were told that the club would be able to make some money on me if th…

Rodrygo continued his red-hot form as Real Madrid returned to the top of LaLiga following a routine 2-0 win over struggling Granada.

The Brazil forward rifled home his seventh goal in his last five Real appearances to seal victory at Santiago Bernabeu following Brahim Diaz’s first-half opener.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men kicked off on Saturday evening having slipped to second in the table due to Girona’s 2-1 success over Valencia earlier in the day.

Rodrygo on FIRE

— LALIGA English (@LaLigaEN)

Yet they swiftly regained first place, above the Catalan club on head-to-head-results, following a straightforward success over the division’s second-bottom side.

England midfielder Jude Bellingham once again impressed but was unable to add to…

Substitute Brennan Johnson struck late on to get Wales off the mark in the Nations League with their first point of the campaign in a deserved 1-1 draw against Belgium.

The Red Devils have often struggled against Wales in recent times, namely at Euro 2016 when losing at the quarter-final stage, and they were again frustrated on Saturday.

Youri Tielemans 50th-minute strike looked as though it would prove enough for Belgium, who were without the likes of Thibaut Courtois and Romelu Lukaku in Cardiff.

But Wales, who had an early Ethan Ampadu strike contentiously ruled out by VAR, equalised in the 86th minute through Johnson s effort to leave the visitors frustrated.

Ampadu thought he had put Wales ahead inside five minutes through his first international go…

Marco Silva thinks Fulham did not get the points he thought they deserved as they suffered a 1-0 defeat to Manchester United in their Premier League opener.

The Cottagers looked a threat on the counter-attack but lacked a clinical edge in the final third as they wasted chances to take the lead.

Bernd Leno kept them in the game by making big saves in both halves before United debutant Joshua Zirkzee proved the difference in the 87th minute from close range.

While Silva admitted there were positives to take from the performance, he was ultimately left frustrated by the missed chances that cost them.

It is really tough for us to lose this game the way we lost, Silva told Sky Sports.

We started really well. I think the first two dangerous moments we…

All eyes will be cast towards north London on Sunday for a derby that could have significant implications in the tussle for the Premier League title and the hunt for a top-four finish.

Arsenal s lead at the top of the Premier League will be just two points if Manchester City beat Manchester United on Saturday, while victory for Erik ten Hag s side would put them five ahead of Spurs in the quest for Champions League football.

Having so much at stake is nothing new for clashes between Arsenal and Spurs, with a meeting at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last May being decisive in the two sides battle to clinch fourth spot, where a 3-0 win for the hosts saw the Gunners miss the chance to secure a return to Europe s elite club competition.

Arsenal then lost to Newcastle Uni…