There was a pleasing reassurance to be had in St Petersburg around mid-morning on Tuesday.

A decent chunk of the travelling Les Bleus contingent, some with FIFA Fan IDs round their necks as a distinguishing feature, had made their way to the Hermitage Museum s extensive display of paintings from and influenced by the French Impressionist school.

Before watching the heroes of today on the turf, it was time for the greats of yesteryear on canvas. Monet before Mbappe, Cezanne then Varane, Gauguin preceding Griezmann.

Fittingly, when the teams were announced for France s 1-0 World Cup semi-final win over Belgium at Krestovsky Stadium hours later, the lone Spaniard of the piece – Red Devils boss Roberto Martinez – had gone all Pablo Picasso. Where would all the pi…

Six individuals have been arrested so far over the disorder at Sunday’s West Brom versus Wolves FA Cup tie, with police vowing further arrests will follow.

Play in the Black Country derby at The Hawthorns was suspended for more than half an hour after trouble flared in the stands and fans spilled onto the pitch.

West Midlands Police detailed the nature of the arrests in an update on Monday, revealing that one person was arrested for brandishing a corner flag as a weapon and two others for assaulting officers.

Chief Inspector Tim Robinson said: “What we saw yesterday was completely unacceptable violence directed at both fans and officers, which sadly led to the suspension of the game.

“No football fan wants to see that. It’s important to stress how…

Olympique Lyonnais or Lyon as most people know them were once so dominant in the French Ligue 1 that nobody could ever see them falling off their top spot in France. Seven consecutive league titles showed just how invincible they truly were.

However that domestic dominance had to could to an end at some point and that point was last season. The team struggled as a whole and looked almost stale at times. They finished the season nine points behind champions Bordeaux in Ligue 1.

Dealing with the loss of key players

This summer saw two of Lyon s formerly most influential players leave the club. Brazilian playmaker Juninho had been the hub of the Lyon midfield for so long. Scoring free-kicks creating goals for others and was also their leader. His last season wasn t…

Joey Barton spoke of his desire to repay Burnley boss Sean Dyche after scoring the winner against Southampton.

Dyche sent Barton on as a second-half substitute to make his second league debut for the Clarets on Saturday, having returned to the club last month after an ill-fated and controversial spell with Rangers.

He made an impact within five minutes   scoring from a free-kick to snatch his side a 1-0 win.

The appearance was Barton s first in the Premier League for Burnley, after he had played a pivotal role in helping them into the top-flight in his first spell at Turf Moor, and the 34-year-old paid tribute to Dyche afterwards for welcoming him back with open arms.

Barton said: This club has invested a lot in me, and for Sean to do what he did in li…

Manchester United enjoyed the highest revenues ever recorded by a football club last season as unprecedented income returned them to the top of the Deloitte Football Money League for the first time since 2004 at Real Madrid s expense.

The 20-time English champions generated a dizzying €689million thanks largely to a commercial earning growth of €100m.

Madrid have slipped to third place, behind Barcelona, who stay second. All three top clubs broke the €600m barrier for revenue last term.

Manchester City have climbed into the top five for the first time, behind fourth-place Bayern Munich, while Leicester City have broken into the top 20 for the first time following their Premier League title win and qualification for the Champions League.

The 20 highe…

Hugo Lloris and Theo Hernandez have withdrawn from the France squad for this week s Nations League matches with Austria and Denmark.

France are already without a number of key players for the double-header, with Paul Pogba, N Golo Kante, Karim Benzema, Lucas Hernandez and Kingsley Coman all sidelined.

Adrien Rabiot withdrew from the squad last week and Didier Deschamps is now without two more players for the visit of Austria on Thursday and trip to Denmark three days later.

France confirmed on Monday that Tottenham goalkeeper Lloris and Milan defender Theo Hernandez are nursing thigh and groin injuries respectively.

Nantes keeper Alban Lafont has earned a first call-up to provide cover for captain Lloris, while Aston Villa s Lucas Digne has been summoned…

Emma Hayes believes a Wembley sell-out for Sunday’s Women’s FA Cup final is “the new norm”.

Defending champions Chelsea will take on Manchester United in front of an expected 90,000-strong crowd – a record for a women’s domestic club match.

This season has seen many milestones hit in terms of attendances in the Women’s Super League, with teams capitalising on the interest created by England’s European Championship victory.

Hayes is delighted to see her hopes coming to fruition, saying at a pre-match press conference: “Having a sold-out Wembley is just fantastic for the game.

“As a women’s football fan, it means everything to me. I’ve sat here for over 10 years pushing, probing and championing for this because I knew that this day w…

Championship side Derby County bolstered their promotion push on Friday with the addition of two recruits from the Premier League.

Steve McClaren s men have signed Chelsea forward Patrick Bamford, an England Under-21 international who scored 16 goals in 29 appearances during a temporary stint at MK Dons earlier this season, on loan from January 6 until the end of the campaign.

Derby, who sit fourth in England s second tier, have also moved to bring in Simon Dawkins from Tottenham on a permanent deal after the attacker impressed in a three-month loan spell at Pride Park.

A host of other Premier League players were on the move on Friday.

Liverpool youngster Adam Morgan completed a permanent switch to Championship outfit Yeovil Town, signing a two-and-a-half year de…

Brett Emerton says Australia s dramatic qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup was the undoubted highlight of his 18-year career.

Saturday s A-League clash against Central Coast Mariners will be worn-out Sydney FC veteran Emerton s last ever match, with the third-highest capped Australia international confirming his retirement on Thursday.

John Aloisi s winning penalty in Sydney in 2005 is the most treasured moment for this country s football fans.

For Emerton, influential in both qualification legs against Uruguay, it is no different.

To represent your country is something very special and hard to describe to other people. To qualify for the biggest tournament in the world and go there was a real honour, Emerton said on Thursday.

I think I v…

As for the visitors, while Barcelona may have managed to pick up a 5-2 win over Valencia on Saturday, the pressure firmly remains on the shoulder of Ernesto Valverde. Opening the new La Liga campaign with a shock 1-0 loss away at Atheltic Bilbao on the opening weekend, the Spanish giants have also dropped points against a returning Osasuna. A huge part of Barca s recent issue has been down to their struggles away from the Nou Camp. Remarkably, the guests have failed to win any of their last four domestic matches on the road and their final European match outside of Catalonia ended with a 4-0 hammering at Anfield. While 16-year-old sensation Anssumane Fati may have done a stellar job of filling the void in Barcelona s attack and has already bagged two goals in his opening three appearanc…