Jose Mourinho s talk of a campaign against Chelsea is being used to motivate and strengthen the Premier League leaders according to Willian.

Chelsea winger Willian says manager Jose Mourinho is using talk of an agenda against the Premier League leaders to motivate his players.

Mourinho s outspoken views on perceived refereeing injustices landed him a £25,000 fine from the Football Association last week and he shunned media duties before and after Saturday s 1-1 draw against title rivals Manchester City an apparent protest over his fine and the coverage of top scorer Diego Costa receiving a retrospective three-match ban for stamping on Liverpool s Emre Can during Chelsea s League Cup semi-final triumph.

The Portuguese is often credited as being a master of footba…

West Bromwich Albion are interested in signing Issa Diop from Premier League rivals West Ham United in the January transfer window, according to . It has been reported that the Hammers are hoping to offload the central defender when the transfer window opens in January, and that Alladyce wants to secure his services from his former club.

The report in the British tabloid has claimed that West Ham are open to offers for Diop and are willing to sell him or send him out on a loan deal. According to , the 23-year-old French central defender has made three starts and one substitute appearance in the Premier League for the Hammers so far this season, while during the 2019-20 campaign, he made 31 starts and one substitute appearance in the league.

West Ham are 10th in the Prem…

Prolonging matches to tackle time-wasting is “changing the game we fell in love with”, the Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive Maheta Molango has said.

Referees in competitions around the world have been instructed this season to more accurately measure time lost to stoppages such as substitutions, goal celebrations, VAR checks and injuries, after the approach was first adopted at last year’s World Cup in Qatar.

It has already led to 13 minutes of time being added to the second half of Sunday’s Community Shield between Manchester City and Arsenal, and has sparked criticism from City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne and Manchester United defender Raphael Varane who say the move, combined with an already congested calendar, is pushing players to break…

Xavi believes Barcelona s supporters will be proud  of their team despite a disappointing 1-0 defeat at home to Real Betis on Saturday.

After LaLiga wins over Espanyol and Villarreal and a Champions League draw against Benfica, the result marked Xavi s first defeat in charge of the Blaugrana since he took over from Ronald Koeman.

Barca s tally of 23 goals in LaLiga this term is their lowest at this stage since the 2003-04 campaign when they scored 19, while their points total of 23 is their lowest since the same season (20).

Xavi refused to be too downbeat, though, and believed his side deserved more from the game, which was ultimately won by Juanmi s breakaway goal with 11 minutes remaining.

It is a shame because we did not deserve to lose,  he to…

Stoke City are closing in on a deal for USA international defender Geoff Cameron, the club have confirmed.

The versatile 27-year-old, who can play as part of a back four or in midfield, had a medical on Wednesday and will rendezvous with the Potters on their pre-season tour in Orlando.

Whilst we would not normally confirm a transfer until everything is complete, we have agreed a fee and personal terms in this instance and the player will now join up with the squad in Orlando to have his medical, chief executive Tony Scholes told the club s official website.

Cameron began his senior career in the USL Premier Development League with Rhode Island Stingrays, before being picked by Houston Dynamo in the third round of the 2008 MLS Super Draft.

The defender w…

Celtic have released a statement offering their thoughts and support for their former midfielder Evander Sno.

The Dutchman suffered a heart attack playing for Eredivsie outfit NEC Nijmegen during their 5-1 defeat at Feyenoord at the weekend.

Sno previously suffered a cardiac arrest while playing in an Ajax reserve match in 2010, and as a consequence was fitted with an internal defibrillator which in this instance helped reverse the dangerous situation and enabled him to walk off the pitch.

Sno spent the night being monitored in hospital, and Celtic have said the 25-year-old could always count on the support and assistance of his former club.

The news that former Celtic midfielder Evander Sno had suffered a heart attack during a league game on Saturday …

Corinthians have slapped an £18.6m price tag on Manchester United target Alexandre Pato, .

The Brazil international was approached by United in the summer, though the deal never happened so he remained in his home country on loan at Sao Paulo, where he has been for the past eighteen months.

However, Louis van Gaal has now been given the green light to make another move for the former Milan man when the transfer window reopens.

In five and a half years with the Serie A side, Pato scored sixty-three times in one hundred and fifty appearances in all competitions while he was part of the squad that won the Serie A title under Massimiliano Allegri in 2011.

He has also scored ten goals in twenty-seven senior caps for his country, while he has also played …

Joe Hart believes Manchester City have found a simple solution after progressing to the last 16 of the Champions League.

City have qualified for the group stage each year since 2011-12 but have found competing in Europe a tougher task compared to their domestic dominance.

However, after securing qualification to the knockout round with a confident 3-1 win over Sevilla on Tuesday, City and England goalkeeper Hart believes the club have finally downed their Champions League demons.

I think we managed to do that against a really confident Sevilla side, who play with a lot of attacking intent, he said.

I think we set ourselves up well, we controlled the game, we defended well and took our chances well.

It s pretty simple, but sometimes we ve not p…

Final reports have been submitted by the investigatory chamber of the Ethics Committee, requesting sanctions for the suspended Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini.

Both FIFA president Blatter and UEFA chief Platini were provisionally banned last month for an alleged disloyal payment made to the Frenchman in 2011.

The two men appealed the suspensions, but both were rejected by FIFA on Wednesday.

And on Saturday, the world game s governing body published a statement confirming that the final reports on both Blatter and Platini had been submitted.

The investigatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee has submitted its final reports containing requests for sanctions against Joseph Blatter and Michel Platini to the adjudicatory chamber chaired by Hans-…

Swansea City reluctantly parted company with manager Garry Monk on Wednesday but must regroup ahead of a daunting trip to face Manchester City in the Premier League.

Monk had become part of the furniture in south Wales, joining as a player in 2004 before succeeding Roberto Martinez as captain and eventually following in the Spaniard s footsteps by managing the club.

However, a run of one victory in 11 league matches prompted the Swansea board to take action, bringing the curtain down on the former defender s 11-year involvement with the club.

With assistant manager Pep Clotet and coaches James Beattie and Kristian O Leary himself a long-serving player with the club having also departed the Liberty Stadium, it remains unclear who will be at the helm for Saturday…