Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo was encouraged by their performance against Manchester City and hopes the point they earned at Anfield will ultimately be important in the title race.

Pep Guardiola’s side were probably happier with the 1-1 draw even though it left them third in the table, a point behind Liverpool who were kept off top spot by Arsenal’s goal difference.

The Gunners still have to go to the Etihad Stadium and should both Liverpool and City win all their remaining games, Jurgen Klopp’s team would be crowned champions.

Another day, another masterclass

— Liverpool FC (@LFC)

“Second half we had more chances than Man City so, yeah, we are disappointed about the result but we need to move forward,” Endo told the club’s off…

West Ham have announced that Jarrod Bowen will captain the side for the upcoming Premier League season in Julen Lopetegui s first campaign in charge.

Bowen, who has made 202 appearances for the Hammers since his move from Hull in 2020, takes the armband from Kurt Zouma, who is in talks over a move to the UAE.

The 27-year-old scored 16 league goals for West Ham last year, equalling Paulo Di Canio s record from the 1999-2000 campaign for the most goals scored by a Hammers player in a Premier League season.

The England international s 22 league goal involvements was the joint-ninth highest in the division, level with new Tottenham striker Dominic Solanke

Bowen recently captained West Ham to victory in their final pre-season fixture against Celta Vigo in the…

Premier League chief football officer Tony Scholes admits the in-stadium supporter experience of VAR is “nowhere near good enough” and believes reviews are taking too long.

Video assistant referees were introduced in the English top-flight for the 2019-20 campaign, yet there are persisting problems surrounding its implementation.

The Premier League say that most supporters they have surveyed are in favour of VAR, but Scholes acknowledges “that majority is not as big a majority as I would like to say it is”.

The league’s chief football officer says “clearly everything in the world of VAR is not perfect” and pinpointed two particular areas for improvement.

“If the objective of VAR is to improve the accuracy of decision making, it is being a …

Olivier Giroud says he still harbours hopes of featuring for France at the World Cup later this year, having contributed to Milan s extraordinary Serie A title win in his first season in Italy.

Giroud has been left out of Didier Deschamps squad for France s four UEFA Nations League fixtures next month, with the World Cup holders schedule including a double-header against 2018 final foes Croatia.

But the striker, who appeared in all seven matches during France s second triumphant World Cup campaign in Russia, has impressed since joining Milan at the start of the season, joining Rafael Leao (both 11) as the Rossoneri s highest league goalscorers as Stefano Pioli s men won their first league title since 2010-11.

Giroud and has 112 caps for France and is just thr…

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The 2022/23 season in the Premier League has started, and the opening round delivered some surprising results. The show goes on this weekend, and at the Brentford Community Stadium on Saturday afternoon, Brentford are set to welcome Manchester United in what will surely be an interesting contest in several ways.

Brentford

Having earned promotion from the Championship a year ago, Brentford went on to shake the scene in the English top flight in a surprising manner last season. For some time it seemed as if they were on course to finish in the top half of the table as Thomas Frank s machine employed an extreme high-intensity approach, but their form later dropped off and they ended up sitting 13th. Still, as is the case with most newly p…

Neymar has hinted he may yet play at the 2026 World Cup, revealing that the very big dream still burns to lift the trophy.

The 31-year-old Brazilian said in the lead-up to last year s World Cup that it could be his last, while he was left devastated by his country s quarter-final elimination to Croatia.

In the immediate aftermath of Brazil s World Cup exit, Neymar offered no guarantees about his international future having been left psychologically destroyed .

Two months on, Neymar appears to have digested that disappointment and said the door was not closed on his Brazil career extending to the 2026 event.

I ll go year by year and we ll see, Neymar told TNT Sports. Of course, I have a very big dream, that of winning the World Cup.

Neymar added …

Inter Miami are in a perfect position to etch their names into MLS history when they host the New England Revolution on Saturday, with a single-season points record within reach.

That is the view of defender Ian Fray, after Gerardo Martino s men wrapped up the Supporters Shield – and home advantage for the playoffs – early.

Miami have 71 points with one game of the regular season remaining, and a victory would see them surpass the Revs all-time high of 73 points from the 2021 campaign.

Fray feels playing at Chase Stadium can help Miami get over the line, saying: Having home-field advantage is amazing, especially with our fans. It s the perfect situation for us.

Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez were both substitutes for Miami s last game – a late 1-0 w…

Benfica are not afraid of the challenge that awaits them in their Champions League quarter-final tie with Liverpool, according to midfielder Adel Taarabt.

Liverpool enter the first leg of their showdown with Benfica at Estadio da Luz on Tuesday as strong favourites, having won 16 of their past 17 matches in all competitions.

The Reds have also won all four away games in UEFA s flagship club competition this term – only once, between 1983 and 1984 under Joe Fagan, have they won five in a row.

But having finished above Barcelona in the group stage before eliminating an in-form Ajax in the first knockout round, Taarabt does not fear Premier League giants Liverpool.

Of course we can compete with them, Taarabt said at a pre-match news conference on Monday. …

Yet for all his success at club level, it was arguably with Wales that Bale enjoyed his proudest moments, not least reaching the semi-finals of Euro 2016.

Bale also played a huge part in ending Wales 64-year wait to qualify for the World Cup last year, with their group defeat to England proving to be his final game as a professional.

As the curtain comes down on Bale s playing days at the age of just 33, Stats Perform breaks down the numbers from a remarkable career.

Bale played 664 matches for club and country and scored 226 goals, the majority of those unsurprisingly coming for Madrid (106).

He also netted 41 times in 111 games for Wales, becoming his country s record goalscorer and cap holder in the process.

The Cardiff-born forward also netted…

According to , Erling Haaland is expected to sign a new contract with Manchester City soon. His current deal still has three years left to run, but the Premier League champions are determined to reward the striker s unbelievable impact since arriving from Borussia Dortmund in 2022.

But while it may seem Haaland s new contract would strengthen City s hold over his services, it will apparently include a release clause, devised by his father Alf-Inge and agent Rafaela Pimenta to make the Norway international a master of his own destiny , which is not very common in the Premier League.

Marca s focus in this story is unsurprisingly set on that particular detail, and at the Spanish outlet they believe it will be set within the reach of Real Madrid, should Los Blancos decide t…