Paul Pogba can make the difference for Manchester United and help them win the Premier League title this season, according to club legend Wayne Rooney.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer s side overcame an early deficit to defeat Fulham 2-1 on Wednesday, a result that moved them back to the top of the table. 

While Manchester City and Leicester City are just two points adrift – and defending champions Liverpool are six back with a game in hand  Rooney feels his former side have the strength in depth to last the distance. 

United s all-time leading scorer pointed to Bruno Fernandes and Edinson Cavani helping to add a winning mentality to the squad, though Rooney feels Pogba is key to their hopes of success.

Over the last few years Man United haven t been r…

Ecuador have won the opening match of the 2009 South American Under-20 Championships, beating Peru 2-1 thanks to two first half goals from Joao Rojas.

Rojas, who plays his club football for Technico Universitation, first headed home in the fourth minute and added another to double the lead in the 21st.

Peru forward Juan Barros converted a penalty kick in the 27th minute to give Peru new hope.

In the second half, Peru did manage to create more chances than in the first but Ecuador keeper Manuel Mendoza, who celebrated his 20th birthday, made several good saves to defend his side s lead.

As a result, Ecuador now lead in Group A, which also consists of Argentina, hosts Venezuela and Colombia.

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Robinho’s future with Manchester City remains uncertain with the player attracting interest from Barcelona.

The Brazilian forward has been linked on a number of occasions with a move to Barcelona, and the player himself has hinted at his desire to play for the Catalans at some point in the future.

Manchester City and Barcelona officials will reportedly meet in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday to resume talks about Robinho s move to the Nou Camp.

The European champions want to take the Brazil international to the Nou Camp in the January window and will put three options on the table.

The first is a six-month loan, including a small fee and Barca paying his £160,000 a week wages, with the option of permanent deal with Barca next July.

The second i…

​Paris Saint-Germain surrendered a two-goal lead to lose 4-2 versus Bastia and miss the chance to move level with Ligue 1 leaders Marseille.

Julian Palmieri s outstanding volley from the edge of the penalty area – his first goal since November 2012 – gave Bastia the lead for the first time in the second half, before he added a second in the final minute as they climbed out of the bottom three. 

The first-half goal flurry began early as Lucas Moura and Adrien Rabiot both took advantage of slack Bastia defending to put the visitors two goals ahead.

Any hopes of a routine triumph were thwarted by two lapses in concentration as Ryad Boudebouz converted a penalty after Gregory van der Wiel had handled, and Francois Modesto headed home a late corner.

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Real Madrid remain football s biggest earners as the Premier League made its presence felt in the Deloitte Football Money League.

Real Madrid have recorded the biggest revenues in world football for a 10th consecutive season, according to Deloitte s Football Money League.

The Spanish Liga giants claimed a 10th UEFA Champions League crown in 2013/14 and it brought in €549.5m (£459.5m) off the field an increase of €30.6m on 2012/13, while the annual study underlined the overall financial might of the Premier League as all 20 English top-flight clubs were represented inside the top 40.

Despite missing out on Champions League qualification and recording a disappointing seventh-placed finish during David Moyes  unhappy season at the helm, Manchester United climb…

Diego Costa chalked up his 50th Chelsea goal at Crystal Palace on Saturday to cap a stunning return to form.

The Spain international s headed effort from a Cesar Azpilicueta delivery was his 13th Premier League goal of the season more than he could muster in the entire 2015-16 campaign.

Despite those goalscoring heroics, his fifth yellow card of the season means he will miss Chelsea s Boxing Day clash with Bournemouth.

50 – Diego Costa has scored 50 goals in all competitions for Chelsea; 17 more than any other player for the club since his debut. Warhead.

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe)

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Giovani dos Santos marked his international return with a goal as Mexico claimed a 2-1 win over New Zealand in a friendly on Saturday.

Featuring for the national team for the first time since July 2015, Dos Santos opened the scoring at Nissan Stadium from the penalty spot.

But the LA Galaxy attacker s effort was cancelled out by Marco Rojas early in the second half in Nashville, Tennessee.

Marco Fabian ensured victory for Juan Carlos Osorio s Mexico, who had crushed the Kiwis 9-3 on aggregate in their 2014 World Cup qualifying play-off.

Fresh from winning the OFC Nations Cup, New Zealand s defeat was their first since March 2015.

Jordan Silva, Hedgardo Marin and Jesus Gallardo all started for Mexico, who were without Javier Hernandez, as they wer…

Market: Hannover win

Odds: 11/8 @

Hoping to find a route into the promotion spots on Friday evening, Hannover will make the trip to Heidelberg when they meet a struggling Sandhausen.

Starting with the hosts, while Sandhausen might have been last seen snatching a late 1-1 draw away at St. Pauli, it does not cover what has been a worrying start to the 2022/23 campaign. Despite picking up a 1-0 win at home against Dusseldorf on August 5th, Alois Schwartz s men now find themselves in the midst of a five-match winless run. Likewise, managing to muster just a pair of points on their downbeat run of form, the Heidelberg-based outfit have really shown some extended issues at both ends of the pitch. Now holding just a three-point buffer from slipping into the relegation …

Ghana face neighbours Nigeria in a charged west African derby here Thursday with the prize a ticket to the Africa Cup of Nations final.

The semi-finalists who face off at Luanda s 11 November stadium made it through in wildly contrasting fashions.

While four-time winners Ghana impressed in their 1-0 quarter-final win over hosts Angola, Nigeria laboured to a goalless extra-time draw with Zambia, only prevailing on penalties, with Israeli-based goalkeeper Victor Enyeama converting the decisive spot kick for a 5-4 win.

Despite their far from impressive performance Ghana coach Milovan Rajevic is too wily a coach to take Nigeria s form in Benguela at face value.

If you just look at Nigeria s quarter-final performance it can create a false impression, warned …

that Manchester United are ready to turn their attention to Southampton’s Nathaniel Clyne after Dani Alves agreed to join Paris Saint Germain.

Clyne has emerged as one of the best players in his position in the Premier League over the past eighteen months, and his form for the South Coast club earned him his first international call up last November.

Since signing from Crystal Palace in the summer of 2012, he has racked up ninety-five appearances for Southampton, scoring five goals.

United had been linked with a move for Barcelona’s Dani Alves, though he is set to agree a deal with French Champions PSG in a move which could see him link up with fellow Brazil internationals Thiago Silva, Lucas Moura, Marquinhos, David Luiz and Maxwell.

However, m…