Joe Hart wants Manchester City to tackle Dynamo Kiev with the belief they are potential Champions League winners.

City travel to the Ukrainian capital for the round-of-16 first leg on Wednesday as favourites to progress, a marked departure from expectations of a swift exit after being pitted against Barcelona in each of the past two seasons.

But Manuel Pellegrini s side head into the clash on a damaging run of three consecutive defeats, with title rivals Leicester City and Tottenham inflicting back-to-back home Premier League losses on City for the first time since December 2008.

The Chilean coach passed up the chance to atone for those setbacks by playing a youthful team in the FA Cup fifth round at Chelsea.

Pellegrini pointed to a lengthy injury list an…

David Carney s fine strike condemned A-League champions Melbourne Victory to a 1-0 defeat against Newcastle Jets at Hunter Stadium.

Victory, who have failed to win away to the Jets since 2009, saw Besart Berisha hit the post in the first half as they struggled to find a cutting edge in the final third throughout.

The home side should have taken the lead early on, but striker Milos Trifunovic shot straight at Danny Vukovic after he cut out a simple pass from Leigh Broxham.

Carney came close with an audacious long-range free-kick after half an hour, but his effort went narrowly wide, with Vukovic stranded well off his line.

But the 31-year-old did find the net with just 15 minutes to play, firing the ball it the top corner from just outside the area after L…

Bayern Munich midfielder Leon Goretzka may require surgery to rectify the troublesome knee injury that has kept him out of action for over a month, according to Die Roten coach Julian Nagelsmann.

The Germany international, who has two goals and two assists in 12 Bundesliga appearances this term, has not taken to the pitch since Bayern’s 3-2 win over rivals Borussia Dortmund on 4th December, in which he managed just over an hour after struggling with a previous knock. 

Speaking ahead of the champions home match against Borussia Monchengladbach, revealed that a decision on whether he requires surgery is due in the next couple of days.

It s complicated. Nagelsmann said of the situation. He [Goretzka] had two good days of training, then we had to decrease the str…

Erik ten Hag slammed Manchester United as by far not good enough after their shock friendly defeat to Rosenborg on Monday.

The Red Devils suffered a late 1-0 loss at Lerkendal Stadion after Noah Holm s 93rd-minute winner.

An underwhelming performance in their first pre-season game was in stark contrast to their last outing before that, a 2-1 victory over rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup final.

Rosenborg were denied by the woodwork on four separate occasions while attempting 22 shots to United s meagre five.

Ten Hag started the likes of Casemiro, Jonny Evans, Marcus Rashford, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Mason Mount, leaving the United boss somewhat furious with their efforts in Trondheim.

The result is not secondary. We play pre-season but at Manche…

Real Madrid are interested in signing Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer transfer window as a replacement for Casemiro, according to . Brazil international midfielder Casemiro is leaving La Liga and UEFA Champions League winners Madrid for Premier League giants Manchester United, and Los Blancos are looking at bringing in Hojbjerg.

Hojbjerg has been on the books of Tottenham since 2020 when he moved from Southampton. The Denmark international midfielder has established himself as an important player for the North London club. The midfielder scored two goals and gave two assists in 36 Premier League appearances for Spurs last season.

Tottenham have sold their best players over the years, but club chairman Daniel Levy will want a lot of money for H…

Marco van Basten is to depart his position as Netherlands assistant coach to take up a role at FIFA.

Van Basten managed the national team between 2004 and 2008, before returning to assist Danny Blind last year, although the side failed to qualify for Euro 2016 following a dismal campaign.

Earlier this month, it was confirmed that Dick Advocaat would leave his role as assistant to take the manager s job at Fenerbahce, and on Tuesday Van Basten announced he will also be making an exit.

FIFA has approached me to go to work with them, Van Basten said in a statement on the KNVB website.

They are on the verge of renewal and reform in football and want to make use of my ideas and views on matters such as rules, regulations and programming.

I think it …

Ivan Toney says he was forced to bite his tongue in the wake of Gabriel Magalhaes cringey social media taunt following Brentford s 3-0 defeat to Arsenal.

Toney was limited to just two shots – totalling 0.14 expected goals (xG) – as Arsenal maintained their fine start to the Premier League season on Sunday, cruising to victory courtesy of goals from William Saliba, Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira.

The win ensured revenge for the Gunners after they began the 2021-22 campaign with a demoralising defeat to the Bees, after which Toney tweeted: Nice kick about with the boys.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta used that same message to motivate his squad ahead of February s reverse fixture – a 2-1 win for the Gunners – and it was repeated by Gabriel on social medi…

Aston Villa will not sell Emiliano Martinez in the January transfer window amid interest from Premier League rivals Manchester United, according to . The report has claimed that former Premier League and UEFA Champions League winners United are looking at signing the Argentina international amid uncertainty over the future of David De Gea.

Martinez is the number one goalkeeper at Villa and has been superb for the Villans since his move from Arsenal in 2020. The Argentina international goalkeeper is one of the best in his position in the Premier League and is a key figure in manager Steven Gerrard’s team.

Villa will reportedly not sell Martinez in the January transfer window and will turn down all offers for the 30-year-old. The Villans are not having the best of times…

Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman remains hopeful Lionel Messi will opt to stay at Camp Nou, but is not confident about that outcome.

Messi is out of contract at the end of the season and has been heavily linked with Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.

The 33-year-old wanted to leave last season after the club finished without a trophy and he fell out with then-president Josep Maria Bartomeu.

Messi agreed to stay for the last year of his contract when Barca refused his request and has impressed under Koeman, scoring nine goals in his last 10 games.

But Koeman is not convinced a happier Messi this season will result in him remaining with the club for the long term.

I m not confident about that, Koeman said to The Athletic.

I m hopeful, ye…

Wolverhampton Wanderers are interested in signing Ben Brereton Diaz from Blackburn Rovers in the January transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that Wolves have been scouting the Chile international striker this season, and that the Premier League club could make a move for him when the transfer window opens in January.

Brereton Diaz is out of contract at Blackburn at the end of the season. The striker has reportedly told Rovers that he is not going to put pen to paper on a new deal, so the Championship club are now facing the prospect of losing the 23-year-old on a free next summer. Rovers could now be willing to sell Brereton Diaz for £10 million in the January transfer window.

The striker has scored nine goals and provided one assist in 20 Championsh…