Daniil Medvedev’s only meeting with Rafael Nadal was a chastening experience, but the Russian feels it was a valuable one as he prepares to renew acquaintances with the 18-time grand slam champion in the U.S. Open final. Medvedev faced Nadal at the Rogers Cup in his first ATP Masters 1000 final last month and was on the end of a thrashing as the Spaniard cruised to a 6-3, 6-0 win in Montreal. World No. 5 Medvedev has not lost a match since and will now face Nadal in his maiden major decider following Friday’s 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, 6-3 victory over Grigor Dimitrov in the semifinals. Nadal is the heavy favorite for…

The Netherlands got their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign back on track with a stunning triumph over bitter rivals Germany in Hamburg. Ronald Koeman’s men would have had an uphill struggle if they lost but showed exactly why they made it all the way to the Nations League final with a brilliant 4-2 victory. Things didn’t get off to a good start for the Netherlands though as they fell behind on nine minutes when Serge Gnabry pounced on a loose ball after Thomas Muller’s effort was saved by Jasper Cillessen. Frenkie De Jong levelled the scores just shy of the hour with a cool finish before Jonathan Tah’s own goal turned…

Michael Owen has claimed in his new book that Liverpool forced Steven Gerrard out – and actually wanted to axe him two years before he moved to the United States. Anfield icon Gerrard left his boyhood club in 2015 to end his career with LA Galaxy, calling time on a 17-year spell in Liverpool’s first-team that made him a true Reds legend. Liverpool caller tells talkSPORT: 'We're Scouse, we're not English!' Though he won only eight honours throughout his career, Gerrard earned numerous individual accolades and became the face of the modern-day Liverpool. His early career was spent playing alongside Owen, who signed his first professional contract with Liverpool just…

Two-time Olympic gold medallist Caster Semenya has joined a South African women’s football club. The 28-year-old, who won two 800-metre gold medals at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic games, appears to have found a new career path. Semenya is currently appealing against a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport which approved the International Association of Athletics Federations’ (IAAF) introduction of a new testosterone limit for female athletes. And the South African has refused to take hormone-suppressing drugs, which is preventing her from defending her 800m world title in Doha later this month. Semenya is training with women’s football club JVW, who are based in Gauteng, South Africa with…

Arsenal are unlikely to sign Dani Ceballos on a permanent deal from Real Madrid next summer, according to reports. The Spain midfielder has impressed in his first four Gunners appearances since signing on loan from the LaLiga giants in July. In his full debut for the Gunners, Ceballos registered two assists and picked up the Man of the Match award in a 2-1 win over Burnley last month. His early-season performances saw him start in Spain’s 2-1 victory against Romania on Thursday. Football.London claim Arsenal wanted an option-to-buy in the loan deal, but Real Madrid refused their proposal. However, the report states Real’s stance could change if manager Zinedine Zidane…

Stuart Pearce has tipped in-form Burnley striker Ashley Barnes for an England call-up in the near future. The Clarets frontman has netted four times already in the Premier League this season, but was overlooked by Gareth Southgate for the upcoming Euro qualifiers against Bulgaria and Kosovo. Barnes, who was born in Bath to English parents, has represented Austria at youth level before, but would still be eligible for the Three Lions. He failed with an application for Austrian citizenship in February earlier this year, so England no longer have to compete for his allegiance. At 29 and without any international experience, some would suggest Barnes has missed the boat, but…

European heavyweights Germany and Holland are set to go head-to-head in Hamburg tonight and it will be live on talkSPORT 2. The two former European Championship winners have been drawn together in Group C as they look to qualify for Euro 2020 next summer. Northern Ireland currently lead the group with four wins from four but Germany are unbeaten in their three games while the Dutch have only played twice so far. They will meet at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg. Euro 2020 explained: How it works, stadiums and dates as tournament celebrates 60th anniversary Three-time champions Germany last won the Euros in 1996 when they beat the Czech Republic at Wembley…

The Blancos spent more than €300 million on players during the summer but not one started as the capital club recorded a 3-1 victory at Celta Zinedine Zidane spent a good part of the summer trying to push Gareth Bale out of the Santiago Bernabeu door but, with star signing Eden Hazard sidelined by injury on the eve of the new season, he gave the Welshman a surprising reprieve. Indeed, at the Balaidos on Saturday evening, Zizou backed down and Bale stepped up, creating the first goal for Karim Benzema as Real Madrid beat Celta Vigo 3-1 to silence talk of a Blancos crisis. Madrid invested more than €300 million…

The 22-year-old was greeted by a banner on his debut that underlined some fans’ desire to keep black players away from the team New Zenit signing Malcom has played down the firestorm over a racist banner that greeted him upon his arrival to Russia.  Earlier this month the Brazilian made his debut for the Russian giants and saw a banner unfurled in the stands that read: “Thank you leadership for loyalty to traditions.” The banner was in reference to a manifesto posted online by the club’s Landskrona supporters’ group which called upon Zenit to not sign black players.  When asked about the banner, however, Malcom chose instead to focus on the fans who have supported…

Click:软文推广 The former Gunners star believes the attacking talent at Unai Emery’s disposal is more than a match for Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino Arsenal have “a front three to rival Liverpool’s”, claims Paul Merson, with big things expected of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Nicolas Pepe. The Gunners have assembled a star-studded cast of attacking talent at Emirates Stadium. Transfer records have been broken in bringing proven performers on board, with that particular bar raised to £72 million ($88m) when acquiring Ivory Coast international Pepe over the summer. He is being eased into the fold by Unai Emery, with Arsenal reluctant to go too gung-ho in their…