Las Palmas struck twice late on to beat the capital club 3-2, but the coach was not bothered as his side still progressed in the Copa del Rey Diego Simeone said Atletico Madrid’s progression to the Copa del Rey quarter-finals outweighed Tuesday’s second-leg defeat to Las Palmas. Who Messi & Ronaldo voted for to win FIFA award Las Palmas rallied late to win 3-2 in the return fixture at Vicente Calderon as Atletico narrowly advanced 4-3 on aggregate. Editors' Picks Sarri vindicated for dropping Kepa as Chelsea & Pedro impress in Spurs win Magnificent Mane takes centre stage as league leaders Liverpool put on a five-star show Lukaku sends reminder…

Dwight Gayle has been handed a two-match retrospective ban after accepting a charge for diving in West Brom’s 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest, the Football Association has announced. The Baggies striker was hit with the charge after going down in the penalty area under pressure from Alexander Milosevic and Yohan Benalouane in the 89th minute of Tuesday’s Championship clash at The Hawthorns. Jay Rodriguez duly equalised from the penalty spot to rescue a point for the hosts. An FA statement read: “Dwight Gayle will serve a two-match suspension with immediate effect after accepting a charge for ‘successful deception of a match official’. “It followed the awarding of a penalty in…

Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi sent the Blaugrana through to the semis of the Copa del Rey at their rival’s expense, to the delight of the midfielder Sergio Busquets suggested Espanyol’s celebrations at the end of their Copa del Rey first-leg quarter-final victory over Barcelona was motivation for his side to turn the tie around. Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi struck first-half goals as Barcelona progressed to the semi-finals 2-1 on aggregate, moving into the last four for the eighth season in a row, the club’s longest run in the competition reaching this stage. Oscar Melendo had struck late in the opening leg to give Espanyol victory over their Catalan rivals, but…

The Portugal international suffered a knock against Bologna on Sunday and was forced to train away from the first-team squad on Wednesday Juventus had been left sweating on the fitness of star man Cristiano Ronaldo, though medical tests carried out on an ankle knock revealed no significant injury. The former Real Madrid man picked up a knock to his left ankle during the Bianconeri’s 1-0 win over Bologna on Sunday. Concerns had grown since then, with Ronaldo unable to participate in full training with the rest of the Juve squad on Wednesday, but was thoroughly examined by the Serie A champions’ medical team later in the day. Article continues below…

Paul Merson has joked that Mesut Ozil might as well retire if he can’t get into this current Arsenal team. The German playmaker has fallen out of favour under Unai Emery and found himself left out of several matchday squads this season. Most recently, Ozil was left at home as the Gunners suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to BATE Borisov in the first leg of their Europa League last-32 clash on Thursday night. And Merson, the former Arsenal midfielder, finds himself baffled by the decision not to play Ozil, who he claims is the club’s best player. “You play your best players and work around them,” he told Sky Sports News. “Ozil…

Danny Murphy reckons former Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho could manage Everton in the future. Current Toffees boss Marco Silva is under growing pressure after losing six of his last eight Premier League games. The club were also knocked out of the FA Cup by Championship strugglers Millwall last month. Despite Everton’s poor run of form, Silva was given a vote of confidence by Goodison Park owner Farhad Moshiri last week. But former Liverpool midfielder Murphy wouldn’t rule out Mourinho, who was sacked by United in December, joining Everton “further down the line”. Speaking to talkSPORT host Jim White on Monday, he said: “I don’t think it is that crazy…

Paris Saint-Germain put one foot in the Champions League quarter finals by beating Manchester United 2-0 at Old Trafford in the first leg of their round of 16 tie. Presnel Kimpembe and Kylian Mbappe netted for an under-strength PSG as they inflicted a first defeat on the Red Devils since caretaker boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took charge of the club. However, it was former United man Angel Di Maria who was the busiest man on the night. His Old Trafford return started pretty badly after being bundled into the advertising hoardings by former team-mate Ashley Young, and the Argentine needed lengthy treatment after the incident. The home crowd were in…

The highly-rated Genoa defender is expected to complete a summer switch to the Serie A champions, but he would happily end up in England or Spain Cristian Romero is unsure if a deal to take him to Juventus is done, with the Genoa defender revealing that he would be just as happy joining Manchester United, Real Madrid or Barcelona. Goal revealed in early February that the 20-year-old has emerged as a top target for the reigning Serie A champions and that a €30 million (£26m/$34m) agreement is close. If that move goes through, then the highly-rated Argentine will link up with the Bianconeri over the summer. Article continues below Editors' Picks…

Plans for Everton’s new 52,000-seater stadium have been leaked on social media. The Toffees are keen to move into the new ground, which will be built at Bramley-Moore Dock and features safe standing. Architect Dan Meis is in charge of the design and the first public consultation received overwhelming support from the people of Liverpool. A PDF document containing the leaked images of the reported new site were obtained by supporter’s website Everton Aren’t We, who posted the pictures on Friday. The new move is unlikely to take place until 2023, with proposals for 12,000-15,000 safe standing seats in the south stand. Goodison Park has been the home of Everton since…

Though the Blancos will rest a number of stars, their team will consist of many first-team regulars Zinedine Zidane has named an experienced XI in the Copa del Rey round-of-32 first-leg tie against third-division side Fuenlabrada.  Though Madrid are missing stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Isco, Toni Kroos, Karim Benzema, Luka Modric and Sergio Ramos, their manager has opted for a line-up consisting of first-team players rather than members of the club’s academy.  Draw at 8/1 with dabblebet Article continues below Editors' Picks Sarri vindicated for dropping Kepa as Chelsea & Pedro impress in Spurs win Magnificent Mane takes centre stage as league leaders Liverpool put on a five-star show Lukaku sends reminder that…