Brazil legend Pele has described Gordon Banks as a goalkeeper with magic after the England goalkeeper passed away aged 81. Banks, widely regarded as England’s greatest ever keeper, will be remembered for his unimaginable save from Pele’s header during the group stages of the 1970 World Cup. Defender Carlos Alberto had released Jairzinho to sprint down the right before rounding Terry Cooper and clipping a perfectly-weighted cross back through the England penalty area. Pele rose majestically into the air and sent down a bullet header which kicked up off the hard Mexican turf and looked set to fly into the back of the net. Banks, though, somehow threw himself across…

It was not just Liverpool fans who were amazed when Harry Wilson scored a remarkable free-kick against Manchester United earlier this season – Jurgen Klopp was similarly delighted. Wilson’s eye-catching set-piece was netted at Old Trafford back in September, when Derby – the club with whom Wilson is spending the season on loan – beat the Red Devils in the Carabao Cup third round. Juan Mata opened the scoring for the hosts before Wilson equalised just before the hour mark, with Jack Marriott’s 85th minute strike then cancelled out by an injury-time strike from Marouane Fellaini. Derby prevailed on penalties to book their place in the fourth round, but the…

The Brazilian was understandably delighted after making his debut for the Spanish giants against Espanyol Philippe Coutinho revelled in his debut for Barcelona after receiving words of wisdom from former star Ronaldinho. Coutinho made his first appearance since joining from Liverpool in a club-record deal reportedly worth €160million as Barcelona overcame rivals Espanyol 2-0 in the Cope del Rey quarter-finals. The Brazil international playmaker came off the bench and impressed in a 22-minute cameo Thursday , Barca sealing a 2-1 aggregate triumph at Camp Nou. 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…

Raheem Sterling met the young football fan he wrote an inspirational letter to after learning he was racially abused. Ethan Ross, who was the victim of racism, was sent a letter after his grandmother Sue contacted the Manchester City star. The 13-year-old plays for Newport County’s under-14 side as a goalkeeper and Sterling met the youngster when City travelled to Rodney Parade for their fifth round FA Cup tie with Newport, which they won 4-1. Paul Hirst of The Times reports the City star gave Ethan a signed shirt and spent more time with him offering advice. The paper had told the Manchester club that Ross was planning to attend the…

Maurizio Sarri has been urged to stop being stubborn with his ‘Sarriball’ tactics and start playing N’Golo Kante in his best position. Former Chelsea defender Mario Melchiot says the midfielder would have made a huge difference in his natural holding role against Manchester City, and perhaps would have prevented the Blues’ 6-0 mauling at the Etihad Stadium. Kante earned a reputation as one of the world’s best defensive midfielders after winning back-to-back Premier League titles with Leicester City and Chelsea as well as the World Cup with France. But Sarri had other ideas when he was appointed at Stamford Bridge in the summer… Fans have been baffled by the boss’…

Tottenham put pressure on the Premier League’s top two with a 3-1 defeat of Leicester, who saw Jamie Vardy miss a penalty with his first touch of the game. Goals from Davinson Sanchez, Christian Eriksen and Heung-Min Son inspired a fourth successive league victory for Spurs which ensures the north Londoners will finish the weekend within five points of top spot. Vardy, who was dropped to the substitutes’ bench amid rumours of a bust-up with Claude Puel, missed the chance to equalise as his spot-kick immediately after coming on was saved by Hugo Lloris, though the former England striker atoned for it later by turning home to give his side…

The Blancos have been dumped out of the Copa del Rey by Leganes and are well off the pace in La Liga, with Europe now their only chance of salvation After a shock Copa del Rey elimination at the hands of Leganes, Dani Carvajal believes Real Madrid’s only hope for further glory this season is the Champions League. Madrid crashed out of Spain’s domestic cup competition in the quarter-finals on away goals on Wednesday, as they went down 2-1 to Leganes at the Santiago Bernabeu, prompting an angry response from the supporters. Despite having won the Supercopa de Espana, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup this season, the…

Juventus are a club on a mission. They have conquered Italy, winning the last seven Serie A titles and are set to make it eight in a row as they hold an eleven-point lead this season. Juve now want to make the next step and conquer Europe. And they went about it the right way last summer with a spending spree on top quality players to bolster their squad – signing the likes of Leonardo Bonucci, Douglas Costa and, of course, Cristiano Ronaldo. Juve will add to their squad this summer, too, with Aaron Ramsey set to join the Turin club on a free transfer. The Old Lady are difficult enough…

Both Chelsea and Malmo have been charged by UEFA following crowd trouble at their Europa League match in Sweden on Thursday. The Premier League club were charged with throwing objects and supporters invading the pitch. Meanwhile, Malmo have been charged with throwing objects and setting off fireworks. The end of the game, which the Blues won 2-1 also saw Chelsea star Eden Hazard man-handled by a supporter. The fan was one of at least four from the home stands who encroached on to the playing surface. He was escorted off by stewards, holding the shirt. Malmo were not charged in relation to supporters running on to the pitch, though. Hazard appeared…

Click:wps官网下载 Liverpool forward Sadio Mane risked the wrath of manager Jurgen Klopp last night as he posted pictures appearing to mock Manchester United on Instagram. The Reds forward, watching the game in Marbella as the club continue their warm weather training in Spain, posted twice to his Instagram stories during the Red Devils’ 2-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain. He first put a picture of their Premier League rivals 2-0 down with ‘Hummm’ as the caption and then a picture of himself and Klopp laughing while sat on the floor. His manager is unlikely to be happy with the social media activity given the lengths he went to when commenting on…