Spartak, Lille stunned in Europa League qualifiers

Real Madrid keeping tabs on Ivanovic

Real Madrid are pondering a summer bid for Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic, .

Los Blancos boss Jose Mourinho wants to bolster his defensive options and he is eager to bring the Serbian defender to Santiago Bernabeu.

Ivanovic has seen his stock rise thanks to some very good showings this term and he was also linked with a move to Napoli earlier this season.

Daily Mail believes that Chelsea value the versatile defender at £12 million, which is well within Real’s price range.

After deciding to play Sergio Ramos in the heart of defence, Mourinho was left short of options at right-back, with Alvaro Arbeloa, Lassana Diarra and even Hamit Altintop used on the right hand side.

The Portuguese manager bel…

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney expects Arsenal s Robin van Persie to be crowned the PFA Players Player of the Year.

Rooney, who is also nominated, won the award in 2010 but says it is more than likely that Van Persie will be the recipient this year.

It is nice to be nominated, Rooney told MUTV. Obviously it s a great award to win so and it s your work throughout the season that gets you into that position. But more than likely, Van Persie will win it.

Rooney has not performed as well as he would have liked this season despite being three goals short of his best ever scoring tally with a handful of games to play.

I have always said I don t just play football to score goals, he said.

I like to enjoy the games and play well. Coming off t…

Pep Guardiola believes his team cleared an important hurdle after a 2-0 win over Newcastle United allowed Manchester City to pile pressure back onto Arsenal.

Goals from Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva saw City come out on top in the first Premier League game of the weekend.

The victory trimmed Arsenal s lead to two points just minutes before the Gunners kicked off against Bournemouth, and there are likely to be plenty more twists and turns to come in the title race, as Guardiola acknowledged.

His post-match comments also seemed to indicate he believes Manchester United are in the mix, too.

Before the game it was bye , now we are hello , Guardiola told BT Sport. Many things are going to happen.

Today was an important game, and tomorrow we are going…

Australia will play South Africa and the Netherlands in warm-up games in August and September ahead of their Asian World Cup qualifying campaign, Football Federation Australia said Monday.

The Socceroos will play 2010 World Cup hosts South Africa at Loftus Road, London, on August 19 and the Netherlands in Eindhoven on September 6, FFA said.

Australia open their final Asian World Cup qualifying group against Uzbekistan in Tashkent on September 10.

With many of South Africa s first-team players also based in England and elsewhere in Europe, meeting them in London is an efficient and valuable opportunity for both of us, FFA chief executive Ben Buckley said.

Australia last played South Africa in a 1-1 draw in Durban in 2005 after the Socceroos won their …

Jurgen Klopp has been hailed as the world s best coach by Salzburg boss Jesse Marsch, whose side are preparing to face Liverpool in a crunch Champions League clash.

Liverpool hold an eight-point lead at the top of the Premier League after 15 games, having missed out on the title by one point last season.

That disappointment was tempered by victory in the Champions League, as the Reds claimed their sixth European Cup title.

However, Liverpool could miss out on the last 16 of this season s competition if they slip to a defeat against Salzburg – who, spearheaded by Erling Braut Haaland, have impressed in Group E.

Former United States midfielder Marsch, who was an assistant at RB Leipzig last season following spells of coaching in MLS, took over at Aust…

Aiden O Brien equalised deep into second-half stoppage time as Millwall salvaged a 2-2 draw against Nottingham Forest in the Championship on Friday.

Millwall were deservedly ahead at the interval thanks to Shaun Williams header from a corner in the 15th minute, but their superiority did not last.

Lewis Grabban made a stunning impact from the Forest bench when he scored with his first touch 55 seconds after coming on, nodding in from close range.

He then appeared to have won the game for Forest by tapping in from Sammy Ameobi s ball in the 88th minute.

But O Brien rescued a point for the Lions near the end, the Republic of Ireland international turning home after Brice Samba could only palm Williams long-range effort into his path.

Forest remain …

Hull City manager Steve Bruce has declared his interest in signing Toronto FC striker Jermain Defoe, .

The England international moved to the MLS outfit from Tottenham Hotspur for £6m twelve months ago, and so far has twelve goals in seventeen appearances for the club.

Queens Park Rangers have also been linked with a move for the former Portsmouth and West Ham United man, with Hoops manager Harry Redknapp having worked with the 32 year old at both aforementioned clubs.

Defoe, who won the last of his England caps in a 2-0 friendly defeat to Chile in November 2013, was placed on the stand-by list for last summer’s World Cup finals in Brazil but did not make Roy Hodgson’s final squad of 23.

Hull won two of their last three games to lift themselve…

Swansea City have reportedly agreed to sell star striker Wilfried Bony to Manchester City for a fee of £28 million.

The Côte d Ivoire international, who joined the Swans from Dutch Eredivisie side Vitesse Arnhem for a club record fee of £12 million in the summer of 2013, scored an English Premier League best 20 goals in 2014.

Bony is currently on international duty with Côte d Ivoire in Abu Dhabi in preparation for the Africa Cup of Nations, and is expected to undergo a medical within the next few days.

After Saturday s 1-1 draw against West Ham United, Swansea manager Garry Monk said: The situation is that I d prepared for this period without Wilfried as he was going away anyway.

Obviously I m focused on what we re doing and hopefu…

Milan missed the chance to gain ground on their rivals for a top-four Serie A finish as Boulaye Dia cancelled out Olivier Giroud s opener in a 1-1 draw with Salernitana at San Siro.

Slip-ups from Inter, Lazio and Roma gave Milan the chance to strike an important blow in the Champions League race on Monday, and they looked set to do so when Giroud headed the opener on the stroke of half-time.

However, Salernitana hit back through Dia just after the hour mark, before a VAR review denied Milan a penalty when Ismael Bennacer went down easily under Domagoj Bradaric s challenge.

The result means Milan remain fourth, just a point clear of fifth-placed Roma in a tense battle for Champions League qualification.

Bulaye Dia

— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN)