Craig Gordon is adamant he would feel equipped to go to this summer’s European Championships with Scotland even if he is unable to win back his Hearts starting place from Zander Clark.
The 41-year-old was undisputed number one for club and country before suffering a double leg-break on Christmas Eve of 2022 that sidelined him for almost a year.
Gordon returned to contention in December but has so far been restricted to just two Scottish Cup appearances against lower-league sides Spartans and Airdrie, with Hearts boss Steven Naismith keeping faith with Clark for cinch Premiership duties.
With the Euros kicking off in just over three months, the former Sunderland and Celtic keeper is running out of time to re-establish himself at club level.
Asked if he f…
Joe Willock s first goal since November and a late Callum Wilson header moved Newcastle United into the Champions League spots on Sunday as they beat top-four rivals Manchester United 2-0.
Knowing a win at St James Park would leapfrog the Magpies above the Red Devils and into third, it appeared Newcastle s luck was out as they saw countless chances come and go.
But Willock s close-range header finally put Eddie Howe s side ahead, before Wilson nodded in Kieran Trippier s free-kick to secure a magnificent win that takes them into the Champions League places.
Erik ten Hag s men see their own top-four hopes dented as they drop to fourth, just a point above Tottenham, though they do have a game in hand over the Londoners.
6 Allan Saint-Maximin s assist for Jo…
Arsenal are facing an uphill battle after a surprise defeat in their Women s Champions League qualifier, though there was no such shock for Manchester City.
Jonas Eidevall s side were defeated 1-0 in the first leg away to Hacken on Wednesday, leaving a comeback needed in the reverse fixture next Thursday.
An error from visiting defender Katie McCabe, who missed a clearance from a diagonal pass, led to Tabitha Tindell s 77th-minute winner at Bravida Arena.
Arsenal face Man City in the Women s Super League between the two Hacken clashes, and Gareth Taylor s side will head into that domestic fixture with growing confidence from a fine European showing.
City ran out comfortable 5-0 winners away to Paris FC, with Vivianne Miedema scoring the opener on her comp…
The Premier League will use semi-automated offside technology before the end of the year.
Clubs unanimously agreed to introduce the technology next season at a meeting of top-flight teams on Thursday, which sources say is expected to cut the average length of a VAR check for offside by 31 seconds.
The Premier League said the intention was to introduce the technology after one of the autumn international breaks – so as early as September or as late as November.
Premier League clubs have unanimously agreed to the introduction of Semi-Automated Offside Technology from next season
It will provide quicker placement of the virtual offside line and high-quality graphics to ensure an enhanced broadcast and stadium experience
— Premier League (@premier…
Jurgen Klopp acknowledges Liverpool cannot compete with Premier League rivals Manchester City and Newcastle United financially, declaring some clubs have a ceiling .
Liverpool go into Sunday s encounter with City trailing the champions by 13 points, having made their worst start to a league campaign since 2012 – when they took nine points from their first eight games.
Pep Guardiola s side beat Liverpool to the Premier League title by just one point last season, and have gone from strength to strength since the arrival of Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund.
Meanwhile, with Newcastle enjoying a strong start to their first full season under their hugely wealthy Saudi owners, boss Eddie Howe declared there was no ceiling for the Magpies on Friday.
Asked …
In what was a nail-biting showdown from Athens on Wednesday night, Olympiacos got their hands on a maiden piece of European silverware as they secured a 1-0 victory against Fiorentina in extra-time.
With the Greek giants only having to travel down the road for their date with destiny, we were treated to a battle that was high on intensity but relatively low on quality at both ends of the pitch.
However, although it might have appeared almost destined that Wednesday’s showpiece event would be heading to penalties, the red-hot Ayoub El Kaabi once again proved to be Olympiacos’ ultimate hero.
With the 30-year-old glancing his header home from close range in the 116th minute, Jose Luis Mendilibar’s side became the first Greek club in history to lift a piece of…
Liverpool youngster Harvey Elliott wants to shed his ‘super-sub’ tag as quickly as possible but knows he will have to be patient as he tries to break into an established midfield.
The 20-year-old came off the bench to score a stoppage-time winner at Crystal Palace at the weekend – not the first time he has made an impact with an energetic substitute appearance.
However, the summer overhaul which brought in World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister, Hungary captain Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch after a season at Bayern Munich means most of Elliott’s starts have been restricted to minor competitions like the Europa League.
— Liverpool FC (@LFC)
He will get another chance in the dead rubber against Union Saint-Gilloise in Brussels a…
Best Odds: 2/1
Bookmaker:
Looking to mark their return from the international break with a flurry in Catalonia, Barcelona will host Real Betis on Saturday night.
Barcelona
Starting with the hosts, making real history last season as they got their hands on a first La Liga crown since 2019, Barcelona have once again come flying out of the traps this time around. Last seen heading into the international break with a lively 2-1 win away at Osasuna, it appears that the mood in Xavi’s camp remains at a red-hot high. With their sights firmly set on defending their domestic title, the Spanish heavyweights will be looking to carry on from where they left off earlier in the month. With their eye-catching start to the 2023/24 campaign underlined by an action-packed 4-3 …
Son Heung-min believes Tottenham beat the best team in the world in their 1-0 victory over Manchester City on Sunday.
Spurs off-season was dominated by speculation surrounding star striker Harry Kane, who was absent for the win after only recently returning to training.
Kane is a target for City, with trophies at the top of the England captain s agenda, and Spurs arguably did not miss him against the champions.
Much like under Jose Mourinho last season, Tottenham set up to hit City on the break and that tactic eventually bore fruit early in the second half, Son curling a left-footed effort into the bottom-left corner at the end of a rapid break.
It marked only the third time in Premier League history that the reigning champions have lost on matchday on…
Luis Suarez scored one and assisted another to earn Atletico Madrid a 2-0 win over Barcelona that heaps even more pressure on Blaugrana boss Ronald Koeman.
The Dutchman s job has been repeatedly called into question following a poor run of form, with the result at Wanda Metropolitano making it one win in Barca s last six games.
Barca could have lifted some of the weight off Koeman s shoulders on Saturday, but Suarez set up Thomas Lemar for the opener and then fired in a second to put Atleti in control at half-time.
That is how the scoreline stayed as Diego Simeone s men inflicted a first league defeat of the season on their opponents to move level on points with Real Madrid at the summit.
Koeman was watching from the stands as he serves the second of a tw…