Noni Madueke’s equaliser earned Chelsea a point as they came from behind in a 1-1 draw with 10-man Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge.

Despite a late push by the dominant hosts, Forest held firm to continue their fine start in the Premier League against another top-four opponent.

After a tepid first half, Chris Wood put the visitors ahead in the 49th minute after directing Nikola Milenkovic s header across goal into the bottom corner.

That lead did not last long as Madueke fired Chelsea level just eight minutes later after cutting in from the right of the box.

James Ward-Prowse received his marching orders for a second yellow card on 78 minutes, though neither side could find a winner in the fiery encounter despite a spate of late chances.

Che…

Erling Haaland endured a miserable outing as Norway captain, with his goal-scoring exploits powerless in stopping Austria claim a thumping 5-1 win in their Nations League clash.

Haaland, standing in for injured skipper Martin Odegaard, watched on as his nation suffered a second-half collapse at the Raiffeisen Arena on Sunday.

The Manchester City striker became Norway s all-time top scorer with a brace in their 3-0 win over Slovenia in midweek, taking his total to 34 goals in 36 games, and threatened to add to that tally when he struck the post early on.

However, a dominant start by the hosts was rewarded when Marko Arnautovic thundered his side in front in the eighth minute with a fierce effort off the crossbar.

Norway found themselves level six minutes …

Miroslav Klose pointed to the influence of Hansi Flick on his fledgling touchline career as the World Cup record-breaker began his first job as a head coach.

Germany great Klose has taken over as boss of Austrian Bundesliga team SCR Altach. The player whose career haul of 16 World Cup goals remains unmatched was presented to the media on Monday.

The 44-year-old Klose had a spell as an assistant with the Germany national team during Joachim Low s tenure, and worked at Bayern Munich under Flick in the 2020-21 campaign, having previously spent two years with the Bavarians  under-17 team.

Bayern won the Bundesliga, DFL-Supercup, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup trophies in the season when Klose was involved in the first-team squad. Flick then departed to become G…

Major League Soccer (MLS) has experienced significant growth since its inception in 1996, expanding from 10 teams to 29 teams in 2023. With increasing popularity, the league has shown no signs of slowing down, continually exploring new markets for expansion. As MLS looks to the future, several states stand out as potential candidates for new teams due to their growing soccer culture, demographic trends, and economic viability. New states that get MLS teams become sports hot spots, often seeing tourism growth, sports betting growth, and an increase in local business and city revenue. 

Here are some states that could be next in line to get an MLS team.

Mississippi

Mississippi, particularly the Jackson metropolitan area, offers a unique opportunity for MLS expan…

Alejo Veliz has completed a loan move from Tottenham to Espanyol, the La Liga club confirmed on Wednesday.

Veliz, who has made eight appearances for Spurs since signing from Rosario Central in 2023, joins Espanyol on a season-long deal.

The 20-year-old was limited to 45 minutes of action under Ange Postecoglou last campaign, scoring his first goal in a 4-2 defeat to Brighton in December.

Veliz joined Sevilla for the second half of the 2023-24 season, but again struggled for game time and played six times in La Liga, totalling to 31 minutes.

Alejo Veliz has joined La Liga side Espanyol on loan for the 2024/25 season.

Go well, !

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial)

Espanyol won promotion from the Segunda Division last season af…

After Cristiano Ronaldo made his move from Manchester United to Al-Nassr in January 2023, the summer saw a number of high-profile players follow the Portuguese superstar from top European leagues to Saudi Arabia. The total of $957 million (around €874m, £754m), which the clubs from the Middle-East country spent to make their competitions more interesting to a wider public, exceeded that of four out of Europe’s ’big five’, with only the English Premier League splashing out more.

Among the many debates the exodus sparked, one that arguably feels the most significant is whether the trend will continue in the windows to come.

It’s worth pointing out that there were some, like Real Madrid star Luka Modric, Kylian Mbappe of Paris Saint-Germain, or Liverpool’s Moh…

Mary Earps has left Manchester United ahead of her anticipated switch to Paris Saint-Germain.

Reports emerged earlier this week that the England goalkeeper, who won FIFA Best awards in 2022 and 2023, would be joining PSG upon the expiration of her contract with United.

Earps joined United in 2019 and has played a key role in their rise up to the upper echelons of the women s game, and helped the club win their first piece of silverware when they thrashed Tottenham in the women s FA Cup final in May.

However, the 31-year-old has turned down a contract offer from United and is now destined to head to France.

What a player. What a person. What a journey.

We ll see you soon, Mearps

— Manchester United Women (@ManUtdWomen)

Official…

Best odds: 13/5

Bookmaker:

With time ticking away to salvage European football from a disappointing season, Napoli will host southern rivals AS Roma at Stadio Maradona on Sunday evening.

The Derby del Sole occurs against the backdrop of Napoli s recent loss to Empoli and the subsequent crowning of Inter Milan as Italian champions. On the other hand, Roma find themselves on the brink of securing a return to the Champions League, adding to the significance of the fixture.

Napoli

After settling for a disappointing 2-2 draw with Frosinone just days prior, Napoli faced another setback against struggling Serie A side Empoli last Saturday, enduring a toothless 1-0 defeat at Stadio Carlo Castellani.

The defeat marked a new low in Napoli s dismal title d…

Best Odds: 4/7

Bookmaker:

Looking to make it back-to-back World Cup qualifying victories in the early hours of Wednesday, Brazil will travel to Paraguay.

Paraguay

Starting with the hosts, while Paraguay might have eventually snatched a 0-0 stalemate away at Uruguay over the weekend, Gustavo Alfaro’s men have drastically struggled to find any kind of stability. Enduring a public Copa America nightmare during the summer as they lose all of their three Group D appearances by an aggregate score of 8-3, the Guaranies have another stern examination on the cards here. Signing off 2023 with a 1-0 defeat at home against Colombia, Paraguay have recorded just a pair of victories from any of their previous 13 appearances across all competitions. Pencilled in as a real un…

Newcastle United are interested in signing Angel Gomes in the summer of 2025, according to . The report has noted that Gomes is out of contract at Ligue 1 club Lille at the end of the season, and that Premier League outfit Newcastle are keen on snapping him on a free transfer.

Gomes has been on the books of Lille since 2020 when he joined after leaving Manchester United. The England international midfielder has been superb for the French club and has established himself as one of the better midfielders in Ligue 1.

The 24-year-old has made two starts and one substitute appearance in Ligue 1 and has played once in the UEFA Champions League for Lille this season. Gomes scored two goals and gave six assists in 34 Ligue 1 starts in 2022-23 and provided eight assists in 29 Li…