Real Madrid eye Robert Lewandowski as Erling Haaland alternative

Lorient have announced that influential midfielder Yann Jouffre has signed a new two-year extension to his contract at the Ligue 1 club.

Jouffre has scored six league goals this season his best ever return as Lorient have climbed to within three points of the top five.

The 29-year-old has made 147 Ligue 1 appearances for Lorient since joining from Guingamp in 2008 and his new deal ties him to the club until 2016.

I am very pleased to extend here, he told the club s official website. I think on playing and family levels it is the best choice.

I am a loyal player and I need to feel good where I am.

Coach Christian Gourcuff expressed his delight at the news and underlined the progress made by Jouffre.

This is a good thing for the club, Yann continues th…

Marc Cucurella says Chelsea s players will work to implement Graham Potter s ideas when the season restarts, backing the former Brighton and Hove Albion boss to succeed at Stamford Bridge.

The pair arrived at the club a month apart, with the Spaniard sold to the Blues before his coach followed him from the Amex Stadium following Thomas Tuchel s dismissal.

With only seven wins from his first 14 games, Potter is yet to deliver the turnaround in fortunes new owner Todd Boehly was likely hoping for, with the club eight points off the top four.

But Cucurella is confident they will make strides under the Englishman, tipping them to improve over the remainder of the campaign.

We need to work and understand his ideas and the results will arrive, he told The Sun.…

A fine solo goal from Peter Odemwingie guided Stoke City to a third straight Premier League win in a 1-0 triumph over Hull City on Saturday.

In a match of few opportunities, the 32-year-old picked up Ahmed Elmohamady s misplaced pass before drilling into the bottom left-hand corner to light up a tepid affair at the Britannia Stadium.

Following victories over West Ham and Aston Villa in Stoke s previous two league encounters, manager Mark Hughes had talked up his side s chances of a top-10 finish for the first time since they were promoted to the top flight in 2008.

However, Stoke did little to back those claims in a first half devoid of clear-cut opportunities, and Hull arguably should have led at the break with Liam Rosenior heading wide when unmarked in the penalty a…

A pitch invasion from fans caused the abandonment of the Melbourne derby and saw goalkeeper Tom Glover being struck in the face with a bin.

The A-League Men s clash between Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory had already seen flares thrown by both sets of fans during the first 22 minutes, before things escalated.

With hosts City 1-0 up at AAMI Park thanks to an 11th-minute goal from Aiden O Neill, a flare seemed to hit a pitch-side cameraman before exploding, while City shot stopper Glover threw another flare back into the crowd.

This led to a number of fans storming the pitch, with Glover being hit in the face with a metal bin that had been used for other flares. The club later said the 24-year-old likely has a concussion .

Update: Tom Glover is receivi…

Steve McClaren is determined to ensure Derby County s innocent climb takes them into the Premier League when they face QPR on Saturday.

McClaren cut a disconsolate figure the last time he was on the touchline at Wembley, but he will return in great spirits for the Championship play-off final this weekend.

The former Middlesbrough boss was labelled the Wally with the brolly after he watched his England side lose 3-2 to Croatia in the rain to miss out on UEFA Euro 2008 qualification.

The 53-year-old then rebuilt his reputation by guiding FC Twente to the Eredivisie title and, despite disappointing spells at Wolfsburg, Nottingham Forest and then in a second stint at Twente, he has thrived on his return to Derby.

County sacked Nigel Clough last September and turned t…

Market: Nottingham Forest draw no bet

Odds: 4/5 @

Hoping to try and find a route back into the play-off places this weekend, Nottingham Forest will make the trip to Blackpool on Saturday lunchtime.

Starting with the hosts, while Blackpool might have only made their Championship return this season, they have continued on an eye-catching run of form throughout the 2021/22 campaign. Last seen heading into March s international break with a gritty 0-0 stalemate at home against play-off contenders Sheffield United, Neil Critchley s side have collected 10 points from their last four second-tier matchups. Marking their return to action here sat just two points adrift of breaking into the top-half, Blackpool should also be boosted by their continued success at Bloomfiel…

Burnley have bolstered their midfield options with the signing of Derby County midfielder Jeff Hendrick for a club-record fee.

Hendrick starred for the Republic of Ireland during Euro 2016 and moves to Turf Moor on a three-year contract after passing a medical earlier on Wednesday.

The 24-year-old played 214 times for Derby since making his debut in April 2011, but he has opted to leave the Championship club for a shot in the Premier League.

The Premier League was a big draw for me and it s where I aspire to be after the summer I ve had, he told the club s official website.

Burnley did so well last year going unbeaten for five months and how much they wanted me this summer was a real positive for me.

I know there have been a number of bids and …

Inter s over-dependence on Mauro Icardi is a growing source of concern. Image via Tullio M. Puglia/Getty Images

September 18th is surely a day Inter fans wish they could relive a bit longer.

On that Sunday, the Nerazzurri took on Juventus at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. Due to the long-standing bitter rivalry between the two clubs, any Derby d Italia clash is always one to look forward to. And the first installment for this season did not disappoint. Many had predicted a straightforward win for the Bianconeri. After all, Massimiliano Allegri s side appeared to be in the ascendancy, whereas Frank de Boer s squad were floundering.

Well, by the time the final whistle rang out around the stadium, it was Inter supporters who were cheering. The 2-1 result did not just …

Uli Stielike s previous international record will have no bearing on his stint as South Korea coach, says the nation s technical director.

The Korean Football Association (KFA) handed the German a four-year contract that runs until the end of the 2018 World Cup on Friday, nearly two months after Hong Myung-bo tendered his resignation.

Stielike has previously coached Switzerland, more than two decades ago, and also took charge of Ivory Coast between 2006 and 2008.

However, the KFA s technical director, Lee Yong-soo, does not feel Stielike s past experiences are particularly relevant as he begins his new role.

He was frank about his past failures when he managed Switzerland, Lee said. He was very passionate about managing Korean football overall. He said h…

Manchester City may have only scored one goal against Chelsea but the 902 passes they made represented a Premier League record.

No side have distributed the ball as many times as the dominant City did in their 1-0 victory over Chelsea since 2003-04, when Opta began to record such data.

Ilkay Gundogan made the most passes with 174 – one of which proved key to Bernardo Silva s 46th-minute winner – while Oleksandr Zinchenko had an accuracy of 96.7 per cent from 152 passes.

Pep Guardiola s side are now 18 points clear at the Premier League summit and will claim their first title since 2013-14 with four more wins.

902 Manchester City today completed more passes than any other team has managed in a single Premier League game (since 2003-04). Distributed.