There was more than a hint of inevitability about the impact of Cristiano Ronaldo on his second Manchester United debut, as his two goals inspired a 4-1 victory over Newcastle United at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Wearing United red for the first time since May 2009, Ronaldo looked eager to impress right from the start as he ran at the Newcastle defence and went for goal at almost every opportunity.

His first attempt of the day was one he would have wanted to get past quickly – a wild, left-footed air kick saw him completely miss the ball and fall on his backside, much to the amusement of the visitors supporters.

But he did find the net late in the first half and then again in the second, setting United on their way to an ultimately straightforward win, even if…

England goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale is confident the World Cup ball will not join the list of controversies at Qatar 2022 – describing it as better for goalkeepers and dismissing any comparison to the much-criticised Jabulani.

The tournament will feature the Adidas Al Rihla ball, which Ramsdale has been involved in trialling given his club side Arsenal have a kit deal with the German manufacturer.

The 2010 tournament in South Africa featured criticism by a host of goalkeepers of the Jabulani ball, another adidas model, with Spain s Iker Casillas and Italy s Gianluigi Buffon among them.

That ball was defended by FIFA and its designers but has become a touchstone for measuring future World Cup balls against, and it was mentioned in England s press conference on Fri…

Germany are looking ahead to Euro 2020 as they face relegation from the top division of the Nations League, says coach Joachim Low.

After two defeats from their three Group A games, Germany are propping up the table and will be relegated if Netherlands beat France on November 16.

Germany have had a terrible 2018, with Low s men knocked out of the World Cup in the group stage despite the holders being among the tournament favourites.

Low has left out Jerome Boateng and Marc-Andre ter Stegen for fitness reasons and the Germany coach accepts he is already planning ahead for Euro 2020.

Obviously we want to do all we can to stay in League A, but it s not in our hands anymore, Low told the DFB website. We re looking at more than just the Nations League. Euro 2…

England have the opportunity to gain a measure of revenge on Italy for their Euro 2020 final defeat after the two nations were drawn together in Euro 2024 qualifying.

Italy beat England 3-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at Wembley in London on July 11, 2021 to win their first European Championship title since 1968.

Gareth Southgate s Three Lions had opened the scoring through Luke Shaw, but the Azzurri levelled via Leonardo Bonucci.

And spot-kick misses by Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka proved costly for England, who had hoped to win a first major title in 55 years.

The two will tussle again – twice – on the road to Germany 2024 after being drawn together in qualifying Group C in Sunday s ceremony, which was held in Frankfurt.

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Tottenham have confirmed Ryan Sessegnon and Japhet Tanganga are following Eric Dier and Ivan Perisic through the exit door as free agents.

Dier and Perisic had already agreed moves ahead of 2024-25, with Dier making his loan stay at Bayern Munich permanent and Perisic returning to boyhood club Hajduk Split.

Both players have now left the club following the expiration of their contracts, as have Sessegnon and Tanganga.

Sessegnon was considered one of the hottest properties in the English game when he joined from Fulham in a £25million deal in 2019, but he made just 57 appearances in five injury-affected years in north London, scoring three goals.

We can confirm the departures of Japhet Tanganga, Ryan Sessegnon, Eric Dier and Ivan Perisic following the con…

Bayern Munich have signed winger Michael Olise from Crystal Palace on a five-year deal worth around £45million plus £5m in add-ons.

Olise ends a three-year stay at Selhurst Park, having joined from Reading back in 2021.

The Frenchman, who is currently on international duty with France ahead of the Paris Olympics, made 90 appearances for the Eagles, scoring 16 times, 10 of which came last season.

Olise becomes Vincent Kompany s fifth signing since taking over in May, following Hiroki Ito, Bryan Zaragoza, Nestory Irankunda and Armindo Sieb through the doors at the Allianz Arena.

“The talks with FC Bayern were very positive, and I’m very happy to now be playing for such a big club, Olise said upon signing with the 33-time Bundesliga champions.

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Pep Guardiola was delighted to see Manchester City begin their season with silverware as they beat Manchester United in the Community Shield, though he warned their triumph means nothing for their hopes of another Premier League title.

Bernardo Silva s header cancelled out Alejandro Garnacho s goal as the Manchester rivals played out a 1-1 draw at Wembley, with City edging the penalty shoot-out 7-6.

Manuel Akanji scored the decisive kick after Silva, Jadon Sancho and Jonny Evans failed to convert, handing City their first Community Shield triumph since 2019.

City s victory came despite the absences of several players that made it to the latter stages of Euro 2024, including Rodri, Phil Foden, John Stones and Kyle Walker.

While Guardiola was delighted to…

Real Madrid are keeping tabs on Chelsea right-back Reece James, according to . The report has claimed that Madrid have been scouting James this season and have been impressed by the England international defender. Although Chelsea are not actively looking to sell the 24-year-old, a transfer fee of over £60 million could convince the Blues to offload him.

James is one of the best right-backs around and has been on the books of Chelsea since 2008. The 24-year-old, though, has had injury and fitness issues in recent years. James has made only five starts in the Premier League so far this season, providing one assist in the process.

Madrid are at the top of the La Liga table at the moment with 75 points from 30 matches, eight points clear of second-placed and defending cha…

England s Euro 2024 preparations ended on a sour note as Gareth Southgate s side produced a limp display in a surprise 1-0 defeat to Iceland at Wembley Stadium.

The absence of Jude Bellingham aside, Southgate selected a strong starting lineup but saw his side toil in the final third as Jon Thorsteinsson s early effort proved decisive.

England started slowly as Iceland sat deep, and they were hit on the break 11 minutes in, Thorsteinsson driving a low strike behind the dive of Aaron Ramsdale and in after cutting inside John Stones on the left side of the area.

The Three Lions missed two glaring chances to level before half-time, with Cole Palmer seeing a volley deflect wide before Harry Kane inexplicably fluffed his lines when picked out by the Chelsea man.

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Vivianne Miedema followed her gut when she decided to join Manchester City from Arsenal.

Miedema spent seven years with the Gunners, cementing herself as the Women s Super League all-time top scorer in that time, netting 79 goals.

She also set the league record for the most goals scored in a single WSL season (22) and netted 125 goals for Arsenal overall in 179 appearances.

After enduring two injury-hit campaigns in her final two years in North London, Miedema is ready to face a new challenge and is confident City will provide that.

I ve been in the league for a long, long time and my gut feeling told me that I really wanted to stay in England, Miedema said.

I ve spoken to multiple clubs in England and also abroad. Obviously, when I started spea…