Pep Guardiola is optimistic Manchester City can seduce Eric Garcia into extending his contract at the Etihad Stadium despite previously telling the club he wants to leave.

Spanish defender Garcia made City aware back in August that he would not sign a new deal, with the 19-year-old s present contract expiring at the end of June 2021.

A return to Barcelona, whose academy Garcia was at before joining City in 2017, has been suggested as the most likely destination and Los Cules were linked with a move in the previous transfer window.

But Garcia was selected to start City s 3-1 Champions League win over Porto alongside Ruben Dias in the absence of Aymeric Laporte and Nathan Ake on Wednesday, with John Stones on the bench.

Guardiola explained his reasoning for…

Danylo Sikan’s first-half header earned Shakhtar Donetsk a memorable Champions League win after beating Barcelona 1-0 in Hamburg.

A frustrating first half saw the only real chance come from Mykola Matviyenko before Sikan gave the hosts the advantage five minutes before half-time with a looping header.

Giorgi Gocholeishvili and Oleksandr Zubkov had chances for the hosts after the break before Barca began to grow into the half following a quadruple substitution, but Shahktar held firm to see out the win.

It is a missed opportunity for Barcelona, where one point would have earned qualification with two games to spare, while victory earned Shakhtar a valuable second win in Group H.

Despite some early pressure from Robert Lewandowski, Shakhtar began to push …

Bournemouth midfielder David Brooks hopes to make his comeback in the near future after signing a long-term contract extension with the Premier League club.

The 25-year-old missed the majority of last season after he was diagnosed with stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma in October.

But the Wales international, a member of Rob Page s squad at Euro 2020 last year, was given the all-clear in May and returned to a modified training programme.

Brooks is eager to resume his career soon after putting pen to paper on a deal until at least June 2026.

We re delighted to confirm that has signed a new deal with the club

— AFC Bournemouth (@afcbournemouth)

I am so pleased to have signed this deal and am looking forward to the next few years with this gre…

Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic feels N Golo Kante is a better holding midfielder than Claude Makelele.

Makelele made over 200 appearances in all competitions for Chelsea between 2003 and 2008 and was regarded as one of the best players in his position at the time.

Kante has often been likened to his compatriot, but Matic is adamant the 25-year-old former Leicester star has something extra.

Many people say that he is the new Makelele, but I don t think so, Matic told Sky Sports.

Makelele was a great player and we all respect him, me especially because I know that position and how it is difficult to play. But I think that N Golo is better than him. He is doing his defensive job very well and with the ball he has some extra quality.

I know how d…

The Football Association of Wales (FAW) have announced that national team manager Rob Page has signed a new four-year contract.

Page took over as Wales boss on a caretaker basis in November 2020 following Ryan Giggs arrest on assault charges and led the side to World Cup qualification for the first time in 64 years.

The 48-year-old also helped Wales reach the last 16 at Euro 2020 and secure Nations League A qualification for the first time.

Giggs resigned in June, with Page taking over permanently, and the FAW have moved to secure him to a long-term deal with a view to their qualifying campaigns for Euro 2024 and the 2026 World Cup.

There is no bigger honour than coaching your national team and I can’t wait for the challenge the next four years will br…

Kylian Mbappe and Neymar scored hat-tricks as Paris Saint-Germain brought an emphatic end to their poor away form with a resounding 6-1 victory at Clermont in Ligue 1. 

Neymar and Mbappe struck in the opening 19 minutes as PSG ended a run of four straight losses on the road in all competitions and moved 15 points clear at the summit.

Jodel Dossou pulled one back for Clermont but Neymar scored from the spot and then set up Mbappe three minutes later as Mauricio Pochettino s men showed their teeth in the closing stages.

Mbappe completed his hat-trick with 10 minutes remaining and then returned the favour for Neymar, teeing him up for his third as PSG stayed on track for the title.

The visitors took the lead in controversial circumstances, Neymar s goa…

Manchester City took another big step towards the Premier League title as they thrashed Liverpool 4-1 on Sunday, a record-equalling 14th straight victory in all competitions.

Only Preston North End, whose run ended in January 1892, and Arsenal in 1987 have ever achieved such a sequence of wins while in England s top flight.

City can now set a new benchmark against Swansea in the FA Cup on Wednesday.

They have moved five points clear of second-placed Manchester United with a game in hand at the top of the Premier League, while Liverpool are back in fourth, 10 points off the pace.

Defending champions Liverpool were undefeated in 68 consecutive home league matches before hosting Burnley last month but have now lost three in a row at Anfield for the first tim…

Manchester United are interested in signing Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2023, according to . The report has claimed that the Red Devils wanted to secure the services of the England international midfielder in 2020, but the teenager moved to Borussia Dortmund instead.

The former Premier League and UEFA Champions League winners are keen on securing the services of the 19-year-old next summer and have made him their number one priority at the end of the season. Bellingham has established himself as one of the best young midfielders in the world and has been superb for Dortmund, both in the Bundesliga and in the UEFA Champions League.

Bellingham has scored three goals and provided one assist in 12 Bundesliga appearances for Dortmund so far this s…

Adrian saved from Tammy Abraham as Liverpool beat Chelsea 5-4 on penalties to win the first all-English UEFA Super Cup following a 2-2 draw in Istanbul.

Olivier Giroud gave Frank Lampard s side a deserved first-half lead on Wednesday, but the introduction of Roberto Firmino as a half-time substitute changed the game for the Reds.

Firmino quickly set up Sadio Mane for the equaliser and, in the first period of extra time, the Senegal star smashed home from his team-mate s pass again before Jorginho equalised from the penalty spot.

But it was the European champions who triumphed in the shoot-out, Alisson s deputy Adrian denying Abraham with his right leg to secure victory for Jurgen Klopp s side.

Liverpool win on penalties in Istanbul!

— UEFA …

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone suggested Joao Felix, Diego Costa and Alvaro Morata could be set to start together in LaLiga for the first time.

Morata started the campaign alongside record signing Joao Felix when Costa was sidelined by an adductor injury.

After Morata succumbed to a knee problem, Simeone then opted to field Costa with Joao Felix in Atleti s attack.

With Morata fully fit and Atletico having failed to score in successive LaLiga games against Real Sociedad and Celta Vigo, Simeone could select the trio together for Wednesday s trip to Real Mallorca.

As I always said, and I said it before in some other press conferences, when Alvaro and Diego are both strong and in shape it s very likely that they will play together, he told repo…