Ali Rampling

Barcelona goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck has reflected on making her “dream” return to first-team action after recovering from a stroke. Roebuck, 25, did not feature for former club Manchester City during the 2023-24 campaign and announced in March she had suffered a left occipital infarct but had avoided lasting damage to her brain function and vision. The England international made her Barcelona debut during Saturday’s 4-1 Liga F victory over Real Betis, her maiden first-team outing since Manchester City’s 2-1 loss to Manchester United on May 21 2023. “303 days...

Manchester City head coach Gareth Taylor says Vivianne Miedema is targeting a return to first-team action in January following knee surgery. The 28-year-old forward has not featured since City’s Champions League group-stage victory over Barcelona on October 9. The club confirmed on October 30 she had undergone knee surgery but no timeframe for her return was disclosed. Taylor explained Miedema will not play before the Women’s Super League’s (WSL) winter break but is progressing in her comeback. “Viv is back on the pitch which is great,” Taylor said. “The...

Giovanni Reyna says he is determined to “fight for more opportunities” after making his first Borussia Dortmund start in over a year during Wednesday’s Champions League loss to Barcelona. The 22-year-old’s last Dortmund start came in the DFB-Pokal tie against Hoffenheim on November 1 2023, but he completed 73 minutes at Westfalenstadion in a 3-2 defeat. Reyna had played just 67 minutes for the Dortmund first team this season before Wednesday, having missed two months of action through injury, but returned to the starting lineup against the La Liga leaders as Dortmund...

Gio Reyna scored his first club goal in 583 days during Borussia Dortmund’s 1-1 draw against Hoffenheim on Sunday. The 22-year-old scored his side’s only goal in the 46th minute at Westfalenstadion, collecting a loose ball on the edge of the area and firing a half-volley into the top corner. The goal marked his first at club level since Dortmund’s 5-2 victory over Borussia Monchengladbach on May 13, 2023. Dortmund were denied all three points after Jacob Bruun Larsen’s stoppage time equaliser. Reyna was making his first Bundesliga start of the season, with his last...

Southampton head coach Russell Martin says he will “continue to work and fight” until he is “told otherwise” after Sunday’s 5-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur. Southampton supporters could be heard chanting for Martin to be sacked and an anti-Martin banner was visible in the home end at St Mary’s as the Premier League’s bottom side conceded four times in the opening 25 minutes. Fans headed for the exit in significant numbers in the first half as Southampton suffered their 13th defeat from 16 top-flight matches this season, and Martin said he understood the...

Enzo Maresca says Chelsea must learn to manage situations better after Marc Cucurella was sent off at full time following Sunday’s victory over Brentford. Cucurella, who had opened the scoring in the first half of the 2-1 victory at Stamford Bridge, was shown a second yellow by referee Peter Bankes following an altercation with Brentford forward Kevin Schade after the final whistle. Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) explained the full-back had been booked for “adopting an aggressive attitude”, with Schade also given a yellow card for his role in the incident.

USMNT and Monaco striker Folarin Balogun is expected to be sidelined for four months as he prepares to undergo shoulder surgery. Monaco head coach Adi Hutter confirmed earlier this month the 23-year-old was set for an operation on his shoulder injury, and the German has now provided a timeframe for his recovery. The prognosis means Balogun will likely not return to action until April, missing the majority of the 2024-25 season and the conclusion of the CONCACAF Nations League in March. The United States face Panama in the Nations League semi-finals on March 20 before the winner plays Canada or...

Real Madrid have won the 2024 Intercontinental Cup after beating Pachuca 3-0 in Wednesday’s final. Goals from Kylian Mbappe, Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior secured victory for Carlo Ancelotti’s side over the Liga MX club at Lusail Stadium in Doha, Qatar. Madrid qualified for the Intercontinental Cup — FIFA’s new annual mid-season competition, replacing the previous iteration of the Club World Cup — after winning the Champions League, while opponents Pachuca won the CONCACAF Champions Cup. Madrid opened the scoring in Doha after 37 minutes, Vinicius Jr rounding goalkeeper Carlos...

Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was forced off in the first half of his side’s Ligue 1 fixture against Monaco on Wednesday after sustaining a serious facial injury. The 25-year-old Italy international was struck in the face by the studs of Monaco defender Wilfried Singo’s boot after saving his effort on goal. Donnarumma immediately received medical attention on the Stade Louis II pitch and was replaced after 22 minutes by Matvei Safonov. Singo, who had been booked earlier in the first half, escaped further punishment from referee Francois Letexier for the...

Dele Alli has confirmed he will be leaving Everton after conceding “things haven’t worked out as we all would have hoped”. The 28-year-old’s Everton contract expired in July but he continued to train at Finch Farm as part of his rehabilitation from a long-term thigh problem. Fresh discussions had taken place over a potential one-year contract at Everton, which hinged on Dele first proving his fitness. However, after finishing his individual training programme, he did not get to the stage of completing regular sessions with Sean Dyche’s first-team group. In a post on...