Travel-happy Harrogate boss Simon Weaver wants his side to transfer their away form to their own backyard after racking up another road win with a 1-0 League Two victory at Walsall.
George Thomson’s fifth goal of the season, a low strike from 20 yards that Owen Evans could only help into the bottom corner, helped Harrogate to a fifth-straight away win in all competitions.
It was also the first time Harrogate – who leapfrogged Walsall up to 14th in the table – have won four in a row away from home since being promoted into the Football League in 2020.
“It’s no mean feat and we are really pleased – it’s built on just trying to be solid first and foremost, nothing complicated. The shape has been good to us and it’s paid off,” Weaver said.
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Wydad reached the CAF Champions League final for the fifth time in their history after they drew 1-1 with Petro de Luanda to seal a 4-2 aggregate win.
The build-up to Friday s second leg between two-time champions Wydad and Petro, who were bidding to reach their first final in the competition, was skewed somewhat by Al Ahly s appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over the decision to host the showpiece match in Casablanca.
Ten-time continental champions Al Ahly, who hold a 4-0 advantage over Entente Setif in the other semi-final, claimed it was unfair that Wydad, winners in 1992 and 2017, could have home advantage in the final on May 30, and unless CAS overrules CAF s decision, then that will be the case.
Defender Amine Farhane scored in the 28th mi…
England boss Sarina Wiegman conceded she was “disappointed” after her defending champions could only manage a 1-1 draw with Sweden to kick off their Euro 2025 qualifying campaign at Wembley.
Alessia Russo nodded home Lauren James’ delivery to open the scoring in the 24th minute, but it was the visitors who looked likelier to score as half-time approached.
The Lionesses preserved their lead until the 64th minute, when England’s concentration switched off and allowed Fridolina Rolfo to drift in and nod substitute Rosa Kafaji’s delivery past Mary Earps.
THANK YOU, !
— Lionesses (@Lionesses)
Wiegman said: “I think this group is really tough. Of course I’m disappointed, because we always want to win.
“I think we scored a gre…
Stephen Welsh can draw on 15 years of pressure at Celtic as another season moves towards a tense and exciting run-in.
The 24-year-old defender came through the club’s youth ranks before making his debut in February 2020 during a 4–1 win away to Hamilton.
Welsh has had to fight for game time since but has taken over recently from injured Cameron Carter-Vickers and he was again paired with Liam Scales for the trip to St Mirren on Sunday.
The Scottish champions have been criticised at times this season for their performances but the 2-0 Scottish Gas Scottish Cup win in Paisley, which set up a quarter-final clash with Livingston next month, made it eight wins and a draw in their last nine games.
Celtic also lead Rangers by three points at the top of the c…
Lorenzo Insigne dismissed speculation linking him with a move to Serie A rivals Lazio amid doubts over his Napoli future.
Insigne is entering the final year of his contract and the captain is yet to re-sign with boyhood club Napoli, where he emerged from the youth team in 2010.
The Italy star has been linked with LaLiga duo Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, while Liverpool and Milan have previously emerged as possible destinations.
Insigne was asked about his future, with reports claiming Italy team-mate Ciro Immobile is trying to lure the 30-year-old to Lazio.
Slalom time at
— Italy (@azzurri)
This rumour came out that Immobile is acting as sporting director to bring me to Lazio, but it s not true, Insigne said as Italy…
Aston Villa have completed the signing of France winger Moussa Diaby from Bayer Leverkusen.
While Villa have not disclosed the fee paid to secure the services of the 24-year-old, it has been widely reported that the club have broken their transfer record.
Diaby has 10 senior France caps but was not part of the squad that reached the World Cup final in Qatar last year.
Having come up through the ranks at hometown club Paris St Germain, Diaby moved to Leverkusen in 2019.
Mood.
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The global transfer spending record has been broken this summer, according to figures from Transfermarkt.
Clubs worldwide have spent a combined £6.56billion on 1,617 players so far, surpassing the previous high for a single window of £6.51bn set in 2019.
Here, the PA news agency breaks down the record-breaking total.
Highest spending leagues
The Premier League is comfortably the highest-spending division in 2023-24, with almost £2.1bn having been invested in 269 players.
The Saudi Pro League is second on the list with a combined total of £727million, ahead of Italy’s Serie A (£683m), Germany’s Bundesliga (£598m), France’s Ligue 1 (£597m) and Spain’s LaLiga (£342m).
The English top flight has moved further clear of rival leagues co…
It is the closest Liverpool have been to City in 18 months and Van Dijk believes with consistency in results and fitness they can mount a sustained challenge.
Asked whether he thought they were capable of running City close for the title, the captain said: “I hope so.
“You have all these aspirations, dreams, goals and you want to compete until the very end in every competition we are in.
“That is definitely the case at the beginning of the season and then you grow into a season. It’s November and there is still so much to play for.
“It’s going well, but if we had not got a result against Brentford (a 3-0 win at the weekend) we would have been in that downward spiral – from the outside world of course – because you don’t set it up nicely …
Real Sociedad have opened talks with Manchester City over the possibility of signing Sergio Gomez this summer, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The La Liga side will need to replace Kieran Tierney in their squad, with the Scottish left-back set to return to Arsenal following the conclusion of his season-long loan in Spain at the end of June.
Meanwhile, Gomez s numbers at Manchester City have been very modest. He hasn t been able to establish himself as a player of much importance for the Premier League champions, making no more than six league appearances for Pep Guardiola s side in 2023/24. Even in those six matches, he wasn t a part of the starting XI, despite Guardiola having no other designated left-back in his squad. The only goal contribution the 23-year-old managed …
Juventus and AC Milan are interested in signing Jakub Kiwior from Arsenal in the summer transfer window, according to . The report in the Italian news outlet has claimed that Juventus were already on the hunt for Kiwior, and now incoming Milan coach Paulo Fonseca wants to secure the services of the Poland international defender.
Kiwior knows Italian football well during his time at Spezia. The 24-year-old, who can operate as a centre-back or as a left-back, did well in Serie A and was snapped up by Arsenal in January 2023. The Poland international has done well for the Gunners when he has played, but he is not guaranteed a place in manager Mikel Arteta’s starting lineup.
Kiwior made 11 starts and nine substitute appearances in the Premier League for Arsenal last sea…