Joe Rankin-Costello’s first goal of the season earned Blackburn a 1-0 home victory over Cardiff.

The midfielder’s second-half strike – Rovers’ only on-target attempt of the afternoon – condemned the Bluebirds to a third straight defeat on the road.

It also meant the Welsh club are now without a win on their last nine trips to Ewood Park, stretching back to December 2012 when Craig Bellamy was on target for the visitors in a 4-1 triumph.

During the early stages, Blackburn dominated possession without penetrating the visitors’ backline while Josh Bowler shot just wide from the edge of the box following Ike Ugbo’s lay-off at the other end.

After Joe Ralls also called home keeper Leo Wahlstedt into action from 20 yards, the Blackburn faithful ur…

Mauricio Pochettino puts Chelsea’s ill-discipline down to the close-season change of rules with the Blues leading the Premier League for yellow cards this season.

Chelsea have amassed 47 yellow and three red cards, following the dismissal of Malo Gusto against Aston Villa in September and both Reece James and Conor Gallagher being sent off in their last two games.

Pochettino highlighted how the FA’s new rules in targeting petulance such as kicking the ball away or dissent is the reason behind his team’s poor record.

Preparing for tomorrow’s challenge.

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC)

Speaking ahead of Chelsea’s clash with Manchester United on Wednesday, Pochettino said: “Today we were talking in the meeting and we showed the clips of the …

Ange Postecoglou will hope fit-again Giovani Lo Celso can provide the creative spark for Tottenham when Bournemouth visit on Sunday.

Spurs’ selection issues have increased after Dejan Kulusevski received his fifth caution of the season in Thursday’s 4-2 loss at Brighton and will sit out the New Year’s Eve clash.

Kulusevski had stepped up in the absence of chief creator James Maddison, but Postecoglou is pleased to have Lo Celso to call upon again after a recent muscle injury.

Straight back to it on Sunday

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial)

“Gio dropped out the team because he was injured. It wasn’t by decision,” he said.

“He was going well when he got injured. We’re going to have to make another adjustment there (in …

Vanni Sartini hopes a quick turnaround might help the Vancouver Whitecaps halt their skid as they visit their Cascadia Cup rivals, the Seattle Sounders, on the back of two straight losses.

Vancouver sit seventh in the Western Conference with 18 points from 12 games in 2024, though they have slipped down the standings by only taking two points from the last 12 available.

They followed up a 3-0 defeat to Los Angeles FC by going down 1-0 to the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday, playing half of that game with 10 men after Bjorn Utvik s sending-off.

The Whitecaps have little time to stew on that result before Saturday s derby clash, but Sartini hopes that could be a positive thing.

It s really hard when you don t touch the ball at all and are down on the score, …

Heading into this week of Champions League action, which kickstarts the road to Istanbul, one of the most highly anticipated clashes was between the two clubs who contested the 2010 final Inter Milan and Bayern Munich. These two teams help make up the incredible group of death in Group C and while both were hoping to get off to a great start, it was the German giants who managed to get the job done with a comfortable, comprehensive triumph that allowed them to really make a statement on the opening week.

Today, we re going to take a look at a few things we took away from an intriguing night in Italy.

Bayern s dominance

With 21 shot and a real dictation of the pace in the middle of the park, Bayern Munich came across as the champions we all know them to be. They ve mast…

Manchester United will face LaLiga opposition in the Europa League group stage after being drawn to face a Real Sociedad team who have David Silva in their ranks.

Silva is a Manchester City favourite who won four Premier League titles in a 10-year spell at the Etihad Stadium before returning to his native Spain two years ago.

Sociedad finished sixth in LaLiga last season, with United also sixth in the Premier League.

The teams are no strangers to each other, having met in the Europa League last-32 stage in February 2021, when a 4-0 win in Spain paved the way for United to win by that score on aggregate. Silva did not play in the goalless second leg at Old Trafford, with the tie effectively already lost.

United, who won the Europa League in 2017 and went…

Erik ten Hag has been named as the Premier League s Manager of the Month, joining Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford in gaining recognition for the Red Devils September exploits.

Rashford was confirmed as the Player of the Month earlier on Friday, and Ten Hag s win made it an Old Trafford double.

A truncated schedule meant United only played twice in the league this month, but they beat both struggling Leicester City and previously undefeated leaders Arsenal.

United are now on a four-match winning run heading into Sunday s derby against Manchester City – Ten Hag s first since being appointed at the start of the season.

Always a team effort. ||

— Manchester United (@ManUtd)

This is only the second time a United boss has been …

Thiago Motta insists that Federico Chiesa remains a Juventus player for now amid growing uncertainty around his future with the 36-time Serie A champions.

Chiesa, who has made 131 appearances for Juventus, was offered a new deal before the end of last season but is yet to put pen to paper on fresh terms.

The Italian s contract runs out next year with the possibility of Juventus losing him on a free, as the club are eager for the 26-year-old to make a decision.

Chiesa has been of interest to fellow Serie A sides Roma and Napoli, with several Premier League teams also keen to add the Italy international to their ranks.

The Bianconeri are currently preparing for the new season in Germany, but Chiesa not part of Motta s travelling squad.

“He’s…

Head coach John Herdman says Canada are doing everything we can to allow Alphonso Davies to feature in their World Cup opener against Belgium.

Davies has been recovering from a hamstring injury suffered with Bayern Munich earlier this month and jetted out to Qatar later than the rest of the squad, arriving on Friday evening.

The 22-year-old participated in training on Saturday, but it is not clear whether he will be cleared for involvement on Wednesday, when Canada play their first World Cup match since 1986.

Herdman acknowledged players of Davies calibre are necessary against a top-tier team such as Belgium, though he will not rush the left-sided player.

My mission is to make sure he plays at this World Cup, it s a childhood dream for him, Herdman said …

Those who celebrate at this time of year will have barely had time to throw away the wrapping paper and store their strange jumpers back in the wardrobe.

Whether they got what they wanted or not, football fans develop a different kind of lust as January approaches, with transfer season opening for another month.

Some big names are already being linked with possible moves, with the most obvious being free agent Cristiano Ronaldo after his release by Manchester United.

Deals are already being put in place for January 1, with Cody Gakpo confirmed to be on his way to Liverpool from PSV.

Before the chaos of the January transfer window begins, Stats Perform has looked at some players who could be in the middle of a tug of war and end the first month of 2023 at …