Gleaming machines, computer monitors and sports science experts – walking into the human performance lab at Perform at St George s Park, it is easy feel as though you have been cast as Rocky villain Ivan Drago for a workout at his sinister hi-tech training base.
Shortly, there will be emphatic proof that I am not, by any measure, that type of physical specimen.
Housed amid the Football Association s sprawling national football centre in Burton, Perform s facilities provide a one-stop shop for the pre-signing football medical. As the deadline to English football s mid-season transfer window looms, the facility is prepared to go into overdrive.
It s a good time, says sport science lead Dr Carl Wells. It s hectic because you know you can get a phone ca…
Paris-Saint Germain s 13th-straight victory, a 2-0 win at Saint-Etienne on Sunday, extended their huge lead at the top of Ligue 1 and equalled a 21-year-old record for the competition s longest unbeaten run.
Laurent Blanc s side have not lost for 32 league fixtures, a sequence stretching back to last season and matching a record set by Nantes between July 1994 and April 1995.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic struck twice for PSG, a pair of neat volleyed finishes, to score his 13th and 14th goals against Saint-Etienne since arriving in French football in 2012.
PSG s lead at the top of Ligue 1 now rises to 24 points after Angers beat Monaco 3-0 on Saturday to jump into second spot.
Caen strengthened their chances of playing European football next season with a 2-0 home…
Miguel Almiron scored his first Premier League goal to fire Newcastle United to a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace, while Everton and Arsenal played out a bore draw at Goodison Park.
Paraguay international Almiron volleyed home late on to get off the mark on his 27th appearance in the competition and settle a match that was heading for a goalless draw.
Goals proved hard to come by in the stalemate between Everton and Arsenal, a low-quality match watched from the stands by respective incoming bosses Carlo Ancelotti and Mikel Arteta.
Everton failed to record a shot on target in a top-flight home match for the first time since January 2018, while Gabriel Martinelli went closest to scoring for the visitors.
Elsewhere, Burnley, Sheffield United, Wolves and Southamp…
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Following some dramatic Champions League action in midweek, the Premier League will be back in our lives this weekend as we edge closer and closer towards 2019. One of the games on the bill is Tottenham Hotspur vs Burnley, in what will serve as a minor David vs Goliath battle. Both clubs are heading in very different directions and there s no secret surrounding that, but as we know, these two clubs have a tendency to surprise us every now and again both in a good sense and the bad.
Tottenham
The pieces finally seem to be falling into place for Tottenham this season, as they continue to go in search of success both domestically and in Europe. If they can add some strength in depth into their ranks then th…
Matteo Gabbia scored his first goal for Milan as they thrashed Dinamo Zagreb 4-0 to move just a point away from the Champions League round of 16.
Chelsea s victory at Salzburg earlier on Tuesday gave Stefano Pioli s side the chance to go second in Group E and they grasped that opportunity with both hands.
Gabbia put them in front with a first-half header and they ran away with it in the second half, with Rafael Leao doubling their lead before Olivier Giroud added a third from the penalty spot.
Robert Ljubicic s bizarre own goal summed up Dinamo s night as their hopes of qualifying were emphatically ended, while Milan only need to avoid defeat in a decisive last group match against Salzburg next week to advance.
Gabbia getting it done
— AC Mi…
Ansu Fati has officially become a member of Barcelona s first-team squad following a brilliant breakthrough campaign, with his buy-out clause raised to €400million.
The winger will wear the number 22, which had been left vacant following Arturo Vidal s departure to Inter.
He had previously been given the number 31 shirt, but did not officially count as a first-team player despite making 33 appearances in all competitions in 2019-20.
Barca have also confirmed that the teenager s buy-out clause has gone up from €170m to €400m now he is a first-team player, as was agreed when Fati s deal with the club was renewed in December.
The 17-year-old scored eight goals in total last season for Barca, and has won two caps for Spain – putting in a superb dis…
Northern Ireland return to action with a friendly against Romania in Bucharest on Friday night.
The fixture is the first of back-to-back away games, with a trip to Glasgow to face Scotland up next.
Here, the PA news agency looks at the key talking points ahead of the Romania game.
Youth movement
After a hugely disappointing Euro 2024 qualifying campaign ruined by injuries, it is time for Michael O’Neill to hit the reset button. Those injuries accelerated the need for a rebuild of the Northern Ireland squad, and almost half of the players in O’Neill’s camp have 10 caps or less, and only two of them – Josh Magennis and George Saville – are over the age of 30. But there is much to be encouraged by, with Conor Bradley, Shea Charles, Isaac Price and Trai Hu…
Gareth Southgate was pleased by England’s display in the defeat to Brazil and praised his trio of debutants as he experimented ahead of Euro 2024.
Saturday’s Wembley clash between these injury-hit sides ended in the hosts’ first defeat since their World Cup quarter-final exit to France 15 months ago.
England had hoped to start the international year with a bang but stumbled as teenage star Endrick came off the bench to secure Brazil a late 1-0 win.
The 17-year-old became the youngest man to score a senior international goal at Wembley, where Southgate was largely happy despite his side’s 10-match unbeaten run coming to an end.
“I was pleased,” the England manager said. “Clearly don’t like losing football matches, but I thought there were l…
Defender Clint Hill has signed a new one-year contract at QPR as the club prepare for life back in the Premier League.
The 35-year-old captained the side to an immediate return to the top flight via the Championship play-offs last season and will now embark on a fifth campaign at Loftus Road.
I was always hopeful that I d get a new deal, so to get it sorted so soon is great, he told the club s official website.
I ve enjoyed some great experiences at QPR over the last four years, I m settled here, and I m excited about being part of this club for another season.
But Hill is in no doubt as to the size of the challenge he will face in trying to pin down a starting spot when the new term begins at home to Hull City on August 16.
Every year I alway…
Stefan de Vrij is the latest member of Louis van Gaal’s Netherlands squad to be linked with a move to Old Trafford this summer, .
The 22 year old, who has played in all four of his countries games so far at this summer’s World Cup finals in Brazil, and scored in the 5-1 rout over Champions Spain, has spent his entire career so far with Feyenoord.
His international teammates Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben and Daryl Janmaat have also been named as potential transfer targets for Van Gaal, who will begin work with the Premier League giants once the Dutch’s participation in South America is over.
Two late goals saw the 2010 runners-up come from behind to beat Mexico in the round of sixteen yesterday, and they will now face Costa Rica in the quarter finals in …