Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has praised the incredible job Unai Emery has done during his time at Aston Villa ahead of Monday s contest between the sides.

Emery guided Villa into the Europa Conference League in his first campaign in charge, where they made it to the semi-final stage.

The Villans Euro campaign was ended by Olympiacos on Thursday, but they are one win from securing a Champions League spot for next term.

Emery s men, who lost 1-0 at Brighton last time out in the league, can get themselves over the line with a game to spare when Liverpool visit Villa Park next up.

He s done an incredible job, Klopp said. Emery is one of the best we have in the business, 100 per cent. Wherever he was, he had success.

Sometimes clubs were not read…

Denis Bouanga believes Los Angeles FC got a much-needed wake-up call when they lost to San Jose Earthquakes, as they prepare to face FC Dallas on Saturday.

LAFC lost 3-1 to the Earthquakes on May 5, but have since won all six of their games in all competitions, keeping a clean sheet in each of the last five.

They extended that run with a 2-0 win over Minnesota United at home on Wednesday and are now just three points behind Western Conference leaders Real Salt Lake in third.

Bouanga has praised the response from LAFC, saying, I think that losing to San Jose was a good wake-up call for us.

We are LAFC but every club against us wants to win. The MLS is starting to have good players in good teams. We also have good players, but that was a big wake-up call.<…

A move to take Antoine Griezmann to Athletic Bilbao is impossible according to Inaki Arechabaleta, the presidential candidate who has pledged to appoint Marcelo Bielsa if he wins the club s upcoming elections.

Griezmann came through the ranks at Athletic s local rivals Real Sociedad, meaning the 2018 World Cup winner is often spoken about as a potential target for the club, who remain committed to a policy of only recruiting players hailing from the Basque Country.

Having returned to Atletico Madrid on a two-year loan deal from Barcelona last August, Griezmann struggled to tie down a regular starting spot during an injury-hit season.

He made fewer appearances in all competitions (36) than fellow forwards Angel Correa (49), Luis Suarez (45) and Matheus Cunha (37).…

If there is one thing football fans will simply never be calm about, it is the amount of money their club spends on transfers.

No matter how many new, shiny players their team signs, that brief release of endorphins they get from watching YouTube compilations, checking Twitter for updates and finally seeing some over-produced nonsense of a reveal video soon dissipates and it s on to the next one.

Having said that, you wonder what it must have been like to be a Nottingham Forest fan during the transfer window, which finally closed on Thursday.

Back in the Premier League for the first time since 1999, Forest are determined to cement their place in the top tier.

Whatever anyone thinks about the quality of the arrivals, the club absolutely went for quantity …

Milan saw their Serie A top-four hopes dealt a blow after Nicolas Gonzalez and Luka Jovic proved the difference in a 2-1 win for Fiorentina on Saturday.

Stefano Pioli s side had reeled off three straight league wins but came unstuck at Stadio Artemio Franchi with an underwhelming display.

Gonzalez s 49th-minute penalty was no less than Vincenzo Italiano s hosts deserved before substitute Jovic put the game beyond Milan, despite Theo Hernandez s stoppage-time strike.

Defeat left Pioli s men 18 points adrift of runaway leaders Napoli and looking over their shoulders at fifth-placed Roma, who could move level with victory against Juventus on Sunday.

— ACF Fiorentina English (@ACFFiorentinaEN)

Fiorentina were unable to reap the rewards of …

England defender Kyle Walker has signed a two-year contract extension to keep him with Manchester City until 2024, the Premier League champions have confirmed.

Walker joined City from Tottenham in a deal worth in the region of £50million prior to the 2017-18 season and became a key first-team performer as Pep Guardiola s side claimed back-to-back Premier League titles.

The 29-year-old has also won the EFL Cup in each of his campaigns at the Etihad Stadium to date and collected an FA Cup winners medal last month, as City concluded 2018-19 with a 6-0 win over Watford at Wembley to complete an unprecedented domestic treble.

That win over Watford saw Walker make his 100th appearance for the club and he has designs on winning further major honours having renewed …

Brazil produced the best display of Qatar 2022 so far with an emphatic 4-1 victory over South Korea at Stadium 974 on Monday to set up a quarter-final tie with Croatia.

The Selecao were four goals up inside 36 minutes – only the second time in their World Cup history they have scored four times in the first half of a match – in a one-sided tie.

Neymar returned to Brazil s line-up – back to full strength after their 1-0 loss to Cameroon – and he netted from the penalty spot after Vinicius Junior had opened the scoring.

Richarlison and Lucas Paqueta put the game well out of reach and there was no way back for South Korea, though they did have a moment to savour courtesy of Paik Seung-ho s goal in the second half.

Raphinha pulled the ball back for Vi…

Aaron Ramsdale was left with a sour taste after being kicked by a Tottenham fan but insisted Arsenal will celebrate a memorable 2-0 victory on Sunday.

A costly Hugo Lloris own goal and Martin Odegaard s fizzing first-half strike sent Arsenal eight points clear at the Premier League summit after their first victory at Tottenham since 2014.

The win was somewhat marred by unsavoury scenes after the full-time whistle when Ramsdale – who had just been confronted by Richarlison – was kicked by a fan standing on the hoardings behind the goal.

The Arsenal goalkeeper acknowledged he was involved in some light-hearted exchanges with some Spurs fans but labelled the post-match incident as a shame after the bizarre incident.

He told Sky Sports: The Spurs fans gav…

Crystal Palace are interested in signing Robin Gosens from Union Berlin in the summer transfer window, according to Fabrizio Romano. The well-known and well-respected Italian journalist has claimed that Premier League club Palace have shown “concrete interest” in Gosens after Torino decided to abandon their chase of the 30-year-old Germany international, who can operate as a left winger or left wing-back.

Romano wrote on : “Crystal Palace have concrete interest in Robin Gosens after Torino left negotiations as they’re close to signing Borna Sosa from Ajax.

have Gosens on their list and Glasner really appreciates him; up to Union Berlin now, as the manager hopes to keep Robin.”

Gosens has been on the books of Union Berlin since the summer of 2023 when…

Ange Postecoglou will relish the chance to prove people wrong at Tottenham after claiming he has needed to be “faultless” to reach this stage of his managerial career.

A coaching journey spanning nearly three decades has taken the Australian from Melbourne to London via spells in Yokohama and Glasgow.

Success has followed the 57-year-old, but he is now tasked with a sizeable rebuilding job at Spurs, who have not won a trophy since 2008 and finished eighth in the Premier League last season.

“All I know is I love winning,” Postecoglou said during his first press conference in his new role. “I don’t do any job unless I think I can win. That’s going to be my intent.

“I’ve been fortunate in the past because I’ve had success but whenever I r…