Eddie Howe admitted Newcastle United s performance in the 2-0 loss at Crystal Palace on Wednesday was way off the one that saw them thump Tottenham in their previous game.

Howe s men hammered Spurs 4-0 in their last match, but they never got close to matching the attacking verve from that outing and a Jean-Philippe Mateta double condemned the Magpies to defeat at Selhurst Park.

Newcastle didn t even manage a shot on target until the 87th minute, accumulating just 0.42 xG (expected goals) as the likes of Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon struggled to make an impact.

Only against Manchester City in August (one) have Newcastle recorded fewer shots on target in a Premier League game this season than their two against Palace, and Howe was critical of his team s displa…

Didier Deschamps believes Kylian Mbappe is set for another memorable World Cup after he claimed a goal and an assist in France s 4-1 win over Australia, declaring: It s his competition .

Mbappe became just the second teenager – after Pele in 1958 – to score in a World Cup final as France downed Croatia to win the tournament in Russia four years ago, and he made a strong start to this year s competition as Les Bleus claimed a comeback win.

Craig Goodwin handed Australia a surprise lead in Tuesday s Group D clash, but Mbappe built on first-half strikes from Adrien Rabiot and Olivier Giroud as France got off to a winning start.

At 23 years and 337 days old, Mbappe is now the youngest player to have scored five World Cup goals for France, and Deschamps expects hi…

Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign Internacional midfielder Oscar, according to the Brazilian club s president Giovanni Luigi.

Highly rated playmaker Oscar is in England on Olympic duty with Brazil and was a standout performer in their 2-0 warm-up victory over Great Britain on Friday.

Oscar claimed on Friday he had undergone a medical at Chelsea but will delay a decision on his future until after the conclusion of the Olympic Games.

However, it now appears confirmation of a switch is imminent, with Luigi claiming a verbal agreement has been finalised between the two clubs.

There is a verbal agreement between the two parties. But we have to put that on paper and the lawyers of both clubs have to discuss the matter, he told Radio Guiaba.

Oscar joi…

Patrice Evra says he is ready to fight for his place in the Manchester United starting XI after the arrival of youngster Alexander Buttner.

The former Vitesse Arnhem player, who joined the Old Trafford outfit during the summer, made his debut against Wigan two weeks ago marking the occasion with a goal and an assist.

Evra was reinstated from United s Champions League exploits and recent trip to Anfield and, despite being Sir Alex Ferguson s first-choice left-back since 2008, he asserted that he has never taken his place for granted, and has no intention of giving it up now.

It is too easy for people to say that now we have bought another left-back Patrice Evra will have to fight for his place. Patrice Evra has always fought for his place, the 31-year-old said.<…

Michel Platini has confessed there was no written contract between himself and outgoing FIFA president Sepp Blatter for an alleged disloyal payment which resulted in the pair s suspension from the organisation.

Last week, Blatter called a reported two million Swiss franc payment to Platini in 2011 for work the Frenchman claims he carried out for FIFA between 1999 and 2002 a gentleman s agreement .

The transaction is the subject of a criminal investigation by the Swiss attorney general.

On October 8, the pair were provisionally suspended for 90 days by FIFA s Ethics Committee.

Platini says he undertook a verbal agreement due to the trust he had for his colleague.

For a long time I had neither a lawyer nor an agent to negotiate for me and …

Patrice Evra says English clubs struggle in Europe due to a lack of tactical sophistication and claims he was not worried when Juventus faced Manchester City in the Champions League.

The French full-back spent eight years in England with Manchester United, winning the Champions League and reaching the final twice.

He left Old Trafford for Juve in July 2014, winning Serie A in his first season and appearing in another European final, losing the tournament s decider to personal nemeses Barcelona for the third time in his career.

After strong continental showings between 2005 and 2011, Premier League clubs have struggled to make an impact in recent years.

And Evra has told the Sunday Times he believes English teams are not preparing thoroughly enough to be …

Barcelona took a big step towards another Copa del Rey final with a 2-1 first-leg victory against Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon.

First-half strikes from Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez secured the win that puts the holders in control of the semi-final ahead of the return match at Camp Nou next Tuesday.

Diego Simeone s side have had success against Barca in recent years with a devastating co
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unterattacking style, but they were on the receiving end of the same tactic early in the first half and were punished by a brilliant run and finish from Suarez with only seven minutes played.

Messi made it 2-0 with a ferocious strike from the edge of the penalty area to silence the Calderon and leave Atletico facing a mountain to climb.

The 2013 winne…

Shkodran Mustafi is confident Arsenal have what it takes to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League at the expense of Bayern Munich.

The Gunners were eliminated by Bayern in the round of 16 in 2012-13 and 2013-14, but Mustafi nonetheless sees cause for optimism, as he feels Arsene Wenger s men hold the outcome in their own hands.

We know that Bayern will be a difficult game, but we also know that if we play to our potential we can beat Bayern, Mustafi told Sky Sports ahead of Wednesday s first leg at the Allianz Arena.

It is the first time for me, but I know that Bayern have regularly knocked out Arsenal in recent years. Like I said, I am convinced our team can beat Bayern if we play to our potential. It is up to us, that is what makes me so positive a…

s Matteo Darmian has given the signal he is ready to leave Old Trafford after three years, according to a report by .

Since his arrival from Torino in 2015, the Italian has seen his number of appearances progressively diminish with every season 39, 29, 13 (so far). With former winger Antonio Valencia preferred in the right-back role and performing at a very high level, Darmian s situation isn t likely to improve soon.

are his preferred destination, and the Italian champions are interested, according to the report. Therefore, the only thing remaining is for the two clubs to agree on a fee, and Darmian should be off to his native country.

For the Old Lady, the arrival of Darmian should provide some decent competition for the current first choice in the position,…

Niko Kovac missed out on an opportunity to beat his future club, as a much-changed Bayern Munich side thumped Eintracht Frankfurt 4-1 in the Bundesliga.

Former Bayern player Kovac was announced as Jupp Heynckes successor in April, having impressed at Frankfurt in the past two seasons.

However, in a dress rehearsal for the DFB-Pokal final, it was Heynckes, despite having made eight changes to Bayern s starting XI ahead of the Champions League clash with Real Madrid, who triumphed thanks to goals from Niklas Dorsch, Sandro Wagner, Rafinha and Niklas Sule.

Dorsch marked his Bayern debut in style on 43 minutes, although it could have been different for Frankfurt, with both Mijat Gacinovic and Luka Jovic having passed up gilt-edged chances.

Wagner s well-taken…