Football

In a statement released late on Thursday night, ALK Capital announced the completion of the contract, approved and ratified by the Premier League. Delaware-based ALK specializes in investments in the sports and media industries. Its managing partner, Alan Pace, will take over as chairman of Clarets from Mike Garlick. "Garlick, alongside former shareholder John Banaszkiewicz, will remain on ALK Capital's new board of directors at Burnley, ensuring a smooth transition to new ownership and providing valuable knowledge from his eight-year tenure as club chairman," the statement said. "This successful period has seen two promotions to the Premier League, development of the Barnfield Training Centre, and European football at Turf Moor for the first time in more than half a century." A...

A late goal from Tomas Soucek gave West Ham United a 1-0 victory at Everton. During the warm-up, the Hammers lost goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski to injury. But his substitute Darren Randolph hardly had a save to make as Everton battled to break down their rearguard. It took until just before halftime for either side to record a shot on target. Everton's Brazilian winger Bernard fired a fizzing drive goalwards. But Randolph was alert to the danger and got down smartly to keep the ball out. The introduction of Mikhail Antonio as a 59th-minute substitute provided a much-needed shot in the arm for West Ham. And they had a flurry of chances in quick succession around the hour mark. But it was Soucek's late strike that sealed it. Cresswell got plenty of power on his shot but got a hea...

On New Year's Day at Old Trafford, Manchester United beat Aston Villa 2-1 to go level on points with Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table. Goals from Anthony Martial and a penalty from Bruno Fernandes game United the precious 4 points. Meanwhile, Bertrand Traore scored for Aston Villa. were enough to put Man United up to 33 points out of 16 games.Emi Martinez parred away a shot by Martial and David de Gea did well to keep out a John McGinn volley in the opening 15 minutes. Martial headed home from an Aaron Wan-Bissaka cross on a rapid-fire counter-attack. The hosts took a 1-0 lead at the break. The teams had traded half-chances in a thrilling end-to-end opener. Shortly after the restart, Traore levelled the score. He fired from close range after he was picked out...

Barcelona had a frustrating 1-1 draw in La Liga with Eibar on Tuesday as Lionel Messi watched from the Camp Nou stands. The side of Ronald Koeman went into the game without Messi's services. He earlier in the week had been granted an extended holiday break by the Dutch manager to deal with an ankle problem. After VAR awarded them a penalty, Barca had the chance to take the lead within 15 minutes. But Martin Braithwaite skewed his spot kick wide of the target and the match remained scoreless. The hosts dominated possession, but as Barcelona keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen made two solid saves. Crucial saves maintained the scoreline at 0-0 heading into half-time, it was Eibar who had the best chances. In the second half, Barcelona fired from the gates. With an enlivened assault re...

Real Madrid had a frustrating 1-1 draw at the fighting Elche on Wednesday. They lost precious points and are now behind 2 points behind leaders Atletico Madrid in the La Liga title chase. Meanwhile, Real have played 2 games more than Atletico as well. With Elche forward Lucas Boye striking the post, both sides had chances to take all three points. While Real defenders Dani Carvajal and Sergio Ramos were thwarted by fine saves from Edgar Badia. But a header from Luka Modric gave the champions the lead in the 20th minute. Elche won a free kick in added time and had a last-gasp chance to win the game. But Real keeper Thibaut Courtois tipped away the shot of defender Gonzalo Verdu. Zidane's side had a penalty incorrectly awarded for a block by an Elche player which the referee thoug...

In the midst of a spike in coronavirus cases in the game, the Premier League is not considering the prospect of a circuit break to halt the season. West Brom manager Sam Allardyce calling for a halt. This halt could drive to try to minimize the number of incidents, however, no club has taken the idea to the league. "When I listen to the news the variant virus transmits quicker than the original virus [so] we can only do the right thing which has a circuit breaker," Allardyce said after his side's 5-0 defeat by Leeds. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, however asked questions about the completion of the league which is already so fixture congested. "I can't see the benefit in having a circuit break, whatever it's going to be called," Solskjaer said. "Because when are we going to play the game...

Tottenham's match against Fulham was postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak on the west side of London. On Tuesday, the Athletic had exclusively announced that due to the number of positive COVID-19 tests among Fulham's players and staff, the game was in question. The Premier League appears to have full faith in its COVID-19 protocols. And they are sure they be able to continue playing the fixtures as planned, with low numbers of positive tests across the vast majority of clubs. Tottenham released a statement on Wednesday afternoon. It read: "We can confirm that our Premier League home fixture against Fulham, scheduled to take place this evening (Wednesday 30 December), has been postponed. "The Premier League informed us of the decision this afternoon, with Fulham having requested...

In its latest round of testing, the Premier League has reported 18 positive COVID-19 tests among players and employees. From December 21-27, a total of 1,479 players and club staff members were checked. In accordance with government guidelines, the 18 persons that have tested positive are all self-isolating. The 18 positive tests represent the largest number of positive COVID results announced publicly by the Premier League since the start of the weekly tests. The latest positives won’t hamper the league as a whole though. It is more than double the previous round of testing. Between December 14-20, seven positive tests were registered for the test round. It is also the biggest total recorded since COVID-19 testing started in the Premier League. Due to COVID-19 outbreaks at N...

Manchester United must be determined to return to winning ways in the Premier League. They welcome Wolverhampton Wanderers to Old Trafford for Tuesday evening's showdown. Man United drew at Leicester while Wolves kept Tottenham to a 1-1 stalemate on Sunday evening. Both teams came away with a point from their most recent meetings. The away record of Manchester United in the top flight is nothing short of sensational. And Leicester City faced an uphill fight to be the ones to end the 10-game Premier League winning streak of the Red Devils on the road. The clash between two Champions League-chasing sides of Boxing Day lived up to its billing. And a late Axel Tuanzebe's own goal ensured that Leicester walked away with a point. Harvey Barnes had initially levelled the scores, des...

In October, Cavani signed a one-year contract with the option of another season. Manchester United Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after working with the Uruguayan forward heaped praise. The Norwegian boss said, 'The club has every intention of extending the contract of Edinson Cavani at Old Trafford”. And Solskjaer was so impressed by the 33-year-old that the club is already considering the possibility of extending his stay. "At the moment, it looks like he has a few years left in him so I wouldn't say anything else," Solskjaer said. "He has made a great impact when he has come here. "Let's focus on improving everyone but he has a few years left in him. He is so meticulous and professional, his habits and everything about him shows why he has had the career he has. Even at the age, he is ...