Former PSV Eindhoven, Everton and Liverpool defender Abel Xavier has been appointed coach of African nation Mozambique.

The 20-time Portuguese international s career spanned a total of 28 years, starting at Portuguese minnows Estrela da Amadora in 1990 before moving to Benfica in 1993, and then finishing in the MLS with the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2008.

Xavier was unveiled to reporters on Monday and gave a positive review of his new team, who are 109th in the last FIFA rankings, and have never failed to ever for the World Cup.

While he represented Portugal, Xavier was born in the African nation, which was formerly a Portuguese colony.

I have followed the Mozambican team for years, he said.

I am very proud to come back to my country.

Xavi…

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini is not giving up on the Premier League title ahead of the home clash against rock-bottom Aston Villa on Saturday.

After beating Liverpool to claim League Cup glory last weekend, City succumbed to a 3-0 loss at Anfield on Wednesday as they failed to seize an opportunity to make ground on title rivals Leicester City, Tottenham and Arsenal – none of whom won in midweek.

City have 11 matches to play and sit 10 points behind leaders Leicester with just one game in hand after losing three league games in a row for the first time since 2008.

However, even though City have been joined on points by rivals Manchester United in the battle for a top-four spot, Pellegrini still only has eyes for a title challenge.

I hope …

Walsall moved back to within three points of League One s automatic promotion places on Tuesday with a 2-1 victory over struggling Shrewsbury Town.

A 4-0 defeat to Bradford City on Saturday had enabled Millwall to climb above Jonathan Whitney s side, but Walsall bounced back with a comfortable win in their game in hand.

First-half goals from Kieron Morris and Rico Henry sealed all three points to give Walsall hope of a top-two finish with two games to go.

In the Championship, Hull City made it five games unbeaten as mid-table Brentford were brushed aside 2-0.

A Harlee Dean own goal had given Steve Bruce s side the lead just after the half-hour mark and Mohamed Diame doubled their advantage on the brink of half-time – albeit after Adama Diomande had miss…

Ajax became the first team to score 13 goals in a single Eredivise game with a thumping 13-0 win over VVV-Venlo.

Erik ten Hag s side bounced back in remarkable style following their midweek defeat to Liverpool in the Champions League, beating their own record from 1972 when they thrashed Vitesse 12-1.

Lassina Traore particularly enjoyed himself against the most accommodating of hosts, becoming the first Ajax player to score five goals in an Eredivisie game since Marco van Basten in 1985 and the first to record three assists for the club in a league match since Frenkie de Jong in 2017.

That stunning display meant the Burkina Faso striker became the first player this century to be directly involved in eight goals in a Eredivisie match.

Venlo, who had Chris…

Manchester United have lost the air of invincibility which characterised Alex Ferguson s trophy-laden reign at Old Trafford.

That is the view of former England striker Emile Heskey, who sees Erik ten Hag s Red Devils as a group of expensively assembled individuals, rather than a coherent team.

United have made an underwhelming start to their second season under Ten Hag, sitting eighth in the Premier League table after 11 matches despite Saturday s last-gasp 1-0 win at Fulham.

In Europe, the Red Devils began their Champions League group-stage campaign with back-to-back defeats to Bayern Munich and Galatasaray before needing Andre Onana to save a stoppage-time penalty in a hard-fought 1-0 win over Copenhagen.

With Ten Hag attracting criticism from supporte…

Sadio Mane made up for an earlier penalty miss with the decisive spot-kick as Senegal claimed their first Africa Cup of Nations title with a 4-2 shoot-out win over Egypt.

The Lions of Teranga were beaten in the 2019 final by Algeria, but they belatedly got their hands on the trophy at Olembe Stadium on Sunday with a dramatic shoot-out victory after a largely dour goalless 120 minutes.

Mane saw an early penalty saved by Mohamed Abou Gabal and he was fortunate to still be on the pitch for the spot-kicks having avoided a second yellow card for a clear dive.

The Liverpool forward had the last laugh, though, powering low past Abou Gabal after Edouard Mendy had kept out Mohanad Lasheen s tepid effort from 12 yards to send the travelling Senegal fans into raptures.…

Harry Redknapp believes Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard should be on the FA s list to be the next England manager.

Gareth Southgate stepped down as the Three Lions boss earlier this week following their Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain in Germany.

Since then, speculation over who will become the next England manager is rife, with Eddie Howe and Graham Potter among the candidates on the FA s list of targets.

Mauricio Pochettino, Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola have also seen their names linked to the vacant position.

However, Redknapp believes two names are being excluded from discussions about Southgate s successor due to their struggles in the Premier League.

Gerrard is currently managing Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq following his departure fr…

In a heavyweight showdown on Tuesday night, Bayern Munich clinched back-to-back Champions League victories thanks to a 2-0 win against Barcelona.

While the German giants might have put in a sluggish first-half display on home soil, the Bavarians certainly laid down a real marker here as a quickfire brace from Lucas Hernandez and Leroy Sane clinched all three points.

Now holding a three-point buffer at the top of Group C, Bayern also extended on their remarkable European record against a high-flying Barcelona side.

Handing the former Spanish champions their first defeat since opening the 2022/23 campaign, we have taken a look at the key talking points following Tuesday s superstar battle at the Allianz Arena.

A much-needed boost for Nagelsmann

While Baye…

Trent Alexander-Arnold is Liverpool s assists king – and he emphasised his creative threat when setting up Diogo Jota for an early equaliser at Manchester City on Sunday.

The attacking right-back played Andy Robertson s cross back to striker Jota, who beat Ederson to cancel out Kevin De Bruyne s deflected fifth-minute strike.

The 13th-minute leveller meant Alexander-Arnold has now had an assist for a Liverpool goal against all 19 of their current Premier League rivals.

He is the only player to have completed a full set of assists against the current group of teams in the English top flight, Opta said.

It was his 12th assist of the Premier League season, which is a league high, and meant he was one short of matching his best tally in the competition (1…

Thomas Tuchel has spoken of his admiration for Ousmane Dembele amid reports the Barcelona outcast could be a transfer target for Chelsea.

Dembele looks to be on his way out of Barca due to a contract stand-off that has turned sour.

The France winger warned the Catalan giants that he would not be giving in to any blackmail after Barca director Mateu Alemany ordered him to find a new club  immediately .

Dembele is only under contract with the Blaugrana until the end of the season and Alemany declared he expects the 24-year-old to move on before the transfer window closes at the of this month as we want to have players committed to the project.

Tuchel saw Dembele s talent first-hand when he played under the Blues boss at Borussia Dortmund in the 2016-1…