Bruce begins summer clear-out

Marc Guehi praised the influence of fellow England defender John Stones during his time at Euro 2024, labelling his defensive partner as a big brother .

England secured top spot in Group C following their 0-0 draw with Slovenia in Cologne, setting up a meeting with Slovakia this Sunday for a place in the quarter-finals.

Guehi, who started every group game for Gareth Southgate, seamlessly slotted into England s back four in the absence of recent tournament veteran, Harry Maguire.

The Crystal Palace defender has performed well in Germany, putting his displays down to the influence of Stones in the Three Lions camp in Blankenhain.

I d say credit to him. Not only is he a fantastic player, he s a top person, someone that I think everyone in the squad gets…

Gary Lineker led tributes to Sir Bobby Charlton following his death as he said the former Manchester United and England midfielder achieved “footballing immortality”.

Charlton’s family announced in a statement on Saturday that England’s 1966 World Cup winner had died aged 86.

Tributes poured in for Charlton, with ex-England striker and Match of the Day presenter Lineker hailing his lasting impact on the sport.

It is with a heavy heart that we have learned of the passing of Sir Bobby Charlton.

An integral part of our 1966 FIFA World Cup winning campaign, Sir Bobby won 106 caps and scored 49 times for the .

A true legend of our game. We will never forget you, Sir Bobby

— England (@England)

“Deeply saddened to hear that …

Raheem Sterling insisted there is no panic as he called on England players to respond after a humiliating defeat to Hungary, while he backed Gareth Southgate.

England are in serious danger of relegation from the Nations League top tier after going winless in June s internationals, losing twice to Hungary either side of draws with Germany and Italy.

The Three Lions have scored just once, through a Harry Kane penalty in Germany, but the most recent 4-0 thrashing at home to Hungary caused the greatest concern.

Hungary became the first team to score four goals in an away match against England since the Hungarians themselves won 6-3 at Wembley in November 1953.

It was also the first time England have lost a home match by four or more goals since March 1928…

FIFPro has taken a stand against the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) by providing speed skater Claudia Pechstein with financial backing in her legal battle following a doping sanction.

The union, which represents 65,000 footballers worldwide, is supporting the five-time Olympic champion speed skater in her quest for £2.8million in damages after she was hit with a two-year ban in 2009 amid accusations of doping.

Pechstein, who has never failed a drugs test, had appeals against the International Skating Union s ruling rejected by the Swiss Federal Tribunal and CAS.

However, a German court ruled Pechstein could go ahead with her lawsuit back in January, although CAS stated she received a fair trial and that the basic principles of international arbitration …

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said Alexis Mac Allister’s versatility has added a different dimension to his midfield this season.

The Argentina World Cup-winner was a stand-out performer in a deeper-lying role again on Sunday as Liverpool strolled to a 3-0 home win against Nottingham Forest.

After Liverpool’s seventh league win of the season kept them three points behind leaders Tottenham, Klopp said of Mac Allister’s role: “It’s obviously really not a discussion we have, otherwise we wouldn’t play him there.

Brilliant yesterday,

— Liverpool FC (@LFC)

“But I think today everybody could see the benefit of a player who comes rather from the offensive side of the game than from the other side.”

Mac Allister scored 12 goals …

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 500th career goal in Real Madrid s Champions League encounter with Malmo on Wednesday.

Ronaldo scored the first goal of the game in the 29th minute as he finished off a swift Madrid counter-attack with a clinical strike after being played in by Isco to reach the milestone.

The prolific attacker scored five goals for Sporting CP in the early stages of his career, netted 118 times for Manchester United, added 55 more for Portugal and has now reached 322 goals for Madrid.

The 30-year-old started his professional career with Sporting and opened his account for the Lisbon giants on his league debut on October 7, 2002, scoring twice to help them to a 3-0 win over Moreirense. 

He would go on to score five goals in all competitions …

There is no margin for error when it comes to selecting your fantasy team with just six weeks of the Premier League season to go.

Whether you are battling to win the league, striving to climb off the bottom or desperate to catch or family member above you, it is vital to pick up precious points before it’s too late.

While you may have been picking up points galore in recent weeks and reluctant to make changes, be wary of missing out by keeping the faith.

Using Opta data, Stats Perform have picked out four players to get in your team for the latest set of matches.

David de Gea (Nottingham Forest v Manchester United)

Manchester United goalkeeper De Gea has the joint-highest number of top-flight clean sheets this season, racking up 13 along with Ne…

Marco Reus starred with a goal and an assist as Borussia Dortmund thrashed Hannover 5-1 on Saturday, moving nine points clear at the top of the Bundesliga at least until Sunday.

Lucien Favre s men were in control for much of the match, but it was a ruthless second-half display that did most of the damage, as they scored four times after the break to comprehensively defeat their relegation-threatened visitors.

Full-back Achraf Hakimi broke the deadlock with a fine strike, and while Hannover managed to tighten up at the back until half-time, Dortmund were rampant in the second half.

Reus – set up by Hakimi – got a deserved goal after an hour, before Mario Gotze and Raphael Guerreiro added to things, and, although Benjamin Hadzic at least got Hannover on the …

Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson promised to work even harder after his hat-trick earned boss Mauricio Pochettino a statement victory at former club Tottenham.

Jackson’s second-half treble settled a pulsating London derby where five goals were disallowed and red cards were shown to Spurs pair Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie either side of half-time.

While Chelsea were far from vintage on their way to a 4-1 victory, Jackson eventually made the difference.

A London derby that had just about everything.

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC)

The Senegal attacker side-footed home his first goal in the 75th minute from Raheem Sterling’s cross before he grabbed a similar second after Conor Gallagher’s pass and completed his treble in the seventh minute …

Nottingham Forest groundsman Ewan Hunter and Brentford’s goalkeeping coach Manu Sotelo have been banned and fined by the Football Association following their pre-match altercation in November.

Hunter and Sotelo had an argument ahead of the 2-2 Premier League draw which centred on the length of time clubs are allowed to use the penalty area during their warm-up.

The member of the groundstaff went on to the pitch to move them on, but disrupted a drill.

Bees boss Thomas Frank claimed after the match that Sotelo was injured while Hunter claimed to have his personal safety threatened.

The FA has sanctioned both men, with Hunter banned from the City Ground for two matches, while Sotelu must serve a one-match touchline ban.

A statement from the governi…