Vincent Kompany s Manchester City team-mates and a host of big names from across the footballing community have paid tribute to the outgoing captain, who is leaving the Premier League champions.

It was confirmed on Sunday that Kompany s 11-year stint at City was coming to an end, with the Belgian later revealing he is set to take over at Anderlecht as player-manager.

Kompany s departure comes on the back of City winning an unprecedented domestic treble, Pep Guardiola s side completing a clean sweep by hammering Watford 6-0 in Saturday s FA Cup final.

And City s star names, as well as the likes of pundits Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville and even a rock star have now taken to social media to hail Kompany s extraordinary time in Manchester.

Back where it a…

Sam Allardyce has warned his struggling Sunderland side to be wary of a wounded Stoke City when they go in search of three points to boost their Premier League survival hopes.

The Black Cats moved out of the relegation zone with a battling goalless draw against Arsenal last weekend, which left them above 18th-placed Norwich City on goal difference.

Sunderland have lost just once in seven matches, including five draws, and Saturday s trip to the Britannia Stadium presents a good opportunity for three points against an out-of-sorts Stoke side.

The Potters have lost three consecutive league matches and conceded four goals in each of those games as a fine campaign appears to be petering out.

But Sunderland manager Allardyce warned that opposite number Mark H…

Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr called for serenity and harmony among his players as they face Guinea amid talks with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) over unpaid allowances and bonuses.

Winger Ahmed Musa did not appear as scheduled for the Super Eagles pre-match news conference ahead of their Group B match following reports the squad did not receive a bonus payment for the 1-0 victory over Burundi.

Rohr confirmed that Musa missed the media appearance to meet with the NFF but said he hoped the situation would be resolved quickly to allow them to focus on their Africa Cup of Nations campaign, which continues against Guinea on Wednesday.

My player [Musa] couldn t attend the press conference today because they have a very important meeting, said Rohr.

I …

Do you want to know the under 2.5 meaning in betting? From what it is to when such a bet is considered a winner, we got it all covered.

I tested all the betting variables to explain to you as easily as possible what under 2.5 means in football betting. Also, reading this guide will allow you to place under 2.5 bets more confidently.

The under 2.5 meaning explained

The under 2.5 can be explained as a simple bet used by punters who wager money on less than 3 goals to be scored in a match. A 2.5 under is considered a winning bet if, by the end of the 90 minutes a maximum of 2 goals were scored. Which team scores is irrelevant.

Example of under 2.5 goals

Consider the following example from the previous season clash between  and Fulham. The Red Devils were pushi…

Rasmus Hojlund has not been ruled out of Manchester United’s Premier League game at Everton on Sunday, but Christian Eriksen will play no part.

United boss Erik ten Hag has issued an injury update on the Denmark pair, who missed out for their country during the international break.

Hojlund (muscle strain) and Eriksen (knee) both sustained injuries in United’s previous top-flight fixture, a 1-0 home win against Luton on November 11.

Erik has fresh news on Christian and Rasmus

— Manchester United (@ManUtd)

Ten Hag told United’s official website: “Christian will take a little bit longer. It will take some weeks until he will return.

“Rasmus Hojlund, not too bad. Everton will be a close finish, but we’re working on that.

<…

Russia head coach Stanislav Cherchesov has been rewarded with a two-year contract extension for masterminding an impressive run to the World Cup quarter-finals.

The agreement means the 54-year-old will remain at the helm until Euro 2020 with the Russian Football Union retaining the option of a further two-year extension.

Having entered as the worst-ranked team, the host nation defied expectations to reach the World Cup knockout rounds with comprehensive group stage wins over Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

They then stunned 2010 champions Spain in a tense penalty shootout in the last 16, before losing in the same manner to eventual finalists Croatia.

Cherchesov was congratulated by Russian president Vladimir Putin and is now looking forward to building on the …

Manchester City have now gone five games without a victory under Pep Guardiola

This season’s Premier League was billed as a battle of Manchester between United’s Jose Mourinho and City’s Pep Guardiola.

City’s relative struggles of late under Guardiola will have the Basque boss bemused after the Citizens drew 1-1 with Southampton on Sunday afternoon.

Critics of the former-Barcelona boss stated prior to the current campaign that English football would be his biggest challenge yet.

So far it has proven a challenge, but it is easy to forget that the Citizens are actually top of the table, albeit on goal difference alone.

His worst spell as a boss

City started the campaign in indomitable style recording ten straight wins in all competi…

Louis van Gaal could not help but be impressed with his decision to not substitute Wout Weghorst when he appeared to be injured before scoring Netherlands winning goal against Wales.

The Oranje claimed a dramatic 2-1 Nations League away win on Wednesday, with both teams scoring in second-half stoppage time.

Teun Koopmeiners had opened the scoring just after the break with a cool finish from the edge of the box.

Rhys Norrington-Davies levelled with a towering header to seemingly snatch a draw for Wales, but Weghorst produced a brilliant diving header a minute later to secure all three points in Cardiff.

The Burnley striker was almost withdrawn a little earlier with an injury, but Van Gaal opted against replacing him with Memphis Depay.

Asked about…

Lionel Messi is human and can miss penalties, according to the Netherlands goalkeeper Andries Noppert ahead of his team s clash with Argentina in the World Cup quarter-finals on Friday.

In his fifth World Cup, Messi has scored three times in Qatar to help Argentina to the final eight of the tournament, taking his tally to 94 international goals.

Messi has converted 21 of his 26 penalties in his Argentina career, with one of those failures coming in the 2-0 victory over Poland in La Albiceleste s last group match in Qatar, though he did score from 12 yards in the shock opening 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia.

With Spain and Japan dumped out by penalty shoot-outs in the round of 16, Noppert is ready to take on the challenge if Friday s game goes the distance and Messi t…

With talks over a new contract at a standstill, Barcelona have decided on the amount they would want to let him leave this summer, according to .

The winger arrived to Camp Nou for around €105 million following the sale of Neymar in the summer of 2017, and has so far scored 29 goals and laid on 20 assists in 112 apearances for the Catalan club. However, they would now be willing to accept an offer of between €50m and €60m, with the fact that his contract is about to enter its final 12 months in mind. They are apparently keen to avoid losing his services for free next year, even though they would prefer him to stay put and sign a new deal.

Dembele has been linked with a number of clubs in the last few transfer windows, and if Barcelona do put him on the market at t…