Stefano Pioli is open to fielding Olivier Giroud alongside Zlatan Ibrahimovic this season after the Frenchman opened his Milan account with two goals against Cagliari.

Giroud curled in a delightful first-time shot to get off the mark on his San Siro bow and doubled his tally from the penalty spot in Sunday s Serie A clash as Milan ran out 4-1 winners.

With that first-half double, Giroud became the first player to score multiple times in his first home league match for the Rossoneri since Mario Balotelli in February 2013.

Ibrahimovic has been Milan s go-to man up top when fit since returning to the Italian club in January 2020, but the veteran striker is currently sidelined with a knee injury sustained in May.

Pioli hopes to have Ibrahimovic back after the…

The United Kingdom s leading police council has apologised to survivors and families of those who died in the Hillsborough disaster for their failings 34 years ago.

Ninety-seven Liverpool supporters died in the 1989 stadium crush during an FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest at the home of Sheffield Wednesday.

In 2012, an initial inquest verdict of accidental death was quashed two decades after it was handed down following campaigning by the bereaved families, and a 2016 inquest found victims were unlawfully killed due to gross negligence manslaughter.

Now, five years on from the release of a 2017 report into the disaster by the former Bishop of Liverpool James Jones, the UK s National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) and College of Policing have become the f…

Vicente del Bosque has confirmed he will step down from his role as Spain head coach after the Euro 2016 finals in France.

Del Bosque took over from Luis Aragones shortly after Spain had clinched glory in the Euro 2008 final against Germany, and he continued the trend of success set in motion by his predecessor.

Over the next four years, Spain staked a claim for being arguably the greatest ever national team, winning the World Cup in South Africa in 2010 before defending their Euro crown with a 4-0 demolition of Italy in the final two years later.

However, any dreams of retaining their status as world champions were swiftly ended in Brazil in June, as defeats to Netherlands and Chile saw them eliminated at the group stage, with some suggesting their exit signalle…

Xabi Alonso and Bayern Munich were once a perfect match, and few would be surprised should they couple up again somewhere down the line.

Yet Alonso could put a dent in Bayern s Bundesliga title prospects on Sunday, when his Bayer Leverkusen side host the 10-in-a-row champions at BayArena.

Six years have passed since Alonso announced he would be retiring as a player at the end of the 2016-17 season, sparking an outpouring of tributes to one of the great midfield artists of his era.

That news, revealed in March 2017, raised the question of what next? for a man who as a player won a World Cup and two European Championships with Spain, Champions League titles with Liverpool and Real Madrid, and would end up with a hat-trick of Bundesliga medals at Bayern.

Sua…

Ronald Koeman does not believe Barcelona are stronger than LaLiga title rivals Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and Sevilla this season.

Barca – who have a game in hand – moved within five points of leaders Atletico following Thursday s 5-2 victory over Getafe.

Lionel Messi scored twice in an action-packed first half at Camp Nou, where Clement Lenglet s own goal cancelled out the superstar captain s eighth-minute opener within four minutes.

Getafe s Sofian Chakla turned the ball into his own net in the 28th minute before Messi extended Barca s lead five minutes later.

  breaks down the 5-2 win over Getafe

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona)

Enes Unal s penalty after a VAR review gave Getafe hope, but Ronald Araujo headed in from Messi s sup…

Bochum and Greuther Furth sealed promotion to the Bundesliga on Sunday, with Holstein Kiel slipping to third and facing a play-off against Cologne. 

A 3-1 victory over Sandhausen saw Bochum clinch the 2. Bundesliga title and a return to the top flight for the first time since their relegation in 2009-10. 

Greuther twice came from behind to claim a 3-2 victory over Fortuna Dusseldorf, moving them above Kiel and back into the Bundesliga after an eight-year spell in the second tier. 

Kiel, who reached the DFB-Pokal semi-finals this season, missed out on automatic promotion after surrendering a first-half lead in a 3-2 defeat at home to Darmstadt. 

However, they can still earn a place in the top flight for 2021-22 by overcoming Cologne, who escaped au…

Senegal reached a second consecutive Africa Cup of Nations final as goals from Abdou Diallo, Idrissa Gueye and Sadio Mane secured a 3-1 win over Burkina Faso on Wednesday. 

Aliou Cisse s side were denied a first AFCON title by Algeria back in 2019, but they will have another chance to get their hands on the trophy against either Cameroon or Egypt in Sunday s decider after edging their semi-final.

Senegal thought they had been awarded a penalty deep into first-half stoppage, but the VAR came to Burkina Faso s rescue with referee Bamlak Tessema Weyesa overturning his initial decision after replays showed Gueye s shot had hit Edmond Tapsoba s stomach and not his hand.

The Lions of Teranga deservedly broke the deadlock in the 70th minute, however, when Par…

The Republic of Ireland boss Martin O Neill will be looking for his side to produce a big display against Bosnia and Herzegovina in tonight s crunch Euro 2016 play-off

Republic of Ireland heads into the second leg of their Euro 2016 play-off with Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday night having secured a 1-1 in the first leg of the tie.

It looked like Martin O’Neill’s side would be claiming a win in Zenica, after Norwich midfielder Robbie Brady opened the scoring on 82 minutes, but three minutes later on-loan Roma striker Edin Dzeko scored a vital equaliser.

Despite Dzeko’s goal, a score draw was a decent result for the Irish, as they now have an away goal to defend, although boss O’Neill has stated that his side will not just sit back on that slight advant…

Didier Deschamps knows the importance of France s Euro 2024 opener against Austria, but he pointed to Argentina s World Cup success to demonstrate a fast start is not everything.

France are seen as one of the favourites to win the tournament in Germany, having reached the final at three of their last four major competitions, finishing as runners-up at Euro 2016 and the 2022 World Cup either side of winning the 2018 World Cup.

The Netherlands and Poland are also present in their tricky group, with Ronald Koeman s Oranje getting off the mark with a 2-1 win when those sides met on Sunday.

Though Deschamps is keen to see France match that fast start, their experience at the Qatar World Cup proved it is not a necessity.

A Kylian Mbappe hat-trick in the final o…

Mauricio Pochettino admits it was a risk to join Chelsea given his Tottenham connections but remains determined to build a “genuine relationship” with supporters following the stunning 4-3 win over Manchester United.

Cole Palmer’s strike in the 11th minute of stoppage time was the latest winning goal on record in the Premier League and sparked an eruption of joy around Stamford Bridge, previously the scene of seething discontent as home fans have watched their side plummet down the table.

Pochettino and his players have been booed off more than once this season, with the worst reaction coming after they were beaten 4-2 by Wolves early in February, though there was also audible disquiet as they struggled to overcome Championship sides Leeds and Leicester in the FA C…