Erling Haaland s sensational winner against Borussia Dortmund echoed two greats in the form of Johan Cruyff and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, says Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola.

Haaland netted with an acrobatic 84th-minute volley from Joao Cancelo s expert centre to seal three points for City against his former club in the Champions League on Wednesday.

It marked a fine turnaround after John Stones had already cancelled out Jude Bellingham s opener with a fierce long-range hit at the Etihad Stadium.

For City boss Guardiola, Haaland s athletic effort drew comparisons to Cruyff s famous strike for Barcelona against Atletico Madrid in 1973 – often referred to as the ghost goal due to the scarcity of the available quality footage.

Maybe the people who know me, …

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola believes a 24-hour dedication to football that includes early morning gym sessions is behind Ruben Dias magnificent start to life at the Etihad Stadium.

Dias became City s record signing when he joined for £62million from Benfica in September, arriving in the immediate aftermath of a humbling 5-2 Premier League defeat against Leicester City.

Since then, the Portugal international has done plenty to justify his price tag, establishing a formidable partnership at centre-back alongside a rejuvenated John Stones.

Across 13 Premier League matches with Dias in the side, City have been beaten only once, conceding seven times at an average of 0.5 per game. In the two matches before his signing, City conceded six largely as a result of …

Frank Lampard is finding it tough going but should be able to keep Everton in the Premier League, according to former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Since his appointment at the end of January, Lampard has lost seven of nine league games with the Toffees, a sticky start to his assignment at Goodison Park.

The poor run has continued a trend that began under predecessor Rafael Benitez, who got a tune out of the squad in the early weeks of the season before Everton hit bum note after bum note.

It means that Everton could be relegated for the first time in the Premier League era, given they sit just one point above third-bottom Burnley going into their final nine games of the season.

They have Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea coming up in the next …

Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez claims he almost joined Arsenal in 2016 and accused Leicester City of costing him two years at the highest level .

Algeria international Mahrez was the star turn in the Foxes side that shocked the football world to win the Premier League title in the 2015-16 campaign under Claudio Ranieri.

However, the Foxes struggled in their defence the following season and Mahrez sought a move away from the King Power Stadium.

Mahrez finally got his wish in July 2018 when he joined City for a reported £60million and he won a Premier League, FA Cup and EFL Cup treble in his maiden campaign.

But the 28-year-old felt he should have been allowed to move on sooner.

Speaking to France Football, Mahrez said: After the title-winnin…

Manchester United slumped to their first Premier League defeat of the season as David De Gea s mistake handed Crystal Palace a 2-1 win at Old Trafford.

Daniel James superb 89th-minute strike looked to have salvaged a point for United, who fell behind to Jordan Ayew s first-half effort.

Luka Milivojevic s 69th-minute foul on Scott McTominay handed United a lifeline, but Marcus Rashford who Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed is one of two designated penalty takers following Paul Pogba s miss against Wolves  struck his spot-kick against the upright.

James sensational finish seemed to have sounded a victory charge, yet De Gea failed to make what should have been a simple near-post save from Patrick van Aanholt s 93rd-minute attempt, as Palace claimed their first leagu…

With the Championship campaign drawing to a close this weekend, we have a host of eye-catching meetings from across Europe on our hands. On that note, for those of you looking to stick on a Saturday acca, we have found a handful of helpful tips that are worth keeping an eye out for.

Saturday May 7th

BST 15:00 Crystal Palace vs Watford

Starting with Saturday s hosts, managing to make a much-welcomed return to winning ways last weekend, Crystal Palace have gained a host of plaudits from across the Premier League this season. Last seen picking up a last-gasp 2-1 victory away at a struggling Southampton, Patrick Vieira appears to very much be enjoying his English return. Appearing to have bounced back from their three-match losing run last month, the former Arsena…

Jurgen Klopp is unsure about the prospect of never leaving Liverpool but feels the length of his new four-and-a-half-year contract feels like forever in football anyway.

Liverpool confirmed on Friday that Klopp has committed to a new contract – a two-year extension to his previous deal – that will keep him at Anfield until 2024.

It comes as a just reward for the Reds remarkable 2019-20 to date, with Liverpool eight points clear at the Premier League summit having only failed to win one – a 1-1 draw with Manchester United – of their 16 games this term.

If Klopp manages to see out his new contract, he will have been at the club for almost nine years, having joined in 2015.

And while the German was unwilling to commit to never leaving the club, he a…

Neymar s stunning world-record move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain has shocked the football world, but it is in keeping with the French club s rich history of attracting Brazilian stars to the capital.

The 25-year-old follows ex-Barcelona team-mate Dani Alves scorer on debut in a 2-1 Trophee des Champions win over Monaco in moving to the Parc des Princes this transfer window and will link up with a number of other compatriots at PSG.

There will be a great deal of expectation on Neymar s shoulders given his eye-watering €222m fee and his already sizeable reputation as one of the world s best.

Here, we samba our way through a selection of PSG s boys from Brazil, who Neymar will attempt to surpass as the club s greatest import from the country.