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POGBA’S TIME AT UNITED IS OVER – RAIOLA

Paul Pogba’s career at Manchester United “is over,” according to his agent Mino Raiola.

United have triggered a one-year extension in Pogba contract that will keep him at Old Trafford until 2022 but in an interview with Tuttosport, Raiola has revealed the midfielder has no intention to committing his future to the club and wants to leave in January.

“It’s over between Manchester United and Pogba,” said Raiola in the interview released on Monday.

“No point beating around the bush, it’s better to speak clearly, look forward and not waste time looking for people to blame: Paul is unhappy at Manchester United.

“He is unable to express himself as is expected from him. He needs a change of club; a change of scenery.

“He has a contract which runs out in a year and a half — in the summer of 2022 — but I believe the best solution for everyone is that he leaves in the next transfer window.

“Otherwise, United know well the risk of losing him for nothing, given at the moment the player has no intention of extending his contract. If someone doesn’t understand this, they understand little or nothing about football.

“In any case, they can all blame me if next summer Paul leaves.”

United are likely to be furious with the timing of Raiola’s comments, coming on the eve of their make-or-break Champions League clash with RB Leipzig. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side need at least a draw in Germany to guarantee qualification from Group H but defeat could see them demoted to the Europa League.

Real Madrid and Juventus have both shown interest in Pogba in the past but there are doubts at United about whether either could afford a substantial fee or the 27-year-old’s wages following the impact of coronavirus on football finances across Europe.

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BALOTELLI JOINS SERIE B SIDE ON FREE TRANSFER.

Mario Balotelli has joined Italian Serie B side Monza on a free transfer.

The Italian striker has been without a team since leaving relegated Brescia at the end of the 2019-20 campaign.

Ambitious Monza were promoted as Serie C champions last season and are owned by former AC Milan and Italian national Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who signed Balotelli twice for the Rossoneri.

They sit ninth in Serie B and are managed by former Milan midfielder and boss Cristian Brocchi. Among his teammates at Monza, Balotelli will find Kevin-Prince Boateng and Gabriel Paletta, who he played alongside at Milan.

Balotelli started his career at Inter Milan, where he won the the Serie A title three years in a row as well as the Coppa Italia and Champions League in 2010 as part of the Treble. He also won the Golden Boy award as Europe’s best young player that year.

That summer, he joined Manchester City and won the FA Cup and Premier League title before joining Milan and returning to the Premier League with Liverpool.

Following a season at Anfield, he once again joined Milan on loan before he moved to Nice in 2016. Following a short stint at Marseille, he returned to Italy with hometown club Brescia, but could not stop them from being relegated.

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BRIGHTON 1-2 SOTON: INGS RETURN TO FIRE SAINTS TO FIFTH ON THE LOG.

Fit-again Danny Ings comes off the bench to score a late penalty as Saints hit back to defeat Brighton

A late penalty by returning striker Danny Ings put Southampton in fifth place thanks to a 2-1 comeback win at Brighton & Hove Albion.

The home side took the lead on 26 minutes after James Ward-Prowse was penalised for handball and Pascal Gross coolly converted the resulting penalty.

But Saints were level on the stroke of half-time when Jannik Vestergaard’s leap allowed him to direct a brilliant header beyond Mat Ryan in the Brighton goal.

Theo Walcott flashed a fine effort wide before a smart bit of skill by Ings created a chance for Nathan Redmond, whose effort flew over the crossbar.

With time running out, Vestergaard’s pass found Kyle Walker-Peters who was brought down by Solly March.

A VAR check concluded that March had committed the foul in the area and Ings converted from the spot on 81 minutes for his sixth goal of the season.

Southampton are fifth on 20 points, one behind fourth-placed Leicester, while Brighton stay 16th on 10 points.

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LIV 4-0 WOL: LIVERPOOL GIVE NEWLY RETURNED FANS GRAND WELCOME AS THEY GO JOINT TOP WITH SPURS.

Liverpool celebrated the return of fans to Anfield with a comfortable 4-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers to go second in the table.

The Reds took the lead in the 24th minute, when Mohamed Salah pounced on a mistake by Wolves defender Conor Coady.

Coady thought he had won a penalty just before the break but referee Craig Pawson reversed his decision after going to the Referee Review Area.

Georginio Wijnaldum scored the second with a superb 58th minute strike into the top corner before Joel Matip headed home a Salah cross to make it 3-0 in the 67th minute.

Soon afterwards Trent Alexander-Arnold returned to action as a substitute and it was his fine cross that led to Nelson Semedo turning the ball into his own net.

Wolves’ best chance came early on when Daniel Podence forced Premier League debutant goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher to tip away his shot.

Liverpool are behind leaders Tottenham Hotspur on goal difference, while Wolves stay 10th on 17 points.

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TOTTENHAM 2-0 ARSENAL: KANE, SON STAR IN NORTH LONDON DERBY.

Tottenham Hotspur returned to the top of the Premier League table as 2,000 of their fans enjoyed a 2-0 derby win over Arsenal.

Harry Kane set up Son Heung-min to break the deadlock with a sensational, curling finish from long range in the 13th minute.

The South Korean returned the compliment in first-half stoppage time when he fed Kane, who powered his shot in off the underside of the bar to become the record scorer in north London derbies, with 11 goals across all competitions.

The goals were the 10th and 11th times the pair had set each other up for goals this season.

Arsenal tried to get back into the contest after the break, Hugo Lloris denying Alexandre Lacazette, but the Gunners could not break down a stubborn Spurs defence.

The result extends Spurs’ unbeaten league run to 10 matches and gives them 24 points, while Arsenal stay 15th on 13.

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SHU 1-2 : LEI: VARDY SNATCHES LATE WIN TO WORSEN THE BLADES’ START TO THE SEASON.

Jamie Vardy’s 90th minute strike earned Leicester City a 2-1 victory at Sheffield United.

Vardy thumped an early effort against a post before Leicester took the lead on 24 minutes through Ayoze Perez, who reacted quickest when Marc Albrighton’s shot was blocked.

That advantage only lasted two minutes, with Oli McBurnie heading in from John Lundstram’s corner.

James Maddison hit the same post as Vardy shortly before half-time.

McBurnie came close to scoring another header on 66 minutes and then Kelechi Iheanacho was thwarted by Ramsdale.

Vardy claimed the three points late on when he slotted in from Maddison’s through-ball.

The result moves Leicester up to third, with Liverpool behind them on goal difference before their home match against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday night.

Sheffield United remain bottom with one point.

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WBA 1-5 CRY: ZAHA AND BENTEKE INSPIRE PALACE RECORD WIN.

Crystal Palace scored five goals in a top-flight away match for the first time as they claimed a 5-1 victory over 10-man West Bromwich Albion.

Palace took an eighth-minute lead courtesy of a Darnell Furlong own goal but Conor Gallagher’s second goal in as many matches drew West Brom level.

The hosts were reduced to 10 men with 11 first-half minutes to play, with Matheus Pereira dismissed for violent conduct after an incident involving Patrick van Aanholt.

Wilfried Zaha restored Palace’s lead on 55 minutes before Christian Benteke headed in his first goal of the season shortly after.

Zaha added his second on 68 minutes and Benteke complete a brace of his own when he turned and finished with eight minutes remaining.

The result, which ends a run of two straight defeats, moves Palace up to 11th with 16 points.

West Brom drop to 19th, two points from safety.

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LA LIGA: BARCELONA SLUMP TO SHOCKING DEFEAT AT CADIZ.

Barcelona conceded two embarrassing goals as they suffered a shock 2-1 defeat away to Cadiz in La Liga on Saturday.

The Catalans fell behind in the eighth minute when centre back Oscar Mingueza headed the ball towards his own goal and although keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen got a hand to the ball, Cadiz forward Alvaro Gimenez helped it over the line.

Barca drew level with a fortuitous goal of their own in the 57th when Cadiz defender Pedro Alcala diverted a Jordi Alba cross into the net, flummoxing his impressive goalkeeper Jeremias Ledesma who had been keeping Barca at bay.

Cadiz restored their lead six minutes later, however, when Alvaro Negredo capitalised on a calamitous mix-up between Barca defenders Alba and Clement Lenglet following a throw-in.

Alba aimed the throw towards Lenglet but the Frenchman could not control the ball and Negredo, on the pitch for less than a minute, ran to press Ter Stegen, blocked his kick out and dribbled the ball past the diving Frenkie de Jong and into the unguarded net.

Barca’s fourth defeat of the season left them seventh in the standings on 14 points after 10 games, 12 points behind leaders Atletico, and Ronald Koeman’s side have failed to win their last four away matches.

The Dutch coach criticised the attitude of his players.

“It’s incredible that we lost because of a goal like that, it’s an error you do not expect this team to make. It shows we were not concentrating,” he said.

“The attitude was not good tonight. I’m very disappointed.”

Barca midfielder Sergio Busquets said individual errors had cost them a lot of points this season.

“You cannot question the team’s attitude or commitment, but when you start like we did today it makes the game very difficult,” he said.

Cadiz, who recorded their first home win since returning to the top flight, moved above them into fifth place on 18 points. The Andalusians also beat champions Real Madrid 1-0 away from home earlier in the campaign.

Barca captain Lionel Messi had a frustrating night despite being rested for the Champions League win at Ferencvaros in midweek and was repeatedly thwarted by fellow Argentine and Rosario native Ledesma in the Cadiz goal.

Ledesma also kept out a stinging shot from Miralem Pjanic late on and a close-range effort from Antoine Griezmann.

Cadiz should have put the game out of Barca’s reach when Bobby Adekanye raced towards goal unchallenged but failed to beat Ter Stegen.

However, their defence stood tall and they pulled off another huge win in their first season back in the top flight for 14 years.

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FANS BOO AS MILLWALL, DERBY BEND THE KNEE IN SUPPORT OF ANTI-RACISM MESSAGE.

Fans at Millwall’s home game against Derby booed when players took a knee before the game to support the league’s anti-racism message on Saturday.

It is the first time since March that the Den has hosted fans after crowds were banned as a precaution during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Derby forward Colin Kazim-Richards, who is Black, described the booing as an “absolute disgrace” in a tweet after the match where he expressed pride in taking a stand against racism.

“Having to say this is a pain,” Kazim-Richards said. “But I’ll say it every single damn time this is why I STAND and STAND PROUD and I have to say every single person involved with [Derby] did too.”

He added that it “made me proud to wear this shirt with the boys today!!!”

The English Football Association condemned the actions of the fans in a statement.

“The FA supports all players and staff that wish to take a stand against discrimination in a respectful manner, which includes taking of the knee, and strongly condemns the behaviours of any spectators that actively voice their opposition to such activities,” the statement said.

Some fans had called for the players not to take a knee before the game but Millwall had released a statement on Friday affirming their commitment to fighting racism.

As a squad we are fully supportive of the entire football family’s efforts in ridding the sport, and society generally, of all forms of discrimination,” the statement said.

“The gesture of taking the knee before matches provides an opportunity for us to do exactly that and continues to allow all those playing to publicly showcase their support — on behalf of the whole squad — for the fight against discrimination.

“We wish to make clear that taking the knee, for us, is in no way representative of any agreement with political messaging or ideology. It is purely about tackling discrimination, as has been the case throughout.

“We will continue to do this until the start of the New Year when a new and comprehensive anti-discrimination strategy will be announced by the club.”

Coronavirus regulations in England mean that only 2,000 local fans are allowed to attend games with no away fans permitted to travel.

Footballers in England have been taking a knee before games since football returned in June following protests in the United States over the death of George Floyd in police custody.

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LIGUE 1 ROUND UP: MBAPPE’S 100TH GOAL HELP CLUB BEAT MONTPELLIER, RENNES LOSE AGAIN.

Striker Kylian Mbappe came off the bench to score his 100th goal for Paris Saint-Germain as the French league leader secured a hard-fought 3-1 win at Montpellier on Saturday.

Mbappe’s century of PSG goals — in 137 games — was completed when the 21-year-old turned in a cross from Layvin Kurzawa from close range in the 90th minute.

Up until then, it was uncertain for PSG after English striker Stephy Mavididi equalized for Montpellier in the 40th and the home side pushed strongly for a winner after the break.

PSG striker Moise Kean broke away and netted with a fine finish in the 76th to put the visitors ahead. Mbappe then stroked the ball home from Kurzawa’s quick pass to embellish a win which moves PSG four points ahead of second-place Marseille, and five ahead of third-place Lille.

Marseille have played two games fewer than PSG, while Lille can remain two points behind PSG with a home win against Monaco on Sunday.

PSG coach Thomas Tuchel rested Neymar and Marco Verratti ahead of their Champions League game against Istanbul Basaksehir on Tuesday. But Montpellier’s best striker Andy Delort was also missing, having tested positive for the coronavirus .

It deprived Montpellier of a player who has six goals, assisted on three and has formed a strong partnership with Gaetan Laborde. It also spared a shaky PSG defense, which has conceded five goals in two games, from coping against one of the league’s most physical and awkward strikers.

Tuchel’s gamble to rest his best forwards worked.

In Saturday’s other game, Rennes lost 2-0 at home to Lens, which climbed to seventh place while Rennes dropped to eighth and have won just one game in their last 13 overall.

Lens took the lead in the 27th minute through 18-year-old forward Arnaud Kalimuendo, who joined from PSG in the recent transfer window and netted his third goal of the season.

He went close early in the second half when his shot was saved by the foot of goalkeeper Romain Salin. Striker Ignatius Ganago returned from injury and grabbed the second goal late on.

In the pick of Sunday’s matches, Lille’s lunchtime kickoff frustrated coach Christophe Galtier considering his side played in the Europa League on Thursday night.

Former champion Lyon look to make it 10 games unbeaten when they visits Metz.