Tuchel far from impressed by Mike Dean apology after VAR blunder in London derby

Thomas Tuchel admitted footage of his spat with Antonio Conte was hilarious – but insisted the refereeing blunder that cost Chelsea a win over Tottenham remains no laughing matter.

It was last Sunday when emotions ran so high in the London derby that both bosses were red-carded after the final whistle.

Touchline tensions had been soaring and came to a head when Tuchel refused to immediately let go of Conte in the post-match handshake, affronted that the Italian had avoided eye contact.

This sparked further words being said and several backroom staff from both teams having to separate the two, before referee Anthony Taylor showed both men his red card.

Football Association charges have followed for Tuchel and Conte, but Tuchel accepts there was an ele…

Kounde still not part of Barcelona squad as Dest left out for Sociedad trip

Jules Kounde has not been registered in time by Barcelona for Sunday s LaLiga clash with Real Sociedad, while Sergino Dest has also been overlooked by Xavi once again.

France defender Kounde has yet to feature competitively for Barca since joining from Sevilla in a €55million deal, having also sat out last week s stalemate with Rayo Vallecano.

He is the only new signing yet to be registered by Barca, who have been forced to sell off non-playing assets and activate various levers to meet LaLiga s salary rules.

While Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie are all available to face Sociedad, Kounde is not part of the travelling party.

Dest has also been left off the 23-player list for the second week running, with head coach Xa…

21st December: Saturday’s Football Accumulator – 10/1

Putting in another impressive performance by picking up a 1-0 win away at last year s play-off finalists Derby last weekend, Millwall have continued to shine since brining in former Stoke boss Gary Rowett. Now landing back-to-back victories, including a 2-1 win away at top-six contenders Bristol City earlier in the month, the Lions are in the midst of a seven-match unbeaten that stems back to the 2nd of November. Skyrocketing up the Championship standings and within touching distance of breaking into the play-off spots, a huge part of Millwall s recent resurge has been their continued displays on home soil. Remarkably losing just a single matchup at the Den since opening the 2019/2020 campaign and it should also be noted that Saturday s hosts have bagged a pair of goals in each of their…

Marquinhos credits Emery´s ´philosophy´ after title triumph

Marquinhos saluted the impact and philosophy of Unai Emery after Paris Saint-Germain wrapped up the Ligue 1 title with a remarkable 7-1 win over Monaco, as the coach looks set for an exit.

Emery was hired at the start of last season after guiding Sevilla to three successive Europa League titles, as PSG aimed to take themselves to the next level in the Champions League.

But his first season in charge did not go to plan, with PSG losing out to Monaco in the title race and suffering a humiliating Champions League last-16 exit at the hands of Barcelona, despite winning their first leg 4-0 in Paris.

Although they have won the 2017-18 Ligue 1 title at a canter thanks to Sunday s incredible demolition of Monaco, Emery whose contract expires in June is expected to leave,…

Klopp: I told Balotelli he needs to leave Liverpool

Jurgen Klopp has told Mario Balotelli he needs to leave Liverpool, but hopes to help him rediscover his best form beforehand.

Balotelli joined Liverpool from AC Milan in 2014 but, after scoring just one Premier League goal in 16 appearances in his first season at the club, he was sent back to San Siro on loan the following year.

The 25-year-old managed just to find the net just once in Serie A last term, though he missed more than three months with a groin injury, and Klopp does not see a future for him at Anfield.

However, the German hopes to help build Balotelli s confidence back up before sending him to a club where he can be a leading figure.

Since he has been back here, he s been a good guy and I can t say anything different than that, said Klopp.

De Bruyne sees absolutely everything – Guardiola

Kevin De Bruyne has earned high praise from manager Pep Guardiola after leading Manchester City to an emphatic 4-0 win over Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday.

De Bruyne opened the scoring and set up Ilkay Gundogan for his side s fourth goal at the Etihad Stadium, as in-form City made a statement of intent to their title rivals early in Guardiola s tenure.  

Central to the impressive performance was the 25-year-old Belgium international, signed by City from Wolfsburg for big money in August 2015, having been deemed surplus to requirements by Guardiola s fierce rival Jose Mourinho at Chelsea earlier in his career.

He [De Bruyne] understands the game, he s physically strong, the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach said.

[He is] aggressiv…

Chelsea´s Traore granted work permit

Bertrand Traore has been granted a work permit and will be available to play for Chelsea from the 2015-16 season.

The Burkina Faso midfielder agreed a deal with the Stamford Bridge club in October 2013, but had not played enough international football to be given a permit.

Traore was sent on loan to Eredivisie side Vitesse, where he made 48 league appearances across one and a half campaigns

The 19-year-old was particularly impressive in 2014-15, netting 14 goals in 33 outings as Vitesse secured UEFA Europa League qualification.

Estonia v England: Hodgson warns against complacency

Roy Hodgson has warned his England players against being lulled into a false sense of security ahead of their Euro 2016 qualifier in Estonia.

England surged to a 5-0 victory over San Marino at Wembley on Thursday and could arguably have won by an even greater margin against one of international football s weakest nations.

Indeed, the hosts saw a legitimate goal disallowed for offside when Adam Lallana deflected an Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain strike beyond the goalkeeper with the score at 3-0.

However, Hodgson has called for caution ahead of his side s trip to Tallinn, stressing Sunday s opponents could provide a step up in class.

I would be a bit wary of putting Estonia in the same category as San Marino, he said. They might surprise people who haven t seen …

Cannavaro defends brother´s role in match-fixing

Fabio Cannavaro has defended his brother Paolo after he was banned for six months for not reporting an instance of match-fixing.

Ex-Italy goalkeeper Matteo Gianello was also suspended for 39 months by the Italian Football Federation for trying to fix Napoli s clash against Sampdoria in 2010 an incident Paolo Cannavaro was allegedly aware of.

And the World Cup winner insists that his sibling is innocent and, at a charity event in Naples, suggested that sporting law in the country should be changed.

I was very sorry he had to be involved in this story, he is a white knight in a game full of scandals, he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Sporting law should be reformed in order to better judge cases like his.

I had two titles taken away from me, so I…

Klopp delighted to secure swift Champions League progress

Jurgen Klopp enjoyed a welcome boost as Borussia Dortmund booked a place in the UEFA Champions League last 16 by beating Galatasaray 4-1.

The 2012-13 runners-up are struggling domestically in the Bundesliga following five straight defeats, but rallied to maintain their 100 per cent record in Group D in Europe s elite club competition on Tuesday.

Having previously crushed the same opponents 4-0 in Istanbul after earlier wins over Arsenal and Anderlecht, the German outfit are already safely through to the knockout stages.

I told my players to enjoy this, said Klopp.

It s important we ve got to feel the good things as there are now five days until the next league game.

Dortmund dominated Galatasaray from the outset in Turkey, but the return game …