A 6,000-mile journey was worth it for JS Saint-Pierroise, an amateur side who play on the island of Reunion, as they shocked French second-division side Niort to reach the last 32 of the French Cup.

The total journey time between Reunion and France is more than one day, according to Google Maps

No team from Reunion – which is an island between Madagascar and Mauritius off the east coast of Africa – had reached the knockout stage of the cup before.

Nearly 100 fans had travelled to Niort, 120 miles north of Bordeaux, to follow their side and saw a huge upset thanks to goals from Gerard Hubert and Ryan Ponti.

Saint-Pierroise – a former club of ex-West Ham playmaker Dimitri Payet – could now face Marseille or Bordeaux, who are in the same regionalised section of the draw. They are four points clear at the top of the Reunion Premier League and on course for a fifth straight title.

Teams from Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte, New Caledonia, Tahiti, Reunion, Saint Martin and Saint Pierre and Miquelon are able to compete in the Coupe de France, with Guiana side ASC Le Geldar the only previous club from overseas to reach this stage.

Meanwhile, defending champions Rennes needed penalties to beat Amiens and fourth division Saint-Pryve Saint Hilaire stunned Ligue 1 Toulouse 1-0.

Toulouse fans missed Carnejy Antoine’s 96th-minute winner because they had been kicked out of the ground by police after smoke bombs and flares saw the game suspended for 10 minutes.

Toulouse are bottom of the top flight after losing 10 consecutive games in all competitions.

Source – BBC News

Zlatan Ibrahimovic‘s statue in Sweden has been toppled with the ankles sawn off on Sunday.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s statue in Sweden was toppled in the early hours of Sunday morning. JOHAN NILSSON/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images

It is the fourth time the statue has been vandalised over the last two months. The damage was discovered in the morning with the statue’s face covered with a shirt bearing the Swedish flag.

The statue outside of Malmo’s stadium was set on fire in November while marks were found on its feet in December, with the nose sawn off nine days later.

The incidents have been apparent responses to the former LA Galaxy striker becoming part-owner of Hammarby — rivals to Malmo, with whom Ibrahimovic, 38, started his career, and outlined his desire to make the Stockholm-based team “the best in Scandinavia.”

“I can understand that there is a disappointment in Malmo, but it crosses all boundaries when you vandalise the statue in the way that has happened,” Hakan Sjostrand, secretary general of the Sweden’s FA, said in comments reported by Swedish news agency TT.

The statue is being removed but is set to be put back up. There have been no reports of any arrests being made.

Ibrahimovic returned to Serie A club AC Milan on a free transfer earlier this month after ending a two-year spell in MLS with LA Galaxy.

The former Sweden international spent two seasons with Milan from 2010-2012 where he won the league title and has vowed to “improve things” on his return to the San Siro. Milan sit 11th in the table after 17 matches.

Ibrahimovic scored in his first game back at the club in a 9-0 victory over non league side Rhodense on Friday. He is set to make his second debut when Milan host Sampdoria in the league on Monday.

Source – ESPN

The game was stopped just after the half-hour mark after sections of the away supporters aimed abuse toward the Italy striker.

Photo by Getty Images

Brescia’s Mario Balotelli has vented his frustration towards Lazio supporters after being subject to racial abuse during a 2-1 defeat on Sunday.

The striker turned to Instagram to show his disappointment at more racial abuse during the game at Stadio Mario Rigamonti.

Balotelli opened the scoring on 18 minutes before the game was stopped just after the half-hour mark following monkey chants from sections of the 1,500 travelling fans.

A stadium announcement was made explaining that the game would be stopped if the racial abuse did not subside.

“Is a loss that hurt but we will come back stronger and we are on the right way!,” Balotelli posted alongside a video of his goal. 

“Lazio fans that were today at the stadium SHAME ON YOU! #saynotoracism.”

Lazio coach Simone Inzaghi frantically gestured towards the supporters to stop, condemning the behaviour of the fans.

But this is not the first time the 29-year-old has been subject to racial abuse after the player was targeted in a match against Hellas Verona in November.

During the game, Balotelli picked the ball up and kicked it in the direction of the Verona fans showing his anger towards the abuse.

Brescia president Massimo Cellino seemed to add fuel to the fire after, in the same month, stating that Balotelli is “black and is working on lightening up, but he is facing troubles.”

However, the club defended Cellino explaining that it was “a paradoxical joke, clearly misunderstood, released in an attempt to defuse excessive media exposure and with intent to protect the player himself.”

The problem with racism in Italy continues with players such as Romelu Lukaku and Kalidou Koulibaly having previously been targeted with monkey chants from fans.

The incident comes after Serie A‘s latest initiative to eradicate racism from Italian football generated controversy, with the league choosing to permanently exhibit controversial artwork featuring three monkeys at its headquarters.

Brescia occupy one of the relegation spots after the defeat to Lazio.

Balotelli opened the scoring before defender Andrea Cristina was sent off after 39 minutes. A Ciro Immobile double saw Lazio take all three points at the Stadio Mario Rigamonti.

Source – Goal.com

The Reds boss named a youthful team in the FA Cup and his inexperienced players repaid that faith with an assured performance.

Photo by Getty Images

More than alright, in Liverpool’s case.

The 235th Merseyside derby, fittingly, was settled by a Scouser. Curtis Jones wasn’t even born the last time Everton won at Anfield but here, in the heat of battle, it was the 18-year-old, making just his second start for his boyhood club, who stuck the knife into Carlo Ancelotti’s side.

He could play until he’s 40, Jones, but one doubts he will ever replicate the feeling he experienced when, 71 minutes into a tight, entertaining FA Cup third-round tie, he collected a pass from Divock Origi on the left corner of the penalty area, took a touch and unleashed the most perfect of right-foot curlers past a despairing Jordan Pickford, the ball kissing the underside of the crossbar on its way into the net.

He became the youngest player to score in a Merseyside derby since Robbie Fowler, 26 years ago, and only the third 18-year-old to score for the club in the FA Cup. “I can’t sum up my emotions,” he said afterwards. “I’ve basically been begging to play.”

This was just how he’d have dreamt it last night. He has a penchant for big moments, this kid. His only other senior appearance at Anfield came against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup in November, and he ended that by scoring the winning penalty in a shootout in front of the Kop. He doesn’t lack confidence, that’s for sure.

This was even more special, even more surreal at times. This was Liverpool’s second string, a team packed with teenagers and fringe players, beating an Everton side supposedly brimming with confidence following the arrival of a world-class manager. Liverpool lost their captain, James Milner , to injury inside six minutes, and gave pretty much all of their star men the afternoon off.

And look, they still found a way to win.

Evertron, meanwhile, seem to find ways to lose at this ground. This, perhaps, was the most painful of all. Ancelotti’s team had big chances in the first half but couldn’t take them. Their second-half display, to put it mildly, was dreadful. The Anfield Road end, which had housed 8,000 noisy Blues throughout, emptied faster than a cracked petrol tank. Only Djibril Sidibe, to his credit, took the time to acknowledge them.

No wonder. Everton were favourites going into this game, but will they ever get a better chance to end their Anfield hoodoo? Kevin Campbell, the last man to score a winner here for the Blues, hates his place in Toffees history, but he will have it for a while longer yet.

As for Liverpool, they can reflect on a remarkable collective performance. They gave three debuts here, new signing Takumi Minamino joined by centre-back Nathaniel Phillips, who was playing for Stuttgart against Sandhausen in the German second tier a month ago, and Yasser Larouci, a Frenchman signed from Le Havre as a flying winger, since converted into a rough and ready full-back by Barry Lewtas, the under-18 coach.

Larouci, like fellow teen Neco Williams on the opposite flank, was outstanding, so confident, and oh so fearless. Remember those names, whatever you do.

Ahead of them, 16-year-old Harvey Elliott gave Lucas Digne a chasing. The French international ended the game booked, unable to handle the touch and intelligence of the England under-17 star. Elliott, like Jones, has star quality.

Everton looked like they might overpower Liverpool at times in the opening 45 minutes, when they utilised the brute strength of Dominic Calvert-Lewin. But Adrian, the Reds’ back-up goalkeeper, stood firm when needed. He denied Calvert-Lewin, Mason Holgate and Richarlison expertly.

And after the break, the game was dominated by Adam Lallana and Pedro Chirivella, the unlikeliest of midfield duos. Both were exceptional. Liverpool received two concrete loan offers for Chirivella from Championship clubs on Friday. They’ll be fielding loads more after this, although given their injury list, they might be wise to hold onto the 23-year-old until at least the end of the month. If he can deliver performances like this, he’s got a use at Anfield.

There are some who believe Jurgen Klopp didn’t want to be in this competition, that he’d rather go out.

Don’t listen to them.

Klopp kicked every ball from the sideline, watching and encouraging like a proud parent. When the ball made its way into the Main Stand, 90 seconds from the end, he implored the Liverpool fans to keep hold of it, to waste away a precious few seconds. At the final blast of referee Jon Moss’ whistle, his grin could have lit a million Christmas trees. The fist pumps in front of the Kop were back.

Liverpool ride on. For Everton, this will take some getting over.

And for Curtis Jones, this was his wildest dream made reality.

“Sensational game and a sensational goal from a Scouser – who could ask for more?” grinned Klopp afterwards.

The local derby got a local hero.

Source – Goal.com

Atletico Madrid made it three La Liga wins in a row by beating Levante 2-1 at home on Saturday to climb up to third in the standings following an action-packed game in which three goals were scored in the space of five minutes.

Defender Felipe was the hero of Atletico’s 2-1 win over Levante. EPA/DAVID FERNANDEZ

Argentine forward Angel Correa gave the home side the lead in the 13th minute after Kieran Trippier took the Levante defence by surprise by volleying a chipped pass from Thomas Partey towards Correa.

The visitors responded three minutes later with a volley of their own from striker Roger Marti which flummoxed Atleti keeper Jan Oblak at his near post but Diego Simeone’s side regained the lead 60 seconds later with a header from defender Felipe.

Atleti controlled most of the second half but ceded two chances to Enis Bardhi who was denied on both occasions by superb saves from Oblak, the latter of which came deep in stoppage time.

The victory took Atletico onto 35 points after 19 games, level with fourth-placed Sevilla who were held 1-1 at home to Athletic Bilbao on Friday. Real Madrid lead the standings with 40 points.

Source – ESPN

The Red Devils failed to trouble Wolves during an FA Cup outing at Molineux, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side made to look rather toothless.

Photo by Getty/Goal

Manchester United failed to muster a single shot on target during their 0-0 FA Cup draw with Wolves, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer seeing the Red Devils hit a five-year low on that front.

A rather dour third round encounter was played out at Molineux on Saturday.

Two Premier League rivals would be expected to make cup competition a top priority this season.

Both remain in contention for Europa League glory, but will feel that domestic action presents another possible route to major silverware.

Neither Wolves nor United looked like serious contenders, though, during another meeting in the West Midlands.

Nuno’s side disposed of the Red Devils at the quarter-final stage of the 2018-19 FA Cup.

Solskjaer, who has also dropped top-flight points in the Black Country during his tenure, spoke in the build-up to the game of being wary of the threat posed by Wolves.

He would, however, have been expecting his players to offer more in pursuit of victory.

Wolves and United could do without a replay, given their respective schedules, but that is precisely what they are now planning for.

That contest will take place at Old Trafford, with a serious blank drawn at Molineux.

Solskjaer and Nuno saw their respective teams fire in 12 shots apiece in an initial meeting, but few of those efforts troubled those between the sticks.

Wolves managed two on target, but saw the impressive Sergio Romero collect another clean sheet, while United gave John Ruddy nothing to do.

Hitting a five-year low is not the kind of headline that Solskjaer will have wanted to make.

He has seen United struggle for consistency once again in 2019-20.

They have tended to fare admirably on the big occasion, with positive results collected against Premier League high-fliers.

A number of changes were made, though, for a meeting with Wolves.

Mason Greenwood was asked to lead the line, with the teenage striker being supported by Daniel James, Juan Mata and Tahith Chong.

Marcus Rashford was introduced off the bench with 20 minutes remaining, but the in-form England international failed to make much of an impact.

United’s attention will now shift to the first leg of a Carabao Cup semi-final derby date with Manchester City, with considerably more firepower going to be required against a Blues side that is chasing down a hat-trick of League Cup triumphs.

Source – Goal.com

Los Blancos beat out several rivals in La Liga for the signature of the highly-rated teenager, who follows in the footsteps of Vinicius Junior.

Photo by Getty Images

Flamengo attacker Reinier will officially join Real Madrid later this month for a sum worth around €35 million (£29m/$39m), sources close to the situation have confirmed to  Goal .

Los Blancos beat off competition from La Liga rivals Barcelona and Atletico Madrid to land the signature of the highly-rated teenager, who turns 18 later this month on January 19.

Both Madrid and Flamengo will wait until that date in order to announce the deal, which will take the Brazil under-23 star to Spain on an unspecified, though likely lengthy contract.

Zinedine Zidane’s side will likely feel proud with themselves after being able to bring Reinier to Santiago Bernabeu for half of his club’s asking price of €70m (£59.7m/$78.1m).

It has also been reported that Flamengo will receive 80 per cent of the fee, while the rest will go to the player and his agent.

Born in Brazil in 2002, the 17-year-old made his senior debut last July for the club in their Copa Libertadores clash with Emelec, before going on to net six goals in just over a dozen appearances in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A, helping them to their title.

He only signed a new contract with the club in November, a long-term deal that took him through until 2024.

However, the lure of European football has ultimately won out and he follows in the footsteps of fellow Flamengo product Vinicius Junior in making the move to the Spanish capital.

The latter has earned full international honours since his arrival despite still being a teenager, arguably justifying his decision to head for the bright lights of La Liga.

Discussions remain underway about whether Reinier will remain in his home country until June before making the move, or if he will spend the rest of the current campaign with Madrid’s Castilla reserve squad.

He is expected to be in action later this month with Brazil’s U23 side as they look to seal one of two berths for the Men’s tournament at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo in July.

They will face Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru and Uruguay in the opening round, held in Colombia.

Source – Goal.com

The Dutchman was dismissed for a silly second yellow card while the Catalans were leading in Saturday night’s dramatic derby draw with Espanyol.

Photo by Getty

There may be no keener student of football in the game today than Frenkie de Jong.

The Dutchman is obsessed with watching matches, learning tactics and improving himself.

Over the next few days he will be replaying Barcelona’s 2-2 draw at local rivals Espanyol again and again, focusing on one moment in particular.

With just 15 minutes to go and the visitors a goal up, De Jong decided, foolishly, to drag down Jonathan Calleri, and was correctly issued a second yellow card, resulting in the first red of his career.

He looked disgusted with himself and Gerard Pique immediately rushed to offer the 22-year-old a reassuring hug.

However, De Jong’s disappointment would only have intensified when Wu Lei finished superbly to level the game in the 88th minute, thus preventing Barca from restoring their two-point lead over Liga title rivals Real Madrid, who defeated Getafe earlier in the day.

The draw will, therfore, hit De Jong hard, even though almost everything he has done in a Barcelona shirt to date has ranged from good to excellent.

However, he erred badly in getting caught in possession by Calleri and only compounded his initial mistake by blatantly pulling the Espanyol forward back by the shirt, particularly as Pique and Clement Lenglet were covering.

Perhaps the central defensive duo’s shaky performances left De Jong feeling like he had no choice, but when he looks back at the incident, as he undoubtedly will, he will acknowledge his sloppiness, and the gross error of judgment that followed.

As shocking as it was to see such rashness from such an intelligent player, it would be more surprising still if he ever does it again.

Still, it was an unfortunate misjudgement for Barca, who had recovered from a horribly sluggish start to take control of the derby thanks to Luis Suarez.

Indeed, De Jong was by no means the only player clad in yellow to look off-colour against Espanyol, particularly during the first half.

Aimless and sloppy, listless and subdued, Barcelona struggled dismally against their bottom-of-the-table opponents.

Former Barcelona player Abelardo was able to celebrate a goal on his Espanyol coaching debut when David Lopez headed home to break the deadlock after 23 minutes.

Barcelona offered precisely nothing until the final five minutes of the first half, coincidentally when Arturo Vidal started to warm up.

The Chilean midfielder is a wrecking ball, someone who brings chaos into any game, and the conclusion to the first half was similarly wild.

Barcelona started to create chances, with Lionel Messi seeing a header and a free-kick saved, while Suarez’s clever effort struck the post.

The Catalans eventually levelled early in the second half, when Jordi Alba provided his first assist of the season with a nice cross to the near post, where Suarez finished coolly.

It has become one of the Uruguayan’s special tricks: covering up an underwhelming display by being the man in the right place at the right time to strike.

Whatever Suarez lacks in his all-round game now – and his fiercer critics will tell you that is a lot – he still has a killer instinct.

He also remains capable of conjuring something out of nothing, as he underlined with a special piece of improvisation for the second goal by flicking the ball with the outside of his foot over the Espanyol defence and on to Vidal’s forehead.

The Chilean’s finish was emphatic – his own piece of vindication while he scraps with the club over an alleged unpaid bonus and a potential January exit.

Suarez, who has been involved in each of Barcelona’s last nine La Liga goals – scoring four and setting up five – deserved to be the match-winner but it must be said that while De Jong’s moment of madness was decisive, the No.9 could have made the game safe before Espanyol’s equaliser.

The forward blasted one chance – superbly set up by the otherwise subdued Messi – at Diego Lopez, while he could not beat the goalkeeper with a later lob.

As it was, Barca squandered two precious points in their incredibly tight title fight with bitter rivals Reals, with both sides now locked together again, on 40 points, but the Catalans in first place on account of their superior goal difference.

De Jong, of course, has played a key role in Barca’s campaign. They would hardly be top of the table without the former Ajax ace, who has dug the Catalans out of many a hole with his clever midfield play.

So, his team-mates are hardly likely to turn on him for his reckless red. They won’t need to anyway. As usual, De Jong’s harshest critic will be himself.

Source – Goal.com

Wayne Rooney recorded an assist on his Derby County debut as the Rams defeated Barnsley 2-1 in the Championship on Thursday.

Wayne Rooney saw his first game action since October in Derby’s 2-1 win over Barnsley on Thursday. Getty

Rooney, who was named captain on the day and also serves as a coach with the club, curled an inch-perfect free kick onto the path of Jack Marriott to stab home with his right foot just before half-time.

The former Manchester United and D.C. United star was making his first appearance with the club since returning to English football from MLS last summer.

The 34-year-old Rooney played the full match, despite it being his first competitive game since October.

Elliot Simoes equalised for the visitors on 50 minutes but Martyn Waghorn ensured the points would stay with Derby seven minutes later with Rooney key in the build up.

“Wayne Rooney was important today. He showed it with his delivery [for the first goal] and his cross-field pass before the second goal,” Derby manager Phillip Cocu told Sky Sports after the match.

Rooney said he was excited to get back on the pitch and was pleased to see Marriott convert his cross.

“It was frustrating [just] training with all the lads for so long. You can’t beat that buzz of playing out there,” he said to Sky Sports.

“Jack Marriott, if he hadn’t scored his goal, he would have come in for a lot of stick from the players… The chances he had, you have to score them. Yes, it was a nice ball and a good finish from Jack.”

Derby has now won back-to-back matches for the first time this season, having beaten Charlton 2-1 on Monday, but remain 17th in the table.

Source – ESPN

Manchester United’s Paul Pogba needs an operation on an ankle injury and is set to be out for “three or four weeks”, says manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Paul Pogba has made just two substitute appearances for Manchester United since the end of September

Pogba was not in the United squad for the New Year’s Day defeat at Arsenal.

The France midfielder, 26, only made his comeback last month from an ankle problem that had kept him out since the end of September.

“We’ve had scans and it’s nothing major, but it’s something that has to be dealt with,” said Solskjaer.

“He’s been advised to do it [the operation] as soon as and we will probably do it as soon as, so he will be out for three or four weeks.

“It’s a big blow because Paul is out now and Scott [McTominay] is also injured – he is out for a few months.

“We just hope that Paul can come back in a month-ish. But if Fred and Nemanja [Matic] played like they did today I will be happy.”

Pogba has played only eight times this season after having surgery in the autumn to correct another ankle injury.

His comeback was then delayed by illness, meaning he did not resume training until mid-December.

The former Juventus midfielder made substitute appearances against Watford and Newcastle before being rested for Saturday’s Premier League win at Burnley.

Solskjaer said last month that Pogba would not be sold in January.

Source – BBC News