Chelsea eye West Ham United star Declan Rice

Alvaro Morata may not have been prolific in terms of goals at Euro 2020 but his selfless work for the team is vital for Spain, according to Gaizka Mendieta.

Striker Morata has scored twice to help Luis Enrique s side reach the semi-finals of the tournament, though his failure to capitalise on the opportunities that have come his way has led to criticism.

Indeed, the 28-year-old has been booed by his own fans both before and during the European Championship, while his family have been targeted for abuse too.

Yet former Spain international Mendieta feels Morata s team-mates appreciate all he does for the cause, even if his finishing has let him down at times. From 15 attempts, he has a shot conversion rate of 13.33 per cent.

An expected goals total of 3…

Danny Rose would love the opportunity to play in front of Tottenham s fans one more time and would happily see out the remainder of his contract in north London.

England left-back Rose spent the second half of the 2019-20 Premier League season on loan at Newcastle United after falling out of favour when Jose Mourinho replaced Mauricio Pochettino as head coach last November.

The 30-year-old told BBC Radio 5 Live he felt he wasn t given as much of a chance as everybody else in the backline by Mourinho.

Rose is contracted to Spurs until June 2021 and he told The Second Captains podcast he has not entirely given up hope of resurrecting his career at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

I m very happy to stay at Tottenham and see my last 10, 11 months out. I d love…

Missing out on the chance to widen their buffer at the top of the Serie A table, Juventus were forced to settle for a disappointing 1-1 stalemate at home against Empoli on Saturday evening.

Although the Old Lady might have been in complete control throughout the early stages, Massimiliano Allegri s men were handed a real blow as Arkadiusz Milik was handed a straight red card following a dangerous tackle after 18 minutes.

Nevertheless, not unsettled by their one-man disadvantage, the red-hot Dusan Vlahovic notched his 12th Serie A strike of the season just five minutes after returning from the interval as Juventus appeared firmly on course for a valuable three points.

However, although Saturday’s hosts might have extended their unbeaten run to 19 appearances on…

Cristiano Ronaldo lauded Manchester United s never-say-die attitude after netting a late winner in a come-from-behind 3-2 Champions League win over Atalanta on Wednesday.

United trailed 2-0 at half-time after strikes from Mario Pasalic and Merih Demiral in their Group F clash at Old Trafford before a stirring second-half comeback was capped by Ronaldo s 81st-minute winner.

It was the third time the Red Devils had won a Champions League game from two or more goals down, the equal most of any club in competition history alongside Arsenal.

Yes! The Theatre Of Dreams is on fire! We are alive!, Ronaldo wrote via his social media channels. We are Man. United and we never give up! This is Old Trafford!

Ronaldo s winner, which came after goals from Marcus Rashf…

Jordan Henderson has questioned the harsh penalty call that went against Liverpool in their 1-1 draw with Manchester City and says his side have to be happy with a point.

City were awarded a penalty after Kevin De Bruyne s cross hit Joe Gomez on the arm, with referee Craig Pawson pointing to the spot after a lengthy wait that involved him checking the pitchside monitor.

However, De Bruyne was unable to convert from 12 yards the first time a player has missed the target entirely from the spot in a Premier League game since City s Riyad Mahrez against Liverpool in October 2018.

It was the second controversial penalty call of the day after Max Kilman was penalised for handling Dennis Praet s cross in Leicester City s 1-0 win over Wolves.

And while Henderson …

Hansi Flick heaped praise on Barcelona s teenage sensation Lamine Yamal after he scored a double to help the LaLiga leaders earn a 4-1 victory at Girona on Sunday.

Yamal, who grabbed the spotlight as he helped Spain win their fourth European Championship title in July, scored twice in seven first-half minutes to put them in control.

Dani Olmo and Pedri then secured the win before Cristhian Stuani s consolation and Ferran Torres late sending-off for a reckless challenge.

Barcelona maintained their unbeaten start to the season, getting their fifth consecutive win at the start of Flick s tenure.

I m very happy about Lamine s two goals, he s very young, but he s really incredible, a difference maker at such a young age, Flick told Movistar Plus.

Hav…

Unai Emery has blamed bad decisions made by the club for his Arsenal exit and confirmed he favoured a move for Wilfried Zaha over Nicolas Pepe in his final season.

The 49-year-old spent 18 months in charge at Emirates Stadium before being sacked in November 2019 and subsequently replaced by Mikel Arteta.

He guided Arsenal to the Europa League final and a fifth-place finish in the Premier League in what proved to be his only full season in charge.

Arsenal spent a club-record £72million to bring in Pepe from Lille ahead of 2019-20, but Emery felt the Gunners should have instead moved for fellow Ivory Coast international Zaha.

I usually want to sign first the players I know, he told Football.London. When we played against Crystal Palace, Zaha showed he was…

Barcelona coach Xavi was left seething after his side missed a golden opportunity to move clear in second place in LaLiga.

Having been eliminated from the Europa League on home soil by Eintracht Frankfurt last Thursday, Barca lost consecutive games at Camp Nou for the first time since April 2003 as lowly Cadiz condemned them to a 1-0 defeat.

Lucas Perez s second-half winner marked the 32nd goal Barca have conceded in 31 league games this season, their worst tally at this stage of a season since the 2012-13 campaign (33).

Barca s 15-match unbeaten run in the league had seen them harbour hopes of a title challenge, but they now have just seven games left to catch Real Madrid, who are 15 points clear.

Indeed, Barca s main focus will now realistically be on…

Romelu Lukaku has revealed how training sessions at Inter are like a war zone, as well as making clear he wishes nothing but the best for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United.

Lukaku offered Twitter followers the chance to send in questions via social media – and the striker duly replied to a wide range of topics during the session, one that he moved forward to make sure he was free to play NBA 2K later on Tuesday.

The Belgian striker has once again been pivotal for the Serie A leaders this season, scoring 17 goals to help the Nerazzurri stride four points clear at the summit in their pursuit of a first league title since 2010.

Inter coach Antonio Conte was known for a combative approach during his playing days and, according to Lukaku, he …

Netherlands star Vivianne Miedema has tested positive for COVID-19, ruling her out of the Oranje s Group C fixture with Portugal on Wednesday.

Miedema scored 14 goals in 22 Women s Super League appearances for runners-up Arsenal last season, a tally only bettered by Chelsea s Sam Kerr (20).

The 25-year-old, widely regarded as one of the best players in the women s game, has also netted an incredible 94 goals in 112 international appearances, making her the Netherlands all-time leading scorer.

Miedema started her country s Euro 2022 opener on Saturday, a 1-1 draw with Sweden, but coronavirus will prevent her facing Portugal.

An update from the Oranje s Twitter account read: Vivianne Miedema has unfortunately tested positive for COVID-19 and will therefore…