Samir Nasri has described Raheem Sterling as one of the hottest prospects in world football  and backed his new Manchester City team-mate to show stupid fans just how good he is.

Sterling, making his City debut following an acrimonious transfer from Liverpool, was jeered by some supporters at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in an International Champions Cup match against Roma on Tuesday.

The 20-year-old responded by opening the scoring with a well-taken goal after just three minutes and was a lively presence throughout his 45 minutes on the pitch.

City won the match 5-4 on penalties following a 2-2 draw, but the real talking point was the crowd s initial treatment of Sterling, a likely sign of things to come ahead of the 2015-16 Premier League season.

Nasr…

Lionel Messi wants Barcelona to beat Real Madrid in Saturday s Clasico clash to ensure his side can enjoy a merry Christmas.

Barca head to the Bernabeu to take on their old rivals with an 11-point lead from Madrid in the Liga table, Barca sitting six points clear from second-placed Atletico Madrid.

Victory for Ernesto Valverde s men would give Barca an overwhelming lead from last season s champions, who have a game in hand due to their trip to the Club World Cup.

And Messi, who missed out on this year s Ballon d Or to Madrid s Cristiano Ronaldo, is keen for Barcelona to go into the winter break on a high.

It would be important to win for what it means, it s always a special game, Messi said. Real Madrid, at their stadium winning is an important advantage…

Diego Simeone has challenged Atletico Madrid to prove themselves as worthy Copa del Rey winners by beating Barcelona in the last four.

Atleti were pitted against the holders in the semi-final draw on Friday, with the winners set to meet either Alaves or Celta Vigo the conquerors of Real Madrid in the final.

Barca have won the last two Copa ties with the 2013 winners but Atleti have emerged victorious on the last two occasions they have met in the semis, which includes a 6-0 aggregate win in 1999-2000, when the Catalans forfeited the second leg over a dispute with the Spanish Football Federation.

Simeone says it is no surprise to have to face Barca at this stage of a major competition and wants his players to show they are of the same calibre as Luis Enrique s sid…

According to a recent report from Sky Sports, Tottenham Hotspur striker Fernando Llorente could still have a future at the club – despite it initially seeming like he would be leaving. Spurs missed the deadline in which they could’ve extended his current deal by another year, and yet despite that, they’re considering entering talks with the forward over a new contract. Llorente is still free to speak with other clubs with a series of other top sides being interested in acquiring his services, after he was able to put in a series of top performances for them in the absence of Harry Kane. At the age of 34 he’s certainly moving towards the back-end of his career, and yet, a number of clubs are willing to take a punt on him. Llorente first joined the club back in the summer of 2017…

Wolfsburg have appointed Bruno Labbadia as their new head coach on an 18-month contract.

The 52-year-old takes charge at Volkswagen Arena following the sacking of Martin Schmidt on Monday.

Wolfsburg s loss to Bayern Munich last weekend left them 14th in the table, with just four wins from 23 matches.

I feel well rested and look forward to working with my new team, Labbadia told the club s official website.

CEO Dr. Tim Schumacher added: We re very pleased to have got Bruno Labbadia. Now we all have to look forward and meet our challenges with calm and togetherness.

Bruno Labbadia is the new head-coach of the Wolves. The 52-year-old has signed on until summer 2019 and will host his first training session today at 16:00 CET.

— VfL Wolfs…

Jesse Lingard has rejected Manchester United s offer of a new contract due to a fear of a lack of game-time this season, according to .

Apparently, the 28-year-old forward has asked assurances about having a place in the plans of manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer before he recommits to the 20-time English champions. So far this season, he has spent only four minutes on the pitch, coming on as a late substitute in a 1-1 draw away to Southampton in the Premier League on August 22nd.

Lingard enjoyed a rather fruitful loan spell with West Ham in the second half of 2020-21, making 16 league appearances for David Moyes team and contributing to their cause with nine goals and five assists. The Hammers were hoping to make the deal permanent at the end of the campaign, but it wasn t …

Frank Lampard will be sacked as Chelsea head coach on Monday, according to widespread reports.

It is said former Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel will take charge at Stamford Bridge just a month after leaving the Ligue 1 champions.

Confirmation of Lampard s departure is seemingly set to follow a run of two wins in eight Premier League games.

The Blues record goalscorer was appointed in July 2019 and led them to a fourth-place finish and the FA Cup final in his debut campaign as a top-flight coach.

Chelsea invested heavily ahead of the 2020-21 season and were top of the table at the start of December.

But a dreadful run has seen Chelsea slide down to ninth, 11 points off the pace, reportedly costing club great Lampard his job the day after a…

Luis Enrique looked at the big picture after Spain were held to a draw with Germany, content with the fact La Roja head into their final World Cup Group E match as leaders.

Alvaro Morata s second-half goal had seemingly put Spain on course for a second win in as many group games, and victory would have secured their place in the last 16.

But Niclas Fullkrug equalised late on to earn Germany a point that will provide Die Nationalelf with a timely confidence boost, even if their destiny is essentially in Spain s hands.

While Spain enjoyed more of the ball on Sunday, Germany s chances amounted to a greater expected goals (xG) total of 1.1 compared to 0.57, suggesting Hansi Flick s side created the better opportunities.

Nevertheless, the reality is Spain rema…

Julian Nagelsmann declared he is incredibly satisfied with life as Bayern Munich head coach and urged his team to go into the winter break on a high.

Nagelsmann replaced Hansi Flick at the Bavarian club in July and has led them to the top of the Bundesliga with 13 victories from their first 16 games, as well as winning each of their six Champions League group stage fixtures.

The low point of the 34-year-old s tenure at the club came on October 27, when Bayern suffered a shock 5-0 defeat to Borussia Monchengladbach in the DFB-Pokal.

However, Bayern bounced back to win nine of their subsequent 10 games in all competitions, opening up a six-point lead over Borussia Dortmund in the process, and Nagelsmann is pleased with his side at this stage.

Bayern host 11…

West Bromwich Albion have reached an agreement to sell forward Chris Wood to Leicester City in the January transfer window.

The New Zealand striker has been on loan with Millwall but will join Leicester permanently when that temporary deal expires.

The 21-year-old has scored 11 goals in 19 appearances in the English second tier this term, and is believed to cost Leicester up to two million pounds.

Dan Ashworth, West Brom s sporting and technical director, told the club s official website: Chris joined our Academy as a 15-year-old and has progressed through the ranks.

We have had fierce competition in the forward positions over the past few years, which means Chris has been unable to establish himself in the first team.

He s now had two or three…