Wilfried Bony s stoppage-time penalty put Swansea City on the verge of Premier League safety as they beat Newcastle United 2-1 on Saturday.
Bony kept his cool from the spot in the first minute of time added on at St James Park to move the Welsh side six points clear of the drop zone with three games remaining after substitute Marvin Emnes had been brought down by Cheikh Tiote.
The Ivorian had earlier equalised with a powerful header in first-half stoppage time after Shola Ameobi s first top-flight goal since December 2012 put the home side in front.
Swansea coach Garry Monk described a reported training ground bust-up as handbags this week, and was more interested in ensuring his side get out of a serious situation at the wrong end of the table.
And Monk s team s…
A memorial service took place on Monday for former Barcelona head coach Tito Vilanova, who died on Friday.
Vilanova, who served as assistant to Pep Guardiola before taking charge of first-team affairs at Camp Nou, passed away at the age of 45 following a lengthy battle with throat cancer.
After succeeding Guardiola for the 2012-13 season, Vilanova guided Barca to the Liga title with a club-record haul of 100 points.
However, his sole campaign in charge was interrupted by illness and he was forced to step down last July.
The club confirmed on Friday that Vilanova had passed away and mourners including his family gathered at a packed Barcelona Cathedral on Monday to pay their respects.
Cardinal Archbishop of Barcelona Lluis Martinez Sistach led the ceremony, …
Granada defender Inigo Lopez is expecting a fired up Cristiano Ronaldo on Saturday, ahead of their La Liga clash with champions Real Madrid.
Real wrapped up the league title in mid-week with a 4-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao but Ronaldo, who has 44 league goals, is two behind his Argentine nemesis Lionel Messi in the goalscoring charts with only two matches to play.
Granada are in 15th place and need two points to guarantee their top-flight status, but Lopez, however, understands his team have a tough task on their hands to stop the newly-crowned champions at home this weekend.
It will not be easy but we must try. It is true they have already won the league but they still have several records within record, Lopez told Marca.
Also, Cristiano Ronaldo is…
Tottenham right-back Kyle Walker will reunite with some familiar faces at Aston Villa on Boxing Day.
The Spurs star spent time on loan at Villa Park in 2011, where he worked with some of the youngsters who now make up the core of Paul Lambert s Villans team.
A lot has changed since I was there, obviously the manager, and a lot of the players, Walker told the north Londoners official website.
But I did play with a lot of the youngsters there like Andreas Weimann, Ciaran Clark, Marc Albrighton and Matthew Lowton.
They are young, energetic and hungry to win games.
They ve proved they can dig in at Villa Park. I watched the game against Manchester United (on November 10, when Villa let slip a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2) and the result just didn t go th…
Christophe Dugarry is happy for Paris Saint-Germain that Neymar is injured as his absence provides an incredible opportunity for head coach Christophe Galtier.
PSG on Monday revealed Neymar is out for the rest of the season after undergoing ankle surgery.
The Brazil forward did the damage during a 4-3 win over Lille last month and is expected to be sidelined for up to four months.
Neymar has scored 18 goals and provided 17 assists for the Ligue 1 leaders this season, but former France striker Dugarry believes they are better off with Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi as an attacking duo.
He told RMC Sport: I m happy for PSG that Neymar is injured. I think this is an incredible opportunity for Galtier.
The team is much more balanced with five defend…