Michael Beale has been appointed as the new manager of Rangers on a three and a half year deal.

Beale replaces Giovanni van Bronckhorst in the role after the Dutch coach was sacked by the Scottish club last week.

Formerly part of Steven Gerrard s backroom staff during the Liverpool legend s time in charge at Ibrox in which they ended the club s 10-year wait for a Scottish Premiership title in 2021, Beale has returned to take on the main job, leaving his post in charge at English Championship side QPR.

The 42-year-old has previously coached at Chelsea and Liverpool s academies, as well as working in Brazil with Sao Paolo, before taking on first-team coaching roles under Gerrard at both Rangers and Aston Villa.

Beale left Villa Park to take on his first man…

France legend Thierry Henry says Paris Saint-Germain s scary front three must power a Champions League title tilt in order to be deemed a success.

New boy Kylian Mbappe became the latest big-money PSG star to score on debut as he joined Neymar and Edinson Cavani in finding the target in a 5-1 rout of Metz on Friday.

Unai Emery s side are the only team to boast a perfect record after five Ligue 1 matches as they seek to reclaim their crown from Monaco.

But Henry insists the value of the club s incredible off-season spending, which included a world-record €222million fee for Neymar, will be judged solely by their performances in Europe.

Neymar and Mbappe joining PSG is great for the French league. It will raise the profile massively, Henry wrote in T…

Karim Benzema will show all his quality in the remainder of Real Madrid s season following his World Cup snub with France, according to head coach Carlo Ancelotti.

Benzema won the Ballon d Or in October after his 44 goals in 46 games during the 2021-22 campaign helped Madrid to win both LaLiga and the Champions League.

However, he has been plagued by injury problems this season and missed the World Cup with France after being ruled out with a thigh issue on the eve of the tournament.

The 35-year-old has since retired from international duty, after France head coach Didier Deschamps decided not to bring him back to Qatar as Les Bleus went deep into the tournament, ultimately losing the final to Argentina on penalties.

With Madrid s competitive season getti…

Chelsea boosted their hopes of Champions League qualification with a vital 2-1 victory over Leicester City in the penultimate game of both sides Premier League seasons.

Thomas Tuchel s men avenged their defeat in Saturday s FA Cup final with a win secured by Antonio Rudiger and Jorginho goals in front of 10,000 fans at Stamford Bridge.

Three points saw the Blues leapfrog their opponents, who netted late on through Kelechi Iheanacho, into third place in the Premier League to keep a top-four finish firmly in their hands going into the last day.

Leicester, meanwhile, now need a Liverpool slip-up if they are to return to the Champions League after a four-year absence.

3 Each of Antonio Rüdiger s last three Premier League goals have all come against Leices…

Ange Postecoglou is pleased to have Tottenham vice-captain Cristian Romero back from suspension for the visit of West Ham, but has not felt the need to speak with the defender about his discipline.

Romero was sent off in Spurs’ costly 4-1 loss at home to Chelsea on November 6, which resulted in the Argentina international serving a three-match ban.

It was Romero’s fourth red card during his 75-game Tottenham career and, while he is recognised as a fine centre-back, the occasional rush of blood has proved costly.

Ange gives a team news update ahead of

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial)

Postecoglou said: “I’ve not had to have a word with (him) about discipline. It’s part of who he is as a player, he brings a physicality to it.

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With the goal of securing a three-match winning streak, which they haven t achieved since March, Chelsea is set to host Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge for a Premier League clash on Saturday afternoon.

In their most recent fixture, Mauricio Pochettino s team narrowly secured a 2-1 victory over AFC Wimbledon in the EFL Cup s second round. Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest were eliminated by Burnley in the same round of the competition.

Chelsea

When Chelsea faced League Two opponents Wimbledon in their Carabao Cup second-round match, it was almost certain that numerous changes would be made to the lineup. They entered the competition in the second round due to their absence from European football. Despite fielding several young …

Former Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley has joined the Premier League exodus to Ligue 1 side Nice.

England international Barkley was released from his contract at Stamford Bridge on Monday, having made just six Premier League appearances last term.

The midfielder was signed from Everton in January 2018, but he never managed to solidify his place as a regular starter under Antonio Conte, Maurizio Sarri, Frank Lampard or Thomas Tuchel.

He spent the 2020-21 season on loan at Aston Villa, where he appeared to be striking up a promising partnership with Jack Grealish, but his form tailed off and the move was not made permanent.

Barkley had been linked with a move back to Everton, but he has opted to move abroad and will play alongside fellow British players Aar…

Atletico Madrid star Saul Niguez has described Arsene Wenger as a football legend in the wake of Arsenal s Europa League semi-final exit.

A goal from Diego Costa sealed a 1-0 win for Atletico at the Wanda Metropolitano on Thursday and a 2-1 aggregate victory over the Gunners.

The result ends Arsenal s hopes of getting back into the Champions League next season and means Wenger s final season in charge of the club will end without a trophy.

Saul admits there is a touch of sadness about Wenger s disappointment, but he suggested Arsenal will continue to fall short in Europe without adding some steel to their performances.

It s a shame. He s a gentleman, he has done amazing things at Arsenal. He s a football legend, said the Spain midfielder.

Arsena…

Ollie Watkins and Jarrod Bowen have returned to the England set-up but there is no place for Raheem Sterling once again.

The penultimate camp of 2023 kicks off with a Wembley friendly against Australia before hosting Italy under the arch in a European Championship qualifier.

Gareth Southgate named a 26-man squad for the October double-header, with uncapped Levi Colwill and Eddie Nketiah again getting the nod as a pair of in-form forwards made their long-awaited returns.

He’s in.

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial)

Watkins has not been called up since March 2022 and returned days after Southgate watched the striker score a hat-trick in Aston Villa’s 6-1 win against Brighton.

Bowen returns to the England squad for the first time since Sept…

With all eyes falling on the Stadio Olimpico on Thursday night, England opened their European qualifying adventure with a fiery 2-1 victory away at Italy.

Making what was a major Group C statement on foreign soil, it was Declan Rice who opened the scoring in the 13th minute as the West Ham skipper swept home from inside the box.

However, while Gareth Southgate s side might have been in complete control as Harry Kane scored what was a history-making goal from the penalty spot seconds before the half-time break, England failed to match a similar level when returning from the interval.

With debutant Mateo Retegui powering home just 11 minutes after the break, the Three Lions had to overcome wave after wave of Italy pressure and things were not helped when Luke Shaw…