Whelan insists Martinez will stay

Stephan El Shaarawy ended a 622-day goal drought to help 10-man Milan claim a 2-2 draw at Sampdoria on Saturday.

Back in the starting line up in place of Fernando Torres, El Shaarawy put Filippo Inzaghi s side ahead early on at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris, cutting in on his right foot to curl a sublime shot into the bottom-right corner of Sergio Roberto s goal and in doing so finding the net for the first time since February 2013.

But high-flying Sampdoria were not to be deterred and after having two penalty appeals waved away by the officials, they replied through Stefano Okaka.

He latched onto Manolo Gabbiadini s cross to tuck home his second goal of the season as the first half drew to a close.

And the hosts took the initiative soon after the interval, w…

Teo Gutierrez s late header sealed an impressive Colombia comeback as they came from a goal down to beat United States 2-1 on Friday.

Colombia had not lost to a team other than Brazil since September 2013, but Jozy Altidore s early penalty looked to have sent Jurgen Klinsmann s side on their way to what would have been an impressive victory at Craven Cottage.

However, second-half efforts from Carlos Bacca and Gutierrez wrapped up a third straight win for the South Americans, having applied plenty of pressure after the break.

Altidore s 25th international goal from the spot put USA in front after just 10 minutes, before Colombia were denied what they felt should have been a penalty of their own just before the break, when Bacca’s effort looked to strike Jermaine…

Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova left the intensive care unit of the Vall d Hebron hospital in Barcelona on Friday morning.

The 44-year-old underwent surgery on Thursday after he suffered a relapse of the tumour in his mouth which had kept him sidelined for a large part of the 2011-12 campaign.

The operation went according to plan, and Vilanova has now been moved to a regular unit for the next three to four days.

Vilanova will start with chemotherapy and radiation treatment that is scheduled to last about six weeks in the upcoming days.

Jordi Roura will take Vilanova s place on the Barcelona bench for their last Liga match of 2012 away against Valladolid at the weekend, and will remain in charge until he is fully recovered.

Vilanova took over from P…

Medhi Benatia says injuries and frustration over what he describes as invented stories have made the last two seasons the toughest spell of his career.

The Bayern Munich defender, 29, has only started 21 Bundesliga matches since the start of the 2014-15 season when he joined from Roma in a €26million deal due to regular fitness setbacks.

Benatia was left out of the second leg of Bayern s Champions League quarter-final against Benfica having only recently returned from a thigh injury and was forced to deny claims that he did not travel because he had forgotten his passport.

The centre-back – who made his first appearance for a month in Saturday s 3-0 win over Schalke has already rejected reports that he wants to depart when Carlo Ancelotti becomes head coach t…

According to a report on Setanta Sports, Everton have confirmed they are seeking to capture Portugal international Joao Moutinho from Sporting.

Moutinho was man-of-the-match in the opening game of Portugal’s Euro 2008 campaign and, at 21 years of age, is tipped for a huge future.

Everton need a central midfielder following the release of Lee Carsley to Birmigham and injury to Tim Cahill and in Sunday’s edition of Portuguese paper A Bola, Everton director Keith Wyness confirmed Moutinho is an option.

“The arrival of Joao Moutinho is a big possibility for us,” Wyness was quoted as saying in A Bola.

Sporting value Moutinho at around £16 million, but Everton hope they can negotiate th…

France managed to overcome a determined Ireland side on Monday night as the road to UEFA Euro 2024 continues.

The journey to reach next summer s European Championship in Germany has well and truly begun. Nations across the continent are all attempting to earn a place at the big dance and while some will feel much more confident than others, we still expect a few surprises along the way.

Last night, the ghost of Thierry Henry s handball was looming large as Ireland went toe to toe with France. On this occasion, Les Bleus managed to pull out a narrow 1-0 win to ensure they kept their campaign going strong.

Today, we ll be picking out a few big takeaways we had from what went down.

Mbappe still isn t the leader

He may have had a few flashes of brilliance h…

Antoine Griezmann will not replace Philippe Coutinho at Barcelona at the end of the season, according to the Brazilian s agent.

Despite an encouraging start to life at Barca, Coutinho has failed to recapture the form he showed at Liverpool before his €160million switch in January 2018.

This term, the attacking midfielder has managed only five LaLiga goals in 34 appearances and failed to nail down a place in the starting XI, with 12 of his league outings coming from the bench.

Coutinho s underwhelming form has seen him become a target for Barca supporters who have jeered him on several occasions in recent months, while media reports have linked him with a move.

Griezmann s announcement on Tuesday that he will leave Atletico Madrid in the coming months wi…

Inter have completed the signing of Barcelona midfielder Rafinha on loan until the end of season, the clubs have confirmed.

The Brazil international could make the move to Serie A permanent, with Inter possessing an option to purchase him before the end of his loan in a €35million deal that could rise by a further €3m.

It has been reported the fee will become will become mandatory if Inter qualify for the Champions League this season, in which case Rafinha will sign a three-year contract starting from July.

The 24-year-old is eager to join a club where he will play regular first-team football, having seen injuries restrict his involvement at Camp Nou in recent years.

I m really happy, it s a great feeling to be here, Rafinha told Inter TV.

O…

Netherlands manager Bert van Marwijk was left to reflect on a tournament of unfulfilled promise as his side crashed out of Euro 2012.

The Dutch, who came into the tournament regarded as one of the favourites, finished bottom of Group B after falling to Portugal 2-1 in their final group game.

Despite losing to both Denmark and Germany, the Netherlands went into their final encounter with Portugal knowing a win would give them a fighting chance of qualification.

Yet two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo soon dashed any hopes van Marwijk s men had of reaching the quarter finals.

I can t deny that this is a major deception for us, Van Marwijk told NOS.

In all the three games we started well, but we couldn t hold it, just like today. We came up front w…

Schalke general manager Horst Heldt is hopeful star striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar will sign a new contract with the club.

The Netherlands international only has one year to run on his existing deal with the Bundesliga side and has been linked with a number of top European clubs in recent months, including Manchester United.

However, Heldt is optimistic Schalke will not be forced to cash in on their most prized asset before the start of the new season.

He knows we want to extend his contract and I can very well imagine that happening, the former Germany international told RevierSport.

We already spoke a lot with him about it ahead of the European Championship. The talks with him and his management were very clear, so I see no need to push things now.

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