Empoli appoint Iachini to succeed Andreazzoli

Chelsea moved three points clear of Manchester United at the top of the Premier League as Frank Lampard s late penalty clinched a 2-1 win over Portsmouth on Wednesday.

Carlo Ancelotti s side were in danger of failing to win for the fifth successive match in all competitions when Portsmouth s Frederic Piquionne cancelled out Nicolas Anelka s first half opener.

But Lampard, making his 300th league appearance for the Blues, held his nerve to drive home a spot-kick with 11 minutes remaining and reestablish his team s lead over United, who had beaten Wolves to draw level on points 24 hours earlier.

Ancelotti can take heart from Chelsea s ability to grind out a win when the fates seemed to be conspiring against them, but this was another less than convincing display.<…

Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp was charged with tax evasion on Thursday, a spokesman for English prosecuting authorities said.

The charges, which relate to Redknapp s time in charge of Premier League strugglers Portsmouth, result from a 26-month police investigation into alleged corruption in English football.

Redknapp, who has repeatedly protested his innocence, said he would fight the charges.

Henry (Harry) Redknapp, the former football manager of Portsmouth Football Club, has today been charged with two counts of cheating the public revenue, a Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) spokesman said Thursday.

Meanwhile Redknapp s lawyer, Ian Burton, said his client had voluntarily attended a London police station on Thursday to be charged by officers…

David Beckham believes Manchester United s trophy drought will not end up as bad as rivals Liverpool.

United have not won the Premier League since 2013 when Alex Ferguson was still in charge at Old Trafford.

Liverpool, however, have not tasted top-flight success for 25 years but Beckham said he does not feel United will suffer the same fate.

I can’t see that happening to Manchester United, he said. I never think we’ll not be in contention to win trophies. There’s too much history.

Obviously you have to stay on the ball with that. But there’s too much embedded into this club to let it slip away like that.

Beckham said it was normal for a club to take a dip in form, but not for a hugely extended period.

There was a couple of seas…

Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suarez are among the players selected in the FIFA FIFPro World11, with Antoine Griezmann and Paul Pogba two of the big names to miss out on selection.

Nine of the 11 players named in FIFPro s team play in LaLiga, with Juventus defender Dani Alves and Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer the only ones not to do so.

European champions Real Madrid have five selections – Ronaldo, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Marcelo and Sergio Ramos  while Messi, Andres Iniesta and Gerard Pique are the four picked from Barcelona.

Griezmann, though, misses out despite being named in the final three for the Best FIFA Men s player award along with Ronaldo and Messi, as well as finishing third in the Ballon d Or.

No Premier League players…

Todd Boehly made it clear to Callum Hudson-Odoi that he wants the Chelsea loanee to return to Stamford Bridge after gaining experience with Bayer Leverkusen.

The 21-year-old was left frustrated during his time with the Blues under former coach Thomas Tuchel, moving to Leverkusen on loan in August after failing to make an appearance for Chelsea this season.

A lack of opportunities was the driving factor for the loan spell in the Bundesliga, where Hudson-Odoi has appeared three times and assisted once.

Chairman Boehly acknowledged in recent weeks Chelsea have too often lost bright young prospects, such as Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, and does not want to make the same error.

That is the reason Boehly refused to include a buyout clause in Hudson Odoi …

Thomas Tuchel is expected to lead Bayern Munich against Borussia Monchengladbach despite the head coach being hit by flu in recent days.

The former Chelsea boss missed training on Wednesday and Thursday through the illness and has looked a doubt for Saturday’s Bundesliga clash at the Allianz Arena.

Sporting director Christoph Freund stood in at the pre-match press conference but said Tuchel would “in all likelihood” be on the touchline as Bayern look to heap pressure on Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen.

“Thomas will come down to Sabener Strasse (training ground) today and take training,” Freund said. “He’s getting better. We’re positive he can be at the game tomorrow.”

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Real Madrid can keep pace with La Liga leaders Barcelona when they travel to face struggling Osasuna on Saturday.

Carlo Ancelotti s men have won their last five league games since losing 2-1 to Barca back in October, and sit just three points adrift of the defending champions in third place.

And the capital club should be confident of taking another three points against a side they have beaten in three of their last four meetings.

Osasuna s last victory against Real came in January 2011, when they edged to a 1-0 triumph, but the visitors recent record in Pamplona is far from impressive.

Indeed, Real have emerged victorious on just one of their last five visits to the El Sadar Stadium, however, they will be boosted by the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo, who made a …

Cardiff City manager Malky Mackay has admitted he expected to be sacked over the weekend.

On Monday, the Scot confirmed reports that he had received an email from club owner Vincent Tan prior to Saturday s Premier League match at Liverpool, telling him to resign or be relieved of his duties.

Cardiff subsequently released a statement on Sunday confirming Mackay would remain in charge, with dialogue planned between the manager and Tan.

In a press conference 24 hours later, Mackay said: “I did feel I was going to lose my job on the weekend. The email (from Tan) deeply upset me.

I declined to resign and expected to be sacked over the weekend. To give the fans a clap (at Anfield) was something I wanted to do for the support they had given me.

I don t know if w…

Liverpool cruised to a 3-0 Premier League victory over Burnley before the international break, but it was not their free-flowing football that made the headlines.

Instead, most of the post-match talk centred on Sadio Mane s furious reaction, the forward seemingly livid with team-mate Mohamed Salah after being substituted at Turf Moor.

The Senegal forward was apparently angry at Salah for taking a shot moments earlier rather than setting up his team-mate for a simple finish.

It has led to some suggesting the Egypt international is greedy, with former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger saying: Salah is a bit obsessed with finishing himself.

An assessment of the Opta data suggests Salah might not be quite as selfish as Mane – and many others – think.

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Italy s minister for sport Vincenzo Spadafora said the Serie A season will return one step at a time following the coronavirus outbreak.

Serie A has been postponed since March due to the COVID-19 crisis, though most teams returned to individual training this week.

Spadafora has previously reiterated that team training will not resume before May 18, despite the government allowing players to return to club facilities.

With Germany s Bundesliga set to restart its 2019-20 campaign on May 16, Spadafora said in a Facebook video on Saturday: We will imminently learn the verdict of the scientific committee on the [Italian Football Federation] FIGC s medical protocol.

We are also ready to propose guidelines to the committee for training sessions involving all …