Hernandez expects tough derby clash

Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba is striving to become the world s best player following his exploits at the World Cup.

Pogba was commanding in the centre of France s midfield, scoring a goal and assisting another as Didier Deschamps men reached the quarter-finals in Brazil.

The 21-year-old s efforts were rewarded with the Young Player of the Tournament award – continuing his rapid rise in football after swapping Manchester United for Juve in 2012.

And Pogba, who has reportedly attracted the attention of Real Madrid, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, said he is on a mission to achieve his aim.

I m very proud to receive this award and it was an honour for me to play in the World Cup, the Frenchman told FIFA.com on Wednesday.

I can t predict what s…

Abou Diaby s first-half double and goals from William Gallas and Aaron Ramsey helped Arsenal ease their way to a comfortable 4-1 victory over Portsmouth that took the Gunners tally to ten goals from their opening two league games.

Arsene Wenger s side had delivered an impressive statement of intent with last weekend?s 6-1 victory at Everton.

And while this result against struggling Portsmouth is nowhere near as eye-catching, it underlined the Frenchman s claim that his side can be genuine title challengers this season.

Victory was never in doubt, although Arsenal only had themselves to blame for not running up an even bigger scoreline.

For Portsmouth, the game confirmed they face a long hard battle to maintain their Premier League status and underlined t…

Former Arsenal and Barcelona midfielder has been linked with a shock move to Champions League winners Real Madrid this summer, according to the latest rumours.

Spain international is believed to have fallen behind Nemanja Matic, Oscar and N’Golo Kante in the pecking order and is not featuring in Antonio Conte’s plans for the new season.

Unsettled Chelsea midfielder’s representatives are actively working on a way out.

According to the latest rumours from the Fabregas’ agents have contacted Real Madrid over a potential move to Santiago Bernabeu, despite Barcelona links.

The 29-year-old midfielder grew up in Barcelona’s La Masia academy and even played for the Catalans at the first-team level following what has been described a dream move from Ar…

West Brom have signed defender Brendan Galloway on loan from Everton for the 2016-17 season.

Primarily a left-back but also able to play at centre-back, the 20-year-old joined Everton from MK Dons in August 2014 and made his Premier League debut in May 2015.

He managed 14 starts last term under Roberto Martinez, whose replacement Ronald Koeman has allowed the Zimbabwe-born player to seek more regular first-team action at The Hawthorns.

According to West Brom s statement announcing the deal on Monday, Everton are not able to recall Galloway during the campaign.

Albion complete the season-long loan signing of from

— West Bromwich Albion (@WBA)

My aims are to play and work hard for the team and help win as many matches as I can, it s …

Mason Mount can be an inspiration to Chelsea stars struggling for form, according to head coach Frank Lampard.

The England midfielder made the difference on Saturday as the Blues recorded just their second victory in seven Premier League games.

Mount struck the only goal in the 1-0 win over 10-man Fulham, a result that leaves them five points outside the top four.

The 22-year-old has mostly been in top form amid a mixed season for Chelsea, in which expensive signings such as Timo Werner and Kai Havertz have failed to impress.

Lampard believes plenty in his squad could learn from Mount s example.

I keep talking about him a lot, and his work ethic in training is one of those reasons, he keeps his standards high in training every day. There are th…

Liverpool coach John Achterberg and Newcastle United counterpart Daniel Hodges have been charged with improper conduct by the Football Association (FA) following an altercation at the end of last week s Premier League meeting.

Newcastle came agonisingly close to taking a point from last Wednesday s trip to Anfield, only for substitute Fabio Carvalho to strike in the 98th minute, handing Liverpool a 2-1 win.

At the end of a highly charged affair, a member of Newcastle s coaching staff appeared to throw a bottle into the Liverpool technical area, prompting an FA investigation.

English football s governing body have now opted to charge one man from either backroom team, with Achterberg also accused of using abusive or insulting gestures.

Coaches from Liverp…

Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar admits that he is looking forward to face Italy in next week’s international friendly.

The Inter goalkeeper will face several familiar faces at the Emirates Stadium in London.

“It will be a special game for us Brazilians who play in Serie A,” Julio Cesar told Sportmediaset.

“I think it is one of the most important games I have ever played for my country.

“It would be nice to win because some of us will be heading back on the same plane with the Italian players.

“They are the world champions and it will be an exciting game I m sure the fans will have fun.

“We are determined to do well because we want to st…

Around 35,000 people took part in a solemn procession through central Hanover to pay their respects to Robert Enke, the star goalkeeper who committed suicide this week, police said on Thursday.

Fans marched on Wednesday night from a memorial service in the centre of the western German city to the Hannover 96 stadium where Enke played. Outside the ground there were large numbers of candles, flowers and cards.

Enke, 32, threw himself under a train on Tuesday evening in a small town near Hanover. It emerged on Wednesday that he had been suffering from depression for several years.

I tried to give him hope again, to show him that football was not everything, that we had each other, his tearful widow Teresa told the press on Tuesday,

I was always by his sid…

Monaco boss Leonardo Jardim has urged patience with Radamel Falcao, stating he is unsure whether the striker is ready to complete 90 minutes for the Ligue 1 leaders.

Falcao scored his first goal in France s top flight since August 2014 in Saturday s 3-0 win over Rennes, following two unsuccessful seasons on loan with Manchester United and Chelsea.

Nevertheless, Jardim is keen to play down expectations surrounding the Colombia international, whose struggles can be traced back to a cruciate knee ligament injury that forced him to miss the 2014 World Cup.

It s normal that he is not at 100 per cent because he did not play for a month, Jardim told a news conference ahead of Wednesday s keenly anticipated derby against second-place Nice.

He needs to play more…

After the embarrassing World Cup failure in 2014, Neymar is dreaming of helping Brazil win Olympic gold in Rio de Janeiro.

Neymar is desperate to help Brazil end their hoodoo on home soil and deliver a first Olympic gold at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016.

No team has won the World Cup more times than Brazil s haul of five, but the South American nation failed to lift football s greatest prize on the two occasions it has hosted the tournament in 1950 and 2014.

Indeed, last year s 7-1 semi-final demolition at the hands of eventual winners of Germany was one of the biggest shocks in the history of the World Cup.

Neymar, who missed that match with a broken vertebra, is now determined to help Brazil forget those memories and collect the only major competit…