Ian Evatt described his first FA Cup managerial success as “strange but nice” as Bolton hammered home the 48-place difference between the League One club and their National League visitors Solihull Moors.
Evatt had lost five times in the competition with Bolton and previously as boss of Barrow.
But the visitors, who had skipper Jamey Osborne sent off in injury time, were swamped by the third tier’s third-placed side who scored through Ricardo Santos, Paris Maghoma, Will Forrester and Dion Charles. Top scorer Charles also had a penalty saved by Tommy Simkin.
“I am delighted the monkey is off my back,” said a relieved Evatt. “I can have a cup of tea now and enjoy Match of the Day for once.
“The message to the players was we didn’t want to be…
Robert Lewandowski truly deserves to be recognised as the world s best player according to Bayern Munich head coach Hansi Flick.
Lewandowski has been nominated for The Best FIFA Men s Player award, which will be awarded in Zurich on Thursday, alongside Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi and Juventus Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 32-year-old Lewandowski scored twice to earn Bayern a 2-1 come-from-behind win against Wolfsburg on Wednesday to keep the German champions one point behind Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen after 12 rounds.
Lewandowski also celebrated his 250th Bundesliga goal – from just 332 games – the Poland international becoming only the third player in league history to reach the milestone after Gerd Muller (365) and Klaus Fischer (268), though he i…
Best Odds: 7/10
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Two sides who will be looking to get 2023 underway with a victory in Tokyo, Japan will welcome Uruguay to the New National Stadium on Friday morning.
Japan
Starting with the hosts, while Japan might have eventually fallen to World Cup heartbreak in Qatar over the winter, Hajime Moriyasu s men did gain a string of plaudits. Shocking almost everyone as they punched their knockout stage ticket in the Middle East, the Samurai Blue also picked up some major heavyweight scalps during their famous flurry on the world stage. Claiming a pair of 2-1 wins against European icons Germany and Spain, the mood in their camp should remain at a real high. Quickly skyrocketing their way up the FIFA standings, there is no doubt that Japan will be looking…
Romelu Lukaku s return to Inter will provide the Nerazzurri with new options as they look to recover the Scudetto next season, according to head coach Simone Inzaghi, who labelled the striker s exit last year a huge blow .
Lukaku joined Chelsea in a club-record £97.5million deal last August, but has returned to San Siro on loan after managing just eight goals in 26 Premier League appearances for Thomas Tuchel s team.
The Belgium international scored 64 goals in 95 games during his previous two-year spell with Inter, helping them to the Serie A title in 2020-21, and has described his Nerazzurri comeback as like coming home .
Inzaghi, who coached Lukaku briefly before he left for Stamford Bridge last year, says the striker will give him new tactical possibilities …
Barcelona head coach Ronald Koeman praised the game-changing impact of Lionel Messi, who came off the bench to inspire a 3-2 LaLiga victory over Real Betis.
Messi was a shining light for Barcelona after being named among the substitutes, scoring an equaliser before unlocking Betis defence with a sublime pass on Sunday.
The six-time Ballon d Or winner scored just 136 seconds following his introduction – his fastest goal as a substitute for Barca in LaLiga.
Trincao struck the 87th-minute winner for Barca, who are seven points adrift of leaders Atletico Madrid, though the latter have two games in hand.
Koeman saluted superstar captain Messi post-match, telling reporters: I always talk to the players and I express to them my ideas.
136 Lionel Messi�…
Germany forward Timo Werner is out of the World Cup after suffering an ankle ligament tear while playing for RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Werner down injured in the first half following a challenge from Shakhtar Donetsk s Taras Stepanenko, and was substituted after attempting to continue.
The 26-year-old was replaced by Emil Forsberg in the 19th minute and Leipzig went on to win the game 4-0, securing their place in the round of 16.
Leipzig on Thursday announced Werner will not play again this year, stating in a tweet: Timo Werner suffered an ankle injury last night in the win over Shakhtar Donetsk.
Scans today in Leipzig showed that he has unfortunately torn the syndesmosis ligament in his left ankle and will therefore be out for th…
Paris Saint-Germain have confirmed Angel Di Maria will leave the club upon the expiration of his contract.
Di Maria joined PSG from Manchester United in 2015 and has gone on to enjoy a stellar stint in the French capital.
The former Real Madrid winger has won five Ligue 1 titles, enjoyed as many Coupe de France triumphs and collected four Coupe de la Ligue trophies.
He has not been able to help PSG win the Champions League, though he did get a runners-up medal in 2019-20.
Di Maria, who scored in a 4-0 rout of Montpellier last week, contributed to 40 goals in his first season at PSG, scoring 15 and providing 25 assists.
In the 2021 Coupe de France final, his pass for a Kylian Mbappe goal saw Di Maria become the player with the most ass…
Bayern Munich president Herbert Hainer has backed head coach Julian Nagelsmann, despite the German champions going four Bundesliga games without a win for the first time since the 2001-02 season.
Saturday s 1-0 defeat at Augsburg was Bayern s first loss of the campaign, but followed three domestic draws against Borussia Monchengladbach, Union Berlin and Stuttgart.
Bayern did win their first two Champions League group stage games against Inter and Barcelona (both 2-0), but sit fifth in the Bundesliga after seven games.
The club s chief executive Oliver Kahn had already provided his backing to Nagelsmann, saying on Sunday: We always have the strength to get back to the front, where we belong, to the top of the table.
On Monday, Hainer added to that sup…
Mauricio Pochettino believes under-fire Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has done an “amazing” job and harbours no lingering animosity over his sacking in 2019.
Chelsea manager Pochettino will return to Spurs for the first time since being dismissed by Levy for Monday evening’s derby against his former side.
The Argentinian was a popular figure during a five-and-a-half-year spell in north London but risked tarnishing his legacy by joining one of their fiercest rivals in the summer.
Levy – the Premier League’s longest-serving chairman – has endured criticism and protests from fans since the end of that era, albeit his recent appointment of Ange Postecoglou and a strong start to this season has restored some credit.
Pochettino received a message o…
While many of Europe’s elite will soon take a winter break, Sunday’s promises a string of heavyweight affairs from across the continent.
With a host of blockbuster showdowns from the likes of La Liga and the Premier League, we have found a trio of interesting betting markets that are available throughout Sunday.
Sunday, November 26th
BST 12:00 Aberdeen vs Rangers
While Rangers might find themselves facing a real uphill battle if they are to dethrone Celtic this season, Sunday’s guests mark their return from November’s international break riding a major wave of momentum. Only continuing to shine since they appointed new boss Philippe Clement last month, the Scottish heavyweights will be looking to make another statement here. Heading into the fortnight…