Sean Dyche has been sacked by Burnley after almost 10 years in charge at Turf Moor.
The shock announcement comes with Burnley mired in relegation trouble, sitting 18th in the Premier League and four points adrift of Everton with eight matches to play.
Burnley have just one win from their past seven matches, losing five times in that run, and the Clarets board have opted to make a change for a crucial run-in.
Firstly, we would like to place on record our sincere thanks to Sean and his staff for their achievements at the club over the last decade, Burnley chairman Alan Pace said via a club statement.
During his time at Turf Moor, Sean has been a credit both on and off the pitch, respected by players, staff, supporters, and the wider football community.
With the A-League season beginning on Monday, just how important is round one?
Amid a coronavirus outbreak in New South Wales, the opening round has been rejigged, with Western United to host Adelaide United in the first game of the season.
Brisbane Roar host Melbourne City on Tuesday before the Western Sydney Wanderers take on Macarthur and the Central Coast Mariners face the Newcastle Jets in the F3 Derby on New Year s Eve.
The opening round would seem like just another game, but history shows otherwise.
With the help of Opta data, we assess just what round one means in the A-League.
We re ready!
— A-League (@ALeague)
Opening loss and trophies become difficult
Incredibly, only twice in A-League history has a team th…
Manchester City’s Champions League draw with Real Madrid took their unbeaten run to 21 games.
Pep Guardiola’s side are unbeaten since early February, with 17 wins and four draws, as they peak in familiar fashion for the end of the season and a potential trophy treble.
Here, the PA news agency looks at their seemingly unstoppable form.
Treble chase
City are chasing glory on three fronts, looking to emulate the feat of winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in the same season achieved by local rivals Manchester United in 1998-99.
Thirty-seven points from the last 39 available have helped them haul in long-time league leaders Arsenal, leading by a point and with four games remaining to the Gunners’ three.
They have beaten thei…
Having struggled for three decades to reach the heights that were absolutely their rightful place once, Liverpool have finally got there under Jurgen Klopp. The German s charisma endeared him to the club s supporters from day one, and they ll always remember October the 8th, 2015, as a huge turning point in their recent history.
Six years have passed since then. The Merseysiders managed to win their sixth Champions League trophy in that time, along with the 19th title in the English top flight, and while the ole big ears they snatched in Madrid in 2019 takes them to the double tally of their nearest English rival Manchester United, the 2020 Premier League title leaves them still one short of their fiercest foe.
Yet, even that might change at the end of the season. Kopp …
Everton new boy Dele Alli has issued a message of gratitude to former club Tottenham after making a deadline day move to Goodison Park – and made special mention of former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino.
Alli s seven-year spell at Tottenham came to an end on Monday, leaving for Merseyside in what is said to be an initial free transfer.
Everton will reportedly be obliged to pay £10million for the midfielder after he makes 20 appearances, with subsequent performance-based add-ons that may take the eventual figure as high as £40m.
The 25-year-old recorded 67 goals and 55 assists in 269 games for Spurs, having moved to White Hart Lane from MK Dons in 2015.
Alli took to social media on Tuesday to thank his former club, saying they will always be in …
Real Madrid have been crowned LaLiga champions for a record-extending 36th time after Barcelona went down to Girona.
Madrid beat Cadiz 3-0 earlier on Saturday, but Carlo Ancelotti s team could still have been caught by Barca.
Yet the Blaugrana s slim hopes were ended when they lost 4-2 to Girona.
That ensured Los Blancos lead at the top, with four games remaining, is unassailable.
Madrid have won 27 of their 34 league matches so far this season, losing just once.
Ancelotti s focus will now turn to the Champions League, with Madrid to host Bayern Munich in the second leg of their semi-final on Wednesday.
Vinicius Junior s double secured a 2-2 draw in the first leg in Munich.
WE ARE THE LALIGA 2023/24 CHAMPIONS!
— Real Mad…
Jose Mourinho says the warnings against a hectic pre-World Cup schedule went unheeded after Paulo Dybala suffered an injury that has cast doubt over his participation in Qatar.
Roma were dealt a huge blow during Sunday s 2-1 Serie A win over Lecce, with Dybala limping out of the match with a thigh injury immediately after scoring a penalty.
In the aftermath of that victory, Mourinho said Dybala – who has scored five Serie A goals this season – could miss the rest of 2022.
While subsequent reports have suggested four to six weeks may be a more realistic timeframe for Dybala s recovery, even an absence of that length could represent a blow to the attacker s hopes of representing Argentina at the World Cup.
Speaking ahead of Roma s Europa League trip to …
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola confirmed football s worst kept secret that star forward Sergio Aguero is set to join Barcelona this off-season.
It had widely been reported that Aguero had agreed to a two-year deal with LaLiga giants Barca on a free transfer, with his City exit confirmed two months ago.
Guardiola revealed a secret after City s 5-0 final-day win over Everton where Aguero signed off with a double as the club lifted the Premier League title on Sunday.
I m pretty sure, maybe I ll reveal a secret, maybe he is close to a agreeing a deal for the club of my heart, from Barcelona, Guardiola told BBC.
He s going to play alongside the best player of all time, Lionel Messi. I m pretty sure he s going to enjoy it and make my club Barcelona str…
Barcelona and Bayern Munich have struck a deal for the transfer of Robert Lewandowski in one of the biggest moves of the window so far.
Lewandowski scored 50 goals across all competitions last season but announced at the end of the campaign that he wished to leave Bayern and would not be signing a new contract with the Bundesliga champions.
With Bayern facing the prospect of keeping an unhappy player and then losing the Poland captain on a free transfer next year, they have elected to cash in and grant Lewandowski s wish to join Barca.
Lewandowski returned to Munich for pre-season training on July 12 but all parties were said to want an agreement to have been made prior to Bayern s tour of the United States.
The Catalan club have been hampered by financia…
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer compared Cristiano Ronaldo to NBA great Michael Jordan after the forward single-handedly dragged Manchester United to a 2-2 draw against Atalanta.
Ronaldo twice inspired United to come from behind, cancelling out strikes from Josep Ilicic and then Duvan Zapata as the Red Devils earned a 2-2 draw.
The Portugal international s brace prevented United from falling to a fourth successive away defeat in the European Cup/Champions League for the first time ever and keeps his side top of their group, level with Villarreal and two points better off than Tuesday s opponents.
Ronaldo also became the second-oldest player to have netted a Champions League double after Filippo Inzaghi (37 years and 86 days) in November 2010, and Solskjaer likened his forw…