Gabriel and Diego Costa both face three match ban for misconduct

Diego Costa is facing a three-match ban for grappling with Laurent Koscielny during Chelsea's win over Arsenal on Saturday.

The striker appeared to claw at the Frenchman's face as they battled for the ball at Stamford Bridge.

The incident went unpunished but the Football Association have now charged the Spain international retrospectively with violent conduct.

FA chiefs studied controversial referee Mike Dean's match report on the incident towards the end of the first half at Stamford Bridge before unanimously deciding to punish the Chelsea forward.

Costa was booked, but it was not been made clear whether it was for the incident with Koscielny or his exchange with Gabriel that led to the Arsenal defender's red card. 

The Brazilian was followed down the runnel by midfield team-mate Santi Cazorla in the second half as he was given his marching orders following two yellow cards. 

Gabriel has been charged with improper conduct for his behaviour following his dismissal, whilst team-mate Cazorla has been warned for his behaviour following his sending off. Both clubs have been charged with failing to control their players

Costa has until 6pm on Tuesday to respond while Gabriel and both clubs have until the same time on Thursday.

Chelsea went on to win the grudge match at Stamford Bridge 2-0 after goals from Kurt Zouma and Eden Hazard. 

John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic, Diego Costa and Nemanja Matic set to be axed for Chelsea's Champions League tie with Maccabi Tel Aviv

John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic and Diego Costa are facing the axe for Chelsea’s Champions League clash with Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Manager Jose Mourinho is making sweeping changes to his team for their opening group game after their 3-1 defeat by Everton.

Midfielder Nemanja Matic is also expected to be dropped in favour of Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Oscar will return to play instead of Pedro and Loic Remy is poised to start. Radamel Falcao misses out because of injury.

New signing Baba Rahman is at left back, with Cesar Azpilicueta moving to his more orthodox position at right back at the expense of Ivanovic.

Mourinho said: ‘I will make a couple of changes because I have to try a different dynamic, I have to try a couple of different faces and to give chances to people who have not been playing but have been working hard.’

more pics....

 

Arsenal train for Dinamo Zagreb clash

Arsenal's stars looked happy and relaxed as they prepared to begin their Champions League campaign in Zagreb this week.

After a convincing win over Stoke on Saturday, Arsene Wenger's side returned to training on Tuesday ahead of the trip to play Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb. 

The Gunners, who set off for the Croatian capital from Luton Airport on Tuesday afternoon, go into European competition on a high after wins either side of the international break against Newcastle and then Stoke.

more pics....

 

Ronaldo's hat-trick secures Madrids win against Shakhtar

                                                        Real Madrid 4 - 0 Shakhtar

Cristiano Ronaldo made it eight goals in four days as Real Madrid won their opening Champions League game 4-0 against Shakhtar Donetsk, but lost Gareth Bale in the process.

The Welshman pulled up with a calf strain on 29 minutes, just as Real took the lead following a gaffe from keeper Andriy Pyatov, gratefully accepted by Karim Benzema.

After the Frenchman's opener Ronaldo took over, scoring two penalties and heading in a rebound to make it 78 Champions League goals and 321 in total, leaving him just two from breaking Real Madrid' all-time scoring record in all competitions held by Raul.

more pics....

 

Man City fall to Juventus at the Etihad

                                             Manchester City 1  -  2  Juventus

On Tuesday night, not even a massive dollop of good fortune to give them the lead against Juventus could get their campaign off to a positive start.

Having got the break, City then contrived a way to let it slip through their hands, a horrid, ineffectual defensive display across the last 20 minutes that leaked two goals and asked questions of coach Manuel Pellegrini. Namely: why did he remove his captain, Vincent Kompany after the first went in? The official explanation was a calf injury, but he didn’t seem in great pain, didn’t go down the tunnel for treatment, didn’t sit on the bench with a large, visible ice-pack on a sore limb. 

His replacement, Nicolas Otamendi, then got rolled by Alvaro Morata for the winner. So it’s the hard way again. Borussia Monchengladbach up next, then a double header with Sevilla. City can’t keep blaming the draw though. Not when the three substitutes they introduced came in at a ballpark £120m. Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne and Otamendi. And still they lost to what is basically a very upmarket selling club.

more pics....

 

Manchester United's Luke Shaw to face six months on the sidelines after horrific injury

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal revealed that defender Luke Shaw was in tears after suffering a “gruesome” broken leg that will keep him out for at least six months.

The football world was united in shock after a tackle by PSV Eindhoven defender Hector Moreno left the 20-year-old England international with a double-fracture of his right leg.

Shaw was given oxygen and treated by nine medical staff during the nine-minute stoppage in Eindhoven before he was taken off on a stretcher carefully placed on a trolley and taken to hospital. He will return to Manchester on Wednesday or Thursday for an operation.

More pics....

 

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho takes beautiful daughter Matilde to the GQ men of the year awards

With his Chelsea team collecting just four points from their opening four Premier League fixtures, Jose Mourinho is entitled to not be in the best of moods with his reigning league champion stars.

And the 52-year-old looked suitably surly as he attended the GQ Men of the Year Awards with his teenage daughter Matilde, 18, at London's Royal Opera House on Tuesday night; the Portuguese picked up the Editor's Special Award at the ceremony hosted by legendary actor Samuel L. Jackson.

The self-dubbed 'Special One' was joined at the glitzy event by a host of household sporting names including British Formula One superstar Lewis Hamilton, Ashes hero Stuart Broad and England legend-turned Match of the Day presenter, Gary Lineker.

More pics...

Nigerian sprinter, Blessing Okagbare banned from the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil

After her decision to skip the 2015 All Africa Games, the National Sports Commission and the Athletics Federation of Nigeria have placed a ban on sprinter, Blessing Okagbare; excluding her from representing the country, at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil.

Okagbare, had a dismal outing at the IAAF World championships in Beijing, China. She claimed that injury forced her out of the competition, where Nigerians expected her to win a medal having run the third fastest time of the season in the 100m.

After the Beijing meet, Okagbare told officials of the AFN not to expect her in Congo. But amazingly, she showed up in Zurich, full of life and energy. She ran 10.98 seconds in the Diamond League, much to the chagrin of athletics officials who gave her the benefit of the doubt because of her purported injury.

The NSC and the AFN examined the circumstances bordering her decision to dock the AAG, and came to the conclusion to deny the athlete any chance of appearing in next year’s Olympics.

David Beckham denies he's considering playing the next James Bond

David Beckham recently revealed that he hopes a career on the silver screen is calling.

But after fans took to Twitter to urge the former footballer to go from shirt number 7 to 007, the 40-year-old was said to be 'considering' the opportunity to take on the role of James Bond.

The Daily star reported that Beckham was taking the encouragement to act as Daniel Craig's next replacement very seriously, having previously successfully turned his career from sport to fashion and modelling but a representative has since denied the claims.

A spokesperson confirmed to MailOnline on Monday that David was not planning to step into the action heroes shoes any time soon, despite recently expressing his interest in acting.

David recently announced that he was prepared for any criticism levelled at him for his forthcoming part in Guy Ritchie's Knight Of The Roundtable - due out next summer.

And the 40-year-old was quickly cheered on by fans who believed he was the 'perfect' man to take on the role of 007 next.

Although current Bond Daniel Craig - a fellow Brit - has breathed life into Ian Fleming's famous spy, his time in the current role is coming to an end.

One devoted fan enthusiastically tweeted to Becks: 'People [are] talking about Idris Elba. But for me, David Beckham is the perfect role to be a James Bond 007. And he is British.

Arsenal's Oliver Giroud booed off the pitch by own fans

Olivier Giroud was booed by French fans after a disappointing display against Serbia on Monday night - which eventually saw him replaced by Karim Benzema.

The Arsenal striker was handed a lone role up front by Didier Deschamps but missed a number of good chances during the 2-1 win in Bourdeaux.

And the home supporters were less than happy with his display, jeering and whistling as he went off for half-time and when he was substituted.

Giroud has struggled to find his best form this season in the Premier League, for an Arsenal side that will be relying on him in Danny Welbeck's absence.

He has scored once this season, against Crystal Palace, and was hooked after an hour against Serbia by Deschamps.

Pressure is mounting on him ahead of Euro 2016 in his home country next summer. 

Manchester United new boy Anthony Martial is one of his rivals, along with summer Arsenal target Benzema.

A brace from PSG midfielder Blaise Matuidi gave France the win in the friendly, while Newcastle striker Aleksandar Mitrovic netted for the visitors.

Lewis Hamilton poses in 'lunatic' £370,000 Mercedes 6x6 pick-up truck

Formula One stars don't often do things by half and Lewis Hamilton is contemplating celebrating his latest win by splashing out on a new set of wheels - six of them to be precise.

Hamilton romped to his seventh win of the season at Monza in the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday and the very next day the reigning champion was pictured alongside a Mercedes G63 AMG.

The six-wheeler off-road pick-up truck, which has a military version currently in use by the Australian army, will set you back an eye-watering £370,000.

So... Thinking about getting this bad boy. What do you think? #6x6benz #mercedesbenz' the Mercedes driver wrote on Instagram as he was snapped hanging out of the front door of the monstrous truck. 

The G63 AMG, the 'lunatic monster utility vehicle' as it is described in an Autocar review, is the second-most expensive Mercedes available to purchase and the largest road legal SUV in the manufacturer's range of vehicles.

The immense double-cab pick-up, which features 37-inch wheels as standard, stands at over two metres in height, nearly six metres in length and is powered by a ferocious twin-turbocharged 5.5-litre V8 engine.

Due to its sheer size, 3775kg kerb weight, the truck only reaches speeds of around 100mph - a fair bit less that the 200mph Hamilton is used to, but it can accelerate to 60mph in less than six seconds thanks to its 536bhp.

See more pics...

Chelsea willing to pay £87.5m for Pogba

Chelsea have reopened talks to sign Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba with the Blues ready to pay up to £87.5million for the Frenchman, according to Italian journalist Tancredi Palmeri.

The former Manchester United man has been linked with a host of European clubs this summer with Jose Mourinho said to be heavily interested in signing the 22-year-old.

Mourinho’s side have made a poor start to their title defence and Pogba would add a goal threat in midfield that has been lacking from Cesc Fabregas so far this campaign.

And Palmeri says that the Blues have been in contact with the Serie A giants in the last few days and are willing to pay up to £87.5m to sign the France midfielder.

Who will Arsenal sign?

There has been a lot of speculation surrounding who Arsenal will sign before the transfer window closes.

The Gunners are widely expected to attempt to push through a deal for a striker before the window slams shut.

With time running out, fans are getting more frantic to learn who Arsene Wenger is attempting to sign.
Bookmakers Betfred seem to have some idea as to who could rock up at the Emirates before 6pm on Tuesday.

1 - EDINSON CAVANI

 

 

 The Paris St Germain striker has been widely linked with a switch to London throughout the summer.

Whether Arsenal are willing to splash the cash to bring the Uruguayan to the Premier League is another question.

2 - ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC

Should Arsenal miss out on Cavani, it’s suggested that they may negotiate with PSG for the mercurial Swede.

At 33 years of age, Ibrahimovic represents a huge gamble and would command a hefty salary.

3 - KARIM BENZEMA

Despite the Frenchman insisting he’s going nowhere, rumours continue to persist as to whether Benzema will join Arsenal.

Unless Real Madrid sign another striker you can rule this deal out.

4 - ROMELU LUKAKU

Perhaps a surprising name on the list given Everton’s reliance on him but the Belgian is a proven centre-forward.

Given Everton’s stubbornness regarding John Stones, it seems unlikely they would let Lukaku leave.

5 - HARRY KANE

The England striker is known to be a boyhood Arsenal fan but this will surely not happen.

Tottenham Hotspur wouldn’t dream of letting their prized possession join Arsenal with so little time left of the window.

Don’t waste your money on this one!

6 - CHARLIE AUSTIN

Seido Berahino and Antoine Griezmann are also potentials.

Moves for this trio should be viewed as rank outsiders but as Arsenal grow more desperate, they may look to one of these attackers.

Austin’s price has been set while West Brom seem willing to negotiate regarding Berahino.

A move for Griezmann, however, looks a long shot.