Roberto Mancini is hoping for another summer of big spending at newly-crowned Premier League champions Manchester City.

City have been able to splash the cash since Sheikh Mansour s takeover in 2008, with the transfers of stellar names such as Yaya Toure, Sergio Aguero and Mario Balotelli all bankrolled by the billions of the Abu Dhabi group.

Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has previously said that there is no need for the club to spend similarly large sums this summer, but Mancini has insisted that further investment is key if they are to build on this season s success.

Barcelona and Real Madrid every year buy two or three players and spend a lot of money, the Italian told BBC Sport.

I think for Manchester City it will be the same.

We need to im…

Juan Mata says it has not been easy for Manchester United to cope with the departure of Alex Ferguson, but he is hopeful they will soon be fighting for the title again after a number of difficult seasons.

United have struggled to challenge for the Premier League crown since Ferguson opted to retire in 2013, with David Moyes who signed Mata from Chelsea in January 2014 and Louis van Gaal both failing to fight meaningfully for the championship, prompting their dismissal.

New manager Jose Mourinho has so far been unable to fully convince, but Mata remains optimistic things will soon change for the better.

It is difficult to start a new era after the time Sir Alex was here, Mata told reporters.

But I would tell people that this club sooner or later will be …

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Cristiano Ronaldo took the match-ball home with him on Saturday night at Vicente Calderon as he ended up singlehandedly guiding his team to the impressive 3-0 victory over Atletico Madrid.

Ronaldo s hat-trick allowed Los Rojiblancos to reaffirm their top spot in the La Liga standings and extend the gap in front of second-placed Barcelona who were held to a goalless home stalemate by the nine-man Malaga.

Our in-depth match report is right here for all of those who might have missed the action-packed derby match at Vicente Calderon:

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Two sides had contrasting fortunes heading into the Madrid derby as far as the selection options were concerned.

Diego Simeone received some encouraging n…

West Ham United are interested in signing former Tottenham Hotspur prospect Marcus Edwards, according to . It has been reported that the Hammers are among a number of clubs from England and Portugal who are keen on securing the services of the 22-year-old Vitoria de Guiamares winger.

Edwards left Tottenham last year after failing to break into the Tottenham first team and has been doing well in the Portuguese league. The youngster’s performances have drawn the attention of West Ham, Crystal Palace, Southampton, Fulham, Brentford, Bournemouth, Swansea City, FC Porto and Sporting Lisbon.

According to , Edwards has made eight starts and one substitute appearances in the Portuguese league for Vitoria so far this season, scoring one goal and providing one assist in the pro…

Eintracht Frankfurt benefitted from the absence of VAR in the Europa League as they eliminated Benfica via the away goals rule following a 2-0 home win on Thursday.

Filip Kostic s goal from an offside position was allowed to stand in the 36th minute and Sebastian Rode levelled the tie at 4-4 just over 20 minutes from the end to send the Bundesliga side through to the semi-finals.

Benfica had established a strong position with a 4-2 victory a week ago but were unable to muster a response after the linesman s mistake in the first half left their lead looking tenuous.

Substitute Eduardo Salvio hit the upright with a late chance to put the Portuguese outfit back into the box seat, but Frankfurt held firm to book a final-four meeting with Chelsea.

Benfica def…

Stoke City manager Tony Pulis insists the club will not sell Robert Huth in the off-season.

The 27-year old German signed for Stoke from Middlesbrough in August 2009 and has been a fixture in the club s back-line, making 101 appearances.

Uncertainty now surrounds Huth s future with just a year remaining on his four-year contract.

The former Chelsea man is yet to sign a new deal and Pulis is desperate for Huth to stay, ruling out any potential sale.

Pulis told the Daily Mail: We are desperately keen to sort out Robert s future.

We have been talking to him for some time but whatever happens, he won’t be sold.

Pulis has turned Stoke into an established Premier League outfit and will prepare them for their fifth straight top-flight campa…

Joshua Kimmich struck in the 88th minute as Bayern Munich made it eight successive wins in all competitions this season by downing struggling Hamburg 1-0 at the Volksparkstadion.

David Alaba, Javi Martinez, Kimmich and Robert Lewandowski had earlier all been foiled by a series of magnificent saves from home goalkeeper Rene Adler.

But Bayern s incessant late pressure finally told when Franck Ribery got away down the left and picked out Kimmich, who swept the ball home from close range.

The result moves Carlo Ancelotti s men three points clear of Borussia Dortmund at the top of the table, but they did suffer a blow when key defender Mats Hummels limped off early in the second half with what appeared to be a knee injury.

Defeat was tough on Hamburg, who woul…

Jose Mourinho says he will only take five minutes to celebrate before turning his thoughts to next season if Chelsea seal the Premier League title this weekend.

Mourinho s side know victory over Crystal Palace on Sunday will be enough to secure their first league championship since 2010.

The Portuguese, who already boasts seven league titles from spells with Porto, Chelsea, Inter and Real Madrid, has fond memories of previous successes, but plans to swiftly refocus once silverware is secured.

I have replicas of every cup I won, and I don t care about the replicas. Or the medals. They re in my houses. I have some in Portugal, some here, some in my son’s room. I really don t care, said Mourinho.

What stays forever is the feeling, the emotion, the memo…

Crystal Palace are eyeing a move for Ipswich Town goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski, according to the Mirror.

The Eagles are in the market for a new shot-stopper with their current incumbent Julian Speroni and Wayne Hennessey having played eleven and twelve times in the league this season respectively.

Bialkowski moved to Portman Road from Notts County is the summer of 2014 and has so far racked up one hundred and twenty-nine appearances for the club in all competitions.

That tally included every minute of the Championship season so far for the Tractor Boys, during which time he has conceded thirty-nine goals.

Internationally, he was capped six times for Poland’s U21s between 2005 and 2007.

The Eagles beat Burnley on Saturday afternoon to cont…

Brazil will play in Australia when the Brasil Global Tour takes Tite s side to Melbourne later this year.

Government officials in Victoria have announced the Socceroos will line up against the five-time world champions at the MCG on June 13, four days after Brazil take on Argentina at the same stadium.

The most recent meeting between the two teams resulted in a 6-0 friendly victory for the Selecao in Brasilia in September 2013, while Australia s only win came at the 2001 Confederations Cup.

Brazil are flying under coach Tite, who has led them to six consecutive World Cup qualifying victories since his appointment in June 2016.

Brazil are top of CONMEBOL qualifying with 27 points from 12 matches, while Australia are third out of six in their group in the A…