Manchester City moved just four wins away from claiming the Premier League title as Bernardo Silva clinched a one-sided 1-0 victory over defending champions Chelsea.

In a thoroughly commanding performance from a City team closing in on their first league triumph since 2013-14, Bernardo Silva s strike enabled them to open up an 18-point lead at the summit, though Manchester United can close the gap to 16 by winning at Crystal Palace on Monday.

Antonio Conte dropped Alvaro Morata to the bench as he opted against fielding a recognised striker and false nine Eden Hazard was starved of service as they failed to register a shot on target in the match, the imperious City completely overrunning them.

Chelsea made it to the break without conceding, but an error from And…

Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas became the quickest player to register 100 assists in the Premier League as Antonio Conte s runaway leaders overcame Stoke City 4-2 on Saturday.

Fabregas set up Willian s second of the match as Chelsea provided an instant response to Peter Crouch s 64th-minute equaliser at Stamford Bridge.

It meant the Spain international reached three figures in terms of assists in his 293rd appearance in England s top flight, comfortably bettering the 367 games it took Manchester United great Ryan Giggs.

Another Old Trafford favourite, Wayne Rooney, is next on the list with 445 matches to reach 100, while Chelsea s all-time record goalscrorer, Frank Lampard, hit the landmark in his 559th game.

Fabregas made his Premier League debut …

Liverpool have announced the signing of teenage forward Fabio Carvalho from Fulham.

The 19-year-old was close to joining the Reds on deadline day in January after agreeing personal terms and completing a medical, only for a move to fall through.

However, the Reds confirmed on Monday that an agreement is now in place to sign Carvalho on July 1.

Liverpool are reported to have paid an initial £5million for Carvalho and handed the Portugal Under-21 international, who previously represented England at youth level, a five-year deal.

He scored 10 goals and provided eight assists in 36 games as Fulham won the Championship title en route to Premier League promotion in the 2021-22 campaign.

Lisbon-born Carvalho came through the youth ranks at Fulham and ma…

Riyad Mahrez turned in a dazzling display as Manchester City swept aside Barnsley 4-0 in a friendly at the Etihad Campus on Saturday.

Mahrez was City s record signing when he joined from Leicester City in 2018 and Jack Grealish is reportedly close to taking that distinction for himself, with the Premier League champions rumoured to have tabled an offer worth £100million for the Aston Villa star.

Some observers have predicted Grealish could experience the sort of slow start to life under Pep Guardiola that Mahrez endured three years ago, but the Algeria winger showed himself to be in full flight against City s overmatched Championship opponents.

Mahrez charged down the right flank to retrieve Ruben Dias raking ball and crossed for Samuel Edozie to tap in a 23rd-m…

Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti congratulated Manchester City and declared them champions-elect after the runaway Premier League leaders powered to a 3-1 win at Goodison Park.

City opened up a 10-point gap over second-placed neighbours Manchester United after a commanding display against Everton on Wednesday, with goals coming from Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva.

Everton star Richarlison did net a first-half equaliser but it was not enough to stop the Toffees from falling to a second consecutive loss on Merseyside in four days, following the 2-0 reverse against Fulham on Sunday.

City have won their last 12 league matches, 17 in all competitions, and Ancelotti cannot see any team stopping Pep Guardiola s high-flying side from securing a fifth Premie…

Cristiano Ronaldo s Al Nassr contract does not include any commitment to promote a 2030 World Cup bid, the Saudi Arabian club stated on Tuesday.

The Portugal forward joined Al Nassr on December 30 after his acrimonious departure from Manchester United, signing a two-and-a-half-year contract reportedly worth around €200million (£177m) per year.

Reports suggested Ronaldo s agreement included an additional bonus to act as an ambassador for Saudi Arabia s World Cup bid, with the Middle East aiming to host another tournament after Qatar 2022.

Al Nassr strongly denied claims Ronaldo had been offered a financial incentive to secure FIFA s top tournament, with Spain, Ukraine and his home country Portugal among the others to make a joint bid to host.

Al Nassr …

Pernille Harder is encouraged by the increasingly competitive nature of the Women s Champions League after Chelsea reached the final last season in a campaign where Lyon s run of titles was ended.

Lyon had been European champions in five successive seasons heading into 2020-21, pipping Harder s Wolfsburg in 2018 and 2020.

The Denmark superstar was named UEFA Women s Player of the Year on both occasions and secured a world-record move to Chelsea, where she again made the final.

The Blues came up short, but there was a new name on the trophy as Barcelona claimed their first title after Lyon were knocked out in the last eight.

Harder, speaking on behalf of Heineken, told Stats Perform: Chelsea, as a team, we want to be one of the big teams in the world, and …

According to a report from Corriere dello Sport, Spanish giants and European champions Real Madrid are set to enter the race for Kalidou Koulibaly by offering £90 million for the 27 year old defender. Real would be challenging Manchester United for his signature, with the Red Devils being the other major club currently interested in signing him. Koulibaly made the move over to Napoli back in 2014 and ever since then, he’s been able to establish himself as one of the top defenders in all of the major European leagues.

Real haven’t exactly had a perfect season up to this point and that’s putting it likely, as they aim to bolster their chances of a late push towards the top of the La Liga table. United, on the other hand, also had a poor first half of the season, but they a…

Luis Enrique lauded Spain pillar Sergio Busquets after his exploits in the country s trophy-less Nations League Finals campaign.

Spain fell short in Sunday s Nations League final, beaten 2-1 by reigning world champions France at San Siro in Milan.

Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe cancelled out Mikel Oyarzabal s 64th-minute opener and while Spain were left emptyhanded, veteran captain Busquets produced another impressive display in the middle of the nation s rebuilding project.

Busquets provided his 10th assist for Spain and first since November 2019 having teed up Oyarzabal, while the 33-year-old captain led the team in tackles (four) and total duels (17) after finishing with a 92.2 per cent passing accuracy – only bettered by Eric Garcia for La Roja.

10…

Manchester City s Eric Garcia is keen to return to Barcelona, according to .

The 19-year-old defender started his football journey at the Catalan club s youth setup and join City s U-18 side in 2017. A year later he was promoted to the U-23s, and he spent most of the 2019/20 season playing for the first team under Pep Guardiola as City failed to make up for the departure of Vincent Kompany last year.

However, City appear keen to add another centre-back to their ranks this time around and they ve reportedly already agreed a deal to sign Nathan Ake from Bournemouth.

Guardiola has apparently long been keen on bringing Barcelona s Sergi Roberto to the Etihad, a highly versatile player who can perform well both in midfield and on the right defensive flank. Though his…