Axel Witsel is set for his first crack at one of Europe s top five leagues after agreeing a move from Tianjin Quanjian to Borussia Dortmund.

Belgium international Witsel, who will sign a four-year deal with the Bundesliga side after they agreed to pay his release clause, has long been linked with some of Europe s biggest clubs, but his career has generally taken routes less travelled.

Having started at Standard Liege, Witsel made the jump to Benfica for a season, before spending four years in Russia with Zenit.

Witsel joined Tianjin for a figure understood to be in the region of €20m in January 2017, scoring the club s first ever goal in the Chinese Super League.

He helped the club to a third-place finish, but after 16 games this term they are down in …

Bruno Guimaraes scored his first goals since September as Newcastle gave their hopes of qualifying for Europe a shot in the arm with an entertaining 3-2 win at Nottingham Forest.

The Brazilian had not scored since the 8-0 rout at Sheffield United in September but opened the scoring at the City Ground and then netted the winner in the second half.

Fabian Schar also scored as the Magpies moved seventh, two points behind sixth-placed Manchester United, and after an inconsistent season they will now be eyeing a run of form which sees them book European football for a second successive season.

Forest twice drew level through Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi and thought they should have had a penalty at 2-2, but they are still searching for a first Premier League …

Portsmouth manager Avram Grant insists his side didn t deserve to end their turbulent season with a 1-0 defeat against Chelsea in Saturday s FA Cup final.

Grant s team were heavy underdogs heading into the Wembley clash with the Premier League champions, but they almost made a mockery of the formbook in a dramatic encounter.

Pompey, relegated from the top-flight after going into administration with debts of over 130 million pounds, rode their luck in the first half as Chelsea hit the woodwork five times.

But they had a golden opportunity to take the lead in the 55th minute when Ivory Coast forward Aruna Dindane was tripped in the penalty area by Juliano Belletti.

Kevin-Prince Boateng stepped up to take the spot-kick but his shot, driven straight down the…

Jose Mourinho s second spell in charge of his beloved Chelsea came to an end on Thursday following a disastrous start to their Premier League title defence. 

Here, courtesy of Opta, is a statistical look at his Stamford Bridge career. 

Mourinho took charge of 321 games in total in all competition over his two stints in charge (June 2004 to September 2007 and June 2013 to December 2015). 

The Portuguese won 204 of those matches and lost 48, with 11 of those coming this season. 

Nine league defeats in 2015-16 represents Mourinho s worst campaign in terms of league losses season by season – his previous worst was six in 2013-14. 

Mourinho averaged 2.33 points per Premier League game in his first spell in charge, compared to 2.00 during hi…

Watford have completed the signing of Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Etienne Capoue for a club record fee,.

The 26 year old moved to White Hart Lane from French side Toulouse in the summer of 2013, and went on to make eighteen appearances in all competitions in each of his two seasons with the North London club, scoring twice.

Internationally, he has seven senior caps for France while his one and only goal for his country so far coming in a 3-1 World Cup qualification win over Estonia in September 2012.

The fee of £6m paid by the Hornets far surpasses their previous record of £3.25m, which the laid out for Nathan Ellington eight years ago.

Capoue is the fifth new arrival at Vicarage Road this summer, following goalkeeper Giedrius Arlauskis, defender…

Hansi Flick said he made clear his intention to leave Bayern Munich at the end of the season so as not to fool around amid growing speculation over his future.

Flick announced following Bayern s 3-2 win over Wolfsburg on Saturday that he has requested the termination of his contract – which runs until 2023 – at the conclusion of the campaign.

The 56-year-old has been strongly tipped to replace Joachim Low as Germany head coach after the rescheduled Euro 2020 but, while admitting the role was an option, denied negotiations had already begun.

Bayern s board responded to Flick s declaration by stating it disapproves of the unilateral communications issued by Hansi Flick and that talks would continue after the Bundesliga champions game with Mainz on April 24.

Chelsea were beaten 5-3 at the hands of Liverpool at Anfield on Wednesday evening.

Naby Keita opened the scoring for the champions, Trent Alexander-Arnold added the second from a brilliantly taken free-kick, Georginio Wijnaldum made the most of a scramble in Chelsea s box to slam in the third, and Olivier Giroud pounced on the rebound of a fantastic save made by Alisson Becker to squeeze in some hope for the Blues just before halftime. Roberto Firmino capitalized on a great cross by Alexander-Arnold to slam his header in for Liverpool s fourth, and then Lampard introduced Christian Pulisic, Tammy Abraham and Callum Hudson-Odoi into the fray.

The American winger produced a fantastic performance as he first assisted Abraham to make it 4-2 after a dizzying run down the lef…

Bayern Munich directors Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Uli Hoeness muscled into the ongoing debate over whether Joachim Loew should be offered a new contract by the German Football Federation (DFB) on Tuesday by saying that there was no alternative.

Rummenigge, who played in two World Cup finals in 1982 and 1986 losing to Italy and Argentina, told Bild that the vibrant and young German side who play European champions Spain in Durban on Wednesday in their World Cup semi-final had the chance to dominate football as the one of the 1970 s had done but only if 50-year-old Loew was in charge.

It would be an enormous mistake by the DFB not to extend the contract of Loew and the DFB must be prepared to pay foreign-style salaries, Rummenigge, the Bayern chairman, told the newpaper.…

AC Milan held off a stirring comeback by Rennes to book their place in the Europa League last 16.

The Italian side looked to have the job done after last week’s 3-0 first-leg win at the San Siro, but the Ligue 1 outfit gave them a scare on home soil, with Benjamin Bourigeaud’s hat-trick sealing a 3-2 victory in the second leg.

Milan goals from Luka Jovic and Rafael Leao proved pivotal as they secured a 5-3 aggregate win to go into the hat for Friday’s draw.

Into the Last 16!

— AC Milan (@acmilan)

Rennes knew they would have to make early inroads into their deficit if they were to have any chance of repairing the damage from a harrowing night in Milan last week.

And they enjoyed the dream start as they went ahead in the 10th mi…

Inter coach Roberto Mancini has played down the knock-on effect of Marco Fassone s exit at San Siro ahead of Sunday s trip to Chievo.

The Serie A club confirmed on Friday that Fassone had left his position as general director with reports suggesting a breakdown in the relationship with president Erick Thohir and CEO Michael Bolingbroke had played a part.

Fassone had been with the club since 2012 and it has been suggested in Italy that Bolingbroke could now become Mancini s first point of call for sporting matters.

However, after a 100 per cent start to the campaign, Mancini spoke of his desire to keep disruption to a minimum as Inter seek to challenge for the Scudetto.

I want to thank [Fassone] for the support he always gave me as well as from Thohir, Bo…