Golden Soccer 360

Former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is in hospital and will undergo emergency surgery on Saturday night, say Sky sources. The 76-year-old is in a "serious condition" in a Manchester hospital and needs an operation. Ferguson won 13 league titles plus two Champions Leagues in 26 years at Manchester United before he stepped down in 2013. He was recently seen for the United clash with Arsenal at Old Trafford when he presented departing Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger some end-of-season silverware. There were concerns on Saturday afternoon when his son Darren Ferguson missed Doncaster's final game of the season against Wigan due to "family reasons". Darren Ferguson was due to be in the dug-out at the Keepmoat Stadium but a Rovers statement read: "Darren asks for privacy, and will provide an update through the club during the week". via Sky Sports

Two first-half goals confirmed Watford's Premier League status and gave them their first win since early March as they saw off Newcastle 2-1 on Saturday in the Premier League. Hosts Watford took the lead after just three minutes as Roberto Pereyra simply finished off a move involving Andre Gray, Troy Deeney and Abdoulaye Doucoure, and it was 2-0 on 28 minutes as Gray nodded home at the far post from Pereyra's cross. Deeney saw a late first-half penalty saved by Martin Dubravka, before Ayoze Perez halved the deficit 10 minutes after the break with a fine far-post finish with the outside of his boot. Newcastle pressed well but could not find a winner, meaning Watford go up to 13th, while Newcastle stay 10th. Watford were quickest out of the stops and took the lead through Pereyra's finish from 10 yards, slotting home at the near post after Paul Dummett have failed to clear the ball in the box, allowing Doucoure to feed the Argentine to score. It should have been ...

Swansea's Premier League relegation fears were increased after Ryan Fraser's first-half strike handed Bournemouth all three points at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday. The hosts scored the only goal of the game eight minutes before half-time thanks to a well-worked free-kick routine, as Fraser swept the ball home from the edge of the penalty area for his fifth league goal of the season. Victory sees Eddie Howe's side move past the 40-point barrier and up to 12th, but for Swansea, defeat sees them drop into the relegation zone following Southampton's 1-1 draw at Everton on Saturday evening. Carlos Carvalhal's side face a crucial game with Southampton, at the Liberty Stadium on Tuesday in a clash which could decide the fates of both teams before finishing with another home game against relegated Stoke. Boosted ahead of kick-off by events at the bet365 Stadium, where  Stoke's defeat to Crystal Palace  saw their relegation confirmed, Swans...

Rangers capitalised on the Steven Gerrard feel-good factor as they struck late to grab a crucial 1-0 win over Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership. The former Liverpool and England captain, confirmed as the new Gers boss on Friday after signing a four-year deal, was not in attendance at Ibrox. But though Steve Clarke's men frustrated Gerrard's new side for long periods, the Ibrox faithful left despondent by last week's 5-0 Old Firm hammering were able to cheer an 85th-minute winner from David Bates. Rangers, who will be managed by Jimmy Nicholl and Jonatan Johansson until the end of the season, move to within a point of second-placed rivals Aberdeen, who were held by Hibernian. Jamie Murphy came close to ratcheting up the noise levels as he was left unmarked just outside Killie's box 11 minutes in, but the winger shot just wide of the target. But Aaron Tshibola had an opportunity for Killie when Kris Boyd's flick-on from a long Stephen O'Donnell t...

Jake Livermore struck the winning goal in second-half stoppage time as West Brom kept their slim survival hopes alive with a 1-0 victory over Tottenham at The Hawthorns. Harry Kane missed a gilt-edged chance to give Spurs the lead in the first half and almost scored at the wrong end as his attempted clearance forced Hugo Lloris into a smart reaction save with 15 minutes remaining. But the winner came in injury time as ex-Spurs midfielder Livermore turned the ball into the net from a yard out after a goalmouth scramble to hand West Brom a Premier League lifeline. Darren Moore's side needed three points to have any chance of staying in the division - but a Southampton win a few hours later against Everton would still have sent them down to the Championship. Instead, Tom Davies struck a last-gasp Everton equaliser at Goodison Park to grant Albion another reprieve - until Tuesday's  Sky Live  meeting between Saints and Swansea at least. Kane has not been at his pro...

Stoke's relegation from the Premier League was confirmed after a crushing 2-1 home defeat to Crystal Palace on Saturday. Xherdan Shaqiri put the Potters ahead with a brilliant free-kick in the 43rd minute but James McArthur levelled for Palace after half-time. Patrick van Aanholt then capitalised on a defensive error to score a late winner and end Stoke's 10-year stay in the top-flight Palace themselves are guaranteed to stay in the Premier League thanks to the result, while Stoke will look back with plenty of regret on the points they have dropped in the last month as, for the third time in four games, they failed to hold onto the lead. In total, they have now lost 18 points from winning positions this season while Paul Lambert has managed just one victory since he was appointed manager in January. Stoke had not finished below 14th in their previous nine Premier League seasons, but they could not get the victory they needed against a Palace side who have been revi...

Barca gave Real the honour in 2008 when the capital side had just won the league. But Zinedine Zidane was annoyed when Barcelona did not see his side out on to the pitch after they won the Club World Cup in December. Barca are four games away from going an entire league season unbeaten. The Catalan side, who  beat Deportivo La Coruna 4-2 last weekend  to seal the domestic double, have not lost in a record 41 league games dating back over a year. No side has ever gone unbeaten for a Spanish top-flight campaign since since the 1930s when there were only 18 games in a season. Real Madrid, the deposed champions, are 15 points behind Barcelona - but set up a Champions League final against Liverpool this week by beating  Bayern Munich 4-3 on aggregate. Barca full-back Lucas Digne said: "This is a record the team now wants to go for. It is important for us and we will give everything to hold on to it. "Real winning the Champions League is still hypothetical; it ...

Who are the best players to have graced Major League Soccer? David Beckham? Kaka? Landon Donovan? David Villa? How about Bradley Wright-Phillips? Last seen in England at League One Charlton, the former Manchester City and Southampton forward has scored 108 goals since his move to New York Red Bulls in 2013. The 33-year-old is the top scorer in the MLS over the past five seasons and has won the league's Golden Boot twice. "You could make an argument that he is the best player to ever play in this league, and the best goalscorer to play in this league," said Red Bulls head coach Jesse Marsch. Of English players in the top five European leagues, only Harry Kane has a better goal record than Wright-Phillips' since he moved to the US - and the Red Bulls star could add to that tally against New York FC on Saturday. It is a remarkable turnaround for a player who said "football came second" in the first stage of his career and admits he did not "re...

Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure will leave the Premier League champions at the end of the season. The 34-year-old will make his final appearance against Brighton on Wednesday, said manager Pep Guardiola. Ivory Coast international Toure, who joined City from Barcelona for a fee of about £24m in 2010,  signed a new one-year  contract in June 2017. "Yaya came here at the start of the journey," said Guardiola. "Where we are now is because of what he has done." "We cannot forget the period from Roberto Mancini, and especially Manuel Pellegrini, Yaya was the key player. "The Brighton game we will give him what he deserves, one of the most beautiful farewells a player can receive. "All the game will we be focused on winning for Yaya, we are going to try to do it for him." City host Brighton on 9 May before travelling to Southampton for the final game of the season. Toure has made 229 Premier League appearances in his eight seaso...

Steven Gerrard defended his appointment as Rangers manager, insisting inexperience is no issue for him. The former Liverpool and England captain will take up his first managerial role on June 1 after  agreeing a four-year deal at the Glasgow club , and confirmed Gary McAllister will be his assistant at Ibrox. Gerrard, 37, has been working as an academy coach at Liverpool since April last year, but says he will welcome the "schooling" he will receive in his first taste of management. "Experience is not an issue for me, it seems to be for other people," said Gerrard. "I respect people's opinions but I can't control that. "I've been around a big football club, big matches a long time. I've watched and worked under big managers. "There's only one way to get experience and that's to believe in yourself that you've got the right characteristics to front the challenge. "One day I will be experienced, I'm co...

Steven Gerrard has been appointed Rangers manager on a four-year deal. Gerrard, 37, has been working as a Liverpool academy coach since April last year, but will take up his new position at Ibrox at the end of the season. "I am honoured to become the next manager of Rangers," said Gerrard. "I have enormous respect for this football club, and its history and tradition. "I can't wait to start this new journey at Rangers as we look to build on the many successes that this club has achieved." Sky Sports News  understands Rangers director of football Mark Allen and head of scouting Andy Scoulding convinced Gerrard to take the plunge into management at the Glasgow club. Allen said: "From the moment we met with Steven to discuss this opportunity, we felt that his ambitions and desire to succeed equalled our own for the club. "Make no mistake, Steven fully understands the demands that come with managing a club of this stature and we look forw...

Arsene Wenger has revealed his extreme disappointment that his final season at Arsenal will end without a trophy, but accepts that not all love stories have a happy ending. The departing Arsenal boss had hoped to end his 22-year spell with the club by lifting the Europa League trophy, but that dream was ended on Thursday after losing to Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals. The defeat also means that the Gunners will once again miss out on Champions League football next season and Wenger admits that could have an effect on the club. "It is a setback," he said. "We favoured the Europa League recently because it is a price we pay for the away form [in the Premier League]. "It is not difficult to correct but our home form was very good. The club has to correct this next season." When asked if he thought that could impact Arsenal's prospects in the summer transfer window, Wenger added: "It is possible, yes. But I think we have enough quality ins...

Jamie Redknapp reflects on Liverpool's run to the Champions League final, how Mohamed Salah has gone to a whole new level this season and previews their Sky Live Premier League clash with Chelsea on Sunday... There's something about Liverpool football club. It can transform players and take them to a whole new level. Yes, Jurgen Klopp has this amazing ability to extract that little bit extra out of everyone, but we're seeing with Mohamed Salah right now what can happen when the Liverpool fans really get behind a player. We've seen it with Fernando Torres. We've seen it with Luis Suarez. Before them it was Robbie Fowler and Ian Rush. It's like the fans can give certain players a super power. There always seems to be that one special player appear, where you're like 'I didn't know they had that in their locker!' That's what's happened to Salah this season. He's been sensational. And it will be fantastic to see him and the w...