Stoke City s troubling recent form persisted in suitably miserable conditions at the Britannia Stadium, as free-scoring Everton ran riot in a 3-0 Premier League victory.
In howling wind and pouring rain, the Potters conceded three goals for the third successive outing in all competitions and rarely threatened their visitors on an outing to forget.
Stoke included record signing Gianelli Imbula in their starting XI, but fell behind to Romelu Lukaku s early penalty and conceded twice more – to Seamus Coleman and Aaron Lennon – before half-time.
From that situation, a recovery was impossible and Stoke are now without a win in four matches.
Everton, meanwhile, bounced to a third victory in a row in league and cup, and made amends for the 4-3 defeat to thei…
Sunderland reached the League Cup final last season and will be eyeing another trip to Wembley ahead of their trip to Birmingham City.
Gus Poyet s men knocked out Chelsea and Manchester United en route to the final in a season which they were also battling to avoid relegation.
The final against Manchester City proved a bridge too far for Sunderland, but Poyet was able to mastermind a great escape to keep the club in the Premier League and they have avoided defeat in their first two top flight matches in the new campaign.
Having snatched a draw at West Brom on the opening day, the Wearside club held Manchester United 1-1 on Sunday, with recent signing Jack Rodwell scoring his first goal for the club.
Ahead of the trip to St Andrews on Wednesday, striker S…
James Rodriguez needs to be playing regularly to enable him to be at his peak for Colombia, according to new national coach Carlos Queiroz.
The 27-year-old has struggled for regular first-team football at Bayern Munich this season as Niko Kovac has instead opted for the likes of Leon Goretzka and Serge Gnabry in midfield.
James enjoyed an impressive first season on loan at the Bundesliga champions, scoring seven goals as they cruised to the title under Jupp Heynckes.
And Colombia boss Queiroz who left his role as Iran coach after the Asian Cup hopes to see a return to that form after taking over from Jose Pekerman on a contract that runs until the 2022 World Cup.
I will need to talk to James, the former Iran coach told a media conference. For a player…
Jose Mourinho has been described as really irritating by former Manchester United captain Roy Keane after his appointment as manager.
The former Chelsea boss has signed a three-year deal, with the option of an additional year, to replace Louis van Gaal at Old Trafford.
Keane is not a fan of Mourinho s management style, but does concede he has the credentials to bring United back to the top after three years with finishes of seventh, fourth and fifth since Alex Ferguson s departure in 2013.
He is not my cup of tea, Keane told ITV. I found him really irritating when I coached against him, but that is just a personal thing.
Working at Manchester United is all about winning and his CV will tell you he is a winner. He was always going to be a good option wh…