Douglas scored twice in the final 20 minutes as Sanfrecce Hiroshima came from behind to defeat Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao 2-1 in Yokohama, sealing third place in the Club World Cup.

Paulinho had put Luiz Felipe Scolari s men on course to become the first Chinese team to finish third in the competition, but Douglas struck twice with two late headers.

That means Sanfrecce seal third spot after finishing fifth in their only other participation in the competition back in 2012. Guangzhou, meanwhile, fail to improve on their fourth-place finish from the 2013 tournament.

Paulinho had given Scolari s side the lead after just three minutes. A short corner allowed Li Xuepeng the chance to put a quality ball into the box which Elkeson headed on target, only to see his effo…

Sheffield Wednesday have completed the signing of former Sunderland goalkeeper Keiren Westwood on a free transfer.

The Republic of Ireland international started last season as first choice at the Stadium of Light, but a shoulder injury last November saw him usurped by Vito Mannone.

Sunderland have also added Costel Pantilimon to their goalkeeping options ahead of the new campaign, and Westwood was subsequently not offered a new deal by the Wearsiders.

The 29-year-old, who joined Sunderland from Coventry City in June 2011, has now signed a two-year deal with Wednesday.

Wednesday who finished 16th in the Championship last term were bought by Azerbaijani business Hafiz Mammadov last month.

Mammadov, who owns Ligue 1 outfit Lens, has yet to get ratif…

Jurgen Klopp revealed he had consistently reassured Naby Keita before the midfielder starred when given his chance for Liverpool against Bournemouth.

Keita scored and provided an assist on his first start of the Premier League season in Saturday s 3-0 win at the Vitality Stadium.

A £53million signing from RB Leipzig in 2018, Keita has had his difficulties since arriving at Anfield and Klopp said he frequently spoke to the Guinea international regarding his standing at Liverpool.

Naby is sitting outside and thinks why don t I play?’ I get all that, the Liverpool manager told UK newspapers.

So we stayed in contact, we talked and we spoke a lot about it, but in the end of course the player needs to have this evidence that the coach or the manager still …

Frenkie de Jong concedes he will never reach the level of Johan Cruyff despite his performances prompting comparisons with one of Ajax s greatest ever players, and insisted he will not be distracted by the praise that comes his way.

The 21-year-old has been one of Ajax s most impressive players in a campaign that has left them second in the Eredivisie after 13 games and he starred in a 3-0 victory away at NAC Breda on Saturday.

That win came after De Jong s important contributions for Netherlands in their 2-0 win over France and a 2-2 draw with Germany in the Nations League.

Responding to comparisons with one of football s most revered creative players, De Jong told De Telegraaf: I do not try to attract too much of it, and I focus on what I have to do.

…

Understand Fulham have offered new long term deal to Tosin Adarabioyo with salary rise as part of the proposal.

Tosin’s current contract expires in June.

…but he’s still considering his future as several clubs remain interested in signing him as free agent.

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano)

Players to watch

Marcus Rashford: The Manchester United striker is not expected to move to Paris St Germain this summer despite being touted as the replacement for Mbappe, according to Sky Sports.

Douglas Luiz: Aston Vila are confident they will keep the 25-year-old despite Arsenal setting their sights on the Brazilian midfielder, 90min reports.

…

With the EURO qualifiers drawing to a close, it will be South America’s elite that steals most of the midweek headlines.

Ahead of what looks set to be a stacked schedule from both Brazil and Argentina’s top-flights, we are also treated to plenty of interesting betting markets.

So, for those of you looking to stick on a Wednesday flutter, we have created your ultimate South American betting double.

23:00 Estudiantes vs San Lorenzo

Watching their extended purple patch come to an abrupt end prior to the international break as they slumped to a 1-0 loss away at Colon, Estudiantes will now be desperate to prove that performance was nothing more than a minor blip. However, still battling it out at the top of the Primera Division table, there is no doubt …

Organisers of Qatar s successful bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup have offered a strong rebuttal against accusations of corruption.

Reports in the British media on Sunday claimed Mohamed Bin Hammam, former president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), paid up to $5million to football officials to drum up support for Qatar s bid.

Bin Hammam had previously been a member of FIFA s executive committee, but was banned for life from all football activity in December 2012 following allegations of bribery.

The latest allegations led to FIFA vice-president Jim Boyce stating that a switch in host should be considered if the claims are proved to be true.

However, the Qatar 2022 Bid Committee has released a statement, strongly denying the claims and stating that Bin Ha…

Borussia Monchengladbach and Eintracht Frankfurt will be fighting for their lives in the Bundesliga on Saturday, while St Pauli look doomed.

Monchengladbach have spent much of the season propping up the table.

But they beat Hannover 1-0 away last week and are now three points off safety with two matches remaining.

They host overachievers Freiburg this weekend, before a trip to Hamburg on the last day of the season.

Faced with a similar situation in the 1997/98 season, a Steffen Effenberg-inspired Gladbach won both of their last two matches to narrowly survive.

It remains to be seen if the 2011 edition can match those heroics.

Frankfurt fans also face a nerve-wracking conclusion to the season.

Third from bottom and just one point…

Ajax travel to APOEL for the Champions League Group F fixture hoping to end a run of seven games without an away victory in the competition.

Frank de Boer s side recovered from a goal down in their opening game in the competition against Paris Saint-Germain at the Amsterdam Arena to grab a point but their away form is cause for concern in what is a difficult group.

If the four-time winners are to progress, they will surely have to change their fortunes on their travels, where they have not tasted victory since beating Dinamo Zagreb in December 2011.

But the Dutch champions travel to Cyprus in high spirits after hammering NAC Breda 5-2 away on Saturday which saw Icelandic striker Kolbeinn Sigthorsson net a hat-trick.

It is the first meeting between the t…

Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid are out to maintain their exhilarating form at Levante ahead of big clashes with Liverpool and Barcelona.

Real have won four successive league matches scoring a staggering 20 goals in the process to climb fourth, four points behind leaders Barcelona.

Eleven of those have come from Ronaldo, who has more milestones in sight on Saturday against a team has scored against 10 times in nine contests.

The 29-year-old Portuguese requires one goal to become the third player – and first since 1948 – to score 14 times in the opening eight rounds of a Spanish top-flight campaign, while three goals in Valencia would see him eclipse Alfredo Di Stefano and Telmo Zarra and become the competition s outright record scorer of hat-tricks.