Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers will speak to Raheem Sterling after the forward was pictured apparently taking nitrous oxide. Images published by The Sun  appear to show the 20-year-old England forward taking the legal substance, commonly known as laughing gas. Sterling scored in Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Newcastle at Anfield on Monday. “I don’t think it is something you should be doing, it’s as simple as that,” said Rodgers. The incident comes after Sterling admitted rejecting a new £100,000-a-week Liverpool contract in an interview with the BBC. “We want players here who are super-professional and focused on their football – I know he is,” added Rodgers. “It’s not just on the field, it’s off the field as well but I will speak with him on it and we’ll move on. “Young players make mistakes. As long as they learn from them, that is what is important.” Nitrous oxide is often used in surgery and dentistry for its anaesthetic effects but it is also a popular legal high as it can make people feel relaxed, euphoric and giggly.

Wojciech Szczesny can use his battle with David Ospina for Arsenal’s number one jersey to make himself a better goalkeeper, according to former Gunner David Seaman. “With Wojciech, it must be hard for him now to be number two, coming off the back of a season where he was a regular and had been playing at his best, but it is totally just because he had a couple of bad mistakes and Ospina has gone in and done his stuff,” says Seaman. “It is not just the games which make you play better, it is the training. “The goalkeepers train together, and you see the other guy, you think ‘I want to be better than him’ or ‘I am going to show him how good I am’. That is day to day and is good because it brings the best out of you and tests you, so you become a better goalkeeper.”

Queens Park Rangers say they will ban “indefinitely” any fans who threw missiles during their 1-0 defeat by Chelsea at Loftus Road on Sunday. Coins and plastic bottles were among objects thrown towards the pitch after Cesc Fabregas’s 88th-minute winner. CCTV footage of the incident is being reviewed by the club, who say they will liaise with police. “This is not the kind of behaviour the club condones in any way, shape or form,” a spokesperson said.

Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho will be out for between three and four weeks with a hamstring injury. The France international will miss tonight’s Premier League match with Newcastle, the FA Cup semi-final with Aston Villa at Wembley on Sunday and league games against West Brom, Hull and QPR. Liverpool are hopeful he could be back for the trip to Chelsea on 10 May. Sakho limped out of the FA Cup quarter-final replay win over Blackburn last Wednesday, and scan results have now revealed the full extent of the injury.

As Chelsea’s Cesc Fabregas and his team-mates celebrated his 88th-minute winner against QPR on Sunday, home fans threw coins and plastic bottles from the stands. Defender Branislav Ivanovic grabbed his neck in pain after being hit. “The game was correct in the pitch and correct in the stands,” said Mourinho. “It is not easy in an emotional game.” The Chelsea boss added: “If, at the end of the game, someone threw a pound coin, put it in your pocket. If someone threw a chocolate, eat it. It is no problem. Everybody needs a pound.” QPR manager Chris Ramsey did condemn those involved in the incident, claiming rivalries can “sometimes go too far”. He said: “We don’t want objects thrown on the pitch. “I don’t know what happened and I didn’t see it, but if that’s the case [that objects were thrown] we don’t want those people back in the club.” The 1-0 victory took Chelsea seven points clear of second-placed Arsenal at the top of the Premier League, with a game in hand. The English FA will contact QPR about the incidence.

The quaint town of Dunblane, Scotland, has been set abuzz by the wedding of tennis legend Andy Murray to his long-term girlfriend, Kim Sears. Saturday’s event — dubbed “the royal wedding of Scotland” — took place at Dunblane Cathedral, with cheering crowds spilling onto the streets to support their home-grown talent. The couple met at the U.S. Open in 2005 and got engaged in November last year. But any plans for a honeymoon have been put on hold as the world number three returns to tournament action next week.

Nigeria has qualified for both the Male and Female categories of the football event at the 2015 All Africa Games coming up in September in Brazzaville, Congo. The female team, The Super Falcons defeated their Malian counterparts 8 – 0 in the second leg match played in Abuja after in first leg ended 1 – 1 in Mali and thus qualified by 9 – 1 aggregate scoreline. Desire Oparanozie, Asisat Oshoala and Francesca Ordega all scored a brace each while Evelyn Nwabuoku and substitute Esther Sunday notched one each to make the fixture a walk in the park for the African champions.

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Saturday 11 April 2015:

Swansea 1 – 1 Everton

Southampton 2 – 0 Hull

Sunderland 1 – 4 Crystal Palace

Tottenham 0 – 1 Aston Villa

West Brom 2 – 3 Leicester

West Ham 1 – 1 Stoke

Burnley 0 – 1 Arsenal

Sunday 12 April 2015:

QPR 0 – 1 Chelsea

Man Utd 4 – 2 Man City

Monday 13 April 2015:

Liverpool 2 – 0 Newcastle

Diego Maradona has likened Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal to the devil over his treatment of Radamel Falcao. The Colombian, who has been on United’s bench for their last five matches, has scored just four goals during a season-long loan deal from Monaco. Van Gaal has the chance to add Falcao to his squad on a permanent basis for £43m in the summer but Argentina World Cup winner Maradona insists he has not been given a chance to show his worth at Old Trafford. Speaking at a press conference to promote a charity match in Bogota, Colombia, Maradona said: “Van Gaal is not a nice guy. Van Gaal is closer to the devil than anything.” Maradona, who watched United lose at home to Liverpool last season, is convinced the serious knee injury which Falcao picked up last year has hindered his ability to adapt to conditions in England. Falcao, 29, was forced to miss the World Cup last year because of the injury and has also been troubled by a series of niggling problems since the start of his loan deal last August. “His time was cut short after the injury and he has to adapt to the move,” Maradona said at the press conference shown on the YouTube channel of TV station Canal Capital.

Leah Williamson prepared to re-take her nerve-wracking penalty against Norway by going “for a sleep”. The England Under-19 player had to wait five days to take the spotkick after an unprecedented intervention by UEFA. Williamson had converted the original penalty on Saturday only for the German referee to mistakenly cancel it out. Uefa ordered it to be taken again on Thursday – and Williamson netted to book England’s place in the European Championships. The amazing scenes took place in Belfast five days after England and Norway had initially met. During the first game, England were trailing 2-1 when they were awarded a penalty in injury time at the end of the match.

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Harry Redknapp has told BBC’s Football Focus he resigned suddenly as manager of QPR in February because he “no longer knew who was on my side”. Redknapp cited crippling knee problems as the primary reasons for his decision to leave Rangers, who were second from bottom in the Premier League table. But he has now revealed that was not the only issue. In an interview that will air in full on Saturday, the 68-year-old said the club had descended into a “soap opera”. “I always thought I had everyone pulling with me and suddenly I felt some were and some weren’t,” he said. “Behind the scenes, I always thought there were one or two people with their own agendas.” In a wide-ranging interview at his home in Poole, Redknapp says:

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A man has been arrested at China’s Shanghai International Circuit, which hosts this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix, after he ran across the track during the second practice session. The local man, in possession of a grandstand ticket, initially scaled 10-foot high fencing that runs along the main straight opposite the pits. With cars on track, the man then darted over the starting grid with a Force India approaching in the background before jumping up the pit wall into the pit lane and entering the Ferrari garage. It was there he was finally grabbed by security staff and handed on to police for arrest – but not before apparently stating he wanted to try a car.

Paris St-Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been suspended for four Ligue 1 matches for a foul-mouthed outburst that was captured live on TV. The Sweden international lost his temper, criticised match officials then swore when describing France after his side’s 3-2 loss at Bordeaux last month. Ibrahimovic, 33, later apologised, saying his remarks “were not aimed at France or the French people”. He will now miss four of the quadruple chasers’ seven remaining league games. A disciplinary panel said his punishment reflected “the offensive nature and rudeness of his words”. Ibrahimovic is also banned for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona after a red card against Chelsea in the last round. He can play in Saturday’s League Cup final against Bastia.

They say you should never go back. If former Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt has heard this he has clearly opted to ignore the advice as he has announced this morning that he is leaving Turkish club Fenerbahce and returning to Feyenoord in his native Netherlands, nine years after leaving to move to Merseyside. The 34-year-old says the decision to leave Turkey had been taken before the gun attack on the team bus last weekend that left the driver injured. Kuyt, who was not on the bus at the time of the attack, revealed his intentions in a statement on Facebook addressed to “dear Fenerbahce fans”. Of the attack on the team bus, he said: “In football as in life, the most important thing is the health and safety of people. This is not just for Fenerbahce but for all football fans in Turkey. Turkey should come together to find a solution,”

Nigeria U20 (Flying Eagles) coach Manu Garba has invited 35 players in his provisional squad for the 2015 Fifa U20 World Cup that starts on May 30 in New Zealand.  They are:

Goalkeepers: Adamu Abubakar (Flash FC); Dele Alampasu (Football College Academy); Joshua Enaholo (MFM FC); Olorunleke Ojo (Giwa FC)

Defenders: Musa Muhammed (FC Heart Academy); Saheed Abdul-Ganiyu (Ace Academy); Adebayo Ademilua (Nath Boys); Monsuru Bashiru (MFM FC); Zaharaddeen Bello (Dabo Babes Academy); Abdullahi Mustapaha (Spotlight FC); Wilfred Ndidi (KRC Genk, Belgium);Samuel Okon (Greater Tomorrow Academy); Prince Omego (Apapa Golden Stars); Rowland Silas (Airforce FC)

Midfielders: Abdullahi Alfa (Football College Academy); Bernard Bulbwa (Esperance FC, Tunisia); Akinjide Idowu (Nigeria Young Academy); Ifeanyi Ifeanyi (Water FC); Wasiu Jimoh (Kwara Academy); Ifeanyi Mathew (El-Kanemi Warriors); Chidebere Nwakali (Manchester City, England); Obinna Nwobodo (Enugu Rangers); Kingsley Sokari (Enyimba FC); Musa Yahaya (Tottenham Hotspurs, England)

Forwards: Alhassan Abdullahi (FC Heart); Taiwo Awoniyi (Imperial Academy); Chidera Ezeh (FC Porto, Portugal); Okechukwu Gabriel (Water FC);Saviour Godwin (FC Sports); Kelechi Iheanacho (Manchester City, England); Success Isaac (Granada FC, Spain); Billy Michael (El-Cruzeiro FC), Christian Pyagbara (Dolphins FC); Usman Sani Sale (Wikki Tourists); Moses Simon (Kaa Gent, Belgium)

The football association of Croatia say they will appeal against a UEFA decision ordering them to play their Euro 2016 qualifier at home to Italy behind closed doors in June after crowd trouble last month. UEFA made the decision after fans set off and threw missiles during a Group H match against Norway at Stadion Maksimir in Zagreb on 28 March. Football association president and former Arsenal striker Davor Suker said: “For us, the game with Norway was a step forward. Only six firecrackers went off, but it obviously wasn’t enough. “We have to find the culprits and punish them. We already have footage to identify them. We know what UEFA’s next moves will be – deduction of points and a ban from major international tournaments.”

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 300th competitive Real Madrid goal as they beat Rayo Vallecano to stay four points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona. Real had goalkeeper Iker Casillas to thank for being level at the break after being outplayed. Gareth Bale’s diving header was just wide after the break for the improved visitors before Ronaldo was denied a clear penalty. Ronaldo finally headed home before James Rodriguez curled in a second. The Portuguese’s 300 Real goals have come in 288 games since joining from Manchester United for £80m in 2009. He is the third player after Raul (323) and Alfredo Di Stefano (307) to reach 300 goals for Real. His rivals needed 741 and 396 matches respectively to reach that mark.

Napoli president Aurelio Di Laurentiis threatens to send his players to a training camp if they do not improve. Di Laurentiis was furious after his team continued their recent poor run of form by losing out to Lazio in the Coppa Italia semi-final. A run of five Serie A matches without a win has seen the Italian club drop from third place to sixth in the league table. “I want discipline,” Di Laurentiis said. “I have never failed to pay salaries or even delayed them. I have spent 386 million euros (£280m) on the purchase of players in 10 years and I demand commitment.”

Paris St-Germain remain in contention for a quadruple as Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s hat-trick helped them reach the French Cup final with a 4-1 victory over St Etienne on Wednesday. Ibrahimovic is now PSG’s second highest all-time scorer on 102 goals, behind former Portugal forward Pauleta, who scored 109. The Ligue 1 leaders play Bastia in the League Cup final on Saturday and are still in the Champions League, of course, having knocked Chelsea out in the last 16 to set up a quarter-final with Barcelona.

Ex-Premier League footballer Andrea Dossena has been arrested on suspicion of shoplifting at London department store Harrods, the BBC has learned. The Leyton Orient defender, who used to play for Liverpool, was held in Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, on Tuesday, the BBC reports. The Met Police said a 33-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman were arrested and taken to a west London police station. They have been bailed until late April. Dossena scored against Manchester United and Real Madrid while he was at Liverpool. After joining Liverpool for £7m in July 2008, Dossena scored in the Reds’ 4-0 win against Real Madrid in the Champions League in March 2009 and then again in the club’s 4-1 away victory at Old Trafford against Manchester United. The Italian, who won 10 caps, joined Napoli in January 2010 before a spell at Sunderland in 2013-14. He joined League One Leyton Orient in November last year.