Ronaldo puts Pompey to sword
Premier League round-up
Bees beat Bulls
SPL clash postponed
Rangers reach CIS Cup final
Africa Cup of Nations
Pearce given England role
Diaby signs long-term deal
Arsenal capture Freeman
Routledge joins Villa
Bolton seal Cahill deal
Cousin deal still possible
Liverpool fans plan takeover
Akram denied work permit
Spurs land Hutton
Baggies release Hartson
Kyle loaned to Wolves
Dailly pens Rangers deal
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Manchester United reclaimed top spot in the Premier League with a 2-0 home win over Portsmouth.
Michael Ballack scored the only goal of the game as Chelsea beat Reading at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea stay third but Reading have now suffered five consecutive Premier League defeats.
Mark Noble scored a last-minute penalty as West Ham United beat Liverpool 1-0 at Upton Park.
Elsewhere, Tottenham Hotspur held Everton to a goalless draw at Goodison Park while Derby County and Manchester City drew 1-1 at Pride Park.
In League Two, Barnet picked up three points on the road with a 1-2 win at Hereford United.
Tonight’s Scottish Premier League match between Motherwell and Celtic at Fir Park has been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
Rangers have reached the final of the CIS Cup after beating Heart of Midlothian 2-0 at Hampden. Barry Ferguson and Jean Claude Darcheville were on the scoresheet for Walter Smith’s men. Rangers now await either Aberdeen or Dundee United, whose semi-final was postponed on Tuesday.
In the Africa Cup of Nations, defending champions Egypt qualified for the quarter-finals as Group C winners after a 1-1 draw with Zambia while Cameroon qualified as runners-up after a comfortable 3-0 success against Sudan. This match was notable for Samuel Eto’o’s record-breaking strikes. Eto’o converted a penalty after 28 minutes to become the record goalscorer in African Cup of Nations history with 15 goals. Six minutes later Cameroon were 2-0 up following an own goal from Mohammed Ali Khider. In the last minute Eto’o further extended his record for his side’s third. The previous record of 14 goals, held by Ivory Coast’s Laurent Pokou, has stood since 1970.
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England manager Fabio Capello has appointed Stuart Pearce as a member of his coaching set-up. Pearce, 45, will still be coach of the England Under-21 side and will take charge of their game against the Republic of Ireland on February 5 and join up with senior squad a day later for the Wembley clash with Switzerland.
Abou Diaby has signed a new long-term contract at Arsenal that will keep him with the club until 2012.
Teenage striker Luke Freeman has completed a move from Gillingham to Arsenal for a fee thought to be around £200,000. The 15-year-old has signed a two-year deal to become part of Arsenal’s youth set-up on their sc0hoolboy/scholar scheme.
Aston Villa have signed 23-year-old winger Wayne Routledge from Tottenham Hotspur in a £1.5m deal. The natural right-sided player has penned an 18-month contract.
Bolton Wanderers have signed central defender Gary Cahill from Aston Villa in a deal believed to be worth about £5m.
The 22-year-old has sealed a three-and-a-half-year contract at the Reebok Stadium.
Fulham could still sign Rangers striker Daniel Cousin after FIFA claimed they have still to make a decision on his transfer. It had been reported that FIFA had refused to sanction the move as regulations forbid a player from playing for more than two clubs in one season and Cousin has already played for Lens and Rangers this term. However a FIFA spokesman said: “From FIFA’s side, the case is still pending. No decision has been made yet.”
Liverpool supporters are to launch a plan to buy the club from its current American owners, George Gillett and Tom Hicks. The Share Liverpool FC Group is to reveal plans for a buy-out of the club by 100,000 Reds fans around the world. The idea is based on the successful “member-share” scheme used at Barcelona.
Nashat Akram’s move to Manchester City looks to be over after the Iraqi was refused a work permit because of immigration rules that stipulate that his national side must be in the top 70 of the FIFA rankings, which Iraq are not. Akram had signed a two-and-a-half year deal earlier this month.
Tottenham Hotspur have signed 23-year-old defender Alan Hutton from Rangers on a four-year contract for a fee believed to be in the region of £9m.
West Bromwich Albion have released striker John Hartson - six months before his contract was due to expire.
Wolverhampton Wanderers have signed 26-year-old Coventry City striker Kevin Kyle on loan until the end of the season.
Rangers have signed 34-year-old West Ham United defender Christian Dailly until the end of the season and also agreed to sign goalkeeper Neil Alexander from Ipswich Town.
Nathan Davies