Sam Allardyce has attributed West Ham s excellent Premier League form to a more clinical edge in front of goal this season.

West Ham flirted with relegation during the 2013-14 campaign before eventually recovering to finish 13th.

Part of the problem at Upton Park was the team s troubles in the final third, with the club scoring just 40 goals last term.

This season has seen a marked improvement on that front, though, with the club riding high in fourth having scored 26 goals in 15 top-flight matches.

And manager Allardyce is thrilled with the way the team is converting their chances.

What we ve got this year is that we re taking our chances more, he said ahead of Saturday s visit to Sunderland.

You play in the best way you can with the te…

Borussia Dortmund chief executive officer Hans-Joachim Watzke has accused referee Danny Makkelie of arrogance over his penalty call in the club s Champions League exit to Chelsea.

The Bundesliga side slipped out of Europe after failing to build on their 1-0 first-leg advantage at Stamford Bridge, with a 2-0 defeat on the night meaning a 2-1 aggregate loss to their Premier League hosts.

Chelsea s ultimate winner came from a Kai Havertz penalty, but only when Makkelie allowed the forward to retake it due to encroachment after he missed his first attempt.

Watzke however felt the Dutch referee was guilty of arrogant behaviour in his decision-making, and suggested he was too easily swayed from his gut decisions by a boisterous home atmosphere.

You always had …

Xavi has given a strong indication Barcelona will make a sensational move to sign Lionel Messi next year.

Barca boss Xavi stated earlier this week that it would be impossible for the Catalan giants to bring club legend Messi back to Camp Nou during this transfer window, given he is under contract with Paris Saint-Germain.

The Argentina captain joined PSG on a two-year deal last year after sensationally ending his 21-year stay with the Blaugrana, who could not afford to keep him.

Barca president Joan Laporta on Thursday declared that he thinks the LaLiga giants will make this aspiration a reality when asked about the prospect of signing Messi.

Xavi wants his former team-mate to return to Barcelona, but says it will not happen while he is contracted to t…

Competition: Serie A

Market: Sampdoria to beat Torino

Odds:

Serie A returns this weekend for yet another massive round of games that will only bring more goals and excitement. The league table has remained so tight that a single win can see a side rise up a number of places in the table, and with this in mind, Torino travel to take on Sampdoria on Saturday.

Sampdoria have been in good form this season and they are looking to take a Europa League place for next year. After 22 games they have won 11, drawn four and lost seven times, while they have scored 41 goals and conceded 31 times. In their last five they have won three, drawn once and lost once which has seen them onto 37 points. Sampdoria are currently three points clear of AC Milan in sev…

Bacary Sagna still harbours hope of an unlikely call-up for France s World Cup squad after choosing the heart and soul of football over money by joining Serie A strugglers Benevento.

Sagna had been without a club since leaving Manchester City at the end of last season, as Pep Guardiola s defensive clear-out saw the Frenchman not offered a new contract.

With a wealth of experience to offer, Sagna had been linked with a host of clubs across the globe following his release by City.

But the France international opted for Benevento, despite their ominous position at the bottom of the Serie A table, having picked up just seven points from 22 matches.

Sagna acknowledges his decision may surprise some, but he believes choosing Benevento allows him to get back in …

Romania coach Victor Piturca has left Cristi Chivu and Adrian Mutu out of his 22-man squad unveiled on Monday for 2010 World Cup qualifiers against Lithuania and the Faroe Islands.

Romania captain Chivu is still recovering from a shoulder operation, while striker Mutu, just back from an elbow injury, hurt his ribs during training on Saturday with his Italian club Fiorentina.

Both also missed last month s friendly win over Latvia.

Also missing for the first two qualifiers are Shakhtar Donetsk s Razvan Rat, Florentin Petre of Russian club Grozny and Steaua Bucharest s George Ogararu.

Romania, who are in Group 7 along with France, Serbia and Austria, host Lithuania on September 6 in the northwestern city of Cluj and travel to the Faroe Islands four days…

Joe Cole has warned his England team-mates not to underestimate Croatia for the second tournament in a row as they prepare for a World Cup qualifier in Zagreb on Wednesday.

Cole, who came off the bench to score twice against Andorra on Saturday, hopes his decisive intervention in England s opening qualifier will result in him being promoted to the starting line-up for a match that could really set the tone in the battle for top spot in group six.

England lost 2-0 in Zagreb two years ago in a Euro 2008 qualifying match and went on to miss out on a place in the finals as Croatia topped the group ahead of Russia.

But Chelsea midfielder Cole, who also scored as a substitute against the Czech Republic last month, believes England have learned from their mistakes.<…

Xavi is dreaming of the Club World Cup semi-finals after Al Sadd edged past Hienghene Sport in Doha on Wednesday.

Extra-time goals from Abdelkarim Hassan and Pedro Miguel saw Al Sadd to a 3-1 victory after Antoine Roine had earlier cancelled out Baghdad Bounedjah s opener.

Ahead of a clash against Monterrey on Saturday, Al Sadd head coach Xavi was pleased, although he lamented his side s wastefulness.

We wasted a number of easy chances, we were not able to score. In extra time, we managed to score and were lucky that we did not go to penalties, he told a news conference, as per the club s website.

I am happy to progress to the next round of the tournament.

The Barcelona great added: We have dreams and goals in the upcoming game. We are 90 minut…

Hugo Lloris hopes to help Tottenham stamp their name in Champions League history as he aims to lift a major trophy for a second successive year.

Having already captained France to glory at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Lloris can complete an impressive double with victory over Liverpool on Saturday in Madrid.

Spurs produced a stunning comeback to squeeze past Ajax on away goals and set up an all-English final in Europe s premier club competition, with their goalkeeper honoured to be leading the side out at the Wanda Metropolitano.

First of all, it s a privilege to be part of this successful team, Lloris said at a pre-match press conference.

To win the World Cup was a massive achievement and it would not be possible without the help of my team-mates, …

Jerome Boateng has revealed he rejected an offer from Barcelona as he felt he is equally capable of winning European titles at Bayern Munich.

The former Manchester City and Hamburg man has been key to Bayern s recent domestic dominance and also won the UEFA Champions League in 2013.

I really don’t know exactly how much Barcelona offered for me in detail, but it’s true that I received an offer [from them], Boateng told Sport Bild.

If a club like Barca shows interest in you then of course it’s a huge honour.

I never really considered it, at this time I was preparing for the new season with Bayern. 

Today, you no longer have to go from Bayern to Barcelona if you want to win the Champions League.

Pep Guardiola s side are on cou…