With all eyes from across Europe falling on the Bernabeu on Thursday night, Barcelona opened their Copa del Rey semi-final adventure with a 1-0 victory against Real Madrid.
While many were expecting Los Blancos to claim what could have been a crucial first-leg advantage on home soil, Eder Militao s first-half own-goal proved costly as Madrid watched their six-match unbeaten run come to an abrupt end.
Although Barcelona might have been without a host of first-team stars that included the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Pedri and Ousmane Dembele, Xai s young squad put in another gritty display here.
Still holding a seven-point buffer at the top of the La Liga table and already claiming this year s Spanish Super Cup thanks to a 3-1 romp against their historic rivals b…
Real Madrid midfielder and former Arsenal loanee Dani Ceballos is relishing the prospect of combining with Spain s Olympic head coach Luis de la Fuente in Tokyo, having previously worked with him at Under-19 level.
Spain head into the Tokyo Olympics as one of the favourites for the gold medal, given De la Fuente has been able to call upon six players that reached the semi-final stages at Euro 2020 with the senior national side.
The names of their star-studded line-up would be enough to frighten any Olympic opposition as they have included Pedri, Unai Simon, Dani Olmo, Mikel Oyarzabal, Eric Garcia and Pau Torres.
While the players on the pitch paint an attractive picture that could see Spain win their second gold and first since 1992, Ceballos explained how his r…
Liverpool have stepped up their interest in signing Luis Diaz from FC Porto, according to a number of relatively reliable journalists.
Liverpool are looking to finalise a £37.5 million deal to sign Luis Diaz after hijacking Tottenham Hotspur’s interest in the Porto winger.
— paul joyce (@_pauljoyce)
The Merseysiders initially had no intention of making any move on that front this month, looking into the possibility of bringing Diaz to Anfield in the summer, and both clubs denied any negotiations were held. But Tottenham Hotspur stepped in and tried to take the winger to North London instead, forcing Liverpool to move sooner rather than later for the player whom they see as a good fit for their attacking line.
The reports claim Liverpool wi…
With battles at both ends of the Premier League table really starting to heat up, neutrals are treated to another blockbuster schedule from across England’s top-flight. So, for those of you looking to place a Saturday accumulator, we have found a few helpful tips that are worth keeping an eye out for.
Saturday April 15th
BST 12:30 Aston Villa vs Newcastle
Mounting a stellar second-half comeback away at Brentford last weekend as they eventually claimed a 2-1 victory in west London, Newcastle are enjoying what has been a history-making campaign this season. Only continuing to shine on either side of the international break, Eddie Howe’s men are sat in pole position to claim a remarkable Champions League spot in 2023. Winning each of their last five Premier League a…
Bruno Fernandes does not believe Portugal needed the breath of fresh air that Cristiano Ronaldo was looking forward to under Roberto Martinez.
Martinez has taken charge of Portugal for the first time in this international break, having succeeded Fernando Santos following the World Cup.
The former Belgium coach has overseen 4-0 and 6-0 defeats of Liechtenstein and Luxembourg respectively to begin Euro 2024 qualifying.
Captain Ronaldo scored twice in each match, having earlier spoken of fresh air now, different ideas and mentality with Martinez at the helm.
Despite the positive start, that is not an assessment team-mate Fernandes agrees with.
No, it s just a new coach with new ideas, the Manchester United midfielder told RTP3 after Sunday s win aga…
Unai Emery hailed a “fantastic” win that capped a “very good week” after Aston Villa came from behind to secure a 3-1 home win over Bournemouth.
Having gone a goal down through Dominic Solanke’s 31st-minute penalty, the hosts turned things around with Morgan Rogers equalising in first-half stoppage time and second-half efforts following from Moussa Diaby and Leon Bailey, both set up by Ollie Watkins, who is the Premier League’s leading assist maker this season on 12, to go with his 19 goals.
Villa again boosted their bid for Champions League football seven days after winning 2-0 at Arsenal, and three on from the penalty shootout triumph at Lille that took them into the Europa Conference League semi-finals.
With four league games to go, the midlands ou…
Having left Tottenham Hotspur for Bayern Munich last summer, Harry Kane seemed destined to finally win a trophy in an otherwise very successful career.
However, Bayern s DFB-Pokal campaign ended in shame some time ago, and now, after losing 0-2 at home to Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, they trail Bayer Leverkusen at the top of the Bundesliga table by 13 points. There s still 11 league games to be played, but Leverkusen still haven t lost a single match in 2023/24.
After the final whistle at the Allianz Arena, the fans were obviously disappointed, and Kane looked simply stunned.
Harry Kane can only look on
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball)
…
Marcel Desailly has called on LaLiga to do more to protect Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior and other players who have been targeted by racist abuse.
Vinicius broke down at a press conference earlier this month as he opened up about the abuse he has received from the stands while representing Madrid.
The Brazil international is not alone in that regard, with team-mate Aurelien Tchouameni another example, and World Cup winner Desailly wants more to be done.
Vinicius has spoken out, but it s not about him it s about LaLiga and the people who can take action, he told Stats Perform.
We have the power to change things, but we are not doing enough. Samuel Eto o had the same issue before.
Vinicius is one of those who is suffering because the admini…
Verdict: Tottenham to win and over 3.5 goals in the match
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Tottenham are flying high at the start of the season. The North London team could be at the top of the Premier League if they manage a win against Luton, at least for a couple of hours until Manchester City plays. Apparently, the Spurs seem to have an easy task away at the struggling Luton.
Luton
Luton managed to pull off a historic promotion last season. Playing against the best football teams in the world like the Champions League winners Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester United is a treat for their fans. Although given almost no chances to play Premier League football in the next season, Rob Edwards s team is safe for the time being, with only …
Cristiano Ronaldo made history on Sunday as the Juventus star finished the season as the leading goalscorer in Serie A.
The 36-year-old was an unused substitute as Juve beat Bologna 4-1 away to snatch a Champions League spot from Napoli, who were held by Hellas Verona.
Despite missing a league game for just the fifth time in 2020-21, Ronaldo finished on 29 goals, five more than his nearest rival, Inter striker Romelu Lukaku.
Ronaldo has become the first player to finish as the top scorer for a season in Serie A, LaLiga and the Premier League.
The Portugal star won three Pichichi trophies while at Real Madrid – in 2010-11, 2013-14 and 2014-15 – and won the Premier League golden boot with Manchester United in 2007-08.
Only Lionel Messi (30) a…