Month: November 2024

Xavi was disappointed by Barcelona s failure to win moments after they were romped by Clasico rivals Real Madrid 4-0 at the Camp Nou to fall to a 4-1 Copa del Rey semi-final aggregate defeat.

An Eder Militao own goal in the first leg at the Bernabeu meant Barca headed into Wednesday s return match on home turf with a one-goal advantage.

But a strong first half by Barca ended with a short period of play that would prove crucial, as Thibaut Courtois made a brilliant save to deny Robert Lewandowski before a sweeping counter-attack ended with Vinicius Junior levelling the tie.

Madrid then sealed their progression with a brilliant second half, as Karim Benzema s hat-trick put the 31-time winners out and set Carlo Ancelotti s men up to meet Osasuna in the final on May …

Milan coach Stefano Pioli believes Tuesday s Champions League meeting with Tottenham arrives at the ideal time for his team, saying Friday s win over Torino helped to cleanse our spirit .

Scudetto holders Milan halted a five-game winless run in Serie A with the 1-0 victory, as Olivier Giroud scored the only goal of a tight contest at San Siro.

The result lifted the Rossoneri from sixth to third in the Italian top flight ahead of Saturday s fixtures, but they must swiftly turn their attention to Europe in the coming days.

Milan will play their first match in the Champions League knockout stages since 2014 when they welcome Antonio Conte s Spurs to Italy for the first leg of their last-16 tussle.

Asked whether that game comes at a good time for Milan after …

UEFA President Michel Platini unveiled the official logo and slogan to be used at Euro 2012 at a ceremony here on Monday.

The logo is a design of two tulips one red and one white featuring the Polish and Ukrainian flags and a football, and the slogan is Creating History Together.

Platini said: These are two flowers which bloom, I hope that Poland and Ukraine will grow like them.

Euro 2012 is the first major football tournament to be awarded to Eastern Europe.

Appearing with Platini at the unveiling was Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

…

Paulo Fonseca confirmed that Noah Okafor will start up front in place of Alvaro Morata for Milan s Serie A meeting with Parma this weekend.

Okafor, who signed from RB Salzburg in 2023, made 28 appearances in his debut year with the club, but only six were from the first whistle.

The Swiss international scored six league goals last campaign, and got his tally up and running for the new season in Milan s 2-2 draw with Torino.

Morata, who captained Spain to glory at Euro 2024, marked his debut for the Italian side with a goal, but was withdrawn from the action in the 30th minute.

The 31-year-old picked up a thigh injury and is expected to be on the sidelines for the next three weeks, meaning Okafor has the chance to shine for Milan.

I have to b…

Liverpool and Al-Ettifaq agree Henderson fee

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson is set to leave the club following a reported agreement between the Merseysiders and Al-Ettifaq on a transfer fee of £12 million, plus potential add-ons to come on top of that amount.

Liverpool s transfer business this summer began in an optimistic way, as the departures of Roberto Firmino, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita and James Milner were followed by the signings of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai. However, last week their plans were shaken with reports emerging about Henderson accepting Al-Ettifaq s offer of a highly lucrative three-year contract, as well as an offer of £40m arriving from Al-Ittihad for Fabinho.

Both transfers have now been agreed, a…

Fulham are interested in signing Eddie Nketiah from London and Premier League rivals Arsenal in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that the Gunners are willing to offload Nketiah at the end of the season, and that the Cottagers are among the clubs who are keen on the striker.

Nketiah has been on the books of Arsenal since 2015 and has come through the North London club’s youth system. The 24-year-old is now part of the first team at the Gunners, but he is a squad under manager Mikel Arteta. The England international striker has made 10 starts and 14 substitute appearances in the Premier League so far this season, scoring five goals and providing two assists in the process.

TEAMtalk has claimed that Arsenal are ready to sell Nketiah to av…

Chelsea and Manchester City played out an enthralling 4-4 draw on Sunday – the second brilliant match Mauricio Pochettino’s men have been involved in over the past week.

Pep Guardiola’s champions led three times at Stamford Bridge only to be pegged back on each occasion, with former City man Cole Palmer holding his nerve to grab his new team a point with a stoppage-time penalty.

The Blues on Monday evening ended Tottenham’s unbeaten start to the Premier League season with an extraordinary 4-1 win over their nine-man London rivals.

A hat-trick from Nicolas Jackson helped Blues head coach Pochettino enjoy a successful return to his former club, but only after a pulsating contest with two red cards – for Spurs defenders Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie �…

Seattle Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer has praised his side’s resilience in coming back from a poor run of results to go five games unbeaten in the MLS.

The Sounders travel to the Q2 Stadium this weekend to face Austin FC, hoping to continue their unbeaten streak and move further up the Western Conference table.

Schmetzer’s side currently sit in seventh place in the standings and booked their place in the semi-finals of the US Open Cup following a 2-1 victory over Sacramento Republic last time out.

The head coach was able to detail the reasoning behind his side’s upturn in fortunes in recent weeks, going on to say the players within the group have changed their mindset as part of their newfound success.

Schmetzer said: “I have seen goal produ…

Jordan Pickford has urged England to embrace the pressure of being one of the favourites to win Euro 2024.

England made it to the final of Euro 2020, ultimately losing on penalties to Italy, as well as reaching the semi-finals and quarter-finals of the last two World Cups under Gareth Southgate.

According to the Opta supercomputer, England are the slight favourites going into Euro 2024, with a 19.9 per cent chance of lifting the trophy for the first time, narrowly ahead of France (19.1 per cent).

Pickford has faith that the squad, despite being quite young, will be able to cope with the expectations placed on them due to the favourites tag.

Apart from Russia in 2018 [World Cup], where there was no pressure on us, to be a top, elite team you have got to h…

Jaap Stam has signed a new contract with Reading, tying him to the Championship club until 2019.

The Dutchman guided the Royals to the play-off final last season, where they were beaten on penalties by Huddersfield Town.

Stam was linked with West Ham in March to underline the former Manchester United defender s growing reputation as a coach, and chief executive Nigel Howe was delighted to secure his signature for another two years, along with retaining coaches Andries Ulderink and Said Bakkati.

Jaap, Andries and Said signing new contracts is momentous for this football club and a clear demonstration that Reading football club is a great place to be right now, Howe told the club s official website.

Akin to the manager, we are a club with fierce ambition …