Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero has moved to quell fears around the injury he picked up in Saturday s crucial 3-2 win at Everton.
Ross Barkley netted a magnificent long-range opener for the hosts but Aguero demonstrated his finishing prowess by firing home an equaliser.
But the injury problems that have plagued the Argentina international since December returned as he hobbled off shortly afterwards, having appeared to aggravate a muscular problem in his leg while drilling his shot beyond Tim Howard.
On the back of a calf strain sustained in City s 6-3 home win over Arsenal and hamstring tweaks at Tottenham and Barcelona in January and March respectively, Aguero s departure was an uncomfortably familiar sight for manager Manuel Pellegrini.
Edin Dzeko goals …
Junior have edged Atletico Nacional 1-0 in the first leg of their Colombia Primera A Apertura final on Sunday.
Edison Toloza s 55th-minute goal saw Julio Comesana s men to the hard-fought win at their Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Melendez home.
Junior, seven-time champions, last won a title in 2011 and need another result at Atletico Nacional s Estadio Atanasio Girardot on Wednesday to add to that crown.
The win extended Junior s unbeaten run to six matches, while Atletico s struggles continued.
Perhaps affected by their run to the Copa Libertadores quarter-finals, Atletico have lost four of their past five matches in all competitions.
It was a scrappy winning goal for Junior, with Toloza tapping in from close range after a corner went uncleared by the vis…
Southampton manager Claude Puel will be desperate for revenge against Manchester United
Southampton host Manchester United at St Mary’s in the Premier League on Wednesday evening, and will be determined to get a result as payback for February’s EFL Cup final defeat.
The Saints have a good head-to-head record against the Red Devils and are fancied by the bookmakers as the out-of-form visitors will have a weakened starting eleven.
Southampton won’t lie down in their penultimate home game. Can they win it?
Saints enjoying late-season resurgence
Claud Puel’s Southampton side are currently ninth in the Premier League table with 45 points from 36 games, having won one and drawn two of their last four outings. The South Coast club haven’t been…
Athletic Bilbao manager Ernesto Valverde has signed a new contract to keep him at San Mames until June 2017.
The 52-year-old has been in charge of the club since June 2013 and this week insisted he knew nothing of rumours linking him with Real Madrid.
Valverde guided Athletic to finishes of fourth and seventh in his first two seasons in charge, as well as leading them to the Copa del Rey final in 2015, where they lost to Barcelona at Camp Nou.
Urrutia y Valverde firman el acuerdo
— Athletic Club (@AthleticClub)
This season, Athletic got the better of Barca over two legs to win the Supercopa de Espana – the Basque club s first trophy in 31 years.
Athletic are seventh in La Liga with 11 games to go and remain alive in the Europa Lea…
Newcastle United are interested in signing Harry Kane from Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur, according to . It has been reported that Newcastle’s new owners, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), are keeping a close eye on the situation of the 28-year-old striker.
Kane was strongly linked with a move to defending Premier League champions Manchester City in the summer transfer window. The Tottenham striker himself said that he wanted to leave the North London club to win trophies.
However, Kane is still at Spurs. The striker, though, is struggling to score goals in the Premier League for Tottenham. It is unlikely that Spurs chairman Daniel Levy will sell the England international in the January transfer window, but anything could happen next summer.
…
Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo accepted substantial libel damages from a British newspaper on Monday over a claim that he put his injured ankle at risk by living it up in a Hollywood nightclub.
Ronaldo was not at London s High Court for the settlement of his action against Telegraph Media Group Ltd over a Daily Telegraph story in July 2008, when he played for Manchester United.
His lawyer Allan Dunlavy told judge Victoria Sharp that the report, which claimed the Portuguese player had laid down his crutches and taken to the dance floor with four models, caused him embarrassment, offence and distress.
As a professional, he was concerned both about his own reputation and how it might be perceived by United, the team s manager Sir Alex Ferguson and the club s…
Roma coach Claudio Ranieri insisted his team need four more points to ensure they progress to the knock-out stages of the Champions League.
And the former Chelsea, Valencia and Juventus boss said they had put matters into their own hands by winning away to Basel last time out.
Roma had a disastrous start to their Group E campaign when they lost two of their first three matches, including a 3-1 home defeat to Basel.
But by winning 3-2 away to the Swiss outfit last time out, they put themselves in pole position to qualify for the second round, giving them a three point advantage over Basel and Romanians CFR Cluj.
Bayern have already booked their place in the last 16 and Roma can join them if they win on Tuesday and the other game ends in a draw.
An…
Lionel Messi s 500th senior goal was not enough to prevent Barcelona from losing three La Liga games in a row for the first time since February 2003 as Valencia won 2-1 at Camp Nou.
The Catalans knew they could not afford to drop points again after previous defeats at the hands of Real Madrid and Real Sociedad with Atletico Madrid moving level on points earlier on Sunday following their win over Granada and created numerous chance to open the scoring in the opening stages of the game.
Luis Suarez, Messi and Neymar all failed to beat the excelling Diego Alves, though, as the Valencia goalkeeper pulled off a string of fine saves.
An own goal from Ivan Rakitic then saw Valencia take a shock lead, before Santi Mina doubled the visitors lead with his fourth league go…
Former Palermo coach Davide Ballardini believes Franco Vazquez deserves to play for either Liverpool or Manchester United .
The attacking midfielder, who joined the Sicilian outfit in 2012, is widely regarded across Europe for his creativity and vision.
And Ballardini thinks the 26-year-old deserves a move to a bigger club.
Vazquez? He is ready for a big team, with his quality [he] deserves a big European club like Liverpool or Manchester United, he told Mediaset Premium.
Ballardini was sacked just two months after being appointed head coach of Palermo, but defended his time in charge.
In [Palermo] there was good management, we had some good matches and collected seven points in seven games, he said.
“The team is young and has room …
Gareth Bale will start for Real Madrid against Barcelona on Wednesday, while Luka Modric drops to the bench.
Wales star Bale will join Karim Benzema in attack for his first LaLiga start in December, with Isco retaining his place from the 1-1 draw with Valencia on Sunday.
Casemiro, Federico Valverde and Toni Kroos line up in midfield, meaning 2018 Ballon d Or winner Modric is among the substitutes, along with Rodrygo Goes, Vinicius Junior and Luka Jovic.
Ferland Mendy is back at left-back after being suspended for the Valencia match.
Our starting XI is here! |
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden)
Barcelona line up with Antoine Griezmann alongside Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi in attack, while Ivan Rakitic and Frenkie de Jong look set to…