Month: December 2024

Robert Lewandowski does not want Bayern Munich to enter their Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid with any inferiority complex.

Bayern boss Carlo Ancelotti will lead the Bundesliga kings against his former club and 11-time European champions Madrid in an eagerly awaited tie next month.

Lewandowski joined Bayern from Borussia Dortmund for the 2014-15 season, in the aftermath of Ancelotti s Madrid beating both German clubs on the way to glory.

Two more semi-final defeats followed for Bayern under Pep Guardiola, while Madrid added title number 11 at the expense of city rivals Atletico last term.

Nevertheless, Lewandowski believes he is in the perfect place to achieve European glory having extended his contract in Munich until 2021 last Decemb…

Bayern Munich have been scouting Bordeaux star Malcom with a view to a possible transfer bid, head coach Jupp Heynckes has confirmed.

The Brazilian has produced a number of eye-catching displays in Ligue 1 and was heavily linked with Arsenal and Tottenham in the January transfer window, although a move failed to materialise.

The 21-year-old claimed last month he has been made a promise by Bordeaux that they will allow him to leave at the end of the season, should a suitable offer be made.

Heynckes says Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic has drawn up a list of targets ahead of next season, which includes the young winger.

I don t know the player that much but he is certainly the focus of our scouting department, with Hasan Salihamidzic at the to…

Mino Raiola, the agent of Mario Balotelli, is determined to find the former Italy international a new club, Gazzetta dello Sport have reported.

The Italian striker moved from to Liverpool in 2014 for £16 million as the Reds desperately tried to compensate for the loss of Luis Suarez, but his time there was riddled with discipline issues and a semi-successful loan-move back to the Rossoneri. In his very first summer at the club, Jürgen Klopp made Balotelli aware that he wasn t a part of his plans, prompting some insulting words from Raiola. In the end, were forced to cancel his contract and give up any potential transfer fee in order to take him off the wage-bill.

Balotelli s contract with expires in the summer, but the League 1 club will try to activate an exten…

Liverpool are hoping to discuss a new contract with Fabinho, according to .

The Brazilian arrived to Anfield from AS Monaco in the summer of 2018 and even though it took some time for him to adapt to the tactical demands of manager Jurgen Klopp, he quickly grew into a very important player for a team that won the Champions League that season and the Premier League in the one that followed.

Primarily a defensive midfielder, Fabinho proved his versatility this term by dropping into the centre-back role due to the injuries that saw the season practically finished for Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez. Even though his duties are mostly oriented to protecting his own goal rather than threatening the opposition one, he has scored a few stunners for Liverpool, most notably the kon…

Milan Skriniar bailed out goalkeeper Samir Handanovic and maintained Inter s winning run in a 2-1 victory at Hellas Verona to keep the pressure on title rivals Milan.

The Nerazzurri were made to work for their seventh straight Serie A success a result that took them two points above their city neighbours, at least until the Rossoneri hosted Lazio later on Wednesday.

Skriniar s 69th-minute header proved decisive after Handanovic had gifted an equaliser to Ivan Ilic, cancelling out Lautaro Martinez s second-half opener.

The defender s first Serie A goal since February 2018 brought to a close a promising first section of the season for Antonio Conte s side, able to take in the Milan match and enjoy Christmas regardless, firmly back in the Scudetto hunt.

A st…

Russian Premier League table-toppers CSKA Moscow slumped to a 2-0 defeat at Rubin Kazan on Sunday.

CSKA could have moved six points clear at the top of the league with just four matches to play had they earned victory, but they were frustrated in Kazan.
Venezuelan Salomon Rondon – who signed from Malaga in the off-season – opened the scoring four minutes into the second half for Rubin.
And Roman Eremenko sealed the win nine minutes from time for fifth-placed Rubin, as CSKA Moscow s title hopes took a hit.
They are still three points ahead of second-placed Zenit St. Petersburg but with just one win in their last four matches in all competitions, will be nervous ahead of the season s end.
Zenit had to come from behind to get a point in a 2-2 draw at Kuban Krasnodar that keeps…

Edin Terzic warned Borussia Dortmund must swiftly forget about their Champions League heroics in Paris after a 3-0 humbling by Mainz on Saturday.

Lee Jae-Sung twice punished a sloppy Dortmund performance after Leandro Barreiro had opened the scoring for relegation-battling Mainz in their Bundesliga clash.

That abject performance came after BVB managed a 1-0 away victory against Paris Saint-Germain, progressing to the Champions League final after a 2-0 aggregate victory over Luis Enrique s side.

Dortmund head coach Terzic was far from impressed after defeat against Mainz left his side four points adrift of fourth-placed RB Leipzig in the German top flight.

Let s let Paris be Paris and talk about last week and this week, Terzic told Sky Sport Germany.

…

Inter defender Andrea Ranocchia has joined fellow Serie A side Sampdoria on a loan deal until June.

Ranocchia has fallen down the pecking order under Roberto Mancini at San Siro this season and is keen to play regular first-team football in order to make the Italy squad for Euro 2016.

The 27-year-old had been linked with Premier League duo Liverpool and Norwich City, and even Inter s bitter rivals AC Milan during the January transfer window.

However, Sampdoria emerged as favourites for his signature and he completed a temporary move to Stadio Luigi Ferraris on Thursday.

I want to repay the faith of the coach [Vincenzo Montella] on the pitch, he told Sampdoria s official website.

This a great group. I know many of the players, I have played with …

Watford manager Quique Sanchez Flores says Roma forward Juan Iturbe was never a target for the Premier League side during the January transfer window.

The 22-year-old was heavily linked with a move to Vicarage Road ahead of the window opening on January 2 after struggling to make an impact in Serie A this season.

Talks of a loan move with a view to a permanent switch emerged after Iturbe bid farewell to the Roma faithful last week, but his destination remains unclear, with Bournemouth also said to be in the running.

However, Flores has insisted Watford were never in contention to sign the Argentine, claiming Iturbe was never a name on his list of targets.

We decided the names of the players we want, he [Iturbe] is not in our plans, said the Spaniard. 

Real Madrid s 33rd LaLiga title triumph was confirmed on Sunday as they defeated Malaga thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.

The 2-0 victory ensured Madrid held off Barcelona in a thrilling race for the Spanish title, their first since 2012, winning the league by three points.

After Barca and Atletico Madrid had spells at the top of the table, Madrid have led the standings all the way since the ninth week of the season.

There have been many crucial steps on the road to glory, but we have narrowed things down to five pivotal matches. 

REAL BETIS 1-6 REAL MADRID (15/10/2016)

Madrid came into October s match away to Betis under pressure having drawn four consecutive matches, three of which had been in the league, while key stars Luka Modric…