Jose Mourinho made it two wins out of two as Tottenham manager while Chelsea suffered back-to-back Premier League defeats for the first time this season on a weekend of mixed fortunes at the top of the table.
Manchester City s failure to beat Newcastle United left them 11 points behind league leaders Liverpool, who won again, but Leicester City s late winner against Everton kept them within eight points of Jurgen Klopp s title favourites.
With a packed December schedule looming for all Premier League clubs, maintaining the form and fitness of key players is even more vital than ever for those chasing honours.
The absence of one of the division s hottest marksmen hurt Chelsea while the return to form of a top playmaker gave Spurs a boost, as our Premier League Da…
Inter were the last team to win the Champions League from Italy, defeating Bayern in the 2009/2010 final. Image: UEFA
Can win the Champions League? It sure looks like it. They demolished Monaco 2-0 in France, and they knocked out on their way to getting here. What would a win mean for the Serie A as a whole?
Bragging Rights
For the first time since 2010, an Italian team could win the Champions League. Juventus were already denied once here in 2015, but they ve already dispatched the Catalan club en route to the semifinals. They have a hefty lead against Monaco heading back to Turin, where they haven t lost a game in 49 matches. Yep, you read that right. 49 matches.
If they do go through to the final as expected, they should face Real Madrid, equipped with Gar…
Champions League last-16 v Napoli (February 25 March 18)
Despite being the dominant force in Spain over the past decade, Barca s failure to win Europe s biggest prize since 2015 is a blot upon golden era. The fact bitter rival Real Madrid hoisted the big trophy in each of the following three years added ample irritation.
Stunning knockout stage collapses at the hands of Roma and Liverpool in each of the past two seasons do much to explain the pressure Valverde finds himself under and he must negotiate this double-header against an inconsistent but dangerous Napoli, along with any other subsequent knockout ties without his main centre forward.
Real Madrid v Barcelona (March 1)
Suarez enjoys few things more than facing up to Barca s sworn enemies. He boasts…
According to a recent report from L’Equipe, Celtic are believed to be interested in signing Stephane Diarra. The Scottish giants are currently following the youngster’s progress, with the 20 year old making a strong start to the season – and a strong claim to be looked at by an even bigger club in the process.
Newcastle United and Leicester City have also been linked in recent days, but the allure of consistent European football at such a prestigious club could easily swing Diarra in the direction of Celtic.
Diarra is said to be one for the future but you’d have to imagine Celtic would be more than happy to slot him straight into their first team plans as they continue to try and bring through a crop of youngster stars to assist them in their quest to…
Alvaro Morata is set to spearhead Chelsea s title defence after the Premier League champions reached an agreement to bring in the Spain striker from Real Madrid in a reported £70million deal.
But the circumstances surrounding Morata s arrival mean he will inevitably be measured against the deeds of two other master marksmen.
Diego Costa was Chelsea s top scorer en route to glory last season but Conte has decided Morata s combustible international colleague is more trouble than he is worth, freezing him out of his plans this time around.
The Blues were seemingly keen on bringing Romelu Lukaku back to Stamford Bridge but Manchester United beat them to the punch, wrapping up an initial £75m deal.
Missing out on the Belgium star reportedly left Conte fu…
Tim Sherwood believes that Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min is good enough to play for Liverpool.
The former Tottenham manager has raved about the South Korea international, who can play as a forward or as a winger.
Sherwood believes that the 28-year-old is very underrated, and is surprised that no bigger clubs have come calling for him.
Sherwood said about Son on : Son, I think is a very underrated player. I know we all like him. For the life of me, I don’t know why he’s not linked to many teams.
When you talk about Harry Kane getting linked, left, right and centre. I think Son could play for Liverpool. He can play for top teams in the Premier League and all over the world.”
Important player for Tottenham Hotspur
Son has been …
According to a recent report from Sky Italy, Gennaro Gattuso is the primary candidate to become the new manager of Napoli if they wind up sacking Carlo Ancelotti. The veteran gaffer is on the verge of losing his job with the Italian giants as a direct result of their poor run of form over the course of the last few weeks. Napoli’s game against Genk tonight could quite easily signal the end of the road for Ancelotti, with a defeat almost certainly ensuring that he leaves.
Ancelotti could then take up the vacant managerial position at Goodison Park with Everton, but until we see what happens with his Napoli stay, we really can’t tell one way or the other.
Gattuso, on the other hand, has been incredibly hot and cold with his start to life as a manager, which has le…
Diego Godin will be considered an Atletico Madrid great after he leaves the club at the end of the season, according to Diego Simeone.
Having announced his departure from Atletico in midweek, Godin bade farewell to the Wanda Metropolitano faithful following the 1-1 draw with Sevilla on Sunday.
Inter have been heavily linked with signing the 33-year-old, who joined Atleti from Villarreal in 2010, winning the Europa League twice, a LaLiga title, and a Copa del Rey during his time at the club.
And Simeone was full of praise for the Uruguay international, adding that Godin has earned the right to be considered along club greats such as Fernando Torres and Gabi.
Footballers leave. We ve had seven and a half years. We ve been able to squeeze the best out …
Lionel Messi scored a world-class goal and assisted another for Neymar as Paris Saint-Germain twice came from behind to beat Troyes 4-3 and go five points clear at the top of Lige 1.
PSG were behind with just 134 seconds played – the earliest they have trailed at home in the league since September 2018 – after Mama Balde thumped in from close range.
Neymar played in Carlos Soler to equalise after 24 minutes, only for Balde to restore Troyes lead early in the second half and leave the champions in need of some inspiration, which arrived in the form of Messi.
The forward blasted home a vicious strike from 30 yards and then set up Neymar, before Kylian Mbappe gave PSG some breathing space that was required when Ante Palaversa pulled one back for what proved to b…
Napoli star Victor Osimhen described his match-winning header as the most important goal of my career after the record-equalling Serie A leaders preserved their perfect start to the season.
Osimhen rose highest to head home the winner with nine minutes remaining in Napoli s 1-0 victory at home to Torino on Sunday.
Napoli made it eight wins from eight games – the only team with a 100 per cent record in the top-five European leagues – to equal their best start to the Serie A season (after 2017-18), despite Lorenzo Insigne s missed penalty in the first half.
Osimhen revelled in his goal afterwards, with only Real Madrid s Karim Benzema (seven) and Borussia Dortmund sensation Erling Haaland (five) scoring more goals than the Nigerian forward (five) in September a…