Real Madrid end their Liga season against Espanyol on Saturday but all eyes will be on another capital versus Catalunya clash at Camp Nou.
A run of three games without victory has ended any hopes Real had of winning La Liga, so their meeting with Javier Aguirre s side represents little more than an undercard clash ahead of the title-deciding bout between their arch-rivals Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, which kicks off two hours later.
Carlo Ancelotti s men have taken just two points from their last three league fixtures, meaning they have gone more than two Liga games without winning for the first time since May 2009.
Real s poor run of domestic form has followed their stunning 4-0 UEFA Champions League semi-final second-leg demolition of Bayern Munich.
And it is…
Liverpool have opened the talks with the representatives of Mohamed Salah about the Egyptian signing a new contract, according to James Pearce of .
The Merseysiders have already handed fresh terms to several key players, namely Trent Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho, Alisson Becker and Virgil van Dijk, and an agreement in principle has been reached with captain Jordan Henderson as well. The priority is now to tie Salah down beyond the expiration date on his current deal, which is June, 2023.
The 29-year-old has already secured a place in Liverpool s folklore, breaking the Premier League record in his first season at the club with 32 strikes, and playing a vital role in their Champions League and Premier League conquests in 2019 and 2020.
Salah assisted Diogo Jota and R…
FIFA president Gianni Infantino says it was his job to seek solutions instead of kicking clubs out of competitions following accusations UEFA let Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain avoid more severe Financial Fair Play (FFP) sanctions when he was the organisation s general secretary.
There have been claims this week by French outlet Mediapart and primarily reported by Der Spiegel as part of a Football Leaks investigative series that Infantino discussed deals with PSG and City when working for UEFA.
Both City and PSG are accused of having extra money pumped into them from their ownership groups through over-valued sponsorship deals.
The two clubs reached settlement agreements with UEFA in 2014 for FFP breaches, but it was claimed by Der Spiegel that Cit…
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Real Betis and Sevilla prepare to lock horns in El Gran Derbi this Saturday, the highly anticipated fixture in the calendar for both sets of fans. The hosts have already secured a place in Europe next week and will be out to deny their local rivals a chance to join them in the Europa League.
Real Betis
Trailing behind their local rivals Sevilla over the past couple of seasons, Real Betis are looking to grab more than just bragging rights this term. Los Beticos sit fifth in La Liga with 59 points to their name and at least a Europa League playoff spot already in the bag.
They are currently five points ahead of the bitter rivals and will be keen to extend the gap on Saturday and register yet another E…
Romelu Lukaku scored twice as Everton beat Leicester City 4-2 in an enthralling Premier League clash to keep their faint hopes of Champions League qualification alive.
An unbelievable first half started with Tom Davies netting after just 30 seconds, the joint-fastest Premier League goal this season.
But goals from Islam Slimani and Marc Albrighton ensured Leicester, who made five changes ahead of their huge Champions League quarter-final away to Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, were ahead by the time the match reached the 10-minute mark.
Everton fought back, though, Lukaku heading in midway through the half to score for a seventh consecutive home league game.
Another aerial effort, this time from Phil Jagielka, had Ronald Koeman s men in front at half time, …
Trophies can be an ego thing – Solskjaer insists United progress will not be defined by Europa Leagu
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes success in the Premier League will be the ultimate barometer of whether Manchester United are back .
The 20-time English champions have not lifted a trophy since Jose Mourinho led them to EFL Cup and Europa League glory in 2016-17.
United are back in Europa League action against Milan at San Siro on Thursday, with a place in the last-16 on the line after a 1-1 draw in last week s home leg.
Solskjaer, who succeeded Mourinho midway through the 2018-19 season, would love to bring silverware back to the club he played for in such decorated fashion.
However, he feels United s position in second place in the Premier League – and as the only team to beat leaders Manchester City in their past 32 matches – stands as the best measu…
Ajax general manager Edwin van der Sar admits the recent outlays on Daley Blind and Dusan Tadic herald a shift in ideology at the renowned Dutch talent factory.
The Eredivisie side landed a coup earlier this month by luring Netherlands international Blind back to the club from Manchester United for a fee potentially rising to €20.5million.
That deal came after they paid an initial €11.4m to sign Serbia winger Tadic from Southampton, while 25-year-old Zakaria Labyad has also joined under head coach Erik ten Hag.
As they attempt to win the league title for the first time since 2014, former United man Van der Sar revealed the club was prepared to increase its investment in experience.
It is a clear, small philosophy change, the ex-Netherlands goalke…
Saudi Arabia are not interested in making friends as they look to erase bad Asian Cup memories from four years ago.
In Qatar in 2011, Saudi Arabia lost all three group matches, conceding eight goals, but they should start Saturday s opening match versus China with some confidence due to their three-game unbeaten run against the Chinese.
The Saudis defeated China 4-1 in a friendly in 2009 and 2-1 in their home qualifier for this year s Asian Cup in February 2013, before the Chinese claimed a scoreless draw in Xi an nine months later.
Saudi Arabia are unlikely to let anyone or anything stand in their way of an improved showing in Australia.
In the lead-up to Saturday s clash in Brisbane, Cosmin Olaroiu s men trained at an unauthorised venue to avoid the med…
There have been a number of reports linking Bournemouth s Jermain Defoe with a move to Nottingham Forest on loan before the end of August, but Eddie Howe has firmly denied any possibility of allowing the striker to leave, according to .
The Cherries manager pointed out that his squad contains no more than four strikers and that there have been some injury issues in that department as well, so he has no intention of allowing anyone to leave at this point. He considers Defoe an important part of his team, and there can be very little doubt the 35-year-old occasional England international will remain a vital source of goals for Bournemouth this season.
This is Defoe s second spell at the Vitality Stadium, the first one being a loan from West Ham back in 2000/01. Apart from…
Barcelona refuse to give up on Marco Verratti despite PSG s brick wall / Image via espnfc.com
La Liga giants are coming off from what has been labelled as an utterly disappointing season.
Crucial Summer
A second-place finish in the Spanish top-flight, semi-final elimination in the Champions League and only Copa del Rey trophy to boast with after the 2016-17 campaign might be good enough of a record for any other Spanish club, but it is an underachievement under the standards set by the Catalan side.
Heading into the new season with the new manager Ernesto Valverde who has replaced Luis Enrique at helm, Barcelona are making ambitious plans for the summer as the Camo Nou club is eyeing high-quality recruits to bolster the squad with.
The Catalans want to…