Manchester City s fans must match the players desire to reach a Champions League semi-final, according to manager Pep Guardiola.
City host Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, nursing a 1-0 deficit from last week s encounter in north London.
Despite contesting their eighth consecutive campaign in Europe s premier competition, City have only reached the last four once – losing 1-0 on aggregate to eventual winners Real Madrid in 2016.
An element in the club s uneasy relationship with the Champions League is rooted in a standoffishness from a significant section a fanbase that followed City with unswerving loyalty when they languished in English football s third tier 20 years ago.
Reasons for this are numerous – from dissatisfaction over UEFA pu…
Luis Suarez stuck to the script by scoring on his 100th international appearance for Uruguay, but you could be forgiven for thinking Russia were playing on Wednesday at Rostov Arena, where the loudest chants were neither for the Celeste nor their opponents Saudi Arabia.
Instead it was the fans of a resurgent host nation who made their presence felt, as they embarked on a noisy scouting mission ahead of what now looms as an unexpectedly decisive showdown to determine the winners of Group A at the World Cup.
Uruguay have played the part that was expected of them, edging past Egypt and overcoming the Saudis to reach the round of 16, where Portugal, Iran or Spain will lie in wait.
But the hosts have surprised everyone, including themselves, to make a flying start…
According to a recent report from El Desmarque, Manchester United are, in fact, still interested in pursuing a deal for Tottenham Hotspur playmaker Christian Eriksen, contrary to other recent reports. However, as opposed to waiting until the summer transfer window in order to try and strike up a deal, they want to get something done in January for a fee believed to be worth around £20.5 million.
Given the ability that the popular Dane possesses, many would’ve expected the fee to be at least a few million higher – but the whole saga has been dragging out for quite some time now.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is eager to bring in a few new faces in January and that much is understandable, as their position within the race for the top four is tedious at best.
<…
Tournament hosts Brazil are out for redemption as they take on Paraguay in the first of this year s Copa America quarter-finals.
Eight-time winners of the competition Brazil have been eliminated at this stage by the same opponents in their last two knockout-round involvements, both times on penalties.
Brazil failed to make it as far as the last eight in the United States three years ago but they had less trouble progressing this time around, sealing top spot in Group A with a resounding 5-0 victory over Peru in their final group game.
Tite s decision to shake up his attack paid off in Sao Paulo as Casemiro and Roberto Firmino put the hosts 2-0 up, and further goals followed from star man Everton, captain Dani Alves and substitute Willian.
ATENÇÃO! Est…
Inter Milan moved level with league leaders AC Milan with a confident 2-0 victory against Juventus in the Derby D Italia at the San Siro on Sunday evening.
Arturo Vidal struck a priceless opening blow against his former team with a thumping header in the 13th minute before Nicolo Barella doubled the lead shortly after the break to secure a big win in the context of the Serie A title race.
Here are five things we learned from the San Siro:
Vidal strikes against former club
Having not scored a goal in Serie A since May 2015, and not yet got off the mark in the league for Inter, not many will have backed Vidal to score the opening goal of the clash.
The 33-year-old midfielder has often been criticised for his performances in the centre of the park during t…
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes Manchester United s dressing room is being driven to success by Bruno Fernandes, Edinson Cavani and Paul Pogba.
United sit top of the Premier League table on 40 points, six clear of defending champions Liverpool, who Solskjaer s team face in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday, seven days on from a 0-0 draw at Anfield.
Liverpool have been eliminated from the FA Cup by United more than they have any other opponent in the competition s history, though the Red Devils have lost two of their past three against the Reds in the competition.
Integral to United s recent success has been the form of Fernandes, who has scored 19 league goals and created a further 14 from 33 top-flight appearances since joining from Sporting CP last year.
…
While it might be the World Cup final that takes center stage on Sunday, we also have a host of interesting fixtures from across Europe. On that note, for those of you looking to place a Sunday acca, we have found a handful of helpful tips that are worth keeping an eye out for.
Sunday December 18th
BST 11:30 Luton vs Millwall
While Luton might have opened the 2022/23 campaign with their sights set on claiming another stunning play-off spot, Sunday s hosts have shown some extended issues on either side of the World Cup s winter break. Marking their return to action last weekend with a last-gasp 2-1 loss away at Middlesbrough, the Hatters have recorded just a single win from any of their last seven Championship contests. Freefalling their way out the top-half of the …
Paris Saint-Germain attacker Angel Di Maria said it would be wonderful to play alongside Lionel Messi amid doubts over his Barcelona future.
Messi is out of contract at the end of the season and the superstar Barca captain has been heavily linked with Ligue 1 champions PSG and Premier League leaders Manchester City.
Barca – led by new president Joan Laporta – remain hopeful of re-signing the record six-time Ballon d Or winner, who has spent his entire senior career at Camp Nou.
Di Maria has played alongside Messi at international level for Argentina and the PSG star admitted he would love to join forces with his countryman at club level.
From my whole career, from everything I ve seen, I think Leo is from another planet, Di Maria told beIN SPORTS. To…
Kylian Mbappe clinched the World Cup Golden Boot with a dramatic hat-trick in Sunday s final, though his efforts were in vain as Lionel Messi s Argentina triumphed on penalties.
Mbappe entered Sunday s game level with Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Messi on five goals, and twice fell behind in his battle with the Argentina captain in a thrilling contest.
Messi became the first player to reach 20 World Cup goal involvements when he opened the scoring with a penalty following Ousmane Dembele s trip on Angel Di Maria, who then capped a flowing move to put Argentina 2-0 up.
However, Mbappe was gifted a route back into the battle atop the goalscoring charts with 10 minutes remaining, tucking a penalty home after Nicolas Otamendi fouled Randal Kolo Muani.
Mbappe…
European champions Italy are on a world record 37-game unbeaten streak, but they remain lodged at number five in the FIFA rankings.
The world governing body published its new list on Thursday and the only change in the top five saw England jump to third, nudging France down to fourth.
England were runners-up to Italy in the Euro 2020 final, losing on penalties at Wembley after a 1-1 draw, and two wins and a draw from World Cup qualifiers in September have seen Gareth Southgate s team edge ahead of Les Bleus.
It is the first time since 2012 that England have reached the top three, and third place remains the highest position they have achieved in the rankings.
Didier Deschamps France could only manage two draws and a win in this month s international br…