What should have been a very interesting match, given what happened when Aston Villa hosted Liverpool in the Premier League in October, thoroughly lost its competitive edge when the West-Midlands club revealed that a large number of their players and staff had tested positive to Coronavirus around 24h before kick-off. Discussions were held, but in the end it was decided that the third-round FA Cup clash should go ahead as planned, with Villa having no choice but to field their team entirely made of youth players.
Interestingly enough, a very similar thing happened when these sides met in the Carabao Cup last season, only then it was Liverpool who had to field a mixture of their U-23 and U-18 teams as the first team went to win the FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar at the same time. …
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has described the behaviour of Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales as “inappropriate” – but called for FIFA’s investigation to be allowed to run its course.
Rubiales has refused to quit for kissing Spain player Jenni Hermoso after their World Cup final win over England on August 20.
All of Spain’s 23 World Cup winners, plus another 58 players, have said they will not represent their country until Rubiales has left his post.
Rubiales, 46, was provisionally suspended by world governing body FIFA on Saturday for an initial period of 90 days pending an investigation into his conduct in Sydney after Spain’s victory.
The president grabbed his crotch in the stadium’s VIP area in celebration, when he…
Brighton have lifted their suspension on assistant boss Mauricio Taricco following the conclusion of internal proceedings.
The Argentine was suspended along with manager Gus Poyet and first-team coach Charlie Oatway in May, with Poyet s comments regarding uncertainty over his future thought to be the reason behind their punishment.
And, although Taricco has now been cleared to resume work at the Amex Stadium, his colleagues remain the subject of an ongoing investigation.
In relation to the suspensions of manager Gus Poyet, assistant manager Mauricio Taricco, and first-team coach Charlie Oatway, the club can confirm the following, a statement on the club s official website read.
The internal process concerning Mauricio Taricco has now concluded. Mauricio s suspension has been l…
Yuto Nagatomo has signed a new three-year contract extension with Inter.
The Japan international, who has made over 170 appearances for the San Siro side, has agreed to fresh terms which will expire on June 30, 2019.
Nagatomo has made 21 appearances in all competitions for Roberto Mancini s side this season.
. signs contract extension until 2019! Congrats Yuto!
— F.C. Internazionale (@Inter_en)
The 29-year-old, who joined Inter from FC Tokyo in 2011, was claimed to have turned down the chance to move to Manchester United in January, but he insists he never considered a move.
I never thought of leaving. As I said before, I love Inter and I want to give my all for our goal, he told the club s website. I ve been here for five years …
AC Milan have signed Antonio Donnarumma, the brother of Gianluigi, on a four-year contract.
Antonio Donnarumma, a 27-year-old who is also a goalkeeper, has moved on a permanent transfer from Asteras Tripolis.
His deal was confirmed on Wednesday, a day after Gianluigi signed a new contract at San Siro, also until 2021.
The elder Donnarumma is a former Milan youth keeper, who left to move to Genoa in 2012, where he only made one Serie A appearance across four years.
announce the permanent signing of Antonio Donnarumma from , through to 30 June 2021
— AC Milan (@acmilan)
Antonio has also spent loan spells in Serie B with Piacenza, Gubbio and Bari.
He spent one season with Asteras in Greece s top flight and has now moved back to Mi…
According to Marca, Champions League finalists are currently preparing to launch a huge bid for Real Madrid superstar . The 22-year-old came off the bench to play in the final minutes of Real s UCL triumph over the Reds last month in Kiev, but beyond that, he s considered to be one of the most encapsulating and talented midfielders on the planet.
He s mature beyond his age on the ball and has been able to flourish in Real s setup this season, and has done ever since signing from Mallorca back in 2014. Asensio has been on Liverpool s radar for years now, which is why the €180 million price tag being discussed is so large.
Asensio would easily become one of Liverpool s best-paid players, as Jurgen Klopp attempts to form a team on Merseyside that is capable of not only …
Verdict: Both teams to score
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Brazil negotiated another important obstacle on the road to the 2018 World Cup finals as they defeated Mexico, but they now face a stern test against the tournament’s highest scoring side. Belgium came back from two goals down to earn a last-gasp win over Japan, but they will need to show massive improvement if they want to challenge for the major trophy.
Brazil
Brazil arrived in Russia high on confidence following some solid showings in the qualifiers and warm-up games, but the players were under pressure to put the 2014 nightmare behind them and prove everyone they are now back to their best. In all fairness, the Selecao did not impress in the group stage, but they had just enough quality to secur…
Sergio Aguero became the first player to score 100 goals at the Etihad Stadium for Manchester City by breaking the deadlock in Saturday s Premier League match against Bournemouth.
Aguero became City s all-time leading goalscorer last month when he netted his 178th for the club in a 4-2 Champions League win at Napoli.
That figure now stands at 183 after the Argentina striker stooped to head home Fernandinho s cross and moved to three figures at the Etihad, which replaced Maine Road as City s home ground in 2002.
A fine solo effort to cap a 4-0 win at Swansea City earlier this month was Aguero s 81st away from home, while FA Cup semi-final goals against Chelsea in 2013 and Arsenal in April account for his remaining two strikes on neutral territory.
10…
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has assured the club s supporters there will be an explanation for the massive presence of Eintracht Frankfurt fans, as the home side was knocked out of the Europa League on Thursday.
A massive contingent of Eintracht fans witnessed and celebrated their club winning 3-2 in the quarter-final second leg at the Camp Nou, rubbing salt in the wound for the Blaugrana.
Barcelona gave 5,000 tickets to Eintracht as per UEFA regulations, but reports from the ground suggested figures of Eintracht fans nearing five times that initial ticket release.
Alluding to the sale of tickets on the secondary market, Laporta – who started his second term as the embattled club s president in 2021 – apologised for the situation and vowed there will not…
Fernando Santos acknowledged France were deserving winners against Portugal in the Nations League on Saturday as the world champions set-up frustrated the hosts.
Les Bleus beat Portugal 1-0 in Lisbon, gaining a small measure of revenge after losing the Euro 2016 final to Santos side on home soil and advancing to the Nations League Finals at the expense of the holders.
Although Anthony Martial had a series of early chances and finished with five shots, the sole goal in the Group A3 fixture came courtesy of N Golo Kante.
Cristiano Ronaldo was wasteful at the other end, failing to hit the target with five of his six efforts, but it was out wide where Santos felt France gained the upper hand.
Kingsley Coman started up front in the absence of the injured Ky…