With all eyes falling on the Spanish capital on Sunday night, Real Madrid and Atletico played out a dramatic 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu.
Getting off to a flying start on home soil as one-time Manchester City starlet Brahim Diaz opened the scoring after 20 minutes, it appeared that Carlo Ancelotti’s side were sat in pole position to make a crucial statement in the title chase.
However, while Los Blancos might have dominated large spells of the first half, it was ex-Real Madrid ace Marcos Llorente who came back to haunt his boyhood club.
Producing a smart header late in injury time and silencing a sellout crowd at the Bernabeu, Real Madrid missed out on the chance to widen their advantage at the top of the La Liga table to four points.
In what was an expec…
Republic of Ireland captain Katie McCabe has urged the squad to harness the spirit of the underdog ahead of Thursday’s World Cup opener against Australia.
The World Cup debutants begin their Group B campaign against the co-hosts, who are 12 places above them in the FIFA rankings and will be backed by the majority of the 80,000 crowd at Sydney’s Stadium.
It will be only the second match between the nations but Ireland won 3-2 when they met back in 2021, thanks to a goal from Denise O’Sullivan, who has been declared fit for the fixture.
…
Liverpool came back from a goal down against Southampton at St. Mary s to earn the three points they needed to keep their Premier League title hopes alive, as Takumi Minamino cancelled out Nathan Redmond s 13th-minute opener in the 27th, and Joel Matip struck the winner in the 67th.
The game
As expected, Liverpool dominated the game completely and the numbers prove it; 71% possession, 24 shots compared to Southampton s four, 734 passes with 89% accuracy over 300 and 75% by the Saints, nine corners taken to one.
However, the actual scoreline is a bit closer to hitting the nail on the head in terms of reflecting things seen on the pitch. Ralph Hasenhuttle s side had excellent periods of their own, particularly in the final minutes of the game when they pushed the title c…
“While today is an extremely difficult day for me, it is also one filled with reflection and immense gratitude. Playing for and representing England has been the greatest honour.
“During my eight years as a Lioness, I’ve always pursued success and winning football matches, while playing and training with the highest standards of competition, passion and perseverance.
“It has been the greatest honour to represent my family, my team-mates and the entire country. I have a lot of incredible memories during my time with England that have been pivotal moments.
“Winning the EUROs and then reaching the World Cup Final changed a lot for me, not only as a footballer but as a person. I’m so fortunate that I’ve been able to share that with so many remarkable pe…
Arsenal fought back from three goals down to claim a 3-3 draw with West Ham in a thrilling London derby on Sunday.
David Moyes side had carved out a three-goal lead with just over half an hour gone as Jesse Lingard, Jarrod Bowen and Tomas Soucek capped off a blistering start.
But a Soucek own goal late in the first half swung momentum toward the Gunners, who set up a thrilling finish by forcing Craig Dawson to put through his own net with 30 minutes remaining.
And Alexandre Lacazette completed the comeback late on as he headed home from close range to steal a share of the points.
An exhausting encounter at London Stadium and it ends with the points being shared!
3-3 (FT)
— Arsenal (@Arsenal)
Perhaps feeling the physical toll of …
Milan legend Paolo Maldini has dismissed suggestions Zlatan Ibrahimovic is bigger than the club.
Ibrahimovic has been a revelation since returning to Milan for a second spell in late December 2019, with the evergreen 39-year-old spearheading the club s Scudetto charge this term.
The former Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain striker – out of contract at the end of this season – has scored 14 Serie A goals in 2020-21 to help Milan up to second position, six points adrift of city rivals Inter.
Maldini is now technical director at Milan and rates Ibrahimovic as a huge resource , but he believes the club sit well positioned to withstand the Swede s departure if he does not extend his contract at San Siro.
The truth is, the club is above any play…
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says his time as a manager of Barcelona is over as he ruled out any chance of a return to his former club.
The 49-year-old is into the final year of his City contract and has been linked with a return to Camp Nou, where he won 14 trophies during his time in charge between 2008 and 2012.
Victor Font, who is in the running to succeed Josep Maria Bartomeu as Barca president, this week laid out his plans to reunite Guardiola with Lionel Messi in Catalonia.
However, Guardiola reiterated on Friday he is incredibly happy at the Etihad Stadium and has now stated he has no desire to manage the LaLiga giants for a second time.
My period as a manager of Barcelona is over, he told BT Sport. In life you do things once.
Ther…
Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille will contest the Trophee des Champions in Lens on January 13, the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) has confirmed.
It will be the first time since 2008 that the match has been held in France, with previous editions having been hosted in North America, Asia and Africa.
An LFP statement read: The 2020-21 edition of the Trophee des Champions will pit Paris Saint-Germain against Marseille on January 13, 2021.
Due to health reasons, the match cannot be organised abroad this season. After a consultation, the board of directors decided to organise this edition at Stade Bollaert-Delelis in Lens.
PSG have won the trophy in each of the past seven seasons, though the last team to beat them in the fixtur…
Inter s not-so-well-kept secret is out in the open and Antonio Conte has left the club by mutual consent despite ending an 11-year wait for Serie A glory this term.
Conte became the first coach in the three-points-for-a-win era to secure the title with 90-plus points with two different teams, having also done so as Juventus head coach.
But Conte s long-term future has often been shrouded in doubt and he was tipped to leave after defeat in last term s Europa League final to Sevilla.
Though he stayed put and brought the title to the Nerazzurri, things really began to escalate when owner Steven Zhang reportedly told Conte Inter s wage bill would need to be slashed and around €100million raised in player sales.
Conte has already headed for the exit door but…
Tammy Abraham scored his 12th goal of the season as Chelsea beat Barnsley 1-0 to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
Abraham tucked in his first goal of the Thomas Tuchel era in the second half and also headed off the line at the other end as the Blues knocked the Championship side out at Oakwell.
A young, fit Barnsley team gave a great account of themselves on a cold night in South Yorkshire, but it is Chelsea who will play Sheffield United in the last eight.
Chelsea have now won four and drawn one of their five games under Tuchel after he replaced Frank Lampard as head coach last month, and although they were not at their best, a much-changed Blues side had enough to edge through.
9 Tammy Abraham has been directly involved in nine goals in his las…