Saul Niguez scored one of the great Champions League goals to give Atletico Madrid a 1-0 semi-final lead over Bayern Munich after a pulsating first leg at the Vicente Calderon.
Outgoing Bayern coach Pep Guardiola declared before the match that his decorated spell in Bavaria will be defined by how this European campaign concludes following last-four losses to Real Madrid and Barcelona in the past two seasons.
And it could be another tale of misery against teams from his homeland for the Manchester City-bound tactician, who could only look on as Saul crowned his breakthrough season with a sensational solo goal in the 11th minute.
Bayern were second best as the tenacious brilliance of Diego Simeone s side held sway in the first half.
The visitors looked…
Yohan Cabaye has attributed France s improvement since 2010 to coach Laurent Blanc.
Blanc, who took over at the helm of the French national side from Raymond Domenech following a dismal showing at the 2010 World Cup, has suffered just one defeat during his tenure, a 1-0 reverse to Belarus during his first match in charge but has since led his country to top in their Euro 2012 qualifying group and has remained undefeated for 21 games.
He made us forget the last World Cup, which was a complete failure, Cabaye told BBC Sport.
He has instilled a group mentality and team spirit like you find in a club.
Cabaye has underlined the importance of a good showing under Blanc at Euro 2012 to ensure that the hard work done to rebuild the national team does not go t…
Jermain Defoe has returned to the England camp after flying home on Thursday morning to be with his family after the death of his father.
The Tottenham striker arrived back at the team s hotel base in Krakow and will take part in Saturday morning s training session, which will come as a welcome and timely boost to manager Roy Hodgson ahead of his preparations for Monday s opening group game against Laurent Blanc s heavily-fancied France side.
Defoe s father, Jimmy, was thought to have been ill for quite some time prior to his death. Although Defoe s initial statement said that he would rejoin the squad in due course , which many saw as a sign that he would at least miss the game against Les Bleus, the forward has returned earlier than expected.
The 29-year-old g…
Petr Cech has told Arsenal they have to improve or risk failing to qualify for the Champions League for the second season in a row.
The Gunners finished fifth in the Premier League in 2016-17 and they are in danger of having to settle for Europa League action again as they sit sixth this time around, five points outside the top four.
Arsenal have only won one of their last four league games, although last week they beat Chelsea 2-1 to book a date with Manchester City in the EFL Cup final, and Cech called for his side to focus on the battle for the top four.
We are a club that belongs in the Champions League, Cech said ahead of Tuesday s trip to Swansea City.
You don t want to spend years outside of the Champions League spots.
But every year t…
Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang insisted he would only get better after impressing on debut for the Premier League club.
Aubameyang, a £56million arrival from Borussia Dortmund on deadline day, marked his Arsenal debut with a goal in a 5-1 thrashing of Everton Saturday.
The Gabon international may have shown good signs on his debut, but the 28-year-old said he would improve.
Of course I was really happy, Aubameyang said, via the club s website.
We won the game in the first half and the second was a bit different. We are all happy.
Is there more to come from me? I think so.
Arsenal appearance
Arsenal goal
This place is feeling like home already, right ?
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal)
Aubameyang arri…
Jurgen Klopp knows Borussia Dortmund still have plenty of work to do to pull away from trouble in the Bundesliga after beating Freiburg 3-0.
Borussia Dortmund boss Jurgen Kopp insists his side will not be getting carried away after Saturday s convincing 3-0 win over Freiburg moved them off the foot of the table.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was the hero for the visitors, scoring twice and setting up another on what was a largely comfortable afternoon, easing the pressure on the under-fire Klopp.
A shocking season has seen the 2013 UEFA Champions League finalists find themselves in a surprise relegation battle, with the 47-year-old boss forced to dismiss talk of him stepping down at the club after the defeat to Augsburg on Wednesday.
And Klopp was delighted …
Tottenham Hotspur F.C. goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has revealed he should be at White Hart Lane next season amid reports linking him with a big-money to French Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain.
The France international, who joined Spurs from Olympique Lyonnais for an initial fee of €10 million in August 2012, impressed at this summer s World Cup finals in Brazil, helping Les Bleus reach the quarter-finals.
If Tottenham were to sell Lloris, Lyon would receive 20% of the transfer profit.
When asked if he should be staying in North London, Lloris told reporters: Yes, I should be. I don’t want to speak about my situation now.
I need a few days to recover and after that to relax, have a good rest and come back for next season.
I thi…
Prediction: Scotland to win 3-0
Best Odds: 7
Bookmaker:
Cyprus and Scotland will lock horns with each other in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group A this week. The match between Temur Ketsbaia’s side and Steve Clarke’s team will be held at the AEK Arena – Georgios Karapatakis in Larnaca, Cyprus, and is scheduled to kick off at 7:45pm UK time on Friday.
Cyprus
Cyprus are one of the worst teams in European football and do not have much history or too many good players. They are the whipping boys in any group, and it is hard to see them making much of an impact in UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group A. No one really expects Temur Ketsbaia’s side to do much of note, and it would be hard for them to even pick up a point in the group.
Temur Ketsb…
Former Arsenal and Real Madrid midfielder Mesut Ozil has announced his retirement from football at the age of 34.
The former Germany international, who earned 92 caps for his country, also represented Schalke, Werder Bremen, Fenerbahce and Istanbul Basaksehir during his 17-year career.
Ozil was under contract with Turkish side Basaksehir until the end of the season, but he has called time on his playing career due to a number of injury issues.
Thank you
— Mesut Özil (@M10)
…
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has ruled out the possibility of Bastian Schweinsteiger returning to Bayern Munich, but once again took aim at Manchester United s treatment of their former midfielder.
Schweinsteiger won eight Bundesliga titles, seven DFB-Pokals and the Champions League during his time at Bayern before moving to Old Trafford ahead of the 2015-16 season.
However, the former Germany captain has been deemed surplus to requirements by new manager Jose Mourinho and has reportedly been training with the club s reserves.
That raised the possibility of the 32-year-old making a swift move back to the Allianz Arena, but executive chairman Rummenigge, while sympathising with Schweinsteiger s predicament, says a deal is not on Bayern s agenda.
I would like to …