data-mm-id=”_zrk1wa7sy”>It's easy to imagine there were cheers and sighs of relief in equal amounts up in Buffalo after Tom Brady announced he would not be re-signing with the New England Patriots this offseason, leaving the AFC East in the process. Brady and the Patriots' domination of the division affected the other AFCE teams, but they loved to pick on the Bills in particular. With Brady starting, the Patriots lost to the Bills three times in 20 years. His departure meant the division title was truly up for grabs for the first time in that timespan and signaled the end of the Bills seeing their boogeyman twice a year. Buffalo was the popular pick to take up the mantle of the best team in the division after Brady went to Tampa Bay. They were a playoff team last year, riding the unpredictability of Josh Allen and the consistency of one of the league's top defenses. They traded for Stefon Diggs just before the NFL draft. It was all coming up Buffalo for a bit. Then the Patriots signed Cam Newton, and suddenly there's a whole new monster to deal with in Foxborough. Through three weeks of football, it seems that while New England looks like a much different team than in the past, they'll be as difficult to take down as ever. Newton looks healthy and like the dangerous, versatile quarterback he was for many years in Carolina. Bill Belichick will not give up the AFC East crown so easily. Thus, the battle for the AFC East might end up being the most entertaining race in all of football this season. The Bills have started their season 3-0 with Allen looking like a legit MVP candidate so far. This past Sunday presented their first real challenge after they manhandled the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets in the first two weeks of the season when the Los Angeles Rams came to town. Buffalo went up 28-3 before nearly blowing the lead and coming away with a 35-32 win. That obviously isn't exactly how they'd like to win games, but the defense will come around. Sean McDermott has consistently coached elite units in his time in Buffalo, and there's no reason to think this year won't be the same once everybody gets into rhythm. It's extremely encouraging that Allen is off to a hot start, because if he plays even slightly above-average, Buffalo can beat almost anybody. The Patriots, meanwhile, look different but the results look the same. They're 2-1 with one loss coming to the scorching Russell Wilson in Seattle, and they had a chance to win that game on the last play of the fourth quarter. They handled a good Raiders squad pretty easily at home yesterday despite a poor passing performance from Newton. The defense is generally suspect outside of the secondary, but Belichick is the best coach in the league when it comes to getting something out of nothing on that side of the ball. The Patriots and the Bills will face off for the first time this season on November 1 in Week 8. Both teams should be firmly in the AFC playoff mix at that point. With an extra wild-card slot this year, there's a good chance both teams still end up in the playoffs, even if only one can come away with the division title. But winning the division would guarantee a home playoff game at the very least. Both squads recognize how important that is. It'll be a fierce battle, one that could come down to a Week 17 meeting in December. No matter what, it'll be entertaining as hell.
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The 24-year-old has established himself as one of Europe s finest young keepers during the three years since his transfer from Benfica in 2014.
Oblak signed a new five-year contract last February that reportedly contains a €100million release clause, which Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain are said to be prepared to activate in order to bring him to Parc des Princes.
The Slovenia international says he is committed to Atleti for 2017-18 but will not rule out the prospect of an exit next year.
I m an Atletico player and I will be until the end of the season. After that, I don t know, we ll see, he said, as quoted by Marca.
You never know. …
Cenk Tosun s late strike made sure of Turkiye s date with Austria in the knockout stages of Euro 2024 after finishing second in Group F following their 2-1 win over 10-man Czechia.
Hakan Calhanoglu s first major tournament goal gave Vincenzo Montella s men the lead after Antonin Barak saw red early on, only for Tomas Soucek to respond for a Czechia side who needed all three points.
But substitute Tosun would have the final say, firing into the bottom corner in the 94th minute, with ugly scenes following the full-time whistle as Tomas Chory also saw red after a feisty encounter in Hamburg.
Czechia finished bottom of the group as Georgia advanced following their 2-0 win over Portugal in Gelsenkirchen.
The opening exchanges saw both sides start nervously, …
Rob Edwards praised “unique” Luton after Luke Berry became the first player to score for the club in all four divisions.
The 31-year-old, who netted his first Hatters goals in a League Two fixture against Stevenage in 2017, pounced in the 89th minute to earn a 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest on Saturday, his first Premier League strike.
He has now scored in England’s top five leagues, having also been on the mark for Cambridge – his first professional club – in the National League.
The first player to score for Luton in the top four divisions of English football.
Our !
— Luton Town FC (@LutonTown)
His equaliser on Saturday re-emphasised Luton’s rise through the divisions, having played in the fourth tier as recently as t…
Bayern Munich squandered a two-goal lead to slump to a 4-2 loss at Hoffenheim courtesy of a second-half Andrej Kramaric hat-trick in Thomas Tuchel s final game.
Early goals from Mathys Tel and Alphonso Davies saw the injury-depleted Bavarians go 2-0 up by the sixth minute.
Hoffenheim, however, pulled a goal back through Germany international Maximilian Beier just two minutes later, with the hosts gradually taking some of the early pace out of the game.
Bayern s injury troubles were further compounded when they lost Aleksandar Pavlovic to injury in the 35th minute, and struggled to cope with Hoffenheim s threat in the second half.
Kramaric then delivered a stunning 19-minute hat-trick with the Bayern defence in ruins, ending a disappointing season in thir…
Uruguay head coach Marcelo Bielsa shouldered full responsibility for his side s shock 1-0 defeat to Peru in their World Cup qualifying encounter.
Peru, winless in their previous nine matches, stole the points in the 88th minute when Miguel Araujo headed Piero Quispe s cross beyond the grasp of Sergio Rochet.
The Blanquirroja earned their first win over Uruguay since 2017, with the triumph moving them above last-placed Chile following their late defeat to Brazil.
Uruguay had a string of chances to take the lead in the first half, with Liverpool s Darwin Nunez and Manchester United s Manuel Ugarte coming closest.
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Niclas Fullkrug believes Germany have already shown they are capable of winning Euro 2024 ahead of their last-16 tie with Denmark on Saturday.
Julian Nagelsmann s side concluded their Group A campaign with a draw against Switzerland, with Borussia Dortmund forward Fullkrug striking late on to secure top spot.
Germany thumped Scotland 5-1 in the opening game of the tournament before beating Hungary 2-0 in Stuttgart.
And Fullkrug is confident the hosts have demonstrated title-winning levels.
If you want to become European champions you have to beat the really good [teams], Fullkrug said.
I think we ve already shown what we are capable of in this tournament.
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In an interview with the monthly football review Trivela, Scolari, 60, added that he would only return to Brazil when his coaching career was over, to visit his best friends .
But he also did not rule out pursuing his club coaching career.
Scolari in April turned down the job as Mexico coach, and press here have often linked him as a potential successor to incumbent Brazil coach Dunga.
Scolari s track record is certainly impressive: he won the 2002 World Cup with Brazil before taking Portugal to the final of Euro 2004 where they were beaten 1-0 by Greece…
Antonio Conte s Serie A return with Inter will come at home to promoted Lecce, while Juventus title defence starts with a trip to Parma.
Serie A announced the fixtures for the new campaign on Monday, with the 2019-20 season set to begin on August 25.
It has been an intriguing close season in Italy, with many of the country s top clubs changing coaches.
Conte is now at Inter and former Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri is back in Serie A with defending champions Juve after leaving Chelsea.
AC Milan swapped Gennaro Gattuso for Marco Giampaolo and Roma are now under the tutelage of Paolo Fonseca.
Sarri s new side begin by travelling to Parma, while Milan go to Udinese and Roma host Genoa on the opening weekend.
3 Juventus have won all the 3 previo…
With the summer transfer window set to officially open on 1 July, let s review the latest English Premier League transfer news and rumours surrounding England s biggest football clubs.
Arsenal
France international Yann M Vila has revealed that he likes Arsenal and the Premier League, fueling speculation that the Rennes midfielder will join the Gunners in the summer transfer window.
I have heard Arsenal are interested in me, . I like Arsenal and I like the Premier League.
I don t know what is happening with the clubs, but yes, I would be interested in the Premier League and Arsenal.
The 21-year-old started two games for France at Euro 2012, including the quarter-final match against reigning European champions Spain.
M Vila tal…
Sunderland Manager Steve Bruce will expect his charges to maintain their great home form whilst Brian Laws will expect his Burnley team to fight for their lives with relegation beginning to look like a likelihood.
Sunderland had such a slump in the mid part of the season it is hard to believe that they have picked up enough points this season to be effectively safe with a handful of games to go, but such is their home form, with only two home defeats all season, that they deserve their retained status for this factor alone. Much has been down to the goalscoring exploits of Darren Bent, who is still pushing for an England place with 22 goals this season in the Premierleague. Sunderland have a fairly strong squad to pick from but injury doubts remain over the excellent but injury…