Real Madrid cruised into the knockout stages of the Champions League with a 3-0 win over Braga.
After overcoming an early scare when Alvaro Djalo missed a penalty for the visitors, the 14-time European champions took the lead through Brahim Diaz in the 27th minute and then seized control early in the second half as Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo added to the score line.
A fourth win out of four in Group C, and ninth straight game at home without defeat in the Champions League, saw Real book their place in the last-16 with two games to spare.
With the hosts needing only a point to be sure of progression, Carlo Ancelotti took the opportunity to rest a number of regulars.
Jude Bellingham was on the bench after suffering a blow to the shoulder at the weekend, wh…
Thomas Tuchel is hoping Marco Reus can build on his double against Tottenham when Borussia Dortmund welcome Mainz to Signal Iduna Park in the Bundesliga on Sunday.
Reus was in impressive form as Dortmund dismantled Tottenham in the Europa League on Thursday, securing a 3-0 first-leg advantage in their last-16 tie and extending their unbeaten run in all competitions to 12 matches.
The 26-year-old added to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang s opener by slamming past Hugo Lloris from close range, before adding his second with a composed finish at the end of a brilliant team move.
Injuries have once again blighted Reus season, but Tuchel who coached Mainz from 2009 to 2014 believes his fitness is steadily improving and wants more of the same as Dortmund look to make it 10 …
Barcelona, Manchester City and Bayern Munich were all big winners on matchday one of the Champions League.
However, further tests are to come in their second fixtures, with Bayern heading to Atletico Madrid in a particularly tasty face-off Atleti having beaten the German champions in last season s semi-finals.
Elsewhere, Celtic take on Pep Guardiola and City for the first time, while Rostov make their home debut in Group D.
Using Opta data, we take a look at the best stats ahead of Tuesday s eight group-stage matches.
LUDOGORETS v PSG
This is the first competitive meeting between Ludogorets and PSG.
It’s also the first meeting between a Bulgarian and French club in the Champions League (since 1992/93).
Ludogorets have only recor…
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola confirmed Kalvin Phillips is to undergo shoulder surgery but remains hopeful the midfielder could return to action ahead of England s World Cup campaign.
Phillips, a key member of Gareth Southgate s side that reached the Euro 2020 final on home turf last year, made a £42million move to City from Leeds United during the close season.
But fitness issues have restricted the 26-year-old to only three cameos off the bench for the reigning Premier League champions, with Phillips entirely absent for Saturday s 3-0 win over Wolves.
Now the defensive midfielder, named by England for this month s final pre-World Cup games in the Nations League against Italy and Germany, looks likely to require an operation to deal with a persistent s…
Ange Postecoglou saluted fantastic Mikey Moore, after the teenager struck a late winner in Tottenham s J-League World Challenge clash with Vissel Kobe.
The 16-year-old was the hero with his 88th-minute strike sealing a 3-2 victory at the Japan National Stadium in what was Spurs first match in their preseason tour of the Far East.
Academy graduate Moore became Tottenham s youngest Premier League player when, aged 16 years and 277 days, he made his senior debut against Manchester City in the penultimate game of last season.
And Postecoglou insists the England youth international, who has scored 10 goals in 12 appearances at under-17 level, is deserving of his first-team opportunities.
Mikey has been fantastic since we brought him in, he told reporters duri…
With his contract set to expire at the end of this season, Kylian Mbappe is reportedly going to sign a two-year extension with Paris Saint-Germain.
Mbappe, 23, has established himself as one of the world s premier players, with 24 goals and 16 assists in his 32 Ligue 1 fixtures this season, and six goals with six assists in eight Champions League games.
In his four seasons since arriving in Paris in 2018, he has won three Ligue 1 titles with one runners-up finish, but has never won the Champions League. A disappointing exit in the first knockout stage this campaign was supposed to push the young star out the door, but that may not be the case.
TOP STORY – MBAPPE ON THE BRINK OF PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN EXTENSION
Mbappe has been strongly linked wit…
Pep Guardiola insists he is not frustrated with Manchester City s failure to sign Harry Kane from Tottenham last year.
The England striker appeared eager to leave north London for the Etihad Stadium, but City were unable to persuade Spurs chairman Daniel Levy to cash in on his star performer.
It looked as though not recruiting a new centre-forward could scupper City s plans this season after they lost to Leicester City in the Community Shield and Spurs in the Premier League back in August, in a match Kane sat out amid the uncertainty over his future.
Yet City have since embarked on an imperious run of form, winning 20 and losing just one of their subsequent league games to open up a nine-point gap at the top of the table.
Kane, meanwhile, has scored just …
Best Odds: 2/1
Bookmaker:
Two sides who are looking to make up some ground in the Copa Sudamericana chase in the early hours of Saturday, Central Cordoba will welcome Newell’s Old Boys to the Alfredo Terrera.
Central Cordoba
Starting with the hosts, while Central Cordoba might have been last seen snatching a gritty 1-1 draw away at Estudiantes last weekend, the Railroad have gained a reputation as a stalemate specialist. In fact, along with marking their return from June’s international break with a 0-0 draw at home against Gimnasia L.P., Abel Balbo’s side have now had to settle for a single point in four of their last five Primera Division appearances. Likewise, mustering just a pair of wins from their last nine matchups across all competitions a run tha…
Eden Hazard has no other plans than to stay at Real Madrid, Los Blancos manager Carlo Ancelotti has said.
Belgium international Hazard has struggled at Santiago Bernabeu since completing his reported €100million move from Chelsea in June 2019, with injuries and fitness issues hampering the forward.
Hazard has managed just seven starts for his 17 LaLiga appearances and 688 minutes this campaign as Madrid cruised to their 35th league title.
However, the 31-year-old appears to be a favourite with his team-mates in the Spanish capital after being seen to be encouraged to join in with celebrations after both LaLiga success and the Champions League semi-final victory over Manchester City.
Ancelotti, speaking before a trip to Cadiz on Sunday, has made it clear…
AC Milan coach Gennaro Gattuso says talk of a potential San Siro return for Zlatan Ibrahimovic is just hot air .
Milan sporting director Leonardo suggested a move for the LA Galaxy forward would not be possible, but the Swede s agent Mino Raiola refused to rule out a switch to the Rossoneri, where Ibrahimovic starred for two seasons between 2010 and 2012.
Gattuso previously refused to comment on the progress of any possible deal, but on Saturday hinted he might be interested in a forward to support Gonzalo Higuain and Patrick Cutrone.
You have to ask Leonardo. I can only talk about [Ibrahimovic] in terms of the period in which he was my team-mate, Gattuso told a news conference.
He was a leader, a champion with a very strong personality but, as far as …