Luis Suarez is key to Barcelona s treble hopes this season, according to Siem de Jong, who hailed the competitiveness of his former Ajax team-mate.
Barca are on track to retain their LaLiga crown, while the Catalan giants are already through to a record sixth straight Copa del Rey final as they prepare to face Manchester United in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday.
Uruguay international Suarez has scored 23 goals this season – 20 of those coming in LaLiga for Ernesto Valverde s side.
Former Ajax captain De Jong who is on loan at A-League side Sydney FC won the Eredivisie and KNVB Cup while playing alongside Suarez from 2007 until 2011 and heaped praise on the 32-year-old forward.
Can Ajax repeat their Madrid feat in T…
Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo is a phenomenon and an example to anyone due to his immense levels of professionalism, according to Tottenham coach Mauricio Pochettino.
Ronaldo will go up against Pochettino s Spurs on Wednesday at Wembley, as Real Madrid look to improve upon their 1-1 draw with the Premier League side at the Santiago Bernabeu.
It was Ronaldo who scored Madrid s goal when the two sides last met, and he will be eager to catch the eye as he returns to England, where he excelled for Manchester United between 2003 and 2009.
Since leaving United, Ronaldo has continued to go from strength to strength in Madrid and won The Best FIFA Men s Player for a second year running recently.
And Pochettino is adamant his talent and professionalism make h…
Rangers continued their impressive form in this season s Europa League, with a James Tavernier penalty and a Kemar Roofe stunner securing a 2-0 win away at Standard Liege.
Having overcome Lincoln Red Imps, Willem II and Galatasaray in the qualifying rounds – and fresh off an Old Firm triumph over Celtic – Steven Gerrard s side battled their way to three points in difficult conditions at Stade Maurice Dufrasne.
Tavernier scored the opening goal of the Group D contest in the 19th minute, Rangers captain converting from the spot for his ninth goal in 10 outings this season.
The visitors relied on the crossbar to keep out a Jackson Muleka header before the break but were rarely troubled in a second half played out amid torrential rain, Roofe…
Premier League champions Liverpool welcomed table toppers Manchester United to Anfield on Sunday, for a game that saw plenty of tension rise long before the Red Devils even took the road to Liverpool. It was only to be expected; after all, these are the two most successful clubs in the history of English football, both domestically, with 19 and 20 league titles, respectively, and in Europe with six and three European Cups to boot. But this match was even more than that it was important from a practical point of view as well with only three points separating them in the table.
A disappointing affair
Talk of club greatness aside, this kind of a game was probably to be expected, given what we ve seen from these teams in their recent outings. United got the results they needed, an…
John Stones has explained his decision to go back to basics in a bid to rediscover his form for Manchester City.
Stones scored twice – his third brace for club and country – in City s 4-0 Premier League victory over Crystal Palace on Sunday.
The win, City s fifth in succession in the top flight, sent Pep Guardiola s team into second place above defending champions Liverpool, who could only draw with leaders Manchester United at Anfield.
Though Palace, shorn of the injured Wilfried Zaha, were hardly a threat, Stones and his centre-back partner Ruben Dias were rock solid as City gave boss Guardiola an early birthday present the day before he turns 50.
City are the first team to record five consecutive victories in the Premier League this season, while…
Robert Lewandowski became the first player to hit 21 goals in the first half of a Bundesliga campaign with his opener for Bayern Munich against Freiburg.
Gerd Muller previously held the record of 20 goals, with the Bayern great having achieved the feat in 1968-69.
Lewandowski matched that haul on January 8, scoring in a 3-2 defeat to Borussia Monchengladbach.
On Sunday, in Bayern s 16th league game of the 34-match campaign, the 32-year-old overtook Muller by slotting home at the culmination of a superb Bayern move in the seventh minute.
It also brought up Lewandowski s fifth goal in his last four games against Freiburg.
Prolific in attack, it is at the other end where Hansi Flick s Bayern side have struggled this season.
Heading into Su…
Fikayo Tomori is aware I have to do more to avoid a repeat of the disappointment at being left out of England s World Cup squad.
Despite playing every match for Milan in Serie A this season, while missing just one of their six Champions League games through suspension, the defender was not included by Gareth Southgate, whose side were eliminated by France in the quarter-finals.
Tomori also played a key role as the Rossoneri last term, featuring 31 times as they ended their 11-year wait to claim the Scudetto, pipping rivals Inter to the title on the final day of the campaign.
But having only earned three senior England caps since making his debut against Kosovo in November 2019, the 24-year-old feels he must raise his game to force himself back into contention for…
Germany head coach Joachim Low bemoaned his side s wastefulness in front of goal during their slender 1-0 World Cup qualifying win against Romania on Sunday.
Serge Gnabry scored the only goal of the game in the 16th minute, with the Bayern Munich forward, Leroy Sane and Timo Werner going on to squander opportunities to extend Die Mannschaft s advantage.
That almost came back to haunt Germany in the closing stages as the hosts went close through George Puscas and Nicolae Stanciu.
Germany – the 2014 world champions – ultimately held on, though, to follow up Thursday s opening Group J win over Iceland with another three points.
Low was largely pleased with Germany s display, but acknowledged they should have added to Gnabry s early goal.
…
Thomas Tuchel said the ongoing absence of fans is proving difficult as the Paris Saint-Germain head coach highlighted the struggles of playing behind closed doors following Tuesday s Champions League defeat.
PSG – last season s Champions League runners-up – lost 2-1 to Premier League visitors Manchester United in their Group H opener at Parc des Princes.
Marcus Rashford s 87th-minute strike downed PSG, who equalised 10 minutes into the second half via Anthony Martial s own goal after United captain Bruno Fernandes had converted a 23rd-minute penalty.
The result condemned PSG to their first home loss in the Champions League group stage in 25 games, and PSG boss Tuchel bemoaned behind-closed-doors football amid the coronavirus pandemic.
It s clear we c…
Real Madrid are interested in signing Chelsea defensive midfielder N Golo Kante on a free transfer in the summer of 2023, according to . Kante is out of contract at former Premier League and UEFA Champions League winners Chelsea at the end of the season, and La Liga giants Madrid reportedly want to secure the services of the 31-year-old.
Kante has been on the books of Chelsea since 2016 and has been superb for the London club over the years. The 31-year-old defensive midfielder has won the Premier League, the FA Cup, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League once each with the Blues. The former Leicester City star also won the 2018 World Cup with France.
Chelsea are struggling in the Premier League at the moment and may not even finish in the top four this se…