Gianluigi Buffon and Juventus rock-solid defence have now kept six consecutive Champions League clean sheets.
Juve beat Monaco 2-0 away from home on Wednesday in the first leg of their semi-final tie to take a huge step towards the final in Cardiff.
Gonzalo Higuain s double did the damage for Massimiliano Allegri s men, but the players at the other end of the pitch also played a huge part in their victory, keeping out a Monaco side who had scored 12 goals in four knockout games coming into the tie.
Juve have now shutout their opponents for six straight games in the competition for the first time in their history.
The run has seen them keep out Dinamo Zagreb in their last group game before denying Porto home and away in the last 16, before preventing Barce…
Paris Saint-Germain will renew acquaintances with Saint-Etienne in the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France.
Holders PSG have faced Saint-Etienne 10 times over the course of this season and the previous two campaigns without suffering defeat.
PSG have already beaten Saint-Etienne home and away in the league this term and knocked them out of the Coupe de la Ligue in December, having done the same en route to success in that competition in 2013-14 and 2014-15.
Laurent Blanc s men also defeat Christophe Galtier s side in the semi-finals of last season s Coupe de France and will have to get the better of Saint-Etienne again at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in order to reach the last four this time around.
Their arch rivals and 10-time champions Marseille will t…
Harry Kane hit a first-half hat-trick as England secured their qualification for Euro 2020 with a 7-0 win over Montenegro, moving on from the Raheem Sterling-Joe Gomez saga in emphatic fashion in their 1000th match.
The build-up to the Three Lions milestone fixture had been marred by a confrontation between team-mates Sterling and Gomez, resulting in the Manchester City winger being dropped for Thursday s game.
But against poor opponents at Wembley, England s tough week behind the scenes looked to have been forgotten momentarily.
Needing only a point to qualify, victory secured top spot in Group A as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kane, Marcus Rashford and Tammy Abraham were on target, along with an own goal in front of watching England heroes past and, in Sterling …
For much of last season, Liverpool’s frontline of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Philippe Coutinho were dubbed ‘the Fab Four’. Then in the January transfer window, Coutinho joined Barcelona for big money.
Coutinho’s ability and Salah’s consistency tended to take attention away from Mane and Roberto Firmino, who were the ones who assisted the Egyptian’s stellar first campaign at Anfield.
Sadio Mane is underrated too
If anybody reads my editorials on a regular basis, you will know my grudging admiration for Firmino. Every bit of admiration towards the red side of the city is hard for me. However, I believe Firmino is one of the most underrated players in the Premier League.
While the Brazilian is massively underrated, I would argue tha…
Dimitar Berbatov scored a hat-trick as Manchester United overcame a Liverpool fightback to win 3-2 in a classic Premier League battle at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Berbatov rose high to nod home an 84th-minute header to seal maximum points for United, who had seen Liverpool recover from two goals down thanks to a second-half brace from skipper Steven Gerrard.
The win saw Sir Alex Ferguson s side go level on points with second-placed Arsenal, and one point behind leaders Chelsea, who play Blackpool later on Sunday.
All the pre-match attention had been on the return of Wayne Rooney but it was in-form Bulgarian striker Berbatov who stole the show with a virtuoso display that left Liverpool shattered.
Berbatov put United 1-0 ahead on on 42 minutes after being l…
Manuel Pellegrini hailed Yaya Toure after a hat-trick in Manchester City’s 5-0 win over Fulham took the midfielder to 20 goals this term.
The Ivory Coast international twice converted coolly from the penalty spot following fouls by Fernando Amorebieta the second of which, on David Silva, saw the centre-back sent off.
Toure then added a spectacular third with a 30-yard effort similar to his game-changing strike in this month s Capital One Cup final victory over Sunderland, before Fernandinho and Martin Demichelis also found the net to ensure the Premier League s bottom club were well beaten and City kept pace with Chelsea and Liverpool in the title race.
Seen largely as a holding midfielder when he moved to Manchester from Barcelona in 2010, Toure was converted into a…
Unai Emery is confident that Sevilla will overturn Porto s slender UEFA Europa League advantage and progress to the last four on Thursday.
Porto travel to Spain with a 1-0 lead from last Thursday s first-leg clash, in which French defender Eliaquim Mangala scored a first-half goal before Fernando s late dismissal set up a nervy finish for the hosts.
Sevilla have home advantage in the second leg, though, and will feel confident after thrashing Espanyol 4-1 on Sunday.
Coach Emery saw his side overturn a two-goal deficit in their last-16 clash with rivals Real Betis and has faith they can do similarly against the Primeira Liga champions.
We ve won at home (against Espanyol) and that gives us confidence, Emery said.
The team is ready, with hope and ability, to …
Chelsea produced a toothless display as they were held to a 0-0 draw at home by struggling Southampton and lost Willian to injury in the process.
Maurizio Sarri reinstated Alvaro Morata to the team with Olivier Giroud ruled out, yet the service to the Spaniard was poor as Saints dug deep to hold on for a well-earned point.
A tame first half passed with few flashpoints, though Chelsea did see Willian forced off on the same day the club announced the signing of Christian Pulisic, who will arrive at the end of the season.
The home side had a Morata goal controversially ruled out for offside late in the second half as they failed to win at home for a second successive outing, following on from a shock 1-0 reverse against Leicester City on December 22.
Napoli manager Carlo Ancelotti has admitted Marko Rog could leave the club before the month is out, according to . However, the trophy-laden coach has also made it clear that any potential departure of the midfielder from Naples would only be temporary.
The Serie A side initially signed Rog from Dinamo Zagreb in the summer of 2016 on a season-long loan, after which they made the deal permanent for a reported fee of €13 million. Having spent the first season in Italy adapting to the new surroundings, he became an important part of the team under manager Maurizio Sarri, who left last summer to take the reins at Chelsea. Since Ancelotti took over, however, the 23-year-old has made only 11 appearances, seven of which came off the bench.
La Liga side Sevilla have been cred…
Celtic have announced the return of Brendan Rodgers as manager on a three-year contract.
Rodgers replaces Ange Postecoglou four years and four months after his sudden departure to Leicester after winning seven out of seven domestic trophies with the Hoops.
Rodgers said on the club’s website: “I am really delighted to return to Celtic and I am hugely excited by this great opportunity. When I was given the privilege of being asked to join the club again, it was a very simple decision for me and my family.
“We have enjoyed some great times at Celtic before and this will be my goal again, to deliver good football, ensure we have a team we all love to watch and ultimately bring more success to our fans.
Welcome back, Brendan! is delighted to announce th…