Blog (Page 132)

[ad_1] Xavi admitted that he was ‘uneasy’ following Barcelona’s narrow Copa del Rey win over third-tier outfit Intercity on Wednesday evening. La Blaugrana managed to beat Intercity 4-3 but needed extra time to do so after Oriol Soldevila Puig scored a wonderful second half hat-trick. Xavi’s team would eventually win out thanks to a 103rd-minute winner from the young Ansu Fati. Speaking to the press after the game, Xavi admitted that his side’s lack of ‘forcefulness’ in the final third was cause for concern. “We suffered too much,” he explained. “We had many chances to win before extra time, but we didn’t. We can’t leaveRead More →

[ad_1] Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois returned to training on Wednesday after being ruled out of the recent Copa del Rey win over Cacareno with a minor injury. Courtois wouldn’t likely have played the game in Caceres in western Spain anyway, having rarely been used in the competition in recent years. But the Belgian didn’t make the trip at all as a precaution. Courtois kept a clean sheet against Real Valladolid last Friday in Los Blancos’ final game of 2022 and first game since the World Cup. It is now expected that he will start against Villarreal on Saturday. Dani Carvajal and Mariano Diaz bothRead More →

[ad_1] 90min rounds up the latest transfer news, rumours and gossip circulating around the world… Real Madrid are keen to sign Bernardo Silva in 2023 ahead of rivals Barcelona, with Manchester City prepared to agree to a sale for a price of €80m. (Fichajes) Chelsea‘s negotiations over Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez have stalled as the Blues are reluctant to pay his full €120m release clause, with their latest offer of a part-exchange including a mystery player turned down. (A Bola) There is also interest from Chelsea in Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo, who is viewed as an alternative to Fernandez. (Ben Jacobs) Manchester United have offered to signRead More →

[ad_1] Wolves remain in the Premier League relegation zone after conceding a late equaliser against Aston Villa in the clash between the west midlands rivals. Daniel Podence scored the opening goal of the game for Wolves only 12 minutes into the contest. But in a world of seemingly perfect symmetry, Danny Ings cancelled it out 12 minutes before the end – as if to prove a point to Villa boss Unai Emery amid his uncertain future. Wolves had the chance to take the lead even before they did, with only a goal-line clearance from Villa centre-back Ezri Konsa denying Nathan Collins a headed goal fromRead More →

[ad_1] Juventus left it very late to secure a win against Cremonese in Serie A on Wednesday night, but were eventually spared blushes by a stunning late free-kick from Arkadiusz Milik. The victory, a fourth in a row in the league stretching back to before the World Cup, consolidates the team’s position in the top four – aided by Lazio’s defeat to Lecce. Juve peppered the Cremonese goal with 19 attempts in total, a number of which were pot shots from distance, but struggled to find a way past goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi. But it was actually Cremonese who had the ball in the net –Read More →

[ad_1] Danielle Reyna, the wife of former US men’s national team captain Claudio Reyna and mother of current player Gio Reyna, admitted to alerting U.S. Soccer of head coach Gregg Berhalter’s act of domestic violence in the 1990s.  “But I want to be very clear that I did not ask for Gregg to be fired, I did not make any threats, and I don’t know anything about any blackmail attempts,” Danielle Reyna said, per Fox Sports’ Doug McIntyre. U.S. Soccer launched an independent investigation upon learning of an allegation against USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter on December 11, 2022. The investigation is currently being led by JennyRead More →

[ad_1] Liverpool are in talks to recall 20-year-old centre-back Billy Koumetio from his loan at Austria Vienna. It coincides with the injury blow to Virgil van Dijk, although it is unclear if the two are related. It is unclear how long Van Dijk will be absent for after being subbed off at half-time of the 3-1 defeat to Brentford on Monday night, but the Reds have already learned the muscle issue is worse than first thought and the Dutchman will be referred to a specialist. Jurgen Klopp still has Joel Matip, Joe Gomez, Ibrahima Konate and Nat Phillips at his disposal, while Jordan Henderson andRead More →

[ad_1] Neymar made a decision of his own accord not to attend Pele’s funeral in Brazil, focusing on his return to club action with Paris Saint-Germain. The Selecao and Santos legend passed away at the very end of 2022 and tributes have flooded in from across the world for him. Some Brazilian icons attended Pele’s wake at Santos’ stadium in Vila Belmiro, but there was widespread criticism for the likes of Neymar, Ronaldo and Kaka not showing up in person. Former Brazil midfielder Jose Ferreira Neto commented: “Pele is a citizen of the world, at the same level as Nelson Mandela or Mahatma Gandhi, butRead More →

[ad_1] Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski will serve a three-match suspension, starting on Sunday when the Catalans face Atletico Madrid in La Liga. The ban was originally issued after Lewandowski was sent off in the 2-1 win over Osasuna in early November – the club’s last game before the World Cup. The veteran forward received a straightforward one-game suspension for his red card dismissal – two yellow cards. But he was further punished with another two games for a gesture allegedly made towards referee Gil Manzano. Barça initially appealed to the Spanish football federation (RFEF) to have the ban overturned. That appeal was rejected but theRead More →

[ad_1] Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea has empathised with manager Erik ten Hag for being angry at their performance during Tuesday’s 3-0 win against Bournemouth. Well-worked goals from Casemiro, Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford saw the Red Devils take all three points at Old Trafford and open up a five-point cushion to fifth-placed Tottenham, while they are now also one point behind rivals Manchester City having played a game more. But Ten Hag was notably annoyed as he walked back across the touchline and down the tunnel, revealing post-match that he felt United were a little bit ‘lucky’ and were not ‘smart’. Speaking toRead More →