Blog (Page 225)

Matchday three of the 2022/23 Champions League group stage concluded on Wednesday night, with the likes of Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester City, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain all in action. But while Real, Chelsea, City and Juve were ultimately satisfied with their respective results, it was a night of disappointment for PSG. Read on to see how all the action unfolded across eight games. Red Bull Salzburg had 18 attempts on goal against Dinamo Zagreb but were made to wait until the final 20 minutes to break the deadlock – and it came from a Noah Okafor penalty. It was an important win for Salzburg asRead More →

In August, France Football released its 30-man shortlist for the 2022 Ballon d’Or award. Of the nominees, one player will be crowned the best individual male player over the course of the 2021/22 season during a ceremony in Paris on October 17. While Karim Benzema is widely-tipped to be taking home this year’s prize, the most notable absence was that of seven-time winner Lionel Messi, who didn’t make the cut after a relatively disappointing debut season with Paris Saint-Germain during which he scored 11 goals and notched 15 assists in all competitions. Mortal numbers by his lofty standards. It doesn’t seem right for the 36-year-oldRead More →

The New York Red Bulls have signed left-back John Tolkin to a new contract through the 2027 MLS season, the club announced Wednesday. RBNY also hold an option to extend Tolkin’s new deal by an extra year, which would keep him at Red Bull Arena until the end of 2028. “We are very excited to sign John to a new contract and keep him with the club,” Red Bulls head of sport Jochen Schneider said in a club press release. “He had a very successful season, and we are pleased to have him on our team for years to come.” Still just 20 years old,Read More →

The Spain and Portugal football federations have confirmed that Ukraine has been incorporated into their bid to host the 2030 World Cup, in an agreement with the Ukrainian Football Association (UAF). Announced at UEFA’s headquarters in Switzerland, they state the decision has been backed by the governments of all three nations as well as UEFA – European football’s governing body. Luis Rubiales, who serves as president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) spoke on the decision, via Reuters: “Our bid is not an Iberian bid anymore, it’s a European bid. “I’m convinced that now our bid is much better than before. Football is universalRead More →

Lucy Bronze believes women’s sport is now in a position to fight back against abuse, explaining that these issues have always been prevalent, but players have now found the courage to speak out. A year-long, independent report into women’s soccer in the US, published on Monday, found verbal and emotional abuse and sexual misconduct to be ‘systematic’, and spanning across ‘multiple teams, coaches, and victims’. The report was published a little over a week after 15 Spanish players made themselves unavailable for selection for the women’s national team due to the detrimental impact it was having on their ’emotional and personal state’. Bronze condoned theRead More →

Inter Miami head coach Phil Neville has described striker Gonzalo Higuain as ‘one of the best’ he’s ever worked with in professional soccer. Despite hitting strong form for the Herons, scoring 14 goals in 26 MLS appearances this season, including six in his last six games, Higuain announced his shock retirement on Monday, effective at the end of the 2022 campaign. Across his own playing career with Manchester United, Everton, and England, Neville lined up alongside some of the greatest forwards of their time – and, in some cases, all-time – including Cristiano Ronaldo, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Wayne Rooney, Alan Shearer, and Michael Owen. EvenRead More →

Being knocked out in the group stage of the Champions League for the second year running could have huge financial consequences for Barcelona. The Catalan side have made an excellent start to the season on the domestic front, sitting top of La Liga with six wins and one draw from their opening seven matches. Things haven’t gone nearly as well in the Champions League though with Bayern Munich and Inter both beating them in their last two European outings. As a result, they sit six points behind the former and three behind the latter at the halfway point of the group stage, and are likelyRead More →

Antonio Conte has admitted that he needs more transfer markets before he can make Tottenham perform well on multiple fronts. While Spurs have made a relatively strong start to the season domestically, sitting third in the Premier League after eight matches, they’ve struggled in Europe. After being somewhat fortunate to beat Marseille in their first Champions League match of the season, they lost 2-0 to Sporting CP and followed that up with a 0-0 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt on Tuesday night. Conte puts those results largely down to the fact that he doesn’t have the squad depth to rotate his players to keep them fresh,Read More →

Barcelona are exploring ways to bring Lionel Messi back to Catalonia next year, sources have confirmed to 90min. Messi left Barcelona in emotional fashion in 2021 following 17 seasons and nearly 800 games after the club’s financial woes prevented them from handing him a new contract. He then joined Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer. His first year in the French capital was one of the least prolific of his career, but this term he looks back to his best and that has led to many Barça fans hoping that he could yet return to the club. Messi’s current deal expires at the end ofRead More →

Matchday three in the Champions League saw a number of twists and turns as eight teams took to the field across Europe on Tuesday. From the most entertaining of 0-0 draws to absolute goal fests and a particularly surprising upset over in Belgium, we got it all as the group stages reach the halfway mark. Liverpool and Rangers faced off in front of a fierce Anfield crowd, with plenty expecting a Champions League classic. Here’s how it all unfolded on the night. The positivity was back at Anfield / Eurasia Sport Images/GettyImages An early free-kick from Trent Alexander-Arnold set the tone for a brilliant nightRead More →