Villarreal dealt Atletico Madrid s rapidly fading LaLiga titles hopes another blow as they coasted to a comfortable 3-0 win at El Madrigal on Monday.
Atletico s uncharacteristic sloppiness at the back proved particularly damaging, with individual errors to blame for Villarreal s first-half goals and a third league defeat in five leaves Diego Simeone s men 12 points adrift of pacesetters Real Madrid.
Tiago was culpable for Villarreal s first goal with Manu Trigueros profiting and applying a calm finish, before a goalkeeping howler from Jan Oblak allowed Jonathan dos Santos to add the second before half-time.
Villarreal were less reluctant to commit players to attack in the second period, with their miserly defence standing up to their reputation as LaLiga s best h…
Nine players, a goalkeeper outfield, 7-0 down at half-time – Belenenses SAD forfeit farcical Benfica
Portugal s Primeira Liga was the laughingstock of Europe on Saturday due to the farcical scenes that took place in Benfica s trip to coronavirus-ravaged Belenenses SAD, a game that was ultimately forfeited by the hosts.
B-SAD, a controversial offshoot of historic club Belenenses, were plunged into crisis this week when 13 of their players tested positive for coronavirus – among them was Cafu Phete, who had recently been in South Africa, where the new Omicron variant of the virus was first detected.
Despite the depleted nature of their squad, club president Rui Pedro Soares confirmed earlier in the day they had not asked Benfica to postpone the fixture, seemingly to the dismay of players who published coordinated messages to social media as the match kicked off in Oeir…
Bayern Munich defender Holger Badstuber is erring on the side of caution as he nears a return to the first team.
The 27-year-old has suffered from a chronic spate of injuries since 2012, making just 29 league appearances in that time after a damaging succession of knee, tendon, thigh and ankle problems.
Badstuber started for Bayern against AC Milan in the International Champions Cup in July, but lasted just half an hour before being replaced.
With Bayern set to get their Bundesliga defence under way at home to Werder Bremen on Friday, Badstuber knows he cannot rush back into action and suffer a further setback.
I was gone a long time, he told Kicker. It takes time to get back slowly again. With regard to the next level, it is important that I think in …
Stephen El Shaarawy has finalised his move to Ligue 1 side Monaco from Milan.
The forward will spend the 2015-16 season on loan at Stade Louis II, with Monaco holding an option to make the switch permanent.
He told the principality club s official website: It s a great emotion to sign here in Monaco.
I am very happy and very moved. I thank the president of AS Monaco for this opportunity.
I hope to have a great season with AS Monaco and excite the AS Moonaco supporters.
The transfer had been widely reported in recent days, with the 22-year-old struggling to secure regular first-team football at the Italian giants.
El Shaarawy moved to San Siro in 2011 and impressed in his second season, scoring 16 Serie A goals from 37 appearances.
The agent of S.S. Lazio forward Felipe Anderson, Stefano Castagna, has revealed the player has no plans to leave Stadio Olimpico in the summer, despite reported interest from the English Premier League.
Anderson, 21, has been the subject of reported interest from Premier League trio Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United in recent weeks, having tallied nine goals and six assists in 22 Serie A appearances for the Biancazzurri this term.
However, despite such speculation, Castagna has insisted the 21-year-old is happy in the Italian capital.
We recently signed a contract extension with Lazio and he is really happy in Rome, Castagna told Italian radio station Radiosei. The player still had three-and-a-half years left in his contract and ther…
Togo need a win against DR Congo to progress to the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations, but will likely have to do so without goalkeeper Kossi Agassa after an ugly reaction to his performance against Morocco.
Agassa struggled in the 3-1 loss on Friday, conceding a pair of goals from set-pieces before being beaten by a long-range effort for the north African side s third.
His home in the Togolese capital of Lome has subsequently been vandalised by fans attributing the loss to Agassa and coach Claude Le Roy revealed he is unlikely to feature in the Group C finale in Port-Gentil.
He was really affected when he heard the news, said LeRoy. Whether he wants to play or not, I will respect his decision.
Agassa does not deserve such treatment. We are al…
Chelsea are set to make a summer move for Norwich City goalkeeper John Ruddy, .
The recently crowned Premier League champions are on the lookout for a new back-up for first choice shot stopper with Petr Cech likely to end his eleven year Stamford Bridge stay at the end of the season.
Jose Mourinho was initially keen on signing one-time England international Ruddy in the summer of 2013, though the Canaries rejected the Blues’ £5m approach.
The 28 year old moved to Carrow Road from Everton in the summer of 2010, and has since racked up one hundred and eighty-four appearances for the club in all competitions, the last of which came in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with rivals Ipswich Town in the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final.
Norwich, w…
The Mirror understands that Fernando Llorentte has cast doubt over his future at Tottenham Hotspur after admitting that he misses being at Juventus.
The Spain international moved to Spurs from Swansea City in last summer after a season in South Wales, having spent the same amount of time at Sevilla the side he joined after Juve.
In three seasons with the Serie A giants, Llorente scored twenty-seven goals in ninety-two appearances in all competitions, winning the league title in each of his three campaigns there as well as the Coppa Italia in 2015.
The thirty-two year old has struggled to produce his best form since moving to the North London club, scoring just one league goal in his fourteen Premier League appearances though all but one of those outings came…
Premier League managers including Tony Pulis and David Moyes have expressed their disappointment at Claudio Ranieri s sacking by Leicester City.
The reigning champions announced on Thursday that they had parted company with Ranieri less than 10 months on from their remarkable title triumph.
Leicester s owners made it clear that concern for the club s top-flight survival was behind their decision, with widespread reports suggesting the team s senior players had called for the board to take action after they lost faith in Ranieri s methods.
West Brom boss Pulis said he was disappointed at the news but suggested Leicester had become carried away by their stunning success of last term.
I m disappointed. Am I surprised? I don t think you can be surprised by w…
West Ham United are interested in signing Moussa Dembele from Lyon in the January transfer window, according to . It has been reported by the British tabloid that Lyon are willing to sell the former Celtic striker in the middle of the season, and that the 24-year-old himself could be open to returning to England.
has added that Lyon are looking for at least £30 million in transfer fee for Dembele, and that’s without bonuses on top. The Frenchman is one of the better players in his position in Ligue 1 and has scored for Lyon on a regular basis, although he is struggling to find the back of the net at the moment.
According to , Dembele has made four starts and five substitute appearances in Ligue 1 for Lyon so far this season, but he has not scored. During the 2019-20…