Manchester United s under-fire midfielder Paul Pogba is not as good as Geoffrey Kondogbia, according to Valencia coach Marcelino.
Pogba s form has faced heavy scrutiny recently, particularly in United s dismal 2-1 Champions League defeat to Sevilla on Tuesday that saw them crash out of the last 16.
The former Juventus midfielder was brought on for the last half hour with the score at 0-0, but failed to make an impact and made several errors – including a woeful misplaced pass that went straight out of play – leading United great Roy Keane to describe his performance as schoolboy .
Conversely, Kondogbia has enjoyed a terrific loan spell for Valencia since joining from Inter and was influential in the 2-0 win against Sevilla last weekend that left them 11 point…
Liverpool have made their second defensive signing of transfer deadline day by bringing in Ozan Kabak from Schalke on loan.
The 20-year-old has joined the Premier League champions until the end of this season, subject to international clearance.
His move follows the arrival at Anfield earlier on Monday of fellow central defender Ben Davies from Championship side Preston North End for a reported £1.6m.
Kabak started his career with Galatasaray before joining Bundesliga outfit Stuttgart in January 2019.
He was unable to prevent his new side from suffering relegation and was duly snapped up by Schalke after they activated the €15m release clause in his contract.
He impressed across 28 appearances in all competitions last season, but he has st…
Barcelona had not lost to Benfica since 1961. They had not started a European season with consecutive defeats since 1972-73. They had last lost back-to-back Champions League group games 21 years ago.
And yet, the most damning thing about their 3-0 defeat in Lisbon on Wednesday was that it wasn t a huge surprise.
By most reasonable football definitions, Barca are in crisis. They have won just three of eight games in all competitions in 2021-22. Spiralling debts of more than €1.2billion meant they could not give Lionel Messi a new contract or conduct any meaningful recruitment, even as club captains took pay cuts.
Those dire financial figures also mean they have a spending cap barely an eighth of the size of Real Madrid s for this season, so January is unlikely t…
Southampton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin has signed a contract extension with the club which will keep him at St Mary s until 2017.
Southampton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin has signed a contract extension with the club which will keep him at St Mary s until 2017.
The 23-year-old joined the Saints in 2008, and has since accumulated 185 appearances during his four years at the club, scoring seven goals.
The Frenchman has had an impressive season so far, gaining recognition for his defensive displays, notching up the highest amount of tackles in the Premier League with 102, and he has also made the most interceptions of any player in Europe s top five leagues.
The defensive midfielder expressed his delight at extending his contract for another four ye…
Wilfried Nancy questioned why limits should be placed upon his Columbus Crew side after they reached the CONCACAF Champions Cup final.
Having taken a narrow 2-1 lead into the second and away leg, Columbus then impressively won 3-1 in Monterrey to secure their place in the final against Pachuca in June.
Columbus are also sitting fifth in the MLS Eastern Conference, and Nancy believes his side can keep pushing the boundaries of their potential.
For me, this is about trying to be limitless, and this value for me is so important, Nancy told reporters. Why are we going to put limits on what we do?
Nancy s men turn their attentions back to domestic football this weekend, hosting FC Cincinnati on Saturday.
Cincinnati are flying themselves having rattle…
Luis Enrique says newly-crowned Ballon d Or winner Lionel Messi would be decisive even if he played at centre-back for Barcelona.
The Argentina international collected the individual accolade for the fifth time in Zurich on Monday, beating Cristiano Ronaldo and team-mate Neymar after a stellar year for club and country.
Messi s past wins, particularly in 2011 and 2012, came as a result of his exceptional form while playing in a false nine position, while the 28-year-old shone in Barca s treble-winning campaign last term from a wider role.
And Luis Enrique, who has praised Messi s versatility in the past, does not believe his influence would change where he to play in any position on the pitch.
I m very happy. He s being recognised as the greatest player …
Jesse Lingard is determined to pay back Manchester United for the faith shown in him as he feels the club always believed in him.
The 22-year-old made his first-team debut in Louis van Gaal s first game at the helm – a 2-1 loss to Swansea City on the opening day of the 2014-15 season – and has started to establish himself this term.
The former Derby County loanee netted once in United s 2-0 Premier League win over West Brom this month, while he set up the winner in the 1-0 Champions League victory over CSKA Moscow.
I was very small as a kid and they just gave me that trust. They could have let me go, they could have sent me to another club, but obviously the coaches stuck by me. They knew the ability I had, Lingard told the UEFA s website.
Comin…
Carlo Ancelotti has ruled out resigning but the Napoli coach is set for talks over his future at the club with president Aurelio De Laurentiis.
A 4-0 home defeat of Genk ensured Napoli progressed to the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday, reaching that stage of the competition for the first time since 2016-17.
Arkadiusz Milik s hat-trick in the first half helped ensure the Partenopei finished second in Group E behind Liverpool and ended their nine-game run without a win in all competitions.
Ex-Milan boss Gennaro Gattuso continues to be linked with taking charge of Napoli, but Ancelotti wants to still be in the dugout when his side face Parma in Serie A at the weekend.
I hope so, Ancelotti told Sky Sport Italia when asked if he would be in his j…
Young Sunderland fan Bradley Lowery has passed away following a battle with cancer.
Bradley, aged six, was diagnosed with a neuroblastoma in 2013 and the Lowery family were informed their son s condition was terminal in December 2016.
Following this news, Bradley appeared as mascot for his beloved Sunderland on numerous occasions and also for the England national team for March s World Cup qualifier against Lithuania, when he entered the field alongside his favourite player Jermain Defoe.
A statement on the Bradley s Fight Facebook page read: He was our little superhero and put the biggest fight up but he was needed elsewhere. There are no words to describe how heart broken we are.
Sunderland also released a statement, paying tribute to Bradley, who capt…
Hansi Flick admits he was satisfield to settle for a share of the points after the madness of Bayern Munich’s 3-3 draw against Arminia Bielefeld in a snow-covered Allianz Arena.
Four days after the German champions lifted the Club World Cup in Qatar, Bayern found themselves in the midst of a snowstorm and 2-0 down at half-time against the Bundesliga strugglers after goals from Michel Vlap and Amos Pieper.
Robert Lewandowski hit back three minutes after the restart with his 25th league goal of the season but, within a minute, Christian Gebauer restored the away side’s two-goal advantage in a chaotic start to the second half.
Bayern coach Flick was left breathing a sigh of relief after strikes from Corentin Tolisso and Alphonso Davies saved the leaders’ bl…