San Lorenzo coach Edgardo Bauza stirred Club World Cup rivals Real Madrid, claiming Lionel Messi is better than Cristiano Ronaldo.
Bauza s men are on a collision course with the UEFA Champions League winners, with the two sides drawn in opposite semi-finals at the FIFA-sanctioned event in Morocco.
The Copa Libertadores holders will play either of ES Setif, Moghreb Tetouan or Auckland City for a spot in the December 20 final to be crowned the best club in the world but will likely battle star-studded Real for that honour.
And weighing into the constant Messi-Ronaldo debate, Bauza claimed his fellow Argentinian Messi had Ronaldo covered despite the latter hotly tipped to bag the Ballon d Or for the second year running on January 12.
For me, Messi is the o…
Manchester City avoided a repeat of the second-half collapses that have haunted them this week as they moved to within a win of the Premier League title with a 3-1 victory at Tottenham.
As in their 3-2 derby defeat to Manchester United last weekend and the confirmation of their Champions League exit against Liverpool on Tuesday, Pep Guardiola s side were close to their scintillating best during the opening exchanges at Wembley and established a 2-0 lead inside 25 minutes.
Gabriel Jesus 10th Premier League goal of the season and an Ilkay Gundogan penalty – replays showed the contact from Hugo Lloris lunge on Raheem Sterling occurred fractionally outside the box – put City in the driving seat but Christian Eriksen reducing the arrears in the 42nd minute left the runawa…
manager Claude Puel has embarked on a mission to improve the Foxes’ defence, and one of the players he’s looking to add to his squad is Porto’s Ricardo Pereira, .
Pereira has reportedly been offered a new, improved deal to remain at his current club, but it is believed he has his heart set on a move to England. Apart from Leicester, the right-back is being watched by Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Everton and Juventus.
In Leicester’s Premier League game against Southampton, Marc Albrighton, who usually plays as a midfielder or a winger, was preferred to right-back Danny Simpson for the spot on the right flank of defence. Simpson was left on the bench.
Pereira would cost the 2015/16 Premier League winners around £22 million, the report claims. The 24-year-…
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was so exasperated by Bournemouth s late equaliser in Tuesday s 2-2 draw at Anfield that it nearly made him vomit .
Klopp s men looked to be on course to take all three Premier League points when Divock Origi – starting in place of the injured Sadio Mane – headed Liverpool into a 2-1 lead just shy of the hour-mark.
But Joshua King stunned Liverpool three minutes from time to leave the Reds chances of stealing second place from Tottenham looking bleak.
And Klopp whose Liverpool are third in the table and five points adrift of Tottenham was gutted by the late blow, saying that he had to battle to hold back bodily fluids.
A frustrating end.
— Liverpool FC (@LFC)
Their second goal from a set-piece nearly…
Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland believes karma played a role in his duel with Sevilla goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, insisting I scored when he didn t cheat in the absorbing Champions League last-16 clash.
History-making Haaland netted a brace as Dortmund drew 2-2 with LaLiga visitors Sevilla on Tuesday but advanced to the quarter-finals 5-4 on aggregate.
Haaland became the quickest player to 20 Champions League goals after reaching the milestone in his 14th game in the competition.
The 20-year-old broke the record after scoring a 54th-minute penalty – the in-demand Norway forward celebrating in the face of Bounou following the retaken spot-kick.
Next round, here we come!
— Erling Haaland (@ErlingHaaland)
Bounou had saved the i…
Didier Deschamps has prepared France to face Edinson Cavani on Friday but expects Uruguay to be a dangerous opponent even if the striker fails to recover from injury.
Cavani suffered a muscle problem in the 2-1 World Cup last-16 win over Portugal and is a doubt for the quarter-final showdown with France in Nizhny Novgorod, despite having returned to training on Thursday.
Deschamps has a plan in place for the Paris Saint-Germain striker but thinks Oscar Tabarez has plenty of strong alternatives at his disposal.
I m preparing my team for if Cavani plays, the France coach told a news conference. But Tabarez has some terrific options. [Cristhian] Stuani is also an excellent player, he scored 21 goals with his club side, and I ve prepared my team with these differen…
A late Ashley Barnes strike gained Burnley a surprise 2-2 draw at Manchester City on Sunday to end the champions nine-match winning run.
City were on course for a club-record 10th consecutive victory in all competitions that would have seen them move to within a point of Premier League leaders Chelsea, who drew with Southampton earlier in the day.
However, after George Boyd pulled one back, Barnes completed a memorable comeback for Sean Dyche s side, who were 2-0 down at half-time thanks to strikes from David Silva and Fernandinho at the Etihad Stadium.
Burnley had offered signs of promise in the opening exchanges, but City s dominance in possession came to fruition when Silva opened the scoring 23 minutes in.
The Spaniard s fifth goal in as ma…
Blackburn Rovers are working on bringing Jack Rodwell to the club, the have quoted manager Tony Mowbray saying.
Rodwell started his career with Everton as a product of their academy, and moved to Manchester City as a hot prospect in 2012. However, he made only 25 appearances over two years for the current Premier League holders before moving to Sunderland.
The midfielder s four seasons at the North-East of England were riddled with various issues, injuries not least among them. In April this year, manager Chris Coleman revealed he didn t know where Rodwell was mentally. His contract was eventually cancelled in June and he is now a free agent.
He now faces an uphill task of getting his career back on track, and Blackburn are aware they would be getting a quality…
Lyon have completed the signing of Real Madrid striker Mariano Diaz in a move reportedly worth €8million.
The 23-year-old has signed a five-year contract and becomes the Ligue 1 club s fourth signing ahead of the 2017-18 season after the arrivals of Fernando Marcal, Bertrand Traore and Ferland Mendy.
Both clubs announced the transfer on Friday and Madrid thanked Mariano in a statement which read: The club wants to show its gratitude for these years of dedication and professionalism and wishes him good luck in his next chapter.
The centre-forward, who will wear the number 11 shirt at Lyon, was with Madrid since 2011 and rose through the club s youth system to become part of the first-team squad in 2016-17.
Welcome in the Mariano Diaz!!!
— OL…
Sydney FC only need a draw to finish second in the A-League, while Melbourne Victory look set to seal the Premier s Plate.
Graham Arnold s Sky Blues sit behind Victory, who are three points clear at the top, ahead of a trip to Wellington.
The Phoenix are a point behind Sydney, who will seal a top-two spot and a home semi-final should they avoid defeat.
Arnold s side are unbeaten in 13 away games this campaign, and they have won back-to-back games ahead of their trip to Westpac Stadium.
Sydney could still finish top, but they will need a win and goal difference turnaround of seven.
That is unlikely, given Victory host the eighth-placed Central Coast Mariners at AAMI Park on Sunday.
Austria captain Marc Janko is on track to win the golden bo…