Manchester City cruised into the quarter-finals of the Champions League despite falling to a 2-1 loss at home by Basel, Pep Guardiola s men progressing 5-2 on aggregate.
A comprehensive 4-0 win in Switzerland three weeks ago gave City a foot in the last eight and the chance of a Basel comeback was always extremely remote, but the hosts struggled for cohesion after nine changes and slipped to a first home defeat in any competition since December 2016.
Guardiola took the chance to rest stars including Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero, Ederson and David Silva, with Phil Foden starting to become the youngest English player to start a knockout game in the Champions League.
Teenager Foden featured alongside Yaya Toure 17 years his senior in midfield but the duo strugg…
Tito Vilanova believes Barcelona fully deserve the La Liga title, especially after their 2-1 comeback win at Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
Real Madrid handed the Catalan club their fourth title in five seasons with a 1-1 draw against Espanyol ahead of the match at the Vicente Calderon.
The Catalan side, who were welcomed onto the pitch with a guard of honour, fell behind to a Radamel Falcao strike and lost Lionel Messi to injury but still claimed three points with ten men courtesy of Alexis Sanchez and an own goal from Gabi.
Vilanova told the club s official website: We have been the best team in La Liga, without a doubt.
We knew that we had to win as many points as possible at the start of the season because big teams usually drop points in the first games of the year.
When e…
Juventus close on Witsel
Serie A champions Juventus are closing in on the signature of Zenit midfielder Axel Witsel, .
It is no secret that the Bianconeri are keen on the former Benfica star and they are determined to lure him to Turin in the summer transfer window.
Juventus officials have already held several rounds of talks with the player s employers and they believe an offer in the region of €18 million would prove sufficient.
Witsel, who has two years left on his deal at Zenit, is believed to be keen on joining the Italian giants, and it looks as though the Russians won t be able to keep hold of his services.
The Belgium star has been in fine form ever since he arrived at the club from Benfica, bagging 11 goals in 70 league appearances.
Inter deserve more respect in the Champions League after progressing from a group containing Bayern Munich and Barcelona, Nerazzurri goalkeeper Andre Onana says.
Simone Inzaghi s side finished second in Group C in UEFA s top club competition, with a home win and an away draw against Xavi s Blaugrana proving crucial to their group-stage progression.
Inter then negotiated a tough last-16 task against Porto, winning 1-0 on aggregate in the two-legged affair, and face Benfica in the quarter-final.
The Nerazzurri could face either runaway Serie A leaders Napoli or Milan in the last four as Italian clubs dominate in Europe, and Onana believes his side should get more credit.
We deserve more respect in Europe, given that we sent Barcelona to the Europa League a…
Germany captain Michael Ballack has been working hard to build bridges with his team-mates following last autumn s spat with national coach Joachim Loew, senior players have revealed.
Chelsea midfielder Ballack caused a storm here last autumn when he accused Loew of failing to show senior players enough respect and loyalty after veteran midfielder Torsten Frings was kept on the bench for two World Cup qualifiers.
Ballack was later forced to issue an apology and backed down, but it became clear things were not entirely harmonious in the Germany camp.
And senior players defender Philipp Lahm and striker Miroslav Klose have revealed Ballack is now working hard to improve his image within the national team.
He approaches players far more now than he used to…
Sergio Aguero and John Stones are in line to face Leicester City on Saturday, but David Silva remains a doubt, according to Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.
Aguero has not played for the Premier League champions since suffering a thigh injury in the 2-1 win over Chelsea on November 23, while Stones was hurt in the 2-1 derby defeat to Manchester United on December 7.
Both players resumed training this week and Guardiola appeared hopeful on Friday that they will be ready for the visit of Leicester to the Etihad Stadium.
Silva, however, still seems to be struggling with a knock he sustained against United.
Sergio and John Stones have trained, Guardiola told a news conference. They have had two sessions. David Silva, no.
The likely returns…
Alexis Sanchez needs regular match action either at Manchester United or elsewhere, says Chile great Ivan Zamorano.
Sanchez left Arsenal for United in January 2018 but has struggled to find his best form at Old Trafford, starting just nine Premier League games last season and scoring once.
The 30-year-old has continued to score for Chile, though, netting twice so far at the Copa America, yet Zamorano believes the rust from his club campaign has still been evident in the wins over Japan and Ecuador.
And the former Chile star wants Sanchez, who has been linked with Juventus, to be a starter wherever he begins next term.
What s best for [Sanchez] is to play wherever he can, be it at Manchester United or any other team, Zamorano told Omnisport.
Come …
Guardiola was right to insist on Gundogan / Image via manchestereveningnews.co.uk
His arrival to Manchester City had been taken with a huge pinch of salt, but Ilkay Gundogan needed only 80 minutes of competitive action to prove the critics wrong and demonstrate that he could go on to become a key player for Guardiola’s team this season.
Plenty of eyebrows were raised with the Spaniard being so adamant on bringing the Germany international to Etihad earlier in the summer, but Pep Guardiola’s visions of the team he wanted to create at Manchester City were spot on once again, acting as a huge confirmation of his undisputed managerial quality.
Doubt
The 25-year-old Germany midfielder had endured a difficult 2015-16 season at Borussia Dortmund.
Having mi…
Verdict: Over 3.5 goals
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Top-six hopefuls Sevilla play host to Real Madrid in a rearranged La Liga match which will be played on Wednesday night at the Sanchez Pizjuan stadium.
Sevilla
Los Rojiblancos will be on the hunt for crucial three points from the clash originally planned for 21 April. The meeting between Sevilla and Real Madrid ended up being rearranged due to Sevilla’s involvement in the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona.
Sevilla head into the Wednesday’s fixture of the back of a hard-fought 1-0 home triumph against Real Sociedad which saw Sevilla put an end to a nine-game winless stretch in all competitions. Montella’s men have thus recorded their first La Liga win in two months and will be more than moti…
Serie A giants Lazio are weighing up summer move for Corinthians forward Alexandre Pato, according to UOL Esporte.
With Miroslav Klose nearing the end of his career, the Biancocelesti aim to recruit another striker this summer, and they are now looking at the former AC Milan starlet.
According to the latest reports, Lazio could offer around €9 million for the 25-year-old footballer.
Alexandre Pato returned to Brazil in January 2013, joining Corinthians, but he has spent last year and a half on loan at Sao Paulo.
The forward has been in fine form of late, scoring 10 goals in 21 league appearances, but it remains to be seen whether he would be interested in returning to Italian Serie A.
Pato moved to AC Milan back in 2007 as one of Brazil s hotte…