Manchester City striker Erling Haaland appreciates there are no easy games in the Premier League after his 28th top-flight goal of the season sealed a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Haaland s penalty in the 78th minute earned City a vital win in the race for the title at Selhurst Park after Palace had frustrated the defending champions.
While Haaland was relieved to get the win, he referenced Liverpool s 1-0 defeat earlier in the day at Bournemouth as an example of the difficulty of the division.
In the end all that matters is three points, he told Sky Sports. It s not easy. Every single game is not easy. You saw Bournemouth beat Liverpool. Every single game is a fight and you saw that [for City], and we won and I am really happy.
No player has …
France boss Didier Deschamps has a highly-talented group at his disposal ahead of Euro 2016
The European Championships starts in just over a week’s time in France. The home nation is regarded by many as the team to watch and their tags of favourites to win the tournament is highly justified.
Les Bleus are currently to be crowned champions of Europe for the third time in the history of the competition.
The previous French wins came 16 years apart in 1984 and 2000 so maybe that is an omen for Didier Deschamps side, as it has now been 16 years since their last triumph.
Undoubted quality in their squad
France have immense quality in their squad heading into Euro 2016, players at their peak playing in the biggest leagues in the world at the top lev…
Monchi has been appointed as Aston Villa’s president of football operations, the club have announced.
The 54-year-old Spaniard arrives from Sevilla, where he was director of football.
Monchi’s time as sporting director at the LaLiga outfit, after playing for them as a goalkeeper, included seven UEFA Cup/Europa League wins, the first coming in 2005-06 and the most recent last season.
Aston Villa is delighted to announce the appointment of Ramón Rodriguez Verdejo ‘MONCHI’ as the Club’s new President of Football Operations.
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial)
Three of those were achieved with Sevilla being managed by current Villa boss Unai Emery, in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Monchi, who left Sevilla in 2017 and became sporting director at…
Champions Leicester City will begin the defence of their Premier League crown away at newly promoted Hull City on August 13.
Claudio Ranieri s men stunned the world last season as they transformed themselves from relegation candidates to title winners, Leicester finishing the campaign with a 10-point cushion.
Defending that title is a whole new experience for The Foxes and they will travel to the Hull as a potentially huge scalp for Steve Bruce s Tigers.
Leicester s first home game of the season sees the visit of Arsenal – who beat them 5-2 at the King Power Stadium last season – with trips to Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham coming before November.
Return fixtures against United, Liverpool and Arsenal all fall within the space …
Hansi Flick labelled Robert Lewandowski the ultimate professional after his second-half winner earned Barcelona a 2-1 triumph over Athletic Bilbao.
Lewandowski, who spent two seasons under Flick at Bayern Munich, notched his third goal of the new LaLiga season after Oihan Sancet cancelled out Lamine Yamal s deflected opener.
The Pole netted 83 goals in 71 matches in all competitions between 2019 and 2021, winning eight major titles during Flick s time in charge, which included the Champions League.
And despite turning 36 three days ago, Flick is confident that his star striker can help Barca reclaim their league crown from rivals Real Madrid.
I know Robert (Lewandowski) really well and I don t think he has returned to form because that s how I have al…
Nainggolan s wonder goal sends Sweden crashing out / Image via fourfourtwo.com
Sweden have played their final game at the 2016 European Championship finals on Wednesday night as their 1-0 defeat to Belgium has signalled the end of the road for Zlatan Ibrahimovic and his teammates.
As Swedes crash out of the tournament after groups stages we take a look at 5 things we learned from tonight’s game in Nice:
Deserved win for Red Devils
Belgium fans were forced to wait late in the game for Marc Wilmots’ side to crack open resilient Sweden and it was AS Roma enforcer Radja Nainggolan who scored a winner for Belgium to send his team to the knockouts as the second-placed team in Group E, behind Italy who lost 1-0 to Ireland.
Chelsea target Nainggolan …
Chelsea goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer slammed FIFA and said it will take deaths for them to realise Qatar cannot host a World Cup in June and July.
Schwarzer retired from international football with Australia did not hold back in a scathing rant against football s governing body when speaking at the Leaders in Sport conference in London.
The decision to award Qatar the 2022 World Cup has been heavily scrutinized and allegations of corruption in the process have been common.
Schwarzer is in a better position than most to judge the suitability of Qatar s hosting in mid-year claims, having played in the region for Australia on many occasions, and he has serious concerns if the 2022 World Cup remains in its traditional months.
I ve played World Cup qualifiers th…
Best odds: 10/11
Bookmaker:
The 2023/24 Bundesliga title could definitely change hands this weekend at BayArena as champions-elect Bayer Leverkusen face Werder Bremen in the last match of round 29.
With only six rounds of games remaining in the season, Leverkusen merely have to match Bayern Munich s result against Koln this weekend to become German champions for the first time in their history.
Bayer Levekusen
Bayer Leverkusen have stood out this season, leading the Bundesliga table with a commanding 16-point advantage over reigning champions Bayern Munich, who have struggled to find their usual form.
If Die Werkself secure the league title, it would signal the end of Bayern s 11-season dominance in the German top flight, making Leverkusen the f…
Prediction: Inter Miami to win 2-1
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Columbus Crew and Inter Miami CF will lock horns with each other in the 2024 Leagues Cup this week. The Round of 16 tie between Wilfried Nancy’s side and Gerardo Martino’s team will be held at the Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio. It is scheduled to kick off at 12:30 am UK time on Wednesday.
Columbus Crew
Columbus Crew are a well-known and well-supported club in Major League Soccer who were founded back in 1994. The Black and Gold have won seven major trophies the MLS Cup in 2008, 2020 and 2023.
The Crew finished third in the Major League Soccer Eastern Conference table in 2023 and reached the playoffs. They will be determined to do just as well this time around. Wilfried Nancy’s…
Joseph Blatter, president of world football s governing body FIFA, on Sunday unveiled the name of the 12 venue cities for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
The announcement came after two days of FIFA executive committee meetings in the Caribbean.
As expected, five major cities will host games, including the capital Brasilia (Mane Garrincha stadium), Rio de Janeiro (Maracana), Sao Paulo (Morumbi), Belo Horizonte (Mineirao) and Porto Alegre (Beira-Rio).
Three cities where the stadia must be built were also selected: Natal (Estrela dos Reis Magos), Recife-Olinda (Arena Recife-Olinda) and Salvador (Arena da Bahia).
In the competition to represent the Amazon, which makes up 43 percent of Brazil s territory, Manaus (Vivaldao) beat out Belem.
The other ven…