Fabio Quagliarella became the oldest goalscorer in his country s history as Italy romped to a 6-0 win over 10-man Liechtenstein in Euro 2020 qualifying.
Aged 36 years and 54 days, Quagliarella scored two first-half penalties and was later substituted to a standing ovation having marked his first competitive start since October 2009 in style.
It was a night of milestones in Parma, Stefano Sensi getting his first international goal in only his second appearance to open the scoring, and Marco Verratti netting his first for Italy in over six years.
Liechtenstein s Daniel Kaufmann was sent off just before half-time when conceding Quagliarella s second penalty, with Juventus star Moise Kean scoring for a second successive game before substitute Leonar…
The Liverpool juggernaut now looks unstoppable. And worryingly for their title rivals, the majority of Saturday s victory over Brighton and Hove Albion was largely completed while in cruise control.
Jurgen Klopp s side only got out of third gear in the final quarter-of-an hour as three points were safely banked, despite a few late jitters, thanks to two soaring headers from centre-back Virgil van Dijk.
It had all the hallmarks of the kind of win etched out by the great Anfield sides of yesteryear.
Liverpool were dubbed the Red Machine during the heyday of their 1980s dominance when they swept all before them and required an annual tab with Brasso to polish the silverware in the bulging trophy cabinet.
It might only be the end of November, with just over a…
Tottenham have completed the signing of key target Micky van de Ven on a six-year deal from Wolfsburg.
The addition of the left-footed centre-back is a major coup for the club and helps satisfy the demand of new boss Ange Postecoglou to bring in defensive reinforcements.
Spurs have secured the services of Van de Ven on a contract running to 2029 in a deal worth an initial 40million euros (£34.5million), but with the final fee able to rise to around 50m euros (£43.1m) in add-ons.
Welcome, Micky van de Ven!
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial)
The Netherlands Under-21 international has been tracked by the club all summer and, after weighing up a move for him or Bayer Leverkusen’s Edmond Tapsoba, Tottenham pressed ahead with their pursuit of …
Best odds: 7/10
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Round nine of the 2020/21 season in the Serie A is up this weekend. There will be several rather interesting and potentially important matches played, such as the one between surprise second-place Sassuolo and last term s Europa League finalists Inter Milan, or the one between Napoli and AS Roma at the stadium which is set to bear the name of the great Diego Armando Maradona soon.
As for the league leaders AC Milan, they will welcome Fiorentina to San Siro as they aim to continue the brilliant run which could lead them to the first Scudetto since 2011.
AC Milan
It will indeed be a decade since the seven-time European champions last won the national title, and they ve gone through some turbulent times since then. But now, led b…
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is awaiting the results of a scan to determine the severity of Paul Pogba s thigh injury after the star midfielder was substituted in the first half of a last-gasp 3-3 draw against Everton.
Pogba hobbled off the field with six minutes remaining prior to half-time as United capitulated at Old Trafford, where Everton sensationally salvaged a point in the 95th minute on Saturday.
United were in control when Pogba succumbed to injury – leading 2-0 at the interval thanks to Edinson Cavani and Bruno Fernandes – before two goals in the space of three minutes to start the second half restored parity for Everton.
Scott McTominay put United ahead again with 20 minutes remaining, but just as the Red Devils looked like secur…
Verdict: Bournemouth wins
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Bournemouth hope to defeat Brighton in an attempt to compete for a 6th place finish. The game will take place at Vitality Stadium in front of 11, 000 fans, where the hosts have so far played at a high level this season. A further loss would drop Roberto de Zerbi s club to the second part of the standings, with Brighton losing ground in the last period.
Bournemouth
With four matches remaining, the host team s strong play this season has put Andoni Iraola s side in a safe zone, perhaps allaying fears of relegation. Furthermore, Bournemouth is looking up rather than down, as they aim to end the season in sixth position.
The team s performance from March to April, when the Cherries were invincible …
Borussia Dortmund head coach Marco Rose lauded Erling Haaland s extraordinary maturity amid mounting transfer speculation.
Haaland is a player in demand, the Dortmund star linked with Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Liverpool, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain.
Despite the ongoing rumours, Haaland has stayed focus for Dortmund with 13 goals in 10 Bundesliga appearances this season, while the 21-year-old has 19 across all competitions.
Rose hailed Haaland ahead of Saturday s Bundesliga trip to Hertha Berlin.
With all the things that are coming at Erling [Haaland], the speculation, and not just since day one, week one, or since they started talking about an exit clause in his contract, Rose told reporter…
Thomas Tuchel believes Chelsea can overcome a lack of Champions League semi-final experience by playing with hunger and enthusiasm when they go up against Real Madrid.
The Blues have made it through to the last four of Europe s premier club competition for the first time since 2013-2014, a season that finished with Madrid winning the trophy in Lisbon.
Los Blancos also won the competition for three successive seasons during Zinedine Zidane s first spell in charge, with many of the key players involved in that impressive hat-trick still at the club now.
However, Tuchel feels his Chelsea squad are in a good moment heading into Tuesday s first leg in the Spanish capital.
Every match I feel that we are able to play on a very high level, Tuchel, who confirme…
Southampton came from behind to stun Chelsea 2-1 as Adam Armstrong s goal dealt Thomas Tuchel s men their second defeat of the Premier League season.
Chelsea hit the front through Raheem Sterling after 23 minutes, but Romeo Lavia s powerful long-range strike dragged Southampton level five minutes later before Armstrong put the hosts ahead on the stroke of half-time.
With Reece James missing through illness, Chelsea struggled to create throughout a disjointed performance, and Kai Havertz squandered their best chance to level after the break.
The result saw Ralph Hasenhuttl s men draw level with Chelsea in the early Premier League table after a lively display, as the Blues unconvincing start to the campaign continued.
Sterling produced a tame attempt when…
Jack Grealish has defended Gareth Southgate following very harsh criticism of the England manager.
Southgate led the Three Lions to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and then the Euro 2020 final, but recent results have been scrutinised.
England have not won any of their past four Nations League games, losing to Hungary twice and drawing with Italy and Germany.
Ahead of return fixtures against Italy and Germany, Southgate has also faced some backlash following the announcement of his latest squad.
Two months out from the World Cup, Southgate, who said in 2017 he would never pick on reputation , has called up Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw, despite the pair losing their places at Manchester United.
But winger Grealish has come to his manager s defence, s…