Ligue 1
Barcelona and Real Madrid target rejects Chelsea move
David Alaba has rejected a move to Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, reports Sky Germany. Alaba has been a regular at Bayern Munich for the best part of the last decade, making 421 appearances in all competitions for the Bavarians. During that time, he has won nine Bundesliga titles, six DFB Pokals, and two Champions Leagues. David Alaba has had a highly successful time at Bayern Munich However, the Austrian looks nailed on to depart the Allianz Arena this summer on a free transfer, having rejected a new contract. This has got several of Europe’s top clubs keeping an eye on the situation, hoping to bring in one of the world’s best defenders for cheap. Two clubs who were looking at the defender were Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain. However, Sky Germany are claiming that he has said no to bot...
Champions League flashback: Liverpool and Man City’s chance for revenge + 2020 Final repeat
The fixtures for the Champions League quarter-finals have been drawn, with several enticing fixtures. Manchester City were the first side out of the pot, coming up against Borussia Dortmund, while Porto got drawn against Chelsea. The final two fixtures see repeats of recent finals, with Bayern Munich facing Paris Saint-Germain, and Real Madrid playing Liverpool. In anticipation of the next round of European games, here is a look back at some of the best clashes between these sides. Manchester City vs Borussia Dortmund Balotelli’s equaliser was not enough to prevent an early exit for Man City Rather surprisingly, this is only the second time that these two sides have been drawn up against each other. The first came in the group stages of the 2012/13 season. It was a very different Borussia ...
PSG “immensely optimistic” of Lionel Messi signing
Paris Saint-Germain are growing increasingly confident of signing Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi, according to Brazilian journalist Marcelo Bechler. The Argentine was at the heart of the biggest transfer saga of last summer following his shock transfer request away from the Camp Nou. However, after a long-running feud with former president Josep Maria Bartomeu, Messi stayed at the Catalan giants. Messi remained at Barcelona after last summer’s saga The election of Joan Laporta as Barcelona’s new president gave hope to the idea that the 33-year-old would stay beyond his current contract, which expires in the summer. The Spaniard promised to make keeping Messi one of his main priorities. However, it seems as if Laporta’s election may not be sufficient to keep the six-time Ballon d’Or winne...
Man Utd and PSG turned down chance to sign Cristiano Ronaldo, claims Italian journalist
Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain both rejected the opportunity to sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Juventus last summer, according to La Repubblica journalist Emanuele Gamba. The 36-year-old’s future has been at the centre of a lot of speculation in the last few days following Juventus’ early exit from the Champions League at the hands of Porto. Oliveira scored twice to eliminate Juventus This is the third year in a row that the Italian giants have suffered disappointment in Europe, having previously been knocked out by Ajax and Lyon. Given the current financial climate, Juventus’ failings on the pitch and Ronaldo’s ambition, it would not be surprising to see the Portuguese forward move on in the upcoming transfer window. Two clubs that have apparently already turned down Ronaldo once ...
Messi misses penalty as PSG eliminate Barcelona from Champions League…again
Paris Saint-Germain reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League after seeing out an entertaining 1-1 draw at home to Barcelona, winning 5-2 on aggregate. It was a positive start from Ronald Koeman’s men. Ousmane Dembele had two good chances to open the scoring but converted neither, while Keylor Navas turned Sergino Dest’s effort onto the crossbar. On the half hour mark, PSG got the chance to take the lead on the night when VAR awarded a penalty for Clement Lenglet’s trip on Mauro Icardi. Kylian Mbappe stepped up and bagged his fourth of the tie. Dembele wasted another chance to get on the scoresheet after being played through by Antoine Griezmann, placing his strike straight at Navas. But it wasn’t long before Lionel Messi had his say. The six-time Ballon d’Or winner picked up the ...
Bordeaux v PSG preview: Can PSG keep up the pressure on Lille in title race?
Wednesday night sees perennial Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain take on out-of-sorts Bordeaux in need of all three points to preserve their title hopes. A staggering 24-point gap separates the sides in the Ligue 1 table ahead of the kick-off, and there is currently a massive gulf in quality between the pair. The mid-table hosts are unlikely to secure European football for next season, especially given how they have performed lately. Les Girondins have rarely been able to go toe-to-toe with the reigning French champions over the past decade, and the odds are stacked against them. Meanwhile, sitting two points adrift of league-toppers Lille, PSG cannot afford to drop points at the venue where they last lost in March 2015. The second-placed visitors are odds-on favourites to ruffle Borde...
Report shares key role Marcelo Bielsa played as French side appoint new manager
Ligue 1 outfit Marseille announced Jorge Sampaoli as their manager last Friday, with the Argentine succeeding Andre Villas-Boas who was sacked last month. The former Sevilla boss will now look to impress on his second managerial stint in Europe, and Marseille have Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa to thank for Sampaoli’s arrival. According to Telefoot, the boss of the Elland Road outfit and Sampaoli were in discussion on the telephone for over 90 minutes about whether he should sign for the French outfit or not. 🚨 Toujours selon nos informations, Marcelo #Bielsa a échangé plus d’une heure et demi au téléphone avec #Sampaoli avant sa signature, le confortant encore plus dans son choix de rejoindre l’#OM (@YassinNfaoui) pic.twitter.com/0ILJLraH9E — Téléfoot (@telefoot_TF1) Febru...
Ajax pair will miss out, Lille almost at full strength
Thursday’s Europa League action gets underway at 5.55 pm as Ajax welcome Lille to the Johan Cruijff Arena for the return leg of their last-32 tie. Ajax hold a 2-1 advantage following the first-leg in France last week. All three goals were scored after half-time. Timothy Weah slotted the ball past Maarten Stekelenburg to put the home team in front in the 72nd minute. However, Ajax skipper Dusan Tadic converted a spot-kick in the 87th minute to initiate the comeback. The visitors did not have to wait long to complete the turnaround. Davy Klaassen unlocked Lille’s defence with a pinpoint through ball, with Brian Brobbey poking home from a few yards out. The French giants now have a mountain to climb in Amsterdam. Ajax Preview Ajax have joined the Europa League on the back of their premature C...
Ex-Liverpool forward makes bizarre claim about Haaland and Mbappe
Former Liverpool striker Emile Heskey has made a bizarre claim about Erling Braut Haaland and Kylian Mbappe. The Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain forwards shone in the Champions League in midweek, sparking talk that they will be the dominant force in football over the next few years. The pair have been tipped to have the same impact as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, but Heskey has poured cold water on that prediction. Speaking to talkSPORT, Heskey said that Haaland and Mbappe are not in the same league as a young Michael Owen. “Whenever everyone talks about stats and young players coming through at a certain age, I always go to Michael,” Heskey said. “I start comparing them with him, and a lot of them don’t compare to him. For the stuff he did and the age he did it at, and hi...
Ligue 1 Preview: Paris Saint-Germain and AS Monaco to face off in must win encounter
This season’s Ligue 1 has been one of the most captivating campaigns in recent years in France, with four teams very much in the hunt for the league title. This weekend’s batch of fixtures in the French top-flight could prove to be crucial, as two of the quadrant, Paris Saint-German and AS Monaco, face-off this weekend in a game that could have huge ramifications for the Ligue 1 table. Here is a preview of the games you can look forward to this weekend. Brest vs Lyon 19-02-21 (BT Sport ESPN) 20:00 GMT The weekend action in France kicks-off tonight, as Lyon travel to Brittany to take on mid-table Stade Brestois. OL will have to be at their best in this match as Olivier Dall’Oglio’s Stade Brest have proven to be stern opposition so far this season. Rudi Garcia will be keen for...
Ligue 1 Preview: Paris Saint-Germain and AS Monaco to face off in must win encounter
This season’s Ligue 1 has been one of the most captivating campaigns in recent years in France, with four teams very much in the hunt for the league title. This weekend’s batch of fixtures in the French top-flight could prove to be crucial, as two of the quadrant, Paris Saint-German and AS Monaco, face-off this weekend in a game that could have huge ramifications for the Ligue 1 table. Here is a preview of the games you can look forward to this weekend. Brest vs Lyon 19-02-21 (BT Sport ESPN) 20:00 GMT The weekend action in France kicks-off tonight, as Lyon travel to Brittany to take on mid-table Stade Brestois. OL will have to be at their best in this match as Olivier Dall’Oglio’s Stade Brest have proven to be stern opposition so far this season. Rudi Garcia will be keen for...
‘I’m 100% sure’ – Fabrizio Romano claims Everton won’t sell 20y/o for less than €70m
Paris Saint-Germain took Barcelona to the cleaners at the Camp Nou last night, coming from behind to secure a 4-1 victory in the first-leg of the Champions League last-16. Kylian Mbappe bagged a hat-trick, with Everton loanee Moise Kean scoring the other goal. The 20-year-old joined PSG on a season-long loan last summer and has since registered 14 goals across all competitions. Everton fans were impressed with his performance against Barcelona last night, and manager Carlo Ancelotti and Director of Football Marcel Brands would have been pleased too. Kean’s loan deal at PSG does not include an option to buy, and the player’s market value has surely risen given his recent performances. It remains to be seen whether the French giants will look to secure his services on a permanent basis, but ...
