Real Madrid
Manchester United could compete with Real Madrid to sign €70m box-to-box midfielder
Manchester United have joined Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain in the pursuit of Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Gazzetta dello Sport claims. The Red Devils were heavily linked with the Serbian star in the summer of 2019, and it was claimed that the club had agreed a five-year deal with the midfielder. On top of this, it was claimed that the Red Devils would pay an initial €75 million for the midfielder with a remaining €15m to be settled in the form of add-ons. However, nothing materialised, but it is now reported that the Red Devils could be back in the hunt to sign the box-to-box midfielder. The 26-year-old has been with Lazio for six seasons, but he appears likely to push for an exit if the Serie A club fail to qualify for the Champions League. Sportslens view: M...
Zidane reportedly joins Conte in race for Hammers attacking midfielder
According to ESPN, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan have joined West Ham United in the race for Jesse Lingard’s signature ahead of the summer transfer window. The England international joined the Hammers on loan until the rest of the season from Manchester United in January. He has hit the ground running at the London Stadium, grabbing eight goals and three assists in nine Premier League games. West Ham are desperate to secure Lingard’s services permanently as a result, but they have to finish in the top-four to have a chance of doing so. The 28-year-old wants to play Champions League football next season, and the Hammers are currently fourth in the Premier League with seven games to go thanks to him. Sportslens View The Red Devils academy graduate has caught the attention ...
Real Madrid man may have played last game for the club following season-ending injury
Real Madrid’s Lucas Vazquez has been ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering a knee injury in Saturday’s El Clasico victory, as confirmed by Marca. Vazquez has been an important part of Madrid’s title challenge this season, featuring 24 times in the league. During these games, he has recorded two goals and five assists, including his set-up for Karim Benzema’s opener on the weekend. Vazquez has featured 24 times in La Liga this season Despite primarily being a winger, the 29-year-old has played the majority of his games at right-back, largely due to the absence of Dani Carvajal. The former Bayer Leverkusen man has had a succession of injuries this season, restricting him to just 12 appearances in all competitions. However, it seems as if Vazquez’s season is over, after Marca c...
Mino Raiola wants Erling Haaland to be 1st £1 millon-a-week player
Mino Raiola is determined to make Erling Haaland the first £1 million-a-week player. Haaland has grown into one of the deadliest strikers in world football, having scored a ridiculous 49 goals in 52 appearances for Borussia Dortmund. The Norwegian sensation is attracting interest from all of Europe’s elite but according to The Mirror, super-agent Raiola wants any transfer to be a “once in a lifetime deal”. Raiola, along with Haaland’s father Alf-Inge, recently travelled to spain for meetings with both Barcelona and Real Madrid. It’s said the two Spanish giants were shocked at the finances it would take to secure the former Red Bull Salzburg man, while Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool are all aware how costly and complex a potential deal will be. Still only 20 but w...
El Clásico’s impact on La Liga title race
In the 246th competitive fixture between Real Madrid and Barcelona on Saturday, it was Los Blancos who came out on top at the final whistle. First-half goals from Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos were enough to claim three points at the Estadio Alfredo di Stefano despite a second-half consolation for the visitors by Óscar Mingueza. With little over a month left of the season, we look at just how their 2-1 victory has impacted the La Liga title race. Which teams are battling it out? There are three teams left fighting for the title at this stage – Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid. Since Valencia in 2003/2004, these three are the only teams to have won a La Liga title. Atlético have done so on one occasion in that time frame, pipping Barcelona on the final day of the 2013/14 campa...
Tactical Analysis: How Real Madrid overcame Barcelona in El Clásico
Real Madrid and Barcelona may be two falling giants of European football, but their reputation remains high despite their struggles. Therefore, their clash – El Clásico – is still one of football’s biggest attractions, even if not the best from a quality perspective. The latest Clásico on Saturday had something much bigger at stake than pride – the La Liga title. Atlético Madrid looked intent on breaking Madrid and Barça’s duopoly on the Spanish top-flight, getting 50 points in the first half of their season and going clear at the top of the table, but they have slumped incredibly since. Their drop has allowed Madrid and Barcelona back into the title race, with Los Blancos just two points behind their Catalonian rivals going into this match. The hosts came away with a m...
Real Madrid complete El Clasico double to go top of La Liga
Real Madrid defeated Barcelona for the second time this season to climb to the top of the La Liga table. It was a lively start to the game, with the visitors having the first sight of goal. Lionel Messi slipped a ball through to Jordi Alba, who tried to find Ousmane Dembele with a low cross but was denied by the left hand of Thibaut Courtois. But it was not long before Los Blancos launched their first attack, and with that came the opening goal. Lucas Vazquez was fed the ball after some brilliant work from Federico Valverde, and the Spaniard’s low cross was expertly flicked in at the near post by Karim Benzema. Not long later, Zinedine Zidane’s men doubled their lead through a slice of luck. Toni Kroos’ free kick took a huge deflection off Sergino Dest, and Alba was unable to head the ball...
Three key battles that could decide El Clasico – and La Liga
Real Madrid vs Barcelona is always a big game, but this is massive. If either side can take all three points from this El Clasico, they will be in pole position to kick on for the league title. There really is nothing between the two sides at the moment. Both teams come into the game enjoying their best form of the season, with Barca unbeaten in 19 games and Madrid having lost just one of their last 19. With no clear favourite heading into the game, here are some of the key battles that could define the outcome of the biggest game of the Spanish season. Messi vs Casemiro The obvious place to start is La Liga’s top goalscorer. If Madrid are going to get anything from this game, they will need to nullify the threat of one of the greatest players of our generation – Lionel Messi. The Argentin...
Gary Neville picks Real Madrid star as his number one target for Manchester United
Gary Neville has picked Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane as his preferred summer target for Manchester United during a Q&A session on Twitter. The Red Devils have had a good season, and they are presently lying second in the league standings with 60 points, nine ahead of fifth-placed Chelsea. They are also the favourites to win the Europa League, which would end their trophy drought that has lasted for nearly four years. Despite the positives, the club are still far off from competing for the league title, with Manchester City cruising at the top with a 14-point lead. The club are likely to strengthen the squad this summer, and there has been much talk that they could pursue a new centre-back to accompany Harry Maguire. In a Q&A session earlier today, SPORTbible asked Neville to...
Boost for Barcelona and Real Madrid as Atletico star set for spell on the sidelines
Atletico Madrid striker Luis Suarez has suffered a muscle injury in his left leg, as confirmed via the club’s official website. Suarez came to Atletico Madrid from Barcelona in last summer’s transfer window. Despite his age, the 34-year-old has shown no signs of slowing down, scoring 19 La Liga goals in 26 appearances. This has put him second in the race for the Pichichi, four behind former teammate Lionel Messi. Suarez has enjoyed a fine debut season at Atletico Madrid This form has helped Los Rojiblancos to the top of the La Liga table with just nine games remaining. They remain on course for their 11th league title, and their first since the 2013/14 season. However, Diego Simeone’s side have suffered a major loss of form, winning just four of their last ten league outings. This has seen...
Analysis: Liverpool’s poor pressing and TAA horror show ensured resounding thrashing by Real Madrid
As far as UEFA Champions League quarter-final ties go, they don’t get much bigger than this. Real Madrid hosted Liverpool at the Alfredo Di Stéfano in the first leg of the repeat of the 2018 Champions League final, but a number of key players were missing from both sides. Neither team had either of their two senior centre-backs available, while Eden Hazard and Dani Carvajal were also out for Los Blancos. Two depleted defences meant that we certainly had goals in store, and that was just the case as Real Madrid emerged 3-1 winners – just as they had done nearly three years ago. There was no Gareth Bale to bag a brace for Zinedine Zidane’s men, but Vinícius Júnior stepped up more than adequately with a match-winning performance. We will take a look at that and much more as we ...
Klopp shakes up his starting XI, City boss benches forward again
The Champions League has reached the quarter-final stage and features some mouth-watering UCL fixtures. We’ll update this story with reports, results and the latest Champions League highlights as the first leg games are played. Three Premier League clubs have made it through to the last eight of the competition, and two of them were in action on Tuesday evening. Liverpool face a tough task to reach the semi-finals after losing 3-1 at Real Madrid – Vinicius Junior (2) and Marco Asensio scored for the La Liga giants. Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden were on target for Manchester City as they secured a narrow 2-1 home victory over Borussia Dortmund. Chelsea are in action on Wednesday as they face Porto, while Bayern Munich will go head-to-head with Paris Saint-Germain. Champions League Quarter-...
