Real Madrid
Vinicius Junior hits brace as Real Madrid take commanding lead in first leg
Real Madrid enjoyed a fine evening in the Champions League quarter-finals, winning their first leg tie over Liverpool 3-1. It was a tough first half for the visitors. Karim Benzema fired an early warning shot straight at Alisson, while Vinicius Junior headed wide after some good work down the left from Ferland Mendy. On the 27th minute, Vinicius gave Real Madrid the lead with a real moment of quality. Toni Kroos found the Brazilian with a pinpoint 50-yard pass. The winger immaculately brought the ball down on his chest and fired into the bottom corner with his right foot. Ten minutes later, Los Blancos doubled their lead. Trent Alexander-Arnold’s interception from Kroos’ pass went straight to Marco Asensio, who lifted the ball over Alisson and tapped in from no further than a yard out. It ...
Strong XI for Reds, Man City defender doubtful, Chelsea midfielder out
The Champions League is back with a bang this week as the first leg of the quarter-final ties are played across Europe. The action gets underway on Tuesday, with two Premier League teams hoping to boost their chances of progressing to the last four. Despite still missing some key players, Liverpool will field a strong starting XI for their visit to Real Madrid. Diogo Jota could get the nod in attack after bagging twice as a substitute in the Reds’ 3-0 Premier League victory over Arsenal on Saturday. Manchester City have nearly a full squad to choose from for their game against Borussia Dortmund at the Etihad Stadium. Defender Nathan Ake is City’s only major doubt as they get set to face the Bundesliga outfit. Chelsea will be without midfielder N’Golo Kante for their trip to play Porto at t...
Madrid sweating on playmaker’s fitness, Liverpool without the usual suspects
The Champions League returns to action on Tuesday as Real Madrid welcome Liverpool to the Alfredo di Stéfano Stadium in a mouth-watering quarter-final tie. Jurgen Klopp’s men will be looking to inflict revenge on Madrid for a heartbreaking 3-1 defeat in the competition final back in 2018/19. However, the Reds have lost three consecutive Champions League meetings with Los Blancos after winning the previous two ‘to nil.’ Real Madrid Preview Madrid swept Atalanta aside 4-1 on aggregate (1-0 A, 3-1 H) in the round of 16 to set up their first Champions League quarter-final appearances in three years. Los Merengues suffered a dismal 5-0 aggregate defeat in their only previous Champions League two-legged tie against Liverpool. Having won their last three Champions League fixtures, the reigning La...
Arsenal handed big boost in signing £50m-rated playmaker, club ready to sell
Arsenal have received a boost in signing Martin Odegaard permanently, with Real Madrid willing to listen to offers for the Norwegian playmaker. Odegaard made the temporary switch to the Gunners in January, and he has since netted a couple of times while playing a part in several other goals. His impressive displays have led to suggestions that the north London club will look to sign him permanently, but he could cost as much as £50 million this summer. The Gunners have now been handed a boost with Los Blancos willing to part ways with the 22-year-old to financial a deal for Erling Braut Haaland, as per The Times. The Borussia Dortmund striker is one of their top summer targets, and they are aiming to recoup funds from the sale of several players out on loan. Aside from Odegaard, Dani ...
Mo Salah dreams of future La Liga action
Mohamed Salah has hinted his future could lie in Spanish football amid continued speculation the forward could leave Liverpool. The Premier League’s joint-top scorer this season is under contract at Anfield until 2023 but has been linked with a move elsewhere, with Barcelona and Real Madrid often touted as potential destinations for Salah if he were to depart Merseyside. Last year, the forward described the Spanish sides as two “great” clubs, but Jurgen Klopp later played down any transfer talk surrounding the Egypt international. Liverpool play Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League in April as the two sides meet for the first time since 2018’s final in Kiev which finished 3-1 to the Spanish side and ahead of the games, Salah refused to rule out a future move to La Liga...
Real Madrid prepared to sell six players to fund moves for Mbappe and Haaland
Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo has claimed that Real Madrid are willing to sell six senior players as they look for the funds to sign young superstars Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland. Mbappe has been a known target of Real Madrid for a while now. The 22-year-old burst onto the scene in the 2016/17 season with Monaco and has since gone on to score over 100 goals, including one in a World Cup final. Mbappe could break the world record transfer fee Haaland is also reportedly on Los Blancos’ radar. The Norwegian made his breakthrough at the start of the 2019/20 season with RB Salzburg and has continued to impress with Borussia Dortmund, scoring 34 league goals in 36 outings. Both players are expected to dominate the game for many years to come. As a result, they have become two of the most so...
Martin Odegaard tells friends his stance on potential Arsenal transfer
Martin Odegaard has reportedly opened up to his friends about a potential permanent transfer to Arsenal. According to football.london, the Norway international has been impressed by Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta since joining on loan from Real Madrid in January, and could now be keen to stay. However, the report adds that Odegaard won’t push to extend his stay at Arsenal, even if he is keen to do so after being won over by Arteta’s project at the Emirates Stadium. Odegaard has long looked an exciting young talent but has not had many first-team opportunities at Real Madrid down the years. The 22-year-old also caught the eye on loan at Real Sociedad last season, and it seems his time with Arsenal has also been good for him as he’s shown what he can do when given the chance. Arsenal would sur...
Arsenal handed big boost in re-signing Martin Odegaard next season
Arsenal have been handed a boost in re-signing Martin Odegaard with the Real Madrid loanee telling those close to him that would like to stay with the Gunners, Football.London reports. Odegaard had an impressive loan stint with Real Sociedad last term, registering nine goals and seven assists in all competitions. As a result, his two-year loan deal was cut short early by Los Blancos, but he hardly played for them earlier this season. The 22-year-old was restricted to only 367 minutes of first-team football under manager Zinedine Zidane before he made the short-term loan move to the Gunners during the winter transfer window. Odegaard has since featured for the Gunners on 12 occasions and he has already made key contributions with goals against Olympiacos and Tottenham Hotspur while leading ...
The Longest Winning Streaks in Football History
Teams across the world dream of compiling the longest winning streak in football, but very few ever come close to topping the list. Manchester City’s bid to set a new record for consecutive victories was recently ended at the 21-game mark by Manchester United. The Red Devils triumphed 2-0 in the Premier League at the Etihad Stadium to leave City eight games short of the 29 successive victories set by Benfica between 1972 and 1973. Across the rest of Europe, Dinamo Zagreb (2007/08 – 28), Celtic (2003/04 – 25), Ferencvaros (1931/32 – 22) and PSV Eindhoven (1987/88 – 22) have also topped City’s 21-game run. In terms of Europe’s main five leagues, City rank third on the list behind Bayern Munich (2019/20 – 23) and Real Madrid (2014/15 -22). Longest Winning Streaks (Big Five Leagues) 1. Bayern ...
Arsenal could be handed big boost in re-signing Martin Odegaard if this happens
Arsenal have a good chance of re-signing Martin Odegaard next season, should Zinedine Zidane remain the manager of Real Madrid, Football Insider reports. The Norwegian had an impressive loan stint with Real Sociedad last term, registering seven goals and nine assists from 36 appearances in all competitions. He was reintegrated into the first-team plans at Los Blancos this season but played just 367 minutes before he was loaned out to the Gunners in January. Odegaard made a slow start to his Gunners career, but he stepped up before the international break with several standout displays. While he has netted just twice in his 12 appearances, he has been hugely influential in the build-up of several other goals for the north London side. It is now reported that the Gunners have a good chance o...
Football’s greatest comebacks, featuring Liverpool, Barcelona and Camp Nou in 1999
When players are being taught the basics of the game as youngsters, one of the key messages is to play until the final whistle. That point certainly rings true at professional level, with fans taking a dim view of teams who throw in the towel too early. One of the most thrilling aspects of football is when a team recovers from an impossible position to win a game. With that in mind, we take a look at ten of the best-ever comebacks. Manchester United vs Bayern Munich – Champions League – 1999 Recovering from one goal down is common in football, but the manner of United’s comeback in the 1999 Champions League Final was extraordinary. Bayern took an early lead through Mario Basler and looked on course to lift the prestigious trophy as the game headed into stoppage time. However, goals by Tedd...
Borussia Dortmund name their price for Erling Braut Haaland
Borussia Dortmund have slapped an enormous €180 million price tag on star striker Erling Haaland, reports ESPN. Haaland made his breakthrough during the 2019/20 season. He first caught the eye with his prolific performances for RB Salzburg in the Champions League group stages. He carried this form into the second half of the season with Dortmund following his transfer in January 2020. Haaland is a man in high demand He has since established himself as one of the world’s very best strikers, scoring 49 goals in as many games for the Black and Yellows. This has attracted the attention of several of the world’s biggest clubs. However, ESPN claims that any club willing to sign the 20-year-old will need to stump up an eye-popping €180m for his services. This would be the second most expensive tr...
