Serie A
Europa League Round of 32 Draw Announced
The first knockout round fixtures for the Europa League have been revealed. The top two sides from each of the 12 groups progressed to the knockout round, and are joined by the eight third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage. Premier League leaders Tottenham Hotspur were drawn against Austrian side Wolfsberger, while North London rivals Arsenal will face Benfica. The most exciting tie of the draw came when Spanish club Real Sociedad were drawn against English giants Manchester United. Serie A table toppers AC Milan will travel to Serbia to face Red Star Belgrade, while Rangers clash with Royal Antwerp. Leicester City were the final British side out of the draw, facing Slavia Prague. The first legs will be played on the 18th of February, and the second legs will be on the 25 ...
FIFPro Announce 2020 World XI Nominees
The shortlist for the 2020 FIFPro World XI has been announced. Every professional footballer around the world was invited to vote for the best player in each position. The ones with the most votes made it into the 55-man shortlist. The goalkeeper with the most votes, as well as the top three defenders, midfielders, and forwards, will be inducted into the FIFPro World XI. The remaining spot will go to the outfield player with the most votes. Bayern Munich are the most represented team in the shortlist, boasting 11 players. Title winners Real Madrid and Liverpool come in joint-second with eight players each. Bayern completed the treble with a win over PSG in August Despite going trophyless last year, Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur both make it into the top five, with six and five candidates...
Centre-Back Duo Return For Barcelona Ahead of Juventus Clash
Centre-backs Samuel Umtiti and Ronald Araujo have been named in the matchday squad for Barcelona’s final Champions League group stage fixture against Juventus. La Blaugrana have suffered a bit of a defensive crisis of late, losing several central defenders to injury. Veteran Gerard Pique was the latest casualty, suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury which is expected to keep him out for most of the season. Pique suffered an ACL injury against Atletico Madrid For a while, manager Ronald Koeman was left with Clement Lenglet as his only senior available centre-back. Youngster Oscar Mingueza had to be fast tracked into the starting XI, while midfielder Frenkie de Jong also deputised in defence. But now it looks like the backline worries are coming to an end, with both Samuel Umtiti an...
Milan Set to Begin Contract Talks With Franck Kessie Amid Premier League Interest
AC Milan are ready to open negotiations with Ivorian midfielder Franck Kessie following reports that Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal were interested. Kessie came to the San Siro in June 2017 from Atalanta, on an initial two-year loan with an obligation to buy. He has since featured 151 times, scoring 20 goals in all competitions. The Ivorian has become an important cog in Stefano Pioli’s unbeaten side, featuring in every Serie A game so far as Milan sit five points clear at the top of the table. Kessie has become crucial at the San Siro As a result of his form, the Rossoneri are now planning to offer Kessie a new contract in an attempt to ward off any potential buyers, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport (via Milan Live). The report states that Kessie’s current deal is worth €2.2m per ...
Miralem Pjanic Admits Frustration at Playing Time
Bosnian midfielder Miralem Pjanic has spoken out about his game time at Barcelona, admitting that he is unhappy with the situation. Pjanic arrived at the Camp Nou during the last transfer window from Juventus, in a move which saw Brazilian midfielder Arthur move in the opposite direction. He has made just one start in La Liga so far this season, although he has been in the starting XI for all five of Barcelona’s Champions League games. La Blaugrana play their sixth and final Champions League group stage game on Tuesday – against Pjanic’s former club, no less. If the Catalan giants can avoid defeat by two or more goals, then they will finish top of their group. Pjanic’s move to Barcelona has not gone to plan Ahead of his reunion with his former teammates, Pjanic spoke to La Gazzetta Dello S...
Six Premier League Clubs Offered Paulo Dybala
Juventus forward Paulo Dybala has been offered to six different Premier League clubs, according to 90min. Dybala joined Juventus from Palermo in 2015. Since then, he has made 238 appearances, scoring 96 times in all competitions. Under former manager Maurizio Sarri, he shone, winning Serie A Player of the Season as his side won a ninth successive league title. Dybala celebrates scoring one of his many Juventus goals However, under new boss Andrea Pirlo, the Argentine has struggled for form, netting just once in a 4-1 away win against Ferencvaros. He often finds himself competing with Spaniard Alvaro Morata for a starting berth. And now it looks like the Turin side are ready to let him go, with six Premier League sides reportedly offered his services. According to 90min, each of English foo...
Everton Linked With €40m Move for Lazio Man
Everton are preparing to make a €40m bid for Spanish attacking midfielder Luis Alberto, according to La Lazio Siamo Noi. Alberto joined Lazio in 2016 from Liverpool. Since then, he has become one of their standout players, scoring 23 and assisting a further 36. However, the Spaniard recently fell out of favour with the Lazio hierarchy after he publicly criticised the club for buying a new private jet. Alberto against AS Roma And now it appears as if he could be on his way out of Serie A, with Everton ready to make a €40m bid, as reported by La Lazio Siamo Noi. The Toffees have had a mixed 2020/21 campaign so far. They made a flying start, winning each of their opening seven games. However, four defeats in their last five have put a dampener on things, and they now sit in eighth p...
Atletico Madrid to Fight Premier League Duo for Arkadiusz Milik
Atletico Madrid are preparing to battle it out with Tottenham Hotspur and Everton for the signature of Napoli striker Arkadiusz Milik (AS). Milik came to Napoli in the summer transfer window of 2016 from Ajax. Injuries and the form of Belgian forward Dries Mertens have seriously limited his game time at Gli Azzurri. Despite this, he has an impressive goalscoring record, netting 28 from 46 starts in Serie A over the last two seasons. However, the Poland international has fallen out of favour with manager Gennaro Gattuso and was left out of the Napoli squad for the 2020/21 season after refusing moves to Roma and Fiorentina. Milik is out of favour at Napoli Milik is out of contract next summer, leaving him free to talk to other clubs in January. And, according to Spanish outlet AS, Atletico M...
Aston Villa midfielder being tracked by former club and Juventus
Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz is reportedly the subject of interest from Italian giants Juventus and former club Manchester City, according to the Birmingham Mail. Luiz joined Aston Villa from Manchester City last summer for £15m following their promotion to the Premier League. Since then, he has become an influential player at Villa Park, featuring 51 times in all competitions. This form has seemingly caught the eye of some of Europe’s biggest clubs, with links of a return to Manchester City resurfacing. The Birmingham Mail reported in November that Man City were looking at re-signing the Brazilian, who has an alleged £30m buy-back clause in his contract. Luiz could be on his way back to Man City A defensive midfielder could be useful to the Cityzens, as they will be looking for a long-term ...
Cristiano Ronaldo’s 10 Most Memorable Goals
Cristiano Ronaldo. Five Ballons d’Or, Five Champions Leagues, seven league titles, and God knows how many records. And on 2nd December 2020, the Portuguese hit another milestone, netting his 750th professional career goal – a figure bettered only by Pele and Josef Bican. Having hit this extraordinary number, it’s difficult to narrow it down, but here are Cristiano Ronaldo’s ten most memorable goals. 1) vs Portsmouth (Premier League, 07/08) An unstoppable free kick from 30 yards out One thing that Ronaldo has become known for over the years is his iconic free kick technique. And, in January 2008, we got a glimpse of it at its very best. Early into a home fixture against Portsmouth, the Portuguese unleashed an unstoppable free kick into the top corner from 30 yards, leaving goalkeeper David ...
Real Madrid join chase for Darwin Núñez
Real Madrid have become the latest club to express interest in Benfica striker Darwin Núñez, according to FourFourTwo. The 21-year-old started his career at Peñarol, before moving to Spanish second tier side Almeria. After impressing there, he made the switch to Benfica, where he has registered five goals and a further five assists in his first ten outings The striker has four caps for Uruguay, scoring twice. He has often been compared to fellow Uruguayan Edinson Cavani. Núñez celebrates a goal for Uruguay FourFourTwo reports that Los Blancos are looking at bringing in Núñez in January in case Serbian striker Luka Jovic departs. Jovic has had a tough time at the Bernabeu since signing from Eintracht Frankfurt in 2019, scoring just twice in all competitions in a Real Madrid shirt. It is now...
AC Milan Eyeing Up Swoop For Real Madrid Pair
AC Milan are looking to bring in Real Madrid duo Alvaro Odriozola and Luka Jovic this January, according to reports in Spain (Don Balon). Milan have made a brilliant start to the 2020/21 campaign, sitting at the top of the table – five points clear of bitter rivals Inter in second place. They remain unbeaten in the league and have only lost once in all competitions. Ibrahimovic has rolled back the years this season However, manager Stefano Pioli is still looking to strengthen his squad in January to provide cover and rotation options. This season’s crammed schedule and possible deep ventures into domestic and European competitions make squad depth a necessity. It appears as if the Rossoneri have turned to the Bernabeu to bolster their roster in the upcoming January transfer window, with fu...
