Pep Guardiola freely admitted he has no master plan in mind to contain Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe when Manchester City meet Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.
Assuming Messi is fit to feature, this match will be the first time he has gone up against his former boss Guardiola since the six-time Ballon d Or winner departed Barcelona in August.
Although Messi was handed his Barca breakthrough by Frank Rijkaard, it was under Guardiola that he truly established himself among the best in the world.
He featured 47 times for Guardiola in the Champions League, 18 more than for any other coach, and scored 43 times at an average of one every 92 minutes — among managers he has played more than two games for in the competition, he has only netted with greater frequ…
Koke has described Saturday s match against Barcelona as Atletico Madrid s last bullet as they seek to prolong LaLiga s title race.
Reigning champions and leaders Barca are eight points clear of second-placed Atleti, with just seven more matches of the league season to come after the crunch meeting at Camp Nou.
Diego Simeone s side, surprise Liga champions in 2013-14, continue to punch above their weight in competing with Barca and Real Madrid for major honours.
And Spain international Koke, while acknowledging the odds are stacked against his side, is determined to keep fighting for as long as possible.
We will go with everything we have to win the game, it s our last bullet, the midfielder told beIN Sports.
In the last few years we ve been at …
Tomi Juric and Australia are still confident of progressing to the knockout stages of the World Cup in Russia after the Socceroos almost shocked France on matchday one.
Bert van Marwijk s players were unfortunate to step off the field emptyhanded in Kazan, where Australia were beaten 2-1 by an underwhelming France side in Group C last week.
VAR came to the aid of Les Bleus in controversial circumstances as Antoine Griezmann converted a second-half penalty following a challenge from Josh Risdon, while goal-line technology sealed Australia s fate after an impressive performance against the World Cup contenders.
Australia showed they can match it with the best as they prepare to face Denmark in Samara on Thursday and striker Juric remains optimistic about the Soccer…
Southampton have announced the season-long loan signing of Augsburg centre-back Kevin Danso after securing international clearance.
The Premier League side reached an agreement with Augsburg prior to the transfer window closing on Thursday, but they had to wait for the relevant paperwork to be signed off.
Danso, 20, has now been confirmed as Southampton s third and final new recruit of the close-season window following the arrivals of Che Adams and Moussa Djenepo.
Austria international Danso moved to England at the age of six and came through MK Dons academy system prior to joining Augsburg in 2014.
Even The Ralph Express can get delayed sometimes!
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— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC)
He made his Bundesliga…
Canavi benefit from Ibra s absence / Image via readersmail.com
The Uruguay international insisted that Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s move to had no effect on his decision to remain with .
Yet, the end of Cavani’s frustrations in the French capital coincided with Zlatan’s departure and numbers which followed offer clear indication that Uruguay striker is currently thriving without the Swedish forward under the limelight.
Cavani’s Season
The 2016-17 is definitely the season of Edinson Cavani.
The PSG striker is enjoying a rich vein of form for his club and his impressive goalscoring exploits this term have made him the first player in Europe’s top five leagues to score 20 goals this season.
It took only 18 Ligue 1 matches for Cav…
Nottingham Forest have confirmed the arrival of Portuguese international Jota Silva from Vitoria.
Silva, who scored 15 goals in 42 matches in all competitions with the Primeira Liga side, has put pen to paper on a four-year deal at the City Ground.
Forest finished 17th in the Premier League last season, six points above the relegation zone, and were among the lowest scorers in the division.
Only Sheffield United (35), Everton (40) and Burnley (41) scored fewer goals than Forest s 49 last year, with Chris Wood the only player in the squad to hit double figures in the league.
Nuno Espirito Santo was keen to add more firepower to his side, with Silva s arrival bolstering their attacking options ahead of the new Premier League season.
Welcome to N…
Sergio Ramos told Spain to show more of a clinical edge after they needed a superb Kepa Arrizabalaga save in stoppage time to complete a 2-1 victory away to Romania in Euro 2020 qualifying.
Ramos opened the scoring from the penalty spot in Bucharest on Thursday, converting his 10th penalty out of 12 attempts from 12 yards for his country, with the in-form Paco Alcacer doubling the lead.
But substitute Florin Andone cut the deficit for Cosmin Contra s side and Spain had Diego Llorente sent off with 11 minutes remaining after the defender brought down George Puscas.
Kepa then justified his selection over David de Gea when he thrust out a leg to keep out a Puscas header as Spain made it five wins from five in Group F to give coach Robert Moreno victory in his first…
Germany coach Joachim Low feels a lack of intensity and a slow tempo were key factors in Germany s poor performance at the World Cup.
His side s title defence ended early at Russia 2018 as defeats to Mexico and South Korea either side of a 2-1 win against Sweden condemned the holders to a group-stage exit.
Low will remain in charge despite those tepid displays, with Die Mannschaft returning to action in their Nations League opener against France on September 6.
Thilo Kehrer, Kai Havertz and Nico Schulz have been given maiden call-ups while Leroy Sane returns to the squad after his shock omission from the World Cup selection.
And Low has indicated where he feels Russia 2018 went wrong for Germany, who had reached at least the semi-finals in each of the p…
Simone Inzaghi insists Inter s season will be defined as a success even if they fail to win the Scudetto.
Inzaghi s side head into the final matchday of the Serie A campaign two points behind leaders and fierce rivals Milan, who require just a point at Sassuolo to win the title due to a superior head-to-head record.
Inter host Sampdoria, who have won just one of their last 19 league visits to the Nerazzurri, knowing the Serie A title is out of their hands as they rely on Stefano Pioli s Milan faltering on Sunday.
Regardless of the title outcome, Inzaghi views the season as a success after winning the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana, while making the Champions League last 16, where they were defeated by Liverpool.
We have won two cups, expressed our…
Darren Anderton has loved Tottenham s start to the season under Ange Postecoglou, particularly praising the entertaining style of play.
Spurs and Postecoglou have received widespread plaudits for their start to the season, with a more attacking mindset well received as the team looks to move on from Harry Kane s departure to Bayern Munich prior to this campaign.
Tottenham sit fifth in the Premier League with 26 points from their 13 matches, and Anderton is excited about how Postecoglou s tenure has started since joining from Celtic in June, comparing it to Ossie Ardiles time as Spurs head coach between 1993 and 1994.
I have loved it, Anderton told Stats Perform. I have really enjoyed the transformation that s going on. As a Spurs fan and an ex-Spurs player, to w…