Jose Mourinho has made it clear to the Manchester United squad just how important the EFL Cup final is, Juan Mata has said.
United last won the competition in 2010 and have only lifted one major trophy last season s FA Cup since Alex Ferguson retired as manager at the end of the 2012-13 campaign.
Sunday s final against Southampton will also present Mourinho with his first opportunity to win major silverware with the club, having also won the Community Shield over Leicester City in August.
And although United are still in the hunt to defend the FA Cup and claim success in the Premier League and Europa League, Mata has insisted that they will not treat this final with any less respect.
Yes. He has told us and I think everyone realises how important it is, …
Left-back Diego Contento signed a four-year deal with Bordeaux on Monday, ending his long-term association with Bayern Munich.
Bordeaux tweeted a picture of Contento signing his contract before posting a story on their website confirming the transfer from Bayern.
The transfer was completed soon after Bordeaux confirmed they had sold another left-back Lucas Orban to Valencia.
Contento passed a medical on Monday and will be officially presented to the media on Tuesday but Bordeaux coach Willy Sagnol had already confirmed on Saturday that they were close to bringing the German to France.
As soon as we started talking about bringing in a left back, we knew that Contento could be an interesting opportunity, Sagnol said.
He spent five years with the M…
Fernando Santos is baffled by what her perceives to be an underappreciation of Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo in Portugal.
Ronaldo is his country s most-capped player in history and all-time leading goalscorer, finding the net 71 times in 138 international appearances.
The 32-year-old captained Portugal to their first senior international title at Euro 2016 in France, though injury forced him off in the first half of the final victory over the hosts.
Despite all Ronaldo s achievements – which include four Ballons d Or, three Premier League titles, a hat-trick of Champions Leagues and LaLiga glory in 2011-12 – Santos thinks he is not recognised with the appropriate merit in his homeland.
Sometimes I don t understand how we Portuguese sometimes val…
Sassuolo extended their club-record unbeaten run in Serie A to seven matches with a 2-1 win over visitors Verona on Saturday.
Eusebio Di Francesco s men had to do things the hard way after falling behind in the seventh minute.
Verona looked lively during the early exchanges and Vangelis Moras nodded them ahead from a corner, the defender scoring his first Serie A goal since May 2009.
Sassuolo eventually drew level in the 50th minute, however, as Nicola Sansone found the net with the outside of his foot from the edge of the box.
The hosts completed the turnaround with 13 minutes to go as Saphir Taider, who had until then done very little, slid in at the back post to secure victory.
The day s late kick-off saw Stefano Pioli return to his forme…
With several high-profile teams already eliminated, Arsene Wenger is keen for Arsenal to capitalise against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup.
Arsene Wenger has urged Arsenal not to waste their opportunity to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals when they host Middlesbrough at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Arsenal ended a nine-year wait for a major trophy by beating Hull City in last season s final last May and with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham having been knocked out in round four, the Londoners are well-fancied to retain their crown.
However, in Middlesbrough Arsenal face a side who are top of the Championship and brimming with confidence following six straight wins in all competitions and having gone 10 unbeaten.
Aitor Karanka s men have …
Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola has laughed off suggestions he could replace Rafael Benitez at Real Madrid.
Benitez is under pressure at the Santiago Bernabeu following their 4-0 Clasico humbling by Barcelona last month while speculation persists about a difficult working relationship with a number of the club s senior players, including Cristiano Ronaldo.
Madrid president Florentino Perez has publicly backed the former Liverpool and Inter boss but rumours persist that his days in the Spanish capital could be numbered.
One name that has been thrown up as a potential replacement is Guardiola, who has yet to commit to extending his Bayern deal that expires at the end of the season and has also been linked with Manchester City and Manchester United.
The 44-…
Pep Guardiola is wary of Manchester City s Champions League foes Napoli, labelling Maurizio Sarri s men as one of the best three teams in Europe.
City avoided Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid at Thursday s draw, the big guns who have habitually dogged their group-stage campaigns since ascending to the continent s top competition in 2011-12 a season where defeat in Naples preceded round-robin elimination.
Shakhtar Donetsk represented a more favourable pot one opponent but, in a group also containing Eredivisie champions Feyenoord, it was Napoli who grabbed Guardiola s attention.
When the third pot team is Napoli the best team in the pot it is complicated, he told a news conference ahead of City s Premier League trip to Bournemouth on Saturday.
In…
Hat-trick hero Christian Eriksen was the difference as Denmark silenced a thunderous Dublin crowd to beat the Republic of Ireland 5-1 and book their ticket to the 2018 World Cup.
The sides had played out a numb goalless draw in Copenhagen and the six previous play-off games across the globe had all finished 0-0, with tensions at their highest, but this return leg was a superb contest and the touch paper was lit by Irish defender Shane Duffy scoring a sixth-minute header.
Ireland s inability to score in the first leg meant their lead was as precarious as could be, however, and two goals inside three minutes put Denmark in firm control.
Cyrus Christie was unfortunate to turn into his own goal, but Eriksen s brilliant strike oozed the kind of class needed to settle …
Laurent Depoitre cancelled out Charlie Austin s header as Huddersfield Town fought back to earn a 1-1 Premier League draw at Southampton on Saturday.
Austin continued his recent good run of form with his fifth goal in seven appearances and fifth in his last eight outings against the Terriers but the striker could face retrospective action from the Football Association for a late challenge on visiting goalkeeper Jonas Lossl.
Having nodded the Saints ahead midway through the first half, Austin was perhaps fortunate to escape punishment for drawing blood from Lossl s nose by leaving his foot in as the Dane gathered a throughball.
Southampton boss Mauricio Pellegrino invited speculation surrounding Virgil van Dijk s future by leaving the Netherlands defender out wit…
Manchester City are closing in on the signing of Sergio Gomez from Anderlecht, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The Premier League champions have been struggling to nail down a designated left-back to feature regularly in Pep Guardiola s team. Benjamin Mendy is unlikely to play again following the criminal process currently progressing against him. Oleksandr Zinchenko, who used to perform frequently on the left defensive flank, has joined Arsenal, leaving Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo as the only senior fullback options and both prefer to play on the right.
City were believed to be close to signing Marc Cucurella from Brighton and Hove Albion, but Chelsea have managed to steal the spotlight there at the eleventh hour and agree a deal with the Seagulls.
At the age of…