Atletico Madrid head coach Diego Simeone felt his side paid the price for not being forceful enough as a 92nd-minute Radamel Falcao penalty earned Rayo Vallecano a late 1-1 draw on Tuesday.
Alvaro Morata s first-half strike looked to be enough to give Atletico their fourth straight LaLiga win, despite missing a number of chances to add a second goal.
They were left to rue not taking those opportunities, as the referee awarded a penalty after Jose Gimenez handled in the box from Randy Nteka s header, before Falcao fired home the penalty to deny his former side the win.
Simeone was frustrated over his side s inability to kill the game off, telling reporters: We had good goal situations to score the second and close out the match.
The second was not scored …
Craig Bellamy has been named as acting head coach at Burnley following Vincent Kompany’s shock move to Bayern Munich.
The Belgian, who took over the Clarets in June 2022, could not keep Burnley in the Premier League, being relegated after a 2-1 defeat to Tottenham in their penultimate match of the season.
It was confirmed on Wednesday that Kompany was replacing Thomas Tuchel as Bayern head coach on a three-year deal.
Burnley have now announced that Bellamy will take on the role of acting head coach while they look for a permanent manager, with Mike Jackson as his assistant coach.
The Welshman was rumoured to be joining Kompany in Bavaria but is in the running to become the new Burnley manager, with Frank Lampard and Scott Parker also reportedly linked t…
In what was a heart-breaking night at St. James’ Park, Newcastle watched their European dreams go up in smoke as they collapsed to a 2-1 defeat against AC Milan.
While Eddie Howe’s men might have got off to a dream start as Joelinton powered home just after the half-hour mark, the Magpies eventually missed out on the chance to punch a famous Champions League knockout stage ticket.
Despite briefly sitting in pole position to clinch a second-place finish in Group F, Newcastle endured a real second half struggle at St. James’ Park as Christian Pulisic tapped home in the 59th minute.
Although Rafael Leao and Bruno Guimaraes might have respectively hit the woodwork at opposite ends of the pitch, it was Samuel Chukwueze who proved to be Newcastle’s ultimate vi…
With the Premier League making its return from the international break this weekend, we are treated to a host of heavyweight affairs. So, for those of you looking to chuck on a Saturday acca, we have found a handful of helpful tips that are worth keeping an eye out for.
Saturday September 16th
BST 14:30 Mainz vs Stuttgart
Although Stuttgart might have found themselves at the heart of a relegation scrap last season, Saturday’s guests have made plenty of improvements since returning from the summer interval. Last seen heading into September’s international break with a rampant 5-0 victory against Freiburg, it appears that the mood in Sebastian Hoeneb’s camp is at a real high. Certainly impressing many since opening up the 2023/24 campaign, Die Roten mark their re…
Lionel Messi has left a glaring hole at Barcelona and it will prove to be an extremely difficult void to fill as former team-mate Victor Sanchez discussed the shock and tearful Camp Nou exit.
Messi had been tipped to re-sign at Barcelona but the LaLiga club s dire financial situation meant they could not bring their greatest ever player back under the league s salary restrictions, paving the way for a blockbuster switch to Ligue 1 powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain.
Instead of extending his time at Barca, dating back to 2000 during his youth, Messi now forms a frightening attack alongside old friend Neymar and Kylian Mbappe in Paris.
Sanchez played alongside Messi in Barca, where he emerged from the club s youth system in 2005 and made his first-team debut in 2008 be…
Manchester City can solely rely on goals from their wingers and midfielders in the absence of a true number nine in the Premier League this season, according to former striker Paul Dickov.
City regained their domestic crown last term, finishing 12 points clear of second-placed Manchester United in the Premier League, while scoring 83 goals along the way, though just 13 of those came from recognised centre-forwards.
Gabriel Jesus scored nine goals, while Sergio Aguero – who has since joined Barcelona – contributed with just four having missed much of the campaign through injury.
Ilkay Gundogan top-scored with 13 goals in midfield, with winger Raheem Sterling notching 10 and Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez each netting on nine occasions as Ferran Torres added seven…
Prediction: Match to end in 1-1 draw
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Rangers and RB Leipzig will face each other in the second leg of the semi-finals of the Europa League this week. The match will be held at Ibrox and is scheduled to kick off at 8pm UK time on Thursday.
Rangers
Rangers suffered a 1-0 defeat to RB Leipzig away from home in Germany in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final tie. Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side will fancy their chances of winning the second leg, especially after their 1-1 draw with Celtic in the Old Firm derby this past weekend.
Team News:
Aaron Ramsey and Kemar Roofe as doubtful. Ianis Hagi and Alfredo Morelos are definitely out.
RB Leipzig
RB Leipzig will head into the second leg with confidence and wi…
Karim Benzema deserves to become the first French winner of the Ballon d Or since Zinedine Zidane – and that verdict comes from Zidane himself.
Real Madrid striker Benzema, who has taken over the captaincy since Sergio Ramos joined Paris Saint-Germain, is playing the best football of his career as he approaches his 34th birthday in December.
Zidane has seen that as close quarters, having had two spells as Madrid head coach during Benzema s time at the club.
Although Zidane left Los Blancos at the end of last season, he is firmly in the Benzema camp when it comes to selecting a Ballon d Or front-runner.
Speaking to TF1 s Telefoot, Zidane said: We re talking about a player who deserves to win this Ballon d Or.
He s an incredible player, I had …
Minnesota United forward Tani Oluwaseyi is relishing his chance in the first team ahead of their clash with Sporting Kansas City.
The Loons have enjoyed a strong start to the MLS season and sit fifth in the Western Conference.
Sporting KC, meanwhile, sit three points below them in 10th having won just two of their opening nine matches.
Oluwaseyi scored the opening goal in Minnesota’s 3-0 win over Charlotte last weekend, which ended a run of three games without a victory.
Asked how it feels to break into the starting line-up after spending his first year at the club on loan, Oluwaseyi, who has scored a joint-high three goals, said:
“It s something that I ve been waiting for, for I guess the last three years.
“I hoped that I could do i…
Ivan Toney has been called up by England for this month s Euro 2024 qualifiers against Italy and Ukraine, with Trent Alexander-Arnold missing out.
Toney was handed his first senior call-up ahead of Nations League fixtures against Italy and Germany in September, though the Brentford striker failed to get any minutes in those games and did not make England s World Cup squad despite his excellent form.
The 27-year-old scored in Brentford s 2-0 win over Southampton on Tuesday, taking his tally of Premier League goals this season to 16 – a total bettered only by Erling Haaland (28) and Harry Kane (20) – but his inclusion this time around comes as something of a surprise after he was charged with 262 alleged breaches of the Football Association s (FA) gambling rules.
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