Carlo Ancelotti hopes Real Madrid s embarrassing 4-2 defeat away to Girona on Tuesday serves as a wake-up call.
Madrid never led at Montilivi, falling 2-0 down inside 24 minutes thanks to a couple of goals from Taty Castellanos.
Vinicius Junior pulled one back, but Castellanos added another two in the second half before Lucas Vazquez s late consolation.
Castellanos became the first player this century to score four goals in one LaLiga game against Madrid, and the defeat means Barcelona could extend their lead at the summit to 14 points on Wednesday.
While Madrid s LaLiga hopes are all but over, they are into the Champions League semi-finals and final of the Copa del Rey – they still have much to play for this term, and Ancelotti hopes this defeat jolts …
Brighton are closing in on an agreement to sign Joao Pedro from Watford at the end of the season, according to Fabrizio Romano. Apparently, the major aspects of the transfer have already been agreed, and it s expected to be signed and officially confirmed by the two clubs soon.
Brighton have been extremely successful in recruiting young players smartly over the last couple of years. The likes of Marc Cucurella, Yves Bissouma and Leandro Trossard are just a few examples of their investments that returned great value in the transfer market after making big contribution on the pitch, while Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo continue to attract suitors among the biggest clubs in the world.
The Seagulls have also had great success with recruiting young forwards recently,…
Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud that his clubs’ link with a move for Porto’s Jackson Martinez has spurred him on to produce his best firm.
The France international has scored eleven goals for the Gunners so far this season, and constant speculation of potential new arrivals in his position has made him raise his game.
He moved to the Emirates Stadium in the summer of 2012, and has since racked up one hundred and sixteen appearances in all competitions while his strike against Crystal Palace at the weekend was his fiftieth for the club.
Arsene Wenger’s men rose to third place in the Premier League with Saturday’s victory over the Eagles and they are now twelve points behind table toppers Chelsea.
However, tonight they turn their attention to …
Barcelona forward Neymar has joined favourites Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi on the shortlist for the Ballon d Or.
Neymar finished third behind the superstar duo last year as Barcelona team-mate Messi collected the prestigious award for the fifth time in his career.
Ronaldo is favourite to usurp the Argentine and collect his fourth gong after firing Real Madrid to Champions League glory before serving as Portugal captain during his country s triumphant Euro 2016 campaign.
Neymar also enjoyed success at international level this year when, after picking up a domestic double with Barca, he struck the winning penalty for Brazil to claim the gold medal in men s football at the Rio Olympics.
The 30-man shortlist for the Ballon d Or – which is back under …
Arsenal s campaign so far this season has been a very turbulent one. There were managerial changes and a lot of poor results, but somehow, Arsenal are still in the race for European qualification. The team is now led by Mikel Arteta, which is his first managerial job on his own and it looks like the Spaniard also has ideas on his own. Because according to the Mirror, the Gunners manager is very interested in Carlos Soler.
Valencia midfielder has again been linked with a move to London-based club, as Arteta wants to do a lot business in the summer. Soler signed a contract extension with Valencia as recently as December 2019 and it has a ludicrous buy-out clause, for which to be activated Arsenal would have to pay 140 million pounds.
The Gunners have made previous enquiri…
´It´s impossible to replace Benzema´ – Real Madrid´s Rodrygo savours derby goal in captain´s absence
Rodrygo considers Karim Benzema impossible to replace , but the Brazilian is nevertheless giving his all to fill in for the injured Real Madrid striker.
Madrid s opener came from Rodrygo in their 2-1 derby triumph at Atletico Madrid on Sunday, as Carlo Ancelotti s side kept up their 100 per cent record in LaLiga to top the table heading into the international break.
The Brazil international combined excellently with Aurelien Tchouameni to slot home in the 18th minute, before Federico Valverde made it 2-0 prior to the break.
Atleti fought back through Mario Hermoso s late goal, but it was not enough to inspire a full comeback – with the hosts scorer subsequently sent off after picking up two bookings in as many minutes.
While captain Benzema is set …
Borussia Dortmund have completed the signing of Shakhtar Donetsk attacker Henrikh Mkhitaryan on a four-year deal.
The two clubs agreed a fee on Monday, with personal terms still to be settled between the Bundesliga runners-up and Mkhitaryan.
But a deal has now been signed and the Armenia international will wear the number 10 shirt vacated by Mario Goetze, who moved to Bayern Munich at the end of last season.
Mkhitaryan scored a Ukrainian Premier League record of 25 goals in 29 games last term as Shakhtar cruised to their fourth consecutive league title, 13 points clear of second-placed Metalist Kharkiv.
They also reached the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League, where they were dumped out by eventual finalists Dortmund, losing 3-0 at the Signal Iduna Park after a…
Alan Pardew feels Newcastle are already reaping the benefits of the most gruelling pre-season regime of his time in charge of the club.
Newcastle s preparations for the 2013-14 campaign continued on Tuesday night with a 4-2 away win over Motherwell.
Goals from the French trio of Yoan Gouffran, Sylvain Marveaux and Moussa Sissoko and a further strike from Haris Vuckic capped a dominant performance against the Scottish Premier League side at Fir Park.
Pardew, who has been Newcastle manager since December 2010, thinks an intensive training programme in recent weeks is the catalyst behind such an impressive display.
He told the club s official website: At the back end of last year I warned the players that pre-season would be the toughest of my time here, for sure, a…
Striker Vincent Janssen will be out of action after undergoing minor foot surgery, Tottenham have confirmed.
The 24-year-old Netherlands international has scored just two Premier League goals since moving to Spurs in 2016 following a prolific campaign with Dutch club AZ.
A Tottenham statement read: Vincent Janssen has undergone minor foot surgery.
He will now go through a period of recovery and rehabilitation overseen by our medical staff.
Janssen is behind both Harry Kane and Fernando Llorente in the pecking order under Mauricio Pochettino and he spent most of last season on loan with Fenerbahce.
has undergone minor foot surgery.
He will now go through a period of recovery and rehabilitation overseen by our medical staff.
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Fiorentina have captured Juventus winger Marko Pjaca on a one-year loan with an option to complete a permanent purchase for €20million.
The move has been made for an initial fee of €2m and could mark the end of 23-year-old Pjaca s time in Turin.
He joined Juve from Dinamo Zagreb in 2016 and started brightly before an anterior cruciate ligament injury wrecked much of his 2017.
The Croatia international was given the chance to regain fitness during a loan spell with Schalke in the second half of last season but made just seven Bundesliga appearances.
However, Pjaca was included in Zlatko Dalic s World Cup squad and appeared off the bench in the final defeat to France.
Viola boss Stefano Pioli will now hope to extract the best from a player onc…