Cavani has options when his contract expires

Inter assistant coach Cristian Stellini has challenged Nicolo Barella to take the next step in his career by adding more goals to his game after scoring in Friday s 2-0 win at Fiorentina.

The Italy international curled in a delightful opener after 31 minutes at Stadio Artemio Franchi and Ivan Perisic added a second as Inter moved top of Serie A.

Barella, who was earlier denied by a fine Bartlomiej Dragowski save, now has three goals and five assists in 21 league outings this term.

That makes 2020-21 the midfielder s best Serie A season in terms of goal involvements, though he did net six times for Cagliari in the 2017-18 season.

Stellini, who was filling in for suspended head coach Antonio Conte against Fiorentina, hopes to see Barella build on those figu…

Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated his 900th career goal, but the Portugal captain claimed he is haunted by records.

Ronaldo scored his landmark goal in the 34th minute of Thursday s Nations League contest between Portugal and Croatia in Lisbon.

The 39-year-old s close-range finish, his 131st goal for Portugal, was enough to secure a 2-1 win for Roberto Martinez s team, who went ahead through Diogo Dalot, although the full-back then scored an own goal that dragged Croatia back into proceedings.

Ronaldo was taken off late on to a standing ovation, and speaking to Portuguese media, he said: It was an exciting goal for me. It s a round number.

Only I know how hard it is to work every day to score your 900th goal.

It s a unique milestone in my career. I d…

Lazio have completed the signing of Pepe Reina after Milan reportedly agreed to the cancellation of his contract.

The 38-year-old Spanish goalkeeper had a year left to run on his deal at San Siro, but it is said to have been terminated in order to allow him to move to the Italian capital.

Lazio have not confirmed the length of his contract in Rome, though Italian media claim it is a two-year deal.

Reina, a former Spain international, spent the second part of 2019-20 on loan at Aston Villa in the Premier League but returned to Milan upon its conclusion.

A move to Lazio – who will be his third club in Italy – had been mooted for several weeks and it was finally confirmed on Thursday.

The former Liverpool keeper has been well-travelled since his…

Diogo Dalot scored his first goal for Manchester United and there were rare strikes from Harry Maguire and Jesse Lingard as the Red Devils routed Tranmere Rovers 6-0 to reach the fifth round of the FA Cup.

A goal glut and a morale-boosting victory was just what Ole Gunnar Solskjaer s men needed after suffering back-to-back Premier League defeats, and the United boss watched a fluent performance from his charges despite a cut-up pitch at Prenton Park.

Maguire opened the floodgates with a long-range strike into the top corner and goals from Dalot and Lingard soon followed to put the visitors 3-0 up inside 16 minutes.

Phil Jones headed United s fourth and Anthony Martial s deflected shot made it 5-0 before Mason Greenwood scored a penalty in the second half to wra…

Manchester City are interested in signing Marcus Rashford from city rivals Manchester United, according to . The report has claimed that City manager Pep Guardiola is a fan of Rashford and would like him in his squad at the Etihad Stadium.

Rashford is part of the United first team and came through the former Premier League and UEFA Champions League winners’ youth system. The 26-year-old England international forward has struggled to play at his best in recent years and needs to step up his game.

City and United are bitter rivals, and a potential transfer of Rashford from the Red Devils to the Etihad Stadium would be a shock. The English forward has scored 83 goals and given 39 assists in 275 appearances in the Premier League so far in his career. United are aiming to …

Paris Saint-Germain were interested in signing Thiago Alcantara from Bayern Munich this summer, before he made the move to Liverpool, but they ended up signing his brother instead.

Thiago and Rafinha Alcantara are brothers, but while Rafinha represents Brazil at international level, Thiago plays for Spain. And according to their father Mazinho, PSG sporting director Leonardo wanted Thiago very much.

As Mazinho told France Football, he and Leonardo spoke about a potential transfer this summer, but Thiago had his heart set on Liverpool and being excited about working with Jurgen Klopp, he had already agreed to join the Premier League champions. Leonardo apparently wasn t immediately interested in Rafinha, but PSG needed a midfielder of flair and creativity, and he ended u…

The games are coming thick and fast and after another busy week of European football it is straight back into the Premier League.

One of the Premier League s most iconic rivalries has its latest instalment on Sunday as Manchester United host Arsenal, while early leaders Everton go to Newcastle United on the same day.

Before that, though, how will champions Liverpool cope with their mounting injury problems against West Ham on Saturday? Can Manchester City rediscover their best domestic form at Sheffield United?

Ahead of another round of fascinating games, have a go at our Opta-powered quiz. Find the answers at the bottom of the page.

TOP SCORERS 2020/21

8 Son Heung-min
7
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5 ,

— Premier League (@premierleague)

1. City w…

Bayern Munich spurned a host of chances as Leon Bailey s double earned 10-man Bayer Leverkusen a 2-1 win and inflicted a first defeat on Hansi Flick.

The champions had won each of their four matches without conceding since Flick was named interim boss following Niko Kovac s sacking, but they came unstuck in Saturday s Bundesliga clash at the Allianz Arena.

Thomas Muller scored his first goal in 21 league matches to cancel out Bailey s early opener, only for the Leverkusen winger to restore his side s advantage 115 seconds later.

Despite Jonathan Tah being dismissed nine minutes from time, a mixture of poor finishing and impressive goalkeeping from Lukas Hradecky left Bayern – who rattled the woodwork late on through Leon Goretzka and an unusually wasteful Rober…

Juventus earned a 3-1 win over 10-man Sassuolo as goals from Danilo, Aaron Ramsey and Cristiano Ronaldo kept them in touch with Serie A leaders Milan.

Sassuolo had frustrated the Bianconeri in the first half but their combative approach saw Pedro Obiang sent off moments before half-time.

Danilo put Juve ahead five minutes into the second half with a powerful long-range strike, yet Sassuolo equalised with a fine finish from Gregoire Defrel.

Sassuolo looked on course to take a point but late goals from Ramsey and Ronaldo secured the victory for Andrea Pirlo s side.

FT | | THREE GOALS AND A BIG THREE POINTS!

— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen)

A slick Juve passing move opened up the Sassuolo defence early on but Gianluca Frabotta could only…

Sean Dyche has been sacked by Burnley after almost 10 years in charge at Turf Moor.

The shock announcement comes with Burnley mired in relegation trouble, sitting 18th in the Premier League and four points adrift of Everton with eight matches to play.

Burnley have just one win from their past seven matches, losing five times in that run, and the Clarets board have opted to make a change for a crucial run-in.

Firstly, we would like to place on record our sincere thanks to Sean and his staff for their achievements at the club over the last decade, Burnley chairman Alan Pace said via a club statement.

During his time at Turf Moor, Sean has been a credit both on and off the pitch, respected by players, staff, supporters, and the wider football community.