Gonzalo Higuain believes Juventus are capable of winning the Champions League this season and is adamant he made the right choice in leaving Napoli.
Juve reached the final of the prestigious competition in 2014-15, losing 3-1 to Barcelona in Berlin, while Higuain is yet to win the tournament, having left Real Madrid for Napoli in August 2013, at the start of the season in which Carlo Ancelotti finally guided Los Blancos to La Decima , the club s long-awaited 10th European Cup success.
The Bianconeri parted with a huge sum, approximately €90 million, in July to lure Higuain away from Stadio San Paolo as they seek to go one better on the big stage.
And the Argentine striker feels Massimiliano Allegri s team has what it takes to triumph in Cardiff on June 3, with …
When Ben Chilwell lines up alongside England s World Cup heroes at the Nations League Finals in Portugal this week it will be his rewards for 12 months of impressive progress where putting in extra toil paid off.
Chilwell counted himself among a nation of enraptured supporters last year, when Gareth Southgate guided the Three Lions to their first major tournament semi-final for 28 years at Russia 2018.
The 22-year-old Leicester City left-back was also reflecting upon a 2017-18 campaign where I had good games but I had some bad games as well and endeavoured to do something about it – enlisting the help of his father Wayne in a no-frills close-season training regime.
It was just me and one of my mates, and my dad came down with a stopwatch and basically just tim…
Manchester City star Leroy Sane shut down questions about Bayern Munich s interest in him while on international duty with Germany and offered a cryptic response over where his future lies.
Sane scored Germany s final goal in Tuesday s 8-0 Euro 2020 qualifying demolition of Estonia in Mainz, impressing throughout in attack.
The winger had an indifferent season at club level with Premier League champions City, scoring a respectable 10 goals, but only starting 21 matches, six fewer than the 2017-18 campaign.
Sane subsequently emerged as a primary target for Bayern, whose rebuild job will continue in the close-season after the departures of long-serving duo Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben.
Make that 7 in 6
— Germany (@DFB_Team_EN)
Baye…
Andrea Pirlo believes Juventus are starting to see the best of Federico Chiesa after he overcame his initial shyness following a loan move from Fiorentina.
Italy international Chiesa scored his sixth Serie A goal of the season (one coming for Fiorentina) on Saturday as Juve defeated Sampdoria 2-0 at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.
Aaron Ramsey added the second in stoppage time as Juve made it three consecutive wins against Claudio Ranieri s side without conceding a goal.
Pirlo is impressed with the impact Chiesa is starting to have on the defending champions but has urged the 23-year-old to add to his goal tally.
Chiesa is a young player who joined a big club, facing international matches for the first time, and it was a big step up for him, so he was a…
With the midweek schedule opening up on Tuesday, we have another stacked day from across Europe on the cards. So, with the likes of the FA Cup returning to action this week, we have found you a handful of helpful tips that are worth keeping an eye out for throughout Tuesday.
Tuesday 9th February
BST 15:00 Ferreira vs Portimonense
For our opening Tip of the Day, we turn our attention to Portugal and a Ferreira side who should find the mood in their camp at a red-hot high after a stunning start to the 2020/2021 campaign. While the Beavers might have found themselves largely scrapping it out in the bottom-half of the table last season, the Yellows have certainly gained a string of plaudits so far this year. Already mustering themselves 34 points and just their go…
Malcom’s stunning solo goal finished Al-Hilal’s second-half comeback to earn a 2-1 win over Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League on Monday.
The forward started his run from inside his own half before slotting in the winner, after teeing up Aleksandr Mitrovic for the equaliser just after the interval.
Feras Al Brikan had given Al Ahli the lead in the 30th minute, but the hosts could not hold onto it against the league leaders.
Al-Hilal extended their unbeaten league campaign to a 30th match, moving 12 points clear at the top of the table, while Al-Ahli remain in third, now 22 points off the AFC Champions League spot.
The 86th point from the “Bride of the Red Sea”
— AlHilal Saudi Club (@Alhilal_EN)
Data Debrief
Malcom was one…
Best Odds: 19/20
Bookmaker:
Looking to make it back-to-back Premier League victories on Saturday lunchtime, Tottenham will travel to the Vitality when they meet Bournemouth.
Bournemouth
Starting with the hosts, eventually suffering a collapse away at Anfield last weekend as they suffered a 3-1 loss at the hands of Liverpool, Bournemouth are still seeking some stability since opening the 2023/24 campaign. Getting the new season underway on August 12th as they snatched a late 1-1 stalemate at home against West Ham, Andoni Iraola’s men will know that they face a stern challenge here. Doing an eye-catching job of dragging themselves away from a looming relegation scrap last season, the Cherries will also know the importance of finding some success at the Vitality…
Paris Saint-Germain have written to British rap artist M.I.A. after she wore and doctored one of their shirts for a music video depicting the refugee crisis.
In her video for the single Borders, the rapper, real name Mathangi Arulpragasam, depicts refugees on their journey across Europe.
The 40-year-old is seen wearing a white PSG shirt that has the logo of the club s Dubai-based airline sponsor doctored to read Fly Pirates rather than Fly Emirates .
PSG owned by the Qatar Investment Authority since 2011 wrote to the artist and referenced a €1 million donation to charity Secours populaire and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) as part of the relief effort.
The letter read: We had the unpleasant surprise to find that the singer, in this video clip, appears tw…
The owners of Crystal Palace are hoping to seal a deal with US investors to help improve the financial future of the Premier League outfit.
Co-chairman Steve Parish has revealed the club are in negotiations with David Blitzer and Josh Harris co-owners of the NHL s New Jersey Devils and the NBA s Philadelphia 76ers to take an equal 18 per cent overall share of the south London club.
The three other Palace co-owners Martin Long, Jeremy Hoskings and Stephen Browett will all see their club shares reduce to 15.33 per cent.
Parish, who believes the investment will make Palace as strong as it has been for 100 years , will remain in control of the day-to-day running of the club and said improvements to Selhurst Park will be a priority.
I think this club can be m…
Bundesliga outfit Hannover have announced the signing of Austrian defender Kevin Wimmer from Stoke City via their official website.
The centre-back joins on a season-long loan, hoping to get his career back on track after a disappointing spell in England.
Having impressed at FC Koln, Wimmer first joined Tottenham Hotspur in 2015 before signing for Stoke City two years later, but he has so far failed to prove his worth in English Premier League.
The 25-year-old now gets a chance to kick-start his career in German Bundesliga, where he already made 32 appearances with FC Koln.
Chances are Hannover will purchase the contract if they are happy with what Wimmer shows during his loan spell, meaning the Austrian will not be lacking motivation to impress at HDI A…