Michel: Girona can light up LaLiga once again

Michel is optimistic about Girona s chances of extending last season s remarkable LaLiga run into their 2024-25 campaign, which begins at Real Betis on Thursday.

After a third-place finish in the standings, their best ever, Girona secured a place in the Champions League for their first taste of European competition.

Though Girona may have lost the element of surprise, Michel is confident the club will continue their upward trajectory.

I don t have a crystal ball to know where we will sit in the end [of the season], but I m convinced that, with collective thinking in defence and attack, we will have a great season, Michel told a press conference on Wednesday.

The objective is the club s growth and to always honour their colours. All the players who are h…

´Ready and focused´ Rashford relishing full Man Utd pre-season

Marcus Rashford believes enjoying a full pre-season will allow him to rediscover his form under new Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag, saying he is ready and focused ahead of the new Premier League season.

Rashford endured a poor campaign in 2021-22, scoring just four goals in 25 league appearances as United finished sixth and posted their worst-ever Premier League points tally (58).

Having only played 1,232 minutes of Premier League football, Rashford was left out of Gareth Southgate s England squad for June s Nations League fixtures.

The Three Lions boss also claimed Rashford, as well as club team-mate Jadon Sancho, had a lot to do to make England s squad for the World Cup later this year after struggling on the domestic stage.

But after featuring in…

Mandzukic volley among magnificent seven of best Champions League final goals

Saturday s Champions League final certainly lived up to its billing as the greatest game in club football, and there was one moment that will live long in the memory of those present in Cardiff.

Mario Mandzukic ended up on the losing side as Juventus succumbed to a 4-1 defeat to Real Madrid but he will take some solace from the fact that he might well have scored the greatest goal in the history of the modern tournament s final matches.

The Croatia international s stupendous volley had the Principality Stadium on its feet and must even have drawn a wry smile from the watching Zinedine Zidane, who has previously been credited with the best strike in this showpiece.

So does Mandzukic s effort rank as the best among this esteemed company? We ll let you decide. To ma…

Rodgers lauds Celtic´s ´hunger´ after cup triumph over Hibs

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers hailed the hunger of his side after they brushed aside Hibernian on Sunday.

Rodgers side are into the quarter-finals of the Scottish League Cup after a 3-1 victory at Celtic Park.

Daizen Maeda scored twice in the opening 15 minutes during a one-sided start before Nicolas Kuhn s second-half finish made sure of victory after Mykola Kuharevich s header had the visitors back in the contest.

Celtic will face Falkirk in the next round, where Rodgers will hope his Scottish Premiership champions can replicate Sunday s fine performance.

I thought we were excellent from the start of the game. We showed our hunger, Rodgers said after the comfortable triumph.

We said before the game that our playmaker today would be our counte…

Newcastle want to sign Borussia Dortmund star Jude Bellingham

Newcastle United are interested in signing Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2023, according to . The German publication has claimed that Newcastle have joined Liverpool, Real Madrid and Manchester City in the race for the England international midfielder.

Bellingham has been on the books of Bundesliga club Dortmund since 2020 and has been superb for them. The teenager has established himself as a key player in the team and has done well, both in the Bundesliga and in the UEFA Champions League. The teenager has scored four goals and given three assists in 17 Bundesliga matches and has scored four goals and given one assist in five UEFA Champions League games so far this season.

Newcastle are third in the Premier League table at the moment with 39 p…

Returning Villa hails Asensio and predicts another ´glorious´ Spain era

David Villa has hailed Marco Asensio as spectacular and believes Spain have the talent in their ranks to enjoy a new glorious era.

Spain coach Julen Lopetegui handed New York City striker Villa a shock recall at the age of 35 for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Italy and Liechtenstein, with his last international appearance coming at the 2014 World Cup.

Villa was part of a golden generation for Spain and counts a European Championship and a World Cup among his list of achievements with his country.

The former Barcelona star sees a similar level of quality in Spain s current crop, and reserved particular praise for Madrid s star talent Asensio.

We have to see [Asensio] to enjoy him, he told a news conference. He s spectacular and he has had an i…

Gallagher feeling at home after Atletico switch

Conor Gallagher is already feeling at home after swapping Chelsea for Atletico Madrid, having received a rousing welcome at his unveiling at the Civitas Metropolitano on Friday.

Gallagher, who joined Chelsea at the age of six, left in a €42million (£35.5m) deal on Wednesday, penning a five-year deal with LaLiga giants Atleti.

The 24-year-old joined Atleti s other new signings – including former Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez – in being presented to fans at Los Colchoneros stadium on Friday.

Speaking after the event, the England international said: It was amazing, I enjoyed every minute, it was a good sign of what is to come from the fans.

They made me feel at home and it gave me a lot of excitement to be able to play the games in this stad…

Prediction: Belarus – Romania

Verdict: Away Over 2.5 goals

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Belarus is playing their last card in the hopes of qualifying for EURO 2024. They have a difficult hurdle to cross over in Budapest where they will face an undefeated Romania. The match is crucial for both teams as we enter the last stage of the Group I games. The march will be played on Szusza Ferenc Stadion (Budapest), starting from 21:45.

Belarus

Belarus is not able to play on home soil due to the ongoing war in Ukraine. They will have to travel to Hungary in Budapest where they will host Romania on Szusza Ferenc Stadion. The hosts failed to qualify for any international tournament either the World Cup or the Euro. Their chances are very slim to achieve history, sitting 5th in the table, 8 points f…

Manchester City 3-0 Marseille: Torres, Aguero and Sterling down Villas-Boas´ men

Sergio Aguero returned to action with a goal as Manchester City closed out their triumphant Champions League group campaign with a routine 3-0 win over Marseille.

Ferran Torres brought the game to life after a goalless first half, continuing an impressive vein of form in Europe s top competition with a smart 48th-minute finish.

Aguero, who has struggled with the after-effects of meniscus surgery over the early months of the season, came off the bench to seal the points 13 minutes from time, offering Pep Guardiola a timely reminder of his qualities ahead of Saturday s Manchester derby at Old Trafford.

Another substitute, Raheem Sterling, completed the scoring for City, who were already through as group winners and can now boast their best-ever Champions League hau…

Prediction: South Africa vs Morocco

Prediction: Morocco win

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The Africa Cup of Nations is slowly progressing into the latter stages of the tournament now, as countries from all across the continent attempt to push themselves to the limit in the name of being called the Champions of Africa. Today we re going to be taking a look at the imminent clash between Morocco and South Africa, which should be a pretty intriguing encounter. If, for nothing else, because of the history that these two nations share in regards to the hosting controversy surrounding the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

South Africa

The 2010 FIFA World Cup was a long time ago, when SA hosted the tournament in their own backyard. Ever since then it s felt like they ve been on something of a gradual decline which,…