What a weekend in European football! The FA Cup took center stage in England as the Premier League enjoyed a couple of days off, with holders Manchester United dumped out of the competition by Fulham on penalties as the highlight of the fifth round. Meanwhile, in LaLiga, Real Madrid dropped more points thanks to a raft of lineup changes with the Champions League looming in midweek, giving both Barcelona and…
It was English FA Cup weekend and a packed schedule of European league football across the continent, so let’s dig in. England’s cup competition debuted semiautomated offside technology (SAOT), LaLiga’s title race took a couple of more significant turns as Barcelona and Atlético Madrid created further distance from Real Madrid, and the Bundesliga table continued to look make good reading for Bayern Munich fans. There were also talking points from…
Pep Guardiola raised the possibility that Rodri could return to Manchester City before the end of the season. The Spanish midfielder, who hasn’t played since September after undergoing knee surgery, has started individual training at the City Football Academy. Guardiola has said that he does not expect Rodri to be available until next season. But, after City released a video of the 28-year-old running and kicking a ball outside, he…
Burnley players refused to shake hands with Preston North-End striker Milutin Osmajic during their FA Cup fifth-round clash on Saturday as a sign of solidarity with teammate Hannibal Mejbri. The Burnley midfielder accused Osmajic of racially abusing him when the two sides met in the Championship earlier this month. “I will not be silent about what happened today,” Mejbri wrote on social media post-match. “I will always call out racism…
Both sets of fans at the Vitality Stadium were up in arms during Saturday’s FA Cup fifth-round clash between Bournemouth and Wolves after an English record eight-minute VAR check. Hosts Bournemouth were already a goal up just around the half-hour mark when Milos Kerkez extended their advantage with a back-post header. However, uncertainty over whether he was offside provoked a surprisingly long check from the VAR, Timothy Wood. Per the…
Archie Gray believes Tottenham Hotspur have a “golden” chance to end their 17-year trophy drought by winning the Europa League this season. Ange Postecoglou’s side have endured a difficult campaign to date. They are 13th in the Premier League and have exited both domestic cup competitions. But Europe offers an opportunity to end their campaign on a high with many bookmakers making Spurs favourites to win the Europa League ahead…
Iraq want their World Cup qualifier against Palestine next month moved from the Jordanian capital of Amman, having also knocked back a Palestinian proposal to stage the match just outside Jerusalem. The last soccer international played in the Palestinian territories was in October 2019 and Palestine have since staged their “home” fixtures at neutral venues in Qatar, Jordán, Kuwait and Malaysia. Palestine are due to host Iraq in a Group…
Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos has suffered a hamstring injury, the club has confirmed, as the team prepares for a critical run of games in multiple competitions. Sources have told ESPN that Ceballos will miss up to two months. Ceballos limped off late on in Madrid’s 1-0 Copa del Rey semifinal first-leg win at Real Sociedad on Wednesday, after a collision with forward Takefusa Kubo. After the player underwent tests,…
Manchester United are prepared to offer Rasmus Højlund to Napoli in a bid to land Victor Osimhen, while Liverpool want Brighton & Hove Albion striker João Pedro to replace Darwin Núñez. Join us for the latest transfer news, rumours and gossip from around the globe. Transfers homepage | Done deals | Men’s January grades | Women’s January grades – Man United’s Amorim to talk with Garnacho after tunnel exit –…
A Granada fan who racially abused former Cádiz defender Carlos Akapo during a LaLiga game three years ago has been given a one-year prison sentence by a Spanish court. The court in Granada also handed the supporter a 14-month stadium ban. In Spain, prison sentences of less than two years for non-physically violent crimes rarely require a defendant without previous convictions to serve jail time, so he is likely to…