Lionel Messi scored yet another hat-trick and surpassed 400 club goals as Barcelona came from behind to win the Catalan derby 5-1 against Espanyol in La Liga on Sunday. . The Argentine, who holds the La Liga and Champions League scoring records, produced a now familiar devastating performance to take his record to 402 goals for Barca in all competitions, including 28 in friendlies. . He produced his tour de force, predictably, just a day after Cristiano Ronaldo, his rival for title of world’s best player, scored a La Liga record 23rd hat-trick against Celta Vigo for Real Madrid. .…
Author: David F.
Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed a record 23rd La Liga hat-trick to guide leaders Real Madrid to a victory over Celta Vigo at the Bernabeu on Saturday. . It also helped the European champions extend their club record winning streak to 18 matches in all competitions and equal the record run of victories set by Barcelona between October 2005 and January 2006. . Elsewhere, a ferocious drive by Jose Maria Gimenez set Atletico Madrid on the way to a 2-0 triumph at Elche that lifted them into second place. . With his latest treble he overtook greats Alfredo Di Stefano of Real…
Promising Nigerian centre-back Semi Ajayi made the match day squad for Arsenal in their 3-2 loss to Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium in the Barclay’s Premier League on Saturday. . Ajayi, who was recently called up by Samson Siasia for the Under-23 camp, is highly rated at the Emirates and touted as a future centre-back for the club. . Standing at 6″ 4, Ajayi has been one of the mainstay players for the Arsenal under-21 side that play in the under-21 Premier League in England. . He was also part of John Obuh’s training camp prior to the Under-20…
Chelsea’s unbeaten start to the season ended with a dramatic 2-1 defeat at Newcastle United on Saturday when Papiss Cisse struck twice to stun the Premier League leaders at St James’ Park. . Champions Manchester City took full advantage of Chelsea’s surprise reverse to cut the gap at the top to three points as Yaya Toure’s penalty earned a 1-0 home victory over Everton.
Manchester United target Lucas Silva can sign a deal with Real Madrid on Monday, according to reports. . Silva, 21, is plays for Brazilian side Cruzeiro and is widely regarded as one of the finest talents in the world after his fine performances for the club in recent months. . In 2012 Silva was sent on loan to Nacional-MG, however, he was recalled in June 2012 by Cruzeiro. Within just weeks he made his professional debut in Brazil and has never looked back since, with a number of clubs keeping tabs. . Silva likes to play in the defensive midfield role…
Barcelona’s Gerard Pique was recently left out of the starting line-up for the second successive game amid speculation Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United have submitted offers for the defender, according to the Daily Mail. . The 27-year-old has however vowed to fight for his place at the Nou Camp. . He progressed through the youth ranks at Barca initially before moving to Manchester United in 2004. After making 12 appearances for the Red Devils he switched back to the Nou Camp under Pep Guardiola in 2008. . So could a move back to Old Trafford be on the cards for the Spain international?…
Van Gaal has played down talk of a rift with Southampton boss Ronald Koeman before the Dutch pair face each other for the first time in the Premier League. . Van Gaal employed Koeman as his assistant at Barcelona from 1998 to 2000 and they combined to lead the Catalan club to the Spanish league title. . Their next working relationship wasn’t so happy, though, when Van Gaal was appointed director of coaching at Ajax where Koeman had also become a title-winning manager. . Following a number of disagreements, Van Gaal left 12 months later in 2005, to take charge…
Manchester United legend Gary Neville has proclaimed that current club captain Wayne Rooney is now ahead of legendary cult striker, Eric Cantona. . Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News reports on the Sky Sports pundits comments to FourFourTwo magazine, where Neville names his greatest ever Red Devils XI. . The England assistant coach names Rooney in his front two strikers, partnering Cristiano Ronaldo up front—ousting Cantona from proceedings: . I’d put Wayne Rooney up front with Cristiano Ronaldo in my all-time XI of Manchester United players I played with. . The 29-year-old England skipper has now been at United since he was a teenager,…
Southampton will be hoping Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal does not pair Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie together in attack for tomorrow night’s Premier League fixture at St Mary’s. . Van Gaal said on Friday that Rooney would return from the knee injury that ruled him out of Wednesday’s 2-1 home win over Stoke City. . The United captain and Dutchman Van Persie have enjoyed a lot of success against Southampton in the past and may team up again, although Van Gaal can also call upon fit-again Radamel Falcao. . Rooney has struck five goals in as many…
Ashley Young is confident Manchester United can make it five Premier League wins on the bounce when they travel to Southampton on Monday. . Victory would take United above the Saints into third place in the table and cement Louis van Gaal’s side’s claims to a Champions League place. . United have seen off Crystal Palace, Arsenal, Hull and Stoke within the last month, while Liverpool lie in wait next weekend. Young told the club’s website: . Southampton have started the season very well and are third in the league, so we know it is going to be tough. But…
Champions Atletico Madrid are looking over their shoulders at pursuing Sevilla and Valencia rather than worrying about hauling in frontrunners Real Madrid and Barcelona, coach Diego Simeone said on Friday. . Simeone has had to do some rebuilding following the departure in the close season of leading lights like top scorer Diego Costa, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and fullback Filipe Luis after they helped Atletico secure a first La Liga title in 18 years in 2013-14. . While not perhaps quite as formidable as last term, Atletico are only four points behind La Liga leaders Real in third after 13 matches…
Sergio Aguero’s electrifying form has dragged Manchester City out of their early-season slumber and they are ready to start chasing down Premier League title rivals Chelsea, according to fellow Argentine Pablo Zabaleta. . Aguero’s hat-trick in a 3-2 victory over Bayern Munich last month threw City a Champions League lifeline and he scored twice more in a 4-1 thrashing of Sunderland on Wednesday that kept Manuel Pellegrini’s side six points behind Chelsea. . “For the team to have him playing at this level is a massive plus for us all because when we haven’t been at our best, his goals…
Bayern Munich enter December seven points clear in the Bundesliga and seemingly certain of another German title despite another six months left in the season. . It may seem simplistic to suggest Bayern already have their 25th German league title in the bag with November barely over. . But Pep Guardiola’s Bavarian giants are on course to beat last season’s record of winning the title with seven games to spare and it will take an exceptional performance by one of their rivals to bridge the gap. . At the same stage last year, Bayern had a four-point lead, compared to…
Majeed Waris wants the Black Stars to use the 2015 Afcon to wipe the shame from Brazil. . The fiasco of the nation at the global showpiece was well documented and Ghanaians are still embarrassed by it. . Majeed Waris wants the Black Stars to use the 2015 Afcon to wipe the shame from Brazil. . The fiasco of the nation at the global showpiece was well documented and Ghanaians are still embarrassed by it. . The diminutive striker who broke his 13-month goal duck with the opener for Ghana in the 3-1 win over Togo last Wednesday would be…
Borussia Dortmund are last in the Bundesliga after their latest defeat on Sunday and the champions in 2011 and 2012 will hope that having finally hit the bottom, they can only go up from their current position. . Borussia Dortmund may sit top of Champions League Group D but Sunday’s latest domestic loss has left them bottom of the Bundesliga. . “The middle of the relegation battle,” was how sport director Michael Zorc chose to describe Dortmund’s situation following the 2-0 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt. . The Dortmund homepage, cataloguing their misery, pointed out that never before had the side…
Valencia will hand out a life ban when they identify the fan who hit Barcelona forward Lionel Messi on the head with a plastic bottle, the club said on Monday. . Messi was celebrating Barca’s 94th-minute winner with his teammates near the corner flag at the Mestalla stadium on Sunday when someone threw the bottle from the stands. . To add insult to injury the Argentina captain was then booked for time wasting. . Messi was examined by a member of Barca’s medical staff after the final whistle and did not appear to be hurt, giving the thumbs-up as he…
It would take an “astronomical fee” for Swansea City to part with in-form Ivory Coast forward Wilfried Bony, manager Gary Monk said on Monday. . The 25-year-old has scored 18 Premier League goals in 2014, two more than his nearest rivalSergio Aguero, and has helped the Welsh team climb to eighth in the table with six goals in his last seven appearances. . According to media reports, Bony was a target for Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspurduring the close-season but he remained at the Liberty Stadium and last month signed a one-year contract extension that ties him to the club…
Manchester City star Yaya Toure has insisted criticism of his performances won’t distract him from concentrating on helping the champions overhaul leaders Chelsea in the Premier League title race. . Ivory Coast midfielder Toure scored the opening goal with a typical 20-yard strike as City leapfrogged Southampton into second place with a 3-0 win at the Saints’ St Mary’s Stadium on Sunday. . City are now six points adrift of Chelsea heading into their trip to Sunderland on Wednesday. . The 31-year-old Toure has had a difficult few months, including having to cope with the death of his brother, but…
Manchester City star Yaya Toure has insisted criticism of his performances won’t distract him from concentrating on helping the champions overhaul leaders Chelsea in the Premier League title race. . Ivory Coast midfielder Toure scored the opening goal with a typical 20-yard strike as City leapfrogged Southampton into second place with a 3-0 win at the Saints’ St Mary’s Stadium on Sunday. . City are now six points adrift of Chelsea heading into their trip to Sunderland on Wednesday. . The 31-year-old Toure has had a difficult few months, including having to cope with the death of his brother, but…
Neymar’s dad and agent told a Spanish court investigating alleged tax fraud in his son’s signing by Barcelona that the player rejected a much higher offer from Real Madrid of €150 million. . Barcelona initially said the signing of the 22-year-old player from Brazilian side Santos in May 2012 cost them €57.1 million. . But after questions were raised about the deal by a Barcelona club member, the club in January revealed the deal was worth €86.2 million when including the player’s signing bonus, commission, marketing deals and other agreements. . The club member, Jordi Cases, accused former Barcelona president…