Thibaut Courtois is confident Real Madrid are not short of goals despite struggling to a goalless draw at Real Sociedad on Sunday.
LaLiga s reigning champions began the new campaign with a frustrating stalemate in which Courtois had to make a brilliant one-on-one stop from Alexander Isak to preserve a point.
That was the clearest opening of the match, although Karim Benzema miscued when he looked set to strike moments before Isak ran through at the other end.
Benzema was supported by Martin Odegaard in an advanced midfield role, but Madrid still missing Eden Hazard and having moved on Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez could not forge a breakthrough despite mustering 16 shots in total.
Courtois told Movistar: Of course we ve got goals. You see it in training…
According to a recent report from Tuttosport, veteran forward Fernando Llorente could wind up leaving Napoli during the January transfer window in the wake of the appointment of Gennaro Gattuso as the club’s new manager. It is believed that Gattuso isn’t all too interested in keeping him around, and in equal measure, there is said to be an interested party: and that party is Inter Milan.
The Serie A leaders, who are currently just ahead of Juventus in the table, are gearing up for what is bound to be a fascinating title race. In order to win that title race they’ll need even more reinforcements littered throughout the core of their squad, and one of the only ways in which they’re going to get that is by going hard in the paint for established veterans of the game.�…
Mexico coach Tata Martino has ruled out the possibility of a World Cup recall for veteran striker Javier Hernandez.
Hernandez, who has scored 52 goals in his 109 caps for El Tri, has not featured for his country since 2019.
However, 15 goals in 29 MLS games for the LA Galaxy this season had prompted discussion of a return to the Mexico squad prior to Martino s latest comments.
Ahead of his side s friendly with Peru, Martino explained: We are simply going with other forwards.
We will try to choose the 26 players who are closest to our game.
Hernandez, 34, finds himself down the pecking order for El Tri, with Raul Jimenez, Rogelio Funes Mori, Henry Martin and Santiago Gimenez all preferred up front.
Gerardo Martino says Chicharito won t…
Market: Watford win
Odds: 11/10 @
Looking to lay down a Boxing Day marker on Monday lunchtime, Watford will welcome an inconsistent Millwall to Vicarage Road.
Starting with the hosts, although Watford might have lost their Premier League status last season, the Hornets once again have their sights set on claiming an immediate top-flight return. Last seen picking up a deserved 2-0 victory away at relegation scrappers Huddersfield, Slaven Bilic s men are enjoying an extended purple patch on either side of the World Cup break. In fact, aside from a 1-0 loss at the hands of Coventry last month, that is the only defeat that Monday s hosts have suffered from their previous eight Championship contests. Tipped as a standout pick to claim a play-off spot in 2023, the for…
Javier Tebas would be making a very stupid move if the LaLiga president prevents Barcelona re-signing Lionel Messi, according to a director of the Camp Nou giants.
Juli Guiu, vice-president of marketing at Barcelona, reacted a day on from Tebas saying LaLiga would not alter its regulations to help smooth such a deal.
Spanish league chief Tebas is waiting for Barcelona s viability plan for next season, saying he hoped the club could make the necessary moves to make space for Messi to come in, but of course we are not going to change any rules for Messi to sign .
Messi scored 672 goals in 780 games for Barcelona, setting records in both regards, but he tearfully left on a free transfer two years ago after financial restrictions prevented the club giving him a new c…
James Maddison has earned his place in England s World Cup squad by becoming one of the best in the Premier League, his Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers believes.
Maddison was a surprise name in Gareth Southgate s 26-man squad announcement on Thursday, having made his first and only appearance for his country in November 2019.
His recent form for Leicester has won Southgate over though.
Since the start of last season, Maddison has been directly involved in 30 goals in the Premier League (18 goals, 12 assists), with only Harry Kane (38) recording more among English players.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Leicester boss Rodgers described the moment Maddison found out he was heading to the World Cup.
He was delighted. He had a mi…
England have confirmed that Chelsea attacker Cole Palmer has withdrawn from their squad for the Three Lions upcoming Nations League fixtures.
Palmer, along with Aston Villa s Ollie Watkins, were named in interim head coach Lee Carsley s first Three Lions squad but have since returned to their clubs to continue rehabilitation for ongoing issues.
Manchester City s Phil Foden will also play no part in their matches against the Republic of Ireland and Finland after not reporting with illness.
It serves as a significant blow for Carsley in his audition for the England role on a full-time basis, with Palmer a player the 50-year-old knows well from his time in charge of the Under-21 s.
Palmer was part of Carsley s European Under-21 Championship winning side l…
More and more big-name players from the world of football are heading for the Saudi Pro League.
There has been a powerful recruitment drive by the PIF-owned clubs in Saudi Arabia as the league looks to establish itself among the best in the world, with Sadio Mane’s departure from Bayern Munich to Al-Nassr the latest move to go through.
Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the key players already in the Middle East preparing for the new season.
Cristiano Ronaldo – Al-Nassr
After his acrimonious departure from Manchester United, five-time Ballon D’Or winner Ronaldo headed to Saudi Arabia as a statement signing that told the footballing world the league meant business.
Karim Benzema – Al-Ittihad
Reigning Ballon D’Or winner Benz…
Lawrence Shankland scored his 50th goal for Hearts as the rampant Edinburgh side tightened their grip on third spot in the cinch Premiership with a 1-0 win away to St Johnstone.
The Jambos captain struck for the 22nd time this season early in the second half to settle a tightly-contested affair at McDiarmid Park and secure a sixth consecutive victory in all competitions.
Hearts have now won 12 of their last 15 league matches since the start of November and remain 12 points clear of nearest challengers Kilmarnock.
Saints boss Craig Levein – a two-time former Jambos manager – made one alteration to the side that won 1-0 at Ross County on Saturday as Oludare Olufunwa replaced David Keltjens.
There were three changes to the Hearts team that started the 3-…
Kevin De Bruyne served up a reminder of his match-winning brilliance as Manchester City usurped Arsenal at the top of the Premier League, so Nottingham Forest will be on high alert.
City go to Forest on Saturday, looking to stay at the summit, and their Belgian playmaker is set to be a key figure once more, and potentially a big points winner when it comes to fantasy leagues.
In an unlikely top-seven battle, Brighton and Hove Albion will look to in-form left-back Pervis Estupinan to contribute at both ends of the pitch against Fulham, while Wolves and Brentford will be hoping for big contributions from Ruben Neves and Ivan Toney as they tackle Bournemouth and Crystal Palace respectively.
Stats Perform, using Opta data, has chosen these four players for your selec…