A brilliant solo goal in injury time by Lionel Messi earned Argentina a 1-0 victory over their arch-rivals Brazil in an international friendly here on Wednesday.
The Barcelona superstar picked up the ball midway inside the Brazil half and weaved past four defenders before firing a low shot into the bottom-right corner with just a minute of added time to play.
It was Messi s first ever goal against Brazil and allowed Argentina to record their first win against their old enemies since June 2005.
His strike also allowed coach Sergio Batista to celebrate victory in his first game in charge since he was confirmed as the long-term successor to Diego Maradona.
For Brazil it was a first defeat in four matches for new coach Mano Menezes, who had led his country t…
James Rodriguez is still having a difficult time at Real Madrid following his two-year loan spell at Bayern Munich, and Manchester City are reportedly interested in taking the Colombian off Real s hands when the transfer window opens.
Spanish outlet Don Balon claim that the Premier League champions want the attacking midfielder to join them. In itself, the notion would make some sense given that David Silva is about to leave the Etihad when his contract expires this summer, and James could provide a similar influence just behind the attacking line in Pep Guardiola s team.
However, the part of the report which takes away from the report s credibility is that Guardiola intends to send Bernardo Silva the other way. Since his arrival from Monaco in 2018, Bernardo has been a…
Michael Carrick cannot stop talking about his solo goal which sealed Manchester United s 2-0 victory on Sunday.
Sir Alex Ferguson s men took a first minute lead through Wayne Rooney, but looked to be having difficulty killing their opponents off until Carrick picked the ball up just inside his own half, drove all the way to the edge of the QPR area and fired low past Radek Cerny.
Carrick agreed his first goal since December 2009 was far from planned, but was relieved to see it hit the net after his side had missed several chances to double their lead.
It just seemed to open up for me and I kept on going and going and thought: Why not? . It was great to see it go in, Carrick said.
We had so many chances in the game, so many opportunities to get a shot o…
West Ham have appointed Slaven Bilic as their new manager on a three-year deal.
The Premier League club parted company with Sam Allardyce immediately after the final game of the 2014-15 season, with the 60-year-old s contract coming to an end.
And co-chairman David Sullivan and David Gold have acted quickly to fill their managerial vacancy, with Bilic a popular player at West Ham between February 1996 and May 1997 taking the reins.
Bilic had been heavily linked with the role and announced his exit from Besiktas last month following a second season at the helm in Istanbul.
He had previously spent six years in charge of the Croatia national team, securing qualification for the 2008 and 2012 European Championships, and represented his country at …
With Europe s top-tiers taking center stage this weekend, we are promised another stacked schedule from across the continent. On that note, for those of you looking to stick on a Saturday acca, we have found a handful of helpful tips that are worth keeping an eye out for.
Saturday February 12th
BST 14:00 Lazio vs Bologna
Starting with Saturday s hosts, crashing out of the Coppa Italia in midweek after a nightmare display away at the San Siro, Lazio will be seeking an immediate response here. However, putting in what was a hugely impressive performance on Serie A duties weekend, the mood in their camp should still be at a high. Breezing their way to what was a shock 3-0 romp away at Fiorentina, the Biancocelesti will be desperate to build off of that momentum h…
Giovanni van Bronckhorst claimed the scoreline did not offer a true reflection of Rangers performance after they succumbed to a 3-0 Champions League defeat at home to Napoli.
Second-half goals from Matteo Politano, Giacomo Raspadori and Tanguy Ndombele condemned Rangers to a third consecutive defeat on Wednesday after James Sands was dismissed for two bookable offences.
The defeat could have been heavier had Allan McGregor not twice denied Piotr Zielinski from the penalty spot following a VAR check for encroachment.
Politano then tucked away his opener from 12 yards, as Napoli became just the third side to be awarded multiple penalties in back-to-back Champions League fixtures (after Chelsea in 2020 and Salzburg in 2021).
Despite Rangers defensive s…
Leeds United have confirmed that Marcelo Bielsa will remain as their manager for the 2019-20 Championship season.
The Argentinian was a surprise appointment prior to 2018-19 and came close to masterminding a long-awaited return to the Premier League.
After pushing for automatic promotion for much of the campaign, Leeds ended up in the play-offs and were dumped out by Derby County in the semi-finals.
The Elland Road club, though, have seen enough from Bielsa to suggest he can steer them towards promotion next season and activated their option to extend the 63-year-old s contract for another 12 months.
| are delighted to confirm that Chairman has exercised the option to extend Marcelo Bielsa’s contract for a second season
— Leeds United (…