Month: November 2024

Xabi Alonso only had fond words for former club Liverpool one day on from his retirement announcement.

The Bayern Munich midfielder declared on Thursday that he will be ending his career, which also saw him play for Real Sociedad, Eibar and Real Madrid, at the end of the season.

Liverpool paid tribute to Alonso after his announcement with thousands of their supporters following suit and the 35-year-old has responded in kind, discussing his special time at Anfield between 2004 and 2009.

He recalled his famous 2005 Champions League winners medal earned with Liverpool in Istanbul and hopes to win the European crown one more time with Bayern before he bows out.

Anfield, where everything started YNWA

— Xabi Alonso (@XabiAlonso)

My time i…

Best Odds: 4/11

Bookmaker:

Looking to spring an upset and claim London bragging rights on Wednesday night, Crystal Palace will welcome Tottenham to Selhurst Park.

Crystal Palace

Starting with the hosts, while Crystal Palace might have marked their return from the World Cup break with a woeful 3-0 drumming at home against Fulham, the Eagles certainly came roaring back over the weekend. Eventually breezing their way to a deserved 2-0 victory away at relegation scrappers Bournemouth, Patrick Vieira s side have impressed many across the Premier League this season. With a top-half finish at the top of their agenda in 2023, the former Nice boss could be smelling the chance for his squad to spring a real upset on Wednesday night. However, despite losing just a trio of…

Petr Cech has announced that he will retire at the end of the season, bringing a glittering career to a close.

The Arsenal goalkeeper has been one of the stars of the Premier League era, winning four titles in an 11-year stint with Chelsea.

Cech has stood up against the very best in his position since arriving in England in 2004 and the statistics certainly show that.

With the help of Opta, we look at Cech s Premier League career in numbers.

443 – As it stands, Cech has made 443 appearances in his Premier League career. He has played 39,496 minutes in the competition, including every second of the 2010-11 season for Chelsea.

202 – Cech has kept 202 Premier League clean sheets, a competition record. He has kept the opponents off the scoresheet in…

Verdict: Both teams to score – yes

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The U21 European Championship in Poland is slowly drawing to its glorious close as England prepares to lock horns with Germany in a repeat of the 2009 final.

England

The young Lions do not have fond memories of their last meeting with Germany at the Euro U21 with that 2009 4-0 defeat in Malmo still causing plenty of pain in the chest. England, however, are determined to make amends for this defeat and to try and build up on summer success of their U20 compatriots who were crowned world champions in a historic 1-0 final against Venezuela in South Korea. England head into the high-profile match against their historic rivals on the back of two consecutive wins. The young lions are yet to realise …

Best Odds: 8/11

Bookmaker:

Knowing that only three points will be enough in their bid to punch a famous Champions League knockout stage ticket, Newcastle will welcome AC Milan to St. James’ Park on Wednesday night.

Newcastle

Starting with the hosts, while Newcastle might have once again gained a string of plaudits when opening up the 2023/24 campaign, the Magpies do have the feel of a squad seeking a recent boost. Enduring what has been a nightmare blip over the past week after suffering respective hammerings against Tottenham and Everton, Eddie Howe’s side will be more than aware that they have plenty of pressure on their shoulders here. With only three points enough to keep their slim knockout stage dreams alive, the former Bournemouth boss has seen his s…

Mauro Icardi scored on his Inter return as the Nerazzurri eased to a much-needed 4-0 Serie A win at 10-man Genoa.

Luciano Spalletti s men lost at home to Lazio on Sunday as Icardi s absence from the team continued to overshadow matters on the pitch, with the Argentina international having not played since he was stripped of the captaincy in February.

But despite calls from a section of Inter fans for Icardi to be axed from the squad this week, he was involved for the first time in almost two months at Genoa and the team looked much better for it.

Roberto Gagliardini netted a 15th-minute opener, before Icardi won a penalty that resulted in a red card for Cristian Romero and dispatched the spot-kick himself.

Icardi celebrated with his team-mates and teed u…

Joe Hart has revealed how he had to leave Manchester City last year after realising he never stood a chance of forcing his way into Pep Guardiola s plans.

The England goalkeeper was informed he was surplus to requirements not long after Guardiola s arrival at the club, meaning he had to either stay and fight for his place or move on elsewhere.

While Hart had been in a similar situation at Manchester City before – former manager Mark Hughes signed Shay Given to take over between the posts in February 2009 – he realised this time around the situation was different.

With Guardiola holding so much power, Hart headed to Serie A to spend the 2016-17 campaign with Torino and is now on loan at West Ham United.

“When I was 22, when Hughes did it, it made m…

Diego Simeone is counting on Atletico Madrid s passionate fans to spur them on in their first LaLiga home match of the season against last year s surprise package Girona on Sunday.

Atletico made a disappointing start to the season with a 2-2 draw at Villarreal on Monday as they failed to find a winner in the second half after twice coming from behind to level.

With Girona once again looking to challenge for a top-four place this season, Simeone is ready to use every advantage his team can get.

I played my time as a footballer in front of this crowd, and it was above everything else, Simeone said in a press conference.

It always pushes those who have to play and, hopefully, we can release the energy of the stadium onto the pitch.

Julian Alvarez,…

James Rodriguez s move to Everton invoked polarising opinions from fans and pundits alike – it seemed his signing was either destined to be a masterstroke or an expensive flop.

Many suggested that, while undoubtedly gifted, James qualities were those of a bygone era when teams were built around a number 10 whose only real job was to create chances and score goals.

The common conception was that, in introducing a player who does little work off the ball, Everton were putting themselves at a disadvantage to every other team.

Even James himself recognises he is one of a dying breed, saying recently on the Locker Room podcast: Everyone plays 4-4-2 or 4-3-3, hardly any kids want to be a number 10 now, because now the number 10s are being left out by the managers bec…

According to a recent report from Sky Sports News, Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea are the three main clubs believed to be in the running to try and sign Boubakary Soumare. 

The Lille midfielder is also wanted by Real Madrid and Valencia, but it doesn’t appear as if their interest is on the same level as the aforementioned Premier League sides. 

A deal in some form is set to be done within the next 10 days or so, but the French club want to try and keep him until at least January 26th which is when they are set to square off against Paris Saint-Germain – the very same club that he was purchased from. 

He has two and a half years remaining on his current contract and has drawn comparisons to the likes of Paul Pogba in the past, with his six Champ…