Paris Saint-Germain coach Laurent Blanc was delighted with his team s 1-0 victory over Lille, after having a player sent off in Friday s Ligue 1 opener.
PSG looked up against it following a red card to Adrien Rabiot in the 28th minute, but the reigning champions were not to be denied thanks to Lucas Moura.
Moura s well-worked goal 12 minutes into the second half saw PSG secure a club-record 10th consecutive league win.
It also marked PSG s first opening day win since 2010 and Blanc was pleased with a number of different aspects of the performance.
Collectively we are getting better, playing more compact and this is allowing us to retrieve the ball quickly, he said. There are lots of positive things.
It s good to be first [in the league] at the…
Spain defender Cesar Azpilicueta is anticipating another difficult encounter as the reigning European Champions prepare to host Slovakia in Saturday s Euro 2016 qualifier.
The only defeat of Vicente del Bosque s side s campaign came at the hands of Slovakia, who claimed a 2-1 win in the reverse fixture in Zilina last October.
Juraj Kucka gave Slovakia the lead on that occasion, with Miroslav Stoch ensuring success three minutes from time after Paco Alcacer had cancelled out the opener.
Slovakia remain unbeaten and head Group C by three points from Spain and can approach the game with a degree of freedom knowing that qualification is within their grasp.
Regardless of the result in Oviedo, Jan Kozak s men will qualify for the finals providing they comple…
With that 7-1 ghost still haunting them, South American giants Brazil is heading into the international friendly against Germany in Berlin with a huge point to prove.
The number-two ranked side in the FIFA rankings prepares for the highly anticipated standoff with FIFA’s best-ranked side and .
A Point to Prove
The Selecao head over to the Olympic Stadium in high spirits having beaten World Cup hosts 3-0 in Moscow last week and will be determined to make a clear statement of intent with another strong performance against one of the strongest teams in the world.
It is, of course, the first meeting of the two teams since Brazil’s devastating loss in the semi-finals of the 2014 World Cup when Die Mannschaft ruined an entire nation’s dream in its own backyard …
Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata is excited by the prospect of securing a double bonus against Ajax in Stockholm on Wednesday – a piece of silverware and a direct route back into the glamour of the Champions League.
The Dutch giants stand in the way of Jose Mourinho s men and a place in club football s elite competition, with the winners of the Europa League final guaranteed a spot in next season s Champions League.
United fell short of qualifying via a top-four Premier League finish – a 69-point haul leaving them sixth – meaning the Ajax clash assumes extra significance, a fact not lost on Mata.
Mata said in quotes reported by the Telegraph: The Champions League is the best competition and it s one this club should be playing in every season.
Bayer Leverkusen wonderkid Florian Wirtz has been named as September s Bundesliga Player of the Month after a series of outstanding performances.
The 18-year-old scored three goals and registered two assists in three league games last month, helping Leverkusen to second in the table behind Bayern Munich only on goal difference.
Wirtz has already managed four goals and leads the Bundesliga charts for assist (five) in just six appearances. In total, the versatile attacker has been involved in a goal every 47 minutes across all competitions, the best minutes per goal involvement ratio of all players in Europe s top five leagues to play at least 500 minutes.
The attacking midfielder s winner against Mainz also made him the youngest player to reach double figure…
With the relentless schedule rolling onto Tuesday night, we have another string of eye-catching meetings from across Europe. So, for those of you looking to stick on a midweek flutter, we have searched far and wide to find you a handful of helpful tips that are worth keeping an eye out for.
Tuesday 9th March
BST 19:00 Mansfield Town vs Cheltenham Town
After backing Cheltenham over the weekend, we re once again looking at a Cheltenham side who find themselves enjoying a real purple patch. Eventually claiming a 3-2 win against Port Vale on home soil, the Robins are still tipped as a leading contender in the automatic promotion chase. Opening up the midweek fixtures still holding a one-point buffer at the top of the League Two table, Michael Duff s men have rea…
Pirmin Schwegler von Bundesligist Eintracht Frankfurt weist Meldungen zurück, wonach er unmittelbar vor einem Wechsel zum Ligakonkurrenten VfL Wolfsburg stehe.
Mittelfeldspieler Pirmin Schwegler von Bundesliga-Aufsteiger Eintracht Frankfurt weist Meldungen zurück, wonach er unmittelbar vor einem Wechsel zum Ligakonkurrenten VfL Wolfsburg stehe.
Die Spekulationen um seinen Abschied von der Eintracht seien nur heiße Luft , erklärte Schwegler gegenüber hr-online . Ihn interessiere derzeit allein, ob die Mannschaft noch den Europapokal erreichen könne, so der derzeit an der Leiste verletzte Frankfurter Kapitän weiter.
Angeblich weit fortgeschrittene Gespräche
Der Kicker hatte am Montag berichtet, dass die Gespräche zwischen dem VfL und Schwegler bereits weit…
Market: Marseille win
Odds: 4/5 @
Hoping to secure back-to-back Ligue 1 victories on Friday night and make another statement, Marseille will travel to the Stade de la Beaujoire when they meet Nantes.
Starting with the hosts, firmly at the heart of another Ligue 1 relegation scrap for large spells of last season, Nantes were simply hoping for a far smoother campaign this time around. However, last seen suffering a woeful second-half collapse at home against Monaco and eventually having to settle for a 3-3 draw at the Stade de la Beaujoire, the Canaries have had little to cheer about since opening the new season. Getting proceedings underway on August 13th as they slumped to a 2-1 loss at home against Toulouse, Pierre Aristouy’s side have mustered just a single …
Nigel Reo-Coker has lauded Fabian Delph s quality and believes he is set for a big future with Aston Villa.
The former Leeds United midfielder was an integral part in Paul Lambert s side towards the back end of the Premier League season, featuring on 24 occasions in total.
And ex-Villa player Reo-Coker is confident the 23-year-old has the physical and mental attributes to be a key performer at Villa Park.
Fabian is so talented. He has an abundance of ability. The world is his oyster, Reo-Coker told Villa s official website.
He has so much quality but I don t think people realise how much.
I just hope he can stay injury-free because I know he s had his fair share of problems over the past few years. I hope he can have a good run in the team in the coming seasons.
I h…
The Confederations Cup begins on Saturday as hosts Brazil face Japan, who are fresh from topping their FIFA World Cup qualification group.
The tournament provides an appetising precursor to next year s FIFA World Cup finals and the opening game will undoubtedly showcase the attacking talent of both teams.
Brazil have selected an attack-heavy squad and will be looking to the likes of Neymar, Hulk and Oscar to carve up the Blue Samurai s back four, which is light on star power, with the exception of Inter Milan full-back Yuto Nagatomo.
They will not be at full strength, however, with long-term Tottenham transfer target Leandro Damiao withdrawing from the tournament following an injury to his right thigh.
The Japanese are not short on creative quality either…