Antonio Valencia hopes that a victory in Sunday s EFL Cup final can inspire Manchester United to a late challenge for the Premier League title.
Jose Mourinho s side face Southampton at Wembley looking to win the trophy for the first time since 2010, when they defeated Aston Villa.
Success would keep United in the hunt for a quadruple, with Mourinho s men still in contention to win the FA Cup, the Europa League and the league title, although they sit 12 points behind leaders Chelsea with only 13 games remaining.
And Valencia, who says confidence is building by the week at Old Trafford, believes a trophy at this stage of the season could inspire United to claw their way back into title contention.
Winning the cup could give us even more impetus, as we re a…
Cristiano Ronaldo stole the show as a dominant Real Madrid claimed a 2-0 UEFA Super Cup victory over Sevilla on Tuesday.
Gareth Bale – playing in his hometown of Cardiff – and new signing James Rodriguez had been the poster boys in the build-up to this fixture, but Ronaldo made sure he claimed the headlines with two goals in the Welsh capital.
Champions League winners Real were in control throughout against the Europa League victors, but had to wait until the half-hour mark to open the scoring.
Bale found Ronaldo with a wonderful cross from the left, teeing up the Portuguese for a relatively simple sliding finish.
Ronaldo made sure of Real s second Super Cup triumph four minutes after the interval with a powerful left-footed strike.
The match-…
Diego Maradona has been appointed head coach of Al-Fujairah in UAE Division One.
The 56-year-old former Argentina star has been tasked with guiding Al-Fujairah, fourth in the second tier, into the UAE Arabian Gulf League.
The role is Maradona s second job in UAE, where he previously coached Dubai-based club Al Wasl during the 2011-12 season but was sacked after 14 months in charge with a record of seven wins from 22 games.
Maradona has previously coached the Argentina national team as well as Racing Club and Mandiyu de Corrientes in his home country.
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Seattle Sounders coach Sigi Schmid has signed a multi-year contract extension.
General manager Adrian Hanauer made the announcement at an end-of-season media conference on Thursday.
The Sounders narrowly missed out on a spot in the MLS Cup final but inaugural coach Schmid, who took charge in the club s debut season in 2009, has been rewarded after guiding Seattle to the US Open Cup and the Supporters Shield awarded to the team with the best regular-season record in 2014.
Seattle were edged by Western Conference rivals Los Angeles Galaxy on away goals last week as their search for a maiden MLS Cup title continues.
There s nothing I want more than to bring an MLS Cup to this city and these fans, Schmid told reporters on Thursday.
I still like bein…
Manchester United have shown fallibility in the FA Cup this season and Preston North End have a chance to make heroes of themselves.
Simon Grayson has called on his Preston North End players to make a name for themselves when Manchester United visit Deepdale in the FA Cup fifth round on Monday.
Preston are chasing promotion from League One this season – consecutive victories recently putting them back into contention after a five-game winless run in the third tier.
The Lancashire club s home form has always been strong, however, having lost just one league game in the past 13 months and Grayson – who masterminded then-League One Leeds United s victory at Old Trafford in the 2009-10 FA Cup third round – sees no reason why his current crop cannot emulate sho…
Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola has laughed off suggestions he could replace Rafael Benitez at Real Madrid.
Benitez is under pressure at the Santiago Bernabeu following their 4-0 Clasico humbling by Barcelona last month while speculation persists about a difficult working relationship with a number of the club s senior players, including Cristiano Ronaldo.
Madrid president Florentino Perez has publicly backed the former Liverpool and Inter boss but rumours persist that his days in the Spanish capital could be numbered.
One name that has been thrown up as a potential replacement is Guardiola, who has yet to commit to extending his Bayern deal that expires at the end of the season and has also been linked with Manchester City and Manchester United.
The 44-…
Since completing back-to-back Bundesliga titles under Jurgen Klopp in 2011-12, Borussia Dortmund have become a go-to source of star talent for some of Europe s heavyweight clubs.
Ousmane Dembele is set to become the latest big-name departure from Signal Iduna Park after it was announced on Friday an agreement for a €105million move to Barcelona had been reached.
The only positive for BVB is they have not seen him leave for domestic rivals Bayern Munich, who have frequently returned to raid their ranks in recent years.
Here, we look at who Dortmund have lost since their heady days under Klopp, when they departed and how they coped.
2013
Mario Gotze won widespread acclaim for his role in Dortmund s run to an all-German Champions League …
Denmark coach Age Hareide thanked opposite number Martin O Neill after a bold tactical choice backfired to give Christian Eriksen sufficient freedom to score a hat-trick and secure World Cup qualification.
The Danes booked their ticket to Russia with a brilliant 5-1 win in Dublin, Eriksen s treble sandwiched by a Cyrus Christie own goal and Nicklas Bendtner penalty after Shane Duffy had put the hosts into an early lead.
O Neill forewent his usual defensive outlook, particularly in a second half in which his side needed to score twice, but it only served to provide Eriksen enough time and space to cut the Irish to ribbons.
The Tottenham star brought up 11 goals for the qualifying campaign with his exquisite treble although his coach admitted surprise that Eriksen …
Discipline, hard work and dedication.
The three values Japanese culture had been built upon are deeply rooted in the very DNA of this Asian nation. It is thanks to these values in great part that Japanese football has witnessed a notable rise over the past two decades.
As a country referred to as an Asian football powerhouse, Japan has noteworthy results to flaunt in support of such an attribute. Japan has taken part in last six editions of the FIFA World Cup since the tournament in France held in 1998.
Japanese national team even advanced into the second rounds of the competition in 2002 and 2010 which is a clear indication of steady progress achieved over the past 20 years. Japan also finished second in the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup and the Samurai Blue harbour hi…
Prediction: Real Madrid to win 3-0
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Almeria and Real Madrid will face each other in the opening weekend of the new La Liga season. The match will be held at the Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos in Almeria and is scheduled to kick off at 9pm UK time on Sunday.
Almeria
Almeria will play in La Liga this season after winning promotion from the 2021–22 Segunda Division at the end of the last campaign. They won the title in the second division last season after picking up 81 points from 42 matches, level on points with second-placed Real Valladolid, who also finished on 81 points but had an inferior goal difference.
Rubi’s side are expected to fight for survival in La Liga this season, and they have to do it the hard wa…