Market: Osasuna win
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Hoping to claim back-to-back La Liga victories this weekend, Osasuna will welcome Cadiz to the El Sadar on Saturday afternoon.
Starting with the hosts, while Osasuna might have opened the 2022/23 campaign with a tough test at the El Sadar, Los Rojillos put in a stellar display. Laying down what was a shock marker on home soil, Head Coach Jagoba Arrasate saw his side claim a thrilling 2-1 victory against Sevilla last weekend. Impressing almost everyone across Spain last season as they pinched a top-half finish, the Navarre-based outfit have also enjoyed an eye-catching summer run. Along with a 2-1 victory away at Dutch side Feyenoord last month, Osasuna won each of their final three pre-season matchups. With it looking like the moo…
Paulo Dybala believes Juventus are on the same level as Real Madrid and Barcelona, with only bad luck preventing the Turin outfit from winning the Champions League in recent seasons.
Juve have been dominant in Serie A of late, scooping the Scudetto in each of the last five campaigns.
Massimiliano Allegri s men are also two-time defending champions of the Coppa Italia, but are yet to turn their domestic purple patch into continental glory.
Champions League runners-up to Barca in 2014-15, Juve were beaten by Bayern Munich in extra time in last season s round of 16.
But Dybala is confident the club can count themselves among Europe s elite.
Juventus are a great team, exactly like Real, Bayern Munich and Barcelona, he told Gazzetta dello Sport. <…
Napoli have claimed the club s head coach and players will not speak to the press after late kick-offs away from home this season.
Last season s Serie A runners-up came two goals down to draw 2-2 at Pescara in the opening game of their Serie A campaign on Sunday, thanks to a Dries Mertens double in the space of three minutes just past the hour mark.
However, Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri did not address journalists after the final whistle.
Napoli went long periods of 2015-16 without fulfilling their media duties, but the club has claimed Sarri s latest failure to attend a post-match news conference was prearranged.
Napoli did not enact any press silence yesterday, the club posted via its official Twitter account.
In fact, [Marek] Hamsik release…
Chelsea forward Patrick Bamford will enjoy a second loan spell in the Championship after joining Middlesbrough until January 1.
The England Under-21 forward spent the second half of last season on loan at Derby County, scoring eight goals in 14 starts and nine substitute appearances.
Prior to that temporary stint away from Stamford Bridge, Bamford who joined Chelsea from Nottingham Forest in 2012 had enjoyed productive periods as a loanee at MK Dons.
And the 20-year-old will now get the opportunity to gain further first-team experience with Aitor Karanka s Middlesbrough.
It s taken a while but I m glad to finally be here, Bamford told Middlesbrough s official website.
I had a chat with Aitor about 10 days ago, but there was a hold up in the pape…
Real interest in Verratti confirmed
Real Madrid have attempted to sign Italian midfielder Marco Verratti from Paris Saint-Germain, the player s agent has revealed.
Los Blancos were believed to be hot on the trail of the Italy international, but they ultimately failed to lure him to Santiago Bernabeu, signing Toni Kroos instead.
Nevertheless, Verratti s official representative has confirmed that Real Madrid wanted to sign his client this summer.
“Did Real Madrid attempt to recruit Marco Verratti this summer? You could say that,” agent Donato Di Campli told Sky Sport Italia.
“But, if there is no agreement with the club, we do nothing. Therefore, Marco remained in Paris.”
Marco Verratti, 21, has largely impressed since joining the Saints…
Manchester United s world player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo had to settle for second best on Wednesday as Lionel Messi scored in Barcelona s 2-0 win to claim the Champions League title.
Ronaldo, voted the 2008 world player of the year with Messi as runner-up, had said he wanted to score a goal in Rome, but it was the 21-year-old magician Messi who netted Barcelona s second after Samuel Eto o scored the first after 10 minutes.
With Barcelona in control, Messi got onto a cross from midfielder Xavi Hernandez to head past United goalkeeper Edwin van der Saar on 70 minutes to take the title back to Spain with his ninth goal of the campaign.
The 21-year-old was breath-taking here as Barcelona ended United s dream of becoming the first team to defend the Champions L…
Italy coach Cesare Prandelli has branded Fiorentina s good start to the Serie A season as a revelation .
Prandelli was in charge of the Tuscany side from 2005 until 2010, and is pleased with the Viola s current third-place position on the league table.
The 55-year old believes that they can build on their recent fortunes and can push on to achieve great things this campaign.
(Vicenzo) Montella s team have been the revelation of the season, Prandelli told Gazzetta.it.
I do not like to speak about specific clubs because I do not want to disturb anyone, but I can say that Fiorentina can go far this season.
Prandelli was also asked about the possibility of Lazio goalkeeper Federico Marchetti who performed excellently for the Biancocelesti on Satur…
Stefano Pioli was left frustrated by Milan s 0-0 draw with Empoli, believing it showed a return to normality after their 4-0 win at Serie A leaders Napoli previously.
The Rossoneri were held to a stalemate by the visitors to San Siro on Friday, missing the chance to consolidate their top-four spot after Inter had also drawn at Salernitana.
Having stunned the runaway title favourites Napoli 4-0 on their own patch last Sunday, Milan could not find the net this time despite having 23 shots, though only four were on target.
Pioli felt his side did all they could, but also suggested their performance reflected an anticipated comedown of sorts.
It s not the result we wanted, he told Sky Sport Italia. We had to do better in the first half. We played with great …
Tottenham Hotspur beat Brighton and Hove Albion by 2-1 on Saturday in the Premier League. Harry Kane was unsurprisingly the player that scored the winning goal for his team, but a few minutes before that, as the PGMOL later admitted, the VAR made a mistake by not awarding a penalty to Brighton for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg stepping on the foot of Kaoru Mitoma.
Spurs caretaker boss Christian Stellini was unfazed by the incident, however, saying that his team has had to accept VAR calls with which they disagreed many times.
Many times we had to accept what VAR said.
Cristian Stellini shares his thoughts on VAR
— Football Daily (@footballdaily)
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Manchester City have loaned United States goalkeeper Zack Steffen to Fortuna Dusseldorf for the duration of the 2019-20 campaign.
Steffen was signed by the Premier League champions in December but remained on loan with Columbus Crew for the first half of the Major League Soccer season.
He made his 84th and final appearances for Columbus in last month s 2-2 draw with New York City FC and is now heading back to Germany with Dusseldorf, having previously played 14 times for Freiburg s reserve team at the start of his career.
I m really looking forward to returning to Germany and becoming part of such a traditional club, he told his new side s official website.
Hier möchte jemand ein paar Worte an Euch richten
— Fortuna Düsseldorf (@f95)
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