Bayern make Zidane contact

Wales captain Gareth Bale is right where he wants to be ahead of leading his country into their second ever World Cup campaign.

Rob Page s team face the United States on Monday in what is Wales first World Cup match since a quarter-final loss to Brazil in 1958.

Brazil great Pele scored his first goal for the Selecao in that match, becoming the competition s youngest goalscorer (17 years and 239 days) – a record that stands heading into the 2022 edition of the tournament.

Bale comes into the World Cup on the back of coming off the bench to net Los Angeles FC s extra-time equaliser in the MLS Cup, which finished 3-3 against the Philadelphia Union, with LAFC winning on penalties.

After that match in October, the former Real Madrid forward revealed he was s…

If Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich are to overcome second-place RB Leipzig at the Allianz Arena on Saturday, they will need to get the better of a player that could well be lining up for them next season.

Dayot Upamecano has become one of Europe s most sought-after defenders following a string of dominant displays in the German top flight and the Champions League.

With Bayern s centre-back pairing of David Alaba and Jerome Boateng expected to leave at the end of the season, Hansi Flick has been heavily tipped to pay the reported €42m release clause in Upamecano s contract to bring him to Bavaria.

Ahead of what many are billing as the 22-year-old s audition over the weekend, we use Opta data to see if Upamecano would be an upgrade on Bayern s experienced centra…

I can rule it out. I like Andreas as a player; I’ve always liked him. I used to train with him and saw the talent coming through.  

I want Andreas to be the best he can be. When you see the height, the athleticism and the quality on the ball. The reality is we have competition at centre-back here.  

I have to choose on what I see and generally two of them won’t be happy.  

Those are the words of Chelsea manager Frank Lampard who has made it crystal clear that he does not want to see Andreas Christensen leave the club, and that in his mind, he isn’t going to do so. 

AC Milan are contemplating a move for the defender but nothing has been ironed out as of yet, and while there has often been a lot of speculation over Andreas’ future, he does…

Until now, Napoli have pretty much risen to every challenge this season as they aim to win the Scudetto for the first time since 1990.

They sit top of the Serie A table after 10 games and are one of just two teams to not lose a game, with Luciano Spalletti s men already beating Lazio and Milan away from home.

While their past three league games – wins over Torino, Cremonese and Bologna – would have always been expected to yield Napoli victories, a slightly trickier run begins this weekend.

Before the break for the World Cup, Napoli still have to face Rangers and Liverpool in the Champions League, plus high-flying Udinese, second-placed Atalanta, Sassuolo and, first up, Jose Mourinho s in-form Roma in Serie A.

Sunday s trip to the capital poses a real …

Arsenal are willing to sell Granit Xhaka in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that the Switzerland international midfielder is among six players that the Gunners could cash in on at the end of the season.

Xhaka has been on the books of Arsenal since 2016 when he joined from German club Borussia Moenchengladbach. The 30-year-old has been superb for the Gunners over the years and is now one of the first names in the first team in manager Mikel Arteta’s first team.

The 30-year-old has scored three goals and given five assists in 25 Premier League appearances for Arsenal so far this season. Xhaka has scored one goal in five UEFA Europa League for the North London club so far this campaign. Arsenal are at the top of the Premier League table …

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The race for the top four spots in the Serie A, which all warrant a place in the Champions League next term, is heating up by the week. On Friday evening, AC Milan will have to do whatever they can not to lose any ground when they take the trip to Udine, to face Udinese at the Stadio Friuli. The match will be played within round 27 of the Italian top flight.

Udinese

Udinese might ve hoped to be involved in this race in the early stages of the campaign, when their form had them very close to the top for a while. However, things in such surroundings got a bit too hot for them at one point, and they quickly slid down to the middle ranges of the table.

At the moment, Andrea Sottil s team are in 11th place with 35 points, with a c…

Jack Grealish could be available for Manchester City’s clash with Sheffield United on Saturday after nobody was harmed during a burglary at his house.

Raiders targeted the England midfielder’s Cheshire home while he was playing for treble winners City at Everton on Wednesday night.

Members of his family and his fiancee, Sasha Atwood, were at the property at the time when they heard a disturbance and raised the alarm.

It has been reported the thieves made off with £1million worth of jewellery and watches and police are now investigating.

A spokeswoman for Cheshire Constabulary said: “At around 9.50pm on Wednesday 27 December police were called to reports of a burglary. The caller reported that a number of items had been stolen.”

City manag…

Former Manchester United winger and Wales manager Ryan Giggs is “relieved” at being cleared of domestic violence allegations made by his ex-girlfriend after charges were dropped.

Kate Greville told police and lawyers she did not want to go through the ordeal of a second trial after jurors failed to reach verdicts in the high-profile first trial last year, Manchester Crown Court heard.

Giggs, 49, was not in court on Tuesday as lawyers said there was no longer any realistic prospect of conviction and it was not in the public interest for Giggs to go on trial for a second time over allegations made by Greville and her sister Emma.

Peter Wright KC, prosecuting, offered no evidence against Giggs at the 20-minute hearing as the allegations were formally dropped.