Thomas Vermaelen has urged Barcelona not to underestimate his former Arsenal team-mates when the sides conclude their Champions League last-16 tie at Camp Nou on Wednesday.
Holders Barca secured a 2-0 advantage during the closing stages of a keenly contested match at Emirates Stadium three weeks ago, with Lionel Messi netting a late brace.
Luis Enrique s men are chasing their 10th consecutive home win in Europe s premier competition but, despite the fact Arsenal appear to be on course to once again miss out on a quarter-final berth they were last able to claim in 2010, Vermaelen is taking nothing for granted.
It won t be an easy game at all, the Belgium defender, who swapped north London for Catalonia in August 2014, told Barcelona s official website.
…
Mohamed Salah headlined Liverpool s initial 28-man squad for their pre-season tour of the United States as Arne Slot continues his preparations for the upcoming campaign.
Salah, who scored 25 goals in 44 appearances in all competitions last season, chose not to feature for Egypt at the Paris Olympics in order to be ready for the new season.
Harvey Elliott, Curtis Jones, and Jarell Quansah are among the other notable names included, having made 74 Premier League appearances under Jurgen Klopp last term.
Liverpool will be without the majority of their representatives from the recent European Championship and Copa America, with 11 of their key men on an extended break.
Only Dominik Szoboszlai, Andy Robertson and Vitezslav Jaros have returned from their post-…
Bobby Zamora hailed Jude Bellingham s talents as mind blowing and believes the 20-year-old can star for England for many years to come.
Bellingham s meteoric rise has seen him come through the ranks at boyhood club Birmingham City before signing for Borussia Dortmund at just 17. His performances in the Bundesliga and Champions League caught the interest of Europe s elite, and Real Madrid swooped in to acquire his signature for an initial €101million (£88.5m) before this season.
Bellingham has enjoyed a staggering start to life with the Spanish giants, scoring 10 goals in 11 LaLiga matches so far, more than legendary midfielder Zinedine Zidane ever managed in a single campaign for the club.
Zamora has lauded Bellingham for his incredible performances at such a …
Former Spain and Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas claims he was hacked after a tweet from his Twitter account said he had come out as gay.
A post attributed to the 41-year-old on Sunday said: I hope you respect me: I m gay.
The tweet had a seismic impact on social media but suspicions over the validity of the message quickly emerged when an account in the name of his former Spain team-mate Carles Puyol replied 10 minutes later saying it was time for them to tell our story , followed by kissing and love-heart emojis.
Both tweets rapidly went viral, before Spanish publication Diario AS claimed it was a response to show how Casillas was fed up with the rumours about a potential relationship with actress Alejandra Onieva.
Each message was eventually dele…
Jude Bellingham scored on his return to action as Real Madrid beat lowly Cadiz 3-0 to move to the top of LaLiga.
Bellingham had missed the last two games for Los Blancos after suffering a shoulder injury in the 0-0 draw with Rayo Vallecano which also saw him ruled out on England’s Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia.
But the 20-year-old looked back to his best as he scored for the 11th time in 12 league appearances this season after being set up by Rodrygo, whose earlier brace had set the away side on their way to an impressive win.
0-3 14 64 74 |
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden)
Real went close to taking the lead in the third minute when Dani Carvajal’s attempted cross took a big deflection and almost caught o…
After a number of false dawns since Alex Ferguson s retirement from coaching, Manchester United are reportedly looking to make a splash with Erik ten Hag.
West Ham s Declan Rice has emerged as one of Europe s premier defensive midfielders and is seen as a key piece in a potential rebuild.
According to reports, this off-season might be the time West Ham and Rice s representatives look to cash in.
TOP STORY – UNITED TO MAKE RECORD PLAY FOR RICE
Manchester United are ready to break their transfer record and make him a marquee signing under new boss Erik ten Hag, according to 90Min.
It is understood West Ham made an offer to extend Rice s contract last year, but ultimately, the Hammers would be unable to compete with likely wage offers …
Aston Villa 1-2 Manchester City: Foden and Rodri edge Guardiola´s side closer to Premier League titl
Manchester City moved closer to the Premier League title with a 2-1 win over Aston Villa in their first match since the remarkable European Super League fiasco.
City were among 12 elite clubs signed up to play in a controversial new continental competition until its spectacular collapse on Tuesday.
They appeared to be suffering a hangover from the affair as John McGinn gave Villa the lead inside the first minute, though the impressive Phil Foden and Rodri ensured Pep Guardiola s men went in at the interval ahead.
City s hopes of victory appeared to suffer a blow when John Stones was dismissed before half-time, but Matty Cash saw red before the hour to level things up as the leaders sealed a win that moved them 11 points clear of Manchester United, hav…
Zlatan Ibrahimovic will not be re-joining AC Milan in January after keeping his word about a renewal at LA Galaxy, the Serie A club s sporting director Leonardo has confirmed.
Ibrahimovic enjoyed two years at Milan from 2010, initially joining on loan from Barcelona before eventually signing a permanent deal.
The Swede was a revelation in his one season as a Milan-owned player, scoring 28 times in 32 Serie A games.
Now 37, Ibrahimovic had been linked with a return to Milan having made a strong impact in MLS.
But Milan will have to consider other options, as Leonardo understands Ibrahimovic has opted to remain with the Galaxy.
Ibrahimovic won t be returning to Milan, Leonardo told Sky Sport Italia. He gave his word to LA Galaxy that he would rene…
San Marino scored their first home goal in six years – and their first of any kind since 2017 – in Saturday s 3-1 Euro 2020 qualifying defeat to Kazakhstan.
Placed 209th in the latest FIFA rankings, joint-bottom with Anguilla, San Marino s run without a goal on home soil stretched back 20 matches since a 5-1 loss against Poland in September 2013.
They had also failed to find the net home or away since Mirko Palazzi s consolation goal in a 5-1 reverse at the hands of Azerbaijan 26 months ago, suffering 9-0 defeats to Russia and Belgium and an 8-0 loss to Norway during that streak.
Those barren goalscoring runs ended in the qualifying clash with Kazakhstan in Serravalle thanks to Filippo Berardi s second-half strike.
…
Kenny Dalglish will manage a team of Liverpool legends in a charity match against former AC Milan stars next month.
Reds great Dalglish made 515 appearances for the club between 1977 and 1990, scoring 172 goals, and enjoyed two spells as manager, first between 1985 and 1991 and then again between 2011 and 2012.
He lifted six league titles and three European Cups as a Liverpool player, before winning the top flight three times while in the dugout.
Proceeds from the game against Milan Glorie, which will be played at Anfield on March 23, will go to the LFC Foundation and AC Milan s official charity, Fondazione Milan.
Players confirmed to appear include Kaka, Andrea Pirlo, Paolo Maldini, Robbie Fowler and Steve McManaman.
I certainly didn t expect to…