Cristiano Ronaldo has shown his appreciation for ex-Juventus boss Andrea Pirlo, describing it as an honour to be coached by the former Italy international.
Pirlo s not-so-surprising departure from Juve was confirmed on Friday, just hours before the Serie A club announced the return of Massimiliano Allegri.
The rookie coach s solitary season in the job saw the Bianconeri fail to claim the league title for the first time since 2011, though they did win both the Supercoppa Italiana and Coppa Italia trophies.
They again suffered disappointment in the Champions League, edged out on away goals by Porto at the last-16 stage.
Ronaldo, who scored 29 goals to finish as the leading scorer in Serie A for the 2020-21 campaign, thanked Pirlo via social media.
Overcoming Cristiano Ronaldo is among the main motivations for Czechia ahead of Tuesday s Euro 2024 clash with Portugal, says head coach Ivan Hasek.
Portugal have been touted as serious contenders to lift the trophy on July 14, but they first face group-stage clashes with Czechia, Turkiye and Georgia.
They will once again be captained by Ronaldo, who enters his 11th major tournament as their undisputed first-choice striker after being surprisingly dropped at the 2022 World Cup.
Ronaldo holds the records for most games (25), most goals (14) and joint-most assists on record (six – since 1972) at the Euros, also scoring at a record five separate editions of the tournament.
At World Cups and European Championships, the former Real Madrid and Manchester Uni…
Sunday must have felt like a horror film for Manchester United fans as their team endured perhaps their most humiliating defeat of the Premier League era.
Still, ghoulish goings-on are not uncommon for the Red Devils during the month of October.
Elsewhere, Chelsea s demolition of Norwich City came largely thanks to their English contingent and the in-form Ben Chilwell, who is on the kind of goalscoring run that struggling Spurs could really use.
Read on for more of the stranger Opta facts to emerge from the Premier League weekend
United s Oktober(goal)fest
Plenty of fans would think there must be something spooky going on at Old Trafford if the manager is not under threat of losing his job after the biggest loss to Liverpool in 126 yea…
It s possible that no manager in European football has had a greater transformational effect on a club this century than Diego Simeone has had at Atletico Madrid.
Of course, it s impossible to actually prove/disprove that, but when you consider his eight trophy successes is almost a quarter of all the major silverware the club have ever won, most counterarguments would dissipate.
Yet 2021-22 has been far from smooth, and they could head into Sunday s trip to Villarreal 17 points behind pacesetters Real Madrid, assuming Los Blancos beat Valencia 24 hours earlier.
Part of Atletico s problem is they seem to have lost the defensive solidity that s been a cornerstone of Simeone s tactical plan in his decade at the club.
Sunday s match will be the first since t…
David de Gea hinted he could spend the rest of his career at Manchester United.
De Gea joined United in 2011 from Atletico Madrid, who the Red Devils face in the last 16 of the Champions League, the first leg of which is at the Wanda Metropolitano on Wednesday.
During his time in England, De Gea progressed from a young prospect to one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
While his form over the previous few years appeared to dip, he has seemingly been back to his best in 2021-22.
According to Opta data, only Kepa Arrizabalaga has prevented more goals (10.5) than De Gea (7.9) across all competitions among goalkeepers at Premier League clubs.
Wednesday s clash will be De Gea s first match against Atletico since leaving them over a decade ago, and t…
Best odds: 3/4
Bookmaker:
After their thrilling six-goal encounter with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium last weekend, Tottenham Hotspur will be back in North London to face their city rivals West Ham United in the upcoming Premier League fixture on Thursday night.
West Ham also head into this match following a draw, having secured a point against Crystal Palace in their previous game, which took place at their home ground last Saturday.
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham faced doubts about their ability to compete against Manchester City due to numerous injuries, but Ange Postecoglou s team impressively held their ground and secured a dramatic 3-3 draw last Sunday.
In an eventful match, Son Heung-min surprisingly scored at both ends within the fi…
Market: Aston Villa win
Odds: 4/7 @
Looking to extend on their FA Cup adventure this weekend, Aston Villa will make the trip to Championship outfit Middlesbrough on Saturday evening.
Starting with the hosts, while Middlesbrough might have had their sights set on clinching another play-off ticket this season, Michael Carrick’s side have continued to struggle with their consistency. Now tipped as a real outside contender in the top-six chase, the ex-Manchester United coach will be bracing himself for another stern examination here. Opening 2024 with a nightmare performance at the Riverside as they slumped to a 3-1 drumming at the hands of Coventry, Boro have lost five of their previous eight Championship appearances and they are currently clinging onto their spo…
The latest round of cinch Premiership fixtures kicked off with an Old Firm clash that did not impact the league table but was meaningful nonetheless.
The rest of the games were all significant either in the battle for European places or top-flight survival.
Here are five things we learned from the latest round of action.
Beale gets Celtic monkey off his back
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC)
Although it had no bearing on the title race, Rangers’ 3-0 win over champions Celtic at Ibrox was significant for one person in particular. It was Michael Beale’s first win over the treble-chasing Hoops in five attempts since taking over from Giovanni van Bronckhorst as Gers manager last November and was exactly what he needed to alleviate the pr…
Graham Potter is sure Brighton and Hove Albion remain in great hands after penning an emotional open letter to the club s fanbase following his move to Chelsea.
The 47-year-old replaces Thomas Tuchel as boss at Stamford Bridge, with the clubs new owners – led by Todd Boehly – opting to make a change after an indifferent start to the season.
Chelsea have won three, lost two and drawn one from six Premier League games, while their Champions League campaign started with a shock 1-0 loss at Dinamo Zagreb.
Potter quickly emerged as favourite and was appointed to the role on Thursday, although his first match in charge was delayed after Premier League fixtures were postponed this weekend as a mark of respect following the death of the Queen.
On Sunday, Brig…
Premier League data dive: Chelsea´s poor start continues at Southampton, Mitrovic scores again to do
Chelsea continued their frustrating start to the Premier League season with a disappointing loss at Southampton – which had previously been a happy hunting ground.
The Blues took an early lead but could not hold off a Southampton comeback, leaving Thomas Tuchel s side with just two wins from their opening five league games.
Brighton and Hove Albion s unbeaten start came to an end against Fulham at Craven Cottage, Crystal Palace conceded a late equaliser against Brentford, while Leeds United and Everton shared the spoils in a fiery 1-1 draw at Elland Road.
Here, Stats Perform unpacks the pick of the data from Tuesday s fixtures in the English top flight.
Which team impressed you the most this evening?
— Premier League (@premierleague)