Jordi Alba is determined to stay at Barcelona until his contract expires in 2024 and hopes he could still be reunited with Lionel Messi at Camp Nou.

Spain left-back Alba has his focus on World Cup duties for the coming weeks, believing La Roja are well-placed to challenge in Qatar, with a first game against Costa Rica coming up on Wednesday.

At the end of the last transfer window, Alba was linked with a shock move to Italian giants Inter, but he said in an interview with Cadena Ser that nobody told me anything about that prospect.

My intention is to stay until the end of my contract because I think I can help; when I don t, I ll be the first to go, said the 33-year-old, a five-time LaLiga winner with Barcelona.

I ve improved and people who know realise …

Arsenal took advantage of Manchester City again failing to win a New Year s Eve game as the Gunners stormed seven points clear at the top of the Premier League.

A 4-2 win at Brighton and Hove Albion did the job for Arsenal after Pep Guardiola s men were held 1-1 at home by Everton, meaning City remain winless in all five of their Premier League games played on December 31, drawing four and losing one.

Third-placed Newcastle United also took a stumble, drawing 0-0 at home against Leeds United in what was a league-high fourth goalless stalemate for the Magpies this season.

Elsewhere, Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse became the fifth player to score an own goal and a direct free-kick in a Premier League game and the first since Gareth Bale for Tottenham against…

Bayern Munich will evaluate Leroy Sane s recovery from a serious knee injury before deciding whether to make another move for him, according to club president Uli Hoeness.

Manchester City star Sane was heavily linked with a switch to Bayern in pre-season, with coach Niko Kovac going as far as saying he was very confident the winger would join.

Anterior cruciate ligament damage suffered in the Community Shield clash with Liverpool in August ruled the Germany international out for up to seven months and scuppered the Bavarians hopes of signing him.

But Bayern are not necessarily giving up on the 23-year-old, though any potential deal in 2020 will depend on his rehabilitation.

We were very interested in him, Hoeness, who will leave his role as Bayern presid…

Gareth Southgate says England are ready to fight for European Championship glory having progressed from what he believes was the toughest qualifying group with two matches to spare.

After bouncing back from December’s World Cup quarter-final exit to France by winning in Naples in March, three further wins and a draw away to Ukraine put the Euro 2020 runners-up within touching distance of progress.

Unbeaten England only needed a point against Italy to wrap up qualification for next year’s finals in Germany but went on to secure all three thanks to an impressive 3-1 comeback victory at a sold-out Wembley.

qualification: secured

The are heading to Germany next summer!

— England (@England)

“Really pleased to win the game tonight,�…

Real Madrid returned to the LaLiga summit after coming from behind to beat Mallorca 4-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The hosts fell behind as the in-form Vedat Muriqi headed Mallorca into the lead, but Federico Valverde equalised before half-time with a marvellous individual effort.

Carlo Ancelotti s side completed the turnaround 18 minutes from time with Vinicius Junior finding the net for a fourth successive LaLiga game, before another impressive solo goal from Rodrygo and Antonio Rudiger s first strike for the club late on tied things up.

Los Blancos remain the only team in the big five European leagues to boast a 100 per cent record this season, having won their opening five league matches for the first time since 2009-10.

Mallorca had not won at Mad…

According to Fabrizio Romano, Alvaro Morata is on the verge of joining AC Milan from Atletico Madrid, after earning European glory with Spain.

The Rossoneri have apparently informed the La Liga side of their intention to trigger the €13 million release clause in his contract, which means the Rojiblancos are unable to do anything to prevent the experienced striker from leaving for San Siro. Morata has agreed a four-year contract with Milan, and all that s now left before the official confirmation of the transfer is for the 31-year-old to undergo a medical and the documents to be signed.

Morata became a professional player at Real Madrid, and he played for Juventus and Chelsea before joining Atletico, initially on loan, in 2019. A year later, his transfer to the Wanda M…

Lorenzo Pellegrini and Nicolo Barella were on target as holders Italy continued their Euro 2024 build-up with a 2-0 victory over Ecuador in New Jersey.

The goals came at the beginning and end of the friendly at the Red Bull Arena with Pellegrini opening the scoring with a ferocious strike after just three minutes.

Ecuador enjoyed a spell of pressure in the second half but failed to take advantage and Barella sealed the win with a fine lobbed finish in time added on.

Italy coach Luciano Spalletti changed his entire XI from Thursday’s game against Venezuela with goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and defender Raoul Bellanova making their debuts.

The Azzurri were quick out of the blocks and won an early free-kick outside the Ecuador area after Alan Franco fouled…

Four days after Wales did them a favour in Euro 2012 qualifying, England will be keen to inflict some pain on Gary Speed s men at Wembley.

Wales upset 2-1 win over Montenegro in Cardiff on Friday went a long way toward securing England s place in Poland and the Ukraine next year.

That result, coupled with England s comfortable 3-0 victory over Bulgaria in Sofia, handed Fabio Capello s men a three-point buffer on top of the Group G standings, and a win over Wales on Tuesday could all but wrap up qualification.

But after Wales, England s final game is a tricky trip to Podgorica to play Montenegro, meaning they cannot afford to slip at Wembley.

In March, England cruised to a 2-0 win in Cardiff when a Frank Lampard penalty and a Darren Bent goal inside the f…

Troy Parrott proved the last-gasp hero as Ireland stole a 2-1 friendly victory over Hungary, who suffered a blow less than two weeks before their Euro 2024 campaign starts.

Adam Idah opened the scoring in the first half at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, only for Adam Lang to level for the visitors four minutes later.

Yet Marco Rossi s team, who face Switzerland in their Euros opener on June 15, fell to late defeat as Parrott delivered a 92nd-minute winner for the home side.

That late strike ended Hungary’s 14-match unbeaten run (W9 D5) since losing 2-0 to Italy in a Nations League match back in September 2022.

Rossi may not be too concerned as that run was their longest undefeated streak since an 18-match streak between September 1954 and November 1955.

Best odds: 14/5

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The FA Cup encounter between Arsenal and Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium promises to be an exciting one, offering a break from the Premier League title race for both teams.

Arsenal faced a setback in their last match of 2023, succumbing to a 2-1 defeat against Fulham. Meanwhile, Liverpool continued their impressive run into the new year by securing a 4-2 victory over Newcastle United, strengthening their lead at the top of the Premier League table.

Arsenal

Arsenal s recent form has been inconsistent, with a noticeable struggle in both defensive solidity and attacking prowess. Mikel Arteta s side faced a disappointing defeat against West Ham, followed by another loss against Fulham, highlighting concerns about their overall p…