Liverpool scout Sociedad starlets; Barcelona join race for Rojo

Liverpool scout Sociedad starlets

that Liverpool have made a check on Real Sociedad starlets Antoine Griezmann and Inigo Martinez.

Having secured Champions League qualification, the Reds are looking to improve the strength in depth and it seems they will be doing some shopping in Spain.

According to Daily Mail, Liverpool had scouts present at Monday s game between Real Sociedad and Granada.

And while the Reds made a check on their own player Tiago Ilori, they were also looking at La Real stars Antoine Griezmann and Inigo Martinez.

The French winger has been in scintillating form this season, bagging 16 goals in 33 league outings and he is widely tipped to leave Anoeta for greener pastures in the summer.

Meanwhile, his teammate Inigo Mart…

BATE 0 Porto 3: Belarusians knocked out but go into the record books

Porto ended BATE s hopes of UEFA Champions League progression with a 3-0 win which also consigned the hosts to an unwanted record.

After a first half desperately low on class, Mexico midfielder Hector Herrera lashed Porto into a 56th-minute lead with a stunning goal.

That sparked the Portuguese outfit into action and they were soon two goals to the good, as Jackson Martinez swept his sixth goal of this season s competition home before substitute Cristian Tello netted a late third.

Barcelona loanee Tello s effort left BATE further red faced as they claimed a share of an unwanted Champions League record.

BATE have now conceded 22 goals in their five Group H games this season equalling the record shared by Dinamo Zagreb and Nordsjaelland, with Athl…

Arsenal 1 Manchester United 3: Sanchez helps down old club as Solskjaer streak continues

Alexis Sanchez scored on his return to Arsenal in a 3-1 victory for Manchester United in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

United were not at their best but quickfire goals in the first half from Sanchez and Jesse Lingard, both of which were set up by Romelu Lukaku, gave them a 2-0 lead at the Emirates Stadium on Friday.

Arsenal hit back through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang but could not find a way to beat David de Gea s deputy Sergio Romero again, with Anthony Martial s late third wrapping it up for United.

Victory for United means they have won eight games out of eight in all competitions under Solskjaer, while opposite number Unai Emery will rue injuries to defenders Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Laurent Koscielny.

That pass 
That finish 

Hands…

UEFA should punish PSG and Man City, says LaLiga chief

LaLiga president Javier Tebas has accused Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City of cheating and called for the Ligue 1 giants to be banned from the Champions League.

PSG and City both found their financial practices under the microscope earlier this month following a series of articles by Der Spiegel and MediaPart, drawing on documents purportedly obtained by whistleblowers Football Leaks that claimed each club had broken rules by attempting to circumvent UEFA s Financial Fair Play (FFP) laws.

Premier League champions City declined to comment on the allegations, adding that the attempt to damage the club s reputation is organised and clear .

PSG maintained that they have always acted in absolute compliance with the laws and regulations issued by sports instit…

Simeone reflects on Atleti´s ´most difficult´ season after crucial Sevilla win

Diego Simeone believes this LaLiga campaign has been his toughest at Atletico Madrid, but the team now looks set to secure Champions League qualification again.

Since becoming Atleti coach in 2011, Simeone has overseen a title triumph and two runs to the Champions League final, but his side have had to fight hard for a place in the top four this term.

After a 3-1 win over title-chasing Sevilla on Sunday, Atleti are seven points clear of fifth-placed Villarreal, prompting Simeone to reflect on a demanding campaign.

We can talk about ourselves because we had a really tough end of the last season I have always said that, he told a post-match news conference.

I think this season is the most difficult since I have been here at the club. We have had so many i…

PSG eye Dybala as potential Neymar replacement

Ever since he left Barcelona to join Paris Saint-Germain for a world-record transfer fee in 2017, the media in Spain have been creating a whirl of rumours about his alleged desire to return. in particular have been very active on that front, and this time they ve gone as far as claiming the Ligue 1 champions sporting director Leonardo has already started working on a list of potential replacements for the Brazilian star. It seems they would rather part ways with Neymar than Kylian Mbappe.

And apparently, the latest name on that list is Paulo Dybala of Juventus. The Argentinian has often been mentioned on the subject of potential departures from Turin since they acquired the services of Cristiano Ronaldo in 2018. However, the pair of them have already shown, on more than one oc…

Manchester United move was never on the cards for Fabinho

Liverpool new boy Fabinho insists he was never close to joining the Reds fierce Premier League rivals Manchester United.

The 24-year-old was a reported target for the Red Devils ahead of the 2017-18 season after helping Monaco to a shock Ligue 1 title and the Champions Leagues semi-finals the campaign before.

However, a move to Old Trafford never materialised, despite Fabinho saying he would be interested in a switch, and Liverpool swooped for his services shortly after losing the Champions League final to Real Madrid.

Fabinho, who cost the Reds a reported £43.7million, concedes that discussions were held but that moving to United was never truly on the cards.

In an interview with FourFourTwo magazine, he said: I was never close to signing for Manchester…

Coyle takes over at Houston Dynamo

Owen Coyle has been appointed as the new coach of MLS side Houston Dynamo.

The former Burnley, Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic boss takes over from Dominic Kinnear, whose spell in charge of the Texas franchise came to an end at the conclusion of this past season.

Kinnear could only lead the Dynamo to an eighth-placed finish in the Eastern Conference in his final campaign in charge and will now take over at the San Jose Earthquakes.

The task of turning around the fortunes of the two-time MLS Cup champions has been handed to Coyle, who guided Burnley to promotion to Premier League in 2009 and took Bolton to the FA Cup semi-finals in 2011.

And the Scot – out of football since his departure from Wigan in December last year is relishing the challenge of …

Atletico confirm Morata

Atletico Madrid have the signing of Alvaro Morata from Chelsea.

The striker, who fell completely out of favor with Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri, will move to Wanda Metropolitano on an 18-month loan, as the two clubs agreed.

Morata spent four seasons at Atletico s academy under the name Alevin , and during that time he played alongside Koke, and the La Liga side happily point out that the pair of them will now be reunited in the first team.

The Spanish international, however, made his name across town playing for Real Madrid for which he signed his first professional contract, before moving to Juventus in 2014. Real exercised their buy-back option two years later and sold them to Chelsea after a season of having him back. It s fair to say he didn t impress for…

Hazard is second only to Messi – Rudiger

Antonio Rudiger believes only Lionel Messi is better than Chelsea team-mate Eden Hazard in world football.

Hazard has been Chelsea s star man since arriving from Lille in 2012, but he has failed to challenge dominant duo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for the Ballon d Or.

However, despite Ronaldo s current monopolisation of the award, Germany s Rudiger ranks Messi as the world s best and claims Hazard is his nearest challenger.

Asked about the task of handling France forward Kylian Mbappe in the Nations League, Rudiger replied: Mbappe is unbelievably fast, really good. To stop him, you have to do it as a team, because alone good luck!

But for me, the best in the world is Messi, then Hazard.

And the Chelsea defender credits Hazard s strong start to …