Luis Suarez was the hero as LaLiga leaders Atletico Madrid overcame Eibar 2-1 thanks to the Uruguay striker s late penalty.
Suarez had struck his 10th league goal of the season in the 40th minute of Thursday s contest, restoring parity after Eibar had taken an early lead through an unlikely source.
With Yannick Carrasco penalised for bundling into Yoshinori Muto, it was Eibar goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic who confidently converted the resultant spot-kick.
Yet Dmitrovic could not save a penalty at the other end, Suarez chipping home to secure a somewhat undeserved victory after he was felled needlessly by Anaitz Arbilla.
For a player who had never previously scored a senior goal, Dmitrovic showed little hesitation in grabbing the ball after Carrasco was…
Romelu Lukaku has power like NBA great Shaquille O Neal, according to his Inter team-mate Nicolo Barella.
Inter are just three points adrift of city rivals Milan at the top of Serie A ahead of a key week that sees them face Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia and champions Juventus in the league.
Lukaku has made an impressive impact at San Siro since joining from Manchester United in 2019.
He scored 34 times in all competitions last season and has already racked up 16 goals in 2020-21.
The Belgium international s 12 league strikes this season are second only to another former United star, Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo (15).
Barella has relished the chance to play alongside Lukaku with Inter.
He has physical power like Shaquil…
Serious reflection is needed at Bayern Munich after Niko Kovac was sacked as head coach, says Joshua Kimmich.
Bayern parted company with Kovac, who led the club to a Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double in 2018-19, following a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday, their heaviest top-flight defeat since April 2009.
Hansi Flick will take the reins for Wednesday s Champions League home meeting with Olympiacos and the visit of Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, with president Uli Hoeness hoping to have a clear idea on how the team will proceed by the end of the international break.
Bayern sit fourth in the Bundesliga, four points adrift of leaders Borussia Monchengladbach, but can book a place in the last 16 of the Champions League by defeating Olympi…
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes Marcus Rashford can reach the level of superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.
Rashford continued his excellent form to start the season with another goal in United s stunning 2-1 derby win at Premier League champions Manchester City on Saturday.
The 22-year-old United and England star has scored 13 goals this term – 10 of those coming in the Premier League.
And Solskjaer backed Rashford to emulate five-time Ballon d Or winner Ronaldo, who claimed three Premier League titles and the Champions League with United before leaving for Real Madrid in 2009.
Sorted,
— Manchester United (@ManUtd)
It s very easy to compare the two of them, yeah, said United boss Solskjaer. Both with skills, bo…
After knocking Ajax out of the Champions League, Benfica’s Alex Grimaldo revealed Rui Costa provided timely pre-match motivation.
Tuesday’s hard-fought 1-0 win in Amsterdam put Benfica through 3-2 on aggregate, and the majority of the match saw Benfica defensively scrambling and scrapping.
It was only the club’s second win in the last 15 away matches in the Champions League, the other being a 3-2 win over AEK Athens in the 2018-19 group stage.
The influential Grimaldo embodied the team’s determination on an individual level, playing a full 90 minutes and seeing the result through despite multiple medical treatments.
The 26-year-old revealed the team received ample motivation beforehand from Rui Costa, the legendary former Benfica player and sporti…
Kylian Mbappe has been urged to consider leaving Paris Saint-Germain by Nicolas Anelka if he wants to have the same global impact as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
The 22-year-old has spent the past four seasons in the French capital but is out of contract in 2022 and has been strongly linked with Real Madrid, while Liverpool are also rumoured to be interested.
Former Monaco forward Mbappe raised further questions over his future when revealing last month he is unsure whether the Parc des Princes is the best place for him.
Those comments were made on the back of a disappointing 2020-21 campaign for PSG in which they failed to defend their Ligue 1 title and exited the Champions League in the semi-finals, though they did win the Coupe de France and Trophee de…
Steven Naismith was delighted to banish Hearts’ “incredible” wait of almost two years to record three consecutive league wins.
The Jambos eked out a 1-0 victory at home to St Johnstone, following up the triumphs over Motherwell and Livingston prior to the international break.
It is the first time that they have managed to collected nine points from a possible nine since they defeated Dundee and Ross County in December 2021 and then St Johnstone the following month, and now Naismith wants his team to maintain the consistency.
“A stat which I worked out earlier in the week which is incredible is that we hadn’t won three league games in a row since January 2022,” he said. “It’s an incredible stat for a club like Hearts.
“We have done that t…
As we head into the decisive matchdays in the Premier League season, match-winners will become worth their weight in gold to all 20 sides in the division.
With that in mind, our latest suggestions for fantasy football enthusiasts include a good number of forwards who will be expected to chip in with goals.
There are also two of the league s most in-form defenders and a goalkeeper who might just have won himself the number one spot.
Our tips for this week – powered by Opta, as always – are below
DEAN HENDERSON
Since taking over Premier League duties while David de Gea was in Spain for the birth of his daughter, Dean Henderson has made it clear he does not intend to relinquish the Manchester United starting spot.
The former Sheffi…
Former English Football League chief executive Shaun Harvey has been appointed as a director at Wrexham, the League Two club have announced.
Harvey, who has also held senior roles at Leeds and Bradford, had been an advisor at the Welsh club since their takeover by actors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds in February 2021.
Executive director Humphrey Ker said: “Shaun has been at the heart of everything the club has achieved since the takeover, and his elevation to the board is both a recognition of his contributions and a formalisation of the role he has fulfilled for the last few years.”
…
Mikel Arteta insists he will continue to speak freely on refereeing decisions despite being handed a Football Association charge for comments he made after Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat at Newcastle.
The Gunners boss labelled VAR’s decision to not overturn Anthony Gordon’s 64th minute winner “an absolute disgrace”.
Arteta, who said that he has submitted observations he made during the match to the FA, highlighted the importance of freedom of speech and believes communication is key if the standards of refereeing are to improve.
He said: “I am going to speak (in the future). I think you have to be yourself and as a leader you have to be authentic. You can not be someone you are not and this is who I am.
London Colney
— Arsenal (@Arsenal)