Jurgen Klopp is not surprised at all by Ilkay Gundogan s outstanding form for Manchester City, describing the midfielder as one of the best players I ever coached .
Gundogan is enjoying the best scoring season of his league career, netting seven times to help City climb to the top of the Premier League.
Robbed of Sergio Aguero for an extended period and now also without Kevin De Bruyne, Pep Guardiola has handed additional attacking responsibilities to the Germany international, who is thriving.
Gundogan, a 2016 signing from Borussia Dortmund, has nine goals in all competitions this term at a rate of 0.5 per 90 minutes, his best performance in a City shirt.
Yet Gundogan continues to create for his team-mates, too, supplying a pair of assists and creating 1…
Atletico Madrid striker Alvaro Morata is set to miss Saturday s derby with his former club Real Madrid after an appeal against a suspension was unsuccessful.
Morata was sent off in Atletico s LaLiga clash with Real Mallorca on Wednesday after being shown two yellow cards in quick succession following an appearance as a substitute.
The Spain international had come off the bench in the 69th minute, and he collected a booking just eight minutes later after a row with referee Alejandro Hernandez.
He was then swiftly involved in a flashpoint with Mallorca s Salva Sevilla which saw the pair square up to each other and exchange angry words before Morata, 26, received a second booking.
Atletico had written to the Spanish FA asking for clemency on Morata s suspe…
Cristiano Ronaldo has signed a four-year contract with Juventus after the Serie A champions confirmed the Portugal superstar s €100million move from Real Madrid.
The end of Ronaldo s nine-year stay at Madrid was announced on Tuesday by Madrid, with the 33-year-old explaining in an open letter he wants to start a new cycle in his career.
Juventus have now confirmed details of the deal, with Madrid to receive €100m for the record goalscorer in the club s history.
Ronaldo hit 450 goals for Madrid, helping the club to win four Champions League titles in the last five seasons.
In addition to the €100m fee, which will be paid over the next two years, Juventus said in a statement that a further €12m will be paid in additional costs
Madrid, w…
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted he is worried by Manchester United s goal drought following their 0-0 Premier League draw away to Crystal Palace.
United were held to their third successive scoreless draw across all competitions after firing another blank against Palace on Wednesday.
Solskjaer s faltering United produced another toothless display at Selhurst Park, where the Red Devils slipped 14 points adrift of runaway leaders Manchester City ahead of Sunday s derby.
United registered their sixth goalless Premier League draw of the season – the club s joint-most ever in a campaign, along with 2004-05 and 2016-17.
The Premier League giants have also drawn three consecutive matches 0-0 in all competitions for the first time since October 2015 under Louis va…
Spain head coach Luis Enrique cast his vote in the Barcelona presidential election on Sunday and kept his fingers crossed for a positive outcome.
The former Barcelona player, who coached the team to treble glory in the 2014-15 season, was one of thousands who turned out to Camp Nou to vote in person.
Barcelona said 20,663 club members had already voted by post for their choice of the president to lead the club forward.
Luis Enrique was among a host of big names who arrived at the club s stadium to have their say in the election, with current players including Lionel Messi also exercising their right.
It is an opportunity to choose the president of Barca and with joy. I hope that the one who comes out on top, the one picked by all the members, will be the…
Outgoing captain Vincent Kompany is the DNA of Manchester City, according to club hero Shaun Goater.
City confirmed on Sunday that Kompany s 11-year stay at the club is coming to an end, with the defender s appearance in Saturday s thumping FA Cup final win over Watford his last for the Premier League champions.
In all, Kompany has made 360 appearances for City since joining the club in August 2008, playing a crucial role in four successful Premier League title tilts, two FA Cup victories and four League Cup triumphs.
And Goater, himself a cult figure with City fans, believes that Kompany represents the essence of what the club stands for.
What a way to bow out, what he s done for the club, the former Bermuda striker told Sky Sports.
He is the D…
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Joshua Kimmich gave Bayern Munich a 2-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen and put them on the brink of a ninth consecutive Bundesliga title.
RB Leipzig s shock 2-1 defeat at relegation-threatened Cologne earlier on Tuesday gave Hansi Flick s side the opportunity to go 10 points clear with four matches remaining.
They did so with the minimum of fuss after Choupo-Moting – again deputising for the injury Robert Lewandowski – opened the scoring in the seventh minute.
A superb second from Kimmich made a response from Leverkusen deeply unlikely, as their struggles during the second half of this season were again laid bare at the Allianz Arena. Hannes Wolf s side are seven points behind four-placed Wolfsburg having played a game more.
Fo…
The penultimate day of the Games on Saturday offers medals across 34 events, with athletics, wrestling and boxing featuring heavily.
The United States basketball team overcame an early scare against Australia and they now face France in a gold-medal clash on day 15 in Tokyo.
Just five medals away from table-toppers China, the USA will be hoping for more gold in both the men s and women s 4 400 metre relay races.
Spain and defending Olympic champions Brazil clashing in a mouth-watering men s football final among a host of other events and Stats Perform considers the potential highlights to look forward to.
CAN BRAZIL DO THE DOUBLE?
Spain head into their third Olympic men s football final, having settled for silver in 2000 after triumph…
Carlo Ancelotti rates Liverpool as favourites to win the Champions League but has warned that his Napoli side have also improved since last season s meeting.
Liverpool lost 1-0 in Naples last October but won the reverse fixture to scrape through the group stage at Napoli s expense and went on to lift the famous trophy for a sixth time.
The sides face off again at Stadio San Paolo on Tuesday in their Group E opener and Ancelotti has targeted another victory on home soil against the best team in Europe .
Liverpool have grown because last season gave them so much awareness, he said at his pre-match news conference.
: The atmosphere makes a big difference. I hope the San Paolo really gets behind us
— Official SSC Napoli (@en_sscnapo…
Best odds: 6/5
Bookmaker:
The group stages are over and we re now into the knockout phase. There s some really cracking encounters to come from Saturday to Tuesday, and along with the one between England and Germany on Tuesday, Belgium taking on Portugal at the Estadio la Cartuja in Sevilla should be at the top in terms of balance and quality.
Belgium
Having thrashed Russia in the opening round by 3-0 and then beaten Denmark by 2-1, they made sure they got the maximum number of points against Finland, courtesy of an own-goal by Lukas Hradecky and a strike from Romelu Lukaku. The fact that Belgium top the FIFA rankings at the moment obviously speaks a lot about their quality, and it seems that quality is finally matched by form.
Many see this as the one …