Real Madrid defender Pepe said facing off against former team-mate Alvaro Morata in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals will be emotional.
Pepe and Juventus striker Morata were team-mates at the Santiago Bernabeu from 2010 until last season, before the latter s switch to Italy.
The pair jointly celebrated five titles in Spain, including the Champions League crown in May in Morata s final appearance for Real, plus one La Liga triumph (2011-12), two Copa del Reys (2010-11, 2013-14) and one Supercopa de Espana (2012).
It will be emotional for me as he made his debut with the Real Madrid first team I was already there. I am really fond of him, also of his family, Pepe said of the Spaniard.
He s a special boy.
So I m happy our paths crossed in s…
Marco Asensio struck a last-gasp winner as Real Madrid edged to a 1-0 win at Leganes in the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarter-final on Thursday.
Zinedine Zidane s men, 19 points behind Barcelona in LaLiga, had won one of their last five games in all competitions, amid reports the Frenchman could leave the club at the end of the season, and they looked set to be held at Butarque.
But after Leganes had shone on their first appearance at this stage of the competition, Asensio came up with a cute near-post finish from Theo Hernandez s cross to put Madrid in firm control of the tie.
Madrid were held at home by lower-tier clubs Numancia and Fuenlabrada in previous rounds after first-leg away wins and they struggled to respond to Saturday s 1-0 defeat at the han…
Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Thiago Motta has made it clear that he will be leaving Parc des Princes at the end of the current campaign.
The long-serving footballer will be out of contract at the end of the season, and he has decided not to extend his stay with the Saints.
Despite still being an important member of the squad at Parc des Princes, the 34-year-old believes the time has come to look for a new adventure.
“PSG has become my home. In the past five years, I have given everything to win and participate in the evolution of the Parisian project,” Motta explained to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“I sincerely believe this will be my last year in Paris as a player.”
Thiago Motta had joined Paris Saint-Germain from Inter Milan back in Janu…
Edson Alvarez has made the cut for Mexico s 23-man Gold Cup squad despite sustaining a leg injury in the warm-up win over Venezuela.
Club America midfielder Alvarez, a rumoured target for Scottish champions Celtic, had to be substituted during the first half of the 3-1 victory at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and will be monitored closely as the tournament opener draws near.
Gerardo Martino has until 24 hours before the June 15 fixture against Cuba in California to decide whether to replace the 21-year-old, who has also been linked to Premier League side Wolves.
LA Galaxy s Uriel Antuna will be called into the squad if Alvarez fails to prove his fitness.
It s here!!
Incondicionales, this is the squad that will be representing us in the upcomi…
Under-fire coach Zinedine Zidane insists he has no regrets about returning to Real Madrid and says he is not affected by speculation that Jose Mourinho could replace him.
The Frenchman has struggled to rekindle the magic that saw him win three consecutive Champions League titles between 2016 and 2018 since replacing Santiago Solari in March.
Los Blancos have won just two of their four LaLiga games so far this season and slipped to a humbling 3-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday.
That defeat has led to fresh questions about his future, with the Madrid board rumoured to be considering swapping Zidane for former boss Mourinho.
However, Zidane says he is unfazed by the speculation and remains focused on preparing his side …
Leon Goretzka has yet to sit down with Bayern Munich for contract talks but would be ready to hold discussions with the club.
The Germany midfielder has been a regular since joining Bayern from Schalke in 2018 and still has around 18 months to run on his existing deal.
He featured 38 times in last season s treble-winning campaign and has been used on 10 occasions in all competitions already in 2020-21.
No Bayern player has recovered the ball more often than Goretzka in the Bundesliga this term (10.47 per game) and only Javi Martinez has more interceptions (3.03 per game compared to 2.76).
Bayern have struggled to tie down fellow key player David Alaba to a new deal, the messy saga being played out in public in recent weeks, while Thiago Alcantata recentl…
Market: Colombia win
Odds:
Already booking their spot in the knockout stage of this year s Copa America, a high-flying Colombia will face Paraguay in Bahia on Sunday night.
Starting with a revitalized Colombia outfit, while they may have left it late against Qatar in midweek, few would have expected the Yellows stellar run in Group B. Picking up back-to-back victories, including a 2-0 win over Argentina in their Copa America opener, former Manchester United coach Carlos Queiroz has seen his side enjoy a four-match winning run. Also tasing defeat just once in their 10 post-World Cup appearances, it has been their defensive resolve most catching eye. Colombia have recorded four consecutive clean sheets and have not picked the ball out of their own net in over 40…
Spain skipper Olga Carmona has dedicated her World Cup triumph to her late father after firing the nation to victory over England.
The 23-year-old learned that her father had died after scoring the only goal in Sunday’s 1-0 victory over the Lionesses in Sydney.
Real Madrid defender Carmona said in a tweet on Monday: “I have no words to thank you for all your love.
No tengo palabras para agradecer todo vuestro cariño.
Ayer fue el mejor y el peor día de mi vida.
Sé que tú querrías verme disfrutar de este momento histórico, por eso estaré con mis compañeras, para que desde donde estés sepas que esta estrella también es tuya papá
— Olga Carmona (@7olgacarmona)
“Yesterday was the best and the worst day of my life.
Morocco became the first African team to top a World Cup group for 24 years after beating Canada 2-1 on Thursday.
First-half goals from Hakim Ziyech and Youssef En-Nesyri proved enough with Nayef Aguerd s own goal the first of the tournament nothing more than a consolation for a Canada side who return home without a point.
Morocco must now wait for Thursday s Group E games to see who they will face in the last 16 at Education City Stadium on Tuesday.
Walid Regragui s side needed just a point to guarantee a place in the knockout stages for only the second time, and first since 1986, and they were gifted a dream start after four minutes.
Morocco are into the knockout stages for only the second time in history! |
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup)…
Former Milan striker Alberto Gilardino denied 10-man Inter the chance to go back top of Serie A, securing Palermo a 1-1 draw against Roberto Mancini s men.
After a slow first half, the game burst into life after the break and Ivan Perisic s goal, a tap-in from substitute Jonathan Biabiany s cross, was well deserved as Inter got on top.
But the lead lasted just six minutes. Inter failed to clear and Franco Vazquez hit a fierce cross-shot that was diverted home by an unwitting Gilardino from close range.
Fredy Guarin came closest to snatching the points for Inter but Palermo goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino was in fine form to deny him a winning goal.
Jeison Murillo s red card for two bookable offences halted Inter s momentum and ensured their poor record at P…