Douglas Costa sent Juventus through to the last 16 of the Champions League with a brilliant 93rd-minute winner in a 2-1 away victory over Lokomotiv Moscow.
The Bianconeri were ahead after just three minutes when Aaron Ramsey nudged the ball over the line after goalkeeper Guilherme had spilled Cristiano Ronaldo s free-kick back towards his goal.
However, Lokomotiv soon hit back through Aleksey Miranchuk and Guilherme denied Ronaldo twice in the second half as the Portuguese attempted to set a Champions League record by scoring against a 34th different team.
It was not to be Ronaldo s night as he was replaced with nine minutes to go, yet Costa stepped up to be the hero, weaving in off the left wing and finishing after a one-two with Gonzalo Higuain.
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Bayern Munich defender David Alaba is set to decide between signing for Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain this summer, according to French daily outlet Le Parisien.
The Austria international will be out of contract with the Bavarians at the end of the season, and he has already made it known that he will be leaving the Allianz Arena having spent his entire senior career so far there, apart from a six-month loan with Hoffenheim in 2011. Given that there won t be any transfer fee paid to Bayern, Alaba reportedly expects an extremely lucrative contract, which is something that has already put a number of suitors off the idea of signing him.
And it seems that this is going to be the biggest factor in the 28-year-old s decision when it comes to the race between the La Liga…
Los Angeles is set for a blockbuster NBA rivalry next season after Kawhi Leonard reportedly agree to sign on for the Clippers.
With Paul George also said to be joining from the Oklahoma City Thunder, an exciting Clippers team is set to go head-to-head against a Los Angeles Lakers franchise fronted by NBA icon LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Leonard, who spearheaded the Toronto Raptors to a maiden championship last season, is a signing who can make the Clippers – who finished eighth in the Western Conference in 2018-19 – a real force to be reckoned with.
In July 2018, it was the Lakers making waves when they drafted in superstar James from the Cleveland Cavaliers.
There is now some real star power across both Los Angeles teams, and inspired by this, we…
Juventus and Real Madrid will fight for their Champions League futures needing to come from behind on Friday.
Madrid were ahead in their last-16 tie against Manchester City, but a Kevin De Bruyne penalty secured a 2-1 advantage that the Premier League side will defend at the Etihad Stadium.
Juve sealed their ninth consecutive Serie A title last month but stumbled towards the end of the domestic campaign.
Maurizio Sarri will look towards the prolific Cristiano Ronaldo on his favourite stage as they seek to overturn a 1-0 deficit against Lyon in Turin.
As those four sides eye up a place in the final stages in Lisbon, here are key Opta facts.
Juventus = champions of Italy
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague)
Juventus v Ly…
Atletico Madrid could be within one win of clinching their second LaLiga title of Diego Simeone s tenure after they beat Real Sociedad 2-1 in a gripping tussle on Wednesday.
With Barcelona dropping points this week, but fourth-placed Sevilla winning, Atleti responded with a performance worthy of champions at Wanda Metropolitano, though it came with a nervy finish.
Yannick Carrasco and Angel Correa got the goals to put them in control, striking in the space of 12 first-half minutes.
But Atleti failed to take the chances to make the scoreline more comfortable and, after Jan Oblak and the upright came to their rescue, La Real set up a grandstand finish through Igor Zubeldia.
Atleti ultimately hung on, however, meaning they will settle a dramatic title race i…
Newcastle United have announced Dan Ashworth will become the club s sporting director after they secured his immediate release from Brighton and Hove Albion.
The Magpies have acquired the ex-Football Association director in the latest major move by Eddie Howe s side as they seek to shape a bright future following last year s takeover.
Ashworth, who joined Brighton in 2018, resigned in February but was still under contract with the Seagulls as he began an extended period of gardening leave.
He has now been released to take up the position at St James Park after dialogue between the two clubs.
Newcastle United are delighted to announce that Dan Ashworth will become the club s sporting director after an agreement was reached with Brighton Hove Albion to …
Leeds United have confirmed the signing of Joel Robles on a free transfer, with the former Everton and Real Betis player joining on a one-year deal.
The 32-year-old Spaniard is effectively a replacement for ex-Real Madrid goalkeeper Kiko Casilla, who departed Elland Road by mutual consent earlier in July.
Robles, who achieved cult status as a member of the Wigan Athletic squad that won the 2012-13 FA Cup against Manchester City during a 13-game spell on loan from Atletico Madrid, was released by Betis after a four-year stint in Andalusia at the end of last season.
He previously spent five seasons at Goodison Park, having followed former Wigan and now Belgium boss Roberto Martinez to Everton, and will provide competition for Illan Meslier at Leeds.
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It is perhaps the thrilling attacking play of his teams that has led to the common misconception that Jurgen Klopp is something of a risk-taking manager.
Any recent Liverpool highlight reel is likely to show an adventurous brand of football that would support the idea that this group of players are instructed to simply throw numbers forward at any opportunity.
In truth, though, their manager has proven himself to be more conservative when it has come to making his biggest calls at Anfield.
As much was evident from the fact that his obvious first priority upon arriving at the club in 2015 was to implement a sound defensive structure.
It could also be seen in Klopp s unwavering preference for a settled line-up in the biggest competitions occasionally to his…
According to a recent report from Mundo Deportivo, Atletico Madrid face competition from Inter Milan in the race to sign Paulo Dybala.
Dybala, who has been with Juventus since back in 2015, has been linked with a move away from the Italian giants for what feels like forever. He’s reportedly not been happy on several occasions with his status within the first team squad but now, it finally seems as if we’re edging closer towards his departure.
He’s also been linked with Tottenham and the belief is that he can sign a pre-contract agreement with a foreign club ahead of the new campaign with his current Juve deal expiring during the summer transfer window.
Given how much he knows about Italian football it can be argued that Inter have the edge in the Dybala ra…
Pep Guardiola insists it makes no sense for players who will have to quarantine upon their return to the UK to go on international duty later this month – stating Manchester City will not release such players.
In light of on-going coronavirus travel restrictions, FIFA has made the unprecedented move of giving clubs the right to prevent players from joining up with their national teams if the fixtures in question mean a quarantine period of five days or more upon their return.
In the UK, anyone travelling to red list countries must isolate for 10 days when they come back, with no exemptions granted for elite sportspeople.
The list features all of South America and parts of Africa. Portugal, the only European country on the list, have sought to mitigate the impac…