Miralem Pjanic has ambitiously called for Roma to produce the perfect performance as they look to overturn a 2-0 deficit to Real Madrid in the last 16 of the Champions League.
In-form Roma have won seven straight Serie A games, their only defeat since late January coming in this tie s first leg on home soil.
The Serie A side now face a daunting trip to the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday, where Madrid have won 28 of their last 33 Champions League games and have not suffered defeat by two clear goals since a 2-0 reverse to Barcelona in the 2010-11 semi-finals.
Regardless, Pjanic remains bullish over Roma s chances, his confidence boosted by the capital club s significant upturn in form since Luciano Spalletti replaced Rudi Garcia in the Roma dugout.
This is …
Aleix Vidal has left Barcelona s pre-season tour of the United States and returned to Spain ahead of a likely move back to Sevilla.
The 28-year-old joined Barca from Sevilla in 2015 but has made just 30 LaLiga appearances during his time at Camp Nou.
Able to play in defence and midfield, Vidal has found himself behind Sergi Roberto in the pecking order at Camp Nou under both Luis Enrique and Ernesto Valverde.
Widespread reports in Spain indicated the former Almeria player is set to return to the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.
And Barca have now tweeted to confirm he has left the squad in North America Valverde s side are due to face AC Milan in Santa Clara on Sunday – and returned to Barcelona, with permission from the club to settle his future .
Andy Carroll has urged West Ham to end their run of draws as the club close in on two milestones ahead of their game at home to Watford in the Premier League on Wednesday.
Slaven Bilic s side have not been beaten at home since August 22, a 14-match unbeaten run at Upton Park which they have the chance to extend to 15 – a mark they have never reached before – against Quique Sanchez Flores visitors
West Ham are also on a streak of eight games without defeat in the Premier League and if they add to that this week it will be their best run without a top-flight loss since December 1985.
Five of those eight games have been draws, though, including each of the last four – the most recent being the dramatic encounter at leaders Leicester City on Sunday, which f…
The European Club Association (ECA) has confirmed Andrea Agnelli has been re-elected as chairman for the next four years.
Agnelli, also chairman of Juventus, was first installed in 2017 and his continuation in the role until 2023 was confirmed on Tuesday.
The ECA also announced its executive board has been expanded from 15 to 24 full members.
I am honoured to have been re-elected to lead this organisation over the next four years and would like to place on record my strong appreciation to my fellow board members for the trust they have placed in me, Agnelli said in a statement.
The coming years will be key as we look to reach decisions to ensure the long-term viability and well-being of the game in Europe.
I believe the ECA is in a strong po…
As reported by Sky Sports, Olympique Marseille and Napoli are interested in signing Sead Kolasinac on a free transfer when his contract expires at the end of the season. Arsenal would apparently be willing to sell the Bosnia and Herzegovina international now in order to get at least some kind of fee for his services, but no potential buyer has approached them with such a suggestion as of yet. Marseille are, however, believed to have started talks with his representatives about a summer move already.
Having made a total of 118 appearances for the Gunners in all competitions, scoring five goals and providing 15 assists, Kolasinac was sent out on loan to former club Schalke for the second half of 2020-21, and the left-back is firmly behind Kieran Tierney and Nuno Tavares in the pe…
Gianluigi Buffon believes some Juventus players were not ready for the increased demands that came with Cristiano Ronaldo s arrival.
Ronaldo brought an end to a three-season stay in Turin when he returned to Manchester United early in 2021-22.
He scored 101 goals across 134 matches in all competitions for the Bianconeri.
During Ronaldo s stint, Juve won the Scudetto in his first two seasons but missed out to Inter in 2020-21, despite the 36-year-old s league-high 29 goals.
That made Ronaldo, who is also the all-time leading scorer in men s international football, the first player to finish top of the scoring charters in Serie A, LaLiga and the Premier League.
Buffon previously suggested Ronaldo somewhat hampered his former side, but the Parma …
When Manchester United forked out a reported £80million to sign Harry Maguire, the comparisons to Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk started almost immediately.
Van Dijk has been credited as one of the best signings of Jurgen Klopp s tenure, with the Reds becoming Champions League winners and genuine Premier League title contenders with the towering centre-back at the heart of their defence.
The arrival of Maguire, whose breakout performances for Leicester City in the 2017-18 campaign coincided with Van Dijk s switch to Anfield, was supposed to have a similar effect on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer s Red Devils.
United have struggled badly for form this season, though, and the pressure is on the team and Solskjaer to deliver a performance against the table-topping Red…
Massimiliano Allegri called on Dusan Vlahovic to be more unpredictable after his limited impact for Juventus on his return to former club Fiorentina.
Emotions were high as Vlahovic received a hostile welcome from the home fans back at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final.
Vlahovic, who followed a well-worn path in trading Fiorentina for hated rivals Juve in January for an initial fee of €70million, saw his influence restricted in a pulsating game.
Fiorentina dominated possession and wasted several chances to take the lead, while at the other end Vlahovic registered just 36 touches, the lowest of any Juve player to start and finish the game, with only two of those coming in the opposition box.
He was thwarted by P…
Philippe Coutinho s move from Liverpool to Barcelona could reportedly cost his new club a whopping £142million once add-ons are included.
But what will the leaders of LaLiga be getting for their money?
We use Opta data to look at Coutinho s Premier League record during his time at Anfield.
ASSISTS APLENTY, BUT NOT THE PL S TOP PROVIDER
In 152 league appearances for Liverpool, Coutinho scored or assisted a goal on 76 occasions an average of once every two games.
Only Steven Gerrard (92) and Steve McManaman (58) can boast more Premier League assists for Liverpool than Coutinho, who laid on 35 goals for his team-mates while scoring 41 of his own.
However, five players Mesut Ozil, David Silva, Christian Eriksen, Cesc Fabregas and…
With all eyes on the opening of this summer s delayed European Championships, we certainly have a stacked weekend of action on our hands. On that note, for those of you looking to stick on a Saturday acca, we have found a handful of helpful tips that are worth keeping an eye out for.
Saturday 12th June
BST 14:00 Wales vs Switzerland
Signing off their preparations with what was a rampant 7-0 win against Liechtenstein on home soil last week, Switzerland open their Group A run on a real high. Picking up three friendly wins on the bounce, including victories against both the USA and Finland, many have tipped Rossocrociati as one of the leading picks to secure a spot in the knockout stage. Since signing off their Nations League run with an eye-catching 3-0 win ag…