Xavi will not be on a revenge mission when Barcelona face Inter in a very important Champions League showdown at San Siro on Tuesday.
Head coach Xavi was in the Barca side knocked out of the Champions League by Inter at the semi-final stage in 2010.
The Blaugrana were beaten 3-1 in the first leg in Milan and failed to overturn that deficit, crashing out after winning 1-0 at Camp Nou against Jose Mourinho s men, who went on to lift the trophy.
Xavi returns to San Siro with the two sides both having picked up three points from their opening two Group C games, with Barca beaten 2-0 at leaders Bayern Munich last month.
And the former Spain midfielder is motivated by the prospect of qualifying for the last 16 rather than having a score to settle.
He sa…
Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City s acquisition of Erling Haaland demonstrates that the Premier League champions are one of Europe s elite destinations.
City reportedly saw off competition from the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich to sign the striker in a £51.2million (€60m) deal in May, and Haaland has started brightly, scoring three goals in his first three league games.
The Norway international is just the third player to score on both of his first two away trips in the Premier League for City, after Emmanuel Adebayor and Emile Mpenza, having followed up his opening-game double at West Ham with a goal in a 3-3 draw with Newcastle United on Sunday.
City s all-time record goalscorer Sergio Aguero, meanwhile, is the only other player …
Luchi Gonzalez admits his team need to learn the difference between competing and winning as they aim to bounce back against Austin FC on Saturday.
The Earthquakes currently sit bottom of the Western Conference with 10 points, having won just three games this season.
Gonzalez highlighted his team has no trouble competing with their opponents and is optimistic they can turn leads into actual wins soon.
The result of the last game [against Austin], we didn t get the job done there at the end even though we thought we were about to, but we re competing consistently in any competition, he said.
We ve had the lead in eight out of [14 MLS games]. That does show you that we re ready, we re prepared and we compete. Competing and winning are two different things…
Cristiano Ronaldo has reached 100 Premier League goals after netting for Manchester United against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium.
The 37-year-old bought up his Premier League century over 19 years after his debut in the competition when he swept home from Nemanja Matic s cross.
Ronaldo s goal hauled United back into the contest after they had found themselves 2-0 down following goals from Nuno Tavares and Bukayo Saka.
It came at the end of a difficult week for Ronaldo, who confirmed the loss of his baby son on Monday and subsequently missed United s defeat to Liverpool a day later.
Having hit all of those goals in United colours, Ronaldo becomes just the fourth player to reach the landmark for the club, along with former team-mates Wayne Rooney, Paul Scho…
Poland became the fourth nation to confirm their participation at Euro 2020 thanks to a 2-0 win over North Macedonia on Sunday.
Jerzy Brzeczek s Poland looked as though they were going to finish the day frustrated, but eventually scored the first goal 16 minutes from time in the Group G fixture.
Przemyslaw Frankowski got on the end of Robert Lewandowski s shot and prodded home to send Poland on their way to victory in Warsaw.
Lewandowski was involved again a few moments later, nudging the ball to Arkadiusz Milik while appearing to be fouled and the Napoli man made the most of the advantage.
Euro 2020 will be Poland s fourth successive appearance at the tournament.
They join Italy, Belgium and Russia in wrapping up qualification.
qualifi…
Wales welcome Turkey to Cardiff for their final Euro 2024 qualifier on Tuesday.Rob Page’s side must win and hope Croatia do not beat Armenia in order to secure automatic European Championship qualification and avoid the play-offs in March.
Here, the PA news agency studies some of the main talking points surrounding the game.
Favour needed
Croatia move into a qualification spot in Group D on their penultimate matchday
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024)
Wales’ disappointing 1-1 draw in Armenia on Saturday took automatic qualification out of their hands heading in to the final round of matches.
Croatia seized advantage by winning 2-0 in Latvia to move in to the box-seat and claim the second spot behind Turkey.
The mathematics for Wales ar…
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes 2020 can be a year of personal success as he attempts to deliver his first trophies as Manchester United manager.
United end 2019 in fifth place in the Premier League table, their 2-0 win at Burnley leaving them four points adrift of the top four.
That relatively comfortable victory at Turf Moor concluded a turbulent decade for the Red Devils, in which they have appointed four permanent managers but failed to win the domestic title since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
Solskjaer s side have been frustratingly inconsistent this season, but they have won six of their past eight games in all competitions and head into the new year with a chance of winning the EFL Cup, the FA Cup and the Europa League.
The former United striker th…
Liverpool have completed the signing of Cody Gakpo in their first move of the January transfer window.
Netherlands forward Gakpo joins from PSV, where he had spent his entire career to date.
A move this season was long anticipated, and Gakpo s performances at the World Cup, where he scored three goals for the Oranje, made a January switch an inevitability.
Manchester United were thought to be favourites for the versatile frontman, but PSV announced on December 26 they had agreed a deal with Liverpool.
That transfer has now been completed, subject to a work permit, after Gakpo travelled to England for a medical.
A late Christmas present for you, Reds…
— Liverpool FC (@LFC)
The 23-year-old told the club s website after his sign…
Mikel Arteta has full respect and admiration for Jurgen Klopp and says there is no lasting grudge between the pair as Arsenal prepare to face Liverpool at Anfield.
Arsenal manager Arteta was involved in a touchline bust-up with Klopp during this corresponding fixture last season, which Liverpool went on to win 4-0.
The Gunners have come a long way since that match in November 2021 and enter Sunday s latest encounter on Merseyside 29 points better off than their opponents.
With Arsenal top of the table and on course for a first title in 19 years, Arteta sees no reason for himself and his players to lose their cool this time around.
That s football, Arteta said of his previous falling out with Klopp. After that, we hugged each other and moved on.
…
Verdict: Verdict: Both teams score
Best odds:
Bookmaker:
Ecuador and Bolivia travel to the USA for the last game before the start of the 50th edition of Copa America which will be held on American soil. While both teams are eager to make a good impression at this tournament, a friendly game at Subaru Park from Chester, Pennsylvania, will be the last chance to make the final adjustments before the competition starts.
Ecuador
Ecuador s progress in recent years on the biggest stage of world football is quite impressive. Despite starting as undergoes in each qualification campaign, the hosts managed to qualify for the last two editions of the World Cup. Although their best performance at the biggest football stage is reaching the last 16 in 2006 at the fi…