Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst stood by his decision to bring Kemar Roofe and Aaron Ramsey on as late substitutes following their penalties loss to Eintracht Frankfurt in Wednesday s Europa League final.
With scores locked at 1-1 after 90 minutes, Van Bronckhorst brought the two on in the 117th minute with penalties in mind. Ramsey was the only player to not convert his penalty, Kevin Trapp saving with his feet at 3-3, before Rafael Borre followed Roofe s spot-kick to secure a 5-4 shootout win for Eintracht.
It was the Gers second Europa League final loss in as many appearances, following 2008 s 2-0 loss to Zenit in Manchester.
According to Van Bronckhorst, despite evident disappointment in the changing rooms afterwards, his final list of penalty takers wa…
Nuno Espirito Santo hailed Cristiano Ronaldo as one of the best players in history while praising the forward for the joy he brings to their native Portugal.
Tottenham host Manchester United on Saturday, fresh from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer s side suffering a 5-0 defeat against Liverpool – their heaviest ever home defeat to the Reds.
Ronaldo, who is the all-time leading goal scorer in international football, saw his side lose by five or more goals for just the second time in 617 top-flight league appearances.
The United forward has also not managed to score in any of his last four league matches, his worst run since November 2017 – he has not gone five games without finding the net since a spell of nine between November 2008 and January 2009 during his first spel…
Arsenal put the pressure back onto Manchester City in the Premier League title race after their comprehensive 3-0 triumph over Bournemouth at Emirates Stadium.
Mikel Arteta s side moved four points clear at the league summit with this victory but Man City have two games in hand, the first of which comes at home to Wolves later on Saturday.
Bukayo Saka opened the scoring from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time, with Arsenal securing a deserved reward for their first-half dominance.
Leandro Trossard and Declan Rice made sure of three points with late finishes as defeat left Bournemouth – who had an Antoine Semenyo strike ruled out in the closing stages – 10th in the table.
Securing all three points in N5
— Arsenal (@Arsenal)
Prediction: Slovan Bratislava to win 2-1
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Slovan Bratislava and APOEL will lock horns in the UEFA Champions League Third Qualifying Round this week. The first leg of the tie between the Niké liga club in Slovakia and the First Division team in Cyrus will be held at Tehelné pole and is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 pm UK time on Wednesday.
Slovan Bratislava
Slovan Bratislava are one of the biggest clubs in Slovakia and have a massive following. Founded in 1919, the Sky Blues won the Slovak Super Liga as many as 22 times and the Sloval Cup on 17 occasions. The White Hawks from Brickfield became the first and so far only club in Slovakia as well as former Czechoslovakia to win one of the European cup competitions, the Cup Winners …
Leon Bailey fired Aston Villa to a 1-0 win over Manchester City which equalled a club record with a 14th consecutive home victory and lifted them above the stuttering champions into third place in the Premier League.
Bailey’s 74th-minute strike came thanks to a deflection off Ruben Dias but few inside Villa Park cared amid jubilant celebrations.
Unai Emery’s first career win over Pep Guardiola in 14 attempts came in his 50th match in charge of Villa, a side he has transformed from relegation battlers to top-four contenders in the space of a year.
For City it was yet another sign of their over-reliance on the suspended Rodri. They are unbeaten in their last 43 matches in which the Spain midfielder has played, but their four defeats this season have all come wh…
Alvaro Morata vowed to continue pushing to earn a place in Spain s squad for Euro 2020, accepting he faces a fight for a spot.
Morata returned to the squad this month and opened the scoring in the 7-0 thrashing of Malta in Euro 2020 qualifying on Friday.
The forward has scored seven goals in 13 games for Atletico Madrid this season and the 27-year-old wants to continue his form to guarantee a spot at next year s European Championship.
I am confident on the pitch and I know I will have to give everything during the season in order to be at the European Championships, Morata told a news conference on Sunday.
There won t be space for everybody. I want to keep going, doing everything I can for Atletico and Spain.
If I play well at the club the Euro…
British Prime Minister David Cameron was expected to lobby a key FIFA official here Tuesday as England launched a heavyweight charm offensive to secure votes for their 2018 World Cup bid.
Cameron was due in Zurich to meet Trinidad football official Jack Warner head of the North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) region whose support is seen as crucial to England s chances.
England 2018 officials declined to confirm the meeting but British media and Trinidad newspaper Newsday reported the two men were due to have a private lunch in Zurich following an invitation from Cameron two weeks ago.
As president of CONCACAF, Warner could conceivably deliver three vital votes in Thursday s secret ballot of FIFA s 22-member executive committee.
Gareth Southgate believes Phil Foden s starting position is less important than the spaces he is allowed to attack, pledging to find a way of letting him operate centrally at Euro 2024.
Foden was included in England s 33-man preliminary squad on Tuesday, and he is expected to be among the first names on the teamsheet after enjoying a fine campaign.
Foden was named Premier League Player of the Season as he helped Manchester City win an unprecedented fourth straight title, scoring 19 goals and adding seven assists.
Only three players in the league bettered Foden s goal tally, while he also ranked seventh in the division for chances created (73) and fourth for possession won in the final third (35 times).
Foden scored two excellent goals as City clinched the…
With the new Champions League format getting underway this week, we are treated to a stacked European schedule.
Watching the action role onto Thursday night, the likes of Arsenal, Barcelona and Bayer Leverkusen will steal centre stage.
So, for those of you looking to stick on a midweek Champions League flutter, we have taken a look at some of the most appealing European betting tips.
17:45 Feyenoord vs Bayer Leverkusen
While Bayer Leverkusen might have suffered real Europa League heartbreak back in May, Xabi Alonso’s men embarked on what was a sensational domestic fairytale. Storming their way to a maiden Bundesliga crown and receiving a string of plaudits from across the globe, Thursday’s guests did not suffer a single defeat from any of their 34 …
Best Odds: 4/6
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Looking to extend on their Serie A title charge on Wednesday night, Inter Milan will welcome Atalanta to the San Siro.
Inter Milan
Starting with the hosts, making another domestic statement over the weekend as they breezed their way to a 4-0 romp away at Lecce, Inter Milan are enjoying a remarkable purple patch. Opening their Champions League knockout stage adventure with a 1-0 win against Spanish heavyweights Atletico Madrid earlier in the month, Simone Inzaghi’s men have won all of their previous 10 straight appearances across all competitions. With that run stemming all the way back to a 1-1 stalemate against Genoa on December 19th, the Nerazzurri will simply be looking to make another statement here. Making their return to the Sa…