Matheus Nunes first Manchester City goal proved the difference as Pep Guardiola s team beat Watford 2-1 to progress to the EFL Cup fourth round.
Tom Ince set up a nervy ending for the hosts at the Etihad Stadium, but Championship side Watford could not find a late equaliser to force a penalty shootout.
City got off to a quick start, helped by Ryan Porteous loose backpass, as James McAtee pounced before Jack Grealish teed up Jeremy Doku for a pinpoint finish into the bottom corner after five minutes.
Kwadwo Baah thought he had equalised in the 21st minute, drilling his low shot into the far post, but he was penalised for a foul on debutant Kaden Braithwaite.
Rico Lewis then opened up Watford s defence with a driving run before laying it off to Nunes, whose…
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One of the more interesting duels of the Europa League quarterfinals this season will see four-time continental champions Ajax face Serie A side AS Roma, with the first leg being played at the Johan Cruijff Arena this Thursday. If they win, the Dutch team will equal the record of 11 consecutive home triumphs in this competition, while the Italians will be looking to continue the streak which has so far seen them win all four knockout games in this campaign.
Ajax started the season in the Champions League, but they couldn t secure passage on from the first stage and only managed to finish third in Group D, behind Liverpool and Atalanta, bettering only Midtjylland. They were thus forced to take a step down to the Europa League round of 32, …
Three goals in five first-half minutes was enough to see Milan earn a third consecutive Serie A win as they swept aside Lecce 3-0 at the San Siro.
An open start to proceedings saw Mike Maignan called into action to deny the visitors from taking the lead, with the French goalkeeper turning Nikola Krstovic s effort from distance around the post.
But Paulo Fonseca s side found the breakthrough in the 38th minute when Alvaro Morata nodded Theo Hernandez s teasing free-kick in off the crossbar.
Milan s opener saw a swagger emerge in their play, with the hosts doubling their advantage two minutes later when Rafael Leao s ball in behind the Lecce defence picked out Hernandez, who struck emphatically beyond Wladimiro Falcone.
But the quickfire blitz was not f…
Arsenal are interested in signing Samuel Chukwueze from Villarreal in the January transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that the Gunners are among a number of clubs who are keen on securing the services of the Nigeria international winger.
Chukwueze is one of the best young wingers in Europe and has been on the books of Villarreal since 2017. The 23-year-old has established himself as one of the best players at the Yellow Submarine and is now one of the first names on the teamsheet.
The Nigeria international winger has made four starts and eight substitute appearances in La Liga for Villarreal so far this season, providing one assist in the process. Chukwueze has also scored two goals in five UEFA Europa Conference League for the Yellow Submarine so far…
Verdict: Inter to win and BTTS
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Inter is marching towards regaining their Serie A title with the next test being a match played at Giuseppe Meazza against Udinese. A win is a must considering Juventus is just 2 points behind, waiting to seize on every slip of Simone Inzhaghi s team.
Inter
Building on the previous season when Inter lost the Scudetto ending their Serie A campaign with 4 points behind rivals AC Milan, the Nerrazzuri are in pole position to repeat the performance from 2021. It was the same battle with Juventus when Inter ended Juve s 9-year dominance by clinching the Serie A title after 11 years. Simone Inzhagi is bringing Inter back to its former glory domestically and in Europe. After failing short last season losin…
Bernardo Silva wants to leave Manchester City at the end of the season and is dreaming of his return to Benfica, but Barcelona remain interested in the Portugal attacking midfielder, according to . The report has claimed that Silva wants to leave the defending Premier League champions, and that that could open the door for Barcelona to make a move.
Former La Liga and UEFA Champions League winners Barcelona have long been linked with Silva and have tried to bring him to Camp Nou on a number of occasions. Barcelona make a bid of €65 million to City for the 28-year-old, who can also operate as a winger, last summer, but the Citizens turned it down.
Silva has been on the books of City since 2017 and has established himself as a key figure in manager Pep Guardiola’s team…
John Terry suspected Kalidou Koulibaly was a prank caller and hung up on Chelsea s new centre-back when the Senegalese star asked to take his old shirt number.
Koulibaly had the 26 shirt at Napoli and was eager to retain it at Chelsea, but decided he should check that was OK with Terry.
No first-team player at Chelsea has worn 26 since Terry departed at the end of the 2016-17 season, so it was a courtesy call that Koulibaly considered important.
Terry eventually happily gave his blessing and urged the new recruit to bring in more trophies, yet Koulibaly revealed that initially the former Blues and England captain thought he had a rogue caller on the line.
The 31-year-old said: I was nervous a bit because I was waiting to sign my contract in Chelsea. I…
Best odds: 11/10
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Liverpool are set to continue their quest for a quadruple as they face Norwich City in the FA Cup fourth-round tie at Anfield. The Reds have recently advanced to the EFL Cup final for the 2023/24 season, defeating Fulham over two legs in the semi-finals. But in this competition, they started by eliminating Arsenal at the Emirates with a 2-0 triumph.
Meanwhile, Norwich progressed in the FA Cup by eliminating Bristol Rovers in a replay.
Liverpool
The news that has hit the Merseyside and the whole football world on Friday is that Jurgen Klopp has announced his decision to leave the club at the end of the season, concluding what has been a remarkable eight-and-a-half-year tenure in the Anfield dugout. The millions of Liverpool su…
Aston Villa have completed the double signing of Samuel Iling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea from Juventus.
The duo were signed for a combined £18.6million (€22m) just one day on from Douglas Luiz s €50million move to the Italian club in a separate deal.
Iling-Junior, a product of Chelsea s academy, joined Juventus in 2020 before making his senior debut in 2022.
The 20-year-old made 27 appearances in all competitions for Juve last season, scoring once and assisting two goals and won the Coppa Italia in May.
Barrenechea was with Juventus for two years, but spent last season on loan at Frosinone, becoming a first-team regular, but could not help the side avoid relegation back to Serie B.
Aston Villa is delighted to announce the double signing of E…
Paul Scholes and Didier Drogba lead the latest slate of inductees to the Premier League Hall of Fame, it was announced on Thursday.
Former Manchester United midfielder Scholes and ex-Chelsea striker Drogba head the remaining six names of the Class of 2022.
Patrick Vieira and Wayne Rooney had already been announced as two of the eight players to be bestowed with the honour, following last year s inaugural group of players.
They are joined now by Scholes and Drogba, alongside Arsenal legend Ian Wright, ex-Red Devils goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel and Manchester City duo Sergio Aguero and Vincent Kompany.
Widely acclaimed as the greatest midfielder of his generation, Scholes – a one-club man between 1993 and 2013 – won the Premier League 11 times during h…