Zlatan Ibrahimovic will renew acquaintances with Manchester United after the Red Devils were drawn against his Milan side in the Europa League last 16.
Sweden great Ibrahimovic spent just under two seasons with the Red Devils under Jose Mourinho, joining in July 2016 and departing in March 2018 to move to LA Galaxy.
During his first campaign at Old Trafford, Ibrahimovic missed out on United s Europa League final triumph against Ajax due to a serious knee injury and he will now aim to be the downfall of his former employers in this season s competition.
United have been eliminated by Milan in European knockout ties four times, the most of any side along with Real Madrid.
4 Manchester United have been eliminated from four of their five UEFA European knockou…
The first time Pep Guardiola was drawn to face a Bundesliga team in the Champions League as Manchester City manager, the match was postponed after a torrential pre-match downpour soaked the Etihad Stadium.
Twenty-four hours later, Borussia Monchengladbach were swatted aside 4-0 but there were some other, more incongruous storm clouds hovering.
Sergio Aguero scored a hat-trick, already his second of the campaign to move on to nine goals in his first five outings under Guardiola. A brace that weekend at Swansea City took him to 11 in six, but his manager was not completely satisfied with the bigger picture.
Sergio just has a talent to score goals that is natural, I cannot teach him that, Guardiola said.
What I can tell him is there is a team behind him …
Paul Pogba insists he and his fellow France players have no problem with head coach Didier Deschamps but were disgusted by the team s failure at Euro 2020
Draws against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Ukraine in World Cup qualifying have followed France s wretched European mission.
Despite going into Euro 2020 as many people s favourites, France were knocked out on penalties by Switzerland in the second round, with Pogba seen in a lively discussion with Deschamps after the game.
Deschamps has been boss of France since 2012 and is set to lead his reigning world champions into next year s World Cup, assuming they qualify.
Manchester United midfielder Pogba looks set to face Finland on Tuesday as France attempt to end a run of five successive draws – including the …
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter says hosting the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is a mistake .
Blatter was in charge of football s world governing body in 2010 when the Gulf nation was controversially selected to stage the upcoming tournament.
The build-up to the showpiece, which begins on November 20, has been dominated by concerns over the treatment of workers and laws that criminalise same-sex relations.
Blatter, who was cleared of fraud charges by a Swiss court earlier this year over financial misconduct allegations, maintains he never personally voted for Qatar to hold the event.
The choice of Qatar was a mistake, he said in an interview with Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger.
At the time, we actually agreed in the executive committee that Russia …
Real Betis veteran Joaquin has signed a new contract that runs until 2020.
The club icon, who returned to the LaLiga club in 2015, will be 38 by the time his new deal comes to an end.
Joaquin rose through the youth ranks at Betis before moving on in 2006 to enjoy spells with Valencia, Malaga and Fiorentina.
The former Spain international will now have the chance to add a sizeable amount to his 355 club appearances.
A statement from Betis read: Real Betis has renewed the contract of the captain Joaquin Sanchez. The winger, a Green-and-White icon, will continue with the club until 2020.
Joaquin arrived to the Green-and-White academy at the age of 16, and has become one of the most important Spanish footballers in the last two decades.
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Dejan Kulusevski believes Tottenham will achieve better results than the first six months of the season following the World Cup break.
Spurs will play their first game in well over a month when they travel to Brentford on Monday.
Antonio Conte s side sit fourth in the Premier League and are into the Champions League round of 16, with Milan their opponents.
Winger Kulusevski feels Spurs will return an even better side following the hiatus.
I expect better results than the first six months of the season, Kulusevski told Stats Perform. I think we can do better and we ve been working, so now it s just time to show what we ve been doing.
I think we have a lot of quality players that still can make more. We have very good players and you saw that in t…
Swansea City defender Joe Rodon requires surgery on a fresh ankle injury and will miss Wales crucial Euro 2020 qualifiers with Azerbaijan and Hungary in November.
The 22-year-old has started three of Wales six qualifiers, including last month s double-header with Slovakia and Croatia.
Rodon injured his ankle this month but sustained a new tendon issue in Swansea s 3-0 defeat to Brentford on Tuesday, ruling him out of action for a few months .
Swansea boss Steve Cooper confirmed the lay-off after Sunday s 1-0 victory over Cardiff City.
— Swansea City AFC (@SwansOfficial)
Joe picked up a fresh injury on Tuesday. He s going to need an operation next week, Cooper said at his post-match news conference.
We were worried because…
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In what could prove to be an enjoyable La Liga showdown on Friday evening, Celta Vigo will welcome Valencia to Baladios.
Celta Vigo
Starting with the hosts, spending large spells of last season looking over their shoulder at a looming relegation scrap, the Sky Blues are looking to find some much-welcomed stability this time around. Getting proceedings underway last weekend with a stellar comeback at Baladios as they secured a 2-1 victory against Alaves, Claudio Giraldez’s men will be hoping for a repeat performance on Friday evening. Appearing to have turned a corner prior to the summer break as they lost just one of their final five La Liga appearances, the Galicia-based outfit will also be excited by their extended success on hom…
Curtis Jones says he is probably the happiest he s been since Arne Slot s arrival at Liverpool.
Jones was first promoted to the first team by Jurgen Klopp in September 2019, but despite going on to make 133 appearances for his boyhood club, he failed to nail down a place in the German s starting line-up after that.
Last season, the 23-year-old made 36 appearances in all competitions, more than in any other season, netting five goals as Liverpool won the EFL Cup and finished third in the Premier League.
Now, with a new manager at the helm, Jones believes Slot s more patient approach will suit him better, allowing him to secure a regular starting spot.
[Slot s] amazing. It s probably the happiest I ve been, Jones told reporters during their pre-season camp…
Tottenham scored for a 36th successive Premier League game in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Brighton to equal the second-longest run in Premier League history.
Here, the PA news agency looks at how they have done it and the record run still in front of them.
Scoring for fun
Ange Ball are on the joint-second longest scoring streak in Premier League history!
— Premier League (@premierleague)
After losing 1-0 to Wolves in March, Tottenham scored in their final 12 games of last season – even as they sacked manager Antonio Conte and then caretaker Cristian Stellini, the latter following a shambolic 6-1 defeat to Newcastle.
They finished the season with Ryan Mason in charge and have not let up this term under a fourth manager in Ange Postecoglou, ne…