Manchester City goalkeeper Claudio Bravo had mixed feelings despite seeing his penalty shoot-out heroics send his side into the EFL Cup quarter-finals.

Bravo made saves from Alfred N Diaye and Conor Coady to lead City to a 4-1 shoot-out victory over Wolves after a 0-0 draw on Tuesday.

The Chile shot-stopper said it had been a tough outing for City, who have been dominant this season but were unable to find a breakthrough against Championship opposition.

I have mixed feelings because it s been a really difficult game for us. It s not what we re used to, Bravo told Sky Sports through a translator.

They created a lot of chances, they could ve scored some goals along the way but luckily we managed to sort it out in the end with the penalty shoot-out.

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Stewart Downing has rejoined boyhood club Middlesbrough on a four-year-deal after the Championship side agreed an undisclosed fee with West Ham.

Versatile midfielder Downing came through the youth ranks at Middlesbrough, and left for Aston Villa in a reported £12million deal in 2009.

The 30-year-old later joined Liverpool, but endured a difficult spell on Merseyside and moved to Upton Park in August 2013.

It s great to be back home  I always said I wanted to come back to this club and I m delighted the chance has now come, Downing told Boro s official website.

I didn t put a time limit on it but now the circumstances are right. 

There was a shout about me coming back here on loan when I was at Liverpool, but for one reason or another it d…

European champions Spain will step up their preparations for Euro 2016 with an international friendly against Belgium in November.

Spain will travel to Belgium on November 17, four days after hosting England in Alicante.

Spain and Belgium have qualified for next year s European Championships in France after topping their respective groups.

Next month s fixture will be the first meeting between Spain and Belgium since 2009.

David Silva and David Villa scored braces as Spain routed Belgium 5-0 in a World Cup qualifier.

Belgium have not beaten Spain since their quarter-final penalty shoot-out win at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

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Jules Kounde will set himself no limits  at Barcelona following his transfer from Sevilla, while revealing his famed goal celebration is a tribute to basketball legend Kobe Bryant.

The France international sealed a switch to Camp Nou on Thursday, having held out on a lengthy courtship from Chelsea, to become the latest big-name capture amid Xavi s squad revival.

Kounde joins the litany of players to arrive at the Catalan outfit this close season, following the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie through the door.

But despite the rarefied company the centre-back finds himself in, he intends to not allow himself to be limited in comparison and is determined to compete alongside the best to prove his place.

I’m…

It promised to be an emotional night for Sweden and for Zlatan Ibrahimovic in particular.

The 34-year-old revealed in the build-up to Wednesday s final Group E game against Belgium that he would retire from international football after Euro 2016. Only a win at the Stade de Nice would extend the iconic attacker s Sweden career. It was not meant to be.

Sweden lost the game. Sweden lost Ibrahimovic. Sweden lost a legend.

There was a moment of brilliance halfway through the first half when the former Paris Saint-Germain striker lifted the ball off the ground with a subtle touch, before seeing his volley blocked by a Belgian defender, while he again came close minutes later when he aimed just wide from 20 yards out. He even had a goal disallowed after the break.

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Erik ten Hag praised Manchester United’s collective efforts defensively after David de Gea collected the Golden Glove award for the goalkeeper with the most Premier League clean sheets.

United’s 1-0 win at Bournemouth brought De Gea his 17th shut-out of the campaign, taking him clear of Liverpool’s Alisson Becker, as well as helping the team to within a point of Champions League qualification.

De Gea has been at fault several times this season, most recently in gifting West Ham a goal in a 1-0 defeat at the London Stadium and as the team crashed out of the Europa League against Sevilla.

Yet against Bournemouth he gave a reminder that his shot-stopping ability and reflexes remain undiminished, making three excellent saves from Dominic Solanke, David Brooks a…

Former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon believes it would be wise to offer Gareth Bale a new deal at the club.

Reports over the weekend suggested Bale could be in line for a two-year extension to his current deal – which still has three years left to run – and accompanying pay rise.

The Wales international became the top-scoring British player in La Liga history on Sunday when he scored for the 43rd time in 76 appearances for Madrid during the 4-0 win over Sevilla.

Bale has 15 goals in 18 Liga games this season – an excellent return on the back of a testing second campaign at the Santiago Bernabeu, where his stock fell with the Madrid support and he was link with a move to Manchester United.

His form this time around comes despite persistent tro…

What the papers say

Newcastle are considering a January move for Bayer Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah, according to The Sun. Manchester United and West Ham are also keen on the German international, 27.

RB Leipzig have opened the door for Timo Werner to exit the club, according to the Evening Standard. The former Chelsea forward, 27, has started only two games this season.

The Standard also reports that Chelsea are the latest club to take an interest in 18-year-old South American midfielder Gabriel Moscardo. The Corinthians teenager has already attracted interest from Arsenal and Liverpool.

Jadon Sancho is unlikely to be allowed to leave Manchester United on the cheap. The Daily Mirror says the club will not sanction a cut-price January deal for the England wi…

Market: Bosnia Herzegovina win

Odds: 3/5 @

Knowing that they face what is a must-win qualifying showdown on Tuesday night, Bosnia Herzegovina will welcome Luxembourg to Zenica.

Starting with the hosts, while Bosnia Herzegovina might have opened their EURO qualifying adventure with a thumping 3-0 win against Iceland on March 23rd, Faruk Hadzibegic s men have come crashing back down to earth. Marking their return to Group J action over the weekend as they slumped to a routine 3-0 loss at the hands of European heavyweights Portugal, the Dragons have now lost three of their last four appearances across all competitions. However, knowing that they face what is a must-win showdown when they return to Zenica on Tuesday night, Bosnia should be excited by their continued…

Thomas Tuchel expressed his delight with a controlled and serious performance that guided Chelsea into the FA Cup final.

Chelsea reached a third successive FA Cup final, matching the feat achieved by Arsenal between 2000-01 and 2002-03, with a 2-0 triumph over Patrick Vieira s Crystal Palace at Wembley.

Substitute Ruben Loftus-Cheek opened the scoring in the 65th minute with his first goal in any competition since November 2020, before Mason Mount sealed semi-final success with 14 minutes remaining.

The 2021-22 campaign now marks Mount s new-best scoring season, with his 12th strike this term surpassing his 11-goal haul for Championship side Derby County in 2018-19.

Tuchel, who has progressed from each of the 11 semi-final ties in his managerial career…