When Paris Saint-Germain line up against Manchester City at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday for the first leg of their highly anticipated Champions League semi-final, the state of the home side s defence is unlikely to be at the forefront of many minds.
Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, each sublime against defending champions Bayern Munich in the previous round, are the obvious attractions.
The opportunity to see the two PSG superstars go toe-to-toe with an exciting City side, led by Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden, is an enticing one.
However, as well as the attacking talent that has allowed City to score 21 times in the competition this season – matching PSG and trailing only Bayern (27) – Pep Guardiola s men also have the meanest defence.
Fellow semi-…
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Two sides who find themselves scrapping it out at the foot of the Serie A table, Cuiaba will welcome Vitoria to the Arena Pantanal in the early hours of Thursday.
Cuiaba
Starting with the hosts, while Cuiaba might have embarked on a major Copa Sudamericana adventure this year, Petit’s men are at the heart of a major domestic struggle. Last seen over the weekend putting in a toothless performance as they slumped to a 1-0 loss at home against Internacional, the Dourado sit rock-bottom of the Serie A table and have come under plenty of top-flight scrutiny. Opening up the 2024 campaign with a routine 4-0 drumming at the hands of Athletico-PR, the former Boavista boss knows that his squad faces a major must-win showdown in the early hour…
Tottenham have allowed young forward Troy Parrott to join Excelsior Rotterdam on a season-long loan.
The 21-year-old Republic of Ireland international spent the 2022-23 campaign at Preston, where he scored four goals in 34 appearances for the Sky Bet Championship club.
A groin injury prevented Parrott from joining the Spurs squad on their Asia-Pacific pre-season tour under new boss Ange Postecoglou and he will now continue his develop in the Eredivisie.
Troy Parrott has joined Dutch Eredivisie side Excelsior Rotterdam on loan for the remainder of the 2023/24 season.
Good luck, Troy!
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial)
Parrott made his Tottenham debut in 2019 but has only appeared a further three times for his boyhood club and now foll…
The 33-year-old, who swiftly turned his attention to Saturday’s Premier League trip to Bournemouth, said: “When I was at Tottenham, we had Barcelona and Inter Milan in our group and everyone said it was done, but never say never.
“We got to the final that year, so it is a never-say-die attitude from us. We can’t control what happens, we just have to focus on Bournemouth and forget this.”
Newcastle’s current haul of four points from four games is equal to what Trippier’s Spurs had managed by the same point in 2018-19, when defeats by Inter and Barcelona were followed by a draw at PSV Eindhoven and then a 2-1 home win over the Dutch outfit.
They eventually secured second place in Group B by beating the Italians in north London and then drawing at the …
Bayer Leverkusen are interested in signing Jeanuel Belocian from Rennes in the summer transfer window, according to Fabrizio Romano. The well-known and well-respected Italian journalist has reported on X that Bayer are closing in on a deal with Rennes to get a deal done for Belocian.
Romano has noted that Bayer, who won the Bundesliga title this past season, will hand Belocian a five-year contract. The German club view the 19-year-old, who can operate as a central defender or as a central midfielder, as a player for the present and for the future.
https://x.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1798997924992757878
Belocian has been on the books of Rennes since 2020 and is now part of the first team. The teenager made 16 starts and seven substitute appearances in Ligue 1 las…
Noni Madueke’s equaliser earned Chelsea a point as they came from behind in a 1-1 draw with 10-man Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge.
Despite a late push by the dominant hosts, Forest held firm to continue their fine start in the Premier League against another top-four opponent.
After a tepid first half, Chris Wood put the visitors ahead in the 49th minute after directing Nikola Milenkovic s header across goal into the bottom corner.
That lead did not last long as Madueke fired Chelsea level just eight minutes later after cutting in from the right of the box.
James Ward-Prowse received his marching orders for a second yellow card on 78 minutes, though neither side could find a winner in the fiery encounter despite a spate of late chances.
Che…
Erling Haaland endured a miserable outing as Norway captain, with his goal-scoring exploits powerless in stopping Austria claim a thumping 5-1 win in their Nations League clash.
Haaland, standing in for injured skipper Martin Odegaard, watched on as his nation suffered a second-half collapse at the Raiffeisen Arena on Sunday.
The Manchester City striker became Norway s all-time top scorer with a brace in their 3-0 win over Slovenia in midweek, taking his total to 34 goals in 36 games, and threatened to add to that tally when he struck the post early on.
However, a dominant start by the hosts was rewarded when Marko Arnautovic thundered his side in front in the eighth minute with a fierce effort off the crossbar.
Norway found themselves level six minutes …
Miroslav Klose pointed to the influence of Hansi Flick on his fledgling touchline career as the World Cup record-breaker began his first job as a head coach.
Germany great Klose has taken over as boss of Austrian Bundesliga team SCR Altach. The player whose career haul of 16 World Cup goals remains unmatched was presented to the media on Monday.
The 44-year-old Klose had a spell as an assistant with the Germany national team during Joachim Low s tenure, and worked at Bayern Munich under Flick in the 2020-21 campaign, having previously spent two years with the Bavarians under-17 team.
Bayern won the Bundesliga, DFL-Supercup, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup trophies in the season when Klose was involved in the first-team squad. Flick then departed to become G…
Major League Soccer (MLS) has experienced significant growth since its inception in 1996, expanding from 10 teams to 29 teams in 2023. With increasing popularity, the league has shown no signs of slowing down, continually exploring new markets for expansion. As MLS looks to the future, several states stand out as potential candidates for new teams due to their growing soccer culture, demographic trends, and economic viability. New states that get MLS teams become sports hot spots, often seeing tourism growth, sports betting growth, and an increase in local business and city revenue.
Here are some states that could be next in line to get an MLS team.
Mississippi
Mississippi, particularly the Jackson metropolitan area, offers a unique opportunity for MLS expan…
Alejo Veliz has completed a loan move from Tottenham to Espanyol, the La Liga club confirmed on Wednesday.
Veliz, who has made eight appearances for Spurs since signing from Rosario Central in 2023, joins Espanyol on a season-long deal.
The 20-year-old was limited to 45 minutes of action under Ange Postecoglou last campaign, scoring his first goal in a 4-2 defeat to Brighton in December.
Veliz joined Sevilla for the second half of the 2023-24 season, but again struggled for game time and played six times in La Liga, totalling to 31 minutes.
Alejo Veliz has joined La Liga side Espanyol on loan for the 2024/25 season.
Go well, !
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial)
Espanyol won promotion from the Segunda Division last season af…