Leicester sign Stoke defender Huth

Massimiliano Allegri feels fortunate to work with World Cup winner Angel Di Maria after the winger scored at Spezia, where the Italian felt Juventus were lucky to triumph.

Di Maria came off the bench and lashed home a pinpoint finish into the bottom-left corner as Juve triumphed 2-0 after Moise Kean s first-half opener at Stadio Alberto Picco on Sunday.

The Argentina international has been directly involved in 10 goals (four goals, six assists) for Juve in all competitions this season.

That is the most of any Bianconeri player this term, contributing to a goal every 97 minutes on average, and Allegri remains grateful to work with the 35-year-old.

I ve always been lucky because in the teams I ve coached I ve been stuffed with champions. Di Maria is one of…

Robert Lewandowski became the first player to score 16 goals in a major European international qualifying campaign on Sunday as Poland booked their place at the World Cup.

The Bayern Munich star had been tied with Cristiano Ronaldo as the section s top scorer on 15 prior to his side s final Group E game against Montenegro, where they needed a point to progress.

Poland saw off a spirited fightback from the visitors to win 4-2, with the third home goal five minutes from the end coming from Lewandowski.

That strike made the 29-year-old the first player to hit 16 in a single campaign of either the UEFA section of World Cup qualifying or the European Championship equivalent.

Record! Robert Lewandowski becomes the first player ever to score 16 goals i…

Pablo Zabaleta believes Manchester City would be foolish to focus solely on Premier League leaders Leicester City with the chasing pack closing in on the Champions League places.

City have won one of their past five league matches and lie 12 points adrift of Leicester in fourth, albeit with a game in hand on Claudio Ranieri s shock title favourites.

Manuel Pellegrini s team could have slipped to fifth by the time they host bitter rivals Manchester United in Sunday s derby, where Louis van Gaal s men will aim for a win to close to within one point of their neighbours.

Of course we need to be honest with ourselves and just think that the gap between Leicester and us is big – 12 points, Zabaleta said.

We have a game in hand, but I think it is not right …

Swansea City midfielder Ki Sung-yeung has put his contract talks on hold so he can focus on the club’s battle for survival, according to Sky Sports.

The South Korea international’s current deal is set to expire at the end of the season but he wants to concentrate on helping the South Wales side climb the table before negotiations recommence.

Ki has racked up one hundred and forty appearances in all competitions since moving to Swansea from Celtic in the summer of 2012 while he spent the 2013/14 campaign on loan at Sunderland.

Internationally, the twenty-eight year old has been capped ninety-seven times by his country, scoring ten times while he featured at the 2010 and 2014 World Cup finals in South Africa and Brazil respectively.

Swansea beat We…

Tottenham’s new technical director Johan Lange officially started work on Wednesday, but boss Ange Postecoglou will not be banging on his door demanding a squad full of “24 world-class players” any time soon.

Spurs are next in action on Monday against London rivals Chelsea, who took their spending under Todd Boehly beyond the £1billion mark with several additions this summer, including midfielder Moses Caicedo for £100million.

While Tottenham’s signings have hit the ground running, Chelsea continue to flatter to deceive and have won only three times under Mauricio Pochettino in the Premier League this season.

Postecoglou was asked if he would like a £1billion war chest and insisted: “Not necessarily. I’ve always said I’ve never felt it is about j…

Verdict: Over 2.5 goals scored yes

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The 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup comes to an end with the final match everybody was hoping for. Mexico and USA both had problems in their knockout-stage matches, but both sides came away unscathed to meet in the decisive match once again. This time, the venue will be Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. One would think the USMNT would be favourites since they re playing at home, but Mexico tends to have good support across the States as well. Kick-off for this thrilling match is scheduled at 02:30 AM, BST.

The USMNT have had a relatively easy path towards the decisive match of the tournament. They won their three group-stage matches with little to no complications (4-0 against Guyana, 6-0 against Trin…

Jessie Marsch says Canada showed incredible potential by finishing fourth at the Copa America, even if he believes they threw a bronze medal away against Uruguay.

Ismael Kone and Jonathan David scored as Canada fought back from 1-0 down to lead Saturday s third-place play-off in North Carolina, but Luis Suarez levelled after 92 minutes.

Kone and Alphonso Davies then failed to convert in the penalty shoot-out as Uruguay emerged as 4-2 victors, becoming the first nation to win multiple shoot-outs at two editions of the tournament (2024 and 1999).

Canada, meanwhile, fell short of becoming the third CONCACAF nation to get on the podium at the Copa, after Mexico (1997, 1999 and 2007) and Honduras (2001).

While Marsch was disappointed with the way Canada let th…

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Hoping to make up some ground in the top-four chase on Friday night, Athletic Bilbao will welcome Celta Vigo to San Mames.

Athletic Bilbao

Starting with the hosts, while Athletic Bilbao might have marked their return from October’s international break with a late 1-0 loss away at Barcelona, the Lions have certainly proven that toothless performance was nothing more than a minor blip. Last seen putting in an action-packed display as the claimed a 3-2 victory award at Villarreal, Ernesto Valverde’s side have their sights firmly set on punching a Champions League ticket this season. Losing just one of their previous five domestic appearances across all fronts, Bilbao will also be excited by their most recent showdown against Friday’…

Paris Saint-Germain have further bolstered their midfield with the signing of Valencia s Carlos Soler.

Soler, who had spent his entire senior career with his hometown club, has penned a five-year contract with the Ligue 1 champions, who will reportedly pay €18million plus add-ons for his services.

The 25-year-old, who started out as a winger before moving into a more central role, scored 11 goals and added five assists in 32 league appearances for Los Che last term.

I m very happy! It’s a new adventure in my career. I feel very proud and I’m looking forward to starting work with my teammates, to meeting them, and giving everything for this shirt, he told the club s official website.

On Tuesday, we re playing our first Champions League game at th…

Wolfsburg must attack Gent in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, despite heading into Tuesday s match at the Volkswagen Arena with a 3-2 lead, says Koen Casteels.

Dieter Hecking s side surged three goals ahead in the opening encounter at the Ghelamco Arena on February 17 and looked set for a simple route into the quarter-finals when Max Kruse added to Julian Draxler s double in the 60th minute.

But the Bundesliga side failed to hold onto their advantage, conceding goals to Sven Kums and Kalifa Coulibaly in the final 10 minutes to set up a tense return match.

Casteels was in goal for Wolfsburg and looks set to be so once more on Tuesday, with Diego Benaglio missing their last six matches due to a rib injury.

The Belgian believes Gent …