Salzburg cruised past Genk 4-1 on Wednesday to keep alive their hopes of progressing to the last 16 of the Champions League.
Jesse Marsch s side did not hit the heights of the 6-2 thumping of their Belgian opponents in September but they scarcely needed to get out of second gear against Hannes Wolf s limited outfit.
Patson Daka – who had earlier missed a glaring opportunity – put the Austrian side ahead after 43 minutes before Takumi Minamino doubled their advantage just 98 seconds later.
The impressive Hwang Hee-chan added a third in the second half before Mbwana Samatta headed in a consolation five minutes from time.
Erling Haaland added a final flourish for Salzburg, though, to ensure they go into their clash with Liverpool on December 10 knowi…
Claudio Bravo is set to become Chile s record cap-holder when his country host Peru in a friendly on Friday.
The Barcelona goalkeeper has been in sensational form for his new club this term, having signed from Real Sociedad during the close-season, and this latest achievement will add further gloss to what is fast becoming a glittering campaign.
Having equalled Leonel Sanchez s tally of 84 caps in a goalless draw with Mexico last month, the 32-year-old will break that 46-year-old record when he turns out this week.
Bravo s clean sheet in the 2-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano last weekend took him to 630 minutes without conceding a goal in the Spanish top flight, breaking Pedro Maria Artola s Barca record for the longest unbeaten start to a season.
The keepe…
RB Leipzig star Christopher Nkunku has been named Bundesliga s Player of the Season for the 2021-22 campaign as speculation over a Premier League move persists.
Nkunku won the German top flight s Player of the Month award a single-season record four times in October, February, March and April and has been subsequently rewarded with the end-of-season accolade.
Robert Lewandowski, Manchester City-bound Erling Haaland and Bayer Leverkusen s Patrik Schick were all in contention, but only the Bayern Munich talisman (38) can boast more direct goal involvements this term than Nkunku, who has scored 20 goals and recorded 13 assists in 34 league games.
Meanwhile, across Europe s top five leagues in all competitions only Karim Benzema (59), Kylian Mbappe (57) and Lewa…
Ronald Koeman will return to his former role as head coach of the Netherlands national team after the 2022 World Cup.
The former Barcelona boss will take over from Louis van Gaal, who revealed recently on Dutch TV show Humberto he has undergone 25 rounds of radiation treatment for prostate cancer.
The 70-year-old has continued to work and did not tell his players of his condition when the Netherlands squad got together in March for friendlies against Denmark and Germany.
However, Van Gaal will remain in charge for the tournament in Qatar, which takes place between November 21 and December 18, with Koeman resuming the role he left in 2020 after that.
The news was confirmed by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) on Wednesday.
I am looki…
Premier League newcomers Burnley have completed the signing of goalkeeper Matt Gilks on a two-year deal.
The Scotland international moves to Turf Moor as a free agent after his deal at former club Blackpool expired.
Gilks made his debut for Blackpool in January 2009 and soon secured the number one spot.
The 32-year-old helped the team achieve promotion to the top flight in 2010 and made over 200 appearances during his time at Bloomfield Road.
He is set to compete with regular first choice Tom Heaton for a spot in Burnley s starting XI next season.
The deal represents manager Sean Dyche s second foray in the transfer market during the present window, after winger Michael Kightly signed a three-year deal on Sunday following a successful loan stint l…
Real Madrid have revealed that France striker Karim Benzema has signed a contract extension with the European champions until 2019.
Benzema s contract was due to expire at the end of the upcoming campaign, but he has now committed his long-term future to the club.
The 26-year-old has enjoyed great success in his time at the Santiago Bernabeu, winning La Liga in 2011-12 as well as the UEFA Champions League last season and two Copa del Rey titles.
Benzema played a key role in Real s Champions League success, the 10th in the Spanish giants history, scoring five goals in the competition including one in the semi-finals against Bayern Munich.
He netted a further 19 in La Liga and the Copa del Rey, which Real also won by beating Barcelona, last term before find…
Wolfsburg goalkeeper Diego Benaglio is set to commit his long-term future to the club, .
The 31-year-old has just over a year left on his deal at Volkswagen Arena, and there were some doubts regarding his future.
However, the latest reports suggest he is ready to sign a new deal with the Wolves that will keep him at the club until June 2018.
Benaglio has been delighted with the progress the club has been making and he recently bought a house near Wolfsburg, which is enough to suggest he has no plans to leave any time soon.
And having also retired from international duty after the 2014 World Cup, the highly rated goalkeeper is fully focused on his club career.
Benaglio joined Wolfsburg from Nacional back in 2008 and has since made 220 Bundesliga …
Jorge Sampaoli alluded to it on Friday. Having a player like Leo means you have to organise the team differently.
Lionel Messi is both Argentina s greatest weapon and their biggest weakness. It s the unpleasant truth, the elephant in the room.
It s also why the greatest player of his generation whisper that quietly in Madrid and Madeira has never won a major international trophy and why, without significant improvement, that drought won t be broken in Russia.
That s not to say Messi underperformed in the 1-1 draw against Iceland, he was unquestionably Argentina s best player despite again failing from the penalty spot seemingly the only flaw in his arsenal, but his shadow hangs over the rest of the team, inhibiting them, stifling their natural instincts.…
Martin Skrtel is set to sign a new contract with Liverpool,.
The Slovakia international, who is about to enter the final year of his current deal with the Reds, has been strongly linked with a move away from Anfield but is now on the verge of committing his immediate future to the club.
Since arriving on Merseyside in January 2008, the centre-back has racked up almost three hundred appearances in all competitions, scoring seventeen goals while he was part of the squad that won the League Cup in 2012.
The former Zenit St Petersburg man also has five goals in seventy-three outings for his country, and played at the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.
He joins a number of his teammates in signig new deals with the club, with Jordan Henderson, Danie…
Tottenham and Chelsea target Alessandro Bastoni will 100 per cent be staying at Inter, while Simone Inzaghi has agreed a new contract with the Nerazzurri.
That is the message from football agent Tullio Tinti, who represents Inter duo Bastoni and Inzaghi.
Chelsea are in the market for a new centre-back, with Antonio Rudiger leaving for Real Madrid, Andreas Christensen departing and talk of Cesar Azpilicueta joining Barcelona.
Tottenham are also in the search for another defender as Antonio Conte looks to continue to invest to build a side capable of competing in the Premier League and Champions League.
Bastoni has been a name repeatedly linked with the two clubs, alongside Manchester United, but the Italy international s agent Tinti insists a move will n…