Erling Haaland scored his first goals since November as champions Manchester City finally wore down Everton to claim a hard-fought 2-0 Premier League win on Saturday.
The prolific Norwegian, who recently returned to action after a foot injury, broke the deadlock after 70 minutes of a drab lunchtime encounter at the Etihad Stadium and wrapped up victory five minutes from time.
It was City’s 10th successive win in all competitions and fired out another warning to their title rivals that their momentum is growing.
City’s superior quality warranted the result, and ultimately it was not a surprise, but it was nevertheless a bitter blow for relegation-threatened Everton after a dogged display.
Guess who s back?
— Manchester City (@ManCity)
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Manchester United s Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov announced his retirement from international football on Thursday, but insisted he remained committed to his club amid rumours of a move.
I have decided to step down from the national team, starting today, the 29-year-old told a press conference in Sofia.
He said he wanted to give younger players the opportunity to step out from my shadow .
Berbatov, who has captained the national team for the past three years and is their record goalscorer with 48 goals, said he was discouraged after Bulgaria failed to qualify for the upcoming World Cup in South Africa.
At times I feel tired, even exhausted by the national team, Berbatov told journalists, adding that he had suffered from recent injuries.
He…
Stoke City have completed the signing of striker Joselu from German Bundesliga side Hannover 96 in a deal worth €8 million, according to the club s official website.
The former Spain youth international, 25, left Real Madrid for 1899 Hoffenheim in the summer of 2012 and spent the 2013/14 season on loan at Eintracht Frankfurt before joining Hannover on a four-year deal last summer.
Joselu becomes the Potters third signing of the summer following the arrivals of defender Philipp Wollscheid (Bayer Leverkusen) and goalkeeper Jakob Haugaard (FC Midtjylland).
“I’m so happy to have joined Stoke City; it’s a dream for me to join a Club like this and to play in the Premier League.
“To play in the Premier League has always been an ambitio…
Eintracht Frankfurt sporting director Bruno Hubner is hopeful coach Armin Veh will remain at the club past the end of his current deal.
Veh, who has been at the club since 2011, secured promotion back to the top flight in his first season before finishing sixth in the Bundesliga last time out.
Frankfurt sit 12th this term and, while Veh s contract is set to expire at the end of the campaign, Hubner is hopeful that he will stay at the Commerzbank-Arena.
The coach is still an absolute expert (who) knows his way around the European stage, Hubner told Bild.
He knew that it will be a difficult season. He does a great job with the situation around him and he is still motivated.
We have said that we will speak at the appropriate time. I can imagine everything and…
Loris Karius believes he could still have a future at Liverpool after his loan spell at Besiktas ends.
Karius joined the Turkish club on a two-year loan deal last year, having last played competitively for Liverpool during his error-strewn display in the 2018 Champions League final loss to Real Madrid.
Still, the goalkeeper is contracted with the Premier League leaders until 2021 and Karius feels he may still have a future at Anfield.
I have a loan until the end of the season and then I will see, back to Liverpool or somewhere else in England or somewhere in Germany, you never know, Karius told UK newspapers, via The Guardian.
Right now my focus is on playing games here every week and then we ll see.
I ve enjoyed my time here. Of course if you …
Market: Over 2.5 goals
Odds: 2/3 @
In what should be an extremely lively contest at an empty Stadio Ennio Tardini on Wednesday evening, Napoli will make the trip to a Parma side in freefall.
Starting with the hosts, throwing away a 2-0 half-time lead against Sampdoria on Sunday and hit with a dramatic 3-2 defeat on home soil, Parma have endured on an abysmal end to the 2019/2020 campaign. Freefalling out the top-10 and the mood around the Stadio Ennio Tardini at a season-low, the Crusaders have managed to pick up just a single Serie A point over their last seven appearances. Along with shipping a trio of strikes over the weekend, Head Coach Roberto D Aversa has been vocal about his side s continued issues at the back. While Parma might have managed to now bag at…
Brazil, without suspended Ramires and injured Elano, face the Netherlands here on Friday for the fourth time at a World Cup in what promises to be an explosive quarter-final.
In 1994 Brazil overcame the Dutch 3-2 at the same stage of the competition before going on to win the title. Four years later in France the Oranje lost out again, 4-2 on penalties after drawing their semi-final 1-1.
They first met in 1974, with the European side prevailing 2-0.
The Netherlands are in arguably better shape than they have ever been to exact revenge on their arch nemesis at the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium and extend their unbeaten record in South Africa to five games.
Bert van Marwijk s men are seeking to be crowned champions at the ninth attempt, after falling at the f…
Best Odds: 4/9
Bookmaker:
Simply looking to extend their buffer at the top of the Serie A table, Inter Milan will make the trip to Lecce on Sunday evening.
Lecce
Starting with the hosts, while Lecce might have secured a shock 3-2 victory against Fiorentina last month, it appears that was nothing more than a minor boost for the Salentians. Tumbling down the Serie A table, Roberto D Aversa s men are enduring a public domestic crisis. Last seen putting in another toothless display as they slumped to a routine 2-0 loss at the hands of Turin, the Apulia-based outfit have lost five of their previous six top-flight appearances and they will be bracing themselves for a heavyweight examination this weekend. With their extended struggle underlined by a 4-0 drumming away …
Blaise Matuidi believes progressing to the UEFA Champions League semi-finals would be an exceptional achievement for Paris Saint-Germain.
Laurent Blanc s side face Chelsea in the second leg of a quarter-final on Tuesday boasting a 3-1 lead from their meeting in Paris last week.
Matuidi, a regular feature for PSG since moving from Saint-Etienne in 2011, feels the Ligue 1 champions can demonstrate how far they have come in recent years by reaching the last four of Europe s premier club competition.
To qualify for the semi-finals would be exceptional for the club and for France. There are 90 minutes between us and the final four, he said.
The team is completely focused on the task at hand. The squad has a lot of experienced players and we want to show how good we ar…
The future of Lyon coach Remi Garde remains up in the air after he revealed that he has yet to decide whether to stay at the club.
Garde s contract with the seven-time Ligue 1 champions expires at the end of the season and he has yet to put pen to paper on a new deal.
The 48-year-old has enjoyed an impressive spell since taking over at the Stade de Gerland in 2011.
Garde has led Lyon to glory in the Coupe de France and Trophee des Champions, while also suffering defeat in two Coupe de la Ligue finals.
Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas reiterated his desire to convince Garde to stay following last Saturday s 2-1 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in this year s Coupe de la Ligue showpiece.
But, while discussions on the matter are due to resume in the near future, Ga…