European giants in Pulisic pursuit

Borussia Dortmund starlet Christian Pulisic has emerged as a top transfer target for the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, according to the British media.

Daily Mail reports that the American teenage sensation has once again turned plenty of heads after scoring a brace in and ICC win over Liverpool. Pulisic was the standout performer for the Bundesliga side against the Reds.

Pulisic has enjoyed a stellar season at the German club during the 2017/18 campaign. He hit the rich vein of form in 32 Bundesliga appearances, while he also took part in his team’s eight matches in the Champions League and Europa League.

Jurgen Klopp is said to be extremely keen to bring his former protegee to Anfield but the German tactician will face plenty of …

Hargreaves, O´Shea set for United squad return

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said Friday midfielder Owen Hargreaves and defender John O Shea could be back in the squad for the visit of Chelsea this weekend.

England midfielder Hargreaves has not played a first-team game since September 2008 after undergoing surgery to both knees, while Republic of Ireland international O Shea has been out with a leg injury since November.

John O Shea and Owen Hargreaves have trained very well with the first team, Ferguson said.

They are not far away and I may use one of them as substitute on Saturday and the other on Wednesday.

John O Shea in particular has done a lot of work. The boy has come on terrifically well in the last two or three weeks.

If I include one on Saturday and one on Wednesday i…

Manchester City goalkeeper Hart wants quadruple

Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart is dreaming of winning the quadruple this season.

Manuel Pellegrini s men sit third in the Premier League table and have already booked their ticket for the knockout stages of the Champions League.

They also qualified for the semi-finals of the League Cup last week and are yet to begin their FA Cup campaign.

It will be a successful season if we win all the trophies, Hart told Sky Sports.

We can t say we want to lose that one or we accept we are going to lose then. We have to go out to win all four and see what happens.

Manchester City have struggled to make an impact in Europe in recent seasons, but Hart is optimistic about his side s chances this term.

We are ambitious as a team, as a club and a…

Juventus 2-1 Napoli: Ronaldo and Dybala restore winning ways in Turin

Juventus returned to winning ways in Serie A with a 2-1 defeat of Napoli at the Allianz Stadium on Wednesday.

After a shock defeat to Benevento ended their run of seven consecutive home league wins, the champions responded in impressive style to record a ninth victory in 10 home league games against Napoli.

Cristiano Ronaldo dispatched a cross from the excellent Federico Chiesa to put Juve ahead with his fourth goal in his past six appearances against the Partenopei.

Gianluigi Buffon made a handful of solid saves to preserve Juve s lead before substitute Paulo Dybala fired in an expert second to make the points safe, with Lorenzo Insigne s late penalty counting for little.

1 Paulo Dybala has scored a goal as a substitute in Serie A for the first time…

China tycoon in talks to buy Liverpool: report

A Chinese Internet gaming tycoon has confirmed he is in talks to buy British football club Liverpool, Chinese media reported Wednesday.

Zhu Jun, chairman of Nasdaq-listed online game company The9 Limited, said the negotiations to buy Liverpool were ongoing , but added that the outcome was hard to predict, the Beijing Times reported.

Officials at Shanghai-based The9 said they could not immediately confirm the comments when contacted by AFP.

Zhu, who already owns Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua, has held two preliminary meetings with Barclays Capital, the investment bank hired to handle the sale, Britain s Independent newspaper reported, citing unnamed sources.

Chairman of debt-ridden Liverpool Martin Broughton, who is also chief of British Airw…

Aston Villa 1 Crystal Palace 0: Hennessey howler hands Villa first home win

Wayne Hennessey s terrible error gave Aston Villa their first win in 20 Premier League matches, the goalkeeper fumbling Joleon Lescott s header over the line to gift Remi Garde s men a 1-0 home victory against Crystal Palace.

Villa had not tasted success in the Premier League since beating AFC Bournemouth on the opening day of the season, but the league s bottom club held on for a narrow win on Tuesday.

Wilfried Zaha had hit the outside of the post in the opening minute of the game after swapping passes with Jason Puncheon but both teams struggled for a cutting edge in the final third.

And it was an awful mistake from Hennessey that gifted Villa the lead on 58 minutes. Lescott s header had power but was straight at the goalkeeper, who contrived to bundle t…

Prediction: Atletico Madrid vs Osasuna

Prediction: Atletico Madrid to win 3-0

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Atletico Madrid and Osasuna will face each other in La Liga this coming weekend. The match at the Wanda Metropolitano is slated to kick off at 5:30pm UK time on Sunday.

Atletico Madrid

Atletico Madrid have recovered their form and are back in pole position to win the La Liga title this season. Diego Simeone’s side are at the top of the standings at the most with 80 points from 36 matches, four points clear of second-placed Barcelona and five ahead of defending champions and city rivals Real Madrid, who have played 35 games.

There could still be a twist in the La Liga title race, but Atletico will know that that have their destiny in their own hands. A win against Osasuna would be …

Puyol apologises for ´clumsy joke´ after Casillas deletes ´I´m gay´ tweet

Carles Puyol has apologised for making a clumsy joke in response to a tweet from Iker Casillas account on Sunday, after it appeared the former goalkeeper had come out as gay.

A post attributed to Real Madrid and Spain great Casillas read: I hope you respect me: I m gay.

Although the message was widely shared on social media, suspicions over its validity or seriousness emerged when Puyol replied to say it was time for the duo to tell our story , followed by kissing and love-heart emojis.

Spanish media reports subsequently suggested Casillas original message was an ironic response to rumours concerning a potential relationship with actress Alejandra Onieva.

Casillas has since claimed his account was hacked and apologised for offence caused, and former Barc…

Remy, Gourcuff see France past Romania in Euro qualifier

Substitutes Loic Remy and Yoann Gourcuff struck late goals to give France a 2-0 win at home to Romania on Saturday that sent them top of their Euro 2012 qualifying group.

Marseille forward Remy rapped a low shot into the bottom-left corner in the 83rd minute, at the end of a game the hosts had dominated, before Gourcuff swept home a cutback from debutant Dimitri Payet in injury time.

A match lasts 90 or even 95 minutes, so there s no point just analysing the first 75, said France coach Laurent Blanc.

The team kept working and kept faith in victory. I congratulate my players; those who played from the start and those who came on.

It was France s first win at the Stade de France since October 2009 and allowed Blanc s side to open up a one-point lead ove…

Scratching, biting and fighting – Arsenal star Ozil on his Premier League experience

Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil believes playing in the Premier League stands as the toughest challenge of his football career.

A World Cup winner in 2014 with Germany, Ozil joined Arsenal from Real Madrid the previous year and insists nothing could have prepared him for the physicality of England s top flight, along with some underhand tactics from opponents.

But the 28-year-old, whose form for Arsenal has come in for criticism over recent months as speculation continues over a possible bumper contract renewal, quickly learned complaining was not an option.

In an extract from his autobiography Gunning For Glory: My Life published by the Daily Mail, Ozil said: The Premier League is the toughest challenge I ve experienced in football. If you can t take it here, witho…