Lille 2-0 Slavia Praha: Zhegrova´s second ensures strong lead in Champions League qualifying

South Korea head coach Paulo Bento wants his side to be more ruthless in front of goal when they face Qatar in the Asian Cup quarter-finals.

Bento s men advanced to the last eight courtesy of a hard-fought 2-1 extra-time win over Bahrain on Tuesday, a victory sealed by Kim Jin-su s goal in stoppage time at the end of the first additional period.

Qatar, meanwhile, overcame Iraq thanks to Bassam Al Rawi s solitary goal and both teams boast a 100 per cent record at this year s tournament, meaning something has to give at Zayed Sports City Stadium on Friday.

Tottenham forward Son Heung-min has not found the net in his two matches since joining up with the team, but Bento insists the onus is on the collective to shoulder the responsibility of taking their opportunitie…

Sergio Aguero equalled the record for Premier League hat-tricks as a rampant Manchester City thrashed Chelsea 6-0 at home to leapfrog Liverpool and return to the table s summit.

Chelsea were hammered 4-0 at Bournemouth in their last away league match and Maurizio Sarri s side were taken apart by the defending champions at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, the Blues suffering their heaviest ever Premier League loss.

Raheem Sterling struck in the fourth minute and Ilkay Gundogan rapidly made it four after Aguero s first-half double, with Chelsea unable to muster any response in the face of City s incredible intensity.

Aguero, who also hit a treble in City s last home league game against Arsenal, stroked home a penalty after the break to join Alan Shearer on 11 Premier…

Best Odds: 6/4

Bookmaker:

Opening the new campaign in North London this weekend, Tottenham will host a new-look Everton side from behind closed doors on Sunday afternoon.

Tottenham

Starting with the hosts, while Tottenham might have managed to open their pre-season preparations with three wins on the bounce, Jose Mourinho s men will be looking to bounce back from their shock defeat across the capital last week. Hit with a 2-1 defeat against recently relegated Watford at Vicarage Road, there is no doubt that the former Manchester United boss will be glad to make a return to home soil on Sunday afternoon. Really enjoying an end of season purple patch and managing to secure a top-six finish at the final hour, Spurs enjoyed a six-match Premier League unbeaten run e…

Cristiano Ronaldo made his 150th appearance in European club competition in Real Madrid s clash with Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday.

The 32-year-old, who also reached 400 games for the club, has now played 146 times in the Champions League – including four qualifiers – and twice in both the Europa League and UEFA Super Cup.

The Portugal star s record in those 150 matches is, unsurprisingly, spectacular. He has won 95, drawn 33 and lost just 23, giving him a winning percentage of 63 per cent.

Ronaldo has scored 112 times in those fixtures for Madrid, Manchester United and Sporting CP, more than any other player in European competition, including Barcelona star and long-term rival Lionel Messi. 

Tuesday s 3-1 victory at Signal Iduna Park was his 293r…

Cristiano Ronaldo s decision to leave Real Madrid for Juventus brings to a close one of the most fruitful relationships in the history of football.

The iconic attacker s nine-year stint at the Santiago Bernabeu has coincided with a period of sustained success for the club, the forward winning a remarkable four Champions League titles during his time in Spain.

Ronaldo has also been recognised individually, sharing the last 10 Ballons d Or with Barcelona rival Lionel Messi, including one victory with Manchester United prior to his Madrid move.

A number of players have come close to breaking their stranglehold on the award over the past decade, but sustained quality and spectacular feats of goalscoring ensured their iron grip is as tight as ever. 

As Ronald…

Flamengo appointed former Brazil goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni as their new head coach, the Brazilian champions announced on Tuesday.

Ceni – who holds the record for most goals scored by a goalkeeper with 131 – replaces Domenec Torrent at the Campeonato Brasileiro and Copa Libertadores champions, after leaving Fortaleza.

Flamengo turned to Ceni after Torrent was sacked following just three months in charge following a 4-0 rout at the hands of title rivals Atletico Mineiro, having also lost 4-1 to Sao Paulo a week earlier.

The 47-year-old joins a Flamengo side third in the table and only a point adrift of leaders Internacional.

Veja algumas imagens de como foi o primeiro treino do técnico Rogério Ceni no Mengão!

— Flamengo (@Flamengo)

<…

So, 19 games in and the big three are exactly where you would expect them to be in the LaLiga table.

Saturday saw all three teams in action following the resumption of top-flight action in Spain, with leaders Barcelona conceding late to lowly Espanyol as they were held to a 2-2 draw in an entertaining derby.

While Barca remain on top, Real Madrid are now level on points with their rivals after a 3-0 triumph away at Getafe. As for Atletico Madrid, they overcame Levante 2-1 at home to make it four wins on the spin in all competitions, keeping them in touch with the top two ahead of what could be an intriguing battle (after all, Sevilla are level on points with Atleti, too).

There has not been a genuine title race in the competition since Real Madrid were crow…

Thomas Tuchel may be less than a week into his role as Chelsea head coach but some clear patterns are emerging from his first two games in charge particularly in defence.

Tuchel is the first Chelsea boss to keep a clean sheet in each of his first two Premier League games in charge since Rafael Benitez in November 2012 following a 2-0 win over Burnley on Sunday.

Having conceded 77 goals in 57 Premier League games under predecessor Frank Lampard, this represents a much-needed tightening of the rearguard at the start of Tuchel s reign.

In fact, Burnley s first attempt did not arrive until the 94th minute – their longest ever wait for their first shot in a Premier League game.

It was a similar story in Tuchel s first game when his side stifled Wolves in a…

France were many people s tip heading into Qatar 2022, having been so impressive when they lifted the World Cup four years ago.

On paper, they have the sort of team that would have most players of the FIFA 23 video game drooling, or at least, they did before injuries started to pile up.

Midfield pair Paul Pogba and N Golo Kante, both so crucial to their 2018 success, had already been ruled out, and in the days since head coach Didier Deschamps announced his squad, two more high-profile names have been forced to withdraw.

The loss of Christopher Nkunku was a blow despite the RB Leipzig forward being unlikely to start, his 48 goal involvements (37 goals and 11 assists) in 2022 only second to France team-mate Kylian Mbappe (57 43 goals and 14 assists) among players …

Liverpool and Newcastle United produce goals.

Across 50 prior Premier League encounters ahead of Wednesday s meeting at St James Park, the ball had found the net 159 times.

Indeed, in Premier League history, only four fixtures – Arsenal v Liverpool (166), Liverpool v Tottenham (162), Arsenal v Everton (162) and Arsenal v Tottenham (161) – have provided more goals.

With Liverpool – who claimed their biggest ever top-flight away win in their previous game on the road, thrashing Crystal Palace 7-0 – aiming to respond to a Sam Allardyce special at Anfield, and Newcastle having failed to keep a clean sheet in their past 11 home league matches, the stage seemed set for another goal-fest.

Yet on a snowy night on Tyneside, the champions were held for…