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Renan Lodi sent Atletico Madrid into the Champions League quarter-finals by securing a 1-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford on Tuesday. 

After a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the last-16 tie three weeks prior, Lodi s first-half header clinched a 2-1 aggregate success for LaLiga s reigning champions. 

Anthony Elanga scored United s goal in Madrid but missed an early chance to convert a pass from Bruno Fernandes, who returned to the line-up following a positive COVID-19 test. 

Atletico sat back and made life difficult for United after Lodi s first Champions League goal, which was enough to send them into the last eight for the second time in three seasons. 

Jan Oblak kept out a point-blank effort from Elanga with his head in the 13th minute…

Mikel Arteta is hoping his Arsenal side can avoid the Anfield “washing machine” to secure a long-awaited victory at Liverpool and top the Premier League table on Christmas Day.

The Gunners boss will be aiming for a clean sheet after likening the challenge of playing away to Liverpool as being stuck on a spin cycle.

Arsenal have not won at Anfield since Arteta was part of the side that secured a 2-0 victory in September 2012.

The Spaniard knows first-hand the challenge of getting a result at Liverpool, having also gone there with neighbours Everton before his stint at Arsenal.

Victory, though, would be enough to keep the north London side top of the tree over the Christmas period but Arteta – who once piped ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ around the …

Another Coppa Italia campaign is officially in the books after the final went down at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome last night. The encounter proved to be as dramatic as you d expect with a whole lot of talking points and six goals, with Inter Milan being the side to raise the trophy at the end of the evening.

Their 4-2 triumph was pretty special to watch and along the way, we picked up on a few things that encapsulated what went down in the final.

Comeback grit

Despite going 1-0 up after just six minutes and having a lot of strong moments throughout the game, Inter went into the last quarter of an hour needing a goal just to take it through to extra time. Thankfully for them they managed to find that goal, and after digging so deep to claw their way back into proceeding…

Paris Saint-Germain may have a less experienced side than in previous years, but Luis Enrique believes they are primed for success.

PSG are embarking on their first Champions League without Kylian Mbappe in seven years, with the Frenchman scoring 48 goals in the competition for the club.

He also helped them to reach the final in 2020, only to lose out on the trophy to Bayern Munich.

PSG host Champions League debutants Girona on Wednesday, boasting an impressive attack with the likes of Bradley Barcola, new signing Joao Neves, who already has four assists in four league games, and Ousmane Dembele.

No player made more passes breaking the opposition s defensive line than the Frenchman (21) in the Champions League last season.

I have always wanted …

Oriol Romeu has rejoined Girona on a season-long loan from Barcelona.

The midfielder left Girona last year to join Barca but has now made the move back to the Blanquivermells for the 2024-25 campaign.

Romeu made 28 LaLiga appearances for La Blaugrana last season, playing just 930 minutes, and only making 11 starts.

Barcelona announced last week that he had left their pre-season tour in the United States to resolve his future .

BENTORNAT ORIOL!

— Girona FC (@GironaFC)

He was keen to join Girona during the January transfer window, but the move was blocked by Barcelona s sporting director, Deco.

In his last spell at the Catalan club in 2022-23, the Spaniard made 33 LaLiga appearances and scored twice in the competition.

He …

Vincent Kompany believes Bayern Munich s players are showing a lot of hunger in keeping with club traditions as they look to bounce back from a disappointing 2023-24 season.

The Belgian was appointed as Thomas Tuchel s successor in May following a rare trophyless campaign at the Allianz Arena.

Bayern surrendered their 11-year grip on the Bundesliga title to Xabi Alonso s unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen, while Real Madrid defeated them in the Champions League semi-finals.

Several players are linked with moves away, with Kompany quizzed by reporters at the club s pre-season training camp in Tegernsee.

However, the new head coach insists a collective team spirit will be fundamental as he targets a response in the 2024-25 campaign, highlighting his learnings from a…

Ange Postecoglou has stressed that the chance to join the treble-winning Celtic managers is far too important to allow talk of his future to disturb his focus on Saturday’s Scottish Cup final.

Beating cinch Championship side Inverness at Hampden will give Postecoglou’s team a clean sweep of domestic trophies and make it five out of six available since he arrived from Yokohama F Marinos in Japan in June 2021.

But much of the build-up to the game has been dominated by increased speculation over Postecoglou’s future amid reports the former Australia head coach is Tottenham’s preferred managerial candidate.

The 57-year-old said: “Somebody else was favourite last week, wasn’t he? So, it doesn’t register.

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— Celtic Football Club…

Real Betis are interested in signing Keylor Navas in the summer transfer window, according to . Naves is out of contract at Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season and will leave the Ligue 1 champions, and the report has claimed that La Liga club Betis are among the clubs who are keen on securing the services of the former Real Madrid star.

Navas has been on the books of PSG since 2019 and has done well for the French giants. The Costa Rica international goalkeeper has won the Ligue 1 title on three occasions with PSG. During his time at Madrid, the Costa Rican star won the La Liga once and the UEFA Champions League on three occasions.

The 37-year-old has made three appearances in Ligue 1 for PSG this season. He made 17 appearances in the Premier League for Notting…

Prediction: Argentina to win 6-0

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Argentina and Guatemala will lock horns with each other in a friendly international match this weekend. The game between Lionel Scaloni’s side and Luis Fernando Tena’s team will be held at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland and is scheduled to kick off at 1 am UK time on Saturday. 

Argentina

Argentina have some of the best players on the planet, including the great Lionel Messi and Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez, and they are among the favourites to win Copa America this summer. The South American giants won the 2022 Qatar World Cup as well as the 2021 Copa America.

Lionel Scaloni’s side have been busy preparing for the 2024 Copa America. Argentina have played one warm-up mat…

Leicester have completed the signing of Tottenham academy graduate Harry Winks in a £10million move.

Winks, who becomes the first addition under new Foxes boss Enzo Maresca, progressed through the youth set-up at Spurs to make his debut in 2014 and went on to make 203 appearances for his boyhood club.

First-team chances have been more hard to come by in recent seasons and Winks has decided to help relegated-Leicester in their bid to secure promotion from the Sky Bet Championship.

We are pleased to confirm the transfer of midfielder Harry Winks from Tottenham Hotspur on a three-year-deal, subject to EFL approval

— Leicester City (@LCFC)

England international Winks first joined Tottenham’s academy at the age of five and went on to become a re…