Luis Enrique laughed off suggestions Paris St Germain lack a cutting edge ahead of a tricky Ligue 1 trip to stingy Le Havre.
PSG registered 31 shots during their midweek Champions League clash with Newcastle but required a controversial late penalty from Kylian Mbappe to salvage a 1-1 draw.
The reigning champions are the highest scorers in France’s top-flight, having recorded an impressive 34 goals in just 13 games.
Luis Enrique visited the studio ahead of
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English)
Head coach Enrique called for perspective in the wake of a frustrating midweek meeting with the Magpies and insisted he would be more concerned if his team were not creating chances.
“This is very funny,” the Spaniard replied with a bemuse…
The seemingly never-ending 2021-22 season may be ongoing, with a number of big international fixtures still to be played this month, but plenty of focus is already on the next campaign.
This month s conclusion will mark the end of an era for many players as their contracts come to an end – though for some it will provide a much-needed opportunity to begin a new chapter elsewhere.
For others, becoming a free agent simply provides more bargaining power when negotiating fresh terms with their current employers, at a time when most clubs cannot spend as frivolously on new players as they once could.
While some big-name freebies have already moved clubs, and others are reported to have signed pre-contract agreements elsewhere – such as Franck Kessie and Andreas …
Thomas Muller s first-half brace ensured Vincent Kompany got off to a winning start at Bayern Munich as they beat Ulm 4-0 in the DFB-Pokal first round.
Kingsley Coman and Harry Kane came off the bench to add some gloss to the scoreline as Ulm rarely showed a threat against a dominant Bayern side.
The hosts did almost cause an early shock though, as Maurice Krattenmacher was left unmarked at the far post, but he could not adjust quickly enough and turned his first-time shot wide.
Joshua Kimmich then unlocked Ulm s defence with a throughball into Stanisic, who did brilliantly while off-balance to set up Muller for his first of the game.
And just two minutes later, the forward had his second – Christian Ortag was drawn to Serge Gnabry s run, leaving Muller…
The Baltimore Ravens trip to face the Cincinnati Bengals in Sunday s Wild Card clash presents both franchises with the opportunity to improve upon their postseason records in the first playoff clash between the teams.
While the Bengals marched all the way to the Super Bowl before a narrow 23-20 defeat to the Los Angeles Rams last year, the 2021 season marked the first time in 30 years that Cincinnati celebrated a victory in the playoffs – having lost seven Wild Card clashes in a row previously.
Meanwhile, the Ravens have won just two playoff clashes since their victory in Super Bowl XLVII a decade ago, losing four of six postseason clashes since.
Home field advantage for the Bengals will not matter to Baltimore, however, who stand as the only franchise in NFL h…
Best Odds: 21/20
Bookmaker:
Hoping to open the 2022/23 Premier League campaign with a statement in east London, Manchester City will make the trip to West Ham on Sunday afternoon.
West Ham
Starting with the hosts, while West Ham might have eventually failed to secure back-to-back top-six finishes last season, the Hammers have gained a host of plaudits. Continuing on what has been an impressive rise since bringing David Moyes back to the club in 2019, the Londoners also reached the semi-finals of last season s Europa League. Likewise, with a Conference League adventure on the cards for later this year, the one-time Manchester United boss is desperate for his side to keep up that momentum. However, while West Ham might face a huge task when they open the 2022/23 …
Best Odds: 1/2
Bookmaker:
Two sides who who will be looking to make it back-to-back Premier League victories on Saturday lunchtime, Brighton will welcome Manchester United to the American Express Stadium.
Brighton
Starting with the hosts, while Brighton might have limped their way over the finishing line last season as they eventually had to settle for a bottom-half finish, the Seagulls certainly made a real statement when opening the 2024/25 campaign. Officially getting Fabian Hurzeler’s tenure off to a stunning start as they stormed their way to a 3-0 romp away at Everton, the former St. Pauli boss will be calling on his squad to use last weekend’s performance as a platform to build on. Despite winning just one of their final 10 Premier League appearances…
After missing out on retaining the title by two points to rivals Milan last season, the Nerazzurri are running out of time to overhaul a 13-point gap to leaders Napoli this campaign with Luciano Spalletti s team showing no signs of slowing down the rampant pace that has seen them win 18 of their 21 top-flight games.
The Partenopei s sole defeat came at the hands of Inter in January, and Zanetti has mixed feelings about his team s efforts this term, saying: We could have done more in the league. We miss some points, but it s part of a path that this team is consistently carrying out.
Mistakes are normal with such a packed fixture list, but I ve always seen a team that wants to impose its style, trying to cause trouble for opponents.
We ve been able to react to d…
Kylian Mbappe scored twice as Paris Saint-Germain made it five wins from six Ligue 1 games this season with a 3-0 win over 10-man Nantes on Saturday.
Mbappe put the champions ahead shortly before the midway point of the first half with his sixth league goal of the campaign, before Nantes wing-back Fabio received his marching orders for a high challenge.
The France international grabbed his second early in the second half, before Nuno Mendes added a third as Christophe Galtier s men wrapped up maximum points with the minimum of fuss.
The result meant PSG returned to the top of Ligue 1 after Marseille had briefly usurped them earlier in the day with victory over Auxerre, while Nantes remained in 10th.
This team
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_En…
Cristiano Ronaldo has won his fifth Ballon d’Or. His finest night of the year came when Real Madrid thrashed Juventus in the Champions League final. Omnisport’s Matthew Scott was there to tell the tale.
The greatest Champions League final victory of the modern era could only ever have had Cristiano Ronaldo sitting on the throne as its master.
As Real Madrid and Juventus were finalising plans for their Cardiff showdown, it was speculated here that the iconic Ronaldo might be missing a final to call his own despite all those he has won. Safe to say we may ponder no more.
This truly was the Ronaldo Final .
What a stage to do it, too. A Ronaldo-inspired Los Blancos became the first team in the Champions League era to win back-to-back finals with a 4-…
France s World Cup-winning coach Didier Deschamps thinks England are on the verge of achieving something amazing after becoming a real force in international youth football.
After failing to qualify for Euro 2008, an inquest into development took place in English football, with the Football Association (FA) looking to other nations such as Germany and Spain for inspiration.
It took time for obvious results to be made, with the senior side only really starting to see the benefit at this year s World Cup when they reached the semi-finals for the first time since 1990, but youth success in recent years suggests that even better results could be on the horizon.
England s Under-17s and Under-20s both won their respective world titles in 2017, while the Under-19s were …