Luis Alberto signs new five-year deal with Lazio

Diego Simeone believes Atletico Madrid will grow after finally ending their misery at the hands of city rivals Real Madrid in European finals.

Atleti were bested in extra-time and on penalties respectively by Los Blanco in the 2014 and 2016 Champions League finals.

An additional period was also required during Wednesday s UEFA Super Cup clash in Tallinn, but a spectacular strike by Saul Niguez and a game-sealing effort from Koke shortly afterwards gave Simeone s men a 4-2 victory.

Real hadn t lost an international final since 2000, he said, having watched Diego Costa s earlier brace from the stands due to a UEFA touchline ban.

In the previous finals against them the little details were against us, so that s why we could not win the finals.

We h…

Xherdan Shaqiri thinks Liverpool need to develop a similar type of mentality to dominant Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich if they want to win titles.

Liverpool reached the Champions League final last term, but ultimately went on to lose 3-1 to Real Madrid in that showpiece clash in Kiev.

It was their third defeat in a final since Jurgen Klopp took charge in 2015, after the Reds lost out in both the Europa League and EFL Cup in 2015-16. Liverpool s League Cup triumph in 2012 remains their most recent trophy of any kind.

Although for many last term went down as an impressive one, as Liverpool produced some stunning football and Mohamed Salah broke records, they only managed to secure a fourth-placed finish on the final day of the Premier League campaign, finish…

Prediction: Strasbourg to Win

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OGC Nice will be aiming to build on their positive start to the Ligue 1 season as they travel to take on Strasbourg on Saturday evening.

Patrick Vieira s troops kicked their season off in the best possible way last time out and will be looking to continue that against a Strasbourg side who didn t quite enjoy the same fortune.

Strasbourg

The hosts may have considered themselves slightly unfortunate following to the curtailment of Ligue 1 due to the coronavirus pandemic. At the time of the cancellation, Thierry Laurey s men sat tenth but just three points behind fifth-placed Nice. It remains to be seen whether they would be able to challenge for Europe but extra matches would not have gone amiss. As…

An investigation into Manchester City for potential breaches of Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations has been launched by the UEFA Club Financial Control Body (CFCB), the governing body has announced.

The move follows allegations made against the club and their owners by German publication Der Spiegel, which drew upon documents purportedly obtained by whistleblowers Football Leaks.

The articles include claims of City circumventing FFP laws, making an illegal payment to the agent of their former youth player Jadon Sancho and the City Football Group engaging in third-party ownership practices.

City have offered an unwavering response to the allegations, issuing the following statement on several occasions.

We will not be providing any comment on out-of-co…

With Samuel Umtiti potentially undergoing a knee surgery procedure which would mean a long time away from the pitch, Barcelona are considering going in for Zenit s Branislav Ivanović, according to Mundo Deportivo.

Ivanović played for two clubs in Serbia (FK Srem and OFK Beograd) before moving to Russia with Lokomotiv Moscow, where he stayed for two years. He arrived at Chelsea in 2007 and spent a decade at Stamford Bridge, winning three Premier League titles, the Champions League and the Europa League, and a host of domestic cups. In total, he made 377 appearances for Chelsea and scored an impressive 34 goals as a defender, including the 93rd-minute winner in his Man of the Match performance in the 2013 Europa League final.

Seeing his game-time reduced under Antonio C…

When Cardiff City and Nantes debated over whether Emiliano Sala would be allowed to play one last match for the French club last week, nobody could have anticipated the desperate turn of events that would make such a matter feel so incredibly trivial.

During negotiations between the two clubs, Nantes had reportedly been keen for Sala to feature against Angers on Sunday, but it was Cardiff who eventually got their way and the Argentine striker s club-record £18million move to the Welsh capital was confirmed late on Saturday.

It was a story typical of the January transfer window – a buying club tenaciously chasing mid-season reinforcements but facing stubbornness from a selling club determined not to be left in the lurch by the loss of one of their key players.

…

Arsenal were beaten 1-0 by Newcastle at St James Park on Saturday, courtesy of a goal by Anthony Gordon in the 64th minute.

The goal was highly controversial, with no less than three potential reasons to have it ruled out by the VAR. The ball looked to have gone out of play in the buildup, there was a case for calling a foul by Joelinton on Gabriel Magalhaes, and there was also the possibility of Gordon being offside.

However, VAR Andy Madley and his assistant Stuart Burt ruled no rules were broken, and the goal was allowed to stand. Obviously, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was left fuming by the decision, and the Premier League continues to embarrass itself in the eyes of the rest of the football world with moments like this.

It s embarrassing!!!

Mikel Ar…

Andriy Shevchenko has hailed former team-mate Gennaro Gattuso as the AC Milan coach closes in on Champions League qualification. 

Shevchenko and Gattuso played in Milan s Champions League triumph in 2003, the Ukraine striker scoring the winning penalty after a 0-0 draw in an all-Italian final against Juventus. 

Although Milan won another Champions League title in 2007 by beating Liverpool 2-1, they have been in the relative European wilderness in recent years. 

Under Gattuso, however, Milan s future looks bright once more and Shevchenko sang the praises of his former colleague. 

Rino  was always energetic, he told DAZN.  He was always there for us, he electrified the dressing room like no other. 

On the pitch, but also off the pitch, …

AC Milan made it three wins in a row in Serie A for the first time since March last year as they claimed a 2-1 victory over Lazio on Sunday.

Goals from Patrick Cutrone and Giacomo Bonaventura, either side of an Adam Marusic strike, sealed all three points for Gennaro Gattuso s side and prolonged their impressive unbeaten league run against Lazio at San Siro, which stretches back to 1989.

Simone Inzaghi s side travelled to Milan on the back of a six-game streak without a top-flight defeat, but they looked unsettled from the off as the Rossoneri produced one of their best performances of another difficult campaign.

Cutrone s third league goal of the season, which replays showed came off his arm, was cancelled out by Marusic s fine finish, but Bonaventura s emph…

West Brom needed penalties to beat League One side Peterborough United following a 1-1 draw in the fourth-round replay at London Road on Wednesday.

Ben Foster saved spot kicks from Martin Samuelsen and Lee Angol as Tony Pulis side edged the shootout 4-3, Darren Fletcher having missed for West Brom.

Jon Taylor scored one of Peterborough s two late equalisers in the first game at The Hawthorns and he put his side ahead after 54 minutes, shooting low across Foster.

Fletcher levelled the scores after 71 minutes, smashing home after sustained West Brom pressure as the visitors sought to avoid an embarrassing exit to lower-league opposition.

Foster s efforts in denying teenage midfielder Samuelsen and 21-year-old striker Angol earned West Brom a trip to Champio…