Cristiano Ronaldo said his superb hat-trick against Atletico Madrid to send Juventus into the quarter-finals of the Champions League is why the club bought him.
Ronaldo has won the Champions League four times in the past five seasons with Real Madrid but joined Juve in a deal worth €112million ahead of the 2018-19 season.
The Portugal superstar only scored once in the group stage, while he was also sent off against Valencia, but delivered in style to complete a stunning comeback against Atletico on Tuesday.
Diego Simeone s side led 2-0 thanks to goals from defenders Jose Gimenez and Diego Godin in the first leg but they crumbled in the face of Ronaldo s unstoppable aerial power in the return fixture.
Federico Bernardeschi s inswinging cross from the le…
Yaya Toure conceded he is worried about how Napoli s partisan crowd might fire up their players in Wednesday s Champions League clash with Manchester City.
The Premier League pacesetters beat Napoli 2-1 at Etihad Stadium on October 17, but Napoli showed plenty to suggest they will be an even tougher opponent on home soil.
City have started the season well, but so have Maurizio Sarri s men, as they sit top of Serie A with 31 points after 11 matches, and are playing some of the most eye-catching football in Europe.
But in the Champions League Napoli have just three points from as many matches, compared to City s haul of nine, meaning the game will take on extra importance for the hosts.
And Toure is expecting the home fans to create a hostile atmosphere for…
Robert Lewandowski s 200th Bundesliga goal underlines the Bayern Munich striker s status as one of the modern era s most prolific scorers.
The Poland international reached the milestone with the first of his brace in Saturday s crushing 5-0 victory over former club Borussia Dortmund, a result that sent the champions hurtling back to the top of the table.
No overseas player has scored as many Bundesliga goals as Lewandowski, who is on track to win the league s top goalscorer prize for the fourth time.
To mark his 200th strike across spells for Bayern and Dortmund, Omnisport picks out five of Lewandowski s most memorable Bundesliga goals.
5. Hannover 0-3 Borussia Dortmund, March 22 2014
Although undoubtedly a complete striker, Lewandows…
Staying or leaving? / Image via socceraspects.com
The Portuguese star has been surrounded by much of speculation for a long period of time.
The embarrassing El Clasico result seems to have been the breaking point for Cristiano Ronaldo, who is once again in the centre of attention as rumours about his departure from Santiago Bernabeu continue to swirl.
Change of scenery
Cristiano Ronaldo looks far from happy and motivated under Rafael Benitez.
Unhappy with Florentino Perez’s decision to part ways with Carlo Ancelotti and to appoint Rafa Benitez has reportedly caused much aggravation with Cristiano Ronaldo, who didn’t believe that the Spanish manager was the right man for Los Blancos.
Benitez’s short reign at the club h…
Leicester City are one of the few clubs outside of the current so-called ‘big six’ to have won the Premier League title. When Claudio Ranieri’s team won the title in 2015 it was regarded as one of the biggest shocks in sporting history.
Since the triumph, unsurprisingly have not managed to repeat the feat and have been competing in mid-table in the top-flight. However, the Foxes are just one of the teams who finished last season just below the top six last season who are outsiders to finish in that supposed elite group next season.
Leicester have a promising squad
On Monday, Leicester sealed the £40million signing of highly-rated Belgium midfielder Youri Tielemans. The 22-year-old impressed in the second half of last season on-loan from Monaco.
His perfo…
Zinedine Zidane has returned to Real Madrid less than a year after resigning in the wake of a third straight Champions League triumph.
With their defence of Europe s premier club trophy having ended in a stunning last-16 elimination at the hands of Ajax, Madrid sacked their manager for the second time this season – a 4-1 win at Real Valladolid on Sunday suggesting the decision to dispense with Santiago Solari had already been made.
Los Blancos are simply playing for a top-four finish in LaLiga this season and a dismal campaign has led to uncertainty over the futures of a number of their big guns.
We look at how Zidane s return may impact Gareth Bale, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo and Isco.
Bale no longer backed?
The duo shared a fraught relat…
Gerard Pique has told Barcelona to be wary of the threats posed by Chelsea ahead of next week s last-16 Champions League tie.
Barcelona travel to the Premier League champions for the first leg of their clash on Tuesday, the Catalan giants having seen their comfortable cushion atop LaLiga cut to seven points after back-to-back draws.
Chelsea and Barca have a rich shared history in the Champions League, having faced each other 12 times in the tournament since 2000, most recently in the 2011-12 semi-finals.
There have been four Chelsea wins to three for Barca during that time and although the Blues have made a poor attempt at defending their league title, Pique believes Antonio Conte s men should not be underestimated.
Expectations are maximum, Pique said…
Gianni Infantino was on Friday elected the new president of FIFA after polling the necessary number of votes in the second round.
Infantino sprung a surprise by outstripping favourite Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa in the first round by 88 votes to 85.
In round two, candidates required the approval of 104 FIFA federations in Zurich and Infantino comfortably broke through this barrier, claiming 115, to become the successor to Sepp Blatter.
Bahrain s Sheikh Salman took 88 votes second time around, with Prince Ali bin al-Hussein and Jerome Champagne taking four and zero respectively. Tokyo Sexwale, the fifth candidate at the start of the day, withdrew prior to the first round.
Dear friends, I cannot express my feelings in this moment. I told you …
Javier Chicharito Hernandez has revealed he will be allowed to leave West Ham United this summer, as relayed by Sky Sports.
It had been reported back in May this year that the Hammers would be willing to listen to offers for the Mexico international, who said recently that his agent was looking for potential buyers for his services. If one isn t found, the former Manchester United striker would be happy to remain at the London Stadium and see the final 12 months of his contract out.
West Ham are hoping the sale of Chicharito will generate some funds for new signings this summer, as they explore the possibility of bringing in Maxi Gomez of Celta Vigo. The are reporting that manager Manuel Pellegrini is keen on pairing up Marko Arnautovic with Gomez next season, leaving …
Real Madrid derailed Spain s World Cup preparations when they poached Julen Lopetegui just two days before the tournament, leading to the coach s sacking, so it was with a certain inevitability that their biggest star put the buffers on what would have been a morale-boosting win against Portugal.
Spain s World Cup hopes had threatened to unravel even before Cristiano Ronaldo scored the first goal of a sensational hat-trick in the fourth minute in Sochi, with Madrid behind the Royal Spanish Football Federation s (RFEF) decision to ruthlessly dismiss Bernabeu-bound head coach Lopetegui.
There were reports of a dressing-room revolt as Spain s stars pleaded with RFEF boss Luis Rubiales to allow Lopetegui a stay of execution.
Determined not to be a doormat for the Eur…