Latvia 0-1 Netherlands: Klaassen sends Oranje clear in Group G

The Netherlands took control of World Cup qualifying Group G with a 1-0 victory over Latvia on Friday.

Davy Klaassen scored the only goal of the game in the first half as Oranje edged an uninspiring contest in Riga.

After scoring 10 goals in their previous two matches against Montenegro and Turkey, Louis van Gaal s men were far more laboured against a side whose only World Cup qualifying wins since the end of 2013 have come against Andorra and Gibraltar.

3 points in the bag! 

— OnsOranje (@OnsOranje)

Klaassen s opening goal was a well-taken volley on the turn from Memphis Depay s corner, as the Netherlands started in positive fashion.

Yet Klaassen was required to make a double block against Andrejs Ciganiks and Roberts Uldrikis at th…

Milan 1-3 Sassuolo: Rossoneri rocked as Scamacca and Berardi punish Pioli´s men

Domenico Berardi inflicted the final blow as Milan slipped up 3-1 against Sassuolo at San Siro, suffering back-to-back Serie A defeats for the first time since April.

Alessio Romagnoli s powerful header had been Milan s reward for a strong start, but Gianluca Scamacca s excellent long-range strike and an own goal from the unlucky Simon Kjaer helped mid-table Sassuolo reach the interval with a lead.

Berardi finished off Milan with a fine goal in the 66th minute, the Italy forward showing his class to outwit Romagnoli before beating Mike Maignan.

A red card for captain Romagnoli for hauling down Gregoire Defrel with effectively a rugby tackle compounded a bad day for Milan, who began the day level on points with leaders Napoli.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was he…

Atletico Madrid 3-1 Valencia: Joao Felix finds his groove again to inspire LaLiga leaders

Atletico Madrid restored their seven-point advantage at the top of LaLiga with a seventh straight victory as Joao Felix led their latest fightback in the 3-1 success against Valencia.

Diego Simeone s side had overturned an early deficit to beat Eibar three days earlier and were at it again at the Wanda Metropolitano, this time inspired by Joao Felix.

After a superb long-range Uros Racic opener stunned Atleti, their record signing scored his first LaLiga goal since November 7 to level matters and later laid on the second for Luis Suarez, Thursday s two-goal hero.

Substitute Angel Correa on for Joao Felix made sure of another win, which represented a vital response to Real Madrid s own triumph on Saturday, maintaining a healthy gap while the Rojiblancos still have …

Alonso relishing ´very special´ first taste of managing in Champions League

Xabi Alonso is relishing his very special first taste of managing in the Champions League as Bayer Leverkusen aim to ignite their European campaign with victory over Porto.

The 40-year-old replaced Gerardo Seoane as Leverkusen head coach last week and made a winning start to his tenure against Schalke in the Bundesliga at the weekend.

Focus now turns to Wednesday s visit of Porto in UEFA s flagship competition, which Alonso won as a player with Liverpool in 2005 and Real Madrid nine years later.

Leverkusen are third in Group B at the midway stage after last week s 2-0 loss to Porto, who they are level on points with, while Club Brugge lead the way with a perfect record.

Asked about managing in the competition for the first time, Alonso said at Tuesday s p…

Juventus linked with Liverpool star Roberto Firmino

Juventus are interested in signing Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino in the summer transfer window as a free agent, according to . The report has claimed that Juventus want to sign another attacker given that they are struggling in that department and are keen on the Brazilian.

Firmino has been on the books of Liverpool since 2015 and has established himself as an important player in manager Jurgen Klopp’s team. The 31-year-old forward has won the Premier League, the FA Cup, the EFL Cup, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup once each other the Merseyside club so far in his career.

The Brazilian star has made five starts and two substitute appearances in the Premier League for Liverpool so far this season, scoring six goals and prov…

Klopp emulates Ferguson with dramatic Liverpool FA Cup triumph

Jurgen Klopp has become only the second manager to win the European Cup, EFL Cup, the top-flight title and the FA Cup with the same English club, joining Alex Ferguson.

Klopp s Liverpool side triumphed on penalties over Chelsea for the second time this season on Saturday, as they won 6-5 in the shoot-out after a 0-0 draw to seal the club s first FA Cup success since 2006.

While Chelsea were left to reflect on a third straight FA Cup final defeat, after losses in 2020 and last year to Arsenal and Leicester City respectively, Liverpool s hunt for an unprecedented quadruple continues.

The victory means Klopp has now won the Champions League (2018-19), the Premier League (2019-20) and both of England s domestic cup competitions during his time at Liverpool.

Napoli caught up in war of words with Kvaratskhelia´s agent amid exit talk

Napoli insist Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is not on the market after his agent Mamuka Jugeli claimed he is looking to leave the club.

The Georgia international, who is preparing for his country s Euro 2024 opener against Turkiye on Tuesday, has been linked with a move to both Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona in the current transfer window.

Kvaratskhelia scored 11 times in the league in 2023-24, as the Partenopei finished 10th in what was a disappointing defence of their third Serie A crown.

We want to leave Napoli, but now we re all waiting for the Euro 2024, Jugeli told Sport Imedi last week. With [Antonio] Conte, Napoli have big plans.

I m sure they will qualify for the Champions League again next season and fight for the Scudetto. But that doesn t mean…

Man Utd´s Mazraoui sidelined after undergoing heart surgery

Manchester United full-back Noussair Mazraoui will be absent for several weeks after undergoing a minor heart procedure.

Mazraoui joined United from Bayern Munich in a deal worth an initial £12.8million (€15m) in August and has quickly established himself as the Red Devils first-choice right-back.

He has started all seven of their Premier League games this season, with Erik ten Hag s men taking just eight points to record their worst-ever start to a campaign in the competition.

On Monday, he withdrew from Morocco s squad for two Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against the Central African Republic, having experienced heart palpitations.

Widespread reports on Thursday then said Mazraoui had successfully undergone a corrective procedure and would return …

Prediction: Charlotte vs Inter Miami

Best odds: 5/2

Bookmaker:

Inter Miami will begin a two-game MLS road trip on Wednesday, starting with a match against Charlotte FC at Bank of America Stadium in North Carolina.

Charlotte suffered a 1-0 defeat against Houston Dynamo over the weekend after conceding an early goal, while Inter Miami secured a 2-1 win over Nashville SC.

Charlotte FC

Over the weekend, Dean Smith’s Charlotte FC saw their four-match unbeaten streak in MLS come to an end, failing to score for the sixth time this year in a loss.

If they suffer another defeat on Wednesday, it will equal their longest losing streak in MLS this season (two). However, they are unbeaten in their last four domestic matches against Eastern Conference opponents.

A win in this match wou…

Brest 1-2 Paris Saint-Germain: Mbappe spares PSG blushes

Kylian Mbappe scored a late winner as Paris Saint-Germain beat Brest 2-1 in Ligue on Saturday, but their performance was not an emphatic response to Champions League elimination.

PSG appeared to be limping to a 1-1 draw at Stade Francis-Le Ble, which would have been a major disappointment after defeat to Bayern Munich, only for Mbappe to step up and spare their blushes.

Carlos Soler had put PSG in front late in the first half, but Brest arguably played the better football and were good value for Franck Honorat s excellent equaliser.

A commendable point looked set to be Brest s reward for a spirited display, though Lionel Messi and Mbappe linked up in the 90th minute to put PSG 11 points clear.

3000 Paris are the 12th team to reach 3000 goals in Ligue 1 hi…