Benzema´s record puts Chelsea in crosshairs, Milan must blunt free-scoring Napoli again – Champions

Real Madrid s 11-game unbeaten run in LaLiga came to a surprising end as Enes Unal s strike gave Getafe a shock 1-0 win over the leaders.

It meant Quique Sanchez Flores got the better of Carlo Ancelotti, with Madrid s head coach seeing his team deliver a flat performance in their first game of the new year.

Madrid had won their last five away LaLiga games, scoring at least two goals in each, but they encountered a hard-grafting Getafe side who stretched their own undefeated streak to six games.

Unal took advantage of a defensive aberration from Eder Militao to strike early in the game, with Madrid frustrated in their efforts to draw level.

Militao was woefully caught out in the ninth minute, after collecting the ball from Toni Kroos on the edge of the pen…

Zlatan Ibrahimovic insists he is deserving of his place in the Sweden squad, even if he is no longer the same player he was when last representing his national side in 2016.

The Milan striker was recalled by Janne Andersson for this month s World Cup qualifiers against Kosovo and Georgia, plus the friendly with Estonia, paving the way for him to potentially play at Euro 2020.

He celebrated his first call-up in nearly five years by posting a picture on Twitter of himself in a Sweden shirt with the caption: The return of the God.

Ibrahimovic, who turns 40 in October, is Sweden s all-time leading scorer with 62 international goals, the last of those coming against Denmark in November 2015. 

And having also impressed in Serie A this term with 14 goals in as…

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos called for unity as reports indicated head coach Julen Lopetegui could be sacked after another LaLiga loss.

Madrid went down 2-1 at home to Levante on Saturday and have now lost four of their last five matches in all competitions under Lopetegui.

Ramos previously said it would be crazy to dismiss the coach, who was fired by Spain after his Madrid appointment was announced shortly before the World Cup.

And the Madrid captain has again given his backing to the under-fire coach, with Lopetegui s future in doubt ahead of next Sunday s Clasico against Barcelona.

It s a very bad run that Madrid cannot afford, Ramos told reporters. Not picking up the three points, today the team gave everything but at other times we have had mor…

Karim Benzema has hinted this could be his best season in a Real Madrid shirt, following his side s knockout win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

The talismanic Benzema scored a hat-trick in Madrid s epic comeback from a two-goal aggregate deficit, which meant he surpassed Alfredo di Stefano as the club s third-highest goalscorer with his total of 309, including 67 Champions League goals – now ahead of Raul.

While the 34-year-old was sceptical on whether Wednesday night s win was his best game for Madrid, this season is providing some individual enthusiasm.

I don’t know if it s my best game because I also remember the Champions League final against Liverpool,  Benzema told Real Madrid TV.

If it is, it s because of the goals, be…

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard expects incredible Gareth Bale to give Tottenham a major boost if he secures a return to the Premier League club.

Bale left Spurs for Real Madrid in 2013 for a then-world record fee of €100milion (£85m) and he went on to enjoy huge success in Spain.

But the past few years have been tumultuous for the Welshman and he finally appears set to leave Madrid in favour of a return to Spurs, having already arrived in London to complete a deal alongside Sergio Reguilon, a team-mate of his at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Bale developed into one of the Premier League s best players during his first spell with Spurs, during which time he regularly played against Lampard.

And, presuming the deal goes through without a hitch, Lampard believes C…

According to a recent report from Tuttosport, former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has travelled to Milan as rumours run wild that he could be in line to take over as Inter Milan’s new manger. Luciano Spalletti, the current boss, is rumoured to be on his way out, and a move for Mourinho would mark his return to the San Siro after he spent two years there with Inter between 2008 and 2010.

Mourinho is reportedly set to hold talks with the club’s CEO Giuseppe Marotta, as he prepares to thrust himself back into the weird and wonderful world of European football.

Mourinho had a turbulent time at Old Trafford for the most part, but after spending a few months away from the game, it seems as if he’s ready to dive straight back into the madness.

Jose won…

For Elneny, though, the dream is to then lead his eponymous club to the very top and defy any critics – much like his earlier playing days.

“I remember one journalist was talking to me in Egypt and he asked me, last question, he said to me: ‘Mo, where you do you want to play?’,” Elneny said.

“I was playing for a club (Al Mokawloon) in the middle of the table in Egypt but I said to him ‘I want to play at the Nou Camp in Barcelona’.

“I swear to you, he just walked off and didn’t continue the interview with me, no thank you, no goodbye or anything, he just walked off.

“My friend said ‘look where you are. Look where you are in the middle of the table in Egypt, how are you going to get to one of the best teams in the world’?

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Looking to cause an upset at St. Mary s this weekend, Southampton will welcome Manchester United to the South Coast on Sunday afternoon.

Southampton

Starting with the hosts, while Southampton would have been disappointed to have had to settle for a point away at Wolves after taking the lead on Monday night, the Saints have hugely impressed since opening the 2020/2021 campaign. Still firmly battling it out in the European spots, Ralph Hasenhüttl s men find themselves enjoying a glittering seven-match Premier League unbeaten run that stems all the way back to September 20th. Making a host of alterations after opening the New Year with back-to-back defeats at the hands of Tottenham and Crystal Palace, the former RB Leipzig boss finds th…

Jose Mourinho said Diego Maradona would always call him after big defeats as a manager, the Tottenham boss remembering the Argentina and Napoli great after his death.

Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata head coach Maradona – arguably football s greatest ever player – died of natural causes at the age of 60 on Wednesday.

Thousands gathered to farewell the football legend in Buenos Aires on Thursday during three days of national mourning in his homeland, where Maradona s coffin was draped in the Argentina flag at Casa Rosada – the presidential mansion.

Former Real Madrid, Inter, Chelsea and Manchester United manager Mourinho paid tribute to World Cup winner and friend Maradona following Tottenham s 4-0 rout of Ludogorets in the Europa League on Thursday.

Jose…

In what was a heavyweight Premier League showdown on Saturday evening, Manchester City dropped a pair of costly points as they had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Chelsea.

While Pep Guardiola’s men might have been looking to make a major statement here and extend on their 11-match winning run, the Sky Blues were outplayed for large spells on home soil.

With the Etihad left stunned just three minutes before the half-time break as former City superstar Raheem Sterling produced a slick finish, the defending champions failed to find much fluidity.

However, while Rodri might have eventually powered home in the final few minutes as City snatched a late point, there is no doubt that Guardiola’s men missed out on a real opportunity.

Although Chelsea might h…