Is Pep Guardiola losing his touch?
Saturday s 2-1 loss at home to bitter rivals Manchester United left the Manchester City manager with his lowest points tally after 16 games of a season.
The defeat at the Etihad Stadium leaves City 14 points off the searing pace set by runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool, who won at Bournemouth earlier in the day.
City, champions in each of the past two seasons, now seem unlikely to make it three in a row and ex-Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss Guardiola has never collected a lower points tally at this stage of a campaign.
His side have lost four times in 16 league games, leaving them with 32 points on the board.
32 This is Pep Guardiola’s worst points return after the first 16 matches of a top-flight se…
Argentina will take on a Germany outfit missing several star names in an international friendly in Frankfurt on Wednesday.
Germany captain Philip Lahm leads the list of omissions, along with Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mario Gomez, and Arsenal duo Lukas Podolski and Per Mertesacker, who are preparing for their club s English Premier League opener at home to Sunderland next Saturday.
Schweinsteiger and Gomez are both nursing injuries, leaving Miroslav Klose as the only out-and-out striker in the roster.
Another exclusion from the German side is Hoffenheim goalkeeper Tim Wiese, left out from the squad in favour of Bayern Munich s Manuel Neuer.
Joachim Loew s side includes 17 players from Germany s Euro 2012 campaign, with near misses from that squad Sven Bende…
Uruguay international striker Luis Suarez has revealed he is happy at Liverpool amid speculation linking him with a summer move away from Anfield, .
Suarez, 26, put pen to paper on a long-term deal at Anfield last season, but recent reports have suggested the Uruguayan could pursue pastures new in the upcoming summer transfer window, with Liverpool set to miss out on UEFA Champions League football next term.
All things considered, Suarez wants to stay at the club.
I ll be here next season, yes. Not only am I playing for Liverpool, I am playing in one of the best leagues in the world, said Suarez. I am very happy [at Liverpool] and I want to see out my contract, though in football you never know quite what s ahead.
A club can decide they don t …
Cardiff City’s veteran striker Craig Bellamy has admitted his regret at never signing for Tottenham Hotspur, .
The 34 year old, who has played for eight different teams in English competition, has said that he had two chances to move to White Hart Lane in the last six years.
Bellamy began his career with Norwich City in the mid-nineties, before moving on to Coventry City after five years at Carrow Road.
Spells with Newcastle United, Celtic (loan), Blackburn Rovers, Liverpool West Ham United, and Manchester City followed, while he enjoyed a loan spell with the Bluebirds before returning to Anfield in 2011.
He then permanently joined his hometown club last August, and has since scored four times in thirty-nine league appearances.
The stri…
Ronald Koeman has been hired as Barcelona s new head coach following Monday s dismissal of Quique Setien.
The Dutchman leaves his role as head coach of the Netherlands, having agreed a two-year deal at Camp Nou.
Setien s sacking was confirmed after just seven months in charge, as he paid the price for Barca s failure to win LaLiga and their 8-2 Champions League humiliation at the hands of Bayern Munich.
That quarter-final defeat last Friday was Barca s worst since 1946 and others could yet follow Setien out of the door.
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First-team technical secretary Eric Abidal has also left after his position came under severe scrutiny, while president Josep Maria Bartomeu confirmed the club s election…
Fulham have sacked manager Claudio Ranieri following Wednesday s 2-0 loss at Southampton that moved the club closer to relegation from the Premier League.
Popular former Chelsea boss Ranieri, who led Leicester City to an unforgettable title triumph in 2015-16, only managed three wins in 17 games in charge of Fulham.
His tenure also included a 2-1 defeat to League Two Oldham in the third round of the FA Cup and the Southampton loss was the Cottagers fourth consecutive top-flight reverse.
The result left Fulham 10 points from safety with as many matches remaining this season and travelling supporters aimed chants of you don t know what you re doing in Ranieri s direction at St Mary s.
Former England midfielder Scott Parker will take over on an interim basis…
Zinedine Zidane insists no one has the blame for Sergio Ramos returning from Spain duty with a calf injury that has hurt Real Madrid for a key stretch of the season.
Ramos returned from a knee issue ahead of the international break and scored for Madrid as they knocked Atalanta out of the Champions League.
However, he then played just 50 minutes across two appearances for Spain in World Cup qualifying and complained of a calf problem after a short cameo at home to Kosovo.
Madrid have not confirmed the anticipated length of Ramos lay-off, but a return in time to face Liverpool in the Champions League quarter-finals and Barcelona in LaLiga appears unlikely.
Los Blancos host Liverpool on April 6, with a second leg eight days later sandwiching a critical home…
Barcelona and Bayern Munich statistically hold the upper hand heading into the return encounters of their Champions League last-16 ties.
Both sides secured goalless draws on their first-leg travels and history says 68 per cent of teams previously in that position have reached the next round.
And with Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski both in possession of imposing scoring records, there is plenty for Lyon and Liverpool to fear on Wednesday.
Get equipped with some essential Opta numbers as the round of 16 comes to a close
Bayern Munich v Liverpool
1 Bayern have only failed to score in one of their past 26 Champions League home games – that was in a goalless draw with Sevilla in last season s quarter-finals.
8 Niko Kovac s me…
Italy forward Andrea Belotti said winning Euro 2020 is the aim for the Azzurri following their winning start.
Roberto Mancini s Italy opened the rescheduled European Championship with a commanding 3-0 victory over Turkey in Rome on Friday.
Italy – enjoying a resurgence under head coach Mancini following their failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup – are in the midst of a 28-match unbeaten streak as they prepare for Wednesday s clash with Switzerland in the Italian capital.
The 1968 European champions have kept a clean sheet in each of their last nine matches in all competitions, going 875 minutes without conceding since a Donny van de Beek goal for the Netherlands last October – Italy have not kept 10 consecutive clean sheets since doing so between Novem…
Cristiano Ronaldo has been announced as the winner of the 2016 Ballon d Or, taking out the most prestigious individual prize in world football for the fourth time.
Respected publication France Football named the 31-year-old forward as its player of the year on Monday, Ronaldo claiming the accolade ahead of arch-rival Lionel Messi of Barcelona.
Ronaldo enjoyed a glittering 2015-16 season with club and country, lifting the Champions League with Real Madrid and finally ending his wait for international honours, as Portugal triumphed at Euro 2016.
The former Sporting CP player won his first Ballon d Or at Manchester United in 2008, before collecting the prize again at Madrid in 2013 and 2014.
Ballon d or France Football 2016 winner : CRISTIANO RONALDO
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