Paris Saint-Germain kicked off their Ligue 1 campaign with a 2-1 victory despite suffering an early scare against Troyes.
Oualid El Hajjam s ninth-minute header had the newly promoted hosts on top but their delight was cut short 10 minutes later when Achraf Hakimi smashed in a first goal for his new club.
Mauro Icardi doubled the blow two minutes later with what proved to be the winner, poking past goalkeeper Gauthier Gallon after good work by Kylian Mbappe.
Amid speculation over the possible arrival of Lionel Messi in Paris, Mauricio Pochettino s side started positively on the field as they look to recapture a Ligue 1 crown which they have claimed in seven of the past nine seasons.
Thilo Kehrer s last-ditch intervention made amends for centre-back part…
Valencia have confirmed the initial loan signing of Celta Vigo goalkeeper Yoel pending the completion of a medical.
The former Spain under-19 international has been part of the first team set-up at Celta since 2009 after coming through the club s youth system.
He will move to the Mestalla on loan for the coming season with an agreement in place for Valencia to buy the player outright until the 2017-18 season.
Aside from a loan spell with Lugo in the Segunda Division, Yoel has been a regular for Celta in recent campaigns.
The Estadio de Balaidos outfit paid tribute to the goalkeeper on their website, stating: Celta wants to express its sincere gratitude to Yoel for the professionalism, dedication and performances during his long spell at the club.
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Captain Marc Janko wants to create history with Austria as the nation bids to reach the UEFA European Championship via qualification for the first time.
Austria featured at Euro 2008 as they cost-hosted the showpiece tournament alongside Switzerland but they have never qualified for the event in 13 attempts.
However, Marcel Koller s men are on track to end that drought.
Austria sit top of Euro 2016 Group G qualifying four points clear of Sweden after posting three wins and a draw heading into Friday s trip to Liechtenstein.
If we qualify it would be a huge thing for Austria, Janko, who is based in Australia with Sydney FC, told FIFA.com. At the moment things look very good, but we have to be realistic with six games to go.
We still have to play…
that Glen Johnson is keen to win back his place in Liverpool’s first team, as speculation regarding his future grows.
The 30 year old has started just three games in all competitions for the Reds this season, with on-loan right-back Javier Manquillo currently above him in the pecking order while Jon Flanagan will also compete with him once he returns from injury.
The former West Ham United, Chelsea and Portsmouth man’s contract expires in the summer, and talks over a new deal have stalled.
Johnson, who moved to Anfield in the summer of 2009, has also lost his place in the England squad with his last international appearance coming in the 2-1 defeat to Uruguay in the group stages of this summer’s World Cup finals.
A number of European clubs inc…
Market: Albania win
Odds: 7/11 @
Looking to extend on their recent purple patch in midweek, Albania will welcome Bulgaria to Tirana for a friendly showdown.
Starting with the hosts, marking their return to EURO 24 qualifying duties with a stunning performance last week, Albania are in the midst of what has been a stellar run of form. Eventually breezing their way to a 3-0 romp against the Czech Republic, the Eagles find the mood in their camp at a red-hot high. Continuing to gain a string of plaudits and sat firmly in pole position to book their ticket to the major tournament stage, Sylvinho’s high-flying squad will be looking to make another statement here. Currently sat at the top of the Group E standings and riding a famous wave of momentum, Albania will al…
Peter Vermes says Sporting Kansas City must focus on their own attributes, rather than those of upcoming opponents Austin FC, if they are to end their miserable run of form.
Sporting KC sit 13th in the Western Conference standings after losing 10 of their last 11 games including each of their last three, conceding four goals in each.
Following a 4-2 defeat to the LA Galaxy, a 4-3 reverse against Real Salt Lake and a 4-0 demolition at the hands of the Columbus Crew, Vermes says his team have had a good week in training and are raring to set the record straight.
We re going to find out on Saturday. I think we ve had a pretty decent week of training, Vermes said when asked how his team would measure up.
It s been good for us to train in this kind of heat …
Reece James expects Chelsea to become one of the best teams in the world after the Blues new signings combine and gain more experience together.
Chelsea spent a reported £294.8million in the January transfer window, with headline arrival Enzo Fernandez becoming the Premier League s record signing on deadline day from Benfica.
Mykhaylo Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile, Andrey Santos, David Datro Fofana, Joao Felix, Noni Madueke and Malo Gusto all also arrived as Graham Potter s squad were boosted by a plethora of new arrivals.
While the Blues have won just one game in all competitions in 2023, James warned once those players gel, Chelsea will be a fearsome presence in both the Premier League and Europe.
The England right-back told Sky Sports News: You know becau…
Scottish Football Association (SFA) chief executive Stewart Regan slammed the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) for accepting a €5million pay-off from FIFA in 2010.
Regan declared the SFA would never challenge the result of a match on the back of a refereeing error ahead of Scotland s Euro 2016 qualifier against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin on Saturday.
The FAI revealed last week it accepted an interest-free loan from FIFA as compensation for not pursuing legal action after the Republic of Ireland were denied 2010 World Cup qualification by France, following Thierry Henry s notorious handball incident in a 2009 play-off.
The relationship between the SFA and FAI has been strained since the latter complained about the size of the ticket allocation for I…
Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon says Premier League giants Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City have attempted to sign him during his illustrious career.
The 38-year-old revealed that he met with Arsene Wenger in 1998 to discuss a potential move to Arsenal, while legendary United manager Alex Ferguson was also interested in taking him to Old Trafford when he was at Parma.
Buffon decided to stay in Italy, though, and moved from Parma to Juventus in 2001 before big-spending City later tried to entice him to the Etihad Stadium
I remember when I was 20 years old in 1998 I had dinner once with Wenger from Arsenal, Buffon told BT Sport.
Then when I was at Parma, Manchester United definitely had their eyes on me for a long time with Ferguson…
Celtic have signed former West Ham United striker Carlton Cole on a free transfer, .
The thirty-two year old had been without a club since being released by the East London club for a second time at the end of the last season.
In nine seasons with the Hammers, Cole racked up almost three hundred appearances in all competitions, scoring sixty-eight goals while he was part of the squad that won promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs in 2012.
Prior to his move to West Ham, he spent a decade with Chelsea – half of which was spent as part of their first team though he spent much of his time their out on loan with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Charlton Athletic and Aston Villa.
He was also capped seven times for England, with all of those outings c…