Guangzhou Evergrande are in prime position to reach the AFC Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday, while Bunyodkor could exit.
Chinese Super League leaders Evergrande will take a 2-1 aggregate lead into their second leg against A-League champions the Central Coast Mariners.
The big-spending outfit are favourites to progress with Brazilian Muriqui and Paraguayan Lucas Barrios in good form.
Muriqui is the equal top-scorer in the competition this season with seven goals, while Barrios has struck three times.
The Mariners will need a big performance from highly rated goalkeeper Mathew Ryan to have any chance of causing an upset.
Bunyodkor are staring at a surprise early exit and head into their second leg at home to Buriram United trailing 2-1.…
Love and you will be loved Dani Alves is Juventus driving force
Love. That is all Dani Alves needs.
The more love you give him, the more you will receive from the charismatic Brazilian right-back, who’s been the major driving force behind Juventus’ semifinal success in the Champions League.
“I like to be loved”, Brazilian international exclaimed earlier this year in an interview with ABC when he was describing his decision to leave the Catalan giants after eight successful years.
“If I’m not loved, I leave.”, he added, sending a strong message to the board of directors who he thinks were ‘false and ungrateful’ towards him.
“The people who run Barcelona have no idea how to treat the footballers.”, he concluded.
One man s…
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a brace as Paris Saint-Germain cruised to a 5-1 victory over Lyon at the Parc des Princes on Sunday.
Ligue 1 s top goal-scorer needed just 11 minutes to grab his 13th league goal of the season as the reigning champions made light work of the side who pushed them all the way for the title in 2014/15.
How things have changed just seven months on, with Lyon enduring a poor run of form, further goals from Serge Aurier and Edinson Cavani compounding their woes in the capital.
Jordan Ferri grabbed what proved to be a consolation goal in the first half courtesy of an error by Kevin Trapp in the PSG goal, but there was little else that Lyon could take from a game in which they were outclassed throughout, Ibrahimovic scoring a second-half penalty…
Stoke City winger Matthew Etherington believes Tony Pulis can be proud of the work he has done at the club.
Pulis left the Britannia Stadium on Tuesday following a seven-year stint and Etherington praised the Welshman for guiding the club to the Premier League and then consolidating.
If you look at where Stoke were when he irst came in mid-table in the Championship you can t argue he s done a fantastic job, Etherington told talkSPORT.
He s a great man, a fantastic man. He s done a lot for me personally, a lot for the football club and for the people of Stoke-on-Trent as well.
Some supporters of the club had become keen for a change after their side could only finish 13th in the Premier League, despite investing in proven top-flight players at the start of the campaign.
Howe…
Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas revealed he shaved his head to send support to families and kids fighting cancer.
The Costa Rica international kept a clean sheet as Madrid recorded a 2-0 win at Malaga on Sunday, capturing the LaLiga crown for the first time since 2012.
Navas, 30, arrived to face media with a shaved head and said he wanted to dedicate the title triumph to those battling cancer.
I pray to God for all of them, that they can recover from their illness, he said.
For all of the kids fighting cancer. For their families, for those who continue fighting. This title is for them.
Despite constant speculation over his future, Navas was instrumental in helping Madrid this season, making 27 league starts.
He was delighted that hi…
CONCACAF World Cup qualifying leaders Mexico and rivals the United States played out a thrilling 1-1 draw in Mexico City.
With political tensions high among the two nations, this was billed as the must-see international fixture of the weekend, and it did not disappoint after Carlos Vela cancelled out Michael Bradley s sensational opener at the Estadio Azteca on Sunday.
The Azteca cauldron was silenced when USA captain Bradley chipped Guillermo Ochoa from outside the penalty area in the sixth minute, though Vela restored parity before half-time in the fifth round – Hexagonal – of qualifying.
Hector Herrera and Bradley both hit the woodwork in the second half as the points were shared on the road to Russia 2018, with Mexico improving to 14 points, six clear o…
Pep Guardiola believes he will be judged as a failure at Manchester City if the club do not win the Champions League before he departs.
While City appear certain to cede their Premier League crown to runaway leaders Liverpool this season, Guardiola s impact at the Etihad Stadium has been undeniable.
Since his arrival in 2016, the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss has won two Premier League crowns, the first with a record haul of 100 points and the second with 98, an FA Cup title and two EFL Cups.
In addition, City s football has often been exhilarating during Guardiola s tenure, yet the Catalan knows that will not be enough to satisfy some observers if one further objective is not met.
Winning a certain way is what helps you to win the titles, he s…
Two-time World Cup winner Cafu believes Neymar will lead Brazil to glory at Russia 2018.
Cafu, who won the tournament with Brazil in 1994 and 2002, insists Tite s side has everything in place to erase the memories of their failure on home soil four years ago.
In 2014, Brazil reached the semi-finals but were thrashed 7-1 by Germany, who completely dominated the game and scored five goals in the opening 29 minutes.
The former full-back thinks Neymar and Philippe Coutinho will play key roles in the Selecao s campaign.
It s really easy to say that a key player for Brazil is Neymar, Cafu, speaking as an Uber Eats ambassador, told Omnisport.
He s very exposed and he s the best player in the Brazil squad, in Brazil and, for me, he s one of …
Moussa Sissoko claims he never considered quitting Tottenham despite feeling hurt by team selections by Mauricio Pochettino that affected his international career.
The midfielder is a key member of Pochettino s Spurs side and has started all four of Tottenham s Premier League matches in 2019-20, but two years ago it was a different story for Sissoko.
While preparing for France s Euro 2020 qualifier with Albania, the 30-year-old reflected on a 2017-18 campaign in which he started just 15 league games for Spurs and missed out on a place in Didier Deschamps World Cup-winning Les Bleus squad.
Not being at the 2018 World Cup was of course a disappointment, but not an end in itself, Sissoko told Le Parisien.
I was aware of having a complicated year with my …
According to a recent report from Fabrizio Romano, Brighton do not intend on selling Alexis Mac Allister despite rumours suggesting otherwise.
Over the course of the last few weeks, the 23-year-old Mac Allister has been making headlines as one of the driving forces behind Argentina s success at the 2022 World Cup. He scored in their final group game against Poland and as they prepare for the upcoming semi-final against Croatia, you d have to imagine he will feature heavily.
The report in question indicates that Tottenham Hotspur are interested in making a move, perhaps as soon as the January transfer window. Alas, the Seagulls understand how important Mac Allister is for their own European push, which is why they ll do everything in their power to keep hold of him.
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