A rampant Benfica eased into the Champions League quarter-finals as Goncalo Ramos double helped secure a 5-1 second-leg home win over Club Brugge.
Rafa Silva, Joao Mario and David Neres were also on target as Benfica ruthlessly stamped out any hopes of a Brugge comeback with a sparkling display at the Estadio da Luz on Tuesday, sealing a 7-1 aggregate victory.
Scott Parker s side faced a daunting task after suffering a 2-0 defeat in the first leg, and their goal lived a charmed life early on when Joao Mario s flick was disallowed for offside.
Brugge s resistance was broken when Silva s clever footwork gave him the space to nudge into the far corner, before Ramos lashed home a second.
Ramos doubled his tally to make it 3-0 and Joao Mario added a fourth fro…
Manchester United are among the clubs who are interested in signing Axel Disasi from AS Monaco, according to . The report has claimed that the former Premier League and UEFA Champions League winners are among the clubs who are scouting the 25-year-old France international defender.
Disasi has been on the books of AS Monaco since 2020 and has established himself as one of the best defenders in Ligue 1. The 25-year-old has made 30 starts and one substitute in Ligue 1 so far this season, scoring three goals and providing three assists in the process.
The defender also made two appearances in the UEFA Champions League for Monaco this campaign, scoring one goal in the process. Disasi made one start and two substitute appearances for France at the 2022 Qatar World Cup final…
Mauricio Pochettino has hinted he would be open to succeeding Gareth Southgate as England manager if he were to leave the role after the World Cup.
Southgate led England to the World Cup semi-finals in 2018 before overseeing a run to the Euro 2020 final last year, with his side ultimately losing to Italy in a dramatic penalty shoot-out at Wembley Stadium.
However, Southgate has faced severe scrutiny following England s dismal Nations League campaign earlier this year, and he was jeered by his own supporters after a defeat in Italy in September.
During his time with Tottenham, Pochettino was credited with playing a key role in the development of several England internationals, including captain Harry Kane and defender Eric Dier.
The Argentine has also spe…
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a second-half penalty as Al-Nassr beat Al Ettifaq 3-1 in the Saudi Pro League.
They made the breakthrough two minutes before the break through Alex Telles’ incredible volley from outside of the box before Marcelo Brozovic doubled the lead in the 59th minute.
Ronaldo then extended their lead from the spot in the 73rd minute, firing low into the bottom corner to take his goal tally for the calendar year up to 51.
وهل هنـاك أجمـــل ؟
— نادي النصر السعودي (@AlNassrFC)
The visitors, managed by Steven Gerrard and with Jordan Henderson in midfield, managed a late consolation as Mohammed Al-Kuwaykibi scored with five minutes to go.
The result sees Al-Nassr remain 10 points behind leagu…
Real Madrid are in the market for a new centre-forward after announcing Karim Benzema’s departure.
The France international scored 354 goals in 648 appearances to become Real’s second all-time top scorer, behind Cristiano Ronaldo, during a 14-year stay in the Spanish capital.
Here, the PA news agency runs the rule over the main contenders to succeed Benzema at the Bernabeu.
Harry Kane
England captain Kane would appear to be a natural fit for Real given his unceasing ability to score goals for Tottenham.
Kane, who has one year left on his Spurs contract, turns 30 next month, but that is unlikely to put Real off a striker who is the Premier League’s second highest goalscorer and will be strongly coveted by Manchester United and others this summer.
Connor Roberts hopes he can help ignite more favourable memories for Wales in their key Euro 2024 qualifier against Turkey.
Monday’s clash in Samsun has gained added significance following Wales’ shock 4-2 home defeat against Armenia that left them third in Pool D, two points behind Turkey.
While the group still has a long way to run, Wales’ automatic qualification hopes will be dealt another setback if they suffer a second successive loss.
Wales delivered, though, against Turkey at Euro 2020, with Burnley right-back Roberts scoring in a 2-0 victory in Baku.
“To jog the memory of what I did at the Euros will be brilliant,” Roberts said.
“But that is in the past and I have to create more memories as an individual and as a team.
…
Monaco goalkeeper Danijel Subasic has followed Mario Mandzukic and Vedran Corluka into international retirement after a nine-year Croatia career.
The 33-year-old revealed his mind was made up prior to a string of impressive performances at the World Cup in Russia.
Vital saves in shootout wins over Denmark and Russia helped Croatia on the way to a place in the final alongside eventual champions France.
Subasic, who won 44 caps in total, felt it was time to make way despite the strong recent form.
We all have an expiry date, and need to assess how long we can play, he said in a statement. Maybe I could have lasted one more campaign, but that would probably be too much.
In this manner, I want to allow my team-mates, who wait for their chance like I…
Zinedine Zidane insisted his decision to drop Gareth Bale from the Real Madrid squad for his side s 3-2 victory over Villarreal was not made to send a message to the Welsh forward.
Bale was a glaring omission from a Madrid squad already missing injured striker Karim Benzema, but Zidane saw Mariano Diaz score twice to help Los Blancos bounce back from a 1-0 reverse at Rayo Vallecano in their previous game.
Manchester United are rumoured to be planning a swoop for Bale s signature at the end of the season, but Zidane has consistently refused to comment on the 29-year-old s future at Santiago Bernabeu.
Asked why Bale was dropped, Zidane stopped short of giving a clear explanation.
It is not a message, he said. You can interpret what you want. I have to make…
Neymar wants to take time to mourn Brazil s World Cup exit as he hailed the team s youngsters for stepping up in the Selecao s penalty shoot-out loss to Croatia.
Brazil, the pre-tournament favourites, are heading out after going down 4-2 on penalties following a 1-1 draw with the 2018 runners-up at Education City Stadium.
Neymar opened the scoring with a wonderful goal midway through extra time on Friday, a strike that took him level with the great Pele on 77 goals for Brazil.
Yet Bruno Petkovic scored with four minutes remaining, with Rodrygo and Marquinhos failing to convert their penalties as Brazil s wait for a sixth world title rolled on.
Neymar did not take a spot-kick, though perhaps would have been in line to take Brazil s fifth had it gone that f…
Mats Hummels is set to return to Borussia Dortmund from Bayern Munich, joining former team-mate Mario Gotze back at Signal Iduna Park.
Hummels and Gotze were both part of the Dortmund teams that won back-to-back Bundesliga titles under Jurgen Klopp, so Lucien Favre will hope they can lead BVB back to the top.
Deals between the two German giants are not very common, but there have been some high-profile examples of players to feature for both Bayern and Dortmund.
Omnisport picks out six of the best, with Hummels return costing Dortmund a reported €38million fee.
Mats
— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow)
Mats Hummels
Hummels will know his way around Signal Iduna Park as it is only three years since the former BVB captain le…