Luis Suarez: One goal, one disallowed the red card / Image via espnfc.com
Fouls, reckless tackles, red cards, goals, disallowed goals.
You name it and the second leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals at Camp Nou between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid had it all.
La Liga rivals and fiercely-contested competitors took part in a highly-eventful and extremely exciting game which ended with one goal on each side of the pitch and with plenty of chances that were left unused or disallowed.
Read our full match report:
Form Guide Team News
Barcelona headed into the game at Camp Nou on the back of the nine-match unbeaten run with their foot upfront in the race to the Copa del Rey finals against Atletico Madrid. Luis Enrique was without injured Rafinha, wherea…
Hirving Lozano helped Pachuca book their spot in the CONCACAF Champions League final with a thrilling 3-1 win over Dallas in their second leg on Tuesday.
Lozano, previously linked with a move to Manchester United, struck twice late on to seal a 4-3 aggregate win for the Mexican side.
The victory moved them into a fifth Champions League final and first since 2010, the fourth and last time they were crowned champions.
Trailing 2-1 on aggregate, hosts Pachuca struck first at Estadio Hidalgo through Franco Jara, who headed in a Jonathan Urretaviscaya cross from close range in the 38th minute.
Lozano appeared to have settled the tie in the 80th minute, skipping between two markers and inside from the left before beating goalkeeper Chris Seitz from 25 yards.
Prediction: Draw
Best Odds:
Bookmaker:
We re finally on the verge of the final set of group stage games, and for many teams, their future is uncertain. Underdogs have a chance of qualifying for the Round of 16, big favourites are on the verge of elimination, and some teams haven t even played their second games yet. Still, while all of that is going on, Uruguay and Russia can rest easy knowing that their passage into the knockout stages is secure with both teams picking up two wins from their first two games thus far in the tournament.
Uruguay
As is usually the case, Uruguay came into this tournament with a flying under the radar kind of mentality. While they ve got a proven track record on the big stage people have continued to underestimate them, an…
Roberto Martinez lauded Everton s maturity following the 3-0 UEFA Europa League win over Lille.
Martinez s side retained their spot at the summit of Group H thanks to goals from Leon Osman, Phil Jagielka and Steven Naismith.
The result took Everton s points tally to an impressive eight from four games and left them five ahead of third-placed Lille with two matches remaining.
Their showing certainly impressed Martinez, who basked in his side s ability to acclimatise in their first season playing European football since 2009/10.
We played with a maturity that suggested we had been playing in Europe for years, he said.
The level of performance was very good throughout the team and that is pleasing.
Martinez, though, refused to look too far…
Manchester City teenager Brahim Diaz believes he has the perfect mentor at the Etihad Stadium in compatriot David Silva.
The attacking midfielder, who turned 18 last week, made his senior debut as a substitute in last season s EFL Cup tie at Swansea City and impressed on City s pre-season tour to the United States, scoring in each of the International Champions Cup wins over Real Madrid and Tottenham.
Spain Under-19 international Diaz has a host of senior team-mates vying for a place in Pep Guardiola s side in his position, although few seem as guaranteed of a place in the City starting XI as Silva.
Capped 113 times by his country, Silva has been at City since 2010 and has moved to take Diaz under his wing since the youngster moved to Manchester from Malaga.
…
Steven Davis scored the winner to give Northern Ireland their first friendly victory since March 2008, beating Latvia 1-0 at Windsor Park on Friday.
In front of a celebratory crowd, captain Davis beat Latvia goalkeeper Andris Vanins at the second attempt early in the second half to notch his third international goal of 2015 and settle the match.
Northern Ireland, preparing for their first major tournament appearance since 1986 after topping Euro 2016 qualifying Group F, were testing a new 3-5-2 formation with Jamie Ward partnering Kyle Lafferty up front.
Lafferty was substituted shortly after the break after hurting his ribs but he had the best chance of the first half when he shot wide with Ward in a good position.
A raft of substitutions took the stin…
Prediction: Tottenham win
Best Odds:
Bookmaker:
The Premier League is back in our lives once again this weekend, and one of the games that we re looking forward to more so than any other is Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Tottenham Hotspur. These are two clubs that have been made very familiar with one another over the years, and in the present day, they both have bucket loads of potential regarding what they could accomplish in the not so distant future. However, both are coming off of losses in the Premier League, which could open the door for some great end to end football on Saturday.
Wolves
The juggernaut story of Wolverhampton Wanderers has been put on the backburner in recent weeks, with Wolves starting to come back down to earth after going on a…
Ander Herrera sees no reason why Manchester United team-mate David De Gea would leave the club for Real Madrid, the midfielder adamant they are not far behind the Spanish giants.
De Gea has developed into arguably the world s best goalkeeper since joining United from Atletico Madrid in 2011 and is often linked with a return to his home city.
Real Madrid were reportedly close to signing the Spain international in 2015, but they ultimately missed out and a few days later De Gea committed himself to a contract which runs to 2019, with the option of another year.
Herrera expects that Madrid will probably come in for De Gea again in the coming years, but the 28-year-old is confident that United s trajectory has them on a similar level to the reigning European champion…
Walter Mazzarri s agent has described the rumours linking the former Inter coach with the AC Milan job as fantasy .
The 56-year-old has been out of work since leaving Watford at the end of last season, but is among a number of names including Carlo Ancelotti and Antonio Conte to have been mooted as a potential successor to Vincenzo Montella at Milan.
Doubts about Montella s future persist as the Rossoneri, having invested huge money in the transfer market this year, languish in seventh place in Serie A, nine points off the Champions League qualification places and 13 points off the top.
But Andrea D Amico, a representative of Mazzarri, insists his client has had no contact with the San Siro club.
All the journalists rumours that have come out so far are …
Real Madrid have denied they are in transfer talks with Paris St Germain striker Kylian Mbappe.
The France forward is due to leave PSG when his contract expires next summer, with the Bernabeu an expected destination.
But the LaLiga side have rubbished reports they have held any discussions with the World Cup winner.
Comunicado Oficial.
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid)
A club statement read: “Given the information recently issued and published by different media outlets, in which there is speculation about alleged negotiations between the player Kylian Mbappe and our club, Real Madrid C.F. wants to state that this information is flatly false and that no such negotiations have taken place with a player who belongs to PSG.”
The French …