Both St Mirren and Motherwell gatecrashed the top three places in the cinch Premiership after the third weekend of the season.
The Buddies should be topping the table but were denied a hat-trick of league wins by Aberdeen striker Bojan Miovski’s penalty equaliser 10 minutes into stoppage-time amid VAR controversy.
Here are five things we learned from the latest fixtures.
All’s not well at Celtic
Celtic went two domestic games without scoring for the first time since May 2018 after a flat display in a goalless draw with St Johnstone. Manager Brendan Rodgers incurred the wrath of a section of fans afterwards and attacker Sead Haksabanovic later appeared to imply he was keen to move on amid a lack of starts. Daizen Maeda this weekend admitted previous manager A…
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Looking to sign off the 2023/24 campaign with a final weekend statement, Barcelona will travel to the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan when they meet Sevilla on Sunday night.
Sevilla
Starting with the hosts, while Sevilla might have marked their return from March’s international break with their sights set on mounting a genuine top-half charge, Los Nervionenses are limping their way over the finishing line. Last seen putting in another downbeat performance as they slumped to a 2-0 defeat away at Athletic Bilbao, Quique Sanchez Flores’ men have lost all of their previous three La Liga appearances. With their recent issues underlined by a shock 1-0 loss at home against Cadiz on May 15th, the former Watford boss will have an extended headache …
Although it might be the international break that steals most of this weekend’s headlines, we are still treated to a string of eye-catching domestic affairs. With another stacked schedule from across Europe throughout Saturday, we have found a trio of helpful tips that are worth taking note of.
Saturday September 9th
BST 15:00 Exeter vs Leyton Orient
While Exeter might have been disappointed after only mustering a bottom-half finish last season, Saturday’s hosts have certainly come flying out of the traps this time around. Last seen putting in another rugged display as they landed a 1-0 victory away at Burton, it is no secret that Gary Caldwell’s men have their sights set on securing a shock Championship ticket in 2024. With the mood around St. James’ Park a…
Italian authorities on Tuesday expressed their satisfaction following a meeting with UEFA delegates to discuss the country s candidature to host the 2016 European Football Championships.
Gianni Letta, the undersecretary to the Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, praised the country for its togetherness.
Italy s candidature is serious, harmonious and unique. We also think that the archaeology, landscape and climate adds extra value, he said.
All this, added to our sporting merits, can show the country in a good light.
UEFA are currently studying the Italian dossier and will give their assessment in mid May, but Italian Football Federation president Giancarlo Abete insisted that he was feeling positive.
Italy last hosted a major tournament in 1990…
Bologna have confirmed the appointment of Vincenzo Italiano as the club s new head coach, with the former Fiorentina boss succeeding Thiago Motta.
Italiano has put pen to paper on a two-year deal with the Rossoblu, who will play in the Champions League next season following a fifth-place finish in Serie A.
The 46-year-old departed Fiorentina at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season, after guiding La Viola to successive Europa League Conference finals during his three-year spell.
However, the Florence club suffered heartbreak on both occasions; losing to a last-minute winner from West Ham s Jarrod Bowen in 2023, while Ayoub El Kaabi struck in extra-time to clinch a dramatic victory for Olympiacos the following year.
Italiano also led Fiorentina to the 2022-…
Arsenal are interested in signing Murillo from Premier League rivals Nottingham Forest in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that Arsenal Sporting Director Edu is personally pushing for a deal to be done.
Football Transfers has noted that Tottenham Hotspur are also interested in Murillo. Forest are not unwilling to sell the defender, but the Premier League club will ask for around £60-70 million for the 21-year-old Brazilian central defender. It will be interesting to see if Arsenal or Spurs are willing to pay that much for the defender.
Murillo has been on the books of Forest since the summer of 2023 when he joined from Brazilian club Corinthians. The defender was one of the better players for the Reds last season. The youngster made 32 …
Marquinhos believes the strength of Brazil s squad will allow them to stay at this level even as Neymar misses Monday s game against Switzerland through injury.
Brazil impressed in beating Serbia 2-0 in their World Cup opener, but they lost Neymar to an ankle injury following a brutal 80 minutes in which he was fouled nine times.
While the Paris Saint-Germain forward has not been ruled out of the remainder of the tournament, he will not feature in the Selecao s next match.
An injury to Neymar in the 2014 World Cup was followed by Brazil losing 7-1 to Germany, but Marquinhos believes this team – the tournament favourites – can cope with his absence.
[We are] 100 per cent confident, the defender said.
We wish we could have Neymar playing with …
Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl says it is a good thing to see a heavyweight club like Chelsea go through a rough patch as the two sides prepare to meet this weekend.
The Blues have lost back-to-back home games over the past week, going down 4-1 to Brentford in the Premier League and 3-1 to Real Madrid in the Champions League.
It is only the second time Chelsea have lost successive matches in all competitions this term, while never before under Thomas Tuchel have they lost two league games in a row.
Indeed, Tuchel – appointed by the west London side in January 2021 – has managed the most matches without losing consecutive games in the history of the competition (48).
Despite Chelsea s recent wobble, however, Hasenhuttl is expecting the visitors…
Harry Kane s lack of goals at the World Cup does not worry his former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino, who believes the striker s creative prowess can help England go far in Qatar.
Despite England scoring nine times in three Group B fixtures, Kane is yet to net at the tournament, with the likes of Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka instead providing the Three Lions main goal threat from wide positions.
Kane has, however, recorded three assists at the tournament, becoming the first England player to do so at a single World Cup since David Beckham in 2002.
Asked about Kane s form by Sky Sports, Pochettino highlighted the England captain s creative contribution while also backing him to find his shooting boots in the knockout stages.
I think Harry can prov…
Robert Lewandowski could not hope to win more trophies at Barcelona and should therefore stay at Bayern Munich, as uncertainty over his future persists.
That is the message from former Bayern chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who has implored the Bundesliga giants to keep talisman Lewandowski at the club despite interest from the Blaugrana.
The Poland international has enjoyed another remarkable season, scoring 35 goals in 34 top-flight games – no player has scored more across Europe s top five leagues.
But Lewandowski, whose contract expires in June 2023, has been widely linked with Barca after enjoying another fine personal campaign to help Bayern to a record 10th consecutive league title.
Questions remain over his future after Lewandowski and hi…