Andrea Pirlo gave Cristiano Ronaldo his backing after the Juventus superstar spurned a chance to earn the Serie A champions a valuable win from the penalty spot against Atalanta.
Ronaldo saw his 61st-minute spot-kick smothered by Atalanta goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini in Wednesday s 1-1 draw as Juve missed the opportunity to make up ground on unbeaten Serie A leaders Milan.
Federico Chiesa had fired Juve into a 29th-minute lead only to see his stunning long-range effort cancelled out by Remo Freuler s powerful strike to pull the visitors level approaching the hour-mark.
When Chiesa was brought down by Hans Hateboer four minutes later, five-time Ballon d Or winner Ronaldo stepped up from 12 yards and slotted the ball into a diving Gollini s arms.
Ronaldo h…
Two goals in five minutes from Kyle Lafferty ensured Northern Ireland maintained the pressure on Euro 2016 qualifying Group F leaders Romania with a 2-1 victory against Finland.
The Norwich City striker, out on loan at Rizespor, provided the quality to complement the hosts control with two smart finishes in the first half to take his tally for the qualifying campaign to five.
Finland pulled one back in added time when Berat Sadik reacted quickest to a rebound in the box, but it was too little too late.
Michael O Neill s side have now won four of their five Group F matches and sit just a point behind Romania.
This key fixture was staged against the backdrop of religious protests at the first international fixture to be played in the country on…
Ahead of the new Premier League season, Leicester City captain Wes Morgan is desperate for his side to repeat their heroics from 2015-16.
Leicester, led by Italian manager Claudio Ranieri, shocked the footballing world by claiming the Premier League title last season, having started the campaign as favourites for relegation.
While their triumph means they have the added demands of Champions League football to contend with, Morgan believes Leicester need to show they are not a one-season wonder.
We have to show what we can do and prove to everyone it was no fluke last season, the skipper said ahead of Saturday s season opener at newly-promoted Hull City.
We re here to stay at the top. It s going to be exciting for the neutrals and I can t wait…
Alvaro Arbeloa has stressed nobody at Real Madrid will doubt Cristiano Ronaldo s commitment to the club.
The Portugal international recently revealed he is unhappy with life at the La Liga champions, but Arbeloa believes his comments will not change the fans affection for the attacker.
Nobody is going to doubt his dedication and commitment to Real Madrid. I think that the fans are very grateful to Cristiano for his hard work and for his goals, the wing-back told ABC.
Cristiano must know that Real Madrid s fans support him. He can t doubt that because it s been shown to him day after day. He s not by himself out there.
Arbeloa went on to praise Jose Mourinho for instilling a winning mentality on the Madrid team.
Mourinho s a winner, he said.
South Africa are negotiating the possibility of playing a friendly international with Saudi Arabia in October.
The game on October 16 would be either in Saudi Arabia or a neutral venue in Europe, officials have said.
South Africa have been searching for an opponent for that date for several weeks.
The national team have a game against Poland in Bydgoszcz on October 12, but also can also play a second international four days later as stipulated on FIFA s co-ordinated calendar.
The South African Football Federation have had negotiations with Finland and Malta over a possible friendly but talks broke down.
The game against Poland is part of an agreement that saw the Euro co-hosts play a friendly in Soweto just before the 2010 World Cup
South…
Liverpool s coach sustained damage following the Reds 4-1 defeat at Manchester City, who are assisting a police investigation into the incident.
City dispatched Liverpool with little fuss in Saturday s early Premier League encounter.
However, City subsequently confirmed their opponents team bus had been damaged by an object thrown at it during its return journey.
We understand an object was thrown towards the coach in a residential area, a City statement read.
Incidents of this kind are totally unacceptable, and we strongly condemn the actions of the individual(s) responsible.
We will fully support Greater Manchester Police s investigation into this incident in any way we can.
City also condemned inappropriate chants from sections of t…
Best Odds: 21/20
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Looking to make another Premier League statement on Tuesday night, Aston Villa will make the trip to a managerless Leicester.
Leicester
Starting with the hosts, suffering a real collapse away at Crystal Palace over the weekend, Leicester will be getting a new era underway on Tuesday night. Eventually getting hit with a last-gasp 2-1 loss at Selhurst Park, that result was enough to cost Brendan Rodgers his job at the King Power. Parting ways with the one-time Liverpool boss and now seeking a permanent replacement, the Foxes find themselves firmly at the heart of a Premier League nightmare. Dropping into the bottom-three and now tipped as a leading relegation contender in 2023, Leicester have only continued to show a string of issues o…
Verdict: Barcelona/Barcelona
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The stage is set for Barcelona to celebrate their 25th La Liga crown this weekend as the Catalans face Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday aiming to claim a domestic double in just a week’s time.
Deportivo La Coruna
With both Las Palmas and Malaga already relegated from the Spanish top flight, Deportivo La Coruna have launched a late bid to avoid such a faith. Heading into the 35th match of the season off the back of a four-match unbeaten run, Clarence Seedorf’s team is facing a dangerous prospect.
The legendary Dutchman is likely to fall short in his efforts to save Deportivo La Coruna from a drop, knowing that his team sits nine points adrift of safety. For Depor to remain in the frame for La L…
Prediction: Real Madrid to win 2-1
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Real Madrid and Celta de Vigo will face each other in La Liga this weekend. The match at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano is slated to kick off at 8pm UK time on Saturday.
Real Madrid
Real Madrid will head into the match against Celta on the back of a 1-1 draw wit Elche away from home in La Liga. Elche are in danger of going down to the Segunda Division at the end of the season, and defending Spanish champions Madrid were expected to win. However, Zinedine Zidane’s side were lacklustre and probably did not deserve all three points from the encounter.
Madrid are second in the La Liga table at the moment with 33 points from 16 matches. Los Blancos are two points behind leaders and city rival…
Newcastle United dropped the curtain on a difficult Premier League season with a compelling 3-0 victory over the 2016/17 champions Chelsea who are disappointingly left without the Champions League spot this year.
Without support from owner Mike Ashley in the transfer window and overall financial department, the 58-year-old Rafa Benitez did wonders with the talent he had at disposal to beat the odds and finish the season in 10th place.
The Magpies found themselves just three points behind Leicester City and five adrift of Everton, who spent lavishly during the summer transfer window.
The 3-0 victory over Chelsea came as a cherry on top of a sour cake for Magpies, who will be looking for a promised upgrade this summer. In the meantime, the Newcastle United support…