Zinedine Zidane began his reign as Real Madrid coach with a 5-0 win over Deportivo at the Bernabéu. Since that victory, the Whites have gone on to become La Liga’s best performing home side, with a record of 10 wins in 11 games. This return sees the Whites outdo Barcelona (nine wins and two draws) and Atlético de Madrid (eight wins and three draws) in these rankings.
Tests conducted today on Leo Messi have confirmed that they player is still having trouble with the adductor muscle in his left hamstring. He has been recommended to lighten his training load over the next few days and his availability will depend on how the issue progresses.
The FC Barcelona players who were away on international duty are slowly returning to the first team setup, with Germany’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen being the latest to return to work.
September is going to be a busy time at Barça, with seven games in just 23 days. Five of those are league fixtures, including one midweek game against Atlético Madrid at the Camp Nou, while the other two are in the Champions League.
Soccer Saturday pundit Charlie Nicholas provides his predictions as Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur face tough tasks, while Liverpool and Manchester United meet in Europe for the first time ever. The Blues need to overturn a 2-1 first-leg deficit to stay in the Champions League when Paris Saint-Germain visit Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.
Clinton N’Jie is nearing his return to the Tottenham first-team after more than two months out with a knee injury. The Cameroon international, who signed from Lyon last summer, underwent surgery on his medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his right knee in December.
England manager Roy Hodgson has rubbished suggestions that Wayne Rooney should not go to the European Championship this summer.The Manchester United striker has missed his club’s last six games with a knee injury but was criticised for poor form over a number of weeks prior to his enforced absence.
Jurgen Klopp had seven unbelievably successful seasons here. We will now try to create a new chapter at a high level. Klopp created a great foundation. We must build on that. This, taken from Thomas Tuchel’s first press conference as Borussia Dortmund manager in June, is textbook spiel. Nine months on, the quotes have more substance.
Arsenal midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will be sidelined “for a few weeks”, manager Arsene Wenger has revealed. The England international injured a knee in a challenge with Javier Mascherano in the Gunners’ 2-0 defeat at home to Barcelona on Tuesday and was replaced by Theo Walcott five minutes into the second half.
Vedad Ibisevic’s goal secured third-placed Hertha Berlin a 1-0 win over Cologne in the Bundesliga on Friday evening. Pal Dardai’s men now have a four-point cushion over Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Monchengladbach, who are in action on Sunday.