Belgium national team manager Marc Wilmots said star wringer Eden Hazard was fortunate to avoid being substituted after the player s uninspiring performance against Cyprus on Sunday.
Hazard, the reigning PFA and Football Writers Association Player of the Year, scored a late winner in the Cypriotic capital as Belgium defeated the hosts 1-0 to inch closer to Euro 2016 qualification.
A year ago I think I would have taken him off, Wilmots told Belgian TV station RTBF.
But now he s growing more and more in terms of maturity and importance. You can t blame him for trying things. Maybe he tries to force things too much individually it happens sometimes.
I think the fact he was there to make it 1-0 was the only thing that saved his match to…
After confirming their best start in Bundesliga history, Bayern Munich welcome Dinamo Zagreb to the Allianz Arena for their Champions League Group F clash on Tuesday evening.
With 21 points from their first seven league games, in which they have scored 23 strikes and conceded just three, Pep Guardiola s side have begun the current campaign in even better form than in their treble-winning season of 2012-13.
Key to their most recent victories has been the performances of striker Robert Lewandowski.
The Poland international has hit a rich vein of form, following up a record-breaking five-goal appearance from the bench against Wolfsburg last week with a double in the 3-0 victory over Mainz on Saturday.
I m really happy to have scored two goals and that we …
Alexandre Lacazette s fifth Premier League goal of the season grabbed a 1-1 draw for Arsenal in their pulsating Emirates Stadium encounter with Liverpool.
Liverpool spent significant periods on the back foot against their vibrant hosts, although Sadio Mane had a goal controversially ruled out for offside and Virgil van Dijk hit the post before captain James Milner clinically pounced on a Bernd Leno error after the hour.
Milner s landmark 50th Premier League goal would not prove decisive, however, as Lacazette latched onto substitute Alex Iwobi s pass, drew Alisson from his goal and finished sublimely.
Jurgen Klopp s side go back to the top of the table for now but will be two points behind Manchester City if the champions beat lowly Southampton on Sunday, while C…
Juventus are approaching a crucial part of the season and must remain calm as they attempt to fulfil the dream of winning a sixth consecutive Serie A title and the Champions League, according to Dani Alves.
Juve needed a 97th-minute penalty from Paulo Dybala to beat AC Milan 2-1 on Friday, a result that has left Massimiliano Allegri s team 11 points clear at the top of the table ahead of Roma s visit to Palermo on Sunday.
While claiming an unprecedented sixth consecutive Scudetto appears inevitable for Italian football s domestic juggernaut, the challenge of triumphing on Europe s big stage remains considerable.
Nevertheless, Dani Alves who defeated Juve in the 2014-15 Champions League final during his time at Barcelona is confident the Bianconeri have what it ta…
Market: Koln win
Odds: 8/11 @
Desperate to gain an early advantage on Wednesday evening, Koln will welcome second-tier Kiel to the RheinEnergieStadion with their future hanging in the balance.
Starting with the hosts, while Koln might have once again found themselves spending the majority of the season at the heart of a relegation scrap, The Billy Goats should be boosted by their end-of-the-year performances. Looking to dodge the bullet again and book themselves another Bundesliga run for next season, Friedhelm Funkel s side were last seen over the weekend when signing off their campaign with a deserved 1-0 win against an already relegated Schalke at the RheinEnergieStadion. Proving that their 4-1 drumming at the hands of Freiburg earlier in the month was just a…
Usain Bolt has rejected a two-year deal with Maltese champions Valletta, the eight-time Olympic champion s agent has confirmed.
The Jamaican has been trying to earn a contract with Central Coast Mariners and netted twice in a trial match last Friday.
With the A-League season beginning this weekend, Bolt s future with the Australian club remains unclear.
However, agent Ricky Simms said his client had decided against a move to Malta, with Valletta having gone public in their pursuit of the 32-year-old.
Simms told Omnisport: There is a lot of interest in Usain playing football. We are regularly approached by clubs from all over the world.
The only difference with the latest offer is that it was made through the media.
I can confir…
(GSM) Chelsea captain John Terry says he will die an unhappy man if he does not win the UEFA Champions League with the Stamford Bridge club.
The English champions kick off their European campaign against Zilina tonight after enduring years of misfortune in Europe s elite club competition.
Last season, Chelsea were eliminated by eventual Champions League winners Internazionale, who were managed by former Blues boss José Mourinho.
The Champions League is the only prize that Chelsea have failed to win and Terry will not give up on his dream to lift the European cup.
He told Chelsea TV: Until we win that trophy I m not going to die a happy man, that s a fact. I realise now that going out of the competition last season made us stronger in the League.
…
Bernd Stork faces his toughest test as Kazakhstan coach on Tuesday as his underdogs take on his native Germany in their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign.
The sides, who have never met before at international level, are currently in diametrically opposite positions in their Group A table.
World Cup bronze medallists Germany maintained their perfect record with a confident 3-0 home win over Turkey on Friday as Kazakhstan suffered their third consecutive defeat at the hands of Belgium.
Tuesday s match at Astana could be the last test for Stork, who has been working in the Central Asian republic since autumn 2008.
The 47-year-old had been set a task of collecting three points against Belgium and Germany but after Friday s defeat this mission looks unrealizable.…
Spanish daily newspaper that Valencia are hot on the trail of Argentine midfielder Esteban Cambiasso.
Los Che see the Argentine as a great replacement for Seydou Keita, who has agreed to join AS Roma this summer.
And considering that Cambiasso has become a free agent when his deal with Inter Milan came to an end, Valencia can sign the midfielder at no cost.
While the 33-year-old has offers to return to Argentina, he reportedly wants to remain in Europe for another year or two before going back to his native country.
Esteban Cambiasso will have no shortage of proposals as he is set to embark on a new challenge after spending last nine years at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, making a total of 285 Serie A appearances.
The highly rated midfielder has earn…
Chelsea F.C. have completed the signing of midfielder Mario Pašalić from Prva HNL side Hajduk Split for an undisclosed fee.
The Croatia Under-21 international, who was included in Niko Kovač s 30-man provisional World Cup squad, was a standout performer for the Split-based club last season, netting 11 goals in 30 league appearances.
I am very happy because I am now a Chelsea player, Pašalić told the club s official website, .
I am very impressed by the training ground and I must thank everybody at Hajduk. This is now a new start in my career.
I am a central midfielder, my favourite player is Frank Lampard, and so I am very happy to be a Chelsea player.
The Mainz-born playmaker, the club s third summer signing following t…