Coutinho´s World Cup place in doubt as Villa rule out Brazil international

Neymar must find tranquillity in front of goal to boost his chances of Champions League glory, according to Brazil great Ronaldo.

The Paris Saint-Germain star has put in a pair of virtuoso displays in Lisbon to propel Thomas Tuchel s side into Sunday s showpiece, where they face the might of treble-chasing Bayern Munich at Estadio da Luz.

The only blot on Neymar s performances has been unusually erratic finishing – something for which one of the finest goalscorers of his generation believes there is a simple solution.

He has played very well in the last few games, especially in this final phase in Portugal. He has generated and created many goal situations, Ronaldo told a media event in the Portuguese capital.

But yes, he lacked a bit of calm at the t…

Maurizio Sarri is delighted with Juventus form but acknowledges the team must be better than in seasons past if they are to again retain their Serie A title.

The Bianconeri defeated Roma 3-1 in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals on Wednesday, scoring through Cristiano Ronaldo, Rodrigo Bentancur and Leonardo Bonucci before half-time.

It was a fifth win in a row in all competitions for Juve, in which time they have built a four-point lead over Inter at the top of the league table.

Sarri saw evidence of this winning mentality against Roma but acknowledged improvement was required in a three-way title tussle with the Nerazzurri and Lazio.

Winning is becoming normal, Sarri explained at a post-match news conference. I m happy for the team.

But we don t …

Market: Celtic win to nil

Odds: 21/20 @

Simply looking to extend their stay at the top of the Premiership table this weekend, Celtic will welcome Hearts to Glasgow on Saturday afternoon.

Starting with the hosts, heading into September’s international break with a stellar 3-0 romp against arch-rivals Rangers, Celtic are in the midst of what has become another sensational purple patch. Marking their return from the fortnight interval sat at the top of the Premiership table, Brendan Rodgers’ camp are pencilled in as a landslide contender to make more domestic history this season. Flying out of the traps since opening up the 2024/25 campaign, the former Leicester boss has seen his squad win all of their first four Premiership appearances. Continuing on from what…

Manchester United captain Harry Maguire believes the Red Devils were complacent in their 1-0 loss to Premier League rivals Arsenal.

United s Premier League woes continued after succumbing to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang s 69th-minute penalty at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer s United humbled last season s Champions League semi-finalists RB Leipzig 5-0 midweek but were off the pace against Arsenal.

United – who languish 15th in the table – have collected just seven points from their six Premier League games this season, the club s lowest tally at this stage since David Moyes short stint at the helm in 2013-14, while they are now winless in their past six league home games.

The Reds are beaten.

— Manchester United (@ManUtd)

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Fernando Torres believes Liverpool are set up for sustained Premier League success and expressed his delight that their 30-year wait for top-flight glory is over.

The former Reds striker feels the 2019-20 title – which saw the team rack up 99 points under Jurgen Klopp – is likely to be the first of many in the coming years.

I m so happy Liverpool won the Premier League because they deserved it, Torres told talkSPORT.

I was especially happy for the supporters; I know how important it was for them to win the Premier League.

Even when they won the Champions League the season before, obviously that s a huge achievement, but once you play for Liverpool and are in contact with the people, you know how important it was for them to win the Premier League…

Manchester City secured the Premier League title on Sunday afternoon with a confident 4-1 victory against Brighton Hove Albion at the AMEX Stadium.

Despite the margin of victory, it was initially a nervous day for Pep Guardiola s men as Liverpool took the lead against Wolves, with Glenn Murray also heading the hosts into an early advantage. However, just over a minute later, Sergio Aguero scored another crucial goal to equalise before Aymeric Laporte nodded home to take the Citizens top once again.

A second consecutive crown was secured after the break as further strikes from Riyad Mahrez and Ilkay Gundogan took the game away from the hosts and the Premier League crown away from Liverpool and back to Manchester.

Scare for City

Guardiola s troops did not get off…

With the FA Cup making its return this weekend, we certainly have a stacked Saturday schedule from across Europe on our hands. On that note, for those of you looking to stick on a Saturday acca, we have searched far and wide to find you a handful of helpful tips that are worth keeping an eye out for.

Saturday 9th January 

BST 15:00 St. Mirren vs Motherwell 

Starting with the hosts, although St. Mirren would have been relieved to have snatched a last-gasp point away at Kilmarnock last weekend, the Buddies would have been disappointed to have not left with more to show for their troubles. While the Paisley outfit might find themselves on a run of form that has seen them win just one of their last four Premiership contests, Jim Goodwin s men have impressed many…

Kingsley Coman s deflected goal gave Bayern Munich a 1-0 win over Hertha Berlin in their final Bundesliga outing before the Club World Cup.

Amid heavy snowfall at the Olympiastadion, Coman scored in the 21st minute after the returning Rune Jarstein – making his first league appearance since June – became just the second Bundesliga goalkeeper to save a penalty from Robert Lewandowski.

Dodi Lukebakio and Krzysztof Piatek had chances for Hertha in Pal Dardai s first home game since taking over as head coach for a second time but Bayern held on for the win.

Hansi Flick s side consequently opened up a 10-point lead at the summit over RB Leipzig, who face bottom side Schalke on Saturday.

Manuel Neuer did well to keep out Lukebakio and Jarstein matched him b…

Liverpool put seven past Crystal Palace and Manchester United brushed aside Leeds United with six goals on a bonkers weekend of Premier League action.

Reigning champions Liverpool are the first side to sit top of the tree at Christmas in three successive years since last achieving the feat themselves between 1978 and 1980 under Bob Paisley.

While a couple of scorelines stood out, it was business as usual for Jamie Vardy as he scored for the 11th time this season in Leicester City s 2-0 win at Tottenham, making some history in the process.

With the help of Opta, we take a look at some of the more unusual stats to have emerged over the weekend.

Palace plundered as rampant Reds cut loose

There was a magnificent seven for Liverpool at Selhurst Park in…

Wales will play South Korea at home in a September friendly.

It will be the first time the two nations have met at senior men’s level and will take place at Cardiff City Stadium on September 7, four days before Wales’ Euro 2024 qualifier in Latvia.

South Korea, who are captained by Tottenham forward Son Heung-min, reached the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Former Germany and United States boss Jurgen Klinsmann was appointed South Korea head coach in February.

“Many teams are tied up in Europe with qualifiers and it’s not always easy to get strong opposition during the few occasions we get the chance to play friendlies,” said Noel Mooney, chief executive of the Football Association of Wales.

“So to have the likes of Son Heung-m…