Italian giants vying for Lamela

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are not as outstanding as they once were, according to former Bayern Munich boss Ottmar Hitzfeld.

Messi has scored 43 goals in all competitions this term, more than any other player in Europe s top-five leagues, to help spearhead Barcelona s latest treble charge.

Ronaldo has managed a more relatively modest 24 goals in his first season with Juventus, but his hat-trick against Atletico Madrid sealed a Champions League quarter-final spot for the Serie A leaders and kept alive his chances of winning the trophy for the sixth time in his career.

However, both players were overlooked for the 2018 Ballon d Or, with Luka Modric ending a 10-year Messi-Ronaldo duopoly by winning France Football s coveted prize.

And Hitzfeld believ…

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in signing Andre Gomes, currently at Everton on loan from Barcelona, according to .

The Toffees are keen to make the deal permanent this summer, but they are set to face stiff competition from the north Londoners whose president Daniel Levy has approved an expense of £30 million to acquire the services of the Portuguese midfielder. There are other interested clubs as well, who believe Gomes would be a bargain signing given the season he s had at Goodison Park.

The interest from Spurs seems to have been going on for a while now. They tried to sign him on loan in January 2018, and they recently sent chief scout Steve Hitchen to watch him play in the Merseyside Derby at Anfield this season. Mauricio Pochettino, who is a big admirer of th…

Maxi Gomez scored an 82nd-minute equaliser for Celta Vigo to extend Real Madrid s winless away run in LaLiga to four matches in a 2-2 draw at Balaidos.

Defeat at Girona and goalless stalemates at Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao plunged Madrid into worrying run of away form, although a 3-0 home reverse to fierce rivals Barcelona in their last league outing is likely to have given them the bigger headache over the Christmas period.

But Zinedine Zidane s men were unable to break that streak on Sunday, despite the best efforts of Gareth Bale, who scored both of the visitors goals in his first league start since September following calf and hamstring problems.

Iago Aspas hit the post for Celta before Daniel Wass opened the scoring with a wonderful chipped goal…

Atletico Madrid welcomed Valencia to the Wanda Metropolitano stadium on Wednesday evening in the 34th round of the 2018/19 La Liga season.

It was the visitors whose need for points was in theory bigger ahead of the clash as they battle for a finish to the campaign that would lead them into the Champions League next season, but Atletico aren t the kind of team that would allow anyone an easy game in their home. Further more, the bragging rights in the Spanish capital are still at stake with Real Madrid looming close behind.

Team News

Atletico boss Diego Simeone will be without the suspended striker Diego Costa. Defenders Lucas Hernandez and Jose Maria Gimenez missed out through injury.

Jan Oblak was in goal. Stefan Savić and Diego Godin were the last defensive …

Marouane Fellaini insists there is a growing belief at Old Trafford that Manchester United are realistic Premier League title challengers.

While the former Everton midfielder – who much like the 20-time English champions is experiencing an upturn in fortunes – admits a return to the top four and UEFA Champions League qualification is the club s main aim this season, Fellaini knows United are well placed to kick on. 

Six successive wins means United are third, eight points adrift of leaders Chelsea, and are firmly banishing the memories of a painful 2013-14, when they finished a lowly seventh. 

Last season was not good enough for Manchester United, Fellaini told The Times. 

We know that and we are working hard to put that right. 

In some…

Michael Carrick expects Manchester United s burgeoning Premier League title push to be put to the test at his former club Tottenham.

Following a comprehensive 3-1 win over Newcastle United on Boxing Day, United have now taken 22 points from their last eight top-flight outings and sit third in the table.

The form being shown by Louis van Gaal s team is fast making a nightmare 2013-14 campaign under the stewardship of David Moyes a distant memory, and has even led to suggestions that they could challenge Chelsea and Manchester City for the title.

Indeed, despite the fact they remain some 10 points adrift of Premier League leaders Chelsea, Carrick feels United are c
0000117F
apable of upsetting the odds.

However, the in-form playmaker knows Sunday s trip …

Chelsea s Mason Mount is feeling good after undergoing surgery on a pelvic issue that threatens to sideline him for the remainder of the season.

Mount has endured a frustrating few months, with six of his last seven appearances coming from the bench – including all three of his outings since Frank Lampard returned to Stamford Bridge as caretaker manager.

The England international has made 20 Premier League starts this term but only managed three goals and two assists during a season of upheaval for Chelsea.

On Tuesday, Lampard said Mount could face four weeks on the sidelines after being troubled by a pelvic issue, which required him to undergo minor surgery.

Mount s Chelsea contract expires in 2024, and with fresh terms yet to be agreed, the 24-year-o…

Vicente del Bosque faces his first test in charge of the Euro 2008 winners when Spain take on Denmark in Copenhagen Wednesday, with continuity uppermost in his mind.

Del Bosque replaced 69-year-old Luis Aragones after the nation s 1-0 defeat of Germany in the final of Euro 2008 in June.

He wants to work and to keep things as they are, said captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas, who played under del Bosque at Real.

Guys, I m not going to change anything, del Bosque told the squad s first training session in Madrid on Monday.

Having won two Champions League trophies and two Spanish league titles when he was in charge of Real Madrid, he has the credentials to gain the respect of the players.

The match against Denmark will launch Spain s preparat…

Manchester United are set to have two new attacking weapons at their disposal, with deals to sign Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan likely to be completed by the end of the week.

Free agent striker Ibrahimovic, 34, has long been linked with United after opting to leave Paris Saint-Germain following a prolific four-year spell in France.

Attacking midfielder Mkhitaryan, meanwhile, has been swiftly targeted by new manager Jose Mourinho as United pounce for the attacking midfielder who only has one year left on his Borussia Dortmund contract in a reported £33million deal.

Here, with the help of Opta data, we analyse the performances of Ibrahimovic and Mkhitaryan during 2015-16 compared to United s current crop of attacking talent.

GOALS: I…

Marcelo Bielsa has agreed to take over as the new head coach of Lazio, the Serie A club have confirmed.

Bielsa has been without a club since resigning from Marseille one game into the 2015-16 Ligue 1 season.

The Argentinian joins as a permanent replacement for Stefano Pioli, who was sacked on April 3 following a 4-1 defeat to arch-rivals Roma.

As revealed in the media, SS Lazio announces that is has registered the contract of Mr Marcelo Bielsa and his co-workers, a club statement released on Wednesday read.

The coach and his staff will be in Rome on Saturday July 9.

Youth team coach and former striker Simone Inzaghi took temporary charge of first-team matters, steering the club to an eighth-place finish in Serie A.

However, Inzaghi has…