AC Milan crashed to a 2-1 defeat at Antonio Cassano-inspired Sampdoria as the heat on coach Carlo Ancelotti cranked up another notch on Sunday.
Just three days after blowing a 2-0 lead at the San Siro and exiting the UEFA Cup at the hands of Werder Bremen, Sampdoria, and Cassano in particular, heaped further pressure on the under-fire Milan coach.
The fall-out from Milan s midweek UEFA Cup elimination could be seen in Ancelotti s team selection as a host of old hands found themselves making way for younger legs.
Out went 40-year-old Paolo Maldini, 37-year-old Giuseppe Favalli, 35-year-old Filippo Inzaghi and 31-year-old Massimo Ambrosini while in came Philippe Senderos (24), Daniele Bonera (27), Mathieu Flamini (24) and Luca Antonini (26).
With a top thr…
Sevilla recruit Fernando Llorente lamented a losing return to La Liga, as his new club went down 3-0 to Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
Llorente completed a switch back to Spain from Juventus on Thursday, the former Athletic Bilbao striker starting in Sevilla s home opener, with the 2013-14 champions taking the points.
The 30-year-old, a prominent goal-scorer for Bilbao between 2004 and 2013, said Sevilla were unfortunate at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.
Slack defending led to Atletico s opener from Koke, before Gabi s second-half strike from distance deflected in off the back of Sevilla s Grzegorz Krychowiak.
It was a very hard and tough game. Atletico are a very compact team that fights a lot, we have tried in the second half but we had no luck, Ll…
Australia international and Ingolstadt star Mathew Leckie believes he is well equipped to take the Bundesliga by storm this season.
Germany is quickly standing up and taking notice of Leckie, who netted a goal-of-the-season contender for newly-promoted Ingolstadt before the international break.
Leckie, however, is no stranger to the Bundesliga.
The Socceroos forward was an unknown 20-year-old when he first arrived in the league via Borussia Monchengladbach four years ago.
Back then Leckie made just a handful of senior league appearances nine in total before he was shipped out to 2.Bundesliga outfit FSV Frankfurt permanently in 2013.
Now one of Ingolstadt s main men after leading the Bavarian club into the top flight with seven goals in his first s…
Vinicius Junior said he hopes to emulate the success of Ronaldo and Ronaldinho in Spain as he gave a tearful goodbye at his final Flamengo news conference.
The 17-year-old is set to join Real Madrid for a reported €45million after scoring 11 goals in 51 league appearances for Flamengo since making his debut in May 2017.
He predicted that the adjustment to Spanish football tactics would be the most challenging aspect of his move, while paying tribute to the club that gave him a start in the game.
I m saying goodbye to the club that I love very much, he said. I m going after more dreams in my life.
All people who love me are always by my side. I managed to realise my dream here in Flamengo.
We also said goodbye to our Vinicius Junior. Thanks fo…
Spanish La Liga strugglers Valencia have decided to cash in on star player Joao Cancelo, .
Los Che have so far resisted temptation to sell one of their most prized possessions in spite of heavy interest from Barcelona and other top clubs, but they appear to have changed their minds.
Superdeporte has learned that Valencia have already begun the search for new right-sided defender as Cancelo is widely expected to leave.
With the player determined to help los Che claw their way out of the danger zone, he is unlikely to leave in January, but summer exit seems on the cards.
Barcelona remain the most likely destination, but it is important to note that Manchester United, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City are keen as well.
Joao Cancelo j…
Logan Costa and Thijs Dallinga both scored twice as Toulouse thrashed holders Nantes 5-1 in a one-sided Coupe de France final, handing Les Violets their first major trophy in their current guise.
Nantes never looked likely to defend their crown at the Stade de France, falling behind within four minutes as centre-back Costa climbed to head Branco van den Boomen s corner home.
Toulouse s dream start continued as they capitalised on another set-piece six minutes later, Stijn Spierings crossing for Costa to nod in from close range after Nantes half-cleared a free-kick.
Nantes almost got one back as Gabriel Suazo denied Mostafa Mohamed with a goal-line clearance, but Toulouse had a third 23 minutes in, Dallinga racing onto Suazo s pass to beat Alban Lafont with a dink…
South Africa beat Honduras 2-0 to surpass the Central Americans and finish in third place in Group F of the 2009 World Youth Championship. Honduras are eliminated from the tournament.
The South Africans were in fact the least favored side to make it to the next round after collecting only one point from their first two games.
But Andile Jali put the young Bafana Bafana in the lead after 31 minutes and Sibusiso of Moroka Swallows added a second goal right after the interval.
South Africa have the same amount of points as UAE, but the latter have a better goal record and therefore finish in second place. Nevertheless, the Africans will advance as one of the best numbers three.
For Honduras, who began so well with a 3-0 win over Hungary, the tournament has …
Say hello to my little friend .
Legendary Hollywood actor Al Pacino pocketed a Racing Club membership on Friday.
Famous for some of the most iconic movie scenes, including his starring role as Tony Montana in 1983 blockbuster film Scarface, 76-year-old American Al Pacino has been making his way through Argentina with his Argentine girlfriend Lucila Scola.
And the Oscar-winning actor was presented with his own Racing jersey and membership.
Al Pacino ya tiene su camiseta y su carnet de socio de
— Racing Club (@RacingClub)
Racing 17-time Primera Division champions used Twitter to show off their newest member.
Champions in 2014, Racing are five points off the pace in fourth position after seven rounds this season.
…
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino says there is no point comparing his club with Arsenal, given the decades of stability enjoyed by Arsene Wenger.
The Gunners host Spurs in the north London derby on Saturday a month after Wenger celebrated his 20th anniversary in charge of the club.
Pochettino has transformed expectations at White Hart Lane since his appointment in 2014, having inspired them to an unlikely Premier League title challenge last term, while they remain the only unbeaten side in the top flight in 2016-17.
But the former Argentina defender says that the ongoing work to rebuild both Spurs stadium and the squad itself means trying to draw comparisons with their fierce rivals is futile.
Arsenal, after 20 years of Arsene Wenger,
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Junior Urso scored a late winner after Orlando City had blown a two-goal lead to claim second spot in the Eastern Conference with a 3-2 triumph over Columbus Crew.
Former Manchester United winger Nani had set up Daryl Dike for a 26th-minute opener with a tackle-cum-pass before Silvester van der Water doubled Orlando s lead three minutes later with a cross which eluded everyone.
But the visitors rallied after the break with a double strike inside three minutes, firstly with Antonio Carlos 52nd-minute own goal.
Minutes later Lucas Zelarayan picked out Derrick Etienne Jr who cushioned a pass into the box for Miguel Berry to equalize.
Orlando grabbed all three points with Dike laying back a pass for Junior Urso to lash home a 69th-minute winner from the edge …