Monaco prioritised defence early in their UEFA Champions League third-round qualifying second leg against Young Boys, coach Leonardo Jardim said.
Jardim s men eventually posted a 4-0 victory at Stade Louis II to earn a 7-1 aggregate triumph, earning them a spot in the play-off phase and putting them on the brink of the group stages.
Having earned a 3-1 win in Switzerland in leg one, Jardim said he wanted to first silence the visitors before putting the tie beyond doubt.
According to me, the first half was very good, tactical, Jardim said post-match.
We had less the control of the game [than in the second half] but the opponent had not been in control either.
The aim was not to concede a goal by half-time.
Because we knew that wit…
Barcelona have promoted Senegalese defender Moussa Wague to their first-team squad ahead of the new season.
The right-back joins Ernesto Valverde s group on a permanent basis after breaking through for his LaLiga debut in April.
Wague joined the club from Belgian side Eupen last year and made 20 appearances for Barca s reserves in Segunda Division B, the third tier of Spanish football.
He has been given the number 16 shirt formerly worn by Xavi and Sergio Busquets and will rival Nelson Semedo and Sergi Roberto for a starting berth.
The 20-year-old represented Senegal at the 2018 World Cup, scoring in a 2-2 draw against Japan, and was part of the team that reached the Africa Cup of Nations final in July.
Barca face Arsenal in the Joan Gamper Trophy…
Chelsea tightened their grip at the top of the Premier League with a 4-0 thrashing of beleaguered Wolves on Saturday.
The west Londoners produced a display of consummate authority at a soggy Stamford Bridge, capped by goals from Florent Malouda, two from Michael Essien and a welcome fourth from Joe Cole, his first since October 2008.
Statistics can never be the sole measure of a side s calibre, but Chelsea s numbers make for impressive reading.
This victory was their 12th in succession on home soil, a club record, and also ensured it is now a calendar year since they tasted defeat at Stamford Bridge in any competition.
It is reaching the point when Carlo Ancelotti can almost take maximum points for granted in this corner of the English capital, a rare lu…
Landon Donovan has issued the Los Angeles Galaxy an ultimatum have English superstar David Beckham clean up his act or risk the departure of Donovan, the club s all-time top active scorer.
Let s say he does stay here for three more years. I m not going to spend the next three years of my life doing it this way. This is (expletive) miserable, Donovan said in passages from a forthcoming book put on Sports Illustrated s website.
US national team captain Donovan blasted Beckham in the book, entitled The Beckham Experiment , questioning the former England captain s work ethic, leadership and ability to be a good teammate on the Major League Soccer squad.
Maybe he s not a leader. Maybe he s not a captain, author Grant Wahl quotes Donovan as saying in the book, sched…
Monaco have made an offer for CSKA Moscow s Russia international Aleksandr Golovin, according to the Ligue 1 club s vice-president Vadim Vasilyev.
Golovin was one of the stars of Russia s surprise run to the quarter-finals at their home World Cup and Chelsea have been linked with making the attacking midfielder one of the first signings of the Maurizio Sarri era – following Jorginho s big-money arrival from Napoli over the weekend.
But Monaco have already made their move, with Vasilyev telling the 22-year-old Leonardo Jardim s first-team squad acts as a more reliable proving ground for young talents.
We made CSKA a proposal for Golovin, Vasilyev told Sport-Express. I cannot say the amount of the transfer, but it is very worthy.
The duration of the con…
Laszlo Boloni has resigned as coach of under-performing Belgian champions Standard Liege, the club announced on their website on Wednesday.
Taking into account the team s current position, Laszlo Boloni on Wednesday tendered his resignation as head coach of Standard Liege, read a club statement. His contract was subsequently terminated by mutual consent from both parties.
Boloni, 56, was replaced by Standard s sporting director Dominique D Onofrio, whose brother Lucien is the vice-president of Standard Liege and seen as the strong man of the club.
Immediately after his appointment, Dominique D Onofrio flew to Austria to watch the Austrian Cup match between Graz and Salzburg, who Standard will play in the Europa League, the club said in a statement.
Bo…
World Cup-winning defender Alessandro Nesta claims there is not enough quality in Italy to compete against Germany or other nations .
In an interview with Omnisport, former AC Milan defender Nesta one of the country s most decorated centre-backs following an illustrious career spanning 20 years lamented the standard of players coming through for Italy, despite their run to the quarter-finals at Euro 2016.
Under the guidance of former head coach Antonio Conte, Italy earned plenty of admirers as they upstaged Belgium and Spain before going down to world champions Germany on penalties in the last eight in July.
Italy have the chance to exact some revenge when the two sides meet in Tuesday s friendly at San Siro, and speaking ahead of the clash in Milan, 2006 World…
Nuno Espirito Santo revealed Son Heung-min is a doubt for Saturday s clash with Crystal Palace after returning injured from international duty.
The 29-year-old returned early from South Korea, missing their World Cup qualifier with Lebanon due to a calf problem suffered against Iraq.
And Nuno confirmed that Son, who has scored the most winning goals in the Premier League since the start of last term (8), may not feature at Selhurst Park.
Like some of our players, he came back with some issues, said Nuno, who was named the Premier League s Manager of the Month for August on Friday.
Sonny is not so well, but let s wait for the club to make the proper announcement and explain to you better what kind of injury he has.
Asked for further clarifica…
Valencia CF have completed the loan signing of Chile international forward Eduardo Vargas from S.S.C. Napoli until the end of the season.
Vargas, 24, joined Napoli priced at to earn a top-2 finish in Serie A from Club Universidad de Chile for £11.5 million in December 2011 but has failed to live up to the high expectations at the Stadio San Paolo.
The 2011 South American Footballer of the Year runner-up, who has not featured in the first-team for Napoli in 2013/14, tallied nine goals in 37 appearances in all competitions while on loan at Brasileirão side Grêmio last year.
Valencia CF is a beautiful club and institution, Vargas told the club s official website, . I would like to stay here for a long time and I hope to give my all on the pi…
claim Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is hopeful David De Gea, Luke Shaw, Ashley Young, Juan Mata and Ander Herrera will all sign contract extension soon.
De Gea, who was once again the hero for the Red Devils in their on Saturday, was strongly linked with Real Madrid for a long time. However, the Champions League holders have now signed Thibaut Courtois from Chelsea and United are confident the Spanish international goalkeeper will soon sign a new deal.
Young also made significant contribution at the Vicarage being involved in both goals and his value for Mourinho s team has once again been highlighted. Young played instead of Shaw who was injured on international duty, but the manager is finally showing faith in the former Southampton man.
Herrera an…