Borussia Moenchengladbach midfielder Juan Arango says he is just as good at taking free kicks as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Since his arrival in Germany from La Liga side Mallorca in 2009, the 32-year old has scored six goals from dead-ball situations for the club, a record he believes justifies his lofty claims.
When it comes to my free kicks, I m just as good as Ronaldo and Messi, I have often shown this, he told Bild.
They are sharp and well-placed, I go for the heavy hit. The speed I can generate matches Ronaldo and the accuracy is as good as Messi s, I do not have to hide behind them, I am just as good.
Arango s coach Lucien Favre was quick to agree with Venezuelan midfielder and praised his technique when it comes to striking a ball.<…
Sunderland have completed the signing of Senegalese centre-back Kader Mangane on loan from Al Hilal until the end of the season.
The defender arrived at Sunderland on Monday and has been confirmed as the Black Cats second acquisition of the January transfer window, after Alfred N Diaye joined from Bursaspor last week.
Mangane is currently part-way through a three year contract with Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal, and the deal means the Senegalese international will stay at the Stadium of Light on loan until the end of the season, with a view to a permanent move in the summer.
Kader is a player who will add to the overall strength of our squad and give us options, Sunderland boss Martin O Neill told reporters.
He will improve competition for places and we …
Zinedine Zidane called on his players to forget about their lead at the top of LaLiga after Real Madrid were beaten 2-1 by Valencia at Mestalla.
Goals in the first nine minutes from Simone Zaza and Fabian Orellana rendered Cristiano Ronaldo s reply just before half-time meaningless, and Madrid s advantage over Barcelona is now just one point – although Los Blancos have a game in hand.
Zidane stopped short of criticising his side s performance, but warned against complacency as Madrid aim to clinch the club s first domestic league title since 2012.
The truth is that we lost the match in 10 minutes, said Zidane. We played well, we had opportunities but two errors cost us two goals.
We had 80 minutes to get back in the game, we scored the goal, but we m…
Lionel Messi is set to make his 500th appearance for Barcelona in all competitions when Luis Enrique s side take on Real Betis in La Liga on Wednesday.
The 28-year-old has enjoyed a stunning Camp Nou career since making his debut for the club in 2004 and is hoping to win a fifth Ballon d Or crown next month.
Ahead of Messi reaching the milestone, here are 10 key stats from his Barcelona career to date, courtesy of Opta:
Messi s 499 Barcelona matches in all competitions have seen him score 424 goals, giving him an average of 0.85 goals per game.
Messi s best goalscoring season came in 2011-12. The Argentina international topped La Liga s scoring charts with 50 goals and netted 14 in the Champions League to also top those standings, eventually reaching a …
Cardiff City have appointed former Millwall boss Neil Harris as the club s new manager on a two-and-a-half-year contract following the departure of Neil Warnock.
Harris takes over with the Bluebirds 14th in the Championship after winning just one of their past six matches – a run that culminated in Warnock leaving the club by mutual consent.
During a four-year spell in charge of Millwall, Harris helped the club to promotion from League One via the play-offs in 2016-17, but he resigned on October 3 following a run of seven winless matches.
Cardiff said in a statement on Saturday: Cardiff City FC can confirm the appointment of Neil Harris as the club s first-team manager.
can confirm the appointment of Neil Harris as the Club s First Team Manager.
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Sunday s Premier League showdown between Leicester City and Everton pits two ambitious clubs with sharply contrasting recent fortunes against one another.
Leicester are the closest challengers to leaders Liverpool, sitting eight points shy of Jurgen Klopp s men and a point better off than champions Manchester City after 13 matches.
An ambitious managerial appointment in the form of Brendan Rodgers has paid dividends, with evergreen striker Jamie Vardy in sparkling form.
Marco Silva, a much-trumpeted arrival at Goodison Park before the start of last season, has work to do to turn around an increasingly dismal situation on Merseyside.
Last weekend s defeat to Norwich City means Everton have now lost 2-0 to all three of last season s promoted sides and they …
Thomas Tuchel was delighted to see Chelsea come from behind to defeat Aston Villa 3-1 but was left concerned by injuries to N Golo Kante and Thiago Silva on Sunday.
Chelsea fell a goal behind when Reece James inadvertently flicked Matthew Targett s first-half cross past Edouard Mendy, but Jorginho soon levelled things up from the spot following Matthew Cash s foul on Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Tuchel introduced Romelu Lukaku at half-time and the Belgium forward flicked the visitors ahead with his ninth goal in 10 Premier League appearances against Villa; he has not scored more against any other opponent in the top five European leagues.
Jorginho again converted from 12 yards to seal victory with his 10th top-flight penalty in 2021. Since Tuchel s first game in charge, …
Prediction: Leicester City to win 2-1
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Leeds United and Leicester City will face each other in the Premier League this coming weekend. The match will be held at Elland Road and is scheduled to kick off at 2pm UK time on Sunday, November 7.
Leeds United
Leeds United are not having the best of seasons, but there have been encouraging signs in recent weeks. Marcelo Bielsa’s side got the better of Norwich City 2-1 away from home at Carrow Road in the Premier League this past weekend. The Whites also drew 1-1 with Wolverhampton Wanderers in their previous league fixture.
Marcelo Bielsa’s side are 17th in the Premier League table at the moment with 10 points from 10 matches. Leeds, who finished ninth in the standings last s…
Market: Bayer Leverkusen to score in both halves
Odds: 19/20 @
Looking to make it three Bundesliga victories on the spin this weekend, Bayer Leverkusen will welcome Darmstadt to the BayArena on Saturday afternoon.
Starting with the hosts, eventually left frustrated last season as they missed out on the chance to punch a Champions League ticket, Bayer Leverkusen are desperate to go one step further this time around. Gaining plenty of praise from across Germany on either side of last winter’s World Cup break, Xabi Alonso’s men have certainly opened up the 2023/24 campaign with a real flurry. Last seen over the weekend as they stormed their way to a stellar 3-0 romp away at Borussia Monchengladbach, the one-time Liverpool midfielder will believe that his side h…
Thomas Tuchel has confirmed he will leave Bayern Munich at the end of the season after failing to reach an agreement with the club to stay on as coach after talks this week.
Tuchel took over last March and steered them to the Bundesliga title last season but Bayern will finish the current campaign without any silverware for the first time in more than a decade.
Bayern bosses had informed Tuchel in February he would not stay on for the last year of his contract and would leave at the end of the season.
But after several prospective successors, including Julian Nagelsmann, Ralf Rangnick and Xabi Alonso, decided to remain in their current jobs, Bayern turned to Tuchel to discuss the possibility of him staying on.
This is the last press conference here. The …