Robert Lewandowski has hailed Lionel Messi as one of football s greats, suggesting it could be another century before a player of his quality comes along again.
Lewandowski led Bayern Munich to a domestic and European treble last term, scoring a remarkable 55 goals across all competitions.
The 32-year-old has picked up where he left off this season, with 15 goals from 14 appearances ahead of Saturday s Bundesliga clash with RB Leipzig.
Lewandowski scored one and set up another as Bayern trashed Messi s Barcelona 8-2 en route to their Champions League triumph in August, a result which contributed to the Blaugrana s talisman asking to leave Camp Nou.
Messi did not get his wish, however, and ultimately agreed to stay on and see out the final year of his cont…
Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos is prepared for an uncomfortable Champions League final against Atletico Madrid and their coach Diego Simeone, for whom he has special affection .
Madrid closed out a 1-0 win over Manchester City at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday to join their local rivals in the final in Milan later this month.
Simeone has previously stated he would be happy to have Spain centre-back Ramos in his defensively obdurate team and the admiration is mutual.
I am happy to say I wish the best to El Cholo [Simeone], who wants a Ramos in his team, the 30-year-old told reporters.
In the end, we are rivals but I have a special affection for him.
The San Siro clash will be a repeat of the 2014 final, where Madrid claimed their 10th Eur…
Nemanja Matic on the fringes / Image via skysports.com
It has been a challenging season for the Serbian midfielder Nemanja Matic, who struggled to find his pace throughout the campaign.
Not only did he suffer at club level, but the 27-year-old enforcer also saw out a disastrous Euro 2016 qualification process, during which normally quiet and silent Nemanja Matic hit out at his teammates’ commitment and desire.
Change of fortune
Matic was one of Chelsea’s key men during the last season when Blues won the Premier League title, but his sudden demise was to some extent interpreted as one of the key reasons for Chelsea’s struggles during the ongoing campaign.
Jose Mourinho kept picking the out-of-form midfielder hoping that Matic will get back t…
Midfielder Orlando Engelaar is set to miss another two international matches with the Netherlands as result of a knee injury.
Engelaar, who recently left FC Twente to sign with Schalke 04 in Germany, suffered the injury in the first leg of the Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid two weeks ago.
The player, who formed part of the Dutch team at Euro 2008, also missed Holland s previous friendly versus Russia last week.
Engelaar did appear in training today but the injury turned out to be too serious.
The Dutch team plays another friendly with Australia on September 6th, followed by their first World Cup qualifier versus FYR Macedonia four days later.
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Ben Davies will not feature for Wales in their Euro 2024 qualifier against Turkey.
The Football Association of Wales announced the Tottenham defender has stayed at home for the birth of his first child.
Kieffer Moore is also absent for Rob Page’s side after being sent off during their humiliating 4-2 defeat to Armenia in Cardiff on Friday.
DIWEDDARIAD CARFAN
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Antonio Conte says it is no coincidence that Chelsea s recent defensive troubles have come when Andreas Christensen has been out injured.
After spending two seasons out on loan with Borussia Monchengladbach, Christensen has forced his way into the first team under Conte in 2017-18 in place of David Luiz.
Christensen s most recent start came in the 3-0 reverse to Bournemouth, but the Dane was replaced after 28 minutes due to a hamstring injury.
The score at that point was 0-0 but Chelsea went on the suffer a heavy loss, and followed that up with a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Watford on Monday.
His absence has not gone unnoticed at Stamford Bridge, Conte admitting Christensen has become a vital member of his backline.
For sure, he s an importan…
Competition: La Liga
Market: Celta Vigo to beat Eibar
Odds:
La Liga continues this weekend for another round of games that will surely only bring more goals and excitement as the competition continues to heat up. A single win can quite often see a side rise up a number of places in the league and, with this in mind, Celta Vigo host Eibar on Saturday.
Celta Vigo have been in fairly good form this campaign but they are in danger of losing a lot of ground on those above them. After 24 games they have won nine, drawn five and lost 10, scoring 41 goals and conceding 37 times. In their last five they have won twice, lost twice and drawn once, seeing them onto 32 points. Celta are 14 points clear of the relegation zone, meaning they will feel they are …
Realistically, Queens Park Rangers must beat Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday if they hope to avoid relegation from the Premier League.
Harry Redknapp s side have spent the season near the foot of the table and are in 19th position, a worrying seven points from safety with just six games left to be played.
Their recent form has been up and down, with crucial lapses badly affecting their results, such as the first-half performance in a 3-2 loss to Fulham and conceding a late equaliser against Wigan after battling hard to retain their lead despite being reduced to 10 men.
Everton by contrast have won three of their past four league games, with an outstanding 2-0 victory against Manchester City last month the pick of those results.
David Moyes men are in…
Bayern Munich defender Holger Badstuber is relishing his return to the pitch after 19 months on the sidelines with injury.
Badstuber, 25, has not made an appearance for Bayern since rupturing his cruciate ligament against rivals Borussia Dortmund at Allianz Arena in December 2012.
In that time, Badstuber suffered a setback in his recovery, with the Germany international reinjuring his knee in May last year, as Bayern have gone on to win seven trophies in his absence.
However, the forgotten man in Bavaria is finally ready to make his comeback against amateur team Red Baroons in Bayern s first friendly of their pre-season campaign on Friday.
Obviously I m massively looking forward to it, Badstuber told Bayern s official website.
It s the kind of g…
Schalke are on the lookout for their third head coach of the season after announcing the sacking of Manuel Baum.
Baum was only appointed by Schalke on September 30 following the departure of David Wagner, who lost his job two games into the Bundesliga campaign.
Former Augsburg boss Baum was unable to turn around the club s terrible form, however, overseeing six defeats and four draws in his 10 league matches in charge.
And on the back of Wednesday s 2-0 home loss to Freiburg, which leaves Schalke bottom of the table with four points from a possible 36, the German side have taken action.
Schalke confirmed the news on their official website on Friday and added that board member Huub Stevens will take temporary charge for the remaining two games of 2020, wit…