Barcelona began their quest for a sixth Champions League title with an emphatic 7-0 win over Celtic at Camp Nou.
A hat-trick from Lionel Messi, plus goals from Neymar, Andres Iniesta and Luis Suarez s double, gave Luis Enrique s side all three points to banish memories of Saturday s shock LaLiga defeat to Alaves.
Messi rifled in an early opener and he combined superbly with Neymar to double Barca s lead after Moussa Dembele had seen a penalty saved by Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Neymar bent a free-kick over the wall and beyond Dorus de Vries from 20 yards just after half-time, and the Brazil star set up Iniesta for a sumptuous fourth before the hour mark before Messi completed his treble just a minute later.
Brendan Rodgers side could scarcely get out of …
La Gazzetta dello Sport understands that Serie A leaders Napoli have agreed a deal to sign Amin Younes from Ajax.
The talented winger will be out of contract at the end of the season and the Azzurri reportedly had a €5 million proposal accepted by the Amsterdammers.
Napoli were looking to reinforce their front line this winter and they managed to wrap up the deal for the Germany starlet.
Younes, 24, joined Ajax in July 2015 from Borussia M’gladbach and went on to produce 17 goals and 24 assists in 96 competitive outings.
Swansea City were also keen on signing the highly rated youngster, but Napoli eventually won the chase.
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Luka Modric hopes his latest Real Madrid contract renewal is not his last and he expressed a desire to retire at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The Croatia midfielder extended his stay with the LaLiga giants until June 2020 on Tuesday, by which time he will be 34.
Modric, who joined from Tottenham in 2012, overcame a difficult start to his career in Spain to develop into a key figure at Madrid.
And the 31-year-old believes he has plenty left to offer Los Blancos.
I hope it is not my last contract renewal. My desire is to retire at Real Madrid and with this renewal I am closer to that challenge, Modric said at a news conference.
But it depends on many things. How I feel, what I contribute to the team But my idea is to retire here. I feel very happy and…
Diego Simeone said Atletico Madrid s 4-0 thrashing to Bayern Munich left a bad taste but refused to criticise his players for the manner of the loss.
Atleti were comprehensively outclassed by the Champions League holders in their Group A opening game in Munich on Wednesday with Bayern winger Kingsley Coman instrumental in the result.
France international Coman scored two goals – the second a superb individual effort – with Leon Goretzka and Corentin Tolisso also on target for the defending champions.
The defeat was Atletico s joint-worst in the competition, as they managed just one shot on target, but head coach Simeone felt there were still some positives to take.
I am left with the bad taste of defeat, Simeone said in his post-match media conferenc…
Cristiano Ronaldo scored four to take his international tally to 93 goals as Portugal claimed a 5-1 win over Lithuania in Euro 2020 qualifying on a night to forget for goalkeeper Ernestas Setkus.
With Ronaldo s early penalty having been cancelled out by Vytautas Andriuskevicius before half-time, Setkus was guilty of a blooper when he fumbled a strike from the Juventus forward to again hand this year s Nations League winners the advantage.
Ronaldo soon added two more before William Carvalho added a late fifth to seal the win over Group B s bottom side.
Second-placed Portugal moved within five points of leaders Ukraine, who they have a game in hand on, with the victory.
— UEFA EURO 2020 (@UEFAEURO)
The visitors got off to t…
Brentford were chasing the game for most of its course at home against Watford on Friday, having conceded to Emmanuel Bonaventure after 24 minutes. Pontus Jansson managed to equalize with six minutes to go, and Bryan Mbeumo sent the Brentford Community Stadium into a frenzy with a winner from the spot deep in the stoppage time.
Speaking to the press after the match, boss Thomas Frank expressed great satisfaction with what his team have done since arriving to the Premier League for this season.
It s amazing where we are.
Thomas Frank s reaction to Brentford s last minute winner against Watford last night
— Football Daily (@footballdaily)
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Verdict: Manchester City win Raheem Sterling to score anytime
Best Odds: 6/4
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Two sides who really find themselves battling it out at opposite ends of the Premier League table, Manchester City will welcome Leeds to the Etihad on Tuesday night.
Manchester City
Starting with the hosts, while Manchester City might not have quite been at their fluid best over the weekend, the Sky Blues would have simply been happy to pick up maximum points on home soil. Eventually claiming a controversial 1-0 win against Wolves at the Etihad, Pep Guardiola s men firmly have their sights set on maintaining their spot at the top of the Premier League table. Although the defending champions might have signed off their Champions League group stage run with a 2-1 defe…
Lionel Messi is not in negotiations to seal a move to Major League Soccer side Inter Miami at the end of the season, the Paris Saint-German forward s representative has declared.
Reports broke on Sunday that claimed the Argentina superstar was close to an agreement that would see him move to the United States after his contract with PSG expires next year.
Such a move would provide a huge boost to the sport in North America ahead of the World Cup in 2026, which will be held in the USA, Canada and Mexico, with Messi previously indicating a desire to play in MLS.
However, his representative Marcelo Mendez has dubbed the reports as fake news and made it clear discussions are not taking place.
It s false, it s fake news. There is no negotiation for Lionel to …
Harry Redknapp is set to offer Everton s Sylvain Distin a two-year deal in a bid to solve QPR s defensive crisis.
The French centre-half, 35, has less than six months remaining on his current contract and with the Goodison Park club reluctant to offer him a new deal, Redknapp is ready to pounce for a player he managed during his time at Portsmouth.
Redknapp has also targeted Tottenham s Michael Dawson, but with the England international now likely to remain at White Hart Lane the QPR manager is prepared to match Distin s 50,000-pounds-a-week salary in an attempt to lure him to Loftus Road.
Everton, meanwhile, will turn their attentions to bringing Joleon Lescott back to Merseyside after a four-year absence.
The former Wolves defender, who left for Etiha…
Cristiano Ronaldo says he will sit down with the Real Madrid board to discuss his contract at the end of the season.
The Portugal international said he was sad with life at the club back in September, which led to reports of a big-money move to Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season.
However, the former Manchester United attacker has hinted at extending his stay at the Bernabeu.
Now I care only about the team and we ll talk at the end of the season, Ronaldo told AS.
I swear on my son that my sadness with the club was never a question concerning money. It was not. The renewal is a subject that I do not want to talk about and that I do not care about now.
Ronaldo, who turned 28 on Tuesday, also praised the Real fans, saying they inspire h…