Last week, Scott McTominay posted a picture on Instagram. In it, he and Billy Gilmour stand arm in arm, sunglasses on, waves rolling in to meet the Campanian coastline behind them as Mount Vesuvius peaks through the clouds. ‘A beautiful lunch with Maestro,’ McTominay wrote. We can only imagine he got a good recommendation in one of the world’s culinary hotspots. ‘Fratello,’ Gilmour responded. It means ‘brother’. La Dolce Vita seems to suit Scotland’s brothers-in-arms. Dine in the sunshine during the week, take Napoli tantalisingly close to the Serie A title at the weekend. It’s not a bad life. But the tranquillity of this pastel-coloured scene belies the pressure of the season run-in that awaits once the international break ends. Napoli’s season is at a crossroads. For much of 2024/25
Tag Archives: Soccer
Mar
Ruben Dias suggests what could be the reason behind Man City’s dismal season – but insists new signings are ‘starving’ to win back the title Man CIty sit fifth in Premier League and were dumped out of Champions League Defender Ruben Dias insists there’s ‘no need to panic’ despite dismal season LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off! Why the League Cup final is Newcastle’s to lose By ABDI RASHID Published: 08:32 EDT, 15 March 2025 | Updated: 10:46 EDT, 15 March 2025 Manchester City defender Ruben Dias has opened up on the club’s struggles this season. Pep Guardiola’s side have endured a difficult campaign and are battling to return to the Champions League next season, a marked drop off having won an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League title last season.
Mar
Leon Balogun has revealed he asked God to help Jack Butland secure a penalty shoot-out win over Fenerbahce – and admitted he believes Rangers can now go all the way in the Europa League. The Ibrox outfit ran out 3-2 winners on penalty-kicks after Jose Mourinho’s side had cancelled out their 3-1 first-leg victory with a two-goal win earned through a brace from Polish ace Sebastian Szymanski. James Tavernier, Vaclav Cerny, and Tom Lawrence all scored for Barry Ferguson’s side in the shoot-out with Ianis Hagi seeing his effort saved. However, Butland was the hero in setting up a last-eight showdown with Spaniards Athletic Bilbao. He kicked things off by getting his body in the way of Dusan Tadic’s effort, but, with the scores balanced at 2-2 after Hagi’s miss
Mar
Manchester United’s Portuguese midfielder #08 Bruno Fernandes (L) celebrates scoring the team’s second goal from the penalty spot during the UEFA Europa League Last 16 Second Leg football match between Manchester United and Real Sociedad at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, north west England, on March 13, 2025. (Photo by Darren Staples / AFP) Bruno Fernandes led Manchester United into the Europa League quarter-finals with a hat-trick to beat Real Sociedad 4-1 at Old Trafford on Thursday and 5-2 on aggregate. The first three goals on the night came via the penalty spot as Mikel Oyarzabal had slotted Sociedad into an early lead. However, Fernandes quickly restored parity and coolly scored again from the spot on 50 minutes. The Portuguese international then ensured United will face Lyon in the last
Mar
Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario riles fans with full-time gesture for more support after dismal defeat at AZ Alkmaar as struggling stars are told to ‘concentrate on their own performances’ Vicario was seen remonstrating with Spurs fans after their loss to AZ Alkmaar Tottenham fell to a 1-0 defeat in the first leg after Lucas Begvall’s own goal LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off! Is Alisson the best goalkeeper in the Premier League? By MICHAEL PAVITT Published: 16:21 EST, 6 March 2025 | Updated: 20:11 EST, 6 March 2025 Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario clashed with supporters after the club slipped to a lacklustre 1-0 defeat to AZ Alkmaar in their Europa League last-16 tie. A freak Lucas Bergvall own goal proved the difference between the sides in The Netherlands. Vicario prevented Tottenham
Mar
FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirms 2026 World Cup final will feature a Super Bowl-style half-time show… with Coldplay in charge of choosing the musical performers The 2026 FIFA World Cup final in New Jersey will feature a half-time show British pop rock band Coldplay will work with FIFA to select the performers LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off! Is it harsh on Anthony Gordon that he misses the Carabao Cup final? By ROBERT SUMMERSCALES Published: 06:54 EST, 5 March 2025 | Updated: 07:44 EST, 5 March 2025 FIFA president Gianni Infantino has confirmed that the 2026 World Cup final will feature a half-time show inspired by American football’s Super Bowl. The tournament – which will be the biggest in World Cup history as will feature 48 national teams, instead of 32
Mar
Paris Saint-Germain cruised to a 4-1 win over Lille on Saturday to extend their lead in France to 16 points ahead of their heavyweight Champions League clash with Liverpool. Bradley Barcola, Marquinhos, Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue all struck in the first half at the Parc des Princes as PSG extended their unbeaten run in Ligue 1 this season to 24 matches. “It’s a perfect scenario ahead of a game like the one against Liverpool,” said PSG captain Marquinhos. “We’re in great shape and all the signs are good. We’re winning and we’re full of confidence. We must not stop and the staff are pushing us hard to give it our all.” Jonathan David grabbed a consolation after coming on as a substitute for Lille, who go to Borussia Dortmund
Feb
Jude Bellingham snatched a stoppage-time winner as Real Madrid twice came from behind to beat Manchester City 3-2 in the first leg of their blockbuster Champions League play-off tie Tuesday, while Paris Saint-Germain took command of an all-French clash with Brest. Erling Haaland’s double — his first goals in five appearances against Madrid — looked to have secured Pep Guardiola’s side a slender advantage, but instead the reigning European champions now go into next week’s return leg in Spain as strong favourites to reach the last 16. “It was a weird one. We played some of our best football of the season and ended up behind,” Bellingham told Amazon Prime. “I don’t care what form City are in they are still an unbelievable team. It’s always tricky to play against
Napoli missed the chance to extend their lead over Inter Milan at the top of Serie A to six points as Antonio Conte’s men were held to a 1-1 draw by Udinese on Sunday. Scott McTominay put the hosts ahead in the first half at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, but Jurgen Ekkelenkamp equalised shortly afterwards and Napoli could not find a winner. Napoli were given the opportunity to stretch their advantage at the top of the table by Inter’s 3-0 loss at Fiorentina in midweek — a game which was originally stopped in December after home midfielder Edoardo Bove suffered a heart attack. Reigning champions Inter could cut the gap back to three points when they host Fiorentina on Monday. Atalanta are also still in the hunt for their
Jan
The new league phase of this season’s expanded Champions League is all set for a frantic conclusion on Wednesday, as 18 matches are played simultaneously across Europe and the likes of Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain battle to avoid an early exit. AFP Sport rounds up what is at stake ahead of the final round of games in the league phase: Top 8 places up for grabs There is a real incentive for finishing in the top eight places of the giant, 36-team standings — those sides will skip the two-legged knockout round play-offs next month, getting some precious rest as they advance straight to the last 16 in March. Liverpool, with seven wins out of seven, and Barcelona are the only two teams to have already guaranteed a place
Jan
Florian Wirtz scored twice as Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 3-1 on Saturday to stay four points behind leaders Bayern Munich. Bayern had gone seven clear with a 3-2 win over Wolfsburg earlier on in the day, throwing down the gauntlet but Leverkusen were dominant and controlled, notching their 11th straight win in all competitions. “We’re right in the middle of a title fight again — you can dream a little bit,” Wirtz told Sky Germany. With 32 minutes gone, Leverkusen enforcer Granit Xhaka won the ball in midfield and fed Wirtz, who beat a defender and slotted calmly home. When Leverkusen won a penalty for handball midway through the second half, the 21-year-old Wirtz stepped up and converted. Patrik Schick latched onto a Wirtz pass to score
Jan
Barcelona hammered rivals Real Madrid 5-2 in a wild Spanish Super Cup Clasico final in Saudi Arabia on Sunday to win the first trophy of the Hansi Flick era. The electric Kylian Mbappe sent Madrid ahead but a dominant Barcelona hit five in response before their goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was sent off in the second half. Madrid were hoping to avenge their 4-0 defeat by Barcelona in October’s La Liga Clasico but instead were left battered and bruised by their arch-rivals in Jeddah. After Mbappe’s opener, Lamine Yamal levelled and Robert Lewandowski sent Barcelona ahead from the penalty spot, with Raphinha bagging a brace and Alejandro Balde also on target. Rodrygo Goes pulled one back for Madrid with a free-kick but they could not capitalise further on their numerical advantage