Benzema to stay at Real next season

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Looking to collect another heavyweight La Liga scalp on Wednesday night, Girona will welcome Atletico Madrid to the Estadi Montilivi.

Girona

Starting with the hosts, while Girona might have been disappointed after entering the festive interval with a 1-1 stalemate away at Real Betis, Michel Sanchez’s side are in the midst of a history-making La Liga romp. Continuing on what has been a famous fairytale and cementing their spot as one of Europe’s ultimate supers packages, the Catalonia-based outfit are riding a stunning wave of momentum. Marking their return in midweek and opening up 2024 sat with just their goal difference keeping them off of top spot, it appears that Girona are cruising towards an iconic Champions League ticket. Su…

Oliver Kahn has praised Hamburg goalkeeper Rene Adler for his form since returning from injury.

The former Germany international was quick to praise the 28-year-old for the way he has responded after being sidelined last season.

The Hamburg number one has had six clean sheets this campaign, while also receiving a call-up to the Germany squad in November, and Kahn lauded the keeper for his comeback.

I admire Rene. The fact he has returned stronger is sensational. You have to be mentally strong to work your way back to the top, Kahn told Bild.

I have seen many footballers who have lost confidence in this situation and have not come back.

Adler was happy to receive such high praise from Kahn, who won 86 caps for his country and won the Champions …

Belgium captain Eden Hazard is keen for his leadership skills to not be compared to his Chelsea skipper John Terry s as the winger prefers not to talk too much .

Hazard was given the armband ahead of Euro 2016 due to Vincent Kompany s injury absence and the Chelsea star will remain in that role for the foreseeable future.

Kompany has been back in contention this season, but he continues to pick up niggling injuries which are forcing him back into the treatment room.

Coach Roberto Martinez confirmed on Wednesday that Hazard will continue as captain for continuity even when Kompany is present in the squad, though the 25-year-old will not be looking to develop similar characteristics to his skipper at club level.

It s good for me to be the captain, he told …

Nuno Espirito Santo said Tottenham were sad and must find a reaction after losing 1-0 to Pacos de Ferreira in Thursday s Europa Conference League qualifying play-off.

The first-leg loss at Estadio Capital do Movel came as Nuno made 11 changes following last Sunday s Premier League victory over champions Manchester City.

Harry Kane was again not involved amid ongoing links with City, and Tottenham s second string failed to impress, although a second leg next week in London gives them a chance to repair the damage.

Not a good performance. We lost too many passes and their goal came from that. We were unbalanced, said Spurs head coach Nuno.

The decision was to give minutes to the players, mix players to give them minutes, but it takes time and it was n…

Real Madrid s Ruud van Nistelrooy is on course to recover from surgery to his right knee in time for the start of the 2009-10 Primera Liga season, the striker said.

I think I will be able to return to training in a month. It feels good and I am optimistic. I m looking forward to kicking a ball again and playing a match, the former Dutch international told sports daily Marca on Tuesday.

I will have to wait until next season, but I am very enthusiastic and very motivated, said the 32-year-old, who had surgery in November after damaging a cartilage in his right knee. He was ruled out for between six and nine months.

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Manchester United will hope to ease the growing pressure on manager David Moyes when they face Real Sociedad at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

Moyes will be hopeful the UEFA Champions League fixture serves as a distraction to his players, who have won just two of their last six matches in all competitions.

United have made their worst start to a league season since 1989 and as a result the pressure has heaped on new boss Moyes, who saw his side held to a 1-1 draw against Southampton on Saturday.

They have performed well in the Champions League though, following up a 4-2 home win over Bayer Leverkusen with a hard-earned 1-1 draw at Shakhtar Donetsk earlier this month.

Wayne Rooney s strike against Leverkusen means he is now Britain s all-time leading scorer in the Cha…

After Keylor Navas requested to leave Real Madrid, the club are in search of a new back-up goalkeeper for Thibaut Courtois, who has recently been injured. One possibility that has presented itself is Roma’s Antonio Mirante, the present back-up to Pau Lopez, according to .

So far the 36-year-old Mirante has played mostly for Italian clubs, starting out in Juventus, but spending a lot of time on loans. He joined Roma from Bologna in June 2018 on a three-year contract, for a fee of four million euros. Last season he made altogether 11 appearances.

The 32-year-old Navas is expected to leave Real within ten days and Los Blancos will have to hurry to find a suitable second-choice replacement before the window closes on 2 September.

A potential problem lies in the fa…

This weekend sees two of Europe s most successful clubs meet in the Premier League. Liverpool and Manchester United have one of the most heated rivalries in the country. Yet some so-called fans decide to take the rivalry too far.

Disgusting chants

Even as hated rivals there should be some sort of line you should not cross. The talk of vile chants and songs being sung at these matches is disgusting.

The people who sing along to these songs shouldn t be able to look at themselves in the mirror. Liverpool fans singing about the Munich disaster is truly awful.

It makes me feel embarrased to be a Scouser. Thankfully though they are in the minority. Most Liverpool fans are law abiding fans who have morals and basic sense of right and wrong.

The same th…

Lille have announced that Gerard Lopez has taken over as the club s new president and majority shareholder.

The 45-year-old has succeeded Michel Seydoux after lengthy negotiations over a takeover of the club were completed on Wednesday.

Lille confirmed in a statement that Lopez s company L Holding had purchased a 95 per cent stake in the Stade Pierre-Mauroy outfit.

They added on Thursday:  Gerard Lopez officially becomes the new owner and majority shareholder of LOSC and the 17th president in the club s history.

Gérard officiellement président du

 Lire le communiqué officiel

— LOSC (@losclive)

Speaking this month, Lopez the former owner of Formula 1 s Lotus F1 Team expressed his determination to build a team capable of …

Atletico Madrid missed the chance to leapfrog Real Madrid into second place in LaLiga on Sunday, as Ivo Grbic s error proved costly in a 1-0 defeat to relegated Elche.

Diego Simeone s men had the opportunity to go one point clear of their city rivals at the Estadio Martinez Valero, but their three-match winning run ground to a halt as Fidel Chaves restored some pride for LaLiga s bottom club.

Elche took the lead on the stroke of half-time as Grbic – deputising for the injured Jan Oblak – miscued his punch from Lautaro Blanco s long throw, allowing skipper Fidel to hook his finish into an unguarded net.

Edgar Badia made an excellent one-on-one save to deny Alvaro Morata an equaliser after the break, but Elche went closest to a second goal with both Pere Milla …