Bayern Munich face a mammoth task in their UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg against Barcelona, and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge is praying for a once in a century display.
In last week s opening leg at Camp Nou, Bayern matched Barca for 75 minutes until Lionel Messi inspired Luis Enrique s side to a commanding 3-0 lead.
The Argentine maestro scored the opening two goals before setting up Neymar for the third in stoppage time as the Catalan giants moved to the brink of their fourth final in the past 10 seasons.
Bayern s preparation for this clash has been less than ideal, with Pepe Reina who started in goal in place of the rested Manuel Neuer on Saturday- lasting just 13 minutes before being sent off in their 1-0 home defeat to Augsburg.
However…
Another Sergio Ramos late show secured an unconvincing 3-2 win over Deportivo La Coruna as Real Madrid struggled in the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale.
It was the first time since May 2014 that Madrid had started a LaLiga game with neither Bale or the rested Ronaldo and Benzema in their line-up, and they were indebted to late goals from Mariano Diaz and Sergio Ramos to secure a new club record of 35 matches unbeaten.
Madrid unsurprisingly enjoyed the greater share of possession, but Deportivo – sensing they will not have many better opportunities to get a result at the Bernabeu with the hosts star trio absent – gave a good account of themselves.
Deportivo thought they had been made to rue missed opportunities just after the break,…
In what many considered to be one of the most important games of the night in the WCQ qualifiers, Wales were able to surprise many by beating Czech Republic to boost their hopes of reaching the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The one and only goal of the game came in the final 10 minutes with Daniel James popping up to give the Welsh something to really sink their teeth into as the campaign to get the nation back into international football s biggest tournament continues.
Feisty encounter
Between the two red cards and the many tough challenges that went in throughout the course of the night, we d say this is one of the liveliest qualifiers we ve seen in recent times. Wales and Czech Republic both really went for it and if there were fans in the stadium, you can imagine there would ve bee…
A visibly delighted Jack Grealish revelled in how Manchester City s thrilling 6-3 win over RB Leipzig topped off his eagerly awaited Champions League debut.
Grealish became City s club-record signing in a reported £100million move from Aston Villa in the previous transfer window, a deal that came about in part due to his desire to play in Europe s premier competition.
The England international marked the occasion with a goal and an assist, becoming the first Englishman since Wayne Rooney for Manchester United against Fenerbahce in 2004 to do both on his Champions League bow.
His performance helped City make it 18 games unbeaten in group-stage fixtures, while they also became the second quickest to 50 wins in the tournament s history, reaching the landmar…
Cameroon coach Volker Finke has refused to confirm reports that striker Samuel Eto o is to retire from international football.
According to French newspaper L Equipe, the Chelsea striker told team-mates that he was to withdraw from Cameroon duties following their 1-0 FIFA World Cup qualifying win over Libya on Sunday.
However, Finke avoided commenting directly on the issue, saying that he is keen for Eto o to clear up his own future.
Samuel Eto o is a great player and it is better that he should be the one to explain things, he is the one who knows his decision, he said.
He has given a lot to football and Cameroon and that is why he is the one to explain this.
The win over Libya ensured that Cameroon will feature in the third round of qualification.
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(GSM) Fenerbahçe qualified for the 2009/10 Turkish Cup final on Tuesday after a 1-1 draw at Manisaspor secured a comfortable 3-1 aggregate win.
The Istanbul side were 2-0 in front from the home leg a fornight ago, but Manisaspor made a match of it in the 15th minute as Guven Varol made it 1-0 to the home side.
Manisaspor, currently fighting for survival in the Super Lig, fought valiantly to try to get the equalizer in the tie, but the Fenerbahçe attack was too much.
The visitors iced away the game in the 65th minute when Alex found the back of the net, ensuring Fenerbahçe s progress to the final on 5 May in Izmir.
They will face either Antalyaspor or Trabzonspor in the final, with those two sides playing a second-leg match in Antalya on Wednesday.
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Juventus great Dino Zoff has backed the Serie A champions to contain Barcelona s fearsome MSN forward line.
Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar were all on the scoresheet as Luis Enrique s side produced a miraculous comeback to defeat Paris Saint-Germain 6-1 at Camp Nou last week and book their place in the Champions League quarter-finals.
They will meet Juve in the last eight in a repeat of the final of 2015, in which Barca triumphed 3-1 to clinch the treble in Luis Enrique s first season in charge.
But while Zoff acknowledges the strength of Barca s attacking trio, he believes a repeat of their goalscoring heroics against PSG would be impossible against Massimiliano Allegri s side.
That could never happen with Juventus, the former Italy goalkeeper, wh…
Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri joked that he has finally experienced the joy of beating Massimiliano Allegri after he was named Serie A s best coach for 2015-16.
The 58-year-old was awarded the Panchina d Oro on Monday in recognition of his first season in charge of Napoli, in which he steered the club to a second-place finish in the top flight and the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia.
Sarri claimed the prize which is voted for by Serie A coaches ahead of Juventus boss Allegri, who won last year, and Sassuolo s Eusebio Di Francesco.
The former Empoli boss was proud of his achievement and welcomed the opportunity to celebrate beating Allegri to a trophy.
It s very satisfying because the jury is made up of coaches, he told Tuttomercatoweb. Obviously, in your…
Everton are interested in signing Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona in the summer transfer window, according to . It has been reported by the British tabloid that the Premier League club have started house-hunting for the former Liverpool attacking midfielder.
The report has claimed that Everton will pay Barcelona £35 million in transfer fees to secure the services of Coutinho, who can also operate as a winger. The former Liverpool star is injured at the moment and has not played since December 2020 due a knee injury, but he will recover in time for next season.
According to , Coutinho has made eight starts and four substitute appearances in La Liga for Barcelona this season, scoring two goals and providing two assists in the process. The Brazil international also scor…
England defender Danny Rose has detailed his experiences of being racially profiled, stating: I just laugh because I know what s coming .
Rose, who concluded the 2019-20 Premier League season on loan at Newcastle United from Tottenham, has previously spoken out over receiving racist abuse on the football field – most notably when representing England at both Under-21 and senior level during matches against Serbia and Montenegro respectively.
Speaking to The Second Captains podcast, the 30-year-old said the football authorities attempts to deal with such incidents have been laughable .
However, he also pointed out his negative experiences as a black Englishman are often rooted much closer to home, citing frequently being stopped by police while driving and a…