Zinedine Zidane believes Liverpool are capable of two top performances against Real Madrid, even if the Premier League champions are struggling domestically.

Liverpool have lost eight games in the Premier League since the turn of the year, slipping from the top of the table down to sixth place.

With their title aspirations well and truly over, as well as their campaigns in both domestic cup competitions, the Reds only chance of silverware this season is the Champions League.

Standing in their way of a place in the semi-finals are Zidane s Madrid, who won in the last meeting between the teams in the competition – Gareth Bale inspiring Los Blancos to a 3-1 victory in the 2017-18 final.

Madrid and Liverpool will face each other in a two-legged knockout ti…

There are aspects to the Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez of 2021 that make them wonderfully reflective of the Uruguay national team.

Impassioned? Yes. Belligerent? Certainly. A footballing pedigree to rival the best in the world? Absolutely.

What about quality? After all those years, are they still match-winners, entertainers, undimmed by the passing of time? Of course they are. Just ask Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona.

Last August, Suarez was informed by new Barca coach Ronald Koeman that he would not be in his plans at Camp Nou. Too old to be relied upon, too expensive to bench seemed to be the feeling. Regardless, the Catalans reportedly had a list of teams to whom they would not sell Suarez for fear of the deal coming back to haunt them, a list that, apparen…

Cristiano Ronaldo has reached yet another goals milestone as his second-half strike against Dynamo Kiev on Wednesday saw him hit 750.

The Portugal star was left with a simple finish 57 minutes in to put his side 2-0 up in the Champions League clash in Turin.

It was his 75th across all competitions for Juve, who Ronaldo joined from Real Madrid a little over two years ago.

It was in Madrid where he made his greatest impact on football, having amassed a remarkable 450 goals during his time with Los Blancos.

750 Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 750th goal among clubs and senior National team, with 10% of these being scored for Juventus. Limitless.

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo)

That figure made him comfortably their all-time leading scorer with 127…

Mounting a dramatic comeback on Sunday afternoon, the Netherlands opened this summer’s European Championships with a 2-1 victory against Poland in Hamburg.

While Holland might have got their EURO 24 adventure underway pencilled in as a standout contender this weekend, Ronald Koeman’s men were left stunned after just 16 minutes as Adam Buksa glanced home.

However, dominating for large spells on either side of the half-time break, the European giants equalised just 13 minutes later as Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo saw his deflected effort find a way past ex-Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.

Although the Netherlands might have been moments away from opening their Group D campaign with a downbeat point, it was former Manchester United loanee Wout Weghorst who sto…

Milan moved to the Serie A summit as Ismael Bennacer and Zlatan Ibrahimovic struck late to hand them a pulsating 4-2 win over nine-man Bologna.

Rafael Leao and Davide Calabria scored either side of Adama Soumaoro s dismissal to give the Rossoneri a healthy advantage at the interval.

That was wiped out in the space of seven minutes at the start of the second period, however, with an Ibrahimovic own goal and a Musa Barrow strike restoring parity at the Stadio Renato Dall Ara.

Bologna had a second man sent off before the hour mark, Roberto Soriano given a straight red card for a late challenge, and Stefano Pioli s Milan landed a memorable three points thanks to fine late strikes from Bennacer and Ibrahimovic.

A truly monumental effort from our boys, who…

Angel Correa scored both goals as Atletico Madrid got back to winning ways in LaLiga with a 2-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.

The reigning champions ended a four-game losing streak and leapfrogged their opponents, who failed to register a single shot on target at Wanda Metropolitano, into fourth place.

With Diego Simeone on the touchline having received authorisation from LaLiga following a recent positive COVID-19 test, Correa put the hosts ahead in the 28th minute with his first league goal since November 28.

The Argentina international doubled his tally and secured the points when he rounded off a neat move early in the second half.

Despite their poor form, Atletico were searching for a sixth successive win over Vallecano – and an eighth in …

England’s qualification path to Euro 2024 continues on Tuesday night when they host Italy at Wembley.

A win against the Azzurri will ensure Gareth Southgate’s side qualify for next year’s tournament in Germany.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some memorable encounters between both sides at Wembley.

European Championship final – 2021

The last meeting between both sides under the arch came in 2021 when England’s dreams for a major trophy ended after being beaten in a penalty shootout.

Southgate’s side got off to a flying start through Luke Shaw’s early strike, but Leonardo Bonucci levelled for Italy as the match went into extra time before ending with spot-kicks.

Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford saved penalties from Andrea Belotti …

Mauricio Pochettino believes his Chelsea players deserve more credit for their win over Brighton and feels the character and belief they showed with 10 men will stand them in good stead going forward.

Chelsea bounced back from their 4-1 mauling at Newcastle with a 3-2 home victory over Brighton on Sunday despite playing the whole second half with a man less following Conor Gallagher’s red card.

Pochettino will now be hoping for a similarly determined performance as the Blues look to build on that success when they travel to Manchester United on Wednesday night.

No contest. is your Player of the Match winner from Sunday s win! |

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC)

He said: “I think when I analyse the (Brighton) game I feel proud.

“The wa…

Barcelona are interested in signing Douglas Luiz from Aston Villa in the summer of 2024, according to . The report has claimed that Barcelona Sporting Director Deco personally wants  Luiz at Camp Nou.

Sport has claimed that Barcelona head coach Xavi is also keen on Luiz and wants him in his squad for next season and beyond. Xavi believes that the 25-year-old Brazil international is perfect for his team.

Luiz has been on the books of Villa since 2019 when he joined from Manchester City. He has been superb for the Villans over the years and has been linked with Arsenal as well. Luiz is one of the best midfielders in the Premier League at the moment. The midfielder has scored 16 goals and given 16 assists in 158 appearances in the Premier League so far in his career.

…

Dean Smith is looking for his Charlotte FC side to build upon their 1-0 win over the Chicago Fire when they host the LA Galaxy this weekend.

Charlotte made it three wins in a row as they narrowly beat the Fire during midweek thanks to Ashley Westwood s 60th-minute winner.

The three-match win streak has taken Charlotte all the way up to fifth in the Eastern Conference, and though Smith was not enthralled by the manner of the victory over Chicago, he appreciated his side s mindset.

I saw the mentality, but I didn’t see a game of football that I liked. It certainly won’t make the highlight reel, Smith told reporters.

It wasn t a thriller of any sort. It was an untidy game from both teams but we showed real good mentality to limit them to few chances, a…