Carlo Ancelotti said Real Madrid were not dominant enough to deserve their 2-0 win at Real Sociedad on Saturday.
After a tight first half, which saw Los Blancos manage just two shots on target, they secured all three points thanks to second-half penalties from Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe.
They were far from their best though, accumulating just 0.6 expected goals from 16 shots (six on target), while they just edged possession with 52%.
However, Ancelotti praised his players resilience and was proud of how they were able to endure the home side s pressure.
It was a complicated match. We didn t deserve to win, because Real Sociedad pushed us really hard, he told a press conference.
We held on and suffered, showed character and a lot of commit…
Bournemouth are closing in on the signing of Bristol City midfielder Alex Scott, the PA news agency understands.
Robins boss Nigel Pearson confirmed on Wednesday evening that Scott had been given permission to talk to the Premier League Cherries.
The 19-year-old, who was named the Sky Bet Championship’s young player of the season for 2022-23, has attracted plenty of attention from top-flight clubs for his standout performances.
Bournemouth appear to have won the race for his signature and remain in discussions with Scott, who missed City’s opening two matches of the new season due to a swollen knee.
The value of the transfer is believed to be in excess of £20million.
Guernsey-born Scott made his senior debut in April 2021 and has scored five …
Former France coach Raymond Domenech has ended his 10-year absence from professional football by signing a short-term deal with Ligue 1 side Nantes.
Domenech left his post as France boss after a disappointing 2010 World Cup campaign that was marred by a mutiny and reported bust-ups between members of the coaching staff and senior players.
Nicolas Anelka appeared to lambast Domenech during a defeat to Mexico and was subsequently excluded from the team, before captain Patrice Evra and one of Domenech s coaches were involved in a heated altercation that led to the team refusing to train.
France then lost 2-1 to South Africa as Les Bleus finished bottom of their group, and that proved to be Domenech s final game in charge.
Since then, the only other manageria…
Cristiano Ronaldo made his first competitive appearance for Real Madrid 10 years ago in a 3-2 LaLiga victory against Deportivo La Coruna.
The Portugal forward reached superstar status after being made the world s most expensive player at the time when joining Madrid from Manchester United for a reported €94million.
He went on to become the club s all-time leading scorer and won 15 trophies, including four Champions League crowns and two LaLiga titles, before leaving for Juventus in 2018.
To mark the decade anniversary since it all began for Ronaldo at Madrid, we look back at their team from that day and where they all are 10 years on.
Forza Juve!
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano)
Goalkeeper: Iker Casillas
Synonymous with the …
AC Milan are interested in signing Diego Carlos from Aston Villa this summer, according to .
Having seen their city rivals Inter clinch the Scudetto by winning the Derby della Madoninna earlier this week, the Rossoneri are still in second place in the Serie A rankings with their five-point advantage over Juventus intact after their goalless clash on Saturday in Turin. With four rounds remaining to be played, they appear likely to finish the season there as well.
However, the 2023/24 campaign has had its downside for Stefano Pioli and his team, and it remains uncertain if the 58-year-old tactician will remain at the helm. But the club are already working on squad reinforcements for the near future, and they see the back line as a part that needs strengthening, given that…
Ajax head coach Erik ten Hag said he is ready to coach abroad and would be happy to take up that challenge amid reported interest from Manchester United.
Ten Hag has been linked with Premier League giants United, who are eyeing a long-term manager following the interim appointment of Ralf Rangnick until the end of the season.
Ajax s Ten Hag has impressed in his time in Amsterdam, where the 51-year-old has delivered two Eredivisie titles and embarked on a memorable run to the 2018-19 Champions League semi-finals.
Ten Hag s men have been the entertainers of Europe this term, dazzling their way into the Champions League round of 16, while topping the Eredivisie ahead of rivals PSV by a point.
Almost time again
— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax)
I t…
Mikel Arteta insists Arsenal thought long and hard about sending Joe Willock out for his fruitful loan stint at Newcastle United.
Willock is ineligible to face his parent club when Newcastle host the Gunners at St James Park on Sunday.
That in itself surely stands as a boost to Arteta, given Willock has come off the bench to score in each of Newcastle s past three Premier League games – strikes worth a total of four points to Steve Bruce s team, who are now nine points clear of the relegation zone with five matches remaining.
Willock is the first player to score on three consecutive substitute appearances in England s top flight since Adam Le Fondre did so for Reading in 2013.
Although his development is a boon to Arteta and others in north London, it i…
One of the major perks of football as a sport is how it can sometimes be completely unpredictable. It s always easy to believe after a match that its result could ve been guessed for this reason or that, but in reality, not many are capable of guessing when exactly an off-form team would get into its stride and start winning. And it s even more difficult to predict that happening against a team which appears already there.
Be that as it may, RB Leipzig smashed Borussia Dortmund by 3-0, with two Hungary internationals, Willi Orban and Dominik Szoboszlai scoring in the 6th and 45th minute, respectively, and Amadou Haidara finishing off a swift counterattack in the 84th to make it three.
The Rose impact
Both teams were deployed in the 4-2-3-1 shape. For Leipzig, …
Lionel Messi showed against Nice he has the quality to become the world s best player again, according to Paris Saint-Germain boss Christophe Galtier.
The Argentina international opened the scoring in PSG s 2-1 Ligue 1 win at Parc des Princes on Saturday with a lofted free-kick from 22 yards that he had won himself.
That was Messi s first direct free-kick goal for PSG since joining from Barcelona in August 2021 and the 60th of his career overall for club and country.
On the back of an underwhelming first campaign in the French capital, Messi has five goals and seven assists in his first nine Ligue 1 outings this season.
And after registering a goal in successive league games for the first time as a PSG player, Galtier has backed the seven-time Ballon d Or…
Aston Villa are interested in signing James McCarthy from Premier League rivals Crystal Palace in the summer transfer window, according to . It has been reported that Villa want to secure the services of the 29-year-old central midfielder in a £5 million move.
The Republic of Ireland international central midfielder is out of contract at Palace in the summer of 2019, and the Villans reportedly want to snap him up on the cheap. Villa believe that McCarthy will add much-needed Premier League experience to their squad, with the Villans having narrowly escaped the dreaded drop to the Championship at the end of the past season.
McCarthy started his professional club football career at Hamilton Academical in Scotland before he made the move to Wigan Athletic in 2009. The 29-…