Cole confirms West Ham exit

Sergi Samper has had a fresh setback after sustaining a calf injury on his first Barcelona appearance of the season.

The 23-year-old started Barca s Copa del Rey tie away to Cultural Leonesa on Wednesday, but was forced off in the first half.

Barca confirmed tests on Samper have shown the midfielder has injured his right calf.

Samper spent the 2017-18 season on loan at Las Palmas but injuries restricted him to just two LaLiga starts.

MEDICAL COMMUNIQUÉ — Tests performed this morning on have confirmed he has a right calf injury. His availability will be based on how he progresses.

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona)

Barca were boosted earlier this week by Lionel Messi s return to training as the captain continues to recover from…

Diego Simeone has suggested Atletico Madrid were never interested in offering Cristiano Ronaldo a route out of Manchester United due to his association with Real Madrid.

Atletico were one of a number of European clubs, along with the likes of Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Napoli, to have been linked with the United forward in the transfer window.

Simeone remained quiet on the speculation at the time, though supporters made their thoughts clear by unfurling a CR7 NOT WELCOME banner during pre-season.

However, with Ronaldo remaining at Old Trafford until at least January, Simeone says the 37-year-old making a move to Atleti was never feasible due to the unrest it would have caused among the fanbase.

What these little birds [journalists] have said is far from …

In what was a controversial showdown at Elland Road on Sunday afternoon, Arsenal managed to snatch a hard-fought 1-0 victory away at Leeds.

Opening this weekend s fixtures holding a one-point buffer at the top of the Premier League table, the high-flying Gunners only extended on what has been a remarkable start to the 2022/23 campaign.

With England international Bukayo Saka eventually bagging the winner 10 minutes before the half-time interval, Arsenal find the mood in their camp at a red-hot high.

Piling more pressure onto a Leeds side that have come crashing back down to earth after their eye-catching start to the new season, the Whites will be feeling that they deserved to leave Elland Road with something to show for their efforts.

With Patrick Bamfor…

Germany head coach Joachim Low is not fearful of the Confederations Cup final going to a shoot-out despite the presence of penalty killer Claudio Bravo in Chile s line-up.

The Manchester City goalkeeper put a dreadful debut Premier League campaign behind him by pulling off saves from Ricardo Quaresma, Joao Moutinho and Nani as Juan Antonio Pizzi s men saw off European champions Portugal 3-0 on spot-kicks after a goalless semi-final in Kazan.

Chile s 2015 and 2016 Copa America triumphs also came via shoot-outs, with Bravo between the posts, but Low and Germany – who have their own firmly established record of success in such situations – are in no way fearful.

No, of course not. Why should I be? Chile have excellent players who can score from the spot. Agains…

Verdict: Both teams to score No

Best Odds:

Bookmaker:

Fourth-placed Azerbaijan will be looking to get revenge on Northern Ireland for the 4-0 defeat in Belfast and at the same time keep their qualifying hopes alive. Michael O’Neill’s side, on the other hand, plan to cement the play-off berth with a win in Baku, but they will have much tougher task than back in November due to sweltering heat in Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan haven’t enjoyed a great deal of success in the past, that is since the country gained independence from the Soviet Union and they have yet to qualify for a major tournament. However, the national team have flourished under Robert Prosinecki and they are now just three places bellow their highest ever FIFA Ranking (73rd) a…

West Ham United are among the clubs interested in signing Idrissa Gueye from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer transfer window, according to . It has been reported by the French publication that Crystal Palace, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United are also looking to secure the services of the 30-year-old defensive midfielder, with PSG looking to move him on due to economic necessarily.

Gueye has been on the books of PSG since the summer of 2019 when he joined from Premier League club Everton. According to , the 30-year-old defensive midfielder scored one goal in 20 Ligue 1 matches last season, and has scored one goal in two league games so far this campaign.

The Senegal international is a very good defensive midfielder who has been a success in the Premier Lea…

La Liga heavyweights Atletico Madrid are said to be one of a host of Europe’s top clubs scouting Benfica defender Alex Grimaldo.

The 23-year-old full-back has been in superb form at Benfica this season which saw him gain plenty of admirers around Europe.

The likes of Manchester City, Arsenal, Napoli and Inter Milan have all been linked with a move for Grimaldo whereas the Spanish media outlet Mundo Deportivo now claims that Atletico Madrid have stepped up the chase for his signature.

Identified as the ‘next Jordi Alba’ due to his versatility and overwhelming potential, Grimaldo could be the next big thing and is widely expected to leave the Lisbon-based club this summer.

Grimaldo joined the Portuguese heavyweights from Barcelona in 2016 in a €1.5…

Pablo Mari believes he is lucky to be alive after Monza s on-loan Arsenal defender survived a stabbing attack near Milan.

The Brazilian centre-back was one of several people injured in the attack, while one person died and a suspect was arrested after being disarmed.

It was widely reported that former Napoli footballer Massimo Tarantino was among those who stopped the attacker.

Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport reported Mari as saying: I was with the pushchair with my child inside and I felt an excruciating pain in my back. Then that man stabbed another in the throat.

Today I was lucky, because I saw a person die in front of me.

The man who died in the attack was a shop cashier named Luis Fernando Ruggieri, to whose family Monza sent their…

Germany scraped through to the knockout stages of Euro 2020 and set up a last-16 showdown against England after Leon Goretzka s late equaliser earned them a 2-2 draw with Hungary.

Adam Szalai of Mainz, who has spent most of his career in the Bundesliga, gave Hungary the lead in Munich after 11 minutes to leave Germany facing an early exit.

There was a brief reprieve when Kai Havertz scored a 66th-minute header, but just 91 seconds later Joachim Low s men were caught napping and Andras Schafer took full advantage in restoring Hungary s lead.

Goretzka rescued Germany from their first exit at this stage of the competition since 2004, and sent Hungary crashing out in the process.

And breathe

Good enough, just. We re into the last 16! 2-2

<…

Manchester City defender Vincent Kompany believes the development of his club, and of rivals Tottenham, is healthy for the league.

The Eastlands club has progressed from a mid table side in the Premier League to serious title contenders following the takeover of Sheikh Mansour in 2008, which has allowed them to bring in such players as Yaya Toure, David Silva, Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero.

I think Tottenham and ourselves doing well in the past few years has been great, he told Sky Sports.

Had it just been the same four sides challenging each season, it would have damaged the game here. Now there are maybe six teams capable of winning the title and that can only be great for English football.

City qualified for the Champions League by finishing thir…