Neymar will be putting his friendship with former Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi aside as he chases his first Copa America title with Brazil in Saturday s final.
Brazil takes on Argentina in the Copa America 2021 decider at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro, with both players pursuing their first-ever continental crowns.
Messi s Argentina have not won the Copa since 1993, while injury meant Neymar was not part of the Brazil squad which triumphed in 2019.
The pair have a close friendship from Neymar s four years in Barcelona, while they have both dominated this Copa.
Messi leads the Copa with four goals and five assists, while Neymar has contributed two goals and three assists for hosts Brazil.
Messi is, as I ve always said, the best player I ve eve…
It was impossible to make a case for the defence as Liverpool and Manchester United were humiliated after Everton s Colombia duo made history on another extraordinary weekend of Premier League action.
Champions Liverpool were demolished 7-2 at Aston Villa on Sunday after 10-man United had slumped to a 6-1 thrashing at the hands of rampant Tottenham.
Jurgen Klopp s side and the Red Devils are by no means the only ones needing to get a grasp of the art of defending during the international break, as the goals continue to flow far too easily in the top flight.
There was a Colombian first at Goodison Park, where surprise leaders Everton beat Brighton and Hove Albion 4-2 to maintain their perfect start.
With the help of Opta, we took a look at some of the more…
Jurgen Klopp is under no illusion as to the scale of the task facing his Liverpool side as they look to overturn a 5-2 deficit in their Champions League tie with Real Madrid.
After going 2-0 up in the first leg at Anfield, the Reds were put to the sword by Madrid as Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema each scored twice and Eder Militao also found the net.
It leaves Liverpool needing to pull off another Champions League miracle to reach the quarter-finals of the competition and keep their hopes of winning a trophy this season alive.
Liverpool have relatively recent history of overturning a three-goal first-leg deficit. They are one of just four teams to have progressed from a Champions League tie having lost the first leg by three or more goals, doing so in 2019 whe…
Over the past 17 years or so, few – if any – fixtures in world football have been more synonymous with drama, chaos and, above all, the world s best players than El Clasico.
In a way, we probably came to take it for granted what El Clasico meant in terms of entertainment and quality.
Of course, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo became the star attractions of the contest, El Clasico almost becoming its own side story in the wider narrative of their Ballon d Or rivalry.
Ronaldo s 2018 departure took away one element, and some might even suggest it impacted Messi negatively as well, as he failed to have a hand in a single Clasico goal after his old nemesis moved on.
Now both are gone, with Sunday s Clasico at Camp Nou the first of an era in which neithe…
Fernando Llorente has joined SD Eibar for the remaining part of the season as a free agent, the Spanish Segunda Division club have officially confirmed.
OFIZIALA
Fernando Llorente fitxatzeko aurreakordioa.
— SD Eibar (@SDEibar)
Llorente came through the youth ranks at Athletic Bilbao and played for Juventus, Sevilla, Swansea, Tottenham Hotspur, Napoli and Udinese, before his contract with the latter expired at the end of June this year. Eibar head coach Gaizka Garitano wanted to sign the 36-year-old for Bilbao, where he worked from December 2018 to this summer, but the deal never came to fruition due to the refusal of the Basque club to obtain his services. Garitano has now obviously got his wish at Eibar.
Llorente has three Serie…
Mikel Arteta has praised Arsenal for showing resilience during a difficult period and described his players as a joy to work with ahead of a crucial week in the Premier League title race.
All three title contenders – Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City – are in action twice this week, with the Gunners taking on Chelsea and Tottenham in two huge London derbies.
They returned to the top of the table with Saturday s 2-0 win over injury-hit Wolves, but with City possessing a game in hand, the destination of the trophy remains out of their hands.
Following a difficult few days in which Arsenal surrendered control of the title race and exited the Champions League against Bayern Munich, Arteta was delighted with their response at Molineux.
If you look…
Wolverhampton Wanderers are planning to sell Fabio Silva in the summer transfer window, according to . Silva is on loan at Scottish Premiership club Rangers from Premier League outfit Wolves at the moment. The 21-year-old forward moved to the Gers on loan in the January transfer window and is scheduled to stay at Ibrox until the end of the season.
TEAMtalk has claimed that Wolves are planning to offload Silva for good. The 21-year-old cost the Wanderers £35 million in transfer fees when they signed him from FC Porto in 2020. The Portuguese youngster has failed to establish himself in the first team, and the Wanderers are ready to cut their losses and sell him for £15 million.
Although Rangers would love to keep Silva at the club beyond the end of the season, the Gers …
Everton are being sued by former manager Carlo Ancelotti, court records show.
Online case listings show that Ancelotti, who is now in charge of Spanish giants Real Madrid, has taken High Court action against the Premier League club.
A claim has been filed in the commercial court, part of the High Court, in London and relates to “general commercial contracts and arrangements”.
The case is listed as Ancelotti v Everton Football Club Company Limited.
Listings give no further details.
The 64-year-old Italian managed Everton between December 2019 and June 2021, before leaving to take up the role of head coach at Real Madrid.
…
It is yet another Merry Christmas for Sydney FC in the A-League.
The Sky Blues are top of the table on Christmas Day for the third time in four seasons, continuing their dominance.
Being top on December 25 means a record-breaking trophy is likely for Sydney FC.
Alongside Melbourne Victory, they have won seven trophies in the A-League era – four championships and three premierships.
We asked their boys for their Christmas shopping lists for a few of the players, here s what is getting for , and
What would you buy them?
— Sydney FC (@SydneyFC)
Another premiership is likely but a championship less so as we assess where previous league leaders on Christmas Day have ended up, thanks to Opta data.
Only once have a team…
Aston Villa are willing to sell Diego Carlos in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that Carlos is one of the players that Villa will listen to offers for because of profit and sustainability rules.
Carlos has two years left on his current contract at Villa and is earning £100,000 per week as salary. The Villans, who will play in the UEFA Champions League next season after finishing fourth in the Premier League table this campaign.
The Brazilian defender has been on the books of Villa since 2022 when he joined from Sevilla. He has had injury problems, but when fit and available, he has done well for Unai Emery’s team. Carlos has made 20 starts and seven substitute appearances in the Premier League for Villa this season. He also played …