Abel Braga has not given up hope of overseeing Internacional s passage into the last-16 of the Copa Sudamericana.
Internacional were brushed aside by visiting Bahia in the opening leg of their second round clash last week, losing 2-0 at the Estadio Jose Pinheiro Borba.
Bahia had drawn three consecutive matches in Brazil s Serie A but returned to winning ways at the expense of high-flying Internacional, who sit second in the table, thanks to quick-fire goals form Lucas Fonseca and Diego Macedo in Belo Horizonte.
Marcio Araujo s Bahia now have two priceless away goals up their sleeve heading into Thursday s return leg on home soil, but Internacional coach Braga insisted the tie is far from over.
We will not be discouraged. We will continue to work, Braga s…
North London club Arsenal are said to have identified Atletico Madrid defender Jose Gimenez as their top summer transfer target.
Gunners are desperate to reinforce their wobbly backline and will make an attempt to sign one of the most highly-rated young defenders in Europe, claims.
Jose Gimenez joined Atletico Madrid in 2013 and has thus far made well over 110 La Liga appearances for Atleti. He’s been touted to make the next step to one of Europe’s biggest sides and Arsenal are keen to persuade him to move to the Premier League at the end of the season.
Arsene Wenger is said to had been keen of Lazio star Stefan de Vrij who is set to leave the Serie A club at the end of the season after rejecting a chance to extend his contract with Biancocelesti.
Li…
The group phase of the Champions League concludes on Wednesday and there is plenty on the line for the clubs involved.
As the likes of Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund battle it out for top spot, Tottenham are among the clubs looking to salvage third place and a Europa League berth.
But while Dortmund have their sights set on an enviable goalscoring record, other sides must overturn the weight of history in order to get a much-needed win.
Here are some of the best stats from the concluding fixtures before the knockout stages, courtesy of Opta.
Bayer Leverkusen v Monaco:
5 Monaco are unbeaten in their five previous competitive encounters with Leverkusen, all in the Champions League (W3 D2).
7 Leverkusen have not suffe…
Ivory Coast must defeat Morocco and their old boss Herve Renard if they are to prevent the defence of their Africa Cup of Nations title from ending at the first hurdle.
The two teams meet in Oyem on Tuesday as Group C reaches a thrilling conclusion.
Holders Ivory Coast were among the pre-tournament favourites, but consecutive draws against Togo and DR Congo have them on the brink of a shock exit.
Morocco, meanwhile, only need a point to be sure of a place in the quarter-finals after recovering from an opening defeat to DR Congo by coming from behind to defeat Togo 3-1 on Friday.
An added twist is Morocco being managed by Renard, the man who led the Elephants to AFCON glory two years ago.
Renard, who also guided Zambia to the AFCON title in 2012, l…
Milan target Dusan Tadic will not be moving to San Siro, with the forward having agreed a new three-year deal with Ajax.
Ajax captain Tadic was reportedly close to a switch to the Serie A giants, who are back in the Champions League for the 2021-22 season after a second-place finish last term.
However, the 32-year-old has opted to stay in Amsterdam, penning a new deal keeping him at Ajax until June 2024.
It is a one-year extension on his previous contract, which was set to expire at the end of the 2022-23 campaign.
Tadic joined Ajax from Premier League side Southampton in 2018 and went on to play a key role in the Dutch team reaching the Champions League semi-finals that season.
He scored 28 goals in the Eredivisie and added a further six in the …
Michy Batshuayi completed a loan switch from Chelsea to Crystal Palace as the January transfer window closed on Premier League clubs.
Batshuayi has been deemed surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge by Maurizio Sarri and endured an unsuccessful stint at Valencia during the first half of the season.
Talks with Monaco collapsed earlier this month, while Tottenham, West Ham, Everton and Real Betis were all reported to be monitoring the situation before Palace and Roy Hodgson got their man.
Batshuayi s Belgium international team-mate Youri Tielemans has joined Leicester City on loan from Monaco, with the out-of-favour Adrien Silva moving to the Ligue 1 strugglers on a temporary basis alongside Spurs winger Georges-Kevin N Koudou.
— Leicester Ci…
Prediction: Manchester United win
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The Premier League has been on fire as of late, and we aren t done by a long shot in 2018. The Christmas period is going to be challenging to say the least with the majority of clubs having the definition of a hectic schedule, but such is the nature of English football. Manchester United will be back in action when they take on a Fulham side that has a lot more reasons to be hopeful than they did just a few weeks ago. Of course, United themselves are also going in search of some inspiration and that s putting it lightly.
Manchester United
The inconsistency of Manchester United is something that needs to change sooner rather than later, or else Mourinho could be looking for a new job before we eve…
Ivan Rakitic is planning talks with Sevilla team-mate Jules Kounde in a bid to lift his spirits after a move to Chelsea did not materialise.
Kounde has established himself as one of the best defenders in LaLiga over the past two seasons, prompting interest from a number of elite clubs.
Reports of interest from Chelsea were persistent throughout the recent transfer window, and Sevilla sporting director Monchi confirmed the European champions had made an approach.
It was a move that would have appealed to Kounde, Monchi confirmed, but the two clubs were unable to agree a fee, as Sevilla held out for the player s €80million release clause.
Kounde appeared well suited to a top Premier League side, ranking third among LaLiga defenders for aerial duels won (2…
The understanding between Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Olivier Giroud will be key to a successful World Cup qualifying campaign for France, according to boss Didier Deschamps.
Reigning world champions France start their Group D campaign against Ukraine on Thursday before taking on Kazakhstan and Bosnia-Herzegovina on Sunday and Wednesday respectively.
Les Bleus are expected to comfortably book their place in Qatar next year and Deschamps expects his forward trio to shine again after their heroics won the 2018 tournament.
I m not going to separate them from the rest of the team, but when you look at the number of goals and assists that the three provide, that s what allowed the France team to be world champions, he told a media conference.
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While trophies and there have been plenty of them, including six MMSL titles – help encourage unpaid players to put the effort in, key to Christos long-term development has been a relationship with a local university.
UMBC stands for University of Maryland, Baltimore County but sometimes guys say this is University of Maryland, Baltimore Christos because literally if you graduate from UMBC, most guys come and play for Christos, said Haislip, who explained the handy role that key striker Pete Coringi III s father plays as head coach at UMBC.
We have that college locked down. If anyone graduates from that university and wants to continue playing Sunday-type ball they re going to come play for us.
Christos are able to draw on a large pool of around 40 player…