Barcelona coach Luis Enrique lauded extraterrestrial Lionel Messi after ending his time in charge of the LaLiga giants with a Copa del Rey success.
Messi opened the scoring in Barca s 3-1 win over Alaves in Saturday s final to finish the season with 54 goals in all competitions.
Theo Hernandez cancelled out that goal, but Neymar and Paco Alcacer struck late in the half as Barca claimed the Copa for the third straight year.
Luis Enrique was full of praise for Messi afterwards, saying the Argentina star was from another planet.
Messi is an extraterrestrial in every sense and I m very fortunate that I was able to enjoy the best, or one of the best, versions of him, he said.
Without a doubt he s the number one and to be that you have to control ever…
Best Odds: 4/6
Bookmaker:
Looking to wrap up their ticket to EURO 24 this weekend, a high-flying Turkey will welcome Latvia to Adana on Sunday night.
Turkey
Starting with the hosts, marking their return to EURO 24 qualifying duties with a famous performance on foreign in midweek, Turkey will certainly find the mood in their camp at a red-hot high. Eventually landing a stunning 1-0 victory away at World Cup semi-finalists Croatia, the Crescent Stars now sit on the verge of punching their return to the major tournament stage. Only continuing to gain a string of public praise and certainly riding a major wave of momentum, Vincenzo Montella’s side will be more than aware that they have been handed a golden chance here. Mustering 10 points from just their last fou…
Lionel Messi scored a gorgeous first goal for Paris Saint-Germain as the French side gained a measure of revenge for their 2020-21 Champions League semi-final defeat to Manchester City with a 2-0 win to get off the mark in Group A.
Messi s start to life at PSG had been somewhat muted but he came to life late in the day to seal a hard-fought victory at the Parc des Princes, an important result after a disappointing draw with Club Brugge on matchday one.
PSG made a wonderful start and were quickly in front thanks to Idrissa Gueye, but City had opportunities to pull level, with Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva both hitting the crossbar in quick succession.
The visitors were especially dominant in the second period, but they struggled to craft clear-cut chances a…
Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke is not concerned newly appointed Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will attempt to lure any of his former players to Anfield without the Bundesliga side s consent.
Klopp enjoyed a successful spell in charge of Dortmund between 2008 and 2015 and still enjoys a fine relationship with a number of the squad.
Recent reports have suggested Klopp could try to lure Marco Reus and Ilkay Gundogan to Liverpool, but Dortmund are confident their former coach would not approach any players without previously contacting his ex-club.
Jurgen would never do anything that would damage BVB s interests, Watzke told Bild am Sonntag.
I am 100 per cent certain about that. He would never approach any players behind our back.
We a…
Market: Both teams to score
Odds: 10/11 @
In what could prove to be an enjoyable affair from the Estadio Gran Canaria this weekend, Las Palmas will host Rayo Vallecano on Sunday lunchtime.
Starting with the hosts, while Las Palmas might have only made their La Liga return this season, Garcia Pimienta’s men have continued to shine since opening up the 2023/24 campaign. Heading into October’s international break with a stellar 2-1 victory away at Villarreal, Los Amarillos mark their return battling it out in the top-half of the table and with the mood in their camp at a real high. With their recent purple patch highlighted by another 2-1 win at home against Celta Vigo earlier in the month, the Yellows will simply be looking to carry on from where they left off…
Arsenal are interested in signing Raphinha from Premier League rivals Leeds United in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that Leeds are open to selling the Brazil international winger, and that North London outfit Arsenal are among the clubs keen on securing the services of the 25-year-old.
The report has claimed that Leeds do not think that Raphinha will sign a new contract, and that the West Yorkshire club are open to selling him. The Whites narrowly avoided relegation from the Premier League this past season.
Raphinha made 34 starts and one substitute appearance in the Premier League for Leeds this past season, scoring 11 goals and providing three assists in the process. The Leeds no. 10 made 26 starts and four substitute appearances in…
Roberto Di Matteo has resigned as Schalke head coach after just seven months in the role.
The Italian was drafted in to replace Jens Keller after the Gelsenkirchen side took just eight points from their first seven league matches and were knocked out of the DFB-Pokal by Dynamo Dresden.
However, Di Matteo oversaw a poor run towards the end of the season that saw Schalke win just two of their last 10 Bundesliga matches.
That left Schalke in sixth and outside the UEFA Champions League places and, after discussing his future with club officials, Di Matteo has opted to step aside.
[General manager] Horst Heldt and I have not only worked together for the last seven months, but we directed our attention to the plans for the coming season, Di Matteo told the clu…
James Tomkins is eager for West Ham to quickly kill off any hopes Lusitans have of making a game of it in Thursday s UEFA Europa League first-round qualifying second leg.
West Ham head to Andorra with a 3-0 lead after Diafra Sakho s first-half double was followed up by Tomkins 58th-minute header to seal a comfortable win at Upton Park last week.
It took 40 minutes for Sakho to open the scoring, though, and Tomkins wants to see a faster start this time around.
It s always important to get on the scoresheet early on against teams like this, as that makes them quiet straight away, he told the club s official website.
We could have got the goal earlier than we did. It felt like a long time coming, but when it came we got another one quickly and that ki…
Best Odds: 13/10
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In an all-Premier League showdown on Wednesday night, Arsenal will travel to the London Stadium with an EFL Cup quarter-final spot up for grabs.
West Ham
Starting with the hosts, while West Ham might have opened the new campaign in the midst of a real flurry, the Hammers have certainly come crashing back down to earth since returning from October’s international break. Last seen over the weekend putting in another worrying display as they slumped to a 1-0 loss at home against Everton, it appears that there is mounting pressure on David Moyes’ position. Marking their return from the fortnight interval with a routine 4-1 drumming at the hands of Aston Villa earlier in the month, the one-time Manchester United boss has seen his squa…
Lyon and Valencia endured frustrating opening games in Champions League Group H and will seek to kick-start their qualification bids at Stade de Gerland on Tuesday.
Hubert Fournier s men were held 1-1 by a Gent side who had two players sent off with Alexandre Lacazette missing a late penalty while the Liga outfit suffered a 3-2 home loss to Zenit.
Valencia will hope to draw some inspiration from the previous group-stage showdowns between the two sides, when the Spaniards prevailed in both matches back in 2000-01.
That was during a memorable era for Valencia, who reached back-to-back Champions League finals at the turn of the century and won La Liga in 2001-02 and 2003-04.
But Nuno Espirito Santo s charges have failed to impress domestically so far in …