Zahoui leaves out injured Drogba

Zinedine Zidane admitted Real Madrid produced an unacceptable performance as the reigning LaLiga champions slumped to another dismal defeat.

Cadiz, Shakhtar Donetsk and Valencia had already beaten Madrid this season, which is in its infancy, and Deportivo Alaves added their name to the list of surprise conquerors across all competitions thanks to a richly deserved 2-1 win on Saturday.

There were grumbles from the Madrid camp about decisions the VAR may have given them, with penalty claims from Eden Hazard and Marcelo failing to result in spot-kicks.

But Madrid head coach Zidane was clear in his mind that his team got what they deserved from the clash at the Alfredo Di Stefano stadium, where the Spanish giants lost for the third time in LaLiga this term.

T…

Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola said the pain of losing his friend Tito Vilanova to cancer will stay with him for the rest of his life.

Vilanova, who was Guardiola s assistant at Barcelona, passed away on Friday after losing his long-running battle with throat cancer.

Guardiola was visibly emotional during his side s 5-2 Bundesliga win over Werder Bremen on Saturday and spoke of his deep sadness at the passing of the 45-year-old former Barca coach.

Speaking after the game, Guardiola told reporters: Tito was more than a friend. It was difficult to focus on the game today.

The sadness I feel for Tito will accompany me for my whole life.

From here I want to send my deepest condolences to his family. We lived through a lot together.

We won together, we…

A number of top European clubs are keeping close tabs on Atletico Nacional forward Marlos Moreno, .

The 19-year-old has been making giant strides ever since he was handed his first team debut in October 2014, and he went on to score 5 goals in 17 league outings last season.

Moreno has failed to find the net in this year’s league campaign, but he has already scored three goals in four Copa Libertadores matches, helping Atletico Nacional secure the first place in Group 4 with two games to spare.

The youngster’s impressive displays did not go unnoticed, with the likes of Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, FC Porto and Benfica hot on his trail.

Moreno was handed his first ever Colombia call-up in March and he made two substitute appearances in the 2018 Worl…

Tony Adams believes England manager Roy Hodgson has made a mistake in not taking Chelsea defender John Terry to the FIFA World Cup.

The Chelsea captain quit the national side after falling out with the Football Association in 2012 after being found guilty of racist abuse, but his impressive form this season prompted suggestions he may go back on his decision and make himself available for selection.

The 33-year-old quashed speculation of a comeback once and for all, but Adams feels Hodgson should have persuaded the former England skipper to perform a U-turn.

That s part of the job of the coach, isn t it? he is quoted as saying in The Guardian . Part of the job is to work with the players. It does worry me. Terry Venables would have been straight on the phone to John.

Stiliyan Petrov wants his former Celtic team-mate Henrik Larsson to be appointed as Ronny Deila s successor.

Deila will leave his role as manager at the end of the season after two mixed campaigns in charge of the Bhoys. 

The Norwegian delivered the Scottish Premiership title in 2014-15 and is on track to do so again this term, but he failed to secure qualification for the group stage of the Champions League in both seasons.

News of Deila s impending departure has prompted frenzied speculation over the identity of the new manager, with David Moyes and Roy Keane among those rumoured to be in contention.

But Petrov wants to see fan favourite Larsson, who claimed to have rejected the opportunity to take over from Neil Lennon prior to Deila s appointment in …

Prediction: Wales win

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The road to Germany has well and truly begun with nations across the continent attempting to qualify for UEFA Euro 2024. We all know that many will be much more positive about their chances than others but along the way, we should expect a whole lot of surprises, as is always the case. Today, we ll be taking a look at what should be an intriguing meeting of the minds between Wales and Latvia in Group D.

Wales

An appearance in the World Cup finals is the kind of confidence boost that this Welsh team needed. They ve found consistency within the realm of qualifying for big international tournaments and understandably so, given the positive mentality and the team cohesion they possess. What they can t afford …

Market: Middlesbrough win

Odds: 6/5 @

Looking to lay down another Championship marker on Saturday afternoon, a high-flying Middlesbrough will make the trip to a struggling Swansea.

Starting with the hosts, while Swansea might have managed to claim a much-needed 2-1 victory against Blackpool last month, it appears that was nothing more than a minor boost. Last seen over the weekend putting in yet another downbeat display as they were hit with a 1-0 loss at the hands of Luton, Russell Martin s side are in the midst of another extended rut. Although the Swans might essentially find themselves sat in Championship limbo this year, the former MK Dons boss has seen his side win just one of their previous nine matchups across all formats. With that run stemming all the …

Former Arsenal midfielder Mathieu Flaimini is nearing a switch to Spanish La Liga, Marca has quoted French media as saying.

The 33-year-old has been a free agent since he was released from his contract at Crystal Palace last summer, and he appears to have finally found a new club.

According to reports, La Liga side Getafe are set to offer Flamini a contract having chosen the Frenchman as the man expected to bring improvement in the middle of the park.

Back in November, the holding midfielder was linked with a move to Rayo Vallecano, but he now looks set to join another Madrid outfit.

Flamini had made just 10 Premier League appearances during the 2016/2017 season at Crystal Palace.

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Jorge Sampaoli says he is ready to match Sevilla s passion as he takes charge of the Europa League winners.

The 56-year-old s first foray into European football was confirmed on Monday when he signed a two-year deal with the Liga club.

He has previously enjoyed a successful career in his native South America, including a three-year spell as Chile boss, winning the Copa America in 2015.

But Sampaoli is now focused on retaining Sevilla s high standards, particularly in European competition.

I am very much looking forward to leading this club with the passion it has, he told the club s official website.

Undoubtedly, I am also a person tremendously passionate about attacking football. They will see me as a coach who will never attempt to avoid the s…

Adelaide United have ruled out bringing Argentine midfielder Marcos Flores back to the club due to a lack of room under the salary cap.

Flores played for Adelaide in the 2010/11 A-League season before leaving for Henan Jianye in the Chinese Super League, but his contract was terminated by mutual consent on Thursday.

The Argentine playmaker struggled for regular games with Henan and with the CSL club keen to pursue a more defensive style of play in a bid to stave off relegation, Flores was not considered worth an import spot.

But while Flores would be an incredibly popular signing with Adelaide fans, the A-League club quickly released a statement saying they do not have enough salary cap space to recruit the 26-year-old.

The stumbling block here is that …