Juventus win record sixth consecutive Serie A title

Jurgen Klopp lauded the very decisive Naby Keita and believes there is even more to come from the Liverpool midfielder after reaching the Club World Cup final.

Keita opened the scoring in Liverpool s 2-1 semi-final win over Monterrey on Wednesday to continue his fine run of form.

The Guinea international has netted in three straight games, while he has already matched his goal tally of last season with the three strikes.

Klopp praised Keita and said the 24-year-old could get even better for the Premier League leaders.

Naby, what a player, very decisive, super goal, another super chance, the Liverpool manager told a news conference.

That s his strength, in small spaces he feels quite comfortable, so that helps us a lot. The runs in behind when we…

Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel admitted that his side were not at their free-flowing best in Saturday s 2-1 victory over Mainz.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored both of his side s goals at Signal Iduna Park, with substitute Yoshinori Muto pulling one back for the visitors in stoppage-time.

The victory extended Dortmund s incredible unbeaten home run that dates back to April 2015, but Tuchel felt that his charges looked laboured at times on what was an extremely hot afternoon. 

Today we might have been an attacking and passing machine, but we were not a proper machine, he said.  That s not meant as an accusation, but more of a description. 

We looked nervous to some extent, did not find the right structure and did not find the spaces behind M…

Hugo Lloris believes France have evolved as a result of their defeat to Germany at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Mats Hummels early header settled a low-key quarter-final contest in Rio de Janeiro two years ago and, after dismissing the notion they are seeking revenge, Lloris claimed the loss was a valuable part of the team s learning curve.

Ahead of their Euro 2016 semi-final clash in Marseille on Thursday, the France captain said: There are always lessons to be learned from defeats, as there are [from] victories. 

It s not just the quarter-final defeat that allowed us to grow, it was the World Cup in general but we came up against a better side on the day, a more experienced team at the time and they succeeded.

But I think our team has grown, we ve a…

Juventus quest to transfer exceptional Serie A form to the UEFA Champions League will restart when they take on Malmo in Group A.

Despite winning the Italian title in each of the last three seasons, the Turin giants have failed to make an impact in Europe s premier competition recently.

Although they made it to the quarter-finals in 2012-2013, Juventus were frustratingly eliminated in the group phase last time out meaning it is now 11 years since they reached the last four.

They will be hoping to flip the script this year under new head coach Massimiliano Allegri, who has enjoyed a perfect start having taken the reins following the much-loved Antonio Conte s shock resignation.

A 1-0 season-opening away win at Chievo was followed up by a 2-0 triumph over U…

Niko Kranjcar s wonderful late free-kick denied Mark Hughes a winning return to Loftus Road as QPR drew 2-2 with Stoke City on Saturday.

Hughes was sacked after a miserable 10 months in charge of QPR in 2012, but looked to be on course for all three points on his first trip back to the west London club thanks to a goal early in the second half from another former Rangers employee, Peter Crouch.

Crouch, who spent the 2000-01 season at QPR, struck in the 51st minute after Steven Caulker had levelled Mame Biram Diouf’s early opener on the stroke of half-time.

However, Kranjcar rescued Harry Redknapp s side from a fourth Premier League defeat of the season with a superb 25-yard free-kick two minutes from time.

Redknapp looked set to endure a miserable day,…

Atletico Madrid playmaker Arda Turan believes his side are as good as La Liga giants Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Since Diego Simeone s arrival at the club in December 2011, Atletico have won a UEFA Europa League title and last season s Copa del Rey as well as finishing third in the Spanish top flight behind Barca and Real.

But having led their city rivals for much of the previous campaign, Turan believes Atletico are now ready to make an impact domestically and also in the UEFA Champions League.

I think we are now at an even level (to Barcelona and Real Madrid), he told El Mundo Deportivo. All these clubs have fantastic players, Real Madrid, Barca, Bayern (Munich) but we are stronger as a team.

We have worked hard to create a very strong group, we are together, we…

Mexico defender Rafa Marquez is back home in his native country after signing a two-year deal with Leon.

The move comes just hours after being released by the New York Red Bulls on Thursday.

Goal.com reported earlier this week Marquez was in Mexico City to finalise the deal, but the one major hurdle in completing the move sooner was his contract obligations with the Red Bulls.

I m sure that our fans will give Leon s newest player, Rafael Marquez, the best welcome, Leon president Jesus Martinez posted on Twitter.

Marquez, who was one of the Red Bulls three designated players (a player they can sign outside of the team s salary cap), had been a disappointment since joining the MLS team from Barcelona in 2010. He played just 35 of a possible 73 games whi…

Wayne Rooney has been sacked as manager of Sky Bet Championship club Birmingham.

The former Manchester United and England striker has overseen just two wins in 15 games following his controversial appointment at St Andrew’s in October.

Supporters called for Rooney’s removal as the side slumped to a 3-0 defeat at Leeds on New Year’s Day. The result left the club 20th in the table having been sixth when Rooney took charge.

Club statement: Wayne Rooney

— Birmingham City FC (@BCFC)

A club statement read: “Birmingham City has today parted company with manager Wayne Rooney and first-team coach Carl Robinson.

“Despite their best efforts, results have not met the expectations that were made clear at the outset. Therefore, the board fe…

Borussia Dortmund have confirmed the return of Nuri Sahin on an 18-month loan deal from La Liga giants Real Madrid.

Sahin initially joined Liverpool on a season-long loan but after limited opportunities the Turkish international midfielder has cut short the deal so he can link up with his boyhood club, where he won the 2010/11 Bundesliga title.

Dortmund also have an option to make the deal permanent at the end of the loan period.

The 24-year-old departs Liverpool after a total of just 12 games, with his last Premier League appearance coming in the side s 1-1 draw at Chelsea on November 11.

Speaking at the player s unveiling, club director Hans-Joachim Watzke claimed that they were always interested in bringing the player back to the club.

Back t…

Bundesliga clubs have announced a record turnover of more than two billion euros, with a net income 7.2 percent greater than last season.

The total earnings for the clubs in the league was marked as 2.081 billion euros for last season, which was up from the 2010/11 number of 1.941 billion.

The Deutschland Football League (DFL), also announced that as many as 14 of the 18 teams in the division have enjoyed a profitable year.

The foundations for this successful path are financial good sense as well as targeted investment in sporting efficiency and infrastructure, DFL chief executive Christian Seifert told reporters.

The Bundesliga is well equipped to deal with the challenges ahead.

The figures were inflated by Bayern Munich s run to the Champion…