Eden Hazard starred for Chelsea as he scored one and set up another in a hard-fought 2-1 Premier League victory over Brighton and Hove Albion.

Hazard netted a double in Chelsea s 4-0 win in the corresponding fixture last season, and the winger dazzled Brighton in the first half on Sunday.

With Pedro having benefited from Hazard s exceptional play for Chelsea s opener, the Belgian doubled the visitors advantage with his first goal in eight games just after the half-hour, although he was replaced late on after picking up a knock.

Solly March s close-range finish after Marcos Alonso had hit the woodwork set up a grandstand finish, but Chelsea held firm to move back within two points of third-placed Tottenham.

9 Eden Hazard has provided more assists in…

Juventus have claimed a record sixth Serie A title in a row following their victory over Crotone on Sunday

Massimiliano Allegri s side had the chance to secure the Scudetto last week but their 3-1 loss to Roma gave the capital club hope with two games remaining.

Luciano Spalletti s side won 5-3 in a thrilling game at Chievo on Saturday, while Napoli trounced Fiorentina 4-1 to keep the title race alive.

However, goals from Mario Mandzukic, Paulo Dybala and Alex Sandro gave Juve a 3-0 win in Turin that ensures they cannot be caught on the final day.

It is their sixth title in as many seasons since 2011-12, a feat never before achieved in Serie A history.

It is also the second step towards a first treble in the club s history, with Juve having beate…

England have not exactly produced enthralling football during the tenure of Roy Hodgson as boss

England faces a visit to San Marino later today in Euro 2016 qualification. A victory will book the Three Lions a spot at next summer’s European Championships in France.

Despite a perfect record in qualifying, the England public seems to have lost interest in their team.

The lack of competiveness in recent qualification campaigns has saw the Three Lions comfortably secure their place at most of the big international tournaments in the last decade, with the exception of Euro 2008, when they failed to qualify.

Flat-track bullies

The problem with England is that they are flat-track bullies. They make easy work of beating the inferior teams in qualifying…

Nacho Monreal is confident he will be playing alongside Hector Bellerin at Arsenal next season despite the latter being the subject of reported interest from Barcelona.
Bellerin s future in north London has remained in doubt despite the attacking full-back signing a six-year contact las November and establishing himself as a first-team regular under Arsene Wenger.
The Spain international progressed through Barca s famed La Masia youth system before joining Arsenal in 2011.
New Barca coach Ernesto Valverde is short of options at full-back and that has only exacerbated rumours of a return.
Barca midfielder Denis Suarez recently suggested that Bellerin is pondering the move, but Monreal is confident he will remain with the Premier League club.
He s an Arsenal player and almost certainly…

Homegrown striker Patrick Cutrone stole the headlines for big-spending AC Milan as they eased to a 3-0 win over 10-man Crotone in Sunday s Serie A opener.

Pre-match talk surrounded Milan s influx of fresh talent and Vincenzo Montella handed out starts to seven new faces, but it was academy product Cutrone who spearheaded the Rossoneri s first-half blitz. 

The powerful 19-year-old had a hand in all three goals inside the first 23 minutes, winning the penalty for Franck Kessie s opener before scoring the second and assisting Suso in putting the result beyond doubt before the break.

Milan s task was made easier by the third-minute dismissal of Crotone s Federico Ceccherini, the referee issuing a straight red card after consulting with the video assistant refere…

Alex Neil has challenged Norwich City to rise to the occasion when they meet fierce rivals Ipswich Town in a mouth-watering Championship play-off semi-final.

Norwich were looking good value to earn automatic promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt until a loss to fellow play-off side Middlesbrough and a draw at Rotherham United halted their push.

A 4-2 beating of Fulham ensured a third-placed finish and a tie with East-Anglian foes Ipswich, marking their first meeting outside of the regular season since the 1985 League Cup.

We know exactly what it means to everyone, and it means a hell of a lot to myself and the players as well, Neil, in charge at Carrow Road since January, told Norwich s official website ahead of Saturday s first leg at Por…

Andre Gray came off the bench to earn Watford a late 2-1 Premier League win at home to Leicester City in Brendan Rodgers first game in charge of the Foxes.

Jamie Vardy s equaliser seemed to have earned Rodgers men a draw at Vicarage Road on Sunday after the striker cancelled out an early header by Troy Deeney 15 minutes from time.

But, after a poor clearance by Kasper Schmeichel, Deeney lifted the ball into the path of Gray and the substitute beat the Leicester goalkeeper in stoppage time.

Watford beaten 5-0 at Liverpool in midweek collected their third Premier League win in four games, while Leicester will hope Rodgers can get off the mark next weekend.

Adrian Mariappa should have given Watford an early lead but fired straight at Schmeichel from six …

Neymar was delighted with Paris Saint-Germain s thrashing of Monaco as he urged his team to continue building on their impressive start to the season.

The Brazilian scored a second-half penalty after Edinson Cavani had struck a hat-trick for PSG, who cruised to a 4-0 win at Stade Louis II on Sunday.

PSG have won all 13 of their Ligue 1 matches this season, opening up a 13-point lead atop the table.

Neymar, 26, was thrilled with the result and happy for Cavani, who took his tally to eight league goals this season.

I m very happy, happy for the goal and especially for the victory, he said.

Edi s hat-trick … not only him but we are also happy for him to have made the goals. He is our number nine.

I hope that we can continue to play our p…

Verdict: Barcelona to win, both teams to score yes

Best Odds:

Bookmaker:

The international break is over and top-flight football is set to return in Europe. And while there are several big games all over the continent, few can be considered as bigger than the one Atletico Madrid and FC Barcelona will play this Saturday at Wanda Metropolitano Stadium. Kick-off is scheduled at 19:45 BST.

Atletico Madrid

Diego Simeone s men have been a tad inconsistent to start the season both at the domestic and European level. They are contenders on both La Liga and the UEFA Champions League. But the results have not gone their way thus far. Even though Atletico remain unbeaten in La Liga with four wins and three draws, they sit in fourth place with 14 points. Their re…

According to a recent report from Sky Sports News, Barcelona are said to be in talks with Manchester United over the potential signing of Juan Mata. The 30 year old attacking midfielder has been with the Red Devils since back in 2014, when the jump over from fellow Premier League side Chelsea. Despite having a series of memorable moments for United in the last few years, he hasn’t quite been able to re-discover the form that first put him on the map during his days with the Blues and Valencia. Mata, who is also a tenured Spain international, would likely fit quite well into the fast moving attacking style of Barcelona.

Despite his small stature Mata is widely considered to be one of the most underrated players in the top flight of English football, and there’s a good chance…