Barcelona 0-0 Girona: Misfiring Blaugrana miss chance to go 15 points clear

Barcelona missed the chance to move 15 points clear at the LaLiga summit after being held to a goalless draw at home to Girona on Monday.

Real Madrid succumbed to a 3-2 defeat to Villarreal on Saturday but Xavi s Blaugrana failed to fire two days later, leaving Barca 13 points clear of the second-placed Los Blancos.

A fine Paulo Gazzaniga display kept the energetic hosts at bay, while Valentin Castellanos wasted the best chance of the game when curling wide in the second half at Camp Nou.

The stalemate ended a four-match winning league run for Barca, but Xavi s side remain unbeaten at home in LaLiga this season as the Blaugrana march towards the title.

Derby Energy

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona)

Viktor Tsygankov sliced a presentable cha…

Switzerland 4/6 to win against Slovenia in tonight’s Euro 2016 Qualifier

Competition: Euro 2016 Qualifier
Market: Switzerland to win against Slovenia
Odds:

Switzerland host Slovenia tonight in the Euro 2016 Qualifiers, and are favourites to come away with all three points given their impressive form of late. Currently second in Group E, Switzerland could all but book their place in next year’s championship with a win, with Slovenia being the side third in the table looking for an automatic spot.

The visitors are three points behind Switzerland in Group E, but have endured woeful form of late, losing four of their last five games in all competitions. Such a poor run in the qualifiers is likely to see the away side once again come unstuck, leaving them to fight it out in the playoffs.

Switzerland, as a result, are being …

Euro 2016 Qualifying Review: Spain and Switzerland seal qualification

Spain and Switzerland recorded comprehensive victories over Luxembourg and San Marino respectively on Friday to book their spots at Euro 2016.

Nine teams have now qualified for the finals in France next summer, with the two sides joining the tournament hosts, England, Czech Republic, Iceland, Austria, Northern Ireland and Portugal as participants.

Spain s 4-0 win came courtesy of two goals apiece from Santi Cazorla and Paco Alcacer. The defending European champions had to contend with early injuries to David Silva and Alvaro Morata, but still enjoyed a comfortable contest in Lorongo. 

Switzerland had only scored one goal against San Marino by the 55th minute, but went on to record a 7-0 victory as the away side collapsed in the second half.

Michael …

Where has it gone wrong for Liverpool and Chelsea this season?

Half a season is a long time in football.

At the end of the 2021-22 campaign, Liverpool had come within a whisker of becoming the first English team in history to win the EFL Cup, FA Cup, Premier League and Champions League in a single campaign.

Chelsea had reached two domestic finals, losing on penalties to Liverpool on both occasions, and finished third in the Premier League after initially threatening a title charge with their early season form.

As the two prepare to meet at Anfield on Saturday, they do so in very different places from then, sitting ninth and 10th in the league table respectively.

They both managed to win their last games 1-0, but there is a long way to go if they are to get back to where they expect to be, and Stats Perform has taken …

Manchester City 1-0 Atletico Madrid: Key Talking Points As The Premier League Heavyweights Pick Up A First-Leg Advantage

On a night that was largely one-way traffic at the Etihad on Tuesday, Manchester City picked up a Champions League first-leg advantage as they secured a 1-0 victory against Atletico Madrid.

Hardly having to get out of second gear and backed by a vocal home support, Pep Guardiola s side will be hoping for a similar affair when they make the trip out to Spain next week.

Watching attacking talisman Kevin De Bruyne bag what could turn out to be a crucial winner as the Belgian playmaker produced a smart finish with 20 minutes left on the clock, Guardiola was filled with praise for his side s display.

In what occasionally erupted into a heated affair at the Etihad, we have taken a look at the main talking points as Manchester City moved themselves into pole position.<…

Ronaldo back with a brace and Salah the centurion – the Premier League weekend´s quirky facts

It just had to be, did it not? Cristiano Ronaldo, back at Old Trafford, of course he would get on the scoresheet.

Ronaldo netted not once, but twice in United s 4-1 defeat of Newcastle United on Saturday, announcing his return to the Premier League in style.

Meanwhile, a player who has established himself as one of the possible heirs to the Ronaldo (and Lionel Messi) throne at the pinnacle of the game reached a century of goals in the competition.

And after their worst start in generations, Arsenal finally found a way to win.

Here are some of the more curious Opta facts from the latest round of games.

Age is just a number for evergreen Ronaldo

Aged 36 year and 218 days, Ronaldo became the oldest player to score a Premier League double in ov…

Kimmich suggests World Cup ´childhood dream´ with Germany tainted by Qatar concerns

Kimmich, like many other big-name footballing stars, promised to speak out where he sees fit, though he suggested the backlash to FIFA s 2010 decision on Qatar has come too late.

He continued: We ve talked a lot about the fact the World Cup was awarded here.

That was 12 years ago, when I was 15, and now I somehow always have to comment on it. I don t know if it s always justified.

But we also have to manage this balancing act of focusing on the sporting side. I mean regardless of where the World Cup is taking place, it s a World Cup, it s the biggest competition for us footballers there is.

It s a huge childhood dream to play tomorrow, and yet somehow I have the feeling that it s always being talked down a bit or that you can t really look forward to i…

I live day by day – Buffon ponders Euro 2020

Gianluigi Buffon has not ruled out continuing his career until Euro 2020.

The 39-year-old Juventus goalkeeper previously stated he is 99.9 per cent certain he will retire at the end of this season, with the caveat that he would continue to contest next year s Club World Cup if Massimiliano Allegri s men were to win the Champions League.

That meant an expected farewell with Italy at the 2018 World Cup – plans that were scuppered by the Azzurri s play-off heartbreak against Sweden last month.

A visibly emotional Buffon immediately after the second leg at San Siro became the symbol of Italy s bitter humiliation and the 2006 World Cup winner might yet look to address some unfinished business in national colours.

After the elimination against Sweden, I hav…

Prediction: PSV vs Feyenoord

Best Odds: 4/6

Bookmaker:

With the first piece of Dutch silverware up for grabs on Sunday evening, PSV will welcome Feyenoord to the Phillips Stadion.

Starting with the hosts, making real history last season as they got their hands on a first Eredivsie crown since back in 2018, PSV will simply be looking to carry on from where they left off back in May. Receiving a string of plaudits from across the continent, the reigning Dutch champions will be looking to make down an early statement here. Signing off the 2023/24 campaign with a routine 3-1 victory at home against Waalwijk, Peter Bosz’s men gained a fearsome reputation for their free-scoring performances in the final third. Remarkably registering 111 goals in their 34 Eredivsie appearances last season, PSV a…

Wolves 1-5 Manchester City: Outstanding De Bruyne scores four to keep title bid on track

Kevin De Bruyne recorded an astonishing four-goal haul as Manchester City restored their three-point lead at the Premier League summit with a 5-1 win over Wolves.

In Ruben Dias, John Stones, and Kyle Walker, Pep Guardiola s team were missing several key defenders as they looked to respond to Liverpool s 2-1 win over Aston Villa on Tuesday, but recorded a routine victory courtesy of a talismanic showing from De Bruyne.

The Belgian s hat-trick, sealed with a stunning left-footed strike from long range, put City in charge after Leander Dendoncker briefly restored parity in an absorbing first half.

De Bruyne grabbed a fourth to make the points safe before Raheem Sterling rounded off the scoring late on, as City took another huge step towards defending their title.