Given their recent history against Spanish clubs in the Champions League, a sense of doom may have descended upon the Allianz Arena when Bayern Munich drew Real Madrid in this year s semi-finals.
Although Jupp Heynckes men progressed past Sevilla in the quarters, few would suggest defeating a side now eighth in LaLiga can constitute the end of a hoodoo.
Since crushing Barcelona 7-0 on aggregate en route to claiming the crown in 2012-13, Bayern have been eliminated from the Champions League by Spanish opposition in each of the last four seasons, with Madrid responsible on two of those occasions.
While Zinedine Zidane s side have won each of the last two finals, their lucky escape against Juventus in the previous round proved there are gaps in their armour and …
Yaya Toure is grateful for Pep Guardiola s tough love and wants to sign a new contract at Manchester City.
Toure was exiled from the City first team during the opening months of Guardiola s tenure at the Etihad Stadium, having reported back for pre-season training overweight before being left out of the squad for the Champions League group stages – prompting a public spat between his agent Dimitri Seluk and the ex-Barcelona boss.
A thaw in relations in November saw Toure mark his return to the fold with both goals in a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace and he has since been one of City s most consistent performers, reprising the deep-lying midfield role he starred in under Guardiola at Camp Nou.
There has still been no let-up for the 33-year-old, who is one of six se…
Marouane Fellaini s future has been clarified with Manchester United announcing he has signed a new two-year contract.
Belgium international Fellaini s previous deal at Old Trafford was due to expire at the end of June, but United have handed him fresh terms that tie him to the club until 2020.
The agreement also includes an option to extend for a further year.
Fellaini had been linked to Arsenal, AC Milan and Ajax, but the 30-year-old is elated to continue playing for Jose Mourinho.
I am pleased to be continuing my journey as a Manchester United player, said Fellaini in a statement after his renewal was confirmed on Friday.
I made this decision because I am very happy here. Also, I feel like this team, under Jose, still has a lot we want to ach…
Chelsea have made defender Fankaty Dabo the latest player loaned out to partner club Vitesse Arnhem.
The 21-year-old made 15 appearances for Swindon Town in League One in the second half of last season and will now spend all of the 2017-18 campaign in the Eredivisie.
Dabo, a product of Chelsea s youth system, is yet to make a first-team appearance for the Blues.
Chelsea have loaned players to Vitesse on a regular basis since 2010, with Nemanja Matic and Betrand Traore among the players to have had stints in the Dutch top flight.
Last season, Nathan, Lewis Baker, Matt Miazga and Mukhtar Ali were all loaned to Vitesse as they finished fifth in the Dutch top flight.
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Verdict: Both teams to score yes
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Portugal and Chile have been two of the top teams in the 2017 Confederations Cup so far, and both sides will collide in Kazan this Wednesday with a Final berth on the line. The reigning European champions defeated New Zealand to win Group A, while Chile drew against Australia and finished second in Group B.
Portugal
Portugal responded to the expectations and won the Group B with relative ease. They drew against Mexico after conceding a goal on stoppage time, but won against Russia and New Zealand with little to no problems. There were a few doubts on their defence following their debut against El Tri, but they have been playing better as the tournament advances. And while Chile will be their to…
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho is taking nothing for granted in the Premier League title race, despite boasting a seven-point cushion over nearest rivals Arsenal and having a game in hand.
Mourinho s men are well on course to be crowned champions of England for the fifth time in the club s history and first since 2009-10.
But Mourinho is wary of getting carried away as Chelsea prepare to travel to relegation-threatened QPR on Sunday for the first of their remaining eight league matches.
When asked who are his side s biggest threat in the title run-in, he replied: All of them.
Mathematically it is open. Every team with less than 21 points distance to us mathematically is in the race.
Being objective, a team with seven, eight, nine points diff…
West Ham United have been linked with a surprise move for former Fulham flop Kostas Mitroglou, according to Talksport.
The thirty-year-old, who now is plying his trade with Ligue 1 side Marseille had an ill-fated spell in the capital of England during the 2013-14 campaign when he played just three times for the Cottagers, failing to score.
Since then he had a prolific two years in Portugal scoring fifty-two goals in eighty-six games for Benfica while he has fifteen in forty-two for his current cub.
He was also far from goal-shy in his home country, netting regularly for Olympiacos, Panionios and Atromitos while internationally he has scored seventeen goals in sixty-two outings for Greece.
West Ham won for the first time in four league games at the …
Didier Drogba has singled out former Chelsea teammate Frank Lampard out as one of the biggest influences on his career.
Drogba played with Lampard for eight years at Stamford Bridge, which culminated in Champions League triumph in 2012.
The two set each other up on 36 occasions in the Premier League, still the highest combined figure for goals and assists between two players in the English top flight.
Speaking at a Yokohama fan event in Tokyo, the Ivorian was full of praise for his former teammate.
There s one [player] that I m going to put a bit more in front because most of my goals came from him, it s Frank Lampard, Drogba said.
And also because every day after training we were staying on the pitch trying to practice, trying to create some e…
Turkey forward Burak Yilmaz has re-joined Besiktas from Trabzonspor more than a decade on from leaving the club.
The 33-year-old is one of a small number of players to have represented Turkey s big four of Besiktas, Fenerbahce, Galatasaray and Trabzonspor.
Yilmaz who has 23 goals in 52 appearances for the national side has moved for a fee of €1.36m, concluding a transfer that is unlikely to be popular with sections of the Black Eagles fanbase.
The switch was due to take place during the previous transfer window, only for Yilmaz to announce on Twitter that he had elected to stay at Trabzonspor.
A spell out of the side appears to have forced a re-think from the player who has been derogatorily called thief by Besiktas fans after winning a contentious pena…
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Smelling the chance to widen their buffer in the AFC Champions League chase, Shanghai will welcome Changchun to town on Saturday lunchtime.
Starting with the hosts, embarking on what has become a sensational purple patch this season, Shanghai Shenhua are sat firmly in the driving seat to clinch an AFC Champions League ticket in 2024. Last seen putting in another rampant performance as they stormed their way to a stunning 6-0 romp at home against Shandong Taishan, Leonid Slutsky’s men will be desperately seeking a repeat display here. Signing off June with a 1-0 victory away at Qingdao West Coast, the Blues have won all of their previous four appearances across all competitions. Likewise, the one-time Hull City…