Blanc hot favourite for Roma

Laurent Blanc looks set to be unveiled as Roma s new head coach according to the Frenchman s close friend Didier Deschamps.

According to Italian and French media, Blanc has moved to the front of a short-list of candidates that apparently also includes Lille s head coach Rudi Garcia, ex-Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini and Marcelo Bielsa of Athletic Bilbao.

Roma had reportedly been interested in Massimiliano Allegri but after the 45-year-old Italian head coach opted to stay with AC Milan, Blanc became the capital club s top priority and Deschamps has claimed the deal is on the verge of being finalised.

I want to wait until it is official but I know they are on the right track with talks, Deschamps said.

Laurent wants a bench and a new opportunity to …

Vettel v Hamilton: Famous sporting squabbles

The Formula One title race boiled over on Sunday as Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton clashed in Azerbaijan.

Vettel accused Hamilton of so-called brake-testing behind the safety car and promptly pulled alongside the Briton and swerved into his Mercedes.

Hamilton branded Vettel s actions disgraceful and disgusting after the race, while Vettel protested his innocence.

As the battle for F1 supremacy heats up, here we take a look at some memorable sporting squabbles and Hamilton features again!

Feel that title rivalry heating up? Watch Lewis and Seb s on-track scrap – and the aftermath in front of the world s cameras

— Formula 1 (@F1)

 

ROSBERG V HAMILTON

The tale of Hamilton and Nico Rosberg is one of best friends be…

Sevilla president urges fans not to ´insult´ returning Vitolo

Sevilla president Jose Castro has urged fans not to insult Vitolo on Wednesday when he returns to the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan with Las Palmas following a contentious transfer.

The Spain international enjoyed four successful years with Sevilla after initially leaving Las Palmas in 2013, but he forced through a permanent departure to Atletico Madrid during the close-season by depositing his €37.2 million release clause at LaLiga s offices, before moving on loan to the Canary Island side as his new parent club serve a player registration ban.

Sevilla claim Vitolo s agent had agreed a contract extension earlier in the day which took his release clause to €50m.

Since then, Sevilla have opened legal proceedings against Vitolo, his agents, Atletico and Las Palmas, wit…

Prediction: Monaco vs Atletico Madrid

Verdict: Atletico Madrid win

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Looking to put last years Champions League heartache behind them, Diego Simeon s Atletico Madrid side will look to get the new campaign off to a winning start when they travel to Stade Louis II on Tuesday night.

Monaco

Starting with Leonardo Jardim s Monaco side, although they secured their customary second-place finish in Ligue 1 last season, Tuesday s hosts did finish 13 points adrift of bitter rivals PSG and many are worrying that the gulf between the two sides is only widening. Coming off the back of a lackluster 1-1 draw away at Toulouse over the weekend, Monaco are without a win in their last four matches in Ligue 1 and currently find themselves 15th in the table with morale around the camp ve…

Wales 1 Spain 4: Alcacer marks recall with brace

Paco Alcacer scored twice on his Spain recall as Luis Enrique s men cruised to an easy 4-1 friendly win against Wales on Thursday.

The striker s superb performances on loan at Borussia Dortmund earned him a call-up and he continued that form with a first-half brace for his first international goals since 2015.

Sergio Ramos converted a Suso free-kick in between Alcacer s double and Marc Bartra s header wrapped up Spain s scoring as they brushed a lacklustre Wales aside at the Principality Stadium.

With Gareth Bale not fit to play, Ryan Giggs was shorn of his star man and Wales rarely looked like threatening a surprise result, although Sam Vokes did net a late consolation.

Alcacer opened the scoring in the eighth minute on his first international appearan…

Shaw wants new United deal

Luke Shaw has stated that he wants to fight for a new contract over the course of the 2018/19 season, after spending years fluctuating in and out of the Manchester United first team. The Englishman, 23, has had to deal with several setbacks including injuries, poor form and other stars coming into the squad.

Now, however, he seems more determined than ever to make something of himself at Old Trafford. He initially joined the club from Southampton back in 2014 and despite spending more time with United as a professional than he did with the Saints as a professional, he hasn t made as many appearances for the Red Devils as he did on the south coast.

Given his age, it seems fairly safe to suggest that Shaw will have a long and fruitful career in the game at the highest lev…

Rumour Has It: Benfica reject €100m bid for Liverpool target Enzo Fernandez

Benfica will reportedly hold out for Enzo Fernandez s full €120million release clause just six months after signing him for €10million from River Plate.

Fernandez, 21, has become one of the hottest names in football since arriving at Benfica, helping his side to an undefeated group stage in the Champions League before earning his place in Argentina s World Cup squad.

After starting the group stage on the bench, Fernandez worked his way into the starting XI for the final group match against Poland, before playing every minute of Argentina s run through the knockout stages.

His rapid rise saw Fernandez become a target of both Real Madrid and Liverpool, and despite earlier reports that he would be available for €100m, the Portuguese club will now seemingly not…

Cristiano Ronaldo 7/5 to score anytime against Germany in Saturday’s European Championship showdown

Competition: European Championships

Market: Cristiano Ronaldo to score anytime

Odds: 7/5 @

Looking to make it back-to-back Group F wins on Saturday evening, defending champions Portugal will face off against Germany in Munich this weekend.

Starting with Portugal, while they might have left it late against Hungary on foreign soil earlier in the week, the defending European champions opened up their Group F campaign with a 3-0 win. Knowing that victory over their fellow former world champions would put them in the knockout stage, Head Coach Fernando Santos would have also been glad to see his attacking icon open his own account on Tuesday. Eventually grabbing himself a brace in Budapest, Cristiano Ronaldo has only continued on another record-breaking camp…

Borussia Dortmund players celebrate with fans after hard-earned win over Hoffenheim (Video)

Borussia Dortmund achieved a difficult victory away to Hoffenheim on Friday, winning the contest by 1-3.

The Bundesliga runners-up from last season were 1-2 up when, in the 71st minute, Rami Bensebaini picked up a second yellow card and left his team playing with 10 men for the remaining 20 minutes.

But in the fifth minute of stoppage time, Julian Ryerson scored again, putting all doubts about Dortmund s victory to rest, and the players were very happy to celebrate this triumph with their supporters after the final whistle.

ALLE ZUSAMMEN DREI PUNKTE ERKÄMPFT! BORUSSIA!

— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB)

Dean Henderson to Newcastle links ´far from the truth´ – Howe

Eddie Howe has dismissed reports Newcastle United are on the verge of signing Manchester United goalkeeper Dean Henderson.

England international Henderson has spent the majority of this season on the bench at Old Trafford behind David de Gea, who started the campaign between the posts after his team-mate contracted coronavirus.

Opportunities since recovering from COVID-19 have been limited for Henderson, with first-team football said to be his priority in a World Cup year.

Links to big-spending Newcastle have been persistent – a swap deal with Magpies number one Martin Dubravka was even mooted in January.

And reports this week suggested Henderson had been on Tyneside for talks ahead of a move, either on loan or in a huge £40million transfer.

Bu…