Morocco are through to the Africa Cup of Nations round of 16 after goals from Selim Amallah and Zakaria Aboukhlal secured a 2-0 win over Comoros on Friday.
Amallah opened the scoring in the first half at Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium and Aboukhlal added a second late on as the Atlas Lions made it two Group C wins out of two following a 1-0 victory over Ghana in their opening game, sealing their spot in the knockout stage.
Standard Liege midfielder Amallah showed great composure in the penalty area as he latched onto a loose ball after Ayoub El Kaabi s shot was blocked, before finishing with his right foot after 16 minutes.
Nayef Aguerd almost doubled Morocco s lead before the break when he met Sofiane Boufal s corner with a towering header, but rattled the crossbar…
Everton are in no rush to sign players who would replace Jean-Philippe Gbamin and Moise Kean, according to , with manager Carlo Ancelotti still counting on them.
Gbamin, primarily a midfielder but capable of playing in any defensive role, arrived to Goodison Park from Mainz 05 in the summer of 2019 for a reported fee of €25 million, but injuries have affected his time with the Toffees severely. Having just returned from an Achilles tendon rupture, the 25-year-old played his only third game for the club, first this season, against Crystal Palace earlier this month and picked up a medial collateral ligament injury in training afterwards, which is now set to keep him out of action for the rest of the campaign.
Meanwhile, striker Kean is having a very good loan spell at P…
Atletico Madrid can seal a place in the round of 16 with victory over Austria Vienna in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.
The La Liga high-flyers top Group G after winning their opening three matches and will enter the home fixture against their struggling opponents as red-hot favourites.
Atletico have won 11 of their 12 league fixtures this season, helping them to second place in the table, just one point behind Barcelona.
They sit five points ahead of city rivals Real Madrid, largely thanks to the form of forwards Diego Costa and David Villa.
Costa has been outstanding for Diego Simeone s side, scoring 15 goals in as many appearances in all competitions.
His latest effort which came in Sunday s 2-0 home success against Athletic Bilbao, when Villa al…
Milan have played a part in France s latest bid for World Cup glory after revitalising striker Olivier Giroud, according to the Serie A club s president Paolo Scaroni.
France remain on course to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to retain the trophy after beating England 2-1 on Saturday to set up a semi-final showdown with Morocco.
Giroud scored the reigning champions winner in the quarter-final against England, with that his fourth goal of Qatar 2022 – only team-mate Kylian Mbappe (five) has scored more.
The 36-year-old has also been in good form for club side Milan this campaign, having been directly involved in a team-high 14 goals (nine goals and five assists) in 19 matches.
He has scored 23 goals in 57 games in all competitions since the s…
Chinese Super League leaders Guangzhou Evergrande fell to their first defeat of the season as they lost 1-0 to Tianjin Teda on Saturday.
Australian midfielder Erik Paartalu’s effort in the 16th minute went unmatched by the visitors to the Tianjin Olympic Centre Stadium, who simply could not get past Alexandre Guimaraes’ determined side who sit just one point off the relegation zone.
The only relief for Evergrande was that the teams directly below them could not take advantage of the rare defeat as Shandong Luneng and Beijing Guoan fell to Shanghai Shenxin and Changchun Yatai respectively.
The loss for Beijing, which was their first in five, saw the capital club robbed of the points by Changchun’s Isac who fired home a brace to seal a 2-0 scoreline.
But Shan…
Toni Kroos bade an emotional farewell to Real Madrid fans at a sold-out Santiago Bernabeu in a 0-0 draw with Real Betis.
One of Madrid s most decorated players, Kroos confirmed this week that he will be retiring after Euro 2024.
That made Saturday s meeting with Betis his final LaLiga match for Madrid, who eased to the title this season and will now look ahead to next week s Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund.
While that clash at Wembley will be Kroos last in club football, he was able to say goodbye to the Madrid fans, with the match all about the 34-year-old, with nothing left to be decided in the standings.
DANKE TONI!
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden)
Kroos fought back tears as walked onto the pitch through a corri…
Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini will be looking for his side to make it out of the group stages of the Champions League this season
Manchester City face European champions Bayern Munich tonight at the Etihad Stadium on match day two of the Champions League.
City claimed a 3-0 victory away at Czech club Viktoria Plzen in their opening game, while Bayern defeated Russian club CSKA Moscow by the same score line at the Allianz Arena.
Disappointing
The last two seasons Manchester City have been handed nightmare draws in the Champions League. The Citizens were in the ‘Group of Death’ last season alongside Real Madrid, eventual finalists Dortmund and Ajax.
The Premier League club finished bottom of the group with just three points and failed …
Geoff Cameron has challenged Stoke City to push for a top-six place in the Premier League next season and secure European football.
Stoke have acquitted themselves well in Mark Hughes first year as manager, with the Staffordshire club on course to finish inside the top 10 in the top flight for the first time since gaining promotion in 2008.
Full-back Cameron has now set his sights on further improvement and wants to see Stoke return to the UEFA Europa League.
Speaking to Sky Sports News, he said: I think the platform is to get higher next season, maybe finish in the Europa League (places).
Then a year under Hughes s management, the way we ve been playing, we ve got the style under control now and the way we want to do things and maybe get into the top six.
…
Steven Gerrard has called for Liverpool to be ruthless ahead of a run of three Premier League games in just six days.
Brendan Rodgers side who sit joint second in the table travel to Hull City on Sunday before hosting Norwich City on Wednesday and West Ham on Saturday.
And captain Gerrard believes three wins from those encounters against sides in the bottom half of the table is essential with trips to Tottenham, Manchester City and Chelsea looming later in December.
We ve got to try and take maximum points. They are games, on paper, that we should be winning, the 33-year-old told Liverpool s official website.
If we want to achieve at the end of the season what we set out to do, we ve got to be ruthless.
Every month is pivotal and every game is pivotal. But …
What the papers say
The clock appears to be ticking on Jadon Sancho’s time at Manchester United. The Daily Star reports United are willing to sell the England winger, 23, in January for less than the £73million they paid Borussia Dortmund.
Another winger is being linked to a move to Old Trafford, with Manchester United among several clubs keen on Club Brugge youngster Antonio Nusa. The Daily Express reports Arsenal and Chelsea are also interested in the 18-year-old Norwegian, who is valued around £30million.
One forward not going anywhere is Son Heung-min. According to the Daily Telegraph, Tottenham are ready to trigger an option in the South Korean’s contract which will keep the 31-year-old at the club for a further year until 2026.
There are comings and …