Bayern defend Boateng after politician´s insult

Melbourne City have signed former Republic of Ireland international Damien Duff on a twelve-month contract, .

The 35 year old ended his five-year spell with Fulham following their relegation to the Championship last month.

Duff has spent his whole career so far playing in England, racking up almost four-hundred top-flight appearances in spells with Blackburn Rovers, Chelsea, Newcastle United and Fulham.

However, he will now ply his trade in Australia’s A League with Melbourne, who were recently taken over by Manchester City.

Duff, who retired from international football after the 2012 European Championships in Poland and Ukraine with 100 caps, will link up with Spain international David Villa, who will begin the season in Melbourne after signing f…

Lionel Scaloni said Argentina produced the extra rage they needed to end their run of draws with a 1-0 Copa America victory over rivals Uruguay on Friday.

Lionel Messi crossed for Guido Rodriguez to head in the 13th-minute winner for Argentina s first victory of this year s Copa America after their opening 1-1 draw with Chile.

Scaloni has come under pressure following Argentina s run of three draws, blowing a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Colombia in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying along with a 1-1 home draw with Chile on the roar to Qatar 2022 earlier this month.

I honestly believe that in the previous matches we also deserved to win, but due to small mistakes we were only able to draw, head coach Scaloni said during his post-match news conference.

Toda…

Harry Maguire felt Manchester United s poor ball retention and weak mentality were crucial factors in their chastening 2-1 defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion in Erik ten Hag s first Premier League match in charge.

United were beginning a new era at Old Trafford on Sunday, and Brighton were seen by many as a kind first opponent despite the Seagulls battering them 4-0 in May.

Ten Hag handed debuts to Lisandro Martinez and Christian Eriksen, but with Anthony Martial injured and Cristiano Ronaldo only deemed fit enough to start on the bench, United lacked a presence in attack.

Two close-range goals from Pascal Gross had Brighton 2-0 up at half-time, and although a slightly improved United performance led to a scrappy Alexis Mac Allister own goal, the Red Devils could…

New Chelsea boss Antonio Conte can hold his own against Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho in the Premier League this season, according to one of the Italian s former team-mates.

Ex-Juventus defender Gianluca Zambrotta is backing his old club colleague to have a big impact at Stamford Bridge, and he insists Conte deserves his place alongside the English top-flight s other managerial heavyweights.

Conte began work as Chelsea boss earlier this week after leading Italy to the quarter-finals of Euro 2016. He arrives with an impressive coaching CV that includes three Serie A titles with Juve.

Following a disappointing 2015-16 season in which they surrendered their Premier League title, the Italian is tasked with returning silverware to Chelsea a feat likely to be made…

Leverkusen confirm Chelsea talks for Schurrle

Bayer Leverkusen have moved to confirm reports linking star striker Andre Schurrle with a summer switch to Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea have been following the Germany international for a while now and they even had several bids rejected last summer.

They have recently been linked with a fresh assault on Schurrle, and the German club have now confirmed that talks are ongoing.

“I can confirm that our spokesmen are in London and will then continue to Brussels. However at this moment there is no foundation for a decision,” communications director Meinolf Sprink told German news agency SID.

It is believed that the transfer fee is in excess of €20 million and the deal could also include Chelsea midfielde…

Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has taken a subtle swipe at Borussia Dortmund for their modest goals for the 2012/13 campaign.

Reigning champions Dortmund recently set the objective of qualifying for the Champions League as their main target instead of aiming for Bundesliga glory, and Rummenigge pointed out that Bayern, unlike their rivals, are not afraid to declare that they are after top honours.

We have the objective of becoming German champions, the Bavarian giants supremo said.

Unlike a certain team from west Germany, we are not afraid to express our ambitions.

We are a bit more straightforward in that regard. We know that we have a good team.

Dortmund have won the last two Bundesliga titles while Bayern had to settle for second …

Eden Hazard will make the difference at Real Madrid and help lead the LaLiga giants to many titles next season, according to Thibaut Courtois.

Hazard joined Madrid from Premier League side Chelsea on a five-year deal on Friday for a fee that could reportedly rise to €140million.

The Belgium international attacker won two Premier League titles and as many Europa League crowns during his time at Chelsea, where he played alongside Courtois before the star goalkeeper left for Madrid in 2018-19.

And Courtois – whose first season in Madrid resulted in a third-place finish in LaLiga – is expecting big things from Hazard at the Santiago Bernabeu.

If he speaks a little Spanish, it will be even better, Courtois said following Belgium s 3-0 Euro 2020 qualifyi…

Antonio Conte focused on Inter s consistency, rather than an unspectacular performance, after a 2-1 victory over Spezia saw them extend their winning run to six in Serie A. 

Inter struggled to get going at San Siro and created precious few opportunities in a first half that saw promoted Spezia actually have a greater share of the possession. 

But Achraf Hakimi struck to cap off a fine move early in the second half and Romelu Lukaku s penalty left Spezia with too much to do, even with a late consolation deep into stoppage time. 

It is the first time Inter have won four successive Serie A home games under Conte, while their 18 points from the previous six league matchdays is at least four more than any other team. 

Conte is grateful Inter a…

Italian giants Inter Milan are stepping up their efforts to sign Croatian defender Sime Vrsaljko from Sassuolo, .

The Nerazzurri have high hopes ahead of the new season and are currently in the process of identifying summer targets.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Inter are keen on Sassuolo s Sime Vrsaljko and have started working on a deal that should bring the Croatian to Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.

The Nerazzurri were close to signing the Croatia international last summer, and it will take between €8m and €10m to recruit him at the end of the season.

Sime Vrsaljko, 23, has been regarded as one of Serie A s top right-backs for a couple of years now, having largely impressed since joining Genoa in the summer of 2013.

Despite being follow…

Sevilla midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak expects to complete his move to Paris Saint-Germain sooner rather than later following Poland s Euro 2016 elimination at the hands of Portugal on Thursday.

The 26-year-old has long been linked with the Ligue 1 champions where he would be reunited with former coach Unai Emery and Sevilla president Jose Castro already revealed earlier this week that PSG have tabled a big offer for Krychowiak.

It s true that negotiations are ongoing, midfielder Krychowiak told RMC when asked about a potential transfer to PSG.

There is no agreement with PSG yet for now, but I think there will soon be news about my future now that Euro 2016 is over for Poland.

Krychowiak started his professional career at Bordeaux and also played for N…