Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne fractured his nose and a bone around his left eye socket in Saturday's Champions League loss to Chelsea, the 29-year-old said on Sunday.
The Belgium international had to go off on the hour mark with a concussion injury in City's 1-0 defeat at Porto's Estádio do Dragão after an accidental clash with Chelsea defender Antonio Rüdiger left him on the ground.
ZAGREB - Striker Bruno Petković is expected to fill Mario Mandžukić's big boots at Euro 2020 as Croatia aim to reach the last 16 at the June 11-July 11 tournament, coach Zlatko Dalić said as he named his 26-man squad on Monday.
Mandžukić, who scored an extra time winner in a 2-1 victory over England in their 2018 World Cup semifinal, is one of several stalwarts who hung up their international boots after Croatia were beaten by France 4-2 in the final.
TOKYO - Former Barcelona midfielder Andrés Iniesta said on Tuesday he has extended his contract with Vissel Kobe by another two years and wants to keep working towards making the Japanese side the best in Asia.
Spanish World Cup winner Iniesta, who also celebrated his 37th birthday on Tuesday, signed a three-year contract with Kobe in 2018 after leaving Barcelona, where he won nine LaLiga and four Champions Leagues titles.
Un gran día! ❤️⚽️
The greatest Premier League title of them all (2015-16 with Leicester City), another with Chelsea (2016-17), the FA Cup (2017-18), the World Cup (2018), the Europa League (2018-19) and now a chance at the 2020-21 UEFA Champions League crown: N'Golo Kanté is one win away from putting the finishing touch on one of the most illustrious personal trophy cabinets in football history.
Operating alongside Jorginho in what frequently looked like a Chelsea 3-4-3 against Real Madrid on Wednesday, Kanté put in a monstrous performance on both ends of the Stamford Bridge pitch.
When it comes to data and analytics in football, most people prefer looking at the statistical relationship between goals/assists and how that’s going to influence the performance of this goddamn Fantasy Premier League team that’s been tanking since December.
Just captain Harry Kane and be done with it.
But there’s an overlooked statistic that jams well with probability theory, namely, the player with the most nutmegs in Europe this season is probably the greatest footballer alive.
After a year postponed and the swapping of high-profile matches at the home of the Colorado Rapids for individual training sessions in deserted local parks, GAM United’s Elijah Mwenebitu is looking at everything as an opportunity to be chased, which isn’t exactly a new way of operating for the 23-year-old midfield destroyer.
As a player whose obsession with football has only increased over the course of a glittering 17-year career, Cesc Fàbregas never grows tired of learning. That’s why, after a career spent entirely in England and Spain, the World Cup winner opted to give France a try by signing for Monaco back in 2019.
After playing 11 full seasons in the Premier League and three in LaLiga, the 33-year-old admits that the differences in Ligue 1 were pronounced.
As 19-time Süper Lig champions residing in the cultural and historic center of Istanbul, Fenerbahçe has long captured the imagination of football fans around the globe. Images of the Eternal Rivalry — the pitched battle between bitter derby foes Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray — are enough to drive the most ignorant of Americans into a Wikipedia deep dive.
Fenerbahçe will sign German midfielder Mesut Özil from Arsenal for three and a half years for an undisclosed fee, Turkey's private Demirören news agency and other Turkish media reported on Wednesday.
While there was no immediate comment on the reports from Fenerbahçe, broadcaster A Spor said Özil and the club had agreed on the transfer in principle and that the 32-year-old would join the former Turkish champions later in January.
Real Salt Lake icon and longtime U.S. Men's National Team midfielder Kyle Beckerman retired Monday following a 21-year professional career.
"What a ride it's been. My playing days have come to an end, but I step away with a full heart and a lifetime of memories," the 38-year-old posted on social media. "I've had a career the younger me could never have imagined."