Busquets hits 600 milestone for Barcelona

Xabi Alonso has the qualities required to succeed as a head coach in the modern game and could be a future possibility for Bayern Munich, says CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

Spain World Cup winner Alonso spent three seasons at Allianz Arena between 2014 and 2017 before the cultured midfielder called time on his distinguished playing career.

Alonso won three Bundesliga titles, a DFB-Pokal and the DFL-Supercup during his time at Bayern and is now in charge of the B team at Real Sociedad, the club with whom he rose through the youth ranks and started in the professional game.

Rummenigge remains in contact with Alonso and foresees a time when the Spaniard is back at Bayern, this time in the dugout.

He will be a coach who may be of interest to FC Bayern at some p…

The expectations on Erling Haaland at Borussia Dortmund are higher than they ever were for Robert Lewandowski when he joined the club, according to former BVB captain Sebastian Kehl. 

Haaland made an electric start to his Dortmund career after signing from Salzburg in January, scoring 16 goals in 18 appearances in all competitions for the club in 2019-20. 

The 20-year-old striker hit a double in their season-opening game against Borussia Monchengladbach but struggled in the 2-0 defeat to Augsburg on Saturday, managing just one shot on target and 19 touches across the entire game. 

It was a significant dip for Haaland, who has been touted to follow in the footsteps of Lewandowski, who spent four seasons at Signal Iduna Park between 2010 and 2014. 

<…

John Murtough says Erik ten Hag landed the Manchester United job after he deeply impressed the hierarchy with his long-term vision for the club.

United on Thursday confirmed Ajax head coach Ten Hag will replace interim manager Ralf Rangnick at the end of the season.

The 52-year-old has agreed a deal until June 2025, subject to being granted a visa, with the option of extending his stay at Old Trafford by a further year.

Ten Hag has won two Eredivisie titles and the KNVB Cup twice since taking charge of Ajax in December 2017.

The Amsterdam giants are poised to lift the Eredivisie trophy again at the end of Ten Hag s reign, as they lead second-placed PSV by four points.

Football director Murtough revealed United were convinced the Dutchman is the …

Tottenham have confirmed the signing of Pierluigi Gollini from Atalanta, with the goalkeeper initially joining on a season-long loan deal that includes an option to buy.

Gollini has played 89 Serie A games across the past five seasons for Atalanta, having joined the Serie A club after a spell in English football at Aston Villa.

The 26-year-old had previously spent time at Manchester United earlier in his career, too, but it was at Hellas Verona where he made his first-team debut during the 2014-15 season.

After representing Italy at youth level, he made his debut for the Azzurri when coming on as a late substitute in a Euro 2020 qualifier against Bosnia-Herzegovina in November 2019, though that remains his only international appearance to date.

Now part …

Zlatan Ibrahimovic believes Milan can end Juventus Scudetto dominance after his double ensured a 2-1 derby win over Inter.

Milan are top of Serie A with the league s only 100 per cent record after seeing off their city rivals.

Ibrahimovic put Milan 2-0 up inside 16 minutes, with Romelu Lukaku pulling one back before the half-hour for Inter.

Inter could not complete the comeback, though, meaning Milan are three points ahead of Atalanta through four games.

Stefano Pioli s men have not lost since a 2-1 defeat to Genoa in March and Ibrahimovic sees no reason Milan cannot regain the title they last won in 2011 before Juve s run of nine successive Scudetti.

He told Sky Sport Italia: We are at the beginning. Since I arrived, the team has been doing …

Notts County boss Stuart Maynard was “embarrassed” by his side’s 4-3 defeat at home to Sutton – the first time since 2016 they have lost three consecutive home games.

The Magpies dropped to 14th in Sky Bet League Two, four points off the play-off places, on yet another frustrating evening for the new County boss.

“It’s a performance I’m not proud of. It’s a performance as a whole that I feel embarrassed by, especially the manner in which we have conceded goals once again – it’s a really frustrating evening.”

The visitors opened the scoring inside six minutes, the 10th time Notts County have conceded inside the opening 10 minutes this season and something Maynard is keen to address.

“Look, we’ve conceded within five minutes again.…

Mohamed Salah committed his long-term future to Liverpool on Friday by signing a new three-year deal.

The Egypt international was due to be out of contract at the end of the upcoming season, leading to strong links with a move away from Anfield.

However, out of the blue, Salah has penned an extension to – temporarily, at least – bring an end to speculation over his future.

After losing Sadio Mane to Bayern Munich, albeit with Darwin Nunez signed as a replacement of sorts, tying down Salah is a major boost for Liverpool ahead of the new season.

Here, Stats Perform looks at just how important Salah has been for Liverpool over the past five years, and how his record compares to Europe s other elite attackers.

A love letter to from the people of …

Competing for the runners-up finish in the Serie A rankings this season, Juventus and AC Milan shared the points in a goalless draw played at the Allianz Stadium in Turin on Saturday.

Juventus rue wasted chances

Juventus narrowly dominated possession with 51% in the contest, but the rest of the stats went more distinctly in their favour. That, along with the fact that the draw plays into Milan s hands in terms of the race to finish directly below Scudetto winners Inter, is the reason why Massimiliano Allegri and his men shouldn t be happy with the final scoreline.

It was a lively contest, with the ball moving quickly and neither team sitting back to just defend, but the Bianconeri created more more opportunities which they failed to make count. They took a total of 18 …

Phil Foden scored twice as Manchester City leapfrogged Liverpool and kept the Premier League title race in their own hands by thrashing Brighton 4-0.

Foden moved onto 16 league goals for the season with a first-half brace at the Amex Stadium, seeing a free-kick deflect past a wrongfooted Jason Steele before stroking home after some reckless play from the Seagulls.

De Bruyne had earlier given City the lead with what was his 68th Premier League goal but the first with his head, as Pep Guardiola s men made light of Erling Haaland s injury-enforced absence.

Julian Alvarez added a fourth as City pulled two points clear of Liverpool and within one of Arsenal with a game in hand, knowing five further wins will guarantee they retain their crown.

Brighton, meanwh…