New Zealand stood no chance against Spain in the second match of the 2009 Confederations Cup, as the European champions cruised to a 5-0 victory in Rustenburg.
The difference between the two sides was visible from the start, as Spain needed only six minutes for Fernando Torres to strike home for 1-0. Another eight minuted later, David Villa enabled the Liverpool striker to net his second.
And in the 17th minute, Torres header handed the forward one of the quickest hat-tricks in football history.
Cesc Fabregas made it 4-0 on 24 minutes and a monster score seemed to be in the making. But, other than a goal from Villa just after the break, the Spanish spared their opponents and saved energy for their next match.
Spain lead Group A with three points, followe…
Chelsea were held to a lively goalless draw by Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge as both sides squandered opportunities to settle their FA Cup fourth-round tie.
Mauricio Pochettino’s team had scored six in their previous outing, dispatching Middlesbrough to reach next month’s Carabao Cup final, but found Unai Emery’s Premier League high-flyers a more obdurate hurdle as a combined 23 shots from both sides failed to yield a winner.
John McGinn spurned Villa’s best chances in either half, while Emiliano Martinez twice denied Chelsea as Noni Madueke and Cole Palmer found themselves frustrated.
It was a theme of the night in west London as a replay at Villa Park beckoned.
Villa should have led after 10 minutes, Youri Tielemans with a free header from six …
Having almost joined Porto as a player, Basel coach Paulo Sousa is working on masterminding their exit from the UEFA Champions League.
Basel coach Paulo Sousa almost signed for Porto during his days as a player, but will now be doing all he can to knock the Portuguese outfit out of the UEFA Champions League.
Having started out in his homeland with Benfica, Sousa s illustrious playing career saw him win this competition on two occasions with Juventus and Borussia Dortmund, and the 44-year-old remains one of only three men to have won back-to-back finals with different clubs.
After leaving Dortmund in 1997, Sousa played for Inter, Parma and Panathinaikos before calling it a day following a stint at Espanyol.
Sousa revealed this week that, on more than one …
Southampton manager Claude Puel has backed Manchester City to win the Premier League title, despite their humiliating Champions League defeat to Barcelona.
Pep Guardiola s men made a flying start to the season, but their momentum has slowed in recent weeks and they are winless in four matches across all competitions.
However, after seeing City beaten 4-0 in Spain, Puel whose Saints side travel to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday insisted it was a hard-fought game and sees the 2014 champions triumphing again in the league this season.
For the moment, Manchester [City] are not at the same level as Barcelona, because all this work takes time, he told a pre-match news conference
But [Guardiola] hasn t changed his philosophy [since managing Barca] and it s a …
Paris Saint-Germain did not have a good transfer window, according to the club s football advisor Luis Campos.
The French champions underwent a significant overhaul following the departure of Mauricio Pochettino, with Campos arriving and swiftly appointing Christophe Galtier as the Argentine s successor.
PSG s new hierarchy then brought in a wealth of additions, including Vitinha and Fabian Ruiz, but were unable to complete a move for Inter defender Milan Skriniar.
That defensive gap is one of the reasons why Campos was left underwhelmed by the club s business in the transfer window.
We are coming to the end of the transfer window without the perfect balance. We have a huge quality in the squad, no doubt. In the end, it was not perfect, he told RMC Spor…
While Manchester City might have gone about things the hard way on Saturday afternoon, the Sky Blues claimed a 2-1 victory against Leeds at the Etihad.
Storming their way to a 2-0 lead when heading into the half-time break as Ilkay Gundogan bagged a classy brace, it appeared that is was set to be another routine display for Pep Guardiola’s side.
However, with Gundogan missing out on the chance to claim a first Premier League hat-trick after missing from the penalty spot, Leeds certainly set up a nail-biting ending as second-half substitute Rodrigo halved the deficit just 58 seconds after Gundogan’s spot-kick miss.
Nevertheless, with City dragging themselves over the finish line and extending their unbeaten run to 20 games across all competitions, Guardiola�…
John Gregory is delighted to return to management in English football after being confirmed as Richie Barker s successor at Crawley Town.
The League One club, currently 15th, announced Gregory s appointment on Tuesday and the former Aston Villa, Derby County and QPR boss has agreed an 18-month deal.
Barker left his post last Wednesday following 15 months in charge, with Gregory tasked in the short term with halting an eight-game winless league streak.
It is a challenge the 59-year-old is relishing, having been out of work since departing Kazakhstani side Kairat in 2011.
I m delighted to be here, back in English football at a club who have made tremendous progress over the last three years, Gregory told the club s official website after ending his six-year exile …
Luckless Bayern Munich defender Holger Badstuber is facing another lengthy injury lay-off due to a thigh muscle tear, the club have confirmed.
Centre-back Badstuber s career has been ravaged by injuries in recent times, but he looked to be settling in as a regular in the Bayern back four again with a run in the side following his return from thigh problems in February.
The Germany international had previously missed the second half of the 2012-13 campaign and the entire 2013-14 season because of a cruciate knee ligament problem, which also prevented him from taking any part in his country s successful World Cup campaign.
And Badstuber will now have to again watch from the sidelines as Pep Guardiola s men look to win the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and UEFA Champions Le…
He was rumoured with a move away from his current club as early as summer of 2018. The stories reappeared in the summer of 2019, but nothing had happened in the meantime. And now, after the talks from media settling down, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is close to signing a new contract with Lazio.
According to Il Messaggero, the Serbia international will sign a contract extension with the Serie A club, after the stories about his departure turned out be to be false. Numerous clubs were linked with him both in 2018 and 2019, but nothing materialized. Man United, Paris Saint-Germain and others were looking at him, but he could now stay at Lazio for longer than just the 2019-20 season.
Reportedly, the new deal would include increased wages and a release clause of more than €10…
Gonzalo Higuain says he is determined to prove his worth to Juventus after being handed another chance at the club.
Higuain, 31, struggled to make an impact during loan spells at AC Milan and Chelsea during the 2018-19 campaign.
Chelsea opted against triggering a purchase option in Higuain s loan and he therefore returned to Serie A and reunited with new Juve head coach Maurizio Sarri.
He was not expected to be given opportunities to start, with Juve boasting forward options including Cristiano Ronaldo, Paulo Dybala and Mario Mandzukic.
However, Higuain has started both Serie A games this term, while he scored a brilliant goal as Juve beat his old club Napoli where he thrived under Sarri before the international break.
I am here to prove my worth…