Spain ´to seek 2018 World Cup finals´

Marcos Llorente s development at Atletico Madrid does not come as a surprise to Zinedine Zidane, whose Real Madrid players will have to be wary of his potential impact in Saturday s derby.

Madrid host neighbours and LaLiga leaders Atletico at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano with Diego Simeone s men holding a one-point advantage over Real Sociedad at the top of the table.

The defending champions are five points further back having already lost three games in 2020-21.

Key to Atletico s unbeaten start has been the form of Llorente, who has four goals and two assists in the league. He has featured in every game, making six starts.

Llorente also scored a goal and registered an assist as Atletico came through the Champions League group stage and enjoyed an impressiv…

Former Atletico Madrid midfielder Juninho believes the work ethic of Diego Simeone s men may hand them the edge against Real Madrid in Saturday s Champions League final.

The Brazilian was contracted to Atletico between 1997 and 2002, although he spent much of it either injured or on loan elsewhere. He nevertheless retains affection for the Vicente Calderon club and feels they have the ability to land their first Champions League crown this weekend against Cristiano Ronaldo and Co.

He told Omnisport: If we see the individuals, Real Madrid have a better team than Atletico and have a player [Ronaldo] who can make a difference on the game at any time.

But, with Atletico Madrid, we can see a group, maybe even stronger than Real Madrid, especially with the team s…

French giants Monaco are showing interest in Paris Saint-Germain defender Lucas Digne, .

The Principality club is preparing for life without Layvin Kurzawa, who is widely expected to leave for greener pastures in the summer transfer window.

And if they do cash in on the talented defender, Monaco will attempt to lure Lucas Digne to Stade Louis II.

The 21-year-old joined Paris Saint-Germain from Lille in the summer of 2013 as one of France s hottest prospects, but he has since struggled to prove his worth at Stade Louis II.

Digne has been playing second fiddle to veteran Maxwell and with the Brazilian tipped to extend his stay in Paris, the youngster may be forced to leave in search of first team football.

Despite sitting in third place behind Lyon…

that Parma and Everton are showing interest in Cesena defender Yohan Benalouane.

The 25-year-old is looking for a new club after Cesena were relegated from Serie A and it appears he won’t have to search for much longer.

The talented defender is still held in high regard across Europe despite appearing in just a handful of games for the Italian side last season.

According to France Football, both Parma and Everton are interested in signing the full-back.

Benalouane came through the youth ranks at Saint Etienne and went on to appear in 65 Ligue 1 games before joining Cesena in the summer of 2010.

The player never quite managed to earn a starting berth with il Cavallucci Marini and could amass just 26 Serie A appearances over the course of two se…

England captain John Terry s header six minutes from time sealed a 2-1 win over Germany in Wednesday s friendly at Berlin s Olympic Stadium as Fabio Capello s weakened team beat the Euro 2008 runners-up.

A first-half goal by West Ham s Matthew Upson was cancelled out by Bayer Leverkusen Patrick Helmes second-half equaliser following a mix-up in the England defence before Terry headed the winner in the closing stages.

Chelsea star Terry had been doubtful coming into the game after injuring his foot last weekend against West Brom, but the 27-year-old led from the front and scored the vital goal for his country.

It was a good performance and the youngsters in the team have really given the manager some problems, said Terry whose goal inflicted Germany s first de…

Verdict: Barcelona to win to nil

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Buoyed by the 3-0 hammering of Chelsea in the Champions League Last 16 stage, Barcelona will be looking to make another important step towards the La Liga title when they take on struggling Athletic Club. Los Leones have just crashed out of Europe, while their latest league performances leave a lot to be desired as well.

Barcelona

This is turning into a season to remember for Barcelona, who are still in contention for three major trophies. The Catalans will face Sevilla in the Copa del Rey final, while they are waiting to learn their opponents in the Champions League quarter-finals following the 4-1 aggregate win over Chelsea. Ernesto Valverde’s side have also impressed in La Liga, where they hold a…

Roma questioned Lega Serie A s controversial use of monkey artwork as part of a new anti-racism campaign, while the artist said he wanted to create something that could make people reflect and create debate .

Serie A received widespread backlash and condemnation following Monday s launch of an initiative to combat racism in Italian football.

The symbolic heart of the new three-pronged initiative is a trio of paintings from Simone Fugazzotto, an artist renowned for using primates in his work, which will be displayed permanently at Lega Serie A s headquarters in Milan.

It comes after a number of high-profile racial incidents this season, involving Brescia striker Mario Balotelli and Inter star Romelu Lukaku.

was very surprised to see what appears to be an…

Cardiff City and Sheffield United both progressed to the second round of the League Cup courtesy of narrow victories on Wednesday.

With both sides hotly tipped for promotion from their respective divisions this season, and both facing lower-league opposition, United and Cardiff went into their clashes as favourites.

And the Welsh side, relegated from the Premier League last year and targeting an immediate return, justified that tag as they triumphed 2-1 over Coventry City at Sixfields.

Finalists in 2012, Cardiff took an early lead as Guido Burgstaller struck in the fourth minute after Coventry had failed to clear their lines.

They doubled their advantage nine minutes from time when Ryan Haynes diverted the ball into his own net following Mats Moller Daehl…

Bayern Munich are readying a move for Manchester United midfielder Angel Di Maria,.

The Argentina international has failed to recreate his best form since moving to Old Trafford for almost £60m last summer, having scored just four goals in thirty-one appearances though somewhat surprisingly his tally of ten assists is the joint second best in the Premier League.

He hasn’t started for Louis van Gaal’s side for over two months, though United man has given no indication that he is ready to part company with the twenty-seven year old.

However, Bayern manager Pep Guardiola is on the look of for new recruits for next season, and has identified the former Real Madrid man as the man to help freshen things up.

The Bundesliga leaders lost 3-0 to Barcelon…

Porto starlet James Rodriguez was on the brink of a transfer to Juventus two years ago, the winger s agent Bruno Carpeggiani has revealed.

Then a 19-year-old prospect at Argentine outfit Atletico Banfield, he instead joined the Estadio do Dragao club for 5.1 million euros in June 2010 and has since become a key player for the Portuguese outfit.

I can confirm it is true, Carpeggiani told tuttojuve.com. The move was in the pipeline for some time.

I do not like to talk about deals (that do not materialise), but Juve at the time were not the side they are now.

You would have to ask (former Juventus chief scout Renzo) Catagnini why they did not take him.

Although Carpeggiani said Rodriguez loves playing at Porto, he admitted the recent sale of sta…