Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel is excited about the physical battle with Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke in the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday.
Benteke s form has helped Villa climb six points clear of the relegation zone in the Premier League, with the Belgium international recapturing his goalscoring touch.
The 24-year-old has scored in six of his past eight matches, netting nine times.
But Skrtel is welcoming the challenge of taking on Benteke, saying he preferred to face physical strikers more than speedsters.
To be honest, I prefer to play against the type of striker like him, like [Diego] Costa, the Slovakian, who is returning from suspension, said.
That is better because for me I don’t want to chase the little guys.
Obviou…
Despite strong interest from the likes of Sevilla, AS Roma, AS Monaco and Schalke 04, Mariano Diaz was adamant about his wish to remain at the Santiago Bernabeu, according to .
The striker doesn t seem to fit in with the plans of Zinedine Zidane for this season, with the likes of Karim Benzema and newcomer Luka Jovic both ahead of him in the pecking order at the moment. Nonetheless, his wage demands, apparently set at €4 million per year, apparently put off all suitors except Schalke. The Bundesliga side were the only club willing to pay that kind of money, but Mariano wasn t interested in moving to Gelsenkirchen simply because Schalke won t be competing in Europe this season at all.
Zidane made his stance on the 26-year-old public, but the player also made it very cl…
Gary Neville has suggested the Premier League should consider playing games in European hotspots without coronavirus concerns, if the plan remains to finish the season.
The 2019-20 top-flight campaign has been halted since March 13 due to the global health pandemic, though the Premier League has continued to make clear its determination to complete the backlog of fixtures.
Friday will see further talks held between stakeholders over how to proceed, with reports suggesting there is hope for action to resume on the weekend commencing June 13.
Neville, however, is concerned over games going ahead in Britain safely even behind closed doors considering the logistical issues involved.
Instead, the former Manchester United and England defender has raised…
Top manager
Aston Villa go into the Christmas games in fourth place knowing that games against Arsenal and Liverpool could see them announce themselves as genuine title contenders.
Everyone at Villa Park is well aware that last February Villa found themselves in a similar position but faded away badly and eventually finished sixth.
Martin O’Neill is desperate for his players to remain focussed and to not get carried away with their success,
The same thing might happen again. We are on a decent run but the Premier League is very unforgiving. You are going along nicely, you win a couple of games but then you pick up a couple of injuries, lose a game and want to know where the next win is coming from. I think it s very much the case of same again. We …
American midfielder Ricardo Clark has agreed to a deal with German Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt. The 26 year old Clark has put pen to paper a deal that will see him stay at Frankfurt till the end of the 2009-10 season. The contract also contains an extension option.
Clark was a free agent after his contract with MLS club Houston Dynamo ended in 2009.
This is Clark s first stint outside the United States. He started his senior career with the New York Red Bulls ( then known as the MetroStars) in 2003 before being traded to the San Jose Earthquakes in 2005. Clark was part of several Earthquakes players who moved base to Texas for the 2006 season, thereby forming Houston Dynamo.
Clark is expected to make his first appearance for the club only in Februa…
France coach Didier Deschamps says he does not hold a grudge against Karim Benzema and has claimed the Real Madrid striker could return to the national team.
Benzema has been in international exile since being placed under formal investigation by French police in November 2015 over an alleged blackmail plot involving fellow France international Mathieu Valbuena and missed out on Euro 2016, with the striker subsequently suggesting Deschamps bowed to racially motivated pressures in leaving him out of his squad.
French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet recently stressed Deschamps is free to select the 29-year-old, and the coach has now hinted a comeback could be on the cards.
What happened is in the past now. I do not feel any resentment toward him, D…
Pep Guardiola will leave Bayern Munich when his contract expires at the end of the 2015-16 season and be replaced by Carlo Ancelotti.
The former Barcelona boss still has six months left to run on his deal, but a period of intense speculation over his next move is now in store, with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United linked with making a move.
Following his decision to leave Germany, here are some of Guardiola s best and worst moments of his Bayern career to date ahead of an end to the season that is set to define the success of his reign…
LOW Loses first game in charge to Dortmund
Guardiola s debut match saw two goals from Marco Reus give Dortmund a 4-2 win over Bayern in the DFL-Super Cup. He also went on to lose to Dortmund…
FIFA has invited football s governing bodies to an online summit to discuss biennial World Cup plans and the international calendar on September 30.
FIFA, led by chief of global football development Arsene Wenger, has been promoting the idea for the World Cup to shift format and take place every two years.
Wenger s proposal would see a major final held every year, the former Arsenal manager previously suggesting players would be playing in another tournament if it was not the World Cup either way.
However, UEFA and CONMEBOL have both rubbished the suggestions due to scheduling concerns, with FIFA now inviting the pair along with all other member associations and league representatives to discuss matters further.
There is a broad consensus within the gam…
Aurelien Tchouameni has dismissed talk of him being the new Paul Pogba and explained why he turned down Paris Saint-Germain to join Real Madrid.
Tchouameni has emerged as another big French talent, prompting Madrid to lure him to Santiago Bernabeu from Monaco for a fee of €80million that could rise to €100m in June.
PSG are among the top European clubs who were also eager to land the midfielder, but he had already agreed to sign for the European champions.
Tchouameni has been likened to France team-mate Pogba, but the 22-year-old does not want to hear those comparisons after making a name for himself.
He told Telefoot: I am not the new Pogba, I am Aurelien Tchouameni, I try to write my own story. Pogba is a player I followed a lot when he was little a…
Lazio sporting director Igli Tare has quashed rumours Hernanes could leave the club amid interest from Paris Saint-Germain.
The Brazilian midfielder was linked with a move to the French capital during the close-season but Tare insists he is fully committed to Lazio and their Serie A campaign.
Lazio have had a mixed start to their league season, recording three wins from their seven matches, with Hernanes involved in six of them and scoring two goals.
The 28-year-old moved to Italy in 2010 from Sao Paulo and Tare expects him to stay at the club for a little longer.
Despite his inconsistency, Hernanes remains a fundamental player for us, Tare told Corriere dello Sport. You just have to think back to the goals he has scored.
Every time that I have spoken to hi…