Xabi Alonso said it was an incredible thrill to beat Bayern Munich as the Bayer Leverkusen boss enhanced his growing reputation with Sunday s victory.
Former Bayern midfielder Alonso, who won three Bundesliga titles in a three-year spell with the Bavarians, has turned his hand to coaching since 2017 and dealt his old team a huge blow to their hopes of an 11th successive championship.
Alonso took over at Leverkusen in October, shortly after a 4-0 defeat away to Bayern, and has lifted the team from second-bottom at the time of his arrival to eighth position.
They are just three points off sixth after a 2-1 win over Bayern, who trail Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund by one point with nine rounds of games remaining.
Victory came courtesy of two Exequiel P…
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Two of the hopefuls for a European place come together on Saturday as Everton host Aston Villa at Goodison Park.
The two teams sit eighth and 11th respectively in the current Premier League table with seven points separating them ahead of the meeting on Merseyside. Whilst Carlo Ancelotti s men hold the cards in relation to the race for UEFA Europa League football, a win for the visitors could certainly shake things up ahead of the final matches of the season.
Everton
Of the potential challengers for the European places, the Toffees are probably the best positioned of the lot. They sit just three points behind fifth-placed West Ham United with a game in hand, whilst should they win that match, they …
Jorginho atoned for his earlier error with an equaliser from the spot as Chelsea recovered to draw 1-1 with Michael Carrick s Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.
Italy midfielder Jorginho looked to have set United on their way to victory in what is likely to be Carrick s only Premier League match as manager before he is replaced by another interim appointment in Ralf Rangnick.
No ever-present Premier League team have earned fewer points from losing positions than Chelsea since Thomas Tuchel s arrival in January, but Jadon Sancho s first goal in the competition after Jorginho s blunder was followed by similarly generous United defending.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka s foul on Thiago Silva teed up a Jorginho penalty, with a point – taking the Blues clear of Manchester Cit…
Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah struck late to put Liverpool in command of their Champions League tie with Inter thanks to a 2-0 win at San Siro.
Inter looked the most dangerous of the two sides across the first hour, with Hakan Calhanoglu rattling the crossbar inside 16 minutes.
However, after replacing Diogo Jota at half-time, substitute Firmino glanced an excellent header across goal to score with the game s first effort on target in the 75th minute.
Salah doubled Liverpool s advantage eight minutes later with a deflected shot, leaving Inter with it all to do in the return leg of the last-16 showdown at Anfield on March 8.
— Liverpool FC (@LFC)
Jurgen Klopp s men had a chance to open the scoring in the 14th minute, but …
Victories for Sweden and Ukraine in the last two Euro 2016 play-offs mean the pots for the 24-team tournament finals draw have now been confirmed.
Competition hosts France are already guaranteed to be top seeds in Group A, with the other teams in pot one to be world number one nation Belgium, England, world champions Germany, Portugal and defending European champions Spain.
Following their progression against Slovenia, Ukraine will go into pot two alongside the likes of Italy and World Cup 2018 hosts Russia.
Sweden, who defeated Scandinavian rivals Denmark, are in pot three along with fellow play-off victors Hungary and four other nations.
After their win over Bosnia-Herzegovina, Republic of Ireland join Wales and Northern Ireland in the fourth pool, whic…
Man City close in on Kovacic, Gvardiol deals
Manchester City are reportedly closing on signings of two Croatia internationals, midfielder Mateo Kovacic and defender Josko Gvardiol.
They re believed still to be discussing personal terms with Gvardiol and their task of getting RB Leipzig to sell is expected to be a difficult one, but for Kovacic, the personal terms are already agreed and the talks with Chelsea are progressing.
Aston Villa appoint Monchi as head of football operations
Aston Villa have appointed former Sevilla sporting director Monchi as their new head of football operations.
The 54-year-old football executive is well known in the game for his notable work with AS Roma, where he worked from 2017 to 2019, between two sp…
Gareth Southgate hit back at his critics as the England manager said Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane s telling contributions against Slovakia were why he avoids making changes.
Bellingham produced a stunning acrobatic leveller after 94 minutes to keep England s Euro 2024 hopes alive on Sunday.
Captain Kane then headed home just 50 seconds into extra time as England edged into a last-eight meeting with Switzerland after a 2-1 victory over Slovakia.
Some had criticised Southgate for not rolling the changes earlier in the second half, though the England manager says the pair s late heroics prove the decision justified.
With 15 minutes to go you wonder if he is out on his feet, Southgate said of Bellingham when speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live.
Him and …
Cristiano Ronaldo s club future could yet be in Saudi Arabia despite rebuffing a previous offer, with the nation s sports minister hailing him as a role model .
The Portugal captain is without a domestic team after mutually agreeing the termination of his contract with Manchester United in the wake of a controversial interview.
It brings to an end an ill-fated second spell with the Premier League club, yet it could have been curtailed even earlier after the forward fielded bids from other teams during the off-season.
One of those was from an unnamed Saudi club, and now the country s minister of sports, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, has backed the possibility of another move to bring him to the nation.
Anything is possible, he told BBC Sport. I wo…
Didier Deschamps seems set to continue as France coach, with the French Football Federation (FFF) president seeing no reason to replace him.
France lost 2-1 to Spain in Munich on Tuesday, falling short of reaching their fourth major tournament final since Deschamps took charge in 2012.
Les Bleus entered Euro 2024 as one of the favourites, though they ultimately failed to click into gear.
Indeed, Randal Kolo Muani s opener against Spain was the only open-play goal a France player managed all tournament, with Deschamps team having benefited from own goals and a Kylian Mbappe penalty in previous matches.
But despite their indifferent performances, FFF president Philippe Diallo does not think there is any reason for Deschamps to make way.
Speaking to …
Angus Gunn feels like he has been a Scotland player for years given the way he has fitted into the squad and enjoyed some major memories.
Now he believes he and his Scotland team-mates can cap off an extraordinary six months by getting a result in Spain on Thursday and qualifying for Euro 2024.
The goalkeeper only made his debut in March but has experienced victory over Spain – on his second appearance – and a dramatic comeback win against Norway in Oslo.
In five competitive games, the Norwich player has only conceded one goal – an Erling Haaland penalty.
Fast hands
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“It’s been seamless really,” the 27-year-old said. “The lads have mad…