Rayo Vallecano welcome Atletico Madrid in La Liga hoping for a more enjoyable derby experience than the one they endured in their previous outing.

Paco Jemez s team performed with bold ambition to take an early 2-1 lead against Real Madrid last time out before their outing at Santiago Bernabeu caved in spectacularly.

First-half red cards for Tito and Raul Baena left them stricken as Real made merry Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema scoring four and three respectively in a punishing 10-2 rout.

Paco has had plenty of time over Christmas to sleep on a result he likened to a bad dream , although his opposite number Diego Simeone also had an outing to rue during the 10-day break from Liga action.

With Barcelona away in Japan en route to Club World Cup glory, Atlet…

Thomas Partey is eager for Atletico Madrid to keep up their fight for success on all fronts when they take on Rayo Vallecano in Wednesday s Copa del Rey last-16 first leg.

The 22-year-old struck the only goal of the game as Diego Simeone s side beat bottom-club Levante to move top of La Liga on Saturday.

With Atleti now ahead of champions Barcelona though having played a game more and through to the Champions League knockout rounds, tentative talk of a treble tilt has begun to surface among supporters in the Spanish capital.

But Thomas is keen no to look too far ahead and is determined to put sole focus on securing a first-leg advantage against their city rivals.

We re just thinking about the next game against Rayo in the Copa del Rey. That s the most im…

As Real Madrid beat Juventus in Turin on their way to their 13th Champions League trophy in 2018, Cristiano Ronaldo scored to double his team s advantage on the night.

Today, of course, Ronaldo and Buffon are teammates at Juventus, and here s what the 41-year-old Italian legend had to say about that moment.

https://twitter.com/ESPNFC/status/1184106818487885824

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Liverpool s perfect start in the Premier League has stoked already considerable anticipation at Anfield that Jurgen Klopp s side could be set for a breakthrough season.

Last term s run to the Champions League final demonstrated a devastating, high-octane attacking team ready to go toe-to-toe with the best and win.

An impressive close season in the transfer market, with Brazil internationals Alisson and Fabinho arriving alongside Naby Keita and Xherdan Shaqiri, has added quality and depth to Klopp s squad in key positions.

The two-time Bundesliga champion is yet to win a trophy in England, while Liverpool s wait for their 19th top-flight crown dates back to 1990-91.

We will have a much clearer indication of whether all that is about to change after the Re…

Lionel Messi grabbed his first goal of the Major League Soccer season as he grabbed a 1-1 draw for Inter Miami with a stoppage-time equaliser at LA Galaxy.

Dejan Joveljic’s goal 15 minutes from time had looked like earning Galaxy the win.

But Messi popped up two minutes into added time, exchanging a pair of one-twos with Jordi Alba as he made his way into the box before lifting the ball over goalkeeper John McCarthy.

Taking a point back home +1

— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF)

Inter dominated possession, but managed just five shots in target throughout the match as Galaxy came closest to breaking the deadlock.

Riqui Puig missed a golden opportunity after 13 minutes when his penalty was saved by Drake Callender.

They had to wa…

Manuel Pellegrini was pleased with the professionalism Manchester City showed in reaching the League Cup semi-finals.

The Premier League side continued their impressive form in front of goal with a 3-1 victory over Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.

Aleksandar Kolarov opened the scoring with a perfectly placed free-kick, and an Edin Dzeko double put the visitors in control long before Lloyd Dyer s late consolation for the Championship outfit.

Manchester City were beaten League Cup semi-finalists in 2010 and 2012, and Pellegrini is eager for his men to go all the way this time around.

It was a very professional win, he said. It is not easy to play three games in one week, but I think the team played well.

It was a good first half; we had possession an…

Australia beat Poland 2-1 in a friendly Tuesday, as the Socceroos build up to January s 2011 Asian Cup and the White Eagles hone their skills for their home-turf campaign as Euro 2012 hosts.

Seeking to burnish their image after a disappointing World Cup, the Australians tasted their first victory since exiting the tournament in South Africa in June.

With the first half ending 2-1 one of the Socceroos goals was a penalty Poland failed to capitalise on second-half dominance and numerical advantage after Australia s Brett Emerton was sent off.

The match in the southern city of Krakow was their second ever meeting.

In the first, at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Poland won 6-1 in the semi-finals and went on to take the silver medal.

Tuesday s match …

Former Bayern Munich boss Ottmar Hitzfeld feels the return of Jerome Boateng could be essential to Pep Guardiola s Champions League hopes this season.

The 27-year-old suffered a groin injury in January and is not expected to be available again until April, meaning he faces a battle to be fit for the quarter-final and semi-final stage should the Bundesliga champions progress that far.

Boateng was left humbled by a brilliant solo goal from Lionel Messi during last season s semi-final against Barcelona, but Hitzfeld maintains the Germany international will be crucial to Bayern s chances of lifting Europe s top prize for the first time since 2013.

It is not easy to miss that many defensive players, he told Omnisport. Jerome Boateng especially is a huge loss for Baye…

Sebastian Larsson has ended speculation about his future at Sunderland by signing a new three-year contract at the Stadium of Light.

The Sweden international midfielder arrived at the club from Birmingham City in 2011 and has gone on to make over 120 appearances for Sunderland, including 41 in all competitions last season.

Larsson s previous deal was set to expire at the end of the month, but he has snubbed offers from rival clubs in favour of being part of Gus Poyet s plans for the future.

I m delighted to have signed a new deal with the club, he told Sunderland s official website.

I ve had talks with Gus and (sporting director) Lee Congerton and I feel that this is a club moving in the right direction and I want to be part of it.

I had a few options but I…

Lionel Messi has sensationally told Barcelona he wants to leave the club.

Barca captain Messi, whose contract runs until June 2021, is said to have a clause in his deal that allowed him to leave on a free transfer at the end of the 2019-20 campaign.

It was required to be activated before the end of May but, due to the season being extended into August amid the coronavirus pandemic, the six-time Ballon d Or winner has told the Catalan giants he still intends to make use of it.

Messi last week held talks with head coach Ronald Koeman, who replaced Quique Setien at the helm after Barca were humiliated 8-2 by Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals.

The 33-year-old reportedly told Koeman he was leaning towards a departure from Camp Nou and St…