Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane praised the patience of his team-mates after Saturday s 2-0 win over Espanyol.
Madrid nudged clear of LaLiga title rivals Barcelona with a comfortable home victory thanks to goals from Varane and fellow Frenchman Karim Benzema.
Zinedine Zidane s side secured the points despite being reduced to 10 men in the 82nd minute after Ferland Mendy was sent off.
It was a closely contested match against a rival that ran a lot and pressed us, Varane told Real Madrid TV.
We had to be strong and solid at the back in order not to concede and be patient in front of goal. It was a good game from the team.
1700 are the first team to reach 1700 wins in LaLiga history. Milestone.
— OptaJose (@OptaJose)
Aft…
Liverpool inflicted more misery on under-fire Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert with a 2-0 Premier League win on Saturday.
Goals from Fabio Borini and substitute Rickie Lambert helped Liverpool inflict more misery on beleaguered Aston Villa and their under-fire manager Paul Lambert in a 2-0 win on Saturday.
The build-up at Villa Park was dominated by talk of a supporter protest against Lambert and the Villa hierarchy during the early stages of the match and, although there was no huge demonstration from the stands, the pressure will continue to mount after a seventh league match without a win.
Italian forward Borini prodded home the opener in the 24th minute for his first Liverpool goal in the Premier League since April 2013.
Martin Skrtel saw Villa go…
It’s a proper weekend of football again, thank goodness.
Last weekend was disastrous. International weekend. I hate them. No Premiership or Championship football. No decent games to watch on television. Last weekend was so wet in England that the game for the team I coach was called off due to a waterlogged pitch, my youngest son’s game was also postponed and my eldest son couldn’t play in his team’s game because he was injured.
I had a football free weekend and that can’t be right in September! I didn’t know what to do with myself. I almost ended up having to go shopping for goodness sake!
The fact that I hate international week so much proves conclusively to …
Troy Deeney scored the only goal of the game with a rasping finish to move Watford six points clear of the Premier League relegation zone with 1-0 win over Everton.
No team has conceded more top-flight home goals than the 26 Watford have shipped, and when Oumar Niasse inadvertently hit the woodwork in the first half, the Vicarage Road crowd would have been forgiven for expecting another difficult examination for their defence.
But, in a game in which opportunities were extremely limited, Deeney took his with aplomb 11 minutes from time to light up an otherwise disappointing spectacle.
Jordan Pickford had previously produced a fine save to deny Kiko Femenia, who had seen the Everton goalkeeper s clearance deflect off Deeney and into his path.
However, he …
Chelsea s in-form centre-back David Luiz said his side are hungry to claim the Europa League title after their 3-1 semi-final win over Basel.
Luiz scored in both legs of the final-four match-up with the Swiss champions, and also netted the first strike in their London derby with Fulham in April making it three goals in his past five matches for Rafael Benitez s men.
They will meet Primeira Liga leaders Benfica the team Luiz joined Chelsea from in 2011 in the final in Amsterdam on May 15
And the Brazilian defender said there was no shortage of motivation for last season s Champions League winners to secure more success on the European stage.
We have one more final to win because I want one more title, he said after the second-leg victory at Stamford Bridg…
Borussia Dortmund will not sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United, according to the club s chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke.
The Bundesliga side had been linked with a move for Ronaldo after it was revealed new arrival Sebastien Haller will miss a significant period due to being diagnosed with a testicular tumour last month.
Haller had been signed as the replacement for Erling Haaland, who left for Manchester City earlier in the transfer window.
The former West Ham and Ajax striker underwent surgery in the first stage of his treatment, with Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl confirming Haller would be out for a few months , but adding further treatment plans were still being discussed.
3 Cristiano Ronaldo has lost three consecutive lea…
Georginio Wijnaldum is ready to sacrifice his attacking instincts and fill in for Jordan Henderson as Liverpool seek defensive steel against Manchester City on Tuesday.
Henderson is suspended for the Champions League quarter-final second leg at the Etihad Stadium after picking up his third caution of the competition proper in last week s rousing 3-0 victory at Anfield.
Wijnaldum usually deployed further forward by Jurgen Klopp was selected at the base of the midfield in Saturday s 0-0 draw at Everton to give him a taste of things to come against Pep Guardiola s side.
And the Netherlands international is ready to step into the breach as Liverpool aim to reach the last four for the first time in a decade.
Tomorrow.
— Liverpool FC (@LFC)
…
It is no secret Morgan Schneiderlin wanted to leave Southampton in favour of UEFA Champions League football over the summer.
The France international, 24, was hoping to become the Saints sixth major sale following the departures Adam Lallana, Calum Chambers, Dejan Lovren Luke Shaw, and Rickie Lambert.
North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur were both interested in Schneiderlin, but Spurs were seen as favourites to land the Frenchman.
After all, Tottenham are now managed by Mauricio Pochettino, who worked with the player during a successful first season at St Mary s.
However, Southampton were not willing to sell to Pochettino, leaving Schneiderlin with little choice, but to remain in Hampshire.
My objective at the en…
that Twente midfielder Leroy Fer is set to complete a switch to Norwich.
The 23-year-old is set to undergo a medical at Carrow Road after the two clubs agreed an €8 million transfer fee for the highly rated footballer.
Fer is going to become second Dutch player to arrive at Norwich this summer, with the Canaries having already signed Ricky van Wolfswinkel from Sporting Lisbon.
The Netherlands international was on the verge of joining Everton in January 2013, but the deal fell through as he was unable to successfully complete medical examination.
Fer has since continued with scintillating showings in Dutch Eredivisie and it looks as though he will be moving to English Premier League after all.
The highly rated midfielder came through the youth …
Chelsea striker Didier Drogba signed a new three-year contract with the Premier League club on Wednesday.
The 31-year-old is now tied to Chelsea until 2012 after extending his current deal, which had a year to run, by a further two years.
The Ivory Coast international looked on his way out of Stamford Bridge last season after being dropped by Luiz Felipe Scolari, but he played his way back into form under Guus Hiddink and scored in Chelsea s FA Cup final victory over Everton.
He was also involved in a controversial clash with referee Tom Henning Ovrebo following Chelsea s Champions League semi-final exit against Barcelona which earned the former Marseille star a three-match European ban.
But Drogba s new deal, which is reported to be have raised his wage…