In sacking Carlo Ancelotti, Bayern Munich made a rather unprecedented move.

Not that die Roten are immune to sacking coaches. After all, the team had been setting a series of unwanted precedents under the Italian tactician as of late. Bayern had conceded ten goals in their first ten competitive fixtures. That was the first time they had done this in over nine seasons, since Jurgen Klinsmann was in charge during the 2008/2009 campaign when they shipped 14 in ten matches.

Furthermore, their 3-0 defeat to PSG on matchday two marked the first time the Bavarian titans had ended up losing with a three goal margin during the first group phase of the Champions League. That loss came on the heels of a bad showing against Wolfsburg, during which they threw away a two goal lead to…

Market: Over 1.5 goals

Odds: 4/11 @

With plenty of pressure on their shoulders this weekend, Napoli will welcome Bologna to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Sunday night.

Starting with the hosts, while Napoli might have got a new era underway this summer following the arrival of Antonio Conte, the Blues opened the 2024/25 campaign with a nightmare performance. Slumping to what was an infamous 3-0 drumming at the hands of Verona, the former Tottenham boss will be demanding an immediate response here. However, enduring what was a public Serie A crisis last season as they only just dragged themselves to a top-half finish, Napoli remarkably recorded just a single victory from any of their final 11 matchups across all competitions prior to the summer break. Watch…

According to a recent report from Mundo Deportivo, the belief is that Jean-Clair Todibo is entertaining the idea of leaving the Spanish giants during the next few transfer windows. The Frenchman is aiming to make a decision on his future in the next fortnight or so as interest continues to grow in his services. 

Barcelona want a fee of around €25 million in order to agree to the sale, which makes sense, given how much his stock has gone up as time has gone on. 

There are many top clubs that are interested in making a deal happen, including Bayer Leverkusen, Watford, AC Milan and Southampton – with Milan arguably being located towards the front of the queue at this moment in time. 

It’s tough to lock down a consistent place in the first team with a clu…

Pep Guardiola feels Manchester City are returning to the type of form that saw them lift the Premier League title in successive campaigns after cruising to victory over Chelsea.

Despite being without six first-team players due to coronavirus, City ran out 3-1 winners at Stamford Bridge in Sunday s clash to make it three league victories in a row.

All three of the visitors goals were scored in a ruthless first half, with Kevin de Bruyne assisting Phil Foden and then scoring himself after Ilkay Gundogan s well-taken opener.

The victory was City s first this season over one of last season s top-six finishers at the fifth attempt, moving them to within four points of top spot with a game in hand.

And after a disappointing 2019-20 and a slow start to this seas…

Raheem Sterling s hat-trick inspired a 5-0 rout of West Ham as Manchester City commenced their quest for a third straight Premier League title in style in a contest where VAR played a prominent role.

The England star struck a sublime second-half treble after Gabriel Jesus prodded the champions ahead in the 25th minute of a one-sided affair at the London Stadium.

Sterling s well-worked first goal came six minutes after the interval and though a VAR review found he was offside before Jesus tapped in, he did find the net again 15 minutes from time to put City beyond the Hammers  reach.

He could have added the third from the spot after Issa Diop fouled Riyad Mahrez but gifted the spot-kick to Sergio Aguero, which the substitute converted on a re-take, awarded …

Luke Shaw insisted reaching the EFL Cup final means nothing for Manchester United if they do not go on to win the trophy.

A 2-0 victory at Old Trafford on Wednesday resulted in a comfortable 5-0 aggregate scoreline in the semi-final against Nottingham Forest, booking a date at Wembley against Newcastle United on February 26.

It hands United the chance to end a six-year trophy drought, having not celebrated success since an EFL Cup and Europa League double in the 2016-17 season.

The victory, secured thanks to second-half goals from Anthony Martial and Fred, also continues United s resurgence under the guidance of Erik ten Hag, but Shaw believes it is a meaningless accomplishment unless the trophy is lifted.

There s no point going to a final if you don t w…

According to a recent report from O Jogo, Tottenham Hotspur are planning on going after the signing of Benfica forward Haris Seferovic. The Switzerland international would help form part of a new direction from Jose Mourinho in North London, with the aim being for them to have a three-man attack as opposed to just one up top. 

Seferovic is said to be the main priority of Tottenham boss Mourinho, but with the window being set to close on Friday, he doesn’t have an awful lot of time to get a deal over the finish line. 

Seferovic is said to be valued at around €35 million, but it’s not yet known as to whether or not they’d be willing to pay that – especially when you consider the fact that they were only able to sell someone like Christian Eriksen for €20 mil…

Son Heung-min scored a late penalty as Tottenham produced a late rally to beat Southampton 3-2 in Wednesday s FA Cup fourth-round replay.

Spurs were pegged back by Sofiane Boufal s strike in a 1-1 draw at St Mary s in the first meeting and looked set to be knocked out of the competition when they trailed 2-1 in the return game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Tanguy Ndombele s shot deflected in off Jack Stephens to give the hosts the lead against the run of play, but Shane Long profited from some poor Hugo Lloris goalkeeping to level before the break.

Danny Ings then put Southampton in front 18 minutes from time, only for Lucas Moura to fire in an equaliser and Son to convert from the spot after he was fouled by Angus Gunn, setting up a home tie with Norwich City in…

Netherlands became the first team to have booked a place in the quarterfinals of the ongoing World Cup by beating the USA 3-1 in their round-of-16 clash at the Khalifa International Stadium in Qatar on Saturday.

The deadlock was broken by Memphis Depay in just under 10 minutes, and Daley Blind doubled his team s lead in the final seconds of the first half. The American hope was rekindled in the 76th by a freak goal from Haji Wright, but Denzel Dumfries put the game beyond their reach by setting the final score in the 81st.

Mature Oranje display

Louis van Gaal s team didn t enter the game well, or at least that s how it looked early on. But they showed an enviable level of maturity by absorbing the early pressure from the USA, and taking their chance to go up when is ca…

Philippe Coutinho was delighted to have finally ended the long wait between goals for Brazil after netting in the 4-0 World Cup qualifying win over Paraguay in Belo Horizonte.

The 29-year-old playmaker, who joined Aston Villa on loan from Barcelona in January, netted a sublime long-range strike to make it 2-0 in the 62nd minute on Tuesday.

That goal marked Coutinho s first for his country since October 2020 when Brazil beat Bolivia 5-0 in their opening World Cup qualifier in this campaign.

It was also Coutinho s sixth goal from outside of the area for Brazil during Tite s tenure, with no player having scored more such goals in that time.

Coutinho, who has 65 caps to his name along with 19 goals, was back in the Brazil set-up for a second successive inte…