Новости за 01.03.2018

Chambly will meet Les Herbiers in the last four of the Coupe de France, guaranteeing a third-tier side will contest this season's final. The Championnat National teams were paired together in Thursday's draw, leaving holders Paris Saint-Germain to play the winner of the outstanding quarter-final clash between Caen and Lyon. Les Herbiers extended their cup run by beating Ligue 2 Lens on penalties, while Chambly stunned top-flight side Strasbourg thanks to a goal from Lassana Doucoure. Quevilly... Читать дальше...

Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha is ahead of schedule in his recovery from a knee ligament injury, manager Roy Hodgson has confirmed. Zaha suffered the injury against Newcastle United on February 4, with initial reports suggesting he could miss the rest of the season. Hodgson rubbished that speculation and the Ivory Coast international is on the comeback trail, although he will not be available to face Manchester United on Monday. "Wilfried is recovering ahead of schedule," Hodgson told a news conference on Thursday. Читать дальше...

Ousmane Dembele always believed he'd play with Lionel Messi at some stage in his career as the fit-again France international aims to help Barcelona's push for glory on three fronts this season. Dembele joined the LaLiga giants last August following Neymar's departure to Paris Saint-Germain, completing a €105million move after just one season at Borussia Dortmund. Yet even when he was rising through the ranks in his homeland with Rennes, the 20-year-old was confident he would one day line up alongside the Argentina superstar. Читать дальше...

Inter have hit out at "incorrect and misleading" reports about the financial state of the club. A report in Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore said Inter should not be allowed to play in Serie A due to financial irregularities. The report indicated Inter's consolidated net equity had fallen €29million to negative €83.4m in the period to June 2017. Italian football does not abide by UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulations, but Il Sole 24 Ore said "a chronic deficit in the balance sheet and income... Читать дальше...

Piotr Zielinski has shrugged off comparisons with Kevin De Bruyne and claims his role model is Napoli captain and team-mate Marek Hamsik. Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri suggested Zielinski plays like De Bruyne, with the head of the Polish Football Association Zbigniew Boniek then claiming the 23-year-old is already more technically accomplished than the Manchester City star. While Zielinski has helped Napoli to build a four-point lead over Juventus at the top of the Serie A table, the midfielder is... Читать дальше...

Gonzalo Higuain has earned a recall to the Argentina squad for this month's friendlies against Italy and Spain but Paulo Dybala and Mauro Icardi miss out. Higuain is sidelined with an ankle problem and is a doubt for Juventus' crunch Champions League clash with Tottenham next week. Nevertheless, his 14 Serie A goals this season have been enough to persuade Jorge Sampaoli to select the frontman for the first time since June. Higuain's Juve team-mate Dybala has made a pair of substitute appearances... Читать дальше...

Gianluigi Donnarumma's agent Mino Raiola believes the teenage goalkeeper should leave AC Milan. Donnarumma was tipped to depart the Rossoneri last year, amid links with LaLiga giants Barcelona and Real Madrid, as well as Paris Saint-Germain. However, the 19-year-old Italy international instead signed a contract extension with the Serie A club, agreeing terms on a new four-year deal in July. While Raiola - who has made no secret of his difficult relationship with Milan's CEO Marco Fassone and director... Читать дальше...

The so-called 'Beast from the East' has caused travel havoc across Great Britain, and the heavy snowfall has also affected this weekend's sporting calendar. It has been, ahem, snow joke for commuters across Britain who have been left stranded in cars, at train stations and airports as the disruptive wintry weather crept into the first day of March – which marks the meteorological start of spring in the UK. And the sporting calendar has also succumbed to 'The Beast', not least in the Super League... Читать дальше...

There was a big shock in the French Cup on Tuesday night, with Championnat National (third tier) side Les Herbiers knocking out Ligue 2 Lens on penalties.The match ended in a goalless draw before Les Herbiers went through 4-2 after a shootout, with 21,146fans watching on at Nantes'Stade de la Beaujoire. Les Herbiers' Stade Massabielle only has a capacity of 5,000, so the fixture was switched to a larger venue for the last-eight clash.As usual, the goalkeeper was the hero - but Matthieu Pichot owed... Читать дальше...

Aden Flint has signed a new contract with Bristol City, the Championship club have confirmed. Signed from Swindon Town in 2013, the goal-scoring centre-back played a pivotal role in securing promotion from League One in 2014-15. He also helped the club reach the semi-finals of this year's EFL Cup, scoring in the second leg at Ashton Gate as they lost 5-3 on aggregate to eventual winners Manchester City. The 28-year-old, who was linked with a move to Brighton and Hove Albion in the last transfer window... Читать дальше...

James Rodriguez has returned to Bayern Munich training following a calf injury. The Colombia international was forced off just before half-time in Bayern's 5-0 Champions League demolition of Besiktas on February 20 with a calf strain and has not trained since. But he returned to the club on Thursday and was able to complete some light running and ball work, guided by the club's rehabilitation coach Thomas Wilhelmi. Bayern travel to Freiburg on Sunday hoping to at least ensure their lead at the Bundesliga summit remains at 19 points... Читать дальше...

Sam Allardyce believes James McCarthy should be fit to take part in pre-season as the Everton midfielder steps up his recovery from a double leg break. McCarthy suffered the terrible injury while making a challenge on striker Salomon Rondon in a Premier League game against West Brom in January. The Ireland international subsequently underwent surgery and Allardyce says McCarthy's rehabilitation is ready to begin at Everton's training ground. "It is down to the specialist and them saying if and... Читать дальше...

The news that Neymar is expected to miss three months after undergoing surgery on a fractured metatarsal will have no doubt sent alarm bells ringing for Brazil boss Tite. Should the timeframe for recovery supplied by national team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar prove accurate, Neymar will miss the rest of Paris Saint-Germain's season and be looking to return to match fitness in the weeks leading up to the 2018 World Cup. It understandably casts doubt over the 26-year-old's chances of featuring at Russia... Читать дальше...

Neymar's fractured metatarsal is expected to keep the world's most expensive player out for up to three months, something that will surely provide cause for concern for Brazil coach Tite with the World Cup on the horizon. The Paris Saint-Germain attacker went down after an innocuous-looking incident with Marseille's Bouna Sarr during Sunday's 3-0 victory over their Ligue 1 rivals and is likely to miss the remainder of his club's season. With Brazil's World Cup campaign set to begin on June 17,... Читать дальше...

Former Porto and Atletico Madrid star Jackson Martinez has been released by Guangzhou Evergrande after the Chinese Super League club omitted him from a 31-man squad for the new season. Martinez joined Guangzhou for €42million – briefly a league record – in February 2016, having only moved to Atleti from Porto as one of European football's most sought-after strikers in June 2015. But the 31-year-old Colombia international has been plagued by injuries, making a mere 16 appearances across all competitions, scoring four goals. Читать дальше...

Kaiserslautern have announced promising youngster Paul Will is set to leave the club at the end of the season to join Bayern Munich. The versatile 19-year-old, who can play at the heart of the defence or in central midfield, signed for Kaiserslautern in 2015 and is the captain of their Under-19 team. Will's impressive performances at youth level saw him called up to work with the first-team squad in January, as he took part in a mid-season training camp held in Spain. However, the teenager has... Читать дальше...

Some exciting (sort of) tactical espionage from the Netherlands.Ahead of a recent KNVB Cup match, travelling Willem II stayed in a Rotterdam hotel ahead of their game with Feyenoord. And, as normal, visiting coach Erwin van de Looi ran through tactics with his players the night before.The only problem being that after Willem II were done with their meeting - presumably in an ancillary room somewhere within the hotel - they didn't take their masterplan with them. This being the social media age, pictures... Читать дальше...

Peter Stoger is unconvinced by suggestions RB Leipzig are in a "crisis" as they prepare to host his Borussia Dortmund side in the Bundesliga. Leipzig head into Saturday's clash having lost each of their last three games in all competitions, including back-to-back league defeats to Eintracht Frankfurt and Cologne. Their poor form stretches back further, however, as Ralph Hasenhuttl's side have won just three league games since beating Werder Bremen 2-0 on November 25. As such, Leipzig have fallen down to sixth in the Bundesliga table... Читать дальше...

The animosity is building ahead of Borussia Dortmund's Europa League knockout tie against Red Bull Salzburg, with the German club prohibiting the use of their logo on any match-specific merchandise.You suspect that resourceful street vendors might find a way to knock out some cheap tat anyway, but there'll certainly be no official half-and-half scarves.This has been coming. The relationship between Dortmund's supporters and Leipzig, another club under the energy drink umbrella, have been strained... Читать дальше...

It was the night before the 1995 Champions League Final, and the biggest day of her son’s life, but Lidwina Kluivert slept well. In her slumber, she saw young Patrick come on as a substitute and score the winning goal. Her premonition was so vivid that she felt compelled to tell him the following day, as she gave him a hug and wished him good luck. Hours later, her dream came true, when the 18-year-old came off the substitutes’ bench to fire Ajax to a 1-0 win over Milan in front of 50,000 supporters at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium.On paper... Читать дальше...

12. Paul and Darnell FurlongDad: 64, son: 3 (total: 67 games)Paul Furlong played over 100 games for non-league Enfield before embarking on a professional career in the early 1990s, first spending a season at Coventry before moving on to Watford. Thirty-seven goals in 79 First Division outings for the Hornets earned the striker a transfer to Chelsea, whom he represented 64 times in the top flight.Furlong went on to make more league appearances for QPR than any other side, and it was at Loftus Road... Читать дальше...

First, let’s give the double finger point celebration to the good folks at Transfermarkt.com, whose market value analysis we’ve utilised for this quiz. Second, let’s give them the defence that – in today’s crazy transfer market – who can tell what price these players would really raise if sold this summer?When Southampton are selling central defenders for £75m and Manchester City are hoovering up full-backs at £50m+ a pop, nobody can accurately say how much a player might go for.However, taking into account age... Читать дальше...

One of those stories which restores your faith in the game's humanity, now.In December, Napoli's Dries Mertens experienced - by his standards - a slight downturn in form. By the middle of the month his touch had returned,however, andafter a particularly strong showing in his side's 3-1 away win over Torino, the Belgian forward returned to Naples that evening. According to Corriere Del Mezzogiorno,heset off into the night to visit a local pizzeria with a couple of friends.Mertens and his pals then spent the rest of the evening - in December... Читать дальше...

It’s sometimes possible to lose perspective on just how very, very good Alan Shearer was at kicking – and heading – a football into a goal.Consider this: over 25 Premier League seasons featuring hundreds of centre-forwards, the magical 30-goal mark has only been breached nine times. Six men - Andy Cole, Thierry Henry, Kevin Phillips, Cristiano Ronaldo, Robin van Persie and Luis Suarez, all at their absolute peaks, have done it once each. Wayne Rooney, Didier Drogba, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Robbie Fowler... Читать дальше...

Last season's semi-finalists River Plate kicked off their Copa Libertadores campaign with an entertaining draw in Brazil, which was the story of the day in South America. Camilo Mayada equalised with three minutes remaining as visiting River rescued a 2-2 draw against Flamengo in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday. Argentine giants River twice trailed and responded on both occasions in the four-goal Group Four thriller at Estadio Nilton Santos. After a scoreless opening half, Henrique Dourado converted... Читать дальше...