La Liga preview: Real playing catch-up

Memphis Depay was frustrated to be restricted to the role of a substitute in the Netherlands World Cup opener, but he is confident of having a greater impact in coming matches.

Depay had been ruled out of Monday s match against Senegal in Louis van Gaal s pre-match news conference.

But the Barcelona forward appeared on the bench and was introduced in the final half an hour with the game still goalless.

Although Depay did not get on the scoresheet, he was involved in the build-up to both Oranje goals in a 2-0 win, with Cody Gakpo scoring the first before Davy Klaassen tucked away the rebound from the Netherlands number 10 s shot.

Speaking afterwards, Depay said: I feel good, I feel good, I feel fit. Obviously a player like me always wants to start from the…

Fred scored the only goal of the game as Manchester United started Ralf Rangnick s reign with a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace at Old Trafford.

United made a blistering start to their first game under interim manager Rangnick, but they were frustrated by a well-drilled Palace side for much of the game.

Alex Telles struck the crossbar before Fred s clinical finish secured all three points for the Red Devils on Sunday.

Victory for United boosted their bid to secure a Champions League spot as Palace suffered their first defeat at Old Trafford for over four years.

United showed the intensity Rangnick demands from the start with a high-press approach and Telles flashed an early shot narrowly wide.

The Red Devils were relentless as they continued to pe…

Jamie Vardy has challenged his Leicester City team-mates to reach 100 points after sealing the Championship title with one game to spare.

The Foxes were promoted back to the Premier League without kicking a ball after Leeds United’s 4-0 defeat to QPR on Friday, but they needed to win on Monday to earn top spot.

Enzo Maresca’s side cruised to a 3-0 victory over Preston through Vardy’s brace and Kasey McAteer’s header, moving them to 97 points.

With one last milestone in their reach, Vardy wants to make sure they end an already successful season on a high.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “We can celebrate it tonight, but now we have another target which is 100 points.

“We are over the moon. It has gone by quick but it s a graft. Not man…

Leeds United are closing in on the signing of Leicester City striker Chris Wood, .

Both the Yorkshire club and their Championship rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers have had bids for the New Zealand international, though it is the former who are leading the chase.

The 23 year old signed for the Foxes, initially on loan from West Bromwich Albion in 2013, while previously he had had temporary spells with no less than five English league clubs.

Last season he spent two months with Ipswich Town, for whom he made eight appearances without scoring.

In total, he turned out fifty-nine times for Leicester, scoring twenty goals while he also has thirty-nine caps for his country – three of which were won at the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.

Leed…

Porto close on Joao Moutinho

Portuguese giants FC Porto are set to wrap up a deal for Monaco star Joao Moutinho, .

It is no secret that the Principality club aim to offload their highest earning player and former club FC Porto have emerged as favourites for the midfielder s signature.

After initially pondering a loan move, the Dragons are on the verge of signing the Portugal hotshot on permanent basis seeing as they have all but agreed a transfer fee with Monaco.

Moutinho, who had come through the youth ranks at Sporting Lisbon, surprised everyone when he signed for rivals Porto in the summer of 2010.

Fast forward five years and the 28-year-old seem ready to return to Estadio do Dragao, having enjoyed two successful seasons with Monaco.

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Manuel Pellegrini urged Manchester City to rediscover the swagger of their previous Champions League performance and put Saturday s thrashing against Liverpool behind them when they take on Juventus in Turin.

City turned in an irresistible performance to dispatch Sevilla 3-1 at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan earlier this month, a victory that secured a place in the last 16 with two matches remaining.

A further win at Juventus Stadium would seal top spot in Group D but City head into the match under a cloud, having been dismantled 4-1 by Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium.

Pellegrini told a pre-match news conference that the hand-wringing over that humiliation was completed by the following morning and the manager believes his players are focused on the task at ha…

Jakub Blaszczykowski has moved from Borussia Dortmund to Fiorentina on a season-long loan.

The Poland international moved to Signal Iduna Park from Wisla Krakow in 2007 and was part of the Dortmund teams that won the Bundesliga in 2010-11 and 2011-12 as well as reaching the UEFA Champions League final in 2012-13.

However, injuries restricted the winger to just 20 appearances in all competitions last season and he has yet to
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play for Dortmund under new coach Thomas Tuchel this campaign.

Kuba is not only a great football player, but also a wonderful person, Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc said. 

For him it is important to gather a lot of match practice ahead of the 2016 European Championship. We wish him well in his sporting future …

Leroy Sane hopes to transfer his sparkling form at Manchester City on to the international stage with Germany.

The 22-year-old winger has scored 12 goals in all competition for Pep Guardiola s side, while also supplying 11 Premier League assists as City close in on the title.

However, Sane is yet to find the net in 10 appearances for his country and is set for the latest opportunity to open his account when Joachim Low s world champions face Brazil in Berlin on Tuesday.

I always try to show myself in one-on-one [situations] and open up gaps, he told a news conference.

I hope to be able to prove that in games of the national team.

The coach will prepare us very well for the opponent. Brazil has become much stronger and has a very strong team eve…

Real Madrid s authoritative 4-1 win at Celta Vigo in midweek put them within touching distance of a first LaLiga title for five seasons.

Zinedine Zidane s Champions League finalists have only lost four matches this season in all competitions and are enjoying a record streak of having scored in each of their past 63 matches.

The point they require at Malaga to unseat bitter rivals Barcelona is surely a formality that will render any victory over Eibar for Luis Enrique s men futile.

However, utter the name Tenerife and many Madrid fans will instantly cast their mind back with horror to the events of a quarter of a century ago, possibly breaking out into a cold sweat in the process.

IT S MATCHDAY! VAMOS!

 La Rosaleda
 20:00 CEST
 

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Arsenal are interested in signing Tariq Lamptey from Brighton and Hove Albion, according to . It has been reported that the Gunners are happy with Japan international Takehiro Tomiyasu, but manager Mikel Arteta wants to bring in another right-back who is more attacking in his approach.

Lamptey, who can also operate as a right wing-back, has been on the books of Brighton since 2020 when he joined after leaving Chelsea. The 21-year-old England Under-21 international right-back has played once in the Carabao Cup so far this season. The youngster scored one goal and gave one assist in 11 league matches last season.

Brighton’s Lamptey is a very talented and promising young right-back who can only get better in the coming weeks and months. For the right price, the right-bac…