Rennes booked their spot in the Coupe de France semi-finals with a surprise 2-0 win over Lille on Thursday.
Philippe Montanier s side will meet second-tier Angers next month for a place in the final after ending Lille s eight-match unbeaten run in style with goals from Kamil Grosicki and Romain Alessandrini.
Rennes sit 16th in Ligue 1 but entered the match on the back of a morale-boosting 1-0 win at Marseille on Saturday.
And they carried that form into Thursday s contest, as Grosicki fired the hosts into a 34th-minute lead.
Jean Makoun missed a great chance to double Rennes lead on the stroke of half-time, shooting just wide after Lille goalkeeper Steeve Elana came off his line and failed to collect a cross.
Lille, who are third in Ligue 1, were unable to …
Verdict: Over three goals
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Returning to the dugout on Saturday afternoon, Pep Guardiola will be demanding an immediate response after their midweek defeat to Lyon. This weekend, Manchester City will head to newly-promoted Cardiff.
Cardiff
Starting with Neil Warnock s Cardiff side, although there were some signs of improvement in their 3-2 loss to Arsenal, it has been a very difficult start for the Bluebirds and they re just one of three teams yet to pick up a win this season. Coming off the back of a 4-1 defeat away at Stamford Bridge last weekend, it will be their recent defensive issues causing Warnock the most concern. Now conceding nine goals in their last three, Cardiff also crashed out of the League Cup last month at the h…
Lionel Messi was welcomed back to Barcelona training ahead of their Champions League match against Chelsea with a round of applause following the birth of his son, Ciro.
Messi missed Barca s routine 2-0 win over Malaga on Saturday, with the club initially stating he was absent for personal reasons .
He announced Ciro s birth the same day, confirming the news on Instagram.
Ciro is Messi s third child with wife Antonella Roccuzzo, following Thiago (2012) and Mateo (2015).
Messi was back in training with Barcelona on Monday, as Barca prepare for their crunch Champions League round of 16 clash with Chelsea, taking a 1-1 draw back to Camp Nou on Wednesday.
And his team-mates gave the Argentina superstar a round of applause at the start of the session.<…
Henryk Kasperczak will not be preoccupied with the past when Tunisia face Burkina Faso in the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals in Libreville on Saturday.
Kasperczak was at the helm when Tunisia were eliminated 8-7 on penalties at the same stage by Burkina Faso in 1998, before his first spell in charge was brought to an end at the World Cup later that year.
After clinching progression from Group B with a 4-2 victory over Zimbabwe, the Pole knows defensive improvement is required if his side are to fair better than they did 19 years ago.
Kasperczak said: I don t like to live in the past. I remember that period with nostalgia, but this is a new generation, and it s a new story.
I have confidence this team can go far. Burkina do not concede a lot of goal…
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has signed a new three-year contract, the Premier League club announced on Saturday.
Solskjaer s United finished as runners-up to Manchester City in the 2020-21 Premier League season and reached the final of the Europa League, losing 11-10 on penalties to Villarreal.
United confirmed the Norwegian s new deal contained an option for a further year.
Solskjaer said: Everyone knows the feeling I have for this club, and I am delighted to have signed this new contract. It is an exciting time for Manchester United, we have built a squad with a good balance of youth and experienced players that are hungry for success.
I have a fantastic coaching team around me, and we are all ready to take that next step on our jour…
Tottenham Hotspur have started doing their business in 2020 and they intend to keep doing it. After signing Gedson Fernandes on an 18-month long loan as Jose Mourinho s first addition to the squad, they are now very close to adding another one. And this one is coming from the Netherlands.
According to Fabrizio Romano, transfer market expert who is usually very reliable with delivering news, Tottenham Hotspur are looking to sign Steven Bergwijn and the deal is close to completion. Romano s reports suggest Bergwijn, PSV Eindhoven s left winger, has arrived in London to finish all the details of a transfer that is expected to cost 31 million euros.
Bergwijn would be an interesting addition, but it is also interesting that if the deal goes through, Spurs will have spent 93 …
The Football Association is to investigate the deal that took Jadon Sancho to Manchester City from Watford in 2015 over an alleged payment made to the player s agent.
German publication Der Spiegel claims to have seen documents from whistleblowers Football Leaks that show City paid Emeka Obasi £200,000 as part of the scouting contract to find players in south and central America.
Der Spiegel alleged this payment was actually in relation to Sancho s move from Watford as a 14-year-old, with the process arranged to circumvent FIFA rules that prevent agent fees being made in transfers involving minors.
It has also claimed to have seen an e-mail sent to Sancho s father outlining what salary and bonuses he would receive once he turned professional. According to the re…
Prediction: Draw
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The 2021/22 domestic football campaign is officially behind us and while we may have to wait until November for the World Cup to kick off, that doesn t mean we re short on international action. The UEFA Nations League is back in our lives with a parade of nations attempting to make some noise including the Netherlands and Wales, who will meet in Rotterdam on Tuesday night.
Netherlands
The Netherlands will finally be back in the big dance as they prepare for another World Cup appearance in Qatar. This is the best the country has looked on the international stage in quite some time and even though they aren t exactly going to be tipped as favourites to win the trophy, everyone knows what they re capable of once …
Belgium and Wales both opened up their 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign last night and while it was pretty close at times, the Red Devils were the ones who ran out as 3-1 winners. Now, with the Euros on the horizon and more qualifiers to come, the international football scene is well and truly in full flow.
Sweet revenge
Almost five years ago, Wales caused an absolutely huge shock at UEFA Euro 2016 when they beat Belgium ironically 3-1 to book their place in the semi-finals. While this isn t exactly the same sort of level as that, you can bet Belgium will be feeling pretty good about themselves and about the fact that they got over the finish line. Now, there s just the small case of maintaining this consistency, because we all know they re one of the favourites heading…
Verdict: Home win
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Barring an epic collapse on either side, Colombia and Spain should clinch their berths to the 2018 FIFA World Cup in the coming months. Both teams are among the most talented squads in their respective regions. And both have some of the most talented players in the world as well. With an eye towards the end of the Qualifiers, both sides will meet this Wednesday in a friendly match.
Spain
No one expected Spain to be out of the EURO 2016 as quickly as they did, but they have bounced back nicely. They top their group even though there still are five games left on their World Cup Qualifiers schedule. And overall they are riding a seven-game undefeated streak. Julen Lopetegui has led an important renewal that gave…