Pep Guardiola's appointment at the high-flying Premier League club is certainly ill-timed, argues Bikash Mohapatra.
Ahead of the UEFA Champions League proper, which kicks-off next month, Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com tells football fans what to expect in this year's competition.
Cristiano Ronaldo finally became the highest scorer in Real Madrid's history while Bayern Munich set a record for the greatest number of successive wins at the start of a season in the Bundesliga this weekend.
For Manchester United, the answer to a slump in form or a crisis of confidence comes in 50 pound notes. Millions of them.
A much-changed Real Madrid ground out a 2-0 victory at third-tier Fuenlabrada in their King's Cup last-32 first leg on Thursday, needing two dubious penalties to break down their stubborn hosts as both sides finished with 10 men.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The owners of English soccer champions Leicester City say they will resist attempts by more glamorous rivals to lure away their title-winning players, after an unlikely triumph that has captured the imagination of fans worldwide. Duty-free magnate Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha became the first Thai owner of an English Premier League title-winning team on Monday night, when the only club capable of catching them, Tottenham Hotspur, were held to a 2-2 draw by Chelsea. Leicester's journey from 5,000-1 outsiders to English champions has captivated soccer lovers everywhere, but also prompted predictions that the team could be broken up in the off-season as bigger clubs look to poach their best players. "We are not the team that will sell players for money," said Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, the club's vice chairman and Vichai's son, in comments reported by Thai website Manager. "So, I can confirm that we will keep all major players with the team, such as Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez, N'Golo Kante or Kasper Schmeichel."
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Manchester City's Sergio Aguero scored a hat-trick as coach Pep Guardiola maintained his 100 per cent record at the club with a commanding 4-0 victory against Borussia Moenchengladbach in their rearranged Champions League Group C opener on Wednesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Samuel Eto'o's hat-trick lifted Chelsea to a 3-1 win over Manchester United on Sunday which all but ended the champions' slim hopes of defending their Premier League title.
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Antonio Conte brushed aside the praise being heaped upon him and his high-flying Chelsea team on Friday, adamant that he would not let the plaudits distract them in their surge towards the English Premier League title.
France's hopes of reaching the World Cup finals are hanging by a thread after a 2-0 first-leg defeat away to Ukraine in their playoff on Friday while Cristiano Ronaldo's late winner gave Portugal the edge against Sweden.
Javier Hernandez's late strike kept Real Madrid on course for a record-extending 11th European Cup crown with a 1-0 win over 10-man Atletico Madrid in a tense quarter-final at the Bernebau on Wednesday.
The 20-time English Premier League champions are far from their best, but, in the final analysis, it is the results that matter, and at the moment they are on a winning spree, says Bikash Mohapatra
Atletico Madrid got their La Liga campaign up and running in less than convincing fashion when Antoine Griezmann's deflected free kick secured an edgy 1-0 win at home to promoted Las Palmas on Saturday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Aditi and Akshay Maliwal are mentoring young sports athletes from Asia to get through to top US universities.
Chelsea icon Frank Lampard scored for Manchester City to end his old club's perfect start to the Premier League season while Leicester City came from 3-1 down to beat Manchester United 5-3 on a remarkable day in the Premier League on Sunday.
You can see Messi, Suarez and other South American superstars play in the Copa America. Why then are soccer fans ignoring the oldest football tournament and looking forward to the European championships, which begins in France on Friday?
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been named Sweden's footballer of the year for the ninth time and although his eighth victory in a row came as no shock, his acceptance speech showing a more sensitive side surprised many.
Roberto Firmino's goal gave Brazil a 1-0 victory over Chile in a feisty friendly at the Emirates Stadium in London on Sunday, their eighth successive win since last year's disappointing World Cup campaign.
'For its part, Pakistan often gives safe haven to agents of chaos, violence, and terror.'
