Paris Saint-Germain coach Carlo Ancelotti says he has been impressed with Saint-Etienne winger Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang s recent form.
The Gabon international was named Ligue 1 s Player of the Month for February on the back of a goalscoring spree, and he is now underlining just why AC Milan elected to sign him as a teenager.
Ancelotti coached Aubameyang for a season before leaving Milan to take charge of Chelsea in 2009 but the forward made a big impression on the Italian.
At the time, he was a young player at Milan and I remember he showed good quality, the PSG boss told RMC. Right now, he is now proving that he s very talented.
Aubameyang, 22, joined Saint-Etienne permanently at the end of last season after failing to make a single Serie A appearanc…
David Silva scored two and set up another as he inspired Spain s 5-0 hammering of a defensively woeful Costa Rica side in Saturday s friendly clash at La Rosaleda.
Julen Lopetegui s men played with immense freedom throughout, as they stroked the ball around in style and took full advantage of Costa Rica s poor defensive organisation, as the away side made errors for each of Spain s first four goals.
Costa Rica actually showed flashes of promise early on, but that quickly vanished as Spain took control, with Jordi Alba s Silva-influenced opening goal after just six minutes ushering in a period of real dominance.
The lively Alvaro Morata added a second in the 23rd minute and probably should have scored at least hat-trick before his half-time withdrawal.
But…
Massimiliano Allegri is unwilling to discuss potential replacements for Paul Pogba, insisting the midfielder remains a Juventus player.
Manchester United are reportedly on the brink of securing a world-record transfer for the France midfielder after he originally left Old Trafford for Turin in 2012.
United boss Jose Mourinho was reluctant to discuss Pogba specifically when asked for an update on the transfer on Friday, but did say the club would sign a very good midfielder within days .
Pogba will not play in Juve s friendly against West Ham on Sunday as he concludes his holiday, but head coach Allegri expects him to be available to meet up with the squad later in the day before training on Monday.
It s only fair that Jose Mourinho should choose not t…
Borussia Dortmund s malaise continued with a mid-week home loss to Augsburg. Next up, it s a trip to Freiburg for the Bundesliga strugglers.
Borussia Dortmund captain Mats Hummels has called for greater composure in front goal in his side s bid to climb off the bottom of the Bundesliga table.
Dortmund who have finished in the league s top two for the last four seasons are rock-bottom after a dreadful campaign under Jurgen Klopp.
The close-season departures of Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski, both to champions Bayern Munich, have undoubtedly hurt Dortmund who visit Freiburg on Saturday as have a string of injuries to key players.
But it is still remarkable that a side containing the likes of Marco Reus, Hummels and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang sit at the…
Karim Benzema insisted it was not in his nature to give up as he was forced to concede his World Cup dream with France was over.
A quadriceps problem in his left thigh has flared up and left the 34-year-old resigned to packing his bags rather than contributing for Les Bleus in Qatar.
He won the highly prized Ballon d Or award last month, recognition of his spectacular form last season, but Benzema will be on the outside looking in on football s biggest show after suffering a setback in France s training session on Saturday.
It had been his first full on-pitch activity with the France squad during the pre-tournament camp, with Benzema having been determined to prove his fitness before the team s opening game against Australia on Tuesday.
He had been bother…
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With the 2021/22 Serie A campaign getting underway this weekend, Juventus will look to get off to a flying start when they make the trip to Udinese on Sunday evening.
Udinese
Starting with the hosts, managing to extend on their Serie A status last season by eventually confirming their safety with time to spare, Udinese have enjoyed a summer bounce heading into this weekend s opener. Last seen on August 13th picking up a 3-1 victory against Serie B outfit Ascoli in the Coppa Italia, The White and Blacks also signed off their preparations with back-to-back friendly wins against Empoli and Cjarlins Muzane. However, with Head Coach Luca Gotti knowing that his side will face a stern test on home soil this weekend, they did sign off the 20…
Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele were hailed as two of the best players in the world right now by Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Milan Skriniar after their starring roles in a 4-1 triumph over Lorient.
The duo were each on target twice at the Stade du Moustoir in Wednesday s contest as Luis Enrique s men took another step closer to the Ligue 1 title.
Speaking to RMC Sport, centre-back Skriniar had high praise for PSG s superstar duo after a game where he felt the team were not at their best.
I don t think it was our best performance, because at 2-0, we could have controlled the match better, he said.
We lost too many easy balls but we know that up front we are very strong. I think we have the two best players in the world [Mbappe and Dembele] at the mom…
With all eyes falling on the Al Janoub Stadium on Tuesday night, France opened the defence of their world crown with a thumping 4-1 victory against Australia.
While the Europan giants might have been left stunned as the Socceroos opened the scoring after just nine minutes thanks to Craig Goodwin s early strike, Didier Deschamps men mounted an eye-catching comeback.
Laying down an early Group D marker, goals from Kylian Mbappe, Adrien Rabiot and an Olivier Giroud brace wrapped up a convincing victory for Les Bleus in Qatar.
Drawing a line under their rather public 2022 struggles, France will be desperate to use Tuesday s flurry as a platform to build on as they look to defend their World Cup trophy in the Middle East.
In what was a convincing display from…
Arsenal have signed France centre-back Laurent Koscielny to a new long-term contract, the Premier League club have announced.
Koscielny, 26, arrived in north London from Lorient at the start of the 2010/11 campaign and has been rewarded with an improved deal.
The Gunners gave no details of the deal other than describing it as a long-term contract .
Laurent has been outstanding for us over the last two seasons, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told the club s official website.
When you consider that until 2009 he was playing in Ligue 2 in France and that he is now performing at the very top level in the Premier League and for his country, the development that he has shown has been absolutely exceptional.
Laurent is a top-class player and I am very…
Brazil legend Pele has labelled Spain as the best team in the world, but is unsure if they will defend their World Cup crown.
Pele says he has monitored Vicente del Bosque s side ever since their rise to prominence ahead of Euro 2008.
And though Spain are able to boast a host of individual talent at their disposal, Pele believes it is their team ethic that has been key to their success.
I admire them because I have followed the national team since four or five years ago, Pele said.
All of those years, they have played very good. They have a nice team. It s not only individual players.
Whether those same figures can become the first European nation to lift the World Cup on South American soil, however, is a different ma…