Gareth Bale missed a chance to announce himself as Cristiano Ronaldo s Real Madrid successor after struggling to fill the void left by the Portuguese superstar in the Champions League semi-final stalemate at Manchester City.

Speaking on the eve of the first leg at Etihad Stadium, Bale said he had no interest in seeing himself as a leading star who Madrid turn towards for inspiration.

A little more than an hour before kick-off, he had no choice in the matter.

Rumours whipping around pre-match soon became established as facts. Cristiano Ronaldo was not included in the Madrid squad, handing City a considerable lift.

Ronaldo missed Saturday s 3-2 win over Rayo Vallecano and, in his absence, head coach Zinedine Zidane expected the man with an astonishing 16 go…

West Ham are making light work of Europa League Group H as they made it three wins from as many matches with Thursday s 3-0 defeat of Genk.

The Belgians travelled to London having lost four of their previous five matches across all competitions and West Ham piled on the misery to go six points clear at the top of the group.

Genk looked bright during the early exchanges but West Ham grew into the occasion and went ahead on the stroke of half-time, Craig Dawson s looping header finding the net.

West Ham put the game beyond Genk with a quickfire double just before the hour, Issa Diop and then Jarrod Bowen scoring 72 seconds apart to leave David Moyes men on the brink of qualification for the knockout phase.

West Ham briefly appeared to have fallen behind ear…

Market: Under 2.5 goals

Odds: 5/6 @

Two Championship sides who have shown some worrying issues in front of goal, Derby and Preston will face off at an empty Pride Park on EFL Cup duties on Tuesday evening.

Starting with the hosts, although Derby might have made it clear that they had a play-off finish at the top of their agenda after returning to action back in June, things have really not gone to plan for Phillip Cocu. Signing off the extended 2019/2020 campaign by collecting just three points over their final five Championship contests, the former PSV boss has also seen his side endure what has been a difficult summer of preparations. Failing to win any of their pre-season contests and also needing penalties to come past League Two debutants Barrow in the las…

Arsenal are determined to sign Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that the Gunners are keen on signing a new striker, and that the North London club have made Sesko their number one target for the summer of 2024.

Sesko is one of the best young forwards in Europe and is a very good goalscorer. The 20-year-old Slovenia international has scored 11 goals and given two assists in 34 matches in all competitions for RB Leipzig this season. Leipzig are fifth in the Bundesliga table at the moment with 49 points from 26 games, a point behind fourth-placed Borussia Dortmund.

Arsenal are at the top of the Premier League table at the moment with 64 points from 28 matches, level on points with Liverpool, who are second,…

Aurelio Andreazzoli claimed even his four-year-old grandson could see that was a penalty after he was left furious with the refereeing in Empoli s 2-0 defeat to Inter.

Danilo D Ambrosio headed in the opener for Inter after 33 minutes but Empoli felt Nedim Bajrami had been fouled at the other end by the Nerazzurri centre-back.

Federico Dimarco subsequently added a second following Samuele Ricci s dismissal for a reckless challenge on Nicolo Barella, leaving Andreazzoli fuming over the standard of officiating in Wednesday s Serie A clash.

I want to be very clear that I have never talked about referees, because I think they ought to be defended as a profession, Andreazzoli told Sky Sport Italia.

However, I want to know what exactly Paolo Valeri was doing …

Manchester United join race for Ganso

Manchester United have joined the race to sign Santos midfielder Paulo Henrique Ganso, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Sir Alex Ferguson is still looking to add a quality player to the midfield area and he is reportedly keen on Santos playmaker Ganso.

The Scottish manager has turned to the Brazilian after his move for Wesley Sneijder fell through and is now pondering a big money move for Brazil’s number 10.

The 20-year-old playmaker is a target for both Milan and Inter, and has already hinted at a move to Serie A, but could change his opinion after being informed of Manchester United interest.

Milan were thought to be on the verge of signing the youngster, but the Rossoneri decided to pursue other tar…

Ayoze Perez continued his fine form in front of goal as Newcastle United cruised to a fifth straight win by beating West Brom 2-0.

The Spaniard was restored to the starting XI on Sunday along with Remy Cabella and Massadio Haidara by Alan Pardew after scoring the winner in each of Newcastle s last two Premier League games.

And the forward signed from Tenerife in the close-season once again repaid the faith of his manager by putting Newcastle ahead in the final minute of the first half at The Hawthorns.

West Brom pressed to try and level the scores but were caught on the break by a visiting side that played largely on the counter.

Captain Fabricio Coloccini headed home Newcastle s second and there proved to be no way back for West Brom, who have now won j…

Former Argentina international Diego Milito has backed Gerardo Martino to lead the country to success.

Ex-Barcelona boss Martino assumed the national team reins from the outgoing Alejandro Sabella after this year s World Cup in Brazil, where Argentina lost the final to Germany in extra time.

And, while praising the work carried out by Sabella during his tenure, Milito currently plying his trade with Racing Club in his homeland believes Martino is the right man to take Argentina forward.

I think, first of all, Sabella did a great job with Argentina, he told Perform. [But] Martino’s arrival is great.

We re talking about an experienced manager, a manager who likes to play attractive football and has a proven record at that.

He did great with Par…

Paraguay is set to join Argentina and Uruguay s bid to host the 2030 World Cup.

The edition will represent the 100th anniversary of the inaugural competition held in Uruguay, and FIFA president Gianni Infantino last year tentatively backed the nation acting as joint-hosts with Argentina.

Matches could also take place in Paraguay after the country s president Horacio Cartes announced an agreement had been reached with his counterparts in the other two nations.

I can confirm an agreement between the presidents of Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay to fight for the 2030 World Cup hosting rights, Cartes tweeted.

El presidente se reúne con el titular de la Alejandro Domínguez

— Presidencia Paraguay (@PresidenciaPy)

CONMEBOL president Alej…

Kylian Mbappe, Bernardo Silva, Benjamin Mendy and Tiemoue Bakayoko have all left French titleholders Monaco, but Rony Lopes is leading a new group of championship hopefuls as he desperately seeks to silence the doubters.

Monaco made a stunning and rapid rise to the summit of Ligue 1 last season, dethroning French giants Paris Saint-Germain for their first league title in 17 years, while the Principality club sensationally reached the Champions League semi-finals with style and substance.

But the nucleus of their title-winning line-up has been ripped apart after being raided by PSG, Manchester City and Chelsea for teenage sensation Mbappe, playmaker Silva, star full-back Mendy and tough-tackling midfielder Bakayoko.

While doubts have emerged over Monaco s ability …