Paulinho scored an unlikely hat-trick and Neymar starred as Brazil extended their winning run and lead atop the World Cup qualifying standings with a 4-1 victory over Uruguay.
In Thursday s top-of-the-table clash in Montevideo, Brazil came out on top in style thanks to a hat-trick from former Tottenham midfielder Paulinho and Neymar s delicious lob.
Edinson Cavani opened the scoring with a ninth-minute penalty his 40th international goal but Paulinho restored parity via a stunning long-range strike 10 minutes later before giving Brazil the lead seven minutes into the second half.
Neymar s touch of class 16 minutes from time made it 3-1 and Paulinho sealed the points in stoppage time with his third as Brazil snapped Uruguay s 14-match unbeaten record at home in …
Milan held off a late Salernitana fightback to make a winning start to 2023 as a 2-1 victory kept them in pursuit of Serie A leaders Napoli.
First-half goals from Rafael Leao and Sandro Tonali looked to have been more than enough for Stefano Pioli s side to begin the new year with a comfortable win.
But Federico Bonazzoli s late finish set up a nervy finale at Stadio Arechi, with the Rossoneri just about able to hold their nerve and secure the three points.
Having survived a relegation battle last season, Salernitana came close to a major scalp and Davide Nicola will take heart from their late rally against the Scudetto holders.
3 Sandro has provided three out of his five assists for AC Milan in Serie A for Rafael Leao goals. Feeling.
— OptaP…
Arsenal goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez has joined Reading on loan until the end of the season.
The 26-year-old has made just one appearance for the Gunners in 2018-19, keeping a clean sheet in the 1-0 Europa League win over Qarabag at Emirates Stadium in December.
Martinez, who spent last term with Getafe in LaLiga, will now spend the rest of this season at Madejski Stadium.
I am delighted we have been able to attract a goalkeeper of Emi s undoubted ability to Reading, manager Jose Gomes told the club s website after Martinez completed his medical on Wednesday.
He will provide excellent competition for the goalkeeper s position and adds quality to our group. I look forward to working with him on the training ground for the first time later today.
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There were no matches on Monday as Russia absorbed the end of the group stages at Confederations Cup 2017.
But some FIFA bigwigs faced the music in St Petersburg and Cristiano Ronaldo started giving awards away.
All this and more in our latest daily diary.
RONALDO SALUTES SILVA BY DONATING PRIZE
The man-of-the-match awards at the Confederations Cup have been fairly easy to predict, given that they are decided by a public vote on social media.
It should come as little surprise that the biggest names at the tournament have largely swept the board, with Ronaldo winning three out of three for Portugal.
However, the skipper showed some good grace by donating his most recent prize to team-mate Bernardo Silva, who injured his ankle in the act of…
Rob Page believes Wales are heading into their crunch Euro 2024 qualifier in Latvia with renewed confidence after holding South Korea to a Cardiff draw.
Wales have now won only once in 13 games, but Page accentuated the positives after a goalless stalemate against opponents who reached the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
“There’s lots of positives and we take that momentum and confidence into a tough game on Monday,” Page said after Wales had returned to action following damaging Euro 2024 qualifying defeats by Armenia and Turkey in June.
We move on to
— Wales
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Wes Morgan struck for the second straight game and Jamie Vardy scored a header as Leicester City eased to a 2-0 Premier League victory over Bournemouth at the King Power Stadium.
Having also netted against Burnley last time out and signed a new contract last week, Morgan continued a memorable spell with an early goal on Saturday.
Vardy sealed the victory eight minutes from time, as Leicester won a third straight home game in the top flight for the first time since May 2017.
Home fans paid tribute to former owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who would have celebrated his 61st birthday next week, and gave a good performance to mark the occasion in continuing their strong start under Brendan Rodgers.
2 – Wes Morgan has scored in consecutive Premier League…
Borussia Dortmund head coach Peter Bosz expects the €1billion mark to be reached in the transfer market before too long.
The most recent transfer window saw Paris Saint-Germain smash the world record by paying €222million to bring Neymar to Ligue 1 from Barcelona.
The Catalans replaced the Brazil star with Dortmund s Ousmane Dembele, who became the second most expensive player in history after completing a move for an initial €105million.
Spending has escalated since Cristiano Ronaldo s move to Real Madrid for a then-record €94m in 2009, with eight of the nine most expensive transfers in history taking place in the last four years.
PSG s huge investment also included a deal for Kylian Mbappe that will see them pay a reported €180m to make his lo…
Market: Lens win
Odds: 5/6 @
Looking to extend on their recent flurry this weekend, Lens will welcome Brest to the Stade Bollaert-Delelis on Sunday afternoon.
Starting with the hosts, while Lens could only muster a pair of wins from any of their final nine Ligue 1 appearances last season, Le Racing are certainly enjoying life under new boss Will Still. Getting proceedings underway last week with a gritty 1-0 victory away at Angers, it appears that the mood around the Stade Bollaert-Delelis is at a real high. Likewise, getting their Europa Conference League adventure underway earlier in the week with a 2-1 victory against Greek heavyweights Panathinaikos, the former Reims boss should be smelling a golden opportunity here. Signing off their pre-season preparations…
According to a recent report from Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona defender Nelson Semedo could wind up leaving the club after all. They went from believing that he couldn’t and shouldn’t be transferred to now feeling as if they could go out and get some alternatives in as a potential replacement, which is the thought process that Eric Abidal seems to be leading with.
They rejected a series of offers that were said to be worth around €40 million during the recent summer transfer window, but they’re now willing to turn around and listen to a few different deals.
The strength in depth that Barca has at their disposal is on another level, but it appears as if they want to take things up a notch as the competition gets a little bit trickier both domestically and i…
Sheffield United became the first team in Premier League history to fail to win any of their first 17 matches of a season as they lost 2-0 at Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The Blades had matched Queens Park Rangers 16-game winless start from 2012-13 in their 1-0 defeat at Burnley last time out.
Chris Wilder s side now possess that unwanted record outright, however, after another reverse at the hands of Palace.
United, who have just two points this term, are the first top-flight side to endure such a desperate run from the beginning of a campaign since Bolton Wanderers went 22 without victory in 1902-03.
Jeffrey Schlupp fired in an early opener at Selhurst Park, before substitute Eberechi Eze doubled Palace s lead with a fine solo strike in the sixth minute …