Lionel Messi was at his record-breaking, breathtaking best on Sunday as a stunning late strike helped Barcelona to Clasico glory over Real Madrid and moved him to 500 goals for the Catalan giants.
A devastating finish, so typical of the Argentine master, put Barca top of LaLiga as they try to overhaul Madrid in a domestic season of capital dominance.
But the strike served to once again highlight Messi s status as one of the all-time greats as Barca s record goalscorer became the first LaLiga player to net 500 goals for a single club.
Using Opta data, we break down the stunning statistics behind Messi s latest mind-blowing milestone.
500 Lionel Messi has scored his 500th goal for Barcelona in all competitions. Stellar.
— OptaJose (@OptaJose)
Manchester United have completed the signing of Southampton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin on an initial four-year contract.
Schneiderlin, who has made 231 league appearances since moving to Southampton ahead of the 2008-09 season, moves to Old Trafford for an undisclosed fee, with the option to extend his deal by a further 12 months.
The France international has made no secret of his desire to test himself in the UEFA Champions League and has been a reported target for Arsenal and Tottenham in the past.
However, it is United who emerged as strong favourites for his signature and Louis van Gaal continues the rebuilding of his squad ahead of a return to the Champions League, having already snapped up Memphis Depay, Matteo Darmian and Bastian Schweinsteiger.<…
Bayern Munich s unbeaten start to Julian Nagelsmann s tenure came to an end on Sunday with a shock 2-1 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Bavarian giants had won nine in a row since an opening-game draw and looked set for another routine victory at Allianz Arena when Leon Goretzka deservedly put them in front.
But Martin Hinteregger equalised for Frankfurt before the interval and Kevin Trapp made a number of saves to put the visitors on course for a fifth successive 1-1 league draw.
Not content with only a point, Filip Kostic rifled in a winner seven minutes from time to inflict a first home Bundesliga loss on stunned champions Bayern since November 2019.
Defeat at home.
1-2
— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN)
Bayern dominated th…
Paris Saint-Germain star Zlatan Ibrahimovic can do much better , according to coach Laurent Blanc.
Ibrahimovic has started to return to form after a slow, and injury-interrupted, start to the season.
The Sweden international has scored in back-to-back Ligue 1 matches ahead of Sunday s clash at home to Marseille.
But Blanc believes the 34-year-old, who is just a goal behind PSG s all-time leading goalscorer Pauleta, can do more than he has recently.
I want to give Ibra more time on the pitch, as I gave more time to all the players who were back with the team, Blanc said.
I think Ibra can do much better, but I think make him play more can help him to get back on a top level.
For the rest of the next matches if the group remains with such …
Euro 2024 hosts Germany faced Denmark in the round of 16 of the competition at Borussia Dortmund s Signal Iduna Park on Saturday evening, and they successfully overcame the first hurdle in the knockout stage, courtesy of goals from Kai Havertz from the penalty spot in the 53rd minute and Jamal Musiala in the 68th.
The teams
Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann arranged his team in a 4-3-3 formation, with Manuel Neuer in goal, Antonio Rudiger forming a centre-back partnership with Nico Schlotterbeck, flanked by Joshua Kimmich and David Raum. Toni Kroos, Robert Andrich and Ilkay Gundogad were in the middle of the park, while Leroy Sane and Jamal Musiala supported Kai Havertz upfront.
Meanwhile, Denmark boss Kasper Hjulmand went with his usual 3-4-3 system. Joachim Anders…
Karim Benzema will start the first leg of Real Madrid s Champions League tie with Liverpool, says Carlo Ancelotti, who is backing Vinicius Junior to shine against the Reds once again.
Madrid were without Benzema for Saturday s 2-0 win at Osasuna, with Ancelotti intent on managing the striker s minutes after he endured an injury-hit few months.
Ancelotti said the 2022 Ballon d Or winner would not have faced Liverpool had the first leg of the last-16 tie taken place on Saturday, raising fears he could miss out on Tuesday.
However, Benzema – who top-scored with 15 goals in 12 Champions League appearances last season – has been passed fit to feature from the off on Merseyside.
Asked about Benzema s availability at Monday s pre-match press conference, Anc…
Arjen Robben has called time on his international career after 14 years representing Netherlands.
Robben played his last game for the Oranje on Tuesday as Netherlands beat Sweden 2-0 but missed out on a World Cup play-off place, the Bayern Munich winger bowing out in style as his first-half double helped them to victory.
Here, with the help of Opta, we look back at the best international statistics of a player who was part of the Netherlands side that reached the World Cup final in 2010.
Arjen Robben is the fourth top goalscorer for Netherlands with 37 goals (level with Dennis Bergkamp), behind Robin van Persie (50), Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (42) and Patrick Kluivert (40).
Since his debut on April 30 2003 (v Portugal), Robben has appeared in …
Germany Under-21 coach Horst Hrubesch has called for calm after his side s humbling exit from the European Under-21 Championship following a 5-0 semi-final thrashing against Portugal.
Hrubesch s men were totally outplayed in Olomouc as they slumped to a first defeat in 15 competitive games, with midfielder Emre Can quick to brand it a shameful result for the 2009 winners.
Hrubesch, though, was not as forthcoming as Can in slamming his players.
We shouldn t have to start from scratch, said the former Hamburg striker.
The lads are realists enough to know that there are days like the 7-1 win for the Germany senior side in Brazil [at last year s World Cup], where everything goes right, and others where it doesn t quite go as planned. There are days …
Roberto Mancini insisted Inter are still well in the race for the Champions League spots despite Radja Nainggolan s late strike denying them victory at Roma.
Inter were six minutes away from a first Serie A victory at Stadio Olimpico since 2008 after Ivan Perisic s goal early in the second half on Saturday, but the Belgium midfielder netted with a sliding effort after Edin Dzeko had mishit a shot into his path.
That meant Roma, whose eight-match winning streak in the league was ended, remain five points clear of Inter in the third and final Champions League place, but Mancini is still hopeful of catching them.
The team put in an excellent performance, which builds on our recent displays, he said.
There are still so many points up for grabs. If we finish…
Zinedine Zidane is adamant that regardless of the result in Saturday s El Clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona, the LaLiga title race will not be over.
Madrid head into the match at the Santiago Bernabeu trailing their great rivals by 11 points, although they have played a game fewer.
A victory coupled with a win in their game in hand would bring Madrid to within five points of Barca, but history does not bode well for Zidane s side.
No team has ever recovered from a deficit of 10 points or more and gone on to win LaLiga, meaning the odds are well in favour of Ernesto Valverde s men.
Zidane is refusing to give up hope of finishing top of the pile, though, insisting that even if Barca win to go 14 points clear, Madrid have plenty of time left.
…