Opinion

There has been an amazing transformation at Crystal Palace this season. Veteran head coach Roy Hodgson did an exceptional job at keeping the Eagle’s ship steady in the English top-flight.

On Thursday, Jermain Defoe officially announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 39 – bringing the curtain down on a memorable 22-year career.

On Thursday night, Italy suffered a 1-0 defeat against North Macedonia in the World Cup play-off semi-final. The result was made even worse by the fact that North Macedonia scored the winning goal in stoppage-time, so gave the Azzurri little opportunity to hit back.

World Cup qualification is all but secured for many of the top nations around the world, as South America sees Brazil and Argentina ease through just as France and England do so from the European scene with plenty of breathing space too.

With European football on pause due to the international break, it’s time to take a look at the goalkeepers who have made the most saves across the continent’s big five leagues this season.

Due to the international break, the Premier League is on hold for a fortnight. That gives us the chance to take stock and examine the race for fourth place.

Sunday night’s El Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu produced what could only be described as a battering for home team Real Madrid, as the Spanish league leaders went down to a 4-0 mauling at the hands of perennial nemesis Barcelona on home soil.

Roberto Firmino is in the final 18 months of his current Liverpool contract. Like fellow forwards Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, Firmino’s current deal expires in June 2023.

The second leg of the final games in the Champions League is over, and while there were heroics and upsets.

As we enter the home stretch of the 2021-22 Serie A season, the battle for the Golden Boot is very much a two-horse race. Who will finish atop the scoring charts in May?

The modern game has seen many top head coaches. In recent years the likes of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp have earned immense praise for their work in the Premier League. Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel is also a boss who is regularly showered with praise.

Given what happened to Christian Eriksen last summer, the fact that he is playing any form of football is a miracle in itself. But now the 30-year-old is back in the Denmark squad.

Occasionally, the fixture list around Europe brings us a selection of big derby matches over one weekend. That is the case this weekend and we have 4 thrilling derby games to look forward to, beginning with a London derby between Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United.

It is fair to say that Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to Manchester United has seen mixed results. The team are competing for a Champions League place in the Premier League and are still in the Champions League.

The English Premier League is home to many of the world’s most exciting rising stars. But who are the most valuable teenagers in England’s top tier?

The first set of fixtures in the round of 16 Champions League ties concluded this week and we witnessed some stunning goals, historic moments, and four clubs advancing into the last eight of Europe’s top club competition. Here’s everything that happened.

The most high-profile tie of the last-16 of the Champions League concluded on Wednesday night, as Real Madrid recorded a 3-1 win over PSG at the Santiago Bernabeu. The victory saw Los Blancos progress to the quarter-final of the competition 3-2 on aggregate.

Bayern Munich were held to a 1-1 draw in Austria against Red Bull Salzburg in the first leg of their round of 16 Champions League tie.

If the quarter-final schedule is anything to go by, the magic of the FA Cup is still very much alive and kicking in 2022.

On Monday night, Tottenham ripped Everton apart to record a 5-0 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The victory was a big one for Spurs hopes of finishing in the Champions League spots in the Premier League this season.