Karim Benzema learned a lot from Cristiano Ronaldo but was also overshadowed by his former Real Madrid team-mate, the 2022 Ballon d Or winner s academy coach told Stats Perform.
Madrid captain Benzema was named the world s best footballer by France Football for the first time in Paris on Monday.
The France forward was a deserving winner, having been Madrid s outstanding performer in scoring 44 goals in 2021-22 as they won LaLiga and the Champions League.
It was by far the most prolific campaign of Benzema s career, although his goalscoring form had already seen an upturn since Ronaldo s 2018 departure.
Benzema scored only 12 goals in 2017-18 as Ronaldo s final season at the Santiago Bernabeu ended with a fourth European crown alongside the former Lyon man…
Manchester City defender Kyle Walker praised referee Michael Oliver for not “crumbling” in a fierce Anfield atmosphere and giving a last-minute penalty to Liverpool.
Jeremy Doku’s chest-high challenge to clear the ball in the 1-1 draw saw him catch Reds midfielder Alexis Mac Allister, but Oliver saw nothing amiss and VAR ruled it was a normal collision.
Jurgen Klopp said it was “a penalty for all football people on the planet”.
Were Liverpool unlucky to not be awarded a penalty?
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL)
However, Walker hailed Oliver’s character and experience in withstanding the pressure.
“I feel the ref did really well. Once you have the Anfield crowd behind them, he could’ve have crumbled,” he told…
Chelsea have loaned Malang Sarr to Porto for the rest of the 2020-21 season.
Frank Lampard s side signed the centre-back in August on a five-year deal after the 21-year-old left Nice at the end of his contract.
The Blues had always intended to send the France Under-21 international elsewhere for the next year, and he has finalised a deal to join the Portuguese champions.
I m very excited, Sarr said, quoted on Porto s website. It was an opportunity I was looking for, so I am grateful and happy to be here.
Porto are the best club in Portugal, a very big club with talented players and a history that, for me, is very important.
I know Porto are an ambitious club and I also came for that. I m looking forward to the competitiveness, the big games, t…
Paris Saint-Germain were stunned in a 3-1 home defeat by Toulouse on Sunday, as the newly-crowned champions suffered only their second loss in Ligue 1 this season.
Luis Enrique s side struggled for form after their midweek Champions League semi-final loss to Borussia Dortmund, falling again at home to remain on 70 points from 32 games, six clear of second-placed Monaco.
Kylian Mbappe, who confirmed on Friday that he will leave PSG at the end of the season, opened the scoring after eight minutes with a fine finish into an open goal following a pinpoint pass from goalkeeper Arnau Tenas.
Toulouse equalised five minutes later through Thijs Dalling, who coolly slotted home from close range before Yann Gboho put the visitors ahead with a superb curling effort into the …
Paulo Fonseca believes Milan s Champions League opener against Liverpool is the perfect opportunity to show the team s progress under his stewardship.
Fonseca, who arrived at the San Siro from Lille in July, picked up his first Serie A victory for the Rossoneri on Saturday with a 4-0 rout of Venezia.
All four goals came in the first 30 minutes of that encounter, the first time Milan had done so in a league match since October 1958 against Alessandria.
Milan welcome a familiar foe in the competition in Liverpool on Tuesday, with the pair having squared off in the 2005 and 2007 finals, both winning one apiece.
The Italian side also faced the Reds in the Champions League group stage in the 2021-22 season but lost on both occasions as Liverpool reached the…
Spain sent out a statement in their opening game at Euro 2024 by thrashing Croatia 3-0 in Berlin, with Lamine Yamal assisting as he became the competition s youngest-ever player to feature.
La Roja claimed a 5-3 extra-time victory when these sides met in the last 16 at Euro 2020, but they enjoyed a far more serene outing on Saturday.
Fabian Ruiz released Alvaro Morata to put them ahead after a quiet start, then some clever footwork led to the midfielder s deflected strike beating Dominik Livakovic three minutes later.
Luis de la Fuente made Yamal the Euros youngest-ever player at the age of 16 years and 338 days, and he rewarded his coach by assisting Dani Carvajal s third on the stroke of half-time.
Croatia looked a shadow of the team that took bronze at…
Manuel Neuer has called on Germany to stay grounded after their flying start to Euro 2024, warning Wednesday s clash with Hungary in Stuttgart will be a step up.
Germany recorded the biggest ever win in the opening game of a European Championship last Friday, thumping Scotland 5-1 with Florian Writz, Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz, Niclas Fullkrug and Emre Can all on target.
It was also Germany s largest victory at the Euros, as they underlined their credentials after a turbulent build-up to their home tournament.
They will be heavily favoured against a Hungary side well beaten by Switzerland in their first game, but Neuer – who is playing at his eighth major tournament – says Julian Nagelsmann s squad will not get carried away.
The trust is what s impor…
Champions League football is a simple game. Twenty-two men run around a field for 90 minutes, and in the end, Real Madrid always win.
Los Blancos claimed their record-extending 15th European crown at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, with late goals from Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Junior enough to see off a spirited Borussia Dortmund side.
The last six of those triumphs have come within the space of 11 years, following an agonising 12-year wait for La Decima, won in Carlo Ancelotti s first stint in charge in 2014.
Few clubs have enjoyed sustained success in Europe s elite club competition. Fewer still have built the kind of dynasty established by Madrid in recent years.
But how does their recent success compare to those of yesteryear, and how do their players …
Mexico striker Oribe Peralta has been ruled out of Rio 2016 due to a broken nose.
Peralta scored twice as El Tri won the 2012 final against Brazil and found the net in Mexico s opening 2-2 draw against Germany.
However, an injury sustained in the 5-1 win over Fiji has seen the Club America star replaced by Carlos Fierro.
Mexico have also had to replace Rodolfo Pizarro after he sustained a fractured leg in the same game. Raul Dedos Lopez has been called up in his place.
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Kylian Mbappe expects his broken nose to make him a target for Belgium at Euro 2024 on Monday.
France meet the Red Devils in Dusseldorf for their last-16 meeting, with Mbappe still not fully recovered from a nose injury sustained against Austria.
The Real Madrid-bound forward subsequently missed the Group D draw with the Netherlands before returning – armed with a new face mask – to score from the penalty spot against Poland.
Mbappe acknowledged his facial injury and subsequent protection makes him likely to face physical challenges in the knockout stages.
I think that if you re playing with a broken nose and you haven t had your nose operated yet, you re a target, Mbappe told a pre-match press conference on Sunday.
I knew what I was signing…