Zinedine Zidane confirms that he will be without his two biggest stars on Sunday, with the Portuguese suffering from flu and the Welsh forward battling a hip problem

 

 Real Madrid will be without both Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale for their game against Espanyol on Sunday, Zinedine Zidane has confirmed.
Ronaldo has only just returned to action following a knee injury picked up in the final of Euro 2016 but has been sidelined through illness, while Bale has a knock.
Both players are, however, expected to be fit for Wednesday with Villarreal the visitors to the Bernabeu.
“Cristiano will not travel with us, he has a sore throat

Ballon d’Or returns to original format after L’Équipel, FIFA deal ends

 

The Ballon d’Or deal between France football and FIFA has ended, the French publication and worldfootball’s governing body announced on Friday.

FIFA and L’Équipe have not renewed their arrangement to organise the trophy – voting for which will return to journalists. FIFA may recover the FIFA World Player award.

The coveted world player of the year award will from now on return to its original home after France Football’s agreement with FIFA finished.

Guardiola begs City fans for support in Champions League

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola warned supporters the club cannot achieve success in the Champions League unless they start fully embracing the competition.

Sergio Aguero scored a hat-trick as City opened their Group C campaign with a classy 4-0 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach on Wednesday in a game that had been postponed on Tuesday due to heavy rain.

But as in previous group-stage games, the Etihad Stadium was far from full, with only 30,270 spectators present in an arena that can hold 53,000 on European nights.

“Our fans, they have to know that we play for them,” Guardiola said.

Guardiola begs City fans for support in Champions League

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola warned supporters the club cannot achieve success in the Champions League unless they start fully embracing the competition.

Sergio Aguero scored a hat-trick as City opened their Group C campaign with a classy 4-0 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach on Wednesday in a game that had been postponed on Tuesday due to heavy rain.

But as in previous group-stage games, the Etihad Stadium was far from full, with only 30,270 spectators present in an arena that can hold 53,000 on European nights.

“Our fans, they have to know that we play for them,” Guardiola said.

EPL: Conte confirms David Luiz for Liverpool

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has confirmed David Luiz will make his second debut for the club against Liverpool in the Premier League on Friday.

Luiz, who returned to the west London club from Paris Saint-Germain in a surprise £32 million ($42.7 million, 38 million euros) move on transfer deadline day, will replace injured Blues captain John Terry at Stamford Bridge.
The Brazilian defender’s first spell at Chelsea became known for his habit of making high-profile mistakes.
Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville memorably said Luiz looked like he was “being controlled by a 10-year-old in the crowd on a Playstation” after one especially error-strewn display and the 29-year-old was unable to shed that reputation during his time in France.

Man dies minutes after Man-U players grant final wish

A 73-year-old man died 45 minutes after his dying wish of meeting Manchester United players came true.

Paddy Lawler, a lifelong supporter of the Red Devils and a prostate cancer patient, had told his family he would love to meet with the United squad before his death.

Despite the request seeming like a long shot, Lawler’s granddaughter, Kayleigh, posted an appeal on Facebook for anyone to help get in touch with the club in order for his wish to be granted.

The post was seen by the cousin on United’s player, Jesse Lingard. The winger, alongside Marcus Rashford, Ashley Young and Timothy Fosu-Mensah, visited Lawler three days later and 45 minutes after the visit, he passed on.

Mourinho omits Rooney from Europa League Dutch trip

 

Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney will be rested along with several other stars for the club’s Europa League group match with Dutch side Feyenoord in Rotterdam on Thursday.

The 30-year-old England skipper has been omitted by Jose Mourinho from the squad along with fellow first team regulars, defensive duo Luke Shaw and Ecuadorean Antonio Valencia.