Conte urges Spurs to ´be realistic´ amid unbeaten run

Alessandro Costacurta backed Nicolo Zaniolo to shine at Atalanta and believes his re-emergence this season could prove crucial for the future of the national side.

Zaniolo, who spent last season on loan with Aston Villa, has returned to Italy to join the Europa League champions, with an obligation to make his move permanent from Galatasaray.

The 25-year-old made 40 appearances under Unai Emery last year, but only 13 came from the start, managing just 830 minutes of action in the Premier League.

Zaniolo s most impressive display came during Villa s 2-0 league triumph over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, operating on the left-hand side of midfield.

Former Milan boss Costacurta is hopeful the 25 year-old will perform well for his new side this year, whic…

England goalkeeper Nick Pope has secured his Premier League future by joining Newcastle United after suffering the pain of relegation with Burnley.

Pope, 30, has reportedly cost Newcastle around £10million and is expected to replace Martin Dubravka as Eddie Howe s number one.

The former Charlton Athletic player has signed a four-year contract at Newcastle and becomes the Magpies second confirmed deal of the close season, after Matt Targett s loan move last term was made permanent.

Pope, capped eight times by England, continued to impress at Burnley even as the Clarets headed for the Championship. It was inevitable he would leave after they went down, given his desire to play at the World Cup later this year.

Among goalkeepers with at least 10 appearanc…

Manchester United are in talks with Nemanja Matic over a new longer-term contract after activating a one-year extension to his deal.

Stats Perform understands the Red Devils have exercised the option to extend the midfielder s existing contract, which was due to expire at the end of this season.

Discussions have also begun over a fresh deal that could keep Matic at Old Trafford beyond the end of 2020-21.

The news reflects Matic s growing importance to manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer s plans just months after the 31-year-old admitted he was considering his future last year.

The Serbia international, signed from Chelsea in 2018 for a reported fee of £40million, made only three Premier League starts before the start of 2020.

Speaking to Stats Perform a…

Strasbourg have sacked coach Julien Stephan.

Stephan took charge in July 2021 and led Strasbourg to a sixth-placed finish in Ligue 1 in his first season at the helm.

That was the club s first top-six finish in the top-flight since the 1979-80 campaign, but Strasbourg begin 2023 with relegation a real possibility.

They are second bottom in Ligue 1 with just one win from their 17 games and sit four points adrift of safety.

Assistant Mathieu Le Scornet will take temporary charge, with Strasbourg s first game without Stephan a tough assignment against Lens, who are just four points shy of league leaders Paris Saint-Germain, on Wednesday.

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:

The President of RCSA, Marc Keller, notified Julien Stéphan, coach of the professio…

Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti says Eden Hazard is a great player who the Spanish champions need after netting in Tuesday s 2-2 friendly draw with Club America.

Hazard has struggled for impact at Madrid since his switch from Chelsea in 2019 amid a string of injuries, making only 66 appearances and scoring six goals across three seasons.

The 31-year-old Belgian midfielder is fit again and vowed earlier this week to show his best with Los Blancos this season.

Hazard was on the scoresheet from the penalty spot against the Mexican side in San Francisco, with Ancelotti hoping to set him up for a big campaign.

We need these games to try to give Hazard minutes because Hazard is a great player that we need, Ancelotti told reporters.

So I use the…

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand criticised some “kamikaze football” after their embarrassing exit from European competition.

A 1-0 defeat at home to Bayern Munich, their 15th goal conceded in six matches, ensured Erik ten Hag’s side finished bottom of Group A even without Copenhagen’s win over Galatasaray.

“To score three goals in each of their away games and not come away with much points it’s criminal. It is kamikaze football almost,” Ferdinand told TNT Sports.

MAN UNITED ARE OUT OF THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE!

The Red Devils have finished at the bottom of their group for the first time since 2005/06

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt)

“You get what you deserve. If you are not clinical and you can’t …

Gary Lineker will return to host Match of the Day next weekend after Director-General of the BBC, Tim Davie, announced a review into its social media guidance.

Lineker was not involved in this week s edition of the hugely popular British football show after he became involved in a political row following a Twitter post in which the former England striker criticised the UK Government s immigration policy.

The BBC asked Lineker to step back from hosting duties, which led to a number of pundits, including Ian Wright and Alan Shearer, as well as commentators refusing to take part.

That forced the BBC to air a much-trimmed version of the show on Saturday and Sunday, only showing highlights of the weekend s Premier League games with no analysis or commentary.

A…

Inter clinched their third win in four games as they comfortably beat Salernitana 2-0 at San Siro.

Simone Inzaghi had come under pressure after a shaky start to the season saw Inter lose five of their first 10 matches, but they are now unbeaten in four and built on Wednesday s promising 3-3 draw away to Barcelona with three points in Serie A.

Lautaro Martinez s long-range effort gave Inter a first-half lead on Sunday, and although the hosts struggled to add to that initially, Salernitana rarely looked capable of posing much of a threat.

A brilliant Nicolo Barella goal put Inter in complete control just before the hour, ensuring the Nerazzurri moved to within two points of the top four for at least a few hours.

The visitors resistance lasted just 13 minute…

Zinedine Zidane wore a huge smile as Real Madrid won 2-0 thanks to Marco Asensio and Karim Benzema in the second leg of the Spanish Supercopa, clinching the 5-1 aggregate humiliation of Barcelona and seemingly confirming their status as the undisputed kings of Spanish football.

That was August. Few would have predicted the respective circumstances of Zidane and his counterpart Ernesto Valverde ahead of their next Clasico meeting four months on.

Barca had just lost twice in four days to their bitter rivals, watched helplessly as one of the jewels in their crown Neymar left for Paris Saint-Germain, became mired in off-field legal battles, struggled to sign their key transfer targets and saw speculation about Lionel Messi s future arise.

By contrast, the Supercopa v…

Market: Plzen win

Odds: 1/1 @

Looking to punch their Europa League group stage ticket on Thursday night, Plzen will travel to Tynecastle when they meet Hearts.

Starting with the hosts, suffering last-gasp heartbreak over in the Czech Republic last week as they suffered a 1-0 first-leg defeat, Hearts appear to have a real challenge on their hands here. While the Jambos might have gained a string of plaudits last season as they secured a bronze medal finish among Scotland’s elite, Steven Naismith’s men find themselves at the heart of a real crisis this time around. Showing a string of glaring issues since opening up the 2024/25 campaign, the Edinburgh-based outfit have the feel of a squad seeking a crucial boost. Last seen over the weekend putting in another w…