Kimmich, Guerreiro and Karl capitalise on Castrop red De Bruyne off injured after scoring as Napoli beat Inter Bayern Munich needed more than an hour before breaking the resistance of Borussia Mönchengladbach, to earn a 3-0 victory over opponents who spent more than 75% of the game with 10 men. It was the Bundesliga leaders’ 13th win in 13 matches across all competitions this season. Joshua Kimmich slotted in after 64 minutes and the substitute Raphaël Guerreiro added another five minutes later before the teenager Lennart Karl, who had scored in their Champions League win over Club Brugge on Wednesday, made it 3-0 in the 81st. Bayern have a maximum 24 points from eight league matches, five ahead of RB Leipzig, 6-0 winners at Augsburg. Continue reading...

Villarreal were Erling Haaland’s latest victims, a ninth consecutive Manchester City game clocked up with the Norwegian scoring. This time it was the first on the way to a largely comfortable 2-0 win in Spain that suggests that a team is emerging once again, with Bernardo Silva scoring the second in a first half of notable superiority before a second in which there were moments to suffer but not too many of them. When Haaland was withdrawn with five minutes to go, there were whistles and relief; he, and they, could do no more damage. He had already done enough, right from the start of what was a long night for the home side. City were not hanging about, Haaland, Savinho and Jérémy Doku combining to force Luíz Júnior into making his first save after just 26 seconds and the Norwegian heading just wide a little over two minutes later. It was not easy to define the formation Pep Guardiola applied; at times it looked something like 3-2‑4-1, with John Stones stepping in to defence when Villarreal had the ball and out of it when City did. Which is to say that most of the time he was out of it, the shape shifting with him and with others as well. City had 69% of possession in the first half, and the surprise was that it was as low as that: the naked eye suggested even greater dominance. Continue reading...

Courtois: ‘La Liga does whatever it wants because it suits them’ Protests from players have been ignored in official broadcasts Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has launched a scathing attack on La Liga, criticising the league’s decision to stage Barcelona’s away match against Villarreal in Miami on 20 December, saying it “distorts the competition”. The fixture, which is set to take place at the Hard Rock Stadium, would be the first La Liga fixture held outside Spain and the first European league match staged abroad. While Uefa has “reluctantly” approved the plan, Real Madrid and other teams in Spain’s top flight have expressed their opposition. Continue reading...

Substitute scores winner three minutes into added time Bayer Leverkusen’s unbeaten away run hits 37 at Mainz The substitute Ronald Araújo scored three minutes into added time as Barcelona secured a 2-1 win over a stubborn Girona in La Liga. Barcelona took the lead in the 13th minute, when Pedri received Lamine Yamal’s quick ball into the box and ran across the defensive line before dispatching a low left-footed finish. Yet Axel Witsel’s spectacular bicycle kick off Arnau Martínez’s header levelled for Girona seven minutes later. The hosts pushed hard for the winner with five shots on target in the first 30 minutes of the second half and their efforts were finally rewarded when the late substitute Araújo struck in added time. This story will be updated Continue reading...

CARDIFF, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Kevin De Bruyne tucked away two penalties as Belgium came back after conceding an early goal to beat Wales 4-2 away in their World Cup qualifier on Monday, moving them closer to a place at next year's finals.

Spaniard substituted in fifth game since returning Guardiola blames profligacy for shock loss to Al-Hilal After Manchester City crashed out of the Club World Cup 4-3 to Al-Hilal in Orlando, Pep Guardiola blamed a lack of ruthlessness, and said Rodri had sustained an injury setback. City were eliminated by Marcus Leonardo’s 112th-minute winner on Monday night at the Camping World Stadium in the shock result of the inaugural 32-team Club World Cup. Guardiola’s team wasted a number of chances, with Jérémy Doku, Erling Haaland, Josko Gvardiol, Rúben Dias and Savinho among those who failed to put City out of sight in the opening half. Continue reading...

De Bruyne greeted by fans when arriving for medical Nypan in line to sign from Rosenborg for £12.4m Kevin De Bruyne has completed his move to Napoli on a free transfer after leaving Manchester City. The midfielder, who turns 34 this month, joins the Serie A champions three days after scoring a late winner for Belgium against Wales. De Bruyne was greeted by excited fans chanting “Kevin” when he arrived for his medical and Napoli’s social media posts announcing the deal included one showing him wearing a crowd, with a Napoli shield by his right hand and a sword to his left. “King Kev is here,” the club wrote. Continue reading...

Just when Wales thought they had done enough to earn an unthinkable comeback draw, having trailed 3-0 in the first half, Kevin De Bruyne wheeled away in celebration, arms splayed, after regaining Belgium the lead. Now it was 4-3, Wales’s extraordinary work undone but not forgotten, Craig Bellamy’s unbeaten run finally over. In the city of the Delirium Village, a cul-de-sac near the Grand Place home to endless varieties of beer, for the 4,500 Wales supporters who made the pilgrimage deliriousness turned to disappointment. A few minutes earlier, a marathon VAR check after Romelu Lukaku thought he had scored went in Wales’s favour, the officials establishing the ball went out of play in the buildup. Belgium went to pieces against arguably their bogey team but an unmarked De Bruyne found a winner to cap a ludicrous game. Continue reading...

The unbeaten reign of Craig Bellamy continued as his Wales side propelled themselves to the top of their World Cup qualifying group with a thumping win over Liechtenstein. Bellamy was appointed head coach in July 2024 and the national side have drawn four and won five since he was named. Wales leapfrogged North Macedonia, who drew 1-1 against Belgium. The Red Devils are only just getting their qualifiers underway because they were involved in Nations League playoffs in March. Belgium are the favourites to top the group and qualify automatically for next year’s tournament. But Wales’ great run has put them in a good position to challenge Domenico Tedesco’s Belgium, who they play on Monday and have a history of upsetting with that famous 3-1 win in the quarter-finals of Euro 2016. Continue reading...

Inter Miami reportedly holds the Belgian’s MLS rightsSigning him would be complex under salary rules If Kevin De Bruyne decides to come to Major League Soccer for his next professional stop, the destination could very well be with Lionel Messi at Inter Miami. The Athletic and ESPN each reported on Monday that the South Florida club has acquired the Belgian star’s discovery rights, giving them the right of first refusal within to negotiate a contract with De Bruyne should he decide to move to the league after he leaves Manchester City. Inter Miami declined to comment on the reports. Continue reading...

Manchester United want to sign Matheus Cunha, Inter Miami plot Kevin de Bruyne scoop and Everton enter race for Liam Delap.

Goalkeeper reveals side have trained to deal with them‘The first thing is not to concede too many corners’ Thibaut Courtois has revealed that Real Madrid are wary of Arsenal’s prowess from set pieces and have been preparing specifically for the challenge of facing them. The reigning European champions come into Tuesday’s first leg of their Champions League quarter-final at the Emirates following a 2-1 home defeat by Valencia in La Liga that left them four points behind leaders Barcelona. A poor defensive performance saw Madrid concede their 10th goal from a corner this season, although Carlo Ancelotti will welcome back Courtois and David Alaba from injury against Mikel Arteta’s side. Continue reading...

We know Kevin de Bruyne is leaving Manchester City in the summer but former City keeper Shay Given explores who else might be going - and who should stay?

Injured striker is a blow but Marmoush’s impact since his move suggests team have speed to trouble Manchester United The bombshell that Kevin De Bruyne will leave Manchester City in the summer has overshadowed the buildup to the Manchester derby, but Pep Guardiola has a more pressing absence to deal with: working out how to play without the injured Erling Haaland. The Norwegian has scored 21 of Manchester City’s 57 league goals and few would argue he is not the best striker in the world. Before Wednesday’s victory over Leicester, he had missed one Premier League match all season, clocking up the second-highest number of minutes of any City player. Continue reading...