In what was a thrilling showdown from Rotterdam on Wednesday night, Croatia punched their Nations League final ticket as they clinched an action-packed 4-2 victory away at the Netherlands.

Although Borussia Dortmund’s Donyell Malen might have opened the scoring for Ronald Koeman’s men just 11 minutes before the half-time break, it was the World Cup bronze medalists who mounted a stunning comeback after returning from the interval.

While Andrej Kramaric and Mario Pasalic might have seen their second-half brace ruled out as Noa Lang produced a stunning last-gasp equaliser at the De Kuip, that 96th-minute heartbreak was not enough to stand in the way of Zlatko Dalic s high-flying squad.

Despite being dragged to extra-time, Wednesday’s guests eventually collec…

Olivier Giroud said his move to Los Angeles FC was in a quest to win trophies after he helped guide his side to a 3-1 win over Sporting Kansas City in the US Open Cup final.

LAFC exorcised the demons from four consecutive final defeats, including in the Leagues Cup showpiece against Columbus Crew last month, to prevail at the BMO Stadium in extra-time.

Giroud, who made the move to the MLS after leaving Milan last season, opened the scoring in the 53rd minute, turning home Mateusz Bogusz s cross from close range.

Sporting KC responded seven minutes later when Erik Thommy fired Daniel Salloi s cutback beyond Hugo Lloris at his near post to send the game to extra-time.

Substitute Omar Campos curled home a fine finish in the 102nd minute to give the Black …

In each of the past two seasons, there were periods where Sevilla could consider themselves genuine threats in LaLiga s title race.

That was perhaps more relevant in 2020-21, though it shouldn t be forgotten that Sevilla looked like the only team capable of stopping Real Madrid in the first half of the 2021-22 campaign.

But much has changed in 2022. They head to the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday as bigger outsiders than they ve been for years in this fixture.

That s certainly not to say they ve ever been considered favourites against Madrid in recent memory, but there will be some Sevilla fans just hoping they can hold on to a respectable scoreline – it s a pretty significant come-down for a club that in the past three years felt they weren t far from establish…

Edinson Cavani s success at Manchester United has not come as a surprise to former Red Devils and Uruguay forward Diego Forlan.

Cavani has starred since joining United on a free transfer from Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain at the start of the 2020-21 season – the veteran s exploits resulting in a one-year contract extension.

The 34-year-old has scored 16 goals across all competitions this term – above his expected goals (xG) of 13.6 – as United prepare for Wednesday s Europa League final against Villarreal, having finished runners-up to Manchester City in the Premier League.

Cavani boasts a 128.9 minutes-to-goal ratio in 2020-21 – the best mark among his United team-mates, ahead of Bruno Fernandes (159.3), Marcus Rashford (192.1) and Mason Greenwood (…

Lazio star Sergej Milinkovic-Savic cited Manchester United s Paul Pogba as an inspiration as speculation grows over a transfer to Old Trafford.

Milinkovic-Savic has played an integral role at Lazio since joining from Genk in July 2015, appearing over 200 times in Serie A.

The Serbia international has again delivered for Maurizio Sarri s side this season, providing 10 goals and 11 assists in the league, while no Serie A midfielder can match his 21 goal contributions.

Meanwhile, no Lazio player has started more Serie A games than the 27-year-old this term, while he also ranks top for tackles (67) and duels won (247).

A creative presence as well as a dominant midfielder, only Luis Alberto (64) has created more chances than Milinkovic-Savic (47), but reports …

Bayern Munich sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic has outlined the club s plans to bring in a new striker in the transfer window after Tuesday s shock 2-1 DFB-Pokal defeat to Freiburg.

Thomas Tuchel s side took the lead in their quarter-final fixture through Dayot Upamecano but were pegged back by Nicolas Hoefler s strike, before Lucas Hoeler s 95-minute penalty sent the Bundesliga leaders crashing out.

Bayern will now miss out on the final of the competition for the third successive season, and Salihamidzic was adamant signing a new striker will be necessary for the club to move forward next season.

Of course we will sit down and see what we need to do in the transfer market, he said after the game.

But the games show: To go into the new season with …

Romelu Lukaku has described his first spell at Chelsea as painful , but he insists the experience helped him improve as a player and is confident the timing of his return to Stamford Bridge could not be better.

The Belgium striker joined the Blues from Anderlecht in 2011 as a teenager, but played just 159 Premier League minutes in his first season before loans to West Brom and Everton in the next two campaigns, eventually joining the latter on a permanent basis in 2014.

A further three years on Merseyside were followed by stints at Manchester United and Inter, before Lukaku returned to Chelsea this season.

He has four goals in all competitions so far this term, at least twice as many as any team-mate, from a team-high 25 shots. Left-back Marcos Alonso is next …

Milan climbed into Serie A s top four as Junior Messias secured a 1-0 win at Monza, whose owner Silvio Berlusconi failed to get one over on his old club.

Messias fired home on the turn just after the half-hour mark after Monza – who entered the game as Serie A s only unbeaten team in 2023 – twice went close in a fast start to Saturday s match.

Monza played their part in a lively affair but were unable to give Berlusconi – who bankrolled Milan to five European crowns – a result to cherish against his beloved Rossoneri.

Milan were able to claim victory without calling on Zlatan Ibrahimovic for the first time this season, with the striker again an unused substitute as they moved above Atalanta and Roma into third place.

Feels good 0-1

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The only thing to be sure about with the Champions League, is that nothing s for sure.

That is at least what Liverpool fans will be telling themselves as Jurgen Klopp s men prepare to try to overturn a three-goal first-leg deficit against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.

Carlo Ancelotti continued his habit of terrorising Liverpool as his team staged a comeback of their own, recovering from 2-0 down at Anfield to run out 5-2 winners.

The LaLiga giants also defeated the Reds in last season s Champions League final, and so the hunger for revenge should be strong, but to come back against a team as strong as Madrid seems fanciful or so it would seem.

Perhaps the most famous comeback in the competition s history is Liverpool breaking Ancelott…

Nice have sacked coach Lucien Favre after exiting the Coupe de France to third-tier Le Puy Foot.

Favre returned to the Ligue 1 club for a second stint in charge in June 2022 as they invested ahead of the new season.

The former Borussia Dortmund boss had guided Nice to Champions League qualification in 2016-17, but his latest spell did not yield the same success.

Despite making a series of high-profile signings, including Aaron Ramsey, Ross Barkley and Kasper Schmeichel, Nice are down in 11th in Ligue 1.

The final straw for Favre was Saturday s cup elimination at the hands of lower-league opposition, with Nice winless since the World Cup break.

Didier Digard will take charge of Nice until further notice , with a Ligue 1 double-header against Montpe…