Gareth Bale missed a chance to announce himself as Cristiano Ronaldo s Real Madrid successor after struggling to fill the void left by the Portuguese superstar in the Champions League semi-final stalemate at Manchester City.

Speaking on the eve of the first leg at Etihad Stadium, Bale said he had no interest in seeing himself as a leading star who Madrid turn towards for inspiration.

A little more than an hour before kick-off, he had no choice in the matter.

Rumours whipping around pre-match soon became established as facts. Cristiano Ronaldo was not included in the Madrid squad, handing City a considerable lift.

Ronaldo missed Saturday s 3-2 win over Rayo Vallecano and, in his absence, head coach Zinedine Zidane expected the man with an astonishing 16 go…

Jose Mourinho said he would shoulder the blame for Roma s humiliating 6-1 defeat to Bodo/Glimt in the Europa Conference League.

The shock result in Norway came as a largely second-string Roma side crumbled woefully, although they still sit second in Group C after three games.

It was the first time in his 1,008-game coaching career that Mourinho has seen one of his teams concede six goals.

Mourinho said he expected more from his players, but told reporters they now knew why he usually selected the same group for games, rather than being a coach who rotates his squad.

On the night when his former team Tottenham also lost in the competition, Mourinho was left to accept responsibility for his Serie A outfit s embarrassing away trip.

1 A José Mourinh…

The new Premier League campaign got underway this weekend, and while we saw a string of interesting results go down on Saturday, there was also a lot to like on Sunday.

Everton made the trip down to London in order to take on Tottenham Hotspur, and they managed to come away with a really important three points as they secured a 1-0 win against the 2019 Champions League finalists. Today, we re going to take a look at some of the things we took away from the game.

The Ancelotti effect

Whether it be the new signings or the style in which they played, there s no denying the impact that Carlo Ancelotti is having and will continue to have at Goodison Park. Allan, Doucoure and most importantly Rodriguez all put in solid shifts, and Everton seemed to be in complete control fro…

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is unlikely to retain his position next season, so says David James.

The Red Devils sit sixth in the Premier League table after a mixed campaign, with some calling for Ten Hag to be replaced following a series of underwhelming performances and a group-stage Champions League exit.

However, United claimed a morale-boosting victory on Sunday when Amad Diallo scored in the 121st minute to snatch a 4-3 win, after extra time, over Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

But with INEOS owner Jim Ratcliffe, whose purchase of a 27.7 per cent stake in the club was ratified earlier this year, having taken charge of football operations, James believes Ten Hag will not be part of the hierarchy next year.

I think traditionally …

Mexico s preparations for next month s crunch World Cup qualifier against the United States have been dealt a blow after a 3-2 defeat to Ecuador in an international friendly in Charlotte.

Walter Chala, making his second international appearance, scored the 75th-minute winner two minutes after coming off the bench for an under-strength Ecuador.

Both sides were missing several key Europe-based players, although that did not detract from an entertaining encounter, where three goals were scored in the opening quarter of an hour.

Jhonny Quinonez opened the scoring in the second minute when his scuffed bouncing effort beat Mexico goalkeeper Jonathan Orozco.

Mexico levelled four minutes when a fallen Santiago Gimenez, who had his initial effort blocked, flicked …

Wigan chairman Dave Whelan has confirmed unsettled winger Charles N Zogbia will not join the team on their pre-season trip to Austria.

Frenchman N Zogbia is reportedly agitating for a move away from the DW Stadium and his exclusion from the training camp appears to be a further indication of his likely departure.

The 25-year-old, who joined Wigan from Newcastle United in 2009, was close to joining Birmingham City last season, but failed to agree personal terms with the club.

The team have gone to Austria today but Zoggy (N Zogbia) hasn t gone, Whelan told Sky Sports News.

He is a great lad to have around the club. If we do lose him, and we may well do because he has expressed a desire to move on, we will miss him enormously.

But he is a great…

Despite securing qualification to Euro 2012 in style, Joachim Loew wants more from Germany ahead of Tuesday s friendly against Poland.

Germany thrashed Austria 6-2 at the Veltins Arena on Friday, with Mesut Oezil s hat-trick and goals from Lukas Podolski, Andre Schurrle and Mario Gotze booking a place in next year s European Championship finals in Poland and the Ukraine.

Since losing to Spain in the final of Euro 2008, Loew has moulded a youthful Germany side into one of the most attractive and attacking teams in international football.

They are already being talked about as the most likely challengers to Spain s dominance at the tournament next June and July.

But Loew has been quick to point out that his team must overcome sterner challenges than the li…

​Stoke City added to Mauricio Pochettino s Premier League woes with a 2-1 victory over Tottenham at White Hart Lane on Sunday.

Goals from Bojan Krkic and Jonathan Walters subjected Tottenham to a fourth home defeat of the top-flight season, and Stoke s first league win over them since 2011.

Bojan s mazy dribble led to his first goal of the campaign in the opening six minutes, while Walters added a second just after the half hour with a close-range volley.

Pochettino s attempts to revive Tottenham after the break took time to have any effect, but eventually the hosts got back into the match as Nacer Chadli volleyed home from an improbable angle in the 78th minute.

Tottenham continued to push for an equaliser, but they were hampered by Kyle Naugton s late…

Stand-in captain Moussa Sissoko led by example for Newcastle United on Saturday, scoring 12 minutes from time to see off QPR in a 1-0 win.

The France international skippering the side in place of injured Fabricio Coloccini played a clever one-two with Sammy Ameobi before steering a 78th-minute strike home as Newcastle recorded a fifth straight Premier League victory for the first time since April 2012.

QPR had seemed on their way to a first away point of the season, as Harry Redknapp s side stood firm for much of the game under plenty of Newcastle pressure.

As Alan Pardew saw his side toil against a resolute backline, he also watched on as Ryan Taylor who made his first top-flight start in 32 months limp off with what seemed like another knee problem in the first…

Iran set a new record in World Cup qualifying on Thursday by keeping a 12th successive clean sheet.

Carlos Queiroz s side, who booked their place at Russia 2018 by defeating Uzbekistan last June, held South Korea to a 0-0 draw in Seoul to extend their impressive run despite being reduced to 10 men after Saeid Ezatolahi s red card in the 52nd minute.

Iran s imposing streak began with a 6-0 victory over Guam in the second round of World Cup qualifying in November 2015 and encompasses 1,108 minutes over 18 hours of football.

Across their entire campaign, Iran have conceded just three goals in 17 matches. Their final fixture is a home encounter with Syria on Tuesday.

NEW RECORDS
games without conceding in a row
That s 1108 minutes without conceding
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