Three days after their UEFA Champions League exit, Atletico Madrid will switch their focus to guaranteeing a return to next season s competition through La Liga when they host Elche.

Atletico were defeated 1-0 by Real Madrid in their quarter-final second leg on Wednesday, as Javier Hernandez s late strike saw the holders through following a goalless first encounter.

That reverse effectively ended Atletico s hopes of claiming any further silverware this season, with Diego Simeone s side lying nine points behind leaders Barcelona in the league with six games to go.

The defending Liga champions occupy third the final automatic Champions League qualification berth and with a four-point gap to Valencia, Simeone s men still have plenty to play for in the remaining week…

Robert Prosinecki quit as Bosnia-Herzegovina coach after Sunday s 4-2 defeat to Armenia left them with little hope of reaching Euro 2020.

Former Real Madrid and Barcelona midfielder Prosinecki was hired in January 2018 and enjoyed a fine start to his tenure, but Sunday s result leaves them in a poor position.

I talked to everyone and no longer [will I be coach], I resign, he said after the match. When I arrived, I believed we would make it to the Euros.

We have not succeeded in this and my successor will have time to prepare the team for the Nations League. I am no longer the coach.

Prosinecki presided over Bosnia s 2018-19 Nations League campaign, seeing them top their group and earn promotion to league A for 2020-21.

He also matched Bosnia s…

Manchester United have been candid about their interest in Leicester City’s James Maddison, and now the club think the likes of Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard might be a lure which would help the club sign the 22-year-old, reports Mirror.

The attacking midfielder has only been with the Foxes for little over a year, signing a five-year contract in June 2018 for a rumoured fee of about £20 million. While it has been thought that Manchester City and Liverpool were also potentially interested in him, Maddison was reportedly happy under Brendan Rogders and was not contemplating a move this past transfer window. However, United are hoping this might change next season and are counting on the popularity of Rashfor and Lingard to help them achieve their goal.

Leicester’…

West Ham s French midfielder Julien Faubert has applied for an Algerian passport in a bid to achieve his dream of playing at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the player told AS sports daily Friday.

Faubert, whose wife is Algerian, has played only one match for his native France although that was a friendly.

Algeria qualified for the World Cup after a dramatic two-leg play-off with north African giants Egypt. The Desert Foxes will play in Group C alongside England, the United States and Slovenia.

West Ham loaned Faubert to Real Madrid last season, where the player had a bitter experience playing a total of one hour in the last few months of the 2009 season before returning to England.

…

(GSM) Former Newcastle United forward Nolberto Solano has completed a move to Championship side Leicester City.

The Peruvian 35-year-old had been on trial with Leicester, and managed to sufficiently impress the Foxes to force a more permanent deal.

Solano, who started his career at Sporting Cristal in 1992, moved to Europe to join Newcastle United six years later. Since then, the player also wore the shirts of Aston Villa and West Ham United.

Since 2009, Solano was active at Lima s Universitatio de Deportes.

It is inclear whether the veteran gets to play in the FA Cup at Cardiff on the weekend due to clearance issues. If this is not the case, Solano is likely to make his debut against former club Newcastle on January 30.

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David Moyes believes Manchester United have abandoned their traditions, as he revealed how close he came to signing Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Toni Kroos at Old Trafford.

Moyes was given the unenviable task of replacing Alex Ferguson at United, but he lasted just 10 months before being sacked in April 2014.

But the Scot felt it could have been different if he managed to complete the transfers he targeted, including bringing in Kroos from Bayern Munich.

Toni Kroos was agreed to come in the summer, Moyes told UK newspapers.

I had agreed it with Toni himself and his agent.

Moyes also said he wanted to sign Bale, revealing United offered more than the then world-record fee of £85.1million Real Madrid paid Tottenham.

When I first w…

German international playmaker Mesut Ozil has been at his creative best this season producing 15 top-flight assists

Arsenal’s German international midfield playmaker Mesut Ozil has undergone an amazing transformation this season.

It seems that for the first few seasons of his Gunners career Arsenal fans were not convinced by Ozil.

His languid style of play made him look lazy and he appeared to lack the physique for the rough and tumble of the Premier League.

However this season has seen German return to his best form, as his assist spree continues unabated.

Ozil was at it again last night. The German produced two more assists as Arsenal defeated Premier League rivals Manchester City 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium. The first assist was probably los…

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As we move through the month of April there are still plenty of things left to be determined in English football s top tier from the title picture to the relegation battle and beyond. Many fans feel as if they know the direction of travel with some choosing to look ahead to the Euros already, but before we get to all of that, there s still a great deal of intrigue behind some of the remaining fixtures and that includes Everton vs Tottenham Hotspur.

Everton

Even though they ve had their own setbacks along the way, this season has to be viewed as a step in the right direction for Everton Football Club. In addition to their new stadium getting the green light, Carlo Ancelotti has also been able to inject new life …

Marking their return from the international break on Sunday afternoon, Manchester City put on a real masterclass as they picked up a thumping 6-3 romp against Manchester United at the Etihad.

Looking to keep up pace with after the Gunners claimed their own derby day victory on Saturday lunchtime, the defending Premier League champions put on a real clinic here.

Heading into the half-time break with a stunning 4-0 lead and with both Erling Haaland and Phil Foden bagging their own hat-tricks, Pep Guardiola s superstars underlined why many have tipped them as a landslide pick to defend their crown this season.

While Manchester United might have mounted somewhat of a second-half charge as Antony s wonderstrike and Anthony Martial s late brace brought some respect t…

Portugal head coach Paulo Bento has denied his team s experience in two-legged play-offs will give them much of an advantage over Sweden.

Bento s team drew Sweden in Monday s draw for UEFA s World Cup play-offs after both Portugal and the Swedes finished second in their respective qualifying groups.

Portugal qualified for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and the 2012 European Championships in Poland and Ukraine thanks to play-off triumphs over Bosnia and Herzegovina on both occasions but Bento does not believe that will make a big difference when they take on Sweden.

Our target was to (have) already qualified, as it was not possible, we have to try now with these two games, Bento said.

They (Sweden) have an organised team, a very strong team, which finished the…