Inter Milan join Man United in Diego Godin pursuit

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos labelled Gareth Bale a great player and backed his team-mate after a difficult off-season.

Bale was tipped to leave Madrid with a shock move to the Chinese Super League on the cards, however, the Wales star remained at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Unwanted by head coach Zinedine Zidane, Bale – who has won four Champions League titles and LaLiga among other honours since arriving from Tottenham in 2013 – has featured in all three LaLiga matches this season, scoring a brace in Madrid s 2-2 draw with Villarreal last time out.

Amid criticism of Bale and his reported disconnect from the Madrid squad, Ramos told the Daily Mail: I think Bale s a great player and he s been really important for the club in the years he s been with us.

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Market: Both teams to score

Odds: 4/5 @

Looking to extend on their recent purple patch on Wednesday night, Bournemouth will travel to Selhurst Park when they meet Crystal Palace.

Starting with the hosts, while Crystal Palace might have mounted a second-half comeback away at West Ham over the weekend as they eventually snatched a 1-1 stalemate, the Eagles do find themselves in the midst of a recent rut. Heading into November’s international break with a worrying performance as they slumped to an action-packed 3-2 loss against Everton, Roy Hodgson’s men have claimed just a single victory from any of their previous seven Premier League appearances a run that stems back to September 30th. Almost sat in top-flight limbo, the former England boss does find some mou…

Australia coach Graham Arnold described Mathew Leckie s return from injury as like signing a new player as he confirmed the Hertha Berlin winger s place among his substitutes for the last-16 clash with Uzbekistan at the Asian Cup.

Leckie is ready for his first involvement at this year s tournament following his recovery from a hamstring problem that ruled him out of all three of Australia s Group B matches.

Arnold s side finished second in the group after defeat to Jordan preceded victories over Palestine and Syria, and Leckie is joined in the squad for the clash with Uzbekistan by fit-again defender Josh Risdon and by Trent Sainsbury, who was suspended for the Socceroos final group game.

Arnold paid tribute to the Australia medical team for ensuring Leckie s a…

Diego Simeone pledged his hard work will continue after agreeing to extend his Atletico Madrid contract.

Simeone was reportedly ready to commit his future to the club last year and the news of his fresh deal to 2022 was confirmed on Thursday.

The Argentine has been in charge at Atletico since 2011 and indicated he is not seeking to go anywhere else, despite being regularly linked with former club Inter.

We are looking forward to a future with great enthusiasm and many challenges, Simeone told the club s website. 

I see work, I see people involved to continue growing, I see hope, I see youth that can make us progress and I know that the four legs of the table remain firm as we have been.

We will continue on the same line, fans, players, lead…

Juventus beat newly promoted Como 3-0 in their Serie A opener at the Allianz Stadium on Monday as new coach Thiago Motta enjoyed a dream competitive debut with the club.

Forward Samuel Mbangula put Juve in front in the 23rd minute with a fine solo effort, driving infield before firing the ball into the bottom corner.

The Bianconeri then extended their lead in first-half stoppage time through winger Timothy Weah, who lashed home from a Kenan Yildiz cutback as the ball bounced in off the inside of the bar.

Youngster Andrea Cambiaso then added a third from distance just before full-time after Dusan Vlahovic had gone close on several occasions.

Juve, who finished third behind champions Inter and Milan last season to secure their return to the Champions League…

Prediction: Correct score 1-1

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AS Monaco will be aiming to get their first victory of the 2020/21 Ligue 1 campaign as they travel to Metz on Sunday.

Les Monégasques earned a point on their return to action last time time out so will hope to earn maximum points this time out as they tackle their first away match of the campaign.

Having finished 15th in Ligue 1 last season, comfortably away from the relegation zone, but nowhere near the European places, Metz boss Vincent Hognon will certainly hope for a more promising season this time around. Their conclusion to last campaign before it was cancelled should give them some optimism having won back-to-back matches again Nimes and Amiens. That was only the third time all season that …

Luciano Spalletti is not concerned about his future at Inter amid links with Antonio Conte and former boss Jose Mourinho.

Inter drew 1-1 with Serie A champions Juventus on Saturday and the third-placed Milan club are on track for their best league finish since 2010-11 when they were runners-up.

Despite Spalletti s work at San Siro this season, former Chelsea boss Conte and ex-Manchester United manager Mourinho have emerged as possible replacements.

But asked about his future post-match, Spalletti has no intention of leaving Inter.

It s not a problem, the club will decide, he said. I d gladly remain at Inter for 100 years, but it s only right that Inter choose what is best for the club. If that means wiping out my work, that doesn t matter.

Inter…

Luciano Spalletti needs to win trophies before he can be compared with Jose Mourinho, according to former Inter star Lucio.

The Nerazzurri thumped Chievo 5-0 to move top of Serie A on Sunday and underline their credentials as potential Scudetto winners before this weekend s huge showdown with champions Juventus.

Spalletti has won praise for his efforts at San Siro since taking charge in June and has even been compared with Mourinho, who steered Inter to an historic treble in 2009-10 before leaving for Real Madrid.

The former Roma boss dismissed such talk as ridiculous last month and Lucio, who played a key role in Inter s triumphs seven years ago, also believes it is too early to discuss Spalletti alongside his old boss.

First of all, I am not a fan of t…

Mikel Arteta is confident he has the respect of the Arsenal dressing room and appreciated the way his former team-mates made the move to coaching really, really easy .

Arteta is on a high after one of his best wins so far as Gunners manager, having triumphed 1-0 at Manchester United on Sunday.

But after that victory, a television interview with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang prompted concern from ex-United captain Roy Keane.

Keane, on punditry duty for Sky Sports, said he did not like the way Aubameyang referred to his manager by his first name.

Arteta was asked about the comments but had no such issues, explaining: I was told that Roy mentioned that. I don t know. It s something that is very particular.

I give them the choice for whatever they are co…

Mikel Arteta is impressed at the depth and quality of Manchester United s attacking options ahead of Arsenal s Premier League clash with their old rivals on Sunday.

Arsenal, who have lost their last two Premier League matches, travel to Old Trafford looking for a first away top-flight win over United since 2006.

Arteta acknowledges the high level of performance shown by Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer towards the end of last season.

United have since added Paris Saint-Germain great Edinson Cavani to the mix and defeated RB Leipzig 5-0 in the Champions League last time out, with Odion Ighalo another option.

They create really good relationships and they are all very different, Arteta said about United s forw…