Azpilicueta one of world´s best – Conte

Ajax Cape Town coach Maarten Stekelenberg insists they still have a great deal to play for this Premier Soccer League (PSL) season.

Ajax lost the League title on the last day of the 2010-11 campaign, but some hot and cold performances this time around means they are nowhere near those heady heights.

Still, Stekelenberg believes all is not lost.

There is a lot to play for; we set goals for ourselves at the beginning of the season, he told Kickoff.com.

We really wanted to be at top of the table and challenge for the league title. I think that s far away at this point so a top four place will be something to play for and fight for.

On Wednesday Ajax face a Bidvest Wits side who have won just once this year, and who are on a six-game losing streak…

Melbourne Victory have signed Ange Postecoglou as their new coach, just two days after he departed A-League title winners Brisbane Roar.

The 47-year-old returns to home-town Melbourne fresh from leading the Roar to a successful defence of their league title, with their 2-1 win over the Perth Glory in Sunday s grand final ensuring both club and coach became the first to do so in the competition s history.

Postecoglou said he was always looking to progress his personal development as a coach, but the main lure was coaching Melbourne Victory and hopefully bringing success to them .

It s a massive club it s got massive expectations and a massive fan base, and that presented different challenges as a coach, Postecoglou said.

It s a fantastic and exciting op…

Julian Nagelsmann and Leon Goretzka urged Bayern Munich to become more ruthless after escaping with a 2-1 victory in Saturday s match at lowly Stuttgart.

Bayern held a convincing two-goal lead at Mercedes-Benz Arena with a little over an hour played after Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting added to Matthijs de Ligt s first-half opener.

The visitors took their foot off the gas at that point, and it almost backfired as Juan Jose Perea pulled one back late on and Tanguy Coulibaly headed inches wide in added time.

Despite finishing with an expected goals (xG) return of 2.30 compared to 0.67 for Stuttgart, Nagelsmann conceded Bayern almost blew it.

After going 2-0 up, we had several counter-attacks we didn t finish well, he told Sky Sport. We had the game under control…

Inter defender Andrea Ranocchia says he wants to follow in the footsteps of skipper Javier Zanetti.

The 39-year-old has been at the club for 17 years, and the Italy defender has been impressed by his team-mate s attitude and leadership.

Apart from the physical and athletic side, which is impressive, the fact is that I ve never seen a day, I say a day, in which he is not cheerful, captivating and serene, he told Repubblica.

He is always positive, has a word for everybody and is an example.

I remember in 2011 when in four days, with Leonardo, we lost the derby 3-0 and then 5-2 at home against Schalke in the Champions League.

The next day Zanetti arrived at Pinetina with a serene look, and spoke to us in the way a captain must do.

Int…

Thomas Tuchel concedes Paris Saint-Germain are not performing as he would hope and are lacking confidence, while he believes Marco Verratti s absence does not help.

PSG are five points clear of nearest challengers Marseille at the top of Ligue 1, with a game in hand, and they are through to the last 16 of the Champions League as Group A winners ahead of Real Madrid.

But Tuchel has not been enthused by his side s recent performances, even with comfortable 2-0 wins over Lille and Nantes sandwiching a gripping draw at Madrid.

Star midfielder Verratti played 90 minutes against Madrid on November 26 on his return from a knee injury, but he missed Wednesday s victory over Nantes with a thigh issue and will not feature again at Montpellier on Saturday.

Ander Her…

Arsenal are ready to tie a striking partnership of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette to long-term contracts. The Gunners maybe failed to reach Champions League qualification through finishing in top four of Premier League this season, but they are one match away from that anyway, as they could win Europa League if they beat Chelsea in the final in Baku.

And big reason why they managed to get there are the two forwards who have been incredible for them since joining from Germany and France. Now, Arsenal are ready to offer them £250,000 per week in order to keep them at the club for years to come.

The pair have been directly involved in 69 goals in 97 games across all competitions this season and have been Arsenal s best players under Unai Emer…

Jermain Defoe has landed in the UK ahead of a potential January move to a Premier League outfit, .

A number of top flight clubs have been linked with the England international, with Liverpool, Leicester City, Hull City and Queens Park Rangers all monitoring his situation.

The MLS season is not due to start until March, so he is likely to complete a deal in the coming days while a permanent switch back to his home country has also been spoken of as a possibility.

The 32 year old moved to Toronto FC twelve months ago, and scored twelve goals in seventeen appearances for the club.

The former Tottenham Hotspur, Portsmouth and West Ham United man has racked up over five hundred and thirty appearances in all competitions, scoring two hundred and twenty-si…

Charlie Austin has reiterated his desire to stay at QPR despite reported interest from Liverpool and Newcastle United.

Charlie Austin has rejected claims he is looking to leave QPR after a stunning start to his first Premier League campaign at Loftus Road.

The 25-year-old has adapted brilliantly to life in the top flight with 13 league goals in 19 appearances for Harry Redknapp s side.

It caps a meteoric rise for Austin, who has worked his way through the Football League with prolific spells at Swindon Town and Burnley, before moving to QPR in 2013.

Austin s contract is due to expire at the end of next season and reports had suggested he was stalling on a new deal, with the likes of Liverpool and Newcastle United said to be lying in wait to snap up the …

Mohamed Salah is ready to light up the Premier League again after committing his long-term future to Liverpool, claims Jurgen Klopp.

Last season s Golden Boot joint-winner, who shared the prize with Tottenham s Son Heung-min, signed a three-year contract last month to calm fears he could quit Anfield.

Salah s previous deal was due to expire at the end of the 2022-23 season, when he would have been able to walk away as a free agent.

Now that Liverpool have him tied down to fresh terms, the player and club can focus on chasing more trophies, having lifted the FA Cup and EFL Cup last term.

Knowing where he will be for the next important years of his career – I wouldn t say for the rest of his career because he can play much longer – that gave all of …

Fulham s social media admins were able to have some fun at Jurgen Klopp s expense on Sunday, as they took a cheeky swipe at the Liverpool manager s post-match comments.

Klopp lamented Liverpool s display in their Premier League opener at Craven Cottage, with the early kick-off on Saturday finishing 2-2.

He told BT Sport:  The best thing about the game is the result, that we got a point from a really bad game for my side. Now the question is how can that happen.

However, Klopp – who has a previous track record of using pitch or weather conditions to excuse a slightly below-par display – couldn t help but mention that the pitch was dry .

A throwaway comment it may have been, and in the wider context it was clear Klopp was far more frustrated with hi…