Former-England boss Steve McClaren could be set to lead little FC Twente to their first ever Dutch league title as FC Twente.

A victory over midtable NAC Breda next Sunday would secure the title for the provincial club.

Successful

Steve McClaren has done a superb job in Enschede. Last season was his first in charge and they finished as runners-up in the Eredivisie.

This season’s rise to the top of the pile has been amazing considering the size of the club compared to the giants of Ajax, PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord.

McClaren has always been a decent coach. He did a good job at Middlesbrough and as a result got the England job. Unfortunately for McClaren it was too much too soon for him. He didn’t have enough experience to handle the very deman…

League leaders Barcelona head into the second half of the season unbeaten and their imperious form shows little side of subsiding to allow Real Madrid to close the five-point gap at the top.

They joined a select group of teams to go the first 19 games of the season without defeat after sweeping aside Valladolid and now it is the turn of Sporting Gijon to try and stop the side that won all six trophies they competed for in 2009.

Barca coach Pep Guardiola remains cautious though and believes there will be plenty of twists and turns still to come.

This is just an anecdote, last year at this stage of the season we had a 12 point lead over Madrid and in the end we had to go to the Bernabeu and win, he said.

Barca have won their last three league games scorin…

Patrice Evra has grown frustrated with a reduced role in the Juventus first team this season, the player s agent has said.

The 35-year-old has been a regular in the Champions League but has only started three Serie A matches this term, with Alex Sandro frequently preferred at left-back.

Evra s contract expires at the end of the season although Juve have an option to extend it by a further year but his lack of playing time has prompted talk of a move back to the Premier League as early as January.

Although his agent, Federico Pastorello, has denied that Evra is unhappy with life in general at Juve, he concedes that he would like a bigger role in the side.

I do have to admit that, like all footballers, he would like to be playing more often, he told juvene…

Lionel Messi was Barcelona s free-kick hero once more as the holders sunk Athletic Bilbao 3-1 to claim a rousing 4-3 aggregate triumph in the last 16 of the Copa del Rey.

Trailing following a contentious 2-1 defeat in Bilbao last week, Barca had to wait for their breakthrough before it arrived in landmark fashion 10 minutes from half-time.

Luis Suarez volleyed his 100th goal for the club on the end of a move that fittingly featured Messi and Neymar – it was the 300th goal for MSN since the awesome forward trio began playing together in 2014.

Neymar won and converted a penalty early in the second period, but Athletic hit back through wideman Enric Saborit, a Barcelona-born product of the Espanyol youth system.

But Barcelona, looking for a win at their th…

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Only days removed from their thiller in the capital, Manchester United will welcome West Ham to Old Trafford on Wednesday night when they turn their attention to EFL Cup duties.

Manchester United

Starting with the hosts, managing to mount another signature comeback on their travels over the weekend, Manchester United will find the mood in their camp at a real high. With Mark Noble s last-gasp penalty miss handing the former Premier League champions a 2-1 victory away at Wednesday s guests, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer got the perfect response after their Champions League stutter last week. Throwing away the lead against Young Boys and hit with a stunning 2-1 defeat in Switzerland, the Reds are desperate to end their long wait for a piece of s…

Reece James was the hero as Chelsea overcame Aston Villa 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the third round of the EFL Cup at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday. 

Ben Chilwell missed a chance to secure the win during the shoot-out after Ashley Young hit the bar and Kepa Arrizabalaga kept out Marvelous Nakamba, but James made no mistake to send Chelsea through. 

Villa were the better team for much of the first half but Timo Werner put Chelsea in front in the 54th minute with his first goal for the club this season and only his fifth of 2021. 

Cameron Archer – who scored a hat-trick against Barrow in the second round – guided in a stunning header to equalise 10 minutes later, only for Chelsea to show more composure at the spot and advance.

The decisive k…

Veteran midfielder Claude Makelele has signed a one year extension to his contract with PSG. The 37 year old had announced earlier this year that he would hang up his boots at the end of the 2009/10 season but has now decided to take another shot at Ligue 1 glory with the capital club.

Kinshasa born Makelele started his career with Nantes and had a brief spell at Marseille before moving to Spain in 1998. He spent two years at Celta Vigo before joining Real Madrid in 2000. He had three successful seasons with Madrid s Galacticos before opting for a move north to Chelsea. Makelele made nearly hundred and fifty appearances for the Blues before returning to France in 2008.

PSG, coached by Antoine Kombouaré, finished thirteenth in Ligue 1 last season.

[Source:- L Eq…

Reigning Dutch champions FC Twente have completed the signing of Swedish defender Rasmus Bengtsson. The centre back, who turned 24 a fortnight ago, moves to Twente from recently relegated Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin, and has signed a three year contract with an option for an extra year.

Bengtsson becomes the second Swedish player to be signed by Twente this summer. The Tukkers had earlier swooped for Elfsborg s young forward Emir Bajrami.

Bengtsson, a product of Malmo s youth system, started his career with Trelleborg. He joined Hertha on a three year deal last summer.

Bengtsson was part of the Swedish U-21 team that reached the semifinals of the 2009 UEFA Euro U-21 Championships. He has also been capped once at senior level for Sweden.

[Source:- FC T…

La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid head into the high-profile clash with Sevilla high on confidence, hoping to remain one step ahead of El Clasico rivals in the league standings. Meanwhile, los Rojiblancos are on a five-match winning run, so if there ever was a good time to record the first away win in this year s La Liga, it is now.

Atletico Madrid

With his side having successfully matched free-spending El Clasico rivals for several years now, Diego Simeone has got to be considered one of world s best coaches. Many believed that title-winning 2013/2014 season would not be repeated any time soon, but 20 games into the new campaign and los Colchoneros again find themselves at the La Liga summit, with Barcelona and Real Madrid trailing in their wake. Granted, the Catalans have a ga…

Romelu Lukaku came back to haunt West Brom as he inspired a stunning second-half comeback from Everton in a 3-2 Premier League win at The Hawthorns on Monday.

Roberto Martinez s side appeared to be heading for defeat after seeing West Brom take a 2-0 lead early in the second half through Craig Dawson s header.

Striker Saido Berahino had broken the deadlock in the 41st minute with his second goal in three games since ending his exile from the West Brom team after failing to force a move to Tottenham.

West Brom s advantage was doubled nine minutes after the restart courtesy of Dawson, and that looked to have put them on the verge of a third win in four Premier League matches.

However, Lukaku who spent a season on loan at The Hawthorns in 2012-13 pull…