Fiorentina focus – a look at West Ham’s Europa Conference League final opponents

Barcelona reached the Supercopa de Espana final after beating Real Sociedad 3-2 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in Cordoba.

With Lionel Messi sitting out the tie with a slight injury, it was Frenkie de Jong who continued his strong recent form with the opening goal in the first half.

De Jong conceded the penalty that allowed Mikel Oyarzabal to equalise, though, and it was Sociedad who threatened most as the game entered extra time, with Marc-Andre ter Stegen in strong form and substitute Adnan Januzaj hitting the post with a free-kick.

Ter Stegen proved pivotal in the shoot-out, making two saves, before Riqui Puig buried his spot-kick to send Barca through.

The Germany international made a fine one-on-one save to deny Alexander Isak as La Real looked by…

Thibaut Courtois says Belgium s players are hungry to get their hands on a first-ever World Cup in Qatar next year.

Belgium, ranked number one in the world, finished third at the 2018 tournament, beating England in a play-off after they had lost to eventual winners France at the semi-final stage.

Roberto Martinez s side started their qualification campaign for next year s competition with a 3-1 win over Wales, though they were held to a 1-1 draw by the Czech Republic on Saturday.

Courtois is no stranger to silverware, having won both the Premier League and LaLiga twice, as well as the Europa League back in 2012.

The Real Madrid goalkeeper desperately wants to add the World Cup to that haul and he is in no doubt his team-mates share his desire.

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Knowing that they need to pick up maximum points on Monday evening, West Brom will host rivals Wolves from behind closed doors at The Hawthorns.

West Brom

Starting with the hosts, while West Brom might have been moments away from another crucial victory last weekend, it was late heartbreak on the road for Sam Allardyce s side. Watching Midlands rivals Aston Villa snatch a last-gasp point thanks to a costly mistake at the back, The Baggies find themselves on the verge of being hit with an immediate Championship return. Although the one-time England boss might have seen his side enjoy a recent boost since returning from the international break, they do open Monday s meeting sat nine points adrift of safety. With it appearing that their t…

Roberto Martinez confirmed he has taken charge of Belgium for the final time following their World Cup exit, but he does not believe this is the end for the country s golden generation .

Belgium finished third in Group F after toiling to a 0-0 draw with second-placed Croatia at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on Thursday, ensuring they failed to qualify from a World Cup group for the first time since 1998.

Martinez – who led Belgium to their best World Cup finish when they claimed bronze in Russia four years ago – was under contract until the end of the tournament, and has revealed he planned to walk away however the Red Devils fared.

That was my last game for the national team and it was emotional. I can t carry on, sorry, a visibly moved Martinez said at his post-ma…

Juventus hopes of a top-four Serie A finish suffered a huge double blow as the Bianconeri were thrashed 4-1 at Empoli on the same day they received a 10-point deduction.

Moments before kick-off, Juve expressed great bitterness at the Italian Football Federation s decision to issue a new penalty over alleged transfer irregularities, putting them seventh in the table.

Massimiliano Allegri s side showed no signs of being fired up by that ruling, as Francesco Caputo s penalty and Sebastiano Luperto s powerful effort quickly put Empoli in control.

Caputo doubled up with a delicate finish after half-time and though Federico Chiesa pulled one back, Roberto Piccoli s stoppage-time strike compounded the visitors misery and left them five points outside the top four with…

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes Manchester United have started a clear out and are looking to improve by adding new players this month following a chastening 2-0 home defeat to Burnley.

United produced an abject display against Sean Dyche s men on Wednesday as they lacked a cutting edge in attack without the injured Marcus Rashford, who could be out until April with a back problem.

Chris Wood and Jay Rodriguez got the goals for Burnley, who ultimately had little difficulty hanging on to the victory.

United have been strongly linked with Sporting CP midfielder Bruno Fernandes, though media reports continue to suggest the two clubs are well apart in their valuation of the Portugal international.

Solskjaer is adamant United are looking to bolster the squad, th…

Aston Villa are interested in signing Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette in the summer transfer window, according to . Lacazette is out of contract at Arsenal at the end of the season, and Premier League rivals Villa are keen on securing the services of the 30-year-old France international striker on a free transfer.

Lacazette has been on the books of Arsenal since 2017 and has been an important player for the team over the years. The striker has scored 54 in 149 appearances in the Premier League so far in his career. Lacazette has made 16 starts and five substitute appearances in the Premier League so far this season, scoring four goals and providing seven assists in the process.

Villa are ninth in the Premier League table at the moment with 36 points from 28 matches.…

Wales manager Ryan Giggs will face trial on January 24 after being charged with assaulting two women.

Giggs appeared at a hearing at Manchester Crown Court on Friday, just over a month after the former Manchester United winger was charged with causing actual bodily harm to a woman in her 30s and common assault of a woman in her 20s.

The 47-year-old is alleged to have assaulted the two women in Worsley, Greater Manchester, on November 1 last year.

He was also charged with one count of coercive and controlling behaviour.

Giggs, who denies the allegations, will return to Manchester Crown Court early next year for the trial.

The Football Association of Wales (FAW) last month confirmed Giggs will not be in charge of the team for the upcoming Euro…

I had 11 years at the club, and even if it was a hard road for me, and I suffered through my time at Arsenal, today I am happy and I tried to show young goalies how work pays off. 

When you work hard, you are not going to be happy the whole time, you are going to have frustration, bad times in life. 

They all understood at Arsenal and they support me for my decision. The Arsenal fanbase were always there for me, I felt their love.

Even when Bernd got injured this season, I received loads of messages like we trust in you , you are our goalie . That made me confident, made me win games and made me the keeper I am today.

They understood my story and they love the way I worked in the club. I am so glad to be part of the Arsenal family for 11 years.