Xabi Alonso and Bayern Munich were once a perfect match, and few would be surprised should they couple up again somewhere down the line.

Yet Alonso could put a dent in Bayern s Bundesliga title prospects on Sunday, when his Bayer Leverkusen side host the 10-in-a-row champions at BayArena.

Six years have passed since Alonso announced he would be retiring as a player at the end of the 2016-17 season, sparking an outpouring of tributes to one of the great midfield artists of his era.

That news, revealed in March 2017, raised the question of what next? for a man who as a player won a World Cup and two European Championships with Spain, Champions League titles with Liverpool and Real Madrid, and would end up with a hat-trick of Bundesliga medals at Bayern.

Sua…

Ronald Koeman does not believe Barcelona are stronger than LaLiga title rivals Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and Sevilla this season.

Barca – who have a game in hand – moved within five points of leaders Atletico following Thursday s 5-2 victory over Getafe.

Lionel Messi scored twice in an action-packed first half at Camp Nou, where Clement Lenglet s own goal cancelled out the superstar captain s eighth-minute opener within four minutes.

Getafe s Sofian Chakla turned the ball into his own net in the 28th minute before Messi extended Barca s lead five minutes later.

  breaks down the 5-2 win over Getafe

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona)

Enes Unal s penalty after a VAR review gave Getafe hope, but Ronald Araujo headed in from Messi s sup…

Bochum and Greuther Furth sealed promotion to the Bundesliga on Sunday, with Holstein Kiel slipping to third and facing a play-off against Cologne. 

A 3-1 victory over Sandhausen saw Bochum clinch the 2. Bundesliga title and a return to the top flight for the first time since their relegation in 2009-10. 

Greuther twice came from behind to claim a 3-2 victory over Fortuna Dusseldorf, moving them above Kiel and back into the Bundesliga after an eight-year spell in the second tier. 

Kiel, who reached the DFB-Pokal semi-finals this season, missed out on automatic promotion after surrendering a first-half lead in a 3-2 defeat at home to Darmstadt. 

However, they can still earn a place in the top flight for 2021-22 by overcoming Cologne, who escaped au…

Senegal reached a second consecutive Africa Cup of Nations final as goals from Abdou Diallo, Idrissa Gueye and Sadio Mane secured a 3-1 win over Burkina Faso on Wednesday. 

Aliou Cisse s side were denied a first AFCON title by Algeria back in 2019, but they will have another chance to get their hands on the trophy against either Cameroon or Egypt in Sunday s decider after edging their semi-final.

Senegal thought they had been awarded a penalty deep into first-half stoppage, but the VAR came to Burkina Faso s rescue with referee Bamlak Tessema Weyesa overturning his initial decision after replays showed Gueye s shot had hit Edmond Tapsoba s stomach and not his hand.

The Lions of Teranga deservedly broke the deadlock in the 70th minute, however, when Par…

The Republic of Ireland boss Martin O Neill will be looking for his side to produce a big display against Bosnia and Herzegovina in tonight s crunch Euro 2016 play-off

Republic of Ireland heads into the second leg of their Euro 2016 play-off with Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday night having secured a 1-1 in the first leg of the tie.

It looked like Martin O’Neill’s side would be claiming a win in Zenica, after Norwich midfielder Robbie Brady opened the scoring on 82 minutes, but three minutes later on-loan Roma striker Edin Dzeko scored a vital equaliser.

Despite Dzeko’s goal, a score draw was a decent result for the Irish, as they now have an away goal to defend, although boss O’Neill has stated that his side will not just sit back on that slight advant…

Didier Deschamps knows the importance of France s Euro 2024 opener against Austria, but he pointed to Argentina s World Cup success to demonstrate a fast start is not everything.

France are seen as one of the favourites to win the tournament in Germany, having reached the final at three of their last four major competitions, finishing as runners-up at Euro 2016 and the 2022 World Cup either side of winning the 2018 World Cup.

The Netherlands and Poland are also present in their tricky group, with Ronald Koeman s Oranje getting off the mark with a 2-1 win when those sides met on Sunday.

Though Deschamps is keen to see France match that fast start, their experience at the Qatar World Cup proved it is not a necessity.

A Kylian Mbappe hat-trick in the final o…

Mauricio Pochettino admits it was a risk to join Chelsea given his Tottenham connections but remains determined to build a “genuine relationship” with supporters following the stunning 4-3 win over Manchester United.

Cole Palmer’s strike in the 11th minute of stoppage time was the latest winning goal on record in the Premier League and sparked an eruption of joy around Stamford Bridge, previously the scene of seething discontent as home fans have watched their side plummet down the table.

Pochettino and his players have been booed off more than once this season, with the worst reaction coming after they were beaten 4-2 by Wolves early in February, though there was also audible disquiet as they struggled to overcome Championship sides Leeds and Leicester in the FA C…

Erik ten Hag said he was surprised by Manchester United s lack of belief after their comprehensive 6-3 loss to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

Erling Haaland and Phil Foden both scored hat-tricks as City produced a dominant performance against their rivals on Sunday, though a second-half brace from Anthony Martial and a long-range strike from Antony allowed the Red Devils to salvage some pride.

As a result, Ten Hag joined United predecessors David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick in losing his first Premier League match against City.

Asked what went wrong for United, who came into the game on the back of four successive league wins, Ten Hag told Sky Sports: A lack of belief.

I m surprised, why we didn t…

Erik ten Hag says restoring the bond between Manchester United s players and fans has been one of his top priorities since taking charge at Old Trafford.

United have won just three trophies since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 and the 58 Premier League points they collected last term was their lowest since the competition began in 1992.

A poor performance and 1-0 loss at Crystal Palace in their final match of 2021-22 received much criticism from the away end, a sight that Ten Hag witnessed in the stands after his appointment to replace Ralf Rangnick.

Ten Hag, whose hiring was announced in April before he took over in the close-season, endured a tricky opening to this campaign as United tasted defeat in their opening two matches, including a humiliating 4-0 hammeri…

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Promoted Frosinone will be looking to continue their fine start in Serie A and further compound Roma s woes when the two teams face off at Stadio Olimpico on Sunday evening.

Frosinone, last season s Serie B champions, have made a smooth transition to Italy s top flight and have suffered just one defeat thus far. Meanwhile, Roma finds themselves in a state of crisis, having experienced a humiliating defeat to Genoa in midweek, which has led to them matching their worst points tally at this stage of the season since the 1990s.

AS Roma

Roma s start to the Serie A season has been disappointing, with just one win in their first six matches, including a recent 4-1 defeat to Genoa on Thursday. They conceded an early goal and despite B…