Zenit swoop for Garcia

Eden Hazard and Real Madrid are the perfect fit, according to Belgium head coach Roberto Martinez.

Hazard joined Madrid from Premier League side Chelsea on a five-year deal last week for a fee that could reportedly rise to €140million.

The Belgium star will lead Zinedine Zidane s squad overhaul as the LaLiga giants look to bounce back from their third-place finish in 2018-19.

And Martinez believes Hazard and Madrid fit perfectly together as Belgium prepare for Tuesday s Euro 2020 qualifier against Scotland.

 times thank you  

— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils)

For Real Madrid, they are getting a phenomenal footballer and for Eden, there couldn t have been too many new chapters in his career, Martinez said.

He always sai…

Bayern Munich could wrap up the Bundesliga title this weekend, but will be relying on Wolfsburg failing to beat Borussia Monchengladbach on Sunday.

The defending champions are 12 points clear at the summit with five matches left to play, so simply need to better Wolfsburg s result to be sure of retaining their crown.

Bayern host Hertha Berlin on Saturday on the back of a thumping 6-1 win over Porto in midweek, which sent them into the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League as 7-4 aggregate victors.

And Guardiola s men will be confident of keeping their end of the bargain, having won their last 10 meetings with Hertha including an away game last March that saw them seal the 2013-14 title.

Wolfsburg, meanwhile, are on the road at Monchengladbach. Realis…

Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong has spoken of his delight and relief after finally making his comeback from injury on Wednesday.

The Ghana-born midfielder suffered a ruptured cruciate ligament in his right knee while playing on loan at Wolverhampton last season, a similar injury to the one he suffered in his left knee in 2010.

But, with Wednesday s 20-minute cameo against Coventry City under his belt, Frimpong is delighted to have stepped back onto the Emirates Stadium pitch and is looking forward to the season.

It feels good to be back after so much hard work in the gym, and I m just pleased to be playing football again, Frimpong told Arsenal Player.

I m a footballer all I want to do is get out there and help my team, whether I am fit enough to p…

Gremio extended their unbeaten run and moved into second on Thursday, while Coritiba condemned lowly Palmeiras to yet another defeat.

Vanderlei Luxemburgo s Gremio ran out 3-1 winners at home to a Sport Recife side attempting to avoid relegation.

Defender Anderson Pico handed the hosts the lead on the stroke of half-time courtesy of his first goal since 2010.

Gremio doubled their advantage thanks to a 52nd minute effort from young striker Leandro before Marquinhos made it three five minutes later.

Hugo converted a penalty with 10 minutes remaining but it proved nothing more than a consolation goal as Gremio leapfrogged Atletico Mineiro into second.

In a fiercely contested encounter which saw 10 yellow cards distributed at the Estadio Palestra Ita…

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer thinks Edinson Cavani could forge a longer-term career at Manchester United, saying the striker has a few years left at the highest level.

Cavani arrived on the October 5 deadline day at the end of the previous transfer window, in which the Red Devils business again came under scrutiny.

With a move for long-standing target Jadon Sancho not coming to fruition and Donny van de Beek their only major signing, United agreed a flurry of deals in the final hours, bringing in Cavani on a free transfer alongside Alex Telles from Porto, Facundo Pellistri from Penarol and Amad Diallo from Atalanta the latter is due to arrive next month.

Despite the rushed nature of his move, Cavani has had a telling impact in England even though he has made seven of h…

Nantes secured their place in the Coupe de France final for a second successive season after Ludovic Blas sensational second-half strike secured a deserved 1-0 win against Lyon.

The holders sit 14th in Ligue 1 but have enjoyed another inspired cup run, with Wednesday s upset of Lyon now gifting them the opportunity to win back-to-back crowns.

Jean-Charles Castelletto almost gave Nantes the perfect start but his first-minute effort was saved expertly by Anthony Lopes.

The home side thought they had gone ahead when Samuel Moutoussamy capitalised on a Lyon defensive mistake, but his effort was ruled out for offside after a VAR check.

Antoine Kombouare s side would finally make their advantage pay in the second half, however, as Blas fired home a marvellous…

Antonio Rudiger has called for the couple of idiots who allegedly racially abused him during Chelsea s win over Tottenham to be identified and punished.

Rudiger reported hearing racist abuse from the stands after receiving a kick from Son Heung-min in the second half at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, an action that earned the Spurs forward a red card.

Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta took the complaint to referee Anthony Taylor on Sunday and the public address system was used to relay an anti-racism message to supporters.

Germany international Rudiger issued a statement on social media after Chelsea s 2-0 Premier League victory, urging officials not to let the incident pass without a strong response.

It is really sad to see racism again at a football match…

Prediction: Newcastle win

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The new year is officially upon us and it s time to start thinking positively from the vaccine to the Premier League and beyond. There are going to be some pretty significant bumps in the road over the course of the next few months but if fans are able to distract themselves with some great football, that can only be viewed as a bonus. Today, we re going to take a look at what should be an intriguing clash of styles between Newcastle United and Leicester City.

Newcastle

Newcastle United fans are probably going to have to come to terms with the fact that Steve Bruce will be their manager until at least the end of the season unless they go on a dreadful run between now and then. Their football isn t the …

Charlie Austin once again proved a thorn in the side of former club Burnley as he scored twice in Southampton s classy 3-1 Premier League victory.

The England striker had scored on both his previous two top-flight appearances against the Clarets and he extended that record to four in three.

Burnley goalkeeper Tom Heaton was in inspired form in the first half, including a stunning early save from Austin, but the wheels came off for the visitors after half-time.

Austin started the scoring with a scrappy opener from a corner, before Nathan Redmond s fine finish from another set-piece doubled the lead just after the hour.

Southampton benefitted from a somewhat harsh penalty decision for Austin to make it three from the spot, but a run of six straight clean sh…

Celtic completed an historic double treble with a 2-0 win over Motherwell in Saturday s Scottish Cup final.

First-half goals from Callum McGregor and Olivier Ntcham at Hampden Park secured victory for Brendan Rodgers all-conquering side.

The victory completed a second consecutive treble of Premiership, Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup triumphs for the Glasgow giants.

Motherwell finished the league season 34 points behind the champions and they rarely looked like causing an upset.

A sumptuous half-volley from McGregor 11 minutes in set Celtic on their way, before Ntcham drilled home a second from the edge of the penalty area to put Rodgers side in control.

Motherwell pushed hard as the second half wore on, with Gael Bigirimana rattling the cr…