Sancho: My future? I just want to do well with Dortmund

Raphael Varane said Real Madrid cannot expect to win easily every week after Julen Lopetegui s side battled to a tight 1-0 victory against Espanyol.

With Gareth Bale, Marcelo and Toni Kroos all rested by Lopetegui, it was down to Marco Asensio to hit a first-half winner against his former club.

Madrid went top of the table at least temporarily, as Barcelona play Girona on Sunday but Varane noted it will not always be comfortable for his team.

We re not going to win 5-0 every game, the France defender said to beIN SPORTS.

We re going to sweat and we need everyone, we re going to give everything to get the title.

We have the ball, but it s hard to hurt the opponent. We created danger but not as much as in other games. The result is very good.

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Although Europe s top-tiers might have drawn to a close for another campaign, that doesn t mean we re short of footballing action from across the globe. On that note, for those of you looking to stick on a football acca, we have found a handful of helpful tips that are worth keeping an eye out for throughout Saturday.

Saturday 29th May

BST 15:00 Brentford vs Swansea

Managing to mount a stunning turnaround against Bournemouth in the semi-finals, Brentford will be desperate to go one step further this time around. Eventually landing themselves an action-packed 3-1 win against The Cherries in West London last weekend, Thomas Frank s men are tipped by many to book themselves a maiden Premier League campaign at Wembley. Left with play-off heartbreak after watching …

Inter Miami have confirmed the signing of Gonzalo Higuain following the termination of his contract with Serie A champions Juventus. 

Juve announced on Thursday that the former Argentina international s contract had been cancelled in a move that will cost them €18.3million.

The 32-year-old, who arrived at Juve from Napoli in 2016 and won three Serie A titles and two Coppa Italia trophies with the club, links up with former Bianconeri team-mate Blaise Matuidi at the MLS side. 

Higuain, who becomes Miami s third designated player alongside Rodolfo Pizarro and Matias Pellegrini, has an existing relationship with Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham, having played alongside him eight times for Real Madrid during the 2006-07 season. 

Without further ad…

I would always think if I received an offer [from Bayern or Dortmund] but it would depend more on my situation at Inter. If I were on the bench, it would be hard to say no.

According to a recent interview with Ruhr Nachrichten, Inter Milan star Milan Skriniar has admitted that he would entertain the idea of a move to Bayern Munich or Borussia Dortmund. Skriniar has slowly but surely made himself known as one of the most complete defenders in the game today, attracting the attention of many top clubs across European football.

The 24 year old, who has been an international for the Slovakia national team since back in 2016, plays with a maturity beyond his years and has done ever since arriving at Inter Milan back in 2017. There’s a great deal of potential there, and t…

Aleix Vidal says he is ready to face Barcelona in the Supercopa de Espana after leaving the Catalan giants to return to Sevilla.

The wing-back signed a four-year deal on Monday to complete his move to Sevilla, who he left for Barca in 2015.

Sevilla have paid an initial fee of €8.5million, potentially rising to €10.5m, for the 28-year-old, who started four LaLiga games as Barca won the title last term.

Ernesto Valverde s double winners face Sevilla in the Supercopa de Espana in a repeat of the Copa Del Rey final on Sunday and Vidal proclaimed himself fit to face his old club.

They re coming in having played with their national teams and I hope to be able to experience that first success, even if it s against my former team-mates, said Vidal, who w…

Mikel Arteta relishes “special” north London derbies against Tottenham and has called for Arsenal to take advantage of the Emirates’ electric atmosphere on Sunday.

Both Arsenal and Tottenham are unbeaten in the Premier League ahead of their derby-day clash.

And Arteta talked up the fixture’s history and its importance to the club and supporters as Arsenal search for a third straight victory over their neighbours.

Derby day ready

— Arsenal (@Arsenal)

“It’s a special rivalry. It’s a rivalry in the city and I really like the derby, there’s something between the two communities and it’s really intense,” Arteta said.

“It builds something even bigger with your supporters. I think it’s a game always in fixtures where y…

Market: Athletic Bilbao win

Odds: 10/11 @

Hoping to make an immediate return to winning ways, Athletic Bilbao will welcome Celta Vigo to the San Mamés on Sunday evening.

Starting with the hosts, while Athletic Bilbao might have been disappointed to have only collected a single point against Villarreal last weekend, they have continued to impress many across Spain this season. Although the Lions might still face a huge uphill battle if they re to clinch a European spot, Marcelino s men have lost just one of their last five La Liga outings. With their sights set on ending the 2021/22 campaign with a flurry, the Basque Country outfit will be boosted by a rather rampant record on home soil. On a run that is highlighted by back-to-back 4-0 and 3-1 victories against …

Giorgio Chiellini s agent says they are waiting on Juventus to discuss a new contract, calling any retirement talk for Italy s Euro 2020 winning captain as madness .

Chiellini, who turns 37 next month, is a free agent after his Juventus contract expired at the start of this month.

The veteran defender has been focusing on Italy s triumphant Euro 2020 campaign over the past month.

It has been widely expected Chiellini will sign on with the Old Lady for the 2021-22 season although his agent Davide Lippi revealed talks have not begun and they are open to offers from other clubs.

“It takes two to sign a contract,” agent Davide Lippi told Radio Radio.

“Giorgio went to the Euros and focused exclusively on that. There’s no problem with Juventus, …

Racing needed a stoppage-time winner from Mauricio Affonso to maintain their Uruguayan Primera Division lead on Sunday.

Affonso struck in the 92nd minute at Rampla Juniors as Racing came from behind to seal a 2-1 Apertura win in Montevideo.

The win kept Racing one point ahead of Nacional, who had veteran Alvaro Recoba score from a corner in their 2-0 home success against an out-of-form Wanderers.

Rampla Juniors took the lead in unusual circumstances as Bruno Barreto a third-minute substitute for Maximiliano Arias netted the opener.

Barreto s 12th-minute strike was cancelled out by Juan Pablo Rodriguez just before the half-hour mark but it looked like both sides would have to settle for a point.

And that would have represented a great result for a …

Brazil president Lula added on social media: I had the privilege that younger Brazilians didn t have: I saw Pele play, live, at Pacaembu and Morumbi.

Play? No. I saw Pele give a show. Because when he got the ball he always did something special, which often ended up in a goal.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) also paid tribute.

We mark the passing of the legendary Pele, known to many as the king of the beautiful game , NASA posted. This image of a spiral galaxy in the constellation Sculptor shows the colours of Brazil.

We mark the passing of the legendary Pelé, known to many as the king of the beautiful game. This image of a spiral galaxy in the constellation Sculptor shows the colors of Brazil.

— NASA (@NASA)

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