Cristiano Ronaldo saluted Zinedine Zidane for his management of the Real Madrid squad this season as they closed to within a point of the LaLiga league title with a 4-1 win at Celta Vigo.

Madrid produced a professional display in Galicia on Wednesday and managed to fend off a resilient Celta side, who were harshly reduced to 10 men in the second half when Iago Aspas was adjudged to have dived in the area.

Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos ultimately finished Celta off following Aspas dismissal, but it was Ronaldo who set them on their way, scoring twice to effectively put Madrid on the brink of their first title since 2012.

And the Portugal star gave coach Zidane the thumbs up for his effective management of a squad which he believes has a good blend of youth and expe…

Neymar may be close to securing his return to Barcelona after all.

After leaving Barca for a world-record fee in 2017, Neymar has made it clear he wants out of Paris Saint-Germain and re-joining the LaLiga champions has emerged as an option.

While Real Madrid have been linked, Neymar could be granted a Camp Nou comeback.

TOP STORY – PSG EYE COUTINHO IN NEYMAR TRANSFER

Paris Saint-Germain would accept Philippe Coutinho in a deal that would send Neymar back to Barcelona, reports RMC Sport.

Neymar sat out Sunday s 3-0 Ligue 1 victory over Nimes amid links to Barca and LaLiga giants Real Madrid.

 D après nos informations, le PSG considère à présent l idée d inclure un joueur dans le deal pour Neymar.

— RMC Sport (…

Manchester City thrashed Aston Villa 6-1 as Sergio Aguero netted a hat-trick to break two records, Riyad Mahrez scored twice and former Leicester City team-mate Danny Drinkwater endured a debut to forget.

The contest was settled in a 10-minute spell at Villa Park in which Mahrez grabbed a double and Aguero equalled Thierry Henry as the Premier League s top-scoring non-Englishman, later surpassing him and securing a record 12th hat-trick in the process.

It was a particularly harsh introduction to life at his new club for Chelsea loanee Drinkwater, who might have prevented the opener and effectively supplied the second.

Mahrez broke the deadlock after easily shrugging off Drinkwater s dithering presence, while the three-cap England international gave the ball away …

Best Odds: 27/20

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Hoping to make an immediate return to winning ways in midweek, Chelsea will travel to the Amex on Tuesday night when they meet Brighton.

Brighton

Starting with the hosts, while Brighton might have managed to snatch a late point against rivals Crystal Palace last week, Graham Potter s men will know that they deserved to leave the Amex with more to show. However, although the Seagulls might have gained a reputation as somewhat of a stalemate specialist, they have continued to impress many across the Premier League this season. Still battling it out in the top-half of the table, the one-time Swansea boss does find his side enjoying a five-match unbeaten run across all formats. Likewise, along with extending their FA Cup adventure away a…

The European Club Association (ECA) has condemned the proposed Super League while announcing a new executive committee including representatives from Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich.

A 12-team group including some of European football s biggest names confirmed plans for a breakaway competition on Sunday, with those founding members guaranteed to be involved every year regardless of their domestic performances.

The competition has received widespread criticism from governing bodies, former players and fan groups alike.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin branded the European Super League as a disgraceful, self-serving proposal fuelled by greed, as well as confirming players from the clubs involved will be banned from playing international footba…

Luis Rubiales has announced he has resigned as Spanish football federation president following the controversy over him kissing Jenni Hermoso.

Rubiales kissed the player on the lips during the trophy presentation after Spain’s victory over England in last month’s World Cup final, but Hermoso said the kiss was not consensual.

FIFA suspended Rubiales pending an investigation into his behaviour, and Hermoso submitted a complaint to the national prosecutor’s office on Wednesday which is now with Spain’s high court.

In a statement on his unverified X account on Sunday evening, Rubiales said he had informed Pedro Rocha, who has been acting as RFEF president while he was suspended, that he was resigning, with the same applying to his position as a UEFA vice-pres…

Best odds: 4/5

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As far as European football in concerned, this weekend will be all about the Serie A and the Milan Derby, popularly known as the Derby della Madonnina, on Saturday afternoon, when Inter Milan will nominally be hosting AC Milan at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza as part of the round 24 of the 2021-22 season in the Italian top flight.

After a long time, the clash between these two fierce rivals is extremely significant in terms of the race for the Scudetto.

Inter Milan

Having won the Serie A title last season, ousting Juventus from the throne after a decade, the Nerazzurri have set out to defend the crown and they re looking very good at the moment. Topping the table with 53 points to their name, Simone Inzaghi s team are four points …

Luis Aragones, who led Spain to UEFA Euro 2008 glory, has passed away aged 75.

The former Spain player and Atletico Madrid legend died in the Spanish capital s Clinica Cemtro in the early hours of Saturday morning, local time.

After a career in football spanning six decades, Aragones had only confirmed his retirement in December last year.

Atleti president Enrique Cerezo said in a club statement: Luis Aragones was a great player and coach, but before all that, a great person and a friend.

He was Atletico above all. I want to express our condolences to his family on behalf of the club.

A striker in his playing days, The Sage of Hortaleza was best known for a 10-year spell with Atleti in which time he won La Liga three times, as well as the Pichichi award fo…

Best Odds: 8/13

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Looking to make it back-to-back Premier League victories on Monday night, Nottingham Forest will welcome Burnley to the City Ground.

Nottingham Forest

Starting with the hosts, heading into the international break with a stunning performance in west London, Nottingham Forest will be desperate to lay down another marker here. Eventually claiming a famous 1-0 victory away at Chelsea earlier in the month, Steve Cooper’s men also opened this weekend’s fixtures battling it out in the top-half of the Premier League table. Managing to drag themselves to top-flight safety last season, the one-time Swansea boss will now be hoping for his side to find some recent stability. Winning two of their opening four Premier League appearances since g…

Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has admitted that he promised Cristiano Ronaldo his dream Real Madrid move.

The 28-year-old eventually left the Premier League side for Real Madrid in 2009 for a then world-record fee of £80million.

The move ended Real s long pursuit of the Portuguese star, with Ferguson revealing in his newly published book Alex Ferguson: My Autobiography that he waited to sell Ronaldo due to the actions of previous Real president Ramon Calderon.

Calderon irritated Ferguson in his desire to sign Ronaldo, so much so that Manchester United did not sell the attacker until Florentino Perez had been re-instated as Real president.

Madrid paid £80million in cash for him, and do you know why? It was a way for Florentino Perez, their presi…