Atletico confirm Costa hamstring injury

Valencia will face Barcelona in the final of the Copa del Rey after a 1-0 second-leg win over Real Betis on Thursday secured a 3-2 aggregate semi-final victory.

Rodrigo Moreno s goal early in the second half was enough to see off Betis at Mestalla and clinch a first final of any kind for Valencia in 11 years.

The result completed an impressive turnaround in the tie for Marcelino s side, who trailed 2-0 after less than an hour of the first leg three weeks ago only to snatch a 2-2 draw thanks to Kevin Gameiro s injury-time equaliser.

Their edge on away goals left them in a decent position and they managed the game superbly against a Betis side who sit three points and two places above them in LaLiga but now miss out on the chance to contest a final in their home st…

Best Odds: 19/20

Bookmaker:

Two sides who will open their respective EFL Trophy adventures on Tuesday night, Bolton will travel to Cumbria when they meet Barrow.

Barrow

Starting with the hosts, while Barrow might have suffered real frustration last season as they eventually missed out on a shock play-off ticket, the Bluebirds took plenty of positives away from what was a hugely impressive campaign. Springing an EFL Cup upset on August 27th as they edged past Derby thanks to a penalties victory in Cumbria, Stephen Clemence’s men should find the mood in their camp at a real high. Putting in another eye-catching performance over the weekend as they landed a 1-0 win away at Harrogate, the former Gillingham boss has his sights set on clinching a top-seven finish t…

David Moyes had come to see me and the contract had basically been done but then Moyes was fired and Louis van Gaal came in, which complicated matters,  Kroos told 

Louis wanted time to build his own project. I didn t hear anything from United for a while and started having doubts. Then the World Cup started and Carlo Ancelotti called. And that was it.  

Those are the words of Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos who made it clear during a recent interview that he was close to joining Manchester United back in 2014 prior to the World Cup. David Moyes had initially revealed that information back in 2018, and it turns out that it was true.

To this day Kroos is still one of the most highly thought of midfielders in world football but at this stage of his career,…

Rangers cut the gap to leaders Celtic down to two points in the Scottish Premiership thanks to a 2-1 victory at their Old Firm rivals on Sunday, despite another red card for Alfredo Morelos.

Nikola Katic s 56th-minute header secured Rangers their first league triumph at Celtic Park in 10 attempts, raising hopes for Steven Gerrard s squad they may finally be able to end Celtic s long run of dominance in the top flight.

While the reigning champions remain at the summit, their Glasgow neighbours have a game in hand as they bid to lift the title for the first time since 2010-11.

The only setback for Gerrard was the late dismissal of Morelos, who was sent off for the seventh time in his Rangers career after picking up a second booking for diving during added tim…

Best Odds: 4/7

Bookmaker:

Desperate to widen their buffer at the top of the Premier League table on Wednesday night, Liverpool will welcome Chelsea to Anfield.

Liverpool

Starting with the hosts, with fans around Anfield left heartbroken over the weekend as Jurgen Klopp announced that he will be ending his nine-year stint on Merseyside, Liverpool will be desperate to sign off the 56-year-old’s story with another Premier League crown. Extending on their FA Cup adventure over the weekend as they secured an action-packed 5-2 victory against Championship outfit Norwich, the one-time Borussia Dortmund boss is looking to make more history this year. Marking their return to top-flight action holding a five-point buffer at the top of the table, Liverpool have suffered…

Managing to extend on their Olympic Games adventure with a nail-biting penalties victory on Tuesday morning, Brazil know that they re now just a single win from making it back-to-back gold medals.

While many neutrals might have expected a thriller affair between this summer s top scorers and the defending champions, we instead witnessed what was an incredibly uninspiring showdown at an empty Kashima Soccer Stadium.

Just about managing to drag themselves over the finish line against what was a sluggish Mexico side, we have taken a look at what the major talking points were as the Seleção move one step closer to making Olympic history.

Brazil sneak their way to the final

Opening up this summer s delayed tournament with a thumping 4-2 win against 2016 silver med…

Atletico Madrid have confirmed Koke suffered a grade one thigh injury in Saturday s 3-0 win at Huesca.

Diego Simeone s squad has been ravaged by injuries this season and Koke was the latest to find himself with a problem on Saturday.

The midfielder scored Atletico s final goal in the 71st minute, but was forced off soon after.

Atletico are already missing Saul Niguez, Diego Costa, Filipe Luis, Stefan Savic, Gelson Martins, Vitolo and Nikola Kalinic.

 | INJURY UPDATE suffers grade I muscle injury to the right thigh. He is pending clinical evolution.
 

— Atletico de Madrid (@atletienglish)

However, Koke is not expected to be out for long, as Atletico confirmed he has only suffered a grade one strain.

He is unlikely to be risked…

Liverpool’s 2022 Carabao Cup final hero Caoimhin Kelleher will be more than happy to stay out of the limelight at Wembley.

The Republic of Ireland international scored what turned out to be the winning spot-kick after a goalless final against Sunday’s opponents Chelsea in an epic shoot-out which finished 11-10 when Kelleher’s opposite number Kepa Arrizabalaga blazed over, the only failure from either side.

It was fitting for the Irishman, who has been Liverpool’s League Cup goalkeeper for the last few seasons, but he would prefer a quieter afternoon this time around.

Man like Kelleher

— Liverpool FC (@LFC)

“To be fair, I was just in the moment. I didn’t even realise it was my go and I looked at the lads and they were pointing at me…

Javier Pastore believes Champions League finalists Paris Saint-Germain will approach future seasons with new levels of confidence because they have reached the ultimate level .

PSG face Bayern Munich in Lisbon on Sunday in their first ever Champions League title match.

The Ligue 1 giants overturned deficits to knock out Borussia Dortmund and Atalanta before easing past RB Leipzig in the last four.

Roma midfielder Pastore, who represented PSG for seven seasons following Qatar Sports Investments 2011 takeover, is confident the club s repeated disappointments in the knockout stages of Europe s elite competition are behind them.

And even if favourites Bayern prove too strong for Neymar and co, Pastore believes the club as a whole will take great confidence fr…

Kalidou Koulibaly is the best centre-back in the world and is worth €150million, according to Napoli head coach Carlo Ancelotti.

The 27-year-old has been at the Stadio San Paolo since signing from Genk in 2014, developing a reputation as one of Serie A s top defenders.

Senegal international Koulibaly has been linked with a move to Manchester United but Ancelotti warned off potential suitors.

The best centre-back in the world? I would say so, he told Tuttosport. And he can still improve. He is worth €150m and he is not available for transfer.

Koulibaly’s contract expires in 2023, in 2021 there s a €150m clause but Napoli do not need to sell, the president [Aurelio De Laurentiis] does not want to sell and the question doesn t come up.

Nap…