Borussia Dortmund attacker Marco Reus has praised Malaga star Isco ahead of their Champions League quarter-final tie.
The Spain international has developed into one of the most sought-after players since joining Malaga from Valencia in the summer of 2011, and his rise to prominence has not gone unnoticed in Germany.
Isco is a genius. He is a natural and a huge talent, Reus said.
The gifted forward also singled out Martin Demichelis as another key player for the La Liga side, while stressing that Malaga cannot be underestimated.
I also know Demichelis, who spent several years at Bayern Munich and has a lot of quality. Malaga have a great team that can trouble a lot of opponents, he said.
They are having a superb season, despite some internal str…
Venezuela crashed out of the Copa America after they were beaten 1-0 by Peru in a forgettable final group game in Brasilia.
Starting the evening placed fifth out of five teams in Group B, Venezuela needed to better Ecuador s result against defending champions Brazil as they took on opponents whose place in the knockout stages already looked safe.
However, Jose Peseiro s Venezuela were beaten by Andre Carrillo s second-half strike while their rivals for qualification held the tournament hosts to a draw to progress instead.
And that meant an early end to a disappointing campaign for Venezuela that returned just two points from four group-stages fixtures.
An understandably tense start to proceedings featured few chances, with two Jefferson Savarino efforts f…
Pierre Kalulu s late effort saw Milan rescue a 2-2 draw for the second Serie A match running as Mattia Destro s double ultimately proved in vain for lowly Genoa.
The hosts, the last side to defeat the Rossoneri in Italy s top flight back in March, led twice as ex-Milan loanee Destro scored either side of Davide Calabria s excellent equaliser at the Luigi Ferraris.
But Kalulu tapped in from Alessio Romagnoli s downward header seven minutes from time to complete a breathless second half completely at odds with an insipid opening 45.
Leaders Milan fought back from a two-goal deficit to draw 2-2 at Parma last time out and are now 24 unbeaten in the league but only a point ahead of city rivals Inter. Genoa remain in the bottom three.
A double-comeback earns us…
Marquinhos has ended speculation over his future by signing a contract extension at Paris Saint-Germain that commits him to the club until 2019.
The Brazil centre-back joined PSG from Serie A side Roma in July 2013 after just a year in the Italian capital.
Marquinhos has made 31 appearances for Laurent Blanc s men this term and been widely linked with a move away from the Parc des Princes.
Premier League outfits Manchester United and Chelsea had been credited with an interest in the former Corinthians man.
But upon signing his new contract Marquinhos told the PSG s official website: This is a great success, good news. This means that the job is done.
This is a new stage in my life. The project here is beautiful and life is beautiful in Paris.
Ligue 1 clubs Bastia and Saint-Etienne have engaged in a war of words after a proposed transfer of Brazilian striker Brandao collapsed.
Brandao had been expected to join Bastia for the 2014-15 season but they announced on Friday they had sent the 34-year-old back to Saint-Etienne, claiming the Loire-based outfit had demanded a transfer fee at the last minute.
In a statement on their website, Bastia claimed this was contrary to what was originally planned .
Saint-Etienne rejected Bastia s accusation, before claiming the Corsicans owe them over €150,000 for a transfer involving Sylvain Marchal from 2012.
Saint-Etienne noted with amazement the statement released Friday by Bastia, a statement on Saint-Etienne s website read.
Contrary to the leader…
Bundesliga leaders Hoffenheim are to sign striker Kai Herdling from Regionalliga side Waldorf Mannheim. The 24-year-old, who already played for the club between 2002 and 2008, will be brought back in as cover for the injured Vedad Ibisevic, who is set to miss the rest of the season with a serious knee injury.
“Because of our personnel situation we hope to get some useful service out of Kai,†explained Hoffenheim general manager Jan Schindelmeister.
…
Arsenal s come-back hero Eduardo da Silva has revealed to The Sun that he is still yet to receive an apology of any sort from Martin Taylor, after the Birmingham defender broke his leg and ankle in a horrific tackle last year.
Eduardo produced a magnificent first-team return on Monday to score twice against Cardiff in the fourth round of the F.A Cup in his first appearance since the end of February 2008.
But the striker revealed that Taylor has never even apologised for the tackle that caused the injury, rubbishing reports that Taylor has met with the Croatian or even spoken to him.
Eduardo said: “Some friends told me he was saying he’d spoken to me  but he never did. I’ve never met him.
…
Casemiro was spotted at Old Trafford ahead of Manchester United s Premier League fixture with Liverpool as the midfielder prepared to be unveiled as the Red Devils latest signing.
The Brazil enforcer is joining United from Real Madrid in a deal reportedly worth an initial £60million (€70m), having won an incredible 18 trophies during a nine-year spell with Los Blancos.
Having bid farewell to Madrid in a press conference earlier on Monday, Casemiro was seen at pitchside ahead of United s clash with Liverpool, in which Erik ten Hag s under-fire side will bid to end an eight-match winless run against their rivals.
Casemiro starred as Carlo Ancelotti s Madrid claimed their 14th European crown with a Champions League final win over Jurgen Klopp s team in May, a…
Liverpool want £15 million for Harry Wilson, according to . It has been reported that Fulham are interested in signing the winger in the summer transfer window. Discussions between the Premier League club and the Championship outfit are going on, and the Reds have told the Cottagers that they want £15 million as transfer fee for the 24-year-old Wales international.
Wilson has been on the books of Liverpool since 2005 and has come through the academy. However, the 24-year-old has failed to establish himself in the first team and has not even played once in the Premier League. The winger has been out on loan at Derby County, Bournemouth and Cardiff City among other clubs over the years.
Fulham are not the only club who are interested in Wilson. Benfica, Brentford and We…
Diego Simeone saluted Atletico Madrid for again finding remarkable reserves of resilience on the European stage in a 1-1 draw at Arsenal.
Sime Vrsaljko was dismissed for collecting two bookings inside the opening 10 minutes of the Europa League semi-final at Emirates Stadium, while Simeone was sent to the stands shortly afterwards by referee Clement Turpin.
LaLiga s second-place side dug in and only fell behind to an Alexandre Lacazette header after the hour.
Antoine Griezmann was partially culpable for the opener, giving the ball away on the edge of his own area, but the France forward provided a sting in the tail as he seized upon a slip from international colleague Laurent Koscielny eight minutes from time.
Atleti s rearguard recalled their Champions L…