Barcelona face Athletic Bilbao in Copa del Rey quarter-finals

Zlatan Ibrahimovic often courts criticism, but Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has backed his former striker, hailing him a leader .

Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti has defended Paris Saint-Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic by claiming he is a great professional who is misinterpreted. 

Ancelotti was in charge of the Sweden international during his time at PSG, with the pair part of the successful 2012-13 Ligue 1-title winning team.

Ibrahimovic s conduct both on and off the pitch has created controversy throughout his career amid rumours of disputes with team-mates, coaches and opponents in the past.

Marseille full-back Rod Fanni earlier this month claimed he had previously wanted to punch Ibrahimovic, who also hit the headlines in the af…

Paris Saint-Germain head coach Thomas Tuchel insists Edinson Cavani could be in a worse position than having to stay at the club.

The striker had appeared set to leave during the transfer window, with his contract expiring at the end of the season and his place in the first team usurped by Mauro Icardi.

Atletico Madrid were favourites to sign the Uruguay star but reports in Spain suggest they pulled out of the deal due to demands from the player s agent.

A Premier League move was also mooted, with Chelsea and Manchester United keen to sign a striker, but Frank Lampard appeared to confirm no new arrivals would be made on deadline day when stating Olivier Giroud would not be sold.

Tuchel had always been keen to keep Cavani, and he now hopes to see the 32-ye…

Set up by Granit Xhaka to break the deadlock in the 18th minute of Arsenal s clash with Chelsea on Monday, Martin Odegaard measured his shot perfectly. The same pair combined again with the same outcome in the 31st, and Gabriel Jesus showed great skill and determination in a narrow space to score the Gunners third just three minutes later.

Noni Madueke eventually provided some pale comfort for the dispirited Blues in the 65th, set up by an excellent over-the-top ball from Mateo Kovacic.

Another London derby victory

Relive a special night at Emirates Stadium in our highlights package

— Arsenal (@Arsenal)

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Portugal s Vitoria Guimaraes are among six Europa League clubs being investigated by UEFA over their capacity to meet financial obligations.

The club, who currently sit third in Group I and recorded an impressive 1-1 draw in Lyon on matchday two, have been referred to the UEFA Club Financial Control Body (CFCB), along with the already eliminated Skonto, Slask Wroclaw, Pandurii Targu Jiu, Petrolul Ploiesti and Metalurh Donetsk.

Chaired by former Belgian Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene, the CFCB is set to decide whether the clubs should face sanctions, with a decision expected next month.

And UEFA have confirmed to Perform that punishments could be as severe as disqualification from competitions in progress or exclusion from future events, but that each club would be jud…

Euro 2012 finalists Italy continued to struggle in the Euro 2016 qualifiers, having narrowly escaped defeat in Bulgaria, and with Antonio Conte set to introduce a number of back-up players to his starting line-up, another under-par performance may be on the cards.

Meanwhile, England continued the perfect start to the qualifying campaign by hammering Lithuania and with the Three Lions winning each of their last seven matches, you should consider betting on away win at the 10/1 enhanced price at Paddy Power.

In order to qualify, and place your first wager on England to win at the standard price. If the Three Lions win in Turin, you will be paid out at the normal price immediately before additional winnings are topped up to your account.

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are confident that Ajax s Frenkie De Jong will soon become their player, according to .

Having lost Andres Iniesta and Paulinho this summer and with Andre Gomes most likely on the way out, the Catalans are in need of midfield reinforcements. At the age of 21, De Jong is a perfect fit for what manager Ernesto Valverde is looking for in his pursuit for a new midfielder with his quality on the ball and positional awareness.

Ajax have so far rejected three proposals for a deal from Barcelona as they need De Jong to help them qualify for the Champions League. On his part, the player has informed his club about his wish to move to Camp Nou and that he would refuse to contemplate any other destination, but he remains unwilling to force a deal. Barcelona respect his commitment…

Prediction: Draw

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The UEFA Euro 2020 qualification period continues, with countries up and down the continent attempting to force their way into the mix. The game that we re going to take a look at today will be contested by Finland and Italy, which should be a fairly entertaining showdown. It isn t a fixture that we ve seen all too often over the years, but in their last meeting back in March, Italy were able to ease towards a 2-0 win but you just know that Finland will be ready for the rematch, with a win for the underdogs giving them a huge chance of securing qualification for next summer s big tournament.

Finland

The Finnish national team aren t particularly well known for being a force in European football, or international…

Zola

There is no doubt that from what you read and hear, Gianfranco Zola is one of the nicest men in football. He was a fantastic player and he made a pretty solid start to his managerial career. Unfortunately for him, West Ham and the West Ham fans, things have gone horribly wrong.

Definitely

After Tuesday’s 3-1 home defeat against Wolves left West Ham just three points above the drop zone and very definitely looking behind them rather than up the table, Zola took the blame.

The team is not playing well. I take responsibility. I am personally hurt because I didn t expect a performance like that. It is painful. It is a big blow. For me personally and the team. These are the moments when you have to react.

Many West Ham fans walked out of the gr…

(GSM) Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain believes Real Madrid are getting better all the time after they ended 2009 with a 6-0 demolition of Real Zaragoza at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Even without key duo Kaka and Pepe through injury Madrid were still far too good for sorry Zaragoza, and the game was over as a contest inside the opening 35 minutes after the hosts stormed into a 4-0 lead.

Higuain and Rafael van der Vaart shared those goals equally between them before big-money summer signings Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema added two more strikes in the second half.

Madrid have had their critics this season but last night s win was their biggest since trouncing Sporting Gijon 7-1 at the start of the last campaign and saw them close the gap on leaders Barcelona to…