As well as preventing Netherlands from dropping crucial World Cup qualifying points in Luxembourg, Memphis Depay broke the country s long drought from free-kicks during Sunday s 3-1 victory.
Having already scored a header after coming on for Wesley Sneijder as a half-time substitute, Depay stepped up and found the bottom-left corner with a dipping set-piece strike from 25 yards with six minutes remaining.
That made him the first player to score a direct free-kick for the Oranje in over three years, with Arjen Robben – scorer of Netherlands first goal – the last to do so against Turkey back in October 2013.
The goals from Depay, who is yet to start a Premier League game for Manchester United this season, were also his first at international level since his str…
Theo Walcott has hailed England s strength in attack following their comeback 3-2 win over Sweden at Euro 2012 on Friday night.
Handed a cameo with a little over 30 minutes left to play, the winger turned the game on its head with an instinctive half-volley from 30 yards, before darting between two opposing defenders to set up Danny Welbeck for the winner.
Walcott acknowledged his own need to be prepared when coming on after missing out against France, before adding that Wayne Rooney’s return from suspension will only prove to boost their firepower .
I think in tournaments you have to wait for your moment, he said after the match.
If you re not starting the first game and you ve got to always train well, always be ready when the boss needs you. Ther…
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta hopes for good news on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang s contract in the next few days .
The Gabon striker scored the Gunners third as they eased to a 3-0 win at Fulham in their first match of the 2020-21 Premier League season on Saturday.
Aubameyang has hit 55 goals in the top flight since his debut on February 4, 2018, which is more than any other player in the competition in that time.
However, the 31-year-old s future has been the subject of intense speculation in recent months, with his contract expiring in 20201.
Arteta stated this week that Arsenal fans could feel pretty relaxed about the player s future and he suggested again on Saturday that a positive update is around the corner.
I m really positive we re going to ge…
Pep Guardiola hopes not to be on the receiving end of another lesson from Jurgen Klopp when Manchester City travel to face Liverpool and a man he believes to be the best out-and-out attacking coach in world football.
Guardiola and Klopp sparred memorably during their time in charge of Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
The head-to-head concluded at four wins apiece, with Dortmund triumphing on penalties in the semi-final of the DFB-Pokal in 2015 before losing the final to Wolfsburg.
That compounded a trophy count weighted in Guardiola s favour as he claimed a domestic double in 2013-14 before retaining the Bundesliga title as Klopp headed for the Dortmund exit door.
But the Signal Iduna Park club did celebrate back-to-back German Super…
Spain midfielder Andres Iniesta was overjoyed after his country thumped Italy 4-0 in Kiev on Sunday to win Euro 2012.
The Barcelona playmaker turned in an impressive display to help La Roja to their third consecutive major international tournament success, an unprecedented feat.
After winning Euro 2008 under Luis Aragones, Vicente del Bosque has now guided Spain to victory at the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 and Iniesta predicted that the achievement would prove difficult to match.
I am very happy to win this title again, to do something unique and magical, he told reporters.
This is practically unrepeatable and I am enjoying the moment.
The important thing is that Spain are champions and that this is what the entire team wanted.
Spa…
Eredivisie champions PSV have completed the signing of Mexico defender Hector Moreno from Espanyol.
Moreno, 27, has joined Phillip Cocu s men on a four-year deal for a fee reportedly in the region of €3.5million. It means a return to the Netherlands for Moreno, who spent three and a half years at AZ Alkmaar before moving to Espanyol in 2011.
This is a good move, Moreno told www.psv.nl. At PSV I can fight for the title and play in the UEFA Champions League. I was ready for a new challenge and PSV have provided that.
My football and personality have grown during my time in Spain. I have played against some of the best players in the world. That is why I am a better player now than during my first spell in the Netherlands.
PSV kicked off the season …
Turkey s Bursaspor want to sign Manchester City defender Kolo Toure in the summer transfer window.
The club, keen to bolster their defence, have made the centre-back one of their primary targets on the transfer market.
The Ivory Coast international is reportedly no longer needed at the Premier League champions, and the Turkish side are keen to lure him to the Bursa Ataturk Stadium ahead of the 2012-13 campaign.
We ve been discussing it for two days. We are talking about the biggest Anatolian football transfer in history, coach Ertugrul Saglam told Dogan News Agency.
The player s quality is obvious. We re waiting for good news today. It s not over until he s signed.
The 31-year-old Toure joined Manchester City from Arsenal in the summer of 2009…
Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski will expose Arsenal s weaknesses in their Champions League encounter at the Allianz Arena, says Michael Tarnat.
Bayern eliminated Arsenal at the last-16 stage in 2013 and 2014 and will be hoping to take a step towards repeating the feat in the first leg of the tie on Wednesday.
Tarnat, who spent the 2003-04 season at Manchester City and is now the sporting director of Bayern s junior team, believes Arsene Wenger s side are susceptible to counter-attacking play.
He thinks the pace of Arjen Robben and Douglas Costa will prove influential and has backed Lewandowski to improve on the five goals he struck in the group stage.
Tarnat told Omnisport: Arsene Wenger has built a team in the last couple of years that always wa…
Riyad Mahrez admits he regrets the way he behaved after seeing a move to Manchester City fall through in the January transfer window.
The Algeria international was absent for two Leicester City matches after missing out on joining the Premier League leaders, who reportedly made a £60million offer on deadline day two months ago.
Mahrez denied going on strike after the disappointment of the failed move, but concedes he should have handled things better when he took a leave of absence from the Leicester squad.
I was away from here because I needed some time to think, it was a difficult situation, he told Sky Sports News.
Manchester City is a good move for everyone but it is the past. It is behind me. If we start talking about this it s like coming back to…
West Brom boss Tony Pulis has defended Jose Mourinho s indifferent first season with Manchester United and says they could win the Premier League next term.
United were held to an eighth draw in 15 league games at Old Trafford on Saturday as they toiled against a disciplined and highly defensive approach from West Brom.
The 0-0 stalemate was United s eighth at home in the top flight since Alex Ferguson stepped down as manager in 2013, but Mourinho had already predicted on Friday that he would enjoy an easier second campaign in charge.
Pulis, too, thinks that United will be much improved next season.
Jose is a top manager and it is a transition year for him, the West Brom manager told BBC Sport. I would not bet against him winning the title next year…