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Radamel Falcao secured Thierry Henry his first win as Monaco boss with a free-kick that would have made his manager proud as Paris Saint-Germain warmed up for Liverpool's visit by strengthening their hold on Ligue 1 with a routine win over Toulouse without Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. The Colombian striker struck with a dipping set-piece nine minutes after the break, and Henry could be be seen smiling on the touchline as his players celebrated Falcao's winner wildly. Falcao's fifth league goal of the campaign secured Monaco's first win in any competition since the opening day of the league season, a miserable run of form that has left them second-bottom in Ligue 1 despite Saturday's win. Earlier on Saturday Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani saved a disjointed performance from runaway leaders PSG to maintain their 100 percent start to the season ahead of the crunch Champions League clash with Liverpool on Wednesday. Neymar and Mbappe were both injured during fr...

Cristiano Ronaldo continued his hot form for Juventus on Saturday as he and Mario Mandzukic scored both goals in the second consecutive game to help the Serie A leaders open up a nine-point lead at the top of the table with a 2-0 win over struggling SPAL. Ronaldo slotted home Miralem Pjanic's free-kick after 29 minutes in Turin to join Genoa's Krzysztof Piatek at the top of the Serie A scoring charts with nine goals, before Mandzukic sealed the three points on the hour mark in a simple warm up for Tuesday's crucial Champions League visit of Valencia. The pair also scored both in Juventus' 2-0 win over AC Milan before the international break, and Ronaldo's strike was his seventh in eight games in all competitions for his new club, for a total of 10 goals this season. "Cristiano does things that catch opponents off guard and that's exactly what we need," said coach Massimiliano Allegri. "Sometimes we play one pass too many and the moment ...

Atletico Madrid came within a whisker of their first league win over Barcelona in eight years on Saturday only for Ousmane Dembele to dash their hopes with a dramatic equaliser in injury-time. Diego Costa looked to have won a dreary contest at the Wanda Metropolitano when he headed in his first La Liga goal since February with 12 minutes left, as Atletico prepared to go top of the table with a long-awaited victory. Instead, Barca produced another fightback as Dembele, on as a substitute, slid home a cool finish in the 90th minute to earn the visitors a 1-1 draw. The relief was palpable in the celebrations of the luminous yellow shirts in the corner but perhaps just as grateful were Real Madrid, beaten 3-0 by Eibar earlier in the day. Santiago Solari had proven the perfect caretaker but his debut as permanent coach ended in a disastrous, and deserved, defeat at Ipurua. Madrid's only consolation was that neither Atletico nor Barca were able to secure the win that would ...

Tottenham Hotspur full back Kieran Trippier has withdrawn from the England squad for matches against the United States and Croatia due to a groin injury, the Football Association said on Tuesday. Trippier, who scored England's only goal in the World Cup semi-final defeat by Croatia, picked up the injury in the first half of Tottenham's 1-0 win over Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday. The 28-year-old reported for international duty at England's St. George's Park facility on Monday but has been sent back to Spurs to continue rehabilitation. England host the U.S. in a friendly on Thursday and Croatia in the Nations League on Sunday.

Former England midfielder Joe Cole announced his retirement on Tuesday after making more than 700 appearances for seven clubs including West Ham and Chelsea. Cole, who turned 37 last week, said his career had been "a dream come true" and he now hopes to move into coaching. His final club was Tampa Bay Rowdies in the United Soccer League, the second tier in the US. Cole made 716 professional appearances, scoring 104 goals for seven clubs and his 56 England caps spanned across three World Cup tournaments. He made his international debut aged 19 when he was earmarked as one of England's brightest young talents at the Hammers. Cole was part of England's so-called "Golden Generation", playing alongside David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes, Michael Owen and Steven Gerrard, plus his Chelsea teammates John Terry and Frank Lampard. Cole said in a statement: "After 20 years as a professional, the time has come for me to hang up ...

Santiago Solari on Tuesday was confirmed as Real Madrid coach until 2021 following his successful spell in charge as caretaker boss of the European champions. "Real Madrid's board of directors met today and decided to name Santiago Solari as first team coach until June 30, 2021," the club announced in a statement. Solari's anointment as sacked Julen Lopetegui's permanent successor comes after wins in his first four matches. And with 15 goals scored and only two conceded the 42-year-old Argentinian has established the best ever start for a Real manager. After thrashing Melilla in the Copa del Rey, they won 5-0 away to Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League, between victories over Real Valladolid and Celta Vigo in La Liga. The upturn has left Madrid only four points adrift of league leaders Barcelona and on the brink of qualification for the last 16 in Europe. Solari was handed the reins on a temporary two-week basis on October 29 after Lopetegui had o...

Atletico Madrid's Uruguayan defender Diego Godin is set to miss upcoming matches against Brazil, France and Barcelona after suffering a thigh injury in last weekend's league win over Athletic Bilbao. Although the Spanish club refused to put a timeline on a return, AS sports daily reported the 32-year-old could be out for three to four weeks. If confirmed it would rule Godin out of international friendlies away to Brazil on November 16 and France, at the Stade de France, on November 20. Godin scored the winner in Atletico's 3-2 victory on Saturday which left them in third just one point behind leaders Barcelona, but could also miss the La Liga clash at home to the Catalan giants on November 24. Atletico coach Diego Simeone is already without the services of fellow defenders Lucas Hernandez, Jose Maria Gimenez and Stefan Savic.