Football news

Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti plans that goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois will play from the first minute in the Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund.

According to Spanish publication Relevo, Ancelotti is favouring Courtois in the decisive match of the season at Wembley. Despite the fact that the Belgian goalkeeper has only recently played his first game this season after a long recovery from two injuries, the Italian coach plans to release him from the first minutes of the match against Borussia.

Ancelotti believes that with Courtois in the starting line-up, Real Madrid will have a much better chance of winning, as the Belgian "plays much calmer" than Lunin.

Recall, Andriy Lunin has played in almost all matches this season, winning the competition with Kepa Arrizabalaga. It was the marvellous game of the Ukrainian in goal that allowed Real Madrid to reach the Champions League final.

The 28th round of the Ukrainian league will be focused on the clash between leader Shakhtar and its closest pursuer Dynamo. Taras Mykhalyk, a former player of the Ukrainian national team and Dynamo Kyiv, shared his expectations of tomorrow's clash between the giants of Ukrainian football:

Read completely →

Former Ukraine defender Artem Fedetskyi announced the creation of an amateur team.

"Friends, I'm sharing the news. I would like to announce the creation of a cool charity project, within which, together with friends and like-minded people, we are creating an amateur team!

One of the main goals of our project is the psychological and physical recovery of our veterans, combatants and the involvement of our heroes in the training process and matches.

"Carpathian Bears. Created to help," Fedetsky wrote on his Instagram page.

Bayer Leverkusen head coach Xabi Alonso commented on reaching the Europa League final after the 2-2 draw in the second leg of the semi-final against Roma.

"I realised that it would be difficult in the match in Rome. Losing by two goals, we must not forget about what we created, and I liked the reaction. Last year we were close to the final, and this year we managed to get there. The Italians are waiting for us again in the final.

"Atalanta have been working with Gasperini for many years and they are a well-trained team: it will be interesting to challenge them," TuttoMercato quoted Alonso as saying.

The head coach of the first-league Khust Volodymyr Tsytkin spoke about the situation with his team's player Mykola Syrach, who was taken away from the station by representatives of the TCC and is now out of contact.

Read completely →

Famous British commentator Richard Keys is pleased that recently the head coach of London Arsenal Mikel Arteta stopped bringing Ukrainian defender Oleksandr Zinchenko into the main squad of his team.

"Thank God, Arteta's obsession with Zinchenko in that pointless role of inverted wing-back seems to be over.

I wonder, if Arsenal fail to become champions, will Arteta berate himself for playing the wrong team in key matches, such as against Aston Villa?

Playing Zinchenko meant anchoring Rice and giving Havertz a different role. But it didn't work. It doesn't work. Havertz is an "eight and a half" or even a "nine". By the way, do Arsenal really need a true "nine"? After all, the team has scored the most goals in the current APL," - quotes Keys hitc.com.

In an interview with the UPL TV telegram channel, former Dynamo Kyiv coach Jozsef Szabo shared his expectations for his former team's match against Shakhtar Donetsk in the 28th round of the Ukrainian championship to be held tomorrow in Lviv.

Read completely →

Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer spoke about his mistake in the episode with Real Madrid's first goal (1-2) in the Champions League semi-finals.

"Everyone who has ever played football knows how I feel now. I have to be honest and say that I expected the ball to go in a slightly different direction, more towards my chest. I didn't expect it to bounce off the turf like that. That made it hard for me to control it. Then Joselu got to the ball faster and it was hard to stop. It was brutal.

We have made a step towards London, we have already seen ourselves in the final. I'm just speechless," Noer told DAZN.

Luhansk Zorya may significantly improve their financial situation at the end of the current season.

As reported by journalist Mikhail Spivakovsky on the air of Youtube channel "TaToTake", we are talking about the payment of bonuses on three different positions of the terms of the transfer contract on the transfer of former Zorya goalkeeper Andriy Lunin to Real Madrid in 2018.

According to the source, Real Madrid are obliged to transfer €1m to the Luhansk club upon the occurrence of each of the following events:

- Lunin plays 10 matches for Real Madrid;

- Lunin plays at least 50 per cent of Real Madrid's matches in a season where the team becomes Spanish champions;

- Lunin wins the Champions League with Real Madrid and plays at least 50% of the matches in this tournament.

Thus, Zorya can already expect 2 million euros from Real Madrid (for the first and second of the above events). At the same time, if Real Madrid manages to beat Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final this season, it will bring another €1m to the Luhansk club.

It should be added that in the current season Lunin has played 30 matches for Real Madrid in all tournaments, of which 20 - in the Spanish championship, 1 - in the Spanish Cup, 1 - in the Spanish Super Cup and 8 - in the Champions League.

The well-known journalist Mykola Nesenyuk spoke about the names of football divisions in Ukraine.

"Over the decades, our society has developed a specific attitude to the mental abilities of football players and people associated with football. There's a joke about a father who had three sons: one smart, one so-so, and the third a footballer. It cannot be argued that this was unfounded. Our football world has regularly puzzled society with some decisions bordering on idiocy, until society did the same. So is there any way to improve the image of our football, or is it going to stay that way?

I think we should start with the name of our football championship. In 2008, it was called the Premier League, following the example of the aggressor country, which had previously borrowed the name from the British. What hasn't happened over the next decade and a half? But for some reason, no one thought that the name Premier League in the context of Ukrainian football is simply illiterate. Because we also have the First League. So it turns out that we have two of them at once - the word "premier" means "first"!

Is it worth reminding you that such nonsense does not exist anywhere else in the civilised world? Everywhere else, football leagues are named either by number or alphabetically. We get some kind of abracadabra. And who will call our players literate after that? So, maybe we should start by bringing the names of our football leagues back to normal and not surprise foreigners? Now is a good time - the football authorities have changed, and they traditionally have to rename something. It is advisable to do it correctly," Nesenyuk wrote on his Facebook page.

The match of the 35th round of the Spanish Championship 2023/2024, Alaves vs Girona, will take place on Friday, 10 May.

Football fans are eagerly awaiting the upcoming match between Alaves and Girona as both teams prepare for an exciting display of skill and determination on the pitch. Alaves, who currently occupy a mid-table position, will be looking to pick up a win at home and move up the standings. On the other hand, Girona, who face a tough battle to get out of the group, will be desperate to get three important away points.

Both teams have shown flashes of excellence throughout the season, with Alaves displaying a strong defensive line and Girona displaying attacking prowess. Fans are expecting a fast-paced and tense match in which the players will fight for dominance on the pitch. This match promises to be an exciting spectacle that fans will not want to miss. As the teams prepare for the encounter, football fans are eagerly awaiting the outcome of this match and how it will affect the standings. Both teams are hungry for success, and this match is sure to provide plenty of excitement and drama for fans watching from the stands or at home. Stay tuned for what is sure to be an unforgettable clash between Alaves and Girona.

Where to watch Alaves vs Girona:

Spain: DAZN, DAZN LaLiga .

Poland: Eleven Sports 1 Poland, Canal+ Sport 2 Poland, Canal+ Sport Online.

Ukraine: MEGOGO Football 3, MEGOGO Football 1.

Italy: DAZN.

Germany: DAZN, DAZN1.

France: Free, beIN SPORTS CONNECT, beIN Sports MAX 6, beIN Sports MAX 4, beIN Sports 1, beIN Sports MAX 7.

England: Viaplay Sports 1, Viaplay UK, LaLigaTV, Viaplay Sports 2.

Bayer Leverkusen, having played yesterday in a 2-2 draw with Italian Roma in the return match of the 1/2 final of the Europa League, brought its unbeaten streak in all tournaments to 49 matches, thus setting a new world record.

Before that, the world record holder at club level for the number of matches without defeat was Benfica Lisbon, which in 1963-65 did not lose in 48 consecutive matches.

It should be added that the last time in official matches Bayer lost almost a year ago, on 27 May 2023, when in the last German championship lost away to Bochum - 0:3.