Kevin De Bruyne was rewarded for his stellar form at Manchester City with bumper five-year contract renewal from the Premier League leaders on Monday.
De Bruyne became City s record signing when he arrived from Wolfsburg in August 2015 and the 26-year-old Belgium international has since provided a handsome return on that £54million investment.
His 37 assists since moving to the Etihad Stadium are more than any other player in Europe s five big leagues over the same period, while he has also chipped in with 31 goals and dazzled on the Champions League stage.
Here, we look at the finest moments produced by a midfielder firmly in contention to sweep England s end-of-season awards when May comes around.
Towering over PSG – Manchester City 1 P…
Following Sunday s Africa Cup of Nations final, we take a look at some of the highs and lows of the tournament.
Highs
Tournament actually goes ahead
After three weeks of action in Equatorial Guinea, it is easy to forget the turmoil that overshadowed the build-up. Morocco had originally been set to host the tournament, but then asked for it to be delayed due to fears over the spread of the deadly Ebola virus. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) rejected that request and subsequently stripped Morocco of the tournament, as well as ejecting their national team from the competition. Having previously been barred from the event themselves for fielding an ineligible player in qualifying, Equatorial Guinea stepped in to take on hosting duties, while Morocco h…
It is often said that international tournaments are not about playing the prettiest football, but the most effective, about finding a way to get over the line.
When France – a team that had only scored via a penalty and two own goals as they somehow ground their way through Euro 2024 – took an eighth-minute lead in Tuesday s first semi-final versus Spain, it looked like those old adages might stand.
La Roja, and their wonderkid Lamine Yamal, had other ideas.
The 16-year-old Barcelona winger curled home a magnificent 25-yard strike to become the youngest ever scorer at a World Cup or Euros, before Dani Olmo s fine touch and finish completed the turnaround by the 25th minute.
Spain had to show another side to their game in the second half as they dug in…
Luis de la Fuente believes Spain have confirmed their status as the best in the world , following their 2-1 victory over England in the Euro 2024 final.
Mikel Oyarzabal was La Roja s hero as he struck the winner four minutes from time at the Olympiastadion, where Cole Palmer cancelled out Nico Williams second-half opener.
Spain subsequently became the first team in European Championship history to lift the Henri Delaunay cup on four occasions, having won all seven of their matches in Germany.
Indeed, since the 2002 Champions League final, Spanish teams and the Spanish national team have now won all 23 major finals against non-Spanish teams.
23 Since the 2002 UEFA Champions League final, Spanish teams and the Spanish national team have played in 23 major …
Wales forward Hal Robson-Kanu has announced his retirement from international football.
The 29-year-old won 44 caps for his country but will be best remembered for his stunning goal against Belgium to help Wales into the Euro 2016 semi-finals.
Robson-Kanu pulled off a Cruyff turn in the box to deceive three Belgian defenders and slot an effort beyond goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, scoring Wales second in a famous 3-1 victory in Lille.
I am grateful to have lived a dream in representing my nation at international level, said Robson-Kanu, who said he would now focus on his family and his club football with West Brom.
It has been an honour to pull on a shirt supported by true pride and unrivalled passion.
First to cause chaos.
Hal Robson-Kanu s st…
John Toshack quit as Wales manager on this day in 2010.
The former Real Madrid boss had been in charge of the national team for six years but resigned following talks with the Welsh FA.
A 1-0 defeat in Montenegro was his final match as Wales opened their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign in disappointing style.
He had hoped to continue for games against Switzerland and Bulgaria but the loss to Montenegro saw him leave immediately.
“I thought after three matches of this group we would review everything,” Toshack said at the time.
“Even after the disappointment of the game in Montenegro that was still the way I felt. But we have come to the agreement that this might be better for everyone concerned.”
He oversaw three disappointing qualif…
A massive non-conference clash headlines NFL betting in Week 10 when the Dallas Cowboys come to Arrowhead Stadium to face the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Chiefs are slim favorites at home, fresh from a victory in Las Vegas Sunday night – seemingly snapping out of a three-game offensive funk. Dallas, on the other hand, bounced back from a bad loss in Week 9 with a 43-point eruption in a blowout of Atlanta last Sunday. That surplus of firepower has this total among the highest of 2021.
Here are our NFL free picks and predictions for Cowboys at Chiefs on November 21.
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Cleveland Browns star running back Nick Chubb has taken a lot of heat after scoring a costly touchdown in Week 2.
In case you somehow missed it, Chubb could have gone down in bounds, allowing his team to run out the clock and secure a win. Instead, scored to put the Browns up by 13 with two minutes left… then Cleveland utterly collapsed and lost the game.
Lost in the shock of one of the biggest collapses in decades is that the Brownies’ RB is a bona fide stud, and looking through the available Steelers vs. Browns picks markets for this week’s TNF matchup provides us both some juicy Nick Chubb props and a chance for him to quickly wash the sour taste of that Jets loss out of his mouth.
Here are my three favorite free NFL picks for Cleveland’s numb…
This week’s NFL Sunday slate comes to a close with an AFC clash on Sunday Night Football featuring the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots at Foxborough.
Week 2 odds feature a stellar matchup between two quarterbacks who won National Championships at Alabama in Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones. Both players finished Week 1 Top 5 in passing yards in the league.
This game is massive for both teams, as they have aspirations to overcome the Buffalo Bills in the AFC East this season. Winning this game will be one step closer to achieving that goal.
Continue reading to find out our free NFL picks for Dolphins vs. Patriots on September 17th. Make sure to also read our full SNF game preview and Tua Tagovailoa prop picks before …
It’s time to shake off that turkey coma and get back in the game because the NFL has one more Thanksgiving treat to share! The league’s inaugural Black Friday broadcast kicks off today at 3:00 p.m. ET when the Miami Dolphins take on the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium.
The AFC East-leading Fins are riding high after a dominant win over the Raiders, while the Jets have been all but grounded after dropping three straight. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and New York is giving the keys of its offense to QB3 Tim Boyle, who has started just three games since 2019. It’s little wonder Miami enters today’s showdown as prohibitive 9.5-point favorites.
While there are a number of different subscription-based TV channels and streaming services available to…