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Barcelona forward Raphinha believes the team have laid down a statement of their intent by starting the season with four straight wins in LaLiga.

Raphinha scored the first hat-trick of his career and also delivered two assists on Saturday, as Barca crushed Real Valladolid 7-0 at Camp Nou.

Hansi Flick s side already possess a four-point cushion at the top of the table after also recording victories over Valencia, Athletic Bilbao and Rayo Vallecano.

Raphinha believes their results have demonstrated the club got things right in the transfer market, telling Movistar: Today s game has shown that there is no need for anyone else to come. We are very happy because of that.

We are in very good shape. The team is working hard. Today s result shows what we are wor…

Phil Jones is working towards his coaching badges and has started a sporting director course as the former Manchester United defender begins a “new journey”.

The 31-year-old joined the Red Devils from Blackburn in 2011, making 229 appearances and scoring six goals before leaving at the end of his contract in the summer.

Jones had endured an injury-hit few seasons, with his last competitive United appearance coming in the victory against Brentford in May 2022.

The PA news agency understands the 27-cap England international has not called time on his playing career and will keep that option open as long as possible, but he is looking towards the future.

Start of a new journey. Great to begin the global football sport directorship course with the PFA bus…

The Netherlands and Belgium, who are bidding for a joint hosting of the 2018 World Cup, will also be candidates to organise the 2022 event, the Dutch football federation said on Saturday.

The decision came after world football s governing body FIFA said at their Congress in Tokyo that they would allow those bidding for the 2018 World Cup to also try and go for the 2022 tournament too provided they were from a different continent than the 2018 winners.

FIFA also announced it would make a decision on the hosts for both tournaments in December 2010.

A Dutch federation spokesman told Dutch agency KNVB: We had already foreseen this opportunity. If we possibly do not make it in 2018, we would still have a chance the next time.

…

Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker is looking forward to June 16, 2012, the day Germany face Holland at the 2012 European Championships.

Mertesacker will be matching up against teammate Robin van Persie, who has been on absolutely cracking form since last season.

The German international has admitted that marking the Dutch talisman would be a difficult task.

Judging by the fact that nobody in the English Premier League has been able to successfully mark RVP this season, I think he s right.

“He said he would be happy to see me next summer that was the first thing he said after the draw,” Mertesacker told Arsenal s official website.

“This is not a friendly though, it s a tough game and therefore both of us want to go through the gr…

CONMEBOL president Alejandro Dominguez has confirmed Brazil as host of the 2019 edition of the Copa America. 

Brazil were set to host the event in 2015 due to the tournament s alphabetical rotation policy, but Chile were chosen instead due the former s increasingly packed calendar. 

Brazil held the 2013 Confederations Cup followed by the 2014 World Cup, and are set to host the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in August. 

However, no official confirmation of the 2019 hosts had been made, until Dominguez let it slip in an interview at the Copa America Centenario in the United States. 

Asked about USA as hosts of the special edition of the Copa, Dominguez said: They ve been great hosts, just like Chile were last year and like Brazil will be in 201…

Another match, another landmark for Cristiano Ronaldo.

The five-time Ballon d Or winner insisted he still has more to offer at the international level this week, and he brought up 900 career goals by netting in Portugal s Nations League Nations League opener versus Croatia.

It was a typical poacher s finish that brought up Ronaldo s latest landmark, the forward beating his marker to Nuno Mendes left-wing cross to sidefoot home and put Portugal 2-0 up inside the first half.

Never one to rest on his laurels, Ronaldo will now surely be targeting the big 1,000, though Pele s FIFA-recognised figure of 1,281 goals will surely prove beyond the 39-year-old.

As Ronaldo plots a route to four figures, we dive into the Opta data to look at how he reached his current …

Roberto Mancini s Italy side scored three goals once again as they stormed into the last 16 of Euro 2020 with a 3-0 rout of Switzerland.

Italy leapfrogged Wales to the top of Group A, with Robert Page s team having beat Turkey earlier on Wednesday to give themselves a great chance of making the knockout stages.

Gareth Bale was heavily involved, teeing up both of Wales goals either side of missing a penalty.

Elsewhere, Russia beat Finland 1-0 in Saint Petersburg to inject life into their hopes in Group B.

13 Ciro Immobile has been involved in 13 goals in his last 11 starts with Italy (eight goals, five assists). Stamp.

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo)

Italy 3-0 Switzerland: Mancini s Azzurri in rampant form

It is now 10 wins on the bou…

Cole Palmer has been named England s Men s Player of the Year for 2023-24.

Chelsea star Palmer came off the bench to score in the Euro 2024 final, although England ultimately lost 2-1 to Spain in Berlin.

Palmer has only nine caps to his name, and just two starts for the Three Lions, but he finished ahead of Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka in the public vote.

The 22-year-old made his debut in a 2-0 win over Malta in November of last year, and has scored two international goals, including that strike against Spain in July.

There was only one place for the occasion.

Presenting Cole Palmer as your England Men s Player of the Year connected by … with the help of John Stones!

— England (@England)

Palmer is the first Chelsea player …

Arne Slot is hoping to strike the right balance between chaos and possession ahead of his first Premier League encounter against Ipswich Town on Saturday.

Slot arrived as Jurgen Klopp s successor in June, and a seemingly improbable task has proved to be a seamless transition given their pre-season results.

The Reds won four of their five fixtures ahead of the new campaign, but Slot is still aiming to find the perfect blend just two months into his Anfield tenure.

Style of play has been with my teams where I worked, I think, always the same, Slot said. There are a lot of similarities with Jurgen Klopp, with the way they played in the past, and I m hoping we will see these similarities in the upcoming weeks and months.

We like to have the ball, we don t…

Raheem Sterling has packed a lot into a young career that is going from strength to strength under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.

The 23-year-old penned a bumper new contract with the Premier League champions on Friday, with the extension running through until the end of the 2022-2023 season.

Progress has not always been serene for the former Liverpool youngster, who is no stranger to setbacks and heavy scrutiny.

Here we look through some of the highs and lows experienced to date by one of English football s most exceptional talents.

High – Teenage breakthrough at Liverpool

Coincidentally, following three substitute cameos in the previous season, Sterling made his first Premier League start when Liverpool hosted Manchester City in August 201…