Pep Guardiola made an exciting Bayern Munich team boring to watch and was lucky he had the players at his disposal to implement his famed possession philosophy at Barcelona, according to Peter Schmeichel.

Manchester City boss Guardiola enjoyed a trophy-laden four-year spell in charge at Camp Nou, winning three LaLiga titles as well as the Copa del Rey and Champions League twice apiece.

The Catalan then continued his success in the Bundesliga with Bayern, winning the league three seasons running between 2014 and 2016, while also lifting the DFB-Pokal twice.

However, Guardiola took over a team that had won a Bundesliga, Pokal and Champions League treble under Jupp Heynckes, and Schmeichel feels Bayern s direct style under the German was more exciting than Guar…

Liverpool defender Joel Matip has been ruled out for the rest of the season with an ankle ligament injury.

Matip sustained the blow, which robs Liverpool of another key player at the back, in their 3-1 win at Tottenham on Thursday.

The Reds were already without long-term absentees Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, with Jordan Henderson and Nathaniel Phillips pressed into service at the heart of defence as Liverpool beat West Ham 3-1 on Sunday.

Moves to address the lack of defensive options were made on Monday s transfer deadline day, Liverpool signing Ben Davies from Preston North End and Ozan Kabak on loan from Schalke until the end of the season.

On Matip s injury, manager Jurgen Klopp told Liverpool s official website: It was really unlucky because it …

Bayern Munich will face Al Ahly in the semi-finals of the Club World Cup after the African champions knocked out home favourites Al Duhail on Thursday. 

The clash at Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan was settled by a fine strike from Hussein El Shahat 30 minutes in, the winger finding the bottom-left corner from the edge of the box after Bassam Hisham had lost possession. 

Walter Bwalya, who forced the defensive error, tucked away a composed finish but saw the goal disallowed for offside following a VAR review. 

Qatari champions Al Duhail improved after the break, but Pitso Mosimane s men were relatively comfortable as they saw out the 1-0 victory. 

Al Ahly will meet Bayern on Monday as the European champions bid to win the tourname…

(GSM) Lionel Messi is full of praise for the coaches he experienced so far in his early but impressive career. The Barcelona striker refuses to say that the Catalans have improved their play since Josep Guardiola succeeded Frank Rijkaard. I don t like these kind of comparisons.

Rijkaard is a great coach, just like Guardiola, the Argentina international told L Equipe. I ll never forget the fact that he (Rijkaard) launched my career, that he had confidence in me while I was only sixteen or seventeen. Still, Messi sees a difference between the two tacticians, but in another aspect. Guardiola is more strict while Rijkaard gave us more freedom, but unfortunately we couldn t handle it.

Last Sunday, Messi received the Ballon d Or, the European footballer of the year award. …

Market: Sydney FC win

Odds: 8/11 @

Looking to sign off their A-League campaign with a flurry on home soil, Sydney will welcome Newcastle to the Allianz Stadium on Saturday morning.

Starting with the hosts, while Sydney might have found themselves enduring an A-League blip prior to March’s international break, Steve Corica’s side have come roaring back in some style. Last seen putting in another professional display as they claimed a 2-0 victory away at Brisbane, the Sky Blues have secured back-to-back top-flight wins for the first time since the start of February. Unbeaten in each of their last four A-League appearances and storming their way to a stellar 4-1 romp against Perth on April 15th, the former champions have found a real clinical edge in the final …

Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois does not know whether his stay with the club will be extended beyond this season.

Belgium international Courtois is on loan at Estadio Vicente Calderon from Premier League side Chelsea.

The 21-year-old has spent the previous two seasons with Atletico following his move from to Chelsea from Genk in 2011.

Courtois has great affection for Atletico, but admitted he is unaware as to where his future lies.

We must wait, time will tell, he told Sportium.

This year I wanted to stay because I wasn t sure if I would play at Chelsea.

Besides, I was excited to play in the Champions League with Atletico and wanted to be a starter with a view towards the World Cup.

But now everything depends on Chelsea. I had a conv…

Neymar believes his Barcelona team can this season become the first club to defend the Champions League.

The Brazil international scored the third goal of Barca s 3-1 win over Juventus in last season s final as Luis Enrique s men completed a treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League.

No team has been able defend the continental title since the introduction of group stages and change of name from the European Cup to the Champions League in 1992.

Barca will again be among the front-runners this term to claim the biggest prize available despite a mixed start to their campaign across all competitions.

Neymar told the club s official website: We have quality, we have a great team, quality players and we can win another Champions League in a row (sic…

David Alaba has appeared set to swap Bayern Munich for Real Madrid.

Alaba is keen for a new challenge following a successful partnership with Bundesliga and Champions League holders Bayern.

But three of Europe s elite are still reportedly eyeing Alaba.

TOP STORY – TRIO NOT GIVING UP ON ALABA

Liverpool, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain are still trying to sign wantaway Bayern Munich star David Alaba, according to Fabrizio Romano s Benchwarmers column.

Alaba will leave Bundesliga champions Bayern on a free transfer at the end of the season and he has been tipped to join LaLiga holders Real Madrid.

However, Liverpool, Chelsea and PSG are still pursuing the Austria international.

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Ange Postecoglou criticised Celtic s work ethic  as the Scottish Premiership champions suffered a first league defeat in 364 days at St Mirren on Sunday.

Mark O Hara headed the Paisley side ahead in the first half, before Jonah Ayunga added a second after the break to inflict a first defeat on Celtic since September 19 last year.

The loss was just Celtic s second in their past 27 visits to St Mirren, and Postecoglou accepted his side were well off their usual standards. 

We just weren t aggressive both in action and in thought,  he said. We kind of tried to ease our way into a game of football and you just can t do that. You ve got to be at it from the start and we weren t. 

You don t put it down to one of those days; it s a disappointing day. We …

Wigan have confirmed the signing of versatile 27-year-old James Perch from Newcastle.

Perch, who can operate in both defence and midfield, has signed a four-year deal after Wigan and Newcastle agreed an undisclosed fee.

He moved to St James Park from Nottingham Forest in 2010 and overcame a tough start to life at Newcastle to make 80 appearances in all competitions, scoring just once.

Perch told Wigan s official club website: It feels great to be here with a new challenge ahead of me, and I’m very excited at getting that started.

The prospect of helping to get the team promoted was really appealing and I can’t wait to meet the rest of the boys and get started.

I think Wigan Athletic is a great club and after speaking with the manager, his ambition and …