Sports

Former Bayern Munich star Mehmet Scholl feels Philipp Lahm is on par with all-time German greats such as Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Muller.

Lahm announced on Tuesday that he will retire from professional football at the end of the 2016-17 campaign, stressing that he wants to quit while he can still play at the highest level.

The right-back made over 500 appearances in all competitions for Bayern throughout his career, winning numerous trophies in the process, and Scholl has nothing but praise for the 33-year-old.

It is very sad news for me as a football fan, Scholl told ARD.

Philipp has been an amazing player for 70 per cent of his career and he was world class for the remaining 30 per cent.

He is right up there with Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Mul…

Vincent Kompany celebrates at Southampton. Image via Getty

Manchester City ran out comfortable winners at St Mary’s as goals from Vincent Kompany, Leroy Sane and Sergio Aguero gave Pep Guardiola’s men a crucial three points in the race for the top four.

Kompany gives City huge boost

Vincent Kompany not only made a welcome return to the side but also got his name on the scoresheet, heading home David Silva’s cross for his first goal since August 2015. His emotional celebration was revealing after a nightmare season that has seen him make just five Premier League appearances. Alongside Nicolas Otamendi at the heart of the City defence he also brought solidity to a back line that has looked fragile all season. City will be heartened to have the Belgium international…

Everybody should be optimistic about the impact Darwin Nunez will make at Liverpool, according to Jurgen Klopp.

The Uruguayan striker has struggled in his first few months at Anfield following a big-money move from Benfica, having not scored since the opening day Premier League draw at Fulham.

Nunez made his first Champions League start for Liverpool in Tuesday s 2-0 home win against Rangers, but was unable to find the net after being denied several times by opposition goalkeeper Allan McGregor.

Klopp is pleased that his forward is carving out opportunities though, and speaking at a press conference ahead of Sunday s clash with Arsenal, expressed his confidence that the goals will follow.

It was down to his movement and the movement of the boys around [h…

It does not exactly take an Einstein-like genius to suggest any team, let alone RB Leipzig, would miss a striker the quality of Timo Werner.

But when coming up against a team with the defensive quality of Atletico Madrid it appears an even bigger loss.

Werner opted not play in the remainder of Leipzig s resumed Champions League campaign, however long that may last, after signing for Premier League side Chelsea.

So, just how big a loss will he be to Leipzig? Well, using Opta data for the Bundesliga and LaLiga in 2019-20, we have compared Werner s stats against Marcel Sabitzer, Patrik Schick and Yussuf Poulsen and analysed Atleti s defensive strength to highlight the size of the task in Lisbon on Thursday.

years ago, scored the club s first ever 2. Bunde…

Newcastle United are interested in signing Aaron Ramsdale from Premier League rivals Arsenal in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that Newcastle are looking for a number one goalkeeper for next season and beyond, and that the Magpies have identified Ramsdale as a potential replacement.

Ramsdale is the second-choice goalkeeper at Arsenal at the moment. The England international is behind David Raya in the pecking order. He has already decided that he wants to leave the North London club because he does not want to play second fiddle to the Spain international anymore. Ramsdale has made 152 appearances in the Premier League so far in his career. He has kept 38 clean sheets and has provided one assist.

Newcastle are 10th in the Premier Leagu…

Best odds: 41/18

Bookmaker:

The weekend of football in Italy kicks off with a clash between two of last season s top four Serie A teams as AC Milan visit the capital to take on Lazio on Friday.

Lazio, with a crucial Champions League match against Bayern Munich looming next week, require a positive result in this fixture to maintain their slim hopes of qualifying for UEFA s premier competition again next season. As for Milan, they now need the points to maintain their grip on the top four, having practically lost all realistic chances of fighting for the Scudetto.

Lazio

Lazio s inconsistent form continued as they suffered a defeat to Fiorentina in Tuscany last weekend.

Since their Supercoppa disappointment, the Biancocelesti have won three and lo…

Leeds United have finally ended the uncertainty over their ownership by announcing a group led by Massimo Cellino have bought the club.

The club s former leadership, GFH Capital, announced on Saturday that they had agreed to sell a 75 per cent stake in the club to Eleonora Sport Ltd – a company owned by the Cellino family.

Cellino – twice convicted of fraud – also owns Serie A outfit Cagliari and failed in an attempt to purchase West Ham in 2010.

The Eleonora Sport Ltd defeated a rival bid, chaired by former Manchester United commercial executive Mike Farnan, for control of the club.

A club statement read: Following recent media reports and speculation, GFH Capital would like to confirm that it has agreed to sell a 75 per cent stake in the club to Eleonora …

Julio Baptista has seemingly joined MLS outfit Orlando City after Kaka welcomed the former Brazil international to the club on Tuesday.

There was no official announcement from Orlando City, who signed Italian midfielder Antonio Nocerino in the off-season, but Kaka confirmed Baptista s arrival via Twitter.

Ex-Arsenal, Real Madrid and Sevilla forward Baptista, 34, has been without a club since leaving Brazilian side Cruzeiro in December.

Another life and career moment that we ll course together! Welcome @J_Baptista81 to @OrlandoCitySC #thebeast #labestia, Kaka wrote via his official account.

Baptista only made three league appearances for Cruzeiro last year but helped guide the club to back-to-back Serie A titles in 2013 and 2014, having arrived from Malag…

With both Real Madrid and Juventus wrapping up their domestic titles in recent weeks, it has only heightened the anticipation of the Champions League final on Saturday.

Throughout the thrilling knock-out stages of this season s competition, these two sides have proven themselves worthy of a title tilt in Cardiff, knocking out challengers Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Monaco along the way.

Now, ahead of their meeting, we have analysed the line-ups of both Madrid and Juve, looking at their various strengths and weaknesses in an attempt to separate Europe s very best

Real Madrid (4-3-3)

Keylor Navas: 7/10

Since the departure of Iker Casillas, Navas has established himself as a regular, playing a key role in last season s …

Sean Dyche felt Burnley s defence could have stopped Manchester United s goals in their 2-0 Premier League win at Turf Moor.

Anthony Martial finished off a rapid break to open the scoring on Sunday, with United captain Wayne Rooney poking home a rebound to wrap up the points before the interval.

Burnley failed to record a shot on target for the first time at home this season but the manager was happy with the mentality of his team, despite ruing the goals conceded.

They are very strong, tactically, technically and with game knowledge, Dyche said. We huffed and puffed and stuck at it.

They scored two poor goals from our point of view, we have to make a foul on the first one.

We stuck at it. I am pleased with the mentality of the second half. The…