Barcelona ´definitely beatable´, says Essien

Brisbane Roar star Thomas Broich has had his red card rescinded by the A-League s independent Match Review Panel.

The German midfielder received a red card for violent conduct in the 44th minute of Saturday s 1-0 win over Newcastle Jets at Suncorp Stadium.

Match referee Brenton Hayward, officiating his third A-League game, showed the red card following an altercation between Broich and Jets defender Josh Mitchell.

Broich was bundled over before Mitchell ended up on the floor after Roar midfielder Eric Paartalu got involved in the melee.

The 2011/12 Johnny Warren medallist was handed a straight red, while Mitchell was dismissed for two bookable offences.

But, as expected, the Match Review Panel cited Broich s red card as an obvious error , freeing…

Oliver Kahn is unsure as to whether Pep Guardiola would be suited for the job as Bayern Munich coach due to his past at Barcelona.

Guardiola is reportedly one of the candidates to replace Jupp Heynckes at the end of the 2012/13 campaign, but Kahn believes the 41-year-old could struggle if he were to join Bayern.

Pep Guardiola is heavily influenced by Barcelona s footballing culture. He didn t just coach their first team and reserves, but also played there for 11 years during his active career. Not many clubs have such a strong own identity as Barcelona, Kahn wrote in his column for Bild.

It could be difficult for him to adapt to life at another club such as Bayern with his strong ties to Barcelona s philosophy. I m not only talking about the language barrier. …

Liga de Quito have won the 2008 Copa Libertadores, beating Fluminense on penalties at Rio de Janeiro s Maracana stadium.

Quito had the better chances after their 4-2 win in Ecuador last week, and went on to take a quick lead through Bolaños in the sixth minute of the return leg.

But Flu turned out to be the better side at home and Thiago Neves scored three goals (in the 12th, 28th and 57th minutes) to level the aggregate score.

The Brazilians created more chances to win the game, even in extra time, but no more goals were scored.

In the following penalty shoot-out, it was Liga de Quito to convert three spot kicks whereas Fluminense only got one past the opposing goalkeeper.

It is the first time ever that a team from Ecuador wins South Amer…

England international midfielder James Milner is one of the players being linked with a summer move

According to , Premier League champions Manchester City are set to allow five English players to leave the club this summer, despite the fact that the Citizens will need eight home-grown players in their squad for next season’s Champions League squad.

City have already been punished for breaking Financial Fair Play rules by being fined and being told they can name just 21 players in their Champions League squad for the new season.

However, the likes of Gareth Barry, Joleon Lescott, James Milner, Scott Sinclair and Micah Richards are all set to leave City this summer.

Out-of-contract

It is no surprise that England internationals Gareth Barry and J…

Atletico Madrid head coach Diego Simeone insists his focus is on beating Real Valladolid this weekend and not on the prospect of overtaking Real Sociedad at the summit of LaLiga. 

Atleti are the only side in the Spanish top flight to have not suffered defeat yet this season, a start which has them one place and a point behind leaders Real Sociedad, who have played two games more. 

Atleti have also conceded just two goals in their nine league games, the joint-lowest total at this stage of the season in LaLiga s history.

Given Atleti s superb recent record over Saturday s visitors to the Wanda Metropolitano – they have won nine of their last 10 games against Pucela – many expect Los Colchoneros to leapfrog La Real into top spot before Imanol Alguacil s me…

Barcelona signed Emerson from Atletico Mineiro early this year and sold a half of the rights embedded therein to Real Betis. It has been agreed between the two La Liga clubs that the fullback would remain with the Seville club until the summer of 2021, at the end of which time Barcelona would have the right of bringing him back to Camp Nou if they wished for a fee.

A few months ago, Betis managing director Jose Miguel Lopez Catalan the situation, and denied the reports that had appeared at the time suggesting Barcelona had the right to take the player back before 2021 even without the consent of Betis.

But Emerson believes he will be a Barcelona player eventually, and he will play to win the Champions League with them. As relayed by , the Brazilian fullback revealed it…

Chile coach Juan Antonio Pizzi praised his side of winners as the defending Copa America champions booked their spot in back-to-back finals. 

First-half goals from Charles Aranguiz and Jose Fuenzalida helped Chile to a 2-0 win over Colombia in the semi-finals of the Centenario tournament on Wednesday. 

The victory means Chile will meet Argentina in a repeat of the 2015 final, in which the former claimed their first Copa title in a penalty shoot-out win.

Pizzi was full of praise for his players after seeing off Colombia, especially with their total concentration after a two-hour delay to the second half due to extreme weather conditions in Chicago. 

This is a group of winners. The main virtue for these players is they are winners, former Spain internat…

Borussia Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke has revealed Manchester United have made an improved offer for Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

The Armenian netted 23 goals for Dortmund in 2015-16 and was voted the Bundesliga Players Player of the Season.

Watzke told Kicker on Monday that he wanted the situation to be clarified by the time pre-season training began on Monday, a point he has reiterated.

An agreement over a £26.3million fee to take Mkhitaryan to Old Trafford was thought to have been agreed.

However, the Dortmund CEO admitted United have raised their bid, with a £33m offer now reportedly on the table.

We have to evaluate this as we start our pre-season training on Monday, and we will do that at the weekend, Watzke told WAZ.

The…

Stephen Kenny has insisted he does not feel under any pressure to select teenage sensation Evan Ferguson for the Republic of Ireland.

The 18-year-old has emerged from the Brighton ranks in thrilling fashion this season and his Premier League form was rewarded with a first senior Ireland cap in November before a goal in his maiden start for his country against Latvia in March.

Ferguson’s blossoming talent has prompted excitement back at home and he will hope for a role in Friday night’s key Euro 2024 qualifier against Greece in Athens.

But asked if the clamour to pick him was a problem, Kenny replied: “No, not at all. At the moment on recent form, he’s in the team on merit. He’s been our best forward, for sure.

“To score a goal in his first gam…

Aaron Hickey welcomed the test that Georgia superstar Khvicha Kvaratskhelia will provide Scotland at Hampden Park on Tuesday night.

The 22-year-old attacker helped Napoli to their Serie A title win last season, the Italian club’s first in 33 years, and is considered one of the top players in the world at the moment.

Hickey and the Scots are still on a high from Saturday’s stunning 2-1 away win over a Norway side which included Manchester City goal-machine Erling Haaland and Arsenal star midfielder Martin Odegaard.

Haaland netted from the spot but late goals from Lyndon Dykes and Kenny McLean made it three 2024 European Championship qualifying wins out of three for Steve Clarke’s side who top Group A.

The 21-year-old Brentford full-back, who won his …