Dusan Vlahovic scored twice to help Juventus secure a comfortable 3-0 victory at Verona in Serie A on Monday.

Nicolo Savona thought he had marked his first start for the club with an early goal, slotting into the bottom-right corner, but he had strayed well offside.

Vlahovic then put Juve in front in the 28th minute with a low shot from around the penalty spot before Savona did hit the back of the net with a looping header into the far post.

The Serbian forward then made it 3-0 from the spot following half-time, after Juve were awarded a penalty for Jackson Tchatchoua s foul on Samuel Mbangula.

Juventus are the only side to win their first two games in Serie A and Thigao Motta s men currently lead the standings with six points.

FT | | Three point…

Daley Blind is hopeful he can be fit in time for the Netherlands Euro 2020 campaign after being ruled out for the rest of Ajax s season with an ankle injury.

The 31-year-old sustained the damage during the second half of Tuesday s 7-0 World Cup 2022 qualifying victory over Gibraltar.

Blind was initially feared to have suffered knee ligament damage in the awkward fall, which left him wincing in pain and in need of a stretcher.

However, the versatile defender underwent a scan on Thursday and it was confirmed he has avoided a long-term lay-off, but he is unlikely to play again for Ajax this campaign.

Get well soon

— OnsOranje (@OnsOranje)

Ajax provided an update on their official website and Blind said: Today, after an examination in the …

Caleb Porter wants to use New England Revolution s win last weekend as a springboard to turn their season around as they prepare to face the New York Red Bulls.

The Revs had won just one of their previous seven matches in the MLS before travelling to Nashville SC and held out for a much-needed 2-1 victory.

They remain bottom of the Eastern Conference, and Porter s main aim is to find some consistency, but admits that might be hard with players leaving to go on international duty.

We want to keep continuity as much as we can because we re finally getting some continuity in our understanding, Porter said, as quoted in the Blazing Musket substack.

That s going to breed more and more consistency in our play. So, we ll keep continuity as much as we can, but …

Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli has threatened to walk out of Euro 2012 should he be subjected to racist abuse from fans.

The enigmatic Italian has dealt with such abuse before in his career, and says he will not tolerate a repeat at the European Championship.

Balotelli told France Football of an incident in a Rome bar where he was subjected to racial slurs, and sent a warning to any fans that might target him in the future.

There were two or three boys, and it was lucky that the police arrived quickly because, I swear, I would have beaten them, Balotelli said of the confrontation in Rome.

I would have really destroyed them. I hope it will not happen again because if someone throws a banana at me in the street, I will go to jail, because I wi…

After 32 nations arrived at the World Cup, 16 are left standing in Russia.

The group stage offered great drama and intrigue, both on and off the field. However, whether they made serene progress or squeezed through, all teams in the knockout stages will believe they can go all the way.

Juicy ties have been lined up for the second round, with France against Argentina arguably the pick in a stacked top half of the draw, while the likes of England and Colombia may feel a path to the final has opened up.

Ahead of the opening knockout round, we take a look at the runners and riders who remain in the field.

France v Argentina 

Date, time and venue: Saturday, June 30 (17:00 local time)  Kazan Arena

A true heavyweight clash kicks off the kn…

Cincinnati assistant head coach Dominic Kinnear insisted that the team’s slow starts were alarming and needed to be put right ahead of the visit of CF Montreal.

With head coach Pat Noonan serving a suspension, Kinnear watched on as his side conceded two goals in six minutes against Inter Miami, with Luis Suarez netting both in a 2-0 victory for the Eastern Conference leaders.

Despite the result, the Orange and Blue remain second in the standings, but have Leagues Cup winners Columbus Crew breathing down their necks and the advantage of having two games in hand.

Kinnear believes that starting fast will set the tone for the remainder of the season, explaining that it must start sooner rather than later ahead of the playoffs.

“It s cause for alarms,” K…

Lionel Messi is set to extend his contract with Barcelona until the summer of 2023, according to Mundo Deportivo.

The Argentine superstar has been setting the football world alight for over 15 years now, all spent at the Camp Nou. His current deal reportedly allows him to leave for free at end of each season, though the clause has a set deadline which has expired for this year. He reportedly had a spat with the club s hierarchy at one point this season, and it was reported that he could, as a result, leave this summer to join either Inter Milan, or former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.

The 32-year-old s contract is set to expire next year, so the new one should basically be a two-year extension under the same terms. It means he would still be allowed t…

Chelsea will finish 2014 as Premier League leaders, despite Jose Mourinho s side toiling to a 1-1 draw at Southampton on Sunday.

The west Londoners failed to hit their usual impeccable standards at the St Mary s Stadium on Sunday, with Southampton displaying their top-four credentials in a battling display.

An upset appeared on the cards when Sadio Mane made the most of sloppy defending from Chelsea captain John Terry, recently promised a new deal by Mourinho, to race through and deftly lift over Thibaut Courtois for his second goal in as many matches.

However, a moment of brilliance from Eden Hazard shortly before the break levelled proceedings, as he curled home his seventh league goal of the campaign.

Chelsea pushed hard for a winner after the break an…

England have had their ups and relative downs as Gareth Southgate’s men qualified for next summer’s Euros and went through 2023 unbeaten.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the highs and lows from England’s eight wins and two draws across the year.

HIGHS

Opening qualification win in Italy

Southgate’s men put their 2022 World Cup frustration behind them by kicking off European qualification with victory at reigning champions Italy in March.

Harry Kane became England’s all-time record goalscorer by striking home a penalty after Declan Rice opened the scoring in Naples, before Mateo Retegui pulled one back.

Luke Shaw’s sending-off for two bookings in quick succession made for a nervy final 10 minutes but England held out fo…

Nearly 40 years ago “A Christmas Story” was released, in which Ralphie wakes up on Christmas morning and gets the Red Ryder BB gun he desired so badly. Fast forward to the present day and Bears fans are getting a late Christmas gift that probably wasn’t on their list: The Red Rifle.

That’s right, it’s the last dance for Andy Dalton in Chicago this week with the veteran set to start as the Bears host the New York Giants in Week 17 of NFL betting action.

We’ve got everything you need ahead of this Soldier Field slog with our NFL picks and predictions for Giants vs. Bears, with kickoff on January 2.

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