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Virgil van Dijk insists Liverpool will pay no attention to being talked up as potential Premier League champions.

Heavy investment on the likes of Alisson, Naby Keita and Fabinho has seen many pundits tout Liverpool as the most likely challengers to Manchester City, who won the title by 19 points in 2017-18.

A 4-0 demolition of West Ham at Anfield on Sunday saw forwards Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah pick up where they left off last season and enhanced suggestions they can contend.

Liverpool top the Premier League table after the first round of games but Van Dijk says Klopp s men will stay grounded.

We ve seen the media writing about us as the new champions and stuff but we don t really look at those things, Van Dijk said.

We need to just focus ga…

Cristiano Ronaldo equalled Ali Daei s record of 109 international goals as he scored two penalties in Portugal s 2-2 Euro 2020 draw with France.

The Portugal captain s fourth and fifth strikes of the tournament took him level with Iran great Daei, whose benchmark has stood since he retired in 2006.

Ronaldo s opener had taken him clear of Miroslav Klose for the most World Cup and European Championship goals combined, a tally that improved to 21 with his second spot-kick.

That equaliser was only enough to take defending European champions Portugal through in third place in Group F to meet Belgium in Seville in the last 16.

Ronaldo will get his opportunity to pass Daei on Sunday, although a tough path to the final awaits Portugal and their skipper even if th…

Paris Saint-Germain s trip to face Monaco at Stade Louis II on Sunday headlines the action in Ligue 1 this weekend.

With their title rivals all in action earlier in the weekend, Paris Saint-Germain make the trip to a buoyant Monaco on Sunday looking to keep the defence of their Ligue 1 crown on track.

Monaco, fresh from a stunning 3-1 win at Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League, were runners-up last season, but Lyon and Marseille have replaced Leonardo Jardim s side as PSG s closest challengers this time around – with just four points separating the league s top three.

Jardim s men can close the seven-point gap to Marseille in third when they play their game in hand at the Stade Louis II and PSG defender Gregory van der Wiel is wary of the threat Mon…

Pep Guardiola warmly praised Philipp Lahm as a special person in my life following the Bayern Munich captain s surprise retirement this week.

Lahm, who also skippered Germany to glory at the 2014 World Cup, was under contract at the Allianz Arena until the end of next season but announced he would hang up his boots at the end of the current campaign.

Widely recognised as the premier full-back in world football when Guardiola took the reins at Bayern on the back of Jupp Heynckes treble-winning exploits in 2013, Lahm was redeployed across a variety midfield positions with impressive results by the ex-Barcelona boss.

Speaking to preview his Manchester City side s trip to Bournemouth on Monday, Guardiola praised Lahm extensively as a player and a man.

Philip…

Holders Real Madrid take on Juventus in the Champions League final on Saturday in the culmination of an intriguing bid to make history. 

Zinedine Zidane s men have already clinched LaLiga glory for the first time since 2011-12 and will now look to become the first team to successfully retain the trophy in the Champions League era.

Madrid have played 12 games in European club football s elite competition to get this far and Juventus now await, with Massimiliano Allegri s side looking to clinch a historic treble.

Here, we look at the capital side s road to Cardiff.

Destiny:

?

— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid)

GROUP STAGES

Madrid made a somewhat underwhelming start to their European campaign as they appeared to be on their w…

Newcastle head coach Becky Langley has challenged her side to win promotion to the Women’s Championship to pave the way for other aspiring clubs to join them in turning professional.

The Magpies went full-time last summer – 12 months after head coach Langley had done the same – to become the first tier-three outfit to make the move in England.

They currently sit at the top of the FA Women’s National League Northern Premier Division, nine points clear of Nottingham Forest, who have a game in hand, and 14 better off than Burnley, who have played three fewer, as they chase promotion to the Championship and ultimately the Women’s Super League.

Newcastle grow the gap

A win for the Lasses and a draw for Nottingham Forest means the gap at the top is n…

Ousmane Dembele may yet sign a new contract with Barcelona after going from strength to strength under head coach Xavi, according to the club s vice-president Rafa Yuste.

France international Dembele was informed by Barca director Mateu Alemany to leave the club immediately in January after repeatedly turning down the offer of a new deal.

The 24-year-old was linked with a number of heavyweight clubs in the most recent transfer window, but a move away from Camp Nou did not materialise before the deadline.

Dembele has since been integrated back into the side by Xavi and is once again a key player for Barca now that his injury issues appear to be behind him.

It looked certain the former Borussia Dortmund forward would leave on a free transfer at the end of t…

Ryan Mason said he and his coaching staff have “done a great job” during his second spell as Tottenham’s interim manager.

Tottenham closed their Premier League season with a resounding 4-1 win at relegated Leeds on Sunday, but have failed to qualify for European football next season for the first time since 2008-09.

Mason said: “When I go on my summer holidays I would hope and expect that everyone inside of our training ground knows who I am, who my team is and what we stand for.

“We were good value for the three points, fully deserved it… we scored four goals away from home and we knew we had to stand up to a difficult test.”

Ryan Mason reviews our performance from today’s victory

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial)