The decision to include neither Cristiano Ronaldo nor Gareth Bale backfired spectacularly in one of the worst results in the club’s golden history Few times in Real Madrid’s history could a Copa del Rey clash against Leganes be considered so important. But Zinedine Zidane nevertheless decided to play with fire, and the coach got burned worse than anybody in an historic, embarrassing elimination for the Merengue. With no Cristiano Ronaldo and no Gareth Bale on the bench the coach’s apparent over-confidence was shown up as Madrid were dumped out of the Copa by their humble neighbours . The team known as the ‘Cucumber Growers’, situated on the outskirts of Madrid…

Zinedine Zidane is now the clear favourite to take over at Chelsea after his odds were slashed following an out pour of bets on his appointment. The Blues dropped down to sixth in the Premier League after a humiliating 6-0 defeat to Manchester City on Sunday and they are reportedly ready to replace the under-pressure Maurizio Sarri after just eight months in charge. Zidane, who won three successive Champions League titles while in charge of Real Madrid before leaving in May, has been the most backed for the job over the last 12 hours, attracting 64 per of all bets to become Sarri’s successor. His odds have been cut from…

Southampton will ban any supporters found guilty of making gestures towards Cardiff City fans mocking the death of Emiliano Sala. Two Saints fans were caught on camera spreading their arms and appearing to make aeroplane gestures during Saturday’s Premier League match. Cardiff were playing their first game since it was confirmed their £15million signing had died in a plane crash. A minute’s silence had been impeccably observed as part of the tributes before kick-off at the game, which the Welsh side went on to win 2-1 with Kenneth Zohore’s dramatic goal in the third minute of stoppage time. However, video later emerged on social media of two men in the…

All eyes will be on defending the Champions League at the Santiago Bernabeu, as their star striker insisted there was still plenty to play for Cristiano Ronaldo issued a defiant message to Real Madrid’s critics after Wednesday’s Copa del Rey exit at the hands of Leganes plunged them further into crisis. Leganes overturned a 1-0 first-leg loss to progress to the semi-finals of the Copa with a 2-1 win at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday, although Ronaldo was left out of the squad. A third home defeat in five matches in all competitions left coach Zinedine Zidane accepting his fate will be decided by next month’s Champions League tie against…

Paris Saint-Germain have made an approach to sign 11-year-old youth footballer called… Kylian Mbappe. Playing for local side Roissy-en-Brie, where Paul Pogba spent his formative years, the younger Mbappe shares similarities with his more famous namesake, as French publication Le Parisien report. Just like the current PSG and France star, he likes to dribble where the ball sticks to his feet like glue and their dads are from Cameroon. “I’ve often been asked if I’ve purposely named my son that way,” Eric, his father, told Le Parisen, pointing out there is only eight years between the two players, meaning nobody knew of Mbappe ‘senior’ – he turned 20 in December…

Los Che provide the next obstacle to the La Liga leaders in their pursuit of a domestic double, with Real Madrid’s conquerors face another tough task Barcelona will take on Valencia in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey, with Real Madrid’s conquerors Leganes facing Sevilla. Ernesto Valverde’s men boast an 11-point lead at the top of La Liga and stayed on course for a domestic double with a 2-0 victory against neighbours Espanyol on Thursday, with first-half goals from Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi at Camp Nou overturning a 1-0 deficit from the opening leg. The story of the quarter-finals came a day earlier, with Madrid unable to make…

Paul Pogba will miss Manchester United’s Champions League last 16 second-leg tie away to Paris Saint-Germain in March. But the Frenchman will be able to come back if United can overturn the 2-0 deficit and reach the quarter-finals. Presnel Kimpembe and Kylian Mbappe secured a first-leg victory for the Ligue 1 champions at Old Trafford. And things got worse for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side when Pogba was shown a second yellow card for a late tackle on Dani Alves. United now have a mountain to climb in the return clash in Paris on March 6. The Red Devils will have to face PSG again without their influential midfielder but UEFA rules only…

The Polish striker has started life at San Siro brilliantly and hopes his goals can end the Serie A club’s dry spell without a major trophy Krzysztof Piatek hopes to bring AC Milan back to the lofty heights of their past after enjoying a stunning start to his career at San Siro. The 23-year-old has scored six times in his first five games for the Rossoneri and hopes that his goals can make the club Serie A title challengers in the near future. Milan are something of a sleeping giant in Italy, having won seven European Cups in their history as well as 18 Serie A titles, but it has now…

Cardiff City manager Neil Warnock and the club’s chief executive Ken Choo joined mourners at the funeral of Emiliano Sala in Argentina on Saturday. Sala’s body was repatriated on Friday before being returned to his hometown of Progreso, about 350 miles from Buenos Aires, for a public vigil which Sala’s family members attended. The 28-year-old striker died when a plane he was on crashed into the English channel on January 21st after he travelled back to Cardiff from Nantes, two days after completing his club-record move to the Bluebirds from the Ligue 1 side. Warnock said: “He was my player, he signed for me. I think he was going to…

West Midlands rivals Aston Villa and West Brom go head-to-head today in a huge Championship match and it’ll be live on talkSPORT 2. The Baggies are currently ten points ahead of Villa in the table as they continue to push for an automatic promotion place. Villa’s play-off hopes are still alive but they need to return to winning ways after two draws and a defeat last time out at Brentford. The reverse fixture ended in a thrilling 2-2 draw at the Hawthorns but who will claim the bragging rights today? Find out on talkSPORT 2. Aston Villa vs West Brom: How to listen Full commentary from the West Midlands will…