Villa targets Wembley return

RSC Anderlecht began their Belgian season in a better way than rivals Standard, earning a 0-2 win at Kortrijk on Saturday.

A day after Standard de Liege s 2-2 draw with Sint-Truiden, Anderlecht were more successful in their away match with Kortrijk.

Mbar Boussoufa put the 2008-09 runners-up ahead after seven minutes and Marcin Wasilewski headed home from a Boussoufa free kick in the 69th for a 0-2 victory.

Racing Genk crashed to a 1-2 defeat by Moeskroen. Jaycee Okwunwanne scored twice for the visitors and the only home goal came from Joao Carlos in the dying minutes.

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Exiled Adelaide United striker Sergio van Dijk is hoping a transfer out of the A-League club can be organised before the month is out.

Van Dijk found himself on the outer at Hindmarsh Stadium since openly admitting last year his want to be closer to his family in the Netherlands, after they failed to adjust to life in Adelaide.

The Dutchman has featured just three times for the Reds domestically this season, and has consequently developed a frosty relationship with coach John Kosmina.

With fellow striker Bruce Djite set to spend time on the sidelines after injuring his groin in the 3-2 win over Perth last Friday, van Dijk is in line to make his first appearance this week since the 2-1 loss to league leaders Central Coast in December.

But while van Dijk i…

Paulo Dybala and Neymar can dominate world football in the same way Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have, according the Bayern Munich coach Carlo Ancelotti.

Messi and Ronaldo have won eight out of the last 10 Ballons d Or among them and Ancelotti thinks Dybala and Neymar have what it takes to make a similar impact in the years to come.

Since joining Juve in 2015, Dybala has scored 27 goals in 57 appearances in all competitions, helping the Bianconeri to a league and cup double last season.

Dybala can make history at Juventus over the next 10 years, Ancelotti told Tuttosport.

He is unique, you cannot compare him to any other player.

Dybala and Neymar can become the heirs of Messi and Ronaldo.

Twenty two-year-old Dybala has netted fou…

Barcelona coach Xavi is overjoyed by Robert Lewandowski s start at the club, referring to him as insatiable after terrorising Viktoria Plzen.

The 34-year-old was in ruthless form on Wednesday, scoring a hat-trick as Barca thrashed their visitors 5-1 at Camp Nou.

Playing his first Champions League game for Barca, Lewandowski netted two sumptuous 20-yard strikes either side of a stooping header, with the hosts comfortable throughout.

Wednesday s treble ensured Lewandowski became the first player to net a Champions League hat-trick for three clubs, having scored four for Bayern Munich and one with Borussia Dortmund.

But Lewandowski s display was not a real shock given his strong start to life in LaLiga, and everything about his first few weeks at Barca has l…

Africa Cup of Nations hero Boubacar Barry said his heroics to help Ivory Coast win the title on Sunday saw him defy his critics.

Ivory Coast goalkeeper Boubacar Barry said he defied his shortcomings, to help deliver a second Africa Cup of Nations title to the nation.

Barry was the centre of attention in the decisive penalty shoot-out in Bata, one the Ivorians claimed 9-8 to down Ghana and lift the continental trophy.

The custodian watched on as team-mates Wilfried Bony and Gadji Tallo missed the target in Ivory Coast s first two spot kicks.

But Barry saved Ghana s third pen taken by Afriyie Acquah and when Frank Acheampong put the Ghanaians fourth penalty wide, it allowed Ivory Coast to draw level and send it to sudden death.

Barry added to the dr…

Timo Werner is open to a move to the Premier League or LaLiga when the time comes for him to leave RB Leipzig.

Germany international Werner was expected to join Bayern Munich ahead of the 2019-20 as he entered the final year of his contract, but a switch did not materialise and he instead signed a new four-year deal with Leipzig.

The 23-year-old continues to be linked with English giants Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea as well as Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Werner has scored 25 goals in 28 games in all competitions for Leipzig this season and is happy with how things are going at the Red Bull Arena.

However, the striker is not ruling out testing himself overseas in the future.

I can imagine playing abroad at some point, but there s no sp…

Mainz have agreed a deal to sign Japanese forward Shinji Okazaki from Stuttgart for an undisclosed fee.

Okazaki, who scored two goals for Japan in the FIFA Confederations Cup, moves to Thomas Tuchel s side on a three-year-contract.

The 27-year-old joined Stuttgart joined from Shimizu S-Pulse in 2010.

Okazaki has been prolific for Japan in recent times, scoring 35 goals in 66 appearances, however he has failed to replicate that form for Stuttgart despite becoming a first-team regular at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.

Tuchel, however, believes Okazaki will be an important player for the Coface Arena outfit.

We are very pleased that Shinji Okazaki has decided to switch to us, Tuchel told the club s official website.

He is a player with skills that are very imp…

Although the European leagues might be putting together their preparations before the new seasons get underway, battles in both the MLS and the Brazilian Serie A are starting to heat up. On that note, we have found a handful of helpful tips that can boost your midweek footballing accumulator.

Thursday 26th July

01:00 BST DC United vs New York Red Bulls 

Starting with the visitors on Thursday morning, New York s new boss Chris Armas has enjoyed a successful start to life at the Red Bull Arena. Coming off the back of a win over New England, they have now won four of their last five and a win will see them leapfrog bitter rivals New York City into second spot. Along with DC now winning just one of their last seven in all competitions, the visitors are also unbeaten in th…

Aleksander Ceferin kept the Football Association in the dark about his intention not to stand for another term as UEFA president in 2027 prior to announcing it to the media on Thursday.

The Slovenian said he had known for six months that he would not run again, but had delayed going public because he wanted to see the “real face” of some of those close to him.

He said it had been “amusing” to watch “hysteria” build around the prospect of him staying on until 2031, and made his announcement at a press conference after UEFA Congress rather than confirming it in his Congress speech to member associations.

English FA chief exec shows the sole red card to UEFA statute changes which will give Aleksander Ceferin the opportunity to serve a further term as pre…

Schalke have agreed to terminate the contract of attacking midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng.

Boateng who moved to Schalke from AC Milan in August 2013 is expected to rejoin the Serie A club and has already been training and playing in friendlies with them for over two months.

The Ghana international was suspended by Schalke following May s 2-0 defeat at Cologne, with the club blaming a  lack of mutual trust and informing Boateng he could find a new club.

And a statement on Schalke s official website read: FC Schalke 04 and Ghana international Kevin-Prince Boateng have decided to mutually terminate his contract at the club. The terms of the agreement will remain undisclosed.

He made 60 competitive appearances [46 in the Bundesliga, twelve in European com…