THE FOOTBALL BLOG

Juventus will be in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals for the second time in the last three years, fortified with a defence that has non conceded a goal for 531’ consecutive minutes.

Lionel Messi 's scintillating dribbling qualities yet again had a profound impact in Barcelona's entertaining 3-2 win over Real Madrid in the Clasico

Despite Besiktas leading the majority of their Europa League quarter-final first leg match with Lyon, they devastatingly lost 2-1, succumbing to two late goals from the home side. The loss still wasn't enough to take the shine of yet another impressive performance from their wildly gifted attacking midfielder..

In modern football, where formations and positions tend to disappear more and more and where the teams take on different tactical structures within the same match depending on the game play situations, multi-purpose players are increasingly in demand. Knowing how to do different things and in different areas of the pitch has become fundamental if you don't want to miss the boat in terms of tactical game play evolution. Of the young Italian forwards, perhaps the one closest to truly becoming a multi-purpose player, is Sassuolo's Gianluca Scamacca.

Guangzhou Evergrande went into their derby with Guangzhou R&F expecting to take home all three points, but even though they were forced to settle for a 2-2 draw, the performance of their Brazilian forward, Alan, still gave their supporters plenty to cheer about..

According to Fabio Capello, he has everything it takes to become even better than Gabriel Batistuta. According to the Torino president, the €100 million release clause is almost reductive based on the value of the player. According to many, Italy has found the centre forward of the future. He is Andrea Belotti, Serie A top goalscorer, tied with Edin Dzeko at 23 goals in 27 matches. An absolute protagonist of the season, he boasts 25 goals out of a total of 30 matches played with Torino, 28 in 37 matches if we also consider the National team, on which he has become a starter.

Hoffenheim continued their remarkable season under their young managerial hotshot, Julian Nagelsmann, by brushing aside Hertha Berlin 3-1 on Friday night. The win now means Die Kraichgauer have collected their most ever Bundesliga points in a season, plus moves them into third place on the table..

Riccardo Marchizza is one of the most promising Italian centre fullbacks around. He has excellent physical and technical qualities: He has a solid build, almost two metres tall, combined with a highly accurate left foot that often manages to find the back of the net. In three years on the youth team, he has already scored 16 goals, a few of which on free kicks..

It's been fascinating to observe Raheem Sterling's development under the tactically sophisticated methods of Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. Having a youngster with such raw talent, who he's been able to mould and further improve, has seen Guardiola really, especially in recent months, get the best of the enormously gifted 22-year-old.

The Wyscout report on the 29th day of Serie A takes Milan to the top of the rankings for performance. The 1-0 win against Genoa can be seen as an emblem of the tactical project set up by Vincenzo Montella because of the principles of play and the improvement margins that separate the "Diavolo" from the top spots in the rankings..

It might happen that coaches want to control the game at the point that it’s not straightforward anymore. Above all and in my view, the game of football is a “living organism” that some coaches do not let happen naturally, like what happens in street football, where in any space creativity is found and made to be found..

There's no doubting Jonathan Viera has been one of Las Palmas' key driving forces in their strong season so far. Under the guidance and positional style of play of manager Quique Setien, his attacking genius has really thrived and animated Los Amarillos' work in the final third..

With Marseille struggling for consistency this season, their impressive 3-0 victory over Angers at the weekend gave a glowing indication of just how good Rudi Garcia's side can be when they get things right..

Since the second San Paolo goal was considered an own goal by Dries Mertens, it cannot be said that Sergio Ramos has become the defender able to score the most goals with the Real Madrid jersey. With 67 goals from 2005..