Rudi Garcia rued Lyon allowing their Champions League fate to slip from their grasp with a 2-0 defeat at Zenit.
Lyon controlled the action in St Petersburg for long periods but lacked cutting edge in the injury absence of star attacker Memphis Depay.
Zenit s imposing centre-forward Artem Dzyuba headed the hosts into a 42nd-minute lead and Magomed Ozdoev s deflected strike six minutes from time made the points safe.
The result leaves Lyon level with Zenit on seven points heading into the final matchweek, knowing they must better the Russian Premier League champions result next time out to finish above them.
We owed it to ourselves to do better, Garcia told reporters.
We needed at least a draw to keep matters in our own hands when it comes to qu…
Competition: Euro 2016 qualifier
Market: Spain to win against Slovakia
Odds:
Spain face Slovakia in Group C of the Euro 2016 qualifiers tonight, with Vicente Del Bosque’s side looking to retain their European Championship crown following back-to-back triumphs in 2008 and 2012.
After a poor World Cup campaign, the side have undergone a transformation and are looking to reinvent themselves to be among the favourites to win retain the trophy in 2016.
Despite being the away side, Coral are giving odds of 2/5 for Spain to get all three points against Slovakia, but the Slovaks have amassed maximum points from their first game like Spain. A win for La Roja would put them top by three points, strengthening their chances of topping their qualifying group a…
Best Odds: 6/5
Bookmaker:
With a spot in the final of this season s play-off chase up for grabs on Tuesday night, Nottingham Forest will welcome Sheffield United to the City Ground for their second-leg showdown.
Nottingham Forest
Starting with the hosts, while Nottingham Forest might have opened the 2021/22 campaign in the midst of a real struggle, the one-time European champions have enjoyed a remarkable turnaround. Making the decision to bring in Steve Cooper earlier in the season, the Reds have skyrocketed their way up the Championship table and have gained a long list of admirers in doing so. With it appearing that the mood around the City Ground is at the highest it has been in recent memory, the former Swansea boss now has his sights set on finishing off …
Gonzalo Higuain has claimed his father misspoke when he claimed that the Inter Miami forward would call time on his playing career at the end of the MLS season.
Higuain joined Inter Miami in September 2020, and has scored 15 goals in 44 MLS games for the team co-owned by David Beckham.
The 34-year-old is out of contract in December and has been linked with a move to his native Argentina, though his father Jorge said that his son had decided to retire.
Yet former Real Madrid, Napoli and Juventus striker Higuain has now refuted his father s claims.
It was a misunderstanding he had with me, Higuain told MLS media. I never told him I was retiring.
He misspoke, and that can happen, but this is very far from reality. I am focused on my club, on ful…
Burnley veteran Michael Duff has agreed a new one-year contract as the club prepare for their second Premier League campaign.
Duff has made over 300 appearances for Burnley since joining from Cheltenham Town in July 2004 and has now put pen to paper on an extended deal to stay with the Turf Moor outfit.
Burnley won promotion to England s top flight after finishing second in the Championship last term.
Their only other Premier League season saw them finish 18th in the 2009-10 campaign.
A statement on the club s official website read: Burnley Football Club is delighted to announce that long-serving defender Michael Duff has agreed a new one-year deal at Turf Moor.
Duff, the only remaining survivor of the club s last foray into the Premier League in…
Valencia have announced the signing of German FIFA World Cup winner Shkodran Mustafi from Sampdoria for an undisclosed fee.
The 22-year-old defender arrives at the Mestalla on a five-year contract, and is set to undergo a medical on Thursday.
Valencia CF have reached an agreement with UC Sampdoria for the transfer of German international centre-back, Shkodran Mustafi, the La Liga club said in a statement.
Having joined Everton from Hamburg as a youngster, Mustafi made his one and only first-team appearance for the Merseyside club as a substitute in a 1-0 UEFA Europa League defeat to BATE in 2009.
In 2012, Mustafi moved to Serie A with Sampdoria, where his career began to flourish.
He eventually became a first-team regular at the Italian club, mak…
Fiorentina captain Manuel Pasqual has called for a response to their defeat to Verona in Thursday s UEFA Europa League quarter-final second-leg clash with Dynamo Kiev.
Vincenzo Montella s men go into the second leg holding the advantage of an away goal following a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Ukraine.
But the Serie A outfit also approach the contest in disappointing form having failed to win in their last four matches.
Monday s 1-0 home loss to Verona in which they conceded a 90th-minute winner saw Fiorentina drop out of the Europa League qualification places for next season.
Success in the Europa League would ensure a place in next year s UEFA Champions League and render Fiorentina s league position immaterial in that respect.
And Pasqual told…
Joe Allen has committed his future to Stoke City by signing a new four-year contract with the Championship side.
Wales midfielder Allen joined Stoke from Liverpool in July 2016 and has scored 10 goals in 77 appearances for the Potters.
Allen was part of the side that were relegated from the Premier League last season, but the 28-year-old has opted to stay and play a role in the club s bid for an immediate return to the top flight.
Speaking to Stoke s official website, Allen said: I spoke to [chief executive] Tony Scholes once the season had ended and he made it very clear that the club weren t interested in selling me and that they wanted me to stay on.
That stance from the club, coupled with how settled I am here, how happy I am and how much I ve enjo…
Morgan Schneiderlin is close to completing a move away from Southampton, with Premier League rivals Arsenal and Manchester United circling.
Schneiderlin has made no secret of his desire to play UEFA Champions League football in 2015-16, after the France international midfielder revealed last month that he is planning to remain in England, but with a club in Europe s premier competition.
And that dream appears close to being fulfilled following an interview with radio station France Blue Alsace.
The 25-year-old, who has two years remaining on his contract, said: The negotiations are ongoing and should be completed in the coming days.
Hopefully before the resumption of [Southampton s pre-season] training next week.
Schneiderlin, who arrived at …
Arsenal have completed the signing of Fabio Vieira from Porto for a £30million fee (€35m) with £4.2m (€5m) in add-ons.
Mikel Arteta has been linked to numerous players in the transfer market as Arsenal look to strengthen after failing to qualify for the Champions League.
Youri Tielemans and Vitinha were among the names suggested to bolster the midfield of Arsenal, who already have Granit Xhaka, Martin Odegaard, Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny to call upon.
Arsenal have instead opted to bring in Vitinha s Porto team-mate Vieira on a long-term deal, the club announced on Tuesday.
I am very excited that we have identified and signed such a special talent, said Arteta.
Fabio is a very creative player that will bring high quality and versati…