If a week is a long time in football, what of 12 weeks?

When Manchester City visited Tottenham on November 21 and lost 2-0, they fell to 11th in the Premier League, already eight points behind their opponents after eight matches.

Victory took Spurs to the summit, as they ended the day there for the first time in six years.

Jose Mourinho was the coach downplaying title talk. We are just fighting to win every match, he said. But we are going to lose matches, we are going to draw matches.

He was not wrong.

Their latest loss, at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, meant Tottenham have just one win in six in all competitions and now harbour only outside ambitions of the top four, let alone top spot.

There were certainly similarities – in the fi…

Juventus are keeping their eye on four players currently plying their trade in the American MLS, according to Tuttosport (via ). Those players are Caden Clark of New York Red Bulls, Julian Araujo of LA Galaxy, and the FC Dallas duo of Bryan Reynolds and Ricardo Pepi.

Clark in a 17-year-old attacking midfielder who has only played eight competitive games for the first team at New York Red Bulls, scoring three goals. He played 12 matches for New York Red Bulls II before that, netting three more and assisting five.

Araujo, 19, is a defender who took his first steps with the Barca Residency Academy in the USA, which he left to join Galaxy s youth setup in the summer of 2018. He was promoted to the first team in the spring the following year, and has so far made 37 senior ap…

When asked if a top-four finish would secure Bale s future, Villas-Boas said: I think so. That s the information that I have from the club. It has come from the club.
The club is committed to keeping the best assets. That s the only way that we can ensure that we are in the top four every year.
Gareth is part of that project bearing in mind that he has been amazing this season. Hopefully, we can develop him to a greater extent. We get the buzz from working with great players and Gareth has developed into a great player, so I couldn t be happier.
Gareth has had a major development this year. He has played in so many positions and has had such a big impact in those positions.
Bale made a huge impact in Spurs last Champions League campaign in the 2010-11 season, scoring a stunning ha…

Following their defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, Burnley have joined Sheffield United on the list of teams relegated from the Premier League, with one game still left to play. Manager Vincent Kompany believes the officiating in the English top flight is not at a satisfactory level.

Given everything that s happened in Premier League games this season, it s hard to argue with Kompany s views,  though whether that s the reason why his team did not manage to survive is another matter.

“The level of the officials hasn’t been good enough it’s cost us!”

Vincent Kompany not happy after Burnley were relegated from the Premier League

— Hayters TV (@HaytersTV)

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James Rodriguez said Real Madrid have five cup final games remaining in LaLiga as the European champions try to pip bitter rivals Barcelona to the title.

Colombian attacking midfielder James scored twice as Madrid put Deportivo La Coruna to the sword in a 6-2 demolition on Wednesday.

Playing in the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, James who scored in the 3-2 Clasico defeat last week- netted in each half to help Madrid stay level with titleholders Barca.

Barca and Madrid are locked on 78 points atop the table, though the latter have a match in hand in their pursuit of a first LaLiga trophy since 2012.

I feel happy and really satisfied, James said. We played very well, with high intensity and desire. What we did out there was positive. 

…

Christmas came early for Christopher Nkunku after signing his first-ever professional contract with Paris-Saint Germain on Wednesday.

The 18-year-old midfielder joined the club s academy in July 2010 and is among the hottest prospects at the Ligue 1 champions.

Born and raised in Paris, Nkunku made his first-team debut against Shakhtar Donetsk on December 8 when he replaced Lucas in the 87th minute at Parc des Princes.

Nkunku was delighted to put pen to paper and said he looked forward to continuing his development at his boyhood club.

​ I am very happy that Paris is showing this confidence in me, Nkunku told PSG s official website.

It s a great honour to be offered a professional contract in such an ambitious club. Playing alongside such great…

Real Madrid clinched the LaLiga title for the first time since 2012 with a 2-0 win over Malaga courtesy of goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, rendering Barcelona s comeback victory against Eibar irrelevant.

Ronaldo continued his remarkable run of form, scoring his 25th league goal of the season in the second minute at La Rosaleda to take his tally to 14 in his last nine games in all competitions.

Benzema doubled Madrid s lead with his 11th league goal of the season to make it 2-0 after 55 minutes and Zinedine Zidane s side, who needed just a point to be crowned champions
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, had extra cause for celebration by becoming the first in the club s history to score in every La Liga game of the season.

The result keeps Madrid on course for a leag…

Vincenzo Montella recognises that failing to qualify for the Champions League would be damaging for a new-look AC Milan, both economically and to the team s reputation.

The Rossoneri have not graced Europe s top table since the 2013-14 season and are playing in continental competition for the first time since that campaign in the Europa League this term – Milan having won the first leg of a third-round qualifier against CSU Craiova on Thursday.

Milan have been on a heavy recruitment drive during the transfer window, funded by their new wealthy Chinese owners, with the likes of Leonardo Bonucci, Andre Silva, Lucas Biglia and Ricardo Rodriguez having moving to San Siro.

The big spending has only increased expectations among supporters and the club s hierarchy, bu…

Carlos Bacca hopes to stay in LaLiga for the 2018-19 campaign despite having two years left on his contract with AC Milan.

The Colombia international spent last season on loan at Villarreal after falling out of favour at San Siro, Bacca scoring 15 goals as the Yellow Submarine finished fifth.

It was a third prolific season in Spain for the 31-year-old, who spent two years with Sevilla before joining Milan in 2015.

And Bacca is keen to return rather than joining back up with his parent club in Italy. 

I feel good and I d like to stay in Spain, Bacca told Fox Sports Radio Colombia.

We re waiting, I have a contract with Milan and I respect it. I need to wait until I can go back and talk to them about the situation and what they want from me. The…

Forget Argentina, Nigeria are Croatia s toughest opponent in their bid to progress to the round of 16 at the World Cup, according to Andrej Kramaric.

Croatia – who finished third in 1998 – will face Nigeria in their Group D opener in Kaliningrad on Saturday.

Spearheaded by captain and five-time Ballon d Or winner Lionel Messi, Argentina and Croatia are expected to vie for the top two spots.

However, Kramaric views Nigeria – one of the most talked about teams in the build-up, not necessarily for their football, but their stand-out kit – as Croatia s biggest danger at the showpiece tournament.

I think it is Nigeria. Why? Against Nigeria we play the first and, for us, the most important game, Kramaric told FIFA.com. That game will open or close the…