Chile international superstar Alexis Sanchez completed his Manchester United switch in the January transfer window when he was handed the number seven shirt at Old Trafford.
Since the time of French legend Eric Cantona, the number 7 has held an iconic – and even magical – status at Manchester United. The No.7 shirt also brought a curse with it, seemingly casting a spell on a number of players who failed to live up to the expectations wearing the heavy burden on their back.
Will Alexis Sanchez become its latest victim at the Theatre of Dreams?
Number 7 Through Man United History
John Berry was the first Manchester United player to be linked with a No.7 shirt at Old Trafford. One of the Busby Babes won three league titles during his eight years with the Red Devils a…
Jorginho scored from the penalty spot as Chelsea came from behind to draw 1-1 with Krasnodar in their final match of the Champions League group stage on Tuesday.
Frank Lampard s side had already qualified for the knockout phase as winners of Group E and marginally had the better of a low-key fixture at Stamford Bridge.
Remy Cabella put Krasnodar ahead with a crisp low finish before Jorginho equalised from the penalty spot a few minutes later.
Tammy Abraham twice went close for Chelsea in open play but despite his tireless efforts up front the Blues could not find a winner.
Krasnodar began brightly with Tonny Vilhena s swerving half-volley whistling just over the crossbar and Viktor Claesson striking a shot just past the post from a good position.
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Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said Eden Hazard was still some way short of being match fit after a low-key debut in Saturday s victory over Levante.
Hazard made a subdued start to his Madrid career with an appearance as a second-half substitute in a 3-2 win against Levante at the Bernabeu.
The Belgium international, who joined Madrid from Chelsea in June, has only recently returned to training following a thigh injury.
Hazard showed a few nice touches after he came off the bench in the 60th minute, although the 28-year-old forward was far from his sparkling best.
When he touches the ball he has a lot of versatility, Zidane said.
But what he needs now is to train more. He has only done four workouts with the team.
The second half wa…
Marseille head coach Andre Villas-Boas believes Paris Saint-Germain s spending power means they are operating in another league from their domestic rivals in France.
The Parisian giants have dominated Ligue 1 since they were taken over by Qatar Sports Investments in 2011, winning six out of a possible eight league titles.
They are also responsible for paying the two biggest transfer fees of all time, shattering the record when they spent €222million to get Neymar from Barcelona in 2017, while Kylian Mbappe cost €135m from Monaco.
Unsurprisingly, they have wasted little time in stamping their authority on the league again this season, racing into a five-point lead at the summit after 10 games.
Marseille travel to Parc des Princes for Le Classique on…
Switzerland rubber-stamped their place in the round of 16 at the World Cup in Qatar by emerging deservedly victorious from a difficult and exciting match against Serbia in the last round of Group G.
Xherdan Shaqiri broke the deadlock with a deflected 20th-minute shot, Aleksandar Mitrovic equalized with a perfectly hit header six minutes later, Dusan Vlahovic struck a goal of his own to put Serbia ahead in the 35th, and Breel Embolo set the score back level just before the break. It was eventually Remo Freuler who got on the end of a superb flick from Ruben Vargas to score the winning goal for the Swiss.
The game
Obviously in need of three points to progress from the group, Serbia wanted to attack from the start and take matters into their own hands, but they probably d…
Kevin De Bruyne has given Manchester City a huge boost ahead of their final push for the quadruple, signing a new contract with the club until 2025.
Since De Bruyne signed for City in August 2015, he has won eight trophies including two Premier League titles.
City are still dreaming of winning the Premier League, FA Cup, EFL Cup and Champions League as part of a memorable 2020-21 season under Pep Guardiola.
They will now do that safe in the knowledge their 29-year-old playmaker has committed the remainder of his peak years to them.
I could not be happier, De Bruyne told the club s official website after the deal was signed on Wednesday.
Since joining City in 2015, I have felt at home. I love the fans, my family are settled here in Manchester and…
Sergio Ramos says Real Madrid s players will have no say in whether Julen Lopetegui will be sacked but reiterated the team are with the under-pressure coach to the death after their Clasico humiliation.
Despite Barcelona being without injured captain Lionel Messi at Camp Nou on Sunday, Ernesto Valverde s men ran out 5-1 winners with Luis Suarez scoring a brilliant hat-trick.
Lopetegui s men trailed 2-0 at the break and a tactical change saw an improvement from Madrid before a trio of late goals consigned Los Blancos to a damaging defeat.
Madrid have now lost five of their last seven matches in all competitions, languishing ninth in the LaLiga table, seven points behind defending champions Barca.
Captain Ramos and his team-mates have consistently backed Lo…
Goalkeeper Jon McCracken said “it feels great” after joining Dundee from Norwich on a season-long loan deal.
The 23-year-old began his career at Hamilton before joining the Canaries in 2016.
McCracken, who has had loan spells at League of Ireland side Bohemians and more recently Stevenage, was recruited by Dundee boss Tony Docherty and the former Scotland under-17 keeper told the club’s official website: “It feels great, there has been a bit of interest for a while now, so I’m glad to get it done and to be here.
“I spoke to the gaffer quite a few times over the last couple of weeks and once I spoke to him my mind was pretty much made up on where I wanted to go and it was just a matter of getting the green light from Norwich to come up.
“The …
Mikel Arteta praised Arsenal s exceptional performance against Liverpool in their EFL Cup last-16 tie and says winning at Anfield is a big step forward for his side.
Three days after losing 3-1 at the same venue in the Premier League, Arsenal prevailed on penalties in Thursday s match following a goalless draw after 90 minutes.
It is the third time Arteta has got the better of Jurgen Klopp in four managerial meetings this year, two of those victories coming via a shoot-out following August s Community Shield success.
And while acknowledging Arsenal still have a long way to go before reaching Liverpool s level, Arteta was delighted with his much-changed side s display on Merseyside.
I am really happy with the performance. I think the boys were exceptional…
Frank de Boer has named his first squad as Netherlands head coach following his appointment last month, with Daley Blind among those recalled.
Former Ajax, Inter and Atlanta United coach De Boer was named Ronald Koeman s replacement after his departure for Barcelona, taking the reins from interim boss Dwight Lodeweges.
The Oranje play Mexico in a friendly on October 7 and then have Nations League meetings against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Italy.
De Boer claimed at his presentation as coach tthat his group is more talented than Netherlands 2010 World Cup finalists when he was on the staff and he has opted against widescale changes.
Blind is back, though, after being left out in September following a health scare.
The centre-back, who was last year f…