Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers praised Joe Hart’s mentality after his goalkeeper sealed a Scottish Gas Scottish Cup final place despite missing a penalty.
The Hampden crowd thought they had seen it all following a dramatic 3-3 draw between Celtic and Aberdeen, until Hart stepped up to take his side’s fifth penalty of the shoot-out at 4-3 up.
The former England goalkeeper, who celebrated his 37th birthday on Friday, hit the post himself before Aberdeen took the game into sudden death.
But Hart had the final say by saving Killian Phillips’ spot-kick to earn a 6-5 shoot-out win and set himself up to close the curtain on his career with a final against Rangers or Hearts on May 25.
THAT moment! | |
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC)
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Lazio have announced the signing of former Juventus defender Martin Caceres from Verona on a one-year contract.
The Uruguay international has been attempting to rebuild his career since his final season in Turin was blighted by injury, leaving the club at the end of the 2015-16 campaign.
Caceres made one appearance during a brief stay at Southampton last year, before heading to Verona in the close season, where he has started 14 Serie A matches and scored three goals.
The 30-year-old will now once again be involved in the race for the Scudetto, with Lazio who have an option to extend the deal sitting fourth, 11 points adrift of leaders Napoli.
Caceres won five Serie A titles with Juve.
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Verdict: Manchester United to score 3+ goals
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On Wednesday night, Manchester United will need to immediately recover from their derby-day hangover if they have any chance of mounting a late Premier League title charge. Jose Mourinho s men will play host to a Bournemouth side who have recently found some stability and are unbeaten in their last four appearances on the road.
Manchester United
For Jose Mourinho s side, their 2-1 loss to arch-rivals Manchester City on Sunday afternoon could have seen the Red Devils hand the Premier League title to their noisy neighbors. Currently sat second in the table, United are now 11 points behind the runaway league leaders. Mourinho will know that United s main objective will simply be to keep…
According to a recent report from Daily Mirror, Jesse Lingard may still end up leaving Manchester United in the near future.
The Englishman was once considered to be one of the brightest prospects in both the England and United setup but in the last few years, especially since the 2018 FIFA World Cup, his form has dropped dramatically.
While he may not have secured a move away from Old Trafford during the actual summer transfer window there’s still interest out there, most notably from Portuguese giants Porto.
They want to sign him on a season-long loan deal to take Lingard away from a situation in which he’s quite clearly struggling to get game time.
Porto may not have the kind of name value on the European stage that they once did but if Lingard wa…
Lionel Messi still baffles Marc-Andre ter Stegen in Barcelona training, despite the German having had three and a half years to work out the Argentine icon.
Messi is in the midst of another peerless campaign at Camp Nou, with 27 goals to his name in 33 games across all competitions.
Despite daily looks at Messi s technique, Ter Stegen is yet to work his team-mate out, and says he can understand why opposition goalkeepers are helpless.
He is very intelligent and knows exactly where to put the ball, Ter Stegen told Sport of Messi.
Sometimes journalists say that goalkeepers can do a little more when they play against Messi, but I see it in every training: it does not matter where you place yourself, he s going to shoot to the other side.
He s sm…
Market: Lille double chance
Odds: 7/10 @
Sat in pole position to book their spot in the knockout stage of this year s Champions League, Lille will make the trip to a struggling Wolfsburg on Wednesday night.
Starting with the hosts, while Wolfsburg might have gained plenty of plaudits from across Germany last season, the Wolves are in the midst of what has been an extended blip. Only showing a host of issues on either side of November s international break, the pressure is really on Florian Kohfeldt s shoulders. Last seen over the weekend putting in a nightmare display on the road, the Greens were hit with a dreadful 3-0 drumming away at Mainz. Without a win from any of their last four matchups across all formats, including three defeats on the spin, Wolfsburg wi…
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In an Italian heavyweight showdown on Friday night, Lazio will face off against bitter rivals Roma at the Stadio Olimpico when this weekend s fixtures open up.
Lazio
Starting with Lazio, while they might have shown a host of inconsistencies when heading into Italy s festive break last month, the Eagles do appear to be enjoying a recent bounce. Simply hoping to find some Serie A stability and with another European finish at the top of their agenda, I Biancocelesti were last seen over the weekend when putting on a professional performance on the road. Eventually picking up what was a deserved 2-0 victory against a Parma side in freefall, Head Coach Simone Inzaghi has seen his side claim back-to-back top-flight victories for the first t…
Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta has described the thought of winning another World Cup as very, very special .
The 28-year-old has been a key part of the Spain squad that have won back-to-back European Championships in 2008 and 2012, with a World Cup success in South Africa in between.
In an interview with The Guardian, Iniesta looked ahead to the showpiece tournament in South America, where his country will defend the trophy they lifted two years ago courtesy of his goal against Netherlands in the final.
It s massive, especially because it is in Brazil a World Cup in Brazil is unique, Iniesta said.
It could be that after winning two European Championships and the World Cup, when maybe you would think there would be nothing else to strive for, thi…
Sunderland have been dealt a injury blow after captain Lee Cattermole was ruled out for two months with a knee problem.
Cattermole limped off in Sunderland s goalless draw against Queens Park Rangers last month with suspected medial ligament damage.
The midfielder travelled to London to see a specialist, who confirmed he will likely be out until early February.
He ll probably be about another two months, Sunderland manager Martin O Neill said.
I knew the news wouldn t be too good. It could have been worse but obviously it could have been better.
Cattermole is expected to miss up to 12 English Premier League games, with O Neill now considering whether to recall midfielder David Meyler.
Meyler, who joined Sunderland from Irish club Cork…
Real Madrid defender Pepe believes Portuguese players are under a lot of pressure in La Liga.
After being named the winner of the 2012 Artur Agostinho award for Person of the Year in Portugal, the 29-year-old claimed he and his compatriots come under increased scrutiny playing in Spain.
There is a lot of pressure on the Portuguese in La Liga, he told Record, before highlighting a clash with Getafe s Javier Casquero in the 2008/09 season.
Pepe was banned for 10 games after kicking out at the Getafe midfielder, and subsequently considered quitting the sport altogether.
After Casquero, I was forever marked throughout the world.
They still call me assassin today. I was tempted to quit football.
Pepe s side are languishing 16 points behind…