Edin Dzeko has scored six goals in his first seven Inter league appearances, matching Ronaldo s haul from the 1997-98 season, and the striker is brimming with confidence after his fine start.

The 35-year-old came off the bench in the second half of the Nerazzurri s 2-1 Serie A away victory over Sassuolo on Saturday.

Inter were trailing, but Dzeko equalised less than a minute after his introduction and then earned the penalty that Lautaro Martinez converted to win the game.

Dzeko joined Inter in August to replace star striker Romelu Lukaku, who left to join Chelsea, but has more than made up for the Belgian s absence so far.

Six goals after seven games, I know Ronaldo was the last to do it, Dzeko said after the game. Inter signed me for this, I know what …

(GSM) Real Madrid skipper Iker Casillas feels that Barcelona s recent dominance is a passing fad , while predicting coach Jose Mourinho will inspire a new period of supremacy at the Santiago Bernabéu.

The Catalan giants have romped to claim the last two Primera Division crowns and the 2009 Champions League in fluid passing style which has won them a new army of admirers.

But Casillas believes otherwise and feels that Mourinho s more pragmatic approach will pay dividends in the long term.

We are able to stand up to them, he told Marca. We compare favourably with them and we are only a couple of months, perhaps a season, away from them.

This is the best Barca in history and they have been in fashion but this is just a passing fad.

Mourinho is a…

Jaap Stam is hoping he can one day fill the role of Manchester United manager.

The Dutchman, 43, played at Old Trafford between 1998 and 2001, winning the Premier League in each of his three full seasons.

The retired centre-back has been involved with the coaching teams of Ajax s first and second sides since 2013.

But Stam will leave Ajax at the end of the season and believes he is ready to become number one at a club, with the United job a future dream as he sets out on his managerial career.

First it would be for me to work as a manager in England, but eventually, if I develop and do well, hopefully I can get back in a role for United, Stam told the Daily Mail.

I finished my coaching badges last season and I want to manage in Holland or Englan…

Lionel Messi will play for Argentina again in 2019, according to the national team s general manager Jorge Burruchaga.

Messi has not represented his country since the World Cup, where Argentina were beaten in the last 16 by eventual winners France.

Coach Jorge Sampaoli departed after a chaotic campaign, with Messi s stunning goal against Nigeria helping drag them through the group stage.

The Barcelona superstar s phenomenal hat-trick in a decisive qualifying win over Ecuador secured Argentina s place at Russia 2018 but the captain, who has lost four finals with his country, has yet to comment on when he might return to the fold.

Burruchaga is confident, though, that Messi will be back in the Argentina team in time for their Copa America campaign in Brazil…

Scotland manager Steve Clarke stressed the need to focus on “Norway the team” rather than become obsessed with trying to stop Erling Haaland.

Haaland goes into Saturday’s Euro 2024 qualifier in Oslo on the back of a 52-goal, treble-winning season with Manchester City and is set to make his first international appearance since September in front of an expectant crowd at the Ullevaal Stadium.

Much of the build-up to the game has been dominated by talk of the 22-year-old striker’s threat, but Clarke and defender Liam Cooper were careful not to overlook the rest of the Norway team – or give them any cause to feel under-appreciated.

Final prep before Norway.

— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT)

Asked about trying stop Haaland, Clarke s…

Italy coach Cesare Prandelli has signed a new contract that will see him remain in charge until after the 2016 UEFA European Championships.

Former Roma and Fiorentina boss Prandelli took the Azzurri reins immediately after the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

And the 56-year-old announced on Monday that he has put pen to paper on a fresh deal that will extend his stay in the national team hotseat to six years.

Sorry for the delay, Prandelli said at a press conference. But it was precisely due to the fact that we were just signing the contract.

Yes, yes, it is official. Until the European Championships.

Now we will not go into the details, we currently have an objective that is too important. From September we will talk about projects and programs.

The availabili…

Ligue 1 side Lorient have moved to confirm that they have received a total of four official proposals for star player Raphael Guerreiro.

The highly rated full-back is almost certain to leave les Merlus for greener pastures, and it only remains to be seen where he will end up.

Lorient vice-chairman Alex Hayes has now moved to confirm that the club have received offers for Gameiro from Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool, among other clubs, but they are not too keen on seeing the Portugal international leave.

No one wants to see Raphael leave, especially the president, Hayes told Ouest France.

He will only be transferred if a club makes an offer that we can t refuse. For the moment four major foreign clubs, including Dortmund and Liverpool, have made an offe…

According to a recent report from Tuttosport, Paul Pogba is still considered to be a primary target for former club Juventus. The belief was that the Frenchman would leave Old Trafford if Jose Mourinho remained in charge, but now that he’s gone, it seems as if he’s more settled than he has been in a long time with Manchester United.

Pogba spent four years of his professional career with the Italian champions, after making the move over from United – where he had spent three years building himself up in their youth setup.

Pogba rejoined United back in 2016, and at the age of 25, there’s a good chance he could go on to become an all time club legend if he decides against a move away.

Pogba is considered to be one of the most valuable midfielders, and playe…

Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema were on target as Real Madrid overcame Levante 2-0 in LaLiga on Sunday.

After netting the winner against Real Valladolid in midweek, Vinicius scored in successive LaLiga games for the first time in his career.

The Brazilian spurned a couple of chances at the Estadio de la Ceramica to add to his tally after Benzema struck the post early in the second half. Levante also had opportunities – Nikola Vukcevic hit the crossbar in the first half and Thibaut Courtois twice kept out Enis Bardhi around the hour mark.

But Levante s push for an equaliser was punished in the fifth minute of stoppage time when Rodrygo released Benzema and the striker got off the mark this season with an emphatic finish at the end of a fast break.

Th…

Zenit St Petersburg defender Nicolas Lombaerts feels his team s Champions League adventure is not over yet after booking a spot in last 16.

Zenit held Europa League champions Porto 0-0 away from home on Tuesday to secure second spot in Group G and a place in the knockout stages for the first time.

Belgian Lombaerts is confident that Zenit can continue their run in the competition beyond the round of 16.

We could get to the Champions League quarter-finals, he said.

Anything is possible. It has been a magnificent campaign. We re top in the league, six points clear; we could be champions again, Lombaerts told UEFA.

It s the first time we ve got through to the last 16, so it s truly historic. It was very difficult against Porto.

They wer…