There are obvious holes to be picked in the belief it is never a bad idea to watch a game of football.

Plenty of goals!

If David McGoldrick ever fancied piggy-backing on The Tall Boy’s literary success, he could do worse than title his own memoir, I Was Peter Crouch’s Boot Boy.

Gareth Bale continued his swift change in fortunes at Real Madrid by starting his side’s first game of the season at Celta Vigo – and inspiring Zinedine Zidane’s men to a 3-1 win.

Ahead of the 2019/20 La Liga season — which kicks off tonight — Dermot Corrigan looks at the key storylines to follow in the months ahead

Tottenham appear to have done good business this summer as Mauricio Pochettino completed the signings of Giovani Lo Celso and Ryan Sessegnon to go along with Tanguy Ndombele, prompting comparisons with three of the most dramatic transfer days in the club’s history — but they have not all ended well.

In days gone by, a winger wasn’t a winger unless the soles of his boots were covered in white paint from spending so much time standing on the touchline; and that’s a tradition which might be making a return in 2019-20.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s return to his hometown club was marred by the confirmation that Manchester United defender Eric Bailly faces up to five months out following knee surgery.

Paddy McNair’s first international goal saw Northern Ireland snatch a 1-0 win over Belarus and make it four wins out of four in Euro 2020 qualifying.

There was a cursory meeting of Arsenal and Tottenham supporters at Frankfurt Airport on Thursday morning, one side beating a retreat from Baku, the other en route to the Champions League final in Madrid.

Reminiscing about Liverpool’s greatest European heroes takes you on a journey of some of football’s most iconic names

With Barcelona set to seal the title tonight, Dermot Corrigan wraps the LaLiga campaign

How much did you enjoy watching Ajax beat Real Madrid on Tuesday night?

Gareth Bale was once again feeling the heat

Gareth Bale has been reported by LaLiga to the Spanish Football Federation over his celebration in Real Madrid's 3-1 derby win at Atletico Madrid on Saturday.

Since mind games aren’t what they used to be, let’s give thanks for the ingredient that can make this title race great: Liverpool’s ‘12th Man’, writes Larry Ryan

CSKA Moscow floored Spanish giants Real Madrid 3-0 at the Bernabeu with a dominant Champions League display.

Martin O’Neill reaffirmed his determination to continue in the Irish job after tonight’s Nations League defeat to Wales.

Ryan Giggs has challenged his Wales youngsters to prove people wrong in the absence of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey.

If Ireland walk the walk tonight like Martin O’Neill talked the talk yesterday then an Aviva Stadium rendered almost mute by the dour spectacle of Saturday’s scoreless draw with Denmark might finally have something to cheer about.

The Bristol City midfielder suffered dizziness following a collision during the first half of Saturday's 0-0 draw with Denmark.

Almost five years into his reign, at a cost of €10m in wages, Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane are, apparently, laying building blocks for the Ireland squad.

Wales boss Ryan Giggs says Gareth Bale is “50-50” to face Ireland at Aviva Stadium in their Nations League clash next Tuesday.

The prospects of Declan Rice reaffirming his allegiance to Ireland are rapidly receding after bookmakers last night stopped taking bets on the West Ham United mainstay defecting to England.

The past week or so has been so tricky for some of Europe’s elite clubs that they might be looking forward to the Champions League as a welcome diversion, writes David Shonfield

As introductions to the Champions League go, one night in Milan eight years ago was a hell of a shock for Tottenham Hotspur, writes Gerry Cox

Even on the back of a painful hiding, one game into a new campaign might seem a bit too early to be talking about crisis.

The only bit of good Nations League news out of last night for Ireland is that, with Denmark’s stand-off with their federation now resolved, they are sure to present a rather more formidable obstacle to Wales in Aarhus on Sunday than sorry Ireland were able to muster in Cardiff.

“There seems to be a feeling nobody totally understands what it’s about,” admitted Martin O’Neill ahead of this Nations League tie with Wales in Cardiff.

The Republic of Ireland fall behind to an early goal and it is a beautifully crafted strike.

Ireland’s extensive injury woes, coupled with absenteeism of a more controversial kind, were always going to constitute a major talking point in the build-up to tonight’s Nations League clash against Wales.

The only time Ryan Giggs came up against Ireland as a player, he was reduced to playing a bit part in history.

Ger McCarthy poses four questions ahead of Ireland's rematch with Wales...

Japan’s meeting with Russia at the 2002 World Cup produced one of Eamon Dunphy’s most famous RTÉ moments.

Declan Rice has dismissed speculation about his international future as “a load of crap” and insisted that he’s already looking forward to the Nations League match against Wales in Cardiff in September which would provide the first opportunity for the 19-year-old to rubber-stamp his status as an Irish international.

Zinedine Zidane’s shock resignation as Real Madrid coach yesterday took almost everyone by surprise — but it also made a huge amount of sense once he had explained a decision that looks a lot more positive for him personally than the club.

It was a shameless act. Premeditated. Despicable, disgusting, dastardly. Did he mean it? Of course he did.

Liverpool have agreed a deal to sign Brazil midfielder Fabinho from Monaco on a “long-term contract” from July 1, the Premier League club have announced.

All in all, the madness was all worth it and sometimes there’s no point in trying to make any sense of it, writes John Coleman.

“And you may find yourself sleeping fitfully through a massive thunderstorm.

Sligo artist Dan Leydon has already claimed a Champions League three-in-a-row this season, but now the Liverpool fan hopes Real Madrid stop following in his footsteps.