Devin Booker replaces Damian Lillard in All-Star Game & 3-point contest

Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker will replace the injured Damian Lillard in this weekend's NBA All-Star Game and 3-point contest.

The NBA named Booker as Lillard's replacement Thursday, one day after the Portland Trail Blazers star suffered a right groin strain.

Booker, 23, will make his first career All-Star appearance in his fifth season. The former Kentucky star is the NBA's 10th-leading scorer, averaging 26.4 points per game, and is the Suns' first All-Star since Steve Nash in 2011-12, reporter by iSports basketball data.

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Booker will play for Team LeBron -- the team selected by LeBron James, one of the captains alongside Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo. James welcomed Booker to the team with a tweet Thursday.

Booker was among the more notable snubs when the NBA announced its initial All-Star reserves last month. He acknowledged being disappointed.

Lillard was injured in the second half of Portland's 111-104 loss to Memphis on Wednesday night. He said after the game that he would not compete in either the All-Star Game or the 3-point contest.

Lillard also noted that he hoped Booker or "someone like that" would fill his spot.

Although this is his first All-Star Game, Booker has been part of All-Star Weekend in each of his five NBA seasons. He has been in the 3-point contest three other times, winning the title in 2018 and also competing in 2016 and 2019, as per iSports basketball API. He was a finalist in that event as a 19-year-old in 2016, alongside Golden State's sharpshooting duo of Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry.

Booker still holds the 3-point contest records for most points in any round and most points in a final round -- he had 28 points in the finals to win the title two years ago. Booker took part in the skills challenge in 2017, according to iSports basketball data api.

He also scored 25 points in the 2016 Rising Stars game and 17 points when he returned to that game for first- and second-year players the following season.

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Karl-Anthony Towns out again with injured wrist

The Minnesota Timberwolves say Karl-Anthony Towns will miss Wednesday night's game against the Charlotte Hornets due to a left wrist injury.

Towns had an MRI on the wrist Tuesday, which revealed the injury. He will be further evaluated over the All-Star break, according to the team.

Towns is averaging a career-best 26.5 points and 10.8 rebounds in 35 games this season. He missed 15 games earlier this season with a sprained left knee, as per iSports NBA API.

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Wednesday's game is the Timberwolves' final game before the break. Minnesota's next game is Feb. 21 against Boston.

Timberwolves coach Ryan Saunders said prior to Wednesday's game that he did not know when or how Towns was injured. Towns had 23 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists in 37 minutes in Monday night's loss to Toronto, according to iSports basketball livescore data.

"He's a guy who takes a lot of contact," Saunders said. "He's a guy who attacks the rim with force. There's been times where he's getting knocked to the floor. So we know that there is wear in that sense but no specific action."

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Bayern Munich intend to sell Corentin Tolisso this summer

Corentin Tolisso has seen his role diminish significantly under Hansi Flick, making just one Bundesliga start since the former German national team assistant took charge of the club.

In fact, since that lone start (against Fortuna on 23 November), Tolisso has only stepped on the pitch for 33 minutes in the league, as per iSports football API and is believed to be very unhappy with his current role.

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Now, it appears his days with the Bavarians are numbered. According to Bild, Bayern intend to sell the World Cup-winning midfielder this summer in order to make room and money for incoming transfers.

One giant name specifically mentioned is Bayer Leverkusen’s 20-year-old sensation Kai Havertz, who has been linked with virtually every big club in the world, with Bayern and Liverpool seemingly favourites for his signature.

Havertz would likely cost the winning bidder a nine-figure fee, with Bild reporting two weeks ago that Leverkusen are currently demanding €130m for the player.

Tolisso arrived in summer 2017 from Lyon for what was then a club-record fee of €41.5m before Lucas Hernández came over from Atlético Madrid last summer for a whopping €80m.

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Analysing Cristiano Ronaldo’s league goalscoring record over the last 11 seasons

Cristiano Ronaldo’s extraordinary goalscoring exploits continued as the Juventus superstar scored his 20th Serie A goal of the season against Verona, meaning the forward has now scored 20+ league goals in each of his last 11 seasons, according to iSports football API.

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The Portuguese international is widely recognised as one of the greatest footballers of all-time, and the forward’s goal also set another new record as he became the first player in the Turin side’s history to score in ten consecutive league matches.

Following the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s latest landmark, we’ve decided to look back at Ronaldo’s goalscoring league campaigns from previous seasons in what has been a truly remarkable career.

2009/10 – 26 goals in 29 appearances (Real Madrid)

Ronaldo’s first season in Madrid following his world record move from Manchester United would see the marquee signing score 26 La Liga goals, coming in just 29 appearances for the Spanish side, according to iSports API.

Despite those exploits, however, Ronaldo would finish a goal behind Gonzalo Higuain as the club’s top league scorer, in a season that would end without silverware as the second coming of the Galacticos took time to adapt to the pressure cooker of the Bernabeu.

2010/11 – 40 goals in 34 appearances (Real Madrid)

Whilst 20 goals is often viewed, for good reason, as a total to reach for leading strikers, Ronaldo would help elevate the game to new standards by hitting a then record 40 league goals in a single La Liga campaign during his second season in the Spanish capital.

Madrid’s efforts to wrestle La Liga back from Barcelona would ultimately end in failure, though Ronaldo would enjoy the best goalscoring season of his career and claim a first Pichichi trophy, averaging more than a goal-per-league-game for the first time in his career – a feat he has since achieved on a further three occasions.

Ronaldo’s efforts would also see him claim the European Golden Shoe, winning the award for the second time in his career.

2011/12 – 46 goals in 38 appearances (Real Madrid)

Ronaldo would once again raise the bar in a record-breaking season for Real Madrid, playing in every La Liga fixture as the title was secured, Jose Mourinho’s side setting new standards including most points (100), most goals scored (126) and biggest goal difference (+89), as per iSports livescore API.

His 46 goals would again improve his best ever personal tally for a league season and he would register 53 goals in all competitions, whilst he would also become the first player to score against all 19 opponents in a single La Liga season.

Remarkably, however, he would finish as only the second highest scorer in La Liga, Lionel Messi becoming the first player in the history of Europe’s top five leagues to score 50 times in a league season – the duo reaching unprecedented levels at the height of their great rivalry.

2012/13 – 34 goals in 34 appearances (Real Madrid)

The Real Madrid star’s standards would dip slightly as Los Blancosfailed to defend their title, though Ronaldo would still break the 30-goal barrier for the third consecutive league season and register an average of a goal-per-game.

The 2012/13 campaign would also see CR7 score his 200th goal for the club, coming in just 197 appearances, whilst his goal-per-game ratio would be maintained throughout all competitions, scoring 55 goals in 55 games, including finishing as the top scorer in the Champions League for the second time and first as a Madrid player.

2013/14 – 31 goals in 30 games (Real Madrid)

Injuries would restrict Ronaldo to his lowest number of appearances since his debut season in Spain, though his haul of 31 goals in 30 league games were enough to see him claim a second Pichichi trophy and a third European Golden Shoe – sharing the award jointly with Liverpool striker Luis Suarez, as per iSports football API data.

Real Madrid would ultimately suffer a disappointing La Liga season as they finished third behind champions Atletico Madrid and runners-up Barcelona, though it would prove a memorable season as the club ended their 12-year wait for La Decima by lifting the Champions League, Ronaldo becoming the first player to score in two finals for two different winning teams after earlier achieving the feat with Manchester United.

Some of his season highlights would include scoring his 400th career goal and a stunning last-minute backheeled volley against Valencia – the goal named as the best in Spanish football that season.

2014/15 – 48 goals in 35 games (Real Madrid)

The best goalscoring season of a phenomenal career, Ronaldo would hit 48 La Liga goals during 2014/15, averaging 1.371 goals-per-game throughout the league campaign and falling just two short of Messi’s aforementioned record.

His tally would include 15 goals in his first eight league appearances of the season, whilst he would also become the fastest player to reach 200 goals in Spain’s top-flight, achieving the feat in just 178 games, recorded by iSports football API data.

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Named as the winner of the Ballon d’Or for the second successive year in December, the season would be a disappointment on a team level as Real won only the Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup, finishing as runners-up in La Liga and losing in the semi-finals in the defence of their Champions League crown.

Despite that Ronaldo would finish with 61 goals in all competitions, winning a fourth European Golden Shoe in his most prolific campaign to date.

2015/16 – 35 goals in 36 appearances (Real Madrid)

Ronaldo would smash the 30-goal barrier for the sixth successive league season in 2015/16, scoring 35 times in 36 appearances as Real finished as runners-up once more in La Liga.

That season would see the forward eclipse Raul as the club’s greatest ever goalscorer in league football, scoring five times in a 6-0 thrashing of Espanyol to move to 230 La Liga goals, before moving past the Spanish great as Real’s leading goalscorer in all competitions with a goal against Levante the following month.

Later in the campaign, a four-goal haul against Levante would also take Ronaldo to 252 La Liga goals, putting him behind only Messi as the competition’s all-time record goalscorer, whilst he would also fire the club to a second Champions League title in three years.

2016/17 – 25 goals in 29 appearances (Real Madrid)

It’s perhaps remarkable that Ronaldo’s lowest goalscoring league season in Spain produced just 25 goals, a testament to the abnormal levels that have become so routine for the Portuguese great.

Whilst it may have been a less prolific season on a personal level for the star, it would be a campaign of great team success, Real securing La Liga in addition to becoming the first side in the Champions League era to defend their crown.

UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup honours would also be added to an ever growing trophy cabinet, Ronaldo finishing the season with 40+ goals in all competitions for the seventh season in succession and winning a fifth Ballon d’Or at the end of the year, as per iSports API football data.

2017/18 – 26 goals in 27 appearances (Real Madrid)

The 2017/18 season would prove to be Ronaldo’s last in the famous all-white colours of Real Madrid, and would prove a disappointing campaign domestically as Zinedine Zidane’s side slumped to a third-placed finish despite Ronaldo averaging almost a goal-per-game.

Ronaldo would save his best for the European stage that season, however, firing Real to a third consecutive Champions League title and scoring one of the competition’s greatest ever goals with a gravity-defying overhead kick against Juventus in the quarter-finals.



2018/19 – 21 goals in 31 appearances (Juventus)

Speaking of Juventus…

The Italian giants would capture worldwide headlines by signing Ronaldo from Madrid, the club believing that Ronaldo was the man to help them capture European glory after seasons of domestic dominance.

Whilst Champions League success would ultimately prove elusive during his maiden campaign, the forward would help the Turin side to an eighth consecutive Scudetto, scoring 21 goals in 31 appearances to finish as the fourth-highest goalscorer in the division.

His 21-goal haul may have been his lowest tally since his final season with Manchester United ten years previously, though he was still named as Serie A’s Footballer of the Year following his debut season with Juventus.

2019/20 – 20 goals in 20 appearances*

Following a season of adaptation, Ronaldo is beginning to hit his best goalscoring form in Serie A, his goal against Verona the tenth consecutive league fixture in which he had found the net and taking his tally to 20 goals in just 20 appearances this season.

Juventus currently sit second and are embroiled in a tense title race with Inter Milan and Lazio, and the Bianconeri will need Ronaldo to continue firing if they are to see off the new found competition.

Averaging a goal-per-game at present, the 35-year-old is firmly in contention for a fifth European Golden Shoe and to finish as the league’s top scorer in a third of Europe’s five major leagues.

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Jürgen Klopp makes Premier League managerial history

Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp has broken the record for most Premier League Manager of the Month awards in a single season.

The German has now won the award an unprecedented five times this term, surpassing the record set by Pep Guardiola in 2017/18, as per iSports football API.

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He wins the January prize after overseeing the Reds victories over the likes of Tottenham and Manchester United and his side ended the month 19 points clear at the top of the Premier League.

Guardiola, Ralph Hasenhüttl and Nigel Pearson were the other three nominees.

Klopp has now won a total of eight Premier League Manager of the Month awards in his career, moving him level with Martin O’Neill and Harry Redknapp.

Only Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and David Moyes have now won more than the 52-year-old former Borussia Dortmund manager.

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Real, Barca ousted from Copa on same day for first time in 65 years

Real Madrid and Barcelona were ousted from the Copa del Rey quarterfinals on Thursday, the first time in nearly 65 years that the La Liga giants were eliminated from the tournament on the same day, as per iSports API data provider.

Real Sociedad ended Real Madrid's 21-game unbeaten run by winning 4-3 at the Bernabeu, while Barcelona were sent crashing out thanks to hosts Athletic Bilbao on a stoppage time header.

According to iSports API Football Stats & Information, the last time the two Spanish traditional powers were bounced from the competition on the same day was May 29th, 1955, when Real Madrid lost to Sevilla and Barcelona were eliminated by Athletic Club in the semifinals.



With Real and Barcelona out of this year's competition, Basque clubs Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao will join fellow La Liga counterparts Granada and second division side Mirandes in the final four.

The last Copa del Rey semifinals without Real Madrid and Barcelona occurred in 2009-10.

Barcelona have lifted the Copa a record 30 times, while Real Madrid have won it 19 times. Athletic Bilbao have 23 titles but have not won since the 1983-84 season, recorded by iSports football API.

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Barcelona coach Quique Setien said he was hurt by the elimination but was pleased with his side's performance.

"Today everything went well apart from the result," he said. "We took a step forward in our play and I'm pleased with many things we did, I'm not only looking at the result."

On Real Madrid's loss, manager Zinedine Zidane said: "It's a bad feeling because we lost at home. We started badly. We tried until the end and the second half was much better ... the opponent played well. We were bad in the first half with our press, then we made defensive mistakes."

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Borussia Dortmund looking to make Achraf Hakimi move permanent

There’s no doubt that Achraf Hakimi has taken advantage of his two-year loan to Borussia Dortmund, winning back-to-back CAF Young Player of the Year awards while becoming one of their star performers.

The 21-year-old has delivered 9 goals and 13 assists in 58 matches for the club, as per iSports API and was absolutely clinical in helping BVB reach the Champions League knockout round.

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With the Moroccan’s loan spell coming to an end this summer, Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc has revealed the German giants will look to retain his services for years to come.

“We will have talks with Real Madrid in the next few weeks,” Zorc told media.

“The decision is not up to us, but Achraf’s great development has, of course, not been hidden from anyone in Spain either.

“He feels very comfortable with us. They [Real Madrid] know that we would like to keep him.”

Hakimi, who came up through the Real Madrid youth system, is currently valued at €45m on Transfermarkt.

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