Diego Costa spearheaded Atletico Madrid’s demolition of their city neighbours and rivals Real Madrid 7-3 at the International Champions Cup.

Atletico showed no mercy in New Jersey, where Diego Simeone’s men led 5-0 at half-time thanks to Costa’s first-half hat-trick on Friday.

Big-money signing Joao Felix scored his first goal since arriving from Benfica and set up two others, while Angel Correa was also on target in a sensationally one-sided first half at MetLife Stadium.

Costa teamed up with Joao Felix to add his fourth six minutes into the second half before he was sent off after clashing with Dani Carvajal, which sparked a melee.

Vitolo scored a sensational solo goal in the 70th minute after Nacho Fernandez reduced the deficit on the hour-mark, while Madrid substitute Karim Benzema converted an 85th-minute penalty and Javi Hernandez bundled the ball over the line late.

Atletico were ruthless from the outset, last season’s runners-up breaking the deadlock after just 43 seconds when Joao Felix played a neat pass to Costa, whose deflected shot beat Thibaut Courtois.

That was a sign of things to come as Joao Felix made it 2-0 less than seven minutes later – the former Benfica teenager stepping in front of Marcelo and side-footing from close range after Saul Niguez cut a pass back into the penalty area.

After a lively Alvaro Morata left the field due to an apparent calf injury, his replacement Correa – linked to AC Milan – put Atletico 3-0 ahead in the 19th minute with a volley past Courtois.

While Joao Felix and Costa continued to wreak havoc, Madrid’s woes were compounded by what appeared to be a knee injury to new signing Luka Jovic, who had to be substituted following a collision with Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak.

Madrid’s defensive problems were highlighted again as Atletico went 4-0 ahead in the 28th minute – Saul winning the ball after a bad pass from Ramos and sliding in a simple pass for Costa and he made no mistake.

Hermoso and Thomas Lemar also went close, while Vinicius Junior hit the post for Madrid. But Atletico netted their fourth on the stroke of half-time after Costa completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot following Isco’s foul.

Atletico did not take their foot off the pedal in the second half – Felix and Costa continuing their frightening combination as the former split Madrid’s defence with a delightful pass and the former scooped the ball over Keylor Navas in the 51st minute.

Eden Hazard was virtually non-existent in first half, but the Belgian star showed a flash of brilliance to help Madrid pull a goal back on the hour-mark, crossing the ball into the six-yard box for Nacho to bundle the ball over the line.

There was a flashpoint five minutes later when Costa and Carvajal were both sent off after the pair and both teams came together as tempers threatened to boil over.

It got worse for Madrid after Vitolo won the ball from two defenders on the half-way line and beat another two opponents before finding the back of the net following a stunning solo run with 20 minutes remaining.

Atletico were hungry for more and they should have scored another two or three goals but some desperate goalkeeping and defending denied Los Rojiblancos, while Benzema and Hernandez added goals for Madrid late in the game.

Photo Credit: Twitter/atleticomadrid.com

Chelsea midfielder Danny Drinkwater has trolled himself as he urged the club fans to stay hydrated in the UK heatwave with a hilarious Instagram post.

The English midfielder, taking advantage of his surname, reminded his 575k followers to keep a bottle of water nearby – with the mercury hitting 38 degrees this summer.

He said: “Today is supposed to be the hottest day of the year in the uk… remember, stay hydrated. #drinkwater #ukheatwave #hothothot.”

Drinkwater was ironically arrested for drink-driving earlier in the year, the Sun report.

The £35million signing was charged after a smash in the early hours of Monday, April 8, when his Range Rover crashed in Cheshire.

Blues manager at the time Maurizio Sarri told the ex-Leicester star he was finished at Chelsea and suggested the 29-year-old should leave.

However, with Sarri now at Juventus, new Stamford Bridge boss Frank Lampard is prepared to give Drinkwater, along with other squad outcasts, a chance to prove themselves this season.

Photo Credit: Twitter

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is claiming he is Los Blancos No 1 goaltender, saying “it is clear who is No.1 at the club.”

The former Chelsea player joined the club in £35m deal at the start of the 2018-19 season in controversial circumstances.

The Belgium international was first choice between the sticks for the majority of last season, under both Julen Lopetegui and Santiago Solari, making 27 La Liga starts for Los Blancos.

However, Costa Rican international Keylor Navas remained the option for Champions League and Copa del Rey games, with Zinedine Zidane also starting him in league games following his return to the club in March.

Navas had been expected to move on this summer, however the veteran goal keeper now looks set to remain at the Santiago Bernabeu, however Courtois is determined to be No.1 under Zidane.

“I think it is clear who is No.1 at the club now,” he told an interview with Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad as cited by Football Espana.

“I have returned to pre-season in good shape, my body fat is lower than last season, and I feel good.

“I am confident for the season ahead and I hope I can continue this way for the rest of the campaign.”

The 27-year old has started in goal for both of Real Madrid’s two pre-season friendly games so far, against Bayern Munich and Arsenal.

Photo Credit: Sky Sports

Arsenal stars Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac were attacked by knife-wielding moped thugs in a suspected robbery attempt.

Ozil was driving Kolasinac through leafy Childs Hill, northwest London, in a black Mercedes G-Class when they were ambushed by two men on Thursday.

The two players were chased for a mile by the knife-wielding motorbike riders in an attempted daylight car-jacking, the Mail Online.

But as the thugs surrounded the 4×4, Ozil’s Arsenal teammate and childhood friend, Sead ‘The Tank’ Kolasinac, leapt out and bravely took them on.

CCTV footage from the scene shows Kolasinac swinging punches at the attackers and standing his ground against them despite being threatened with a knife. The attackers’ motorbike pulls away as the footage cuts.

But rather than that being the end of the drama, the players were then chased through the mansion-lined streets of north London in Ozil’s 4×4 in a high-speed chase that lasted for more than a mile.

Ozil drove to a Turkish restaurant on Golders Green Road, where staff helped them chase away the robbers.

An Arsenal spokesman confirmed that the players had been involved in a car-jacking incident, and said that both of them “are fine”.

The Metropolitan Police have also confirmed the incident.

Cesc Fabregas has been banned from driving for six months for speeding at 68mph (109km/h) in a 40mph (64km/h) zone, according to BBC Sport.

The midfielder moved to Monaco from Chelsea in January after winning two Premier League titles, two FA Cups and a League Cup in 501 appearances in English football with the Blues and Arsenal – with a spell at Barcelona in between.

The Spain international was caught by a police speed detection device in south-west London on 4 December.

But Fabregas, who now plays for French Ligue 1 club AS Monaco, later told officers “I wasn’t going that fast”, Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court heard.

The 32-year-old pleaded guilty to speeding and was also fined £750.

Fabregas, who already had six points on his licence, was banned after the offence added a further six points to it.

Prosecutor Luke Bowyer told the court that on 4 December last year Fabregas was clocked speeding in a grey Land Rover on a section of the A3 near Wandsworth, south-west London.

Representing Fabregas, Natalie Bird said he “would like to offer his sincere apology and remorse” for the offence, which was the result of a “momentary lapse of concentration”.

Sentencing, district judge Andrew Sweet said he took into account Fabregas’ guilty plea but said the section of the road could get “extremely busy”.

Fabregas, who did not attend Thursday’s hearing because of “work commitments in Monaco”, was also ordered to pay £135 in costs and a £75 victim surcharge.

Newcastle United new manager Steve Bruce is set to sign Chelsea academy youngster Kyle Scott for the Premier League club on permanent basis.

He made his first appearances for the senior side against Inter Milan and Arsenal during the club’s pre-season tour to China and Singapore in 2017.

And Antonio Conte handed Scott his first-team debut during the 2017-18 campaign, introducing him from the bench in a 4-0 FA Cup win over Hull City.

Maurizio Sarri wasn’t as impressed by the midfielder as Conte was and he was loaned out to Dutch club Telstar for the first half of last season, scoring twice in the Dutch second division.

Scott returned to Chelsea at the start of 2019 to run down his contract and will now become Steve Bruce’s second signing at Newcastle after £40m Brazilian Joelinton.

According to the Daily Mail, the 21-year-old midfielder, who was released by the Stamford Bridge club at the start of this month, is expected to sign a two-year deal at St James’ Park on Thursday.

Scott joined Chelsea’s academy from Southampton at under-10 level and worked his way through the youth ranks.

Chelsea midfielder Jorginho has revealed what Frank Lampard has added to his game, saying the new manager has given him ‘more freedom and creativity’ compared to Maurizio Sarri.

Jorginho played in a three-man midfield under Sarri but has since adapted to Lampard’s double pivot, providing an assist during Chelsea’s 2-1 win against Barcelona on Tuesday.

“My characteristics are to control the game, stay in the middle and organise the team but I can adapt as well,” the Italy international told his club’s official website as cited by Football Italia.

“It’s new for me and it will take a little bit of time but I like it and we are working well. I have more space to create and I’m more free so I can do many things with my creativity.

“Last season we had three midfielders and now we have two so we need to run a lot but I think we can do a lot of good things like this.”

The 27-year-old had become renowned for his close working relationship with Sarri, amidst speculation he could possibly follow the Coach to Juventus, but he insists he is committed to the Blues.

“Sarri was my manager and we worked together for four years but now is another chapter.

“He has left and I am staying here at Chelsea. I’m very happy in London, I have a long contract and I hope to be here for a long time.

“I learnt a lot last season in terms of the intensity and to be aggressive in our system so I believe I can help my teammates a lot this year.

“We want to win every game and we have to try to do this. We have to think only about the next game and then the next game and then the next game and see what happens.”

Jurgen Klopp has revealed the reasonLiverpool will not try to re-sign Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona, pointing out that will be a “big-money signing and it’s not our year for that.”

The 27-year-old left Anfield for Camp Nou in a £142 million deal in January 2018, but has found it exceedingly difficult to cement a starting spot in the centre of the park for La Liga’s champions or win over their fans.

Barcelona are already looking to offload their most expensive signing, with Coutinho’s agent Kia Joorabchian accusing the Catalan club of providing mixed messages for his client.

Klopp, however, rules out a move for the Brazil international, telling ESPN FC he hopes the midfielder “finds his luck at Barcelona.”

ESPN FC adds that Liverpool have not considered a loan deal for Coutinho, who scored 54 goals in 201 appearances for the club following his £8.5m transfer from Inter Milan in January 2013.

The European champions are expected to do minimal business this summer, with their policy of player retention being paramount.

“In general, Phil Coutinho helps each team in the world, still, 100% but it’s not about that,” Klopp told ESPN FC.

“I like Phil, I think he’s a fantastic footballer and all that stuff, but it would be a big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big-money signing and it’s not our year for that.

“It’s just not possible. As I said, having him would make each team better – us included – but I really hope that he finds his luck at Barcelona.

“Or maybe he found it there. We have contact, but not that close contact that I know exactly how he is doing, but the rest is only newspaper talk and stuff like that.

“If everything was true what newspapers write about me — wow! If it’s similar to what they write about me, I would say he’s completely happy at Barcelona and wants to sign a new six-year contract or whatever.”

Some Chelsea fans could not resist taking a dig at their rivals after Frank Lampard got his hands on his first piece of silverware as boss.

Goals from Tammy Abraham and Ross Barkley secured a 2-1 victory over Barcelona yesterday in Japan.

And that was enough to seal the Rakuten Cup for Lampard’s side as they ended their pre-season tour of the Far East with a trophy.

The prize will definitely not be going on any list of accolades for the Stamford Bridge club.

But that did not stop some of their supporters poking fun at rival Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino and Manchester United’s Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the Sun report.

Chelsea tweeted a snap of Cesar Azpilicueta lifting the prize, and the responses were filled with some funny responses.

One person wrote: “Already won more than a certain Poch and Ole combined.”

Another said: “Lampard has more trophies than Poch… took him just 1 month.”

And a fellow Blue commented: “Lampard has won more trophy than poch.”

That theme continued, as another even got Arsenal’s manager Unai Emery involved.

They wrote: “LOL just realized Frank Lampard has already won a Trophy before Ole, Poch and Emery.”

There is little danger that the new Chelsea manager will be counting the Rakuten Cup among his honours list.

But it will certainly provide him and his side with a boost ahead of his first campaign in charge.

Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has disclosed that “nothing has changed” with regard to his descision that Gareth Bale would leave Santiago Bernabeu this summer

The former Tottenham forward spearheaded Real Madrid’s comback from 2-0 down, coming the bench to score a goal in the preseason match against Arsenal in Maryland.

Zidane previously said that it would be for the best if the player left the club as soon as possible, after not being involved against Bayern Munich.

Despite Marco Asensio’s injury in the match, Zidane still insisted that the incident changed nothing.

Asked if that could lead to a change in his plans for Bale, Zidane said: “It has nothing to do with one thing. We are all touched by Marco, hopefully as little as possible, just that.

“He has played a good game today and I am happy for him.

“We started very well and after a while we lost a player, then we played well and we were better ten against ten. We drew the game and that is the good news. He (Bale) is here with us and we will continue working.

“As I said, Gareth is here. At the moment, he is with us. He played because he wanted to be with us and play, the other day he did not (want to play).

“He played and played well. Today he played and the decision is mine, he played a part and we will see what will happen. Nothing has changed. You know the situation, I will always tell you the same thing.”

Photo Credit: Twitter/realmadrid.com