Thirty-two has become 16 in the Europa League, with Thursday s matches offering no shortage of thrills in the race to reach Friday s draw for the next phase.
STINDL SHINES AS FIORENTINA HIT SELF-DESTRUCT BUTTON
Pressure will be mounting on Fiorentina coach Paulo Sousa following their spectacular collapse at the hands of Borussia Monchengladbach.
The home side surrendered a 2-0 lead to lose 4-2 at the Artemio Franchi, allowing Gladbach to progress with a 4-3 aggregate triumph.
Nikola Kalinic curled in a fine opener before Borja Valero capitalised on Jannik Vestergaard s missed clearance to make it 2-0 on the night and 3-0 on aggregate with only 29 minutes played.
But Lars Stindl turned the tie on its head in the space of 12 minutes. The …
Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp reiterated on Monday that new captain Mats Hummels will not be leaving the club.
Hummels has been extensively linked with a move to Manchester United throughout the close-season but a day after the central defender was confirmed as Dortmund s new captain, Klopp again argued he will not let the 25-year-old leave the Westfalenstadion.
Speaking ahead of the DFB Supercup against Bayern Munich, Klopp said: He (Hummels) is going nowhere. He is staying with us.
Hummels has a contract with Dortmund until June 2017.
Since Klopp took over at Dortmund before the 2008-09 Bundesliga season, Hummels has become the rock at the centre of the 47-year-old coach s defence.
Hummels played just 12 Bundesliga games in Klopp s first…
Spanish daily newspaper that Arsenal and Sevilla are among clubs showing interest in Eibar defender Florian Lejeune.
The 25-year-old has been one of club’s star performers in what has been a thoroughly impressive season and he will now get a chance to cash in on his good showings.
While Eibar chiefs hope to keep the current squad together, they will have no say in the deal if a club match Lejeune’s €10 million release clause.
According to reports from Spain, both Arsenal and Sevilla are keen on the French centre-back and they would obviously have no problem matching said buy-out clause.
Meanwhile, Eibar have informed interested sides that their prized asset is not for sale, but, as we have already pointed out, that is unlikely to make a difference…
Francis Coquelin has extended his loan deal with Championship side Charlton Athletic by a further month,.
The midfielder has racked up forty-three appearances in all competitions for parent club Arsenal, but was allowed to leave on a temporary basis after struggling to hold down a first team place.
He has also enjoyed loan spells with Loreint in his native France and Freiburg in Germany, while internationally he was part of the squad that won the UEFA European U19 Championships in 2010.
He has also won honours at youth level with Arsenal, both in the Premier Academy League and FA Youth Cup in 2009.
He has impressed in all three of his games for Charlton so far, and will now remain with the club until December 30th.
The Addicks, who currently sit n…
Franck Ribery and Rafinha look set to provide Bayern Munich with a timely boost by returning for Saturday s visit of Hamburg.
David Alaba is glad that Franck Ribery and Rafinha are back in the first-team picture at Bayern Munich as they prepare for Saturday s Bundesliga match against Hamburg.
The duo were back in training on Monday to boost a Bayern side who have faltered since the mid-season break, with three games yielding just four points.
Ribery and Rafinha have missed all of those matches, the Frenchman having sustained a thigh injury and the full-back having damaged ankle ligaments.
But with those injuries behind them and a week of training under their belts, the two look set to feature as Bayern seek to reassert their authority in the league.
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Jonathan Walters is relishing the opportunity for Stoke City to put a dent in Manchester City s Premier League title aspirations on Saturday.
Manuel Pellegrini s side sit top of the table on goal difference ahead of their trip to the Potteries, but the Britannia Stadium has not been a happy hunting ground for City since Stoke s promotion to the top flight in 2008.
City have taken three points just once from their seven Premier League fixtures at the Britannia, and although that victory came in their most recent visit a 4-1 win back in February forward Walters is bullish about this weekend.
I think we always fancy our chances against anyone and we ve proved over the years that there is no fear at the Britannia, the Republic of Ireland international told the Stoke…
Pep Guardiola distanced Manchester City from a move for Lionel Messi, reiterating it is his dream for the superstar forward to complete his career at Barcelona.
City have been regularly touted as a future destination for Messi since Guardiola s former Barca colleague Txiki Begiristain was appointed as director of football at the Etihad Stadium in 2012.
Amid reports over the past week linking City with both an immediate move for Messi by activating his release clause at Camp Nou and signing him on a free transfer at the end of the season, with the five-time Ballon d Or winner s new contract still unsigned, Begiristain told reporters at Thursday s Champions League draw in Monaco that such a move was impossible .
City s transfer mastermind also ruled the club out of…
The best goalkeeper of the 21st century and an all-time great, the retirement of Gianluigi Buffon, inevitable as it was, added searing injury to the insult of Italy s World Cup qualification failure.
And while green shoots of recovery have already sprouted between the posts in the form of Gianluigi Donnarumma, that may not be enough to spare the Azzurri a painful period in the major tournament wilderness as they adjust to their diminished circumstances.
Nurtured at Parma during the peak of Serie A s powers, Buffon was an unused member of what was then a typically imposing Italy squad at the 1998 World Cup.
The 20-year-old would have rubbed awestruck shoulders with Alessandro Costacurta, Giuseppe Bergomi, Demetrio Albertini and Roberto Baggio in a team captained b…
The latest chapter in the fiercest and most decorated rivalry in European football will be played out when Real Madrid host Barcelona in Saturday s pre-Christmas clash.
Madrid are the reigning Spanish and European champions but Barca are threatening to resume their recent domestic dominance of the duel, sitting pretty at the top of LaLiga.
Neymar might have left the Clasico stage, while form and fitness issues afflict Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale, but Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are primed to continue their perpetual battle for supremacy as the best footballers on the planet.
Barca boss Ernesto Valverde suffered back-to-back defeats to Madrid in the season-opening Supercopa de Espana and knows all too well that the history of this bitter feud is littered …
Bayern Munich forward Sadio Mane is open to a return to Liverpool, according to . The report has claimed that Mane has told friends that he misses Liverpool, and that he is willing to go back to the former Premier League and UEFA Champions League winners.
Defending Bundesliga champions Bayern themselves are willing to cash in on Mane at the end of the season despite signing him from Liverpool only in the summer of 2022. The former European champions paid an initial £27 million for the Senegal international forward last summer and would like to recoup most of that transfer fee.
According to the report, Liverpool do not plan to bring Mane back to Anfield in the summer transfer window. So far this season, the 31-year-old forward has made 15 starts and five substitute appe…