Antonio Conte has called for focus from Italy s squad as they embark on a crucial week in their quest to reach UEFA Euro 2016.
Italy – who were beaten finalists in 2012 – have stuttered in recent qualifiers in Group H with draws against Bulgaria and Croatia – the latter having pulled two points clear at the top.
Conte s side host Malta on Thursday in the first of a double-header that also includes a home match with Bulgaria, and the head coach is targeting six points to potentially secure their place at next year s finals.
The duty now is to focus on the Azzurri, he said. It s an important week for us, we can seal qualification to the European Championship with two wins over Malta and Bulgaria.
The players are well aware that there will be n…
Virgil van Dijk insists playing behind an attack-minded midfield is all part of the spice of life for Liverpool s defenders.
Manager Jurgen Klopp used a new-look midfield three of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita and Fabinho in Wednesday s 4-1 Champions League win against Genk.
Keita made only his second start of the season while Oxlade-Chamberlain scored twice on his first appearance in the competition since April 2018.
Genk caused problems for Liverpool s backline in the first half when space opened up in the final third, and Van Dijk concedes there is room for improvement, but he feels the Reds performed securely enough at Luminus Arena.
3 points away from home!
Thank you to all of you travelling Reds!
— Virgil van Dijk (@VirgilvDijk)…
ES Setif knocked holders Wydad Casablanca out of the CAF Champions League as a scoreless second-leg draw sealed a 1-0 aggregate victory on Friday.
The visitors knew a clean sheet would be enough to reach the semi-finals and they battled through sustained pressure to preserve their slim advantage.
Isla Diomande s lone goal on home soil seven days earlier ultimately proved enough for the Algerian side to advance at the expense of the 2017 champions.
Setif will now meet the winner of Horoya and Al-Ahly, who reconvene for their second leg on Sunday.
STATS | Check out the full-time stats! Which team had the better overall performance?
— CAF (@CAF_Online)
Five-time winners TP Mazembe also had their dreams crushed after crucially missing…
What the papers say
The in-demand Bruno Guimaraes looks set to stay at Newcastle after the club reportedly offered him £200,000 a week to stay at the club in an effort to see off advances from Liverpool, Real Madrid and Barcelona, the Sun said.
If the 25-year-old midfielder agrees to the terms it would make him the highest paid player at the club.
The Daily Mail said Portuguese forward Joao Felix has been offered to Newcastle on a loan deal after Chelsea opted not to sign the forward on a permanent transfer from Atletico Madrid.
Harry Kane has expressed his desire to stay in England and move to Manchester United this summer rather than a move overseas, with the Sun claiming he is willing to see out his contract and leave Tottenham as a free agent next year if h…
Jamal Musiala has tested positive for coronavirus, Bayern Munich announced in a statement on Monday.
The Germany midfielder played the full 90 minutes of Bayern s dramatic 2-2 Klassiker draw with Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, which left them third in the Bundesliga, now four points behind surprise leaders Union Berlin.
But Musiala would now appear to be a major doubt for the midweek Champions League match against Viktoria Plzen.
The club statement added: The FC Bayern forward is doing well and is currently isolating at home.
Jamal Musiala has tested positive for COVID-19.
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN)
Musiala is the latest in a series of Bayern players to contract COVID-19 over the past month.
Manuel Neuer and Leon…
Juventus striker Fabio Quagliarella has been the subject of a late bid from Monaco, .
The Principality club are on the lookout for a new striker as star player Radamel Falcao has been ruled out for the season and they seem to have turned their attention towards the Italian forward.
Quagliarella has already rejected Norwich and Valencia, but he could be tempted by the proposal from France, especially with Juventus set to complete the signing of Pablo Osvaldo from Southampton.
The 31-year-old has seen little playing time this season, starting just 3 Serie A fixtures, while making another 11 substitute appearances.
Since joining the club from Napoli back in 2010, Quagliarella has managed 23 goals in 81 Serie A outings.
Meanwhile, Monaco are locked i…
Ajax midfielder Evander Sno, who suffered a heart attack during a reserve team match, will remain in hospital for two weeks, the Dutch club said on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old, who spent two seasons with Celtic between 2006 and 2008, collapsed in the 63rd minute of Monday s game against Vitesse Arnhem.
He was treated four times with a defibrilator during the 10 minutes he was unconscious on the pitch.
After spending the night at a hospital in Arnhem, he was transferred to a medical facility in Amsterdam on Tuesday.
Ajax officials said that Sno s pre-season medical had given no indication of any heart problems.
The doctors hope to find an answer to the problem and evaluate the consequences on the rest of his career, said a club spokesman.
…
Antoine Griezmann benefitted from a contentious penalty call to give Atletico Madrid a 1-0 win over Leicester City in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
Griezmann made light of a dismal recent record from the spot to send Kasper Schmeichel the wrong way in the 28th minute but Marc Albrighton s clear foul on the France star was made just shy of the box.
Diego Simeone s side are chasing their third final appearance in four seasons and, having overcome Barcelona and Bayern Munich over two legs last term, they did not always appear comfortable in the role of favourites.
Atletico have not conceded a goal in a home knockout tie in Europe since March 2014 and Leicester failed to register a shot on target as they rarely looked like breaking that run.<…
Central Coast Mariners sporting director Mike Phelan has reaffirmed his commitment to the A-League club despite taking on a temporary role as Manchester United first team coach.
Phelan, who played for United and served the club as a coach for several years under Alex Ferguson, has returned to Old Trafford as part of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer s backroom staff following the former favourite s appointment as interim manager.
But while Molde have confirmed they expect Solskjaer to head back to Norway as head coach at the end of the Premier League season, Phelan will continue his work in a senior position with the Mariners throughout the coming months.
Phelan admits his dual commitments may provide a small distraction , but he insists the Mariners can benefit from the link…
Jadon Sancho s stunning rise has continued after the teenager received the Bundesliga s October Player of the Month award.
Sancho has starred in Borussia Dortmund s rise to the top of the Bundesliga, contributing four goals and a league-high six assists.
October was particularly productive for the 18-year-old, who joined the club from Manchester City in August 2017 and signed a new Dortmund deal earlier this month.
Sancho was mainly used as a substitute in the first few weeks of the season but started all three Bundesliga games for Dortmund in October.
A brace in a 2-2 home draw with Hertha Berlin made Sancho the youngest player in Dortmund history to score a double in a Bundesliga game, while he also scored in a 4-0 win over Stuttgart.
Sancho bea…