football
SportAFP NewsFrankfurt coach Huetter to take charge of Moenchengladbach next season
Austrian Adi Huetter will quit as Eintracht Frankfurt head coach at the end of the season to take charge of Bundesliga rivals Borussia Moenchengladbach, both clubs confirmed Tuesday.
SportReutersInjury misery drags on for Everton's Gbamin
The Ivorian has played only three games and made one start since joining Everton in 2019 from Bundesliga side Mainz 05 for 25 million euros. He finally returned to the pitch as a late substitute in last week's 1-1 draw at home to Crystal Palace.
SportAFP NewsAfrican players in Europe: 28-goal Salah sparks fightback
Mohamed Salah raised his goal tally to 28 in all competitions this season by equalising for Liverpool in a 2-1 Premier League comeback win over Aston Villa at the weekend.
SportThe TelegraphEverton's Champions League dream slips further away in Brighton draw as injury woes continue
Brighton draw 0-0 for the fifth time this season as they fail to break down Everton Everton's hopes of a top-four finish continue to stutter Even in testing circumstances, with nine players absent through injury, this must still be regarded as an opportunity missed for Everton. Their push for European football has dramatically slowed in recent weeks, and they could not rediscover their momentum against a typically composed Brighton side on the south coast. It is now five matches without a win in all competitions for Carlo Ancelotti’s team, who are losing ground as West Ham United, Chelsea and Liverpool are gaining it. The Champions League dream is not yet dead but it is dying, and Everton were ultimately fortunate not to have left the Amex with another defeat to their name. Brighton, as is so often the case, had the better chances. If their forwards had been more clinical, Graham Potter’s team would have taken a deserved three points which would have lifted them well clear of the bottom three. They are so patient and progressive in their build-up play, but their lack of cutting edge has been one of the defining themes of the season. “I thought we were the team that was attacking more and better,” said Potter. There was no arguing with that, which is rather damning of Everton. Even with all their injuries, including top scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin, one would have expected so much more from Ancelotti’s attacking players. A front three of Richarlison, Gylfi Sigurdsson and James Rodriguez should surely be able to muster more than this? Everton had one shot on target against a team that has spent most of the season worrying about relegation. “We don’t want to be harping on about injuries, there’s plenty of other teams doing that,” Everton captain Seamus Coleman said, in what seemed to be a not-so-sly dig at rivals Liverpool. “It’s part and parcel of this season. Injuries do happen and unfortunately we missed a few. It’s about the players who are playing.” They face Tottenham Hotspur on Friday and Ancelotti hopes to have Calvert-Lewin, Andre Gomes and Allan available in time.
SportAFP NewsDortmund skipper Reus revels alongside 'unique' Haaland
Marco Reus is set to rekindle his blossoming partnership with Erling Braut Haaland on Wednesday as Borussia Dortmund bid to hand Manchester City another Champions League quarter-final exit.
SportEvening StandardTottenham, Fulham and Crystal Palace the ‘only clubs not to have fielded U21s in Premier League this season’
CIES study finds London trio among only seven clubs in Europe’s top five divisions not to field any U21 players in league action this season
SportAFP NewsRB Leipzig sign Monaco loanee Henrichs on permanent deal
Bundesliga high-fliers RB Leipzig confirmed Monday they have signed Monaco loanee Benjamin Henrichs on a permanent deal.
SportAFP NewsMadrid march on, Bayern stumble and Robben is back: Talking points from around Europe
Real Madrid won the Clasico as the title race intensifies in La Liga, while Inter march towards the Scudetto but Bayern Munich stumbled in Germany.
SportAFP NewsData-driven De Bruyne key to breaking Man City's Champions League complex
"Win everything," said Kevin De Bruyne when asked of his ambitions for Manchester City after signing a new four-year contract to reportedly become the Premier League's highest paid player last week.
SportAFP NewsLewandowski returns to Bayern Munich training
Bayern Munich's top-scorer Robert Lewandowski returned to training on Monday after a knee injury, but the club him ruled out of their Champions League quarter-final at Paris Saint-Germain.
SportAFP NewsStruggling Cologne replace Gisdol with Funkel as coach
Bundesliga strugglers Cologne on Monday appointed veteran Friedhelm Funkel as caretaker coach in a bid to avoid relegation this season after the sacking of Markus Gisdol.
SportReutersDortmund's Sancho back in training before City clash
Sancho has not played for the Bundesliga side since their German Cup quarter-final win over Borussia Moenchengladbach on March 2. The 21-year-old missed the 2-1 defeat by City in the first leg last week and was also unavailable for England's 2022 World Cup qualifiers against San Marino, Albania and Poland during the international break.
SportThe TelegraphAlexandre Lacazette brace gives Arsenal a routine win over Sheffield United
Alexandre Lacazette scores twice, including a wonderful team goal that looked as if it came from the Arsene Wenger era Gabriel Martinelli scores for the first time in 15 months for Arsenal to cap off a routine win Bukayo Saka is substituted with an apparent quad injury At the start of a season-defining week for Mikel Arteta, he could at least start with a straightforward victory and a long-awaited clean sheet to keep their hopes of European football alive. The bigger test of staying in the Europa League will come on Thursday when they face Slavia Prague after conceding an away goal in the first leg of their quarter-final. They head into the tie on the back of a win after Alexandre Lacazette two goals and Gabriel Martinelli showing why there have been calls for him to get more action. Arteta called it ideal preparation but that assessment also depends on Bukayo Saka and Martinelli recovering from knocks that forced them off in the second half. Both players give hope for the immediate and long-term future of this team. Keeping a first clean sheet in 15 matches will be a relief to Arteta. It was done with a makeshift backline and against a team whose Premier League relegation will soon be confirmed, but they all count. “This is ideal preparation, it’s a clean sheet after a long run and for the stability and spirit of the team it is great for Thursday,” said Arteta. “We had a cohesion around the team. We controlled the game and we played at a high level and scored some nice goals. From the start I had the feeling the guys were at it, we understood how we had to attack and press and we were efficient.” It was Sheffield United chasing the dream of Europe at this stage last season, while Arsenal have come accustomed to midweek trips abroad. They have not had a season without since the pre-Arsene Wenger year and it would be a dent to Arteta’s reign, not least the money available for the Spaniard to spend on players. His team can be exciting but have holes that need to be filled and attracting the right players will be more difficult without Europe. Such was Arteta’s fitness and illness problems, he picked Granit Xhaka as an ersatz left-back in a new combination to try and finally keep a clean sheet. At least it allowed Saka to spark further up the pitch and also see Martinelli start a Premier League game for the first time since January. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was suffering from flu, giving the young pair a chance to combine. Arteta’s issues have not been his talented forwards but keeping goals out at the other end. Many of the hosts’ defeats this season have been by a single goal, showing they have been battling in games despite failing to pick up enough points. They have normally made opponents work for their wins but lacked energy here. Newcastle’s win earlier in the day had pushed them closer to mathematical relegation but survival has not been part of the equation for a while. Saka’s No10 added another string to his bow heading into the European Championships this summer. Gareth Southgate likes his versatility, with his inclusion for team meetings despite being injured during the international break seen as a sign he wants him to be prepared for the tournament. He can add this role to full-back, wing-back and wide forward to his CV. It was no surprise that he was heavily involved in the deadlock being broken in the 33rd minute as Arsenal popped the ball around in front of the Blades penalty area. Saka made an incisive pass forward which was backheeled by Dani Ceballos, allowing Lacazette to finish. It was the France striker’s 14th goal of the season and a reminder of the Arsenal of old, attacking with confidence and an efficiency of touches.
SportReutersSoccer-Birthday boy Serdar scores as Schalke claim narrow win over Augsburg
GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany (Reuters) -Suat Serdar celebrated his 24th birthday by scoring his first Bundesliga goal of the season as basement side Schalke 04 snapped a 12-game winless run to beat Augsburg 1-0 at the Veltins Arena on Sunday. Having failed to score in their past five home games, Schalke broke the deadlock inside four minutes when Germany midfielder Serdar slotted home from close range after Augsburg goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz failed to collect a low cross.
SportAFP NewsInjury-hit Bayern Munich held ahead of PSG clash
Depleted Bayern Munich were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Union Berlin in the Bundesliga on Saturday, three days before their Champions League return leg at Paris Saint-Germain.
SportReutersSoccer-Teenager Knauff bags first goal to give Dortmund 3-2 win at Stuttgart
STUTTGART, Germany (Reuters) -Borussia Dortmund teenager Ansgar Knauff fired in an 80th-minute winner for his first professional goal to give his team a 3-2 victory at VfB Stuttgart on Saturday and maintain their slim hopes of a top-four finish. Germany youth international Knauff, in his third league appearance, picked up the ball on the edge of the box and audaciously threaded his shot past two defenders and the goalkeeper to secure the win that lifted Dortmund to 46 points in fifth place. Eintracht Frankfurt are in fourth on 53 following their 4-3 win over third-placed VfL Wolfsburg, with six games left in the season and the top four finishers qualifying automatically for next season's Champions League group stage.
SportAFP NewsInjury-hit Bayern Munich held as PSG loom
Depleted Bayern Munich were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Union Berlin in the Bundesliga on Saturday, three days before their crunch Champions League return leg at Paris Saint-Germain.
SportEvening StandardChelsea FC want Erling Haaland and Sergio Aguero this summer - but Thomas Tuchel needs a goalscorer right now
Tuchel says the club will decide on the right solution in June – but a solution is required
SportThe TelegraphRevealed: The extraordinary Marcelo Bielsa coaching family tree
It was Sir Terry Pratchett who once wrote that no-one finally dies until the ripples they have left fade away. Apply that to football management and, beyond all the traditional judgements about trophies and win percentages, there is surely no living coach with a better shot at immortality than Marcelo Bielsa. A man with two daughters, but a professional offspring of footballing sons who, at the most recent count, totalled 163. That’s how many of Bielsa’s 280 retired former players are currently working as football managers or coaches. It is an extraordinary statistic - the result of painstaking research by the Argentinian journalist Carlos Arasaki - and one which becomes yet further magnified when you add in disciples like Pep Guardiola and Jorge Sampaoli, who never personally played under Bielsa but became captivated by his entire footballing outlook. “I spied on Marcelo for 10 years - I reached a point where I became dependent on him,” said Sampaoli. Bielsa and Guardiola go head to head when Leeds United face Manchester City on Saturday lunchtime, but their friendship famously dates back 15 years when the older man was visited at his remote ranch 50 miles outside Rosario by the recently retired former Barcelona midfielder.
SportAFP NewsClasico, German surprise duo and PSG under pressure - what to watch in Europe
The winner of the Clasico will go top of La Liga, while Germany's surprise Champions League contenders face off and Paris Saint-Germain cannot afford to be distracted by thoughts of Bayern Munich.
SportAFP NewsUnion braced for Bayern Munich backlash after PSG defeat
Union Berlin are steeling themselves for a challenging trip to Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga on Saturday as the European champions look to shake off their midweek defeat by Paris Saint-Germain.
- SportReuters
Report shows Ligue 1, Borussia Dortmund best places for Under-21 players
A review of the top-five leagues by soccer statisticians Opta showed that Under-21 players have enjoyed a collective 62,046 minutes of game time in the French top flight in 2020/21. The German Bundesliga is second with 34,993 minutes, while England’s Premier League (29,172), Italy's Serie A (23,225) and Spain’s La Liga (22,893) round off the list. There are seven French teams in the top 10 for minutes given to U21 players, while Saint-Etienne (14), Monaco and Nice (11) are the top three when it comes to the total number of U21 players used.
SportAFP NewsBoateng's confirmed exit sparks tension at Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich have confirmed 32-year-old centre-back Jerome Boateng will leave when his contract expires at the end of the season, but the decision has sparked obvious tensions behind the scenes.
SportReutersBayern shift focus to domestic title despite mounting injuries
After their stinging defeat to Paris St Germain in the Champions League, Bayern Munich must quickly shift focus to protecting their seven-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga with Union Berlin set to visit the reeling Bavarians on Saturday. Already missing top striker Robert Lewandowski and Marc Roca due to injury, and with Serge Gnabry quarantined due to COVID-19, Bayern are also likely to be without defender Niklas Suele and midfielder Leon Goretzka, who were taken off in their 3-2 quarter-final first-leg loss to PSG on Wednesday.
SportEvening StandardHansi Flick rues Bayern Munich finishing as Mauricio Pochettino hails PSG ‘sacrifice’ after five-goal thriller
Bayern Munich head coach Hansi Flick was left to lament his side’s profligate finishing after a rare home defeat in the Champions League. The holders have a lot of work to do to rescue their quarter-final tie against Paris Saint-Germain after an epic repeat of last season’s Lisbon showpiece ended in a dramatic 3-2 victory for the visitors in Bavaria. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Thomas Muller hit back for Bayern - without injured 42-goal top scorer Robert Lewandowski and Serge Gnabry on Wednesday - following initial goals from Kylian Mbappe and Marquinhos at a snowy Allianz Arena, only for Mbappe to have the final say in an enthralling first-leg contest.
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