Month: November 2024

Mauricio Pochettino said he did not receive an offer to coach LaLiga giants Barcelona, while the former Tottenham boss insisted leading Real Madrid is his dream.

Pochettino was linked with Barca following Quique Setien s sacking before the embattled Spanish powerhouse opted for Ronald Koeman after a trophy-less 2019-20 campaign.

Argentine manager Pochettino, who departed Tottenham in November last year, was asked about the Barca speculation.

They didn t offer me to coach Barca, he told Cope and Marca. I didn t see myself with [president Josep Maria] Bartomeu.

I did eat with Ramon Planes because we have a friendship for many years, since 2009 when he signed for Espanyol.

Pochettino had opened the door to potentially coaching Barca, having previo…

Pep Guardiola is proud to have set the record for the most ever wins as Manchester City manager with Saturday s 1-0 victory over Premier League title rivals Chelsea.

The Catalan coach clocked up his 221st win in all competitions since arriving at City in 2013, overtaking the record previously held by Les McDowall.

City s well-earned victory at Stamford Bridge, secured courtesy of a deflected Gabriel Jesus strike, moves the reigning English champions level on points with Chelsea.

It snapped a three-game losing run for Guardiola against Chelsea, each of those with Thomas Tuchel in charge of the Blues, including May s Champions League final in Porto.

Guardiola s men dominated possession (60 per cent) and outshot their opponents 15 to five, leaving the ex-Ba…

Roma defender Alessandro Florenzi has joined Milan on a season-long loan.

Florenzi becomes Stefano Pioli s latest acquisition in a busy transfer window, with Milan confirming they have an option to sign the full-back on a permanent deal.

The 30-year-old had not featured for Roma since January 2020, spending time on loan at Valencia and then Paris Saint-Germain, where he played 21 times in Ligue 1 last term.

Despite spending the previous season at the Parc des Princes, only Daniel De Rossi (20,370) and Edin Dzeko (19,686) have played more minutes for Roma than Florenzi s 18,925 since his debut in May 2011.

In the same time period, only Radja Nainggolan (285), Lorenzo Pellegrini (296), Dzeko (312), Francesco Totti (366) and Miralem Pjanic (403) have cre…

Thomas Tuchel can understand why questions are being asked about Romelu Lukaku s disappointing form is himself unsure why the striker is currently struggling.

The Blues club-record signing has scored just once in his last five appearances, with that solitary goal coming against non-league Chesterfield in the FA Cup.

Lukaku s struggles, coinciding with his return to the side after being dropped in the wake of a controversial interview, have been laid bare in his recent Premier League outings.

He had 21 touches in last week s 1-0 loss to Manchester City – the fewest of any starting player for either team – and 18 in Tuesday s 1-1 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion.

From his three shots across the two games, the 28-year-old hit the target twice but could…

Thomas Tuchel declared Chelsea must improve as fast as possible after claiming  it does not take a lot to beat the Blues at present after their underwhelming Premier League start continued at  Southampton.

Chelsea took the lead through Raheem Sterling on Tuesday, but goals from Romeo Lavia and Adam Armstrong turned the contest on its head as Southampton secured a 2-1 success.

Having been thrashed 3-0 by Leeds United on their last road trip, Chelsea have now suffered back-to-back away league defeats for the first time since December 2020.

Tuchel, meanwhile, has suffered consecutive league losses on the road for the first time since he was coaching Paris Saint-Germain in August 2019.

After Southampton moved level with the disjointed Blues in the early-…

Liverpool are interested in signing Dario Osorio from Universidad de Chile, according to . The report has claimed that former Premier League and UEFA Champions League winners Liverpool are among the clubs who have scouted Osorio this season.

Osorio has been on the books of Universidad de Chile since 2015 and is rated as one of the best young players in Chile. The 18-year-old midfielder is hugely talented and could develop into one of the best players in the world in the coming years. The teenager has already played twice for the Chile national football team.

If Liverpool are to be successful in their quest to sign Osorio, then they have to beat a number of clubs to the signature of the teenager compared to compatriots Arturo Vidal and Gary Medel. Manchester City, Chelse…

Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni said his players were born to handle high-pressure World Cup contests after Lionel Messi led them to a 2-1 win over Australia in the last 16.

Messi scored his ninth World Cup goal – and his first in a knockout tie – as Argentina edged out Australia at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on Saturday, with Julian Alvarez also getting on the scoresheet following a mistake from Mathew Ryan.

Argentina will now face the Netherlands for a semi-final place on Friday, a prospect which appeared unlikely when they began their campaign with a stunning defeat to Saudi Arabia 11 days ago.

Asked how the Albiceleste had managed to turn their tournament around, Scaloni said: What I said before the Mexico match was that these guys were born to play these …

Barcelona and Spain forward Ferran Torres has suffered a hamstring injury and will be out of action for an indefinite period, the Catalan giants said on Monday.

The 24-year-old will miss Spain s Nations League matches against Denmark on Saturday and Serbia next Tuesday, having damaged the biceps femoris muscle in his right thigh.

Spanish media reports said Torres could be out for six to eight weeks after he sustained the injury in Barca s 3-0 win at Alaves on Sunday, limping off after just five minutes.

Tests carried out on Ferran Torres confirm that he has an injury to the biceps femoris muscle in his right thigh. His return to training will be dependent on his recovery, Barcelona, LaLiga leaders with eight wins from nine games this term, said.

MEDICAL …

Louis Saha dreams of Manchester United appointing Zinedine Zidane but insisted the club s players must respect whichever manager is in place if they are to succeed.

United have underwhelmed in the first half of the Premier League season, sitting in seventh under the interim management of Ralf Rangnick after the dismissal of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Former RB Leipzig coach Rangnick has overseen three wins and a draw in his opening four league games, but is only in temporary charge until the end of the season when the potential for a two-year consultancy role will come into play.

United have already confirmed they will seek out a long-term replacement at the end of the season, which could still end up being the German manager, with the likes of Zidane and Mauricio Po…

Julian Nagelsmann believes his Germany side should have been more ruthless despite downing Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-1 in the Nations League on Friday.

Deniz Undav continued his scoring streak for the national side, with his brace enough to see Germany over the line despite Edin Dzeko halving the deficit in the 70th minute.

Nagelsmann s side sit top of Group A3 after three games ahead of facing the Netherlands on Monday, a side they drew 2-2 with last month.

But the Germany head coach wants to see an improvement in front of goal after dominating for large parts at the Stadion Bilino Polje against Bosnia.

The visitors ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.81 from their 12 shots, eight of which were on target, while also creating five …