Pep Guardiola described Jurgen Klopp as an incredible manager on the eve of Liverpool s trip to Premier League title rivals Manchester City.
The reigning champions face a seven-point deficit to Klopp s Reds, who are yet to taste a top-flight defeat this season ahead of Thursday s crunch clash at the Etihad Stadium.
Last October s showdown between the two sides at Anfield ended in a goalless draw, but Liverpool prevailed in three of last season s four meetings.
If that recent record suggests Klopp may have got the measure of Guardiola s City, the former Barcelona coach did not appear too concerned and freely offered up warm praise for his German counterpart.
First of all, he s an incredible manager, said Guardiola, who saw his side beat Southampton last…
According to a recent report from Kicker, French champions Paris Saint-Germain are interested in signing Timo Werner. The 22 year old German forward is considered to be one of the best young goalscorers in European football today, and as such, a series of top clubs are interested in acquiring his services. It has been believed in recent months that Bayern Munich are at the front of the queue in terms of who is most likely to sign him, but it’s foolish to write PSG off given their vast wealth.
The Leipzig star, who made the move over from Stuttgart in 2016, seems destined for a move to a top club.
He featured for Germany during the 2018 FIFA World Cup and despite not catching fire as many had hoped, he’s still got an incredibly bright future ahead of him.
PSG…
Tottenham Hotspur will announce the appointment of Antonio Conte as their new manager today, according to . The former Chelsea and Inter Milan boss will replace Nuno at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Nuno was sacked as the Spurs boss this week following a run of poor results.
It has been reported that Conte will initially sign a contract with Spurs until the end of next season. It will be worth £30 million. The Italian tactical will take charge of training on Tuesday.
Tottenham started the season strong under Nuno, but recent results and performances have been disappointing. Spurs are ninth in the Premier League table at the moment with 15 points from 10 matches, five points behind fourth-placed and London rivals West Ham United.
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England’s last-16 win over Germany at Euro 2020 proved their doubters wrong as Gareth Southgate’s side seized the chance to create their own piece of history at Wembley, according to Declan Rice.
A cagey contest was finally cracked open in the 75th minute when Raheem Sterling scored his third goal of the tournament, making it 15 in his past 20 outings at international level.
Thomas Muller fluffed a glorious chance to equalise before Harry Kane doubled the lead, heading home Jack Grealish’s cross to seal a place in the next round.
England lost on penalties to Germany in the semi-finals of the 1996 edition at the historic venue – albeit it has been rebuilt since then – but Rice was delighted to play his part in a famous triumph, one that was delivered aft…
AZ Alkmaar have confirmed Australian Brett Holman and Danish defender Simon Poulsen have turned down new contract offers.
The Dutch outfit, who currently lead the Eredivisie by three points with a game in hand from PSV Eindhoven, were understood to be keen to hang on to Holman.
The 27-year-old Australia international, whose contract at AZ expires at the end of this season, has been in fine form this term with five goals in all competitions.
However, Holman is understood to be keen to move to a bigger league having joined AZ in 2008 after previous stints at Dutch clubs NEC Nijmegen, Excelsior and Feyenoord.
AZ have also made two contract offers to Denmark international Poulsen which the left-back chose to ignore, having been linked with Premier League clu…
Mauricio Pochettino conceded Chelsea are missing something after they failed to defeat 10-man Burnley in what he reflected had been a “must-win” game at Stamford Bridge, which ended 2-2.
Cole Palmer’s goal, drilled into the bottom corner from Raheem Sterling’s delightful flick with 12 minutes to play, looked to have nicked it for the hosts, restoring the lead after Josh Cullen had whacked Burnley level on the volley early in the second half.
Palmer had earlier given Chelsea the lead from the penalty spot, converting after Lorenz Assignon had fouled Mykhailo Mudryk and been shown a second yellow card, whilst a furious Vincent Kompany was also dismissed from the touchline for remonstrating.
It ends all square. |
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC)
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Inter claimed a 1-1 Derby d Italia draw at Juventus and Roma triumphed amid controversy as Serie A began 2015 in entertaining fashion.
Carlos Tevez had looked set to again be the scourge of his former Manchester City coach Roberto Mancini when putting Juve ahead after five minutes, but Mauro Icardi secured Inter a point just after the hour-mark.
Mancini famously rowed with Tevez on the touchline in a 2011-12 UEFA Champions League match against Bayern Munich, and the Argentina international appeared ecstatic to steer Juve into an early lead after fine play by Arturo Vidal.
Icardi levelled with a clever finish in the 64th minute, but Inter s chances of stealing a win ultimately vanished when Mateo Kovacic earned a late red card for a strong tackle on Stephan Lichts…
Oceania champions Auckland City will not be overawed when they kick off their Club World Cup campaign in Japan on Thursday.
They should be buoyed by their 2009 Club World Cup heroics and New Zealand s unbeaten run at the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, according to coach Ramon Tribulietx.
The New Zealanders face Japanese champions Kashiwa Reysol in Thursday s opener where they are the underdogs to earn a place in the quarter-final against Mexican club Monterrey.
However, Barcelona-born Tribulietx, who was an assistant coach at Auckland when they finished fifth at the 2009 Club World Cup in UAE with wins over Al Wahda and TP Mazembe, said his side believed they could match it with Kashiwa.
The main thing you can take out of that (2009 s fifth-place finis…
David Alaba has warned Bayern Munich not to underestimate a wounded Werder Bremen when they begin their Bundesliga title defence on Friday.
Bremen suffered a shock DFB-Pokal first-round exit at the hands of third-tier Sportfreunde Lotte on Sunday, with Andre Dej netting the winner in a 2-1 victory.
Holders Bayern breezed into round two with a 5-0 victory over Carl Zeiss Jena and will head into Friday s match in buoyant mood having won their last 13 encounters with Bremen in all competitions, with no goals conceded in their last five meetings.
Alaba, however, says his side must not allow complacency to affect their performance as they aim to make a winning start in their quest for a fifth league title in a row.
They will work even harder, especially after…
Gareth Bale says he couldn t care less that Paul Pogba s move from Juventus to Manchester United eclipsed the fee Real Madrid paid for his signature in 2013.
Bale s reported €100million switch from Tottenham to the Santiago Bernabeu was surpassed by United s capture of Pogba in August for a fee which could rise to €110m.
No longer being the most expensive signing in world football is of no concern for the Welshman, though.
I m not fussed and I couldn t care less. None of the players have pulled my leg about it, Bale said.
The 27-year-old is instead focused on what he can do on the pitch, with a potential appearance in the 2017 Champions League final in Cardiff high on his list.
It would be amazing to get there, said Bale. My aim is to wi…