Ihattaren called up by Netherlands along with Serie A contingent

As for the visitors, while BVB might have entered the break with the mood in their camp at a continued high, Schalke are a side desperately hoping to end what was a woeful run of form back in March. Despite entering the break with a 1-1 draw against Hoffenheim, the Blues have failed to win any of their last 10 matchups within 90 minutes and have not record a Bundesliga victory since the 17th of January. Now in a real battle to try and secure another European finish this year, Head Coach David Wagner has also seen his side continue to struggle while away from the VELTINS-Arena. Including a woeful 3-0 hammering away at Koln in their last away fixture, the Blues have failed to win any of their last six Bundesliga matches on their travels, their worst run since May 2015. Ahead of their cros…

Chelsea cruised into the Europa League quarter-finals as Olivier Giroud s hat-trick helped secure a resounding 5-0 win over Dynamo Kiev at the Olympic Stadium on Thursday.

The Blues travelled to Ukraine with a commanding 3-0 lead from the first leg in London a week ago and any faint hopes that Alyaksandr Khatskevich s side had of clawing their way back into the tie were extinguished by Giroud s fifth-minute opener.  

The Frenchman added a second shortly after the half-hour mark before Marcos Alonso tapped in a third just before the interval.

Giroud completed his hat-trick in the 59th minute and Callum Hudson-Odoi added a fifth 12 minutes from time as Maurizio Sarri s side made it four wins from their last five games in all competitions.

3 Olivier Giroud…

Joel Matip thinks struggling Liverpool must go back to their successful roots in order to reverse their underwhelming start to the season.

Jurgen Klopp s men won both domestic cups and finished as Premier League and Champions League runners-up last season, but have made a stuttering start to the 2022-23 campaign.

Liverpool were thrashed 4-1 by Napoli in their opening game in Group A last week, the heaviest defeat by a Premier League side in their first game of a Champions League campaign since Arsenal lost 3-0 to Inter in 2003-04.

They have also drawn three and lost one of their six Premier League games so far, and speaking at a news conference on Monday, Matip revealed the players have made it clear to one another that their current standards are unacceptable.<…

Brendan Rodgers has signed a new contract with Leicester City until June 2025, the club have confirmed.

Rodgers was appointed by the Foxes in February and has since overseen 17 wins in 26 Premier League matches.

Leicester have been flying this season and sit second in the table, eight points adrift of unbeaten leaders Liverpool.

Rodgers said: When I made the decision to come to Leicester City, it was because I was excited about the direction the club was taking and how I could apply my experience to the journey. I came here with a purpose to add something to that and to help the club build for the future.

The support I have had from the chairman, Khun Top [Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha]; from the chief executive, Susan Whelan; from the director of football,…

In terms of mentality, he is stronger than anyone else. Every day he finds personal objectives to hit and he can find them within himself, said Allegri, who won the 2011 Scudetto with Milan before joining Juve in 2014.

A player who has won everything he has at the age of 34 will find it difficult to feel hungry, but he is deadly in that sense. He has this determination that is incredible.

We should all learn from Ronaldo, and I too have learned, because it s not everyone who gets to work with the best player in the world.

For example, on Saturday morning we have a game between ranks in training. He has fun, but his fun is winning the game. I explained it to him, and I ve written the same about Ibra in the book, his idea of fun is winning, but I told him not e…

Christophe Galtier was relieved to see his Paris Saint-Germain side bounce back from an average  first half to beat Maccabi Haifa 3-1 in Champions League Group H on Wednesday.

The Ligue 1 champions fell behind to Tiaronn Chery s strike midway through the first half, but they went in at the break level thanks to Lionel Messi s close-range finish.

The Argentinian s goal saw him move clear of long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo as the player to have scored against the highest number of opponents in the Champions League (39).

It also meant he became the first player in history to score in 18 different Champions League seasons.

Kylian Mbappe and Neymar added to Messi s goal in the second half as PSG won their opening two matches in a Champions League campa…

Gareth Southgate says Harry Maguire is one of England s best centre-backs after the defender was named among the Three Lions Qatar 2022 World Cup squad.

The Manchester United captain will head to his third major tournament with the national team, following Russia 2018 and Euro 2020, despite struggling for regular minutes at club level.

One of a dozen players retained from the squad that reached the semi-finals four years ago, Maguire has been a regular for England under Southgate.

That experience in major knockout encounters has helped him keep his spot despite underwhelming for United, with inclusion indicating the strong support Southgate has for his player.

He s one of our best centre-backs, he stated. I think within the squad, we ve got a lot of play…

Liverpool are interested in bringing in Renato Sanches from Lille OSC as a potential replacement for Georginio Wijnaldum, according to French outlet Le10Sport.

Sanches went through the ranks of the academy at Benfica, and earned his first-team promotion in 2015. Less than a year later, he was sold to Bayern Munich as an exciting young talent for a reported fee of €35 million, but he never made significant impact for the Bundesliga champions. He spent 2017/18 on loan at Swansea and returned for his final season at the Allianz Arena, after which he was sold to Lille for €20 million. This season the 23-year-old has made 10 appearances for the Ligue 1 side in all competitions, scoring once from his position in central midfield.

Lille are reportedly in a very difficult s…

Alessandro Bastoni, 23, is a player on the rise at Inter, having made his Italy debut in 2020 and winning the Scudetto in 2021.

But the central defender s future with the Nerazzurri is uncertain amid an inability to come to an agreement with the club on a new contract.

Bastoni s contract expires in 2024 and he has been in talks with Inter on a new deal, but two of European football s giants are reportedly circling.

TOP STORY – BASTONI IN PSG AND CITY S SIGHTS

Powerhouse clubs Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City will both attempt to sign Alessandro Bastoni from Inter in the off-season, reports Tuttosport.

The report claims Bastoni has been offered an improved deal by Inter but it does not meet his salary expectations, meaning no agreement ha…

Gregg Berhalter is not speaking to Gareth Southgate – or at least Southgate is not speaking to Berhalter – but the United States head coach knows the huge pressure his England counterpart is under.

Berhalter and Southgate have grown close in recent years as they have led their countries respective national teams, with the USMNT boss describing Southgate as a mentor after the two sides were drawn together at the World Cup.

The outcome of that draw has seen the pair drift apart of late, however, ahead of a meeting between the USMNT and England at Al Bayt Stadium on Friday.

I ve been WhatsApping him, but I haven t seen the blue checkmarks, so I don t know what s going on, Berhalter said with a smile on Thursday.

We kind of took a hiatus. We ll pick up …