Jose Mourinho claimed Roma were unlucky in their 4-0 loss at Udinese, insisted Paulo Dybala was the best player on the pitch, and labelled referee Fabio Maresca perfect for the hosts style of play.
Goals from Destiny Udogie, Lazar Samardzic, Roberto Pereyra and Sandi Lovric condemned Roma to their first loss of the campaign on Sunday as Mourinho experienced his heaviest defeat in a Serie A fixture.
Indeed, only once in his managerial career has Mourinho suffered a more comprehensive loss in a domestic league match, going down 5-0 to Pep Guardiola s immense Barcelona side when in charge of Real Madrid in 2010.
Despite the heavy margin of defeat, Roma enjoyed a greater share of possession (56.9 per cent) and recorded more shots (12 to 11) than their hosts, and M…
Celtic clinched the domestic treble with a 3-1 Scottish Cup final win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Hampden Park.
The showpiece occasion was played against the backdrop of mounting speculation around Tottenham’s interest in Hoops boss Ange Postecoglou, who again had Kyogo Furuhashi to thank for his contribution.
The Japan striker struck for the 34th times this season in the 38th minute of an otherwise nondescript first half to undo the good early work of Billy Dodds’ rank outsiders.
1966/67 1968/69 2000/01 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2022/23
A world record EIGHT domestic Trebles for !
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC)
The Championship outfit, who had not played a competitive game for a month, fell further behind when H…
Vinicius Junior has come on leaps and bounds and is proving himself as one of the best players in the world, according to Real Madrid team-mate Dani Carvajal.
The pair are gearing up for Madrid s mouth-watering Champions League semi-final second leg against fellow European heavyweights Bayern Munich, with the tie finely poised at 2-2.
Vinicius scored both goals for Carlo Ancelotti s side in last week s first leg, taking him to 31 goal involvements (16 goals, 15 assists) in the Champions League since the start of the 2021-22 season, more than any other player during that time.
And Carvajal says the strides made by the 23-year-old are evident.
He s improved in every aspect his finishing, physically, his maturity when playing, knowing when it s right to att…
UEFA has confirmed the European Championships in 2020 will be held in 13 different cities across Europe rather than one or two countries.
UEFA staged a press conference on Friday which confirmed indications given by president Michel Platini that the competition would move away from its traditional format.
According to Platini and UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino, there will be maximum of one venue per nation and there are technical specifications for stadia size which limit entries for each stage of the finals.
The 13 countries containing the host cities will not gain automatic qualification into the group stage, but the host nations that do qualify will be spread across the groups in the finals.
Each national association will be permitted to subm…
Thierry Henry feels Juventus have issues from top to bottom and sacking Massimiliano Allegri will not change their fortunes.
A 4-3 defeat to Benfica on Tuesday saw Juve crash out of the Champions League, while they will exit European competition entirely if Maccabi Haifa better their result in the final round of group-stage matches.
The Bianconeri s loss in Lisbon was their third in five games across all competitions, with Allegri s side down in eighth in Serie A and already 10 points behind leaders Napoli.
Juve s first group-stage elimination in the Champions League since 2013-14 increased pressure on Allegri, but former Bianconeri striker Henry believes replacing the coach will not change their situation.
I wouldn t go there. As you know, I m on the ot…
Julian Draxler has ended a near seven-year stay at Paris St Germain after signing for Qatari club Al-Ahli SC on a contract until summer 2025.
The German attacking midfielder moved to the French capital from Bundesliga side Wolfsburg in January 2017 and went on to make 198 appearances, scoring 26 goals and registering 41 assists.
Draxler, capped 58 times by Germany, won 12 trophies with PSG, including four Ligue 1 titles, but he gradually drifted to the margins and spent last season on loan with Portuguese outfit Benfica.
German international Julian Draxler joins Qatari club Al Ahli SC on a permanent transfer.
The club wishes Julian every success for the rest of his career.
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English)
“Al-Ahli Sport…
France s Euro 2020 qualifier with Albania was delayed following a bizarre mix-up with the visitors national anthem at the Stade de France.
Saturday s match was set to kick-off at 20:45 local time in Paris, only for kick-off to be briefly put back when the wrong anthem was played over the stadium tannoy.
Instead of Albania s national song, the anthem of Group H rivals Andorra was aired, much to the frustration of the visiting players and coaching staff, who refused to start proceedings.
The issue was raised with the referee and UEFA officials, with kick-off delayed until after the correct anthem had been played, though the stadium announcer then accidentally apologised to Armenia in another embarrassing moment.
C’est parti pour ce France – Albanie …
Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid: Mourinho´s ´last supper´ and the Copa del Rey final that signalled Lo
It may have been 2am, but Atletico Madrid fans were in no mood to sleep anyway – 15,000 of them showed up at Madrid s Plaza de Neptuno to celebrate Los Colchoneros thrilling Copa del Rey win.
It was so much more than a win, though. It was their first Copa triumph in 21 years, and to top it off, victory came against their great enemy.
When Real Madrid and Atletico tussled at the former s Santiago Bernabeu home on May 17, 2013, Diego Simeone s side had not beaten their bitter rivals since 1999.
But success for Atletico signalled their return as a major force in Spanish football.
They will lock horns in the Copa again on Thursday in their quarter-final at the Bernabeu, and for many supporters, the build-up will evoke memories of that iconic and feisty enco…
Best Odds: 1/1
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In what is a heavyweight Champions League opener on Wednesday night, Bayern Munich will welcome a struggling Manchester United to the Allianz.
Bayern Munich
Starting with the hosts, eventually suffering last-gasp heartbreak over the weekend as they had to settle for a 2-2 stalemate against Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich will be seeking an immediate response here. Nevertheless, despite dropping their first points of the season a few days ago, Thomas Tuchel’s squad have their sights firmly set on mounting a genuine Champions League charge this time around. Unbeaten in each of their opening four Bundesliga appearances this season and opening proceedings on August 18th with a routine 4-0 romp away at Werder Bremen, the former Chelsea bo…
Ethan Ampadu insists he has a lot more to achieve in football as he prepares to become the youngest Welshman to win 50 caps.
Ampadu is set to break Chris Gunter’s record at the tender age of 23 in Thursday’s Euro 2024 play-off semi-final against Finland in Cardiff.
The versatile Leeds player, who can operate at centre-back or in midfield, will reach the 50-cap milestone at the same age as England pair Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen.
“Everyone wants to try and achieve it as quickly as they can,” said Ampadu, who made his Wales debut against France as a 17-year-old in 2017.
“Whether that was by the time I was 23 or 28, just to achieve the milestone itself is a massive achievement. I’m not really too interested on how quick you can do it.
…