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Looking to finish off the job in midweek, Juventus will welcome Inter Milan to Turin on Tuesday night with a spot in the final of this year s Coppa Italia up for grabs.
Juventus
Starting with the hosts, despite that 2-0 loss away at Inter Milan while on Serie A duties last month, the defending champions have managed to bounce back in some style. Enjoying what has been arguably their brightest spell under former Italian icon Andrea Pirlo, the Old Lady put in another eye-catching display over the weekend. Now with their sights set on trying to mount a late charge to defend their Italian crown, Juve picked up a deserved 2-0 win against Roma on home soil and the mood in their camp should be at a real high. Enjoying a six-match winning run …
UEFA s new star-studded football board has called for a rethink on the refereeing of handball offences in an intervention that could lead to fewer penalties and red cards.
A panel featuring Fabio Capello, Jurgen Klinsmann, Ronald Koeman, Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane made a range of recommendations after its inaugural meeting in Nyon, Switzerland.
The group also called for referees to get tougher with diving players by being more decisive in dealing with those who attempt to gain free-kicks or penalties through con tricks.
UEFA, which is European football s governing body, said discussions were engaging and constructive as the elite board considered the Laws of the Game, which are set by the International Football Association Board (IFAB).
Also attending …
Anfield’s long goodbye to Jurgen Klopp began with a comfortable 5-2 FA Cup fourth round victory over Norwich.
The Liverpool boss, who on Friday announced his departure at the end of the season, sat in contemplative mood as the Kop belted out ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ before kick-off.
It was followed up in the first minute by a rendition of ‘I’m so glad that Jurgen is a Red’ but the German will have been pleased the focus swung to on the pitch action immediately afterwards as, with the battle continuing on four fronts, there is plenty of football still to play.
Klopp does not want his final four months to be an indulgent love-in and his players got the message as they saw off their spirited Championship opponents – managed by Klopp’s good friend …
West Bromwich Albion are ready to raid their rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers in a bid to sign Bakary Sako, .
The winger has been at Molineux since the summer of 2012, and has played for them over a hundred times in all competitions, scoring thirty goals.
He was one of the Midlands clubs’ stand out performers in their League One winning 2013/14 campaign, and has continued his fine form this campaign with seven strikers in twenty-five games.
Internationally, he has been capped eleven times for Mali and was part of their squad for the recent Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Equatorial Guinea.
West Brom made a £2m bid for the former Saint Etienne man on transfer deadline day, but that was rejected out of hand by Wolves who are looking to return to t…
Sylvain Ripoll has been sacked by Lorient with the club rooted to the bottom of the Ligue 1 table.
Ripoll replaced long-serving coach Christian Gourcuff in 2014 and led the club to finishes of 16th and 15th in his two seasons at the helm.
Lorient have secured wins over Lille and Lyon this term, but suffered an eighth top-flight defeat in 10 matches when they went down 1-0 at Dijon on Saturday.
Ripoll has subsequently been dismissed from his role, with a replacement yet to be named.
FC Lorient has decided to relieve Sylvain Ripoll of his position. Additional information on the organisation of the club will be announced later, an official club statement read.
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According to Leeds United do not plan to sell Raphinha in the summer of 2021 amid interest from Liverpool and Manchester United. Premier League giants Liverpool and United have been impressed by the performances of the 24-year-old winger, but Leeds, who won automatic promotion from the Championship at the end of last season, have no intention of cashing in on him.
The report has added that Raphinha himself is very happy at Leeds and is not pushing for a move away from Elland Road at the end of the season. The 24-year-old joined Leeds from Rennes in the summer of 2020 and has established himself as an important player in the team.
According to , Raphinha has made 18 starts and three substitute appearances in the Premier League for Leeds so far this season, scoring five …
Lionel Messi fired Paris Saint-Germain back to the Ligue 1 summit as his early goal secured a 1-0 win over Lyon.
Despite PSG dominating possession for long stretches at Groupama Stadium, Christophe Galtier s side had to fend off a determined Lyon in the second half to take maximum points.
PSG s win means they leapfrog Marseille at the top of the table after extending their winning streak to six matches across all competitions.
Defeat for Lyon ended their run of eight straight league victories on home soil – the longest span in the big five European leagues.
5 Lionel Messi and Neymar have given each other five assists in Ligue 1 this season, more than any other duo. Bromance.
— OptaJean (@OptaJean)
PSG took the lead after just fiv…
Everton have completed the signing of Ivory Coast international Arouna Kone from Wigan Athletic for an undisclosed fee, .
The striker, who becomes Roberto Martinez’s first new signing since he himself arrived from Wigan last month, has put pen to paper on a three year deal at Goodison Park having passed a medical over the weekend.
The 29 year old scored eleven goals in thirty-four league appearances last season, though he was unable to save the Latics from relegation to the Championship.
He also scored twice on the clubs route to Wembley, where they lifted the FA Cup after beating Manchester City in the final.
Newcastle United had also matched the players release clause, though he opted to again link up with Martinez, who brought him to England twe…
La Liga giants Atletico Madrid have agreed to sign Argentine midfielder Jose Sosa from Metalist Kharkiv, according to the player s official representative.
Agent Ezequiel Manera revealed via his Twitter account that los Colchoneros will sign the Argentine on loan until the end of the season with an option to buy.
Jose Sosa will play for Atletico on loan for the following months with an option for them to then buy him, Manera tweeted.
Los Colchoneros had been looking for midfield reinforcements in an attempt to keep their La Liga title bid alive and they appear to have secured the first signing of the winter transfer window.
Jose Ernesto Sosa began his career at Estudiantes and enjoyed spells with Bayern Munich and Napoli before joining Metalist in the s…
Mario Balotelli has decided to remain at Nice for the 2018-19 Ligue 1 season.
Balotelli was tipped to depart in the transfer window and was linked with French rivals Marseille, with head coach Patrick Vieira revealing it was unlikely the Italy international forward would remain at the Allianz Riviera.
However, the 28-year-old who has missed the opening two games of the new season through suspension will remain with Nice, where he has scored 33 league goals since arriving from Liverpool in 2016.
The decision has been taken. After careful consideration, Mario #Balotelli has decided to stay at @ogcnice_eng, Nice announced via Twitter.
The Italian international expressed his wishes to the directors. There will be a third season for the forward. The ag…