Pep Guardiola was pleased with the performance of his midfielders in the 1-1 draw with Newcastle United, but knows he must find solutions in Rodri s absence.
Rodri ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal last week and his unavailability proved costly last season, with City losing three of the four league matches in which he did not feature.
Of the 50 matches Rodri played in all competitions for City last term, Guardiola s side won 38 and only lost once, but they lost four of the nine games he missed.
Rico Lewis and Mateo Kovacic formed City s central pairing against Newcastle on Saturday and Guardiola believes he has the quality in his ranks to plug the gap.
I know you are going to ask me all the time, but he [Rodri] is not t…
Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri has revealed his respect for Roma counterpart Jose Mourinho, declaring it good news for Serie A that the Portuguese boss has returned to Italy.
The experienced pair go head-to-head on Sunday in Turin, with Allegri s men sitting a disappointing seventh in the league standings going into the weekend, four points and three places behind the capital club.
Mourinho returned to take charge of a team in Italy this term for the first time since leaving Inter in 2010, having won Serie A in his first season and a remarkable treble in his second at San Siro.
Allegri believes the presence of such a character can only be positive for the league, despite an incident in 2018 when Mourinho – then managing Manchester United – tau…
Stefano Pioli hailed the mentality and character of his Milan side as they recovered from two goals down to rescue a 2-2 draw in Sunday s Serie A clash with Parma.
The league leaders were heading for a first defeat in 23 league outings since March after Hernani and Jasmin Kurtic put Parma a couple of goals in front.
Milan hit the frame of the goal four times – Hakan Calhanoglu responsible for three of those – and had a goal disallowed for a narrow offside against Samu Castillejo.
But they hit back through Theo Hernandez s brace, the attacking full-back guiding in a header and then firing home in the first minute of added time.
In doing so, he became the first Milan defender to score twice in the competition since Alessandro Nesta in October 2009…
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UEFA Euro 2020 has been a tournament beyond the wildest imagination of most in recent weeks and now, 24 nations have been dwindled down to just four. The semi-final phase of the knockouts is here and with just three games left to be played, many fans still aren t too sure how this whole thing is going to turn out. Today, we re going to take a look at the first of the two semis as Italy prepare to go head to head with Spain at Wembley on Tuesday.
Italy
Roberto Mancini has built an absolute juggernaut of a squad and we should all be very excited about what s to come from them in the next few years. Of course, it s all about taking things one step at a time, beginning with a semi-final that the Italians have…
Claudio Ranieri has been sacked by Watford after their loss to relegation rivals Norwich City left them in the Premier League s drop zone.
Watford went down 3-0 at home to Norwich on Friday, extending their winless run in all competitions to nine games – their worst such stretch since December 2013.
It proved to be the final straw, with Ranieri having only claimed seven points from a possible 39 since taking over from Xisco Munoz in October.
He became Watford s 15th manager since Giampaolo Pozzo bought the club in June 2012 and leaves without having much of an impact.
The club released a statement confirming the news on Monday.
Watford praised the integrity of the 70-year-old, but explained they felt a change was required to give Rani…
Manchester United are underway with a thorough process to appoint a new manager, according to football director John Murtough.
The Red Devils named Ralf Rangnick interim boss until the end of the season after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer left his post in November following a 4-1 defeat to Watford.
Rangnick is set to take on a two-year consultancy role at Old Trafford following 2021-22, although he is not out of the running as a prospective full-time manager.
Paris Saint-Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino and Ajax s Erik ten Hag are two of the other favourites to become the fifth permanent appointment since the retirement of Alex Ferguson in 2013.
Speaking as United announced their financial results for the quarter ending in December 2021, Murtough said: We are no…
Hearts head coach Steven Naismith believes their recent progress and hunger for trophies will give them a chance against Rangers at Hampden after his side booked a Scottish Gas Scottish Cup semi-final place with a 1-0 win over Morton at Cappielow.
Naismith’s side were immediately handed a repeat of their Viaplay Cup semi-final, which Rangers won 3-1 in November, in the draw for the last four.
Hearts are looking to reach their fourth Scottish Cup final in six years, but Naismith and his players are determined to go one better and seal their first triumph in the tournament since 2012.
Naismith said: “Fortunately we have been in a semi-final before this season so we have got to use that. And we will look forward to it, you work hard to get through the rounds to …
Chelsea are interested in signing Luca Netz from Borussia Monchengladbach in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed Chelsea have been scouting the 20-year-old left-back.
Netz is one of the best young left-backs in the Bundesliga and has established himself as a regular in the Monchengladbach first team. The Germany Under-21 international has been on the books of Die Fohlen since 2021 when he joined from Hertha Berlin. The 20-year-old left-back has made 20 starts and two substitute appearances in the Bundesliga this season. He has given three assists in those games.
The youngster made seven starts and 13 substitute appearances in the Bundesliga last season. Netz scored one goal and provided three assists in those games. Back in 2021-22, the lef…
She made her England debut in 2007 and last featured in 2021 as injury ruled her out of the title-winning Euro 2022 squad.
She said on her official website: “There is no easy way to say it, but I am retiring from football at the end of the current WSL season.
“Taking the decision to retire, is such a difficult thing to do. Whilst age comes to every player, it makes it no easier having to say the words out loud. Football has been my life; my passion and I have loved the career I have had.
“I would like to thank every team-mate I have ever played with, I have continued to learn every day and appreciate the support each has given me and the friendships I have made along the way.
What a journey it s been, !
— Manchester City (@ManCity)
…
Jesse Marsch is thrilled to be coaching Canada rather than the United States.
Marsch got one over on his home nation, who he played for twice and was also an assistant coach, as Canada won 2-1 in Kansas City on Saturday.
The friendly victory, which came courtesy of goals from Jacob Shaffelburg and Jonathan David, marked Canada s first success on US soil since 1957.
While USA floundered at this year s Copa America, their 2026 World Cup co-hosts reached the semi-finals under Marsch s guidance, and the former Leeds United and RB Leipzig coach reiterated his happiness that he is in charge of Canada rather than the Stars and Stripes, who are in a state of flux following Gregg Berhalters dismissal.
I d much rather coach Canada than the U.S. right now, Marsch s…