Van Dijk: No losers in battle for Ballon d´Or

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone could not hide the enthusiasm brought on by Saturday s 1-0 win over Barcelona, though he dismissed the idea that he can see similarities with his 2013-14 title-winning team.

Los Colchoneros produced a solid display at the Wanda Metropolitano to defeat Ronald Koeman s misfiring Barca and go up to second in LaLiga, only behind Real Sociedad – who have played a game more – by virtue of scoring two goals fewer.

That victory extended Atletico s unbeaten run to 24 games in LaLiga and opened up a nine-point gap between themselves and Barca.

With defending champions Real Madrid also failing to inspire much confidence, having rarely impressed this season and been held by Villarreal earlier on Saturday, Atletico look like many people…

Antonio Conte praised the attacking display of his Inter side in their 5-2 win over Benevento but conceded they must find the right balance after conceding two more goals.

Inter followed up their dramatic 4-3 victory over Fiorentina on the opening weekend of the Serie A season with another high-scoring win in Wednesday s clash at Stadio Ciro Vigorito.

Romelu Lukaku got the ball rolling inside 28 seconds and doubled his tally after Roberto Gagliardini had put the visitors 2-0 up.

Achraf Hakimi enjoyed an impressive debut and was also on the scoresheet, as was Barcelona-linked striker Lautaro Martinez, with Gianluca Caprari netting twice for Benevento.

Inter s return of nine goals from their opening two top-flight matches is the most they have managed si…

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has backed Jadon Sancho to come good after a slow start with the club.

The 21-year-old has made five appearances for Untied since signing from Borussia Dortmund for around £73million after a high-profile transfer pursuit that lasted over a year.

England international Sancho arrived to huge fanfare, though he is yet to register a goal or assist going into Sunday s Premier League trip to West Ham.

A frustrating start for Sancho continued when he was sacrificed in the first half of Tuesday s Champions League loss to Young Boys, the winger taken off as part of a reshuffle when Aaron Wan-Bissaka was sent off.

Solskjaer, though, insists nothing has changed in his evaluation of Sancho, who he feels can be a top forwar…

Bayern Munich s preparations for their Club World Cup campaign may not have been ideal but head coach Hansi Flick will not use a seven-hour travel delay as an excuse against Al Ahly. 

Bayern boarded a plane for Doha immediately after Friday s 1-0 victory over Hertha Berlin but did not depart until the following morning after their clearance for take-off was denied. 

The European champions eventually left for the Middle East on Saturday morning and were unable to train when arriving at their destination. 

Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge hit out at the local authorities in Berlin for mucking about  ahead of Monday s semi-final against Al Ahly. 

However, Flick s squad were able to train on the eve of the game and the Bayern boss is ready for�…

As football fans in the United Kingdom awoke bleary eyed to take in the Premier League story of the season, one word stood out in the statement announcing Jose Mourinho s appointment as Tottenham s head coach – a ghost of hubris past.

I am excited to be joining a club with such a great heritage and such passionate supporters, Mourinho said.

Heritage. Football heritage.

This was the subject of Mourinho s self-pitying soliloquy in the aftermath of Manchester United s limp Champions League last-16 exit at the hands of Sevilla in March 2018.

A much-trumpeted union that returned two trophies in its first season was going south and Mourinho tried to circle the wagons.

During a 12-minute address where heritage was mentioned 10 times, his general point…

Joao Felix is heading back to Atletico Madrid with Chelsea choosing not to retain the Portugal winger following his loan deal, according to the Spanish club’s president Enrique Cerezo.

Felix, 23, joined Chelsea on loan in January for the remainder of the 2022-23 campaign and went on to score four goals in 20 appearances for the Blues.

On Monday, after a difficult campaign in which they finished a lowly 12th in the Premier League, Chelsea announced the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino as their new head coach.

And, as reported by Marca, Cerezo said of Felix: “The truth is that I can’t tell you the plan with Joao.

“It’s the news we had yesterday, that the new coach doesn’t have him for Chelsea. We don’t have anything planned yet, Joao is an A…

Wesley Fofana was left out of the Leicester City squad for Saturday s game against Southampton amid ongoing transfer interest from Chelsea.

The Blues have reportedly seen several advances for the Frenchman rebuffed, with Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers insistent the club do not want to sell the defender.

Speaking in Friday s press conference, Rodgers reiterated the club s stance has not changed and Fofana is not for sale.

The idea is that he is very much a Leicester player. He s not for sale. Unless anything changes, I would expect him to be here, Rodgers said.

The 21-year-old Fofana is reportedly keen to secure a move to Stamford Bridge though. With that distraction a factor, he was not included for the visit of Saints on Saturday.

Fofana play…

Speaking to the press ahead of his team s trip to Burnley on Sunday, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that the club are in talks with James Milner over extending the experienced midfielder s contract.

Year after year, many expect Milner to start slowing down, but the 36-year-old remains among the fittest players in the league. Having joined Liverpool in the summer of 2015 from Manchester City as a free agent, he s made a total of 273 appearances for the Merseysiders in all competitions so far, scoring 26 goals and producing 44 assists. His contribution to everything Klopp s team have achieved in the last couple of years can hardly be exaggerated, especially in 2016-17 when he admirably filled the role of left-back for the whole season.

Even though his contra…

Vincent Kompany insisted Burnley were not getting the rewards their performances deserve after they slumped to a top-flight record sixth straight home defeat to start the season, losing 2-0 to Crystal Palace at Turf Moor.

A mistake from Jordan Beyer allowed Jeffrey Schlupp to put Palace in front in the 22nd minute and, despite dominating the ball and having 16 shots to Palace’s four, Burnley could not find an equaliser before Tyrick Mitchell doubled the visitors’ lead in stoppage time.

Defeat means Burnley are off the bottom of the table on goal difference alone, having already played a third of their home fixtures without reward.

When they suffered relegation in 2021-22, Burnley lost eight home games all season, but could conceivably reach that number before…

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp described Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti is a  role model and  one of the best people you can ever meet .

Los Blancos and Liverpool meet at the Stade de France in the Champions League final on Saturday in a rematch of the 2018 showpiece match, as both look to add to their storied European history.

Klopp and Ancelotti, who is the only coach in history to have won all of Europe s big five leagues, are going up against each other for the 11th time as managers, having first met in 2014 when Borussia Dortmund took on Madrid.

The head-to-head record is tilted in favour of the Italian, with four wins against Klopp s three, with a further three draws, including two during Ancelotti s time on Merseyside with Everton.

Indeed,…