Antonio Rudiger has given his backing to under-fire Chelsea manager Antonio Conte as the Italian s future at Stamford Bridge remains unclear.
Conte marked his debut season in charge by winning the Premier League in 2016-17 but Chelsea s title defence fell well short, with a fifth-placed finish seeing them miss out on the Champions League.
The capital club did still secure silverware by lifting the FA Cup, beating Manchester United 1-0 in the final, but that has not stopped speculation over Conte s position.
Former Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri has long been linked with Chelsea, while media speculation has suggested Laurent Blanc is also a strong candidate to take charge.
I think everyone knows [Conte] is a very good coach, tactically very good, Rudig…
Gabriel Jesus is relishing the opportunity to captain Brazil in their World Cup warm-up fixture against Croatia, with superstar team-mate Neymar set to return.
Manchester City striker Jesus, 21, will wear the captain s armband when Brazil face Croatia in an international friendly at Anfield on Sunday.
Brazil head coach Tite has rotated the captaincy since taking over in 2016 and Jesus is the latest player set to lead the South American giants.
Speaking ahead of the clash on Merseyside – where Neymar will play a part in his return from foot surgery – Jesus told reporters: I was surprised that I was selected to be the captain, but I accepted it normally. A lot of responsibility.
The 21-year-old, who helped record-breaking City win the Premier League in…
Kevin De Bruyne admits he will need to hold himself back as he eases himself into action following a long lay-off.
De Bruyne made his first appearance in five months with an impressive substitute cameo in Manchester City’s 5-0 FA Cup third-round demolition of Championship Huddersfield on Sunday.
The Belgium playmaker was given the last 33 minutes of a one-sided tie at the Etihad Stadium and wasted no time as he set up his side’s fifth goal for another player returning from injury, Jeremy Doku.
Guess who’s back?!
— Kevin De Bruyne (@KevinDeBruyne)
De Bruyne had a hamstring operation in August after being troubled further by a problem that had affected him in the latter stages of last season’s treble-winning campaign.
“I worked…
Switzerland stepped into the World Cup finals in South Africa and made German coach Ottmar Hitzfeld s dream come true on Wednesday with a tense 0-0 draw against Israel in Basel.
After finishing bottom of their group at home in the Euro 2008 finals, renewed Swiss hopes of a second World Cup in succession almost suffered an equally ignominous fate just after Hitzfeld took over the helm a year ago.
Switzerland slumped to a shock 2-1 defeat against lowly Luxembourg in Zurich, but ultimately recovered to win Group 2 by one point with 21 points, having beaten their closest challengers Greece twice.
It s another success for me and a dream being fulfilled, it s a present that Switzerland has given me, Hitzfeld said.
The 60-year-old German, who has been trying t…
Atletico Nacional have moved four points clear at the top of Colombia s Primera A with a 2-1 win over Deportes Quindio.
Fernando Uribe and Wilder Guisao scored just either side of half-time to give Nacional a two-goal lead in front of their home crowd and although Quindio struck in the 59th minute through goalkeeper Julian Viafara, the hosts held on for their fifth straight league victory.
Nacional are top of the Primera A standings, four points clear of Millonarios, who were denied victory when Boyaca Chico struck in second-half injury time to claim a 1-1 draw.
In Medellin, Nacional hit the front in the third minute of first-half stoppage time when Uribe found space on the edge of the area and slotted the ball past Viafara.
It was 2-0 in the 54th minute when Gui…
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has insisted the club will not sell Javier El Chicharito Hernandez when the transfer window reopens in the summer, despite reported interest from Serie A leaders Juventus and Spanish giants Real Madrid, .
Hernandez, 24, has bagged 16 goals and five assists in all competitions for United this season.
However, the Mexico international has not been a regular starter for the Red Devils, and remains behind the likes of Danny Welbeck, Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney on United s depth chart.
Hernandez has started just six Premier League matches this term, while Rooney, Van Persie and Welbeck have started 17, 27 and 11 respectively.
The Mexican striker has scored in 53.5% of his league appearances in 2012-13,…
Jordan Pickford says the approaching anniversary of England s shock defeat to Iceland is not affecting Gareth Southgate s squad ahead of a showdown with Belgium.
Wednesday marks two years to the day that the Three Lions were sensationally dumped out of Euro 2016 in the second round by the major tournament debutants.
Under Southgate, there is a far greater sense of optimism surrounding this youthful England side, who squeezed past Tunisia 2-1 in their Group G opener before swatting aside Panama 6-1 on Sunday to secure a place in the last 16.
A win against Belgium in Kaliningrad on Thursday will see England advance as group winners and Pickford who was not part of the 23 that failed in France says those who were involved will be stronger for that desperate disappoi…
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has downplayed his role in Antoine Griezmann s development, but is keen to help the France international fulfil his potential.
Griezmann has developed into one of the best attackers in the game since joining up with Simeone at Atletico in 2014.
The 25-year-old stressed earlier this week that he is keen to keep working with Simeone and feared the Argentinian would leave for Paris Saint-Germain ahead of this season.
Simeone eventually decided to stay put, though, and he is determined to get the best out of his star attacker.
I don t feel like Griezmann s mentor, I m just his coach who helps him as a footballer and as a person, the Atletico coach said ahead of Wednesday s Champions League encounter with Bayern Munich.
…
Earlier this summer, Real Madrid shocked the world when they announced the signing of then-Frankfurt striker Luka Jovic. The Serbian hitman had been one of the most sought-after players following his brilliant 2018-19 season, and many believed Los Merengues had found their starting striker for the next decade.
Fast forward roughly two months, and there has been a lot of talk regarding a potential loan move away from Real Madrid for Jovic. This is even more shocking if we consider Real Madrid paid €60 million to acquire him. Madrid needed to make that move, however, as several other European giants were on the race to land the Serbia international.
But why is everyone talking about a loan move even when he season has not even started? There are lots of theories. Some s…
Manchester United s pursuit of Bruno Fernandes finally came to fruition when a deal was agreed with Sporting CP on Wednesday, and Red Devils fans should have cause for optimism.
The creative central midfielder is Old Trafford-bound, providing the formalities of a medical and personal terms can be completed, meaning Fernandes will finally join up with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer s side having been linked with a move since the close season.
Midfield has been a problematic area for United this term and would likely have been so even if Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay had not missed time through injuries.
The arrival of Portugal international Fernandes offers hope of going some way to addressing the problem, and here Opta data shows how Fernandes has performed for Sporting…