Real Madrid duo Marcelo and Thibaut Courtois have hailed Carlo Ancelotti s impact on the side on the eve of their Champions League final clash with Liverpool, with the former saying he is lucky to have worked with the Italian.

Ancelotti has made a stunning impact since returning to the club he led to the 2014 Champions League title, winning LaLiga by a 13-point margin and leading Los Blancos to the showpiece event in Paris against all odds.

Madrid have become the first team to reach the competition s final after losing a game in each of the last 16, quarter-finals, and semi-finals, while Ancelotti could win the trophy for a fourth time as head coach.

That would make the Italian the most successful boss in the competition s history outright, and he has won three …

Hansi Flick conceded Bayern Munich are lacking a few per cent after being bailed out by four-goal hero Robert Lewandowski in their dramatic 4-3 Bundesliga win over Hertha Berlin.

Bundesliga champions Bayern s 32-game unbeaten streak was ended in a shock 4-1 loss to Hoffenheim last week and they nearly dropped two more points on Sunday.

Lewandowski scored either side of half-time to give Bayern a commanding lead, only for Jhon Cordoba and Matheus Cunha to level up for Hertha in an action-packed contest.

Prolific striker Lewandowski completed his hat-trick with five minutes remaining but Jessic Ngankam equalised for the stubborn visitors.

Just when it looked as though Bayern were going to slip up for a second league game running, Lewandowski converted a pen…

Arsenal are interested in signing Ansu Fati from Barcelona in the summer of 2023, according to . The report has claimed that Premier League club Arsenal are ready to make a move for 20-year-old Spain international forward if Barcelona decide to sell him at the end of the season for FFP reasons.

Fati has been on the books of Barcelona since 2012 and is now part of the former La Liga and UEFA Champions League winners first-team squad. The Spain international forward has made seven starts and 12 substitute appearances in La Liga for Xavi s side so far this campaign, scoring three goals and providing three assists in the process. The youngster has made two starts and four substitute appearances in the UEFA Champions League for Barca so far this campaign.

Barcelona are at th…

Jurgen Klopp warned his Liverpool team they can throw away all hopes of Premier League title glory if they show signs of weakness over Christmas.

A strong start to the season has seen Liverpool gain a firm foothold in the title race, even if Klopp refuses to see it as such a battle at this relatively early stage of the campaign.

After 14 games, Liverpool have a healthy 31 points and sit two points behind leaders Chelsea and one shy of Manchester City, with fourth-placed West Ham seven points further back.

It looks like a long run to the finish line for the top three, and Reds manager Klopp wants his team to keep their focus during a testing run of games, starting with Saturday s trip to Wolves.

A healthy start to December saw Liverpool win 4-1 at struggli…

Paul Pogba believes Manchester United stars are no longer cheating each other by expecting others to work hard, a change that is propelling their title charge.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer s side will return to the top of the Premier League if they beat Sheffield United at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

At this stage of 2019-20, the Red Devils were eighth in the table and 24 points behind leaders Liverpool, but they have gained an extra 12 points from the same number of games this term.

Pogba has been key to their recent run of 10 wins and three draws from their past 13 Premier League matches, having recovered form and fitness following time out with coronavirus.

Since December, he is in the top three United players for completed passes, tackles, interceptions, dribb…

Former Milan and Italy head coach Arrigo Sacchi believes Napoli are capable of reaching the Champions League semi-finals following their blistering start to the season.

Luciano Spalletti s side have raced to the Serie A summit with 23 points from their opening nine matches, scoring a league-high 22 goals along the way.

The Partenopei have also netted 17 times on the way to qualifying for the Champions League knockout stages with two games to spare for the first time in their history.

Napoli lifted the UEFA Cup in the 1988-89 season and reached the 2014-15 Europa League semi-finals, but are yet to progress beyond the last 16 of Europe s premier club competition.

However, Sacchi, who won successive European Cups with Milan in 1989 and 1990, is confident Spa…

Manchester City goalkeeper Zack Steffen was one of the notable omissions from the United States 26-man World Cup squad confirmed by head coach Gregg Berhalter on Wednesday.

Chelsea s Christian Pulisic, Juventus Weston McKennie, Milan s Sergino Dest and Leeds United pair Brenden Aaronson and Tyler Adams were all included in the squad which is in Group B alongside Wales, England and Iran.

Steffen, who is on loan at Championship club Middlesbrough from City, missed out with Matt Turner, Sean Johnson and Ethan Horvath preferred as the three goalkeepers.

Fulham defender Tim Ream along with Turkey-based forward Haji Wright have also been included, while exciting 19-year-old striker Ricardo Pepi has missed out, along with Paul Arriola and Jordan Pefok.

Final ro…

Jose Mourinho declared the Europa Conference League as Roma s Champions League ahead of the final against Feyenoord, while he cannot visualise retiring.

Roma face Eredivisie side Feyenoord in the inaugural Europa Conference League showpiece in Tirana on Wednesday..

The Eternal City giants are already guaranteed to play Europa League football next season, having secured a top-six finish in Serie A with one game to play.

Mourinho has Champions League titles to his name from his time at Porto and Inter, alongside a Europa League crown with Manchester United.

The Portuguese coach is determined to get on his hands on another European trophy. 

I am a coach with a certain history and Roma are a big club, he told UEFA s Italian website. I did feel …

Chelsea could offload Mykhailo Mudryk in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that Chelsea are looking to sign Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise, and that has it has led to questions about the future of Mudryk.

The report has claimed that Chelsea have had preliminary talks over a potential deal for Olise. If the former Premier League and UEFA Champions League winners are able to bring in the Palace star, then they could be willing to offload one of the wingers they already have, and that could be Mudryk.

Mudryk has been on the books of Chelsea since January 2023 when he joined from Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk. The 23-year-old has failed to make a huge impact at Stamford Bridge and is not guaranteed a place in the starting lineup. In 46…

Everton have confirmed the loan signing of Jack Harrison, who has re-joined the club from Leeds United.

Harrison spent the 2023-24 campaign on loan with the Toffees, featuring 29 times in the Premier League as Sean Dyche s team stayed up despite having a total of eight points deducted due to breaches of financial regulations.

The 27-year-old scored three goals, from an expected goals (xG) of 3.6, while also laying on three assists, creating 28 chances in total for his team-mates.

On Monday, Everton announced they had struck a deal with Leeds, who lost to Southampton in the Championship play-off final in May, for Harrison to return to Goodison Park for the upcoming campaign.

Dyche told Everton s official website: We re pleased Jack will be returning to our…