Russian Premier League giants Spartak Moscow were dumped out of the Europa League qualifiers after a shock defeat to Larnaca.
Spartak, quarter-finalists in the competition as recently as 2011 and champions of Russia on 21 occasions, suffered a 1-0 home defeat to last season s runners-up in the Cypriot top flight thanks to Ivan Trickovski s 89th-minute goal.
The result gave Lanarca a 2-1 aggregate victory to send them into Friday s draw for the play-off round.
Lille, who welcomed back Portugal s Euro 2016 hero Eder, were stunned by Azerbaijan outfit Qabala, who sealed a 2-1 aggregate win thanks to a 1-0 victory on home soil.
Filip Ozobic scored the only goal of the game 11 minutes before half-time to send the Ligue 1 side crashing out of European competit…
Former England international Jesse Lingard will leave Nottingham Forest at the end of his contract.
Lingard raised eyebrows when he joined Forest last season following their promotion to the Premier League, turning down West Ham to sign a lucrative one-year deal.
But his time at the City Ground did not work out and he made just 20 appearances in all competitions, scoring two goals in the Carabao Cup.
can confirm its retained list following the conclusion of the 2022/23 campaign.
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC)
He featured just four times in 2023, but was a constant presence on the touchline as Forest beat the odds to retain their Premier League status.
The 30-year-old will now look for a third club in three years, with reports linking him…
Juventus midfielder Sami Khedira has been undertaking extra fitness sessions to prepare himself for a potential move to the Premier League.
Knee and abductor injuries forced Khedira, whose contract expires at the end of June, to miss the bulk of last season and he is yet to feature for Juventus under Andrea Pirlo.
The World Cup winner s 25 starts in all competitions since the start of 2018-19 is just one more than he managed in Serie A alone for Juve in 2017-18.
Khedira, who will turn 34 in April, is frustrated by that lack of game time and is hopeful of sealing a move to England, having already won league titles in Germany, Spain and Italy.
It s unusual for me, and I m not satisfied. I m a competitive guy, I want to play. But in the meantime, I ve adjus…
Brentford striker Igor Thiago suffered a meniscus injury during their pre-season victory over AFC Wimbledon last Saturday.
Thiago, who officially joined Brentford at the start of July from Club Brugge for a club-record £31million fee, scored twice on his debut for Thomas Frank s side.
However, his promising debut was overshadowed by the injury which was confirmed by the club on Thursday.
Thiago will be unavailable for Brentford s second pre-season game against Benfica, and will have further scans next week to determine the extent of the injury.
Club Statement: Igor Thiago suffers meniscus injury
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC)
It serves as a significant blow for the Bees, having seen Thiago score 18 goals in 34 appearances to lead Club…
Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel refuses to change his playing style to suit striker Romelu Lukaku, insisting we cannot just play like Inter .
Lukaku caused a stir in a controversial interview released on Thursday and Friday, which was initially recorded three weeks ago, as he expressed his unhappiness with his current status at Chelsea.
He also spoke glowingly of former head coach Antonio Conte, who he worked with at Inter, while revealing he would like to return to the Serie A outfit one day.
Tuchel punished Lukaku for his comments by dropping him from his squad to face Liverpool before the pair held talks on Monday and they looked to put the matter aside the following day.
Lukaku has since come out to apologise to all involved at Chelsea, perhaps much…
Barcelona s iconic defender Carles Puyol is the toughest opponent Roberto Soldado has gone up against during his time in LaLiga.
Former Valencia and Tottenham striker Soldado sealed a return to Spain s top flight in July, signing with newly promoted Granada following two seasons at Fenerbahce.
Soldado came through the ranks at Real Madrid, spending time at Osasuna and Getafe before excelling for Valencia, later joining Villarreal after a difficult two-season spell at Spurs.
The 34-year-old singled out Barca and Spain great Puyol, who retired in 2014, as the most difficult match-up he has faced – even going so far as to describe their contests as a “war”.
I would say Puyol is the one who has made me suffer the most, Soldado said, courtesy of LaLig…
Massimiliano Allegri hailed Nicolo Fagioli s great quality after the young Juventus midfielder hit a stunning goal to earn a 1-0 victory at Lecce.
If head coach Allegri was feeling mounting pressure during a tense, largely drab game at the Stadio Via del Mare, that was lifted at least briefly when substitute Fagioli whipped a brilliant strike past Wladimiro Falcone.
The 73rd-minute winner means Juventus have strung together three consecutive victories and clean sheets in Serie A for the first time since February 2021.
Those wins have come against Torino, Empoli and Lecce, rather than the elite, but with Juventus mired in injury trouble any win is welcome just now as they cling to top-four aspirations.
They are heading out of the Champions League and may …
Galatasaray are interested in signing Liverpool left-back Yasser Larouci in the summer of 2021, according to . The 20-year-old is out of contract at the defending Premier League champions at the end of the season, and the Turkish giants reportedly want to secure his services on a free transfer.
Larouci has been on the books of Liverpool since 2017 when he joined from Le Havre. The 20-year-old has made only two competitive appearances for the Reds, and it is unlikely that he will add to his tally. Andy Robertson is the first-choice left-back at Liverpool, while Kostas Tsimikas is his back-up.
It would make sense for Larouci to find a new club where he can play regularly. There is no point in the 20-year-old just playing for the Under-23 side and not playing competitive …
Last season s beaten finalists Liverpool come up against the might of Paris Saint-Germain as the Champions League returns to mouth-watering action on Tuesday.
Anfield will be rocking for the arrival of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe as Jurgen Klopp s side look to get off to a flier in a tricky group, which also contains Napoli and Red Star Belgrade.
Tottenham and Inter will both be aiming to put testing league campaigns behind them when they do battle at San Siro with Harry Kane on course to join an elite group while in Group B s other game PSV face a daunting trip to Barcelona.
In the night s other standout tie, Radamel Falcao will hope to get one over his former employers as Monaco host Atletico Madrid in Group A.
Champions league is back and we’re hung…
David Beckham has described the role of England manager as a dream job .
The 44-year-old won 115 senior caps for the Three Lions, 58 of which came while he held the captain s armband between 2000 and 2006.
The ex-Manchester United and Real Madrid star decided not to pursue a coaching career after retiring in 2013, with his most recent involvement in football coming through his MLS franchise Inter Miami, who are expected to start life in the United States top tier in 2020.
However, it seems Beckham could be persuaded to try his hand at management if the England job became available.
When asked if he had ever considered managing old club United, he told GQ: I think some people within the FA saw me possibly as a future England manager, just because maybe…