Jurgen Klopp knows how desperate Lionel Messi and Barcelona are to win the Champions League but insists Liverpool are ready to stop them achieving their goal this season.
Messi and the Blaugrana were last European champions in 2015 and have since seen rivals Real Madrid win the title for three consecutive seasons.
Madrid, who defeated Liverpool in last season s final, were knocked out by Ajax this term, with Barca the lone LaLiga representative left standing in the final four of the competition.
Ahead of the first leg at Camp Nou, Klopp acknowledged the threat of a motivated Messi – as well his team-mates yet believes Liverpool have the same desire for success.
It s not only about Messi, but of course it is about him as well, Klopp told a news conferen…
The Mauro Icardi contract saga has taken another turn, with Inter Milan sporting director Piero Ausilio claiming that he s set to sign a new deal any day now. His current deal is set to run out in 2021, but as Ausilio told Sky Italia, they re eager to renegotiate the terms in order to ensure he remains at the San Siro. This would be a huge, huge moment in Inter s season if they can pull this off, if only because of just how valuable Icardi has proven himself to be with the Italian club.
At the age of 25, Icardi already feels like a guy who has been around for years courtesy of his phenomenal goalscoring form. He arrived at Inter back in 2013 when he made the jump over from Sampdoria, and over the years it s been clear to see that he was made for Italian football and he was mad…
Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi insists the club never approached Zinedine Zidane with an offer to become coach, as he confirmed interest in appointing Nice s Christophe Galtier.
Zidane has been strongly linked with PSG since leaving his post as Real Madrid boss last year, particularly as Mauricio Pochettino struggled to meet the lofty targets set by club owners Qatar Sports Investments.
Pochettino missed out on the 2020-21 Ligue 1 title after taking charge midway through the season, and although he led a star-studded collection of players to the French title the following campaign, he is widely expected to be dismissed after another disappointing Champions League effort.
Pochettino has been under pressure since PSG s dramatic 3-2 aggregate reve…
Alvaro Morata has returned to Atletico Madrid after Juventus failed to strike a deal that would keep the Spaniard in Turin.
Juve signed a loan agreement with Atletico back in September 2020, but the finances of the deal always looked to be on the expensive side.
Although initially a one-year loan agreement worth €10million and with a purchase option of €45m, Juve had the right to extend the temporary stay by another season for an extra €10m, which would bring the release clause down to €35m.
But Juve had reportedly been trying to negotiate the purchase figure down since the end of the season, with stories from Italy suggesting they offered €15m, at least €11m less than Atletico s asking price.
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Ukraine boosted their chances of reaching the Euro 2020 knockout phase with a 2-1 victory over North Macedonia on Thursday.
Andriy Yarmolenko scored the opener and set up Roman Yaremchuk to make it 2-0 in a dominant first-half display from Andriy Shevchenko s side in Bucharest.
North Macedonia, beaten by Austria on matchday one, improved after the break and pulled a goal back through Ezgjan Alioski after the Leeds United man saw his penalty saved.
Ruslan Malinovskiy also erred from the spot, meaning as many have been missed at this tournament (four) as in the whole of Euro 2016, but it did not cost Ukraine an important three points in Group C.
Ukraine carried a threat from the off, Stole Dimitrievski saving from Malinovskiy and Yarmolenko, while Stefa…
Robert Lewandowski believes the scheming that has pushed him to the brink of joining Barcelona will be worth any upset it has caused.
After hitting 50 goals across all competitions for Bayern Munich last season, Lewandowski is on the brink of ending his eight-year spell with the Bundesliga champions.
It emerged that Lewandowski wanted to leave as Bayern wrapped up their 10th consecutive German league title.
The 33-year-old Poland international spoke of his clear desire to move on, a year before the end of his contract, and such straight talking left no doubt that he considered his time in Bavaria to be over.
It left Bayern needing to negotiate the best possible deal with Barcelona, and it was confirmed on Saturday that a fee has been agreed, reported to…
Mauricio Pochettino admitted Christian Eriksen s future is largely beyond Tottenham s control as transfer speculation intensifies around the playmaker.
Denmark international Eriksen, 26, is a free agent at the end of next season and talks over a contract extension have reportedly stalled.
Barcelona and Real Madrid are considered the frontrunners should he decide to leave London.
Eriksen has blossomed into one of the Premier League s most influential players since arriving from Ajax in 2013 and his departure would be seen as a significant setback for Tottenham.
I m not a person that suffers too much in this sort of situation, Pochettino told a news conference.
Football is dynamic; it s about interests the manager sometimes can t manage.
…
Boudewijn Zenden says Guus Hiddink must restore last season s title-winning mindset in the Chelsea players if his interim spell in charge is to be a success.
Hiddink was appointed on Saturday following the departure of Jose Mourinho, who had overseen what has so far been a dismal defence of their Premier League title.
Chelsea are a lowly 15th in the table, just three points above the relegation zone despite Saturday s 3-1 win over second-bottom Sunderland.
Hiddink, who led Chelsea to FA Cup success during an interim spell in 2009, is the man tasked with pulling the London club away from trouble and sustaining a challenge in the Champions League, where they have again been pitted against Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16.
The 69-year-old left his rol…
Antoine Griezmann said France must learn from their shock 2-0 defeat to Finland ahead of a showdown with Portugal on Saturday.
The world champions 12-match unbeaten run came to a halt in a friendly at Stade de France on Wednesday following goals from 21-year-old debutants Marcus Forss and Onni Valakari in the space of three first-half minutes.
Victory for Finland was their first against Les Bleus in nine attempts, but it could have been a different story in Paris, where Didier Deschamps side failed to capitalise on a bright start.
Marcus Thuram, making his full international bow, headed against the crossbar and volleyed off target when unmarked from close range before Finland took the lead.
Deschamps made eight changes to the side that started in a win …
Burnley have brought in Chelsea fringe man Danny Drinkwater on a temporary deal until January 6, 2020.
Drinkwater played a central role in Leicester City s incredible Premier League title success in 2015-16, before joining Chelsea for a reported £35million in 2017.
However, the England international made just five league starts in his first season at Stamford Bridge and then failed to make a single top-flight appearance under Maurizio Sarri last term.
Sarri s departure has not seen Drinkwater handed a second chance at Chelsea, though, as he has instead departed for Burnley.
However, Drinkwater s hopes of a future at Stamford Bridge do not appear to be completely over, as his switch to Burnley is only until January, suggesting he could play a part for Che…