Massimiliano Allegri has denied reports that several Juventus players were angered by his decision to impose a training retreat ahead of Saturday s derby against Torino.
Juventus suffered a humiliating 2-0 defeat at Maccabi Haifa on Tuesday, leaving Allegri s team on the brink of a group-stage exit from the Champions League.
Meanwhile, Juve have taken just 13 points from their first nine matches of the Serie A season, their worst return at this stage of a campaign since 2015-16 (12), and are already 10 points adrift of leaders Napoli.
Bianconeri chairman Andrea Agnelli was forced to reject reports Allegri would be fired following the loss in Israel, after which the Juventus coach revealed the team would hunker down at their Continassa training ground ahead of Sat…
Premier League data dive: Haaland breaks record with another hat-trick, Liverpool´s latest late show
Erling Haaland continued his incredible start to life in the Premier League with a record-setting treble in Manchester City s 6-0 thrashing of Nottingham Forest.
The Norway international made it two hat-tricks in the space of five days – and a perfect one at that, with his right foot, left foot and head – in City s latest statement victory.
Meanwhile, Liverpool left it late to see off Newcastle United 2-1 at Anfield.
There were goals and drama elsewhere on Wednesday, too, and Stats Perform unpacks the pick of the data.
Manchester City 6-0 Nottingham Forest: Haaland makes history
Haaland now has nine goals in five Premier League games since joining City from Borussia Dortmund – the best start of any player in the competition s history at this…
Pat Noonan believes being able to win in different ways has been the key to FC Cincinnati s fine run of form, as the Orange and Blue look to make it eight straight victories against Nashville SC on Wednesday.
Cincinnati have won their last seven league games to surge up the Eastern Conference standings, and they currently sit just one point adrift of leaders Inter Miami with a game in hand.
They overcame fellow high-fliers Toronto FC by a 4-3 scoreline in a thriller last time out, and Noonan has praised his players for being adaptable in the face of different challenges.
It s hard to win in this league and it s hard to win consecutively like we ve done, Noonan said.
I think what we re able to do is adapt in games and win in different ways. When we nee…
Liverpool are in the driving seat of their Champions League semi-final against Villarreal after a 2-0 win at Anfield on Wednesday.
A game that was never likely to match the excitement of Tuesday s seven-goal thriller between Manchester City and Real Madrid finally came to life in the second half as an own goal from Pervis Estupinan and a Sadio Mane strike sealed a strong first-leg advantage for the Reds.
Unai Emery s side defended resolutely for much of the game, managing to get to half-time goalless, but they were ultimately undone by some typically fast attacking from Jurgen Klopp s team in the second half.
This was Liverpool s 12th European Cup or Champions League semi-final, with no English side playing in the final four more often (level with Manchester Unit…
Dani Ceballos acknowledged Spain were made to suffer before sealing their place at Euro 2020 with a dramatic 1-1 draw in Sweden.
Marcus Berg s 50th-minute opener and an abductor injury for David de Gea looked set to add up to a frustrating outing for Robert Moreno s men on Tuesday.
But Valencia striker Rodrigo Moreno came off the bench to poach a stoppage-time equaliser and make certain of qualification for next year s European Championship.
Spain were on the receiving end of a similar fightback when Norway snatched a 1-1 draw in their previous match and Arsenal playmaker Ceballos – who operated at the tip of a midfield diamond during an impressive opening – noted improvement in Stockholm.
¡¡CLASIFICADOS!!
¡¡Disputaremos la el próximo ve…
Atletico Madrid twice fought back from behind to earn a point in an entertaining 2-2 draw with Villarreal in their LaLiga season opener on Monday.
Forward Arnaut Danjuma gave the hosts an 18th-minute lead but Atletico hit back within two minutes as Marcos Llorente capped a lightning counterattack.
Diego Simeone s team fell behind for the second time when Jan Oblak failed to claim a deep cross in the 37th minute, with the ball deflecting off the back of captain Koke and into the net.
But forward Alexander Sorloth, making his Atletico debut following an outstanding 2023-24 season with Villarreal, came back to haunt the Yellow Submarine with a second equaliser.
Sorloth, who finished one goal shy of LaLiga s Golden Boot winner Artem Dovbyk last term, scored w…
Hansi Flick wants Barcelona to adopt a more direct approach during his first season in charge, though the German will not sacrifice the Blaugrana s tiki-taka principles.
Former Bayern Munich and Germany boss Flick was named as Xavi s replacement in May, after Barca finished a distant second to rivals Real Madrid in LaLiga.
Flick s Bayern side were known for their aggressive approach in and out of possession, winning a Bundesliga and Champions League double under him in 2019-20.
Between Flick s appointment in November 2019 and his exit in June 2021, Bayern averaged the highest possession share in the Bundesliga (62.55%) and won the ball in the final third 489 times, 172 clear of Borussia Dortmund, who were second by that metric (317).
They also led the way…
Manchester City recovered from two goals down at half-time to defeat Tottenham 4-2 at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday and close the gap on Premier League leaders Arsenal.
Spurs took advantage of some poor City defending – with Ederson in particular at fault – through goals from Dejan Kulusevski and Ederson Royal just before the interval.
But City s response was just as swift as they were level eight minutes into the second half thanks to Julian Alvarez and Erling Haaland, who ended his mini goal drought.
City survived a scare when Perisic hit the post, but Riyad Mahrez put them ahead and added another late on to move his side within five points of Arsenal, who have a game in hand.
5 Manchester City have now avoided defeat in each of the last five Premi…
Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe said he was not really looking for positives but instead for a response after his side s 3-0 loss at Aston Villa.
OIlie Watkins continued his superb form for Villa as Unai Emery s team claimed a fifth straight Premier League win on Saturday.
Third-placed Newcastle were second-best throughout at Villa Park, with Villa leading the way in shots (15 to eight), attempts on target (six to two) and expected goals (1.87 to 0.57). Indeed, the hosts also hit the woodwork twice and had a goal disallowed.
It snapped a five-game winning streak for Newcastle, who suffered their heaviest defeat in the league since losing 5-0 to Manchester City in May of last year.
With a home game against top-four rivals Tottenham next up, Howe wants …
Atlanta United interim head coach Rob Valentino is hoping to get off to a positive start when they welcome Houston Dynamo to the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Atlanta announced on June 3 that they had parted ways with Gonzalo Pineda, with Valentino stepping into his shoes with the Five Stripes sitting 13th in the Eastern Conference.
They have won just one of their last 11 matches in the MLS – beating Inter Miami 3-1 – but defeat to Charlotte FC last time out spelt the end for Pineda.
I want to get back to that enjoyment, Valentino said. How we can find that every day, on and off the field and shared success.
When you look at teams and organisations, it is not one person s fault, it is shared in terms of where we are. There is that responsibility and accoun…