Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag feels sorry for Thomas Tuchel following his dismissal as boss of rivals Chelsea.
Tuchel surprisingly parted company with the Blues on Wednesday, just a day on from starting their Champions League campaign with a shock 1-0 loss at Dinamo Zagreb.
An indifferent start to their Premier League campaign that has produced three wins, two defeats and a draw has left Chelsea sixth in the table.
The news came as a surprise to many, though, given Chelsea spent big in the transfer window to sign the likes of Raheem Sterling, Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana, Kalidou Koulibaly and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
1 Just 350 days into his tenure as Chelsea boss, Thomas Tuchel became the first manager in the club s history to guide the Blue…
After failing to qualify for 2018, the United States secured automatic qualification to the 2022 World Cup on Wednesday, despite a 2-0 loss away to Costa Rica.
Following their 5-1 win over Panama, the USA had a healthy enough goal difference to avert the inter-confederation playoff, with a three-point and 10-goal gap between them and Costa Rica coming into the final qualifier.
In what was an intense start, Keylor Navas was on hand to deny the US in the eighth minute with a fantastic double effort. Initially denying Miles Robinson with a reflex save from close range, the Paris Saint-Germain keeper then managed to stop the ball from trickling in following a US corner.
The match tightened up significantly and the dead ball was the likeliest avenue to goal for …
Leon Goretzka scored the only goal of the match as Marco Giampaolo s first game in charge of AC Milan resulted in a 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich at the International Champions Cup.
Giampaolo arrived from Serie A rivals Sampdoria after Gennaro Gattuso stepped down as head coach of Milan at the end of the 2018-19 season.
And Giampaolo oversaw defeat in Milan s pre-season opener as Goretzka s well-taken 48th-minute goal guided Bayern to their second ICC victory.
New signing Theo Hernandez made his debut for Milan following his transfer from Real Madrid, while Paolo Maldini s son – Daniel – was also in the starting XI for the Rossoneri.
O̵c̵e̵a̵n̵ ̵s̵ ̵e̵l̵e̵v̵e̵n̵
Kansas 11
— AC Milan (@acmilan)
Niko Kovac s Baye…
Football is fickle. It doesn t take long for outlooks and perceptions to be flipped on their head, and nowhere is that truer right now than in LaLiga.
As recently as mid-February, Real Madrid s lead at the summit – which they have held since matchday three – was only four points over Sevilla, who themselves were 11 ahead of a Barcelona side languishing in fifth.
But as we head into Sunday s clash between Barca and Sevilla at Camp Nou, the Blaugrana know they will go up to second and above Julen Lopetegui s men in the table with a win, and they d still have a game in hand.
Xavi has overseen a massive improvement and, following the 4-0 Clasico win prior to the international break, Barca have the opportunity to make another statement this weekend.
It s n…
According to Il Corriere dello Sport, could be in with a great chance of securing the signature of PSG attacking midfielder . The 28-year-old s departure seems imminent despite initial plans for the French champions to offer him a new contract, as financial fair play regulations continue to ravage the club. For a while, it seemed as if West Ham United would end up being Pastore s final destination, and while that may still be the case, it seems as if there could be a twist in the tale.
The Argentine is supposedly favouring the idea of a move to Rome instead of London, with a four-year deal supposedly being on the table. Pastore made the jump from Palermo to PSG back in 2011 for a huge fee of €39.8 million and as one of the most creative playmakers in Europe, it seems as if…
Aleksandr Golovin – who has been linked with Chelsea and Juventus – said: Spain control the ball against any team in the world. We found a solution against that.
I think against Croatia we ll use our strong qualities and try to impose our style. It doesn t mean Croatia are weaker than Spain. It only means that Croatia have a different style. They don t need the ball all the time to create chances.
This suits me better. I know what I m talking about, I ve watched all their games in the group stage. I think it s going to be a very even game. The team that shows more character, that is more persistent, will gain the advantage.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Russia – Artem Dzyuba
Artem Dzyuba has been directly involved in four of Russia s last seven goals at …
Ronald Koeman challenged Barcelona to react to their midweek mauling against Paris Saint-Germain and remains convinced Los Cules can cut it against the game s biggest sides.
Barca were pummelled by a Kylian Mbappe-inspired PSG in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday, the France World Cup winner scoring a hat-trick in a 4-1 rout.
With Barca well off the pace in LaLiga and 2-0 down to Sevilla after the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final tie, Koeman and his side have faced mounting criticism in recent weeks.
The Dutchman concedes the mood was low after the PSG defeat but wants to see a response from his team against Cadiz on Sunday.
After a defeat, it is always good to have a game later to show that we can be better and get…
Bastian Schweinsteiger will be remembered as one of Germany s all-time greats because he was symbolic for more than 10 years, according to his first Bayern Munich coach Ottmar Hitzfeld.
Schweinsteiger, 35, confirmed on Tuesday he will end his playing career when the 2019 MLS season concludes, with Chicago Fire failing to reach the playoffs.
The midfielder has enjoyed an illustrious career at the top, spending 13 years in Bayern s first-team before also playing for Manchester United for just over 18 months.
But arguably most importantly he represented his country for 12 years after making his debut in 2004, helping them to a third-place finish as World Cup hosts in 2006, then again in South Africa four years later, before eventually becoming champions in 2014.
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Erik ten Hag warned Manchester United may suffer from a slow start to the season as the Red Devils attempt to get up to speed for the new campaign.
United face fierce rivals Manchester City in the Community Shield at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, having overcome the same opponents at the same venue in the FA Cup final back in May.
That cup victory somewhat eased the mounting pressure on under-fire Ten Hag, whose Red Devils finished eighth in the Premier League last season, their worst-ever position in the competition.
Ten Hag is expecting another difficult start against City, and then when Fulham visit Old Trafford for their league opener, with the likes of Bruno Fernandes, Alejandro Garnacho and Lisandro Martinez missing United s pre-season tour of the United Sta…
NBA and Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant believes Tottenham star Harry Kane can reach the level of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi following his two-goal haul against Liverpool.
Kane scored a brace as high-flying Tottenham crushed Premier League rivals Liverpool 4-1 at Wembley on Sunday.
The 24-year-old England international – who tops the charts with eight goals in his pursuit of a third consecutive Premier League Golden Boot – has scored 11 goals in eight matches for club and country.
Bryant, a spectator at Wembley alongside Diego Maradona, lauded Kane post-match as he compared him to Real Madrid s Ronaldo and Barcelona star Messi – winners of the past nine Ballon d Or awards.
Amazing to meet s . Had a good chat after the game he chose a g…