The 2018-19 Serie A season has ended and now it’s time to analyse what happened in Italy’s top-flight. The biggest news was Juventus winning the title and the fact that three other teams will join them in the UEFA Champions League next year: Napoli, Atalanta and Inter Milan.
Yes, you read that right. Atalanta will play in the Champions League next season and their overall campaign has been quite a story. They have undoubtedly become Italy’s most surprising side during the season and their accomplishment is especially huge given how they started the season.
Atalanta’s rise will be one to remember
You might not remember this, but Atalanta looked like a team destined to fight against relegation in the first few weeks of the season. They only gained six of their fi…
Antonio Conte has stressed Gary Cahill should not be held responsible for Ryan Mason being forced to retire prematurely due to injury.
Mason suffered a skull fracture after clashing heads with Cahill in an aerial challenge during a game between Chelsea and Hull City at Stamford Bridge in January 2017.
The one-cap England international had hoped to be able to return to the pitch but Mason confirmed this week he has called time on his career after taking medical advice.
Chelsea face Mason s former club Hull in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Friday and Conte believes the midfielder s retirement ought to be considered an unfortunate side-effect of football.
For sure, this is a question for Gary, Conte said when asked how Cahill had responded to Mason s re…
New Southampton manager Ronald Koeman has revealed they are hopeful of sealing a deal for Feyenoord s Graziano Pelle in the coming days.
Southampton had been linked with a move for the 28-year-old forward but Koeman s comments – in his first press conference as the club s new coach – suggest the transfer is close to being finalised.
The situation about Pelle…it will be near to have another one in the team, Koeman said on Friday.
It s close. But it s still not signed. But it s coming close.
We hope maybe this weekend to have him as the second new player of Southampton.
Koeman knows all about Pelle, having coached him at former club Feyenoord, where he has been prolific since joining from Parma, initially on loan, in 2012.
Pelle �…
Atletico Madrid and Juventus have been linked with a cut-price move for out-of-favour Manchester City forward Stevan Jovetic,.
Wilfried Bony’s arrival at the Etihad Stadium from Swansea City back in January saw the 25 year old former Partizan and Fiorentina man fall further out of favour, with both Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero also ahead of him in the pecking order in Manuel Pellegrini’s side.
Jovetic has made just sixteen appearances in all competitions so far this season, and started only nine games in the Premier League.
He hasn’t featured at all since the 1-1 draw with Hull City over a month ago, while he has scored just once since netting in the 3-2 win over Sunderland on New Year’s Day.
The Montenegro international moved to the Manches…
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp thinks it is crazy how quickly critics were on the backs of Darwin Nunez and Erling Haaland in pre-season.
Uruguay striker Nunez joined the Reds from Benfica in a transfer potentially worth £85million (€100m) in June, while Manchester City sealed a reported £51m (€60m) deal with Borussia Dortmund for Haaland a month earlier.
Both major investments were seen as deals that could widen the gap between them and the rest of the Premier League, though each player has courted criticism.
For Nunez, the flak arrived as early as his first pre-season game after missing a big chance in a 4-0 defeat to Manchester United.
Haaland was then ridiculed for a difficult day against the Reds as Klopp s side won the Community Shield at …
Fabrizio Romano has claimed on that Pedri will not leave Barcelona in the summer transfer window. The well-known and well-respected journalist has reported that Barcelona want the Spain international midfielder to be part of their team for a long time.
Romano has said that Barcelona want to offer Pedri a new and improved contract once they have sorted their current financial problems. The teenage midfielder is out of contract at the Spanish giants in the summer of 2022, but the former La Liga and European champions do have the option to extend it for two years.
https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1412829161383673856
reported in April that Liverpool are interested in signing Pedri from Barcelona in the summer transfer window. It was claimed that the forme…
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Many fans like to bemoan the international break, especially when the games played are only friendlies, and this kind of match will fall perfectly into their criticisms. Albania and Norway are two run of the mill European sides in desperate search of some kind of relevance, as they aim to build some momentum over the next few months before their kick off their attempts to qualify for UEFA Euro 2020.
Albania
The Albanians appeared to be gathering some momentum towards the end of their World Cup qualifying campaign, only for games against Spain and Italy to cut them at the knees. Their appearance at Euro 2016 gave fans hope that they could carry their form over to the next competition, but it wasn t to be, and now …
Victor Wanyama s late goal ended Tottenham s five-match winless run with a 1-0 victory against Crystal Palace at White Hart Lane to extend their London rivals away-day woes.
Spurs had not tasted victory since the 4-0 win over Stoke City in April at the bet365 Stadium the same ground where Palace last won on their travels in the league in December 2015.
But Wanyama marked his home debut in fine style with a close-range header to seal the points for Mauricio Pochettino s men.
Vincent Janssen made his first start for Tottenham, and he missed a number of great chances as he sought his maiden goal in English football.
Alan Pardew s visitors had won at White Hart Lane in the FA Cup last season, but rarely troubled Michel Vorm, standing in for injured capt…
Bayern Munich s Holger Badstuber is eyeing a return to the Germany set-up after making his long-awaited comeback from injury.
The 25-year-old centre-back sustained a cruciate knee ligament injury playing against Borussia Dortmund in December 2012, before suffering a relapse in May 2013.
Badstuber returned to action during Bayern s pre-season campaign, and played the full 90 minutes as Bayern began the defence of their Bundesliga title with a 2-1 win over Wolfsburg on Friday.
Of course it s a goal for me, he said.
I want to be noticed and then recalled to the national team based on my performance. That s a big goal of mine.
I am well advised to simply keep going about my work and then everything will come gradually.
Bayern visit Schalk…
Aston Villa midfielder Karim El Ahmadi has rejoined former club Feyenoord on a three-year contract.
The Morocco international, who had one year to run on his contract at Villa Park, departed Feyenoord for the Premier League in 2012.
But 29-year-old El Ahmadi says he always harboured an ambition to return to De Kuip.
I ve always said that I wanted to return to Feyenoord sometime, said El Ahmadi.
That time has come. In my first period at this club Feyenoord was growing and that growth has continued in recent years.
I m really looking forward to playing in a full De Kuip again and sharing my experience with the other Feyenoord players. I m also relishing teaming up again with [coach] Fred Rutten, who was very important for me at the start of my ca…