Try as they might, AC Milan simply cannot find the right way to return to the top of Italian football. Following the 5-0 defeat away to Atalanta in their last game of 2019, the seven-time European champions now find themselves in the bottom half of the Serie A table, with only 21 points from 17 games.
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Piotr Zielinski is an extraordinary player who should be playing for Real Madrid or Barcelona, according to Pepe Reina.
Napoli midfielder Zielinski has thrived for the Partenopei since joining from Empoli in 2016.
Only forwards Jose Callejon (63) and Lorenzo Insigne (86) created more chances in Serie A last season for the club than Zielinski (53), while he completed more passes than any team-mate except for Fabian Ruiz and Giovanni Di Lorenzo.
Toni Kroos (60) was the only midfielder for Barca or Madrid in 2019-20 who created more goalscoring opportunities than the Poland international.
Reina, a team-mate of Zielinski for two years in Naples, has no doubt the player is good enough for one Spain s biggest two clubs.
I have a crush on Zielinski! he …
Senegalese defender Kalidou Koulibaly has signed a new five-year contract with Napoli, the Serie A club have confirmed.
The 27-year-old centre-back has committed his future to the Italian club until June 30, 2023.
Koulibaly has been heavily linked with Chelsea for much of the last year and Maurizio Sarri s move to Stamford Bridge encouraged talk that he could follow him to the Premier League.
Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis claimed in August that he had rejected three €90million offers from English clubs for a player he considers to be the best defender in the world, probably .
It has been speculated there could be a release clause in the region of €100m in Koulibaly s new deal, although Napoli did not disclose any such details.
The Sen…
Wolverhampton Wanderers played away to Everton on Boxing Day, and having gone down to Yerry Mina s opener in the seventh minute, they fought back and equalized through Daniel Podence in the 22nd.
In the end, Rayan Ait-Nouri found himself at the right place in the final seconds of the second-half injury time to bring great joy to his teammates, manager and the away supporters.
Go on then. Watch it one more time
— Wolves (@Wolves)
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Leicester City have confirmed the signing of midfielder Boubakary Soumare from Ligue 1 champions Lille for a reported fee of £17million.
Soumare has signed a five-year deal with Leicester, who finished fifth in the 2020-21 Premier League season and won the FA Cup.
The midfielder, who has been capped by France at Under-19, 20 and 21 level, played 32 times in Ligue 1 as Lille won the title for the first time in a decade.
Only five players made more appearances across all competitions for Lille in 2020-21 than Soumare, whose solitary goal for the club came in the 2018-19 campaign.
A combative player in the centre of the park, Soumare attempted 63 tackles last season, with a success rate of 61.9 per cent – ranking him fourth in Lille s squad.
Of…
As Manchester City continue to toil defensively in the absence of lynchpin Aymeric Laporte, the switch to a back three against Everton may not have represented the most obvious solution.
So largely desperate have Nicolas Otamendi s performances been this season, City s sole fit senior centre-back only made the bench against Sheffield United on Sunday, two days on from a 90-minute shift in the dramatic collapse at Wolves.
Injury meant there would be no recall for the Argentina defender on New Year s Day, so Pep Guardiola was again struggling to find a central pair, let alone a trio.
But faced with the nous of Carlo Ancelotti, a coach he spent much of the week lauding, Guardiola decided to make the bold call.
Teenager Eric Garcia kept his place following …
Laurent Blanc is not satisfied with his Paris Saint-Germain team as they prepare to host his former club Bordeaux in the Coupe de France.
Laurent Blanc has conceded his Paris Saint-Germain side are in need of a boost ahead of their Coupe de France last-32 clash with former club Bordeaux on Wednesday.
PSG ended a run of three league games without a win by beating lowly Evian 4-2 on Sunday, but were forced to respond after initially falling behind and then conceding an equaliser in an unconvincing performance.
Bordeaux who Blanc led to a Ligue 1 and Coupe de la Ligue double in 2008-09 are the next visitors to the Parc des Princes.
Willy Sagnol s men lost 3-0 in the league meeting in the capital in October but can have hope of springing a surprise versu…
Premier League leaders Chelsea turn their attention towards the Capital One Cup final, where they will be looking to get revenge on local rivals Tottenham for the 2008 defeat and secure the first major trophy of the season.
The Blues are hoping to win the first League Cup title since 2007 and fifth in total and they are rightly considered favourites given Spurs poor run of form and lack of experience in these kinds of games. Having said that, you should know that new Sportingbet customers can back Chelsea to lift the title at special price of 3/1.
In order to qualify, and bet on Chelsea to win at the normal odds. If the Blues lift the title, you will be paid out immediately at standard odds, while extra winnings will be added to your account within 48 hours.
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The winners of Manchester City s FA Cup third-round clash with Chelsea will face Premier League leaders Arsenal or Oxford United.
Top-flight champions City host Chelsea on Sunday, with Arsenal s bid for a record-extending 15th FA Cup success beginning with a visit to the League One U s on Monday.
Holders Liverpool, who overcame Chelsea on penalties in the 2022 final, will head to Brighton and Hove Albion if they can get past a replay with Wolves.
Manchester United host a Reading side managed by former midfielder Paul Ince, while Tottenham head to second-tier Preston North End.
Sheffield Wednesday s prize for stunning Newcastle United is a home draw against fellow League One side Fleetwood Town, while non-League high-flyers Wrexham welcome Sheffield United…
Totti said goodbye after 25 years with Roma. Image: Getty
It was another great week of football in the Serie A as we saw Crotone escape relegation and Totti play his final match. Here s a recap of the week s events.
Relegation Race Ends With A Bang
Empoli fell to Palermo as goals from Nestorovski and Corsini were enough to power past Empoli s lone goal from Krunic. Empoli have to be disappointed with this epic collapse, or perhaps the epic revitalization of Crotone. They will now have to fight in the Serie B again before returning to the Serie A.
Meanwhile, it was all smiles over in Crotone. Nalini and Falcinelli got Crotone off to a great start before Immobile pulled one back for Lazio. Quissanga s red card for Lazio ultimately sealed the deal as Crotone got o…
In what was a major showdown at the top of the Group B table, Scotland missed out on the chance to book their ticket to EURO 24 as they suffered a 2-0 loss away at Spain.
With the Tartan Army rightfully left frustrated as they saw Scott McTominay’s second-half free-kick get disallowed for a hugely controversial foul on Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper Unai Simon, La Roja then eventually ran rampant as Alvaro Morata opened the scoring with just 17 minutes left.
Taking a giant step towards clinching automatic qualification to next year’s European Championships, it was eventually second-half sub and debutant Oihan Sancet who wrapped up what should be a defining victory for Luis de la Fuente’s squad.
Although Scotland might have eventually missed out on the chance t…