Borussia Dortmund legend Lars Ricken lamented Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang s deteriorating relationship with the club as the striker continues to be linked with a January move to Arsenal.
Aubameyang has been Dortmund s talisman since arriving from Saint-Etienne in 2013, scoring 141 goals in all competitions for the club.
However, his off-field behaviour has earned a number of internal suspensions, the latest coming before Dortmund s 0-0 draw with Wolfsburg after he failed to attend a team meeting.
The Gabon international has since been heavily linked with a move to Arsenal, speculation that saw him omitted from the squad to face Hertha Berlin.
Last weekend Dortmund confirmed they had received a bid for the striker from the Gunners, intensifying the questions…
Verdict: Draw at half-time
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Slovenia are flying high after coming from two goals down against Lithuania and defeating very good Slovakia side, and they will fancy their chances of frustrating England as well. The Three Lions got off to a winning start under Gareth Southgate, but the game in Ljubljana will be the first real test for the new manager.
Slovenia
Slovenia have struggled for form and consistency since making it to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and while they’ve got several high-quality footballers, there are many weak links in the starting XI. Srecko Katanec’s side failed to reach the Euro 2016 having los to Ukraine in the play-offs, and that proved the end of the road for Sami Handanovic, Miso Brecko, Branko I…
David Moyes insists Manchester United are ready for Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League and believes his team can progress.
United s inconsistent season has seen them tumble out of contention in domestic competitions, but Moyes men remain in Europe, albeit with a tough task against the defending champions in the quarter-finals.
A 4-1 victory over Aston Villa on Saturday lifted spirits around Old Trafford after crushing recent defeats to Manchester City and Liverpool.
And Moyes is relishing the Bayern clash ahead of the first leg in Manchester on Tuesday.
While United have defensive concerns over Rafael da Silva and Patrice Evra, Moyes thinks there is still belief within his squad that they can go into the return game in Germany with an advantage.
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Verdict: Both teams to score – yes
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With only a point between them just outside the dropping zone, both Newcastle and Southampton head into the Saturday’s clash at St James Park looking for a win that would earn them vital points in relegations struggle.
Newcastle United
The Magpies welcome Southampton on Saturday in a massive Premier League bottom square off. Newcastle United were beaten by Liverpool 2-0 last Saturday and currently sit two points above the relegation zone and just one above this weekend’s visitors.
Having suffered their first defeat in last five matches in the league at Anfield, Rafael Benitez’s men are desperate for points. A win would push Magpies further away from the relegation zone, possibly fi…
Sydney FC lost a second A-League match in succession for the first time since 2016 on Saturday and had their lead at the top of the table cut to five points by Newcastle Jets.
Returning to action domestically for the first time since a 2-1 defeat at Newcastle, and on the back of two winless AFC Champions League outings against Kashima Antlers, Graham Arnold s men went down 2-1 at home to Brisbane Roar.
Captain Matt McKay and Jacob Pepper – the latter scoring his first A-League goal since 2012 – were the unlikely heroes for Brisbane as they capitalised upon poor set-piece defending from Sydney inside the opening 20 minutes.
That proved to be a theme of the match, with Sydney centre-back Alex Wilkinson having a header ruled out for offside from Adrian Mier…
Japan midfielder Hiroshi Kiyotake has left La Liga side and is making a return back to his homeland and his former club, Cerezo Osaka.
The 27-year-old attacking midfielder moved to the Spanish side from Hannover 96 in 2016 for a transfer fee worth €6.5 million and has so far made only 4 La Liga appearances for Rojiblancos during which time Kiyotake managed one goal.
And with Walter Montoya coming in during the January transfer window, doors of the first team got shut in front of the Japanese international.
In effort to get his career back on track and earn first-team football, the Japanese international opted for a return home and to the club he spent two years at from 2010 to 2012, the has confirmed.
Details of Kiyotake’s move to Japan are undiscl…
Ousmane Dembele won t be leaving Barcelona any time soon, as reported by RMC Sport (via ).
The French winger arrived to Camp Nou in the summer of 2017 for a rather hefty fee of €105 million, following some controversies which occurred in his final six months with Borussia Dortmund. Initially seen as a replacement for Neymar on the left attacking flank, he hasn t been able to come anywhere near fulfilling such expectations, mostly due to injuries with kept hitting him with some frequency. Even now he is out with a hamstring problem.
However, it seems the Catalan club aren t yet ready to give up on the 22-year-old whose talent has never been in any doubt. Apart from that, there aren t any concrete offers for his services to discuss, and the player himself is adamant abo…
Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana has been suspended for 12 months by UEFA due to a doping violation, the Eredivisie club have confirmed.
Ajax and Onana will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to overturn the ban, imposed after an out-of-competition test in October 2020 found the substance Furosemide in the player s urine.
The club said the test result was due to Onana, 24, mistakenly taking Lasimac – a drug prescribed to his wife – when he felt unwell.
UEFA therefore accepted Onana had no intention of cheating , an Ajax statement read.
It added: However, UEFA believes, on the basis of the applicable anti-doping rules, that an athlete has a duty at all times to ensure that no banned substances enter the body.
The suspension is effec…
Eden Hazard feels Manchester City are still the best team in the Premier League despite Chelsea inflicting the champions first defeat of the season.
Goals from N Golo Kante and David Luiz earned the Blues a 2-0 victory against City at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, ensuring Liverpool stayed top of the table after their 4-0 win at Bournemouth.
Chelsea had lost two of their three previous Premier League matches as Maurizio Sarri s side fell away following their own unbeaten start, but they bounced back in style against City.
Hazard, though, believes City remain the team to beat with Chelsea now eight points behind leaders Liverpool, who have a one-point cushion from Pep Guardiola s men.
It feels really good, especially after the game in midweek when we lost …
Italy head coach Roberto Mancini has declared Giorgio Chiellini s decision to leave Juventus and retire from international football as a pity for everyone .
Juve great Chiellini confirmed after the 4-2 Coppa Italia final loss to Inter last week that he will depart Turin at the end of the season, ending a 17-year spell with the Bianconeri that has seen him lift 20 trophies.
The centre-back has also already revealed he will retire from international duty with Italy after the Azzurri play Argentina at Wembley Stadium on June 1.
Chiellini opted to play in the Finalissima, a new final pitting the winners of the Copa America and European Championship against each other, as a fitting conclusion after Italy lifted Euro 2020 at Wembley in July.
Reports suggest 37-…