Mourinho ideal coach to reunite Inter dressing room, says Simoni

Jose Mourinho is the ideal coach to reunite the Inter dressing room following the damage caused by the Mauro Icardi affair, according to Luigi Simoni.

Icardi made his first appearance in almost two months on Wednesday to help lead Inter to a 4-0 win at Genoa that strengthened their grip on third place in Serie A.

It was the first time Icardi had been involved since being stripped of the club captaincy amid reports of problems with the club s hierarchy, which left him ostracised from Luciano Spalletti s squad.

Ivan Perisic is rumoured to have had a furious argument with the Argentina forward after his wife and agent, Wanda Nara, spoke on TV about personal problems between the team-mates.

Mourinho found his relationship with senior players at Manchester Uni…

Frank aims to ´find solutions´ after being dealt Wissa injury update

Brentford head coach Thomas Frank confirmed striker Yoane Wissa will be sidelined for a couple of months after picking up an ankle injury against Manchester City.

Wissa, who netted the fastest ever goal that Brentford have scored in the Premier League against the champions on Saturday, hobbled off in first half injury time.

The DR Congo international was on the receiving end of a heavy challenge by City midfielder Mateo Kovacic and is expected to return to action in November.

It serves as a significant blow for Frank, with Wissa having been directly involved in 10 goals across his last nine appearances in the top-flight for the Bees.

Wissa is, unfortunately, not good news it looks like an injury that will be a couple of months, Frank said.

I…

Pogba will leave Man Utd after this season, claims personal trainer

Paul Pogba will leave Manchester United when his contract expires in June, according to the midfielder s personal trainer.

The France international, who turns 29 next week, has not agreed to a new deal with the Red Devils and will be available to leave on a free transfer after the end of the season.

It would be the second time Pogba has left United for nothing, the player having joined Juventus in 2012 before making his return four years later for a then-world-record fee of £89.3million.

Coach Meddy, a Dubai-based fitness coach who counts other elite footballers among his clientele, says Pogba is still enjoying himself at United, particularly since Cristiano Ronaldo s move back to England last year.

Still, he claims a parting of the ways could be mutuall…

Sampdoria 1-2 Milan: Kessie and Castillejo clinch gritty win

Milan strengthened their grip on top spot in Serie A with a 2-1 win over Sampdoria on Sunday thanks to goals from Franck Kessie and Samu Castillejo.

Ivory Coast midfielder Kessie gave the Rossoneri the lead from the penalty spot after Jakub Jankto handled inside the area.

Spaniard Castillejo scored with his first touch of the game to notch Milan s second before Albin Ekdal ensured a tense finish when he bundled in from a corner.

Milan are now five points clear of second-placed Inter after 10 games, with Napoli and Juventus a further point behind in third and fourth.

9 AC Milan have won eight of the first 10 games played in Serie A 2020/21: over the previous 86 seasons in the competition, the Rossoneri had won more at this point of the season only in 19…

Der Klassiker: Is Haaland already better than Lewandowski?

When Borussia Dortmund parted with a reported €20million to sign Erling Haaland from Salzburg a little over a year ago, they ll have been acutely aware of the coup they d just struck – but whether they expected him to be quite this good is another matter entirely.

Those explosive first few months of the 2019-20 season at Salzburg left most of Europe s biggest clubs clamouring for the Norwegian, but Bayern were seemingly not among them. At least, not in the final straight.

While you can t necessarily have too many great players, few at the time or since have decried Bayern s lack of interest in the striking sensation, and that purely comes down to the presence of Robert Lewandowski.

Eleven months on from Haaland s Dortmund debut, Lewandowski won the FIFA Best …

Haller ´very moved´ by support as Dortmund striker focuses on recovery from testicular tumour

Sebastien Haller thanked well-wishers after the Borussia Dortmund striker had to leave the club s pre-season training camp due to a testicular tumour.

The Ivory Coast striker recently joined Dortmund on a four-year deal from Dutch champions Ajax, arriving as a replacement for Erling Haaland who moved on to Manchester City.

Haller was with his new club in Switzerland when he complained of feeling unwell at training on Monday. Subsequent medical tests revealed the tumour, and 28-year-old Haller has returned to Germany for further assessment.

Dortmund have said they will offer updates on Haller s condition when possible.

Haller wrote on Twitter on Tuesday: I want to thank you again from the bottom of my heart for all the many and warm messages received. I ve…

AFCON: Africa´s greatest show, Premier League´s worst nightmare?

Premier League managers are already feeling the strain amid cascading numbers of COVID-19 cases and mid-season injuries. Now many top bosses stand to lose stars to the Africa Cup of Nations.

Africa s greatest football show – now commonly known as AFCON – gets under way on Sunday in Cameroon.

Although the 2019 edition was held in June and July, it has historically been a January-into-February tournament and has returned to that place on the calendar.

A host of Premier League big names are hoping to make an impact during the four-week tournament, which falls slap-bang in the middle of European club campaigns, causing a major clash of competitions.

Premier League clubs certainly cannot complain of a lack of fair warning. It was June 2020 when African…

Pioli insists Milan cannot obsess over the past in ´strange´ Serie A season

Milan head coach Stefano Pioli insisted that his side cannot be obsessed with the past as they battle to win Serie A, which no team has managed to run away .

The Rossoneri climbed back to the summit with a 1-0 victory at fellow title contenders Napoli last time out, but could be leapfrogged by second-placed Inter, who have a game in hand.

Milan next host Empoli, who they have won their past two top-flight meetings against, and Pioli demanded his team take each game as it comes ahead of the clash on Saturday.

However, Pioli s men have won only two of their past six Serie A meetings with sides in the bottom half of the table, drawing their previous two against Salernitana and Udinese.

We are satisfied, but it was not the final step, Pioli said of the w…

Everton financial reports just another thing to deal with – Sean Dyche

Everton boss Sean Dyche insists his side is not feeling the pressure following reports of a possible 12-point deduction for alleged financial breaches.

The Toffees are preparing to travel to West Ham on Sunday and will look to bounce back to winning ways following their 2-0 derby defeat to Liverpool last week.

News surfaced this week about a potential violation of the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability regulations during the period leading up to the 2021-22 season but Dyche denies it has added any pressure to him or his side heading into the weekend.

He told a press conference: “Ever since I’ve been here there has been pressure.

“There is pressure on all sorts around Everton Football Club and we’ve been trying to stay calm within …

Man City ´lovely to watch´ but Simeone vows Atletico will play where ´we can hurt them´

Diego Simeone hailed the football that Manchester City produce but promised Atletico Madrid will play where they can hurt Pep Guardiola s side in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final.

Atleti overcame Manchester United 2-1 on aggregate in their last-16 clash to tee up the first-ever meeting in Europe between the Spanish side and City, who cruised past Sporting in the last round.

However, Simeone and Guardiola are no stranger to one another given they have faced each other three times, with the former eliminating the Spaniard s Bayern Munich in the 2015-16 Champions League semi-final.

Atletico averaged just 27 per cent possession across the two legs and scored twice from 18 shots, while Bayern netted the same number of goals from 53 attempts, a…