UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE | ROUND OF 16

 

ATALANTA CIVIL WAR: ADEMOLA LOOKMAN SLAMS 'DEEPLY DISRESPECTFUL' MANAGER IN LENGTHY STATEMENT AFTER HE CALLED HIM 'ONE OF THE WORST PENALTY TAKERS' EVER SEEN

Ademola Lookman has  labelled his manager Gian Piero Gasperini's comments 'deeply disrespectful' and 'hurtful'

• Atalanta suffered shock Champions league play-off round defeat by Club Brugge

• Lookman scored against the Belgian side before missing a spot kick in the loss

• LISTEN NOW: It's All Kicking Off! Does Ruben Amorim come under pressure at Manchester United this season? 

Atalanta striker Ademola Lookman has slammed his own manager for describing him as 'one of the worst penalty takers' he had ever seen after the side's shock Champions League exit. 

The reigning African Footballer of the Year, who was the match winner for the Bergamo club in last season's Europa League final, labelled Gian Piero Gasperini's comments as 'deeply disrespectful' and 'hurtful'.

Belgian side Club Brugge stunned Atalanta 3-1 in the second leg of their play-off tie to dump the Italian side out with a 5-2 aggregate win and reach the last 16.

Lookman pulled back one goal for Atalanta when they were 3-0 down. But the Nigerian, who has scored 15 times this season, had a penalty saved as they crashed out, after which Gasperini said Lookman was not supposed to take the penalty.

In response to the shock comments, which have plunged the club into civil war, Lookman said Gasperini had been 'deeply disrespectful'. 

'Being singled out in the manner I have been not only hurts but feels deeply disrespectful, not least because of the immense hard work and commitment I have always put in each and every day to help bring success to this club and to the incredible fans of Bergamo,' Lookman wrote on Instagram.

'In truth, I have dealt with many difficult moments during my time here - the majority of which I have never spoken about because in my opinion the team must always be protected and must come first. 

'This makes what happened last night even more hurtful. Along with our incredible fans, we as a team are hurting too with last night's result.

'During the match the designated penalty taker instructed me to take the penalty; and to support the team I took responsibility in the moment to do so. 

'Life's about challenges and turning pain into power which I'll continue to do.'

Gasperini said Lookman has a 'terrible record even in training', adding that Mateo Retegui and Charles De Ketelaere were better options to take the spot kick.

'Lookman is one of the worst penalty takers I’ve ever seen,' said the veteran manager.

'He wanted to take the penalty after scoring a goal, he took the ball despite (Mateo) Retegui and (Charles) De Keteleare available to take it… I didn’t like what Lookman did.

'Lookman wasn't supposed to take the penalty. Even in training he doesn’t have a good rate of scoring from the spot.' 

Retegui is Atalanta's regular penalty taker, having converted two of his three spot-kicks in Serie A this campaign, but Lookman has also taken and scored one. 

Lookman was Atalanta's hero last season when they won the Europa League, netting a hat-trick in the final when they beat Bayer Leverkusen who had been undefeated all season.

Atalanta's next match is a trip to Empoli in Serie A on Sunday. It remains to be seen whether Lookman, a former Leicester and Fulham star, will be included in the squad following the public fallout with his manager.

- ROHITH NAIR, REUTERS and TUM BALOGUN

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2024/25 SEASON | KNOCKOUT PHASE PLAY-OFFS

 

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE | MATCHDAY 7 | FIXTURES

 

NOTTINGHAM FOREST & ATLÉTICO MADRID ARE ON 🔥

 

KYLIAN MBAPPÉ INJURY: REAL MADRID STAR EXITS AFTER 50TH UCL GOAL

Kylian Mbappé was substituted after sustaining an injury in the Champions League on Tuesday. Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

Kylian Mbappé was substituted because of an injury during the first half of Real Madrid's Champions League clash at Atalanta on Tuesday, minutes after scoring his 50th career goal in the competition.

The France forward was substituted in the 35th minute after he went down with a non-contact injury, although he was able to walk off on his own. Rodrygo came on in his place.

A source has told ESPN that Mbappé felt discomfort in his left thigh and will undergo tests on Wednesday.

"[Mbappé] has a strain, some discomfort in his thigh," Ancelotti told Movistar after the match. "We'll have to see. It doesn't look serious, but I don't know, we'll see tomorrow. He couldn't sprint. It was bothering him, so we had to substitute him.

Madrid went onto earn a 3-2 win after second-half goals from Vinícius Júnior and Jude Bellingham.

Until he came off, it had been an excellent night for Mbappé.

He used an expert piece of control with his left foot to gather a pass from Brahim Díaz before he quickly darted past a defender and unleashed a shot with his right foot into the far corner after just 10 minutes.

"I gave him a hug, but I have no idea [about his injury.] We hope it isn't anything," Díaz told Movistar.

The goal meant Mbappé reached the 50-goal milestone in 79 matches -- the fourth fastest in Champions League history after Ruud van Nistelrooy (62 games), Lionel Messi (66), and Robert Lewandowski (77).

Cristiano Ronaldo leads the all-time Champions League scoring list with 140 goals, and Messi is next with 129.

Information from the Associated Press and ESPN's Rodrigo Faez and Gab Marcotti contributed to this report.

- ESPN 

MCKENNIE, WEAH SCORE AS JUVENTUS DRAW WITH PARMA

United States internationals Weston McKennie and Tim Weah salvaged Juventus' unbeaten start to the season.

The duo scored on Wednesday to help Juventus draw 2-2 at Parma. Enrico Delprato and Simon Sohm had twice given Parma the lead.

Juventus are on 18 points, seven adrift of leaders Napoli, and slipped to fourth as Atalanta moved a point ahead after their 2-0 win over Monza. Parma are 14th on nine points.

It was the second successive game Juventus had to come from behind to salvage a point after a 4-4 draw at Inter Milan on Sunday.

"I think today we conceded too many restarts. At their goal kicks we were trying to bring the defender out to then be able to press and cause an error, but we didn't succeed," Juventus head coach Thiago Motta told broadcaster DAZN.

"In the defensive phase we made a lot of mistakes."

Parma started fast and after working the ball across the pitch from a corner kick, Adrián Bernabé's cross into the box was nodded back across goal by Botond Balogh and Delprato headed into the roof of the net.

Juventus should have drawn level 10 minutes later after Zion Suzuki saved a header from McKennie, but when the rebound fell to Dusan Vlahovic he somehow sent his shot over the bar.

McKennie, however, made no mistake when his USMNT teammate Weah whipped a ball into the area, steering his header past the dive of Suzuki but Parma were soon back in front as Juventus struggled to deal with the pace of the visitors.

Dennis Man collected a long ball in the area and pulled back the perfect pass for Sohm to drill past Di Gregorio and they held their lead until the break.

Juventus's unbeaten record was on the line but they pulled level again shortly after the interval. Khephren Thuram powered through from midfield before passing to Francisco Conceição out wide and his cross was volleyed home by Weah from close range.

In the draw at Inter, Kenan Yildiz came off the bench to score the two goals which levelled the match, but the Turkish forward was among the substitutes against Parma, replacing Weah and almost scoring an added-time winner.

"Weah played well at San Siro and again today, scoring," Motta told Sky Sports.

"Kenan coming on later, with the game more open, is an ideal player to create situations. He has freedom in the final metres, it was normal today to want to open things up against such a closed team."

Information from The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Game Information

Allianz Stadium

10:45 PM, October 30, 2024

Torino, Italy

Line: JUV -1.5

Over/Under: 2.5

Referees: Luca Zufferli

- ESPN News Services

POTS SET FOR 2024-25 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DRAW

The pots for Thursday's UEFA Champions League draw have been finalised after the playoff round was completed on Wednesday.

It will be the first time a draw takes place under the new format, which sees all 36 teams in one league table.

The draw will begin at 5 p.m. UK / midday ET, with the first fixtures scheduled for Sept. 17-19. The league phase will stretch into January, with all 18 games on the final matchday being played at the same time.

Rather than placing teams into groups, the draw will create eight fixtures for each club. There will be two matches, one at home and one away, against teams from each of the four pots.

As teams now play games against clubs from their own pot there is no benefit from being in Pot 1. In previous seasons, being in Pot 1 meant you would avoid playing matches against the strongest clubs in the tournament.

Pot 1 used to house the holders of the Champions League and Europa League, plus the champions of the top six domestic leagues. Pots 2 through 4 would then be ordered by strength based on UEFA's club coefficient, which ranks clubs on performance in Europe over the previous five seasons. Now only the Champions League titleholders will be automatically in Pot 1, all other positions will be on the UEFA club coefficient.

While clubs will learn their opponents and venues on Thursday, the order of the fixtures will not be published by UEFA until Saturday.

This season the final will be held at the Allianz Arena in Munich on Saturday, May 31.

POT 1:

Real Madrid

Manchester City

Bayern Munich

Paris Saint-Germain

Liverpool

Internazionale

Borussia Dortmund

RB Leipzig

Barcelona

POT 2

Bayer Leverkusen

Atlético Madrid

Atalanta

Juventus

Benfica

Arsenal

Club Brugge

Shakhtar Donetsk

AC Milan

POT 3

Feyenoord

Sporting CP

PSV Eindhoven

Dinamo Zagreb

FC Salzburg

Lille

Red Star Belgrade

Young Boys

Celtic

POT 4

Slovan Bratislava

AS Monaco

Sparta Prague

Aston Villa

Bologna,

Girona

VfB Stuttgart

Sturm Graz

Brest

ADEMOLA LOOKMAN VS. LEVERKUSEN

 

ADEMOLA LOOKMAN TO ARSENAL TRANSFER ASSESSED AS VERSATILE FORWARD FITS MIKEL ARTETA'S

Arsenal have been linked with a move for Ademola Lookman and football.london takes a deep dive on the Nigerian international.

Ademola Lookman has been linked with a move to Arsenal(Image: Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images)

The day arrived where finally Arsenal supporters were given a shred of hope that the club might indeed be looking at signing a forward before the end of the transfer window. Sport Italia journalist Alfredo Pudella has claimed that Arsenal are considering a €50million (£42million) plus Jakub Kiwior deal for Ademola Lookman.

The Nigerian international has plenty of experience of English football having come through Charlton’s academy system. Arsenal have been noted as needing a player who can add quality to all the forward areas of the team which Lookman certainly fits the bill.

However, as can be the case, his name has not necessarily inspired an overwhelmingly positive reaction, at least on the surface. Therefore, it makes sense to dive deeper and assess to forward’s abilities and record to see if indeed a move to Arsenal makes sense.

An immediate issue some critics have raised is his record in England. He played 48 times for Everton, scoring just four goals, and was sent on loan to RB Leipzig, Fulham and Leicester, which produced mixed results.

However, upon his arrival at Atalanta in Serie A, his career finally exploded. 15 goals and eight assists in 33 games for the Bergamo-based club in his first year was an excellent return and this would only set up an even more impressive campaign last season.

He scored 17 goals and added 10 assists in a season where Atalanta won the Europa League and Lookman scored a European final hat-trick against Bundesliga Invincibles and German Cup winners Bayer Leverkusen. He also scored and assisted in the second-leg of the semi-final against Marseille, and scored and assisted in the Italian Cup semi-final against Fiorentina.

- Tom Canton

REAL MADRID'S ANCELOTTI: VINICIUS JR. SAUDI LINKS 'SPECULATION'

Getty Images 

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has dismissed reports linking star player Vinícius Júnior with a move to Saudi Arabia as "just speculation."

Ancelotti spoke in Warsaw ahead of Madrid's first game of the season on Wednesday, the UEFA Super Cup against Atalanta, where he said new signing Kylian Mbappé could make his debut.

ESPN reported on Monday that Vinícius, 24, was considering a proposal from the Saudi Pro League, although the Brazil international is happy in Spain and Real Madrid do not want the player to leave.

"There isn't anything at all," Ancelotti said in a prematch news conference on Tuesday. "There's just speculation, at this time in the [transfer] market, which closes on Aug. 31. There's just speculation, nothing else."

Vinícius was a key player in Madrid's Champions League and LaLiga-winning season in 2023-24, scoring 24 goals in all competitions.

"Of course speculation doesn't affect [Vinícius]," Ancelotti said. "He's here, he wants to be here. He wants to do his best and help Real Madrid."

The Italian manager denied that Madrid's sporting project was under threat from Saudi Arabia's investment in football, which has seen high-profile signings such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Neymar arrive in the country in the past two years.

"No, absolutely not," Ancelotti said. "We have our project and we continue in that. We have a squad of great quality. ... We've lost important players and we've brought in others who have to adapt. We have to work to maintain the atmosphere, and the commitment, which was the key last year."

Madrid's squad has been strengthened this summer by the arrival of Mbappé, who signed last month on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain but only arrived to training recently due to his participation with France in the European Championship this summer.

Mbappé only joined up with his new Madrid teammates for preseason training last week, but Ancelotti said he was in contention to start against Atalanta.

"Kylian has arrived well, like all the other [players], who haven't had much time [to train]," Ancelotti said. "He's arrived in good form, he's adapting well. Obviously everyone who's here [in Warsaw] could play tomorrow.

"There's an atmosphere here that's very healthy. That's down to the players who've been here, like Dani [Carvajal], like Nacho [Fernandez], [Luka] Modric.

"There are no princes or kings; there are just players with different qualities, players who've used their qualities for the good of the team.

"I've trained with [Mbappé] a couple of times now," midfielder Federico Valverde said. "We know the class he has, he's one of the best in the world. He looks motivated and for sure he'll leave his mark at this club."

Madrid midfielder Eduardo Camavinga had to leave his team's practice early on Tuesday after suffering a knee injury. He is set to miss Wednesday's Super Cup showdown with Atalanta.

- Alex Kirkland and Rodrigo Faez

ROAD TO DUBLIN | BRACKET | UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE 2024

 

ATALANTA MAKE IT TO THE FINAL | EUROPA LEAGUE 2024

 

EUROPA LEAGUE BRACKET | SEMI-FINALS SECOND-LEG RESULTS

 

LEVERKUSEN,ROMA, ATALANTA, MARSEILLE,INTO EUROPA LEAGUE S.F.

 Liverpool failed to overcome a three-goal deficit and was eliminated from the Europa League on Thursday despite beating Atalanta 1-0 in the second leg of their quarterfinal matchup.

The result officially ended Liverpool’s hopes of a treble of trophies in manager Jurgen Klopp’s final season at Anfield, though the feat had looked unlikely after the Italian team won 3-0 in the first leg in Merseyside.

“We won the game and that was the reaction we wanted to show,” Klopp told TNT Sports. “It was difficult and we knew it would be, but Atalanta deserve to go through, 100%."

Days after celebrating its first-ever Bundesliga title, Bayer Leverkusen remained on course to claim a historic treble by holding West Ham to a 1-1 draw at London Stadium to stretch its unbeaten streak to 44. Xabi Alonso's team advanced to the semifinals 3-1 on aggregate.

Leverkusen will face Roma in the last four after the capital club beat AC Milan 2-1 in an all-Italian quarterfinal to advance 3-1 on aggregate.

Michail Antonio put West Ham ahead early, heading in a cross from Vladimir Coufal. Jeremie Frimpong came off the bench and equalized in the 89th minute to clinch the aggregate victory and extend the team's unbeaten run.

Alonso’s team will play second-division Kaiserslautern in the German Cup final in Berlin on May 25, three days after the Europa League final in Dublin.

In Bergamo, Liverpool had a dream start after Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross hit Matteo Ruggeri’s hand. Mohamed Salah sent goalkeeper Juan Musso the wrong way from the penalty spot for an early lead in the seventh minute.

But the Reds failed to convert any other chances — a long way off from their 5-0 win at Atalanta in the Champions League in 2020.

Atalanta will meet Marseille after the French team topped Benfica 4-2 in a shootout after winning 1-0 to level the aggregate score at 2-2.

With the English League Cup already secured, Liverpool still hopes for a second Premier League title under its German manager but is now in third and two points adrift of first-place Manchester City.

Inconsistent in Serie A, Atalanta has been shining in the second-tier continental league this season. Thursday’s loss was its first in the campaign after six wins and three draws.

It’s only the second time the Italian club reached the semifinals of a European competition.

In Rome, Roma coach Daniele De Rossi marked an extension of his contract announced earlier Thursday by reaching the last four with his team reduced to 10 men.

Gianluca Mancini put the hosts 1-0 up early at Stadio Olimpico after Lorenzo Pellegrini’s shot bounced off the post and the defender was in the right place to net. Mancini also scored the winner in the first leg at San Siro last week.

Paulo Dybala doubled the advantage in the 22nd.

Roma defender Zeki Celik received a red card on the half-hour mark for fouling Rafael Leão but Milan only halved the deficit with a Matteo Gabbia header five minutes from time.

Milan, the seven-time European champion, is second in the Serie A, trailing leader Inter by 14 points on the way to finish the season without a trophy after it was knocked out of the Italian Cup.

After Arsenal and Manchester City were eliminated from the Champions League on Wednesday, the Premier League clubs were knocked out also from second-tier Europa League.

Aston Villa remains the only English club in Europe in the third-tier Europa Conference League.

EUROPA CONFERENCE LEAGUE

Emiliano Martínez saved two spot kicks and Douglas Luiz converted the decisive penalty for Villa to prevail 4-3 in a shootout over Lille and advance to the Europa Conference League semifinals.

After Villa won the first leg of their quarterfinals 2-1 last week, Yusuf Yazıcı and Benjamin André scored in each half for Lille's 2-0 lead before defender Matty Cash's 87th-minute goal evened the aggregate score 3-3 to force extra time.

Villa is into its first European semifinal since 1982 and will face Olympiakos which beat Fenerbahce 3-2 on penalties for a spot in the May 29 final in Athens.

Fiorentina, last year's runnerup, also reached the semifinals after Nicolás González and Cristiano Biraghi both scored in extra time to edge 10-man Viktoria Plzeň 2-0 in the second leg. The opening leg was a goalless draw. The Italian team will face Club Brugge, which won 2-0 at PAOK to advance 3-0 on aggregate, Plzeň’s Brazilian midfielder Cadu received a red card in the 66th minute.

LIVERPOOL COMEBACK FALLS SHORT AS ATALANTA REACH SEMIFINALS

 

Mohamed Salah and Liverpool couldn't get the goals they needed to deny Atalanta

Atalanta progressed to the Europa League semifinals despite losing 1-0 to Liverpool on Thursday as they triumphed 3-1 on aggregate to move one step closer to a first ever European final for the Serie A side.

Atalanta had stunned the Premier League club 3-0 in the first leg of their quarterfinal last week at Anfield, levelling another huge blow to Liverpool's dreams of a fairytale ending in manager Jurgen Klopp's final season.

"We gave ourselves a massive hurdle [in the first leg], but I liked the game a lot for a long time, the commitment, the desire, the power the boys showed was incredible," Klopp told TNT Sports.

"It is mixed emotions. We would have wished that we could have gone to Dublin [for the final], but that hasn't happened.

"We now have one competition left [Premier League] and we will throw ourselves into that completely."

Mohamed Salah and Liverpool couldn't get the goals they needed to deny Atalanta.

Timothy Rogers/Getty Images

Liverpool got off to a quick start in Italy as talisman Mohammed Salah scored from the penalty spot in the seventh minute, fuelling hope that a remarkable comeback was in the making.

But while Klopp's men looked little like the shaky side who were steamrolled by Atalanta at Anfield, particularly in the first half, Gian Piero Gasperini's team held on in what the manager had called the biggest game in the team's history to earn a semi-final place against Olympique de Marseille.

"If you don't win without danger, there's no glory to your triumph," Gasperini said.

"The fans always ask us for the shirt to be soaked in sweat, and that's one thing we must have at a minimum."

Salah had Liverpool's best chance at a second goal when he was sent in one-on-one against goalkeeper Juan Musso, but he chipped the ball well wide.

Later in the first half, Salah almost set up Luis Díaz with a ball over the top into the area, but it hit the arm of Isak Hien. Liverpool screamed for a penalty to no avail, and Diaz was booked for dissent.

"Last week we were very poor and they had a good game," Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk told TNT Sports. "They deserved to go through because we made it far too difficult for ourselves.

"Tonight was a good game and we showed great fight. It was an improvement but the reality is we are out. We are disappointed to be out of the competition as we really wanted to win it."

Liverpool, who won the League Cup earlier this season, now turn their attention back to the Premier League. They are level on 71 points with second-placed Arsenal and two points behind leaders Manchester City.

They play at Fulham on Sunday in a quick turnaround.

"We won tonight and we kept a clean sheet, so there are so many more positives we can take. Yes, it is a bad feeling to be out so we have to get back up," Van Dijk added.

"We have been through difficult moments all together, so showing maturity and togetherness is the key to this. We need everyone now for the last push in the league."

- Reuters 

LIVERPOOL 0-3 ATALANTA | JURGEN KLOPP REACTION | VAN DIJK INTERVIEW

LIVERPOOL MEME | LIVERPOOL VS. ATALANTA

 

BOLOGNA REMAINS IN CONTENTION FOR CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PLACE WITH A 2-1 WIN AT LAZIO IN SERIE A

AP

 ROME (AP) — Bologna remained in contention for a Champions League place with a 2-1 comeback victory at Lazio in Serie A on Sunday.

Oussama El Azzouzi and Joshua Zirkzee scored for Bologna after Gustav Isasksen had given Lazio an early advantage.

Bologna’s fourth straight victory moved it back into fifth place, level on points with fourth-placed Atalanta. Lazio remained eighth.

Lazio complained to league officials about the early lunchtime kickoff coming four days after a victory over Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League last 16.

Fiorentina was held to a 1-1 draw at Empoli in a Tuscan derby and Udinese and Cagliari also drew 1-1.

Later, AC Milan had a chance to leapfrog Juventus into second place with a win at neighboring Monza; and Roma was visiting Frosinone.

COMEBACK WIN OFFERS HOPE FOR MAN UNITED'S NEW ERA

A brace from Alejandro Garnacho and a game-winning goal from Rasmus Højlund helped Manchester United achieve a 3-2 comeback win over Aston Villa. (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)

MANCHESTER, England -- Manchester United's new era began with a reminder that there are big problems at Old Trafford but ended with hope that the future might be bright after all.

In their first game since the announcement that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos have agreed a deal to buy a 25% stake in the club and assume control of all football matters, United went 2-0 down against Aston Villa before mounting a stunning comeback to win 3-2 thanks to two youngsters: Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Højlund.

Garnacho, 19, scored twice, and Hojlund, 20, got his first Premier League goal since his summer move from Atalanta to hand Erik ten Hag's team their first win in five games. It was a timely boost for the Dutch manager with Ratcliffe's sporting guru, Sir Dave Brailsford, sitting in the stands for the first time. Brailsford, director of sport at Ineos, will form part of the team tasked with transforming United's fortunes, and Ten Hag at least proved there's life in his managerial reign yet.

The first question in his postmatch news conference was what he thought Brailsford would have made of his night at Old Trafford. "I don't know," he said. "You will have to ask them. I don't think it has had an impact on the players. For me, I was kept informed in the whole process, so I knew what was going on.