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FLICK TALKS RAPHINHA, OLOMO, KOVAC, ROTATIONS AHEAD OF BARCELONA VS DORTMUND

Barcelona are all set to host Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie.

The Blaugrana have already played the Bundesliga giants once this season, in the league phase, where they secured a 3-2 win.

Things are different now, though, with Dortmund having a new manager in Niko Kovac, a former mentor of Barça head coach Hansi Flick.

Ahead of tomorrow’s contest in Montjuic, the Barcelona gaffer discussed his imminent reunion with Kovac as well as the team’s journey up until this point and the confidence that they are carrying into the game.

On Dortmund and Kovac

“Everyone would like to be in this situation, we look forward and want to continue. We are confident,” said Flick, kicking things off.

Further talking about the match and playing the first leg at home, he noted: “In the Champions League, playing at home is better because we perform better. We’d like to be able to finish it off now.

"Against Atletico, we saw that. It’s a good moment for us. We have improved a lot in many situations and found the right answers. We are very prepared for tomorrow’s game.”

Regarding his reunion with Kovac, Flick remarked: “It’s something I’ve thought about a lot. It’s good that I know Niko and he can help us. Our job is to prepare ourselves.

“Niko is a fantastic coach, a wonderful person and I’m looking forward to meeting him again.”

Borussia Dortmund go into the game with several notable absences, including Marcel Sabitzer and Nico Schlotterbeck. However, Flick insisted that he expects Kovac to put out a strong team, saying:

"They are a very good team. Niko will be able to put out a good line-up. They are strong defensively and I wish the injured players all the best. They have some very good players and it’s a pity, but they have enough players to make up for their losses.”

On what has changed for Dortmund between their last meeting and tomorrow’s match, the Barça boss remarked:

“The confidence has changed a bit. The results they’ve had in the Champions League and Bundesliga have given them confidence. They have more concrete goals.

“They are a team with great pace, they think in an attacking way and we’ll have to be up to the task.”

On what he makes of Barcelona’s billing as the favourites for the competition, the German manager remarked:

“I’ve already said it several times. We have to give everything in the match. We have worked hard in preparation and we don’t want it to be the end. We have to play well tomorrow.

“We haven’t lost games and that’s important, but we have to perform as well as we can.”

The Barça head coach was then asked for an update on the situation of Raphinha, who has not played much after the international break.

“After the break, we have given him a little time to recover, but in training he is fantastic. He is very dynamic and ready for tomorrow’s game,” Flick revealed.

On being asked about the controversy surrounding Dani Olmo’s registration and La Liga’s latest appeal, the manager refused to comment, saying:

“We have a very important Champions League game against Dortmund. These issues are managed by the club and I don’t focus on them.”

Talking about managing the players’ workload for the remainder of the season, the Barcelona head coach explained:

“It’s important to focus on the current things and we have to think about every game. We have to see how tired the players are, that’s important, or if we have to change positions.

“I am happy because right now we have a lot of players who can cover several positions. We have this schedule, but it won’t make us suffer. Our goal is to win every single match. We can deal with it. We are very proud.”

The Barcelona players started training an hour later than scheduled as Flick had a video session with them followed by a lengthy talk. On being asked what was discussed, he said:

“We are clear about how we want to play and we have made some promises. We want to stay in the Champions League, we have to focus on the things that matter.”

About statistics and numbers being in favour of Barcelona heading into tomorrow’s encounter, Flick remarked that it does not matter to him.

"Statistics don’t interest me, nor does the past. What matters is tomorrow. We are all delighted to be playing in the Champions League. It’s a challenge for us to play in Europe and we want to be there,” he noted.

- Michel Durant 

GERMANY SURVIVE ITALY SCARE TO MAKE NATIONS OK LEAGUE SEMI-FINALS

Germany survived a spirited second-half fightback from Italy, letting a three-goal lead slip to draw 3-3 in Dortmund on Sunday, before reaching the Nations League semi-finals 5-4 on aggregate.

AFP

Germany survived a spirited second-half fightback from Italy, letting a three-goal lead slip to draw 3-3 in Dortmund on Sunday, before reaching the Nations League semi-finals 5-4 on aggregate. A first-half Joshua Kimmich masterclass, with a penalty and two assists for Jamal Musiala and Tim Kleindienst, had Germany 3-0 up and cruising at the break. However, injury-hit Italy kicked into gear in the second half, Moise Kean scoring a double to rattle the hosts. Italy looked on course to level the scores when they were awarded a penalty with 73 minutes gone, but it was overturned by VAR. 

Giacomo Raspadori then converted a stoppage time penalty to give Italy a glimmer of hope. 

The result not only secured Germany a first-ever Nations League semi-final spot, where they will face Portugal, but it means the remainder of the tournament will be held on German soil, in Stuttgart and Munich in June. 

Despite the second-half scare, the victory continues Germany's resurgence under Julian Nagelsmann. 

Germany's only loss in their past 17 matches came in extra-time at Euro 2024 against eventual champions Spain in the quarter-finals. 

Nagelsmann said Germany "learned lessons for our development" from the game, adding "we know how well we can play football -- but we have to show it throughout the game. 

"I'm going home with an understanding of what we're capable of, but it's also nice that we've got a bit more to do," he said.

Italy coach Luciano Spalletti admitted his side lacked "maturity" and said "you always learn from games like this."

"The second half was very good, but we were too afraid to play like that for the whole game."

'Something impossible'

Italy travelled to Dortmund, the site of their 2006 World Cup semi-final win over the same opponents, with a mountain to climb. 

After letting a one-goal lead slip to lose in Milan in the first leg, Italy saw defenders Riccardo Calafiori and Andrea Cambiaso added to an injury list which already included striker Mateo Retegui and left-back Federico Dimarco.

Spalletti spoke pre-match of needing to do "something impossible" and his side were up against it from the get-go as Germany burst out of the blocks.

With Musiala on top form and Nico Schlotterback sending in penetrating passes from the deep, Germany's breakthrough came from the spot. 

Alessandro Buongiorno brought down a surging Kleindienst in the box and Kimmich converted, just the fourth penalty for either club or country in the 30-year-old's career.

After an acrobatic save to keep out a Kleindienst header by Gianluigi Donnarumma, the quick-thinking Kimmich played the ball fast from the ensuing corner. 

The move caught the Italians napping, with Musiala tapping in from close range as the Italian goalkeeper was still remonstrating with the referee.

Nagelsmann said the quick thinking was "world-class and unbelievably smart," and admitted "I didn't see it at all."

In the final minute of the half, Donnarumma palmed away a Kleindienst header, but this time could not keep it out, with the home crowd erupting as the referee pointed to his watch to show the ball had crossed the line. 

Germany dropped in intensity in the second half and the Italians pounced, Kean latching onto a loose ball and blasting home after 49 minutes.  

Spalletti brought on Raspadori and the Napoli man had an immediate impact, threading a pass for Kean to curl a ball past Oliver Baumann's outstretched arm with 68 minutes played. 

The stunned Germans were shocked further five minutes later when they conceded a penalty, but the spot kick was overturned by VAR. 

The Italians did eventually get a spot kick in stoppage time, with Raspadori converting, but it was too late as Germany held on to progress on aggregate.

- Agence France-Presse

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EURO 2024: ENGLAND-NETHETLANDS REF SERVED MATCH-FIXING BAN

Felix Zwayer officiated the Netherlands' round-of-16 clash with Romania. Alex Caparros - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images

 UEFA has appointed a referee who previously confessed to match-fixing -- and whose integrity was publicly questioned by Jude Bellingham -- for England's Euro 2024 semifinal against the Netherlands.

Felix Zwayer will officiate Wednesday's clash in Dortmund despite being banned for six months in 2005 after taking a €300 ($325) bribe from another official, Robert Hoyzer.

A 2005 investigation found that Zwayer accepted a bribe to favour German club Wuppertaler SV in their match against Werder Bremen Amateure in May 2004.

Bellingham referred back to that incident in a postmatch interview in 2021 after Borussia Dortmund lost 3-2 to Bayern Munich in a huge Bundesliga game.

The England midfielder, who played for Dortmund at the time, said: "You can look at a lot of the decisions in the game.

"You give a referee, that has match-fixed before, the biggest game in Germany. What do you expect?"

Bellingham was subsequently fined €40,000 for his comments, which came after Dortmund were denied a penalty at one end and conceded one at the other.

Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke added at the time: "To be clear, Jude was not spreading lies, but what happened in the past. This statement shouldn't have been, but I don't see anything untrue there. I don't expect that to have any consequences for Jude."

Zwayer officiated the Netherlands' 3-0 win over Romania in the Euro 2024 round of 16 on Tuesday.

The FA declined to comment on Zwayer's appointment when contacted by ESPN.

England defender Luke Shaw was quick to dispel any thoughts of conspiracy when asked at a news conference Monday if the refereeing situation was uncomfortable.

"No, not at all," the Manchester United player said. "We have to respect UEFA in whoever they decide to pick as the ref. That won't change anything about us.

"We still just focus on the game in hand, not too much about what refs we've been given or this and that. For us, it won't make any difference."

Shaw went on to say he had never played in a game where he thought the officials were acting against his team.

"Sometimes in the heat of the moment, you get angry in games and you might think that, but no," he said.

"Whatever ref has been picked has been picked. We just have to be ready and not focus on that."

- James Olley, Senior Writer, ESPN FC

GERMANY RIDE LUCK VS. DENMARK BUT EVENTUALLY IT WILL RUN OUT

Kai Havertz scored from the penalty spot en route to Germany's 2-0 win over Denmark on Saturday in Dortmund. Bradley Collyer/PA Images via Getty Images

 DORTMUND, Germany -- Julian Nagelsmann is riding his luck as Germany head coach. It's taken him to the quarterfinals of Euro 2024, but sooner or later, he will need more than good fortune to take the host nation much further in the competition.

It needed a ferocious thunderstorm -- play was suspended for 22 minutes in the first half because of lightning and incessant rain in Dortmund -- and two VAR decisions in Germany's favour to knock Denmark out of their stride in a round-of-16 tie that Nagelsmann's team ultimately won 2-0 thanks to a Kai Havertz penalty and a Jamal Musiala solo goal. Had the Danes enjoyed some of Nagelsmann's luck and had one, or even both, of the VAR decisions gone their way, Germany could have been sent packing from their own party and the recriminations would already be underway.

"We were favourites, that makes it difficult, and we had so many adversities to overcome," Nagelsmann said after the match. "They did that and it makes me proud. The players are getting rid of their old memory stick and remembering how good they are.

"We told the team that there were still phases where we were not working at 100%. We must remain more patient and wait for our good moments."

Nagelsmann, the former RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich manager, is under contract as Germany coach until the end of the 2026 World Cup. He might just settle on his best team by then.

For this game, he made the shock decision to drop Florian Wirtz from the team in favour of Leroy Sané and also resisted calls to hand Niclas Füllkrug, Germany's goal-scoring super-sub, a first start in the tournament.

"Against Switzerland, we didn't sprint and offer enough depth," Nagelsmann told German broadcasters before the game when asked about Wirtz's demotion to the bench. "Leroy is a player who embodies both. [Wirtz] also always has good runs, but he wants to have the ball at his feet more and then create things with two touches.

"Leroy offers a lot of depth because of his speed. He can bring what we were missing a little against Switzerland. We are deciding between two world-class players, so the decision can only be a good one."

Füllkrug, meanwhile, was always unlikely to start because Nagelsmann typically opts for Havertz. This was another game in which the Arsenal forward missed a hatful of chances either side of scoring from the penalty spot.

Sané? He offered the pace that Nagelsmann wanted but tended to run down blind alleys and failed to take advantage of his natural attributes. "It was his first game for a long time, but he got better in the second half," Nagelsmann said.

The end result, in which Havertz scored, will allow Nagelsmann to justify his selection, but the coach is now facing some big decisions going into Friday's quarterfinal against either Spain or Georgia in Stuttgart.

Barring the biggest upset at a Euros since Iceland eliminated England at Euro 2016, Spain are likely to overcome Georgia to face the Germans, and that would be a stern test of Nagelsmann and his squad. Germany can win that game, they can win the whole tournament, but Nagelsmann needs to find a way to kick-start his team, and it is difficult to imagine him doing that without Wirtz in the lineup.

Denmark were able to enjoy periods of midfield dominance, and Christian Eriksen was given the time and space to pick holes in Germany's defence. If he had better players around him, the Manchester United midfielder could have inflicted real damage for his team.

Spain possess the options that Denmark do not, so they will take advantage if they end up facing Germany, but the Danes could also have won this game but for the interruption of the storm and the interference of VAR.

Joachim Andersen thought he had given Denmark the lead when he scored in a goalmouth scramble on 48 minutes, but VAR ruled the goal out after a fractional offside was spotted. Thomas Delaney, the Denmark midfielder, made the mistake of allowing the edge of his toe to stray offside by millimetres, so he was ruled offside.

Technically correct, yes, but there was no advantage gained and it was a goal that would never have been challenged, never mind ruled out, without VAR. While Denmark rued the decision, Germany took advantage, and within two minutes they had VAR to thank again when officials Stuart Attwell and David Coote urged referee Michael Oliver to review a handball by Andersen following a David Raum cross.

Again, no advantage was gained by Denmark by the apparent infringement. It was Andersen's fingernail that scraped the ball, but it registered on the Snickometer that has been introduced to catch handballs. Andersen was deemed to have his arm in an unnatural position -- check it out and you'll wonder where he was expected to have it -- and Oliver agreed with his colleagues in the VAR room and pointed to the penalty spot.

"Throughout the game we worked our way into it and then suddenly it is my little toe offside and then the handball," Delaney said. "It goes fast in modern football with VAR."

Havertz, who had previously done little beyond miss good chances, scored the penalty, and from that point on, Germany never looked back. Musiala added a second on 68 minutes to make the game safe, and the final 20 minutes were routine for the hosts, who then started to cut loose to paint a misleading impression of the game.

Sometimes teams and coaches get lucky. Denmark had no luck, but Germany benefited from the big decisions going their way. Because of that, Nagelsmann's selection and his inability to settle on his best team became a debate that can be saved for another day.

Make no mistake, though, that debate will come sooner or later..- 

- Mark Ogden, Senior Writer, ESPN FC

DORTMUND KEEN ON PERMANENT DEAL FOR IAN MAATSEN - SOURCES

Ian Maatsen played the full 90 minutes of Borussia Dortmund's Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid. Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu via Getty Images

 Borussia Dortmund want to sign Ian Maatsen on a permanent basis but are reluctant to meet Chelsea's £35 million ($44.7m) valuation, sources have told ESPN.

The 22-year-old joined Dortmund on loan in January and became a key member of Edin Terzic's team, playing every minute of their seven Champions League knockout matches which culminated in last weekend's final defeat to Real Madrid at Wembley.

Prior to that game, Maatsen publicly admitted his future was uncertain and sources have told ESPN that Dortmund are keen to extend his stay in Germany after the full-back made 24 appearances across all competitions, scoring three goals.

Chelsea are looking to recoup money through outgoing transfers to maintain compliance with the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules and are willing to allow a number of fringe players to leave the club including Maatsen, Romelu Lukaku and Trevoh Chalobah.

However, sources have told ESPN that Chelsea's hopes of securing a lucrative deal for Maatsen's transfer is considered a stumbling block with Dortmund believed to be readying an opening offer considerably lower than that figure. One source suggested their initial offer would likely be between £20m to £25m.

Any deal that Chelsea want to form part of their 2023-24 accounting year must be completed by June 30 and Dortmund are hopeful that theoretical deadline could help them negotiate a lower transfer fee.

- James Olley, Senior Writer, ESPN FC

'WE ARE SO CONFIDENT ' | TERZIC | BORUSSIA DORTMUND VS. REAL MADRID | UCL FINAL

 

UCL: PSG AND MBAPPÉ NO MATCH FOR DORTMUND REJECTS

PSG's Kylian Mbappe could only shake his head in disbelief as BVB players celebrated scoring in Paris on Tuesday. Dortmund won the Champions League semifinal second leg, 1-0. EPA/Chrstophe Petit Tesson

 PARIS -- Score this one for the unwanted. The motley crew of strays and mutts, old yellers and foundlings from Dortmund scampered into the Parc des Princes and, just as they did in front of the Yellow Wall six days earlier, felled mighty Paris Saint-Germain, the team with the highest budget and, just as important, the most desired free agent-to-be in world football: Kylian Mbappé. Who, incidentally, barring a last-minute volte-face (unlikely but, heck, he's done it before) will leave his hometown club without delivering a European Cup.

Is the "unwanted" tag harsh on Borussia Dortmund? Not at all.

Mats Hummels, whose header sealed the tie: unwanted by Bayern Munich, just like the big man, Niklas Süle. Or the trio of loanees who started the game: Ian Maatsen (unwanted by Chelsea because he's supposedly too short to play left back), Jadon Sancho (unwanted by Manchester United because he gives Erik ten Hag and everyone else agita) and Marcel Sabitzer (unwanted by Bayern because the guy who signed him is no longer there ... or maybe it's the pencil-thin mustache/man-bun combination). Or, indeed, the first-leg goal-scorer, Niclas Füllkrug: unwanted by everyone until Germany realized, at age 29, that he was worth calling up to the World Cup.

Heck, even resident legend Marco Reus -- who was there the last time Dortmund reached the Champions League final 11 years ago -- can be classed in the unwanted ranks, since the club informed him recently that they would not be extending his contract.

All of this is in stark contrast with PSG, and not just because of Mbappe. The Qatari plan to plant the flag at the peak of the European game may have shifted from acquiring established megastars (Lionel Messi and Neymar are gone) to gifted up-and-comers, but the cash is still being thrown around, whether it's Goncalo Ramos or Ousmane Dembélé or Randal Kolo Muani. And to ensure Mbappe would say "au revoir" with a European Cup in his metaphorical pocket, they had brought in as manager Luis Enrique, the no-nonsense visionary who didn't coddle superstars and massage egos, but preached team ethos and selflessness.

On Tuesday, there was little of the Luis Enrique effect to be seen as PSG lost 1-0 in the second leg, a 2-0 semifinal loss on aggregate. He crowed afterwards about PSG having hit the woodwork four times, perhaps forgetting that two of them came at the end, when his best-laid plans were shot and he was throwing the kitchen sink at Dortmund, having resorted to the age-old plan of simply chucking on more forwards and wingers while chasing the match.

PSG would end the game in siege mode, with Mbappe, Dembele, Lee Kang-in, Bradley Barcola and Marco Asensio all on the pitch at the same time. Which, in some ways, was fitting because Dortmund coach Edin Terzic -- once a creative coaching wunderkind, now a guy teetering on the edge of the sack ... at least before this game -- countered with plenty of yin to Enrique's yang, going into full-on lockdown mode by withdrawing Sancho and sending on the 6-foot-7 Sule to clog space and snag headers.

By that point, Mbappe, who had little joy out wide, was moved into the middle, where he had even less space in which to operate. He all but drowned in a sea of yellow, popping up three minutes from time to hit the crossbar but offering little else other than frustration. Indeed, little had been going right for Mbappe on the night, from his uncoordinated finish in the 6-yard box early in the game to his attempted back-heel-turned-air-shot later onto the chance at the very end when, clear on goal, he slipped on the Parc des Princes turf.

Mbappe left Monaco to come home to Paris in order to make history before going on to the next chapter of his career. He rewrote PSG record books and won titles, but an individual performance like this one is not what he had envisioned for his final Champions League outing with PSG.

Really, though, the story is Dortmund, who serve up a reminder that part of the magic of this low-scoring, often nonsensical sport is that the unwanteds mired in a nightmarish domestic season can, in fact, reach the biggest game in club football.

Part of it may be down to PSG's profligacy, sure, but you also have to be there to take advantage of your opponents' miscues. And Dortmund did that with the utmost of humility, whether it was Fullkrug tying up the PSG central defenders or Sabitzer being a pest in midfield or the 35-year-old Hummels using all his guile and experience to lose his marker, 20-year-old Lucas Beraldo, for the Dortmund goal.

At the final whistle, Dortmund raced to the sliver of stand in the corner of the ground, which their supporters had turned into a travel-size version of the Yellow Wall back home. They danced and celebrated with the supporters, a single banana-colored mass of passion.

And PSG? Mbappe stood, head down in apoplexy, while most of his teammates appeared frozen on the pitch, incredulous.

In some ways, Enrique was right: PSG did have more chances over two games. But in other ways, he's wrong: It doesn't mean they deserved to advance or even that they played better. It simply means they have better players. But better players who, unlike Dortmund, did not add up to more than the sum of their parts. That, basically, is how you end up with a whopping 3.22 expected goals, or xG, and a big goose egg on the scoreboard.

They'll learn and grow. Their leaders -- Achraf Hakimi, Dembele and Marquinhos -- have plenty of football left in them. The kids will get better: Vitinha is 24, Ramos 23, Barcola 21, Beraldo 20 and Warren Zaïre-Emery 17. And, you assume, they'll be back. Well, all apart from (most likely) Mbappe. Not with this PSG team anyway.

Sometimes football is like an old John Hughes film. The popular girl, the one everybody pines for, loses out. And the unwanted rejects have their day.