Author: moshood

Daniel Sturridge wants to play in the Premier League again with the former Liverpool and Chelsea striker believing he has ‘unfinished business’ in England.

The ex-England international has been without a club since leaving Turkish side Trabzonspor in March after being handed a four-month ban for breaching betting rules.

Sturridge, 30, has since been based in Los Angeles keeping up his fitness as he awaits the right offer.

And though he says there has been interest from clubs all over the world, a return to Premier League football would be his preference.

‘We have options around the world but I’m an English player and I’ve always loved playing in the Premier League,’ Sturridge told Sky Sports.

‘I believe I’ve got a lot to give to the Premier League and I would say that’s my first choice. I do feel I have unfinished business so I would like to go back and play there.

‘I’m open to playing in other leagues, it’s not just the Premier League I’m going to consider, but to come back to England and give my best would be a huge option for me.

‘I’m very excited, I’m hungrier than ever and I’m totally focused on the next chapter.’

Sturridge started his career at Manchester City before signing for Chelsea in 2009.

Four years at Stamford Bridge saw the striker scored 24 goals in 96 appearances before he was sold to Liverpool for £12m in 2013.

Sturridge played and scored regularly in the 2013-14 season, when Liverpool came close to winning the Premier League title, but less frequently under Jurgen Klopp.

Nonetheless, he was part of the Liverpool squad that won the Champions League in 2019.

In July 2019, Sturridge was banned from football for six weeks, four of which were suspended, for breaching betting rules by telling his brother to bet on him signing for Sevilla.

However, the Football Association appealed this punishment by an independent regulatory commission and it was upgraded to a four-month worldwide ban from football in March this year.

Sturridge’s fine of £75,000 was also doubled as a result.

This led to the mutual termination of his contract with Trabzonspor and Sturridge, having served the ban, is now looking for a new club.

‘I’m a free agent and I’ve played for a lot of top clubs around the world,’ he added.

‘I’m just ready to help a team be successful and to be a big part of their plans

Liverpool made their first senior signing of the summer yesterday as Kostas Tsimikas was confirmed a Red.

Joining from Olympiacos, the 24-year-old defender has penned a long-term contract with Jurgen Klopp’s side.

The Greece international had his medical on Merseyside on Monday before being officially unveiled as a Liverpool player – and has now outlined his ambitions for his time at Anfield.

Speaking to the club’s official website, Tsimikas declared his hopes for next season and it seems he is eyeing up a double.

When asked ‘What are you ambitions for your time at Liverpool – both for the season coming up and beyond?’

He said: “To achieve [our] goals. T o win the league again and also to win the Champions League.”

Tsimikas was signed as backup and competition for the left back position, currently held firmly by Andy Robertson.

In all the talk over Liverpool’s transfer business this summer, there have been questions on whether players coming in are happy to be fighting so hard to try and break into the first team and the possibility of having to spend some time on the bench.

When asked about having to compete with one of the best left backs in Europe for a place in the team, Tsimikas was full of praise for his new teammate – while explaining he would the situation as motivation for himself.

RB Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann says he is fully focused on their Champions League quarter-final despite two detected cases of coronavirus in the squad of Thursday’s opponents Atletico Madrid.

Atletico’s Angel Correa and Sime Vrsaljko, who tested positive for COVID-19 at the weekend, have been isolated and left at home but the match in Lisbon is due to go ahead as planned.

Atletico breathed a sigh of relief on Monday as their players and staff all returned negative results in a further round of testing before the team flew to Portugal.

“We know that there are clear UEFA protocols for such cases. If it remains two cases, it won’t have much effect,” said Nagelsmann.

“We are concentrating entirely on our preparation and won’t let it get to us.”

RB Leipzig, who were only founded in 2009, had never got to the knockout stages in Europe’s top club competition before this season, and having beaten Tottenham in the last 16, they are eager to claim another big-name scalp.

Nagelsmann’s biggest concern is trying to replace the firepower of Timo Werner, who netted 34 times this term, including four goals in the Champions League, before the Germany striker joined Chelsea last month.

Denmark striker Yussuf Poulsen is set to partner Czech Republic forward Patrik Schick, who is on loan from Roma, up front on Thursday.

“Once you’re there, you must have the determination to go all the way to the final and the title,” Poulsen told newsmen.

The German side are fully aware of what to expect against Diego Simeone’s Atletico, who have plenty of experience at this stage of the competition.

“Atletico are a strong team, they show it every year in the Champions League,” said Leipzig’s Dani Olmo, with Atletico finishing runners-up in both 2014 and 2016.

“We have trained very well and we are ready for this big task,” he added.

David Beckham’s Inter Miami are set to announce the signing of French midfielder Blaise Matuidi from Juventus, according to transfer insider Fabrizio Romano.

A deal has been agreed between the two clubs, with just the player’s medical remaining to conclude the transfer. He is expected to sign a three-year contract with the MLS team.

Matuidi will become Inter Miami’s first high profile signing from Europe, with the current squad mostly comprised of American players and a few south Americans who qualify through the designated player rule.

Throughout his time at Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus, Matuidi won seven league titles and a World Cup with France to boot.

The dynamic midfielder will bring experience to a side whose first ever game was played this year, but unlike many previous MLS arrivals, he has plenty left in the tank.

Atlético Madrid said Monday that players Ángel Correa and Sime Vrsaljko have tested positive for the coronavirus but the rest of the squad has been cleared to make the trip to Portugal for the Champions League quarterfinals.

The new negative results came as a relief for the Spanish club and UEFA just two days before the start of the final stage of Europe’s top club competition. An outbreak within one of the clubs in the final eight could have hurt UEFA’s hopes of successfully finishing the tournament amid the pandemic.

Atlético announced the two positive tests in its group on Sunday but had not identified who was infected.

It said the entire squad was re-tested and on Monday the results came back negative for everyone else set to travel to Lisbon.

Correa was a regular starter for Atlético and led the team in assists this season, while Vrsaljko had not been playing recently as he recovered from injury. Neither player showed symptoms for COVID-19 and both would remain isolated at their homes in Spain.

Atlético said earlier tests had showed that Vrsaljko had already previously developed antibodies for the new virus and that health authorities considered his case solved.

Atlético said 21 first-team players and four from its youth squads would make the trip for Thursday’s match against Leipzig. The team will travel on Tuesday, a day after previously scheduled.

The last eight is set to begin in Lisbon on Wednesday amid tight health safety protocols to prevent a coronavirus outbreak from derailing the competition’s finale. The semifinals and Aug. 23 final will also be played in Lisbon.

Other clubs involved in the quarterfinals have not reported any positive tests among their players recently.

The other one-game series feature Atalanta vs. Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, Barcelona vs. Bayern Munich on Friday and Manchester City vs. Lyon on Saturday.

Atlético is seeking its first title in Europe’s most lucrative club competition. It lost the 2014 and 2016 Champions League finals to city rival Real Madrid. It was also runner-up in 1974, losing to Bayern Munich. Diego Simeone’s team was eliminated by Juventus in the round of 16 last season.

Bruno Fernandes’ extra-time penalty sent Manchester United into the Europa League semi-finals as they fought past FC Copenhagen on a sweltering night in Cologne.

United were frustrated for much of the evening by a combination of the woodwork, disallowed goals and the brilliance of Copenhagen goalkeeper Karl-Johan Johnsson as normal time finished goalless.

In 30-degree-plus heat, an extra half hour was the last thing anyone needed, but Fernandes’ spot-kick eventually earned a 1-0 win to ensure United’s stay in Germany for this novel mini-tournament goes on.

Having rotated for the formality of last week’s last-16 second leg against LASK, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer returned to the bulk of his first-choice XI, making six changes.

They were sluggish out of the blocks, though, and haad some good defending from Eric Bailly to thank for denying Mohamed Daramy the chance to open the scoring, before Harry Maguire blocked from the same player and Paul Pogba also made a crucial intervention.

They did have a penalty briefly awarded for a foul on Anthony Martial in the six-yard box, only for VAR to spot Maguire offside in the build-up and overturn the decision.

Before the half was out they saw a goal chalked off for the same reason, this time Mason Greenwood the man flagged after he’d whipped home a terrific finish via the upright.

The ball was in the net again after the restart, Greenwood once more striking against the upright and this time the ball ricocheting back to Marcus Rashford, who tapped home but well aware that he was clearly offside.

Bruno Fernandes crashed a wicked striker off the far post from range but the Danish side were still a threat on the counter attack, substitute Bryan Oviedo thwarted by Bailly’s latest block after outrageous skill from Rasmus Falk.

Martial must’ve thought he’d won it with a right-footed striker six minutes from the end of normal time but Johnsson produced a stunning one-handed save to set up extra-time.

Martial was again kept out by the Copenhagen ‘keeper at the beginning of extra-time but within moments he was felled by Andreas Bjelland and this time when the referee pointed to the spot there would be no reprieve for the Danes, as the decision stood and Fernandes lashed home a clinical effort.

Juventus have named Andrea Pirlo as their new head coach on a two-year contract, just hours after sacking Maurizio Sarri.

Pirlo was only named the club’s Under-23 head coach last month, but has secured a major promotion before even taking charge of one match with the Serie C outfit.

It will be a major challenge for the 41-year-old who has never managed before, either at youth or senior level.

“Today’s choice is based on the belief that Pirlo has what it takes to lead from his debut on the bench, an expert and talented squad to pursue new successes,” a statement from Juventus read.

Pirlo returns to Juve having starred for the club between 2011 and 2015. The midfielder helped lead the Bianconeri to four straight Serie A titles, as well as the final of the 2014–15 Champions League.

Internationally, Pirlo represented Italy on 116 occasions and was a member of his country’s victorious 2006 World Cup team.

His playing career ended in 2017 after a three-year spell at MLS side New York City FC, after which he began preparing for a career in coaching.

Pirlo will take over a team that has won nine consecutive Serie A titles, but has continued to fall short in the Champions League.

Sarri was sacked after just one season despite winning the Scudetto at the first time of asking. Juventus were shockingly eliminated by Lyon in the Champions League last 16 on Friday, as a 2-1 victory over the Ligue 1 side was not enough to avoid an exit on away goals in a 2-2 aggregate final score.

Following a meeting of Juve’s hierarchy on Saturday, the decision was taken to swiftly replace the 61-year-old former Chelsea and Napoli manager.

Pirlo will have high expectations to meet, with it now established that success in Europe is the principal goal for Juventus. The club’s last Champions League win came in 1995-96 and Pirlo will be expected to help end a drought that has now reached 24 years.

The signing of Cristiano Ronaldo in 2018 was expected to help end the club’s wait for European glory, but the Portugal superstar has only managed to lead Juventus to a quarter-final exit at the hands of Ajax last term before this season’s stunning round-of-16 elimination at the hands of Lyon.

Robert Lewandowski struck twice and set up two more goals as Bayern Munich cruised past Chelsea 4-1 on Saturday to reach the Champions League quarter-finals with a 7-1 aggregate victory and remain on course for a treble of titles.

The Bavarians will be on an 18-game winning streak across all competitions as they head into next week’s Final Eight tournament in Lisbon, where they will face Barcelona.

Bayern, who won the domestic league and Cup double, quickly killed off the tie with a ninth minute Lewandowski penalty, after having won 3-0 in London in the first leg in February.

Polish striker Lewandowski, with 53 goals in 44 matches in all competitions this season, turned provider to set up Ivan Perisic in the 24th minute as the hosts showed no lack of fitness despite a five-week gap since their last competitive game.

Chelsea, who conceded seven goals in a two-legged European tie for the first time, did not lack match practice having played in the FA Cup final last week. But many of their players were missing through injury, including Cesar Azpilicueta, Christian Pulisic and Pedro.

They did get onto the scoresheet with Tammy Abraham’s tap-in from a Manuel Neuer pass a minute before the break but it was Bayern who were in control in the second half.

Bayern substitute Corentin Tolisso restored their two-goal lead in the 76th minute with a well-timed volley from a Lewandowski cross.

The forward then bagged his second eight minutes later with a towering header to make it 13 goals in the Champions League this season, confirming Bayern’s status as one of the favourites for the title.

The three-month stoppage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic means that the remainder of the Champions League will be played at neutral venues in one-legged showdowns.