Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho says a lack of a winter break is a key factor behind English clubs poor recent record in the Champions League.
Teams from the Premier League have only progressed beyond the last 16 on four occasions since Chelsea won the tournament in 2012.
Mourinho criticised organisers of England s top flight last season during United s gruelling run to a victorious Europa League final, accusing them of failing to protect their clubs competing in Europe.
Ahead of his side s first Champions League game of 2017-18 against Basel on Tuesday, the former Chelsea boss again highlighted a different approach to other major leagues that he believes puts English teams at a distinct disadvantage.
The only thing I can say is that Real Madrid …
Arsenal made it nine wins in a row in all competitions as they thrashed Fulham 5-1 in the Premier League on Sunday.
Alexandre Lacazette scored twice for the Gunners before Aaron Ramsey s brilliant finish and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang s late double secured a third straight away win in the top flight – their best such run since October 2016.
Andre Schurrle had brought Fulham level at half-time, but it is now five defeats in eight games for Slavisa Jokanovic s side, who have conceded 21 times in those matches this season.
Unai Emery s side, who have won every game since back-to-back losses to Manchester City and Chelsea in August, are now third in the table, above rivals Tottenham on goal difference.
39 Aaron Ramsey scored Arsenal s third goal just 39 seco…
Former Bayern Munich midfielder Mario Basler has been named as the new coach of German fifth-tier side Rot-Weiss Frankfurt.
Basler, who was capped by Germany 30 times, has signed a two-month deal with the Hessenliga club and will be in charge for nine games.
The 48-year-old, who played for Bayern Munich between 1996 and 1999, has not managed since leaving Rot-Weiss Oberhausen in 2012.
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Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness has been branded a disgrace to his club and Germany by Mesut Ozil s agent after he slammed the Arsenal star following his retirement from international football.
Ozil released a three-part statement on Sunday hitting out at the German Football Federation, its chief Reinhard Grindel, the media and some fans for the reaction to his meeting with controversial Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan prior to the World Cup.
In his letter, Ozil – who has Turkish heritage – announced he will no longer play for Germany and Hoeness lashed out on Monday with stinging criticism.
Hoeness claimed Ozil had not won a single duel on the pitch since before the 2014 World Cup, that his performances had consistently been c***py and he was alwa…
Former Turkey international Hakan Sukur has denounced the failed coup against the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan after a warrant was issued for his arrest.
The ex-Galatasaray striker is, according to state media, being sought on charges of membership of an armed terror group , relating to his support for cleric Fethullah Gulen, accused by the government of being the mastermind of last month s coup attempt.
United States-based Gulen has denied any connection to the coup, which saw two hundred and seventy people killed as an element of the armed forces attempted to overthrow president Erdogan, who has initiated a widespread crackdown on sections of civil society in response.
Turkey s all-time leading goalscorer, Sukur went into politics after his retirement in…
Thomas Tuchel regretted not substituting Mateo Kovacic earlier in Chelsea s win over Lille but hopes the midfielder and Hakim Ziyech will be fit for the EFL Cup final.
Kovacic sustained an injury early in the second half of the Blues 2-0 last-16 first-leg victory at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek replacing him in the 51st minute.
Ziyech also hobbled off before the hour mark after appearing to hurt his ankle, casting doubt over whether the pair will be available for Sunday s meeting with Liverpool at Wembley.
Chelsea took the lead through Kai Havertz in the eighth minute and added to their tally through Christian Pulisic in the 63rd minute, making them the first English team to win five straight home matches without conceding in Europe s…
Barcelona are interested in signing Nikola Milenkovic from Fiorentina, according to Italian newspaper La Nazione.
Milenkovic arrived to Florence from Partizan Belgrade in 2017 for €5 million, but his stock has risen immensely over the two seasons since. Towards the end of last year he was heavily linked with Manchester United, until the Red Devils decided to sack Jose Mourinho and replace him with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The 22-year-old has 16 senior international caps with Serbia under his belt so far, and one goal to his name for his country.
The central defender has been an important part of the Fiorentina team for a long time, and it is believed that Fiorentina are set to demand a large amount of money in exchange for his services as they seek to raise the funds for…
Tottenham will take up their option to extend defender Toby Alderweireld s contract through to 2020, Mauricio Pochettino confirmed on Thursday.
Alderweireld s deal was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but the club are set to trigger an automatic 12-month extension to avoid losing him on a free.
The Belgium international was heavily linked with Manchester United following the World Cup, and his new terms are reported to contain a transfer clause which could see him leave for as little as £25million at the end of the 2018-19 season.
Spurs earlier this month made an identical move to tie down fellow centre-back Jan Vertonghen until 2020.
Asked whether the club would trigger their option to extend Alderweireld s stay, manager Pochettino …
Manchester United have announced Lisandro Martinez will be sidelined for an “extended period” after aggravating the foot injury he suffered towards the end of last season.
The Argentina defender sustained a fractured metatarsal in April’s Europa League quarter-final first leg against Sevilla, keeping him out for around two months.
Martinez is now looking at a similar timescale after United confirmed he had suffered a setback.
Wishing you a speedy recovery, Licha
— Manchester United (@ManUtd)
The club said: “Lisandro Martinez will be out of action for an extended period due to an aggravation of the foot injury he suffered in April.
“The Argentinian defender experienced the setback in our Premier League game against Arsenal ear…
Crystal Palace are interested in signing Reiss Nelson from Premier League rivals Arsenal in the summer transfer window, according to . It has been reported that the Eagles want to secure the services of the winger on a loan deal.
Arsenal are willing to let Nelson leave on loan in the summer transfer window. The 21-year-old Englishman is likely to struggle for playing time at the North London club this season. Palace are now managed by Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira.
Nelson played in the Premier League last season. The winger also made three starts and one substitute appearance in the Europa League, scoring one goal and providing one assist in the process.
During the 2019-20 campaign, Nelson made seven starts and 10 substitute appearances in the league for the …