Borussia Dortmund coach Nuri Sahin demanded improvements after watching his side play out a goalless draw with Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
BVB produced a meek attacking performance at the Weserstadion, with a 20-yard effort from substitute Karim Adeyemi representing their best sight of goal in the second half.
They attempted nine shots totalling just 0.63 expected goals (xG) overall, managing just 14 touches in the area to their hosts 22.
To make matters worse, Dortmund saw centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck sent off for a second bookable offence in the 73rd minute and had to dig in for their point, leaving Sahin frustrated.
As Borussia Dortmund, we have to perform differently, even if the team has undergone changes and has a new coach, Sah…
Sergio Aguero has been named the Premier League s Player of the Month for a record seventh time, while Jurgen Klopp takes home the managers gong for on an unprecedented fifth occasion in a single season.
Manchester City striker Aguero was in lethal form throughout January, scoring six times and registering an assist from just three matches.
In doing so, Aguero became the Premier League s highest-scoring foreign player, with his hat-trick in the 6-1 hammering of Aston Villa taking him beyond Thierry Henry s record of 175.
That treble also propelled him above Alan Shearer s haul of 11 hat-tricks, as Aguero set a new record.
Six goals
Two record-breaking landmarks
is the Player of the Month for January
— Premier League (@premier…
Pep Guardiola rubbished claims Manchester City s patchy form this season will persuade him to seek pastures new, suggesting he a stay beyond the end of his contract is possible.
City host Chelsea on Saturday as they resume their title defence nine points in arrears of Liverpool, after Jurgen Klopp s runaway leaders beat them 3-1 at Anfield last time out.
Guardiola s animatedly fraught touchline demeanour throughout the contest, where he railed against key decisions that did not fall in his side s favour, arguably painted a picture of deeper discontent.
This is only the second time the 48-year-old has entered a fourth season in charge of a club, following his 2011-12 campaign at Barcelona, where they won the Copa del Rey, Supercopa de Espana, UEFA Super Cup and …
Hellas Verona boss Marco Baroni insists their showdown against Serie A leaders Inter Milan is not already a foregone conclusion as his side look to keep themselves clear of the relegation zone.
The Gialloblu have lost three straight games against Inter, all without scoring a goal – and were thrashed 6-0 at home the last time the sides met in May.
Baroni, though, is looking for a positive response after his side were beaten 1-0 at home by Salernitana in their last game of 2023.
“We are going to play a match on Saturday which may be impossible on paper, but these are the matches that give us the measure of what we are,” Baroni said.
“It’s an opportunity. We know who we are playing against, but we go looking for a performance, this is what we need.…
Buoyed by two wins from two as Everton manager, Carlo Ancelotti begins the new decade back in the division where he was the first title-winner of the previous one.
Tactical thought in the 2010s was dominated by the Dutch-Catalan school s influence, as Pep Guardiola refined Johan Cruyff s vision to stunning effect with his dominant Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City sides, throwing in some South American seasoning as a Marcelo Bielsa disciple.
Guardiola, of course, has a more than worthy adversary in Jurgen Klopp, who looks to be at the beginning of his own imperial period at Liverpool. The gegenpressing master has refined his high-octane approach to find something utterly relentless – more motorik krautrock than heavy metal football.
Whenever major c…
New Manchester City signing Ferran Torres was inspired by David Silva when he started out at Valencia.
Torres last week moved to City for an initial £21.1million, arriving as a replacement for Leroy Sane following his move to Bayern Munich.
The Spain Under-21 winger joined Los Che as a seven-year-old, when Silva was part of a strong Valencia side regularly featuring in European competition.
Silva left Mestalla for City in 2010 but had already made a mark on Torres.
When I started at Valencia, he was enjoying his best time at the club, Torres told CityTV of Silva, City s outgoing captain.
He was always an inspiration and then, when he moved to City, where he s been playing his best football, I ve always admired him.
Above all, [what I l…
Best Odds: 8/5
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Looking to extend on their recent domestic flurry in midweek, Atletico Madrid will welcome Rayo Vallecano to the Metropolitano Stadium on Wednesday night.
Atletico Madrid
Starting with the hosts, although Atletico Madrid might have suffered Super Cup heartbreak at the hands of bitter local rivals Los Blancos on January 10th, Diego Simeone’s men have come roaring back in an eye-catching fashion. Last seen over the weekend putting in another rugged performance as they secured a 2-0 victory against Valencia, the former Spanish champions have won all of their previous four domestic appearances across all competitions. Sat firmly in pole position to claim another top-four finish, Atletico should be smelling the chance to make another stat…
Pedri has thanked Ronald Koeman for giving him his breakthrough at Camp Nou and says he will always be grateful to the former Barcelona head coach.
Barca confirmed the departure of Koeman on Wednesday shortly after a 1-0 loss to Rayo Vallecano that leaves them ninth in LaLiga with 10 games played.
The Dutchman lasted just 14 months in the job after replacing Quique Setien in August 2020, during which time he won just 58.21 per cent of his 67 games in charge.
Koeman had more success when it came to nurturing young players into the first-team fold, though, with Ronald Araujo, Oscar Mingueza and Pedri breaking through last season.
And with Barca s financial issues well-documented, Koeman made further use of the academy this term by giving Alejandro Balde, …
Fulham s relegation from the Premier League was confirmed with a 4-1 loss to Watford at Vicarage Road on Tuesday.
Will Hughes, Troy Deeney and Kiko Femenia struck as the Cottagers crumbled in the second half and were left 16 points adrift of safety with just five games remaining.
Fulham invested close to £100million in their squad after achieving promotion from the Championship via the play-offs last season, but their immediate return to the second tier was sealed after a ninth successive loss.
Ryan Babel cancelled out Abdoulaye Doucoure s first-half opener but a tactical shift at half-time from Javi Gracia made the difference, with Watford running away to a comfortable triumph ahead of their FA Cup semi-final against Wolves on Sunday.
Fulham started the…
Prediction: Paris Saint-Germain to win 2-0
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Paris Saint-Germain and Girona will lock horns in the UEFA Champions League this week. The League Phase game between the Ligue 1 club and the La Liga outfit will be held at Parc des Princes and is scheduled to kick off at 8 pm UK time on Wednesday.
Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain are arguably the biggest club in France and will enter the new UEFA Champions League campaign aiming to win it. PSG have been regulars in Europe’s premier club competition, and although they do tend to go far in it, they are yet to win it.
PSG won the Ligue 1 title last season and are favourites to clinch the championship again this time campaign. Luis Enrique’s side are at the top of the Lig…