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Jadon Sancho has no desire to return to Manchester United as he blames manager Erik ten Hag for letting his career stall, a report has claimed. After being left out of the matchday squad for United's fourth Premier League Game of the season, Sancho publicly rejected Ten Hag's suggestions that he was dropped for his lack of effort in training, sparking a four-month exile which ultimately led to a loan return to Dortmund in the January transfer window. Sancho's loan deal does not include a permanent transfer clause and he is therefore expected back at United in the summer, but according to BILD , the 23-year-old has already made it clear he has no desire to return to Old Trafford. The report claims Sancho blames Ten Hag for letting his career stagnate on the sidelines and has no desire to work under the Dutchman again. Whether he would consider a comeback under a new manager is unclear but the belief is that Sancho's current focus is on continuing with Dortmund. 90mi...

Italian referee Marco Di Bello will be part of the officiating team for this Wednesday's Champions League clash between Real Madrid and RB Leipzig, despite receiving a ban in Serie A recently. Di Bello was the referee who controversially sent off three Lazio players in their 1-0 loss to Milan on Friday night. Luca Pellegrini was the first player to receive his marching orders, picking up a second booking on 57 minutes for cynically bringing down Christian Pulisic and ending a counter-attack. The left-back had hoped Pulisic was offside but the assistant referee 's flag did not go up. Next up to be dismissed was Adam Marusic, whose tame but frustrated reaction to being penalised for a 94th-minute shove on Rafael Leao was deemed to have crossed a line by Di Bello who reached for the red card. Moments later, former Arsenal midfielder Matteo Guendouzi was sent off for dragging Pulisic to the ground after being fouled by the American. Di Bello received widespread criticism for his h...

Carlo Ancelotti has denied claims his Real Madrid side have been distracted by the uncertainty surrounding Kylian Mbappe's future. Mbappe has confirmed his decision to leave Paris Saint-Germain this summer and Madrid are the overwhelming favourites to secure his signature, with reports in Spain even stating an agreement has been reached already. With all that going on away from the pitch, Madrid fell to a frustrating 1-1 draw with Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, leaving their lead at the top of the La Liga standings at six points - second-placed Girona also have a game in hand. Many players were criticised after the Game for a perceived drop in performance but Ancelotti insisted his side's showing had nothing to do with Mbappe. "When have we not been focused?" he said when asked if Mbappe had distracted his side. "We are always focused, today too. To scold this team for something this season is very difficult." Mbappe will leave PSG / Christian Liewig - Corbis/...

Copenhagen were unlikely to test reigning European champions Manchester City too often during their last 16 first leg meeting and that proved to be the case in the Danish capital on Tuesday evening. The Cityzens dominated the entirety of the match and were rarely called upon defensively at the Parken Stadium, with goals from Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden easing Pep Guardiola's side to a commanding 3-1 win. There were some delightful performances from the visitors in Denmark, with Man City's only frustration being that they didn't find the back of the net more often. Here's how the players got on in 90min 's player ratings. Man City's best player vs Copenhagen Kevin De Bruyne - 9/10 The Belgian was superb in Denmark / Mateusz Slodkowski/GettyImages The Belgian is playing like a man possessed since returning from injury and he was at his blistering best in Copenhagen. His goal was taken with typical grace from a tight angle, while his relentless...

Manchester City travel to the Danish capital to face FC Copenhagen in the Champions League knockout stages on Tuesday evening. Copenhagen head coach Jacob Neestrup infamously claimed that the atmosphere at Parken Stadium was 100 times more intense than Manchester United's home ground earlier this season. Given Pep Guardiola's own misgivings with the Etihad crowd, one can only imagine how the din in Denmark compares to City's stadium. Nevertheless, the reigning European champions are heavy favourites in almost any venue they enter. Guardiola gave his side a 0.1% chance of repeating their treble-winning feat of last season but the odds of victory on Tuesday will be considerably higher. Here's the starting XI Guardiola may deploy to maximise his side's chance of success. FC Copenhagen vs Man City - Champions League: TV channel, team news, lineups and prediction Man City predicted lineup vs FC Copenhagen (4-3-3) Erling Haaland has rediscovered his scoring form / Michael...

Danish champions FC Copenhagen kick off the Champions League knockout stages with a daunting visit from the competition's holders Manchester City on Tuesday night. Copenhagen have not played a competitive fixture since defeating Galatasaray in their final Champions League group game two months ago. The Danish top flight does not resume until next weekend but Copenhagen have tried to limit the rust with a series of friendlies in the new year. City, by comparison, have been crowned world champions and clicked into ominous form since the club's last European fixture. Pep Guardiola's side bounce into the Danish capital on the back of a ten-match winning streak. Here's everything you need to know about this round of 16 tie. What time does FC Copenhagen vs Man City kick-off? Location : Copenhagen, Denmark Stadium : Parken Stadium Date : Tuesday 13 February Kick-off Time : 20:00 (GMT) / 15:00 (ET) / 12:00 (PT) Referee :   Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez (ESP) VAR: Juan Martinez M...

Ex-Manchester United captains Gary Neville and Roy Keane have spoken of suspicions that certain teams they faced in the Champions League during a period in the early years of the 21st century may have been guilty of doping in order to try and gain an unfair advantage. Neville and Keane stopped short of naming names or throwing out direct accusations but pointed a finger loosely at a couple of "Italian teams" they had faced in Europe. "There are a couple that stick in my mind and I'm going to say this for legal reasons, I think there were a few teams that we played against who weren't clean. We thought it at the time," Neville explained on the latest episode of Stick to Football alongside Keane and Jamie Carragher. "You look back at what came out after in cycling and other sports and doctors and then you think, 'Hang on?'" he added as the trio discussed their toughest European nights. "Physically, we were fit, we weren't drinker...

Cristiano Ronaldo has backed one of Manchester City, Bayern Munich or Real Madrid to win this season's Champions League. The 38-year-old Al Nassr striker was present at Friday's Globe Soccer Awards, where he won the Fans' Favourite Player of the Year, Best Goalscorer and Best Middle East Player prizes. As he accepted his awards, Ronaldo fielded questions from those in attendance and was asked to give his thoughts on the race for this season 's Champions League . "Manchester City finally won the Champions League , they probably deserved it two years ago," he began. "I like watching how they play. They have a good chance to win the Champions League again. "[City] are always at the top to be favourites, but it's always the same clubs: Bayern, Manchester City, Real Madrid." Ronaldo expects City to put up a strong defence of their title / Eurasia Sport Images/GettyImages Ronaldo's Best Goalscorer award came after he found the back of the net...

Given RB Leipzig were only formed in 2009, meetings between the Bundesliga outfit and Real Madrid have not been a regular occurrence. The two sides have met on just a smattering of occasions in European competition. It wasn't until the group stage of the 2022/23 Champions League campaign that the pair first faced off in competitive action. While past meetings have been scarce, both sides boast an incredible roster of talent, with the two clubs traditionally operating under different recruitment models. Here is the complete head- to -head record between Madrid and Leipzig. Past meetings Real Madrid 2-0 RB Leipzig - September 2022 RB Leipzig 3-2 Real Madrid - October 2022 Real Madrid 2-0 RB Leipzig - September 2022 Madrid dominated the first meeting between the sides / Anadolu/GettyImages With a front three of Dominik Szoboszlai, Christopher Nkunku and Timo Werner, Leipzig were primed to cause Madrid problems in the first meeting between the sides in the 2022/23 Champions League gr...

Manchester United's Champions League campaign has come to a catastrophic end at the group stage . Tuesday night's 1-0 defeat at home to Bayern Munich ensured the Red Devils have been eliminated from European competition for the 2023/24 season, becoming only the fourth English team to finish bottom of their group. United have also set a new unwanted record of most goals conceded by an English side in the groups, shipping 15 in only six games. What's worse for Erik ten Hag's men is a lot of these were self-inflicted, needless or just flat-out hilarious. And that's why we're here today. Here are all 15 goals United gave up in the Champions League this season, ranked by how laughingly devastating they were. 15. Harry Kane's penalty (Bayern Munich 4-3 Man Utd) United were on the receiving end of some bogus refereeing and VAR decisions during the group stage , so we'll start with those goals first. Who even knows what handball is meant to be anymore. Chris...