Roma seek historic comeback in Eternal City – Champions League in Opta numbers

The committee which imposed a three-year ban on former Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales for his conduct at the Women’s World Cup final said it had been tempted to impose a more severe sanction.

A FIFA disciplinary committee said Rubiales had acted with “a sense of complete impunity” at the Spain v England match on August 20 in Sydney.

He grabbed his genitals in celebration of Spain’s victory while stood in the VIP area and kissed midfielder Jennifer Hermoso on the lips during the medal presentation. Hermoso has said she did not consent to the kiss.

The committee, which imposed a ban on Rubiales on October 30, said in the written grounds of its decision: “All incidents assessed collectively, (together with Rubiales’ position in relat…

England coach Sarina Wiegman said the crisis surrounding Spanish football in the wake of their World Cup win “really hurts” and shows there is still a “long way to go” in the women’s game and society.

Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales has been provisionally suspended by FIFA for an initial period of 90 days, pending an investigation into his behaviour at the World Cup final earlier this month when he kissed Spain midfielder Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the trophy and medals presentation.

Hermoso has said she did not consent to the kiss, and along with her 22 squad mates, has said she will not play for the national team until Rubiales resigns.

SARINA WIEGMAN is the 2022/23 UEFA Women s Coach of the Year!

The England coach r…

Jordan Pickford frustrated Liverpool with a stunning goalkeeping performance in an absorbing 0-0 draw with Everton at Goodison Park.

The England number one made a string of excellent saves, while opposite number Alisson also had to be sharp to prevent a home win in a Merseyside derby that could have been flooded with goals.

Both sides rattled the frame of the goal in the first half, Everton through Tom Davies before Liverpool s Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz followed suit, while Mohamed Salah was also denied by the woodwork late on.

Chances flowed in an open game, and Everton thought they had snatched the lead midway through the second half when former Liverpool academy player Conor Coady touched in Neal Maupay s cross, only to be denied when a VAR checked showed h…

Manchester United are interested in signing Thiago Almada from Atlanta United in the summer of 2024, according to . The report has claimed that former Premier League and UEFA Champions League winners United could make a bid for Almada at the end of the season.

Almada is one of the best young players around and can operate as an attacking midfielder or as a winger. The Argentina international has been on the books of Atlanta United since 2022 when he joined from Argentine club Velez Sarsfield. He has also played four times for Argentina.

Manchester United are 10th in the Premier League table at the moment with nine points from seven matches, seven points behind Liverpool in fourth place. Erik ten Hag’s side will take on Brentford at Old Trafford in the Premier League t…

Joao Cancelo was shocked to hear Bayern Munich have reportedly sacked Julian Nagelsmann but asked his potential new coach Thomas Tuchel to help him win the Champions League.

Reports emerged on Thursday suggesting Bayern had elected to dismiss Nagelsmann and replace the 35-year-old with former Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain coach Tuchel.

Bayern are into the quarter-finals of the Champions League – they will face Cancelo s parent club Manchester City for a place in the last four – and sit second in the Bundesliga, trailing Dortmund, who they play on April 1, by one point.

Cancelo started the scoring in Portugal s 4-0 rout of Liechtenstein in Euro 2024 qualifying on Thursday, and was subsequently made aware of the Nagelsmann rumours at full-t…

Serie A promises to be fascinating next season, with four of the biggest clubs in the league under new leadership.

Champions Juventus surprisingly parted company with Massimiliano Allegri and replaced him with Maurizio Sarri despite winning the title yet again, although runners-up Napoli have stuck with Carlo Ancelotti.

Inter and AC Milan both appointed new head coaches, with Antonio Conte and Marco Giampaolo taking charge respectively, while Paulo Fonseca is the new man in the Roma dugout.

But what do the four men need to do to make a success of their new jobs? Omnisport takes a look.

Maurizio Sarri (Juventus)

Perhaps the most daunting task awaits Sarri next season, as he attempts to follow in the footsteps of Allegri, who won five c…

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Level on points in fourth and fifth in La Liga standings respectively, Atletico Madrid and Real Betis go head to head in what could potentially become one of the most interesting matches of La Liga this weekend.

Atletico Madrid

Atletico Madrid extended their unbeaten run to six matches in a row thanks to a comfortable 3-1 triumph over Club Brugge KV in the Champions League on Wednesday night. Los Rojiblancos recovered well from their only defeat in the season thus far – at Celta Vigo earlier in September – and seem to be gaining momentum at the moment.

The Ballon d’Or nominee Antoine Griezmann scored twice as Los Rojiblancos made it two wins out of two Champions League gam…

Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone bemoaned his side s wastefulness in front of goal after they were held to a 0-0 home draw by Espanyol.

Simeone s side had 25 shots and mustered 2.71 expected goals on Wednesday, yet could not get over the line against one of LaLiga s promoted teams.

Visiting goalkeeper Joan Garcia made seven saves to ensure Espanyol took what may prove to be a valuable point in their bid to stay up this season.

Simeone said his side were undone by a lack of precision in front of goal.

It worries me, as always, but I can t stop appreciating the good game the team played. When you have five clear goalscoring opportunities like the ones we had? Simeone told Movistar.

Well, they didn t go in, but the opportunities we created were t…

Manchester City will be looking to set a new club record for games unbeaten in all competitions when they welcome rivals Manchester United to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Pep Guardiola s men have gone 28 matches since last tasting defeat and have won the last 21 of those, including 15 wins from their last 15 in the Premier League.

The Manchester derby undoubtedly headlines this weekend s fixtures in the English top flight, but there are plenty of other intriguing games at both ends of the division.

Players from six different clubs feature among our Opta-fuelled fantasy picks for what could be a defining few days.

Man City haven’t trailed for a single minute in any of their last 19 matches

They equal Arsenal’s record set between December 1998…

Roma goalkeeper Bogdan Lobont has announced his retirement from football, five years on from his last appearance in Serie A.

The 40-year-old confirmed his intentions through an open letter published by the club s website, in which he vowed the best has yet to come as he prepares for a new adventure .

Lobont joined Roma from Dinamo Bucharest in 2009 but has not featured in a competitive match since the 2012-13 season.

He managed five league appearances in that campaign, with his final outing coming in the Coppa Italia final defeat to bitter rivals Lazio.

The former Ajax and Fiorentina keeper won the last two of his 85 Romania caps later that year but has played in just four friendlies at club level since, with Alisson and Lukasz Skorupski the preferred opt…