🚨 Full Euro round-up, United struggle but Chelsea/Spurs win, England squad released, no Mbappé for France and more
Plus all the other stories making the news in the world of football...
Good morning everyone and welcome to another Daily Briefing! Thanks as always for reading, and hope you enjoy :-)
Today’s top stories:
🎧 LISTEN: The Debrief Podcast - Can ten Hag save his job over the next two weeks?
Plus more from Aston Villa, Juventus and Napoli
Arsenal
Arsenal watch two world-class talents during Champions League scouting mission [TBR Football]
Will Thomas Partey still be at Arsenal beyond January? Fabrizio Romano has the latest.
Aston Villa
Chelsea were close to signing Jhon Durán in June, before the Euros. Talks were at advanced stages with Aston Villa with Conor Gallagher as part of a swap deal… but Gallagher rejected the move and the deal collapsed. Villa rejected several bids from West Ham for Durán.
What Unai Emery and Prince William talked about after Aston Villa’s brilliant win over Bayern Munich [TNT Sports]
Barcelona
Szczesny: "I didn't have any guarantee about the #1 spot at Barça. In football, there are no guarantees. I'm here to compete. If I lose the competition, and Iñaki Peña plays well this season, I won't be sad. The club asked me to help, and I will do it."
Barcelona confident of securing contract agreement for talented teen [Sport]
Borussia Dortmund
Julian Ryerson signs a new deal at Borussia Dortmund valid until June 2028.
Champions League
UEFA release the Champions League Team of the Week for Matchday 2!
Chelsea
Maresca when asked whether he has regrets on leaving Chilwell out of Chelsea’s UEFA squad: “No.” The plan remains to part ways in January.
Christopher Nkunku scores his 7th goal this season, a few hours after being called up by Didier Deschamps for the upcoming games with France.
Five consecutive wins for Chelsea. 17 goals scored in the last five games for the Blues.
Si Phillips discusses why the Chelsea community now have faith with the board after some rocky times recently.
Fabrizio Romano has a definitive update on the future of Josh Acheampong.
Club World Cup
OFFICIAL: FIFA confirms it will allow member associations of participating clubs in the new Club World Cup to open their transfer window from 1 to 10 June 2025. In case it gets approved by the leagues, new signings can be registered before the tournament starts on 15 June.
England
England release official squad andDominic Solanke has been called up! Noni Madueke, Angel Gomes, Dean Henderson and Rico Lewis are part of the squad. James Maddison, Harry Maguire, Marcus Rashford, Jarrod Bowen have been left out.
Europa Conference League
Vitória SC vs Celje (2-1)
Istanbul Başakşehir vs Rapid Vienna (1-2)
Astana vs Bačka Topola (1-0)
Heidenheim vs Olimpija (2-1)
Cercle Brugge vs St. Gallen (6-2)
Omonia vs Vikingur Reykjavik (4-0)
Noah vs Mladá Boleslav (2-0)
Molde vs Larne (3-0)
Dinamo Minsk vs Hearts (1-2)
Legia Warsaw vs Real Betis (1-0)
Shamrock Rovers vs APOEL (1-1)
Lugano vs HJK (3-0)
Petrocub vs Pafos (1-4)
LASK vs Djurgârden (2-2)
Borac vs Panathinaikos (1-1)
Chelsea vs Gent (4-2) - First Chelsea goal for Renato Veiga after joining from Basel in the summer. Assist provided by Mudryk. Pedro Neto, Christopher Nkunku and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall made the goals from Tsuyoshi Watanabe and Omri Gandelman incidental [pictures from TNT Sports]:
Copenhagen vs Jagiellonia Bialystok (1-2)
Fiorentina vs The New Saints (2-0)
Europa League
Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs Midtylland (0-2): Franculino Djú and Edward Chilfuya were on target in a game that was as noticeable for the large number of fouls as for anything else.
Real Sociedad vs Anderlecht (1-2): A big surprise in the Basque country as La Real were downed by the Belgians, who scored twice from just three shots at goal. Pablo Marín gave the hosts the advantage after just five minutes, but Luis Vázquez and Théo Leoni ensured the home fans went home unhappy.
Olympiacos vs Braga (3-0): Although the visitors shaded possession in this one, Olympiacos were far the more dangerous when it mattered. João Ferreira, Santiago Hezze and Ayoub El Kaabi were the scorers.
Hoffenheim vs Dynamo Kyiv (2-0): The effervescent Adam Hložek ensured it was a tough night for the visitors, with a double on 22 and 59 ensuring Hoffenheim took all three points.
Qarabag vs Malmo (1-2): It was the hosts who struck first through Juninho, but it only took four minutes to level as Erik Botheim bagged his first of the match. His winner came two minutes after half time in a match where Qarabag’s only shot on target was their goal.
Lazio vs Nice (4-1): A match where Lazio ran riot, with veteran Pedro setting them on their way after 20 minutes. Valentín Castellanos bagged his first on 35 and another on 53, sandwiching a reply from Nice’s Jeremie Boga. A 67th-minute Mattia Zaccagni penalty completed the rout.
RFS vs Galatasaray (2-2): Turkish giants, Gala, inexplicably allowed a two-goal lead to slip from their grasp. Dries Mertens and Yunus Akgün had put them in control by the 38th minute, but Jãnis Ikaunieks and Lasha Odisharia had the hosts level ten minutes after the break.
Slavia Prague vs Ajax (1-1): Ajax took an undeserved lead in this one after Branco ven den Boomen scored from the spot. It took until the 67th minute for Tomáš Chorý to equalise but it was no more than Slavia deserved.
Ferencváros vs Tottenham (1-2): Ange Postecoglou will have been delighted with an important away win in Hungary. Pape Matar Sarr gave Spurs the lead, but it would be four minutes from the end before Brennan Johnson made the game safe. A late consolation from Barnabás Varga meant a few nervy minutes at the end [pictures from TNT Sports]:
Elfsborg vs Roma (1-0): Roma were given a hell of a shock in their second UEL game, as Michael Baidoo’s 44th-minute penalty was enough to win the hosts the game.
Porto vs Man United (3-3): A crazy game in Portugal as United raced into a two-goal lead through Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Højlund, before being pegged back by two from Pepê and Samu Omorodion. Samu was on target again to put the hosts into the lead, and once Bruno Fernandes was sent off with nine minutes to go the writing looked to be on the wall for Erik ten Hag’s side. Fortunately for them, Harry Maguire came up trumps with an injury-time equaliser [pictures from TNT Sports]:
Athletic Club vs AZ Alkmaar (2-0): The result in the Basque country was never in doubt once Iñaki Williams had given the hosts the lead on 72. Oihan Sancet’s effort on 85 merely underscored their dominance [pictures from TNT Sports]:
Viktoria Plzeň vs Ludogorets (0-0): The less said about this match the better. A pathetic advert for European football’s secondary competition.
Rangers vs Lyon (1-4): After Celtic had seven put past them earlier in the week, Scottish rivals Rangers fared marginally better against the Ligue Un giants. Malick Fofana gave the visitors the lead, but they were quickly pegged back by Tom Lawrence’s effort. It didn’t take long for Alexandre Lacazette to restore the lead, and he added a third in first-half injury-time. Fofana bagged his second on 55 to end the game as a contest [pictures from TNT Sports]:
Twente vs Fenerbahçe (1-1): Michel Vlap’s 28th-minute goal looked to be enough to keep the Turkish giants at bay, but Dušan Tadić’s leveller denied the hosts a famous win over Jose Mourinho’s side.
Beşiktaș vs Eintracht Frankfurt (1-3): Beşiktaş were dominant in all aspects of the game apart from scoring. By the time Arthur Masuaku had scored an injury time consolation, the Germans had scored three from Omar Marmoush, Éric Junior Dina Ebimbe and Ansgar Knauff.
PAOK vs FCSB (0-1): The game between the two teams of four letters was won by Daniel Birligea’s first-half injury-time goal. FCSB even managed to survive the sending off of Darius Olaru with a real backs-against-the-wall performance.
Union Saint-Gilloise vs Bodø/Glimt (0-0): Despite a total of 30 shots at goal from both sides, only four were on target. An even spread of possession, passes and pass accuracy ensured both sides cancelled each other out.
FC Porto
7 goals in his last 5 games since joining FC Porto for Samu Omorodion… he’s flying! Porto make it 3-2 against Man United after 0-2 for the Reds.
France
Kylian Mbappé, Ferland Mendy and Adrien Rabiot are not part of France list for the upcoming games. Mbappé will rest and recover in Madrid after his injury.
Christopher Nkunku, back with the France squad after a long absence. Deschamps has always been monitoring him and considering him as part of the project.
Juventus
Juventus’ Brazilian defender Gleison Bremer has torn his ACL and meniscus, and he will miss the rest of the season. Get well soon, Gleison!
Di Canio happy with Vlahovic’s attitude change [Sky Sports Italia]
Lille
Edon Zhegrova, Man of the Match for UEFA in the Lille vs Real Madrid game after an excellent performance. He was one of the main names on Juventus list last summer but Lille didn't want to sell Zhegrova, who is now flying again for the French side.
Liverpool
Mo Salah opens up on vital Slot advice [Official Liverpool website]
Manchester United
Ten Hag: "We hope Luke Shaw can return after the international break quickly, not sure for the first game back but soon. Tyrell Malacia has made very good progress on the pitch and now he has to make the step to full team training."
Ten Hag: "We create a lot of chances, the third highest xG in the Premier League. We have to improve in the final third and in the box, be more killers there. Our strikers are capable of doing this, I'm sure."
Erik ten Hag: "This club wants to be back on top and it's a long-term target. We talk every day with the management. Every day we evaluate and review the process and where necessary we make our decisions."
Marcus Rashford scores his 4th goal this season, a first European goal after two in the Carabao Cup and one in the Premier League.
First goal of the season for Rasmus Højlund, back from his injury… scoring a crucial goal for Man United. Goal and assist for Marcus Rashford.
Manchester United have won just one of their last ten games in European competitions. Five defeats, four draws and one win (vs Copenhagen at home) under Erik ten Hag.
Ten Hag when asked why he decided to sub Rashford: “He was ok, no issues but we just need to rotate. Also Alejandro Garnacho is our attacking threat in this moment and we brought him from the bench. We need fresh players for Sunday. And it's all in the plan.”
Ten Hag: “I think over the left side definitely we didn't defend well tonight… and Marcus Rashford also played a part in this. But, as I say, it had to do with Garnacho and I wanted him on the pitch. Nothing against Rashy.”
Ten Hag: “We are in the process. Just wait... Don't judge us now in this moment, judge us at the end of the season.”
Pundit has faith in 21-year-old Man United talent [TNT Sports]
Napoli
Antonio Conte wins the Manager of the Month Award for Serie A in his second month in charge as Napoli head coach. Massive impact so far as Napoli are currently leading the Serie A table.
Lukaku on Napoli advice and being overwhelmed by fans [Napoli YouTube channel]
Real Madrid
Toni Rudiger: "I signed for Real Madrid on the 9th, May, 2022. They came to London. It was unreal! I hugged my kids, I couldn’t believe it. They gave me a shirt as a gift, I still have it. I was holding it all day..."
Real Madrid star delivers assessment of Barcelona sensation [Mundo Deportivo]
Tottenham Hotspur
Pape Matar Sarr, on superb form for Spurs as he scores again tonight Europe… …and it’s 2 goals, 1 assists in the last 3 games.
Five goals in the last five games for Brennan Johnson, on fire for Spurs…
Tottenham ready to compete against Arsenal to sign England midfielder [Fichajes]