🚨 Arsenal star for sale for £80m, Chelsea star's exit CONFIRMED, latest on Man City star's future, Slot's latest outburst, & more
Today's headlines and UCL news clips!
Good morning everyone and welcome to the latest edition of the Daily Briefing! Thanks as always for reading, and hope you enjoy :-)
Today’s top stories:
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Champions League round-up:
Chelsea come back in thriller against Napoli
Chelsea went 1-0 up, 2-1 down, and later 3-2 up as they won a thrilling game away to Napoli.
The two goals from the home side were superb, but the Blues had enough quality and character of their own to get the three points and ensure they finished in the top eight.
FT Napoli 2-3 Chelsea [Pictures from TNT Sports]
Arsenal make it 8 wins out of 8 in league phase
Arsenal beat Kairat to continue their perfect run in this season’s Champions League.
Goals from Viktor Gyokeres, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli ensured Arsenal led 3-1 at half time, though the visitors still managed to pull one back late on.
FT Arsenal 3-2 Kairat [Pictures from TNT Sports]
Liverpool put six past Qarabag
Liverpool turned on the style last night as they thrashed Qarabag 6-0 at Anfield.
Florian Wirtz scored his first Champions League goal for the Reds, while Mohamed Salah fired in the pick of the bunch with a sublime free-kick.
FT Liverpool 6-0 Qarabag [Pictures from TNT Sports]
Haaland back on the scoresheet in Man City victory
Erling Haaland ended his recent goal drought with a superbly-taken finish in Manchester City’s win over Galatasaray.
Rayan Cherki also scored with a clinical finish after a slick team move to make it 2-0 and secure three points to avoid the playoffs.
FT Manchester City 2-0 Galatasaray [Pictures from TNT Sports]
Champions League scores in full:
Ajax 1-2 Olympiacos
Arsenal 3-2 Kairat
Athletic Bilbao 2-3 Sporting Lisbon
Atletico Madrid 1-2 Bodo/Glimt
Barcelona 4-1 Copenhagen
Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 Villarreal
Benfica 4-2 Real Madrid
Borussia Dortmund 0-2 Inter Milan
Club Brugge 3-0 Marseille
Eintracht Frankfurt 0-2 Tottenham
Liverpool 6-0 Qarabag
Manchester City 2-0 Galatasaray
Monaco 0-0 Juventus
Napoli 2-3 Chelsea
PSV 1-2 Bayern Munich
Pafos 4-1 Slavia Prague
PSG 1-1 Newcastle
USG 1-0 Atalanta
Arsenal
Arsenal midfielder Christian Norgaard has emerged as a surprise transfer target for Ajax after his lack of playing time since moving to the Emirates Stadium in the summer. (CaughtOffside)
Arsenal have set an £80m asking price for Martin Odegaard as he’s considering his future at the club and attracting interest from Bayern Munich. (Fichajes)
Bazoumana Toure is a target for Arsenal and Manchester United after impressing at Hoffenheim and also at AFCON with Ivory Coast. (Sports Boom)
Barcelona
Barcelona star Gavi trolled Real Madrid after learning the outcome of last night’s Champions League fixtures and final league phase table - more here!
Bayern Munich
Tottenham have made an enquiry about signing Bayern Munich midfielder Leon Goretzka in the last few hours as they rival Atletico Madrid for his signature. (Matteo Moretto)
Benfica
Jose Mourinho enjoyed a crazy celebration as Benfica beat Real Madrid 4-2 with incredible drama as their goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin scored a crucial goal right at the death - more here!
Chelsea
Raheem Sterling sent a pointed message on social media after Chelsea officially terminated his contract - full story here!
Chelsea have recalled Kendry Paez from his loan at Strasbourg and are now set to send him on loan to River Plate instead. (Fabrizio Romano)
Liverpool
Did Arne Slot aim a sly dig at his predecessor Jurgen Klopp after Liverpool’s 6-0 win over Qarabag last night? Full story here!
Dietmar Hamann has advised Liverpool to make a shock move for Manchester United defender Harry Maguire. (Empire of the Kop)
Manchester City
Manchester City are determined to keep Omar Marmoush at the club this January despite interest from Aston Villa and others. (Football Insider)
Oscar Bobb’s transfer from Manchester City to Fulham for £27m has been agreed. (Florian Plettenberg)
Manchester United
Tottenham have emerged as surprise suitors to sign Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee on loan. (TEAMtalk)
Dietmar Hamann has advised Liverpool to make a shock move for Manchester United defender Harry Maguire. (Empire of the Kop)
Bazoumana Toure is a target for Arsenal and Manchester United after impressing at Hoffenheim and also at AFCON with Ivory Coast. (Sports Boom)
Newcastle United
Newcastle United midfield youngster Alfie Harrison has emerged as a transfer target for Spanish club Malaga. (Sky Sports)
Real Madrid
Kylian Mbappe on the Benfica defeat: “I have no clear explanation. We don’t have continuity in the game, it’s a problem that we have to solve. We can’t be there every other day, this is not a champion team. It hurts a bit because we wanted to have February to improve, but we deserve the position we are in. We played terrible… Then losing 3-2, the fourth goal doesn’t change anything, it’s a bit embarrassing, but it doesn’t change anything. Last week we played good games, but not now and we have to have continuity. We lack a little bit of everything. I’m not going to say that it’s just a problem of attitude or only of football, I think it’s a general issue and in the Champions League every detail is important. If you don’t come with everything to win a game…” (Football Espana)
Tottenham
Tottenham have made an enquiry about signing Bayern Munich midfielder Leon Goretzka in the last few hours as they rival Atletico Madrid for his signature. (Matteo Moretto)
Tottenham have emerged as surprise suitors to sign Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee on loan. (TEAMtalk)
Tottenham may have identified their new goalkeeper as Guglielmo Vicario is targeted by Inter Milan - more info here!