🚨 FULL Euro round-up, Lampard joins Coventry, Camavinga out for 2-3 weeks, Ronaldinho rolls back the years and more

Nov 29, 2024

Welcome to the latest edition of the Daily Briefing! Thanks as always for reading, and hope you enjoy :-)

Today’s top stories:

Matteo Gabbia has finally signed his new deal at AC Milan, which will keep him at the club until June 2029.
Leão and Pulisic train with Milan as Fonseca prepares line-up changes.

The good news just keeps on coming for Barcelona as both Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres returned to group training, whilst Ronald Araújo took some part.
Ronaldinho scored a fantastic free-kick in the Legends Clasico against Real Madrid [pictures from Arabian TV]:

In an extensive interview, Leo Messi spoke of his love for Barcelona: “I thank God who led me to Barcelona as I spent my whole life in this wonderful club,” he said. “I’m very proud to have been part of and also a fan of Barcelona. It's a special club, different from the others, I was lucky to be there.”
Gavi and Frenkie de Jong pushing to replace Marc Casado against Las Palmas.

Enzo Maresca spoke to reporters before Chelsea’s Conference League clash against Heidenheim, and preferred to bat questions on Reece James away. “I think the best thing we can do for Reece James is not to talk too much about him,” he said. “The more we talk, the more pressure we put on him... It’s something he has to fight against. If you always get injuries in the same leg or the same muscle, you can be afraid. It’s normal but at the same time, this is his profession and you can get injured. Hopefully we can find a solution soon.”

After a scan on his hamstring, it’s been confirmed that Reece James, isn’t expected to return to first-team training before the end of December.
Scoreline flatters Chelsea but Blues do the job against tougher opposition in Europe.

Astana vs Vitória SC (1-1)
Molde vs APOEL (0-1)
Celje vs Jagiellonia Bialystok (3-3)
Cercle Brugge vs Hearts (2-0)
The New Saints vs Djurgârden (0-1)
Noah vs Vikingur Reykjavik (0-0)
Heidenheim vs Chelsea (0-2): Chelsea kept up their 100 percent record in the competition, but it came at a price as Cesare Casadei saw red in injury-time. The Blues were certainly made to work for their win and despite Christopher Nkunku giving them the lead on 51, it took until Mykhailo Mudryk’s 86th-minute second to ensure the points were going back to West London [pictures from TNT Sports]:

Panathinaikos vs HJK (1-0)
St. Gallen vs Bačka Topola (2-2)
Borac vs LASK (2-1)
Dinamo Minsk vs Copenhagen (1-2)
Fiorentina vs Pafos (3-2)
Omonoia vs Legia Warsaw (0-3)
Olimpija vs Larne (1-0)
Mladá Boleslav vs Real Betis (2-1)
Lugano vs Gent (2-0)
Rapid Vienna vs Shamrock Rovers (1-1)

The Sky Blues have announced Frank Lampard as their new manager. He will sign a deal to keep him at the club until June 2027.

Beşiktaș vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv (1-3)
Anderlecht vs Porto (2-2)
Dynamo Kyiv vs Viktori Plzeň (1-2)
Athletic Club vs Elfsborg (3-0)
Lazio vs Ludogorets (0-0)
RFS vs PAOK (0-2)
Qarabag vs Lyon (1-4)
AZ Alkmaar vs Galatasaray (1-1)
Ferencváros vs Malmö (4-1)
Real Sociedad vs Ajax (2-0): One of the ties of this round of fixtures saw Dutch giants, Ajax, head to San Sebastian. On the night it was the hosts who edged things, despite the stats showing the teams were equal in almost every way. Ander Barrenetxea and Takefusa Kubo were the scorers for La Real [pictures from Viaplay]:

Midtjylland vs Eintracht Frankfurt (1-2)
Braga vs Hoffenheim (3-0)
Slavia Prague vs Fenerbahçe (1-2)
FCSB vs Olympiacos (0-0)
Man United vs Bodø/Glimt (3-2): Alejandro Garnacho lit up Old Trafford inside a minute in Rúben Amorim’s first game in charge at Old Trafford. Just as against Ipswich, however, the Red Devils were soon pegged back, with Håkon Evjen and Phillip Zinckernagel having the visitors 2-1 up by the 23rd minute. Right on half-time Rasmus Højlund found the net to restore parity, and it was the striker again who scored what turned out to be the winner in the 50th minute. [pictures from TNT Sports]:

Nice vs Rangers (1-4)
Twente vs Union Saint-Gilloise (0-1)
Tottenham vs Roma (2-2): Son Heung-min’s penalty opened the scoring for Spurs in the fifth minute, and although Evan Ndicka equalised on 20, Brennan Johnson restored the lead for the hosts just after the half hour. It stayed that way intil injury time when Mats Hummels earned a point for the Serie A giants [pictures from TNT Sports]:

FIFA released the nominees for various categories of The Best awards on Thursday night:

Juventus and Porto have already planned that a deal for Francisco Conceição will be executed in 2025. “I’m so, so happy at Juventus. I love being here,” the player told reporters. “Then it’s up to the clubs…”
Sacchi’s Champions League verdicts: Warnings for Juventus and Milan

After the win over Real Madrid, Virgil van Dijk was asked by reporters if he was staying at Liverpool. “What a direct question (laughs),” he answered. “I've nothing to say. I'm focused on the next game vs City.”

Ahead of a real titanic Super Sunday clash this weekend, Liverpool manager, Arne Slot, advised gathered media that: “Trent Alexander-Arnold is fit and ready to start against Man City. Konaté and Bradley? They are still being assessed, it's difficult to see where they are in terms of their injuries.”
Liverpool duo now doubtful for Man City clash as Slot delivers worrying update.

Rasmus Højlund was interviewed after Man United’s Europa League win and it was clear he was happy with Rúben Amorim’s new system. “I like this back three system, it reminds me of what I did at Atalanta,” he told reporters. “It suits me really well.”
The manager was similarly happy, though for an entirely different reason. “The fans made me feel at home. It’s so special,” Amorim said. “Half of the stadium doesn't really know me... I came from Portugal. I did nothing for this club yet. The way they make me feel at home, I will keep it until the end of my career.”
Rúben Amorim also singled out one player for special praise. “Noussair Mazraoui is an incredible player. He is our future,” the Portuguese enthused. “He always seems fresh even if we have to be careful with all the matches. He is the kind of player we need.”
Man United given exciting update on transfer favourite.

Eduardo Camavinga has a muscle injury in the femoral biceps of his left leg, sustained in the Champions League game against Liverpool. He’s expected to be out for between 2-3 weeks.
Sky Sports asked Carlo Ancelotti: “Even a top coach, maybe the most legendary in Real’s history can see his job at risk after this kind of season?” The Italian was in no mood to play games and retorted: “You made a good premise… and we’ll stay with that good premise.”
Real Madrid icon on Mbappé struggles: “He looks unconfident, shy and scared.”