🚨 FULL Euro round-up, Pulisic denial, Haaland's message, new Dubravka deal, Palmeiras want Vitor Roque and more

Plus all of the other stories making the news in the world of football...

Feb 21, 2025

Good morning everyone and welcome to the latest edition of the Daily Briefing! Thanks for reading, and hope you enjoy :-)

Today’s top stories:

Slot unhappy with Darwin Nunez reaction to missed chance
Almugera Kabar signs a new deal at Borussia Dortmund
No chance Lamine Yamal will ever consider a move to Real Madrid
Plus more from Arsenal, Juventus and Real Madrid

AC Milan

Christian Pulisic: “I never had any fights or issues with Sérgio Conceição and I never asked to leave AC Milan. I’m so happy here and I want to continue at Milan, despite unacceptable fake news about me. We keep fighting together for AC Milan.”

Milan looking to Paratici and Sarri for the future.

Arsenal

Arsenal set to hurt West Ham once again after Declan Rice saga.

Barcelona

Lamine Yamal to Spanish media: “Real Madrid move one day? No way. No chance. Impossible.”

Former La Masia wonder kid regrets Barcelona exit.

Borussia Dortmund

Official, confirmed. Almugera Kabar signs a new deal at Borussia Dortmund until June 2028.

Conference League

Pafos vs Omonia (2-1, 3-2 on agg): Bruno Felipe’s 28th-minute opener set the hosts on their way but they were pegged back by Stevan Jovetić’s equaliser on the hour. Jonathan Silva’s second for Pafos on 65 was enough to see them qualify.
Real Betis vs Gent (0-1, 3-1 on agg): A game with little action of note until the last 10 minutes. Betis’ Vitor Roque was sent off on 83, before Archie Brown bagged the winner on the night on 87 [pictures from TNT Sports]:

Heidenheim vs Copenhagen (1-3, 3-4 on agg): The visitors took a two-goal lead on the night via Amin Chiakha and Kevin Diks, though Léo Scienza’s 73rd-minute riposte would ensure the match went to extra-time. Try as they might, Heidenheim couldn’t add to the scoreline, and Rodrigo Huescas nicked it for Copenhagen in the 113th-minute.
Olimpija vs Borac (0-0, 0-1 on agg): A tough watch this one, with the only action of note being a steady stream of yellow cards throughout the match.
Jagiellonia Bialystok vs Bačka Topola (3-1, 6-2 on agg): When Kristoffer Hansen gave the hosts an eighth minute lead, the tie was all but over as it meant a 4-1 aggregate lead. Marko Lazetić equalised on the night, before Jesús Imaz and a Viktor Radojević own goal finally ended Bačka’s resistance.
Panathinaikos vs Vikingur Reykjavik (2-0, 3-2 on agg): With only three shots on target between the two teams in the first hour, this certainly wasn’t a game for the purists. The atmosphere certainly went up a notch when Filip Mladenoviç opened the scoring for the hosts on 70 minutes, drawing them level on aggregate in the process. Tetê’s 94th-minute second sent the crowd delirious and it turned out to be the winner - even if the hosts had to endure another six minutes of injury time after the winning goal.
Shamrock Rovers vs Molde (0-1 aet, 1-1 on agg, 4-5 on pens): This game was already on a knife edge before kick-off owing to Shamrock’s single goal lead from the first leg. Magnus Wolff Eikrem’s 10th-minute opener silenced the home crowd, and with no further goals scored in normal time, an extra 30 minutes was the result. Isak Amundsen’s red card on 93 gave Shamrock hope, but they were still unable to breach their opponents net. Of the 10 penalties taken in the shoot-out, only Aaron Greene missed, ensuring that Rovers went out of the competition by the narrowest of margins.
APOEL vs Celje (0-2, 2-4 on agg): Both teams stood toe-to-toe, just as they had in the first leg, until Amandas Kučys scored in first-half injury-time for the visitors. Celje came out the better in the second-half and Tamar Svetlin soon doubled the lead and send his side through to the knockout stages.

Europa League

Bodø/Glimt vs Twente (5-2, 6-4 on agg): An absolutely incredible end to the 90 minutes in this game. Fredrik Sjøvold’s own goal gave Twente the lead on 26, and put them 3-1 ahead on aggregate. Kasper Høgh’s equaliser gave the hosts hope, and when Mees Hilgers put through his own net on 92, Bodø were level on aggregate. Brice Wembangomo thought he’d won it for the home side on 94, only for Sam Steijn to take the game into extra-time after a 96th-minute goal. Sondre Brunstad Fet made it 4-2 on the night on 111, and once Arno Verschueren scored the third own goal of the night three minutes later, it was all over for Twente.
Roma vs Porto (3-2, 4-3 on agg): A clash of European heavyweights was settled by a late goal from Roma’s Niccolò Pisilli. Samu Aghehowa had put Porto into a 27th-minute lead, but a four-minute brace from Paulo Dybala had the Giallorossi in control. Pisilli’s 83rd-minute third gave Roma some breathing space, though a Devyne Rensch own goal in the 96th made it a nervous last few moments for the hosts [pictures from TNT Sports]:

Galatasaray vs AZ Alkmaar (2-2, 3-6 on agg): Galatasaray may have earned a draw on the night, but they were outplayed over the course of the tie. Seiya Maikuma and Denso Kasius either side of half-time but AZ 6-1 up on aggregate, before Victor Osimhen and Roland Sallai made the scoreline respectable on the night.
FCSB vs PAOK (2-0, 4-1 on agg): POAK offered little other than dominating possession. When it came to putting the ball in the back of the net, it was FCSB who hammered home their first leg advantage. Juri Cisotti and David Miculescu were the goal scorers.
Ajax vs Union Saint-Gilliose (1-2, 3-2 on agg): It all went wrong for Ajax in the first half as Kevin Mac Allister and Promise Akinpelu quickly wiped out their two goal advantage from the first leg, and the Dutch giants also had Davy Klaasen sent off in the 25th minute. The hosts managed to hang on and took the game to extra-time, where Kenneth Taylor’s 93rd-minute penalty proved to be the difference in the tie.
Real Sociedad vs Midtylland (5-2, 7-3 on agg): Another epic match-up in the Basque country. La Real stormed into a two-goal lead on the night through Brais Méndez and Luka Sučić, before Adam Buksa and Darío Osario drew the visitors level. Sučić’s second of the night in first half injury-time put some daylight between the sides on aggregate. Mikel Oyarzabal’s 73rd-minute penalty finally took the tie out of Midtylland’s reach, and Orri Óskarsson’s 90th-minute fifth was the icing on the cake.
Anderlecht vs Fenerbahçe (2-2, 2-5 on agg): An awful mistake saw Youssef En-Nesyri put the visitors ahead after just four minutes, and increase their advantage from the first-leg. It also sparked a 20-minute delay in the match after crowd trouble in the stands. Luis Vázquez equalised on the night for the Belgians, but it was never going to be enough, even though Vázquez doubled his tally on the night on 55. Just eight minutes later, Yusuf Akçiçek scored for Fenerbahçe, and killed the tie as a contest.
Viktoria Plzeň vs Ferencváros (3-0, 3-1 on agg): Three goals in 11 first-half minutes saw the hosts ease into the next stage. Václav Jemelka (27), Pavel Šulc (35) and Rafiu Durosinmi (38) did the damage.

Juventus

Juventus director Giuntoli: “I can guarantee that Randal Kolo Muani is very happy to be with us. Our relationship with PSG is excellent, we will try to keep Randal for next season too. We are very confident to make it happen.”

Renato Veiga has suffered an injury to the tendon of the plantar gracilis (near the hamstring) of his right leg. The recovery time will be evaluated depending on the symptoms, tests confirm.
Ex-Italy star slams ‘mentally dead’ Juventus.

Liverpool

Arne Slot on Darwin Nunez’s miss: “A miss I can accept… what is harder to accept is his behaviour after the chance. That miss got too much in his head where he should be the usual Darwin that works his ass off. I think he was too disappointed after missing that chance.”

Darwin Nunez: “I wasn't the best three weeks ago, and I'm not the worst now. If I fall, I get up. You'll never see me give up. I'm going to give it my all until the last day I'm here in Liverpool.”
Liverpool rival Arsenal for potential £25m bargain transfer.

Manchester City

Erling Haaland’s message to Man City fans: “We will rise again together.” Pep Guardiola confirmed recently how he can imagine Erling as City captain following the decision to sign a 10 year deal.

Bernardo Silva on Man City’s bad season to ESPN: “It seems incomprehensible to me but I don't have the right answer. There's a mixture of many things that have happened in the club. Not just injuries, that's no excuse. The levels of calm and confidence aren't the same.”
Pep Guardiola: “I want to stay and continue at Manchester City. That’s my plan for sure. Am I convinced about that? Yes, yes, yes…”
Stan Collymore: Man City’s APT victory over the Premier League is a hollow one.
Right back remains one of the key positions to be covered by Man City, with a new signing in the summer. Andrea Cambiaso remains on their wish list.

Newcastle United

Martin Dubravka has signed a new deal at Newcastle after the Saudi bid from Al Shabab was rejected by the club in January. “I'm happy to have extended my time here. I had really positive talks with the gaffer and director, and we all agreed that it would be best if I stayed here.”

Newcastle find Alexander Isak replacement in Bundesliga star.

Palmeiras

Palmeiras will make new direct contact with Barcelona and Real Betis to get Vitor Roque to the club with immediate effect. There is a permanent transfer proposal on the table, with the Brazilian club waiting for Betis’ decision. Barça are currently open to selling Tigrinho.

Real Madrid

Kylian Mbappé wins the UEFA Player of the Week award for this matchday.

Former Barcelona president keen for Vinicius Jr. to leave Real Madrid.

Santos

Official, confirmed. Deivid Washington leaves Chelsea to join Santos on a loan deal until end of 2025. No buy option clause included and Chelsea will also have a recall clause.