🚨 Liverpool eyeing Tottenham star, how Arsenal punished Chelsea transfer error, plus Rashford scores screamer for Barca vs Newcastle & more
Start your morning right with some sublime Champions League goals, plus latest transfer news from the Premier League and beyond...
Good morning folks and welcome to your Friday morning edition of the Daily Briefing! Thanks as always for reading, and hope you enjoy! :-)
Today’s top stories:
It’s that time of year again where sporting directors are casting around for contract situations they can exploit. None more so than at Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. Yet here is a look at the players that could leave La Liga’s big three as free agents next summer.
Plus news clips from Man City and Newcastle’s big games in the Champions League!
Champions League round-up
Manchester City vs Napoli
It was an emotional night at the Etihad Stadium as Manchester City welcomed back a legend in Kevin De Bruyne, now at Napoli. Unfortunately for the Belgium international, he had to be subbed off quite early by Antonio Conte after Napoli were reduced to ten men.
Despite doing well to hold on for some time whilst being a man down, Erling Haaland eventually gave City the breakthrough with this smart header…
That was his 50th Champions League goal in just 49 games - the fastest any player has ever reached a half century in this competition.
But probably the moment of the match came from Jeremy Doku with this delightful solo goal to make it 2-0…
Doku hasn’t always been that consistent for Pep Guardiola’s side, but what superb ability he showed here as he danced his way through the Napoli defence and finished with real composure and quality. FT Manchester City 2-0 Napoli [Pictures from TNT Sports]
Newcastle vs Barcelona
Newcastle kicked off their Champions League campaign with a tough test against Barcelona, and although they held their own quite well for much of the game, we saw late brilliance from substitute Marcus Rashford to decide the game.
First, the on-loan Manchester United forward produced a fine header from a Jules Kounde cross to make it 1-0…
Then we saw a real moment of magic from Rashford as he powered in this stunning strike from outside the box to double Barca’s lead…
That’s the kind of quality we all know Rashford is capable of producing, and he spoke after the game about how being at Barcelona is helping him improve again.
Anthony Gordon then managed to pull one back very late on for Newcastle - never likely to be more than a consolation, and so it proved. FT Newcastle 1-2 Barcelona [Pictures from TNT Sports]
Champions League results in full:
Club Brugge 4-1 Monaco
Copenhagen 2-2 Bayer Leverkusen
Eintracht Frankfurt 5-1 Galatasaray
Manchester City 2-0 Napoli
Newcastle 1-2 Barcelona
Sporting Lisbon 4-1 Kairat
Arsenal
Arsenal were always confident Noni Madueke would be a success - and Chelsea’s own internal data proved it! (Mark Brus, the Daily Briefing)
Arsenal are one of the top Premier League clubs taking a look at Birmingham City wonderkid goalkeeper Alfie Smith as a potential transfer target. (Daily Mail)
Gabriel Jesus could be free to leave Arsenal in the January transfer window, with the club having already considered his future during the summer. (Football Insider)
Atalanta
After being out of the Atalanta squad since July, Ademola Lookman has now returned to first-team training as of yesterday. The Nigeria international had a talk with coach Ivan Juric and clarified his situation. (Fabrizio Romano)
Barcelona
Marcus Rashford aimed a dig at Manchester United as he discussed how he’s loving life at Barcelona: “I’m enjoying it all and I think it’s making me a better player … It’s refreshing to play with these guys. I’ve said it a few times but the team’s so young, they play with such confidence, such understanding of the game.” (TNT Sports)
Hansi Flick: “I spoke with Rashford in July and told him: I need you in my team. I’m not surprised. Rashford is a player with amazing talent and an incredible ability to finish attacks, which we see in training.” (Press conference)
Wojciech Szczesny on his future: “I am backup to Joan Garcia, and will remain so. My role is to prepare him for the biggest matches. He’s already one of the best goalkeepers in Europe, but I want to prepare him for the highest level. I will try to help him.”
Bayern Munich
Dayot Upamecano on his future: “I feel comfortable here, I’m happy. My agent is speaking to Bayern officials. The talks are ongoing. There's nothing more to say. We'll see what happens.” (Bild)
Luis Diaz: “I’m very happy to be at Bayern, it’s great club. There have been talks with Barca, it’s true… which is normal in the transfer market. I’m very happy with my decision. I’ve made an objective decision about my future.” (Movistar)
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Benfica
Jose Mourinho: “I want to tell you that none of the clubs I’ve had the opportunity to coach have motivated me more than being Benfica's coach. The promise is clear: I will live for Benfica, for my mission. It’s a tremendous honour.” (Benfica official)
Chelsea
Marc Bernal to Chelsea could be one to watch as the Blues set their sights on another talented young Barcelona midfielder. (Fichajes)
Enzo Maresca: “I have the feeling that we can build something special from this defeat against Bayern. We can learn a lot from this game. But we show we can compete, always.” (Press conference)
Chelsea have been advised to sign Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace as pundit Owen Hargreaves criticised the inexperienced defenders currently on the Blues’ books.
Chelsea defender Genesis Antwi has signed a new contract until June 2028 with the option for a further two years on top of that. (Fabrizio Romano)
Tosin Adarabioyo on Chelsea’s players being too young: “Age has got absolutely nothing to do with it. You saw what we did at the Club World Cup to become world champions - we had a young team, we had a young team today and we’re just always out there to fight.”
Harry Kane praised Chelsea, describing them as the toughest test Bayern Munich have had so far this season.
Inter Miami
Inter Miami are close to agreeing a new contract for Lionel Messi, with the 38-year-old expected to put pen to paper on a new multi-year deal. (ESPN)
Liverpool
Micky van de Ven is a target for Liverpool and other top clubs amid some uncertainty over his future at Tottenham. (The Boy Hotspur)
Liverpool are eyeing up Ajax youngster Youri Baas as another defensive target after recently missing out on Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi. (Fichajes)
Federico Chiesa will likely have opportunities to leave Liverpool and return to Serie A this January, but the Italy international is not expected to push for a move and will only pick the project that’s right for him. (TEAMtalk)
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola: “Nico O’Reilly… he’s a top, top player. He can play in three, four positions. His presence in set-pieces, one-v-one, with the ball he’s really good, arrives good in the final positions. He’s a player hopefully for many years!” (City Xtra)
Manchester United
Marcus Rashford aimed a dig at Manchester United as he discussed how he’s loving life at Barcelona: “I’m enjoying it all and I think it’s making me a better player … It’s refreshing to play with these guys. I’ve said it a few times but the team’s so young, they play with such confidence, such understanding of the game.” (TNT Sports)
Joshua Zirkzee could soon be free to leave Manchester United, with the Dutch forward emerging as an option for Juventus to replace Dusan Vlahovic, whose future in Turin is in doubt. (TEAMtalk)
Manchester United’s exciting teenager Shea Lacey is starting to impress in training sessions with Ruben Amorim’s first-team. (Centre Devils)
Napoli
Antonio Conte on the defeat to City: “We were all left with a bitter taste in our mouths, because it’s disappointing. We had prepared the match the way we played in the first 20 minutes, and this red card ruined the match. I don’t want to say if it was the right decision or not, as I didn’t see it, but it’s already hard enough to play against Manchester City with 11 against 11 … It’s already tough, but if you are down to 10 men for 75-80 minutes included added time, it becomes impossible.” (Sky Sport Italia)
Real Madrid
Rodrygo Goes: “I went through a very difficult time at the end of last season. I wanted to thank my family for being there with me during that time. I also wanted to thank Mister Ancelotti, he more than anyone knows what I went through, and he helped me a lot.” (TNT Sports Brasil)
Tottenham
Micky van de Ven is a target for Liverpool and other top clubs amid some uncertainty over his future at Tottenham. (The Boy Hotspur)
Atletico Madrid midfielder Conor Gallagher is on Tottenham’s list of targets as he could be set for a move back to the Premier League. (TBR Football)
West Ham United
Graham Potter is under growing pressure at West Ham, with former Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo one of the contenders to replace him, along with former Hammers boss Slaven Bilic. (Guardian)