Antonio Conte enjoyed seeing his substitutions pay off as Inter claimed a roller coaster 4-3 win over Fiorentina in Serie A, but warned championships are not won with cavalier football.
Inter came from behind with two goals in the final five minutes of a wild game in their season opener against Fiorentina at San Siro on Saturday.
Franck Ribery was outstanding for Fiorentina and teed up two goals in the second half, with substitute Dusan Vlahovic squandering a chance to give the visitors a 4-2 lead after another exceptional piece of play from the veteran Frenchman.
Ribery was hauled off after 83 minutes, with Fiorentina taking the chance to give him a rest, but the Viola were then rocked by late goals from Romelu Lukaku and Danilo D Ambrosio that earned 2019-20 E…
Lyon appear to have finalised the signing of midfielder Bruno Guimaraes from Athletico Paranaense in a deal reportedly worth around €25million.
The Brazilian was pictured holding a Lyon shirt alongside director of football Juninho in images uploaded to Twitter by club president Jean-Michel Aulas.
The official Lyon account replied to the tweet, commenting: Announce Guimaraes .
Arsenal, Atletico Madrid and Benfica had been linked to the 22-year-old, who won the Copa Sudamericana in 2018.
— Jean-Michel AULAS (@JM_Aulas)
Juninho reportedly travelled to Colombia, where Guimaraes is involved in Olympic Games qualifying with Brazil, to seal the deal.
He will become part of Rudi Garcia s squad at Lyon, who sit fifth in Ligue 1 …
What the papers say
Steven Gerrard could target his successor as Liverpool captain after taking over as manager of Saudi club Al-Ettifaq. The Daily Mail reports England midfielder Jordan Henderson, 33, has emerged as a potential target for Gerrard, along with Chelsea striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, 34.
Chelsea are in talks with Southampton about bringing their former youth player Tino Livramento, 20, back to Stamford Bridge, according to the Daily Mail. The England Under-21 right-back is valued at £38 million with Newcastle also showing interest.
The race to sign Spanish midfielder Gabri Veiga from Celta Vigo is hotting up, according to the Guardian. Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City are all interested in the 21-year-old but Paris St Germain are moving into pol…
“He came from the academy, he is different. He is not like (Sergio) Aguero, who came in from Atletico, he is at home.
“I hope he is going to stay because he is a good player. Why not retire there, like (Paolo) Maldini or Gerrard did at Liverpool, if he does that it is going to be very significant.”
Spurs’ inability to win a trophy over the last 15 years has been the main reason why Kane has been linked with a move away.
But Toure believes the club is set up for success and Kane is integral to that.
“Tottenham have everything to be successful, when you see the stadium and facilities, they are brilliant,” he added.
“What’s left now? Maybe change players, I don’t know.
“But the competitiveness of the league, you have to ma…
FIFA World Cup winner Jurgen Klinsmann has tipped Germany to continue their domination of Argentina in Sunday s final.
Three-time World Cup champions Germany and dual winners Argentina will renew acquaintances when they go head-to-head in Rio de Janeiro.
After West Germany avenged their 1986 final loss to Argentina with victory in 1990, a reunited Germany have enjoyed great success against the South American nation.
Germany have eliminated Argentina in the quarter-finals of the past two World Cups in 2006 and 2010.
And United States coach Klinsmann, who was part of the West Germany team that beat Argentina 1-0 in the 1990 final, believes his old side are ready to lift the trophy for a fourth time.
Germany-Argentina is a very special final because…
Steven Gerrard s international retirement will only benefit Liverpool and their bid to win the Premier League, according to Brendan Rodgers.
After earning 114 caps and captaining England at successive FIFA World Cups in 2010 and 2014, Gerrard opted to quit international football in order to focus on Liverpool.
Speaking to reporters at Fenway Park in Boston ahead of Liverpool s friendly fixture against Roma on Wednesday, Rodgers said the 34-year-old skipper s decision was a boost for the club, who are also preparing for their return to the UEFA Champions League after finishing second last season.
I d spent a lot of time talking to Steven on it, because I know how much it means to him to captain his country, Rodgers said.
He has been a wonderful captain. …
Wayne Rooney and Co. have to be prepared to play second fiddle now that Zlatan Ibrahimovic is in town, with former Sweden international Pontus Karmak warning Manchester United s new striker must be the main man or there could be problems.
Ibrahimovic now calls Old Trafford home after departing French champions Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer and the Swedish star has already made an instant impact at United, scoring the winner to help the club to Community Shield silverware last week.
While Rooney might be the captain, Karmak – who made 57 appearances for Sweden between 1990 and 2002 – said the United icon must be ready to relinquish his throne as top dog in Manchester as Ibrahimovic seeks to deliver the Premier League title to Old Trafford for the first time …
Burnley midfielder Scott Arfield is positive the Turf Moor outfit will quickly move on from Monday s 3-1 home defeat to Chelsea.
Sean Dyche s men opened their Premier League campaign with a spirited display against the title favourites, with Arfield s sensational strike firing Burnley ahead in the 14th minute.
Goals from Diego Costa, Andre Schurrle and Branislav Ivanovic in the remainder of the first half gave Chelsea a lead they would not surrender but Burnley will take plenty of encouragement from their efforts.
And Arfield said the squad were not disappointed and simply even more determined to record their first top-flight points since 2010 when they visit Swansea City on Saturday.
Obviously to play against a top-quality team like that we knew it woul…
Juventus have signed Benedikt Howedes from Schalke on an initial loan deal, with the option to buy next year.
The Germany international has joined for the remainder of the season, with the Serie A champions paying a fee of €3.5m.
They have the option to make Howedes move permanent from July 1 in 2018 for an additional €13m, which could rise to €16m. This deal will be activated automatically if he makes at least 25 appearances for the club this term.
Howedes completed his medical in Turin on Tuesday after flying in from Germany. He is the club s 11th signing of the transfer window.
Hear the first words of as a Juventus player
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen)
The 29-year-old, a World Cup-winner in 2014, progressed through the Schalk…
Jurgen Klopp s relationship with his players and the Liverpool manager s record of improving his teams persuaded Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to move to Anfield.
Oxlade-Chamberlain joined the Reds from Arsenal on transfer deadline day in a deal reported to be worth £35million, while on international duty with England.
And the versatile midfielder, who could make his Premier League debut for Liverpool at Manchester City on Saturday, cannot wait to start working with Klopp.
Even as a neutral watching him last season, you [could see] he s a really interesting character and someone that seems very inspiring for people that aren t even involved in the club, Oxlade-Chamberlain told the Liverpool website. Watching him, [you see] his passion and how much he cares about th…