Thomas Tuchel has revealed he explained to Conor Gallagher in person why Chelsea could not allow the on-loan Crystal Palace midfielder to play in their FA Cup semi-final.
Chelsea meet Palace in the last four of the competition at Wembley on Sunday, but breakout star Gallagher will be merely a spectator.
The England international belongs to Chelsea but is yet to make a senior appearance for the club, instead establishing himself as a top Premier League midfielder for Palace this season.
Gallagher has scored eight goals and provided five assists in all competitions in 2021-22, including two assists in four FA Cup matches prior to the semis.
That sort of form shows why Chelsea could not accommodate Palace s request to allow him to play this weekend. The Blue…
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Looking to do the double over Belgium on foreign soil this weekend, England will make the trip out to Heverlee on Sunday night.
Belgium
Starting with the hosts, despite making a string of alterations earlier in the week, Belgium did manage to secure a 2-1 win against Switzerland on home soil and the Red Devils will be desperate to keep up that momentum. Looking to fully bounce back from their shock defeat away at Wembley last month, Roberto Martinez s men still hold their #1 ranking with FIFA and have managed to hang onto their spot at the top of League A Group 2. Last seen on Nations League duties picking up what was a hard-fought 2-1 win against Iceland on foreign soil, the one-time Wigan boss also sees his side continuing on what h…
Erik ten Hag says the challenge of getting Manchester United back on track is a difficult but fantastic one as the Dutchman prepares to take over at Old Trafford.
United confirmed last month that Ajax head coach Ten Hag will replace interim manager Ralf Rangnick at the end of the 2021-22 campaign.
The Red Devils have gone five seasons without winning any silverware and will finish this campaign with their lowest ever Premier League points tally.
Ten Hag will be tasked with bringing an end to that barren spell, while also guiding United back into the top four at the very least.
He told Voetbal International: It feels like a challenge to put the club back on track of winning. The options are there, including financially.
I ve also got a good feeli…
Watford have completed and the signing of Juraj Kucka on a season-long loan from Parma.
Having broken through at Slovakian side Podbrezova, the experienced midfielder played for Sparta Prague, Genoa, AC Milan and Trabzonspor, before joining Parma in 2019. Playing for the Serie A side, he made a total of 74 appearances in all competitions, scoring 13 goals and producing eight assists. Primarily performing a holding role, he is also capable of playing further up the pitch if need be.
The 34-year-old also has significant experience as a Slovakia international, having represented his country on 86 occasions so far, most recently at the European Championship this year.
Kucka will have a chance of making his debut for Watford when the Hornets take on Aston Villa in…
Lazio have completed the signing of Netherlands defender Stefan de Vrij from Feyenoord.
The 22-year-old joins the Serie A outfit on a five-year deal after passing a medical in Rome.
De Vrij impressed at the recent World Cup as Netherlands made it to the semi-finals, before bowing out at the hands of Argentina.
He started each of his country s seven matches in Brazil and already boasts 19 international caps.
A central defender who came through the youth system at Feyenoord, De Vrij made his senior debut in December 2009 and soon became a regular, making 135 league appearances.
And he admits it was not an easy decision to leave De Kuip.
I have taken my time in choosing Lazio, he told Feyenoord s official website.
It is a well-consi…
Vincent Enyeama will win his 100th cap when Nigeria host Uganda in an international friendly on Wednesday, although confusion has surrounded the build-up to the milestone.
The Lille goalkeeper has been a regular between the sticks for Nigeria since making his debut at the 2002 World Cup, but some question whether he has racked up the 99 caps the country s football federation (NFF) claims he has.
The NFF re-affirmed its stance last week amid media claims Enyeama was actually two caps short of his 100th a mark only previously surpassed by Joseph Yobo.
Conveniently, the fixture will take place in Enyeama s home state of Akwa Ibom, but the encounter was thrown into doubt as recently as last week, when original opponents Bolivia withdrew.
The Bolivian Footb…
South Korea coach Uli Stielike said he is looking forward to taking his side on a journey , as he prepares for his first game in charge.
The German, 59, will be in the dugout for the Koreans hosting of Paraguay in Cheonan on Friday, just the Asian nation s third match since a failed World Cup campaign.
Stielike s appointment saw the former West Germany international take charge of a third national team, after stints with Switzerland (1989-91) and Ivory Coast (2006-08).
Today, the South Korean national team embarks on a new journey, Stielike said.
I hope the coaches and players will bring new attitudes to the table.
They will have to work hard at every practice and try to win every match to reach the hearts of our fans.
Stielike did hin…
Manchester United Supporters’ Trust has called for clarity amid the club’s takeover saga.
The group has also outlined 11 questions to owners the Glazer family, including what changes to the club would happen as a result of a new minority shareholder.
It comes after Sheikh Jassim withdrew from the process to buy the club.
We note the speculation tonight that Sheikh Jassim has withdrawn from the process to buy the club. We understand this news to be far more reliable than the vast majority of the other commentary around the sale of Manchester United.
— M.U.S.T (@MU_ST)
Sheikh Jassim became the first bidder to publicly confirm he had made an offer for the Old Trafford giants but he has now backed out, with rival bidder Sir Jim Ratcliffe report…
Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany believes the battle for Mancunian football supremacy is in the balance seven years on from United not giving their neighbours a second thought.
The 29-year-old will make his 19th Manchester derby appearance if selected by manager Manuel Pellegrini for Sunday s match at Old Trafford and he has seen the dynamic of the rivalry change considerably since he arrived at Eastlands in August 2008.
Kompany was one of the last players to sign for City before Sheikh Mansour s takeover sensationally transformed the club s fortunes, from those of Premier League also-rans operating in the considerable shadow of Alex Ferguson s United to challengers for major honours.
In his early days with City, Kompany felt United saw his club as unimp…
Sjoeke Nusken scored a brace to help Chelsea secure a 4-2 Women’s Super League comeback victory over Brighton at Kingsmeadow.
The Germany midfielder netted her first two goals in blue after her summer move from Eintracht Frankfurt, with her first coming in first-half added-time before she scored again just after the break.
This came after Brighton’s Pauline Bremer scored the opener for Melissa Phillips’ side, who failed to take advantage of their early lead.
Four goals, three points!
— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW)
Seagulls defender Guro Bergsvand scored an own goal in the 74th minute and Chelsea’s Aggie Beever-Jones came off the bench to put the game out of reach.
Elisabeth Terland’s second-half stoppage-time goal was mere…