Clinical Germany thumped Scotland 5-1 in their Euro 2024 tournament opener on Friday with the host nation scoring three first-half goals and enjoying a man advantage after Ryan Porteous received a straight red card before the break.

Florian Wirtz opened the scoring in the 10th minute when he connected with a cross that goalkeeper Angus Gunn could only palm against the post and watch helplessly as it rolled into the net during a match in which Germany dominated possession.

The three-times European champions doubled their lead in the 19th minute at the Munich Football Arena after a series of passes ended with Kai Havertz picking out Jamal Musiala who took a touch in the area and fired into the roof of the net.

It went from bad to worse for Scotland when Porteous was sent off for a foul on Ilkay Gundogan in the penalty area with Havertz converting from the spot to make it 3-0. Substitute Niclas Fuellkrug fired home a fourth late in the second half.

Scotland did get on the scoresheet late in the match through an Antonio Rudiger own goal before Emre Can rounded out the scoring for the hosts. Germany next play Hungary in Group A while Scotland must regroup to take on Switzerland.

Source: Reuters

Borussia Dortmund have parted company with manager Edin Terzic after he asked the club “to terminate his contract with immediate effect”.

Dortmund reached the Champions League final in 2023-24 under Terzic but they were beaten by Real Madrid at Wembley.

The German club said they agreed to Terzic’s request following “a joint discussion”.

“After the game at Wembley, I asked for a meeting with the club’s senior management team, because after nine years at BVB – including six on the coaching staff and two and a half as head coach – I feel that the club’s new era should begin with a new man on the touchline,” said Terzic, 41.

“Everyone close to me knows that this has been a very difficult decision for me to take over the last few weeks, but after intensive discussions my fundamental feeling has not changed.

“I wish Borussia Dortmund the very best, thank you and see you soon.”

Terzic began his coaching career with Dortmund’s academy between 2010 and 2013 before becoming Slaven Bilic’s assistant at Turkish club Besiktas.

He followed Bilic to Premier League side West Ham in 2015 but left following the Croatian’s sacking in November 2017, re-joining Dortmund as Lucien Favre’s assistant the following year.

Following Favre’s dismissal in December 2020, Terzic was named interim boss until the end of that season and led the club to German Cup final success with victory over RB Leipzig.

He then had a stint as the club’s technical director before becoming their manager in 2022.

Dortmund finished runners-up in the Bundesliga last season – missing out on the title after failing to beat Mainz on the final day of the campaign – and followed that up with a fifth-place finish in the 2023-24 campaign, which achieved qualification for next season’s Champions League.

“Edin Terzic has done an outstanding job in his time at BVB, and we all owe him a huge debt of gratitude,” said Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke.

“Edin and I will always remain friends.”

Source: BBC

Poland captain Robert Lewandowski will miss his country’s Euro 2024 opener this weekend with a thigh injury, the Polish football federation’s doctor said on Tuesday.

Lewandowski, 35, will be absent to face the Netherlands on June 16 after suffering the injury in Monday’s 2-1 win in a friendly against Turkey.

Poland then play Austria on June 21 and the tournament’s joint favourites France four days later.

“We are doing everything so that Robert can play in the second match against Austria,” doctor Jacek Jaroszewski said in a statement.

Barcelona forward Lewandowski was substituted after just 33 minutes on his 150th international appearance as Poland ended their Euro 2024 preparations with a victory.

Following the game, Poland coach Michal Probierz had been upbeat about Lewandowski’s injury, saying he was “optimistic” and “there shouldn’t be a problem”.

The absence of the former Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich player adds to the injury worries for Probierz.

Hellas Verona attacker Karol Swiderski sustained an ankle injury while celebrating the opening goal against Turkey.

Swiderski’s club team-mate, defender Pawel Dawidowicz, strained his quadriceps during the game.

“After treatment, both players should return to full training within 3-4 days,” Jaroszewski.

Probierz will be without another striker for the tournament after Arkadiusz Milik suffered a knee injury in the warmup victory against Ukraine on Friday.

The Italian club said Milik had undergone minor surgery, without stating the length of his absence.

Probierz’s fit options in attack in his squad are Istanbul Basaksehir’s Krzysztof Piatek and Antalyaspor’s Adam Buksa.

The pair have 17 goals in 44 appearances for their country.

Poland are unbeaten in eight games and have the reached the past three European Championship finals, making it to the quarter-finals in 2016.

Source: AFP

Claudio Ranieri waved goodbye to Cagliari and brought the curtain down on a near four-decade club coaching career with Thursday’s 3-2 defeat to Fiorentina cruelly inflicted in the 13th minute of added time.

Arthur stroked home Fiorentina’s winning goal from the penalty spot after Luca Beltran earned the away side, who trailed 2-1 in the 85th minute, a soft spot-kick given after a long VAR check.

Fiorentina won and ensured European football with the last kick of Ranieri’s last match in charge of Cagliari, ahead of next week’s Europa Conference League final with Olympiakos.

Former Premier League winner Ranieri has now effectively retired even if he admitted in an interview with Sky in Italy that he would be interested in a national team job.

However Thursday’s defeat made little difference to Ranieri or Cagliari as last weekend he saved from relegation the same club he brought up from Serie B last season and with whom he rose to prominence in the late 1980s.

Ranieri began his managerial career in amateur football in 1986 but turned heads by guiding Cagliari to Serie A with two successive promotions in 1989 and 1990.

“What we managed to do, we did together,” said Ranieri in a short post-match speech on the pitch.

“I asked for your help a year and a half ago because only with you could we do what we did.”

Ranieri welled up on the sidelines ahead of kick-off as fans chanted his name and a standing ovation rolled around the stands, while a banner was unfurled which read “Eternal gratitude to a great man”.

And afterwards he hugged his players and family in front of a crowd which roared in appreciation of one of Italian football’s most beloved figures.

The 72-year-old said that his decision to quit had been made with a “heavy heart”, worrying that he would tarnish two brilliant spells nearly 40 years apart with Cagliari by staying on.

Ranieri had offered to quit following just three points from the first nine matches of the season.

Life lessons

But the club and players convinced him to stay and survival was dedicated to Ranieri, who has been frequently hailed by his team as an inspiration.

“He’s taught us things that are valuable not just on the pitch, but in life in general,” said Gianluca Lapadula to DAZN pre-match.

“If you don’t fight for your teammate, the man next to you, you’ll never go anywhere.”

Ranieri is most famous for winning the Premier League with Leicester City in 2016 but is a popular figure at a host of clubs even if he has only won a handful of major honours in his career.

An Italian Cup with Fiorentina and three trophies with Valencia go alongside his heart-warming English championship win eight years ago.

Ranieri brought Gianfranco Zola through to replace Diego Maradona at Napoli in the early 1990s and then coached the Sardinia native, by that time an Italy international, a decade later at Chelsea.

He managed Chelsea with the London outfit on the verge of bankruptcy and took them to the Champions League in 2003, after which the Blues were taken over by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.

Ranieri then reached the semi-finals of Europe’s top club competition the following year before being replaced by Jose Mourinho.

He did battle with Mourinho while in charge of his boyhood team Roma in 2009/2010, at the helm as the capital club came close to snatching the Serie A title from eventual treble-winners Inter Milan on the final day of the season.

And Cagliari will stay in Serie A for at least one more season thanks to Ranieri who ended an eventful career back where it really started 36 years ago.

Source: AFP

Bayern Munich are close to completing a shock move for Burnley boss Vincent Kompany to replace Thomas Tuchel as coach, German and English media reported on Wednesday.

According to German tabloid Bild and network Sky, along with English newspaper The Guardian, the Belgian has reached an agreement in principle with Bayern.

As a result, the German club is now working on a compensation package for Burnley, where Kompany still has four years on his contract.

Burnley have just been relegated from the Premier League after only one season in the English top flight.

Bayern agreed to part ways with Tuchel in February after falling behind eventual champions Bayer Leverkusen in the title race.

Kompany is the latest candidate in a long list linked to Bayern.

Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso, Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann and Austria manager Ralf Rangnick all reportedly turned down Bayern’s interest.

Bayern then attempted to hold onto Tuchel, who led them to a Champions League semi-final loss to Real Madrid. Tuchel, however, said the parties “could not reach an agreement” on him staying in the Bavarian capital.

Kompany has Bundesliga experience, having played at Hamburg before joining Manchester City.

He took the reins of Burnley in 2022, taking them to the Premier League as second-division champions a season later.

Kompany however could not keep Burnley in the top division, with the club relegated in 19th place in the 20-team league.

Source: AFP

Ademola Lookman scored a stunning hat-trick as Atalanta ended Bayer Leverkusen’s 51-match unbeaten run to win the Europa League final 3-0 on Wednesday and claim their first trophy for 61 years.

Lookman became the first player to score a hat-trick in a European final since 1975 to secure Atalanta’s first ever continental trophy.

“One of the best nights of my life. Amazing performance from the team,” said Lookman.

“We’ve got to celebrate, we made history tonight.”

The side from Bergamo have long lived in the shadow of nearby giants AC and Inter Milan.

However, they have enjoyed a golden era under Gian Piero Gasperini, reaching the Champions League on four occasions, and now have silverware to show for it.

Leverkusen have made a habit of late fightbacks in their remarkable run to winning a first ever Bundesliga title without tasting defeat.

But this time they failed to dig themselves out of a hole created by a slow start.

“It’s a shame that the time it didn’t work out for us was in a final,” said Leverkusen midfielder Granit Xhaka.

“It’s bitter, definitely, we lost a final today but we go on and we’ll make up for it on Saturday (in the German Cup final).

Atalanta’s more purposeful play in the opening stages was rewarded after just 12 minutes.

Davide Zappacosta got to the by-line and Lookman caught Exequiel Palacios napping to fire into the top corner at the back post.

The Nigerian has at times endured a nomadic career, bouncing around the lower reaches of the Premier League on loan spells at Fulham and Leicester after being discarded by RB Leipzig.

But Lookman has found a home in Bergamo, where he will now forever be a hero.

Drained Leverkusen

The 26-year-old’s second goal was fit to win any final as he nutmegged Xhaka before curling a powerful shot into the far corner.

Leverkusen’s flying full-backs have been at the heart of their stunning season and should have got them back in the game either side of half-time.

Alex Grimaldo fired tamely into the arms of Juan Musso before Jeremie Frimpong blazed over with the goal gaping.

Leverkusen were also denied a lifeline when Gianluca Scamacca was lucky to escape with a yellow card for wild challenge on Florian Wirtz.

For the fourth time in seven Europa League knockout matches, Xabi Alonso’s men found themselves 2-0 down.

Alonso has enjoyed a rapid rise to become one of Europe’s hottest coaching properties.

The Spaniard has rejected the advances of former clubs Liverpool and Bayern Munich to remain at the BayArena next season.

However, Alonso’s decision to start without a recognised striker did not work and he threw on Victor Boniface at half-time to give his side a focal point up front.

The damage, though, was already done as the German champions looked a side drained by their record run across three competitions.

Atalanta were happy to soak up the Leverkusen pressure after the break and hit on the counter-attack.

The final blow was another fabulous finish from Lookman as he skipped past Edmond Tapsoba and this time blasted into the top corner on his weaker left foot.

Atalanta had lost all three of their previous finals under Gasperini, most recently in last week’s Coppa Italia defeat to Juventus.

But this time they were not to be denied their shot at history as they were roared across the finishing line by the thousands clad in blue and black that had made the trip from northern Italy to the Irish capital.

In doing so they became the first Italian side to win the competition since Parma lifted the UEFA Cup in 1999.

Source: AFP

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has left the club by mutual consent after one season at Stamford Bridge.

Pochettino, 52, took charge of Chelsea on 1 July, signing a two-year contract with the option of a further 12 months.

The Argentine was under pressure after an underwhelming first half of the season but a run of five successive wins to end the season ensured they finished sixth in the Premier League.

Chelsea were also runners-up in the Carabao Cup and reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

“Thank you to the Chelsea ownership group and sporting directors for the opportunity,” Pochettino said.

“The club is now well positioned to keep moving forward in the Premier League and Europe in the years to come.”

Chelsea will now search for a successor and have expressed recent interest in Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna, Sporting’s Ruben Amorim and Burnley’s Vincent Kompany.

BBC Sport understands Chelsea are unlikely to go for Leicester City manager Enzo Maresca, a former assistant coach with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. A return for former managers Jose Mourinho or Thomas Tuchel is not on the cards as the club targets a young head coach.

Pochettino was Chelsea’s sixth permanent manager in five years, following the sacking of Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter, which led to Frank Lampard taking charge on a temporary basis at the end of the 2022-23 season.

“On behalf of everyone at Chelsea, we would like to express our gratitude to Mauricio for his service this season,” sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley said.

“He will be welcome back to Stamford Bridge any time and we wish him all the very best in his future coaching career.”

Coaches Jesus Perez, Miguel d’Agostino, Toni Jimenez and Sebastiano Pochettino have also left.

Source: BBC

Aston Villa have qualified for the Champions League for the first time after top-four rivals Tottenham Hotspur lost to Manchester City on Tuesday.

Tottenham had been the only team who could have overtaken Villa into fourth before Tuesday, but are now five points behind Unai Emery’s side with one game remaining.

Villa have not reached Uefa’s premier club competition since it rebranded from the European Cup to the Champions League in 1991-92.

They last played in the European Cup 41 years ago in 1982-83 having won the competition the season before.

Villa did finish second and fourth in the Premier League in 1992-93 and 1995-96 respectively, but in both those seasons only first was good enough to reach the Champions League.

Source: BBC

Kylian Mbappe scored on his final home appearance as a Paris Saint-Germain player on Sunday but the French champions suffered a surprise 3-1 defeat against Toulouse on the night they picked up the Ligue 1 championship trophy.

Mbappe confirmed in a video posted on social media on Friday that he would be leaving PSG when his contract expires at the end of the season, ending a seven-year association with the club.

Real Madrid is expected to be the next destination for a player whose departure from Paris had been an open secret since February, when he privately informed the club of his intention to move on.

Mbappe wore the captain’s armband and opened the scoring early on against Toulouse to take his tally for the season to 44 goals goals in all competitions.

However, Thijs Dallinga quickly equalised for the visitors against a PSG side which showed 10 changes to the team knocked out of the Champions League by Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals in midweek, with Mbappe the only player to keep his place.

Yann Gboho put Toulouse ahead with a brilliant strike in the second half, and Frank Magri wrapped up the win in stoppage time as PSG suffered just their second Ligue 1 loss this season, and their first in 27 games since September.

Mbappe has now scored 256 times for PSG, a club-record tally, since signing from Monaco in 2017 in a deal worth 180 million euros ($194 million).

His tally of 191 goals in France’s top flight — including 16 with Monaco at the beginning of his career — puts him in seventh place in the all-time list. Coach Luis Enrique described the 25-year-old as “a club legend” when he spoke to media on the eve of the game.

Jeers

PSG had indicated that celebrations after Sunday’s match would be dedicated to their title triumph, rather than any specific tribute to Mbappe himself.

There were even some jeers from the crowd for the striker when the teams were read out before the game, although a huge display was unfurled before kick-off at one end of the stadium depicting Mbappe in a trademark pose with his arms folded.

The Qatar-owned club had already wrapped up a record-extending 12th French title, and 10th in the last 12 years, before hosting a Toulouse side who were themselves safe from any lingering threat of relegation.

PSG’s Champions League disappointment means Mbappe will leave the club without ever having got his hands on European football’s greatest prize.

With Mbappe, PSG were runners-up in 2020 and have since reached the last four on two further occasions, but the France captain will now hope to finally get his hands on the trophy at his next club.

PSG can still finish the season by completing a clean sweep of domestic honours, as they face Lyon in the French Cup final in Lyon on May 25.

As well as Ligue 1, they have also already won the Champions Trophy, France’s equivalent of a Super Cup.

Luis Enrique’s team will complete their league campaign with a visit to Nice on Wednesday before going to Metz on the final day of the season next Sunday.

Source: AFP

Real Madrid produced a spectacular comeback with “heart” against Bayern Munich to reach the Champions League final on Wednesday with Joselu striking twice in the dying minutes, earning them a 2-1 win to progress 4-3 on aggregate.

Alphonso Davies smashed the visiting German giants ahead in the second half but record 14-time winners Madrid produced a sensational comeback with Joselu netting in the 88th and 91st minutes.

Spanish champions Real Madrid face another German side, Borussia Dortmund, in the Wembley final on June 1, after they stunned the team they call their “black beast”.

“It’s something magical, there’s no explanation,” said Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, revelling in another electric night in the Spanish capital.

Journeyman striker and back-up option Joselu, on as a late substitute, wrote his name in Madrid’s history books with his last-gasp brace, giving Europe’s comeback kings another night to remember.

“(The comeback) was with feeling and with heart, as the coach told us — you have to win games with heart,” said Joselu.

Madrid had enjoyed the better of the match but it seemed Davies’ superb strike had set up a repeat of the 2013 all-German final in London.

Instead Joselu consigned Bayern to a first trophyless season since 2012, his first goal coming after a handling error from Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who had superbly kept Madrid at bay until that point.

“(Before that) there were world class saves after world class saves, but that can happen, it’s football,” said Bayern defender Matthijs de Ligt.

High-intensity

Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel made three changes from the first leg, benching veteran Thomas Mueller and Leon Goretzka but the hosts dominated the opening stages.

Monment to forget: Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer makes a mistake and Joselu brings Real level.

Neuer produced a superb double save to stop Madrid nosing in front, tipping the electric Vinicius Junior’s effort on to the post and then saving Rodrygo’s follow-up.

Bayern’s Serge Gnabry limped off injured with Davies replacing him before England captain Harry Kane’s first flash of danger, but Andriy Lunin pushed his vicious volley around the post.

Neuer palmed away a Vinicius free-kick as the teams ended a high-intensity, relentlessly frantic first half level.

The second period was just as fraught, with Davies’ cross deflecting onto the roof of Lunin’s goal.

Vinicius was unplayable down Madrid’s left and Rodrygo prodded his low cross agonisingly wide of the far post.

The 38-year-old Neuer made superb saves to deny both Brazilian forwards again before the hour mark as Madrid ratcheted up the pressure.

However just as in Munich, when Los Blancos were at their strongest, Bayern pounced.

Canada international Davies cut inside from the left and smashed a shot beyond Lunin into the far top corner after 68 minutes.

Madrid thought they had levelled moments later through Nacho but after a VAR review the strike was ruled out as the defender had grabbed Joshua Kimmich’s face before shooting.

Tuchel took off Kane, still chasing the first trophy of his career, in the final stages to try and hold on to victory but it slipped through his fingers as Madrid produced more indelible European memories.

Referee ‘mistake’

Ancelotti, sacked by Bayern in 2017, has kept Madrid’s squad players engaged and committed to the cause all season and it paid dividends at a crucial time.

Neuer, who had been sublime to this point, fumbled what appeared a simple Vinicius strike and substitute Joselu gratefully bundled home from close range.

“We had one foot in London, we saw ourselves going through to the final,” lamented the goalkeeper.

With Bayern reeling Madrid struck again, decisively. It was Joselu once more, the striker on loan from second-division side Espanyol, turning home after Antonio Rudiger cut the ball back to him.

The goal was ruled offside but officials overturned the decision after review, and after nearly 15 minutes of stoppage time, Madrid earned the chance to go for their 15th Champions League trophy.

“There have been a lot of times we have looked dead and buried, but we have that mentality of never say die,” said Real midfielder Jude Bellingham.

Bayern were left raging at full-time after De Ligt netted but play had been stopped beforehand for an offside flag against Noussair Mazraoui.

“I don’t want to say that it’s always the referee’s mistake with Real Madrid, but that made the difference today,” grumbled De Ligt, saying play should have been allowed to continue.

“It’s bitter, completely bitter,” said Tuchel.

Source: AFP