Empoli head coach Aurelio Andreazzoli has urged his side to look for “continuity” ahead of a tough test against Napoli on Sunday.
Napoli are currently fourth in Serie A following a mixed start to the season, but they closed the gap on the top with a 2-0 win against Salernitana last weekend.
The reigning champions could leapfrog AC Milan into third in the table with a win against Empoli, but Andreazzoli wants his side to “move forward” for their upcoming fixtures.
Work, work, work
— Official SSC Napoli (@sscnapoli)
“Napoli are extremely strong, but for us this doesn’t change the picture of what we have to do,” he told reporters.
“Frosinone also proved to be a tough opponent, which is why we need to focus on ou…
With all eyes falling on Wembley on Saturday afternoon, Manchester City claimed a seventh FA Cup crown as they edged past bitter local rivals Manchester United thanks to a lively 2-1 win in the capital.
Opening the scoring in a remarkable fashion as the red-hot Ilkay Gundogan produced a thunderous volley after just 12 seconds, Pep Guardiola’s men will now know that they are just 90 minutes away from being crowned treble champions.
While Bruno Fernandes might have dragged the top-four returners level from the penalty spot 12 minutes before the half-time break, City’s superstar squad were a more than worthy winner at Wembley.
With Gundogan eventually notching the winner in north London and notching his third domestic strike in his previous four appearances, th…
Kylian Mbappe is far above any Marseille player, meaning Paris Saint-Germain s Classique rivals must work together to stop the almost unstoppable forward, Jorge Sampaoli says.
France superstar Mbappe is enjoying another outstanding season in Ligue 1, leading the way in terms of both goals (20) and assists (14).
Marseille managed to keep the 23-year-old in check in a goalless draw at the Stade Velodrome back in October, but still only Zlatan Ibrahimovic has more Classique goals (seven) than Mbappe (six) in Ligue 1.
And Marseille coach Sampaoli s previous experience of Mbappe was painful, too. He scored twice to knock Sampaoli s Argentina out of the 2018 World Cup, inspiring France s 4-3 last-16 win in Russia.
The Marseille boss knows exactly what to expec…
Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper has signed a new contract until 2025, despite being on a five-game losing streak in the Premier League.
The 42-year-old took charge of the club in September 2021 and led the charge to promotion to the Premier League, finishing fourth in the Championship before beating Huddersfield Town in the play-off final.
Forest bolstered their squad for a return to the top-flight, signing 23 players in total, but have been unable to find form, sitting rock-bottom of the standings with just four points from the opening eight matches.
A 4-0 defeat at Leicester City on Monday extended Forest s losing streak to five games, raising speculation that Cooper s position is under threat – but the club have made it clear he retains the faith of t…
Rafael Benitez has been sacked by Everton after a run of just two wins in 14 games across all competitions.
The Premier League side announced Benitez s departure on their official website on Sunday, a day on from losing 2-1 to bottom side Norwich City.
Everton Football Club can confirm the departure of Rafael Benitez as first team manager, the statement read.
An update on a permanent replacement will be made in due course.
Everton Football Club can confirm the departure of Rafael Benitez as first team manager.
— Everton (@Everton)
Former Liverpool boss Benitez was a largely divisive appointment at Everton when he was drafted in to replace Carlo Ancelotti in the close-season after the Italian left for Real Madrid.
Hampere…
Gernot Rohr has warned Nigeria to be wary of Africa Cup of Nations debutants Burundi as his side begin their bid for a fourth continental crown.
The Super Eagles won the most recent of their three titles six years ago but failed to qualify for the last two editions of the competition.
After topping a qualifying group that included South Africa, Libya and Seychelles, however, Nigeria are ranked among the favourites to go all the way in Egypt.
But Rohr s men enter the tournament on the back of a 1-0 loss to Senegal ending a year-long eight-match unbeaten run and the veteran coach of four African nations is not taking Burundi lightly.
Beating Burundi in the first game will help stabilise the team, Rohr said ahead of his side s opening Group B fixture.
…
Sinisa Mihajlovic has been discharged from hospital in good condition after undergoing further leukaemia treatment, Bologna have announced.
The Serbian coach, who enjoyed an illustrious playing career in Serie A with the likes of Roma, Sampdoria, Lazio and Inter, was first diagnosed with the disease in 2019 and underwent a bone marrow transplant in October 2019, returning to the Bologna dugout just six weeks later.
Mihajlovic revealed in late March that routine tests had discovered some alarm bells , leading him to step back from hands-on coaching duties for an unspecified amount of time and to declare this disease is very courageous in returning to face an opponent like me.
An encouraging social media update from his club announced the news of Mihajlovic s e…
Bernardo Silva acknowledged the pressure on Portugal to qualify for the World Cup but assured his side can cope with the challenge of making Qatar.
Portugal overcame Turkey 3-1 in the play-off semi-final on Thursday, when Roberto Mancini s Italy crashed out to North Macedonia as Aleksandar Trajkovski scored a 92nd-minute winner in Palermo.
Fernando Santos side boast home advantage in the final at Porto s Dragao Stadium as the Euro 2016 winners aim to qualify for a sixth straight World Cup, having previously failed to appear at three consecutive tournaments between 1990 and 1998.
Manchester City star Silva insisted that Portugal players will call upon their club experiences to deal with the expectations on them against North Macedonia on Tuesday.
The re…
Crewe Alexandra have confirmed director Dario Gradi has been handed an interim suspension by the Football Association.
The FA is undertaking a wider investigation into allegations of historical child sexual abuse in football.
Following discussions with the Football Association, Crewe Alexandra Football Club can confirm that Dario Gradi is currently under an FA interim suspension from football, read the club s statement.
It is alleged Gradi attempted to smooth over a complaint of sexual assault when he worked as Chelsea assistant manager in 1974.
The claims came from an unnamed former youth player at Chelsea in a newspaper interview earlier this month and Gradi denied any wrongdoing at the time of publication.
He also issued a statement on Frida…
Edwin van der Sar has signed a new four-year contract as Ajax s general manager, seemingly ending any chance of him moving to Manchester United.
Van der Sar returned in 2012 to the Dutch club he served as a player, joining as a marketing director before being elevated to his current key leadership role four years later.
Since Van der Sar took up that position, Ajax have taken a significant step towards being the European force they were when the former goalkeeper played for the club in the 1990s.
Very happy with my contract extension at this beautiful club, he wrote on his official Twitter account.
We ve had some difficult moments, but the good times are definitely back. And of course we want more in the future!
Very happy with my contract e…