Klopp defends decision not to buy first-choice striker

Spain will be without Thiago Alcantara for their upcoming Nations League games.

The midfielder was an injury concern for Liverpool ahead of the Champions League final on Saturday, but he was declared fit to start and played 77 minutes of the 1-0 defeat to Real Madrid before being replaced by Roberto Firmino.

However, the former Bayern Munich and Barcelona midfielder will be unable to play for his national team in this month s matches against Portugal, the Czech Republic and Switzerland.

That is due to what a muscular injury to the back of his right leg.

Thiago will remain with the Spain camp until after Thursday s clash with Portugal in Seville.

Spain coach Luis Enrique will not be calling up a replacement for Thiago, who last started for his cou…

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On Monday evening, Croatia will welcome Slovakia at the Gradski Vrt Stadium in Osijek in the eighth round of Group H of the World Cup qualifications in the UEFA zone.

Croatia

Having reached the World Cup final in 2018 and being a formidable opponent to anyone for years, Croatia don t really strike fear into other teams anymore. The most obvious reason for their decline is the fact that the players whe carried their game for a long time have reached the twilight of their careers. Luka Modric is 36, Ivan Rakitic 33, and 35-year-old Mario Mandzukic retired from international football after the 2018 tournament in Russia. He retired completely last month.

Be that as it may, Croatia are still at the top of their qualifying group, wit…

Romelu Lukaku wants Inter to establish a prolonged period of dominance in Serie A after wrapping up their title-winning campaign with a 5-1 victory over Udinese on Sunday. 

Inter sealed top spot with four games remaining and finally got their hands on the trophy after a resounding win in front of 1,000 spectators at San Siro.

Their victory meant they gained more than 90 points in a single top-flight campaign for only the second time in their history (after 2006-07), while Antonio Conte became the first coach to achieve that tally with two different Serie A sides in the three-points-per-win era.

Ashley Young put the Nerazzurri in front early on, with goals from Christian Eriksen, Lautaro Martinez and Ivan Perisic putting them comfortably out of reach. 

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Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou credited his side’s 2-0 win over Fulham to their “outstanding” pressing after they returned to the top of the Premier League.

Goals from Son Heung-min and James Maddison confirmed the three points for the hosts at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Postecoglou also praised the contribution of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who started in place of the suspended Yves Bissouma.

“It was a good win. The boys worked hard, I thought our work without the ball was outstanding as it has been all year….”

The Gaffer speaks after

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial)

“I thought our pressing was outstanding the whole game and maybe in the first half we could have got one or two more to put the game to bed,” Postec…

Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham is the exact type of player Liverpool should be targeting and would make a great signing for the club.

That is according to John Barnes, who also told Stats Perform he believes the Reds missed a trick by not bringing in Yves Bissouma, who has now signed for Tottenham.

Liverpool have already been active this window, having added Darwin Nunez and Fabio Carvalho to their attack to compensate for the loss of Sadio Mane, who has joined Bayern Munich.

Jurgen Klopp s side continue to be linked with an array of other players, with Dortmund star and England international Bellingham a rumoured target.

Bellingham has made a big impact for the Bundesliga giants since arriving from Birmingham City two seasons ago, and Bar…

According to a recent report from Marca, Real Madrid are interested in pushing forward with a move for Jude Bellingham.

At the age of just 19, Jude Bellingham is already considered to be one of the brightest talents arguably in world football. The teenage sensation started off as a Birmingham City youngster and ever since making his first team debut at the age of 16, he’s been making some serious waves.

He now plies his trade for Borussia Dortmund and has done since 2020, serving as one of their most exciting talents.

Real, meanwhile, are seemingly looking ahead to the future moreso than the past, which is why this could be an incredibly interesting move for them especially considering the mixed success they ve had with British players at the Bernabeu in the p…

The Netherlands came from behind to battle into the Euro 2024 semi-finals with a 2-1 victory over Turkiye as Mert Muldur s own goal proved the difference in Berlin.

Samet Akaydin headed home after 35 minutes at the Olympiastadion, while Arda Guler was denied by the woodwork as Turkiye threatened to cause an upset.

Yet Ronald Koeman s Oranje stood firm, levelling through a thumping Stefan de Vrij header before Muldur – under pressure from Cody Gakpo – turned into his own net after 76 minutes.

Despite a spirited effort, Vincenzo Montella s side were unable to respond at the death as the Netherlands booked a last-four meeting with England in Dortmund for Wednesday.

— OnsOranje (@OnsOranje)

A tentative opening was devoid of gilt-edge…

Liverpool became the first side in history to win 2,000 English top-flight games after defeating Newcastle United 3-1 at Anfield on Thursday.

Jonjo Shelvey silenced the home crowd on his return to his former club as he rifled in after seven minutes, but Diogo Jota soon levelled things up Liverpool scoring in a club-record 32 consecutive games across all competitions.

Mohamed Salah put Jurgen Klopp s side into the ascendancy four minutes later, the forward matching Jamie Vardy s record of scoring or assisting in 15 consecutive Premier League games, before Trent Alexander-Arnold produced a magnificent long-range effort to seal victory.

Indeed, Salah has 24 goal involvements in the league this season (15 goals, nine assists), only former Newcastle striker Alan S…

Manchester City are the runaway Premier League leaders amid their record winning streak but captain Vincent Kompany warned against complacency, pointing to the 2011-12 title race.

Unbeaten City travel to Newcastle United on Wednesday seeking to extend their lead atop the table to 15 points with an 18th successive Premier League victory.

Many believe the title has already been decided before the New Year – rivals Manchester United and defending champions Chelsea battling for second position behind Pep Guardiola s side.

However, Kompany insisted City cannot afford to relax as the defender mentioned the club s successful 2011-12 campaign, when they overturned an eight-point deficit to upstage United on goal difference.

I draw on that, I don t know if ever…

Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel is not expecting Kylian Mbappe to endure a prolonged spell on the sidelines.

Mbappe was left out of the PSG squad for Wednesday s Champions League meeting with RB Leipzig at the Red Bull Arena due to muscle discomfort sustained in last weekend s 3-0 win over Nantes in Ligue 1.

The World Cup winner is set to be reassessed ahead of Saturday s meeting with Rennes, which comes before the international break.

Since his first away start in the Champions League in February 2017, Mbappe has been involved in 22 away goals (14 scored, eight assisted) in the competition – more than any other player.

Asked if there is a chance he could be without such an influential figure for longer than expected, Tuchel replied: It will no…