Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti has admitted Liverpool chose wisely when they rejected him in favour of making Jurgen Klopp manager in 2015.
Ancelotti, 60, will experience his first Merseyside derby in an FA Cup third-round tie at Anfield on Sunday.
The experienced Italian could have been on the other side of the divide had Liverpool selected him as Brendan Rodgers successor just over four years ago.
Ancelotti held talks with the Reds but conceded they were right to appoint Klopp, who has led the club to Champions League glory and a commanding position atop the Premier League.
It was after [leaving] Real Madrid, I had a chat with the owner, Ancelotti told a news conference.
They were looking for a new manager but I think they made the right choic…
It promises to be another action-packed weekend in the Premier League as the busy December schedule continues apace.
The standout game is on Sunday as table-topping Liverpool welcome big rivals Manchester United to Anfield. Jurgen Klopp’s side took advantage of Manchester City’s defeat at Chelsea last weekend to move to the top of the standings and they are favourites to beat United.
However, punters searching the may be tempted by what appears to be generous odds on the visitors. The Red Devils are priced at 9/2 to win the game and that looks too big given that they have lost just one of their last 10 meetings with Liverpool in all competitions.
Elsewhere on Sunday, title hopefuls Arsenal and Chelsea are also in action as they visit Southampton and B…
Galatasaray have announced the appointment of Fatih Terim, the coach returning for a fourth spell in charge of the Turkish club.
Terim has been out of work since July, when he left his role as Turkey s national team coach after he was involved in an altercation with a restaurant owner.
Gala sacked Igor Tudor on Monday after they lost three of their last four matches in all competitions under the former Juventus and Croatia defender.
Terim has not worked in club football since 2013, when he left Galatasaray to re-join Turkey after claiming his sixth Super Lig title, all of which have come at the Istanbul giants.
And just where we left off
HE IS BACK!
— Galatasaray EN (@Galatasaray)
The 64-year-old who also represented the club…
As for the visitors, while New Zealand s record on paper may have seen Danny Hay s men win six of their last seven matchups and enjoying an unbeaten run that stems back to June 2018, they have famously struggled when up against some of the world s more notable nations. Losing each of their last four friendly matches on the spin, including defeats against Canada, Japan, Belarus, and Northern Ireland, their 1-0 victory over little-known Oman fours years ago is their only friendly victory since way back in September 2013. Now sat down 121 st in the FIFA rankings, there is no doubt that Hay should be boosted by the on-going success of leading marksman and attacking talisman, Chris Wood. Arguably the most notable star in the New Zealand set-up, the Burnley ace once again found the net agains…
As quoted by , superagent Mino Raiola, who represents Paul Pogba, said the Manchester United midfielder wouldn t mind returning to former club Juventus as Italy is like home to him.
Pogba s future has been a subject of constant speculation for years now. Since he swapped Turin for Manchester in what was then a world-record deal, he was linked heavily first with Barcelona, then Real Madrid. But now it seems that his return to Juventus, which has also been reported as a possibility, is indeed a viable option. The 26-year-old left United to join Juve as a free agent back in the summer of 2012, and returned to Old Trafford four years later for over €100 million.
Once back in Manchester, he hasn t had quite the impact that was expected of a player of his price and reputat…
Former Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack criticised the referee s decisions after his old club were knocked out of the Champions League by Barcelona.
Lionel Messi scored twice and set up Ousmane Dembele in a 3-0 win for Barca at Camp Nou that sent his side into the quarter-finals 4-1 on aggregate.
But former Germany international Ballack felt Chelsea were unfairly treated by referee Damir Skomina, who rejected a penalty appeal when Gerard Pique challenged Marcos Alonso in the box, with the score at 2-0.
Same old story #referee, Ballack wrote on Twitter, seemingly referring to the infamous semi-final between Chelsea and Barca in the 2008-09 Champions League.
Same old story
— Michael Ballack (@Ballack)
On that occasion, Chelsea felt w…
Verdict: Celtic to win by 2+ goals and Odsonne Edouard to score anytime
Best Odds: 21/20
Bookmaker:
Starting off their Champions League qualifying campaign on Tuesday night, Celtic will welcome KR Reykjavik to Glasgow for a one-off meeting in midweek.
Celtic
Starting with the hosts, after missing a pair of Premiership fixtures due to off-field issues, Celtic should be raring to go after being last seen settling for a point away at Kilmarnock eight days ago. With their Old Firm rivals already building a six-point buffer over them, the defending Scottish champions will undoubtedly be glad to make a return to home soil on Tuesday night. Despite their disappointing draw away at Rugby Park earlier in the month, Neil Lennon s men did open up the 2020/2021 do…
Arsenal have finally brought in midfield reinforcements after securing the signing of long-term target Thomas Partey from Atletico Madrid.
Partey, 27, has cost Arsenal £45million (€50m) after the club opted to trigger his release clause just 32 minutes before Monday s transfer deadline, and he has signed a long-term contract.
Lucas Torreira has moved in the opposite direction after agreeing to join Atletico on a season-long loan.
Ghana international Partey has long been admired by Arsenal and was said to be their primary midfield target, along with Lyon s Houssem Aouar who has remained in France beyond the deadline.
Welcome to the Partey!
— Arsenal (@Arsenal)
The Gunners were reported to have made their interest known to…
The Bundesliga s biggest showdown of the season takes place on Saturday as Borussia Dortmund host Bayern Munich at Signal Iduna Park.
These teams have shared the last eight domestic titles, as well as five of the last six DFB-Pokals, and their rivalry remains the most talked-about for viewers of German football.
The emergence of RB Leipzig has threatened to upset the balance of power, but it would take a bold individual to bet against early pace-setters Dortmund or the resurgent champions when it comes to this year s title race.
The first Klassiker of the season therefore comes at an intriguing moment, with Bayern leading Dortmund by three points at the summit but only after some early 2017-18 jitters under Carlo Ancelotti, who was sacked in September and rep…
Manchester City star Bernardo Silva could leave the Premier League champions, according to manager Pep Guardiola.
Silva was tipped for a City exit in the off-season amid links with Atletico Madrid and Barcelona but the Portugal international remained in Manchester.
The 27-year-old has started five of City s six Premier League matches this season, while he scored the winner in the 1-0 victory at Leicester City.
After impressing in Saturday s 1-0 win away to rivals and Champions League holders Chelsea, Guardiola praised Silva.
All I want is for Bernardo to be happy, here or anywhere. All I want is his happiness because he s a guy that deserves the best, said Guardiola.
He s so intuitive it s not his role as a holding midfielder but he knows exactl…