Roma may have won 2-0 over Real Sociedad in their Europa League last-16 first leg but head coach Jose Mourinho refused to call it a good result.
Goals from Stephan Al Shaarawy and substitute Marash Kumbulla secured the home victory which gives the Giallorossi a significant advantage ahead of the return leg in San Sebastian.
Despite that, Mourinho was not satisfied, urging caution with a quarter-final spot at stake.
This 2-0 is only good if we don t lose by three in the second leg, Mourinho told Sky Sport Italia. I will never say it s a good result after the first leg.
Mourinho acknowledged Roma have a complicated schedule around the second leg on Thursday 16 March, with a Derby della Capitale against Lazio three days later.
Now we have a danger…
Sevilla have rescued Roque Mesa from his disappointing spell with Swansea City after signing him on loan until the end of the season.
Mesa joined Swansea from Las Palmas for a reported fee of €12.5million in July after two excellent seasons in LaLiga.
The 28-year-old has started just nine of rock-bottom Swansea s 24 Premier League games this season, however, with the last coming on December 30 against Watford.
Mesa had been linked with a return to Las Palmas but Sevilla, reportedly keen on signing a back-up to Ever Banega, have won the race and will be able to offer him a first taste of Champions League football.
Vincenzo Montella s side face Manchester United in the last 16, with the first leg at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan taking place on February 21.
Netherlands international Eljero Elia has agreed to a one-year contract extension at Feyenoord, the Eredivise club have announced.
The 29-year-old, who has won 28 caps for his country, moved to De Kuip from Werder Bremen in 2015 following a loan spell in the Premier League with Southampton.
His deal had been due to expire in 2017, but will now run for another 12 months.
Eljero in his first year as Feyenoord been decisive for the team, technical director Martin van Geel said in a statement on the club s website.
His contribution has been of great value to us and we are therefore very pleased that we were able to tie him down to Feyenoord.
Elia helped Feyenoord – who have already renewed deals for Kenneth Vermeer, Karim El Ahmadi, Tonny…
Denmark defender Daniel Agger said England should not fear Germany should they play them in the semi-finals of Euro 2012.
The Danish skipper and Liverpool stopper led his country out in their 2-1 defeat at the hands of Joachim Loew s team on Sunday, a result which eliminated Morten Olsen s side from the competition.
Germany were ran close by the Danes, however, needing a late Lars Bender goal to seal victory after Michael Krohn-Dehli had cancelled out Lukas Podolski s opener.
England will face Germany if the two countries come through their quarter-final matches against Italy and Greece respectively.
Germany would be heavy favourites for such a game, having thrashed the Three Lions 4-1 at the 2010 World Cup, but Agger said the England players play agains…
Spain midfielder Xabi Alonso said he was delighted his match-winning double against France sent his side into the Euro 2012 semi-finals.
But he insists that to do so on the occasion of his 100th national team appearance was just an extra .
Alonso s first-half header and injury-time penalty secured the win for the Spaniards, as they look to become the first international side to win three consecutive major titles after success in this competition four years ago, along with their World Cup triumph in South Africa in 2010.
And Alonso highlighted the ease with which the Spanish made victory against the French look, despite many predicting a close encounter beforehand.
It s in these matches that we have to show what we re about, he told UEFA.com. We controll…
Juventus head coach Maurizio Sarri would welcome a Champions League last-16 tie with Tottenham so that he can face off against extraordinary Jose Mourinho.
The Italian champions eased into the knockout stages with five wins and a draw in their Group D campaign, culminating in a 2-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday.
Tottenham suffered a 3-1 loss at Bayern Munich in their final Group B match, meanwhile, but they were already assured of second place behind the German giants in Group B.
Juve and Tottenham could meet in the next round, with Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Lyon and Real Madrid other possible opponents for Juventus.
Good way to end our group stage! See you in February!
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano)
Mourinho claim…
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In a week of several extremely good news for them, Liverpool will welcome Watford to Anfield on Saturday for a game that will open the 17th round of the 2019/20 Premier League roller coaster.
Liverpool
They might have left it late again, but Liverpool have made it into the knockout stages as they seek to defend their Champions League trophy by beating RB Salzburg in Austria on Tuesday. Having seen in the flesh what he can do, the Reds have since reportedly reached an agreement with Salzburg over a January transfer of 24-year-old winger Takumi Minamino, and they followed that up with a fresh five-year deal for manager Jurgen Klopp, which has now been signed.
As for the Premier League, the European champions seem unstoppable at…
Alvaro Morata has the potential to match the level of Luis Suarez and Robert Lewandowski, according to Spain head coach Vicente del Bosque.
The Juventus striker has enjoyed two promising seasons in Serie A since leaving Real Madrid in 2014, winning back-to-back Serie A and Coppa Italia doubles under Massimiliano Allegri.
Widespread reports claim that Madrid will exercise their buy-back option on Morata before next season, either to bolster their own attacking options or to sell him on to a higher bidder, with Chelsea among the clubs linked with an interest.
And Del Bosque has no doubt that Morata can develop into the same lethal sort of striker as Lewandowski, himself a target for Madrid, or Barcelona star Suarez.
That s his challenge, he told AS when a…
Germany midfielder Ilkay Gundogan feels reborn as he prepares to return to the international stage following his injury woes.
A long-term back problem left the Borussia Dortmund man stranded on the sidelines from August 2013 until last October.
But the 24-year-old has proved his fitness since making his comeback and is hopeful of featuring when Germany take on Australia in a friendly and Georgia in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier over the course of the next week.
What touches you the most after suffering an injury for so much time, is the fact that you really appreciate your health afterwards when you have recovered, said Gundogan.
You appreciate that you spend a day without suffering.
For a long time, I already felt pain when I woke up in…
Gareth Southgate is considering starting Ivan Toney in Sunday s Euro 2024 qualifier against Ukraine, but picking the best possible team to win the game is the top priority.
Toney was called up by Southgate for this month s fixtures, despite the Brentford striker facing a potential ban for breaching the Football Association s betting rules.
The 27-year-old was an unused substitute in Friday s 2-1 win against Italy, as he was in September s Nations League draw against Germany on his only previous call-up.
Southgate is hoping to give Toney some minutes against Ukraine at Wembley, but not at the expense of selecting a player more suited to starting the match.
Ivan Toney has been very good. We really like him, and he s very much in our thoughts, Southgate sai…