Julian Nagelsmann called for improvements from Bayern Munich and insisted his side must not become disenchanted after two disappointing performances.
The reigning Bundesliga champions are six points clear of second-placed Borussia Dortmund at the summit, despite falling to a 4-2 loss at Bochum last Saturday.
Nagelsmann s side followed up that disappointing defeat with another unspectacular performance in Salzburg on Wednesday, where they required a late Kingsley Coman strike to secure a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash.
The former RB Leipzig head coach expressed his frustrations with the recent outings but expects his team to bounce back when they travel to Furth on Sunday.
We want to remain critical and have a certain …
Mikhail Fomenko thinks Ukraine deserved to qualify for Euro 2016 after seeing off Slovenia in a two-legged play-off.
Ukraine finally ended their play-off curse thanks to a 1-1 draw in Slovenia on Tuesday that sealed a 3-1 aggregate triumph.
The Ukrainians had lost five two-legged play-off matches to reach major tournaments in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2010 and 2014, but finally ended that run to book a spot in France next year.
Speaking afterwards in Maribor, head coach Fomenko heaped praise on the Ukraine squad, telling reporters: I would like to thank from my heart all the players for their work. For such a fight on the pitch you have to be really prepared both physically and mentally.
Compliments also go to the entire leadership of the national team and the f…
George Saville will never complain about a lack of recognition for his work in the Millwall and Northern Ireland engine rooms, but when praise came his way at the end of the season he was delighted to get it.
Saville has made his career out of doing the dirty work in midfield, the sort of unglamorous role which can go unnoticed.
But the 30-year-old was third in the running for Millwall’s player of the season award after being singled out by manager Gary Rowett for praise during a play-off push which fell short on the final day of the Championship season as Blackburn came from 3-1 down to win 4-3 at The Den.
“With the manager having that trust in me, how he spoke to me at the back end of the season was fantastic and to get recognition at that level was great,�…
New England Revolution head coach Caleb Porter has challenged his team to bounce back from their heavy defeat last time out when they host Atlanta United on Wednesday.
The Revs four-match unbeaten streak in MLS was ended by a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Columbus Crew at the weekend.
Their recent run has lifted them off the foot of the Eastern Conference and kept them in the hunt for what looked to be an unlikely playoff place.
Porter is confident his team can quickly put the weekend s disappointment behind them.
You can t lose to teams that are in around you and give them points, Porter said. They are in the hunt with us for the playoffs, so it s really important we bounce back.
We still have confidence. We know we re a good team, and it has t…
Carlos Queiroz attributed Iran s vital World Cup win over Wales on Friday to his players going back to their roots .
Rouzbeh Cheshmi and Ramin Rezaeian both scored in stoppage time to seal a 2-0 victory for Iran after Wayne Hennessey had been sent off late on for Wales.
Iran were thumped 6-2 by England in their opening game in Qatar, but a deserved three points against the Dragons has injected fresh life into their bid to reach the last 16.
Queiroz was thrilled by his side s display, describing the win as a gift to Iran s fans.
What a moment for IR Iran! |
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup)
We played with amazing character, he said. We always play with a sense of unity and cohesion. Today, we went back to our roots. We were able to p…
Ollie Watkins labelled Spain s Lamine Yamal as a generational talent ahead of England s clash with La Roja in the Euro 2024 final on Sunday.
Yamal played a key role in Spain reaching their first major tournament final since 2012, scoring a stunner to cancel out Randal Kolo Muani s opener before Dani Olmo s winner four minutes later.
The teenager has had 13 shot involvements following a ball carry at Euro 2024 (six shots, seven chances created), at least three more than any other player.
Having beaten Pele s record in becoming the youngest player to score at a major tournament, more history beckons for Yamal in Berlin.
A day after his 17th birthday, the Barcelona forward could be the youngest player to feature in a World Cup or European Championship fin…
Iceland have included veteran forward Eidur Gudjohnsen in their 23-man squad for Euro 2016.
The 37-year-old former Chelsea and Barcelona star is currently playing for Norwegian club Molde, who he joined in February after a spell with Chinese Super League club Shijiazhuang Ever Bright ended last November.
Gudjohnsen has been capped 84 times by his country and co-head coach Lars Lagerback said he would have not been picked without securing a return to club football in the new year.
Largerback and Heimir Hallgrimsson did not include Gudjohnsen in their squad for the March friendlies against Denmark and Greece, but he will now bolster their goal threat alongside Swansea City midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson and Nantes striker Kolbeinn Sigthorsson.
Meanwhile, vete…
Shevchenko´s struggles and El Nino´s nightmare – Lukaku the latest high-profile striker to flop at C
Romelu Lukaku s second spell with Chelsea lasted just one season.
Inter have confirmed the return of Lukaku in a season-long loan deal just 321 days after selling him to Chelsea for just under £100million.
It reunites Lukaku with the club with whom he won the Scudetto in 2021 and writes another chapter in the history of the Blues signing a high-profile striker, only for them to fail to produce.
As the London club perhaps wonder what might have been with Lukaku, Stats Perform looks back at the string of forwards who saw their goals dry up after moving to Stamford Bridge.
Mateja Kezman
Kezman did not arrive for big money by today s standards, joining from PSV for a £5.3m fee in 2004, but he came with significant expectations after a goal-lade…
Sir Alex Ferguson has cooled speculation linking him with a role as manager of Great Britain s football team at the 2012 London Olympics.
The Manchester United manager, speaking in Johannesburg ahead of the European and English champions friendly clash against Kaizer Chiefs in Pretoria on Saturday, has been touted as a candidate to take charge of a Great Britain team in 2012.
However, disagreements between the football associations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have led to problems with the formation of a unified British team at the Olympics.
The Scots and the Welsh, in particular, are keen to avoid weakening their individual positions within FIFA by sanctioning a Great Britain team.
And although Ferguson did not rule himself out o…
Paris Saint-Germain are struggling to come to terms with again failing to win the Champions League, according to former coach Laurent Blanc.
Blanc led Lyon to a 1-0 win at PSG on Sunday, potentially breathing life into the Ligue 1 title race.
PSG looked to have the championship all but wrapped up before back-to-back defeats, with this latest reverse following another home loss against Rennes before the international break.
The gap to second-placed Lens and third-placed Marseille is now just six points; Lens are the next visitors to the Parc des Princes.
But Blanc does not believe this slump is anything new, identifying a long-standing problem at a club where he was coach between 2013 and 2016.
PSG exited the Champions League to Bayern Munich last …