Netherlands came from a goal down to seal a morale-boosting 2-1 friendly victory away to England on Tuesday.

Roy Hodgson s side were riding high after their 3-2 victory over Germany on Saturday, but they failed to replicate the same standards they hit in the second half in Berlin against a Dutch side who looked far sharper than in recent displays.

Wembley observed an impeccable minute s silence for the victims of the recent terror attacks in Brussels, Lahore and Iskanderiyah, while applause once again sounded in tribute to Johan Cruyff, but the home fans did not have much to cheer until Jamie Vardy capped a fine team move to snatch the lead just before half-time.

Vincent Janssen, on his full debut for Danny Blind s side, equalised from the penalty spot on 50 minu…

Jurgen Klopp said Sergio Aguero is one of the best players he ever managed against after the ex-Manchester City forward announced his retirement.

Aguero, who joined Barcelona from City earlier this year, confirmed his decision to retire on Wednesday at an event featuring president Joan Laporta and the Blaugrana s first-team players, while representatives of the 33-year-old s other clubs – including Pep Guardiola – also attended.

The Argentina international suffered chest pain in a LaLiga match against Deportivo Alaves on October 30, which Barca confirmed was down to a heart arrhythmia.

Further tests resulted in Aguero being ruled out for three months to undergo a diagnostic and therapeutic process . After consultations with specialists, he was told…

Chelsea failed to make the most of their superiority as they were held to a 0-0 draw at Everton in the Premier League on Saturday, with the hosts extending their unbeaten run to seven across all competitions.

Antonio Conte s men were looking to open a six-point gap ahead of fourth-placed Liverpool after their entertaining 3-3 draw with Arsenal on Friday, but ultimately Chelsea could not successfully break down Sam Allardyce s stubborn Everton.

For all of their first-half dominance, Chelsea did not create as many clear-cut chances as Conte would have hoped, with Jordan Pickford only troubled sporadically.

The champions were quick out of the blocks after the break and saw a couple of opportunities go begging, but such chances soon dried up once again.

Eden …

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has joined Barcelona after being released from his contract with Arsenal.

Aubameyang, who earlier in January returned to the Gunners early from the Africa Cup of Nations due to some concerns over heart lesions , has not played since December 6.

The 32-year-old was stripped of Arsenal s captaincy for a disciplinary breach and had not featured in Mikel Arteta s squad since.

On Tuesday, it was confirmed he had terminated his deal with Arsenal by mutual consent, and he has now signed for Barca.

Aubameyang has agreed a contract running until June 30, 2025 with an option to agree to cut ties earlier, on June 30, 2023. It includes a buy-out clause of €100million. 

Aubameyang joined Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund in 2018 …

The Champions League returns on Wednesday as the first legs of the round of 16 come to an end.

Manchester United travel to the Wanda Metropolitano to face Atletico Madrid, with the visitors aiming to become just the fourth team to 500 goals in the European Cup and Champions League combined.

Erik ten Hag s Ajax thrilled in the group stages with their high-scoring and free-flowing football, and they make the trip to the Estadio da Luz to face Benfica in the other first-leg meeting.

Here, Stats Perform unpacks the pick of the Opta data behind the pair of knockout fixtures in Europe s premier club competition.

Atletico Madrid v Manchester United

United and Atletico have somehow only faced each other in the same European campaign once previously, whe…

Three months on from Rafinha s emotional farewell, there is a Brazilian back at Bayern Munich.

Thiago Alcantara, a Spain international born to Brazilian parents, had been the club s lone ongoing link to the country until Philippe Coutinho formally arrived from Barcelona on Monday.

The Vasco de Gama product has a lot to live up to Allianz Arena, where many of his compatriots have shone in the past.

An option for Bayern to buy the attacking midfielder on a permanent basis hints at a bright future in Bavaria, but can he emulate the likes of these former favourites?

Giovane Elber

The only non-European member of the club s hall of fame was a human highlight reel throughout his six excellent seasons.

Signed from Stuttgart in 1997, the…

Best Odds: 19/20

Bookmaker:

Simply looking to put the cherry on what has been a history-making campaign, Newcastle will make the trip to Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon when they meet Chelsea.

Chelsea

Starting with the hosts, putting in another woeful performance at Old Trafford in midweek as they slumped to an infamous 4-1 defeat against Manchester United, Chelsea have endured a public nightmare this season. Already accepting that they will have to settle for a remarkable bottom-half finish and with no European adventure penciled in for next year, Frank Lampard’s downbeat squad can not wait to see the back of the 2022/23 campaign. Coming under a huge amount of scrutiny and failing to find any kind of stability since they welcomed Lampard back to Stamford…

Mauricio Pochettino has suggested Paris Saint-Germain s defeat against Nice came down to misfortune more than anything else, after Andy Delort struck late to sink the Ligue 1 leaders.

The title frontrunners came up short against Christophe Galtier s hosts at Allianz Riviera thanks to the Algerian striker s late finish.

With the suspended Kylian Mbappe s absence leaving Les Parisiens short in attack, they have now lost consecutive league games on the road for the first time since April 2019.

Pochettino admitted that his side had not done enough to claim victory, but maintained Nice had not earned their three points either, chalking it up as something of a sporting incident.

We thought it was going to end in a draw because neither of them had done enou…

Martin Odegaard could return to Real Madrid at the end of the season, according to .

Real signed the midfielder from Norwegian side Stromsgodset in January 2015 for a reported fee of €3 million, but the youngster hasn t yet been given a proper chance to impress at Los Blancos. Having played most of his games for their Castilla team, he joined SC Heerenven on loan in January 2017, and since then he also had temporary spells with Vitesse Arnhem. He returned to Madrid at the end of last season and left on temporary basis to play for Real Sociedad this term.

The agreement, which will see Sociedad pay his wages of €2 million for the season, is such that it could be extended for a further year, but Real Madrid have the option of recalling him in the summer of 2020 should …

Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur to win 2-1

Best Odds:

Bookmaker: 

Eintracht Frankfurt and Tottenham Hotspur will face each other in the UEFA Champions League this week. The Group D match will be held at Deutsche Bank Park and is scheduled to kick off at 8pm UK time on Tuesday.

Eintracht Frankfurt

Eintracht Frankfurt are playing in the UEFA Champions League this season after winning the UEFA Europa League in 2021-22. The German club beat former Scottish Premiership champions Rangers in the final and have got the chance to play in Europe’s premier club competition this campaign.

Frankfurt are third in UEFA Champions League Group D at the moment with three points from two matches. They are level on points with second-placed Tottenham Hotspur and …