World Cup bulking hampered Man United form – Lukaku

Marco Verratti has described Paris Saint-Germain s Champions League clash with Manchester United as a final , warning his team-mates they can have no excuses  come full-time. 

Last year s beaten finalists travel to Old Trafford on Wednesday having picked up just six points from their four Group H games.

That leaves them level with RB Leipzig and three points behind leaders United, who only need a draw to qualify for the last 16.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer s side have won their last seven European games at home, scoring 24 goals and conceding just two.

And Verratti, whose only appearance in this season s competition was as a substitute in the 1-0 win over Leipzig last week, acknowledged PSG will have to be at their best to get anything out of the game. 

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Bayern Munich could have sold Thomas Muller to Manchester United for a world-record fee in 2015, according to Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

Muller was repeatedly linked with a switch to United last year, and the Bayern chairman admitted he was the subject of a mad transfer bid from the Premier League side.

But Rummenigge cited the importance of having home-grown players in the squad as a reason for passing up the offer.

Thomas Muller came out of it [the youth academy]. [He is] born near Munich, formed here, the hero of the fans, the Bayern chief told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

We had a mad offer from Manchester United last year, which was not a topic for one second.

We could have secured a world-record transfer fee.

In May, Bayern announ…

Inter head coach Antonio Conte has confirmed he turned down the chance to join Roma earlier this year.

Conte was linked to Roma before taking over at Inter and, ahead of a meeting between the two sides on Friday, revealed he held preliminary talks with the Giallorossi.

The move came in the off-season, before Conte knew of Inter s interest, but the former Chelsea boss decided the timing was not right.

Conte spoke to ex-Italy team-mate and Roma legend Francesco Totti about the position before Paulo Fonseca was appointed in June 2019.

Totti, who spent his entire playing career with Roma, was a director at the club until he resigned the same month as Fonseca was installed.

Conte told a news conference: With Francesco, there is a long-standing friends…

Having ended a goal drought that stretched back to March 2013, Canada hope to notch a rare win against Moldova on Tuesday.

Canada drew 1-1 with Bulgaria in Austria on Friday with Atiba Hutchinson scoring the equaliser for Benito Floro s Canadians from the penalty spot, ending a run of 10 games without a goal.

Next for Canada will be another friendly in the small Austrian town of Ritzing this time against Moldova and with the eastern Europeans ranked just 11 spots ahead of Floro s men, the North Americans will be aiming for their first victory since October 2012.

The next step is obviously to get a win, Hutchinson said after the draw with Bulgaria.

We re going to work hard at that.

The Besiktas midfielder added: A couple of us were talking about (the goal d…

Everton have confirmed that they have reached an agreement with Twente for the transfer of Netherlands international Leroy Fer.

The 23-year-old is now expected to travel to Merseyside to undergo a medical and discuss personal terms ahead of an estimated 8.5-million-pound move.

The signing will represent David Moyes first foray into the market this January and comes on the back of watching Kevin Mirallas again succumb to injury in the 2-1 FA Cup win at Bolton.

Moyes hinted at an imminent deal on Monday.

If I have to have a bet on whether we will get someone in, then I would back myself to do it, he said.

When I took the job 500 games ago, I knew the situation wasn t going to be having lots and lots of cash to spend.

I will tell the c…

Market: Norwich win

Odds: 19/20 @

Hoping to extend their stay in the play-off places this weekend, Norwich will welcome Sunderland to Carrow Road on Sunday afternoon.

Starting with the hosts, while Norwich might have opened 2023 in the midst of an extended nightmare, David Wagner s men have come roading back in some style. Last seen putting in another thrilling display as they claimed an action-packed 3-2 victory away at Millwall, the former Huddersfield boss should find the mood around Carrow Road at a real high. Finding a route into the play-off places and with their sights set on booking an immediate Premier League return this year, the Canaries have now collected 13 points from their last five Championship outings. Likewise, along with winning each of their …

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says Arsenal s long Premier League title wait is helping them score late goals and insists the Gunners are still favourites for the domestic crown.

Arsenal s 3-0 win at Fulham on Sunday meant they restored their five-point lead over second-placed City with 11 games to play.

The Gunners latest win was more routine in comparison to the recent 3-2 triumph over Bournemouth where Reiss Nelson netted a 97th-minute winner, or last month s thrilling come-from-behind 4-2 victory at Aston Villa.

Guardiola argued Arsenal s long drought for a Premier League title, having not claimed the honour since 2003-04, was fuelling their belief late in games.

On the contrary, the Catalan sensed City lacked that desire having lifted four of …

Making history and not revenge is at the forefront of Atletico Madrid s mind as they lock horns with Real Madrid in the Champions League final, said Spanish midfielder Saul.

Atletico and Madrid will go head-to-head in Milan on May 28 in a rematch of the 2014 decider.

Madrid triumphed 4-1 after extra time in the final in Lisbon two years ago, but Saul insisted his team-mates are not seeking revenge as Atletico bid to win a maiden Champions League title.

If Real Madrid are a superior team, they will need to prove it on the field, he told Radio MARCA on Thursday.

The final in Milan is not a rematch of Lisbon, or a chance for revenge, but rather it is a chance to make history.

We know that Madrid are a tough team. It will be very difficult [but] I…

Gareth Bale has praised Zinedine Zidane for allowing Real Madrid s stars the freedom they need to perform at their peak.

Zidane has overseen a transformation of fortunes at the Santiago Bernabeu since taking over from Rafael Benitez in January, with Madrid having a Champions League final against Atletico Madrid on the horizon after coming close to snatching the Liga title away from Barcelona.

Madrid head into Saturday s European showpiece at San Siro on the back of a 12-game winning run in La Liga, and Bale says Zidane, a great of the game as a player with France, Juventus and then Los Blancos, has adopted the correct approach in his first senior coaching role.

I think he s come in and he s kind of just given us that freedom to enjoy ourselves on the pitch, said…

Rejuvenated England, European kings Spain and defending champions Italy hope their young players can fire them closer to the 2010 World Cup finals on Saturday.

But former champions Germany and France, whose qualifying campaigns have yet to hit top gear, will be looking to the tried and trusted to spark them closer to South Africa.

England have enjoyed two wins from two games under new coach Fabio Capello, the last of which was an impressive 4-1 win in Croatia which propelled them to the top of Group Six and sent Arsenal teenager Theo Walcott s reputation into orbit.

The 19-year-old s hat-trick in Zagreb should make him a first choice in Saturday s clash with minnows Kazakhstan at Wembley and against Belarus in Minsk four days later.

As a young player…