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Antonio Rudiger is no stranger to putting himself in difficult and painful situations for the cause, as evidenced by the defensive lynchpin of Thomas Tuchel s Chelsea revival sporting a protective face mask during matches over recent weeks.

Nevertheless, even as a player who appears to relish a challenge and refuse to back down from a confrontation, Chelsea playing behind closed doors might have done Rudiger a favour earlier in the year.

The Stamford Bridge faithful, for all the success lapped up during the Roman Abramovich era, are certainly not shy when it comes to voicing their displeasure over an unpopular change in the dugout, of which there have been plenty.

There was the vocal backing for Roberto Di Matteo weeks after his sacking in 2012. Interim boss Rafa…

Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger conceded he is perplexed by how far Mesut Ozil s stock has fallen at his old club.

Ozil suffered his latest ignominy this week when the Gunners left the German playmaker out of their 24-man Europa League squad for the group phase.

The 31-year-old is yet to make one of Mikel Arteta s squads this season and his most recent appearance was back in March before the coronavirus-enforced lockdown.

A move in the transfer window never looked like materialising given his reported £350,000-a-week wages, though his contract does run out at the end of this campaign.

It was Wenger who brought 2014 World Cup winner Ozil to north London from Real Madrid in 2013 and the Frenchman cannot fathom how such a creative player has fallen from g…

Verdict: Over three goals

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Arsenal have plenty of work to do if they want to book their place in the Europa League last 16. BATE Borisov secured a 1-0 in the first-leg clash in Belarus last Thursday after a turgid performance on the road from the Gunners.

Arsenal

Starting with the hosts, after coming off the back of their embarrassing 1-0 loss away in Belarus last week, Unai Emery will be glad to make a return to North London. With their away record heavily criticized, the Gunners have now lost three of their last five matches across all competitions and still find themselves out of the top-four in the Premier League. Despite their worrying record away from the Emirates, Arsenal have undoubtedly saved their best performances f…

The prestigious Ballon d’Or awards will be co-organised by UEFA from next year.

European football’s governing body has reached an agreement with Group Amaury, the owner of media companies France Football and L’Equipe, to “enhance the stature and global reach of the awards”.

Argentinian star Lionel Messi won his eighth Ballon d’Or title earlier this week after steering his country to World Cup glory last year, with Spanish World Cup star Aitana Bonmati winning the women’s prize.

Aitana Bonmatí made her way to the 2023 Ballon d Or!

— Ballon d Or #ballondor (@ballondor)

The merging of the awards means an end to the UEFA awards handed out in August each year, with the exception of the President’s Award which will still be present…

Neymar caused a stir after inspiring Paris Saint-Germain to victory over Manchester United when he said he wants to link up with Lionel Messi in 2021.

The Brazil star scored twice to help PSG to a 3-1 win at Old Trafford, a result that puts them in a strong position to reach the Champions League knockout stages.

Neymar joined the Ligue 1 champions from Barca for a world-record €222million fee in 2017, partly, it has been suggested, to escape the shadow of Messi at Barcelona.

The Catalans won the treble in 2014-15 with an attacking trident of Neymar, Messi and Luis Suarez, but it has been claimed the former Santos man left Camp Nou so he could have a better chance of winning the Ballon d Or.

Neymar has since repeatedly been tipped to return to Spain but …

Marcos Llorente and Luis Suarez earned Atletico Madrid a 2-0 win over 10-man Real Betis at Wanda Metropolitano as Diego Simeone s men made it a club-record 21 LaLiga games without defeat.

Atleti lost 4-0 to Bayern Munich on Wednesday  their joint-heaviest defeat under Simeone but were back to their solid defensive selves in Saturday s clash, which was won with two second-half goals.

After a balanced opening 45 minutes in the Spanish capital it took just 19 seconds for Llorente to open the scoring in the second half with a smart finish from a tight angle.

Suarez added a late second to seal a victory that lifts Atletico up to third, two points off leaders Real Madrid with a game in hand to play, after Betis had been reduced to 10 men for Martin Montoya s red card …

Baroness Sue Campbell says diversity in English women’s football is an area in which she hopes “we’re building”.

England’s squad for their victorious Euros campaign in 2022 featuring only three players of black or mixed heritage – a figure that dropped to two for the 2023 World Cup – was something highlighted in former Lioness Karen Carney’s women’s football review published last summer.

Describing it as a “glaring reflection” of a wider issue, Carney’s review said the Football Association “should urgently address the lack of diversity across the women’s game – in both on and off pitch roles.”

Campbell, who is this year set to retire from her role as the FA’s director of women’s football, has referenced the boost there has been…

Stefano Pioli knows AC Milan face a “steep climb” to rescue their season as reports the Rossoneri boss could soon be replaced continue to gather steam.

Milan have won their last five Serie A games and next face relegation-threatened Sassuolo on Sunday but Thursday’s 1-0 home defeat by Italian rivals Roma in the Europa League quarter-finals did nothing to help dispel talk of Pioli’s potentially-imminent departure.

Reports suggest former Real Madrid and Wolves head coach Julen Lopetegui is being lined up to succeed Pioli, whose contract at San Siro does not expire until June 2025.

Post-match reaction from Stefano Pioli

— AC Milan (@acmilan)

It has been claimed the Parma-born manager has the next three games to save his job: at Sassuol…

Hansi Flick has been sacked as manager of Germany in the wake of Saturday’s 4-1 home friendly defeat to Japan.

It comes after the former Bayern Munich coach won just 12 of his 25 matches in charge of the national team following his appointment in August 2021.

Germany will host the European Championship next summer but form had grown increasingly erratic under Flick, with a second successive group-stage exit at the World Cup last year part of a run that has seen just three victories in the last 12 months.

A night to forget in Wolfsburg : Philipp Reinhard

— Germany (@DFB_Team_EN)

The 58-year-old, who replaced World Cup-winner Joachim Low when he stood down following Euro 2020, becomes the first person to be sacked as Germany manager.