Wolfsburg must attack Gent in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, despite heading into Tuesday s match at the Volkswagen Arena with a 3-2 lead, says Koen Casteels.
Dieter Hecking s side surged three goals ahead in the opening encounter at the Ghelamco Arena on February 17 and looked set for a simple route into the quarter-finals when Max Kruse added to Julian Draxler s double in the 60th minute.
But the Bundesliga side failed to hold onto their advantage, conceding goals to Sven Kums and Kalifa Coulibaly in the final 10 minutes to set up a tense return match.
Casteels was in goal for Wolfsburg and looks set to be so once more on Tuesday, with Diego Benaglio missing their last six matches due to a rib injury.
The Belgian believes Gent …
Inter, AC Milan, Juventus, Napoli. All have faced Sassuolo, and all have been defeated, at one point or another.
At just 22, Domenico Berardi is already Sassuolo s all-time top goalscorer.Photo: Fabrizio Forte
In fact, Milan fans really dread taking on the Neroverdi, who have become a major thorn in the Diavolo s side since first meeting in January 2014. That encounter indeed was one to forget for Rossoneri supporters, but one to surely remember for Sassuolo fans and neutral observers. Although Milan are no longer the side of old, to manage to come from 2-0 down to win 4-3 is nothing to scoff at. Especially if it is one s first ever appearance in Italian football s top flight.
On that evening, Domenico Berardi became the second youngest player to score a poker i…
Inter Milan have turned down an offer from Chelsea to sign Denzel Dumfries in the summer of 2023, according to . The report has claimed that former Premier League and UEFA Champions League winners Chelsea have offered Italian giants Inter €40 million to sign Dumfries, but that is not enough.
Former Serie A and UEFA Champions League winners Inter reportedly want as much as €50 million for Dumfries, who can operate as a right-back or as a wing-back. The Netherlands international moved to the Milanese club from PSV in the summer of 2021 and has done well for the Nerazzurri.
Dumfries has made six starts and one substitute appearance in Serie A for Inter so far this season, scoring one goal and providing one assist in the process. The Dutchman has scored one goal in two …
The Attitude
Perhaps it is something that comes with age, perhaps it is due to the player’s maturity, but Cristiano Ronaldo’s attitude changed dramatically over the last 12 months.
And in the absence of clearly defined Ballon d Or criteria, when five-time winner Messi was labeled more of a man, teammate and a professional than Ronaldo, the attitude seems to be playing an important role in the competition for the most prestigious individual prizes of all.
While most 32-year-old players would be considered and regarded as well past their peak, it become evident betting against Ronaldo would be unwise thing to do as the Portugal international continues to evolve and grow as a player.
There is not much room left for Cristiano to surprise us with new football qua…
Given the stakes involved, Champions League semi-finals don t tend to be fertile ground for managers to learn lessons about their teams.
But for Jurgen Klopp, Tuesday s win over Villarreal provided more than just a ticket to the showpiece fixture of Europe s premier cup competition in Paris later this month.
It also handed the German several important insights into his squad that may prove key to a quadruple bid that was extended by victory in Spain.
Klopp probably did not appreciate the start of that learning process – an unexpectedly poor first-half performance he would prefer to forget.
FEELING
— Liverpool FC (@LFC)
In possession of the most dangerous lead in football , it was key that the visitors did not concede an early goal…
Premier League data dive: Man City complete Bees doubles, Southampton surprise Tottenham with late f
Premier League leaders Manchester City collected a routine victory over Brentford to further their advantage at the top.
That victory saw Pep Guardiola s side extend their lead at the summit to 12 points, with second-placed Liverpool due to host Leicester City on Thursday.
Tottenham fell to a late defeat against Southampton as Antonio Conte suffered his first home league loss as Spurs boss, while Aston Villa shared the spoils in a six-goal thriller with Leeds United.
And strugglers Norwich City picked up a valuable draw at home to Crystal Palace, with Dean Smith s side now a point behind 17th-placed Newcastle United as the relegation battle continues.
Here, Stats Perform unpacks the pick of the Opta data from the day s top-flight action.
Aston …
Erling Haaland’s goal against Liverpool on Saturday was his 50th in the Premier League, in a record 48 games.
Here, the PA news agency looks at his record since arriving at Manchester City last season.
Haaland’s half-century
Having scored 36 goals, a Premier League record, in 35 games in his debut season, Haaland has followed up with 14 in his first 13 appearances this term.
That 48-game total makes him the first player to reach 50 goals at better than a goal per game, with the record previously held by former Newcastle and Manchester United striker Andy Cole who reached the mark in 65 appearances.
The Norwegian was also the quickest ever to both 10 and 25 goals, reaching the former tally in a remarkable six games and going on to 25 in 19.
He…
Christophe Galtier and Nice have strongly condemned chants from their supporters about the late Emiliano Sala.
Former Nantes striker Sala died in a plane crash in January 2019 as he travelled from France to the United Kingdom having signed for Cardiff City.
Sala was a hugely popular figure at Nantes, and supporters of the Ligue 1 club sang his name as they won the Coupe de France on Saturday. Nantes beat Nice 1-0 in the final.
But in Nice s first match since their defeat, sections of their home crowd in a 4-2 win over Saint-Etienne could be heard directing derogatory chants towards Sala.
Head coach Galtier was shocked by the abuse, revealing it was the focus of he and the Nice team after the match.
I don t have words to describe what I heard, Gal…
Diego Simeone deflected concern from a 4-0 hiding into praise for a rampant Borussia Dortmund side that inflicted his heaviest defeat with Atletico Madrid.
A young and vibrant Dortmund scored three times in the final 20 minutes to tear a hole through their Champions League opponents and go three points clear in Group A.
Axel Witsel s deflected effort earlier split the teams at the interval before two-goal Raphael Guerreiro and fellow substitute Jadon Sancho combined to ruthlessly expose Atleti s desperation for an equaliser.
Atletico did look likely to square the margin during a dominant spell after the restart but they failed capitalise on that period as Simeone lauded Dortmund.
It was a clear result. We have to congratulate our opponent, they played a …
Liverpool have announced a multi-year contract with Nike, who will replace New Balance as the Reds kit supplier from the 2020-21 season.
The deal is reportedly one of the biggest in British football history and could rival the £75million partnership Manchester United are thought to have with adidas.
Champions League and Club World Cup holders Liverpool recently won a court battle against New Balance, which has been the Reds main kit supplier since 2015.
That current arrangement expires later this year but New Balance wanted to activate a renewal clause that would have given it the right to match any offers from rivals.
However, the case was awarded in Liverpool s favour as it was felt New Balance could not match Nike s marketing reach.
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