´Madrid want to finish the group as soon as possible´ – Kroos targets early last-16 qualification

Parma cannot afford a deal for former Roma stalwart Daniele De Rossi, but are open to a move for Mario Balotelli, according to the Serie A club s sporting director Daniele Faggiano.

De Rossi called time on his 19-year stay at Roma at the end of last season and the former Italy midfielder is now a free agent.

Balotelli, meanwhile, will be able to be signed on a free transfer once his contract with Ligue 1 club Marseille expires on June 30, and reports have suggested Parma, who finished 14th in Serie A in 2018-19, hold an interest in both players.

But while confirming Parma are admirers of former Manchester City and AC Milan forward Balotelli, Faggiano has revealed his team will not be in the running for De Rossi, who is rumoured to have rejected a proposed move to…

Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri concedes his team are yet to work out how to get the best out of club-record signing Gonzalo Higuain.

The Argentina international has started each of Juventus back-to-back Serie A wins over the past week as the defending champions bounced back from a 2-1 loss at Inter.

He scored in last Wednesday s 4-0 triumph over Cagliari but is yet to hit the supreme form he displayed at Napoli last term, where an incredible 36 goals in 35 league games paved the way for a €90million move to Turin.

Juventus top scorer last season, Paulo Dybala, is yet to find the net since his countryman s arrival and, while confirming Higuain will start Tuesday s Champions League Group H match at Dinamo Zagreb, Allegri acknowledges there is work to be…

Manchester United playmaker Juan Mata thinks a third straight Premier League victory at Anfield would prove his side mean business as they attempt to challenge for the title.

Despite losing out to Jurgen Klopp s side over two legs in the Europa League last 16 last season, United won Premier League meetings on Merseyside in March 2015 and January 2016.

Mata scored twice in the first of those meetings and is relishing what he believes will be an impressive spectacle, one which gives Jose Mourinho s team a chance to highlight their progress.

This has been a different week due to the international break, but it s now over and we are already focused on the Premier League, where we have one of the biggest games of the year: our visit to Anfield Road, he wrote in his p…

Didier Drogba scored his first goal for Chelsea since the 2012 UEFA Champions League final as they beat Maribor 6-0 on Tuesday.

The veteran striker, who netted with both a late equaliser and the deciding penalty versus Bayern Munich in Germany two-and-a-half years ago, obliged from the spot again in a welcome easy win.

Chelsea had begun their European campaign with a lacklustre draw against Schalke and a hard-fought victory at Sporting Lisbon, but they are now firmly on course to top their group for the ninth time in 12 seasons.

The one negative on a comfortable night for Jose Mourinho s side was a groin injury suffered by opening scorer Loic Remy.

With Diego Costa nursing a hamstring problem, the Premier League leaders could now be short of attacking opt…

Jamaica captain and match-winner Rodolph Austin was thrilled with how his team overcame a stubborn Canada and tough conditions to win on Saturday.

With the temperature in Houston having peaked at 34 degrees Celsius and humidity around 50 per cent, both sides were drenched in sweat at BBVA Compass Stadium within minutes of the opening whistle of the CONCACAF Gold Cup Group B encounter.

But Jamaica had to wait until almost the final minute of the match to secure a 1-0 win in Texas, with Austin heading Adrian Mariappa s cross home from six yards in stoppage time.

The 30-year-old midfielder applauded his team s effort immediately after the final whistle.

Well, it was very hot out there, he said in his official on-pitch interview.

It s very humid and…

Thomas Tuchel equalled his longest winless streak in the Bundesliga as Borussia Dortmund coach thanks to a 0-0 Revierderby draw against Schalke at Signal Iduna Park.

Dortmund went into the clash with their arch-rivals having failed to triumph in their past three top-flight outings, a run they have only twice experienced since Tuchel took over at the start of the 2015-16 season.

Despite the return of star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who missed the midweek penalty shoot-out victory over Union Berlin in the DFB-Pokal with a calf injury, they were unable to avoid a fourth match without maximum points.

Schalke applied early pressure on Dortmund and stifled their usually positive forward line, the first half ending without the hosts registering a shot on targe…

Simone Inzaghi acknowledged Inter must show greater maturity in their Serie A performances after they missed out on a chance to move into the top four with a 1-0 home loss to Monza.

Luca Caldirola s 78th-minute finish was enough to give the visitors an upset victory at San Siro and further extend the Nerazzurri s barren league run.

Inter have collected just one point from five Serie A games, damaging their hopes of Champions League qualification. The defeat saw them fail to capitalise on a draw for city rivals Milan against Bologna earlier on Saturday.

Speaking afterwards, Inzaghi reflected on another tough result for his side, noting he feels they are doing little wrong but must be smart to find answers.

We got nervous, he told DAZN. We want this victor…

Kepa Arrizabalaga does not see any problem in Todd Boehly coming into the dressing room after games, revealing Chelsea s co-owner often does so.

Reports emerged following Chelsea s home loss to Brighton and Hove Albion that Boehly had spent around an hour in the team s dressing room.

Boehly is said to have declared that Chelsea s results have been embarrassing . The Blues have lost all three games under interim boss Frank Lampard, who took over after Graham Potter was sacked earlier in April.

Kepa, however, sees no issue with Boehly having his say or visiting the dressing room.

Todd comes to the changing room in every game, the goalkeeper said at a press conference ahead of Chelsea s Champions League clash with Real Madrid.

He had different chat…

Los Angeles Galaxy have ridiculed claims from AC Milan that they are close to securing the signature of David Beckham in an interview published in Friday s Gazzetta dello Sport.

Tim Leiweke, the chief executive of Galaxy s owners AEG, told the Italian sports newspaper that claims from Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani the previous day that the two sides were close to a deal were nonsense .

Two weeks ago Milan made a ridiculous offer that took me just a few seconds to reject, he said of the reported 3 million dollar bid.

With this figure Galaxy wouldn t even be able to cover the loss in revenue from shirt sales.

Since then I haven t heard a thing and no meeting has been set up.

His final point was in stark contrast to claims in the Italian…

Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim used his side s victory over Arsenal two seasons ago to inspire them to their 2-1 success against Tottenham in the Champions League.

First-half goals from Bernardo Silva and Thomas Lemar at Wembley inspired Monaco to victory on Wednesday.

Toby Alderweireld pulled a goal back for Spurs on the stroke of half-time, but they suffered defeat in the Group E clash.

Monaco also claimed a win in London in February 2015, beating Arsenal 3-1 on their way to a round-of-16 success.

Jardim revealed he used that to help his team to their latest victory as they moved top of their group.

We wanted to stop the transitions of our opponents, who are very strong in this area, he said, via UEFA.

Mentally, we prepared ourselves by …