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Inter Milan defender Achraf Hakimi wants his teammates to focus on one game at a time as talks about the Scudetto emerge.

A spirited second-half performance helped Antonio Conte's side grab a 2-1 win over Spezia in a league match on Sunday as they continue to pile more pressure on leaders AC Milan.

Hakimi broke the deadlock for the hosts with his fourth Serie A goal of the season in the 51st minute while Romelu Lukaku secured their sixth straight win in the league in the 71st minute.

The triumph extended the Nerazzurri's tally to 30 points from 13 matches as they remain in the second spot, one point behind their city rivals who are led by Stefano Pioli.

Inter Milan are yet to win the Serie A title since the 2009-10 season but Hakimi disclosed they are determined to go into the winter break with the best form.

“We knew that it was an important match,” the Morocco international told the club website.

“After the win against Napoli, we wanted to approach the Christmas break in a positive fashion and build on our results with a win.

“Scudetto? We know that everyone is talking about it, but we need to take things game by game and not look too far ahead.

“I’m obviously pleased to have scored, but I’m especially happy because I helped the team. We’re working hard and doing what the coach is asking of us, we want to grow.”

Hakimi achieved a club landmark with his effort on Sunday by becoming the first Inter Milan defender to score at least four goals in his first 13 league appearances.

In celebrating his strike, the two-time Caf Youth Player of the Year mimicked a phone call and he has explained the logic behind it.

He said: “My celebration? It’s something that I do among friends, it’s a joke about a song that we like.”

Inter Milan will aim to end 2020 with another win when they travel to Hellas Verona for their next Serie A encounter on Wednesday.

La Liga president Javier Tebas has slammed a proposed Super League, claiming current planning is "clandestine" and that any such competition would quickly go bankrupt. 

A Super League involving Europe's biggest clubs has been floated in recent years, with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez recently throwing his support behind such an idea.

Despite gaining support from some sections, concrete plans for the competition remain tight-lipped, with Tebas particularly skeptical about how a Super League would be funded. 

The Liga chief is also wary of the effect it would have for existing leagues, noting that both FIFA and UEFA would likely go to war to stop it. 

“The Super League thing is clandestine. I've only seen one president, [Josep] Bartomeu, talk about it for 10 seconds. If there really were 10-12 clubs wanting a Super League, they would say it and it would be public. It's all clandestine, hidden," Tebas told Goal. 

"There is nothing official. The Super League is unfeasible. Whoever says that this is viable, does not know the football business well...

"There is talk of entering more than a billion or five hundred million per season, but those 20 clubs are already in other leagues and they already generate other money in their leagues, but the question is: are they going to go from one place to another? Are they going to put money at risk? 

"There is no financial institution that wants to finance a competition, because they would be financing a war. War with FIFA, with UEFA... It is impossible to get a new competition without the consensus of these organisations. 

"The Super League is a perfect project to go bankrupt, take on the fans and confront the football authorities." 

Despite reports some Premier League clubs could be willing to join such a competition, Tebas revealed that to his knowledge England's more successful sides are against it. 

“There's a lot of talk about the 'Big Six', but it's always underground. When it was official, an assembly of the English clubs was held and a decision was made. I have contacts with the biggest English clubs and they are against the Super League," he said.

"They have the best competition and if this Premier League model works, if this Champions League model is working, why do we have to change?

"This would be a risk. We cannot get into a war over this concept. The English are the leading economic soccer powerhouse and they don't want the Super League." 

Manchester City will be looking at the likes of Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi to add “X-factor” to their squad, says Claus Lundekvam, with a former Norway international of the opinion that a fellow countryman is what the Blues need in upcoming windows.

A move to England for highly-rated frontman Haaland has been mooted in the past, with Manchester United forming part of a long list of suitors heading into the January market of 2020.

Borussia Dortmund emerged victorious in that transfer tussle, with the talented 20-year-old going on to hit 33 goals through 32 appearances for the Bundesliga outfit.

Those efforts are keeping him on recruitment radars across Europe, with Lundekvam expecting City to be in the mix if an exit door does swing open in Germany.

He told Stadium Astro of an exciting compatriot: “I can see him playing for the biggest clubs in the world, absolutely.

“He is such good form, he is so direct and he’s a world-class attacker at the moment. To put the goals away, Erling Haaland would be a certain asset for Manchester City.

“I’m sure Pep is looking at him, and is looking at Messi and some X-factor striker who can put these chances away. That is what they need.”

Haaland’s father, Alf Inge, spent three years at City in his playing days and Lundekvam can see the Blues appealing to a prolific frontman.

The former defender added: “He’s just joined Dortmund. He’s on fire there, he’s really happy there. He’s really close to his dad and I think for his development to stay at Dortmund this season is probably clever.

“For him to go to one of the best clubs in the world, and City being one of them, it could happen.

“Performance talks, and money talks. If he gets a chance to go to City and Pep is keen on bringing him in, even in the summer, he can’t turn down Manchester City under Pep Guardiola. It will be interesting to see.”

City have been surprisingly short on firepower this season and, with Sergio Aguero’s contract running down towards free agency in the summer of 2021, it could be that another forward is sought at some stage – with talk of a move for Barcelona icon Messi still doing the rounds.

“For me, they are very solid defensively and maybe that has gone out of the attack a little bit,” said Lundekvam, who spent 12 years in England with Southampton during his career.

“For me, they are still dominating games in large parts but they are not creating these clear-cut chances we are used to. They were opening up teams for fun, especially at home, and were creating 20 chances - then you will score, two, three, four or five goals.

“Kevin De Bruyne looks a little bit frustrated and for me David Silva was such a key player – a genius on the ball, so creative – and he’s a big loss for them. But there are so many match-winning players there.

“We are not going to write Man City off, not at all, but they are lacking that cutting edge in front of goal. Maybe some of their players are not in as good form as they used to be. They can turn over any side, though, when it clicks for them they are extremely good.”

Arsenal’s decision to snap up Willian was “lazy recruitment”, says Tony Adams, with Mikel Arteta told that Arsene Wenger would never have taken a punt on the 32-year-old Brazilian.

Eyebrows were raised when the Gunners handed a three-year contract to an experienced South American forward over the summer.

They were, however, acquiring a two-time Premier League title winner and a player that had continued to shine at London rivals Chelsea in 2019-20.

Willian, as a proven performer in English football, was expected to slot seamlessly into the fold and add much-needed creativity to a side that has frozen out Mesut Ozil.

Arsenal have, however, been struggling to find any kind of form as a collective.

Certain individuals are doing little to aid the recovery of a fallen giant, with Willian facing plenty of criticism for his uninspiring performances.

Adams is baffled as to why the Gunners ever made a move for a winger that further highlights the lack of long-term vision a Emirates Stadium.

The Arsenal legend told Stadium Astro after seeing Willian offer little to the cause once again in a 2-1 defeat at Everton: “That's lazy recruitment for me. You've got to really question the recruitment process at Arsenal at the moment.

“We've had some wonderful players and wonderful principles under Arsene Wenger. He went for a young player, you wouldn't have even considered Willian if Arsene was still in control at the club.

“For him a forward over the age of 30, physiologically he doesn't think he can get that player to consistently to perform to the levels that Arsene would want him to get, it wouldn't even have been on the agenda.

“This is a straightforward agent recommendation, he's got the same agent as the sports director [Edu] so it's an easy option for him, three-year contract, there we go. I think it's really poor recruitment.

“And to have someone like Willian, one shot in 12 games. I'm like, 'Hold on, put [Joe] Willock out there'. We've got [Gabriel] Martinelli back in there. You've got other options.”

Arteta has shown that he is prepared to drop seasoned performers from his plans, with Ozil and Sokratis among those currently out of favour, and Willian will be aware that he needs to raise his game in order to avoid suffering a similar fate.

Odisha FC, after a tough start to their Indian Super League (ISL) season, will be hoping to end 2020 on positive note when they play their final match of the year against NorthEast United on Tuesday. 

The Juggernauts' are winless so far and their  2-1 defeat against Bengaluru last Thursday was their fifth defeat in six matches. However, under-pressure head coach Stuart Baxter feels that it is only a matter of time before they turn their form around. 

He feels his charges showed signs of improvement in the Bengaluru match where they equalised in the second half, only to concede another late goal. 

"I thought the boys showed clear signs of improvements and now we have to start changing a few of the sad stories into happy endings because, at the end of the day, I think it's a lack of focus that results in the performance going down.

"So as long as we can keep our focus at the right level, we can keep on improving. This squad has got a lot of work to do and they are working really hard. The good news is that, if the refereeing decisions go our way, which they should have done, then even the performance that we gave (against Bengaluru) could have resulted in three points," claimed the 67-year-old.

Odisha have conceded late winners against Bengaluru FC and ATK Mohun Bagan, with lapses in defence hurting them. However, Baxter has praised his team's attitude to keep fighting. 

"We have been the architects of our downfall a couple of times. We have been at the wrong end of a couple of bad calls and sometimes just momentary lapse of concentration. We are working on that and as long as the lads are working on it, with the fantastic attitude that they are showing, that's what we can demand from them," he added.

The former Finland national team manager wants his players to imbibe his instructions and do the same on the field instinctively. He also shared his opinion on NorthEast United, who are coming into the game on the back of their first defeat last week.

"A lot of the things that we are doing, the players are still having to consider 'what was the coach saying, what did he want' and so there they stay in a sort of a conscious zone. So, when they know, it’s an understanding and they do it more instinctively.

"I think that the NorthEast team have got quite a few quick players. They play back-to-front very quickly and play the ball to their strikers. We defend as a team and whatever solutions we are planning will be based on our team and not on individual marking."

Baxter took the onus upon himself and the coaching staff on the club’s poor run of form.

“I think, whatever responsibilities we take for winning, losing or drawing, we take as a team. I can't deflect all the attention on the players. I would rather (have) people look at me. I will look at myself and the staff's job and we will do the best that we can.”

Marcelinho has been in focus as Baxter has opted to start with the Brazilian just thrice this season. The former ISL Most Valuable Player (MVP) winner has found game-time hard to come by. The experienced coach offered an explanation on why the former Hyderabad FC attacker hasn’t featured regularly this season.

"It's not as easy to say one of the foreigners is not doing this or that or the Indian boys are not supporting the foreigners. It's not one thing. It's a lot of things. But the direct question about Marcelinho is that obviously he was injured. His performances in training have not yet led to say that he is fully recovered. So until then, we have to find the best role for him. I spoke to Marcelinho and we know what we are doing," Baxter signed off.

Steve McManaman expressed his delight after seeing Roberto Firmino silence his critics with goals against Tottenham and Crystal Palace, while claiming people had wrongly been putting the Liverpool star “out to pasture”.

Firmino's place in Jurgen Klopp's starting XI has come under threat since Diogo Jota's arrival at Anfield from Wolves in September.

The £41 million ($54m) signing hit nine goals in his first 17 appearances for the Reds in all competitions before being cruelly sidelined with a serious knee injury last week.

Klopp had been rotating Jota, Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane to great effect, with Liverpool's fearsome forward lined enhanced even further by a man who had only shown glimpses of his talent in the final third at Wolves.

Jota's prolific form led some fans and experts to suggest that he deserves to start in a central role ahead of Firmino, who was enduring a slow start to the season in front of goal.

However, Firmino sparked back into life when Liverpool played host to Tottenham in a top-of-the-table clash last week, heading home in stoppage time to seal a dramatic 2-1 victory for the reigning Premier League champions.

The 29-year-old built on that display by scoring twice in a 7-0 romp away at Crystal Palace on Saturday, and McManaman has been glad to see him prove his doubters wrong and reaffirm his position in Klopp's line-up.

“It’s incredible, the fact he was, not criticised, but certainly questioned in his ability and whether he should be in the Liverpool XI,” the former Reds midfielder told BT Sport after his old club's win at Selhurst Park.

“Yes, Diogo Jota came in and had a blistering start to his career at Liverpool, but people were almost putting this man out to pasture.

“And he’s bounced back by scoring a lovely goal against Tottenham. He was exceptional [against Palace]. It wasn’t just his goals, it was his all-round play, link-up play, his assists.

“The fact that he finished them off with a couple himself was brilliant.”

Firmino and Co. will be back in action when Liverpool play host to West Brom on December 27, with Klopp's side currently sitting four points clear of Leicester City at the top of the Premier League table.

We at Goal.com have teamed up with the gaming series FIFA 21 to identify the top 11 players existing in the game today.

Join us in the poll sponsored by FIFA 21 and vote for your favorite striker (off the five below) but before that here is a quick snippet on the players:

Karim Benzema: After more than a decade of selfless service, Benzema has belatedly become Madrid's main man. Last season,  it fell upon Benzema to carry the attack – and he did so spectacularly, firing Zinedine Zidane's side to a surprise title win with 21 goals in La Liga.​ Overal FIFA 21 Rating: 89 

Cristiano Ronaldo: At 35, the Portuguese looks far from fading away as he masters his moves with and without the ball, scoring the occasional 1+ goals in a given match – Ronaldo has been the difference maker in any squad he played in. Overal FIFA 21 Rating: 92

Robert Lewandowski:  Lewandowski is the complete striker. He can combine with his attacking midfielders, hold up play, take on defenders, latch onto balls over the top, play on the ground or in the air – and score goals of all shapes and sizes, with both feet and his head. A natural poacher with a flair for improvisation, he is surely one of the best the Bundesliga – and the world – has ever seen., enough said. ​Overal FIFA 21 Rating: 91

Erling Braut Haaland:  The striking sensation only turned 20 during the summer but, by then, he had already announced himself as the game's next superstar, after netting 10 goals in his debut Champions League campaign – in just eight appearances, for Red Bull Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund . ​Overal FIFA 21 Rating: 84

Kylian Mbappe: The French star, labelled "smart, fast and unpredictable" by Brazilian legend Pele, keeps improving and making steps forward into becoming one of the best players in the world.Overal FIFA 21 Rating: 90

Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Rhulani Mokwena admits that Masandawana will need to dig deep in order to come away with a positive result from their Caf Champions League first-round showdown with Botswana champions Jwaneng Galaxy at the Lobatse Stadium on Tuesday afternoon (15:30 kick-off).

The match is the first of a two-legged affair, with the return game taking place in Pretoria on January 6.

The Botswana champions earned their spot in the first round of the Champions League after beating US Zilimadjou of Comoros 5-1 on aggregate, while Sundowns were handed a bye in the preliminary round.

The Tshwane club head into the match on the back of a testing week in which they were still mourning the tragic death in a motor vehicle accident of defender Motjeka Madisha. Just three weeks before that tragedy, another of their team-mates, Anele Ngcongca, passed away in the same manner.

Despite the obvious emotional toll, the Brazilians were still able to claim four points last week in the league by beating TS Galaxy and drawing with Golden Arrows.

"The PSL and the Champions League are completely different projects. On the one hand, we have the feelings of being unbeaten and sitting as log leaders, of course, no title is won at this moment," Mokwena said after the draw against Arrows.

"But we have to treat it as an isolated situation and focus on the next two games as isolated projects. In the sense that we need to get a very good result in Botswana, and use the experience that we have as a team to be able to qualify ourselves for the group stage."

Jwaneng Galaxy were founded in 2015 through the merger of two clubs, Jwaneng Comets and Debswana Youngsters.

Already in their short history they have won the league, finished as runners-up in the league, and won two cups.

"Galaxy FC are a good team," Mokwena said.

"We'll get footage from our analysts and try to make sure that we are well prepared for the game. It's going to be tough, you can see with the national team how there's a resurgence in football with regards to what is happening in Botswana.

"So we have to make sure we are well prepared, we have got our work cut out for us. But we know what we have to do. We might not be in the best space emotionally but we know what we have to do and we'll organise ourselves, unify ourselves and focus on getting a very good result."

Express FC striker George Senkaaba has set a target of reaching double figures in the 2020-21 Ugandan Premier League (UPL) after notching his first goal against SC Villa in the derby on Saturday.

The forward signed for the Red Eagles from Kitara FC and despite coming on as a substitute against Onduparaka on matchday one and Bright Stars on matchday two, he earned a starting berth in the away game to Mbarara City, where his impressive display allowed coach Wasswa Bbosa to retain him against the Jogoos in the derby.

And the pacy forward did not disappoint as he scored the only goal of the derby to sink their old rivals 1-0 at Wankulukuku and according to the player, the hard work has now paid off.

“Like any forward, your confidence grows when you score, and to score in the derby is beyond delightful,” Senkaaba said as quoted by the club’s official website.

“Of course it was teamwork but as a forward, my target is to hit double figures, we now go back to restrategise for the remaining matches.

“When we came back from Mbarara City, we decided to iron out our mistakes, it wasn’t an easy game but I am happy we picked up a win, it’s not all over, we shall go back and plan for more wins.”

Express coach Bbosa said the most important thing from the fixture was to get a win.

“The most important thing is that we have earned the three points in the derby, our target remains trying to win silverware, this is now done, we look forward to the next game, come next year," he told the same publication.

Against Villa, Express delivered an early Christmas present to the fans after Ssenkaaba cooly and calmly slotted home from the left-wing, leaving shot-stopper Saidi Keni helpless, for the winning goal.

The game saw both teams cancel each other out in either half with few chances to write home about. Forward Eric Kambale rattled the crossbar 18 minutes into the game while Kabonge Nicolas sent his freekick off the mark from just outside the 18-yard area.

The win took Express to eight points after four matches and the league will now take a break and resume in February 2021 owing to the African Nations Championships (Chan) to be held in Cameroon.

Young Africans (Yanga SC) coach Cedric Kaze has explained how they recovered to beat Dodoma Jiji in a Mainland Premier League match played on Saturday.

The Jangwani giants went into the match as the favourites but it was the promoted side who took a shock lead in the third minute through Seif Karihe.

Yanga then recovered to score goals courtesy of defender Lamine Moro, substitute Saidi Ntibazonkiza and Bakari Mwamnyeto, to bag maximum points from the hotly contested fixture played at Sheikh Amri Abeid Stadium in Arusha.

The Burundian has now explained his players never gave up despite going down in the opening minutes and that the use of dead balls helped them to secure the win.

“We knew that we were facing a team which prefers to defend a lot as they usually let many players behind the ball,” Kaze said as quoted by Daily News.

“Playing on this type of the pitch, we knew that the game would be judged via dead balls and we had to train hard on that area.

“We watched a couple of their league matches they played to study them on how they play. Unfortunately, we accepted an early goal which made us play under pressure since we registered more incomplete passes.

“The good thing was that my players did not lose hope and we managed to get back into the game by scoring vital goals.”

Kaze also lauded skipper Moro for turning up at the crucial moment with the opening goal, which set his team up for the vital win.

Meanwhile, Dodoma Jiji coach Mbwana Makata blamed a lack of concentration for the team’s defeat after taking what he called a deserved lead.

“The two set pieces they had near to our goal were wisely used by them hence sourcing the two winning goals. For now, we have to look to our next fixtures and make sure that we get back swiftly into the game," he was quoted as saying by the same publication.

The win helped the Timu ya Mwananchi to stretch their unbeaten run to 16 matches and they will remain at the top of the 18-team table with a gap of eight points since second-placed Simba SC, who are away in Zimbabwe for Caf Champions League duty, have 32 points and third-placed Azam FC 29.

Azam FC have assured their fans that they will sign new players to beef up the squad in the ongoing mini transfer window.

The short window opened on December 16 and will run until January 15, 2021, and it gives teams the opportunity to look at their weaknesses and reinforce squads ahead of the second round of the campaign.

The Chamazi-based giants, through their media officer Zakaria Thabit, have now said they will definitely be in the market for quality signings especially in the striking area, where they have lost lead striker Prince Dube to injury.

“Azam are a big club and for any big clubs across the world, you must sign players anytime the transfer window is open, be it short window or long term window,” Thabit told Azam TV.

“Even if today Azam had in their squad Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Robert Lewandowski, we will still sign new players, because signing players is what big teams’ prides for if you don’t sign they will call you a small team and you become a discussion.

“Last window, Real Madrid never signed and it became a big story, and last season Tottenham Hotspur did not sign and it also became a very big story, we must sign because it is a must to sign and that is the reason the window is wide open.”

On why they are yet to sign as the window was opened five days ago, Zakaria said: “We are heading into the transfer window with a new coach, and the coach has asked us we give him time first to check his squad before we know where to add or remove.

“For Simba and Yanga SC they have already seen their weaknesses because they have their coaches intact, and that is why they have already been involved in the transfer, our coach wants to do an assessment of his squad, and understands where we need to beef up and then we can sign, we are not in a hurry, we still have time to sign players.”

Azam are currently in third position on the 18-team table with 29 points from 16 matches, 11 points behind table-toppers Yanga, who have 40 points, and Simba are second on 32 points.

So near, yet so far. East Bengal were just a minute away from registering their first-ever win in the Indian Super League (ISL) but Jeakson Singh’s last-gasp header spoiled their party.

It was a much-improved performance from East Bengal against Kerala Blasters on Sunday. Skipper Danny Fox returned from injury after three matches and provided the much-needed solidity in the backline. 

Coach Robbie Fowler tweaked his tactics a bit from their last game as he switched back to the 3-4-2-1 formation. He deployed Anthony Pilkington as a lone striker with Jacques Maghoma and Mohammed Rafique operating just behind him. Pilkington lent the much-needed sharpness in East Bengal’s attack and his link-up play inside the box was impressive. Also, the decision of utilizing Rafique’s mobility in the attacking third further helped.

Kibu Vicuna returned to his usual 4-2-3-1 formation after experimenting with two strikers in their last game against Bengaluru which miserably failed. Jordan Murray was relegated to the bench as Gary Hooper started as the lone striker. Blasters played their usual possession-based game but failed to make a mark in the final third

Despite Kerala Blasters dominating possession as expected, it was East Bengal who created more goal-scoring opportunities in the first half. The Kerala Blasters defenders were struggling to keep the attacking trio of East Bengal at bay along with Matti Steinmann who was popping up in the box.

The Red and Golds, impressive in the first half, sat back in the second half, probably showing a bit too much respect for Kerala Blasters who had made three changes at half-tiime - bringing on Jeakson Singh, Sahal Abdul Samad and Jordan Murray for Rohit Kumar, Seityasen Singh and Gary Hooper. 

While the Blasters' attack improved ever so slightly, it was also thanks to East Bengal who were desperate for a result and decided to sit back and preserve their advantage. 

However, the Red and Golds did have their moments on the break in the second half and should have taken advantage of them. On several counter-attacks, the Kolkata club looked dangerous but failed to convert in the final third. The attackers seemed a bit complacent and casual at times.

The profligacy was finally punished in injury time when Jeakson managed to head in a cross from Sahal. However, East Bengal have only themselves to blame for sitting back too much and failing to put away their own chances. 

The coach himself acknowledged after the match, that the number of chances they got to score they should have run away with the game. “We are disappointed. It is a game we should have won. We had enough chances to win more than one game. We need to be a little bit more clinical in the final third,” said the Liverpool great..

Kibu Vicuna, on the other hand, has to evaluate his tactics a bit and consider changing their approach. Passing out from the back and keeping possession is not paying dividends as they are yet to register a win after six matches, something they had not experienced in their brief history until this season.

Except for ball possession stats, it could be said that it was a fair result for both sides to get a point from this tie. Both teams still have a lot of work to do in the training pitch and must find a way soon to end their respective winless runs.