Looking for Soccer News?

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) has confirmed Gor Mahia will not be allowed to stream their Caf Champions League return leg clash against CR Belouizdad on Wednesday.

The Kenyan champions had requested the federation through Caf to be allowed to stream the match on their Facebook page.

However, FKF has now confirmed in a signed statement obtained by Goal it will not be possible for the club to air the match on their social media pages because their request was made outside of the provided Caf timelines.

“Reference is made to your letter dated January 5, 2021, informing the federation of Gor Mahia’s intention to live stream the Caf Champions League match no. 76 Gor Mahia vs CR Belouizdad, scheduled for January 6, 2021,” read the statement from FKF obtained by Goal and signed by CEO Barry Otieno.

“In this regard, and further to Caf guidelines on the broadcast of Caf competitions, the federation has regrettably been unable to obtain a clearance from Caf for the match to be broadcasted, as the request by Gor Mahia was made outside of the provided Caf timelines.

“In light of the aforementioned, please be advised that live streaming of the said match will not be possible, unless with prior written consent from Caf.”

Gor Mahia had already announced plans to stream the match through the support of their shirt sponsors BetSafe.

Gor Mahia announced on their social media pages : “Gor Mahia versus CR Belouizdad's Champions League return leg will be streamed live on our shirt sponsor's [Betsafe Kenya] Facebook page today (Wednesday) from 3 pm.”

K’Ogalo are facing a tall order to overturn the 6-0 defeat suffered in the first leg played in Algiers on December 26.

Gor Mahia stand-in coach Sammy ‘Pamzo’ Omollo has openly admitted it will be difficult to reverse the first leg defeat but pointed out a win against the North African giants will boost their morale ahead of the Confederation Cup fixtures.

“We don’t have any pressure, I have spoken to the boys and urged them to enjoy the game, of course, it will be very important for us if we can get a good result and of course it will be a very good platform also if we are going to drop to the Confederation Cup, it will give us that opportunity to prepare more than before, than how we prepare for the Champions League.”

The Kenyan champions qualified for the next phase after they managed to secure a 4-3 aggregate win against APR of Rwanda in a two-legged affair.

The Rwandan champions came into the return leg with a 2-1 advantage from their first leg meeting in Kigali, but could not withstand the pressure as Gor Mahia scored two quick goals in added time to win 3-1 to advance.

CR Belouizdad reached the next round after a 4-0 aggregate win against Al Nasr of Libya. The Algerian champions won the first leg away in Tripoli 2-0 and returned home to complete the job with another 2-0 win.

Jose Mourinho labelled Son Heung-min a "special player" after Tottenham reached the Carabao Cup final on Tuesday.

Moussa Sissoko and Son scored as Spurs recorded a 2-0 win over Brentford, who were reduced to 10 men after Josh Dasilva's late red card.

Only Harry Kane, with 17, has scored more goals in all competitions this season than Son's 16 among Premier League players.

Mourinho lauded the forward, who had more key passes and shots on target - three and two respectively - than any other player against Brentford.

"That's the humility of a player. That's Sonny. That's the human nature. He's like that. Some other guys they are not like that. For him it's the team," the Spurs head coach told a news conference.

"For him, for [Harry] Kane, for Lucas [Moura], for many the team is first and of course we depend a lot on the characteristics of some players. Sonny is one of them.

"He had two chances. He had a good volley. I saw the ball in the net but unfortunately, I was wrong and the ball went out. Then he faced the keeper in a difficult moment of the game, where the game is open.

"The opponent is trying and pushing and he goes and he kills the game. So special player but also a special human being."

Spurs have not won a major trophy since they last won the League Cup in 2008, when they beat Chelsea 2-1 with Jonathan Woodgate scoring the winner. Their last domestic cup final came in 2015 in the same competition against the same opponents, but with the Blues triumphing 2-0.

Returning to a major cup final is a "massive statement", according to former Spurs midfielder Jamie Redknapp, with his old club having broken a run of three straight defeats in domestic semi-final matches.

"It's huge for Mourinho and for the whole club in trying to change their mentality," Redknapp told  Sky Sports. "Now it's a big opportunity for him.

"They will have to play an incredible side, be it Manchester City or Manchester United in the final, but that's where they want to be. It's been over 12 years since this club won a trophy which is too long.

"They were professional and did it the right way, and they always had it in them to win this game with the likes of Son and Kane but it's a big win.

"Fans will all get brainwashed nowadays with the idea of getting into the Champions League and the money that it brings into the club, but when you look back at your career, you want to win trophies. So for Spurs, this is a massive statement."

Spurs' next outing is a trip to non-league side Marine in the FA Cup on Sunday.

Philippe Coutinho would “most likely be brilliant” back at Liverpool, says John Barnes, but the Reds legend is not convinced that a goalscoring midfielder is needed at Anfield.

Jurgen Klopp’s side have been enduring uncharacteristic struggles in the final third of late, with just one goal recorded through their last three Premier League outings.

Only two points have been collected from those fixtures, with end product drying up for the likes of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah.

Liverpool have been so reliant on their front three during a period of domestic dominance that any drop off from that unit hits the collective cause hard.

The goals certainly have not been spread around enough in the 2020-21 campaign, with Takumi Minamino, Diogo Jota and Curtis Jones the only others to have netted more than once this term.

It could be argued that added threat from deep, such as that once provided by Brazil international Coutinho, would aid efforts on Merseyside, but Barnes is not convinced.

He has told BonusCodeBets: “Well, when we had a Coutinho-type of player we finished 20-odd points off the top.

“So, although a Coutinho-type player may chip in with goals, which would create a completely different style of play, as a result the front three would score less.

“Personally, I don’t think it works with a midfield player scoring goals when the front three want to continue scoring the same level of goals as they’re used to as it’ll uproot the balance.

“And, Liverpool have managed to create a great balance and harmony amongst the players so I wouldn’t recommend to change that any time soon.

“If Coutinho came back, he would most likely be brilliant, but I don't think the front three would be scoring as many goals, nor would they have the same impact, which a team like Liverpool needs.

“At the end of the day, the balance is the most important thing for a team. And at the moment, the balance is perfect.”

Liverpool have moved back to the top of the Premier League table without having a goal-getting playmaker in their ranks, but the chasing pack have reeled them in and Barnes expects another thrilling fight to the finish.

He added on the battle for domestic supremacy: “Although this season is much more unpredictable than the previous one, Man City is most definitely Liverpool’s biggest threat.

“At the moment, Man Utd can go on top of us if they get a point, but I think over the season, and of course we're not even halfway yet, a lot can happen and I do think it’ll end up being Liverpool and Man City battling it out.

“Liverpool still terrify teams when they pour forward and they very much have got that winning mentality in mind.

“And if you go to the bookies, they're not going to tell you that Man Utd are favourites. They're going to say Liverpool and City are still the two favourites and, in my opinion, they very much are.” 

Arsenal loanee Sead Kolasinac has addressed speculation over Mesut Ozil's future while opening up on his return to Schalke.

Kolasinac rejoined Schalke last week on a six-month loan deal  having been deemed surplus to requirements at Emirates Stadium by Mikel Arteta.

The 27-year-old began his career at Veltins-Arena in 2012 and spent five years in Gelsenkirchen before being snapped up by Arsenal.

Schalke were regulars in European competition when he left the club, but they are now in danger of being relegated from the Bundesliga after a nightmare start to the 2020-21 campaign.

Kolasinac is determined to help Christian Gross's side beat the drop and has not ruled out the possibility of remaining on the club's books beyond the summer.

Asked if he is open to a potential loan extension, the Bosnia and Herzegovina international old a press conference: "I want to concentrate on this season, the aim is to take as many points as possible.

'We will see about everything else after the season."

Kolasinac was also quizzed on Ozil's current situation at Arsenal, with the German midfielder being strongly linked with a move away from Emirates Stadium after being exiled from the senior squad.

The 31-year-old hasn't played for the Gunners since March and it appears he will not be offered the chance to renew his current contract, which is due to expire in June.

Ozil also started his professional career at Schalke, before going on to play for Werder Bremen and Real Madrid, but Kolasinac is not sure whether heading back to the Bundesliga is on his team-mate's agenda.

"We talked about Schalke, but not about whether he wants to come back too. He comes from Gelsenkirchen so Schalke is always a topic," he said of Ozil.

Kolasinac added on how he much he has changed as both a player and person since his first stint at Schalke: "I have developed personally and athletically.

"The Premier League is the best league in the world, there are players in the team who have achieved a lot in their careers.

"I left as a teenager and came back as a family man."

Kolasinac will be in line to make his first appearance of the season for Schalke when they play host to Hoffenheim on Saturday.

Dean Henderson has called on Manchester United to "paint the city red" by securing a "dream" derby victory in the Carabao Cup semi-final.

United will welcome arch-rivals Manchester City to Old Trafford for a huge last-four tie on Wednesday night.

The two teams met at the same stage last term, with the Blues coming out on top after two legs, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side are in better shape this time around.

The Red Devils have won nine of their last 11 domestic outings, emerging as the closest challengers for Liverpool's Premier League crown in the process.

That run also included a Carabao Cup quarter-final victory against Everton, during which Henderson impressed after being handed a rare start ahead of David de Gea.

The England goalkeeper will likely be restored to Solskjaer's starting line-up against City, and he knows exactly how much it will mean to supporters if United can get one over on their old enemy.

"This one will mean a lot,” Henderson told the club's official website. “Obviously the vibe will be massive throughout the city.

"The city is mostly red, and we need to paint it red. But we’re getting better all the time, so hopefully we can get a good result.

“One team has got to win it, so I think both teams will go for it. We’ll probably take the game to them and have a go, and see what comes off.”

Asked how it would feel to help the Red Devils reach their first final since 2017 by beating City, the 23-year-old responded: “It’d be fantastic.

"I know a few Man City fans from when I was growing up, and obviously there was rivalry between us, even at school and things like that.

“To beat them and to be involved in it would be a dream come true.

“They’re the sort of things you think about as a young kid. It’d be amazing, and something I’m really looking forward to.”

United haven't won a major trophy in three years, and Henderson has stressed the importance of bringing that lean spell to an end as soon as possible with a ticket to Wembley to face Tottenham up for grabs in midweek.

He added: “[It's] massive. The club’s built on silverware. We need to win trophies and obviously we’re improving and evolving on the pitch, but no one cares unless we win trophies. So we need to put that to the forefront of our minds, and we need to find a way to do that.

"Whether it’s the Carabao Cup, the Premier League or the Europa League or the FA Cup, we need to turn these good performances into silverware.”

Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi is “not excited” that their side lacked patience as they pushed for an early goal which affected the flow of their game in Tuesday’s Caf Champions League first round, second leg 3-1 win over Jwaneng Galaxy at Loftus Versfeld.

Kermit Erasmus’ opener as well as two second half goals from Mothobi Mvala and Thapelo Morena saw Sundowns dismiss Galaxy who got their consolation from substitute Tebogo Sembowa.

After recording a 2-0 away victory, Downs proceeded to the group phase of the tournament on a 5-1 aggregate scoreline.

But Mngqithi is not too pleased in the manner they did business at home on Tuesday despite the convincing victory.

“The game was a little bit scrappy in my opinion. I was not very excited with the flow of the game itself,” Mngqithi told the media.

“I think to a certain extent we also showed desperation that we wanted to get an early goal. Even when circumstances were not allowing we never really patiently tried to keep the ball and frustrate them and tire their first line of defence.

“I felt in the later stages of the first half, that is when we started to play and put a lot of strain on their striker [Junior] Dion who was very important in their offensive play. Overall we did our work, we knew the areas to worry about.

“We did the business, it was not the most exciting game to watch for me as a coach. But I was encouraged that at least, today we managed to score three goals even though I believe we could have scored more. We are still not as clinical as one would like in front of the goals.”

Sundowns have not been fielding their best squad in the last five matches due to injuries and some medical issues.

But Mngqithi is not worried about that as he hails his squad’s depth after missing star player Themba Zwane in their last four games in which they have performed well.

“In terms of variations we present, in terms of style of play and shape are guided by the availability of players at a certain time because when we have Themba, we will obviously play differently,” said Mngqithi.

“When we have Gaston [Sirino] and Themba we will play differently and we have not had that combination. Maybe it was only in the first match against Celtic when we had both of them on the pitch. We are working on a lot of variations. But one thing that is encouraging to me and the other coaches is we have managed to give quite a number of players a chance to play.

“That is building the base where we can pick from and maybe circumstances to a certain extent have also contributed to us being forced to play all these variations in order to make sure that we have realistic depth. Not depth in numbers but there are players that never got a chance to play.

“When we give them a chance everybody asks ‘Why are you playing this one today?’ But we have broken the deadlock and people are now looking at it differently. We are trying to have a very big squad that is practically helping us to win matches. We are only reliant on 14 or 15 players throughout the season.”

Downs now shift focus to the domestic scene as they prepare to travel to Baroka FC for a Premier Soccer League match on Saturday.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insists that Donny van de Beek's time will come as he backed the Dutch midfielder to be a key piece for Manchester United going forward.

Van de Beek arrived from Ajax in the summer but has yet to seal a regular role under Solskjaer since arriving at Old Trafford.

The Dutch midfielder has featured 10 times in the Premier League this season, but only two of those appearances have been starts.

Van de Beek has played only 251 Premier League minutes, although he has started three times each in the Champions League and League Cup.

While the former Ajax star hasn't quite hit the ground running, Solskjaer says that he does have high hopes for Van de Beek to become an important player when given a real chance to shine.

“Donny has played well when he’s got the chance,” Solskjaer said. “I think we are too quick sometimes to jump on that if he isn’t playing, that it is a failure.

“Victor [Lindelof] and Fred are good examples in my team that it takes a little bit of time and now they are massively important players in our squad and in our team and it will be the same with Donny.

"He has come in and is in a midfield pool of players with quality, challenging with Bruno [Fernandes], Juan [Mata], Jesse [Lingard].

“I’ve got loads of no.10s and loads of centre-midfielders with Paul [Pogba], Nemanja [Matic], Scott [McTominay], Fred.

"There are many of them and Donny has played well when he’s got the chance and that is a big thing, that you are ready.

“He is always ready, he works hard in training, [is] positive and he will make differences in many games for us this season, but he’ll grow more and more even for next year.”

Manchester United are preparing for a Carabao Cup semi-final, where they will meet rivals Manchester City with the hopes of booking a date in the finale against Tottenham.

The Red Devils also remain in the Premier League title race, level on points with first-place Liverpool with a game in hand.

After facing Manchester City, Man Utd will take on Watford in the FA Cup third round before then visiting Burnley on January 12 in their next Premier League match.

The expectations were sky-high when Sergio Lobera took over from Jorge Costa as the head coach of Mumbai City ahead of the 2020-21 Indian Super League (ISL) season. 

It wasn't like any other managerial change. It was a transition to an expensive new philosophy that had proved to be a success in Indian football. It was also a statement of intent from the City Football Group-owned (CFG) club. 

The Islanders lost their season opener against NorthEast United but Lobera's team managed to bounce back in style. They are currently on an eight-match unbeaten run and sit atop the ISL table at the end of matchday nine.

But there were a few questions about Lobera's Islanders that remained unanswered. But on Tuesday, they outclassed Bengaluru to a 3-1 win in a manner that served a strong reminder to all doubters about the ability of the team to perform in big fixtures. 

The ease with which the Islanders cruised to a win against Bengaluru was impressive. While Bengaluru are usually a tough opponent for any team to face, Mumbai City have had the upper hand in the fixtures between the two teams in the last two seasons. The Blues are winless against the Islanders in the last two seasons and Lobera has kept that tradition alive. 

Carles Cuadrat's team is also known to be very good with set-pieces but Mumbai nullified that threat quite easily. Two out of the three goals Mumbai scored came from set-pieces, which is concerning for the Bengaluru boss and pleasing for Lobera whose gameplan was executed to perfection by his players. 

Lobera brought quite a few players with him from FC Goa and while they have all slotted into the setup seamlessly, what is even more remarkable is the improvement the other Indian players have made in the nine games so far. Left-winger Bipin Singh is one of the many players who have benefitted from Lobera's arrival and the 25-year-old once again impressed with a fine display against the Blues that included a goal. 

Mourtada Fall took advantage of Bengaluru's poor defending during a corner-kick to open the scoring. Mandar Rao Dessai delivered a 'cross-of-the-season' contender to assist Bipin's first goal of the season, minutes later. Mumbai were 2-0 ahead in less than 15 minutes.

After the referee thought that a terrific tackle by Fall on Silva inside the box deserved to be punished, the otherwise ineffective Sunil Chhetri gave his team a glimmer of hope from the spot. However, substitute Bartholomew Ogbeche headed the ball towards Gurpreet Sandhu from a corner and the goalkeeper failed to hold onto the ball and conceded the third goal of the night. 

Not only did Mumbai make Bengaluru's attacking prowess look non-existent, but they also kept knocking on the doors of the defence and threatened to score every time they pushed forward, especially in the first half. The changes to the Bengaluru squad in terms of player departures, short pre-season and adaptability have affected their rhythm.

As for Lobera, the drop in intensity after the break in the last few matches would be a concern as he would want the contest to be put to bed. But from the start they have made, it looks like Mumbai City are in for a fantastic ride.

In Goal's earliest chat with Australian-born defender Quentin Cheng in early 2020, the then-Selangor FC 2 player mentioned aiming for a promotion to their first team for this season.

At first things had gone well for the 21 year old right back. When the 2020 league campaign ended, he was selected to play with the Selangor first team in the post-season competition, Malaysia Cup.

Unfortunately, the competition was cancelled only days after the first round was played due to the increasing number of new Covid-19 cases in Malaysia, with Quentin never getting the chance to feature for the first team.

"I had been upset that I did not get to play in the first game (Selangor's round of 16 match against Melaka United), but there was nothing anyone could do about the Covid situation."

And when his name was not on the list of the five Selangor reserve team members promoted permanently to the first team for 2021, he asked for a loan move to another top-tier side, promotion side Penang FC.

"I pushed for it (loan move to Penang). They were interested in me and the lifestyle over here is pretty good. 

"I've been to Georgetown a couple of times before and had fun, I enjoyed the food and it felt like a good place to enjoy my football," he said to Goal in a telephone call late last week.

The Malaysian passport holder is now focused on fighting for his spot at his new club, with the first week of pre-season just starting.

"It has been a pretty good first week for me. The new head coach (Tomas Trucha) has just arrived a couple days ago, all the boys have been very welcoming and helpful in getting me settled in. I've been pretty happy here.

"I hope I can start [games], but I guess I have to fight for my position in the first eleven. For me, I just want to start and play in as many Super League and cup games as possible, abd hopefully put in good performances," he added.

Quentin however has not thrown in the towel on his chance of returning to the Red Giants yet. 

"I would very much like to go back to Selangor, so hopefully I will impress everyone here and get first team opportunities back at Selangor. That would be good."

Manchester City will seek to reassert themselves against Manchester United in Wednesday's Carabao Cup semi-final, with their status as the leading team in the rivalry for much of the past decade a source of pride to Pep Guardiola.

City have not finished below their neighbours in the Premier League since United's most recent Premier League title success in 2012-13, winning three subsequent top-flight crowns themselves.

Two of those came under Guardiola, United finishing a distant second in 2017-18 as City racked up a record-breaking 100-point haul.

The sides also met at the same stage of the Carabao Cup last season, as City prevailed en route to a third consecutive Wembley success in the competition, although there have been signs that the local argument is starting to turn of late.

“United has always been a big club," Guardiola said. "When I faced them with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and here, it was always important.

"It is a rivalry in the city and for many decades United was above Manchester City. For us, we are incredibly proud and it is an honour for the last decade to be there with them and sometimes win, most of the times, and sometimes lose."

A 3-1 first-leg triumph in last season's semi-final is City's only victory in the most recent five Manchester derbies.

Man Utd restored pride and caused nerves to jangle with a 1-0 win at the Etihad Stadium as Nemanja Matic scored and was sent off in the return game, while also completing a Premier League double in 2019-20 either side of those matches.

Both teams have hit more impressive form since December's turgid 0-0 draw at Old Trafford in their most recent encounter, although it is United who sit level on points with champions Liverpool at the summit and have a chance to go top if they avoid defeat in their game in hand against Burnley next week.

"They have always been contenders," Guardiola said. "Every year, when we start the season, United is a contender.

"If it didn’t happen in the last few seasons, it is a question for them. It is no different facing United or other contenders."

City turned in a majestic performance as they dispatched Chelsea 3-1 at the weekend - a performance that was all the more impressive after a coronavirus outbreak robbed them of six first-team players.

Kyle Walker and Gabriel Jesus have now completed 10 days of self-isolation after having positive tests confirmed on Christmas Day, but Ederson, Ferran Torres, Eric Garcia and Tommy Doyle will remain unavailable at Old Trafford for a one-off encounter - the EFL having ditched its usual two-legged format to ease fixture congestion.

“We don’t have many players. To play one or two games is okay but if this sustains for a long time and I can only use 14 or 15 players it will be more difficult," Guardiola explained.

"Like everyone in the world, we adapt, you have to adjust our lives and our professions as much as possible and we don’t have an alternative.

"The most important thing is that the guys who have Covid can recover well and the guys handle it well and try to avoid it as much as possible."

Samuel Chukwueze has become Villarreal’s youngest-ever footballer to feature in 100 games.

The Nigeria international reached this hallowed rank having starred in the Yellow Submarine’s 4-1 defeat of Zamora in Tuesday’s Copa del Rey encounter.

At 21 years, seven months and 11 days, he eclipsed the record set by Argentina international and AC Milan centre back Mateo Musacchio who reached the centenary mark aged 21 years, 11 months and 20 days.

“A record-making centenarian. Samuel Chukwueze has reached 100 games with Villarreal’s first team after starting the Copa del Rey game against Zamora CF,” wrote the LaLiga side in a statement.

“The Nigerian forward has reached the 100-game mark (79 in LaLiga, 13 in the Europa League and eight in the Copa del Rey), aged just 21 years, seven months and 11 days, becoming the youngest player to reach this mark in official games for the Villarreal CF first team.”

To mark his latest achievement, the jet-heeled Super Eagles forward bagged an assist as Unai Emery’s men sent the fourth tier Spanish side packing from the competition with Carlos Bacca, Yeremi Pino,  Carlos Ramos, Fer Nino and Daniel Raba finding the net.

After an impressive shift, he was substituted for Dani Parejo in the 63rd minute of the encounter staged at the Estadio Ruta de la Plata.

Meanwhile, Nigeria football great and LaLiga ambassador Mutiu Adepoju has taken to social media to congratulate the 2015 Fifa U17 World Cup bronze boot winner on his historic feat.

The youngster was snapped up by the Spanish top-flight team from Diamond Football Academy thanks to his impressive outing where he helped Emmanuel Amuneke’s Golden Eaglets win the 2017 Fifa U17 World Cup in Chile.

There, he was named third-best player behind Johannes Eggestein and compatriot Victor Osimhen.

Having impressed for the club’s reserves in the third tier, he was promoted to the senior team – making his debut in a Europa League game against Rangers – as manager Javi Calleja brought him in as a 79th-minute replacement for Nicola Sansone.

Since then, he has been a regular in the Yellow Submarine setup - while accentuating his importance to the team with eye-catching performances.

Jose Mourinho says insists that there is "no secret" to his success in the Carabao Cup, but he did admit that he believes that Tottenham do have one ingredient that leads to trophies.

Mourinho and Spurs booked a spot in the League Cup finale on Tuesday, toppling Brentford 2-0 to book their spot at Wembley.

There they will face either Manchester United or Manchester City in April, as Mourinho will look to get his hands on the Carabao Cup for the fourth time.

He'd done so three times with Chelsea and once with Manchester United and, this time around, he believes he can do so again.

While there isn't any big secret to Carabao Cup success, Mourinho says there is one key to cup runs: desire.

"There is no secret. I come to England in 2004 and I remember that in that period I had to learn the meaning of the cups here and I always took it serious," he said after the match. 

"If there is any secret, it's to take it seriously, to respect what English football is, what English clubs are, what English lower divisions are, and try to not be surprised in any of the games from smaller quality and, when you have like we had this season a game against Chelsea, to go serious and with ambition. Apart from that there is no other secret

"What I sense in the team is exactly that: desire. I'm not saying winning mentality, I'm not saying we are this or that. I just say we are honest people. Since the first game against Chelsea, then Stoke, and now, the guys took it seriously.

"And that's what I hope to do on Sunday in Crosby against Marine [in the FA Cup]: try to be serious, respect the opponents, and try to progress."

Spurs are looking to end a 13-year trophy drought, having not won a cup since 2008.

And, although they sealed a chance to end that drought with Tuesday's win, Mourinho wasn't entirely happy with the performance.

"Defensively was good. We were always in control," he said."The disallowed goal was a throw-in, impossible to stop a ball that goes in the air then first ball, second ball, and they had one penetration through the right side when Davinson Sanchez was very clever not to touch him and he was very honest for not to dive like some players would do.

"Apart from that, we were always in control. With the ball we scored two goals, we could have scored a couple more.

"But I'm not happy. I think we have to play better. Sometimes bad decisions, sometimes technical mistakes. Many times recovering the ball and not being vertical in playing backwards.

"I think we have to do better but great respect for the opponent, for the game, for the responsibility, for the ambition. But job done, we are in the final."

The LA Galaxy announced on Tuesday that the club has hired former Toronto FC head coach Greg Vanney.

Vanney replaces Guillermo Barros Schelotto, who was dismissed by the Galaxy at the end of the season, as he takes charge of the club he played for from 1996-2002 and then again in 2008.

The former Toronto FC coach lifted his side to a treble in 2017, winning the MLS Cup, MLS Supporters’ Shield, and Canadian Championship during that season.

During his six-year stint in charge of TFC, Vanney set the club record for total wins (112) and games coached (250) while guiding the team to three MLS Cup finals and a CONCACAF Champions League final.

He stepped down from his role with TFC after the 2020 season, but will now rejoin his former club as he looks to lead the Galaxy back towards the top of MLS

“I am extremely excited about the opportunity to coach the LA Galaxy,” said Vanney. “The LA Galaxy are an iconic club with a rich history in Los Angeles, MLS and North American soccer over the last 25 years.

“I want to thank Dennis te Kloese, Chris Klein, Dan Beckerman and Mr. Anschutz for the opportunity to coach this team and represent a club so close to my heart. I am committed to working tirelessly for this club, our fans and Los Angeles to win a championship. I look forward to this new challenge in my career and am eager to get started.”

Galaxy general manager Dennis te Kloese added: “Greg is a part of the history of the LA Galaxy and we are confident that he is the right person to lead our team moving forward.

“He has deep knowledge of this club and Major League Soccer as a player and a coach, and has proven to be a consistent winner with a championship pedigree. His accolades as Toronto FC’s manager are evidence of his ability to create and sustain success in our league. We look forward to working with Greg to continue to build a team that will compete for trophies.”

Vanney made 193 total appearances for the Galaxy as a player, tied with for the seventh-most appearances of any player in LA Galaxy history.

The former defender was a two-time Best XI defender, as he helped guide the club to a Supporters’ Shield (1998), CONCACAF Champions’ Cup (2000) and U.S. Open Cup (2001).

After his playing career ended, Vanney was an Academy Director for Real Salt Lake from 2008 to 2011 before joining Chivas USA as an assistant.

He was hired by Toronto FC in 2014,  becoming the ninth head coach in the team's history, and is the only coach in the club's history to lead the Canadian side to the playoffs.

Vanney will now inherit a Galaxy team that finished 10th in the Western Conference, having limped through most of the MLS season.

“We are thrilled that Greg is returning to the LA Galaxy as our Head Coach,” said LA Galaxy President Chris Klein.

“Greg is focused on building a culture that will serve as the foundation of this club. He is detail-oriented, a fierce competitor and has a deep understanding of our league and what it takes to succeed on and off the field. He will be an outstanding ambassador for the LA Galaxy, our supporters and Los Angeles.”

Former Italy international Antonio Cassano has slammed Juventus striker Paulo Dybala, saying that he is not worth the money he is demanding to sign a new deal and that he "sh*ts himself" when put under pressure.

Dybala is currently contracted through 2022 with the Serie A champions and has yet to agree terms on an extension, which has sparked rumours of an imminent departure from Turin.

Juve head coach Andrea Pirlo has attempted to play down talk of the Argentine's exit, saying last month that "champions like him are always fundamental in strong teams."

The 27-year-old has reportedly demanded €10 million (£9m/$12m) per season in a new contract, which hasn't gone down well with Cassano. 

"All his coaches at Juventus did not consider him necessary, so I wonder if he is a champion or a great player," Cassano said in a discussion on the official Twitch channel of former Italy forward Christian Vieri.

"For me he is not a champion, he does not make the difference. He has [scored] good goals, like I saw [Antonio] Di Natale and [Lorenzo] Insigne do. But if you want to take Juventus' No.10 [shirt], you have to be at a higher level.

"I have the feeling that, when they put pressure on him, he sh*ts himself!

"And then he asks for €10m per season? Oh, please!"

Dybala found the back of the net as Juventus defeated Udinese 4-1 on Sunday, with Pirlo quick to stress the striker's importance after the match. 

“We need Dybala, he needs us," Pirlo said. "He worked very well during the week in training, we could tell during the match that he was in better physical condition and we kept him on to the end because we hoped he would score that goal.”

Dybala could be set to play a major part on Wednesday, with Alvaro Morata ruled out of Juve's crunch Serie A clash with AC Milan on account of injury.

Milan currently top the Serie A table, sitting 10 points ahead of defending champions Juventus, who have a game in hand over the Rossoneri. 

New Paris Saint-Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino says that he will work to determine Neymar's best position as he looks to get the best out of the Brazilian star.

Neymar has been a key part of all of PSG's plans since making the switch from Barcelona in 2017.

However, PSG are blessed with a variety of options in the attack, with Neymar joined by the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Angel Di Maria and Mauro Icardi up top.

Now officially with PSG, Pochettino says one of his first orders of business will be to figure out how to best deploy his attack, with Neymar a key piece of those plans.

“When Neymar starts training with the squad we will find the best position for him so that he can be the best he can be,” Pochettino said at his first press conference. 

“We don't like to talk about systems. We will work on the game, on the animation and that all the players including Neymar be the best they can be. 

“They are all leaders, there are different ways of expressing leadership and the more leaders we have in the team, whether in the locker room or on the pitch, the more beneficial it will be for the club.”

Pochettino was asked about a number of transfers during his inaugural press conference, including a potential deal for Lionel Messi.

He was also asked about Christian Eriksen, who played under Pochettino at Tottenham and appears set for an Inter exit.

However, Pochettino focused on his own team, including his plans for Mbappe, who he believes is a player that can play either out wide or as a striker in his system.

“It's amazing to see the quality of this squad, of these players, it's not new to anyone and we are very happy to have this squad,” he said.

“Kylian is a great player, who can play on the sides and in the middle. The most important thing is that he can express his potential and his talent when he is on the pitch.”

PSG currently sit third in Ligue 1, behind both Lyon and Lille, ahead of this week's clash with Saint-Etienne, a match that will serve as Pochettino's debut.

The club can also look ahead towards the Champions League knockout rounds, where they will face Barcelona in the round of 16 after falling to Bayern Munich in the finale last season.

“The Champions League is a goal for us, it's the biggest competition,” Pochettino said. “The first knockout matches are in a month, today we are under construction and, with the return of unavailable players, we will have an incredible squad and we will be ready for the match against Barcelona.”

He added: “We are going to play a lot of matches in the next few weeks. We can rely on all sectors of the club to optimise the potential of all our players. I am particularly happy with the medical team and we will face this busy schedule.”

Barcelona were boosted on Tuesday as Ronald Koeman's squad received the Covid-19 all-clear in the wake of two members of staff testing positive.

A morning training session was called off as players underwent tests to determine whether the virus may have spread among the group.

But there were no positives detected and that meant Koeman's charges could train in the evening, ahead of playing Wednesday's match against Athletic Bilbao.

A club statement read: "In accordance with La Liga protocol, the FC Barcelona first-team squad undertook PCR tests on Tuesday morning. All tests came back negative, and thus training will take place this afternoon from 6pm CET."

The Camp Nou giants said on Monday that two members of the first-team staff had returned positives for coronavirus, and sports and health authorities were informed about those results.

Koeman's team sit fifth in La Liga ahead of their trip to the Basque Country to play Athletic, who are ninth.

Barcelona, who are 10 points off the top of La Liga, have won the previous two matches on their travels after going four away league games without a win.

The Blaugrana secured a 1-0 win at rock-bottom Huesca at the weekend, which came courtesy of a goal from midfielder Frenkie de Jong.

Following that game, Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen called upon his team-mates to raise the quality of their performances.

"We have to improve, that's what I think, overall in the last minutes so that we don't suffer as much. I think it's not needed," the Germany international told the club's website.

"But we won the game which is very important and we move forwards."

Barca have often been short in attack this season, as the club have relied on Martin Braithwaite to play striker in recent weeks. 

Head coach Ronald Koeman admitted his club were short a target forward, expressing his hope that a new striker can be brought in during the January transfer window.

"We have said several times, at the beginning of the season, that we need someone at the top to have more competition and more goals, more effectiveness, but this depends on many things," Koeman said after the match against Huesca.

The CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores  has reached its semi-final stage, as the delayed 2020 competition nears its end.

Tuesday marks the first last-four clash, with River Plate hosting Palmeiras at Independiente's Libertadores de America home.

The Millonario caused little surprise as they brushed past Nacional 8-2 on aggregate in the previous stage to book their fourth consecutive semi berth.

Palmeiras also breezed into the last four with a comprehensive win over Libertad, setting up an intriguing clash which kicks off in Avellaneda.

The CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores quarter finals can be watched through Fanatiz  with a 7-day free trial . 

The streaming platform offers the option to watch each game in the US..

How to watch River vs Palmeiras on US TV

What has happened to River and Palmeiras so far in the 2020 Copa Libertadores?

River's quest began in subdued fashion with a 3-0 defeat away to Liga de Quito in Group D, but Marcelo Gallardo's charges quickly rediscovered their best form.

Peru's Binacional were thrashed 8-0 and 6-0 while the Millonario also picked up four points against a Sao Paulo team featuring Dani Alves, pushing the Brazilians into third place and the Copa Sudamericana while River qualified in first. 

In the last-16 stage River dominated over Athletic Paranaense, racking up 39 shots over two legs to their opponents' 14. Goals proved hard to come by, though, and after tying the first leg 1-1 in Coritiba a single strike from Nicolas de la Cruz saw the Argentines over the line. Uruguay's Nacional were then put to the sword, with River's 2-0 home win followed by a 6-2 thrashing in Montevideo to produce an emphatic aggregate victory for the Millonario.

Watch now with Fanatiz English

Watch now with Fanatiz Spanish

Watch now with Fanatiz Portuguese

Palmeiras hold the distinction of being the only surviving team yet to lose a single match in this Libertadores campaign. The signs were there from the start that the Verdao would prove tough customers, as they advanced from Group B in top spot with five wins, a draw and just two goals conceded in a formidable opening to the tournament.

Ecuador's Delfin proved no match in the last 16, falling 3-1 at home before suffering a 5-1 thrashing to bow out of their first experience of the Copa knockout phase. 

Libertad pushed the Brazilians a little harder, but still to no avail: a tough-fought 1-1 draw in Asuncion was followed by Palmeiras running riot in the second leg to win 3-0 and book only their second semi-final berth in the competition since 2001.

River and Palmeiras team news and preview

River chose to rest a number of key first-team players for Saturday's Superclasico with Boca Juniors, a gamble that partially paid off as the derby finished 2-2.

The likes of Ignacio Fernandez and Matias Suarez will now return to the starting XI after featuring as substitutes at the weekend, while Milton Casco is also in line to play after a rapid return from injury.  

Palmeiras have been boosted in the run-up to Tuesday's game by the return of attacker Gabriel Veron, who had been struggling with a thigh injury. 

Veron trained with his team-mates this week and is likely to start, while Ze Rafael and Gabriel Silva have also shrugged off injury to make it back into coach Abel Ferreira's plans.

Probable River XI:  Armani; Montiel, Robert Rojas, Paulo Díaz, Casco; Fernandez, Perez, De la Cruz; Suarez, Borre, Carrascal.

Probable Palmeiras XI:  Weverton, Gabriel Menino, Luan, Gómez, Vina; Danilo, Ze Rafael, Raphael Veiga; Gabriel Veron, Rony, Luiz Adriano.

When does the 2020 Copa Libertadores finish?

The 2020 Copa Libertadores was originally scheduled to conclude with a single final in a neutral ground, the system which replaced the old format of home and away legs last year, at the end of November. 

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, however, the tournament suffered almost six months of interruption, meaning that the final phases had to be pushed back into the South American summer months of late December and January. 

The last quarter-final tie between Boca Juniors and Racing Club concluded on December 23 with the former advancing to meet Santos. The first leg of that tie takes place just under 24 hours after River and Palmeiras lock horns for the first time, while both return matches take place next week.

The final proper is scheduled to be held at Rio de Janeiro's landmark Maracana Stadium on January 30.

Watch the Copa Libertadores live on Fanatiz. Sign up for a free trial now.

East Bengal, who began their year with a 3-1 win over Odisha, will be up against FC Goa in the ongoing Indian Super League (ISL) at the Tilak Maidan in Vasco, on Wednesday.

TV CHANNELS & LIVE STREAM

The Star Sports Network have the exclusive broadcasting rights of the ISL in India.

Commentary will also be available in vernacular languages across India.

 TEAM NEWS

East Bengal Possible XI:   

Injured - Aaron Hamadi, Loken Meitei
Doubtful - None
Suspended - None

Key Players - Bright Enobakhare, Jacques Maghoma

FC Goa Possible XI: 

Injured - None
Doubtful - None
Suspended - None

Key Players -  Igor Angulo, Jorge Ortiz