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AFC Leopards chairman Dan Shikanda has revealed threats towards head coach Tomas Trucha and his agent.

Trucha was appointed to take charge of the team after it had been handled by Anthony Kimani since Casa Mbungo’s resignation in December 2019.

But the chair has revealed there are people close to the club who are not happy with the stability of the team so far and have gone ahead to issue threats directed to the coach and his agent.

“There is a serious issue with the coach,” Shikanda told reporters on Wednesday. “We shall do a press conference on Thursday and from here we will go and organise to get the nitty-gritty.

“It is unfortunate that some people who call themselves our members are trying to destabilise our team. They have seen us doing well and they are surely not happy.

“We have beaten Tusker in the first match and there are no comments on our social media pages had we lost that match, you could have seen a lot of negative comments.

“But we know we have people who masquerade as AFC Leopards members and fans but in the real sense, they are not.”

The chair also confirmed the club will engage the Kenya Police in order to deal with the matters around threats on the coach and his agent.

“They are trying to kill the club and are trying to kill the work that the National Executive Committee has done,” he added.

“We are taking the threats seriously and we shall write a statement with the police. We are handling that because the coach feels he is not safe.

“He is in Kenya to help us and add skills to the team.”

Shikanda further spoke about the issues of salaries and how they hope to bridge the gap between the budgetary demands and the money available from sponsorship.

“We have paid salaries up to September and we have not yet settled for October fully but we are going to settle it in the course of this week,” he concluded.

“Then hopefully, we can finish paying up the November salaries in the next two weeks. So, challenges will always be there as this is a big club.

“Our budget being KSh120 million and we have as sponsorship of about KSh40 million.

“You can see the gap between the budget and the sponsorship so we will always try and handle that but there are people who are outside there who are fuelling what is happening at the club.”

AFC Leopards will face Bidco United on December 6 for their second Premier League encounter.

Stuart Baxter wants Odisha FC to take inspiration from the 2-2 draw against Jamshedpur FC before taking on ATK Mohun Bagan at the Fatorda Stadium on Thursday.

The Juggernauts were trailing by two goals at half time before second-half substitute Diego Mauricio scored twice to snatch a point from their last Indian Super League (ISL) tie.

"In the first half, even though we were trailing by two goals, we still played a lot better than we did against Hyderabad (lost 1-0). So I'm relatively pleased with the way we approached the game. We were compact, breaking out and playing through the lines much better but we gave away two sloppy goals that put us on the back foot," the Odisha coach explained. 

"Luckily, in the second half, the players approached the game in the correct way and kept their beliefs, and we took it up a notch more in terms of our aggression. Of course, the free-kick when the goalkeeper (Rehenesh TP of Jamshedpur) was sent off was key because we scored at that moment. Everybody was hunting for that second goal and (when) we got the second goal we were really pushed to get the third." 

The British manager, however, is wary of the threat posed by ATK Mohun Bagan and opined that they must not give much space to either Roy Krishna or David Williams to operate. 

"They are a balanced side, have been together for a while and have a set way of playing that is difficult to play against. They have good players who can hurt you if you leave some space behind and if you don't do that, they are very solid defensively. 

"We have to make sure that whilst we are throwing players forward, and they do have a well-organised defence, we have to take away the spaces (at the back) as well that they want and make it difficult on them."

Baxter has a selection headache in the striking department as Diego Mauricio changed the complexion of the match with a brilliant performance in the last game, whereas Manuel Onwu links up better with his teammates. 

"Diego did make a massive impact when he came on but I think Manuel plays very well with the other players. So in my mind I have gotta decide whether I start with Diego who makes an impact or Manuel who plays well with the other players," Baxter stated. 

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed the progress Anthony Martial and Luke Shaw are making in terms of their fitness ahead of Manchester United's clash with Paris Saint-Germain.

United will welcome PSG to Old Trafford on Wednesday night for a crucial Champions League group-stage showdown which will likely have a huge bearing on who qualifies from Group H.

Solskjaer's men are sitting top of the standings on nine points after four fixtures, with their French opponents three points further back in second.

RB Leipzig are only behind PSG on goal difference at the moment, and they will be expected to pick up a victory away at Istanbul Basaksehir as they aim to put more pressure on PSG to get a positive result in Manchester.

United only need a point to qualify for the round of 16, but Solskjaer has been sweating on the availability of Martial and Shaw, both of whom sat out Saturday's comeback win at Southampton.

Martial was struck down with a bout of illness 24 hours before the trip to St Mary's, while Shaw has been out of action since suffering a hamstring injury against Everton on November 7.

Solskjaer has confirmed that he will be able to call upon the former against PSG, but he is delaying making a final decision on the full-back until the last minute.

“Anthony got through the session and felt okay, so he's available for selection," the Norwegian said during a pre-match Q&A session for MUTV. "Luke is probably the biggest doubt but the rest of them are holding their hands up saying: 'I'm ready'.

“Luke isn't too far away so let's see what we do with him for tomorrow. Then, of course, Phil [Jones] has been away for a long time but now we're getting more and more players ready to participate in every game.”

Solskjaer also delivered a fresh update on first-choice goalkeeper David de Gea, who was forced off at half-time against Southampton after sustaining a knock to his ankle.

"David trained well today, as did the rest of the group. It was a good session," he said.

The last time United played host to PSG on Europe's biggest stage they were beaten 2-0 in a last-16 first-leg tie, before producing a stunning turnaround in the second leg at Parc des Princes to book their place in the last eight.

Solskjaer is expecting his team to provide the French champions with a far greater challenge almost two years on from that meeting, as he added: “I feel we are ready for this game and I feel better prepared for the occasion. I think some of these boys learnt harsh lessons against PSG and then, home and away, against Barcelona that season.

"The Champions League is what we all want to be part of, playing against the best players in the world. You’ve got the likes of Mbappe, Neymar, Di Maria… class players, and we’ll welcome Ander [Herrera] back. 

"Marquinhos is one of the best centre-backs in the world, so these are the games we look forward to, the real tests. We are more ready than before.”

Mikel Arteta is the most exciting young manager in Europe, according to Tottenham defender Eric Dier, who believes the Gunners are still in safe hands under the Spaniard’s stewardship.

Arteta will celebrate a year in charge at the Emirates later this month, a period which has seen him deliver the FA Cup and Community Shield to raise hopes of a bright future in north London.

However, the 38-year-old approaches that anniversary under pressure after an indifferent set of recent results.

After beginning the campaign with back-to-back wins, Arsenal have lost five of their last eight Premier League matches to slump to 14th in the table going into this weekend’s north London derby away at Tottenham, with their haul of 13 points from 10 games their lowest points tally ever at this stage of a Premier League season.

Dier has leapt to the defence of the former Everton midfielder and believes the Gunners are simply enduring a minor blip.

"They are going through a difficult period but these games it doesn't really matter who is where in the table," the Spurs defender told Sky Sports.

"We know how much of a difficult game it is going to be. The position in the table is irrelevant. It's early on in the season for both teams.

"They have a lot of quality in their team. They have a very exciting young manager. The most exciting young manager in Europe for sure. I like his way, the way it seems to be. I think they are in good hands.

"We know they have a lot of quality in their squad and we will be very aware of that on Sunday.”

In sharp contrast to Arsenal’s struggles, Tottenham go into this weekend’s game top of the table and without a league defeat since the opening weekend of the season.

Dier, though, is not getting carried away with the team’s good start, insisting it is who is top at the end of the season that matters.

"We know there is a lot of work to do, there is a lot we need to improve on,” he added.

"We need to keep moving in this direction we are going in and also understand there are going to be difficult times and be ready to handle those situations.

"It's easy when things are going well but when things take a turn for the worse, we need to be ready to handle those situations. It only really matters who is first in May."

Sponsor for the Football Kenya Federation Premier League sides Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards Betsafe has officially launched their operations in the country.

The two local giants and Betsafe first confirmed the deal, that will run for three years, in June and will fill the void that was unceremoniously left by SportPesa.

According to the details of the deal, AFC Leopards will get KSh40 million per year while Gor Mahia will get KSh55 million per year from Betsafe.

“Betsafe as a sponsor has been good to us and offered huge support on matters of finances,” Gor Mahia chairman Ambrose Racheir said during the launch in Nairobi.

“We almost got stranded with our trip to Rwanda [for a Caf Champions League tie vs APR] but thanks to the sponsor, they came through big time.

“We truly appreciate our partnership with Betsafe, let's join hands to make this partnership a success as they officially start business in Kenya today.”

Rachier also confirmed the club has received half of the money from the sponsor meant for the season.

“We have received about 50% of sponsorship money from Betsafe. Other than the money bit of it, we've got good advice from our partners on quite a number of things.

“We are excited that our official brand sponsor Betsafe has officially launched their site,” AFC Leopards appreciated the partnership in a small post on Facebook.

“We're honoured and proud to be in partnership with Betsafe. It is time to share the fun and share the excitement.”

Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards struggled when SportPesa, their previous sponsor left, leaving the clubs to depend on fans, members and other well-wishers to honour matches and settle player allowances at times.

Gor Mahia were hit hard given that they had to look for finances to help the team honour both local and continental matches without a financial partner.

It is the second time the two Mashemeji Derby rivals are signing a joint sponsorship deal with a betting firm after enjoying a similar relationship with SportPesa.

The Betsafe deal comes at a time FKF secured the league’s sponsor in BetKing as well as the broadcasting partner StarTimes.

The FKF Premier League has started and matchday one actions were played on November 27 and 28 but Gor Mahia, Zoo, Ulinzi Stars and Mathare United are yet to kick-off their campaigns.

Javi Martinez believes the future is bright for Bayern Munich after a young side held Atletico Madrid to a 1-1 draw in the Champions League.

Jamal Musiala and Bright Arrey-Mbi, both 17, started at the Wanda Metropolitano on Tuesday, with Bayern having already clinched top spot in Group A, while fellow teenagers Angelo Stiller and Joshua Zirkzee came off the bench.

Veteran Thomas Muller converted an 86th-minute penalty for Bayern to cancel out Joao Felix's opener and hold Atletico to a draw.

Martinez said Champions League holders Bayern had plenty to look forward to, hailing their young talent.

"They were born in 2003 – that's almost when I started to play in the first division," he said, via UEFA.com.

"But Bayern is a club that builds from the bottom with the youth players. The future is bright. When young players train with us, they play very well.

"They are the future of the club."

Bayern failed to land a shot on target in the first half of a Champions League group game for the first time since October 2009.

But Muller's 47th Champions League goal – 21 more than any other German in the competition's history – earned them a draw.

"I am very pleased with this result," Bayern head coach Hansi Flick told a news conference.

"I think we did very well in the second half, we tried to turn the game around – and in the end we got a 1-1 draw. I think we did better after Thomas Muller came on and also Serge Gnabry.

"Also, I am happy for the young players, for some of them it was their first match and then in a such a nice stadium against Atletico. It was a good evening for us.

"We also got some insights that we will discuss with the coaching staff, we will analyse this game and take something with it for the future. But overall I am very pleased."

Carlos Queiroz has left his post as Colombia head coach after almost two years at the helm of La Tricolor.

Queiroz's departure was announced by the Colombian Football Federation (FCF) on Tuesday after the nation's slow start to 2022 World Cup qualifying.

Colombia, who have featured at the past two World Cups, have won just one of their opening four qualifiers, collecting four points to sit seventh.

"The Colombian Football Federation and the technical director Carlos Queiroz agreed the coach would not continue as head of the Colombian Men's National Team," a statement read.

"For the FCF, it was a pride to have [Quieroz] for almost two years, in which he gave us his full capacity, knowledge and experience.

"The contribution that you leave us will serve to continue the development of the projects that are being carried out with all the national teams of our country.

"We wish Professor Carlos Queiroz and his team the best in their future career plans.

"As of this date, the Executive Committee of the Colombian Soccer Federation will initiate the process to search for the coach who will occupy, in the immediate future, the position of technical director of the Colombian Senior Men's National Team."

Despite starting World Cup qualifying with solid results against Venezuela and Chile, the Colombians crashed to a 3-0 defeat at home against Uruguay before being battered 6-1 on the road by Ecuador.

Queiroz was immediately under pressure following the two humilating defeats and the decision was made for him to leave the role on Tuesday.

Colombia will need to appoint a new coach by March, when it faces Brazil and Paraguay, with Jorge Luis Pinto and Juan Carlos Osorio expected to be strong candidates.

Former Real Madrid, Portugal and Iran boss Queiroz took over in Colombia in February 2019. He oversaw 18 games at the helm, winning nine, drawing five and losing four.

Quieroz shot to prominence as Sir Alex Ferguson's assistant at Manchester United across two stints, which included a period coaching Real Madrid in between.

The 67-year-old coached his native Portugal between 2008-10 before embarking on an eight-year role with the Iran national team, which commenced in 2011.

The new UEFA Women's Champions League season officially kicks off on December 8 with Australians to be represented in bigger numbers than ever before. 

The competition, which can be watched exclusively in Australia on streaming service Sports Flick, has been modified this season as a result of the coronavirus pandemic with two-leg knockout games for the 32 teams that have qualified replacing a group stage. 

Lyon, who lifted the title for a seventh time in August, are among the first few teams in action and find themselves up against Italian giants Juventus. Matildas defender Ellie Carpenter has cemented herself as a regular for the French side in recent weeks after being an unused substitute in their Champions League final victory against Wolfsburg in August. 

Elsewhere, Sam Kerr will be hoping to star as Chelsea take on Portuguese heavyweights Benfica with the Blues yet to lose across all competitions this season. Kerr has scored three goals across nine appearances so far this campaign and will be eager to show Europe just how sharp she can be in front of goal. 

Kyah Simon will also be hoping to find the back of net for PSV when they take on Barcelona with the 29-year-old impressing since making her move to the Netherlands in July. She's been joined at the Dutch club by Amy Harrison - another Matilda ready to leave her mark in the Champions League. 

After a tough 2019-20 campaign, young Aussie attacker Alex Chidiac looks to be back in contention for Atletico Madrid, who tackle Swiss side Servette Chenois in their Round of 32 clash.

Teenagers Indiah-Paige Riley (Fortuna Hjorring) and Karly Roestbakken (LSK Kvinner) could also feature for their clubs in what will likely be tough games against higher-profile opponents. 

You can watch the entire tournament live if you subscribe to Sports Flick - with the streaming service charging $15 a month for their product, which includes over 100 hours of live sport a week.

If you sign up with Sports Flick and use the code 'UEFA', you will receive 50 per cent off the monthly subscription price of $15.

INR 11,52,42,40,00,00,000/-

What is that number? That is an amount that equates to almost 1.3 trillion Euros if that makes more sense. That is also the estimated amount of money involved in sports betting around the globe. 

When there is a lot of money at stake, some people try to bend the rules in order to make more money. In sports, they try to force a change in the events and influence what happens in a game. This is not only illegal but completely destroys the industry. But there is a way to find out wrongdoings and that is where an entity likes Sportradar could make a difference. 

The ongoing Indian Super League (ISL) recently announced a multi-year extension to its partnership with Sportradar, which, as it states, is the world’s leading provider of sports integrity solutions and sports data products. They have not only been working with the ISL since 2016 but also offer similar services for Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and FIFA globally and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Pro Kabaddi League in India.

What is it that they do? 

The integrity services wing of Sportradar is not just about the detection of match-fixing. "We work in a lot of areas," Tan You Chen, Senior Manager, Sportradar Integrity Partnerships (Asia), told Goal. 

"We monitor suspicious movements, educate for prevention. We educate players and officials on the importance of integrity. We do intelligence investigation when there is suspicious activity. We also work with federation partners to review their strategy and policies. We advise on their rules and regulations and point out loopholes and areas that need to be strengthened."

How do they do it? 

They use computer intelligence named Fraud Detection System which helps track movements of bookmakers. They also have a team of more than 100 people known as integrity analysts who try to find out what caused the suspicious activity in the market and find a sporting explanation for the change. They review movements in the market and watch games, making it a 24 x 7 operation that requires teams all over the world to cover different timezones. 

Tan said, "Our partnership with ISL includes the monitoring of all the ISL matches. They can also come to us if they have a suspicion and we can help them. It is similar to our partnership with FIFA. For ISL, we need to have people who understand the local market and what is happening on the ground." 

Sportradar was recently in the news for red-flagging six matches in the Goa Professional League. In order to understand how the flagging process happens, it is important to understand the two types of betting they monitor - pre-match and live. 

For pre-match betting, the detection system looks out for a margin of change. For example. before the game, if the odds for a team's win change from 1-8 to 1-2 within a short time, the system throws an alert. 

For live betting, the system uses data from the past to calculate odds at specific points in the game. For example, if the home team is winning a game by two goals in the 80th minute, the odds to win for the away team will be calculated to be high. Then if there is a drop in the figure, there is a trigger and in both types of cases, the analysts will try to find possible explanations for the deviation. 

"The system has two levels of alerts - Level 1 and 2 (Severe). We cant immediately conclude it is fixed. Our team of analysts try to explain it but when they cannot find a possible explanation, we flag it and escalate it. We prepare a report and alert our partners. A report is sent in 72 hours," Tan explained. 

Their procedure ends when ISL receives the report. It is then up to the league to either act on it or decide on a plan of action like getting a second opinion. If the case ends up in court, Sportradar will work with law enforcement agencies and submit the required documents in court.

Even when all this happens, the team of analysts will have moved on to checking the next trigger. And it continues.

It took Mumbai City three matches to play the football their coach Sergio Lobera was hoping for and they have finally done so with a thumping win over East Bengal in an Indian Super League (ISL) clash on Tuesday evening.

A new-look Mumbai did not have the ideal start as they lost to NorthEast United in their opening tie. In the following match, even though, they picked up a win against 10-men FC Goa, Mumbai were unconvincing and it was definitely not the way Lobera would have hoped to get the three points.

But against East Bengal, the Islanders were a changed side. They dominated, kept possession and tore down the opposition in quick and nifty counter-attacks, exactly how we were used to seeing FC Goa play under Sergio Lobera in the last three seasons.

Lobera’s sides are a treat to watch especially because they play eye-catching football. The Spanish coach has one of the most balanced squads in the ISL at his disposal and so it was just a matter of time that the players would start firing.

Mumbai had paid a record transfer fee for French midfielder Hugo Boumous who was the best player of the league last season while being at FC Goa. After a rusty start to his new journey, the Frenchman was back to his old self against East Bengal. Boumous assisted twice in the match and was all over the pitch, tormenting the men in Red and Gold.

Along with Boumous, Lobera has managed to bring another former pupil from FC Goa, Ahmed Jahouh. We are all familiar with Moroccan midfielder and the kind of presence he generally has on the pitch. Jahouh’s towering presence at the centre of the park and his distribution meant the attackers had plenty of service.

The midfielder oozed confidence throughout the game, be it nutmegging opposition strikers in his own penalty box or taking an outrageous free-kick with the outside of his foot which found Boumous inside the East Bengal box which led to the third goal. 

Even Rowllin Borges was very good, partnering Borges with a lot of confidence and showed his passing range as well. 

The Spanish boss once again kept Bartholomew Ogbeche out of action in the beginning and trusted Adam Le Fondre upfront. The English forward is slowly finding his form with each passing game and if he continues to do so, Lobera will find it difficult to slot in the Nigerian forward in the starting lineup.

But as Lobera very right said after the match that he has an ‘amazing problem’ at hand and that is to choose a lineup among players like Bartholomew Ogbeche, Hugo Boumous and Adam Le Fondre. It is a headache every coach in ISL would love to have.

Two matches, five goals conceded and zero goals scored. This isn’t the way East Bengal would have hoped to begin their journey in the Indian Super League (ISL).

After a disappointing loss against arch-rivals ATK Mohun Bagan, Robbie Fowler’s men would have eyed the Mumbai City match as a platform to kickstart their campaign but the Islanders were just too hot to handle for an underprepared East Bengal side.

East Bengal were impressive in patches in the Kolkata derby despite the defeat but in their second match, an attacking side like Mumbai City exposed the team’s skeletons completely. 

The Red and Golds were the last team to enter the ISL this season and did not have much option while selecting the Indian contingent. Fowler then scrutinised the squad and selected the best and most importantly, the fittest options for the final squad.

But there is no doubt that the East Bengal's Indian contingent has a lightweight feel about them and it has hurt the team in the two matches so far.

Fowler may receive some flak from certain corners for throwing his players under the bus when he said after the match, “Few of them (Indians) have probably never been coached before and that is what we are doing. We will try and make our Indian players better and that takes good coaching and I don't think they had had that in the years gone by."

Although it could be a statement in the 'heat of the moment', the East Bengal fans must accept that their Indian contingent is far from the best and their preparations also has not been ideal.

The Liverpool great could have minced his words after a depressing defeat but that does not change the reality. With the lack of quality in the team and less pre-season training, it is unfair to blame the coach right away.

East Bengal looked vulnerable in all departments and the injury to skipper Danny Fox within four minutes of the match added to their misery. Anthony Pilkington and Jacques Maghoma worked hard up front but they did not receive any support. They clearly lack a quality number 9 and that is one area which should have been filled with a proper foreign signing before the season started.

The Kolkata giants will take time to settle, probably more time than any other club in the ISL. They have a completely new set of foreign players who are yet to adjust to the new conditions. Fowler will have to go back to the drawing board and chalk out a new plan to churn out results. East Bengal are still a work in progress and Fowler's process must be given time. 

Antonio Conte hailed Inter's "spirit" as they kept alive their chances of progressing in the Champions League with a pulsating 3-2 win away at Borussia Monchengladbach.  

Inter put aside the disappointment of failing to win any of their first four Group B matches to edge past Gladbach, who could have sealed their own qualification for the knockout stages with a win on home turf.  

Matteo Darmian put the Serie A side ahead with his first goal for the club before Alassane Plea pulled the hosts level on the stroke of half-time.  

Lukaku then scored two fine goals to put Inter 3-1 up and despite Plea's second 15 minutes from time, Inter held on to ensure they go into the final round of fixtures next week with something to play for.  

They will need to beat Shakhtar Donetsk and hope Gladbach do them a favour against Real Madrid, who lost for a second time this season to the Ukrainian side in the early kick-off on Tuesday.  

Inter were good value for the win too, carving out 15 shots on goal to Gladbach's 10, and Conte revealed a supportive team talk at half-time was crucial to their success.

"Gladbach are in an excellent period of form, in both the Bundesliga and the Champions League," Conte told Sky Sport Italia . "If you are not a team, tactically, physically, in terms of character, you don't come here and win. 

"We absolutely deserved to win and could've frankly avoided suffering quite so much towards the end. We beat the group leaders and we are alive. I thank the lads; they had the right spirit. When they have this desire to help each other out and be a real team, we cause problems for the opposition. 

"What I ask of the lads is to increase their level of responsibility, each and every one, because if they all do that, then we can become an ambitious side. 

"Performances like this prove the team is there, we are united, we're all working in the same direction and want to give our fans joy. 

"Conceding that equaliser on the stroke of half-time against the run of play could've killed us. We analysed some situations during the break, as we made some mistakes towards half-time, but these lads needed my support at that moment.  

"I told them we had to keep going and rediscover the quality we had early in the game and that we'd be rewarded with the victory. I am glad that I was proved right, because when a coach talks and those things don't happen, you risk losing their trust!" 

Lukaku's double means he has now scored 12 goals in European competitions over the past two seasons, a tally only bettered by Robert Lewandowski and Erling Haaland.  

The Belgian, who scored with his only attempts on target, joined Inter in a big-money move from Manchester United in August 2019 and says his time in Italy has been the most enjoyable of his career so far. 

"I am one of the 25 players," he said. "There are far more experienced players here than me. I want to help the team to win, that's what I do in every training session and every match. I want to help Inter. I am so happy to be here with these lads. I've had the best year-and-a-half of my career at Inter, so I thank the coach, his staff and my team-mates." 

Inter take on Bologna in Serie A this weekend before their crunch clash with Shakhtar in Europe.

Pep Guardiola lavished praise on Phil Foden's performance in Manchester City's 0-0 Champions League draw at Porto.

City were frustrated by their dogged hosts at Estadio do Dragao, with Gabriel Jesus having a goal ruled out for a VAR offside against Joao Cancelo 10 minutes from time.

Nevertheless, the stalemate saw the Premier League side secure top spot in Group C with a game to spare.

Foden has started four successive Champions League matches, although the England midfielder has been a substitute for City's past five domestic outings.

Speaking to BT Sport, Guardiola seemed to acknowledge the growing clamour for the 20-year-old to become a permanent fixture in his first XI, irrespective of the opponents or competition.

"What a player, what a player," he said when asked about Foden's display.

"His intensity and he always creates things. He was so good, I'm delighted with his performance."

Foden made two key passes and his four completed crosses accounted for half of City's total as they chipped away at a resolute Porto backline.

He won six out of eight duels and drew three fouls – more than any other City player during a combative contest – although none of his team-mates lost possession more often than Foden (23 times).

After the 5-0 weekend win over Burnley, Guardiola told his players they would be making a "mistake" if they felt their absence from his line-ups was solely down to rotation.

However, he told a post-match news conference that he was keen for a number of his squad to find their "rhythm" after being in and out of the side.

"I think a few players need rhythm, like Bernardo [Silva], Oleks [Zinchenko], Fernandinho and Joao," he said.

"I wanted to give them minutes for the rhythm. I have to know that I can trust the players. Now it is time to focus on the Premier League."

Guardiola added: "We played with huge personality, with courage. It's not easy with eight [defensive] players in the box. They are so strong with the full-backs, they are so fast.

"Even with that, we created enough chances to win. This is the most important thing."

City's 18 shots were the most they have ever had in a Champions League game without finding the net.

Diego Simeone acknowledged a failure to take their chances cost Atletico Madrid, his side punished late on in a  1-1 draw with Bayern Munich . 

Atletico went into Tuesday's Champions League clash with holders Bayern knowing that victory would be enough to secure second place in Group A. 

Joao Felix gave Atletico the lead with his eighth goal in 14 appearances this term, but the hosts could not score from any of their other 12 attempts, of which only three were on target. 

A weakened Bayern, without regulars such as Robert Lewandowski and Manuel Neuer, grew as the game wore on, snatching a draw through Thomas Muller's 86th-minute penalty. 

It means Atletico now need to avoid defeat at Salzburg in their final group game next week to qualify for the knockout stages, and Simeone is fully aware where his side must improve. 

"We are not being forceful enough in attack, but we do create chances," Simeone told Movistar Plus. "Now we have a very tough game against Salzburg. 

"A small scoreline means you can always be caught. But until the penalty, Bayern had no chances to score." 

Atletico were again without Luis Suarez because of coronavirus, while fellow striker Diego Costa has endured another injury plagued campaign.

Joao Felix impressed against Bayern, managing more shots (three) and shots on target (two) than anyone else on the pitch, as well as playing a joint-high two key passes. 

The Portugal international's goal came from a Marcos Llorente assist, and Simeone can see signs of improvement in the attacking third, even if Atleti have failed to score more than once in any of their past four games. 

"It would not be fair to speak about the attacking players. Luis is missing through coronavirus, Diego is in his recovery phase and will be out for longer," he said. 

"The work we are doing is good, but we have to work harder on finishing situations. We are working on that in training. 

"The players are working hard and are in good shape. It is not easy having this forcefulness that will solve our issues. In these situations we will only improve. 

"I liked the move for the goal... [Yannick] Carrasco's pass to Llorente. We are already showing signs of more tranquility." 

Joao Felix agreed with head coach Simeone that chances created ultimately count for little unless they are converted. 

"We had more opportunities than them but did not take them," he said. "These things can happen in football. 

"We can have many opportunities but if we do not score them, they are worthless. They only had a few and one of them was enough to earn a draw." 

Bayern did not register an attempt on target in the first half - the first time that has happened in a Champions League group game since October 2009.  

But it was roles reversed after the restart as Atletico failed to test stand-in Bayern keeper Alexander Nubel - one of nine players brought into the visitors' starting line-up. 

"The first half was very good for us," Simeone added. "It was a beautiful goal, and we were close to a second but it just did not come. 

"Bayern are a strong side and won a penalty. Next week's game [with Salzburg] will now clearly be another final."

Tottenham star Harry Kane has called on Premier League players to continue taking a knee before matches. 

The custom, which stems from former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the U.S. national anthem, was adopted worldwide this summer in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

After protests over George Floyd's death in police custody, the Premier League began each match with every player and official kneeling on the pitch – a practice that has continued in the 2020-21 season.

While some have said that continuing to kneel has diluted the message, Kane believes it is still important for him and his fellow players to kneel prior to every game.

“I think we are a huge platform to share our voices across the world, to be honest," Kane told Nihal Arthanayake on BBC Radio 5 Live. "Obviously we have done a lot with Black Lives Matter and taking the knee before games. I hear people talking about taking the knee and whether we should still be doing it, and for me I think we should.

“What people don’t realise sometimes is we are watched by millions of people around the world, and of course for the person who watches the Premier League every week, they see the same thing every week, but I think if you look round the world, you see children watching the game for the first time, seeing us all take a knee and asking their parents asking why we take the knee.

"I think it’s a great chance for people to explain why and get their point across. I think education is the biggest thing we can do - adults can teach generations what it means, and what it means to be together and help each other, no matter what your race.”

Kane has also lauded the work done by his England team-mates Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling, who have both been vocal in the fight against racism and childhood hunger.

“I think what Marcus and Raheem have done has been incredible and you see a lot of the work players do for communities and charities, I know first-hand players are doing an awful lot," Kane said.

"I don’t like it when people say we should just play football and stick to kicking a ball, because we are a huge platform. We come across to millions round the world. Our voices should be heard.” 

Jurgen Klopp praised "top talent" Caoimhin Kelleher after the goalkeeper helped Liverpool overcome Ajax 1-0 in the Champions League.

Starting as Alisson deals with a hamstring injury, Kelleher became just the second goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet on his debut for Liverpool in the Champions League.

Kelleher, 22, made four saves as Curtis Jones' 58th-minute goal proved to be enough to send the Premier League champions into the last 16 from Group D.

Klopp hailed the shot-stopper and said the Irishman's distribution was a key reason he decided to start Kelleher over Adrian.

"Top. Top, top, top," the Liverpool manager told a news conference.

"It is a situation, which I have to say, it was easy to decide for Caoimhin because he just deserves it, but it was difficult to decide against Adrian because he did really well for us: a lot of clean sheets, what a season last year, Super Cup final and all these kind of things.

"He did a really good job, but we needed the package of Caoimhin – and he is a top talent anyway, but a really good shot-stopper and a top footballer, so I like that.

"We needed that for the pressing of Ajax, we needed his chips from him into the half-spaces and these kinds of things. That was really good, but of course in the end it is all about saving, keeping the ball out of the net, and he did that at least twice in an exceptional manner. I am pretty sure he will either sleep really well or not at all, but he will enjoy both."

Kelleher completed 30 of 42 passes for Liverpool, who have further injury concerns over Jordan Henderson and Andy Robertson.

But Klopp was optimistic about the pair ahead of Sunday's clash at home to Wolves.

"We have now two days more than we had last week until the next game," he said.

"I don't know, things like this show up the next day slightly different. In the moment I am rather positive about it but I don't know.

"But that's a problem of the next few days and not tonight."

Stephen Odey guided Amiens to a 1-0 victory over Dunkerque with his first-half goal in Tuesday's Ligue 2 encounter.

Odey's goal earned Oswald Tanchot’s men their first victory in over a month which dates back to a 2-0 win over Sochaux on October 26.

The 22-year-old scored the only goal at the Stade de la Licorne in the 13th minute and he was later replaced in the 70th minute.

Odey has now scored two goals in eight league appearances for Amiens since he moved to France on a season-long loan from Belgian club Genk in September.

A host of African players were also in action for the Unicorns which include DR Congo's Chadrac Akolo, Ivory Coast's Cheick Timite, Ghana's Nicholas Opoku, Senegal's Molla Wague and Benin’s Youssouf Assogba.

The victory moved Amiens two points behind 11th-placed Dunkerque as they continue their chase for an immediate return to Ligue 1 with 15 points after 13 matches, which leaves them 13th in the second division.

Odey has rediscovered his goalscoring boots in France having fired blanks after 11 games in the Belgian First Division A last campaign.

The Nigeria forward will hope to build on Tuesday's match-winning strike when Amiens visit Rodez for their next Ligue 2 match on Saturday.

Before travelling to Zurich for his first European adventure in 2017, Odey established himself as a goalscoring machine in the Nigerian top-flight with MFM

He was the second top scorer for the 2016-17 season with 18 goals behind former Lobi Stars striker Anthony Okpotu, who scored 19 goals.

Speed has become an increasingly important aspect of the modern game and the adidas X Ghosted has taken things up a gear. 

Worn by Premier League superstars Mohamed Salah and Son Heung-Min this season, these slick boots boast a carbon fibre forefoot plate innovation and a unique translucent upper which makes them both look and feel faster than the average pair of boots. 

Pulling on the X Ghosted is an experience in itself with a vacuum fit designed to ensure any excess air is sucked out of the boot once your feet are in which guarantees a snug and efficient pairing. 

Once on your feet, you'll then be given an extra spring in your step thanks to the integration of a dynamic carbon plate - making this the first football boot available at scale with such a design. 

If you think Salah and Son have become even faster this season, the X Ghosted is likely why with adidas determined to create a boot that gave footballers an extra edge of speed.

"When the sporting world slowed down this past summer, the need - and drive - for speed didn’t. We saw athletes at all levels continue to push their limits. This just reiterated what we’ve always known, speed is as important as ever in football," adidas Football's VP of Design Ben Herath said. 

"And why did we decide to focus on speed? Because that’s what our audience told us they craved via listening groups held in cities around the world. To give them what they wanted, we worked with our designers and took inspiration from the world’s fastest, and featured new innovations to create X Ghosted, one of our fastest boots ever made."

With Christmas just around the corner, the X Ghosted are the boots you'll want Santa to be leaving under your tree if you want to gain some extra speed on the pitch. 

Secure your pair of adidas X Ghosted here. 

Toni Kroos has said Real Madrid are "all messed up" this season after they lost 2-0 to Shakhtar on Tuesday.

The defeat in Ukraine leaves the Spanish giants in danger of crashing out of the Champions League at the group stage.

Madrid, who have won just one of their last five matches in all competitions, are third in Group B and level on points with Shakhtar.

Kroos is aware that his side are struggling to get going this term and has admitted that his side's problems are mostly mental.

"It's all messed up, this season we're struggling to score goals," he said after the game. 

"It's not a physical issue. I'm fine but when you lose it's all negative. We have to keep working and try to win the last game.

"If you are on a winning run you've obviously got more confidence than if you're losing - that's normal. As a team you feel better when you win, but we have to win again; continue working. 

"It's tough to leave here with a 2-0 scoreline - at Inter we scored early and here it was nearly the same. Maybe we weren't quite as good but we did produce a good first half.

"Once you're 1-0 down everything costs you a bit more - then at 2-0 maybe we failed to believe totally that we could overturn it. We tried until the end though."

Luka Modric is refusing to give up on his side's quest to reach the knockout rounds despite their latest upset.

"There's still a game to go, we'll see what happens in Inter's match and see what we have to do in the last game," said Modric. 

"Madrid have shown that when we need to win, we can do it, but we have to show it on the pitch because words aren't enough.

"We lacked the consistency we've always had. We have a great game, two bad ones, a good one, two bad ones. We lack that consistency and we have to improve as soon as possible. 

"When the opponent goes ahead we're not good, we lose confidence, and we don't play as we did before they scored. We have to change that, look for solutions to improve."