Atalanta’s hopes of making it to the last 16 of the Champions League were dented by Athletic Club’s stirring second-half fightback, which also helped them advance to the play-offs.
Atalanta 2-3 Athletic Club Match Report
After Giuliano Simeone gave the visitors an early lead in the second half, an own goal from Marcus Llorente earned Galatasaray a draw thanks to a failed attempt to find the net there.
Galatasaray 1-1 Atletico MATCH REPORT
The Times
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Aston Villa are interested in signing England and class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″>AC Milan midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek, 29. Boubacar Kamara, 26, has suffered a serious knee injury and is looking to improve their midfield ranks. (Telegraph requires a subscription)
Manchester United has also been given the option of Loftus-Cheek following initial discussions. (Talksport)
Youssef En-Nesyri, a 28-year-old Moroccan striker, will decide his future soon with interest from Napoli and Juventus, according to Villa’s inquiries in the past 24 hours. (Romano-Fabrizio)
Crysencio Summerville, a 24-year-old Dutch winger from West Ham, is wanted for a fee of £25 million by href=”https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/teams/tottenham-hotspur” class=”ssrcss-ckhpdl-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0″> class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″>Tottenham. (Mail)
href=”https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/teams/tottenham-hotspur” class=”ssrcss-ckhpdl-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0″> class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″>Tottenham’s class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> 24-year-old class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> Netherlands class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> defender class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> Micky class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> van class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> de class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> Ven, class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> who class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> has class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> not class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> yet class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> signed class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> a class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> new class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> deal class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> with class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> Spurs, class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> is class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> on class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> a class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> href=”https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/teams/liverpool” class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> class=”ssrcss-ckhpdl-InlineLink class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> e1kn3p7n0″> class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> e5tfeyi3″>Liverpool class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> radar. class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> (Mail class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> subscription class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> required)
Portugal midfielder Bruno Fernandes, 31, is set to be given a decision before the World Cup starts this summer. href=”https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/teams/manchester-united” class=”ssrcss-ckhpdl-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0″> class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″>Manchester United want to keep him for another year. (ESPN)
Brazilian class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> left-back class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> Cuiabano, class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> 22, class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> will class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> join class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> href=”https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/teams/nottingham-forest” class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> class=”ssrcss-ckhpdl-InlineLink class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> e1kn3p7n0″> class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> e5tfeyi3″>Nottingham class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> Forest class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″>’s class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> list class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> of class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> potential class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> targets, class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> along class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> with class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> href=”https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/teams/liverpool” class=”ssrcss-ckhpdl-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0″> class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″>Liverpool class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″>’s class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> 29-year-old class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> Greece class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> full-back class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> Kostas class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> Tsimikas, class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> who class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> is class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> currently class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> on class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> loan class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> at class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> Roma. class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> (Athletic class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> – class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> A class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> subscription class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″> required)
Mathias Olivera, a 28-year-old Uruguay international, has had his offer for class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″>Forest rejected, but they are still interested in pursuing him. href=”https://www.tuttomercatoweb.com/serie-a/il-nottingham-forest-guarda-in-italia-per-terzino-e-centravanti-il-motivo-del-filo-diretto-2192902″ class=”ssrcss-ckhpdl-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0″>(Tuttomercatoweb – in Italian)
Fer Lopez, 21, would receive a formal loan offer from Celta Vigo, which would pay the entirety of the Spain Under-21 attacking midfielder’s salary. (Sky Sports)
Real Madrid and Manchester United both want to sign Portugal midfielder Ruben Neves, 28, who is open to a move away from Al-Hilal. The former Wolves captain is also wanted by Manchester United. (AS) in Spanish
Cole Palmer, a 23-year-old href=”https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/teams/chelsea” class=”ssrcss-ckhpdl-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0″> class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″>Chelsea player who played for Manchester United before making a move to Manchester, has a contact until 2033 at Stamford Bridge. (Express)
When the Portugal midfielder’s contract expires at the end of the season, Barcelona wants to sign Bernardo Silva, the 31-year captain of Manchester City, on a free transfer. (Spanish: Nacional)
Frank Onyeka, a defensive midfielder from href=”https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/teams/brentford” class=”ssrcss-ckhpdl-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0″> class=”ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3″>Brentford and Nigeria, is wanted by championship duo Sheffield United and Coventry City in January, and Valencia is also interested. (Standard)
A young Tomas Cvancara was tipped for big things when he made a £9m switch to the Bundesliga – 24 goals in 49 games for Sparta Prague said as much.
After 30 months, eight goals and one apparent dressing-room revolt against him, it can be assumed that the 25-year-old’s big move to Borussia Monchengladbach has not gone as planned.
A failed loan in Turkey at Antalyaspor – terminated due to a reported dispute about wages – has opened the door to a fresh challenge at Celtic, with manager Martin O’Neill confirming the switch is imminent.
“He’s pretty close now, as we speak he’s doing a medical,” said O’Neill during the media conference to preview Thursday’s Europa League tie in Bologna.
“I think things are going pretty well.”
For any club to stump up £9m for your services, you must have done something right. And Cvancara – capped eight times – did plenty right at Sparta.
At his best in the Czech top flight, the 6ft 3in forward used his presence, pace and power to devastating effect, while he was also clinical.
Netting 24 times in 39 starts, a goals-per-minute ratio of around 131, triggered interest from Gladbach, who brought Cvancara to the Bundesliga in the summer of 2023.
The forward’s career stalled in Germany, though, scoring just eight goals in 54 appearances, most of which have come from the bench.
But his time at Gladbach will be remembered most for being at the centre of an extraordinary team dispute at the end of a challenging season last year.
It was claimed that Cvancara was a disruptive influence in the dressing room and that his team-mates had demanded he was excluded from the squad.
The striker responded by admitting he was not happy at the club and revealed he wanted to go out on loan, a statement later labelled “a mistake” by the club’s then sporting director.
It was not the first time the forward felt the need to publicly defend his character. Two years ago, he said: “People say I am out of my mind and that I lack humility.
“And yet none of them actually know me personally. None of them have ever asked me what I’ve been through in my life and why I’m the way I am on the pitch and in life.”
Amid one of the wildest Scottish football seasons in recent memory, with his new club key contributors, the hope for Cvancara is he can reclaim calm and form at a fractured Celtic embroiled in the chaos of the Premiership.
“He’s not actually a target man,” said O’Neill. “He’s not the John Hartson type.
“He is quick and he’s agile and wants to prove himself. But if you think he’s the immediate answer to any problem we have, I’m not sure I want to throw that sort of responsibility on him.”
After being questioned in parliament about its plans to cut a professional team, the Welsh Rugby Union has been warned that it is losing touch with its supporters.
Concerning the controversial plans to reduce the number of regional sides to three, chair Richard Collier-Keywood and chief executive Abi Tierney were both deposed.
After hearing testimony from supporters of the four current teams, the Welsh Affairs Select Committee delivered a stark message to them.
The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) runs the risk of throwing the baby out with the bath water and alienating supporters by choosing to lose a professional team, according to a statement from the cross-party organization.
Collier-Keywood used the session to confirm a significant financial restructuring, and the committee acknowledged the financial difficulties that the WRU faced.
The WRU filed an appeal for a change in terms after receiving an 18 million Covid support loan from the Welsh government in 2022.
However, a new £55m package, which includes HSBC and Goldman Sachs, will pay off a separate commercial loan and a Welsh government loan.
If those two organizations had any questions about our governance or the future plans we’ve made for them, neither of them would have made an investment, Collier-Keywood said, adding that the WRU now has a stronger “economic rock” to build on.
Collier-Keywood acknowledged that he needed to share a five-year plan to secure investment, but that cutting a professional team was not a prerequisite in light of additional inquiries.
However, both he and Tierney reiterated that the professional sides needed to be reduced in order for their plan to invest in grassroots, pathways, and infrastructure.
Swansea council, led by Stewart, has stated to look into legal action, with the latter revealing to BBC Wales that he is scheduled to meet with WRU officials.
He said, “We’ve pressed for more conversations with them, but none have come.”
We’re interested to hear what the WRU and the Ospreys’ chief executive will say about our ‘interesting’ ‘trial of the council’s threat of legal action’.
It doesn’t take a legal genius to realize that the WRU’s procedure hasn’t been conducted as successfully as it could.
Stewart claims that the Y11 proposals didn’t put the St. Helen’s regeneration in danger.
Stewart said, “We’ve been clear, the cabinet made a decision, and it’s actually more than £5 million that we’ve set aside to help redevelop the ground.”
The Ospreys must be one of the regions chosen to be permanent under the new WRU arrangements, according to the statement.
When questioned if they believed they could keep fans and players, Collier-Keywood responded, “Yes, we do, and we do, and we both strongly support Welsh rugby union, so we feel that as well,” but sadly the rugby system was broken.
“The paths were blocked, but we made a plan for improvement, including a £28 million investment plan over five years to essentially fix the issue.
We’re just getting started with that.
Later in the session, members of the current regions of Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys, and Scarlets also shared their opinions, with criticism of the union’s plans and approach also being made.
Before the upcoming home rugby world cup, Australia will have continued its recruitment campaign for national rugby players with the signing of Angus Crichton, a former national rugby league player.
The 29-year-old will join the Waratahs in 2027 after representing New South Wales and the Kangaroos in a hugely successful decade of the 13-man code.
Before joining the South Sydney Rabbitohs and making a league commitment as a teenager, Crichton played for Australia’s age-grade union sides.
In the Kangaroos’ 3-0 series victory over England in the autumn, he scored two tries in the Wembley opener. He started all three of the Tests.
Crichton said, “It’s incredibly exciting to be playing the sport I loved playing a lot throughout my childhood.”
After a single, injury-hitting season with the Gold Coast Titans, Australia returned Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, another cross-code schoolboy prodigy, to his union in 2024. Carter Gordon also made a comeback to bolster the Wallabies’ fly-half options.
Mark Nawaqanitawase, who scored 24 tries for the NRL in his first full season in 2025, is reportedly returning to union.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the 25-year-old is claiming to have signed a two-year deal with a Japanese side with an intention of putting him in charge of Australia’s World Cup squad.
Crichton could play a powerful gainline carrier in the Wallabies’ midfield because he played his schoolboy rugby union in both the back row and the back row.
Australia, Chile, and Hong Kong all share the same Rugby World Cup pool.
