Paris Saint-Germain have confirmed the departure of Thomas Tuchel midway through his third season with the French champions.

The former Borussia Dortmund boss won two straight Ligue 1 titles and took PSG to the Champions League final last season.

But he has paid the price for a slow start to the 2020-21 season amid reports of problems behind the scenes.

We have used Opta statistics to review Tuchel s reign, with Mauricio Pochettino seemingly poised to replace him.
 

ON A PAR WITH EMERY

PSG s dominance of Ligue 1 in his first two seasons means Tuchel leaves with a record that looks similar to that of his predecessor Unai Emery.

Tuchel had a record of 2.37 points per game in Ligue 1, which is exactly the same as the mark recorded by Emery…

A tournament which gave players like Sir Bobby Charlton, Pep Guardiola and David Beckham one of their first tastes of international competition is poised for its 83rd edition this week.

The Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup was first held in the Swiss city of Zurich in 1939, with FIFA assuming the patronage of the event in 1991 before it took on its current name in 1995.

It welcomes clubs’ under-19 teams from around the world, and since 2018 a women’s tournament runs concurrently with the men’s. This year, Liverpool and Arsenal have been invited to the men’s and women’s tournaments respectively.

Next week, will be one of eight youth women s teams competing at the Blue Stars / FIFA Youth Cup

Arsenal and midfielder speaks about the importance of youth…

Lorenzo Insigne will leave Napoli at the end of the season to join Major League Soccer side Toronto FC.

The 30-year-old has spent his entire career in Naples despite regularly being linked with a move away, but will finally say goodbye to his hometown club when his contract expires in June.

Winger Insigne has signed a four-year deal, which will begin on July 1, after agreeing to move to Toronto as a designated player.

The Italy international has played 412 games for Napoli, scoring 113 goals and registering 88 assists, and was a key part of Roberto Mancini s side that won Euro 2020 last year, scoring two goals in six games 

Toronto president Bill Manning said: “This is a historic and exciting day for our club.

Lorenzo is a world-class att…

Senegal hero Sadio Mane has dedicated the side s Africa Cup of Nations triumph to Aliou Cisse who he labelled the most criticized head coach I ve ever seen in my life .

The Liverpool forward went from zero to hero when he netted the decisive spotkick as Senegal defeated Egypt 4-2 in a shootout following a 0-0 draw in Sunday s final where Mane missed a seventh-minute penalty.

Mane s penalty not only clinched Senegal s first-ever continental crown but it was a personal moment of redemption, having missed a decisive spotkick in the 2017 quarter-finals against Cameroon.

But the 29-year-old singled out head coach Cisse, who has 35 caps for Senegal before taking over as head coach in 2015, to dedicate the triumph.

I know that the Senegalese people have suffere…

Sutton boss Matt Gray was left with a sour taste in his mouth after Joel Senior’s dramatic stoppage-time winner for Morecambe in a 3-2 thriller.

The U’s forced their way back into the game after Michael Mellon’s penalty and Adam Mayor’s effort had put Derek Adams’ side two goals to the good at Gander Green Lane.

Harry Smith’s header and Ben Goodliffe’s goal levelled proceedings.

But Senior stole the spoils with his first goal for the club.

“Football is really cruel at times, we didn’t deserve that at all,” said a dejected Gray.

“We were very dominant, it was a really good display full of pressure and energy.

“The first goal was a penalty, I think it looks very soft, but I haven’t seen it back. At the time, I can�…

The only team to have taken the Premier League trophy away from Manchester City for a while in the last five years are Liverpool. Regardless of the way their season started, City boss Pep Guardiola spoke of the Merseysiders as their main rivals ahead of the match played at Anfield on Sunday, and the game provided the reasons why for those who still weren t convinced.

Liverpool still a force to be reckoned with

This match always felt likely to be defined by Liverpool and the way they would enter it, for all the quality shown this term by City. The defending champions have been mostly consistent, their attacks sublime and finishing deadly, and had Liverpool entered the contest like they did several times since the start of term, there was a real possibility they would get hammer…

February 3, 2020 – In an interview with Catalan publication Sport, sporting director Eric Abidal says the club had begun considering Valverde s future after the 0-0 draw with Real Madrid on December 18. He adds that he and his colleagues identified many players weren t satisfied nor working hard and there was also an internal communication problem .

February 4, 2020 – Messi hits back at Abidal, calling on him to name individuals rather than tar every player with the same brush. Writing on Instagram and highlighting a section of Abidal s quotes, Messi says: I honestly don t like to do these things, but I think everyone has to be responsible for their tasks and take care of their decisions. The players [are responsible for] what happens on the pitch and we are also the firs…

Carlo Ancelotti is hoping to make history by landing a fourth Champions League title this season but is unsure where his Real Madrid rank among the favourites to win the competition.

The experienced Italian coach is level with Liverpool great Bob Paisley and former Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane with three triumphs in the competition previously known as the European Cup.

Ancelotti famously ended Madrid s 12-year wait for La Decima – a 10th European crown – when beating Atletico Madrid 4-1 in the 2013-14 final in Lisbon.

Los Blancos went on to win the competition in three successive seasons under Zidane, during which time Ancelotti was boss of Bayern Munich and Napoli, before a spell with Everton.

Back at the Santiago Bernabeu since June, Ancelotti is …

Simone Inzaghi believes Inter deserved all three points in their 1-1 derby draw with Milan on Sunday.

Hakan Calhanoglu – who joined the blue half of Milan from the red side on a free transfer in July – won and then converted an early spot-kick to put the Rossoneri ahead.

The Turkey international became the fourth player to score in his first Milan derby in Serie A after having played the previous encounter with the opposing team (since 1994-95), after Hernan Crespo (2006), Ronaldo (2007) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (2010).

Inter were pegged back soon after as Stefan de Vrij scored an own goal – the first in a Milan derby since Samir Handanovic s in December 2017.

The Nerazzurri were handed a second penalty in the first half, but Ciprian Tatarusanu saved …