Diego Simeone believes Joao Felix was unfortunate to be sent off in Atletico Madrid s draw with Athletic Bilbao, suggesting no one else would have seen red in similar circumstances. 

Atletico slumped to a third successive home draw across all competitions for the first time since October 2019, as Athletic frustrated them in a 0-0 stalemate. 

The visitors created the better chances, their accumulative xG total of 1.2 coming from six shots whereas Atletico recorded 1.1 from 14 attempts, though Marcelino Garcia Toral s men wasted two glorious opportunities. 

Simeone s side were not helped by the dismissal of Joao Felix for two bookings in quick succession 12 minutes from time, the Portugal international first shown a yellow card for catching his marker with…

“We’ve already had talks, there will be more”.

These are the short and sweet words of Hasan Salihamidzic regarding the potential signing of Lucas Hernandez. The 22 year old has built quite the legacy for himself at Atletico Madrid over the course of the last 12 years, starting off with his time in the youth team. He worked his way up through the ranks until finally, in 2014, he was promoted to the senior team. In that time he’s been able to establish himself as a firm fan favourite, but these rumours regarding his future don’t seem to be going away.

Hernandez would serve as a marquee signing for Bayern Munich, who are currently tussling back and forth with Borussia Dortmund at the top of Bundesliga. The addition of someone like Hernandez would certainly add so…

Lorenzo Insigne says his move to Major League Soccer side Toronto FC came about due to his need for a new challenge after spending his entire career with Napoli.

The Italy international agreed to join Toronto in January, going on to finish the 2021-22 Serie A season with 11 goals in 32 appearances for Luciano Spalletti s Napoli before heading to Canada.

Insigne scored 122 goals in 434 appearances for his hometown club, a tally which is only bettered by Dries Mertens (148) and represents seven goals more than the late, great Diego Maradona netted for the Partenopei (115).

Speaking at his first news conference in Toronto, Insigne refuted the suggestion that MLS represented a step down for a player of his quality.

Asked whether he had been presented wit…

Jurgen Klopp said Diego Simeone s decision to not shake his hand following Liverpool s incredible 3-2 Champions League win over 10-man Atletico Madrid was not so cool .

Simeone stormed down the tunnel at full-time in Tuesday s European classic at Wanda Metropolitano after a couple of big refereeing decisions went against Atletico.

Atleti had two-goal star Antoine Griezmann sent off for a contentious red card for a high boot with the game poised at 2-2 and saw a strong penalty shout overturned by VAR late on.

While not pleased with Simeone s snub, Liverpool manager Klopp could understand his opposite number s frustration on an evening of high drama in the Spanish capital.

We don t like that but yes the situation is clear, Klopp told BT Sport. I want to sh…

Barcelona have expressed an interest in Manchester City full-back Angelino, with the Premier League club setting a €30million (£27.7m) asking price.

Angelino re-joined City from PSV last year when a £5.3million buyback option was exercised but he struggled to establish himself under Pep Guardiola.

The 23-year-old made 12 appearance in all competitions, starting the Premier League defeats against Liverpool and Manchester United before signing for RB Leipzig on loan in January.

He impressed as Julian Nagelsmann s side reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, with those displays attracting the attention of Barcelona and their newly installed head coach Ronald Koeman.

Stats Perform News understands City are holding firm on their valuation of Angel…

Brazil head coach Dorival Junior insists his side must learn to play without Vinicius Junior following their 1-1 draw with Colombia in California.

Junior was shown his second yellow card of the tournament for a challenge on James Rodriguez, and will miss their quarter-final match against Uruguay on Sunday.

The Real Madrid forward, who has scored twice for Brazil at the Copa America, will be available for their semi-final fixture, should they beat Marcelo Bielsa s side.

Unfortunately, we have already lost a key player like Neymar for a long time, he said.

And we have to learn that in certain moments, we will not have important players in a game. Others will have to step up. And I think that is the way. We will have a difficult game against Uruguay.

Celtic will look to get to the bottom of Reo Hatate’s fitness issues as they wait to learn the extent of the midfielder’s latest lay-off.

The in-form Hatate is facing several weeks on the sidelines after suffering a hamstring injury early in Celtic’s 2-2 Champions League draw against Atletico Madrid.

The Japan international had a six-week spell out with a similar problem towards the end of last season and missed a month with a calf injury earlier this term.

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Hibernian, manager Brendan Rodgers said: “We don’t have a definitive timeline but he will definitely be out for a few weeks. We are just waiting for it to settle down and waiting for the result and we will see where he’s at but it looked quite a bad one.<…

Steven Bergwijn has agreed a move to Eredivisie champions Ajax from Tottenham in a €31.25million (£26.5m) deal.

The Netherlands forward made the switch to England from PSV in January 2020 and made an immediate impact with a goal on debut in a 2-0 win over Manchester City.

But Bergwijn failed to command to a regular spot in the team and was included in the starting line-up of only four Premier League matches last season.

The signing of Richarlison from Everton pushed Bergwijn further down the pecking order and, with a World Cup on the horizon, he has opted for a switch back to the Netherlands, with Ajax confirming he has penned a five-year deal.

Head coach Alfred Schreuder told the club s official website: It is indicative of Steven s ambition that he c…

The Football Association will “seek police guidance” if players use the phrase “from the river to the sea” in relation to the ongoing conflict in Israel and Gaza.

The governing body’s statement comes following a now-deleted social media post on X, formally known as Twitter, from Leicester’s Hamza Choudhury.

The phrase, which refers to land between the Mediterranean Sea and River Jordan, is often used in support of Palestine but some interpret it as antisemetic.

— Hamza Choudhury (@HamzaChoudhury1)

The Anti-Defamation League, a civil rights group, describes the phrase as: “An antisemitic charge denying the Jewish right to self-determination, including through the removal of Jews from their ancestral homeland.”

The FA con…

Newcastle United are set to flex their financial muscles during the January transfer window.

The Magpies are struggling in the Premier League drop zone even after claiming a 1-1 draw with Manchester United.

But following a change of ownership they have funds available to bolster their squad.
 

TOP STORY MAGPIES KEEN ON BARCELONA S UMTITI

Cashed-up Newcastle are considering a move for Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti according to The Sun.

The 2018 World Cup winner has fallen out of favour at Barcelona, who are looking to offload players due to their financial issues.

Eddie Howe s side have conceded a league-high 42 goals and want to shore up their backline to aid their case to avoid relegation.

Newcastle line up £17m transfer fo…