Joao Felix has a role to play at Atletico Madrid despite his differences with the club, says Diego Simeone, who expects the forward to give his maximum while he remains with Los Colchoneros.

The Portugal international has been linked with a move away from the Metropolitano after appearing to criticise Simeone s methods while at the World Cup earlier this month.

Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal have all been linked with a move for the 23-year-old, whose tally of 33 Atleti goals since his 2019 arrival is only bettered by Luis Suarez (34) in that span.

While Simeone hinted Joao Felix s exit was in the offing when he warned no one is essential last week, the Argentine says the forward must continue to contribute until any move is agreed.

We have a go…

Italy and Belgium will meet in a knockout tie for the first time at a major tournament on Friday, with two European heavyweights ready to fight it out for a semi-final spot at Euro 2020.

So impressive in the group stage, the Azzurri had to be patient before landing the decisive blows against Austria in a last-16 clash at Wembley that went to extra time.

Roberto Mancini s side prevailed 2-1 in the end, setting a new national record in the process as they extended their unbeaten run to 31 games.

That streak now faces a serious test against Belgium, who knocked out reigning champions Portugal in the previous round. Victory did come at a cost, however, as both Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard suffered injuries in the 1-0 result.

While the Italy game may come…

Stefano Pioli wants Milan to shut up and work after they lost more ground in the Serie A title race with a 4-0 thumping at the hands of Lazio on Tuesday.

The Rossoneri lost for the first time in seven league matches with goals from Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Mattia Zaccagni giving Maurizio Sarri s side the advantage heading into the break.

Luis Alberto then added a third with a well-taken penalty before Felipe Anderson rounded off the scoring as Milan failed to win for a fifth straight game in all competitions.

With Pioli s men remaining 12 points behind Napoli, the Milan head coach believes it is time for less talk and more action from the reigning champions.

Right now there are many things that are not working, mental and tactical aspects, Pioli told …

Harry Kane has been named March s Premier League Player of the Month, winning the award for a joint-record seventh time in his career.

The England captain s award takes him level with former Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero, the only other man to have won it on seven occasions, and represents his first monthly prize since December 2017.

Tottenham s talisman scored four goals in March, netting a brace in a 5-0 home thrashing of Everton, as well as getting on the scoresheet in an away win over Brighton and Hove Albion and in Spurs 3-2 defeat at Manchester United.

Kane ended the month s league action by recording two assists for Son Heung-min as Antonio Conte s side recorded a crucial London derby victory over West Ham, taking him to 17 league goal involvemen…

Barcelona travel to fellow heavyweights Juventus in the pick of the second round of Champions League group-stage fixtures on Wednesday.

Cristiano Ronaldo will not get the chance to resume his rivalry with Lionel Messi after contracting coronavirus, but a number of other superstars will be on the field at Allianz Stadium.

Juve and Barca picked up victories in their opening games and that was also the case for Manchester United, who triumphed away at Paris Saint-Germain and now welcome RB Leipzig to Old Trafford.

PSG head to Turkey for their first competitive meeting with Istanbul Basaksehir while Chelsea, held by Europa League champions Sevilla in their first game, face a potentially tricky trip of their own at competition debutants Krasnodar.

Here is some…

With all eyes from across Italy falling on the San Siro on Sunday night, Juventus laid down a major statement of intent as they snatched a 1-0 victory away at AC Milan.

In a showdown that was often a cagey affair for large spells, it was Malick Thiaw who found himself at the centre of the biggest controversy in Milan as the young AC defender was shown a straight red card for hauling down Moise Kean and denying a clear goalscoring opportunity just five minutes before the half-time break.

Cashing in on their one-man advantage and laying down a real marker, Massimiliano Allegri’s side will certainly take a string of positives away from a rugged performance outside of Turin.

It was eventually ex-Milan starlet Manuel Locatelli who proved to be the match-winner agai…

Real Madrid are interested in signing Lautaro Martinez from Inter Milan in the summer of 2023, according to . The report in the Italian news outlet has claimed that last season’s La Liga and UEFA Champions League winners Madrid are looking for a young striker to eventually succeed Karim Benzema, and that club president Florentino Perez has identified Inter and Argentina international Martinez as a potential target.

Martinez has been on the books of Inter since 2018 when he joined from Racing Club and has been very good for the Italian club so far in his career. The 25-year-old, who won the 2022 Qatar World Cup with Argentina, helped Inter clinch the Serie A title in 2020-21 and the Coppa Italia in 2021-22 as well as reached the final of the UEFA Europa League in 2019-20.

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Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel believes Romelu Lukaku is the perfect fit as he hailed the star signing s quality and desire to return to Stamford Bridge.

Lukaku is in line to make his second debut for Chelsea against London rivals Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday following his £97.5million (€115m) switch from Serie A champions Inter.

The Belgium international forward left Chelsea in 2014, eventually joining Inter from Manchester United in 2019, scoring 64 goals across all competitions – his 24 Serie A goals in 2020-21 guiding the Nerazzurri to their first Scudetto in 11 years.

Lukaku converted 25 per cent of his 96 shots in Serie A, scored 20 big chances from 39 and added a further 11 assists last term, while the 28-year-old Lukaku ranks fourth fo…

Manchester United are interested in signing Youssouf Fofana from AS Monaco in the January transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that United are among three clubs who are keen on the 24-year-old. However, Ligue 1 club Monaco do not want to sell the France international midfielder in the January transfer window and will keep him until the end of the season at least.

Fofana has been on the books of Monaco since 2020 when he joined from Strasbourg. The defender has established himself as one of the best players in his position in Ligue 1 and has also played 15 times for France. Fofana has scored one goal and given three assists in 15 Ligue 1 matches for Monaco so far this season.

United are sixth in the Premier League table at the moment with 31 points from…

The Republic of Ireland and England will kick-off the next edition of the Nations League against each other in their first match competitive meeting since 1991.

The nations were drawn together in Paris on Thursday and UEFA has confirmed the pair will open Group B2 in Dublin on September 7.

The return fixture in England will take place on matchday six on November 17, with the pool completed by Finland and Greece.

The will take on Finland, Republic of Ireland and Greece as they chase promotion back to League A in the :

— England (@England)

These will be the first competitive fixtures between the Republic and England since a Euro 92 qualifier at Wembley. They have met in four friendlies since then, most recently in November 2020 at Wembley.

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