Category: Football

Striker Harry Kane said Tuesday that Bayern Munich still have a chance of a “great season” by winning the Champions League, before Wednesday’s home quarter-final second leg against Arsenal.

Bayern Munich officially ceded the title to Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday, breaking their 11-year streak as champions. They are now staring at a first trophyless season since 2012.

The England captain, still without a trophy in his career despite an array of stellar personal records, said Champions League glory would give the season a different face.

“It’s no secret here that the club sets out to win the Champions League every season,” the 30-year-old told reporters.

“You know, from the club’s point of view, it will be a failed season if we don’t win anything this year because we’re expected to win,” Kane said, describing it as the “harsh reality of winning and losing.”

“We still have the opportunity to turn the season into a great season if we win the Champions League.

“The motivation is still there for us as players. If we can do something special tomorrow night of course that keeps that hope alive.”

Bayern Munich and Harry Kane returned from north London after a 2-2 draw at the Emirates.

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The abolition of the away goal rule means one tram needs to win on Wednesday to reach the final four.

Harry Kane moved to Bayern in the summer from Tottenham, Arsenal’s north London rivals. He played his entire career at Spurs, having been released from the Gunners academy as a child.

At Tottenham, he scored 14 goals in 19 games against Arsenal and added another in Bayern’s visit last week.

“Maybe it is in the back of my mind that I was released at a young age (by Arsenal) there was a point to prove and I’m the kind of player who has had points to prove throughout my career.

“I don’t think that ever leaves you. That will always be in my DNA until I’m retired.

“Now I’m here at Bayern Munich and of course, I have a history with them (Arsenal) but all I can try and do is help Bayern Munich qualify for the semi-finals of the Champions League.”

Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel confirmed Manuel Neuer and Leroy Sane, who missed the weekend’s league win over Cologne, would return.

Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman will be missing through injury, while Alphonso Davies is suspended.

“We have one decisive match to make the next step in this beautiful competition and we’re determined to bring everything to the table,” Tuchel said.

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PAMPLONA: Croatian striker Ante Budimir missed a crucial last-minute penalty, resulting in Osasuna losing against Valencia during their La Liga clash at El Sadar Stadium on Monday.

Valencia were on the cusp of a comfortable 1-0 victory when the home team earned a penalty in the dying minutes of the game to level the scores.

Budimir was entrusted with the responsibility to take the crucial strike, however, he blew the chance with a disastrous effort.

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He started a stuttered run-up and took a weak shot which went straight into the hands of goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili.

Both teams entered the game carrying momentum from victories in their last games.

Within the first ten minutes, Osasuna nearly scored, but Moi Gomez’s shot was blocked, causing the home team to miss their chance at taking the lead.

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However, Andre Almeida took the visitors ahead after he found Diego Lopez in the 17th minute and hit the bottom left corner of the net to score the only goal of the match.

Valencia will play their next La Liga match against Real Betis on 20 April, while Osasuna will face Rayo Vallecano on the same day.

READ: Bayern Munich boss Tuchel hoping to echo Chelsea run before Arsenal clash

Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel will seek to echo the spirit of 2021’s Champions League-winning run with Chelsea in Wednesday’s home quarter-final second leg against Arsenal. 

Bayern put aside their domestic struggles in the first leg, returning from London with a 2-2 draw, another Harry Kane goal against his old foes and the knowledge victory in Germany will see them through to the final four.

With Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen already in possession of the Bundesliga trophy, the Champions League is now the only focus for Tuchel’s Bayern.

Being able to concentrate only on Europe is a luxury few of the teams remaining in the Champions League have, particularly Arsenal who are in the midst of a tense Premier League title race.

Tuchel was free to make his focus on Europe obvious, making seven changes in Saturday’s hard-fought 2-0 home win over struggling Cologne.

Left out of the squad completely for the Cologne clash, captain Manuel Neuer and winger Leroy Sane were allowed to watch Saturday’s win from the comfort of the grandstand.

Bayern will however face Arsenal missing several first teamers.

Canada defender Alphonso Davies is suspended, while forwards Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman are injured.

Tuchel would not be drawn on who would replace Davies on Wednesday, telling reporters after Saturday’s win over Cologne he may “do something crazy”.

Asked if one of Bayern’s centre-backs could make the shift out to left-back, Tuchel said with a smile “No, we want to win.”

While not quite at the level of self-described “overthinker” Pep Guardiola, Tuchel is known for his flexibility and a penchant for being tactically reactive, a perfect fit for knockout football.

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Despite winning leagues in France and Germany, Tuchel’s teams have shone brightest in cup competitions.

He announced himself as Dortmund coach by winning the 2017 German Cup, dispatching Bayern 3-2 in Munich in the semi-final on the way to the first major title of his career.

His only Champions League season with Dortmund was impressive but failed due to circumstances beyond his control.

Tuchel’s Dortmund were unbeaten in the group phase, finishing ahead of eventual champions Real Madrid.

Their campaign came undone in a quarter-final against Monaco with the club forced to play a day after a bomb blast shattered the windows of the team’s bus.

Dortmund’s decision to play led to a rift between Tuchel and Dortmund which never healed and he was fired just days after his side lifted the German Cup.

At Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea, he made the finals of both the major and minor domestic cup competitions.

In Europe, Tuchel took PSG to the Champions League final, where they lost 1-0 to Bayern.

The next season as Chelsea boss, he took over a side in disarray in January after the firing of club legend Frank Lampard.

He steadied the ship and took Chelsea to the Champions League final, where they beat Guardiola’s heavily favoured Manchester City to win the title for the second time.

While plenty stands in the way of another Champions League triumph, including one more potential meeting with Guardiola’s City on the way, Tuchel could be just four games away from Wembley glory.

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Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso said his unbeaten side was “not done yet” after winning their debut Bundesliga title on Sunday with a treble still possible this season. 

Leverkusen’s 5-0 win over Werder Bremen at home on Sunday, including a second-half hat-trick from Florian Wirtz, sealed the first Bundesliga title in their 120-year history.

Alonso — who is in his first full season as a coach having joined Leverkusen midway through last season — told reporters after the game the sky was the limit for his side, who are yet to lose a match in 43 games this season.

Soaking wet with beer after his players surprised him during the press conference, the 42-year-old manager reminded everyone “it’s not over yet”.

“We’ll see how far we can go. I have a good feeling about it.”

The win sent Leverkusen 16 points clear of Bayern Munich with five games to go, meaning they cannot be caught.

Their points total of 79 is the best after 29 games in German football history.

Leverkusen are through to the final of the German Cup and have a 2-0 lead after the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final with West Ham, with the second leg to take place on Thursday.

“It’s not over yet and we’ve got great goals we still want to achieve. But we can think about that on Tuesday. “Today and tomorrow, we need to celebrate.”

Alonso pledged to stay at Leverkusen another year in late March, despite reported interest from Liverpool and Bayern Munich.

Alonso, who retired after a glittering playing career with Liverpool, Bayern and Real Madrid, said his experience was an advantage working with players.

“I want to be near the players, talk to them and as someone who played I know what they’re feeling.

“I have empathy and connection with the players, which is important in the dressing room. I try and keep this connection to the team.”

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Leverkusen have finished second five times but had never broken through for a German title.

Alonso said: “This trophy belongs to a lot of people and we have to enjoy it.”

Leverkusen’s win broke an 11-year run of Bayern Munich’s dominance in the Bundesliga.

“It’s perhaps healthy for the Bundesliga and German football that other teams win — and it’s a great pleasure that it’s us,” said Alonso.

Another victim of a beer shower, which is a tradition in German football, Leverkusen midfielder Granit Xhaka told reporters coming to the club “was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life”.

Xhaka moved to Leverkusen from Arsenal in the summer, having spent seven years at the Gunners.

Last season, Arsenal led the Premier League for much of the campaign, only to be caught by a treble-bound Manchester City.

The Switzerland captain said: “When you start to first kick the ball as a child you think about titles.

“After seven years at Arsenal, we nearly won the title last year. I’m very thankful to be here and I was waiting so long for this moment.”

Wirtz’s second-half hat trick sealed the victory and the 20-year-old midfielder said “at the start of the season we couldn’t have imagined this”.

“It (the belief) came gradually when we started winning a lot of matches with a dominant style of play. We said to ourselves we could do better than just have a good season and qualify for the Champions League.”

Leverkusen winger Jonas Hofmann, 31, who won the Bundesliga for the first time after more than a decade in German football was emotional.

“I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. We always pushed ourselves to the limit, that was just awesome.”

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Adri Embarba struck a late penalty to secure a draw for bottom-ranked Almeria against Real Sociedad in the La Liga 2023-24 clash at Reale Arena on Sunday.

Real Sociedad entered into the match with a three-match winning streak, but they were taken by surprise by the visitors.

The hosts made three unsuccessful attempts to earn the advantage before Embarbe rose to the occasion and got the lead for Almeria at the half-hour mark.

Marc Pubill assisted Embarba, who smoothly sent the ball from outside the box to the bottom right corner.

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However, Sheraldo Becker hit the equalizer two minutes later as he found Javi Galan’s cross in the centre of the box and guided the ball past the goalkeeper.

Becker appeared to hit another one but the goalkeeper took swift action to extend Real Sociedad’s wait for the second goal.

The first half ended at a 1-1 stalemate but Mikel Oyarzabal pushed the hosts ahead within ten minutes into the second half after an assist by Becker.

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Real Sociedad dominated the game in the second half and were set to extend their winning streak to four games before Igor Zubeldia was shown a red card in the 85th minute.

Almeria was awarded a penalty, which was successfully converted by Embarba to earn a 2-2 draw.

Meanwhile, in another La Liga clash, Athletic Bilbao’s hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League suffered a blow as Dani Parejo’s injury-time penalty secured a 1-1 draw for 10-man Villarreal at San Mames.

READ: Leverkusen break Bayern Munich’s 11-year streak to win first Bundesliga title

LEVERKUSEN: Bayer Leverkusen lifted the Bundesliga title for the first time in their 120-year history on Sunday, a 5-0 victory over Werder Bremen breaking the 11-year stranglehold of Bayern Munich on the German top flight.

Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen knew victory would secure the title with five games to spare, and there were no signs of nerves in a dominant performance.

A hat-trick from Florian Wirtz and goals from Victor Boniface and Granit Xhaka extended their unbeaten run to a stunning 43 games in all competitions.

Leverkusen’s maiden Bundesliga title, coming after five second-place finishes in their history, keeps their dream of a remarkable treble alive while shedding their unwanted ‘Neverkusen’ nickname for good.

With 10 minutes to go, the long-suffering fans began making their way to the sidelines and a few jumped the gun, storming the pitch with the match still ongoing.

Leverkusen’s players ushered the fans back and some obliged, albeit briefly, with the stands swiftly emptying on the 90-minute mark as tearful supporters made their way onto the turf to celebrate with the players.

Leverkusen are now on 79 points — the best tally after 29 games in the Bundesliga history — and are 16 clear of second-placed Bayern and third-placed Stuttgart.

“It’s impossible to describe. Personally, I can’t quite grasp what we did. I needed to go back to the changing room to clear my head,” Wirtz told DAZN.

“We’ve already started the party with the supporters.”

Wirtz, who moved from neighbouring Cologne at the age of 16 and grew up just 20 minutes away in Pulheim, told DAZN he “could not imagine what we would achieve at the start of the season”.

“It was when we started winning some matches, with a dominant style of play, that’s when I realised we could do a little better than just making the Champions League.”

The Leverkusen bus arrived at the stadium 90 minutes before kick-off, wading through a sea of fans clad in black and red on the way to the 30,000-capacity BayArena.

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Normally known as Bismarck Street, fans had stuck temporary signs saying ‘Xabi Alonso Street’ along the main road in honour of the club’s coach.

Alonso looked ahead to Thursday’s Europa League trip to London to face West Ham, making seven changes to his starting XI and benching stars Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Alex Grimaldo, the latter for the first time in the league this season.

Piero Hincapie, Grimaldo’s replacement, had an early effort at goal saved but it would be the fit-again Boniface, making his first start since mid-December, who put the home side in front.

With 22 minutes gone, Jonas Hofmann was felled in the box by Bremen’s Julian Malatini, with the referee pointing to the spot after VAR urged him to view the contact again on the monitor.

Boniface stepped up and nervelessly slotted the penalty past a helpless Michael Zetterer to send the home fans into raptures.

Hofmann was almost the provider again shortly before half-time, his pass finding Amine Adli who fired against the crossbar.

Bremen started the second half strongly but their hopes of spoiling the party were snuffed out on the 60-minute mark, Boniface finding Xhaka who unleashed a long-range rocket before slapping his badge in front of the ecstatic home fans.

Wirtz, who came on at half-time for Adli, replicated Xhaka’s effort eight minutes later from almost the same spot on the pitch.

Wirtz added another with seven minutes remaining before sealing his hat-trick in the 90th minute as Leverkusen rid themselves of their nearly men tag in style.

Earlier on Sunday, a 36th-minute goal from Ritsu Doan took Freiburg to a 1-0 win at Darmstadt, pushing the last-placed hosts closer to immediate relegation.

Winless since October and with only two victories all year, the loss leaves Darmstadt dead last, eight points from second-last and 13 points from safety with five games remaining.

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PALMA: Aurelien Tchouameni scored a long-range goal to help Real Madrid secure a 1-0 victory over Mallorca in their La Liga 2023-24 match at Estadi Mallorca Son Moix on Saturday.

The victory helped Real Madrid to stay eight points clear of Barcelona at the top of La Liga points table ahead of the upcoming El Clasico.

The France midfielder, who is suspended for the second leg of Madrid’s Champions League quarter-final away to Manchester City next week, scored three minutes into the second half with a deflected 25-metre drive.

Jude Bellingham rattled the crossbar in the first half with a rasping effort from just outside the area as coach Carlo Ancelotti reshuffled his attack with Wednesday’s trip to England in mind, leaving out Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo.

Tchouameni’s third goal of the season put Real Madrid ahead, with Brahim Diaz denied a second by the legs of Mallorca goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic and Fede Valverde’s attempt cleared off the line.

Vinicius appeared off the bench for the last 30 minutes but Rodrygo and Toni Kroos were unused substitutes after a thrilling 3-3 draw with Manchester City in Tuesday’s first leg.

Sergi Darder’s spectacular dipping shot forced a flying stop from Andriy Lunin as Madrid extended their unbeaten league run to 25 games, keeping Barcelona a safe distance behind ahead of next week’s Clasico in the Spanish capital.

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“It’s a very important victory, which brings us closer to the title. We’re on a good run and now we’re going to think about Wednesday, that we have time to recover well and try to do our best,” said Ancelotti.

“Having an advantage before (next) Sunday’s game is very important and that was the goal.”

Copa del Rey runners-up Mallorca stay in 15th, six points above the relegation zone.

Meanwhile, Barcelona, who are desperately trying to force their way back into the title race, matched Madrid’s result with a 1-0 win of their own at third-bottom Cadiz.

Joao Felix’s clever overhead late in the first half secured the points as coach Xavi Hernandez made sweeping changes to the team that beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-2 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.

The Portugal international led the attack in the absence of the suspended Robert Lewandowski, acrobatically hooking in the only goal after a Cadiz defender’s looping header from a corner fell directly to him.

Fermin Lopez had an effort scrambled off the line and Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s sprawling save to claw away a Diadie Samassekou piledriver preserved a sixth successive clean sheet in the league for the visitors.

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Atletico Madrid completed a good four days as they followed their Champions League quarter-final first-leg victory over Borussia Dortmund with a 3-1 La Liga victory over third-placed Girona, courtesy of Antoine Griezmann’s brace.

Antoine Griezmann scored twice as Diego Simeone’s men moved to within four points of their opponents and pulled five clear of fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao in the race for Champions League qualification.

The Basques play Villarreal on Sunday.

Atletico won the home leg of their European tie 2-1 on Wednesday and visit Dortmund for the second leg on Tuesday.

Girona took the lead in Madrid with a fourth-minute goal from close range by Artem Dovbyk that took him on to a league-leading 17 goals.

Antoine Griezmann responded by converting a 34th-minute penalty.

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Angel Correa then gave the home side the lead six minutes into added time at the end of the first half.

Griezmann extended his lead five minutes into the second half, taking advantage of a defensive error to fire home his 13th league goal of the season.

With an eye on the game in Germany, the France attacker was then replaced shortly after the hour mark by Marcos Llorente.

Girona’s fifth defeat away from home, gives Barcelona, buoyed by their midweek 3-2 Champions League win at Paris Saint-Germain, the chance to tighten their grip on second when they visit struggling Cadiz in the last game of the day.

Real Madrid, eight points clear at the top of the La Liga standings, play at Mallorca later on Saturday.

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Andreas Christensen came off the bench to head in the winning goal as Barcelona won 3-2 away to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in a remarkable first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie on Wednesday.

Raphinha had earlier scored twice for the Catalans at the Parc des Princes, slotting in the opener late in the first half and then volleying in an equaliser to make it 2-2 just after the hour mark.

In between, PSG had turned the game around as they awoke from a poor first-half display by starting in electrifying fashion after the restart with two goals in six minutes, neither coming from Kylian Mbappe.

Ousmane Dembele struck against his old club Barcelona, and Vitinha briefly put PSG in front, only for Barcelona to recover in stunning fashion to take control of the tie.

Christensen’s goal, which came just after he had been introduced as a substitute on his 28th birthday, ended PSG’s 27-game unbeaten run and gives Barca a lead to defend at home in the return next Tuesday.

“I am very proud. It is a great victory against one of the best teams in the world, but we are only halfway there,” said Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez.

“PSG still have every chance on Tuesday, but we have a one-goal advantage and we will be playing at home.”

That second leg will be played at Montjuic, the Catalan club’s temporary home, rather than the Camp Nou, the scene of Barcelona’s incredible 6-1 win over PSG in 2017 and of a lethal Mbappe hat-trick in a 2021 meeting of the teams.

“We could have won this game,” insisted PSG coach Luis Enrique.

“I am not saying the result is unfair but it came down to little details and we will work to ensure that in the return the little details go our way.”

The story of this game ended up partly being about Luis Enrique’s selection decisions — he was missing the banned Achraf Hakimi but also omitted teenage prodigy Warren Zaire-Emery and gave Marco Asensio a surprise start.

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The importance of the occasion for PSG, back in the quarter-finals having been eliminated in the last 16 in five of the previous seven seasons, was clear with Ronaldinho -– a former star for both clubs –- doing a lap of honour ahead of the game and home fans putting on a Star Wars display as the teams came out.

But Paris struggled to live up to it, with Mbappe for once unable to deliver in a big game.

Appearing in the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time in four years and since the departure of Lionel Messi, Barcelona grew into this game and almost went ahead on 20 minutes.

Home goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma came to try to punch away a corner but Robert Lewandowski got there first, only for his header to be cleared off the line by Nuno Mendes.

That was the first wobble from Donnarumma, who did not cover himself in glory as Barcelona went ahead in the 37th minute.

The Italian came out to meet a low ball in from the right by Lamine Yamal but only succeeded in helping it into the path of Raphinha, who gratefully fired into an unguarded net for his first ever goal in the competition.

PSG sent on Bradley Barcola at the break for Asensio, with the substitute going to the right wing and Dembele moving across to an inside-left role close to Mbappe.

The tactical change paid off at once, as PSG drew level three minutes after the restart when Ronald Araujo failed to properly clear Mbappe’s cutback from the byline, the ball dropping to Dembele who rifled a shot high into the net while slipping.

It was just his second PSG goal since moving to the French capital from Barcelona last August.

The home side went ahead in the 51st minute, Barcola and Lee Kang-in combining on the right before Fabian Ruiz supplied Vitinha, who controlled and prodded in.

Xavi responded with a double change just past the hour mark, as Pedri and Joao Felix entered and Yamal and Sergi Roberto came off, with Raphinha now on the right.

Pedri’s first contribution saw him float a ball forward for Raphinha, who arrived in the middle to meet it first-time on the volley, his shot beating Donnarumma to make it 2-2.

It was breathless stuff, and Dembele almost scored again, sending a shot off the far post just before Barcelona won it.

Donnarumma stayed rooted to his line as Ilkay Gundogan delivered a corner and Christensen headed in.

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The future of Stefano Pioli at AC Milan is uncertain as the seven-time European champions prepare for Thursday’s first leg of their Europa League quarter-final with Roma.

Never in the fight for the Serie A title and dumped out of the Champions League at the group stage, the last-eight Italian derby will be the biggest two matches of Milan’s season so far.

They will also be crucial to Pioli’s chances of staying in the AC Milan dugout as the 58-year-old has been more under fire this term than at any other point since the troubled early months of his tenure back in 2019.

Pioli was expected to be replaced by Ralf Rangnick in the summer of 2020, but a sudden burst of hot form when that season restarted in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and very public outrage from directors Zvonimir Boban and Paolo Maldini about how the talks with Rangnick were handled kept him in place.

Keeping him turned out to be a winning move as Pioli brought AC Milan the Serie A crown two years later, but Pioli is now out of favour with fans for not keeping up with Napoli last season nor with Inter this term.

A run of five straight Milan derby defeats has not helped, and neither has the prospect of officially conceding this year’s Scudetto to Inter in the next clash with their local rivals later this month.

Also exacerbating the situation is the feeling that Milan have been overtaken by Inter on the continent since Pioli dragged them back to the top table after years in the doldrums.

But a deep run in the Europa League, a competition Milan have never won neither in its current guise nor as the old UEFA Cup, would give Milan extra reason to be happy with the final weeks of a largely disappointing season.

Seven straight wins in all competitions have taken Milan to the last eight and to a likely second-placed finish in Serie A, helped by a remarkable drop-off in Juventus’ form.

“We’ve never stopped believing in what we do, we’ve never stopped believing in the players and they haven’t stopped believing in us,” said Pioli after Saturday’s 3-0 win over Lecce.

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“When a team struggles so long but doesn’t give up, it recognises when it’s got through the rough patch.”

Pioli will have Ruben Loftus-Cheek back after the England international was suspended for the weekend’s stroll past lowly Lecce.

Loftus-Cheek has been in the form of his life in 2024, netting nine times since the turn of the year from his advanced midfield position.

Four of those goals came in previous Europa League knockout ties with Rennes and Slavia Prague which were comfortably won by Milan.

The major decision Pioli faces is who to play alongside Matteo Gabbia in central defence with Fikayo Tomori suspended, with Simon Kjaer favourite over Malick Thiaw who is returning from injury.

Milan have already comfortably beaten Roma twice this season but that was while Jose Mourinho was still in charge, and the capital club promises to be a wholly different proposition this time around.

Pioli’s Roma counterpart Daniele De Rossi is coming into Thursday’s match at the San Siro on a high after winning the Rome derby at the weekend and keeping his team in the Champions League hunt.

The trip north will show just how much has really changed for Roma under De Rossi as it was their most recent defeat away to Milan in January that did for Mourinho.

Since then Roma have only lost two of 15 matches, one to champions-elect Inter and the other to Brighton in the previous round of the Europa League after killing their last-16 tie against the English team in the first leg.

De Rossi’s future is also in doubt as he was only hired until the end of the season, but such is the positivity surrounding Roma with their former captain in charge that a decent showing in this tie could get him the job on a permanent basis.

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