Chelsea will have an advantage in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with Bayern Munich, according to Leon Goretzka.

Bayern hold a commanding 3-0 lead following an impressive victory at Stamford Bridge in February, but they will not have played a competitive game in over a month when they take on Chelsea at the Allianz Arena on August 8.

The Blues, meanwhile, will conclude their Premier League campaign on July 26 and will contest the FA Cup final on August 1 if they defeat Manchester United in a semi-final at Wembley on Sunday.

Goretzka thinks that gives Frank Lampard s side an edge, though the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal champions will do their utmost to ensure Chelsea do not repeat their 2012 Champions League final success over Bayern in Munich.<…

Atletico Madrid supporters will not forgive Antoine Griezmann for his move to Barcelona in 2019 even if he was to return to Los Colchoneros, according to the Spanish champions president Enrique Cerezo.

Griezmann has been linked with a move back to Atletico during the current transfer window as part of a swap deal that would see Saul Niguez head the opposite way to Camp Nou.

France international Griezmann scored 94 LaLiga goals for Atleti across five seasons with the club before joining Barca two years ago when his release clause was triggered.

Cerezo recently refused to rule out a move for Griezmann, but the Atleti chief does not believe the 30-year-old returning would be widely accepted among Atleti fans.

Asked if there had been any development with rega…

Sergino Dest went with his heart in choosing Barcelona over Bayern Munich and has vowed to do whatever it takes for Lionel Messi.

Barca beat Bayern to the signature of the United States right-back, who joined from Ajax in a deal that could eventually cost the Catalan club €26million.

Dest signed a five-year contract with a €400m buyout clause, opting for Barca despite them being thumped 8-2 by Bayern in the Champions League quarter-finals last season.

Bayern are a great club and there was interest from them, but I followed what my heart told me to and for that I signed for Barca. I think it was the right decision, Dest told a news conference.

They are a club with so much history and I ve always wanted to play here.

Sheesh!

— FC …

According to a recent report from Tuttomercato, Everton have opened talks with Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the veteran continues to go in search of a new club. The expectation was that he was going to re-sign for Serie A side AC Milan in the wake of his departure from LA Galaxy, but both parties ran into a few issues in regards to the length of the contract. 

Ibrahimovic is still considered to be a valuable forward within the realms of European football, which is why so many clubs are eager to bring him on board. At the age of 38 this will almost certainly be his final big move of his illustrious career, which is likely why he’s taking so much time in making a decision. 

Incoming Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti will almost certainly want to make an impact…

David Brooks was named on the bench for Bournemouth for their Premier League clash against Liverpool on Saturday, the first time he has been in a matchday squad since recovering from cancer treatment.

The Wales international has not featured since being diagnosed with stage two Hodgkin s lymphoma in October 2021.

Brooks was given the all-clear in May and returned to a modified training programme, before signing a new deal with Bournemouth until 2026.

Cherries head coach Gary O Neil named the 25-year-old among his substitutes for the game against Liverpool at Vitality Stadium, also making three changes to the team that started the agonising last-minute 3-2 defeat at Arsenal.

Our squad are in the building

With a very special inclusion

— …

Watford have appointed Slaven Bilic as head coach after sacking Rob Edwards just 10 Championship matches into his reign.

Edwards only took over at Vicarage Road at the end of last season, leaving Forest Green Rovers to replace Roy Hodgson following the Hornets relegation from the Premier League.

Watford relieved Edwards and his assistant Richie Kyle of their duties on Monday and swiftly confirmed Bilic had taken the hot seat, signing an 18-month contract – subject to securing a work permit.

The former Croatia defender had been out of work since leaving Beijing Guoan in January but will be the Championship club s fifth boss in less than a year.

Bilic, who was promoted with West Brom in 2019-20, takes over a side 10th in the table, just one point off the …

Adrien Rabiot hopes an impressive World Cup campaign with France will help him win a contract at Juventus or elsewhere ahead of his deal with the Bianconeri expiring next year.

Having been left out of Didier Deschamps squad when France won their second World Cup in 2018, Rabiot could make his debut at the tournament in Tuesday s Group D opener against Australia.

With his Juventus contract set to expire at the end of this season, Rabiot was strongly linked with a move to Manchester United in the last transfer window.

The midfielder is likely to feature regularly in Qatar after Paul Pogba and N Golo Kante were ruled out of the tournament, and he hopes to impress Juventus – or any potential suitors – with his displays.

It excites me to be here and proba…

Luton chief executive Gary Sweet lauded the “heroic” medical staff who saved Tom Lockyer’s life following his cardiac arrest.

Lockyer’s heart stopped during Luton’s Premier League clash with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium last week.

The Hatters skipper is recovering after being discharged from hospital where he was fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator.

We are thankful to report that our captain Tom Lockyer has now begun a period of rehabilitation from the comfort of his own home after he was discharged from hospital on Wednesday.

Read the full statement

— Luton Town FC (@LutonTown)

And Luton CEO Sweet applauded those who resuscitated Lockyer within two minutes of him collapsing.

“It took two mi…

Defender Steph Catley has signed a new deal with Arsenal, the Women’s Super League club have announced.

The 29-year-old has made 74 appearances for the north London side since making her August 2020 debut as a substitute in Arsenal’s Champions League quarter-final with Paris St Germain.

Catley scored one goal and provided four assists across 32 appearances for Jonas Eidevall’s side this season and is a centurion for Australia having represented the Matildas at two World Cups and two Olympics.

She said: “It feels amazing – this feels like home. I’ve made some incredible friendships here and when the offer came around I knew exactly what I wanted to do and exactly where I wanted to be.

“I’ve never been happier playing football and I feel lik…

Massimiliano Allegri believes a different mental approach has been crucial for Moise Kean following his impressive recent form.

The Italy international scored his first Serie A brace since March 2019 as Juventus leapfrogged Lazio into third place following a 3-0 victory at the Allianz Stadium.

Kean has now netted four goals in as many league appearances, as many as in his previous 38 matches in the Italian top flight.

He is far more balanced mentally, as when you are young, and he is so exuberant, it all gets a bit much, Allegri told DAZN.

He is working hard, he weighs five or six kilograms less than last season, and you can see he has a different mental approach.

…