Forget Italy's image of Catenaccio (or "door chain defence"). Antonio Conte's Italy showed in a 2-0 defeat of Spain at Euro 2016 on Monday that they can do unchained attacking football too. The Azzurri, who will take on world champions Germany in a fascinating quarter-final on Saturday, had promised they would not be afraid to go forward against Spain.
Maverick forward Mario Balotelli will be in line for an Italy recall if he can keep up his current scoring spree, coach Giampiero Ventura said on Monday.
Manchester City moved back to second in the Premier League after a stylish 3-0 win over Everton at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday as Pep Guardiola's side responded to convincing Chelsea and Liverpool wins with a reminder of their class.
Chelsea have completed the transfer of defender Wesley Fofana from Leicester City, both Premier League sides said on Wednesday, with the Frenchman signing a seven-year contract with the west London club.
Former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers believes lack of European football will be an advantage for the club in the Premier League and same will be the case for Chelsea.
Spain midfielder Koke is hoping coach Vicente del Bosque gives him a chance to play against Italy on Monday in the last 16 of Euro 2016.
Italy were clinical in their approach as they beat Belgium 2-0 in their Euro 2016 Group E encounter on Monday.
Barcelona teenager Ansu Fati scored twice to lead his side to a 2-1 win at home to Levante on Sunday, finding the net in a league game for the first time in more than four months and becoming the youngest player to net a La Liga double. Romelu Lukaku scored a quickfire second-half double to give Inter Milan a 2-0 win at Udinese on Sunday, ending their run of three successive 1-1 league draws.
Chelsea are now 11 points ahead of Manchester City who have 13 games left to play and while Italian Conte is too cagey to start proclaiming his side yet, only a monumental loss of form can deny them the title.
The Spaniard missed the 2-1 defeat after injuring his hamstring against Manchester City before the international break.
His first overseas coaching adventure -- Maurizio Sarri has chosen a devilishly difficult league to try and make it happen and a club not exactly known for its patience.
Only one point separates the two sides with Chelsea on 31 and City on 30 but Antonio Conte's impact at Stamford Bridge appears greater than his City counterpart Pep Guardiola's at the Etihad.
Last season's FA Cup runners-up Chelsea struck four times before the break to crush second-tier Hull City 4-0 and stroll into the quarter-finals at Stamford Bridge on Friday.
Kingsley Coman came back to haunt Paris St Germain again as he earned Bayern Munich a 1-0 win in their Champions League last-16 first leg in Paris on Tuesday.
Chelsea playmaker Eden Hazard relishes playing with striker Diego Costa and is keen for the Spaniard to resolve his stand-off with the English Premier League champions and return to action.
Spain and Italy have undergone managerial changes since Antonio Conte handed Vicente del Bosque a tactical masterclass at Euro 2016, but Spain go into Thursday's World Cup qualifier in Turin in better shape than their Group G rivals.
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The centre-back has not played since Sarri took over from Antonio Conte at the start of the season, and says he could call time on his career at Stamford Bridge when the transfer window reopens if his situation does not improve.
Shakhtar dominated possession as expected but were toothless up front and Inter opened the scoring with their first chance after 19 minutes.
Buoyant Chelsea extended their Premier League lead and calmed nerves at Stamford Bridge with a 4-2 win over Southampton on Tuesday that moved them seven points clear of their nearest pursuers Tottenham Hotspur.
Coach Massimiliano Allegri dismissed suggestions that the newly crowned Serie A champions have nothing to lose
Updates from around the different clubs in the English Premier League
Chelsea must end their hire-and-fire approach and make sure the club's next manager is a long-term appointment, interim boss Guus Hiddink said on Friday. The Dutchman has overseen a dramatic turnaround in fortunes, helping the champions climb to 10th in the Premier League after they were struggling one point off the relegation zone when he replaced the sacked Jose Mourinho in December. Chelsea have changed their manager 10 times since Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich became owner 13 years ago with 2005, 2006 and 2015 league winner Mourinho serving two spells at the helm and Hiddink twice operating in an interim role. "The club has to go in a new way where it is not on short spells," Hiddink told a news conference ahead of Saturday's game against seventh-placed Stoke City at Stamford Bridge. "I think now they have to go into a new era of Chelsea where managers have more than one or two years."
A flash of attacking brilliance from Olivier Giroud and an emphatic header from substitute Alvaro Morata earned Chelsea a 2-0 win over struggling Southampton
Former England midfielder Frank Lampard says he will be "in close contact" with his old club Chelsea as he decides on his next career move. The 38-year-old left New York City in November and media speculation has mounted that he could return to the London team in a coaching role or some other capacity. Lampard watched Premier League leaders Chelsea's 1-0 home win over West Bromwich Albion earlier this month and was an onlooker at training on Wednesday when manager Antonio Conte said he was in good enough shape to continue his playing career.
A round-up of Sunday's action in the Premier League.
'We lost two games but these two games were totally different. Against Crystal Palace we didn't deserve to lose. Today we deserved to lose the game'
If two or more clubs are level on points at the end of the group stage, a number of criteria will be taken into consideration to decide the qualifiers for the next round, starting with the head-to-head record among the teams in question. It then goes to superior goal difference and then goals scored in those matches.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Champions Leicester City will begin their Premier League title defence with a trip to newly promoted Hull City on August 13, according to the 2016-17 fixtures released on Wednesday.
There is no stopping master goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon in his ambition to add more major titles to his collection of the 2006 World Cup and seven Serie A championships.
Chelsea's David Luiz never really looked cut out for a role as a defensive rock in one of England's meanest rearguards.
Two goals from Marcos Alonso gave Chelsea a 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday in the first-ever Premier League game at Wembley Stadium.
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte got the upper hand on Jose Mourinho for the second time this season as his double-chasing side beat 10-man Manchester United 1-0 at Stamford Bridge to reach the FA Cup semi-finals on Monday.
Chelsea found no chink in Everton's defensive armour as the Premier League champions were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw at Goodison Park on Saturday.
Leicester City said they had a request to postpone Thursday's game against Tottenham Hotspur rejected by the league.
On a day of frenetic spending that took the Premier League total to a record far above one billion pounds ($1.29 billion), Antonio Conte's side also missed out on two of their other targets - Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Fernando Llorente.
A summary of Thursday's matches in the English Premier League.
The Czech Republic snatched a last-gasp 2-1 win over the Netherlands thanks to Vaclav Pilar's added time goal after a dreadful mistake by Daryl Janmaat in their opening Euro 2016 qualifier on Tuesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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