Al Ahly 3-1 Wydad Casablanca (5-1 agg): Record champions return to final

Arjen Robben has called time on his international career after 14 years representing Netherlands.

Robben played his last game for the Oranje on Tuesday as Netherlands beat Sweden 2-0 but missed out on a World Cup play-off place, the Bayern Munich winger bowing out in style as his first-half double helped them to victory.

Here, with the help of Opta, we look back at the best international statistics of a player who was part of the Netherlands side that reached the World Cup final in 2010.

Arjen Robben is the fourth top goalscorer for Netherlands with 37 goals (level with Dennis Bergkamp), behind Robin van Persie (50), Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (42) and Patrick Kluivert (40).

Since his debut on April 30 2003 (v Portugal), Robben has appeared in …

Germany Under-21 coach Horst Hrubesch has called for calm after his side s humbling exit from the European Under-21 Championship following a 5-0 semi-final thrashing against Portugal. 

Hrubesch s men were totally outplayed in Olomouc as they slumped to a first defeat in 15 competitive games, with midfielder Emre Can quick to brand it a shameful result for the 2009 winners. 

Hrubesch, though, was not as forthcoming as Can in slamming his players. 

We shouldn t have to start from scratch, said the former Hamburg striker. 

The lads are realists enough to know that there are days like the 7-1 win for the Germany senior side in Brazil [at last year s World Cup], where everything goes right, and others where it doesn t quite go as planned. There are days …

Roberto Mancini insisted Inter are still well in the race for the Champions League spots despite Radja Nainggolan s late strike denying them victory at Roma.

Inter were six minutes away from a first Serie A victory at Stadio Olimpico since 2008 after Ivan Perisic s goal early in the second half on Saturday, but the Belgium midfielder netted with a sliding effort after Edin Dzeko had mishit a shot into his path.

That meant Roma, whose eight-match winning streak in the league was ended, remain five points clear of Inter in the third and final Champions League place, but Mancini is still hopeful of catching them.

The team put in an excellent performance, which builds on our recent displays, he said.

There are still so many points up for grabs. If we finish…

Zinedine Zidane is adamant that regardless of the result in Saturday s El Clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona, the LaLiga title race will not be over.

Madrid head into the match at the Santiago Bernabeu trailing their great rivals by 11 points, although they have played a game fewer.

A victory coupled with a win in their game in hand would bring Madrid to within five points of Barca, but history does not bode well for Zidane s side.

No team has ever recovered from a deficit of 10 points or more and gone on to win LaLiga, meaning the odds are well in favour of Ernesto Valverde s men.

Zidane is refusing to give up hope of finishing top of the pile, though, insisting that even if Barca win to go 14 points clear, Madrid have plenty of time left.

…

Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel insists no one is blaming each other for the shock German Cup exit to third division Saarbrucken but accepts it will take a while to process.

The Bundesliga champions head to Borussia Dortmund for Der Klassiker on Saturday and Tuchel admits their midweek embarrassment “doesn’t make everyday life any easier”.

“It takes some time to digest it. There is no reason to be resigned and point fingers at each other,” he said.

Tuchel on going out of the DFB-Pokal: We ve got no reason to give up hope. We re on a good run in the Bundesliga and we ve got full confidence in our strong team. […] Unfortunately, losing is just a part of sport. Now, we ve got to bounce back.

— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN)

…

Aston Villa have signed Tyrone Mings for a reported £20million.

The defender becomes Bournemouth s club-record sale, with the fee said to include clauses that could see it rise to £26.5m.

During a loan spell at Villa Park last season, Mings made 18 appearances to help Villa win promotion from the Championship.

And after the arrivals of Matt Targett and Wesley, Mings has further bolstered Dean Smith s squad for the 2019-20 season.

We re really pleased to have Tyrone back at Aston Villa on a permanent basis, he told Villa s official club website.

I think everybody could see the connection that he made with the club as a whole and it is excellent news that we can continue the relationship in the Premier League. 

He will be an integral p…

Manchester United have completed the signing of Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna for £35million (€42.5m).

The Netherlands international, who was part of the side that reached the Euro 2024 semi-finals, has put pen to paper on a five-year deal at Old Trafford, with the option for a further year.

Zirkzee is United s first major signing of the transfer window, as Erik ten Hag looks to improve on the Red Devils disappointing eighth-place finish in the Premier League last season.

The 23-year-old scored 11 Serie A goals last term as Bologna secured Champions League qualification for the first time in their history.

Ready to make his mark

Joshua Zirkzee: welcome to Manchester United

— Manchester United (@ManUtd)

Zirkzee told United s of…

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Erik ten Hag hailed the progress Manchester United have made in their defensive work after recording three successive victories, as he weighs up whether to hand Antony his debut against Arsenal on Sunday.

United continued their recovery from a dismal start to Ten Hag s tenure on Thursday, with Jadon Sancho s goal seeing off Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.

The Red Devils last posted three successive league wins in December 2021, when they downed Arsenal, Crystal Palace and Norwich City.

Ten Hag s team have also kept back-to-back clean sheets after clinching a shutout win over Southampton last week, but while the Dutchman is pleased with their defensive improvements, he knows there is still work to be done.

I have seen some good stuff, you a…

Harry Redknapp has played down reports linking him with Premier League strugglers Newcastle United.

Steve McClaren is under the pump as Newcastle head coach after a 3-1 loss to AFC Bournemouth saw them slump to second last in the league table.

The club have won just two of their past 12 league fixtures and face the serious threat of relegation to the Championship for a second time since 2009.

However, when asked if he had held talks with Newcastle over replacing McClaren, Redknapp told TV3:  No, I ve never spoken to anybody at Newcastle.

Steve s still in a job. I like Steve McClaren. I ve worked with Steve, he s an excellent coach, manager, whatever, but he needs a result quickly. But I ve never spoken to them.

I was getting on the plane tod…