Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez must be ready to make an impact on his return to club football after Argentina s World Cup win, manager Erik ten Hag warned.

Martinez featured in five of Argentina s seven games as they clinched their third World Cup title in Qatar, starting twice.

Argentina s victory – which was sealed via a penalty shoot-out after a pulsating 3-3 draw with France – sparked wild celebrations in the country, with Tuesday s parade in Buenos Aires being cut short as huge crowds held up the team s bus.

While United boss Ten Hag says Martinez must savour his career highlight, he emphasised the need for the Red Devils squad to switch focus as the Premier League returns.

I can understand that it s emotional, it s very loaded whe…

Antonio Conte has revealed he advises his Inter players on how to have sex during the football season in order to maximise their on-field performance.

The 50-year-old, who won the Premier League title with Chelsea in 2017 and three Serie A titles with Juventus, took over as Inter boss in May.

Inter have made an impressive start to the campaign, winning 10 of their opening 12 league matches to leave themselves a point adrift of leaders Juventus.

A part of their success could be down to the bizarre off-field demands of Conte, the Italian coach admitting he urges his players not to over-exert themselves in the bedroom.

During the season, I advise my players to have sex for short periods and with the minimum of effort, he told L Equipe. 

Conte. Ball…

Enzo Fernandez and the rest of his Benfica team-mates have only one shot at their career, Roger Schmidt has acknowledged, but the coach is not entertaining transfer talk until the New Year.

Fernandez has enjoyed a superb first season in Europe so far, with the Argentina international helping the Lisbon club top the Primeira Liga and their Champions League group, before also tasting World Cup success.

Handed the tournament s Young Player Award for his performances in Qatar, the 21-year-old is expected to be a target for several of Europe s elite in the January transfer window.

Schmidt previously expressed his hope that Fernandez and other Benfica stars who impressed at the World Cup would stay, but acknowledged on Thursday that the desire of the players could prov…

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel praised the response of Jorginho to Italy s failure to qualify for the World Cup.

The Blues playmaker saw his nation fail to reach Qatar 2022 following their UEFA play-off loss to North Macedonia last month, bringing the Azzurri back to earth after last year s Euro 2020 triumph.

For Jorginho, a standout performer for club and country over the past year-and-a-half, it has been a bitter blow, and he was released early from international duty to return to Stamford Bridge.

Speaking ahead of his side s Premier League clash with Brentford this weekend, Tuchel said he had not addressed the matter in-depth with the player, but took time to hail his resolve.

To be very honest, I did not speak a lot with him about that, Tuchel told a …

Hertha Berlin have led the tributes to former player Andreas Biermann following his death at the age of 33.

The defender s latest club, Spandauer Kickers, announced on Saturday that the player had passed away after a long battle with depression.

The club s general manager, Gunter Hagedorn, was quoted by respected German newspaper Bild as saying that Biermann had taken his own life.

Biermann had spoken openly about his battle with depression and subsequent suicide attempts both in his autobiography and on television talk shows in his native Germany, with Kickers revealing in a short statement on their Facebook page: Our senior player Andreas Biermann has not been able to overcome his depressive illness and died yesterday morning. Our sympathy is with his family. <…

Rafael van der Vaart could be the next big name to move to the MLS after Sporting Kansas City confirmed they want to sign the Hamburg captain.

Van der Vaart is out of contract at the end of the 2014-15 Bundesliga season in May and Sporting KC have emerged as a possible destination for the 32-year-old, who has called Hamburg home since leaving Tottenham in 2012.

David Villa, Frank Lampard (both New York City) and Kaka (Orlando City) have made the switch to the United States and Van der Vaart could follow, with Sporting KC CEO Robb Heineman hopeful of prising the 109-cap Netherlands veteran to Kansas City in July or even earlier depending on Hamburg.

If we can get that done, we d like to get it done, Heineman said. He d be a July move  maybe earlier.

I …

Serie A leaders Juventus will be banking on their defensive strength when they travel to Atalanta on Saturday.

Juve, unsurprisingly, are the early pacesetters ahead of Roma in the Italian top flight after four rounds, albeit on goal difference.

The defending champions have won all four games to date following Wednesday s routine 3-0 win over Cesena, while Atalanta are eight points off the pace after back-to-back defeats.

Juve s defence has stolen the headlines, with the Italian giants yet to concede a goal in the league the only team to do so thus far.

You have to rewind back to last season for Juve s last Serie A match without a clean sheet, which came in a 3-1 victory over Sassuolo on April 28.

Switzerland international defender Stephan Lichtste…

Rafael da Silva looks set to swap Manchester United for Lyon, after the Ligue 1 club s president confirmed a move is in the works.

The Brazilian has made 170 appearances for United since moving to Old Trafford alongside twin brother Fabio in 2008, although a string of injuries limited him to just 10 Premier League outings last term.

With Italy international Matteo Darmian joining United over the close-season, Rafael s chances of first-team action at Old Trafford appeared slim, and he has been linked with a host of European clubs, with Lyon seemingly jumping to the head of the queue.

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas posted on Twitter: Raphael (sic) has arrived. We are waiting on an agreement with Manchester U for the transfer.

…

Jurgen Klopp wants to see a brave Liverpool team willing to risk making mistakes in his first game in charge against Tottenham on Saturday.

The former Borussia Dortmund coach s eagerly awaited maiden Premier League assignment is a tough one at White Hart Lane, with Spurs unbeaten since their 1-0 opening-day loss at Manchester United.

Despite claiming just one league win since August  a run of results that paved the way for Klopp to replace Brendan Rodgers after their 1-1 derby draw at Everton  Liverpool can climb above their opponents with victory in north London.

Klopp is keen to banish the air of negativity that surrounded Anfield during the final weeks of Rodgers  reign and has called for plenty of ambition from his new players.

The bravery is …

Mikel Arteta praised a “phenomenal” response from Arsenal after they fought back from two goals down in the final 13 minutes to earn a 2-2 draw at Chelsea and move level on points at the top of the Premier League.

Chelsea looked to be sending Arsenal to a first league defeat of the season when Mykhailo Mudryk’s cross-shot put them into a 2-0 lead minutes after half-time, the Ukrainian’s effort drifting over goalkeeper David Raya who was unable to recover from a poor starting position as the ball dropped into the goal.

That added to the lead given to them by a first-half penalty from Cole Palmer, increasingly influential in Pochettino’s revitalised attack following his move from Manchester City, who slotted home after William Saliba was adjudged to have handled …