Manchester United confirm Mike Phelan as assistant manager

Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm has emphasised the need for his team to work to stop Cristiano Ronaldo in the Champions League.

At a press conference ahead of Tuesday s semi-final first-leg match at home against Real Madrid, the right-back underlined the importance to defend as a unit, but admitted that the Portuguese attacker will have his chances.

You have to defend against him with the whole team, Lahm told Goal.com. Individual players can never be 100 percent turned off.

Lahm nonetheless is confident in his side, and hailed team-mate Arjen Robben, who has taken flak of late for failing to convert a penalty against Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund.

He is a player who can decide games. He has been criticised in recent weeks, but among the team…

Corinthians striker Paolo Guerrero could be set for a return to Europe, .

The Peruvian forward left Hamburger SV to join the Brazilian giants in the summer, but his impressive performances have not gone unnoticed.

Guerrero scored the only goal in Corinthians’ 1-0 win over Al Ahli in the Club World Cup semi-final and will have a chance to prove his worth in the final clash against Chelsea.

La Gazzetta dello Sport suggests that a number of top Italian clubs are showing interest in the highly rated striker.

Napoli, Juventus and Fiorentina have all been following Guerrero in the past and could reignite their interest.

Guerrero, who joined Corinthians in a €3.5 million deal from Hamburg, has one and a half years left on his deal.

The 28-ye…

Manchester City and England defender Kyle Walker will not face a criminal charge over an alleged incident of indecent exposure.

Cheshire Constabulary opened an investigation after Walker was shown on CCTV footage, published by The Sun, with friends at a venue where he apparently pulled down his trousers.

The newspaper alleged Walker indecently exposed himself, with the incident said to have happened on March 5.

However, Cheshire Constabulary said on Friday that the case has now been closed after Walker voluntarily attended a police station on Thursday.

On Wednesday 8 March, Cheshire Constabulary was made aware of a video circulating on social media in relation to an alleged incident at a bar in the Wilmslow area, the widely released statement read.

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Manchester United centre-back Rio Ferdinand has warned his team-mates to concentrate only on their own title bid.

United have a seven-point lead at the top of the table over rivals Manchester City, but Ferdinand admitted the title race was far from over.

With just six matches remaining of the 2011-12 season, United had an eight-point lead over City, but conspired to lose the title on the final day of the season.

Last year it was new because it was the first time they had challenged properly and there was a lot of focus on Manchester, Ferdinand told reporters.

But we have to make sure we keep our own house in order, make sure we keep ticking off the games. We don t have to focus on anyone else, just ourselves.

The 34-year-old centre-back was al…

Christian Eriksen is back on Manchester United s transfer radar.

The Red Devils are said to be preparing a January bid for the Tottenham midfielder, whose contract expires at the end of the season.

Eriksen reportedly turned down a move to Old Trafford earlier this year.

TOP STORY – UNITED REIGNITE ERIKSEN INTEREST

Could Jose Mourinho unintentionally do his old employers another favour?

Tottenham lost to United in midweek and are now about to receive an offer for playmaker Eriksen from their Premier League rivals, reports The Mirror.

The Denmark international has not featured in the starting XI since Mourinho replaced Mauricio Pochettino and, though he prefers a move abroad, might have a decision to make when the transfer win…

Head coach Massimiliano Allegri has signed a new deal at Juventus that ties him to the Serie A champions until 2018, the club have confirmed.

Allegri joined the Turin giants in July 2014 following a three-and-a-half-year spell at AC Milan and has built on the success of predecessor Antonio Conte by leading Juve to their fourth and fifth successive Scudetti.

The 48-year-old had 12 months remaining on his previous deal but both he and the club were eager to extend his stay with the Bianconeri.

A club statement read: Juventus Football Club is delighted to announce that Massimiliano Allegri has signed an extended contract that ties him to the club until 30 June 2018.

Following his first season in the Bianconeri dugout, which yielded Scudetto honours and an h…

Real win chase for Odegaard

Spanish daily newspaper that Real Madrid have all but agreed to sign Norwegian wonderkid Martin Odegaard.

While Ajax and Bayern Munich were also in the race, the latest reports suggest that the youngster and his father have been convinced by the los Blancos pitch.

Odegaard has been delighted with the treatment he received during a two-day stay in Madrid and everything suggests he will put pen to paper on a six-year deal with the Spanish giants in the coming days.

The talented midfielder will probably join Real Madrid in the summer, and he will be added straight to the senior squad for the pre-season.

Odegaard has shown a great deal of potential during his debut campagn with Stromsgodset, bagging 5 goals in 23 league…

Market: Fiorentina win

Odds: 4/6 @

With a Europa Conference League quarter-final ticket still hanging in the balance, Fiorentina will make the trip to Sivasspor on Thursday evening.

Starting with the hosts, while Sivasspor might have made the trip out to Italy last week looking to spring a Conference League upset on foreign soil, Rıza Calımbay s men have come under some recent scrutiny. Eventually getting hit with a 1-0 loss in their first-leg meeting, the Braves will be more than aware that they face a huge challenge on Thursday evening. Tipped as a real outside pick to punch their quarter-final ticket, the former Trabzonspor boss has seen his side lose each of their last three appearances across all competitions. Failing to pick up any momentum last weekend …

Virgil van Dijk highlighted the importance of Champions League football for Liverpool in their bid to improve the squad for next season.

Jurgen Klopp s side suffered elimination from Europe s elite competition with a resounding 6-2 aggregate defeat against Real Madrid in the last 16.

Sitting six points behind fourth-placed Tottenham in the Premier League with a game in hand over the north London side, Liverpool face a fight to secure their spot in next season s competition.

Significant departures may also be on the cards, with Roberto Firmino already announcing he will leave upon the expiration of his contract, and Van Dijk understands being able to offer Champions League football may be crucial in the hunt for new additions.

Obviously, players are going…

Competition: Premier League

Market: Everton to beat Watford

Odds:

The Premier League continues this weekend for even more exciting action in the world s most competitive league. The table is incredibly tight which means that a single win can often see a side rise up a number of places in the table, and with this in mind, Everton travel to face Watford on Saturday.

Watford have been in poor form recently as their good start to the season has made way for a very disappointing run of results. After 27 games they have won eight, drawn six and lost 13, scoring 37 goals and conceding 47 times. In their last five they have only won once, losing twice and drawing twice, which has seen them onto 30 points. Their current tally is incredibly disappointing…