Balotelli knows what he needs to do – Ventura

Thomas Tuchel believes Romelu Lukaku is a perfect fit at Chelsea but is surprised his signing has prompted talk of the European champions being title favourites.

Only champions Manchester City (48) collected more Premier League points than Chelsea (38) following Tuchel s appointment last season, while the Blues beat Pep Guardiola s men in the Champions League final.

They have since added Lukaku, too, encouraging optimism Tuchel s side could lead the way this year.

But the coach was eager to point out Chelsea only finished fourth last term, slipping below Liverpool as they lost two of their final three games – more than in their prior 16 league games under Tuchel.

Therefore, Tuchel suggests Chelsea have ground to make up, explaining ahead of Saturday s …

Ronald Koeman believes Barcelona played their best football in years during the opening hour of their first LaLiga game since Lionel Messi s exit as they saw off Real Sociedad 4-2.

Martin Braithwaite s brace after Gerard Pique had opened the scoring gave Barca a three-goal advantage with 59 minutes played in Sunday s contest at Camp Nou.

Julen Lobete and Mikel Oyarzabal scored quickfire goals to set up a nervy conclusion to the game, but Sergi Roberto struck in injury time to seal a deserved win for the home side.

It was the perfect way for the Catalan giants to put the shock of losing their all-time leading goalscorer Messi to Paris Saint-Germain on a free contract this week behind them.

And while Koeman would prefer to still have Messi in his squad, the…

Former Ivory Coast international striker Eugene Dadi will go on loan to Swiss club FC Vaduz before returning to Perth Glory for the next Australian A-League season, according to Glory.

Glory said it has agreed to loan Dadi to the Swiss Super League club for a five-month spell after signing him to a new one-year deal for the 2009/10 A-League campaign.

Dadi, 35, has been a standout recruit for Glory this season, scoring 10 goals in 16 matches and putting him among the leading marksmen in the Australian competition.

The popular Dadi has been keenly sought by rival clubs in Australia and overseas, but Glory have moved to tie him down for a second A-League season.

Eugene has been an ultimate professional, he is enjoying his football and enjoying the lifestyl…

Compared to the domestic and European woes of five-times European kings Liverpool, life is bliss for Manchester United and Chelsea as Premier League glory and the knockout phase of the Champions League beckon.

Liverpool, six defeats in seven games, have run into a brick wall in the Premier League where a first title in 20 years already looks beyond them.

Failure to win at Lyon on Wednesday could derail their Champions League ambitions after defeats to the French side and also Fiorentina.

Meanwhile it s been relatively plain sailing for United and Chelsea, both at home and abroad.

Sir Alex Ferguson s 2008 European champions are just two points off the Blues in the league while in Europe both sides have posted three wins already.

Despite veterans R…

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas says Anthony Martial s proposed transfer to Manchester United will initially earn his club €10million in sell-on fees.

Martial moved from Lyon to Monaco in June 2013 for €5m, and the France international is now poised to make the move to Old Trafford after scoring just 13 goals for the Principality club.

Various fees have been reported, with some in France suggesting United could pay as much as €80m (£58.2m) for the 19-year-old.

That is good news for Lyon, who stand to benefit significantly from the deal.

He is great prospect, which is why we had rights for the resale, Aulas said. It is a very nice deal for Anthony and I am very happy.

We were smart enough to handle the short and the long term.

Mo…

The Premier League season may still be in its infancy, but Saturday s clash between Manchester United and Liverpool is already being billed as a potentially crucial encounter for the fierce rivals.

There is no love lost between two sides that always manage to produce great drama when they face each other and the teams go in search of morale-boosting bragging rights after disappointments before the international break.

United are looking to bounce back from a 2-1 reverse at Swansea City that followed laboured 1-0 wins over Tottenham and Aston Villa, as well as a 0-0 draw against Newcastle United.

With plenty of investment made during the transfer window, manager Louis van Gaal is expected to challenge for trophies this term and the Dutchman whose side did the d…

Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has warned Gareth Southgate s side of the extremely difficult task they face to break down Sweden s defence in Saturday s World Cup quarter-final.

The Three Lions are on a high after Tuesday s penalty shoot-out victory over Colombia following a 1-1 draw, which booked them a trip to Samara to face a Sweden side Eriksson rates highly for their defensive resilience and team ethic.

Janne Andersson s men have won three of their four World Cup matches so far, scoring six goals and keeping a trio of clean sheets as they topped Group F and beat Switzerland 1-0 in the last 16.

Eriksson, who managed England to 40 victories and only 10 defeats between 2001 and 2006, said his home nation would prove a stern test for his former emplo…

Southampton defenders Virgil van Dijk and Jose Fonte will not leave in the January transfer window, according to manager Claude Puel.

Van Dijk has been linked with a big-money move away from St Mary s Stadium, with Chelsea and Manchester City said to be chasing him after his impressive form since signing from Celtic in 2015.

Captain Fonte, meanwhile, has reportedly attracted the interest of Everton and Manchester United, with only has 18 months left on his Saints contract.

But Puel has reiterated he does not have any plans to sell the duo in January and is not worried that Van Dijk has become distracted by the speculation.

With Jose [the situation] is a little particular but he is contracted with Southampton, Puel said ahead of Saturday s home Premier Le…

David Neres scored a second-half winner as Juventus continued their poor start to the season with a 2-1 defeat at home to Benfica in the Champions League.

Having seen a late winner ruled out in Sunday s ill-tempered draw with Salernitana, Arkadiusz Milik took just four minutes to open the scoring, flicking past Odisseas Vlachodimos to seemingly put the hosts in control.

However, Joao Mario levelled things up with a first-half penalty and Neres volleyed in the winner after 55 minutes, putting Benfica joint-top of Group H alongside Paris Saint-Germain.

There were chances for a late equaliser, Dusan Vlahovic seeing an effort disallowed and Bremer squandering a golden opportunity to leave the pressure mounting upon Massimiliano Allegri.

3 Juventus have conc…

Bologna have completed the signing of Palermo striker Davide Succi on a six month loan deal.  The Rossoblu also have the option to sign him on a permanent basis at the end of the season for a fee of around 3 million euros. Succi, 28, was born in Bologna but started his professional career with Chievo Verona.

He had loan spells at Poggese,  Padova, SPAL, Como and Lucchese before transferring to Ravenna in 2005. In September 2008, he was signed by Palermo. His first league goal for the Rosanero was scored against Bologna.

Bologna were in the market for a striker after losing Pablo Osvaldo to Spanish club Espanyol. Apart from Succi, the Rossoblu currently have Marco Di Vaio, Marcelo Zalayeta  and young Henry Gimenez as the strikers in their lineup.

[Source:- Bol…