Alexander-Arnold to join Real Madrid on Sunday, Champions League final buildup – live | Champions League
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Thanks Dom. To the big one then… Manchester United v Hong Kong. It’s just kicked off. Still 0-0. Can United hit back after that 1-0 loss to the ASEAN All-Stars?
I shall now hand the reins over to David Tindall for the next couple of hours while I grab some lunch. All yours, David!
Full story on the Liverpool court case this morning.
Ruben Amorim is hoping for better things from his Manchester United team in their second post-season friendly, which kicks off at 1pm (BST) today. (Still struggling to even comprehend that phrase ‘post-season friendly’, but that’s modern football for ya):
We understand that the players are tired of travelling and all the commercial things that we do to get together with our fans, but now it’s time to perform and show good things to our fans.
Alleged Liverpool crash driver appears in court
The alleged driver of a car that ploughed into a crowd at Liverpool’s Premier League victory parade has appeared in court.
Paul Doyle, 53, appeared at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court this morning charged with seven offences following the incident on Water Street in the city centre on Monday, which resulted in 79 people suffering injuries.
The father-of-three, of Croxteth, Liverpool, was remanded in custody to appear at Liverpool Crown Court this afternoon. Reuters
Nigeria face Jamaica in the Unity Cup final tomorrow at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium and this piece is well worth a few minutes of your time.
Jesse Lingard’s time at Manchester United seems an age ago now, with the 32-year-old now playing for FC Seoul in South Korea. But he’s revealed he set a 4am alarm to watch the recent Europa League final and has spoken out on the club’s struggles.
“They will always be one of the biggest clubs in the world and supporters will support them through thick and thin,” he told the BBC.
“It might be a long-term project with [Ruben] Amorim. He knows what he wants to do. It’s tough when you’re not in the Champions League to attract players so he was relying on winning the Europa League. It’s 100% a factor.
“My love and support will always be with United. I still watch their games or catch highlights.”
Here are some rough timings for later:
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3.45pm – Inzaghi’s Inter press conference
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4.30pm – Open Inter training session
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6pm – Open PSG training session
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7.15pm – Enrique’s PSG press conference
All times UK (BST)
It’s going to be a while before we get the Inter or PSG press conferences. No idea why they’re always held so late in the day by Uefa.
Another Lionesses read for you here. Tom Garry on Michelle Agyemang, the exciting new teenage forward in Sarina Wiegman’s squad. She could feature against Portugal tonight at Wembley.
Allegri returns to AC Milan
Massimiliano Allegri will return to AC Milan for a second stint as manager after the struggling Serie A club appointed him today, a day after sacking Sergio Conceicao.
Allegri will replace the Portuguese coach who came in mid-season to help them win the Italian Super Cup, but the club ultimately failed to qualify for any European competition after a disappointing eighth-placed finish.
Allegri managed Milan from 2010 to 2014 before two spells at Juventus. He’s previously managed SPAL, Cagliari and Sassuolo, among others. Reuters
Manchester United are playing a post-season friendly against Hong Kong at the Hong Kong Stadium today.
The football truly never does stop, does it? They lost 1-0 the other day to ASEAN All-Stars in Kuala Lumpur, by the way.
After a ‘welcome Trent’ tweet confirmed Real Madrid’s signing of the English right-back, they then went scouring his X history for something from 11 years ago.
Alexander-Arnold and Bellingham at the Club World Cup, then.
The capacity for Sunday’s National League playoff final has been increased to 50,000 following a lobby from Southend fans over their ticket allocation. The Shrimpers face Oldham at Wembley on Sunday, with the attendance initially capped at 40,000.
The size of both clubs, formerly EFL regulars, means the demand has been higher than initially expected, with a spokesperson for London mayor Sadiq Khan releasing a statement on the situation:
Both teams are former Football League clubs, but the ticket allocation was determined by the stadium and set at 40,000 before it was known which clubs would be competing.
Following negotiations with Wembley Stadium, Transport for London and the Metropolitan Police, Sadiq Khan and [Mayor of Greater Manchester] Andy Burnham have now confirmed that capacity has been increased to 50,000.
A fair few reports this morning are suggesting Bruno Fernandes could be on the move this summer.
Al Hilal have reportedly not given up trying to sign Fernandes from Manchester United, with the Portuguese set to consider a lucrative wage offer from the Saudi club, who could bid in excess of £100m for the United captain.
Should United cash in and invest the funds elsewhere? Their stance so far has been that Fernandes – their best player by far – is not for sale.
Liverpool allow Alexander-Arnold to join Real Madrid early
Liverpool have agreed to let Trent Alexander-Arnold join Real Madrid when the transfer window opens on Sunday in a deal that will be worth £10m to the Premier League champions. It should mean he can play in the upcoming Club World Cup.
Here’s the full story via Andy Hunter:
A live blog from the world of women’s friendlies for you, this morning:
Another pre-match read for you here, from a man who knows a thing or two about winning trophies at elite level, Philipp Lahm.
Managers Luis Enrique and Simone Inzaghi are yet to confirm team news for their sides, but PSG’s dilemma will be how to balance their front three in Munich. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has been struggling with a slight knock but is still expected to start. For Enrique, it will be whether Bradley Barcola or Desire Doue start alongside the Georgian and Ousmane Dembele in the front three.
Inter have enjoyed some serious highs of their own en route to the final.
The whole semi-final tie versus Barcelona was insane but the second leg was particularly brilliant. Goals, goals, goals.
The road to Munich: and was this the best Champions League performance by any team that resulted in a defeat? How on earth PSG lost this to Liverpool I’m still unsure.
Transfer news time! (You didn’t think you were getting away without any transfer stories, did you?)
Liam Delap and Luis Díaz look like they could be on the move this summer.
PSG and Inter, of course, are no strangers to Champions League finals in recent years. Both have fallen at the final hurdle, with Inter beaten 1-0 by Manchester City in 2023 as Pep Guardiola’s side completed the treble. PSG lost out by the same scoreline in 2020 courtesy of a goal from their former player Kingsley Coman.
Incidentally, the last time a French team won the Champions League was way back in 1993 when Marseille beat … AC Milan.
This is a belting read by Barney Ronay. PSG’s Qatari owners finally have a team to be proud of, and winning the Champions League is the final piece in their puzzle. Is this their time?
The atmosphere is already building in Munich ahead of tomorrow night’s final. It’s not too far for fans of PSG and Inter to travel, so expect a strong contingent from both clubs in the city.
The Champions Festival is always worth catching before these events. Uefa can put on a party, to be fair to them.
The Guardian Football Weekly Champions League final pod has dropped. Get your ears around it.
Before we get to the Champions League final, there’s a whole heap of Women’s Nations League action tonight, including England v Portugal at Wembley with the Lionesses in need of a win to keep alive any lingering hopes of toping Group 3A – which is currently topped by Spain. They are away to Belgium this evening.
Before the game Tom Garry caught up with England’s Esme Morgan, who has been in sparkling form over in the USA for Washington Spirit.
Preamble
Good morning. All roads lead to Munich this weekend, with tomorrow night’s Champions League final between Paris Saint-Germain and Internazionale bringing the curtain down on another thrilling domestic club season. It’s not the final many predicted – Real Madrid, Manchester City, Liverpool and others have fallen by the wayside – but it pits two of the more interesting and dynamic teams in Europe against each other in a perfectly-balanced final. PSG’s speed and swagger against Inter’s intelligence and intensity.
We’ll hear from both camps today, run through the latest team news, remind you of the two clubs’ history and runs to the final, as well as bringing you some analysis and previews from our team of expert writers. Can the perennial French champions lift Ol’ Big Ears for the first time in their history? Or will the Nerazzurri claim the trophy for the first time since 2010, José Mourinho and all that?
We can hardly wait. Let’s get stuck into then it shall we?