Bremen trio offered new deals

Claudio Ranieri has claimed Leicester City s main aim next season is Premier League survival, not retaining their title.

Leicester defied all expectations to win the English top flight for the first time in their history in 2015-16, Ranieri s team eventually finishing some 10 points clear of second-placed Arsenal.

That means the Foxes will face the rigours of Champions League football next term, and Ranieri is keen to temper expectations that another tilt at the title will be on the cards especially given the managerial changes taking place at the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United.

Next season will be another fantastic season, because [Pep] Guardiola arrives, [Antonio] Conte and Jose [Mourinho], Ranieri said, in quotes reported by the Mirro…

Edin Dzeko says Premier League title favourites Manchester City will give 200 per cent in their remaining two games of the season.

Liverpool s 3-3 draw at Crystal Palace on Monday put City firmly in the driving seat to regain their crown and a win over Aston Villa on Wednesday would see them go two points clear at the top.

Dzeko scored in stoppage time as City claimed the title in dramatic circumstances against QPR in 2012 and insists the players have learned the lessons from that thrilling final day.

We ll try to give everything and I think we ve done an amazing job, the striker is quoted as saying in The Sun. After winning at Goodison on Saturday (3-2 against Everton), we go into the last two home games against Villa and West Ham, not at 100 per cent, at 200 per cent…

Xavi Hernandez believes Barcelona have what it takes to overcome defensive absentees in their Copa de Rey final against Athletic Bilbao.

Barca will be without fullbacks Eric Abidal and Dani Alves for the match at Estadio Vicente Calderon, while club captain and centre-back Carles Puyol is also missing.

Argentina international Javier Mascherano, who joined the club in 2010 as a midfielder, is likely to find himself filling in again at the back, while youth team graduate Martin Montoya is another fringe player who may be called upon.

We are missing important players, Xavi said.

Puyol s injury is important, Abidal we all know, and also Dani s.

We are very sensitive (vulnerable) now that we don t have our regulars in defence. But the rest are pre…

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admits he is glad Manchester United s season is over after they hit a brick wall .

United rallied following Solskjaer s interim appointment in December and launched an assault on the Premier League s top four, as well as reaching the Champions League quarter-finals.

But a miserable run-in saw the Old Trafford outfit end the campaign winless in six in all competitions, finishing in sixth place.

Solskjaer, who succeeded Jose Mourinho on an interim basis and was appointed permanently in March following his strong start, was honest enough to acknowledge that he was welcoming the off-season.

We have been poor. We have more or less hit a brick wall towards the end of the season, he told a news conference after a 2-0 home defeat to relegate…

Feyenoord head coach Arne Slot hailed the unreal clinical display from his side after thumping Shakhtar Donetsk 7-1 in their Europa League last-16 second leg.

Thursday s contest at De Kuip was far less evenly contested than last week s 1-1 draw, with Santiago Gimenez getting the ball rolling for the hosts inside nine minutes.

Orkun Kokcu scored twice before half-time and Oussama Idrissi likewise after the restart, before Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Danilo completed the rout by the 66th minute.

Kevin Kelsy pulled a goal back late on, but it was of no real consolation to the Ukrainian visitors as they bowed out of the competition.

It marks the second-biggest win for a Dutch side in a major European competition at this stage or beyond, after Ajax s 10-0 win over…

Competition: Danish Superliga
Market: FC Copenhagen to win against Esbjerg fB
Odds:

Defending champions FC Copenhagen travel to the Blue Water Arena to face Esbjerg fB in the Danish Superliga this afternoon, and are big favourites to come away with all three points to stay top of the table this weekend.

Home side Esbjerg are currently 13th in the Superliga without a point to their name after losing their opening match of the season to Brondby (4-0). The last campaign saw them finish just one place off bottom, losing five of their last six games in 2015/16.

Their home form wasn’t convincing either, losing nine of 16 games at the Blue Water Arena, and champions FC Copenhagen are likely to take advantage when the two sides clash today. The visitors wo…

Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny has revealed that he rejected interest from Barcelona to sign a new five-year deal with the club.

The 26-year-old arrived at the north London side from Ligue 1 club Lorient in 2010 and came under criticism for his performances early on in his spell.

But last season saw the France international become one of the club s outstanding defenders and despite interest from the Catalan giants, he wanted to remain under the guidance of manager Arsene Wenger.

When asked if he knew about interest from Barcelona, Koscielny told L Equipe: Yes of course and frankly it is flattering.

But at Arsenal I have everything; I have a great training centre, a wonderful stadium and an amazing group.

I am so happy to have signed a new …

Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has admitted the club are resigned to losing David Alaba for free next summer, as relayed by .

Alaba s contract with the Bavarias expires at the end of the season and Rummenigge says talks about an extension have been held but have so far been unsuccessful. Apparently, the Austrian defender wanted an acceptable offer on his table by the end of October, but he refused the one he got and Rummenigge implies it was a good one.

Bayern did everything we could to try and reach an agreement,  Rummenigge said.

We had a lot of conversations, but we wanted answers from him by the end of October. This didn t happen and I don t know if we ll return to the negotiations.

What I want to be clear about is that our offer showe…

Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew has pressure on his shoulders to turn the side s poor form around.

Crystal Palace welcome AFC Bournemouth to Selhurst Park in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon, and are desperate for a win after their poor start to the new season, following on from last season’s hangover.

Alan Pardew’s side have endured a forgettable 2016, and such poor form has crept into the new campaign. However, their recent signing of striker Christian Benteke, coupled with superior home form to Bournemouth’s travel-sickness could see a long-awaited win this weekend.

Crystal Palace finally have a goalscorer to convert the chances

Crystal Palace recently signed Liverpool striker Christian Benteke to lead the line this season, and the Be…

AC Milan CEO Adriano Galliani has denied the club will be bought by foreign investors and has backed head coach Massimiliano Allegri.

Galliani has dismissed rumours that Russian or Qatari investors have made a bid to buy the Serie A powerhouse and argued current owner Silvio Berlusconi is the right man for the club as he took them to the top of the world , referring to their Club World Cup victory in 2007.

But despite his comments, Galliani claimed foreign ownership could be positive for Serie A clubs.

Foreign investors can be a good thing for Italian football but they are not coming to Milan, Galliani told Sky Sport 24.

There has been talk that a group of Arabs were interested but it s not true.

We want to keep president Berlusconi, who too…