Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich will not permanently sign on-loan full-back Joao Cancelo this summer.
According to Calciomercato, the German side have determined they would send the Manchester City defender back to the Etihad after the season rather than make his loan permanent.
The Portuguese international joined the Bavarian side on loan in January after reportedly falling out of favour with Pep Guardiola at City. His deal at the Allianz Arena was set to be made permanent at the end of the six-month loan. But as it stands, Bayern are reluctant to sanction a permanent deal given Cancelo’s output so far.
Although his life in Munich started strongly, as he gave an assist in his first game, overall, his time in Germany hasn’t gone as he had hoped. He’s been dealt with the same diminished squad role issue that infuriated him under Pep Guardiola.
Manchester City is ready to move on after he left in January and would be happy to sell him to another club this summer.
Napoli hot-shot striker Victor Osimhen has admitted he is working towards his ‘dream’ of playing in the Premier League amid interest from top Premier League clubs.
The Nigerian striker is one of the most sought-after players in the world after a stellar season in Naples. Has been linked with summer transfers to Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United, who are all interested in improving their attacking options.
In a recent interview, the Napoli talisman made it clear that his ambition is to play in the Premier League.
“I think playing in one of the top five leagues in the world (Serie A) is an amazing feeling for me,” he said.
“A lot of people worldwide consider the Premier League as the best and the strongest league, but now I’m in one of the best leagues in the world, which is the Italian Serie A.
“I’m working so hard to make sure that I achieve my dream of playing in the Premier League someday, but like I said, it’s a process, and I just want to keep on this momentum and continue to do well.”
The 24-year-old has already played in three of the ‘top five’ leagues in Europe, beginning in Germany with VfL Wolfsburg before signing for Lille after playing for Belgian outfit Charleroi.
Connor McDavid the Edmonton Oilers captain has scored twice to boost his NHL-leading goal to 54, setting a career-high with 124 points in a 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night.
McDavid makes a case to win his third Hart Trophy for MVP in eight seasons, with his 12th multigoal game of the season, aiding the Oilers to secure two crucial points in a packed Western Conference race to the playoffs.
“The finish was all-world,” Jay Woodcroft the Edmonton Oilers coach said about McDavid scoring the first goal on the fly by defeating Craig Anderson through the legs 3:23 into the third period, less than a minute after Buffalo tied the game at 2.
McDavid’s 124 points in 65 games are over the career best he set in 80 games last year, and the All-Star centre took his points streak to 11 games, in which he has 12 goals and 15 assists.
“I saw someone that was competitive right from the puck drop,” Woodcroft said. “Connor’s at a different evolutionary stage in his game right now, and I think everyone saw that here tonight.”
It is not often that a crowd from the Eastern Conference gets to watch Connor McDavid play in person and for that game, they seem to have gotten their money’s worth; although the Sabres failed to pick up two points in their fight for a wild-card berth.
“Who’s more likely to make a big play than him?” Zach Hyman said. “He’s the best player in the world, and he’s pushing his own boundaries. He’s been driving the bus for a long time and continues to get better.”
Derek Ryan scored too, while Stuart Skinner blocked 37 shots for Edmonton, who rose to 5-4-3 in their past 12 and came back from a 7-5 loss at Winnipeg on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Jeff Skinner and Dylan Cozens scored for the Sabres and Anderson blocked 34 shots.
By dropping to 6-4 in its last 10 games, the Sabres resumed its season-long struggles at Buffalo in losing five of their past seven.
The Sabres have been in the middle of an NHL-worst 11-season playoff drought but stay in the mix and have games in hand on most of its competition. The day started with four points demarcating the New York Islanders who were in seventh place from the Buffalo Sabres which are in ninth place; locked in a four-way tie with 68 points.
The Sabres coach Don Granato did not say if he thought McDavid to be a step ahead of everyone else in the league, out of deference to his own players. But, Granato had no other option but to sing the praises of the Oiler’s captain, who scored twice on three shots on net.
“He’s got 50-plus for a reason, he doesn’t need many [shots],” Granato said. “He’s done that to lots of teams and goaltenders, and he was ready for his opportunities. That’s what makes him special.”
The Edmonton Oilers (35-22-8) share a tie with Seattle for third place in the Pacific Divison.
After opening the scoring in the first period, McDavid scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period, immediately after Cozens tied the game.
Warren Foegele moved up to the left wing to take the Sabres’ zone and then spun to hit McDavid in stride cutting up the middle. McDavid steered to his left to get by defender Jacob Bryson and fired a shot through Anderson’s legs.
It was McDavid’s ninth game-winning goal of the season after he started the day in a four-way tie for second and one behind teammate Leon Draisaitl.
Connor McDavid and the Oilers will play the NHL-best Boston Bruins next on Thursday night.
Tottenham and AC Milan will face off in North London this Wednesday for the second leg of their Champions League knockout tie.
Tottenham lost 1-0 in the first leg at the San Siro, with an early goal by Brahim Díaz the difference on the night. But, unfortunately, it was by the same scoreline that the hosts fell to defeat in Premier League action at the weekend, too, going down against relegation-battling Wolves.
The latest result has put their chances of finishing in the Premier League top four in jeopardy, with perennial top four chasers Liverpool just three points behind with a game in hand.
So, though highly unlikely, winning this competition is becoming increasingly for Spurs, who are seeking to overturn a first-leg deficit for the third time in four such instances in European competition. The return of manager Antonio Conte to the dugout after a brief spell on the sidelines could be the best omen of all for Tottenham, given the Italian boss has won five of his last six managerial home games against Milan in all competitions.
Like their hosts, AC Milan suffered a similarly poor domestic result at the weekend, going down 2-1 against Fiorentina. As a result, they have lost ground in the race for second in Serie A, with their away form much to blame for their failed title defence this season.
Things could worsen in North London as the visitors have a poor record against Premier League teams. The San Siro side have five defeats from their last six two-legged knockout ties against English opposition. Stefano Pioli’s men have also lost by an aggregate 9-1 score on their previous three visits to the English capital in European competition.
So, they must do better than their previous visits to England to secure their first UCL quarter-final appearance in 11 years. But, with 37 wins out of 43 UEFA competition ties in which they won the first leg at home, Pioli’s side should have some belief.
Bayern Munich will welcome Paris Saint-Germain to Allianz Arena this Wednesday as both sides battle for a place in the quarter-finals round of the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League season.
The Bavarians hold a slender advantage going into this second leg after a 1-0 win in Paris a fortnight ago. The win forms part of a run of five wins from their last six competitive games (L1). After reclaiming the top spot in the Bundesliga race thanks to a 2-1 win over Stuggart at the weekend, confidence should be high heading into this clash.
Meanwhile, the Bavarians have been impressive on the European stage this season, with an unblemished seven wins from as many UCL games this term representing their best showing at this stage since lifting the trophy back in 2019/20, when they defeated Paris Saint-Germain in the final. However, Julian Nagelsmann’s side can’t rest on their laurels, though, with a perfectly split head-to-head record against PSG (W6, L6) indicating this tie is far from over.
Paris Saint-Germain made it three wins in a row last weekend when they beat Nantes 4-2. The win showed that their recent wobble is now truly behind them, while the four goals they scored in the game made it three consecutive games they have scored 3+ goals.
And so, they will travel to Munich in a confident mood. They can take heart from their impressive return of five progressions from six overall knockout ties against German opponents.
However, Christophe Galtier’s men have been eliminated in four of their last six round-of-16 ties. Moreover, they have only come back from a first-leg deficit to progress once in 19 such UCL ties, although that was against German opposition Borussia Dortmund in 2019/20.
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