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Antonio Conte vowed Inter should not be portrayed as Italy's footballing "saviours" as they battle for Europa League glory. 

A semi-final against Shakhtar Donetsk awaits coach Conte and his team on Monday in Dusseldorf, with the prospect of ending the season with silverware. 

Attentions have turned to Inter at home after Juventus fell to Lyon and Napoli lost to Barcelona in the Champions League last-16, while Atalanta bowed out to Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals of the same competition. 

The Nerazzurri represent Italy's last hope for a European trophy this season, but Conte dismissed the notion they are playing for the nation. 

The former Italy and Juventus boss said in a news conference on Sunday: "We don't consider ourselves the saviours of the country, we've made our journey without looking at the others. 

"Our goal is to improve ourselves. Personally, if we achieved a European success I would be happy for the club, not for myself. I'm not thinking about my personal record but about the club that decided to hire me." 

Conte looks set to have to cope without the injured Alexis Sanchez, with the Chilean battling to recover from a hamstring injury. 

"Sanchez has been out for three quarters of the season," Conte said. "Now we realise what kind of weapon we are missing. It is normal that not having him available is disappointing for me and denies me a fundamental element."

At least Inter should have Romelu Lukaku available, with the former Everton and Manchester United striker having scored in his last nine matches in this competition. 

That run began in 2014, in his Everton days, and Lukaku is the first player to have strung together such a run either in the Europa League or its forerunner, the UEFA Cup. 

He has been involved in 15 goals during that sequence, scoring 12 times and having three assists. 

Inter are through to the semi-finals of a European competition for the first time since they won the Champions League in the 2009-10 campaign, but Conte is taking nothing for granted about going any further. 

He described Shakhtar as "a team full of talented players", saying Inter would show them "great respect". 

Conte closed down questioning about Inter's transfer plans. Club president Steven Zhang has big ambitions for the club, with even Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi linked to Inter recently. 

"At this time it is inappropriate to talk about the transfer market and other players," Conte said. 

"We are playing the season finale and I can only thank my squad for what they've done during the season and after lockdown, they have been commendable."

Manchester United ended their 2019-20 campaign on Sunday with yet another penalty as they lost to Sevilla 2-1 in the Europa League semi-finals. 

While Bruno Fernandes converted a first-half spot kick for the Red Devils, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side were unable to find another way past their Spanish opponents, who scored the decisive goal with 12 minutes remaining via Luuk de Jong. 

Though another season without a piece of silverware for United, it proved to be a successful one in terms of penalties won, with the club awarded a remarkable 22 penalties across all competitions. 

That number is the most penalties won in a single season by a club in Europe's top five leagues since 2015-16 when Barcelona were awarded 24. 

The Red Devils' recent fortune from the spot saw them win a season-high 14 penalties in the Premier League with Solskjaer's side managing to convert 10 of those. In comparison, league champions Liverpool were awarded just five spot-kicks, while Everton, Newcastle United and Sheffield all won just one each. 

Fernandes has personally taken 14 penalties in all competitions this season, while playing for both Sporting and United, with the Portuguese star converting all of them as he enjoyed a successful season in front of goal. 

Prior to Fernandes' arrival at Old Trafford, Marcus Rashford was generally the player that stepped up to spot, with both he and Anthony Martial missing penalties earlier in the season in a game against Norwich. Paul Pogba also failed to convert a penalty in a clash with Wolves that ended 1-1 in August 2019. 

In the Europa League, the Red Devils won five penalties and managed convert all of them as they progressed to the final four. 

Solskjaer's side only managed to score via spot-kicks in their final two games in the competition with their 46 shots across the two matches failing to convert on scoresheet. 

Speaking after the loss against Sevilla, Solskjaer admitted that the club will need to make signings over the summer if they are compete for silverware next season. 

"We need to strengthen the squad depth of course because it's going to be a long season and only a couple weeks rest until we get going again,” Solskjaer said. 

“Of course we'll keep pushing and keep demanding more of players we have but we're looking to improve. It's a strange one. The league starts very quickly but the market's open for so long. We've got to be good, smart and clever.

“I cannot say when or if transfers will be done but we are looking at it and we'll have to sit down because it’s a quick turnaround. We've got to be 100 per cent sure when we make those deals.”

Manchester United striker Odion Ighalo will slug it out with Shrewsbury Town’s Jason Cummings, Port Vale’s Tom Pope and Norwich City’s Adam Idah for a place in the FA Cup Team of the Season.

The former Nigeria international was in a terrific form in the competition, scoring three goals in three appearances to help the Red Devils reach the semi-final stage of the tournament.

The forward scored twice against Derby County and found the back of the net in their victory over Norwich City.

His eye-catching performances in front of goal have seen him nominated for the best striker role in the competition.

Arsenal won the 2019-20 edition of the tournament, clinching a 2-1 victory over arch-rivals Chelsea in the final at Wembley earlier this month. 

Ighalo joined the Old Trafford outfit in the January transfer window's deadline day on loan from Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shenhua.

The 31-year-old has since found the back of the net five times and provided one assist in 18 appearances across all competitions.

The forward recently earned a loan contract extension until January 2021 with the Old Trafford outfit following his form for the side so far.

Ighalo has previously starred in the  Premier League for Watford before moving to China to team up with Changchun Yatai in 2017.

The striker bagged 33 goals in 82 league games and won December's Premier League Player of the Month award in 2015.

Ighalo started his career with Norwegian club Lyn Oslo in 2007 before joining Italian side Udinese in 2008, where he spent six years.

The forward inspired the Super Eagles to a third-place finish at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt before he retired from international duty.

The striker scored 16 goals in 35 appearances for the three-time African champions since he made his debut against Uganda in 2015.

Alice Ogebe made her competitive debut for Sportis KKP Bydgoszcz but they suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Enerstina Abambila's Medyk Konin in a Polish Ekstraliga encounter on Sunday.

The 25-year-old Ogebe joined the Polish top-flight outfit from Spanish Primera Iberdrola side Real Betis in June and moved to integrate herself, featuring in some pre-season games for Sportis.

She was notably outstanding against rivals IKKP Inowrocław, bagging a brace of assists and goals in their 9-0 friendly win after she earlier provided two assists in a 3-2 win over Medyk Konin.

Sportis made a fine start to the campaign with a 1-0 win at APLG Gdansk last week but were without the services of Nigeria's Ogebe for administrative reasons, who tasted her first competitive game against Medyk.

For Abambila, the Ghanaian featured prominently for Medyk even though they were held to a 1-1 draw by Katowice in their opener, and was keen to inspire her Polish side to their first win at Sportis.

Medyk made an impressive start to the encounter against Sportis as they raced into an early lead after Anna Gawronska assisted Klaudia Fabova to fire home just four minutes into the contest.

Sportis' hopes of avoiding a defeat were dashed as they failed to clear a cross from the corner which fell in the path of Medyk's Alicja Piechocha, to latch home from distance two minutes from time.

Ogebe lasted the duration of the match on her debut in Sportis' first defeat, as Abambila played from the start to finish in Medyk's first win of the season on her second appearance this term.

The result saw Sportis drop to eighth on the Polish top-flight log with three points from two matches, while Medyk moved to fourth with four points from the same number of games.

In the next fixtures, Sportis will visit 10th-placed ROW Rybnik on August 21, while Medyk will host rock-bottom Olimpia Szczecin, who boasts of Cameroon striker Mpeh Bissong on the same day.

Borussia Dortmund are in talks with Real Madrid over a deal to sign Brazilian starlet Reinier on loan, confirmed boss Lucien Favre.

The 18-year-old joined Los Blancos from Flamengo in January in a deal understood to be worth €35 million (£30m/$39m). The teenager signed a six-and-a-half year deal before joining up with Real Madrid's Castilla side.

He has yet to make an appearance for the senior Real team, but the Spanish giants are keen for the youngster to gain some first-team experience.

Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen have both been linked with a move for the starlet, dubbed the 'new Kaka', but it is BVB who appear to have won the race.

Speaking after his side’s 11-2 pre-season win against Austrian Wien on Sunday, Dortmund coach Favre said a deal was close.

“We want to loan him,” he told Sport1. “But it’s not done yet. It’s in the pipeline. He’s a nine-and-a-half and can also play as a false striker and on the wing.

“From what I’ve seen, he’s very good offensively and a very, very good finisher.”

Should Reiner complete a move to Dortmund he would become their third major signing of the summer.

Thomas Meunier was the first new face in June, signing a four-year deal after moving from PSG on a free transfer.

Favre’s side then beat Manchester United to the €25m (£23m/$29m) capture of Birmingham teenager Jude Bellingham last month.

The arrival of Reinier may spark fresh speculation about the future of a current Dortmund forward, Jadon Sancho.

The 20-year-old is wanted by Manchester United but talks between the clubs earlier this summer failed to produce a deal, prompting Dortmund to declare that the former Manchester City youngster would be staying at the club for the 2020-21 campaign.

Goal has learned that the Red Devils are still chasing the winger's signature, despite Dortmund’s stance.

Sancho and Bellingham were both on target in Dortmund’s friendly victory over Austria Wien on Sunday, the second win during their pre-season training camp in Switzerland.

Giovanni Reyna, Emre Can and Thorgan Hazard were also among the scorers.

Former Kenya and Mathare United player Kevin Oliech, who is brother to Harambee Stars legend Dennis Oliech, has passed on.

Oliech died on Sunday after a long battle with cancer which had left him bedridden for some time. After battling the affliction for the last four years, the former Tusker FC attacker succumbed in a German hospital on Sunday evening.

The player is remembered for leading the Slum Boys to their maiden Kenyan Premier League (KPL) title in 2008 under coach Francis Kimanzi.

The Nairobi-based side have taken to their official Facebook page to mourn their former player.

"We would like to pass our condolences to the Oliech family following the death of Kevin 'Yeboah' Oliech on Sunday evening," Mathare posted.

"Kevin was part of our 2008 title-winning squad and always gave his best whenever he donned the yellow and green jersey. He continued the legacy of the Oliech family at Mathare United adding to Dennis Oliech's goals and Andrew Oyombe's composure in midfield.

"His death is a big blow to the Mathare United fraternity and we would like to urge all our alumni to support the Oliech family during these tough times."

The former striker also played for defunct Securicor FC, Thika United, Nairobi City Stars, and Ushuru.  

Former teammate while at Mathare United, Innocent Mutiso, has condoled with the family, stating his death is a blow to the football fraternity.

[Kevin Oliech] generally loved football, and it is saddening to lose a man of his calibre to the cruel hands of death," the former Harambee Stars and Gor Mahia winger told Goal.

"I take the earliest opportunity to pass my condolences to the Oliech family for the loss. Kenyans and the football fraternity at large have lost a person who had a real passion for the game."

The former Kenya international has recalled the influence the striker had during the title-winning campaign in 2008.

"He was a leader on the pitch and whenever he had a chance on the pitch, he did not take it for granted," Mutiso recalled. 

"The vital goals from him helped us to win the league title, and it was a privilege to be in the same team with him. He was one disciplined player who knew what he wanted on and off the ball.

"He will forever remain in our hearts, he cannot be forgotten for the contribution he had for the beautiful game."

Congo’s Guy Mbenza opened his goal account in the Belgian First Division A with a brace in Cercle Brugge’s 2-1 comeback victory against Royal Antwerp on Sunday.

The 20-year-old produced a scintillating second-half performance by scoring two goals within six minutes to save the hosts from another defeat in their second game of the season.

Mbenza, who made his second appearance in the Belgian top-flight on Sunday, cancelled out Pieter Gerkens' 32nd-minute opener in the 80th minute and completed the comeback win at the Jan Breydel Stadium six minutes later.

He was in action for 90 minutes alongside Kenya midfielder Johanna Omolo while Mali's Alem Deuro watched on as an unused substitute.

For Royal Antwerp, DR Congo duo Dieumerci Mbokani and Jonathan Bolingi were in action but the former received a yellow card in the 65th minute as he awaits his first goal in the 2020-21 season after scoring 18 league goals later term.

Nigeria's Junior Pius, Cameroon duo Didier Lamkel Ze and Frank Boya, and Senegal's Abdoulaye Seck were also in action for the visitors.

Mbenza joined Cercle Brugge from Stade Tunisien in January 2020, after stints at Congolese outfits JS Poto-Poto, AC Leopards, La Mancha and AS Otoho.

The Brazzaville-born attacker did not feature for the Belgian outfit until the start of the 2020-21 campaign where he played for 83 minutes in their 1-0 loss to Standard Liege in their league opener last Saturday.

Mbenza has made two appearances for Congo on the international stage, including his debut outing against Senegal in 2017 where he came on as an 87th-minute substitute.

Sunday’s home win moved Cercle Brugge to ninth in the Belgian First Division A standings after gathering three points from two games.

The 20-year-old striker will be hoping to help Paul Clement’s men build on the victory when they visit Mechelen on August 22.

Manchester United’s remarkable run of penalties continued when Bruno Fernandes converted from the spot in their Europa League semi-final against Sevilla in Cologne on Sunday.

Portugal midfielder Fernandes blasted his spot-kick beyond Sevilla goalkeeper Bono into the top corner to put the Red Devils ahead just nine minutes in after Marcus Rashford had been fouled by defender Diego Carlos.

Rashford had managed to get in a shot on goal before he was brought down, but referee Felix Brych still pointed to the spot.

It was the 22nd penalty United have won in all competitions this season, the most a team has had in Europe’s top five leagues since Barcelona won 24 in 2014-15.

Fourteen of those penalties came in the Premier League, the most in the division, with five in the Europa League, two in the FA Cup and one in the Carabao Cup.

Ultimately, however, the penalty from Fernandes wasn't enough on the night as Sevilla turned around the early deficit to advance past United with a 2-1 win.

Fernandes has certainly benefited from United winning so many penalties. He has scored a remarkable 12 goals for the Red Devils since his €55 million (£47m/$60m) move from Sporting during the January transfer window, with eight of those coming from the penalty spot.

That includes the only goal in extra-time of the Europa League quarter-final against FC Copenhagen on Monday, as well as the opener in their crucial final Premier League match of the season against Leicester, with their eventual 2-0 win securing qualification for next season’s Champions League.

The 25-year-old’s influence extends beyond just penalties, though. Fernandes has eight assists to his name in a United shirt, meaning only Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski and Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi have had a hand in more goals in all competitions since Fernandes made his debut against Wolves at the start of February.

Despite making a flying start in Cologne, United were unable to hold on to the lead given to them by Fernandes.

Sevilla were level on 26 minutes when Sergio Reguilon’s cross from the left found former Liverpool player Suso, who swept the ball beyond David de Gea. Substitute Luuk de Jong then scored the winner with 12 minutes remaining.

Saido Berahino scored his first goal of the 2020-21 Belgian First Division A season in Zulte Waregem’s 2-1 loss to Beerschot on Sunday.

The 27-year-old striker was afforded his second start in the campaign and made a key contribution, levelling proceedings for his side.

His effort was, however, not enough to see the Regenboogstadion outfit return to winning ways after losing their opening game of the season to Genk.

Zulte Waregem found themselves on the back foot in the 32nd minute when Tarik Tissoudali opened the scoring for Beerschot.

Berahino then levelled matters for Francky Dury’s men moments before the hour mark after he was set up by a timely assist from Jelle Vossen.

In the 68th minute of the encounter, Raphael Holzhauser restored the lead to the Mannekes before sealing the win for his side after benefitting from Marius Noubissi’s assist.

Berahino featured for the duration of the game along with teammate and Senegal international Ibrahima Seck, while Guinea’s Idrissa Sylla played for six minutes after replacing Abdoulaye Sissako.

Berahino joined the Essevee last summer to reignite his career after his contract was terminated by Championship side Stoke City.

The Burundi international has been in fine form since teaming up with the Belgian side and scored eight goals while also providing three assists in 22 appearances across all competitions in his debut campaign.

The forward’s effort helped the Regenboogstadion outfit finish the campaign in the ninth spot on the league table.

Berahino started his career in the West Bromwich Albion youth setup in 2004 before he was promoted to the senior side in 2010.

The striker scored 23 league goals in 105 appearances for the Baggies before leaving the Hawthorns outfit in 2017 to join Stoke City.

Berahino will hope to continue his goalscoring form and help Zulte Waregem return to winning ways when they face Waasland-Beveren in their next league game on August 22.

Luuk de Jong fired Sevilla into another Europa League final as the LaLiga side won 2-1 in Cologne to shatter Manchester United's hopes of silverware.

Winners of this competition in 2014, 2015 and 2016, Sevilla took another stride towards glory after resisting heavy pressure from United in this semi-final.

United went ahead with a Bruno Fernandes penalty, but former Liverpool fringe player Suso levelled for Sevilla.

And De Jong connected sweetly with a cross swung over by Jesus Navas in the 78th minute to send Julen Lopetegui's side through to Friday's showpiece.

United took a ninth-minute lead when Fernandes showed a familiar swagger in driving his penalty past Yassine Bounou, after a shabby challenge from Diego Carlos on Marcus Rashford.

Sevilla were not waiting long for their equaliser, though. It came in the 26th minute, with Suso driving past David de Gea after left-back Sergio Reguilon broke forward and crossed low and out of reach of United's defenders.

Anthony Martial, Rashford, Fernandes and Mason Greenwood all had great openings for United, who dominated large parts of the game but could not put away a goal in open play.

Bounou was outstanding, and there were concerns for United when Sevilla asked for a penalty as a free-kick from Joan Jordan hit Fernandes on the elbow.

Sevilla were out of luck then but the winner soon arrived, with United’s defenders switching off.

De Jong was a Premier League flop during a short spell at Newcastle United six years ago, and he was only a substitute on this occasion after a goal drought.

But he would prove the Sevilla hero, half-volleying home the precise delivery from former Manchester City winger Navas.

Krepin Diatta found the net twice as Club Brugge secured a convincing 4-0 away win at KAS Rupen in Sunday’s Belgian top-flight encounter.

The Blue-Black came into this game on the back of a 1-0 home defeat to Sporting Charleroi in the Belgium elite division’s opening day.

Against the Pandas, however, Philippe Clement’s men got their first win of the season with two Senegal internationals contributing significantly at the Kehrwegstadion.

Fifteen minutes into the game, Youssouph Badji put the visitors ahead after a one-time strike from Eduard Sobol’s assist as goalkeeper Ortwin de Wolf was caught flat-footed.

Club Brugge dominated the opening 45 minutes but were only able to take a goal lead into the half-time break.

They continued the second-half in dominant fashion and were two goals up in the 59th minute through Diatta, who scored from Badji’s assist after Siebe Schrijvers’s initial strike was saved by De Wolf.

On the other end, Ghana’s Isaac Nuhu and Knowledge Musona threatened the visitors’ backline for the first time but they met strong resistant from the Blue-Black backline.

Diatta completed his brace in the 69th minute after powering home a 25-yard screamer after receiving a pass from Siebe Schrijvers.

Ruud Vormer completed the rout in the 76th minute after heading home a cross from Hans Vanaken as Club Brugge sealed all points at stake.

While Nigeria’s Emmanuel Dennis missed out of the game because of injury, his compatriot David Okereke came in for two-goal hero Diatta with three minutes left to play.

Michael Krmencik replaced Badji in the 77th minute. Angola’s Clinton Mata was in action from start to finish, while Cote d’Ivoire’s Odilon Kossounou was an unused substitute.

For Benat San Jose's team, Musona came off for Marciano Aziz in the 77th minute, with Ghana's Emmanuel Adjei replacing Cote d'Ivoire's Konan N'Dri in the 90th minute.

Guinea Bissau's Carlos Embalo saw action for 65 minutes before his substitution of Julien Ngoy.

With this win, Club Brugge moved to sixth with three points from two games. They are guests of league leaders Beerschot on Sunday, with Eupen chasing their first win against Kortrijk on Friday.

Manchester United are now enduring their longest run without a trophy in 31 years after defeat to Sevilla in the Europa League ensured they would end the 2019-20 campaign empty handed.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side made the perfect start in Cologne when Bruno Fernandes put them ahead from the penalty spot after nine minutes, United’s 22nd spot kick in all competitions this season.

However, Sevilla were level before half-time when Sergio Reguilon's cross from the left was converted by former Liverpool forward Suso.

United had a host of chances after the break but found Sevilla goalkeeper Bono in superb form.

They were made to pay for their profligacy in front of goal when Sevilla substitute Luuk de Jong scored from close range with 12 minutes left to send the Spanish side through and ensure United reached a series of grim milestones.

They have now been eliminated from European competition by Spanish opposition for the third consecutive campaign, also losing to Sevilla in the Champions League last 16 in 2017-18 and Barcelona in the 2018-19 Champions League quarter-finals.

It is the third semi-final defeat for United this season, having lost to Manchester City in the last four of the Carabao Cup in January and to Chelsea in last month’s FA Cup semi-final at Wembley. United are now the first team to ever lose both domestic cup semi-finals and a European semi-final in the same season.

Defeat against Sevilla also means the Red Devils finish without a major trophy for a third season in a row – their longest run since four successive seasons without a major trophy between 1985 and 1989.

When assessing this latest defeat, Solskjaer will likely rue a lack of cutting edge in front of goal.

His side managed 46 shots across the Sevilla game and their semi-final win against FC Copenhagen, with 21 of those hitting the target, but they only managed to score two penalties.

Victory for Sevilla meanwhile continued their remarkable run in this competition. The Spanish side have now reached their sixth UEFA Cup/Europa League final, at least two more times than any other side in the history of the competition.

They have won the trophy on every occasion they reached the final, including three times in the last six years.

Manchester United captain Harry Maguire said that "the best team lost" as the Red Devils bowed out of the Europa League 2-1 to Sevilla at the semi-final stage.

Despite taking an early lead via a Bruno Fernandes penalty, United couldn't hold on to their lead with Suso equalising before half-time and substitute Luuk de Jong striking 12 minutes from time.

The Premier League side controlled the match for long periods and could have taken a second-half lead on numerous occasions if it wasn't for the superb goalkeeping of stopper Yassine Bounou.

Maguire believes his team deserved to get through to the final but was disappointed they failed to progress from the last four of a competition for the third time this season.

"It's difficult," Maguire said to BT Sport. "The boys are devastated. We created numerous chances. The best team lost. They punished us for missing chances. They didn't make many chances to be honest.

"We conceded from two crosses which is not good enough.We worked our socks off and deserved to win and get through. We fell short in a semi-final for the third time this year.

"We have a good group of lads. Losing is not acceptable. Getting to semi-finals isn't acceptable. Improvement made this year is massive. We played a good Sevilla team - another day we win it. Losing is not acceptable for this club."

Manchester United's season has now been confirmed as trophy-less, with the club losing to Manchester City in the League Cup semi-final, Chelsea in the FA Cup last four and now Sevilla in the Europa League at the same stage.

Maguire promised that trophies would soon return to Old Trafford and he hoped the team could build on their top-four finish in the recent Premier League season.

"[Trophies will] happen soon - we want to win it as soon as possible," Maguire said. "If we take another giant step next season we'll improve again.

"Tonight we turned up and the best team lost. Perhaps that bit of inexperience cost us - we shouldn't have conceded that second goal."

The Red Devils will now break for a little over three weeks before the new Premier League season begins on September 12.

Manchester United attacker Bruno Fernandes has played down an on-field argument with defender Victor Lindelof after seeing his side crash out of the Europa League .

Despite Fernandes opening the scoring for the Red Devils after just nine minutes on Sunday , Sevilla would prove too strong with a 78th-minute strike from Luuk de Jong ensuring the La Liga side progressed to another final courtesy of a 2-1 win. 

Following Sevilla's decisive goal, Fernandes was filmed in a fiery exchange with Lindelof as the duo seemingly debated who was to blame for allowing the Spaniards to strike. 

United were unable to find an equaliser after De Jong's goal and have now been eliminated from European competition by a Spanish opponent for a third straight campaign. 

Speaking post-match, Fernandes stressed his argument with Lindelof was 'normal' and a natural part of the game when there's so much at stake. 

"It's normal when you concede. It's not about me or Victor. What happened between me and Victor is normal," Fernandes told BT Sport .

"It will happen many more times in football. We need to see the mistakes everybody did and improve."

Across their past two matches, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side have taken a total of 46 shots but have relied on penalties from Fernandes to find the back of the net. 

The Portuguese star converted all 14 penalties he has taken this season and believes the Red Devils had to make more of their strong beginning to the match against Sevilla. 

"More than a positive start. We played a great game and created a lot of chances. But in football it's not enough - we missed a lot in front of goal," he said. 

"We are not satisfied about this because we wanted to go through. Now it's time to rest and refresh the legs. Their keeper did very well, but the quality we have we should have scored."

Manchester United have now gone three straight seasons without winning a major trophy - their longest such silverware drought since 1989. 

Despite that lack of trophies, the Red Devils have shown signs of progress this season with the club finishing third in the Premier League. 

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted Manchester United need signings if they are to compete with Manchester City and Liverpool for the Premier League title next season.

The Norwegian didn’t make a change until the 87th minute of United’s 2-1 defeat to Sevilla in the Europa League semi-final on Sunday night in Cologne, as a lack of squad depth meant the manager did not have suitable options to change the game off the bench.

“You know at times in games like this when you create so many chances and openings it's difficult to take players with goals in them out of the pitch. Mason [Greenwood], Marcus [Rashford], Anthony [Martial], Bruno [Fernandes] — they're all goalscorers and they've been fantastic for us,” Solskjaer said when explaining why he didn’t make an earlier change.

“They created enough today to score. Yeah, we looked a little tired towards the end but we've done excellent and I made the decisions I made.”

Pushed on how hard it will be for his side close the gap in the league, Solskjaer suggested they need more players to help them improve.  

“We need to keep improving, keep doing what they've done every single day. They've worked so hard, [have the] right attitude and mentality. We need to strengthen the squad depth of course because it's going to be a long season and only a couple weeks rest until we get going again,” Solskjaer explained.

“[We need to] keep on improving what we're doing day in and day out and believe in what we're doing. You can see at times today what we can be about and what we are about.”

A right-sided attacker, centre-back, midfielder and striker are amongst the positions United are looking to strengthen but with the coronavirus pandemic causing financial uncertainty, it is not known how many players they will be able to bring in before the window closes on October 5.

“It's going to be a strange summer. We've only got a couple weeks away from each other until we get going again. That's going to be a mental challenge,” Solskjaer said. “Of course we'll keep pushing and keep demanding more of players we have but we're looking to improve. It's a strange one. The league starts very quickly but the market's open for so long. We've got to be good, smart and clever.

“I cannot say when or if transfers will be done but we are looking at it and we'll have to sit down because it’s a quick turnaround. We've got to be 100 per cent sure when we make those deals.”

Uchenna Kanu continued her rich goalscoring form after netting a brace and Ebere Orji provided a late assist in Linkopings' 3-1 win over Uppsala in a Swedish Damallsvenskan game on Sunday.

Olof Unogard were smarting from Wednesday's 7-1 humiliation at Rosengard, where Kanu registered the visitors' solitary goal and they aimed to end their three-match losing streak against Uppsala.

This time, the Nigerian striker almost fired the hosts in front but her efforts went wide in the ninth minute but eventually, she broke the deadlock to put them ahead in the 21st minute.

She twice came close to increase the tally for Linkopings in the 31st and 44th minute but could not find breakthroughs before the break.

After the break, Nilla Fischer and Lina Hurtig missed the chance to score in the 47th and 53rd minutes, respectively, from corners until Kanu bagged her first Damallsvenskan brace on the hour mark.

With seven minutes left, Unogard brought in Orji to replace two-goal hero Kanu and the former made an instant impact as she assisted Hurtig to net the third for Linkopings a minute later.

Despite Beata Olsson pulled one back inside injury time for the visitors but the hosts held their nerve to preserve the two-goal lead and celebrated their first win in four successive matches.

Kanu’s goal tally for Linkopings now stands at five coupled with one assist in 11 outings in nine starts in the ongoing campaign. 

Kanu's Nigerian compatriot Orji bagged her second assist of the season to add to her five goals for Unogard's team in 11 appearances this term.
 
The result saw Linkopings move up to fourth on the Damallsvenskan log with 19 points from 11 matches and they will travel to face rock-bottom Vaxjo in their next fixture on August 23.

Xherdan Shaqiri says he has no plans to quit Liverpool this summer, despite what he describes as a "frustrating" season in 2019-20.

The Swiss forward struggled for regular first-team football at Anfield as he failed to dislodge the likes of Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane from Jurgen Klopp’s first-choice side.

His cause was also not helped by a series of niggling injuries, which restricted him to just 11 appearances in all competitions.

That led to speculation the former Bayern Munich player, who joined the Reds from Stoke in 2018, could look for a move this summer.

Shaqiri, though, insists he is fully focused on maintaining his fitness and earning significant minutes like he did during the 2018-19 campaign.

"Always if you are injured or if you are not playing, you're frustrated,” he told the club’s website.

“But I'm looking forward to this season and trying to help the team all the time, so I have the chance to play like the first season.

"As a team, I just want us to achieve a lot of things. I think we have a lot of good players in our team, everyone can play and we try to make it very difficult for the coach as always.

"I'm trying to give my best too and to help the team to win games, titles – that's the most important thing for me.”

Shaqiri and the rest of his Liverpool team-mates are back in pre-season training less than three weeks after the previous campaign concluded.

The coronavirus shutdown has played havoc with the football calendar, meaning there is now less than a month before the Reds kick off the defence of their Premier League title.

The Merseysiders ended a 30-year wait to become champions of England once again in 2019-20, and Shaqiri believes the squad is good enough to win successive titles for the first time since they won three in a row in the early 1980s.

"Everybody is excited to play again and to defend the season we had last season,” he added.

"It's very difficult but we try to achieve again a lot of things and we want to win a lot of games.

"We have the capacity, we have the team who is still hungry and wants to win many titles.

"To win the title last season was unbelievable, something different after 30 years for the fans and for us too.

"We are really excited and we always want to win every game but we know it's going to also be difficult. The other teams also want to win, so I think it's going to be an exciting season."

Kenya international Joash Onyango has revealed some details of how he ended up signing for Mainland Premier League champions Simba SC.

The burly defender was unveiled as a Simba player on Friday, just a few days after he had tabled a transfer request to leave Kenyan Premier League (KPL) champions Gor Mahia.

Onyango, who penned a two-year contract and also features for Kenya’s national team, has now come out to explain how he was lured to sign for Wekundu wa Msimbazi by another Kenyan in Francis Kahata, whom he played with at K’Ogalo.

“I kept talking to Francis [Kahata] since the time Simba showed keen interest in my services and he really played a major role for me to move here,” Onyango is quoted by Sokaletu.

“I had also wanted to come to Tanzania for a new challenge because I had played for four years at Gor Mahia and that was a bit a long time to be at one club, so I wanted to move out and test another challenge.

“I was talking to [Kahata] on a daily basis and he kept telling me if you come [to Simba] everything will be fine, he asked me to sign the deal and come play for Simba and that is how I ended up being a Simba player.”

In addition, the 27-year-old confirmed Simba rivals Young Africans (Yanga SC) had also sought his services before he ended up signing for the champions.

“Before I signed for Simba, Yanga were also trailing me, they even talked to my agent but it did not go far, I only took seriously the deal from Simba and signed it and left out Yanga," he concluded.

Onyango’s move from Gor Mahia to Simba brings the number of players to four who have left the Kenyan champions for their Tanzanian counterparts. Others are Kahata, Meddie Kagere, and Dan Sserunkuma.

Onyango, nicknamed 'Berlin Wall' due to his defensive performances, had established himself as one of the outstanding defenders in the KPL while serving the Green Army.

He never looked back since he became a regular first-team member for Gor Mahia when Musa Mohamed left for KF Tirana of Albania in 2018, and his outstanding partnership with Harun Shakava and later on Charles Momanyi saw him consequently appointed the K’Ogalo’s assistant captain.

Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng said he was blown away by Alphonso Davies' display against Barcelona, particularly the Canadian's solo run to set up his side's fifth goal of the evening. 

The Bundesliga champions blew away Barca on Friday in the Champions League quarter-final, scoring goal after goal in an incredible 8-2 win.

Davies, who has developed into one of the world's top left-backs at age 19, blew past Nelson Semedo on the left wing before pulling back for Joshua Kimmich to tap home and make it 5-2 in the 63rd minute.

Kimmich said after the game he was "almost ashamed of how happy I was after the goal, because it was 99 per cent, of course, [Davies'] goal."

Speaking ahead of Wednesday's semi-final match against Lyon, Boateng added to the chorus of praise for his team's young star.

"I just say wow about his solo [run]!" Boateng said. "That was world class. About his development? I don't think there are such young talents often. He's exploded, I'm happy.

"He's also super likeable off the pitch and a down-to-earth boy. He still has so much potential. We can still expect a lot from him, he will be even better."

Bayern's destruction of Barca led many to compare it to another infamous one-sided match that Boateng took part in: Germany's 7-1 humiliation of Brazil in the 2014 World Cup semi-final. 

Boateng, however, has underlined the differences between the two matches. 

"I think they were two different games," the 31-year-old said. "The game against Brazil was different, we didn't control as much as we did against Barcelona.

"We got a boost in confidence after the game against Brazil, but afterwards you saw that the final against Argentina was different. It wasn't a particularly nice game for the spectators, there were few chances.

"We have to know now that the next game is always the most difficult. Lyon is not in the semi-finals for nothing."

Boateng added that he's happy to see two German teams and two French sides in the Champions League semi-finals, but cautioned against drawing any major conclusions with PSG and RB Leipzig set to face off in the other final-four tie. 

"It's a snapshot, you can't always explain it," the defender said. "You can't say that another league is suddenly weaker. But I believe that it is an indication that good work is being done in Germany. Not only here, but also in Leipzig, Dortmund or Leverkusen, for example. That makes me happy.

"I'm also happy for the French league. It shows that there is not only PSG. But you mustn't forget that the English and Spanish clubs have always been in the semi-finals or finals in recent years. That's why I wouldn't speak of a new era."