The big Friday Premier League quiz

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola admitted he was unsure if his team were ready to win the Champions League.

Guardiola led the Premier League champions to the quarter-finals last season, almost matching their best ever run in Europe s elite club competition – the semis in 2015-16.

City are considered among the favourites to again challenge in Europe, but Guardiola said clubs with previous success in the Champions League were bigger contenders.

Our great success as a club was the Champions League semi-final, in all our history, he said on Sunday.

I don t know whether we are ready, it s the truth, I don t know. We don t have much history behind us, but so much confidence.

It s not just a matter of coach, players, club and supporters. It s a…

Kostas Manolas said he has never heard of Malcom, while the Roma defender claimed even the Brazilian was unsure of his own name before joining Barcelona.

Manolas was in no mood to discuss Malcom after the highly rated winger snubbed Roma in favour of LaLiga champions Barca at the last minute.

Malcom was set to complete a move to Roma from Bordeaux before Barca hijacked the €40million deal last week.

Now Malcom will go head-to-head with Roma when Barca take to the field at the International Champions Cup on Tuesday.

I don t know who he is, I don t know him,  Manolas told reporters in Dallas when asked about Malcom.

Before he signed for Barcelona, even he didn t know his name.

There is no reason to say hello. He didn t want to go to …

Rafael Nadal has revealed he had tears in his eyes as Lionel Messi led Argentina to World Cup final glory.

Even for Real Madrid fan Nadal, there was a joy in seeing former Barcelona talisman Messi achieve his greatest feat at an age when some doubted he would ever lift the trophy.

Now 35, Messi was the driving force behind Argentina s success in Qatar. He scored two goals as Sunday s final against France ended in a pulsating 3-3 draw, plus a penalty in the shoot-out that followed, clinching the Golden Ball as the tournament s outstanding player.

For Nadal, who won his 22nd grand slam two days after turning 36 in June, seeing another person achieving late-career success is something to which he can relate.

Messi lifting the World Cup made me happy. That s…

Romelu Lukaku has pinpointed his positional change under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as the moment he knew his Manchester United career was over.

The imposing centre-forward, a big-money acquisition from Everton in 2017, was shunted out to the wing in the final months of his lean second season at Old Trafford.

Concerns over his form and fitness prompted Solskjaer to deploy Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial through the middle, a move that ultimately convinced Lukaku to depart for Inter in August.

It was after the game against West Ham at home [on April 13] Solskjaer decided to put me on the right wing, very wide, Lukaku told Corriere dello Sport.

The experience in Manchester made me mentally stronger because not everything went as I had expected. I didn t wi…

Jurgen Klopp has suggested Liverpool have plans beyond Cody Gakpo s signing for the January transfer window, but acknowledged they remain unsure if they will add to their ranks.

The arrival of Gakpo from PSV, fresh from a strong World Cup with the Netherlands in which he scored three goals, was confirmed on Wednesday as the Reds first bit of business ahead of the New Year.

The Dutchman s acquisition is a key one for Klopp, but the German remained tight-lipped over what impact it will have on any further transfer targets.

In principle it s like this for all people in the world, he said at a press conference on Thursday. The money you spend has an impact on the money you can spend [in the future].

It s not that it increases it. It has nothing to do with e…

Jurgen Klopp knows his team must continue winning to keep the Premier League title race alive after recording a 10th consecutive league victory against Watford.

The Reds briefly went top of the Premier League after the 2-0 victory at Anfield thanks to a first-half header from Diogo Jota and a late penalty from Fabinho.

Klopp acknowledged that any question about moving ahead of Manchester City by two points would be null and void after discovering Pep Guardiola s men had already taken the lead at Burnley before he had even started his post-game media conference. The reigning champions, who host Liverpool nextwent on to win 2-0 at Turf Moor.

Klopp told reporters: No, you can t give an inch, but it s nothing to do with being on top of the table, I didn t think about…

Shkodran Mustafi has talked up a potential move to the Bundesliga after contributing to Germany s World Cup triumph.

Mustafi currently plays his club football with Sampdoria, having joined the Serie A club from Everton in 2012.

A rapid ascent into Sampdoria s first team resulted in a late call to Joachim Low s World Cup squad as a result of Marco Reus ankle injury.

Mustafi featured in two of Germany s three group games as well as the last-16 win over Algeria.

Philipp Lahm s international retirement could open up a spot for Mustafi in Germany s long-term plans and the 22-year-old is interested in a move back to his homeland, having left Hamburg s youth system in 2009 as a teenager.

It would be nice to play in the Bundesliga, being a Germany intern…

Former Argentina coach Alfio Basile does not believe Lionel Messi needs to win the World Cup to cement his legacy.

Messi has enjoyed huge levels of club success with Barcelona, winning every domestic trophy in Spain and the UEFA Champions League on three occasions.

He was named player of the tournament at last year s World Cup but left disappointed as Argentina lost the final 1-0 to Germany after extra time.

Basile coached Messi during his second stint as Argentina coach from 2006 to 2008, having previously led his country to Copa America success in 1991 and 1993.

And he told Perform: The problem Messi has is that people want him to win it [the World Cup] because they think he will then become even better.

But although he is not a world champ…

Former Colombia defender Ivan Cordoba has left his role as Inter team manager by mutual consent.

Cordoba, 38, retired in 2012 after 13 years with the Serie A giants before moving into the backroom staff.

He won multiple league titles and cups at the club, including the 2009-10 UEFA Champions League.

In a statement, Inter paid tribute to Cordoba and confirmed his departure.

FC Internazionale and Ivan Cordoba announce that they have mutually agreed to end their working relationship, the statement read.

FC Internazionale would like to pay tribute to an unforgettable player and a great man. We wish him all the best for the future.

…

Hungary coach Marco Rossi has visited Barnabas Varga in hospital after the forward underwent surgery on the worrying facial injury he suffered against Scotland.

During the second half of Sunday s 1-0 win over Scotland, which sealed Hungary s third-place finish in Group A and likely qualification for the last 16 of Euro 2024, Varga collided with the elbow of opposing goalkeeper Angus Gunn while attempting to reach a cross into the box.

Sheeting was placed around Varga as other players called for urgent medical attention, and it was later confirmed he had been knocked unconscious, suffering a concussion and breaking several bones in his face.

The Hungarian Football Federation later confirmed he had undergone surgery and was expected to be discharged on Wednesday.