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Rayo Vallecano and Mainz among the teams through to the Conference League round of sixteen
Rayo Vallecano and Mainz joined Strasbourg and other qualifiers in sealing direct passage to the UEFA Conference League round of sixteen, while the remaining contenders head into February’s play off ties and Universitatea Craiova suffered late heartbreak to miss out on qualification.
Bell wants to make history with Mainz 05
Mainz 05’s stadium is almost sold out for the match against Samsunspor. Despite the many fans of the Turkish club, Stefan Bell believes there will be a home-game atmosphere, in which he wants to achieve something historic.
Argentina faces Spain in the run-up to the World Cup on historic ground
Argentina and Spain will meet in the run-up to the World Cup as part of the Finalissima. The match will take place on March 27 in Qatar, a special location for the world champions.
Giménez and Baena, in their countdown
Baena and José María Giménez completed individual ball work at Cerro del Espino as they enter the final phase of their recoveries, set to miss Girona but aiming to return for Real Sociedad and reach peak form for the Saudi Super Cup.
Udinese are reduced to ten men and concede five goals
Fiorentina claimed their first league win of the season with a 5-1 rout of ten man Udinese at the Franchi, sparked by an early red card for Okoye and powered by goals from Mandragora, Gudmundsson, Ndour and a Kean brace.
This is how Mainz will go straight into the round of 16 on Thursday
Mainz 05 have already secured a place in the Conference League play-offs ahead of the final matchday of the league phase. But the Bundesliga bottom side would like to avoid the extra round and knows what scenarios would make that possible.
The El Khannouss problem at Stuttgart
It is the Africa Cup rather than the Bundesliga for Bilal El Khannouss now. The ambition and hunger for success of the Morocco international also have drawbacks for VfB Stuttgart.
Salah is a grown man and can say whatever he wants
Mohamed Salah apologised to Liverpool team-mates after publicly criticising the club and head coach Arne Slot, with Curtis Jones describing the apology and Liverpool managing the fallout through a short omission and swift reintegration before Salah joins Egypt for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Barcelona win away at Guadalajara and advance in the Copa del Rey
Barcelona needed a late breakthrough to beat third tier Guadalajara 2–0 in the Copa del Rey, with Christensen and Rashford scoring after a De Jong assist, as other ties saw late drama and notable upsets.
Reijnders opens his account at the Etihad Stadium
Tijjani Reijnders played an important role on Saturday in Manchester City’s home win over West Ham United and scored his first goal at the Etihad Stadium. The Netherlands international was in high spirits after the match, although his manager Pep Guardiola added a note of caution.