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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.
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.
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.
The mixed interim verdict for Bayern loanee Jackson
Nicolas Jackson is heading to the Africa Cup of Nations. At Bayern, he still needs to improve.
Davide Ancelotti leaves Botafogo after one season
Botafogo confirm Davide Ancelotti’s departure after one season, with reports linking the split to a dispute over fitness staff changes and injury concerns during the 2025 season.
Napoli condemns Allegri for an uncontrolled assault in the Italian Super Cup
Napoli’s two to nil Italian Super Cup win over AC Milan was overshadowed by a club statement accusing Massimiliano Allegri of repeated insults toward sporting coordinator Gabriele Oriali, raising the prospect of scrutiny from match officials and disciplinary authorities.
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.
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.
FC Porto is backing Pal after Farioli: This is a crisis of confidence
FC Porto has issued a statement about the quality of refereeing in Portugal. Earlier, head coach Francesco Farioli strongly criticised the referee in the match between FC Porto and Famalicão. Porto fully supports his view and believes there is a bigger problem.
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.