Down to Ten Men

Italy manager Roberto Mancini has admitted that he is pleased to work with the likes of Moise Kean and Nicolo Zaniolo, who have enjoyed breakthrough seasons with their respective clubs this term.
Kean has played his part in Juventus’ eighth successive Serie A title this term while Zaniolo has been crucial to Roma’s push for the top four during the second half of the season.

In a report covered by Tuttosport, Mancini said that he has been pleased with the development of the duo and suggested that the national team requires such kind of players, he told the publication: "Risk that Kean is not injured? He knows the way: work hard and work hard. He is a good boy, he has quality and he was lucky enough to emerge at a time when the national team needs young people like him or Zaniolo. Zaniolo? We are the people of genius, of inventiveness and of great discoveries. I like to explore talent and now I am lucky not to have to buy anyone, but I can choose, discover and punt."

Former Inter Milan ace Lisandro Lopez has said that Argentina must call up Mauro Icardi for the Copa America during the summer. The striker was recently excluded from the national setup amid his lack of gametime with the Nerazzurri, but he has managed to sort out the concerns in the run-in to the end of the season.

Speaking to TyC Sports, Lopez indicated that Icardi is presently one of the best strikers in the world and it is a no-brainer for Argentina to select him for the summer’s Copa America in Brazil, he said: “He is one of the best number nines in the world. There is no doubt about it. He had some problems with Inter but now he is back on the field playing and he will soon find form again. In my opinion he must be called up by Argentine for the Copa America because he has a lot to give to the national team.”

Napoli manager Carlo Ancelotti is confident that his team can make a comeback against Arsenal after suffering a 2-0 defeat in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-final. The Naples outfit were outclassed by the Gunners for vast parts of the game at the Emirates Stadium and they were eventually lucky to not concede more than two goals.

Speaking after the game, Ancelotti admitted that his team were worried and frightened at the beginning of the tie and that cost them dearly in the form of two goals. However, he was impressed with the fightback in the second half and remains confident that the deficit can be overturned next week at the Stadio San Paolo, he said: “We were taken by surprise. We were worried and frightened. In the second half, we made fewer mistakes and created a couple of chances, scoring would have made the comeback less difficult for the return. It's difficult, but not impossible, we remain confident.”

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has said that he would prefer Inter Milan ending their ongoing dispute with Mauro Icardi. The Argentine was stripped from the captaincy earlier last month and he has since refused to feature for the San Siro giants with a knee injury being termed as the reason behind the absence.

Speaking to Gazzettadello Sport, Infantino, who is a known Inter supporter, said that the Nerazzurri need to find a quick solution to the problem with their leading marksman. Meanwhile, there have been reports that Icardi’s wife and agent Wanda Nara has been the prime reason behind the player’s standoff with the club and when asked about the same, Infantino expressed that agents must be regulated.

Inter Milan chief Beppe Marotta has said that the Nerazzurri need to exhibit consistency with the results in order to return to the Champions League next term. The San Siro outfit were holding a nine-point advantage over the teams below the top four at one stage of the season but that has been reduced to just three amid the inconsistent results since the turn of the year.

Speaking to reporters, Marotte has cited the importance of finding the consistency with the results with the likes of AC Milan and Roma behind them in a good run of form, he said: “It’s important to achieve consistency in terms of our results. It’s only normal that from here until the end of the season, every team aiming for the Champions League will be fighting for points. We are focused on the final stage of the season.

Serie A has had a relatively strong showing in the 2018/19 Champions League, with both Juventus and Roma making it to the round of 16 stage relatively easily.

Both clubs were also widely favored to advance to the quarter-final once the round of 16 draw was set, Roma with a potentially comfortable aggregate victory over Porto, and Juventus by way of squeaking past the always-stingy Atlético Madrid defense.