Down to Ten Men

Italy manager Roberto Mancini has urged Chelsea defender Emerson to make the return to the Serie A in order to enhance his prospects of representing the national team. The left-back was in good form for club and country at the beginning of the campaign but he unfortunately picked up a thigh injury on international duty.

Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has said that midfielder Adam Lallana will evaluate his options during this summer’s transfer window. The England international has been with Liverpool for the past five-and-a-half years but he has been fancied to leave them on a free transfer when his contract concludes in June.

As a result, a number of elite clubs including Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, and Leicester City have been credited with an interest and Rodgers has openly hinted that the Foxes would make an approach for the former Southampton captain, he told: “Adam is a fantastic player and one I brought into Liverpool.”

Ashley Young and Romelu Lukaku are two former Old Trafford stars leading the line for Antonio Conte’s new-look Inter outfit.

Former Chelsea and Juventus manager Conte recently traded West London after a year’s sabbatical and turned his back on Turin loyalties to join the Nerazzurri as they fight to regain the Serie A Scudetto.

Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini has dismissed the club’s prospects of challenging for the Serie A crown following their 5-0 thumping of AC Milan. Atalanta have remained in the top six of the Italian top-flight for most of the season and they have gone into the winter break in the fifth spot, four points behind the Champions League places.

Speaking in a press conference, Gasperini was pleased with the club’s strong end to the year which has seen them keep up in the top-four race and qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League. He added that Atalanta are unlikely to recover the 11-point gap to Inter and Juventus in the race for the league title and the focus remains on attaining Champions League football for the next campaign.

Inter Milan boss Antonio Conte has indicated that he has no concerns with the Inter Milan hierarchy despite his outburst following the midweek Champions League defeat at Borussia Dortmund. The Nerazzurri had a two-goal lead over the Bundesliga side on Tuesday night but they squandered the advantage to suffer a 3-2 defeat.

Owing to that result, they find themselves in the need to win both of their remaining games against Barcelona and Slavia Prague and that contributed to the frustration for Conte, who blamed the Nerazzurri board for the poor planning with the squad. However, when asked about the same this afternoon, Conte has dismissed any differences with the board but stated that the club should have done better in the summer transfer market.

Juventus attacker Juan Cuadrado has said that Inter Milan are a strong team and the Bianconeri face a strong challenge for the Serie A title this season. The Bianconeri have dominated the proceedings in the Italian top-flight with eight titles on the bounce but they could face a tougher test this season with Antonio Conte’s side making a strong start to the campaign.

Speaking to reporters, Cuadrado said that the Nerazzurri deserve to hold the advantage at the top of the table but his team have the chance to fight back when they face each other next weekend, he told: “Inter are surely a great team, they have everything to be there. We have to keep fighting to stay ahead, the next game is sure to be a good one to play. We hope to be 100% for this challenge. I’ve always been on the wing, but I’m available to the coach to give 100% to the team, even more so in this moment of emergency. I’ll try to give my best and do well in the defence.”