Ettifaq, and a resurgence as captain of Ajax for a year, Jordan Henderson is looking to return to one of Europe's top five leagues according to Fabrizio Romano.

Here's the state of play after the conclusion of the first stage of the Champions League: Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Lille, Aston Villa. Monaco or Brest vs. Paris Saint-Germain or Benfica (for the right to play Liverpool or Barcelona)

Bologna’s home clash with Milan and Inter’s away fixture at Fiorentina were initially due to be played in October and December, respectively, but ended up being postponed, albeit for very different reasons.

Prior to coach Ruben Amorim's departure for Manchester United, Sporting had been flying in Europe, yet three straight defeats left them at risk ahead of this final round of matches

“We have had intensive discussions with Niko Kovac over the past few days and have deliberately taken the time to get to know each other and our expectations better,” Dortmund managing director Lars Ricken said. “We are in a challenging sporting situation and are sure that in Niko we have found the coach who is able to master it.”

The appointment of the Croatian represents a break from the norm at the Westfalenstadion but it might be the shock treatment this club needs

Instead of going straight into the traditional round of 16, the competition will feature a knockout phase play-off. In this stage, the teams that finished ninth to 16th in the group phase will face off against those that placed 17th to 24th, with each tie played over two legs.

LONDON — Here's the state of play after the conclusion of the first stage of the Champions League: Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Lille, Aston Villa

Borussia Dortmund is set to appoint Niko Kovac as the club’s new head coach. Dortmund’s managing director of sport, Lars Ricken, confirmed reports that the club had reached an agreement with the former Frankfurt, Bayern, Monaco and Wolfsburg coach this week.

Manchester City nearly crashed out, but came from behind in the second half, and in the end, all European giants reached the knockout rounds of the Champions League.

There was goals galore without the significance immediately being obvious and the richest clubs ultimately got exactly what they wanted out of the new format

Winner of Manchester City (4-2) last Wednesday and climbed to the 22nd place in the 2024/2025 Champions League ranking, Paris