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LONDON: England midfielder Jude Bellingham needs to be more disciplined to have a greater impact on the team, says his manager Thomas Tuchel.

The 21-year-old has scored 11 goals for Real Madrid this season and six in 41 appearances for England.

Bellingham, who set up Myles Lewis-Skelly’s opening goal in the 2-0 win over Albania at Wembley on Friday, was also a key player for England in their run to the European Championship final in Germany last year, where they lost to Spain.

“He is always ready to give his all but we need to help him so that he can play more optimally according to the structure, and provide the same impact, or maybe even more.

“We need to make sure the leader, and he is one of the leaders, as well as the key players, play at the same pace and help each other.

“And maybe play with more discipline, to save energy for the important moments,” Tuchel said of Bellingham’s performance.

Tuchel also wants Bellingham to be more involved in the game.

“He likes to talk to the referees and the linesmen. He’s an emotional guy when he’s on the pitch. You can see he hates losing and will do anything…” he said.

GLASGOW: Rangers are disappointed and embarrassed by the behaviour of a few fans during last week’s Europa League match against Fenerbahce, which led to charges by UEFA.

UEFA has charged Rangers for the actions of fans displaying racist or discriminatory banners.

A banner reading: “Keep away foreign ideologies – defend Europe” was seen raised by supporters as Rangers reached the quarter-finals on penalties against giants Turkiye last week.

The Scottish club were also charged with several other offences by UEFA, including throwing objects and obstructing the path.

“For a club to be accused of such things in 2025 is disgraceful, and the contempt for those responsible will be shared by the majority of our supporters,” Rangers said in a statement.

“This punishment will bring consequences to the club while the club is also working to identify those responsible and ensure they bear the consequences.

“For the avoidance of doubt, if you do not believe in 2025 that everyone is welcome to follow Rangers whether at Ibrox or away, then Rangers is not the club for you, and you should disassociate yourself from the club immediately.”

The 2022 Europa League finalists are scheduled to face Athletic Bilbao in the last eight of the Europa League next month.

LONDON: Arsenal beat London rivals Chelsea 1-0 for their first win in four Premier League games on Wednesday.

Striker Mikel Merino’s towering header added to their hopes of catching current leaders Liverpool.

Merino struck in the 20th minute when he headed past Robert Sanchez in the Chelsea goal after receiving a corner from Martin Odegaard.

Victory leaves second-placed Arsenal 12 points behind Liverpool who face Newcastle United in tonight’s League Cup final.

Both teams have played 29 matches and still have nine more matches remaining.

Chelsea are now fourth, one point ahead of Manchester City and five behind third-placed Nottingham Forest.

LIVERPOOL: Paris Saint-Germain advanced to the quarter-finals of the Champions League after beating Liverpool 4-1 on penalties in the second leg of the round of 16.

Trailing 1-0 after the first leg in Paris last week, PSG levelled on aggregate thanks to Ousmane Dembele’s 12th-minute goal at Anfield.

The match went into extra time, but no goals were scored and had to be decided through penalty kicks.

PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma proved his mettle by saving shots from Darwin Nunez and Curtis Jones, while Vitinha, Goncalo Ramos, Dembele and Desire Doue completed the scoring for the visitors.

The French champions, who have never won the tournament, now advance to next month’s quarter-finals to face either Aston Villa or Club Brugge.

Villa hosted the visiting Belgian club at Villa Park with a 3-1 lead.

LONDON: Arne Slot says Liverpool need not fear at Parc des Princes as he prepares his Premier League (EPL) favourites for a blockbuster Champions League clash against Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).

The Slot team took a step forward in their bid for their first Champions League crown since 2019 when they faced PSG in the first leg of the last 16, early this Thursday morning.

The six-time European champions lost both of their previous visits to PSG in 1997 and 2018.

But Liverpool have only lost four times in all competitions this season and once in the Champions League – meeting PSV Eindhoven in the final group stage match, when they already qualified for the last 16.

The Reds emerged as league champions with seven wins from eight matches, including a 2-0 victory over defending champions Real Madrid, and were also dominant on the domestic stage.

Inspired by the greatness of Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah, Slot’s men are 13 points ahead at the top of the EPL as they approach a record-equalling 20 English championships.

Liverpool can clinch their first trophy of the Slot era when they face Newcastle in the League Cup final at Wembley on March 16.

With 20 wins, the Reds have won more league games than any club in Europe’s top five leagues so far this season.

After a recent slump, Liverpool are back on track with two 2-0 wins over Manchester City and Newcastle, which have allowed them to move closer to EPL glory.

They also benefited from not playing last weekend before the PSG match due to being knocked out early in the FA Cup.

No wonder Slot explained that Liverpool had no reason to be nervous about their visit to Paris.

“Are we afraid of PSG? We’re not afraid of anyone. But I’m impressed by their quality, they’re on a similar upward curve to us at the moment,” he said.

“I don’t think teams like Liverpool, Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona, ​​Real Madrid are afraid of their opponents.

“But of course we respect them and there’s a reason for that. They’ve won too many games in a row and they’ve got too many quality players.”

Like Liverpool, PSG are also closing in on the French title, leading by 13 points after 24 games unbeaten in Ligue 1 this season.

STUTTGART: Bayern Munich came from a goal down to stay top of the Bundesliga with a 3-1 win at VfB Stuttgart.

The win strengthened Bayern’s position at the top of the league on 61 points, 11 points ahead of Bayer Leverkusen who have played a game less.

Stuttgart took the lead in the 34th minute through Angelo Stiller before Bayern equalised through Michael Olise.

Bayern then took the lead in the 64th minute when Leon Goretzka intercepted a Stuttgart defender in the penalty area and scored to make it 2-1.

Stuttgart made another mistake before the end of the game when Joshua Vagnoman tried to pass the ball to goalkeeper Alexander Nubel, but it was intercepted by Kingsley Coman who scored the third goal.

MANCHESTER: Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim was impressed by his side’s willingness to suffer to secure a 3-2 win over Ipswich Town in the Premier League at Old Trafford.

United came from behind to lead 2-1 before Patrick Dorgu was sent off and Ipswich equalised late in the first half.

The visitors failed to capitalize on their player advantage throughout the second half, instead the hosts secured victory thanks to a goal from Harry Maguire to take the team further away from the relegation zone.

“Today I wasn’t disappointed. We controlled the game and from the first minute I could feel the players trying to play and we managed to score two goals

“The red card disrupted the rhythm a little but the fight shown by the fans really helped us collect the three points,” said Amorim.

Amorim seemed less than happy with the way young striker Alejandro Garnacho acted after being sent off as United wanted to strengthen their defence after Dorgu was sent off.

The Argentine headed straight to the dressing room, rather than joining his teammates on the bench.

“I’ll talk to Garnacho about it. You can ask me at the next press conference,” the operator said.

Jaden Philogene opened the scoring for Ipswich in the fourth minute, but United came back to equalise after visiting captain Sam Morsy had the ball into his own net in the 22nd minute.

Four minutes later Matthijs de Ligt put United ahead. Dorgu was sent off two minutes before half-time for a late challenge on Omari Hutchinson. Ipswich took full advantage to equalise through Philogene.

Maguire sealed United’s victory two minutes into the second half. United are now 14th on 33 points after 27 games.

PARIS: Qatari officials are reportedly suing to withdraw investment from Parisian giants, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).

Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) bought PSG in 2011 and Nasser Al-Khelaifi was appointed club president with PSG enjoying their shining moment by winning 10 Ligue 1 titles in the last 12 seasons.

However, according to Agence France Presse (AFP), Al-Khelaifi was accused of being ‘involved in buying lots and abusing the freedom of voting’ and ‘being involved in abuse of power’, but Al-Khelaifi denied these accusations.

The case is closely related to French businessman, Arnaud Lagardere and charges regarding allegations of influencing voting by QSI- a shareholder in the group.

RMC Sport reports that Qatar has responded to the accusations by suing to stop investment in France.

This includes PSG and the beIN Sports sports network.

A source close to the Qatari government told RMC Sport ‘they are fed up with the accusations being thrown around.’

“Fake legal proceedings, insults, daily criticism, being blamed for the failures of others – all the problems in France are their fault.

“Every time they try to help, it is for ‘soft power’. This is abuse and they can no longer put up with it.”

MANCHESTER, England: Jude Bellingham scored the winning goal in injury time as Real Madrid twice came back to inflict more pain on Manchester City with a 3-2 victory in the first leg of their Champions League play-off at the Etihad Stadium early this morning.

Erling Haaland twice put City ahead with his first goals in five games against Madrid.

But the defending champions hit back through Kylian Mbappe and Brahim Diaz before Bellingham scored the winning goal in the 92nd minute on his return to England.

“It’s a bit strange. We played some of our best games of the season and still fell behind,” said Bellingham.

“I don’t care how City perform because they are still an incredible team. It’s often difficult against them and we finally took our chances at the end of the game.”

City now face a tough task to advance to the last 16 when the two teams meet again in the Spanish capital on February 19.

“It’s a feeling of anger and frustration,” said City defender John Stones.

“We need to finish the game better. The manager said we need to be responsible for what we do in midfield. We need to bounce back when bad moments like this happen.”

The clubs met for the fourth consecutive season in the Champions League, with the winners in each of the previous three years eventually lifting the trophy.

Madrid’s decision to boycott City midfielder Rodri’s Ballon d’Or win last year is seen as adding to their animosity as the Spanish giants feel their own player Vinicius Junior is more deserving of the award.

LONDON: Liverpool manager Arne Slot has urged Mohamed Salah to sign a new contract with the club despite receiving a lucrative offer to move to Saudi Arabia. tempted by a lucrative offer from Saudi Arabia.

Salah’s contract, which is currently at its peak, will expire next June.

Speculation about the future of the Egyptian international is increasingly heated, with the Saudi Pro League seen as one of the preferred destinations for him to continue his career.

In an interview aired on Piers Morgan’s YouTube channel Uncensored on Thursday, Saudi Arabia’s Sports Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal admitted they were interested in signing Salah if the player met all the criteria they were looking for.

“Of course, if he meets all the criteria, we would be very honored to have him,” Prince Abdulaziz said.

“We feel we share a lot in common with the Egyptians, from culture to history.”

At 32, Salah leads the Premier League’s top scorers chart with 19 goals this season, but in a statement in December, he said he was still a long way from reaching an agreement on a new contract with Liverpool.

Slot, said the club intends to keep Salah and hopes the player will choose to extend his contract.

“We want him to stay with us, that’s clear. But I wouldn’t be surprised if other countries, including Saudi Arabia, are interested in him,” said Slot in a press conference ahead of the match against Bournemouth, today.

“He is quite wise and experienced in making decisions for his future, and I am sure he will make the best decision, not only for himself but also for us.”

In addition to Salah, two other key Liverpool players, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold, are also out of contract at the end of the season, adding to concerns over the team’s future.

Slot, however, declined to comment further on contract negotiations, but stressed that discussions about the future of his players were being taken seriously.