Cagliari’s record at home means Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri is not taking the trip to the Sardinian capital lightly.

Juventus are well positioned to secure Champions League qualification for next season, while Cagliari are just four points above the drop zone ahead of Thursday’s contest at the Unipol Domus.

The Bianconeri next take on Lazio in the Coppa Italia semi-final on Tuesday, holding a 2-0 lead from the first leg.

But Allegri is wary of Claudio Ranieri’s Cagliari, who scored twice in the last quarter of an hour to secure a 2-2 draw at runaway league leaders Inter Milan last time out.

“Of their eight wins this season, six have come at home and 23 of the 31 points they’ve got have been picked up at home,” Allegri told a press conference.

“They’re a team who score a lot of goals in the last 15 minutes of games and particularly with players who come off the bench, they have scored more goals with substitutes than anybody else.

“We know it will be a tough game, so our very best version will have to show up. We won’t be rotating ahead of the Italian Cup, the most important game is Cagliari, then we’ll focus on the cup.

“It would be a mistake to not focus on Cagliari, and a win in Sardinia would allow us to take a big step towards our goals.”

Juventus still have clashes against top-four rivals AC Milan, Roma and Bologna ahead of them in the next few weeks.

“It’s important to stay focused on the next month or so,” Allegri added. “We have a lot of difficult games to come. A win at this stage is almost worth double.”

Cagliari have lost just once in their last eight matches to ease relegation fears and twice hit back from a goal down to claim a surprise point at Inter Milan on Sunday.

“I told the guys that they are doing well, but we have new pitfalls ahead of us,” Ranieri told a press conference.

“The team is focused, we have to keep the right balance. We have to keep pushing without fear, the salvation fight is very tight. There are no foregone conclusions, you go out there and fight.”

The EFL will seek compensation for its clubs over the “frustrating and disappointing” decision to scrap all FA Cup replays from next season.

League sources say it was sidelined from the decision, which was announced by the Football Association on Thursday.

EFL chief executive Trevor Birch said: “Whilst the league had previously been involved in discussions over the future of the calendar, these were predicated on the agreement of a new financial deal with the Premier League for EFL clubs which has not progressed.

“This is frustrating and disappointing given the calendar is a shared asset across football, and as we have consistently said a whole game approach is required to find solutions to complex fixture scheduling challenges.

“Our domestic calendar has been put under extreme pressure by the expansion of UEFA competitions and ultimately this represents another lost traditional revenue stream for EFL clubs at a time when the financial gap between the biggest clubs and those further down the pyramid is growing bigger than ever.

“We will now be discussing the implications for EFL clubs and seeking appropriate compensation arrangements.”

Arsenal’s form in April looks like costing them dearly again this season after they exited the Champions League and fell behind in the title race.

After costly defeats to Aston Villa and Bayern Munich, the PA news agency looks at the Gunners’ recurring failings at this time of year.

Same old story

Manager Mikel Arteta backed his side to “write our story very differently” against Bayern and had previously called on them to recreate the aura of the 2003-04 “Invincibles”, who won the league without losing a game.

They may instead be following the pattern of Arsenal teams since then who have narrowly missed out on success, particularly last season when they began April eight points clear.

They maintained that margin by beating Leeds on April 1 but drew their next three games and then lost to eventual champions Manchester City as they finished five points behind.

Consecutive league defeats to Crystal Palace, Brighton and Southampton in April 2022 contributed to Arsenal missing out on the Champions League.

This season, they were top after beating the Seagulls but defeat to Villa left them two points behind City. That was sandwiched between the two legs of the Bayern tie, a 2-2 draw at home and Wednesday night’s 1-0 defeat in Germany, leaving them needing to end a three-game winless run when they face Wolves on Saturday.

It is not a new phenomenon either – as far back as 2007-08, Arsenal finished four points off the top after winning only one of eight games from February 23 to April 13.

They took one point from four games in the run-in to end their 2009-10 title challenge and five from the final six games in 2010-11 to finish down in fourth, and winning their final five games in 2013-14 was not enough after they took two points from the previous four. They were top of the league for more days that season than any other team, as was the case last year with a record 248.

Same old faces

The PA news agency understands there are some concerns within Arsenal over tiredness and fatigue taking their toll on the players, and their playing time paints a stark picture.

Eight of Wednesday night’s starting XI – David Raya, Ben White, Gabriel, William Saliba, Declan Rice, captain Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz – have played over 3,000 minutes in all competitions this season.

Those figures exclude stoppage-time and are already more than for either of the previous two campaigns, with six league games still to play.

White, Gabriel, Odegaard and Saka have all hit that threshold in each of the last three seasons for totals in excess of 10,000, with Gabriel leading the way at 11,220. His emergence with Brazil means all bar White are now also regulars for their respective countries.

Gabriel Martinelli could yet add a ninth name to this season’s list and Arteta must work out a way to keep his star men fresh and avoid their now traditional springtime slump.

A lower-league club boss has called for protests over the decision to scrap all FA Cup replays and warned the Premier League will “strangle” the pyramid without a strong independent regulator.

Replays have been abolished from the first round onwards from next season as part of a minimum six-year agreement between the Football Association and the Premier League.

The matches have long been a part of FA Cup tradition – with the first replayed final taking place in 1875 – and have in some cases been highly lucrative for lower-league clubs.

It has long been expected that the expansion of UEFA club competitions would lead to their abolition at least from the third-round stage, but Tranmere vice-chair Nicola Palios fears this move could be the thin end of the wedge.

“The FA and the Premier League have reached an agreement to suit themselves further at the expense of the rest of the football pyramid,” Palios posted on X.

“Bring on the regulator and make sure it has some teeth before the Premier League strangle the pyramid.

“Seven hundred and twenty-nine teams compete in the FA Cup. Why is its format being dictated by the Premier League who represent circa three per cent of them? Why were EFL clubs not given a say? Why is the EPL even dictating whether replays are allowed in rounds they don’t participate in? Protest is needed!”

Next season’s domestic calendar – including the changes to the FA Cup – have been approved by the FA’s Professional Game Board, which includes EFL representation.

The EFL has not yet commented on the matter.

The agreement also includes fifth-round ties reverting to a weekend slot, having been played in midweek for the last five seasons. The FA Cup final will also now be played on the penultimate weekend of the Premier League season.

FA chief executive Mark Bullingham insists the move, which will mean up to an extra £33million for the pyramid, strengthens the FA Cup.

Andy Holt, the chairman of Accrington, wrote on X: “Why would the hapless FA scrap early-round replays that can be lucrative to minnows? A chance to change their financial fortunes? Against EFL clubs? I expect nothing less of Masters and co Premier League buying the game into a format that suits their needs.”

Niall Couper, the chief executive of the Fair Game football reform group, described the move as “short-sighted” and as “another nail in the coffin for the already crumbling football pyramid”.

FA sources have challenged the notion that replays are major revenue earners for lower-league clubs. Of the 19 third and fourth-round replays in the last 10 years where an EFL side was away, 12 had an attendance of over 25,000. Only a very small percentage of first and second-round replays over the same period achieved attendances of over 7,000.

Nevertheless they remained popular among fans, with 69.5 per cent of those taking part in a Football Supporters’ Association survey last summer believing they are an important part of the FA Cup. The FSA, which had been involved in talks with the FA over the FA Cup’s format, has not yet commented.

Freeing up first and second-round replay dates would help to create room for any expansion of the EFL Trophy, which has been under discussion between the Premier League and the EFL. The former is keen to give top-flight clubs’ young stars more opportunities to play in competitive matches.

However, with talks over a new financial settlement between the EFL and the Premier League stalled, it is unclear when – or even if – such an expansion would take place.

The Professional Footballers’ Association said the move highlighted the knock-on impact to domestic football of changes agreed at the international level.

“What football needs is a collective approach to a properly thought-out global fixture calendar – not a fight for available dates,” PFA chief executive Maheta Molango said.

“(The agreement) shows how decisions that are made at an international level have a knock-on impact which affects clubs, and players, throughout the pyramid.

“The current unsustainable approach to the calendar needs to be seen as an issue for every club at every level if we want to continue to protect our domestic competitions.”

FA Cup replays have been abolished as part of a new agreement between the Football Association and the Premier League on the competition’s format and funding.

Here the PA news agency looks at the issue in closer detail.

What has happened?

The FA has agreed to scrap all replays from the first round proper onwards. Replays had already been phased out from the fifth-round stage but will now be ditched completely. The format change will see all fifth-round ties, which have been played in midweek for the last five seasons, revert to weekends while ties in the fourth round, fifth round and quarter-finals will be played exclusively of Premier League ties.

The FA Cup final will be played on the penultimate weekend of Premier League games, but no top-flight matches will be played on the Saturday of that weekend.

The Premier League will provide up to an extra £33million per season to support the pyramid as a result of the agreement, the FA said.

Why has this happened?

The primary driver has been the pressure placed on the domestic calendar by the expansion of UEFA’s club competitions from next season. The new format for the Champions League, for example, features an extra 64 matches next season compared to the current campaign, and spills into January for the first time, a month which had previously been the reserve of domestic football.

But why scrap replays in the first and second rounds, where Premier League teams aren’t involved?

FA sources say that decision has been taken for the sake of consistency in the competition, and to help EFL clubs and those lower down the pyramid resolve their own congestion issues. It is understood the EFL Trophy is another candidate for expansion as Premier League clubs look for further playing opportunities for their young stars, although with talks on a new financial settlement between the Premier League and the EFL having stalled, it is not clear when – or even if – that change will come to pass.

FA sources have also challenged the idea that replays are major revenue earners for lower-league clubs. Of the 19 third and fourth-round replays in the last 10 years where an EFL side was away, 12 had an attendance of over 25,000. Only a very small percentage of first and second-round replays over the same period achieved attendances of over 7,000.

What else has happened?

The mid-season break has been scrapped to allow a mid-August start date for the new Premier League season, which should enable top-flight clubs to ensure all players can get a consecutive three-week break in the summer. The new schedule also allows for the late May Bank Holiday weekend to be ringfenced for the EFL play-offs.

What has the reaction been?

The Football Supporters’ Association has not yet issued any comment on the move, but its survey from last year showed continued strong support for replays, with 69.5 per cent of respondents believing they are an important part of the FA Cup.

Nicola Palios, the vice-chair of League Two side Tranmere, said the FA and the Premier League had reached an agreement “to suit themselves at the expense of the rest of the football pyramid”, and said the new independent regulator would need the power to stop the Premier League “strangling” the lower leagues.

FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said the changes would strengthen the FA Cup while his Premier League counterpart Richard Masters said the changes had been agreed “without compromising the excitement of knockout football”.

The Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive Maheta Molango said the move showed how decisions taken at FIFA and UEFA level had “a knock-on impact which affects clubs, and players, throughout the pyramid”.

“What football needs is a collective approach to a properly thought-out global fixture calendar – not a fight for available dates,” Molango said.

Roma have confirmed that head coach Daniele De Rossi will remain in charge of the club for “the foreseeable future”.

De Rossi, 40, who spent 18 years as a player with the Giallorossi, was appointed in January after the sacking of Jose Mourinho.

Roma have climbed from ninth to fifth in Serie A under the 40-year-old, who initially signed a short-term deal until June.

In a statement on the club’s website, Roma owners Dan and Ryan Friedkin said: “After meeting yesterday afternoon with Daniele De Rossi, we are delighted to announce he will continue as head coach of AS Roma after this season and for the foreseeable future.

“In his short tenure as head coach, the positive impact that his leadership has brought to the entire club has told its own story.

“Daniele leads with respect and courage, while his strength and deep-rooted belief in the club are truly aligned with Roma’s values, city and unparalleled fans.

“We will continue to work together as hard as we possibly can to deliver a future that AS Roma’s fans deserve.

“We couldn’t be happier to build a long-term project with Daniele.

“Further details to follow in the coming days.”

Barcelona have been fined 25,000 euros (£21,400) by UEFA for racist behaviour by their fans during the Champions League quarter-final first-leg tie at Paris St Germain.

Three charges were brought against Barca following the fixture at Parc des Princes on April 10, which included acts of damage and lighting of fireworks.

UEFA’s Appeals Body announced on Thursday Barcelona will be fined for the racist behaviour of their fans and will be banned from selling tickets to their away supporters for the Spanish club’s next UEFA competition match.

That ticket ban has been suspended for a probationary period of one year, which started from the date of the present decision.

Barcelona must also pay a 2,000 euro fine for lighting fireworks and a further 5,000 euro fine for acts of damage.

After Barca won the first leg 3-2 in Paris, they lost 4-1 in the second leg at home this week to exit the Champions League 6-4 on aggregate.

Harry Kane is ready to go into battle against Jude Bellingham for a spot in the Champions League final before the pair aim to lead England to Euro 2024 glory.

England captain Kane moved to Bayern Munich from Tottenham last year while Bellingham left Borussia Dortmund to join Real Madrid.

Both helped their respective clubs to Champions League quarter-final wins over Premier League sides on Wednesday night as Bayern beat Arsenal and Real saw off Manchester City on penalties. Bellingham scored in that shoot-out while Kane netted a first-leg spot-kick at the Emirates Stadium.

Those wins tee up a mouth-watering semi-final clash between two clubs who have won 20 European Cups between them.

Despite Arsenal and City being eliminated, meaning the first semi-final line-up since 2020 with no Premier League clubs, Kane believes there will still be plenty of English interest in how he and Bellingham fare.

“Jude has had a fantastic season, he’s a top player,” he said.

“I’m really happy for him but it will be another war against his team – but that’s the experiences that we both went abroad to try to achieve, to play in these big nights in the Champions League, to play in these big semi-finals.

“It will be one to enjoy and I’m sure there will be a lot of English fans watching both of us. We have to focus on ourselves. Of course, I’ll say hello but once we’re on the pitch, it’s business.”

Kane is still yet to win a major trophy in his career and also has the added incentive of the Champions League final taking place at Wembley on June 1, with either Dortmund or Paris St Germain awaiting the winner of Real and Bayern.

“For both of us, for sure,” Kane replied when asked if Wembley is the dream for him and Bellingham.

“With Wembley being our national stadium, it’s extra motivation there for us but there are two games ahead of us before that, which are going to be really tough so we have to focus on that.

“Real Madrid are a big club with amazing history in the Champions League so it’s going to be a really difficult game for us.

“But that’s what the semi-finals of the Champions League are all about, the biggest teams, so we enjoy this tonight and then prepare for that game in a couple of weeks.”

FA Cup replays have been scrapped from next season, the Football Association has announced.

The move to abolish all replays from the first round proper onwards is part of a new agreement between the FA and the Premier League which will see an extra £33million going to grassroots football from the top flight each season.

The FA had already scrapped replays from the fifth round onwards and said the move to ditch them altogether had been agreed “in light of changes to the calendar driven by the expanded UEFA competitions”.

The FA said all rounds would now be played at the weekend, with the fifth phase having moved to midweek for the last five seasons.

The FA said the final will now be played on the penultimate weekend of the Premier League season, on a Saturday with no top-flight matches taking place on the same day.

Rodri claims he “saw only one team” trying to win as he bemoaned Real Madrid’s tactics following Manchester City’s heartbreaking Champions League quarter-final loss.

City’s European title defence ended in agonising fashion at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday as the Spanish giants prevailed 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw on the night meant the tie ended 4-4 on aggregate.

It was a clash the holders completely dominated, racking up 33 attempts on goal to the visitors’ eight, but Real defended deep to frustrate them and ultimately ended their hopes of a second successive treble.

City midfielder Rodri said: “To be honest, I saw only one team. In terms of defending, they defended (well). They knew how to suffer and we know how tough Real Madrid are.

“But in my opinion we should go through with that amount of chances but this is the trick of this competition. They know how to play it. We congratulate them.

“We gave everything, there is nothing to regret. This is football sometimes. This shows how difficult it is to win it, as we did last season. It was very frustrating and sometimes it is difficult to explain.”

City’s exit from the competition they won with a Rodri goal in Istanbul last year, coupled with Arsenal’s loss to Bayern Munich, means there are no English semi-finalists for the first time since 2020.

City had to chase the tie after Rodrgyo pounced to put Real ahead after 12 minutes.

They created a plethora of chances in a storming response, with Erling Haaland going the closest in the first half when he headed against the bar.

Further opportunities came and went after the break and it was not until the 76th minute that Kevin De Bruyne finally broke through to net a deserved equaliser.

But De Bruyne spurned a good chance to win it when he fired over soon after and, with extra-time failing to separate the sides, it came down to spot-kicks.

Ederson saved from Luka Modric but Bernardo Silva’s attempted Panenka was too easy for Andriy Lunin, who also denied Mateo Kovavic as Real went through.

The Premier League leaders now have little time to pick themselves up before heading to Wembley for an FA Cup semi-final with Chelsea on Saturday.

Rodri said: “We will have to digest the loss but we will have to wake up, stand up. We still have two more competitions to play for.

“We need the mentality (to be) positive, to find any ambition that right now is difficult to find. Tomorrow we will find it and go against Chelsea, try to be in another final and fight for the Premier League.”

City will need to assess key pair Haaland and De Bruyne who, along with Manuel Akanji, were substituted before the penalty shoot-out.

Haaland was removed at the end of the regulation 90 minutes with the influential De Bruyne leaving the action in the second period of extra-time.

Manager Pep Guardiola said: “Erling and Kevin asked me to go out – they could not continue, like Manu. The game we were playing, they were amazing, but they could not continue.”

The prospect of five English clubs competing in next season’s Champions League is hanging by a thread after Manchester City and Arsenal were knocked out of the continent’s premier club competition on Wednesday night.

Here, the PA news agency explains the situation.

Why is there an extra place?

From this season, the two countries who collectively perform best in this season’s men’s European club competitions will each gain a European Performance Spot (EPS) for one of their clubs in the following season’s Champions League, which will feature a 36-team league phase from 2024-25 replacing the familiar eight groups of four.

For each of the best-performing countries, the EPS goes to the highest-finishing club in those countries who have not already qualified for the Champions League via their domestic performance. In England’s case, that would be the team finishing fifth – currently Tottenham.

How do the rankings look at the moment?

The rankings – known as the association club coefficient – are led this season by Italy. Germany were already ahead of England in the race for the second spot heading into the quarter-final second legs, but the exits of City and Arsenal – coupled with Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund making progress – have widened the gap.

Last Friday – after the Europa League and Conference League first legs had been played – Germany had 16.785 points compared to England’s 16.750, a gap of 0.035. On Thursday morning the gap had grown to 0.767, with Germany on 17.642 and England on 16.875.

How are the points worked out?

Teams gain points for wins (two) and draws (one) from the start of the group phase in all three of UEFA’s men’s club competitions. Teams also earn points for participation in the Champions League group phase and for making progress beyond certain rounds in all three competitions.

The association coefficient is calculated by working out an average score – dividing the total number of points the clubs win by the number of clubs representing that country in Europe. So in England’s case any points won by the Premier League representatives are divided by eight.

Can England still do it?

In theory yes. West Ham and Liverpool could still meet in the Europa League final if they can overturn first-leg deficits to Bayer Leverkusen and Atalanta respectively on Thursday night, and Aston Villa could still go all the way in the Conference League. That, coupled with the remaining German teams stumbling, means there is still very slim hope.

But Germany certainly have the edge and could even end up with six teams in next season’s Champions League. If Dortmund finish fifth in the Bundesliga but win the Champions League, it would be the second of those achievements which would secure them their Champions League place for 2024-25. The EPS would then be awarded to whoever finishes sixth – currently Eintracht Frankfurt.

Cole Palmer is an “absolute genius” who could help England win Euro 2024, according to former international Joe Cole.

Palmer has lit up the Premier League following his move to Chelsea from Manchester City, scoring 20 goals and notching nine assists in a brilliant breakout season.

The 21-year-old is a contender to win the Golden Boot ahead of former City team-mate Erling Haaland and looks set to be on the plane as Gareth Southgate’s men try to earn Euros glory this summer.

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Palmer, who has won two caps, was not involved in last month’s friendlies against Brazil and Belgium due to injury, but Cole believes he can be the difference-maker in Germany.

“He has been sensational and there is an argument he could be Player of the Year – that’s how good he has been,” Cole told the PA news agency.

“You have to bring a player of that quality.

“The technicians are what are going to win us the tournament. They all have to go and they all have to have time on the pitch.

“Palmer is a top player. I have watched him play and he is a top, top player.

“Cole Palmer is an absolute genius.”

Cole is also impressed by Palmer’s mentality, highlighted by his refusal to hand a penalty over to squabbling team-mates Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke, despite already scoring a hat-trick in the 6-0 win over Everton.

Palmer kept his cool and scored a fourth to take his tally to 20 for the season.

Cole added: “It’s fantastic he has got that mindset – he is not a wallflower.

“He is a proper player, he will go anywhere on the pitch and take the ball, he backs himself.

“Sometimes people can look at that with disdain, saying it’s arrogance. It’s not arrogance. We need it and we need more players like that.”

Palmer is a special inclusion in Topps’ UEFA EURO 2024 sticker collection, where he is featured in the ‘Artist of the Game’ category.

Cole said of collecting stickers: “It is a rite of passage. Everyone who loves football gets to that stage where you are collecting.

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“It’s such a great thing to do, the trading, the anticipation of who you are going to get, who you need.

“It is just a great social thing for kids to do. It becomes nostalgic, it’s something that our parents did and our kids do, it’s part of our culture.”

:: Joe Cole was speaking to mark the launch of Topps’ official UEFA EURO 2024™ sticker collection, which is available to buy now.

Former England midfielder Izzy Christiansen believes an English team winning the Champions League would be “massive” for the Women’s Super League.

No English team has won the competition except Arsenal in 2007, although Chelsea have come within touching distance of the trophy after reaching the 2021 final, but were beaten 4-0 by Barcelona in Gothenburg.

The Blues are hoping to go one step further this season as they continue their campaign with two semi-final ties against Barcelona this month and Christiansen believes an English Champions League winner would be beneficial for the WSL.

“Chelsea have been knocking on the door for the last three or four seasons with the Champions League,” she told the PA news agency.

“Everyone knows you almost have to go through that disappointment of being in a final, getting knocked out in the knockout rounds and the situation now where they’re in the semis, it’s going to be tight, but those previous experiences will definitely help them.

“If there were to be an English team to win a Champions League in the next few years then it would be massive for the league and solidify the work that goes into the league and creating this really high performing, sustainable, competitive model that brings out Champions League winners from our country year on year.”

Christiansen is no stranger to success herself in the Champions League, having been part of Lyon’s side who claimed glory in 2018-19, and she described playing in the competition as a “different” feeling.

“It’s like – as cringe as it sounds – there’s magic in the air, this feeling you feel on a Champions League gameday that’s just different,” Christiansen added.

“I think it’s really important everyone understands how big it is and if we can have teams that continually compete in the latter stages of that competition then it’s massive for the WSL.”

The WSL title race is set for another tight finish with Chelsea and Manchester City sat level on 46 points at the top with four games to go.

City sit second on goal difference and Christiansen believes her former club have been “brilliant” this season.

“It’s really interesting actually because I’ve seen a massive shift this season in the way that they play,” she said.

“Nothing’s really changed massively, they’ve been really consistent with the methodology, the style, the manager, the players.

“The squad hasn’t changed much since last season. Jill Roord coming in – if she was still fit you’d be wondering where City would be right now, probably a similar position – but the job Jess Park’s done since coming in, the job Alex Greenwood’s done, Lauren Hemp’s just been outstanding.

“Without the Champions League there’s been huge focus on the WSL and that consistency. The squad, the culture within the squad, all of these things matter and I think they’ve been brilliant.”

Christiansen was speaking ahead of this year’s London Marathon taking place on Sunday; she is running for the Bobby Moore Fund and admitted is is an “honour” to be doing so for the cause.

“It’s an honour really because Bobby Moore being a former England international, a legend of the game, he died of bowel cancer which is the reason why I’m running the London Marathon is to raise awareness of the early symptoms of bowel cancer,” Christiansen said.

“His wife set up the foundation when he died basically with the aim to raise as much money and awareness towards research, which I believe has been extremely successful.

“It was really nice the other day I had an email from Stephanie Moore, his wife, wishing me good luck and inviting me to a post-run drinks reception, which I’m sure will be very nice come around three o’clock on Sunday afternoon.”

Captain Martin Odegaard has backed Arsenal to roll with the punches as they aim to keep their season on track against Wolves on Saturday.

The Gunners were knocked out of the Champions League following a 1-0 defeat by Bayern Munich on Wednesday night, with the German side progressing to the semi-finals 3-2 on aggregate courtesy of Joshua Kimmich’s bullet header.

The disappointment at the Allianz Arena followed on from Sunday’s 2-0 home loss to Aston Villa that dented Arsenal’s Premier League title charge.

Mikel Arteta’s side are now two points behind leaders Manchester City and face a tricky trip to Molineux this weekend, knowing victory would take them top with City playing in the FA Cup.

The PA news agency understands there are some concerns within the club over tiredness and fatigue taking their toll on the players at such a crucial stage of the season, especially in the second half of the Villa game.

Following the two damaging defeats, Odegaard conceded the Champions League exit will hurt – but feels Arsenal have plenty still to play for.

“I mean it takes a little bit to get going again, but I think what you play for in the league is enough motivation for all of us,” he said.

“So we just have to stick together, get back up, and keep pushing. We can still do something very special.

“I think that is enough motivation to just keep going, keep working hard and pushing each other. We have to keep going.

“Every game now is so important, it has been for a while. It has been so tight and so competitive.”

Kimmich headed home in the second half after Arsenal had enjoyed the best of a tense first 45 minutes, in which Gabriel Martinelli wasted the best chance for the visitors.

Bayern now go on to face Real Madrid in the last four after the LaLiga giants beat City on penalties, meaning there is no English club in the semi-finals for the first time since the 2019-20 campaign.

“I think it was, again, a very tight game, as the home game was,” added Odegaard.

“But I think you see it in front of the goals, that’s where we lost the tie. It was a bit similar to the home game.

“We gave away a very easy goal today and we are not sharp enough in front of the opponent’s goal. That’s where the games are decided and that’s where we lost the game.

“We wanted to do more, so at the moment we are just disappointed. It has been a long time since we have been here (in the Champions League), but at the moment it is disappointing.

“We wanted to go further. We wanted to go all the way. First of all, we are disappointed, but I think we have done something good as well.

“Every time you get hit you have to stand up and go again. The key thing is to stand together and lift each other up. Then, as I said, we have something really nice to play for, so that’s where we have to put the mindset now.

“Of course we want to win something and that’s been the big goal. But I think we can’t look too far ahead, we have to take it day by day, and game by game.

“First of all, now we have to lift each other up and we have to get ready for the next game. Then we move on from there.”

Everton manager Brian Sorensen has signed a new two-year deal with the Women’s Super League club.

Sorensen and his assistant Stephen Neligan have put pens to paper on fresh terms ahead of Friday’s trip to Brighton.

Danish coach Sorensen took over the Merseyside club in 2022 and guided Everton to a sixth-placed finish in his debut season in charge, but they have experienced a difficult current campaign after being hit with a succession of injuries.

“Yeah, really happy. I really like the club and the people here,” Sorensen told a press conference.

“I think we have a good plan in place in terms of progressing the team for the next few years.

“We have a good core group and most important of all my little girl is really happy in school, so she is also happy we stay.”

Neligan has worked with Sorensen at Nordsjaelland and Fortuna Hjorring and will remain with Everton after he also agreed a contract until the summer of 2026.

Sorensen added: “Yeah, really important. I worked with him for this is the fifth year now so we know each very well.

“He is a very skilful coach and we work well together so I’m super happy he is staying also.”