Internazionale

In concerning scenes in Copenhagen against Finland in June, Eriksen received CPR on the pitch with his team-mates forming a protective screen around him.

The Denmark midfielder has subsequently been fitted with a pacemaker and encouragingly returned to Inter's training ground in August – Eriksen's health being "the only thing that matters" to Kjaer.

Kjaer was one of the first to the scene and prevented Eriksen from swallowing his own tongue as he placed his team-mate into the recovery position.

The centre-back was hailed as a saviour but he told Corriere della Sera: "I'm not a hero, I just did what I had to do, without thinking, like anyone else would.

"Then what happened, happened. I was ready to remain lucid, like all my team-mates. It was a team effort, obviously we would have done the same if he had been an opponent.

"Instinct guided me, and I did what I had to, automatically. It was the first time this happened to me, I hope it’s the last, too.

"That’s all. The only thing that matters is that Christian is fine now. That's the only important thing. I did it without thinking."

It remains unclear if Eriksen will be able to play in Italy again due to the national restrictions on people playing with ICDs – a device connected to the heart to regulate abnormal rhythms.

However, Eriksen could feature in other European countries, as seen by the example of Daley Blind, who still features for Ajax despite an ICD fitting in 2019.

Kjaer's focus remains firmly on Serie A with Milan and, after Stefano Pioli credited the Denmark international as a leader, the Rossoneri fans want the defender to take the armband.

"We already have a captain and his name is [Alessandro] Romagnoli," the 32-year-old responded to questions over the captaincy.

"There is great harmony and sportiness between us. I don't care about the armband. I do my best always and in any case.

"There is harmony, unity [at Milan]. But above all there is a desire to work. Because without work, there is no improvement.

"A team like Milan has the duty to aim for the maximum. This is the only way to grow. I've never won a championship and I'd like to do it with Milan. [It] would be a dream."

Martinez was heavily linked with a move to Barcelona throughout the 2019-20 season, with the player even discussing a possible switch to Camp Nou with fellow Argentine Lionel Messi.

However, the 23-year-old instead opted to stick around at San Siro, remaining a key part of Antonio Conte's squad as the Nerazzurri secured a first Serie A title since 2010.

Inter had finished second in the previous season but have kicked on after that disappointment, running away from their rivals since the turn of the year to be crowned champions and end Juventus' nine-year dominance in the competition.

"I am very happy to be at Inter, even more so after this Scudetto which has been missing for so many years," Martinez said in an interview with Sky Sport Italia.

"We are experiencing an incredible moment and I cannot think of anything other than being here.

"I was close to Barcelona, I had also spoken with Messi. Afterwards, I made a choice - I chose to stay here and I was not wrong."

Martinez's combination with Lukaku has been a key factor for Inter, the pair scoring 75 league goals between them in their two seasons together at the club.

Lukaku has been a revelation since joining from Manchester United. After 23 goals in his debut Serie A campaign, he is at 22 this time around with two games to play, as well as providing 11 assists.

The Belgian striker has been ruthless too, converting 52.8 per cent of what Opta describes as 'big' chances, which is where a player is expected to score.

Martinez – who has 16 goals and five assists in the league in 2020-21 – believes the dynamic duo have continually pushed each other to raise the bar under Conte, in part due to the competition provided by having the experienced Alexis Sanchez in the squad.

"We built our relationship from the first day he arrived," Martinez said of Lukaku.

"The year before he had watched Inter's matches and we talked about this for two or three hours after the first training session. He speaks Spanish, we understood each other immediately.

"I always tell him that there is a match between the three of us, because every training session we try to improve and give our best.

"Each one has taken a step forward this year and this is important for the growth of Inter and this group."

Atalanta top the standings on 34 points, two ahead of Antonio Conte's Napoli, with Inter and Fiorentina both one point further back on 31.

Reeling from Tuesday's 1-0 loss at Bayer Leverkusen, Simone Inzaghi's side remain without injured defensive pillars Francesco Acerbi and Benjamin Pavard ahead of Monday's visit to his former club.

Inter's 573-minute run without conceding a goal in the Champions League ended when Nordi Mukiele scored for Leverkusen in the 90th minute on Tuesday.

That capped a miserable trip to Germany for Inter, who failed to record a single shot on target in a Champions League game for the first time since February 2022 (versus Liverpool), and for the first time on record (since 2003-04) in the competition's first round.

Lazio, meanwhile, have racked up consecutive victories over Napoli in league and cup, with the Biancocelesti facing Ajax in the Europa League on Thursday before returning to Serie A action.

Inter could be six points off the top by the time they take to the field for that headline fixture, with Atalanta targeting a piece of history at Cagliari on Saturday.

Gian Piero Gasperini's Dea side have won nine straight Serie A games to equal their club record, having also won nine in a row between February and July 2020. Another victory would make this their best-ever winning run in the competition.

This is only the second time that Atalanta have topped the table at the end of a Serie A matchday since the competition returned to 20 teams in 2004-05, having only managed to do so after the fifth matchday in 2022-23.

Until now, Atalanta had never led the top-flight table as many as 15 matches into a campaign.

They are big favourites to maintain their winning streak against 15th-placed Cagliari, with Gasperini having no new injury concerns. Giorgio Scalvini is out, having sustained a shoulder injury ahead of Tuesday's Champions League 3-2 loss to Real Madrid, while Gianluca Scamacca and Juan Cuadrado are longer-term absentees.

While both Inter and Atalanta were beaten in Europe this week, Juventus claimed a huge result by beating Manchester City 2-0, courtesy of goals from Dusan Vlahovic and Weston McKennie.

The Bianconeri's triumph came despite them only having 31% of possession – only once previously on record (since 2003-04) have they won a Champions League game while having a lower share of possession (27% versus Chelsea in September 2021).

In Serie A, however, it has been a case of possession without purpose for Juventus, who remain unbeaten but have drawn nine of their 15 matches, including each of their last three, to sit sixth.

"Nothing bothers me. I perfectly accept all honest judgements, but I won't enter this story," Juve coach Thiago Motta said, when asked about criticism of their domestic form.

"I am only focused on my work: improving the team and helping my players. The rest doesn’t count much."

With last-placed Venezia travelling to Turin on Saturday, Motta should be confident of maintaining the feel-good factor built in midweek. 

Juventus have dominated this fixture historically, winning 10 of their last 12 Serie A matches against the newly promoted side.

Surprise package Fiorentina, meanwhile, are riding high on an eight-match winning streak in Serie A, and they could make history when they travel to Bologna – led by former Viola boss Vincenzo Italiano – on Sunday.

Victory for Raffaele Palladino's visitors would set a new club record for successive victories in Serie A, overhauling their long-standing mark from 1960.

Inter sit fifth in the 36-team group phase, having collected an impressive 10 points through four games, winning three in a row after starting with a draw at Manchester City.

Leipzig, meanwhile, are one of five teams still without a point. 

If they lose on Tuesday, they will equal their longest-ever losing run in the competition, having lost five straight between February and October 2021 – two under Julian Nagelsmann and three under Jesse Marsch.

"Leipzig are a team that has been in the Champions League for six years and until Saturday they had the best defence in the Bundesliga," Inzaghi told a press conference on Monday.

"In the four Champions League matches they have played they deserved more, they have only clearly lost against Celtic.

"They have a coach [Marco Rose] who has been there for many years, they have many quality players and the ranking does not reflect their performances in Europe. We know that we are facing a strong team".

Leipzig, who are third in the Bundesliga after losing 4-3 at Hoffenheim on Saturday, kicked off their European campaign with a 2-1 loss at Atletico Madrid and home defeats by Juventus (3-2) and Liverpool (1-0). They lost 3-1 at Celtic last time out.

Inter, meanwhile, are unbeaten in 11 home matches in the competition (nine wins, two draws), keeping nine clean sheets during that run. Inzaghi, however, says they have further gears to find.

"We always have to work harder, this positive moment is the best to push and improve even more," Inzaghi said, reflecting on Saturday's 5-0 win at Verona in Serie A.

"We always try to see where we can do better. On Saturday in Verona, we scored five goals in one half, but we saw where we made some mistakes that could have cost us dearly.

"Last year it was one thing, this year it's different. Both in the league and in the Champions League there are many pitfalls."

Inter, who won the Scudetto last season and were Champions League runners-up in 2023, are third in Serie A, one point behind Napoli and level with second-placed Atalanta.

Midfielder Davide Frattesi is likely to miss the Leipzig game but Inzaghi will hope to have midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu and forward Lautaro Martinez available.

"Frattesi has been having a little problem with his ankle for 10 days. It will have to be evaluated. Yesterday it gave him some problems and today he didn't feel at his best," Inzaghi said.

"Calhanoglu and Lautaro were absent in Verona but had two good training sessions yesterday and today. Tomorrow morning, I will evaluate the lineup."

Calhanoglu was substituted at half-time in Turkiye's match against Wales on November 16 with a muscle issue, while Martinez, who scored in Argentina's World Cup qualifiers against Paraguay and Peru, fell sick as he returned from international duty. 

Brobbey will join Nagelsmann's Leipzig on a free transfer at the end of the season after agreeing a four-year deal until 2025.

Eredivisie giants Ajax were determined to keep Brobbey, but the 19-year-old Dutch forward opted to leave for Leipzig.

Brobbey, who made his senior debut for Ajax in October, has scored twice in seven substitute appearances in Eredivisie this season, while he has netted as many goals during the 2020-21 Europa League campaign.

Nagelsmann compared Brobbey to in-form Inter forward Lukaku after being asked about the similarities between the two players.

"It is always very tough for a player, when you compare him to others as people start to grow expectations that are not good for a player at that age," Nagelsmann told reporters ahead of Sunday's showdown with Eintracht Frankfurt.

"In regards to his physique and the way he plays, he is similar to Romelu Lukaku. And we would be happy if he can manage to become a player with the same qualities. But to paint a picture for the fans, you can definitely say that he is similar to Lukaku. But it is a great wish of ours that he can develop himself in a similar way and that he will be able to become as important for the European football [as Lukaku].

"If that will be the case, then our scouting department has made a great decision. We will cross our fingers for that to happen. But please don't start saying that he will play just like Lukaku, because this won't be the case."

After Friday's announcement, Brobbey said: "RB Leipzig is a great club and is playing an amazing season. Julian Nagelsmann is a young and very good coach, who I can learn a lot from.

"The team is stable and gives off a strong feeling of unity. I'm looking forward to joining the team and of course want to play my part in helping the club be so successful."

Leipzig are second in the Bundesliga, two points adrift of leaders and defending champions Bayern Munich through 24 rounds.

But Nagelsmann is unwilling to discuss the title race, adding: "I have already mentioned that I do not want to talk about that so much. Last year, we were a bit closer to Bayern or maybe a bit further ahead and we still didn't manage to win the tile and eventually fell behind with a few points difference.

"For us it is about following through with the consistency that we currently have. There are still many games to be played, many points to get but also many points to lose in either direction. We don't gain a lot from just talking about it. We need to try to be the best possible opponent for all the teams we face.

"It is our aim to win every match. I also said on Wednesday after [Champions League fixture against] Liverpool that I find it disrespectful against many others to say that the championship will be decided on the third of April. There are still a few games to go. This would also imply that we will win every game that we come up against. But to do so we will have to go to our limits. It's not like we will win every game with ease and then say: 'It was nice of you to come for a visit. Goodbye and it was obvious that you'll lose'. There's a lot of work to be done with many narrow games. We have seen it against Freiburg where we took a lot of time to find our rhythm needed to win the game.

"Against [Borussia] Gladbach, it took us until the 93rd minute to win. We had a bit of luck against Berlin as well, but have solved it with dominance towards the end and scored the very important second goal. It is not a walk in the park for us. Therefore, it doesn't help us to talk about the aim at the end. We have to be successful from game to game and take them as they come. Now it is Frankfurt and then we will see what will happen at the end.

"Of course, we are happy when coaches or experts are honouring our success but we can't gain anything from that. It is important that we deserve to be where we are after the 34th matchday. Whatever it will be, we will take that into our holiday. In the middle of the season, it is a nice feeling but it doesn’t help us a lot at the moment."

Leipzig's 53 points from 24 games represents their best-ever return at this stage of a Bundesliga season. The club's previous best was 49 points, achieved in both 2016-17 and 2019-20.

Meanwhile, Leipzig have won six consecutive Bundesliga games for the first time since 2019. Their club record stands at eight wins in a row from September to December 2016.

The title went down to the wire in France and Spain, while Champions League qualification was up for grabs for some big names in England and Italy.

Much of the focus during the closing rounds in Germany was on Robert Lewandowski's record bid, but there was no shortage of intrigue whichever way you looked.

It was in keeping with the rest of an unpredictable campaign, one that Stats Perform breaks down with the use of Opta data.
 

LILLE, LALIGA AND LUKAKU SHAKE THINGS UP

Lille, Atletico Madrid and Inter all have relatively recent history of league glory, but a pre-season wager would have fetched long odds.

In Ligue 1, Paris Saint-Germain had won seven of the previous eight titles and would have expected to do so again, having claimed a domestic treble and reached the Champions League final in 2020.

As it was, under new coach Mauricio Pochettino, they had to settle for pushing Lille all the way.

Les Dogues claimed the title but had already set a club points record when they reached 79 with two games to spare. PSG finished on 82, though, meaning Lille desperately needed the final two results to boost their tally.

Despite the presence of Real Madrid and Barcelona in LaLiga, Atletico's triumph was perhaps more likely, even if the impressive nature of it may have come as a surprise.

Although they stuttered on the home stretch and had to come from behind on the last day to edge out Madrid, Atleti spent 30 matchdays at the top of the table – a mark only bettered once in their 10 other title-winning campaigns (36 matchdays in 1995-96).

Indeed, Atleti are used to having to wait to celebrate, with 10 of their 11 championships seeing the destination of the trophy decided on the final day (all except 1976-77).

Inter are another big name but had been waiting even longer than Lille for their most recent title, with one Milan victory and then nine in a row for Juventus since the 2009-10 Nerazzurri treble.

Antonio Conte's men completed the job in style, though, confirmed as champions with four games to play before finishing with 91 points (behind only their 2006-07 haul of 97) and 89 goals (third-most behind the classes of 1949-50 and 1950-51 – 99 and 107 respectively).

Talisman Romelu Lukaku was involved in 35 of them, becoming the first Serie A player to have at least 20 goals and 10 assists in the same season since at least 2004-05.

BAYERN BACK ON TOP, CITY SCALING NEW HEIGHTS

In Germany, the title race was a little less exciting. Winners of everything in 2020, Bayern Munich took home the Bundesliga crown for a ninth successive season.

Prior to this run, no team had won more than three on the bounce, yet there appears no end to Bayern's dominance in sight. They have now won 52 per cent of the championships since the formation of the competition in 1963.

Julian Nagelsmann, arriving from RB Leipzig, will be the coach tasked with achieving 10 in a row and Hansi Flick has set the bar high. His 86 games brought seven trophies.

Manchester City could soon be reflecting on a similarly dominant dynasty having now claimed three titles in four seasons.

Pep Guardiola played a big part in Bayern's run and now has nine league wins in 12 top-flight seasons as a coach, although this was an unprecedented achievement, with City eighth on Christmas Day – the lowest position at that stage for an eventual Premier League champion.

A record English league run of 12 away victories played a pivotal role in City's season, while defending champions Liverpool saw a club-record 68-game unbeaten home run in the Premier League ended as they subsequently lost six consecutive league matches at Anfield for the first time in their history.

City could yet win the Champions League too, where Sergio Aguero is in line for his final appearance before his contract expires. He will hope it is as successful as his last league outing, during which he scored twice against Everton on Sunday to set a new record for the most Premier League goals by a player for one club (184).
 

RECORD-BREAKING LEWY DELAYS NEXT GENERATION

Aguero might have had his say on the final day, once the title was secure, but he largely took a backseat – unlike Lewandowski at Bayern.

His 41 Bundesliga goals broke Gerd Muller's long-standing record of 40 in a single season. The next-best tally in Europe's top five leagues in 2020-21 saw Lionel Messi trailing well behind on 30.

Lewandowski unsurprisingly also led Europe in expected goals, with his chances worth 32.2 xG, and expected goals on target, producing shots with a value of 35.8 xGOT.

As Lewandowski took the Kicker-Torjagerkanone and Messi went away with the Pichichi, Cristiano Ronaldo (29 goals) won the Capocannoniere, having also previously topped the charts in England and Spain.

Kylian Mbappe (27) was the leading marksman in France, while Harry Kane (23) earned the Premier League Golden Boot for a third time.

Kane is set to be the subject of intense transfer speculation throughout the close-season – replacing Aguero at City might be one option if he gets his wish to leave Spurs – and he will join Mbappe and Erling Haaland in that regard.

Haaland also scored 27 league goals and only just trailed Mbappe's seven assists with his six.

The expectation is both players will establish themselves as the world's best in the coming seasons, but it is now Lewandowski, rather than Messi and Ronaldo, they must surpass.

The illness, which emerged in China's Hubei province in December, has now affected people in at least 53 countries and killed more than 2,800.

Italy has been most impacted by the virus in Europe, with several towns in the nation's northern regions put on lockdown.

That has led to widespread postponements of sporting events at all levels, while five of this weekend's Serie A matches are set to be played behind closed doors, including the Derby d'Italia between Juventus and Inter.

Newcastle United have taken to banning handshakes among players and staff as a prevention method following medical advice, but Liverpool are not making such decisions just yet.

Klopp was unaware of whether the issue will affect their pre-season plans, which according to reports could include a game in Asia.

"Not yet, over pre-season we've not thought of changes yet," Klopp told reporters on Friday. "The biomedical department, all advice we get from there.

"But if you [the media] come in here and don't shake hands, I'm now only two metres away from you, so whatever you have I probably can't avoid getting it as well. We had an interview outside and were even closer.

"We take it really serious, but you can't avoid everything. It's not a football problem, it's a society problem, what we all have in common, so I think everybody is thinking about it at the moment.

"Hopefully the people who are much smarter than us find a way to [end the illness], or medicine, as that's obviously the big problem at the moment, we don't have that yet.

"Hopefully it will settle, but at the moment we deal like all other people, take it seriously and maybe don't do things like maybe you would usually do, but it's like when flu is going around.

"For us it's the same, we can't do anything different to that and I think in the moment everyone takes it serious.

"We've not told anyone not to shake hands, but then we haven't said you have to shake hands. We have all these disinfection places where we can wash our hands, but is that enough? We don't know.

"No one has told us that we can't play football, and as long as that doesn't happen we will play football.

"It's important we take it seriously but not get crazy, because there are other areas in the world where it's more difficult and hopefully we find a really quick solution."

Liverpool are next in action on Saturday as they go to relegation-threatened Watford.

Christian Eriksen and Romelu Lukaku scored as Inter beat Ludogorets 2-0 in the first leg in Bulgaria, but reports have already suggested the San Siro return match could be played behind closed doors.

Inter's game against Sampdoria on Sunday was postponed over local health concerns, with Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte confirming the fixture was one of several that would not go ahead.

Italy is battling to contain the virus, which is officially named Covid-19, after the deaths of two people and confirmation that dozens more have tested positive.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Ludogorets expressed their concern and appealed to Inter and UEFA to provide swift clarification.

The statement said: "FC Ludogorets have formally asked UEFA and FC Inter about the situation in the Italian region of Lombardy, whose capital is Milan. Coronavirus-infected cases have been reported there in recent days.

"More than 600 supporters of the Bulgarian champions are expected to support their favourites at the San Siro on Thursday (February 27) in the rematch of the 1/16 finals of the Europa League.

"Many of them have already purchased plane tickets, and there is organised bus travel from Bulgaria to Italy.

"Ludogorets expect an official statement from the European headquarters and a quick explanation from Inter about the situation in the city. If received, the club will immediately notify supporters of the situation in Milan by a message on its official website.

"PFC Ludogorets will liaise with Bulgarian diplomatic authorities on the situation in Italy."

The Belgium international has scored just four goals for the Nerazzurri since returning on loan from Chelsea last June.

Two of those have come in his last four appearances - including the winner in the first leg of Inter's Champions League last-16 tie with Porto.

The striker is just one goal away from becoming only the fourth player to score 50 times in Serie A and the Premier League, after Gianfranco Zola, Edin Dzeko and Cristiano Ronaldo.

"We know his value, he came from a problematic period, and now he is giving excellent signals," Inzaghi said of Lukaku during his press conference ahead of Inter's clash with Spezia on Friday. 

"He trains in the best way every day, he scored an important goal against Porto, and we want him to continue to raise the condition."

Second-placed Inter will be expected to cut the gap to runaway leaders Napoli to 12 points with victory over their 17th-placed opponents, who are just three points clear of the relegation zone.

The Nerazzurri saw a six-match unbeaten run ended with defeat at Bologna, but Inzaghi was pleased with his side's response in their routine 2-0 victory over Lecce. 

"We reacted well by having an excellent game against Lecce," he added. "We must continue like this, with this determination, also from tomorrow.

"[It will be] a difficult game, against a team that has a very specific goal for which it is fighting.

"They come from two draws in a row. We will have to interpret the game in the best way, doing simple things."

Lukaku has been linked with an Inter exit following the departure of head coach Antonio Conte as the Nerazzurri struggle financially due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite leading Inter to their first Scudetto in a decade, Lukaku has reportedly caught the attention of former club Chelsea, Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Lukaku, however, has no plans to leave San Siro as he eyes more silverware in Milan after he was named "the best overall" Serie A MVP.

"I am staying at Inter," Lukaku – who arrived from Manchester United in 2019 – told VTM as Inter reportedly prepare to appoint former Lazio boss Simone Inzaghi.

"I've already spoken to the man who will become our new coach. Maybe I shouldn't say that yet… but it was a very positive conversation.

"The challenge is to win again. I feel good at Inter, I finally won some silverware.

"I really enjoyed it, but I want to do that again, this time with a packed San Siro."

Lukaku scored 24 goals from 36 league outings in 2020-21, while the Belgium international forward also provided 11 assists.

Lukaku scored 30 goals in all competitions this past season – only in 2016-17 for Everton did the Belgian score more (25) in a single campaign in one of Europe's top five leagues. 

Both teams squandered numerous chances in a breathless back-and-forth affair at the Etihad Stadium, with Inter defending resolutely before threatening to hit Pep Guardiola's hosts on the break on numerous occasions.

City's goal machine Erling Haaland was hoping to become the fastest player in history to score 100 goals for a European club, but he saw a header held by Yann Sommer early on before rolling another effort narrowly wide of the post.

Marcus Thuram flashed a first-time shot over the crossbar as Simone Inzaghi's men fired a warning shot of their own, while another Sommer save prevented Phil Foden from capping a delightful City move with a goal.

Inter's clearest opening came in the 53rd minute, but former Manchester United defender Matteo Darmian inexplicably tried to find a team-mate with a backheel when presented with a clear sight of Ederson's goal.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan had City fans breathing a huge sigh of relief when he missed another golden late opportunity, sending a wild effort spinning over the crossbar from 10 yards out.

But the last chances went City's way, Ilkay Gundogan eliciting huge groans from the home fans with two misses from short-range headers in the dying seconds.

Data Debrief: Inter make a statement

City are always favourites on their own turf, but Inter were expected to put up a fight on Wednesday and they did precisely that, marking themselves out as potential challengers for the European crown.

It was just the second time City had failed to find the net in 42 home Champions League matches under Guardiola, with the other being a goalless draw with Sporting CP in 2022.

Alessandro Bastoni, Francesco Acerbi and Yann Bisseck impressed in the heart of defence, limiting Haaland to the fewest touches (14) of any starter on either team.

The Nerazzurri also offered a threat going forward, with their 10 first-half attempts making them the first Champions League visitors to reach double figures at the Etihad since Monaco in February 2017 (also 10). 

Reigning English champions City last year became just the fourth club ever to top the list, which examines the top-performing football clubs in terms of revenue every year.

City remained the world's highest revenue-generating club in the 2021-22 campaign – the first season in which fans returned to stadiums as coronavirus restrictions were eased.

They made £619.1million (€731m) over that period to finish ahead of LaLiga giants Real Madrid (€713.8m), while Liverpool climbed from seventh to their highest position of third after making £594.3m (€701.7m).

Fellow English clubs Manchester United (fourth), Chelsea (eighth), Tottenham (ninth) and Arsenal (10th) also make the top 10, with West Ham (15th), Leicester City (17th), Leeds United (18th), Everton (19th) and Newcastle United (20th) in the top 20.

It marks the first time in the report's 26 years that a single country has provided more than half of the rich list.

"The Premier League was the only one of the big five European leagues to experience an increase in its media rights value during its most recent rights sale process," said Tim Bridge, the lead partner in Deloitte's Sports Business Group.

"It continues to appeal to millions of global followers and its member clubs have a greater revenue advantage over international rivals."

Paris Saint-Germain (fifth), Bayern Munich (sixth), Barcelona (seventh), Juventus (11th), Atletico Madrid (12th), Borussia Dortmund (13th), Inter (14th) and Milan (16th) make up the rest of the top 20.

In the women's game, Barcelona generated the highest revenue (€7.7m) after winning the Champions League in 2021 and reaching the final last year.

Pep Guardiola's side are the reigning champions having lifted the title in 2023, following their 4-0 victory over Brazilian club Fluminense in the final.

City are also joined by Al-Ain of the United Arab Emirates in Group G of the 32-team tournament in 2025, which will take place in the United States between June 15 and July 13.

Reigning Champions League holders Real Madrid have been drawn alongside Red Bull Salzburg, Pachuca and Saudi Pro League champions Al-Hilal in Group H, meaning Kylian Mbappe and Neymar could be in line for a reunion.

That duo's former club, Paris Saint-Germain, are joined by Atletico Madrid in Group B.

Chelsea will play Flamengo, Club Leon and Esperance Sportive de Tunisie in Group D, as Bayern Munich and Benfica are paired together in Group C.

Lionel Messi's Inter Miami were somewhat contentiously included. They won MLS' Supporters' Shield, yet were dumped out of the playoffs by Atlanta United.

Miami will face Porto, Palmeiras and Al-Ahly in Group A.

Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al-Ahly, Inter Miami.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle Sounders.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Benfica, Boca Juniors, Auckland City.

Group D: Flamengo, Chelsea, Club Leon, Esperance Sportive de Tunis.

Group E: River Plate, Inter, Monterrey, Urawa Red Diamonds.

Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan HD, Mamelodi Sundowns.

Group G: Man City, Juventus, Wydad AC, Al-Ain.

Group H: Real Madrid, Red Bull Salzburg, Al-Hilal, Pachuca.

Inter announced the termination of Sanchez's contract on Monday.

The Chile international was part of the Inter side that won the Serie A title in the 2020-21 season, while he also scored a dramatic 121st minute winner against Juventus in the Supercoppa Italiana in January.

Marseille announced an imminent deal for Sanchez on Tuesday, saying in a statement: "Olympique de Marseille and Alexis Sanchez have agreed on the arrival of the player via an agreement in principle.

"The Chile international with 143 caps who has won 17 trophies in his career will commit in the next few hours subject to the success of his medical examination."

Sanchez will become the club's 12th signing of the transfer window, with several temporary deals from last season made permanent, as well as further additions including Jordan Veretout, Jonathan Clauss and a loan move for Nuno Tavares.

The 33-year-old only managed five goals in 27 Serie A appearances for Inter last season, though just seven of those were starts.

In all, Sanchez made 109 appearances for the Nerazzurri after arriving from United in 2019, scoring 20 goals.

Martinez was, unlike his compatriot Lionel Messi, one of 30 players nominated for world football's most prestigious individual prize earlier this week.

He fired Inter to their 20th Scudetto last season, topping Serie A's scoring charts with 24 goals in 33 matches, eight more than his closest rival, Juventus' Dusan Vlahovic. 

He then carried that form into the Copa America as Argentina won a record-breaking 16th continental crown, winning the Golden Boot with five goals – including the winner in the final versus Colombia – in just 221 minutes on the field.

Martinez finished 20th in the voting for the 2023 award but expects to be higher up the rankings this time around.

"Considering the season I had, I deserve to be where I am," Martinez said. "I worked hard and suffered so much in the previous years. 

"This is the second year in a row that I will participate in this ceremony. I think that I am ready to compete for this recognition."

With Messi out injured, Martinez partnered Julian Alvarez in attack as Argentina thrashed Chile 3-0 in a World Cup qualifier on Thursday, the Atletico Madrid man scoring with a stunning long-range strike.

Albiceleste boss Lionel Scaloni was impressed with how the forwards dovetailed in that match, saying: "The duo of Julian and Lautaro performed well. They complement each other well, they don't give up a single ball.

"Lautaro assisted, Julian also went very well, he scored. They worked for us and they are two strikers who can continue to play together, we will see.

"I don't think there is so much superiority to the rest. They leave everything out there, the key is not to give anything up in advance. 

"They are always hungry. Football is very strange, at any moment it can put you in your place."

Martinez, who missed a penalty in Inter's 2-1 Serie A defeat to Bologna on Sunday, has been strongly tipped to make a move to Camp Nou at the end of the 2019-20 season.

Marotta was again asked about the forward prior to the defeat at San Siro and he reiterated Inter's desire to hold on to the 22-year-old.  

"Lautaro has not shown the slightest desire to leave," Marotta told DAZN.

"Aside from dates and deadlines, the clearest situation is that Inter do not want to sell their champions or interesting young talents. If the player were to ask to leave, we would evaluate that together, but so far, that request has not arrived.

"I believe that, being a young player, it can boost his career to continue playing for a while longer at Inter.

"Being an Inter player means being part of a big club and that ought to be reason enough for him to feel proud."

Marotta also dismissed rumours Inter have lodged a bid for Chelsea left-back Emerson Palmieri.

"I understand the many questions about transfer speculation, but I can say we have not had any contact or opened any negotiation for Emerson Palmieri.

"We are making evaluations for next season, but the most important issue remains this current campaign."

Argentina striker Martinez scored his 15th goal of the campaign during Inter's 1-1 draw against Atalanta at the weekend.

The 22-year-old's partnership in attack with Romelu Lukaku has established the Nerazzurri as serious title challengers to Juventus in Serie A.

His performances have also apparently caught the attention of Barcelona, who are facing up to four months without Luis Suarez, while it has also been claimed Manchester City view Martinez as a suitable long-term heir to their all-time record goalscorer Sergio Aguero.

"I'm very happy here at Inter, people love me and I love them," Martinez told TyC Sports.

"If you talk about me [as a transfer target] it is because I do my job well. I must continue on this path.

"I am very calm, I live day to day and I am happy and comfortable here."

Conte took charge of Inter before the start of this season and Martinez credits the former Juve and Chelsea boss as a driving force behind his rapid progress.

“Many things have changed since he came in," Martinez said. "He has a special way of doing things and has taught us so much from his first day in charge.

"He has convinced us to all give our best and the results are there for all to see.

“I have had to adapt to a new culture in another country and learn another language. I played little under the previous manager, but under Conte I have grown a lot and I am enjoying how things are going."

Conte secured the capture of Lukaku from Manchester United, a player he tried to sign at Chelsea, and Martinez has been a huge beneficiary of the head coach getting his man.

"Lukaku helps me a lot, he is a player who – on and off the field – is very important to me," Martinez said of the Belgium international, who has 18 goals in all competitions this term.

"He is a very good person who helps me out. I am very happy to have met him.”

Neymar left Barca for Paris Saint-Germain in a world-record €222million transfer in 2017, but the Brazil star continues to be linked with a Camp Nou return.

The PSG forward reportedly tried to engineer a move back to Barca at the start of the season, though a transfer did not materialise, despite the club's best efforts.

Messi, who has made no secret of his desire to reunite with Neymar, told Mundo Deportivo: "I say it many times, at the sports level, Ney is one of the best in the world and I would love for him to return.

"He is really looking forward to coming back, he always seemed sorry [after leaving]. He did a lot to return and that would be the first step to try to arrive."

Neymar's decision to leave Barca almost three years ago angered some of his former team-mates but Messi said: "It is normal for people to see him that way because of the way he left, it also bothered me at the time, we tried to convince him not to. 

"But in the end we all want to win and have the best. We and the people. As I said before, he is one of the best and contributed for us a lot on the pitch. But it is understandable that people think like that, since he left in a way they did not like."

Barca have also been linked to Inter forward Martinez as the LaLiga champions eye a long-term replacement for Luis Suarez.

Martinez reportedly has a €111m release clause amid links to Barca, Manchester United, Manchester City and Real Madrid.

Messi knows Martinez well as the pair are international team-mates for Argentina and the Barca captain hailed his compatriot.

"He is spectacular, he has impressive conditions," Messi said. "He was seen to be a great player, now he exploded and is showing it. He is very strong. He has a very good one against one, he has a lot of goals, in the area he fights with anyone. Lautaro has a lot of quality. He is very complete."

Messi continued: "I wish they could all come and fight it all, and the Champions League. Lautaro has much resemblance to Luis."

Milan occupy top spot in their quest for a first Scudetto since 2011, but fierce rivals Inter are just two points behind and arguably have an easier set of fixtures to conclude the campaign.

Napoli and Juventus are not officially out of the title race just yet, though they are seven and eight points off first place respectively, therefore requiring a remarkable set of results.

Both Napoli and Juventus are already assured of a top-four finish, but there are several other teams still battling it out for the three remaining European spots.

Venezia appear doomed at the opposite end of the table after losing to fellow strugglers Salernitana on Thursday, with the latter's victory lifting them out of the bottom three – in all, six teams remain in trouble.

But just how will the remaining two and a half weeks of the season unfold? Using the Stats Perform League Prediction Model, we can try to forecast the final standings.

Created by Stats Perform AI using Opta data, the model has analysed the division to assign percentages to potential outcomes for each club.

The model estimates the probability of each match outcome (win, draw or loss) based on teams' attacking and defensive qualities, which considers four years' worth of results.

Weighting is based on recency and the quality of opposition, with the rest of the matches then simulated 10,000 times to calculate the likelihood of each outcome.

Let's take a look...

MILAN TO SEE THE JOB THROUGH

Milan still have Hellas Verona (ninth), Atalanta (eighth) and Sassuolo (11th) to face, whereas Inter's final fixtures are against Empoli (14th), Cagliari (18th) and Sampdoria (15th).

However, it is worth noting that if they finish level on points, Milan would be crowned champions by virtue of a superior head-to-read record against their rivals this term.

With that in mind, while Inter are only two points behind, they essentially need to take three more points than Milan over the final three matchdays.

And our model suggests the Rossoneri have a 62 per cent chance of retaining top spot, compared to a 37.7 per cent chance of defending champions Inter overtaking them.

Just to highlight how unlikely it is either Napoli or Juventus will pip the current top two to the summit, they have a 0.2 and 0.1 per cent chance of winning the title respectively.

A ROME ONE-TWO FOR EUROPA LEAGUE?

The Champions League places may now officially be wrapped up, but five teams are still battling it out for the three remaining European berths.

The sides that finish in fifth and sixth, currently occupied by Roma and Lazio, will qualify for the Europa League group stage.

Roma, according to the model, have a 59.1 per cent chance of nailing down fifth place – though if they were to drop to seventh, the Europa Conference League finalists could get into the Europa League by winning UEFA's third-tier competition.

Lazio would take great enjoyment from finishing above their neighbours and have a 36.9 per cent chance of doing so.

The first priority for Maurizio Sarri will be locking down sixth, though, and there is a 46.7 per cent likelihood of achieving that with Fiorentina three points further back.

ATALANTA TO PIP FIORENTINA

While the top six are forecast to remain where they are, our model predicts seventh-placed Fiorentina will miss out to Atalanta in the Europa Conference League play-off position.

After losing three games in a row, La Viola now have a 31.2 per cent chance of staying seventh, compared to 47.6 for Atalanta, whom they are currently level with on 56 points.

Verona are four points further back and that appears to be too big a gap to bridge, with the Gialloblu seemingly certain to remain in eighth.

Indeed, the 80.8 per cent likelihood of Verona finishing in that position is bettered only by the chances of Empoli staying 14th (90.2 per cent) and Venezia remaining bottom (87.4 per cent) given the points margin either side.

VENEZIA AND TWO OTHERS TO DESCEND

Thursday's 2-1 defeat away to Salernitana looks to have spelled the end for Venezia's brief stint back in the top flight as it leaves them seven points from safety. Their chances of escaping the drop sit at 0.1 per cent.

Salernitana still have a 36.2 per cent chance of dropping into the bottom three, but given they face the team directly below them – Cagliari – and Empoli in their next two games, they will surely like those odds.

Another win for Salernitana on Sunday would be massive at the bottom, as such a result will relegate Venezia and potentially Genoa, whom the model gives only a 1.2 per cent likelihood of climbing up to 17th.

Spezia and Sampdoria aren't quite out of the woods yet, but their five-point cushions should be enough to keep them in Serie A. Everything points to Sunday's contest being almost a straight relegation play-off between Salernitana and Cagliari.

The model suggests with a 63.3 per cent probability that Cagliari will go down, but their fate is in their own hands.

Lautaro Martinez scored twice as Inter held on for a nervy 3-2 win over Udinese on Saturday.

Davide Frattesi put Inter in front after 43 seconds but Christian Kabasele levelled in the 35th minute before Martinez scored either side of half-time, with Lorenzo Lucca setting up a grandstand finish.

The victory came six days on from reigning Serie A champions Inter losing 2-1 to their city rivals in dramatic fashion at San Serie.

"We came across a healthy team, who got 10 points and were undefeated at home," Inzaghi said.

"However, we always kept control of the match, it's a shame about the ending where you know there can always be a negative episode."

"The two goals are two goals that we should have avoided.

"Our opponents are very dangerous when they show up in the area. We should have done better as a team in both goals, Lucca flew towards our goal with a two-goal advantage, we will have to work better when not in possession.

"[But] it had been almost two years since we lost a derby and it had been two years since we prepared for a match with such difficulties because losing a derby is not like losing a normal match."

Inter did at least snap a run of three games without a win in all competitions, with Martinez grabbing his first Serie A goals since May in the process.

"In the derby he had a good game where he got used to exploiting the chances he had," Inzaghi said.

"[A scoring drought] happens, we were all waiting for his goals. The fact that he has returned to scoring is important for everyone."