Roberto Mancini

The reigning European champions could not top their World Cup qualifying group, leaving them having to beat North Macedonia in the playoffs semi-final on Thursday to keep their hopes alive.

Italy would then have to bypass either Turkey or Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in the final to secure their spot at Qatar 2022, which means one of the previous two European Championship winners will not be present at the World Cup.

Robert Mancini's reinvigorated Azzurri responded to failure to qualify for FIFA's showpiece event in 2018 by lifting the delayed Euro 2020, and Cannavaro explained that it is vitally that they find a way through this year.

"Between us and qualifying for Qatar there could be Portugal, but also Turkey would not be a walk in the park," Cannavaro, who won the World Cup in 2006, told Italian newspaper Il Mattino.

"And even before that in Palermo, we must beat [North] Macedonia. We threw away a chance in Rome against Switzerland [in the group stages], there is no way we can not qualify for the World Cup for eight years.

"It would be a disaster for everyone. Mancini will find the resources to be able to qualify."

While Italy push for World Cup qualification, Russia will not be featuring in Qatar after FIFA excluded them due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, a decision Cannavaro supports.

When asked if FIFA had made the right call, he added: "Yes. Football is not a world apart. It had to give a signal and it did."

UEFA is set to hold a critical summit on Tuesday, with talks planned on whether or not the finals can be held as scheduled in June and July, and Italian football federation president Gabriele Gravina has said he will call for the tournament to be postponed.

Italy has been one of the worst-affected countries by the coronavirus and players across all Serie A clubs are training at home in self-isolation.

The Azzurri's scheduled March friendlies against England and Germany have been cancelled, but head coach Mancini said football is not his top priority at the current time, telling Rai Sport: "I don't know how it will end. But there are more important things than Euro 2020, without a doubt.

"If they postpone the tournament, we can win even in a year. The important thing is the health of everyone and that we can all return to the stadium and enjoy ourselves.

"Seeing people die in these last few days is hurting us too much."

Italy won all 10 of their European Championship qualifying matches, which culminated in a 9-1 thrashing of Armenia in November.

Mancini said he has a squad of players in mind for the finals but indicated he is prepared to reassess his plans if the tournament is postponed.

"I had a fairly safe list of players called," he said. "It was ready with only a few doubts to decide at the last minute.

"However, if the tournament is suspended for a year, there will be a few changes.

"We have to wait to Tuesday to understand if UEFA will decide to postpone Euro 2020. The problems we have had in Italy in the last 15 days will now be seen in other countries."

Like all major competitions across the world, Serie A is on hiatus as part of efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19, with northern Italy particularly badly affected by the virus.

Mancini was due to lead the Azzurri at Euro 2020 in June, but the tournament has been put back 12 months.

The former Inter and Manchester City boss believes sport can act as a social boost for a population hit hard by the events of recent weeks.

"It is a terrible thing for many families who have lost loved ones," Mancini told SportMediaset.

"I hope everything returns as before. I heard some guys [players], they are all well and I hope we can go back to playing as soon as possible.

"I hope it starts because football is also a very important social thing, then we'll see what will happen.

"And I hope this terrible thing will end soon. It will take a little more attention, but we deserve to go back to living as before. Everything that happened was unjust."

Serie A paused in the midst of a gripping title race, with long-reigning champions Juventus one point ahead of surprise package Lazio with 12 games remaining.

Mancini believes the unscheduled and lengthy break will lead to unpredictability if the action resumes, meaning he refuses to rule former employers Inter in third and free-scoring Atalanta in fourth out of contention.

"I think anything can happen because there has never been such an upheaval," he said.

"It's difficult to make predictions. Juventus are in the lead and remain the strongest, but anything can happen.

"Inter could also be back in the race and Atalanta. When you stop for so long it can change everything. Nothing is excluded."

UEFA made the decision to postpone the European Championship until 2021, while all other UEFA competitions and matches for clubs and national teams have been put on hold until further notice.

Mancini said he had been talking to players as part of his preparations for Italy's scheduled March friendlies against England and Germany.

But with the coronavirus hitting Italy particularly hard, he said his focus now is on helping those in need, with the death toll in Italy passing 4,800 on Saturday.

"In the past few weeks I called some of my players, especially those who are injured and ones in doubt," Mancini told Gazzetta dello Sport. "I worked on the friendlies with England and Germany and I started setting up Euro 2020.

"I must admit that I felt disappointed when it was announced [that it was cancelled].

"The film of that military convoy that took the coffins away from Bergamo was a punch in the face, the hardest and most striking image.

"No one was ready for this hell. To think that people are dying because there's a lack of beds and respirators.

"I never even thought about leaving Italy, because I feel safe here and our medics are doing heroic work. I want to feel close to those who are in difficulty.

"And I say that as a simple citizen, not as someone who has a symbolic role in Italy."

Mancini said he was heartened by the displays of solidarity among Italian citizens being widely shared on social media, where videos of communities spontaneously bursting into song from their balconies have become popular.

"I like it very much," said the former Manchester City head coach. "It's the most authentic Italy. It represents us.

"It is we who give our best in difficult circumstances, when we hug, help and put all our humanity into play.

"These people, after so much pain and fear, would have deserved the European Championship to get distracted and start again."

The 37-year-old, who earned 117 caps for the Azzurri and won the 2006 World Cup, has come on board as a technical coach.

De Rossi retired from playing in January last year after a brief stint with Boca Juniors in Argentina, having made 616 appearances in a distinguished career with Roma.

"I'm proud to start this new career with the national team and I thank both president [Gabriele] Gravina and coach Mancini for the trust and the opportunity," De Rossi told the FIGC's official website.

"It will be exciting to return to Coverciano, which for me means coming back home and find many former colleagues and friends in the staff and the group. I can't wait to get started."

Mancini, who has been at the helm since 2018, was happy to welcome De Rossi into the fold. 

"I'm very pleased that Daniele joins our group," Mancini said. "I'm sure he will be able to give the lads an important contribution and I hope that his first experience will be useful for the future."

England and Italy were drawn alongside Ukraine, North Macedonia and Malta in a challenging qualification group on Sunday, from which the top two will qualify automatically for the tournament in Germany.

The duo met as recently as last month, when Giacomo Raspadori's goal condemned England to relegation from the top tier of the Nations League, while Mancini also led the Azzurri to victory over the Three Lions in last year's Euro 2020 final. 

England's dismal Nations League campaign meant they – alongside world champions France – were in pot two for the draw in Frankfurt.

Although Mancini claims he expected Italy to land one of those two giants, he remains content with the draw and is looking forward to meeting Gareth Southgate's men.

"I was sure we would have one between England and France, but that's okay too," Mancini told Rai Sport after the draw.

"It's a group of five, it's doable. But there won't be simple games, they'll all have to be played. 

"It will certainly be beautiful with England, with Southgate we know each other and if it continues like this we are pretty good, I don't know if he agrees. 

"By now this challenge is a classic and, although we faced each other 20 days ago, it will be nice to meet again."

While Italy have happy memories of their recent games against England, remaining unbeaten in their last six head-to-head meetings, the same cannot be said about another of their opponents.

North Macedonia clinched a stunning win over Italy in the World Cup play-offs in March, ensuring the Azzurri missed out on a second consecutive edition of the tournament.

Mancini is urging caution ahead of that reunion, adding: "It's one of those games that happen every now and then. As we saw in Palermo, all matches must be played, even the simplest ones."

The Azzurri boss was also pleased to be drawn alongside Ukraine, declaring: "There will be some emotion... but Ukraine is still a good national team."

Top spot in Group C will be decided in the final round of games after Jorginho missed a late penalty for Euro 2020 winners Italy in Rome on Friday.

Italy fell behind to a powerful Silvan Widmer strike after 11 minutes but hit back through fellow right-back Giovanni Di Lorenzo's header before half-time. 

The Azzurri – who failed to qualify for the World Cup in Russia three years ago – had a glorious chance to seize control on the road to Qatar 2022, however, Jorginho skied his 90th-minute spot-kick over the crossbar.

Automatic qualification is in the balance, though Italy have a slightly better goal difference, so they only need to match Switzerland's final-game result to finish top of the pool and condemn Murat Yakin's men to the play-offs in March and head coach Mancini remains confident.

"They are sorry, it's normal," Mancini told reporters, with Italy to visit Northern Ireland on Monday as Switzerland host Bulgaria.

"And then a penalty like that in the 90th minute, it's clear that they are sorry but nothing can be done now. We will get to the World Cup, I'm sure."

Italy boss Mancini added: "It's complicated but we are two goals ahead. We have to go there, try to play our game and win and hope that Bulgaria will have a great game.

"We have to play our game and win, this is our task. Right now, we must recover our energy, it was a very tough game. We need to be confident, even when things don't seem to go well, they can change.

"The team always try to do their best, in some moments of the season the players struggle more and the many injuries are a demonstration of this.

"Two goals are two goals; they seem like nothing but they are two goals… and then who says that Bulgaria cannot get a positive result? We are slightly ahead, now we are thinking about winning in Northern Ireland."

Zaniolo was set to miss Euro 2020 after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in January, but the 20-year-old could benefit from the tournament being pushed back by a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The highly rated Zaniolo has scored two goals in five games for Italy and coach Mancini believes he could develop into a vital player for his country.

"Zaniolo may be a very important player. He is also very young, he will have one more year to improve," he told Rai Sport on Friday.

"My hope is to have all the players available and have difficulty in making choices.

"I think the team can improve. We came from many games played well and won and there was great enthusiasm. It would have been great to play now."

Mancini has helped turn Italy around since taking over in 2018, leading them to 13 wins in 19 games in charge.

The former Inter and Manchester City coach had Italy as among the favourites for the European Championship, but acknowledged the postponement changed things.

"There will be difficulties because this is something that has never happened before," Mancini said.

"Starting again will not be easy."

Having failed to qualify for last year's World Cup, Italy will get their bid to defend the European Championship trophy they won in 2021 under way with a qualifier against England in March.

England's run to the last eight in Qatar saw a number of young players – including Borussia Dortmund midfielder Bellingham and Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka – come to the fore.

Mancini does not believe Italy lack talented young players. The Azzurri's problem, he claims, lies in coaches' reluctance to hand them top-level experience. 

"I think Italy have four or five talents with the quality of Bellingham, but they need to be given playing time," Mancini said at a press conference on Wednesday.

"There are talented young people, I hope they can play and gain experience with their clubs to be useful to us.

"In England, the Netherlands or Germany, if a player is talented, he will be allowed to play. Here we've got four or five at this level, but they need to play."

Italy scored just 13 goals in eight games as they finished below Switzerland in their World Cup qualification group, before falling to a crushing play-off defeat against North Macedonia.

Mancini has made revamping Italy's attack a priority ahead of their next campaign, saying: "In the past there was a lack of defenders or midfielders, today we don't have great forward players.

"We are trying to find them. If we succeed, it will be a good thing. Gianluca Scamacca, for example, is gaining good experience, the Premier League is difficult. 

"Young people have to play, in Italy or abroad. In our opinion, there are quality players, the hope is to have them gain more experience.

"Do the coaches lack the courage? The coaches have to achieve results, so each pursues his own course."

The result, which came courtesy of a Locatelli brace and a third goal added by Ciro Immobile, confirmed Italy's place in the knockout stage of Euro 2020 after just two games played.

Mancini's men dominated the contest at Stadio Olimpico and were rewarded with a second consecutive 3-0 victory, having beaten Turkey by the same scoreline in their opening Group A match.

Mancini hailed his side's performance, telling reporters: "Switzerland are a strong side. We knew it would be a tough game and it was.

"We created several chances and we deserved the victory. We were struggling in the opening minutes, but then we pressed them high and forced them to make mistakes.

"The lads did really well. It wasn't easy; it was their second game in five days and it's so hot."

He picked out his side's opening goal for special praise, having seen Locatelli start the move in midfield before latching onto Berardi's cross to score from close range.

"This is exactly what the lads have to do, what I'm always asking them to do," said Mancini.

"Always believe that it can be the right chance, as Locatelli did by following the action after his pass to Berardi in midfield."

Mancini's opposite number Vladimir Petkovic faces an uphill struggle to progress from Group A, having taken one point from their games against Wales and Italy.

Switzerland face Turkey in Baku in their final group game, and Petkovic said they must remain committed to their task.

"Many things didn't work for us tonight, and plenty worked for Italy. The truth lies in the middle," he said. 

"Congratulations to Italy – they play great football, and have for some time.

"Everyone deserves to be disappointed tonight, but tomorrow from the first training session we move on. I spoke to the team and told them there's a match left, and three points could get us to the next round."

Argentina were comprehensive 3-0 winners at Wembley, as the CONMEBOL/UEFA 'Cup of Champions' was revived for the first time since 1993.

Lautaro Martinez, Angel Di Maria and Paulo Dybala got the goals as Lionel Messi pulled the strings, but in truth Italy were fortunate to only lose 3-0 against a hugely impressive Albiceleste.

It was only Italy's second match since their shock World Cup qualifying defeat to North Macedonia in March, with that loss preventing them from reaching Qatar 2022.

Despite the Azzurri winning Euro 2020 less than a year ago, Mancini is already looking to instigate something of a rebuild.

But he was keen to pay tribute to those who have played a key role over the past four years.

"In the first half we made two mistakes on their two goals, then they were better at keeping the ball," Mancini is quoted as saying by Sky Italia.

"They were better than us, but I must say thanks to these guys who have played in these four years.

"There is regret for the lack of qualification for the World Cup, and tonight's match was initially balanced, then they had superior quality to us.

"After this match we had in mind to change several things and we will do it. We need to find the players, put together a team that will suffer at the beginning and that in the future will be able to give us joy."

Clearly, the attack will be Mancini's primary focus in any rebuild as he rued a lack of threat going forward.

"We have great difficulty scoring at the moment, and we have to work a lot knowing that it will not be so simple and it will take time [to overcome their issues]," he continued.

"After the European Championship we struggled to score and we have to find solutions in this sense and try to be fast, but it will not be easy to put together a team that gives us short-term satisfaction even if there are good guys. We will have to make as few mistakes as possible.

"I have optimism. I like to work and train. It's true that we lost against a great Argentina team, but we must know that there will also be these moments and we must make sure that the youngest players learn quickly."

Italy now turn their attention to the Nations League. They face Germany on Saturday and again on June 14 – matches against Hungary and England are sandwiched in between.

Goals from Giacomo Raspadori and Federico Dimarco saw the Azzurri leapfrog their hosts to top Group A3 and qualify for next year's finals, alongside Croatia and the Netherlands.

Yet the visitors were forced to weather a late onslaught from Hungary, kept in the game through Paris Saint-Germain keeper Donnarumma, who lived up to his reputation with a string of impressive saves.

That gradually eroded control over the match frustrated Mancini, who felt his side rested on their laurels too much across the closing stages of Monday's encounter.

"It was a difficult game," he told RAI Sport. "It was all perfect until the final 20 minutes.

"We really need to improve in our ability to control the game for 90 minutes, as we worked so hard to be 2-0 up, so suffering like that in the final 20 minutes just makes no sense.

"We should have kept pushing for a third goal. I lost my voice because I was shouting so much in the final 20 minutes."

Rossi, who played alongside Mancini in a brief stint with Sampdoria almost three decades ago and embraced warmly at full-time, was more philosophical on his side's defeat.

However, the Italian was fast to praise countryman Donnarumma, who after something of a mixed first year at PSG following his Euro 2020 heroics, looks back to his best this season.

"It would have been nice to perform a miracle tonight, but when you play against teams like Italy, you have to make zero mistakes and hope the other side get it wrong," Rossi said in his post-match press conference.

"Even when we did have the chances, we were kept out by the best goalkeeper in the world. It's no coincidence that PSG signed Donnarumma."

Rossi also hailed Hungary's supporters, praising their "great respect and civility" for their opponents in Budapest.

"I've been in football for many years," he added. "I've seen packed stadiums and fans on their feet, but never anything like the passion you can feel when Hungary play on home turf."

The Azzurri lifted Euro 2020 after a penalty shoot-out victory over England last July but failed to qualify for a second straight World Cup following play-off disappointment against North Macedonia in March.

That led to questions towards Mancini and Italian football over the lack of trust placed in younger players, with the more experienced campaigners such as Ciro Immobile and Giorgio Chiellini preferred.

Mancini subsequently suggested that Italy are suffering as Serie A coaches refuse to provide youthful members of their clubs the opportunities to develop.

Italy face Argentina at Wembley Stadium on Wednesday in a meeting between the European Championship winners and Copa America champions, though Mancini appears reluctant to trust his younger players yet.

"Tomorrow will be the match that will end a cycle," the Azzurri boss told reporters on Tuesday.

"It does not mean that 15-20 players will leave, but from Wednesday we will include young players to understand how much they are worth and if we can count on them for the future.

"In the meantime, I must continue to choose the players always with a logical criterion, then courage will be needed because it will be a younger group that will need to be supported in a different way.

"We will not change the whole team, but in the four games one, two, three or four young people will play.

"This will also be a great thing to do. We are trying to work for the future, to improve. If the clubs do or do not let the young players play, I cannot decide.

"We will try to have more knowledge of the young people and we want to do things well, but we certainly cannot pray to anyone if they don't want to do it.

"We managed to win a European championship anyway, despite many difficulties."

Despite not having the likes of Immobile, Federico Chiesa, Domenico Berardi and Marco Verratti to call upon, Mancini expects his side to compete well against Argentina.

Asked if his side will still be able to put on a show, Mancini responded: "I think so, even if we are missing several players. I would have liked to have all the boys here, they deserved it.

"We have a good match ahead of us. It is nice to play this match, Italy-Argentina is a classic of world football and it will also be a tribute to many players.

"It is a great pleasure to be here, not even 12 months ago we were here to celebrate [winning Euro 2020 at Wembley] and for this reason, there is also a bit of emotion."

Italy made it three wins from three to start their World Cup 2022 qualification campaign by seeing off Lithuania by the now familiar scoreline of 2-0. 

Goals from Stefano Sensi and Ciro Immobile bookended the second half on Wednesday, as Italy took a three-point lead in Group C.

The Azzurri have won their last five matches 2-0, and are unbeaten in 25 games under Mancini, which brings him level with Marcelo Lippi's best haul – only Vittorio Pozzo (30) has managed a better such streak.

Lippi guided Italy to a 2006 World Cup success, and Mancini did not shy away from wanting to emulate one of his predecessors.

"I'm happy we are top of the group, it's pleasing, but records are standalone issues compared to real results," he told reporters.

"I hope to match Lippi at the World Cup, maybe in December 2022."

With three qualifying wins under their belt, Italy's focus will now switch to the upcoming Euros, rearranged from last year.

Mancini picked a 38-man squad for this latest round of internationals, and suggested it would be prudent for UEFA to accommodate larger squads than the usual 23 at this year's tournament. 

"I think it could be a good idea to be able to name bigger squads for Euro 2020," Mancini said.

"I think it could be the right thing to do. The problem would above all be if a couple of players had problems in the tournament, as it's difficult to call them back after that, when players are on vacation."

Italy recorded 29 shots against Lithuania, with 11 of them on target – the excellent Tomas Svedkauskas pulling off nine saves.

Immobile, who scored from the spot with the last kick of the game, was particularly wasteful, sending a close-range header wide after seeing two efforts saved by Svedkauskas.

The 31-year-old Lazio forward has scored eight goals in World Cup qualifiers, the joint-third most in Italy's history – along with Daniele De Rossi – and Mancini believes fatigue played a big part in Immobile's profligate display.

"Ciro gave everything he could today," Mancini added. "The players aren't in the best shape right now, they are lacking sharpness, but the goals will come more consistently for him."

The Azzurri are the defending European champions, having beaten England on penalties at Wembley in the Euro 2020 final. 

Mancini's men have been drawn in Group C with England again in qualifying, alongside Malta, Ukraine and North Macedonia – who they lost to in the World Cup play-offs.

Italy will be desperate to make up for the disappointment of not reaching Qatar 2022 and begin their latest campaign at home to England on March 23 before travelling to Malta three days later. 

Speaking to Il Messaggero ahead of the international break, however, Mancini acknowledged concern over his side's attacking options. 

He said: "The problems are serious. [Ciro] Immobile is out, perhaps [Giacomo] Raspadori, too. There are big questions.

"Most of our centre-forwards have played very little in recent months. We don't have one who is a starter, except for [Wilfried] Gnonto, who is used a little wider at Leeds and can act as a centre-forward.

"But otherwise, we are in bad shape: even [Gianluca] Scamacca is recovering from an injury, [Andrea] Belotti plays little.

"There are solutions in defence and in midfield. It's there in attack that we have problems but not because there aren't any talents. They have to play, and they don't play."

One option for Mancini could be to recall former Roma forward Nicolo Zaniolo, who joined Galatasaray on a permanent deal in February. 

There's also the possibility of a first call-up for Andrea Compagno, who has scored 16 times this season in Romania's Liga I.

These fixtures will mark Italy's first games since the death of Gianluca Vialli, a member of their coaching staff and a very close friend of Mancini.

"They will be difficult days," Mancini said. "The great emptiness that I feel every day we will feel stronger. All that he left us must be useful for our present and our future."

Italy have not played since November 20 last year when they lost 2-0 to Austria in a friendly. 

COVID-19 cases are skyrocketing, the climate crisis continues unabated, Donald Trump is crying election fraud and everyone is talking about cryptocurrency without really knowing why. If Bill Murray appeared on television to tell you we're stuck in a 2020 time loop, you'd barely even blink.

Well, 2021 really did happen, and we have the data to prove it. Here, Stats Perform presents a selection of the biggest footballing moments of the year, and the numbers that help to make them unforgettable – even if you can't remember what day it is...

Tuchel your fancy

Expectations are pretty high for Chelsea coaches, but winning the Champions League before you've been in the job for half a year – after replacing club legend Frank Lampard, no less – isn't a bad way to impress the owner! No but seriously, Thomas Tuchel is brilliant.

The Blues beat Atletico Madrid, Porto, Real Madrid and Manchester City in the knockouts as they became kings of Europe for the second time. They only conceded twice in those matches; in fact, Edouard Mendy became the first goalkeeper to keep as many as nine clean sheets in his debut season in the competition.

From Tuchel's first match in charge until the end of 2020-21, no Premier League team lost fewer games (five), conceded fewer goals (16) or kept more clean sheets (19) across all competitions than Chelsea. It's worth remembering that, Thomas, if you really do think your title hopes are already over at the halfway stage of the season.

Live and let Daei

Football's greatest-of-all-time debate is likely to drag on until humanity has long since gone extinct, with nothing left of civilisation except decaying ruins and NFTs of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, most likely dressed as goats, stored on a giant blockchain server at the centre of the Earth (no, we don't understand it all, either).

We can at least agree on one non-fungible Ronaldo record, though: as of 2021, he is the leading international goalscorer in the history of men's football.

A brace against the Republic of Ireland on September 1 took him to 111 for Portugal, two more than previous record-holder Ali Daei of Iran. Ronaldo will start the World Cup year on 115 goals in 184 international appearances – but without the Ballon d'Or on his mantelpiece...

Gerd lord, another record

With practically the final kick of the 2020-21 Bundesliga season, Robert Lewandowski pounced on a loose ball to score his 41st league goal and break Gerd Muller's previous single-season record of 40, which had stood since 1972.

Not satisfied with the greatest goalscoring effort in Germany's top flight for nearly half a century, Lewandowski ended 2021 with 43 goals for the calendar year (in only 34 games), again surpassing a previous best tally set by Muller. During that run, he became the first player in the competition to score in 13 consecutive home matches, beating the 12-game runs of Jupp Heynckes and, yes, Muller. The late Bayern great's record of a goal in 16 Bundesliga games in a row still stands, though, Lewandowski having been stopped from matching it by the crossbar in a 3-1 win at Greuther Furth in September.

This year also saw the Bayern Munich striker reach 120 away goals in the Bundesliga, which is, you guessed it, another record. At least this one was previously held by a different name: Klaus Fischer, on 117. Muller is third on 115, for what it's worth.

Let's talk about six, baby 

Liverpool started the year boasting the second-longest unbeaten home run in the history of England's top division: they had gone 68 games without defeat after losing 2-1 to Crystal Palace in April 2017, a streak only bettered by Chelsea (86 games ending in October 2008).

Then, they lost 1-0 to Burnley at Anfield. Then, 1-0 to Brighton and Hove Albion at Anfield. After that came a 4-1 battering by Manchester City, an almost unthinkable 2-0 loss to Everton, and then another pair of 1-0 defeats, this time to Chelsea and Fulham... and all at Anfield.

Six consecutive home defeats: something never endured by any Liverpool team before, nor any reigning champion of England's top flight.

Pep-pered with records

City were top of the Premier League on Christmas Day for the third time in their history. They won the league on the previous two occasions (in 2011 and 2017), so the omens are positive for 2021-22 – not that they need much divine intervention right now.

The reigning champions, boasting a 10-match winning streak, broke the record for the most victories in a calendar year in England's top flight with their 34th of 2021 against Newcastle United this month. The previous best was 33 set by Bob Paisley's Liverpool in 1982.

In the process, Pep Guardiola's men also set a new top-tier record of 18 away wins in a single year, beating the previous best of 17 set by Bill Nicholson's famous Tottenham side of 1960-61. Oh, and their 112 goals scored in 2021 is the best such calendar-year return in the Premier League era.

An Argentine tango – and a Messi divorce

Lionel Messi ends 2021 with 23 goals and eight assists in LaLiga, the most direct goal involvements of any player aside from Karim Benzema (41). And he hasn't played in the competition since May.

Messi's tearful departure from Barcelona, who decided they simply couldn't afford to keep the player they previously couldn't afford to lose, heralded the end of an era in Spanish football. It hasn't gone particularly well for either party, either: Barca, who sacked Ronald Koeman in November, sit seventh in LaLiga, while Messi has scored one goal in 11 Ligue 1 games for Paris Saint-Germain.

Club football might have been more of a nightmare than a dream for Messi this year, but the same cannot be said for his international exploits. He was the joint-top goalscorer and the tournament's best player as Argentina finally ended their long wait for silverware, defeating Brazil 1-0 in the final of the Copa America. It was enough to secure Messi a record-extending seventh Ballon d'Or, even though he seemed to think Lewandowski actually deserved to win (and, let's be honest, a lot of us did).

It's a Lille bit funny...

Last season, Paris Saint-Germain replaced Tuchel with Mauricio Pochettino ostensibly so they might win the Champions League. Instead, while Tuchel took Chelsea to European glory within just five months, Pochettino's PSG could not even keep hold of their Ligue 1 crown.

Lille won the French top flight for the fourth time in their history, becoming only the fourth side to win it at least twice since the turn of the century (the others being PSG, of course, Monaco and Lyon). Their triumph was inspired by the late-career renaissance of Burak Yilmaz: his 16 league goals were the most scored by anyone over the age of 35 in Europe's top five leagues last season, with the exception of Cristiano Ronaldo (29).

While their title defence isn't going too swimmingly – Lille are eighth in the table after 19 games, 18 points behind leaders PSG – they managed to win their Champions League group for the first time in seven attempts. They also boast the top scorer in Ligue 1 this term: Jonathan David, who was an 11-year-old playing for Ottawa Gloucester Hornets when Lille won their third league title in 2011, has scored 12 times already.

Get Inter the spirit

This year saw Inter end their decade-long wait for the Scudetto and bring about the end of Juventus' recent stranglehold on Serie A.

Inspired by Antonio Conte – who started Juve's nine-year title streak back in 2012 – and league MVP Romelu Lukaku, the Nerazzurri finished 12 points clear at the top as their coach became the man with the best points-per-game ratio (2.26) in the modern history of Italy's top flight.

Despite a close-season of upheaval in which Conte walked, Lukaku returned to Chelsea and Achraf Hakimi went to PSG, Inter go into next year with a four-point advantage at the top and just one defeat in 19 league games, having scored over 100 league goals in a calendar year for the first time in their history.

Mancini's miracle

Italy's second European Championship trophy, secured courtesy of a penalty shoot-out win over England at Wembley, was the pinnacle of a quite remarkable run of results under Roberto Mancini.

The Azzurri would go on to set a new world record in men's international football of 37 matches without defeat, during which they won 30, scored 93 goals and conceded only 12. The run ended when they lost 2-1 to Spain in the Nations League semi-finals in Milan, marking their first competitive home defeat since 1999.

In the first 33 of those matches, starting from a 1-1 draw with Ukraine in October 2018, they were behind for only 44 minutes. At Euro 2020, they had five players who scored at least twice, they ended the tournament with a joint-high 13 goals and conceded only four. And yet, in 2022, they must navigate the play-offs – and potentially a meeting with Portugal – if they are to avoid failing to qualify for the World Cup for the second time in a row.

Palmeiras pull off the unbeliev-Abel

The Copa Libertadores final is not something Andreas Pereira will want to remember: it was the Manchester United loanee's error that allowed substitute Deyverson to win it for Palmeiras in extra time.

This was a historic result, though. Not only were Palmeiras the first team since Boca Juniors 20 years ago to win back-to-back Libertadores trophies, but Abel Ferreira became the only European coach to win the competition twice.

Before his time in Brazil, arguably Abel's finest achievement in his post-playing career was helping PAOK reach 51 league games unbeaten – although he was only actually in charge for 17 of those matches, including the 4-2 loss to Aris that brought the streak to an end.

Pellegri, who joined Monaco for a reported €25million fee as a 16-year-old in January 2018, was summoned by the Azzurri for the first and only time in September of that year but an injury forced him to withdraw from the squad.

The former Genoa player has only made 10 appearances for Monaco due to a series of injury issues. Four of his outings have come this season, but he missed the entirety of 2019-20 due to hamstring problems and has featured for a total of 171 minutes.

His first and only goal came in a 2-1 defeat to Bordeaux in August 2018 and has only registered one shot on target for the first team since then.

But Pellegri could finally earn his first Italy cap in a friendly against Estonia next Wednesday, with Roberto Mancini naming a bumper 41-man squad.

Bologna midfielder Roberto Soriano is back in the fold four years after his previous call-up, while Domenico Criscito returns for the first time since October 2018.

Gianluigi Donnarumma, Alex Meret, Leonardo Bonucci, Alessandro Florenzi, Jorginho, Federico Chiesa, Lorenzo Insigne and Moise Kean have all been given permission to join up with the team the day before that match.

The rest of the squad will convene on Sunday, or as soon as they have completed any necessary period of isolation.

Mancini has tested positive for coronavirus and will reportedly not be in the dugout against Estonia, with assistant manager Alberigo Evani set to temporarily take charge of first-team affairs.

Italy squad:

Alessio Cragno (Cagliari), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Milan), Alex Meret (Napoli), Salvatore Sirigu (Torino); Francesco Acerbi (Lazio), Cristiano Biraghi (Fiorentina), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Davide Calabria (Milan), Domenico Criscito (Genoa), Danilo D'Ambrosio (Inter), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Emerson Palmieri (Chelsea), Alessandro Florenzi (Paris Saint-Germain), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Angelo Ogbonna (West Ham), Luca Pellegrini (Genoa), Alessio Romagnoli (Milan), Leonardo Spinazzola (Roma); Nicolo Barella (Inter), Gaetano Castrovilli (Fiorentina), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Roberto Gagliardini (Inter), Jorginho (Chelsea), Manuel Locatelli (Sassuolo), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Matteo Pessina (Atalanta), Roberto Soriano (Bologna), Sandro Tonali (Milan); Andrea Belotti (Torino), Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus), Francesco Caputo (Sassuolo), Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Stephan El Shaarawy (Shanghai Shenhua), Vincenzo Grifo (Freiburg), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Moise Kean (Paris Saint-Germain), Kevin Lasagna (Udinese), Riccardo Orsolini (Bologna), Pietro Pellegri (Monaco).