Mauricio Pochettino acknowledged the role Thomas Tuchel played in his first managerial trophy as Paris Saint-Germain beat Marseille 2-1 in the Trophee des Champions on Wednesday.

Mauro Icardi and Neymar – the Brazil international's 18th successful penalty from the 19 he has taken for PSG – scored for the Ligue 1 champions, while Dimitri Payet set up a tense finale with an 89th-minute strike for Andre Villas-Boas' side. 

PSG held on, though, to claim a record eighth consecutive Trophee des Champions crown and their 10th overall midweek.

It was only Pochettino's third game in charge of PSG and the former Tottenham boss made sure he recognised the work of Tuchel, who was dismissed as head coach on December 29. 

"I want to thank the players, Leonardo [sporting director] and Nasser Al-Khelaifi [president]," Pochettino – a Champions League and EFL Cup runner-up with Spurs – said. "I also have a thought for Thomas Tuchel and his staff, who allowed us to play this match."

"We are making progress in all areas where we want to implement our ideas. We have a very intelligent group of players, with great adaptability. We are very happy.

"I hope to win other titles, but the first one will always be special.

"The group has shown a lot of maturity, it has learned from its mistakes. It's a huge emotion to win with this staff, it's difficult to describe in words, especially since it's a club that made me become a better person, a better player."

Marseille finished the game having had four shots on target to PSG's three, although the Parisians enjoyed a whopping 63.6 per cent possession and completed 268 more passes than their opponents. 

Despite that, Villas-Boas believes his side did not deserve to lose. 

"It was a balanced game, with few chances for both teams," he said. "We were the best team. I think we didn't deserve to lose this game. PSG going 2-0 up went against the run of play

"Congratulations to PSG. The best honour they gave us was the party that followed, because we offered them a difficult match."

Barcelona reached the Supercopa de Espana final after beating Real Sociedad 3-2 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in Cordoba.

With Lionel Messi sitting out the tie with a slight injury, it was Frenkie de Jong who continued his strong recent form with the opening goal in the first half.

De Jong conceded the penalty that allowed Mikel Oyarzabal to equalise, though, and it was Sociedad who threatened most as the game entered extra time, with Marc-Andre ter Stegen in strong form and substitute Adnan Januzaj hitting the post with a free-kick.

Ter Stegen proved pivotal in the shoot-out, making two saves, before Riqui Puig buried his spot-kick to send Barca through.

The Germany international made a fine one-on-one save to deny Alexander Isak as La Real looked by far the more threatening in the early exchanges.

Barca seemed to settle after 25 minutes and twice came close through Martin Braithwaite, while Ousmane Dembele was menacing Nacho Monreal down the right.

The Catalans' growing pressure told six minutes before half-time, Antoine Griezmann clipping a cross towards De Jong, who reacted well to steer a header past Alex Remiro.

But De Jong handed Sociedad an equaliser 51 minutes in, his handball allowing Oyarzabal to send Ter Stegen the wrong way from the spot.

An end-to-end contest ensued, La Real threatening on the break through Isak and both Pedri and Griezmann coming close with powerful efforts.

In extra time, Ter Stegen made a spectacular one-handed save to keep out Joseba Zaldua's rocket before Dembele sent a shot straight at Remiro after Griezmann had stolen back possession.

Griezmann saw a volley smothered and Barca were very nearly hit on the break, Ter Stegen doing enough to deny Oyarzabal after the forward had failed to connect properly with Januzaj's cross.

Januzaj himself had a shot just prodded past the left-hand post after a strong run and then came closest of all to a winner, clattering the post with a wicked free-kick as Ter Stegen looked to get a fingertip to the ball.

De Jong hit the post with Barca's first penalty, but Ter Stegen saved from Jon Bautista and Oyarzabal and Willian Jose hit the post after Dembele had scored.

Griezmann skied his effort horribly after Miralem Pjanic and Mikel Merino each scored, but although Januzaj also converted, Puig showed nerves of steel to send the Catalans into the final.

Bayern Munich have been knocked out of the DFB-Pokal on penalties by second-tier side Holstein Kiel following a 2-2 draw after extra time.

The Bavarian giants had reached the last 16 stage in each of the previous 19 seasons and had lifted the cup in the last two of those, but they were stunned by Kiel in Wednesday's clash at Holstein-Stadion.

Leroy Sane had Bayern on the brink of a place in the next round with his sublime free-kick early in the second half after Fin Bartels had earlier cancelled out Serge Gnabry's close-range opener.

But Kiel skipper Hauke Wahl scored in the 95th minute to force extra time and Bayern, who brought on star striker Robert Lewandowski with 74 minutes played, could not find a third goal as the tie went the distance.

The first 10 penalties were successfully put away but substitute Marc Roca was denied by Ioannis Gelios, setting up Bartels to convert and send the home side through 6-5 on spot-kicks, with Darmstadt to come in the last 16.

Hamza Rafia scored the winner on his debut as Juventus needed extra time to beat Genoa 3-2 and reach the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia.

A much-changed Juve side were a cut above Serie A strugglers Genoa in the first half at Allianz Stadium on Wednesday, but made hard work of setting up a last-eight tie against Sassuolo or SPAL.

Dejan Kulusevski was outstanding in the opening 45 minutes, scoring inside two minutes and laying on a second goal for Alvaro Morata.

Lennart Czyborra pulled a goal back from out of the blue in an otherwise one-sided first half and Filippo Melegoni later equalised, but 21-year-old Tunisia international Rafia came off the bench to settle the tie late in the first half of extra time.

Mauricio Pochettino secured the first trophy of his managerial career as Paris Saint-Germain edged past Marseille 2-1 in the Trophee des Champions on Wednesday. 

In just his third game in charge of the French giants, former Tottenham boss Pochettino watched his side claim the trophy for the eighth consecutive year without ever having to get out of second gear. 

Mauro Icardi got them on their way, sliding in from close range after 39 minutes before Neymar, making his first appearance in a month after an ankle injury, added a second from the penalty spot five minutes from time.

Dimitri Payet pulled one back for Marseille in the 89th minute, but PSG held on to claim a deserved win. 

Reggae Boyz forward Junior Flemmings has signed a one-year deal with Birmingham Legion FC in the United Soccer League in the United States.

Zinedine Zidane has no doubts Martin Odegaard will succeed at Real Madrid despite his limited appearances for Los Blancos this season. 

The 22-year-old was recalled by Madrid in August after a stellar campaign on loan at Real Sociedad, where he scored four goals and assisted a further six in 31 LaLiga appearances. 

He has struggled to make an impact back at his parent club this term, though, and has been limited to just three league starts. 

Not only has he failed to score in those appearances, Odegaard has also not created a significant chance for a team-mate or completed a dribble either. 

In contrast, last season Odegaard crafted 10 big opportunities and 62 chances in total – with 27 from set-pieces.

However, Zidane is confident the Norway international will soon make his mark at the champions, who face Athletic Bilbao in a Supercopa de Espana semi-final on Thursday. 

"Let him continue working, he is a beloved player and he will surely succeed here," Zidane told a media conference.

"He has not played much lately but the idea is to keep working hard; he will have minutes. 

"He will provide insurance. This is a specific moment. In a race things happen to the players, but he is not discouraged."

Luka Jovic, meanwhile, will play no part on Thursday with a loan move to former club Eintracht Frankfurt imminent. 

Jovic swapped Eintracht for Madrid in a €60million transfer ahead of the 2019-20 season, but the Serbia forward has endured a turbulent period under Zidane. 

The 23-year-old – who managed just two goals in 25 appearances in his first season in the Spanish capital – has only featured in 149 minutes of LaLiga action this term, while he has played in just five matches across all competitions amid ongoing form and fitness issues.

But Jovic is set for a reunion with Bundesliga side Eintracht, for whom he scored 27 goals in 2018-19 before leaving for the Santiago Bernabeu.

Zidane accepts Jovic has been unlucky during his time at the club and expects him to return to top form soon.

"He's a striker who scores goals and that's what we want from him," he added. "He was 21 [when Madrid signed him] and he's had no luck because he had difficulties adapting and injuries. It is not easy. 

"He has to learn many things. He has qualities, I have no doubts."

Barcelona are without Lionel Messi for their Supercopa de Espana clash with Real Sociedad.

Messi scored twice in a 4-0 rout of Granada on Saturday, with the 33-year-old having now netted seven times and provided two assists in his past seven games, accumulating more goal involvements than any other LaLiga player over the same period.

The six-time Ballon d'Or winner was taken off in the 65th minute and Koeman confirmed on Tuesday that Messi had some "discomfort", but the Barca boss hoped to have his talisman fit.

It has not proven to be the case, however, with Messi – who has scored 11 league goals in total this season – failing to make Barca's 18-man squad for their semi-final with La Real in Cordoba.

Antoine Griezmann will instead play off Martin Braithwaite, who leads the line, with support from Ousmane Dembele and Pedri.

Sergi Busquets made his 600th Barca appearance on Saturday and the 32-year-old sits in midfield alongside Frenkie de Jong, with Jordi Alba, Clement Lenglet, Oscar Mingueza and Ronald Araujo making up the defence, ahead of Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

La Real on the other hand have been able to welcome back Nacho Monreal from an injury lay-off, though David Silva – who has not played since December 22 – does not feature.

The winners of Wednesday's tie will face Athletic Bilbao or LaLiga champions Real Madrid in the final.

Luka Modric says talks with Real Madrid over a new contract are "going in a good direction".

The Croatia star's deal expires at the end of the season but it was reported by Marca last month that an agreement was in place for a year-long extension.

The 2018 Ballon d'Or winner, now 35, has enjoyed a superb campaign for Madrid following early doubts over whether the return of Martin Odegaard could limit his involvement.

Of Madrid midfielders this season, nobody has scored more goals than Modric (four, level with Casemiro), while only Lucas Vazquez and Toni Kroos have created more goalscoring chances (30).

Modric has also played the most successful passes ending in the final third (451) of any Madrid midfielder this term, highlighting his attacking impact under Zinedine Zidane while Odegaard has struggled for minutes and Eden Hazard for fitness.

Ahead of the Supercopa de Espana clash with Athletic Bilbao, Modric suggested he has plenty of football left - and that it could be played in the Spanish capital.

"I can't say much. I'm speaking with the club and everything is going in a good direction," he said of his contract talks.

"I haven't changed anything in particular. I'm working a lot outside of training, I have the same desire to compete, the years are no problem at all."

The future of Sergio Ramos is similarly unclear and Modric was not prepared to offer any indication of the captain's plans.

"I can't position myself at anyone's side," he said. "Sergio is my friend and I want the best for him, for him to be happy.

"It's between him and the club. I can't get involved."

Modric was happy to offer some advice to Odegaard, though, the 22-year-old having played only nine times this season after returning following a fine loan spell with Real Sociedad.

"Last time I spoke to him, I told him I liked him as a player and a person, to keep fighting for his place in this team, that when he plays to make difference to show he deserves to be here," Modric said.

"To work and fight for your place is my advice for him."

Romelu Lukaku hopes Inter are learning as they continue to struggle to perform consistently over 90 minutes despite sitting second in Serie A and reaching the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia.

Lukaku headed an extra-time winner to see off Fiorentina 2-1 in the Coppa on Wednesday, his 119th-minute goal settling a tie in which Inter had led at half-time through Arturo Vidal's penalty.

A dominant first 45 minutes had seen the Nerazzurri attempt eight shots to Fiorentina's one, while having 56.6 per cent of the possession.

But Christian Kouame equalised after 57 minutes, prior to Lukaku's introduction as a substitute, as the Viola outshot their visitors nine to six in the second period.

For Inter, it was a second successive match in which they lost the initiative, even if Lukaku's goal this time meant they advanced to face Milan in the last eight.

At Roma on Sunday, despite trailing at half-time, quickfire goals from Milan Skriniar and Achraf Hakimi had Antonio Conte's men in front before they conceded a late leveller.

Ahead of the Roma game, Conte had bemoaned Inter's inability to make fast starts, having led at the interval just four times in Serie A this term.

But Lukaku is now concerned by his team's displays from half-time onwards, a period in which they have scored an impressive 30 goals and conceded just 12 in the league.

"I don't know why it happens," Lukaku told Rai Sport. "We already said it after the draw against Roma that it shouldn't happen, but it happened, even if we still won this time.

"We are young, we must learn from these things, but we want to improve."

Having booked the meeting with Milan, a fixture he was reluctant to immediately discuss, Lukaku acknowledged there were still positives.

"We are happy to have won a difficult match against a great coach [Fiorentina's Cesare Prandelli]," he said. "We are happy and we want to continue like this."

Turning focus back to Serie A, Inter face champions Juventus next on Sunday, with the Derby d'Italia rivals determined to win to keep the pressure on leaders Milan.

"I expect a tactical match between two teams who are doing good things," Lukaku added. "Juventus are a big team. We want to prepare well for this match."

Lyon have confirmed that Moussa Dembele has joined Atletico Madrid on loan with a view to a permanent move and the Ligue 1 leaders have signed Islam Slimani from Leicester City on a free transfer. 

The former France Under-21 international has joined the LaLiga leaders for a fee of €1.5million until the end of the season, when Atletico will have the option to buy him outright for an initial €33.5m.

Atletico are said to have concentrated all efforts on Dembele after having a bid rejected for Napoli's Arkadiusz Milik, with Diego Costa's mutual contract termination at the end of December leaving space for another striker.

Dembele has long been linked with some of Europe's biggest clubs and will supplement Atletico's already formidable attacking options that include Luis Suarez and Joao Felix.

Algeria striker Slimani arrived at Lyon on Wednesday on an 18-month contract to bolster their forward line as they battle for the Ligue 1 title.

Dembele came through the ranks at Fulham after leaving Paris Saint-Germain as a teenager, and his form there secured him a move to Celtic.

He scored 26 league goals across two seasons in Scotland and won six trophies, before leaving for Lyon in a reported €22m deal in 2018.

He hit double figures for goals in each of his first two Ligue 1 campaigns, while his 24 in 46 across all competitions in 2019-20 made him comfortably their leading goalscorer with nine more than Memphis Depay, though the Dutchman missed a chunk of the season through injury.

However, 2020-21 has been a tough one for Dembele, who scored just once in 16 league games for Lyon, with Depay, Karl Toko Ekambi and Tino Kadewere proving more dependable for Rudi Garcia.

While Dembele's shooting accuracy has only seen a slight dip this term from 52 per cent to 47.6, his conversion rate has slumped dramatically.

In the 2019-20 Ligue 1 season, the striker converted 32 per cent of his shots attempted (excluding blocks), a figure only Mauro Icardi (37.5), Wissam Ben Yedder (35.3) and Kasper Dolberg (34.4) could better among players to record at least 30 shots.

He has already missed more Opta-defined 'big chances' (eight) than he did across the entirety the previous top-flight campaign (five) as well, averaging just over one per 90 minutes – his worst across a season for Lyon was 0.7 each game in 2018-19.

Timothy Fosu-Mensah has joined Bayer Leverkusen from Manchester United on a three-and-a-half-year deal.

The versatile 23-year-old has moved to the Bundesliga side for a fee in the region of €2million (£1.8m).

Leverkusen sporting director described their new signing as "a technically adept, fast and physically strong defender, who can be used both as a right-back and in the middle".

Fosu-Mensah, who has three senior caps for the Netherlands, said: "In the past few days, I've talked a lot with the coach [Peter Bosz], and conversations with Simon Rolfes and Rudi Voller have convinced me there are big prospects at Leverkusen, both for me personally and the team.

"It's going to be really exciting."

Fosu-Mensah joined United's academy in 2014, having spent eight years in the Ajax youth set-up, and went on to make 30 senior appearances in all competitions.

He signed a four-year deal in October 2016, with the option of an extra year, after making his senior debut in February that year under manager Louis van Gaal, playing as a makeshift left-back in a 3-2 Premier League win over Arsenal.

He spent time on loan with Crystal Palace and Fulham but his opportunities in England were curtailed by serious injuries, and his place in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's squad was usurped by fellow academy graduate Brandon Williams.

Although he was offered a new contract, he reportedly rejected the terms as he felt undervalued by the offer and was keen to move elsewhere to maximise his potential, leaving United keen to sell in January and avoid losing him for nothing at the end of the season.

While Fosu-Mensah departed on Wednesday, new signing Amad Diallo was at the club's training complex for the first time.

The 18-year-old arrived from Atalanta this month after a deal was struck between the clubs in October.

Substitute Romelu Lukaku rescued Inter with a 119th-minute winner to knock Fiorentina out of the Coppa Italia with a 2-1 win for the second season running.

Lukaku started from the bench ahead of Sunday's Derby d'Italia against Juventus but was called for in the second half after Christian Kouame had cancelled out Arturo Vidal's penalty opener.

There was no immediate impact as the Nerazzurri sought to get their season back on track, having taken just a point from their prior two Serie A matches.

Yet Lukaku made his mark deep into extra time at the Artemio Franchi, powering a header past Pietro Terracciano to book Inter's place in the quarter-finals.

And so, after two head coach sackings, a torrent of boardroom upheaval and the most discussed transfer request of all time, Barcelona return to the scene of the crime.

The scene in terms of the tournament itself, of course. But even after swapping Saudi Arabia for Seville, the memory of last season's Supercopa de Espana semi-final will be enough to bring many a Cule out in a cold sweat.

Barca led 2-1 going into the final 10 minutes of their encounter with Atletico Madrid at King Abdullah Sports City, only to lose 3-2. Ernesto Valverde would never lead them again.

To say Valverde's sacking and its aftermath were shoddily handled would go some way to redefining the notion of understatement.

Club great Xavi was courted before deciding he would rather lead his boyhood club at a more agreeable time, one without mayhem spewing everywhere behind the scenes at Camp Nou.

Quique Setien took the reins and came to look out of his depth long before the 8-2 Champions League quarter-final defeat to Bayern Munich. Despite it being a game that caused shockwaves around world football, "8-2" still feels an utterly preposterous thing to type.

Sporting director Eric Abidal called out the squad for a perceived lack of effort during Valverde's final days, a somewhat belated show of solidarity with a coach he unceremoniously bundled towards the exit door.

Lionel Messi took umbrage and an unseemly public spat was still festering by the time LaLiga resumed following the coronavirus shutdown. Barca surrendered the title to Real Madrid before their night of shame in Lisbon.

Setien was gone and newly installed boss Ronald Koeman decided Luis Suarez should follow him through the exit door, something that did nothing to improve Messi's mood as he sought to prise himself away from Barcelona before being forced to stay under contractual duress.

A 2-1 defeat to Cadiz on December 5 left Barca seventh in LaLiga with 14 points from 10 games, with Koeman's dream job turning rapidly into a nightmare.

A listless 3-0 Champions League loss at home to Juventus followed, ceding top spot in their group. But since then, Barcelona are unbeaten in eight LaLiga matches, winning six, and Opta data suggests they might be in better health ahead of Wednesday's semi-final against Real Sociedad than at this time last year.

Creating more under Koeman

In 24 games under Koeman in all competitions, Barca have scored 53 and conceded 22, averaging 2.21 and 0.92 per game respectively in all competitions.

Heading into the semi-final with Atletico, Valverde's team were top of LaLiga with 40 points from 19 matches. That betters the 34 from 18 that Koeman's men have to lie third this time around, but it should be noted that leaders Atleti have 41 points from just 16 outings so far.

The numbers behind Valverde's final half-season at the helm hint at comparative progress under Koeman.

When the former Athletic Bilbao boss led the Blaugrana during the period in question, they averaged 2.32 goals per game with 58 in 25.

However, that hugely out-performed an expected goals (xG) figure of 41.1, meaning they were getting out of jail a fair bit thanks largely to a certain special player. Koeman's Barca are in line with an xG of 53.66 this season, with shots per game up to 16.9 from 12.5 in the same period under Valverde.

Both men left their defences grateful for wasteful finishing, with an xG against of 30.37 for Valverde and 29.83 for Koeman.

Messi still the master, Pedri and Griezmann stepping up

Despite a slow start to the season after his attempted exit, Barcelona's main man looks to be back up to speed.

In 21 games this term Messi has 14 goals, closing on the 15 from 19 in his final stint with Valverde as boss, when he hugely out-performed an xG of 9.83.

His importance to Barca remains paramount, leading the way in chance creation (51) as he did in the first half of last season (47).

Suarez was next on that list with 29 last time around. Although no one has filled the breach of 14 goals scored in the period by a man now spearheading Atleti's title charge, youngster Pedri has stepped up to craft 29 opportunities for team-mates.

Frenkie de Jong has created 25 chances from midfield - up from 19. The often maligned Antoine Griezmann has made the same leap, despite being on the pitch for 396 fewer minutes compared to last season. However, until he lifts considerably his goal and assist contributions from seven and four respectively, unflattering comparisons to Suarez and Neymar will remain.

There are numerous shafts of light permeating the gloom that descended upon Barcelona a year ago. Enough to justify the chaos of the interim period? Of course not, but there might be legs in the fragile Koeman-Messi axis yet.

Nevertheless, as Barca face up to Sociedad and Real Madrid prepare to take on Athletic Bilbao, it is hard to escape who this week's real winner will be.

A clinical 2-0 win over Sevilla on Tuesday put Atletico four points clear at LaLiga's summit with two games in hand. Diego Simeone's men will have enjoyed the Barcelona demise they triggered; this time they get to put their feet up for eight days and enjoy their fellow heavyweights punching holes in one another.

Chapecoense are back "among giants" in the Campeonato Brasileiro after securing promotion from Serie B on Tuesday. 

After just one win in their previous five matches, Chape took on Santa Catarina rivals Figueirense at the Arena Conda knowing a win would send them back into the top flight. 

They were relegated to the second tier in 2019, having incredibly managed to retain their top-flight status for two straight seasons after an aircraft carrying the squad, club officials and journalists to the 2016 Copa Sudamericana final in Medellin crashed, killing 71 people on board. 

Chape were also last December hit by the death of president Paulo Magro due to coronavirus. He began attempts to get the club out of a dire financial situation following the resignation of Plinio David de Nes Filho, who had taken charge following the tragedy in Colombia. 

Their funds will be boosted after Paulinho Moccelin and Derlan scored either side of half-time against Figueirense, with Chape holding on for a 2-1 victory after Diego Goncalves scored from the penalty spot, sending them back to Serie A with four games to spare. 

A club statement read: "It was not easy to get here. It was much tougher than we imagined, in fact. But with work, humility, dedication, unity and, above all, with the STRENGTH FROM ABOVE, Chapecoense kept its promise. Chapecoense – made for the people, by the people – returned to the place it should never have left. 

"It is Chape, of the impossible, of the surprising, of resilience and overcoming, again among giants. 

"You can celebrate, fan. You can celebrate, president! With 66 points and four games left we have stamped our passport. Our return ticket. The beginning of another great story."

Chape's poor run prior to the Figueirense clash saw them surrender top spot to America Mineiro, who hold a one-point advantage. 

Head coach Umberto Louzer urged the players not to celebrate promotion too hard because he hopes to see them return to the Brasileirao as champions. 

"We can look back and see it was worth it. Thank you to everyone who helped us return to the first division," he told SporTV. 

"We still have a few games, we will fight America for the title. We have to celebrate, but rest because we already have to think about the next opponent." 

Goalkeeper Joao Ricardo added: "Only those who were in the group last season know about the difficult moments. 

"Even with adverse situations, we always believed and showed affection for the club. We have to congratulate everybody. The club deserved to return to Serie A." 

Chape captain Alan Ruschel, the only survivor of the plane crash that continues to play professionally, last month had his contract extended until the end of the coronavirus-interrupted season but did not feature against Figueirense due to injury.