Karim Benzema would have loved to play alongside Kylian Mbappe at Real Madrid, but insists the forwards' decision to stay at Paris Saint-Germain will not affect their friendship.
Mbappe was widely expected to move to the Santiago Bernabeu at the end of his contract in Paris, but he conducted a late U-turn last week and chose to sign a new three-year contract with the Ligue 1 champions.
But Madrid showed they have the firepower to cope without the 2018 World Cup winner as they beat Liverpool 1-0 in Saturday's Champions League final, with Vinicius Junior scoring the only goal of the game.
Benzema played a key role during Madrid's 14th European triumph, scoring 15 Champions League goals this season to fall just two strikes short of Cristiano Ronaldo's single-season record (17 for Madrid in 2013-14).
The striker, who has been tipped to win the Ballon d'Or later this year, also became just the second French player to win a European Cup/Champions League final as captain after Didier Deschamps with Marseille in 1993.
Mbappe, meanwhile, scored 39 goals and added 21 assists in all competitions in a fine individual campaign.
Although Benzema admits he would have been delighted to see Mbappe join Los Blancos, he respects the 23-year-old's decision and is looking forward to teaming up with him for France's upcoming Nations League fixtures.
"I would have liked him to be able to realise his dream of playing at Real Madrid, together," Benzema told Telefoot.
"He chose PSG, you have to respect [his decision]. He is young, he has a lot of responsibilities on him.
"It's his choice, he's a PSG player, so we will enjoy playing together in the [national] selection.
"Everyone makes their choices. "I'm not disappointed, I'm happy and I hope he does good things. We're good friends, it won't affect our relationship."
France will play four Nations League fixtures next month, including a double-header against Croatia, who they beat in the 2018 World Cup final in Moscow.
Mbappe left out of France squad as 'one-off'
Kylian Mbappe has been left out of France's squad for their upcoming Nations League matches, with Didier Deschamps saying it is a "one-off decision".
Mbappe played the full 90 minutes in Real Madrid's 3-1 defeat to Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday, and Deschamps did not say if the forward was injured.
The France captain also missed Les Bleus' last two matches, being rested despite his return to fitness in time for the October international break, with Mbappe coming under scrutiny for his absence.
The 25-year-old has struggled for form as of late, and although he has scored eight goals in 15 appearances since joining Madrid, he has hit the back of the net just once in his last six outings.
"I've had discussions with him, it is a decision that I took for this block of matches only," Deschamps told a press conference on Thursday. "Kylian wanted to come."
Meanwhile, Lille goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier has received his first call-up, replacing Alphonse Areola in the squad. There are also recalls for Adrien Rabiot and N'Golo Kante as the injured Aurelien Tchouameni misses out.
France face Israel in the first of their two games on November 14 before finishing their Nations League Group A2 campaign against Italy three days later.
France squad in full:
Lucas Chevalier (Lille), Mike Maignan (Milan), Brice Samba (Lens), Jonathan Clauss (Nice), Lucas Digne (Aston Villa), Wesley Fofana (Chelsea), Theo Hernandez (Milan), Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool), Jules Kounde (Barcelona), William Saliba (Arsenal), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich), Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), Matteo Guendouzi (Lazio), N'Golo Kante (Al-Ittihad), Manu Kone (Roma), Adrien Rabiot (Marseille), Warren Zaire-Emery (PSG), Bradley Barcola (PSG), Randal Kolo Muani (PSG), Christopher Nkunku (Chelsea), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich), Marcus Thuram (Inter).
Slot: Hard work got Liverpool to where they are this season
Arne Slot believes hard work and intensity have been key to Liverpool's form ahead of their Premier League meeting with Aston Villa on Saturday.
Slot has won 14 of his 16 matches in all competitions since taking charge at Anfield and, despite his magnificent start, he pointed out that it has not been easy.
"You only look at results. Brighton was a difficult one on Saturday where we were 1-0 behind and had to fight really hard and that is what you saw," he told the Independent.
"We have to work really hard with incredibly high intensity to win our games and that has a lot to do with teams who think Anfield is the best place to play, so every team we play against is at the top of their game. If you want to win you always have to be consistent in your intensity."
Having taken over from Jurgen Klopp, it was understandable that expectations had lowered when Slot took over, but after a stellar start to the season, Slot said he was unconcerned by the pressure.
"I think if you work at any club around the world there is always pressure. For some managers it is not to go down, for some they have to win a lot,” he added.
"In our position, there is always pressure and that is the pressure we give ourselves."
Villa, meanwhile, go into this game having lost back-to-back games against Tottenham in the Premier League and Club Brugge in the Champions League.
A bizarre penalty conceded by Tyrone Mings provided the winner for the Belgian side on Wednesday, but Unai Emery was still pleased with the intensity his side showed.
"The first half we played like we were planning... It was a mistake," Emery said after that game.
"It is difficult and here it is not strange. You watched the match and [Villa] playing, they finished exhausted. It was not intensity, it was that the match changed completely after our mistake."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Liverpool – Mohamed Salah
No player has been involved in more Premier League goals than Mohamed Salah (12) so far this season, with seven goals and five assists. He has also had the most touches in the opposition box this term (96), while of players to have had 20+ shots, no-one has hit a higher percentage of them on target (67% - 20/30).
The Egyptian has scored in four of his last five appearances at Anfield in all competitions, while he was also credited with two assists in the 4-0 victory over Leverkusen last time out.
Aston Villa – Ollie Watkins
Only Erling Haaland (16) has had more big chances than Ollie Watkins (14) in the Premier League this season.
While Watkins has only scored five league goals, with four of those coming from the big chances, he is still Villa's top goalscorer.
MATCH PREDICTION: LIVERPOOL WIN
Liverpool have won five of their last six home games against Villa (D1), while the visitors have lost 16 of their last 18 Premier League away games against sides starting top of the table (D2).
A large part of Liverpool's early-season success has come from their defence, with only Manchester City (32) facing fewer shots on target than them (34) in the league. Liverpool, meanwhile, have conceded the fewest goals in the Premier League (six).
Slot is also only the fifth manager to win eight of his first 10 Premier League matches in charge, with the club also unbeaten in their last seven (W5 D2) against Villa.
Slot's side have won four and lost one of their five home games in the league this season, accruing the joint third-most points (12).
However, Liverpool have conceded the first goal in their last two Premier League games but avoided defeat in both (2-2 v Arsenal, 2-1 v Brighton). Indeed, their win against Brighton was the 100th time they have come from behind to win a Premier League match, the third team to reach this milestone in the competition.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Liverpool – 61.8%
Draw – 19.7%
Aston Villa – 18.4%
The Numbers Game: Can Chelsea dent title hopes of misfiring Gunners?
Ten matches into the Premier League season, Arsenal's hopes of ending their long wait for a league title are already in danger.
Last week's 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United made it just seven points from five games, and they now trail leaders Liverpool by seven points.
Injuries and suspensions have taken their toll on Arteta's men, and things do not get much easier for them on Sunday, against a Chelsea team currently above them on goal difference.
Enzo Maresca's Blues fought back to draw 1-1 with Manchester United last time out, and only Manchester City and Liverpool have beaten them since the Italian took over.
We delve into the Opta data to preview Sunday's headline fixture at Stamford Bridge.
What's expected?
Given the two sides are only separated on goal difference ahead of Sunday's match, the Opta supercomputer finds it difficult to split.
Across 10,000 pre-match simulations conducted by the supercomputer, Arsenal were victorious in 41.2%, giving them a slight edge over their hosts, who are a 33.2% shot.
The likelihood of a draw is rated at 25.6%, but you sense Arsenal need to take all three points after seeing their hopes of winning the title drop to 4.4% in Opta's season predictions. Chelsea's own hopes are rated at 0.3%, with City (61.9%) still clear favourites ahead of Liverpool (33.4%).
Chelsea have won just one of their last nine Premier League games against Arsenal (two draws, six defeats), a 2-0 away win in August 2021. The Gunners have managed three victories in their last four league trips to Stamford Bridge (one draw) – as many victories as they recorded in their previous 20 visits (seven draws, 10 defeats).
Arsenal have also won their last six Premier League London derby matches by an aggregate score of 22-3, winning six of those matches by five or more goals.
One such occasion was a 5-0 rout of Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium last April, their biggest-ever margin of victory against the Blues in all competitions.
Blues eye statement victory
When the Premier League fixture list was drawn up, even the most optimistic Chelsea fan may have struggled to visualise the Blues sitting ahead of Arsenal in the table after 10 games.
But Maresca's side have shown promising signs in the early stages of his tenure. Chelsea's last two Premier League defeats this season have come against last season's top three teams – 0-5 versus Arsenal in April, 0-2 versus City in August and 1-2 against Liverpool in October.
They are unbeaten in their last 21 matches against all other teams, winning 14 and drawing seven while scoring 57 goals in total across those games.
The future looks bright for Chelsea, who fielded a starting lineup with an average age of 23 years and 96 days at Old Trafford last week – their youngest-ever XI for a Premier League match against Manchester United.
However, they are still waiting on a first statement win under Maresca, and getting one over on the Gunners would earn him plenty of goodwill among the fans.
Their chances could be decided by the fitness of Cole Palmer, who is an injury doubt after suffering a knock against United.
He opened the scoring when the Blues last welcomed Arsenal to west London for a 2-2 draw last October, scoring his first Premier League goal at Stamford Bridge.
Since then, he has more home goals in the competition than any other player (21), also leading the way for goal involvements (12 – seven goals, five assists, alongside Mohamed Salah) and open-play chances created in 2024-25.
Can fit-again Odegaard get Gunners firing?
Last season, Arsenal won 42 of their 89 Premier League points on their travels, taking nine points from five matches at the homes of their Big Six rivals.
This campaign, however, their failure to hit top form on the road has threatened to end their latest title tilt before it truly got going.
Arsenal have collected seven points from five away matches this term, the same amount as Brighton and fewer than Liverpool (13), Nottingham Forest (11), Chelsea, City and Aston Villa (all 10).
While Arteta has long preached the importance of control, Arsenal have simply not been good enough going forward in those matches. They have attempted just 37 shots on the road in the Premier League this season (7.4 per game), with only Brentford (seven) averaging fewer per away match across the entire division.
The fact Arsenal played significant amounts of time at Manchester City and Bournemouth with a numerical disadvantage likely plays a part, but the fact five teams have attempted at least twice as many shots on the road does not make for good reading (Manchester City 90, Tottenham 83, Crystal Palace 79, Bournemouth 78 and Manchester United 74).
Martin Odegaard's return to training after two months out with an ankle injury is a major boost, with the Norwegian having led all players in the Premier League for expected assists (11.17 xA) and chances created from open play (88) last season.
Arsenal have actually outperformed their underlying attacking metrics this campaign, netting 17 league goals from 15.75 expected goals (xG), so their finishing does not appear to be an issue. The fact they rank eighth in the league for xG does, however, suggest chance creation is a problem.
Arteta will hope Odegaard's return can make the difference, or a title challenge may prove a bridge too far. The last time they lost three successive away Premier League games was in December 2021, and they went on to miss out on a top-four finish that season.
The Norwegian was a late substitute as they were beaten 1-0 by Inter in the Champions League on Wednesday. They have now lost three of their last six games in all competitions, as many as their previous 32 beforehand.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Chelsea – Nicolas Jackson
Since the start of last season, Chelsea striker Jackson has been involved in more London derby goals than any other player in the Premier League (10 goals, two assists).
All of his 12 involvements have come in his last nine such appearances, and he already has six Premier League goals this term.
Arsenal – Bukayo Saka
Saka has provided more assists than any other player in the Premier League this season (seven).
He has also either scored (once) or assisted (twice) a goal in each of his last three away games against Chelsea in the Premier League, with Sergio Aguero (2013 to 2017) and Javier Hernandez (2012 to 2018) the only visiting players to do so in four consecutive appearances.
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