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• Chelsea quartet left at home as Bompastor rotates squad for Celtic clash

  Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor has said that they will be without four key players ahead of their Champions League game away to Celtic on Wednesday.

  Bompastor confirmed that Millie Bright, Mayra Ramirez, Sjoeke Nusken and Kadeisha Buchanan have not travelled to Scotland for their encounter at Celtic Park.

  The Blues know a victory will seal their progression to the knockout stages, though have decided to rest a few of their key players during a hectic fixture schedule. 

  Their trip to Scotland will be the second of three matches inside seven days in all competitions for Bompastor's side and, as a result, she has decided to rotate her squad.

  "The squad is in a good place and we have a good dynamic and we are full of confidence," she told a press conference

  "We have been playing a lot of games and this week we play three games so it’s important to manage players as individuals.

  “We have some players who didn’t travel for this game. Kadeisha Buchanan, Millie Bright, Sjoeke Nusken and Mayra Ramirez didn’t travel."

  Chelsea come into the game with a 100% record in all competitions under Bompastor, including two wins from two against Real Madrid and Twente in the Champions League.

  And they will be confident of maintaining their perfect run, having lost just one of their previous 20 group stage matches in the competition (W14 D5) and are unbeaten across their last 14 (W11 D3). 

  “As you know, Chelsea have a good squad with quality and a good team will start the game and be competitive because we want to finish first in this group," she said.

  Their early-season form has them second in the Women's Super League and top of their Champions League group, at least three points ahead of any other team.

  Despite resting players, Bompastor reassured people that it was Chelsea's ambition to fight on all fronts.

  “The Champions League is important and we have ambition and we want to make sure we finish first in the group," she said.

  “We have ambitions and if we want to go for all the competitions then you need to beat every team.

  “It will start again in March and that’s when the really important games start, but right now we are focused on the group stage.”

• Gakpo feels 'more dangerous' for Liverpool under Slot

  Cody Gakpo believes he has become a more "dangerous" player after returning to his preferred left-wing role under new Liverpool boss, Arne Slot. 

  Gakpo, who joined the Reds in January 2023, was often deployed in a central striker role under Jurgen Klopp during his first 18 months at Anfield. 

  Across his 53 appearances for Liverpool last season, 27 came as a centre forward, with the remaining 26 coming on either flank or in the attacking midfield position. 

  The Dutchman, however, has registered eight goal contributions (six goals, two assists) in 17 appearances in all competitions this season, all but one of which has come from the left wing. 

  Gakpo has found the net four times in his last four outings for the Reds, which included a brace against Brighton in the EFL Cup to propel them into the quarter-finals. 

  Speaking about the switch, he told Men in Blazers: “Before I came to Liverpool I also played as a left-winger. Then I came here, and I started to play more as a central striker.

  “At the Euros, I played as a left-winger again. Then this season the new manager came in. I had a talk with him, and he said, ‘You have to focus on the left-winger position.

  "This is your position when you come on or when you start.’ Because he said there’s a lot of competition here, so you just have to show yourself. But he said, ‘That is going to be your position.’

  “It felt a little bit, for me, like the old me, like what I did at PSV [Eindhoven] as well. I feel really good in this position. I try to show my best to everybody, what I’m capable of.

  “I think I come into more one-v-ones now with my face towards the opponent, where I can really go inside and give a cross, shoot or go outside and give a cross – which is more my game, I would say, and where I think I can be really dangerous and help the team the most.”

  Liverpool have enjoyed a fine start to the season, sitting top of both the Premier League and Champions League tables heading into the November international break.

  Slot has earned 28 points from his first 11 top-flight games in charge (W9 D1 L1), the joint-most by a manager after as many games in the competition along with Guus Hiddink at Chelsea.

  The Reds also remain the only side with a 100% record in the Champions League and have edged closer to defending their EFL Cup crown this season. 

  And Gakpo, who played a part in the Reds' win over Chelsea in the final of that competition last year, is eager for that fighting spirit to help bring more success to the club.

  “I see those [as] separate,” he said. “When I’m on the pitch, [I’m] really there to win the game, to show my quality," Gakpo said.

  “I think one of my qualities is going inside and going for a goal or maybe going for an assist. As an attacking player, I think that’s also part of the job.

  “Outside of the pitch, I tend to be a different guy – it’s more about life and development, mental growth, health growth with family, with friends.

  "I just try to be myself and I’m very happy that people speak so nicely of me, so thank you everybody!

  “Obviously when you come on the pitch, it’s game on. You have to think a little bit different – maybe not that nice in some ways because you have to win.

  "But for me, it will never be personal. Out there, [I’m] just trying to do my best for the club and to win these games for the fans, for myself, for the team.

  "When the referee blows the last whistle then the switch flips again and then I’m back to normal again.”

• Ronaldo concedes he 'can't think long term anymore'

  Cristiano Ronaldo has conceded he "can't think long term anymore" as he approaches his forties.

  Ronaldo, who has scored the most goals in history, is still starring for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, while he is a regular starter for Portugal under Roberto Martinez.

  The former Real Madrid superstar turns 40 in February, though is showing no signs of slowing down and has already scored 10 goals for his club this season.

  He also hit the 900-career goals mark when he netted for his country against Croatia in September, and has since added two more international strikes to his vast collection.

  Ronaldo has publicly set out his aim to net 1,000 goals before he retires, but he knows short-term targets are now the order of the day in the twilight of his career.

  "I now face my life as living in the moment. I can't think long term anymore," Ronaldo said after receiving the Platinum Quinas, the highest honour available to Portuguese players.

  "I said that I wanted to reach 1,000 goals, but it seems that now everything is easy, just last month I reached 900.

  "It's about living in the moment, seeing how my legs will respond in the next few years. If I reach 1,000 goals, that's fine, but if I don't, I'm already the player with the most goals in history."

  FPF president Fernando Gomes hailed Ronaldo as "an ambassador for Portugal".

  Ronaldo also took the chance to air his disappointment at players who chose not to represent Portugal.

  He said: "I believe there is nothing better than representing the national team. Coming to play for the national team, and representing the entire country — all its culture, your children, your mother, your father, your best friends — that is why I often feel disappointed with some players who do not want to represent the national team.

  "Time flies, and there is nothing better than playing. I hear many people say that Portugal is a small country. Portugal is a great country. We need to think that way; we must believe that, regardless of the country's size, we have everything: an extraordinary country, the infrastructures we have, the stadiums, the magnificent coaches we have.

  "The potential of these players, the stars we have, we just need to refine a few edges and believe that one day we will be great."

  Ronaldo's Portugal host Poland in the Nations League on Friday before taking on Croatia three days later.