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• Neymar suffers fresh injury blow

  Neymar sustained a new injury as he was forced off during Al-Hilal's AFC Champions League Elite win over Esteghlal.

  Aleksandar Mitrovic plundered a hat-trick on Monday to seal a 3-0 win.

  But Al-Hilal's victory was soured by an injury to Neymar, who had to make way just 29 minutes after he came on as a second-half substitute.

  The Brazilian, who has just returned from over a year out of action following a serious knee injury, was forced off with what appeared to be a thigh issue.

  Indeed, Monday's appearance was only the 32-year-old's second for Al-Hilal since his comeback.

  He has featured just seven times for the Saudi Pro League champions in all competitions since his big-money move from Paris Saint-Germain in 2023.

• Inzaghi urges Nerazzurri improvements ahead of Arsenal, Napoli clashes

  Inter coach Simone Inzaghi acknowledged his side need to be more ruthless in front of goal following their Serie A win over Venezia, with matches against Arsenal and Napoli coming up.

  Lautaro Martinez's first home goal in league action since February handed the Nerazzurri a hard-fought 1-0 win at San Siro, though they missed several chances to make their victory more comfortable.

  Inzaghi's team racked up 20 shots worth 2.41 expected goals (xG) to Venezia's seven attempts and 1.07 xG during Sunday's game.

  They have now scored in each of their 28 league games at San Siro after failing to net in three in a row between March and April 2023, but Inzaghi knows they must take their chances when they face Arsenal and Napoli this week.

  "We should’ve been more clinical, but to be honest, I congratulated the team because the first half was excellent even if we wasted big opportunities," he told DAZN.

  "Once we broke the deadlock, the big regret is that we didn’t kill off the game and when it is in the balance, anything can still happen."

   

  Arsenal visit San Siro in the Champions League on Wednesday, before Napoli – who are currently one point clear at the top of Serie A – make the trip on Sunday.

  "In two days we are up against one of the best teams in Europe with huge quality, so clearly my focus right now is on Arsenal," Inzaghi said.

  The 48-year-old expressed concern about the challenging schedule ahead but felt relieved after seeing key players return.

  "This is our fifth game in two weeks, there are another two to come against Arsenal and Napoli, but we’ve got Hakan Calhanoglu back and Francesco Acerbi will be available on Wednesday too," he said.

  "Carlos Augusto is the only one still out and as a coach I will need everyone." 

• Rodgers delighted as Celtic rout Aberdeen in semi-final

  Celtic booked their place in the Scottish League Cup final after hammering Aberdeen 6-0 at Hampden Park on Saturday.

  The 21-time winners of the tournament were inspired by a Daizen Maeda hat-trick in a near-perfect performance against the Scottish Premiership's second-placed side.

  Manager Brendan Rodgers was delighted with the result and performance from his side.

  "It was a testament to our players and the demands they have. They play every week in big games. We have to manage this group through every game," he told Premier Sports.

  "It was up to us to decide the game and the players did that. They were brilliant today. We were more aggressive in the second half.

  "Aberdeen have had an excellent season, they will continue to work well I'm sure."

  The result was Aberdeen's first defeat in 17 matches in all competitions this season, with a 2-2 draw at Celtic Park last month the only time they had previously failed to win.

  Cameron Carter-Vickers got the scoring under way with a header 29 minutes in, before the brilliant Maeda sat down goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov to set up Kyogo Furuhashi for a second three minutes later.

  Maeda then got in on the act himself on 40 minutes before the game briefly descended into farce on the stroke of half-time, with Rodgers shown a yellow card for kicking away a ball that had gone out before slipping over.

  "To be fair, I was raging because we had given the ball away," he said.

  "I have my moments, like every manager. It was just the game, even though we were comfortable at 3-0.

  "It was a deserved yellow card. The speed of the ball [was the issue]. I just wanted to keep the tempo of the game."

  Celtic and Maeda picked up where they left off in the second half to make it 4-0 in the 50th minute before Nicolas Kuhn hammered in a fifth on the hour.

  The rout was complete when Maeda wrapped up his hat-trick as he finished off a flowing attacking move with five minutes to go.

  After the match, Rodgers continued to be effusive about his team, who will face either Rangers or Motherwell in the final.

  "An outstanding team performance. You come up against a team that has been so, so good. We knew it would be a challenge," he told BBC Scotland.

  "We had to bring our A-game and the players did that, in particular during the second half.

  "We were ruthless. We worked the ball really well to create the space and made good runs.

  "It's a beautiful pitch here at Hampden. It's perfect for the football we want to play."