Europe

Ajax will have to change their playing style after the sale of Hakim Ziyech to Chelsea and the possibility of up to six others leaving before the new season in the Netherlands starts, coach Erik ten Hag said as they began pre-season training.

Ziyech was one of the key figures when Ajax reached the Champions League semifinal last season and also dominated in the Dutch league, but success for the club has meant their players have been in high demand.

Manchester City struggles to prevent the best teams from scoring against them and their central defenders could be targeted in Friday's Champions League clash against Spanish champions Real Madrid, former England skipper Wayne Rooney said.

Pep Guardiola's City leads Real after they won the away leg of their last-16 tie 2-1 in March, before Europe's elite club competition was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

When Inter Milan coach Antonio Conte faces the cameras after a match, it is a case of lighting the blue touch paper and standing well back.

In his first season at Inter, the 51-year-old former Juventus, Italy and Chelsea coach has railed against his own club's "poor planning" and an "insane" fixture list, and even blamed one poor performance on the opposition playing the wrong kind of football.

His latest outburst, however, after a 2-0 win at Atalanta on Saturday that clinched second place for Inter in Serie A, has led to all sorts of intrigue.

VIENNA — Austrian second-tier side Floridsdorfer AC have apologised for a 9-0 defeat which allowed opponents Ried to win promotion on goal difference, but denied that they behaved improperly.

Ried finished top of Austria's Second League above Austria Klagenfurt, who beat Wacker Innsbruck 6-1 in the final matches on Friday. Ried's goal difference was 34 to Klagenfurt's 29.

Only the champions are promoted to the top flight.

American forward Andrija Novakovich and Serie B side Frosinone have it all to play for on Friday. 

While Frosinone has spent much of the season comfortably within the playoff positions, it now finds itself in need of a positive result on the final match day to secure a playoff spot, unless results elsewhere go in its favor. Alessandro Nesta's side sat as high as second place at one point, but since the resumption of play post-lockdown, results have seen Frosinone drop down to eighth. 

English second-tier club Sheffield Wednesday will begin the 2020-21 Championship season with a 12-point deduction for breaching profit and sustainability rules, the English Football League (EFL) announced on Friday.

Wednesday were charged with misconduct by the league in November 2019 after the club sold the Hillsborough Stadium to their Thai owner Dejphon Chansiri in a bid to ensure they did not breach spending rules.

It's no secret that Italy is home to some of the most famous soccer stadiums in Europe. 

From Milan's world-renowned San Siro and Turin's aesthetically-pleasing new Juventus Stadium in the north, to the historic Olimpico of Rome and Napoli's intimidating Stadio San Paolo in the south, famous footballing grounds can be found seemingly anywhere on the peninsula. 

After 115 appearances for Newcastle United, it looks likely that DeAndre Yedlin's time on Tyneside has come to an end. 

Yedlin, capped 62 times by the USMNT, arrived at Newcastle in 2016 after completing a season-long loan spell from Tottenham at the Magpies' archrival Sunderland. Yedlin excelled under noted defensive specialist Rafa Benitez, helping the Toon achieve promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt after the club was relegated in 2015-16. 

Norwich City manager Daniel Farke and sporting director Stuart Webber have been proactive in their attempt to rebuild the Canaries’ squad following relegation from the Premier League after this season’s last-placed finish. 

Norwich secured promotion back to the top flight after finishing first in the 2018-19 Championship. The club endured a dismal Premier League campaign, winning just five games and finishing 14 points away from the safety of 17th place. Farke’s side scored a league-worst 26 goals in 38 games and also conceded the most goals in the division (75).