Atletico Madrid striker Joao Felix reveals what his former teammate told him about Mason Mount

Atletico Madrid star Joao Felix says he admires Chelsea star Mason Mount ahead of their Champions League clash.

The two youngsters are expected to confront each other as Atletico Madrid face Chelsea in tomorrow night’s Round of 16 first leg in Budapest.

Felix told the Mail: “I like the way he [Mount] plays, the way he likes to drag the ball, the way he touches the ball.

“I played with Chris Willock in Benfica three or four years ago and he told me that Chelsea has a guy that he sees who is similar to me and he told me it was Mason Mount.

“A few years later he appeared in Chelsea and I like the way he plays.”

Former Manchester United star loses dad to Covid-19

Carlos Tevez pulled out of Boca Juniors’ game against Newell’s Old Boys on Sunday after the death of his father due to complications from Covid-19.

The former Manchester United and Man City striker has returned to Buenos Aires as he mourns the loss of his adopted dad – who had been fighting for his life for several weeks.

The Sun reports that Segundo Raimundo Tevez beat coronavirus last year but had recently suffered further health problems.

Doctors had warned Tevez and his family that his chances of survival were very slim.

Segundo, the husband of Carlos’ aunt Adriana, adopted the Argentine after his biological father died before he was born.

Boca confirmed the sad news as they tweeted: “Boca Juniors mourns the death of Don Segundo, Carlos’ father, and are thinking of the Tevez family and their friends at this time of so much pain and sadness. Stay strong!”

Segundo had surgery on his neck at the start of 2020 before contracting coronavirus later in the year during the pandemic.

Photo Credit: BocaJrsOficial/Twitter

Thiago Silva reveals why he’s enjoying Champions League at Chelsea, Thomas Tuchel corroborates veteran defender’s claim

Thiago Silva has identified the reason he is enjoying playing in the Champions League at Chelsea than during his stint at PSG.

According to the Brazilian, Chelsea’s previous success in the Champions League makes it more enjoyable to play for the Blues in the competition compared to his time at Paris Saint-Germain.

For Qatar Sports Investments, the organisation that owns Paris Saint-Germain, according to football.london, the all-important prize was the Champions League. And it’s one that the club haven’t been able to secure.

And when asked during an interview in the March edition of FourFourTwo whether Silva enjoyed playing in the tournament away from the colossal pressure at PSG, he gave an honest response.

“I believe so, yes. At PSG, the pressure to win a first Champions League [under QSI] is immense. The team works around this objective, not to win Ligue 1.

“It’s no use doing a clean sweep of the domestic titles, as we did a few times, but being knocked out in the last 16 or the last eight of Europe.

“It always seemed like if that happened, the whole season was s**t – it felt over once we exited the Champions League.

“At Chelsea, however, there’s a very different atmosphere regarding European football. The club has already managed to lift that trophy, and winning the Premier League title is also one of our priorities.”

And, when the German coach was asked ahead of tomorrow night’s Round of 16 first leg against Atletico Madrid whether he agreed with the Brazilian’s assertion that there was less pressure on Chelsea in the Champions League.

He replied: “I understand why Thiago as a player feels like this. For me as a coach, I never felt like this. In Paris, a lot of judgement is made on the Champions League. Everyone expects you to be domestic champion and win all the cup competitions, so I more or less understand why Thiago says that.

“But when you work as a coach with your staff, you know how hard it is to maintain a certain level to become champions all the time, to win all the knockout games in the cup, and to arrive at the top in the Champions League.

“So for me, I felt it was a big, big challenge to become champion every year in France and to arrive in cup finals. You feel every day what is needed to have this mentality.

“I can understand from the outside, that Thiago feels like this. The Premier League for Chelsea has a much higher value than the domestic league is to Paris. That’s maybe why he feels like this.

“In general, it should always be like this. Sports at the highest level, we have to feel light and feel the joy that comes with playing at this level. So hopefully we feel the joy and adventure of playing at this level.

Tuchel confirmed in his pre-match press conference that Silva will not feature in tomorrow night’s Round of 16 first leg against Atletico Madrid due to injury.

Chelsea suffer massive injury blow ahead of Atletico Madrid clash

Chelsea have been dealt a sizeable injury blow ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League tie against Atletico Madrid, with Thiago Silva ruled out.

The veteran Brazilian defender has been sidelined since limping out of the first half of the Blues’ 1-0 Premier League win over London rivals Tottenham on February 4, missing the wins against Sheffield United, Barnsley and Newcastle as well as Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Southampton at St Mary’s.

Silva was pictured in training at Cobham towards the end of last week, but was not fit enough to play on the south coast and neither will he return on Tuesday when Thomas Tuchel takes charge of his first European contest as Chelsea boss against the LaLiga leaders in the Romanian capital of Bucharest, report Evening Standard.

“He is not available,” Tuchel said of Silva during Monday’s pre-match press conference. “He is training right now. We are leaving and he is not available.”

However, the German did confirm better news that both Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic will be in contention for the last 16 first-leg clash.

“Very happy that both of them are in the group,” Tuchel said. “They trained with us, no complaints, and they travel with us.”

Bayern Munich confirm plan to extend Chelsea target’s contract

Bayern Munich have confirmed that they are keen on the idea of extending Chelsea target Niklas Sule’s contract.

Chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said, as quoted by Spox: “We want the good German national players at FC Bayern.

“Niklas still has one year of contract.

“We will hold talks and see where they lead. We will look at it seriously and calmly until the summer. Corona [coronavirus] has also caused financial damage to FC Bayern.

“If we find a solution, we are generally happy to extend the contract, but that will only be possible under certain conditions.”

Atletico Madrid to be without FIVE key first-team players against Chelsea, Diego Simeone calls up academy players

Atletico Madrid are set to be without FIVE first-team players against Chelsea on Tuesday night.

And boss Diego Simeone has had to call upon four youth-teamers in order to fill out the 21-man squad.

Los Rojiblancos host Thomas Tuchel’s side in the first ‘home’ leg of their last 16 tie in Bucharest on February 23, but, Diego Simeone will be without Jose Gimenez, Yannick Carrasco and Sime Vrsaljko.

Carrasco, who scored in the 2016 final, will miss out due to a foot injury, having also been unavailable for Saturday’s surprise 2-0 defeat at home to Levante.

Defender Jose Gimenez will also miss the match, having pulled up with a muscle injury 54 minutes into the weekend clash with Levante.

Right-back Sime Vrsaljko has sat out of much of the campaign with a knee injury and will also be absent.

Mexican midfielder Hector Herrera is unavailable due to Covid-19.

While former Tottenham right-back Kieran Trippier is still serving his betting ban.

Mauricio Pochettino wants Harry Kane to join him at PSG

Harry Kane is reportedly wanted by former boss Mauricio Pochettino at Paris Saint-Germain.

The Mirror claim Poch will target a move for the Spurs striker if Kylian Mbappe seals a summer move away from the Ligue 1 champs.

The report adds that PSG chief Pochettino still has a close relationship with Kane with the pair regularly swapping WhatsApp messages.

But the French giants would likely face competition from both Manchester clubs if the England star becomes available.

SunSport previously reported that Tottenham are unlikely to want to sell Kane and haven’t even set an asking price.

The 27-year-old has become one of the most lethal strikers in world football after scoring 156 goals in 228 Premier League games for Spurs.

And Kane, who is under contract in north London until 2024, could prove the ideal man to replace Mbappe should the Real Madrid target leave Paris.

Nigerian-born youngster makes Manchester United debut

The buzz around Shola Shoretire extended far beyond Old Trafford after making his Manchester United debut in 3-1 win over Newcastle United.

The Manchester United wonderkid, 17, was being courted by the likes of European giants Barcelona and Juventus before he signed his first professional deal with the Red Devils recently.

Shoretire was then fast-tracked to the first team and added to the club’s Europa League squad ahead of their tie against Spanish side Real Sociedad.

He sat on the bench against Sociedad in Europe but his patience prevailed as manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer brought him on against Newcastle in the league, handing the youngest his pro debut.

Shoretire replaced Marcus Rashford with just a minute to go but got a sense of the big-time at Old Trafford.

His rapid ascension through the youth ranks has United big-wigs purring that the Nigerian-born star could be the answer to the club’s problems out wide after missing out on Jadon Sancho.

The skilful attacker’s game has also been compared to African football legend Jay-Jay Okocha, who graced Premier League pitches with Bolton Wanderers in the early 2000s.

Photo Credit: ManUtd/Twitter

(Watch Video) Didier Drogba’s son makes professional debut in Italy

Isaac Drogba, son of Chelsea legend Didier, made his professional bow in the Italian fourth-tier.

Earlier this month, the 20-year-old joined Serie D side Folgore Caratese to aid their promotion push.

And, in a win over Saluzzo at Stadio XXV Aprile, Drogba made his first appearance in a professional game.

The youngster spent last season in the reserves of French side Guingamp, where dad Didier also starred for a year as he made his way in the game.

Previously, the young Drogba had been part of Chelsea’s youth academy in another nod to his family’s heritage.

But he is now making his way in the town of Carate Brianza, to the north of Milan, where Folgore are based.

On Sunday, the Serie D Group A side were 4-1 up with ten minutes to go when Drogba was substituted on.

That is how the scoreline stayed, leaving the side ninth but only three points behind the play-off places with a game in hand.

Marcos Alonso wants to new deal at Chelsea

Marcos Alonso is open to signing a new deal at Chelsea after his revival under Thomas Tuchel.

The Spanish left-back’s camp had been working on a move away from the Blues after he was frozen out by ex-Stamford Bridge boss Frank Lampard.

But now Alonso, 30, who started his career at Real Madrid, is hoping for a one-year extension to his stay at Chelsea.

He had been looking at a final switch to a Premier League rival, or a return to Serie A where he played for Fiorentina.

But the defender’s situation at Stamford Bridge has improved dramatically since Tuchel’s arrival in January.