Daley Blind is hopeful Ole Gunnar Solskjaer can propel Manchester United back into the Champions League.

United face neighbours Manchester City in a huge derby clash on Wednesday, with their top-four hopes still alive despite a 4-0 hammering at Everton on Sunday.

Blind, who signed for United in 2014, left Old Trafford to return to Ajax in the close season, and has become a crucial figure for Erik ten Hag s side in their surprise progression to the Champions League semi-finals.

And, speaking after a 4-2 win over Vitesse which took Ajax three points clear at the top of the Eredivisie, Blind believes his former club are on the right track under Solskjaer despite a run of poor results.

When Solskjaer was appointed, there was a fresh positivity, Blind, who i…

Damien Duff has announced his retirement from professional football.

The former Republic of Ireland international rose to prominence at Blackburn Rovers, where he made 103 appearances and scored 21 goals before earning a transfer to Chelsea.

Duff claimed two Premier League titles under Jose Mourinho before moving on for spells with Newcastle United, Fulham, where he was a Europa League runner-up in 2009-10, and Melbourne City in the A-League.

The 36-year-old, who accumulated a century of caps for Ireland, returned to Shamrock Rovers in July 2015 and, after nine top-flight appearances, has opted to hang up his boots, though he confirmed he will remain in the game.

After much deliberation, I have today decided to bring my professional football career to …

Several stars will hope to make their first senior appearances for their countries this week as international football returns.

While most European nations will prepare for their final Nations League matches with friendlies in the coming days, South America is straight back into competitive action with the latest rounds of 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

A host of players are celebrating call-ups and will be doing their utmost to win their first caps, particularly with less than a year to run until the delayed Euro 2020 and Copa America finals.

We ve picked out six of the biggest names hoping to make an impact on their debut this week

ENGLAND: JUDE BELLINGHAM

Borussia Dortmund s Jude Bellingham was called up by England boss Gareth Southgat…

Goalkeeper Kevin Trapp has returned to Eintracht Frankfurt from Paris Saint-Germain following a successful loan spell at the German club.

The Germany international has signed a five-year contract with Frankfurt, whom he helped reach the Europa League semi-finals after joining them for the 2018-19 season.

The French side signed Trapp from Eintracht in 2015 and he won a string of trophies during his time with the capital club, including two Ligue 1 titles.

I made it clear in the spring that I feel very comfortable in Frankfurt with Eintracht, said Trapp.

The time in Paris was very exciting, successful and a great experience for me. Now I m coming home completely and I want to achieve a lot here.

Eintracht have re-signed goalkeeper Kevin on …

Boos are an established part of the Champions League matchday experience at the Etihad Stadium, as the reception granted to the tournament anthem – as frosty as the March wind whipping through the ground during Manchester City s 7-0 demolition of Schalke – once again demonstrated.

For City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, it became the early soundtrack to a stellar night s work. Being born in Gelsenkirchen, only to turn out for Schalke s sworn enemies Borussia Dortmund and win the Bundesliga is not an act to be swiftly forgotten.

Gundogan s duties on wide set-pieces meant he fell into the away fans casting of pantomime villain. If the Germany international s current contract impasse rumbles on, he might one day experience similar catcalls from a presently appreciative Ea…

Luciano Spalletti was delighted to have quietened Napoli s critics after Fabian Ruiz s 94th-minute strike saw off Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico and propelled the visitors to the Serie A summit.

After Lorenzo Insigne had opened the scoring, Pedro s superb late volley looked to have denied Napoli a crucial victory, only for Fabian to curl in a brilliant last-gasp winner to put Spalletti s men ahead in an enthralling title race.

Napoli s return of 18 points from their eight league matches in 2022 is the best in Serie A, as they bid for a first Scudetto since the Diego Maradona era, while the late goal condemned Lazio to just their second home defeat of the league campaign.

Spalletti, who joined in with his players wild celebrations after the goal, said after the co…

Manchester United star Paul Pogba has denied claims that he snubbed his manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer following Sunday’s 5-0 hammering at the hands of Liverpool at Old Trafford.

It was a day that went from bad to worse for the Frenchman after being left out of the starting line-up for a second game running, only to see his team-mates fall four goals behind by the break, which led to his introduction in the second half.

Pogba lasted only 15 minutes as he was sent off by referee Anthony Taylor following a VAR review following a heavy challenge on Naby Keita.

The former Juventus man has experienced highs and lows since coming back to United from Italy in 2016, and rumours about his future persist as he gets closer to the end of his deal in Manchester, which exp…

Harry Redknapp is confident nephew Frank Lampard will be appointed Chelsea s new head coach, despite Derby County s attempt to tie him down to a new deal.

Lampard is the frontrunner to succeed Maurizio Sarri in the Stamford Bridge dugout following the Italian s switch to Serie A champions Juventus.

But Derby are reluctant to let the legendary Chelsea midfielder return to his former club in a coaching capacity just a year into his three-year contract at Pride Park.

The Championship side, who suffered defeat to Aston Villa in this past season s play-off final, are reportedly in discussions with Lampard over extending his deal and chairman Mel Morris said on Monday no approach has yet been made by Chelsea.

On this day in 2001

Frank Lampard became a…