Both Liverpool and Manchester City will face 15-time winners Real Madrid in the league phase of the Champions League, while Tottenham and Newcastle must both play holders Paris St-Germain. The 36-team league – introduced last season – will see six Premier League teams in action for the first time, but they can not face each other until the knockout stages.
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Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe has been discharged from hospital after being admitted with “acute gastroenteritis”. Mbappe missed Real’s opening Club World Cup match against Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal on Wednesday, with head coach Xabi Alonso revealing he had a fever. The club subsequently confirmed Mbappe was suffering from “an acute case of gastroenteritis” and had been admitted to hospital for further tests and treatment.
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Former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has signed a two-year contract to succeed Xabi Alonso as head coach of German club Bayer Leverkusen. It is the first managerial role that Ten Hag, 55, has taken since his departure from United in October. Alonso was confirmed as the new boss of Spanish giants Real Madrid on Sunday. The Dutchman had enjoyed prior success with Ajax before joining United in 2022.
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Real Madrid have appointed their former midfielder Xabi Alonso as manager on a three-year deal. Alonso, who made 236 appearances for Real Madrid as a player, announced earlier this month that he would leave his role as Bayer Leverkusen boss at the end of the season. Former Liverpool and Spain midfielder Alonso, who has signed a deal running until 30 June 2028, succeeds Carlo Ancelotti.
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Carlo Ancelotti has been confirmed as the new manager of Brazil’s men’s national team, the first foreign national to take sole charge of the world’s most successful side since 1925. After months of speculation, it has been confirmed that the 65-year-old Italian is to leave Real Madrid at the end of the Spanish domestic season to take up what will be his first international coaching role. The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) revealed the news in a statement on Monday, welcoming Ancelotti, a man they described as a “legend” of the game.
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