Former Chelsea and Holland boss Guus Hiddink says he turned down an opportunity to manage Leicester following the dismissal of Claudio Ranieri.
Italian Ranieri was shown the door in February with the Foxes perilously close to the relegation zone. He was replaced by assistant Craig Shakespeare.
Hiddink claims the decision to appoint Shakespeare was partly down to his advice, having himself rejected the chance to fill the void left by Ranieri.
The Dutchman said: “To be strictly correct, I didn’t talk directly with Leicester City. But you know how the line goes. ‘They think of you...’
“They asked not directly but indirectly, but I said no. If you have decided to sack Ranieri, why don’t you go with your no.2 guy?”
Ancelotti hails striker Lewandowski
Bayern Munich boss Carlo Ancelotti paid tribute to Robert Lewandowski after the striker’s hat-trick in the 6-0 thumping of Augsburg. The Poland international took his tally to 24 goals in 26 league games this season as he again underlined his status as one of Europe’s leading marksmen.
Ancelotti said: “Lewandowski did what he normally does. He scored three times and set up two more – what more can I say about him?
“I am happy to have such a striker who scores in almost every game.”
Victory kept Bayern 13 points clear of second-placed RB Leipzig and now a fifth straight domestic crown looks a formality.
Paris SG show their true mettle
Paris St Germain thrashed Monaco 4-1 in the French League Cup final late Saturday to lift the trophy for the fourth year in a row and gain a potential psychological edge over their rivals for the Ligue 1 title race.
Julian Draxler put PSG ahead and Thomas Lemar levelled for Monaco before a goal from Angel Di Maria and a double from Edinson Cavani sealed a lively encounter at Parc OL.
PSG are now unbeaten in the French League Cup since a quarter-final defeat against St Etienne in November 2012.
Unai Emery’s PSG looked nothing like the team who were knocked out of the Champions League by Barcelona with an embarrassing 6-1 defeat last month.
“After what happened against at the Nou Camp we had to win this final,” Di Maria told reporters.
Barcelona reserves win 12-0
With the feats of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar to look up to, Barcelona’s B team got in on the goalscoring act and matched a Spanish third tier record last weekend by hammering Eldense 12-0.
Forwards Dani Romera and Jesus Alfaro might be tempted to pay first team coach Luis Enrique a visit today after they each scored hat-tricks in a stunning first-half display, helping their side lead 8-0 at half-time.
Ignacio Abeledo hit the milestone 12th goal in injury time to put Barca in the record books of the Segunda Division B, alongside Extremadura, who beat Portuense by the same scoreline in 1992.
Dzeko makes Roma history
Edin Dzeko shot to the top of the Serie A scoring charts and set a club record for the most goals in a season by hitting a brace to fire Roma to a 2-0 win over Empoli on Saturday night.
Dzeko pounced to knock in a cross from a corner on 12 minutes, then produced a similarly nonchalant finish to convert Mohamed Salah’s cutback to claim his 23rd goal of the season in the league.
His double also took him to 33 goals in all competitions for the season, overtaking Roma great Francesco Totti’s tally of 32 in 2006/07. Dzeko was then fittingly replaced by Totti and given a roaring reception by the fans inside the Olympic stadium.
Schweini impact at Chicago Fire
Bastian Schweinsteiger scored on his debut for Chicago Fire as his new team drew 2-2 at home against Montreal Impact yesterday.
Schweinsteiger, the latest big-name veteran to join Major League Soccer (MLS), made an immediate impact by powerfully heading home a cross from five metres ouy on 17 minutes.
The 32-year-old was signed last month from Manchester United, where he had fallen out of favour with manager Jose Mourinho.