AS Roma suffered another European humiliation on Tuesday when they had two players sent off, lost 3-0 at home to Porto and missed out on the Champions League group stage. 
 
After drawing 1-1 in Portugal in the first leg of the playoff tie, Roma started as favourites but never recovered after Felipe gave the visitors an eighth-minute lead. 
 
They imploded completely when Daniele De Rossi and his replacement Emerson Palmieri were shown straight red cards either side of halftime. 
 
Monaco joined Porto when they beat Villarreal 1-0 after a late penalty by Fabinho sealed a 3-1 aggregate win, and Legia Warsaw, Celtic and Ludogorets Razgrad also qualified, although none of them won on the night. 
 
Ten-man Legia drew 1-1 at home with Irish part-timers Dundalk, but progressed 3-1 on aggregate to become the first Polish side to reach the group stage of Europe&#39;s premier club competition for 20 years. 
 
Former European champions Celtic squeezed past Hapoel Beer Sheva 5-4 on aggregate despite a 2-0 loss in Israel and Ludogorets held Viktoria Plzen 2-2 away to secure a 4-2 aggregate win. 
 
Roma became the third successive Serie A team, and the sixth in the last eight seasons, to lose in the playoff round, leaving Italy with only two representatives - Juventus and Napoli - in Thursday&#39;s group-stage draw. 
 
Roma have had their fair share of recent European disasters after losing 6-1 to Barcelona last season and 7-1 at home to Bayern Munich two years ago, but not even they could not have imagined how Tuesday&#39;s game would unfold. 
 
Their initial confidence was shattered when Felipe headed Porto in front from Otavio&#39;s cross but the real trouble began in the 39th minute when midfielder De Rossi was sent off for a high tackle on Maxi Pereira. 
 
Amid angry Roma protests, he was replaced by Palmieri who lasted only 11 minutes before he was dismissed for a shocking lunge. 
 
Roma goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny booked his place in rogue&#39;s gallery with a reckless charge out of his goal which allowed Miguel Layun to slot Porto&#39;s second into an empty net. 
 
Almost immediately, Jesus Corona turned his marker inside out before scoring the third. 
 
Dundalk, beaten 2-0 at home, made a brave effort in Poland and went ahead when Robert Benson thundered home an unstoppable volley in the 19th minute. 
 
The Irish side were given further hope when Legia&#39;s Adam Hlousek was sent off in the 67th minute, but they were caught on the break as Michal Kucharczyk levelled in stoppage time, ending their dream. 
 
(Reuters)

Roma suffered another European humiliation when they had two players sent off

AS Roma suffered another European humiliation on Tuesday when they had two players sent off, lost 3-0 at home to Porto and missed out on the Champions League group stage. After drawing 1-1 in Portugal in the first leg of the playoff tie, Roma started as favourites but never recovered after Felipe gave the visitors an eighth-minute lead. They imploded completely when Daniele De Rossi and his replacement Emerson Palmieri were shown straight red cards either side of halftime. Monaco joined Porto when they beat Villarreal 1-0 after a late penalty by Fabinho sealed a 3-1 aggregate win, and Legia Warsaw, Celtic and Ludogorets Razgrad also qualified, although none of them won on the night. Ten-man Legia drew 1-1 at home with Irish part-timers Dundalk, but progressed 3-1 on aggregate to become the first Polish side to reach the group stage of Europe's premier club competition for 20 years. Former European champions Celtic squeezed past Hapoel Beer Sheva 5-4 on aggregate despite a 2-0 loss in Israel and Ludogorets held Viktoria Plzen 2-2 away to secure a 4-2 aggregate win. Roma became the third successive Serie A team, and the sixth in the last eight seasons, to lose in the playoff round, leaving Italy with only two representatives - Juventus and Napoli - in Thursday's group-stage draw. Roma have had their fair share of recent European disasters after losing 6-1 to Barcelona last season and 7-1 at home to Bayern Munich two years ago, but not even they could not have imagined how Tuesday's game would unfold. Their initial confidence was shattered when Felipe headed Porto in front from Otavio's cross but the real trouble began in the 39th minute when midfielder De Rossi was sent off for a high tackle on Maxi Pereira. Amid angry Roma protests, he was replaced by Palmieri who lasted only 11 minutes before he was dismissed for a shocking lunge. Roma goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny booked his place in rogue's gallery with a reckless charge out of his goal which allowed Miguel Layun to slot Porto's second into an empty net. Almost immediately, Jesus Corona turned his marker inside out before scoring the third. Dundalk, beaten 2-0 at home, made a brave effort in Poland and went ahead when Robert Benson thundered home an unstoppable volley in the 19th minute. The Irish side were given further hope when Legia's Adam Hlousek was sent off in the 67th minute, but they were caught on the break as Michal Kucharczyk levelled in stoppage time, ending their dream. (Reuters)

Champions League: Roma loses 0-3 to Porto, miss group stage

Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur have been training on a larger than normal pitch to prepare for Wednesday&#39;s Champions League Group E opener against Monaco at their adopted Wembley Stadium home. 
 
The club have opted to play their European home games at the 90,000-seater national stadium this season as their White Hart Lane ground has a reduced capacity owing to building work on an adjacent new ground. 
 
This is the club&#39;s first match back in the competition after five years. 
 
More than 80,000 tickets have been sold. 
 
Wembley&#39;s pitch is significantly bigger than Tottenham&#39;s usual home turf, a potential problem as Mauricio Pochettino&#39;s players try to stick to their usual high pressing game. 
 
&quot;We feel good at White Hart Lane because it&#39;s our home and we need to feel good at Wembley,&quot; Pochettino, who masterminded Tottenham&#39;s first domestic title challenge for decades last season, said at a news conference. 
 
&quot;With two pitches (at the training ground) we designed the same dimensions as Wembley. We change between the pitches to keep the grass at a good level. 
 
&quot;We use different pitches on different days during the week. You have more space to play, it&#39;s more difficult for the opponent to press you when (there are) more meters to run, but the same for both.&quot; 
 
Tottenham have won only once in five visits to the new Wembley, while Arsenal&#39;s decision to play Champions League matches at the old venue in the late 1990s backfired as they never managed to turn it into a fortress. 
 
Pochettino is not concerned that advantage will be diminished by playing &#39;away&#39; from home. 
 
&quot;We trust in us,&quot; he said. &quot;We believe in the way we play but we need to adapt our game.&quot; 
 
&quot;We need to go to Wembley and play, behave naturally and not try to find an excuse, that&#39;s never good,&quot; he added. 
 
Dembele has missed the first four games of Tottenham&#39;s Premier League campaign because of a domestic suspension for violent conduct at the end of last season against Chelsea. 
 
Left-back Danny Rose will miss the game though because of a hamstring injury. Welshman Ben Davies will deputise. 
 
 
(WION with inputs from Reuters)

They have opted to play their European home games at Wembley Stadium as their White Hart Lane ground has a reduced capacity

Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur have been training on a larger than normal pitch to prepare for Wednesday's Champions League Group E opener against Monaco at their adopted Wembley Stadium home. The club have opted to play their European home games at the 90,000-seater national stadium this season as their White Hart Lane ground has a reduced capacity owing to building work on an adjacent new ground. This is the club's first match back in the competition after five years. More than 80,000 tickets have been sold. Wembley's pitch is significantly bigger than Tottenham's usual home turf, a potential problem as Mauricio Pochettino's players try to stick to their usual high pressing game. "We feel good at White Hart Lane because it's our home and we need to feel good at Wembley," Pochettino, who masterminded Tottenham's first domestic title challenge for decades last season, said at a news conference. "With two pitches (at the training ground) we designed the same dimensions as Wembley. We change between the pitches to keep the grass at a good level. "We use different pitches on different days during the week. You have more space to play, it's more difficult for the opponent to press you when (there are) more meters to run, but the same for both." Tottenham have won only once in five visits to the new Wembley, while Arsenal's decision to play Champions League matches at the old venue in the late 1990s backfired as they never managed to turn it into a fortress. Pochettino is not concerned that advantage will be diminished by playing 'away' from home. "We trust in us," he said. "We believe in the way we play but we need to adapt our game." "We need to go to Wembley and play, behave naturally and not try to find an excuse, that's never good," he added. Dembele has missed the first four games of Tottenham's Premier League campaign because of a domestic suspension for violent conduct at the end of last season against Chelsea. Left-back Danny Rose will miss the game though because of a hamstring injury. Welshman Ben Davies will deputise. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

Pochettino confident Wembley will not snag Tottenham's style

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone, a month on from a second Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid in three years, has made it clear that his immediate future is with the Spanish club. 
 
The Argentine, who has been at Atletico since 2011 and is under contract for another four years, said after the loss on penalties to Real that he wanted to explore his options. But now he says he is only concentrating on making the team better. 
 
&quot;I spoke in the heat of the moment,&quot; Simeone told reporters on Wednesday in Buenos Aires. &quot;We Argentinians are like that. Others are not at fault for beating you, I learned that a long time ago. 
 
&quot;To remember the pain and the suffering is necessary to better yourself.&quot; 
 
Simeone has won the Europa League, King&#39;s Cup and La Liga in his four-and-a-half seasons at the Spanish club. 
 
The 46-year-old says only a few teams that have &quot;more resources&quot; are superior to Atletico and expects his side to continue to fight for titles domestically and internationally. 
 
&quot;I don&#39;t believe there are many teams better than us,&quot; he said. 
 
&quot;We have created a strong group. To be better than Atletico is very difficult because we play as a team. Only Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are better than Atletico, no one else. We are constantly anxious to improve.&quot; 
 
Atletico president Enrique Cerezo is looking to keep the same core of players while also bringing in reinforcements. 
 
French forward Antoine Griezmann, who scored 32 goals in 51 appearances for Atletico this season, signed a one-year contract extension earlier this month. 
 
Atletico have agreed to sign Argentine midfielder Nicolas Gaitan from Benfica and are looking to strengthen their attack. 
 
&quot;The aim is to improve from last season,&quot; Cerezo told reporters on Wednesday. &quot;I know what Atletico needs and that is why we are working well and we will bring in players and good ones.&quot; 
 
&quot;We have turned down offers of millions for almost every player that we have and we will assume that financial weight in order to maintain the backbone of this team and for the important players to remain here.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)

The Argentine, who has been at Atletico since 2011, is under contract for another four years, and wants to make the team better

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone, a month on from a second Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid in three years, has made it clear that his immediate future is with the Spanish club. The Argentine, who has been at Atletico since 2011 and is under contract for another four years, said after the loss on penalties to Real that he wanted to explore his options. But now he says he is only concentrating on making the team better. "I spoke in the heat of the moment," Simeone told reporters on Wednesday in Buenos Aires. "We Argentinians are like that. Others are not at fault for beating you, I learned that a long time ago. "To remember the pain and the suffering is necessary to better yourself." Simeone has won the Europa League, King's Cup and La Liga in his four-and-a-half seasons at the Spanish club. The 46-year-old says only a few teams that have "more resources" are superior to Atletico and expects his side to continue to fight for titles domestically and internationally. "I don't believe there are many teams better than us," he said. "We have created a strong group. To be better than Atletico is very difficult because we play as a team. Only Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are better than Atletico, no one else. We are constantly anxious to improve." Atletico president Enrique Cerezo is looking to keep the same core of players while also bringing in reinforcements. French forward Antoine Griezmann, who scored 32 goals in 51 appearances for Atletico this season, signed a one-year contract extension earlier this month. Atletico have agreed to sign Argentine midfielder Nicolas Gaitan from Benfica and are looking to strengthen their attack. "The aim is to improve from last season," Cerezo told reporters on Wednesday. "I know what Atletico needs and that is why we are working well and we will bring in players and good ones." "We have turned down offers of millions for almost every player that we have and we will assume that financial weight in order to maintain the backbone of this team and for the important players to remain here." (Reuters)

Simeone vows to stay on and improve Atletico

Bulgarian police detained 45 Red Star Belgrade fans in connection with violence before their Champions League&#39;s third qualifying match&#39;s first leg at Ludogorets today. 
 
Skirmishes broke out in the Black Sea resort of Sunny Beach early today and two police officers sustained injuries, police department in the southeastern town of Burgas said in a statement.&nbsp;Five more citizens, trying to help police restore order, were also injured. Prosecutors in Burgas have opened pre-trial proceedings regarding the incidents. 
 
Ludogorets, who have won five successive Bulgarian league title, host the 1991 European Cup winners Red Star in Razgrad. The return leg will be played in Belgrade next week. 
 
The Eagles, as Ludogorets are known in the Balkan country, have already knocked out a Serbian opposition, Partizan Belgrade, in the Champions League&#39;s third qualifying round on two occasions in the past three years. 
 
(Reuters)

Skirmishes broke out in the Black Sea resort of Sunny Beach early today and two police officers sustained injuries

Bulgarian police detained 45 Red Star Belgrade fans in connection with violence before their Champions League's third qualifying match's first leg at Ludogorets today. Skirmishes broke out in the Black Sea resort of Sunny Beach early today and two police officers sustained injuries, police department in the southeastern town of Burgas said in a statement. Five more citizens, trying to help police restore order, were also injured. Prosecutors in Burgas have opened pre-trial proceedings regarding the incidents. Ludogorets, who have won five successive Bulgarian league title, host the 1991 European Cup winners Red Star in Razgrad. The return leg will be played in Belgrade next week. The Eagles, as Ludogorets are known in the Balkan country, have already knocked out a Serbian opposition, Partizan Belgrade, in the Champions League's third qualifying round on two occasions in the past three years. (Reuters)

Bulgarian police detain 45 Red Star fans over violence

Head of Slovenian football association Aleksander Ceferin was elected president of European football&#39;s governing body UEFA on Wednesday. 
 
The 48-year-old defeated Dutch football association chief Michael van Praag by 42 votes to 13, reported AFP. 
 
Ceferin succeeds Michel Platini who was forced to resign as president in May after receiving a ban from football by FIFA&#39;s ethics committee . The newly elected leader will complete the remaining two and a half years of Platini&#39;s four-year term. 
 
&quot;The wind of change is blowing through European football. It is the end of one era and the start of a new one,&quot; Ceferin said in a speech at a special congress in Athens shortly after Platini gave a farewell address and left through a side door. 
 
The Slovenian lawyer spoke about the challenges associated with the scandal-tainted sport, along with accusations of match-mixing and doping. However, he denied that he was emphasising the negativity. 
 
&quot;I don&#39;t want to live in an empire of fear where every day we wake and see another negativity surfacing. I want to bring out all the good things UEFA has been doing and you have been doing,&quot; Ceferin told a special congress in Athens. 
 
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and two others are facing an investigation over the salaries and bonuses they received in the office. Blatter has been banned from football for ethics violations related to a payment of 2 million Swiss francs that FIFA made to the former European soccer boss Michel Platini with Blatter&#39;s approval in 2011 for work done a decade earlier. 
 
&quot;You are going to continue this beautiful mission without me, for reasons that I do not wish to come back on today,&quot; Platini said in his farewell speech. &quot;I would also stress that I bear no grudges against those who have not supported me, everyone has the right to their own convictions.&quot; 
 
UEFA announced significant changes to their flagship Champions League in August this year. From 2018/19 season, the top four European leagues &nbsp;- currently Spain, Germany, England and Italy &nbsp;- will each be guaranteed four places in the group stage, UEFA competitions director Giorgio Marchetti had told reporters. 
 
(WION with inputs from AFP)

Ceferin, 48, beat Dutch football association chief Michael van Praag by 42 votes to 13 in the first round of voting

Head of Slovenian football association Aleksander Ceferin was elected president of European football's governing body UEFA on Wednesday. The 48-year-old defeated Dutch football association chief Michael van Praag by 42 votes to 13, reported AFP. Ceferin succeeds Michel Platini who was forced to resign as president in May after receiving a ban from football by FIFA's ethics committee . The newly elected leader will complete the remaining two and a half years of Platini's four-year term. "The wind of change is blowing through European football. It is the end of one era and the start of a new one," Ceferin said in a speech at a special congress in Athens shortly after Platini gave a farewell address and left through a side door. The Slovenian lawyer spoke about the challenges associated with the scandal-tainted sport, along with accusations of match-mixing and doping. However, he denied that he was emphasising the negativity. "I don't want to live in an empire of fear where every day we wake and see another negativity surfacing. I want to bring out all the good things UEFA has been doing and you have been doing," Ceferin told a special congress in Athens. Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and two others are facing an investigation over the salaries and bonuses they received in the office. Blatter has been banned from football for ethics violations related to a payment of 2 million Swiss francs that FIFA made to the former European soccer boss Michel Platini with Blatter's approval in 2011 for work done a decade earlier. "You are going to continue this beautiful mission without me, for reasons that I do not wish to come back on today," Platini said in his farewell speech. "I would also stress that I bear no grudges against those who have not supported me, everyone has the right to their own convictions." UEFA announced significant changes to their flagship Champions League in August this year. From 2018/19 season, the top four European leagues - currently Spain, Germany, England and Italy - will each be guaranteed four places in the group stage, UEFA competitions director Giorgio Marchetti had told reporters. (WION with inputs from AFP)

Football: Slovenian Aleksander Ceferin elected UEFA president

Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) announced significant changes to their flagship Champions League today, saying they had managed to &quot;keep it in the family&quot; after staving off the threat of a breakaway league by Europe&#39;s top clubs. 
 
From 2018/19 season, the top four European leagues -- currently Spain, Germany, England and Italy -- will each be guaranteed four places in the group stage, UEFA competitions director Giorgio Marchetti told reporters. 
 
Stung by criticism that the competition has become too predictable, UEFA emphasised that it would continue to be open for teams from Europe&#39;s smaller national leagues although the number of places set aside for them would drop from five to four. 
 
Europe&#39;s top clubs had discussed the possibility of forming a breakaway Super League but UEFA&#39;s acting general secretary Theodor Theodoridis played down the threat. 
 
&quot;From the very beginning, the feeling was the ideal solution for everybody would be a solution in the family,&quot; he told reporters. &quot;We spoke to everyone...the feeling we had was that they always wanted to stay.&quot; 
 
UEFA also stopped short of guaranteeing captive places for certain big clubs, another possibility which sources said had been discussed privately in meetings over the past few months. 
 
Under the present system, the top three leagues have three places each while their fourth-placed teams must play off over two legs for a place in the group stage. 
 
The fourth-ranked league, currently Italy, have only two guaranteed places plus one in the playoff round. 
 
UEFA uses a complicated coefficient to determine the rankings of the national leagues. 
 
Marchetti said the format itself would remain the same with a qualifying stage, followed by a 32-team group stage and then a knockout contest. 
 
The champions and runners-up of the fifth and sixth-ranked leagues, at present France and Russia, will continue to have two places while the champions of the seventh to 10th ranked leagues, currently Portugal, Ukraine, Belgium and Turkey, will also qualify automatically. 
 
The biggest losers were the 11th and 12th ranked leagues, currently Switzerland and the Czech Republic, who will lose their guaranteed places in the group stage. 
 
Instead, they will now compete in a qualifying competition with national champions from all other European leagues for four places in a qualifying competition played in July and August. 
 
Theodoridis said it was an achievement just to keep any places for teams from the smaller leagues who struggle to compete on level terms with the elite clubs. 
 
&quot;We started this process by having one target, keeping the dream alive having all national associations having access,&quot; he said. 
 
UEFA has been without a president since last December when Frenchman Michel Platini was banned for eight years by global soccer body FIFA for ethics violations, later reduced to four on appeal by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). 
 
UEFA will hold an election to find a replacement for Platini in Athens on September 16. Michael van Praag, Angel Maria Villar and Aleksandar Ceferin, the heads of the Dutch, Spanish and Slovenian federations respectively, are the three candidates. 
 
(Reuters) 
&nbsp;

From the 2018/19 season, the top four European leagues will each be guaranteed four places in the group stage

Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) announced significant changes to their flagship Champions League today, saying they had managed to "keep it in the family" after staving off the threat of a breakaway league by Europe's top clubs. From 2018/19 season, the top four European leagues -- currently Spain, Germany, England and Italy -- will each be guaranteed four places in the group stage, UEFA competitions director Giorgio Marchetti told reporters. Stung by criticism that the competition has become too predictable, UEFA emphasised that it would continue to be open for teams from Europe's smaller national leagues although the number of places set aside for them would drop from five to four. Europe's top clubs had discussed the possibility of forming a breakaway Super League but UEFA's acting general secretary Theodor Theodoridis played down the threat. "From the very beginning, the feeling was the ideal solution for everybody would be a solution in the family," he told reporters. "We spoke to everyone...the feeling we had was that they always wanted to stay." UEFA also stopped short of guaranteeing captive places for certain big clubs, another possibility which sources said had been discussed privately in meetings over the past few months. Under the present system, the top three leagues have three places each while their fourth-placed teams must play off over two legs for a place in the group stage. The fourth-ranked league, currently Italy, have only two guaranteed places plus one in the playoff round. UEFA uses a complicated coefficient to determine the rankings of the national leagues. Marchetti said the format itself would remain the same with a qualifying stage, followed by a 32-team group stage and then a knockout contest. The champions and runners-up of the fifth and sixth-ranked leagues, at present France and Russia, will continue to have two places while the champions of the seventh to 10th ranked leagues, currently Portugal, Ukraine, Belgium and Turkey, will also qualify automatically. The biggest losers were the 11th and 12th ranked leagues, currently Switzerland and the Czech Republic, who will lose their guaranteed places in the group stage. Instead, they will now compete in a qualifying competition with national champions from all other European leagues for four places in a qualifying competition played in July and August. Theodoridis said it was an achievement just to keep any places for teams from the smaller leagues who struggle to compete on level terms with the elite clubs. "We started this process by having one target, keeping the dream alive having all national associations having access," he said. UEFA has been without a president since last December when Frenchman Michel Platini was banned for eight years by global soccer body FIFA for ethics violations, later reduced to four on appeal by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). UEFA will hold an election to find a replacement for Platini in Athens on September 16. Michael van Praag, Angel Maria Villar and Aleksandar Ceferin, the heads of the Dutch, Spanish and Slovenian federations respectively, are the three candidates. (Reuters)

Champions League changes but UEFA keeps it 'in the family'

Former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers believes lack of European football will be an advantage for the club in the Premier League and same will be the case for Chelsea. 
 
Liverpool, who replaced Rodgers with Jurgen Klopp as the club&#39;s manager in October, lost the Europa League final to Sevilla in May and settled for an eighth-place finish in the Premier League. 
 
Chelsea, the 2014-15 league champions, endured a turbulent season last year and finished 10th in the table. 
 
&quot;I think Liverpool have a great chance this year,&quot; Celtic manager Rodgers, whose side suffered an embarrassing defeat to part-timers Lincoln Red Imps from Gibraltar in the first-leg of their Champions League qualifier, told talkSPORT. 
 
&quot;Liverpool and Chelsea don&#39;t have European football and that&#39;s a huge advantage for you, where you can prepare your team all week for just the one game every week,&quot; he asserted and added, &quot;Of course, you&#39;ll have domestic cup games in between that.&quot; 
 
&quot;But it will be very competitive with the coaches that have come into the Premier League, that makes it exciting and I&#39;m sure it&#39;ll be a fantastic season,&quot; added Rodgers. 
 
Liverpool open their 2016-17 campaign against last season&#39;s runner-up Arsenal on&nbsp;August 14, while new Chelsea boss Antonio Conte will mark his managerial career in England with a feisty London derby against West Ham United&nbsp;two days later. 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp;

Chelsea, the 2014-15 league champions, endured a turbulent season last year and finished 10th in the table. Liverpool finished eighth

Former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers believes lack of European football will be an advantage for the club in the Premier League and same will be the case for Chelsea. Liverpool, who replaced Rodgers with Jurgen Klopp as the club's manager in October, lost the Europa League final to Sevilla in May and settled for an eighth-place finish in the Premier League. Chelsea, the 2014-15 league champions, endured a turbulent season last year and finished 10th in the table. "I think Liverpool have a great chance this year," Celtic manager Rodgers, whose side suffered an embarrassing defeat to part-timers Lincoln Red Imps from Gibraltar in the first-leg of their Champions League qualifier, told talkSPORT. "Liverpool and Chelsea don't have European football and that's a huge advantage for you, where you can prepare your team all week for just the one game every week," he asserted and added, "Of course, you'll have domestic cup games in between that." "But it will be very competitive with the coaches that have come into the Premier League, that makes it exciting and I'm sure it'll be a fantastic season," added Rodgers. Liverpool open their 2016-17 campaign against last season's runner-up Arsenal on August 14, while new Chelsea boss Antonio Conte will mark his managerial career in England with a feisty London derby against West Ham United two days later. (Reuters)

No European football an advantage for Chelsea & Liverpool: Rodgers

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