Litmanen's seven-year spell at Ajax saw the Finnish forward establish himself as one of Europe's best players, as the Dutch side's punt on the young MyPa star in 1992 more than paid off. Litmanen would net 129 goals in 228 appearances for the club, helping them win four Eredivisie titles and three KNVB Cups domestically, with that side's crowning achievement being the 1995 Champions League victory under boss Louis van Gaal.
Fancy a football crossword? Every weekend, FourFourTwo delivers a spectacular when it comes to cryptic clues, as we present the Weekend Crossword: all we want you to do is fill in the grid as quickly as possible, with teasers on all levels and eras of the beautiful game for you to guess. It's just the same as a regular crossword just football-focused so sit back, grab a beverage and see if you can conquer the crossword ahead of this afternoon's action
Carlo Ancelotti is one of the most important figures in modern football, and the former AC Milan coach and player is ingrained in the club's history. There are very few players or coaches who have dominated for generations; you may say Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as players, Pep Guardiola as a manager, but Ancelotti would also have to be in the conversation. As a manager, he has won five Champions League titles, five top-flight titles, and a host of other competitions, too.
Liverpool's form throughout the second half of 2025 has been noticeably poorer than the displays which helped secure the Premier League title last season. The Reds were comfortably beaten by would-be title rivals Manchester City last weekend and despite a recent Champions League triumph over Real Madrid, Arne Slot's side have largely been out-of-sorts since spending heavily in the summer transfer window.
Leading up to the game, though, Chelsea have been dealt a fresh injury blow as midfielder Romeo Lavia will be unavailable due to injury, reports Mundo Deportivo. The Belgian midfielder sustained a quadriceps injury that will keep him sidelined for approximately one month. Lavia suffered the injury last Wednesday during Chelsea's European fixture against Qarabag in Azerbaijan, which ended in a 2-2 draw. He was forced off in the eighth minute and replaced by Moises Caicedo.
They gave me another chance, and I was grateful for that, he tells FourFourTwo. The first three months were hard, I wasn't getting on the pitch, but I felt ready to help the team. Then I made a few appearances and started scoring some goals.
Diaz apologized for the incident after the match, but Hakimi will now face a spell on the sidelines for PSG with what's been officially diagnosed as a "severe ankle sprain" by the club and Diaz will now miss Bayern's next Champions League clash against Mikel Arteta's high-flying Arsenal side. The Gunners, much like Bayern, have a perfect record to start the competition, having won all four of their opening matches.
Spanish giants Barcelona needed to come from behind three times to earn a 3-3 draw at Club Brugge in the Champions League, with teenage winger Lamine Yamal back to his best for Hansi Flick's side to help them earn a point in a gripping clash in Belgium. Barca's defence was shredded on multiple occasions on Wednesday by the hosts as Brugge winger Carlos Forbs struck twice and set one up for Nicolo Tresoldi.