Five Premier League clubs are in position to be in the knockout rounds, with Manchester City and Tottenham already qualified and Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United all in the driver’s seat to make it through the group stage. Man City 5/1 2nd favs to win CL Despite the strong showing in group play, the Man United boss thinks that the winter break taken by most leagues while the English football calendar loads up fixtures around the new year will keep English clubs from becoming a truly dominant force in Europe....

Mourinho guided Manchester United to Carabao Cup and Europa League glory last season, but English sides have struggled in the Champions League in recent years - only Chelsea (2013-14) and Manchester City (2015-16) have progressed as far as the semi-finals since the Blues won Europe’s top competition in 2012. Utd 5/1 to beat Saints & O3.5 goals United cruised into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup with a 4-1 win over Burton Albion on Wednesday, but Mourinho made nine changes to his starting XI....

Goals from David Silva and Nicolas Otamendi, either side of Marcus Rashford’s equaliser, secured City’s 14th win in succession, an English top-flight record in a single season. Mourinho was enraged by referee Michael Oliver booking Ander Herrera for diving late on as the Spaniard tumbled over Otamendi’s challenge in the penalty area - a moment laced with mirth given the Portuguese’s pre-match accusations over City’s simulation. But Mourinho believes City are being “protected by luck” in their march to the top of the league - a factor he thinks could help them lift the trophy....

The Portuguese manager has come in for criticism this season as his Spurs side have struggled for consistency across multiple competitions. They are, however, through to the Carabao Cup final, still in the hunt for a top-four finish, and can all upon the services of a proven winner in the dugout. What has been said? Quizzed in a virtual ‘Game on with Mourinho’ event organised by Spurs sponsors AIA as to how he deals with critics, the former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester United boss said: “I don’t think anybody is going to discuss rocket science with the guys from NASA, with everybody around the world....

The 21-year-old has enjoyed an impressive breakthrough season at Old Trafford this season and was rewarded with a maiden call-up into the Scotland squad on Monday for forthcoming friendlies against Costa Rica and Hungary. McTominay, who was born in Lancaster so is also eligible to play for England, played a key role in United’s recent matches against Sevilla, Chelsea and Liverpool. Ahead of the return against the LaLiga side in the Champions League, Mourinho praised the youngster’s studious approach to his profession...

The Red Devils turned to the Portuguese after seeing David Moyes and Louis van Gaal struggle to fill the void created by Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement. Mourinho was acquired on the back of a proven track record of delivering success across Europe. He landed three trophies in his debut campaign, but anyone in charge of United is expected to challenge for the Premier League title and questions have been asked of the Red Devils this season and the ability of their manager to claim that crown while favouring a cautious approach....

Dolberg in no hurry to leave Ajax The emotion Mourinho demonstrated celebrating after the second leg against Celta Vigo in the semi-finals – whether genuine or put-on – characterised a man desperate to convince that this trophy meant something. It has not always been like that – for Manchester United nor for Mourinho. It was a competition Patrice Evra was “embarrassed” to be in. It was a competition – famously – that Mourinho declared he did not want to win with Chelsea....

The Red Devils did get back on the trophy trail last season, with Louis van Gaal overseeing an FA Cup triumph. Mourinho snubbed ‘big’ CSL offer The Dutchman did, however, face criticism throughout his reign over a perceived lack of flamboyance, with success achieved more through substance than style. Mourinho has helped to release those shackles, despite arriving at the helm with a similar reputation to his predecessor when it comes to grinding out results....

Bailly was shown a straight red card in the last-four meeting with Celta Vigo after raising his hand to John Guidetti’s face, an action that sparked a brawl that also saw Facundo Roncaglia dismissed for the LaLiga side. The Ivory Coast international was hit with a three-game ban by UEFA on Monday, with the first match of that suspension served in the Europa League final, in which United beat Ajax....

Goals from Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Juan Mata sealed the three points for Sunday’s visitors to the King Power Stadium and ended their run of three league draws in a row. Arsenal’s defeat to Chelsea on Saturday means United are now only two points off the top four, while Liverpool are just a point ahead of them in fifth place after they were surprisingly beaten 2-0 by Hull City....

The West Ham star has been linked with a big money move to the north of England as Mourinho looks to bring in reinforcements for Manchester United behind Romelu Lukaku. The pair previously worked together in 2009-10 at Inter, when Arnautovic was on loan from Twente, but the move did not work out. The forward only appeared in three Serie A contests as a substitute, with Mourinho saying the striker had “the mentality of a child” and claimed he was “unmanageable”....

Italian news outlets reported that the funeral service was organized for a deceased member of the extreme right-wing group Forza Nuova. The 44-year-old man died over the weekend from a blood clot. The Paris-headquartered Agence France-Presse news agency identified the man as Alessia Augello. Forza Nuova, which was founded in 1997, is one of Italy’s most prominent right-wing parties and has faced accusations of attacking immigrants and clashing with law enforcement, Reuters reported....

Women have long been viewed, especially by men, as ornaments on the backs of motorcycles. Not anymore. According to the Motorcycle Industry Council, more than 4.3 million women operated motorcycles last year, up 34 percent from 1998. “We just got tired of looking at the back of someone’s helmet and wanted to see what the view was like from the front,” says Marlene Smith, 40, a systems manager and president of the New Jersey Spokes-Women Motorcycle Club....

But there will be a string of players ready to be thrust into their limelight when they do call it a day. There are plenty who will no doubt be counting down the days; Neymar seems an obvious example, if he did indeed go to Paris to step out of Messi’s shadow. Chelsea 4/9 at Qarabag And given the French side will continue to invest in the coming years so they have a shot at winning the Champions League, both Neymar and Kylian Mbappe will certainly be in the Ballon d’Or conversations for years to come....

The mosquito, which is identifiable by its trademark white bands on its legs and body, was first found in the state back in 2017, according to local news station WNEM. Scientists say the warming climate helped the mosquitoes infest northern regions, whereas they had previously existed in southern and northeastern states. The mosquitoes are believed to have been imported into the state via commercial shipments from other states. The mosquitoes can spread dengue, chikungunya and Zika, viruses which can cause fever, fatigue, muscle pain, joint pain and rashes....

Bell received the card, offered by GKC Theatres, a Midwestern chain, after her father, David, signed a form at the box office that said she could see R-rated movies. “I think kids mostly get into movies anyway,” he says. In test markets as many as 12 percent of local high-school students signed up, along with kids as young as 11. Not everyone’s a fan. “I’m totally opposed to it,” says Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Association of America....

The Nazis began, of course, by taking art from the Jews—starting with wealthy collectors and dealers in Vienna who fled after the annexation of Austria in 1938. One of the most extraordinary such examples—Gustav Klimt’s “Gold Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer”—was only restored to the family of its owner in 2006 and now hangs in the Neue Gallery in New York, after Ronald Lauder bought the painting for a record $135 million....

Matthews pulled alongside Ovechkin atop the NHL’s goals list with a second-period snipe for the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday, with both men now sitting on 40 goals for the season. The Toronto Maple Leafs star scored his team’s third of the night against the visiting Anaheim Ducks, and it was a vintage Matthews goal that gave him the milestone. After a Ducks turnover at their own blue line, the Leafs duo of John Tavares and Mitch Marner quickly rushed into the offensive zone with the puck....

This is my second open letter in Newsweek since your election, trying to reach your ear as a fellow American Catholic. Following your inauguration, my first letter urged you to stand in solidarity with the pro-life movement by sending a message to the annual March for Life in January. Such a magnanimous gesture, I explained, would have underlined the lofty rhetoric of your inaugural address, especially among those whom you singled out for reassurance: Americans who did not vote for you....