Sport
Michael Ballack Names Liverpool as His Top Champions League Favorite
Former Chelsea and Bayern Munich midfielder Michael Ballack has tipped Liverpool as the team to beat in this season’s Champions League race.
Ballack shared his thoughts after Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Lille on Tuesday, a result that saw them secure their spot in the knockout stages.
Speaking to German outlet Sport Bild, Ballack shared that Real Madrid, the reigning champions, are no longer his top pick.
“Based on their performances so far, Real Madrid are not my top favourite. That would be Liverpool, who are currently dominating the Champions League,” he said.
Ballack also praised the smooth transition Liverpool made after Klopp’s time in charge. “I was positively surprised by how Arne Slot managed the transition after Klopp.
It’s always tough to follow greats like Klopp or someone like José Mourinho, who left a unique legacy at my former club Chelsea,” he added.
While Liverpool stands out as the favorite, Ballack also mentioned Atalanta as a dark horse.
“They have a clear plan offensively and defensively and dominated Bayer Leverkusen in last year’s Europa League final,” he noted.
Former footballer Thierry Henry has shared his thoughts on Arsenal’s match following their loss to Atlético Madrid on October 13.
Speaking during a brief interview on CBS Sports, Henry criticised the practice of players or coaches expressing certain opinions through the media instead of addressing issues directly within the dressing room.
“I’m not a coach anymore, but I always say, whoever speaks like that, out. Keep that in the dressing room, it’s as simple as that,” Henry said on CBS Sports.
“That is the only way it can work. You have to say those things to a person’s face… going through the press, I am not really a fan of that.”
Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique has shared his thoughts on the 2026 Ballon d’Or award, revealing that he hopes the winner will come from his team.
The manager spoke about how hard his players have worked and expressed his belief that they deserve the recognition.
“What I hope is that we win this trophy. We have players who deserve it.”
“Last year, we were the best team. We showed that it wasn’t just Ousmane Dembélé who deserved it.”
French football pundit Walid Acherchour has named Lamine Yamal as his pick to win the 2026 Ballon d’Or, sparking reactions among football fans.
Acherchour’s choice came as a surprise to some fans, who expected him to support fellow Frenchman Kylian Mbappé instead.
Speaking about his prediction, Acherchour expressed confidence in Yamal’s chances of winning the prestigious individual award.
“For me, Lamine Yamal, he is going to get it [2026 Ballon d’Or]. For me, there’s no doubt anymore,” Acherchour said, as quoted by Actu Foot. That start to the season shows that in fact, he was injured during the World Cup. He was the best player in La Liga, and he won the World Cup.
“Even if, for me, in fact, he doesn’t have the Ballon d’Or unanimously because his World Cup was average, even being average, he won it with Spain. He won La Liga with Barça.”
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