Coaching

Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp on Monday shot down speculation that he could leave the Premier League champions amid a dismal run of form and said he was determined to turn around their flagging fortunes.

Saturday's 3-1 defeat at Leicester City left Liverpool in fourth, 13 points behind leaders Manchester City having played a game more, and led to rumors that Klopp could walk away from the club.

Fans showed their support for the 53-year-old German by unfurling a 'Jürgen Klopp YNWA (You'll Never Walk Alone)' banner outside Anfield.

BERLIN - Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp will not be able to attend his mother's funeral in Germany's Black Forest region due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, he said on Wednesday.

Klopp, who led Liverpool to the English league title as well as the Champions League crown in the past few seasons, said due to the restrictions and quarantine rules in England and Germany he would not be able to attend the funeral.

His mother Elisabeth had passed away last month.

LONDON — Chelsea Women manager Emma Hayes has dismissed speculation that she might move to men's professional side AFC Wimbledon, saying it would be no step up and they could not afford her wages anyway.

Wimbledon are 21st of 24 in League One, the third tier of English soccer, while Chelsea are at the peak of the women's game — Super League champions whose players have won the highest honors.

Indian Super League (ISL) side Odisha have sacked head coach Stuart Baxter for making "unacceptable" comments referencing rape in a post-match interview.

Baxter, who was previously South Africa's head coach, said after his team's 1-0 defeat by Jamshedpur on Monday that one of his players "would have to rape someone or get raped himself if he was going to get a penalty."

Odisha issued an apology on Monday, saying they were "appalled at the comments", which were "completely unacceptable whatever the context."

Chelsea dismissed manager Frank Lampard after 18 months in charge on Monday after the man at the heart of much of their greatest success as a player failed to deliver as coach despite spending over $300 million in the summer transfer window.

Former Paris Saint-Germain manager Thomas Tuchel is the favorite to replace Lampard, British media reported.

Lampard, who led the club to a top-four finish and the FA Cup final in his managerial debut 2019-20 campaign, leaves with Chelsea ninth in the Premier League after a run of five defeats in eight league games.

Inter Milan missed out on the chance to go top in Serie A as coach Antonio Conte was sent off for dissent in a 0-0 draw at strugglers Udinese on Saturday.

The visitors travelled to Udine on a high after beating title rivals Juventus 2-0 last weekend but they couldn’t break down the determined hosts, who became the first team to keep a clean sheet against Inter in Serie A this season.

Rafa Benitez has left Chinese Super League side Dalian Pro, with the Spaniard saying on Saturday that the COVID-19 pandemic was a factor in his decision.

The former Liverpool and Real Madrid head coach was hired on a lucrative contract worth a reported 12 million pounds ($16 million) per year after he left Newcastle United in 2019.

"Unfortunately, like so many things in the last year, COVID-19 has changed our lives and our projects. From today, both my coaching staff and I will sadly no longer be coaching Dalian," Benitez said in a statement.

LONDON — Former Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney, regarded as one of the best English players of his generation, has called time on his illustrious playing career after being named as manager of second-tier side Derby County on Friday.

The struggling Championship club said in a statement that the 35-year-old had signed a two-and-a-half-year contract.

Captain. Leader. The greatest.@WayneRooney: The Manager