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Arsenal's Bukayo Saka Says Injury Break 'Really Good' Mentally

Bukayo Saka said Monday his enforced injury break was "really good" for him mentally as he set his sights on staying at Arsenal for the long term. The England forward, 23, injured a hamstring in the Gunners' 5-1 win at Crystal Palace on December 21 and required surgery -- leading to the first significant absence of his career so far. He made a goalscoring return to action in Arsenal's 2-1 win against Fulham last week before coming on as a substitute again in Saturday's 1-1 draw at Everton. "Mentally, it was really good for me," Saka said on the eve of the first leg of Arsenal's Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid.

Southampton Sack Manager Ivan Juric After Premier League Relegation

Southampton have sacked manager Ivan Juric following their relegation from the Premier League, the club announced Monday. Southampton were condemned to relegation in record time after a 3-1 defeat at Tottenham on Sunday. Juric's bottom of the table side have lost 25 of their 31 top-flight games in a wretched campaign. Relegation with seven fixtures left gives Southampton, last season's Championship play-off winners, an unwanted Premier League record, surpassing Derby and Huddersfield's relegations with six games left in 2008 and 2019 respectively. Juric took over from Russell Martin in December, with Southampton already deep in trouble, but the 49-year-old won only one league match, at Ipswich in February. Saints have lost seven of their past eight league matches.

Juventus Miss Out On Serie A's Top Four With Draw Against Roma

Juventus missed the chance to move into Serie A's Champions League positions on Sunday after being held to a 1-1 draw at fellow top four hopefuls Roma. Igor Tudor's team stay fifth, level on 56 points with fourth-placed Bologna in a tight battle for a spot in Europe's elite club competition. Eldor Shomurodov earned Roma a point four minutes after the break with his sixth goal of the season, cancelling out a superb volley crashed in by Manuel Locatelli shortly before half-time. Tudor was brought in last month to get Juve into the Champions League, but Sunday's draw against a direct rival complicates matters in a six-team fight for two places, with Inter Milan and Napoli contesting the league title and almost certain of qualification. Juve cannot afford to miss out on the Champions League given the club's recent negative financial history and the over 200 million euros ($217 million) invested in renewing the squad for Tudor's sacked predecessor Thiago Motta.