Italy international Riccardo Calafiori is not expected to start for Arsenal in the Champions League semifinal second leg against Atletico Madrid tonight, as Mikel Arteta ‘could be tempted by the added security of Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie.’
Arteta to drop Calafiori for Arsenal vs. Atletico Madrid?
Calafiori’s Arsenal host Atletico Madrid in the second leg of the Champions League semifinals at the Emirates Stadium in London tonight.
The first leg played in Madrid last week ended in a 1-1 draw.
Calafiori returned to action after nearly a month last weekend, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3-0 win over Fulham.
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 28: Riccardo Calafiori of Arsenal in action during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD8 match between Arsenal FC and FC Kairat Almaty at Arsenal Stadium on January 28, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
The Italian defender is eligible for tonight’s fixture, and even though Standard.co.uk admits the ex-Roma and Bologna defender ‘looked sharp’ in his latest outing, Arteta ‘could be tempted by the added security of Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie.’
UDINE, ITALY – OCTOBER 14: Riccardo Calafiori of Italy looks on during the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier match between Italy and Israel at Stadio Friuli on October 14, 2025 in Udine, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
Calafiori has scored one goal and provided three assists in 32 appearances across all competitions with Arsenal this term.
He is in his second season at the Emirates Stadium, where his contract expires in June 2029.
Gianluigi Donnarumma was desperate to see Everton’s second goal ruled out on Monday, even kneeling before referee Michael Oliver, a gesture that earned him his seventh yellow card of the season, the most of any goalkeeper in Europe.
Italy captain Donnarumma received his seventh yellow card of the season on Monday, during Manchester City’s 3-3 draw against Everton.
As reported by Goal.com, Gigio has received more yellow cards than any other goalkeeper in Europe’s top ten leagues.
Donnarumma believed he had been fouled in the build-up to Everton’s second goal, which stemmed from a corner kick routine. However, his protests to the referee did not yield the desired outcome.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – MAY 04: Gianluigi Donnarumma of Manchester City speaks with referee Michael Oliver during the Premier League match between Everton and Manchester City at Hill Dickinson Stadium on May 04, 2026 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
The Italian goalkeeper had previously produced a couple of decisive saves and somehow contributed to Manchester City’s late equaliser by rushing inside the Everton box for a late corner kick which led to Jeremy Doku’s goal.
Donnarumma is in his first season at Manchester City, where he has conceded 40 goals in 40 appearances across all competitions and kept 16 clean sheets.
Donnarumma’s ups and downs in Everton 3-3 Man City
Mbappé’s recent trip to Italy has raised concerns at Real Madrid, as the French superstar is reportedly on bad terms with some members of the Merengues’ dressing room.
According to Marca, Mbappé’s trip to Cagliari, Italy, last week has further worsened his standing with his club and teammates.
Mbappé is recovering from an injury, but Marca has described his trip to Italy as ‘controversial.’
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – MARCH 26: Bremer of Brazil runs with the ball against Kylian Mbappé of France during the international friendly match between Brazil and France at Gillette Stadium on March 26, 2026 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
Although the Frenchman is recovering from an injury and other players in the same situation travelled abroad last week, his short trip to Sardinia has raised further concerns at the Bernabeu, affecting his status inside the dressing room.
The Spanish newspaper reports that Mbappé has distanced himself from the team in recent weeks, and not only because of his injuries.
The Frenchman is reported to be on bad terms with parts of the dressing room, including Vinicius Junior, and his attitude, on and off the pitch, is not appreciated by most of his Real Madrid teammates.
His recent trip to Italy with his girlfriend, Ester Exposito, has increased dissatisfaction within the team and the club.
Kylian Mbappé, İtalya’nın Cagliari şehrinde Ester Exposito ile birlikte zamanının tadını çıkarıyor. pic.twitter.com/Do3nJkPU75
Once again the ridiculously cheap Leapmotor T03 ranks #3 in Italy.
Outstanding month for new car sales in Italy at +11.6% year-on-year in April to 155,210 units, leading to a year-to-date volume up 9.8% to 640,083. Strikingly, private sales are up 19.3% to 78,583 and 50.3% share vs. 47% a year ago (+10.2% to 52.5% share YTD), the sign of a healthier market. Self registrations are up 14.7% to 16,105 and 10.3% share vs. 10% in April 2025 (+18.5% to 9.5% share YTD), Long term leases are down -7.2% to 33,112 and 21.2% share vs. 25.5% (down -4% to 21.1% share YTD), short term rentals soar 22.9% to 20,469 and 13.1% share vs. 11.9% (up 42% to 11.8% share YTD) and company sales edge up 4% to 8,079 and 5.2% share vs. 5.6% (up 1.5% to 5.1% share YTD).
HEV sales are up 24% to 76,808 and 49.1% share vs. 44.2% a year ago, including 25,851 full hybrids (+45.1%) and 50,957 mild hybrids (+15.5%), PHEVs surge 75.3% to 14,184 and 9.1% share vs. 5.7% in April 2025 and BEVs double their sales year-on-year (+98.6%) to 8.5% share vs. 4.8%. This means rechargeable vehicles are up 85.8% to 27,422 and 17.6% share vs. 10.5% a year ago.
In the brands ranking, Fiat (+31%) continues to catch up on poor year-ago results but can only muster a 10.3% share, by far its lowest this year. It holds 12.1% of its home market year-to-date. Toyota (+7.3%) returns to the 2nd spot it holds year-to-date ahead of Volkswagen (+1%). Peugeot (-7.5%) is up three ranks on last month to #4 and despite a YoY loss. Dacia (-2.3%) stabilises its sales at #5 but is still down -22% YTD. Audi (+15.5%) performs very well in the remainder of the Top 10 but drops to #8. Mercedes (+32%) is also strong at #12 while BYD (+171.7%) is up to #14, Leapmotor (+1300.6%) stays at #16 and Omoda+Jaecoo (+310.8%) breaks all its records at #18 with 3,857 sales and 2.5% share.
As for models, the Fiat Panda (-3%) falls further to 5.5% share, its lowest since last November, compared with 7.1% YTD. The Jeep Avenger (-19%) confirms it is now a solid 2nd best-seller despite a harsh YoY fall. Once again the event of the month is the third place of the €4,900 Leapmotor T03 (+1725.9%), “cheaper than a bike” says the advertising campaign, and having accumulated almost 15,000 sales since the start of the year (#4). Below the Dacia Sandero (+5.3%), the MG ZS (+38.7%) rallies back up nine spots on March to land at #5, simply the model’s highest ever monthly ranking in Italy. The Fiat Grande Panda (+3093.1%) falls again month-on-month to #6, could it have peaked already?
Italy legend Fulvio Collovati insists that seeing the Azzurri replace Iran at the 2026 World Cup would be ‘humiliating.’
Italy have failed to qualify for the World Cup for the third consecutive time, but there are reports that the Azzurri could still be heading to the tournament to replace Iran, especially after Paolo Zampolli’s recent claims.
BERLIN – JULY 9: General view of the World Cup trophy prior to the FIFA World Cup Germany 2006 Final match between Italy and France at the Olympic Stadium on July 9, 2006 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
“Some people pushed these ideas more on a political level than a sporting one. Honestly, I never even considered them,” Collovati told Scommesse.io.
Collovati: ‘Humiliating’ to see Italy at World Cup
“It would be humiliating from a sporting perspective. In sport, what matters is the field and the result. You can’t get there through shortcuts. Italy have not qualified for the last three World Cups, and that’s no coincidence. It can happen once, even twice, but the third time means there are serious problems. Before those three missed qualifications, we had been knocked out in the first round twice in a row. It’s a crisis that has lasted for 20 years, since 2006. Before thinking about being admitted to the World Cup, we need to think about reforms.
ZENICA, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA – MARCH 31: Tarik Muharemovic of Bosnia and Herzegovina competes for the ball with Marco Palestra of Italy during the FIFA World Cup 2026 European Qualifiers KO play-offs match between Bosnia & Herzegovina and Italy at Stadion Bilino Polje on March 31, 2026 in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. (Photo by Getty Images/Getty Images)
“You can change all the people you want, but without reforms, nothing will change,” continued the 1982 Italy World Cup winner.
“We need to intervene in youth development, invest in young players, and require clubs to include them in the squads and actually play them in Serie A. Otherwise, we’ll keep standing still in the same place.”
Inter star Federico Dimarco admits the 2025-26 Serie A title ‘means so much’ after last season’s disappointments and dedicates the Scudetto to ‘those who said I was finished.’
“It’s an amazing feeling. To see Milan coloured in black and blue is special,” the Italian defender told InterTV via FcInter1908.
MILAN, ITALY – APRIL 17: Federico Dimarco of Inter talks with Cristian Chivu, Head Coach of FC Internazionale Milano, during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and Cagliari Calcio at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on April 17, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
“It tastes like a restart after the bad disappointments of last season. We have restarted with the team and staff members. We have worked hard and crowned the dream of the 21st Scudetto.
“We are a united team, and we were united in difficult moments too, when we were being beaten from every direction. We always showed up, and now we enjoy this title. It means so much after what happened last year. I dedicate it to all the people who are close to me, especially those who said I was finished at the end of last season.”
Dimarco was among the Inter stars who headed to Piazza Duomo at late light on Sunday to celebrate with the Inter supporters in the city’s main square.
MILAN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 28: Federico Dimarco of FC Internazionale celebrates after scoring their team’s first goal during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and Genoa CFC at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on February 28, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
Inter have won the Scudetto with three games to spare, securing 26 victories in 35 league matches this term.
Last night, they needed just one point to put their hands on the Scudetto, but still secured a 2-0 victory with goals courtesy of Marcus Thuram and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Leonardo Hotels Strengthens Italy Expansion with Appointment of Luca De Giorgi as New Regional DirectorLeonardo Hotels Strengthens Italy Expansion with...
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Everton: 3
Man City: 3
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