The Bianconeri boss blamed the playing surface and their opponents’ style for a tepid display that nonetheless saw them bag three points

Maurizio Sarri accepts Juventus could not be “beautiful” in a 1-0 Derby della Mole win at Torino due to their opponents’ tactics and the state of the pitch.

Juve reclaimed top spot in the Serie A table from Inter thanks to a second-half strike from Matthijs de Ligt, the defender scoring his first goal for the club.

It was an underwhelming performance from the defending champions, who have now won on 10 of their past 11 visits to their city rivals, but head coach Sarri felt they were always likely to be short of their fluid best.

“This was a very difficult game and it was clear Torino would be extremely determined from the start,” Sarri said to DAZN.

“So, the first phase of the plan was just to contain them and take control of the match later on, then close it towards the end.

“It was a tough game, full of intensity, physicality and tough tackling. It’s not really suited to our characteristics, but we managed to get it done.

“This was not the game where we could try to be beautiful. The opposition’s tactics, current form and the state of the pitch all meant we were forced to play with elements that are not our usual approach. 

“It’s reassuring that we were able to win anyway.”

Aaron Ramsey came off the bench in the second half but Sarri indicated the Wales midfielder is not yet fit enough to start matches.

“[Federico] Bernardeschi has more dynamism and forward runs, whereas Ramsey is better at passing,” Sarri said.

“Ramsey was out injured for a month, but I don’t feel he has 90 minutes in his legs. It is good to have players who can come off the bench and change gears.

“De Ligt struggled in the first 20 minutes, but then got into the game and had a very good second half.

“Alex Sandro seemed a little tired and it was only right to give him some rest.

“Mattia De Sciglio had been out for a while, so he was a little rusty, but once he too got into the rhythm, he did better.”

The Reds legend would like to see Jurgen Klopp remain in charge for many years to come, despite talk of the Rangers boss coming in to replace him

Former Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler doesn’t want Steven Gerrard to succeed Jurgen Klopp at Anfield any time soon, predicting that the current boss can still take the club to new heights.

During his first four years at Anfield, Klopp has transformed the Reds into European champions and Premier League title contenders.

Since conquering the Champions League for the sixth time in their history back in June, Liverpool have gone from strength to strength, and now look well placed to add an elusive piece of silverware to the trophy cabinet.

The Reds haven’t won the league title in 30 years, but after opening up an eight-point lead at the top of the table at the start of the 2019-20 season, they are being tipped to end that long wait for domestic success come May.

Klopp is contracted to remain at Anfield until 2022, but has hinted that he could take a break from coaching thereafter, leading to plenty of speculation over who could be next in line for the top job on Merseyside.

Liverpool legend and current Rangers boss Gerrard has been named as the leading candidate to replace Klopp, but Fowler does not want to see such a change come into effect for “a long time”.

“You can never say never in football, and Steven is doing a wonderful job up at Rangers,” he told Talk Sport.

“You’ve got to ask the question, are they a better team now since he took over? Of course they are, they really are.

“Will he want to leave and go back to the Premier League? No doubt about it and in the future, he probably will do.

“He’s the name on everybody’s lips should Liverpool be looking for a new manager, but as far as I’m concerned I don’t want them to be looking for a new manager.

“I want Jurgen to stay for a long time because if he stays for a long time it means Liverpool as a club are successful.

“So all the talk about should Steven be there, of course, he’ll be the name on everyone’s lips, but I hope it’s not for a long time.”

On the significant progress Liverpool have made recently under Klopp’s stewardship, Fowler added: “You’ve got to give Jurgen so much credit, Liverpool are just brilliant. He’s got them fit and on fire, they just look an incredible team.

“And people are saying they’re watching great performances, but Liverpool haven’t really reached the heights of what they can do – it’s a scary thought!”

After the international break, Liverpool will return to Premier League action with a trip to Crystal Palace on November 23, before attempting to book a place in the knockout phases of the Champions League at home to Napoli four days later.

The Portuguese is confident that the striker will remain at the club come what may, while he wants to see Dele Alli return to his old self

Jose Mourinho has pledged to lead Tottenham to the type of titles that will earn Harry Kane the recognition he deserves.

Having taken over in north London from the sacked Mauricio Pochettino earlier this week, the Portuguese is limbering up for his first match in charge of Spurs, which is a London derby against West Ham on Saturday.

Last season’s Champions League runners-up currently lie 14th in the Premier League standings, but Mourinho has promised to elevate the level of the club so that they are challenging for trophies and will be able to keep players such as Kane, who has been regularly linked to clubs such as Chelsea, Manchester United and Real Madrid over the years.

Click Here: IQOS White

“This is not about me. This is about Mr Levy and the club,” Mourinho said of chairman Daniel Levy. “He has a vision and part of that is to make the club better and bigger. There is no better and bigger club without a better and bigger team. So, to keep the best players is obviously part of that plan.

“It was not like a promise to me. It was part of his explanation about his vision. Without being specific about players he told me he does not sell players when the manager doesn’t want to sell.”

Indeed, the former Madrid boss described it as “an impossible mission” for teams covetous of Kane to lure him away from the club.

“He’s one of the best strikers in the world, no doubt,” he added. “He just needs his team with him, if his team is England or Tottenham, to bring him or to go with him to the next level.

“And what is the next level? Titles. I think he needs to win. He needs to bring something to highlight his quality, the goals he scores, what he brings to the team. He is a top striker and I’ve worked with some of the top ones.”

Meanwhile, he wants to see Dele Alli rediscover his best form and revealed he has already held talks with the out-of-sorts England midfielder.

“I have spoken with him and asked if he was Dele or Dele’s brother,” he said. “He told me he was Dele. ‘OK,’ I said, ‘play like Dele’. He is potentially a fantastic player. 

“I have to create a tactical situation he is happy with, give him the right dynamics and prepare him physically because he has had important injuries and he is not on the top of his form.

“’I cannot expect him to go to West Ham — if he plays — and be man of the match. But he needs to go through a process to bring the real Dele back because the real Dele is the one who has impressed us all.”

Meanwhile, he said he will not change too much with the team’s set up.

“I’m not going to try to be Einstein,” he said. “I’m going to try to make the players play the way I want. Offensive football but winning matches.

“Not offensive football and don’t win a match for 10 or 11 months. But, yes, attacking football. You are not going to see Harry Kane playing at left-back that is for sure.”

After West Ham, Mourinho’s side host Olympiacos in the Champions League on Tuesday – his first match in charge at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Romain Grosjean was hoping that the team’s decision to switch brake component suppliers from Brembo to Carbone Industrie would address a lot of the problems he’d been experiencing on the VF17.

But judging from the French driver’s team radio messages in Friday practice in Sochi, the change has made little difference.

“We’ve got very little grip. We’re really struggling with the balance. We had some issues, as well, with the brakes over the long runs,” he admitted at the end of the day.

“We need to look at what we can do better with them.

“Generally, it’s just been a very difficult Friday,” he sighed. “The car didn’t perform well – very low grip on low fuel and high fuel.”

Haas F1 boss Guenther Steiner said that the team had yet to make any decision on whether to stay with the new brake components, or revert to the old ones.

“We still haven’t got all the results yet, as we need to go through data,” he explained.

“I would say the issues with the brakes were mainly because they’re new to us. We need to find out how they work. Going through the data, we will decide tomorrow what we’re doing and how we continue.

“All in all, we had pretty fruitful sessions. We did a lot of laps and we learned a lot. Now we need to get the best out of what we learned for tomorrow to go into qualifying.”

• Ferrari stays in charge in Sochi second practice

In contrast to Grosjean’s day, his team mate Kevin Magnussen had a somewhat better time of it in free practice.

“I’m quite happy,” said the Dane. “We got through the day without any problems on the car. We got the whole program done, so that’s very satisfying.

“The early feeling is good with the car. We need to look at a few issues on the balance, normal stuff like that, but the baseline is quite good.

|The balance of the track is evolving in each session, but the balance in the car is similar, so that’s a good sign.

Click Here: Putters

“We’ll keep working and try and iron out the small balance issues that we have.”

GALLERY: All the pictures from Friday in Sochi

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

The return of the French Grand Prix to the F1 calendar will likely be scheduled around the mid-year period, according to race promoter Christian Estrosi.

The Circuit Paul Ricard, supported by the Provence-Alpes-Côtes d’Azur region, the Var department, the city of Toulon and the FFSA, will host the event based on a five-year deal with F1.

Estrosi met with F1 CEO Chase Carey at the Monaco Grand Prix for talks centered around the slot allocated to the event.

“In our conversation, I paid particular attention to the choice of the date for the grand prix, because it depends largely on the success of the race,” Estrosi told French weekly Auto-Hebdo.

“We are now discussing the period from late June to mid July, and now FOM and FIA will offer us a specific date,” he added.

“As soon as it becomes known, we will begin selling tickets.”

• Portimao looking to bring F1 back to Portugal

Estrosi said Carey is also keen to ensure that each country’s grand prix accurately reflects the local culture.

“Chase wants the grand prix at Paul Ricard in the first instance to be truly French,” he said.

“He wants the Spanish grand prix to reflect Catalonia and Barcelona, Italy to reflect Milan and Lombardy, and so on.

“He wants a national character and I really like his proposed approach,” said Estrosi.

Click Here: cheap true religion jeans

 

Want to win a trackday experience? All you have to do is subscribe to our FREE newsletter HERE

Gallery: All the pictures from Sunday in Monaco

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

 

Pirelli says that some teams have purposefully “exaggerated” downforce values as the F1 supplier sets its tyre operating guidelines before Grands Prix.

In Barcelona last week, before Friday’s free practice, the Italian manufacturer reversed its tendency to allow lower tyre pressures, and Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport has a theory as to why that happened.

The report contends that Mercedes has struggled on lower tyre pressures in 2017, after utterly dominating in previous years with higher pressures.

• Horner: Red Bull misled by Pirelli 2017 test programme

Then, ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix, Pirelli increased the mandatory pressure guidelines after analysing downforce data provided by the various teams.

“The suspicion in the paddock is that Pirelli is deliberately being fed excessively high downforce data in order to keep tyre pressures high,” wrote correspondent Michael Schmidt.

“It is said to be always the same two teams which deliver the wrong data.”

Pirelli’s Mario Isola downplayed the allegations however.

“It is true that some of the downforce values prove in reality to have been exaggerated.

“But such a policy would have little effect, because we can always change the pressures if we feel it is safe to do so.”

 

“Want to win a trackday experience? All you have to do is subscribe to our FREE newsletter HERE”

GALLERY: All the action from Barcelona on Sunday

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Click Here: Germany Football Shop

Jenson Button’s one-off return to F1 yielded an impressive P9 in qualifying this afternoon, with the Brit proving that he still very much has what it takes to race at the highest level.

Button however will start his day tomorrow from last on the grid following a 15-place grid penalty linked to engine component changes.

It’s a frustrating state of affairs but one which took nothing away from the pleasure he enjoyed Saturday afternoon.

“It was a lot of fun out there,” he said.

“t’s always that thing, you get to a certain point and then it’s the fine tuning. These tyres are completely different to last year’s tyres in terms of getting them working and what have you and what goes away and how long it lasts.

Click Here: New Zealand rugby store

“It’s been quite tricky today working on the last bit, the last couple of percent. I’ve enjoyed it.”

• Welcome back – Button hit with 15-place grid penalty!

Button’s quick adaption to McLaren’s new-spec MCL32 was impressive, but the 2009 world champion insisted it was a big trip into the unknown.

“Getting back into a qualifying session is awesome, but as I say, suddenly it is a big learning curve. Practice is fine, you run through your programmes, and I’m sure the race will be fine.

“But when it’s qualifying and that little fine tuning with the balance of the car, I said to the team I’m not sure what’s going to happen to the car through qualifying, are we going to get more grip at the front, are we going to get less?

“I don’t know where the balance is going to go with these tyres and with these cars. But it was alright. Q3 wasn’t very good but Q1 and Q2 were.

“I’m happy. My one and only race this year, I qualified ninth and start 20th!”

But perhaps the real takeaway from Button’s assessment was his admittance that he had ran his very last qualifying session in F1, putting to rest any speculation about a full-time return to the sport.

“I’ve enjoyed the weekend a lot and the team has been fantastic. It’s my last qualifying session, and probably one of my most enjoyable. I mean that.

“I haven’t missed Formula 1, because I’ve had such a good six months.”

 

“Want to win a trackday experience? All you have to do is subscribe to our FREE newsletter HERE”

GALLERY: All the action from Monaco

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

 

You’ll find here all the links to our Spanish Grand Prix picture galleries for the weekend.

Be sure to check back every day as we’ll be adding pictures on a regular basis.

GALLERY: All the pictures from Thursday in Barcelona

 

Win the ULTIMATE TRACKDAY with F1i.com!

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter