Marcus Rashford has hit back after a video emerged on social media of the Manchester United forward reacting to fans outside Old Trafford following the Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid. 

United were beaten 1-0 in the second leg of their round-of-16 tie against the Spanish side on Tuesday, losing 2-1 on aggregate. 

The video posted after the game appeared to show Rashford confronting a supporter who had heckled him outside the stadium, and the England international has denied that he raised his middle finger to fans. 

Rashford posted a message on Twitter on Wednesday along with the words "There are 2 sides to every story." 

He wrote: "A video can paint a thousand words and in this case lead to inaccurate info being shared on social media. 

"Guys, for weeks I've been heckled, threatened, questioned and last night my emotion got the better of me. I'm a human being. 

"Reading and hearing that stuff about yourself every day, it wears you down. No one is more critical of my performance than me. But what you see in this video lacks context. I had been heckled from the minute I stepped foot outside the ground, abuse not just aimed at my football. 

"People were looking for a reaction from me. Phones were at the ready. Of course, I should have walked straight past and ignored it, that's what we're supposed to do right? 

"I want to clarify two things. The first being what I actually said to the man throwing abuse at me which [was] 'come over here and say it to my face' (a fact security can back up) and secondly, the fact I used my forefinger to direct the fan to 'come over and say it to my face'. I did not gesture with my middle finger. 

"I'm not entitled. This isn't ego. I'm upset. I'm disappointed. And in that moment it was silly but I was being human." 

Rashford has struggled for form this season, scoring five goals in 26 appearances in all competitions (15 starts), and came on as a 67th-minute substitute in the Atletico defeat. 

West Ham United manager David Moyes has told fans to expect more European nights in future on the eve of their Europa League round of 16 second leg against Sevilla.

The Hammers welcome the LaLiga side to the London Stadium on Thursday after losing the first leg 1-0 in Spain last week thanks to a Munir El Haddadi strike.

It has been an impressive European campaign for Moyes' team, and the former Everton and Manchester United manager pointed to how well they have done against some of England's elite in recent times.

West Ham are currently sixth in the Premier League, three points behind fourth-placed Arsenal albeit having played three games more, and have beaten both Liverpool and Chelsea this season.

Ahead of Thursday's second leg, Moyes told a news conference that fans should be prepared for nerves ahead of a big European game, saying: “[The fans] better get used to it because we're going to have more, that’s the way I look at it, we’re going to have a lot more of these types of games.

"I hope there'll be more in this tournament, and I want us to be challenging near the top of the league. If that is the case, then use this as a steppingstone.

"I think this is what West Ham supporters hoped for when they did move [from Upton Park to the London Stadium].

"I think they hoped for European nights and hoped for opportunities to come to big games against big sides. In some ways, we've done that but for me, I’ve only scratched the surface. I feel as if this can only be the beginning and we have to build on it.

"In nearly all the games we've played in we've given the big teams a run for their money and in the Premier League, we're challenging the top teams and if we can challenge the top teams in the Premier League, then we can give ourselves a chance in other games."

The Hammers' boss also spoke about the emotional scenes on Sunday after Ukraine international Andriy Yarmolenko scored the opener in the 2-1 win over Aston Villa.

Yarmolenko was in tears as he celebrated the goal in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"It was special, but at the moment I just felt it was us getting one goal in front at the time and it was special for that reason alone because the game was tight, and Aston Villa are a good team," Moyes said. 

"We'd not scored as many goals in open play as we'd have liked, so to go in front was important for us. The special part was Yarmolenko scoring.

"It was the first time he has been back after the war began and he came on and made a difference, scoring the goal, which obviously drew a lot of attention for that reason, but hopefully it's drawn attention in different parts of the world as well."

Everton manager Frank Lampard has called for his players to answer Jamie Carragher's criticism on the pitch when they host Newcastle on Thursday.

The Toffees fell to a 15th defeat in 19 Premier League games with a 1-0 defeat to Wolves at home last Sunday, leaving them level on points with 18th-placed Watford, who have played three games more.

Speaking on Sky's Monday Night Football, Carragher subsequently labelled Everton players a "disgrace", and branded the Newcastle clash at Goodison Park the club's biggest fixture in over 20 years.

Lampard may have lost just one of his last 11 top-flight home games against English managers, but Everton have been defeated in 16 of their 26 Premier League games this season – the Toffees last lost more in a single campaign in 2003-04 (17).

However, he believes his team will bounce back on the pitch against Newcastle, who saw their nine-game unbeaten league run end in a 1-0 defeat at Chelsea last time out.

"It's the players' job to answer that on the pitch," Lampard said of Carragher's comments at Wednesday's pre-match news conference. 

"The Wolves game wasn't a disgrace, but I understand the analysis because you look at the Tottenham game and on a footballing level, I didn't like the game at all. I wouldn't use that language but I didn't like the game at all.

"But we have to accept that people have opinions, people who care and do their jobs in the media, in many ways, not just Jamie, but the players have to answer it on the pitch, it's the only way.

"You'll be in these positions in relative ways so many times in your career, you have to get together – the players individually, collectively, myself of course, and answer it on the pitch."

One concern for Everton is that Newcastle have won each of their last three league fixtures against the Toffees, including a 3-1 victory in the reverse fixture, and Lampard knows the size of the task at hand.

"It's not time for lies or to change the story, we know where we're at," he continued. "We've also seen that this club have stayed up in the league on the last day a couple of times [in 1994 and 1998] so it's not absolutely new.

"Maybe that's why the nerves creep in with the players and the fans, that's human nature, but for us it's not about having fear of what might be. It's what can we action, we deal with these 12 games in front of us.

"You look at Newcastle, since Eddie Howe went in there and made great progress but the first games [he only won one game out of first 10], what needed to change, things take time.

"I'm not talking about seasons and seasons, that's a different kind of thing, about building an idea at a club.

"In terms of changing a club in a difficult position, they take a bit of time and I think Newcastle used January to their credit, financially they were in a position to add well in personnel. We're not in that position, we can only focus on ourselves."

Former Lyon manager Rudi Garcia has said he was close to being appointed manager of Manchester United earlier this season.

The Red Devils eventually opted to hire Ralf Rangnick as interim manager in November following the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The club is expected to hire another permanent manager at the end of the season, which will end without a trophy after they were knocked out of the Champions League round of 16 by Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, losing the second leg 1-0 at Old Trafford.

Garcia has managed several clubs throughout his career, including Lille, Roma and Marseille, but the French coach has been out of work since leaving Lyon at the end of last season.

Speaking to Le Figaro, Garcia revealed he had offers from several clubs across Europe, but United was the closest he came to being appointed.

"I had several offers, in England, Spain and France, but the most advanced, and which almost went as far as the end, was with Manchester United," he said.

"I saw John Murtough (United's director of football) and Darren Fletcher (technical director). I told them that I had to work on my English and Darren, who is Scottish, had a joke telling me that I didn't have the level yet with the Scottish accent to answer, but that was fine."

The club's form has been up and down since Rangnick arrived, and they currently find themselves one point off the top four in the Premier League, but having played three games more than fourth-placed Arsenal, and have been knocked out of both the FA Cup and the Champions League.

Mauricio Pochettino and Erik ten Hag have both been strongly linked with the permanent job at Old Trafford at the end of the campaign, though both were also knocked out of the Champions League at the round of 16 stage, with Paris Saint-Germain losing to Real Madrid and Ajax being eliminated by Benfica.

Garcia has said he would like to return to management soon and is not putting too many limits on where he is willing to work.

"I would like to find a club that plays in the Champions League or has the capacity to qualify for it," he added "I have a preference for England or Spain, but I'm not saying no to Germany, France or Italy.

"If it is, you will find me in an exotic country in a few months, because I won't have found anything that lived up to my expectations. But today, I want to find a club again next season, because after almost twelve months off, I'm itching."

The Chicago Cubs owners, the Ricketts family, and billionaire hedge fund tycoon Ken Griffin have partnered together to launch a bid to buy Chelsea.

Blues owner Roman Abramovich, who has been sanctioned by the United Kingdom government following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, is attempting to sell the Premier League club.

The deadline for bids is expected to be Friday, with a plethora of investors interested – including British billionaire and boyhood Blues fan Nick Candy.

The Ricketts family, who became major shareholders of Major League Baseball's Cubs in 2009, have reportedly combined with American Griffin to form a consortium capable of taking over at Stamford Bridge.

A widely reported statement from the Ricketts family on Wednesday confirmed their role in the bid and added: "As long-time operators of an iconic professional sports team, the Ricketts Family and their partners understand the importance of investing for success on the pitch, while respecting the traditions of the club, the fans and the community.

"We look forward to sharing further details of our plans in due course."

The Cubs' owners have overseen an impressive period of success at the franchise, both on and off the field.

Chicago ended a 108-year wait for World Series success in 2016 and completed a $1billion renovation of home ground Wrigley Field, a project which is thought to appeal to Chelsea fans demanding improvements to Stamford Bridge.

Abramovich, whose 19-year tenure at the London club is soon set to come to an end, had his British assets – including Chelsea – frozen last week and was disqualified as director of the club.

The Russian has owned Chelsea since 2003, with the club claiming 21 trophies during his spell at the helm.

Anthony Martial acknowledged he fell out of love with football at Manchester United before rediscovering his enjoyment on loan at Sevilla.

Julen Lopetegui's side staved off interest from Juventus and Barcelona to secure the services of Martial on loan in January after limited opportunities at Old Trafford this season.

Rangnick confirmed in December that the 26-year-old wanted to leave due to a lack of first-team chances – he had played the full 90 minutes of a game only once this season and featured for just eight minutes since the German's arrival.

Martial has since registered 297 minutes of action for Sevilla across all competitions, with Lopetegui's team second in LaLiga - 10 points behind Real Madrid - and still in contention for the Europa League.

Sevilla face West Ham in the return leg of their last-16 clash on Thursday in Europe's secondary club competition, and Martial will be hoping to add to his current tally of one goal in six games.

Despite not finding his feet in front of goal as of yet, Martial expressed how much he is enjoying life in Spain.

"For me, it was the best option to play and enjoy football again. I lost it [love for the game] a little bit in Manchester because I was not playing," Martial told the Daily Mail.

"I feel very good in Sevilla. The city is very good and we are a good team so, for me, it's perfect. I'm playing so I'm happy.

"But I'm here just until the end of the season and that's it."

Martial became the most expensive teenager in history at the time when he completed a move worth up to £58million (€69m) from Monaco in 2015.

The France international hit the ground running in Manchester, finishing the 2019-20 campaign as United's top scorer with 23 goals.

However, the arrival of Rangnick caused problems after a well-publicised rift between the pair following the German's claims that Martial refused to feature against Aston Villa, which the player denied.

"I asked United to leave because I wanted to play," he added. "I still have a contract but they know what I want, so we will see at the end of the season.

"When he [Rangnick] arrived, my objective was to leave. I told him I wanted to leave and that's it.

"He talked to me and said, 'If you want to stay, with the way you train you will play if you keep training like that'. But I wanted to have a new atmosphere and a new club."

Martial refused to suggest he will use the Sevilla loan as a chance to prove a point to United, but he will use the opportunity to show his worth to France ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

"I'm just going there to win and help the team," he continued. "I don't care what people say about me. Really.

"The World Cup for me is an objective. I want to be part of this group and that's why I'm here because I want to play and show I can be in the squad. I need to show my quality and score goals."

Harry Maguire called for Manchester United players to rally around one another and stick together after their Champions League last-16 exit to Atletico Madrid.

United managed a 1-1 draw in the first leg at Atletico to keep hopes alive of making just a third quarter-final in the competition since finishing runners-up under Alex Ferguson in 2010-11.

But a Renan Lodi first-half header condemned United to a 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford on Tuesday, sealing a 2-1 aggregate triumph for Diego Simeone's battling visitors.

That ended United's hopes of silverware for yet another season, with Ralf Rangnick's remaining goal being to secure a top-four finish - a race that looks set to go to the wire.

Indeed, fourth-placed Arsenal could be seven points clear of United by the time Rangnick's team host Leicester City on April 2, but captain Maguire knows now is no time for self-pity.

"Of course it's going to be a disappointing couple of weeks now," he told reporters.

"The lads need to go, have a rest but make sure that we come back fighting for the end of the season.

"We've got nine important Premier League games that we need to try to win every game that we play in, stick together.

"My job as captain obviously has a big role in that as well and making sure that we stick together and we finish the season strong – because we owe it to the fans."

United were left frustrated by referee Slavko Vincic as they were left bewildered by the decision to not award a foul on Anthony Elanga moments before Lodi converted at the culmination of a slick Atleti counter at the other end.

"I think the style in Europe, it's not for me to really comment on," Maguire told beIN Sports when asked of the incident. "But, yeah, I think every time you touch someone, it's a foul.

"I mean Anthony [Elanga] has a header in the first couple of minutes. Heads the ball over the bar, the keeper probably comes and clatters him and he gets the foul, so it's a different style.

"I think – as a team – we've maybe got learn from it, got to grow from it and don't lose our discipline.

"I felt like the last 20 to 30 minutes of the game we should have been pushing and creating a little bit more but we got too frustrated, we started losing our shape and we lost momentum in the game."

Manchester City appear frontrunners to secure Erling Haaland's signature after Borussia Dortmund adviser Matthias Sammer inadvertently hinted at a move for the striker.

Haaland has taken the Bundesliga by storm since he arrived from Salzburg in January 2020, scoring 80 goals in 80 appearances across all competitions.

That has made him one of the most sought-after talents in European football, with a host of elite clubs circling for when his reported €75million release clause kicks in at the end of this season.

Barcelona and Real Madrid were reportedly among the favourites to secure the Norwegian's services, with Blaugrana boss Xavi said to have met with the 21-year-old in Munich.

But Pep Guardiola's City, who Haaland's father Alf-Inge played for between 2000 and 2003, have now emerged as the leading candidates, with Sammer acknowledging the dangerous partnership the Spanish boss and talisman could form at the Etihad Stadium.

Speaking on Amazon Prime, Sammer was asked how Haaland could work with Guardiola, to which he replied: "They will both benefit from each other. Because Pep, of course - I was able to experience him for three years - has a certain idea.

"I can also imagine dealing with a centre-forward, no question. But he will also have to learn from the centre-forward."

When pressed if his answer meant a deal was already done, Sammer retreated and suggested he had no idea. However, he did offer an insight into the possible figures involved in talks for Haaland.

"I didn't hear anything today, yesterday, the day before yesterday," he said. "I know City is after him. The numbers - I had whiplash! I passed out. My wife picked me up again. Accordingly, it is possible."

City missed out on their key striker target Harry Kane from Tottenham before the start of the 2021-22 campaign, and will be keen to ensure they make no similar mistake on this occasion.

Tottenham head coach Antonio Conte insists he would be "crazy" to consider dropping Son Heung-min amid suggestions of fatigue and a drop in form.

Spurs sit eighth in the Premier League ahead of a clash at Brighton and Hove Albion, following a 3-2 defeat at fellow top-four contenders Manchester United that leaves them six points behind fourth-placed Arsenal.

Conte's north London rivals have also played a game less, while Spurs have lost five of their last eight Premier League games (W3) – as many as they had in their previous 20 in the competition (W12 D3).

Son has been on target in his side's last two wins, a 5-0 thrashing of Everton coupled with a 4-0 hammering of Leeds United, yet there remain questions over the South Korea international's form.

Since a four-game scoring run in the league across December, Son has found the net three times in nine top-flight outings – taking his tally 11 goals in 24 games this season, along with five assists.

Those returns are far from underwhelming but Conte was forced to defend his forward at his pre-match news conference after being pressed on Son's fitness levels and performances.

"For me, Sonny is an important player that can change a result at the end of a game." Conte told reporters. "It can happen that a player's form goes from the best to a period that is not so well.

"I repeat, because we are talking about a player that plays in every game. He is playing well, it doesn't depend on if a player scores a goal or not, the performance is the total game.

"Sonny is a player that in my mind fits my ideas, and also with the commitment he shows, he has to start and I don't ever have any idea to drop him – it doesn't happen, I'm not crazy to do something like this."

Conte will be hoping his star duo Harry Kane and Son can combine to down Graham Potter's Brighton in Wednesday's Premier League contest.

The pair have linked up a Premier League record 37 times since Son arrived from Bayer Leverkusen in August 2015, with 20 of those combinations coming on the road in the English top flight.

Whether Son can get in on the act once more at Brighton remains to be seen, but Kane could become the Premier League's all-time leading scorer in away games with a strike at the Amex Stadium – currently sitting on 94 goals in 138 outings.

Mikel Arteta dismissed the suggestion he is interested in taking the Paris Saint-Germain job, insisting he is committed to Arsenal.

Arteta has been among those managers linked with potentially taking over at the Parc des Princes should Mauricio Pochettino leave at the end of the season.

Pochettino's time in the French capital has been somewhat underwhelming so far, with PSG crashing out of the Champions League last week after capitulating against Real Madrid.

Meanwhile, Arteta, who spent a season on loan at PSG from Barcelona in 2001-02, seems to have finally bedded in his methods at Arsenal, with the Gunners in pole position to secure a top-four spot and Champions League qualification.

Asked about the rumours ahead of Wednesday's clash with title challengers Liverpool, Arteta said: "Very simple, that I am extremely happy here and I'm grateful that it's where I am."

Arteta's team face a stern test of their quality against Jurgen Klopp's team, who have won their last eight Premier League matches.

Arsenal, however, have won their last five, joining Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea as the only other top-flight teams to manage such a run of victories in the competition so far this season.

Since losing their opening home game of the Premier League season, Arsenal have only lost one of their following 13 league games at Emirates Stadium this term (W10 D2), but Arteta knows the standards must remain high.

"This is never going to stop, this is a constant revolution," he added.

"In the history of the Premier League, there never existed this level of playing and competition so we don't know where that limit is so every plan that we do is with players and people with the mentality that this is going to keep the will going, that this is never going to be good enough and to do that you need to get people that are aligned with this ambition."

While Arsenal head into their contest with Liverpool in good form, recent history is not on their side. They were hammered 4-0 at Anfield in November and lost to the Reds over two legs in their EFL Cup semi-final.

Arsenal's record against the other "big six" sides this season is also disappointing, with only three points taken from six such fixtures so far – that win coming against north London rivals Tottenham. Indeed, the Gunners have conceded 17 goals in those matches, scoring just six times in return.

Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool's current squad is the strongest it has been during his time in charge, but the Reds boss accepts some players will depart at the end of the season.

Liverpool might still win a quadruple this season as they look to add the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup to the EFL Cup they won last month.

The Reds are in the quarter-finals of the other two cup competitions and are four points behind league leaders Manchester City ahead of Wednesday's game at Arsenal.

Luis Diaz's arrival from Porto has further bolstered Klopp's options in attack and the German admits he is now spoiled for choice with Roberto Firmino also back from injury.

However, that has impacted the playing time of the likes of Divock Origi and Takumi Minamino, who have both been linked with moves away from Anfield.

But while Klopp is anticipating certain departures ahead of next season, he is confident of keeping hold of Liverpool's big-hitters.

"It's unlikely with the size of the squad that we now stay exactly like this together," he told Sky Sports.

"For sure, some of the players do not play often enough for their own understanding and we will see what will come in the summer and find solutions for those situations.

"But the core of the group has to stay together. There is no doubt about that."

Klopp is into his seventh season with Liverpool and, with Diaz instantly integrating into the side, he believes this current crop of players are the best he has had at his disposal.

"Of course," he said. "Funnily enough, apart from Luis, it is the same squad that we had when we started the season. We had this strong squad, they were just unavailable. 

"Now they are available. That makes it the squad that we always wanted to have."

Question marks remain over the future of Mohamed Salah, who is out of contract at the end of next season and is reportedly no closer to agreeing fresh terms with the Reds.

Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino are also into the final 18 months of their deals and all three players will be in their 30s come the start of next season.

"Some of the other guys, they are not old but in three or four years you might call them that," Klopp said when asked about the long-term status of his squad. 

"For me, the best time for them is yet to come. But we have to prepare the club for the time after these boys as well.

"There must be a time after us and this time should ideally be more successful than we are now."

Mohamed Salah is arguably the best player in the world on current form, though Liverpool have not yet tied him down to a new deal.

Talks over fresh terms for the 29-year-old have been ongoing for some time, but nothing is close to being agreed.

With his contract up in 2023, Salah could become one of the most sought-after free agents.

TOP STORY – MO HAPPY TO WAIT

According to Fabrizio Romano, Salah is perfectly happy at Liverpool and is not considering pushing through a move to Spanish giants Real Madrid or Barcelona.

However, there has been no further progress on the contract talks.

Salah, who has scored 28 goals already this season across all competitions, remains fully focused on Liverpool but could leave on a free transfer at the end of next season.

ROUND-UP 

- Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland will demand that a release clause is included in his contract should he sign for Manchester City, reports The Sun. The Daily Mail suggested a deal was close.

- Bundesliga reporter Jan Aage Fjortoft, however, has claimed that Haaland is of interest to Bayern Munich, who may be faced with the prospect of losing Robert Lewandowski.

- Bayern are also said to be interested in Barcelona full-back Sergino Dest. That is according to a report by Fichajes.

- Foot Mercato say that Neymar will be offered back to Barcelona, as Paris Saint-Germain prepare for a "shake up" ahead of next season.

- Juventus and Milan, meanwhile, are interested in Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos, according to Calciomercato.

Jurgen Klopp is astounded by how few free-kicks Mohamed Salah wins for Liverpool – claiming referees are not whistling often enough.

Liverpool boss Klopp spoke out on the eve of Liverpool's trip to face in-form Arsenal in the Premier League, hoping Salah will recover from a slight foot injury to feature.

The Egyptian is the league's top scorer with 20 goals, but he has won just 16 fouls this season, far fewer than many fellow forwards in the competition.

Among the seven leading scorers in the Premier League, only 12-goal Cristiano Ronaldo has been awarded fouls against him as rarely as Salah – the Manchester United man also earning 16 free-kicks.

Salah's Reds team-mates Sadio Mane and Diogo Jota are among that leading pack and have won 37 and 33 fouls respectively, while Brentford's 11-goal Ivan Toney has had 59 such decisions given in his favour.

The player with the most fouls awarded in the Premier League this season is Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha, with 72.

"There's a statistic – I don't know exactly who did it – that Mo is the one player with the least fouls against him," Klopp said.

"But not that he didn't get fouled, it's just we don't whistle. If you compare it to other strikers, it's crazy.

"It's absolutely crazy how low his number of fouls is against him which the ref whistles. So it means he constantly has contact, going down and you have to go up again, and stuff like this."

Salah has been involved in 171 of Liverpool's 180 Premier League games since joining ahead of the 2017-18 season, starting 163 of those and scoring 115 goals.

Klopp knows he has a player who always wants to be involved.

"He's very professional and very desperate to play each game," said Klopp.

"So when you ask him [about] the nine games [that he has missed] and maybe I left him out once or twice so he didn't start the game, so these things are really hard for him. He tries to be on the pitch in training and in games if somehow possible."

Ralf Rangnick is convinced Manchester United's season is not over despite Tuesday's 1-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid dumping them out of the Champions League. 

United claimed a commendable – albeit fortunate – 1-1 draw in Madrid last month as they looked to reach the quarter-finals for only the third time since finishing as runners-up in 2010-11. 

While they were dominant over Atletico in the return leg at Old Trafford, United found their visitors immensely difficult to break down. 

A Renan Lodi header just before half-time ultimately proved decisive and left United with little to play for over the rest of the season. 

While they are not out of the hunt for a top-four spot in the Premier League just yet, the Red Devils trail Arsenal by a point and the Gunners have three games in hand. 

Despite the rather bleak outlook, Rangnick does not believe United's season is a write-off. 

He told BT Sport: "It's now too early. We still have another nine games to play in the Premier League. We will try to finish off this season in the highest possible level. 

"We want to qualify for the Champions League again and we're fully aware that to do that we have to win most of those nine games. 

finishing the highest possible level with this team. Then it is time to speak about other things." 

While Rangnick accepts United's performance was another example of their seemingly chronic inability to maintain a certain level for a full game, he was also frustrated by referee Slavko Vincic's refusal to award a free-kick for an apparent foul on Anthony Elanga in the build-up to Atletico's goal. 

"A very good first half and the second half was difficult to find the rhythm again," he continued. 

"We know they are good at defending leads. We had one or two moments in the second half and there was a brilliant save from the goalkeeper. We were fully aware that against this team you need to score the first goal yourself." 

On the perceived foul, which Rangnick felt fed into a wider narrative of questionable refereeing, the German added: "That was a foul for sure on Anthony Elanga but the referee and the linesman didn't see it that way. 

"For me, that was the only real moment, and the offside goal, that they scored with. Apart from that, we defended well and we were compact in their transition moments. There is nothing I can blame the team for in the first half. 

"It was hard in the second half and always interrupted. There was always somebody lying on the floor. 

"I would also say some curious refereeing decisions. I wouldn't say they were decisive but at least he fell too often for those time-wasting antics and four minutes at the end added on was a joke for me." 

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has been hit with fresh sanctions, with the European Union taking action over his connections to Vladimir Putin.

Abramovich, 55, was one of seven Russian oligarchs to have his assets frozen by the United Kingdom government last Thursday.

That was a step taken due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the EU has followed suit by announcing it will also impose measures.

The EU Council described Abramovich as an "oligarch close to Vladimir Putin", listing him among 15 individuals and nine entities to be added to its sanctions list.

Abramovich, whose net worth was estimated by UK authorities to be in the region of £9.4billion, has previously been photographed with Putin, president of Russia.

Due to the UK asset freeze, Abramovich has been unable to press ahead with a decision to sell Chelsea on his terms, and he will not be allowed to profit from his ownership of the club, with ticket and merchandise sales suspended.

The EU Council said of Abramovich: "Roman Abramovich is a Russian oligarch who has long and close ties to Vladimir Putin. He has had privileged access to the president, and has maintained very good relations with him.

"This connection with the Russian leader helped him to maintain his considerable wealth. He is a major shareholder of the steel group Evraz, which is one of Russia’s largest taxpayers. He has therefore been benefiting from Russian decision-makers responsible for the annexation of Crimea or the destabilisation of Ukraine.

"He is also one of the leading Russian businesspersons involved in economic sectors providing a substantial source of revenue to the Government of the Russian Federation, which is responsible for the annexation of Crimea and the destabilisation of Ukraine."

Chelsea are due in European action on Wednesday when they are scheduled to face Lille in the second leg of a last-16 Champions League tie, defending a 2-0 lead.

They won the competition last year, beating Manchester City 1-0 in the final, for their second Champions League triumph of the Abramovich era.