Gervinho scored twice in his first 15 minutes as an Arsenal player as the Gunners beat Cologne 2-1 this afternoon.

FC Utrecht today parted company with coach Ton du Chatinier.

Bolton boss Owen Coyle has spoken of his admiration for Arsenal striker Carlos Vela – and also confirmed he has yet to receive an approach for Wanderers’ centre-back Gary Cahill.

LIVERPOOL may have given children free tickets for the Europa League tie against Utrecht at but even they will have felt short-changed by the disappointing goalless draw against Utrecht at Anfield.

Roy Hodgson is hoping Steven Gerrard can train today with a view to making his comeback against Fulham at the weekend.

LIVERPOOL manager Roy Hodgson felt his side earned a good point despite a disappointing performance in their goalless Europa League draw in Utrecht last night.

Striker Fernando Torres starts his first Europa League match of the season tonight as manager Roy Hodgson names his strongest available side to face Utrecht at the Station Galgenwaard.

Liverpool have confirmed Dirk Kuyt will miss the next four weeks with a shoulder injury.

UEFA chiefs have warned Juventus they will take tough action if their fans target Manchester City’s new signing Mario Balotelli with racist abuse again.

Big-spending Manchester City face a glamorous clash with Italian giants Juventus in the Europa League group stage.

FC Utrecht 4 Celtic 0

Dirk Kuyt’s agent claims his client is pondering a reunion with Rafael Benitez at Inter Milan.

ASTON VILLA caretaker manager Kevin MacDonald hailed the impact of his young guns on a night when they kept their Europa League hopes alive.

GOALS from Efrain Juarez and Georgios Samaras against Utrecht allowed Celtic to take a step closer to the group stages of the Europa League last night.

Celtic 2 FC Utrecht 0

Celtic defender Andreas Hinkel has been ruled out for nine months with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, the club have confirmed.

NEIL LENNON believes Craig Bellamy would have plumped for a move to Celtic had hometown club Cardiff not swooped when they did.

Celtic manager Neil Lennon has suffered an early-season blow after summer signing Gary Hooper was ruled out for up to six weeks with a calf tear.

Martin O'Neill's Aston Villa will face Austrian side Rapid Vienna in their Europa League play-off this month.

Orlando Engelaar was one of four players to miss out as Holland boss Bert van Marwijk made the final cut to his 23-man World Cup squad today.

Ruud van Nistelrooy’s international career appears to be over after the veteran striker missed out on Bert van Marwijk’s 30-man preliminary World Cup squad today.

Liverpool duo Dirk Kuyt and Ryan Babel have been called up the Holland’s squad ahead of the resumption of their World Cup qualification campaign later this month.

The pressure on Ajax coach Marco van Basten moved up a notch this afternoon after his side were thrashed 4-1 at Vitesse Arnhem.

ANTHONY STOKES remains in the international wilderness after the on-loan Sheffield United striker was once again left out of a Don Givens Under 21 squad.

Barry Maguire has been included in the Republic of Ireland under-21 squad for next month's friendly against Germany.

Chelsea striker Ben Sahar will spend the rest of the season on loan at De Graafschap, the Dutch club have announced on their website.

PSV Eindhoven’s troubles show no sign of abating as a Luis Suarez brace earned Ajax a 4-1 win at the Amsterdam ArenA and sent them top of the Eredivisie table.

Willem II heaped more misery on Feyenoord, inflicting a fourth defeat in six games on the Rotterdam giants in the Eredivisie.

Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar has made a surprise return to the Holland squad.

Two goals from Marcus Berg helped FC Groningen claim a 3-1 win over 10-man Feyenoord and take their place at the top of the Eredivisie.

Derby have agreed a tie-up with Dutch side Utrecht which will see players and coaches get experience of football in Holland.

Feyenoord were effectively eliminated from the Eredivisie title race today after a 3-0 defeat at bitter rivals Ajax.

PSV Eindhoven capitalised on Feyenoord’s slip-up at Heerenveen to claim top spot heading into the Eredivisie’s winter break.

Vitesse Arnhem joined Feyenoord at the top of the Eredivisie after beating derby rivals NEC Nijmegen 1-0.

ITALY midfielder Daniele De Rossi scored a second-half penalty as Roma beat Internazionale to win the Supercoppa at the San Siro last night.

AZ Alkmaar moved into pole position in the race to win the Eredivisie today after defending champions PSV Eindhoven slipped up once more.

Ajax moved to within three points of Eredivisie leaders PSV Eindhoven with a 3-0 win over struggling Heracles Almelo.

Ajax sparked fresh life into the Eredivisie title race today by thrashing leaders PSV Eindhoven 5-1 at the Philips Stadion.

AZ Alkmaar kept their slim title aspirations alive after beating mid-table outfit FC Utrecht for the second time in five days.

DUTCH giants Ajax’s faltering title hopes were dealt another blow on Saturday but Eredivisie leaders PSV Eindhoven got back on track for a third successive crown with three points against ADO Den Haag.

Christmas came a day early for PSV Eindhoven after title rivals AZ Alkmaar and Ajax both slipped up.

Ajax returned to the Eredivisie summit on Sunday after a convincing 3-0 win at Heracles.

THE cheers in the Santiago Bernabeu that greeted Real Madrid’s 5-1 Champions League win over Dynamo Kiev in midweek turned to jeers yesterday as they were held to a 1-1 draw by local rivals Atletico Madrid.

Feyenoord chairman Jorien van den Herik claims no clubs have contacted him regarding the availability of Holland striker Dirk Kuyt.