Scottish giants Rangers and Northern Ireland’s Linfield share the record for most league titles by European club.

The Gers have won the Scottish Premiership a record 55 times, with their recent triumph coming under the tutelage of Steven Gerrard in the 2020-21 season.

Rangers�?title triumph was their first in 10 years, and they went unbeaten in the entire campaign, matching the feat previously achieved by Brendan Rodgers' Celtic in 2016-17.

Linfield, on the other hand, matched Rangers�?tally as they completed a hat-trick of league titles with the 2020-21 NIFL Premiership. It is also the second time the Blues registered a hat-trick of league crowns (2009�?0, 2010�?1, 2011�?2).

While the Belfast-based club has 55 league championships in their trophy room, Linfield have won seven titles in the revised tournament.

The top five list further includes Celtic (51), Olympiacos (46) and Benfica (37).

Most league titles by European club

Team	Country	Titles	Last Title Win
Rangers	Scotland	55	2020-21
Linfield	Northern Ireland	55	2020-21
Celtic	Scotland	51	2019-20
Olympiacos	Greece	46	2020-21
Benfica	Portugal	37	2018-19

Most league titles by European club (Top five leagues)

Juventus holds the record for most league titles by European clubs in the top-five leagues - Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1, Premier League and Serie A.

The Bianconeri have lifted the Scudetto 36 times, with their last league success in the 2019-20 season. Juventus won the Serie A a record nine times between 2011-12 and 2019-20 before Inter Milan broke the streak in 2020-21.

Real Madrid are the next club in the list of most successful league teams among Europe’s best. The Los Blancos have won the La Liga a whopping 34 times while they were declared winners of the Spanish league last in 2019-20.

Bayern Munich comes in third with 30 league titles. The Bavarians have failed to win the Bundesliga just three times in the 21 century, having finished runners-up in 2003�?4, 2008�?9 and 2011�?2. Since the 2012-13 campaign, Bayern have won every German championship.

Manchester United (20), Saint Etienne and Marseille (joint 10) complete the top-five list of most league titles by a European club across the top five leagues.

While Man Utd’s last title win came in the final managerial season of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2012-13, Marseille’s last Ligue 1 championship was back in 2009�?0.

Based on the current standings in Ligue 1, Paris Saint-Germain are set to win a record-equalling 10th title by the end of the 2021-22 campaign.

Most league titles by European club (Top five leagues)

Team	Country	Titles	Last Title Win
Juventus	Italy	36	2019-20
Real Madrid	Spain	34	2019-20
Bayern Munich	Germany	30	2020-21
Manchester United	England	20	2012-13
Saint Etienne, Marseille	France	10	1980-81 / 2009�?0

Author: William Paul

Premier League giants Arsenal will host Greek football club Olympiacos in the second leg of the UEFA Europa League round of 16 at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday, March 18.

The Gunners are in the driving seat of their last-16 tie against Olympiacos after a 3-1 victory in Piraeus. Goals from Martin Odegaard, Gabriel and Mohamed Elneny saw Arsenal ease to a convincing win in the first leg. Meanwhile, Olympiacos striker Youssef El-Arabi pulled one goal to keep the chances of the Greek club alive in the fixture.

Arsenal have progressed from five of their last six UEFA Europa League knockout fixtures where they have won the first leg. Interestingly, the only time the North London club has failed to qualify was against Olympiacos last season where the Greek club turned around a 0-1 first leg home defeat to qualify on away goals courtesy a 2-1 second leg victory.

The Arsenal vs Olympiacos head-to-head record is slightly in favour of Mikel Arteta’s men, who have won six and lost five of the 11 encounters. Watch Arsenal vs Olympiacos live in India.

Arsenal team news

Arsenal could miss the services of their 19-year-old youngster Bukayo Saka, who is currently nursing an injury. Other than Saka’s injury, Mikel Arteta has a fully fit squad for the all-important UEL fixture.

Olympiacos team news

On the other hand, Olympiacos manager Pedro Martins will be without their experienced Greek centre-back Avraam Papadopoulos, Portuguese centre-back Ruben Semedo and Greek winger Mario Vrousai. There are also doubts over the availability of Senegalese centre-back Ousseynou Ba.

Where to watch Arsenal vs Olympiacos live in India?

The Arsenal vs Olympiacos UEFA Europa League match will be telecast live at 11:25 PM IST on Sony TEN 1 and Sony TEN 1 HD TV channels in India, on Thursday, March 18.

Live streaming of Arsenal vs Olympiacos will be on SonyLIV along with other UEFA Europa League fixtures.

SportsAdda will bring you Arsenal vs Olympiacos live scores.

For Arsenal vs Olympiacos football odds and betting, visit Sportsbet.io and look under Top Events - International Clubs - UEFA Europa League.

Feature image courtesy: ARIS MESSINIS / AFP

Premier League champions Liverpool have recently announced the signing of Greek left-back Kostas Tsimikas from Olympiakos for a reported fee of 11.7 million pounds. The 24-year-old is Liverpool first summer signing since 2018 and will deputize for standout left-back Andy Robertson. 

Our new .2️⃣1️⃣ pic.twitter.com/CkWlqsKBDv

�?Liverpool FC (Premier League Champions ) (@LFC) August 10, 2020

The move was a surprising one, as Liverpool were heavily linked to Norwich City’s Jamal Lewis, who was reportedly available for a cut-price due to the team’s relegation to the Championship, however, the Merseysiders couldn’t agree a deal with Norwich and quickly moved for Tsimikas who wasn’t garnering much interest from elsewhere. 

• Five players who could follow Nathan Ake to the Premier League

So why did the six-time European champions sign him? We assess:

A good fit

Liverpool run their offence from the wings, and they do it very efficiently.

In Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane in the inside forward roles and with Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold out wide, Jurgen Klopp has created an offensive system that sparsely relies on its midfielders and centre-forward to create chances and score goals.

Robertson and Alexander-Arnold have combined for 48 assists in the Premier League in the past two campaigns, lightyears ahead of any other duo in England’s top-flight. However, their backups, James Milner and Joe Gomez, respectively, are nowhere close to providing the same offensive production that these two can deliver and the absence of either could cripple Liverpool’s arsenal.

In Tsimikas, Liverpool now have a pacey full-back that boasts incredible work rate, a strong inkling for recovery tackles and, perhaps most importantly, the ability to make a difference from the flanks.

The 24-year-old provided five assists and scored twice in 27 matches in the Greek Super League. Those numbers don’t exactly scream generational but are still a decent contribution from the fullback spot. Tsimikas loves to whip in crosses and loves playing in advanced positions, which is key, since Klopp expects his fullbacks to be comfortable in the final third of the field. 

Replacing the old guard

Tsimikas will take over from 34-year-old James Milner as the deputy left-back at Liverpool.

The veteran has filled in at almost every outfield position and has delivered solid performances over the years. However, as a right-footed player on the left flank, Milner prefers to cut inside instead of stretching play down the sides as opposed to Tsimikas who is a naturally attacking left-back. 

At just 11.7 million, Tsimikas is a solid addition to the Liverpool side. The low risk, high reward nature of the signing has been Liverpool’s mantra for the past few seasons and if the Greek fullback can develop further, Liverpool will have an excellent backup option for their brilliant left-back.

Feature image courtesy: Twitter / @LFC

The final draw for the round of 32 of the UEFA Europa League 2019-2020 is out and the English teams might be in for a bumpy ride in the upcoming months. Manchester United are up against Club Brugge who have landed in the Europa League after bowing out at the group stage in the Champions League this season.  

Arsenal have a sturdy rival in Olympiacos and hopefully will be playing under Mikel Arteta who is currently in talks with the Arsenal executives for a move to North London. After some horrendous performances in the Premier League, the Gunners are surely expected to make Europa League their top priority going forward in this season.

"You are always going to get tough games as you head into the knockout stages. We are hoping to go through to the last 16."

The #MUFC manager's reaction to the #UELdraw

�?Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 16, 2019

Another Premier League side who has emerged as serious contenders are Nuno Espirito Santo’s Wolves FC who are pitted against Spanish side Espanyol. Wolves have the upper hand after posting an impressive run in their domestic league while Espanyol lie in the relegation zone in La Liga.

Scottish champions, Celtic FC will play current Danish SuperLiga winners FC Copenhagen while Steven Gerrard’s Rangers FC will find it tough against Portuguese side SC Braga.  

Read | UCL draw: Liverpool face Atletico while Real Madrid plays Manchester City

After being drawn into the group of death in the Champions League this season, Inter Milan couldn’t cope up with the pace of Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund and failed to progress further. Their egress brought them to the Europa League where they will face Bulgarian side Ludogorets Razgrad.  

However, the biggest fixture that emerged out of the draw is between Eintracht Frankfurt and Austrian side FC Salzburg. Frankfurt were last crowned champions of Europa League back in the 1979-1980 season and will be looking to enhance their good run of form.

Read | Fantasy Focus: Messi and Chhetri look to deliver something special this week

AS Roma play Gent while German side Wolfsburg will be hoping to edge past Swedish side Malmo. Below we bring you a list of all the matches that are scheduled to be played in the round of 32.

• Wolves vs Espanyol
• Sporting Lisbon vs Istanbul Basaksehir
• Getafe vs Ajax
• Bayer Leverkusen vs Porto
• FC Copenhagen vs Celtic 
• APOEL vs Basel 
• Cluj vs Sevilla
• Olympiakos vs Arsenal
• AZ Alkmaar vs LASK
• Club Brugge vs Manchester United 
• Ludogorets vs Inter Milan
• Eintracht Frankfurt vs Salzburg
• Shakhtar Donetsk vs Benfica
• Wolfsburg vs Malmo
• Roma vs Gent
• Rangers vs Braga

Feature image courtesy: AFP/ Fabrice Coffrini 

Bayern Munich said on Wednesday that they have complained to UEFA after some fans needed hospital treatment following an attack by a masked gang during a Youth League match at Olympiakos.

In a statement on the club's website, Bayern said the matter is in the hands of UEFA's disciplinary and control commission after the attack in Athens during Tuesday's Under-19 match, which the Germans eventually won 4-0.

A UEFA spokesman told Bavarian broadcaster Bayerischen Rundfunk they will "start proceedings" to "ensure that this does not happen again".

According to Bayern, three German supporters needed treatment for their injuries, but were later "fortunately able to leave the hospital".

Greek police said a large group of people, wearing masks or helmets, invaded the venue where the youth team match was being held and started attacking Bayern fans.

Olympiacos hooligans storm the pitch and attack Bayern Munich fans with sticks and fireworks at a YOUTH GAME in brutal bid to get it called off... before players finish the match with centre-circle kickabout! A supporter has his head wrapped in a bandage after incident in Tuesday pic.twitter.com/OB3dPiauuj

�?Lilian Chan (@bestgug) October 22, 2019

After the incident, Olympiakos players went into the stands to ask Bayern supporters for forgiveness and the match was able to resume.

Greek club Olympiakos has condemned the attack.

"The incident shocked us," said Bayern coaches Martin Demichelis and Danny Schwarz in a statememt, "our thanks go to the players, the coach and the Olympiakos officials who took care of us after these events".

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Louisa Gouliamaki