Thursday cannon fodder: shock influencer flourish

Premier League/England

Man City distance themselves from advert seeking influencers to boost attendances - BBC Sport
Manchester City distance themselves from an advert seeking social media influencers to increase Champions League attendances.

Europe

Bayern Munich ‘shocked’ after attacks on fans at Olympiakos youth match - BBC Sport
Bayern Munich make an official complaint to Uefa after their Youth League match against Olympiakos was abandoned due to crowd violence.

Chelsea leave it late but Michy Batshuayi makes the difference at Ajax | Football | The Guardian
Chelsea score late to take all three Champions League points.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s double flourish eases Liverpool past Genk | Football | The Guardian
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored within two minutes and added a glorious second goal in Liverpool’s 4-1 Champions League defeat of Genk.

Christian Pulisic announces himself as the Lampard effect pays more dividends | Jacob Steinberg | Football | The Guardian
The American has struggled, but he made the late winner at Ajax as Chelsea defeated one of last season’s semi-finalists.

No noise please, we’re German: Night matches banned at Freiburg’s new €80m stadium | Football | The Guardian
Freiburg ordered not to hold night games because of fears over noise.

Neil Lennon: Celtic boss says players must be protected from racism - BBC Sport
Celtic manager Neil Lennon hopes Thursday’s meeting with Lazio will be “a celebration of football”, saying a small minority of racists cannot be allowed to “stain the game”.

Neymar has missed half of PSG’s matches through injury suspension since €222m move
No prorated refunds.

Players to go on strike in Spanish women’s soccer league
Soccer players in the Spanish women’s league plan to go on strike after failing to reach a deal with clubs over working hours and minimum wages.

MLS/Americas

Alex Morgan announces she’s due to give birth | The Guardian
USA international Alex Morgan is due in April, three months before the 2020 Olympics

MLS TV ratings slump 19% during regular season; Playoffs take a nosedive - World Soccer Talk
TV viewing numbers for the 2019 MLS regular season saw a dramatic decline compared to last year.

Bob Bradley named 2019 MLS Coach of the Year | Pro Soccer USA
Los Angeles FC head coach Bob Bradley has been named the 2019 MLS Coach of the Year after a record-breaking season in the second-year club.

River Plate make Copa Libertadores final despite defeat to Boca Juniors | Football | The Guardian
Events off the pitch were rather more impressive than what happened on it.

MLS all-time leading scorer Chris Wondolowski re-signs with Earthquakes for 2020 | MLSsoccer.com
He’s 347 years old and still going strong.

David Beckham’s MLS team unveil plans for $966m stadium in Miami | The Guardian
it’s like they’re a real team, sort of.

Other

Charlton’s Lyle Taylor: ‘We’re not going to end racism with a stupid hashtag’ | Ben Fisher | Football | The Guardian
Striker says racism is happening at all levels in England but is more upbeat about dying his hair pink and the £30,000 raised for Cancer Research UK.