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* Tottenham 1-1 Liverpool * Román Haug cancels out compatriot Celin Bizet’s opener Sophie Román Haug was the villain at Brisbane Road, the Norwegian forward heading in as Liverpool came from behind against Tottenham to secure a draw that denied the north London side a chance to climb to second in the league. Román Haug’s compatriot Celin Bizet had given Spurs a deserved lead in the first half, but Matt Beard’s Liverpool ensured they both stay on 11 points apiece with Spurs ahead on goal difference. Continue reading...

James Tavernier missed a penalty and scored another as Rangers maintained their encouraging start under Philippe Clement with a comfortable 2-0 win away to struggling Livingston on Sunday. Cyriel Dessers set the away side on their way to victory in the first half with his sixth goal of the season before the captain, Tavernier, sealed the points with a second-half spot-kick after he had sent his earlier attempt from 12 yards wide of the post. Continue reading...

* Updates from the match at Brisbane Road (12.30pm GMT) * Get in touch! Email Dominic or tweet him with your thoughts 6 mins. Grace Fisk embarks on a lung-busting run from right-back for Liverpool to win her side a corner. Hobinger’s delivery, though, isn’t a good one and Spurs clear easily. 4 mins. Liverpool are also implementing a high press in these early stages, and it forced a mistake in possession from Grace Clinton in the Spurs midfield. Neither side has wrestled control as of yet. Continue reading...

The former Manchester United coach on working with Sir Bobby Charlton, Erik ten Hag’s problems and his job with Australia An accusation often thrown at those associated with Manchester United these days is that they view football with red-tinted spectacles. If you hark back 10 years or more you’re a nostalgia merchant, you’re History FC; most of us have become familiar with the social media sneers. Making such a jibe to René Meulensteen, however, would be to overlook the vital part he played in helping Sir Alex Ferguson forge the third, final and arguably most complete version of the United juggernaut. Meulensteen was part of the furniture at Old Trafford for 12 years from 2001: working in the club’s famed academy before succeeding Carlos Queiroz as Ferguson’s closest confidant alongside Mike Phelan from 2007 to 2013, during which time United, as their fans still sing, won the lot. Continue reading...

This was all supposed to be about the return of Crystal Palace’s dynamic duo but Everton clearly had not read the script. They had been pegged back twice after taking the lead thanks to goals from Vitaliy Mykolenko and the hugely impressive Abdoulaye Doucouré, with Eberechi Eze’s virtuoso performance including Palace’s first before Odsonne Édouard finally took one of several chances that fell his way. Continue reading...

Gary O’Neil held his emotions for a millisecond, glanced towards the fourth official, Thomas Bramall, and then let himself go, haring along the touchline, punching the air as he went. Given the season Wolves have had when it comes to VAR decisions, who could really blame him? This time, however, he need not fret for nobody was going to tell him Mario Lemina’s winner, scored beyond the initial six minutes of second-half stoppage time, would not stand. Wolves could be forgiven for thinking their afternoon peaked moments earlier, when Pablo Sarabia, who set up Lemina for the goal with a deft, feathery pass, volleyed in after latching on to Matheus Cunha’s wedged pass. All the while Ange Postecoglou, hands in the pockets of his blue woollen trench coat, swivelled on his feet and quietly stewed. Continue reading...

Chelsea bagged a bargain by signing the former Guardiola fledgling who has seized his chance at Stamford Bridge Clubs with a coherent recruitment process do not really do regrets. It is why Manchester City are unlikely to be caught fretting about selling Cole Palmer to Chelsea in the summer. Outsiders may view it as a risk, particularly as Palmer is in excellent form before facing his boyhood club on Sunday afternoon, but City are hardly short of attacking talent and conduct their transfer business in a way that means they do not have to second-guess themselves about letting players go. Still Chelsea are entitled to argue that they got a bargain when they signed Palmer for £40m plus £2.5m in add-ons. Sometimes everyone leaves a negotiation feeling triumphant. In this case City bolstered their financial fair play position by selling a homegrown player who was on the fringes of the first team, Chelsea paid relatively little for a top young talent and Palmer joined a club who, for all

Doncaster Rovers’ award-winning foundation has turned the Eco-Power Stadium into a vital community hub How does a football club serve its local community in 2023? To take a brief survey of the concourse of the Eco-Power Stadium on a chilly autumn afternoon, the answer would appear to involve dumbbells, battle ropes and a big battery-powered speaker playing Billy Joel’s Uptown Girl. Doncaster Rovers’ Fit Families programme won an EFL award this year. A scheme described by judges as “the first of its kind”, it is run by the club’s charitable foundation. On this day, the focus is on new mothers; the gym equipment and pumped-up 80s hits part of an hour of circuit training (the babies are plonked in the middle in their strollers for the duration). It’s fun, inclusive and free. It’s also providing a social service to the local community that otherwise wouldn’t exist. Continue reading...

Reims were fighting a relegation battle when they appointed Will Still last year. Now they are dreaming of Europe By Luke Entwistle for Get French Football News Will Still’s tenure at Reims began with a feisty draw against PSG. The manager, born in Belgium to British parents, faces the club for a third time on Saturday. He has come a long way since his managerial debut, transcending the image constructed of him when he was given the job and bringing champagne football back to the region. A former video analyst, Still arrived from Belgium as an unknown quantity. However, he quickly found fame over the course of a 17-game unbeaten run – the longest in Ligue 1 last season. During that time, the focus was as much on how he had taken Reims from the relegation conversation and into European contention as it was on his credentials, or his lack thereof, and his pathway to management. With each passing week, as Reims won more and more matches, the story about the Football Manager “geek” w

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! Strewth, mate! Having been presented with the first three Premier League manager of the month gongs available since taking over at Spurs, Ange Postecoglou could have been forgiven for worrying that the curse associated with the award was about to strike with the power of 10,000 suns. While the straight-talking, no-nonsense Aussie doesn’t strike Football Daily as the kind of superstitious type who salutes magpies and worries about breaking mirrors or spilling salt in the training-ground canteen, during his time at Celtic he did once greet news of a knack crisis by saying he “must have walked under a ladder”. All I can say is well done and thank you for not leading yesterday’s Football Daily with more inane ‘VAR strikes again’ rubbish. Instead, you’ve bravely gone for a more retro look at technology ruining football, with a good old-fashioned floodlight failure story. Bravo!” – Simon Hawkins. Almost 30 years ago, in the San Franci

* Proposals would rule out Newcastle move for Rúben Neves * ‘I will leave you to decide why those rules are coming in’ Eddie Howe has indicated Newcastle will do everything in their power to resist a proposed new Premier League rule that would prevent teams from signing players on loan from associated clubs. A temporary ban will be voted on by clubs on 21 November and would block Howe from borrowing players from the four Saudi Arabian clubs owned, like Newcastle, by the Gulf kingdom’s Public Investment Fund. That would rule out a move for, among others, Al-Hilal’s Rúben Neves. Continue reading...

The World Cup winner’s impact off the field was undeniable. As her final game approaches, it’s time to assess her as an athlete When Megan Rapinoe’s boots grace the field at Snapdragon Stadium for the NWSL final this Saturday, they will do so for the last time in her career. Should OL Reign, where she has played for 11 seasons, win the championship in San Diego, she will have clinched the one major trophy to have eluded. Continue reading...

The academy graduate Jarell Quansah was denied a dream first goal by VAR in the final minute of added time as Liverpool squandered a chance to secure qualification for the Europa League knockout stage with defeat in Toulouse. The 20-year-old Quansah, replacing the ill captain, Virgil van Dijk, poked home in the 97th minute to claim what would have been a barely deserved point in southern France. However, VAR alerted the referee, Georgi Kabakov, to a potential handball after the ball bounced up off Alexis Mac Allister’s chest in the buildup and the Georgian official contentiously chalked it off. Even a draw would have hardly papered over the individual errors and lack of cohesion throughout a team registering nine changes from the weekend. Continue reading...

Max Rushden, Barry Glendenning, Mark Langdon and Archie Rhind-Tutt discuss Manchester United’s latest Champions League setback Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email. On the podcast today: Manchester United lose 4-3 in Copenhagen, having been 2-0 and 3-2 up. The panel debate how much of the blame can be laid on Marcus Rashford’s red card? Continue reading...

The Chelsea manager has given her club an aura of dominance however the competition could open up after her tenure ends There are few harder acts to follow in football than Emma Hayes. Whoever takes the Chelsea Women’s managerial role will have big shoes to fill. Most managers get appointed when things are going wrong and they have to turn it around, so coming into a successful club is a difficult proposition. History has shown that replacing legendary managers is tough. When Vic Akers left Arsenal Women after 10 trophy-laden years in 1997, his successor lasted a season and Akers was brought back. He managed the club for a further decade with lots of success. I felt Arsenal were not the same without him. Today you see the club really trying to get back to the top with some positive moves but it is so hard to achieve. Continue reading...

The latest round of Champions League games are in the books. We run through the standouts, surprises and disappointments, grading all 32 teams Editor’s note: these grades are for teams’ performances in this week’s round of matches rather than their chances of winning the competition as a whole. Continue reading...

* Team beaten nine times and bottom of Champions League group * Højlund says United ‘need a little luck at the moment’ Rasmus Højlund is confident “every player in the dressing room” backs Erik ten Hag after Manchester United’s 4-3 loss at Copenhagen in the Champions League. The 20-year-old striker scored twice to take his total in the competition to five but United are bottom of Group A with two games left. United have lost nine of their 17 games this season, winning the other eight. Wednesday’s defeat will add to the scrutiny on Ten Hag going into Saturday’s visit of Luton in the Premier League. Continue reading...

Brazilian reveals in this extract from his new book the tension that could rear up between his former attacking colleagues Why did I pull that face? I don’t really know. But it was funny, that’s for sure. To this day, memes still arrive on my phone or get sent to me on social media. We were in the tunnel, heading back to the dressing room after a convincing 3–0 victory against Burnley. The atmosphere was obviously tense. Despite the good result, the game had been marked by a burst of fury from Sadio Mané when he was substituted in the final minutes. The cameras caught everything. Sadio wasn’t only angry about being subbed off: a little earlier Mohamed Salah had attempted a shot on goal when he had a clear pass on to Mané, who was free inside the box. Well, my English isn’t wonderful, so I can’t tell you exactly what Mané shouted when he came off. But it wasn’t anything nice! James Milner tried to calm him down, but Sadio remained furious, sitting fuming on the bench, gesturing repe

* Kusini Yengi and Ashley Maynard-Brewer, both 24, called up * Australian qualifying campaign starts in Melbourne next week Socceroos coach Graham Arnold has opted to stick with the familiar and named a mostly unchanged squad from October friendlies for the upcoming Asian World Cup 2026 qualifiers against Bangladesh and Palestine. Arnold ditched a pair of experienced players in Andrew Redmayne and Milos Degenek while bringing in a pair of 24-year-olds, with Portsmouth forward Kusini Yengi called up to his first international camp alongside the uncapped Charlton goalkeeper Ashley Maynard-Brewer. Continue reading...

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! While their noisy neighbours continued their progress through Big Cup’s group stage with a routine slap-down of Young Boys that earned them a place in the knockout stages with two games to spare, the players of Manchester United were cloistered in a Copenhagen hotel before their game against the Danish champions. While Manchester City, the reigning champions, are motoring through Group G as smoothly as a Red Bull race car negotiating a particularly tricky hairpin, United’s progress has looked more like that of a clown car clunking and spluttering its way around the Big Top. They lost their opening game against Bayern Munich by the odd goal of seven and their second by the odd goal of five against Galatasaray before arresting their poor by scraping past Copenhagen at Old Trafford thanks to some late goalkeeping heroics from André Onana. Shall we just hand Big Cup to Manchester City and save the planet by preventing all that carbon

The Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, has defended his outburst against the refereeing of their Premier League game at Newcastle, saying said it is his 'duty to defend his club'. Following Arsenal's defeat at St James' Park, Arteta called Anthony Gordon's match-winner 'an absolute disgrace' after it was checked for three separate VAR incidents before being awarded. Arsenal issued a statement saying they 'wholeheartedly support' Arteta's post-match comments after 'yet more unacceptable refereeing and VAR errors'. Arteta has now doubled down on his comments saying, 'It is my duty to stand in front of you, to stand in front of the cameras and give a very clear and honest assessment of what happens on the game. And this is what I did.' * Mikel Arteta goes all in as rage over VAR overshadows Sevilla clash Continue reading...

* England defender could be out ‘for a while’ * ‘We have to play a bit differently,’ says Pep Guardiola Pep Guardiola has claimed Manchester City could be “in trouble” following John Stones’ latest injury setback. The treble winners are awaiting assessments of the England defender after he was forced off with a knock in Tuesday’s 3-0 Champions League stroll against Young Boys. Stones only returned to action in October after a two-month lay-off with hamstring and hip problems. Continue reading...

The versatile attacker’s performance in Arsenal’s defeat by Newcastle summed up his difficult start, but there is hope By Ben McAleer for WhoScored Having gone so close last season, Arsenal needed to get their summer recruitment right. Mikel Arteta’s team were top of the Premier League table for 248 days only to fall behind in the last few weeks and finish five points short of Manchester City. It was a campaign of development, but also one tinged by disappointment about what might have been. As Arsenal went into the summer transfer window, Arteta sought to use that disappointment as a building block to make key additions to the squad. A return to the Champions League meant having a greater pull in the market and Arsenal used that to their advantage. David Raya joined from Brentford and has gone on to oust Aaron Ramsdale as first choice between the sticks. Upgrade the goalkeeper? Check. Jurrien Timber has registered just 50 minutes of league action owing to a knee injury, but the

Plus: teams sharing the goals around, sibling referees and a 45-year gap between playing for and managing a club * Mail us your questions or tweet @TheKnowledge_GU “Fenerbahce have started the season with a perfect record in all competitions: 19 matches played, 19 wins,” writes Dirk Maas. “Has any team had a longer winning run at the start of the season?” First things first: Fener went and lost 3-2 at home to Trabzonspor on Saturday, so their winning start has ended at 19 games. A pretty high bar, but one Warren Lyons can vault over on his Penny Farthing as he takes us back to the 19th century. Continue reading...

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! Saturday night was a big night in for football hipsters. The Copa Libertadores final had it all, with Brazil’s Fluminense beating Boca 2-1 in extra-time at the Maracanã. The winning goalscorer, John Kennedy, presumably named after the late president rather than the much-admired Celtic assistant manager, was sent off for his celebration. After a match that paired thuggery with magic, drama with violence, this was football as it used to be and still ought to be, it was generally agreed among those with a craft beer subscription and Olympique de Marseille Panasonic-era replica shirts. Hold my Madrí said the Premier League, however, for Monday Night Football threw up the type of encounter football hacks dearly love to give the prefix “The Battle Of”. Continue reading...

The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement has been supporting people through conflicts, disasters and emergencies for more than 150 years. Read on to discover 10 inspiring facts about one of the world’s leading humanitarian organisations The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement started with the creation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 1863, in response to the terrible human toll of the revolutionary conflicts raging in Europe in the second half of the 19th century. Seven years later the British Red Cross was established. Today, the Movement is active in 192 countries and has been a constant and reassuring presence at some of the world’s most harrowing events: from being among the first to provide humanitarian support after the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945, to providing vital assistance to those affected by this year’s devastating earthquakes in Morocco, Turkey and Syria. You may know some of these facts, but did you know … 1 The

Like millions of other Ukrainians, Veronika Riepina had to leave her country behind. Now, having found refuge in the UK, she is working with the British Red Cross to assist new arrivals – and looking forward to the day she can return home Two years ago, Veronika Riepina was a typical 23-year-old. She was renting an apartment in Kyiv, working hard to make her way in the film industry, and making plans to apply for funding to shoot her own documentary project. She was thrilled to work on Do You Love Me?, a coming-of-age film directed by Tonia Noyabrova. She couldn’t have imagined they would wrap up just days before the conflict escalated, nor that she’d be living in the UK when the film debuted at the Berlin film festival. “I feel a sense of joy that we managed to finish shooting and that despite all of the difficulties with post-production, the film still came out,” says Riepina. “It seems like a lifetime ago.” The decision to leave Ukraine wasn’t an easy one. She had been visiting

* Liverpool player’s father kidnapped in Colombia * Group warns military in local area putting him at risk The rebel group holding Luis Díaz’s father claims military action in the local area is not only delaying the release of their hostage but putting him at risk. Díaz’s parents were kidnapped more than a week ago – his mother was freed quickly – and despite pledges from the National Liberation Army of Colombia (ELN) to expedite the return of Díaz Sr, it is taking longer than expected. “On November 2, we informed the country of the decision to release Mr Luis Manuel Díaz, father of the player Luis Díaz,” said a statement, signed by the unit leader, Commander Jose Manuel Martinez Quiroz. Continue reading...

* Forward responds to video speculating about his future * Rashford sat out United’s win at Fulham owing to injury Marcus Rashford has told a Manchester United fan channel to “stop spreading malicious rumours” over his future. The United Stand, a popular fan channel, published a video on Monday titled “Rashford’s future in doubt?”, with one contributor questioning his commitment to the club. Continue reading...

Colombian footballer Luis Díaz has begged for the release of his father, who was kidnapped at gunpoint last month. The player’s parents were seized by leftwing guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN) in their home town of Barrancas on 28 October. While his mother was found, his father remains missing. In a statement the footballer said: 'My mother, my brothers and I are desperate, anxious and have no words to describe what we are feeling. This suffering will only end when we have him home with us.' After scoring for Liverpool at Luton, Díaz lifted his shirt to reveal the words 'Freedom for Papa' in Spanish. * Liverpool’s Luis Díaz begs for release of kidnapped father after scoring key goal Continue reading...

The Chelsea coach will leave the WSL at the end of the season and is expected to take over the four-time World Cup champions. The job is far from an easy one Few people on the Earth are as qualified as Emma Hayes to be the US women’s national team coach. The Englishwoman built a juggernaut at Chelsea. She gained experience for that job by coaching and consulting in the USA, where she helped to assemble a Western New York Flash team that won the last WPS championship. She’s a frequent presenter at the annual United Soccer Coaches convention, also in the US. No one has a better understanding of where US players stand in comparison to their international peers. Continue reading...

Fulham pay for lack of firepower, Jérémy Doku does his future City chances no harm, and Forest’s brave bugler Luton are a credit to the Premier League. It has been delightful to see the elite struggle at Kenilworth Road and, in Liverpool’s case, almost coming a cropper. Rob Edwards’ team makes up for a deficit in quality with sheer effort and collective spirit though Tahith Chong’s goal was a beauty. The atmosphere was electric, too, with 10,000 Bedfordshire voices urging on their team. Unfortunately, the ground’s tight confines betrayed the subject matter of some unseemly songs from certain Luton fans. Tragedy chanting is a relic that belongs in the era when Luton were last in the top division. Songs mocking poverty on Merseyside are especially ridiculous when Luton’s unemployment rate is above the national average and that in Liverpool. Meanwhile, the residential area surrounding the stadium betrays visible deprivation in a town where life is often hard. The loudmouths were a minor

Philippe Clement will be aware of the ghosts of Michael Beale. After the opening quarter of last season, with Giovanni van Bronckhorst dismissed, Beale guided a Rangers team to frequent success against every Scottish team bar Celtic. This counted for nothing; by the time Rangers were stuttering more regularly during the start of this campaign, Beale followed the route of Van Bronckhorst. At Rangers, there are wins and wins that matter. Clement will also argue with legitimacy that his players can do no more. The general weakness of Scottish football is of no current concern to the Belgian. Rangers have won four out of four domestically since Clement took charge, with this dismissal of Heart of Midlothian even more comprehensive than the scoreline states. Continue reading...

* First round: Chesterfield 1-0 Portsmouth, Slough 1-1 Grimsby * Eighth-tier Cray Valley set up replay against League One side Chesterfield have dumped the 2008 winners, Portsmouth, out of the FA Cup in the first round – earning a home tie against Leyton Orient in the second round, while eighth-tier Cray Valley (PM) equalised to set up a replay at home to League One Charlton. Tom Naylor scored the only goal for Paul Cook’s Chesterfield side, heading Liam Mandeville’s free-kick into the back of the net in the 32nd minute against his former club. Colby Bishop’s header was kept out by Harry Alfred Tyrer while Abu Kamara headed wide from Paddy Lane’s cross as League One leaders Pompey tried to find a leveller. Continue reading...

There are home crowds who cheer goals less passionately than the Lower Bridgford Stand celebrated Neco Williams earning a goalkick when tackling Leon Bailey in stoppage time. But this summed up Nottingham Forest on a day they deservedly won for the first time in more than two months, denying Aston Villa a passageway into the top four of the Premier League. Goals early in each half, set up by Harry Toffolo for Ola Aina and for Orel Mangala, gave Forest the platform to halt Villa’s free-scoring start to the season after the West Midlands side had scored 26 times in their opening 10 top-flight games, their most prolific effort since 1931. Continue reading...

* Red Bulls lost game two of a best-of-three series on penalties * Cincinnati advances to the Eastern Conference semi-finals Aaron Boupendza scored the equalizer in the second half and FC Cincinnati eliminated the New York Red Bulls 8-7 in a 10-round penalty shootout after the two clubs played to a 1-1 draw on Saturday night. After being losing the opening game 3-0, the Red Bulls returned home for a series-deciding match. Neither team scored until Tom Barlow found the net unassisted in the 45th minute to give the eighth-seeded Red Bulls the lead at the half. Continue reading...

* Newcastle players targeted online after win over Arsenal * Kick It Out calls for ‘better safeguards’ to protect players Newcastle United have condemned the racist abuse sent to Bruno Guimarães and Joe Willock on social media after Saturday’s 1-0 win over Arsenal. Willock revealed the abuse he had been sent on Instagram and urged the platform to find those responsible, with Kick It Out calling for “better safeguards right now” to protect players from online racial abuse. Continue reading...

Bojan Miovski’s sensational late winner earned 10-man Aberdeen a 1-0 Viaplay Cup semi-final victory over Hibernian at Hampden Park. The Easter Road side edged a scrappy first half and were denied an opener in the 49th minute when VAR ruled attacker Martin Boyle was offside before he had the ball in the Aberdeen net. The Aberdeen defender Jack MacKenzie was sent off by the referee, John Beaton, in the 75th minute for picking up a second yellow card for a silly push on the Hibs defender Lewis Miller. But just as it looked like the tide was turning towards Leith, Miovski broke clear three minutes later to drive in his 10th goal of the season, leaving Hibs kicking themselves. Continue reading...

Harry Kane marked his first appearance in Der Klassiker in stunning fashion with a hat-trick to take his Bundesliga goal total to 15 in 10 games for Bayern Munich as they thrashed Borussia Dortmund 4-0 away on Saturday. Dayot Upamecano headed a fast‑starting Bayern in front after four minutes before the England striker slotted in from close range five minutes later, both goals created by Leroy Sané. Continue reading...

* Coach says captain sets example for Manchester United to follow * ‘He takes responsibility all the time and for important goals’ Bruno Fernandes stood up for Erik ten Hag on the pitch, and so it was no surprise that Ten Hag stood up for Fernandes afterwards. Another turbulent week at Old Trafford had ended with Fernandes scoring the only goal at Fulham in added time and Ten Hag launched a vigorous defence of his mercurial playmaker. It was Fernandes’s third late winner of the season and a response of sorts to his critics. “I don’t understand why,” said Ten Hag of the criticism Fernandes has received, with former players in the media suggesting he should be stripped of the captaincy. “Everyone has their mistakes, no one is perfect. But always when he plays he gives energy. Continue reading...

* Chelsea player has claimed she ‘gets called fat all the time’ * Emma Hayes says subject must be treated with sensitivity Chelsea’s manager, Emma Hayes, has called for greater education around body image after Fran Kirby’s matter-of-fact admission that she covers up because she “gets called fat all the time”. Kirby made the statement in a Chelsea documentary on her return to playing after a knee injury. “Fran, how are you wearing a jacket?!” someone off camera asks her. “Because I get called fat all the time, so I have to cover it up,” she says. Continue reading...

* Club accepted need to tackle lack of diversity in women’s team * ‘Not having diversity, that is a problem … we have to work on’ Jonas Eidevall says Arsenal are working to preserve their “proud history” of playing staff being more representative of the “diverse north London community”. The club said last month it accepted it needed to tackle the lack of diversity in the women’s team as a priority after posting a photograph of Eidevall’s squad for the 2023-24 season on social media with no black or ethnic minority players in the 27-strong lineup. Continue reading...

England striker has been prolific in Germany but his club is in a rare state of disarray before Bundesliga’s biggest match Harry Kane didn’t play against Saarbrücken on Wednesday, but it didn’t stop him becoming the butt of the joke. As his Bayern Munich side went down 2-1 in the second round of the DFB Cup against their unfancied third-tier opponents, Kane remained on the bench, watching another trophy slipping out of his grasp. His first game at Bayern had ended in defeat in the Supercup. Meanwhile, the Spurs team he left in the summer are top of the league. Sometimes, the random scrawl of footballing fate can read suspiciously like poetry. Still, one of the advantages of playing for Bayern is that salvation is always close at hand. In a way the defeat in midweek, with Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting flailing away up front, proved exactly why Kane was signed: the touch of class, the cutting edge, the point of difference. This season has already produced 14 goals in 13 games, two hat-tri

* Former Aston Villa player stood by pro-Palestine messages * Says ‘loss of my livelihood is nothing’ compared to suffering Mainz have terminated Anwar El Ghazi’s contract following the forward’s social media posts in connection with the Israel-Hamas conflict. The Dutchman was suspended in October following an earlier comment about the conflict in Israel and Gaza but had been cleared to return to training on Monday after showing remorse. Continue reading...

Champions League qualification has set a high bar for a manager who is now dealing with key injuries and absences Newcastle United have installed a new and expensive looking simultaneous translation booth at St James’ Park. Its role is to house an interpreter during Champions League related media events and ensure earphone wearing audience members can hear the insights of players and managers delivered in a preferred language. The only problem is that, should Eddie Howe’s side fail to qualify for next season’s edition of Europe’s showpiece tournament – or, even worse, miss out on Europe altogether – that hi-tech cubicle will morph into a reproachful presence as it sits gathering dust in a corner of the press room. Continue reading...

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! Wednesday night delivered plenty of Cup drama around Europe. In the Carling, there were a couple of notable upsets – West Ham beat a soggy burrito of an Arsenal side lacking Rice in the middle, while Manchester City’s reserves stunned former Premier League winners Blackburn, and plenty of their own fans, with a 2-0 home win. And that was about it. No, we said upsets. The biggest shock of all, however, came in Germany’s DFB-Pokal, where the third-tier side sent Bayern Munich crashing out in the second round. The fact they did so despite going a goal down, then fighting back and scoring an added-time winner on the break as Harry Kane sat dumbfounded on the bench, only makes their victory more impressive/amusing. Continue reading...

* Club not keen to change manager but want improvement * Midfielder McTominay tells teammates to ‘fight like dogs’ Erik ten Hag is expected to continue as Manchester United’s manager for Saturday’s trip to Fulham but must oversee an upturn in results to keep his job. Although there is no desire among the executive to replace Ten Hag, who they have backed as the right man for the long term, there is an acceptance after eight defeats in the first 15 games of the season that the Dutchman needs to turn around this run of form, starting at Craven Cottage. Continue reading...

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Jonathan Liew and John Brewin to ask if time is running out for Erik ten Hag Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Jonathan Liew and John Brewin as Manchester United’s poor start to the season continues. Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email. Continue reading...

The 39-year-old reveals the secrets to his longevity, why Brazil’s World Cup exits still hurts and his chats with Mauricio Pochettino Thiago Silva is in full flow at Chelsea’s training ground, talking about how he is able to be at the top of his game at the age of 39 and the sacrifices he has made to reach the highest level, when he leans forward and says: “I can’t live without football.” He continues: “It has been my life since I was a little kid and the thing is, my passion for the sport is still the same today. My eyes before training, they light up, and it is the same for a game or watching a game, watching my kids play, my eyes light up.” Continue reading...

What started as a slightly selfish way of doing my parental duties has morphed into an essential bonding experience By Paul McGreal for When Saturday Comes There was a moment, a simple enquiry, when I realised that my daughter had successfully been indoctrinated. A journey round the M25 to a match in north London had been halted prematurely, as the car’s engine lost all power, and we spluttered to a halt on the hard shoulder. As my uncle got out to investigate the cause, and with the rest of the Saturday afternoon traffic thundering past at terrifying speed, I hurriedly scooped her out of the car and over the relative safety of the crash barrier. Stood among the overgrown grass and clutching her favourite teddy, she beckoned me down to her level so she could make herself heard over the passing vehicles and asked a question that made my heart skip with parental affection. “Daddy, are we still going to the football?” Continue reading...