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» Birmingham City turn to Gary Rowett for incredible return to save them from relegation
The Championship club are understood to have opened talks with former boss Gary Rowett as they attempt to arrest a slide towards League One
» Real Madrid claim referee chose to ignore racist abuse of Vinicius Jr as complaint filed
Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior was allegedly subject to more racist abuse as Los Blancos beat Osasuna 4-2 on Saturday, and now the club have lodged an official complaint
» Euro 2024 deciders to Man Utd icon's new job - 9 things to check out in the international break
England may only have two friendlies in the March international window but there is a crunch play-off for Wales and Barcelona's latest wonderkind will turn up in Stratford
» Man City outcast Joao Cancelo makes blunt admission about Pep Guardiola fallout
A clash with Pep Guardiola reportedly led to Joao Cancelo's Manchester City exit, with the defender now on loan at Barcelona, where he hopes to stay beyond this season
» Man Utd target Joshua Kimmich makes transfer preference clear with Bayern Munich future in doubt
Joshua Kimmich's Bayern Munich future remains unclear but he has three Premier League clubs on his radar with the German outfit prepared to sell for the right price
» 5 transfer options for rising Liverpool star tipped to leave club at end of the season
Jurgen Klopp might not be the only person leaving Liverpool at the end of the season, and there has already been interest in at least one of the Reds' young talents
» Breakdown of the eye-watering £270m profit Michael Edwards helped Liverpool make
Former Liverpool transfer guru Michael Edwards is set to rejoin the Reds this summer and will hope to generate funds once again after a number of masterstrokes during his first stint at Anfield
» Arsenal news: Thomas Partey update, loan deal confirmed and Mikel Arteta's Real Madrid trip
Arsenal will hope their stars escape the international break without picking up any new issues as Mikel Arteta prepares his side to take on Manchester City upon the Premier League's return
» Liverpool news: Harvey Elliott makes brave call after Jurgen Klopp 'screamed' during furious clash
Liverpool saw their FA Cup run ended in dramatic circumstances against Manchester United at the weekend and reaction from Sunday’s defeat at Old Trafford has continued to roll in
» Man Utd news: Erik ten Hag admits "problematic situation" as Kobbie Mainoo concern raised
Manchester United are turning their focus to the Premier League run-in after the high of their dramatic win over Liverpool in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup on Sunday
» Man Utd's Rasmus Hojlund admits it was 'great to shut people up' after cruel TikTok comparisons
Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund has opened up on the relief he felt after finally scoring his first goal in the Premier League - and the satisfaction he got from silencing his online critics
» Man Utd learn what Borussia Dortmund are willing to pay for Jadon Sancho - and they won't like it
Jadon Sancho could be offered an escape route from Manchester United in the summer - but only if the Red Devils are willing to take a huge financial hit on the England star
» Luis Suarez joins exclusive MLS club Lionel Messi isn't even in after latest gong
Luis Suarez has officially been the best player in MLS for two of the first five weeks, and his latest award takes him above Lionel Messi, who has been at Inter Miami for much longer
» Soccer Aid: Chelsea icon joins Mauricio Pochettino for emotional Stamford Bridge return
Eden Hazard and Frank Lampard will both return to Stamford Bridge with the Belgian playing for the World XI whilst the latter will help manage England alongside Harry Redknapp
» Soccer Aid 2024 line-up in full as Bobby Brazier makes debut with Roman Kemp and Robbie Williams
Soccer Aid is back with a huge line-up including celebrities such as Bobby Brazier and football legend Frank Lampard making their debut with the likes of Roman Kemp and Tom Grennan returning
» James McClean blasts 'embarrassing wally' as Wrexham frustrations boil over
Tranmere Rovers striker Luke Norris struck an eighth-minute winner as Wrexham slipped to defeat at home over the weekend - leading to a clash between the opposition players
» Antoine Griezmann's ridiculous seven-year record comes to a disappointing end
Antoine Griezmann will miss France's upcoming friendlies against Germany and Chile after withdrawing from the squad with an ankle injury picked up while playing for Atletico Madrid
» Arsenal fans hit back at West Ham's Michail Antonio after he brands them "delusional"
Unhappy Arsenal fans have taken to social media in order to respond to comments made by Michail Antonio after the striker took aim at them in his podcast
» Leeds captain Ethan Ampadu throws aside 'cursed' tag as Wales star breaks Gareth Bale's record
The former Chelsea defender has helped push Leeds United to the top of the Championship table with a remarkable record in recent months and is now bidding to help Wales reach Euro 2024 in Germany - but must first destroy the dreams of a Leeds team-mate
» Premier League sweats over Government promise with football set for independent regulator
Premier League clubs have failed to agree a deal with the English Football League and an independent regulator will now step in to oversee an agreement as the Football Governance Bill is waved through
» Manchester City's full list of 115 Premier League charges as elephant in the room remains
Everton have been deducted six points this season - down from 10 after an appeal - and Nottingham Forest have now been handed a four-point penalty for breaking financial rules in the Premier League; Manchester City remain under investigation
» Sir Dave Brailsford's reaction to late Man Utd winner against Liverpool speaks volumes
Ineos chief Sir Dave Brailsford was in attendance at Old Trafford for Manchester United's huge victory over arch-rivals Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Sunday
» Tottenham and Newcastle both guilty of hypocrisy over ridiculous Melbourne friendly
The two Premier League sides have agreed to make a 21,000-mile round trip to Australia to play each other in a friendly just three days after the season concludes
» Liverpool legend Phil Thompson insists "fantastic coach" is right man to replace Jurgen Klopp
Liverpool are looking for a manager to replace Jurgen Klopp in the summer and club legend Phil Thompson believes the best option is already employed by the club
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» The cultural division of football fans only serves those who wish to exploit it | Jonathan Liew

The battle between ‘true fans’ and ‘plastics’ weakens the ties between supporters and their inclination to unite and organise

Leaving early is a bit of a red flag. Booing your own players, obviously. Wearing a half-and-half scarf, purchasing a half-and-half scarf, expressing any opinion of a half-and-half scarf short of pathological hatred: forget it. Fake merch. Supporting a club from a place where you do not live. Supporting more than one club. Getting fewer than 10 out of 15 on a multiple-choice clickbait quiz.

Yes, these days there are multiple ways of outing yourself as that most abhorred of footballing species: “not a true fan”. Who gets to call themselves a football fan? Ostensibly this is a church open to all who want to believe, and yet somehow the very idea of fandom is constantly being challenged and contested, revoked and downgraded. English football has more words to describe ersatz fans than real ones: “plastics” and “casuals”, “fakes” and “frauds”, “tourists” and “day-trippers”, “trolls” and “haters”, “fair-weather fans” and “glory-hunters”.

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» Supporters should blame club owners – not the rules – for points deductions | Barney Ronay

Clubs may not like what they sign up to and object to the extent of sanctions, but cannot cry corruption if rules are transparent

Welcome to the Premier League’s latest sensational product innovation: the courtroom drama relegation battle. Two things seem certain after the decision to dock four points from Nottingham Forest over breaches of profitability and sustainability rules. First, this isn’t over by any measure.

Buckle up for some really excellent legal wrangle content over the coming months as Forest, Everton and at least four other clubs cling like Indiana Jones on a collapsing rope bridge to a league table primed to shuffle and rejig with every fresh tribunal hearing and special circumstances appeal.

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» The Joy of Six: football ‘houses, ‘housing and ‘housery | Daniel Harris

Mischief-makers and provocateurs in football, from Dennis Wise to Emmanuel Adebayor and more

In traditional parlance, a shithouse is a toilet, but fear not, this is not a piece on Wembley’s … rustic bogs and nor – though the word has since evolved to mean “a filthy or disgusting place” – is this a piece on the conscience of certain politicians. Rather, given the extension of the term’s scope to characterise “an obnoxious or despicable person”, and though we already enjoy an ancient four-lettered one which satisfies that definition, it would be remiss – with all due respect to Steve McMahon – for us to begin with anyone other than Dennis Wise.

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» English football regulator close as government confirms ‘historic’ bill
  • Football governance bill to be published on Tuesday
  • Prime minister: bill will ‘prevent a breakaway league’

An independent regulator for English football is imminent after the government confirmed plans to put a bill before parliament under which clubs could be fined up to 10% of revenues if they breach agreed conditions.

The long-awaited football governance bill is to be published on Tuesday and will define the powers of the regulator according to three objectives: “to improve financial sustainability of clubs, ensure financial resilience across the leagues, and to safeguard the heritage of English football”.

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» Emma Hayes wary of Ajax’s threat to Chelsea in Women’s Champions League
  • WSL champions visit Amsterdam in quarter-final
  • ‘They are a club with serious ambition in Europe’

Emma Hayes praised the development of Ajax and said their rise had come as no surprise, as she prepared her Chelsea side for Tuesday night’s first leg of the Champions League quarter-final in Amsterdam.

Ajax were the first Dutch team to make the group stage this season and then escaped a section with Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Roma with three home wins at the Johan Cruijff ArenA. They welcome Chelsea as the ­underdogs, but their threat is real, said Hayes.

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» Ange Postecoglou and Arsenal’s Matildas to return to Australia for exhibition games
  • Tottenham and Newcastle to play match at MCG in May
  • Women’s A-League All Stars to play as part of double header

Ange Postecoglou and Arsenal’s three Matildas will return to Australia for two exhibition fixtures in May designed to tap into the international success of the country’s best football exports.

Postecoglou’s Tottenham side will play Premier League counterparts Newcastle United in a midweek friendly at the MCG on 22 May before an A-League All Stars double header at Marvel Stadium two days later.

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» Brazil’s Gabriel Magalhães pulls out of squad for England and Spain games
  • Arsenal defender will hope to return for Manchester City clash
  • Griezmann’s record run of 84 straight France games to end

The Arsenal centre-back Gabriel Magalhães will miss Brazil’s friendlies against England on Saturday and Spain next week because of injury, with Juventus’s Bremer named as his replacement.

Brazil’s coach, Dorival Júnior, gave no details on the injury when announcing the news, but Arsenal will be desperate for Gabriel to be fit for their Premier League trip to Manchester City on 31 March. Dorival said: “Today we had another casualty. Unfortunately, Gabriel Magalhães is uncalled. In his place, we’re calling up Bremer, from Juventus.”

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» Arrests made over tragedy chanting during Manchester United v Liverpool
  • Two United supporters arrested in connection with chants
  • Eight arrests in total during FA Cup quarter-final at Old Trafford

Two Manchester United fans have been arrested in connection with tragedy chanting during Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final against Liverpool at Old Trafford. Greater Manchester police are also trying to identify another United supporter after footage widely shared on social media footage appeared to show him allegedly engaging in tragedy chanting.

GMP announced they had made eight arrests in total at the game, including three Liverpool fans for possession of class A drugs, an away supporter on suspicion of possession of a pyrotechnic, and two United fans for a racially aggravated public order offence and pitch encroachment respectively.

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» Wycombe put attempts to buy training ground from ailing Reading on hold
  • Reading owner Dai Yongge failing to meet financial obligations
  • Wycombe forced to put plans to buy Bearwood Park on hold

Wycombe have put plans to buy Reading’s training ground on hold “due to seeming planning limitations allowing only Reading FC to use the training grounds”.

Wycombe had been in talks with their cash-strapped neighbours over the purchase of their Bearwood Park training facility. The two clubs were hoping that a deal would “provide Reading with the necessary financial support to ensure that they are able to meet their ongoing financial obligations”.

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» Are Valverde’s Athletic Club the most fun football team to watch in 2024? | Sid Lowe

Manager is helming the thrilling third stint in a trilogy that could see the club win a first major trophy in 40 years

“Football is like a film,” Ernesto Valverde says, and sometimes it is an entire trilogy of them. The man who allayed fears that sequels are never any good by reminding everyone of The Godfather Part II when he returned to Bilbao for a second spell as coach of Athletic Club in 2013 and then proved it by leading to them to their first trophy in 31 years has gone and done it again. If Part II was even better than the original, the player they called “The Ant” becoming the only manager who could match what he had achieved first time round, Part III of his San Mames saga might be the best yet, Valverde back to take them where they have never been, not even with him.

When Valverde rejoined Athletic in the summer of 2022, his last job had ended with him being sacked by Barcelona, he had not worked for 30 months and he signed for a single season. But at least he was home, among those who appreciated him; besides, he insisted, it was an adventure – and it has been excellent. Eighth in the league – as high as Athletic had been since he was last there – and within four minutes of the Copa del Rey final in his first season, a year on and with his contract extended, this season they did get there, putting four past Barcelona and Atlético Madrid en route to April’s final against Mallorca in Seville. Then this Saturday, they got two more to defeat Alavés and move into fourth – well-placed to qualify for the Champions League for the third time and the first since way back when the manager was, well, him.

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» Inter v Napoli lacks fireworks and grabs headlines for wrong reasons | Nicky Bandini

Match that promised much failed to deliver and ended up being remembered for troubling accusations made by Juan Jesus

It should have been one of this season’s grand occasions. Inter v Napoli as winter turns to spring: a passing-of-the-baton moment with Serie A’s champions-elect hosting the team who shocked the world when they won the Scudetto last year. We wanted fireworks. We got two flamed-out teams, and a game overshadowed by accusations of a player using racist language.

Technically, there were pyrotechnics. Inter were welcomed to San Siro by supporters setting off illuminations and displaying a banner with the words “Fieri di voi” – “Proud of you”. After the disappointment of a midweek Champions League defeat by Atlético Madrid, ultras from the Curva Nord made a deliberate show of gratitude for what has nevertheless been a remarkable year.

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» ‘This will change women’s soccer’: why KC Current’s stadium has set a new standard

Players in Kansas City used to get changed in parking lots. On Saturday, the city’s latest club opened the first purpose-built stadium for a women’s professional sports team

Through strength, speed and courage, Temwa Chawinga created an opening in the Portland defense. She sprinted past a defender to beat oncoming Portland goalkeeper Shelby Hogan to the ball, which spilled out into space. Teenager Alex Pfeiffer saw an opportunity, closed in and buried her left-footed strike. Music, smoke and pyrotechnics burst from the Kansas City Riverfront. Kansas City Current led Portland Thorns, 5-1.

The brand-new CPKC Stadium, the world’s first purpose-built for a women’s professional sports team, billowed with the joy of 11,500 fans in the midday Missouri sun. At 16 years, three months and 20 days old, Pfeiffer became the youngest goalscorer in National Women’s Soccer League history.

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» Ten Hag’s job is not safe, but Liverpool win will resonate for decades | Jonathan Wilson

The 4-3 win over Liverpool may not save Erik ten Hag’s job. But it has cemented lasting goodwill

And in the next round, Mark Robins. Football has found itself assailed in recent years by states, oligarchs and private equity, the concentration of resources at a handful of clubs in a tiny number of western European countries destroying the balance that once sustained it, the potential of its soft power meaning that it has been preyed upon by regimes desperate to launder their image and secure influence. But, despite all that, the sport has retained its mischievous sense of humour.

It was Robins who scored the winner for Manchester United against Nottingham Forest in 1990 that saved Sir Alex Ferguson’s job, carrying them through the third round of the FA Cup to initiate an exhaustingly dramatic campaign that culminated in the trophy. At the end of his fourth season in the job, that was Ferguson’s first silverware at Old Trafford, the herald of 23 years of almost constant success.

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» Women’s Super League: talking points from the weekend’s action

Chelsea were utterly dominant against Arsenal but Manchester City are not going away any time soon

Chelsea were at their fluid, rampant and ruthless best in their 3-1 defeat of Arsenal at Stamford Bridge. How the team coped with a depleted squad and off-field controversies – Emma Hayes’s comments on relationships between players, which she clarified after the match – as well as the 30-minute delay to kick-off due to Arsenal’s wrong socks, was impressive. “We seem to do really well in adverse situations,” Hayes said. “It’s been a tough period, it’s been a tough day for us but we’re good at this, we know how to do this.” The odds on Chelsea winning a first ever Champions League, a historic quadruple, or even maintaining their domestic competitiveness have lengthened with each major injury, but time and time again Hayes has shown she can defy those odds. Betting against Chelsea would be a fool’s errand. Suzanne Wrack

Match report: Chelsea 3-1 Arsenal

Match report: Brighton 1-4 Manchester City

Match report: Everton 1-2 Aston Villa

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» Nottingham Forest docked four points for Premier League financial rules breach
  • Forest drop into relegation zone, one point from last safe spot
  • Club ‘extremely disappointed’ and considering appeal

Nottingham Forest said they were “extremely disappointed” by a four-point deduction that plunged them into the Premier League relegation zone, despite receiving a lesser punishment than Everton for breaching profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) because they admitted guilt early and fully cooperated with the independent commission.

Everton were given a 10-point deduction, reduced to six on appeal, for a £19.5m overspend, whereas Forest breached permitted losses of £61m by £34.5m. The commission believed Forest were worthy of the same punishment but said a potential six-point loss was reduced to four owing to the club’s “early plea and the cooperation together”. The Premier League had argued for an eight-point deduction.

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» Bruno Fernandes calls for rule change on yellow cards for removing shirt
  • Manchester United captain says rule ‘has to change’
  • Amad Diallo received second yellow for FA Cup celebration

Bruno Fernandes has said the rule that earns a player a yellow card for taking off their shirt when celebrating a goal “has to change” after the Manchester United winger Amad Diallo was sent off for a second caution after scoring a dramatic late winner against Liverpool in their FA Cup quarter-final.

The 21-year-old had come on in the 85th minute with United a goal down but Antony made it 2-2 with three minutes remaining and Erik ten Hag’s side went on to win the game in extra time, Amad scoring in the 121st minute to send them through.

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» ‘Absolutely unacceptable’: Infantino fury as Trabzonspor fans attack players
  • Losing side’s fans stormed pitch to confront Fenerbahce players
  • Incident was latest outbreak of violence in Turkish Super Lig

Violence in the Turkish Super Lig is “unacceptable”, Gianni Infantino said as he called on authorities to take action following chaotic scenes after Fenerbahce’s 3-2 win at Trabzonspor on Sunday.

Fans of Turkey’s Trabzonspor stormed the pitch and brawled with players from visiting Fenerbahce and security staff, in the latest incident in a league that has been marred by controversy this season.

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» João Félix starts off Barcelona’s comprehensive win at Atlético Madrid

It had to be him. Barcelona inflicted Atlético Madrid’s first league defeat at the Metropolitano in over a year and João Félix was the man who hurt them because, well, because of course he was.

The most expensive signing in Atlético’s history, the forward who still belongs to them but is desperate never to go back and who would not be welcomed back either; the man who went to Barcelona on loan and scored the only goal when these two teams last met, leaping on to the advertising boards at Montjuïc and blowing his former fans a kiss in December; the man who was whistled every time he touched the ball on his first trip back, scored the opening goal. He did not celebrate this time, just as he had promised, but it still stung.

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» Harry Kane will join up with England despite twisting ankle in Bayern win
  • Kane will be ‘treated by England doctors’, Bayern confirm
  • England captain was injured in 5-2 victory at Darmstadt

Harry Kane will join up with the England squad despite sustaining an ankle problem in Bayern Munich’s game on Saturday, the Bundesliga club have announced.

The England captain was substituted late on in Bayern’s 5-2 win at Darmstadt, having scored before colliding with a goalpost during the match. The Bayern manager, Thomas Tuchel, subsequently revealed that Kane had twisted his ankle.

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» ‘They need to trust the club’: Mauricio Pochettino’s plea to angry Chelsea fans
  • Coach defends himself and Raheem Sterling after fan backlash
  • Pochettino targeted by fans during FA Cup win over Leicester

Mauricio Pochettino defended himself against mutinous Chelsea fans after they turned on him during his side’s FA Cup quarter-final victory against Leicester.

Emotions were high after ­Chelsea threw away a 2-0 lead at ­Stamford Bridge. The home fans booed Raheem Sterling and aimed chants of “You don’t know what you’re doing” at Pochettino during the second half. Chelsea’s head coach, who was also barracked during a recent 2-2 draw with Brentford, was targeted after taking off Mykhailo Mudryk instead of Sterling.

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» Streich and Kovac departing as loose lips herald end of Bundesliga stints | Andy Brassell

Freiburg’s long-serving Christian Streich is leaving while Niko Kovac exited Wolfsburg amid barbs from former players

When one of your most experienced players drops you in it, there really is no comeback. As Freiburg’s players stood in the corridors of Stade Europa-Park picking the bones out of a draining week, ending in the just-finished, narrow defeat by the runaway leaders, Bayer Leverkusen, and which had incorporated a chastening, emphatic Europa League exit at West Ham, perhaps guards were down, careless words falling out of leaden lips.

The defender Christian Günter, approaching the mark of 400 first-team games for the club, spoke of his hope that the Bundesliga’s longest-serving coach, Christian Streich, would stay on, despite the sense of a season denouement with no contract extension signed by the man in charge. “It was, or is, a pleasure to train under him,” Günter stumbled and then corrected himself. He has been there almost every step of the way of Streich’s glorious 12-year spell in charge and even imagining a different voice giving the instructions will take some getting used to, once he leaves at the season’s end.

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» When will Nantes learn that sacking managers is not the answer? | Luke Entwistle

Nantes have sacked two managers this season and are now turning to a man they fired 10 months ago

By Luke Entwistle for Get French Football News

Waldemar Kita’s short-termism and paranoia has stifled Nantes in recent years and, as the club hops back on to the managerial roundabout once again, the owner’s approach could yet lead to relegation. Kita has already fired two managers this season: Pierre Aristouy in November and Jocelyn Gourvennec, who was sacked after a 3-1 home defeat to Strasbourg, on Sunday.

“We have felt for a while that we were taking a bad turn,” said Kita in November. That statement sums up Nantes’ direction of travel since he took control of the club in 2007. However, this was not a moment of profound self-reflection from the president. Instead, it was his justification for sacking Aristouy.

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» FA Cup quarter-finals and Premier League: talking points from weekend

Marcus Rashford rises to the occasion, Stefan Ortega impresses and more VAR woe for West Ham

We need to save our season, Erik ten Hag had said. And they did, somehow, anyhow, with a goal from Antony and a goal from Amad Diallo. With twice as many wingers on the pitch (those two plus Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford) as defenders (just Harry Maguire and Diogo Dalot). After parking the bus at Anfield, Ten Hag revved the engine, and kept revving. Antony scored his first goal of the season against anyone other than Newport County. Diallo scored his first goal for United since a cute back-header against Milan, which happened so long ago that the manager was Ole Gunnar Solskjær. United had nine shots in extra time to Liverpool’s two. Rashford rose to the occasion at both ends of the game, first on the left wing, then at centre-forward. He missed two good chances but kept calm enough to take the next one. Ten Hag was like a fan, going: “Attack! Attack! Attack!” and it worked. His players may have saved not just their season, but also his job. Tim de Lisle

FA Cup report: Manchester United 4-3 Liverpool (aet)

Match report: Chelsea 4-2 Leicester

Match report: Manchester City 2-0 Newcastle

Match report: Wolves 2-3 Coventry

Premier League report: West Ham 1-1 Aston Villa

Match report: Fulham 3-0 Tottenham

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» Erik ten Hag reaps reward for letting adrenaline run wild | Andy Hunter

Manchester United’s FA Cup quarter-final win over Liverpool shows that sometimes chaos can triumph over structure

All Michael Edwards could do was smile in utter disbelief. Old Trafford was treated to an epic encounter of structure versus chaos, the command of Jürgen Klopp against the apparent wishful thinking of Erik ten Hag, and the chaotic dreamers prevailed. For the data specialists and marginal gains obsessives sitting in the directors box at Manchester United, Liverpool’s FA Cup elimination was a pertinent reminder of the game’s ability to enthral thanks to the uncontrollables.

United answered their manager’s SOS call – save our season – with two defenders on the pitch throughout the second period of extra time. Harry Maguire and Diogo Dalot were joined at left-back by Antony, who had salvaged the quarter-final with an impressive impact in his natural position in normal time only to be inexplicably shifted to full-back for the additional 30 minutes.

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» Improving Nicolas Jackson embodies Chelsea’s imperfect promise in attack | Jonathan Wilson

Senegal forward’s finishing remains erratic, but he has coped well with the responsibility of leading the line in his first season

Blink often enough and you can persuade yourself things are beginning to come into focus for Chelsea. This side are a long way from the sort of consistency that would allow them to mount anything resembling a title challenge, shaky at the back even when they’re not scoring spectacular own goals, but there are perhaps just signs that the front part of the team, tentatively, uncertainly, is beginning to emerge from the fog.

Nicolas Jackson is emblematic of the project. The Senegal forward is still only 22 and had started just 16 top-flight games when he arrived from Villarreal last summer. Perhaps had Christopher Nkunku been fit, less would have been expected of him – although given Nkunku is not an out‑and‑out striker, perhaps not – but, as it was, Jackson was expected to lead the line straight away.

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» Jari Litmanen on Ajax, Barça and a wrist that ‘broke into eight pieces’

The best footballer Finland has ever produced reflects on the highs and lows of his career and his anonymous life today in Estonia

There are not many people who can get away with a leather jacket. Especially a fur-lined, double-breasted leather jacket. But Jari Litmanen, now 53, is definitely one of those people, as he strolls through the Old Town in his adopted home city of Tallinn. It would be impossible in Finland or Amsterdam but here he walks freely, seemingly just another middle-aged man trying to stay out of the cold. But between 1994 and 1996 he was the best footballer at Ajax, then the best male team in the world. Of course, he was loved for his talent. But he was also loved for the way he kicked the ball, the way he looked. Nineties Litmanen was a vibe, and it turns out the 2024 version isn’t far off.

The Finn doesn’t grant many interviews, certainly not in person. His aloofness has fed the image that he is shy, reserved, mercurial, perhaps even a little arrogant. This is the opposite picture of the person who comes bouncing into the room, who beams comfortably at the camera. Litmanen is generous with his time, polite to all those around him, meticulous with his details. He is also surprisingly funny. Not laugh-a-minute funny, but there is a mischief in his face, a sparkle in those dark eyes. We talk about his recent appearance on the Finnish version of Top Gear, his new Instagram account (in which he shares positive news of Edwin van der Sar’s recovery from serious illness), his acting as an Amsterdam diamond jeweller and comedic timing in Finnish children’s films as a Dutch art dealer and an Italian pizza delivery man.

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» Trabzonspor fans storm pitch and attack Fenerbahce players in latest ugly Super Lig scenes – video

Fans of Turkey’s Trabzonspor stormed the pitch and brawled with players from visiting Fenerbahce and security staff, in the latest incident in a Super Lig season that has been marred by controversy. As Fenerbahce’s players celebrated the 3-2 away win in the centre of the pitch, a supporter ran on to the field and fought with visiting defender Bright Osayi-Samuel.

Video footage showed Osayi-Samuel swinging a fist towards the fan, while forward Michy Batshuayi, who had scored the winning goal in the game, could be seen kicking out at supporters as security forces tried to intervene. Dozens more then stormed the pitch, as security forces tried to shield Fenerbahce players who were running off the field.

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» Klopp admits Liverpool 'struggled' as Ten Hag looks ahead to Man Utd's 'bright future' – video

Erik ten Hag believes Manchester United's 4-3 extra-time win over Liverpool in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup could be a springboard that will help his side achieve a 'very bright' future. Jürgen Klopp on the other hand admitted that this was 'the first time [he] really saw [his] team struggling'. The loss saw Liverpool knocked out of the FA Cup and marks Klopp's last game in the competition

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» Southgate reveals Ben White snubbed England call-up – video

Gareth Southgate has revealed that Ben White has asked not to be considered for selection for the England squad. He stressed there is 'no issue' between White and his coaching staff and insisted that the door would be 'left open' as he's 'clearly on form'. White went home early from the 2022 World Cup and Southgate said he had been unable to persuade him to return to an international squad.

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» Klopp insists Edwards did not ask him stay at Liverpool because 'he’s not dumb’ – video

Jürgen Klopp has described Michael Edwards as the 'top solution' for Liverpool’s next chapter but insisted the new chief executive of football made no attempt to convince him to stay as Liverpool manager 'because he's not dumb'. Klopp added that he wants 'the club to do as good as possible' but asked reporters 'can you imagine if I changed my mind now, just can you? Of course not'.

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» 'Arteta insulted my family': Porto coach accuses Arsenal manager – video

Porto head coach Sérgio Conceição claimed Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta insulted his family during their penalty shootout defeat in the Champions League last-16. The two managers were involved in an altercation on the pitch at the end of the game, but a spokesperson for the north London club later denied Arteta had said those words. The bust-up came after Arsenal beat their Portuguese visitors 4-2 on penalties to reach their first Champions League quarter-final in 14 years.

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» 'We want more': Arteta hails Arsenal as they secure first quarter-final spot in 14 years – video

Mikel Arteta hailed a 'magic night' at the Emirates as Arsenal beat Porto 4-2 on penalties to reach their first Champions League quarter-final in 14 years. Trailing 1-0 from the first leg in Portugal, a goal from Leandro Trossard just before half-time levelled the tie late in the first half, but Arsenal's momentum stalled as they failed to wrap the game up inside 90 minutes. After a nervous extra-time it took heroics from goalkeeper David Raya, saving twice in the shoot-out, to put the hosts into the last eight for the first time since Arsene Wenger's team faced Barcelona in 2010. Arteta was full of praise for his team but added 'the best thing is we are not satisfied. We want more and we’re going to try and go through the next round for sure.'

Arsenal pass a brutal rite of passage to overcome Porto’s spiky resilience

‘Incredible personality’: Arteta hails Raya after shootout saves sink Porto

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» KC Current hold off Portland Thorns in 5-4 thriller to open new stadium

Vanessa DiBernardo scored the first goal for Kansas City in their new stadium and the Current held off the Portland Thorns 5-4 on Saturday in the regular-season opener for the National Women’s Soccer League.

Debinha’s rebound shot deflected off Thorns goalkeeper Shelby Hogan and fell to DiBernardo, who scored in the 22nd minute. Rookie Ellie Wheeler scored moments later and the Current built a 3-1 lead by halftime.

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» Barça’s starboys Cubarsí and Yamal play with mentality of finest veterans

La Masia youngsters are wise beyond their years on the pitch. But with excitement comes fear of rushing something special

At the end of Barcelona’s 1-0 win over Real Mallorca this weekend, the best two players on the pitch put their arms around each other’s shoulders and walked towards the end of Montjuic where Antonio Rebollo’s arrow once lit the Olympic flame. Wearing 33 and 27, one is a defender, the other a forward, both just a couple of kids having a laugh. Waiting for them beneath the torch and way across the track were the fans who had spent the night singing their names, holding on to a new hope. Pau Cubarsí Paredes and Lamine Yamal Nasraoui Ebana were born in Estanyol and Esplugues, Catalonia, and they are younger than Robert Lewandowski. Put together.

Cubarsí has just turned 17, Yamal is 16 and on a cold night they led Barcelona to victory and back to the light. At one end, Cubarsí had done battle with the Canadian Cyle Larin and the Kosovan Vedat Muriqi. The latter a man whose coach calls him “a big, ugly beast” and a 6ft 4in striker you’d “cross the street to avoid”. The teenager took on “two towers” in Xavi’s words, and had come out on top. At the other end, Yamal had crashed one shot against the bar that would have won it and then struck another that actually did. It came from nowhere, a goal so good they celebrated it twice: first when it curled in, then when it was played back on the screen, not so much a roar but an “Oh!” which was even more eloquent. Did you see that?!

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» NWSL preview: record signings, a historic stadium – and a new winner?

The season starts this weekend with two expansion teams and a number of high-profile signings. It promises to be quite a ride

The National Women’s Soccer League enters its 12th regular season this weekend, starting with an afternoon game in the midwest between Kansas City Current and the Portland Thorns. That marks the first match at CPKC Stadium, the NWSL’s first women’s soccer-specific venue, and the first purpose-built women’s sports stadium in the world. And that’s just one of a few exciting evolutions in the stateside game.

What’s new? This season starts with two new teams. The introduction of Bay FC and return of Utah Royals (back for the first time since 2020) brings the league total to 14.

This is an extract from our free weekly email, Moving the Goalposts. To get the full edition visit this page and follow the instructions.

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» Gladbach and Köln share spoils as wild Rhine derby fails to offer clarity | Andy Brassell

Köln led twice at Borussia-Park but still needed an equaliser from Damion Downs, a 19-year-old substitute, to salvage a point

“In our situation,” said Köln’s Faride Alidou, “you have to take every point.” There was a qualification coming. “Even if,” he said, “we’re not satisfied.” It was understandable. On another day the attacking midfielder, growing in status and confidence under new (ish) coach Timo Schultz, could have been the derby hero away at Borussia Mönchengladbach, twice putting his team in front with emphatic finishes after deliveries from his captain, Florian Kainz.

In the end, he wasn’t even close, with so much happening in what Kainz described as a “totally wild game.” Even someone as balanced as the captain struggled to find the words or, it seemed, the thoughts to frame it accurately. “We have to analyse this properly,” he said after the 3-3 draw. “But so soon after the game, it’s still difficult to say.”

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» Old dogs and new tricks: Aubameyang and Gasset drive Marseille’s revival

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang cannot stop scoring for new manager Jean-Louis Gasset

By Eric Devin for Get French Football News

Ligue 1 clubs are being rewarded for making bold choices to change managers this season. Lyon under Pierre Sage are not yet mathematically safe but, with six teams and as many points separating them from the relegation playoff spot, they seem well placed keep their spot in the top flight. Rennes under Julien Stéphan will be chagrined to have conceded stoppage time equalisers in two of their past three matches, but they are very much in the running for Europe and are still in the Coupe de France. Nantes are still in a bit of bother, but a win against Strasbourg on Sunday would go a long way towards securing survival for Jocelyn Gourvennec’s team.

The recent appointment of Jean-Louis Gasset, seemingly the most desperate of the season in France, is proving the most inspired. Marseille have won all five of their matches under Gasset, scoring 18 goals and conceding only three. Given his ignominious departure from his position as Ivory Coast manager in January, Gasset appeared to be nothing more than an experienced pair of hands. But his cool temperament and understanding of French football has made him better suited to the pressure cooker at the Stade Vélodrôme than his predecessor, Gennaro Gattuso.

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» Horan’s header secures inaugural W Gold Cup title for USWNT over Brazil

Lindsey Horan scored with a header in first-half stoppage time and the United States beat Brazil 1-0 on Sunday to win the Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup.

The United States lifted the trophy despite being stunned by a loss to Mexico in the group stage of the tournament. It was the first women’s Gold Cup, with the event created to bring teams in the region more meaningful competition. It was the fourth time that the United States have faced Brazil in a tournament final. The Americans won the previous three, including the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. The game drew a sellout crowd of 31,528 to San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium, a record crowd for a Concacaf women’s match.

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» MLS power rankings: Toronto’s Italian stars look like they finally care

Minnesota United have made a bright start, FC Cincinnati are chasing an encore and the New York Red Bulls are this season’s must-watch team

In the first few weeks of every new MLS season, there’s a race to gather as much information as possible. Offseason expectations are reformed. New opinions arise. Hot takes are scrubbed from the digital archives.

Welcome to the first edition of the Guardian’s 2024 MLS power rankings, where we’ll be doing plenty of scrubbing ourselves throughout the year.

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» Orlando makes Barbra Banda second most expensive female player in world
  • Zambia forward joins NWSL side for $740,000
  • Banda says chance to play in US is ‘very humbling’

Orlando Pride have completed a deal to sign Zambia forward Barbra Banda for the second-highest transfer fee in women’s football.

Recruited from Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shengli for $740,000 (£582,128), Banda has signed a four-year contract with the NWSL side. The price tag makes her the second most expensive player in the history of women’s football, following Bay FC’s recruitment of Banda’s international teammate Racheal Kundananji from Liga F side Madrid CFF for $787,600 in February.

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» Do Apple’s MLS broadcasts merely exist to promote the league’s agenda?

The technology giant has paid billions to show matches on its streaming service, and critical analysis isn’t part of the package

It is a truism that referees are doing a good job if you don’t notice them. It also appears to be the official policy of MLS.

Salient plotlines as the 2024 campaign unfurls are the first full season of Lionel Messi in Miami, the controversial withdrawal of most MLS clubs from the US Open Cup and the use of replacement referees because of a labor dispute.

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» The 100 best male footballers in the world 2023

Erling Haaland has been voted the best player in the world for 2023 by our 218-strong panel, with Jude Bellingham finishing second

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» The 100 best female footballers in the world 2023

Aitana Bonmatí, Sam Kerr and Salma Paralluelo top the list of female footballers in the world in 2023 according to our judges

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» Erling Haaland voted the world’s best player – and he’s just getting started | Niall McVeigh

The Norwegian is only 23 but his devastating goal record has seen him voted as the No 1 player in the world by the Guardian’s expert panel

When Pep Guardiola tearfully claimed Manchester City could not replace the departing Sergio Agüero in May 2021, he didn’t just create a meme. Guardiola was soft-launching a global audition for his team’s new attacking talisman. An unsuccessful pursuit of Harry Kane in the summer of 2021 came between two title-winning seasons where Ilkay Gündogan (13) and Kevin De Bruyne (15) were the club’s top league goalscorers. Guardiola’s slick creative machine needed a new front man, and they found him in Erling Haaland.

Like Agüero before him – and in contrast to many of City’s most successful Pep-era signings – Haaland arrived as a bona fide superstar, a plug-and-play addition to an already stellar lineup. Whether he was a bargain is another question. The release clause paid was €60m (£51.2m), but some reports suggest Haaland’s five-year deal could cost the club in the region of £300m. And while there was an ominous logic to the move for City’s rivals, questions remained.

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» Spain and Barcelona lead way in women’s football after year of success | Rich Laverty

Aitana Bonmatí the clear winner of the Guardian’s best 100 female footballers in the world with 15 Spaniards on the list

After Alexia Putellas reigned in 2021 and 2022, her Barcelona and Spain teammate Aitana Bonmatí has been crowned the top female footballer of 2023 by the Guardian’s panel of 112 experts. The World Cup winner triumphed by a clear margin, finishing more than 500 points ahead of second-placed Sam Kerr.

Injuries and a World Cup meant there was a definite changing of the guard feel to this year’s list, sadly emphasised by the fact last year’s top two – Putellas and Beth Mead – missed a large chunk of our 12-month voting period with ACL injuries.

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» Which Premier League teams have the toughest run-ins?

Opta have calculated the difficulty of each club’s fixtures. It’s not good news for Arsenal, Aston Villa and Luton

By Ali Tweedale for Opta Analyst

We are at the home straight. The business end of the season. The run-in. We are as close as we are going to get to every team having 10 games left (damn you, rearranged Chelsea v Tottenham match), so this is as good a time as any to compare the relative difficulty of each side’s run-in.

This is where Opta’s power rankings come in handy. The ranking system assigns a score on a scale between zero (the worst team in the world) and 100 (Manchester City) to rate 13,000 teams against each other. We can use the ranking of each team’s opponents to assign a difficulty rating to each team’s remaining fixtures.

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» Ben White’s England refusal shows a shift in loyalties towards club football | Barney Ronay

There is no precedent for a potentially first-choice player turning down a major tournament. Why is this happening now?

Here it comes, then. Generation Z: international football mode. No doubt there will be a temptation in some corners to interpret Ben White’s refusal of an England call-up, three months out from Euro 2024, through the prism of generational anxiety.

Vegan sausage rolls and moral relativism brought us to this. It starts with turning down an England cap. It ends with throwing soup at statues and refusing to storm a Russian machine gun nest on the grounds this might constitute a micro-aggression.

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» Returning Edwards offers Liverpool stability with testing summer ahead | Andy Hunter

Jürgen Klopp and key figures of his staff may be leaving Anfield but the club’s former sporting director can minimise disruption in new role

There is change afoot at Fenway Sports Group and seismic upheaval on its way to Liverpool and yet, paradoxically, the club’s owner has ensured there will be a degree of stability and continuity on offer to Jürgen Klopp’s successor this summer with the rehiring of Michael Edwards. FSG’s persistent and ultimately convincing sales pitch to the club’s former sporting director underlines the belief in Boston there was only one candidate who could minimise disruption while expanding the company’s horizons.

Edwards returns as FSG’s chief executive officer of football – note, not Liverpool’s CEO of football – two years after stepping down as sporting director following a decade of outstanding service at Anfield. The 44-year-old’s success rate in the previous role presents an obvious case for his re-employment. There was the appointment of Klopp for a start, who sparked not only the club’s transformation but the revision of Edwards’s and FSG’s own reputations among a previously sceptical Liverpool support.

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» Football Daily | Jürgen Klopp and a post-match meltdown that was not pretty viewing

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Reporter: “Normally intensity is the name of your game, so how come it became so difficult in extra time?”

Jürgen Klopp: “Bit of a dumb question I feel. If you never saw us, you can ask, how can they have more resources? We have played, I don’t know how many games recently. I don’t know how many games United have exactly played. That’s sport. I’m really disappointed with that question, but you thought, obviously, it’s good?”

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» FA Cup magic is alive at Old Trafford and Molineux – Football Weekly

Max Rushden is joined by Paul MacInnes, Jordan Jarrett-Bryan and Robyn Cowen after Manchester United beat Liverpool in extra time in a thrilling game to make the FA Cup semi-finals

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; the FA Cup still produces plenty of magic and a brilliant set of quarter-finals with Coventry stunning Wolves and Manchester United breaking Liverpool hearts deep in extra time.

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» Have any footballers ever refused to come out for the second half? | The Knowledge

Plus: gaps between teams who have not met, identical big scorelines in both legs and more

“Have there been any situations where a player has refused to come out for the second half?” asks Peter Clarke. “If so, what retribution was taken by the club or country?”

There are plenty of examples of entire teams refusing to play the second half, the majority in response to racism, but it’s quite rare for an individual player to do so. Let’s start with a famous night in Glasgow:

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» Mercury/13: the group aiming to ‘rethink football ownership’

Women’s football consortium has made Como its first club and wants a global stable that unlocks game’s commercial potential

On a March morning on the shores of Lake Como, a piece of history was made. Mercury/13, a new ownership consortium that focuses purely on women’s football, acquired its first club – FC Como Women, from Serie A Femminile.

Mercury/13, founded by Victoire Cogevina Reynal, has pledged $100m (£85.5m) to building up a portfolio of teams across the globe, a “pure play” investor that unlocks clubs’ commercial potential. Reynal and her co-CEO, Mario Malavé, have brought notable figures on board, including the former England international Eni Aluko and Women in Football’s Ebru Koksal.

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» David Squires on … a future meeting between Jürgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola

Our cartoonist gazes into his crystal ball to foresee future reminiscing between the Liverpool and Manchester City managers

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» Shootout joy for Spurs against Manchester City – Women’s Football Weekly

Faye Carruthers is joined by Suzanne Wrack, Emma Sanders, and Anita Asante to discuss the FA Cup quarter-finals, Continental Cup, and Euro 2025 draw

On today’s pod: the panel discuss the drama in the FA Cup as Tottenham left it late to equalise against Manchester City before going through on penalties, ending City’s hopes of a treble.

Manchester United thrashed Brighton & Hove Albion but did Brighton play into the hands of their opponents?

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» Belgrade’s derby: a multi-layered snapshot of local and global tensions

Draw at Red Star keeps Partizan top of Serbia’s Superliga after a match fraught with ultras, the underworld and political dissent

It is a warm, sleepy Sunday afternoon in block 61. Most of the alleys between New Belgrade’s grey, looming 1970s towers are virtually deserted – a permanent state of affairs in some cases, if the buildups of litter and vegetation are any barometer. The area might look unloved but life hums along inside the thousands of apartments, families taking lunch and washing hung on balconies.

At ground level graffiti daubs almost every wall and doorway. Children playing mini-football can do so flanked by a mural spanning the side of the concrete pitch that reads: “Russia and Serbia, brothers forever”. Then there are the numerous reminders of a turf war that, under cover of darkness, is marked out slogan by slogan. “What is the life of a Grobari?” asks one inscription, painted in Red Star’s primary colour and taunting Partizan’s notorious ultras group. “During the day they run, during the night they scribble”. Somebody has crossed a thick line through those letters in the black of Partizan.

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» Worry about an all-time title race, not marginal refereeing decisions

The worst aspect of VAR is the way it has persuaded fans and pundits there can be absolute clarity over every decision

Fine margins. A little more than five years ago at the Etihad, John Stones belted a clearance into Ederson and then, as it rebounded towards the line, lunged to hook the ball away. Had it gone in? Liverpool appealed. The referee Anthony Taylor looked at his wrist monitor. No goal. The Goal Decision System ruled the whole of the ball had been 11.7mm from crossing the whole of the line. Liverpool were denied an opener, went on to lose 2-1 and their lead at the top of the table was cut to four points. Pep Guardiola went on to win his second Premier League title.

In that same game, Sadio Mané had a shot that hit the inside of the post and stayed out, while Leroy Sane’s winner hit the inside of the post and went in. In either case, 11.7mm might have proved decisive, changing the angle at which the ball came off the upright, but it was the goalline technology that is remembered. Refereeing decisions have a habit of lingering in the mind (even when, despite what some claimed in the moment, using shadows and theoretical geometry and pouring scorn on ballistic experts with the conviction of Jim Garrison dismissing the magic bullet, the decision is manifestly correct).

This is an extract from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly look from the Guardian US at the game in Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. Have a question for Jonathan? Email soccerwithjw@theguardian.com, and he’ll answer the best in a future edition

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» Aitana Bonmatí: ‘No one has given me anything to be where I am’

In an exclusive interview the Barcelona midfielder talks about playing alongside boys, never letting her head drop and how she would like to be remembered

Let’s go back to the beginning: how did a young Aitana fall in love with football? I have always said it was something innate. I started playing at school with the boys there because there were no girls playing then. I was around six or seven and I was also playing basketball. I would say it was innate because in my family we didn’t live for football [but] I was born with that desire to play it.

You joined Barça at the age of 14. Talk me through that move I was playing football just on the school grounds so I asked if I could be signed up to my town’s football team, Club Deportiu Ribes. I was there for four to five years and then I went to another team, Club de Futbol Cubelles. All the years I was there I was the only girl on the team. However, in Catalonia there’s a rule that as a cadete [14-15 years old] you can’t play in mixed teams any more. So that’s when I stopped playing with boys and I was lucky that Barcelona signed me at that moment.

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» Sensible criticism of me is fair. But please, stay out of my back garden | Max Rushden

Our views on Football Weekly last week came in for a deluge of criticism and I admit I was guilty of missing the Liverpool magic

When should you take criticism seriously and when you should just ignore it? This has been on my mind since the Carabao Cup final – Liverpool’s victorious teenagers against the “billion-pound bottle jobs” of Chelsea.

I found myself questioning Gary Neville’s planned line pretty soon after the final whistle. This Chelsea team are also young. You can cost £100m and still be young. Moving halfway across the world as a youngster may be more difficult than coming into the first team from within the stability of an academy. The Liverpool kids had some adults alongside them to shepherd them through the game.

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» Next Generation 2023: 60 of the best young talents in world football

From Warren Zaïre-Emery to Endrick, we select some of the best players born in 2006. Check the progress of our classes of 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018

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» Next Generation 2023: 20 of the best talents at Premier League clubs

We pick the best youngsters at each club born between 1 September 2006 and 31 August 2007, an age band known as first-year scholars. Check the progress of our classes of 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 and look at the editions from further back

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» From Saka to Ackermann: what happened to Next Generation 2018?

Five years ago we picked 80 of the most talented players in the world to follow their progress in a cut-throat business

It is the time of year when we check in on the Next Generation players we picked in 2018 to follow for five years, to assess their progress amid success, setbacks, injuries, trophies won and transfers made.

Next Generation started in 2014 with the aim of showing the difficulties that even the best prospects in the Premier League (we pick one from each club at first-year scholar age) and the rest of the world (we choose 60 born in a specific calendar year) face on their way towards the top.

A defensively minded midfielder who is incredibly strong (he used to be a wrestler) but with an excellent touch to go with his physicality. Made his debut in the Swedish top flight as a 16-year-old last year and captained Sweden as they reached the quarter-finals of the Euro Under-17 tournament in England this summer. Has taken an unusual path to the top. He left the top-flight side IFK Göteborg for sixth division Angered MBIK as a 14-year-old as he felt that he was not getting the right support for his football education. Another Gothenburg club, Häcken, snapped him up in 2017 and he made his senior debut that season. Has signed a new contract with the club from Hisingen until 2021 despite interest from Real Madrid and Benfica and trials at both Manchester clubs.

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