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Chris Wilder has been in contemplative mood this morning as the spectre of Sheffield United’s impending relegation (finally) moves in. A loss to Newcastle on Saturday will confirm their place in the 2024/25 Championship.

We’re not saying everything is great. What we are saying is there is a load of optimism about the future of the football club. It’s a poor season, not a poor football club. We’ve been in far more worse positions than this as a football club, certainly over my time as a supporter, player and manager.

So, we’ll come again if the inevitable happens on the weekend. We’ll try our best, as we did, like we did on Wednesday night at Old Trafford, to get a result for our club and our supporters.

I can’t be the only person who thinks the media love-in for Roberto de Zerbi is a little overblown, right? Brighton has played some very pretty football under his management, but then they did under Potter. And the results are no better. In recent months, they’ve looked pretty soft.

If De Zerbi gets a bigger job off the back of an ‘OK’ job at Brighton, then he should really thank the Brighton recruitment team because they’re the real assets at the club.

• Manchester City playmaker and partner expecting third child
• Guardiola: ‘It’s a question of time. He can improve a lot’

Pep Guardiola has said the the third child Phil Foden and his partner are expecting may help the Manchester City playmaker reach his full potential.

Foden was the champions’ standout performer in Thursday’s 4-0 victory at Brighton, scoring twice to reach 24 goals in all competitions, a career high. Yet Guardiola, asked about Foden’s form, said the 23-year-old still needed to be calmer during certain moments in games.

• Newcastle manager wants to build team around midfielder
• PSG and both Manchester clubs admire Brazil international

Eddie Howe has revealed that Bruno Guimarães’s £100m release clause expires in the final days of June and hopes that will save Newcastle from a summer of transfer speculation centred on their Brazil midfielder.

“Having that was well planned and structured in the sense that there’s a finish point,” said Newcastle’s manager, who almost certainly has Dan Ashworth, the Manchester United-bound sporting director, to thank for inserting the cutoff when Guimarães’s contract was renegotiated last October. “We don’t want a summer of speculation. I don’t think that would be healthy for the player or for us.”

Liverpool await a dead-ball salvo, Luton have to keep their chins up and things could get spicy at City Ground

David Moyes will surely have taken note of Liverpool’s struggle to defend set pieces against Everton. Jürgen Klopp, who must be delighted with a 12.30pm kick-off on Saturday, should prepare his team for another bruising test when they visit West Ham. For Moyes, this is a chance to repair the sizeable damage to his reputation caused by last weekend’s collapse at Selhurst Park. West Ham were 4-0 down to Palace after 31 minutes and are preparing to part company with Moyes at the end of the season, but they should take heart from how Everton unsettled Liverpool in the Merseyside derby. Everton scored twice from set pieces and West Ham pose a similar threat from dead balls. James Ward-Prowse’s deliveries towards Tomas Soucek, Kurt Zouma and Michail Antonio will have Klopp’s defenders sweating. Jacob Steinberg

West Ham v Liverpool, Saturday 12.30pm (all times BST)

Fulham v Crystal Palace, Saturday 3pm

Newcastle v Sheffield United, Saturday 3pm

Manchester United v Burnley, Saturday 3pm

• Arsenal fixture is Tottenham’s first game since 4-0 defeat
• ‘We’ve had a massive week to prepare for this big game’

Son Heung-min has said that Tottenham have had plenty of time to stew on the “unacceptable” defeat at Newcastle and are ready to show a strong response against Arsenal in Sunday’s derby.

Spurs will not need any extra motivation for the showpiece fixture at home to their local rivals. But Son said the 4-0 loss at Newcastle on the Saturday before last– the club’s heaviest defeat of the season and possibly the worst performance – had been extensively discussed.

• Manager says his club want to play ‘winning football first’
• Beating Brentford could secure Premier League survival

Sean Dyche has insisted he will not be judged on playing style at Everton but by winning as he strives to secure the Premier League status of the financially troubled club.

They took a significant step towards that goal on Wednesday by winning the Merseyside derby for the first time in 14 years at Goodison Park. After the 2-0 defeat of Liverpool Dyche, conscious of the criticism his approach attracted during a run of 13 games without a win, claimed he wanted “to play beautiful football if I can, but I want to play winning football first.”

Ethan Wheatley became the latest homegrown talent to make their first-team debut in the win over Sheffield United

The quarter of a millennia has been 93 years in the making at Old Trafford and it was poignant that a local lad, Ethan Wheatley, became the 250th academy graduate to make their debut for Manchester United’s senior men’s team on Wednesday night.

The 18-year-old had spent the previous evening scoring two goals to help defeat Manchester City to win the Premier League Cup. Wheatley, who like his teammate Kobbie Mainoo was born in Stockport, became the 101st player from Greater Manchester to make the leap from academy to elite when he replaced Rasmus Højlund late on against Sheffield United.

• Saif Alrubie denies intimidation over transfer fee commission
• Alrubie alleges he was owed £300,000 from Kurt Zouma deal

A top football agent has accused a former Chelsea executive of repeatedly lying about a transfer fee in order for the Premier League club to avoid paying him a commission, Southwark crown court has heard.

During an at times irascible appearance as the defendant, the agent Saif Alrubie, said Chelsea’s former ­director of football Marina ­Granovskaia misrepresented how much West Ham had paid the west London club for France defender Kurt Zouma in 2021 – effectively cutting him out of the deal and depriving him of fees.

• Inguinal hernia has hampered £106.8m Argentina midfielder
• Mauricio Pochettino under pressure after consecutive defeats

Mauricio Pochettino’s hopes of holding on to his job as Chelsea’s head coach have been complicated by Enzo Fernández needing to undergo surgery on a groin injury that will rule out the £106.8m midfielder for the rest of the season.

Fernández has an inguinal hernia and the operation is set to sideline the Argentinian for the final six games, beginning with Saturday night’s trip to Aston Villa. The former Benfica midfielder has clearly been hampered by the injury and having surgery now will keep him in contention to play at this summer’s Copa América.

• English coach out of work since Chelsea sacking in April 2023
• Fifth-placed Ajax in danger of missing out on Europe

Ajax are interested in appointing Graham Potter as the former Chelsea manager considers a return to coaching after more than a year on the sidelines.

Potter, who is also on a list of potential replacements for Erik ten Hag at Manchester United, has been recharging his batteries since a challenging seven-month spell at Chelsea last season. The former Brighton manager has been linked with plenty of jobs and is determined not to be rushed into taking the wrong one.

Announcement was no shock but reflects environment shift at club and an appetite to find stability after a dismal week

Being the Barcelona manager is “cruel and unpleasant” Xavi Hernández said, but in the end it is all he ever wanted, all he has got. He is all they have got too. And so on Wednesday night, three days after any lingering hopes of winning the league were extinguished, eight days after being knocked out of Europe again, 88 after announcing he was leaving and calling it a “liberation”, he decided that he would continue after all. Ultimately, he just could not let go and nor could they.

“I have no problem changing my mind,” Xavi said on Thursday. When he had said he was leaving on 27 January, Barcelona had just conceded five at home for the first time in 60 years, a defeat he described as a portrait of their season: self-inflicted and absurd, a complete collapse. He had previously linked his continuity to trophies, the first law of coaching; beaten 5-3 by Villarreal, they were 10 points off the top. They had also lost to Real Madrid in the Super Cup final and to Athletic in the Copa del Rey quarters, conceding four in each. Besides, it went deeper than defeats.

Frontrunner to take charge at Liverpool did not make a big impression as a player but has resemblances to Jürgen Klopp

Liverpool’s move for the Feyenoord coach, Arne Slot, has been described by Ajax fans as “the best news of the year”. Troubled Ajax have been blown away this season, losing 4-0 at home and 6-0 away against their arch-rivals.

So superior were Feyenoord in every area – tactics, intensity, power, unity, intelligence – that it could have been worse for Ajax. Only in their finishing might Feyenoord have done better.

Pep Guardiola’s complaints about his team’s tiredness were hard to believe as they strolled to victory against Brighton

It had been tempting to wonder if some kind of elaborate gag was taking place when the Brighton fan and noted stamina enthusiast “The Hardest Geezer” was paraded on the pitch before kick-off at the Amex Stadium. What was that, Pep? Your team’s a bit tired? Why not tell it to the guy who’s just become the first person in history to run the length of Africa? He must be dying to hear about Bernardo Silva’s hamstrings.

Nobody is really buying it. The thing about City is that they are built to go the distance. Not only do they have the best technicians in the league, they also have a team packed with physical power.

Female players claim they feel punished after coming forward anonymously to report sexual and moral harassment

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Santos found themselves at the centre of controversy this month when the Brazilian football club decided to bring back their former manager Kleiton Lima seven months after he had been accused of moral and sexual harassment by players in last year’s squad.

All eight matches in the fifth round of the national league saw protests against Lima, who left the club again after one game versus Corinthians that saw their opponents cover their ears and mouths during the Brazilian national anthem. Lima had been at Santos since 2022 and left the club in September 2023 after players complained about his conduct through 19 anonymous letters, published by the Brazilian news website GE.

Almost 10 years to the day, Steven Gerrard slipped, Liverpool lost control of their destiny in terms of the Premier League title race and Manchester City nipped in to win it.

The talk in recent weeks and certainly since Arsenal and Liverpool lost on the Sunday before last has been about whether City might have a slip of their own in them, something that – frankly – they have never done previously under Pep Guardiola when the trophy has been within their grasp, the focus narrowing over the run-in.

PSG’s summer signings Ousmane Dembélé and Gonçalo Ramos proved they are clicking at last against Lorient

By Eric Devin for Get French Football News

This was the situation Paris Saint-Germain faced on Wednesday night at the Stade du Moustoir: Luis Enrique sent out a heavily rotated team, the visitors having all but secured the league title, and they were away to a Lorient side with talented individuals, fighting to stay in the top flight. It sounded like a recipe for dropped points and there is a precedent: PSG closed out the end of last season with a draw to Strasbourg and a loss to Clermont at home. The latter result certainly dampened the title celebrations at the Parc des Princes.

However, the leaders barely blinked, even with Achraf Hakimi, Warren Zaïre-Emery, Marquinhos, Bradley Barcola and Vitinha not travelling to Brittany. A brace each from Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé was more than PSG needed to put the hapless Merlus to the sword, 4-1.

• Captain says team lacked ‘fight’ at Everton and in other games
• He feels fear of making mistakes may have contributed to slump

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has questioned his teammates’ desire following Wednesday’s loss to Everton which put a huge dent in their hopes to win the Premier League title.

The defender suggested his fellow Anfield players take “a look in the mirror” as he launched into a scathing analysis of Liverpool’s end-of-season collapse following their second defeat in three league games, made even more damaging as it came at Goodison Park.

The final Merseyside derby of Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool reign might well be remembered as the final blow to his dream of signing off with the Premier League title. For the first time in 14 years, and the first time against Klopp, Everton were triumphant against their local rivals at Goodison Park. Victory tasted all the sweeter for Sean Dyche’s team for almost certainly securing their top-flight status at the expense of Liverpool’s title shot.

“You lost the league at Goodison Park,” the home crowd bellowed as they rejoiced in a deserved Everton victory, an outstanding Everton performance and the best night of Dyche’s often-troubled reign. The imperious Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored the goals that consigned Liverpool to a hugely damaging defeat.

With 81 minutes gone Bruno Fernandes collected a Kobbie Mainoo pass and with a swish of his left foot fired a laser past Wes Foderingham and Manchester United were 3-2 ahead. The question now was could they, at last, hang on to a lead.

This was answered emphatically by Rasmus Højlund, whose strike as the end of regulation time neared gave Erik ten Hag’s team security and was the best way to close before a watching Jason Wilcox, the new technical director, who will lead the football department until Dan Ashworth joins from Newcastle.

And to think Stuart Attwell was hoping for a quiet week clear of controversy. The referee was again the subject of rage, this time not from a Greek shipping magnate but from Wolves’ irate supporters, after he disallowed Hwang Hee-chan’s second-half equaliser at home to Bournemouth for the meekest of tangles in the buildup. Attwell initially awarded Hwang’s header before the VAR, Darren England, advised him to visit the pitch-side monitor to review a brush between Matheus Cunha and Justin Kluivert, albeit a petulant one.

Kluivert went to shove Cunha and the Wolves substitute responded by flinging an arm in his direction but did not appear to make any contact with the player. It was a brief contretemps but, tellingly, Kluivert did not appeal after Hwang converted Nélson Semedo’s superb cross. Gary O’Neil placed his hands on his head in disbelief – not for the first time this season – and the fans let Attwell know the rest. “It’s not football any more,” bellowed the South Bank.

Manager’s departure news is not to blame for his side losing their grasp on two, quite possibly three, trophies in quick time

In isolation, Jürgen Klopp did not have to apologise for losing for the first time in eight visits to Goodison Park. Bad nights happen. In the context of Liverpool’s sorry end to the season, however, an apology felt entirely appropriate.

“I really feel for the people, I am really sorry for that,” said the Liverpool manager after Wednesday’s derby defeat by Everton. “We never lost here before and that feels really different. I really apologise for that.” Klopp’s voice and choice of words captured Liverpool’s mood as the prospects of giving their manager a fitting send-off evaporated. Deflation. Yes, a new-look team was not expected to mount a title challenge this season. That is not a default excuse for recent underperformance. Yes, a quadruple is a fanciful ambition. That does not explain how Liverpool have allowed two, quite possibly three, trophies to slip from their grasp in less than six weeks.

Mikel Arteta’s side are chasing the title but Ange Postecoglou wants a top-four spot and has the tools to hurt his local rivals

After Arsenal lost to Aston Villa and went out of the Champions League in the same week, there were suggestions their season was at risk of unravelling. Since then, they have secured a win at Wolves and thrashed Chelsea but they face a pivotal test of their credentials against Tottenham on Sunday.

That game is not just about a team fighting for the title travelling to one aiming to qualify for the Champions League; there is a lot more at stake in a derby – just ask Liverpool. The effect of hostility should not be underestimated in season-defining matches. Tottenham will be desperate to dent the Gunners’ chances of securing a first Premier League trophy in 20 years.

Despite relegation to England’s fourth tier, Cod Army have cast net to be like ‘City Football Group but on a much smaller scale’

Fleetwood United’s celebrations on becoming second division champions in the United Arab Emirates could not be dampened even by a freak thunderstorm in Dubai. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” the captain, Ben Pringle, told the Guardian. “It was the most rain they have had for 75 years. Cars were underwater on the motorway.”

This is not supposed to happen in the glittering city of skyscrapers and excitement but then Fleetwood Town, a club that have just dropped into England’s fourth tier, are not really supposed to be at the head of a stable of international clubs that also includes Waterford FC in Ireland and Western Cape Fleetwood in South Africa.

Our season was defined by tragedies off the pitch and a remarkable resilience that guided the team through it

During lockdown, many turned to baking exotic sourdough or participating in one-time Zoom quizzes. I, however, created an animation with my kids to explore how the mind works, emphasising emotion and intuition as life’s dominant forces. The philosopher Jonathan Haidt uses the elephant and rider metaphor to illustrate this: the elephant represents our emotional, instinctive self, full of raw passion, while the rider symbolises our rational mind, often struggling to control this surge of emotions.

Since September emotion has been the dominant force in my universe. At Grimsby Town, we’ve spent seven months circling the drain of relegation and only in our penultimate game of the season against Swindon Town did a plug of mathematical certainty finally go in.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Jonathan Liew and Robyn Cowen as Liverpool lose the Merseyside derby … and maybe more

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: Everton sink Liverpool in a Merseyside derby that could be the end of the Reds’ title hopes, and which may well be enough to secure the Toffees’ Premier League status.

Everton were set on closing down their rivals from the off and the tactics sapped the belief from the title challengers

It is little wonder Jürgen Klopp is running out of energy when he is having to come up with a new lineup every few days. For the Merseyside derby defeat to Everton there were six changes to follow on from the half-dozen made for Sunday’s win over Fulham. On this occasion, however, it did not work.

The latter weeks of the season are a tricky balance for any coach with so much at stake. Trying to maintain a rhythm and build momentum while keeping everyone fresh for crucial fixtures is an unenviable task. It cannot help a manager when hours before the match a starter withdraws but not even the riches of football can dictate when a mother-to-be enters labour.

The Liverpool manager, Jürgen Klopp, has praised his potential replacement, Arne Slot, as the Dutchman closes on a move to the Premier League. Slot has emerged as the frontrunner for the job with his track record of improving young talent, success on a relatively modest budget, European experience and a style of play that is not a dramatic departure from Klopp’s, all appealing to Anfield’s recruitment team. Speaking before his side's trip to West Ham on Saturday, Klopp described Arne as a 'good coach' and a 'good guy', while also praising his style of football.

• Jürgen Klopp hails potential Liverpool successor Arne Slot: football news – live

• Arne Slot: the overachiever and ‘good guy’ who can spark a revolution

• Arne Slot admits he wants to succeed Jürgen Klopp as Liverpool manager

The Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernández has reversed his decision to leave the club at the end of the season as 'circumstances have changed'. Xavi originally decided to leave Barça, citing 'a lack of respect' with the belief that the club needed 'a change of direction'. However now he has said 'the main motive wasn’t because of the internal pressure' adding that he is keen to 'continue here with the utmost happiness ... [I am] willing to keep working and building a winning project'.

• Xavi Hernández to stay on as Barcelona head coach in dramatic U-turn

• Xavi’s Barça U-turn shows breaking up is hard to do despite tough times

Mauricio Pochettino refused to blame his players for Chelsea's record defeat to Arsenal but lamented the inconsistency of his team. The Blues manager said: 'Our standard doesn’t sustain the bad days. When we have bad days, you know, we are so bad. And then when we are good, we are capable of everything.' Pochettino's comments come after Arsenal defeated his side 5-0.

Erik ten Hag has called media coverage of Manchester United's win over Coventry in the FA Cup semi-final a 'disgrace'. Having a 3-0 lead at Wembley with 20 minutes to go and then won on penalties, United were criticised by pundits and fans. Asked if he understood the response, Ten Hag said: 'No, absolutely not ... is it [the result] embarrassing? No, the reaction from you [the media] was embarrassing ... For me as a manager, four cup finals in four years. The comments are a disgrace.'

• Ten Hag calls reaction to Manchester United’s win over Coventry a ‘disgrace’

A 2-1 win against Milan clinched the Serie A title for Inter. The two Milan clubs began this season tied on 19 league titles each but now Inter will be the first to add a second gold star to their club badge for a 20th Scudetto. Not even the rain could dampen the spirits of the Nerazzurri and their fans: flares and fireworks were set off in the city centre as fans sang and danced through the night.

• Inter could not have imagined a more satisfying way to win 20th Scudetto

• Inter seal historic 20th Serie A title with derby victory over Milan

Stunning drone footage captured the moment Portsmouth fans stormed the pitch as they were crowned League One champions. Portsmouth return to the Championship after a 12-year absence. John Mousinho’s side twice hit back from behind to beat playoff hopefuls Barnsley 3-2. Fans can be seen celebrating in the centre of the pitch with the players and setting off smoke bombs.

• Portsmouth win promotion to Championship and League One title

The latest MLS franchise is owned by the Right to Dream academy. They plan to use a model inspired by LeBron James to carve out a new path in US soccer

Major League Soccer will integrate its 30th club at the beginning of the 2025 season when expansion side San Diego FC joins the Western Conference.

But the league’s latest addition will arrive with a model for on-field success, development and business unlike the other 29 teams.

Having reached their first playoff semi-final, the eastern Indian club are looking to make the most of their untapped potential

It was an unforgettable weekend for Raj Athwal. On Friday night, the only British chief executive of an Indian Super League (ISL) club, Odisha FC, watched them beat Kerala Blasters 2-1 to reach the last four of the Championship playoffs in the most dramatic fashion. On Sunday, he then saw his beloved Coventry City, where he worked for over a decade, lose to Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-finals in the narrowest fashion.

Wembley outdid Kalinga Stadium in the drama and excitement stakes, but not by much. With three minutes remaining, Odisha were a goal down and a fine season was coming to an end.

• Lamine Yamal’s strike in 3-2 loss on Sunday not given by VAR
• Barça believe ball crossed the line and could demand replay

Barcelona’s president, Joan Laporta, has threatened legal action and could demand a replay after his side were denied a goal against Real Madrid at the weekend.

Lamine Yamal thought he had scored in the 28th minute of Sunday’s 3-2 clásico loss at the Bernabéu but the on-pitch officials did not rule the ball had crossed the line, and after a lengthy VAR check, their decision stood. La Liga does not use goalline technology.

Memories of an underwhelming start to his managerial career are fading as the Australian targets a continental final with Yokohama

Harry Kewell’s coaching journey has been unconventional, to say the least. His previous job ended at the bottom of England’s fifth tier, but he is now just three games away from a continental title and a place in the Club World Cup. Fifa’s expanded 2025 tournament in the United States would be worth an estimated $80m to Yokohama F Marinos but for the Australian’s coaching credentials it would be priceless.

On Wednesday, the five-time Japanese champions, coached by Kewell since the turn of this year, host Ulsan HD in the second leg of their Asian Champions League semi-final. The South Korean side have a 1-0 advantage from last week, but there is all to play for at Yokohama International Stadium.

Return of Mikautadze, last year’s Ligue 2 player of the season, from Ajax has been mutually beneficial for player and club

By Eric Devin for Get French Football News

In Ligue 1’s maiden season with 18 teams, one had the feeling that some had little chance of staying up. Fewer teams theoretically projects to a higher average standard, but it also means sides lacking in quality are likely to be found out.

That axiom has generally held true – through the course of the season, most sides, even in the bottom half, have been able to call on a player who is superlative in their position, or at least capable of conjuring something out of nothing. Le Havre may be an exception owing to the hard-driving ethos put in place by Luka Elsner but Nantes (Moses Simon), Montpellier (Téji Savanier) and Toulouse (Thijs Dallinga) all have players with a bit of magic.

The Adelaide United sensation has started taking German lessons but is happy to let his football do most of the talking for now

His head is mostly bowed. In front of the TV cameras he sways with nerves, sometimes even giggles. The shy demeanour of Australian prodigy Nestory Irankunda off the field stands in juxtaposition to his powerful, decisive presence on it.

Three months away from his eagerly anticipated move to German giants Bayern Munich from Adelaide, the 18-year-old was, on Tuesday, one of the first players named for the A-League All Stars’ clash against Newcastle United in Melbourne on 24 May.

Football Australia imposes interim suspension after Torres arrested over alleged incident in March

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The Central Coast Mariners’ star striker Angel Torres has been stood down from playing in the A-League Men after he was charged with sexual assault.

Torres, 24, was arrested at a property in Terrigal on Monday in relation to an alleged sexual assault of a woman on 24 March.

Inter clinched their 20th Serie A title by beating Milan in a feisty derby at San Siro, giving Simone Inzaghi’s side an unassailable lead in the standings. A goal from Francesco Acerbi and Marcus Thuram in each half proved sufficient to secure Inter’s victory, with Fikayo Tomori scoring late in the game to reduce the deficit.

The match also featured three red cards in stoppage time, with Milan being reduced to nine men as tensions flared. Theo Hernández and Davide Calabria got their marching orders along with Inter’s Denzel Dumfries.

A big European win and a disappointing domestic draw this week sums up Dortmund, who remain in an identity crisis

On a night like Tuesday, Borussia Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park really is every bit as special as they say, maybe even more so. It is a formidable tidal wave of unfettered emotion, impossible to fairly explain if you aren’t in it and futile to resist if you are.

After the drunken revelry of that Champions League win over Atlético Madrid a reality check might have been needed, and my goodness this was it. True, they came close to being the first team to beat Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga this season, but Josip Stanisic’s header in the seventh minute of stoppage time salvaged a draw for the newly crowned champions, with Xabi Alonso releasing his inner Mourinho to charge down the touchline and join the bundle in front of the celebrating away fans.

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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• Meet the judges | Best female footballers to launch in January

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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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.

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

• The 100 best female footballers in the world 2023

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.

As the Premier League continues to hike ticket prices and shut out local fans, Bayer’s Bundesliga title shows the value of a club rooted in its home town

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A corner from the left, seven minutes into injury-time. The Croatian defender Josip Stanišić rises at the near post. His header is too firm to be described as glancing, but it is well directed and flashes across goal and in for an equaliser. The black and red corner of the Signal Iduna Park erupts. Several minutes after the game they were still celebrating with their players. The Bundesliga title is already won but there should be no doubt that Bayer Leverkusen care about their unbeaten record.

Until that moment, there had been a sense of anticlimax about Borussia Dortmund against Leverkusen. What had, a month or so ago, looked like potentially being the game at which Xabi Alonso’s side would wrap up the title instead became, thanks to Bayern Munich squandering a two-goal lead against Heidenheim two weeks ago, the first game on their five-game victory lap. Dortmund, similarly, were on a comedown after Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final win over Atlético. Fifth place is all but secure and, with Germany looking very likely to have five Champions League slots next season, it doesn’t much matter whether they catch RB Leipzig, who are two points clear in fourth.

I’ve seen plenty of setbacks down the years – enough to become desensitised, I thought. But then came an entirely new kind of trauma

“Respect Coventry, please,” said Pep Guardiola on Saturday evening when a presumptuous TV reporter asked Manchester City’s manager about the prospect of another all-Manchester FA Cup final. Guardiola knew Coventry City would be no pushovers for Manchester United in Sunday’s semi-final, yet even he couldn’t have envisaged how close they would drag Erik ten Hag’s side towards ruin in the most scintillating and sickening football experience of my life.

I’ve watched plenty of Coventry defeats down the years – enough to become desensitised to it, I thought. I cried at Villa Park when we were relegated from the Premier League in 2001; I watched from the press box with weary resignation as Doncaster consigned us to League One in 2012; and I experienced mixed emotions when Luton denied us a Premier League berth last May. But watching us lose to United at Wembley after a preposterous three-goal comeback was an entirely new kind of trauma.

The 82-year-old’s impact on football goes far beyond his own success with the advice he gives to up-and-coming managers

At around this time in 2006, soon after Chelsea beat Manchester United at Stamford Bridge to secure a second successive league title, Sir Alex Ferguson’s phone rang. It was some bloke called Aidy Boothroyd, at the time just some gobby, upstart young coach who had somehow landed his Watford team in the Championship playoffs. “I phoned him up, asked for some advice and he gave me some pearls,” Boothroyd said later. “He lent me a couple of books and he’s always been at the end of the phone if I ever need any help. I think he does that for everybody.”

I remember being surprised by this at the time. Ferguson was 64, had already retired once, had won eight English league titles, was at the time the subject of savage and, it soon transpired, wildly misplaced criticism due to his side’s poor performance (they still finished second), and was just gearing up to win the league again in each of the next three years and five of the next seven. He had, in short, plenty on his plate already without being pestered for tips by fanboys. And yet there he was, lending books to Aidy Boothroyd. “He will always pick up the phone or phone you back if he can’t get to you the first time,” Boothroyd said the following year. “I’ve never known him not to call back.”

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“You lost the league at Goodison Park,” serenaded the Everton fans as Liverpool’s players trudged off the pitch on Wednesday evening after their 2-0 defeat, the footballing equivalent of Nelson Muntz giving his teacher a wedgie and yelling: “Ha Ha!” And while Football Daily is convinced that Jürgen Klopp understands the literal translation of schadenfreude, it’s rare that the Liverpool manager has been on the receiving end of the concept. This defeat at Goodison was the first and last of Klopp’s nine-year tenure, and Liverpool’s first defeat at their neighbours’ ground since 2010.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Ben Fisher, Sanny Rudravajhala and George Elek as Arsenal beat Chelsea 5-0 and to run through the EFL as those divisions reach a conclusion in the coming weeks

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On the podcast today; Arsenal keep pace at the top of the Premier League – were they brilliant or are Chelsea inexcusably bad? It’s probably a touch of both.

Our cartoonist on the scrapping of replays, fixture congestion, drama at Wembley and that Nottingham Forest statement

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Faye Carruthers is joined by Suzanne Wrack for an interview with Fifpro representatives, Sarah Gregorius and Alex Culvin, plus Dutch international, Merel van Dongen, to discuss how footballers are being affected by the packed schedule. Also, Sophie Downey rounds up the weekend action in the Champion’s League and WSL

Today’s pod features an exclusive interview with representatives from the global players’ union, Fifpro, who, alongside the Netherlands defender Merel van Dongen, share their views on how footballers are being affected by the packed schedule.

The panel also discuss Chelsea's inspired Champions League win against Barcelona, Manchester City retaking the WSL lead, Arsenal securing European football, Palace's Championship title charge and relegation for Lewes …

Hashtag United’s Emma Samways was stunned to receive a £9,200 bill after suffering an ACL injury in a cup match

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For any player, the prospect of an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury is incredibly daunting. The Arsenal winger Beth Mead described her experience as “mentally and physically gruelling,” while the England captain, Leah Williamson, doubted she would return from her own setback.

Suffering an ACL injury means a prolonged period on the sidelines, usually between nine and 12 months. Professional players receive the best treatment to ensure they can return as soon as possible and without financial strain. But that isn’t the case for every player in England, especially female footballers playing outside the Women’s Super League and Championship. The Hashtag United winger Emma Samways, who plays in the third tier of English football, ruptured her ACL during a National League Cup semi-final against Halifax. It was an incident that put her life on pause.

Chelsea earn chance to make history, City keep the pressure on at the top and the Holmgaards produce some magic for Everton

“Our team did a lot to limit chances as a whole. You can only do that together and not individually. The team as a whole did that job well today. Everything has to be perfect for you to get close to winning a game of football [against Barcelona],” said Emma Hayes after Chelsea’s 1-0 win over in the first leg of their Women’s Champions League semi-final and that, really, was the crux of their success. They defended as a team, attacked as a team, held their shape collectively and achieved perfection when executing the gameplan. Can they do it again in the second leg at Stamford Bridge? It will be difficult to make lightening strike twice, but the belief will be there. Hayes wants to see a sellout crowd at Stamford Bridge because her players “deserve to play in front of a full house to give ourselves the best possible chance.” There is certainly no greater opportunity for a sellout crowd than history beckoning. Suzanne Wrack

Match report: Barcelona 0-1 Chelsea

WSL roundup: Shaw double helps City move top

Minute-by-minute report: Manchester Utd 2-2 Tottenham

Minute-by-minute report: Arsenal 3-0 Leicester

Manchester United snatch chaos from jaws of serenity, Nicolas Jackson misfires and Liverpool stay in hunt

Jammy, jammy Man United. To be fair, they did find a new way to be hopeless. Instead of the usual mayhem, they were in total control for 70 minutes, barely letting Coventry have a shot. But then, somehow, they snatched chaos from the jaws of serenity. ITV, and all their teatime viewers, couldn’t believe their luck as a cakewalk turned into a classic. United threw away a 3-0 lead, and for a minute, right at the end of extra time, they were 4-3 down – only for the VAR to come to their rescue, after he had failed to when they conceded a penalty. We were witnessing history, comedy, tragedy, the lot. Casemiro took the first penalty and missed. Destiny was surely calling to Coventry, but André Onana rose to the occasion, flying to his right to paw away one penalty, craftily engineering a miss from another, and saving Erik ten Hag’s job. For now, anyway. Tim de Lisle

Match report: Coventry 3-3 Manchester United (2-4 pens)

Match report: Manchester City 1-0 Chelsea

Match report: Fulham 1-3 Liverpool

Match report: Wolves 0-2 Arsenal

Match report: Everton 2-0 Nottingham Forest

Match report: Sheffield United 1-4 Burnley

Match report: Aston Villa 3-1 Bournemouth

Our cartoonist looks back on a dramatic weekend in which Pep Guardiola’s machine powered back up to the summit

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Legislation will bring seismic change to the industry and aims to stamp out money laundering

Not for the first time in the history of the European parliament, it all started in Belgium. An investigation into alleged bribery, money-laundering, forged transfer contracts and the involvement of organised crime at the highest levels of professional football that began in 2018 eventually implicated almost 60 agents, administrators, referees and coaches.

Known as Operation Clean Hands, the level of alleged corruption it uncovered not only led to the establishment of new strict financial regulations for clubs in Belgium but also opened eyes in the corridors of power in Brussels. In 2019, football was added to the European Union’s watchlist of money-laundering risks, with a United Nations report estimating that around $140bn is laundered through the game every year. Yet while many leagues already have strict financial regulations aimed at preventing fraud, the French MEP, Damien Carême, believes the concern has been more focused on complying with financial fair play regulations than stopping corruption.

Micah Richards laughing uproariously behind a lighted TV plinth? That’s the kind of noise football is being distilled into

Before anybody knew anything at all, around the same time a series of speculative bronze-age books were being encoded as the foundation of much organised human society, there was a theory that everything in the world was made from one substance.

There were different combinations of The Substance. But it was all essentially One Substance – probably, you know, God’s fingernails or the like.

Midfielder thrived in team’s disciplined performance to give them upper hand for Champions League semi-final second leg

“We kept it alive,” was the verdict of Chelsea’s goalscorer, Erin Cuthbert, after their phenomenal and tactically astute 1-0 victory over the European champions Barcelona on Saturday. “It’s all to play for in the second leg.”

Chelsea did more than keep the tie alive going into the second leg at Stamford Bridge: they made the seemingly impossible possible. It has been more than five years since Barcelona lost at home and they had not lost home or away since May 2023. Their last defeat in the Champions League came in December 2022.

The former Arsenal and Spain midfielder, now 38, is loving playing for his home club Real Oviedo in the second division

The day Spain’s history changed for ever, Santi Cazorla scored in the shootout. He scored on his Recreativo de Huelva debut in 2006, the first of 143 goals going back 18 years, got his last for Arsenal in front of 59,962 at the Emirates in autumn 2016, and netted a 96th-minute equaliser in Moscow 754 days and 10 operations later, having been told to settle for walking again. He scored in the FA Cup final at Wembley, at the Santiago Bernabéu and the Camp Nou, at Old Trafford and Anfield, in the north London derby and at San Mamés, a place so revered they call it the Cathedral.

Nothing, though, compared to a deflected shot in front of 3,823 people on a random Saturday afternoon against tiny Alcorcón in the second division, and which didn’t even count. “The goal I’ve lived with most feeling,” Cazorla calls it, a VAR review ruining everything. “And I had already celebrated.”

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

• Next Generation 2023: 20 of the best Premier League talents

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

• Next Generation 2023: 60 of the best talents around the world

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.