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• Cas also reduces City’s fine to €10m
• City have denied wrongdoing throughout

Manchester City’s two-year ban from the Champions League for a serious breach of Uefa’s financial fair play rules has been overturned by the court of arbitration for sport, which also reduced the club’s fine to €10m (£9m) from €30m.

Cas’s panel of three lawyers found that City failed to cooperate with the investigations by Uefa’s club financial control body (CFCB), which oversees FFP compliance, and imposed the €10m fine for that. The panel said City had shown a “disregard” for the principle that clubs must cooperate with a governing body’s investigations, and conducted an “obstruction of the investigations”.

From the heady heights of beating Manchester City it all went downhill for Daniel Farke’s side, with injuries, inexperience and a loss of confidence all significant factors in their demise

When Norwich beat Manchester City 3-2 last September, the Canaries released a piece of content that went viral. A video featuring clips of the team playing their way out from the back, under intense pressure, with sharp angled passes and dextrous movement was watched more than six million times. The caption read: “Beating the press by sticking to our philosophy.”

Since the restart Southampton and Arsenal have pressed Norwich’s backline into goal-conceding errors. Brighton have capitalised on misplaced passes to do the same. Simple goals from crosses, meanwhile – a weakness exploited by Sergio Agüero even on that summer’s evening in Carrow Road – have been plundered by Everton, Watford and, finally, West Ham.

Key questions about both sides’ forwards went unanswered in a game where Spurs and Arsenal showed their flaws

After all the optimistic talk, the north-London derby was a sobering reminder for Arsenal of just how much still needs to be done, just how pervasive are the problems Mikel Arteta inherited. And while the victory lifted Tottenham above Arsenal, and for all this in some respects resembled a classic José Mourinho mugging, it was a result that did little to clear the doubts about the manager and his approach.

Spurs won because their defence were less chaotic than Arsenal’s but the picture, really, was of two attacks seeking an identity. At least it was possible to discern a Tottenham attack, which wasn’t the case against Everton or Bournemouth.

Wycombe’s manager has led the relegation candidates to the League One play-off final while fronting a rock band

When nine players pitched up for the first day of pre-season last summer, there was little expectation that Wycombe Wanderers would reach the League One play-off final. Then again, how many other managers have had to cancel band practice because they have a date at Wembley?

Gareth Ainsworth, the country’s longest-serving manager and part-time frontman, is the inspirational leader who has taken a team tipped for relegation to the verge of an extraordinary promotion. “When your gaffer drives into training in a Mustang, wearing a leather jacket, and plays rock‘n’roll while working out in the gym, how can that not be contagious?” says the defender Darius Charles.

• Midfielder points to improved balance and structure
• ‘Nothing can stop’ return to top if progress maintained

Paul Pogba believes Manchester United are now a “proper team”, the midfielder pointing to a newly achieved balance between attack and defence.

United host Southampton on Monday night, having won their past four league games in an unbeaten run of 17 in all competitions. With Chelsea and Leicester City losing at the weekend, Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s side can leapfrog both and take third position with three matches remaining if Saints are beaten.

There simply was no better time for Dominic Solanke to score his first Premier League goals in a Bournemouth shirt. The striker’s double ensured Eddie Howe’s side rallied from behind to dent Leicester’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League with an improbable victory that relights their fight for survival.

Solanke scored in the league for the first time in 788 days before wrapping up a priceless victory with his second goal but it was a sore evening for Leicester, who imploded after being reduced to 10 men when Caglar Soyuncu’s minute of madness handed Bournemouth a lifeline.

• Crystal Palace forward received threats before Villa match
• Zaha offered support on Twitter by Ian Wright
  

West Midlands police have confirmed they have arrested a 12-year-old boy after Wilfried Zaha was subjected to racist abuse on social media before Crystal Palace’s match against Aston Villa on Sunday.

Zaha shared screenshots of messages sent to his Instagram account in the early hours of Sunday, including one of members of the white supremacist organisation the Ku Klux Klan. “Woke up to this today,” Zaha wrote.

Aston Villa are not going to go down without a fight after all. They started slowly here but ended up dominant, fully deserving of the three points secured by two goals from Mahmoud Trezeguet. It has been a long time since a Villa forward scored one goal, let alone a pair, so Dean Smith’s side were grateful for the Egyptian’s sharpness, which ended a streak of 10 leagues games without a win.

Villa are still in the relegation zone but only four points below West Ham and Watford. Their remaining matches are against Everton, Arsenal and West Ham. They cannot count on any of those sides being as vulnerable as Palace, who sagged to their fifth straight defeat here. The visitors played like a team who want the season to finish; it may be over for Christian Benteke, who was shown a red card after the final whistle for kicking out at Ezri Konsa as the players headed for the tunnel.

The Ireland camp under Charlton was a place where fools were not suffered, Guinness flowed – and team spirit bloomed

Watching and reading the tributes to Jack Charlton has been very moving. It was sad knowing a great man had passed away. But generally, when I think of Jack it just brings a smile to my face, partly because he gave me some of the best football moments of my life with the Republic of Ireland but also because just being in his company was great.

Related: Jack Charlton obituary

Marcelo Bielsa felt Leeds had taken a “step forward” to winning promotion after Pablo Hernández’s late winner secured a 1-0 victory at Swansea.

On a day when Leeds paid tribute to club great Jack Charlton, who died at the age of 85 on Friday, Bielsa’s side moved to within four points of ending their 16-year wait to play in the top flight of English football.

• Captain’s family owns Covid-19-threatened home in Nottingham
• ‘I can’t return until a risk isn’t posed on the care home’

The Liverpool Women captain, Sophie Bradley-Auckland, will not be returning to the squad for the time being as she helps her family run their care home amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the club said on Sunday.

The defender, named the club’s player of the year last year, is also the manager of Edenhurst care home in Nottingham, a business run by her family for generations.

It is correct to begin by hailing the victors, particularly when they are as good as this. For anyone seeking a snapshot of Wolves’ identity under Nuno Espírito Santo, this match would be a fair case study. They had not been at their best in the previous week, looking sluggish enough to suggest their top-six credentials were at severe risk, but after a slow start they pulled clear and should have won by more.

Solid, methodical, supremely drilled and allowed to spark into life around the final third: the now-familiar notes were all hit and there remains, for now at least, the hope that next season’s Champions League will dance to their tune.

José Mourinho had said he could not wait for the season to finish and, given the gloomy mood that shadowed Tottenham into this derby and the state of the Premier League table, it was easy to see why. Yet there was a dose of unexpected cheer at the expense of their nearest and dearest rivals when Spurs found a way to turn the tide of a second half that was slipping away from them.

The decisive blow was struck late on by Toby Alderweireld, who rose to flick Son Heung-min’s corner into the roof of the net. Defensively, Arsenal broke down – why was Kieran Tierney marking Alderweireld? – and it meant Spurs had done enough. It was not a vintage performance from them and there remain doubts over the cohesion of their attacking football. But this was a day when Mourinho needed a result and he got one.

• Keeper set for 400th Manchester United appearance
• Manager says he has never considered dropping De Gea

David de Gea is set to make his 400th Manchester United appearance on Monday against Southampton, with Ole Gunnar Solskjær believing the 29-year-old could play at least another decade for the club.

The goalkeeper was signed by Sir Alex Ferguson in the summer of 2011 and has since won every domestic trophy and the Europa League, and been voted as the fans’ player of the year four times. Yet Solskjær believes the Spaniard remains hungry.

• Spurs on course to finish above rivals for fourth year in row
• Manager says ‘it would not be bad’ to win third Europa League
  

José Mourinho said he wants to secure Europa League qualification for Tottenham from the remaining games of the season after watching his team edge to a derby win over Arsenal.

The manager knows Spurs are set fair to finish above their rivals for a fourth season in a row after a 2-1 home victory on Sunday thanks to Toby Alderweireld’s late winner.

• Guardiola: ‘I’m confident in the club but we have to wait’
• Court of arbitration for sport’s verdict is due on Monday

Pep Guardiola has admitted he is uncertain if Manchester City will have their two-year ban from European competition quashed when the verdict is delivered on Monday.

While the manager has full confidence in the club there is an acceptance that he cannot be sure until the judgment on Uefa’s suspension of City, due at 9.30am UK time, is announced.

• Asian Cup-winning midfielder had retired from international level in 2018
• Jedinak, 35, played for Central Coast Mariners, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa

Asian Cup-winning Socceroos captain Mile Jedinak has called time on his decorated playing career, scotching hopes of a final hurrah in the A-League.

The 35-year-old former Central Coast Mariners, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa midfielder has not played since May 2019 and made his retirement official on social media on Sunday.

The World Cup winner went down the pit at 15 and was loved unconditionally for his impish wit and unbounded generosity

He was Ireland’s favourite Englishman. He was Leeds’s favourite Geordie. And, with due respect to his illustrious brother, Jack was nearly everyone’s favourite Charlton. On Friday night at home in Northumberland, Jack Charlton died in his sleep at 85 in the embrace of his family after suffering for more than a year with lymphoma and dementia. The outpouring of affection for him in the hours since has been as rich with anecdotes of laughter and mischief as for his deeds in football.

Charlton is remembered largely for his part in England’s World Cup victory in 1966, 23 years at Leeds and taking Ireland to two World Cup finals. There were successful spells of management, too, at Middlesbrough (where he was manager of the year in 1974), and Sheffield Wednesday, whom he rescued from ignominy, and Newcastle, where he and a young Paul Gascoigne worked together for a short time.

Top clubs have been the most active in the market and Manchester City could land two England full-backs

In what will be a seven-month stretch without domestic women’s football, interest in the comings and goings at clubs is reaching a new peak. The unpredictability of the effects of Covid-19 has added spice to the current transfer window.

The window opened on 19 June but until the past week the announcements had come in no more than a steady trickle as the pandemic curtailed the ability of clubs to do business. Medicals, photographs and even the signing of a contract have had to be done remotely, externally or delayed.

The celebrations were more memorable than the matches but Jack Charlton leaves an indelible mark on Irish football

Jack Charlton was to the Republic of Ireland what Pelé was to Brazil. He defined the national team to the world, establishing a style against which all of the country’s sides since have been measured, for better or worse. Charlton, Ireland’s first foreign manager, even helped to alter society.

The beauty of a game depends on the beholder. For nearly 10 years Charlton’s Ireland were hard to watch and harrowing to play against, yet they gave unprecedented joy to millions. He was fortunate that during his reign Ireland had some of the greatest players in their history but it took an exceptional leader to rally them. The manager, a surprising appointment, brought a charisma and a clarity of vision that had been missing.

Belgium’s manager on feeling ready to go all the way at Euro 2020, moving on from the golden generation and why he loves English football

Until he took the Belgium job, Roberto Martínez felt much the same as any club manager: that there was rarely a timely international break. “But then, when you experience that side of football, you realise it takes the game into a different level,” he says. “Having a whole nation kicking a ball and celebrating a goal or going through the misery of not being able to win a major tournament. Nothing unifies, or takes celebration to a global scale, like international football.”

Put like that, perhaps Euro 2020 will provide a salve for troubled times when it belatedly begins next June. Had Covid-19 not intervened, it is conceivable Martínez would have been leading Belgium out at Wembley in the final on Sundayand their golden generation, a decade in the making, would have achieved its crowning moment.

Leeds United footballer and member of the victorious 1966 World Cup England squad, he went on to manage the Republic of Ireland

Jack Charlton, who has died aged 85 after suffering from lymphoma and dementia, spent a large part of his life in the shadow of his younger brother, Bobby, whom he always referred to as “our kid”. But he had a stellar footballing career in his own right, winning a World Cup medal with England in 1966 and multiple honours with the formidable Leeds United side of the late 1960s and early 70s.

Unlike his brother he also became a successful big-club manager after retiring as a player, peaking with a remarkable and colourful 10-year stint in charge of the Republic of Ireland, taking them twice to the World Cup finals, including, in 1990, to a quarter-final.

Jack Charlton, a World Cup winner with England and a former Republic of Ireland manager, has died aged 85.

Charlton, the elder brother of Bobby, played 35 times for England as a central defender, including all six matches at the 1966 World Cup. He spent his whole playing career at Leeds United and after retiring as a player became a successful manager. 

He started with Middlesbrough, but is arguably best remembered as a manager for his work with the Republic of Ireland

• Jack Charlton, England World Cup winner, dies aged 85

Norwich City manager Daniel Farke said 'it was not unexpected' that Norwich City would be relegated from the Premier League  after their 4-0 home defeat to West Ham United confirmed they would be returning to the Championship after just one season.

An emotional Farke spoke following the loss and said he felt especially sorry for the Norwich supporters

José Mourinho has said he was 'very happy' after the half-time confrontation between the Tottenhgam captain, Hugo Lloris, and Son-Heung min during the 1-0 win over Everton. The pair were seen pushing one another as they left the field. The Spurs manager added that he does not want to manage a team capable of winning nothing more than the Fair Play Cup

• José Mourinho thrilled with 'beautiful' row between Spurs' Son and Lloris

The Liverpool manager, Jürgen Klopp, says being crowned Premier League champions last week had no impact on his team's 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Manchester City. Klopp said the defeat hurt, and that says City had a point to prove while Liverpool failed to capitalise on their chances. The result is the Reds' second league loss of the season, but still leaves them 20 points clear of Pep Guardiola's side

• Sterling and Foden star as Manchester City rain on Liverpool's title parade

The Premier League chief executive, Richard Masters, has hinted that the Newcastle takeover saga could be concluded shortly, but he was warned by MPs that it would be 'humiliating' to allow a Saudi Arabian consortium to take over a club given the country’s record on piracy and human rights. The SNP’s John Nicolson also pointed out that the Premier League’s owners’ and directors’ test would be considered bizarre if it gave approval to Prince Mohammed bin Salman, given that it failed to allow One Direction singer Louis Tomlinson to take over Doncaster Rovers

Liverpool Football Club has condemned the behaviour of crowds of fans who gathered in the city to celebrate the club winning their first ever Premier League title. On Saturday the club, Liverpool City Council and Merseyside Police issued a joint statement saying: 'Our city is still in a public health crisis and this behaviour is wholly unacceptable.' Footage published on social media showed fireworks aimed at the Liver Building and thousands of people packing the streets.

Barcelona’s other team were relegated at an empty Camp Nou, a cold and cruel final blow to a season that crumbled painfully

Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol left the first division to the opening bars of “Cant del Barça”, the anthem of the club that has cast a shadow over them for so long. It was, their director general said, “a dark night”, although it could have been even darker. Relegated after 26 years and at the Camp Nou of all places, symbolism in them taking their first steps into segunda at their rivals’ home, this hurt. But at least there was virtually no one there to see it, no salt for their wounds, players slipping off silently when the end came.

As the final minutes ticked away, Ví­ctor Sánchez sank his head into the seat, wanting it to be over. Sitting nearby, Raúl Tamudo swore into his mask. Below them, self-appointed emergency coach Francisco Rufete stood powerless, cap pulled down tight. Twelve years ago, Rufete’s pass released Tamudo to score a late equaliser here, denying Barcelona a title that turned on 18 ludicrous seconds. “The shag of the century,” AS called it. Some Espanyol fans consider that to be their best moment, certainly the most ecstatic. This was perhaps the most empty.

Ralf Rangnick will replace him next season but Stefano Pioli has been so effective fans feel he is deserving of a longer run

Stefano Pioli woke up on Tuesday morning to another round of headlines about the man who is being hired to replace him. After months of courtship, Ralf Rangnick is understood to have agreed a deal to become Milan’s manager next season. The story was front-page news for Italy’s best-read newspaper, Gazzetta dello Sport, with a picture of the German underneath the words “It’s Done”.

There remains some ambiguity about what that means for Pioli. Gazzetta speculated he could be given a temporary role alongside Rangnick, who has worked more as a director than a manager over the past eight years – first at RB Leipzig and, more recently, in an overarching role across Red Bull’s football empire. Yet while Rangnick is expected to shape Milan’s transfer policy, all indications are he intends to coach the first team too.

The league resumes with a month-long tournament but there is disquiet about playing in a state where coronavirus is surging. And then there are the sandwiches ...

Omar Gonzalez probably expected a little more from a summer trip to Walt Disney World than a soggy-looking sandwich and a banana in a box. No Dole Whips or Mickey Mouse lollipops in sight, and there was certainly no evidence of the “house roasted prime New York strip loin” the Toronto FC defender’s $65 lunch had been billed as on the menu.

Yummm... #MLSisBack pic.twitter.com/nelyLH9YsW

• Barcelona win 4-1 at El Madrigal to keep Real Madrid in sight
• Inter beaten by Bologna, Napoli strike late to defeat Roma

Barcelona put their recent struggles aside in an impressive display at Villarreal, winning 4-1 to move back to within four points of the La Liga leaders, Real Madrid, with four games apiece remaining.

Recent draws with Atlético and at Celta Vigo, coupled with Madrid’s earlier 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao, meant the defending champions kicked off at El Madrigal seven points behind their arch-rivals, but there was no sign of the pressure telling in a breathtaking first-half display.

Sergio Ramos was the hero from the penalty spot again as Real Madrid won 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, a seventh consecutive victory that tightened their grip on the La Liga title.

Zinedine Zidane’s side temporarily moved seven points clear of second-placed Barcelona, who cut the gap back to four by winning 4-1 at Villarreal later on Sunday. After the game, Zidane hit back at suggestions his team have benefited from refereeing decision in recent games, saying his team “deserve more respect”.

The tournament in 2023 presents a unique opportunity to address equality, racism and Indigenous culture, and climate change

The announcement of hosting rights for the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup is serendipitous not just for Australian football or the country, but perhaps sport itself.

July 2023 could create a new paradigm in global sport following the social awakening of Covid-19, a more meaningful role for sport in society by following the lead of athletes worldwide and making public, advocatory contributions to important issues.

• Robert Lewandowski reaches 50 goals for the season
• Buffon passes Paolo Maldini’s record with 648 appearances

Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich kept their hopes of a treble alive after beating Bayer Leverkusen 4-2 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on Saturday to win the German Cup for the 20th time.

David Alaba gave Bayern the lead with a free-kick in the 16th minute after Robert Lewandowski was fouled at the edge of the box.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s side continue to win relentlessly amid the shared trauma of a city that was hit hardest by Covid-19

Not even Gian Piero Gasperini knew if Bergamo was ready to start watching football again this June. Before the coronavirus outbreak, his Atalanta team had been enjoying the finest season in their 113-year history. A club representing a city of 120,000 people sat fourth in Serie A, outscoring the giants from Milan, Rome and Turin. Competing in the Champions League for the first time ever, Atalanta reached the quarter-finals by smashing Valencia 8-4 over two legs.

Theirs was the latest great footballing fairytale. And then it was overwritten by tragedy. Bergamo became the one of the cities worst hit by the pandemic, with an estimated 6,000 deaths across the wider province. It is feared that their first leg against Valencia – played in neighbouring Milan, as all of Atalanta’s European home games have been this season, to allow for bigger crowds – contributed to the virus’s rapid spread.

• Victory over Brescia moves Inter closer to Champions League
• Valencia beaten 2-0 by Athletic Bilbao in La Liga

Alexis Sánchez produced an imposing performance to inspire Internazionale to a 6-0 win over Serie A strugglers Brescia at San Siro. Sánchez scored for Inter for only the second time but helped set up other goals as they consolidated third place and moved closer to a berth in next season’s Champions League.

“Sánchez is starting to do well,” said Inter manager Antonio Conte. “He’s still not the Sánchez I liked in England, but he’s on the right track. He did well against Parma, coming in with the right attitude. Today there was great commitment on his part, he played an excellent game.”

The former England goalkeeper on the lack of BAME coaches, his desire to manage again and dropping Dimitar Berbatov in India

David James describes the situation as complicated. He had not signed Dimitar Berbatov, rather he inherited him midway through the 2017-18 Indian Super League season after he took charge of Kerala Blasters for his first job in full-time management.

The former England goalkeeper chooses his words carefully but it does not take a detective to decipher the subtext, which talks to the perception of Berbatov as a high‑maintenance stroller, for whom the finer things are the only things that matter.

Pre-season training starts next week, the WSL season in early September, and our promoted side are focusing on becoming the top team in the Midlands

As the Premier League season draws to a close, a new Women’s Super League campaign is rapidly approaching, and Aston Villa Women start pre-season training next week for our first year in the top flight. We have announced two signings with more to come, and the first games are scheduled for the first weekend of September, which will be our chance to establish ourselves at a higher level and set new benchmarks and targets.

It was really important that we kept the core group that got us promoted and before we brought anyone in we made sure that 13 of those players were retained. A number of them are from Birmingham and I think it was really important to maintain that DNA within the team, to have a squad that shows young girls that it is possible to reach the first team one day.

On the eve of what should have been the Euro 2020 final, here’s your chance to own a print featuring tournament legends such as Paul Gascoigne, Ruud Gullit and Peter Schmeichel

• Buy your print here for just £55 including free delivery (30x40cm print size).
• Photographs are presented on museum-grade, fine-art paper stocks and are dispatched via Royal Mail. Global shipping is available. Email: guardianprintsales@theprintspace.co.uk

This week’s cartoon looks at the sad story of the famous club, featuring Dave Whelan, the new owners and Rick Parry’s feet

• Buy a copy of David’s cartoon from our print shop
• Wigan Warriors aim to buy troubled neighbours Wigan Athletic
  
  

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Jonathan Wilson and Jonathan Fadugba to discuss Eddie Nketiah’s red card for Arsenal, Eric Dier’s four-game ban for Tottenham, and Scottish farming communities of the 19th century

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Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Jonathan Wilson and Jonathan Fadugba to discuss Eddie Nkeitiah’s red card, Eric Dier’s ban, and Scottish farming communities of the 19th century.

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In the depths of lockdown, The Fiver attempted to better itself. There was a three-month self-imposed Tin ban, now long forgotten amid a blizzard of park-bench swilling not seen since the days The Fiver was a fan of The Levellers. The front garden at Fiver Towers was set for the Capability Brown treatment and yet long weeds grow among cigarette dimps and discarded Frazzles packets. Inside, box-fresh copies of Philip Roth and Dostoevsky lie unthumbed on the shelf, as the complete works of Jeffrey Archer have been devoured as comfort reading.

And an attempt to become better versed in statistics amid the barrage of log files and seven-day averages of Covid-19 has also failed. Standard deviation is still what Weird Uncle Fiver gets up to of an evening. The grey matter is not what it was way back in those happy, carefree days of February when the world’s biggest worry was how Nigel Pearson might get on at Watford. It may not just be The Fiver whose senses are dulled. The Big Cup and Big Vase tombola on Friday was a shambolic affair to suggest that any new normals are going to feature panicked, disorganised chaos. Even smooth-talking erstwhile Football Weekly panellist Pedro Pinto looked ruffled as a series of video links crashed, and various Euro football club bigwigs defied social distancing guidelines in those brief moments when Zoom was actually working properly.

Also featuring Gazza being great at Lazio, Nicklaus v Watson at Turnberry and football’s Saturday Fever from 1961

1) The legendary Italian composer Ennio Morricone died this week. His towering influence on popular culture extended to writing the official theme tune for the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. The hosts’ 3-1 victory against The Netherlands in the final is well worth your time. Just for good measure, here’s a written interview with the late Morricone celebrating his country’s semi-final win against Germany in 2006. “They fought like lions!”

Related: Sir Everton Weekes, spectacular Steffi Graf and Lothar Matthäus loses it

The best stories from the beautiful game that you may never have heard before, written by some of the world’s leading sports journalists, and spanning more than 100 years of sporting history from across the footballing planet.

In this episode: Primetime TV would prove the inspiration for one of the most shambolic managerial appointments in football history.

• How to listen to podcasts: everything you need to know

Read the text version here

Plus: Zinedine Zidane and Cameroon feature in another slew of songs about specific games

• Mail us your questions or tweet @TheKnowledge_GU

“Are there many good poems about football?” wrote M Stapleton last week. “I’ve read a few anthologies and collections but very few stand out, aside from Paul Durcan’s World Cup ‘82.”

Related: Have any songs been written about specific football matches? | The Knowledge

The final goal at the old Wembley marked the end of an era – and the start of the golden generation’s big-stage letdowns

The final goal at the old Wembley had all the hallmarks of a footballing fairytale: it was a long-range thunderbolt that snatched an unlikely win and gave the complacent favourites their comeuppance. Only problem was, those favourites were the hosts of the party. In the final match at the old national stadium on 7 October 2000, England were beaten by the Germans. Again.

There’s an irony that the party pooper in question would go on to become one of his country’s most popular players on these shores: a German whose long career in England left him with a cricket obsession and an enduring scouse-Bavarian twang.

From the ‘Wizard of Dribble’ to Ryan Giggs, via Garrincha and Jimmy Johnstone, we celebrate touchline-hugging wonders

Formations in modern-day football, improved playing surfaces and the evolution of tactics have completely changed the role of the winger. Now it is more accurate to describe an attacking player who plays on one of the wings as a forward, because the modern-day “winger” rarely hogs the touchline and often plays inside-out. Players such as Johan Cruyff, Luis Figo, George Best and Cristiano Ronaldo all excelled as wingers but their talent was such that their positions evolved to the extent that they are rightly remembered as supreme all-round footballers, not just gifted wide men. Those celebrated in this list get to the essence of what a winger used to be, delighting in trickery, seeing their job as that of an entertainer/provider and never more at home than when within a few feet of a white touchline.

The Gambian, who arrived in Italy as an unaccompanied young teenager, underlined his talent with a ‘dream’ goal at Internazionale

Sinisa Mihajlovic says it was destiny. With his Bologna side a man down after Roberto Soriano’s red card and trailing 1-0 at Internazionale on Sunday, the coach surveyed his bench and weighed up his options.

“The first idea was to put [Mattias] Svanberg on the right, then watching the game I said to myself: ‘Let’s put Musa on. He always causes a mess when he plays and they won’t understand anything,’” Mihajlovic recalled.

Liverpool’s captain talks pressing, politics, what makes Jürgen Klopp angry and the mentality that breeds success

“Through tough times, you can forget how much you love the game,” Jordan Henderson says. “You can take it for granted a little bit. When you’re a small kid, you don’t really think about trophies and winning things. You’re just thinking about playing football. But as you get older, your dreams get bigger. When you get to 16, 17, 18, it comes down to winning at all costs. Doing anything you can.”

We’re talking about trophies, and fulfilment, and happiness. When does pure enjoyment, the thrill of the game, give way to something larger? Why do footballers fixate so much on silverware, measure their lives in medals? At what point does it stop being about the taking part, and become about the winning?

On the day Au Yeung took ownership after a £41m purchase he decided not to fund the club, and an investigation is now due

The brutal, bizarre collapse of Wigan Athletic has raised many glaring and alarming questions, but one central contradiction lies in the ruins. The Championship club have become the first to fall into administration during the Covid-19 crisis which could claim many more, but Wigan’s own insolvency has little to do with the coronavirus shutdown.

It is one of the most unlikely and baffling scenarios ever thrown up even among the frequently outlandish sagas of football’s relationship with money.

Related: Wigan go into administration four weeks after Hong Kong takeover

Guardian photographer Tom Jenkins has documented the Premier League since its restart in June. Here, he looks back on the experience of shooting matches in empty grounds amid strict Covid-19 precautions

Click on each image for more information

That bloody bird has been putting me off all game. High up in the stand above me at Carrow Road, a seagull is roosting and making a right old racket. It seems to be distracting the Norwich defence too, as Nathan Redmond strolls through and scores to put Southampton 3-0 up. There’s a brief cheer and a polite round of applause from a couple of Saints staff members in the stand before Redmond performs a Black Power salute. It’s all very surreal. Black Lives Matter meets Behind Closed Doors football. Welcome to the world of Project Restart, the Covid-19 version of the Premier League.

Eidur Gudjohnsen’s son, the new Paul Pogba and Barça’s Ansu Fati are among our 60 most talented players in the world born in 2002. Check the progress of our 2018 picks | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014

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The Guardian selects the best young players at each club born between 1 September 2002 and 31 August 2003, an age band known as first-year scholars. Check the progress of class of 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014

_{Photographs by David Price/Arsenal/Getty Images, Neville Williams/Aston Villa/Getty Images, AFC Bournemouth, Paul Hazlewood/BHAFC, Paul Dennis/TGS/Shutterstock, Clive Howes/Chelsea/Getty Images, Danny Loo/PPAUK, Emma Simpson/Everton/Getty Images, Nick Taylor/Liverpool/Getty Images, Manchester City/Getty Images, Ash Donelon/Manchester United/Getty Images, Jason Dawson/Jasonpix, James Wilson/Sportimage, Simon Bellis/Sportimage, Robin Jones/Digital South/Southampton FC, Tottenham Hotspur/Getty Images, Alan Cozzi/Watford, Arfa Griffiths/West Ham United and Sam Bagnall/AMA}

From Rashford to Tielemans, we check in on how our initial Next Generation players have got on before the 2019 ones are announced this week

• Harley Willard: what happened next to one 2014 selection?

In 2014 we decided that it would be interesting to pick the best young players from each Premier League club – as well as 40 from around the world – and follow them for five years to see how they progressed.

The idea was to try to get a sense of how difficult it is to become a professional footballer despite being one of the best in that country at the age of 16 or 17.