Author: Guardian sport

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Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend

Nico O’Reilly gives Manchester City options, Sunderland miss Granit Xhaka’s grit and West Ham find a way

Just when Brighton supporters were hoping their side was building some momentum after a run of five games undefeated in all competitions, Saturday’s stoppage-time loss to Fulham arrived. Fabian Hürzeler’s side led at half-time, but their collapse was typical of performances on the road this season. Securing only two away wins – against Chelsea in September and Nottingham Forest in November – has undermined their challenge for Europe. Their next two games at the Amex, against Everton on Saturday and arch-rivals Crystal Palace next week, are an opportunity to make up some ground. Only seven points separate them from Chelsea in fifth place, but Brighton’s record against David Moyes’s side at home is terrible, having failed to beat them since 2019 when a late Lucas Digne own goal sealed the points for Graham Potter against an Everton team managed by Marco Silva. Ed Aarons

Brighton v Everton, Saturday 3pm (all times GMT)

Leeds v Arsenal, Saturday 3pm

Wolves v Bournemouth, Saturday 3pm

Chelsea v West Ham, Saturday 5.30pm

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Europa League roundup: Jimoh-Aloba the hero as Aston Villa hit back

  • Nineteen-year-old fires winner to give Villa 3-2 win

  • Rangers’ poor campaign ends with 3-1 loss to Porto

The 19-year-old Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba was the hero as Aston Villa came from two goals down to beat Red Bull Salzburg 3-2 at Villa Park, though they lost Ollie Watkins to injury in the first half.

Jimoh-Aloba hit the winner with three minutes remaining, tucking Kadan Young’s low cross into the corner to cap a fightback that looked unlikely after a limp showing for an hour.

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Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action

Casemiro is thriving under Michael Carrick, Newcastle look short of ideas and Sean Dyche takes aims at … towels?

Casemiro will depart Manchester United this summer. His four years in English football have been mixed but he may yet go out on a high. At one point in his first season, such as his performance in the 2023 League Cup final, he was hailed as the club’s best signing since Eric Cantona. He never lived up to that billing, the accusation that United had overpaid for someone who left his legs in Madrid. At the Emirates in 2026, just as against Manchester City the previous week, he showed his muscle memory endures. Kobbie Mainoo is a project player for Michael Carrick. Mainoo can learn much in his remaining months alongside Casemiro, who completed the 90 minutes at Arsenal and retained his influence. United are linked with younger midfielders in Carlos Baleba, Adam Wharton and Elliot Anderson. They may now have something to live up to. John Brewin

Match report: Arsenal 2-3 Manchester United

Match report: Newcastle 0-2 Aston Villa

Match report: Burnley 2-2 Tottenham

Match report: Manchester City 2-0 Wolves

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‘Calm down, you jerk’: Djokovic admits to losing cool in Australian Open battle

  • Djokovic beats Van de Zandschulp 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4)

  • Serb apologises after wild shot almost hits ball girl

Novak Djokovic chalked up his 400th grand slam victory with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4) defeat of Botic van de Zandschulp to reach the fourth round on Saturday, but the Serb was fortunate not to receive a code violation after losing his cool.

An incident in the second set might have proved very costly, with Djokovic carelessly sending a ball flying close to the head of a ball girl at the net.

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Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend

Mateus Fernandes steels West Ham, Dominic Calvert-Lewin faces a homecoming and Manchester City need Marc Guéhi

The absence of the wantaway Lucas Paquetá has given Mateus Fernandes a chance to take on more responsibility for West Ham. Paquetá, who is said to be nursing a minor back problem, was unavailable again for last week’s win against Spurs but Nuno Espírito Santo’s struggling side coped without the Flamengo target. They called on Fernandes to dictate the flow in midfield and the diligent Portuguese did not disappoint. Fernandes moved the ball cleverly, picked up an assist and looked like that rarest of things: a smart signing from West Ham. They will need the 21-year-old, who joined from Southampton for £38m last summer, to shine again with Paquetá looking unlikely to return against high-flying Sunderland at the London Stadium. Jacob Steinberg

West Ham v Sunderland, Saturday 12.30pm (all times GMT)

Burnley v Tottenham, Saturday 3pm

Fulham v Brighton, Saturday 3pm

Manchester City v Wolves, Saturday 3pm

Bournemouth v Liverpool, Saturday 5.30pm

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Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action

Manchester United jog memories, Nick Woltemade comes up short and there’s a tough crowd for Chelsea’s owners

Sir Jim Ratcliffe was present to see the best victory and performance of his two years of minority ownership. When Ratcliffe bought in, the public impression given was of a billionaire signing up to taste the magic for himself. Saturday, and beating Manchester City, was an undoubted revival act where Michael Carrick’s team played the football of yore. That will almost certainly be unsustainable in the medium term, since most opposition will not play City’s high-line, high-wire act. But in engaging their supporters with determination and aggression, United jogged memories. There was a time when just about every big game had Old Trafford rocking like this, when the opposition could not hear themselves think. Surely that was the myth and legend Ratcliffe wanted to be part of? Would that be possible in the new stadium the Ineos chief has plans for instead of Old Trafford? Tottenham’s recent experiences suggest otherwise. Would Liverpool’s owners cash out the Anfield experience? Surely not. John Brewin

Match report: Manchester United 2-0 Manchester City

Match report: Aston Villa 0-1 Everton

Match report: Wolves 0-0 Newcastle

Match report: Nottingham Forest 0-0 Arsenal

Match report: Tottenham 1-2 West Ham

Match report: Sunderland 2-1 Crystal Palace

Match report: Chelsea 2-0 Brentford

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Premier League sporting directors: who are they, and how much power do they all have?

A guide to each club’s setups, from Chelsea’s multi-headed structure to Brentford’s smooth planning and Manchester United’s muddles

The appointment of Andrea Berta as sporting director in March was greeted with much enthusiasm by Arsenal’s supporters, given his impressive track record in more than a decade at Atlético Madrid,. The Italian, who began his career in finance, has made an instant impression. Known as a shrewd negotiator, the suave and softly spoken 54-year-old masterminded Arsenal’s outlay of more than £250m in the summer that included the arrivals of Viktor Gyökeres, Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke. Berta takes the lead on recruitment in consultation with Richard Garlick, who was promoted to chief executive in September, the manager, Mikel Arteta, and the co-chair Josh Kroenke. James Ellis, a former scout who then spent two years as head of recruitment, was appointed as technical director in the summer and is tasked with “delivering the club’s long-term player progression strategy”, with a focus on creating a pathway from academy to first team. Ed Aarons

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Kyren Wilson wards off Neil Robertson fightback to reach Masters semi-finals

  • Englishman sees out victory in final frame

  • Wu wipes the floor with Xiao in 6-0 rout

Kyren Wilson edged into the semi-finals of the Masters after fending off a Neil Robertson comeback to win 6-5.

Wilson had taken a three-frame lead, hitting two century breaks along the way, and took a 4-1 advantage before Robertson fought back, winning four straight frames and recording breaks of 110 and 107 to lead 5-4.

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Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend

Chelsea need to avoid long-throw blues, plus: a vacant spot for Liverpool and West Ham’s best hope for survival

Can the 198th derby be any spicier for Manchester United and their latest interim manager, Michael Carrick? This is his second caretaker tenure though the three games of November-December 2021 (beating Villarreal and Arsenal, drawing with Chelsea) hardly compares to sending out an XI to try to beat Manchester City in Saturday’s early kick-off. Pep Guardiola’s high-performing unit remain in contention on all fronts. Carrick takes charge of a United suffering the aftershocks of a latest manager sacking, hoping to salvage the season via European qualification. The lad from Wallsend has 17 games to do so – his new team are in seventh place on 32 points, so victory over City would be a fine start. But you wonder if the match might end with Carrick and United humbled or, even worse, humiliated. Jamie Jackson

Manchester United v Manchester City, Saturday 12.30pm (all times GMT)

Chelsea v Brentford, Saturday 3pm

Leeds v Fulham, Saturday 3pm

Liverpool v Burnley, Saturday 3pm

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John Higgins and Kyren Wilson win at Masters as curious run of 6-2 scorelines goes on

  • Wilson defeats Si Jiahui, Higgins sees off Barry Hawkins

  • All six matches at Alexandra Palace have ended 6-2

Kyren Wilson, the 2024 world champion, defeated Si Jiahui in impressive fashion to reach the Masters quarter-finals with the 6-2 result continuing a curious statistic: every match at Alexandra Palace this week had finished with the same scoreline. That record extended in the evening session as John Higgins saw off Barry Hawkins, 6-2, to reach the last eight.

After edging the first frame following a run of snookers, Wilson – yet to win a tournament this season having broken his cue at the start of the campaign – looked set to build a maximum in the next, but just missed the 11th red into the bottom corner pocket as he moved 2-0 ahead.

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Mark Allen advances in Masters despite battle with food poisoning

  • Allen wins five frames in a row against Mark Williams

  • Zhao Xintong cruises to 6-2 win over Gary Wilson

Mark Allen shrugged off a bout of food poisoning to beat Mark Williams 6-2, winning five successive frames, and book a quarter-final with Judd Trump or Ding Junhui, who play on Wednesday.

Speaking to the BBC, Allen, the 2018 champion, said: “I prepare properly for these events, but I couldn’t prepare for this at all as I’ve been lying in bed all week with food poisoning. I just thought: ‘Go out there and give my best.’ I wouldn’t have had much left if it had got much closer.”

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