Author: Guardian sport

Guardiola warns Grealish over Savinho, Southampton hit new low and is Arsenal’s negativity holding them back?

So much about Trent Alexander-Arnold’s display on Sunday was puzzling. Real Madrid’s now-public courtship may have had something to do with it, but at times it felt he was being hung out to dry. Poorly as he played, he was deliberately exposed by his own team, left to deal with whatever threats Manchester United could conjure down their left flank while the only players likely to drop back and help him out, Mohamed Salah and Ryan Gravenberch, rarely did so. When it became obvious that he was having an off day, nothing was done to cover for it and nurse him back into the game. When his own poor clearance was returned in the buildup to United’s opening goal it found him briefly with four opponents to deal with by himself, demonstrating that Liverpool’s problems down the right were not just an individual but a systemic issue. He is (usually) an astonishingly good player, but miracles will sometimes be beyond him. Simon Burnton

Arsenal visit Brighton on Saturday while Liverpool face struggling Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday

Saturday 12.30pm TNT Sports 1 Venue Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Antonee Robinson is running rampant while Eberechi Eze and Erling Haaland hope to build on goals from last time out

The contrast is significant. Newcastle arrive on the back of four league wins and four clean sheets. Tottenham have one victory in their last seven league games, four goals conceded against Chelsea before being hit for six by a rampaging Liverpool side. Spurs have had little trouble going forward but there remains a concern with the returns from their captain, Son Heung-min. The South Korean has had a quiet season by his excellent standards, seven goals in all competitions thus far, an eighth denied by a miss from the penalty spot against Wolves. Hamstring troubles hampered him earlier in the season and, amid Spurs’ wider difficulties, there is the subplot of a change in status within their attack. Dejan Kulusevski has become the central figure; Brennan Johnson, out on the right, is Spurs’ leading goalscorer across all competitions; Dominic Solanke is steadily finding his way. With Son approaching a decade in north London, the future is taking shape. Taha Hashim

Tottenham v Newcastle, Saturday 12.30pm (all times GMT)

Aston Villa v Leicester, Saturday 3pm

Bournemouth v Everton, Saturday 3pm

Crystal Palace v Chelsea, Saturday 3pm

The flags signal the nationality of each club’s manager on the final day of the season in the order the teams finished

In some places you may see two flags together. The first represents where the manager was born, the second is the nation the manager represented in their playing days.

• Brazilian pushed Ipswich security guard in the face
• Wolves forward to miss Forest and Bristol City games

The Wolves forward Matheus Cunha has been suspended for two games and fined £80,000 following a melee after the Premier League game against Ipswich this month.

The hugely influential Cunha will now miss games against Nottingham Forest in the league and the FA Cup tie against Bristol City.

The forward was charged with misconduct and it was alleged that he acted in an improper manner after the final whistle. He admitted the charge and the sanctions were subsequently imposed by an independent regulatory commission.

Full written reasons for this case will be published in due course.

Liverpool make a statement, Pep Guardiola tries to see the funny side and Sandro Tonali fires on all cylinders

Midway through Ruben Amorim’s post-defeat media conference the roof in the press room, located in the bowels of Old Trafford, did what some of the outside sections of the stadium do: leak. Spots of water hit a scribe perched in the front row, merriment ensued, and Manchester United’s head coach offered a wry smile, a fitting end to an afternoon on which Bournemouth had rained on his side’s pre-Christmas Day parade. Nine games into his tenure, the Portuguese’s coach record is poor – four wins, four losses and a draw – and the next four matches look tough: Wolves (away), Newcastle (home), Liverpool (away) and a trip to Arsenal in the FA Cup. Amorim, who continually repeats the need for victory, knows things have to improve. Jamie Jackson