Category: English Premier League

The points were shared on an evening when Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the table but almost certainly left the field feeling a modicum of regret

• Read Peter Lansley’s match report from the City Ground

An email: Arsenal fans will have mixed memories of Sean Dyche teams; probably most saliently here his new-manager-bounce inspiration of a previously useless Everton side to a 1-0 win, smashing a 14-game unbeaten Arsenal run,” writes Charles Antaki. “Admittedly Arsenal haven’t been quite that consistently good this year but Forest have certainly been that consistently bad, so there are omens around for those who care to read them.”

Having paid a visit to Dr Tottenham this afternoon and surprised nobody by leaving his North London clinic with three points and a restorative sense of enormous wellbeing, West Ham have closed the gap to Forest to just four points. No pressure Dychey …

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On 65 minutes Michael Carrick’s second tenure went electric as Manchester United scored a classic breakaway goal by Bryan Mbeumo that sent the interim head coach berserk in the technical area.

After a clearing Harry Maguire header, the ball evaded Rayan Cherki and Bruno Fernandes galloped forward. He had Amad Diallo to the right and Patrick Dorgu and Mbeumo on the left; United’s streetwise captain delayed the pass, then found the Cameroonian, whose finish beat Gianluigi Donnarumma.

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Lukas Nmecha stepped off the bench to fire a stoppage-time winner as Leeds marked their tribute to Terry Yorath with a valuable win The striker, an 81st-minute replacement for Jayden Bogle, latched on to Ethan Ampadu’s cross in the first minute of added time to clinch victory, which keeps Leeds eight points clear of the Premier League’s relegation zone.

Leeds dominated after an even first half, but by failing to take their chances it appeared Fulham would extend their unbeaten run to seven league matches.

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Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu scored as Man Utd ran City ragged in Michael Carrick’s first game in charge

Michael Carrick is the first manager of United or City to begin a spell in charge with a Manchester derby.

This is how Man Utd’s post-Fergie managers fared in their first derby; all were Premier League games.

David Moyes 1-4 (A) 2013-14

Louis van Gaal 0-1 (A) 2014-15

Jose Mourinho 1-2 (H) 2016-17

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 0-2 (H) 2018-19

Ralf Rangnick 1-4 (A) 2021-22

Erik ten Hag 3-6 (A) 2022-23

Ruben Amorim 2-1 (A) 2024-25

[On Man Utd’s tactics] No, I don’t know. They could play with a four or a back five; they could play with a false nine or Mbeumo up front. I’d love to know but we have to focus on ourselves.

[On the importance Rodri’s return] It’s not news! He’s so important. He was out for a long time, then he had a setback. We’re trying to manage his recovery.

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Michael Carrick faces a baptism of fire as City visit United in the Manchester derby while Tottenham host West Ham

Saturday 12.30pm Sky Sports Premier League Venue Old Trafford

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

• Race for the golden boot: Premier League top scorers

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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• Midfielder signs long-term deal after move from Atlético

• Thomas Frank: ‘Conor will bring leadership and maturity’

Conor Gallagher has pledged to bring “special moments” to Tottenham after completing a £34.6m transfer from Atlético Madrid. The London club moved quickly for a midfielder they have long admired after losing Rodrigo Bentancur to a hamstring injury at Bournemouth last Wednesday, beating off competition from Aston Villa. Bentancur has since undergone surgery.

Spurs looked at Gallagher at the end of the 2023-24 season only for him to go from Chelsea to Atlético for £34m. Before the Premier League game between Chelsea and Spurs in May 2024 at Stamford Bridge, the home support unfurled a giant banner of Gallagher. “Chelsea since birth,” read the caption about their academy product. The subtext was clear: do not sell him to Spurs.

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Arsenal moved six points clear after a goalless game of two halves against the reigning champions

“Arsenal have been annoyingly composed and consistent over the winter holidays and into the new year,” writes Peter Oh, “but I’m an optimist and haven’t given up hope of an imminent ‘Oh Arsenal!’ extended dip in form.

“Preferably starting today.”

Commentating on the Brugge v Arsenal game, Martin Keown reckoned that Arsenal were benefitting from having three quarters of the Spanish midfield with Merino and Zubimendi, which immediately impressed on me the importance of ruthless precision and accidental comedy for those hoping to make it at the business end of the #punditry game.

Niche, but somehow I thought you’d appreciate it. If you’re explaining, etc.

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Tactical anarchy reigned supreme on a night of chaotic, bewildering, thrilling drama played out amid freezing conditions.

Not that the on-pitch temperature ever seemed to drop below boiling point as a renascent Leeds led three times yet departed with their seven‑match unbeaten run at an end and Yorkshire hearts broken by Harvey Barnes’s stoppage -time winner.

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Even with Aston Villa enjoying their best season for years, Unai Emery cannot get one over Oliver Glasner. The Crystal Palace manager has been struggling with a threadbare squad that still has not recorded a victory for several weeks but stretched his unbeaten record against Emery to seven matches after a game which both sides felt they could have won.

A late Victor Lindelöf header that struck a post was the closest anyone came in the end as neither Adam Wharton nor Morgan Rogers could quite inspire their sides to victory in front of the England manager, Thomas Tuchel, watching on in the stands. But despite losing Emiliano Martínez to injury at half-time, it was Villa who ended the evening more frustrated as they missed an opportunity to move into second place in the table despite bombarding the Palace goal in the final 10 minutes.

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Benjamin Sesko scores twice in Darren Fletcher’s first game as United manager, but a fine finish from Jaidon Anthony earns Burnley a draw

They’re about to discuss Mainoo on Sky, so here’s my take. He’s got incredible ability in tight spaces, but needs to get better and finding the ball – too much of too many games passed him by – stronger, faster, and better at passing it forward. That said, United’s dreadfulness made his continuing omission completely unjustifiable, and I’m sure he’ll now get a chance in the three-man midfield he needs to thrive. If, in a year, he’s got a young, physical six behind him, the best creator in world football ahead of him, and he’s still not making it happen, we can wonder if, perhaps, he’s not quite good enough, despite his strengths. But not until then.

There are plenty of other matches tonight, just underway. Niall McVeigh has you covered.

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Ruben Amorim has been sacked by Manchester United after 14 months as their head coach. He leaves Old Trafford after a power struggle with the hierarchy over transfer policy, with Amorim demanding his colleagues in the recruitment department 'do their job' after Sunday’s draw at Leeds. We take a look back at his turbulent reign, which featured a few fleeting highs but some miserable lows.

• Amorim sacked by Manchester United and Fletcher takes interim role – live

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The head coach (or manager?) fired cryptic shots at his bosses, then was fired himself.

• Amorim sacked after power struggle over transfers

• Latest updates and reaction

Discontent at Manchester United these days is only ever deferred. Ruben Amorim’s departure from the club on Monday was long anticipated and came, in the end, with a weary sigh. He had made a half-hearted protest about the recruitment structure after Sunday’s draw at Leeds, but it felt even at the time like barely more than a gesture. And so another manager, the seventh since Sir Alex Ferguson left in 2013, falls victim to the United meat-grinder.

Everybody at United, fundamentally, is unhappy. And not unhappy in the sense that Alex Ferguson used to be unhappy, when the club was essentially fuelled by his volcanic rages, but enervated, frustrated by the realisation that this is not how things used to be, that this was once the biggest football club in the country and now they keep failing to get the win they need to lift them to fifth.

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Nuno lets a golden opportunity slip, Viktor Gyökeres does everything but score and Benjamin Sesko struggles again

Calum McFarlane’s unexpected battle with Pep Guardiola brought back memories of the 2021 League Cup final, when Ryan Mason, Tottenham’s 29-year-old interim coach, faced the significant task of trying to outsmart one of the greatest managers in the game’s history. For Mason there was the added baggage of Spurs’ 13-year trophy drought; for McFarlane, making his senior management debut, it was Chelsea’s astonishingly bad recent record against Manchester City. Four and a half years have passed since Chelsea last beat Guardiola’s side, when Thomas Tuchel’s team triumphed in the Champions League final, and a draw on Sunday took that winless run to 12 matches. But Enzo Fernández’s injury-time equaliser, combining with the midweek upheaval at Stamford Bridge, made it a triumphant point, something Enzo Maresca didn’t achieve against City during his tenure. Taha Hashim

Match report: Manchester City 1-1 Chelsea

Match report: Fulham 2-2 Liverpool

Match report: Bournemouth 2-3 Arsenal

Match report: Leeds 1-1 Manchester United

Match report: Tottenham 1-1 Sunderland

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City’s title chances suffered another blow when Enzo Fernandez scored a deserved injury-time equaliser for Chelsea

11 min Cherki is fouled 25 yards from goal by James. He and Foden are over the ball…

7 min It’s been a comfortable start for Chelsea, with City playing at a relatively slow pace. Their shape is interesting: it’s ostensibly 4-1-4-1 but Reijnders is playing very narrow, so they almost have three central midfielders, Cherki to the right and Nico O’Reilly, the left-back, taking care of business on the other side.

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