Ruud van Nistelrooy set to succeed Steve Cooper as Leicester manager

  • Cooper sacked last Sunday after defeat to Chelsea
  • Leicester are 16th in table, one point above drop zone

Ruud van Nistelrooy is poised to become the new Leicester City manager, making an almost immediate return to the Premier League after leaving Manchester United.

Van Nistelrooy, a United hero, is expected to succeed Steve Cooper, who was sacked last Sunday. His last game was a home defeat against his predecessor, Enzo Maresca, now in charge of high-flying Chelsea.

Continue reading...

First Premier League weekend on Bluesky was nice and soft but X hard-edges remain | John Brewin

Discourse on social media platform lacked toxicity of the old place but there were signs it will eventually go that way

Hello, I’m new here, though you might know me from the other place. The sun is shining in the sky, there ain’t a cloud in sight, I’m here for good humour and polite social media intercourse. Thanks for the starter pack. Welcome, then, to Bluesky, where the algorithm isn’t jammed hard-right, the self-policing not too strong-arm, though there was that strange chap who listed the schools everyone attended.

After the Twitterectomy (to use Nick Cave’s indelicate term for this liberal migration) to a promised land where Elon Musk doesn’t quote-tweet articles on the Great Replacement Theory as being “interesting”. Now, how would this new Xanadu shape up when placed into the hottest kiln of public debate known to humankind? Forget geopolitics and burning social issues, forget even Donald Trump, the truest test is a Premier League weekend.

Continue reading...

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

Amad Diallo shows versatility, Ethan Nwaneri offers plenty of potential and Danny Welbeck’s role is key for Brighton

For the established full-back, a wing-back role must be liberating, permission granted to embark on an adventure in the other half. Amad Diallo was faced with the less desirable situation against Ipswich, a forward forced to track back as he slotted in on the right of Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-2-1. Diallo retained his attacking aggression, immediately rampaging forward and evading challenges to set up Marcus Rashford’s early opener. He was responsible in defence and one of United’s brightest performers in a mostly bleak display, even threatening to deliver a late winner when cutting inside into the box to let fly. Diallo is most likely just a stopgap in the position but his adaptability has some worth as Amorim searches for his best XI. Taha Hashim

Match report: Ipswich 1-1 Manchester United

Match report: Manchester City 0-4 Tottenham

Match report: Southampton 2-3 Liverpool

Match report: Arsenal 3-0 Nottingham Forest

Match report: Leicester 1-2 Chelsea

Match report: Fulham 1-4 Wolves

Match report: Aston Villa 2-2 Crystal Palace

Continue reading...

‘We will suffer for a long period’: Ruben Amorim on Manchester United debut – video

Ruben Amorim said Manchester United are going 'to suffer for a long period' after his managerial debut at the club ended in a 1-1 Premier League draw at Ipswich. He added: 'We start now, we risk a little bit, we suffer a little bit and in the next year we will be better at this point so we have to risk it a little bit. They are thinking too much because we are changing too much with two training [sessions] now without space to improve in training'.

Continue reading...

Southampton 2-3 Liverpool: Premier League – as it happened

Mohamed Salah scored twice to win a chaotic game where Southampton held the lead only for errors to cost them

5 min Southampton play out nicely from the back, with Harwood-Bellis finding Fernandes in a bit of space. He cuts across a shot from 25 yards that is comfortably held by Kelleher.

4 min Liverpool have made a relaxed, confident start, with the first few minutes taking place almost exclusively in the Southampton half.

Continue reading...

Pep Guardiola says he must ‘find a way’ to make Manchester City win again

  • 4-0 loss to Tottenham was fifth defeat in a row
  • ‘At the moment we are not solid enough’

Pep Guardiola is defiant that he will end Manchester City’s five-match losing sequence, with the manager stating it is “my responsibility” to do so.

Saturday’s 4-0 defeat by Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium was a third consecutive Premier League reverse, City also losing at Sporting in the Champions League and Ange Postecoglou’s side in the Carabao Cup during the run. Liverpool’s win at Southampton leaves City eight points behind the league leaders, who they play next weekend.

Continue reading...

Southampton have more quality than most Eredivisie sides, warns Arne Slot

  • Liverpool coach wary of facing bottom team
  • Slot praises Russell Martin for sticking to his principles

Arne Slot has said he is having to raise his game because the standard running through the Premier League from top to bottom is so high. The Dutchman has led Liverpool to the summit after 11 games and quickly realised the step up in quality from the Eredivisie.

On Sunday Liverpool travel to bottom-of-the-table Southampton, where Slot is not expecting a walkover, as he believes any team in the division can defeat any other. Despite Southampton winning once this season, Slot praised Russell Martin for sticking to his principles of possession-based football.

Continue reading...

Tottenham rout Manchester City to leave Pep Guardiola reeling

“Sacked in the morning” was the ecstatic taunt from Tottenham fans aimed at Pep Guardiola when Pedro Porro’s third was rammed in under a classic Mancunian downpour that had abated by the end of Manchester City’s fifth consecutive defeat.

The right-back prospered as Ange Postecoglou’s men did all evening: by ransacking the champions who, despite Guardiola’s defiance that he is up for arresting the slide, were clueless, as illustrated by Brennan Johnson’s added-time fourth, when, for a countless time, City fell to the quick break.

Continue reading...

Manchester City 0-4 Tottenham: Premier League – as it happened

Spurs humiliated the champions on their own patch, condemning City to a fifth successive defeat in all competitions

3 min: Gvardiol crosses from the left for Haaland, who strangely doesn’t go for goal from his position on the right-hand corner of the six-yard box. His header back across the face is cleared. But this is a fast start by City. Spurs have barely had a touch since that kick-off fiasco.

2 min: Gundogan sends the resulting free kick towards the far stick. Akanji is unable to turn it goalwards. Goal kick.

Continue reading...

Arsenal 3-0 Nottingham Forest, Premier League updates and more: football – as it happened

Arsenal, Brighton and Wolves all banked wins as football returned from the international break in goaltastic style

“A home defeat to Brentford is exactly the kind of result that appears on the record of a relegated club come May,” notes Gary Naylor. “So does Sean Dyche adopt his signature caution to avoid that, or does he see the match as an opportunity to lift the team and the fans before the Christmas fixtures, and go expansive? Frankly, sneaking a 1-0 with a deflected Michael Keane header from an 88th-minute corner would do me right now. Though I suspect I’m in a minority amongst Bluenoses.”

This is the only photograph I’ve had through from Goodison Park today. I reckon that’s an expansive smile.

Continue reading...

Fabian Hürzeler laughs off Europe talk as 10-man Brighton rock Bournemouth

Fabian Hürzeler is happy for Brighton fans to continue to sing about Europe after they moved up to fifth in the Premier League with a 2-1 win at Bournemouth. The Seagulls were in cruise control after João Pedro and Kaoru Mitoma struck at the start of each half before Carlos Baleba’s 59th-minute red card threatened to shift the momentum.

The Bournemouth substitute David Brooks reduced the deficit in the third minute of stoppage time and in the end Brighton were relieved to see Antoine Semenyo smash an effort against the bar five minutes later as the visitors held on for a fourth triumph in six league games.

Continue reading...

Brentford keep Everton at arm’s length after Christian Nørgaard’s red card

Trouble is brewing for Sean Dyche as The Friedkin Group await approval on their proposed takeover of Everton. The Everton manager was left in no doubt as to the growing discontent inside Goodison Park after Brentford held out for 53 minutes with 10 men to take their first Premier League away point of the season. They did so with relatively little trouble, which said everything about Everton’s second half display.

The Brentford captain, Christian Nørgaard ,was shown a straight red card for imprinting his studs into Jordan Pickford’s knee four minutes before the interval. Everton had started brightly against the 11 men of Brentford but became increasingly clueless as the contest wore on. It is now five draws in eight league games for Dyche’s team and no goals in three outings. An ominous December – which includes games against all of the top four, Ruben Amorim’s first home league game as Manchester United manager, a revitalised Wolves and Nottingham Forest – now awaits.

Continue reading...

‘The right guy at the right time’: Ruben Amorim on Manchester United appointment – video

Ruben Amorim said he is a 'dreamer' in his first press conference as Manchester United head coach after joining the club from Sporting.

The 39-year-old signed a two-and-a-half-year deal to replace Erik ten Hag who was sacked in October.

He has been compared to José Mourinho because of his nationality and success and said: 'He [José Mourinho] sent me a message and told me that this is a lovely club, a big club, with lovely people, and that is correct.'

He added: 'I am different from Mourinho. I am a different person.'

Continue reading...

‘We deserve to continue’: Guardiola explains his reasons for staying at Manchester City – video

Pep Guardiola spoke to the press after he signed a new contract to extend his stay at Manchester City until 2027. Guardiola explained that he signed a contract for two years rather than one because he doesn't want to reach the last year of his contract and 'extend again'. He added: 'I would like to stay two more years but I know if the results [are] not good it will not be two years.'

Continue reading...