English Premier League News
Arsenal swatted third-placed Villa aside with a swashbuckling second-half display
3 min: Odegaard tries to release Trossard into the Villa box down the inside-left channel. Clank. Goal kick, so another chance for the home fans to indulge their love of interactive festive theatre.
1 min: Villa work the ball back to their keeper Martinez, formerly of Arsenal. The Argentinian World Cup winner cops the expected abuse. It is pantomime season, to be fair.
Continue reading...Manchester United missed eight frontline players so Wolves, who arrived as the Premier League’s bottom team with only two points, seemed ideal opponents. Yet Ruben Amorim’s side struggled – badly – and while Bruno Fernandes, Bryan Mbeumo and Harry Maguire headed those unavailable, the display still provokes questions regarding United’s cohesion.
In the contest’s closing phase they were potent only sporadically – as throughout. Their opening-half strike was a fortunate Joshua Zirkzee finish – it rebounded in off Ladislav Krejci.
Continue reading...Max Rushden is joined by Jacob Steinberg, Sam Dalling and John Brewin as Arsenal, Manchester City and Aston Villa all win at the top of the Premier League
Continue reading...The Guardian’s fans’ network on 2025-26 at the half-way stage: best games, worst setbacks, and their January window wish lists
Story so far It would be pretty churlish to be anything other than super-chuffed, with those displays over Bayern Munich and our neighbours among the highlights. But, as we know, there are no prizes for being top at Christmas. Our success so far has largely been due to our defensive resilience; it’s the most talented squad we’ve had in many a moon but we’ve only shone going forward in fits and spurts. Find that spark on a consistent basis and we really will be firing.
Bernard Azulay onlinegooner.com; @GoonerN5
Continue reading...Archie Gray scored his first senior goal as Spurs toughed out a much-needed London derby win
It’s a cold day in London, and Selhurst awaits the teams, who are both in the tunnel and will enter the pitch from the corner.
Richard Hirst gets in touch: “Watching the video of John Robertson in the piece you linked to I was reminded not only of his ability but also of the state of the pitches. It really was a different game then: maybe football did begin in 1992!”
Continue reading...Eighteen months can be a very long time in football – especially if you are still a teenager. After a mixed start to life in north London, Archie Gray could not have picked a better occasion to score his first Tottenham goal since joining from Leeds in the summer of 2024 than his 60th appearance. With Thomas Frank already showing signs of not being the first Spurs manager to have been overwhelmed by expectations after a run of just one win in their previous eight Premier League matches, Gray’s scrappy header in the first half ensured that a topsy-turvy year ended with a victory that lifts his side to within one point of Crystal Palace in the table.
Of the 20 goals that Oliver Glasner’s side have conceded this season in the league, 12 have come from set-pieces and Palace have now failed to win any of their last five matches as a packed schedule has finally caught up with them. But this was all about Gray as the 19-year-old midfielder who left the pitch to a standing ovation and big hug from Frank after becoming the youngest Englishman to score for Tottenham in the Premier League since a certain Dele Alli in January 2016.
Continue reading...Dominic Calvert-Lewin continued his purple patch for Leeds, who had the better of an entertaining draw
1 min Leeds, in their blue change strip, kick off from left to right as we watch.
There’s a minute’s silence for Patrick Treuer, a non-executive director of the club who has died aged just 52.
Continue reading...Raúl Jiménez deepened West Ham’s relegation worries as Fulham snatched victory with five minutes remaining, his second goal in two matches giving Fulham a third straight win. The West Ham youngster Ollie Scarles was in tears after his mistake handed Fulham the victory and deepened his side’s relegation fears.
Manchester City’s lunchtime win at Nottingham Forest gave the Hammers the chance to cut the gap to 17th place to just two points. But instead they remain five points adrift of the last safe spot after the first of a run of supposedly winnable games, with Brighton and Forest still to come to east London, either side of a trip to rock-bottom Wolves.
Continue reading...An exciting day north and south of the border as title-chasing Arsenal, Manchester City and Celtic all won … but Hearts came a cropper in the Edinburgh derby
In Scotland, Hearts are making a go of things in the derby at Easter Road. Lawrence Shankland pulled one back on 75 minutes. That seemed no more than a consolation, but Cammy Devlin has made it 3-2 on 89 minutes, and there will be six additional minutes. Is an absurd comeback on?
Senegal: Edouard Mendy, Diatta, Koulibaly, Niakhate, Jakobs, Idrissa Gueye, Pape Gueye, Ismaila Sarr, Iliman Ndiaye, Mane, Jackson.
Subs: Diaw, Lamine Camara, Ciss, Dia, Diallo, Diarra, El Hadji Diouf, Yehvann Diouf, Mbaye, Antoine Mendy, Cherif Ndiaye, Sabaly, Pape Sarr, Mamadou Sarr, Seck.
On an afternoon when John Robertson was remembered at the City Ground, City were forced to dig extremely deep in order to make off with all three points
Manchester City: Although nothing has officially been agree between the two clubs, Manchester City are in pole position to sign Antoine Semenyo in January after Chelsea cooled their interest in the Bournemouth winger. Jacob Steinberg reports …
Referee: Rob Jones
Assistants: Neil Davies and Nick Greenhalgh
Fourth official: Gavin Ward
VAR: Andy Madley
Assistant VAR: Dan Robathan
Continue reading...Patrick Dorgu scored a screamer as Manchester United rose to fifth in the Premier League table
The teams are out! It’s a heartwarming festive scene, because whenever these storied old clubs meet, both get to keep on their famous kits. Manchester United in red and black, Newcastle United in black and white. A classic look as everyone trots out to the strains of This Is The One. A poignant chime to the track tonight, Manchester having said farewell to one of United’s biggest fans earlier this week. Go well, Mani.
Our pre-match postbag is positively brimming with festive cheer. “A goal-glut for the ages, eh? Why do I feel like I’m in for the biggest Christmas let-down since I asked my da for the Barcelona Subbuteo team and opened up the box under the tree to find… Burnley? Yours, Scrooge and the Grinch” – Justin Kavanagh
Continue reading...Boxing Day’s sole Premier League fixture tingled the senses and was graced by Patrick Dorgu’s finish that moved Manchester United up to a season-high fifth.
They could – and maybe should – have been limited to a draw because Newcastle United dominated the second period. The visitor’s problem was a lack of teeth. Towards the end Joelinton pulled the trigger with the goal begging but drilled only into Senne Lammens’ gloves. Joe Willock did the same with a cross. Then, Anthony Gordon spurned one more clear chance.
Continue reading...Raúl Jiménez calmly slotted the decisive penalty as Fulham pulled clear of danger and into mid-table comfort
2 min: Hudson-Odoi makes his presence felt up the other end, pulling a cross back for Jesus, whose shot is instantly blocked. Both teams already showing signs of being well up for this!
1 min: The first minute of the game still isn’t up, and Anderson’s clearing header hits Hudson-Odoi on the chest, the ball then rearing up and brushing the arm. A huge shout for a penalty kick. It’s never going to be given.
Continue reading...A side that once looked resilient has collapsed into historic futility, with Wolves now facing the grim task of avoiding the worst season English league football has ever seen
Saturday’s defeat at home to Brentford means Wolves have taken just two points for 17 games. No side in the entire history of English league football, in any division, has ever made a worse start than that. To reach 11 points, the record low for a Premier League season set by Derby County in 2007-08, would require a significant improvement.
How can this have happened? Wolves finished 16th last season, recovering after a dismal start. When Vitor Pereira took over on 19 December last year, they were second bottom on nine points from 16 games. They picked up 23 points from the final 22 games of the season and effectively ended any prospect of relegation with a run of six successive victories in the spring. How can a team go from averaging near enough a point a game to a 10th of that? The drop-off is extraordinary.
This is an extract from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly look from the Guardian US at the game in Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. Have a question for Jonathan? Email soccerwithjw@theguardian.com, and he’ll answer the best in a future edition.
Continue reading...Highs and lows for Alexander Isak, Wolves’ sobering survival chances and were Chelsea lucky at Newcastle?
Can results be misleading? That is the question. Aston Villa’s winning streak continued against Manchester United, but so did the nagging doubts. They were the lesser team by several measures – fewer shots (12-15), less possession (43-57), fewer big chances (2-3). As usual, the victory was a slender one. As usual, our friend xG was unimpressed: according to Opta, United edged it 1.31-1.02. But, as every fan knows, games are not won by xG. They are won by solid teamwork, shrewd management and individual talent – and Villa have all three. Morgan Rogers may be their only star, but he’s delivering like Father Christmas. Unai Emery is wily, battle-hardened, five years ahead of Ruben Amorim. If Rogers profited from Leny Yoro’s naivety, that was probably because Emery had spotted that Yoro is not a right-back, and told Rogers to start wide, cut in and torment him. Talent and management, working together. Tim de Lisle
Match report: Aston Villa 2-1 Manchester United
Match report: Everton 0-1 Arsenal
Match report: Manchester City 3-0 West Ham
Match report: Tottenham 1-2 Liverpool
Match report: Newcastle 2-2 Chelsea
Match report: Wolves 0-2 Brentford
Match report: Leeds 4-1 Crystal Palace
Continue reading...