Category: Football (Soccer)

Football (Soccer) News

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Brighton 1-1 Southampton: Premier League – as it happened

Brighton climb to second, for one night at least, after a controversial draw with rock-bottom Saints

Russell Martin’s turn to talk to Sky. “It’s exciting for Joe Lumley … Alex McCarthy played through the pain barrier for us on Sunday, he’d had an injection … I love and admire that about him, because he didn’t have to do that, but he did … the reaction to the game has not been very good, he’s had a very stiff knee this week … so we have to make big decisions … we really trust Joe … it’s an amazing opportunity for him … we have certain principles we want to live by … energy and momentum is really important … when and where we flex and adapt … the feeling and temperature of the game.”

Fabian Hürzeler speaks to Sky Sports. “When you watch our games you see we play in some phases very good, but in some we struggle … the next step is to play consistently for 90 minutes in all phases of the game … today we have another opportunity to prove it … we are in the right direction … the place in the table is confirmation … but the League is so unpredictable … every day is special.”

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‘I have to prove myself now’: Pep Guardiola vows to reverse Manchester City’s slump – video

Pep Guardiola says Manchester City will take it one game at a time before Sunday's Premier League encounter with Liverpool. The champions have not won a match since beating Southampton 1-0 on 26 October, and have lost three straight Premier League games.

Guardiola said: 'We will be back, I know that ... I know the people say: "Why is Pep not in trouble, why is he not sacked?" I have this margin because of what we have done over the last eight years.' Despite his track record – City have won the past four Premier League titles – he said: 'I have to prove myself now.'

‘I have this margin’: Pep Guardiola feels protected from sack by past success

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Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend

Fraser Forster steps up for Spurs, while the threat level is at its highest for Manchester City at Anfield

Fabian Hürzeler singled out Joël Veltman as one of the Premier League’s most underrated players as Brighton prepare to face the bottom side, Southampton, on Friday. “He knows what to do to win games,” Hürzeler said of the Netherlands defender, who has started all but one of Brighton’s league games so far. Veltman – who spent eight years at Ajax before moving to the Amex in 2020 for £900,000 – is 11 months older than his manager and his experience has proved invaluable to his side in the absence of the captain, Lewis Dunk, through injury. He is expected to return against Russell Martin’s side as Brighton attempt to record a fourth clean sheet of the league season, not to mention take the opportunity to move into second place in the table before the rest of the weekend’s fixtures. Ed Aarons

Brighton v Southampton, Friday 8pm (all times GMT)

Brentford v Leicester, Saturday 3pm

Crystal Palace v Newcastle, Saturday 3pm

Nottingham Forest v Ipswich, Saturday 3pm

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Højlund sinks Bodø/Glimt to give Amorim first Manchester United win

Ruben Amorim received a rapturous welcome from the Old Trafford faithful, then oversaw a helter-skelter victory in his first home game as Manchester United’s sixth No 1 of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.

Like his five predecessors across 11 years, Amorim suffered. Under Europa League lights that shone down on the 6,714 partying Bodø/Glimt supporters, this was a standard welcome to the Theatre of Thrills and Spills as his new team just about made it through to the win.

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Tottenham 2-2 Roma: Europa League – as it happened

Mats Hummels scored an injury-time equaliser for the visitors on a pulsating night in north London

Thank you to Mats Hummels for reminding me: this is a crucial game for Roma’s European hopes:

“This game is incredibly important for us,” he said. “It’s possibly our last chance if we want to finish in the top eight but we need points anyway to reach the next round and turn things around for our team and our club. It’s a very difficult game but it’s also a big chance. We’re playing a very strong team but we can show we’re able to play at a much higher level.”

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Manchester United 3-2 Bodø/Glimt: Europa League – as it happened

Two goals from Rasmus Hojlund helped Ruben Amorim secure his first win as Manchester United head coach

Kevin Wilson emails: “If Amorim can get Mount anywhere near his Chelsea prime, then that will be a huge bonus. He’s still young and despite a rough few years, he’s still very talented. Whether he works better as one of the deeper midfielders or in the front three remains to be seen, but if he can stay fit, he’ll give the manager options.”

Amorim: “I am really calm, I expect a good game, a good environment, I am feeling that belonging with the fans. I am expecting the team to show different things, we need to improve.”

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Conference League roundup: Mykhailo Mudryk fires Chelsea past Heidenheim

  • Christopher Nkunku also on target in 2-0 win
  • Hearts lose out in Belgium, TNS beaten at home

Chelsea moved to within one win of the Conference League last 16 with a 2-0 victory away to Heidenheim to maintain their perfect start in the competition.

Christopher Nkunku and Mykhailo Mudryk scored the goals in the second half, Jadon Sancho’s cut-back shortly after the interval finding the France international who fired in his 11th of the season, then Mudryk finished things late on with a lovely finish into the top corner.

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Champions League review: pain for PSG but Inter and Arsenal on rise

Europe’s finest head-scratching struggles go on. We hand out honours and dishonours from the latest round of action

Inter: The 2023 finalists are second in the table and yet to concede a goal. They are yet to score many either, notching only seven goals in their five games. The latest victims of Simone Inzaghi’s smooth, efficient machine were RB Leipzig, whose own calamitous pointless campaign continued with a 1-0 defeat. An own goal from Castello Lukeba decided it after a wicked free-kick from Federico Dimarco, the wing-back playing an unfamiliar midfield role but was just as dangerous. As Leipzig desperately chased something from the match to rescue their campaign, it fell to the Inter defence to show off their usual control, the experience of Benjamin Pavard, Stefan de Vrij and Alessandro Bastoni as the defensive trio seeing out the job in some comfort.

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Frank Lampard returns to management with Coventry after 18 months out

  • Former England midfielder takes over from Mark Robins
  • Team are 17th in Championship, two points above drop

Frank Lampard has been confirmed as the head coach of Coventry, returning to the dugout 18 months after he left Chelsea. He succeeds Mark Robins, who was sacked after almost eight years in charge, with the club 17th in the Championship, two points above the relegation zone.

Lampard has been out of coaching since leaving his interim role with Chelsea at the end of 2022-23. That was a third Premier League managerial job in a row for the former England midfielder, who had a previous spell at a Chelsea and period with Everton, but he is familiar with the Championship.

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Champions League roundup: PSV’s dramatic late comeback stuns Shakhtar

  • Dutch side win 3-2 from 2-0 down after 87 minutes
  • Monaco 2-3 Benfica, Red Star Belgrade 5-1 Stuttgart

PSV staged a dramatic Champions League comeback against 10-man Shakhtar Donetsk in Eindhoven, winning 3-2 from two goals down in the 87th minute.

The visitors went in front after just eight minutes from a quick breakaway, with Yukhym Konoplia setting up Danylo Sikan, whose shot squeezed beyond PSV keeper Walter Benítez. Oleksandr Zubkov doubled Shakhtar’s lead with a superb curling finish in the 37th minute, putting the Ukrainians in control of the match.

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Championship roundup: Leeds return to top, Portsmouth game hit by power cut

  • Leeds 3-0 Luton, Middlesbrough 0-1 Blackburn
  • Pompey v Millwall postponed after lights go out

Leeds United moved back to the top of the Championship with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Luton Town at Elland Road.

Sam Byram gave the home side an early lead when he reacted quickest to volley into the far corner after seeing his initial shot blocked. Joel Piroe made it 2-0 from close range in first-half injury-time after Pascal Struijk’s header from a corner was parried by Thomas Kaminski.

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Aston Villa 0-0 Juventus: Champions League – as it happened

Morgan Rogers had a last-gasp goal ruled out by VAR to deny Villa a win from a highly cagey affair

A pair of stats, via Sky.

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has beaten Juventus twice before in the UEFA Champions League, winning with Sevilla in 2015 and Villarreal in 2022. No manager has ever beaten Juve with three different teams in the competition.

Juventus have only won three of their last 15 away matches against English sides in European competition (D3 L9), while this will be their first such trip since losing 0-4 to Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League in November 2021.

Juventus are unbeaten under Motta, with the best defensive record in Serie A. Things haven’t yet quite clicked at the other end, but early in the project the direction of travel feels encouraging and Thuram has established himself as a key player in midfield: tactically disciplined, defensively solid, but with the licence to get into the final third and create.

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