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As a smile spread slowly across his face, Mohamed Salah kissed the club crest adorning his rain sodden red shirt. The Egyptian’s ninth goal in seven Premier League games, and second on the night, had not merely reinforced Liverpool’s title challenge but strengthened the case for offering a forward who, right now, could probably walk unaided on the River Nile, a lucrative contract extension at Anfield.

Not that Salah was the only man improving his negotiating position as Fabian Schär’s late equaliser ensured one of the games of the season, if not the decade, ended with honours even as Arne Slot’s league leaders’ winning run was finally halted.

Manchester City snapped out of their downward spiral as they roared back into life with a convincing 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest.

Goals from Bernardo Silva, a rejuvenated Kevin De Bruyne and Jérémy Doku saw the champions finally get back to winning ways after an alarming run of six defeats in seven games in all competitions.

Arsenal reduced Liverpool’s lead at the top of the Premier League to seven points with a crucial win against Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium.

After Fabian Schär’s late equaliser denied Liverpool victory at St James’ Park, Mikel Arteta’s team were offered the chance to inch closer to the summit.

Aston Villa scored three first-half goals as they recorded their first win since October with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Brentford at Villa Park.

Villa’s last win came against Fulham 46 days and eight games ago but they jumped back into the top half of the Premier League table with a scintillating first 45 minutes.

Defender declines to wear jacket supporting LGBTQ+ community on the grounds of his Muslim faith

Manchester United shelved plans to wear pride-themed rainbow jackets supporting the LGBTQ+ community after a player refused to take part, citing his religious beliefs.

Plans to wear the Adidas tops as they walked onto the pitch during last Sunday’s Premier League match against Everton were abandoned after defender Noussair Mazraoui said he would not be able to wear the jacket on the grounds of his Muslim faith, according to The Athletic.

• Salah scores twice in 3-3 draw at Newcastle
• Slot: ‘We expect he can continue this for a long time’

Arne Slot hinted that Mohamed Salah and Liverpool could yet find a way to extend their relationship beyond the end of this season after the Egypt right winger scored twice, created another goal and hit the bar in the Premier League leaders’ 3-3 draw at Newcastle.

It took the league’s leading scorer’s tally to nine in the past seven games and, in the aftermath of an utterly brilliant, game-changing second-half performance, Liverpool’s manager was fulsome in his praise for Salah.

New manager’s instant connection with fans stood in stark contrast to the forlorn, isolated figure in West Ham’s dugout

Ninety-eight seconds. That was all that was required for Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Leicester City reign to get up and running. Jamie Vardy’s opener offered an early snapshot of Leicester in Van Nistelrooy’s image, too. Victor Kristiansen, hugging the left touchline, squared the ball to Bilal El Khannouss, who freed Leicester’s No 9, head down, open for business in the left channel. Vardy, wearing garish pink boots, stroked a timeless right-foot finish into the far corner.

After a VAR check, he clinked into celebration mode, chuntering towards the away fans giving him grief. Even before Patson Daka made it 3-0 with stoppage time looming, the same supporters switched their attention to their manager. “You’re getting sacked in the morning,” came the chant. Julen Lopetegui, ashen-faced at the final whistle, will do well to survive this grisly defeat. Lopetegui combed his hand through his hair, his whirring mind in overdrive, under pressure. Welcome back to the brutal world of frontline management, Ruud.

• Friendly international: England 1-0 Switzerland
• Clinton scored eighth-minute winner at Bramall Lane

Sarina Wiegman says she is not concerned by England’s current lack of creativity after an experimental side recorded a slender win against Switzerland, the European Champion­ship hosts next summer.

The England head coach gave her young players a chance to impress and there were several strong individual performances from new faces but the side recorded only three shots on target, having similarly managed just one effort on goal last time out against the USA.

• Republic of Ireland 1-2 Wales (agg 2-3)
• Patten 86; Cain 50pen, Jones 67

Wales broke new ground in Dublin on Tuesday night as they qualified for the first major women’s tournament in their nation’s history. A 2-1 win for Rhian Wilkinson’s side thanks to goals from Hannah Cain and Carrie Jones earned them a 3-2 aggregate victory over Republic of Ireland and booked their spot at next summer’s European Championship in Switzerland.

Wilkinson, who took over the manager’s role in February, was full of pride at her team’s achievements. “The most incredible thing is that I’m new here. I showed up for the sprint end of a marathon,” she said. “I see all these staff who have been through the whole ride and how proud they are and that is what makes it for me. I am so proud … That’s the emotional part for me.

• Finland 2-0 Scotland (agg 2-0)
• Kuikka 8, Lehtola 28

Scotland face a bleak winter after their hopes of qualification for the European Championship in Switzerland next summer were extinguished in a frozen Helsinki.

As an ultimately comfortable Finland celebrated a victory sealed in the second leg of this Euro 25 playoff the visiting manager, Pedro Martínez Losa, faced a uncertain future.

Our cartoonist looks at the hard work that has gone on at the football factory to pave the way for Saudi World Cup

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Playmaker was given a start against Switzerland and showed full range of her skills, including scoring the game’s only goal

Grace Clinton’s star is fast rising, her guile and skill undeniable after a season-long loan with Tottenham last year and a blistering impact in Manchester United’s starting XI since September.

At a bitterly cold Bramall Lane on Tuesday night those talents were on display once more in England’s 1-0 win, but another characteristic was also on show: she is a leader.

• ‘The errors I’ve made are tactical,’ says manager
• Dominic Calvert-Lewin was dropped against United

Sean Dyche said he is working harder than at any point in his managerial career to correct Everton’s season but has made mistakes in the search for a winning formula.

The manager is in desperate need of victory against Wolves on Wednesday after only two league wins all season, no goals in the past four matches and fixtures against Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City to follow. He was left to lament an error-strewn performance in the 4-0 defeat at Manchester United on Sunday, but admits his players are not the only ones responsible for lapses this term.

Key players are off form, there is unease behind the scenes and some fear the manager’s influence is waning as Liverpool come to town

Something is wrong behind the scenes at St James’ Park this season and, albeit tacitly, Eddie Howe has admitted it.

“We have had a lot of issues this summer and we continue to have them,” Newcastle’s manager said, somewhat cryptically, on Tuesday.

• Norway beat Northern Ireland 7-0 on aggregate
• Poland and Portugal book places in Switzerland

Northern Ireland lost 3-0 against Norway for a 7-0 aggregate defeat in their Euro 2025 qualifying playoff.

Caroline Graham Hansen, who scored twice in the first leg, struck again before goals from Arsenal’s Frida Maanum and Atlético Madrid’s Synne Jensen completed the scoring as Norway, 16th in the Fifa rankings and 29 places above Northern Ireland, secured their progress.

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Three days into December and Football Daily has already polished off the advent calendar. The lack of self-discipline and short-sightedness is as astounding as it is predictable and part of the reason we are writing tea-timely emails rather than hoovering up any of the FSA awards, dished out on Monday night to our so-called counterparts. Enjoy the gongs, journalists. I hope they make you happy. Dear Lord, what sad little lives. Christmas should be a time for joy but for those of us floundering, it can also be a difficult time to negotiate. Just ask Everton fans: fresh from having their tails handed to them at Old Trafford, the club now face a crucial relegation clash at home to Wolves on Wednesday, before a set of festive fixtures trickier than Football Daily’s Christmas lights: the Merseyside derby at home to Liverpool on Saturday, before games against Arsenal, Chelsea and on Boxing Day, Manchester City. That Christmas Day hangover is going to hit different.

As a resident of Tamworth and knowing how tight The Lamb ground is, I’d just like to give the Spurs fans some advice and maybe a word of warning: yes, there is more parking just to the west by the Snowdome indoor ski slope, but it’s all downhill from there. Yeah, that sounded better in my head” – Anthony T.

Re: yesterday’s Football Daily letters. I’m crushed by your treatment of Mark McFadden. I thought it’d win a prize, but just didn’t happen. I thought his rhyme scheme had a nice patter. In the end, though, it just doesn’t matter. Chris Jersan’s fine note got him the swag. Perhaps the result was always in the bag. But the biggest question from both letters will be a surprise to no one. Will Pep, in fact, head for the door marked Do One?” – Mike Wilner.

Football Daily visitors to the fair city of Dublin should make a pilgrimage to the area around Abbey Street, Amiens Street, Capel Street, Dorset Street, Henry Street, Mountjoy Square, Marlboro Street, North Wall, O’Connell Street, Parnell Square, Summerhill and Talbot Street. It’s centrally located and all the doors therein include the post code DO1” – Simon Mazier.

This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions.

• Palace captain wrote ‘Jesus loves you’ on his armband
• He had already been warned about message on Saturday

Marc Guéhi is likely to face punishment from the Football Association after the Crystal Palace captain wrote “Jesus loves you” on his rainbow armband in the game against Ipswich Town on Tuesday night.

The FA had formally contacted the England defender and his club ­earlier on Tuesday after it emerged that Guéhi wrote “I love Jesus” on his armband for the draw against ­Newcastle on Saturday. It is understood that they were reminded of its strict rules about not displaying any kind of religious messages, which are prohibited under Rule A4 of the ­governing body’s regulations.

Underused by Erik ten Hag, the youngster has been hugely impressive in the early stages of Ruben Amorim’s tenure

By Ben McAleer for WhoScored

There are a number of Manchester United players benefiting from a change in head coach. Erik ten Hag’s October dismissal was a long time coming, with the FA Cup triumph against Manchester City in May affording the Dutchman a reprieve. It is now up to Ruben Amorim to restore United to their former glory.

The Portuguese manager has made a solid start to life at Old Trafford, overseeing home wins against Bodø/Glimt and Everton along with a commendable draw at Ipswich in his first match in the job. Marcus Rashford is back among the goals, while Joshua Zirkzee netted twice against Everton on Sunday, scoring for the first time since the opening-day win against Fulham.

• Second tier adopted current name in 2018
• Majority of shareholders thought to back move

The Women’s Championship could be renamed as Women’s Super League 2 from next season. The ­division, which sits directly below the ­Women’s Super League in the ­English pyramid, was known originally as WSL 2 when it was introduced in 2014 and was rebranded as the Women’s Champion­ship before the 2018‑19 campaign, when the domestic women’s calendar switched from a summer to a winter season.

No final decision regarding a name change has yet been ratified, but the proposal was first tabled more than a month ago. It is believed to have the provisional support of the majority of shareholders after a ­meeting in October.

The Spaniard is one of the greatest managers in the Premier League era but his club’s aura has vanished. He still has reasons to think his job is safe though

• Sign up to Soccer with Jonathan Wilson here

Perhaps the most extraordinary aspect of Sunday afternoon at Anfield was how ordinary it all felt. Everybody came for something apocalyptic and what they got was a league game that felt like pretty much any other league game in which Liverpool beat a side who aren’t as good as them. For a time there was a thought that Liverpool might pay for failing to take advantage of their early domination, for missing decent chances. But Manchester City are no longer the almost supernatural force they once were; eventually they made two mistakes in quick succession, giving away first possession and then a penalty, and the game was Liverpool’s.

Even Pep Guardiola seems to have accepted it is over. After the – frankly uncomfortable – sight of him clawing at his own scalp on Tuesday as they tossed away a three-goal lead against Feyenoord, he responded to chants of “You’re getting sacked in the morning” by grinning and raising six fingers to denote the number of Premier League titles he has won. Unfortunately, it also denotes how many of their last seven games City have lost.

Defender’s domination of Manchester City striker Erling Haaland represents the contrasting paths of both clubs

Like crocuses pushing up through the soil, like a first glimpse of daffodil in spring, you know something’s up at West Ham, and indeed Everton, when David Moyes starts turning up on Match of the Day 2 like a hopeful uncle at a funeral, looking trim and urgent and chiselled, with perhaps even a slight shade of spray-salon, a touch of Ibiza Whisper.

Moyes did a thorough video debrief for the BBC of Virgil van Dijk’s defending against Erling Haaland at Anfield. This wasn’t the toughest analysis given it basically involved showing Van Dijk gliding about taking the ball away, doing Dad-defender stuff – Erling, we’ve talked about this, you’ll have to wait for Crystal Palace – and generally defanging an elite striker he just seems to have the cheat code to every time.

League leaders were marking 125 years since forming but defiant and in-form visitors got in the way of celebrations

Barcelona left the party early, their birthday also belonging to those who travelled the furthest to be there. There was music, candles and a cake, a piano, five presidents and Pep Guardiola singing on the screen, or lip-syncing at least, but by the time the club’s 125th-anniversary celebrations closed at the Liceu theatre on Friday night there were no first-team players. A little after half past nine, two hours into their grand gala on the Ramblas, a figure appeared in the shadow of the aisle and gestured to depart, 30 men in grey suits silently slipping out to prepare the final act, the crowning performance: in 14 hours they had a match to play.

There have been thousands of them since 1899 when Mr Kans Kamper [sic] put a 63-word classified in Los Deportes asking if anyone wanted to play foot-vall and 12 turned up. The day after the gala would be Barcelona’s 3,034th in La Liga alone, and the league hadn’t even started for another 40 years after their foundation; it was also supposed to be special, a finale for the festivities. Over 2,000 people had been at the Liceu, among them former players, managers and plenty of politicians, if not the mayor – he supports Espanyol – and on a sunny Saturday high above the city another 43,921 were coming to Montjuic to share the history, the moment.

Fiorentina and Inter players had squabbled over a VAR check before the hosts’ midfielder suffered a cardiac arrest

Before Edoardo Bove fell, it had seemed as though a disallowed goal was the most important thing in the world. Fiorentina and Inter were waiting for a VAR check to confirm whether the ball really had gone out as Denzel Dumfries set up Lautaro Martínez to score in the 17th minute of their top-four clash. Players and coaches voiced their disagreement in the usual theatrical terms.

And then, it did not matter at all. Bove had not involved himself in the discussion, waiting in the far half of the pitch. He dropped to a knee for a moment, presumed to be tying a shoelace, but in fact using his hands to steady himself on the turf. After standing back up, he took a handful of steps then collapsed beside Hakan Calhanoglu.

The former Arsenal and England captain believes he has finally ‘grown up’, with ‘no tentacles’ from his troubled past

Tony Adams has always been a contradiction. He led and captained an elite Arsenal dressing room for 14 years but struggled to care for himself. The epitome of bravery on the pitch and “a scared little boy” off it. A career full of drive and determination but also weak will. These days, the contradictions are softer. An East End boy living in the Cotswolds, a recovered alcoholic happily married to a member of the Teacher’s whisky dynasty. A snappy dresser with a messy haircut. The difference is that, unlike the old days, everything seems to fit.

“I’ve got no angst of the past any more,” says Adams. “I’ve cleaned that up – I’m 28 years without a drink or a drug. I’m comfortable in my own skin for the first time in my life. I’ve grown up. There are no tentacles from the past now.”

The BVB coach’s ‘plan worked perfectly’ in Klassiker draw but Bayern’s manager continues to be full of surprises

The meaning of Der Klassiker has changed significantly down the years. Having been a zenith fixture of Bayern Munich v current challenger of substance in the past, it is now set in stone in the post-Klopp years as the Rekordmeister v Borussia Dortmund, that branding remaining even with BVB having largely morphed from genuine challenger to most frequent irritant.

There is a comforting regularity to it. The opener in Dortmund as autumn turns to winter, the April return in Munich and, so often, the arena in which BVB dreams of bigger and better are turned to mulch. The 5-0 at Allianz Arena in spring 2019 which was done and dusted inside the first 20 minutes, holding BVB’s title charge in check. Bayern’s win here in 2020 in front of no fans, snuffing out any home hopes of the Bundesliga just days after the post-Covid resumption. This time last year, it was Harry Kane’s hat-trick in his first Klassiker that told Dortmund the longings for putting right their loss of the title on the final day of 2022-23 were not rooted in reality.

Manchester City suffered their fourth successive Premier League defeat for the first time under Pep Guardiola after a 2-0 loss away to Liverpool. During the game Liverpool fans serenaded Guardiola with 'sacked in the morning' chants.

'Maybe I deserve to be sacked, honestly,' the Manchester City manager said. 'Maybe I'm still in the job because we won six Premier Leagues. A lot of titles. Otherwise the hierarchy maybe would be thinking that this does not work.'

When asked on Guardiola's struggles, the Liverpool manager, Arne Slot, said: 'You feel sympathy or empathy with the managers that are in a really bad place. They've either lost many games or they are down at the bottom of the league ... Last season City were eight points behind Arsenal I think in February. No one has to feel empathy or sorry for Pep. Maybe for other managers but not for Pep. He has won so many things and he will be able to bring City back.'

• Salah seals dominant Liverpool win over Manchester City in major title race blow

• Liverpool 2-0 Manchester City: player ratings from Anfield

Hundreds of Manchester United fans gathered in front of Old Trafford to protest against a recent increase in matchday ticket prices. Prices, which previously started at £40 for adults and £25 for children, were raised to £66 per game, with no concessions for children or pensioners. The move comes as part of the co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s efforts to make United more financially sustainable in the face of losses.

Fans outside the ground called the move 'unethical' and directed a number of chants at the ownership. Some Everton supporters also joined their United counterparts while Manchester City and Liverpool fans staged their own protest at Anfield in solidarity to support the Football Supporters' Association's 'Stop Exploiting Loyalty' campaign.

• Manchester United raise member ticket prices to £66 and remove concessions

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

Ruben Amorim thanked Manchester United supporters after his team came from behind to beat Bodø/Glimt 3-2 in the Europa League on Thursday night. Despite Alejandro Garnacho's early goal the hosts found themselves trailing 2-1 before Rasmus Højlund's double secured victory.

"Half of the stadium doesn't know me and I have done nothing for this club – yet – but the way they support me in the beginning, I feel like I am not alone," Amorim said. "Like I am one of them now. It was really special."

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

Pep Guardiola said Manchester City's 3-3 Champions League draw at Feyenoord was 'difficult to swallow', adding his players are desperate for a win. Guardiola's side squandered a three-goal lead inside the last 16 minutes. Ilkay Gündogan struck early in the second half to add to Erling Haaland's double, however, the visitors achieved a memorable comeback.

• Guardiola worried by ‘fragile’ City after blowing 3-0 lead

Footage shows players from Lydney Town AFC in Gloucestershire heading the ball and swimming in waist-deep floodwaters as they refused to let Storm Bert stop them from taking to the pitch. The club shared the footage on social media alongside the caption: 'Can’t believe I’m saying this … but GAME ON! Teams are out and kick off is imminent'

• Goalkeeper describes Brazilian as ‘one in a billion’
• ‘We had this calmness, this stillness and belief,’ she says

Orlando Pride’s determination to ensure that their “one-in-a-billion” Brazilian Marta won her first National Women’s Soccer League championship title helped focus their resolve to get over the line, says the team’s goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse.

The 38-year-old Marta, who was named as Fifa’s women’s footballer of the year six times between 2006 and 2018, had spent seven seasons with Orlando without lifting a trophy before the team became only the second in the NWSL to win the league winner’s shield and the championship title in the same campaign after defeating Washington Spirit 1-0 in Saturday’s final. Marta’s compatriot Luana, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in April, missed the final but did feature in the semi-final.

The club last won Serie A a century ago but modern-day icons, led up front by Diego Milito, deserve their place

Stephen Kasiewicz for The Gentleman Ultra

It is de rigueur to ignore the heroes of the past to focus on the stars of the present when selecting any all-time greats team. The skewed formula cannot be applied when choosing five players to represent the oldest club in Italy.

Considering Genoa won the last of their nine Serie A titles in 1924 it would be a straightforward task to compose a team solely from that period. Yet I couldn’t leave out some modern-day icons and decided it would be much more fun to pick a team of Il Grifone players from three different eras.

• Midfielder nets winner in 1-0 victory at Torino
• Bellingham and Mbappé on target for Madrid

Scott McTominay’s first-half goal earned leaders Napoli a 1-0 win at Torino as Antonio Conte’s side opened a four-point gap at the top of the Serie A standings.

The Scotland midfielder found the net around the half-hour mark when he struck a shot powerfully inside the near post after receiving a precise pass from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Napoli move on to 32 points, with four teams level on 28 points: Atalanta, Lazio, Inter and Fiorentina.

• Galaxy and Red Bulls reach final with Saturday wins
• Andres Reyes powers New York to 1-0 win over Orlando
• Dejan Joveljić lifts Los Angeles in 1-0 win over Seattle

The Los Angeles Galaxy will host the New York Red Bulls in the MLS Cup final after the pair won their conference championship games on Saturday.

The Red Bulls will have a chance to win their first MLS Cup title after a 1-0 win at Orlando City.

After sticking with the Orlando Pride through nearly a decade’s worth of mediocrity, the Brazilian was rewarded for her loyalty with her first win in a final at club level in 13 years

For so long, on so many occasions, it felt like Marta’s time. On Saturday, it finally was.

The Orlando Pride, captained by the 38-year-old Brazilian playmaker and spearheaded by incandescent striker Barbra Banda, completed one of the most dominant seasons in NWSL history on Saturday with a 1-0 win over the Washington Spirit in the league’s championship game. The title is the team’s first ever, and Marta’s first win in a final at club level since the 2011 WPS championship with the Western New York Flash.

Goalkeeper is at heart of team reviving and defying expectations thanks to seven straight Serie A wins

David de Gea said on day one that he wanted to “make history” with Fiorentina. Three months later, you could make a case he has already succeeded. The Viola won their seventh consecutive Serie A game on Sunday, 2-0 away to Como. Only once before – back in 1960 – have they achieved such a run in the Italian top-flight.

The Spaniard has been essential. De Gea collected his fifth clean sheet against Como, more than any other goalkeeper has managed since he made his league debut on 15 September. He is having to work for them, too.

Manager arrived with a reputation for transformation and rejuvenated team with spirited 4-3 win against RB Leipzig

Less talk, more action? Having stepped out of Austrian football for the first time in his career, Christian Ilzer has taken the opposite approach as he seeks to establish himself and to find his feet at Hoffenheim. Appointed to the top job little more than a week ago, the new head coach took over an alarming situation, with his new European-qualified team teetering just above a weak-looking bottom three. Yet he immediately felt that making time to chat was the best start. “Of course, it takes a lot of conversations to find out what makes the guys tick,” Ilzer enthused. “When you’re dealing with people, one of the most important skills is listening. That was one of my main jobs.”

In an era when a head coach’s ability to create their own brand is still thought of as imperative, taking a moment to assess exactly why Pellegrino Matarazzo’s reign fell apart needed to happen. Understanding, rather than recrimination. The degree of faith Ilzer has already fostered is evident. There were many moments when Hoffenheim could have shouldered arms on his Saturday debut against RB Leipzig, but they never did. Three times they came from behind and after the last of those, Jacob Bruun Larsen headed in a winner to inspire the closest you will get to delirium in the stands of the ProZero Arena.

Éric Roy’s side have enjoyed early success in Champions League but could be fighting relegation at season’s end

By Eric Devin for Get French Football News

While they were humbled by an attack-minded Monaco on Friday evening at the Stade Louis II, as Brest prepare to take on Barcelona in the first “big test” of their maiden Champions League campaign (Bayer Leverkusen notwithstanding), it’s worth reflecting on the Bretons’ progress to date and a look at how Tuesday’s match may shape up given some unfortunate injury news for Éric Roy’s side.

Despite playing gamely against a Monaco side who have been mightily impressive this season, Brest lost 3-2 but, more importantly, lost Pierre Lees-Melou. The veteran midfielder had only recently returned from an injury and his positive influence on the team was palpable in the draw against Leverkusen.

• Red Bulls beat NYCFC 2-0 to reach MLS Cup last four
• No 7 seed will face Atlanta or Orlando in East final

Dante Vanzeir notched an assist on a first-half goal by Felipe Carballo and then scored nine minutes later, and Carlos Coronel made them stand up by posting his seventh career clean sheet against New York City FC in the New York Red Bulls’ 2-0 victory in an Eastern Conference semi-final at Citi Field on Saturday night.

The seventh-seeded Red Bulls will play the winner of Sunday’s semi-final between No 9 seed Atlanta United and fourth-seeded Orlando City for the conference championship and the right to play for the MLS Cup.

From Franco Mastantuono to Estêvão, we select some of the most talented players born in 2007. Check the progress of our classes of 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 … and look at the editions from further back

We pick the best youngsters at each club born between 1 September 2007 and 31 August 2008, an age band known as first-year scholars. Check the progress of our classes of 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 … and look at the editions from further back

From Warren Zaïre-Emery to Endrick, we select some of the best players born in 2006. Check the progress of our classes of 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018

• Next Generation 2023: 20 of the best Premier League talents

The two Americans were on our list five years ago but their paths show the professional game is rarely straightforward

Career paths are rarely straightforward, whether in football or any other area of life. Circumstances often change. Injuries and illnesses happen, there are often changes in leadership which have an impact on the individual while personal lives also play a part.

Career paths are therefore very difficult to predict. Looking down the list of our 2019 Next Generation, which we have now followed for five years, there were no guarantees any of the players would become household names. OK, Alex Holiga, who covers the Balkans for us, was confident that Josko Gvardiol would make it big – which he has – but apart from him, and perhaps Ansu Fati, Eduardo Camavinga and Jérémy Doku, there were no certainties.

A remarkable year for the youngster. Made his Bundesliga debut on 18 January and has not looked back since. He now has 23 first-team appearances and has established himself as a starter and one of the most talented young players in Europe. “I’m still learning a lot tactically,” he said in August. “There is a very big difference between youth and professional football. Making the right movements and creating space for myself and others is what I still need to learn the most.

A tumultuous year for the young American who was caught in the crossfire of a feud between his own family and the USMNT coach, Gregg Berhalter, after the World Cup, during which he played a mere 52 minutes of the US’s four games. Injuries have once again hampered him but he is back to full fitness now and a US return seems likely too after talks with Berhalter.

No Arsenal player is benefiting more from the captain’s return than his ruthless buddy on the wing, as West Ham found out

Oh for heavens’s sake, get a room. Actually don’t. This is, on reflection, a global spectator sport. But show a little restraint. People are watching. Including, it seemed for much of the first half at the London Stadium, the entire West Ham defence.

There were times during those 49 wild minutes when Bukayo Saka and Martin Ødegaard seemed to be playing pretty much in the same pocket of air, like a pair of hummingbirds, beautifully conjoined.

On the touchline or off it, the former Chelsea manager is still the biggest draw in the women’s game

Football needs great characters and, for 12 years, English women’s football was all the more interesting for the presence of one of the most charismatic coaches in the sport in the form of Emma Hayes; never afraid to speak her mind, never dull and scarcely ever beaten. Perhaps the Women’s Super League and the wider English game did not realise quite how much it was missing Hayes until she brought her Olympic champions to London and reminded everyone what a difference a sprinkle of personality can make in helping to grow a sport.

The match itself was rather unexciting, but the USA coach somehow made the occasion anything but. The tone was set at the start of the week when Hayes hosted a press conference in a pub in Camden. Where else? She joked about the venue smelling of “fart and feet”, before pouring some pints from behind the bar. It would be unfair to label the 12 current WSL managers as dull by comparison but it is undeniably true that none of them can yet grab a room’s attention quite like Hayes can, guarantee as many column inches or stir up quite so much attention for a friendly fixture.

Disappointing results and an uninspiring style aside, the former Forest manager was always fighting an uphill battle

By Ben McAleer for WhoScored

Few in Leicester would have shed a tear when news of Steve Cooper’s dismissal was announced on Sunday. Following in the footsteps of Enzo Maresca was tough enough and the club appointing a head coach dismissed by their rivals Nottingham Forest last December did not sit well with supporters. In effect Cooper had to scale a mountain to win over the fanbase.

Saturday’s 2-1 home loss to Chelsea spelled the end of his second spell in the Midlands. That it was Maresca in the opposing dugout at the King Power Stadium was a cruel twist of fate. It extended Leicester’s winless run in all competitions to five and leaves them a point above the drop zone. Cooper has overseen two league wins, and one of those was at 10-man Southampton, where they came from two goals down to win 3-2.

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Towards the end of his beleaguered Manchester City side’s trimming at the hands of Liverpool at Anfield, Pep Guardiola raised a couple of hands of his own but far from surrendering in the same manner as the players he had picked, the Spaniard was in defiant mood. Turning in his technical area to acknowledge the scouse serenade of “You’re getting sacked in the morning!” echoing around the ground, the City boss chomped hard on the bait and raised six digits to remind all those in the chorus how many Premier League titles he has won. Unfortunately for him it is also the same number of games his team have now lost in their past seven outings, a statistic quickly seized upon by assorted Social Media Disgrace wags who wished to pile even more ridicule on poor old Pep.

I’ve been criticised since I was a 16-year-old boy, my whole career. What you always want is weapons to fight back with – at the minute we’ve got none. So we have to take it on the chin and hope that we get through this, because the last two games arguably have been the toughest and hardest week of my managerial career. It was very difficult walking over and not feel embarrassed to show our appreciation to the fans” – the behind-the-scenes Plymouth Argyle documentary is in danger of having its lead character killed off in the first episode after the Pilgrims’ 4-0 thrashing at Bristol City.

The post-Klopp Kop had a pop at Pep. He tried to linger, offered a single finger (plus five), but he’d seen a Red humdinger. City will back him, no chance they’ll sack him. But with Pep being slighted, and weaknesses sighted, could he even be caught by Rubén’s United? (I know I ought to get out more, but you know what, I don’t even care)” – Mark McFadden.

After a 2-0 defeat, a warning for City fans: taking too much Peptalk Dismal can increase the risk of side effects, including feeling or being sick, feeling confused, dizzy or tired, deafness, or ringing or buzzing in your ears” – James Boyle.

As an Arsenal supporter, I found myself cheering on Liverpool yesterday, even though I probably should have been hoping for a City win. I think I’ve been hurt so often by City that I’m having trouble being rational. My psychiatrist says I have PTSD: Pep Traumatic Stress Disorder. She thinks I’ve lost touch with reality when I suggest he’s just bored and toying with us, seeing how far he can fall behind before City win their final 25 matches with a goal difference of 107 and take the title by 10 points at a canter again” – Chris Jersan.

What a difference six years makes. From Scott McTominay getting stick from the Manchester United fans just for passing the ball backwards, all the way back in the days when they used to beat Liverpool (and with the Once a Special One, then a Happy One, now a Moaning in Turkey One, doing a once in a lifetime ‘blame me not the player’), to scoring the winner to boost Napoli’s title bid. As Andy Gray used to patronisingly say on co-commentary after someone, probably Robert Pires, scored a world class goal in the early 2000s, ‘Take a bow son, take a bow’” – Noble Francis.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Sanny Rudravajhala and George Elek as the Sky Blues get their man and Chris Wilder’s Blades continue their great form

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On the podcast today; Frank Lampard’s Coventry (as we are duty bound to call them) begin with a draw against Cardiff City. The panel debate whether this is a good appointment.

Plus: cup-tied finalists that lose but win a medal, 66 goals in a week and the oldest team with a body part in their name

• Mail us any of your questions and answers

“Curtis Jones is the ninth Jones to play for the England men’s team, after Alf, William, Harry, Herbert, Bill, Mick, Rob and Phil. Do any countries have a more capped surname?” asks Jack Hayward.

There are plenty of countries who don’t need to keep up with the Joneses because they went past them ages ago. In one case, they are the Joneses.

Williams (Wales) 32

Nilsson (Sweden) 35

Karlsson (Sweden) 40

Singh (India) 40+

Jensen (Denmark) 43

Davies (Wales) and Johansson (Sweden) 44

Nielsen (Denmark) 51

Jones (Wales) 54

Andersson (Sweden) and Hansen (Denmark) 65

Nguyễn (Vietnam) 78+

Kim (South Korea) 83+

Our cartoonist on how the Premier League champions may need a hand from Swindon’s paranormal investigator

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Congolese club claimed glory in Africa’s premier women’s club competition but tournament struggled for crowds

This certainly wasn’t on my bingo card. Coming into the fourth edition of the CAF Women’s Champions League, expectations were that the continental title would be retained by Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa or regained by the Moroccan hosts, Asfar Rabat. Between them they had won all three previous editions of Africa’s premier women’s club competition. Instead, it was TP Mazembe, a Congolese club only founded four years ago, who claimed continental glory with a 1-0 win in El Jadida.

With Asfar Rabat having already beaten Mazembe 3-1 in the group stage, the 15,000 partisan Moroccan fans would have been expecting a procession but Marlène Kasaj’s 10th-minute penalty, awarded after VAR intervention, silenced the crowd. After that, and in front of the Morocco head coach, Jorge Vilda, sacked by Spain in the aftermath of Luis Rubiales kissing Jenni Hermoso, Asfar failed to threaten the Mazembe goal and the away side saw out a relatively comfortable victory. The tournament’s top scorer and breakout star, Doha El Madani, came closest with a free-kick she sent just wide of the post but in truth it was Mazembe who carried a greater threat on a day when they subdued their usually free-scoring opponents.

A club that punches above its weight, Le Zebrette have calmness, flair and focal point up front in Oliver Bierhoff

James Oddy for The Gentleman Ultra

For a club that have never won a Serie A title, picking a five a side team made up of former Udinese players proved monumentally difficult. Nestled in north-east Italy, Udine is significantly closer to Slovenia’s capital of Ljubljana than Rome. Yet it has been a nursery for many elite players, as well as providing the stability and seclusion for the more mature player to find their feet and flourish.

This side is a mixture of youth and experience and helps to emphasise just how much talent has graced the Stadio Friuli. My selection based primarily on players who played during my lifetime and ones that would flourish in the five a side game.

Faye Carruthers is joined by Suzy Wrack, Jenna Schillaci and Sophie Downey to discuss all the weekend’s WSL games

On today’s pod, the panel discusses Chelsea’s rise to the top of the WSL table after a hard-fought win over Manchester City. Is this the start of their title charge?

The panel also looks at the late drama across the league, with Fran Kirby’s goal sealing Brighton’s victory and Ebony Salmon coming off the bench to give Aston Villa their first win of the season.

It may have been an absolute mess, but McClair’s two-yard wonder strike was a window into the human soul

The reality of corporeality is a hard thing to process; just look at what we look like! But somehow, the agglomeration of weird shapes and freaky textures that comprises us responds to instructions from the quivering lump of jelly that really comprises us, and thus does football eventuate. Jesse Armstrong once said that if a joke isn’t working, one thing to try is sticking it an enclosed space so “the characters are up in each other’s physicality” and such is our beautiful game: a chaotic, hilarious gumbo of bodies controlled by brains that are fickle, stressed and distractible, having been socialised into the fanatical pursuit of an arbitrary aim to which has been ascribed inherent moral value.

Many of the most preposterous events I’ve seen in my life have been football-related: consider John Terry arranging for himself to take a Champions League-winning penalty and adjusting his captain’s armband en route, then slipping and crying, or Steven Gerrard coming on for his last appearance against Manchester United after spending the entirety of the first half being wound up by the away end, then getting himself sent off 38 seconds later. For balance, I was also at the Stadium of Light on the last day of 2011-12, but we all have our own favourites: those moments when players, asked to process footballing obsession multiplied by the human condition, simply cannot.

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.

Few managers are idealists but the truth for the man in charge at St Mary’s is that his players aren’t good enough to stay up

There has, at least, been a win to break the pattern. But Southampton’s victory over Everton was followed immediately by defeat by Wolves and so they spent the international break bottom of the table. They have taken four points from 11 games. In only two games this season have Southampton had the better xG – on the opening day, when they lost 1-0 at 10-man Newcastle, and in the 1-1 draw at Ipswich. They are, barring something miraculous, doomed.

The routine has become familiar. Southampton play their goal-kicks short. They pass the ball neatly. They have a lot of possession; 56.6% – only three teams in the Premier League are averaging more. They don’t take their chances – no side have hit a lower percentage of shots on target this season. Somebody makes a mistake – perhaps one of their players, perhaps the referee – they concede and the game is lost.

Inter legend enjoyed a remarkable career in Spain and Italy, but football was not his only love growing up in Sydney

I am having to explain to Christian Vieri that despite us being in London and only a few miles from Lord’s, organising a game of cricket with Sir Ian Botham is probably going to be a bit tricky. I just don’t have that sort of pulling power, but also because the former Ashes legend is in Australia and a bit banged up after falling into crocodile-filled waters on a fishing trip.

The thing is, Vieri – the former striker who at one time became the most expensive footballer in the world when he moved to Internazionale in 1999 for about £30m – doesn’t just like cricket, he loves it, having spent most of his childhood in Australia.

In a country where thousands of migrant workers have died since 2016 a huge building project lies ahead. December’s coronation will stand as surely the most wretched, bloody, damaging act in the history of global organised sport

“People will die.”
Amnesty International

“You can never say again that you did not know.”
William Wilberforce

Erling Haaland has been voted the best player in the world for 2023 by our 218-strong panel, with Jude Bellingham finishing second

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Aitana Bonmatí, Sam Kerr and Salma Paralluelo top the list of female footballers in the world in 2023 according to our judges

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The Norwegian is only 23 but his devastating goal record has seen him voted as the No 1 player in the world by the Guardian’s expert panel

When Pep Guardiola tearfully claimed Manchester City could not replace the departing Sergio Agüero in May 2021, he didn’t just create a meme. Guardiola was soft-launching a global audition for his team’s new attacking talisman. An unsuccessful pursuit of Harry Kane in the summer of 2021 came between two title-winning seasons where Ilkay Gündogan (13) and Kevin De Bruyne (15) were the club’s top league goalscorers. Guardiola’s slick creative machine needed a new front man, and they found him in Erling Haaland.

Like Agüero before him – and in contrast to many of City’s most successful Pep-era signings – Haaland arrived as a bona fide superstar, a plug-and-play addition to an already stellar lineup. Whether he was a bargain is another question. The release clause paid was €60m (£51.2m), but some reports suggest Haaland’s five-year deal could cost the club in the region of £300m. And while there was an ominous logic to the move for City’s rivals, questions remained.