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• England 3-4 Germany
• Stanway scores twice but European champions fall short

Crises are not formed by results in friendlies, but England’s shambolic defensive display, a conservative starting XI and the concession of three goals inside 30 minutes, in a 4-3 loss to Germany at Wembley, will certainly feel pretty bruising.

The last time these two teams met on this stage, the spoils were far greater and the result very different, England securing an extra-time win over Germany courtesy of Chloe ­Kelly’s famous goal to give England a first major trophy at the Euros in 2022.

Steve Cooper must have wondered what kind of reception he would receive from the travelling Nottingham Forest supporters but, unfortunately for the Leicester manager, it took a chastening defeat to their East Midlands rivals to find out. After Chris Wood feasted on some laughable Leicester defending to add his second and Forest’s third, the away fans returned to an old hit. “Stevie Cooper, Stevie Cooper, he hates the Leicester, he hates the Derby, Forest are massive,” filled the air as Leicester’s fans sat in silence. The reality is Forest should have made it 4-1 but the homegrown midfielder Ryan Yates, who opened the scoring, missed a sitter from four yards.

Only Erling Haaland has scored more league goals than Wood this season and the Forest striker’s first, with his back to goal, was a beauty. Since Nuno Espírito Santo’s first game in charge of Forest, only Haaland has scored more non-penalty goals than Wood. By the end, the away fans were singing about Europe, and Forest had climbed to fifth, for a few hours at least. Cooper allowed Forest, defeated once this season, to finally return to the biggest stage but Nuno is seemingly driving them to higher ground.

• Leaders Liverpool face crucial game at Arsenal on Sunday
• Director of scouting, Dave Fallows, leaving club

Arne Slot has said it is vital Liverpool improve their away results against the Premier League’s leading teams in order to win the title.

Liverpool visit Arsenal on Sunday knowing victory will establish a seven-point gap over Mikel Arteta’s side and with a grasp of how costly results away to their rivals proved last season. Jürgen Klopp’s team took seven points from a possible 21 at the top eight, beating only ­Newcastle among that group, although that return included a hugely controversial loss at Tottenham. Manchester City won 11 points and Arsenal nine from their corresponding away fixtures.

• Club captain returned to action at Anfield last Sunday
• ‘Because you are the captain you have to give more’

Enzo Maresca has revealed he “expected more” from Reece James in terms of leadership when the Chelsea captain was injured, with the manager saying the dressing room lacks a “proper leader”.

James returned from a long-term hamstring injury in the 2-1 defeat by Liverpool last Sunday, the right-back’s first appearance of the season, and as well as stepping straight back into the starting XI, James also immediately reclaimed the captain’s armband from Enzo Fernández. The 24-year-old delivered a decent display at Anfield but clearly did not impress his manager while sidelined.

• Manager yet to speak to club’s new sporting director
• Kevin De Bruyne still out with muscle injury

Pep Guardiola is confident that, should he depart next summer, Manchester City will not falter as Manchester United did when Sir Alex Ferguson left in May 2013.

Guardiola will decide this winter whether to extend his contract into a 10th year, Txiki Begiristain having confirmed he will leave as City’s sporting director at the end of the season. Ferguson left United as champions but they have failed to be serious title contenders since.

• Striker’s current Newcastle contract runs until 2028
• PSR concerns mean club not keen on negotiating now

Eddie Howe has suggested that Newcastle’s hierarchy do not currently regard extending Alexander Isak’s contract as a priority and is challenging the out-of-form Sweden striker to change directors’ minds.

Isak is widely coveted, with Arsenal particularly keen admirers, but with his present deal running until 2028 and Newcastle constrained by the need to remain on the right side of profit and sustainability regulations, there seems a reluctance to imminently improve an existing agreement that already places Isak among the club’s highest earners.

• Seven squad members missed draw at Fenerbahce
• ‘We have to do better to get more available players’

Erik ten Hag has said he, his staff and Manchester United’s players must ensure more of the squad are fit, with the team again hampered by several injuries this season.

Last term United had a total of 66 injuries and although the club were determined to address the issue in the summer, Leny Yoro, Rasmus Højlund, Luke Shaw, Mason Mount, Jonny Evans, Kobbie Mainoo, Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelöf have sustained injuries this season. Tyrell Malacia remains a long-term absentee.

• Saka, Calafiori and Timber ‘uncertain’ for Sunday’s game
• Manager wants team to embrace a ‘ruthless mentality’

Mikel Arteta does not want Arsenal to “feel sorry for ourselves” as his side, carrying a significant injury list, prepare to meet the league leaders Liverpool on Sunday.

There was little joy for Arteta to share when discussing the injured trio of Bukayo Saka, Riccardo Calafiori and Jurriën Timber in Friday’s press conference. “We’re going to do our very best to somehow have them available, but obviously it’s very, very uncertain,” he said.

Manchester City host bottom-side Southampton on Saturday while leaders Liverpool visit Arsenal on Sunday

Saturday 3pm Venue Villa Park

Josh Windass and Michael Smith returned to the Sheffield Wednesday lineup to spark a turnaround 2-1 victory over bottom-placed Portsmouth.

Smith was making only his second start of the campaign, having found himself behind Jamal Lowe in Danny Rohl’s pecking order, while Windass has missed recent matches.

Hansi Flick’s reinvented league leaders head to Spanish capital as equals after re-emerging from Real’s shadow

Once upon a time there was a football match. They called it el clásico and it was a classic every time, the biggest and best in the whole wide world. Everyone watched it and everything depended on it, so the story goes. It was built up and up and up and still never let you down, an epic battle between two behemoths who went 17 years without a 0-0, going all the way back to the night a pig’s head was thrown at Luís Figo, and who scored a combined 125 goals in a decade. Barcelona and Real Madrid were, after all, the best teams with the best coaches and best players on the planet, matched only by each other.

Were? Are? There is no rivalry like Madrid-Barça and that remains the case, a meeting with a scale and symbolism nothing equals, huge every time. There have been special moments recently, too. And this week’s talk of the best clásico they could remember, a recurring theme on radio and TV, points at extremely short memories and invites fate to leave them looking foolish. But Saturday’s meeting does feel a little different; these two might, just might, actually be the best teams in Europe again; this could be a battle the way it used to be, closer and more competitive than anyone anticipated. A clash of styles and identities. Above all, a clash of titans.

Maya Le Tissier and Grace Clinton must be wondering what else they have to do to impress the England manager

A common theme across Sarina Wiegman’s successful tenure has been a notion that she would only pick players who were performing for their clubs. Friday’s team selection at Wembley was truly at odds with that principle, and in a chastening half an hour’s chaos against European women’s football’s most decorated nation, the England head coach’s decisions backfired in spectacular fashion.

In naming an unchanged starting side from that which played the previous fixture in July, it was almost as if Wiegman did not feel any of the club fixtures so far this season held sufficient significance to trump any of the performances in that goalless draw away to Sweden three months ago. Yet for the match-going fans at Women’s Champions League and domestic games this term, that notion will have been truly baffling, as some of England’s most in-form players were harshly overlooked.

There is plenty of blame to go around in east London as summer signings struggle in a team that lacks identity

Dysfunction at West Ham is nothing new. The frustration, though, is that bringing in a technical director was supposed to improve recruitment. Expectations were high when Tim Steidten was appointed shortly after West Ham’s triumph in the Europa Conference League final in June 2023.

Soon it was common to see triumphant images of a beaming Steidten sitting on a private jet with expensive new signings, a trend that would earn the apparent recruitment guru much acclaim on social media, where large accounts were more than happy to talk up the German’s work. Why such behaviour was necessary, though, was never entirely clear. Ultimately, the work speaks for itself and, as West Ham have found during a disastrous start to the season, nothing delivers a verdict on transfer business more eloquently than results.

Miami raced to the highest points total in league history this season. But that doesn’t necessarily mean anything in knockout matches

If last season was defined by Lionel Messi, this one was about Inter Miami as a whole. The club built the plane as they were flying it, stretching the MLS rulebook to its absolute limit as it added players, shedded others, and ended the season with the best-ever points total in league history. Big spending and sporting success haven’t usually gone hand-in-hand in MLS, but 2024 was the year that Miami showed that era is well and truly over. AA

• Former Blackpool and QPR manager accepts role
• Club sit just above League Two relegation zone

Ian Holloway has made a surprise return to football after being confirmed as the new manager of Swindon Town.

Holloway has been out of work since resigning from his post at Grimsby in December 2020 and was widely assumed to have fully stepped away from management following a career in which he took charge of eight different clubs across 24 years, including Blackpool, who he led to the Premier League in 2010. But the colourful former Bristol Rovers and Queens Park Rangers midfielder is back, replacing Mark Kennedy at Swindon after he was sacked following the club’s poor start to the season. Swindon sit one place above the League Two relegation zone with only two wins from 13 games after Kennedy’s appointment in May.

• Fenerbahce manager was sent off in Europa League draw
• ‘I congratulate him because he is absolutely incredible’

José Mourinho sarcastically described Clément Turpin as “one of the best referees in the world” after the Fenerbahce manager was sent off in his side’s 1-1 draw with former club Manchester United.

Mourinho was shown a red card after protesting when he thought his side should have had a ­penalty ­during the second half after Youssef ­En-Nesyri had cancelled out ­Christian Eriksen’s opening goal. He watched the rest of the match from the stands but revealed afterwards that he had been to see Turpin to ask about his dismissal.

A reunion for Steve Cooper, an opportunity for Matheus Nunes and a dilemma for Mikel Arteta

Two years ago it was this fixture that looked to have brought an end to the Steve Cooper era at Nottingham Forest, losing 4-0 at the King Power Stadium. He survived another 14 months before being sacked. A few weeks ago, the situation looked equally critical for him at Leicester, but two wins in a row after a positive performance in defeat by Arsenal have put Cooper on a more stable footing. Despite the upturn in form, fans are still not fully convinced by the man that brought such success to their rivals. A win on Friday night, though, would secure a third straight victory and help to increase Cooper’s popularity. If they do get the points, Leicester would move into the top half, which would go some way to vindicating the manager’s appointment after a stuttering start to life back in the Premier League. Will Unwin

Leicester v Nottingham Forest, Friday 8pm BST

Aston Villa v Bournemouth, Saturday 3pm BST

Brentford v Ipswich Town, Saturday 3pm BST

Brighton v Wolves, Saturday 3pm BST

Manchester City v Southampton, Saturday 3pm BST

Everton v Fulham, Saturday 5.30pm BST

• Foord’s penalty delivers Australia 1-1 draw with Switzerland
• Matildas rebuilding after disappointing Olympics campaign

After a disappointing Olympics campaign, one of the key goals of interim Matildas boss Tom Sermanni coming into this international window was to put in place the building blocks of a new, four-year cycle not just tactically and technically, but also emotionally. Friday evening’s 1-1 draw with Switzerland, however, showed this remains very much a work in progress.

Taking the field for the first time since they were bundled out of the Paris Games in the group stages, the side started in a 3-5-2 shape at the Stadion Letzigrund, with Courtney Nevin slotting in alongside Kennedy and Clare Hunt in a centre-back trio. Ellie Carpenter and Kaitlyn Torpey were deployed as wingbacks, a shift that also saw Mary Fowler drop into more of a playmaking role alongside Katrina Gorry and Kyra Cooney-Cross.

The smart deployment of Fowler on games was another of Sermanni’s key goals as interim but this was one that still carried the hallmarks of being a work in progress. Australia generally struggled to create clear-cut chances and move the ball with speed when it came time to get on the front foot. It wasn’t until Caitlin Foord’s 43rd-minute penalty that Australia achieved ascendency heading into the halftime break, threatening to spoil the host’s party.

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For a man who famously “cannot speak”, José Mourinho invariably has plenty to say. During his pre-match press conference the day before Fenerbahce’s Bigger Vase game against Manchester United, he cut a relaxed figure who seemed to be enjoying his reunion with his former muckers from the English press pack. And why wouldn’t he? Especially when so many of them can be replied upon to greet his staggeringly unfunny gags with the kind of sycophantic, excessively loud and undeserved laughter you only ever hear at such events.

Social media has enabled so many people from different backgrounds to cover football, but it’s tempting to delete it all and live in a glorious vacuum

Another week, another well-received podcast. Geoff: the Guardian stopped caring about actual journalism a long time ago. GoonerRay: So-called journalists begging for clicks CLOWN EMOJI CLOWN EMOJI CLOWN EMOJI. Peter: the Football Weekly pod has become garbage. I have enjoyed it for many years, but it’s time to say goodbye. ScottishGooner: unless they get a grip of this gaslighting podcast I’ll be cancelling my subscription to the paper. Grant: c-word. Robbo: c-word. Arsenteta: Arteta needs to start creating lawsuits for defamation of character as the media pile on is constant!! José, Pep, Klopp, Conte, all loves for their sideline antics, Arteta however has to stay silent & be a good boy. C-word.

You never really know what reaction you’ll get when you turn off Zoom, close the laptop and sit down to watch series four of Slow Horses with a pad Thai on your lap. Anyone who’s been on the internet in the past decade knows that it isn’t necessarily the most wholesome place to spend your time.

Two big names had a shaky week, while Milan have found their Mr Reliable. We hand out honours (and dishonours) from the latest round of action

VFB Stuttgart: In last season’s Bundesliga it was Stuttgart rather than Bayern Munich who came second to the unbeaten champions Bayer Leverkusen. Following that up this season has proved tough for Sebastian Hoeness’s team, who lie 10th in the German league. On Tuesday night in Turin they dominated Juventus, who put in their worst performance yet under Thiago Motta, and were reduced to 10 men after Danilo’s red card. Deniz Undav’s first-half screamer for Stuttgart was rubbed out by the VAR but it seemed Mattia Perin, who saved Enzo Millot’s penalty amid a brilliant goalkeeping display, would deny the Germans. It took some dainty improvisation from El Bilal Touré to land a first Champions League win this season for a club back in the competition for the first time in 15 years.

England goalkeeper talks about her difficult exit from Manchester United, life in France and battling for her place in the national side

‘It’s a blessing and a curse,” says Mary Earps. “Naturally, when you get named the Fifa Best goalkeeper, expectations do raise, and especially when you do it twice. People expect more of you.”

That is a pressure the England international, who joined Paris Saint-Germain in the summer at the end of her contract at Manchester United, deals with on a daily basis. But she does not want that to change. “It is a massive compliment but you do get criticised more and held to a higher standard,” she says. “Then the extraordinary is expected. But the reality of it is that I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m really grateful for everything I’ve achieved and the exciting thing is that I still feel like I’ve got room for improvement.”

Modern club owners, from states to oligarchs, have the financial might to bully the body into submission

For a long time, football has heard the voice crying in the wilderness: make way for the coming of the regulator. This has been the hope that has sustained the rump of the game as the rich have disappeared further and further into the distance and clubs have been dragged further and further from their traditional communities. And now, with the launch on Thursday of the football governance bill, it feels a little realer, a little closer. This is actually happening.

But as details emerge, perhaps the most important thing to remember is that just because a regulator exists does not mean that regulations are followed, as the water industry demonstrates all too clearly. Far more important than any individual clause in the bill is what power the regulator will have in practice.

When selecting a supreme Samp five, it is impossible to look beyond the stars of their greatest era, in the 80s and 90s

By Stephen Kasiewicz for The Gentleman Ultra

The members of my Sampdoria five-side-team played together during the club’s most successful period, from 1984-1994.

It would have been easy to pick an ultra-attacking side with four forwards. But to maintain some kind of balance there was no room for Blucerchiati icons Fabio Quagliarella and Francesco Flachi, while none of Doria’s star foreigners made the cut either.

Doubts surrounded the Scot and Kenny Dalglish’s side but an 18-yard header eased anxieties before a dominant season

By Steven Pye for That 1980s Sports Blog

After a rare trophyless season in 1986-87, there were some who thought the Liverpool dynasty was showing signs of cracking. The departure of striker Ian Rush to Juventus for £3.2m left a sizeable hole in the team, as the Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish was tasked with replacing the seemingly irreplaceable.

“The coming season is going to be Dalglish’s biggest test yet as a manager,” the Guardian’s David Lacey wrote in his preview of the 1987-88 campaign. Others waded in too. “Dalglish has a lot to live up to this season,” John Bond commented in an exclusive Express article. “Time will tell whether he really can do it.”

José Mourinho's Fenerbahce side drew 1-1 with Manchester United at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium in the Europa League. The home side equalised thanks to a Youssef En-Nesyri header after Christian Eriksen's opener. But Mourinho stole the show as he was sent off for protesting when he thought Fenerbahce should have been awarded a penalty. Speaking after the game, he said: 'If any club in England from the bottom of the table needs a coach in two years, I'm ready to go, and I don't want to say anything more about it.'

José Mourinho cheekily suggested he could be in line to win a fourth Premier League title after finishing as runners-up with Manchester United in 2017-2018 if Manchester City are stripped of their title. Mourinho, whose Fenerbahce side will host his former club in the Europa League, also said he believes United have shown Erik ten Hag 'trust and stability' by keeping him in his post for this season in contrast to the way the he was treated by the club.

• Mourinho: I can win Premier League with Manchester United … if City are stripped of 2018 title

Gunsu entertains fans on Instagram by demonstrating his unique football techniques. He catches the ball between his feet and flicks it up and over his head ready to score goals or, in some cases, baskets.

Pep Guardiola has stressed the importance of players prioritising their clubs by revealing that he has 'never been so angry' as when Manchester City's John Stones was injured in England’s friendly against Belgium earlier this year. Reflecting on the situation Guardiola said 'if it's a friendly game, you cannot come back injured. I'm sorry. You are focused. In a friendly game you cannot come back injured when you're playing quarter-finals of the Champions League'

• ‘Never so angry’: Guardiola underlines Stones’ value by recalling fury at England injury

A number of free, week-long football camps are taking place in Scotland throughout the 2024-25 season, with children from all socio-economic backgrounds invited during the school holidays. A free lunch is also provided as the initiative aims to help tackle the rising issue of holiday hunger and ease the pressure on parents while their children are not in school. The programme is projected to reach more than 850 participants at 33 regional locations during the October half-term period. Motherwell captain Paul McGinn, who took part in a coaching session with Motherwell Community Trust, said: 'This week might be a catalyst for these kids to go on to play football for the rest of their lives or pick it up as a hobby, which will make a massive difference to their physical and mental health'

Mario Engels scored an incredible goal from beyond the halfway line for Heracles, making it 2-1 in their home game to Ajax in the Dutch Eredivisie. Goals from a trio of former Premier League stars – Davy Klaassen, Bertrand Traoré and Wout Weghorst – would seal a dramatic comeback win for Ajax

• USWNT 3–1 Iceland
• Olympic champions play first game since gold in Paris

Alyssa Thompson scored her first goal for her country, Jaedyn Shaw provided the go-ahead goal in the 85th minute, and the US women’s national team beat Iceland 3-1 in an exhibition game on Thursday night.

Sophia Smith also scored for the US in the team’s first match since winning gold at the Paris Olympics under new coach Emma Hayes.

• Gulf kingdom is sole bidder for 2034 tournament
• Trade union claims ‘epidemic’ of migrant worker abuse

Fifa has been accused for a second time of failing to engage with concerns over human rights risks in Saudi Arabia, two months before the Gulf state is expected to be confirmed as a World Cup host.

The Building and Wood Workers’ International, a trade union that has worked with Fifa on governance reforms and previously signed a memorandum of understanding with the governing body, says it has been ignored in attempts to discuss the exploitation of foreign workers in Saudi.

A surprise signing from Genoa, the striker has immediately integrated in Bergamo thanks to his manager’s brilliance

Mateo Retegui is not afraid to make a snap decision. When Roberto Mancini phoned to ask if he would consider representing the Italian national team last March, the striker “didn’t have to think about it. I just said yes right away”. Born and raised in Argentina, he had never lived in Italy nor did he speak the language, yet within days he marked his international debut with a goal against England in Naples.

A choice that shifted his whole life’s trajectory. Twenty-three years old and playing for Tigre on loan from Boca Juniors, Retegui was hardly at the forefront of most European scouts’ minds. He scored 23 goals across all competitions in 2022, yet domestically there were doubts as to his ceiling. His parent club had declined their option to bring him back at the end of the year, while the Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni was indifferent to Retegui declaring for Italy.

Ulf Johansson, the coach of Swedish fourth division side Ängelholm Women says he is extremely proud of the team who have a playoff decider on Sunday

Imagine completing an entire league season unbeaten without conceding a goal and still not being crowned champions. Those are the mixed emotions facing the fourth-tier Swedish women’s club Ängelholm but, as their coach, Ulf Johansson, says, a screenshot of the league table going viral has helped his players start to appreciate the magnitude of what they achieved.

They won 15 of their 18 league matches but three goalless draws meant they missed out on the title by a point. His overwhelming emotion, however, is pride. “In the last few games, all the teams just wanted to score against us, so they were using five or six attackers in the last 25 minutes,” he says.

Englishman has made a big impression since taking over at Strasbourg, who are now aiming to end PSG’s unbeaten run

“What I’ve learned in three months here, I probably wouldn’t have learned in England over five years,” Liam Rosenior says of his introduction to French football. A few months after his dismissal by Hull, the former defender became only the second Englishman to coach in France since the 1950s when he succeeded Patrick Vieira at Strasbourg in the summer.

In only the third role of his managerial career, Rosenior has taken an unconventional step at a club purchased by BlueCo, the consortium that bought Chelsea from Roman Abramovich, last summer. “It wasn’t really on my mind that I was an Englishman going abroad, it was just a really exciting project,” he says. For the time being, Rosenior’s assistant coach and former Reading teammate, Kalifa Cissé, serves as a translator during press conferences, while the former undergoes weekly intensive French lessons.

Pierre Sage’s men have won five matches in a row with Rayan Cherki and Malick Fofana to the fore

By Eric Devin for Get French Football News

Whisper it, but are Lyon back? If not to the scintillating level of their record run of titles, then are they at least a reasonable facsimile of the team that took Ligue 1 by storm in the second half of last season, going from relegation candidates to a sixth-placed finish?

In the early going, their summer transfer window looked to be full of missteps, with Saïd Benrahma, Georges Mikautadze and Moussa Niakhaté struggling for form, the trio having cost the thick end of €70m.

The current existential threat to some of the biggest clubs in the country shows who holds the cards in French football

This is how a senior Ligue 1 club executive put it: “Without PSG, we can’t survive. But we can’t live with them either.” Few of his colleagues at other French clubs would disagree. For “PSG” read “Qatar”.

On one hand, Paris Saint-Germain have been transformed by the hundreds of millions spent on acquiring star players after Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) rescued the club from bankruptcy in 2011, and have dominated French football to such a degree that of the 33 major trophies on offer since the 2012-13 season, only 10 have escaped the Parisian juggernaut.

After glorious start at Arsenal the midfielder found pathway blocked and has honoured his roots with Deportivo move

Old tweets can come back to bite, but not this time. This time, digging into his past made them love Charlie Patiño even more: for who he could be and always was, already an icon in A Coruña where he hadn’t lived before and hasn’t played yet but which is home.

If you’re wondering why a generational talent Arsenal’s head scout described as the best to walk through the academy doors has joined a club that spent the past four years in Spain’s third tier, look online. You might find part of the answer in a picture of him, aged 10. In his posts, the things he said years ago. And in what he says now, a calm, analytical clarity and determination making sense of it all.

A 1-0 defeat by Kyrgyzstan rocked North Korea while South Korea are on course for their 11th successive qualification

In June 2009, South Korea had qualified for the World Cup by the time Iran came to Seoul (and produced that protest) but Park Ji-sung’s late strike secured a 1-1 draw. It was a goal more celebrated by the North Korea players watching in their hotel in Riyadh before their game with Saudi Arabia.

“Park Ji-sung gave us the best-ever assist,” the DPRK striker Jong Tae-se told me in an interview with the Guardian a few months later. “He gave us a great chance. It was so exciting. We knew that we only needed a draw and I had faith that we could do the job in Saudi Arabia.” It ended 0-0 and North Korea made it to South Africa and as well as the delight in Pyongyang, there was happiness in Seoul.

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.

The fury of the newspaper’s star sports writer about a German managing England means a central point gets lost in translation

Well, that kicked off a bit didn’t it? By now it seems fairly clear we all need a break from people having feelings about The Germans, and specifically about the morality or otherwise of a German being employed as manager of the England men’s football team.

Except, perhaps not quite yet. How about it? Once more, this time with feeling? At the very least, as the tide retreats on all that free-floating anxiety, it is probably worth taking a look at the reaction itself, which is, as ever, the part that seems to stick.

Team may claim moral victory after latest near miss but they have forgotten how to manage games under pressure

Perhaps we should have known Wolves were in trouble the moment they got the dreaded Pep Guardiola vote of confidence. “I think they have less points than they deserve,” the Manchester City manager observed on Friday. Guardiola does this a lot to teams he’s about to demolish. Coaches, too. It’s his way of saying: trust me, this 5-0 humbling is going to hurt me a lot more than it hurts you.

In the event, the pain was divided on familiar lines. For Wolves, moral victories everywhere you looked. A fine battling performance; a great Molineux atmosphere; a reassuring sense of injustice. Meanwhile, actual Premier League points: zero. Current Premier League position: last. Still, Guardiola magnanimously name-checked every member of the Wolves starting XI in his press conference, so that’s something.

Too often we see male bystanders laugh off abhorrent behaviour towards women. The time for a culture shift is now

The Tottenham supporter Eve De Haan’s account of being sexually assaulted on the tube after Spurs v Brentford is a stark reminder that as much as we love football, it remains a male-dominated space where harmful behaviours can too often go unchecked. It’s not just a football problem; it’s a societal issue that plays out within football. Yet the environment at matches and on public transport lends itself to silence rather than support. We must break that silence. If you were shocked when you read the article, you’re not paying attention.

The figures are damning and we know they’re only the tip of the iceberg. Two million women a year in England and Wales are estimated to be victims of male violence (that’s one in 12) and the figures are increasing year on year. Only 3% of 18- to 24-year-olds in the UK have not been sexually harassed in a public space, a 2021 survey showed. We know the problem for women is far bigger than reported, with the same survey showing that 95% of women do not report incidents of sexual harassment for reasons including fear of not being believed and the traumatic processes involved.

Max Rushden, Barry Glendenning, Philippe Auclair, Mark Langdon and Sid Lowe wrap up the latest Champions League action

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On the podcast today: another win and another clean sheet for Liverpool away in Leipzig, while Erling Haaland provides some acrobatic flair to Manchester City’s thrashing of Sparta Prague.

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When it was reported last Friday that Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis had been landed with a five-match stadium ban for “improper behaviour” around the tunnel area following their defeat to Fulham last month, Football Daily can’t have been alone in wondering what exactly it was the Greek businessman could have done to merit such a hefty punishment. Considering Nuno Espírito Santo and Morgan Gibbs-White had received shorter bans on the same day for slinging a few effs and jeffs at match referee Josh Smith and his team of match officials, it turns out Big Vange’s suspension was imposed for the similar – but crucially very different and far more serious – crime of gobbing off in their direction.

As I read Sid Lowe’s article on Luka Modric, I was reminded of a mind-blowing stat that I saw the other day, that Modric has now played in more than half of Croatia’s all-time men’s national games (182 out of 363). He has outlasted legends at Real Madrid, including Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Toni Kroos, Casemiro and more. That Modric is now 39 and still competing at the highest level, both for club and country, is amazing, and it’s a wonder his name is not brought up as often in discussions about the greats” – Sam Fetherlin.

I know four years is a long time in football but, even still, the change from this to the utterly predictable this with Real Madrid is quite startling” – Noble Francis.

While Arthur Ellis might well have been the ‘man in the middle’ in Berne (yesterday’s Memory Lane, full email edition), this was some years before I was even born. So you’ll have to forgive me (and 1,056 other readers) for remembering the man and his weekly refereeing role in It’s A Knockout. If you can get past Stuart Hall, Arthur adds a ‘smart, aristocratic’ air to the seaside-postcard proceedings. Sadly, 1979 never looked so seedy” – Stephen Gash (and no other readers).

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A congested schedule, last-minute venue changes and empty stands all marred what is supposed to be the pinnacle of South American women’s club football

This year’s Copa Libertadores Femenina, the principal women’s football club tournament in South America, ended with mixed emotions on Saturday. Corinthians went through the finals undefeated and secured their fifth title at the Estádio Defensores del Chaco, in Paraguay, defeating Colombia’s Santa Fe 2-0 in a thrilling final.

Vic Albuquerque and Érika scored the decisive goals but as the players celebrated on the pitch, they also shared a protest video on their social media accounts, criticising the tournament’s conditions. “We won, but not everything is a party,” they said. “Last-minute venue changes, lack of publicity, poor pitches, risk of injury, having only 20 players, games every three days, empty stadiums, no warm-ups allowed on the pitch, inadequate infrastructure … it is disrespectful.”

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Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Nicky Bandini and Lars Sivertsen as Madrid overcome a two-goal deficit against Dortmund and Aston Villa win their third consecutive Champions League game

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On the podcast today: new Champions League format, same old Real Madrid. Did Dortmund manage the game poorly or is this just what happens when you play Carlo Ancelotti’s team?

Plus: stands delivered from one club to another; Erling Haaland denied; and a brutal time for Ängelholms FF

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“Pakistan caused a stir in the cricket world at the weekend by applying patio heaters and giant fans to the pitch that will be used for the third Test against England at Rawalpindi,” writes Harry Trumpston. “The hope was that this would make the pitch more helpful to the home side’s spin bowlers. What tactics have football clubs used to make their pitches provide more assistance to teams?”

You can’t start this answer anywhere other than with John Beck and his early-1990s Cambridge United side, who rose rapidly from the fourth tier to second and came very close to reaching the top flight with their uncompromising, committed and direct brand of the beautiful game. Beck instructed Cambridge’s ground staff to let the grass grow long in the corners of the Abbey Stadium pitch, so that the ball would sit up on the turf when the U’s got it launched to their wingers … who would, in turn, supply their potent old-school front pairing of Dion Dublin and John Taylor.

Rytting Kaneryd keeps Chelsea on top, Parris punishes United while Arsenal move on with life after Eidevall

The issues that plagued Arsenal under Jonas Eidevall will not go away overnight, but two wins from two under interim manager Renée Slegers will do a lot for the confidence of the team. “It is what we wanted, we knew we had these two games ahead of us and we wanted to win them both and we have to be happy with it,” said Slegers. A 2-0 win at West Ham, a team that beat them in the corresponding fixture last season, will feel cathartic for Arsenal. It took until the 71st minute for them to break the deadlock and the goal came via a penalty. That opened the game up enough for the visiting team to grab a late second. The difficulties Arsenal have had breaking down low blocks remains, though. There are positives – the introduction of four substitutes around the hour mark made the difference, a sign that Slegers will not sit and wait for something to happen when things are not working. SW

Match report: West Ham 0-2 Arsenal

Our resident cartoonist on the societal collapse that followed England naming a GERMAN! as their new manager

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Faye Carruthers, Suzanne Wrack, Chris Paouros and Tom Garry to discuss the weekend’s WSL action and look ahead to the internationals. Plus, FA’s women’s technical director, Kay Cossington, joins for an exclusive interview

On today’s podcast, the panel reviews a weekend full of drama. Chelsea showcased their five-star quality, and our discussion centres around whether Johanna Rytting Kaneryd is currently the best winger in the world. Additionally, Arsenal kicked off the post-Jonas Eidevall era with a much-needed win, but do they still face lingering problems?

Manchester City came from behind to take the top spot in the league. Meanwhile, Leicester defeated Everton to achieve their first victory of the season, and just how pleased was Nikita Parris to score against her former club, Manchester United, while playing for Brighton.

Brighton and Brentford lead the way as the age of the managerial big beast has been superseded by the dawn of data

It feels as if the days of sacking a manager for a run of defeats then scrolling through the Filofax to find numbers for Big Sam, Big Mick, Massive Moyesy or Huge Harry are coming to an end. There will always be a time and place for managerial heritage but clubs are increasingly mining statistics to help find the best fit for their strategy, players and even brand.

In the Premier League there are no job adverts and applications will not be accepted. Instead the search will start long before the paperwork for the latest P45 begins.

As fans lose control of the sport and clubs they love to mega-rich owners, they turn instead on a familiar enemy: officials

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Another weekend, another slew of wearying arguments about VAR and refereeing. At Bournemouth, Arsenal fans called the referee Robert Jones “a cheat” and chanted that the Premier League was “corrupt”. On social media, the outrage was even greater. Fans have always complained about referees, of course, but traditionally they called them “blind” and dismissed them as “wankers” or “bastards”. Then came the “You’re not fit to referee” song; the cries of systemic corruption, though, are relatively new.

Perhaps this is just the world we live in, one of distortions and paranoia, shaped by a diverse range of populist cynics from José Mourinho to Donald Trump, social media nurturing conspiracy theories which sprout from the fertile ground left as Covid retreated. Or perhaps there is something more complex going on.

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Manager’s resignation suggests the decision came from him as bad results and a toxic atmosphere took its toll

It is sad to see a journey that started with such promise end in a whimper. That is the reality of Jonas Eidevall’s Arsenal tenure, which was bookended by matches against Chelsea – his opening game a thrilling 3-2 victory and his final one a blunt 2-1 defeat that epitomised problems that just would not go away.

The announcement on Tuesday that Eidevall had resigned as head coach was not surprising, but it was unexpected. With only one win from three Women’s Super League games and a bruising 5-2 defeat against Bayern Munich in the Champions League before the game against Chelsea, the feeling was that the writing was on the wall for the 41-year-old. Win or lose and Eidevall’s future looked uncertain. However, with an international break two games away and a winter break further ahead, Arsenal pulling the trigger immediately felt unlikely.

Journalist Javier Cáceres asked many of the game’s biggest names – from Guardiola to Pelé and Bobby Charlton – to draw their favourite goals: the results are revealing

Like the best stories, the biggest adventures and football itself, this begins in a pub. In 2005 the journalist Javier Cáceres flew from Berlin to Santiago to interview Leonel Sánchez in a bar called Munich where the former international had his own stein with his name on. Sánchez, the son of a boxer, joint-top scorer at the 1962 World Cup, was one of Chile’s greatest players and among the hardest too. Once leader of the team they named the Blue Ballet, what he did that day over a beer would, two decades on and purely by chance, bring together footballers from around the world in a unique collection of art.

In the Battle of Santiago, between Chile and Italy – memorably introduced by David Coleman as “the most stupid, appalling, disgusting and disgraceful exhibition of football, possibly in the history of the game” – it was Sánchez who broke Humberto Maschio’s nose and hit Mario David. But he then scored in Chile’s quarter-final against the Soviet Union, the radio commentator Julio Martínez embedding it in the collective conscience with shouts of “Divine justice!” Of Sánchez’s 260 goals, beating Lev Yashin meant the most. Yet as he described that moment, Cáceres couldn’t picture it. So he handed Sánchez a pen and asked him to draw it.

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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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.