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North Americans have rarely been fans of draws in sport, so the unscripted FA Cup drama of seeing Arthur Okonkwo take a starring role in a penalty shootout after Wrexham were pegged back in the final minute of normal time must have brought joy to co-owner Ryan Reynolds in the stands. The club the Hollywood actor invested in were just about underdogs against Premier League Nottingham Forest in a game that included numerous plot twists, only to provide the romantic ending the majority wanted.

The heroic Okonkwo saved from Igor Jesus and Omari Hutchinson in the shootout to ensure James McClean’s miss was irrelevant. It should have been easier for ­Wrexham, who had a two-goal lead at 3-1 before Callum Hudson-Odoi’s double forced extra time on an energy-sapping and freezing night.

At last, Morocco have arrived at the tournament they are hosting. For four games they had played scratchy, crabbed football. Finally, in a spiky, ill-tempered quarter-final, there was something more like the Morocco that reached the semi-finals of the World Cup two years ago. If the game wasn’t fluent, that was largely Cameroon’s doing as they spoiled and delayed and sought treatment for injuries. But the hosts, for the most part, retained their cool, protecting a lead earned with verve in the first half with maturity in the second.

In previous games, Morocco had looked tense, limbs leadened by the expectation of a country that last won the Cup of Nations 50 years ago and that has spent a vast amount on football-related infrastructure as it prepares to co-host the 2030 World Cup. The coach, Walid Regragui, was even booed in the last-16 victory over Tanzania, his football deemed overly cautious despite a record of only four defeats in his 46 games as national coach before this quarter-final. “I always say that we are a family,” said Regragui. “Even if many people don’t believe in us or in me … that’s OK. We play for the country and for the supporters who want to see Morocco at the top.”

• Deal understood to lift pay to about £300,000 a week

• Arsenal keen to reward Declan Rice with new deal

Bukayo Saka has agreed a new five-year contract at Arsenal that will make him one of the highest-paid players in the club’s history.

The England forward’s deal that he signed in May 2023 is thought to be worth about £200,000 a week and is due to expire in 2027. Saka said before the Champions League quarter-final victory against Real Madrid in April that he wanted to “win wearing this badge” but also said he was in “no rush” to sign a new contract.

• Manager takes charge of first game on Saturday in FA Cup

• ‘It’s not possible to be in this job and not be your own man’

Liam Rosenior is confident he will make the decisions at Chelsea, insisting he would not have agreed to take over as head coach if he doubted his ability to work within the club’s structure.

Rosenior, who takes charge of his first game when Chelsea visit Charlton in the FA Cup third round on Saturday night, was appointed after Enzo Maresca left in acrimonious circumstances. Maresca’s position became untenable after a power battle with the Chelsea hierarchy went beyond the point of no return.

• His demeanour after defeat by former club causes upset

• Nuno has two wins from 16 games since replacing Potter

West Ham are losing faith in Nuno Espírito Santo’s ability to save them from relegation and unhappy with their manager embracing Nottingham Forest players on the pitch after losing to his former side on Tuesday.

Nuno, fired by Forest last September, finds his position under increasing threat after 10 games without a win. West Ham remain reluctant to make their second sacking of the ­season but are increasingly unimpressed with the Portuguese’s tactics and did not like his demeanour after their latest defeat.

News from Friday’s press conferences, including updates on Fabian Schär, Emiliano Martínez and Sunderland striker Wilson Isidor

National League South side face Grimsby in the third round and those at the club are desperate for the ride to continue

Weeks on from the FA Cup third-round draw, inside Weston-super-Mare’s modest clubhouse at their stadium a couple of miles from the holiday haven beachfront, there is still a tinge of incredulity at what might have been. Bridget Bolland, operations manager and one of the mini-army of staff who keep the part-time sixth-tier side ticking, relays how, normally, visiting teams have their post-match meal on a bench beside the skittles alley, sausage and chips usually the offering. The thought of Bruno Fernandes or Erling Haaland tucking in here is yet to fully evaporate.

But the draw meant Weston, the promotion-chasing National League South side who have reached this stage of the Cup for the first time, have been preparing for a different challenge: a tie at fourth-tier Grimsby Town, who beat Manchester United in the Carabao Cup in August. “As a United fan, I hated them that night,” says Weston’s manager, Scott Rogers. “I was going mad at the TV. But I’m hoping we can do something similar. There’s always an upset in the Cup: why can’t it be us?”

The Austrian has thrived at teams who do not expect to have much of the ball but this style may not work at Old Trafford where possession is expected

Oliver Glasner has shown a penchant for one-liners, as well a 3-4-2-1 formation, since he took over at Crystal Palace almost two years ago. The Austrian declared he was “not David Copperfield” in his first press conference and usually has a saying for whatever situation Palace are in, such as declaring they must not be “one-hit wonders” after winning the FA Cup.

It was therefore no surprise to find Glasner had come prepared when he played a straight bat to questions about his future this week after Ruben Amorim’s sacking by Manchester United. “I’m not allowed to bet,” he said when asked to comment on the fact he is the bookmakers’ favourite to take over at Old Trafford in the summer.

• Coach is vying with Michael Carrick to be interim manager

• Solskjær due at Carrington training base on Saturday

Ole Gunnar Solskjær will have face-to-face talks with Manchester United on Saturday regarding becoming the interim manager until the end of the season.

The Norwegian is vying with Michael Carrick for the role and is expected to meet Omar Berrada, United’s chief executive, and Jason Wilcox, the director of football, at the club’s Carrington training base.

Phoenix club are lowest-ranked in third round and could have sold hundreds more tickets for visit of holders Crystal Palace

In the corner of a small dressing room Macclesfield’s manager, John Rooney, and his assistant Francis Jeffers are locked in serious conversation. The pair scribble on tiny pieces of paper, planning one final training session before Saturday’s FA Cup third-round tie with the holders, Crystal Palace. The kit man, Ged Coyne, clutching his traditional plastic bag full of supermarket goodies, arrives and immediately the mood lightens, shoulders drop and smiles arrive.

Next door music blasts out as the squad prepare for their morning’s work. The surrounds are unfamiliar, snow necessitating a late venue switch to Manchester Metropolitan University’s Platt Lane complex.

Football has to be held to account: we cannot have another generation of qualified black coaches being ignored

Football’s start to 2026 has been seismic, with the festive season soon replaced by sacking season. At times this week it has been hard to keep up. The lifetime of a head coach or a manager seems to be getting shorter, with pressure for positive results apparently never greater.

In among the churn came a landmark moment, with Liam Rosenior taking on the head coach role at Chelsea, making him the first permanent black English manager at a big-six club.

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Bournemouth will find it hard to replace a player at the peak of his powers, an attacker polished up perfectly for the elite

Antoine Semenyo’s rise is a reminder the big clubs’ scouting systems are not infallible, that not all players will flower at the same time. Fulham, Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Millwall, Reading and Tottenham rejected the schoolboy Semenyo. At 15, he took a year’s absence from the game.

A decade on, a circuitous route to the top alights at Manchester City, who beat a queue of big hitters to his signature. Bournemouth’s ability to find talent the elite passed over continues to prove profitable. Pep Guardiola’s squad has another player who pairs physical power with a high skill level. It also adds a long-throw specialist to the armoury; City are towards the bottom of the metrics in that voguish category.

• Midfielder given permission to fly to England

• Transfer talks behind her omission from USA squad

Manchester City are in advanced talks to sign the United States midfielder Sam Coffey from Portland Thorns, the Guardian understands.

The 27-year-old has been granted permission to fly to Manchester to try to finalise the move, which multiple sources have said is close to completion, and could give City a big boost in their quest to win a first Women’s Super League title since 2016.

• Players will stay at club’s Seixal training ground

• Benfica lost 3-1 to Braga in League Cup semi-finals

José Mourinho has turned on his Benfica players after the team’s 3-1 defeat by Braga in the Portuguese League Cup semi-finals, suggesting that the squad would be staying at the club’s Seixal training base until further notice.

“The players will sleep in Seixal, and on Thursday there is training, and the day after there will be training,” Mourinho said at his post-match press conference. “When we arrive in Seixal, everyone will go to their rooms.”

• The 1958 says club has become a ‘laughing stock’

• Protest planned at Old Trafford in early February

Manchester United supporters group The 1958 has called for a vote of no confidence in the club’s ownership model, calling Sir Jim Ratcliffe “an incompetent clown”. The organisation will also hold a protest at the home match against Fulham on 1 February to make their voices heard at Old Trafford.

The group wants the removal of the Glazer family and Ratcliffe from the club. Concerns were also expressed in relation to the work of the chief executive, Omar Berrada, and the director of football, Jason Wilcox, in the aftermath of Ruben Amorim’s sacking, which will lead to an interim replacement.

Footballer who captained and managed the Wales national team and starred in Don Revie’s famous Leeds United side of the 1970s

Terry Yorath, who has died aged 75, was a long-serving Welsh football international who went on to manage his national side during a successful five-year period from 1988 to 1993. As a player he was best known as a combative defender and midfielder for Leeds United, missing out on the team’s initial successes under Don Revie but emerging as a regular from 1972 onwards, after which he won a First Division championship medal and appeared in a European Cup final.

He played in 28 matches during the 1973-74 championship-winning season and the following year in all eight of Leeds’ European Cup games (by then under the managership of Jimmy Armfield), culminating in the final in Paris against Bayern Munich, which they lost 2-0.

• Capacity will increase from 37,645 to about 53,000

• Proposals were approved by city council on Thursday

Leeds have received planning permission to redevelop Elland Road and lift the stadium’s capacity from 37,645 to about 53,000.

There had been fears that a delay to the long-mooted introduction of a tram network in the surrounding area until the late 2030s might impact the club’s plans to expand the ground but the proposals were approved by the city council on Thursday.

Ousmane Dembélé becomes our seventh winner as he beats Lamine Yamal into second and Vitinha into third on our list of the best players on the planet

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The Frenchman, who has been named the best male footballer in the world by the Guardian, has benefitted from PSG’s focus on the team rather than individuals

What makes a good player great, and a great player the best? This question has been occupying me since 2014, when the Guardian first asked me to contribute to its inaugural Next Generation feature. My job was to look for a France-based talent born in 1997 who could go on to have a stellar career.

After a great deal of research, I narrowed it down from my shortlist of five by asking questions not about the players’ football ability, but about other attributes: resilience, adaptability, decision-making, creativity, work ethic, response to feedback and willingness to learn. Qualities we cannot see, and are harder to measure.

Aitana Bonmatí has been voted the best female player on the planet by our panel of 127 experts ahead of Mariona Caldentey and Alessia Russo

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The margin may have got smaller but the brilliant Spanish midfielder makes it a hat-trick of No 1 finishes

They say the best things come in threes, and Aitana Bonmatí has written herself into the Guardian’s top 100 history as the first player to finish at the top of the tree for a third consecutive year.

Last year the majestic midfielder emulated her Barcelona and Spain teammate Alexia Putellas by winning for a second year running, but the 27-year-old has now gone one better, establishing herself once again at the top of the women’s game.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Lars Sivertsen and Jonathan Liew as Manchester City draw their third game in a row and Manchester United slip up at Burnley too

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Despite recent stumbles, manager is confident ‘the club is getting itself back together’ and his enthusiasm for the job remains intact

David Moyes, face puce with anger and swearing under his breath, did not resemble a man contented in his work as he dissected Everton’s disappointing draw with Wolves. As the first anniversary of his return to Everton approaches, however, that is precisely how Moyes feels. “It has made me go again,” he says of the only job that could have tempted him back to the Premier League frontline.

The 62-year-old has mellowed with the years but his incandescent reaction to Michael Keane’s red card – after Wednesday’s game and when Everton’s appeal was rejected on Friday – showed the fire and fight burn as intensely as ever. There could be more eruptions ahead.

Dutch head coach has been rewarded for winning Champions League with contract that runs until 2029 designed to return club to domestic dominance

The summer of 2029 feels very distant, whether you think of it as the year of the next Women’s Euros, the year when theoretically there will be the next UK general election or the year when a near-Earth asteroid larger than the Emirates Stadium is scheduled to pass by our planet.

When it comes to English women’s football Arsenal, with an unrivalled 48 major trophies, are as large a celestial body as you can get, but in terms of domestic success they have been rather stuck in orbit since their most recent WSL title in 2019, and nobody at the club will want to imagine reaching 2029 and having gone a decade without a league title.

Talismanic forward’s spat with teammate Ademola Lookman highlights the problematic behaviour threatening to overshadow his talent

Victor Osimhen is the talisman, the attacking arrowhead of Nigeria’s Super Eagles at the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, his three goals offering a warning to Algeria before Saturday’s quarter-final. But the focus on the 27 year old this week has fallen less on his talent and more on his behaviour.

Osimhen’s volatile temperament, displayed in a spat with his teammate Ademola Lookman during Monday’s 4-0 win against Mozambique, has grabbed the headlines. The Galatasaray striker scored twice to underline his world-class finishing but that has been rendered almost an afterthought.

Macclesfield and Weston-super-Mare carry the non-league hopes while fringe players need to seize their chances

Silly goals conceded, chances missed, a lead surrendered and points squandered against relegation fodder. On the face of things, Manchester United have changed manager but nothing else. The reality is different. They started slowly at Burnley, settling into a 4-2-3-1 formation that suits them – and pretty much every other team – far better than Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 before, midway through the first half, they started to play. The deployment of Bruno Fernandes close to the opposition goal, along with a wide player, Patrick Dorgu, playing on his natural side, meant Benjamin Sesko was, for the first time, provided with decent service. Then, following Jaidon Anthony’s equaliser, Darren Fletcher’s side risked defeat by going all out for the win – one nearly achieved through the timely introduction of Shea Lacey, a richly talented 18-year-old. Brighton will present far stiffer opposition but, for the first time in a long time, United are doing what United are meant to do. Daniel Harris

Manchester United v Brighton, Sunday 4.30pm (all GMT)

Macclesfield v Crystal Palace, Saturday 12.15pm

Grimsby v Weston-super-Mare, Saturday 5.45pm

Manchester City v Exeter, Saturday 3pm

Only one club are sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League, but the supporters’ anxiety after 22 years without the title risks infecting the players

Full-time and handshakes. A little Tears for Fears tinkles over the public address system. Beyond that … what, exactly? How to describe this swirling, velvety anti-noise? The sound of no gloves clapping? The sound of time physically disappearing down a vortex? The sound of no emotions?

It began with North London Forever and by the end we felt as though we had been in north London for ever: stuck on an endless loop of William Saliba passing to Jurriën Timber, of Virgil van Dijk pausing as he tried to bait a press that would never come. Long periods of this game were played at literal walking pace.

In 1934 and 1978, Fifa’s big event was given over to authoritarian aims. There’s no more doubt that 2026 will be the same

By 1934, it was entirely evident what Benito Mussolini was up to. Italy’s dictator had already consolidated power, colonized Libya and annexed the city of Rijeka. He nevertheless got to stage the second-ever World Cup, managing it with a heavy hand and even supplanting the Jules Rimet trophy with a far larger one. Hosting and winning that World Cup didn’t sate his expansionist appetites. By the end of the decade, Mussolini would take Ethiopia, annex Albania and back Francisco Franco in the Spanish civil war.

It was equally well established in 1978 in Argentina that General Jorge Rafaél Videla’s military junta, which had taken over two years earlier, was maintaining its grip on power through systematic detention, torture and murder. Still, protestations from other nations were ignored and the World Cup kicked off.

Leander Schaerlaeckens’ book on the United States men’s national soccer team, The Long Game, is out on May 12. You can preorder it here. He teaches at Marist University.

CFG have ditched Mumbai City and losing the glamour will hurt the game in the world’s most populated nation

The world’s biggest multiclub network shrank from 13 to 12 in the last week of 2025 but few blame the City Football Group for walking away from Mumbai City and India after six years. The reason for divesting their shares which gave them 65% ownership was addressed, not that anyone needed enlightening in a statement. “CFG has made this decision after a comprehensive commercial review and in light of the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the future of the Indian Super League (ISL).”

Uncertainty is an underestimation. The 2025-26 ISL season was supposed to kick off in September. However, with a 15-year Masters Right Agreement between the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner ending in December and no new agreement or partner in place, it never started. Most assumed that it would be a short-lived delay but here we are, in 2026, and there is still no football. A meeting took place in Delhi on Tuesday and produced a start date of 14 February, just six weeks short of a year since Mumbai’s last ISL game. How it works, if it works, remains to be seen.

Goalkeeper who swapped city rivals in the summer proved pivotal on his return with a stunning series of saves

“I hope people don’t get angry but he’s my friend.” There wasn’t long until the Barcelona derby and Jofre Carreras had briefly abandoned the warm-up to talk to the TV. There on the touchline, talk inevitably turned to his former roommate, housemate and teammate Joan García, now in goal for their greatest rivals. Carreras’s answer was just about audible over all the noise and then he was off again: he had something else to do before it all started, accepting a shirt marking his 100th game for Espanyol. Behind them as club legend Rafa Marañón presented it, the team captains lined up for a photo of their own with the first Catalan to referee this fixture in 80 years and, way off to the left out of shot, García clapped. Like everything else he did, except actually play, he did so discreetly.

Joan and Jofre, both 24, have known each other “for as long as I can remember”, in Carreras’s words. Over four years, they shared a room at Espanyol’s residency on Carretera de Mataró in Sant Adrià del Besòs and then they shared an apartment. When García collected his award as Espanyol’s best player in 2023-24, and was handed a supply of sausages, Carreras also received an award – two different supporters’ clubs rewarding two different winners on the same day. When García started being noticed beyond Barcelona, Carreras declared his friend the world’s best. And when the summer heat got a bit much – and, boy, did it – García took refuge at Carreras’s. Now though they were opponents. And that, Carreras said, was “a bit strange”.

Win over Cremonese was only made possible after a late injury led to match-winner’s inclusion as a substitute

The man who breathed life into Fiorentina’s survival bid was not meant to be playing at all. Moise Kean returned to training on Saturday after almost a week away attending to a private family matter. The club’s manager, Paolo Vanoli, did not intend to name him in the matchday squad to face Cremonese one day later, but had his hand forced by a late injury to Edin Dzeko.

“I have to tell the truth because that’s how I am – I’m a sincere person,” said Vanoli on Sunday. “When [Kean] came back I told him ‘Moise, out of respect for the group, I’m not even going to put you on the bench’.”

Paris FC put up a good fight at the Parc des Princes on Sunday but this derby does not yet feel like a rivalry

By Get French Football News

The first of two Paris derbies in the space of eight days gave Paris Saint-Germain a chance to make a statement against their upstart neighbours. The tifo display in the Parc des Princes – which read “Paris c’est nous” – could be read as both a nod to the clubs’ shared history and a reminder of the one-sided nature of the derby.

For a few years, they were the same club. Paris Saint-Germain are the result of a merger between Stade Saint-Germain and Paris FC in 1970, which the latter split from a few years later. PSG were soon winning trophies but Paris FC went through decades of obscurity before emerging as Ligue 2 regulars in the years before they were taken over by the Arnault family and Red Bull.

The club are in a decent position but there is dissatisfaction with the ownership and the new head coach must not get caught in the crossfire

The way Chelsea are run will come as no surprise to Liam Rosenior. He has longstanding relationships with three of the five sporting directors and will know from his time at Strasbourg, who are part of the same ownership, that the head coach’s best chance of surviving is not to make the mistake of rebelling against the structure.

Rosenior will have to show more political savvy than Enzo Maresca, who talked himself out of the job last week. Yet given the 41‑year‑old is familiar with the working conditions at BlueCo, the investment vehicle that owns Chelsea and Strasbourg, his biggest challenge is unlikely to be managing upwards. Rosenior will know where to train his focus and not to rock the boat. Crucially, he does not inherit a team in crisis. Chelsea are fifth and earned a creditable draw at Manchester City on Sunday; despite the rancour of Maresca’s final days, this is not a situation that calls for a major rebuild.

Even the return of Martin O’Neill is unlikely to placate supporters frustrated by poor performances, a lack of investment, and chaos in the boardroom

Any club confirming the end of an error after eight games owes an apology to their supporters. In Celtic’s case, even the admission of an all-time blunder in hiring Wilfried Nancy would be unlikely to placate the masses. Remorse has not been forthcoming anyway. As Martin O’Neill’s return as manager was confirmed, office bearers took it in turn to express disappointment at the Nancy affair. Which was very good of them.

Celtic do not have a monopoly on bad decision-making. It just currently feels as if that is the case. A club who have dominated in Scotland for more than a decade, who have vast resources and more scope to plan than others of much lower stature, should never have been seeking a fourth manager in one season. That they are points firmly towards a lack of strategy and direction. It is a preposterous situation. Celtic are lucky that O’Neill, 73, retains an appetite to work. He also ticks another box, that of being idolised in the stands.

Price tag for winger’s move to Manchester City would make headlines in any other country but not in England

Antoine Semenyo, it seems likely, will soon join Manchester City from Bournemouth for a fee of £65m. Given how well Rayan Cherki and Phil Foden have played from the right this season, it is not immediately obvious why City need him, but the modern game is the modern game, the rammed calendar makes large and flexible squads essential and Pep Guardiola may have some esoteric plan for the Ghanaian anyway. But perhaps what is most striking about the deal is the fee – or, more precisely, how little attention it has drawn.

English football has become inured to big transfers. The fee feels about right. Semenyo is 25. He has four and a half years left on his contract. He is quick, skilful, intelligent and works hard. He is disciplined, but has the capacity to do the unexpected. Of course a player of his ability costs that much. Yet £65m would make him the third-most expensive player in Bundesliga history. He would be the seventh-most expensive in Serie A history, the 14th-most expensive in La Liga history. Only nine non-English clubs have paid a fee higher than that. Even in Premier League terms, Semenyo sneaks into the top 25.

Set pieces on the rise, fans transformed to customers and conspiracies seen in every decision – is football losing its fun?

English football has always mirrored the passions, conflicts, identities and inequalities of the age. After the golden 1960s, the decay of the 1970s and ensuing disasters of the 1980s came the cap-sleeved, rebounding self-confidence of the 1990s. The 21st century so far has taken in globalisation and wanton commercialism. After that rabid, often reckless push for continued growth, society and the game alight on the uncertainties that encapsulated 2025.

To catch the 20 Premier League clubs in live action this season, and this writer completed the full set on Tuesday witnessing Arsenal’s second-half demolition of Aston Villa, has been a study in that uncertainty. From the grumbling of fans, to the ever-fragile egos of managers, to players slugging through the gristle of 90 minutes of hard-pressing slog, a leading question comes to mind: is anyone actually still enjoying this?

Our cartoonist on a typically sedate start to 2026 at two of the Premier League’s biggest football ‘projects’

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The man widely expected to be the next Chelsea head coach once opined on a wide variety of topics in his Guardian column

Coaching may be Liam Rosenior’s forte but, during his days as a Brighton defender, the man widely expected to be Chelsea’s new manager was also a pretty useful Guardian columnist. His eagerly awaited dispatches were invariably packed with thought‑provoking opinions on an assortment of topics, ranging from dead balls to Donald Trump. Below are excerpts from a cross-section of Rosenior’s thoughts during his three years with us, alongside a sense of what they tell us about the 41‑year‑old and how he could carry out his duties at Stamford Bridge. It is important to remember, of course, that Rosenior’s views may have changed in the intervening period.

Sean Ruiz and his team reveal the kit preparations and dressing room routines that make the players tick

Sean Ruiz always leaves his training-ground office door wide open. He is no fan of enclosed spaces, but there is much more to it. The passing Wolves defender Yerson Mosquera spots Ruiz and pops in for a brief chat with a fellow Colombian. Minutes later an under-21s player seeks Ruiz’s counsel on a non-footballing matter.

“It’s a blessing to have these relationships,” Ruiz says. “To see them not just for what everybody else sees: a centre-back, a striker for Wolves. These guys are like family to me. I’m lucky to get to see this side of them, to be there when things are good, when things are bad. We’re not just players and staff here. It’s something more.”

Football provided direction, belonging, purpose and validation. Letting go of that has meant confronting the void left behind

Accepting retirement from professional football has felt like stepping into a landscape shaped by loss and uncertainty. Even when the decision is rational, even when the body is signalling that it’s time, there is something profoundly emotional about acknowledging that an era of your life has ended.

To me, it felt very much like grief. The shock, sadness, anger, confusion and numbness mirror the emotional responses that accompany any major loss I’ve experienced. But instead of mourning the loss of a loved one, you are mourning the loss of a part of you – a big part. For years football provided direction, belonging, inspiration, purpose and validation. A sense of being part of something bigger.

England defender publicly confronted racist abuse at the Euros and ended 2025 a title winner with club and country

The Guardian Footballer of the Year is an award given to a player who has done something remarkable, whether by overcoming adversity, helping others or setting a sporting example by acting with exceptional honesty.

Jess Carter has spent her life grappling with when to hold back and when to speak up; wrestling with being naturally herself, embodying the characteristics her parents instilled in her of being open, honest, vocal and confident, and subduing herself because, while society values those traits, in a black woman they can be viewed negatively.

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Some British managers who have chanced their arm on the continent have won trophies and the adoration of supporters. Others have at least provided the Daily with plenty of content. For every Bobby Robson, there’s a Tony Adams, or to meet somewhere in the middle, Steve McClaren – who can deliver you a league title while still making an arsche of himself in TV interviews. What fate awaits Gary O’Neil, quietly ushered into the vacant hot seat at Ligue 1 Strasbourg after Todd Boehly called up Liam Rosenior for the real job? Like Rosenior, he starts his tenure with a tricky away day in the cup; hours before Chelsea play Charlton, O’Neil will take the reins for a Coupe de France tie at fourth-tier Avranches.

Back on a cold December day in 2001, I sat at Hillsborough and watched in despair as Sheffield Wednesday got absolutely shellacked by Norwich City, losing 5-0 at home. A couple of days after the game I sat down and wrote a letter (ask your parents, kids!) to our manager, Terry Yorath. I wasn’t rude, just desperate: I said I thought he ought to know that I’d been watching Wednesday for 17 years and that was the worst I’d ever seen us play. And you know what: he wrote me an actual letter back. He said he was sorry, that the club valued my support, and that he was trying hard to change things. He didn’t really change things (though we escaped relegation to League One by a point), but he did care enough to write to me, and I’ve never forgotten that. A gentleman” – Adam Gutteridge.

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There’s been much talk in recent years about moving Premier League games to various parts of the world that do not boast Premier League teams – Sheffield, Miami and so on – with the stated aim of spreading the gospel, had the gospel been stolen from Jesus and the Four Evangelists, to be bastardised and defiled, to be converted into folding green and then into geopolitical power and influence. By way of total non-sequitur, this year’s Geopolitics World Cup will be held in Donald Trump’s America. There was, of course, much anger at this ludicrous plan for many righteous reasons, then we all got back to enjoying the football as the ignoramiti knew we would, the game too chaotically, joyously puerile and affirming for its own and our own good. How can we possibly excise it from our souls when it bestows upon us the unbridled wildness of Wednesday’s behaviour, as it also did during the last round of midweek fixtures? The campaign for a fully night-time Premier League begins here.

‘She has everything to be a world-class striker – fast, two great feet, good with the head and strong,’ says the coach who set the forward’s career rolling

Since they were promoted to the Women’s Super League in 2019, no Manchester United player has managed to score more than 10 league goals in a single season. In Lea Schüller they have signed someone who has surpassed that mark seven seasons in a row in Germany’s Frauen Bundesliga, so it is easy to understand why United are so enamoured with their new striker.

With a formidable 54 goals in 82 internationals, the Germany forward arrives at Carrington with a prolific record and the match-winner profile the club have been craving. At 28 years old she could spend the best years of her career at United, where she has signed a contract until June 2029.

Once they seemed an unstoppable force but a huge gap between the Nordic leagues and Europe’s elite has emerged in the past 20 years

For a brief period in the early 2000s, Scandinavian clubs seemed unstoppable in European women’s football. Umeå lifted the Uefa Women’s Cup in 2003 and again in 2004, using a blend of technical skill and tactical intelligence. The Swedish side were a powerhouse and attracted top talent from around the world, including Marta, widely regarded as the greatest ever female player.

That dominance feels very distant. In 2025, a Norwegian, Swedish or Danish club winning the Women’s Champions League is almost unthinkable. Vålerenga were the only Scandinavian team to reach the Champions League league stage this season and they did not qualify for the knockout phase.

Today’s rumours are riding the District line

Antoine Semenyo’s farewell goal for Bournemouth, before his move to Manchester City, sets off a chain reaction over who succeeds him. Ethan Nwaneri, who has struggled for game time at Arsenal, is wanted by a few suitors.

Bournemouth are very interested in a loan move for someone who was the next big thing not too long ago. And still can be, though the word is he still wishes to stay a Gunner and play his part in a title-winning team.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Lars Sivertsen and Jonathan Liew as Manchester City draw their third game in a row and Manchester United slip up at Burnley too

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On the podcast today: a seven-goal thriller at St James’ Park. Heading into injury time, Leeds led 3-2 and the opening question on today’s podcast looked like it would have been about Eddie Howe’s future.

Plus: goals (not) on film and was Liverpool’s substitution chain at Spurs the longest in football?

• Mail us with your questions and answers

“After St Mirren beat Celtic in the Scottish League Cup, I wondered where it actually is,” writes Dan J. “The answer is (as everyone bar me knew) Paisley, right next to Glasgow airport. Which got me wondering, which team is closest to an airport? I reckon Glentoran, next to Belfast City, and Eastleigh, virtually in Southampton airport, are in with a shout. And Charlton if you are happy to swim part of the way. Any closer ones?”

We had so many answers to this question, so thank you to one and all. Let’s start with a ground that is but a thunderclap away from the nearest airport. “The Icelandic football club Valur is near Rekjavík airport, which is mostly a domestic airport, but also has some international flights,” writes Kári Tulinius. “The distance from the fence around the airport to Valur’s fence is about 150 metres. From training pitch to the nearest piece of airport tarmac is 230m, and from corner flag to the end of the runway is 380m. All of these distances were measured with Google Maps.”

Highs and lows for Alexander Isak, Wolves’ sobering survival chances and were Chelsea lucky at Newcastle?

• Premier League scoring charts

Can results be misleading? That is the question. Aston Villa’s winning streak continued against Manchester United, but so did the nagging doubts. They were the lesser team by several measures – fewer shots (12-15), less possession (43-57), fewer big chances (2-3). As usual, the victory was a slender one. But games are not won by stats. They are won by solid teamwork, shrewd management and individual talent – and Villa have all three. Morgan Rogers may be their only star, but he’s delivering like Father Christmas. Unai Emery is wily, battle-hardened, five years ahead of Ruben Amorim. If Rogers profited from Leny Yoro’s naivety, that was probably because Emery had spotted that Yoro is not a right-back, and told Rogers to start wide, cut in and torment him. Talent and management, working together. Tim de Lisle

Match report: Aston Villa 2-1 Manchester United

Match report: Everton 0-1 Arsenal

Match report: Manchester City 3-0 West Ham

Match report: Tottenham 1-2 Liverpool

Match report: Newcastle 2-2 Chelsea

Match report: Wolves 0-2 Brentford

Match report: Leeds 4-1 Crystal Palace

From PSG’s Ibrahim Mbaye to Brazil’s next hope, we select some of the most talented players born in 2008. Check the progress of our classes of 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 … and go even further back. Here’s our Premier League class of 2025