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Our cartoonist on how even a comic-book hero could become a greedy narcissist if the game continues to eat itself

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A quarter of a century from his starring role in a 4-3 win over Liverpool, the Australian reminisces on playing in Croatia during civil war and opening a coffee shop after retirement

It started how it finished: with a delicate chip. Twenty‑five years ago, Mark Viduka scored all four goals in Leeds’s 4-3 victory against Liverpool at Elland Road. While those around furiously pedalled, Viduka remained Buddha‑esque, bookending his efforts with deft wedges over Sander Westerveld.

“I had to learn it over time,” Viduka says when asked whether his serenity was a superpower. “I played a lot of games where I was very nervous. When I was younger, I might just have belted it and hoped for the best.”

Once labelled ‘the biggest talent in the world’, the former Borussia Dortmund forward has endured form fluctuations, controversy and criticism

When Tottenham fans look at the attacking lineup of their opponents, FC Copenhagen, before Tuesday’s Champions League tie, a few familiar names may spring out. Mohamed Elyounoussi, formerly of Southampton and Celtic, has probably been the Danish club’s most dangerous player this season, topping their scoring and assists charts. Jordan Larsson, son of Henrik Larsson, is hugely improved this year and recently earned a recall to the Sweden squad. But perhaps the biggest surprise will be the name of Youssoufa Moukoko, the former Borussia Dortmund wonderkid who was rated as perhaps the biggest prospect in world football a few years ago.

The hype around Moukoko in 2020 was astonishing, even before he made his Dortmund debut. As a 14-year-old in 2018-19, the Cameroon-born forward scored a record 50 league goals for the German side’s under-17s, and at 13 had declared to Bild his intention to win the Ballon d’Or. Promoted to the under-19s the following season, he scored 34 goals in 20 games, also providing nine assists. A day after his 16th birthday in November 2020, Moukoko came off the bench for Erling Haaland – the teammate and neighbour who used to drive him to training and once called him “the biggest talent in the world” – to become the youngest Bundesliga player of all time. Before Christmas he became the youngest player to appear in the Champions League and score in the Bundesliga. Moukoko’s rise was unprecedented, records seemingly falling every week, and it appeared like the birth of the next global superstar.

• Defender may face hostile reception from Anfield crowd

• Slot says he has ‘great memories’ of Real Madrid full-back

Xabi Alonso has told Trent Alexander-Arnold to enjoy his “nice” return to Liverpool as the Real Madrid defender prepares to face his boyhood club for the first time since his acrimonious summer departure.

Alexander-Arnold is likely to receive a hostile reception at Anfield after he angered Liverpool fans by leaving at the end of his contract last season. The England international would have exited on a free transfer but for Real paying an £8.5m fee to cancel his Liverpool contract early and include him in their squad for the Club World Cup.

Forward has had historic start to career in Germany but will his style stand up against PSG’s system-driven philosophy?

Harry Kane is a perfect fit for Bayern Munich. He is tailor-made for the Bundesliga, which has been the top league in Europe in terms of goals scored for years. German football is characterised by exchanges of punches, with the ball moving back and forth and plenty of chances on both sides; and Bayern are in the penalty area more often than any other team. Because Kane is confident and precise in front of goal and uses his height and heading ability to his advantage from corners and free-kicks, he scores like nowhere else.

The statistics are fantastic, with his scoring rate in the Bundesliga more than one-and-a-half times better than in the Premier League and for the national team. He has scored more goals (74) than he has played games (72) in the Bundesliga, significantly surpassing Gerd Müller’s record (0.85).

• Defenders fail to acknowledge fans after Chelsea defeat

• Frank: ‘During the game, we need a little bit of help’

Thomas Frank has called for better support from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium crowd after revealing that Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence had apologised to him for their reaction to the 1-0 home defeat against Chelsea on Saturday.

Van de Ven and Spence were incensed when the full-time whistle sounded and the Spurs fans booed, as they had done at half-time with their team trailing to João Pedro’s 34th‑minute goal. The defenders stormed past Frank towards the tunnel, ignoring their manager’s attempts to get them to acknowledge the supporters in the South Stand – a bad look at the end of another bad Premier League day at the stadium.

• Club were confident O’Neil would take charge

• Supporters’ Trust had criticised the potential move

Gary O’Neil has stunned Wolves by withdrawing from talks to return to the club as head coach.

Wolves sounded out O’Neil over the weekend and all parties held further discussions on Monday about him succeeding Vítor Pereira, but the 42‑year‑old has since had a change of heart.

• Premier League leaders face two matches in three days

• EFL blames schedule for ‘undermining’ Carabao Cup

Arsenal have called on the Premier League to rearrange their game against Everton after they were ordered to face Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals on 23 December.

In a strongly worded statement that blamed the expanded European schedules for “undermining” the reputation of the competition, the EFL confirmed on Monday that it had accepted Palace’s request to push the game back a week from its original date of 16 December that would have left Oliver Glasner’s side facing three matches in five days.

David Moyes, the manager who oversaw a disastrous relegation for Sunderland eight years ago, found a very different club on his first return to the Stadium of Light. Back then, the club were on a downward slope. Now, things are on the up.

Régis Le Bris’s side moved up to fourth place ahead of Saturday’s home game against the Premier League leaders, Arsenal, after a 1-1 draw against Moyes’s Everton. A deflected strike from the impressive Granit Xhaka cancelled out Iliman Ndiaye’s brilliant opening goal.

Eddie Howe’s team have the richest owners in the world. But they are still to mount a title challenge since the Public Investment Fund came knocking

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Eddie Howe is not a manager given to histrionics or grand public pronouncements. So by his standards, his press conference after Sunday’s 3-1 defeat to lowly West Ham counts as a furious tirade. His side took an early lead but West Ham were ahead by half-time, as well as hitting the post and having a penalty overturned by VAR, leading Howe to make a triple change at the break.

“That was the frustrating thing about the first half,” Howe said. “I almost could have taken anyone off and I think that was a reflection of where we were in that moment in the game and it’s very, very rare for me to feel that way. In fact, I don’t think I have since I’ve been manager of Newcastle, so I felt the team needed some shaking up at half-time. That’s why I did what I did.”

This is an extract from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly look from the Guardian US at the game in Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. Have a question for Jonathan? Email soccerwithjw@theguardian.com, and he’ll answer the best in a future edition.

Angel City’s Elizabeth Eddy was rebuked by her own teammates for an op-ed on trans players. It’s easy to understand their objections

On 26 October, Angel City FC’s Elizabeth Eddy made her first post on X in nearly two years. In it, Eddy in essence responded to the Guardian’s report that the NWSL had quietly dropped its inclusion policy for trans and intersex athletes, leaving the league’s future stance on the matter undecided.

The New York Post gave Eddy’s writing a signal boost the next day, republishing it in full.

Jon Gorrotxategi’s stoppage-time winner against Athletic Club summed up an epic back-and-forth contest

The goal that won the Basque derby was exactly the way the goal that wins the Basque derby is supposed to be but never had been before. Wet, wild and absolutely wellied. In the rain, the chaos and added time, the fifth of an epic fight perfectly imperfect: a first attempt scuffed, a second smashed in from six yards, sending teammates diving out of the way and supporters into each other’s arms. And scored by the footballer from the frontier, born on the border with Bizkaia, another Gipuzkoan and another academy product playing his first derby. Jon Gorrotxategi hit it with his shin; he also hit it with his “soul”, he said, the day ending with Real Sociedad’s players standing before their fans, singing together.

It had started there too, their big blue bus edging its way towards the Reale Arena, circling round past the velodrome and the mini stadium, thousands of fans lining the route, fireworks going off, scarves and flags swirling. Pulling up before the gates, the brakes went on, the doors opened and Sergio Francisco, their manager, said: “This incredible energy was let in.” The players got out and walked the final stretch to the stadium, feeling their way through the smoke, passing fans with their palms out, all high fives and hope. Stopping in a line, looking over the endless faces, listening to them sing, they joined in, clapping out the beat. And then they disappeared inside and defeated Athletic Club 3-2.

• Lucy Bronze in World XI for the eighth time

• Jude Bellingham and Cole Palmer in men’s XI

Six England players have been named in the Fifpro women’s World XI after the team won the European Championship this year. The captain, Leah Williamson, the goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, the defender Lucy Bronze and forwards Chloe Kelly and Alessia Russo make the list after aiding the team to the historic win against Spain.

Millie Bright, the sixth England star to make the list, was not part of the tournament and has since retired. The centre-back captained Chelsea to the domestic treble last season but hung up her international boots last month.

• Hard to recreate ‘higher calling’ of England job

• Southgate trying to ‘make a difference’ in other areas

Sir Gareth Southgate has said that he is not looking for a return to football management, saying it would be hard to recreate the “higher calling” he found as England’s manager.

Southgate indicated he intends to focus on working with young people and helping to counter the “negative narrative” he says is found in the country.

Jonathan Gjoshe sustained non-life-threatening injuries in Saturday’s incident and remains in hospital, club says

One of the people attacked during a mass stabbing on a busy train in Cambridgeshire has been named as the Scunthorpe United footballer Jonathan Gjoshe.

Gjoshe sustained non-life-threatening injuries and remains in hospital, the club said.

• Season-ticket holder injured protecting young girl

• Evangelos Marinakis says he will fund any medical care

Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has vowed to help fund medical care for any fan involved in the Huntingdon train knife attack after a season-ticket holder suffered serious injuries protecting a young girl.

British Transport Police (BTP) said two people remain in a life-threatening condition, with a further nine treated in hospital, following the incident on a high-speed train on Saturday evening.

Arsenal’s run without conceding goes on, Thomas Frank plays down tensions, and Eddie Howe’s gamble backfires

First the P45, then the pints. Vítor Pereira could be excused for having a drink on Sunday after his departure from Wolves, with the silver lining for the Portuguese being a decent payout. It is the fourth mid-season dismissal this campaign – there have never been more permanent sackings in Premier League history at this stage of the year (3 November). And while Evangelos Marinakis might have something to answer for, trigger-happy owners and directors are becoming increasingly erratic: that Pereira lasted just 45 days into a new three-year contract reflects as badly on the Wolves board as on the manager, just as Erik ten Hag’s sacking this time last year, coming less than three months after his own contract extension, reflected badly on the Manchester United hierarchy. Backing a manager and then pulling the rug so quickly is baffling, while a board’s desire for a “new manager bounce” so early in the season stinks of desperation and should be seen as an admission of guilt. Michael Butler

Match report: Fulham 3-0 Wolves

Match report: Burnley 0-2 Arsenal

Match report: Nottingham Forest 2-2 Manchester United

In an exclusive extract from her forthcoming autobiography, the former England goalkeeper reveals how her life unravelled during the Covid lockdowns of 2020

In early 2020, on the eve of lockdown, Phil Neville, then head coach of England, dropped Mary Earps from the squad.

For the first time ever, I began to feel something unimaginable; I felt disillusioned with football and unsure what I was doing in life, chasing this dream that was constantly in reach but never fully within my grasp. And then, abruptly, lockdown hit. And the world changed, at either the best possible time for me – or the very worst.

The European champions are only the fifth top scorers in Ligue 1 – behind Marseille, Lille, Monaco and Strasbourg

By Get French Football News

“It’s both beautiful and frustrating,” says Luis Enrique. The Paris Saint-Germain manager has a complicated relationship with how his team’s league matches play out. When PSG are involved, one team attacks and the other defends. “I like attacking a low block,” he insists. “It is the phase of play that I am most familiar with. I am very respectful of how other teams play. It is a different kind of football from ours, it’s atypical, but I understand and accept it.”

Accepting low blocks isn’t really a choice for PSG; it is simply their reality, a result of the talent imbalance created by financial imbalance. Their talent usually tells and the low-block is unlocked with varying degrees of difficulty. But it has been tougher this season.

Vincent Kompany’s side continued their magnificent form to end opponents’ record-breaking away run

If it was going to end, it was always likely to end here. That it was going to end exactly like this, though, was not so predictable. Bayer Leverkusen arrived at the Allianz Arena on a run of 37 Bundesliga away games unbeaten, and they never looked like extending it. You will forgive the Bundesliga neutral for mourning not the loss of an incredible record-breaking sequence which stretched back to 27 May 2023 – when Xabi Alonso’s team were heavily beaten by relegation-battling Bochum – but the demise of a competitor to Bayern Munich not seen since Jürgen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund were in their thrilling pomp.

This was less an authentic Topspiel and more a piercing afterparty hangover, a tough supermarket-bread pretzel and lukewarm coffee, a Monday morning letter from HMRC, a black and white declaration of unavoidable dues owed. All of which, of course, was great for Bayern as they limbered up for this week’s Champions League meeting (a real-deal Topspiel) against holders Paris Saint-Germain, with the recently re-signed Vincent Kompany able to show the authority and pragmatism that led him to this point by leaving Harry Kane, Luis Díaz and Michael Olise on the substitutes’ bench.

More than 40 goals in the Premier League have come from corners already this season – is this the new orthodoxy?

A ball played in behind Conor Bradley for Kevin Schade to chase. Giorgi Mamardashvili leaves his goal and sidefoots into touch. The sense of expectation is palpable. Michael Kayode trots over from right-back to the opposite flank to take the throw-in. He dries the ball, measures his run, steps back and then in one languid fluid movement hurls the ball in to the near post. Liverpool clear. Two minutes later, it happens again. This time, Mamardashvili tries to play the ball to Bradley, who miscontrols to concede the throw-in. And this time, Kayode’s throw is flicked on by Kristoffer Ajer and volleyed home by Dango Ouattara. There are still only five minutes of Brentford’s game against Liverpool played. Welcome to the modern Premier League.

Only nine of the 241 goals scored in the Premier League going into this weekend have come from throw-ins, but it feels like far more. Forty-five have come from corners – 18.7%. Were that proportion to be maintained over the season it would present a remarkable leap on the high of 14.2% from 2010-11. The reality is there’s likely to be a regression to the mean: if a glance at the proportion of goals scored from corners shows anything, it’s that there really isn’t much of a pattern at all. The proportion hovered at 11 or 12% most years to 2009, since when it has been at 13-14% – a trend which, if anything, goes against the assumption that everybody stopped taking corners seriously in the peak years of guardiolismo only to rediscover their love of a booming inswinger last season (when, in fact, the proportion of goals from corners fell to its lowest level since 2013-14).

A new documentary shows community unity helping a football club rise against a backdrop of a tragedy-hit building that is only now coming down

Every weekend they arrive with their boots and their grief, their studs and their memories of the Grenfell Tower fire which changed their lives for ever and killed 72 people. But the Grenfell Athletic football players, in two men’s teams and a women’s side, also bring hope, pride and even joy as they climb up their Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning amateur league tables with growing conviction that their club is a rising force.

Grenfell Athletic were founded by Rupert Taylor, a community leader and local inspiration, and Paul Menacer, who was asleep in the tower on the night of 14 June 2017 when the building turned into a blazing inferno. Together, they started a football club to help their community cope with the devastating loss.

The 46-year-old didn’t fulfil his potential as a player but as manager has climbed from the bottom of the pyramid to fifth in La Liga

The driver of the Tusa bus went from Badalona to Barcelona and regional catalana to primera división, stopping everywhere in between. On Thursday night, Atlètic Lleida host Espanyol in the Copa del Rey first round. Lleida play in Spain’s semi-pro fourth tier, a world away from their opponents, who celebrated their 125th anniversary last Saturday by climbing into a Champions League place, but there will be something familiar about the man sitting on the visitors’ bench, if he ever actually sits. “I know Manolo because we’ve faced each other at our level,” Lleida’s coach, Gabri García says. “We come from the depths.”

Depths is right, but Manolo González wouldn’t change a thing, proud to have been in García’s place. A symbol of some day, he reached the top flight via the long route, having coached at every age group and every level in Spain, from the regional league to tercera, with its 397 teams across 18 groups; from Segunda B, still theoretically amateur and made up of four regional divisions with 80 teams, to segunda; and on to primera, no guarantee he would get there. Which is why it took years to give up the day job at the wheel of the interurbano to Barcelona.

Club’s winless streak finally ended on Wednesday against Udinese but a significant task awaits the next manager

It was an oddly coy way to announce Serie A’s first sacking this season. “Igor Tudor is no longer the manager of Juventus,” read the Turin club’s social media post on Monday – as though this had happened by accident or mutual consent. The Bianconeri had not, in fact, lost him down the back of the sofa, but instead relieved him of his duties after an eight-game winless run.

That was their longest dry stretch since 2009. Claudio Ranieri got the boot back then, and it was no surprise to see Tudor meet the same fate now. Juventus had failed to score a goal in his final four matches, culminating in a 1-0 loss to Lazio on Sunday night. “I’m living in the present,” he insisted afterward. “I don’t give a stuff about the future.” Yet it came for him the next day all the same.

Habib Beye’s job is on the line but simply sacking another manager is not the route to success for the Pinault family

By Get French Football News

“It’s been a bit of a crazy week,” said Rennes manager Habib Beye after his team’s 2-2 draw with Toulouse on Wednesday night. After a run of five games without a win, the former Newcastle and Aston Villa player did not know if he would be in charge for the game – his sacking was even hastily announced in some places – but he was in the dugout in Toulouse and is still holding on.

“The momentum at the club isn’t good and finances are relatively fragile, which puts pressure on us,” said the club’s president, Arnaud Pouille, after the game before announcing that the manager would stay. “We met with the staff on Monday to ask them whether they still had the energy to keep going, and they proved it tonight.”

It was just like old times as Dani Carvajal sparked a full-time ruckus with Barça’s teenage star after his pre-match barbs

“As long as I win they can’t say anything,” Lamine Yamal said once, but this time he didn’t win and they were coming for him. They said he spoke too much; they replied that, yeah, they would see him outside; they told him talk is cheap. And that was just the players: there was more from the preachers in their pulpits, men who never lose.

On the eve of the clásico, the teenager who claims he left fear behind in Mataró suggested that Real Madrid rob and moan, or so it goes. He also offered a reminder that the last time he had been at the Santiago Bernabéu – a kid with blaugrana braces, a glint in his eye and a right foot they didn’t know he had – he beat them 4-0. But that was then and this was now. And, an adult now, exactly a year on, he was beaten back. He knew, they told him so.

With ticket sales phases under way and prices reaching eye-watering levels, my experience raised a crucial question: who is this World Cup for?

For months, people in my life had been asking me when and where to get World Cup tickets. In the absence of any actionable information from Fifa before the first round of the pre-sale opened up, they hoped, I guess, that I had inside knowledge.

In truth, I only knew that Fifa would be using the universally despised dynamic pricing model, and that the bid book for the 2026 World Cup had promised an average group stage ticket price of $305. Mind you, that was seven and a half years ago and an awful lot of inflation has happened since then. In the bid, Category 4 tickets for the group stage – the cheapest seats available – were priced at $21. (As we would soon learn, the actual price would start at $60, and category 4 tickets are almost non-existent.)

The Australian coach’s legacy in Scotland is best left untouched while he needs a period of reflection – not to take the next job that comes along

It is fair to say that Ange Postecoglou had a hard time during his 40-day stint at Nottingham Forest, but there is perhaps a more difficult test on the way. Being out of work means that his name is automatically going to be linked with available coaching jobs in Europe. It’s a nice problem to have, especially as the northern winter approaches and axes start to fall. There are few available coaches whose fingerprints are still on a major European trophy and who also have recent and major Premier League experience.

There have already been changes in England’s top tier with Forest being the main driver, firing Nuno Espírito Santo who then went on to replace Graham Potter at West Ham United, then bringing in Postecoglou and then replacing him with Sean Dyche. In the coming weeks and months, more will follow. There are lots of skill sets that a successful head coach must have, but one of the most important – and the least talked about – is knowing when to shake the head instead of hands when there is an approach.

Incidents in both games generated a lot of noise, not least the yellow card for Dorgu when Minteh was running towards goal

Two fixtures at the weekend generated a lot of noise in terms of refereeing decisions: Manchester United v Brighton and Brentford v Liverpool. In each case there were incidents that can serve as good educational pieces for understanding the calls that match officials make.

Starting at Old Trafford, the yellow card for Patrick Dorgu after fouling Yankuba Minteh, when the Brighton man looked as if he was through on goal, frustrated a lot of people. Everybody screams: “Last man, you’ve got to go” – which is absolutely false. Just because you’re the last defender it doesn’t mean you have to be sent off. In this kind of incident, the referee awards a foul and then has to consider the criteria of what fits the denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity.

With their election looming, the Argentinian club hope stable leadership can reverse worst form in four decades

Stefano Di Carlo was two months old when, in 1989, his grandfather, Titi, became the president of River Plate, taking over after the resignation of Hugo Santilli. He was seven months old when, that December, his grandfather narrowly lost the presidential election. He was three years old when his grandfather took him to his first River Plate game.

Titi Di Carlo remained a senior figure at the club and was on the board when he went to a Copa Libertadores quarter-final against Banfield with the 16-year-old Stefano. The first leg had finished 1-1.

Our cartoonist dons his best threads to check out which aesthetics are back to dominate the football fashion world

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Former Liverpool and Sunderland forward on buying Ed Woodward’s house, his padel business and how his new coach is similar to Ancelotti

Fabio Borini’s house witnessed a major disagreement over football but it was not related to his recent move to Salford City. The forward bought the property from the former Manchester United executive vice-chair Ed Woodward, who had fans at the gates showing their displeasure during his time at Old Trafford. “Because of the protest outside, everybody was worried, so I said: ‘Don’t worry I’ll buy it, get the price down,’” Borini jokes.

The former Italy international has a business mind and knows a good deal when it comes along. Joining Salford, however, was certainly not about the money. Following his departure from Sampdoria, where he endured a difficult final season after being ostracised, Borini wanted to play for the love of the game. He returned to his wife Erin’s native north-west, where they had their Cheshire home, and searched for work.

Mikel Arteta’s side have experience of being top of the table but have been unable to finish the job in previous seasons

All the signs point to it finally being Arsenal’s season. But given that they have spent almost 800 days top of the table since last being champions in 2004, nothing will be taken for granted at this stage. After an outlay of more than £250m in the summer, Mikel Arteta has a formidable squad that has been able to cope with injuries to important players such as Kai Havertz and Martin Ødegaard – a problem that derailed them in three successive runner-up finishes.

In an embarrassing climbdown, the game in Miami is off with the league having alienated the players and even Villarreal, the club that was on its side

If there is a moment that defined La Liga’s fourth failed attempt to play in Miami, an image to explain why everything went wrong, it may have been the moment it was all over. On Tuesday night, Spanish television broadcast reaction to the news from the Estadio de la Ceràmica, live and unfiltered.

Cameras caught someone else who felt dismissed and disrespected, treated as if they didn’t count. This time it was someone who was supposed to be on the league’s side, but now appeared as a portrait of poor planning and poorer communication, a lack of consideration that pushed the project to collapse.

The Liverpool legend is the subject of a new film directed by Asif Kapadia on the Scot’s remarkable career in football and connection with his adopted city

‘We got the bus and went down to Sheffield to visit the supporters who were in hospital,” Kenny Dalglish says as he remembers how he spent the Monday after the tragedy of Hillsborough in April 1989. “All the players were there so we split up and they walked into different wards to see people. We were trying to give them a wee bit of confidence or belief of anything that could help them. And there was a family around a young boy’s bed and he was unconscious.”

Sean Luckett was 20 years old and one of the thousands of fervent Liverpool supporters who had travelled to Hillsborough to support the team who Dalglish managed and had played for with such sublime talent since arriving from Celtic in 1977. Ninety-seven Liverpool fans eventually lost their lives after the unbearable crush during the club’s FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest.

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

We pick the best youngsters at each club born between 1 September 2008 and 31 August 2009, an age band known as first-year scholars. Check the progress of our classes of 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 … and go even further back. Here’s our 2025 world picks

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Following defeat at Leeds 10 days ago, one West Ham-supporting WAG suggested Jarrod Bowen “must feel like that one human actor in a Muppets film” in a Social Media Disgrace post that got nowhere near the amount of LOLs it deserved. And having seen their team go a goal down on Sunday, moments after their captain had spanked a shot from distance off a post, West Ham fans must have felt it was going to be another regulation day in which Bowen tried to channel his inner Michael Caine in a bid to lend some much-needed gravitas to a typically absurdist and slapstick performance. The feeling can only have been heightened when he was awarded a penalty only to see it overturned by the curtain-twitchers in Stockley Park. But against all odds, West Ham dug deep and managed to eke out a rare and thoroughly deserved victory.

A few weeks back I listened to a discussion on the wireless about AI. A man informed that the limits of AI include the fact that ‘AI doesn’t have a sense of humour’. Imagine my surprise when it turned up in Football Daily” – Michael Lloyd.

As a Bournemouth fan I can assure you that the best AI tactics are Andoni Iraola’s” – Kelvin Baynton.

Given the current farago surrounding Crystal Palace’s impending fixture pile up, would it make more sense to redefine the Fizzy Cup as only being open to teams that have not qualified for Europe that season? This would help with potential fixture clashes, but more importantly it is likely to open up the competition and increase the chances of a ‘smaller club’ winning it. I doubt any of the bigger clubs would complain about being excluded” – Rob Burton (and no other sensible readers).

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

Banyana Banyana squeeze through but assistant Thinasonke Mbuli insists they must learn from countries such as Malawi

The Women’s Africa Cup of Nations will welcome two new participants next March after Malawi and Cape Verde qualified for the first time. For Cape Verde, the island archipelago with a population of just over half a million people, it’s a double celebration after their men’s team qualified for the World Cup for the first time. The women’s team was only founded in 2018 and in seven years have enjoyed a rapid rise. As far as records show, no other team has progressed as quickly from formation to major tournament.

They will play in a field that includes hosts Morocco, 10-time champions Nigeria, Kenya and Burkina Faso, who have both qualified for just the second time in their history, and six other teams who were involved at the 2024 edition: Zambia, Tanzania, Algeria, Senegal, Ghana and 2022 champions South Africa, who required a 91st-minute winner against the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to confirm their spot.

Today’s newsletter looks at the most clinical forwards at the tournament in Morocco, which has reached the last-16 stage

The 2025 Under-17 Women’s World Cup is well under way in Morocco with Brazil, China, Canada and Spain among the countries who have reached the last 16. After an intriguing group stage here are some of the young stars who have stood out so far:

Giulia Galli (Italy): Italy have been one of the surprise packages of the tournament, spearheaded by the goals of Galli. The 17-year-old has enjoyed an eye-catching year for club and country: she was at the heart of her nation’s run to the semi-finals of this summer’s Under-17 European Championship, their highest finish in more than a decade that booked their spot at this World Cup. Since then, she has found herself around the Roma senior team, scoring her first goal for the club – the winner – in their Serie A Women’s Cup fixture against Milan. She has led the charge once again in Morocco as Selena Mazzantini’s side won all three group games to progress. All five goals to date have demonstrated her uncanny knack of breaking defensive lines as well as her instinctive clinical ability inside the box.

This is an extract from our free weekly email, Moving the Goalposts. To get the full edition, visit this page and follow the instructions. Moving the Goalposts is delivered to your inboxes every Tuesday and Thursday.

Brighton still find goals despite Agyemang blow, West Ham eye an upturn and Everton leave it late to level

If Jocelyn Prêcheur needed an example of how far his London City Lionesses team have come in a few weeks, it was Saturday’s encounter against Chelsea. It ended in a 2-0 defeat to the champions but his side impressed at Stamford Bridge and asked several questions of their opponents. London City controlled 43% of possession – perhaps more than expected – and managed the same number of shots on target (three), with Isobel Goodwin providing a particular threat running in behind. “When we compare it to September when we played other top-four opposition, it was really good,” Prêcheur said. “What I like is that we start to see a team – [that] was my biggest challenge. We saw a team that defended and attacked together. We still need to improve.” SD

Match report: Chelsea 2-0 London City Lionesses

Spurs’ rally against Liverpool reveals Ho’s and Taylor’s tasks

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Jonathan Wilson and Philippe Auclair as Wolves bid farewell to Vítor Pereira

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On the podcast today; Wolves are winless after 10 games and bottom of the league so it’s farewell to Vítor Pereira. They were well beaten by an out-of-form Fulham and whether it’s Brendan Rodgers or a returning Gary O’Neil the new head coach has a lot of work to do.

Plus: more early English managerial exits, the player hitting the woodwork four times in a game and P45 structures

• Mail us with your questions and answers

“My beleaguered Tranmere played Barnet a couple of weeks ago,” begins James. “I was amazed that this was the first ever meeting between two clubs who have spent so much time in the Football League. It made me wonder: what is the most surprising or eye-catching fixture in English club football that has never been played?”

We were surprised to hear that Middlesbrough’s 1-1 draw with Wrexham on Saturday was the first ever league match between those two sides, though they have met in both domestic cup competitions.

222 seasons Everton (127) v Rochdale (95), West Brom (127) v Rochdale (95)

218 Everton (127) v Hartlepool United (91)

217 Manchester United (123) v Gillingham (94), Manchester City (123) v Exeter City (94)

216 Arsenal (122) v Southend United (94), Arsenal (122) v Exeter (94)

213 Liverpool (122) v Hartlepool (91)

206 Manchester United (123) v Mansfield Town (83)

205 Everton (127) v Torquay United (78)

204 Manchester United (123) v Darlington (81)

203 Newcastle United (122) v Darlington (81), Sunderland (125) v Torquay(7 8)

201 Manchester United (123) v Torquay (78)

200 Arsenal (122) v Torquay (78), Aston Villa (127) v Newport (73), Liverpool (122) v Torquay

3 days: Bill Lambton, Scunthorpe, April 1959

4 days: Dave Bassett, Crystal Palace, May 1984

7 days: Tim Ward, Exeter City, March 1953
Kevin Cullis, Swansea City, February 1996

8 days: Billy McKinlay, Watford, Sept-Oct 2014

9 days: Martin Ling, Cambridge, Jul-Aug 2009

The board of directors of Raith Rovers FC announces that we have parted company with manager Gary Locke and assistant manager Darren Jackson, with immediate effect.

Raith Rovers FC announces that we have this evening parted company with manager John Hughes and assistant manager Kevin McBride

Mail us with your questions and answers

The world of soccer throws up no shortage of questions on a regular basis. In today’s column, Graham Ruthven endeavors to answer three of them

Rory Delap was apparently ahead of his time. The spirit of Stoke City’s legendary ball flinger lives on with the long throw-in enjoying a renaissance in the Premier League this season. Indeed, statistics show that the number of long throw-ins per match has more than doubled from last season, pointing to a very real and meaningful trend.

Every deal in the NWSL, WSL, Liga F, Frauen-Bundesliga, Première Ligue and Serie A Femminile as well as a club-by-club guide

• Men’s transfers summer 2025: all the moves