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Premier League confirm nominees for February Player & Manager of the Month awards

The Premier League have unveiled the shortlists for February’s Player and Manager of the Month awards.
Six players from five clubs are battling to take home the prize, which was won last month by Bournemouth’s Justin Kluivert, while five bosses are looking to win February’s managerial honours.

Premier League Player of the Month nominees – February 2025

Beto (Everton)

Jean-Philippe Mateta (Crystal Palace)

Yankuba Minteh (Brighton & Hove Albion)

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

Djed Spence (Tottenham Hotspur)

Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool)

Beto struck five times in as many games for Everton in an unbeaten month for the Toffees. Huge wins over Leicester City and Crystal Palace, alongside impressive draws with Liverpool, Manchester United and Brentford, have restored a feel-good factor under David Moyes.
There’s a second successive nomination for Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta. Four goals took the Frenchman’s tally for the season to 12, just four shy of last season’s high of 16.
Two of Yankuba Minteh’s five Premier League goals this season came in February. The winger bagged twice in Brighton’s win over Chelsea and chimed in with an assist in an emphatic 4-0 victory over Southampton.

Liverpool are the only club with two nominees this month, including the favourite to take home the prize. Mohamed Salah contributed to ten goals in just six games, scoring six and assisting four on his march to break the Premier League’s single-season assist record.
Salah may have dominated the spotlight, but Dominik Szoboszlai also shone for Liverpool in February. The Hungarian is an increasingly important figure in Arne Slot’s side and proved his worth with two goals and an assist.
The resurgence of Tottenham Hotspur full-back Djed Spence has been recognised with a well-earned inclusion on the shortlist. Having been drafted in as an emergency left-back, Spence dazzled on both sides of Spurs’ defensive line, overseeing back-to-back clean sheets against Brentford & Manchester United before scoring his first Premier League goal against Ipswich Town.

Premier League Manager of the Month nominees – February 2025

David Moyes (Everton)

Oliver Glasner (Crystal Palace)

Ange Postecoglou (Tottenham Hotspur)

Marco Silva (Fulham)

Arne Slot (Liverpool)

David Moyes’ return to Everton in January has been a stroke of genius thus far. The Toffees have climbed away from the relegation zone thanks to an unbeaten month or two wins and three draws, including a famous point in the final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.
Crystal Palace produced some big wins under Oliver Glasner. Their 4-1 triumph over Aston Villa to bring February to a close was the undoubted highlight but 2-0 victories over both Manchester United and Fulham have left the Eagles as outside contenders to snatch a European spot.

Ange Postecoglou will have fond memories of February after Tottenham’s injury crisis finally began to ease. The under-fire Australian ended a run of seven winless by tasting victory in three of their four games, suffering defeat only to Manchester City.

Fulham ended February on the fringes of the European race after Marco Silva oversaw a run of three wins from four. Champions League-hopefuls Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest both fell to the Cottagers.
Rounding off the shortlist is Liverpool boss Arne Slot. The Reds are runaway leaders at the Premier League’s summit after four wins and two draws left them 13 points clear of Arsenal in the title race.

PSG head coach Luis Enrique was left to rue Les Parisiens‘ missed chances in their Champions League RO16 first leg home loss to Liverpool (1-0). The Ligue 1 leaders were by far the most proactive side at Parc des Princes and dominated proceedings. Liverpool had Alisson Becker to thank for as the Brazilian international was deservedly handed the Man of the Match award with a flurry of nine saves. “Their best player was the goalkeeper“, Luis Enrique lamented to Canal+.

The Spaniard added there was nothing else to explain regarding how the game unfolded. “We were far better than Liverpool. Far better! But they won that game. That’s very unfair“, said the PSG head coach. This is Les Parisiens’ first defeat since November 26 and their away 1-0 loss to FC Bayern Munich in the Champions League. “I don’t see any negative aspects. I’m very proud of my team, very proud of my players. There is a second leg to be played at Liverpool. We won’t give up.“
Liverpool-PSG will be played next Tuesday at Anfield, and the Reds lead 1-0 on aggregate.

ZURICH — FIFA promised $1 billion in total prize money Wednesday to the 32 teams playing at the men’s Club World Cup in the United States.
The long-awaited confirmation just over three months before the opening game in Miami follows a broadcast deal belatedly being agreed with streaming service DAZN backed by Saudi Arabian money.
Clubs in Europe — with 12 entries in the inaugural lineup, including Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, and Paris Saint-Germain — had sought promises from FIFA they could earn tens of millions of dollars from the month-long tournament. FIFA gave no details of the prize money formula.

The first edition of the four-yearly club event will have total revenue of $2 billion, FIFA said, publishing its financial report for 2024, and will include funding payments known as solidarity to teams that did qualify.

FIFA’s report said ticket and hospitality sales of $500 million are expected across the 63 Club World Cup games being played across 12 American cities.

Teams qualified through four seasons of winning titles, or through consistent results, in soccer’s continental club championships through 2024. FIFA gave Inter Miami and Lionel Messi a host-nation entry for the team’s record in the Major League Soccer regular season.
Club World Cup money is on target to raise the soccer body’s budgeted four-year income to $13 billion through the 2026 World Cup being co-hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico.

FIFA books its income from broadcast deals and most of its sponsor deals in the year a tournament is played. The full picture of its finances will be detailed in the financial report published early in 2027.
FIFA said its president Gianni Infantino was paid a basic salary of 2.6 million Swiss francs ($2.92 million) in 2024, a raise of 140,000 Swiss francs ($157,000).
His annual bonus of 1.65 million Swiss francs ($1.85 million) was the same as in 2023 for a total package of 4.25 million Swiss francs ($4.77 million). FIFA has published salary details as part of transparency reforms since Infantino was elected in 2016.

TNT Sports will televise 24 of 63 Club World Cup matches on TNT, TBS, and truTV

TNT Sports will televise 24 of 63 Club World Cup matches on TNT, TBS, and truTV under an agreement with the streaming platform DAZN announced Wednesday.

DAZN obtained world-wide rights from FIFA in a deal announced in December. TNT Sports is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
FIFA’s expanded 32-team tournament will be played in the US from June 14 to July 13.
FIFA decided the clubs will have priority for players over national teams; the CONCACAF Gold Cup is scheduled for June 14 to July 6.
Warner Bros. Discovery is in the third year of an eight-year agreement with the US Soccer Federation for US rights to games of the US men’s, women’s, and youth national teams that are controlled by the USSF.

Cruising to Madrid and the Champions League quarterfinals off the back of a 7-1 win, where has this Arsenal been the last fortnight? Not playing PSV Eindhoven.

Before the rush to crown Ethan Nwaneri, to see signs of life from Martin Odegaard and to get carried away by the finishing composure of this team, just bear in mind there will be few if any opponents that Arsenal play between now and the end of the season that are quite as obliging as this one. Arsenal couldn’t score against West Ham because Graham Potter made reasonable adjustments to limit his opponent’s capabilities down the right flank. Nottingham Forest might have dropped a center back for the Gunners’ visit last week but theirs is a team defined by their out-of-possession work.

You wouldn’t say that about PSV. The writing was on the wall when Peter Bosz used his press conference yesterday to insist that, “I’m not going to change my playing style.” He might have claimed that his side would make adjustments. Beyond leaving even more space in central areas than they had through the league phase, it was not immediately apparent what those might be. The curious thing is this team had tried playing their normal game against Arsenal last season. It got them beaten by a four-goal margin.

Same again tonight. It is one thing to defend man-to-man against Go Ahead Eagles and Willem II — not necessarily an effective approach on recent evidence — another when every opposing player is bigger, stronger and quicker than you. Rarely has it been so easy for Odegaard or Declan Rice to breeze through midfield, no one even thinking to close them down until they hit the opposition penalty area.

With the ball, PSV’s insistence on setting pressing traps for themselves was impressive. A minute after Noa Lang had gotten them on the scoreboard — converting from the spot after a clumsy error by Thomas Partey — the hosts were trapped by their own corner flag on the right-hand side. It was all too easy for Rice to steal possession and drive a shot just wide.

It is not that PSV are a bad side per se. There were moments in attack where they really asked questions of David Raya’s ability to deal with crosses, where Gabriel had to defend with real muscularity. They could have had one or two more at the other end. They could have let in a fair few more too, the issues in their system only magnified by their failure to do the basics right. When Arsenal were attacking the left side of the box there was enough time for winger Lang and fullback Tyrell Malacia to switch positions so that the latter was defending the back post and Jurrien Timber. Neither moved.
Though there were questions of an offside in the build-up to the third, PSV had ample opportunities to defend with a bit more muscularity before Ryan Flamingo fell over rather than compete with Mikel Merino.

At least Arsenal took full advantage of PSV’s hospitality. Nwaneri in particular did not slow down for an instant once he was able to bend his cross into a dangerous area in the sixth minute. His poacher’s finish off a Myles Lewis-Skelly cutback was a reminder of why Mikel Arteta sees the center forward spot in the future of the 17-year-old, the third youngest scorer in Champions League history.

Odegaard took time to get going but when the space opened up for him in the second half, he exploited it to the fullest. A player who has sometimes taken too long this season to work the perfect shooting position for himself was willing to let fly when the margin was up to four, the ball bending enough that maybe Walter Benitez can feel some mitigation as to why he let in a shot that flew above him. By the end prime Odegaard was shining through, a gorgeous through ball with the outside of his boot slipping Riccardo Calafiori through for a striker’s finish.

And perhaps the greatest value of this result for Arsenal is that it offers everyone a chance to calm down, to not come up with mad solutions to intractable problems like putting Calafiori through the middle. Arteta can plan for a quarterfinal against Real Madrid or Atletico, by the time that rolls around in early April Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka might be back.

A chance to breathe, to plan ahead in the knowledge that there will be meaningful games into at least the penultimate month of the campaign. Not bad for what has occasionally felt like a season where everything that can go wrong has gone wrong in an increasingly cataclysmic fashion. Beyond that, what have we learned about Arsenal tonight? Only that they can still run up the goals when they play slower, technically inferior opposition who persevere with a system that does not remotely suit the needs of the occasion.

• Real Madrid edged past Atletico Madrid thanks to superb goals from Rodrygo and Brahim Diaz in their Champions League last 16 first leg.
  Carlo Ancelotti’s side take a 2-1 lead to the Metropolitano Stadium with a quarter-final tie against Arsenal up for grabs.

The Gunners sensationally won their first leg 7-1 away at PSV on Tuesday night and will face one of the Madrid giants in the next round of the Champions League.
Real Madrid took an early lead through Brazil international Rodrygo.
Federico Valverde played an inch-perfect through pass which left Javi Galan in a right state and Rodrygo cut inside and banged it past Jan Oblak with his left foot.

It was a gorgeous opening goal but Julian Alvarez went one better with an absolute peach of his own.
The ex-Manchester City forward cut in from the left and smashed it across goal and off the inside of the post.
Two of the best goalkeepers in the world, Oblak and Thibaut Courtois, were helpless on both occasions.
The European champions retook the lead in the 55th minute when Brahim Diaz danced past Jose Maria Gimenez – leaving the defender on the floor – and slotted in past Oblak.
Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund and Lille drew their first leg 1-1 in Germany.

Karim Adeyemi opened the scoring with a lovely strike, hitting the ball on the half-volley from the edge of the box and straight into the bottom corner.
Icelandic international Hakon Arnar Haraldsson equalised in the 68th minute.

The Champions League returns tonight as Arsenal face PSV at Philips Stadion and Club Brugge host Aston Villa in their last-16 first leg ties.
A total of four matches are scheduled for Tuesday, March 4 with Real Madrid playing Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund taking on Lille.
The eight teams are hoping to put one foot in the Champions League quarter-finals before the second leg games get underway next week, with the other four last-16 first leg ties taking place tomorrow night.
Ahead of a busy night in Europe, here are the latest predictions for tonight’s Champions League matches from Opta’s Supercomputer.

PSV vs Arsenal prediction

Arsenal are the favourites to come out on top in the first leg, with Opta giving the Gunners a 44.6 per cent chance of pulling off an away win.

The Dutch side are 28.6 per cent likely to register a victory while the Supercomputer believes there is 26.8 per cent chance of a draw.

Speaking ahead of the match, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said: ‘It’s a game that obviously brings a different energy – it’s that competition that puts everyone on their toes.
‘We’ve done a lot already this season here and now it’s the moment to start to make another strong step in the right direction that we want to. I’m very excited for the game.’
Prediction: Arsenal win

Club Brugge vs Aston Villa prediction

Aston Villa have been tipped to secure a win in the first leg too, with the Supercomputer handing them a 38.6 per cent chance of a victory.
It is expected to be a closer-fought battle than PSV vs Arsenal, though, with the Belgian club 35 per cent likely to win the match themselves while a draw is considered 26.4 per cent likely.
‘For us it’s a very important match against Brugge, but we know their capacity and potential,’ Villa boss Unai Emery said ahead of the game.
‘I know how competitive they are and how they are doing in the Champions League. When we analyse them, we see them playing with confidence and playing strong, and it’s a really good challenge to play against a team with experience in Europe and experienced players as well.’
Prediction: Aston Villa win

Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid prediction

Real Madrid, looking to defend their Champions League crown, are favourites to beat rivals Atletico Madrid in the first leg at the Bernabeu.

Opta believes Carlo Ancelotti’s men are 49.5 per cent likely to win, while a draw is 25.3 per cent likely and an Atletico win is 25.2 per cent likely.
‘It’s going to be a close tie that will be [ultimately] be decided in the second leg,’ Ancelotti said. ‘The objective [for the first leg] is to play well and take an advantage.’
Prediction: Real Madrid win

Borussia Dortmund vs Lille prediction

The Opta Supercomputer isn’t giving Lille much of a chance tonight with the French side only given a 22.4 per cent chance of winning the match.
German side Borussia Dortmund are strong favourites at 54.3 per cent while a draw at the Westfalenstadion is considered 23.3 per cent likely.
‘They play a very versatile brand of football,’ Dortmund manager Niko Kovac said about Lille. ‘This will demand a lot of strength and concentration from us.’
Prediction: Borussia Dortmund win.

Who will win the Champions League title this season?

Liverpool, who face French champions Paris-Saint Germain in the first leg of their last-16 showdown on Wednesday, are the current favourites to go all the way and win the Champions League with a 19.2 per cent chance.

‍FC Barcelona and Inter Milan are the second and third favourites at 14.8 per cent and 14 per cent respectively.

Arsenal are fourth favourites, in what would be a historic achievement given they’ve never won the Champions League before, at 11.6 per cent with 15-time champions Real Madrid 9.8 per cent likely to land the trophy.
Prediction: Liverpool will win the Champions League 

The last months have been pretty difficult for Yukinari Sugawara and the Saints overall. Even then, Sugawara has reassured the club fans with a bold pledge.
Answer honestly, who’s the one player you think has underperformed for Southampton? If you ask me, it’s been Yukinari Sugawara.

Now, I can sense your confusing faces, but here’s why I mean so.
Remember the initial games this season? In all honesty, Sugawara was one of the best Southampton players at that time. In fact, the wing-back’s brilliant link-up with Dibling on the right wing had even forced comparisons with the club’s iconic Soares-Mane duo.
Sadly, time did get the better of him eventually, as he no longer remains an undisputed starter now. Still, the defender is giving it his all, not just on the field but also off the field.
You might admit that given their recent situation, Southampton needs moral support more than anything else. That’s where Sugawara has come forward, reassuring the fans with a massive pledge.

Sugawara affirms to continue at Southampton despite relegation

In a situation, when many star players are certain to leave if the club gets relegated, Sugawara stands firm to serve at Southampton only.
As quoted by the Daily Echo, Sugawara said: “I don’t want to think about the future after this season because I just focus on my career at Saints. I don’t think about transfers or anything if we are relegated.”
Interestingly, it is not the first time we have seen such optimism from the Japanese defender. Days ago, he was seen thanking the club supporters for their brilliant gesture.

I know, it may be early, but don’t you think Sugawara possesses some key traits of a brilliant leader? After all, now that Kyle Walker-Peters is set to leave, maybe it’s time for Sugawara to manage even bigger responsibilities.

Inter Miami left back Noah Allen has changed his international allegiance from the United States to Greece, per FIFA’s Change of Association platform.
The 20-year-old represented the U.S. at the Concacaf U-20 Championship in 2022, meaning he needed to file paperwork with FIFA for a one-time switch if he wished to represent another country.

Allen was born and raised in Florida. His father is American while his mother is from Greece, making him eligible for a Greek passport.
According to Greek outlet iefimerida, Greece U-21 coach Giannis Taousianis and Greece national team technical director Dimitrios Papadopoulos contacted Allen recently to express their interest. The defender is expected to be called into Greece’s U-21 side for friendlies this month.

Allen signed a Homegrown contract with Inter Miami in 2022, making his professional debut during that MLS campaign.
The defender made a career-high 14 starts during the 2023 season before the arrival of Jordi Alba saw his minutes begin to diminish.
Allen nearly totaled 1,000 MLS minutes last season while starting eight games, and has started both of Inter Miami’s league matches this season.

Former Fifa president Sepp Blatter and French football legend Michel Platini are back in court in Switzerland to face accusations of fraud.
In 2022, the pair were acquitted in a trial over a payment of 2m Swiss francs (£1.6m) made to Platini and authorised by Blatter in 2011.
Both men denied wrongdoing and said the transfer was belated payment for Fifa advisory work by Platini, who formerly led European football’s governing body Uefa.
But the Swiss federal prosecutor appealed against the decision. The new trial is expected to last until Thursday, with a verdict due on 25 March.

The pair appeared before an appeals court in Muttenz, near Basel, on Monday. Blatter, 88, reaffirmed that he was innocent.
“When you talk about falsehoods, lies and deception, that’s not me. That didn’t exist in my whole life,” he told the court.
A lawyer for Platini, 69, said the lower court that acquitted the pair in 2022 had been “right to find that the disputed payment of 2m francs was lawful”.
Platini had an illustrious playing career and is a three-time winner of the Ballon d’Or – Europe’s highest individual football award.
He captained France to victory at the 1984 European Championship and won the 1985 European Cup with Juventus. He went on to coach the French national team and became Uefa president in 2007.

In 2015, prosecutors accused the pair of deceiving Fifa about payments made to Platini.
In his testimony at the first trial, Blatter said that he had asked Platini to work as his adviser in 1998. He added that at the time, Fifa could not afford the 1m Swiss francs annual fee requested by Platini.
They instead settled on partial payment, with the outstanding balance to be paid at a later date. Platini said during the trial: “I trusted the president, and knew he would pay me one day.”
He stopped working for Fifa in 2002 but initially did not pursue the payment as he told the court he had not needed the money at the time, and – according to Blatter – Fifa was “broke”. In January 2011, however, Platini felt he was in a position to send an invoice and the money was paid after approval by Blatter.
Following an investigation launched in 2015, Swiss prosecutors accused Blatter and Platini of forgery and fraud.

Also in 2015, Fifa suspended both men from football for ethics breaches – originally for eight years, although their exclusions were later reduced.
In 2022, Switzerland’s federal criminal court in Bellinzona cleared the two after accepting their account of a “gentlemen’s agreement” for the payment.
Swiss businessman and sports administrator Blatter joined Fifa in 1975, became general secretary in 1981 and then president of world football’s governing body in 1998.
He remained in the role for 17 years until resigning amid corruption investigations. Platini later withdrew his own candidacy for president.

The FIFA has lifted the suspension that was imposed on the Pakistan Football Federation on February 6, 2025.

The Pakistan Football Federation has been suspended internationally for the third time in less than 8 years after rejecting FIFA’s recommended amendments to its regulations.

Last week, the Pakistan Football Federation held an extraordinary congress in Lahore, during which it overwhelmingly approved the reforms allowing it to participate in the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers.

Pakistan team is scheduled to resume its journey in international tournaments and participate in the Asian Cup qualifiers later this month, after the suspension was lifted.

The Pakistani team will begin the campaign by facing Syria on March 25 in Group E.

“We thank FIFA and AFC for their continued support of Pakistan football and extend our congratulations to the Pakistan football community,” said the Pakistan Football Federation in a post on social media.

Liverpool have been firing on all cylinders this 2024-25 season, but the Reds didn’t play this weekend. As a result, they’ll head into their first-leg clash against Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes either well-rested or potentially a bit rusty.

Before fully shifting their focus to the first leg, Liverpool had one more Premier League match during the week. They’re coming off a 2-0 victory over Newcastle United on Wednesday night at Anfield, so they’ll arrive in Paris with positive momentum.
PSG, meanwhile, are also coming off a strong 4-1 win over LOSC Lille, with all four goals coming in the first half.

How can PSG advance past Liverpool?

With the first leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 just around the corner, Football Transfers’ Robin Bairner outlined in his latest column for PSG Extra Time the three key points the Parisians need to focus on over the 180 minutes to get past Liverpool.
“Mental strength: PSG cannot afford to give away cheap goals, and if and when they do concede, there must be a capacity to bounce back,” Bairner wrote.
“Exploit the full-backs: Liverpool is solid throughout their side, but both wide defensive areas can be exposed. The offensive strength of the Parc des Princes side is here, which makes this particularly important.
“Be brave and beat the press: If PSG can break the Liverpool lines, it will allow their attackers room to thrive. Neves will be the key figure in midfield for this task due to his willingness to take possession and his quality when he does.

Accomplish these tasks, and PSG can be in the hat for the quarter-finals—and if that is the case, they stand as strong a chance of winning the Champions League as anyone.”
It will be interesting to see if the capital club can hit these points, but if their current form shows anything, they have a puncher’s chance.

United suffered a 10th defeat in 24 games under Amorim as they were knocked out of the FA Cup on penalties by Fulham in the fifth round at Old Trafford.
It was the sixth loss at Old Trafford since the Portuguese took over in November and leaves winning the Europa League as the only realistic avenue back into European competition next season.
Yet, initially speaking to BBC Sport after the game and then in his wider post-match news conference, Amorim spoke of United’s desire to win the Premier League for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
“The goal is to win the Premier League,” said the Portuguese. “I know we are losing games but the goal is to win the Premier League again. I don’t know how long it will take. We have a goal and we continue forward no matter what.”
Working as a pundit for Match of the Day, Rooney’s reaction to those comments was that Amorim should focus more on short-term aims that might keep him in his job.

“I think it’s a little naive to say they’re looking to win the Premier League because from where they are now, they’re a long way off that,” he said.
“I think he’ll get time but it’s not a free hit because he’ll expect more from Manchester United than what we’re seeing since he’s been in. He says winning the Premier League, how can they compete? To get further up the table, I think that’s the next step for them.”

Rooney’s comments about United carry huge weight given his achievements at the club.
He remains United’s record goalscorer and won five league titles and the Champions League during a stellar period in which he was a central figure in Ferguson’s last great side.
However, he has a chequered record as a manager, initially doing well in a difficult situation at Derby, moving to Major League Soccer with DC United, but then lasting just 15 and 25 games in ill-fated spells at Birmingham and Plymouth.
Amorim did not mention this when he responded to Rooney’s comments. But, from personal experience, he knows talking about a team and managing one is two entirely different things.
“That (winning the Premier League) is the goal,” said Amorim. “To be naive is to think we are going to do it this season or be the best contender next season.
“I know in this moment, everybody knows everything. I was a pundit when I finished my [playing] career. I know it’s really easy.

“Maybe it is not with me but our goal, as a club, is to win the Premier League like we did in the past with all the great glories and legends of this club.
“We are in a difficult moment. And I’m not naive, that’s why I’m here, at 40 years old, coaching Manchester United.”