Author: admin

Nottingham Forest’s stunning season continued with a 3-0 victory at Wolves on Monday to give manager Nuno Espirito Santo a winning return to Molineux. England international Morgan Gibbs-White and the in-form Chris Wood struck before half-time to take Forest to within six points of leaders Liverpool, who they host in their next Premier League game. Substitute Taiwo Awoniyi rounded off the scoring and a sixth consecutive win for Forest in stoppage time. Defeat leaves Wolves outside the relegation zone only thanks to goal difference as they suffered a first defeat under new boss Vitor Pereira. Forest remain third in the table but move level on points with Arsenal.

Even if a shock title challenge proves beyond Espirito Santo’s men, they are building up an impressive cushion in the race for Champions League football next season.

They are five points clear of fifth-placed Newcastle and six in front of struggling champions Manchester City in sixth.
A top-four finish would guarantee a return to the continent’s elite competition for the first time in 45 years for the two-time European champions.

However, fifth could also be good enough depending on how English club fare in European competition this season.
“We need to stay humble. We haven’t achieved anything yet, we need to work until the end and this can lead us to good moments,” said Espirito Santo.

Gibbs-White savoured his return to the club where he spent the early part of his career.
In front of the watching new England manager Thomas Tuchel, the midfielder did his case for further international recognition no harm with a cool finish from Antony Elanga’s pass.

Forest’s unexpected rise from battling relegation until the final day of last season into Champions League contenders has been build on a solid defence and Wood’s purple patch.
The New Zealand international turned in Callum Hudson-Odoi’s low cross for his 12th goal of the season to double the visitors’ lead just before half-time.

Wolves pressed and probed for a way back into the game after the break but were toothless in the absence of talisman Matheus Cunha through suspension.

Mats Sels was forced into one brilliant save to deny Jorgen Strand Larsen to preserve a ninth clean sheet of the season and fourth in a row.

That solidity is familiar to Wolves fans from Espirito Santo’s time in charge of their club between 2017 and 2021. The Portuguese coach led Wanderers from the Championship into Europe for the first time in 39 years.

Now after troubled spells at Tottenham and Saudi club Al-Ittihad, he is recreating that magic to leave Forest fans in dreamland.
“As coaching staff we have this natural ambition of improving the players, this is what we are obsessed with,” he added.

“If we improve the players then the team will improve and if the team improves then the club will improve and the city will be happy.”

Inter found themselves in complete control thanks to goals from Lautaro Martinez and Mehdi Taremi either side of the half-time whistle, and it looked like they were heading for a fourth straight Super Cup win.

However, Milan never gave up and they spun the game on its head in the second half. Theo Hernandez scored with a free-kick to halve the deficit, Christian Pulisic equalised with a sweet strike and Tammy Abraham won it in the dying moments.

Sergio Conceicao made just one change to the starting line-up from the team that beat Juventus on Friday night, with Yunus Musah – who fired in the cross that was deflected for the winning goal – coming in for Ismael Bennacer.

There was a moment of panic inside the Inter box in the fifth minute of the game when Alvaro Morata looked to play in Christian Pulisic down the left side but the ricochet nearly put him through on goal, though Sommer came out and cleared in the nick of time. Moments later at the other end Malick Thiaw made an excellent challenge to stop Lautaro getting in on goal after a good touch from a long ball.

Pulisic made a brilliant pass through the Inter lines to find the run in behind from Tijjani Reijnders, who took a couple of touches and tried to sneak a shot in at the near post rather than cutting back, but hit the side-netting.
One of the sub-plots to the game was Taremi coming up against his former boss at Porto in Conceicao, and he should have perhaps done better with a header he attempted to guide inside the far post from a deep cross.
Milan once again managed to breach through Inter’s block in the 15th minute thanks to some excellent footwork from Reijnders, who weaved around two men and into the box with just Sommer to beat, yet he toe-poked his effort wide when he maybe should have put his foot through it.

Mike Maignan was called into action for the first time when a flowing Inter counter-attack found its way to Dimarco on the left side and he unleashed a shot that was heading for the top corner before the strong palm away.

The main thing that happened in a rather dull final 20 minutes of the first half was Inter’s regista Calhanoglu going off after tweaking his groin. In terms of chances though they were few and far between, with plenty of inaccurate crosses and some important blocks too.

With 10 seconds of added time left, Inter took a lead they probably didn’t deserve, but Milan only had themselves to blame as they completed switched off from a throw-in. Several players were jogging back when the ball was sent down the left, with Taremi finding Lautaro on the far side of the box and the Argentine striker firing low into the back of the net after chopping back inside.

Another defensive switch-off was to blame as Inter doubled their advantage pretty much straight after the break, with Taremi turning from provider to scorer. A long ball over the top from De Vrij managed to split the centre-backs and the Iran international brought it down well, steadying himself inside the box and bending a precise shot inside the right post with Maignan rooted.

The response from Conceicao was immediate, as Alex Jimenez made way for Rafael Leao. Leao’s involvement was immediate as he surged forward after Inter lost possession inside their own half but was taken out by Mkhitaryan about 20 yards out.

From that resulting set piece, Milan halved the deficit and it was a quite simply brilliant free-kick from Theo Hernandez. The Frenchman stepped up and hit it with the inside of his left foot, curling it past the diving Sommer into the bottom corner with just enough power given it went to his side.

The action exploded in the early part of the second half, with Maignan saving a stinging central shot from Mkhitaryan and then rolling it out to Theo who charged onwards with the ball but got taken out by Dumfries, who was booked.

Pulisic had a great chance to level right on the hour mark as a header back across goal by Theo from Fofana’s cross found the American, yet he headed straight at Sommer from a few yards out. Moments later, Leao went on a tearing run and provided a cut-back for Reijnders, who hit it first time with an outstretched boot but Bastoni was there to block with his head.

The chances kept coming for the Rossoneri, with Sommer required to produce yet more heroics, making a stop on the line to thwart Morata’s header after he had been found at the far stick by Pulisic’s cross.

Inter were inches away from re-establishing a two-goal lead when Bisseck stood a cross up from the byline that found substitute Augusto at the far post. His header seemed to rattle around and hit the post, with Maignan then claimed.

With just less than 15 minutes on the clock, Conceicao decided to inject some fresh legs with Tammy Abraham and Ruben Loftus-Cheek coming on for Reijnders and Musah.

In the 79th minute, Milan got themselves level in the game and just like in the semi-final, it was Christian Pulisic who got the goal. Theo was found in space down the left side and pulled a perfect cut-back into the box, with the American bringing the ball under the control and finding the far corner with a shot across his body, levelling it at 2-2.

Just as it looked like the game was heading for penalty kicks, there was one final bit of drama and the Rossoneri delivered it. In the third minute of five added, a brilliant through ball from Pulisic found Leao, who hit the ball into the ground to square for Abraham and the tap-in sparked rapturous scenes.

Virgil van Dijk has denied claims that Trent Alexander-Arnold’s performance against Manchester United in Liverpool’s 2-2 draw on Sunday was adversely affected by the ongoing speculation over his future. And the Reds captain believes United were being disrespected in some sections of the media in the build up to the fixture at Anfield, due to their form heading into the game against the Premier League leaders.

After Lisandro Martinez had fired the visitors into the lead in the second half, a Cody Gakpo equaliser was followed up by a Mohamed Salah penalty before Amad Diallo earned a point for the struggling Red Devils.

Alexander-Arnold was widely critiqued after the match for what was viewed as below-par contribution where he failed to win a single duel and was culpable for the first goal in particular, as he let Bruno Fernandes drift inside too easily before the Portugal midfielder supplied Martinez with an assist.

Alexander-Arnold’s slack pass also led to United pouring forward late on in search of a winner before he was withdrawn for Conor Bradley almost immediately after the incident inside the final 10 minutes.

The general display was the subject of some intense post-match debate on Sky Sports and the game came just days after Liverpool turned down an approach from Real Madrid.
The Reds are in no mood to speak to the La Liga champions about a deal this month but the defender is free to speak to the current Champions League holders about signing as a free agent at the end of his contract later this year.

Asked if the intense speculation affected Alexander-Arnold’s performance, Virgil van Dijk said: “No. I am fine with it. Trent has his own people around him, his family and we are there as well.

“He wants to perform in the best way possible like we all do. That is the main focus. In my opinion, maybe ask him, that is the distraction, the game.
“We have been there last year too, and drew 0-0 I think. It is always a special one (this fixture) and today is no different. We could and should have done better in having the ball, keeping it longer. We showed good things as well, resilience again after going 1-0 down. So it was good things and less good things. We have to get up.
“It was a good game for the neutral. It was quite cold so the game helped to heat them up! Jokes aside, I think we should have done better especially after going 2-1 up. We were sloppy and let them come back.

“United came back into the game because of their quality but we lost the ball too easily in difficult moments. Spaces became much bigger than they should have been. It could have been in the end a lot worse than what we have right now but I take the point.”

Van Dijk also outlined his shock at how many were predicting a statement victory for the league leaders against a team who entered the game on the back of four successive defeats and were 14th in the table.

Liverpool boss Arne Slot was asked, jokingly, in his Friday press conference if the disparity in form between the two clubs would see him rest players for Sunday’s game. “Do I feel United were disrespected? Yeah,” Van Dijk added. “I heard in the press conference someone asked if we were going to rotate players against United. I was shocked. It is one of the biggest games of the season and United will always make it tough. To hear that, I was surprised.

“We are playing against a good opponent. I think everyone from the outside world forgets that by the sound that had been going around before the game. They have good players. They are obviously a work in progress like we are but they made it difficult for us.”
“That’s all the media,” he added in a separate post-match chat to the BBC. “Media talk. It’s nothing to do with us. We prepared for a very tough game like we have seen today. We didn’t think any of that.”

Asked for an update on his own contract situation, the Netherlands skipper, who can also talk to clubs outside of England about pre-contract terms, said: “I don’t think [there will be an update soon] but I am calm about it, like I said months ago.

“We’ll see what happens in the future and at this point I have absolutely no update. It’s all about at the moment focusing, for me and the team, on Spurs [on Wednesday]. It will be a tough game again, but a good [Carabao Cup] semi-final.”

Enzo Maresca feels Chelsea need to improve their intensity in training after failing to convert all but one chance in their 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace. Jean-Philippe Mateta salvaged a point for the hosts in the 82nd minute at Selhurst Park on Saturday, cancelling out Cole Palmer’s 14th-minute opener.
It was a fourth straight Premier League match without a win for Maresca’s men, who remain fourth and in the Champions League places, but with just one point more than fifth-placed Newcastle. “First of all, I always said that the important thing is to create chances,” said Maresca.

“If you create chances, that means you are doing the right things, and then you have to take those chances. Sometimes it’s football. Sometimes you create and you score. Sometimes you create one chance and you score one, sometimes you need to create 10 to score two.

“This moment is like this. What we can do is to try to be even more intense during the week, when we prepare (for) the game, even if the intensity or the intention of the players is top.

“But for sure it’s something that probably we need to improve, thinking that we are one of the two or three best teams in scoring goals in this moment.” Chelsea next host Morecambe in the FA Cup third round on Saturday, when Maresca hopes Romeo Lavia will be back at his disposal.

Maresca agrees having a week to prepare will feel like a welcome chance to regroup at the end after playing 10 games across all competitions since the beginning of December. “For sure,” he said. “Now, fortunately, they just said to me that after September, this is the first week that we have an entire week now, so we have a chance to work this week, then prepare (for) the FA Cup game and then again with the Premier League.”

Parisians beat Monaco 1-0 in final with French attacker’s goal in 92nd minute. Ousmane Dembele’s late goal brought Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) the 2024 French Super Cup (Trophee des Champions) title on Sunday.

Last season’s French Ligue 1 champions the Parisians beat French Cup winners Monaco 1-0 in the final with the French attacker’s goal in the 92nd minute at Doha’s Stadium 974.
The PSG, the most successful club in the competition, bagged their 12th trophy.

This year’s competition was held in Qatar’s Doha as Ligue 1 had announced in December that they signed a title partnership with the “Visit Qatar,” the national organization responsible for developing and promoting tourism in Qatar.

Amad Diallo’s late goal earned Manchester United a deserved point as they defied recent form to draw 2-2 against leaders Liverpool in a thriller at Anfield.

Lisandro Martinez had blasted United into a second-half lead but Cody Gakpo’s leveller was followed by a Mohamed Salah penalty that briefly looked to have earned the victory that would have sent Arne Slot’s side eight points clear at the top of the Premier League.

But Amad swept home to the delight of the away supporters and secured a result that offers some encouragement to Ruben Amorim and moves his United side above West Ham into 13th. Harry Maguire could even have won it for the visitors in the final seconds but skied his effort over the crossbar.

The 2024-25 Copa del Rey continued on Saturday with six more ties, featuring the likes of Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla. After Friday’s giant-killing, which saw Pontevedra defeat Mallorca, there was another shock that took place.

UD Almeria 4-1 Sevilla
Almeria produced an incredible second half performance to defeat Sevilla. The La Liga side had led at the interval after Isaac Romero netted in the opening stages, but an equaliser from Marko Milovanovic and then a hat-trick from Luis Suarez ensured a fantastic result for the Segunda outfit.

Marbella FC 0-1 Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid will be in the hat for the quarter-final draw, although it was a less than convincing victory for Diego Simeone’s side. Antoine Griezmann scored the only goal of the game in the first half.

UD Logrones 0-0 Athletic Club (3-4 pens)
Athletic Club had a lot of trouble against third-tier Logrones, and it was ultimately penalties that decided the outcome of this tie. In the end, the defending champions emerged victorious by a score of 4-3.

SD Huesca 0-1 Real Betis
It was not a convincing performance from Real Betis, but they did enough to secure their place in the quarter-finals. The only goal of the game came from Isco Alarcon, who netted for the second match in succession (after Rayo Vallecano pre-winter break).

Tenerife 1-2 Osasuna
Two first half goals were enough for Osasuna to see off Tenerife in their round of 16 tie. Jorge Herrando and Jose Leon (OG) got the goals for Los Rojillos, who were pegged back later in the opening period by Leon scoring at the right end.

Barbastro 0 – 4 FC Barcelona
Lewandowski netted a brace and Pablo Torre and Eric García scored 1 each to send the Catalan giants to the next round .

Arsenal squandered the chance to exert some pressure on Premier League leaders Liverpool when they drew 1-1 away, at Brighton & Hove Albion, while Chelsea’s challenge continued to falter as they also dropped points at Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Liverpool kick off their new year on Sunday at home to Manchester United, when they have the chance to move eight points clear of their pursuers with a game in hand.

Reigning champions Manchester City began their year with a second successive victory as something like normal service resumed for Pep Guardiola’s side, and Newcastle United closed on the top four with a narrow victory at Tottenham Hotspur.

After an autumnal slump, Arsenal have re-emerged as the most likely side to push Liverpool in the second half of the season, and victory at Brighton would have cut the gap to three points.

They looked on course for a fourth successive league win when teenager Ethan Nwaneri gave them a first-half lead, but Arsenal were pegged back when João Pedro converted a penalty just past the hour mark on the south coast.

Arsenal have 40 points from 20 games, with Liverpool on 45. Chelsea’s 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace left them in fourth place with 36 points from 20 games, one point behind third-placed Nottingham Forest who face Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday.

“We’re playing every three days. I understand how much we want to (win), but in terms of the quality and the consistency and doing the simple things right against a competitive team, we didn’t do enough today,” Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said.
The 17-year-old Nwaneri has earned rave reviews with some cameo displays for Arsenal and has been given a chance to shine in the absence of the injured Bukayo Saka.

He opened the scoring 16 minutes into his second Premier League start, cutting in and shooting confidently past Bart Verbruggen to reward Arsenal for a strong start.

But Brighton battled back and were awarded a penalty on the hour when Pedro went down after a clash of heads with William Saliba in the area. The Brazilian then calmly dispatched his spot kick beyond David Raya.

Brighton, who are 10th, had chances to take all three points but drew for the sixth time in their last eight league games.
Chelsea’s pre-Christmas surge has run out of steam and they have now taken only two points from their last four games.

Cole Palmer gave them a deserved first-half lead against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, but they failed to kill off the game before Jean-Philippe Mateta’s late leveller for the hosts.

After managing only one win in nine Premier League games, Manchester City have now won their last two, and there was a more familiar feel on Saturday as Erling Haaland scored twice in a 4-1 drubbing of West Ham United at the Etihad Stadium.
City are sixth in the table, on 34 points, 11 behind Liverpool.
“I am so happy and will sleep better until the next game,” Guardiola said.
Newcastle United made it five wins in a row, as they came from going a goal down to beat injury-hit Tottenham.

Tottenham, who have now won only once in their last eight league games, went ahead after four minutes – through Dominic Solanke, but that lead lasted only two minutes until Anthony Gordon levelled for the visitors.

Alexander Isak bundled in Newcastle’s winner before halftime, meaning he has scored in seven successive Premier League games – and netting nine times in that streak.

Newcastle have 35 points, one behind fourth-placed Chelsea, while Tottenham languish in 12th place after their longest run at home without a win (six games) since 2008.
Bournemouth maintained their push for a European spot when they beat Everton 1-0 at home, while 19th-placed Leicester City lost a fifth successive league game as Leon Bailey’s late goal earned Aston Villa a 2-1 victory at Villa Park.

Bryan Mbeumo scored twice as Brentford moved into the top half with a 5-0 away victory at bottom club Southampton, for whom relegation now looks inevitable. It was Brentford’s biggest winning margin since being promoted to the Premier League.

Cole Palmer’s 13th league goal of the season broke the deadlock in the first half. However, Jean-Philippe Mateta equalised for the hosts in the 82nd minute to punish the Blues for not killing off the contest.

Enzo Maresca’s side remains fourth in the division table after the Palace draw. If they look behind, they’ll see fifth-placed Newcastle United are only a point behind them, while Manchester City are only two points back.

Jason Cundy highlighted Chelsea’s Jadon Sancho for massive praise after his role in Palmer’s goal.

Sancho, 24, provided the assist in spectacular fashion after some eye-catching skill. The left-winger dribbled from deep before a pass into the path of the goalscorer.
Cundy said via Chelsea’s official app (3:14pm, 4 January): “It’s a brilliant piece of play. Sancho let’s the ball run across his body. He goes on the outside before flicking it with the inside of his right foot. Palmer has a touch and slides it past Dean Henderson. Palmer scores again, but let me tell you now, this is all about Sancho, a brilliant piece of individual skill.”

Chelsea are delighted with the Sancho signing since he joined from Manchester United last summer. In 15 Blues appearances this season, the talented English attacker now has two goals and six assists.

Like above, Paul Merson was equally impressed by Sancho’s major role in Chelsea’s winning goal at Palace.

Merson said on Sky Sports: “What play by Sancho, unbelievable play. The ball comes to him on the halfway line and he just dummies it. He goes one way and the ball goes the other way – around the defender and he’s away. Two defenders catch him up and he plays it in between them to Palmer. Palmer takes a touch on his left, six yards out, and drills it into the far corner. It’s brilliant wing play, amazing wing play by Sancho.”

Unlike some of the other wingers in Chelsea’s squad, Sancho’s biggest strength is his close control, dribbling and creativity.

Some of the Blues attackers have been struggling in recent weeks to find their best form, which is costing the team points, but Sancho was at least one of the shining lights from the Palace draw. The 24-year-old wide man can hold his head high because he contributed offensively and defensively at Selhurst Park.

AC Milan came from behind to beat Juventus 2-1 on Friday and set up a showdown with city rivals Inter Milan in the Italian Super Cup final in Riyadh.

Sergio Conceicao took charge of his first game as AC Milan coach after he was appointed to replace Paulo Fonseca earlier this week.
But Kenan Yildiz fired Juventus ahead after 21 minutes after poor defending from Theo Hernandez allowed the Turkish midfielder beat Mike Maignan in the Milan goal.

AC Milan were transformed after the break in the second semi-final of the four-team tournament in Saudi Arabia, which is staging the SuperCup for the third year in a row.
Christian Pulisic pulled Milan level from the penalty spot after 71 minutes before under pressure Juventus defender Federico Gatti inadvertently turned into his own goal four minutes later.

AC Milan will try to win the Italian SuperCup for the eighth time and first since 2016 on Monday, against three-time defending champions Inter who dominated Atalanta 2-0 on Thursday thanks to a double from Dutch international Denzel Dumfries.

Vinícius Júnior apologised after being sent off in Real Madrid’s 2-1 comeback win over Valencia on Friday in the first LaLiga game of 2025.
Hugo Duro put Valencia ahead in the first half at Mestalla Stadium before an eventful second period saw Jude Bellingham miss a penalty — hitting the post — and Kylian Mbappé have a goal disallowed for offside.

Vinícius was shown a red card for striking Valencia keeper Stole Dimitrievski before substitute Luka Modric levelled for Madrid in the 85th minute and Bellingham scored a dramatic added-time winner.

The result means Madrid go ahead of Atlético Madrid at the top of the LaLiga table, two points clear of their rivals and having played a game more.

“Sorry, and thanks team!!!!!!” Vinícius  posted on X after the match.
The Brazil international reacted angrily when he was shown the red card in the 79th minute, and he was restrained from confronting referee Cesar Soto Grado by teammate Antonio
Rüdiger and goalkeeping coach Luis Llopis.
“We think it wasn’t a red card, it was two yellows,” coach Carlo Ancelotti said in his postmatch news conference. “The team was able to react to the penalty miss and the disallowed goal. It’s hard to explain how bad our first half was and how good the second half was. … We can’t show these two faces.”

Vinicius has been sent off only twice for Real Madrid, with both dismissals coming at Mestalla. He was also red-carded in Madrid’s 1-0 defeat to Valencia on May 21, 2023, a game in which he had earlier confronted a group of home fans for racially abusing him.

“We’ll appeal [the dismissal],” Ancelotti said. “I don’t know if they’ll accept it. We think it wasn’t a red. … It was a touch from Dimitrievski and then a push from Vini. I think two yellows would have been enough … I don’t know if [Vini] can play our next game, let’s hope so. He’s still a decisive player for us.”
Bellingham’s penalty miss was the third time Madrid have failed to score from the spot this season, after Mbappé was unable to convert against Liverpool and Athletic Club.
“It annoys me that we’ve missed three penalties,” Ancelotti said. “I’ll have to choose who’s going to take them.”
England star Bellingham had an otherwise outstanding game, providing the passes for Mbappé’s disallowed goal and Modric’s equalizer before scoring himself in the 95th minute to give his side the win.

“A great game from him,” Ancelotti said. “The missed penalty gave him extra motivation. His last 20 minutes showed what only he can do … [the goal] was a reward for the game he had.”

Southampton midfielder Adam Lallana returned to the club in the summer transfer window, after spending some years away to become a decorated player with Liverpool and then developing further at Brighton and Hove Albion.

It was a nice moment for Southampton fans to welcome back Adam Lallana, who came through the Southampton academy and made an incredible 235 league appearances before signing for Liverpool in 2014.

Russell Martin welcomed Lallana back to the club at the start of the season and before the new year, Lallana has already made 10 Premier League appearances for Southampton.

While Lallana will hope that he makes more Premier League appearances next season, he is also not naive to the fact that Southampton are rock bottom of the Premier League table.

Adam Lallana addressed the possibility of relegation. He said that if Southampton do face the drop, he’s confident they will only come straight back up.
In his own words, Lallana said: “At the end of the season, there might be relegation. Hopefully not but three have to go down. If we go down then we’ll come straight back up again. That’s my mentality if that happens.”

Lallana continued: “I’m not going to sit here and ignore the fact that that’s a possibility. Of course it’s a possibility but funnier and stranger things have happened.”

In some ways, it’s quite refreshing to see Lallana talking openly about relegation. After all, it’s the players who are in this position, so it’s on them to address it.

I do believe in toxic positivity. If Southampton brush relegation under the carpet as “something we will avoid”, it will leave the club in a place where they unprepared when the seemingly inevitable happens.

Of course, Southampton need to fight to avoid relegation. This is a given and hopefully the players understand the rewards of staying afloat rather than rolling over to go down.

However, two things can exist at the same time. While Southampton players must fight to stay in the Premier League, they also must look at relegation as a possibility. After all, they are the most likely side to go down, so shying away from it doesn’t do anyone good.