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Pep Guardiola is enduring the worst statistical run of his managerial career after Manchester City lost their fourth straight game on Saturday.

Brighton came from behind to beat the English champions 2-1 in the Premier League to leave second-placed City five points behind leaders Liverpool.

City hadn’t lost four games in a row in all competitions since 2006 — two years before the Abu Dhabi takeover of the club and 10 years before Guardiola’s game-changing arrival on the blue side of Manchester.

As for Guardiola, widely regarded as the world’s best coach, he had never lost four straight matches anywhere in his illustrious time in management that began in 2007.

The closest he had come was in the 2014-15 season when, at Bayern Munich, his team lost in a penalty shootout in the German Cup followed by three straight defeats — two in the Bundesliga, when Bayern had already clinched the title, and once in the Champions League.

So, Guardiola was asked, is this the end of the era, after leading City to an unprecedented four straight top-flight league titles?

“It’s what the people want, right?” he posed. “That’s normal — we won a lot. I would just like to have all the squad [available].”

That won’t be happening anytime soon considering star centre-midfielder Rodri, this year’s Ballon d’Or winner, is out for the season with an ACL injury. Guardiola also had his best four centre-backs — Rúben Dias, John Stones, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Aké — unavailable, while playmaker Kevin De Bruyne is clearly not sharp or fit enough on his return from injury.
Indeed, City were dominant in the first half and went in front when Erling Haaland scored his league-leading 12th goal of the campaign.

However, as in the 4-1 loss at Sporting in the Champions League on Tuesday, City couldn’t sustain its level in the second half and Brighton fought back, with Joao Pedro equalizing in the 78th and setting up Matt O’Riley for the winner in the 83rd on his Premier League debut.

City’s losing run started at Tottenham in the Carabao Cup last week, before a 2-1 defeat at Bournemouth in the league — their first league defeat in 11 months.

Atlanta United triumphed 3-2 in the best-of-three decider in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after both sides had won one game each.

Miama finished the regular season with a record 74 points from 34 games in the Eastern Conference to win the Supporters’ Shield.

Miami took the lead at Chase Stadium when Matias Rojas scored from a rebound after former Aston Villa keeper Brad Guzan had denied Argentina forward Messi.

Two goals in two minutes from Jamal Thiare put Atlanta in front and, despite Messi equalising with a header, Bartosz Slisz scored the winner as Miami appealed for play to be stopped with defender Tomas Aviles lying on the pitch injured.

Last month Miami, who are co-owned by David Beckham, were named as one of the 32 sides in next year’s expanded Fifa Club World Cup.

“They are now officially one of the 32 best clubs in the world, already after a few years since their existence,” said Fifa president Gianni Infantino.

“And now they can start writing their story also on the global stage.”

In December Miami signed Uruguay striker Luiz Suarez, reuniting him with former Barcelona team-mates Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.

Atlanta scraped into the play-offs by finishing ninth in the Eastern Conference, then beat Montreal on penalties in a wildcard game to set up a meeting with Miami.

Atlanta will play Orlando City, and New York City face New York Red Bulls, in the semi-finals,, external which are decided by one game rather than three.

The winners will meet in the Eastern Conference final, and the winners of that will play the Western Conference play-off champions in the MLS Cup final on 7 December.

“This season has had good and bad things,” said Miami manager Gerardo Martino.

“If you think about the expectations we had for this play-offs, obviously we came up a little short.

“The players are sad, as they should be when there are so many expectations and the team can’t fulfil them.

“In this final part of the year we got used to achieving the objectives but we couldn’t achieve the most important one.”

Miami defender Alba said the MLS Cup format is “a bit unfair”.

“It’s been done for many years but I think it should be the champion of one conference against the champion of the other to make it as fair as possible,” he said.

Eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi had suggested ahead of the 2022 staging of FIFA’s flagship event that he would be gracing a global showpiece for the final time. He went on to inspire his country to ultimate glory in Qatar – completing his medal collection in the process.
Messi has opted against announcing his international retirement, with record-breaking tallies of caps and goals for Argentina being taken to 189 and 112 respectively. He has stopped short of making any definitive calls on his long-term future with the Albiceleste.
The door is being left open for him to continue at the very highest level, with head coach Lionel Scaloni never going to rule Messi out of his plans, but it remains to be seen whether the all-time great – who now plays his club football in MLS for Inter Miami – will form part of a World Cup title defence in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Former team-mate Aguero expects his close friend to make another tournament, telling ESPN 12: “I think Messi will make it to 2026, he will take care of himself. Obviously he won’t be the Leo he always was, but give him a few free-kicks or a few assists and he will make them. He can get there physically. If he wants to, he will, because he takes good care of himself.”
Messi is only under contract in Florida through to the end of 2025, but that deal includes the option for a 12-month extension. He has seen eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo play on to 39 and beyond, with the Portuguese showing no sign of slowing down, and may decide to tread a similar career path.

Inter Miami were beaten 2-1 in their visit to Atlanta United with a goal from Xande Silva in stoppage time, which extended the playoff series to a third game to decide the ticket to the next round, in which if all goes according to plan, the Herons will be able to recover Sergio Busquets.

The Spanish midfielder was missed by Inter Miami, after missing the match due to the onset of pneumonia and a knock, but coach Gerardo Martino is confident of having him back for next Saturday’s decisive match.

Although Inter Miami received a heavy blow at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Gerardo Martino trusts in the hierarchy of his players led by Lionel Messi, to get through the series against an Atlanta United team that has history with Tata, who led them to win the MLS Cup in 2018.

Liverpool set to make bid for Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni, Manchester United poised to reignite their interest in Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite, Arsenal hold talks with Sporting forward Geovany Quenda.

Liverpool are preparing a £50m bid for Real Madrid’s 24-year-old France midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni. (Fichajes – in Spanish), external

Juventus are keen on Lille striker Jonathan David, but the Serie A club face competition from Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal for the 24-year-old Canada international. (Corriere dello Sport – in Italian), external

Manchester United are set to reignite their interest in £70m-rated Everton centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite, with the Merseyside club unable to afford a new contract for the 22-year-old England international. (Mail – subscription required), external

Brighton and Bayer Leverkusen are among the clubs interested in Red Star Belgrade’s 17-year-old Serbian defender Strahinja Stojkovic. (Football Insider, external)

Arsenal have held talks with the agents of Sporting forward Geovany Quenda, with the 17-year-old also a target for Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool. (Teamtalk), external

Polish striker Robert Lewandowski, 36, is prepared to take a pay cut to stay longer at Barcelona and his impressive form has seen the Catalan club cool any interest in Manchester City’s 24-year-old Norway forward Erling Haaland. (Sport – in Spanish), external

AC Milan are ready to double the wages of Netherlands midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, 26, to ward off interest from Manchester City and Tottenham. (Calciomercato – in Italian)

Mikel Arteta has confirmed Kai Havertz suffered ‘a big cut’ in the Champions League defeat to Inter Milan but expects him to be ready for Arsenal’s trip to Chelsea this weekend.

The Gunners toiled in Italy as they suffered their first defeat in Europe this season. Arteta was left furious with two penalty decisions, one of them resulting in the winning goal from Hakan Calhanoglu, believing his side should have ‘100 per cent’ been handed a spot kick for a foul on Mikel Merino.

As the visitors pushed for an equaliser, Havertz was forced off heading into injury time after a nasty clash of heads with Inter defender Yann Bisseck.

Physios attended to both players with the Germany international leaving the pitch with blood pouring from his head. Havertz was replaced by Martin Odegaard, making his first appearance for the club since late August having recovered from a significant ankle injury.

Speaking in his post-match press conference, Arteta confirmed his forward would likely need stitches but was hopeful the injury won’t rule him out of the trip to Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Arsenal’s season has hit a rocky path having lost away to Newcastle United on Sunday, having not won in their last three Premier League outings.Arteta however is confident his side will react in the right manner on Sunday against Chelsea.

Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal want to sign Liverpool and Egypt forward Mohamed Salah, 32, in time for next summer’s Club World Cup. (Talksport), external

Barcelona are also interested in signing Salah when his Liverpool contract runs out at the end of the season. (Sport – in Spanish), external

Liverpool plan to open talks on a new contract with their Scotland international full-back Andy Robertson, 30, in the summer. (Football Insider), external

Premier League clubs have reserved the right to seek compensation for lost earnings if Manchester City are found guilty of breaching the league’s financial rules. (Times – subscription required), external

Former Arsenal sporting director Edu rejected a lucrative new contract to stay with the Gunners in favour of taking up a multi-club role with Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis. (Mail), external

Manchester United are planning a fresh move for Everton and England centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite, 22, in the summer. (Talksport), external

Incoming Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim wants a trio of Sporting players – Portugal centre-back Goncalo Inacio, 23, Ivory Coast defender Ousmane Diomande, 20, and 26-year-old Sweden striker Viktor Gyokeres – to join him at Old Trafford. (Sky Sport Switzerland – in French), external

England centre-back Harry Maguire, 31, will refuse to consider leaving Manchester United in January and believes he can earn a new contract at the club. (TBR Football), external

However, Manchester United will wait to assess developments from the UK government’s Budget before deciding whether to demolish Old Trafford and build a new stadium, or redevelop their current home. (Telegraph – subscription required), external

Inter Milan manager Simone Inzaghi has admitted he has had offers to manage in the Premier League in the past and, while the English top flight intrigues him, he is happy at his current club. (Mail), external

Paris St-Germain are preparing a bid to sign Colombia striker Jhon Duran, 20, from Aston Villa. (Fichajes – in Spanish), external

Manchester City may make one or two signings in January after their injury-hit start to the season. (Football Insider), external

Chelsea and England forward Cole Palmer will have a scan on his left knee after the 22-year-old was injured in Sunday’s draw with Manchester United. (Standard), external

New England manager Thomas Tuchel will not influence interim boss Lee Carsley’s selections for the Nations League matches later this month. (Mail)

His last Sporting home game, after four and a half years helping transform the club, pitted against a Manchester City side which cast a decade-long shadow over his new Manchester United team by virtue of the total domination that was once theirs.

A quirk of the fixture list – and Sporting’s refusal to let Amorim leave immediately – created the story. Destiny should decree it had the perfect ending.

“It was written it had to be like this,” said a delighted Amorim after Sporting had condemned Manchester City to their third defeat in a week and their biggest loss since September 2020.

The celebrations went on for a long time. Fans were still heard singing across the city hours after the final whistle had been blown.

Amorim was repeatedly pushed to the front of the Sporting squad as they made they way round a well-deserved lap of honour to take the acclaim of fans it had been said turned against the 39-year-old but it turns out still love him.

A reluctant hero on the basis he has said he didn’t really like attending the public ceremonies that have accompanied Sporting’s two Portuguese title wins, the first of which ended a 19-year wait, Amorim was eventually tossed in the air by his players.

They clearly have a huge amount of admiration for the man who will be their boss for one more game, at Braga on Sunday.

After that, he heads to England. For a new challenge. And what a challenge it is.

The Zimbabwe National Soccer Supporters Association (ZNSSA) is mobilizing resources to ferry its members to South Africa and Cameroon for the Warriors’ make or break Africa Cup of Nations Group J qualifiers against Kenya and Cameroon in a fortnight’s time.

ZNSSA chairman Mattias Kufandirimbwa said that they are approaching corporate entities and well-wishers to help in raising funds to enable a huge number of fans to accompany the team to Polokwane for the crucial match against Kenya.
Zimbabwe host Kenya in Polokwane on Friday next week in their penultimate Afcon qualifier, needing to avoid a defeat to secure their ticket to the finals.
They will then travel to Yaounde to clash with the already qualified Cameroon four days later in the final qualifier.

Zifa have announced that the Kenya match will be played at the Peter Mokaba Stadium while Cameroon will host the Warriors at the Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo.

The supporters are scheduled to travel to South Africa on the 15th and watch the Kenya match, before connecting to Cameroon the following morning.

Kufandirimbwa said he is still appealing for more companies and well wishers to come on board so that they can increase their travel contingent.
Zimbabwe are second in Group J with 8 points, and only need to avoid a defeat against Kenya to secure their ticket to the Afcon finals.

Should they falter against the Harambe Stars, the Warriors will have to do it the hard way by beating group leaders Cameroon in their backyard.

Cameroon, on 10 points, are already through while Kenya are on four points and need a perfect record in their final two group games against Zimbabwe and winless Namibia to clinch a ticket to the finals.

Namibia, with zero points, are out of the race.

Ademola Lookman Olajade Alade Aylola is his full name. But he is simply known as Ademola Lookman. Fans now call him “Mola”

His career which started in 2008 with Waterloo saw him spend five years as a youth player. He moved to Charlton Athletic where he spent another two years before joining the senior team in 2015 where he spent another two years. It was here he won the FIFA U-20 World Cup precisely in 2017 with Young Lions of England.

If he didn’t switch allegiance to Nigeria in 2022 knowing that he had limited opportunities to play for England, perhaps this footballer won’t have been where he is talking about his recognition as the 14th best footballer on the planet.

If he decided to remain in England where he is underestimated and undervalued he probably won’t have achieved his present feat. Remember it took him five years to wait for senior England (Three Lions) call after winning the U-20 World Cup but the call never came hence his switch to Nigeria.

A move to Italy in the City of Bergamo was all he needed to spark off the shine in his club career with Atalanta.

The spark took him to Europa League final against a red hot Bayer Leverkusen who had conquered Germany and were expanding their conquest to Europe. He stole the show with a superb hattrick on that night that would announce him to the world.

That performance was all he needed to write his name in football’s Hall of Fame. He was named 14th best footballer on Earth in Ballon d’Or awards recently held in Paris, France and most likely he will be Africa’s best player come December 16 in Marrakesh Morocco

He probably knew or heard of the stories of Nigerian born footballers like Ugo Ehiogu, John Fashanu, Nedum Onuoha, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Carlton Cole among others. He decided to take his destiny in his own by going the way of his father land.

That was after he won the FIFA U-20 World Cup with England in South Korea 2017. The young Lions beat Venezuela 1-0 in the final played in Suwon. Ordinarily, that feat should have made him remain with England where he had played for the U-19, U-20 and U-21.

His decision is paying off. He featured in Cote d’Ivoire 2023 AFCON and scored three goals that helped Nigeria’s campaign in the final. She reached the final.

In Italy with Atalanta, he has built a reputation as one of football greats and the club’s most honoured player in recent times.

Lookman wad sent on loan thrice. First with Bundesliga side RB Leipzig in 2018. Then in Fulham in 2020/21 and later Leicester City in 2021/22. By he time he moved to Atalanta many didn’t know it was a move that will make his career dream come true.

Today he is living his dream…a dream that see him wear the crown of African football.

Gone are the days when Barcelona were rigid about playing with the tiki-taka philosophy for the entire 90 minutes, as Flick brought a fresh perspective to their game by promoting young talents from La Masia to the senior team. With financial restraints, Barcelona could only afford Dani Olmo in the summer transfer window when their opponents were splashing money to make some superstar signings – Real Madrid getting Kylian Mbappe and Atletico Madrid acquiring Julian Alvarez.

Barcelona started the season with identical results in their first three matches: 2-1 against Valencia, Athletic Club, and Rayo Vallecano. But the match against Real Valladolid CF saw the Barcelona attackers on steroids, with a 7-0 win, which saw Barcelona go all out until the final minutes of the match.

They kept winning game after game, and suddenly, the fans started witnessing dominant aspects of their play, but they were skeptical about whether the direct football and the off-side trap of Flick would work against big clubs or not. And Barcelona proved their doubters wrong when they faced three big clubs in the space of 6 days – Sevilla, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, where they ended up scoring 13 goals and conceded just two to show they are so back to rule the footballing world once again.