List of All Articles with Tag 'football'

Over the past few months, as Chelsea’s hierarchy started to settle into the club, they became fixated on a specific idea relevant to this weekend’s game. They began to study what makes 100-point seasons and record-breaking sides. That might seem some way off, to an almost comic degree, but you’ve got to have goals. Manchester City are the obvious case study, since they are the only club to manage a centurion season and they still break records. As regards what made that possible, the usual explanation might be “one of the most lavishly expensive football projects in history” but Chelsea’s owners also have huge resources and are clearly willing to spend them. Their outlay on transfer fees so far, if not quite wages, has recalled the dizzy days of Roman Abramovich between 2003 and 2006 and the first few years of the Abu Dhabi ownership at City. And Chelsea might have a more specific reason to look at the European champions for inspiration. Chelsea’s own grand project, which is an unprecedented football experiment, is based on bringing in young players of a similar talent profile to Jeremy Doku. That raises the obvious question of whether Doku would have the same impact if he was at Chelsea? Or, would he be just another young signing showing potential but requiring shape and direction? Recent form suggests the latter. There are caveats, of course. It is early days and, as good as Doku has been, the real tests will come later. Clubs like Manchester United and Newcastle had also looked at him, but felt he wasn’t yet developed enough. There was a sense he was too erratic as a player. However, his impact under Pep Guardiola, especially when contrasted with Raheem Sterling’s influence on Chelsea, speaks volumes about the two clubs. One significant difference between Doku and so many similar young players at Chelsea is the roles they’ve been signed for. The London club have attempted to overhaul their entire squad, and players of talent have just been thrust into the fray. It has been up to Mauricio Pochettino to make sense of it. City, from the benefit of over a decade’s planning, can be much more forensic. Their succession plans are so well defined and far-thinking, with most signings settled on at least 18 months in advance - barring any unseen changes like the sudden impact of Saudi Pro League money, which delayed this summer’s business. Doku was supposed to be next in line in City’s attack but, as occasionally happens in teams that are so high-functioning, a player of his talent has been able to slot right in. It has even gone a little bit in the other direction, in how Doku’s livewire play actually gives City’s smoothness something different. It’s hard not to have some sympathy with Jack Grealish. When he was signed, Guardiola worked on him for weeks, seeking to change his thinking on the game and add much more control to it. Grealish was still talking about how he needed to evolve by the end of a season where he’d won his first title. Doku, by contrast, has just been put in the team and let loose to also leave Grealish on the bench. This isn’t to say the English playmaker should be overly worried about his medium-to-long-term role. As Sterling knows better than anybody, Guardiola goes on and off players all the time. It is partly his way of keeping them on their toes, partly tactical experimentation, partly man-management and partly what fits at any given time. Sterling ultimately felt he didn’t have that time, and sought to be a more influential player at another major club. There is something of an irony there, though. While Sterling is Chelsea’s senior attacker, who has a huge burden in leading the play, his best role is probably as someone who works off other stars and does real damage there. That is when his running on the ball and off it can be devastating. The farcical match against Tottenham Hotspur on Monday showed how much focus there can be on Sterling in this Chelsea team, although it had the effect of releasing Nicolas Jackson for so many chances that he eventually got a hat-trick by sheer force of numbers. While there will be an obvious comparison between that and Doku’s impact against Bournemouth, they were very different types of performances. They are very different types of roles. At Chelsea, attackers like Jackson and Cole Palmer already have a huge responsibility, which increases the burden on Sterling. At City, Doku is able to play off a series of stars who know precisely what their job is. It means he can figure out his own game, as defences try to figure him out. Read More The future of football: Why the U-17 World Cup highlights an evolving game One point: Is this the worst score of the Fantasy Premier League season? Are England’s Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham the best strike force in world football? Rumours: Man United could sell duo in January and Newcastle target midfield pair How can Man United qualify in Champions League? Champions League: What do Man United, Newcastle and Arsenal need to reach last 16?

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has softened his opinion over Trent Alexander-Arnold’s versatility as a potential midfielder but still believes he best serves the team from his natural right-sided role. Just over two years ago, after the 25-year-old was deployed in a central position against Andorra by England boss Gareth Southgate, Klopp said there was no need to change the defender into a midfielder. Those lines have been blurred since Alexander-Arnold started performing the hybrid role of stepping into central areas when Liverpool are in possession and Klopp took it one step further in last month’s Carabao Cup win at Bournemouth when he brought him on to replace holding midfielder Wataru Endo for the final half-hour. Alexis Mac Allister has been performing the number-six role in the Premier League despite it being an unfamiliar one to him but the Argentina international is suspended for Sunday’s visit of Brentford after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season. Endo, who was a late addition to the squad in August, has started only one league game in the role but was already off the pitch by the time the side forged a late comeback at Newcastle. His starts have mainly come in the Carabao Cup and Europe but he was one of a number of players who underperformed in the 3-2 defeat by Toulouse and his display was not the best preparation – he was replaced at half-time – to step in for Mac Allister at the weekend. Klopp was asked whether Alexander-Arnold was a potential option, considering how thin the midfield resources are with Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajcetic long-term absentees, Curtis Jones out till after the international break and Ryan Gravenberch doubtful with a knee problem. “(A) possibility, depends on the situation and the opponent, on a lot of things,” said the German. “We know he can play there but if we just put him there we lose one of the best right-backs in the world so we should not forget that completely. “Of course he is an option for that position.” We know he can play there but if we just put him there we lose one of the best right-backs in the world Jurgen Klopp on Alexander-Arnold's midfield capabilities Mac Allister was one of only two players retained from Sunday’s draw at Luton to start against Toulouse as Klopp knew he would get an enforced rest this weekend. But, even in his preferred position slightly further forward, the World Cup winner struggled like many of his team-mates as Liverpool’s three-match winning run in the competition came to an end and placed greater significance on their final two games – even though they are still group leaders. “We were not good enough defensively. We missed so many challenges and that cannot happen when we play with the high line,” Mac Allister told liverpoolfc.com. “It is what it is, we will try to improve and go again on Sunday because we have a very important game.” Mac Allister was involved in the most contentious incident of the night when Jarell Quansah’s last-minute equaliser was ruled out for a handball by the Argentinian after a VAR referral. “It’s a weird one because the referee said goal and then 10 seconds later he changed the decision,” he added. “I don’t know exactly how the rule is but it first hit my chest so it’s weird. But it’s not an excuse, we didn’t play well.” Read More Jurgen Klopp reacts to release of Luis Diaz’s kidnapped father: ‘Really happy’ Jurgen Klopp reveals his ‘main issue’ after VAR denies Liverpool in Toulouse Liverpool angered by VAR as Jarell Quansah goal ruled out in Europa League defeat Joe Cole splits opinion after VAR denies Liverpool late equaliser Luis Diaz ‘happy’ to start Liverpool match hours after kidnapped father’s release Toulouse v Liverpool LIVE: Latest Europa League updates

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Highly-rated striker Evan Ferguson has signed a new contract with Brighton which ties him to the club until 2029. The 19-year-old Republic of Ireland international has extended his existing deal with the Seagulls, amid reports that other Premier League clubs were tracking his progress. “Evan deserves this new contract and he has a very big future ahead of him,” Brighton head coach Roberto De Zerbi said. Ferguson joined Brighton from Irish side Bohemians in January 2021 and made his first-team debut later that year in a Carabao Cup tie against Cardiff. He has scored 15 times for the first team since then, having opened his account against Arsenal last December. Brighton technical director David Weir said: “Evan is a brilliant young talent and we are delighted for him. “He’s shown his ability at club and international level, after breaking into the team at the start of the year, and we are looking forward to working with him and watching his continued progress.” Ferguson made his senior Ireland debut in March, scoring in a 3-2 win over Latvia. Read More Naomi Osaka to make her return to tennis at the Brisbane International Football rumours: Tottenham identify Lloyd Kelly as January transfer target On this day in 2014: David Moyes appointed Real Sociedad head coach

Sir Jim Ratcliffe could finalise a deal to become a minority shareholder at Manchester United during the upcoming international break. Ratcliffe’s Ineos Group is expected to pay in the region of £1.25billion for a 25 per set stake in the Old Trafford club, while also acquiring significant control over footballing operations. There is no a firm timetable for the deal to be finalised, but the PA news agency understands it could come as early as next week, with Ineos optimistic it will be done before the Premier League campaign resumes on November 25 after the international break. Reports that the deal could come as soon as Monday have, however, been dismissed as that is the date of Sir Bobby Charlton’s funeral. It is almost a year since the Glazer family announced, on November 22, 2022, that they were considering “strategic alternatives” to help the club grow, which included consideration of a sale. Qatari Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and Ratcliffe emerged from a large field of interested parties, and made offers in the region of £5bn for a complete takeover, but that fell short of the Glazer family’s valuation. Sheikh Jassim then withdrew from the process last month, while Ratcliffe continued to pursue a minority shareholding which could later be increased. The 71-year-old, who tried to buy Chelsea last year, grew up in the Manchester region and describes himself as a lifelong fan of United. The deal is expected to lead to a major shake up of United’s football operations. Sir Dave Brailsford, the former performance director of British Cycling, is expected to take on significant influence in his role as Ineos’s director of sport. The group already owns French Ligue 1 club Nice and Swiss club Lausanne, as well as the Ineos Grenadiers cycling team and Ineos Britannia – the sailing team led by Sir Ben Ainslie. They also have a stake in Formula One team Mercedes, whose team principal Toto Wolff last week said he would also consider investing in United once Ratcliffe’s deal is completed. Ongoing speculation and uncertainty over the club’s ownership has come at a time when United are struggling on the pitch. Wednesday’s stunning 4-3 defeat to Copenhagen has left Erik ten Hag’s side bottom of their Champions League group, while they are eighth in the Premier League, having lost nine of 17 games in all competitions.

James Maddison has withdrawn from the England squad due to injury, less than 24 hours after Gareth Southgate selected him for two upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers. The 26-year-old Tottenham Hotspur midfielder was taken off during the first half of Spurs’ 4-1 Premier League defeat to Chelsea on Monday with an ankle injury, and his club have now confirmed he is unavailable for England’s last two qualifiers, at home to Malta on 17 November and away to North Macedonia on 20 November. Southgate had sounded confident that Maddison would be available despite some “doubt”, suggesting that he was withdrawn from the Chelsea game as a precaution while Spurs struggled with only 10 players following the sending off of defender Cristian Romero. “He seems positive,” Southgate had told reporters on Thursday afternoon. “There’s clearly an element of doubt. But I think at the time of the decision [substitution against Chelsea], they had just gone to 10 [players], maybe the manager was thinking, ‘I’ve got a player who might have a knock and we’ve only got 10 players anyway’.” Maddison’s withdrawal points to the challenge for Southgate of getting accurate injury updates from clubs, something he had bemoaned immediately after naming his squad, when he suggested Newcastle’s Callum Wilson was the player most at risk of missing out through injury. “You would be amazed at how complicated it is picking a squad because all clubs are sensitive to information. I couldn’t be certain that everyone in that squad will be there on Sunday night and Callum Wilson is the biggest doubt, but equally I am pretty confident the others can get through.” Spurs said in a statement that Maddison would continue his rehabilitation at their Hotspur Way training centre under the supervision of club medical staff. England sealed qualification for next summer’s Euros in Germany in their last qualifier, a 3-1 win over Italy at Wembley last month. Read More Gareth Southgate ponders defensive options ahead of naming latest England squad Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg: Spurs went down with flag held high but loss hurts a lot Son Heung-min hails Guglielmo Vicario for ‘unbelievable saves’ in win at Palace

Tottenham midfielder James Maddison has been withdrawn from the England squad due to injury. The 26-year-old was taken off during the first half of Spurs’ 4-1 Premier League defeat to Chelsea on Monday with an ankle injury, and his club have now confirmed he is unavailable for England’s Euro 2024 qualifiers at home to Malta on November 17 and away to North Macedonia on November 20. Spurs said in a statement that the player would continue his rehabilitation at their Hotspur Way training centre under the supervision of club medical staff. Maddison had been included in the initial 25-man squad named by England manager Gareth Southgate on Thursday. England sealed qualification for next summer’s Euros in Germany in their last qualifier, a 2-1 win over Italy at Wembley last month. Read More Football rumours: Tottenham identify Lloyd Kelly as January transfer target On this day in 2014: David Moyes appointed Real Sociedad head coach Chicago Bears edge out Carolina Panthers in three-point win

David Moyes was named as the new head coach of LaLiga side Real Sociedad, on this day in 2014. Moyes, who was axed by Manchester United the previous April following a dismal first season in charge at Old Trafford, was handed a contract until June 2016 with the Spanish outfit. Moyes left United just 10 months into a six-year deal after being named as the successor to Sir Alex Ferguson in the summer of 2013. At the time of his departure, United – the defending champions – were seventh in the Premier League and 23 points behind leaders Liverpool. The 20-time title winners had broken a host of unwanted records during his tenure, including failing to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in almost two decades. Moyes, who served the third-shortest managerial stint in the club’s history, won 27, drew nine and lost 15 of his 51 games in charge. The former Everton boss took over a Sociedad side who had moved out of the relegation zone a day earlier with a 2-1 home win over champions Atletico Madrid. Following a goalless draw at Deportivo in his first match in charge, Moyes secured his maiden win with a 3-0 victory over Elche, courtesy of a hat-trick from Carlos Vela. Sociedad also beat Barcelona 1-0 in January and finished 12th in the table, but Moyes was sacked on November 9, 2015 following a poor start to the following season. Moyes was appointed Sunderland manager in July 2016 following the departure of Sam Allardyce, but the Black Cats were relegated from the Premier League and Moyes resigned a day after the season ended. Read More Chicago Bears edge out Carolina Panthers in three-point win Unai Emery acknowledges good fortune opened the door for Villa’s victory ‘Great result’ cheers David Moyes as West Ham have another good European night

Boss Unai Emery admitted Aston Villa got lucky after fighting back to beat AZ Alkmaar. Ollie Watkins’ winner put them on the brink of qualification in the Europa Conference League after a 2-1 home win. Yet, the fightback started in controversial fashion when Diego Carlos levelled after Boubacar Kamara had blazed over and referee Luis Godinho mistakenly awarded Villa a corner. Vangelis Pavlidis gave the hosts a deserved lead but last year’s semi-finalists are now facing an early exit. Villa are second, behind Legia Warsaw on head-to-head, and a point from their final two games will seal progress from Group E. Emery said: “It was a very good chance for Kamara, it was fantastic, but it was not a corner, it’s clear, and after this mistake we score. “I’m very happy because when we are winning a game like tonight we can understand this competition better and the processes we’re trying to build. “I’m very proud of our work in this competition. We’re getting better. “We scored one that was offside more or less. We have to accept the referee’s decision, always. “I’m very proud of our work in this competition. We’re getting better. AZ are a very good team. I’m very happy. The reaction when they scored the goal was fantastic.” Villa started brightly and Clement Lenglet headed in Leon Bailey’s cross – after Pavlidis blocked Watkins’ goalbound header – only for the winger to have been ruled offside. Yet the hosts lost their way as the half wore on, Pavlidis tried to lob Emi Martinez and Alkmaar finished on top with Pavlidis testing Martinez. It turned out the striker was just getting his eye in as he opened the scoring six minutes into the second half. Villa were caught out by Riechedly Bazoer’s ball over the top and Pavlidis outpaced Lenglet to beat Martinez. The hosts were not behind for long, though, when Diego Carlos nodded in Bailey’s corner – after the officials had missed it was Kamara who blazed over from six yards. Villa had the initiative and it was no surprise when Watkins popped up with the winner with nine minutes left, nodding in Douglas Luiz’s clever pass. Alkmaar boss Pascal Jensen said: “The interesting thing I was looking at was can we compete better in the first game (a 4-1 loss)? In Alkmaar we lost because we conceded two easy goals. “I was a bit shocked when we started off, we conceded an early goal and we were fortunate it was disallowed. We were very unfortunate to concede a corner which wasn’t, they scored from it and the whole stadium woke up. “I contacted the fourth official and I asked him and he said ‘I don’t know.’ I think in international competition VAR can come on the radio and help but he didn’t. With all the technology and extra eyes it shouldn’t be possible.” Read More ‘Great result’ cheers David Moyes as West Ham have another good European night Tottenham demands will benefit Brennan Johnson and Wales – Rob Page Ollie Watkins header seals win over AZ Alkmaar as Aston Villa eye last-16 spot Lucas Paqueta goal proves decisive as West Ham sink Olympiacos Katie Taylor ‘aware of what is at stake’ in Chantelle Cameron rematch Brighton complete double over Ajax to boost Europa League hopes

Brennan Johnson is benefiting from the “extreme” demands placed on him by Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou and proving himself to be an elite player, says his Wales manager Rob Page. Johnson has taken time to settle at Spurs following his £47.5million move from Nottingham Forest during the closing minutes of the summer transfer window. The 22-year-old forward has yet to score and suffered a hamstring injury on his first Premier League start for Tottenham, ruling him out of action for a month. Johnson’s second Premier League start against Chelsea on Monday also ended prematurely when he was sacrificed after Spurs were reduced to 10 men by defender Cristian Romero’s red card. But Johnson has shown signs of promise in North London with a superb assist for Son Heung-min’s winner at Crystal Palace, while he also set up the Spurs skipper for a disallowed effort against Chelsea before his first-half withdrawal. “Brennan’s at a big, big club now pushing for top four so the demands on him will be extreme,” said Page, who welcomed Johnson back into his squad after injury for this month’s decisive Euro 2024 qualifiers against Armenia and Turkey. “The squad of players he’s got around him now will be slightly different, but I’m not concerned at all. Even by training with the players he’s with will bring him to another level. “We’ve all seen the potential. When I worked with him at the Under-21s and the younger age groups, I could see he was going to go (to the top). “It’s taken him a little bit of time to get up to that standard, but he’s shown glimpses of it. “What is important now is that he sustains that level by playing with those players and the demands of the manager there. He will absolutely do that.” Johnson has only scored twice in 22 Wales appearances – against Belgium and the Netherlands in the Nations League – and that is a disappointing return for a player considered to be Gareth Bale’s natural successor in the Dragons’ forward line. Page suggested that is down to the way Wales have previously been structured as a team but he insists, as evidenced by last month’s stunning 2-1 win over World Cup semi-finalists Croatia, they are evolving as an attacking unit. He said: “The majority of the games in the World Cup and Nations League A we were the underdogs and not going to have a lot of the ball. “Our defensive structure has to be spot on if not you’re going to get found out, but as we evolve I’m asking more from the forward players and we saw that against Croatia. “I brought Jack Lester in (as assistant coach), who’s one of the best forwards I played with and coaches I’ve seen. It was an area I wanted to improve and I’ve seen a difference already.” Wales will avoid the play-offs in March and qualify automatically for next summer’s Euro 2024 finals in Germany if they beat Armenia in Yerevan on November 18 and Turkey in Cardiff three days later. Page said: “I like Brennan as a nine purely because of his pace. He did that for us in Latvia (when Wales won 2-0 in September) and there’s not a defender out there who’s going to want to play against him and DJ (Daniel James) because pace frightens defenders. “But I’m not going to pigeonhole him as a nine. He can play in any one of the front three positions easily.” Read More Ollie Watkins header seals win over AZ Alkmaar as Aston Villa eye last-16 spot Lucas Paqueta goal proves decisive as West Ham sink Olympiacos Katie Taylor ‘aware of what is at stake’ in Chantelle Cameron rematch Brighton complete double over Ajax to boost Europa League hopes England’s Ben Stokes has ‘no idea’ if Pakistan clash will be his last ODI Rasmus Hojlund says ‘a matter of time’ until Erik ten Hag improves Man United

Lucas Paqueta got West Ham’s Europa League campaign back on track with the winner in a 1-0 victory over Olympiacos. The Brazil midfielder crashed in a second-half volley to keep the Hammers on top of Group A and to the brink of qualifying for the knockout stages. It was also a measure of revenge for West Ham, who had accused the Greek team of celebrating their 2-1 win in the reverse fixture two weeks ago as if they had won the Europa League itself. Olympiacos fans created a hostile atmosphere that night in Athens, unfurling a huge banner across one stand reading ‘Tonight you dine in hell’. The London Stadium, by contrast, could never be referred to as a cauldron of noise, and besides, ‘Tonight you dine in Westfield’ does not have the same ring to it. Nevertheless, the place was crackling at kick-off with the Hammers, last season’s Europa Conference League winners, in need of a victory to keep their continental destiny in their own hands. But a workmanlike but limited Olympiacos proved a tough nut to crack in the opening 45 minutes. Said Benrahma dragged an early shot wide and then saw a better one saved by visiting goalkeeper Alexandros Paschalakis. From the corner James Ward-Prowse’s cross was headed straight at Paschalakis by Nayef Aguerd. Jarrod Bowen, on the day he earned another call up to the England squad, nodded Vladimir Coufal’s cross wide before Paschalakis was called into action again by Benrahma’s low drive. Two more Aguerd headers were off target before Olympiacos had their first shot in anger, shortly before half-time, with on-loan Wolves forward Daniel Podence volleying Francisco Ortega’s cross wide. Ward-Prowse should have given his side the lead on the hour when he met a cutback from Bowen, but the midfielder’s shot was straight at Paschalakis. But Paqueta, the best player on the pitch, finally broke the deadlock after Bowen’s square pass found Ward-Prowse. The former Southampton midfielder chipped it forward into the area for Paqueta to fire home on the volley from. The goal was initially ruled out by an assistant referee’s flag, but a VAR check showed the Brazilian was onside and referee Matej Jug, who had infuriated West Ham with some strange decisions all evening, got the biggest cheer of the night when he signalled a goal. It was a fourth assist in four European outings for Ward-Prowse, who was overlooked by England again earlier in the day, more than a year after his last call-up. Paqueta pointedly went to the 3,000 travelling fans to celebrate, probably because the West Ham players were targeted by laser pens from Greek supporters in Athens. West Ham survived a late scare when Mady Camara rattled a post but they held on to complete their European revenge mission. Read More Katie Taylor ‘aware of what is at stake’ in Chantelle Cameron rematch Brighton complete double over Ajax to boost Europa League hopes England’s Ben Stokes has ‘no idea’ if Pakistan clash will be his last ODI Rasmus Hojlund says ‘a matter of time’ until Erik ten Hag improves Man United Gareth Southgate ‘not interested in just racking up games’ as England manager Ali Price joins Edinburgh on loan from Glasgow after input from Scotland

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp admits he is more concerned with side’s defensive display than the role VAR played in denying his side a late Europa League draw in Toulouse. Individual mistakes and a lack of collective cohesion saw the hosts take a 3-1 lead but Diogo Jota’s 89th-minute strike, after Cristian Casseres’ own goal had got them back into the game, set up a dramatic conclusion. In the seventh and final minute of added time 20-year-old centre-back Jarell Quansah thought he had equalised but after a long delay referee Georgi Kabakov was advised to go to the pitchside monitor and he ruled Alexis Mac Allister had handled the ball, even though it had initially bounced up off his chest very early in the move for the goal. “I only saw the video back now and for me it’s not a handball – but how can I decide that?” said Klopp. “Actually, I am a bit more concerned about (the fact that) I would have loved us to have played better, to be honest. That’s my main issue tonight. “In the end, we were intense, we threw everything in, but the problem is in a football game you have to make the decisive things in the right moment to do them right.” Liverpool’s problem was a side registering nine changes from Sunday’s draw at Luton never found any rhythm or structure and opponents who were hammered 5-1 at Anfield a fortnight ago took full advantage. They were not helped by Kostas Tsimikas’ error dawdling in possession costing them the important opening goal to Aron Donnum. Defending-wise it was just not good enough Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp “We cannot concede the goals we conceded again,” added Klopp. “The first goal can happen, but then it happened in the second half with similar situations: we were completely open, last line too deep, counter-attack. “They scored five goals, two disallowed, and that is obviously then not good. Yes, the result is the opposite of good, but the performance was just not good enough. “It was well deserved to lose because they won pretty much all the decisive battles. We had too many situations where we should have won the ball but we didn’t. “On top of that we gave the ball away easily at least twice – one was a goal, the other I am not sure if it was an allowed goal or a disallowed goal. “Defending-wise it was just not good enough.” Defeat ends a three-match winning run and although Liverpool remain top of the group their advantage has been cut to two points. They also missed out on guaranteeing top spot early and therefore also skipping the additional play-off round in the knockout phase after LASK’s victory over Union Saint-Gilloise meant victory would have given them an unassailable lead. The consequences of that are if Toulouse win their next game against Union the race to top the group will go down to the final round, and with Liverpool’s trip to Belgium coming immediately before the Premier League visit of arch-rivals Manchester United Klopp would have been hoping that fixture was a dead rubber to allow him to rest players. Read More Katie Taylor ‘aware of what is at stake’ in Chantelle Cameron rematch Brighton complete double over Ajax to boost Europa League hopes England’s Ben Stokes has ‘no idea’ if Pakistan clash will be his last ODI Rasmus Hojlund says ‘a matter of time’ until Erik ten Hag improves Man United Gareth Southgate ‘not interested in just racking up games’ as England manager Ali Price joins Edinburgh on loan from Glasgow after input from Scotland