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James Maddison opened his account for Tottenham before Dejan Kulusevski ended his goal drought to help the feelgood factor around Ange Postecoglou’s new-look team continue with a 2-0 win at Bournemouth. Maddison had starred in last weekend’s fine victory over Manchester United, but was spotted on crutches and in a protective boot later that same night. A sore ankle failed to stop Spurs’ new number 10 featuring on the south coast and he applied the finishing touch to an excellent team move after 17 minutes while continuing to pull the strings throughout this Premier League encounter. Bournemouth did improve after the opener but Kulusevski was able to clip into the bottom corner in the 63rd minute for his first goal since January to ensure Postecoglou’s side extended their unbeaten run to three matches. Maddison had been a pre-match doubt after he only returned to training on Friday, but he started at Vitality Stadium . After morning sunshine in Bournemouth, the heavens opened by the time referee Tim Robinson blew his whistle and it was a bruising start for Spurs. Destiny Udogie, Maddison and Cristian Romero all received early blows in the pouring rain, but it failed to knock the visitors off their stride and the opener arrived in the 17th minute. Pedro Porro and Yves Bissouma exchanged passes before the latter found Pape Sarr, who spotted Maddison’s late run and the England international was able to scuff his shot into the bottom corner from eight yards. While Maddison’s finish was scruffy, it still represented his first goal for Tottenham since a £40million switch from Leicester. Maddison had been denied by Neto two minutes earlier after a similar move but was running the show despite proving unpopular with the home fans. Sarr was next to go close but his deflected shot was saved after Maddison and Son combined and Spurs’ new captain Son sent a volley wide after 26 minutes. It was Maddison again at the heart of Tottenham’s next chance when Romero produced a fine tackle on Antoine Semenyo and the visitors’ number 10 led the counter-attacker before playing through Richarlison, but he was crowded out and the chance went begging. Richarlison headed Maddison’s corner into the side-netting minutes later, but Bournemouth – also at the start of a new era under Spaniard Andoni Iraola – did finish the first half strongly. Ryan Christie tested Guglielmo Vicario with a low effort and Philip Billing curled wide from 18-yards. The Cherries continued their momentum into the second half with Dominic Solanke firing a dangerous ball across the face of goal and Semenyo curling wide. Postecoglou had seen enough and Richarlison’s frustrating afternoon ended not long after he received a yellow card for a late tackle on Illia Zabarnyi with Ivan Perisic and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg introduced by the hour mark. Son was now down the middle and the tactical tweak worked a treat with a one-two with Udogie resulting in Kulusevski making it 2-0. Udogie got to the byline and brilliantly cut back for Kulusevski, who flicked into the corner. Kulusevski let out a roar in celebration after his 63rd-minute effort and it was timely for Tottenham. Maddison could have put the game to bed seven minutes later but dragged wide before Perisic survived a VAR call for shoving Max Aarons. A raft of substitutions was followed by another downpour alongside thunder and lightening, but it failed to dampen Spurs spirits with Postecoglou’s side able to continue their promising start with a second consecutive win. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Liverpool lucky with availability of centre-backs this season – Jurgen Klopp Robert Helenius failed drug test before fighting Anthony Joshua, Vada says Eddie Howe admits last season’s battles with Liverpool remain vivid memories

Right up until the moment that Luis Rubiales took the microphone at the Spanish federation on Friday afternoon, senior figures in Uefa were adamant he would resign. The expectation had even stopped some prominent football officials publicly speaking out. What followed, even for a sport like this, left many involved “speechless”. It says more than any statement, mind, that Rubiales’ “jaw-dropping political speech” – to use the words of one shocked source – probably wasn’t the most consequential moment of the day. All of this will eventually lead to real action, way beyond words or Spanish football. In terms of the most immediate effect, Fifa has now suspended Rubiales for 90 days and ordered him not to contact the player he kissed on the lips after the World Cup final, Jenni Hermoso. One of the most striking and important lines of Fifa’s statement announcing Rubiales’ suspension was the directive that he is not allowed contact her or her “close environment”. Four official complaints against Rubiales are now being investigated and they could ultimately see him banned from sport for anything between two to 15 years. “This is the end,” Miquel Iceta, Spain’s minister for culture and sport, told El Pais. “This can’t continue like this.” And yet it went on a bit longer. Iceta's comments were before the farcical late-night statement outlining how Rubiales’ federation would take legal action against the Futpro Union representing Jenni Hermoso, the player he kissed after the World Cup final, while insisting the president “has not lied” through the use of still images in an attempt to show Hermoso had initiated the incident. It felt like a point of no return, if only the latest. That deepens the question over why Rubiales didn’t just resign, although many would point to a total income from the role and connected positions of almost €1m a year. Others would point to a belligerent defiance when “cornered” that sums up his personality. It has similarly led to open comment in Spanish football about how this could be a precursor to a political career. Rubiales’ statements blaming “false feminism” undeniably played into the culture-war sentiment that Spain’s far-right party Vox has long been trying to court. This is what has finally set Rubiales in open conflict with the Spanish squad, after what has really been months of build-up. It has also brought the most significant and symbolic effect. The Spanish squad admirably came together as one, creditably supported by many of their colleagues around the women’s game as well as Spanish clubs and some male footballers, to declare they would not play for the national team while “the current management” remains at the federation. It has been quite a move – and almost the grim inverse of one of midfielder Aitana Bonmati’s supreme turns – for the country’s senior football body to turn the glory of a World Cup win into such a global public relations disaster, which is just about the most generous description. The women’s world champions currently don’t have a team. Going up against your now hugely popular winners is quite the position. The front page of Marca declared it all a “global embarrassment”, which echoes the mood of most of Spain. There are multiple other layers to this, a landmark moment for football as a whole. One of the main arguments has been what a rightful shame it is that the players’ glory has only seen a man’s behaviour being discussed, and that this man is who represents Spanish football on the global stage. It is in some ways both a separate story, though, and one more deeply fundamental to the squad’s achievements. Some of those achievements, of course, are successfully demanding better standards for women’s football that ultimately served their World Cup win. This is where there is a wider context to “little more than a kiss”, as Rubiales so provocatively put it. Even after Spain’s semi-final victory over Sweden, the federation chief was the first figure from the Spanish camp to publicly mention the player mutiny that framed this campaign, talking about “people with resentments” with a similarly provocative tone. It was impossible not to interpret all of this in terms of his own sense of personal vindication for standing by Jorge Vilda and facing down rebellious players, all of which translated into this belligerent triumphalism in the moment of victory. What else does the infamous crotch-grabbing symbolise other than “I’m the man”? And yet it is that very triumphalism that could lead to his downfall, “the end”, as Iceta put it. Those very celebrations have now led to a situation where Hermoso has now said: “I want to make clear that not in any moment did the conversation occur that Mr Luis Rubiales references, and much less that his kiss was consensual. In the same way I want to reiterate how I did in that moment that what happened was not enjoyable. “I felt vulnerable and a victim of aggression, an impulsive act, sexist, out of place and without any type of consent from my part. In short, I wasn’t respected.” Hermoso then spoke about how she, her family, friends and teammates “have been under constant pressure to come out with some sort of statement that would justify the acts of Mr Luis Rubiales”. While Victor Francos, the president of the Spanish High Council for Sport, had echoed the mood of many involved by saying nobody should “put the responsibility for this” on Hermoso, there was still a widespread pride in how she spoke. This is the other side of the shame Spain is feeling at how its football culture looks on the world stage. As regressive as much of the powerbrokers appear, the women’s teams have been pioneers. Spain can be proud of them for much more than winning a World Cup. They are affecting real change. Similarly, a lot of the country has looked at this and decided which side they are on. It is not that of Rubiales or Vilda. An admirable statement from Osasuna spoke of how the applause in the room “represents how far away Mr Rubiales and those who support him are from the majority sentiment of society”. On that, if Vilda’s managerial relationship with the players was complex before, what will it be like after effusively clapping Rubiales after his speech? All of this is why this entire story has had real cut-through, to the extent it has surprised many in Spain. Francos said: “We’re facing the ‘me too’ moment of Spanish football”. It also touches on bigger themes in global football. That is of course if global football snaps out of this apparent paralysis – although the paralysis is part of the point. The silence from some of the most senior people in football has been alarming. Uefa still have no official position on their vice president, although the explanation from those within the organisation is that Rubiales is only there because of a vote from the national federations, that they don’t want to interfere with a member association, and that do they want to cut across Fifa when the global body has opened a case. “The optics are bad if they say nothing,” one source conceded. It sums up the mood of many football figures, who all echoed a description of Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin as “such a disappointment”. Nor has there been any public comment from the Football Association, even though chair Debbie Hewitt was right beside Rubiales in her new role as Fifa president as all of this was happening. Another explanation there is the expectation he would resign and that Hewitt is now likely to be a witness in Fifa’s investigation. There has then been the widespread silence from the men’s game, other than admirable exceptions like Borja Iglesias, Isco, Hector Bellerin and Javier Aguirre. The contrast has already been drawn with how activist women’s players are by contrast, with one agent privately confiding that most male footballers only ever take on a cause if it suits their public relations purposes. “It’s a low bar but how many current men’s players ever talk up?” This is in part why this story has gone well beyond Spain. Football faces a crisis of leadership and vision, that has directly facilitated many existential threats to the sport itself, at least as regards the positive community form we know it from most of its history. Rubiales really reflects a type of man – and it is always a man – that rises to senior administrative roles in football, and doesn't seem to have the foresight, let alone other qualities, to properly serve the game as a whole. It is another vintage example of the sport mirroring society in terms of patriarchal structure, of course, but what is so troubling is how its community values could still be so positive. As the most prominent examples, what has been the response to sportswashing? What has been the response to the corrosive influence of private equity and other forms of a very Western capitalism? What has been the response to multi-club projects and how they distort club identities? What has been the response to the problematic concentration of the vast majority of football’s wealth in the men’s game in western Europe? What has been the response to the destructive erosion of competitive balance? Bar mostly waving all of this through, the most common response has just been to add more games and competitions, so even more money swirls around the top end. It has lamentably become a sport that is only ever exploiting its own immense popularity, rather than using it for the good it could do. And yet that’s the other side of such popularity, and when something spreads among more people like that. Those in charge can lose control of it. The development of the women’s game has led to that more prominent activism previously missing. This multi-layered story may well end up the most emphatic proof of that. It may end up a victory that goes further than the World Cup itself. Read More Spanish FA threatens legal action over Jenni Hermoso ‘lies’ as World Cup kiss row deepens Spain’s World Cup winners refuse to play until Luis Rubiales is removed

Jurgen Klopp admitted Liverpool must be “lucky” with the availability of their centre-backs this season as he hinted he was unlikely to add to his options before the transfer deadline. Ibrahima Konate is a doubt for Sunday afternoon’s trip to Newcastle because of a muscular problem and Joe Gomez or Joel Matip could instead partner Virgil Van Dijk at the heart of the Reds’ defence. Nat Phillips is another alternative but Klopp is well aware that a shortage of options and a spate of injuries could spell trouble as he had to get creative with his backline during the 2020-2021 season. A total of 20 different combinations were used during the turbulent campaign and Klopp is keeping everything crossed that he does not have to deal with a defensive crisis in the forthcoming months. “In an ideal world, we have six, seven, eight centre-halves and cover for absolutely everything,” the Liverpool manager said. “No, we need to be lucky with injuries, there is no doubt about that. “I have no doubt about the quality of the boys we have. We have (academy player) Jarell Quansah, a super-talented player, available as well. “In this moment we are covered but it is not dreamland where you can be prepared for absolutely each situation. We had to learn that in the past as well a couple of times. “We will try to do our absolute best to have a squad for next week, a squad for us where we can react on pretty much everything. Is that possible? We will see.” Liverpool were the only side to do the double over a Newcastle side that lost just five times in the Premier League and qualified for the Champions League last season. Despite their rapid improvement under Eddie Howe, Newcastle are on a 13-match winless sequence against Liverpool stretching back to December 2015 – although Klopp is wary of what they will face this weekend. He feels two of their signings in particular this summer were among the shrewdest of any team. The speed they have is really good. Newcastle, since last year at least, they don’t concede a lot but score. So that’s a proper game Jurgen Klopp “Newcastle are an incredibly strong team, qualified for the Champions League, fully deserved,” Klopp said. “Super development under Eddie Howe, I have to say. Eddie is a super coach, a super manager. “Smart business. I don’t want to miss anybody but probably the two standouts in this window: (Sandro) Tonali and (Harvey) Barnes. Really good business. “The speed they have is really good. Newcastle, since last year at least, they don’t concede a lot but score. So that’s a proper game.” While Thiago Alcantara and Curtis Jones are missing once again, Klopp will be able to call upon fellow midfielder Alexis Mac Allister after his red card in the 3-1 win over Bournemouth was overturned. Mac Allister – signed from Brighton in the summer for £35million – was shown a straight red by referee Thomas Bramall after catching Bournemouth midfielder Ryan Christie on the foot at Anfield last weekend. “When I saw the pictures back I was pretty sure that it’s not a red card but that doesn’t mean then immediately that our appeal will be successful,” Klopp added. “You don’t have that a lot of times, that pretty much everybody agrees this is not a red card and should not be a red card. Harsh tackles should always be punished, I absolutely support that 100 per cent. “But it was not a harsh tackle, it was just a touch in the situation. It was a massive relief when I heard that it is overturned. Very good news.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Robert Helenius failed drug test before fighting Anthony Joshua, Vada says Eddie Howe admits last season’s battles with Liverpool remain vivid memories Juanma Lillo says Man City ‘well managed’ as he fills in for Pep Guardiola

Spain's football federation has threatened to take legal action against one of the country's star players, Jennifer Hermoso, for her comments about its president Luis Rubiales.

Jurgen Klopp finds himself under attack from Saudi Arabia on two fronts: one new, one even newer. He is entirely complimentary about one – Eddie Howe’s fast-improving Newcastle side – while calling for help in another respect. Klopp believes Fifa should act to bring the Saudi Arabian transfer window in line with its English equivalent. The acquisitiveness of their newly super-rich clubs has already disrupted his summer once; when, after beginning his midfield rebuild with the auspicious acquisitions of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, he was stripped of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson, two he intended to keep. Now there is the prospect of a raid for Mohamed Salah, perhaps after 1 September, when it would be too late to replace him. His suitors are Al-Ittihad, a club run by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, who own 80 percent of Newcastle. Klopp is remaining defiant. “Mo Salah is a Liverpool player and essential for everything we do,” he said. “We don’t have an offer. If there would be something, the answer would be no.” Saudi spending power would look still more transformative if each of Klopp’s definitive front three – Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Salah – were to move to the Pro-League in the same summer. Its influence is apparent in the North-East as well as the Middle East, however. Liverpool head to St James’ Park on Sunday after winning the battles against Newcastle, beating them home and away last season, but losing the war. They were forced out of the Champions League places by a rising force. Newcastle, Klopp thinks, are no one-season wonders. They are here to stay. “Most definitely,” he concurred. The changing landscape has made it harder for imperilled Liverpool in a division where others are spending, when they operate by different financial parameters. “And Chelsea,” he noted. “And Manchester United in the future. We have to [live within our means]. We cannot put sticks around the area and hope that no one will run through. That’s how it is: I have no problem with that. As long as it is all by the rules I have no problem. In the end it’s the circumstances, it could be different but it’s all about what you make of it.” And, as he readily admits, Newcastle have made a lot of their budget. They have spent around £400 million in four transfer windows under Howe. There was a hint from Klopp that their spending spree could have been more like Todd Boehly’s billion-pound exercise in incoherence. Instead, Newcastle’s buying has been underpinned by intelligent thinking. “So far they have not done crazy business,” said Klopp. “I have to say nobody knew exactly what would happen after [the takeover] but so far I don’t think they have done crazy business. One of those windows where people thought it would look like the Chelsea windows rather than the Newcastle window. They have brought in fantastic players like [Alexander] Isak, [Sven] Botman, Bruno [Guimaraes]: really smart business, piece by piece. And then this year [Sandro] Tonali and [Harvey] Barnes, and they can swap strikers between Isak and [Callum] Wilson, which is impressive. But they still have players from before like [Miguel] Almiron and [Sean] Longstaff. So, yes, they did business, and it was clear - could the Newcastle of before have done it? Probably not.” There are certain similarities with some of Liverpool’s recruitment over the years: buying improving players, rarely from the superpowers, for what can soon look bargain prices. Liverpool became champions of first Europe and England in part because, where there was little margin for error, they rarely erred. “There was one year when money was less of an issue because Phil went to Barcelona so we could do sensational transfers,” Klopp said, and Philippe Coutinho’s £142m sale financed the arrivals of Alisson and Virgil van Dijk. “But otherwise we have always spent to improve the team. With business, we have had to do it our way. Our situation is great, just not in comparison to the other teams you mentioned. We have to be on point. There is not a lot of space for failure.” Now, once again, his plans are taking shape, with Wataru Endo the belated replacement for Henderson and Fabinho, after Liverpool failed in bids for Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, but with the risk that a sudden departure of a player of Salah’s standard could create further problems. “I was always glad when transfer windows are over,” Klopp reflected. “I can’t remember a transfer window where every single person was happy. I have to improve the squad, I know, but I have all the information around and I know what is possible and not possible. It is not my job to complain. It is my job to take the team we have at the end of the transfer window and make the best of it.” Which he has tended to do against Howe, with 10 straight wins. Newcastle have only suffered four home league defeats under the Englishman, but two were to Klopp and Liverpool. And while the job of managing Liverpool and of securing top-four finishes has got harder in other respects, at least he faces less opposition on Sunday. When he looks across to the home dugout, only one man will be on his feet, instructing the Newcastle players. Klopp had quipped that the new regulations were designed to stop the United tag team of Howe and Jason Tindall. “It was a joke,” he said. If Liverpool’s anthem dictates that he will never walk alone, Howe now has to stand alone. Read More He’s essential to Liverpool: Jurgen Klopp dismisses Mohamed Salah transfer talk Liverpool adamant Mohamed Salah is not for sale Would a transfer to Man United or Liverpool suit Ryan Gravenberch most? Eddie Howe urges Bruno Guimaraes to learn from social media criticism He’s essential to Liverpool: Jurgen Klopp dismisses Mohamed Salah transfer talk Jurgen Klopp makes definitive statement on Mohamed Salah transfer saga

Juanma Lillo will introduce himself to the Premier League at large on Sunday as he takes charge of champions Manchester City in Pep Guardiola’s absence. Guardiola’s little-known number two will call the shots from the dugout as the treble winners travel to Sheffield United without their influential manager. Guardiola is recuperating in Spain after undergoing back surgery earlier this week and so Lillo, who only rejoined the club this summer after a year away, finds himself in the spotlight. The experienced 57-year-old has had a varied and interesting coaching career, working in countries including Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Japan and China as well as his native Spain. He first joined Guardiola’s backroom staff after the departure of Mikel Arteta in 2020 and spent two years at the Etihad Stadium before leaving to take up a post in Qatar. City swept to Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup glory without him but Guardiola sought to bring him back after the exits of Enzo Maresca and Rodolfo Borrell at the end of the campaign. The pair have been friends since Guardiola played under Lillo at Mexican side Dorados de Sinaloa and were keen to work together again. “When I left was more of a ‘see you later’,” said Lillo at a press conference. “He’s someone very special to me, not only in footballing terms. “I am here to be with someone who’s been very important in my life.” Lillo recognises he has returned to a very strong set-up and is determined to do his best to ensure it remains that way. He said: “A good team without good players is impossible, but at the moment we have good players and a really good coach. It’s very well managed. “The way we train has a lot to do towards the way we play. That’s how we do it. “Things might not always go our way, but I can assure you that we’re going to continue doing things the right way.” Bernardo Silva, who signed a new contract at City this week, is available again for the trip to Bramall Lane after illness. New signing Jeremy Doku could come into the reckoning but John Stones and Kevin De Bruyne are sidelined. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Eddie Howe admits last season’s battles with Liverpool remain vivid memories On this day in 2014: Man Utd break British record to sign Angel Di Maria Daniel Dubois aiming to ‘bully and shake up’ Oleksandr Usyk in title showdown

Eddie Howe will send his Newcastle side into battle with Liverpool still haunted by the memories of their encounters last season. The Reds were the only club to complete a Premier League double over the Magpies, although they gained a measure of revenge when they went on to finish fourth – one place and four points better off than Jurgen Klopp’s men. However, Howe admits it does not take much to stoke memories of the Fabio Carvalho winner in the eighth minute of stoppage time which handed Liverpool victory at Anfield last August, or the red card in a 2-0 defeat in the reverse fixture which cost goalkeeper Nick Pope his place in the Carabao Cup final. Howe said: “I move on quickly from the game in the sense that then you have to prepare the next one, but I think the emotion of the game and the feeling and the memories of the game, they stay with you for some time. “The memories of last year’s games, they’re with me. I can visualise certain moments, but then you have to detach yourself from that and go, ‘right, how do we prepare this one?’, because whether it’s tactical or whatever the thing is that you think you can do better, it’s about then delivering that to the best of your ability. “There’s a lot of defeats in my management career that are still there and they just need probably the emotions stoking and they’ll come back to the forefront of my brain.” Newcastle’s resurgence, fuelled in large part by the wealth of their Saudi-backed owners, has seen them re-establish a rivalry with Liverpool which sparked a series of memorable encounters in the 1990s. Klopp has on more than one occasion taken aim at the Magpies, and the two coaching teams have at times enjoyed a frosty relationship on the touchline. However, Howe expressed surprise at the perception there is added needle between the two camps when they go head-to-head. Asked why he believed the rivalry had become so intense in recent seasons, he replied: “I don’t know. Has it? There will be moments and flash-points because they are two iconic clubs going against each other. Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe “Genuinely, I think the rivalry between Newcastle and Liverpool has always been there, historically. I don’t think it’s been ramped up particularly any more than it’s always been. “When the game’s been on historically over a number of years, it’s a game everyone will go, ‘I want to watch that, I want to see what’s going to happen’. “There will be moments and flashpoints because they are two iconic clubs going against each other. I don’t think it’s necessarily ramped up in the last two years.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Juanma Lillo says Man City ‘well managed’ as he fills in for Pep Guardiola On this day in 2014: Man Utd break British record to sign Angel Di Maria Daniel Dubois aiming to ‘bully and shake up’ Oleksandr Usyk in title showdown

Manchester United smashed the British transfer record when they completed the signing of Argentina’s Angel Di Maria on this day in 2014. The Red Devils, in a rebuilding phase following the departure of their hugely successful manager Sir Alex Ferguson the year before, paid £59.7million for the then 26-year-old. Di Maria, brought in by the club’s new Dutch boss Louis van Gaal, arrived at United fresh from helping his old club Real Madrid seal their 10th European title the season before. Di Maria said at the time of his signing: “I am absolutely delighted to be joining Manchester United. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in Spain and there were a lot of clubs interested in me, but United is the only club that I would have left Real Madrid for. “Louis van Gaal is a fantastic coach with a proven track record of success and I am impressed by the vision and determination everyone has to get this club back to the top – where it belongs. I now just cannot wait to get started.” However, things never really clicked for Di Maria at Old Trafford on the pitch. He also endured a fairly miserable time off it, after an attempted burglary at his home in February 2015. Less than a year later, he joined Paris St Germain, and told the French media that he did not have a great relationship with Van Gaal. Di Maria spent seven years at PSG before joining Juventus in 2022. Last year was a special one for him, as he played and scored in the World Cup final as Argentina beat France on penalties. Earlier this summer he rejoined Portuguese side Benfica, his first European club after leaving Rosario Central in 2007. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

In offering the finishes, Raheem Sterling now looks like he is starting again. This might well be a great career rebirth, as the England forward’s goals finally launched the Mauricio Pochettino era at Chelsea. The Argentine got his first win at his new club – and a first home win at all for the club since Borussia Dortmund in March – with an otherwise resolute Luton Town beaten 3-0. While the latter was hugely encouraging for Pochettino, this was ultimately all about Sterling. Fittingly for such a fine individual performance, the key goal – and that which essentially set and settled the game – was a sensational solo run. It was like the Sterling of his early years, so much verve and vibrancy, almost impossible to pin down or shackle. The England forward – for that is what he will soon be again if this form continues – just weaved through the Luton defence to slide the ball into the corner. It was like a huge weight had lifted for Stamford Bridge as a whole. The place was flying by the end, just like Sterling. While the forward’s commitment to his physical condition preceded working with Pochettino this summer, it is precisely what the manager demands of his players, especially those who are supposed to lead by example. He wants them ultra-fit. He has got that from Sterling, who also turned the night from a badly needed win to a nicely encouraging display with a fine team goal. While the first reminded how devastating the 28-year-old is when he is allowed to just get on the ball, the second reflected how clinical he was for a time at Manchester City, with just one single touch. After a surging team move, Malo Gusto slid the ball across for Sterling to turn it in. It should be acknowledged that all of this meant more because it wasn’t always so free-wheeling or convincing. The second goal was crucial because Luton had really threatened. The doubt and concerns from the last few months were still very present for so much of this game. They might even have been all the deeper because of the knowledge that, had Chelsea failed to win here, it would have immediately set Pochettino into a “crisis” – no matter how superficial – in the way Frank Lampard and Graham Potter suffered. It would have been impossible to not put those three games without a win into the wider context of last season’s dismal run, extending this miserable streak. There was a long period where Luton sensed that, as they kept getting at Chelsea and caused some moments of nervousness. It will have only played into their mood, too, that many of Pochettino’s line-up had as little Premier League experience as their side. With the Argentine, though, such youth can be a virtue. It has been the source of his best sides. And one thing that can be said for certain right now is that there is already a Pochettino imprint on this team. The very first moment of the game was Enzo Fernandez playing one of those searching balls out wide. It was of course for Sterling, and it was something that used to regularly be seen in Pochettino’s Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur teams. From that, there was an intense pressing, and periods where they were running so hard they threatened to overwhelm Luton. That never happened, though, because the Premier League’s most patronised team also happen to be one of the most defiant. That is how they have overcome so many economic imbalances – and so much else – to get this high. And they were willing to go for it against Chelsea, constantly seeking to exploit an evident gap on the left flank. That is one flaw in the team Pochettino is going to have to work on, but not the biggest. The most obvious is the finishing. It was what made this game so tense for so long. It was like Chelsea had so much right up until the finish. The livewire Jackson was electric until he had the ball in the box, so often opting to pass rather than just go for it in the way he did outside the box. For one huge moment, then, Sterling absolutely blasted the ball at goal only for Thomas Kaminski to hold it. It initially looked like the forward should have scored. On replay, it was so evident it was a remarkable save. Sterling was in that kind of form. He’s got Chelsea back into form. Confidence followed. A goal from Jackson followed. Chelsea, for the first time in a while, can eagerly look forward to what comes next. It will likely be more Sterling quality. Read More Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink calls for patience at Chelsea under Mauricio Pochettino Ange Postecoglou keen to trim Tottenham squad after James Maddison fitness boost Mikel Arteta: Saudi Pro League transfer window should shut same time as Europe’s Roma officials fly to London for talks with Chelsea over Romelu Lukaku loan deal Chelsea vs Luton LIVE: Premier League result and reaction Chelsea transfer news: Balogun, Olise, Lukaku, Chalobah and more

Mauricio Pochettino insisted Raheem Sterling deserves the credit for turning his Chelsea career around after his two goals fired the team to a 3-0 victory over Luton at Stamford Bridge. Sterling endured a disappointing debut campaign in west London but has looked a player transformed since his new manager took charge, and cemented a sensational return to form with a match-winning display against Rob Edwards’ newly promoted side. His first strike was a particularly fine solo effort, cutting in from the wing and beating three defenders before sliding the ball home. But it was his second midway through the second half that transformed the atmosphere inside Stamford Bridge, sweeping first-time into the bottom corner from Malo Gusto’s pinpoint cross. Chelsea’s third – the first time in more than 10 months that they had held a three-goal lead in the Premier League – saw Sterling turn provider as his nonchalant ball driven into the centre was finished off by Nicolas Jackson for his first Chelsea goal. And Pochettino said that ever since his first conversation with the player when he “held up a mirror” and asked him which position he most loves to play, the catalyst for change has all been down to Sterling. “I can only talk from day one when we arrived,” said Pochettino. “We had a conversation. His commitment in the way that he wants to provide and contribute for the team, his work ethic and quality. “I repeat again, I think he deserves the full credit for his performance. We’re very pleased and very happy, he has the quality and he can provide the team goals and assists. Then when we don’t have the ball, working really hard to recover it as soon as possible. “I’m so pleased for him. He told me it was a difficult season for him last season. I’m very pleased when a player is happy, an offensive player who can score and assist, for us it’s the best feeling. “Our first conversation with all the players, our conversation with Raheem, I love to ask the position they love to play, how they feel, how they see themselves; to put a player in front of the mirror. “It’s not the position, it’s the animation and the way the team is going to link in between them. It’s to find the best position, the dynamic of the game when we are playing an offensive situation, to provide the best platform, position and place and link with the player where they can (show) their best quality. “It’s really important, the process. Time to work to create all these links and this animation and to know each other, we need time. When you want to build a team in the process that we are, it’s matter of time.” The crowning moment of Pochettino’s first win in charge came when summer signing Jackson was rewarded for an energetic, committed display by knocking in his first goal for the club. The manager was full of praise for the 22-year-old’s performance and hinted that he has the potential to insert himself amongst the Premier League’s all-time goalscoring greats. “We are not asking for him to run a lot and press and recover the ball, because it is his quality,” said Pochettino. “His work ethic is amazing and then he is fast, to run in behind the defensive line and then the quality into the feet. “It’s only a matter of time that he’s going to score goals also. He’s amazing. It’s difficult to find a player like him in the market. For me he’s going to be one of the great strikers. He has the potential to be.” Despite watching his side lose for the second time in two games since their top-flight return, Luton boss Edwards said his players could hold their heads up after competing well with Chelsea before Sterling’s decisive intervention caused the game to slip away. “We don’t like losing, but I can accept it when there’s a performance like that,” he said. “The players were committed, we gave it absolutely everything. We just came up short in both boxes. I’m extremely proud to be involved with this football club and these players. “We were very resilient and incredibly brave. We went man for man, tried to press them, tried to take the ball. For a time in the second half, we had the territory. I could smell a goal coming, but it was them unfortunately.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Robert Helenius failed drug test before fighting Anthony Joshua – Matchroom Performance against Tottenham ‘not acceptable’ for Man Utd – Erik ten Hag Dina Asher-Smith upbeat about Olympics after worlds bid hit by mystery problem

The chair of President Joe Biden’s Council of Economic Advisers, Jared Bernstein, said the US can maintain strong

The Spanish women’s team have released a joint statement on Friday saying they will not play until the federation leadership is changed, mere hours after president of the Spanish FA, Luis Rubiales, comfirmed his intention to remain at the head of Spain’s football federation. Rubiales has faced increasingly fierce criticism after he grabbed fooballber Jenni Hermoso by the head and kissed on her lips during the Women’s World Cup final trophy presentation on Sunday. Video later emerged of Rubiales grabbing his crotch in celebration in close proximity to the Queen of Spain and her 16-year-old daughter. Speaking to media on Friday morning Rubiales doubled down on his position saying that he would fight to clear his name in court if necessary and refused to resign. The statement published by players’ union Futpro included Hermoso’s rebuttal of Rubiales’ earlier assertion that the kiss was consensual. “I want to clarify that, as was seen in the images, at no time did I consent to the kiss he gave me,” Hermoso said. “I do not tolerate my word being questioned and much less the invention of words I have not said.” Hermoso and her teammates called for “real change to help the national team to keep growing, to be able to bring this great success to the generations to come”. The joint statement, signed by 56 players including all 23 from the World Cup winning squad, says that the World Cup champions will not return to play for Spain while “the current management” remains at the Rfef. It read: “As a result of the events that occurred this morning and given the perplexity of the speech delivered by the president…the players of the senior team, recent world champions, in support of Jennifer Hermoso, want to express their firm and resounding condemnation of conduct that has violated the dignity of women, “In view of the statements made by the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, Jennifer Hermoso wants to flatly deny that she consented to the kiss that Luis Rubiales gave her in the World Cup final. “After everything that happened during the Women’s World Cup medal ceremony, we want to state that all the players who sign this letter will not return to a call for the national team if the current leaders continue.” Elsewhere, Spain’s government has started the legal proceedings seeking to suspend the soccer federation chief with Victor Francos, head of the state-run National Sports Council telling a news conference: “The government starts today the procedure so that Mr Rubiales has to give explanations before the Sport Court and if the Sport Court agrees, I can announce that we will suspend Mr Rubiales from his functions.” The secretary of sport also added that he hoped this incident would become “Spanish football’s Me Too moment”. Spain’s acting labour minister Yolanda Diaz said: “What we have seen today in the Federation Assembly is unacceptable. The Government must act and take urgent measures. Impunity for macho actions is over. Rubiales cannot continue in office.” Fifa also opened its own investigation on Thursday and released this statement: “The events may constitute violations of article 13 paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Fifa Disciplinary Code. The Fifa disciplinary committee will only provide further information on these disciplinary proceedings once it has issued a final decision on the matter. Fifa reiterates its unwavering commitment to respecting the integrity of all individuals and strongly condemns any behaviour to the contrary.” The sections of the disciplinary code referenced in the Fifa statement cover “offensive behaviour and violations of the principles of fair play”. Read More It’s tragic this World Cup will only be remembered for one thing Spanish government starts legal proceedings to sack Luis Rubiales Spain striker boycotts national team in protest against FA president Luis Rubiales Jenni Hermoso slams Spanish football federation after Luis Rubiales incident Spain’s world champions refuse to play while Luis Rubiales is RFEF president Spain’s women’s football committee president resigns over Luis Rubiales controversy