Erik ten Hag has asked people to trust his decision to drop Marcus Rashford to the bench against Crystal Palace after criticism over the move.
The Englishman made a slow start to the Premier League campaign but got on the scoresheet against Southampton with his first goal since March in their FA Cup victory over Liverpool.
He followed that up with a brace against Barnsley in the EFL Cup last Tuesday, also registering an assist, with Ten Hag claiming Rashford was returning to his best form.
However, Rashford unexpectedly started on the bench in their 0-0 draw at Palace, with Amad Diallo favoured on the wing, though the 26-year-old came off the bench in the 61st minute for Joshua Zirkzee.
Some pundits questioned Ten Hag s choice, but the Dutchman shrugged …
Thomas Tuchel confirmed Antonio Rudiger and Kepa Arrizabalaga were involved in an altercation in the wake of Saturday s shocking 5-2 defeat to West Brom, a game that Chelsea s head coach still cannot get his head around.
Chelsea found themselves on the end of a humiliating loss to the Premier League s second-bottom team, conceding five goals in a home league game for the first time since October 2011.
Similarly, West Brom netted five times on the road for the first time in over nine years.
Thiago Silva s sending off when Chelsea were 1-0 up was deemed to be the turning point, with Matheus Pereira netting a brace just prior the break, before Callum Robinson repeated that feat in the second period. Mbaye Diagne got the other Baggies goal, with Mason Mount s strike …
West Ham United are interested in signing Rayan Cherki from Lyon, according to . Lyon are willing to sell Cherki for €30 million, and West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui is willing to pay that fee to bring the young attacker to London Stadium in the January transfer window.
Cherki is only 21 years of age and can operate as an attacking midfielder or as a winger. The French youngster has been superb for Lyon over the years and has established himself as one of the most important players in the first team.
The France Under-21 international scored one goal and gave six assists in 19 starts and 14 substitute appearances in Ligue 1 for Lyon last season. Cherki has scored one goal in seven minutes in Ligue 1 and has scored one goal in one UEFA Europa League match for Lyon so f…
Barcelona will face Manchester United in their return to the Europa League after the Blaugrana were drawn against the Premier League club in the knockout round play-offs.
Xavi s side dropped into Europe s second-tier competition for the second season running after failing to progress from the Champions League group stages, finishing behind Bayern Munich and Inter.
It sets up the outstanding tie of the play-off round with Erik ten Hag s United, who are looking to end a trophy drought stretching back to when they last won the Europa League under Jose Mourinho in 2017.
United came second to Real Sociedad in the Europa League group stage, ultimately missing out to La Real by one goal.
They have paid the price for their failure in that regard, with Barca argua…
Best odds: 8/13
Bookmaker:
Both aiming to rebound from midweek friendly defeats, Sweden and Serbia meet at the Friends Arena in Solna on Saturday.
The Scandinavian hosts suffered a 2-1 defeat to Denmark in their previous match, while their visitors lost by the same scoreline against fellow Euro 2024 contenders Austria.
Sweden
Reflecting on Sweden s recent 2-1 defeat to Denmark, new head coach Jon Dahl Tomasson certainly has a few things to consider. It took just two minutes for Tomasson s native country to take the lead through Tottenham s Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, testing Sweden s resolve early on Wednesday evening.
The Blue and Yellow showed resilience as Newcastle United s Alexander Isak quickly leveled the score. However, a late strike from Chr…
Best Odds: 7/10
Bookmaker:
Hoping to briefly climb to the top of the La Liga table on Friday night, Atletico Madrid will make the trip to a high-flying Las Palmas.
Las Palmas
Starting with the hosts, while Las Palmas might have only made their La Liga return this season, Los Amarillos are enjoying a major top-flight flurry. Making an immediate return to winning ways last weekend as they secured a 2-1 victory away at Almeria, the mood in Garcia Pimienta’s side appears to be at a red-hot high. Gaining a string of praise and opening this weekend’s fixtures battling it out in the top-half of the table, the former Barcelona coach has seen his squad win three of their previous four La Liga showdowns. With that recent purple patch highlighted by a 2-1 win away at …
With the Community Shield up for grabs on Saturday evening, Liverpool picked up some perfect momentum before opening the 2022/23 Premier League campaign next weekend.
Eventually leaving Leicester s King Power with a 3-1 victory against title rivals Manchester City, Jurgen Klopp was filled with praise for his side s display.
While Saturday s showpiece event might have been billed as a glorified friendly, the Reds were a more than deserving winner here as goals from Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez completed an eye-catching victory.
Laying down an early marker after watching the Sky Blues snatch away their Premier League crown last season, Klopp would have also been excited to see two of his attacking superstars open their accounts.
I…
Best Odds: 6/5
Bookmaker:
Looking to officially punch their EURO 24 knockout stage ticket on Tuesday night, Denmark will meet Serbia at the Allianz Arena.
Denmark
Starting with Denmark, while Kasper Hjulmand’s men might have failed to collect a victory from any of their opening two EURO 24 appearances this summer, the Danes are sat in the driving seat to punch a knockout stage ticket. Although the Reds might have eventually been forced to settle for a 1-1 stalemate against pre-tournament favourites England, they caused the European giants a string of issues and were unfortunate to have not left Frankfurt with maximum points. Signing off their pre-EURO 24 preparations with a routine 3-1 victory against historic rivals Norway, Denmark have suffered just a singl…
Omari Kellyman has signed for Chelsea from Aston Villa in a deal reportedly worth up to £19million.
Kellyman, an England youth international, has played six times for Villa s senior side.
He joined the Villans from Derby County in 2022.
However, the lofty fee Chelsea are paying for the 18-year-old has raised questions.
Both Chelsea and Villa are reportedly in risk of breaching the Premier League s Profit and Sustainability Regulations (PSR), which could result in a points deduction.
But the sale of academy players represents pure profit for the selling club, and Kellyman s move comes a day on from Villa completing the acquisition of Ian Maatsen from Chelsea for a reported £37.5m.
Welcome to Chelsea, Omari Kellyman.
— Chelsea F…
Mohamed Salah scored twice as Liverpool went top of the Premier League thanks to a resounding 4-0 victory over an abject Manchester United at Anfield on Tuesday.
Luis Diaz and Salah were on target inside 22 minutes to put Jurgen Klopp s side on course to leapfrog defending champions Manchester City, who will hope to return to the summit when they face Brighton and Hove Albion on Wednesday.
United failed to produce a single shot in the first half of a Premier League game for the first time in four years. On that occasion they came from 2-0 down to beat City 3-2, but there were scant signs of such a stirring fightback this time.
Sadio Mane made sure of that by adding a fine finish to his exemplary assist for Salah, who sealed Liverpool s first Premier Le…