José Mourinho says he is calmer now so when the rest of the bench emptied, sprinting down the touchline to celebrate the 90th-minute goal that finally delivered victory on his first game in charge of Real Madrid in 4,380 days, he didn’t set off with them. Instead, he clenched his fists, got to his feet … Read more
Guardian writers’ predicted position: 9th (NB: this is not necessarily Sophie Downey’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips) Last season’s position: 9th Prospects Last season was a frustrating one for Aston Villa and a ninth-place finish will have been disappointing for the club and fans. Nevertheless, under Natalia Arroyo, there has always been … Read more
Manchester City will “try to find the new Rodri” after the Spain captain left the club earlier this week to join La Liga champions Barcelona, says manager Enzo Maresca. Rodri became one of the best midfielders in the world during his seven seasons at the Etihad Stadium, winning the 2024 Ballon d’Or award as well … Read more
Enzo Maresca has brushed off the loss of Rodri to Barcelona for £65m by stating Manchester City will search for the “new Rodri” in the same way Sergio Agüero was replaced by Erling Haaland. Rodri’s departure is a sizable blow to the club’s new manager as he embarks on a first season in charge. Yet … Read more
Lloyd Jones struck Charlton’s seventh-minute opener after West Ham allowed a long throw-in to bounce inside their penalty area and Tyreece Campbell put Charlton 2-0 ahead when Konstantinos Mavropanos was dispossessed near his own penalty area after the break. “We created a lot of situations but we weren’t accurate enough in the boxes,” said former … Read more
Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez open to Arsenal transfer, Spurs confident on completing Omar Marmoush deal, Ollie Watkins wants Al-Hilal move. Argentina forward Julian Alvarez, 26, is open to joining Arsenal, having previously favoured a switch to Barcelona, with his relationship with current club Atletico Madrid starting to turn “unsavoury”. (Standard), external Arsenal manager Mikel … Read more
Last season was the greatest Aston Villa have enjoyed since they won the European Cup in 1982. They claimed their second European trophy by lifting the Europa League, but even without that would have secured Champions League qualification by finishing fourth in the Premier League. Despite a miserable start during which they failed to win … Read more
Former West Brom midfielder Quevin Castro has died at the age of 25 after collapsing during a match in Portugal. Castro fell to the ground during the first half of third-tier Real Sport Clube’s friendly against top-flight side Estrela de Amadora at the Estadio das Seixas in Lisbon on Saturday. The Lisbon Football Association (AFL) … Read more
As Liverpool’s title defence faltered last season and the team slumped to a fifth-placed finish, many believed that a lack of intensity in their style of play was to blame. The Reds would finish 25 points behind Premier League champions Arsenal, with Arne Slot paying the price as the club moved to replace him with … Read more
Peter Reid knows better than most what it takes to lead Sunderland to the upper reaches of English football. The former Black Cats boss led Sunderland to back-to-back seventh-place Premier League finishes in 2000 and 2001 – a feat that was not matched until last season. Like Reid, Regis Le Bris followed up promotion to … Read more