That’s all from us on matchday live today. Tim de Lisle has buildup to Aston Villa v Manchester United, where Kobbie Mainoo is not named in Ruben Amorim’s squad.
Ewan Murray was at Tynecastle to watch Hearts beat Rangers …
Europe: Raphinha has put Barcelona in front at Villarreal from the penalty spot. They have the chance to re-establish a four-point lead at the top of La Liga. A Nikola Vlasic penalty has given Torino a second-half lead at Sassuolo in Serie A.
Updated
Here is the Scottish Premiership table as it stands with Celtic 0-0 Aberdeen a latest score …
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hearts | 18 | 22 | 41 |
| 2 | Celtic | 17 | 13 | 33 |
| 3 | Motherwell | 18 | 11 | 30 |
| 4 | Rangers | 17 | 9 | 29 |
| 5 | Hibernian | 18 | 8 | 25 |
| 6 | Aberdeen | 17 | 1 | 25 |
| 7 | Falkirk | 18 | -6 | 24 |
| 8 | Dundee Utd | 18 | -3 | 21 |
| 9 | St Mirren | 16 | -7 | 17 |
| 10 | Dundee | 18 | -17 | 13 |
| 11 | Kilmarnock | 18 | -16 | 12 |
| 12 | Livingston | 17 | -15 | 9 |
Full time: Hearts 2-1 Rangers
Hearts lay down yet more title credentials with a fairly dominant display. After Bojan Miovski’s disallowed goal, Danny Röhl’s side conceded twice just before half-time. First Stuart Findlay headed in from Alexandros Kyziridis’s cross, then Lawrence Shankland raced on to Claudio Braga’s flick-on and beat Jack Butland with a shot from a tight angle. Youssef Chermiti pulled a goal back with pretty much the final kick but Rangers were largely outclassed.
In terms of points on the board, Hearts go nine clear at the top of the Premiership with Celtic still being held 0-0 by Aberdeen.
Updated
GOAL! Hearts 2-1 Rangers (Chermiti 90+4)
Youssef Chermiti races on to a long ball and pulls a goal back for Rangers, but it’s only a consolation …
Updated
Scotland: Hearts remain in the driving seat against Rangers with just over five minutes to go (2-0) and Celtic and Aberdeen are locked at 0-0 with just under 15 minutes gone.
Rangers have had just one shot on target all game – it was in the 23rd minute.
Updated
Tom Garry was at St Helens this afternoon for a Women’s League Cup quarter-final that was quite one-sided …
Hearts 2-0 Rangers: Danny Röhl makes a couple more changes with Thelo Aasgaard and Danilo on for Barron and Miovski. Derek McInnes is yet to dip into his bench.
Scotland: Celtic have kicked off against Aberdeen at Parkhead. Fourth time lucky for Wilfried Nancy?
Still Hearts 2-0 Rangers.
Updated
Women’s League Cup quarter-finals: Full time scores
Crystal Palace 0-2 Arsenal (Codina 19, Blackstenius 90+3)
Liverpool 1-9 Chelsea (Clark 72; Kerr 13 17, Kaptein 21, Beever-Jones 32, Rytting Kaneryd 53 73 81, Nüsken 76, Bright 86)
Manchester United 2-1 Tottenham (Park 51, Rolfö 86; Spence 16)
West Ham 1-5 Manchester City (Ueki 26; Kerolin 2, Hemp 7, Clinton 42, Shaw 55, Coombs 75)
Updated
Spain: Girona 0-3 Atlético Madrid is a full-time score. Antoine Griezmann added a third with almost the last kick of the game, finding the far corner with a low shot across the goalkeeper.
Updated
Full time: Liverpool 1-9 Chelsea
Quite an extraordinary result at St Helens as the holders thrash Liverpool to progress to the last four of the Women’s League Cup. There was a second-half hat-trick for Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, plus a first-half double from Sam Kerr and further goals from Wieke Kaptein, Aggie Beever-Jones, Sjoeke Nüsken and Millie Bright.
Updated
Huge chance for Hearts! Shankland has his head in his hands after somehow putting Kyziridis’s cutback wide from about 10 yards out. That would’ve put the game to bed. Still 2-0.
Updated
Nine for Chelsea! Liverpool are caught playing out and Millie Bright plays a one-two with Maika Hamano and thrashes in a ninth. Still a few minutes to play …
Updated
Scotland: Hearts are keeping Rangers at arm’s length at Tynecastle. Youssef Chermiti came on at half-time for the visitors.
Eight for Chelsea! Nüsken hits Kaptein’s cut-back against the bar and Rytting Kaneryd follows up to head in the rebound to complete her hat-trick. Miserable for Liverpool. 8-1.
Fridolina Rolfö has given Manchester United the lead against Spurs with a few minutes to go.
Updated
Spain: Conor Gallagher, scorer of Atlético’s second at Girona, is blanked by Diego Simeone as he is subbed with 10 minutes to go. Gallagher chucks his tracksuit top away and sits down in a strop. Not advisable, I would suggest …
Women’s League Cup: Normal service resumes at St Helens. Chelsea go straight up the other end to add a sixth, Rytting Kaneryd seeing her shot deflect in off Clark. 6-1. No wait, 7-1. Sjoeke Nüsken heads in a seventh!
Updated
Scotland: Hearts v Rangers resumes – 2-0 to the league leaders.
Women’s League Cup: Liverpool have a goal back against Chelsea as Jenna Clark heads in from a corner. Just the four more to go … 5-1.
Europe: Atlético still have a 2-0 lead at Girona thanks to Koke’s stunner and Gallagher’s deflected strike. In Serie A, it’s goalless between Sassuolo and Torino after 25 minutes, with the visitors having a penalty overturned after a VAR review a few moments ago.
Half-time: Hearts 2-0 Rangers
What an end to the half for Hearts. After Bojan Miovski thought he’d given Rangers the lead – a tap-in that was chalked off by VAR for offside – Stuart Findlay and Lawrence Shankland struck in the minutes before the break to get Tynecastle jumping. Hearts are going nine points clear as it stands.
Updated
Women’s League Cup: Chelsea and Manchester City have extended their leads. Johanna Rytting Kaneryd has scored a fifth for the holders at Liverpool and City have a fourth at West Ham. Jess Park has equalised for Manchester United at Spurs.
GOAL! Hearts 2-0 Rangers (Shankland 42)
Lawrence Shankland makes it two from a seemingly impossible angle! Claudio Braga wins a flick-on inside the area and Shankland has it all to do from approaching the byline but he finds a gap between Jack Butland and the near post to double Hearts’ advantage!
Updated
GOAL! Hearts 1-0 Rangers (Findlay 38)
Stuart Findlay puts the league leaders in front! Kyzridis takes a corner short, gets it back and swings a cross into the box that Findlay directs into the back of the net! Tynecastle is rocking now.
Updated
Scotland: Bit of argy-bargy at Hearts as shoves are exchanged between Hearts’ Cameron Devlin and Rangers’ Mohammed Diomande. Referee keeps his cards in his pocket.
Team news: Celtic v Aberdeen
Celtic: Schmeichel, Trusty, McCowan, Tierney, Yang, McGregor, Engels, Kenny, Ralston, Maeda, Nygren.
Subs: Sinisalo, Simpson-Pusey, Scales, Yamada, Inamura, Bernardo, Murray, Forrest, Donovan.
Aberdeen: Mitov, Devlin, Milne, Knoester, Lobban, Armstrong, Jensen, Keskinen, Aouchiche, Lazetic, Karlsson.
Subs: Suman, Shinnie, Nilsen, Clarkson, Milanovic, Bilalovic, Nisbet, Kjartansson, Gyamfi.
Kick-off is 3pm.
Updated
Scotland: Chances at Tynecastle! Rangers go close when Mikey Moore has a shot saved by Alexander Schwolow before Jayden Meghoma’s follow-up is deflected behind. Hearts go up the other end with Alexandros Kyziridis, who powers a low shot wide of the far post. Still 0-0.
Women’s League Cup: Half-time scores
Crystal Palace 0-1 Arsenal (Codina 19)
Liverpool 0-4 Chelsea (Kerr 13 17, Kaptein 21, Beever-Jones 32)
Manchester United 0-1 Tottenham (Spence 16)
West Ham 1-3 Manchester City (Ueki 26; Kerolin 2, Hemp 7, Clinton 42)
Scotland: Rangers think they’ve taken the lead against Hearts as Emmanuel Fernandez flicks on a corner and the ball is touched in by Bojan Miovski at the back post. VAR is having a look and it looks offside … it’s ruled out!
Updated
Spain: Atlético double their lead at Girona. Conor Gallagher jinks inside and hits a low shot that Vitor Reis ends up deflecting into his own net. Not great from the Manchester City loanee.
Updated
Beever-Jones has a chance to make it five after Kirby’s poor distribution but the Liverpool keeper manages to redeem herself to deny the Chelsea striker from close range.
Scotland: Hearts and Rangers are under way at Tynecastle. Rangers are donning their orange away kit … for some reason. No score after 5 mins.
Chelsea have four at Liverpool! Guro Reiten’s ball in behind finds Aggie Beever-Jones, who has the simple task of prodding it past Faye Kirby.
Riko Ueki has also pulled a goal back for West Ham against Manchester City – 2-1 they trail.
Updated
Serie A: Pisa have ended a run of three consecutive defeats with their 2-2 draw at Cagliari. After Semih Kilicsoy had given the hosts a 2-1 lead with 20 minutes to go, Pisa’s Stefano Moreo popped up with an 89th-minute equaliser to share the points.
Promoted Pisa are three points from safety, while Cagliari are not far clear of the drop zone themselves.
Chelsea are running riot against Liverpool in the Women’s League Cup. Sam Kerr has got two of three goals inside 21 minutes at St Helens. Latest scores after 20-25 mins:
Crystal Palace 0-1 Arsenal (Codina 19)
Liverpool 0-3 Chelsea (Kerr 13 17, Kaptein 21)
Manchester United 0-1 Tottenham (Spence 16)
West Ham 0-2 Manchester City (Kerolin 2, Hemp 7)
Updated
Screamer in La Liga! Koke has put Atlético ahead at Girona in some style. Arnau Martínez doesn’t get enough on a clearance and it bobbles back to the Atlético skipper, who rifles it into the top corner from just outside the D.
UK and Ireland readers can watch:
What a strike from Koke! 🤯
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) December 21, 2025
The midfielder fires Atleti into the lead with a sensational hit from outside the box 💥
𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 @sbk | 18+ | 𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝐺𝑎𝑚𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑦 pic.twitter.com/UXhBQ2tU93
Updated
Thanks Tom. Hearts can go a whopping nine points clear in the Premiership if they beat Rangers in the early kick-off in Scotland, albeit having played two games more than Celtic.
Celtic are currently six points back in second and have the chance to pounce, as much as a wounded animal can pounce, against Aberdeen later on if Hearts slip up. Rangers, for what it’s worth, are fourth – nine points behind the leaders.
Max Rushden has been writing about Wilfried Nancy and a social media post this week that hasn’t exactly helped his cause.
OK, that’s it from me on matchday live. Thanks for all your comments and emails. Here to pick up the baton is Billy Munday, so keep firing them in.
We are underway at the Estadi Montilivi in the game between Girona and Atletico Madrid, when something happens we’ll let you know.
For a team of Villa’s standing this is a bafflingly bad record…
It’s now 1-1 between Cagliari and Pisa, Michael Folorunsho got the hosts level just before the hour. There’s probably another 30 minutes left to play there.
Team news: Hearts v Rangers
Hearts XI: Schwolow, Steinwender, Kent, Findlay, Kingsley, McEntee, Devlin, Kyziridis, Magnusson, Braga, Shankland.
Subs: Gordon, McCart, Baningime, Kabangu, Borchgrevink, Spittal, Forrest, Wilson, Kerjota.
Rangers XI: Butland, Tavernier, Sterling, Fernandez, Meghoma, Barron, Aarons, Raskin, Diomande, Moore, Miovski.
Subs: Kelly, Nsiala-Makengo, Adamson, Dowell, Aasgaard, Gassama, Curtis, Chermiti, Danilo.
Two changes for Hearts from the win over Falkirk last week. Key men Craig Halkett and the suspended Harry Milne are absent and, as a result, Frankie Kent and Stephen Kingsley come in.
For Rangers there are three changes. Bojan Miovski comes back into the starting lineup, as do James Tavernier, who replaces Afcon-bound Nasser Djiga, and Nico Raskin. Findlay Curtis and Youssef Chermiti drop to the bench.
We have a goal in Sardinia! Matteo Tramoni has put visiting Pisa ahead just before the break. Three points would put Pisa back in touch with the teams above them in the Serie A relegation battle but they are already consigned to spending Christmas in the bottom three.
It’s hard to know what to make of Diego Simeone’s team this season. They had a bad start, then a great run and recently lost two matches before winning again. Consistently inconsistent. Looking at the squad it’s perhaps not as talented as in previous years and the ageing stars are maybe just a bit too old? In an era of pragmatic coaches, Simeone should be thriving and in Julian Alvarez they have one of the game’s brightest talents, so why aren’t they doing better?
Let me know in the comments or via the email link above.
The 1pm kick-off in La Liga sees Atletico Madrid travel to Girona. Here’s the team news…
Girona XI: Gazzaniga, Blind, Frances, Martinez, Martin, Moreno, Roca, Tsygankov, Vanat, Vitor Reis, Witsel.
Subs: Andreev, Arango, Asprilla, Ba, Gil, Jordana, Lemar, Livakovic, Rincon, Solis, Romero.
Atletico Madrid XI: Oblak, Alvarez, Barrios, Gonzalez, Hancko, Koke, Llorente, Pubill, Ruggeri, Simeone, Sorloth.
Subs: Almada, Cardoso, Esquivel, Galan, Gallagher, Griezmann, Le Normand, Martin, Molina, Musso, Puric, Raspadori.
There was a major announcement on the eve of the 2025 Afcon by the Confederation of African Football (Caf) that will see the international tournament move to a four-year cycle from 2028.
The next finals, scheduled for 2027 in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, will go ahead and another tournament would be held the following year, but after that it will be hosted every four years.
Caf president, Patrice Motsepe, announced the launch of an annual African Nations League from 2029 to fill the gap, following the example of Europe that holds its championship every four years. “Historically the Nations Cup was the prime resource for us but now we will get financial resources every year,” he said. “It is an exciting new structure which will contribute to sustainable financial independence and ensure more synchronisation with the Fifa calendar.”
More on that story here:
A few more thoughts from below the line on Villa v United. I hope I don’t jinx it, but the deficiencies of both teams – a bit like the Bournemouth game - should make this an entertaining watch. Villa are a lot more defensively solid but not impenetrable.
‘We feel excluded’: expensive tickets and Trump’s shadow dampen World Cup excitement in Mexico
Jonathan Zamora was seven years old the last time Mexico hosted the World Cup in 1986. “I witnessed perhaps one of the most sublime moments in the history of football,” he says, retelling a story that has become a pillar of his life.
Zamora, a Mexican football fan, does not remember how his father, Antonio, got tickets to the 1986 World Cup quarter-final between Argentina and England at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. But he does clearly remember the goals: first when Diego Maradona used his “hand of God” to push the ball past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton. And then the “goal of the century”, where the Argentinian went on a slalom run, dribbling past half the England team before scoring.
In those days, tickets in Mexico were sold in packages of 13 for about $150 per person to see all 13 games [about $442, or £330, today]. “I have very vivid memories and others that are a little blurry. I remember being afraid of the height of the stands; we were in the cheapest seats,” Zamora says. He also recalls “the explosion of emotion” during the game.
When Zamora found out the World Cup would be returning to Mexico, he felt a swell of nostalgia and immediately knew he wanted to buy tickets to go to the stadium again with his father, now 71 years old.
Zamora, who has a master’s degree in petrochemical engineering and works at a company that provides services to the state oil firm, knew the tickets would be expensive but was undeterred. Then reality set in. For the past four months he has been trying – and failing – to purchase seats. Through the Fifa website, he unsuccessfully entered three online ballots for the chance to win an opportunity to buy tickets and has no idea how he will be able to attend the 2026 World Cup in his home country.
Read Raúl Vilchis’ piece on how Mexicans are finding it hard to afford tickets for their own World Cup:
The early fixture in Serie A has now kicked off, it’s still 0-0 at Unipol Domus where Cagliari are hosting Pisa.
‘I made such a bond’: Jesse Lingard on life in South Korea and his next challenge
Jesse Lingard says his Korean is decent, good enough to make himself understood when out for dinner and the shocks do not stop there. The former Manchester United and England midfielder was always going to throw himself into his K-League adventure with FC Seoul and now that it is over after two years, a new chapter beckoning when the January transfer window opens, the 33-year-old certainly has the tales to tell.
It was the little things as much as anything else, the cultural quirks. And the bigger ones, of course – such as the time he watched an octopus squirm in front of him before eating it.
The food is different, obviously, and I tried live octopus. It was moving. I was scared at first but it was all right.
Read David Hytner’s interview with Jesse Lingard here:
Updated
You can follow the Afcon opener between hosts Morocco and Comoros on these pages with John Brewin later on. Buildup on the live blog will get underway around 6pm, about an hour before kick-off in Rabat.
Anger spreads over Afcon schedule as Morocco seek to end half-century wait
With the hosts, Morocco, taking on the island nation of Comoros in the Africa Cup of Nations opener in Rabat on Sunday, there is no mistaking the excitement across the continent. Football is akin to a religion among Africa’s largely young population, with 60% of its 1.5 billion people under the age of 25.
But the timing of this Afcon, to be played over the Christmas and New Year period in Rabat, Casablanca, Marrakech, Agadir, Tangier and Fez, has never happened since the tournament began in 1957, igniting a storm of anger throughout the African football community.
Read Osasu Obayiuwana’s Afcon preview in full here:
A bit of team news from Italy… it’s Cagliari v Pisa.
Cagliari XI: Caprile, Adopo, Deiola, Esposito, Folorunsho, Gaetano, Kilicsoy, Mina, Obert, Palestra, Rodriguez.
Subs: Borrelli, Cavuoti, Ciocci, Di Pardo, Idrissi, Luperto, Mazzitelli, Pavoletti, Pintus, Prati, Radunovic, Rog, Trepy, Zappa.
Pisa XI: Semper, Aebischer, Angori, Bonfanti, Canestrelli, Caracciolo (c), Hojholt, Meister, Piccinini, Toure, Tramoni.
Subs: Albiol, Buffon, Calabresi, Coppola, Denoon, Esteves, Leris, Lorran, Marin, Mateus Lusuardi, Mbambi, Moreo, Andrade, Scuffet, Vural.
How do you all see the game today at Villa Park? United can go fifth with a win but Villa are a tough nut on home soil.
Keep the comments coming below and drop me an email via the link at the top of the page.
Evans returns reinvigorated on mission to spark Bristol Rovers revival
The first task for Steve Evans in his opening match as Bristol Rovers manager was to avoid defeat, to start winning points again. Doing so at Crewe Alexandra, albeit with his new side playing against 10 men for more than an hour, at least removed an early monkey from his back.
Ahead is something far trickier, a task that would daunt many other managers, as the veteran coach seeks to fire the League Two strugglers – hitherto on a 10-game losing streak that had taken them into the relegation zone – up the division. The ultimate goal? To clamber on to an equal footing with Bristol City.
That was Evans’s mission statement after taking the job at the Memorial Stadium, though this 1-1 draw 136 miles north at Crewe’s Gresty Road perhaps shows how much work he must do just to keep the Gas in the Football League, let alone reach League One or the Championship, where City kicked off the weekend in 11th.
Read Dominic Booth on the task ahead for Evans at Memorial Stadium:
There’s some interesting debate raging below the line about the tempestuous meeting between Tottenham and Liverpool last night, where Xavi Simons and Cristian Romero were sent off but Micky van de Ven, whose challenge ended Alexander Isak’s involvement was not.
Thomas Frank was certainly of the view that Simons sending off was unjust. “I don’t like those types of red card because I think the game is gone if that’s a red card,” he told the BBC soon after the game finished. “I don’t think it’s a reckless tackle. I don’t think it’s exceptional force. We have the referee’s call and that was a yellow, so that’s why I don’t think that’s a red.”
Later on, in his press conference, he rowed back slightly on his suggestion the game had gone, saying that statement was “probably too big”. But his annoyance was clear, as was his sense that the three-match ban Simons now faces would be exorbitant. “If it was an intentional or very stupid tackle then it’s one thing,” he said. “I just think it’s too harsh that a tackle like that can be three games.”
Let me know your thoughts via the comments on in the email link at the top of the page.
Think you know ball?
Got five minutes and want to test your football knowledge? Play the Guardian’s first daily football game, On the ball. The rules are simple: guess the Premier League player, past or present, with the fewest clues possible, and impress your pals – and yourself – by doing so.
It’s up to you whether you choose to start with a player’s country, the three clubs they have played for the most, when they made their Premier League debut, their age, the number of Premier League appearances or titles they have to their name, or how many different countries they have been based. The aim is to guess the player with the fewest clues, with points deducted for every clue used up, and to land a score as close to 100 points as possible.
Each day will see a new player to guess. Can you remember who else Mohamed Salah played for? Which midfielder has played for Tottenham, Leicester and Norwich? Go on: test yourself. And your friends.
Play On the ball from the Puzzles tab of the Guardian app.
North of the border, there is a tasty pair of fixtures. Suprise leaders Hearts welcome Rangers to Tynecastle, where a win would further reinforce the home side’s credentials as title challengers. Rangers are improving under Danny Röhl and should present more of a challenge than the side who lost 2-0 at Ibrox earlier in the season.
Celtic have lurched back into crisis mode after losing four in a row. New manager Wilfried Nancy is under pressure and the visit to Celtic Park of in-form Aberdeen does not make things any easier.
Emery’s aspiring Aston Villa must shrug off United hoodoo to become contenders
On 20 October 2022, Aston Villa lost 3-0 at Fulham and Steven Gerrard was sacked. Villa had won only two of their first 11 games of the season and lay 17th in the Premier League table. Unai Emery was appointed as manager 12 days later, since when the transformation in Villa has been remarkable. In his three years in charge, no side in the top five leagues in Europe have won more home games and Villa have finished seventh, fourth and sixth, while reaching the quarter-final of the Champions League.
It’s not just Emery, of course: significant money has been spent as well – £35m that January, £100m the following season, nearly £200m the season after that. It’s only fair to point out that significant sales have been made, so the net spend since Emery took over is only around £40m, but there has also been a significant increase in salaries, with the latest available financial results showing Villa had the seventh highest wage bill in the Premier League – although that does not include Marcus Rashford, Marco Asensio and Axel Disasi, who were signed on loan in January in an effort to ensure Champions League qualification.
Read Jonathan Wilson’s column in full here:
Now let’s turn our attention to the game’s only, but nonetheless significant, fixture in the Premier League. At Villa Park Manchester United are the visitors in a game carrying plenty of narrative. Aston Villa have beaten United only three times in their past 53 meetings and suffered a costly defeat at Old Trafford on the final day of last season that cost Unai Emery’s side Champions League football. A draw would have been enough to secure a seat at the top table of Europe again.
Villa keeper Emi Martinez is progressing but will subject to a late decision on his fitness, while Tyrone Mings, Pau Torres and Ross Barkley are all out. Harvey Elliott was ill during the week and has been on the outside looking in.
For United, Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt are still sidelined, but otherwise it is the noise around the club that Ruben Amorim is battling. This week Amorim has had to deal with stories about the futures of Kobbie Mainoo and Bruno Fernandes at the club, some ill-informed words about his commitment to developing players from the academy and even Sir Alex Ferguson, who questioned United’s ability to win a title in the next decade.
Elsewhere in the Premier League, Leeds continued their recent strong form by gunning down an off-colour Crystal Palace. Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored twice in the home side’s 4-1 win at Elland Road. Wolves continue to look doomed after their latest defeat, Keane Lewis-Potter scored twice at Molineux as Brentford ran out 2-0 winners. Armando Broja scored a last-minute equaliser to end Burnley’s seven-game losing run and leave Bournemouth winless in eight as they played out a 1-1 draw at the Vitality Stadium. At the American Express Stadium, goalmouth action was at a premium as Brighton and Sunderland drew 0-0.
It seems a very long time ago but Newcastle and Chelsea played out a humdinger of a 2-2 draw at St James’ Park in the day’s early kick-off. Eddie Howe’s side led 2-0 at the break thanks to a Nick Woltemade double but the visitors fought back with goals from Reece James and João Pedro.
Newcastle have now dropped 13 points from winning positions this season, but their manager blamed the match officials rather than lax defending for this latest setback. However, it was a controversial incident in the second half that saw Howe accuse Andy Madley of failing to award Newcastle a “stonewall” penalty.
With the score 2-1, Trevoh Chalobah’s 54th-minute challenge on Anthony Gordon propelled the Newcastle player into the hoardings, but Madley declined to award a penalty, a decision endorsed by the video assistant referee.
“It was a clear error and a clear penalty,” said Howe, who is normally reluctant to criticise referees. “Anywhere else on the pitch that is a blatant free-kick. I thought it would be overturned.
“The defender only focuses on Anthony. [VAR] said it was shielding. I don’t agree with that. I think the player has gone into Anthony aggressively, too aggressively, so I think it’s a stonewall. The defender’s only looking at Anthony, not the ball. It was the wrong decision.”
Arne Slot’s satisfaction of seeing Liverpool move level on points with fourth-placed Chelsea was tempered by concern over Alexander Isak’s departure. The Sweden striker came on at half-time but was on the pitch for only 11 eventful minutes, sustaining an injury after being heavily tackled by Micky van de Ven in the process of scoring the opening goal.
“I don’t have any news on him but if a player scores, gets injured and doesn’t try to come back on then that’s not usually a good thing,” Slot said. “I can’t say any more than that, it’s my gut feeling, not medical. I haven’t spoken to him about it yet.”
Isak and Conor Bradley are due for scans to under the extent of their injuries. With Mo Salah at Afcon, Liverpool now have only one available striker and dwindling options at right back.
It’s very much ‘as you were’ at the top of the Premier League table after both Manchester City and Arsenal won.
Erling Haaland scored twice and Tijjani Reijnders once as West Ham were swatted aside, losing to City for the seventh time in a row after conceding at least three goals in the past six meetings. Jamie Jackson was at the Etihad to see that one.
Viktor Gyökeres’ emphatic first-half penalty sealed a slender yet merited win over an Everton team missing several important components. Arsenal were more efficient than impressive and rarely troubled throughout a scrappy contest, reports Andy Hunter at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
There was more drama at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, though. Nick Ames was there to see three goals, two red cards and a ghastly looking injury to Liverpool striker Alexander Isak as the Reds beat Spurs 2-1. Isak scored to make it 1-0 before Hugo Ekitike got the second, but the Sweden international was injured as he shot thanks to a scything challenge from Micky van de Ven. Perhaps surprisingly Van de Ven did not see red, but Xavi Simons did for a careless challenge on Virgil van Dijk in the first half and after Richarlison scored to make the late stages more interesting Cristian Romero earned a second yellow for a petulant kick out.
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Preamble
Good morning reader and welcome to Sunday’s matchday live! While there may only be one Premier League game today there is no shortage of action elsewhere, including the opening game of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. The hosts, Morocco, take on Comoros at the newly opened Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat. It doesn’t take an expert to tell you that will be a hell of an atmosphere.
In the Premier League we have (title challenging?) Aston Villa hosting Manchester United, in a fixture that should provide a decent measuring stick for both sides. There is also a slate of Women’s League Cup quarter-finals to look ahead to, plus three of the top four in the Scottish Premiership in action.
But first, let’s take a look at the headlines from yesterday…
