Key events
No Uefa action over alleged racist chants
Atlético Madrid and Barcelona appear to have escaped punishment from Uefa over abusive and racist chants from fans about Vinicius Jr at Champions League matches last month.
Real Madridâs Brazilian superstar urged Uefa to act over chants heard before those clubsâ last-16 home ties against Inter Milan and Napoli respectively, but a disciplinary circular issued by Uefa on Thursday made no mention of any sanction related to it.
Instead, the only penalty issued to either club by the control, ethics and disciplinary body (CEDB) in relation to those matches was a 5,000 euro (£4,289) fine to Atléti for an invasion of the field of play.
Uefa has offered up no explanation for the absence of any sanction in Thursdayâs list when contacted by the PA news agency, or said whether the chants remain the subject of investigation. European footballâs governing body also issued no comment at the time social media footage circulated of the chanting.
The constant ray of sunshine amid the Manchester United gloom? The academy, of course. The Under-18s are double winners this season and Ethan Wheately became the latest Carrington prospect to feature in the first team when he came on against Sheffield United in midweek. 250 up.
Ten Hag, you suspect, will be asked about this tweet X post by Marcus Rashford.
More managersâ press conferences to come this afternoon, Erik ten Hag and Mauricio Pochettino among them.
Bayern fans arenât too keen on the Rangnick links, though. Theyâve started a petition to keep Tuchel. How things change â¦
ð´ Tuchel on the petition by Bayern fans calling for him to stay: âFor me this is a pleasant topic that people want to keep me here. But it has no priority for meâ.
âI don’t want to take it as an excuse or distraction. We are in full focus on the final gamesâ. pic.twitter.com/fLGURANSxr
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 26, 2024
Thomas Tuchel hasnât taken kindly to questions about the identity of his Bayern Munich successor. Speaking ahead of the Bavariansâ clash with Eintrach Frankfurt this weekend, it was put to Tuchel that Ralf Rangnick had been approached about the Bayern job.
The former Manchester United interim head coach is currently in charge of Austria and is set to lead them at Euro 2024. Tuchel is one of German footballâs many disciples of the âGodfather of Gegenpressingâ.
This question is like the neighbour that is noisy at three in the morning! Iâll set my headphones to noise-cancelling mode and ignore [the noise]. This topic wonât help me tomorrow, and wonât help me on Tuesday.
Phil Foden should be the player of the season. FWA, PFA, everything. Tell me Iâm wrong.
Klopp is doing well to keep his cool. His spikiness is only marginal at this point, despite his obvious disappointment about the way the past few weeks have unfolded.
He adds: âDid anyone expect us to become champions at the start of the season? No, but it developed in this direction.
âWe go now to Aston Villa, they still have a few points less than us, so we need points still to be definitely [qualified for the Champions League], also Tottenham. Nobody here is happy at all. We are very, very disappointed in this moment in time. We cannot change that.â
Klopp on Slot, title race and Liverpool’s form
Hereâs the Liverpool manager on competing with Arsenal and Manchester City in the title race and how he helps his players get over that Merseyside derby defeat:
Itâs definitely a challenge, but itâs part of the job. I canât remember ever being as disappointed or frustrated after a game like I was after Everton.
Iâve unfortunately lost a lot of games in my life, but it was special. We were not there. You see the other two [team] playing very positive football, high results, but we are where we are because in this precise area, we donât play positive football.
I blame myself for that â 100%. I donât know why or how it happened, but Iâm responsible for the mood the team is in, and this team was not. In general, like I said, we donât play positive football. It always feels in the end [like] we are always catching up with something.
I think even Arsenal and City see it as a two-horse race. We might have to say something else publicly, but they donât expect for themselves to lose two games from now on, I donât think so.
I donât expect them to do that. If they do it, then we would be completely silly if we were not around.
On Arne Slot: âI like the way his team plays football. All the things I hear about him as a guy, a good guy. Some people I know, know him. I donât know him, but some people who know him say heâs a good guy. I like that a lot. So good coach, good guy. Looking forward for the club, if he is the solution, if he is the man, I am more than happy.â
Sound the klaxon. Klopp has been asked a lot about Slot. More to come.
Klopp on Slot: “I didn’t read anything but I was told Arne said something. I’m not involved in the process. I like the way his team plays football. I don’t know him yet. Good coach, good guy. If he’s the man, I am more than happy. I’m not the one to judge.”
— James Pearce (@JamesPearceLFC) April 26, 2024
Marta to retire from internationals
From Reuters:
Brazilâs all-time top scorer in both menâs and womenâs football, Marta, will retire from internationals this year, the 38-year-old striker said ahead of the Paris Olympics.
Marta, who has been playing in the United States with Orlando Pride since 2017, hopes to make her sixth appearance at the Olympics at this yearâs Paris Games.
âIf I go to the Olympics, I will enjoy every moment, because, regardless of whether I go to the Olympics or not, this is my last year with the national team,â Marta told CNN in an interview on Thursday.
âThere will be no more Marta from 2025 in the national team as an athlete. I am very calm about this, because I see with great optimism this development that we are having in relation to young athletes.â
Marta, affectionately known as âQueen Martaâ, is the all-time highest scorer for Brazil with 116 goals in 175 matches.
She is also the top scorer in the Womenâs World Cup with 17 goals, finishing runner-up in 2007. She has won three Copa America Femenina titles and was part of the Brazil team that claimed silver medals at the 2004 and 2008 Games.
Marta began her club career with Vasco da Gama, with spells at Swedish sides Umea IK, Tyreso FF and Rosengard. In the U.S., she has also played for Los Angeles Sol, Western New York Flash and Gold Pride.
Letâs not be too Premier League centric. David Hopkins certainly isnât as he emails in ahead of a huge weekend in the third tier.
âItâs the final round of League One fixtures tomorrow lunchtime,â he reminds us. âDerby need a single point at home to the bottom team to got promoted. On paper thatâs a gimme so why am I currently incapacitated through nerves?!â
Thatâs the beautiful game for you, David. Derby v Carlisle and Peterborough v Bolton both kick off at 12.30pm (BST) tomorrow. Portsmouth are already up as champions.
Pick of the games this weekend? Itâs Spurs v Arsenal for me, Clive, and itâs not even close. The North London Derby always delivers the goods.
And Karen Carney, in her latest column, says it will provide a stern test of the Gunnersâ mental fortitude, possibly the toughest challenge of their title tilt so far.
A note to club PR executives: Stop Capping Up The Word Club In Press Releases.
Lauren Hemp signs City extension
England forward Lauren Hemp has signed a new three-year contract extension with Manchester City, penning a deal until 2027.
The 23-year-old winger has become an integral player for City, winning four trophies, while scoring 65 goals in 157 appearances. Sheâs a four-time winner of the PFA Young Player of the Year and has been included in back-to-back PFA WSL Teams of the Season, and also has 55 England caps to her name.
Hemp said: âThis is a special team. I want to take my game to the next level, and I feel like Iâm capable of doing that here. The WSL is the best league to be in.
âI feel at home here in Manchester. With the squad we have here, we are always learning and itâs so special to be involved at a club where weâre capable of achieving anything.
âIâm so passionate about this club and thereâs no place Iâd rather be. Iâm very excited to keep this journey going for the next few years.â
Another summer, another mass exodus from Manchester United?
According to reports, Raphaël Varane and Anthony Martial are certain to leave this summer when their contracts expire. Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Jadon Sancho, Donny van de Beek and Mason Greenwood could all be sold – as could Victor Lindelöf, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Scott McTominay and Harry Maguire, who all have one year remaining on their deals.
Can the last person to leave Old Trafford please turn out the lights. This is fine.
Kompany â No pleasure in United’s struggles
Former Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany is taking no pleasure in Manchester Unitedâs recent struggles and said he has great respect for Erik ten Hag.
Kompanyâs Burnley travel to Old Trafford tomorrow, hoping to inflict what would be a sixth home defeat of the season for United. Ten Hagâs position is under increasing scrutiny as Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his Ineos group make seismic changes to Unitedâs footballing operation.
Old Traffordâs aura has certainly dimmed from the days when Kompany went there as a City player, but the Burnley manager is taking no delight in the Red Devilsâ demise.
âPleasure? No, come on,â he said. âOn the other side is a manager that I have a lot of respect for, that I know the quality of, that Iâve seen and faced in different leagues.
âHe was at Ajax when I was in Belgium with Anderlecht, Iâve seen the quality of his teams and what heâs been doing, so on the contrary, thereâs a form of respect there, but Iâm more about our business.â
Chris Wilder has been in contemplative mood this morning as the spectre of Sheffield Unitedâs impending relegation (finally) moves in. A loss to Newcastle on Saturday will confirm their place in the 2024/25 Championship.
Weâre not saying everything is great. What we are saying is there is a load of optimism about the future of the football club. Itâs a poor season, not a poor football club. Weâve been in far more worse positions than this as a football club, certainly over my time as a supporter, player and manager.
So, weâll come again if the inevitable happens on the weekend. Weâll try our best, as we did, like we did on Wednesday night at Old Trafford, to get a result for our club and our supporters.
An email from Kevin Wilson re: managers.
I canât be the only person who thinks the media love-in for Roberto de Zerbi is a little overblown, right? Brighton has played some very pretty football under his management, but then they did under Potter. And the results are no better. In recent months, theyâve looked pretty soft.
If De Zerbi gets a bigger job off the back of an âOKâ job at Brighton, then he should really thank the Brighton recruitment team because theyâre the real assets at the club.
Your point on their recruitment is bang-on, Kevin. But Brighton did finish sixth last season ⦠I think RDZ deserves some credit for that.
Since weâre talking about Dutch football and the manager merry-go-round, Jacob Steinberg reports the news that Graham Potter is of interest to Ajax as they seek a replacement for interim head coach John van ât Schip.
Potter has been waiting for the right job since his sacking by Chelsea a year ago and may hold on for Manchester United, who have shortlisted him among their potential replacements for Erik ten Hag. And now for the full circle part ⦠Ten Hag has been linked with a return to Ajax if he leaves United. Boom.
For this season at least, Oli McBurnie is done.
So .. Arne Slot to Liverpool then? Who saw that coming? Dutch football expert Bart Vlietstra provides the inside track on the man who is now the most likely to succeed Jürgen Klopp.
This particular passage might get the Redsâ fans pulses racing:
Slot is an overachiever who can spark a revolution. In many respects he resembles Jürgen Klopp. He is intelligent, relies on attacking football and high pressing, is didactically strong, surrounds himself with skilled assistants, brings wit into his media dealings and is searingly ambitious. His voice in transfer politics has grown at Feyenoord.
Ireland extend O’Shea’s interim spell
John OâSheaâs interim spell in charge of the Republic of Ireland has been extended, the FAI have announced today.
The former Manchester United defender was appointed as Irelandâs interim head coach earlier this year, taking charge of two games in March against Switzerland and Belgium.
And his period in charge will now cover the June international friendlies against Hungary and Portugal, with his backroom team â coaches Paddy McCarthy, Glenn Whelan and Rene Gilmartin, plus analyst Stephen Rice and fitness coach Damien Doyle â staying on as well.
FAI director of football Marc Canham said: âAs confirmed last week, the process to appoint a new head coach for our senior menâs team will be concluded ahead of start of the Uefa Nations League. Weâre very pleased with what John and the team were able to achieve in the March friendlies and the June fixtures represents another exciting challenge for the team.â
Eddie Howe says Newcastle trio Nick Pope, Joelinton and Miguel Almiron âare getting closerâ to full fitness, while Tino Livramento remains a doubt for their home clash with Sheffield United; he has an ankle problem. Callum Wilson returned in the midweek defeat to Crystal Palace, with Howe desperate for some kind of reaction to his teamâs surprisingly limp performance at Selhurst Park.
We were disappointing, we acknowledge that and hold our hands up to it. We missed those resilient qualities that we need and that has been too often the case away from home. We have to do better. We must learn and absorb all the lessons from Wednesday.
Every game is so difficult, it is up to us to firstly go into the game with the right mentality and let our players express themselves in the right way. We have to finish the season strongly, we are under no illusions on how important these fixtures are.
Here are 10 things to talk about with your mates while watching the football this weekend.
What else is dominating the headlines today?
Weâll get to Eddie Howeâs press conference at some stage (lots of mentions of âthe groupâ no doubt), weâll have the latest on Arne Slotâs proposed move to Liverpool, the pressure on Erik ten Hag at Manchester United, the thrilling scrap for automatic promotion in the Championship. And itâs nearly May, so I would have thought weâd be rife for some premature transfer news tittle-tattle, too.
Yay.
Preamble
Happy Friday, gang! Well, that was quite the statement from Manchester City last night wasnât it? Suddenly the most exciting three-way tussle for the title is looking a little predictable â unless (and thereâs always an unless) things change this weekend. Thereâs another set of fixtures hot on the heels of the midweek batch, with the title in the spotlight and various promotions and regulations to be decided.
Weâll mop up the best and worst of the Friday press conferences, which will come thick and fast today, and bring you all the other breaking news too.
Oh ⦠sorry, Iâve just been informed by Pep Guardiola that it wasnât a statement at all. It was only three points. So there. Just three very important points that might decide the fate of the Premier League trophy.
