Premier League

Virgil van Dijk has conceded that he ignored Jurgen Klopp’s shouts from the touchline in Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Fulham at the start of the campaign. Liverpool drew 2-2 at Craven Cottage on the opening weekend of the Premier League season. Mitrovic’s brace gave the hosts the lead after Darwin Nunez’s debut goal, before Mohamed Salah scored a late goal to rescue a point for the Reds. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); It was a slow start to the campaign which has threatened to pick up pace without ever quite getting up to speed. And that draw with Fulham was the first of five away matches for Liverpool so far, none of which they’ve won. Van Dijk has been at the heart of a less than secure defence this season despite being arguably the standout central ...

Marc Cucurella is recovering from a spell in hospital that saw him lose 5kg in weight, one of the reasons why he has been replaced early by Graham Potter recently. The former Brighton defender was replaced by Kovacic after only 36 minutes during Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.      (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The Spain international was drafted in to replace the injured Kalidou Koulibaly but was sacrificed as Potter made a first-half tweak to his system, bringing on Kovavic as he sought to bring some balance to the midfield. Cucurella has completed just one full game since Potter’s appointment despite playing a major role under the same manager at Brighton. The Chelsea boss insisted replacing him so early in the game ...

Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle have rejected a fresh chance to sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United, according to reports. Ronaldo pushed to leave Old Trafford in the summer transfer window but the club only received one offer from Saudi side Al-Hilal. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly explored the possibility of a deal but Thomas Tuchel, who has since been replaced by Graham Potter, opposed Ronaldo’s arrival at Stamford Bridge. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern were also among the teams approached by Ronaldo’s agent, Jorge Mendes, but there were no takers for the player. Ronaldo is now seeking a move in January and his situation at United has become worse after he left the ...

Gabriel Jesus said that referee Robert Jones told him he needed to fall to the ground in order to get a penalty in Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Southampton on Sunday. The Gunners lost ground at the top of the Premier League as Granit Xhaka’s early opener was cancelled out by Stuart Armstrong’s second-half goal. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); But Arsenal felt they should have been awarded a penalty in the first half of the match after Duje Caleta-Car held back Jesus inside Southampton’s area. Jesus tried staying on his feet during the move and the Brazilian forward claims that went against him when the referee made the call not to penalise Caleta-Car. ‘I don’t like to talk about the referee’s decisions, I just want to talk about our performance but som...

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag will offer Cristiano Ronaldo a route back into the team this week – providing he accepts his reduced role in the squad and expresses ‘contrition’ over last week’s incident. Ronaldo refused to come on as a substitute during United’s 2-0 victory over Tottenham on Wednesday, instead storming down the tunnel with the game still going on. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); As a result, the 37-year-old attacker was banished from the squad for Saturday’s game with Chelsea having also been exiled from first-team training. Erik ten Hag, who has given his side Monday off ahead of Thursday’s Europa League game against FC Sheriff, has explained Ronaldo will still have a key role to play this season. But The Athletic claim the ...

Chelsea are interested in signing Manchester United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo after his fall-out with manager Erik ten Hag, according to reports. Ronaldo refused to come on against Tottenham on Wednesday nighg and stormed down the tunnel with injury time still to play. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); As a result, United manager Ten Hag didn't include the five-time Ballon d'Or winner in the squad at all for Saturday's 1-1 draw at Chelsea and ordered him to train by himself at Carrington. The Portuguese forward's future with the Red Devils has become uncertain with reports claiming the club is even open to letting him go for free in January if no offers arrive. According to Sunday World, the Blues are tempted to make a move for the Portugal intern...

Rio Ferdinand believes two players have completely transformed Manchester United under new manager Erik ten Hag. United have largely impressed under former Ajax head coach Ten Hag, winning more than half of their Premier League matches this season after a poor start. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); United beat top-four rivals Tottenham 2-0 at Old Trafford during the week and scored a late equaliser to draw 1-1 with Chelsea on Saturday. The draw came at a cost, however, with defender Raphael Varane suffering a hamstring injury and leaving the stadium in tears. Varane is now expected to miss all of United’s games before the mid-season break for the World Cup and Ferdinand says he will be a ‘huge loss’. The France international was beginning to fo...