Month: December 2023

Arsenal spurned the opportunity to retake first place in the Premier League as they lost 2-0 to fellow Londoners West Ham United at the Emirates on Thursday. West Ham only had three efforts on target but Tomas Soucek gave them a halftime lead before former Arsenal defender Konstantinos Mavropanos extended the advantage after the break.

Tottenham Hotspur‘s top-four ambitions suffered a blow as they lost 4-2 at Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League on Thursday with only a late rally saving them from their heaviest defeat since Ange Postecoglou became manager. Victory would have put injury-hit Spurs above Manchester City into fourth spot but they were mauled on

Rob Dawson Dec 28, 2023, 01:42 PM ET Open Extended Reactions André Onana is in talks with the Cameroon FA in an attempt to delay his release for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), a source has told ESPN. The Manchester United goalkeeper has been named in the Cameroon squad ahead of the tournament, which

Open Extended Reactions LAFC are in advanced talks to bring Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to MLS, a source has told ESPN. The 37-year-old is in the final year of his Spurs contract and has been frozen out by coach Ange Postecoglou this season, having not played a single minute of the campaign. – Stream on

Dec 28, 2023, 10:19 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Cameroon coach Rigobert Song included Manchester United goalkeeper André Onana but dropped Bayern Munich striker Eric-Maxime Choupo-Moting when he named his squad for next month’s Africa Cup of Nations on Thursday. Onana, 27, had walked out on Cameroon after a row with Song at last year’s

Dec 28, 2023, 09:17 AM ET Previously classified documents have revealed that former UK prime minister Tony Blair was keen on an idea to relocate a Premier League team to Belfast, Northern Ireland in the late 1990s. Wimbledon FC were in need of a new stadium after the Taylor report into the Hillsborough disaster recommended

Open Extended Reactions LIVERPOOL, England — Five days after winning the FIFA Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia, Manchester City secured their most important victory of the season 35 miles from home against Everton. Forget the glory of being crowned world champions for the first time — this win at Goodison Park carries far more

Manchester City climbed back into the Premier League’s top four as second-half goals by Phil Foden, Julian Alvarez and Bernardo Silva sealed a comeback 3-1 victory at Everton on Wednesday. Pep Guardiola’s newly-crowned FIFA World Club champions had lost ground in the title race after a run of only one win in six league games,

Tom Chambers Dec 27, 2023, 06:46 PM ET Open Extended Reactions LONDON — Mauricio Pochettino has challenged his Chelsea players to follow the example set by once out-of-favour winger Noni Madueke, who won and scored a late penalty against Crystal Palace in the team’s 2-1 win on Wednesday. Madueke, who has struggled for game time

Open Extended Reactions Pep Guardiola said he “hopes” Erling Haaland can return to action before the end of January after saying that the Manchester City forward is still not fit enough to train with his teammates following a recent foot injury. Haaland, 23, has now missed City’s last six games in all competitions after sitting

An 89th-minute penalty from substitute Noni Madueke earned Chelsea a hard-fought 2-1 home victory over Crystal Palace in a Premier League London derby on Wednesday. Madueke was brought down by Eberechi Eze and, after waving play on, referee Michael Salisbury was called by VAR to the screen where he signalled a foul. Palace’s Michael Olise

Open Extended Reactions Most managers are tasked with staying faithful to a club’s long-standing characteristics, but Ange Postecoglou is the latest Tottenham Hotspur boss charged with the responsibility of making the Premier League club less “Spursy.” It is a curious term, unique to one half of North London — a byword for some of the

Julien Laurens, CorrespondentDec 27, 2023, 11:57 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Paris Saint-Germain have reached an agreement to sign Corinthians midfielder Gabriel Moscardo, sources have told ESPN. PSG sporting director Luís Campos travelled to Brazil earlier this month to watch Moscardo, and the club have now agreed a €20 million deal for the midfielder. ESPN

Dec 27, 2023, 09:40 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Tottenham Hotspur‘s Cristian Romero will miss at least a month’s action due to a hamstring injury and the Premier League club may need to sign another centre-back as back-up, manager Ange Postecoglou said on Wednesday. Argentina international Romero came off at halftime during their 2-1 home

Luis Miguel Echegaray, ESPNDec 27, 2023, 09:04 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Welcome to Onside/Offside! Each week, Luis Miguel Echegaray discusses the latest from the soccer world, including standout performances, games you might have missed, what to keep an eye on in the coming days and of course, certain things that probably deserved extra love

Dec 27, 2023, 07:42 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Vitor Roque landed in Barcelona on Wednesday ahead of his move to the Catalan club and is set to begin training with the first team on Friday afternoon. Roque’s arrival at Barça following a €40 million ($43.6m) deal with Brazilian club Athletico-PR is almost complete, barring

Open Extended Reactions Playing for both Chelsea and Manchester United, Mason Mount has had a disappointing 2023. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images) The end of 2023 and the start of 2024 can’t come quick enough for some of the Premier League‘s top players. A loss of form or failure to succeed at a

Julien Laurens, CorrespondentDec 27, 2023, 06:00 AM ET Open Extended Reactions After one victory in their first 15 games to open the Ligue 1 season, Lyon have won three in a row under a rookie manager and have a spark that’s been missing for months. OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE/AFP via Getty Images The Lyon dressing room last Wednesday