Romano: Chelsea, Pochettino entering ‘crucial days’ ahead of crunch ‘talks’ over sack

In what was a heavyweight Premier League affair on Sunday afternoon, Manchester United and Tottenham played out a thrilling 2-2 stalemate at Old Trafford.

With Erik ten Hag’s side opening the scoring after just three minutes as Rasmus Hojlund powered home his second Premier League strike of the season, United knew the importance of claiming maximum points on home soil.

However, pegged back midway through the first half as Brazilian ace Richarlison glanced home, both sides had an abidance of early chances.

While England international Marcus Rashford might have handed United a slender 2-1 lead heading into the interval,  Rodrigo Bentancur wiped out their advantage a minute after the restart with a blistering effort.

While Ange Postecoglou’s side might…

Newcastle United are interested in signing Habib Diallo from Strasbourg in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that the Magpies are joining the race for the Senegal international striker after watching him score for his country in the 4-2 win against Brazil in a friendly international in Lisbon.

The report has claimed that other clubs in the Premier League club are also keen on Diallo. Strasbourg are aware of the increasing interest in the striker and are willing to sell him if they get a transfer fee of £20 million. It remains to be seen if Newcastle will be willing to pay that transfer fee for the 28-year-old.

Diallo made 32 starts and five substitute appearances in Ligue 1 for Strasbourg last season. The 28-year-old scored 20 goals and …

Francis Lee was a former player and chairman of Manchester City, an England international, highly-successful businessman and racehorse trainer.

Lee, a striker, also played for hometown Bolton and Derby in his distinguished football career.

Lee will primarily be remembered as one of City’s greatest players, regardless of his dismal spell as chairman in the 1990s which did, at the time, tarnish his reputation.

The stocky forward was a huge fans’ favourite and an integral member of the City side which won the First Division title in 1968, the FA Cup 12 months later and the League Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup double the year after that.

Critics claimed he went to ground too easily, but his uncanny knack of winning and converting penalties – refle…

Napoli head coach Walter Mazzarri has stressed a Champions League place is still attainable for the Serie A title-holders as they prepare to host Hellas Verona on Sunday.

After winning a first Scudetto in 33 years last season under Luciano Spalletti, the Partenopei have had a significant drop off in a 2023-24 campaign that saw new boss Rudi Garcia replaced by Mazzarri in November.

Their nine league games since then have comprised three wins, two draws and four losses, and they are currently ninth in the table, four points behind fourth place.

Looking Maradona-ready

— Official SSC Napoli (@en_sscnapoli)

Asked at a press conference if the Champions League spots remained a realistic objective for Napoli, Mazzarri said: “I don’t loo…

Prediction: Maccabi Haifa to win 5-0

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Maccabi Haifa and Hamrun Spartans will lock horns with each other in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League Qualifying First Round this week. The match between the team from Israel and the club from Malta will be held at the Sammy Ofer Stadium in Haifa and is scheduled to kick off at 6pm UK time on Tuesday.

Maccabi Haifa

Maccabi Haifa are one of the biggest clubs in Israel that regularly play in major European competitions. They win the championship in Israel quite frequently and have had some brilliant players in the past. Maccabi will expect to get into the UEFA Champions League group stage this campaign.

The Greens won the 2022–23 Israeli Premier League title. They finished l…

Cristiano Ronaldo was labelled a giant by incoming Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag, who is itching to work with the Portugal great.

Veteran forward Ronaldo returned to United from Juventus on a two-year deal, with the Red Devils retaining an option to extend that by a further 12 months.

Despite scoring 18 Premier League goals in 30 top-flight appearances this term there have been rumblings Ronaldo could cut short his return at the end of a hugely underwhelming season for the club.

United are sixth heading into their final game of the campaign against Crystal Palace on Sunday, with defeat giving West Ham the chance to leapfrog them in the standings.

But Ten Hag, speaking to Dutch publication De Telegraaf, stated in no uncertain terms he is excited by t…

Best Odds: 8/15

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In what could prove to be a season-defining affair from Villa Park on Sunday afternoon, Tottenham will travel to the Midlands.

Aston Villa

Starting with the hosts, while Aston Villa might have eventually been forced to settle for a 0-0 stalemate away at Dutch giants Ajax in midweek, Unai Emery’s men are enjoying a history-making flurry this season. Last seen in Premier League action snatching a dramatic 3-2 victory away at relegation scrappers Luton, the former Arsenal boss finds the mood in his camp at a red-hot high. Opening this weekend’s fixtures holding a five-point buffer in the top-four chase and with a famous Champions League ticket at the top of their agenda in 2024, Aston Villa have won all of their previous three domest…

Market: Rochdale win

Odds: 11/10 @

Looking to make it three National League victories on the bounce, Rochdale will welcome Maidenhead to the Spotland Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Starting with the hosts, while Rochdale might have opened up the 2023/24 campaign with their sights set on securing an immediate League Two return, Kimmy McNulty’s men face a real uphill battle in their bid to clinch a play-off spot. However, despite opening this weekend’s fixtures sat eight points adrift of the top-seven, the Blues do appear to have turned a recent corner. Last seen putting in a rampant performance as they stormed their way to a 4-1 romp away at Eastleigh, the Manchester-based outfit have collected consecutive National League victories for the first time since th…

Thomas Partey sustained a muscle injury during Arsenal s defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday, manager Mikel Arteta confirmed.

The midfielder was replaced by Willian after 74 minutes of the 1-0 loss at Villa Park, the Gunners second Premier League defeat in a row and their 10th of the season.

The £45million signing from Atletico Madrid has only completed 90 minutes for Arsenal four times in all competitions and had a thigh injury that saw him miss a month of action from early December.

Of his nine starts in the top flight, this was the sixth time he has been substituted.

Speaking after the match, Arteta said: He had a muscular injury so we had to take him off. He could not carry on playing.

I don t know [how bad it is]. We will see the extent of th…

All good things must come to an end, and that proved the case for Manchester City on Sunday.

Their remarkable winning run of 21 games in all competitions came to an end with a 2-0 defeat to Manchester United in the derby.

City hold an 11-point lead over their neighbours at the top of the Premier League, however, and the real battle seems set to be for Champions League places.

Tottenham boosted their hopes with a 4-1 thrashing of Crystal Palace, with Harry Kane and Son Heung-min combining for a record-setting goal, while Liverpool s dismal form continued as they suffered a sixth successive home defeat. Fortress Anfield is well and truly a thing of the past.

At the bottom, West Brom and Newcastle United played out a goalless draw. We take a look at the best…