Leicester are on the verge of back-to-back relegations from the Premier League to League One.
","teaserLeadtext":"Leicester are on the verge of back-to-back relegations from the Premier League to League One.
","summary":"","subheadline":"","body":"The Foxes celebrated their memorable top-flight title win just 10 years ago, but will drop to the third tier if they fail to beat Hull on Tuesday evening.
Here, the Press Association takes look at a rollercoaster last decade for the midlands club.
Leicester were crowned Premier League champions under Claudio Ranieri – after finishing 10 points ahead of second-placed Arsenal – to guarantee their spot in the Champions League for the first time.
Leicester soon crashed back down to earth and sacked Ranieri in February 2017, while they made it to the quarter-finals of the Champions League before finishing a lowly 14th in the English top flight.
Following a run of just one win from their opening eight matches, new boss Craig Shakespeare departed and Claude Puel was put in charge as they achieved a ninth-placed finish.
Leicester were 12th when they sacked Puel, but Brendan Rodgers’ appointment helped them finish ninth in a season which would be remembered for a helicopter crash that killed Foxes owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and four others on October 27.
City completed their best season since winning the league as they finished fifth and went on an 11-game unbeaten run in all competitions, defeating Southampton 9-0 along the way – which still stands as the joint-highest margin of victory in Premier League history.
Leicester hit new highs and lifted the FA Cup for the first time with a 1-0 victory over Chelsea. But it could have been a season of much more for the club, whose Europa League journey ended in the last-16 phase and they missed out on a top-four finish.
Leicester defeated Manchester City to win the Community Shield and they reached a first-ever continental semi-final in the Conference League but their European dream came to an end against Jose Mourinho’s eventual winners, Roma.
The 2022-23 season is where Leicester’s real decline started as they suffered relegation from the top flight after a run of five defeats in six games dropped them into the relegation zone and saw Rodgers depart. Dean Smith’s appointment did little to save them from the Championship.
Leicester’s stay in the second tier was short-lived and they secured promotion straight back to the Premier League by lifting the Championship trophy for a record eighth time as Jamie Vardy bagged 20 goals.
Their season in the top flight was a massive disappointment and the Leicester fans never warmed to new boss Steve Cooper, who was sacked after just 12 games to be replaced by Ruud van Nistelrooy. But the Foxes suffered 15 defeats from 16 league games and were relegated in 18th place.
Leicester had an encouraging start under Marti Cifuentes but things soon unravelled and the manager departed in January to be replaced by Gary Rowett. The following month they were deducted six points before a run of one win from 18 matches left them on the verge of League One, just 10 years after winning the Premier League.
","originalSource":"","articleLayout":"standard","media":[{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/43003725-c036-43e2-a8f9-921b24965dd7/c530db21-a9d7-4232-b561-a1a06a536c6d/2.83413892.jpg","width":4022.0,"height":2649.0,"credit":"","caption":"Leicester have slowly been on the decline since their 2016 Premier League title win (Joe 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Rose appointed Bournemouth head coach on three-year deal from summer","teaserHeadline":"Marco Rose appointed Bournemouth head coach on three-year deal from summer","headlinePrefix":"","byline":"By Edward Elliot, Press Association","bylineImageUrl":"","leadtext":"Bournemouth have announced Marco Rose will succeed Andoni Iraola as the club’s head coach in the summer.
","teaserLeadtext":"Bournemouth have announced Marco Rose will succeed Andoni Iraola as the club’s head coach in the summer.
","summary":"","subheadline":"","body":"The German has agreed a three-year deal at the Vitality Stadium.
Iraola revealed last week he will leave the Cherries when his contract expires at the end of the season, bringing an end to a successful three-year reign.
Despite hoping to extend the Spaniard’s stay, Bournemouth were prepared for that scenario and have moved quickly to appoint his replacement as part of their long-term project.
“AFC Bournemouth is delighted to confirm the appointment of Marco Rose as the club’s new head coach on a three-year contract, which will begin following the conclusion of the 2025/26 season,” read a club statement.
“The 49-year-old arrives on the south coast with a wealth of experience at the highest level of European football.”
Rose has been without a club since he was sacked by RB Leipzig in March 2025 and previously managed RB Salzburg, Borussia Monchengladbach and Borussia Dortmund.
He has a track record of player development, having worked with the likes of Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham and Dominik Szoboszlai during his career.
Bournemouth’s owners were attracted by the 49-year-old’s high-pressing, attacking style of play, which they believe aligns with the club’s identity.
Rose has Champions League and Europa League experience from his time in Austria and Germany, and could potentially be involved in a European campaign next term.
Bournemouth sit eighth in the Premier League table, level on points with sixth-placed Chelsea, amid a 13-game unbeaten run.
Following back-to-back 2-1 away wins at Arsenal and Newcastle, the Cherries begin their final five games at home to FA Cup semi-finalists Leeds on Wednesday evening.
The club statement continued: “The club’s immediate focus remains firmly on finishing the current campaign as strongly as possible, with the players and staff continuing to show full commitment to achieving positive results and building on the current 13-game unbeaten run.
“Everyone at AFC Bournemouth looks forward to welcoming Marco to Vitality Stadium as he begins his role as head coach in the summer.”
The departing Iraola, 43, arrived in Dorset on an initial two-year deal in June 2023, taking over a side which finished 15th under Gary O’Neil.
He guided Bournemouth to 12th place in his first campaign, achieving a then-club record of 48 points, before agreeing a one-year contract extension.
The south-coast club finished ninth last term with a record 56 points and also reached the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Iraola has been linked with a return to former team Athletic Bilbao, as well as the Manchester United job.
","originalSource":"","articleLayout":"standard","media":[{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/58cb1485-f9d2-4cd0-a4a8-55b190092f12/6cdad231-fd38-41bc-9ae5-8b51f170a9b4/2.71378282.jpg","width":5905.0,"height":3937.0,"credit":"","caption":"Marco Rose will join Bournemouth in the summer (Nick Potts/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3937.0,"width":5905.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3937.0,"width":5905.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":3936.0,"width":5905.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3937.0,"width":2624.0,"x":1640.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":3937.0,"width":3937.0,"x":982.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"twitter":{"embed":"\n\n\n","alignment":"center","position":3,"consentVendorId":"c:twitter-pT9B4rrC"}},{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":7,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/9b7bfbf6-fb79-45a1-903e-7c137cc89d9b/916ed268-5ada-4d8c-b251-444ed9d0c739/2.84312557.jpg","width":5400.0,"height":3654.0,"credit":"","caption":"Andoni Iraola will leave Bournemouth at the end of the season (Owen Humphreys/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3654.0,"width":5400.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3654.0,"width":5400.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":3600.0,"width":5400.0,"x":0.0,"y":13.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3654.0,"width":2436.0,"x":1482.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":3654.0,"width":3654.0,"x":873.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":11,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/512452d0-e019-4d58-a96d-c92e16734518/43dcc100-07d4-46b5-8988-ca08f6da33fa/2.84314214.jpg","width":5515.0,"height":3574.0,"credit":"","caption":"Bournemouth are 13 Premier League games unbeaten following Saturday’s 2-1 win at Newcastle (Owen Humphreys/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3574.0,"width":5515.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3574.0,"width":5515.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":3574.0,"width":5361.0,"x":75.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3574.0,"width":2382.0,"x":1566.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":3574.0,"width":3574.0,"x":970.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"teaserImage":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/58cb1485-f9d2-4cd0-a4a8-55b190092f12/6cdad231-fd38-41bc-9ae5-8b51f170a9b4/2.71378282.jpg","width":5905.0,"height":3937.0,"credit":"","caption":"Marco Rose will join Bournemouth in the summer (Nick Potts/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3937.0,"width":5905.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3937.0,"width":5905.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":3936.0,"width":5905.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3937.0,"width":2624.0,"x":1640.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":3937.0,"width":3937.0,"x":982.0,"y":0.0}}}]}}],"grapeshot":"gv_safe,gb_safe,gb_safe_from_high_med,gb_safe_from_high,pos_oracle_brand_suitability","priority":"desked","tags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"hiddenTags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"sectionIds":["4222289d-a594-4992-91fc-efef16c9bf0f","e53f05df-dbbe-432c-92cc-719cb2d2586f","5479fb49-5065-4a82-9687-fc9a6d5c3c90"],"related":[],"advSectiontree":"belfasttelegraph/preview","isLatestNews":true},{"id":1594818768,"type":"news","articleType":"news","pubDate":"2026-04-20T13:05:11+0200","pubUntilDate":null,"homeSectionUrl":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league","url":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/ibrahima-konate-close-to-agreeing-new-liverpool-contract-despite-tough-year/a1594818768.html","teaserImage":null,"outbrainEnabled":false,"taboolaEnabled":true,"galleryAdsEnabled":true,"articleAdsEnabled":true,"advanced":{"showArticleDate":true,"subscriptionProtected":false},"headline":"Ibrahima Konate close to agreeing new Liverpool contract despite ‘tough year’","teaserHeadline":"Ibrahima Konate close to agreeing new Liverpool contract despite ‘tough year’","headlinePrefix":"","byline":"By Carl Markham, Press Association","bylineImageUrl":"","leadtext":"AFC Bournemouth is delighted to confirm the appointment of Marco Rose as the club’s new head coach on a three-year contract, which will begin following the conclusion of the 2025/26 season.
— AFC Bournemouth 🍒 (@afcbournemouth) April 20, 2026
Ibrahima Konate is close to agreeing a renewal of his contract and boost Liverpool’s summer transfer plans.
","teaserLeadtext":"Ibrahima Konate is close to agreeing a renewal of his contract and boost Liverpool’s summer transfer plans.
","summary":"","subheadline":"","body":"For months the future of the France centre-back, whose current deal expires in June, has been the subject of speculation with him having been linked to Real Madrid earlier in the season.
But Konate suggested he indicated to club officials at the start of the campaign he was inclined to sign a new contract and, after months of uncertainty, that now appears to have finally come to fruition.
\n \n\n \n\n \n
“My future? To be fair, there are many things people have said but for a long time we have spoken with the club and we are close to an agreement,” said the 26-year-old after the 2-1 Merseyside derby win at Everton.
“I think everyone wished for that for as long as possible but we are in a good way. For sure there is a big chance I’m here next season. This is what I always wanted.
“I’m waiting to sort the contract but when everything is sorted you will have to ask Richard (Hughes, Liverpool’s sporting director) what I said to him in September, November and he’s going to say something to make everyone quiet.
“It was a tough year and I think if everyone knew exactly what happened to me, they could understand many things, which kind of sacrifices I’ve done for this club.
“Right now we focus on the end of the season and make sure we are qualified for the Champions League and after we (can) take the time to talk about the season because it’s going to be a big part of my story and it’s sad in one part (his father died in January).”
Extending Konate’s stay will avoid the immediate need for Liverpool to go in search of a centre-back signing.
Renne’s Jeremy Jacquet arrives in the summer after a £60million deal was done for the 20-year-old in January and Giovanni Leoni, 19, will return from an ACL injury sustained on his debut in September.
Joe Gomez has a year remaining on his deal but could be one of the players to leave after another difficult campaign with injuries but that would still leave four centre-backs, with captain Van Dijk entering the final 12 months of his contract.
It would allow resources to be used to strengthen elsewhere with possibly two forwards, a midfielder and potentially another left-back more of a priority.
Konate is looking to play more of a leadership role next season with Salah and Andy Robertson due to leave.
“The legends are going to leave one day and after it’s going to be our turn to take the lead. I started this already and it’s a big responsibility but I need the help of everyone as well,” he added.
“It’s been a bad season for the standards of Liverpool. If we finish in the top four, we won’t be happy.
“For sure with this kind of a season, we have to give our all next season to make something good.”
Midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai, whose current deal expires in 2028, remains relaxed about negotiations over his new contract.
“There has been no real progression,” said the Hungary captain.
“Of course I see myself here in the long term but, as I say, it is not really in my hands any more. I’m completely relaxed.”
","originalSource":"","articleLayout":"standard","media":[{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/1200c3b6-d756-40c9-b10a-715bd6ac4dc5/9f3a38cd-16e4-447b-81f4-3ad16a72c160/2.83279215.jpg","width":3935.0,"height":2406.0,"credit":"","caption":"Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate is close to agreeing a new contract (Peter Byrne/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":2406.0,"width":3935.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":2406.0,"width":3935.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":2406.0,"width":3609.0,"x":161.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":2406.0,"width":1604.0,"x":1165.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":2406.0,"width":2406.0,"x":764.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":9,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/b2fa1824-c2d4-4025-bf82-14657be415c6/0047d885-3c7d-480b-a1ae-053afd4a3850/2.83279218.jpg","width":5046.0,"height":3296.0,"credit":"","caption":"Ibrahima Konate has been the long-term central defensive partner of Virgil van Dijk and is set to sign a new contract (Peter Byrne/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3296.0,"width":5046.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3296.0,"width":5046.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":3296.0,"width":4944.0,"x":51.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3296.0,"width":2197.0,"x":1422.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":3296.0,"width":3296.0,"x":875.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"twitter":{"embed":"\n\n\n","alignment":"center","position":17,"consentVendorId":"c:twitter-pT9B4rrC"}},{"teaserImage":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/1200c3b6-d756-40c9-b10a-715bd6ac4dc5/9f3a38cd-16e4-447b-81f4-3ad16a72c160/2.83279215.jpg","width":3935.0,"height":2406.0,"credit":"","caption":"Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate is close to agreeing a new contract (Peter Byrne/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":2406.0,"width":3935.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":2406.0,"width":3935.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":2406.0,"width":3609.0,"x":161.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":2406.0,"width":1604.0,"x":1165.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":2406.0,"width":2406.0,"x":764.0,"y":0.0}}}]}}],"grapeshot":"gv_safe,gb_safe,gb_safe_from_high_med,gb_safe_from_high,pos_oracle_brand_suitability","priority":"desked","tags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"hiddenTags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"sectionIds":["4222289d-a594-4992-91fc-efef16c9bf0f","e53f05df-dbbe-432c-92cc-719cb2d2586f","5479fb49-5065-4a82-9687-fc9a6d5c3c90","b6189dd8-ff31-461f-a99d-12f2e8a41fa1"],"related":[],"advSectiontree":"belfasttelegraph/preview","isLatestNews":true},{"id":974346161,"type":"news","articleType":"news","pubDate":"2026-04-20T11:35:15+0200","pubUntilDate":null,"homeSectionUrl":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league","url":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/erling-haaland-taunts-arsenal-by-reminding-them-they-have-come-up-short-before/a974346161.html","teaserImage":null,"outbrainEnabled":false,"taboolaEnabled":true,"galleryAdsEnabled":true,"articleAdsEnabled":true,"advanced":{"showArticleDate":true,"subscriptionProtected":false},"headline":"Erling Haaland taunts Arsenal by reminding them they have ‘come up short’ before","teaserHeadline":"Erling Haaland taunts Arsenal by reminding them they have ‘come up short’ before","headlinePrefix":"","byline":"By Andy Hampson, Press Association","bylineImageUrl":"","leadtext":"RED is the answer! 🔴☠️ pic.twitter.com/sljemP9u3B
— Dominik Szoboszlai (@_SZD10) April 19, 2026
Erling Haaland pointed out that Arsenal have “come up short” in previous seasons after firing Manchester City to a vital win over their title rivals on Sunday.
","teaserLeadtext":"Erling Haaland pointed out that Arsenal have “come up short” in previous seasons after firing Manchester City to a vital win over their title rivals on Sunday.
","summary":"","subheadline":"","body":"The Norwegian struck a second-half winner as City slashed the Gunners’ lead at the top of the Premier League to three points with a 2-1 victory at the Etihad Stadium.
City also have a game in hand and, with momentum on their side, now have the chance to displace the long-time leaders by winning at struggling Burnley on Wednesday.
Haaland acknowledged Arsenal have still been the stand-out team of the campaign but City are determined to chase them down and deny them a first league crown since 2004.
Asked if City had got into Arsenal’s heads, Haaland said: “I don’t know, you need to ask them.
“The last seasons they’ve come up short. For now they are first and they are still there, they’ve been the best team of the season.
“I don’t want to speak too much about them because they are an amazing team and we should focus on ourselves.
“We know exactly the situation. We’re still second, we play on Wednesday.
“There are a few of us who have been in this situation before, (as well as) a lot of new (players). It’s about staying calm and thinking about what you can do.”
Haaland’s 65th-minute strike settled a compelling encounter and spared Gianluigi Donnarumma’s blushes after the goalkeeper had gifted Kai Havertz an equaliser to cancel out Rayan Cherki’s brilliant opener.
Haaland also hit a post but Arsenal had numerous chances too, hitting the goal frame through Eberechi Eze and Gabriel while Havertz spurned a good opportunity in stoppage time.
Arsenal’s defeat was their second in succession and the situation has changed dramatically since City’s frustrating 1-1 draw at West Ham last month left them trailing by nine points.
Haaland said: “After West Ham, everybody wrote that it was over. That was the feeling.
“It’s boring but you have to focus game by game. Enjoy this but now you need to start thinking about (Burnley). That’s the reality of this club in this title race, because the last weeks is when things get decided.”
Haaland was involved in one of the game’s main talking points when his running battle with Arsenal defender Gabriel threatened to boil over in the closing stages.
Both were booked for pushing each other in a flare-up of an old rivalry but Gabriel was fortunate not to be sent off for pushing his head towards Haaland.
Haaland said: “I think that is a red card. If I go down, it’s a red card but I would never do this. My father taught me this, ‘stay on your feet and don’t be a…’ – it starts with P.
“That’s the reality. Maybe yes I should have gone down, maybe it would be easier, but I didn’t and I got a yellow card for it.
“It’s wrestling here and there. A lot of duels, a lot of scratches. Sometimes my missus is not so happy about this, it looks a bit wrong! But that’s the reality.”
","originalSource":"","articleLayout":"standard","media":[{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/6eae64d3-5b6d-4941-818a-46dc2b10057e/59b5812b-2baa-460b-bce3-eaaa6469ad31/2.84330585.jpg","width":3432.0,"height":2562.0,"credit":"","caption":"Erling Haaland has Arsenal in his sights (Martin Rickett/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":2562.0,"width":3432.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":2562.0,"width":3432.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":2288.0,"width":3432.0,"x":0.0,"y":68.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":2562.0,"width":1708.0,"x":862.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":2562.0,"width":2562.0,"x":435.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":9,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/9dc3d4f4-0e90-409c-8e0f-18228fa77431/7a4631c5-e4d6-418f-b40c-44e732ffb3f6/2.84329708.jpg","width":4992.0,"height":3161.0,"credit":"","caption":"Gianluigi Donnarumma was at fault for Arsenal’s equaliser (Martin Rickett/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3161.0,"width":4992.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3161.0,"width":4992.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":3161.0,"width":4741.0,"x":123.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3161.0,"width":2107.0,"x":1440.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":3161.0,"width":3161.0,"x":913.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":15,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/47df6575-4d4c-4823-b8d7-ab3b47663ac6/430f91cb-47ac-468f-954a-1d83430cee97/2.84330314.jpg","width":1884.0,"height":1473.0,"credit":"","caption":"Tempers frayed between Erling Haaland and Gabriel, who escaped a red card for appearing to aim a headbutt at the Norwegian (Martin Rickett/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":1473.0,"width":1884.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":1473.0,"width":1884.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":1256.0,"width":1884.0,"x":0.0,"y":54.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":1473.0,"width":982.0,"x":451.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":1473.0,"width":1473.0,"x":203.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"teaserImage":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/6eae64d3-5b6d-4941-818a-46dc2b10057e/59b5812b-2baa-460b-bce3-eaaa6469ad31/2.84330585.jpg","width":3432.0,"height":2562.0,"credit":"","caption":"Erling Haaland has Arsenal in his sights (Martin Rickett/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":2562.0,"width":3432.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":2562.0,"width":3432.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":2288.0,"width":3432.0,"x":0.0,"y":68.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":2562.0,"width":1708.0,"x":862.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":2562.0,"width":2562.0,"x":435.0,"y":0.0}}}]}}],"grapeshot":"gv_safe,gb_safe,gb_safe_from_high_med,gb_safe_from_high,pos_oracle_brand_suitability","priority":"desked","tags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"hiddenTags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"sectionIds":["4222289d-a594-4992-91fc-efef16c9bf0f","e53f05df-dbbe-432c-92cc-719cb2d2586f","5479fb49-5065-4a82-9687-fc9a6d5c3c90","b6189dd8-ff31-461f-a99d-12f2e8a41fa1"],"related":[],"advSectiontree":"belfasttelegraph/preview","isLatestNews":true},{"id":1988714016,"type":"news","articleType":"news","pubDate":"2026-04-20T10:05:12+0200","pubUntilDate":null,"homeSectionUrl":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league","url":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/dominik-szoboszlai-prefers-last-gasp-derby-winners-to-comfortable-3-0-victories/a1988714016.html","teaserImage":null,"outbrainEnabled":false,"taboolaEnabled":true,"galleryAdsEnabled":true,"articleAdsEnabled":true,"advanced":{"showArticleDate":true,"subscriptionProtected":false},"headline":"Dominik Szoboszlai prefers last-gasp derby winners to comfortable 3-0 victories","teaserHeadline":"Dominik Szoboszlai prefers last-gasp derby winners to comfortable 3-0 victories","headlinePrefix":"","byline":"By Carl Markham, Press Association","bylineImageUrl":"","leadtext":"Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai admitted winning the first Merseyside derby at Hill Dickinson Stadium in the 10th minute of added time felt better than if they had beaten Everton easily.
","teaserLeadtext":"Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai admitted winning the first Merseyside derby at Hill Dickinson Stadium in the 10th minute of added time felt better than if they had beaten Everton easily.
","summary":"","subheadline":"","body":"Mohamed Salah’s first-half goal had given them the lead but Arne Slot’s side never looked comfortable and Beto’s equaliser just after half-time looked like earning a share of the spoils.
With 11 minutes added on after lengthy injuries to Reds goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, who was carried off to hand Freddie Woodman his Premier League debut for the club, and Everton striker Beto, the visitors won it through Virgil van Dijk’s header.
\n“I’d rather win it like this than 3-0 or something, you know,” said Szoboszlai.
“This is more enjoyable to watch I think for the fans for both sides, actually. At the end, maybe they (Everton) were the unlucky ones but we are happy to take the three points.
“It felt amazing. To win a derby like this in the last second, we couldn’t ask for more.
“We were happy for each other to get the three points but also for the fans, because we know what it means for them, and also it means a lot for us to win a derby.”
Liverpool’s win opened up a seven-point gap to sixth-placed Chelsea, who they still have to play at home, with five matches remaining.
It makes the prospect of playing Champions League football next season all the more likely ahead of what could be another significant summer of spending, with the departures Salah and Andy Robertson already confirmed.
“A win always changes the mood but we have to stay on the floor and keep working hard every day,” Szoboszlai added.
“We have to keep fighting for the Champions League spots and it is going to be hard games ahead of us.
“It is always hard when you play against the teams that are close to you – Manchester United, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace. You have to always be ready and to fight for them.”
The Hungary captain remains relaxed about negotiations over a new contract.
“There has been no real progression, so I cannot say anything new about my contract situation. We have a lot of games to go and I am focusing on that,” he said.
“Of course I see myself here in the long term but, as I say, it is not really in my hands any more.
“I love being here, as I said many times. I’m completely relaxed.
“We have five games to go, then I am going to rest – a big one – after my international break. Then we will see.”
","originalSource":"","articleLayout":"standard","media":[{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/e9ffc283-0157-4494-b23f-5a627da23d61/760c342b-be6f-40ff-9c64-5c75908e1df4/2.84328463.jpg","width":2988.0,"height":2109.0,"credit":"","caption":"Liverpool left it late to beat Everton (Nick Potts/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":2109.0,"width":2988.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":2109.0,"width":2988.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":1992.0,"width":2988.0,"x":0.0,"y":29.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":2109.0,"width":1406.0,"x":791.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":2109.0,"width":2109.0,"x":437.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"twitter":{"embed":"\n\n\n","alignment":"center","position":8,"consentVendorId":"c:twitter-pT9B4rrC"}},{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":13,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/1709b908-77f8-4639-9400-ecc1b3564159/e2284589-0c82-4372-94c0-5823959bfe7f/2.84328652.jpg","width":4680.0,"height":3161.0,"credit":"","caption":"Liverpool’s late win sparked big celebrations (Nick Potts/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3161.0,"width":4680.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3161.0,"width":4680.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":3120.0,"width":4680.0,"x":0.0,"y":10.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3161.0,"width":2107.0,"x":1284.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":3161.0,"width":3161.0,"x":757.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"teaserImage":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/e9ffc283-0157-4494-b23f-5a627da23d61/760c342b-be6f-40ff-9c64-5c75908e1df4/2.84328463.jpg","width":2988.0,"height":2109.0,"credit":"","caption":"Liverpool left it late to beat Everton (Nick Potts/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":2109.0,"width":2988.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":2109.0,"width":2988.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":1992.0,"width":2988.0,"x":0.0,"y":29.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":2109.0,"width":1406.0,"x":791.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":2109.0,"width":2109.0,"x":437.0,"y":0.0}}}]}}],"grapeshot":"gv_safe,gb_safe,gb_safe_from_high_med,gb_safe_from_high,pos_oracle_brand_suitability","priority":"desked","tags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"hiddenTags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"sectionIds":["4222289d-a594-4992-91fc-efef16c9bf0f","e53f05df-dbbe-432c-92cc-719cb2d2586f","5479fb49-5065-4a82-9687-fc9a6d5c3c90","b6189dd8-ff31-461f-a99d-12f2e8a41fa1"],"related":[],"advSectiontree":"belfasttelegraph/preview","isLatestNews":true},{"id":2103021828,"type":"news","articleType":"news","pubDate":"2026-04-19T21:10:14+0200","pubUntilDate":null,"homeSectionUrl":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league","url":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/mikel-arteta-id-just-stay-at-home-if-arsenal-didnt-have-desire-to-win-title/a2103021828.html","teaserImage":null,"outbrainEnabled":false,"taboolaEnabled":true,"galleryAdsEnabled":true,"articleAdsEnabled":true,"advanced":{"showArticleDate":true,"subscriptionProtected":false},"headline":"Mikel Arteta: I’d just stay at home if Arsenal didn’t have desire to win title","teaserHeadline":"Mikel Arteta: I’d just stay at home if Arsenal didn’t have desire to win title","headlinePrefix":"","byline":"By Philip Duncan, Press Association","bylineImageUrl":"","leadtext":"100th minute. Level on derby day...
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) April 19, 2026
Step forward the skipper ✊🔴 pic.twitter.com/jTW0z6g5np
Mikel Arteta insisted Arsenal have not blown their chance to win a first Premier League title in 22 years and said he should “stay at home” if his players cannot bounce back from their damaging defeat by Manchester City.
","teaserLeadtext":"Mikel Arteta insisted Arsenal have not blown their chance to win a first Premier League title in 22 years and said he should “stay at home” if his players cannot bounce back from their damaging defeat by Manchester City.
","summary":"","subheadline":"","body":"The Gunners, now just three points clear of their rivals, face being usurped from the summit for the first time since September following Erling Haaland’s winner in Sunday’s top-of-the-table clash at the Etihad Stadium.
If Pep Guardiola’s men see off Burnley by two clear goals at Turf Moor on Wednesday, City will take control of the title race on goal difference with just five matches to play.
\nArsenal entered last month with aspirations of winning the quadruple, but they are seeing their bid for silverware disintegrate before their eyes.
However, for now at least, Arteta’s side, who have lost their last four domestic matches, remain at the top of the table, and in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
And when asked if he will be presented with a challenge to pick his players up ahead of their next match at home to Newcastle on Saturday, Arteta snapped back: “No. I mean if I have to pick the players up to win the Premier League with five games to go, in our hands, and be in the final of the Champions League, I should be at home.
“It’s not the case. It’s not needed. It’s never been needed, even in difficult moments, and so we will go again.
“Obviously, they were very disappointed not to get a result from the game in the manner that it happened.
“But I believe today, I believed on Wednesday, and I believed a week ago because I see the players every day and I know the level that we have.
“If they needed to be more convinced, they are now more convinced. And they were talking about it in the dressing room. It’s a new league now. We have an advantage of three points, and five games to play, so everything is still to play for. We know how much we want it, and we’re not going to stop.”
Rayan Cherki opened the scoring at the Etihad Stadium with a fine individual goal before Kai Havertz restored parity when he charged down Gianluigi Donnarumma’s clearance just two minutes later.
Eberechi Eze struck the inside of a City post in the second half with Haaland then firing City ahead. Arsenal hit a post for a second time through Gabriel’s deflected header, while Havertz wasted a golden opportunity in stoppage time.
And Arteta continued: “I am very upset with the result. We came here to win the game. The reality is that the difference today was in the two boxes.”
Guardiola said prior to Sunday’s fixture that his bid for a sixth league title would be over if Arsenal won.
Reflecting on his side’s triumph, he said: “I don’t think ‘enjoy’ is the right word. It’s fine. It gives us hope. I said to the guys, ‘enjoy the moment but don’t lose focus’.
“People say we have momentum, but when you see them (Arsenal) compete they are an extraordinary team, otherwise you cannot be top of the Premier League all season and unbeaten in the Champions League.
“The reality is clear. Who is top of the league? We are not. And goal difference? They are better, too. But of course, we have hope we can extend the chance to fight until the end.”
","originalSource":"","articleLayout":"standard","media":[{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/3113e756-ed82-4b02-9421-c652a3bc8ba7/a76e3fdf-ed55-4272-a0b9-12ddda1af826/2.84330461.jpg","width":1308.0,"height":1582.0,"credit":"","caption":"Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta will just ‘stay at home’ if his players are not up for the title fight (Martin Rickett/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":1582.0,"width":1308.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":1582.0,"width":1308.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":872.0,"width":1308.0,"x":0.0,"y":177.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":1582.0,"width":1054.0,"x":127.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":1308.0,"width":1308.0,"x":0.0,"y":68.0}}}]}},{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":9,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/22fdd479-f67f-4851-b9bf-99ab8c264ba3/ce04894a-1fc9-4bd2-85a9-b3509a324a45/2.84330615.jpg","width":3308.0,"height":2368.0,"credit":"","caption":"Arsenal’s Kai Havertz equalised but it was to prove in vain (Martin Rickett/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":2368.0,"width":3308.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":2368.0,"width":3308.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":2205.0,"width":3308.0,"x":0.0,"y":38.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":2368.0,"width":1578.0,"x":865.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":2368.0,"width":2368.0,"x":470.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":14,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/229f930e-291f-4bc4-bc73-98022eb82478/53c75eab-2ed9-46d0-93d1-db104f991582/2.84330588.jpg","width":4080.0,"height":2706.0,"credit":"","caption":"Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola took ‘hope’ from the victory (Martin Rickett/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":2706.0,"width":4080.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":2706.0,"width":4080.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":2706.0,"width":4059.0,"x":8.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":2706.0,"width":1804.0,"x":1138.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":2706.0,"width":2706.0,"x":687.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"teaserImage":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/3113e756-ed82-4b02-9421-c652a3bc8ba7/a76e3fdf-ed55-4272-a0b9-12ddda1af826/2.84330461.jpg","width":1308.0,"height":1582.0,"credit":"","caption":"Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta will just ‘stay at home’ if his players are not up for the title fight (Martin Rickett/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":1582.0,"width":1308.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":1582.0,"width":1308.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":872.0,"width":1308.0,"x":0.0,"y":177.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":1582.0,"width":1054.0,"x":127.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":1308.0,"width":1308.0,"x":0.0,"y":68.0}}}]}}],"grapeshot":"gv_safe,gb_safe,gb_safe_from_high_med,gb_safe_from_high,pos_oracle_brand_suitability","priority":"desked","tags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"hiddenTags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"sectionIds":["4222289d-a594-4992-91fc-efef16c9bf0f","e53f05df-dbbe-432c-92cc-719cb2d2586f","5479fb49-5065-4a82-9687-fc9a6d5c3c90","b6189dd8-ff31-461f-a99d-12f2e8a41fa1"],"related":[],"advSectiontree":"belfasttelegraph/preview","isLatestNews":true},{"id":1759584275,"type":"news","articleType":"news","pubDate":"2026-04-19T20:30:17+0200","pubUntilDate":null,"homeSectionUrl":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league","url":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/erling-haaland-feels-gabriel-should-have-seen-red-for-head-move-in-heated-clash/a1759584275.html","teaserImage":null,"outbrainEnabled":false,"taboolaEnabled":true,"galleryAdsEnabled":true,"articleAdsEnabled":true,"advanced":{"showArticleDate":true,"subscriptionProtected":false},"headline":"Erling Haaland feels Gabriel should have seen red for head move in heated clash","teaserHeadline":"Erling Haaland feels Gabriel should have seen red for head move in heated clash","headlinePrefix":"","byline":"By Phil Blanche, Press Association","bylineImageUrl":"","leadtext":"Erling Haaland felt Gabriel should have been sent off for moving his head towards him during Manchester City’s win over Arsenal – and would have been if he had fallen to the floor.
","teaserLeadtext":"Erling Haaland felt Gabriel should have been sent off for moving his head towards him during Manchester City’s win over Arsenal – and would have been if he had fallen to the floor.
","summary":"","subheadline":"","body":"Haaland scored the second-half winner in City’s vital 2-1 Premier League victory and had a long running battle with the Gunners’ Brazilian defender at the Etihad Stadium.
Their contest reached boiling point late on when the pair squared up and put their heads together, with Gabriel appearing to move his head towards the Norwegian.
“I think if I fell on the floor there, which I will not do unless someone really attacks me, I think maybe it would be a red card,” Haaland told Sky Sports.
“I haven’t seen the situation (again) and it is what it is. But I will not fall on the floor as easy like this.
“Yellow card for me I don’t know why. He comes on to my face.”
Haaland showed great strength to hold off Gabriel after 65 minutes and fire home his first Premier League goal since February 11, putting the destiny of the title in City hands with six games left to play.
City will go top on Wednesday by winning their game in hand at struggling Burnley.
Haaland said: “It’s for others to decide if I won that battle or not. But I scored the goal and won that battle in that decisive moment.
“It was a good cross, the ball came, and the finish was perfect. I think it was a great goal and in the end we win.
“Every game is a final and now it’s about focusing and recovering for Burnley.
“The Burnley game is as important as this game, as the Chelsea game was. We need to focus and stay humble.”
","originalSource":"","articleLayout":"standard","media":[{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/667658f0-7a52-4b1c-a6f9-ce284f9966c9/c0bf5312-d98f-4b6f-92ce-df00e8bdffb7/2.84330314.jpg","width":1884.0,"height":1473.0,"credit":"","caption":"Tempers frayed between Arsenal’s Gabriel (left) and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland at the Etihad Stadium (Martin Rickett/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":1473.0,"width":1884.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":1473.0,"width":1884.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":1256.0,"width":1884.0,"x":0.0,"y":54.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":1473.0,"width":982.0,"x":451.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":1473.0,"width":1473.0,"x":203.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":3,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/8fc38dac-14ab-4665-bc72-6c9ba1e99b4e/2bc88361-b93e-4273-ad04-d9530821c78a/2.84330318.jpg","width":2244.0,"height":2587.0,"credit":"","caption":"Manchester City striker Erling Halaand (right) and Arsenal defender Gabriel square up at the Etihad Stadium (Martin Rickett/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":2587.0,"width":2244.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":2587.0,"width":2244.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":1496.0,"width":2244.0,"x":0.0,"y":272.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":2587.0,"width":1724.0,"x":260.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":2244.0,"width":2244.0,"x":0.0,"y":85.0}}}]}},{"twitter":{"embed":"\n\n\n","alignment":"center","position":7,"consentVendorId":"c:twitter-pT9B4rrC"}},{"teaserImage":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/667658f0-7a52-4b1c-a6f9-ce284f9966c9/c0bf5312-d98f-4b6f-92ce-df00e8bdffb7/2.84330314.jpg","width":1884.0,"height":1473.0,"credit":"","caption":"Tempers frayed between Arsenal’s Gabriel (left) and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland at the Etihad Stadium (Martin Rickett/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":1473.0,"width":1884.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":1473.0,"width":1884.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":1256.0,"width":1884.0,"x":0.0,"y":54.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":1473.0,"width":982.0,"x":451.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":1473.0,"width":1473.0,"x":203.0,"y":0.0}}}]}}],"grapeshot":"gv_safe,gb_safe,gb_safe_from_high_med,gb_safe_from_high,pos_oracle_brand_suitability","priority":"desked","tags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"hiddenTags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"sectionIds":["4222289d-a594-4992-91fc-efef16c9bf0f","e53f05df-dbbe-432c-92cc-719cb2d2586f","5479fb49-5065-4a82-9687-fc9a6d5c3c90","b6189dd8-ff31-461f-a99d-12f2e8a41fa1"],"related":[],"advSectiontree":"belfasttelegraph/preview","isLatestNews":true},{"id":228450168,"type":"news","articleType":"news","pubDate":"2026-04-19T19:30:11+0200","pubUntilDate":null,"homeSectionUrl":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league","url":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/erling-haaland-shoots-down-arsenal-as-manchester-city-slash-lead-to-three-points/a228450168.html","teaserImage":null,"outbrainEnabled":false,"taboolaEnabled":true,"galleryAdsEnabled":true,"articleAdsEnabled":true,"advanced":{"showArticleDate":true,"subscriptionProtected":false},"headline":"Erling Haaland shoots down Arsenal as Manchester City slash lead to three points","teaserHeadline":"Erling Haaland shoots down Arsenal as Manchester City slash lead to three points","headlinePrefix":"","byline":"By Andy Hampson, Press Association","bylineImageUrl":"","leadtext":""Manchester City in charge, again!"
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 19, 2026
Erling Haaland powers through to find the back of the net 💪 pic.twitter.com/tt04wbQnaz
Erling Haaland struck a vital winner as Manchester City slashed Arsenal’s Premier League lead to three points with a 2-1 victory over the Gunners at the Etihad Stadium.
","teaserLeadtext":"Erling Haaland struck a vital winner as Manchester City slashed Arsenal’s Premier League lead to three points with a 2-1 victory over the Gunners at the Etihad Stadium.
","summary":"","subheadline":"","body":"The Norwegian pounced after 65 minutes of a compelling clash on Sunday, sparing Gianluigi Donnarumma’s blushes after the goalkeeper had gifted Kai Havertz an equaliser following Rayan Cherki’s opener.
It was Arsenal’s second successive defeat and City, with a game in hand, clearly have the momentum as they bid to overhaul the long-time leaders and claim a seventh title in nine years.
Arsenal, seeking their first league crown since 2004, still have the advantage of points on the board but the loss was undoubtedly a bitter blow.
City had come into the game with their tails up after capitalising on Arsenal’s slip-up last week and their fans were expectant.
With last month’s Carabao Cup final victory over the same opponents also still fresh in the memory, the atmosphere was buoyant and City responded.
They started strongly and Haaland almost forced David Raya into an early error before having a shot blocked.
City sounded a further warning as Cherki fired at goal and his effort ricocheted off the arm of Gabriel onto a post. The hosts appealed for a penalty but nothing was given.
Arsenal threatened themselves as Cristian Mosquera headed over from a corner but City took the lead with a brilliant goal from Cherki in the 16th minute.
The Frenchman was fed by Matheus Nunes after a Rodri cross was only half-cleared and weaved around two defenders before placing a shot into the bottom corner.
It was a stunning effort but, for City, the sublime was immediately followed by the ridiculous as, just two minutes later, Donnarumma dithered as the ball was sent back to him from a throw-in.
Havertz chased what seemed an unlikely cause and was rewarded as Donnarumma’s clearance cannoned off his foot into the net.
It was the German’s first league goal since scoring against City in February 2025 but the visitors could not build on it.
Haaland missed the target and Marc Guehi headed at Raya before Antoine Semenyo went close.
Haaland hit the outside of a post early in the second half but Arsenal did begin to step up approaching the hour.
A slick move led to Martin Odegaard playing Havertz through on goal but Donnarumma atoned for his earlier error as he raced off his line to block. City had another let-off as Eberechi Eze curled against a post.
The game swung from end to end and City reclaimed the lead as they attacked down the left and Nico O’Reilly’s cross was helped on by Rodri and Haaland swivelled inside the area to score.
Arsenal rallied and Gabriel thumped a header against the base of the post from a free-kick.
Tempers began to fray late on and Gabriel was fortunate to escape with a booking after pushing his head towards Haaland in a flare-up of an old rivalry.
Havertz went close to a stoppage-time equaliser but his header flew over and City held on.
","originalSource":"","articleLayout":"standard","media":[{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/ce719748-d568-4b4c-99ab-a464959008ab/210287d7-20e2-493d-bc39-61b3ec6bc139/2.84330109.jpg","width":2201.0,"height":1545.0,"credit":"","caption":"Manchester City’s Erling Haaland (right) scored the goal to slash Arsenal’s Premier League 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Rickett/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":1474.0,"width":2077.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":1474.0,"width":2077.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":1384.0,"width":2077.0,"x":0.0,"y":22.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":1474.0,"width":982.0,"x":547.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":1474.0,"width":1474.0,"x":301.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":12,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/ff9ce8da-54d2-4255-bb42-063dd081ca0a/3a526561-ad28-4f5d-83ec-7af2ad90f51b/2.84329708.jpg","width":4992.0,"height":3161.0,"credit":"","caption":"Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma got away with a mistake that allowed Kai Havertz to equalise (Martin Rickett/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3161.0,"width":4992.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3161.0,"width":4992.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":3161.0,"width":4741.0,"x":123.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3161.0,"width":2107.0,"x":1440.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":3161.0,"width":3161.0,"x":913.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":17,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/6c9a18f4-cf30-42dc-bbe2-03ac82e6336d/f17c4130-d773-4523-8f03-3a5c176e3e5a/2.84330314.jpg","width":1884.0,"height":1473.0,"credit":"","caption":"Tempers frayed between Arsenal’s Gabriel Magalhaes (left) and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland (Martin Rickett/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":1473.0,"width":1884.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":1473.0,"width":1884.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":1256.0,"width":1884.0,"x":0.0,"y":54.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":1473.0,"width":982.0,"x":451.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":1473.0,"width":1473.0,"x":203.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"teaserImage":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/ce719748-d568-4b4c-99ab-a464959008ab/210287d7-20e2-493d-bc39-61b3ec6bc139/2.84330109.jpg","width":2201.0,"height":1545.0,"credit":"","caption":"Manchester City’s Erling Haaland (right) scored the goal to slash Arsenal’s Premier League lead","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":1545.0,"width":2201.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":1545.0,"width":2201.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":1467.0,"width":2201.0,"x":0.0,"y":17.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":1545.0,"width":1030.0,"x":585.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":1545.0,"width":1545.0,"x":326.0,"y":0.0}}}]}}],"grapeshot":"gv_safe,gb_safe,gb_safe_from_high_med,gb_safe_from_high,pos_oracle_brand_suitability","priority":"desked","tags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"hiddenTags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"sectionIds":["4222289d-a594-4992-91fc-efef16c9bf0f","e53f05df-dbbe-432c-92cc-719cb2d2586f","5479fb49-5065-4a82-9687-fc9a6d5c3c90","b6189dd8-ff31-461f-a99d-12f2e8a41fa1"],"related":[],"advSectiontree":"belfasttelegraph/preview","isLatestNews":true},{"id":29205209,"type":"news","articleType":"news","pubDate":"2026-04-19T19:05:13+0200","pubUntilDate":null,"homeSectionUrl":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league","url":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/everton-boss-david-moyes-bemoans-cruel-finish-to-dramatic-merseyside-derby/a29205209.html","teaserImage":null,"outbrainEnabled":false,"taboolaEnabled":true,"galleryAdsEnabled":true,"articleAdsEnabled":true,"advanced":{"showArticleDate":true,"subscriptionProtected":false},"headline":"Everton boss David Moyes bemoans ‘cruel’ finish to dramatic Merseyside derby","teaserHeadline":"Everton boss David Moyes bemoans ‘cruel’ finish to dramatic Merseyside derby","headlinePrefix":"","byline":"By Simon Peach, Press Association Chief Football Writer","bylineImageUrl":"","leadtext":"Iconic 🧘♂️ pic.twitter.com/DxVQQhrw1K
— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 19, 2026
David Moyes felt Everton deserved a penalty and at least a point after the first ever Merseyside derby at Hill Dickinson Stadium ended in a heart-breaking late defeat to Liverpool.
","teaserLeadtext":"David Moyes felt Everton deserved a penalty and at least a point after the first ever Merseyside derby at Hill Dickinson Stadium ended in a heart-breaking late defeat to Liverpool.
","summary":"","subheadline":"","body":"Virgil van Dijk’s header in the 10th minute of stoppage time secured the Reds a 2-1 win after Beto had cancelled out Mohamed Salah’s first-half opener.
Moyes felt his side did a “great job” on Sunday and “showed that we’re not too far away” from Liverpool, but frustration was his overriding emotion after Everton’s European push took a hit.
\n“Absolutely we (deserved a point),” boss Moyes said. “We didn’t deserve the outcome we got.
“But football’s cruel sometimes and you hopefully have to bounce back and go again when adversity goes against you a wee bit.”
Moyes believes Everton should have been awarded a penalty for Curtis Jones’ barge on Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall shortly before Iliman Ndiaye saw a goal ruled out for offside in the build-up.
Bigger setbacks were to follow, with Van Dijk punishing a defence disrupted by the loss of Jarrad Branthwaite, who left the pitch on a stretcher and in tears after appearing to sustain another hamstring injury.
Asked if he felt Everton should have been awarded a spot-kick for Jones’ barge on Dewsbury-Hall, Moyes said: “Yeah, I do. Why would he go down if he’s not (fouled)?
“He’s in on goal to shoot and finish, so why would he not take the opportunity to do that?”
On the injury to centre-back Branthwaite, the Everton manager said: “No (news yet). I’m worried, though. We’ve not had any results.”
Liverpool also saw a player taken off on a stretcher after goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili was hurt trying to stop Beto from equalising.
Third-choice Freddie Woodman was brought on as Alisson Becker remains absent, with the Georgia international’s injury coming at the end of a week that saw Hugo Ekitike rupture an Achilles against Paris St Germain.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot said: “Giorgi had to go to hospital (with) a big wound so let’s see how he will be.
“But Freddie deserves a lot of credit because you have to come in after conceding the 1-1 and the fans were ready for it, but he did his job really well.
“He’s worked so hard to have this moment and usually third goalkeepers don’t play a lot, but in a season like ours I think if you are playing in the under-eights at Liverpool, you should be ready for making your debut because it is unbelievable what is happening to us.”
Liverpool’s victory and results elsewhere provided a huge boost to their chances of ending a disappointing campaign with Champions League football, leaving them seven points clear of sixth-placed Chelsea with five to play.
“Of course, that’s very important because we are as ever focused on qualifying for the Champions League,” Slot said.
“But the lead-up to this game wasn’t as much about the league table, it was also about representing Liverpool.
“Four days ago we paid our respects to the enormous tragedy that happened at Hillsborough. We also used this for the game today because it’s a privilege to represent this club.
“Today the players showed what it means to represent this club. The fans were, as they have been throughout the whole season, a big, big, big support for us.
“To beat Everton in their first game in the new stadium after the week we had is an enormous compliment to everybody involved in Liverpool FC.”
","originalSource":"","articleLayout":"standard","media":[{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/310831f6-f1ec-4d25-bb44-db060c0b5534/64d66696-4193-4edb-b1ca-8d1e85b0a7d9/2.84328724.jpg","width":2580.0,"height":1689.0,"credit":"","caption":"Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk scored a last-gasp winner to sink Everton (Nick Potts/PA).","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":1689.0,"width":2580.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":1689.0,"width":2580.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":1689.0,"width":2533.0,"x":21.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":1689.0,"width":1126.0,"x":727.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":1689.0,"width":1689.0,"x":443.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"twitter":{"embed":"\n\n\n","alignment":"center","position":11,"consentVendorId":"c:twitter-pT9B4rrC"}},{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":17,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/0d14d1a5-3669-4fe2-82b1-299c9185868d/cd70162a-373c-4006-a04c-bb6f0f3eec19/2.84329202.jpg","width":5088.0,"height":3880.0,"credit":"","caption":"Third-choice goalkeeper Freddie Woodman came on for Liverpool (Nick Potts/PA).","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3880.0,"width":5088.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3880.0,"width":5088.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":3392.0,"width":5088.0,"x":0.0,"y":122.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3880.0,"width":2586.0,"x":1251.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":3880.0,"width":3880.0,"x":604.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"teaserImage":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/310831f6-f1ec-4d25-bb44-db060c0b5534/64d66696-4193-4edb-b1ca-8d1e85b0a7d9/2.84328724.jpg","width":2580.0,"height":1689.0,"credit":"","caption":"Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk scored a last-gasp winner to sink Everton (Nick Potts/PA).","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":1689.0,"width":2580.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":1689.0,"width":2580.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":1689.0,"width":2533.0,"x":21.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":1689.0,"width":1126.0,"x":727.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":1689.0,"width":1689.0,"x":443.0,"y":0.0}}}]}}],"grapeshot":"gv_safe,gb_safe,gb_safe_from_high_med,gb_safe_from_high,pos_oracle_brand_suitability","priority":"desked","tags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"hiddenTags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"sectionIds":["4222289d-a594-4992-91fc-efef16c9bf0f","e53f05df-dbbe-432c-92cc-719cb2d2586f","5479fb49-5065-4a82-9687-fc9a6d5c3c90","b6189dd8-ff31-461f-a99d-12f2e8a41fa1"],"related":[],"advSectiontree":"belfasttelegraph/preview","isLatestNews":true},{"id":896768134,"type":"news","articleType":"news","pubDate":"2026-04-19T18:35:13+0200","pubUntilDate":null,"homeSectionUrl":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league","url":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/nottingham-forests-morgan-gibbs-white-backed-for-england-recall-after-hat-trick/a896768134.html","teaserImage":null,"outbrainEnabled":false,"taboolaEnabled":true,"galleryAdsEnabled":true,"articleAdsEnabled":true,"advanced":{"showArticleDate":true,"subscriptionProtected":false},"headline":"Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White backed for England recall after hat-trick","teaserHeadline":"Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White backed for England recall after hat-trick","headlinePrefix":"","byline":"By Jonathan Veal, Press Association","bylineImageUrl":"","leadtext":""Jarrad was probably the best player on the pitch at times today. I thought he played so well. I’m worried it could be serious, but we’ll need to wait and see."
— Everton (@Everton) April 19, 2026
David Moyes on Jarrad Branthwaite's second-half withdrawal through injury. pic.twitter.com/LIYjNCv35w
Vitor Pereira feels Morgan Gibbs-White deserves an England recall after his 15-minute hat-trick fired Nottingham Forest closer to Premier League safety in a 4-1 win over Burnley.
","teaserLeadtext":"Vitor Pereira feels Morgan Gibbs-White deserves an England recall after his 15-minute hat-trick fired Nottingham Forest closer to Premier League safety in a 4-1 win over Burnley.
","summary":"","subheadline":"","body":"Gibbs-White has so often been the hero for Forest since their return to the top flight and once again delivered when his side needed it the most, bagging a first career treble to give them the three points after Zian Flemming had put the Clarets ahead.
The 26-year-old has been left out of the last two England squads and his World Cup dream appears to be over, but Pereira thinks Thomas Tuchel should reconsider.
“He deserves that. This is just my opinion, but if I can give that, I think he deserves it, because he has the quality, he has the qualities of a leader,” said the Portuguese, who saw Igor Jesus close out the victory with a fourth goal late on as Forest moved five points clear of 18th-placed Tottenham.
“When things are not happening in the way that you want, when the team is struggling in the game, a lot of players could prefer to hide themselves, they do not want the ball.
“But Morgan wants the ball, he wants the responsibility, he wants to score goals, he wants to assist.
“When I told him that, when we are attacking, I wanted him to play in the pocket but, when we defend, he must defend on the side, it was not a problem for him.
“He understands the game. He has the spirit.”
Forest desperately needed the golden 15 minutes from Gibbs-White as their midweek Europa League exploits looked to have caught up with them in a turgid first hour.
Flemming had worsened their relegation fears when he fired Burnley in front on the stroke of half-time, but Gibbs-White blew them away after the break.
His first came in the 63rd minute, coolly slotting home, before he clinically finished Omari Hutchinson’s cross and then claimed the match ball with a towering header.
Jesus confirmed the three points when he raced clear at the death.
Defeat for Burnley put them on the brink of relegation and their fate could be sealed when they visit Manchester City on Wednesday, depending on how West Ham fare at Crystal Palace on Monday night.
Boss Scott Parker, who said it was inconceivable his side could have lost so heavily from their position of strength, accepts their drop to the Championship is “inevitable”.
“The inevitable is there now, let’s be honest,” he said. “It’s a miracle in terms of what we need to do, what we need to try and be really.
“So there are five games left, five Premier League games for these players, individually.
“That’s probably the route we go down in terms of what we need to be as individuals.
“Of course we keep fighting, for sure, and we keep giving absolutely everything.”
","originalSource":"","articleLayout":"standard","media":[{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/21e7dbc1-af1f-4d6b-ac69-512c5a84917f/53a475e7-7953-4937-a445-1c21acab1338/2.84328298.jpg","width":3264.0,"height":2052.0,"credit":"","caption":"Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White hugs head coach Vitor Pereira as he is substituted (Mike Egerton/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":2052.0,"width":3264.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":2052.0,"width":3264.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":2052.0,"width":3078.0,"x":93.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":2052.0,"width":1368.0,"x":948.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":2052.0,"width":2052.0,"x":606.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"teaserImage":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/21e7dbc1-af1f-4d6b-ac69-512c5a84917f/53a475e7-7953-4937-a445-1c21acab1338/2.84328298.jpg","width":3264.0,"height":2052.0,"credit":"","caption":"Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White hugs head coach Vitor Pereira as he is substituted (Mike Egerton/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":2052.0,"width":3264.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":2052.0,"width":3264.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":2052.0,"width":3078.0,"x":93.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":2052.0,"width":1368.0,"x":948.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":2052.0,"width":2052.0,"x":606.0,"y":0.0}}}]}}],"grapeshot":"gv_safe,gb_safe,gb_safe_from_high_med,gb_safe_from_high,pos_oracle_brand_suitability","priority":"desked","tags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"hiddenTags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"sectionIds":["4222289d-a594-4992-91fc-efef16c9bf0f","e53f05df-dbbe-432c-92cc-719cb2d2586f","5479fb49-5065-4a82-9687-fc9a6d5c3c90","b6189dd8-ff31-461f-a99d-12f2e8a41fa1"],"related":[],"advSectiontree":"belfasttelegraph/preview","isLatestNews":true},{"id":1240065369,"type":"news","articleType":"news","pubDate":"2026-04-19T18:35:10+0200","pubUntilDate":null,"homeSectionUrl":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league","url":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/unai-emery-happy-as-aston-villa-recover-from-crazy-minute-to-beat-sunderland/a1240065369.html","teaserImage":null,"outbrainEnabled":false,"taboolaEnabled":true,"galleryAdsEnabled":true,"articleAdsEnabled":true,"advanced":{"showArticleDate":true,"subscriptionProtected":false},"headline":"Unai Emery happy as Aston Villa recover from ‘crazy minute’ to beat Sunderland","teaserHeadline":"Unai Emery happy as Aston Villa recover from ‘crazy minute’ to beat Sunderland","headlinePrefix":"","byline":"By Sunny Badwal, Press Association","bylineImageUrl":"","leadtext":"Aston Villa boss Unai Emery reflected on a “crazy minute” which saw his side throw away a two-goal lead before they scored late on to beat Sunderland 4-3 at Villa Park.
","teaserLeadtext":"Aston Villa boss Unai Emery reflected on a “crazy minute” which saw his side throw away a two-goal lead before they scored late on to beat Sunderland 4-3 at Villa Park.
","summary":"","subheadline":"","body":"Ollie Watkins’ hot goalscoring form continued as he twice put Villa in front either side of 18-year-old Chris Rigg’s equaliser for Sunderland before Morgan Rogers made it 3-1 60 seconds into the second half.
It looked like Villa were on course for a routine 3-1 victory until Trai Hume got one back for Sunderland with four minutes to play and they were on level terms 58 seconds later as it looked like they had snatched an unlikely point.
However, Tammy Abraham emerged from the bench to knock in Lucas Digne’s cross and claim a vital win that pushed Villa 10 points clear of sixth-placed Chelsea as they battle to secure a Champions League spot.
Emery said: “We started well. The first half was good, not enough but good and the second half we started playing with confidence, dominating. We conceded a few offensive actions but not really chances.
“We were feeling comfortable. Of course, it was a crazy minute. We lost a little bit of focus, mind and positioning and they used it to score two goals and even have a chance after to score.
“We needed the goalkeepers. He saved the last one and the last minute it was clear we needed to win, one point was not enough.
“It was a so-crazy last 20 minutes. Afterwards we can feel good, calm and speaking about a great victory but the minute we were on the field struggling with the goal and chances, it was very difficult.”
Jadon Sancho replaced John McGinn in the 80th minute and let Sunderland back into the contest by gifting possession to Hume, who produced a great finish to make it 3-2 which sparked the comeback.
Emery stuck up for the on-loan Manchester United winger and said the mistake was not entirely his fault.
He added: “It is not his mistake. The mistake is how we did this action. If we did more passes, we could have avoided it.
“The idea in 90 minutes was through good positioning and keeping possession, trying to be patient. When we conceded one goal, we decided to go quickly. I am never punishing it.
“We are going to analyse and find solutions for mistakes. I am always taking responsibility for the mistakes, not the players.”
Sunderland had the chance to win it but Habib Diarra chipped one straight to Martinez while one-on-one, and Villa went down the other end of the pitch and scored to snatch the points.
Black Cats boss Regis Le Bris revealed Diarra put his hands up in the dressing room.
He said: “He apologised because he felt it was a key moment in this game and I don’t know about the decision-making but the goalkeeper played the situation properly as well.
“We are a bit disappointed which is a good sign because this is a tough place to play.
“We had ups and downs as as well, and today will be a good test for our journey and learning process, we are really young in this league.
“We are a newly promoted side so we are going through positive experiences and sometimes negative. We can be proud of our identity and the way we played this game.”
","originalSource":"","articleLayout":"standard","media":[{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/a8b1a32f-6f85-4276-84f8-13502e51eb71/e08c3ef1-4665-4b7e-a04a-283e740ba46f/2.83290839.jpg","width":1150.0,"height":1693.0,"credit":"","caption":"Unai Emery says Aston Villa nearly threw away the win in a “crazy” minute (Nigel French/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":1693.0,"width":1150.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":1693.0,"width":1150.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":766.0,"width":1150.0,"x":0.0,"y":231.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":1693.0,"width":1128.0,"x":11.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":1150.0,"width":1150.0,"x":0.0,"y":135.0}}}]}},{"teaserImage":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/a8b1a32f-6f85-4276-84f8-13502e51eb71/e08c3ef1-4665-4b7e-a04a-283e740ba46f/2.83290839.jpg","width":1150.0,"height":1693.0,"credit":"","caption":"Unai Emery says Aston Villa nearly threw away the win in a “crazy” minute (Nigel French/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":1693.0,"width":1150.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":1693.0,"width":1150.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":766.0,"width":1150.0,"x":0.0,"y":231.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":1693.0,"width":1128.0,"x":11.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":1150.0,"width":1150.0,"x":0.0,"y":135.0}}}]}}],"grapeshot":"gv_safe,gb_safe,gb_safe_from_high_med,gb_safe_from_high,pos_oracle_brand_suitability","priority":"desked","tags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"hiddenTags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"sectionIds":["4222289d-a594-4992-91fc-efef16c9bf0f","e53f05df-dbbe-432c-92cc-719cb2d2586f","5479fb49-5065-4a82-9687-fc9a6d5c3c90","b6189dd8-ff31-461f-a99d-12f2e8a41fa1"],"related":[],"advSectiontree":"belfasttelegraph/preview","isLatestNews":true},{"id":356710311,"type":"news","articleType":"news","pubDate":"2026-04-19T17:45:11+0200","pubUntilDate":null,"homeSectionUrl":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league","url":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/arsenal-water-bottles-sold-outside-etihad-ahead-of-crunch-man-city-clash/a356710311.html","teaserImage":null,"outbrainEnabled":false,"taboolaEnabled":true,"galleryAdsEnabled":true,"articleAdsEnabled":true,"advanced":{"showArticleDate":true,"subscriptionProtected":false},"headline":"Arsenal water bottles sold outside Etihad ahead of crunch Man City clash","teaserHeadline":"Arsenal water bottles sold outside Etihad ahead of crunch Man City clash","headlinePrefix":"","byline":"By Andy Hampson, Press Association","bylineImageUrl":"","leadtext":"Arsenal-themed water bottles were on sale outside the Etihad Stadium as Manchester City fans ramped up the banter ahead of Sunday’s crucial title clash.
","teaserLeadtext":"Arsenal-themed water bottles were on sale outside the Etihad Stadium as Manchester City fans ramped up the banter ahead of Sunday’s crucial title clash.
","summary":"","subheadline":"","body":"City were hoping to move within three points of the Gunners at the top of the table – with a game in hand – with victory over Mikel Arteta’s side.
Supporters quipped Arsenal were “bottling it” after losing to Bournemouth last weekend.
The jibes gathered momentum when a City fan was pictured holding an Arsenal bottle to his lips during their side’s 3-0 win at Chelsea. The image went viral.
Some enterprising fans took advantage of the situation to sell their own Arsenal-labelled bottles of water outside the ground on Sunday.
It came amid a buoyant atmosphere, with City fans greeting their team coach with blue flares.
City went into the game with momentum having also beaten Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final last month and progressed to the FA Cup semi-finals.
","originalSource":"","articleLayout":"standard","media":[{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/0b275515-90e4-4bdb-a8ab-f5b460f3ed2c/78a4dd2f-d361-4e48-ac77-4b6defc56100/2.84326870.jpg","width":5808.0,"height":3848.0,"credit":"","caption":"Manchester City faced Arsenal in a crucial Premier League clash on Sunday (Martin Rickett/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3848.0,"width":5808.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3848.0,"width":5808.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":3848.0,"width":5772.0,"x":18.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3848.0,"width":2565.0,"x":1619.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":3848.0,"width":3848.0,"x":980.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"twitter":{"embed":"\n\n\n","alignment":"center","position":3,"consentVendorId":"c:twitter-pT9B4rrC"}},{"teaserImage":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/0b275515-90e4-4bdb-a8ab-f5b460f3ed2c/78a4dd2f-d361-4e48-ac77-4b6defc56100/2.84326870.jpg","width":5808.0,"height":3848.0,"credit":"","caption":"Manchester City faced Arsenal in a crucial Premier League clash on Sunday (Martin Rickett/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3848.0,"width":5808.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3848.0,"width":5808.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":3848.0,"width":5772.0,"x":18.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3848.0,"width":2565.0,"x":1619.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":3848.0,"width":3848.0,"x":980.0,"y":0.0}}}]}}],"grapeshot":"gv_safe,gb_safe,gb_safe_from_high_med,gb_safe_from_high,pos_oracle_brand_suitability","priority":"desked","tags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"hiddenTags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"sectionIds":["4222289d-a594-4992-91fc-efef16c9bf0f","e53f05df-dbbe-432c-92cc-719cb2d2586f","5479fb49-5065-4a82-9687-fc9a6d5c3c90","b6189dd8-ff31-461f-a99d-12f2e8a41fa1"],"related":[],"advSectiontree":"belfasttelegraph/preview","isLatestNews":true},{"id":1184928525,"type":"news","articleType":"news","pubDate":"2026-04-19T17:10:13+0200","pubUntilDate":null,"homeSectionUrl":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league","url":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/late-strike-from-tammy-abraham-secures-aston-villa-victory-over-sunderland/a1184928525.html","teaserImage":null,"outbrainEnabled":false,"taboolaEnabled":true,"galleryAdsEnabled":true,"articleAdsEnabled":true,"advanced":{"showArticleDate":true,"subscriptionProtected":false},"headline":"Late strike from Tammy Abraham secures Aston Villa victory over Sunderland","teaserHeadline":"Late strike from Tammy Abraham secures Aston Villa victory over Sunderland","headlinePrefix":"","byline":"By Sunny Badwal, Press Association","bylineImageUrl":"","leadtext":"Big one at the Etihad today. Do Arsenal have the bottle? pic.twitter.com/MP05vaobNn
— Andy Hampson (@andyhampson) April 19, 2026
Tammy Abraham scored a stoppage-time winner as Aston Villa took a huge step to securing Champions League football next season with a dramatic 4-3 victory over Sunderland at Villa Park.
","teaserLeadtext":"Tammy Abraham scored a stoppage-time winner as Aston Villa took a huge step to securing Champions League football next season with a dramatic 4-3 victory over Sunderland at Villa Park.
","summary":"","subheadline":"","body":"After Chelsea were beaten by Manchester United on Saturday, Villa moved 10 points clear in the top five qualifying places, but almost threw away a two-goal lead in doing so.
Ollie Watkins continued his rich vein of form with a pair of goals either side of 18-year-old Chris Rigg’s equaliser for Sunderland, which will further help his case for a spot in Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup plans this summer.
Watkins was left out of Tuchel’s squad for England’s matches back in March but few would now ignore his contribution over the last month after scoring six goals from his last five games.
Villa made a lightning start to the second period too, and Morgan Rogers ended a run of seven Premier League matches without a goal by putting his name on the scoresheet to double Villa’s advantage.
However, drama ensued at Villa Park as Sunderland got themselves on level terms out of nowhere with late goals from Trai Hume and Wilson Isidor which were separated by just 58 seconds, before substitute Abraham jumped off the bench to save the day.
Sunderland missed the chance to climb as high as sixth while Villa put one foot inside Europe’s top club competition next season.
Villa put the Black Cats on the back foot straight away and set John McGinn away down the right who dinked a ball towards the back post and Watkins gladly nodded in from a couple of yards after just 98 seconds.
The visitors were only behind for six minutes before they pulled level as a cross sent into the box fell by the way of Noah Sadiki, who laid it off for Rigg who bent one past a diving Emiliano Martinez and into the far corner for his first Premier League goal.
The crossbar stopped Villa from retaking their lead in an all-action first quarter after McGinn’s corner picked out the leaping Amadou Onana who bulleted a header onto the upright.
Villa were then back in front a little under 10 minutes before the break.
The goal came courtesy of a spell of brilliance from Rogers who bamboozled Nordi Mukiele and whipped a ball into Watkins who headed in his second of the match.
Much like the first half, Villa made a quick start to the second and doubled their advantage exactly 60 seconds after the restart.
McGinn dispossessed Reinildo Mandava and set Villa away, he passed to Watkins who returned the favour from his earlier goal by laying it into the path of Rogers who dispatched expertly past Robin Roefs.
As commanding as Villa were, they had to be aware of threat down the other end as well, Martinez was twice needed to stop efforts on goal from Brian Brobbey and Enzo Le Fee.
Villa looked comfortable but Jadon Sancho lazily gifted Sunderland a route back into the match by losing possession to Hume who bent into the top right corner.
And they were on level terms a minute later when Isidor latched onto a through ball from Le Fee and finished beyond Martinez.
The visitors were punished after Martinez stopped Habib Diarra’s chipped effort from one-on-one range, as Villa went down the other end and snatched all three points when Abraham poked home from Lucas Digne’s cross in added time.
","originalSource":"","articleLayout":"standard","media":[{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/daeab48c-e333-4eab-96be-8d8ed2e86697/1f8d0ee7-70cc-4d24-9545-a26a4ffaf92c/2.84328596.jpg","width":4496.0,"height":3000.0,"credit":"","caption":"Aston Villa’s Tammy Abraham celebrates scoring the winner at Villa Park (Joe 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van Dijk earns Liverpool dramatic derby win 10 minutes into stoppage time","teaserHeadline":"Virgil van Dijk earns Liverpool dramatic derby win 10 minutes into stoppage time","headlinePrefix":"","byline":"By Carl Markham, Press Association","bylineImageUrl":"","leadtext":"Virgil van Dijk scored an stoppage-time header to win the first Merseyside derby at Hill Dickinson Stadium and boost Liverpool’s hopes of securing Champions League football next season.
","teaserLeadtext":"Virgil van Dijk scored an stoppage-time header to win the first Merseyside derby at Hill Dickinson Stadium and boost Liverpool’s hopes of securing Champions League football next season.
","summary":"","subheadline":"","body":"The centre-back shrugged off the grappling of James Tarkowski to power home Dominik Szoboszlai’s inswinging corner into the six-yard box in the 10th minute of added time to silence the home crowd.
Victory put the Reds seven points ahead of sixth-placed Chelsea with five matches remaining, one of which is at home to the Stamford Bridge side.
Mohamed Salah’s final Merseyside derby had looked like ending in frustration until that late intervention.
The Egypt international has few milestones left to reach before the end of his storied Anfield career, but equalling Steven Gerrard’s Premier League derby record of nine goals in these cross-city encounters was one of them, which he achieved with his 29th-minute opener.
Everton’s determination not to lose the first derby at their new home saw Beto’s fourth goal in three games bring a second-half equaliser, but Liverpool’s early-season habit of scoring late winners – which had deserted them for so long – returned with impeccable timing.
The scenes in front of the visiting fans at the final whistle – and the individual celebrations of Salah, Andy Robertson, who is also leaving, and Van Dijk in particular – showed just how important a result it was in terms of the season and not just local bragging rights.
After their Champions League exit to Paris St Germain in midweek with a fourth defeat in five games – their worst run heading into a derby in 15 years – Liverpool needed to capitalise on Chelsea’s defeat to Manchester United on Saturday.
And while their form – both collectively and individually – is still a concern, the result eased the pressure slightly.
Big-money signings Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz’s first experience of a Merseyside derby left them dazed and confused as Isak barely had a kick in 72 minutes, while the Germany international struggled to string two passes together.
Makeshift right-back Curtis Jones looked out of sorts and out of place, while even the usually reliable Szoboszlai failed to have an impact.
So it was some wonder they found themselves ahead in the 29th minute through Salah’s 12th of the season.
Liverpool’s press finally brought rewards as Dwight McNeil’s aimless pass backwards picked out Cody Gakpo and he threaded a brilliant ball in behind the centre-backs for Salah to sweep in at the far post.
It was against the run of play as Beto had forced an early diving save out of Giorgi Mamardashvili, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall had induced Jones into a risky shoulder-to-shoulder challenge in the penalty area and Beto horribly skewed wide when one-on-one.
That was before Iliman Ndiaye had a goal ruled out after VAR spotted Jake O’Brien had been offside from Jordan Pickford’s long diagonal before crossing.
Salah’s fifth goal in eight games settled Liverpool down, with the Egyptian determined to make his last outing against the old enemy count, at one point tracking back to block Vitalii Mykolenko’s cross for a corner.
But Liverpool’s confidence is as fragile as their defending and when Ibrahima Konate reacted slowly to the excellent Dewsbury-Hall picking up Mykolenko’s ball down the left Beto slid in ahead of Robertson for the 54th-minute equaliser.
Goalkeeper Mamardashvili, in the side due to an injury to Alisson Becker, was carried off in the collision, which meant a Premier League debut for Freddie Woodman, who just over a year ago was playing for Preston against Portsmouth and whose only previous Liverpool appearance was October’s Carabao Cup defeat to Crystal Palace.
The 29-year-old, with just four Premier League appearances to his name with Newcastle in 2021-22, dealt well with his first test, an angled shot from Ndiaye, while Robertson fired wide at the other end before Van Dijk scored Liverpool’s sixth added-time winner against Everton in the Premier League, the most against any single opponent in the competition’s history.
","originalSource":"","articleLayout":"standard","media":[{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/eb7225bd-8c3f-46f1-9bac-418f12ac8836/ad3dcec3-d867-44c2-91c2-2b84c746650d/2.84328592.jpg","width":4464.0,"height":3066.0,"credit":"","caption":"Virgil van Dijk’s header 10 minutes into added time earned Liverpool a dramatic win (Nick Potts/PA).","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3066.0,"width":4464.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3066.0,"width":4464.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":2976.0,"width":4464.0,"x":0.0,"y":22.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3066.0,"width":2044.0,"x":1210.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":3066.0,"width":3066.0,"x":699.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"twitter":{"embed":"\n\n\n","alignment":"center","position":3,"consentVendorId":"c:twitter-pT9B4rrC"}},{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":9,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/f519250e-ff8a-42ff-903d-a189c87bf7b0/a1e27b03-96e9-4e54-afdb-41c402716f7e/2.84326911.jpg","width":5664.0,"height":3976.0,"credit":"","caption":"Mohamed Salah put Liverpool in front in his final Merseyside derby (Nick Potts/PA).","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3976.0,"width":5664.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3976.0,"width":5664.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":3776.0,"width":5664.0,"x":0.0,"y":50.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3976.0,"width":2650.0,"x":1507.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":3976.0,"width":3976.0,"x":844.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":15,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/83c56a16-009b-4a3d-9941-1149c770bd1e/e02cb905-b8b6-4e66-ae0f-6cee8ae15a78/2.84328463.jpg","width":2988.0,"height":2109.0,"credit":"","caption":"Virgil van Dijk celebrates his last-gasp winner (Nick Potts/PA).","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":2109.0,"width":2988.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":2109.0,"width":2988.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":1992.0,"width":2988.0,"x":0.0,"y":29.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":2109.0,"width":1406.0,"x":791.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":2109.0,"width":2109.0,"x":437.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"teaserImage":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/eb7225bd-8c3f-46f1-9bac-418f12ac8836/ad3dcec3-d867-44c2-91c2-2b84c746650d/2.84328592.jpg","width":4464.0,"height":3066.0,"credit":"","caption":"Virgil van Dijk’s header 10 minutes into added time earned Liverpool a dramatic win (Nick Potts/PA).","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3066.0,"width":4464.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3066.0,"width":4464.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":2976.0,"width":4464.0,"x":0.0,"y":22.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3066.0,"width":2044.0,"x":1210.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":3066.0,"width":3066.0,"x":699.0,"y":0.0}}}]}}],"grapeshot":"gv_safe,gb_safe,gb_safe_from_high_med,gb_safe_from_high,pos_oracle_brand_suitability","priority":"desked","tags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"hiddenTags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"sectionIds":["4222289d-a594-4992-91fc-efef16c9bf0f","e53f05df-dbbe-432c-92cc-719cb2d2586f","5479fb49-5065-4a82-9687-fc9a6d5c3c90","b6189dd8-ff31-461f-a99d-12f2e8a41fa1"],"related":[],"advSectiontree":"belfasttelegraph/preview","isLatestNews":true},{"id":866312934,"type":"news","articleType":"news","pubDate":"2026-04-19T17:05:11+0200","pubUntilDate":null,"homeSectionUrl":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league","url":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/morgan-gibbs-white-hits-15-minute-hat-trick-as-nottingham-forest-beat-burnley/a866312934.html","teaserImage":null,"outbrainEnabled":false,"taboolaEnabled":true,"galleryAdsEnabled":true,"articleAdsEnabled":true,"advanced":{"showArticleDate":true,"subscriptionProtected":false},"headline":"Morgan Gibbs-White hits 15-minute hat-trick as Nottingham Forest beat Burnley","teaserHeadline":"Morgan Gibbs-White hits 15-minute hat-trick as Nottingham Forest beat Burnley","headlinePrefix":"","byline":"By Jonathan Veal, Press Association","bylineImageUrl":"","leadtext":"GET IN!!!! pic.twitter.com/0f2WY0VSX3
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) April 19, 2026
Morgan Gibbs-White fired a 15-minute hat-trick to move Nottingham Forest closer to Premier League survival after a 4-1 win over Burnley.
","teaserLeadtext":"Morgan Gibbs-White fired a 15-minute hat-trick to move Nottingham Forest closer to Premier League survival after a 4-1 win over Burnley.
","summary":"","subheadline":"","body":"Gibbs-White has so often been the hero for Forest since their return to the top flight and once again delivered when his side needed it the most.
Forest, who were in Europa League action on Thursday night, were labouring against the Clarets and a damaging afternoon looked on the cards when they fell behind to Zian Flemming’s strike on the stroke of half-time.
But Gibbs-White produced the goods in a rampant second half, bagging a first career treble in just a quarter of an hour, with Igor Jesus adding a late fourth, to move the hosts five points clear of 18th-placed Tottenham.
Defeat was another nail in Burnley’s relegation coffin and, with just one win since October 26, their fate could be sealed by next weekend.
Elliot Anderson returned to the Forest side for the first time since the death of his mother, having missed Thursday’s Europa League quarter-final win over Porto.
The England midfielder laid flowers in the centre circle ahead of kick-off and there was a minute’s applause as the City Ground got behind the 23-year-old.
Forest knew the size of their opportunity, but scoring goals had been a long-term problem at home and this match at first appeared to be no exception.
The hosts lacked intensity of spark in a turgid first half, and their afternoon looked like taking a turn for the worse in stoppage time.
A poor defensive header from Nikola Milenkovic allowed Burnley to build an attack and Quilindschy Hartman’s cross found its way through to Flemming, who converted at the far post.
The first goal always felt like it was going to be crucial and the prospect of scoring one was difficult enough, so two seemed like a mountain to climb.
But Igor Jesus was brought off the bench at half-time and provided a spark which suggested it might be possible.
The Brazilian striker’s shot from the edge of the area was blocked and the ball fell kindly to Gibbs-White, who had time and space eight yards out, but rushed his shot and scuffed it horribly wide.
But he made amends in style as he enjoyed a golden 15 minutes.
First, he showed the required composure to bring Forest level in the 63rd minute. Milenkovic headed a ball back into the area, which Flemming could only flick on into the path of the home captain, who calmly slotted into the net.
He then sent the City Ground into raptures six minutes later as Forest went in front.
Omari Hutchinson got to the byline and stood up a cross for Gibbs-White to lash home at the far post, with a low controlled finish.
It got even better in the 76th minute as Forest killed the game.
Substitute Ryan Yates won the ball on the byline and sent in a cross for Gibbs-White to send a towering header into the top corner.
Forest added a fourth late in the game when Jesus raced clear and found the bottom corner.
","originalSource":"","articleLayout":"standard","media":[{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/0287d8d6-af09-4224-aa2b-0e3ec45930b7/c68cb1b6-5ef0-4b1d-a6ab-3988e6b8eaee/2.84328116.jpg","width":5680.0,"height":3824.0,"credit":"","caption":"Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White celebrates scoring his side’s third goal to complete his hat-trick (Mike 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Carrick revels in Manchester United’s hard-fought win at Chelsea","teaserHeadline":"Michael Carrick revels in Manchester United’s hard-fought win at Chelsea","headlinePrefix":"","byline":"By Robert O'Connor, Press Association","bylineImageUrl":"","leadtext":"THREE BIG POINTS. 👊 pic.twitter.com/LoQCL3qWP9
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) April 19, 2026
Michael Carrick said he lives for moments like Manchester United’s 1-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge as his side took a huge step towards qualifying for the Champions League.
","teaserLeadtext":"Michael Carrick said he lives for moments like Manchester United’s 1-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge as his side took a huge step towards qualifying for the Champions League.
","summary":"","subheadline":"","body":"Matheus Cunha struck the winner in the first half with United’s only shot on target as they moved 10 points clear of the struggling Blues, whose own top-five hopes were dealt a serious blow.
Liam Rosenior’s side hit the crossbar twice in the second half and despite dominating, seemed to lack belief as they lost a fourth Premier League game in a row without scoring.
\nThere are no such concerns for the visitors, who need only two more wins to guarantee a return to Europe’s top competition.
“They’re the moments we live for really, that’s why we’re in it,” said Carrick.
“For big games, important games, big performances. And then for the supporters to feel it, it gives me a lot of satisfaction when I can be part of that and see all the people enjoying it so much. That’s the beauty of football and the pure form of it.”
The win came despite United suffering a defensive injury crisis, with Leny Yoro withdrawing injured on Friday and joining the suspended Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez on the sidelines.
It meant a start in central defence for Ayden Heaven who played well alongside Noussair Mazraoui.
“It was an important win for us tonight in different ways, coming through the suspensions and the injuries, Lenny pulling out quite late and having to adapt,” said Carrick.
“The boys take so much credit for that. And the coaches in terms of putting the plan together and adapting over the last couple of days.
“There’s a lot of things to be proud of tonight. We can play a little bit better at times, but I thought it was a game for a result and we managed to find it.”
Chelsea, who trail fifth-placed Liverpool by four points having played a game more, have lost four league games in a row without scoring for the first time in 28 years. Not since 1912 have the team endured a longer streak.
In all competitions the run stands at six defeats in their last seven, during which they have conceded 16 times, with seven of their nine goals scored coming against Sky Bet League One Port Vale.
Asked what failure to qualify for the Champions League would mean for his own future, Rosenior said: “The honest answer is I don’t know.”
He could at least point to a much-improved display following the capitulation here against Manchester City a week ago, but his team look short of belief that despite creating a wave of chances, they appeared to have given up long before the end.
“Tonight was a really difficult result to take,” said Rosenior. “They’ve had one shot on our goal when we’re down to 10 men off an injury, and they score. Then we have wave after wave of attack, crosses in the box, moments that we don’t take advantage of.
“We have to keep working. We have to turn this around.”
To add to the Blues’ woes, Brazilian teenager Estevao went off after 15 minutes with what looked a serious injury.
“He was crying at half-time,” said Rosenior. “It looks like it’s his hamstring.”
","originalSource":"","articleLayout":"standard","media":[{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/86e888e7-f090-4492-b7b5-f49e497026c1/0e1d1b34-c2a2-43d0-a401-25406e297c5a/2.84318332.jpg","width":3778.0,"height":2525.0,"credit":"","caption":"Manchester United manager Michael Carrick was thrilled with his side’s victory at Chelsea (John Walton/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":2525.0,"width":3778.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":2525.0,"width":3778.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":2518.0,"width":3778.0,"x":0.0,"y":1.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":2525.0,"width":1683.0,"x":1045.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":2525.0,"width":2525.0,"x":624.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":8,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/e9956dfd-b5f7-4427-bec3-19df1b898a73/cad02b1a-05b6-4944-a6d2-c66a44333427/2.84317389.jpg","width":3771.0,"height":2310.0,"credit":"","caption":"Matheus Cunha, second right, scored the only goal (John Walton/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":2310.0,"width":3771.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":2310.0,"width":3771.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":2310.0,"width":3465.0,"x":151.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":2310.0,"width":1540.0,"x":1115.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":2310.0,"width":2310.0,"x":730.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"twitter":{"embed":"\n\n\n","alignment":"center","position":12,"consentVendorId":"c:twitter-pT9B4rrC"}},{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":16,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/b0eaa8e3-741e-47cc-b072-c2125021c105/5eb126fc-80de-4b43-8121-e3c7df76c72c/2.84317225.jpg","width":5646.0,"height":3723.0,"credit":"","caption":"Chelsea suffered their fourth straight Premier League loss without scoring (John Walton/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3723.0,"width":5646.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3723.0,"width":5646.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":3723.0,"width":5584.0,"x":31.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3723.0,"width":2482.0,"x":1582.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":3723.0,"width":3723.0,"x":959.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"teaserImage":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/86e888e7-f090-4492-b7b5-f49e497026c1/0e1d1b34-c2a2-43d0-a401-25406e297c5a/2.84318332.jpg","width":3778.0,"height":2525.0,"credit":"","caption":"Manchester United manager Michael Carrick was thrilled with his side’s victory at Chelsea (John Walton/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":2525.0,"width":3778.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":2525.0,"width":3778.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":2518.0,"width":3778.0,"x":0.0,"y":1.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":2525.0,"width":1683.0,"x":1045.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":2525.0,"width":2525.0,"x":624.0,"y":0.0}}}]}}],"grapeshot":"gv_safe,gb_safe,gb_safe_from_high_med,gb_safe_from_high,pos_oracle_brand_suitability","priority":"desked","tags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"hiddenTags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"sectionIds":["4222289d-a594-4992-91fc-efef16c9bf0f","e53f05df-dbbe-432c-92cc-719cb2d2586f","5479fb49-5065-4a82-9687-fc9a6d5c3c90","b6189dd8-ff31-461f-a99d-12f2e8a41fa1"],"related":[],"advSectiontree":"belfasttelegraph/preview","isLatestNews":true},{"id":616965121,"type":"news","articleType":"news","pubDate":"2026-04-18T23:35:12+0200","pubUntilDate":null,"homeSectionUrl":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league","url":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/part-of-me-leaves-with-bernardo-silva-pep-guardiola/a616965121.html","teaserImage":null,"outbrainEnabled":false,"taboolaEnabled":true,"galleryAdsEnabled":true,"articleAdsEnabled":true,"advanced":{"showArticleDate":true,"subscriptionProtected":false},"headline":"Part of me leaves with Bernardo Silva – Pep Guardiola","teaserHeadline":"Part of me leaves with Bernardo Silva – Pep Guardiola","headlinePrefix":"","byline":"By David Charlesworth, Press Association","bylineImageUrl":"","leadtext":"Bruno Fernandes delivers another masterclass 🪄@Microsoft | @ManUtd pic.twitter.com/EMBTtSG1jq
— Premier League (@premierleague) April 18, 2026
Pep Guardiola admitted “part of myself is leaving” with Bernardo Silva as the Manchester City manager urged his side to give the outgoing Portugal playmaker the perfect send-off.
","teaserLeadtext":"Pep Guardiola admitted “part of myself is leaving” with Bernardo Silva as the Manchester City manager urged his side to give the outgoing Portugal playmaker the perfect send-off.
","summary":"","subheadline":"","body":"The City captain ended speculation about his future on Thursday by revealing he will depart the club at the end of the season when his contract expires following a trophy-laden nine years in the north-west.
Guardiola hopes Silva can add a couple of pieces of silverware to the 19 honours he has already won before he exits, with City aiming to bag the Premier League and FA Cup to complete a domestic treble.
And Guardiola, speaking ahead of the top-two showdown against league leaders Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, insisted Silva still has a crucial role to play for the remainder of the campaign.
Asked whether Silva going was the hardest goodbye for him, Guardiola replied: “Absolutely. When these types of players are going, and there have been many in the last years, part of myself is leaving too.
“It will be difficult imagining (the club) without him. He made an incredible statement during nine years and he has been massively, massively, massively important.
“Hopefully we can deliver to him, he’s going to help us, I know that. He’s a special player, hopefully we can deliver a good month, a few days, because he deserves it, he deserves the best.
“We’ve won 19 titles together, we are still challenging for two more and we are going for it, that’s for sure. We are looking forward to the start and do our best.”
Silva, who has scored 76 goals and made 77 assists in 451 appearances at City, joins Kyle Walker, Ilkay Gundogan, Ederson and Kevin de Bruyne as long-serving players to leave the club in the last 12 months.
The likes of Rayan Cherki and Tijjani Reijnders were signed last summer, with Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi following in January, while Nico O’Reilly and Abdukodir Khusanov are now first-team regulars.
Guardiola therefore rejected suggestions they can go into the title run-in with more conviction than Arsenal, whose lead could be cut to three points if they lose with City having a game in hand.
“Ederson, Kevin, Gundo, Kyle and Manuel (Akanji, who is on a season-long loan at Inter Milan) and a lot of players who made a lot of things here are not here any more,” Guardiola said.
“Most of them are new and we will see. Cherki, for example, has never won the Premier League so we don’t know how he is going to behave in that position.
“Khusanov has never been here, Nico is the first season where he is really there, Antoine arrived a month ago, Marc Guehi arrived a few weeks ago.
“There are a lot of players who are going to play who maybe will win their first Premier League title. I don’t know how they will behave. There are many things you cannot control.”
Guardiola, though, hopes his players embrace the occasion as they look to strengthen their chances of a fifth league title in the last six seasons.
“We need that pressure,” Guardiola added. “To compete good against that team, they have to know that if we don’t win, it’s over. They know it, we talk about that.”
","originalSource":"","articleLayout":"standard","media":[{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/b9fc5cbd-020e-4bd0-82da-d192291eddec/65b17524-4c3c-4850-8163-9af8722b159e/2.84283133.jpg","width":2028.0,"height":2710.0,"credit":"","caption":"Pep Guardiola, right, hopes to win more trophies with Bernardo Silva, left, before he leaves Manchester City at the end of the season (Mike Egerton/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":2710.0,"width":2028.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":2710.0,"width":2028.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":1352.0,"width":2028.0,"x":0.0,"y":339.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":2710.0,"width":1806.0,"x":111.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":2028.0,"width":2028.0,"x":0.0,"y":170.0}}}]}},{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":3,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/c0961c46-e8e8-495d-a234-204daeb5206e/b7a76b43-9352-4f8f-b914-6c18949aeea7/2.83043107.jpg","width":3301.0,"height":2198.0,"credit":"","caption":"Bernardo Silva, right, has has scored 76 goals and made 77 assists in 451 appearances for Manchester City (Owen Humphreys/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":2198.0,"width":3301.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":2198.0,"width":3301.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":2198.0,"width":3297.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":2198.0,"width":1465.0,"x":916.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":2198.0,"width":2198.0,"x":551.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":13,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/0e7bc33f-466d-4999-a5fa-cb88bdbaa431/dd2e02a7-507e-455c-b584-c239959c8a67/2.82896299.jpg","width":4725.0,"height":3276.0,"credit":"","caption":"Rayan Cherki joined Manchester City last summer (Barrington Coombs/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3276.0,"width":4725.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3276.0,"width":4725.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":3150.0,"width":4725.0,"x":0.0,"y":31.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3276.0,"width":2184.0,"x":1270.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":3276.0,"width":3276.0,"x":724.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"teaserImage":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/b9fc5cbd-020e-4bd0-82da-d192291eddec/65b17524-4c3c-4850-8163-9af8722b159e/2.84283133.jpg","width":2028.0,"height":2710.0,"credit":"","caption":"Pep Guardiola, right, hopes to win more trophies with Bernardo Silva, left, before he leaves Manchester City at the end of the season (Mike Egerton/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":2710.0,"width":2028.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":2710.0,"width":2028.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":1352.0,"width":2028.0,"x":0.0,"y":339.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":2710.0,"width":1806.0,"x":111.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":2028.0,"width":2028.0,"x":0.0,"y":170.0}}}]}}],"grapeshot":"gv_safe,gb_safe,gb_safe_from_high_med,gb_safe_from_high,pos_oracle_brand_suitability","priority":"desked","tags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"hiddenTags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"sectionIds":["4222289d-a594-4992-91fc-efef16c9bf0f","e53f05df-dbbe-432c-92cc-719cb2d2586f","5479fb49-5065-4a82-9687-fc9a6d5c3c90","b6189dd8-ff31-461f-a99d-12f2e8a41fa1"],"related":[],"advSectiontree":"belfasttelegraph/preview","isLatestNews":true},{"id":1253961076,"type":"news","articleType":"news","pubDate":"2026-04-18T23:05:21+0200","pubUntilDate":null,"homeSectionUrl":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league","url":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/man-utd-strengthen-champions-league-bid-after-edging-past-struggling-chelsea/a1253961076.html","teaserImage":null,"outbrainEnabled":false,"taboolaEnabled":true,"galleryAdsEnabled":true,"articleAdsEnabled":true,"advanced":{"showArticleDate":true,"subscriptionProtected":false},"headline":"Man Utd strengthen Champions League bid after edging past struggling Chelsea","teaserHeadline":"Man Utd strengthen Champions League bid after edging past struggling Chelsea","headlinePrefix":"","byline":"By Robert O'Connor, Press Association","bylineImageUrl":"","leadtext":"Manchester United opened up a 10-point advantage in the race for the Champions League as Matheus Cunha’s first-half strike earned a 1-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge which seriously harmed the Blues’ own top-five hopes.
","teaserLeadtext":"Manchester United opened up a 10-point advantage in the race for the Champions League as Matheus Cunha’s first-half strike earned a 1-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge which seriously harmed the Blues’ own top-five hopes.
","summary":"","subheadline":"","body":"Cunha rifled in the winner with United’s only shot on target as home fans’ anger at the running of their club reverberated around the ground, following a massive street protest against owners BlueCo that took place ahead of kick-off.
This was Chelsea’s fourth Premier League defeat in a row and the fourth game in which they have failed to score.
They trail Liverpool by four points in the race for the top five having played a game more and with five teams within a win of catching them, they are now at serious risk of failing to qualify for Europe altogether.
For Michael Carrick’s United, there are no such worries. This was a welcome return to form after one victory in four matches, and though they offered little of their own threat besides the goal and Chelsea hitting the crossbar twice, they were sufficiently organised and determined to frustrate their hosts.
Ultimately their greater belief in themselves won out, something which is visibly draining way from Chelsea by the week.
Rosenior’s side created plenty of chances, converted none, and conceded an avoidable goal.
Cole Palmer wanted a penalty after going over a challenge from Ayden Heaven, then Estevao went close stepping in off the left and shooting beyond the far post.
The Brazilian was forced off in the 14th minute after seeming to pull up inside the box with what looked like a hamstring injury.
He appeared to be in some pain, but was able to leave the pitch unaided. Alejandro Garnacho came on to a chorus of jeers from away fans and was largely nullified by his former United team-mate Diogo Dalot.
Enzo Fernandez then half-tricked, half-wrestled his way through two visiting defenders to set up a curling effort which flew inches wide – Chelsea’s best opening of the first half.
Liam Delap, who laboured again to little effect upfront in the absence of the injured Joao Pedro, put the ball in the Red Devils net was but was rightly flagged offside.
Delap and Fernandez then contrived between them to mess up a golden chance from Pedro Neto’s excellent cross.
Chelsea were briefly down to 10 when Manchester United scored. Wesley Fofana had gone off after receiving treatment on a knock to the ribs, and with a central defender missing, no-one in blue got near Cunha as he roared on to Bruno Fernandes’s pull-back to slam the ball into the corner.
Delap headed Neto’s cross against the bar 10 minutes into the second half and Palmer finished just wide from Malo Gusto’s ball into the box as Chelsea summoned some urgency.
Robert Sanchez did well to keep Fofana from deflecting Fernandes’ effort into his own net on a rare United foray forward. The Blues, though, were beginning to dominate and they hit the bar again via an errant touch on a cross from Noussair Mazraoui.
The boos that greeted full-time were deafening and it is hard to see where Chelsea go from here.
","originalSource":"","articleLayout":"standard","media":[{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/864664e5-e933-4b12-9a0d-50e318fdc867/816f565b-ad98-4e4a-bda4-697f128365e0/2.84317389.jpg","width":3771.0,"height":2310.0,"credit":"","caption":"Matheus Cunha, second right, was the match-winner for Man Utd at Stamford Bridge (John Walton/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":2310.0,"width":3771.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":2310.0,"width":3771.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":2310.0,"width":3465.0,"x":151.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":2310.0,"width":1540.0,"x":1115.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":2310.0,"width":2310.0,"x":730.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"twitter":{"embed":"\n\n\n","alignment":"center","position":3,"consentVendorId":"c:twitter-pT9B4rrC"}},{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":7,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/0077e436-1b1f-4f31-9e40-fe4cd34fad8d/7eb1353d-33ce-4074-a2f5-0191e11ff2b4/2.84318352.jpg","width":4065.0,"height":2654.0,"credit":"","caption":"Manchester United celebrated a huge win in their fight for a top-five finish (John Walton/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":2654.0,"width":4065.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":2654.0,"width":4065.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":2654.0,"width":3981.0,"x":40.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":2654.0,"width":1769.0,"x":1146.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":2654.0,"width":2654.0,"x":705.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":11,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/3bb85dc7-ab80-4ce5-8110-52867944e325/047b855e-ac10-4649-bbae-4ba2121c9a8e/2.84317271.jpg","width":5036.0,"height":3228.0,"credit":"","caption":"Enzo Fernandez spurned a glorious chance in the first half (John Walton/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3228.0,"width":5036.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3228.0,"width":5036.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":3228.0,"width":4842.0,"x":97.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3228.0,"width":2152.0,"x":1442.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":3228.0,"width":3228.0,"x":904.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"twitter":{"embed":"BIG. THREE. POINTS! ✅🔥
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 18, 2026
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— Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 18, 2026
Roberto De Zerbi issued a rallying cry to his deflated Tottenham players and insisted they can win their last five Premier League games this season to avoid a catastrophic relegation.
","teaserLeadtext":"Roberto De Zerbi issued a rallying cry to his deflated Tottenham players and insisted they can win their last five Premier League games this season to avoid a catastrophic relegation.
","summary":"","subheadline":"","body":"Spurs will spend another week in the bottom three after they suffered heartbreak in a 2-2 draw at home to Brighton when Georginio Rutter’s stoppage-time leveller denied them a first league win of 2026.
A thunderbolt by Xavi Simons after 77 minutes sent Tottenham Hotspur Stadium into pandemonium, but the north London club’s winless league run stands at 15 matches after late drama in N17 followed Pedro Porro’s opener being cancelled out by a sumptuous Kaoru Mitoma volley.
Even though Spurs’ players collapsed at full-time, De Zerbi claimed to be more confident of survival after he picked up the first point of his reign against old club Brighton.
West Ham are a point ahead of Tottenham in 17th ahead of Monday’s trip to Crystal Palace, but De Zerbi backed his squad to win their remaining matches with Wolves, Aston Villa, Leeds, Chelsea and Everton to avoid a first relegation since 1977.
“I always thought and believed in the quality of the players,” De Zerbi insisted.
“They played a good game, I think we can play better than today with much more quality and more calm, especially when we are in possession, but in this moment we need this spirit, this attitude and this mentality.
“It is not finished yet. We have another five games. It is tough. Every one of us knows it is a tough moment, it is a difficult situation, but we have another five games and 15 points.
“This team is able to win five games in a row. Now it is difficult to hear my words, but if you watch the players and analyse the level of the players, I think we can win five games in a row.
“Not to be arrogant because I am not arrogant, especially now, but we have the quality enough to fight and win games in a row.”
When De Zerbi was asked how he would lift his players, the Italian fired a warning to any member of the club down in the dumps.
De Zerbi added: “They have to be stronger and be focused longer and come to (the) training ground on Monday afternoon with a smile otherwise they go home.
“I have no time to see negative people or to see sad players or (a) sad assistant. No, we are lucky because we are working at a big club, a big stadium, we are working in Premier League and we have the quality, the right quality to win the game – so we have to be positive. I don’t like the people who cry and who think in (a) negative way.”
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler echoed the sentiments of De Zerbi and backed Spurs to stay up.
“Yeah, definitely. I also could say before the game. What they have is individual quality. I think they have unbelievable players in their squad,” Hurzeler reflected.
“They have players in their frontline that can make a difference. They have enough quality in their squad to make it happen.”
Brighton are ninth and a point behind seventh-placed Brentford in the battle for European qualification.
“In the end it’s a point and a point we will take. It’s a point we can make really positive and that’s our responsibility,” Hurzeler said.
","originalSource":"","articleLayout":"standard","media":[{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/ea3a68ea-3c15-4058-b126-2f28e276aad6/e251f06d-20ba-4093-b941-7a34126db019/2.84314852.jpg","width":1501.0,"height":1043.0,"credit":"","caption":"Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi on the touchline during the Premier League match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London. Picture date: Saturday April 18, 2026.","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":1043.0,"width":1501.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":1043.0,"width":1501.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":1000.0,"width":1501.0,"x":0.0,"y":10.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":1043.0,"width":695.0,"x":401.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":1043.0,"width":1043.0,"x":227.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"teaserImage":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/ea3a68ea-3c15-4058-b126-2f28e276aad6/e251f06d-20ba-4093-b941-7a34126db019/2.84314852.jpg","width":1501.0,"height":1043.0,"credit":"","caption":"Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi on the touchline during the Premier League match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London. Picture date: Saturday April 18, 2026.","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":1043.0,"width":1501.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":1043.0,"width":1501.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":1000.0,"width":1501.0,"x":0.0,"y":10.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":1043.0,"width":695.0,"x":401.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":1043.0,"width":1043.0,"x":227.0,"y":0.0}}}]}}],"grapeshot":"gv_safe,gb_safe,gb_safe_from_high_med,gb_safe_from_high,pos_oracle_brand_suitability","priority":"desked","tags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"hiddenTags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"sectionIds":["4222289d-a594-4992-91fc-efef16c9bf0f","e53f05df-dbbe-432c-92cc-719cb2d2586f","5479fb49-5065-4a82-9687-fc9a6d5c3c90","b6189dd8-ff31-461f-a99d-12f2e8a41fa1"],"related":[],"advSectiontree":"belfasttelegraph/preview","isLatestNews":true},{"id":168682106,"type":"news","articleType":"news","pubDate":"2026-04-18T21:25:12+0200","pubUntilDate":null,"homeSectionUrl":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football","url":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/sarina-wiegman-warns-there-are-no-easy-games-as-england-edge-past-iceland/a168682106.html","teaserImage":null,"outbrainEnabled":false,"taboolaEnabled":true,"galleryAdsEnabled":true,"articleAdsEnabled":true,"advanced":{"showArticleDate":true,"subscriptionProtected":false},"headline":"Sarina Wiegman warns ‘there are no easy games’ as England edge past Iceland","teaserHeadline":"Sarina Wiegman warns ‘there are no easy games’ as England edge past Iceland","headlinePrefix":"","byline":"By Rachel Steinberg, Press Association","bylineImageUrl":"","leadtext":"England boss Sarina Wiegman warned the European champions against becoming complacent after securing a narrow 1-0 win over Iceland to maintain a three-point advantage over Spain at the top of their World Cup qualifying group.
","teaserLeadtext":"England boss Sarina Wiegman warned the European champions against becoming complacent after securing a narrow 1-0 win over Iceland to maintain a three-point advantage over Spain at the top of their World Cup qualifying group.
","summary":"","subheadline":"","body":"Alessia Russo’s 21st-minute goal was her 30th for the Lionesses in their 500th match, and Chelsea goalkeeper Hannah Hampton made a number of big saves during a second-half Iceland surge in Reykjavik.
The victory puts England, who face World Cup holders Spain then Ukraine in June, in pole position, with only the winners of each group advancing directly to next year’s World Cup in Brazil and avoiding an unwanted play-off.
“The most important thing is we have 12 points, which is really good,” said Wiegman, speaking to ITV.
“There’s no easy game anymore. We don’t take anything for granted. We’re just in a very good position now, and we also know how good Spain is, then the Ukraine game too.
“So first, now, we’re going to be happy with the six points. Players go back to their clubs, play very important games for their clubs, and then we go again in June.”
One of those players is Russo, who will hope to set Arsenal on their way to qualifying for a second straight Champions League final when they host Lyon in the first leg next Sunday.
The Gunners striker felt it was a “tough game of two halves”, and was grateful to Hampton for ensuring England preserved the win after several second-half scares.
“She was amazing,” Russo told ITV. “I just spoke out there about big moments. She kept us in it and she showed up three or four times to give us that clean sheet and keep the three points.
“It was massive, and sometimes you need someone to step up like that.”
","originalSource":"","articleLayout":"standard","media":[{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/326c145a-27ee-4d43-88d5-254085b23ee0/c64d7daf-eace-4f36-93f2-ebbe84ff0e48/2.84264179.jpg","width":5077.0,"height":3384.0,"credit":"","caption":"Sarina Wiegman is hoping England can stay ahead in their World Cup qualifying group (John Walton/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3384.0,"width":5077.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3384.0,"width":5077.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":3384.0,"width":5076.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3384.0,"width":2256.0,"x":1410.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":3384.0,"width":3384.0,"x":846.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"teaserImage":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/326c145a-27ee-4d43-88d5-254085b23ee0/c64d7daf-eace-4f36-93f2-ebbe84ff0e48/2.84264179.jpg","width":5077.0,"height":3384.0,"credit":"","caption":"Sarina Wiegman is hoping England can stay ahead in their World Cup qualifying group (John Walton/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3384.0,"width":5077.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3384.0,"width":5077.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":3384.0,"width":5076.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3384.0,"width":2256.0,"x":1410.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":3384.0,"width":3384.0,"x":846.0,"y":0.0}}}]}}],"grapeshot":"gv_safe,gb_safe,gb_safe_from_high_med,gb_safe_from_high,pos_oracle_brand_suitability","priority":"desked","tags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"hiddenTags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"sectionIds":["4222289d-a594-4992-91fc-efef16c9bf0f","e53f05df-dbbe-432c-92cc-719cb2d2586f","5479fb49-5065-4a82-9687-fc9a6d5c3c90"],"related":[],"advSectiontree":"belfasttelegraph/preview","isLatestNews":true},{"id":1175020623,"type":"news","articleType":"news","pubDate":"2026-04-18T20:40:17+0200","pubUntilDate":null,"homeSectionUrl":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league","url":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/late-brighton-equaliser-means-struggling-tottenhams-wait-for-a-win-continues/a1175020623.html","teaserImage":null,"outbrainEnabled":false,"taboolaEnabled":true,"galleryAdsEnabled":true,"articleAdsEnabled":true,"advanced":{"showArticleDate":true,"subscriptionProtected":false},"headline":"Late Brighton equaliser means struggling Tottenham’s wait for a win continues","teaserHeadline":"Late Brighton equaliser means struggling Tottenham’s wait for a win continues","headlinePrefix":"","byline":"By George Sessions, Press Association","bylineImageUrl":"","leadtext":"Tottenham remain in the Premier League relegation zone after they were stunned by a stoppage-time leveller from Brighton substitute Georginio Rutter during a pulsating 2-2 draw in Roberto De Zerbi’s home debut.
","teaserLeadtext":"Tottenham remain in the Premier League relegation zone after they were stunned by a stoppage-time leveller from Brighton substitute Georginio Rutter during a pulsating 2-2 draw in Roberto De Zerbi’s home debut.
","summary":"","subheadline":"","body":"Spurs looked set to end a 15-match winless in the top-flight when Xavi Simons produced a superb 77th-minute strike to spark wild celebrations.
Xavi’s fine effort followed up his assist for Pedro Porro’s opener after 39 minutes, which was cancelled out by Kaoru Mitoma in first-half stoppage-time.
However, scenes of jubilation turned to disbelief when Kevin Danso lost possession in the fifth minute of time added on and Rutter curled home to ensure the spoils were shared.
It denied De Zerbi’s team a first victory in charge and means Tottenham will stay in the bottom three for another week with only five matches left to prevent a first relegation since 1977.
Spurs had spent a whole week in the relegation zone, but there was an air of positivity in N17 with James Maddison surprisingly named in the matchday squad for the first time this season and Xavi back in the starting line-up.
A sea of white flags welcomed the teams before De Zerbi’s pleasantries with his old players was followed by multiple warnings by the fourth official Ben Toner for walking onto the pitch.
Clear-cut action was limited, but Tottenham had penalty appeals waved away in the 10th-minute after Destiny Udogie tangled with Brighton attacker Yankuba Minteh.
Diego Gomez limped off for the visitors soon after, before Xavi went close with a low effort deflected wide.
Brighton enjoyed a sustained spell of pressure afterwards and Spurs stand-in captain Micky van de Ven smashed a clearance against the post to deny Danny Welbeck after a dangerous Jack Hinshelwood knockdown, before Antonin Kinsky saved Welbeck’s header.
After Tottenham survived, De Zerbi watched the first goal of his era come from Porro. Xavi was central to it with a wonderful clipped cross and Porro stole in to head over Bart Verbruggen.
Two minutes later and it should have been 2-0 when Dominic Solanke passed into Xavi, who cut inside Ferdi Kadioglu but curled the ball against the post from eight yards and Porro’s follow-up was tipped over by Verbruggen.
It would prove costly when Mitoma lashed home on the volley in supreme fashion from an equally impressive Pascal Gross cross.
Hinshelwood headed wide before half-time and Brighton picked up where they left off after the break with Danso forced to clear ahead of Welbeck and then block an effort by Mitoma.
De Zerbi received a caution soon after for going down the touchline again before a raft of substitutes sparked a grand finale.
Joao Palhinha went close after his introduction before Lucas Bergvall marked his entrance with a key role in Xavi’s goal.
Bergvall won back possession from Jan Paul van Hecke and played in Xavi, who made space against Mats Wieffer and curled sumptuously beyond Verbruggen.
Wild scenes in front of the South Stand were followed by a bout of cramp for Xavi, before the late twist in the tale.
Danso wanted too long on the ball inside the area and Van Hecke stole in and teed up Rutter to break Tottenham hearts and prevent the hosts moving out of the bottom three.
","originalSource":"","articleLayout":"standard","media":[{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/330d40fc-2620-47cd-bf04-f07961efcb02/76e1bec4-9b8c-493c-afcb-1bad58658b83/2.84316636.jpg","width":2324.0,"height":2886.0,"credit":"","caption":"Tottenham Hotspur’s Xavi Simons appears dejected after Brighton and Hove Albion scores their second goal during the Premier League match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London. Picture date: Saturday April 18, 2026.","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":2886.0,"width":2324.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":2886.0,"width":2324.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":1549.0,"width":2324.0,"x":0.0,"y":332.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":2886.0,"width":1924.0,"x":200.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":2324.0,"width":2324.0,"x":0.0,"y":140.0}}}]}},{"twitter":{"embed":"\n\n\n","alignment":"center","position":4,"consentVendorId":"c:twitter-pT9B4rrC"}},{"teaserImage":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/330d40fc-2620-47cd-bf04-f07961efcb02/76e1bec4-9b8c-493c-afcb-1bad58658b83/2.84316636.jpg","width":2324.0,"height":2886.0,"credit":"","caption":"Tottenham Hotspur’s Xavi Simons appears dejected after Brighton and Hove Albion scores their second goal during the Premier League match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London. Picture date: Saturday April 18, 2026.","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":2886.0,"width":2324.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":2886.0,"width":2324.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":1549.0,"width":2324.0,"x":0.0,"y":332.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":2886.0,"width":1924.0,"x":200.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":2324.0,"width":2324.0,"x":0.0,"y":140.0}}}]}}],"grapeshot":"gv_safe,gb_safe,gb_safe_from_high_med,gb_safe_from_high,pos_oracle_brand_suitability","priority":"desked","tags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"hiddenTags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"sectionIds":["4222289d-a594-4992-91fc-efef16c9bf0f","e53f05df-dbbe-432c-92cc-719cb2d2586f","5479fb49-5065-4a82-9687-fc9a6d5c3c90","b6189dd8-ff31-461f-a99d-12f2e8a41fa1"],"related":[],"advSectiontree":"belfasttelegraph/preview","isLatestNews":true},{"id":1546907519,"type":"news","articleType":"news","pubDate":"2026-04-18T20:40:16+0200","pubUntilDate":null,"homeSectionUrl":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football","url":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/alessia-russo-on-target-as-england-squeeze-past-iceland-in-world-cup-qualifier/a1546907519.html","teaserImage":null,"outbrainEnabled":false,"taboolaEnabled":true,"galleryAdsEnabled":true,"articleAdsEnabled":true,"advanced":{"showArticleDate":true,"subscriptionProtected":false},"headline":"Alessia Russo on target as England squeeze past Iceland in World Cup qualifier","teaserHeadline":"Alessia Russo on target as England squeeze past Iceland in World Cup qualifier","headlinePrefix":"","byline":"By Rachel Steinberg, Press Association","bylineImageUrl":"","leadtext":"Late, late drama and @OfficialBHAFC rescue a point against @SpursOfficial! pic.twitter.com/xZJlPPxFD7
— Premier League (@premierleague) April 18, 2026
England maintained a three-point lead over Spain in their World Cup qualifying group after securing a narrow 1-0 victory against Iceland in Reykjavik.
","teaserLeadtext":"England maintained a three-point lead over Spain in their World Cup qualifying group after securing a narrow 1-0 victory against Iceland in Reykjavik.
","summary":"","subheadline":"","body":"Alessia Russo opened the scoring in the 21st minute of the Lionesses’ 500th international match, and it remained the contest’s lone goal at the final whistle.
Iceland came alive in the second half, and it required a number of key saves from Chelsea keeper Hannah Hampton to preserve the win on the same day World Cup holders Spain secured a comprehensive 5-0 victory over Ukraine.
England play Spain and Ukraine in June, after which the group winners will book direct passage to next year’s World Cup in Brazil.
Captain Leah Williamson was back in Sarina Wiegman’s line-up after recovering from a hamstring issue, and the European champions showed their intent early, though they lacked chances.
Iceland remained overwhelmingly encamped in their own defensive third, where England earned a couple of corners before they finally broke through in the 21st minute.
England won the ball back after Iceland had worked it deep into the Lionesses’ half following a rare free-kick, and Lauren Hemp raced up the centre of the pitch before laying off to Russo.
It took a nice bit of skill for the Arsenal striker to score, receiving the pass on a pivot before firing her 30th England goal into the far corner.
Cecilia Runarsdottir gathered up Alex Greenwood’s effort and Russo forced the Iceland goalkeeper into another save with seven minutes remaining in the first half, before Dilja Zomers directed Iceland’s first real opportunity wide.
Williamson was replaced by Lotte Wubben-Moy after the break, and England survived a quartet of early Iceland set pieces including a Saedis Heidarsdottir corner, picked out by Hampton through the crowd.
Iceland, who had just made a triple change, were beginning to make things uncomfortable for the Lionesses when Wiegman replaced Lauren James and Laura Blindkilde Brown with Beth Mead and Jess Park.
Hampton came out to collect another of Sveindis Jonsdottir’s impressive long throws before Mead forced an alert save out of Runarsdottir with a header, and there was an opening for Park, who could not connect with a team-mate to apply the finish.
The Chelsea keeper made another big stop – though she might have been saved by the offside flag – before England survived a huge scare with just over 10 minutes remaining.
A low cross came in from Jonsdottir, received by Sandra Jessen, who clipped the right upright. The rebound bounced out favourably for Zomers, but Hampton reacted quickly to keep it out at her near post.
Iceland kept coming and Alexandra Johannsdottir was denied by the thigh of Hampton, who then recovered after initially spilling her save from a Jonsdottir effort.
Hampton was nearly punished after she was left stranded in five minutes of stoppage time but Jessen could not put the ball past Lucy Bronze and into the open goal.
","originalSource":"","articleLayout":"standard","media":[{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/e047bab6-3bff-4026-a126-9ce92c795935/93fbbc73-31b0-44d3-afc1-2a2dc9c5ab0c/2.80999401.jpg","width":4848.0,"height":3238.0,"credit":"","caption":"Alessia Russo was the match-winner for England (NickPotts/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3238.0,"width":4848.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3238.0,"width":4848.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":3232.0,"width":4848.0,"x":0.0,"y":1.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3238.0,"width":2158.0,"x":1345.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":3238.0,"width":3238.0,"x":805.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"twitter":{"embed":"\n\n\n","alignment":"center","position":3,"consentVendorId":"c:twitter-pT9B4rrC"}},{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":8,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/67d567f4-3e54-41cc-82e3-6285208ece08/c5224fb0-730c-49e9-987b-c1e97a7ae1ad/2.83768491.jpg","width":5912.0,"height":3909.0,"credit":"","caption":"Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman (Nigel French/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3909.0,"width":5912.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3909.0,"width":5912.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":3909.0,"width":5863.0,"x":22.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3909.0,"width":2606.0,"x":1653.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":3909.0,"width":3909.0,"x":999.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":12,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/917498da-ea17-4f76-a81e-310fc9c25706/c0788703-adcb-4b61-914b-aa87738c3276/2.84271386.jpg","width":3239.0,"height":2159.0,"credit":"","caption":"Hannah Hampton played a key role for England (John Walton/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":2159.0,"width":3239.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":2159.0,"width":3239.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":2159.0,"width":3238.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":2159.0,"width":1439.0,"x":898.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":2159.0,"width":2159.0,"x":538.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"teaserImage":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/e047bab6-3bff-4026-a126-9ce92c795935/93fbbc73-31b0-44d3-afc1-2a2dc9c5ab0c/2.80999401.jpg","width":4848.0,"height":3238.0,"credit":"","caption":"Alessia Russo was the match-winner for England (NickPotts/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3238.0,"width":4848.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3238.0,"width":4848.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":3232.0,"width":4848.0,"x":0.0,"y":1.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3238.0,"width":2158.0,"x":1345.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":3238.0,"width":3238.0,"x":805.0,"y":0.0}}}]}}],"grapeshot":"gv_safe,gb_safe,gb_safe_from_high_med,gb_safe_from_high,pos_oracle_brand_suitability","priority":"desked","tags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"hiddenTags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"sectionIds":["4222289d-a594-4992-91fc-efef16c9bf0f","e53f05df-dbbe-432c-92cc-719cb2d2586f","5479fb49-5065-4a82-9687-fc9a6d5c3c90"],"related":[],"advSectiontree":"belfasttelegraph/preview","isLatestNews":true},{"id":666434676,"type":"news","articleType":"news","pubDate":"2026-04-18T19:50:12+0200","pubUntilDate":null,"homeSectionUrl":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league","url":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/daniel-farke-warns-nothing-is-achieved-yet-as-leeds-edge-towards-pl-safety/a666434676.html","teaserImage":null,"outbrainEnabled":false,"taboolaEnabled":true,"galleryAdsEnabled":true,"articleAdsEnabled":true,"advanced":{"showArticleDate":true,"subscriptionProtected":false},"headline":"Daniel Farke warns ‘nothing is achieved yet’ as Leeds edge towards PL safety","teaserHeadline":"Daniel Farke warns ‘nothing is achieved yet’ as Leeds edge towards PL safety","headlinePrefix":"","byline":"By Mark Walker, Press Association","bylineImageUrl":"","leadtext":"You made the difference 🫵
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) April 18, 2026
Thank you for your support in Iceland, #Lionesses fans! pic.twitter.com/1pCSSRZiRJ
Leeds boss Daniel Farke insisted “nothing is achieved yet” after his side took another big step towards Premier League safety with a 3-0 home win against all-but relegated Wolves.
","teaserLeadtext":"Leeds boss Daniel Farke insisted “nothing is achieved yet” after his side took another big step towards Premier League safety with a 3-0 home win against all-but relegated Wolves.
","summary":"","subheadline":"","body":"Quickfire goals from James Justin and Noah Okafor put Leeds 2-0 up inside 20 minutes before Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s stoppage-time penalty sealed back-to-back league wins for the first time this season.
Leeds had climbed six points clear of the bottom three after Monday night’s 2-1 win at Manchester United and victory over rock-bottom Wolves lifted them further clear of the bottom three.
But Farke warned: “My attitude is that nothing is achieved, nothing is done yet.
“To be there with 39 points, with five game-days to go, is a fantastic position to be in, but the feeling is still that we probably need to win one, perhaps even a few more points.
“And for that, we will not allow ourselves to take our foot off the gas. We will stay focused, concentrated and want to win this one (point), or perhaps even a few more points as soon as possible, to have it also mathematically done.
“We don’t want to travel on the last game-day into a nervy game anyhow, when you have to deliver a result in difficult away games. So we’ll try to win these points that we need as soon as possible.”
No side has been demoted from the top flight on 39 points since the 2016-17 season, but Leeds must play at relegation rivals Tottenham and West Ham, on the final day, in their last five matches.
“I would say during a normal season 39 points are probably enough, but we have a special season where teams like Tottenham, which is ridiculous, and Nottingham Forest, who are playing in Europe, are trying to chase us.
“We have also a bit of a special situation where we play Tottenham and West Ham and if you lose such a game, it means they would win three points. So this makes the situation a bit special.”
Bottom club Wolves began the day 15 points from safety and a brief upturn in form under head coach Rob Edwards has been followed by 4-0 and 3-0 defeats at West Ham and Leeds respectively.
Edwards said his side were punished again for individual errors and that he shared in the fans’ frustration as the club prepare for next season in the Championship.
“I completely understand the frustration and accept that. The fans should be angry and I’m never going to say anything other than that.
“They travel everywhere. They support the team and they have the right to vent their frustration and show their anger again.
“So absolutely no problem with me. I’m as angry as they are and disappointed.
“It’s obviously been a long time coming and our situation has been difficult for all of this season, and even seasons before, as we know and we’ve spoken about.
“So all I can do is promise them that we’re working extremely hard to make sure that we’re not feeling like this again.
“I actually think it’s quite apt that we’re here at Leeds at the moment. They have been through their difficulties as well, and fairly recently.
“But the way they’ve responded as a football club, you can see everybody now is right behind it. In the Cup semi-final, performing very well in the league as well.
“So it can be done. We can turn things around, and we’re working really hard to do that.”
","originalSource":"","articleLayout":"standard","media":[{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/eb62f614-be52-4b6e-bdca-40f9b1225122/9d122576-ca09-4afc-a443-d1a66ef65e51/2.84314400.jpg","width":5487.0,"height":3560.0,"credit":"","caption":"Leeds manager Daniel Farke applauds the fans following a 3-0 win over Wolves (Mike Egerton/PA).","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3560.0,"width":5487.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3560.0,"width":5487.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":3560.0,"width":5340.0,"x":73.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3560.0,"width":2373.0,"x":1555.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":3560.0,"width":3560.0,"x":963.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"teaserImage":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/eb62f614-be52-4b6e-bdca-40f9b1225122/9d122576-ca09-4afc-a443-d1a66ef65e51/2.84314400.jpg","width":5487.0,"height":3560.0,"credit":"","caption":"Leeds manager Daniel Farke applauds the fans following a 3-0 win over Wolves (Mike Egerton/PA).","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3560.0,"width":5487.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3560.0,"width":5487.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":3560.0,"width":5340.0,"x":73.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3560.0,"width":2373.0,"x":1555.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":3560.0,"width":3560.0,"x":963.0,"y":0.0}}}]}}],"grapeshot":"gv_safe,gb_safe,gb_safe_from_high_med,gb_safe_from_high,pos_oracle_brand_suitability","priority":"desked","tags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"hiddenTags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"sectionIds":["4222289d-a594-4992-91fc-efef16c9bf0f","e53f05df-dbbe-432c-92cc-719cb2d2586f","5479fb49-5065-4a82-9687-fc9a6d5c3c90","b6189dd8-ff31-461f-a99d-12f2e8a41fa1"],"related":[],"advSectiontree":"belfasttelegraph/preview","isLatestNews":true},{"id":1458479442,"type":"news","articleType":"news","pubDate":"2026-04-18T19:40:15+0200","pubUntilDate":null,"homeSectionUrl":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league","url":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/newcastles-eddie-howe-says-my-belief-in-myself-cant-waver-after-another-loss/a1458479442.html","teaserImage":null,"outbrainEnabled":false,"taboolaEnabled":true,"galleryAdsEnabled":true,"articleAdsEnabled":true,"advanced":{"showArticleDate":true,"subscriptionProtected":false},"headline":"Newcastle’s Eddie Howe says ‘my belief in myself can’t waver’ after another loss","teaserHeadline":"Newcastle’s Eddie Howe says ‘my belief in myself can’t waver’ after another loss","headlinePrefix":"","byline":"By Damian Spellman, Press Association","bylineImageUrl":"","leadtext":"Beleaguered Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has insisted he will not waver in his belief that he is the right man for the job despite another dispiriting Premier League defeat.
","teaserLeadtext":"Beleaguered Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has insisted he will not waver in his belief that he is the right man for the job despite another dispiriting Premier League defeat.
","summary":"","subheadline":"","body":"The Magpies’ hopes of securing European football for next season were dealt another significant blow on Saturday when Bournemouth left St James’ Park with a deserved 2-1 win, condemning the hosts to an eighth defeat in 11 league outings and fifth in six at home.
Having heard his team leave the field at both half-time and on the final whistle to boos, head coach Howe was asked if had started to doubt himself.
He replied: “My belief in myself can’t waver, and it’s not. That’s in every moment.
“That’s in good moments where I try to stay very level and very calm, where I don’t believe the hype one way. It has to work in reverse the other way, where I have to retain a real belief in my work and my staff and what I do.
“Despite what other people may say, that’s there. But of course I’m very aware of those results and they’re not good enough.”
Newcastle were once against a shadow of the side which ended the club’s 70-year wait for a major domestic trophy and qualified for the Champions League last season as they turned in a disjointed and blunt performance in which too many players were nowhere near their best.
Will Osula’s second goal in as many games looked to have rescued a draw after Marcus Tavernier had fired the visitors in front, but once again the Magpies could not hold on to what they had and full-back Adrien Truffert took full advantage with five minutes remaining to claim his first goal for the club.
Howe had defiantly said on Friday that he still had the fire to turn things around, but asked after the latest reverse if his players did too, he paused for a full seven seconds before saying: “I’m hesitating because I’m speaking on behalf of other people and that’s very difficult to do.
“I believe they do and from what I see on the training ground, I don’t see any sense of poor attitude or poor commitment to their work. I see a group of players that are always giving their all.
“Of course we all need to give more, the players need to give more, I need to give more, to turn the results around.”
By contrast, opposite number Andoni Iraola, who this week announced that he will leave his role as Cherries boss at the end of the season - former Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig head coach Marco Rose has been heavily linked with the coming vacancy – will attack the remaining five games of the campaign with Europe very much in his sights.
Iraola, said: “It would be massive, massive, believe me. After announcing the other day and telling the players, for me it’s even more important.
“You want to finish in a strong position. Also, I want the players to feel and to have this chance. It would be amazing because it would mean a lot for the players, for the supporters. It would be the first time in our history to – but we are still very far.
“We cannot get ahead of ourselves because we still need a lot of points, a lot of wins because there are a lot of teams in that fight.”
","originalSource":"","articleLayout":"standard","media":[{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/ece5afba-27e8-428c-a95e-4a93768bf4f7/c068264f-fd14-4196-a846-2f8f46507c27/2.84312559.jpg","width":5814.0,"height":3857.0,"credit":"","caption":"Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola and Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe during the Premier League match at St James’ Park, Newcastle. Picture date: Saturday April 18, 2026.","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3857.0,"width":5814.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3857.0,"width":5814.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":3857.0,"width":5785.0,"x":12.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3857.0,"width":2571.0,"x":1619.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":3857.0,"width":3857.0,"x":976.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"twitter":{"embed":"\n\n\n","alignment":"center","position":3,"consentVendorId":"c:twitter-pT9B4rrC"}},{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":7,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/fcdbf0bc-c2e7-497d-ba52-176bffa5eaa7/ad100eaf-ebbb-4014-a5f7-c7f4ae4ff31a/2.84313803.jpg","width":1677.0,"height":2200.0,"credit":"","caption":"Will Osula opened the scoring at St James’ Park (PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":2200.0,"width":1677.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":2200.0,"width":1677.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":1118.0,"width":1677.0,"x":0.0,"y":270.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":2200.0,"width":1466.0,"x":105.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":1677.0,"width":1677.0,"x":0.0,"y":128.0}}}]}},{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":11,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/283950a2-f950-4719-8aed-a04239d07fb7/1ae7ccfb-14c6-474c-b689-1f586a189220/2.84314183.jpg","width":1950.0,"height":2640.0,"credit":"","caption":"Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola enjoyed his afternoon (PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":2640.0,"width":1950.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":2640.0,"width":1950.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":1300.0,"width":1950.0,"x":0.0,"y":335.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":2640.0,"width":1760.0,"x":95.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":1950.0,"width":1950.0,"x":0.0,"y":172.0}}}]}},{"teaserImage":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/ece5afba-27e8-428c-a95e-4a93768bf4f7/c068264f-fd14-4196-a846-2f8f46507c27/2.84312559.jpg","width":5814.0,"height":3857.0,"credit":"","caption":"Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola and Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe during the Premier League match at St James’ Park, Newcastle. Picture date: Saturday April 18, 2026.","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3857.0,"width":5814.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3857.0,"width":5814.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":3857.0,"width":5785.0,"x":12.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3857.0,"width":2571.0,"x":1619.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":3857.0,"width":3857.0,"x":976.0,"y":0.0}}}]}}],"grapeshot":"gv_safe,gb_safe,gb_safe_from_high_med,gb_safe_from_high,pos_oracle_brand_suitability","priority":"desked","tags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"hiddenTags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"sectionIds":["4222289d-a594-4992-91fc-efef16c9bf0f","e53f05df-dbbe-432c-92cc-719cb2d2586f","5479fb49-5065-4a82-9687-fc9a6d5c3c90","b6189dd8-ff31-461f-a99d-12f2e8a41fa1"],"related":[],"advSectiontree":"belfasttelegraph/preview","isLatestNews":true},{"id":1083332285,"type":"news","articleType":"news","pubDate":"2026-04-18T18:15:13+0200","pubUntilDate":null,"homeSectionUrl":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league","url":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/leeds-edge-towards-premier-league-safety-with-3-0-win-over-wolves/a1083332285.html","teaserImage":null,"outbrainEnabled":false,"taboolaEnabled":true,"galleryAdsEnabled":true,"articleAdsEnabled":true,"advanced":{"showArticleDate":true,"subscriptionProtected":false},"headline":"Leeds edge towards Premier League safety with 3-0 win over Wolves","teaserHeadline":"Leeds edge towards Premier League safety with 3-0 win over Wolves","headlinePrefix":"","byline":"By Mark Walker, PA","bylineImageUrl":"","leadtext":"A fine afternoon's work for @afcbournemouth as they make it 13 Premier League matches unbeaten! 🍒 pic.twitter.com/79IzvCG6y1
— Premier League (@premierleague) April 18, 2026
Leeds took another big step towards Premier League safety with a 3-0 win against all-but relegated Wolves at Elland Road.
","teaserLeadtext":"Leeds took another big step towards Premier League safety with a 3-0 win against all-but relegated Wolves at Elland Road.
","summary":"","subheadline":"","body":"Quickfire first-half goals from James Justin and Noah Okafor put Leeds in control and Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s stoppage-time penalty sealed back-to-back league wins for the first time this season.
Daniel Farke’s side moved six points clear of the bottom three after Monday night’s 2-1 win at Manchester United and their ninth league win of the season lifted them further clear of the bottom three.
Rock-bottom Wolves began the day 15 points adrift of safety and their relegation could be confirmed this weekend if other results go against them.
Leeds burst out of the blocks as Dominic Calvert-Lewin forced Wolves goalkeeper Dan Bentley into a smothering save in the first minute and James Justin headed over soon after.
Calvert-Lewin’s cutback rolled tantalisingly across the face of goal and the early signs were that Leeds had no hangover from Monday night’s 2-1 win at Manchester United.
Two goals in as many minutes dispelled that notion completely. The opener came courtesy of Justin’s brilliant overhead kick in the 18th minute after Ethan Ampadu’s effort had been well blocked by Bentley following a corner.
Home fans were still celebrating Justin’s acrobatics when Wolves captain Toti gave the ball away in midfield two minutes later.
Brenden Aaronson raced clear down the right and supplied an inch-perfect low cross to the far post, where Okafor swept home his third goal in two games and seventh of the season.
Wolves served warning they were not ready to lie down when Ladislav Krejci’s back header was cleared from under the posts by Calvert-Lewin before half-time.
There was no repeat of the first-half explosives at the start of the second period, with Leeds happy to contain a Wolves side that did not appear to carry a threat in the final third.
But Krejci ensured Farke’s side stayed on their toes as his glancing header from Hugo Bueno’s corner was well saved by goalkeeper Karl Darlow.
Wolves spurned another chance when substitute Rodrigo Gomes fired off target before Aaronson was booked for an off-the-ball shove on Krejci, which resulted in the Czech defender being forced off injured.
Following another delay as fourth official Lewis Smith replaced one of the assistant referees due to injury, Wolves striker Adam Armstrong’s effort was ruled out for offside.
Pascal Struijk went close to increasing Leeds’ lead as his low shot curled the wrong side of a post and in stoppage time, at the end of an uneventful second half, the home side were awarded a penalty.
Hugo Bueno was deemed to have pushed Calvert-Lewin in the box as he raced on to substitute Willy Gnonto’s pass and the Leeds striker smashed home his 11th league goal of the season from the spot.
","originalSource":"","articleLayout":"standard","media":[{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/3107e554-4fbf-4c5c-84bb-f7a6d7ea6fbb/10dce027-7591-4794-842a-6ac6aa5eefed/2.84314181.jpg","width":5783.0,"height":3687.0,"credit":"","caption":"Dominic Calvert-Lewin celebrates scoring a penalty to wrap up a 3-0 win for Leeds over Wolves (Mike Egerton/PA).","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3687.0,"width":5783.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3687.0,"width":5783.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":3687.0,"width":5530.0,"x":126.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3687.0,"width":2458.0,"x":1662.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":3687.0,"width":3687.0,"x":1046.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"teaserImage":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/3107e554-4fbf-4c5c-84bb-f7a6d7ea6fbb/10dce027-7591-4794-842a-6ac6aa5eefed/2.84314181.jpg","width":5783.0,"height":3687.0,"credit":"","caption":"Dominic Calvert-Lewin celebrates scoring a penalty to wrap up a 3-0 win for Leeds over Wolves (Mike Egerton/PA).","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3687.0,"width":5783.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3687.0,"width":5783.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":3687.0,"width":5530.0,"x":126.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3687.0,"width":2458.0,"x":1662.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":3687.0,"width":3687.0,"x":1046.0,"y":0.0}}}]}}],"grapeshot":"gv_safe,gb_safe,gb_safe_from_high_med,gb_safe_from_high,pos_oracle_brand_suitability","priority":"desked","tags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"hiddenTags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"sectionIds":["4222289d-a594-4992-91fc-efef16c9bf0f","e53f05df-dbbe-432c-92cc-719cb2d2586f","5479fb49-5065-4a82-9687-fc9a6d5c3c90","b6189dd8-ff31-461f-a99d-12f2e8a41fa1"],"related":[],"advSectiontree":"belfasttelegraph/preview","isLatestNews":true},{"id":1642686459,"type":"news","articleType":"news","pubDate":"2026-04-18T18:00:21+0200","pubUntilDate":null,"homeSectionUrl":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league","url":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/bournemouth-win-at-newcastle-to-increase-pressure-on-former-boss-eddie-howe/a1642686459.html","teaserImage":null,"outbrainEnabled":false,"taboolaEnabled":true,"galleryAdsEnabled":true,"articleAdsEnabled":true,"advanced":{"showArticleDate":true,"subscriptionProtected":false},"headline":"Bournemouth win at Newcastle to increase pressure on former boss Eddie Howe","teaserHeadline":"Bournemouth win at Newcastle to increase pressure on former boss Eddie Howe","headlinePrefix":"","byline":"By Damian Spellman, Press Association","bylineImageUrl":"","leadtext":"Adrien Truffert piled the pressure on Newcastle boss Eddie Howe as former club Bournemouth struck late to snatch a 2-1 Premier League victory at St James’ Park.
","teaserLeadtext":"Adrien Truffert piled the pressure on Newcastle boss Eddie Howe as former club Bournemouth struck late to snatch a 2-1 Premier League victory at St James’ Park.
","summary":"","subheadline":"","body":"The full-back’s 85th-minute intervention inflicted an eighth defeat in 11 league fixtures on the Magpies and severely dented their dwindling hopes of securing European football for next season.
Will Osula looked to have at least spared his head coach, who has now failed to lead Newcastle to a league win over his former club in eight attempts, a third successive top-flight defeat when he cancelled out Marcus Tavernier’s first-half opener.
However, another lacklustre display in front of an increasingly militant crowd of 52,109 left him facing an uncomfortable conclusion to the campaign, at the end of which his own future will be reviewed by the club’s owners.
Worryingly for Howe, he could have few complaints about the result with Bournemouth looking the more accomplished outfit on another sobering afternoon on Tyneside.
Anthony Gordon’s name was notable by its absence from the team sheet, a hip flexor injury preventing his participation days after reports emerged that he is open to offers to leave the club.
An impatient home crowd started to voice its frustration early on with goalkeeper Adam Ramsdale relieved to see Tavernier’s 19th-minute effort end up in the side-netting after he had been played in behind Tino Livramento by Ryan Christie.
The Magpies were simply unable to build any momentum, while the visitors were increasingly fluent with Alex Scott and Christie conducting.
It was they who took the lead 13 minutes before the break when, after James Hill had picked out Rayan down the right, he carved his way past Lewis Hall to cross for Tavernier to get ahead of Livramento and bundled the ball home.
Bournemouth should have increased their lead with five minutes of the half remaining when Evanilson was allowed to get to Scott’s cross unmarked in front of goal, but could not stab it into the vacant net at full stretch.
Keeper Dorde Petrovic came to Scott’s rescue with a fine reaction save after the midfielder had deflected Hall’s free-kick towards his own goal, but the boos which greeted the half-time whistle told their own story.
Kieran Trippier’s arrival in place of Hall after the break added leadership, but Eli Junior Kroupi should have done better with a free header from an early Tavernier corner.
Newcastle’s play was more coherent, if not precise enough to create sustained pressure, but they continued to look vulnerable on transition and Howe decided with 62 minutes gone that it was time for skipper Bruno Guimaraes to return after a 12-game absence.
The Brazilian made a swift impact when, in his efforts to dispossess the Magpies’ midfielder, he slid the ball into the path of Osula, who would have been in an offside position had the pass come from Guimaraes, and he ran away to beat Petrovic and level.
But the visitors captured all three points five minutes from time when Evanilson headed down Tavernier’s deft cross and Truffert, who had started the move, scored from close range.
","originalSource":"","articleLayout":"standard","media":[{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/c5433442-532c-4137-a2e4-592ef3d39d3c/b00c9b79-c8b1-4ec0-a6b3-8da493b48170/2.84313967.jpg","width":4355.0,"height":3067.0,"credit":"","caption":"Bournemouth’s Adrien Truffert celebrates his winner (PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3067.0,"width":4355.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3067.0,"width":4355.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":2903.0,"width":4355.0,"x":0.0,"y":39.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3067.0,"width":2044.0,"x":1155.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":3067.0,"width":3067.0,"x":642.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"twitter":{"embed":"\n\n\n","alignment":"center","position":3,"consentVendorId":"c:twitter-pT9B4rrC"}},{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":9,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/7ebfd9f0-2f70-467b-b78a-c460944b764a/f9c3fe4f-9307-4b79-98a4-77ca868b609e/2.84313016.jpg","width":2940.0,"height":1707.0,"credit":"","caption":"Bournemouth’s Marcus Tavernier opened the scoring (Owen Humphreys/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":1707.0,"width":2940.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":1707.0,"width":2940.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":1707.0,"width":2560.0,"x":190.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":1707.0,"width":1138.0,"x":901.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":1707.0,"width":1707.0,"x":614.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"teaserImage":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/c5433442-532c-4137-a2e4-592ef3d39d3c/b00c9b79-c8b1-4ec0-a6b3-8da493b48170/2.84313967.jpg","width":4355.0,"height":3067.0,"credit":"","caption":"Bournemouth’s Adrien Truffert celebrates his winner (PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3067.0,"width":4355.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3067.0,"width":4355.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":2903.0,"width":4355.0,"x":0.0,"y":39.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3067.0,"width":2044.0,"x":1155.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":3067.0,"width":3067.0,"x":642.0,"y":0.0}}}]}}],"grapeshot":"gv_safe,gb_safe,gb_safe_from_high_med,gb_safe_from_high,pos_oracle_brand_suitability","priority":"desked","tags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"hiddenTags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"sectionIds":["4222289d-a594-4992-91fc-efef16c9bf0f","e53f05df-dbbe-432c-92cc-719cb2d2586f","5479fb49-5065-4a82-9687-fc9a6d5c3c90","b6189dd8-ff31-461f-a99d-12f2e8a41fa1"],"related":[],"advSectiontree":"belfasttelegraph/preview","isLatestNews":true},{"id":643458516,"type":"news","articleType":"news","pubDate":"2026-04-18T16:45:08+0200","pubUntilDate":null,"homeSectionUrl":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league","url":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/keith-andrews-highlights-brentfords-progress-after-draw-with-fulham/a643458516.html","teaserImage":null,"outbrainEnabled":false,"taboolaEnabled":true,"galleryAdsEnabled":true,"articleAdsEnabled":true,"advanced":{"showArticleDate":true,"subscriptionProtected":false},"headline":"Keith Andrews highlights Brentford’s progress after draw with Fulham","teaserHeadline":"Keith Andrews highlights Brentford’s progress after draw with Fulham","headlinePrefix":"","byline":"By Andy Sims, Press Association","bylineImageUrl":"","leadtext":"A brilliant run with a cherry on top 🍒@afcbournemouth 👏 pic.twitter.com/RmnT6nBxdg
— Premier League (@premierleague) April 18, 2026
Keith Andrews felt Brentford showed just how far they have come this season in the goalless draw with Fulham.
","teaserLeadtext":"Keith Andrews felt Brentford showed just how far they have come this season in the goalless draw with Fulham.
","summary":"","subheadline":"","body":"Former Bees boss Thomas Frank was back to watch his old club for the first time since he was sacked by Tottenham in February, with the side he left behind last summer now pushing for Europe.
They were only denied revenge for their derby defeat at Craven Cottage in September, and a place in the top six, by a stunning late save from Fulham keeper Bernd Leno to deny Dango Ouattara.
Andrews, the surprise choice to replace Frank in June, said: “It’s really good that he’s come back to watch the game because he’s been a huge part of this club’s recent history, as everybody knows.
“I think that this game is quite a poignant one because it showcases for me where we’ve come in the space of seven months.
“At Craven Cottage on September 20, Fulham were the better team and deserved to win the game.
“I think you can see the evolution of our team. They’d been together for numerous years under the same head coach. and now we are a team that can compete with anybody in this league.”
The Bees have now drawn each of their last five matches, but Andrews added: “It’s five draws where I’m struggling right now to think of a game that we deserve to lose.
“So that will give you an indication around the opposition that we faced within that time and the performance levels.”
Fulham failed to register a single shot on target with Ryan Sessegnon firing their best chance over the crossbar, while they lost Alex Iwobi to a hamstring injury before half-time.
“It was not the result we wanted,” said boss Marco Silva. “We came with a mission to win the game, something we have done three times in a row.
“We drew and we should not be pleased. We were more dominant first half. The moment we lost Alex had an impact.
“They had a big chance, a big save from Leno after we lost the ball. But Leno popped up in the game and showed his quality. We are talking about a top goalkeeper.”
Leno was not even certain he had kept the ball out after Ouattara swept Keane Lewis-Potter’s low cross goalwards from point-blank range.
“These moments in the last minute are always the best,” said the German keeper on TNT Sports.
“It was a difficult one. I wasn’t even sure if the ball was in or not but then I saw all my team-mates coming over to me.
“It was a good moment and it was important for us because I think we deserved a point today.”
","originalSource":"","articleLayout":"standard","media":[{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/84269409-13ce-4256-b009-d6c1ca07d97b/2da2d328-6621-48e8-a941-318883a017a9/2.84312144.jpg","width":2569.0,"height":3257.0,"credit":"","caption":"Brentford manager Keith Andrews saw his team draw again (PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3257.0,"width":2569.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3257.0,"width":2569.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":1712.0,"width":2569.0,"x":0.0,"y":386.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3257.0,"width":2171.0,"x":197.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":2569.0,"width":2569.0,"x":0.0,"y":170.0}}}]}},{"teaserImage":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/84269409-13ce-4256-b009-d6c1ca07d97b/2da2d328-6621-48e8-a941-318883a017a9/2.84312144.jpg","width":2569.0,"height":3257.0,"credit":"","caption":"Brentford manager Keith Andrews saw his team draw again (PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3257.0,"width":2569.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3257.0,"width":2569.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":1712.0,"width":2569.0,"x":0.0,"y":386.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3257.0,"width":2171.0,"x":197.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":2569.0,"width":2569.0,"x":0.0,"y":170.0}}}]}}],"grapeshot":"gv_safe,gb_safe,gb_safe_from_high_med,gb_safe_from_high,pos_oracle_brand_suitability","priority":"desked","tags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"hiddenTags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"sectionIds":["4222289d-a594-4992-91fc-efef16c9bf0f","e53f05df-dbbe-432c-92cc-719cb2d2586f","5479fb49-5065-4a82-9687-fc9a6d5c3c90","b6189dd8-ff31-461f-a99d-12f2e8a41fa1"],"related":[],"advSectiontree":"belfasttelegraph/preview","isLatestNews":true},{"id":1658234558,"type":"news","articleType":"news","pubDate":"2026-04-18T15:30:07+0200","pubUntilDate":null,"homeSectionUrl":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league","url":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/brentford-miss-chance-to-break-into-top-six-as-fulham-force-goalless-draw/a1658234558.html","teaserImage":null,"outbrainEnabled":false,"taboolaEnabled":true,"galleryAdsEnabled":true,"articleAdsEnabled":true,"advanced":{"showArticleDate":true,"subscriptionProtected":false},"headline":"Brentford miss chance to break into top six as Fulham force goalless draw","teaserHeadline":"Brentford miss chance to break into top six as Fulham force goalless draw","headlinePrefix":"","byline":"By Andy Sims, Press Association","bylineImageUrl":"","leadtext":"Wasteful Brentford missed a chance to climb into the top six as they were held to a goalless draw by west London neighbours Fulham.
","teaserLeadtext":"Wasteful Brentford missed a chance to climb into the top six as they were held to a goalless draw by west London neighbours Fulham.
","summary":"","subheadline":"","body":"A drab derby ended in stalemate after Bees top scorer Igor Thiago hit the goal frame, Keane Lewis-Potter blazed a glorious chance over and Bernd Leno made a stunning last-minute save from Dango Ouattara.
A fifth straight draw keeps them in the European shake-up, however, as well as ending a run of three consecutive defeats by their rivals from along the Thames.
It was also a reminder of happier times for former Bees boss Thomas Frank, who paid a visit to his old club for the first time since he was sacked by Tottenham in February.
The popular Dane was probably mulling over certain career choices as he watched from the stands alongside club owner Matthew Benham and sporting director Phil Giles, with Brentford having gone from strength to strength since he left last summer.
Fulham are also in the European mix, but slow starts have cost them too often this season and they almost fell behind in the 10th minute when Mathias Jensen crossed for Thiago, whose header grazed a post.
Moments later Thiago turned Calvin Bassey in the penalty area but Joachim Andersen slid in to block his shot.
Fulham should have gone ahead when Alex Iwobi and Tom Cairney combined to set up Ryan Sessegnon, but the full-back lifted his shot high over the crossbar.
It was the final contribution for Iwobi, who limped off feeling his hamstring shortly before half-time.
In first-half stoppage time Lewis-Potter created a glorious chance for himself by dragging the ball back only to blaze over from six yards.
Brentford threatened first again after the break, with Ouattara wriggling free in the box only to drill his shot straight at Leno.
Mikkel Damsgaard was next to try his luck with an ambitious volley from the edge of the area which flew just wide of Leno’s post.
Bees captain Nathan Collins almost marked his 100th appearance for the club with a goal but his header flashed wide.
As the clock ticked down Harry Wilson was lucky to escape a booking for a wild lunge on Damsgaard, with not even a foul given.
Seconds later the Fulham winger appeared in the Brentford box only to pull his volley wildly off target.
Then, in the final minute, Ouattara hooked a low cross goalwards and Leno stuck out an arm to make a remarkable point-blank save to preserve a point for the visitors.
","originalSource":"","articleLayout":"standard","media":[{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/36094a58-3305-4cb0-8db6-f45c003efdee/8d68bc9f-bdbc-40dc-a196-84a23e8e53e6/2.84311907.jpg","width":3024.0,"height":2088.0,"credit":"","caption":"Brentford’s Mathias Jensen and Fulham’s Oscar Bobb (right) battle for the ball (John Walton/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":2088.0,"width":3024.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":2088.0,"width":3024.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":2016.0,"width":3024.0,"x":0.0,"y":18.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":2088.0,"width":1392.0,"x":816.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":2088.0,"width":2088.0,"x":468.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"teaserImage":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/36094a58-3305-4cb0-8db6-f45c003efdee/8d68bc9f-bdbc-40dc-a196-84a23e8e53e6/2.84311907.jpg","width":3024.0,"height":2088.0,"credit":"","caption":"Brentford’s Mathias Jensen and Fulham’s Oscar Bobb (right) battle for the ball (John Walton/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":2088.0,"width":3024.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":2088.0,"width":3024.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":2016.0,"width":3024.0,"x":0.0,"y":18.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":2088.0,"width":1392.0,"x":816.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":2088.0,"width":2088.0,"x":468.0,"y":0.0}}}]}}],"grapeshot":"gv_safe,gb_safe,gb_safe_from_high_med,gb_safe_from_high,pos_oracle_brand_suitability","priority":"desked","tags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"hiddenTags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"sectionIds":["4222289d-a594-4992-91fc-efef16c9bf0f","e53f05df-dbbe-432c-92cc-719cb2d2586f","5479fb49-5065-4a82-9687-fc9a6d5c3c90","b6189dd8-ff31-461f-a99d-12f2e8a41fa1"],"related":[],"advSectiontree":"belfasttelegraph/preview","isLatestNews":true},{"id":225464666,"type":"news","articleType":"news","pubDate":"2026-04-18T10:05:15+0200","pubUntilDate":null,"homeSectionUrl":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league","url":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/pep-guardiola-would-not-view-winning-this-title-as-his-best-man-city-achievement/a225464666.html","teaserImage":null,"outbrainEnabled":false,"taboolaEnabled":true,"galleryAdsEnabled":true,"articleAdsEnabled":true,"advanced":{"showArticleDate":true,"subscriptionProtected":false},"headline":"Pep Guardiola would not view winning this title as his best Man City achievement","teaserHeadline":"Pep Guardiola would not view winning this title as his best Man City achievement","headlinePrefix":"","byline":"By David Charlesworth, Press Association","bylineImageUrl":"","leadtext":"Pep Guardiola insisted pipping Arsenal to the Premier League title would not be his greatest achievement as Manchester City manager.
","teaserLeadtext":"Pep Guardiola insisted pipping Arsenal to the Premier League title would not be his greatest achievement as Manchester City manager.
","summary":"","subheadline":"","body":"Arsenal held a nine-point lead at the summit last weekend but that could be cut to three by Sunday evening if they lose at the Etihad Stadium, with City also having a game in hand.
If they reel in Arsenal and go on to claim a fifth top-flight crown in the last six seasons, Guardiola, who led City to the treble three years ago, claimed it would not top his list of accomplishments.
Guardiola, who has won 19 trophies in a decade at City, said: “No. The greatest has been done.
“But for many young players it is good to be in this position to be there and especially after many years and many titles and being still in the title race, it’s really good.
“Six points is not a short distance but we have the chance to do it. The team will be ready, the fans sold out, the players come and (do) everything perfect to try to win (Sunday’s) game.”
Guardiola lamented City’s end-of-season run-in with trips to Everton and Bournemouth still to come, while they take on Champions League-chasing Aston Villa in their final league match.
But he is merely pleased they are still in the hunt for the title after writing off their chances following last month’s disappointing draws against Nottingham Forest and West Ham.
“Our calendar is terrible,” Guardiola, who will be without Ruben Dias this weekend, added. “We don’t know what is going to happen. Six, seven or eight games ago maybe we didn’t have a (positive) feeling.
“I had the feeling in January that it was a decisive moment. I have a little experience where there’s certain moments – you don’t win the Premier League but you send messages to the opponent for ourselves.
“Sunderland, Chelsea, Brighton – these three games we were outstanding in all three games and we didn’t win once and I said ‘we missed the chance’.
“But I always had the feeling during the season that we have done really good things.
“After the games against Nottingham Forest and West Ham, I thought we had ran away. But, it is never over until it’s over and we are still here.”
","originalSource":"","articleLayout":"standard","media":[{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/d1380ebb-a546-48fc-b787-092eeb76f58c/42144693-cd93-4e06-868b-063e80a96847/2.83983317.jpg","width":5670.0,"height":3724.0,"credit":"","caption":"Pep Guardiola has 19 trophies at Manchester City (Adam Davy/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3724.0,"width":5670.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3724.0,"width":5670.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":3724.0,"width":5586.0,"x":42.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3724.0,"width":2482.0,"x":1594.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":3724.0,"width":3724.0,"x":973.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":8,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/72e830d0-ca16-4628-a705-591d8980d416/adcaa45c-8c2b-43c0-9201-acee6329e495/2.83812712.jpg","width":3942.0,"height":2812.0,"credit":"","caption":"Manchester City will be without Ruben Dias on Sunday (Martin Rickett/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":2812.0,"width":3942.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":2812.0,"width":3942.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":2628.0,"width":3942.0,"x":0.0,"y":46.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":2812.0,"width":1874.0,"x":1034.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":2812.0,"width":2812.0,"x":565.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"teaserImage":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/d1380ebb-a546-48fc-b787-092eeb76f58c/42144693-cd93-4e06-868b-063e80a96847/2.83983317.jpg","width":5670.0,"height":3724.0,"credit":"","caption":"Pep Guardiola has 19 trophies at Manchester City (Adam Davy/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3724.0,"width":5670.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3724.0,"width":5670.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":3724.0,"width":5586.0,"x":42.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3724.0,"width":2482.0,"x":1594.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":3724.0,"width":3724.0,"x":973.0,"y":0.0}}}]}}],"grapeshot":"gv_safe,gb_safe,gb_safe_from_high_med,gb_safe_from_high,pos_oracle_brand_suitability","priority":"desked","tags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"hiddenTags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"sectionIds":["4222289d-a594-4992-91fc-efef16c9bf0f","e53f05df-dbbe-432c-92cc-719cb2d2586f","5479fb49-5065-4a82-9687-fc9a6d5c3c90","b6189dd8-ff31-461f-a99d-12f2e8a41fa1"],"related":[],"advSectiontree":"belfasttelegraph/preview","isLatestNews":true},{"id":1138578137,"type":"news","articleType":"news","pubDate":"2026-04-18T10:05:09+0200","pubUntilDate":null,"homeSectionUrl":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league","url":"https://preview.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/arne-slot-hopes-liverpool-can-pick-up-pace-in-premier-league-after-cup-exits/a1138578137.html","teaserImage":null,"outbrainEnabled":false,"taboolaEnabled":true,"galleryAdsEnabled":true,"articleAdsEnabled":true,"advanced":{"showArticleDate":true,"subscriptionProtected":false},"headline":"Arne Slot hopes Liverpool can pick up pace in Premier League after cup exits","teaserHeadline":"Arne Slot hopes Liverpool can pick up pace in Premier League after cup exits","headlinePrefix":"","byline":"By Eleanor Crooks, Press Association Sport Correspondent","bylineImageUrl":"","leadtext":"Arne Slot believes Liverpool’s exit from the Champions League could help them in their quest to qualify for the competition again next season.
","teaserLeadtext":"Arne Slot believes Liverpool’s exit from the Champions League could help them in their quest to qualify for the competition again next season.
","summary":"","subheadline":"","body":"The Reds’ sole focus now will be on trying to secure a spot in the Premier League’s top five following their 4-0 aggregate loss to Paris St Germain in the quarter-finals.
That came hot on the heels of an equally heavy defeat against Manchester City in the FA Cup but does leave Slot’s men with a lighter schedule than some of their rivals.
Last weekend’s 2-0 win over Fulham means they sit in fifth place, four points ahead of Chelsea and three behind Aston Villa and Manchester United with six games remaining.
Reds boss Slot said: “If you look at the 15, 20, 25 players with the most minutes this season, a lot of them are from us.
“That tells you a lot and one of the reasons why we have been a bit inconsistent, maybe why we have conceded so many late goals, because it is always the same players.
“Maybe from that perspective, it is a good thing we are not in Europe any more, but I would definitely prefer to play in Europe because that also gives an energy to the group if you go to the semi-final of the Champions League.
“I don’t see it as a positive thing we are out but it is the reality and we have a bit more training time now.”
The first of those six games comes on Sunday against derby rivals Everton, with Liverpool making a first trip to the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
“It is always a very special game, doesn’t matter if it is the 60th being played in the stadium, but, if it is the last one being played in a stadium or a first one, it makes it even more special, if that’s even possible,” said Slot.
“Of course, they are in a very good place at the moment. It will always be a very special game for them, but also for us.”
Slot’s first visit to Everton last season saw a blockbuster encounter in the final derby at Goodison Park, with James Tarkowski equalising eight minutes into stoppage time.
Slot, assistant Sipke Hulshoff, Everton’s Abdoulaye Doucoure and Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones were all sent off in fractious scenes, with the Reds boss furious with referee Michael Oliver.
“The crowd didn’t affect me last season, the referee’s decisions affected me,” said Slot when asked whether he expected the atmosphere to be different in Everton’s new home.
“Last season was my first Merseyside derby in that stadium so, if we played in the same stadium, I would probably know what to expect. But I don’t think a stadium is loud, it is usually fans that are loud.
“How much of a difference it will be, I will tell you after the weekend. I think their fans will be loud, as our fans will be as well.”
","originalSource":"","articleLayout":"standard","media":[{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/18eec1d5-673e-4dbe-ac08-10373a11c2c9/ede456c5-91d8-4f09-8724-3a4ba658398b/2.84265574.jpg","width":1976.0,"height":1367.0,"credit":"","caption":"Liverpool manager Arne Slot reacts on the touchline during Liverpool’s loss to Paris St Germain (Peter Byrne/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":1367.0,"width":1976.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":1367.0,"width":1976.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":1317.0,"width":1976.0,"x":0.0,"y":10.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":1367.0,"width":911.0,"x":530.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":1367.0,"width":1367.0,"x":302.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"twitter":{"embed":"\n\n\n","alignment":"center","position":3,"consentVendorId":"c:twitter-pT9B4rrC"}},{"twitter":{"embed":"Up next: The Merseyside derby 🔴#EVELIV | @UPS pic.twitter.com/mxnBMvYDrc
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) April 17, 2026
\n\n\n","alignment":"center","position":8,"consentVendorId":"c:twitter-pT9B4rrC"}},{"imageGallery":{"count":1,"position":12,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/a6502e9c-f16e-4d2c-9c3d-28afb14dec8f/e23069cf-807b-4954-82e4-ddb750fc2cc0/2.79006828.jpg","width":5340.0,"height":3560.0,"credit":"","caption":"Arne Slot was sent off at Goodison Park last season (Nick Potts/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":3560.0,"width":5340.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":3560.0,"width":5340.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":3560.0,"width":5340.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":3560.0,"width":2373.0,"x":1481.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":3560.0,"width":3560.0,"x":890.0,"y":0.0}}}]}},{"teaserImage":{"count":1,"position":0,"alignment":null,"caption":null,"credit":null,"images":[{"url":"//s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/p-mhie/18eec1d5-673e-4dbe-ac08-10373a11c2c9/ede456c5-91d8-4f09-8724-3a4ba658398b/2.84265574.jpg","width":1976.0,"height":1367.0,"credit":"","caption":"Liverpool manager Arne Slot reacts on the touchline during Liverpool’s loss to Paris St Germain (Peter Byrne/PA)","cropping":{"master":{"auto":false,"height":1367.0,"width":1976.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"free":{"auto":false,"height":1367.0,"width":1976.0,"x":0.0,"y":0.0},"landscape":{"auto":false,"height":1317.0,"width":1976.0,"x":0.0,"y":10.0},"portrait":{"auto":false,"height":1367.0,"width":911.0,"x":530.0,"y":0.0},"square":{"auto":false,"height":1367.0,"width":1367.0,"x":302.0,"y":0.0}}}]}}],"grapeshot":"gv_safe,gb_safe,gb_safe_from_high_med,gb_safe_from_high,pos_oracle_brand_suitability","priority":"desked","tags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"hiddenTags":{"topics":[],"regions":[],"ids":[],"slugs":[]},"sectionIds":["4222289d-a594-4992-91fc-efef16c9bf0f","e53f05df-dbbe-432c-92cc-719cb2d2586f","5479fb49-5065-4a82-9687-fc9a6d5c3c90","b6189dd8-ff31-461f-a99d-12f2e8a41fa1"],"related":[],"advSectiontree":"belfasttelegraph/preview","isLatestNews":true}]}"What an end to the Merseyside derby!"
— Everton (@Everton) March 6, 2025
James Tarkowski's stunning equaliser has been nominated for #PL Goal of the Month for February! 🗳