The World Cup winner’s off-the-cuff assessment was brutally honest. Within days their manager and CEO were gone, but the problems run much deeper Kiat Lim wanted to see Valencia play so badly, so that is what he did. It was week four in La Liga, 6 September, and for the first time since he was given the presidency 18 months earlier, the owner’s 33-year-old son was going to watch his team play a competitive game. He was going to do it from the inside, too, so he took a flight to Spain, landing at Manises in a black mask and cap, a van to the hotel, then the team bus to Mestalla. He looked through the window as they rolled along Avenida Suecia, a huge, noisy crowd waiting, but when he got off and headed through the iron gate with its ornate club badge, he saw that this was no welcome. Above him as he went in were giant portraits of Mario Kempes, Antonio Puchades, Juan Sol, Gaizka Mendieta, David Villa and Santiago Cañizares, footballers from a better time; around him were yellow banners and whistles for the footballers there now. Inside, Lim saw the game start with the lower south stand empty as fans stayed away until the 19th minute, the sound of another protest drifting in from the street. They were out there still when, sitting alongside Joan Laporta, he saw Lamine Yamal score the sixth-minute opener then get a second. And although that, also from Lamine Yamal, was ruled out, he eventually saw Barcelona get four more, presiding over a 5-0 debut defeat. Continue reading...

Head coach insists forwards need to improve pressing Changes up front likely for Carabao Cup tie against Spurs Andoni Iraola has shifted the focus on to Liverpool’s forwards for the team’s uninspiring display against Fulham, insisting they need to give more to make his system work. The head coach admitted his team took “a step backwards” with their goalless draw on Saturday. His central midfield pairing of Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai struggled to contain their Fulham counterparts, winning two of five duels and one of nine duels respectively. But Iraola believes the problems started further forward with the pressing of Liverpool’s expensively assembled attack. Continue reading...

Matt Donohue and his assistant not used this weekend Pro Ref said allowing winner was ‘error of judgment’ The video assistant referee officials who allowed Erling Haaland’s winning goal in the Manchester derby on Sunday have been stood down. Matt Donohue and his assistant, Blake Antrobus, have been told by Pro Ref they have not received appointments for this weekend’s round of Premier League fixtures. The chief refereeing officer, Howard Webb, took the decision with his management team after a review of the weekend’s action. Their availability will be reconsidered after the international break. Continue reading...

In a bad-tempered meeting at Old Trafford, United and City showed they are far from the finished product Sign up for our free newsletter here While London has a host of top-flight clubs and Liverpool have been regular contenders, the story of the Premier League can almost entirely be told with Mancunian main characters. From Manchester United’s decade-plus of dominance under Sir Alex Ferguson to Manchester City’s emergence among the oil baron class, with a grip made firmer under Pep Guardiola’s guidance, it seems one must always beat a Manchester club to the title. Never before has the trophy spent more three seasons before returning to one of these two clubs, with a pair of three-year roadshows in the mid-2000s and mid-2010s. Continue reading...

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! Keys. Phone. Wallet. What day it is. The names of people to whom we’ve just been introduced. Where we parked the car. The shopping list we wrote to remind us what Tin groceries we need. The dog we’re supposed to be walking. Dozens of umbrellas. The name of the hotel we’re staying in. Assorted birthdays. Why we walked into a room. The list of things your scatterbrained Football Daily forgets with alarming frequency is so long that we’re genuinely struggling to remember most of the things that should feature on it. While our absentmindedness tends not to upset anyone other than ourselves or our nearest or dearest, we can’t even begin to imagine the bowel-loosening horror of completely forgetting something so simple and blindingly obvious that it enrages the majority of the 74,161 football fans in attendance while bringing the already snakebelly low reputation of your entire profession into even more disrepute than it was less than 24 hours previously. Continue reading...

Departure of head coach after defeat at Freiburg sums up club that could join other fallen giants in second tier It could not go on. Even at this early stage the sinking feeling was familiar and impossible to shake, and something had to give at Borussia Mönchengladbach. The first Bundesliga coaching change of the season is upon us just three games in, and it is not a major surprise that it is Eugen Polanski departing. Neither is it a shock that Gladbach are involved; after all, it was at exactly this point last season – three games in – that they parted ways with Gerardo Seoane. A club with more prospects and direction would have chosen to move on from Polanski in the summer, but the reality is that Gladbach have few of either. Saturday afternoon’s humiliation at Freiburg – a club enjoying a 100% record, guided by poise and purpose, having spent the Johan Manzambi money wisely – was no bad day at the office but a season in microcosm. The home side cruised into a 2-0 lead inside the first half-hour before the Gladbach captain, Tim Kleindienst, was sent off for a second yellow card (after an utterly avoidable first one). One former Gladbach player, Yannik Engelhardt, scored twice while another, Matthias Ginter, made two assists. It finished 5-0 and could have been way worse. Continue reading...

Max Rushden is joined by B arry Glendenning , Barney Ronay and John Brewin to discuss the weekend’s Premier League action On the podcast today: Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Barney Ronay, and John Brewin to round up the weekend’s Premier League action. Manchester City beat Manchester United at Old Trafford with a controversial Erling Haaland goal. Has the job of referees become too difficult for regular folk, and do we need Nasa scientists or data wonks instead at Pro Ref? Continue reading...

Explanation wanted after spot-kick given against them Arsenal likely to raise penalty not awarded at Aston Villa Arsenal are seeking an explanation from Pro Ref over the penalty awarded to Sunderland on Saturday, which Mikel Arteta described as “ unacceptable at this level ”. It is understood the Premier League champions contacted Pro Ref on Monday to request a meeting after Ezri Konsa was penalised during an incident involving Dan Ballard at the Stadium of Light. David Raya made a brilliant save to deny Enzo Le Fée’s spot-kick before Arsenal went on to win 2-0. Continue reading...

Despite an impressive start under Gennaro Gattuso, supporters are boycotting the Stadio Olimpico to wage war against Claudio Lotito Gennaro Gattuso has given some memorable post‑game interviews down the years. Who could forget his “sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe shit” rant at OFI Crete or the face of the beleaguered interpreter tasked with translating it? Last year, not long before taking charge of the Italian national team, Gattuso got into a finger‑jabbing, language‑swapping, almost‑nose‑to‑nose shouting match with Josko Jelicic on Croatian television. Continue reading...

Ferran Torres has been brilliant for his new club with most of his new teammates floundering for form By Get French Football News It was just a flicker. Ferran Torres picks the ball up and passes it to João Neves. The Portugal midfielder plays it into Ousmane Dembélé, who has lured in Raphaël Le Guen and eliminates him with a mesmeric first-time back-heel into the path of Torres. The Brest defence are just cones in a training drill, mere extras in this work of art as the Spaniard glides back into the scene to pass the ball into Egil Selvik’s bottom-left corner from 25 yards; it happened in slow motion, but was too quick for the Norwegian goalkeeper to react. Continue reading...

Manchester United need to regroup after a heavy home loss to Chelsea while Crystal Palace frustrated the Gunners The frustration among Manchester United fans at full-time was evident at Leigh Sports Village after they had watched their team being thrashed 5-0 by a rampant Chelsea. There are certainly things to be worried about, but perhaps judging United’s new manager, Eva Olid, on the basis of how they performed against Sonia Bompastor’s established side is a little premature. The likelihood of United taking three points was always slim, despite the false hope after Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with Aston Villa last weekend. Chelsea have not been an easy opponent for the Red Devils, who have lost three WSL games by more than three goals, all against Chelsea. Having had three weeks with her side, Olid had a harsh WSL baptism with losses to London City Lionesses and Chelsea. United face Arsenal next. “These are difficult games to build the confidence in attack, but I’m here to build an identity and I have to be faithful to that,” said the Spaniard. Suzanne Wrack Match report: Manchester United 0-5 Chelsea WSL roundup: Arsenal rue misses in Palace draw Match report: West Ham 2-1 London City Lionesses Continue reading...

Why fainting fans and perspiring players are a worry for the Asian league seeking to follow Japan and align with Europe South Korean football is trying to find the goldilocks time to play the K-League. Winters have long been too cold and, increasingly, summers are too hot. It is the Land of the Morning Calm, but, for much of the time, the weather can be pretty extreme. Last week, a survey revealed that more than 70% of 29 coaches in Asia’s oldest professional league support a shift from the traditional March to November schedule to one that matches the European format, which starts in late August and has a winter break. Continue reading...

Miklosko played 373 times for West Ham from 1990 He won 42 international caps from 1982 The former West Ham and QPR goalkeeper Ludek Miklosko has died at the age of 64. Miklosko, who won caps for Czechoslovakia and Czechia, had cancer. Miklosko joined West Ham from Baník Ostrava in 1990 for £300,000 after a trial and helped the club win promotion to the top division in his first season. He left in 1998 having made 373 appearances, joining QPR, initially on loan. Miklosko ended his career there in 2001 and returned to West Ham, where he worked as a goalkeeping coach until 2010. Continue reading...

Controversy rules the Manchester derby, Coventry are dunked on and Tottenham still can’t score a goal The 199th Manchester derby was defined by two refereeing decisions: Phil Foden’s first-half red card for kicking out at Bruno Fernandes, and the intervention by the video assistant referee to award Erling Haaland’s winning goal despite Enzo Fernández appearing to interfere with play from an offside position. In both cases, a healthy dose of common sense might have led to a different outcome and Pro Ref admitted that Haaland’s goal should not have stood. Still, it is tough to argue that the final result was harsh on United. Foden’s dismissal gave the hosts a huge opportunity they failed to take, their best chance falling to Bryan Mbeumo in stoppage time. Michael Carrick began his reign with a 2-0 home derby win against 11 men in January, so this felt like a backward step for the manager, unable to find a way to control the game. Carrick also bemoaned City’s two days of extra rest after Champions League games, but chose to keep Fernandes and others on for 90 minutes in the 4-0 stroll past Sabah . United’s next two league games are away at Fulham and at home to Spurs. Carrick will need to be smarter to stop an early-season wobble becoming something more serious. Niall McVeigh Match report: Manchester United 0-1 Manchester City Match report: Coventry 0-5 Brighton Match report: Sunderland 0-2 Arsenal Continue reading...

Elversberg 1-2 Bayern; Sassuolo 3-2 Juventus Barcelona see off Levante, PSG end winless start Harry Kane scored his first Bundesliga goal of the season to help Bayern Munich edge to a 2-1 win at promoted Elversberg on Sunday. Handed the captain’s armband with Manuel Neuer rested, Kane scored with 18 minutes remaining. Bayern had taken the lead through the teenage Germany winger Lennart Karl, but Elversberg – who won their opening two matches in their maiden top-flight campaign – levelled things up just after the hour mark thanks to a stunning curling effort from Maurice Krattenmacher. Continue reading...

Officiating body announces it will review the incident Unhappy Carrick says error was ‘as obvious as it gets’ Pro Ref admitted Erling Haaland’s winner in Sunday’s Manchester derby should not have been allowed after the video assistant referee ruled Enzo Fernández was not interfering with play in the build-up. The elite officiating body will review the decision and has contacted Manchester United. Haaland’s 60th minute goal for Manchester City at Old Trafford was initially ruled offside before the VAR’s intervention. It came after Josko Gvardiol’s cross hit Patrick Dorgu’s boot, passed Fernández and the United defender Lisandro Martínez, and was finished by the City No 9. VAR decided Fernández was not interfering despite Martínez marking the midfielder. Continue reading...

Refereeing is now an impossible job owing to the culture of micro-analysis the Arsenal manager has helped to create A gentleman is never rude unintentionally, only by design. Nobody really knows who said this first. But it could easily be a line from the Elite Football Manager’s Guide to Press Conferences (Premier League edition). Because nothing happens by accident in these spaces. Every word spoken in front of the board covered in adverts is metered and planned. A manager is never angry, or concerned, or even charming unintentionally. The game is the game, but so are all the other bits spilling out either side of it. Continue reading...

Some scoffed at £125m price tag, but the Argentinian did the work of two midfielders after Phil Foden’s red card Enzo Maresca does not pay the bills at Manchester City but he is ecstatic that those who do spent £125m for him to be reunited with Enzo Fernández. The manager and the midfielder were together at Chelsea, forming a strong bond over a relatively short time, one the Italian knew could provide the final piece within his master plan. The Argentinian was equally eager to work under Maresca once more and made it abundantly clear to his previous employers where he saw his future. Questions were immediately raised about the fee for the 25-year-old who had spent the summer winding up opponents on the way to losing the World Cup final against Spain. Some pondered his attitude and quality but Maresca was adamant he knew what he was doing and City agreed with a deadline-day move. Continue reading...

“Enzo, Enzo, Enzo, in your head” was how delirious Manchester City fans regaled Enzo Fernández, who after a star role in a memorable victory has instant cult hero status. This 199th derby was won by Erling Haaland’s ninth strike in the fixture but the visitors’ totem was their new No 17. He was the key nuisance in a goal ruled out initially for offside and which the video assistant referee overturned when ruling that Fernández was not distracting Lisandro Martínez when Josko Gvardiol’s ball came over. Pro Ref later made contact with United to acknowledge an “error of judgment” in allowing the goal to stand. Continue reading...