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The duo have become the first defensive duo to reach double-digit assists in the same season, and either could claim the individual defender record Liverpool full-back duo Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson have made Premier League assist history, and both could make more in short order. It was Alexander-Arnold whose presence was heavily felt in the early going in Liverpool’s Premier League clash with Newcastle. With the Reds needing a win to keep the pressure on Manchester City in the title race, Alexander-Arnold picked up an early assist when his corner kick found the head of an unmarked Virgil van Dijk to give Liverpool a 1-0 advantage 13 minutes in. That moment secured a bit of history for the full-back pair as it brought Alexander-Arnold to 10 assists on the campaign, while Robertson sits on 11 after his two-assist performance last week against Huddersfield. They became the first pair of defenders on the same team to have 10 or more Premier League assists in th...

Divock Origi rescued Liverpool's Premier League title bid with a 86th-minute winner as a 3-2 victory over Newcastle shifted the pressure onto Manchester City with moments to spare. Liverpool's title challenge looked set to unravel at St James' Park as strikes from Christian Atsu (20) and Salomon Rondon (54) saw Newcastle came from behind twice to cancel out first-half goals from Virgil van Dijk (13) and Mohamed Salah (28). Liverpool's cause was further hampered by the loss of Salah to a nasty head injury midway through the second half, but his replacement Origi's glancing header sealed a priceless victory for Jurgen Klopp's side as this season's fascinating title race took another twist. The victory sees Liverpool move two points clear at the top of the table and applies the pressure on champions Manchester City ahead of their clash with Leicester on Monday Night Football.

Manchester United return to Old Trafford for the first time under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's management against Huddersfield on Boxing Day with a new-found swagger after scoring five goals in the Premier League for the first time in five years. The Norwegian's caretaker spell in charge until the end of the season got off to a dream start as United threw off the shackles, that led to turgid football and deteriorating results under Jose Mourinho, to thrash Cardiff 5-1. United still face a huge challenge to make up an eight-point gap just to qualify for next season's Champions League via a top-four finish. But for now the luxury of just being able to enjoy watching a side play with freedom and the attacking principles that have underpinned the club's history is enough to excite United fans again. "I think the boys are looking forward to playing at Old Trafford and that's important. We should be looking forward to that, they are the best fans in the world,...

Manchester City stretched a relentless winning run to eight games by thrashing West Ham 4-0 on Saturday, while Tottenham ended Chelsea's unbeaten start to the season with a stylish 3-1 win on Saturday. With Chelsea stumbling, second placed Liverpool remain the most likely challengers for City's title after sweeping to a 3-0 win at Watford that keeps them two points behind the leaders. Manchester United are 14 points adrift of the leaders as Paul Pogba was hauled off by Jose Mourinho as they failed to break down Crystal Palace in a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford. Everton leapfrogged United to move up to sixth with a 1-0 victory over Cardiff, while Claudio Ranieri won his first match in charge of Fulham in a 3-2 thriller over fellow strugglers Southampton. City have now won 12 of their last 13 games with the only dropped points coming in a creditable 0-0 draw at Liverpool last month. Pep Guardiola's men had scored 13 goals in their three previous visits to the London ...

Tottenham Hotspur full back Kieran Trippier has withdrawn from the England squad for matches against the United States and Croatia due to a groin injury, the Football Association said on Tuesday. Trippier, who scored England's only goal in the World Cup semi-final defeat by Croatia, picked up the injury in the first half of Tottenham's 1-0 win over Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday. The 28-year-old reported for international duty at England's St. George's Park facility on Monday but has been sent back to Spurs to continue rehabilitation. England host the U.S. in a friendly on Thursday and Croatia in the Nations League on Sunday.

Samir Nasri is in line to rejoin Manuel Pellegrini at West Ham when his doping suspension ends, the London Evening Standard reported Monday. The Standard said the 31-year-old midfielder, who played under Pellegrini at Manchester City, is undergoing a medical prior to signing a short-term contract with London club West Ham. While the former France international's ban means he is unable to play until January 1, the terms of Nasri's suspension allow him to train with any club from this month onwards. In February, Nasri was given a six-month suspension after taking a multi-vitamin booster in contravention of World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) rules. Nasri had the drip treatment at a Los Angeles clinic two years ago while he was on loan at Sevilla from City during the 2016/17 season, prompting the Spanish anti-doping agency to open an investigation. He retroactively appealed to Uefa to grant him a therapeutic use exemption (TUE), but his request was refused by European foo...

Salomon Rondon netted an impressive brace for Newcastle United as they claimed consecutive wins in the Premier League for the first time since April to move a point clear of the relegation zone with a 2-1 win over Bournemouth. Newcastle, full of confidence following their previous victory over Watford, got off to the perfect start when Rondon opened the scoring after seven minutes following a fine build-up from DeAndre Yedlin. Bournemouth's Adam Smith suffered what appeared to be a serious injury and play was suspended for eight minutes while he received treatment before being carried off with suspected knee ligament damage. Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe said later that Smith was in a lot of discomfort in the dressing room and the long delay had affected his team. "Adam Smith looks like he’s got a knee injury; it looks quite serious, he’s in quite a bit of pain in the dressing room,” Howe said. “It did disrupt the flow of the game, the long delay, and obviously the...

Tottenham ground out another Premier League away win to move to within two points of leaders Manchester City as Juan Foyth's first senior goal secured a 1-0 victory at Crystal Palace. Once more Mauricio Pochettino's men were not at their best and needed a great late save from Hugo Lloris to claim all three points as a torrential downpour affected conditions at Selhurst Park. However, a run of five straight league wins on the road means Spurs move level with Chelsea and Liverpool and four points clear of local rivals Arsenal, all of whom are in action on Sunday. At the end of a gruelling run of five games in 12 days, Pochettino made six changes from the side that battled back from a goal down against PSV Eindhoven in midweek to keep their hopes of reaching the Champions League last 16 alive. However, Palace were also missing star man Wilfried Zaha due to a hamstring injury and missed the Ivorian's end product. Spurs were dealt an injury blow when Kieran Trippie...

Raheem Sterling has committed his long-term future to Manchester City after signing a three-year contract extension with the Premier League champions on Friday. Sterling had been in negotiations with City for several months and the England winger has finally agreed the bumper new deal after being linked with a move to Real Madrid. The 23-year-old is now tied to City until 2023, with reports earlier this month claiming his extended contract would be worth £300 000 per week, making him England's best paid player. "I'm delighted to sign. My development here has been incredible," Sterling told City's website. "I felt from the minute I got here it was the right choice for me. It's really paid off for me and I'm really grateful." Sterling has blossomed under City manager Pep Guardiola and has developed into a key player for club and country since arriving from Liverpool in 2015. He scored 23 goals in all competitions last term as City w...

Jurgen Klopp believes Liverpool are being made to apologise for not performing in the same free-scoring style as Premier League title rivals Manchester City. Last weekend's draw at Arsenal and a shock Champions League loss at Red Star Belgrade have somewhat stalled the momentum Liverpool built across an unbeaten start in the league. The Reds have been restricted to a lone goal or less in seven of their past nine matches in all competitions, in contrast to a City side that has recently hit top gear. "Everybody is searching for [fluidity]... but we are here to get results," Klopp said. "The Champions League final was last season and we were the better team for the first 25 minutes. It doesn't help now, but that's the impression people have. "We have to start again, and the other teams don't get worse. A little moan about the situation is great, but we are really ambitious and want whatever we can get. "With new signings, it sounds li...

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola described old foe Jose Mourinho as a "good guy" ahead of this weekend's Manchester derby. United boss Mourinho has clashed with Guardiola numerous times over the years, with their previously intense rivalry dating back to when they coached Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively. Mourinho was widely assumed to have been annoyed by Barca's decision to appoint Guardiola over himself in 2008 and the pair had a number of fractious encounters during their time together in La Liga. A Clasico clash provided the nadir when Mourinho poked a finger into the eye of Guardiola's assistant Tito Vilanova during a touchline fracas. But since they took charge at United and City the relationship between Mourinho and Guardiola appears more cordial, with the Catalan happy to avoid the rows of the past. "Thank you so much. Thank you," Guardiola said when asked if he was pleased the pre-match focus was not placed on the perceiv...

Paul Pogba insists he is happy at Manchester United as he and Jose Mourinho defend what they say is a "typical" player-manager relationship. Just over a month on from their 'frosty exchange' on the United training ground, the duo were seen shaking hands at Carrington on Tuesday ahead of flying out to play Pogba's former club Juventus in the Champions League. "I would classify it as a good relationship between the coach and the player," Mourinho said, while Pogba added it is "the same way as everybody". "I'm just the player, I do what he tells me to do because he's the boss, he's the manager. I listen and that's it. I enjoy it. I listen and do it with happiness." Pogba insists Mourinho's decision to strip him of the vice-captaincy at Manchester United "did not affect" him. "I'm still playing and I'm happy to play," he said. "The manager is the one who chooses who will be...

Zlatan Ibrahimovic considers the quality of the Premier League to be “overrated”, but is pleased that his efforts with Manchester United helped to silence any doubters. “People said, ‘You don’t need to go to England, because if you fail in England, people will always say you weren’t good enough’. Everybody was against it. And guess what? That made me motivated. That gave me adrenaline, " Ibra revealed. “I liked the Premier League. I found it very motivating and very exciting. It gets a lot of attention, although I feel the quality is a little bit overrated – the individual quality, the technical part. “But the rhythm is high. Even if you are the best, if you can’t handle the rhythm, the pace, then you will not succeed, because the pace is very high.” Ibrahimovic feels he would have made even more of an impact in England had he made a move earlier in his career, with a mockery having been made of those who dared to write him off before he opened a productive spell at Old...

Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero combined to devastating effect as Manchester City blew Southampton away 6-1. Sergio Aguero became the second-fastest player after Alan Shearer to reach 150 Premier League goals as he and Raheem Sterling inspired Manchester City’s crushing 6-1 win over Southampton in the absence of Kevin De Bruyne on Sunday. Belgium international De Bruyne was ruled out with another knee injury this week, but that had little impact as City blew poor Saints away, Aguero taking his tally to 150 goals in 217 league appearances, while the excellent Sterling got himself a brace. Although Saints ended City’s run of six successive Premier League clean sheets with a Danny Ings penalty after half an hour, the home side were already home and dry within 18 minutes, as a Wesley Hoedt own goal was followed by Aguero and David Silva strikes. Sterling got in on the act on the stroke of half-time and doubled his tally for the day with 23 minutes left, and Leroy Sane added a si...

Chelsea ran out 3-1 winners over Crystal Palace on Sunday ,  meaning that the Italian has not been beaten in any of his first eleven league matches in charge of the club. Alvaro Morata starred with a brace and Pedro netted the third as Sarri’s side outgunned their opposition. This result puts him level with former Nottingham Forest boss Frank Clark, who also went eleven unbeaten in 1994. The Blues came closest to defeat when they hosted Manchester United in October, however a late Ross Barkley equaliser ensured the manager’s streak continued. When asked about the record after the Palace win, the 59-year-old declared: “I was lucky, because I have very good players.” Maurizio Sarri will now have the chance to break the record when Chelsea host Everton at Stamford Bridge next Sunday.

Alexandre Lacazette's fifth Premier League goal of the season grabbed a 1-1 draw for Arsenal in their pulsating Emirates Stadium encounter with Liverpool. Liverpool spent significant periods on the back foot against their vibrant hosts, although Sadio Mane had a goal controversially ruled out for offside and Virgil van Dijk hit the post before captain James Milner clinically pounced on a Bernd Leno error after the hour. Milner's landmark 50th Premier League goal would not prove decisive, however, as Lacazette latched onto substitute Alex Iwobi's pass, drew Alisson from his goal and finished sublimely. Jurgen Klopp's side go back to the top of the table for now but will be two points behind Manchester City if the champions beat lowly Southampton on Sunday, while Chelsea can also go above them with three points against Crystal Palace. Joe Gomez's last-ditch challenge deflected Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's 14th-minute shot behind, while Sadio Mane was fl...

As noted by  The Express , speculation was rife over whether or not the Belgian international had been dropped after he wasn’t spotted travelling with the rest of the squad on Friday. Given he has only scored four goals in 14 games so far this season, with his last goal coming back in September, it had been suggested that he may well be left out due to a lack of confidence and form, as seen last weekend for the win over Everton. However, as noted in the tweets below, Mourinho has now confirmed that Lukaku picked up a problem in training yesterday and that it’s serious enough to keep him out of action on Saturday. Instead, Anthony Martial and Alexis Sanchez have been tasked with leading United’s line this weekend, with Marcus Rashford dropping to the bench. It remains to be seen if Lukaku is in contention to return against Juventus in the Champions League next week, but the 25-year-old will surely hope that the opportunity to sit out and fully recover will help him regroup...

It was poignant and emotional at Leicester's first match on Saturday since owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha died in a helicopter crash. The tears shed by Kasper Schmeichel summed up the mood as a huge banner, a Thai flag with "RIP Vichai" and the Leicester badge, was unfurled before the English Premier League game at Cardiff. Somehow, though, the goalkeeper and his teammates managed to put their collective grief to one side to focus on the football for 90 minutes and grind out a 1-0 victory. There was a united feeling before the game when two big banners were pushed around the ground by both sets of fans. Floral tributes were laid on the pitch as the teams and coaching staff gathered in the centre circle for a minute's silence for Vichai, one of five victims of last Saturday's crash outside the club's King Power Stadium. Leicester then gathered in a huddle for Schmeichel's team talk and, whatever emotive words he used, they seemed to work as D...

The Hammers got off to a fine start with the returning Marko Arnautovic firing the hosts ahead after just six minutes. Johann Berg Guomundsson was on hand to level things up just before the break before Anderson sparked into life in the second half, scoring either side of a Chris Wood equaliser, before Javier Hernandez scored his first Premier League goal since April. There have been concerns over the fitness of talisman Arnautovic in recent weeks, but he began the clash here at London Stadium looking back to his usual self, engaging in a fiery duel with England defender James Tarkowski.  T The former Brentford man set things off with Arnautovic early on with a heavy challenge after just five minutes, before the pair were nose-to-nose following Ben Mee’s dangerous tackle on Pedro Obiang.  The Austrian looked to be carrying a little knock, but was holding nothing back when it came to piling the pressure on and robbing Tarkowski, before firing low past former teammate ...

Manchester United produced another comeback akin to the days of old with Marcus Rashford downing Bournemouth late on. The Red Devils started slowly - appallingly, to be honest - with Callum Wilson giving the Cherries an early lead. Manchester United have regained some of their usual swagger in recent times, though, with Rashford's goal coming after Anthony Martial's leveller. And Mourinho has admitted he was fortunate, dubbing himself 'the luckiest manager in the Premier League' in the process. It was the whole first half," he said. "I said at half-time I was the luckiest manager in the Premier League in a half when it should be like 5/6-2. "We were defensively awful. As a team we didn't press or do any of the week we did in the week. "People watching this game will not believe how hard we worked this week. "The first half was a disaster. The second half was much better. "We created lots of chances and deserved t...