Football news

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder James Maddison has poked fun at Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp asking for the recent Premier League clash between the clubs to be replayed due to a VAR error that cost the Reds a goal in the 2-1 defeat.

Luis Diaz scored when the game was 0-0. The Colombian winger was flagged offside, but VAR didn’t intervene to overrule the incorrect on-field decision. Initially, the officials with access failed to spot the mistake, as revealed in the released audio, before it was too late to change things.

Spurs eventually won the game in the 96th minute through a Joel Matip own goal.

“It’s an obvious mistake. There should be solutions for that,” Klopp argued afterwards. “The outcome should be a replay. But it probably won’t happen. The argument against that would be it opens the gates. It is unprecedented. I’m used to wrong and difficult decisions, but something like this never happened.”

Having recorded another win against Luton Town in their final game before the international break, Spurs have moved top of the Premier League table. Liverpool, meanwhile, dropped more points against Brighton & Hove Albion and are three points off the pace.

Maddison has thrived at Spurs since making the £40m summer switch from relegated Leicester, quickly becoming a fan favourite and being appointed vice-captain.

Now on international break with England, he hasn’t missed an opportunity to further ingratiate himself with Spurs supporters at the expensive of Liverpool, Klopp and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Madders! 🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/4KoVQ7sAd9

— Daily Hotspur (@Daily_Hotspur) October 9, 2023

The 26-year-old shared a picture of himself with Alexander-Arnold during an England gym session in which the Liverpool defender was gesticulating and looking incredulous over something. Maddison cheekily added the captain: “Still asking for a replay,” with laughing and heart emojis.

The pair stand to be involved in England’s friendly against Australia on Friday, followed by a Euro 2024 qualifier against reigning champions Italy the following Tuesday. Victory in the latter game could see the Three Lions qualify for next summer’s finals in Germany if Ukraine and North Macedonia only manage to draw in the group’s other fixture.

READ MORE ON THE FALLOUT AND CONTROVERSY FROM TOTTENHAM 2-1 LIVERPOOL

Eden Hazard has confirmed that he is retiring from football at the age of 32.

The Belgian left Real Madrid at the end of the 2022/23 season and did not join a new club over the summer.

He has now taken to social media to announce his retirement from playing, bringing the curtain down on a 16-year playing career.

Taking to social media on Tuesday, Hazard said: “You must listen to yourself and say stop at the right time.

“After 16 years and more than 700 matches played, I have decided to end my career as a professional footballer.

“I was able to realise my dream, I have played and had fun on many pitches around the world.During my career I was lucky to meet great managers, coaches and teammates – thank you to everyone for these great times, I will miss you all.

“I also want to thank the clubs I have played for: LOSC, Chelsea and Real Madrid; and thank the RBFA for my Belgian Selection.

“A special thank you to my family, my friends, my advisors and the people who have been close to me in good times and bad.

“Finally, a huge thank you to you, my fans, who have followed me for all these years and for your encouragement everywhere I have played.

“Now is the time to enjoy my loved ones and have new experiences.See you off the field soon my friends.”

90min understands that Hazard rejected interest from MLS and the Saudi Pro League this summer, as well as the opportunity to play club football in his native Belgium for the first time.

Hazard began his professional career with Lille in 2007, quickly becoming a fan favourite and leading them to a league-and-cup double in 2011. His final year at Lille saw him score 20 goals in 38 Ligue 1 games.

He was courted by Manchester City and Manchester United in the summer of 2012, but instead chose to join reigning European champions Chelsea.

During a seven-year stay at Stamford Bridge, Hazard became one of the Premier League’s finest ever players, winning two league titles and four other trophies for the Blues.

Hazard signed off his time at Chelsea with victory against Arsenal in the Europa League final in 2019 before sealing a dream £87m move to Real Madrid.

However, his time at the Santiago Bernabeu was severely hampered by injuries and he ended up making just 76 appearances across four seasons at Los Blancos, scoring seven goals.

Hazard will go down as a Belgium legend having been the shining light of their ‘golden generation’, which peaked with a third-place finish at the 2018 World Cup.

Across his career, Hazard played 761 senior games and scored 201 goals.

Scott McTominay has revealed that watching the new Netflix docuseries about David Beckham’s life and career inspired him to a brace in the win over Brentford.

Manchester United were seemingly on course for their seventh defeat of the 2023/24 season on Saturday when, after some sloppy defensive play, Mathias Jensen fired Brentford into the lead at Old Trafford.

The 87th minute introduction of McTominay, however, quickly turned the game on its head. The Scotland international bagged a stunning 93rd minute volleyed equaliser, brilliantly controlling the ball before firing into the bottom corner, and then headed home the winner four minutes later.

Speaking to the press after the game, McTominay revealed the surprising inspiration for his game-winning contribution, stating that he watched the new three-part docuseries detailing Beckham’s career the night before the clash with Brentford.”

“I was watching David Beckham’s documentary last night, and things like that inspire you,” he said.

The midfielder went on to state that the docuseries’ detailing of Beckham’s 12-year stay at Man Utd – both in the academy and senior ranks – reminded him of the “real culture” of the club.

Like Beckham years earlier, McTominay came through the ranks of the Manchester United youth academy, initially joining the club in 2002 while the former number seven was still actually on the books at the club. Since breaking into the first-team in 2016, McTominay has largely been in and out of the starting lineup depending on who’s been in charge.

The midfielder was a clear favourite of Jose Mourinho’s, with the ex-United manager even abruptly taking over the club’s end-of-season award ceremony in 2018 to give out a ‘Jose Mourinho Player of the Season’ award to McTominay – an award that, as you can guess, hasn’t been given out since.

McTominay continued to be a key player for Mourinho’s replacement Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but has fallen down the pecking order in recent times thanks to the appointment of Erik ten Hag.

The 26-year-old managed just 10 Premier League starts all last season, scoring one league goal. But his game-winning cameo against Brentford could ead to much more game time under the Dutch coach.

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Atlanta United picked up three huge points at home against CF Montreal, triumphing 4-1 to book their place in the 2023 MLS Cup playoffs.

The Five Stripes had one thing on their minds heading into the clash, while the visitors were aiming to keep their postseason hopes alive with a triumph of their own. After knocking on the door for the first 30 minutes, Atlanta finally took their chances and found the back of the net twice in three minutes.

Xande Silva, who was Atlanta’s best player in the first half, was on the receiving end of a cross from Saba Lobjanidze and made no mistake from a few yards in front of goal. It was Silva’s third goal for his new club, as Lobjandize registered his fourth assist for the Five Stripes.

Moments later, the home side doubled their lead after Caleb Wiley played Silva through to Montreal’s penalty box. The 26-year-old winger dribbled around the Canadian side’s defense before going around goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois to findThiago Almada, who fired home from close range.

But the visitors responded shortly after. An over-the-top through ball played by Lassi Lappalainen caught the Atlanta backline sleeping, inspiring the Finland international to notch an assist with playing the excellent cut-back pass to Ahmed Hamdi. Hamdi’s left footed strike finished off the play, leaving goalkeeper Brad Guzan nothing to do at that point.

Atlanta went into the break up 2-1, and they came out in the second 45 searching for more.

After Montreal were trying to play out from the back, Silva’s pressing led to a loose ball that Giorgos Giakoumakis pounced on and chipped over Sirois to send the fans in Atlanta into a frenzy. The goal was disallowed at first, but after a quick VAR review, referee Rubiel Vazquez confirmed that Giakoumakis did score his 15th goal of the 2023 campaign to help Atlanta to a 3-1 lead.

Summer signing Jamal Thiare came off the bench to make his debut for Atlanta and nearly got on the scoresheet before he was brough down by Montreal’s Joel Waterman, who was already on a yellow card. However, Vazquez immediately reached into his pocket and showed Waterman a straight red card as he was the last defender.

Even though Thiare was pulled down to stop an attack, the Five Stripes prevailed and found their fourth of the game after a quick counter attack saw Thiago Almada play a cut-back pass to substitute Edwin Mosquera, who found the back of the net with a bit of a luck on his powerful strike.

Atlanta, now in fifth place in the Eastern Conference table with 49 points from 31 games played, will shift their focus on finishing inside the top four to ensure home field advantage in the postseason. On the other hand, Montreal are now in eight place in the East with 37 points and have just four games remaining to fight for their playoff spot.

GK: Brad Guzan – 7/10 – Was good with his distribution and couldn’t have done much for the conceded goal after there were doubts . Also dug deep for a huge save in the final 15 minutes.

RB: Brooks Lennon – 6/10 – The 26-year-old didn’t get involved as much with the attack as we’re used to seeing but still had a sound night.

CB: Miles Robinson – 7/10 – A solid outing for the USMNT figure and he came up with a crucial block early on to deny Montreal a chance.

CB: Luis Abram – 6.5/10 – Like Rossetto, he too has experienced a resurgence in the side since the league’s restart in mid-August.

LB: Caleb Wiley – 7/10 – Was everywhere in defense and attack, and was key in the buildup to Atlanta’s second goal.

DM: Tristan Muyumba – 7/10 – It seems as if Muyumba can do no wrong in an Atlanta shirt with his ability to win balls back and exceptional dribbling.

DM: Matheus Rossetto – 6/10 – Continues to impress with his revamped role in the middle of the park.

RW: Saba Lobjanidze – 7.5/10 – Constantly a threat down the right-wing and continues to rack up goal involvements.

AM: Thiago Almada – 8/10 – The 2022 World Cup winner had a relatively quiet first half but made his mark after scoring from close range and grabbed an assist late on.

LW: Xande Silva – 9/10 – Atlanta’s best player in the first 45, and his pressing led to an early second half goal for Giakoumakis. Racked up one goal and one assist on the night and just might be the signing of the summer in the eyes of Atlanta supporters.

ST: Giorgos Giakoumakis – 7.5/10 – Was strong in the buildup for his side and held the ball up excellently on several occasions while scoring his 15th goal of the season to remain in the Golden Boot race.

Substitutes

DM: Ajani Fortunte (71′ for Tristan Muyumba) – 6/10 – Helped shore up the midfield in the latter stages.

RW: Edwin Mosquera (71′ for Saba Lobjanidze): 7/10 – Provided a spark off the bench and got on the scoresheet in the latter stages.

ST: Jamal Thiare (83′ for Giorgos Giakoumakis) – 6.5/10 – Came off the bench for his debut and would’ve had a chance at goal if he weren’t brought down by Waterman.

LW: Tyler Wolff (83′ for Xande Silva) – 6.5/10 – In his limited time on the pitch, he showed glimpses of promise with some nice passing.

DM: Amar Sejdic (90′ for Matheus Rossetto) – N/A

Manager

Gonzalo Pineda – 10/10 – He chose Atlanta’s strongest possible XI, and outside of the conceded goal, it was a huge success.

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The return of European football means plenty of Premier League sides may be feeling the burn this Sunday.

Arsenal, Liverpool, Newcastle United, Brighton & Hove Albion and Aston Villa were all in action midweek but now face the task of refocusing their minds and bodies for the return of the Premier League.

There are five games on a blockbuster Sunday in the English top-flight, with plenty for fans to get their teeth stuck into – even if there aren’t too many games on the telly.

Here is everything you need to know ahead of Sunday’s Premier League fixtures.

The biggest test of the Ange Postecoglou era arrives this Sunday as he takes his Tottenham team across north London to face Arsenal.

One of the most highly-anticipated fixtures of the Premier League season, it’s a must-win game for both sides, or at least a must-not-lose game. Both sides have made fantastic starts to the new campaign and sit on 13 points from five matches, meaning we should be in for a mouth-watering clash this weekend.

Arsenal are favourites and will be buoyed by their 4-0 thrashing of PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Wednesday, but Tottenham have the potential to cause the Gunners plenty of problems.

For Spurs, it’s an opportunity to keep the good times rolling. Postecoglou has created the kind of harmonious atmosphere that has been missing for Tottenham over the past few years, with that feel-good factor likely hitting new heights if they can get a positive result at the Emirates.

A south coast derby of sorts will take place this Sunday as Bournemouth make the trip to Brighton in the Premier League.

The two clubs have had contrasting league campaigns so far: Brighton have won four of five matches including victories over Manchester United and Newcastle United, while Bournemouth are still chasing a first win under Andoni Iraola.

The Seagulls will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing 3-2 home defeat to AEK Athens in their first ever European match on Thursday, with Bournemouth a seemingly nice fixture to get them back to winning ways.

The Cherries managed a goalless draw with Chelsea last time out but have ridden their luck at times this season. Iraola’s side sit deep in the bottom half with just three points from five matches and a trip to Brighton is not the most ideal fixture to conjure up their first league victory of the Spaniard’s reign.

To say Chelsea’s start to the campaign has been disappointing would be an understatement. The Blues have managed just one league victory from five fairly winnable fixtures, that being a 3-0 win over newly-promoted Luton Town.

Things aren’t going to get much easier for Mauricio Pochettino when Unai Emery and Aston Villa roll into town. The Midlands club have not quite shown the consistency they did last season, suffering big defeats to Newcastle and Liverpool already, but they have shown plenty of promise in their three league victories.

The Villans won this fixture last season 2-0 and a similar scoreline wouldn’t be surprising this time around. Having said that, the quality Chelsea have at their disposal means they are still capable of blowing teams away if they’re at their best, albeit that hasn’t happened too frequently of late.

Both Liverpool and West Ham come into this game off the back of 3-1 comeback victories against relative European minnows in the Europa League in midweek. The Reds came from behind to beat LASK in Austria, while the Hammers saw off Serbian side Backa Topola on home soil.

Jurgen Klopp and David Moyes made wholesale changes to their sides on Thursday, meaning fatigue shouldn’t play too much of a role in Sunday’s clash.

West Ham will travel to Anfield full of confidence after three wins and a draw from their first five league games, including 3-1 victories over Chelsea and Brighton. However, the Irons fell short against Manchester City last weekend and could struggle at in-form Liverpool.

The Reds have won four and drawn one of their opening five and are already five points better off than they were at this point last season. Confidence will be high at Anfield, but it could prove a testing afternoon for Klopp’s side.

Newcastle had Nick Pope and some wayward Milan finishing to thank for their point at San Siro in their Champions League return on Tuesday, with Eddie Howe’s side still some way off the form they exhibited regularly last campaign.

The Magpies secured a vital point in Italy despite a subpar performance, something which should give them confidence travelling to Sheffield United. The same could be said of their 1-0 win over Brentford last weekend at St James’ Park, but they will be eager to offer a more commanding victory to their supporters this Sunday.

The Blades will still be hurting from their late defeat at Tottenham last time out after Spurs scored two goals past the 98th minute to break Sheffield United hearts. Paul Heckingbottom will need the same spirit and determination that his side showed in north London when Newcastle arrive at Bramall Lane.

Sheffield United are still searching for their first win of the new season and are now in the midst of a tough run of games.

READ 90MIN’S FULL MATCH PREVIEWS HERE