The Premier League title picture became little clearer on the first weekend after Christmas.
Liverpool and Tottenham were both held, while Manchester United played out a draw at Leicester City. Chelsea lost to struggling Arsenal.
But there was still plenty of intrigue across the latest round of fixtures as Edinson Cavani proved his worth again and Spurs struck swiftly before their late collapse.
With the help of Opta data, we take a look at some of the most interesting facts.
Cavani continues sublime sub form
United striker Cavani has still started just one Premier League match and played 207 minutes in the competition in total, but he provided another telling contribution as a substitute on Saturday as he assisted Bruno Fernandes goal at Lei…
Chelsea announced on Sunday that forward Sam Kerr sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury during their warm weather training in Morocco.
The Australia international is now likely to be out for an extended period.
Here the PA news agency takes a look at how Chelsea can cope without Kerr.
How big is Kerr’s loss?
Kerr’s absence is a huge loss for Chelsea, who are chasing their fifth successive Women’s Super League title.
The two-time WSL Golden Boot winner is a prolific goalscorer for the team, scoring four in eight league games this season. Her 21 league goals in her first full season in 2020-21 was a WSL record until broken last season by Aston Villa’s Rachel Daly, and she followed it up with 20 and then 12.
Kerr has also been influ…
Chelsea boss Emma Hayes praised striker Sam Kerr as she dedicated her side’s third consecutive FA Cup victory to Blues fans in a year in which she feels the wider club has “suffered”.
Kerr struck the winner past England goalkeeper Mary Earps to fire Chelsea to a 1-0 victory over Manchester United in front of a crowd of 77,390 at Wembley, a new world record for a women’s domestic club fixture.
It was the fifth time in nine years Chelsea have triumphed in the showpiece and another game-changing moment from Australia international Kerr, who latched on to substitute Pernille Harder’s pinpoint pass to steer home the winner in the 68th minute.
Congratulations, !
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC)
“I’ve never coached a player like her,” said H…
Former Italy, Juventus and World Cup-winning boss Marcello Lippi said he is definitely done with coaching.
Lippi has been without a job since resigning as China head coach in November last year following a 2022 World Cup qualifying defeat to Syria – his second stint in charge of the Asian nation lasting just six months.
The 72-year-old tasted silverware with Italy, Serie A giants Juventus and Chinese powerhouse Guangzhou Evergrande but the Italian great will not be returning to the dugout.
I m definitely done with the coaching job, Lippi told Radio Sportiva. That s right, it s enough.
Maybe I could be useful in other roles, let s see. But nothing until spring.
After spells with Atalanta and Napoli, Lippi took charge of Juventus in 1994 – gu…
Saint-Etienne defender Leo Petrot branded his side s 8-0 defeat to Nice as a disgrace as their struggles continued in Ligue 1 on Friday.
Dylan Batubinsika s own-goal in the fourth minute was an unfortunate sign of things to come for Olivier Dall’Oglio s side.
Youssoufa Moukoko s brace followed by strikes from Tanguy Ndombele, Mohamed-Ali Cho and Evann Guessand gave the hosts a comfortable half-time advantage.
Nice increased their lead after the interval through Sofiane Diop, with Pablo Rosario s penalty four minutes from time rounding off a convincing triumph.
It was the third time Saint-Etienne had conceded eight goals in a Ligue 1 game after an 8-0 loss to Lille (1946) and a 9-0 defeat to Bordeaux (1951).
Saint-Etienne have now conceded 1…
With the likes of Ligue 1 and the Premier League stealing centre stage on Wednesday night, we have a stacked schedule from across the continent.
Watching the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool and French giants PSG all feature on Wednesday night, there are plenty of eye-catching betting markets.
So, for those of you looking to stick on a midweek flutter, we have found a pair of the most intriguing betting tips.
18:00 Lorient vs PSG
Mounting what was a stunning Champions League comeback away at Spanish icons Barcelona last week as they punched their semi-final ticket, PSG have their sights firmly set on making major history this season. Eventually producing an iconic European turnaround in Catalonia as they secured a 4-2 aggregate victory, Luis Enriq…
Paris Saint-Germain are interested in signing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia from Napoli in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that PSG manager Luis Enrique personally wants Kvaratskhelia. Kylian Mbappe is leaving the French giants, and Kvaratskhelia could replace him on the wing.
Fichajes has claimed that PSG are ready to bid as much as €80 million in transfer fees for Kvaratskhelia. The Ligue 1 champions are ready to ready to offer Kvaratskhelia a lucrative contract. PSG are in talks wth the entourage of Kvaratskhelia, but Napoli do not want to sell the 23-year-old Georgia international winger.
Kvaratskhelia is one of the best young wingers in the world and has been on the books of Napoli since 2022. The youngster has scored 10 goals and given …
Inter were held for the second consecutive Serie A match as a 1-1 draw at Lecce handed reigning champions Juventus an unexpected boost in the title race.
Antonio Conte s men started 2020 with an impressive defeat of Napoli, but they only took a point against Atalanta last week and again failed to register a victory on Sunday.
It had briefly appeared as though 20-year-old defender Alessandro Bastoni would prove the unlikely hero when he headed in the opener his first goal for the club three minutes after arriving from the bench.
However, Lecce captain Marco Mancosu steered past Samir Handanovic with 13 minutes remaining, meaning Juve can go four points clear at the summit by beating Parma later in the day.
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A frustrating afternoon for th…
Best Odds: 3/5
Bookmaker:
Knowing that they can officially punch their EURO 24 ticket on Thursday night, Scotland will travel to Tbilisi when they meet Georgia.
Georgia
Starting with the hosts, although Georgia might have been last seen on October 15th breezing their way to a routine 4-0 romp at home against Cyprus, Willy Sagnol’s side have continued to struggle with their consistency. Despite drawing a line under their three-match losing rut, the Crusaders should be bracing themselves for another stern examination here. With their Group A issues underlined by a 7-1 drumming at the hands of former world champions Spain back on September 8th, Georgia should at least take some solace from their continued success on home soil. In fact, on what has quickly become…
As Jurgen Klopp sat in front of a tremendously busy media room when he was being presented as Liverpool s new manager in October 2015, he said his mission was to turn doubters into believers.
He felt Reds fans were a little too used to coming so near yet so far, having not won a league title since 1990 at the time, and only winning one trophy the 2012 League Cup since 2006.
Early on in his reign, after his new team had fallen 2-1 behind to Crystal Palace at Anfield, he was aghast at fans leaving the ground with almost 10 minutes to go, saying he felt pretty alone in that moment.
Fast-forward to April 2022, and having won the Champions League, the Premier League, a UEFA Super Cup, a FIFA Club World Cup and an EFL Cup since, it is safe to say that the Liverpool fa…