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As for the visitors, while Bournemouth may have snatched two goals away at Tottenham over the weekend, the Cherries could only slump to a 3-2 defeat and Eddie Howe s side find themselves enduring an extended rut. Losing their last three Premier League matches on the bounce since their 1-0 victory over Manchester United last month, they have begun free-falling down the standings and have now recorded just a single victory across any competition since the 20th of September, a nine-match run. Along with showing some glaring issues at the back and conceding at least a pair of strikes on their losing run, the one-time Burnley boss will be hugely concerned by his side s form away from the Vitality. Failing to win any of their last five matches on the road and losing four of those contests, in…

Peter Beardsley has been suspended from football for eight months after being found to have used racist and abusive language while in his role as Newcastle United s Under-23s coach.

An independent commission imposed a 32-week ban on the ex-England international and ordered him to undergo an education course after the Football Association (FA) charged him with three breaches of FA Rule E3 in March.

Beardsley, who denied each of the charges, left his post at Newcastle that month, having been placed on gardening leave in January 2018.

The FA alleged that Mr Beardsley used abusive and/or insulting words, which were contrary to FA Rule E3(1) and constituted an Aggravated Breach under FA Rule E3(2) due to reference of ethnic origin and/or colour and/or race and/or na…

Former Manchester United striker Dion Dublin has suggested his broken leg was the catalyst for Sir Alex Ferguson s trophy-laden reign.

Ferguson is approaching his 25th year in charge of the Manchester club and Dublin spoke of the broken leg he suffered in one of his first games for United, prompting Ferguson to turn to talismanic Frenchman Eric Cantona.

It was my Old Trafford debut and it lasted about 60 minutes and my left leg and left ankle sort of gave way on me from a tackle from behind, he joked to ESPN Classic.

I am the reason why Man United have won all those trophies it s down to me, it really is. I break my leg and then they bring in this has-been called Cantona who just takes the world of football by storm.

As soon as he came in it just too…

It was billed as one of the most important Clasicos in years. The outcome, it was said, could set the tone for the entire season and, by extension, the future of Lionel Messi.

The Argentinian s revelation he wanted to leave was still ringing in the ears of Barca directors two months on in October last year. While they d managed to keep hold of him, owing to Messi s reluctance to drag his club through the courts, his form on the pitch hardly suggested he was at peace.

One goal in four LaLiga matches heading into that October 24 Clasico was his slowest start to a season since 2005-06 when he was a fresh-faced teenager still trying to establish himself.

What followed at Camp Nou on that Saturday looked set to plunge Barca further into crisis, as the Catalans lost 3…

Real Madrid forward Eden Hazard is confident he can push on this season after an injury-hit first two years in LaLiga.

Hazard signed for Madrid from Chelsea for a reported fee of an initial €100million (£89m), though there was potential for the deal to rise significantly due to additional bonus payments.

However, the Belgium attacker has hardly made an impact in the Spanish capital and is reportedly one of the players Madrid are open to selling as they look to ease their financial difficulties in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Niggling injuries have derailed Hazard s Madrid career, restricting him to just 43 appearances in total across all competitions over the 2019-20 and 2020-21 campaigns, with 31 of these being starts.

Yet the 30-year-old, wh…

Liverpool failing to beat Manchester City s record Premier League points haul does nothing to diminish their accomplishments this season, says Pep Guardiola.

Jurgen Klopp s side dropped points for the third time since being crowned champions when they lost 2-1 at Arsenal in midweek, a result that means the most they can amass this term is 99.

City became the Premier League s first centurions in 2017-18, with Gabriel Jesus last-gasp winner at Southampton on the final day of that dominant campaign bringing up three figures.

Liverpool looked set to tear the record books to pieces before their loss of rhythm over recent games, but Guardiola thinks the comprehensive nature in which they picked up a first top-flight title in 30 years remains worthy of considerable accl…

Eden Hazard has denied that he has signed a new contract at Chelsea, according to the Mail Online.

The Belgium international has began the season in stunning form, scoring six goals in seven appearances in all competitions.

He has two years remaining on his current deal at Stamford Bridge amid continuous links with a move to Real Madrid and whilst he has been talks with club officials he insists that fresh terms have not yet been agreed.

Since signing for the Blues from Lille in the summer of 2013 the twenty-seven-year-old has racked up three-hundred and seven appearances in all competitions, scoring ninety-five goals.

The latest of those strikes came in Wednesday evening’s 2-1 win over Liverpool in the third round of the EFL Cup and the sides meet…

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insists a Manchester United win at Liverpool on Sunday would be a shock despite his team going into the match ahead of the Reds at the Premier League summit.

United and Liverpool have not faced each other as the Premier League s top two since April 1997. While Tottenham and Leicester City could potentially move above Jurgen Klopp s men before they clash at Anfield, it still highlights how rare it has been for both clubs to be fighting near the summit at the same time.

Liverpool were the last team to inflict an away defeat on United in the Premier League, as they emerged 2-0 victors in January last year the Red Devils have since gone 15 unbeaten on the road, drawing just twice.

At that point, Liverpool moved 30 points clear of United in the l…

Liverpool will win the Premier League and match the Arsenal Invincibles as there are no teams good enough to stop them, according to Robert Pires.

Jurgen Klopp s side are 19 points clear at the top of the table after winning 23 and drawing one of their 24 top-flight matches.

The Reds have not lost a league match in more than 12 months and look destined to win a first league title in 30 years, while they could also match Arsenal’s feat of going the entire league season unbeaten in 2003-04.

Pires, a key part of Arsene Wenger s fabled side during that astonishing campaign, sees no reason Liverpool cannot surpass their achievement as he believes the quality in the Premier League is not as high.

When asked if Liverpool could go unbeaten for the season, Pires…

It appears there is still life in Arsenal, as Mikel Arteta oversaw a potentially season-changing 3-1 win over Chelsea on Boxing Day.

The Gunners had been on a dreadful run, but with the odds against them they produced their most complete performance in a while, with some of the youngsters playing important roles.

Leicester City and Manchester United began the day s action with an entertaining draw that doubled as a microcosm for the Red Devils season.

Using Opta data, we have looked at the pick of the action on a busy Saturday.

The best Boxing Day performance was ______________  

— Premier League (@premierleague)

Leicester City 2-2 Manchester United: Red Devils clicking in attack but let down by defence

Manchester United s unbe…