Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher labelled Mohamed Salah “a disgrace” on Monday after the Egypt star’s stunning outburst at Reds boss Arne Slot.
Salah said he had been “thrown under a bus” and had no relationship with Slot after he was left on the bench for last Saturday’s 3-3 draw at Leeds.
It was the third successive game that Salah had been kept out of the starting line-up by Slot amid the forward’s loss of form this season.
In response to Salah’s astonishing rant to reporters, Liverpool axed the 33-year-old from the squad for Tuesday’s Champions League clash at Inter Milan.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, Carragher, a 2005 Champions League winner with Liverpool, said: “I thought it was a disgrace what he did after the game.
“Some people have painted it as an emotional outburst. I don’t think it was. I think whenever Mo Salah stops in a mixed zone, which he has done four times in eight years at Liverpool, it’s choreographed with his agent to cause maximum damage and strengthen his own position.
“He’s chosen this weekend to do this now, and he’s waited I think for a bad result… everyone involved with the club (feeling) like they’re in the gutter, and he’s chosen that time to go for the manager and maybe try to get him sacked.”
Salah is a two-time Premier League champion with Liverpool and has also won the Champions League during his iconic eight-year spell at Anfield.
But, although he only signed a new contract in April, Salah hinted he might have played his last game for Liverpool as he prepares to jet off to the African Cup of Nations after their Premier League clash with Brighton at Anfield on Saturday.
Salah has been linked with a lucrative move to the Saudi Pro League and and Carragher added: “What he’s done off the pitch, I think the club have made the right decision in terms of him not going abroad. Whether he will play for Liverpool again, I don’t know.
“I hope he does, because he’s one of the greatest players we’ve ever had, but if you continue like that, and statements like that, if he doesn’t play, who knows.” (Guardian)
Manchester United great Paul Scholes says Kobbie Mainoo is “being ruined” by his lack of chances under Ruben Amorim, suggesting his best option is to leave Old Trafford.
The 20-year-old had a breakthrough season in 2023/24, which ended with the academy graduate scoring in the FA Cup final and breaking into the England squad.
But the midfielder has gone from starting the Euro 2024 final to struggling for game time at United.
He requested a loan move in August but was turned down.
Mainoo, still waiting for his first Premier League start of the season, was not brought off the bench in Thursday’s 1-1 draw with lowly West Ham United.
That disappointing result left Man United eighth in the Premier League ahead of Monday’s trip to bottom club Wolves.
United boss Amorim said last week that he considered Mainoo “a starter”, but Scholes reacted angrily in a now-deleted Instagram story that reposted the manager’s quote.
“The kid is being ruined, not being played in a team that can’t control a game of football,” said the former United and England midfielder, who won 11 Premier League titles at Old Trafford.
“Hate seeing home-grown players leave but it’s probably best for him now, enough is enough.”
Mainoo’s only start for United this season came in August’s humiliating League Cup exit at Grimsby and Amorim’s reluctance to use him has been a major talking point.
“I understand what you are saying,” he told reporters on Thursday following the draw against West Ham.
“You love Kobbie. He was… he starts for England, but that doesn’t mean I need to put Kobbie (in) when I feel I shouldn’t put Kobbie (in), so it’s my decision.”
Mainoo won the last of his 10 England caps in September 2024 and appears unlikely to make Thomas Tuchel’s squad for next year’s World Cup.
Amorim said he understood that the lack of time on the pitch could be demoralising for the midfielder but said his target was to win matches.
“I just try to put the best players on the pitch,” he said.
Pushed on whether the upcoming departures of Amad Diallo and Bryan Mbeumo for the Africa Cup of Nations could present an opportunity for Mainoo, Amorim said: “I don’t know what is going to happen. It depends.
“If I see in the training it is the best thing, I will put it. That is the only way I know how to respond to that.” (Guardian)
Enzo Maresca said he had no choice but to rotate his Chelsea squad when questioned Friday over his team’s damaging 3-1 defeat at Leeds in midweek.
The loss at Elland Road on Wednesday left the Blues in fourth place, nine points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal.
“We did many things bad,” Chelsea boss Maresca said. “Probably we also paid the bill for playing one hour with 10 players against Arsenal.”
The Italian, who has previously been criticised over his rotation policy, made five changes for the game at Leeds.
Wesley Fofana was not included in the squad and Moises Caicedo was suspended while Malo Gusto, captain Reece James and winger Pedro Neto were named as substitutes.
But Maresca said his hand was forced.
“Most of the rotation we do is because the other one they cannot play,” he said. “So we have players in this moment not able to play every three days.
“And the reason why we have done most of the rotation in the past is for this reason.
“It’s always the same thing — when you pick 11 players and you win it’s fine. When you pick 11 players and you don’t win, it’s always the reason why.
“For sure, playing with 10 players for one hour (in Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Arsenal) then going to Leeds is not the best situation for us.”
Maresca was asked ahead of Chelsea’s game at Bournemouth on Saturday whether his young side needed an injection of experience.
“We always talk about experience when we drop points but when we beat Barcelona and drew against Arsenal, no one was mentioning about experienced players,” he said.
He added: “I know that we are always looking for experience but it was a bad game (at Leeds) for all of us.” (Guardian)
No Formula 1 driver puts pressure on his rivals quite like Max Verstappen.
The Red Bull star did it to Lewis Hamilton in 2021, winning his first title on the last lap of the season and preventing Hamilton from clinching a record eighth F1 title.
Verstappen came close to winning the title again this year, mounting an incredible late charge to crank up the pressure on Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Earlier in the season, the McLaren teammates were contesting the F1 title between themselves.
But Verstappen changed all that.
Heading into Sunday’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, it had become a three-way battle.
Verstappen did all he could.
He won in Abu Dhabi from pole position for a third straight race win, a season-leading eighth and 71st of a stellar career.
It was not quite enough to overtake Norris, who won his first F1 title by placing third in the race and ending up just two points ahead of Verstappen in the standings.
But it showed why Verstappen commands so much awe.
“This Max guy is pretty hard to beat,” McLaren CEO Zak Brown told broadcaster Sky with a large dose of understatement.
One race earlier, at the Qatar GP, Brown had jokingly compared Verstappen to a horror movie ghoul who keeps resurfacing.
“He’s like that guy in a horror movie, that right as you think he’s not coming back, he’s back,” Brown said in a podcast interview before the Qatar race. “What an unbelievable talent he is. He never makes mistakes. He seizes every opportunity. We’ve never thought he was out.”
After winning the Dutch GP on Aug. 31, Piastri led Norris by 34 points and was 104 ahead of Verstappen, who back then had won just two races compared to seven for Piastri. Verstappen took advantage of McLaren’s errors to barge his way back into contention.
“(When) you lose the championship by two points it looks painful. But on the other hand, if you look from where we were in Zandvoort, more than 100 behind, then it’s not too bad,” Verstappen said. “I’m very proud of the whole team. We could have also very easily given up at that point.”
Verstappen is already considered among the F1 greats, alongside Hamilton, seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna.
Despite his relatively young age, the 28-year-old Dutchman is already third all-time for race wins behind Schumacher (91) and Hamilton (105). Verstappen has 127 podium finishes and 48 pole positions — one area where he is not as clinical as Hamilton (a record 104 poles) was in his prime with Mercedes.
When Norris won the Brazil GP sprint race in early November, he moved 39 points ahead of Verstappen with four races to go.
A few weeks later, Verstappen had dramatically turned the tables and all the pressure was on Norris and Piastri.
“It’s probably fair to say that the world discovered an even more extraordinary Max this season,” Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies said. “A bit because of the magnitude of the comeback. A bit because he has been so relaxed.”
Verstappen has been more amiable since becoming a father earlier this year, and has made a concerted effort to reign in his occasionally scathing rants over team radio.
He was all smiles and friendly with Norris when they watched highlights of Sunday’s race in the cool-down room.
In the past, bursts of rage or flashes of frustration would get the better of Verstappen.
Less so now.
But one thing that hasn’t changed is his intense desire to win and deep self-belief, whatever the odds.
“The fightback has been really fun,” Verstappen said. “I don’t see it like losing (the championship).” (JapanToday)
Crystal Palace moved into fourth place in the Premier League as their remarkable rise hit a new high with a 2-1 win against Fulham, while Brighton stopped West Ham climbing out of the relegation zone with a last-gasp 1-1 draw on Sunday.
Marc Guehi headed the decisive goal for Palace in the closing minutes at Craven Cottage as Oliver Glasner’s side made it four victories from their last six league games.
The England defender’s late winner lifted the Eagles above Chelsea and Everton into the Champions League qualification places.
For so long one of English football’s also-rans, Palace are enjoying a golden period including last season’s shock FA Cup final victory over Manchester City and a Community Shield win against Liverpool at the start of this term.
The south Londoners are also on track to advance from the UEFA Conference League group phase, but they might have far more illustrious European opponents next season if they can keep their unexpected top four challenge on course.
Palace took the lead in the 20th minute when Adam Wharton’s pass picked out Eddie Nketiah and the forward drilled a predatory strike past Bernd Leno.
Harry Wilson equalised for Fulham in eye-catching style with a sublime strike using the outside of his foot to bend the ball past Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson in the 38th minute.
Emile Smith Rowe thought he had put Fulham ahead but his close-range finish was disallowed for a tight offside against Samuel Chukwueze after a VAR check.
Palace took advantage of that escape to snatch an 87th-minute winner as Guehi met a corner with a thumping header past Leno.
“It makes me proud because the team did not want to defend the draw, we wanted to win and that’s why we got it in the end,” Glasner said. “Small margins like in every single Premier League games but we are always able to score goals and defend well. It was a huge team effort but that makes me very proud. That’s why we are where we are.”
At the Amex Stadium, West Ham were moments away from escaping the bottom three thanks to Jarrod Bowen’s second-half strike.
But Georginio Rutter grabbed Brighton’s leveller in stoppage-time to leave West Ham stuck in 18th place.
The third-bottom Hammers are two points behind fourth-bottom Nottingham Forest in the fight for survival.
Conceding so late was a painful blow for West Ham but after holding Manchester United to a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford on Thursday, West Ham’s battling display was further evidence of their improvement since Nuno Espirito Santo replaced the sacked Graham Potter in September.
West Ham have lost just one of their last six league matches to revive their survival hopes.
Brighton blew a two-goal lead in a 4-3 defeat against Aston Villa in midweek, surrendering their 10-match unbeaten run at home in the process.
Avoiding another loss in front of their own fans kept seventh-placed Brighton in the hunt for European qualification.
West Ham took the lead in the 73rd minute when Jan Paul van Hecke’s careless back header was intercepted by Callum Wilson.
Wilson slipped a pass towards Bowen, who stretched for a low shot that crept past Bart Verbruggen from an acute angle.
Brighton snatched their equaliser in stoppage-time.
West Ham ‘keeper Alphonse Areola made two saves in a penalty area scramble, but Rutter pounced on the loose ball and squeezed his low shot into the net from close range.
Nuno claimed VAR were wrong to rule that Rutter did not handle in the build-up.
“It’s not ‘appears’, it’s clear,” said Nuno. “I saw it, everybody saw it. We cannot understand how they gave the goal. It’s hard to take, man, it’s really hard to take especially after the hard work of the boys.” (JapanToday)
The Premier League title race was blown open after Aston Villa struck in stoppage time to beat Arsenal 2-1 on Saturday.
Emiliano Buendia scored at the death in a thrilling finish at Villa Park that stunned first-placed Arsenal.
The Gunners’ lead was cut to just two points after second-placed Manchester City beat Sunderland 3-0.
Villa was a point further back in third.
Liverpool’s troubled title defense stumbled again when it dropped more points at Leeds. Arne Slot’s team blew a two-goal lead and conceded in the sixth minute of added time at Elland Road in a 3-3 draw.
Chelsea dropped points for the third game in a row in a 0-0 draw at Bournemouth.
Buendia’s winner came in the fifth minute of added time. The substitute kept a cool head during a goalmouth scramble, lifting a shot through the crowded box.
“In the manner that happened at the end, (it is) really difficult to take,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told TNT Sports.
It was the third consecutive time Arsenal dropped points away from home after draws with Sunderland and Chelsea. Those results have opened the door to rivals such as City and Villa.
Villa’s ninth win from its last 10 games followed a dire start to the campaign when Unai Emery’s team was winless after its first five.
“At the minute we’re on a great run,” said Matty Cash, who put Villa ahead in the 36th. “We know it’s not even Christmas yet so we have to keep being demanding, keep being consistent, and then we’ll see where it takes us.”
Leandro Trossard was a halftime substitute for Arsenal and he made a quick impact by leveling the game seven minutes later.
Buendia went on in the 87th and proved an inspired substitution.
“We fight until the last minute, the last second, it was a really incredible win,” he said.
Arsenal’s second loss of the season was its first since August at Liverpool.
“We are 18 games unbeaten, and yet still the margin is so small,” Arteta said. “The effort was absolutely there and (we must) use that pain to go again.”
Deep into stoppage time at Leeds, Liverpool was set to move into the top five.
That was until Ao Tanaka arrived at the far post from a corner to deny Slot’s team a much-needed win.
“The only ones to blame is us because we do concede these chances,” Slot told Sky Sports.
Liverpool was poised for just a third league win in 10 games when Hugo Ekitike scored twice in two minutes shortly after halftime. But Leeds responded with its own quickfire double when Dominic Calvert-Lewin converted from the penalty spot and Anton Stach leveled two minutes later.
Dominik Szoboszlai put the visitors in front again in the 80th but when the fourth official indicated nine minutes of added time the home crowd sensed another comeback and Tanaka delivered.
Mohamed Salah was on the bench for a third straight game and the Liverpool icon was an unused substitute. “We have to accept the situation we are in and I make my choices based on that,” Slot said.
Man City will be a familiar sight in Arsenal’s rearview mirror.
In back-to-back campaigns in 2023 and 2024 Arteta watched City chase his team down to win the titles. And it is shaping up to be another fight between them.
Even after four losses in the league, City is just two points behind Arsenal after victory against Sunderland.
“We had the feeling that Arsenal are going to drop few points and if you want to be there you have to win games and that comes from the way you perform — not just a lucky day or lucky action,” City manager Pep Guardiola said.
Ruben Dias, with a brilliant long-range goal, and Josko Gvardiol gave City a 2-0 lead at the break at Etihad Stadium and Phil Foden headed in a third in the second half.
Fourth-placed Chelsea has seen its title challenge stall over the past week after a run of just two points from a possible nine.
Not even the return of Cole Palmer to the starting lineup for the first time since September could inspire the Club World Cup champion at Bournemouth.
To add to a frustrating day, Liam Delap went off in the first half with a shoulder injury.
Bruno Guimaraes scored directly from a corner in Newcastle’s 2-1 win against Burnley.
The midfielder’s wicked cross curled beyond Burnley goalkeeper Martin Dubravka at St James’ Park. Anthony Gordon added a second from the penalty spot in first half stoppage time.
What should have been a comfortable win for Newcastle became nervy after Zian Flemming pulled a goal back with a stoppage time penalty and Burnley threatened an equalizer.
Tottenham got a long-awaited home win in the league after beating Brentford 2-0.
Spurs’ last win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was the opening game of the season against newly promoted Burnley. That was followed by six straight winless games in front of its own fans. But that streak was broken by first half goals from Richarlison and Xavi Simons against coach Thomas Frank’s former team.
Everton moved up to fifth after downing Nottingham Forest 3-0. (JapanToday)
Manchester United blew the chance to move up to fifth in the Premier League on Thursday when West Ham salvaged a late 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.
Soungoutou Magassa’s 83rd-minute equalizer canceled out Diogo Dalot’s opening goal that had put United on course to move level on points with fourth-place Chelsea.
Bruno Fernandes squandered two chances to score a winner in added time — blazing a shot wide from inside the box and then volleying another off target.
It was another setback for United, which has only won one of its last five games — drawing three.
Despite that run, Ruben Amorim’s team had the opportunity to move within reach of the Champions League places with a win. And that looked likely when in the 58th Casemiro’s long-range shot was controlled in the box by Dalot.
The United defender then spun and powered a shot past West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola.
It was a game of few chances, with West Ham rarely threatening to find an equalizer. But a late corner saw Jarrod Bowen’s flicked header cleared off the line by Noussair Mazraoui.
Magassa reacted quickest in the box and side-footed his shot low into the corner to spark celebrations from the visiting fans.
The result leaves United in eighth and West Ham 18th. (JapanToday)
The draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, to be hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico from 11 June to 19 July 2026, was conducted in Washington on Friday, producing 12 groups for the expanded tournament.
In Group A, Mexico will face South Africa, South Korea and a qualifier. Group B pairs Canada with a qualifier, Qatar and Switzerland. Brazil take their place in Group C alongside Morocco, Haiti and Scotland, while hosts United States lead Group D with Paraguay, Australia and a qualifier.
Germany heads Group E with Curaçao, Ivory Coast and Ecuador. The Netherlands will compete in Group F with Japan, Tunisia and a qualifier. Belgium, Egypt, Iran and New Zealand make up Group G. Group H features Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay.
France are placed in Group I with Senegal, Norway and a qualifier. Argentina will contest Group J with Algeria, Austria and Jordan. Group K includes Portugal, Uzbekistan, Colombia and a qualifier. England lead Group L with Croatia, Ghana and Panama. (Guardian)
United States President Donald Trump received the inaugural Fifa Peace Prize before the draw for the 2026 Fifa World Cup.
The award has been introduced this year by Fifa president Gianni Infantino, designated for a person who has “taken exceptional and extraordinary actions for peace” and “united people across the world”.
It was widely expected that Trump, who arrived at the ceremony with Infantino and has made several public appearances with him in recent months, would be the winner.
That was confirmed at the ceremony in Washington DC on Friday.
As well as receiving a large golden trophy, Trump was also given a medal and certificate by Infantino before making a speech.
Trump stated he had saved “tens of millions of lives” through diplomatic interventions and had “stopped wars happening just before they started”.
“This is truly one of the great honours of my life,” Trump said, before claiming that the 2026 World Cup has set a new record for ticket sales.
“Gianni has done an incredible job. It is a nice tribute to you and the game of football, or as we call it soccer. It is beyond the numbers we thought were possible,” Trump said.
“The world is a safer place now. The USA was not doing well a year ago; now we are the hottest country in the world right now.”
The 2026 World Cup will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, and will take place between June 11 and July 19.
Trump later returned to the stage alongside Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney to perform the ceremonial opening to the draw.
The three leaders drew the balls of their respective nations, which had already been assigned their groups. Afterwards, the trio posed for a selfie taken by Infantino.
Mexico are in Group A – and will play in the tournament’s opening match – while Canada are in Group B and USA feature in Group D.
Trump, after repeating his comments about ticket sales, joked about the name clash between American football and what Americans generally call soccer.
“We have to find another name for the NFL,” Trump said. “This is football, we call it soccer here in the USA but it is really football. It doesn’t make sense that we call it soccer.” (BBC)
The draw for the 2026 World Cup — the biggest edition of soccer’s global showpiece ever held — takes place in Washington on Friday with U.S. President Donald Trump expected to feature prominently in proceedings.
The expanded 48-team tournament — up from the 32-nation field that competed at the 2022 Qatar World Cup – will be played across the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19 next year.
Trump’s attendance at the Kennedy Center ceremony underscores his rapport with FIFA chief Gianni Infantino, who has made several visits to the White House and even joined Trump at international summits in the years since the joint North American bid was awarded the tournament in 2018.
Infantino’s close relationship with Trump is widely expected to see the U.S. leader be named as the first recipient of a new FIFA Peace Prize, which will be awarded at the draw
Trump has made the World Cup a centerpiece event of both his second presidency and the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence next year.
But he has not hesitated to bring domestic politics into the event, threatening to move World Cup matches from Democratic-run cities if he deems conditions to be “unsafe”.
In a sign of the global tensions surrounding a World Cup which will have 11 of its 16 venues in the United States, Iran said it will boycott the draw because U.S. authorities refused to grant visas to several members of its delegation.
The president of the Iranian soccer federation, Mehdi Taj, said: “We have told the head of FIFA… that it is purely a political position and that FIFA must tell (Washington) to desist from this behavior.”
The pretenders to the title which a Lionel Messi-inspired Argentina won for the third time in 2022 in Qatar will be drawn into 12 groups.
The top seeds are Argentina, the host nations USA, Mexico and Canada, record five-time winners Brazil, two-time champions France, four-time winners Germany as well as Spain, England, Portugal, Netherlands and Belgium.
The evergreen Cristiano Ronaldo, who will be 41 when the tournament kicks off, has said his sixth World Cup finals with Portugal will be his last and he would relish crowning his long career with a first global title for his country.
The enlarged cast list also means an opportunity for a handful of first-time qualifiers, including Cape Verde, Jordan and the tiny Caribbean nation of Curacao.
With six of the field still to be decided in playoffs, the favorites will want to avoid Italy, who won the World Cup as recently as 2006 but have not qualified since 2014.
Despite an error-strewn qualification campaign, the Italians can still reach the finals by winning two sudden-death games.
The opening match will be held at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, which also hosted the 1970 and 1986 finals, before the tournament unfolds over nearly six weeks, culminating in the final at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Because of the complexity, teams will only learn the full details of their match venues and kickoff times on Saturday, a day after the draw.
Supporters’ groups have warned fans could face eye-watering sums for tickets for the most attractive games due to FIFA’s decision to use dynamic ticket pricing.
Prices on popular secondary market websites in the United States such as Stubhub and Seatgeek have already skyrocketed, with prices for the July 19 World Cup final in New Jersey starting at around $7,000. (JapanToday)
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