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Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action

19 October 2026 at 03:00

Florian Wirtz takes on more responsibility in Liverpool’s attack while Pierre Sage is under pressure at Crystal Palace

Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s physicality overpowering Bryan Mbeumo in Manchester United’s area at a corner grabbed him a fifth goal in 10 outings for Leeds: a pretty respectable ratio. “I just tried to cause a ruckus,” said Leeds’ No 9. “I make it difficult for the defender. I read the flight of the ball and was quickest to react. I feel really comfortable [here]. I feel the support from the club and the fans and it is a great feeling stepping on to the pitch, particularly at Elland Road.” Of the contenders to be understudy to Harry Kane as England’s centre-forward, Calvert-Lewin may be the lead act – if he can stay injury-free, which has been a difficulty throughout his career. Jamie Jackson

Match report: Leeds 1-1 Manchester United

Match report: Brentford 1-2 Liverpool

Match report: Manchester City 3-2 Ipswich

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© Composite: Guardian Pictures (via Getty / REX)

© Composite: Guardian Pictures (via Getty / REX)

© Composite: Guardian Pictures (via Getty / REX)

Evanilson swivels his hips to seal Bournemouth win against 10-man Sunderland

Bournemouth’s, and Marco Rose’s, wait for a Premier League win is over. Sunderland, locked in the bottom three, are becoming this season’s object lesson in travelling too far, too fast.

Once Kevin Danso was dismissed in the 17th minute for the denial of a goalscoring opportunity, Sunderland were sunk. If Evanilson was the match-winner with a goal, an assist and as the player Danso fouled, Régis Le Bris’s team were architects of their own downfall. “A bad day, a bad start,” the Sunderland manager said. Sixth and seventh last season, both teams have struggled domestically while cruising in the Europa League but Sunderland’s troubles deepened.

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© Photograph: Robin Jones/AFC Bournemouth/Getty Images

© Photograph: Robin Jones/AFC Bournemouth/Getty Images

© Photograph: Robin Jones/AFC Bournemouth/Getty Images

Europe is a blast – but more a curse than a blessing if you are not a Premier League super-club I Jonathan Wilson

17 October 2026 at 15:00

The four Premier League clubs playing in the lesser continental competitions face each other on Sunday – but three are struggling domestically

The sun shone. The temperature was in the high 20s. There was a mood of great conviviality. If you were struggling with the official allocation, it turned out you could just email the president of Torreense and he’d sort you out. Were these “Nuno-tickets” real? It turned out they were. Not only that, but you could sit anywhere you wanted in a stadium too big for the game and, if you happened to have gravitated to the comfortable hospitality seating at the back of the lower tier, the beer was inexplicably free.

Locals in Leiria seemed bewildered but could hardly have been more accommodating. A beer pump had been installed outside a patisserie on the Praça Francisco Rodrigues Lobo, whose owner soon found fans happy to help stack empty barrels if that facilitated the free flow of Sagres. “There was a meeting at the town hall to explain these are not hooligans,” said the owner of a radical leftist flammkuchen restaurant between the square and the cathedral. “They told us the club comes from the labour movement and I found that very interesting.” And how had she found the fans? “Noisy, but with a quirky sense of humour.”

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© Photograph: Octávio Passos/UEFA/Getty Images

© Photograph: Octávio Passos/UEFA/Getty Images

© Photograph: Octávio Passos/UEFA/Getty Images

James McClean: ‘Wearing the poppy was just never going to happen’

17 October 2026 at 01:00

The former Republic of Ireland international on growing up in a community still reeling from the Troubles and the controversy that scarred his career

“The perception of me is that, basically, I am a madman,” James McClean says calmly. “I’m outspoken. I’m a loudmouth. I’m very opinionated and I hate all things British. That’s from people who don’t know me. The reality is quite the opposite. I’m pretty boring. I go training, go home and switch off. A lot of my days are quite bland, quite basic.”

McClean sounds as sane as he looks gaunt on a bleak Monday in Derry. He spent 14 years in English football and the fact that he is now at war with his own club, Derry City, can’t obscure the fact that he is the fifth-most-capped Republic of Ireland international, having played 103 times. “People define success in different ways,” he says, “but I’m the only footballer from the north of Ireland to win over 100 caps for Ireland. I played 150 Premier League games over five seasons, 800 professional games and won a lot of individual accolades. I count that as success and don’t look back with regrets.”

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© Photograph: Charles McQuillan/The Guardian

© Photograph: Charles McQuillan/The Guardian

© Photograph: Charles McQuillan/The Guardian

Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend

15 October 2026 at 19:01

Henderson back on Merseyside, Farke threatens more misery for Carrick and Forest are a threat to Arsenal

A lively reception awaits the former Liverpool midfielders Jordan Henderson and Xabi Alonso at Everton and, in the case of the former, any jeers can be considered an unintentional tribute. They will speak of what the 36-year-old is able to produce now as much as what, and where, he delivered in the past. With two goals and an assist against Bournemouth last Saturday, Henderson became the oldest player to contribute directly to three goals in a Premier League game, and demonstrated his role at Chelsea is not simply to elevate standards off the pitch. His midfield partnership with Moisés Caicedo gave Alonso’s team balance and enabled the front three of Morgan Rogers, João Pedro and Cole Palmer to flourish. Their confrontation against an Everton defence that had impressed this season, only to litter the draw at Hull with costly mistakes, will provide a stern test of the hosts’ unbeaten start and may well be dictated by the veteran behind them. Andy Hunter

Everton v Chelsea, Saturday 12.30pm (all times BST)

Brentford v Liverpool, Saturday 3pm

Fulham v Hull, Saturday 3pm

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© Composite: Guardian Pictures; PA; Reuters; EPA

© Composite: Guardian Pictures; PA; Reuters; EPA

© Composite: Guardian Pictures; PA; Reuters; EPA

Noah Sadiki stunner earns Sunderland dramatic late win against Torreense

Three minutes into stoppage time Noah Sadiki hurdled a set of advertising hoardings, sprinted across a running track and hurled himself towards the ecstatic Sunderland fans.

Just as those supporters’ long-awaited party in Portugal had looked in peril of falling a little flat, the Democratic Republic of the Congo midfielder capitalised on excellent work from Enzo Le Fée and Granit Xhaka to half-volley an eye-catching first goal for Régis Le Bris’s side.

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© Photograph: Rodrigo Antunes/Reuters

© Photograph: Rodrigo Antunes/Reuters

© Photograph: Rodrigo Antunes/Reuters

Sunderland hope to enjoy warmth in Portugal after 53 years away

14 October 2026 at 07:00

Black Cats can reboot season against Torreense in Europa League in a break from tough start to domestic campaign

There is a pleasing symmetry about Sunderland’s Europa League trip to Portugal to face Torreense on Thursday night. The club’s last competitive venture on European soil, 53 years ago, was the second leg of a European Cup Winners’ Cup second-round tie against Sporting in Lisbon for the FA Cup holders, then in the Second Division.

In a striking parallel, second-tier Torreense prompted widespread surprise by beating Sporting in the Portuguese Cup final last season. The reward was a place in the Europa League and their chances of reaching the next phase of the competition early next year were boosted when they beat Lillestrøm 2-1 in Norway last month.

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© Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty Images

© Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty Images

© Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty Images

Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action

12 October 2026 at 03:00

Manchester City unrepentant in victory, Spurs make progress of a sort and Noni Madueke meets the moment

The manner of Manchester City’s victory at Liverpool was an article of both vindication and vilification. Those gleefully wielding inflatable bananas in the Anfield away end could thumb their noses. Why not enjoy the dances of defiance until the music stops? The same went for City players, asked to perform under the darkest of clouds, able to focus, at last, on football, rather than legal argument and uncertain futures. Beyond City, the sight of a club found guilty of 100-plus charges laying waste to such rivals as Liverpool was deeply uncomfortable. The Premier League season and product are badly damaged until the matter is somehow resolved. What happened at Anfield should double the haste for a resolution. Chants of “cheat” whenever City players, the game already won, slipped the ball around, are bound to be repeated at other stadiums. Enzo Maresca has described his club’s plight as “noise” but his team’s victory did absolutely nothing to turn the volume down. John Brewin

Match report: Liverpool 0-3 Manchester City

Match report: Crystal Palace 3-1 Nottingham Forest

Match report: Hull City 2-2 Everton

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© Composite: Getty Images

© Composite: Getty Images

© Composite: Getty Images

Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend

8 October 2026 at 19:01

Michael Carrick is wary of ‘Dr Tottenham’, Oliver Glasner returns to Selhurst Park and will Manchester City summon a siege mentality at Anfield?

Declan Rice’s future role in England’s midfield was questioned by Gary Lineker after Alex Scott’s impressive first senior international start in the 7-0 thrashing of Croatia. But the decision to withdraw from Thomas Tuchel’s squad in an attempt to manage his workload made sense after Rice had only three weeks off post-World Cup before returning to pre-season training. The 27-year-old has struggled with persistent back problems after suffering a hamstring injury last December and Mikel Arteta will hope that the rest has done Rice – who is thought to be close to agreeing a lucrative new contract at the Emirates – the world of good as they prepare to resume the defence of their Premier League title against Leeds on Saturday. Ed Aarons

Arsenal v Leeds, Saturday 12.30pm (all times BST)

Aston Villa v Brentford, Saturday 3pm

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© Composite: Getty Images

© Composite: Getty Images

© Composite: Getty Images

Havertz, Isak, Dorgu … spate of injuries with national teams leaves sour taste for top clubs

8 October 2026 at 04:50

Premier League clubs, and their European rivals, left with a long list of absentees after a gruelling international break

A four-match international break has presented a stress test. “The intensity of the squad, the athleticism of it, really, I think it’s designed for the elite,” said the Wales head coach, Craig Bellamy, on the completion of four matches in 11 days. Elite club coaches would disagree. The Nations League and the wider set of international games staged across the globe have been accompanied by a daily list of casualties, club officials viewing matches through their fingers as players pull up and gesture to the bench.

Hamstring and muscle problems have been rife. Sunderland, for example, will be without Brian Brobbey, a key striker, and Dan Ballard, a defensive mainstay, because of strains picked up playing for the Netherlands and Northern Ireland respectively. Bournemouth, yet to win a Premier League match, have lost Alex Scott for up to two months. His performance for England in their 7-0 victory against Croatia won rave reviews, a young player taking his chance and outshining Luka Modric. It came at a heavy cost. A quadriceps injury that had been diagnosed pre-match worsened. “There was zero risk taken from our side,” said Thomas Tuchel. The Bournemouth coach, Marco Rose, is unlikely to see it that way.

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© Composite: EPA, Reuters, AFP/Getty

© Composite: EPA, Reuters, AFP/Getty

© Composite: EPA, Reuters, AFP/Getty

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