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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)

Isak completes Liverpool’s comeback win as Brentford finish with nine

If Liverpool’s spluttering forwards end up remembering this as the day when their luck turned then they will owe a big debt of gratitude to Yehor Yarmolyuk. This was a game with a very clear before and after.

Andoni Iraola will hope surviving one of the toughest tests the Premier League has to offer is a sign his methods are starting to work, but Liverpool’s manager will not forget it was a very different contest after Yarmolyuk’s red card for a butt on Jérémy Jacquet left Brentford trying to defend a 1-0 lead with 10 men for the entire second half.

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© Photograph: Marc Atkins/Getty Images

© Photograph: Marc Atkins/Getty Images

© Photograph: Marc Atkins/Getty Images

Premier League news: go bananas: Maresca loving fans’ show of defiance; Alonso backs his defence

16 October 2026 at 17:30

Manchester City manager embraces response to external criticism while Chelsea coach says ‘clean sheets will come’

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© Photograph: Michael Regan/Getty Images

© Photograph: Michael Regan/Getty Images

© Photograph: Michael Regan/Getty Images

The Florian Wirtz mystery: why has he not found Leverkusen form at Liverpool?

16 October 2026 at 12:40

Two of our writers pick over the German’s contribution to Liverpool and what the £116m forward could yet produce

Some criticism has been OTT and a fee rising to £116m heightens demands but, yes, compared with his performances in Germany and for Germany Wirtz has underwhelmed at Liverpool. The past week has encapsulated his Liverpool career so far. In the Champions League rout of Lask he was everywhere, exploiting gaps between and behind the Austrian club’s defence and knitting together a dominant display against limited opposition. In the previous game against Manchester City, however, when Andoni Iraola needed big players to step up in the absence of Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai, Wirtz was ineffective, wasteful and withdrawn when his team were chasing the game at 0-1. It also did not help his cause that Rayan Cherki, a cheaper alternative whom Liverpool considered and passed on, completed City’s victory with a sublime goal. AH

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© Composite: Guardian Pictures; EPA-EFE/Shutterstock; Getty Images

© Composite: Guardian Pictures; EPA-EFE/Shutterstock; Getty Images

© Composite: Guardian Pictures; EPA-EFE/Shutterstock; Getty Images

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

Champions League review: PSG’s benchmark, Viking uprising and an Italian-German dilemma

15 October 2026 at 09:34

The competition returned after the international break as the reigning champions put on a devastating display and Italy looked for its next saviour

Famous faces in the crowd for English teams’ home matches on Wednesday. While Prince William delighted in his beloved Aston Villa’s 6-0 romp over Fenerbahce, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City homecoming was spoiled by Paris Saint-Germain showing they still represent the benchmark in European club football this season.

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© Composite: Getty, EPA, Alamy

© Composite: Getty, EPA, Alamy

© Composite: Getty, EPA, Alamy

Bradley Barcola’s clinical hat-trick inspires Liverpool to 6-3 rout of Lask

14 October 2026 at 14:51

Liverpool cleansed themselves from the stains of defeat by Manchester City at the earliest opportunity. A rampant display in Austria saw Bradley Barcola ignite his Liverpool account with the first hat-trick of his professional career and Andoni Iraola’s team devastate Lask’s big night in the Champions League. The major surprise was how the hosts managed to score three.

Iraola’s pre-match faith in the big-money signings Barcola and Florian Wirtz was repaid as the pair helped dismantle limited opponents. But it was not all about the money and the £123m signing from Paris Saint-Germain scoring the first goals of his Liverpool career. Lewis Koumas registered his first goal in the competition and replaced Steven Gerrard as the youngest player to score and assist in a Champions League game for Liverpool. A total of 26 shots equalled Liverpool’s record in a Champions League away game.

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© Photograph: Liverpool FC/Getty Images

© Photograph: Liverpool FC/Getty Images

© Photograph: Liverpool FC/Getty Images

Lask v Liverpool: Champions League – live

14 October 2026 at 13:57

2 min: Two minutes played and Lask have not yet had a literal kick. Liverpool seem content to hog the ball and try to take the sting out of the atmosphere. Lask’s fans are lively behind their own goal. This is their first ever home Champions League match, remember.

We are underway in Austria.

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© Photograph: Michael Zemanek/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Michael Zemanek/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Michael Zemanek/Shutterstock

In Liverpool I saw the tough choices Louise Casey faces on social care – starting with who will pay? | Polly Toynbee

13 October 2026 at 01:00

Preparing her first report on England’s social care system, the peer says ‘everything is on the table’. This should include older people’s wealth, rather than taxes on younger workers

Residents with advanced dementia lined the day room, glazed stares or sleeping mouths agape, with that terrible human vacancy everyone most fears for their own end days.

This was Millvina House in Anfield, Liverpool, which I visited with Louise Casey, who is heading the commission on social care in England, last week. Here is a snippet of what she saw: an angry man jolting into life, shooting out his arm at her and bellowing: “Out! Get out! Get out!” A young care assistant went to stroke his back and calm him down. It’s a hard job, and part of it is watching for warning signs of aggression, one of dementia’s dreadful symptoms. “People don’t want to know,” Casey said, “but if you are born, you will die. Chances are you will need care, and dementia is the biggest killer.”

Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist

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© Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/PA

© Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/PA

© Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/PA

Winning is not enough for Manchester City to move on from this crisis | Jonathan Wilson

12 October 2026 at 10:24

It’s not just that the club’s recent charges themselves are unprecedented – it’s the language used to describe them too

The language of football is a fine and highly nuanced dialect. The majority of people involved in the game speak it with a high degree of sophistication. Minor deviations from the familiar, almost imperceptible to outsiders, can set off alarm bells: what’s really going on there? Why isn’t he happy? What’s she hinting at? But it’s an argot developed to talk about football, and when applied to other subjects, it can sound extremely jarring.

Erling Haaland is one of the brighter, more engaging players. There’s an appealing quirkiness to him that suggests he has a higher-than-usual level of self-awareness. He doesn’t mind stepping outside the norms, being a bit different. But consider his assessment of Manchester City’s 3-0 win at Liverpool on Sunday.

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© Composite: Guardian Design, Getty Images

© Composite: Guardian Design, Getty Images

© Composite: Guardian Design, Getty Images

Police officer injured as 10 arrests made at tense Liverpool v Manchester City match

12 October 2026 at 09:54
  • Police officer taken to hospital with serious facial injury

  • Five people arrested on suspicion of tragedy chanting

A police officer sustained a serious facial injury while making an arrest after the Liverpool v Manchester City match at Anfield on Sunday, Merseyside police have said.

The fixture was highly charged as City played their first match since it was confirmed they had been found guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules.

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© Photograph: Adam Vaughan/EPA

© Photograph: Adam Vaughan/EPA

© Photograph: Adam Vaughan/EPA

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

Impervious City shrug off chaos and controversy to silence Anfield | Andy Hunter

11 October 2026 at 16:02

What had been billed as a day of reckoning for the Premier League champions turned into a Sunday afternoon stroll

Anfield welcomed Manchester City to their new reality, a sullied place where every touch is accompanied by cries of “cheat”, any favourable decision is considered proof of further conspiracy and every victory hollow. But Welcome to Hell this was not. The only body of irrefutable evidence in City’s favour since the guilty verdicts landed is that Enzo Maresca’s league leaders appear immune to prosecution and persecution.

That may well change depending on the outcome of City’s appeal and any punishment that eventually arises, likewise the merits and value of a commanding 3-0 win on Liverpool soil. The sight of Erling Haaland savouring a statement victory in front of City’s supporters after the final whistle, while chants of “going down” echoed around the rest of the stadium, captured the schism at the heart of this Premier League season.

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© Photograph: Alex Pantling/Getty Images

© Photograph: Alex Pantling/Getty Images

© Photograph: Alex Pantling/Getty Images

‘We make our own noise’: Maresca hails Manchester City after Liverpool triumph

11 October 2026 at 15:43
  • ‘You cannot imagine how happy I am … I’m here to win’

  • City win 3-0 at Anfield in first game since guilty verdict

Enzo Maresca praised Manchester City for “making their own noise” at Liverpool as they brushed aside the controversy and threats surrounding the club with a comprehensive 3-0 win at Anfield.

City, in their first outing since the club were found guilty on 114 charges relating to Premier League financial rules, maintained their 100% start to the season courtesy of goals from Erling Haaland, the excellent Jérémy Doku and Rayan Cherki. A sixth successive league win ensured Maresca equalled the best start to a managerial reign in Premier League history and kept City at the top of the table.

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© Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images

Liverpool v Manchester City: Premier League – live

11 October 2026 at 11:44

⚽ Premier League updates from the 4.30pm BST kick-off
⚽ Live scores | Table | Top scorers | And you can mail us

An update from Will Unwin, who is part of our team at Anfield for today’s game

A group of over 600 Manchester City fans were given a police escort across Stanley Park, chanting as they went about their owners and throwing abuse back at any Liverpool fans who took issue. The message was a clear one of defiance from the hardcore away support.

Crystal Palace 3-1 Nottingham Forest

Hull City 2-2 Everton

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© Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters

© Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters

© Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters

Managers react to Manchester City’s guilty verdict: ‘Uncertainty is not good for anyone’

9 October 2026 at 11:06

United manager Carrick rues missing out on ‘emotion in the moment’ while Iraola’s players are focusing on next game, not the fallout

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© Photograph: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC/Getty Images

© Photograph: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC/Getty Images

© Photograph: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC/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

How the Kop’s chants propelled Andy Burnham to fight for Hillsborough justice

8 October 2026 at 03:32

A speech at Anfield in 2009 was met with boos but it led to a change in tack by Labour government and an apology from David Cameron

Since dawn, visitors from as far afield as Australia had been laying flowers, scarves and messages underneath Anfield’s Eternal Flame. These Hillsborough memorial anniversary services were usually subdued and respectful affairs, with 10,000 mourners sitting on the Kop to give themselves and the families support on the most difficult of days.

But on the afternoon of 15 April 2009, the 20th anniversary of the disaster, it felt different. There was an edge in the air. An hour before the service began the Kop was full and the numbers in the three other stands were starting to swell. By the time I had walked with the families from the meeting place in the Centenary Stand to our seats at the front of the Kop, 29,000 people inside Anfield stood to give them the loudest and most heartfelt of ovations. After two decades in which a new generation had been born and reached adulthood, the wounds of Hillsborough were still gaping, the anger still raw at the lack of admission of guilt from above.

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© Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images

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