CHELSEA were stunned by West Ham as Arthur Masuaku scored a late winner at the London Stadium.
And that result would have been all the more pleasing for the Hammers and captain Declan Rice, who Thomas Tuchel said “is a Chelsea boy” before the match.
Meanwhile Everton are ready to sell England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, with Tottenham keen to make a £30m move.
That would free up funds for a hypothetical move for Jose Mourinho, who Toffees owner Farhad Moshiri is reported to be interested in if Rafa Benitez gets the boot.
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Get all the latest football news, updates and transfer gossip below…
RONALDO MESSAGE
Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo took to social media after the team’s 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace.
Ronaldo played a big role in the result, which kicked off Ralf Rangick’s era on the right foot.
The star forward posted a picture of himself with the following caption: “Step by step, we stand United!”
More below:
BARKLEY INTEREST
Leeds are keeping tabs on Chelsea ace Ross Barkley ahead of the January transfer window.
That is according to the Daily Mail, who claim that the Whites are eyeing Barkley as they look for reinforcements.
The midfielder has barely featured for the Blues this season as he is behind the likes of N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Jorginho and Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the pecking order.
The England international is also attracting interest from elsewhere
EVERTON PROTEST
Everton supporters are planning a mass walkout to protest against the club’s board on Monday when the team takes on Arsenal at Goodison Park.
The Toffees are without a victory since September and fans are frustrated with the club’s direction.
The final nail in the coffin took place during the 4-1 thrashing against local rivals Liverpool.
The fans are planning to demonstrate on the 27th minute to mark the 27 years since the Merseysiders won a trophy
SALAH ON BARCELONA
Liverpool star Mohamed Salah is “happy” with Barcelona’s interest but insists he is focused on the Reds.
Salah told Egyptian broadcaster MBC Masr TV via KingFut: “I read what was said about Xavi’s interest to sign me.
“This is something that makes me happy that a team like Barcelona is interested in me, but I’m happy in Liverpool and we will see what happens in the future.
“At the moment, I prefer to stay in the Premier League as it’s the strongest league in the world”
SALAH MESSAGE
Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah has urged the club’s hierarchy to sort out his new contract.
Salah is approaching the final 18 months of his present deal at Anfield but has been vocal about his desire to stay with the Reds.
The star forward said: “I said it several times, if the decision is up to me, I want to stay in Liverpool.
“But the decision is in the hands of the management and they have to solve this issue. There is no problem but we have to reach an agreement for the contract. It’s up to them.
“Your financial value shows how much the club appreciates you and that they are ready to do anything for you to stay, but the decision itself is not based on those financial matters only.
“There are things like the ambition of the team and the coach and what he wants to do with the team and the players he wants. These are all important points when making the decision”
GETTY IMAGES RED RAID
Manchester United are interested in Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong ahead of the January transfer window.
According to El Nacional, United are very keen on De Jong but are not willing to pay more than £47million.
That is £18m less than what Barca offered Ajax for the midfielder’s signature in 2019.
However, the report adds the Blaugrana would not even consider accepting a price lower than £60m
FERNANDES REACTS
Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes revealed that new interim boss Ralf Rangnick wants “more pressure” and “more aggressiveness” from his players.
Fernandes told Premier League Productions: “It depends on the game.
“Sometimes you have to press a little bit more, sometimes you have to press less and everyone knows that it’s one of the things that the manager wants from us. More pressure, to be more aggressive. We tried to do it [today].
“I think the first 25 minutes from us was unbelievable, great tempo and we don’t give any space to them.
“We recovered a lot of balls high up the pitch. We could have scored many times in the first half I think, at least three times we could do a little more.
“But we got the three points and that’s the most important thing”
AUBAMEYANG CRITICISM
Ex-Tottenham ace Darren Bent criticised Arsenal star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and suggested he can learn a lot from Manchester United legend Cristiano Ronaldo.
Bent told talkSPORT: “When you look at Aubameyang and you look at Ronaldo, one of the biggest differences to me is the hunger and the desire.
“I look at Ronaldo and he is absolutely starving hungry to score goals.
“One’s [36]. How old is Aubameyang, 33? I understand that. He’s not the greatest because of his hunger, it’s because of his ability. You can be hungry to score goals.
“But I look at Aubameyang sometimes and he’s not in the box, there’s times when he’s getting beaten by the defenders. Listen, his biggest attribute is his pace. So there are times when Arsenal are struggling in games, what do you have to do?
“You have to clip it over the top, just roll it down the channel and let him use his pace and get Arsenal up the pitch. It’s like he doesn’t even do that sometimes.
“As the ball went wide, he’s not in the box. At times, there have been occasions where he has carried Arsenal on his back – pre-[signing a] contract.
“The cup final, the start of the following season, he carried Arsenal on his back and he was fantastic. That player is not the same player that you see today”
CHELSEA 3-0 ARSENAL
Chelsea have won the Women’s FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium.
The Blues defeated Arsenal 3-0 in what poses as a repeat of the 2018 final.
The west Londoners capped their impressive success thanks to a goal by Fran Kirby and Sam Kerr’s brace
GETTY IMAGES
McGINN & TONIC
Aston Villa star John McGinn is eyed by Manchester United after Ralf Rangnick’s arrival at the helm, according to SunSport’s Duncan Wright.
United are looking for midfield reinforcements amid the uncertainty regarding the futures of Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard and Donny van de Beek.
Leeds’ Kalvin Phillips and West Ham’s Declan Rice have been touted as potential options.
But Scotland international McGinn has also caught the eye with his influential performances for club and country
GETTY IMAGES KULUSEVSKI REMINDER
Arsenal and Tottenham are reportedly locked in a transfer war over Juventus ace Dejan Kulusevski.
And neither team has taken the advantage over the other in signing Kulusevski
According to Calciomercato, both Gunners and Spurs have ‘opened preliminary talks’ with the 21-year-old’s representatives.
And both clubs are said to be keen on a loan deal with the option to buy the forward.
Juve though would prefer to sanction an immediate permanent deal, and are willing to listen to offers in the region of £25million for the Sweden international
“CHELSEA BOY”
Thomas Tuchel branded Declan Rice as a “Chelsea boy” before Saturday’s loss at the London Stadium.
Rice started out in the Blues’ academy before leaving the club at 14 years old, but the defending European champions have long-planned to bring him back to Stamford Bridge.
Tuchel said: “It happens at every single club in the world that sometimes players get released in one moment and they have their career on a different way, so this is a pretty normal thing.
“I am absolutely aware that he is a Chelsea boy and he comes through the academy and he is very close to our guys.
“He’s a very strong player and in general, I am absolutely impressed by [Tomas] Soucek and him, what they do since I came into the Premier League. What they do for West Ham.
“They are real helpers on the pitch, they have an incredible volume both of them. They take responsibility for high pressing, for deep defending, for filling the gaps on the wings, for deep build-up, for goals from set-pieces. Both of them are simply doing everything”
ASTON VILLA 2-1 LEICESTER
Aston Villa beat Leicester 2-1 at Villa Park in a match that Steven Gerrard increased pressure on his former manager Brendan Rodgers.
Harvey Barnes opened the scoring early in the match after just 14 minutes.
But Villa equalised only three minutes later with Ezri Konsa, who proved to be the hero for the hosts.
That is because he completed the Villans’ comeback on 54 minutes
ONE MOUR
Roma boss Jose Mourinho is a shock managerial target for Everton if they sack Rafa Benitez.
Benitez is fighting for his future after a horror run of just two points from their last eight games.
According to the Mirror, the Toffees may consider the Spaniard’s long-term rival Mourinho as his replacement if there is no improvement.
The former Liverpool boss may be playing his last card on Monday when the Merseysiders host Arsenal at Goodison Park
GETTY IMAGES EVERTON-ARSENAL PREVIEW
Arsenal take on Everton in the Premier League on Monday at Goodison Park.
The Gunners have no fresh injury concerns to worry about after the defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford, especially after Bukayo Saka’s comeback from his own injury problems.
Manager Mikel Arteta will still be without Sead Kolasinac and Granit Xhaka due to a knee ligament and ankle injury respectively
Everton boss Rafa Benitez, on the other hand, is dealing with an injury headache as Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has been out since the win at Brighton in August, is still nursing a thigh problem.
Salomon Rondon also picked up a thigh strain in the thumping at the hands of Liverpool.
In midfield Tom Davies and Andre Gomes are not expected to play whereas Yerry Mina is also out of action
TAKE YOUR PICK
Everton are open to selling Jordan Pickford to raise funds but the asking price makes it hard, according to SunSport’s Alan Nixon.
Pickford is the Toffees’ biggest asset but they price him at around £30million.
The goalkeeper is also on about £100,000-a-week wages, with his contract running until 2024.
Tottenham have looked at the figures and although they could match the England international’s salary, the fee on top makes it an expensive transfer
ASTON VILLA 1-1 LEICESTER
Aston Villa and Leicester are level at Villa Park as both teams have returned to the dressing room for half-time oranges.
Harvey Barnes opened the scoring early in the match after just 14 minutes.
But Villa equalised only three minutes later with Ezri Konsa.
This match can honestly go either way in the second half
RANGNICK ON RONALDO
Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick praised Cristiano Ronaldo after the win over Crystal Palace.
Questions had been raised over how Rangnick can utilise Ronaldo once he takes over.
However, the German coach is more than happy with the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s performance against Palace.
Rangnick said: “By the way, what Ronaldo did today ‘against the ball’: Chapeau”
GETTY IMAGES RANGNICK REACTS
Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick is satisfied with the performance against Crystal Palace as the players gave him more than he expected:
Rangnick told the BBC: “I’m very happy with the way the team performed, the way they played, especially the first half-hour, that was exceptional, I thought. The only thing missing in that period was one or two nil … we had control of the game … I am very happy with the result and the clean sheet.
“I said in my first press conference, there are things we need to improve on, to get clean sheets, to get control of the game. What they [my players] showed was more than I expected, to be honest.
“Patience was important but we always tried to be on the front foot … that’s what I liked today … we were always trying to keep them away from goal … We wanted to play with two strikers and with two 10s, to get more control in the centre of midfield”
GETTY IMAGES MAN UTD 1-0 CRYSTAL PALACE
Manchester United beat Crystal Palace on Ralf Rangnick’s debut as interim manager at Old Trafford.
United put together a strong display in a new era that saw them adopting Rangnick’s high possession and high pressing tactics.
Fred broke the deadlock on 77 minutes when he fired a wonderful curling shot from the edge of the box past Vicente Guaita.
The Red Devils came close to an earlier goal when Alex Telles delivered a free kick from the right but hit Guaita’s crossbar after 68 minutes.
Palace also came close to a goal two minutes before Fred’s winner when a ball came in from a corner-kick down the right and James Tomkins got the header at the far post.
The ball reached Jordan Ayew on the other side and his shot just missed David De Gea’s bottom right corner
GETTY IMAGES GETTY IMAGES FT SCORES
The second half across all of the Premier League’s 2PM fixtures produced goals.
- Man Utd 1-0 Crystal Palace FT
- Leeds 2-2 Brentford FT
- Tottenham 3-0 Norwich FT
- Aston Villa vs Leicester City, 4.30PM
LEEDS 2-2 BRENTFORD
90+5. Patrick Bamford has scored a last gasp equaliser for Leeds!
TOTTENHAM 3-0 NORWICH
77. Son finishes the game off for Spurs!
MAN UTD 1-0 CRYSTAL PALACE
77. WHAT A GOAL!
Mason Greenwood tries to find am opening to get a shot off, but instead tees up Fred.
The Brazilian takes the shot on first time.
His effort curls across goal and nestles in the top-left corner!
Ralf Rangnick has lift off.
TOTTENHAM 2-0 NORWICH
67. Davinson Sánchez has doubled Antonio Conte’s team’s lead.
The centre-back adds to Lucas’ glorious first half strike.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
