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      Watch hilarious moment Steve Sidwell ‘almost turns into Mary Poppins’ as Storm Darragh plays HAVOC with his umbrella

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      STEVE SIDWELL was a do-anything midfielder for Fulham and Brighton.But even he must have been surprised when he nearly added Mary Poppins to his repertoire.Steve Sidwell failed to defend adequately when Storm Darragh struckSidwell accepted his fate and even moaned he had predicted itThe Amazon Prime pundit was at Craven Cottage to see Fulham blow away the Seagulls 3-1, mainly thanks to an Alex Iwobi double.But Storm Darragh nearly did the same to the ex-Aston Villa ace.And when a huge gust flung his umbrella up – with Sidwell struggling to hold on and not go the same way – viewers reckon he almost emulated the super-power of the movie world’s most famous flying nanny.One fan posted: “Stevie Sidwell loses his brolly – nearly did a Mary Poppins down the river Thames!”READ MORE TOP STORIESMary Poppins was the title and of course the main character of a book series that became a 1964 film mixing live action with animation.”Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” was her best-known pronouncement.In contrast, Sidwell’s verdict on his rainswept-away moment was more blunt and more to the point.After failing to stop his brolly turning inside out above him, the 41-year-old claimed: “I knew that was going to happen as soon as we went live.”Most read in FootballSidwell poured out his thoughts just before the outpour of rainFOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALSThe former England Under-21 star then went one-on-one – tussling with the umbrella as he strived to put it on the ground behind him.Ever the professional, he provided a running – or raining – commentary on the matter.Brighton ace’s home burgled as model fiancee shares security footage”Let’s just put this one down shall we,” he said, while grimacing and grappling.And just in case viewers hadn’t remembered, he repeated: “I knew this was going to happen.”Even Amazon decided to have a troll over the broll – by sharing a clip of the incident.The broadcaster also added the sort of no-nonsense comment that Mary Poppins at her best would have been proud of: “The magic of live coverage. Steve Sidwell 0-1 Umbrella.”But he did find sympathy from a few viewers.One pondered: “Don’t know why they don’t have studios anymore. December in England.”Alex Iwobi & Co were on the up like Sidwell’s brolly after he scored twiceCredit: Getty More

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      How Mikel Arteta’s unstoppable ‘chaos creator’ corner routine can help win Arsenal the Premier League

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      CALL them Stoke 2.0 all you like but Mikel Arteta’s set-pieces feel unstoppable right now with specialist coach Nicolas Jover pulling the strings.With a staggering 30 goals from set-plays since the start of last season and more than a fifth of their goals this year coming from corners, they could be key to Arsenal winning the title.Arsenal are becoming the kings of corner kicksCredit: RexHere, our tactical expert Dean Scoggins — from SunSport YouTube show Tactics Exposed — dissects why the Gunners are so dangerous from corners and the secrets behind their success…1) THREE Ts — TRIGGER, TIMING AND TRAJECTORYTHE precision is incredible. There’s the hand up from Declan Rice or Bukayo Saka to begin the routine.From there, a two-second pause gives the ‘train’ lined up at the back post time to run into position.Then it’s about the trajectory of the ball. Rice favours it flatter to the front post, whereas Saka hits it higher and more to the back and middle.READ MORE IN football Declan Rice only has two seconds to put his hand up to signal deliveryThe trajectory of the cross is key for Arsenal2) THE JIGSAW PUZZLEALL the pieces have to come together for Arsenal — and everyone in the area has a role.The players beyond the back post make their moves to the front post — and they mix it up to confuse defenders.But they slot into gaps between the defenders, one in between each line… to complete the jigsaw. This means that, if the man at the front post is beaten, Arsenal have a ‘jumper’ before every other defender — making it virtually impossible for the opposition to see or stop. Most read in FootballJurrien Timber’s goal against Manchester United came from this exact move.Arsenal slot into the gaps perfectly3) CHAOS CREATORTHE Gunners have a free man at every corner.United tried to create a ‘forcefield’ around the keeper to stop Arsenal’s trick of blocking him.The new chaos creator ran across the eyeline of the keeper, making him think twice about coming off his line.Often, one player runs to the front post first to nudge the first defender under the ball — freeing up the ‘jigsaw jumpers’ to score.Kai Havertz is the ‘chaos creator’4) HOW DO YOU STOP IT?IT is very difficult. United had a good plan, two players at the front post to stop one of them being muscled out by a blocker.However, the players didn’t do their job. Bruno Fernandes got sucked under the ball and Rasmus Hojlund was too far outside of the line of the post, so both of them were redundant.I’d like to see a centre-back — or dominant centre-forward — occupy the front post and not leave the zone!My advice for defenders — start on the post, literally touching it, and attack the ball. Don’t wait for it.Man Utd had two men on the front post5) PLAYING FOR CORNERS!ONE way to stop it, of course, is to not concede corners. Back in the era of Rory Delap’s long throws at Stoke, we saw Hull keeper Boaz Myhill kick the ball out for a corner rather than face a hurl into the box.But Arsenal create lots of opportunities to win corners. READ MORE SUN STORIESOne, slightly risky, tactic — would be to allow crosses from wide, backing centre-backs and goalkeepers to deal with those better.Just don’t ‘do a Rashford’ and concede unnecessary corners which inevitably mean goals!Marcus Rashford gave away a corner trying to flick the ball up to boot awayCredit: Sky SportsThe mistake resulted in the corner that Arsenal scored fromCredit: Sky Sports More

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      Fulham 3-1 Brighton LIVE RESULT: Alex Iwobi’s double fires hosts to a huge Premier League win against Seagulls

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      FULHAM have brushed aside Brighton courtesy of an Alex Iwobi double.The Nigerian international pounced on Bart Verbruggen’s misplaced pass to bag his first before Carlos Noom Quomah Baleba scored Brighton’s equaliser.However, Matt O’Reiley’s own goal put the hosts ahead once again, and then Iwobi secured the points with a beautiful curled effort.RESULT: Fulham 3-1 BrightonFOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALSFollow ALL the action from Craven Cottage with our live blog below More

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      Fifa Club World Cup 2025 draw in full as Chelsea get shock reunion with cult hero while Man City face European giants

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      CHELSEA landed a plum draw in the inaugural Fifa Club World Cup – including a reunion with a club cult hero.The revamped tournament will now be contested with a similar format to the World Cup – staged next year in America from June 15-July 13 and featuring 32 of the globe’s top teams.Gianni Infantino with the new Club World Cup TrophyCredit: GettyThere was a special message from US President-elect Donald TrumpCredit: EPATrump’s daughter Ivanka was at the draw, and her son Theo helped pick out the first teamCredit: APDiletta Leotta was on hand to present the showCredit: EPAIt all kicked off with a glitzy group-stage draw from Miami, featuring a host of global football legends, and presented, in part, by Italian beauty, and former Premier League Wag, Diletta Leotta.Each country is limited to two entrants in the tournament, with the Blues and Manchester City taking England’s slots as the two most recent Champions League winners.Chelsea wound up in Group D, along with Brazil’s Flamengo, Club Leon of Mexico and Esperance de Tunis from Tunisia. And that likely means a shock clash against for Blues title winner David Luiz, who is still playing for the Brazilians at the age of 37.READ MORE IN football City meanwhile face Italian giants Juventus, Morocco’s Wydad AC and Al Ain of the UAE.Jude Bellingham’s Real Madrid will play Saudi champions Al Hilal, RB Salzburg of Austria and Mexico’s Pachuca.Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich take on Benfica, Boca Juniors and Aukland City in Group C. Arsenal legend Arsene Wenger was on hand to help pick out the teams but only after being made to perform some awkward dad dancing.Most read in FootballCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERSUS President-elect Donald Trump’s eight-year-old grandson Theo also helped pick out the draw with the politician’s daughter Ivanka.There was even a message from President Trump – who referred to Fifa president Gianni Infantino as “Jonny”. Fans baffled as Donald Trump sends bizarre video message to pal ‘Jonny’ Infantino before Fifa Club World Cup drawDavid Luiz won the Premier League with Chelsea and now could face them aged 37Credit: PA:Press AssociationTrump said: “The event is going to be incredible. I will try and be there if I can, I would, we’ll see what happens.”But I just want to say you’re led by a man named Jonny, I just know him as Jonny and he’s a winner and he’s the president and I’m the president.”We’ve known each other a long time and I’m so honoured to have this kind of relationship because Soccer is going through the roof as everybody knows.”It’s been doing so fantastically well, my son Baron is a tremendous soccer fan, he’s actually a good player – I guess not quite that kind of good but he’s a very good player.”But he loves soccer and it really is taking over the United States in terms of a sport and I congratulate everybody.”But in particular I wish you too have a good time and I want to send my highest regards and respect to Johnny.”It’s been an honour to be with you and will be with you very soon and we’re going to watch the World Cup very importantly also very soon.”I was very responsible along with Johnny in getting it and it’s going to be a fantastic thing.”The new Club World Cup format sees teams divided into eight groups of four and play each other once.Top two teams in each group then progress to the knockout stage.READ MORE SUN STORIESThe last 16 is the first single knockout round – followed by the quarter-final, semi-final and then final.Details on how fans can watch the Club World Cup emerged earlier this week, with DAZN snapping up the rights.Arsene Wenger performed some awkward dad dancingCredit: https://x.com/DAZN_ESBrazilian model Adriana Lima also presentedCredit: AFPDiletta Leotta with host Samantha Johnson Alessandro del PieroCredit: EPA More

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      Bournemouth 1-0 Tottenham LIVE RESULT: Huijsen’s header secures Cherries three huge points against Spurs

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      BOURNEMOUTH have beaten Tottenham at the vitality thanks to a Dean Huijsen header.Huijsen became Bournemouth’s youngest ever goal scorer with his crucial first half goal.And it is a result which sees Spurs drop down to 10th.RESULT: Bournemouth 1-0 TottenhamFOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALSFollow ALL the action from Vitality Stadium with our live blog below… More

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      Fifa Club World Cup draw simulated with Chelsea landing horror group and Man City facing Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami

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      THE REVAMPED Fifa Club World Cup increases to 32 teams in 2025 with Manchester City and Chelsea among those in action. It will now be contested with a similar format to the World Cup, staged next year in America from June 15-July 13.Erling Haaland’s Manchester City are a top seed in the groupCredit: RexCole Palmer’s Chelsea face a horror drawCredit: RexTeams will be divided into eight groups of four and play each other once, with the top two teams in each group progressing to the knockout stage.The last 16 is the first single knockout round – followed by the quarter-final, semi-final and then final.But it all kicks off with the group-stage draw, staged in Miami, where the likes of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich find out their fate.Certain teams cannot draw each other, for example sides from the same league such as Chelsea and City or Flamengo and Fluminense.READ MORE IN football Fifa split the top seeding pot by handing four slots to Europe and four to South America, based on their continental coefficient ranking.So City, Madrid, Bayern and PSG are joined by Brazilians Flamengo, Palmeiras and Fluminense and Argentina’s River Plate.The other eight European sides, including Chelsea, are in pot two.Pot three is made up of the remaining South American teams – Boca Juniors and Botafogo – and the two highest ranked sides from the other three major confederations.Most read in FootballPot four will see the remaining sides, although Inter Miami are already confirmed as playing in Group A and Seattle Sounders will play all their games at home.SunSport simulated the draw and it would be exciting news for City fans but not so much for Chelsea.Fifa confirm 12 stadiums for new-look Club World Cup including TWO £1.2BILLION NFL grounds and 88,500-seat Olympic venueThe Premier League champions drew Inter Milan, Botafogo and Inter Miami – meaning they would come up against Lionel Messi. But Chelsea suffered a horror draw alongside Real Madrid, Monterrey of Mexico and South African giants Mamelodi Sundowns FC.There were also glamour ties including Flamengo vs Port and Palmeiras vs Juventus. Boca Juniors vs Bayern Munich also looks particularly exciting.Details on how footy fans can watch the Club World Cup emerged earlier this week, with DAZN snapping up the rights. More

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      Fans spot Man Utd’s pre-match tactic that massively backfired against Arsenal

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      MANCHESTER UNITED practised defending corners in their warm-up before facing Arsenal… and still went on to concede from them TWICE.Mikel Arteta’s men went into the game with a reputation for being dangerous from corner kicks.Manchester United practised defending corners before the gameCredit: RexThey were seen heading away corners during the warm-up at the EmiratesCredit: RexAnd they lived up to that billing as Jurrien Timber and William Saliba both nodded home from the set-pieces to hand Arsenal a 2-0 win at the Emirates.Ruben Amorim’s side could not deal with the deliveries all evening as Thomas Partey and Mikel Merino also went close from corners.So it will come as a major surprise to most Man Utd fans that the Red Devils were preparing for Arsenal’s corner-kick assault just moments before the match.A video posted by Manchester Evening News shows corners being whipped in as Man Utd’s defenders – who were in bibs – head them away while under pressure from some of their team-mates.READ MORE ON MAN UTDYet it clearly did not work as they then looked all at sea for the corners taken by Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka.And fans on social media saw the irony in the training drill.One said: “You can’t stop the inevitable 😂.”Another added: “They should’ve had Declan or Bukayo take the corners for them in the warm-up.”Most read in FootballCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERSArsenal went on to terrorise Man Utd in the gameCredit: RexWilliam Saliba, left, and Jurrien Timber, right, both headed home from cornersCredit: GettyA third replied: “Not once did they start from outside the goal and run in once… they did it all wrong 😂🤣🤣.”While a fourth jokingly responded: “They defended the corners so well in training tbf🤣😀.”Ruben Amorim reveals four Man Utd stars who have a ‘time limit’ as he discusses squad issues Arsenal have now scored 22 goals from corners since the start of last season – seven more than Manchester City and eight more than Premier League leaders Liverpool.Next up for Arsenal is a trip to Fulham on Sunday, before they host Monaco in the Champions League.Ruben Amorim suffered his first defeat as Man Utd manager on Wednesday nightCredit: GettyHow to stop Arsenal at cornersArsenal have turned into a prolific team when it comes to scoring from corners.The Gunners have now scored 22 goals from them since the start of last season – seven more than their nearest rival Manchester City and eight more than Premier League leaders Liverpool.Two of them came against Manchester United – Jurrien Timber and William Saliba netting in the second half to earn Mikel Arteta’s men a vital win as they chase down Arne Slot’s Reds.Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka were the architects with their deliveries, and each now have seven set-piece assists since the start of the 2023/24 campaign – more than any other player.United legend Dimitar Berbatov joked Arsenal are the new Stoke City of the top flight – a side under Tony Pulis who terrorised the so-called “bigger clubs” with set-piece mastery.Here are four ways to stop Arteta’s side at corners More

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      Former Premier League star Van der Vaart reveals why he never saw ex-team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo naked

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      RAFAEL VAN DER VAART hilariously explained why Cristiano Ronaldo is the hardest worker he’s ever played with.Van der Vaart, 41, and Ronaldo, 39, played together at Real Madrid for only a year until the former left in 2010 for Tottenham.Cristiano Ronaldo and Rafael van der Vaart spent a year together at Real MadridCredit: GettyRonaldo is the hardest worker Van der Vaart has ever played withCredit: GettyVan der Vaart has a hilarious way to explain Ronaldo’s work ethicCredit: GettyBut that was enough for the Manchester United legend to make a major impression on the ex-Netherlands international thanks to his undying work ethic.CR7’s passion has led him to a staggering five Ballon d’Or awards and five Champions League titles throughout his 22-year career that’s still going on as he plays for Al-Nassr.Van der Vaart is not surprised as he claims the star forward was constantly on the training pitch.So much so that the former playmaker never saw Ronaldo in the dressing room.Read More on FootballVan der Vaart told talkSPORT’s ‘The LineUp: “He never left his house!”I always say as a joke, Ronaldo is the only player that I never saw his willy!”He was the first one on the training [pitch]! And the last one who went.”First of all his body, wow! A machine. He was a little bit ahead of his time, players now are the same.Most read in FootballBEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERS”But his training in the gym, food, sleep. For him that was more important than training extra hard.”Ronaldo was so unbelievably selfish, if we won 6-0 and he did not score, he was not happy. When we lose but he scored twice, it’d be alright!”Van der Vaart reveals Redknapp’s three-word half-time team-talk that inspired Tottenham to Arsenal triumphVan der Vaart never won anything with Ronaldo, who conquered his first of many pieces of silverware with Real in 2010 by claiming the Copa del Rey. More