Holman injury casts doubt on Australia role

Pep Guardiola was left confused by the decision to disallow Phil Foden s goal in Manchester City s 1-0 defeat to Liverpool

Foden appeared to have put the Premier League champions ahead early in the second half on Sunday, having lashed home on the rebound following Alisson s failure to keep hold of Kevin De Bruyne s pass.

Yet Liverpool were infuriated by what they claimed was a foul on Fabinho from Erling Haaland in the build-up and, despite initially waving play on, referee Anthony Taylor changed his decision after consulting the pitchside monitor.

To compound City s frustration, Mohamed Salah raced clear in the 76th minute and, having earlier seen a golden opportunity saved by Ederson, clipped a cute finish over City s goalkeeper to seal the spoils.

Gua…

Manchester City’s opening-day reunion with Vincent Kompany and Burnley forms part of a friendly-looking start to the Premier League season for the treble-winners.

The top-flight fixture schedule was released on Thursday morning, with Kompany’s side hosting City on August 11 in the opening match of the 2023-24 season.

While clubs will all play each other twice over the course of the campaign, the ordering of the matches can have a significant impact on their fortunes.

To help unravel next season’s fixtures, the PA news agency has analysed the entire schedule using an aggregation of leading bookmakers’ odds and identified the most notable runs.

Soft start for City?

Our 2023/24 fixtures have been announced!

All you need to know

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Spain will prepare for their UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying campaign with a friendly against France in September.

Vicente del Bosque s side, who will attempt to lift the FIFA World Cup for a second successive tournament at the upcoming showpiece in Brazil, begin their European Championship qualification campaign against Macedonia on Monday, September 8.

And the European champions will take on Euro 2016 hosts France in Paris four days earlier, but before then they will face Didier Deschamps men in Group E at the World Cup.

Spain will also face Germany in a friendly after matchday four, with the two European rivals meeting in Vigo on November 18.

Germany host Gibraltar on November 14, while Spain welcome Belarus a day later ahead of what will be the sides first meetin…

Chile have cut Esteban Paredes, Gustavo Canales and Enzo Andia from their initial 30-man FIFA World Cup squad.

Coach Jorge Sampaoli announced his preliminary squad on Tuesday in the knowledge that a total of seven players would end up disappointed before his final selection is confirmed on June 2.

Paredes, 33, appeared at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and has played for his country 33 times since making his debut in 2006, scoring nine goals in the process.

The attacker was also in sensational form for club side Colo Colo during this year s Clausura stage of the Chilean Primera Division, netting 16 times in 13 games.

Fellow forward Canales had previously only played a total of 18 minutes for his national team, with that appearance coming in heavy 4-0 Wo…

Chelsea battled past Tottenham to book a place in the EFL Cup final against holders Manchester City, triumphing 4-2 on penalties after a stirring 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge.

Maurizio Sarri got the desired reaction, having questioned the mentality of his Chelsea players in the aftermath of Saturday s defeat to Arsenal, as N Golo Kante and Eden Hazard overturned the 1-0 first-leg deficit before half-time.

Tottenham, without any of Harry Kane, Dele Alli or Son Heung-min in a competitive match for the first time since October 2016, found a response of their own by pegging Chelsea back with Fernando Llorente netting an aggregate equaliser.

The shoot-out opened in nerveless fashion, but Eric Dier blazed over the bar and Lucas Moura shot tamely to Kepa Arrizabalaga s l…

Hellas Verona have confirmed the signing of Alessio Cerci on a free transfer.

The Italy international is said to have agreed a one-year deal with the club, who won promotion from Serie B last season.

The move comes less than two weeks after Atletico Madrid and Cerci agreed to the mutual termination of his contract.

The 29-year-old will now seek to rebuild his career after a dismal three years since his move to Atletico from Torino.

Diego Simeone s side paid a reported fee of close to €16million for the winger, but he only managed six appearances in LaLiga before being loaned to AC Milan in January 2015 as part of the deal that saw Fernando Torres move the other way.

He left for a spell with Genoa a year later, but went through a nightmare campai…

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has called for a reaction from Manchester United as the 12-time FA Cup winners bid to clear a daunting first hurdle in this season s competition.

The 2-0 loss at Arsenal on New Year s Day was a rough start to the decade for United and facing Wolves in the cup means life gets no easier.

Wolves sank United in the quarter-finals at Molineux last season and Solskjaer is conscious he has yet to bring back a victory from three visits to Wolverhampton since taking charge at United in December 2018.

It s the fourth time in my time there already at Molineux and we haven t won yet, but it is a tough place, said the Norwegian.

Liverpool lost there last season, [Manchester] City just lost there now, so we ve got to earn the right to win the…

Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial their performances have dominated headlines amid Manchester United s resurgence. But there is one unsung hero leading United back to the promised land: Ander Herrera.

Herrera has become undroppable under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The Spanish midfielder has been an ever-present since Jose Mourinho was sacked in December, with seven of his 13 Premier League starts this season coming after the Norwegian s appointment.

His energy and tenaciousness is vital for us. And that s why he plays, more or less, every single game, Solskjaer said after Herrera s goalscoring display in Monday s 2-0 win over Chelsea in the FA Cup fifth round. He has loads of energy, he can cover the right hand side, he runs forward. You can t just praise one, …

Neymar has jumped to the defence of Manchester United winger Antony and told his fellow Brazilian to ignore critics of his showboating.

Former Ajax star Antony faced scrutiny after performing a double spin on the right wing during United s Europa League game against Sheriff on Thursday.

Former United midfielder Paul Scholes said it was an example of Antony being a clown , given the pass he subsequently played to Casemiro had too much weight and ran out of play for a goal kick.

An alternative take might be that Antony disorientated the Sheriff players and almost delivered a killer ball behind the opposition defence as they stopped and stared.

Antony justified his piece of close-control skill by stating it was in his Brazilian nature, saying: We are known f…

Nuno Espirito Santo s future as Tottenham manager is in doubt after a slow start.

The Portuguese only took over in June but his side are eighth in the Premier League with five losses already.

Spurs were humbled 3-0 at home by under-pressure Manchester United on Saturday.

Supporters made their feelings known at full-time as boos rung out around Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

FI SOURCES! 

Tottenham have decided to sack Nuno Espirito Santo after senior stars told the board he’s not up to the job. 

The death knell has sounded for Nuno after a number of players were approached. 

Details:

— Football Insider (@footyinsider247)

TOP STORY – SPURS READY TO REPLACE NUNO

Tuttomercato claims that Tottenham…