Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action
In bouncing back from three straight defeats Fulham were excellent. Arsenal were as pallid as against West Ham. When even Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice, two of the most durable footballers in the game, are running on fumes it may be time to consider the rotation policy. The recent links with Ivan Toney are centred around the Brentford striker being the final piece in the jigsaw but a heavy workload has blown other holes in the squad. Arteta’s chasing of the game by loading up on forwards to leave Rice fighting alone in midfield against the excellent, superior João Palhinha and Tom Cairney was a risk too far. Arteta was restrained on the sidelines as defeat neared but his team have a tendency to panic when the pressure is on. He did them few favours by leaving them shapeless rather than keeping faith in their quality to dig themselves out. John Brewin
Match report: Fulham 2-1 Arsenal
Losing next game unthinkable for Ten Hag
Manchester United may have averted crisis on Boxing Day but the respite lasted only so long. Three days, in fact, as United ended the year with a deeply unedifying defeat at Nottingham Forest. The bad news for Erik ten Hag is that Sir Dave Brailsford, who will take a prominent role on the football board once Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s takeover is ratified by the Premier League, was in attendance. United’s FA Cup third-round trip to Wigan, 18th in League One, next Monday has suddenly taken on an extra significance. United have won their past four meetings with Wigan by an aggregate score of 14-0 but on current form Ten Hag would settle for a win of any kind. The only time United came unstuck against Wigan, in 2012, their now manager, Shaun Maloney, notched the winner and Jonny Evans, parachuted into the heart of this disjointed and demoralising United side, was in defence. For Ten Hag, a repeat is unthinkable. Ben Fisher
Match report: Nottingham Forest 2-1 Manchester United
Jackson may be erratic but he is no flop
Here’s a controversial hot take of the season: Nicolas Jackson is a good player. The Chelsea striker is raw, has produced a series of comedy misses and his efforts to stay onside have at times made him seem a Timo Werner tribute act. His hat-trick against nine-man Tottenham came only after a particularly frustrating display. But there is no doubt that the 22-year-old has potential. He is a handful for defenders, his link-up play is effective and he is versatile. Jackson did well on the left flank during Chelsea’s win over Luton. His pace caused problems during the first half and he created Cole Palmer’s second goal in the second half. Whether he is capable of becoming an elite forward remains to be seen, but after registering seven goals and two assists in the league since joining from Villarreal, it would be wrong to call Jackson a flop. The challenge is to become less erratic. Jacob Steinberg
Match report: Luton 2-3 Chelsea
Abu Dhabi and De Bruyne to lift City?
Manchester City may be coming into form just when required and may also have warm weather training to fine-tune during the winter break that follows their next league game, on 13 January. “After Newcastle if it’s possible we go to Abu Dhabi again all together,” Pep Guardiola said. “Last season we were there during the World Cup. It had an incredible impact for the staff and everyone, and the five titles prove it. We go there to train in better weather, to be together, for training, training and training, and to be ready for the second part of the season. Today that is the plan but maybe we change in the process, I don’t know.” Before then, Sunday’s FA Cup third round hosting of Huddersfield may feature the return of Kevin De Bruyne, who has been out with the hamstring injury suffered in the opening day win at Burnley. “He is very close,” Guardiola said. Jamie Jackson
Match report: Manchester City 2-0 Sheffield United
Postecoglou bonus gets Bentancur
Much has been made of Tottenham’s lengthy injury list this season but Ange Postecoglou was, for a change, able to spring a positive selection surprise against Bournemouth. Rodrigo Bentancur had started only one game for Spurs since February, when he ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament against Leicester. His return for a handful of substitute appearances in the autumn was derailed by an ankle injury when he started against Aston Villa that was expected to rule him out until February but the Uruguayan was back in the XI more than a month ahead of schedule on Sunday. “I thought he was great today,” said Postecoglou, whose side were nine points shy of their north London neighbours Arsenal in early December and go into January only a point behind after victory over the Cherries. “Apart from the win, that was probably the most pleasing thing that he got through 60 minutes and he can help us from here on.” The injury news wasn’t all good, however. Alejo Véliz left the stadium on crutches while Pape Sarr’s participation in the Africa Cup of Nations looks in doubt after he hobbled off with a hamstring injury. John Ashdown
Match report: Tottenham 3-1 Bournemouth
Kompany’s human touch revives Foster
Mental health issues are no longer taboo in football and Vincent Kompany is delighted to witness Lyle Foster enjoying his football so much after the Burnley striker, an £11m signing last January, was granted time out earlier this season. The South Africa international, who scored in Saturday’s unfortunate 3-2 defeat at Aston Villa, looks in brilliant form, a happy by-product of the care he has been given by his club and manager after receiving specialist care during two months out of action. “We were dealing with a human tragedy really, a young lad who had lost it completely, such a good lad as well,” Kompany said. “To see him get back up, just enjoying the game … being out there on the pitch, with his teammates, smiling after the game, I can go away from being a manager [and] as a human being, I’m really happy to be part of this moment.” Peter Lansley
Match report: Aston Villa 3-2 Burnley
Unplayable Olise is key for Palace
Michael Olise was unplayable for Crystal Palace in their overdue victory on Saturday and the attacker can propel his team up the table in this form. Olise delivered a masterclass against Brentford, with two goals and numerous runs that bamboozled their beleaguered opponents. Six shots and seven dribbles highlighted his influence at Selhurst Park as he instigated Palace’s first win in nine matches. Olise returned from a hamstring injury, after missing the start of the season, only in the middle of November but has already had a major impact. Four goals in his past four appearances is an impressive return and the 22-year-old forward, who turned down the chance to join Chelsea last summer, will undoubtedly attract more interest if he can maintain this level. Roy Hodgson said: “He’s been excellent, really, since he’s come back from injury. The injury was such a long one, almost six months out of the game, but even from his first game, he’s been really good. He’s carried us forward.” Simon Mail
Match report: Crystal Palace 3-1 Brentford
Cunha is new leader of O’Neil’s pack
Matheus Cunha cost Wolves £44m after originally joining on loan a year ago and started in underwhelming fashion with two goals in 20 matches. Julen Lopetegui was desperate to bring the Brazilian in from Atlético Madrid but he failed to live up to expectations. When the Spaniard quit days before the season started, Cunha might have been worried how he would fit in under Gary O’Neil but has been a leading light for the new manager. From the opening day when he repeatedly ripped through Manchester United to being instrumental in Saturday’s win over Everton, Cunha is imperative to Wolves’s success. He created two goals and scored another as Everton were swept aside to further cement Wolves’s position in mid-table. The Brazilian and Hwang Hee-chan have a great understanding, something Everton were unable to cope with. If he can maintain this form, Wolves will have nothing to worry about except whether they need to cash in on their star man in the summer. Will Unwin
Match report: Wolves 3-0 Everton
Pressure on Liverpool as rivals stumble
Suddenly it feels like the 2018-2022 period again. Arsenal’s abrupt Christmas malfunction and Aston Villa’s uncertain recent displays, combined with Manchester City’s post-Club World
Cup perkiness, have surely shortened the odds on the title race being another two-horse race between Pep Guardiola’s side and Liverpool. So no pressure, then, as Jürgen Klopp’s league leaders host Newcastle in what had looked to be one of their trickiest home assignments were it not for the visitors’ poor recent form. Much has been said about this being Mo Salah’s final game before he heads off to the Africa Cup of Nations, which could add intensity to the demands for victory on Monday evening, but the good news for Liverpool is that Diogo Jota and Darwin Núñez look in decent nick. Their depleted defence could, however, be stretched by a Newcastle side whose injury worries are easing as Joelinton and Callum Wilson return to full fitness. This is a fixture that has famously had a bearing on title races in the past; this could be another such meeting. Tom Davies
Liverpool v Newcastle, Monday 8pm GMT
European adventurers collide
The battle of the Premier League’s European overachievers is as hard a game to call as any in the top flight. West Ham’s win at Arsenal showcased the David Moyes era at its best – resilient, ruthless and well organised – while Brighton’s evisceration of Tottenham similarly advertised the essence of Roberto De Zerbi’s Seagulls. Brighton have a fine record in east London, too – their only top-flight defeat at West Ham was back in 1983 at Upton Park – but they’re likely to find this fixture tougher than in recent seasons, though doubts surround the availability of two of West Ham’s most in-form creative talents, Lucas Paquetá, who has a knee niggle, and Mohammed Kudus, whose imminent departure for the Africa Cup of Nations puts his permission to play on Tuesday in doubt. This should be an intriguing pointer as to which of these sides is best placed to qualify for further European adventures next season. TD
West Ham v Brighton, Tuesday 7.30pm GMT
added 29 unforced errors in a match that stretched almost two hours.
“Part of me felt like Shai was watching me,” Osaka said of her daughter, who has remained in the United States. “I wanted to do my best for her.”
There were plenty of smiles in a brilliant start, breaking Korpatsch to love in the opening game, before some frustration when she was broken while serving for the match at 5-3 in the second set. World No 83 Korpatsch then saved two match points and earned two set points of her own in a tense tiebreak that decided a 70-minute second set.
Osaka’s big forehand eventually dug her out of that hole, and she enjoyed signing autographs and taking selfies with fans after the match.
“I would prefer what I played,” she said when asked if she would rather have notched a straightforward victory. “I think maybe some of my decisions weren’t the best, but it’s better to have harder matches because it will train me for what’s to come.
“I’m very proud of myself ... all I can think of is, like, the consistent nerves that I had. So just getting through that really tough match and hopefully building on it. I think my next match will be a really good test on that.” That match will be a mouth-watering encounter against former world No 1 Karolina Pliskova, a two-time winner in Brisbane.
Australia’s Arina Rodionova has already progressed to the second round, while fit-again Daria Saville will attempt to join them when she plays Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska later on Monday on Pat Rafter Arena. Rain stopped play on outside courts on Monday, with an all-Australian clash between Kimberly Birrell and Olivia Gadecki among those scheduled.
Reigning Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, Jelena Ostapenko, Victoria Azarenka, Sofia Kenin and Sloane Stephens are also in the 64-player women’s draw, one of the key tune-up events for the Australian Open in Melbourne.