Frank Lampard praised the form of Trevoh Chalobah during his spell as Chelsea interim manager after the defender put in a fine all-round display in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest.
The 23-year-old academy graduate has featured in all eight of Lampard’s games in charge including five starts, becoming a dependable presence amidst the team’s struggles for performances and results.
He has been used both at right-back and on the right of a back three as Lampard has shuffled between systems, and has been the club’s most visible homegrown product since owner Todd Boehly’s whirlwind January transfer spend.
This has been Chalobah’s second season in Chelsea’s first team after loan spells at Ipswich, Huddersfield and French side Lorient, and his 22 Premier League appearances have exceeded the 20 he made last campaign.
Against Forest he was responsible for setting up the first of Raheem Sterling’s two goals, combining well with Noni Madueke down the right before picking out his team-mate to score, as Chelsea recovered from a goal down to avoid the ignominy of another home loss.
“He’s such a selfless lad. He doesn’t say ‘I want to play in this position’,” Lampard said. “Maybe (his best position) will become apparent, but I think he’s played really well in a back three for the club.
“(He had) a really good period when he first got into the team, he can play well as a centre-back in a back four and at right-back. The bigger picture is the way he’s been applying himself since I’ve come back.
“He’s a delight to train with every day because he comes in with an enthusiasm, low maintenance, and when you talk about the things you want, he tries to do them on the pitch, which is a great thing.
“In my short period here, you look at what are the games and the individual players, I’ve been very happy. I was looking forward to working with Trev because I didn’t get that chance when I was here before (2019-21).”
It is understood Chelsea are closing in on appointing Mauricio Pochettino as their next permanent head coach, with an agreement believed to have been reached for the former Tottenham boss to take over from Lampard at the end of the season.
One of his first tasks will be deciding who of the club’s bloated squad will have a role in his plans.
Until recently Chalobah might have seemed a candidate to depart, but that looks less likely after the versatility and consistency he has demonstrated under Lampard.
“I’ve tried to get him on loan when I’ve been working elsewhere, and now it’s been nice and I appreciate what a high-level player he is,” Lampard added. “He’s going to get a lot better.
“He’s always had that (good crossing, finding his man). He’s played as a number six, he’s played as a right-sided centre-half who steps into areas.
“Some things you rely on the level of the player to be able to step in, to make crosses and to have the physical capacity. He’s got all that. He can fill different roles for us.”
Bruno Fernandes has been delighted by Alejandro Garnacho’s progress but warned the Manchester United teenager that he cannot relax if he is going to fulfil his potential.
A year and two days after his starring role in the club’s FA Cup Youth Cup triumph against Nottingham Forest, the 18-year-old was once again in goalscoring form at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Garnacho had been out for two months with an ankle injury and he returned with a bang against Wolves, with the substitute scoring a fine, late goal in front of the Stretford End to wrap up a 2-0 win.
Skipper Fernandes threaded through the Argentinian to score and hopes the nascent talent can “score much more until the end of the season.”
“Obviously, we know Garna can change games,” the Portugal midfielder said. “He plays with pace, he can take players one against one.
“But he’s still developing himself, so we don’t have to go and push so much to him because he’s still a young kid.
“He can do great things, but in the future he has to do much better than actually he is doing because he has more than the capability to be even better than he is actually (right now).
“He’s been doing amazing for the first season he’s been playing in the Premier League, with more minutes, with more consistency. He’s doing great, but we all know he can do much more for us.”
Garnacho recently signed a new deal keeping him at Old Trafford until 2028 after impressing in his first full season as a first-team player.
He has also won around Erik ten Hag having irked him during pre-season, with Fernandes claiming he “didn’t have the best attitude” during that period.
“That message was from the manager, it was not from me,” Fernandes said. “I just heard what the manager said.
“What I have to say to Garnacho, I tell him at the training ground, whenever we are eating, on the training ground or wherever.
“If he wants to hear, he hears. If not, he doesn’t but I try to help.
“I think he did an interview talking about me trying to help him a lot of times, and that’s what I’m trying to do.
“But, obviously, as I said, he’s still young, and I don’t want to give too much compliments because you know when you’re young, you get too many compliments, you can get a little bit relaxed and everything.
“We need this Alejandro coming on and making goals, making assists, getting back to recover balls – everything.
“But I think if he wasn’t doing what he needed to do, he wouldn’t be playing.
“At the beginning of the season, the manager didn’t give him any chances because he thought that he wasn’t being the best, and now he’s getting his chances.
“He’s been playing a lot this season because he’s training well, he’s doing what he has to do and he’s getting his rewards – and the team are getting the rewards as well, and that’s the most important thing.”
Garnacho’s adaptation from youth football to the top end has also impressed Fernandes, saying his team-mate is reaping the rewards of his hard work.
“I think he’s doing very well and he’s training every time with us, so that makes him be more prepared for the games,” he said. “But mentally he’s being much better also because I think he understood what it takes to be a professional player.
“He is doing that, taking that and he is working a lot also in the gym with the coaches, so he is getting his rewards.
“He’s getting his rewards because he is training well because if he wasn’t he is not even playing I’m pretty sure.”
Garnacho’s return is a welcome boost for United with three Premier League games left in the race for the top four before the FA Cup final against Manchester City.
“We know it will be tough to get the top four but it depends on ourselves and everything is in our hands so we have to do our job,” Fernandes added.
“I’m not worried about Liverpool – I’m worried about us doing our job because it’s about ourselves.
“Like I said, if we do our job properly, if we win our games, we will be in the Champions League so we don’t need to look at the table or look at other teams.”
Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson believes the emergence of Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise could soften the blow of a potential Wilfried Zaha exit this summer.
The Eagles talisman’s contract expires at the end of this season, but the 30-year-old might have already played his last game for the club after he pulled up early in the second half of Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Bournemouth.
Eze’s two goals in that contest took him to double digits for the campaign, while 21-year-old Olise made it 10 assists – a first for any Palace player.
Hodgson said: “It’s more of a question for the club. I think that we have been very, very dependent on Wilf for a long time, at least I certainly was in the last four years I spent with the club I was very dependent on Wilf and what he did for us.
“We were unbelievably grateful for him, for the performance that he gave, and the number of matches that he helped us win. I think now, with (Olise and Eze), there is more support, if you like, for the attacking side of our game.
“You can even mention Jordan Ayew, of course, who has improved a lot. So I think the club is in a happier position now than when I left four years ago. But will the club miss Wilf Zaha if he goes?
“Yes, they will, because Wilf Zaha is an exceptional player. He’s an iconic Crystal Palace player. He’s loved here, quite rightly so, not just by managers and coaches but also by the crowd.
“So if he does decide to go he will be sorely missed, but perhaps there are a few more players in the wings who can soften the blow.”
Zaha was instrumental in the build-up to Eze’s ninth goal of the season, while Olise provided the assist from range that set up the 24-year-old’s second to make it 10 this campaign.
Eze has frequently attributed his surge in form to Hodgson, who arrived back at Selhurst Park for a second spell in March, but the midfielder’s boss was not so willing to take credit.
Hodgson said: “We certainly haven’t decided that he will be relieved of any duties to be freer. We expect a lot from him when we lose the ball, with the shape of the team, with his role in the shape of the team, and I think he’s reacted very well to that.
“By the way the team is structured at the moment, and what we are looking to do when we are on the ball, if he feels a little bit freer that’s great.”
Gary O’Neil vowed his Bournemouth side would regroup after the loss and put on a strong showing for their final two games against Manchester United and Everton.
Reflecting on the Cherries’ journey from the relegation zone to all-but having secured safety by the time they travelled to Selhurst Park, he said: “We have a responsibility to finish the season exactly how we’ve been.
“And I understand that human nature is we’ve achieved something, and things can just ease up slightly, but I don’t like the feeling, I don’t like what I saw [against Palace].
“It’s on me to make sure that we can get this group back to exactly where it was.”
Barcelona wrapped up the LaLiga title in style as Robert Lewandowski's double helped the Blaugrana to a 4-2 thrashing of relegation-threatened rivals Espanyol on Sunday.
Xavi's men headed to the RCDE Stadium knowing a derby victory would secure a 27th LaLiga crown, and a superb display saw them put Espanyol to the sword as Lewandowski scored either side of Alejandro Balde's strike to give them a commanding lead at the break.
Jules Kounde added a fourth not long after half-time, which proved late strikes from Javier Puado and Joselu as mere consolations for Luis García Fernandez's underwhelming hosts.
Barca clinch their first league title since the 2018-19 campaign with four games to play, with the success made even sweeter by the added bonus of deepening their fierce rivals' relegation fears.
The visitors were ahead within just 11 minutes, Balde flying past Oscar Gil before picking out a cross for Lewandowski, who bundled in from point-blank range.
It was 2-0 shortly after, Balde turning from provider to finisher as he got on the end of Pedri's deft cross to tap home at the far post.
With the title in sight for Barca, the three points to seize it were essentially put beyond doubt before the break as Lewandowski turned in Raphinha's low cross.
Xavi's side rubbed further salt in the wounds after the interval, Frenkie de Jong lifting a delightful ball over the top for Kounde to nod past Fernando Pacheco.
The hosts fought back through Puado's neat 73rd-minute chip and Joselu's cool stoppage-time finish, but it would matter little as Barca ran out comfortable winners to etch their name back on the famous trophy.
Juventus moved to the brink of Champions League qualification with a 2-0 Serie A win over Cremonese on Sunday, though their victory was marred by another injury suffered by Paul Pogba.
With one eye on Thursday's decisive Europa League semi-final clash with Sevilla, Massimiliano Allegri made seven changes to his line-up, handing Pogba his first Serie A start since returning to Turin.
Pogba's outing lasted just 24 minutes as he was substituted in tears after appearing to suffer a thigh injury, and though his withdrawal initially affected Juve, fellow midfielder Nicolo Fagioli broke Cremonese's resistance with a powerful drive after half-time.
Bremer headed a late second as Juve went eight points clear of fifth-placed Milan with three games remaining, leaving them favoured for a top-four finish, provided their 15-point deduction is not restored.
Juve struggled to break Cremonese down in a low-key opening, and they suffered a huge blow when Pogba pulled up innocuously, before exiting the field visibly upset seven years to the day after his last Serie A start.
Danilo was unable to convert the rebound when Marco Carnesecchi spilt Bremer's header 32 minutes in, and that was as close as the Bianconeri came before being booed off at half-time.
Federico Chiesa blazed over the crossbar as Juve sought an improvement after the break, while Adrien Rabiot forced Carnesecchi into action with a powerful 25-yard strike.
Chiesa turned provider as Juve broke the deadlock after 55 minutes, though Fagioli was deserving of all the credit as he hammered the winger's lay-off into the roof of the net from 20 yards out.
A VAR review denied Juve a second goal when Arkadiusz Milik converted with 16 minutes remaining, but the contest was over five minutes later when Bremer reacted quickest to nod in following a corner.
What does it mean? Juve edge towards finish line
Juve's hopes of Champions League qualification have been under threat on several occasions this season, including when they were hit with a 15-point deduction in January, and more recently when they ended April with a four-match winless run in Serie A (D1 L3).
However, Allegri's men have hit form just as their rivals have faltered, winning three successive games to move well clear of Milan.
Off-field matters could yet have an impact, but on the pitch, Juve know any further slip-ups from the Rossoneri will confirm their place in the top four.
Pogba woes continue
Pogba returned to Turin from Manchester United with much fanfare last year, but it's fair to say his Juve comeback has not been successful.
Beset by injuries since pre-season, Pogba has made just six league appearances this campaign, featuring for a total of 84 minutes.
Fagioli steps up
Following Pogba's withdrawal, Juve needed somebody to step up and provide some attacking inspiration.
Fagioli, who spent a period in Cremonese's youth system and enjoyed a loan spell with the club last season, did just that.
Following his thunderous strike, he is one of just two midfielders born this century to score three goals and register three assists in Serie A this term, alongside Udinese's Lazar Samardzic.
What's next?
It's all to play for as Juventus head to Sevilla for the second leg of their Europa League semi-final tie on Thursday, following a 1-1 first-leg draw.
Cameron Norrie set up a last-16 clash with Novak Djokovic at the Italian Open thanks to a 6-2 7-6 (4) victory over Marton Fucsovics.
The British number one had looked on track for a straightforward triumph as he won the first set with minimal fuss and then stormed into a 5-1 lead in the second, only for his Hungarian opponent to fight back to 5-5.
Norrie edged the tie-break which followed, 7-4, however, and will next face Djokovic after the world number one continued his winning run by overcoming Grigor Dimitrov 6-3 4-6 6-1.
The Serbian was given a tough test by the Bulgarian, who – having been 3-1 down in the second set – broke twice to force the decider, but the top seed and defending champion rallied to see out the match convincingly.
“(I was) very solid. I think I could have won in straight sets,” 22-time grand slam winner Djokovic told the ATP website.
“I was a set and 4-2 up and had a pretty decent forehand in the middle of the court at deuce on his serve and missed that.
“He held his serve well, we had new balls the next game, I did a double fault, the crowd got into it and got behind him and of course the energy of the place and of the match changed.
“I dropped my level a bit, but luckily I managed find it right away in the first game (of the third set), made that crucial break and kind of shifted the momentum to my side, so I’m really pleased with the way I closed out the match.”
Russian world number three Daniil Medvedev earned his maiden win at the tournament with a 6-4 6-2 triumph over Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori and expressed his relief at finally winning a match in Rome.
“We can talk about all of the matches I lost here, they were different,” Medvedev told the ATP website after reaching the third round.
“The first one, I feel like I should have won, but it is (what it is). Whenever I come to a tournament, I know that I can play well, so I’m happy to finally get the win here in Rome.”
Denmark’s Holger Rune continued his good run with a 6-4 6-2 success against Andy Murray’s conqueror Fabio Fognini, while Norway’s world number four Casper Ruud defeated Alexander Bublik 6-1 4-6 7-6 (0).
In the women’s event, defending champion Iga Swiatek eased into the last 16 with a comfortable victory over Lesia Tsurenko.
The world number one continued her strong start in the tournament, cruising to a 6-2 6-0 success, and was pleased with another solid performance.
“For sure, after a pretty rusty start, I was able to break back pretty quickly, so I’m happy that I played solid game,” she said in her post-match press conference.
“Just to have another experience playing on centre court… and I’m happy that it wasn’t raining!”
Czechia’s Marie Bouzkova’s upset Coco Gauff in their last-32 encounter, prevailing 4-6 6-2 6-2 to oust the American sixth seed, while Madison Keys advanced to the last 16 via walkover after her opponent Victoria Azarenka withdrew due to a leg injury.
A frustrated Mikel Arteta apologised to the Arsenal supporters after a crushing 3-0 loss at home to Brighton all but ended their Premier League title hopes.
Second-half goals from Julio Enciso, Deniz Undav and Pervis Estupinan earned the Seagulls a deserved victory at the Emirates that means Manchester City need one more win from their final three games to defend their crown.
City could be champions on Saturday night if Arsenal lose at Nottingham Forest with the gap between the top two now four points, and Pep Guardiola’s side holding a game in hand on the Gunners, who have failed to win five of their last seven matches.
“A really different feeling to the feeling that we all had last Sunday (at Newcastle) when we felt proud and we felt that we really did what we needed to win in certain moments. Today is completely the opposite,” Arteta admitted.
“We have to apologise to our people, especially for the second half.
“What I have to accept first is what happened in the second half and digest it.
“After that until it’s mathematically over… the second position is secure. That’s not going to change. We have to digest and that will take a few days.
“At the moment it’s just frustration. The feeling that we gave the game away in the second half. We fought really hard to be in the position that we are in and today we were in a critical moment to keeping hoping and digging for that dream.
“When you have to play in these moments you cannot do what we did in the second half.
“Then we have to look. If a team is capable of doing that when it comes to the biggest stage, there’s a lot of things to analyse and think about because it cannot happen.”
Manchester City’s 3-0 victory at Everton earlier in the day had ramped up the pressure on Arsenal but they started strongly despite losing Gabriel Martinelli to an ankle injury after 19 minutes.
Gabriel Jesus tested Jason Steele midway through the opening 45 and Leandro Trossard clipped the crossbar with a swerving effort before Bukayo Saka dragged an effort wide from 14 yards at the end of a stop-start half.
Brighton punished Arsenal’s profligacy straight after half-time when Estupinan followed up his blocked cross with a scuffed centre that Enciso headed home for his third goal of the season.
Arteta made a raft of changes after but the visitors stayed in control and picked off the hosts with Undav able to lob Aaron Ramsdale in the 86th minute before Estupinan grabbed a deserved goal with a close-range finish in stoppage-time.
A reflective Arteta added: “Obviously what the team has done over the last 10 months is very different to what anybody expected and that generates a lot of expectation as well enthusiasm, happiness and joy.
“That’s something that has to be managed in the right way and after we have the responsibility to make sure the team performs and I am responsible for that.
“So, I hate the feeling of letting people down when they are expecting something. That’s the biggest regret I have today and I have to apologise for that.”
It was a different set of emotions for Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi, who laughed off comparisons with Jose Mourinho after he wheeled off down the touchline to celebrate Undav’s goal.
He did insist, however, that nothing had been achieved by his sixth-placed side.
“Yes I am very delighted for the performances. I think we deserved to win but then really happy, really proud because the last five days were very difficult after the defeat on Monday (against Everton),” De Zerbi stated.
“We have 58 points and not enough to qualify for Europe.
“We have another four games, tough games, Newcastle, Southampton, City and last game Aston Villa and we have to fight to deserve to qualify because 58 points is not enough to play Thursdays next year.”
Ilkay Gundogan helped himself to a superb double as Manchester City edged closer to a fifth Premier League title in six seasons with a 3-0 win at Everton.
As a result of their victory on Merseyside and Arsenal’s 3-0 home defeat by Brighton, a maximum of three more points from their remaining three matches, the first of them at home to Chelsea next Sunday, will secure the trophy once again.
Indeed, Pep Guardiola’s men could be crowned champions on Saturday evening should the Gunners lose at Nottingham Forest, and even a draw at the City Ground would effectively end the race as a result of City’s superior goal difference after a straightforward afternoon at Goodison Park.
Gundogan took his tally to four in two matches with an expertly-executed over-the-shoulder volley and an exquisite curling free-kick.
In between, Erling Haaland scored his almost mandatory goal to make it 52 for the season, with former Everton centre-forward Dixie Dean’s record of 63 still realistically within his reach.
Arsenal, however, could not follow suit in a game boss Mikel Arteta admitted before kick-off was a must-win affair as second-half goals by Julio Enciso, Deniz Undav and Pervis Estupinan earned Brighton a stunning win at the Emirates Stadium.
After a keenly-contested first half, Arsenal fell behind to Enciso’s 51st-minute header and, as they desperately sought a way back into the game, the hosts were picked off by Undav and then Estupinan in a devastating display by the visitors, who are themselves on the brink of qualifying for Europe for the first time.
Goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa ensured West Ham are still not mathematically assured of their place in next season’s top flight after Brentford eased to a 2-0 victory.
David Moyes made nine changes ahead of Thursday night’s Europa Conference League semi-final second leg against AZ Alkmaar but saw his side come up short against a Bees line-up deprived of the services of 20-goal striker Ivan Toney by injury, with Mbeumo and Wissa both scoring before half-time.
Danny Ings thought he had reduced the deficit after the break, but his tap-in was controversially disallowed for handball by Divin Mubama following a VAR review.
England bowler Craig Overton took umbrage at apparent criticism from Lancashire over Somerset’s non-declaration tactics as the sides’ LV= Insurance County Championship clash ended in a draw.
Somerset’s decision to carry on batting at Emirates Old Trafford despite their lead passing 300 in mid-afternoon on the final day of the Division One encounter provoked a sarcastic response from Lancashire’s official Twitter account.
Responding to one of Lancashire’s tweets after hands were shaken at 4:50pm, Overton wrote: “We came at you with a reasonable offer yesterday afternoon to make a game of it yet you declined.”
While James Rew compiled his second century of the match and finished on an unbeaten 118 and Kasey Aldridge claimed his maiden first-class hundred with 101 not out, the game had drifted by that point.
Lancashire, unable to call upon James Anderson because of a groin niggle, withdrew their first-choice attack in the afternoon session as batters Steven Croft and Dane Vilas shared the second new ball.
Lancashire used nine bowlers in total – including wicketkeeper George Bell, with Josh Bohannon taking the gloves – as Somerset finished on 398 for five to sit 433 ahead.
England wicketkeeper Ben Foakes took six catches as Surrey’s impressive attack inspired a nine-wicket victory over Middlesex at the Kia Oval.
Jordan Clark took four for 25, while there were three wickets for Sean Abbott and two for Gus Atkinson as Middlesex were all out for 240, with Foakes’ half-dozen catches a record in a first-class innings for Surrey against their London rivals.
Rory Burns was out for 14, but Dom Sibley (21no) and Ryan Patel (37no) helped Surrey ease to their 70-run target to help their side claim their third win of the season to stay top of the division.
Under-pressure England opener Zak Crawley curbed his attacking instincts and his half-century helped Kent avoid defeat against Hampshire at Canterbury.
Crawley amassed 56 off 133 balls before being stumped off Liam Dawson, while fellow opener Ben Compton’s 54 and an unbeaten 68 off 206 deliveries from Jack Leaning lifted Kent to 259 for four, still 18 runs behind but with Hampshire having given up hopes of forcing a win.
Durham extended their lead atop Division Two with a tense one-wicket victory over Yorkshire, with Brydon Carse hitting the winning runs despite batting with a runner because of a side injury.
Durham resumed at Chester-le-Street requiring 33 to win but with only two wickets in hand. Ben Raine (50no) and Matthew Potts (25) helped Durham close in on their target of 246, but the latter fell lbw to George Hill with just two more runs needed.
But Carse squirted his fourth ball away, calling Raine through for a couple as Durham got over the line to claim their third triumph of the campaign and leave Yorkshire still searching for their first win.
Leicestershire remain unbeaten despite being asked to follow-on by Sussex at Grace Road, with hundreds from Rishi Patel and Wiaan Mulder helping the hosts to a draw.
Patel (100) and Mulder (102no) ushered Leicestershire to 295 for six, having been asked to bat again the day before when they were all out for 270 in response to Sussex’s 430.
Derbyshire captain Leus du Plooy’s unbeaten 61 led the recovery from 28 for three to 166 for five as Gloucestershire settled for a draw at Derby.
Brighton handed Manchester City the chance to clinch the Premier League title next weekend as the latest round of fixtures yielded a potentially decisive twist.
The Seagulls’ breath-taking victory at Arsenal left City four points clear at the top of the table with a game in hand, meaning they can clinch the trophy for a fifth time with a home win over struggling Chelsea next Sunday.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at an eventful weekend which also saw Southampton slip out of the top flight.
Seagulls soaring
Brighton’s remarkable 3-0 win at the Emirates Stadium may have been celebrated in the blue half of Manchester, but certainly not the red, nor on Tyneside or Merseyside. The Seagulls not only dented the Gunners’ title hopes, but dragged themselves back on to the fringes of the hunt for Champions League qualification with the perfect response to Monday’s shock 5-1 drubbing by Everton, edging to within four points of the Reds and eight of United and the Magpies with a game in hand on all three.
Top Gun
If Manchester City do go on to clinch the title, they will have done so with a significant helping hand from skipper Ilkay Gundogan. The 32-year-old Germany international’s double secured a 2-1 win over Leeds last weekend – and it might have been better had he converted a penalty gifted to him by Erling Haaland – and he repeated the feat in sublime style in Sunday’s 3-0 victory at Everton to further underline his importance to Pep Guardiola.
A spot of bother
Should renowned firefighter Sam Allardyce fail in his mission to drag Leeds to safety, he and his players will inevitably lose sleep over an eventful afternoon at Elland Road when Newcastle came to call. Already leading through Luke Ayling’s early strike, the home side passed up a glorious opportunity to extend their advantage when Nick Pope saved Patrick Bamford’s penalty, and their afternoon might have ended in defeat after Magpies frontman Callum Wilson showed him how to do it from the spot not once, but twice before Rasmus Kristensen’s late equaliser snatched a 2-2 draw.
Eze does it
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Crystal Palace’s reliance on Wilfried Zaha in recent seasons has piled huge weight on the Ivory Coast international’s shoulders, but in Eberechi Eze, they appear to have found someone to share the burden. The 24-year-old scored both goals in Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Bournemouth, the first with an assured finish after Jordan Ayew had flicked on Zaha’s cross, and the second a stunning solo effort, to take his tally to six in his last seven appearances.
That sinking feeling
If further proof were needed that changing manager twice during a Premier League season is not necessarily a good idea, it was provided on Saturday when Southampton slipped out of the top flight with barely a whimper after a 2-0 home defeat by Fulham. Between them, Ralph Hasenhuttl, Nathan Jones and Ruben Selles have managed to win only six of the 36 league games the Saints have played to date and collected just 24 points.
Arsenal’s fading Premier League titles hopes are all but over after second-half goals by Julio Enciso, Deniz Undav and Pervis Estupinan earned Brighton a stunning 3-0 win at the Emirates.
The result means Manchester City only need one more victory from their final three games to defend their crown and they could be confirmed as champions as early as Saturday night if Mikel Arteta’s side lose at Nottingham Forest.
Arteta admitted pre-match it was must-win for Arsenal but they tasted defeat after a promising first-half showing thanks to Enciso’s 51st-minute header and late efforts by Undav and Estupinan.
It keeps alive the faint top-four hopes of Roberto De Zerbi’s team, who claimed another scalp in their outstanding season to move up to sixth with games in hand on Liverpool, Manchester United and Newcastle.
Any hope Arsenal had of Manchester City dropping points at Goodison Park was dispelled even before Arteta had named his starting line-up with their title rivals 3-0 up after 51 minutes.
It failed to dampen the atmosphere at the Emirates but visiting Brighton were not in London to make up the numbers and had European football ambitions to get back on track following a shock home loss to Everton on Monday.
The opening exchanges were affected by stoppages but referee Andrew Madley seemed keen to keep his cards in his pockets with Gabriel Martinelli and Moises Caicedo lucky to avoid punishment for poor challenges.
Caicedo, who saw a move to Arsenal fall through in January, in a less-familiar right-back role caught Martinelli after seven minutes and it eventually forced the Brazilian off with only 19 minutes played.
Enciso had tested Aaron Ramsdale with a firm near-post effort by this point and Martin Odegaard had sent a low strike wide but the contest had failed to get going following a stop-start opening.
Arsenal slowly got into their groove and Jason Steele had to kick away a Gabriel Jesus shot from a narrow angle before substitute Leandro Trossard went close against his old club.
Trossard, a replacement for Martinelli, was booed by the away fans and nearly gained payback after half an hour when Odegaard and Granit Xhaka exchanged passes to find the Belgian, but his swerving effort clipped the top of the crossbar from 16 yards.
Brighton improved after that let-off and Enciso should have done better when Kaoru Mitoma skinned Ben White and teed up the Paraguayan, but he scooped over on the turn.
Teenage forward Evan Ferguson also fired wide soon after for the Seagulls before Bukayo Saka dragged a shot off target from a promising position inside the area in first-half stoppage-time to ensure it remained goalless at the break.
It only took six minutes of the second half for Arsenal’s profligacy to be punished.
Mitoma found the overlapping Estupinan, who had not been tracked by Saka, on the left but after his first delivery had been half-cleared, his scuffed follow-up cross found its way to Enciso, who headed home.
Enciso was only unmarked because Arsenal centre-back Jakub Kiwior was in a heap on the floor after he twisted his ankle after Estupinan’s first centre but Brighton nor Manchester City cared one bit.
Kiwior was fine to carry on but Arteta had seen enough and introduced Thomas Partey and Reiss Nelson on the hour mark.
Substitute Nelson immediately made an impression with a low shot flashed wide and yet emotions were starting to spill over at the Emirates.
Arteta received a booking and while Trossard fired straight at Steele minutes later, Brighton remained in control and the Arsenal boss made his final roll of the dice with 13 minutes left.
Jesus and Odegaard made way for Eddie Nketiah and Emile Smith Rowe while De Zerbi introduced Facundo Buonanotte for Brighton.
And with four minutes left it was good night to Arsenal’s title challenge when Trossard’s intended flicked pass hit Pascal Gross and ricocheted into the path of Undav, who lobbed over Ramsdale.
De Zerbi sprinted down the touchline to celebrate and was at it again deep into stoppage-time when Estupinan capped a fine display with a first Brighton goal after he fired home on the rebound when Ramsdale spilled Undav’s effort.
Sale Sharks boss Alex Sanderson hailed George Ford as “a little pocket of calm amid the chaos” after his team reached a first Gallagher Premiership final for 17 years.
England international fly-half Ford was a dominant presence, guiding Sale home against his former club Leicester in an absorbing play-off clash at a sold-out AJ Bell Stadium.
Ford, who went off injured in last season’s Premiership final when Leicester beat Saracens – Sale’s opponents at Twickenham on May 27 – kicked three penalties and a conversion.
But he also epitomised Sale’s resilient attitude against a Tigers team that pushed them all the way before going down to a 21-13 defeat.
“They are a special group, these boys. They had to drink deep from the well today,” Sale rugby director Sanderson said.
“They stuck to the task, and George Ford drove that – a little pocket of calm amid the chaos.
“You need to be physically up to the task, you need a heart, you have really got to want it. What more can you ask for?
“I am proud of how they stuck at it and just got better at the basics as the game went on.”
Sale now face Saracens in pursuit of a Premiership crown that they last claimed when players like Jason Robinson, Charlie Hodgson and Sebastien Chabal ruled the roost.
And for Sanderson that means preparing a team to try and beat a club he spent several successful seasons with as an integral part of Mark McCall’s coaching staff.
Sale, though, look set to be without captain Ben Curry, who was carried off during the first half after suffering a hamstring injury.
Sanderson added: “He will get a scan tomorrow. He is on crutches and he got carried off. We will see tomorrow, but I doubt if he will make the final.
“I spent the major part of my life down there with those guys (at Saracens), but I am so engrained in this here that it feels like I have been here forever. It adds a little bit more spice.”
Wings Tom Roebuck and Arron Reed scored tries for Sale, but Leicester held a 13-10 lead with 24 minutes left before the Ford-inspired Sharks turned things their way.
A battling Leicester performance delivered a second-half try for wing Harry Potter, plus eight points from the boot of 39-year-old Jimmy Gopperth, who was a late replacement for World Cup-winning South African fly-half Handre Pollard.
Tigers’ interim head coach Richard Wigglesworth will join the England set-up of his former Leicester boss Steve Borthwick this summer, and a second successive Premiership final appearance proved just beyond the east Midlanders.
Wigglesworth said: “It was a close game, small margins. We just couldn’t find the advantage to tip it in our favour.
“We stuck in the contest, and we can’t fault the spirit and fight in the group.
“I am incredibly proud to have been asked to lead this group. I am so grateful for how they (Leicester) have treated me.”
And on Pollard’s absence, he added: “We only made that call this morning.
“Handre hadn’t trained for the last couple of training days. It was a calf issue, which is incredibly painful, but it can also clear up at a moment’s notice.”
The Memphis Grizzlies suspended Ja Morant from all team activities on Sunday after the All-Star point guard appeared to again be holding a gun during a social media video.
Morant previously served an eight-game suspension that was handed down by the NBA for being seen holding a gun live on Instagram while at a club when Memphis was playing in Denver in early March.
In the latest video, Morant is in a vehicle and appears to have a gun in his hands while someone else filmed him and broadcast it live on Instagram.
“We are aware of the social media post involving Ja Morant and are in the process of gathering more information,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said.
The Grizzlies said Morant is suspended “pending league review.”
The NBA suspended Morant earlier this season for “conduct detrimental to the league.”
“Ja’s conduct was irresponsible, reckless and potentially very dangerous,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement in March. “It also has serious consequences given his enormous following and influence, particularly among young fans who look up to him.”
Morant announced that he was stepping away to seek help after the first video went viral, and he later did an interview with ESPN during his suspension.
“I don’t condone any type of violence,” Morant told ESPN. “But I take full responsibility for my actions. I made a bad mistake and I can see the image that I painted over myself with my recent mistakes.
“But in the future, I’m going to show everybody who Ja really is, what I’m about and change this narrative.”
Morant was named to the All-Star team for the second straight season in 2022-23 and averaged 26.2 points while setting career highs with 8.1 assists and 5.9 rebounds per game.
Memphis went 51-31 to win the Southwest Division and earn the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference playoffs, but the Grizzlies were ousted in six games in the first round by the seventh-seeded Los Angeles Lakers.
Saracens may have broadened their horizons in attack this season but Owen Farrell insists they have always played with greater adventure than given credit for.
One victory separates Saracens from a sixth Gallagher Premiership title after they crushed Northampton 38-15 in Saturday’s semi-final at StoneX Stadium.
Director of rugby Mark McCall described it as “our strongest defensive performance for years”, but it is in their willingness to attack that the club have evolved most significantly.
Frustrated by last season’s defeat to Leicester in the Premiership final, they resolved to show more ambition for 2022-23 and have flourished as a consequence with only Saints scoring more tries in the regular season.
Farrell has been at the heart of the buccaneering with assistance from Alex Goode and Elliot Daly, but England’s captain denies that it is a radical change in direction for Saracens.
“There was always a perception about us before – and at times rightly so – that we were this team that just strangled teams and kicked everything,” Farrell said.
“But if you look back, in some of the finals we had against Exeter and Clermont, we played rugby.
“People were talking as if we didn’t play rugby, as if we just kicked everything and used the driving maul. I don’t know how people thought we won games, but we played rugby.
“We would have patches of it during the season and then go back to fundamentals.
“We were trying to bring more of it out and the bits that we showed in the past before have showed us that we were ready for doing more of it. It felt like we were ready to do it, so that’s why we did.
“We’ve come from a place – and rightly so – that was built on solid foundations: a good kicking game and defence. And attack came off the back of that.
“That started a long time ago, even before I left school. That served us unbelievably well. I just feel we’ve been ready for a bigger jump this year.
“The key thing has been to take that into the bigger games and I’m glad we did that against Northampton.”
Farrell and Goode were the catalysts for Saracens’ dynamism against Saints, pulling the strings in a dazzling start to the play-off.
“It’s about picking our heads up and looking to see if it’s on. There’s obviously a percentage of how on it is. If it’s properly on we want to take it,” Farrell said.
“If we think we can take metres to score a try, get to halfway rather than kick it there, then that’s a chance that we want to take.
“We want to take obvious chances and we don’t want to be half in, half out. We don’t want to be indecisive. We want to be decisive.”
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