James Maddison insists Tottenham can still do something special this season after he got the last laugh over Neal Maupay following a chaotic 3-2 home win over Brentford.

A fiery clash between the London rivals appeared to be sparked by Maupay mocking Maddison with his own darts celebration after he put the visitors ahead in the 15th minute.

Referee David Coote struggled to control both players in the first half, but Spurs regained focus after the break and scored three times in eight minutes through Destiny Udogie, Brennan Johnson and Richarlison.

It ensured Ivan Toney’s late strike was mere consolation and Maddison was happy to poke fun at Maupay during his post-match interview before the pair traded blows on Instagram.

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Maddison started the war of words with the caption “a short story” beneath three pictures – one of Maupay celebrating, one of Maddison with his arms aloft and one of the final score – before the Frenchman hit back, writing: “Went a bit early with that one. Gutted we couldn’t get the win. More goals and less relegations in my career than James Maddison. We go again Monday bees.”

Asked about Maupay, Maddison told TNT Sports: “I said to him, he probably hasn’t scored enough goals of his own in the last few years to have his own celebration, so he had to copy mine. A short story and it ended well for us.”

He added: “I feel really positive. We’ve had a very stop-start season with injuries and suspensions. We started really well and had the same XI for 10 or 11 games in a row, which is very rare in the Premier League. That Chelsea game (which Spurs lost 4-1) was a crazy game.

“The main question I get asked is, ‘What’s the aim for Tottenham this year?’ I don’t think the gaffer wants to put a limit on it.

“There’s no ceiling because there’s more chance of something special happening. We’re three points behind second place, so let’s not put a ceiling on it. Let’s take it game by game.

“We could go on a run. If you don’t believe something special can happen, then nothing can ever happen.”

The Chelsea game was the match in which Maddison suffered ankle ligament damage, which ruled him out for the best part of three months.

Spurs lost four of their first five matches without him, but look well placed for a strong finish to the Premier League season.

Maddison said: “It’s lovely to be back. When you’re starved doing what you love, that reminded me why I love football.

“The first half was stop-start, a lot of stoppages, which is how they have been successful.

“Second half we created a lot of chances, scored some goals, but it’s never simple – there’s always a lot of goals at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.”

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Brentford were able to leave north London with plenty of positives, with Toney on target again in his second match since he returned from a betting ban.

Toney scored under the watchful eye of England boss Gareth Southgate and has been backed to get even better.

“He has been working very hard to come back to the level,” Bees boss Thomas Frank said.

“The first game he played 90 plus 15 against Nottingham (Forest) and today also. Hopefully with a little bit more rhythm, he will come even sharper, but it is five or 10 per cent maximum.

“I think his touches look good and he is a threat.”

Liverpool will not struggle once Jurgen Klopp leaves in the same way Manchester United did following Sir Alex Ferguson's exit, according to Stephen Warnock.

The Reds are still coming to terms with last week's announcement that Klopp is to depart Anfield at the end of the season, ending a hugely successful nine-year period at the club.

Parallels have been drawn to when Ferguson stepped down as United manager in 2013 and when Arsene Wenger left Arsenal five years later.

However, ex-Liverpool defender Warnock believes there is enough quality - and longevity - in the current squad to help the new manager pick up from where Klopp leaves off.

"There's a big narrative around filling people's shoes," Warnock told Stats Perform. "We look at Alex Ferguson, we look at Arsene Wenger, and we look at the replacements for them and go, 'Well, they didn't work.' 

"It's taken them years. People will argue Manchester United still haven't recovered from that, and they haven't got the appointments right. Some big, big names have gone in there. 

"But don't forget, Manchester United were on the decline. They were in a club that was always going to struggle. 

"When you actually sit back now and look at it, even a year away from what happened, you could have gone, 'Do you know what, [Ferguson] walked away at the right time'.

"That's completely different to what Liverpool are now. I'd say Arsenal were in a similar situation where the club behind the scenes wasn't in a great position."

Warnock believes the structure behind the scenes under Fenway Sports Group (FSG) will also help with the continuity, as long as the new manager can adapt to the owners' way of working.

"FSG are arguably one of the best-run football clubs in world football," said Warnock, who made 67 appearances for Liverpool in all competitions.

"Yes, they get the critics for not going out and spending £150 million on a player, but we don't hear Jurgen Klopp complaining about it. He totally understands why they work like that, what they do. 

"The next manager who comes in is going to have to understand their process, their logic behind the thinking, how they run as a football club. And they've got to buy into that straight away."

Klopp's coaching staff will also leave Anfield at the end of the campaign, while Jorg Schmadtke is to step down from his sporting director role later this week.

In the view of Warnock, that could prove to be the biggest challenge Klopp's successor faces - improving players who are not necessarily world-class when they arrive.

"One of the things that Jurgen Klopp did was improve players, him and his staff," he said. "They were a group of coaches who were able to improve players. 

"The next manager is also going to have to be a manager who brings in younger players who can improve those players and make them better. 

"I think what we often look at when we look at Jurgen Klopp and his recruitment and Michael Edwards and the team that was there was Liverpool never really bought. 

"People might argue and say Virgil van Dijk, but they never bought a world-class player. They made world-class players. And that's the remit behind the scenes for Liverpool, putting value into players."

Former Liverpool favourite Xabi Alonso is the frontrunner to take over from Klopp, having won many admirers at Bayer Leverkusen this season, while Roberto De Zerbi is another who has been regularly mentioned.

Warnock added: "You look at Alonso's record and you say 'phenomenal, absolutely incredible'. Then you look at De Zerbi.

"I think he's a manager who understands he works within the constraints of what Brighton do and they have a process of how they want to do things. He works within that.

"He never moans, he certainly improves players and the style of football is quite breathtaking at times."

Faugheen was no stranger to dazzling on the big occasion, but as the curtains began to close on his decorated career, he saved one more moment of magic for his adoring home supporters, lighting up the Dublin Racing Festival with a heroic display that sent Leopardstown into a frenzy.

One of the best Champion Hurdle winners of modern times, injury setbacks saw him reinvented first as a staying hurdler and then a novice chaser, as his trainer Willie Mullins eked out Grade One-winning performances with the twilight of his career approaching.

Although a dual Cheltenham Festival scorer, it was Leopardstown that played host to some of his finest displays and he arguably saved his best until last at the Dublin track when his final outing in the Irish capital saw him bring the house down with a brilliant swansong success.

Sent novice chasing at the ripe old age of 11, Faugheen had made the perfect start to fencing and arrived at Leopardstown having dispatched Samcro to taste Grade One glory at Limerick over Christmas.

Eyeing more success at the highest level, Faugheen was sent off the 13-8 joint-favourite for the Flogas Novice Chase and showed all of the qualities and class that had made him such a mainstay of the National Hunt racing scene as he held off stablemate Easy Game for a fairytale victory that would go down in Irish racing folklore.

“Going into Leopardstown, we knew he had been in good form, but for him it was a big day,” said Joe Chambers, racing manager for Faugheen’s owners Rich and Susannah Ricci.

“You were kind of harking back to the Danoli days and days of yesteryear where people were just leaping over tables trying to take advantage of every vantage point. There are a few wonderful pictures of the crowd and they were however many deep around the ring, and every balcony and vantage point was filled.

“Paul (Townend) nearly came off him at the back of the last and it wasn’t without drama, but it was a wonderful day and a pretty emotional day as well. It was a day where I saw Willie get emotional and you don’t often see that.”

It was also a huge occasion for Townend, who in the early stages of his tenure as Closutton number one, finally got his highlight-reel moment aboard Faugheen, having watched on as Ruby Walsh and many of his weighing room colleagues enjoyed great days alongside the popular gelding.

“It was great for Paul as well, because he hadn’t actually ridden Faugheen that many times,” continued Chambers.

“Faugheen was very much a part of Ruby’s career and David (Mullins) had won a Grade One on him and Emmet (Mullins) had won a Grade Three on him and Patrick had won a Grade One as well on him.

“Paul and Danny (Mullins) were somewhat the odd ones out and ultimately, when the music stopped, Danny was the only one left standing.”

The noise reverberating around Leopardstown as Faugheen made a triumphant return to the winner’s enclosure that day could be heard for miles around and although their great warrior will always be associated with the track, Chambers points out Faugheen often received a hero’s reception wherever he went.

He said: “I think you could be anywhere (in the world) with a crowd like that and a horse like that to celebrate and it was just one of those days where everything came together.

“He reincarnated himself as a novice chaser and he had two great days really – you can’t forget the Grade One he won under Patrick (Mullins) at Limerick when he beat Samcro.

“At some tracks in Ireland, the more rural you get, the greater the affinity can be with horses – especially ones who have been there, climbed to the mountain top, fallen back and then come back and managed to achieve again.”

So, having reached the summit of the sport once again at Leopardstown, there was one final peak left to conquer, with his Flogas triumph signalling one last return to the Cheltenham Festival in a quest to add a third Prestbury Park victory to his CV.

Sent off the 3-1 favourite for the March Novices’ Chase in what would be the final start of his career, Faugheen would go down on his shield to finish third, as Samcro gained Limerick revenge and conjured up his own resurgence story in a race where Closutton stalwart Melon also made the podium.

Chambers added: “I think at Cheltenham in the novice chase, but for a mistake at the second-last, where he just didn’t meet the fence quite right and Samcro winged it, he could have gone out in another blaze of glory as well.

“He got a wonderful reception that day. There might have been a few thoughts privately amongst people (about retiring after Leopardstown), but I don’t recall anything specific being discussed about it.

“Part of me thinks it would be the natural thing to do, but then again why would you do that having won a Grade One with Cheltenham round the corner.”

A winner of 17 of his 26 career starts, he was given the title ‘The Machine’ after mercilessly destroying the opposition as he racked up a 10-race unbeaten sequence at the beginning of his time under rules.

He won 12 of his first 13 outings before injury agonisingly kept him sidelined for almost two years when arguably at his pomp.

However, such was his resilience and brilliance, Faugheen was still able to win Grade Ones at two miles, three miles and over fences upon his return, thanks to the sublime handling by Mullins and those at Closutton.

Having captured the hearts of the racing public due to his on-track exploits, he now welcomes them into his own home, residing at the Irish National Stud in retirement alongside fellow Closutton icon Hurricane Fly and the likes of Beef Or Salmon and Hardy Eustace.

Chambers added: “The fact he had been so successful and had been unbeaten and had this ‘machine’ moniker and a fan base, combined with his trials and tribulations and still having the resolution to come back and do it, is a testament to the horse and also a testament to Willie’s training of him.

“He was a wonderful animal and he is enjoying a great retirement at the Irish National Stud.

“He’s there with Hurricane Fly and a couple of others and they take really good care of him – and the people who were associated with him, and also people who were fans of him, are able to go and see him as much as they see fit.

“He was absolutely brilliant on his day and the way he won the Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown beating Arctic Fire and Nichols Canyon – that was ultimately the day he hurt himself – but on the figures and ratings, it was a great performance.

“He gave us great days at Kempton when winning two Christmas Hurdles and also some wonderful days at Cheltenham – even the runs in defeat were great.”

Chris Dobey insists there is “no pressure” on him as he begins his Masters title defence on Friday.

The 33-year-old beat former World Champion Rob Cross 11-7 in last year’s final to claim his first major PDC crown in Milton Keynes.

Dobey remains “confident” going into the tournament, where he will face UK Open winner Andrew Gilding in the first round with a second-round tie against Michael van Gerwen at stake.

“I feel great, practice has gone well. I’m confident, so I’m hoping for another good tournament,” Dobey told the PA news agency.

“Everybody’s there for a reason, everybody knows how good everybody is in the competition, so there’s no pressure on me.

“I’ve got to go there, do what I do best and hopefully continue the form from the World Championships.”

Dobey comes into the Masters having endured a disappointing end to his World Championship hopes at the start of January where he was beaten 5-4 by Cross in the quarter-finals.

He had looked set to reach the semi-finals after taking a 4-0 lead, but Cross staged a memorable comeback to snatch victory.

“It’s still a hard one to take. Obviously I keep saying I should never have lost that, but I didn’t really do much different from 4-0 up to losing 5-4, I stayed at that same level,” Dobey said.

“Rob just went out there, given he had nothing to lose being 4-0 down, and he came back and played absolutely fantastic. You’ve got to take your hat off to him for that.

“I’ve put that in the past now, it’s all about this year and moving forward and hopefully I can get off to a good start from that defeat.”

Victory in that match would have set up a semi-final meeting between Dobey’s stable mate and teenage sensation Luke Littler.

Littler, who turned 17 this month, made headlines after reaching the World Championship final on debut and has since earned his first piece of silverware at the Bahrain Masters.

His incredible rise comes as no surprise to Dobey, who believes Littler has put “eyes back on the darts”.

“I knew he had the ability to go far,” Dobey said.

“Obviously with me, Nathan (Aspinall) and Luke being in the same stable you look at their draws, we’ve got a group chat to see what we think. I looked at Luke’s side of the draw (at Alexandra Palace) and thought it was a more favourable side of the draw.

“Then a couple of the big names went out on his side, which he’s got to take advantage of, and he did that for sure.

“He played a great tournament, fantastic. I think he was unlucky not to go 5-2 up in the final, he was millimetres away from the double two.

“It’s fine margins like that changes lives, changes the game, and that’s what happened.

“I was disappointed not to play him in the semi-final because we said a couple of days prior to our quarter-finals, ‘keep doing what we’re doing and we’ll play each other in the semi-final and hopefully it guarantees one of us in the final’.

“It just wasn’t to be, but the lad went on to do well and he’s made a name for himself. He’s changed the world of darts again and all eyes are back on the darts.”

Shoaib Bashir will make his international debut in England’s second Test against India after fellow Somerset spinner Jack Leach was ruled out through injury.

Record wicket-taker James Anderson also comes into the side in Visakhapatnam instead of Mark Wood as England look to build on their brilliant victory in Hyderabad.

Visa issues meant Bashir racked up 10,000 unwanted air miles shuttling between Abu Dhabi, London and Hyderabad, where he arrived just in time to take in the final day of England’s win.

The 20-year-old has taken just 10 first-class wickets in six games at an average of 67, while Leach’s absence means England’s three specialist spinners have three caps between them, with two for Rehan Ahmed and one for Tom Hartley.

England captain Ben Stokes first floated the possibility of Bashir featuring on the tour of India six months ago after watching a video montage of him bowling to Sir Alastair Cook on his first Somerset appearance.

“To be perfectly honest, our training camp in Abu Dhabi was the first real live look I got at Bash,” Stokes admitted.

“The first time I saw him was on Twitter. I think the County Championship put a little clip together of him bowling against Sir Alastair.

“I just saw something. With the height he bowled from, it was very obvious that he put a lot of action, a lot of revolutions, on the ball.”

Alex Turcotte scored his first NHL goal and assist and the Los Angeles Kings snapped a four-game skid with a 4-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Wednesday.

Turcotte – the fifth overall pick in 2019 – extended the Kings’ lead to 2-0 in the second period and assisted on Trevor Lewis’ goal with 6:40 remaining. He was playing in his second NHL game of the season and 14th overall.

Carl Grundstrom and Kevin Fiala also scored for the Kings, who head into the All-Star break on a 3-8-6 stretch.

David Rittich made 38 saves and is 5-1-3 as a starter this season.

Filip Forsberg and Philip Tomasino tallied for Nashville, which has one win in six games (1-4-1).

Senators edge Red Wings in overtime  

Shane Pinto scored on a lunging tip-in at 2:05 of overtime to lift the Ottawa Senators to a 3-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings.

Brady Tkachuk and Mark Kastelic also scored and Joonas Korpisalo made 22 saves as Ottawa improved to 5-1-2 in its last eight games.

Daniel Sprong and Dylan Larkin had goals for the Red Wings, who finished January with a 9-2-2 record.

Larkin’s team-best 23rd goal extended his point streak to 12 games. He has 10 goals and six assists during that span.

Vatrano propels Ducks in overtime

Frank Vatrano scored with 53 seconds left in overtime and the Anaheim Ducks defeated the San Jose Sharks, 3-2.

Isaac Lundestrom scored in the first period and Troy Terry netted the equaliser with 61 seconds to play in regulation as Anaheim improved to 3-0-1 in its last four games.

San Jose got goals from Anthony Duclair and Marc-Edouard Vlasic and notched at least a point for the sixth time in seven games (4-1-2).

Anfernee Simons spoiled Damian Lillard’s return to Portland with a go-ahead floater with 17.1 seconds remaining to lift the Trail Blazers to a 119-116 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.

Lillard had 25 points on 9-of-23 shooting – 3 of 13 from 3-point range – with seven assists, six rebounds and four turnovers in his first game back in Portland since he was traded to Milwaukee in September.

He was the face of the Blazers’ franchise for his first 11 seasons in the NBA and was treated to a lengthy ovation before the game and tributes played on the video scoreboard during timeouts.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 27 points and eight rebounds and Khris Middleton added 21 and eight assists as the Bucks lost their second straight under new coach Doc Rivers.

Simons finished with 24 points and Deandre Ayton had 20 and 11 rebounds for the Blazers, who won their second straight to close a three-game homestand.

Durant leads Suns past Nets in return

Kevin Durant poured in 33 points in his return to Brooklyn and Jusuf Nurkic had 28 with 11 rebounds to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 136-120 win over the Nets.

Durant shot 10 of 16 from the field and added eight assists in his first game in Brooklyn since being traded to Phoenix nearly a year ago.

Devin Booker scored 22 points and Eric Gordon added 17 for the Suns, who won for the ninth time in 11 games.

Cam Thomas scored 25 points and Mikal Bridges, who came to Brooklyn in the Durant trade, had 21 as the Nets failed to win three straight for the first time since early December.

Mitchell’s big night keeps Cavaliers hot

Donovan Mitchell scored 20 of his 45 points in the fourth quarter and Darius Garland had 19 in his return from a broken jaw as the Cleveland Cavaliers held off the lowly Detroit Pistons, 128-121.

Jarrett Allen had 14 points and 11 rebounds for his franchise-record 16th straight double-double to help the Cavaliers win for the 11th time in 12 games and improve to an NBA-best 16-4 since Dec. 16.

Danilo Galliari scored 20 points and Cade Cunningham added 19 and seven assists for Detroit, which was seeking consecutive wins for the first time since Oct. 27-28.

Garland was 7 of 12 from the field in 20 ½ minutes in his first action after missing 19 games. He sustained the injury in a collision with Boston’s Kristaps Porzingis on Dec. 14.

On this day in 2020, Sofia Kenin won the Australian Open women’s singles title with a 4-6 6-2 6-2 victory against Garbine Muguruza.

The then-21-year-old American had never previously played beyond the fourth round of a grand slam and became the youngest winner of the title since Maria Sharapova in 2008.

She also followed in the footsteps of Naomi Osaka, Ashleigh Barty and Bianca Andreescu, who all won their first slam finals in brilliant fashion in the previous 18 months.

Kenin’s emotions showed at various points during the deciding set and she dropped her racket and covered her face with her hands in disbelief when Muguruza’s second serve landed long on match point.

“These past two weeks, there have been a lot of emotions,” she said post-match.

“You guys could see after the match how much it all meant to me.

“This is such an honour. I’m so proud of myself, my dad, my team, everyone that has been around me. We’ve all worked hard. We’ve been through tough times. We did it. We fought. I’m just on cloud nine.”

Kenin followed up her Australian Open victory by reaching the final of the French Open later that year in October, but was beaten by Iga Swiatek.

The Seattle Seahawks have appointed Mike Macdonald as the youngest head coach in the NFL.

The 36-year-old, who has been defensive co-ordinator at the Baltimore Ravens for the past two seasons, replaces Pete Carroll who steered the Seahawks to their only Super Bowl victory during his 14 years in charge.

“We’re going to have a lot of fun, we’re going to work our tails off, and it’s going to be an incredible ride,” Macdonald told the team’s website, describing his appointment as “an honour”.

“We’re going to be here for a long time and we’re going to win a lot of football games.”

He said he was drawn to Seattle by the people and “to bring a championship back to Seattle”.

Macdonald started coaching at the University of Georgia while still a student, starting as an intern at the Ravens and working his way up before spending a season as defensive co-ordinator at the University of Michigan in 2021.

He returned in the same role for the Ravens, shaping the dominant defence which took them to the top seed in the AFC and within one game of the Super Bowl.

Carroll, who was moved to an advisory role with the Seahawks at the end of the season, was the oldest active coach in the NFL at 72.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says it is a credit to their academy players that his side have emerged unscathed from a difficult January to lead the Premier League by five points.

The 4-1 victory over Chelsea was the Reds’ sixth win in seven matches in the month, with the other a draw in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final at Fulham having gone into the game with a lead from the home tie.

During that period the side have been without three senior full-backs, as well as the likes of midfielders Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister at varying times and, of course, Mohamed Salah.

Deputy right-back Conor Bradley has impressed hugely and put in his second successive man-of-the-match display with his first Liverpool goal and two assists in the victory.

But with Trent Alexander-Arnold close to full match fitness after two substitute appearances, it has given Klopp a decision to make ahead of Sunday’s trip to Arsenal.

“There is no situation. It is just how it is,” said Klopp.

“We had seven games in January with 11 days off in between. We couldn’t have put the string of results together without the kids, (Jarell) Quansah, Conor and we had midfielders out so we played with James McConnell at six.

“These boys used this situation. I am happy they all could perform the way they did. The academy is doing an incredible job.”

Striker Darwin Nunez had one of those games where he did everything but score, becoming the first player since Opta records began in 2003 to hit the woodwork four times, once from the penalty spot.

It was at the extreme end of what has become a frequent trademark from the Uruguay international, who set up the fourth goal for Luis Diaz, but Klopp is not concerned.

“Insane first half, unbelievable. Outstanding. Why do we speak about Darwin? Obviously because he has so many situations where he missed,” he added.

“The first time since we count a player hits the woodwork four times in a game. Think you are in his boots and how that feels. Missing a penalty you could see at half-time he was really upset with himself.

“It’s just crazy that he creates that many. Imagine for a second he would take them all. The numbers would be absolutely insane, to an extent where we wouldn’t understand it any more so it’s normal.

“For us, it’s unimportant. We scored four goals, who cares if we could have scored a fifth or sixth?”

It would not have flattered Liverpool to have added two or three more such was their dominance over opponents who they will meet again in the Carabao Cup final in a month’s time.

Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino admitted his side were second best and even penalty shouts in the first and second halves would not have done much to alter the direction of travel.

“I think it is not to find excuses. The performance was not good enough from us. They deserved to win, they were better than us,” he said.

“We didn’t perform in the way we wanted to. In this type of game you need to say ‘well done Liverpool’.

“In the final (next month) we need to compete in a different way. If we compete the same way as today for sure it is going to be the same result.

“For us it is about learning. We are competing against a team that is on the top and is consistent to always be challenging for the big trophies.”

James Maddison and Neal Maupay were embroiled in a war of words after the Brentford forward mocked the Tottenham midfielder’s goal celebration.

Maupay opened the scoring in the 15th minute at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday night and celebrated by throwing a dart alongside Ivan Toney, mimicking the move Maddison and Spurs team-mate Son Heung-min have done this season.

That annoyed big darts fan Maddison, who had a heated exchange with Maupay on the goalscorer’s way back to the centre circle.

The England international had the last laugh though, with goals from Destiny Udogie, Brennan Johnson and Richarlison securing a 3-2 win for Spurs.

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Maddison told TNT Sports: “He’s not scored enough goals of his own to have his own celebration so he’s copied mine.”

Maddison’s comments irked Maupay, who responded on Instagram after the game mocking his opponent’s relegation with Leicester last season.

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The Frenchman wrote: “Went a bit early with that one.

“Gutted we couldn’t get the win. More goals and less relegations in my career than James Maddison. We go again monday bees.”

Pep Guardiola admits he faces a selection headache now that all of his Manchester City stars are back fit as the Premier League title race heats up.

Wednesday’s 3-1 win over Burnley saw Kevin De Bruyne make his first start since the opening day of the season following a hamstring injury, while Erling Haaland returned from a foot problem as a second-half substitute.

But it was again Julian Alvarez who was the star for City, with the Argentinian World Cup winner scoring twice in the first half as City cruised to victory.

The hosts took complete control when Rodri added a third early in the second half before Ameen Al-Dakhil got a late consolation for Vincent Kompany’s men.

Alvarez has enjoyed an extended run in Guardiola’s side this season, in large part thanks to De Bruyne’s absence and his brace took him to 15 goals for the campaign.

“For his age, for the numbers in the Premier League, for what he gives to all the team it is unbelievable,” Guardiola said.

“He’s a world champion playing alongside (Lionel) Messi, (Angel) Di Maria and Enzo Fernandez. If you are not good you cannot play in that team.

“He can play in three different positions and have an incredible sense with the intensity to run. He’s really good.”

That versatility could be key to Alvarez’s hopes of retaining his place in the City starting eleven.

“They can play together,” added. “They are exceptional players. It gives me more of a headache for selection but they need to compete with each other.”

After missing 10 games with a bone injury, Haaland started the night on the bench and came on to replace De Bruyne in the 71st minute. His first attempt at goal was a mis-kick, but Guardiola was pleased with the way he led the line.

Asked if he needed to be eased back in, Guardiola said: “If it was 7-0 at half-time he would have played more minutes. If it was 0-0 maybe he wouldn’t have played a minute.

“I saw him sharp, the feeling that he was there. He didn’t have clear chances but he has three or four, and the moment when Jeremy (Doku) didn’t see him but he can score with his quality.

“It has been really good without him for the last two months but with him we are a better team and we are really pleased that he is back.”

Burnley, without a top-flight win away to Manchester City since 1963, probably knew what to expect from the night, but at least took consolation from Al-Dakhil’s late goal, their first at the Etihad since 2019.

But the loss leaves them still deep in trouble, seven points adrift of safety with only 12 points from 22 games.

“It’s never great when you lose,” former City captain Kompany said. “They’re a great side, we know that. It felt like a lot had to go our way for us to get something.

“In moments we were dangerous. We could’ve avoided the goals. We have to move on against Fulham (on Saturday).

“My job is to give the guys support in these moments and hold them accountable. But we’re playing against a team that exploits every mistake… we’re showing bits that should make us confident.”

Kompany indicated he is still hopeful of some business before Thursday’s transfer deadline, but admitted finding game-changing signings was highly unlikely.

“I hope something will happen tomorrow,” he said. “We have to rely on the boys we have. You can make miracle transfers but they’re very difficult to find.”