Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz Captain Andre Blake describes his first staging of a two-day goalkeeper clinic a tremendous success, as he offered guidance to some of the country's upcoming stalwarts at the UWI-JFF Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence on December 14 and 15. 

Over 20 goalkeepers from across the Manning and daCosta Cup, and two women goalkeepers from the Reinas Academy attended the invitational clinic to receive world-class training from several coaches.

The goalkeeper coaches included Blake’s Philadelphia Union coach, Phil Wheddon, Jamaica’s Under 20 Goalkeeper coach, Andrew Sewell, Reinas Academy’s Neo Oxford, Kingston College’s Robert Beckford and Reggae Boyz Goalkeeper Jahmali Waite.
Blake pointed out that the two-day clinic delivered as expected.

“The commitment and focus from all the goalkeepers was good, and the hope is that they will return to their clubs and schools realising what they need to work on to get to the next level," Blake said.

“Playing at the highest level teaches you a lot, and this is what I’m sharing. We may find gems slipping through the cracks here, so if we can find them and help them, that’s good for our country and their personal and professional development," he added.

The clinic exercises included handling, diving, cutbacks, repositioning, functional play and more.

“Over the two days, we did a lot of footwork because goalkeeping is changing, and if you can’t use your feet, you’re at a disadvantage, so if we can get them into that from now, we can set them up for success," Blake reasoned.

Clarendon College’s starting goalkeeper Roshae Burrell praised the clinic highly: “It was a great experience; I learned a lot from Andre Blake. He’s a good trainer, and Coach Phil is a vibe; he is a good coach!”

For Hydel High’s Tajarie Lee, it was a wonderful experience, “The clinic has been great; I learnt a lot and all that they teach us, I intend to put it on the training ground and the pitch going forward."

National Under-20 Coach Andrew Sewell was both a teacher and a student. “The experience was pretty wonderful, I must say. It was top-notch and professional. The clinic was well-needed, and I learned a lot as well. I must commend Mr. Andre Blake for this initiative.”

The Andre Blake Goalkeeper Clinic was made possible by the kind support of the JFF, ISSA, The Sagicor Foundation, Spectrum Systems, PrintWare Tech, Tru Shake, Powerade, Wata, Courtyard Marriott Hotel, Leep Marketing and Uhlsport.

What the papers say

Crystal Palace are interested in a move for Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah this January, with the 24-year-old yet to play under Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino, the Daily Express reports. There is also reportedly interest from Serie A teams and Bayern Munich.

The Daily Mail reports Manchester United are willing to sell Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane, Anthony Martial and Casemiro after their director of football John Murtough spent time in Saudi Arabia this month.

However, the Manchester Evening News says Varane is hoping that the club will trigger their one-year contract extension option for him.

Wolves are reportedly looking to sign Nigerian striker Rafiu Durosinmi from Viktoria Plzen for around £7million, despite reportedly being set to report losses of £65million.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Ian Maatsen: Chelsea are reportedly willing to sell the 21-year-old Dutch defender in January, with Manchester City, West Ham, Roma and Napoli among clubs interested in him, 90min says.

Clement Lenglet: The Aston Villa defender’s loan deal from Barcelona could be terminated by the Spanish club as they look to sell the 28-year-old, Football Insider reports.

Mark Hughes was sacked as Manchester City manager on this day in 2009, paying the price for a run of two wins in 11 games.

Roberto Mancini was installed as Hughes’ replacement, with Brian Kidd as his number two, in a move which confirmed speculation that a decision had already been taken before an eventful 4-3 win over Sunderland, at which the Italian was present.

A three-goal hammering at Tottenham convinced owner Sheikh Mansour and chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak that Hughes could not steer City into the top four, as had been expected following a summer outlay of £120million.

“A return of two wins in 11 Premier League games is clearly not in line with the targets that were agreed and set,” Khaldoon said in a statement.

“Sheikh Mansour and the board felt there was no evidence that the situation would fundamentally change.

“The targets were agreed as a result of the player acquisition strategy of the club being radically accelerated in the summer as a result of very favourable conditions for any buying club.

“It was also based on the fact that the infrastructure of the club had been overhauled completely at great cost in order to create the best possible environment for the team.”

City also confirmed that Mark Bowen, Eddie Niedzwiecki, Kevin Hitchcock and Glyn Hodges – all part of Hughes’ coaching staff – had left the club.

There was an argument Khaldoon should have waited until after the Christmas fixtures against Stoke and Wolves, and even an FA Cup tie at Middlesbrough and a League Cup semi-final – the first time City had reached the last four of any domestic competition in almost 29 years – against Manchester United.

But, with another transfer window about to open, Khaldoon took the view it was better to act when he did.

In Mancini, he brought in a manager who had guided Inter Milan to three successive Serie A titles from 2006 before being sacked in 2008 after failing to make any impact in Europe.

In a bid to foster a new era of athletic excellence across multiple sports, St. Lucia's Sports Minister Kenson Joel Casimir, has revealed the government's strategic investments in developing young talents on the island.

The success of notable athletes like Bowerman Award winner Julien Alfred, cricket icons Darren Sammy and Johnson Charles, and rising star sprinter Naomi London has ignited a wave of inspiration and paved the way for broader support for sports development.

Minister Casimir shared insights into the government's commitment to nurturing talent across various sports, including track and field, cricket, and football. The shift in paradigm also involves reimagining the island's inter-school track and field championships to enhance stakeholder engagement.

“We as a government, we've decided that we are going to take the added step of moving our inter-schools’ competition, that we have coined Island Champs, to a weekend event. And of course, we've been trying to get public buy-in, you know, parental support," the minister revealed in an exclusive interview with Sportsmax.TV

Explaining the rationale behind the change, he added, "We found that during the week in St Lucia, we've not been able to really get the amount of support that we want from the commercial sector, from parents, and from all walks of life and so we have rebranded our schools’ championship in track and field to ensure that the likes of a Julien (Alfred) or Naomi London could be on display for all of St Lucia to see, not just on television. (So), a Sunday event, a Sunday afternoon family event for St Lucians to see some of the next athletes that we are going to be exporting to the world."

Highlighting strides made in cricket, Minister Casimir revealed that plans to develop the next great cricketers from the island are well underway.

 “We have a high-performance centre that has been set up for cricket for the first time in our history where we've put 15 of our best male and female cricketers into a program where they are given nutritional support, they're given the best facilities to work with, the best coaches to work with."

The government has collaborated with the St Lucia Kings, a CPL franchise, to bring in coaches from India, contributing to the holistic development of cricket talent on the island.

Turning to football, Minister Casimir revealed exciting plans for grassroots development with renowned figures in the sport.

 “With the likes of Coach Stuart Charles-Fevrier and Earl ‘Ball Hog’ Jean, we're going to be seeing the launch of a grassroots development program in football," Minister Casimir revealed while highlighting the contributions of Stuart Charles and Earl Jean to St. Lucia's global representation and their involvement in an elite program for under-17 footballers.

The initiatives revealed by Minister Casimir reflect a broader vision to elevate sports in St. Lucia and create a lasting legacy of sporting excellence.

Girona’s dream season continued as they brushed aside Alaves 3-0 to return to the top of the LaLiga table.

Artem Dovbyk scored twice and Portu also hit the mark as Michel’s men stretched their unbeaten league run to nine games.

The hosts started well in their quest to leapfrog Real Madrid as Dovbyk connected with a cross from Yan Couto but his header was deflected wide.

The Ukrainian finally broke the deadlock in the 23rd minute after Couto’s initial effort was deflected by Alaves keeper Antonio Sivera into his path and he headed the opener.

Alaves fought back strongly and Girona keeper Paulo Gazzaniga had to be alert to catch a header from Samu Omorodion as the visitors continued to look dangerous on the counter-attack.

However, no-one was making a bigger impact than Couto who repeated his service for the second goal by firing in the cross from which Portu steered his first-time shot into the net.

Girona were well in command but Alaves continued to have their chances with Rafa Martin heading just wide from a Ruben Duarte free-kick.

Girona effectively wrapped up victory in the 59th minute when Couto fell under pressure from Javi Lopez, and Dovbyk swept home from the penalty spot.

Valery and Pablo Torre had further chances to increase Girona’s lead but their job was already done as they booked their place back at the LaLiga summit.

Napoli manager Walter Mazzarri hailed a “thrilling” match in prospect after his side were drawn against Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League.

The Serie A champions will face their LaLiga counterparts in February after progressing from a tough group which contained Real Madrid, Braga and Union Berlin.

It took a victory on the final matchday against the Portuguese side before qualification was confirmed.

And their reward is a meeting with a Barca side who last played at this stage of the competition in 2021 having been eliminated in the group stage in each of the last two seasons.

Mazzarri replaced the sacked Rudi Garcia in November with two games of the group to go and helped salvage their campaign after dropped points against Real and Union had placed their future in the tournament in jeopardy.

“I said after the match against Cagliari that all the teams who have qualified for the round of 16 are strong and therefore any draw would be difficult,” said Mazzarri.

“This one against Barcelona is especially difficult. For Napoli it will be a thrilling prospect.”

Mazzarri could turn to youngsters Giovanni Simeone, Alessandro Zanoli and Gianluca Gaetano for Tuesday’s Coppa Italia last-16 meeting at home to Frosinone, with the opportunity to rest more established players against the side sitting 13th in Serie A.

Striker Victor Osimhen is one of the players likely to sit out, with either Simeone or Giacomo Raspadori coming in to deputise.

Piotr Zielinski, Mathias Olivera and Eljif Elmas all missed the recent meeting with Cagliari, but Mario Rui could return.

Frosinone boss Eusebio di Francesco called on his side to be more clinical in front of goal against the champions after they went down 2-1 to Lecce on Saturday.

“We have to be a little more concrete and, when the team plays interesting patterns, it’s good,” he said.

“But we have to be more determined and aggressive in front of goal.”

Fluminense rode their luck as they progressed into the FIFA Club World Cup final with a 2-0 victory over Al Ahly in Jeddah.

Jhon Arias converted a 71st-minute penalty awarded when Marcelo was hacked down by Percy Tau, but the goal came in a second half controlled by the Egyptian champions until they ran out of steam.

Tau was presented with a superb chance to redeem himself soon after but his shot failed to match the quality of the long ball played in by Hussein El Shahat.

Veteran midfielder Felipe Melo had to come to Fluminense’s rescue earlier in the half, El Shahat forced a save from Fabio and Mohamed Hany also went close.

Al Ahly were open to the counter attack as they searched for the equaliser and while German Cano was kept out, John Kennedy produced a fine finish after being picked out by Matheus Martinelli for the Brazilians’ second.

Fluminense, making their debut in the competition, will face either Manchester City or Urawa Red Diamonds in Friday’s final at King Abdullah Sports City.

Pep Guardiola has called for change as the fixture burden on players continues to increase.

The Manchester City manager was speaking in light of FIFA’s decision to expand the Club World Cup to a 32-team tournament from 2025.

Guardiola insists he is not against the new event in principle – and City are already guaranteed a place – but he feels something has to give somewhere to ease the workload on players.

The Spaniard told reporters at a press conference: “I am not against the new competitions. I am against the lack of time to recover from year to year.

“This is what I am complaining (about) all the time. For me it doesn’t matter to play every three days, six days, seven days. It is OK.

“But it is really tough to finish the season and then in three weeks restart again and go to Asia, to be financially stable, or the States. That is really, really tough, for ourselves and especially for the players. For myself, things should change. This is my point.

“But how do you change when (after) you finish the season, you go to the States to play another competition? This is the problem.”

Guardiola was speaking in Saudi Arabia, where Champions League winners City are preparing for this year’s edition of the Club World Cup.

They face Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds, the Asian champions, in their semi-final in Jeddah on Tuesday.

“It’s a pleasure to be here, it’s an honour,” said Guardiola.

“It’s the first time Man City are here. That shows how difficult it is. We won’t take it for granted. We take it as a privilege.

“Of course we want to win it. It is a trophy we don’t have. We want to close a little circle, that we have won all the trophies we could do. This is the last one.”

Midfielder Bernardo Silva admitted the schedule facing players at the top level was difficult but was not complaining.

The Portuguese said: “We were not consulted but we try to do our jobs, to represent our clubs the best possible way, and the people that pay our salaries and the fans that support us.

“The reality is the amount of games we have nowadays, and even more with the new competitions, if you look at it, it is a bit crazy because of the rest that players get and the risk of injury is up quite a lot.

“At the end we cannot complain because we earn a lot of money but in my opinion, for the people that love the game, and are entertained by the game, if we have this many games for so long, at the end the games will lose the energy and the intensity.”

City again seem likely to be without striker Erling Haaland, who has missed the last three games with a foot injury. Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku are also with the squad as they near returns to action but they are not expected to play.

Tributes have been paid to “no bigger Blue” Bill Kenwright at a memorial service for the former Everton chairman.

Kenwright died in October aged 78 just a couple of weeks after a major operation to remove a cancerous tumour from his liver and after his family held a small, private funeral, his friends and colleagues from the world of football and entertainment attended Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral to pay their respects.

Current Toffees manager Sean Dyche and his first-team squad – as well as the club’s youth teams – were present as well as former managers and ex-players.

Sir Kenny Dalglish headed a delegation of officials and former players from Everton’s near-neighbours Liverpool, boxer and I’m A Celebrity runner-up Tony Bellew and Coleen Rooney, the wife of former Everton forward Wayne, were also in attendance, while there were also stars of stage and screen.

Mayor of Manchester and Everton fan Andy Burnham said: “Nobody was a bigger Blue than Bill. Nobody had a bigger heart than Bill.

“The legacy of Bill Kenwright is countless acts of generosity which lifted thousands of lives.”

On the building of a new ground at Bramley-Moore Dock, which the club will move to for the start of the 2025-26 season, Burnham said Kenwright’s “mission has been accomplished”.

However, Burnham said his proudest moment came when Kenwright was asked to address the service for the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster held at Anfield.

“His finest hour came in front of the Kop in 2014: here was the chairman of my football club giving a speech which was so right and so full of emotion – and I couldn’t have been prouder of him that day,” he added.

Margaret Aspinall, the former chair of the Hillsborough Family Support Group who lost her son James in the 1989 disaster which claimed 97 lives, built up a close relationship with the former Everton chairman after he offered his support in the wake of the tragedy.

“On behalf of our city we are all going to miss Bill tremendously. Bill Kenwright will never walk alone,” she said.

Kenwright’s long-term partner, the actress Jenny Seagrove, admitted: “He wasn’t my Bill, he was our Bill. He never forgot where he came from.”

Former Everton midfielder Peter Reid also spoke at the service, saying: “What a fitting tribute it would be if we could win a trophy for him. No pressure Dychey.”

Current captain Seamus Coleman said that on his arrival at the club from Sligo Rovers in 2009, Kenwright “helped me understand what Everton Football Club meant to people. Thank you Mr Chairman for making me an Evertonian”.

Away from football, Rufus Norris, artistic director of the National Theatre, described Kenwright as “legendary”.

“He was an absolute giant in the theatre world,” he said.

Everton in the Community’s Spirit choir sang Elton John’s ‘I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues’, while there were also solo performances from Marti Pellow and former Spice Girl Mel C, who sang a song from Kenwright’s long-running West End musical Blood Brothers.

In keeping with his theatrical background there was a standing ovation from the congregation at the conclusion, which finished with a soundbite of Kenwright himself saying: “For one last time, good night and God bless.”

Pep Guardiola wants to “close a little circle” and add the Club World Cup to Manchester City’s trophy haul.

City, who claimed a glorious treble of Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup last season, are in Saudi Arabia for the global competition this week.

They face Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds, the Asian champions, in their semi-final in Jeddah on Tuesday hoping to secure a place in Friday’s final.

City are strong favourites for the tournament but manager Guardiola insists it is far from a foregone conclusion.

Guardiola told reporters at his pre-match press conference: “It’s a pleasure to be here, it’s an honour.

“It’s the first time Man City are here. That shows how difficult it is. We won’t take it for granted. We take it as a privilege.

“Of course we want to win it. It is a trophy we don’t have. We want to close a little circle, that we have won all the trophies we could do. This is the last one.

“I don’t know if we’ll have another chance. Maybe it is a once in a lifetime. It is difficult to be here.

“I think the players know it and we are going to try to perform well tomorrow.”

City’s recent form has been inconsistent with just one win in their last six Premier League games.

Their latest frustrating result came on Saturday as they were pegged back by two late goals to draw 2-2 against Crystal Palace.

That left them five points behind leaders Arsenal but Guardiola is not concerned about performances.

He said: “We prefer better results but, except the Aston Villa game, our performances were excellent.

“We have to improve how we finish our games, be more aware of what we have to do in certain moments but hopefully we can maintain our level of passion and desire to play at a high level with and without the ball against Urawa.”

City are waiting on the fitness of striker Erling Haaland, who has missed the last three games with a foot injury.

Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku have travelled with the squad as they near returns from injury but are unlikely to play.

Midfielder Bernardo Silva said: “Erling is a big player for us, we can’t deny that, but the big strength at City in my time here is, no matter who is missing, we are the same team and we fight for all the titles.”

Silva insisted there was no lack of motivation among the players for the tournament.

He said: “When you play the FIFA Club World Cup there is no tiredness. We are motivated to come here and play the competition.”

Manchester City have been fined £120,000 after their players surrounded referee Simon Hooper in the 94th minute of their 3-3 draw with Tottenham earlier this month.

Hooper made the contentious call to bring play back after he initially played advantage following Emerson Royal’s mistimed challenge on Erling Haaland.

Haaland was able to get back to his feet and produce a through ball which sent Jack Grealish away, but Hooper blew his whistle to end their hopes of scoring a potential winner during that play against Spurs.

It sparked an animated reaction from Man City’s players with Haaland in particular incensed along with manager Pep Guardiola on the touchline.

Haaland expressed his frustration again at full-time and later made clear his bemusement with a post on social-media site X.

The Football Association has now fined City after they admitted their players behaved in an improper way.

“Manchester City FC have been fined £120,000 after their players surrounded a match official at the Premier League game against Tottenham Hotspur FC on Sunday 3 December, an FA statement read.

“Manchester City FC admitted that they failed to ensure their players did not behave in an improper way during the 94th minute.

“An independent Regulatory Commission imposed this sanction following a hearing.”

Mauricio Pochettino confirmed Christopher Nkunku is likely to make his Chelsea debut during Tuesday’s EFL Cup quarter-final against Newcastle at Stamford Bridge but urged fans not to expect him to instantly solve his team’s problems.

Nkunku, 26, has not played competitively for the club after injuring his knee on the pre-season United States tour, weeks after joining from RB Leipzig for £52million.

Last season’s Bundesliga top scorer with 16 goals, he was named in Pochettino’s squad for the first time for Saturday’s 2-0 win against Sheffield United as the team registered back-to-back Premier League home wins for the first time in over a year.

Despite warming up during the second half, the manager opted not to hand him his debut and admitted he had “one or two per cent doubt” about his readiness.

However, the France international is set to see action for the first time on Tuesday for Pochettino’s side, who despite enjoying 80 per cent possession in the first half against the Blades registered only a single shot on target before finally breaking the deadlock in the 54th minute.

“How I see today (Monday), I can tell you maybe he can play 20 minutes,” said the manager. “How I saw him before Saturday in my mind I had one per cent to two per cent of doubt. That’s why I didn’t want to take a risk.

“I need to be one hundred per cent, then things can happen. But if I have one per cent doubt…?

“It was good for him to feel in the warm-up, being involved with the team. But why take a risk when it was 2-0?

“One per cent in my mind was thinking I don’t know if it’s the right moment.”

Chelsea have scored 28 goals in 17 league games this campaign, nine more than at the same stage last season when they went on to record their lowest tally in almost a century, 38.

Yet those goals have come in inconsistent bursts, with the team failing to net at all in the league during September before recovering to knock in 14 in five games several weeks later.

On Saturday, they subjected fans to a desperately poor first half during which they created barely a single chance.

“(Nkunku has trained) only in the last few weeks, after four or five months he was out,” said Pochettino. “The team has evolved and the situation has changed.

“My worry is to put too much pressure on him, to say ‘now has arrived the guy to make us win every single game, to change everything’. I don’t believe it’s going to be like that.

“He needs time to recover his fitness. Hopefully he’ll play tomorrow and score three goals, then be consistent. But the most important thing is not to put too much pressure on him.

“He still hasn’t made his debut in the Premier League and we know how tough that can be for every player that came from outside of England.”

An investigation following the death of Sheffield United player Maddy Cusack has found no evidence of wrongdoing.

Cusack, who made 110 United appearances, died aged 27 in September.

United opened what they described as a third-party investigation into processes and conduct at the club after Cusack’s family raised concerns.

In November, the Maddy Cusack Foundation shared a speech online attributed to Cusack’s mother which it said was given at a memorial service in October. The speech said Cusack’s spirit “was allowed to be broken” by football.

However, the club announced on Monday that the investigation had now closed with no evidence found of any wrongdoing.

“Following a thorough review of the valuable input provided by each of the key witnesses put forward by Maddy’s family and the club, the investigation has found no evidence of wrongdoing,” the South Yorkshire club said in a statement published on their official website.

“The club is always looking for ways to evolve and will reflect on the outcomes and recommendations arising from the investigation to consider how processes and policies may be improved.”

United said everyone at the club remained “deeply saddened” by Cusack’s death. She had worn the number eight shirt “with distinction”, the club said, and was a “valued and popular member” of their marketing department.

“Following Maddy’s death, the club provided staff with the opportunity to engage with additional external support,” the club statement continued.

“As part of the club’s commitment to continual improvement, we have and will continue to review and expand the club-wide well-being support offered to our staff and to increase the learning and development opportunities for all staff around language and culture, welfare and mental health awareness.

“We have also recently strengthened our women’s and girls’ structure with the addition of a new highly experienced head of women’s and girls’ football and other key appointments.

“We wish to offer support to Maddy’s family and the Maddy Cusack Foundation, MC8, and we hope to work with them to continue the lasting positive impact Maddy had on those who knew her.”

A speech said to have been given by Cusack’s mother at a memorial in October read: “The saddest and most utterly heartbreaking reason why I am having to stand here and speak to you today is because of football.

“From February this year, the indomitable, irrepressible spirit, the spirit called Maddy, the spirit that I had so fearlessly protected was allowed to be broken. Taking her away from me.

“Those who knew Maddy well will be aware that she had no long-standing mental health issues or troubles. Not that there would be anything to be ashamed of if there were, but there were not. Those that didn’t know her need to know that.

“Maddy was a happy-go-lucky, carefree girl with everything to live for and by last Christmas could be described as being at her happiest. This all changed gradually from February this year.”

Jonathan Morgan, the head coach of United’s women’s team, was understood to have been the subject of an investigation by the club. It was reported he had stepped away from his duties while an investigation was conducted. The club have been contacted for comment regarding Morgan.

The Maddy Cusack Foundation has been contacted for comment following the club’s statement on Monday.

Todd Cantwell has welcomed the dramatic change of fortunes in recent months that has left resurgent Rangers riding a wave of positivity under Philippe Clement.

The Gers landed the first piece of silverware on Sunday by defeating Aberdeen 1-0 in the Viaplay Cup final, while their cinch Premiership hopes also received a major boost at the weekend as title rivals Celtic suffered a second league defeat in a row at home to Hearts.

The turnaround has coincided with the arrival of manager Clement two months ago following the sacking of Michael Beale in the aftermath of a 3-1 defeat at home to the Dons. The Belgian has overseen a 14-game unbeaten run, including 12 victories.

“In football things change so quickly, in a good way or a bad way,” said midfielder Cantwell. “We’re on a bit of a wave at the moment and we’re enjoying it.

“We’re unbeaten so far and you gain a real big belief from that, and winning a trophy won’t harm it.

“The manager’s building a team that wants to fight and win as many trophies as possible and it’s gone really well so far.

“I’m sure he’s aware that it could have gone the other way when he first arrived and we could have been on the end of some defeats but he’s implemented the way he wants to play and it’s working really well.”

The Viaplay Cup triumph marked Cantwell’s first trophy win since he joined Rangers from Norwich in January.

“The plan was to come here and try and get hold of some trophies so it’s a good start to the season,” he said.

“We’re not going to be remembered for our songs, we’re going to be remembered by what we’ve won by the time we left.

“That’s been here nearly a year now and we’ve got one trophy in the bank and hopefully loads more opportunities to come.”

Celtic’s defeat at home to Hearts means Rangers are now just five points behind their city rivals with two games in hand – the first of which is at home to St Johnstone on Wednesday.

With a potentially pivotal derby showdown at Celtic Park looming on 30 December, Cantwell refused to be drawn on any suggestion that the Hoops were opening the door for the Gers to overhaul them in the title race.

“I don’t really see it like that,” he said. “Every game we play is an important game.

“It sounds like a cliche but it will be the end of the season when we determine who has the most points.”

Cantwell was in the wars in a scrappy final at rain-lashed Hampden on Sunday, with Rangers fans particularly annoyed that Dons captain Graeme Shinnie avoided a caution for seemingly striking the midfielder on the back of the head in an aerial challenge.

“I’ve become accustomed to that sort of treatment so far so there’s no complaints on my side,” he said. “It was a very competitive game of football, Aberdeen made it really difficult for us.

“We had to play to the conditions, it was really boggy out there and the tempo wasn’t as quick as we’d have liked but the win is the important thing. It’s a good morale boost for us.”

Harry Kane racked up his 20th Bundesliga goal in a record 14 games as he fired Bayern Munich to a 3-0 win over Stuttgart on Sunday.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the exploits of the England captain – and his international team-mate Jude Bellingham, who scored again for Real Madrid the same night.

Kane shatters record

Kane’s double against Stuttgart took him to 20 goals in the German top flight 50 per cent quicker in terms of matches than the previous record, held since the Bundesliga’s inaugural season in 1963-64 by Uwe Seeler.

The late Hamburg and West Germany striker scored 20 in his first 21 league appearances for his hometown club and 30 in 30 that season, taking his Hamburg tally to 297 in 267 games after several prolific years in the Oberliga Nord before the formation of the new national top flight.

His record came under threat in 2020 from another name familiar to Premier League fans as Erling Haaland made a mid-season move to Borussia Dortmund from Red Bull Salzburg. The Norwegian scored 11 in 15 games in the remainder of that season and began 2020-21 with 10 in seven.

He therefore missed out on Seeler’s record by one game before passing 20 in style with four in a 5-2 win over Hertha Berlin.

Kane, though, has produced an unprecedented start.

He netted on his Bundesliga debut against Werder Bremen and scored twice against Augsburg before being shut out by Borussia Monchengladbach.

A goal against Bayer Leverkusen made it four in four games, followed by a hat-trick against Bochum. Goals against RB Leipzig and Mainz took him to nine in eight games.

He scored eight in his next three, successive hat-tricks against Darmstadt and Dortmund and a brace against Heidenheim, and also scored against Cologne before Sunday’s historic double.

In all he has three hat-tricks and three doubles and has scored in 11 of his 14 league appearances. Four Champions League goals take his Bayern total to 24 in 21 appearances.

The last man to score 20 goals or more in the first half of a Bundesliga season was Kane’s predecessor in Bayern’s number nine shirt, Robert Lewandowski, who had 22 in 2020-21 and went on to score 41 in the season – breaking Gerd Muller’s Bundesliga record of 40, also for Bayern in 1971-72. Muller in 1968-69 was the only other player to reach 20 by this stage.

Golden Boy Bellingham

Bellingham’s form this year earned him Tuttosport’s Golden Boy award in November and the Kopa Trophy at October’s Ballon d’Or ceremony, awarded respectively to Europe and the world’s best young player.

A stunning start to his LaLiga career has raised the possibility of the 20-year-old pushing for the main Ballon d’Or award in future seasons, with Sunday’s opener in Madrid’s 4-1 win over Villarreal being his 17th goal in 20 appearances for the Spanish giants.

That includes 13 in 15 league games, with doubles against Almeria, Osasuna and bitter rivals Barcelona, the latter to earn a last-minute Clasico win after Barca had led 1-0.

He has also scored Champions League goals against Union Berlin, Braga and in both meetings with Napoli to further justify his claim to Zinedine Zidane’s old number five shirt at the Bernabeu.