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• Koeman bemused by 'frustrating' Van Dijk red against Hungary

  Netherlands head coach Ronald Koeman was left perplexed by Virgil van Dijk's "frustrating" red card in his side's 1-1 draw with Hungary on Friday. 

  Van Dijk, making his 77th appearance for his country, received the first dismissal of his international career with two yellow cards in the space of three minutes in the second half.

  The first booking stemmed from his protests to referee Lukas Fahndric after a foul on Donyell Malen, before committing a foul soon after to receive his marching orders.

  Van Dijk's dismissal looked to have settled the contest after Roland Sallai had smashed home Zsolt Nagy's cross to hand Hungary a goal advantage in the first half. 

  But the Netherlands drew level four minutes after going down to 10 men when Denzel Dumfries headed Cody Gakpo's free-kick beyond Denes Dibusz to seal a share of the spoils. 

  Speaking after the game, Koeman was left baffled by the decision to hand Van Dijk a first yellow card for discussing the foul on Malen with the referee. 

  "That moment was frustrating," Koeman told the NOS. "I don't understand it. I think we agreed that a captain can protest to a referee.

  "That foul [on Malen] was good for a red card. There was no intention at all to play the ball. That Virgil then takes that second card is not convenient. He knows that himself."

  Van Dijk's red card also saw him become the oldest player to be sent off (33 years and 95 days) since Phillip Cocu (34 years and 313 days) against the same opponents. 

  The Liverpool captain had enjoyed a solid game up until his dismissal, completing more passes (145) than any other player, 99 of which came in the first 45 minutes, only adding to his frustration in his assessment at full-time. 

  "[The red card] is a bummer. It should not have happened. But I'm especially angry about the first," Van Dijk told ESPN Netherlands.

  "They say the captain is the only one who can talk to the referee. I walk up to him. Up tempo, but not in a nasty way, not at all. Very respectful.

  "Because I felt it was a breakaway player, he did not go for the ball at all. If even the captain can not say anything ... then it gets difficult."

• Palmer will become one of the world's best players, predicts Cucurella

  Cole Palmer will be among the very best players in the world if he continues on his current trajectory, believes the forward's Chelsea team-mate Marc Cucurella.

  Palmer enjoyed a magnificent debut campaign in 2023-24 after swapping Manchester City for Stamford Bridge, with his 33 Premier League goal involvements (22 goals, 11 assists) the most of any player.

  After impressing for England at Euro 2024 – where he came off the bench to score in their 2-1 final defeat to Spain – Palmer has picked up where he left off this term, registering 11 goal contributions (six goals, five assists) to once again lead the charts.

  He became the first player in Premier League history to score four goals before half-time in a single game versus Brighton and Hove Albion in September, when he scooped the competition's Player of the Month award.

  Palmer also won England's Player of the Year award for last campaign and Cucurella, who was a key part of the Spain team that defeated the Three Lions in Berlin, believes he is destined for the very summit.

  "If you see him not in his kit you would never in your life say he was a footballer, but then on the pitch... he shoots and it doesn’t seem like he is hitting it hard but he scores," Cucurella said in an interview with The Guardian.

  "He's very different. I don't know how to explain it: he's special. We’re very lucky we have him. 

  "We [Spain] are lucky he didn’t play much in the Euros either because he came on and almost messed it up for us. 

  "If he carries on like this, he'll be among the best. He doesn't have much strength in the air, but if that’s his only problem, then he's all right."

   

  Chelsea are unbeaten in six Premier League games since going down 2-0 to champions City on matchday one, with boss Enzo Maresca winning the competition's Manager of the Month prize for September.

  Though it is still early days for the Italian coach, Cucurella says the Blues have lofty ambitions under him.

  "Our objective has to be to win a trophy," he said. "In the Conference League we can do something good, and the cups. 

  "Arsenal and City have been working in the same way for many years, the same idea, the same players, and I think we’re a bit far away from that. 

  "Liverpool too because it's been the same players. But we can get into the Champions League, that's the key objective."

• Arsenal 'envious' of Chelsea's WSL dominance, admits McCabe

  Arsenal are "envious" of the era of dominance over the Women's Super League enjoyed by rivals Chelsea, admitted Katie McCabe ahead of Saturday's derby between the sides.

  Chelsea have won five straight WSL crowns, edging out Manchester City on goal difference last season to give Emma Hayes a triumphant send-off before she joined the United States.

  Now under the stewardship of former Lyon boss Sonia Bompastor, Chelsea are the only team in the WSL with a perfect record this term, winning their opening two matches before seeing last week's clash with Manchester United postponed.

  Arsenal, on the other hand, have already played out home draws with Man City and Everton, ramping up the pressure ahead of Saturday's game at the Emirates Stadium.

  Asked by reporters how it felt to see Arsenal's rivals dominate year after year, full-back McCabe said: "It always hurts.

  "You want that to be you. You are in a team sport to be lifting trophies with your team-mates.

  "Of course you are envious of them being successful. What we can do is focus on ourselves and put one foot in front of the other. Hopefully, by the end of the season, that will be us."

  While Chelsea approach this weekend's headline fixture as favourites, they were trounced 4-1 in this exact game last December, with Alessio Russo scoring twice in one of just three league defeats the Blues suffered all campaign.

  Looking back at that victory, McCabe said: "We take those moments as positives and bring it in and really instil that winning mentality into the team.

  "We already did it last year, so it's not a new thing for us. It is about controlling ourselves, controlling our gameplan and what we want to do in the game and applying it."