Three goals in the opening 30 minutes saw Barnsley win 3-0 against Isthmian League Horsham.
A double from John McAtee made it a comfortable evening for the Oakwell outfit in their FA Cup replay in Sussex.
The League One side got off to the best possible start after just three minutes. A cross from Adam Phillips was only parried by keeper Lewis Carey, and Nicky Cadden followed up from close range.
Barnsley looked assured and doubled their lead seven minutes later. Aiden Marsh crossed in from the byline, and McAtee was left unmarked in the area to power his shot past Carey.
Although Horsham attempted to get a foothold in the tie, the contest was all-but over after 27 minutes.
A long ball from Jordan Williams found McAtee on the edge of the box, and with great touch he lobbed the onrushing Carey for his second of the evening – and the third for Barnsley.
A weak effort from the onrushing Lucas Rodrigues was the first notable chance for the home side.
Phillips forced Carey to tip over the bar as Barnsley successfully navigated a potentially tricky contest.
Emma Hayes admitted it would be a fairytale end to her Chelsea career by lifting the Women’s Champions League for the first time at the end of the season.
Hayes will end her 12-year stay with the west-London club after this campaign.
The Champions League is the one major trophy that has eluded the 47-year-old during that time, with the Blues having lost 4-0 in the 2021 final to Barcelona and reached the semi-finals on three other occasions.
Speaking ahead of Chelsea’s opening Group D fixture v Real Madrid, Hayes told a press conference: “It would be a fairytale to win it, of course. But I didn’t grow up liking fairytales – my sister did.
“I would love nothing more than to be in a winning position with this team.”
Chelsea beat Real 2-0 at Kingsmeadow last season courtesy of goals from Sophie Ingle and Erin Cuthbert before they drew 1-1 in the Spanish capital.
And Hayes, who highlighted the threat of left-back Olga Carmona, believes the experience of playing Wednesday’s opponents has helped her side’s preparations.
She added: “We have analysed last season’s match and Real Madrid’s other matches, including this weekend’s match (7-1 win v Real Sociedad). We know what to expect.
“I think having been here helps, it’s something familiar, but we don’t underestimate them.
“They have many qualities, but I think they have the best on the extremes. The ability to go upwards, especially on the left with Olga.
“They have players looking for the back and putting balls into the area and they are very good in transition.”
Chelsea captain Millie Bright admitted the news of Hayes’ departure is “devastating”.
She said: “It’s been a bit of a whirlwind. I was devastated.
“She is a mentor, a coach, a friend, life coach – it’s more than football playing under her. It is the hard part of football. I feel privileged to have played under her for so long.”
Ezri Konsa had to scrap plans for a winter getaway after his late call-up but the Aston Villa defender always believed it was a case of when rather than if his England chance would come.
The talented 26-year-old has long been tipped for a senior call-up, only to once again miss out on a maiden call-up when the squad for the final Euro 2024 qualifiers was announced last Thursday.
But an injury to Lewis Dunk opened up a last-minute spot in Gareth Southgate’s set-up, leading to a surprise phone call after Villa’s 3-1 victory against Fulham at the weekend.
“I was literally driving home after my game on Sunday,” Konsa said. “Me and the missus were talking about having a little break, going away.
“Two minutes later I ended up getting the call. It was a weird feeling. It didn’t really sink in until I got home.
“The missus was crying a bit, she was more excited than me! I’d rather be here anyway (than on holiday), so it’s fine.”
It has certainly been a whirlwind few days for a player whose belief has never wavered despite much-mooted England opportunities failing to materialise break after break.
“It is a proud moment for me and my family,” said Konsa, who was part of England’s 2017 Under-20 World Cup win.
“It is a dream come true, ever since I was a little kid I wanted to play for England so I’m just grateful for the opportunity.
“I knew I had a lot to work on in my game, only recently in the last two seasons we have excelled at Villa and that part of it has helped me become the player I am today.
“I knew my time would come. It was just a matter of when. I was patient and, as I said, me and my family are really happy.
“I always believe in myself and always back myself and I am really enjoying my football now.”
From Charlton to Brentford and on to Villa, the defender has stepped up when he has needed to and is ready to do the same with England.
Konsa could make his debut in the final Euro 2024 qualifiers at home to Malta or away in North Macedonia, giving him the chance to stake his claim for next year’s finals.
“Yeah of course that is every player’s target to want to go to a major tournament and play for your country,” he said.
“That is definitely on my list and definitely something that I am planning on doing.”
Winning a cap is his first focus as Konsa looks to follow a star-studded group of graduates from Senrab – the well-known east London youth team, where coach Tony Caroll revealed he was nicknamed ‘Little Rio’.
Konsa says Rio Ferdinand was one of the players he idolised, as was John Terry – a fellow ex-Senrab player that he loved growing up and learned a lot from during his time as Villa coach.
“I worked with him for two years and he really helped my game,” Konsa said of “legend” Terry.
“I used to ask him a lot of questions on how he was able to maintain playing at such a high level and he gave me a lot of advice.
“I took that on and it has definitely helped me get to where I am today.
“Yes, he was in touch and he sent me a nice message.
“He just said ‘congratulations’ and that I needed to enjoy it and be myself.”
Referees’ chief Howard Webb believes the VAR came to the correct decision to allow Anthony Gordon’s controversial goal for Newcastle which enraged Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta.
The Spaniard labelled the decision a “disgrace” following his side’s 1-0 defeat last Saturday.
On-field referee Stuart Attwell awarded the goal but it took a four-minute, triple VAR check to determine whether the ball had gone out of play before Joe Willock’s cross, whether Joelinton had fouled Arsenal defender Gabriel, and whether Gordon had been offside.
The recording of the conversation between Attwell, VAR Andy Madley and assistant VAR Stuart Burt was aired on Sky Sports’ Match Officials Mic’d Up.
Madley said he had no conclusive evidence that the ball was out, and he added: “I don’t see a specific foul on Gabriel. I see two hands on his back, but I don’t see anything of a push that warrants him flying forward like that.
“It’s not the goalscorer and it’s not deliberate from him.”
Madley and Burt then checked whether Gordon was offside but they were unable to ascertain whether he was ahead of the ball after it came off Joelinton, so the goal was given.
Webb admitted it “might” have been a foul, but the subjective nature of the decision meant the VAR was correct not to overturn it.
The PGMOL boss said: “An unusual situation with three aspects for the VAR to check whether or not the on-field decision of goal should be overturned.
“We see the ball getting very close to the goal line. Don’t forget we have an assistant referee who is right in line. The ball hasn’t got a lot of pace as it goes to the goal line, so he’s looking right down the line better than any of our cameras.
“And we know the ball is curved, so it can be overhanging the line and we need evidence it’s out, and we don’t have that.
“The ball then comes over and Joelinton challenges Gabriel, and it could be a foul, might be a foul. (But) the VAR decides that the evidence from the footage isn’t clear enough to intervene with a recommendation for a review for a clear error.
“With the talk we’ve seen after, that the opinion is split across a lot of analysis, would suggest that was a correct non-intervention because of the subjectivity.
“And then one of those unusual situations where the ball goes between two players, and trying to identify exactly when the ball leaves Joelinton, is really difficult to establish because of the players being so close together.
“So again, no conclusive evidence that Gordon was offside when the ball was last touched. The VAR went through that diligently and identified no clear evidence to intervene to overturn the goal. The process was actually correct.”
Arteta said he felt embarrassed about the decision in his post-match tirade.
“You have to talk about how the hell did this goal stand up? Incredible. I feel embarrassed,” the 41-year-old Spaniard said.
“I have to now come in here and try to defend the club and please ask for help because it’s an absolute disgrace that this goal is allowed. An absolute disgrace.
“For many reasons, it’s not a goal. More than one reason, it’s not a goal. And there’s too much at stake here. We put so much effort (in).
“It’s so difficult to compete at this level and it’s an absolute disgrace. Again, I feel embarrassed.
“I’ve been more than 20 years in this country and this is nowhere near the level to describe this as the best league in the world, I’m sorry.”
The Buffalo Bills have made a coordinator change, hoping it will give their sputtering offence a jolt.
The Bills announced on Tuesday that they've fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey. He has been replaced on an interim basis by second-year quarterbacks coach Joe Brady.
The staffing change came the morning after Buffalo turned the ball over four times in a 24-22 loss to the Denver Broncos.
Monday's defeat marked the Bills' second straight loss and fourth in six games as the three-time defending AFC East champions dropped to 5-5 and 1 1/2 games behind the first-place Miami Dolphins.
Dorsey was in his second season as Buffalo's offensive coordinator after serving as the team's quarterbacks coach since 2019.
The Bills were second in the NFL in scoring last season with an average of 28.4 points per game, but are averaging 20.5 points in their last six contests.
A big part of Buffalo's struggles stems from the team's inability to take care of the ball, with 18 turnovers on the season - second most in the NFL.
Two-time Pro Bowl quarterback Josh Allen has been in the middle of the team's turnover woes, throwing two interceptions and fumbling once on Monday. His 11 interceptions are the most in the NFL.
Allen's first game with Brady running the offence will come Sunday against the visiting New York Jets.
Eric Dier believes it is still possible for Tottenham to win the Premier League this season.
Spurs made a great start to life under Ange Postecoglou, going unbeaten in their opening 10 games and topping the table.
But the wheels have come off in the last two games as they were beaten 4-1 by Chelsea with nine men and then lost 2-1 at Wolves in a game where they were leading going into stoppage time.
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Dier, who found himself out of the team at the start of the season, says Spurs can still be in the mix along with Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal.
“We’re still at the start of the season, there is still a long way to go,” he said at Web Summit in Lisbon.
“I am experienced enough to know anything is possible.”
Dier’s own future remains in doubt as he is out of contract in the summer and he will be able to talk to foreign clubs at the end of next month.
While the 29-year-old, who grew up in Portugal and played for Sporting Lisbon, is insistent he would like to return to his childhood home once he has retired, he could not promise he will play for Sporting again.
“One day I am sure I will be back. I think it is inevitable, if my wife wants to, we’ll come back one day to live when I have finished my career,” he added.
“To come back and play here, you never know, I can’t say.
“Sporting is my club, it will always be my club, it’s where I spent 12 years. Portugal as well for me is my home.
“I’m 29 so I hope I have a lot of years left to play. I’m still young. Football is my priority.”
Wales midfielder Jordan James is targeting Euro 2024 qualification after enjoying the “best night of my life” against stellar Croatia trio Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic.
Croatia have often carried the tag of having the best midfield in world football, but they had few answers in Cardiff last month as Wales beat them 2-1 to keep hopes of playing at Euro 2024 alive.
James, the 19-year-old Birmingham midfielder, had a huge part to play in that victory alongside Ethan Ampadu, and Wales now meet Armenia and Turkey this week with automatic qualification in their own hands.
“It was probably the best night of my life, as a collective and for me personally,” James said.
“Seeing my family in the crowd and how proud they were, it was a massive win for the country. Hopefully we can do the same in the next two games.
“I don’t think it gets much better than that, but we’ve still got a job to do.
“On paper, that was the toughest game in the group, but we’re not going to take the next two games lightly.
“We know what it means to the country to get to these big tournaments, so that’s our focus and hopefully we can do that.
“Coming into this camp now, we’ll look back on that Croatia game and take confidence into the next two.”
Hereford-born James was capped by England at Under-20 level but qualifies for Wales through his father Tony, who played for his hometown club Newport.
James only made his debut in March – coming on as a substitute in the 1-1 draw away to Croatia in Split – but has started the last two qualifiers, both of which Wales won.
He has now won six caps – an incredible 164 fewer than Real Madrid star Modric – and quickly struck up an effective partnership with Leeds midfielder Ampadu.
“It’s been great. As soon as I played with him the first time, we just clicked,” James said.
“We just work off each other, I think you saw that against Croatia. When we didn’t have possession, we were solid, we did our job and that’s the main thing.
“Ethan is a brilliant player and it’s very easy to play with him. I see him as a leader and I study how he plays because he’s somewhere I want to get to. I could see him being captain one day.
“I’ve had massive trust from the gaffer (Rob Page) at such a young age. Playing for your country, there is a risk but he took it and I’m just trying to repay him for what he’s done for me.”
Wales will secure a top-two place in Group D by taking maximum points from Armenia in Yerevan on Saturday and already-qualified Turkey at the Cardiff City Stadium three days later.
Dropped points will leave Wales relying on favourable results elsewhere if they are to avoid the play-offs in March where the likes of Norway, Poland and Ukraine could be lurking.
Armenia, ranked 95th in the world and 67 places below Wales, stunned Page’s side with a 4-2 Cardiff victory in June.
James said: “There is a bit of revenge there because you don’t like losing.
“We’re athletes, we want to compete, and we don’t like losing against any team.
“It’s not nice and we want to get one back on them. But we know we’ve got a job to do.
“We want to get it done and then focus on Turkey.”
Ezri Konsa was always confident his England chance would come.
The Aston Villa defender, who won the Under-20 World Cup in 2017 and also played for England Under-21s, has been brought into the senior set-up for the first time at the age of 26 for the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta on Friday and North Macedonia next Monday.
Konsa was a late call-up alongside Cole Palmer and Rico Lewis on Sunday, after James Maddison, Lewis Dunk and Callum Wilson withdrew due to injury.
He told a press conference on Tuesday: “I knew I had a lot to work on in my game. Only recently now, the last two seasons, we’ve excelled at Villa and that part of it has helped me become the player I am today.
“I knew my time would come, but it was just a matter of when. I was patient, and I’m proud and me and my family are really happy.
“I’ve always believed in myself, always backed myself. I’m really enjoying my football now at the moment and the rest is taking care of itself.”
Asked if he saw the Euros as a realistic target, Konsa said: “I think that’s every player’s target, to go to major tournaments and play for your country. So that’s definitely on my mind and definitely something I plan on doing.”
Konsa – who described talk in the past of him potentially switching allegiance to Portugal as “just rumours” – has been congratulated in a message on Instagram on his call-up by former England captain John Terry.
Terry, who worked with Konsa when a coach at Villa, wrote: “Congratulations @ezrikonsa. So happy for you mate, you have been excellent and so consistent over the last three years and fully deserve this. Enjoy it Ez…Just the start.”
And Konsa said: “It means a lot coming from a legend like John Terry.
“I worked with him for two years and he really helped my game. I used to ask him a lot of questions on how he was able to maintain playing at such a high level, and he gave me a lot of advice and I definitely took that on and it’s helped me become the player I am.
“He was in touch with me, sent me a nice little message. He just said congratulations, that I need to enjoy it and be myself.”
On the moment he received notification that Gareth Southgate had called him up, Konsa said: “I was driving home from the match on Sunday (Villa’s 3-1 win against Fulham) and me and the missus were talking about having a little break, going away – and then two minutes later I ended up getting the call!
“It was a weird feeling, it didn’t really sink in until I got home. I think my missus was crying a little bit, she was more excited that me. I’d rather be here anyway, so it’s fine.”
Midfielder Jude Bellingham and defender Levi Colwill are the latest pair to withdraw from the squad after they sat out games for Real Madrid and Chelsea respectively over the weekend with shoulder problems.
Southgate has resisted any temptation to bring in any other players to replace Bellingham and Colwill, leaving him with a 23-man squad for the home game against Malta and the trip to North Macedonia.
England are already assured on their place at next summer’s Euro 2024 finals in Germany but Southgate wants to be a top seed when the draw is made in Hamburg next month so victory in both games remains a key target.
Walter Mazzarri has been named as the new manager of Napoli.
The experienced 62-year-old replaces Rudi Garcia, who lasted only five months in the role.
The Serie A champions have struggled in their title defence, winning only six of their 12 matches, and sit 10 points behind leaders Inter Milan.
Napoli revealed the news in a brief post on social media, saying: “Walter Mazzarri is the new coach of Napoli. Welcome back Mister.”
Mazzarri has huge experience in Serie A, including coaching Napoli from 2009 to 2013.
It was a successful tenure, with Napoli qualifying for the Champions League for the first time, winning the Coppa Italia and finishing second in Serie A in his final season.
His most recent job came at Cagliari but he lasted less than a year, leaving in May 2022 with the club on the brink of relegation.
Former Wolmer’s Boyz and UWI goalkeeper, Amal Knight, is happy to rejoin the Reggae Boyz set up ahead of a crucial Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal tie against Canada.
Before appearing on the bench for a recent friendly against Guatemala, Knight was last called up to the squad for a Nations League fixture back in March where he watched from the bench as the teams played out a 2-2 draw.
“It feels good. It’s been probably seven or eight months since I’ve been called up so it feels really good. I’m happy to be here and a part of the squad again,” Knight said in a JFF Live interview on Monday.
The 29-year-old is currently playing for Lexington SC in USL League One and spoke glowingly of his time there so far.
“It has been wonderful. I really enjoyed the season that just ended recently. I look forward to going back in January for pre-season and hopefully I can put in some positive results like last season,” he said.
“In Lexington, the people are really friendly and they warmed up to me a lot. I have a lot of support there. There were rumors probably of me leaving but it seems like I’ll be going back so the fans are happy. There’s a new coaching staff coming in and everyone is looking forward to seeing me back soon,” Knight added.
Knight says in his time away from the squad, he liked what he saw from the Boyz in the group stage of the Nations League where they finished top of Group B with 10 points from four games to advance to the quarters.
“I think we’ve done tremendously well. We’ve progressed really nicely on the table too so it’s just for the guys to keep going,” he said.
They will now take on Canada in the quarter-finals of with the first leg set for Friday at the National Stadium and the second set for next week Tuesday at the BMO Field.
The winners will advance to the Nations League semi-finals as well as the 2024 Copa America in the USA.
“It’s a very important tie against Canada with berths in the Copa America and semi-finals of the Nations League at stake. These are two very important games so hopefully we can take both of them and qualify for both,” Knight said.
LaLiga president Javier Tebas says Jude Bellingham is from a “different planet” and hailed the England midfielder’s impact on the Spanish league.
Bellingham has made a stunning start to life at Real Madrid following his summer switch from Borussia Dortmund, scoring 13 goals in his first 14 games in all competitions.
The 20-year-old, who has pulled out of international duty with England this week due to a shoulder problem, has been the star attraction at the Bernabeu and is already the new star of LaLiga.
Tebas admits people are surprised by how good Bellingham is and it is too early to estimate just how important he will be for the Spanish league from a commercial perspective.
“It’s only been a few months, it’s too soon to know the full extent, but in the viewing levels in the UK Bellingham is having a big impact in our league,” Tebas told the PA news agency.
“He’s an important player and the United Kingdom and other English-speaking areas are attracted to our league because of him.
“Bellingham is a top player, we knew he was a great player but we didn’t realise the level he could reach, at Real Madrid it’s like he’s from a different planet.
“I’m sure he’ll stay for a few more seasons.”
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Tebas, who was speaking at the Web Summit in Lisbon, admitted that the Premier League was bigger than LaLiga, but it was his league that had the best player in Europe.
“We have got the best player in Europe who is English,” Tebas said of Bellingham. “We can’t compare the two countries.
“Obviously the Premier League is bigger but the best player in Europe is playing in Spain.
“So we have the choice to get the best players to come to Spain.”
The 2023-24 Concacaf Nations League resumes this week with this being a decisive window for teams in all three leagues.
League A
The stage is set for the eight quarterfinalists in League A to take the final step to qualifying for the Concacaf Nations League showpiece and, by extension, next year's CONMEBOL Copa America.
The first legs of the four two-legged quarterfinals kicks off on Thursday with the United States hosting Trinidad and Tobago at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas, followed by Costa Rica welcoming in fellow Central American rival Panama at the Estadio Saprissa in San Jose.
A day later on Friday, it will be Jamaica and Canada crossing swords at the National Stadium in Kingston, while Honduras host Mexico at the Estadio Chelato Ucles in Tegucigalpa.
No doubt that all the teams will be aiming for a strong performance ahead of the return legs the following Monday and Tuesday.
League B
The battle for promotion in League B will be hot and heavy across all four groups with so many decisive matches to be played. By the end of the weekend, it will be known which team has won Group A to capture promotion to League A.
St Lucia and Guadeloupe are tied on nine points, with the latter just ahead by a one goal difference. St Lucia are at St Kitts and Nevis on Thursday, and then home versus St Maarten on Sunday, while Guadeloupe travel to St Maarten on Thursday, and then host St Kitts and Nevis on Sunday.
In Group B, Nicaragua holds the advantage heading into the final window, as they sit three points in front of the Dominican Republic. If Dominican Republic drop points on Wednesday at Montserrat and Nicaragua win at Barbados on Friday, Nicaragua clinches promotion.
It is a three-horse race in Group C, with French Guiana (seven points) a nose in front of St Vincent and the Grenadines (six points) and Bermuda (five points). Bermuda host Vincy Heat on Friday to kick things off in a must-win match-up, while French Guiana will look to consolidate their lead atop the table ahead of the final matchday, with a full three points at Belize.
Things are more straightforward in Group D, as Guyana sit on a six-point lead going into their final two matches. The Golden Jaguars only require a point in their Saturday visit to Bahamas to secure promotion to League A.
League C
League C also reaches its climax, and Thursday could be a momentous day for British Virgin Islands, who can clinch promotion to League B if they defeat Dominica at home in Group C.
It is a similar story in Group B, as promotion is there for the taking for Aruba, who can nail down their rise to League B with victory at US Virgin Islands on Thursday.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, Bonaire can keep themselves in the mix in Group A with a win at Anguilla. Bonaire are currently six points behind leaders St Martin. But if Anguilla earn a result on home soil, the group and promotion will belong to St Martin.
Live action of the Concacaf Nations League will be on SportsMax, SportsMax 2 and the SportsMax app.
Liam Cooper insisted Scotland are intent on doing themselves justice at Euro 2024 after failing to win a game in their last tilt at the tournament.
The Scots go into their concluding two qualifiers – away to Georgia on Thursday and at home to Norway on Sunday – having already qualified for the finals in Germany next summer.
Steve Clarke’s men suffered group-stage elimination at Euro 2020 – delayed until 2021 due to Covid – after taking just one point from three games against Czech Republic, England and Croatia.
Leeds defender Cooper – speaking from the Scots’ training base in Turkey ahead of Thursday’s match in Tbilisi – feels they will be better equipped this time to make it to the knockout phase.
“As professionals, I think we put that expectation on ourselves immediately after the last Euros,” he said. “I don’t think we did ourselves justice in that tournament.
“It was a lot of lads’ first taste of a major tournament, including myself, and straight after that we agreed among ourselves that we didn’t really do ourselves justice.
“We’ve got a lot of people, including ourselves, to prove to that we belong there and we can get through the group stages.
“We’ve got an honest bunch of lads and we hold ourselves accountable. We want to be satisfied with the way we performed. We’ve done well in this qualification campaign, to qualify with two games to spare is amazing, but it can’t stop there.
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“To be even more successful, we’ve got to go and do ourselves justice at the Euros. I’m lucky enough to have been at the last Euros, but if the goalposts don’t change once you’ve had a taste of that and you don’t want to go and improve on it next time, then there’s no point in you being here.”
Cooper admits it is a good feeling to go into the last two matches having already qualified but he is adamant the Scots will not be taking things easy over the next week, with top spot in Group A as well as a place in the squad for the finals at stake.
“It’s nice to have qualified with two games to spare, but there’s also that carrot there that if Spain drop points, we can go and win the group,” said the 32-year-old. “That’s our motivation right now. We’ve got to be professional and take our chance if Spain slip up.
“We’ve only got this camp and the next camp to get ourselves in the manager’s thoughts and get in the squad for Germany so that’s also added motivation. We’ve got to put ourselves forward and prove we should be on that plane to Germany.
“I had a taste of that before and it was an amazing experience albeit in difficult times for the world (due to Covid). There were limited people in the stadium so you didn’t get the full experience.
“It was still an amazing experience but I think the Euros next summer will be unbelievable. It’s something you always dream of as a kid so you’ve got to do all you can by playing well and being successful in these next couple of games and into the March camp as well.”
Excitement is building among the Scotland support and players ahead of the draw for the Euros group stage on December 2.
“We’re obviously buzzing for that,” said Cooper. “We can then get booked and our friends and families can start getting booked up.
“It’s been a bit of a nightmare not knowing where we’ll be playing, every person I’ve spoken to has booked about 20 hotels on free cancellation so it will be nice to know where we’re going to be based.
“Once all the logistics of it are sorted out then you can really start to look forward to it. But we’re professionals and we understand there’s a lot of football to be played before then and there’s still a big decision to be made by the manager (regarding squad selection) so there will be no getting too carried away.”
Virgil van Dijk is hopeful Liverpool have rediscovered what it takes to push Manchester City all the way in the Premier League title race again.
The two had epic battles in 2018-19 and 2021-22, when City pipped their north-west rivals by just a single point, while in between those campaigns the Reds clinched their first championship in 30 years.
Having experienced a huge dropoff last season in finishing fifth, Jurgen Klopp’s side have bounced back after a summer midfield rebuild and will resume after the international break with a trip to the Etihad in a first-v-second clash.
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It is the closest Liverpool have been to City in 18 months and Van Dijk believes with consistency in results and fitness they can mount a sustained challenge.
Asked whether he thought they were capable of running City close for the title, the captain said: “I hope so.
“You have all these aspirations, dreams, goals and you want to compete until the very end in every competition we are in.
“That is definitely the case at the beginning of the season and then you grow into a season. It’s November and there is still so much to play for.
“It’s going well, but if we had not got a result against Brentford (a 3-0 win at the weekend) we would have been in that downward spiral – from the outside world of course – because you don’t set it up nicely for the game after the international break.
“Overall this season we have been doing well but the season is not decided in November and there could be so many twists and turns, we all know that.”
Key to that will be staying injury-free. Against Brentford, Liverpool’s options were down to the bare minimum with Alexis Mac Allister suspended and Ryan Gravenberch, Curtis Jones, Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajcetic – plus defenders Joe Gomez, Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate – all unavailable.
Klopp fielded a bench in which only one outfield player was aged over 20 but they got the job done to move into second and set up the intriguing trip to the Etihad a week on Saturday.
“I looked in the dressing room and it felt like we were the under-23s but we still we have the quality, if you are good enough you are old enough,” Van Dijk added.
“But we need to see, we need a bit of luck, we need no injuries and need consistency.
“We finished on a positive feeling and now it is time to focus on something else (internationals).
“When we come back there is a very big one away and we will see if we are ready for that test.”
Waterhouse Football Club extended their unbeaten run to three matches after they came from behind to secure a 1-1 stalemate with Cavalier FC in a lukewarm Wray and Nephew Jamaica Premier League encounter at Sabina Park on Monday.
Christopher Ainsworth (33rd) sent Cavalier in front, but his strike was cancelled out by Denardo Thomas's 40th-minute strike.
The result saw Waterhouse inching up to seven points and into second position, while Cavalier, who will contest the Concacaf Caribbean Cup final in a few weeks, remain ninth on four points.
What started out as a cagey affair gradually developed after both teams started showing some attacking intent close to the half-hour mark.
Cavalier struck first through Ainsworth, as the 18-year-old executed a deft left-footed effort that had Kemar Foster, in goal for Waterhouse, beaten all ends up.
Thomas responded to Ainsworth's second goal of the season, with his second as well when he arrived at goalmouth to bury Javane Bryan's pass across the face of goal.
Waterhouse thought they were heading to the break in front when Bryan scored a rebound from Andre Fletcher's initial effort that came back off the upright but was later ruled offside.
Cavalier came out purposeful on the resumption and almost found the go-ahead goal when Jerome McLeary played through Shaneil Thomas, whose effort from close range was kept out by Foster who got down well to his right.
The Drewsland-based Waterhouse again went close in the 62nd minute when Navardo Blair's decent overlapping run down the left channel opened space for a cross inside the danger area. It took a crucial deflection by Cavalier's goalkeeper Jeadine White to avert the danger, as Bryan closed in fast at the far post.
However, the game dropped in tempo from there with chances at a premium, as both teams were seemingly content with sharing the spoils.
Waterhouse's assistant coach Damion Gordon agreed that the performance wasn't their best.
"There were some moments in the game where I think we could have won it, but that's football, we should have taken our chances. What we (and Cavalier) did was try to cancel out each other and I think that is what you saw. In the first half they tried to press us and then second half they sat deep, I think we were the better team but again, it's football and I think there are a lot of things that we can work on, more so how we convert our chances," Gordon declared.
Cavalier's Head coach Rudolph Speid took more pleasure in the outcome.
"It was a good game and I thought we did very well. We were up against a quality team that is on a high from their recent win, so I wouldn't knock my team too hard.
"I would have preferred a win but that is how it goes sometimes. We play to a system all the time, and we are prepared for a long season, it's just the fatigue that we have to guard against," Speid shared.
Matchweek Four Results
Molynes United 1, Mount Pleasant 3
Vere United 1, Montego Bay United 1
Dunbeholden FC 0, Portmore United 2
Treasure Beach 1, Lime Hall 0
Arnett Gardens 1, Tivoli Gardens 3
Harbour View 2, Humble Lion 2
Cavalier 1, Waterhouse 1
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