Rob Edwards revealed he would have joined critics in writing off Luton’s Premier League survival chances before the start of the season if he had been an outside observer.

The Hatters boss saw his side win for the third time since their top-flight return against Newcastle on Saturday to pull to within two points of 17th-place Nottingham Forest.

It continued an impressive run at Kenilworth Road that in their previous four home games had seen them beat Crystal Palace and take the lead against Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City, albeit taking only a single point from those three fixtures.

Victory against bottom side Sheffield United on Boxing Day could see them move out of the bottom three for the first time since the start of December, when they briefly pulled clear by virtue of Everton’s 10-point deduction.

There has been a noticeable improvement in the quality of performances since the team were beaten in each of their first four games of the season.

And despite his side now looking a better bet for survival than they did in August, Edwards said he too might have been ready to dismiss Luton’s chances had he not been manager.

However, he was not in the mood to forgive those that prematurely counted the team out.

“To be honest I probably would have written us off as well, from outside,” he said. “But I think there’s ways of doing that and I think some people were disrespectful with how they did it.

“That angered me a little bit, but I don’t use that. I can’t affect what other people think or say or write. Some people gave good rationale; smallest budget, promoted out the play-offs, first time in the Premier League. I get that. But some of the stuff that was written was crackers.”

Edwards’ team made Newcastle look ordinary for large parts of Saturday’s victory, the first match Luton had played since captain Tom Lockyer suffered a cardiac arrest during the previous weekend’s game against Bournemouth.

The manager said prior to the match that his team had sought a win for the sake of the absent 29-year-old, who was discharged from hospital on Thursday, but later insisted that victory against Newcastle had not been fired solely by emotion and sentiment.

“The performances have been good,” he said. “We haven’t won the game (against Newcastle) just because of what’s happened. We wanted to do it for Tom, but the performances have been there.

“It was probably more complete, we were able to put it together for 97 minutes. Maybe against Arsenal we had 75 minutes, against City we had around 60.

“The players have been performing really well for a long time now. I think we’ve been changing the narrative around us as well, around the football club with those performances. (On Saturday) we just got the result.”

Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s purchase of a 25 per cent stake in Manchester United is due to be announced later on Christmas Eve, according to a report.

Confirmation of the investment by the 71-year-old’s Ineos Group would end a saga which has lasted more than a year.

Sky News has reported that a deal is set to be announced, 13 months after the club’s United States-based owners the Glazer family revealed their intention to undertake a strategic review of their options, including the possibility of selling up.

Ratcliffe and Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim were both in the running to oversee a buyout of the club until October.

Sheikh Jassim withdrew his bid for full control of the club on October 14, with Ratcliffe’s focus shifting to taking a significant minority stake.

Ratcliffe’s Ineos Group is expected to pay in the region of £1.25billion for the share purchase, while also acquiring significant control over footballing operations.

It has also been reported that Ratcliffe is prepared to invest a further £245million to improve the club’s ageing infrastructure.

Chelsea slumped to a third defeat in four Premier League games as second-half goals from Mario Lemina and Matt Doherty earned Wolves a deserved 2-1 victory at Molineux.

Lemina headed in unmarked from Pablo Sarabia’s corner early in the second period, just reward after Gary O’Neil’s side had weathered early pressure and the hosts had spurned a host of chances, most glaringly from Raheem Sterling.

Chelsea laboured to find a way back, but as so often this season failed to find the key pass in the final third, with Cole Palmer noticeably out of sorts.

Then in stoppage time and with the visitors committed forward, Wolves broke and Hugo Bueno crossed for Doherty to take advantage of a poor clearance to slam home a second.

Substitute Christopher Nkunku headed his first Chelsea goal in the dying minutes, but Mauricio Pochettino’s side slipped to a third away league defeat on the spin.

Armando Broja spurned the game’s first opening. After Sterling fed Malo Gusto down the right, his low cross into the box arrived perfectly at the foot of the Albanian, playing as a lone striker with Nicolas Jackson moved to the wing. Looking to shoot first time, Broja kicked at fresh air and the chance was gone.

Sterling was Chelsea’s clearest danger in the first half, running at Wolves down either flank and pitching inviting deliveries. The best of them fell to Jackson who had found space, but as the ball dropped, his touch failed to match his movement and the pass squirmed beneath his foot and away.

After half an hour, it was the turn of his team-mates to vent their anger towards the England international. Sterling did brilliantly to harry and dispossess Joao Gomes, Wolves’ last man, who dithered on the ball deep in his own half. With the defence stranded upfield, Sterling advanced on goal with Jackson and Palmer wide open beside him. Either player would have had a tap-in; instead, Sterling inexplicably went alone and hit a weak shot straight at Jose Sa.

Wolves’ best chances of the half came in the closing seconds, first when Sarabia fired just wide from the edge of the box via a deflection, then Hee Chan Hwang raced clear of Levi Colwill from a ball over the top and lashed over.

They began the second half with similar urgency, Gomes hitting a shot that nicked off Lesley Ugochukwu and grazed the post before defender Toti got forward from the back and drew an outstanding point-blank save from Chelsea’s stand-in goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic.

It was a warning the visitors did not heed and the goal moments later was an almost carbon copy of Toti’s chance. Sarabia’s corner dropped into the heart of the Chelsea penalty area, but despite the obvious danger no one in blue jumped or moved to attack the ball.

That left Lemina with a simple header, climbing above the grounded Ugochukwu to nod towards the back post and in beyond the stranded Petrovic.

Pochettino sent on Nkunku for his Premier League debut, with the ineffectual Broja departing. He nearly offered Chelsea instant reprieve, denied on the goal line by Toti, who gratefully booted clear.

Sterling then went close again, set up by Palmer on the right after Nkunku had picked him out only for an heroic last-ditch block from Craig Dawson diverting the ball over Sa’s crossbar. The balance of the game was tipping in Chelsea’s favour.

Their growing confidence led to their undoing. Three minutes into added time, Bueno broke down the left, Benoit Badiashile’s attempted clearance was atrocious and Doherty crashed it home to take the roof of Molineux.

Nkunku headed in from Sterling’s cross minutes later, but barely any Chelsea fans had stayed to see it.

Juventus have given positive fitness updates on Manuel Locatelli and Alex Sandro.

The pair were substituted in Saturday’s 2-1 Serie A win at Frosinone after picking up injuries.

A Juventus statement read: “After the knock picked up in yesterday’s match against Frosinone, Manuel Locatelli underwent tests this morning at the J|Medical centre that ruled out any fracture and confirmed an oblique contusion.

“For Alex Sandro, meanwhile, an MRI scan on his right thigh ruled out muscular injuries and indicated a hamstring overload.

“Their condition will be assessed from day to day.”

Locatelli suffered a fractured rib that ruled him out of international duty in November.

Juventus are next in action at home to Roma on Saturday.

Rangers beat Motherwell 2-0 at a wet and wild Fir Park and return to chasing the heels of cinch Premiership leaders Celtic.

Kieran Dowell started and finished the move for the opening goal in the fourth minute before fellow midfielder Todd Cantwell fired in a second after 16 minutes of a first half which should have brought more goals, but in a wind-affected encounter the early brace proved enough.

The Light Blues moved back to being two points behind their Old Firm rivals with a game in hand and now turn their focus to Ross County on Wednesday night, with the crucial encounter at Celtic Park on December 30 now looming large.

Philippe Clement has gone 16 games unbeaten since taking over from Michael Beale in October but, by contrast, the Steelmen have gone 15 games without a win and they remain five points ahead of second bottom Livingston.

Boss Stuart Kettlewell must wonder how and when they are going to turn it around as he prepares for the trip to Aberdeen in midweek.

An increasing injury list amid a hectic fixture schedule saw Clement make four changes, with Leon Balogun, Cantwell, Dujon Sterling and Cyriel Dessers returning with the home side unchanged.

It was a nightmare start for Kettlewell’s side who soon found themselves a goal down.

Dowell robbed Harry Paton at the edge of the Motherwell penalty area and played a one-two with Dessers before blasting the ball high past Well keeper Liam Kelly for his second goal for the Light Blues since signing in the summer from Norwich.

Well wobbled further when asked to defend.

Balogun headed a Ross McCausland cross over the bar from close range before Kelly made a save from a Connor Goldson header.

However, the second goal was on its way, arriving when left-back Ridvan Yilmaz’s cross into the box was controlled by Abdallah Sima with Cantwell running in to sweep the ball low past the diving Kelly.

A speculative drive from Callum Slattery which skipped past the Rangers goal was their only real response.

Dessers and Goldson both failed to finish from just yards out and Kelly saved a low drive from Dessers as Rangers sporadically threatened.

In the 35th minute, with the rain still cascading amid swirling wind, Dessers swung and missed the ball after Kelly had parried an angled-shot from McCausland.

Motherwell stuck to their considerable task but they could not get through to Gers keeper Jack Butland and it was Kelly who was called into action again just before the break, tipping a Cantwell drive over the bar, but the home side eventually emerged unscathed.

Motherwell, with Paul McGinn on for centre-back Bevis Mugabi, caused some problems for the Govan side at the start of the second half and Brodie Spencer headed wide from a Mika Biereth cross when he ought to have hit the target.

There was a Motherwell penalty shout in the 75th minute when Yilmaz bumped Spencer to the ground inside the Gers box but referee David Dickinson was unmoved and the Rangers escaped a melee in their penalty area moments later.

The home side’s fightback fizzled out.

Dessers had the ball in the Well net in the 82nd minute and again in stoppage time but was twice ruled offside, and there was also a VAR check for a possible penalty for handball in the Rangers box that came to nothing.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has played down fears of a left-back crisis after Kostas Tsimikas joined Andy Robertson on the injured list.

The Greece international broke his collarbone in the 1-1 draw at home to Arsenal after a challenge from Bukayo Saka saw him collide with his manager in the technical area before falling heavily.

With Robertson, who has been out since October with a dislocated shoulder which required surgery, still a few weeks away from returning, it leaves utility man Joe Gomez, the central defender who has been filling in at right-back to give Trent Alexander-Arnold a break, as the only realistic option.

Even left winger Luis Diaz, who has occupied the role this season as more of an attacking option when Liverpool were chasing the game, is an injury doubt after sustaining a knee problem against the Gunners.

The 18-year-old Luke Chambers has made Europa League and Carabao Cup appearances this season, but is unlikely to be given the responsibility at Burnley on Boxing Day, at home to Newcastle or in the FA Cup away to Arsenal, but may have to provide some support.

“Can Joe play all the games now until I don’t know when? I don’t know, we’ll have to see,” said Klopp.

“Robbo will be back (next month) and Kostas will be definitely out for a long while. I didn’t have time to think it through yet, but it is really tough for us now.

“You have injuries sometimes and you have to accept all of them, but a broken collarbone is really bad because it takes so long to heal.

“Robbo had a different injury, but it takes a long time to recover as well. We all know we need luck in these moments and now we have to just make sure we put Joey in cotton wool and make sure he is ready for the game.”

The injuries to Tsimikas and Diaz adds to an already lengthy list which includes Robertson, Joel Matip (ACL), Thiago Alcantara (hip), Diogo Jota (hamstring), Alexis Mac Allister (knee) and Stefan Bajcetic (calf).

Even with the January Premier League break, Liverpool still have at least seven matches – eight if they progress in the FA Cup – in the next month with a two-legged Carabao Cup semi-final against Fulham adding to the congestion at an already busy period.

But Klopp has increasingly fewer options to rotate and with Burnley buoyed by their win at Fulham, he knows he cannot afford to take their trip to Turf Moor lightly.

“I don’t need the Burnley result to understand their quality,” he added.

“Burnley could have easily had much more points because they had so many good spells in the games where they never saw the situation off, because of young players and some decisions.

“If they could finish these situations off they would definitely win more games. I respect Vinny (Vincent Kompany) a lot because he keeps pushing his idea through.

“I’m impressed with what they are doing and we know if you win once and are coming back to your home stadium you want to win again, and that is what we expect from them.”

Arsenal defender Ben White has hailed the influence centre-backs William Saliba and Gabriel are having on the Gunners’ season.

The form of the pair has helped Arsenal to the top of the table with the joint-best defensive record and although they did not manage to keep out Liverpool, with whom they share the record, the security they offered gave the visitors the confidence to take a positive approach in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Anfield.

A week ago a struggling Manchester United side left Liverpool with a point after a dour defensive display in which the home side had 34 attempts on goal.

By contrast Arsenal restricted Liverpool to 13, the same as they had themselves.

“They are unbelievable together. They are so strong and powerful. They make it easier for everyone around them,” White said of the centre-back pair.

“They just don’t do too much wrong, do they? They are so consistent every game.

“No one is dominating them speed-wise or strength-wise. It’s hard for strikers to come up against and find anything positive to come out of the game.”

Arsenal also benefited from their willingness to take the game to Liverpool, who had won 11 in a row at home before the United draw.

“I think when you come here it’s so, so tough and to come away with a point is probably a positive,” added White.

“That’s what we have got now, we are such a positive team. We wanted to come here and win, and I think you see that from our performance.”

The European Super League's pledge to stream all matches for free is unsustainable and merely a ploy to coax fans into supporting the project.

That is the view of finance expert Dan Plumley, who does not see how a breakaway competition could offer enough prize money to earn the support of clubs while showing games for free. 

Despite a backlash from fans, players and media thwarting the Super League's attempted launch in 2021, the project reared its head again this week with a reworked format being announced.

After the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled FIFA and UEFA "abused a dominant position" in blocking the Super League two years ago, the competition's organisers, A22 Sports, revealed a new format for the tournament, which is still supported by Real Madrid and Barcelona. 

The plan features promotion and relegation across three tiers and also includes a promise to make all games free to stream, but Plumley doubts whether that is possible.

"Everything we've seen throughout history would point to the fact that won't be sustainable, which is where the finances and the distribution models get interesting," he told Stats Perform. 

"We've seen the proposed format of the new ESL but we've not seen the financial distribution mechanisms, we've not seen where the money's coming from and if you are going to promote a free-to-air model through a streaming service, that obviously looks good for the fans.

"But at some point you have to have some form of broadcaster to be able to generate prize money and to generate the finances of the competition. 

"Everything I've seen throughout the years would suggest that you can't go that long without a decent broadcasting deal or big commercial and sponsorship partnerships." 

Asked whether the promise of free coverage was purely intended to get fans onside, Plumley added: "Yeah, for sure. 

"You've probably made the most relevant point there, which is how much people are paying currently for sports subscription content. 

"Talking from a basis of us being located in the UK, it's not cheap. If you want a Sky Sports subscription, a TNT Sports subscription, the Amazon one… it does become quite costly for the fans. 

"So to have something that is free at the point of consumption is obviously a hook for fans to come on board with it. 

"I think we've clearly seen the backlash in the UK with the English clubs and many English fans. 

"Even if it is free-to-air and dependent on the clubs that would be involved, I think some would still turn around and say: 'No, thank you very much. Even if it's free, I'm not interested'. 

"But there is a whole range of international fans out there that follow European football and follow some of these clubs. Maybe some of those are interested. 

"You look at it through your own lens, but you also have to look at it through the lens of others. Obviously it's a ploy to try and get some positivity on board by offering it free-to-air."

Plumley said the only way the project could succeed financially with a free-to-air model was through the potential involvement of a state wealth fund.

"I think where you might see some shift in the future, and this might start to make it bigger than Europe, is will we see sovereign state wealth funds or private equity consortiums get involved with the financing of the competition, to enable them to show some free-to-air content?" Plumley said.

"In the 2021 project, it was supposed to be financed by JP Morgan and we saw that American influence, we've seen an explosion in Saudi Arabian football in the last couple of years. 

"Do one of those other big players in the market get involved in the future? I think all those questions are a little bit up in the air at the minute. 

"At some point, you have to start talking about broadcasting deals because there's only so much free-to-air content you can give away if you're going to be putting a load of prize money on the table."

Luke Shaw surveyed the wreckage of Manchester United’s latest defeat and admitted: “It’s just not good enough.”

The Red Devils went down 2-0 at West Ham to slip to their 13th loss from 26 matches this season.

They have now gone four matches in a row without scoring for the first time since 1992 after another limp display.

“It’s just not good enough really, we have to win games and that’s it,” full-back Shaw told TNT Sports.

“We keep losing games, losing points and we’re making it very hard for ourselves – especially that second half, it’s not good enough.

“In the first half, we controlled the game, I think we had chances again. If we score the first goal, maybe the result is different, but we don’t, so we suffered in that second half and, again, it’s not good enough.”

Second-half goals from Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus lifted West Ham up to sixth in the Premier League, while United slid down to eighth.

Hammers boss David Moyes came in for criticism for making six changes in their 5-1 Carabao Cup defeat at Liverpool in midweek.

But the Scot stood by that decision as he looked back on a largely successful 2023, including West Ham’s memorable Europa Conference League win last season.

“Our record here at home is as good as most,” he said. “Of course we can think of clubs who will do better, but for us we’ve had a brilliant year.

“The players we’ve had, whether they’ve gone or whether it’s new ones we’ve brought in, we’ve had a fantastic year, with a trophy in the middle of it.

“It looks like if you don’t quite give everyone what they want then you get criticism for it, but I don’t think we could have won on Saturday if we had played all the players in midweek.”

Tottenham will have to assess Cristian Romero and Richarlison ahead of Thursday’s Premier League trip to Brighton.

The duo were forced off during Spurs’ hard-fought 2-1 win over Everton with hamstring and back injuries respectively.

A third consecutive win ensured Tottenham will spend Christmas Day in the top four, but Romero and Richarlison have provided boss Ange Postecoglou with more fitness concerns.

On Romero, Postecoglou revealed: “He felt tiredness in his hamstring just before half-time, so we had to take him off.”

The prognosis on Richarlison was better after the forward continued his fine form with a fourth goal in three matches on Saturday.

Spurs will check on the South American duo on Sunday before the players return to training on Boxing Day after being given Christmas Day off.

“Yeah, Richy’s OK. He’s kind of had a sore back in training (on Friday),” Postecoglou added.

“He wasn’t 100 per cent, but he was keen to start. He got through the game, pleasing for him that he took his goal well and worked hard for us, but I kind of knew that at some point I’d have to take him off.

“I don’t think it’s anything serious.”

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Tottenham will be hopeful Richarlison is fine, especially with top goalscorer Son Heung-min set to be away on international duty during January.

Son grabbed his 11th goal of the campaign in the Everton win, which betters his league tally from the 2022-23 season when he struggled with a sports hernia, which was only operated on in May.

Richarlison underwent the same procedure last month and has been backed to keep flourishing now he has solved the problem.

Spurs captain Son told PLP: “Richarlison went through similar to what I had last season.

“He is always hungry for goals and for work. He is playing pain-free and looks totally different as a player, so I’m very happy for him.

“If he carries on like this, he can be one of the greatest strikers in the Premier League.”

Postecoglou’s side could count themselves fortunate to claim all three points after Everton provided a tough test.

While Spurs went 2-0 up inside 18 minutes, Sean Dyche’s team created a number of chances with home goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario denying Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Jack Harrison, James Garner and Arnaut Danjuma.

Everton also had the ball in the net in the 51st-minute through Calvert-Lewin, but referee Stuart Attwell ruled out the effort after VAR told him to review the incident, with Andre Gomes adjudged to have fouled Emerson Royal in the build-up.

Toffees defender Jarrad Branthwaite told the official club website: “It was never a foul in my eyes.

“They put it on the big screen, and I think everyone sees. Once (the referee) goes over to the monitor, he’s going to give it. It’s never a foul and it just kills the game. It should be a clear goal, for me.

“He hasn’t won the ball, but he hasn’t touched the man, and he just falls over. It’s one of those things and we can’t do anything about it now.”

Carlos Carvalhal left Sheffield Wednesday on December 24, 2017 after two and a half years in charge at Hillsborough.

The Portuguese, who guided the Owls to the play-offs in his first two seasons at the helm, departed the Sky Bet Championship club by mutual consent on the back of a seven-game winless run.

His exit came just hours after chairman Dejphon Chansiri released a statement of support for his head coach after fans chanted for his dismissal in the wake of a 2-1 home defeat to Middlesbrough a day earlier.

Carvalhal said on Wednesday’s official website: “The chairman and myself talked after the game and we believed this was the correct timing to make this decision.

“Of course, I am very sad at this moment because I have enjoyed my two seasons and a half so much with Sheffield Wednesday.

“We had two fantastic seasons and two play-offs in a row but unfortunately we have not managed to replicate these positions this season.

“Now is the time to focus on the wonderful experiences I have enjoyed at Sheffield Wednesday and the friends I have made.”

Carvalhal’s exit came as something of a surprise given how quickly it followed an apparent vote of confidence from Chansiri.

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The Thai businessman, who appointed Carvalhal in 2015, added: “I would like to offer my sincere thanks to Carlos for the time, effort and commitment he has given Sheffield Wednesday over the last two and a half years.

“Both parties believe the time is right to go our separate ways. I maintain a huge amount of respect for Carlos as a coach and as a person and he will always be welcome at Hillsborough. I wish him every success in the future.”

Jos Luhukay was named the new Wednesday boss on January 5, 2018 and they finished 15th that season. They suffered relegation in 2020-21 but were promoted back to the Championship last season after a remarkable play-off semi-final comeback against Peterborough.

Carvalhal was quickly appointed by Swansea but failed to save them from Premier League relegation and left at the end of the season. He is currently manager of Greek side Olympiacos having been appointed earlier this month.

Mauricio Pochettino called on the Premier League to reassess the way it schedules fixtures over the Christmas period to even out the time that teams have to recover.

Chelsea face Wolves at Molineux on Christmas Eve before welcoming Crystal Palace to Stamford Bridge three days later.

Palace, by contrast, will have had double the recovery time having most recently played six days earlier on December 21 against Brighton.

Gary O’Neil’s side will also have enjoyed two extra recovery days compared with Pochettino’s team, with Chelsea having been in action against Newcastle in their Carabao Cup quarter-final on Tuesday.

The Blues will have played a total of eight games in December by the time they sign off 2023 with a game away at Luton on December 30.

Pochettino was asked whether he believed too much was expected of players over the festive period, but insisted that his priority was every team being given equitable time to recover between fixtures.

“The problem is the difference between the teams,” he said. “If we all play on the 24th or we all play on the 27th, we are in the same circumstance.

“But the problem is that one plays (on the 21st) another on the 27th. That is a big disadvantage or advantage. But I don’t complain.

“The problem is to organise the situation better, because it’s not fair. It’s not to make an excuse, not to open the umbrella before the rain.

“But come on, it’s a fact. It’s the reality.”

The manager reiterated his call for patience with summer signing Christopher Nkunku after he made a long-awaited debut during Tuesday’s quarter-final win.

The 26-year-old performed well on Chelsea’s pre-season United States tour before picking up a knee injury which required surgery.

Since then, the team have signed Cole Palmer from Manchester City, who can occupy similar positions in the final third of the pitch as Nkunku, whilst Pochettino has also gained more of a sense of his favoured starting XI and style.

“I don’t see him in a different way, only that after his injury he is a different player than before, because of the form today,” said the manager.

“Maybe in some positions it’s going to be tough for him to cope with the demands. You will see in the future.

“I’m not going to put pressure on him. I’m so happy that he made his debut against Newcastle. We’re going to push him, to help him to perform better every day.

“He needs to be clever also to understand that he needs to push himself. He needs to make a double effort, double in everything. He needs to make an impact.

“In the long term, he’s going to be important for the club and for the team.”

Serie A leaders Inter Milan earned their fourth straight league win after beating Lecce 2-0 at San Siro, ensuring they would remain four points clear of Juventus until after Christmas.

The hosts had plenty of chances to go in front in the first half and Yann Aurel Bisseck finally made the breakthrough just before half-time.

Hamza Rafia had a header saved as Lecce searched for an equaliser, but Nicolo Barella doubled Inter’s lead and the visitors were reduced to 10 in the final stages when Lameck Banda was sent off.

Juventus kept pace thanks to substitute Dusan Vlahovic’s towering header in the 81st minute to hand the visitors a 2-1 victory over Frosinone.

Juve teenager Kenan Yildiz had opened the scoring 12 minutes into his full Serie A debut, but saw it cancelled out by Jaime Baez six minutes into the second half.

Roma moved up to sixth with a 2-0 victory over nine-man Napoli, who dropped to seventh after a nightmare second half saw them concede goals to Lorenzo Pellegrini and Romelu Lukaku as well as having Matteo Politano and Victor Osimhen – on the day it was announced he had signed a new deal tying him to the reigning Serie A champions until 2026 – sent off.

Bologna returned to the top four with a 1-0 victory over Atalanta, Lewis Ferguson becoming Scotland’s all time top-scorer in Serie A with his 11th goal in the competition.

Cagliari remain in the relegation zone after Antoine Makoumbou saw red in the 51st minute at Verona, where the hosts took advantage of his dismissal to secure a 2-0 victory with goals from Cyril Ngonge and Milan Duric.

Udinese’s trip to Torino looked to be headed toward a goalless draw until Oier Zarraga scored in the 81st minute only to see his late opener cancelled out by home midfielder Ivan Ilic seven minutes later.

In LaLiga, half-time substitute Marcos Llorente made an instant impact and restored Atletico Madrid to third spot with a 1-0 win over Sevilla in Saturday’s only fixture.

The contest, initially set to be played in September but postponed due to weather, remained goalless until after the break when Diego Simeone – celebrating his 12th anniversary as Atletico boss – swapped Nahuel Molina for Llorente.

His side were ahead barely a minute into the second half after Llorente, who initially saw a cross blocked by Sergio Ramos, benefitted when the interception’s rebound favourably landed at his feet at the edge of the six-yard box and he fired into the far corner.

Fellow replacement Caglar Soyuncu was sent off following a VAR check just four minutes after his 66th-minute introduction for a tackle on Lucas Ocampos, but Atletico nevertheless managed to nullify the visitors’ threat and cling onto victory, leaving them level on 38 points with fourth-placed Barcelona but with the advantage on goal difference.

There was no action in the Bundesliga or Ligue 1, which both resume their campaigns in 2024.

Lorenzo Pellegrini and Romelu Lukaku steered Roma to a 2-0 win against nine-man Napoli in an ill-tempered Serie A clash at the Stadio Olimpico.

Matteo Politano saw red for Napoli shortly after the hour mark, with substitute Pellegrini putting the home side ahead 10 minutes later.

The visitors then lost Victor Osimhen after he was shown a second yellow card, with Lukaku sealing the win for Roma in the sixth minute of stoppage time. Roma move ahead of Napoli and into sixth place.

Both sides had a point to prove following recent disappointing defeats – Roma suffering a 2-0 loss at Bologna last weekend, while Napoli were dumped out of the Coppa Italia earlier this week following a 4-0 thrashing at home to Frosinone.

Following nine changes for their Coppa Italia exit, defending champions Napoli were back to full strength for their visit to the Italian capital, with marksman Osimhen leading the line.

Roma manager Jose Mourinho was able to call on Lukaku with the on-loan Chelsea forward returning from a ban after he was sent off in his side’s 1-1 draw against Fiorentina a fortnight ago.

Lukaku was involved in the first real chance of the game when his hold-up play allow allowed Edoardo Bove to strike at the Napoli goal, but the young midfielder’s dipping effort clipped the bar.

Bove was in the thick of it moments later when his shot was superbly charged down by Napoli stopper Alex Meret.

Then came a flurry of bookings with Mourinho not far from the action. The former Chelsea and Manchester United manager was involved in a touchline spat with Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and even found himself in referee Andrea Colombo’s book.

Following the break, Napoli started to grow into the game but their bid for victory was derailed when Politano was shown a straight red card with 66 minutes gone.

As Napoli looked to hit Roma on the counter-attack, Nicola Zalewski pulled Politano’s shirt and the winger kicked out in frustration at his opponent. Colombo did not hesitate in showing Zalewski a yellow card before pulling out a red for a stunned Politano.

The visitors were suddenly on the backfoot and Roma’s breakthrough quickly arrived.

Pellegrini, introduced by Mourinho only five minutes earlier, took advantage of a fluffed shot by Stephan El Shaarawy to score on the turn with virtually his first kick of the game.

Napoli were then reduced to nine men after Osimhen was shown a second yellow card with four minutes of normal time remaining before Lukaku got on the scoresheet with the last kick of the night.

Jinelle James, Trinidad and Tobago’s director of the women's football, expressed delight with the recently-concluded Jewels of the Caribbean Under-17 Women’s tournament, and is expecting players to make the most of the lessons learnt from the exposure, as they continue training.

James, who is also a FIFA assistant development officer, welcomed the initiative which provided the opportunity for players to parade their skills and, by extension, continue their development.

The four-team tournament featured Trinidad and Tobago’s A and B teams, as well as Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Trinidad and Tobago’s A team led by J'Eleisha Alexander, topped the tournament, with Orielle Martin taking the best midfielder, most goals and most valuable player awards, while teammate Jasmaine Mc Nish copping the best defender prize.

“I thought the Jewels of the Caribbean U-17 Girls Tournament was a great opportunity to give the girls a chance to play without any of the pressures of a qualification tournament, and being able to play teams that are at their level competitively, and the girls are learning how to win international matches,” James said.

"In the end, some of our U-17 players showed themselves like Mc Nish, Martin, Cherina Steele and Alexander, who has had a successful campaign for the past year in the Secondary School Girls Football League and was called up to the senior women's team.

"There were others like Mariah Williams, Madison Campbell, and Ty'Kaiya Dennis, so it was basically the whole team really showing themselves and introducing themselves at this level to international football," she added.

That some Under-14 players also strutted their stuff in the tournament, was another highlight for James.

“So, it was just a good opportunity to give exposure to the young girls. They were much younger than their competitors of course, but again it's always good to put them in to see where they are at in their development and what’s needed for them to improve and prepare for the U-15 Concacaf competition next year in August,” she reasoned.

"All in all, I thought it was a good showing for the girls and hopefully we can get more opportunities for them to play in a competitive environment without the pressures of it being a qualification tournament,” James noted.

With Concacaf qualifiers in the distant future, James pointed to the need for more initiatives such as the Jewels tournament to keep players active.

"What I personally realised is that these girls don't play any football outside of coming to training, so we have to find a way to get them to play more which will help them to develop their game awareness and they will get to see the things that they are being shown in training.

“Training is only one and half hours, and it's only so much the coaches can get across to the players, and they themselves have to do some playing recreationally to learn how to check in pockets, and how and when to make runs and all,” she shared.

“So, we saw a lot of positives that we could take from this experience that the coaches will use to help prepare the team for their next encounter at the U-20 level maybe in 2025 or 2026,” James ended.