Oleksandr Zinchenko believes Arsenal have proved they can compete with the world’s best teams as the club’s pursuit of domestic and European glory intensifies.

Mikel Arteta’s men kept up the pace with Premier League title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City thanks to Wednesday evening’s comfortable 2-0 victory over lowly Luton.

The Gunners are also chasing Champions League success and next week begin a two-legged quarter-final against Bayern Munich.

With the season at a pivotal stage, left-back Zinchenko feels taking four top-flight points from both Jurgen Klopp’s Reds and Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions this term gives his side confidence.

“Yeah, I won’t lie to you, 100 per cent because it shows that we are ready to compete with the best teams in the world,” he said.

“It’s not easy to play against City away and also Liverpool away and the other teams as well – I don’t want to be disrespectful to the others. It shows that Arsenal are ready to fight for it.

“We know that we are fighting for something big this season.”

Martin Odegaard’s 10th strike of the season and an own goal from Daiki Hashioka were enough to dispatch the relegation-threatened Hatters and build on an Easter Sunday stalemate at City.

Arsenal led the title race for much of last season before fading away in the final weeks.

Ukraine international Zinchenko, a four-time Premier League champion during his City days, feels the Gunners must harness that disappointment but concedes only time will tell if they can avoid a similar fate.

“I can’t tell you this right now because there is still a lot of games to play,” the 27-year-old replied when asked if Arsenal have the squad to fight for both the Champions League and Premier League titles.

“We already have this experience from last season, where we were quite far from the others and then in the end we didn’t do what we wanted.

“This experience we need to take with us and then let’s see what is going to happen. This year all of us we’ve got more experience, we’ve played with each other much, much more and I think we’re improving.”

Arsenal’s final eight top-flight fixtures begin at Brighton on Saturday evening, while they still have to face Champions League-chasing Aston Villa, London rivals Chelsea and Tottenham, and Manchester United.

Luton’s quest for survival continues at home to Bournemouth this weekend.

The 18th-placed Hatters have gone 10 league games without victory following defeat at Emirates Stadium but remain just three points from safety.

Manager Rob Edwards said: “We’ve got to recover well and we’ve got to go and attack the game on Saturday.

“Bournemouth’s not going to be easy and I think everyone needs to know that – the last 20 games I think they’re fifth in the form table.

“We’re going to have to be right at it. We’ve got seven games left now so it’s game on. We know it’s time to be delivering points and we’re going to be going for it.”

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is braced for another Premier League title race that could go down to the final day of the season.

The defending champions are playing catch up in a tight three-way battle with Liverpool and Arsenal.

They kept the pressure on with an impressive 4-1 rout of a depleted Aston Villa side on Wednesday as Phil Foden’s hat-trick highlighted a display closer to their devastating best.

City have been in similar positions before under Guardiola and been able to put together a long winning run to come out on top.

The Catalan remains adamant his side are only third favourites to lift the trophy, but he expects his players to keep up the fight as they seek a fourth straight title.

“If we win all our games it will go until the last day because they are not five, six, seven points in front,” he said.

“It will not be easy. The feeling I have is not easy. I see Liverpool and Arsenal playing, they don’t drop points, it will not be easy.

“But we have to do our job and don’t regret, ‘Oh, we should have won that game because they lost after’. We cannot do anything, we do not play against them any more so we don’t control what Liverpool and Arsenal do. All we can do is win our games.”

Even with Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland only among the substitutes as next week’s Champions League trip to Real Madrid looms, City turned in a dominant performance.

Although Jhon Duran cancelled out Rodri’s opener on Wednesday, Guardiola’s side had 25 efforts at goal compared to eight for Villa, with Julian Alvarez a regular threat and substitute Sergio Gomez hitting the post in stoppage time.

But when asked if it was a sign that City were hitting their stride just in time, Guardiola pointedly referenced some of the criticism directed at his side following Sunday’s 0-0 draw with Arsenal.

He said: “We were out of the title race three or four days ago and not playing good, the team was not playing like we did the last six seasons. Now we are in the best form in the league? Come on, guys…

“We’ve won a lot of the last games. I cannot say in the game against Arsenal I didn’t recognise my team. We were there all the time, we didn’t create chances because of the quality of defence and because we missed some presence in the box, but the rest, I recognise completely my team.

“That’s why we are calm. As I said, it’s tight, it’s not seven or eight points. It’s close. We have to wait. They have to lose points, otherwise it will not be possible, but again the team has been exceptional this season, exceptional.”

Wednesday’s result was a setback for Villa’s pursuit of a top-four finish, but one that came with a number of key players missing.

Ollie Watkins sat out injured while goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez pulled out with a stomach problem after being initially named in the team. In total, there were six changes to the side that started Saturday’s win over Wolves.

However, Emery indicated that both Martinez and Watkins could come into contention to face Brentford at the weekend, while John McGinn will return from suspension.

“We are without some players in some positions and it’s very important again to recover,” Emery said. “We will need these players, and this was also why we try to give some others minutes.”

What the papers say

Bruno Guimaraes could be on the way out at Newcastle in an effort to satisfy Premier League financial rules. According to The Sun, club bosses believe they will face an uphill battle to keep the midfielder, with French giants Paris St Germain leading the chase for his signature.

The Evening Standard says Manchester United have commenced discussions about signing Nice defender Melvin Bard. The 23-year-old is said to be on the verge of a call up for France, and has emerged as an ideal candidate for the Red Devils as they look to bolster their squad with a new left-back.

Leeds are eyeing a return for Kalvin Phillips the Daily Star reports. The midfielder has made just six starts for Manchester City since making a £50million move to the Etihad from Leeds back in 2022. He is currently on loan at West Ham, but it is believed City would be willing to sell him for around £25m, with Leeds among his potential suitors – pending their promotion.

And The Times says Wolves defender Max Kilman is on Manchester United’s summer transfer shortlist.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Dani Ceballos: Newcastle are interested in the Real Madrid midfielder, Mundo Deportivo reports.

Viktor Gyokeres: Caught Offside says the Sporting Lisbon forward is high on Arsenal’s list of striker options.

Pep Guardiola said Phil Foden can “do whatever he wants” in football after watching him fire Manchester City to a 4-1 Premier League victory over Aston Villa with a brilliant hat-trick.

With Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne dropping to the bench, Foden moved into a central position and orchestrated the demolition of Villa with an outstanding display, playing a hand in Rodri’s opener and then taking the game away from the visitors after Jhon Duran had levelled.

Foden restored City’s lead with a free-kick in first-half stoppage time when he found the gap that Nicolo Zaniolo left in Villa’s wall, then won it with two excellent goals just after the hour, the last of them a shot into the top corner after he had lost the ball but quickly regained it.

His second hat-trick of the campaign moved Foden on to 21 goals for the season and kept the pressure on in the title race, with the champions one point behind new leaders Arsenal and level with Liverpool who host Sheffield United on Thursday.

“What can I say? Three goals,” Guardiola said. “He didn’t start well but I think the goal helped him a lot for the mood. When Phil plays in a central position he has a sense for goals and he proved it again.

“He can do whatever he wants. He’s a real top-class player. We know it. But he is still open-minded, he has to understand the game, he has to focus on things, sometimes he’s a bit distracted in exactly what you have to do offensively, defensively, but he has a natural talent – a gift – which is special.

“The work ethic is unbelievable and he has an incredible sense of goal. When he has the ball and he’s attacking the back line he is going to score, you had that feeling. It is not easy to find it and that’s why he’s so special when he’s playing these central positions.”

De Bruyne and Haaland got a breather with next week’s Champions League trip to Real Madrid looming, but without them City turned in one of their better performances of the season and a vast improvement on Sunday’s goalless draw against title rivals Arsenal.

“We were better,” Guardiola said. “It’s true we conceded a few transitions and we lost a few balls and when that happens it’s a lesson we have to learn for the next game but we had incredible energy, four-five players up front and it was really good. We created a lot of chances.”

Villa remain fourth but the defeat leaves them only two points above Tottenham, who have a game in hand.

Unai Emery was without the injured Ollie Watkins and then also lost goalkeeper Emi Martinez to a stomach problem after he had been named in the starting line-up. But the Spaniard chose to make several more changes to his side – six in total from Saturday’s win over Wolves.

“It’s clear we were motivated and excited to try to be competitive, trying to keep it consistent like we are in the Premier League, but of course we were playing against Manchester City,” Emery said.

“We were competing until the 60th minute and as well we were trying to build our team with some players who are not playing a lot, we are trying to give them chances to play.

“Even when we were losing 2-1 we had some chances to score with Douglas Luiz, but they were pushing us a lot, they showed us their potential and they deserved to win.

“We will play a lot of matches in the next weeks, starting on Saturday against Brentford, and it was important to try to be intelligent playing against Manchester City. Of course we wanted to win but with some players injured and some players suspended we wanted to get some practice with some players.”

Mikel Arteta hailed Arsenal’s fringe players for taking their chances in the 2-0 Premier League victory over Luton.

Captain Martin Odegaard opened the scoring before Daiki Hashioka turned the ball into his own net as Arsenal returned to the top of the table, holding a one-point advantage over Liverpool and Manchester City.

Arsenal had just three days to prepare for Wednesday night’s game after Sunday’s goalless draw at title rivals City.

Arteta made five changes for the visit of the Hatters, including the likes of Emile Smith Rowe and Reiss Nelson while resting Declan Rice among others, and was pleased with what he saw in their first of eight scheduled fixtures in April.

“They responded really well and I’m so happy with that. It was a wonderful game,” Arteta said.

“When they get their moment, they have to take it and they certainly did today. They give me every reason (to pick them) every day.

“If we had lost the game it would’ve been because we made the changes and it’s not as simple as that. You have to do what is right, what they deserve and it’s good confidence.”

With Bukayo Saka injured, Smith Rowe impressed after he was recalled to the XI.

Arteta said: “I love him as a player (Smith Rowe). It’s a joy to watch him with the way he moves and how physical he is as well. He helped us a lot to win the game also today.”

Odegaard was the difference between the sides on the night. The Norwegian combined with Kai Havertz after 24 minutes before rifling an effort into Thomas Kaminski’s bottom left corner.

Arteta talked up the skipper’s influence in helping his side try and claim their first league title since the 2003-04 season.

The Spaniard added: “He’s a really important player and we needed that balance and the chemistry certain players have and how they train, build relationships, Martin is vital to connect. The standard which he sets is outstanding.”

Luton manager Rob Edwards still believes his side can get out of trouble, with the Hatters 18th and three points behind fourth-bottom Nottingham Forest.

Edwards said: “I believe we can do this, with every fibre of my being I believe in this group. We are competing in this league, we have had a lot of injuries and it has knocked our rhythm. We’re in the games we’re playing. We weren’t out of it.”

Roberto De Zerbi admitted Brighton dropped two points in the race for Europe after they were held to a goalless draw at Brentford.

The Seagulls failed to take advantage of their nearest rivals West Ham, Newcastle and Wolves all dropping points a day earlier after a drab encounter in west London.

“We have to make a difference between the performance and the result. I’m really pleased for the performance but we are disappointed for the result,” said Seagulls boss De Zerbi.

“We shot 24 times, we had six shots on target but we didn’t score and we are disappointed because in our head we lost two points.”

The main talking point came in first-half stoppage time when referee Andrew Madley was sent to take a look at the pitchside monitor by the VAR for a potential penalty for a foul by Yoane Wissa on Lewis Dunk.

That turn of events almost always ends with a spot-kick being awarded but, in something of a collector’s item, the on-field official stuck to his guns and ruled in favour of the Bees forward, much to Brighton skipper Dunk’s frustration.

“Fantastic decision,” smiled Bees boss Thomas Frank.

De Zerbi added: “I think the referee was correct, maybe the decision was correct. My assistant told me that at the beginning it was Dunk who made the foul.

“I’ve never seen the referee watch the screen and change the decision of the VAR. I learnt something new today.”

Ivan Toney saw his goal drought stretch to seven matches for Brentford.

The England striker turned inside Jan Paul van Hecke 12 yards out in the first half but lost his footing slightly and Bart Verbruggen saved his scuffed shot.

After the break Toney took aim from 25 yards with a free-kick but it sailed over the crossbar.

Substitute Danny Welbeck had two chances to win it for Brighton in stoppage time but he headed a corner wide and then fizzed a low drive the wrong side of the far post.

It was the first time since November that the Bees had picked up points in back-to-back games, following Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Manchester United.

“An unbeaten run, finally!” said Frank.

“Yeah, I think it was a good point, a well deserved point, a point that we have missed a lot of times this season.

“If you can’t win, don’t lose, and we got a clean sheet on top of it. That’s going in the right direction so I’m really pleased with that.”

Erik ten Hag has pledged to keep fighting for Champions League qualification but is “realistic” about the difficult task facing injury-hit Manchester United.

After winning the Carabao Cup during a promising first campaign in charge, things have gone downhill this term and the Red Devils’ hopes of returning to the continent’s top competition are fading.

Thursday’s trip to Chelsea is one of nine matches remaining for sixth-placed United, who are 11 points behind Aston Villa in fourth and nine behind Tottenham in what could prove a fifth and final qualification spot.

Saturday’s alarming 1-1 draw at Brentford provided the latest blow to their Champions League hopes in a poor season that has seen Ten Hag’s men ravaged by injuries.

“I have high standards and I would be disappointed if we didn’t qualify,” the United manager said. “I know it will be very difficult because we are not in a good position.

“But we want to win every game, that is the standard we have here among each other. We will keep going and keep believing in those standards. That will be the approach in every game.

“We will keep fighting until the end. I know we are not in a good position. We have to catch up.

“Also I know we have had a lot of problems so I am a realistic man also.

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“In a competition that is so competitive and the teams are so close in terms of levels with each other then also you need the players to be available.”

United have dealt with more than 50 separate injury issues during the campaign, with Lisandro Martinez and Victor Lindelof returning to that list of absentees this week.

Ten Hag says the club “have an idea” why there have been so many issues and that “internally we will deal with it”, but refused to say exactly what that entailed.

The Dutchman did, though, reject suggestions that training intensity was an issue and that he should have brought in a fitness coach, pointing to the need for “very robust players” and the impact of a fixture-packed 18 months.

Ten Hag also suggested some national teams do not look after United’s players as well as others.

“We have national teams, so five times a year you give the players away and you don’t have any impact,” he said.

“It’s not completely true but some national teams we have very good connections and we manage the programmes but there are also others that they do what they want.

“You don’t have anything in hand on what they are doing there.”

The Dutchman’s future is under the spotlight after Ineos took control of football operations at United, who need to learn from the mistakes made at free-spending Chelsea since their Todd Boehly-led takeover.

“I think you need to follow the process,” Ten Hag said. “As I say, we are in a good trend line. There are good young players coming through, they are developing very well in their progress.

“We are in a good way, we are in a good direction and now we have to make the next steps and don’t interrupt this process.”

Mason Mount is in line for his first return to Chelsea since making the summer switch to Old Trafford, fresh from scoring his maiden goal for the club after an injury-hit season.

“I don’t think they wanted to sell him,” Ten Hag said. “They wanted to keep him, they offered him even a new contract many times. But he wants to make this step.

“We were and we are very pleased he is a Man United player because he has great abilities and I’m sure he will contribute and become a big player for Man United.”

Mauricio Pochettino warned his players hard work is still required at Chelsea despite the increase to their status and bank balance that comes with joining the club.

A chaotic campaign that has seen the first-team squad decimated by injuries threatens to peter out, with the club marooned in 12th place ahead of the visit of Manchester United to Stamford Bridge on Thursday night.

It comes five days after the league’s second-bottom side Burnley left west London with a 2-2 draw despite playing the whole of the second half with 10 men, as relations between the club and its supporters seemed to sink further into discord.

The club has an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City at Wembley to come later in the month, likely to be their only chance of salvaging a dismal season.

Chelsea are on course for their second bottom-half league finish in a row and Pochettino called on his players to use the final weeks of the campaign to follow his own hard-working example and show supporters why they were signed as part of a £1billion overhaul of the squad.

“When I was in Espanyol, my first job as a coach, I was on the training ground at seven o’clock every morning,” said the Argentinian.

“Then I moved to Southampton, six-thirty. Then Tottenham, seven. Then Paris (St Germain), six in the morning. Now six forty-five. You can ask the guy on security.

“It’s not going to change after 15 years. My passion is here. My motivation is football. You increase your bank account but that cannot put me in a comfortable zone to say ‘now I will arrive at nine o’clock and leave at two o’clock’. I need to keep pushing myself.

“If (a player) arrives from another club where there was less money, less expectation but now I arrive here because people believe I am so good, what do I need to do? It’s to arrive early, it’s to work more, it’s to run more, be focused more.

“It’s more responsibility now. We feel that responsibility.”

The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust wrote to the owners and senior management last month to communicate their dismay at the direction the club is taking under the leadership of Todd Boehly’s Clearlake Capital consortium.

The letter warned of potentially irreparable damage that is being done to the relationship between the club and its supporters, as the team has gone from being Champions League regulars to a mid-table side in less than two years.

Pochettino rejected the suggestion players have already adopted the view that the season is doomed and there is little left to salvage.

“If you are in a comfort zone, you drop in your level, you drop in your standard,” he said. “I don’t say that that has happened here. Too many other things have happened.”

Phil Foden scored a brilliant hat-trick as Manchester City kept the pressure on in the Premier League title race with a 4-1 win over Champions League-chasing Aston Villa.

A day after defending his star striker against criticism from Roy Keane, Pep Guardiola left Erling Haaland on the bench alongside Kevin De Bruyne, clearing the stage for Foden to grab the spotlight with an outstanding performance and his second hat-trick of the campaign.

After Jhon Duran cancelled out Rodri’s opener, the 23-year-old put City back in front with a free-kick late in the first half before two excellent strikes settled it just after the hour mark, taking Foden to 21 City goals for the season.

Pep Guardiola’s side remain third, a point behind leaders Arsenal and level with Liverpool – who host Sheffield United on Thursday – after their first win over a top-five side this term.

But while little has changed in the table, this was a far more fluid performance from the champions days after Arsenal ended their run of 57 consecutive home games with a goal.

The decision to leave out De Bruyne and Haaland was made with next week’s Champions League trip to Real Madrid looming, but neither have been at their best since coming back from injury in recent weeks.

Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku came in to play on the wings and Foden shifted inside, from where he would orchestrate City’s win.

Villa, already without the injured Ollie Watkins, had to replace goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez due to illness just before kick-off and stand-in Robin Olsen was soon picking the ball out of his net.

Foden fed Doku on the right and the Belgian cut it back for Rodri to sweep home his eighth goal of the season after 11 minutes.

City’s lead lasted only nine minutes before Villa drew level with an excellent counter-attack. Julian Alvarez lost the ball on the edge of the Villa box and the visitors swept forward before Duran played a quick one-two with Morgan Rogers and fired across Stefan Ortega’s goal into the far corner.

After Jack Grealish – booed constantly by his old fans in the Villa end – was booked for dissent when a free-kick went in Douglas Luiz’s favour, Olsen made a fine save with his right boot to deny Alvarez.

Luiz was living dangerously late in the first half. Already booked for bringing down Grealish on the edge of the area, he then fouled Foden in an almost identical spot in first-half stoppage time.

Darren England kept his cards in his pocket but Villa were punished anyway as Foden found a gap in the wall left by Nicolo Zaniolo to beat Olsen.

There was still time for Alvarez to go close twice before half-time, with Olsen tipping a close-range header over the crossbar, and the goalkeeper was busy again at the start of the second half, denying Bernardo Silva after Foden’s neat pass left him one-on-one.

Villa threatened on the break as Luiz drove forward and hit a shot that was tipped over by Ortega, who then denied Clement Lenglet from the resulting corner.

But Foden would soon settle the match. In the 62nd minute Rodri rode Moussa Diaby’s challenge and rolled the ball inside for Foden to beat Olsen with a first-time shot into the bottom right corner.

Lewis lashed a shot narrowly wide but the killer fourth goal arrived in the 69th minute. The chance appeared to have gone when Foden lost the ball on the edge of the Villa area, but Calum Chambers scuffed his clearance straight back to Foden, and he lashed a shot into the top right corner.

Arsenal launched a pivotal month in their pursuit of silverware by returning to the top of the Premier League table thanks to a routine 2-0 win over relegation-threatened Luton.

Martin Odegaard’s 10th goal of the season set the Gunners on course for a straightforward evening at Emirates Stadium.

Daiki Hashioka’s own goal completed the job before half-time as Mikel Arteta’s men backed up a battling goalless draw with title rivals Manchester City to maintain their unbeaten top-flight record in 2024.

With Liverpool scheduled to host bottom club Sheffield United on Thursday evening, Arsenal’s latest spell at the summit could prove fleeting, while plenty of sterner tests await in the coming weeks.

Injury-hit Luton posed little threat in north London as they failed to score for the first time in 19 league outings but remain only three points from safety despite a winless run which now stands at 10 games.

Gunners boss Arteta began the first of eight April fixtures, which include a Champions League quarter-final with Bayern Munich, by making five changes from the dogged Easter Sunday stalemate against Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions.

Reiss Nelson and Emile Smith Rowe were handed rare opportunities to impress as part of the rotation, with Bukayo Saka absent and Declan Rice and Gabriel Jesus among those dropping to the bench.

Luton’s less illustrious list of substitutes contained two goalkeepers and four teenagers, including 16-year-old schoolboy Christian Chigozie.

In the face of relentless Arsenal possession, a resolute Hatters starting XI showing three alterations held out until being undone by costly defensive dithering in the 24th minute.

Smith Rowe dispossessed the dawdling Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu inside the visitors’ half before captain Odegaard exchanged passes with Kai Havertz to slam a first-time left-footed finish beyond Thomas Kaminski.

Luton dug in and looked set to go into the interval only a goal behind after goalkeeper Kaminski saved well from Smith Rowe and Havertz.

But Rob Edwards’ side suffered a major setback just a minute before the break when Japan defender Hashioka inadvertently turned Smith Rowe’s low centre into his own net under pressure from Nelson.

The 18th-placed Hatters were back in the capital four days on from Saturday’s narrow 2-1 loss at Tottenham.

Ross Barkley’s long-range free-kick, which was comfortably collected by David Raya, was their only attempt on target in a one-sided opening period.

Arsenal required a dramatic last-gasp winner from England midfielder Rice to escape Kenilworth Road with a thrilling 4-3 victory in early December.

But no such heroics were needed here as a far more subdued second half ticked by without incident to keep their title push on track.

The Gunners return to action at Brighton on Saturday evening ahead of next week’s European first leg with Bayern, while Luton’s quest for survival continues at home to Bournemouth.

Brighton could not turn a lucrative week off the pitch into a profitable one on it after they were held to a goalless draw at Brentford.

The Seagulls announced on Tuesday an eye-watering annual profit of £122.8million, a record for an English club, following the most successful season in their history.

Chairman Tony Bloom celebrated by taking his place among the away fans for the match he probably wants to win more than any other, even over arch-rivals Crystal Palace.

Bloom refuses to go into the directors’ box at the Gtech Stadium as he and Bees owner Matthew Benham had an almighty fall-out over their business interests some 20 years ago.

Unfortunately that simmering feud was not matched by the on-pitch hostilities in a drab stalemate in west London.

It meant Brighton, who finished sixth last season, failed to take advantage of West Ham, Newcastle and Wolves all dropping points a day earlier in the race for European places.

Brentford, meanwhile, edged another point clear of the relegation zone – they are now six above 18th-placed Luton.

The Bees almost opened the scoring early on after a sweeping move from one end of the pitch to the other.

The ball came from Nathan Collins, via Ivan Toney and Mathias Jensen, to Keane Lewis-Potter whose near-post cross was put narrowly wide by Yoane Wissa.

Toney’s first sight of goal came after half an hour after he was played into the area by Wissa.

The England striker turned inside Jan Paul van Hecke 12 yards out but lost his footing slightly and Bart Verbruggen saved his scuffed shot.

For Brighton, top scorer Joao Pedro, back after two months out injured, drew a save from Bees keeper Mark Flekken and Van Hecke’s shot was deflected over.

Facundo Buonanotte then fired across goal and wide, Adam Lallana was also off target and Flekken saved from Simon Adingra.

Referee Andrew Madley was sent to take a look at the pitchside monitor by the VAR for a potential penalty for a foul by Wissa on Lewis Dunk in first-half stoppage time but he stuck with his decision and ruled in favour of the Bees forward.

At the start of the second half Pedro’s cross found overlapping Brighton full-back Joel Veltman but his shot was always rising as it sailed into the stands.

Toney, without a goal in his previous six matches, took aim with a free-kick from 25 yards but sent it high over the crossbar.

Substitute Danny Welbeck had two chances in stoppage time to win it for Brighton but he headed a corner wide and then fizzed a low drive the wrong side of the far post as a distinctly low-key encounter ended goalless.

Mauricio Pochettino has defended Conor Gallagher after the midfielder received abuse on social media for failing to high-five a mascot.

Chelsea said in a statement that the “defamatory comments” made towards Gallagher were “completely unacceptable” and that the video had been taken out of context.

The incident occurred in the tunnel immediately ahead of kick-off when the Blues played Burnley at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, with the 24-year-old seemingly not noticing that one of the mascots had held up his hand.

Pochettino rejected any suggestion that the player acted intentionally, and condemned the online reaction to the incident.

“It has upset me so much,” he said. “No one wants to do this with this intention. When you are focusing on playing and starting the game, that sometimes can happen.

“People always try to find things to create a mess. I know Conor. Come on – there’s never that intention. Conor is a great kid and always is caring about everything. I hate how people feel free to abuse on social media.”

It is the second time this season that a Chelsea player has been subjected to abuse on social media, after captain Reece James spoke out earlier this year about unfair criticism he had received when he was ruled out with injury.

Pochettino has spoken out previously about the impact of online attacks against players, and re-emphasised the urgency in ridding the game of the problem.

“Today, abuse of people is so easy,” he said. “Whenever this type of thing happens, we (must not) give too much attention to the type of people that want to create it, to insult and abuse other people. Please stop.

“How is it possible to believe that Conor’s intention is to ignore a mascot? Come on. It makes me very sad.

“Our responsibility is to try to ignore this type of thing. The people that try to create it never help our lives. They don’t deserve attention.

“The problem with social media today is it’s like a compulsory thing if you want to communicate. It measures your value, depending on the followers you have.

“It puts value on you in front of society. That is the problem. We’re seeing too many things like this that are so wrong in society.”

Pochettino also highlighted the example of Barcelona defender Inigo Martinez, who this week was filmed getting out of his car to remonstrate with a fan who had criticised him verbally.

The reaction to Martinez’s handling of the situation has been mixed, with some criticising him for confronting the supporter whilst others have offered their backing.

Pochettino suggested the player had been deliberately provoked in order that his reaction could be filmed and posted online.

“It is society that consumes (this material),” he said. “All that people are interested in are bad things.

“We are a bit responsible also. We opened the door, all the documentaries. People want to see when we are fighting but never things that are good, happy things. They want to find the wrong things. That is the society that we are all involved in.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp does not care that his side are now considered favourites to win the Premier League.

Sunday’s win over Brighton, combined with Manchester City and Arsenal’s goalless draw, elevated the Reds back to the top of the table with nine matches to go.

But Klopp is well aware, with a round of midweek fixtures followed closely by games at the weekend, the situation can change in an instant.

“It is nothing we are obviously aware of. The situation is, for us, Sheffield United, and not who is the favourite,” he said ahead of Thursday’s home game against the rock-bottom Blades.

“I am pretty sure when we lost at Arsenal (on February 4) we were not favourites after that – maybe rightly so – but I don’t know and I don’t care.

“One of the most important things to get through this period is to ignore the outside ‘mess’ as it goes up and down and is emotional.

“We have to be professional – be emotional but in the right way – and be the best version of ourselves, play the best football we can play and then let’s see what the outcome is.

“There are no guarantees, there are just opportunities. The clearer the opportunity, the more likely you can take it.”

Liverpool are the last of the title chasers to play, with City and Arsenal’s matches on Wednesday, but Klopp will not be tuning in to see how their rivals get on.

“I didn’t even know they played (on Wednesday night),” he added. “I expect them always to win.

“I told you one story, years ago, I watched a game and wanted Leicester to win (against Manchester City in 2019) and it didn’t happen.

“That was the last time that I did that. That’s when you learn from the past. When they play, my heart-rate doesn’t go up.

“We need to get our points in, win our football games.”

If Liverpool are favourites for the title they are even shorter odds to dispatch a Blades side which have conceded 77 goals in 29 matches and have a goal difference of minus 50 after managing just three wins, just one away from home, all season.

It looks like an easy task against a team who have not kept a clean sheet in four months, with Sunday’s visit to Old Trafford – where only three weeks ago Liverpool were knocked out of the FA Cup – the bigger hurdle.

However, Klopp will not be taking the visitors lightly.

“If I would think now about Manchester United, our people (fans) would have a right to think I am already too long in the chair,” he said.

“It makes no sense. You cannot win football games not respecting the opponent. I have no chance of influencing the Manchester United game at the moment. We will play players who are available.

“We want to use them, for example Curtis (Jones) is back but it doesn’t mean he can play 90 minutes. Other players might need rhythm because we need them. How can we do that?

“It has nothing to do with the Manchester United game, Sheffield United deserve our full respect and they will get it.”

Left-back Andy Robertson is also available after missing Sunday with an injury sustained on Scotland duty.

Burnley boss Vincent Kompany has been charged with misconduct by the Football Association following his side’s 2-2 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Tempers flared after referee Darren England awarded a penalty to the Blues in the 40th minute for Lorenz Assignon’s foul on Mykhailo Mudryk. The Burnley defender was also shown a second yellow card, forcing the Clarets to play the second half with 10 men.

Kompany was sent off for protesting on the touchline and afterwards expressed his opinion that officials have not been good enough throughout the season.

“I’ll keep saying what I think,” Kompany said.

“I’m not shying away from it and I’ve said it to the referees themselves, the officials, refereeing hasn’t been good enough this season.

“And I have said that in, I think, a constructive way, understanding as well the fact it’s not easy for them. The scrutiny is massive, the pressure is bigger than it’s ever been on the officials.

“I think the addition of VAR and more opinions and more officials doesn’t make it easy for them to do their jobs.

“I haven’t got any issues with being fined. I just want it to be right.”

The FA announced on Wednesday that the Burnley boss has been charged with improper conduct.

A statement read: “It is alleged that the manager’s language and/or behaviour around the 40th minute was improper and/or abusive and/or insulting towards a match official and/or questioned their integrity.”

Kompany has until 6pm on Friday, April 5 to respond to the charge.

Raphael Varane and Jonny Evans look set to bolster Manchester United’s beleaguered backline at Chelsea as Erik ten Hag’s side continue to search for answers to their ongoing injury problems.

The Red Devils have been besieged by issues during a difficult second season for the Dutchman, with the side struggling in the Premier League and dumped out of Europe before Christmas.

United face an uphill battle to qualify for next year’s Champions League and produced one of their worst displays on Saturday at Brentford, where Victor Lindelof became the latest player to pick up a muscle injury.

The Sweden international’s hamstring issue in the 1-1 draw is set to keep him out for at least a month, with his replacement Lisandro Martinez facing a similar absence after sustaining a calf complaint in training.

Those issues compound the absence of fellow defenders Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia, but Ten Hag is hopeful that Varane – who went off at half-time on Saturday – and recently injured Evans will be fit to face Chelsea.

“No more issues – we don’t need (anymore)!” the United manager said ahead of Thursday’s match. “On the frontline and in midfield we are OK, we have options there.

“But in the backline we have a lack of options, but the good thing is back in training this afternoon is Raphael Varane and Jonny Evans. And Harry Maguire was already yesterday back in training.”

Lindelof and Martinez’s setbacks raise further questions about the spate of muscle injuries United have been dealing with this term.

Asked if they are any closer to knowing why they are getting so many issues, Ten Hag said: “Yeah, we have an idea but we will work on that. I think internally we will deal with it.”

Ten Hag rejected the chance to expand on what that “idea” was but was more forthcoming about the strains on top teams right now.

“You can’t prevent,” the United boss said. “You see it’s not only us who’ve had this.

“The standards of the Premier League from an intensity perspective are so high, the overload in the schedule, also international football is so huge.

“We have all internationals in our squad and you see it’s not only us – City, Liverpool and Newcastle have the problems, so there are many other teams.

“In this moment, especially the defending department but in the midfield and frontline the players are available.”

Injuries only offer some mitigation for United’s struggles, though, with the drop-off from the stunning FA Cup quarter-final win against Liverpool to the draw at Brentford setting off alarm bells.

The Bees had an eye-watering 31 shots on Saturday and the Red Devils return to west London on Thursday needing a vastly improved display.

“I am long enough in football to know and also some of you should also understand why such things happen,” Ten Hag said.

“Sometimes you are not playing well but we are Man United and we still have to win. And when you are winning, you can’t give it away like we did.

“That was the biggest disappointment for me but also we have to see the trend-line over a long period, from Christmas on, is positive and we keep going.”

The only positive at Brentford was Mason Mount scoring his first United goal as he continues to build fitness after four months out with a calf issue.

The 25-year-old is now preparing for his first return to Chelsea since leaving in the summer, with Ten Hag keen to avoid rushing him back too soon.

“He’s a fantastic football player but it’s important first that he is getting and keeping fit because he has had three injuries,” he said.

“You see it now with Licha, so another injury, so you want to avoid and we have to do this carefully.

“This is first objective, to keep him fit. Of course in the same we want to use him that he can benefit and contribute to the team like he did on Saturday when he had a big impact.”