Erling Haaland scored his first goals since November as champions Manchester City finally wore down Everton to claim a hard-fought 2-0 Premier League win on Saturday.

The prolific Norwegian, who recently returned to action after a foot injury, broke the deadlock after 70 minutes of a drab lunchtime encounter at the Etihad Stadium and wrapped up victory five minutes from time.

It was City’s 10th successive win in all competitions and fired out another warning to their title rivals that their momentum is growing.

City’s superior quality warranted the result, and ultimately it was not a surprise, but it was nevertheless a bitter blow for relegation-threatened Everton after a dogged display.

Toffees manager Sean Dyche may not have been seen pitchside due to a touchline ban but there was no mistaking his influence as Everton, without a league win since December, frustrated City.

The game was slow to get going, not helped by a lengthy delay early on for City goalkeeper Ederson to receive treatment after a collision with Ben Godfrey.

City controlled possession but found opportunities hard to come by. They had little space in which to attack as Everton kept men behind the ball and, with Kevin De Bruyne on the bench and Phil Foden wide, they lacked a creative spark.

Some of their brighter moments came courtesy of Jeremy Doku on the left. The Belgian twice beat Godfrey but one ball across the box was cleared by Jarrad Branthwaite and another cross was too high for Haaland.

Their best chances of the first half came following a corner just before the break as Manuel Akanji and Haaland both had efforts blocked in a crowded box.

Everton created little themselves although Jack Harrison blazed one half-chance well over.

After little change following the restart, City boss Pep Guardiola sent on De Bruyne and Kyle Walker in an attempt to inject some energy.

Doku also remained a danger and he found Haaland in the box but the Norwegian’s ball across goal was turned behind.

Rodri then shot well over but, despite increasing anxiety in the crowd, City maintained their composure and kept probing.

The breakthrough finally came as Everton, for the first time, failed to effectively deal with a ball into the box.

A header was blocked and the ball found its way to Haaland, who met it with a fierce right-footed strike that flew past Jordan Pickford. It was a scrappy goal but reward for City’s persistence.

Everton were deflated and they were caught out again as Haaland finally found some space and was released by a fine De Bruyne through ball. The striker made no mistake as he shrugged off Branthwaite and slotted into the bottom corner.

The job was done although, with 10 minutes of stoppage time, there might have been a livelier finish had a Beto strike not been disallowed for offside.

Ollie Watkins has targeted Aston Villa’s Premier League goals record after passing his half-century.

The striker became just the third Villa player to reach 50 goals in the Premier League after scoring against Newcastle last month.

Only Dwight Yorke (60) and Gabby Agbonlahor (74) have scored more for Villa and – ahead of Sunday’s visit of Manchester United – Watkins, with 59 goals overall, wants to chase them down.

“When I signed my new contract, that was one of my main goals – to break that, to win something with the club, to push on and try to achieve something,” said the England striker, who has 51 top flight goals after scoring in the 5-0 win at Sheffield United last week.

“I feel like I’m improving as a player under this manager and with this team.

“Obviously I’m getting older but I feel like my game is maturing, I’ve got a better understanding and I’m being more clinical.

“So, I’ve got a lot of targets I want to reach and Gabby’s record is one of them.

“I knew I’d play in the Premier League one day but if you’d have told me I would score 50 Premier League goals for a club like Aston Villa, and the amount of appearances I have, then I would have said ‘you’re lying’.

“So I’m delighted to reach this milestone. It’s a very proud moment for me. But I’m not going to stop here, I’m going to get to 100 and push on from there.”

The 28-year-old also has 10 assists, as well as his 11 top flight goals this term, as Villa challenge for the Champions League spots.

They have lost their last two home games – to Newcastle and Wednesday’s FA Cup defeat to Chelsea – and Watkins is aware of the growing pressure if Unai Emery’s side are to stay in the top four.

“This is a game we need to win on Sunday,” he told the club’s official site.

“We need the fans bouncing. When Villa Park’s loud it’s one of the best places to play football and we need that.

“Obviously we’ve had a few dodgy results there, conceding quite a few goals, and maybe not having the performances the fans expect from us or what they’ve seen in the early part of the season.”

Gabriel Magalhaes has emerged as a pivotal part of Arsenal’s Premier League title bid after difficult conversations with boss Mikel Arteta at the start of the season.

The Brazil defender moved to the Emirates Stadium in 2020 and, for the large part, has been a major player in Arteta’s side.

That changed in August when Gabriel found himself on the bench as Ben White moved to centre-back and Thomas Partey was installed at right-back.

He returned to the backline alongside William Saliba after the opening three games of the campaign, has not looked back since and is set to make his 150th appearance for the club in Sunday’s crucial London derby at West Ham.

He has played a large part in Arsenal boasting the joint-best defensive record in the Premier League this season – although he did score an own goal in the 3-1 win over Liverpool last weekend that saw the Gunners close to within two points of the summit.

“It was tough, obviously at the start. I wanted to play and it was very difficult for me but I understood what the coach had to do,” Gabriel told the PA news agency.

“It is difficult for any player to not be in the team but now I’m back in I want to keep on working hard to prove my worth.

“He (Arteta) spoke to me and obviously explained the reasons behind the decision. Why I should stay – but the most important thing was to remain focused and concentrate – he knew how important I was to the team, so I’m happy to be back and to be able to help the team in every game.

“I’m happy to be back in the team and hopefully I can help them moving forward.”

Gabriel’s form in January, in which he supplemented his defensive work with two goals in a crucial win over Crystal Palace, has seen him shortlisted alongside Kevin De Bruyne, Richarlison, Diogo Jota, Conor Bradley and Elijah Adebayo for the Premier League player of the month.

Asked if he feels it finally shows he is being appreciated by those outside of Arsenal after years of largely being overlooked for his team-mates, Gabriel added: “I’m very happy to be up for player of the month.

“Of course I always work hard every day to try to do my best on the pitch and realise my potential.

“The most important thing is the people around me who know my potential, and in terms of those outside – and if people devalue me, I’m happy for them if I change their mind.”

Arteta said Gabriel’s duties within his set-up have developed recently and believes the player took the right decision to stay put when he had been linked with a move away in previous windows.

“A lot of things have happened to him,” said the Spaniard.

“His role in the team has grown. His personal life is also very different to the one he had before with his family and his language.

“He also changed a lot of things in his life and improved his mentality. He can decide what he wants to be and I think he made the right call to take the direction he took.”

The 26-year-old was linked with a move to Juventus but has stayed put and is keen to continue to impress the people that matter to him.

“I think the most important people are those that are close to me; the team, the coaching staff, my family, my friends,” he added.

“I think that’s what’s most important. They’ve helped me a lot and continue to help me to grow every day, those who are close to me.

“So I’m very happy – those internal people and to keep impressing them and doing the best I can.”

John Barnes was sacked as Celtic manager on this day in 2000.

The club’s decision to part company with the former Liverpool and England winger came two days after a humiliating Scottish Cup loss to second-tier Inverness.

Barnes had been in charge for just eight months and oversaw only 29 games.

Pressure had been building since a run of five defeats in eight games in the autumn, including a 4-2 reverse at Rangers in Barnes’ first Old Firm derby.

Form did not markedly improve and the cup shock – which prompted the memorable newspaper headline ‘Super Caley Go Ballistic Celtic Are Atrocious’ – proved the final straw.

Despite beginning his reign with 12 wins in his first 13 games, Barnes had struggled to win over fans and the 3-1 defeat by Caley was widely viewed as the club’s worst result in 30 years.

Director of football Kenny Dalglish said: “John Barnes is an admirable fellow and someone I think will go on in later years to establish himself as very successful in managing a football club. Unfortunately it won’t be at Celtic.”

Dalglish, who had brought his former Liverpool star Barnes to Parkhead, took over in a caretaker capacity for the remainder of the season.

He guided the Hoops to League Cup success before Martin O’Neill was appointed as Barnes’ full-time successor in the summer.

Barnes’ managerial career never took off as Dalglish predicted. He struggled to get back into the game after his ill-fated spell at Celtic and it was not until 2008, as manager of the Jamaica national side, he returned to management.

He was appointed Tranmere boss the following summer but he was sacked after winning just two of 11 league games at the start of the 2009-10 season.

Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl said his side won a “first cup final” as they gave their Championship survival chances a shot in the arm with a 2-0 win against Birmingham.

Ike Ugbo scored his first two goals for the Owls as they gave their disgruntled fans something to cheer about at Hillsborough.

Thousands of home supporters brandished posters protesting against owner Dejphon Chansiri before kick-off but they were soon celebrating their first league win since New Year’s Day.

The victory repairs some of the damage of last week’s 4-0 defeat at Huddersfield and second-bottom Wednesday are now five points behind the Terriers and safety.

“It was a big, big fight from both teams,” Rohl said. “We fought for every inch today, we had some really good moments with the ball.

“It was a performance from the whole team, all in all it was a close game but we took the win.

“It was important, in our situation, it is just one game with three points and there are 15 games. We have to go.

“I am not speaking about momentum, I am speaking about three points, for me it was a first cup final.

“We know exactly our situation, we know everyone has to be in one direction and if we do this we can be strong and have a chance. But we have to be fighting for 15 games.”

Birmingham missed the chance to pull clear of the bottom three and they are now just six points above Wednesday and looking over their shoulder.

Things would have been different had they been more clinical and boss Tony Mowbray accepts they cannot afford many more games like this.

“We had 25 shots tonight and no goals,” he said. “We had 15 at West Brom last week and no goals.

“We have to be more clinical, we have to take more care. We have got quality at the top end of the pitch but we have to take more care. There is plenty right with the team. The goals are disappointing.

“We have to keep going and believing, there is a long way to go. We have to turn dominant performances into wins.

“I am trying to be positive, they have to shake themselves out of games like this, we have to get in front and win games comfortably.

“I am alright with it, I am not alright to lose football matches, but there is plenty right with the team. We have to take more care.”

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has dismissed talk of a repeat treble by saying he is “99.99” per cent certain it will not happen.

The champions are favourites to win a fourth Premier League title in succession and are also in strong contention to retain the Champions League and FA Cup.

Winning those trophies in back-to-back seasons would be unprecedented and therefore Guardiola, whose silverware haul in the past year also includes the European Super Cup and Club World Cup, feels it is unlikely.

The Spaniard said at a press conference: “Sextuple, ‘seventuple’? It’s a fairytale. It’s more complicated than that.

“We have 99.99 per cent possibility that we are not going to win the treble because it has never ever ever been done. The chances to do it again are like this (shows tiny gap between thumb and index finger) – minimal.

“If it was easy, another team – (Manchester) United in that time – would have done it again. It’s not easy.

“Everything is so difficult in this business. What we have done in the past is absolutely no guarantee of anything.

“What I like is that we are still there. We are close to the top of the league, we are in the other competitions.

“Hopefully we will arrive in March and April with the same feeling and if we have the same feeling, we will fight for the titles in May. This is the target.”

City have won their last nine games in all competitions and appear to be gathering familiar momentum at the right time.

Yet while the likes of Phil Foden and Julian Alvarez have earned praise for their form, and Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne have returned from injury, Jack Grealish’s levels have dipped.

The England international was one of the key players in last season’s treble success but has not hit the same heights this term and has not started City’s last four games.

His most recent subdued form comes after an unsettling incident in December when his home was burgled, while his fiancee and members of his family were in the property, as he played in a game at Everton.

Guardiola accepts that could have affected him.

He said: “I’m pretty sure (it did affect him). After a few days hopefully he forgot it but I’m pretty sure. I was affected too and I would have been affected too.

“It is not easy what happened with him, his girlfriend and family, so I’m pretty sure (it affected him).

“But he handled it really well. He is an incredible person with incredible humanity.

“Here, with security and people at his disposal, we have tried to help him but it happened. We haven’t spoken lately about that subject so hopefully it is fine.”

Guardiola pointed out Grealish’s lack of action was largely due to the form of other players.

He said: “It’s not a big, big problem – completely the opposite. He is competing with players at a high level. He is making steps to get his best (form). We need everyone and we need Jack.”

Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou has warned any proposal to introduce blue cards and sin bins will destroy football.

It was revealed on Thursday that a trial could commence soon where a blue card would be shown for dissent and professional fouls where the offenders would be sin binned for 10 minutes.

FIFA has since clarified the trial will not occur in elite football, while football’s lawmakers, the International Football Association Board, will not publish plans for the sin bin trial until next month.

However, Postecoglou was unequivocal in his belief it would be a wrong move.

“One team being down to 10 men for 10 minutes, you know what it’s going to do to our game? It’s going to destroy it, mate,” Postecoglou insisted.

“You’re going to have one team just sitting there trying to waste time for 10 minutes waiting for a guy to come on.

“Every other sport is trying to declutter. All we’re trying to do is go the other way for some bizarre reason.”

Postecoglou talked at length about the laws of the game ahead of Saturday’s visit of Brighton.

The Spurs boss defended goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, who conceded from another corner during last weekend’s 2-2 draw at Everton.

Vicario failed to deal with Dwight McNeil’s delivery into his six-yard area while under pressure from Jack Harrison, which was also the case in the 1-0 loss to Manchester City last month.

Ruben Dias crowded round Vicario on that occasion from a Kevin De Bruyne corner and the Tottenham goalkeeper’s flap resulted in Nathan Ake scoring.

Spurs have written to Professional Game Match Officials Limited this week to get clarification over why both goals have not fallen under the bracket of encroachment.

“We have sent some stuff to get some clarification,” Postecoglou revealed.

“I’m going to get called out for this, but there was a thing that was quite evident in the game that the goalkeeper was a protected species. I don’t think that’s just me making that up.

“The reason people used to say that was that if you really impeded a goalkeeper in any way in the six-yard box, you are going to get a foul. I knew that as a player, I knew that as a manager.

“I think there’s been a shift there where now to me, it’s obstruction.

“If you’re standing in front of a goalkeeper stopping him before a ball has even arrived, in layman’s terms that’s obstruction.

“With the goalkeepers, what’s that going to do now? Well, it’s pretty much opened it up that you can surround the goalkeeper and crowd him and put balls on top of him and just wait for the scramble to finish and see what happens.

“I was really proud of Vic the other day. I think they had nine corners after we conceded and I think he dealt with just about every other one by coming out and actually having a crack at it

“I can’t praise him highly enough over the way he handled it.

“And the whole thing where people say, ‘you’ve got to be stronger’, well, what does that mean?

“If he pushes or does anything to a player, with VAR, you’ve got no chance. You’re going to get a penalty against you.”

Tottenham have captain Son Heung-min back for the visit of Brighton and Postecoglou will hope his presence can boost their unlikely title bid.

Opta Analyst this week claimed Spurs have a 0.1 per cent chance of winning the Premier League this season.

“What did it say, 0.1 per cent? So we (have) got a chance then. Let’s go for it. No problems, no issues with that. We’ve got a chance,” Postecoglou smiled.

Sheffield Wednesday gave their disgruntled fans something to cheer about as Ike Ugbo’s double earned a 2-0 Championship win over Birmingham at Hillsborough.

Thousands of home supporters held up posters protesting against owner Dejphon Chansiri before kick-off but their angst was soon forgotten after Ugbo’s first two goals for the club gave the Owls a first league win since New Year’s Day.

Ugbo, a former Chelsea youngster who joined on loan from French club Troyes in the January transfer window, opened his account in the 15th minute and then added a crucial second after the break.

The victory goes some way to repairing the damage of last week’s 4-0 hammering at Huddersfield, cutting second-bottom Wednesday’s gap to safety to five points ahead of the weekend fixtures.

Birmingham bossed large parts of the game but failed to take their chances and – now just six points better off – will be one of the teams the Owls are eyeing to catch.

“Out of touch, out of time, Dejphon Chansiri, sell up and just go” was Wednesday fans’ message at the start and they had to watch their side weather some early pressure as the visitors forged two good chances.

In the seventh minute, Juninho Bacuna blazed an effort over after good work from Jordan James on the left and soon after, Lee Buchanan forced Owls goalkeeper James Beadle into a good stretching save.

And less than a minute later, Wednesday took the lead as they went straight up the other end and scored.

They worked the ball out to the right where Ian Poveda danced into the area and cut it back to Ugbo, who fired home from six yards out to open his Wednesday account.

That goal did not alter the flow of the game as Birmingham continued to dominate and Beadle had to be alert to get down to Andre Dozell’s low shot.

Wednesday had their moments and missed a great chance to double their lead in the 43rd minute but Ugbo shot wide when being slipped through by Ian Poveda.

Blues then had two chances to level before the break as Scott Hogan flashed just wide, while Beadle made another fine save to claw away Siriki Dembele’s deflected effort.

The hosts started the second half well and Ugbo might have doubled the lead as he was not penalised for coming back from an offside position but saw his shot blocked by Neil Etheridge.

The 25-year-old could not miss his next chance though as Marvin Johnson stood up a teasing cross to the far post which Ugbo nodded in.

Birmingham huffed and puffed in search of a response, with Jay Stansfield whistling an effort past the post and Paik Seung-Ho denied by another Beadle save as the hosts held on for maximum points and the clean sheet.

The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) is now in the process of setting a new election date, after the Supreme Court denied an application for the continuation of the temporary injunction, which initially barred the proceedings.

It is understood that the application was denied on the basis that the applicants, Patricia Garel and Beach Soccer Jamaica, did not establish that they are an affiliate or member of the JFF. As a result, the court ruled that there is no serious issue to be tried by the court.

"This has been the position of the JFF, and we are pleased that the way is now cleared for us to set the new election date, which will be determined by the Board," the JFF said in a statement on Friday.

The initial January 14 election date set by the JFF was thrown out the window when Garel filed the application in the Supreme Court seeking an order to compel the JFF to allow Beach Soccer to participate in the election of officers as the entity representing beach football in Jamaica.

Garel, in the application which was filed this week, contends that in 2022 the respondent, JFF, promulgated a new constitution and article 12 stipulates that Beach Soccer Jamaica is one of the affiliates under pillar 3 of the constitution.

By virtue of that promulgation under article 12, Beach Soccer became a member of the JFF and was so treated.

Subsequent to the promulgation of the constitution, Garel said recognition was given to Beach Soccer when the respondent invited Beach Soccer to send three representatives to the congress on September 24 last year, which is reflected in the minutes of the JFF.

The injunction was granted but expired today.

Incumbent Michael Ricketts, who has been at the helm since 2017, is being challenged by vice-president Raymond Anderson for the presidency.

Real Madrid’s top-of-the-table clash with Girona this weekend will not be a title decider, insists Los Blancos boss Carlo Ancelotti.

LaLiga leaders Real are two points ahead of second-placed Girona, who have defied the odds to emerge as genuine contenders in just their fourth-ever season in the top flight.

Michel’s side would leapfrog Madrid back into pole position with victory at the Bernabeu Stadium, but Ancelotti said Saturday’s showdown will not be decisive.

The Italian told a press conference: “Whoever wins will gain the advantage, but there is still a long way to go in the league.

“Both teams are very well positioned and the game won’t decide the league, but (the winners) will have an advantage over the others.

“I don’t think the league will be decided no matter what happens. Both teams have high points and the sooner we get to 80 points, the sooner we can win the league.

“You don’t win the league with 80 points, but if you get close as soon as possible, you’re very close.”

Girona finished 10th in LaLiga last season after winning promotion via the play-offs under head coach Michel in 2022 and have beaten both Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in this campaign.

Ancelotti said: “It will be a demanding match against a team that has done better than everyone else, including Real Madrid.

“It’s going to be tough, they’re doing very well. We have a lot of respect for them, while we are confident of winning again after drawing.”

Girona boss Michel will be absent from the Bernabeu dugout as he starts a two-match touchline ban after his red card in the closing stages of last week’s 0-0 home draw against Real Sociedad.

The Catalan club will also be without defender Daley Blind and midfielder Yangel Herrera through suspension.

On Michel’s absence, Ancelotti added: “Football is about the players, but the coach’s presence gives confidence to the team.

“However, it’s not a determining factor. It’s not decisive because football is about the players.

“Sometimes we coaches get carried away a bit in protest, but we need a bit more understanding because of the circumstances we’re in.

“A little more understanding could allow him to be at the Bernabeu on Saturday.”

Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger faces a late fitness test after missing last week’s 1-1 derby draw against city rivals Atletico due to a thigh injury.

Vinicius Junior (neck/shoulder) was an unused substitute against Atletico but will be in contention and Ancelotti confirmed defender Nacho (thigh) is hoping to be back for Tuesday’s Champions League last-16 clash in Leipzig.

Roma manager Daniele De Rossi said his players will not be daunted by the visit of Serie A leaders Inter Milan on Saturday – and insisted “no team is unbeatable”.

Inter Milan secured a 1-0 win against second-placed Juventus last weekend to open up a four-point lead at the top of the table.

Roma, who last month parted company with Jose Mourinho, sit in fifth position, 19 points behind their opponents on Saturday.

But De Rossi’s side will face Inter at the Stadio Olimpico fresh from an impressive 4-0 mauling of Cagliari – their third consecutive win since De Rossi took the managerial reins.

Roma have lost five of their previous six league games against Inter – last securing a home Serie A victory in 2016 – while Simone Inzaghi’s side have suffered just one defeat so far this season.

However, speaking ahead of Saturday’s match, De Rossi told a press conference: “No team is unbeatable and that goes for Inter too.

“We all agree that they’re the best team in Serie A. We know that this is a step up compared to the three matches we’ve won since my arrival.

“The bar will be raised. Planning needs to be more meticulous – our preparations for this game are different since we’re up against a team who are used to enjoying a lot of possession and dominating games.

“We should also be aware that there are times when they could be under the cosh. There are means of ruffling their feathers, as is the case in any fixture.

“But while we’re aware that we’re up against a formidable side, we also know that we ourselves are a top team capable of putting in a great performance.”

Mourinho departed Roma after a poor run of results under the Portuguese boss, with De Rossi, who made 616 appearances and scored 63 goals for the Giallorossi, placed in charge.

The former Italy international’s only previous managerial experience was an underwhelming four-month spell in charge of Serie B side SPAL.

“I believe I can do this job, I want to do this job and I’m very passionate,” he added.

“Perhaps a little fortunately I’ve found myself in the job I’d dream of doing all my life, so I’m trying to give it my absolute all without worrying about labels, or what did and didn’t happen before.

“I’m thinking one day at a time and just focusing on enjoying the ride. I don’t know how long it will last but I’m loving it.”

Mauricio Pochettino believes Chelsea’s 3-1 win against Aston Villa can be a springboard for his side to revive their ailing campaign.

The team gave arguably their best performance under the Argentinian in dispatching the Premier League high-flyers in Wednesday’s FA Cup fourth-round replay at Villa Park.

And it could not have come at a more opportune moment, arriving after the Blues were booed off by fans at the end of their previous outing, a 4-2 home loss to Wolves that left them 11th.

Chelsea have struggled to be consistent this season as a young squad have found expectations surrounding the club difficult to live up to, particularly in light of the £1billion transfer spend conducted by the ownership.

Yet they comprehensively defeated a Villa side currently in the top four and that recently enjoyed an unbeaten home run of almost year.

“Before (Villa) we had some good performances, but we are not consistent enough,” said Pochettino. “Maybe it could be the starting point for us, starting to be consistent and to show more often this type of performance.

“Always we believe (we can find) momentum and be consistent. Many things from the players and from the team (show we can be consistent).

“I hope it’s going to be a very good thing for us. I think the players deserve, they’re working hard from the start of the season. This type of game showed our capacity and our talent. We have a very good squad.

“We need to put it all together, behave the way that we behave, approach the game in the way that we approach. There are many good things we need to keep for the future.”

Chelsea beat Villa with three outstanding goals, two in the first half from Conor Gallagher, who drilled left-footed into the top corner after 11 minutes, and Nicolas Jackson, whose strike was his first since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations.

Enzo Fernandez capped a brilliant win with a free-kick into the top corner beyond his Argentina team-mate Emiliano Martinez shortly after the break.

“It was only a matter of time,” said Pochettino. “I think Conor and Enzo, they are so good. They work a lot, always committed to the team and to the club.

“Great for Conor, great for Enzo also. They deserve to feel this way, to feel happy, to enjoy playing football. These two guys, they’ve worked so hard to try to perform. I’m so pleased with the performance from them.”

Chelsea will be without defender Benoit Badiashile for Monday’s meeting with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, after he went off with a groin injury at Villa Park.

Levi Colwill’s fitness will be assessed ahead of the game, although Pochettino confirmed summer signing Romeo Lavia is not yet close to returning.

The manager said it was “impossible” the Belgium international would be available before the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool on February 25.

Five representatives from the English-speaking Caribbean will be among 45 match officials that will oversee the inaugural edition of the Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup scheduled for February 17 to March 10 in the United States.

The five, comprises three Jamaicans – referees Odette Hamilton, Daneon Parchment and assistant referee Stephanie-Dale Yee Sing –and two Trinidadians in assistant referee Carissa Douglas-Jacob and referee Crystal Sobers.

All five are experienced in their own right, having officiated at one or more major tournament at some point in their respective careers. However, Head of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) Referees department, Cardella Samuels, believes that with this being the first ever Women’s Gold Cup tournament, the appoint of the Jamaicans, in particular, speaks to some significance where their consistency and hard work are concerned.

“First, I must take the time to congratulate our Jamaican officials on their appointment. It is always a great feeling having our Match Officials being selected to officiate in these major tournaments. This is where we can say their hard work has paid off,” Samuels told SportsMax.TV.

“I must also laud the effort of the JFF and its referees programme, which ensures its match officials are consistently participating in Concacaf events, and credit also goes to the instructors who have been ensuring they (officials) are prepared,” she added.

The Gold Cup, being hailed as the new flagship competition for women's national teams will be played across four venues in three United States metropolitan areas.

Caribbean teams Guyana, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Haiti, are among six teams set to contest the preliminary round at Dignity Health Sports Park Track and Field Stadium on February 17.  Guatemala and El Salvador are the others.

The winning teams will advance to the group stage to join United States, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Panama, Costa Rica, Paraguay and Canada.

That 12-team group stage will be played between February 20 and 28, at Dignity Health Sports Park (Group A), Snapdragon Stadium (Group B), and Shell Energy Stadium (Group C). After round-robin play, the group winners, runners-up, and two best third-place finishers, will advance to the quarter-final round, scheduled for March 2 and 3, at BMO Stadium.

This will be followed by the semi-final round and final at Snapdragon Stadium on March 6 and 10, respectively.

English-speaking Caribbean officials: Odette Hamilton (referee), Daneon Parchment (video match official), Stephanie-Dale Yee Sing (assistant referee), Carissa Douglas-Jacob (assistant referee), Crystal Sobers (support referee).

Manchester City boss Gareth Taylor has expressed his confidence that Chloe Kelly will stay with the club following speculation about her future.

The Daily Mail this week reported that Paris St Germain want to sign England winger Kelly, whose current City deal runs to 2025, this summer.

Taylor told a press conference on Friday: “I’m really confident (Kelly will remain a City player).

“But at the end of the day these things happen, when players are doing well you get these rumours that come out. How true they are, I’m not too sure, how much propaganda’s involved.

“But we try to just normalise things and make sure the players keep their feet on the floor.

“We’re doing well at the moment, we’re on a really good run of form, but we have to continue in that same vein, we have to keep pushing to improve and Chloe is one of those players.

“Yes, she’s playing well at the moment, but there’s a lot to come from her I feel and with Chloe you have a really good personality to work with and someone who is hungry to learn.”

Kelly, famously scorer of England’s extra-time winner in the Euro 2022 final against Germany at Wembley, has netted eight times in all competitions this season for City – who have won their last seven Women’s Super League games and are second in the table.

Asked how important for the team’s development it was that players like Kelly and fellow Lionesses forward Lauren Hemp stay with City, Taylor said: “Of course, it’s massive and we’re working so hard, like all of the other teams will be, to retain their best players.

“But at the end of the day it’s a free world and if players are not excited about what we’re doing, or players at other clubs are not excited about what they’re doing, of course that’s when their heads can get turned a little bit.

“We have our levels we’ll go to, we have our way of working that I think is great and one of the reasons why these players are being talked about.

“For us it’s about coming to an agreement that suits everyone, which I think is really important, and life goes on.

“If players leave, which we’ve seen has happened to us, has happened to other teams, life goes on, we continue in the same vein.

“Of course we want people who are committed to being here at the club. We have that at this moment in time.

“With Lauren, there’s been a bit of speculation, but I think her performances have been top class, she’s been amazing.”

Taylor was speaking ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup fifth-round trip to Arsenal.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes a proposal to introduce blue cards and sin-bins to football does not “sound like a fantastic idea” initially.

The PA news agency understands that blue cards will be shown to players sin-binned in new trials to try and improve participant behaviour.

It is understood that the initial trial phase will not feature top-level competitions to avoid players being in events with different rules concurrently.

PA understands that plans to publish details of these trials have been delayed until next month, but Klopp believes a blue card could present “more opportunities to fail”.

He told a press conference: “I think everything what the actual situation shows is we should keep it as simple as somehow possible, for the referees as well.

“It’s a difficult job, often quite emotional when we speak about it more so because it’s after the game, and I think the introduction of a blue card would just give more opportunities to fail as well because the discussion will be: ‘It was a blue card, should it have been a yellow card, now it’s 10 minutes off, in the good old times it would have been a red card or only a yellow’.

“These kind of things just make it more complicated. If they want to test it I have no problem with testing if that’s the first step to agreeing or it already being sure it will happen – I don’t know that.

“It doesn’t sound like a fantastic idea in the first moment but actually I can’t remember the last fantastic idea (which) came from these guys, if they ever had one. I am 56 and, pah, never.”

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou also remained unconvinced by the proposals, adding his “biggest issue” in football is VAR.

“I don’t think people will be surprised by my thoughts on it. I struggle to understand this urgency all of a sudden to bring in new things,” he said.

“I don’t know if there’s that much wrong with the game as I see it. My biggest issue with the game right now is that VAR has changed the experience, whether you’re a player, a manager or a supporter or whatever you are I think it’s changed the experience of football.

“I assume that’s a means to an end, that the introduction of technology is going to get us to a better place. I remain to be convinced about that.

“Beyond that, I don’t know why a different colour card is going to make any difference. I struggle with this whole taking from other sports.”

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta hopes that the proposals would be “tested very well” if introduced.

“I don’t know when we’re going to get there,” he said.

“I think we’ve got a lot going on with decisions, with technology, with what is coming. I don’t know if we are ready for that yet.

“Who knows (if it is a good idea). Hopefully it’s going to be tested very well before they introduce it at this level.”

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe admitted he was “not a big fan” of the new proposals.

He said: “I’m not a big fan, to be honest. I think that’s what yellow cards are for. I think the current system works well, it’s just got to be applied right.

“I think adding a blue card would just add more confusion, in my opinion, so I’m against it.

“I think (sin-bins) would change it a lot, but again not, for me, in a good way because I think it will make it very bitty, more stop-start.

“I fear for the players who would have to go off for 10 minutes and then re-find the rhythm of a Premier League game after 10 minutes out, I’m just not sure it works, personally.”

Wolves boss Gary O’Neil believes blue cards could “damage” the stadium experience.

“I haven’t looked into it too much, it would damage the in-stadium experience, it would change the game drastically, to have to spend 10 minutes down to 10 men,” he said.