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Tottenham Hotspur got back to winning ways in the Premier League with a gritty 1-0 victory at Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday night.

Antonio Conte would have been looking to spark a reaction after his side were defeated in the north London derby last weekend, before being held in a goalless statement against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League on Tuesday.

And he certainly got it as Harry Kane headed home the match-winner in the 22nd minute.

The England skipper met Heung-min Son’s perfectly timed cross to loop an effort over Seagulls goalkeeper Robert Sanchez. He celebrated by pointing to the sky after what has been an incredibly difficult week for the Lilywhites after the sudden passing of fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone.

Both the 29-year-old goalscorer and Sky Sports’ man of the match Ryan Sessegnon dedicated the win to the impactful Italian, who was known as ‘The Marine.’

If anyone epitomised his ‘brutal’ training regime and imperious conditioning, then it was Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who proved to be the true driving force behind the three points at the Amex Stadium.

The Danish powerhouse was absolutely everywhere, not only helping to defend in what was initially a three-man engine room alongside Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma but also further up the pitch, in part thanks to the tactical tweak.

Indeed, Hojbjerg contributed more interceptions than any player on the pitch with a total of four, which was just three fewer than what the rest of Conte’s team managed on the night, as per SofaScore. He also put in four clearances, one block, and won two duels too.

He wasn’t dubbed “a monster” by ex-Denmark international Morten Bisgaard, for nothing, clearly. Meanwhile, his former manager Jose Mourinho, who signed him for £15m from Southampton in 2020, once suggested that he was the captain without the armband, only further emphasising his influence on the pitch.

The 27-year-old midfielder led the way for touches, by quite some margin, with 94 across the 90 minutes he was on the pitch. Hojbjerg would also provide 69 accurate passes, of which one was a key chance created and he managed to get forward with a 100% dribble success rate.

Centre-back Eric Dier was closest to Hojbjerg in terms of influence, managing 21 fewer touches. That only goes to show just how much of Tottenham’s game ran through the £100k-per-week animal.

As evident above and going by football.london Alasdair Gold’s remarks in his post-game column, Hojbjerg was the “driving force in both halves” and was clearly a big part of the side sealing a much-needed victory, one that cements Spurs in third place for at least another week.

AND in other news, Paratici can seal his best Spurs signing yet with £105m “phenomenon” outperforming Son…

Sunderland have been no stranger to transfer gaffes over the years as they have spent big on players and been left with egg on their face after they have failed to deliver on the pitch.

The Black Cats have had expensive flops, as well as bargain signings, in transfer windows gone by but they have also missed out or avoided deals for players who have gone on to be terrific at the top level.

Managers, sporting directors, and owners all have to make big decisions every single window when it comes to who the club will pursue and sign to improve the team, with the hope that they will get more calls right than wrong.

One decision Sunderland, and manager Steve Bruce at the time, got badly wrong was avoiding a swoop to sign striker Luis Suarez from Ajax in 2010.

Chief scout Ricky Sbragia sent scouts to watch the forward in action as Bruce wanted a strike partner for Darren Bent ahead of the 2010/11 campaign.

However, the manager opted to move for Asamoah Gyan ahead of the South American marksman and this turned out to be a huge error by the English coach.

Gyan scored ten Premier League goals in his debut campaign on Wearside before leaving to join Al-Ain FC, whilst Suarez went on to enjoy a phenomenal career.

He impressed enough for Ajax in the first half of 2010/11 to convince Liverpool to sign him in January, six months on from Sunderland’s interest in him, and he went on to produce 69 goals and 40 assists in 110 Premier League matches for the Reds.

Former Anfield defender Jamie Carragher once lauded the superstar’s talent, saying:

“He is simply one of the greatest players who ever played for the club (Liverpool). Talk about all-time greats and he is in the top five. The goals he scored and the way he played was mind-blowing.

“You could see he was going to be great the moment he walked into Melwood and got on the training pitch. [ . . . ] Luis came in and just took our breath away on the training pitch. You could see we had a top, top talent and that talent reached a pinnacle for Liverpool at the end of 2013 and in the first half of 2014. He was unplayable at times. Perfect.”

Suarez did not stop there, though, as he joined Spanish giants Barcelona in 2014 and enjoyed a sensational spell with the Catalonian outfit. He ended his time there with 195 goals and 113 assists in 283 games in all competitions, which works out at 1.09 goal contributions per match.

The striker, who now plays for Nacional in Uruguay, proved himself at the very top level over the course of a number of years and Sunderland could have benefitted from his talent on the pitch if they had snapped him up in 2010.

Bruce may look back on his decision to go for Gyan ahead of Suarez as one of the “what if?” moments of his career at the Stadium of Light. The forward’s statistics suggest that he would have been a phenomenal player for the Black Cats, which is why it was a huge error to go against a move for the then-Ajax man.

West Ham boss David Moyes opted for a 4-4-2 formation away against Liverpool on Wednesday night and while the Hammers suffered a 1-0 defeat, there were plenty of positives for the Scotsman to take away.

The Irons were unfortunate not to earn at least a point, with Jarrod Bowen’s penalty miss and Tomas Soucek’s late chance proving vital in Jurgen Klopp’s side earning the three points.

However, one aspect of West Ham’s game that simply did not work was Flynn Downes as a right midfielder in the formation and Moyes must ditch the 23-year-old when his side take on Bournemouth on Monday night.

The former Swansea City man was making his first Premier League start for the Hammers at Anfield after impressing for the Hammers in the Europa Conference League but struggled to have any real impact on the game.

Downes’ 6.4 rating from Sofascore was the joint-worst of any player to feature in the game from both sides, as he registered just 32 touches and completed a disappointing 14/21 passes, resulting in a less-than-impressive pass success rate of 67%.

Given that passing has been one of the Englishman’s most notable qualities in the Conference League games this season, it was clear that he wasn’t familiar with the right-midfield role that Moyes asked of him, and the Scottish manager should hopefully learn his lesson and only play him in the middle from now on.

It is perhaps easy to see why Moyes played him out on the wing, in the hope that he could diminish the threat offered by Liverpool’s wide players, but the only game of the game came via a Kostas Tsimikas cross from Downes’ side, which suggests that Moyes’ experiment did not pay off.

During the midfielder’s time with Swansea City, he earned a lot of praise from Russell Martin for his ability and attitude, with the former Norwich City defender, saying:

“Flynn was incredible, it’s difficult to single people out, but he does the dirty work perfectly well.”

These attributes are perhaps not as appreciated out on the wing and while it would be harsh to drop Downes after only his first start, Moyes can surely set his side up to be more attacking when they face Bournemouth at the London Stadium on Monday night, so the youngster should drop to the bench.

حرص أشرف صبحي وزير الشباب والرياضة، على زيارة معسكر منتخب مصر تحت 20 عامًا، لمؤازرة اللاعبين والجهاز الفني بقيادة أسامة نبيه، وذلك قبل المواجهة المرتقبة أمام المغرب في نصف نهائي كأس أمم إفريقيا.

ويستعد منتخب مصر لمواجهة المغرب، مساء غد الخميس في إطار مواجهات نصف نهائي كأس أمم إفريقيا للشباب.

وكان في استقبال وزير الشباب الرياضة كل من مصطفى أبو زهرة، وليد درويش ومحمد أبو حسين أعضاء مجلس إدارة الاتحاد المصري لكرة القدم، وأشاد أشرف صبحي خلال زيارته بالأداء الرجولي الذي قدمه لاعبو المنتخب المصري طوال مشوارهم في البطولة، مؤكدًا ثقته الكاملة في قدرتهم على مواصلة المشوار بنجاح وتقديم مباراة قوية تليق باسم مصر في نصف نهائي كأس الأمم الإفريقية تحت 20 سنة.

طالع | وزير الرياضة يطمئن على سلامة الرياضيين المصريين في ليبيا بعد التوترات الأمنية

وقال أشرف صبحي في كلمته للاعبي منتخب مصر للشباب: “أنتم الآن تمثلون مصر في واحدة من أهم مراحل مسيرتكم، ونعلم جيدًا أن لديكم الروح القتالية والإرادة التي تؤهلكم لصناعة الفارق، نؤمن بكم ونقف جميعًا خلفكم، وننتظر منكم الأداء المشرف الذي يليق بعلم مصر”.

كما أشاد وليد درويش عضو مجلس إدارة الاتحاد المصري لكرة القدم باللاعبين وروحهم القتالية، وطالبهم بمزيد من التركيز والدقة والتحلي بالإرادة التي منحتهم التفوق خلال مشوارهم في البطولة، وقادتهم إلى نصف النهائي، كما أشاد بكل أفراد الجهاز الفني.

ومن جانبه أعرب مصطفى أبو زهرة عن تفاؤله بالروح القتالية والصمود والاستبسال الذي أظهره اللاعبون أمام غانا في ربع النهائي، مؤكدًا أنه فخور بهم جميعا ويثق في قدرتهم على مواصلة المسيرة وتحقيق طموحات الشعب المصري.

بدوره أشاد محمد أبو حسين بالأجواء الإيجابية والحب والتعاون الذي يجمع كل أفراد المنتخب مشددًا على أن معدن اللاعب المصري أصيل ودائما يكسب الرهان في المناسبات الكبري.     

وتقدم أحمد خالد كاباكا قائد منتخب مصر تحت 20 عامًا بالشكر لوزير الشباب والرياضة، والاتحاد المصري لكرة القدم برئاسة هاني أبو ريدة على الدعم المستمر، مؤكدًا التزام جميع اللاعبين ببذل أقصى الجهد في مواجهة المغرب من أجل الوصول إلى النهائي وتحقيق اللقب.

Members of the media praised midfielder Granit Xhaka for his brilliant final day contribution on what could be his final game for Arsenal.

Arsenal stroll to victory

The Premier League side missed out on their first league title in nearly 20 years, with Man City beating them to the punch, but that didn’t stop Mikel Arteta’s side from putting on a show as they thrashed Wolves this afternoon.

Arsenal didn’t take long to open the scoring, with Xhaka scoring inside the first 12 minutes and netting another one just a few moments later.

The Switzerland international’s multiple final day goals come as a fairytale, specifically because he could well be leaving this summer for Bayer Leverkusen according to multiple reliable sources.

The Bundesliga side are pushing to secure a deal for Xhaka and today’s comfortable victory over Wolves may be his last ever appearance for Arsenal.

Supporters were filmed singing his name during and before kick off, with the 30-year-old’s strikes today putting the cherry on top of a sweet potential farewell for him.

Members of the media fittingly paid tribute, with journalists Sam Dean (The Telegraph) and Buchi Laba (Wazobia FM, Kenya) saying this on the Swiss:

Weighing in on the praise for Xhaka, other reporters had this to say, with Simon Collings of The Evening Standard drawing attention to the fact Arsenal paid just £13 million to originally sign the player – a figure some would consider a steal.

Who is Granit Xhaka?

Signed from Borussia Monchengladbach in 2016, Xhaka has gone on to amass nearly 300 appearances for the Gunners in all competitions.

Xhaka is also a hero at international level, becoming a centurion with Switzerland, yet reports suggest he has now played his last game in north London.

If Leverkusen secure a summer deal for him, they could be getting a player of both real quality and experience.

Tottenham Hotspur winger Lucas Moura has attracted criticism from BBC Radio 5 Live pundit Alan Hutton after images emerged of an incident involving a ball boy.

The Lowdown: Spurs bounce back…

Spurs have sealed two mightily impressive comeback wins in the space of a few days with crucial victories away to Bournemouth (3-2) in the Premier League and Marseille in Europe (2-1).

The former result appears to have built up real spirit in Antonio Conte’s squad with the Lilywhites now making it two wins from two after finding themselves behind.

Against the Cherries, Spurs fought back from a two-goal deficit to ultimately clinch a crucial league victory in the race for a top four spot.

Goals from Ryan Sessegnon, Ben Davies and a neat last minute finish from Rodrigo Bentancur sealed all three points for Tottenham at the Vitality Stadium – yet one incident involving Lucas has attracted some attention.

The Latest: Hutton slams Lucas…

Speaking to Football Insider, ex-Lilywhites defender Hutton has slammed the Brazilian for his altercation with a ball boy when Spurs were chasing the game.

As shown by images courtesy of the BBC, Lucas was seen wresting the ball off a Bournemouth ball boy who was pictured visibly upset after the incident.

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Hutton claims, despite Spurs’ desperation to get on with the game, that situations like that must not happen.

He explained:

“You can’t react that way. But you need to understand that the ball boys are there to do a job and it is to get the ball and give it back as soon as possible. That is why they are there, they are not there to hold up play and stop time.

“It does come up now and then. All it takes is a briefing with the ball boys before a game, which I am sure they have, to tell them to get the ball back in play as soon as possible. That stops this situation.

“I can see both sides of the coin but at the end of the day they are there for a job and that is what they have to do. But, as a professional footballer you can’t react to that. I mean they are kids, come on.

“If they are not going to give you the ball back instantly just walk away and let the referee deal with it.“

The Verdict: Correct…

Lucas’ eagerness to get the ball back in play is obviously understandable in the scenario, yet tussling with a ball boy has to be deemed unacceptable.

Spurs will be overjoyed with their successive comeback victories but moments like this must be avoided in future, not least for both the player and club’s reputations.

Unai Emery has held further talks with Aston Villa officials over potential signings, as per Football Insider.

The Lowdown: ‘Huge’ January budget

The 50-year-old has officially begun work in the Midlands ahead of his first game in charge at Villa Park against Manchester United this weekend.

The Spaniard already has his eye on the January transfer window and is set to be backed with a ‘huge’ budget in the New Year from owners NSWE.

Villarreal pair Nicolas Jackson and Yeremy Pino have already been linked with a reunion with Emery, who has held more talks with Villa officials.

The Latest: Further talks

Football Insider shared a story on Sunday afternoon where they spoke to pundit Tam McManus.

They added in the report that the latest from their ‘Villa source is that further talks have taken place among the club’s recruitment team and Emery about potential targets’, and therefore his first signing in charge of the club.

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The Verdict: Good news

It is good to see that Emery and Villa chiefs are being proactive ahead of the New Year, which you’d expect could be a busy time in regards to both incomings and outgoings.

A left-sided centre-back appears to be high up on Emery’s wish list, which has left Tyrone Mings’ future in doubt; and with Jackson and Pino also linked, additions in the final third could also be a priority.

Hopefully Villa will be laying the groundwork during the World Cup for winter arrivals, and the sooner they secure Emery’s targets, the better.

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou will be finding it ‘incredibly difficult’ to interact with some of his players due to the language barrier, according to the club’s former striker Frank McAvennie.

The Lowdown: Kobayashi agrees terms

The Premiership champions already have three Japanese players – Kyogo Furuhashi, Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda, all of whom require an interpreter – and that contingent soon looks set to become four.

Recent reports suggest that the Hoops have agreed personal terms to sign Vissel Kobe centre-back Yuki Kobayashi in January, with him expected to link up with his trio of fellow countrymen in the New Year.

The Latest: McAvennie’s comments

Speaking to Football Insider, McAvennie insisted that whilst Kobayashi would be a welcome addition at Celtic, he believes it’s no easy task for Postecoglou to work around the off-field obstacle in training every day.

The 62-year-old said: “They have got interpreters sitting on the bench and out on the training pitch. It must be incredibly difficult for the manager to try and get all that sunk into players when there is so many nationalities.

“From what I hear they are training with the players so that if the manager shouts at them they know what he is saying. It must be hard for the players.“

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The Verdict: More awareness needed

Whilst there are many issues in football which go unaddressed, the language barrier and translation situation should receive more awareness than it seemingly does at present.

The Celtic boss previously recalled an incident during his time in the J-League which saw one of his translators shown a yellow card for attempting to share a message with him, and despite protests, it wasn’t overturned.

Officials and those involved in the sport need to have a better understanding of the challenges being faced on the sidelines to make it easier for new signings to transition into the British game moving forward.

Glasgow Rangers head into the winter break second in the Premiership table following a stuttering start to the season, which also included Champions League humiliation for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side.

The Gers finished bottom of their group, losing all their matches and scoring just twice, and this means the club won’t have European football to look forward to after Christmas for the first time in three years.

Van Bronckhorst is certainly under pressure and although their next match isn’t until 15th December, there is no guarantee he will still be in charge.

Until he leaves, the Dutchman will continue to look for future signings, and there is one player that the Ibrox side should go back to after following summer disappointment.

Ditch Alfredo Morelos

German striker Davie Selke turned down Rangers advances in the summer window in order to stay at Hertha Berlin, however, the player has since requested a move in January, with that presenting them with the perfect chance to sign him.

Although Rangers haven’t been linked this time around, they should definitely be considering a move for the 27-year-old, especially with their current goalscoring woes.

Morelos has scored just three times all season while against St Mirren at the weekend, he looked sluggish and devoid of all confidence. Indeed, the Colombian completed only 71% of his passes and failed to have a shot on target during the contest.

The striker’s contract expires at the end of the season, and with every passing performance, it looks as though he is playing his final season at Ibrox.

Selke, who has netted 54 goals in his senior career may not be a proper out-and-out centre forward, however, he could be the perfect foil for Antonio Colak, handing Rangers the chance to ditch Morelos in the process.

With 35 Bundesliga goals, he has proven ability in one of the best leagues in Europe. The German was even dubbed a “strike sensation” by the official Bundesliga Twitter account and a move on that evidence certainly makes a lot of sense for Rangers.

Perhaps in the Scottish top flight, he could recapture his best form and give the Light Blues some attacking impetus that they have been sorely lacking so far this term.

The next six weeks will be interesting from a transfer viewpoint, and Ross Wilson must re-enter the race to sign the Hertha Berlin forward.

A claim has emerged on Aston Villa boss Unai Emery and his interest in signing Pau Torres from his former club Villarreal…

What’s the talk?

During a Q&A (14/11/22) for the Birmingham Mail, journalist Ashley Preece has revealed that the Spanish head coach wants to sign the central defender but that he may not be able to until next summer.

When asked about whether or not there are “legs” to the club’s reported interest in the £40m-rated defender, he replied:

“Pau Torres, of course there is, Villarreal’s standout player and one Emery rates highly.

“He’d love to bring him to Villa Park but, should Villa firm up their interest, it won’t be, I feel, until the summer. Emery will continue to work with what he’s got defensively at the moment. Konsa and Mings have been great value these past weeks. Chambers struggled at OT… Diego Carlos will return early 2023 (Emery likes him).

“But you’re right, Emery likes his defenders to start attacks, Torres can do that and he would be seen as an upgrade on what we’ve got. One to watch, that one.”

It would be a masterstroke

Emery using his contacts at Villarreal to secure a deal to sign Torres, whether it happens in the January transfer window or next summer, would be a masterstroke by the Spaniard.

One of the benefits of bringing in a manager of his reputation, with the career that he has had, is that he could have the pull to convince signings to potentially take a step down, if they are playing in Europe elsewhere, to join the project at Villa Park if he has worked with them before.

Torres coming in as a result of his pre-existing relationship with the defensive titan would, therefore, be a masterstroke by Emery, and by the club for bringing the manager in to replace Steven Gerrard.

The Villarreal centre-back ranks in the 87th and 95th percentile among players in his position over the last 365 days in Europe’s top five leagues for progressive passes made and dribbles completed respectively per 90.

Meanwhile, current central defenders Ezri Konsa and Tyrone Mings both rank in the 57th percentile or lower in these statistics in the Premier League.

This suggests that Torres would be a major upgrade on Villa’s current options in that area of the pitch and would be a better fit for what Emery wants from his defenders, as he is more adept at bringing the ball out from the back and passing into forward areas.

The Spain international averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.09 in La Liga last season and won 66% of his individual duels, which shows that he can deliver consistently brilliant defensive displays, dominating opposition attackers, whilst also offering quality in possession.

Therefore, bringing him in would be a masterstroke by Villa and Emery and the club must simply ensure that they can get a deal over the line for the centre-back in one of the next two windows.