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  • Watford Watford 0 4 Leeds United

    Watford Watford 0 4 Leeds United

    Leeds maintained their promotion charge with an emphatic 4-0 victory against Watford at Vicarage Road to extend their lead at the top of the Championship table to five points.

    Two goals inside nine first-half minutes from Dan James – the Wales international pouncing on mistakes from the Hornets – set Daniel Farke’s side on course.

    A third before half-time from Manor Solomon added further pain and an intricate move finished off with brilliant close control from Joel Piroe just after the hour left Leeds free to coast home unchallenged.

    Watford deserved credit for not giving up the fight against the league leaders, pushing hard to the final whistle, but defeat added to a poor run of just one win in their past 10 matches for Tom Cleverley’s side, who slipped to 12th place.

    Watford had eased growing pressure on their manager with a creditable 2-2 draw away at Sunderland on Saturday and made a bright enough start, exchanging chances with Leeds in the opening minutes.

    But any positivity at Vicarage Road evaporated quickly with a string of unforced errors which, against a side as confident as the league leaders, were always likely to be punished.

    James was first to capitalise, latching on to a loose pass from Edo Kayembe inside his own half, driving forward and slotting past Egil Selvik in the Hornets’ goal.

    Eight minutes later, it was Kayembe who was again the villain, this time with a loose pass inside the Leeds penalty area. Two passes and one lightning counter attack later, through Ilia Gruev and Piroe, James had the ball again.

    His finish this time, high inside Selvik’s left hand post, was emphatic.

    Watford saw enough of the ball to believe they were still in it but on 35 minutes two became three – Manor Solomon receiving the ball from a throw in, cutting inside and firing home via a wicked deflection off the heel of Mattie Pollock which left Selvik no chance.

    Leeds were not done, adding a fourth just after the hour mark, Ao Tanaka combining with Piroe, whose dazzling close control put Pollock on his backside and whose left-foot finish proved too good for Selvik.

    It was a 14th league goal of an increasingly impressive season for the striker.

    With Leeds cutting loose with their full repertoire of attacking skills, James went close to bagging his hat-trick, pushing a shot from distance just wide after a flowing move.

    Yet, with Leeds relaxing, the home side never gave up the fight and might have grabbed a consolation, Giorgi Chakvetadze hitting the bar and Imran Louza forcing a fine save from Illan Meslier three minutes from time.

    Watford manager Tom Cleverley speaking to BBC Three Counties Radio:

    “A tough night? Absolutely. We were in the presence of a very strong Championship side. I think we knew that before but it is one of the best teams I have seen at this level.

    “It should give us inspiration that they are the levels we want to get to. I feel like all my players have got the potential to reach that level but it doesn’t just happen so I challenge the players to be more intense in their work in the week, more professional wherever they can – and I am not saying any of them are unprofessional. You can always do more.

    “But there were some positives with the character we showed to try and play so I cannot criticise my players. It would have been easy to chuck the towel in or start looking towards Saturday and protecting yourself when the game is done but they kept going.”

    Leeds manager Daniel Farke speaking to BBC Radio Leeds:

    “We started on the front foot with good chances but I have to say that Watford also had good situations in the first 10 minutes. They are a good side who are dangerous on the counter-attack so it was important for us to score the first goal.

    “I’m not sure the 4-0 reflects how difficult this game was because I really like how Tom [Cleverley] sets up his team. I think he is doing an excellent job here and it was difficult to take possession away from them.

    “I predict not many teams will leave here with three points so I am pretty happy with the win and the scoreline and clean sheet.

    “But we were really excellent in executing our counter-attacks and the fourth goal was poetry in motion. You would have to say the individual performance of the players up front was of a top level.

    “If we perform like this our offensive row is unplayable at times.”

  • Juventus 2 -1 PSV

    Juventus 2 -1 PSV

    Samuel Mbangula registered late to give Juventus a slender advantage over PSV in their Champions League knockout phase play-off.

    The Italian side, who finished 20th during the group phase, made a dominant start as Nicolas Gonzalez, Kenan Yildiz and Paris St-Germain loanee Randal Kolo Muani all had opportunities.

    Weston McKennie broke the deadlock in the 34th minute with a stunning strike from the edge of the area after PSV failed to clear their lines.

    Mbangula was introduced as a half-time substitute for Yildiz and almost had an immediate impact when his volley was cleared off the line by Ryan Flamingo.

    Despite struggling to carve out clear cut chances, the Dutch side levelled with just their second shot on target when Ivan Perisic nestled an effort into the bottom corner.

    Perisic’s first Champions League goal since 2020 was allowed to stand after a lengthy check by the video assistant referee following appeals that Noah Lang had used his hand in the build-up.

    With the game seemingly heading for a stalemate, Mbangula popped up to score the winner from just a couple of yards out.

    It is the second time the two clubs have met in this season’s Champions League with Juventus winning 3-1 when they hosted PSV in the group phase.

    The second-leg will take place at Philips Stadion on 19 February.

    Player of the match
    Number: 6L. Kelly
    Average rating8.38
    Juventus(active)
    PSV
    Number:6L. Kelly
    Average Rating:8.38

    Number:26Douglas Luiz
    Average Rating:7.06

    Number:16W. McKennie
    Average Rating:7.04

    Number:29M. Di Gregorio
    Average Rating:6.77

    Number:22T. Weah
    Average Rating:6.77

    Number:10K. Yıldız
    Average Rating:6.77

    Number:5M. Locatelli
    Average Rating:6.70

    Number:11N. González
    Average Rating:6.63

    Number:12Renato Veiga
    Average Rating:6.60

    Number:20R. Kolo Muani
    Average Rating:6.30

    Number:4F. Gatti
    Average Rating:6.29

    Number:7Francisco Conceição
    Average Rating:6.25

    Number:19K. Thuram
    Average Rating:6.00

    Number:9D. Vlahović
    Average Rating:6.00

    Number:51S. Mbangula
    Average Rating:5.95

    Number:8T. Koopmeiners
    Average Rating:5.60

  • How Kompany is ‘paving way’ for black coaches at Bayern

    How Kompany is ‘paving way’ for black coaches at Bayern

    Six months into his role as Bayern Munich manager, Vincent Kompany’s side are eight points clear at the top of the Bundesliga and on course to regain the title they relinquished to Bayer Leverkusen last season.

    The 38-year-old coach was brought in after Bayern ended the 2023-24 season 18 points off the top spot in third under Thomas Tuchel – their worst league finish since 2010-11.

    Kompany became the Bundesliga’s first black manager and only the second black manager in any of Germany’s professional football leagues.

    However, he is not the first in his family to make history as a black pioneer. Kompany’s father, Pierre, arrived in Belgium in 1975 as a refugee from what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo and went on to be elected as the country’s first black mayor when he topped the poll for municipality of Ganshoren in Brussels, in 2018.

    Troy Townsend, former head of development for Kick It Out, says he and others are “galvanised by the potential for success” of Kompany who, he believes, will “pave the way” for others.

    In a Football Daily special on BBC Radio 5 Live, presenter Eli Mengem explores what has made Kompany into the man he is today and how the Belgian has become a trailblazer for black coaches.

    ‘No fear’ – early career at Anderlecht

    Former Anderlecht manager Hugo Broos was the man who gave Kompany his senior team debut aged 17, when he selected the defender to play in a Champions League second qualifying round tie against AFC Rapid Bucuresti.

    The 72-year-old says the youngster “had no fear”.

    “We were immediately convinced we had a great player,” he says.

    Kompany was one of a golden generation of Belgian footballers, alongside the likes of Eden Hazard, Kevin de Bruyne, Thibaut Courtois, Jan Vertonghen and Romelu Lukaku.

    Broos, who won three European trophies with Anderlecht and currently manages the South African national team, adds: “Vincent was even a little bit higher than all those guys.”

    Hamburg helped him learn humility

    After winning the Belgian championship twice in three seasons with Anderlecht, Kompany was courted by big Premier League clubs including Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United and Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea.

    However, in 2006, aged 21, he opted instead to join German side Hamburg for a then club-record fee of about £7m.

    He endured a tough start in the Bundesliga, picking up an injury straight away while the club got into a relegation battle. It was also during his time in Germany that his mother passed away and sister got cancer.

    As the podcast explores, Kompany’s mother Jocelyne, who worked as a trade unionist, was an influential figure, helping to instil the socially conscious values that he exhibited during his time at City, when he worked with Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham to help tackle homelessness.

    Kompany has previously said that his difficult spell at Hamburg taught him to, “stay humble on the way up”.

    “That was maybe the best step he ever could make. Discipline. At that moment, he needed that. That was a good thing,” says Broos.

    “That changed him a little bit and it was maybe that change that he needed to become the player he became.”

    In 11 years at Manchester City between 2008 and 2019, eight of which were spent as club captain, Kompany won four Premier League titles, two FA Cups and four League Cups and is widely regarded as one of the top-flight’s best-ever defenders.

    “We won the league and went out to the local pub, the Railway in Hale,” says former City team-mate Kyle Walker.

    “He’s got a pint of Guinness and everyone’s following us around. He stood up and he did a speech. He loves talking. But to do that, and bring not just the lads together, but the fans who were joining that moment with us, that was powerful for me.”

    The road to Munich

    After working as head coach at his boyhood club Anderlecht, Kompany earned plaudits for bringing Burnley back to the Premier League in 2022-23 by playing an impressive brand of attacking, possession-based football.

    During his season in the Premier League, Kompany was one of only two black managers in the English top flight – alongside Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo.

    Walker remembers his former captain taking his coaching badges and says it was clear that Kompany was inspired by manager Pep Guardiola.

    “You could see that he wanted to do something, taking little bits and bobs off of Pep,” he says.

    However, the coach’s lack of pragmatism and failure to bend from his approach even when results were bad was criticised when Burnley were relegated in their first season back in the top flight.

    So how did that lead him to Bayern?

    German football journalist Seb Stafford-Bloor says it is over-simplistic to claim he has, “failed upwards” by taking the job in Munich.

    He compares Kompany’s appointment to Jurgen Klopp being hired by Borussia Dortmund in 2008, having led Mainz to relegation from the Bundesliga the previous season.

    Stafford-Bloor believes Kompany was hired partly because he was willing to accept the reality of the German giants’ management structure, unlike Tuchel, where sporting director Max Eberl oversees transfers.

    Following that experience, Stafford-Bloor says the club were looking for “an employee” who would be comfortable being “the next man in that chain”.

    Beyond Kompany’s willingness to work within a hierarchy, however, Stafford-Bloor also believes his stature among younger players at the club was an important consideration.

    “These guys grew up with Vincent Kompany winning Premier League titles and probably using him on Fifa,” he says.

    Making history at Bayern

    Now, having become the first black manager to work in the Bundesliga, Kompany is on course to make more history by winning it.

    Anti-racism campaigner Townsend says that black managers have to work “twice as hard” for opportunities, but believes that Kompany has long been seen as a leader.

    “He was spoken about as leadership material a long time before he went into management,” says Townsend. “Vincent was made a captain and everyone could see the material that came out of him that made him a captain.

    “So he gets spoken about with a lot of positives – the leadership, being able to marshal, words that can take you to the next level.

    “I’m not saying Vincent is not talented, because he is a wonderfully talented man. But a lot of players who played higher up the field – wide players, forward players, deep 10 positions – are not spoken about in that way.

    “They don’t have the same reference as they do with their white counterparts. I often wonder why. It’s often used as ‘power and pace’, and ‘the fast one’. Negative stereotypes that have existed for such a long time.”

    Townsend says, however, that Kompany is “dispelling those myths”.

    “He has been a trailblazer a lot of his life, a lot of his career,” he adds. “[He} may be a trailblazer for a new breed of black managers who can take not just the Premier League by storm but Europe by storm. Being the first in the Bundesliga, that is a massive statement.

    “I don’t even see a lot of black assistant managers in play at the moment, right across Europe. So, we are almost galvanised by the potential of success of the young manager, early in his managerial journey, which will then pave the way and open doors for others.

    “I am sure Vincent would know that, he is a very meticulous guy. He’ll know his heritage and know how important it will be for the next breed of black and brown managers that he is successful.”

  • Celtic’s quiet ‘machine’ Maeda key to toppling Bayern

    Celtic’s quiet ‘machine’ Maeda key to toppling Bayern

    Champions League play-off first leg: Celtic v Bayern Munich

    When: Wednesday, 12 February Where: Celtic Park, Glasgow. Kick-off: 20:00 GMT

    Coverage: Live commentary on BBC Sounds, text updates on BBC Sport app & website, highlights on BBC One & iPlayer

    A quick scan of Celtic forward Daizen Maeda’s social media accounts tells you two things abut him. He loves football. And he loves his family. That’s it.

    His endearingly short interviews in English, and even his native Japanese, give the impression he is a quiet, understated man.

    Those who know him best might say differently, but to the outside world that’s how it seems.

    His compatriot Kyogo Furuhashi often took the headlines at Celtic, before his departure last month for Rennes, due his knack of scoring big goals, and lots of them.

    But coaches have described Maeda as a “machine” and a “physical beast” for his seemingly unlimited stamina, and now he is having the best season of his Celtic career, scoring 21 goals so far.

    There is a reason the news he can now play against Bayern Munich, after his two-game ban was reduced on appeal, was greeted with unbridled joy among Celtic fans.

    Maeda’s presence increases their chances of toppling the German giants in the Champions League, no matter how small people think those chances are.

    Maeda can face Bayern Munich as Celtic win bid to reduce ban

    Published
    1 day ago

    ‘Bayern stars desperate to make up for lost season’

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    The ‘world’s best’ at pressing defenders

    After Celtic opened their Champions League campaign with a thumping 5-1 win against Slovan Bratislava, manager Brendan Rodgers heaped praise on Maeda.

    Former Celtic and Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart had used a clip of the 27-year-old thwarting a Slovan counter-attack on BBC Sport’s Champions League highlights programme.

    Maeda hounded Slovan’s right-back and centre-back, winning possession.

    Rodgers cited that moment and said he doubted “there’s anyone better in world football” at setting the tone from the front.

    There are numerous examples of the Celtic forward doing just that.

    In the League Cup final this season, he ran down Rangers defender Leon Balogun, stole the ball and ran through to score.

    Strangely, the moment which sums up his attitude and speed came near the end of a 6-0 drubbing of St Johnstone in September, when Celtic lost the ball in the final third and he sprinted nearly the length of the pitch to win it back with the game long since won.

    At the time, Rodgers applauded it on the touchline as much as any goal.

    His former coach at Yokohama F Marinos John Hutchinson knew exactly what was coming when Ange Postecoglou recruited him from his old club.

    “I have never seen a more physical player, in terms of speed and repeat sprinting, than Daizen,” he said in 2022, external.

    “Daizen is a physical beast. You’d have no issues sending him anywhere in Europe because it won’t be a problem to him. He’s a machine.”

    According to Opta data only fellow winger Nicolas Kuhn has put more pressure on defenders than Maeda in Celtic’s Champions League games this season, which underlines both players’ significant role without the ball, as well as with it.

    “He does all the things that you don’t need talent for to the highest level: all the running, the pressing,” Rodgers said before the Bayern clash.

    “His will to run and run and run is absolutely incredible and I haven’t worked with too many like that.

    “He keeps continuing to grow and develop and now you see his composure when he’s in front of goal, scoring all types of goals. I’m just very, very pleased that he’s with us.”

    00:33

    Media caption,

    Maeda’s hat-trick helps Celtic move into quarter-final

    More goals make Maeda ‘really special’

    Maeda’s hat-trick against Raith Rovers in the Scottish Cup at the weekend took his tally for the season to 21, his most productive in Scotland to date.

    Not bad for a player who has played out wide for most of the season.

    Three of those goals have come in the Champions League, including a brilliant curling effort to snatch a critical point against Club Brugge.

    Finishing was always a criticism of Maeda. Not that he lacked the ability to score good goals, but that he was guilty of some glaring misses.

    But this season his shot conversion rate has gone up from 13% to 22% in the Scottish Premiership, and his strikes have come in all different forms.

    Against Rovers he was so sharp in the penalty box for his hat-trick, but against Dundee last week he scored a sublime chip.

    “Not only is he working really hard and using his energy and pace – but it looks as though any chance that comes to him he could put it in the back of the net,” former Celtic goalkeeper Pat Bonner said on BBC Scotland’s Sportsound.

    With that in mind, Rodgers now has a decision to make for the visit of Bayern. Should Maeda play as the central striker, with Kyogo now gone and no direct replacement brought in?

    Adam Idah did well up front in their last European outing, scoring twice in the 4-2 defeat by Aston Villa, but Maeda’s form is hard to ignore.

    “I’ve said before, he can play as a striker,” the Rodgers said after Maeda’s hat-trick.

    “If you look back and see his goals when he was at Yokohama, the various types of goals he scored, that’s why he can play as a striker.

    “His contribution without the ball is sensational. It maintains the values of our team and our idea of work because ultimately that’s what the game boils down to, that work ethic, that mentality.

    “Then you add his qualities to that – he’s a really special player.”

    After his kick out late on against Young Boys earned him a red card in Celtic’s penultimate league phase match, Maeda took to social media to apologise to Celtic fans.

    “I’m really sorry for causing trouble to the team in such a wonderful atmosphere,” he posted on X.

    There were plenty of responses which were along the lines of: ‘Do whatever you like, pal,’ which suggests how plenty feel about him and his performances.

    Likewise, rare glimpses of him away from playing endear him to supporters and are making him a much-loved figure.

    Whether it was having his young children as mascots before last week’s game, or his recent short cameo appearances in interviews alongside team-mates.

    Even ditching his previous routine of shaving his head before matches to grow his hair – apparently to appease his daughter who said she did not like him being bald – has added to the hero status.

    Maeda is now front and centre at Celtic, and with Bayern Munich coming to town there is a huge opportunity to underline his status on the pitch with more big moments.

  • Mum would want me to talk about cancer – Mead

    Mum would want me to talk about cancer – Mead

    Beth Mead says it is not easy talking about what happened to her late mother June, who died from cancer in January 2023, but she is willing to share her experience in the hope that it can help others.

    “I know my mum would have wanted me to do that. Perspective is a very interesting thing for me in life now. How can I help people? How I can be as a person?” she told BBC Sport.

    “I’d like to think my mum would be very proud of the person I am.”

    The Arsenal and England winger is supporting a new public health campaign which aims to help eliminate cervical cancer by 2040.

    “My mum passed away from ovarian cancer, which was her primary cancer, but she also had cervical cancer as well,” Mead explained.

    “I think it’s a treatable cancer but obviously people don’t get checked enough. Hopefully [with this campaign] we can make a real difference.”

    01:34

    Media caption,

    Mum would want me to talk about cancer – Mead

    June Mead was diagnosed with cancer in 2021. Against the backdrop of her mother’s illness, Beth won numerous team and individual honours – including best player and top scorer at Euro 2022. Shortly before June died, Beth was recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

    The 29-year-old said: “I came home after my ACL surgery and spent a precious month with my mum but, ultimately, I had an injury that I could come back from. My mum didn’t. It changed how I looked at life.”

    NHS England aims to eliminate cervical cancer in the next 15 years with the use of cervical screening and the HPV vaccine.

    The campaign called ‘defend your tomorrow’ will be marked at Sunday’s north London derby. The Women’s Super League game is being shown live on the BBC, and will aim to raise awareness of the disease being potentially preventable.

    More than 50,000 tickets have been sold for the visit of Tottenham to Emirates Stadium. Arsenal are third in the Women’s Super League, 10 points behind leaders Chelsea with nine games remaining, while Spurs are sixth, a further 10 points adrift.

    Mead said there was a growing rivalry between the two sides.

    “The history isn’t quite there, but the feistiness, the competitiveness is starting to build,” Mead said.

    “Obviously the men’s games have had that history for a long time, and now we’re trying to build our own history.”

    Although refusing to give up on winning the WSL title, Mead said the priority this season is getting into the Champions League places.

    “Right now, that is our ultimate goal,” she added.

  • Classic games & iconic moments as Goodison set to say goodbye to derby

    Classic games & iconic moments as Goodison set to say goodbye to derby

    It is almost the end of the Goodison Park era.

    As Everton prepare to move into their new Bramley-Moore Dock stadium from next season, the farewells continue with what will be the final Merseyside derby at the ‘Grand Old Lady’ on Wednesday.

    It will be the 120th time Everton have hosted Liverpool at Goodison, with the added intrigue that both sides have each won 41 matches at the ground – so a winner on Wednesday will tip the scales in blue or red favour.

    The match was originally scheduled to be played in December but was postponed on safety grounds because of severe weather caused by Storm Darragh.

    Can an Everton side that has improved quickly under David Moyes upset Liverpool’s title tilt? And what are some of the most memorable moments from Goodison derbies?

    Classic games & iconic moments as Goodison set to say goodbye to derby

    Published
    3 hours ago

    Moyes wants to narrow ‘gulf’ between Everton and Liverpool

    Published
    18 hours ago

    Get Everton news sent straight to your phone

    Published
    26 July 2022

    Who will end with most Goodison derby wins?

    The overall balance of power is remarkably tight in the fixture given it has been played since 1894.

    The Toffees won the first derby match at Goodison and will hope to bookend their home matches against Liverpool with another victory on Wednesday to take them one clear in the list of total wins.

    Across the 119 games, Everton have scored 141 goals while Liverpool have netted 147 times.

    Although the Reds have seen more success generally than their city rivals in the 21st century, they have often found Goodison Park a difficult place to go.

    Of the past 12 derbies held there, nine have been draws with two Liverpool wins and one Toffees success – a 2-0 victory last season that dented Jurgen Klopp’s hopes of winning the Premier League.

    Image source,Getty Images
    Image caption,

    David Moyes won four of his 25 Merseyside derbies during his first term in charge of Everton

    How has Moyes transformed Everton?

    Moyes has quickly turned the Toffees’ fortunes around since returning.

    When the Scotsman took charge, Everton were 16th in the Premier League – one point clear of the relegation zone – with only three wins from 19 games.

    They remain 16th but have won their past three Premier League matches to put a nine-point cushion between themselves and the drop zone.

    “I have the utmost respect for David,” said former Liverpool midfielder Ray Houghton on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Football Daily podcast.

    “During his first spell at Everton I think he did an unbelievable job, he was a superb manager and it was one of the major reasons he got the job at Manchester United.

    “He didn’t need to go back, his legacy at the club is there for everyone to see.

    “Everton fans loved him for the football he played and the positions he got them into. He could have sat back but I think in his own heart he knew he could go back and do a good job.”

    Moyes managed Everton from 2002 until 2013, taking them from a relegation-threatened side to the FA Cup final in 2009 and nine top-eight finishes in the Premier League – including fourth above Liverpool in 2004-05, which took them into Champions League qualifying.

    During that time he guided Everton to four derby wins, eight draws and 13 losses.

    He faces a similar task this time, with Everton consistently lurking around the relegation places in recent years.

    “David has revitalised them,” said Houghton.

    “They’re going into the match now with optimism and belief and that’s down to the last few results they’ve got.

    “It will be a really interesting game, an absolute cracker. The fans that are there are going to make the absolute most of it.”

    Memorable Merseyside derby moments at Goodison

    Among the 119 derby games at Goodison there has been brilliant football, lots of controversy, stellar individual performances and moments that were much more significant than football.

    Liverpool winger John Barnes backheeling a banana on the pitch in 1988 became an iconic image in highlighting racism in the game.

    The following year, the teams faced each other 18 days after the Hillsborough disaster and both sets of fans joined together to remember those lost in the tragedy.

    “We were in no frame of mind to play football,” said Houghton.

    “It was a city in mourning. Everyone knew someone who had passed away, it hurt both Evertonians and Liverpudlians. I can’t remember anything about the game, it was of no relevance to me.”

    04:07

    Media caption,

    Goodison Park memories before final Merseyside derby

    That emotional 1989 game apart, derbies at a raucous Goodison left a lasting impact on Houghton.

    “I didn’t enjoy the derby matches, they were too ferocious for me,” the former midfielder added.

    “When I played, they were very tough. It was always a feisty affair and the scorelines were always tight.”

    Pat Nevin played in six derbies at Goodison, and agrees the tackles were ferocious in that era – but is keen to emphasise how different it is these days.

    “Those sort of tackles could still be seen, but they’d only be seen once in the game now – then you’d be sent off!” he said.

    Nevin believes the scenario – largely now consigned to history – of a few Liverpool fans sitting in the Everton sections made the Merseyside derby unique.

    “It’s a very special derby. You’d score a goal or make a goal and you’d look towards the crowd and see dots of red among all the blue shirts,” he recalled.

    “That was normal, that was acceptable. It changed, for various reasons, but it made it very special; so few derbies are or ever were like that.”

    Five of the best Goodison derbies

    It is hard to pick out standout matches from so many good ones in the 119, but here are five that highlight the drama and emotion of the derby:

    11 March 1967 – Everton 1-0 Liverpool

    Demand for tickets was so high for this FA Cup tie that Liverpool put eight giant screens inside Anfield to show the match live – a huge operation back then.

    At Goodison, 65,000 fans watched the match – and a further 40,000 watched on the screens at Anfield. It was the biggest audience for a single FA Cup match outside the final and Alan Ball scored the winner.

    6 November 1982 – Everton 0-5 Liverpool

    A legendary performance from Liverpool icon Ian Rush, who scored four goals to condemn Everton to their heaviest derby defeat at Goodison.

    The famous “Rush scored one, Rush scored two…” song was born at this match. Alan Hansen provided two assists for the Welshman against an Everton side in the early days of what would be a very successful era under Howard Kendall.

    20 February 1991 – Everton 4-4 Liverpool

    Liverpool led four times – including a brilliant goal with his ‘wrong’ foot by Barnes – in a pulsating FA Cup replay in what was to be Kenny Dalglish’s final match as manager in his first term with the Reds.

    Everton found an equaliser each time and went on to win the second replay 1-0.

    23 November 2013 – Everton 3-3 Liverpool

    Daniel Sturridge’s late equaliser rescued a point for Liverpool in a see-saw classic of endless chances. Philippe Coutinho gave the visitors an early lead but Kevin Mirallas – who could have been sent off for a tackle on Luis Suarez – equalised.

    Suarez restored Liverpool’s advantage but two Romelu Lukaku goals put the home side ahead before Sturridge’s 89th-minute leveller.

    24 April 2024 – Everton 2-0 Liverpool

    The most recent derby match will live long in the memory for Everton fans as Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored to dent Liverpool’s hopes of lifting the Premier League title and move themselves closer to top-flight survival.

    “You lost the league at Goodison Park” was heard as the Toffees secured their first home win over Liverpool in 14 years.

  • Rodri banner gave Vinicius Jr ‘more strength’ v Man City

    Rodri banner gave Vinicius Jr ‘more strength’ v Man City

    Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr said the display of a banner highlighting Rodri’s Ballon d’Or win before kick-off at Manchester City motivated him even more to win the Champions League play-off first leg.

    Spain midfielder Rodri claimed the prestigious honour ahead of the Brazil winger last October, with Real boycotting the ceremony in Paris because they felt their player had deserved the award.

    The large banner unfurled by City fans on Tuesday night at Etihad Stadium showed Rodri kissing the Ballon d’Or alongside the words “Stop crying your heart out”.

    However, a last-minute Jude Bellingham goal ensured it was Real who were celebrating at full-time as they won 3-2.

    “I saw the banner,” Vinicius Jr told Movistar.

    “Whenever the opposing fans do things like that they give me more strength to have a great game and here I have done it.”

    This was the fourth successive season – and the fifth in six – that the two teams have met in the knockout stages of the tournament.

    Real won on penalties when the pair faced off in the quarter-finals last year and Carlo Ancelotti’s side went on to win their 15th title.

    “They know our history, everything we do in this competition,” Vinicius Jr added.

    “It is the fifth time we come here, it is always very cold, but this time we have won and we have to continue this.”

    The two sides meet in Madrid in the second leg next Wednesday.

    Bellingham delivers more last-gasp heroics

    Bellingham memorably scored a last-minute goal for England against Slovakia to send their Euro 2024 last-16 match into extra time, and he delivered the late heroics once again in Manchester.

    “It was a big goal,” Real boss Carlo Ancelotti told Amazon Prime.

    “He played a fantastic game and was always dangerous. It was a top game for him.”

    Bellingham, who has scored 11 goals in all competitions this season, added: “It was a weird one. We played some of our best football of the season and ended up behind.

    “I don’t care what form City are in they are still an unbelievable team. It’s always tricky to play against them and we finally took the chance at the end.”

    On next week’s second leg, he added: “It’s always good to take a lead back home and I’m sure the Bernabeu will come through for us.

    “It seems like there is up and downs in these knockout games. It’s not just game management, it’s tactical and it’s psychological as well.”

  • Exeter’s MacDonald ‘gutted’ after FA Cup penalty miss

    Exeter’s MacDonald ‘gutted’ after FA Cup penalty miss

    Angus MacDonald says he is “gutted” to have missed one of Exeter City’s penalties in the FA Cup loss to Nottingham Forest.

    The League One Grecians held the side third in the Premier League to a 2-2 draw after extra time, despite having Ed Turns sent off in the 87th minute.

    MacDonald, who was making his debut after joining on transfer deadline day, hit the bar with City’s third penalty as they lost 4-2 in the shootout.

    “I’m obviously gutted,” he told BBC Sport after the fourth-round tie.

    “No-one ever wants to miss a penalty, no-one ever does it on purpose.

    “I’ve always been one to put myself forward in a shootout – I always feel like I probably can step up and take a penalty.

    “To miss, obviously I’m not going to forget about it for a little while, but it’s one that I think we all need to sort of forget about, take the positives from the game tonight and take that into the league and I’m sure we’ll be absolutely fine.”

    Image source,Rex Features
    Image caption,

    Angus MacDonald joined Exeter City on a free transfer last week having recently left Aberdeen

    Exeter earned plaudits as they doggedly kept out a Forest side that brought on the likes of Chris Wood, Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson as they tried to score a winner.

    But despite being down to 10 men – and having goalscorer Josh Magennis and winger Ilmari Niskanen fill in as makeshift central defenders as extra time wore on – Exeter held out for spot-kicks.

    It was a performance which manager Gary Caldwell said he was proud of.

    “When we wake up tomorrow we’ve got so many positives that we can take moving forward,” he told BBC Sport after the match.

    “Winning football games is really important, but I think at this football club there’s a special side to it.

    “What we do in terms of the supporter ownership model is remarkable.

    “The league we’re competing in, to do what we did tonight against a Premier League team, a full house, people backing their team, getting behind the team – I think it’s a special football club and I think it’s a football club with a great future.

    “I will always be disappointed to lose, but sometimes in football you can gain more from what we did today in terms of showing the club off.

    “The supporters’ behaviour was incredible – the support they gave the team was incredible and the team responded.”

  • Man City’s lack of belief and ageing team exposed by ruthless Real Madrid

    Man City’s lack of belief and ageing team exposed by ruthless Real Madrid

    Manchester City’s fans started the night by unfurling a huge flag taunting Real Madrid and Vinicius Junior for their angry reaction to Rodri beating the Brazilian to last year’s Ballon d’Or.

    ‘Stop Crying Your Heart Out’ was the message, the words of the Oasis hit accompanied by an image of Rodri kissing the coveted trophy at the ceremony boycotted by Real in protest at the decision.

    Firing barbs at the most ruthless and experienced operators in Champions League history is a dangerous occupation, and so it proved.

    All the tears belonged to City and their supporters at the final whistle after a trademark smash-and-grab late surge gave Real a potentially decisive 3-2 advantage after the first leg of this play-off to reach the last 16 of the Champions League.

    Real’s relentless, concrete-clad confidence in themselves and street wisdom honed over years of experience and triumphs, saw them turn a 2-1 deficit after 86 minutes into a victory, Carlo Ancelotti’s side preying on City’s own painful lack of self-belief.

    The contrast was stark, City wilting visibly in the second half, then consumed by anxiety and nerves once their former midfielder Brahim Diaz restored parity with four minutes of normal time left.

    City are never home and hosed this season. Real Madrid never believe they are beaten. And this was the case again as Pep Guardiola’s team lost a lead for the fifth time in this campaign.

    It is perhaps an insight into City’s current state of mind and form that the two late goals conceded here made it eight goals shipped in the final 16 minutes of their past five Champions League games, the most of any side.

    Guardiola is currently presiding over a team with too many miles on the clock, too many players not fully fit – or not fit at all in Rodri’s case. The cracks are starting to look beyond repair, rather more in need of major renovation.

    Rodri was watching from the sidelines, having been included in City’s Champions League squad in the hope he may recover from his knee injury this season, and on that giant flag.

    How City needed his calming influence, quality and steel on the pitch as they were overcome late on once more.

    There was ill-fortune, too, as Jack Grealish went off injured after 30 minutes, having played in the manner of a man with a point to prove to his manager.

    Real could scent the nerves and anxiety on the pitch and off. Jude Bellingham’s injury-time winner almost had a sense of inevitability as City’s scrambled minds led to mistakes. The punishment came from close range, England’s talisman turning home with erratic keeper Ederson out of his ground after being lobbed by Vinicius Jr.

    The Brazil forward, understandably given the pre-match banner, relished the moment and revelled in Real’s victory celebrations. The perfect answer.

    It was Real Madrid being, well, Real Madrid. Nothing is ever settled against them until the final whistle sounds.

    The holders only led in this game for 90 seconds. Crucially for them, and perhaps fatally for Manchester City, it was for the final 90 seconds.

    It leaves City, given their current form and propensity for collapse, almost needing a miracle in the second leg at the Bernabeu. And miracles only tend to happen to the team in white in that iconic, unforgiving arena.

    The tale was also told in the tired legs that consumed City in the second half, when Real ran the show, missing a host of chances as they assumed control, before Kylian Mbappe’s half-hit finish equalised Erling Haaland’s early strike.

    It was totally against the run of play when the striker restored City’s lead, which they held until Real’s trademark late surge.

    City may yet defy the odds in Madrid, but come what may, this season continues to carry all the air of an era ending, a great team reaching the end of the road.

    Image source,Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Bellingham’s winner was his third goal of this Champions League campaign

    Ederson, so reliable in goal for so long throughout City’s many glories, now looks vulnerable. The great Kevin de Bruyne, at 33, and 30-year-old Bernardo Silva, were laboured and peripheral.

    John Stones tried to act as a defensive screen but Real carry too much threat in the shape of Mbappe, Vinicius and Rodrygo, with Bellingham always ready to add his own menace, as he did to decisive effect.

    Guardiola looked pained and frustrated, as well as frantic at times in his technical area, saying: “Many times it happens this season. I know the quality of Real Madrid. We took the game in the second half and tried to attack too quickly. It happens because they are an exceptional team.

    “It happens many times this season. Bad decisions, that’s all. I take it. It’s not about you and me, or just the team, it’s everyone.”

    He added: “We are just not stable enough. I’ve been here for many years and we’ve been an extraordinary team, a machine every three days.

    “This year, I accept when the opponent is better but at the moment I’m not good enough to give composure to the team to manage these situations. It’s the truth.

    “The accountability belongs to all of us, not just the players. For me, it would be easy to blame a specific player but that is ridiculous and doesn’t work. It is me first and the players as well.

    “The truth is that we are not stable enough in those moments. Today is not an exception, it happened many times. Today is what it is, tomorrow you have to continue and have fresh legs and fresh minds.”

    Guardiola has a monumental task to pull off a victory at the Bernabeu – but the body of evidence is also increasing to suggest he has a similar job to revive Manchester City’s fallen champions.

  • ‘Bayern stars desperate to make up for lost season’

    ‘Bayern stars desperate to make up for lost season’

    Champions League play-off first leg: Celtic v Bayern Munich

    When: Wednesday, 12 February Where: Celtic Park, Glasgow. Kick-off: 20:00 GMT

    Coverage: Live commentary on BBC Sounds, text updates on BBC Sport app & website, highlights on BBC One & iPlayer

    “Mia san Mia.”

    Bayern Munich’s club motto is not meant to come across as arrogant. Translated into English it means: “We are who we are.”

    What they are is a winning machine. So you could forgive them for a touch of arrogance.

    This will be the Bavarian giants’ third visit to Celtic Park as they and Brendan Rodgers’ side target a place in the last 16 of the Champions League.

    Under Belgium and Manchester City legend Vincent Kompany, who made the jump from Burnley last summer, the six-time European Cup winners are desperate to make up for last season – their first campaign without a trophy since 2011-12.

    Bayern had won 11 successive championships before Xabi Alonso led Bayer Leverkusen to an incredible, invincible season last year, leaving Munich trailing in third.

    That led to some cruel jibes at Harry Kane’s inability to win silverware – but given the England captain scored 44 goals in his maiden season in Munich, it is safe to say the blame did not lie at his feet.

    This term, ‘Die Roten’ have roared back with Kane’s 28 goals from 28 games at the forefront of their charge to reclaim the league crown.

    They have won their past seven league games, scoring 23 goals in the process, and a 3-0 victory over Werder Bremen last time out hoisted them eight points clear of Leverkusen.

    Now, they have their eyes set on progressing towards Champions League glory, with the final at their Allianz Arena home at the end of May.

    Superstars’ stuttering away form gives Celtic hope

    Given they are playing in this play-off round, it is clear Bayern’s European campaign has had its ups and downs – with the lows mostly coming on the road as they missed out on a top-eight berth.

    They were beaten at Aston Villa and Barcelona in their first two away assignments in the league phase, having lost at eventual winners Real Madrid in last season’s semi-final.

    That was the first time they had ever lost three successive away European matches, and Kompany’s side were also well beaten at Feyenoord.

    One win from their last seven European trips suggests Celtic have an opportunity to get a positive result in Glasgow.

    That said, Kane – who scored a two penalties in the win over Bremen – is just one of the superstars who are hoping to win the tournament, let alone this tie.

    In Jamal Musiala, 21, Bayern have one of the best young players in the world – as Scotland remember vividly after he starred for Germany during the Euro 2024 opener, scoring the second goal in a 5-1 rout.

    Veteran World Cup winners Manuel Neuer and Thomas Muller are still huge players for the club, with the former recently signing a new contract at the age of 38.

    France internationals Kingsley Coman and Michael Olise regularly battle it out for starts with another Germany star Leroy Sane, in a frightening attacking line.

    And the impressive Joshua Kimmich plays as one of the Bayern sitters in midfield alongside 20-year-old Aleksandar Pavlovic.

    Kimmich has gone from Philipp Lahm’s natural successor at full-back to the role of playmaker and it is a task he relishes.

    Left-back Alphonso Davies is likely to miss out due to a hamstring injury but midfielder Leon Goretzka returned against Bremen after a spell on the sidelines.

    Pavlovic has recently broken into the Germany national side and is eagerly anticipating the wall of noise that will greet Bayern at Celtic Park, before a potential title-deciding trip to Leverkusen between the two legs of this tie.

    “It will be a very crucial, very special week for us,” he told the media after Friday’s victory. “Everyone is looking forward to the atmosphere in Glasgow.

    “But I’m not intimidated.”

    Mia san Mia, after all.