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José Mourinho chides fans and Chelsea's lack of killer instinct
Serie A roundup: Carlos Tévez hat-trick sees Juventus extend lead
Manchester City still seek perfect style despite rout of Arsenal
Mike Phelan heads West Bromwich shortlist after Steve Clarke's sacking
Rene Meulensteen has no complaints with committed Fulham in Everton loss
Alan Pardew warmed by Newcastle fans' acclaim during Southampton draw
Stoke's Asmir Begovic puts future on hold after keeping Hull at bay
Sam Allardyce targets striker in January window to fire West Ham
Arsenal's Jack Wilshere awaits fate over gesture at Manchester City fans
Steve Clarke exit after defeat at Cardiff owes much to poor transfers
Clint Dempsey set to return to Fulham on two-month loan
Richie Barker looks to plug holes after fans man Portsmouth pumps
Court steps in to halt construction of World Cup venue
Aston Villa 0-3 Man Utd
Luis Suárez's brilliance puts André Villas-Boas under severe pressure
Ronaldo leaves room for Ballon d'Or in own museum
'I'm no quitter,' says André Villas-Boas after 5-0 defeat by Liverpool
A-League: what we learned this weekend
Sport picture of the day: what's Portugese for narcissism?
Wigan Athletic 3-2 Bolton Wanderers | Championship match report
Manchester United's David Moyes calls on referees to protect Adnan Januzaj
Danny Welbeck makes most of his chance to shine for Manchester United
Tottenham's André Villas-Boas is an architect of his own downfall | Michael Cox
Norwich City 1-1 Swansea City | Premier League match report
Tottenham 0-5 Liverpool

José Mourinho chides fans and Chelsea's lack of killer instinct

Posted: 15 Dec 2013 03:00 PM PST

• Manager applauds Crystal Palace supporters at end of match
• Chelsea made to fight for narrow win at Stamford Bridge

When José Mourinho turned to the Crystal Palace supporters at full-time and applauded them, he was driven by more than Corinthian spirit. The travelling fans were magnificent, particularly as their team trailed twice, but the Chelsea manager does everything for a reason and it became obvious that something had needled him about the levels of support from the home crowd.

"They are what they are," Mourinho said of the Chelsea fans. "For me, the most important thing is the passion you have. And our fans are very, very passionate about their club, sometimes more in the street than in the stadium, but it's their way of being. I never complain about that.

"I simply told the players that they must have big personality to play the way they have to play and not to play the way the supporters want them to play. So in the last 10 minutes, when we are keeping possession of the ball and we are trying to kill, physically, the opponent, we are doing very well. If they think we are not doing very well they are wrong but they can express themselves.

"The players, they must have the personality to do the right thing and they did the right thing. In the last 10 minutes – after the situation where Palace could score – we kept control of the game, we had the ball and that is also important."

Chelsea diehards are desperate to create a more boisterous atmosphere at Stamford Bridge and it was why a circular from the club last Thursday which threatened to ban any fans who persistently stood up went down badly.

The Chelsea Supporters Trust sent an open letter to Ron Gourlay, the club's chief executive, which urged him to engage with them over how the match-day experience could be improved for everyone, rather than simply threaten punishment. The CST would like to see a designated area at Stamford Bridge for supporters who want to stand and get behind the team.

Mourinho's status is such that he can get away with chiding the home crowd, even if it might have grated with some of them to see him saluting the Palace fans and praising them as "fantastic" for supporting their team "to the end". Mourinho's wider point, though, concerned Chelsea's lack of killer instinct.

At 1-0 up, Branislav Ivanovic dragged the ball wide of the far post and at 2-1 Willian shot weakly when well-placed. Mourinho kicked a kitbag in frustration. "When you don't kill opponents when you are playing well … you put yourself into trouble and you panic a bit," he said. "You shake and you make mistakes. The base of our game is to kill opponents by scoring goals. We don't want to go in the direction of being more defensive, which is the easy direction."

The Palace were excellent in the second half and the substitute Stuart O'Keefe was denied by John Terry's goalline block on 77 minutes. Playing like this, Palace will not be relegated. When Chelsea closed the game in the final 10 minutes, it led to the grumbling that irked Mourinho but his team did create chances at the very end only for Ramires to fluff a square ball when clean through and the goalkeeper, Julián Speroni, to deny the substitutes, André Schürrle and Demba Ba, with a brilliant double-save.

Despite the stuttering and muttering, Chelsea moved to within two points of the leaders, Arsenal. It was tempting to wonder what might happen if they find their stride.

Man of the match Eden Hazard (Chelsea)

David Hytner

Serie A roundup: Carlos Tévez hat-trick sees Juventus extend lead

Posted: 15 Dec 2013 02:45 PM PST

• Tévez involved in all four goals against Sassuolo
• Napoli 4-2 Inter; Fiorentina 3-0 Bologna

A Carlos Tévez hat-trick helped Juventus open up a six-point lead at the top of Serie Abefore Roma's trip to AC Milan on Monday night.

The Argentinian also set up the fourth goal for Federico Peluso in a 4-0 win over Sassuolo as the Bianconeri put their midweek Champions League disappointment behind them.

Tévez earned a standing ovation after being withdrawn minutes after netting the fourth midway through the second half of a one-sided game.

Elsewhere, Napoli won a 4-2 thriller against Inter Milan. Gonzalo Higuaín, Dries Mertens and Blerim Dzemaili netted in an entertaining first-half that saw Inter reply through Esteban Cambiasso and Yuto Nagatomo.

Ricky Álvarez then saw red on 71 minutes before José Callejón wrapped up a Napoli win that could have been even more emphatic if Goran Pandev had converted a late penalty.

Josip Ilicic, Borja Valero and Giuseppe Rossi were on target for fourth-placed Fiorentina as they beat Bologna 3-0.

Lazio secured their first Serie A win since October as a first-half Miroslav Klose double was enough to see off struggling Livorno at the Stadio Olimpico.

Klose's goals came in the space of seven minutes as he first profited from an Antonio Candreva assist before the Livorno defence was compliant in allowing him to effectively kill off the game inside half an hour.

The veteran Germany striker, who had just two league goals this coming into the game, could have had a hat-trick too after he had hit a post shortly before opening the scoring.

Eder's first-half header helped Sampdoria win for the third successive game 1-0 over Chievo.

Torino continued their impressive run of form with a 2-0 win over Udinese. Second-half goals from Alexander Farnerud and Ciro Immobile did the damage.

Giuseppe De Luca scored with almost the last kick of the game as Atalanta snatched a 1-1 draw away to Genoa, who had led through Andrea Bertolacci.

Parma and Cagliari played out a goalless draw as the Sardinians' long wait for an away win went on.

Cagliari had their fair share of opportunities to end a winless away run which dates back to 17 February.

Manchester City still seek perfect style despite rout of Arsenal

Posted: 15 Dec 2013 02:31 PM PST

• Manuel Pellegrini manager is sure City are 'improving'
• Midfielder Samir Nasri stresses need for better away from

The most telling part of Manuel Pellegrini's summary of the destruction of Arsenal was the assessment that Manchester City are still searching for a style.

Those who witnessed this rout and who saw the 6-0 thrashing of Tottenham Hotspur, the 4-1 humiliation of Manchester United, the 4-0 dispatch of Newcastle United and the 7-0 hammering of Norwich City, would suggest City's modus operandi is already firmly in place.

Instead, Pellegrini mentioned the quest three times in a statement that should frighten other title contenders. "We have the players and we have to find a style of play which is good for this team," the City manager said. "It's a style of play we are trying to work on every day, to be an attacking team. We are a good attacking team but we are a good defending team also. In other games we have also played well – maybe not as well as we played [against Arsenal] but we will continue trying to find a style."

As in those previous demolitions, Arsenal often seemed like spectators as Yaya Touré, Fernandinho, David Silva, Sergio Agüero, Samir Nasri and Álvaro Negredo gave an exhibition of their fast-paced, hypnotic passing-and-movement game, toying with the Premier League leaders.

It took only 14 minutes to create City's opening goal, finished by Agüero's hooked volley. When Theo Walcott equalised, his shot wandering past a stationary Costel Pantilimon, it jarred with the flow.

By half-time City's ascendancy was restored with Negredo's 13th goal of an outstanding debut season. The scoreline swiftly became 3-1 when the impressive Fernandinho slotted his first goal for the club yet when Walcott managed a second, a question was briefly raised over whether City might crumble. Instead, Silva and Fernandinho gave them a three-goal cushion. In the last minute Per Mertesacker bundled in a header but Touré's penalty gave the scoreline a true reflection.

The rejuvenated Nasri said: "We are really confident but we always seem to perform when we play one of the big teams. We did it against United, Tottenham, against Bayern in midweek and now we've done it against Arsenal."

City's travails have been away from their Etihad stronghold, losing four of their opening six matches before the victory over West Bromwich Albion and the draw at Southampton.

"Now we have to do it away from home because we have struggled from the start of the season to perform," Nasri said. "When we play a big game it is easy to get motivation. Big players will always respond when it is a big game but now we know the title race is open. We've come back to three points behind Arsenal and next week they play Chelsea so we have to keep the pressure on."

Pellegrini said: "I can't say what our rivals will be thinking but I am sure we are improving. If you asked me before the game if we would score six against Arsenal, seven against Norwich, six against Tottenham, I would say no. It's not normal."

He again preferred Pantilimon to Joe Hart, although the England No1 had hoped for a recall after playing in the victory at Bayern Munich. In a World Cup season Hart needs regular football to secure his place but Pellegrini said the goalkeeper is responding well to the situation.

"Joe Hart doesn't have any problem. He's not playing at the moment but he's improving a lot. He needs a rest. He knows exactly the way I think about him – and that he will return to the team," Pellegrini said. "So we don't have a problem in that sense. He is always supporting the team and is a great professional.

"It's not a question of waiting for him [Pantilimon] to make mistakes. It's about waiting for the right moment for Joe to come back. We have a lot of games in December and January. I am sure Joe will have his opportunity again because he's a very good goalkeeper."

While Hart should play in night's Capital One Cup quarter-final at Leicester City, Pellegrini is unlikely to have Agüero available for several weeks following the calf injury he suffered in the 50th minute.

The striker, who has scored 19 goals in 20 matches, left the stadium on crutches with Pellegrini talking about how many "weeks" he may be missing. It is the only cloud on a very sunny City horizon.

Man of the match Fernandinho (Manchester City)

Jamie Jackson

Mike Phelan heads West Bromwich shortlist after Steve Clarke's sacking

Posted: 15 Dec 2013 02:30 PM PST

Michael Appleton, Paul Clement, Martin Jol and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer also in frame for The Hawthorns job

West Bromwich Albion are drawing up a shortlist of candidates to replace Steve Clarke as head coach with Mike Phelan, the former Manchester United assistant manager, among the names on it.

Clarke is on gardening leave until the end of the season following Saturday's loss at Cardiff, their fourth successive defeat. Jeremy Peace, the chairman, and Richard Garlick, the sporting and technical director, told Clarke he had lost his job when he returned to the club's training ground after the return from Cardiff.

Albion are keen to make an appointment before the busy festive period and have made it clear that Clarke's replacement will have to work within the continental management structure, so coaching ability is vital.

Phelan, who lost his job at United when David Moyes took over as manager in the summer, would be available immediately. Michael Appleton, who Peace regarded highly when the 38-year-old was on the coaching staff at The Hawthorns, is also an option. Appleton has been out of work since his dismissal from Blackburn Rovers in March.

Paul Clement, the assistant coach at Real Madrid, would fit the profile that Albion are after but there are doubts about whether the Londoner, who has ambitions to manage one day, would leave Spain. Martin Jol has been linked with the post but it is possible that after being sacked by Fulham this month he would welcome a short break from the game. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has not signed an extension to his contract with Molde, which runs out in the summer, but it would be no easy task convincing the former Manchester United striker to leave Norway.

In a separate development, Albion will be taking disciplinary action against Saido Berahino after he tweeted "that's fucking shit" after Clarke was dismissed. The England Under-21 forward later deleted the comment and claimed he was responding to a personal issue.

Clarke has issued a statement through the League Managers Association, saying that he believes he has "unfinished business" at Albion and that he is "convinced" he would have secured the club's Premier League status for another season.

Stuart James

Rene Meulensteen has no complaints with committed Fulham in Everton loss

Posted: 15 Dec 2013 02:30 PM PST

• 'I can't fault the way we came back in second half'
• Roberto Martínez questions Leon Osman's England absence

Fulham's Dutch manager was again left digging for positives after a four-goal reverse on Merseyside, yet there was a marked contrast between Martin Jol at Anfield last month and Rene Meulensteen at Goodison Park on Saturday. Both claimed they possess the quality to survive in the Premier League, but only the latter witnessed the commitment that underpins it.

There was no hard-luck story as Fulham suffered their 13th consecutive Premier League defeat at Everton and slipped deeper into relegation trouble. Dimitar Berbatov turned to his team-mates and pointed to his temples having brought the visitors deservedly level with 23 minutes remaining, but the appeal to the mind was in vain.

Roberto Martínez's players were the ones who reacted instantly and six minutes later their renewed adventure had restored a lead that was never threatened again. Unlike at Liverpool, however, Fulham staged a fight, and with Scott Parker pushed into an advanced midfield role behind Berbatov in the second half, they gave Everton a fright.

Unfortunately for Meulensteen they faced a home side with soaring self-belief and ultimately too much adventure for a Fulham defence in desperate need of a fit-again Brede Hangeland.

"If you get defeats like this, with this kind of scoreline and no positives to draw from a lacklustre showing with no commitment, then you have a problem," said the man who replaced Jol as manager. "But I can't fault the players' commitment and the way we reacted and came back in the second half.

"We are building something and the players have responded tremendously well in what we all know is a tough challenge for us. We just have to take this one on the chin. We really did give Everton a run for their money. Roberto was probably quite relieved when he saw their second goal go in."

Meulensteen was correct. The Everton manager had forewarned of the dangers of a straightforward home assignment on paper after impressive away displays at Manchester United and Arsenal. Despite controlling the first half and leading through Leon Osman's neat finish, it was only after Berbatov had levelled from the penalty spot that the home side displayed conviction up front.

Martínez admitted: "We started the second half thinking we had something to lose and that is not us at all. They equalised and I have seen it on so many occasions – in 75% of the games when the away team equalises, they go on to win it. For us to have that mentality to switch into the right mode and have that right attitude, was very pleasing. We were very mature."

Everton's young talents have taken the plaudits in recent weeks, although Martínez could now be without Gerard Deulofeu's mercurial gifts for several months due to a hamstring tear, but it was the old guard of Osman, Gareth Barry and particularly Steven Pienaar that steered them home against Fulham.

Osman was recalled in place of the suspended James McCarthy and marked his 300th league appearance for his boyhood club with the goal and a polished display, leading his manager to question his disappearance from the international scene.

The Everton manager, who saw Seamus Coleman, Barry and substitute Kevin Mirallas confirm a deserved win with a flattering scoreline, said: "Leon showed he can still have a role for England and can still help the national side. There are two types of players, and that is being very brutal. There are thinkers and the players who don't think. Unfortunately, we haven't got too many thinkers [in England]. Leon is a bright, bright footballer. He makes the team think.

"This was his 300th game. When you get to that stage, you get that experience. Also it becomes a case about the quality of your play, rather than the quantity.

"Nobody expects Leon to play 38 games in the league. Nobody. Everyone knows that he sets standards in training and it has been paramount for what we want to do. His role at the club is vital."

Man of the match: Steven Pienaar (Everton)

Andy Hunter

Alan Pardew warmed by Newcastle fans' acclaim during Southampton draw

Posted: 15 Dec 2013 02:30 PM PST

• "We've proved we're a good side' says Magpies manager
• FA likely to look into pushing match between rival benches

Some people wondered if they were hearing things. Could that really be a chant of "Alan Pardew's black-and-white army"?

"You might have heard that," said a smiling Newcastle United manager, confirming that his questioners' ears were not deceiving them. "But it's not about self-gratification for me, the team's been brilliant."

A fascinating draw, dominated initially by Newcastle, changed radically after Adam Lallana's introduction from the bench for a second half in which Southampton showed their counter-attacking class, and it left Pardew's players well placed for a European push.

After five wins – including victories against Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United – one draw and one defeat in their past seven League games, Pardew has confounded those who, as recently as October, depicted him as "a dead man walking".

Yet rather than being sacked he has instead received renewed, incrementally increasing backing from Newcastle fans disillusioned by last spring's relegation dalliance. Meanwhile, a once reputedly disgruntled, largely Francophone squad are clearly behind a manager unafraid to take difficult decisions such as dropping Papiss Cissé.

Pardew's most controversial call has involved Yoan Gouffran's replacement of the richly gifted, currently benched, Hatem Ben Arfa but once again his decision seemed vindicated as Gouffran rounded Paulo Gazzaniga before opening the scoring with a close-range, left-foot tap-in.

But for two uncharacteristic misses by the QPR loanee Loïc Rémy – Newcastle's sole new face in last summer's window – Pardew's team might well have won a wonderfully tight game levelled by Jay Rodriguez's shot after a clever one-two with Steven Davis.

"We've proved our consistency, that we're a good side," said Pardew. "Whether we can be a great side, we'll have to wait and see. We already have one more point than we did at this stage of the season two years ago when we ended up finishing fifth."

Accordingly, most of his criticism this week will probably be reserved for Andy Woodman and John Carver. On Saturday the always combustible goalkeeping coach and assistant manager appeared imbued with additional adrenaline. Aware of just how much Pardew wanted to defeat the club who sacked him in 2010, they delighted in contesting every marginal refereeing decision.

When Woodman took offence at Morgan Schneiderlin's heavy tackle on Massadio Haïdara, which earned a booking, he initiated a mass bout of push and shove involving both backroom staffs, although not Pardew or Mauricio Pochettino, Southampton's manager.

Eventually Mike Jones, the referee, presumably still feeling a bit dazed after being accidentally poleaxed by a right hook from Newcastle's off-balance Moussa Sissoko, banished Woodman and Toni Jiménez, his Southampton counterpart, to the stands.

"I'll have a look at the footage and maybe have a word with one or two," said Pardew, aware an FA inquiry surely beckons.

"I didn't think the tackle was a sending-off but there was probably just an overreaction from their bench. Earlier we had overreacted about their offsides a couple of times. Maybe four times …"

Man of the match: Adam Lallana (Southampton)

Louise Taylor

Stoke's Asmir Begovic puts future on hold after keeping Hull at bay

Posted: 15 Dec 2013 02:30 PM PST

• Bosnia goalkeeper flattered by interest of top clubs
• Begovic expects to be at Stoke after the World Cup

Asmir Begovic has big things looming on the horizon but the goalkeeper is handling the subject of his future with the composure that has characterised his career in English football. In six months' time he will be preparing for Bosnia's first appearance at a World Cup finals and foresees himself still being at Stoke despite interest from the higher echelons of the Premier League.

"I don't pay much attention to it," said the goalkeeper, who shrugged off a thigh injury to make his 54th consecutive top-flight appearance in the stalemate with Hull. "I take it as a huge compliment if people are saying nice things but there's a pressure to keep performing so I have to concentrate on my job each and every day. Everyone wants to play at the highest level as possible. I'm no different. That's right through the club. Everyone is pretty ambitious, the chairman, the players, and I think we can all achieve great things here in the future."

Manchester City and Arsenal are among the clubs to have been linked with the 26-year-old, who will get the opportunity to enhance his reputation in Brazil. "I'm very much looking forward to the World Cup but let's see what happens," he said. "I've got two and a half years left, I'm pretty tied down, pretty settled, so there's no situation there."

However, Stoke may consider the chance to quadruple the return on their £3.25m outlay to Portsmouth in February 2010 as sound business. For now, his displays are proving integral to Stoke's autumn revival.

Three fine stops at the KC Stadium – turning efforts from Ahmed Elmohamady (twice) and Yannick Sagbo round the goalframe – were a feature of his sixth clean sheet of the season. Stoke have lost only twice in nine league games and their transition from the directness of the Tony Pulis era to a more measured passing game was to the fore as they pressed for a late winner.

Yet for all their attractive buildup, their best chances came from the aerial route: Stephen Ireland's goal after Peter Crouch saw a header brilliantly saved ruled out for offside and Ryan Shawcross smacking the woodwork after rising highest through a crowd.

"I'm not going to go away too much from what has brought success in the past because it would be crazy to do so," said the manager Mark Hughes. "Long term, the way we want to play will allow us to progress and become a top-10 team because that's our intention. In the short term I've been at the club, I've been really pleased with the players. They could very easily have felt that the type of football we're asking them to play was beyond them but I think they were ready for a change and they've embraced it."

The result moved Hull six points clear of the relegation zone. Their miserly home record of only three goals conceded in eight has been key and the Scotland goalkeeper Allan McGregor ran Begovic close for the man-of-the-match honours. "He's very much part of why we've had the clean sheets we've had," said the first-team coach Steve Agnew. "He gives the defenders in front of him confidence."

Man of the match Asmir Begovic (Stoke)

Richard Gibson

Sam Allardyce targets striker in January window to fire West Ham

Posted: 15 Dec 2013 02:30 PM PST

• West Ham manager says forward lined up in transfer window
• Owners retain faith despite describing season as 'write off'

West Ham United are outstanding. Insofar as they stand out from the other clubs in the Premier League's bottom five by not having sacked their manager this season yet. It hardly strengthens Sam Allardyce's job security that the team in last place, Sunderland, outplayed his side for long periods before having to settle for a goalless draw, but West Ham's owners retain faith in the manager even if they have dismissed their pre-season ambition of improving on last term's 10th place.

West Ham invested £20m in the England forward Andy Carroll and Stewart Downing from Liverpool in the summer in a bid to move up but the aim now is to avoid going down.

With Carroll yet to play this season and the club uncertain when he will return to action, and Downing and the centre-back Winston Reid among several other important players injured, the club's co-chairman, David Sullivan, has described this season as "a write-off".

Relegation would be ruinous for a club that needs to clear debts of around £70m before completing their planned move to the Olympic Stadium in 2016.

"He's in a position where he gets extremely anxious about the situation," said Allardyce of Sullivan. "That's the way he is as a person. The pressure comes on him as much as it comes on me and everybody else and dealing with the pressure is something that we've all got to be capable of.

"The commitment going forward is a big responsibility for us all, especially them [Sullivan and David Gold] as the owners, because going into the new stadium this club has to be in the Premier League. So we have to make sure we have a team that is capable of staying there. At the moment we're not quite there but I think that's down to the injured players. Once we get them back and ready we'll be OK. We have to get them fit and do what we can until then or until we get new ones in."

West Ham's best player on Saturday was their goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen, who tipped a 30-yard drive by the Sunderland right-back Phil Bardsley on to the bar in the closest that either side came to a goal. He also saved other decent efforts from Lee Cattermole and Fabio Borini. He is one of the reasons that West Ham have managed to keep eight clean sheets this season.

It is at the other end of the field that reinforcements are urgently needed by West Ham. "We all know that the goal factor is the problem for us and we would be higher up the league if we could score more," Allardyce said. ''Creative players were on the field against Sunderland but they didn't play at their creative best."

He said that West Ham hope to be active early in the January transfer window. "We are talking with a club and a player's agent to see whether they are going to join us or not," he said.

"It's an attacking player. We're trying to do the deals as quick as we possibly can. David Sullivan is the quickest owner of a football club that I've ever had. He doesn't 'ooh, ahh and um', like most of the other owners I've been involved with."

Man of match: Ki Sung-yueng (Sunderland)

Paul Doyle

Arsenal's Jack Wilshere awaits fate over gesture at Manchester City fans

Posted: 15 Dec 2013 02:30 PM PST

• Midfielder faces FA one-match ban if guilty of improper conduct
• Arsène Wenger says players will bounce back from 6-3 defeat

Jack Wilshere will learn on Monday if he is to be charged by the Football Association for improper conduct after he raised a finger to Manchester City fans during Arsenal's 6-3 defeat.

Wilshere, who had a frustrating afternoon, made the gesture in the 67th minute and, if charged and found guilty, may face a one-match ban. Martin Atkinson, the referee, was expected to file his match report on Sunday. Even if the official does not to mention the incident in the document, the FA can still bring a charge against Wilshere.

In December 2011, Luis Suárez received a one-game ban after the Liverpool forward showed the middle finger to Fulham fans, so there would be surprise if the Arsenal midfielder was to escape action.

Mesut Özil has apologised for failing to acknowledge the travelling Arsenal support after Saturday's game. The German playmaker headed straight for the dressing room following the final whistle, incurring the wrath of Per Mertesacker who remonstrated with his compatriot as he left the field.

In a statement on his website, the 25-year-old Özil said: "Sorry I didn't thank the fans at the end of the game! You have been brilliant to me and I know you had travelled a long way and spent your money to support us. I was upset with the result and know I should have come to you to say 'thank you' and I know it is a big Arsenal tradition win, lose or draw."

The defeat cut the leaders' advantage over Chelsea to two points, and one more over City. Arsenal host José Mourinho's team next Monday as Arsène Wenger's men enter a telling phase of their title challenge. Arsenal scored three goals against City but were outplayed and have lost at both Manchester clubs following the 1-0 defeat to United last month.

Wenger believes his players will bounce back. "Honestly, if we cannot pick ourselves up by being top of the league, what will happen when we are not top of the league?" he said. "Let's not go overboard, it's a massive disappointment because we have lost a big game. What is important now is how we respond to that."

The manager claimed that Arsenal might actually have scored eight against a City side who toyed with his side though he did concede the manner of the defeat was a worry. "It's a concern because we had a very strong defensive record," he said. "But honestly we could have scored six or eight as well. Both teams for me were very poor defensively but they were much more efficient and we made too many mistakes. We had not our usual defensive solidarity and we put ourselves in a position where we had to chase the game with tired legs."

Wenger believes the loss will not have any impact on Arsenal's challenge. "It's too much to take it on the disappointment front but will it influence the championship? No, because we play with [these] two teams at home and we have an opportunity then to put things right," he said.

Wenger could be without Laurent Koscielny for a spell after he was carried off on a stretcher with a deep laceration to his knee.

Jamie Jackson

Steve Clarke exit after defeat at Cardiff owes much to poor transfers

Posted: 15 Dec 2013 02:29 PM PST

• West Brom suffer lack of goals after Romelu Lukaku departure
• Malky Mackay ridicules rush to judgment over managers

The vagaries of the loan system and poor transfer business in general were behind Steve Clarke's sacking by West Bromwich after a fourth defeat in succession pointed up their steep decline over the past year.

Romelu Lukaku's goals shot Albion to eighth place, their highest finish in the Premier League, last season. But he was never their player and they always knew he would be recalled by Chelsea, who strangely let Lukaku out on loan again, this time to Everton, where he is rattling the goals in again.

The Belgian international scored 17 times in 35 appearances in the league and has not been adequately replaced. This season nobody has managed more than Shane Long's three in 13 and Albion, firing blanks, have won only one of their last 10 games, losing five.

Is Clarke entirely to blame? Non-partisan critics would suggest not. As head coach, rather than manager, he was not responsible for transfer matters and player recruitment was poor last summer. Conducted by Richard Garlick, once the club secretary and now the sporting and technical director, it majored on Nicolas Anelka, a spent force at 34, and Victor Anichebe from Everton, who has scored once in 11 appearances.

Stéphane Sessègnon, from Sunderland, of whom much was expected, has managed two in 14 and the various loan signings have been unsatisfactory, too. Scott Sinclair, borrowed from Manchester City, and Udinese's Matej Vydra, the Championship player of the year last season at Watford, have been disappointing and Marseille's Morgan Amalfitano has flattered to deceive.

Garlick, 37, who has a legal background, must undoubtedly share any blame, having brought them all to The Hawthorns. In truth he dealt Clarke an unpromising hand and he is now charged with drawing up the shortlist from which the club chairman, Jeremy Peace, will appoint the new head coach. Of his function Garlick said: "I'm not going to pretend to be something I'm not. I'm not a coach. I see my role as creating an environment where people can succeed."

The continental management structure, whereby the chief coach works with players he is given by the technical director, is a contentious one in British football but it can succeed here. For evidence, look no further than West Bromwich in the recent past, when Roberto Di Matteo and Roy Hodgson flourished in tandem with Garlick's predecessor, Dan Ashworth. His admirable contribution was such that he is now the Football Association's director of elite development.

It was Ashworth who went for Lukaku. Garlick, on the other hand, is unlikely to be headhunted any time soon. Coincidentally or not, the rot set in almost as soon as Ashworth left. Third in the table on 24 November last year, Albion have since taken 38 points from 41 matches, which is relegation form.

It was not without irony that before kick-off on Saturday it was Cardiff's Malky Mackay who was deemed to be in extreme jeopardy. His team's form was no better than West Brom's – one win in nine – and, when a board meeting was held before the match, the rumour spread that Mackay would be out in the event of another poor result. In reality the directors convened to discuss the conversion into shares of loans made to the club by the Malaysian owner, Vincent Tan. Nevertheless it was universally accepted that neither manager could afford to lose.

Sympathising with his opposite number, Mackay ridiculed the modern-day rush to judgment that led to so many sackings so early in the season. He said: "The pressure was piled on Arsène Wenger in week one this season and that looks laughable now, doesn't it? The pressure was piling up on Alan Pardew four weeks ago and now Newcastle are challenging for a place in Europe. Unfortunately that's the way it is and it's the reason I don't get too high or too low about results."

The Cardiff manager opted for a more adventurous approach than has been his custom, introducing an orthodox winger, Craig Noone, for his first start in the Premier League and switching 4-1-4-1 for what was often 4-3-3. Interestingly, the second striker he deployed, Peter Odemwingie, was West Bromwich's leading scorer in 2011-12. Fortune favoured the brave, Noone's right-wing cross producing a rare headed goal from Peter Whittingham to decide the issue.

It was the most equitable outcome, Cardiff having been the better of two ordinary teams. That said, Albion would have avoided defeat, and probably the change of management, had not Scotland's David Marshall pulled off a stunning late save to deny Long at close range.

Clarke spoke like a man who knew he was a goner shortly after the match. Would he be looking to bring in reinforcements come the January transfer window? He ducked that one, saying it "seemed a long time away" and that he could not afford to look that far ahead. Too true.

Man of the match Peter Whittingham (Cardiff City)

Joe Lovejoy

Clint Dempsey set to return to Fulham on two-month loan

Posted: 15 Dec 2013 02:24 PM PST

• USA team captain to return on 1 January
• Signed for Seattle Sounders after year with Spurs

Clint Dempsey is poised to return to his former club Fulham on a two-month loan from the Seattle Sounders. The USA forward has held productive talks with the west London club and, according to US sources, he is ready to rejoin them when the winter transfer window opens on 1 January.

The Major League Soccer season begins for the Sounders on 8 March and Fulham's intention would be to keep Dempsey until late February. He stands to help them in their battle against relegation and could be particularly important if Dimitar Berbatov were to get the move from Craven Cottage that he wants in January.

Berbatov, whose contract at the club expires next summer, has become unhappy and the sacking of Martin Jol, the manager who signed him and placed such faith in him, was a further disappointment. There are clubs in Spain, Italy and Turkey that would gladly match or better his £70,000-a-week salary.

Dempsey left Fulham for Tottenham in August of last year under acrimonious circumstances. He had been pursued by Liverpool and he made it plain that he no longer wanted to play for Fulham. Tottenham nipped in to take him for £6m on transfer deadline day and they trebled his wages.

Dempsey had been a crowd favourite at Craven Cottage over five-and-a-half seasons, when he scored 50 goals in the Premier League. His return of 23 in all competitions in 2011-12 was the high point. Dempsey moved from Tottenham to the Sounders for £6m last August, where he has struggled for goals, scoring only once in nine appearances.

David Hytner

Richie Barker looks to plug holes after fans man Portsmouth pumps

Posted: 15 Dec 2013 02:00 PM PST

New manager loses first match against Newport County to extend Pompey's streak of defeats to six in League Two

Portsmouth have had more managers than Christmases in the past decade and half as many owners. Richie Barker became the 11th last week, following Guy Whittingham and accompanied by Steve Coppell as director of football. Pompey's chairman, Iain McInnes, saw it as the "dream ticket" despite the pair's recent departure from Crawley after seven league games without a win. At Fratton Park on Saturday a 2-0 defeat by Newport County extended their personal nightmare run to eight and Portsmouth's to six in League Two.

That, too, is eight counting the FA Cup, which they won in 2008 and used not to enter until January, and the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, an opportunity for League minnows to experience Wembley. Four years ago on Mondaythey were holding Chelsea to 2-1 at Stamford Bridge. Three relegations later they are four points above the drop into the Conference after points' deductions in three seasons for falling into administration and a series of owners with names approximating to Ali Al-Farrago, Ball and Chainrai et alien al.

And yet on Saturday everyone wore a smile. Having survived all this and two winding-up petitions, Portsmouth's fans have a major say in the running of their club. In April the Pompey Supporters Trust, having raised £2.3m to finance a takeover, bought it with a 51% stake and has three members on the board. More than 2,000 fans, or syndicates of them taking the total involvement close to 5,000, paid £1,000 per share. Other funds came from a few wealthier supporters. Together they stand for all to see as representatives of the club's best interests – trust indeed and pride restored among staff alongside a passion that never died in the dark days and enjoyed good times on bad money.

Signs of the new times are paraded on the approaches. "By the fans for the fans," says one. "Welcome to Portsmouth Football Club – Fortress Fratton," proclaims another, which may need a rethink if it is not self-mocking. Supporters can control the club but not its league destiny. Portsmouth last won at home on 2 November. Strangely, it seemed, Barker was not given a rumbustious PA welcome but he later explained: "I'm not into razzmatazz or arriving by helicopter." He arrived mainly through Mark Catlin, the chief executive, who in the same role at Bury saw him propel the club out of League Two in his only previous managerial post before Crawley.

Barker recognised his new appointment as "a fantastic opportunity". After the match he acknowledged: "It looks at the minute as if we are fairly fragile. After the first goal the confidence went." The second followed in three minutes, before it was restored. "It's a tough job, a big one," he added. Goals dried up at Crawley, only one in those last seven games. "The expansive football may have to wait," he said, "until we can get clean sheets."

Newport, promoted from the Conference in May, were unbeaten in four league games and now lie fourth. Pompey's central defenders, Joe Devera and Sonny Bradley, mostly stood up well to their long-throwers, aided by Shaun Cooper in a watchful midfield role, while Dan Potts, son of West Ham's Steve and on loan from there, provided elegant relief at left-back. Ricky Holmes, with deft runs and devilish free-kicks, was home man of the match.

Michael Flynn banged in both goals, the second from Ryan Jackson's long throw. It might have been different if, in the first half, Andy Sandell had not cleared Patrick Agyemang's shot off the line after David Connolly had drawn and beaten the goalkeeper, Lenny Pidgeley; or again if Jed Wallace's bursting run, give-and-take and shot had not come back off a post at 0-2.

"We've got to get through this Christmas period," said Barker, "and make sure we know on 1 January how good we are, what we've got and what we need." At the end of last season they had only three professionals, having dispensed with a staff of mostly old lags on high wages they could not pay. Huge debts remain but, if the worst comes to the worst in relegation, Newport provide reassurance – out of the league in 1988, out of business in 1989 but re-formed and resuming four divisions lower. "All the players are lucky to be at a great club like Portsmouth," said Barker. The fans, averaging 15,400 at home, only 3,000 fewer than in the Premier League four seasons ago, have done their bit.

Jeremy Alexander

Court steps in to halt construction of World Cup venue

Posted: 15 Dec 2013 01:51 PM PST

• Public prosecutors call for immediate halt to work
• Two workers died at Manaus venue on Saturday

Construction in a section of the World Cup stadium in Manaus where England will play Italy has been halted due to a court order after a worker fell 115ft to his death while working on the roof. Another worker died of a heart attack while paving an area outside the venue.

Marcleudo de Melo Ferreira, 22, died on Saturday after falling while helping install diamond shaped panels to the latticework of steel girders that form part of the stadium roof. Dozens of workers were balanced on the girders as they worked.

Work stopped after public prosecutors requested the immediate interruption of building in all areas where labourers need to be high above the ground. It will restart only after constructors show that safety measures are in place at the Arena Amazônia, which will also host United States against Portugal.

A court in Manaus said constructors will be fined a daily amount if they do not abide by the decision. A union said workers are expected to go on strike to complain about inadequate measures.

Prosecutors said there have been several reports of irregularities related to safety at the Arena Amazônia.

Two workers were killed when a crane collapsed on 27 November as it was hoisting a 500-ton piece of roofing at the São Paulo stadium that will host the World Cup opener. Last year a worker died at the construction site of the stadium in the nation's capital, Brasilia.

The Arena Amazônia is among the six World Cup stadiums that will not be completed by the end of the year as demanded by Fifa.

Aston Villa 0-3 Man Utd

Posted: 15 Dec 2013 01:33 PM PST

• In pictures: the best images from Sunday's action

Manchester United victories at Villa Park have become so routine that they are almost taken for granted but after a miserable run of results recently this was a triumph for David Moyes and the travelling supporters to cherish. Danny Welbeck scored twice – his first goals in the league for United since the opening day of the season – and Tom Cleverley registered his first of the campaign to help the champions cruise to a restorative win against obliging opponents.

It was United's first Premier League victory in five matches and lifts them to eighth place, which is a long way from where they want to be but a step in the right direction. United were so dominant – only profligacy prevented them from racking up more goals – that it seemed strange to think that they had come into the game short of confidence and with statisticians searching for the last time they had lost three successive league matches. By the end of the match United were stroking the ball around with a swagger and their fans were going through their full repertoire of Christmas songs.

Moyes knows better than to think that one win means everything is rosy at Old Trafford again. He talked about United delivering a performance against Villa that was "closer" to what he expects but he also stressed the importance of finding some consistency. With that in mind the United manager politely declined the opportunity to get ahead of himself and view a benign run of league fixtures between now and the end of the year – West Ham United at home followed by Hull and Norwich away – as a chance to get back into the mix.

This, though, was certainly an encouraging day for Moyes. Welbeck, for whom goals have not always flowed easily in a United shirt, showed a predatory touch to strike twice in three first-half minutes, Antonio Valencia wreaked havoc on the right flank and was the best player on the pitch while Darren Fletcher, who has faced a battle to save his career since being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 2011, came on to make his first appearance since Boxing Day.

For Villa the smattering of boos at the final whistle were predictable. They have a dreadful record against United – it is 18 years since they last beat them at Villa Park in the league – but, with the visitors struggling of late and without several key players, the home fans could have been forgiven for sensing that this fixture represented a reasonable chance to bring that run to an end. Instead Villa rolled over from the moment Welbeck put United ahead in the 15th minute.

They contributed to their own downfall with defensive mistakes, as Paul Lambert, Villa's manager, ruefully acknowledged, and looked toothless up front, where the lack of goals and Christian Benteke's loss of form are a genuine concern.

Villa have failed to score in seven of their last 10 league games. As for Benteke, he has not scored in more than 11 hours of football across three months.

Welbeck's goal drought came to an end when Rafael da Silva wriggled clear on the right and managed to dig out a deep cross that the unmarked Adnan Januzaj, whom Moyes felt came in for some rough treatment, headed against the far post. The ball rebounded kindly for Welbeck to volley home from six yards. "We are staying up" chanted the United supporters.

Within three minutes Nathan Baker carelessly gave away possession inside his own half and United had a second goal. Cleverley transferred the ball to Welbeck and within the blink of an eye Antonio Valencia was tearing down the United right. He picked out the run of Welbeck with a low cutback and the striker did the rest, sliding the ball into the corner of the net.

The damage could have been worse for Villa before the interval. Valencia, who was tormenting Antonio Luna, Villa's left-back, created another two decent goalscoring opportunities in the space of five minutes. Wayne Rooney swept his pass inches beyond the far post before Welbeck, sprinting on to a through-ball from the United winger in the inside-right channel, dragged an angled shot narrowly wide.

The inevitable third United goal arrived six minutes into the second half. Luna's day went from bad to worse when he handed possession to Cleverley midway inside the Villa half. The England midfielder exchanged passes with Rooney before bursting into the penalty area and beating Brad Guzan at his near post.

Marc Albrighton, Villa's best player by a distance, tested David de Gea at his near post moments later but that was a rare moment for the home fans.

Man of the match Antonio Valencia (Manchester United)

Stuart James

Luis Suárez's brilliance puts André Villas-Boas under severe pressure

Posted: 15 Dec 2013 01:27 PM PST

Liverpool's rout of Tottenham at White Hart Lane lifts them to second in the Premier League but highlighted Spurs' frailties

At full-time Luis Suárez spent a few minutes waving at Liverpool's support before walking across to André Villas-Boas, who had stayed back – graciously, even a little oddly – to shake the hand of the man who had just inflicted a horribly traumatic afternoon on his Tottenham team and quite possibly a decisive neck-wringing on Villas-Boas' own time at the club. It was that kind of afternoon.

Where Villas-Boas goes from here will be the subject of much fevered speculation. But the match itself belonged to Suárez, who was giddily, hilariously irresistible throughout.

If Tottenham were vague in attack – and Liverpool have now scored more Premier League goals from open play at White Hart Lane this season than Spurs themselves – in defence they looked like what they were: a team with a makeshift left-back and a central midfielder at centre-half. In the programme Etienne Capoue had let slip, graciously if unwisely, that Suárez would be the "most formidable" striker he had ever come up against. Oh dear.

Villas-Boas may as well have hung an enormous glazed Iberian ham in the centre of Spurs defence, so ravenously did Suárez bear down on Capoue right from the kick-off.

It had been tempting to cast this as a meeting of two strikers, with Roberto Soldado buoyed by a fine hat-trick in the Europa League on Thursday. There was an extra-loud cheer for Soldado from the home fans before the start, with Spurs record signing cast again as a dutifully waddling lone striker. When Spurs have to fight for possession it is not a position that flatters Soldado, who shuttles after the ball with an air of bovine compliance but whose best qualities are lost when the game is stretched.

Suárez, of course, is quite the opposite, Liverpool's own lord of chaos and a player who feeds gleefully on moments of broken play, as he did in scoring the opening goal after 18 minutes. Dawson slipped and Suárez reacted quickest to take Jordan Henderson's pass, switch his feet brilliantly and finish with a delicious sense of ease. It was one of those moments – there were plenty here – where he seems to have his own personalised little envelope of 33rpm time where everyone else is on 45, able to take three steps to Capoue's one as he shaped to shoot, absolutely certain in his mind what was going to happen next.

The comparison with Soldado is unfair, of course: not only are they different players – Soldado's lone rifleman versus Suárez's relentless machine pistol – but Soldado is finding his feet just as Suárez took time to reach his own current state of Peak Rapacity, scoring twice in his first nine games for Liverpool.

Still there is a stylistic contrast that points to both men's strengths. If Suárez is the ultimate improviser, a man who goes looking for the game with the intention of ripping it to shreds and refashioning it in his own image, then Soldado is the opposite, a close-quarter craftsman of unbendingly specific requirements. Three times in the first half the Spaniard found space in the penalty area only for his team-mates – too slow, too laboured – to prove incapable of finding him.

After which Suárez took over. Jordan Henderson scored the second after 40 minutes, set up by Suárez and the brilliantly composed Philippe Coutinho. This is another aspect of Suárez's net effect: he clearly has had a hugely invigorating effect on Henderson, who played superbly again. With the receding prospect of a Spurs revival stilled by Paulinho's sending-off with 25 minutes left, and defeat sealed by Suárez's second goal to make it 4-0 – a glorious a dink on the run with the outside of his right foot –no doubt Villas-Boas will have felt as powerless as he looked on.

There is a slight misconception over Tottenham's extravagant spending in the summer. In fact they finished pretty much even for the window, with Villas-Boas required instead to respond to the departure of £100m of high-end talent. Similarly if Spurs are still noticeably post-Bale, new attacking patterns yet to establish themselves, Liverpool were able to operate in the full flush of a team built around its one outstanding attacker. Afterwards Villas-Boas talked about how the sending-off had changed the game: a standard managerial response but in truth this match belonged to Suárez from start to finish, a reminder to Spurs of what they once had, and for Liverpool another sighting of a gloriously more-ish world-class talent playing at the peak of his powers.

Barney Ronay

Ronaldo leaves room for Ballon d'Or in own museum

Posted: 15 Dec 2013 01:02 PM PST

• Real Madrid player dedicates museum to fans
• 'I'm not obsessed with Ballon d'Or,' Ronaldo says

Cristiano Ronaldo opened a museum in his honour in his birthplace on Sunday, which he said had extra room for the Ballon d'Or and many other trophies to come.

Standing next to his 2008 Ballon d'Or and 125 other individual and team awards dating back to his Madeira childhood, the 28-year-old Real Madrid and Portugal striker said the CR7 museum was a gift to his fans.

"Of course it's a special day, it's the opening of my museum and I am proud," the Portugal forward, who has scored 33 goals this season, said. "I have room for more trophies. I don't really want to mention specific ones. All I want is to win more awards and, if the Ballon d'Or comes, there is extra room here."

Football's world governing body named him, Barcelona's Lionel Messi of Argentina and Bayern Munich's French winger Franck Ribéry as the three finalists for the 2013 Ballon d'Or award, formerly known as Fifa world player of the year.

Ronaldo said he is not desperate to win the most prestigious individual award in the sport."I hope that happens but I am not obsessed about it," he said. The Ballon d'Or results will be announced on 13 January.

Despite the frenzy at the opening the space is more humble than an average museum. It occupies the ground floor of a discreet five-storey building, a few hundred metres from the Funchal city centre and with a view of the Atlantic.

With an idyllic sunny day greeting him back, it is easy to understand why Ronaldo took the chance to remember that leaving this place remains his hardest moment as a footballer. "You can't win anything without sacrifice. Mine was to leave Madeira when I was 11 and try it out at Sporting. To move out to the mainland was the hardest thing in my career."

Curious neighbours stood on their balconies to witness the ruckus, unusual on the quiet island with 260,000 inhabitants, famous for its luxuriant biodiversity, strong-flavoured bananas and fortified wine. It is not any 28-year-old that has the chance to cut the ribbons to a museum in his name but Ronaldo said his treasure cove deserved it. "Here is the evidence of what I have won, no one will take it away from here and these were things I wanted to share with my fans, show them what I have already achieved," Ronaldo said.

The first piece on display, probably the smallest, dates back to when Ronaldo was eight and top-scored in a tournament with his first club Andorinha, Portuguese for swallow.

The next youth trophy mis-spelled his first name, attributing it to 'Christiano', and was half broken, contrasting sharply with the two shiny Golden Boots – won as Europe's top scorer – and a lifesize wax figure of him in a Portugal shirt dominating the main room. "Does the statue look the same or what?" he asked. "No, I think it looks more handsome [than me]," Ronaldo joked.

Ronaldo also paid tribute to Manchester United's former manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who oversaw his rise to stardom over a six-year spell at the Premier League club, his family and his agent, Jorge Mendes.

All the match balls from games in which Ronaldo scored at least a hat-trick are also on display, the last from Portugal's 4-2 win over Sweden that earned them a berth at Brazil's World Cup.

The front page of the local newspaper Diario de Noticias da Madeira showed what the museum means to his people back home. It displayed an eight-year-old Ronaldo wearing an oversized pink shirt while receiving his first trophy with a shy smile under the headline "Trophies for the world to see".

'I'm no quitter,' says André Villas-Boas after 5-0 defeat by Liverpool

Posted: 15 Dec 2013 12:54 PM PST

• Tottenham manager says top-four place now a concern
• Villas-Boas expected to meet chairman early this week

André Villas-Boas said he would not resign in the wake of a drubbing at the hands of Liverpool which, he admitted, has cast Tottenham Hostpur's hopes of qualifying for the Champions League into serious doubt and left him fighting for his job.

The Spurs manager's team were utterly overrun, with Paulinho sent off for a lunge into the midriff of their tormentor in chief, Luis Suárez, as they sank without trace. While Villas-Boas' team are seventh and only five points behind fourth-placed Manchester City, he conceded the psychological damage provoked by a home thrashing this brutal, coming just three weeks after they lost 6-0 at the Etihad Stadium, has undermined the side's prospects of finishing in the top four.

It has also left him teetering on the brink. Villas-Boas expects to speak to the club's chairman, Daniel Levy, at some stage early this week, though no formal meeting has been scheduled. "Everybody's down," he said. "It's the second expressive scoreline we've suffered this season and we admit that, in the Premier League, things aren't going in any shape or form the way we want it. We all have high expectations this season and we still have them. We're not far off but the distance is increasingly from those Champions League spots. The expressive result makes it difficult to bounce back.

"We've done it in the past, though, and I have belief in the players, so we'll try to do that again. Our League Cup and Europa League form is completely different and we still dream of winning a trophy this season but the reality is we're still completely far off our expectations in the Premier League."

Serious doubts had emerged within the Tottenham hierarchy over Villas-Boas' long-term suitability after that 6-0 defeat at City last month and this 5-0 result damages his prospects despite a recent run that had returned seven points from three games. Asked whether he is concerned as to whether he would be able to fulfil the remaining 18 months of this contract, Villas-Boas said: "It's not my call. I can't control that. I have to get down to work. That's the only thing I can focus on. The call on that decision is not mine. I won't resign and I'm not a quitter. The only thing I can do is work hard with the players and try and get the results back on track.

"This is a top-four squad but in the Premier League the form isn't there. We built this squad to be up there challenging. We have the squad, the ability, and we believe in each other but the results are not there to prove it. We could have been level on points today with Liverpool but it went the other way. It's not the points tally that prevents us from dreaming with our position in the league. It's actually the expression of the results which has been difficult, from 3-0 at home to West Ham, to 6-0 at City and now 5-0 here. These things are costing us much more."

He said Paulinho's "harsh" dismissal for a high boot had been the game's pivotal moment, though the hosts were trailing by two goals at that stage and had offered little indication they were capable of recovering that deficit. Suárez, as they sank without trace was outstanding, swelling his Premier League goal tally to 17 in 11 appearances this season – more than 10 of the 20 top-flight clubs have managed – as Liverpool made light of Steven Gerrard's absence through injury.

The Uruguayan captained the side for the first time and Brendan Rodgers revelled in his display. "Inspirational," said Liverpool's manager, whose side had not won away from home in the league since September.

"I wanted someone who could represent me and the club in that tunnel before we step on the pitch. If Luis Suárez is standing with the armband on, everyone knows this is a team who's ready to go out and fight.

"That was probably our most complete performance. The model of our game was outstanding. We were like animals without the ball, and our hunger to get it back was great. I loved our arrogance with the ball today: we looked a real threat while retaining our solidity.

"My job was to develop the style of football while moving the club forward and that's what we've tried to do. Obviously you dream. I didn't come here to be fourth, third or second. Eventually you want to win. But you have to be realistic as well. We were eighth. Last year we were seventh. If we can stay clear of injury and continue to improve our football, let's see where it takes us."

Dominic Fifield

A-League: what we learned this weekend

Posted: 15 Dec 2013 12:48 PM PST

Pete Smith: Gombau adds spice to Adelaide; Glory are in flux; more subtlety would be welcome at Wanderers; the W-League on TV

Pete Smith

Sport picture of the day: what's Portugese for narcissism?

Posted: 15 Dec 2013 12:17 PM PST

Apparently this waxwork figure is meant to look like Cristiano Ronaldo. The statue can be found in Ronaldo's home town of Funchal, Madeira, where the Real Madrid and Portugal star has just opened up a museum about himself

Wigan Athletic 3-2 Bolton Wanderers | Championship match report

Posted: 15 Dec 2013 11:52 AM PST

Uwe Rösler reckoned Wigan's derby win over Bolton had too much excitement for the manager's first home game in charge. A penalty from Ben Watson, controversially given after a Matt Mills handball, and Nick Powell's brilliantly executed overhead kick gave Wigan a 2-0 lead inside 24 minutes. Wanderers clawed themselves back into the game and after Neil Danns and Andre Moritz, from the penalty spot, had brought Dougie Freedman's side level, Callum McManaman's strike was required to give Rösler the perfect DW Stadium start.

"I don't like so much excitement," he said. "The team responded very well to the tactics we have set out: pressure high, pressure all over the pitch, attacking-minded football. The first 35 minutes were very good, that's the way I want to play. The players were very good in executing that on the pitch."

It was fitting that McManaman should crown an inspirational performance with the winner as the winger, whom Roy Hodgson is keeping tabs on for the England squad, terrorised the Bolton left-back Alex Baptiste.

Rösler revealed he almost left his star performer on the bench. "I was thinking of not playing him from the start, bringing him on as an impact player but he was so good against Maribor [on Thursday] I thought we need to build confidence with this lad. He is a match-winner for us; we just need to bring him on to a level where he can play 90 minutes with that intensity and that quality. We left him on and he will get a lot out of this fitness wise. On the ball, he's fantastic. He can destroy oppositions, he did it very effectively and to get the goal rounded up a very good performance from him."

Freedman was proud of the spirit his Bolton players showed by fighting back from two goals down but said they let the occasion get to them for McManaman's crucial strike, which came just four minutes after Moritz's leveller.

"As soon as the second goal went in we showed too much emotion and that hurt us,"Freedman said. "That's the most disappointing thing. Apart from that the lads have got to take huge credit for the spirit they showed. The result wasn't to be with us but the performance certainly was. If you've got a team playing like that the results will pick up."

Freedman was perplexed by the referee Kevin Friend and his assistant for their collective U-turn in awarding Wigan a first-half penalty when a cross struck Mills's arm, a decision he felt was influenced by blue and white shirts surrounding the official. Freedman said: "It's very hard to take when the referee has given a corner, the linesman's given a corner. Five or six Wigan players have surrounded the referee which is not in the rules, not one of them has been booked, then he's changed his mind 30 seconds later.

"The linesman has changed his mind from 45 metres away to now gave a penalty. Is he hearing through the microphone? I don't know, he's surrounded by players. The perception is he's let me down."

Manchester United's David Moyes calls on referees to protect Adnan Januzaj

Posted: 15 Dec 2013 11:47 AM PST

• Manager says opponents are 'queuing up' to kick the player
• Villa's Paul Lambert denies his side targeted the teenager

David Moyes praised the performance of his Manchester United side after their 3-0 victory over Aston Villa on Sunday but reacted angrily to the perceived targeting of Adnan Januzaj, saying that officials in recent matches have allowed opposition players "terrible" freedom to kick the young attacker.

Januzaj, who played 69 minutes as United bounced back from successive Premier League defeats – both at home – has emerged as an important member of Moyes's side this season but was on the receiving end of a number of challenges during the Villa game.

The Villa right-back Matthew Lowton was reprimanded for a particularly robust tackle on the 18-year-old Belgian who Moyes believes needs more protection from referees, saying that opponents are "queuing up to kick him".

"I think in every game recently, I don't know how many tackles have been on Januzaj," said Moyes. "That's why I'm annoyed with the fourth officials and the referees – before you know it the boy will get a sore one because he is definitely not getting protected by the officials.

"It's terrible what they are allowing to go on at the moment. This boy is an incredible talent, it's not necessarily the same player but I think they are queuing up and taking turns about who is going to kick him next. There were that many tackles on him from different players and I think it's something that referees are going to have to think about. They are queuing up to kick him."

Moyes continued: "Last week was exactly the same. I think it's [up to] the referees. They're given that job, they're paid, they are professional. You would hope that they would recognise that. Adnan will just get up, walk away and get on with it. He's a great lad and will say, 'Come on, kick me again'."

United, who rose to eighth in the table but are 10 points behind the leaders Arsenal, are without a number of first-team players due to injury but the Villa manager, Paul Lambert, denied he had told his side to target Januzaj. "If you look at my own team we're not a physical side. We're a young, young side and sometimes maybe overexuberance gets the better of them. But I never set anybody out to go and kick. I don't think anybody could ever say we are the most physical side in the world. I don't think it was a malicious game."

The result for United followed a difficult period for Moyes, with those back-to-back league defeats without scoring followed by an unconvincing victory over Shakhtar Donetsk at Old Trafford in the Champions League.

The manager praised the goalscorers Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley for their performances and said the team's display was "much more like us".

"We could have scored more goals. I think generally the all-round performance was much more like us and I'm pleased with that," Moyes said. "At Manchester United we're expected to win. I'll try and win the next game, that's always the case, and I'll see where we can end up."

James Riach

Danny Welbeck makes most of his chance to shine for Manchester United

Posted: 15 Dec 2013 11:15 AM PST

United's forgotten man Danny Welbeck scored twice against Aston Villa as he benefited from Robin van Persie's injury

From one in three to three in one, the goals have at least returned for Manchester United. This was a display far removed from the insipid performances of recent weeks, full of attacking threat and decisive end-product. All in the absence of Robin van Persie.

The old order has been restored, for the time being. This was a victory more comprehensive than the 3-2 triumph at Villa Park last season, and all the more impressive given what preceded it.

David Moyes's side were lambasted for their ineffectiveness in one-goal home defeats against Everton and Newcastle. Even their success over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League was tainted, yet here strength returned in abundance.

Van Persie, the striker who scored 26 goals in the Premier League last season, is out for the next month with a thigh injury. The news that the Dutchman injured himself taking a corner and will sit out a busy period that includes six matches in the next three weeks was greeted with concern, and rightly so, but this performance served as a reminder that United still carry a potent threat without him.

Aston Villa's shortcomings, though, certainly contributed to the result. Paul Lambert's side crumbled, their defence coming under severe pressure throughout the match, with the exception of the opening 10 minutes.

How Antonio Valencia would like to play against Antonio Luna every week. The Ecuadorian produced a display that evoked memories of his performance against Villa in the 2010 League Cup final, when he terrorised the then left-back Stephen Warnock.

Valencia, who relinquished the No7 shirt at the beginning of the campaign, was a brooding presence on the right flank. He crossed precisely for Danny Welbeck to finish off the post for the second goal of the match and his pace and power was too much for Luna. But he was not the only United player who shone.

Wayne Rooney was again impressive, spraying immaculate long balls from left to right into Valencia's path on three occasions in the first half. Yet Rooney's form in recent months has been United's saving grace – the most encouraging aspect of Sunday afternoon for Moyes was that the forward was joined at the party by a number of his team-mates.

Welbeck had been United's forgotten man, but he was the standout talent. Having not scored in the Premier League since his double at Swansea City on the opening day of the season, his two goals here may have been long overdue but could hardly have come at a more crucial time for himself and his club.

Welbeck is arguably the player who may benefit most from Van Persie's absence. Playing ahead of Rooney and often receiving the ball deep and with his back to goal, as well as running in behind the Villa defence, his first effort was simple, the goal gaping and allowing him a straightforward finish after Adnan Januzaj's header rebounded off a post. His second, though, demonstrated more of a killer instinct and excellent timing, rushing in at pace to turn in Valencia's rapid cross from the right flank.

Welbeck's role for United could be key in the coming weeks, as he looks to find the goalscoring touch to accompany his link-up play outside the penalty area.

Moyes said of the England forward: "I think for Danny it's really important because he's a forward and needs to get himself goals.

"It's always been labelled at him. Today he got two poacher-type goals and he could have had another one."

Welbeck was a regular in the side under Sir Alex Ferguson last season but only scored one league goal. This term his role has been more fragmented, due to a persistent knee injury that ruled him out for more than a month.

The 23-year-old has had two previous operations on his knee and reports in November suggested that keyhole surgery may have been necessary to alleviate the problem further. That appears to have been avoided and Welbeck will hope to remain fit and take the opportunity to secure a regular place in the side, with one eye on the World Cup next year.

Moyes has admitted he will look to strengthen his squad when the chance arises, yet before the end of the January window United have seven league matches to contend with. Javier Hernández missed the victory over Villa and with Van Persie out for the foreseeable future Welbeck could feature prominently over the coming weeks.

What Moyes would give for more of the same.

James Riach

Tottenham's André Villas-Boas is an architect of his own downfall | Michael Cox

Posted: 15 Dec 2013 10:53 AM PST

Tottenham's 5-0 hammering by Liverpool at White Hart Lane was a damning indictment of the Portuguese's tactical acumen

After the 6-0 thrashing away to Manchester City, André Villas-Boas significantly adjusted his strategy for the subsequent match, a 2-2 draw with Manchester United. His side played much deeper, with the midfielders protecting the defence keenly – Tottenham invited pressure, but denied space in behind and between the lines. Consequently, the defence was penetrated much less frequently.

The strategy for this match, however, was a bizarre return to Villas-Boas's favoured high defensive line, which played perfectly into the hands of Luis Suárez and Liverpool. Villas-Boas has significant injury problems in defence, and Étienne Capoue and Michael Dawson is clearly not an ideal partnership. From an early stage it was clear they had no relationship together – they stepped up to play offside at different times, Capoue was never in a covering position when Dawson was bypassed, and Suárez was pulling both out of position. The centre-backs desperately needed protection, as Liverpool continually raced past them at will.

Liverpool's build-up play was occasionally superb, but when a simple long clearance from Martin Skrtel brought Hugo Lloris out of his penalty box and created a chance for Suárez, the extent of Spurs' problems became clear.

Suárez is the ideal striker to work the channels and break in behind, while Jordan Henderson's boundless energy also contributed – he made untracked runs in behind the defence for the first three goals, and encouraged Liverpool to play directly, important considering the cautious nature of Lucas Leiva and Joe Allen. Raheem Sterling continually took on Kyle Naughton down the outside, while Philippe Coutinho tucked inside to play simple passes.

It was astonishingly easy for Liverpool. The similarity to Spurs' previous thrashing is striking, and the fact Villas-Boas actively decided to return to the strategy that failed at City is a damning indictment of his tactical acumen.

Michael Cox

Norwich City 1-1 Swansea City | Premier League match report

Posted: 15 Dec 2013 10:19 AM PST

The £5m that Norwich City paid for Gary Hooper last summer is beginning to look like decent value for money. The 25-year-old striker, who began his senior career with non-league Grays Athletic and learned his trade with Scunthorpe United before moving to Celtic, scored his fourth goal in six games, a marvellous long-distance volley, to earn a point after Nathan Dyer had seized on a Sébastian Bassong mistake to put Swansea ahead.

"It was a fantastic goal, a special goal," said the Norwich manager, Chris Hughton. "Gary is a finisher, he's technically a good striker of the ball and he's looking fitter and stronger with each game. I'm almost as delighted with his overall contribution to the team as I am with his goals."

It is worth noting, however, that of the games Hooper has scored in recently Norwich have won three and drawn one.

While Hughton named the same XI which won 2-0 at West Bromwich Albion last week, the Swansea manager, Michael Laudrup, made eight changes to the side which started the Europa League tie at St Gallen last Thursday. Such have been the demands of that competition on the Welsh club that this was their seventh match in 20 days but, while Laudrup had little choice other than to rotate, the Dane could at least recall Michu.

The gifted Spaniard had already set up his compatriot Pablo Hernández for a shot that brushed the side-netting when Swansea took the lead, though in a manner which few would have predicted. Ashley Williams' long, clipped ball down the middle should have been easily dealt with by Bassong but the tall central defender allowed the much shorter Dyer to get his head to the ball and then turn and scamper away before lifting it over the goalkeeper, John Ruddy.

It was unfortunate that Bassong, having learned his lesson, should subsequently jump forcefully with Dyer on the halfway line, and the Swansea forward fall so badly that he had to be carried off on a stretcher with what Laudrup said later had been initially diagnosed as a fractured ankle, but there was nothing at all unfortunate about the Norwich equaliser a few moments later.

Steven Whittaker's long ball was chested down by Johan Elmander for Hooper to control, look up and from more than 25 yards hit a wonderful dipping effort past Vorm and into the Swansea net.

Had Williams not nodded Leroy Fer's close-range effort off the line Norwich would have gone in at the interval in front and the second half began in similarly exciting fashion, Swansea probing and passing, Norwich more direct, with Nathan Redmond's pace always a threat.

The Canaries went close when Michael Turner's header beat Jordi Amat on the Swansea line but came back off the bar before hitting the back of Amat's head and rebounding over the woodwork. With 15 minutes remaining Hooper nearly grabbed the winner. Jonny Howson seized on Swansea's failure to fully clear a corner to prod the ball back into the penalty area where Hooper turned and shot but Vorm pulled off a fine save diving to his left.

Laudrup said Dyer's injury had changed the game. "Though we don't know yet how bad it is, everyone could see it was not good and the team had 10 minutes when they suffered a bit. Also tactically, technically, we lost our main threat, our runs from the second line as I call it.

"But at the end of a very difficult week we've reached 20 points in the Premier League with still three games to go to halfway and we are in the next stage of a European competition."

Man of the match Gary Hooper (Norwich)

Richard Rae

Tottenham 0-5 Liverpool

Posted: 15 Dec 2013 10:13 AM PST

André Villas-Boas actually departed down the tunnel at the end arm in arm with Luis Suárez, as if even he had been swept up by the Uruguayan's brilliance, yet the expression on Daniel Levy's face up in the directors' box was more reflective of the prevailing mood. The Tottenham Hotspur chairman stared down upon the scene with horror etched across his face, disgusted with all he had witnessed. He has probably seen enough.

This was a humiliation. A game billed as an opportunity to build on that recent spurt of momentum which had yielded seven points in a week, easing some of the pressure on the Portuguese, had served merely to expose his shortcomings. And brutally, at that.

Villas-Boas had patrolled his technical area as his makeshift back line was picked apart from the start, scorched by Raheem Sterling down the right and tormented by Jordan Henderson through the centre. Suárez bedevilled all-comers, admittedly, but that had been expected given his prolific form. Seeing the others revel was more damaging, and the Spurs manager had no answer to stem the flow. No means of imposing his own gameplan on proceedings.

His show of emotion was limited to an apparently baffled shake of the head when Paulinho was dismissed for raising his foot and planting it in Suárez's midriff after the interval. The reaction appeared to acknowledge that everything – fate, fortune, "harsh" judgment calls, careless high challenges from £17m signings – was contriving against the hosts, leaving him with one central midfielder on the pitch and chasing a two-goal deficit.

But Spurs were so befuddled, so bereft of authority from the opening, that it was hard to muster much sympathy. Even if Gareth Bale had been lost to Real Madrid, the £107m poured back into strengthening this collective over the summer made 5-0 home defeats unacceptable. Or 6-0 away losses at Manchester City, for that matter. Liverpool had lost their last six visits here and not won away from home since September, but that trend was bucked with plenty to spare.

The management bemoaned the injuries which had left the influential Jan Vertonghen on crutches, and Vlad Chiriches and Younès Kaboul also in the stands. The France midfielder Etienne Capoue had filled in capably against Fulham and Sunderland, sides beneath the cut-off, but confronting Suárez was another matter.

Villas-Boas had also lost his left-backs, Danny Rose or Vertonghen, and the manner in which Sterling tucked eagerly into Kyle Naughton sent shockwaves through the hosts. Naughton is more comfortable on the other side and, while Zeki Fryers kicked his heels on the bench until the interval and Nacer Chadli offered no semblance of cover, his game was systematically dismantled by the teenage winger. Roy Hodgson, watching from the stands, will have departed heartened at the clear progress on show from Sterling and Henderson.

Yet their efforts undermined Villas-Boas mercilessly. With two members of his back line effectively playing out of position and Michael Dawson unsettled and forever wary of being exposed for pace, Tottenham creaked and broke. A physically imposing team had been diminished long before Paulinho's dismissal.

They were rudderless, drained of confidence and utterly lacking in conviction. This was a return to the Etihad Stadium, poor Hugo Lloris left alone amid the chaos but too exposed to hope to keep Liverpool out. Harried and hassled out of possession too often, Spurs merely wilted as Suárez rejoiced in the ease of it all. By the end he had 17 Premier League goals from 11 games this season – no other Liverpool forward has managed that many before Christmas since the division was revamped – with his team having scored more from open play at White Hart Lane this season than Spurs.

It was embarrassingly easy at times, even if the construction of the goals was slickly impressive. Suárez had opened the scoring, first sliding a pass towards Henderson that Dawson could not clear.

The midfielder laid off the ball inside where Suárez had galloped unchecked. He cut inside Capoue and Sandro and curled it in with his left foot. His second came late on, a cheeky clip with the outside of his right over Lloris, though he provided everything in between.

Sterling and Coutinho had combined to liberate Henderson for their side's second goal, Lloris saving an initial effort and then somehow springing from the floor to palm away Suárez's follow-up, only for Henderson to thump in the loose ball on the volley.

The excellent Jon Flanagan half-volleyed a third from Suárez's centre, the Uruguayan then slipping Sterling in for the fifth in stoppage time at the end. Liverpool hit the post and bar through Coutinho and Mamadou Sakho, as well, while Lloris was Tottenham's outstanding performer, and that in a five-goal drubbing. The reality is this could have been so much worse for the locals.

West Ham, 3-0 winners in the league here already this term, are due back at White Hart Lane in the League Cup on Wednesday and even they will relish their return. The next few days may determined whether Villas-Boas had actually departed down the tunnel expressing admiration for his executioner.

Man of the match: Luis Suárez (Liverpool)

Dominic Fifield

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Monday, 16 December 2013

Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com

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Monday, 16 December 2013

Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com

07:07

Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com

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