Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com

Real Madrid 3-4 Barcelona
Steve Bruce warns Hull against complacency as survival not yet assured
Real Madrid 3-4 Barcelona | La Liga match report
Premier League goals record intact despite Chelsea and Liverpool blitzes
Peter Crouch is England World Cup candidate, says Mark Hughes
The Co-op can thrive if it sticks to its fundamental principles | Pauline Green
Atlético maintain La Liga title challenge after win over Real Betis
Tim Sherwood: Southampton fightback can fire Tottenham past Arsenal
Aston Villa 1-4 Stoke City
Aston Villa v Stoke City – as it happened | Tom Bryant
Spurs' Eriksen-Soldado connection suggests there is life after Bale | Amy Lawrence
Tottenham 3-2 Southampton
Tottenham v Southampton – as it happened | Ian McCourt
Bellini obituary
Kalou 'rejected' Arsenal in January
Vicente Sánchez and Deshorn Brown on the spot as Rapids fell Timbers
Liverpool fans can dare to dream, says Brendan Rodgers – video
Bayern rule out move for Draxler
A-League: what we learned this weekend
David Moyes hails 'great' Wayne Rooney goal at West Ham – video
Andre Marriner should not be dropped for Arsenal blunder, says ex-referee
José Mourinho: Chelsea destroyed Arsenal in 10 minutes – video
Trick or tweet: the boy who hoaxed the football world
Western Sydney Wanderers 3-0 Perth Glory
Melbourne Heart 1-2 Central Coast Mariners

Posted: 23 Mar 2014 03:02 PM PDT

La Liga: Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick to close the gap on Real at the top of the table to one point

Steve Bruce warns Hull against complacency as survival not yet assured

Posted: 23 Mar 2014 03:00 PM PDT

• West Brom beaten but victory against West Ham needed
• Bruce looking to a long future with Hull in top flight

Shane Long sent Hull to within touching distance of Premier League safety by helping them defeat his former club West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, but Steve Bruce is adamant his side's survival mission is still not quite complete.

Long won the 30th-minute penalty from which Liam Rosenior headed in the rebound after Nikica Jelavic's spot-kick was saved, then struck himself eight minutes later to seal a solid if unspectacular three points for the hosts.

By Bruce's mathematics it leaves his side in search of one more win – which could come at West Ham on Wednesday – to guarantee top-flight status and enable Hull to concentrate on their upcoming FA Cup semi-final trip to Wembley.

"What we need to do is see it through and make sure we stay in this division," he said. "We are a newly promoted club and the odds were stacked against us. We have got to make sure we are here for two, three, four, five years and stay as a Premier League club. That's the aim but it's very difficult. At the moment we're doing OK."

Long limped off with a suspected knee strain late in the game and will be a doubt for the trip to Upton Park, but by then as far as West Brom were concerned, the damage had been done.

The striker always insisted he was reluctant to leave The Hawthorns and Pepe Mel must be rueing the club's decision to let him go with his side now languishing just three points off the relegation zone.

While Long provided the main threat throughout, the visitors failed to threaten despite long periods of neat possession, with their best chance arguably a first minute effort from Stéphane Sessègnon which sailed just over the bar.

Graeme Dorrans also brought a good save out of Hull goalkeeper Allan McGregor as the visitors looked capable of building on Mel's first win in charge away to fellow strugglers Swansea last week.

But Long was central to the home side wresting control of the game around the half-hour mark, shortly after David Meyler had served warning by flashing a header from a Tom Huddlestone corner inches wide of the mark.

Long's fall under Craig Dawson's innocuous challenge hardly endeared him to the travelling fans, especially when referee Chris Foy indicated a spot-kick which Mel protested and even Bruce conceded was "soft".

Justice seemed to have been done when McGregor guessed right to save from Jelavic but the ball rebounded to Rosenior who headed his first senior goal since October 2009.

Rosenior concurred with his manager's desire to get the job done. "There's been a lot talk about the FA Cup recently but the most important thing is we stay in the Premier League," he said. "We've got a lot of players who have been itching to play in this league for a long time, myself included, and we want to make sure we stay here."

West Brom ought to have at least narrowed the deficit in a second half they largely controlled but a powerful header from Victor Anichebe was the closest they went and Long almost piled on the misery with a right-foot effort which came back off the woodwork.

To add to West Brom's woes, their stand-in captain, Gareth McAuley, limped out with an ankle problem, following Anichebe, who had already departed with a hamstring complaint.

A mounting injury list is the last thing Mel needed going into next Saturday's potentially pivotal match with Cardiff, and the manager admitted: "It is a big problem because the next match is a very big match for us. There are currently four teams beneath us so of course I think we can still stay up. We continue because every week in the Premier League the table changes."

Real Madrid 3-4 Barcelona | La Liga match report

Posted: 23 Mar 2014 02:59 PM PDT

With seven minutes to go Lionel Messi struck a penalty high into the top corner of the Real Madrid net to complete the scoring in an astonishing match that left the league title race wide open once again. When the ball hit the net, it meant that a solitary point separates these two great rivals. And yet while the biggest game in Spain concluded with a new leader of La Liga, it was neither of these teams. Atlético Madrid are top.

One point separates all three contenders in what promises to be a fascinating run-in that will conclude with Barcelona v Atlético at the Camp Nou. Madrid's "other" team are top on head-to-head over Real Madrid, while Barcelona are just one point behind. The defending at the Bernabéu may not have been the most accomplished but some of the attacking was sublime and this was a fascinating, intense and wide open game, in which there were seven goals, three penalties, one red card, another record and barely a second to catch your breath.

Many men graced what was an enjoyable match in which Barcelona took an early lead and Madrid equalised and then twice led only for Barcelona to twice equalise and then pull ahead again late on. Karim Benzema scored twice, the second wonderfully taken, but two Argentinians perhaps left the most lasting impression: Angel Di Marîa and Messi. At times, it was hard to keep up and the noise inside the Santiago Bernabéu was extraordinary.

Before the game, the atmosphere had built early, the streets round the stadium packed.

If this was an opportunity for Madrid, for Barcelona it was an obligation. Victory would put Madrid seven points clear of their rivals at the top of the table with eight games remaining, virtually ending the Catalans' challenge. To start with, Barça's midfield formation was less a diamond with Cesc Fábregas at its tip as a line of three in front of Busquets with Xavi to the right, Fábregas central and Andrés Iniesta to the left. Neymar drifted right and Lionel Messi dropped for the ball.

It was from that left-sided position that Iniesta opened the scoring after just seven minutes. Xavi found Messi and he slotted a nicely weighted diagonal pass into the area in the space behind the right-back Dani Carvajal. Rather than coming inside, Iniesta hit it hard and high across the keeper and into the roof of the net. It was his first goal at the Bernabéu, only his second in a clásico.

Barcelona could and should have added to their lead and when they did not they paid for it. Messi scuffed his shot when he was played in behind Sergio Ramos and then the Argentinian played in Neymar whose hesitation allowed Pepe to block. At the other end, just before those chances Ángel Di María had played in Karim Benzema only for him to curl over from nine yards. The connection did work, though. Bale spread the ball wide to Di María soon afterwards and his high, swinging cross was met by Benzema. Víctor Valdés thought that he had saved the header but could only push it into the corner of the net. Barcelona's lack of height had been exposed once again, Benzema leaping well above Javier Mascherano.

As Madrid's players made their way back to the halfway line, Di María went to ground, as if he had fainted. Soon, though, he was up and running and providing another. This time his cross was from the byline; this time it was clipped in, lower, more softly; and this time Benzema, pulling back, controlled on his right thigh and without letting the ball drop, shifted his body and volleyed in with the same foot.

The control Barcelona had exercised had now vanished. This was already the fastest clásico double from a player in 36 years and, almost immediately, it took Gerard Piqué to prevent it from being a hat-trick, clearing off the line. Again, Di María and Benzema combined; again, Barcelona's defending in the air was suspect. That they have constantly failed to sign a genuine centre-back, that they have simply shrugged when their size has been cited as a problem, is baffling. Just before half-time, Benzema again climbed highest, this time to reach a cross from Carvajal on the right.

Just before Messi had equalised. Some wonderful footwork set him free and he found Neymar on the penalty spot; the Brazilian was dispossessed but the ball ran free and Messi reacted with astonishing speed. As three men dived in, his shot was in the net. Last weekend he became the top scorer in Barcelona's history; now hNe became the top scorer in the history of the clásico, overtaking Alfredo Di Stéfano.

As Messi collected the ball from the back of the net and celebrated, Pepe and Fábregas faced up to each other. The Madrid defender seemed to lean in with his head and then plummeted to the ground.Early in the second half a brilliant run from Bale saw him reach the edge of the Barcelona penalty area and put Benzema in, but the Frenchman's shot was pushed away by Victor Valdès. A moment later, it was Ronaldo who was running at them. If he was caught by Dani Alves, it appeared to be on the edge of the area but Undiano Mallenco, the referee, gave the penalty from which Ronaldo gave Madrid the lead.

Next it was Messi's turn. He played a wonderful ball behind Ramos for Neymar to run onto. One on one, Neymar was clipped by Ramos. Mallenco gave the penalty and pulled out a red card for the man who had already been sent off more times than anyone else in Madrid's history. Messi, like Ronaldo, scored. With seven minutes to go he had another opportunity. He scored again.

Sid Lowe

Premier League goals record intact despite Chelsea and Liverpool blitzes

Posted: 23 Mar 2014 02:59 PM PDT

• Weekend total of 42 one short of record set in 2011
• That included Newcastle's comeback in 4-4 with Arsenal

The past weekend may have seen goal after glorious goal, adding up to a grand total of 42, but it failed to break the record for the most scored on a single weekend in the Premier League. That honour belongs to 5-6 February 2011, when fans had 43 goals to celebrate.

On the Saturday Everton beat Blackpool 5-3, with Louis Saha scoring four, but there was another, more famous game that involved eight goals. Arsène Wenger's Arsenal side were three up within the first 10 minutes at Newcastle United and soon found themselves four goals to the good. However, after going down to 10 men when Abou Diaby clashed with Joey Barton and Kevin Nolan, they folded fast. Barton scored either side of Leon Best's goal and Cheik Tioté struck a stunning long-range equaliser to secure a 4-4 draw, a result that did a lot to undermine Arsenal's title challenge.

Elsewhere Wigan Athletic beat Blackburn Rovers 4-3, Stoke and Sunderland scored five between them while Aston Villa and Fulham had a mere four goals. The rest of the games that Saturday all featured at least three goals.

The Sunday action was much more sedate. Liverpool were winners by a single goal at Chelsea, as were Birmingham at West Ham.

Ian McCourt

Peter Crouch is England World Cup candidate, says Mark Hughes

Posted: 23 Mar 2014 02:05 PM PDT

• Striker is 'international class', says Stoke City manager
• Hughes believes age may deny Crouch World Cup place

Peter Crouch has received a volley of support from his team-mates and his manager who believe the former England striker is worthy of a place in Roy Hodgson's World Cup squad.

The Stoke midfielder Charlie Adam tweeted: "Crouchy back in the England squad for the World Cup" after watching the target man boss his opponents in the 4-1 destruction of Aston Villa, triggering a colourful debate on social media. But Mark Hughes fears Roy Hodgson will overlook Crouch in favour of younger alternatives.

"Peter is an international class player," said the Stoke manager emphatically. "He's proven that and he's got a great record. He gives you a focal point and his link-up play is excellent. I thought he was outstanding again today.

"Maybe people in charge now are looking in different areas and are looking for a similar type of player, a player who's as effective as Peter Crouch, but maybe they think his time has come and gone. If he was asked to go I'm sure he wouldn't refuse the offer."

Crouch was instrumental in Stoke's first goal as the visitors exploited Villa's dreadful defending to come from behind in what proved to be a rampant away win. Crouch's downward header set up Peter Odemwingie in the 22nd minute, just four minutes before he himself found the net with a cool, first-time shot from Erik Pieters' pass.

Hughes was particularly pleased to see Stoke banish the idea that they are long-ball merchants. Their third goal following a slick move of 19 passes.

"We're not too renowned for passages of play like that," he quipped. "Maybe people will sit up and take note of what we've tried to do here. Today we had a cutting edge. The manner of the performance and the margin of victory – all in all it's a very satisfying display."

Paul Lambert was smarting afterwards. "The goals we lost were really, really poor," the Villa manager he said. "It was unlike us. We looked lethargic and never got going. We were definitely second best. That wasn't good enough."

Lambert was particularly disappointed to have been turned over so easily after such a battling win against Chelsea last week. "We never defended well at all, not like we did the other day against Chelsea. When we play teams like Chelsea and Arsenal it's a different game, a different atmosphere, different everything. It's not that they weren't up for it. They just didn't get going."

Lambert did not use the enforced substitutions of Andreas Weimann and Karim El Ahmadi as excuses. "We lost a couple of lads to injury, Andy and Karim – but we were still second best. The goals we lost were really, really poor. We take nothing away from Stoke, they deserved to win the game. [Injuries] do disrupt you a little bit but I'm not going to use that as an excuse."

Next for Villa is a trip to Manchester United on Saturday and Lambert is confident his side can put in a good display. He added: "We'll be really up for it. Like the Chelsea game, no one expects us to get anything. It's a great game to play. As a footballer you want to play these sort of games and it's up to us to try to get something from them."

Jonny Weeks

The Co-op can thrive if it sticks to its fundamental principles | Pauline Green

Posted: 23 Mar 2014 12:05 PM PDT

The recent turmoil in the Co-operative Group came about because the mutual's managers lost sight of what makes it special

"The Co-op's heart beats to a different rhythm." So said a Guardian leader column trying to put some sense into the changes at the top of the Co-operative Group. But the recent convulsions at the heart of the group threaten the very future of this difference, and what it means to be a co-operative.

Unlike most businesses where the bottom line is profitability, the rhythm of a co-operative is different. It has a triple bottom line – investment in the business, an economic return to members, and care for the community. So yes it is a business, and it must make profits, but it does not need to maximise profit at the expense of member interests.

Members own their co-operative. This is the critical relationship that Euan Sutherland, who recently resigned as chief executive of the Co-operative Group – claiming that it was ungovernable – struggled with. The group might look ungovernable when viewed through the prism of a stock market listed business. But is it inherently so? Certainly not.

I urged a different governance approach in 2008 when the two largest consumer co-operatives in the UK merged to create the Co-operative Group and introduced a new constitution. So changes are needed. But there are other huge, complex and successful co-operative business in other parts of the world.

As someone who has played a senior role in the UK's co-operative movement for some 30 years, and currently chairs the International Co-operative Alliance, I have watched with increasing concern and despair as, first, the Co-operative Bank fell out of the movement's hands, and, second, the relationship between executive management and lay members of the Co-operative Group fell apart so spectacularly.

Right through the financial collapse and recession, the co-operative movement has been growing across the world. Owned by nearly 1 billion of the world's citizens, employing tens of millions around the world, with 25% of the global insurance market, providing electricity to over 42 million consumers in the United States, and with its largest 300 co-operative and mutual businesses having a combined turnover of $2.1 trillion, co-operatives already play an important role in the global economy. In many countries they are the backbone of the real economy – supporting local communities, urban and rural, through a huge worldwide network of small enterprises in local agriculture, community finance and just about every sector of the economy.

This is not a "worse" model of business but a different model, that provides the distinctive rhythm of the co-operative pulse. Yet after the coverage of the group's problems, you could be forgiven for thinking the co-operative model is not suited for modern business. If that is the case, how is it that the investor-led business model – which failed so disastrously for us all during the global financial collapse – is still suitable for the global banking sector?

The current problems at the Co-operative Group come down to a culture clash between the management and the members, who own it. Leading a co-operative business is a complex mix of professional skills, respect for the participatory model of ownership, and adherence to our globally recognised principles. It requires someone prepared to understand and work with the grain of a business that has a quite different raison d'etre from the predominant business model in the UK.

Over the last year, as the new management at the group rightly moved to deal with the huge problems presented by the Co-operative Bank, and its potential impact on the group itself, two things became clear.

First, at a time when group members should have been consulted about how they wanted their co-operative to develop, the exact opposite happened. Virtually all those with knowledge of how to manage decision-making in a co-operative were removed from the most senior level. This was compounded by moving the entire new executive management team from the Manchester head office to an office in London, thereby undermining confidence and morale in Manchester, and isolating the executive group from everyday contact with the remaining vestiges of co-operative knowledge and experience.

Second, there appeared to be a move away from the acknowledged conceptual framework of co-operation. There was no talk any longer of the "principles and values" of the movement, but of "ethics and values". This may seem like nitpicking, but to tinker with or omit any of these principles is deeply worrying precisely because they are the co-operative ethics and values: to change them is to stop being a co-operative. The seven global principles are at the core of the co-operative difference and are a major unique identifier in the corporate world.

These two problems were compounded by the ill-judged "Have Your Say" survey, which crystallised fears among members about the downgrading of their ownership rights by asking leading questions that appeared to be an attack on principles such as an economic return to members and member control. The media coverage of the unexpected early release of the report into the Co-operative Group's governance by Lord Myners exacerbated these concerns.

If ever there were a time for the co-operative movement to show its mettle, this is it. The group has serious problems: the recruitment of the next chief officer is more vital than ever. The new CEO must have an understanding of, and commitment to, co-operative values and principles, and demonstrate the capacity to repair the damage done to the relationship between members and the executive. For this to work, the eyes of the Co-operative Group need to lift upwards, beyond internal personality politics and power struggles and towards the thriving co-operative movement in the UK and internationally.

We have the right people in the movement to manage our businesses. We have the right models in the movement to govern our co-operatives. If we put them together we can have a successful Co-operative Group once more.

Pauline Green

Atlético maintain La Liga title challenge after win over Real Betis

Posted: 23 Mar 2014 11:56 AM PDT

• Atlético Madrid 2-0 Real Betis
• Gabi and Diego Costa score to beat league's bottom club

Atlético Madrid beat 10-man Real Betis 2-0 Sunday in the Spanish league to increase the pressure on Real Madrid ahead of El Clásico with Barcelona.

Atlético are tied on 70 points with Madrid, who host Barcelona later this evening. Barcelona are third with 66 points.

Gabi opened the scoring in what had been a hard fought contest until Bryan Rodríguez was shown a second yellow card for swiping at the ball with his hand in the 55th minute.

Gabi was afforded space about 10 yards outside the area to smash a swerving drive beyond outstretched goalkeeper Antonio Adan for the 58th-minute lead.

Diego Costa made it 2-0 in the 64th after Koke headed on for the Spain striker to fire home his 23rd league goal, and 31st in all competitions.

While Atlético's season-long surge sees no signs of dipping with nine rounds left, last-placed Betis is running out of time to avoid relegation after falling nine points from safety.

Tim Sherwood: Southampton fightback can fire Tottenham past Arsenal

Posted: 23 Mar 2014 11:32 AM PDT

• Tottenham manager targets Champions League spot
• 'It is squeaky bum time, time for the men to stand up'

Tim Sherwood believes his team's overturning of a two-goal deficit against Southampton can lead to an even more amazing comeback and help Tottenham Hotspur overhaul Arsenal and qualify for the Champions League.

Spurs were 2-0 down to Southampton after 28 minutes at White Hart Lane but battled back and emerged as 3-2 winners thanks to a stoppage-time goal by Gylfi Sigurdsson. That result lifted them back to fifth place in the Premier League table, six points behind their north London rivals, who have played one match fewer, but Sherwood is not giving up hope of overtaking Arsène Wenger's team, who suffered a humiliating 6-0 defeat at Chelsea on Saturday. Such a denouement would represent a reversal of last season, when Tottenham were seven points clear of Arsenal after winning the north London derby in early March but were ultimately supplanted by Wenger's men in the Champions League qualification spots.

"We are going to try and accumulate as many points as we possibly can," said Sherwood. "I think we are a point behind where we were last year [at this stage] and we pushed Arsenal really close so who knows what could happen. It is squeaky bum time, time for the men to stand up and get as many points as we can."

Sherwood had fumed at the perceived lack of mental fortitude shown by his players in the 4-0 defeat at Chelsea this month but says he has been delighted by the response from his team. He said his side's character was central to their fightback against Southampton and singled out Kyle Naughton for particular praise. The full-back was at fault for both of the visitors' goals but recovered to tee up Christian Eriksen for Tottenham's opener and show renewed solidity for the rest of the game. "I want to give credit to Kyle Naughton," said Sherwood. "Anyone can make mistakes, and it was obvious he made two mistakes there, but what everyone can't do is stand tall and put themselves on offer in the second half.

"Too often, not only at Tottenham, but all around the country, players go hiding. They want to go off. He didn't want to come off, he wanted to go out and put that right. And he did that in the second half. I give him massive credit for that. He'll only grow for that. That's the character I'm looking for, that's what I want to see. I want people who want to roll their sleeves up and have a go. And he typified what I want from my players."

Sherwood's future at White Hart Lane remains uncertain, with reports continually linking other managers with a summer move to Tottenham. One such manager is Southampton's Mauricio Pochettino but Sherwood denied that this made this result even sweeter, saying he had no grievance towards the Argentinian, who has never publicly suggested that he is interested in moving to Tottenham or any other club. "I've nothing against Pochettino, he's a real professional and a good lad," said Sherwood.

"The satisfaction is that they're a good side and we've beat them twice this year. That is the real satisfaction, nothing against Mauricio or his staff, they're all good guys and real honourable fellas."

Pochettino, meanwhile, said he was broadly happy with the way his team performed but regretted the individual errors that let Spurs back into the game. "The result was heavy punishment, I thought we deserved more," he said.

Paul Doyle

Aston Villa 1-4 Stoke City

Posted: 23 Mar 2014 11:10 AM PDT

They have only seven games left but, as things stand, Stoke City are on track to win the league – Mark Hughes's imaginary league, that is. The Stoke manager reckons the bottom 11 teams are effectively in a competition of their own and is aiming to finish top of the pile, in 10th, for what would be the club's best finish in the Premier League. This comprehensive victory over Villa has given them every chance.

Goals from Peter Odemwingie, Peter Crouch, Steven Nzonzi and Geoff Cameron did the damage, although a quick postmortem by Paul Lambert will reveal that his side were undone by their own shoddy defending. The formula with which Stoke triumphed was swift and simple: their players repeatedly drove to the byline and cut balls back to unmarked team-mates in the penalty area.

Villa were chasing a third straight league home win for the first time in six and a half years. Christian Benteke's early goal had given them great hope of achieving that ambition but by half-time they had conceded three times and were duly booed off.

Stoke took control of the match even without Stephen Ireland in their team. When Villa sold Ireland to them in January, such was their concern about the dangers he might pose, they denied Stoke the right to play him in this fixture. Consequently, Hughes called Wilson Palacios into his side for only his 13th league start in three seasons.

Meanwhile, Karim El Ahmadi, the victim of the horrific tackle by Chelsea's Ramires last weekend that caused a minor bunfight on the pitch at Villa Park, was fit enough to start. El Ahmadi was guilty of an awful challenge of his own early on in this match as he came from behind with a scissor-tackle on Crouch that reduced the Stoke frontman to a heap. It was a foolish attempt at gathering the ball and was well worthy of the yellow card it earned him.

Villa already led at that stage courtesy of Benteke's fifth-minute goal. The Belgian striker took a touch and side-footed the ball neatly into the corner after Fabian Delph, who has impressed greatly in recent weeks, had supplied the destructive pass. Stoke's defending was softer than marshmallow; Cameron was turned far too easily and the space afforded to Benteke was criminal.

In many ways it was a mirror of the goal Stoke later scored to take the lead in the 26th minute. Erik Pieters's delivery from the byline found Crouch, who side-footed smartly into the top of the net, but Andreas Weimann lacked the resilience needed to fend off Pieters in the first place.

Stoke's first goal had come from Odemwingie four minutes earlier. He burst into the box, collected Crouch's nod-down and tucked a low shot under the keeper. The referee, Mark Clattenburg, rightly waved away suspicions of handball from Odemwingie in the buildup. Villa even seemed to question whether Crouch might have leant on his marker as he won possession but, frankly, Crouch was always getting to the aerial ball first and he teed up his strike partner with great poise.

Stoke's third arrived just before half-time after a string of unchallenged passes. Ultimately, Marko Arnautovic's slide-rule delivery should have been intercepted by Nathan Baker but the Villa defender could only divert it with his heels toward the unmarked Nzonzi, who pinged his shot into the far corner of the net. Baker may count himself unfortunate that Nzonzi was even allowed to romp forward unchecked.

Undoubtedly, Villa's first-half performance was hampered by injuries to Weimann and El Ahmadi, which forced both players off in succession in the 33rd minute. Lambert chose not to make any further substitutions at half-time and instead gave his men the chance to atone for their errors.

Villa began the second half with greater verve and Benteke had a penalty appeal turned down when his heels appeared to have been clipped. The referee was unmoved and Lambert, speaking after the match, agreed with the verdict. Benteke raged at Clattenburg and was booked for his tantrum – an indication of the levels of frustration coursing through Villa Park.

As the half progressed, Lambert's men showed fewer and fewer signs they would drag themselves back into the contest. In the end, Cameron poached Stoke's fourth as Villa were exposed again. Predictably it was from another incisive run to the byline and another uncontested shot. Arnautovic provided the assist in a display that showcased his creative talents.

Bizarrely, given the nature of the display, it was only Stoke's second away win of the campaign. Their last was in August at West Ham. Villa must wonder what just hit them.

Man of the match

Peter Crouch (Stoke City)

Jonny Weeks

Aston Villa v Stoke City – as it happened | Tom Bryant

Posted: 23 Mar 2014 10:57 AM PDT

Aston Villa were thoroughly outplayed by a well-drilled Stoke side, who now go to tenth in the Premier League

Tom Bryant

Spurs' Eriksen-Soldado connection suggests there is life after Bale | Amy Lawrence

Posted: 23 Mar 2014 10:32 AM PDT

Dane's predatory finishes and Spaniard's silky link play put paid to Southampton and offered the fans hope for next season

Just as it proved premature to load too many excitable expectations on the group of players Tottenham purchased with their Gareth Bale windfall, perhaps those who have dismissed their longer-term prospects at White Hart Lane will also turn out to be hasty. When the summer comes, and Tottenham attempt to analyse this season of turbulence and try to figure out the best way to progress, some encouraging answers might be staring them in the face.

The unstable and haphazard backdrop to the season has not made for the calmest environment for new signings to acclimatise, but there are signs that some of Tottenham's players will emerge the stronger for it. In the absence of Emmanuel Adebayor, Christian Eriksen and Roberto Soldado, right, demonstrated how the seeds of a promising partnership have been sown.

They have not had too many opportunities in tandem (they started only once together in the previous 11 matches, in the Europa League against Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk). On this occasion their movement, and the way they sought each other out, was noticeably complementary.

Eriksen's initiative, in showing the hunger to hunt and pounce on a couple of predatory finishes, shows there is more to him than the luxury arts of an authentic playmaker. Actually he scored the kind of goals that might have been more naturally associated with Soldado's repertoire. The Spaniard did not finesse his performance with a goal but he was warmly applauded for his efforts, with some silky link play central to Tottenham's ability to rouse themselves from a terribly self-inflicted 2-0 deficit.

A dozy opening half-hour, with Sherwood upstairs trying to keep out of trouble and get a decent view from the directors' box, showed 2013-14 Tottenham at their worst. That recklessly high line almost encouraged Southampton to play with confident assurance and press mistakes out of the home defence. There had been a number of alarm bells in the opening 15 minutes, and it felt as if the sharp Southampton attackers and leisurely Tottenham defenders were playing in different time zones. Sherwood's team posed themselves the kind of problems that make it too easy for critics to put two and two together and make Louis van Gaal.

Cavalier defending, with Kyle Naughton the chief culprit, allowed Southampton to cruise into a two-goal lead delivered expertly by Jay Rodriguez and Adam Lallana. Southampton's attacking movement and energy was so impressive, and Eriksen deserves credit for applying himself with the same quality to kickstart the Tottenham comeback.

He gave a brilliantly straight answer to the post-match question as to how Tottenham recovered from their cumbersome two-goal deficit. "Score three goals," he said plainly, fixing the interviewer with a stating the bleeding obvious stare. Simple.

Increased effort was paramount, as demonstrated by the Soldado-Eriksen connection to force the equaliser early in the second half. The Dane also had a hand in the matchwinner with a cute lay-off to invite Gylfi Sigurdsson to wallop in a late decider.

In a developmental year, this has been a challenging first season in English football for Eriksen. A fabulous start, as he excelled on his debut, and scored on his second appearance, outlined his promise. With his creative instincts and classy touch, he looked like a player blessed with the kind of talent to build a team around. That may well turn out to be the case but as he has adjusted to the Premier League it has been a learning process. Having shone fitfully, in the last few weeks Eriksen has found a new stride in this team, which augers well for next season when he should feel more settled.

Soldado is perhaps the more curious case, and midway though the game Gary Lineker tweeted his belief that the Spaniard can cut the mustard. "In all seriousness I reckon Soldado could still come good. Often takes foreign players a while to adapt. And he CAN play." He has not been an obvious favourite of Sherwood's, and recently admitted on Spanish radio that he might have abandoned ship if this Spurs experience had come when he was younger, saying: "I would have probably returned home after a month."

The statistics are still unhelpful and every expensive goalscorer is judged by his strike rate. Clearly Soldado needs to up the ante in that department. But while this season might be one to file away as a test of character, the broader picture of his Tottenham career could look different this time next year.

Players such as Soldado and Eriksen (together with the forgotten man Erik Lamela) were bought to collectively fill the chasm left by Bale. That was too tall an order while they endeavoured to adjust to a new football culture. But their qualities may well come in increasingly useful for Tottenham.

Amy Lawrence

Tottenham 3-2 Southampton

Posted: 23 Mar 2014 08:35 AM PDT

Gylfi Sigurdsson put a gloss on a match that for a long time unfolded like a summary of the last four months for Tottenham. Spurs blended sprinkles of excellence with bouts of cluelessness and seemed on course for a suitably inconclusive result until Sigurdsson averted the draw with a spectacular strike in stoppage time.

That winning goal was reward for Tottenham's spirit as much as any skill, as it crowned a comeback from a calamitous first half an hour during which Southampton went two goals in front and could have led by more. The fightback felt like vindication for Tim Sherwood, who came into the game looking forward to another opportunity to present the case for allowing him to remain in charge of Tottenham beyond the summer. His Premier League managerial career began at Southampton in December, when his team also triumphed 3-2, but his side's form has fluctuated between encouraging and wayward since then, leading to persistent reports that Tottenham are considering replacing him with a more experienced manager at the end of the season. Southampton's Mauricio Pochettino is among those being linked with the position.

The opening half hour was an endorsement of Pochettino's methods, as Southampton played like a slick ensemble that enables talented individuals to flourish. Like a true team, in other words. Their early fluency contrasted with the well-intentioned but spluttering moves of Tottenham. Adam Lallana charged down an attempted clearance by Younès Kaboul in the opening minute and that was a precursor of much of what was to follow in the first period, even if Kaboul had the first scoring chance a minute later when his downward header from a Christian Eriksen corner brought a comfortable save from Artur Boruc.

Tottenham were too often guilty of haphazard passing in the first half and the visitors were more than happy to take advantage. A wayward ball from Aaron Lennon in the sixth minute enabled Rickie Lambert to lumber towards the Tottenham penalty area but instead of electing to have a shot on goal the striker chose instead to tee up Lallana, who fired high and wide from 18 yards.

Tottenham missed the injured Emmanuel Adebayor's aerial power up front but Roberto Soldado was endearing himself to the White Hart Lane faithful by serving as a clever fulcrum when the ball was played to his feet. In the 14th minute the Spaniard produced a lovely flick to send Nacer Chadli racing free down the left. As Soldado darted into the middle in anticipation of a return ball that would have presented him with a tap-in, Chadli pulled the cross behind him, offering, instead, further evidence of a team that was not quite clicking.

The error that led to Southampton's opening goal could hardly be attributed to sloppy teamwork – it was just a basic blunder by Kyle Naughton, who misjudged a long kick by Boruc, allowing the ball to bounce over him and into the path of Jay Rodriguez. The forward then curled a lovely low shot beyond Hugo Lloris and into the far corner.

Southampton were looking likely to increase their lead even without the help of the hosts but, in the 27th minute, another mistake by Naughton aggravated Spurs' problems. A loose ball by the right-back fell to Lambert, who fed Lallana yet again and this time the playmaker finished emphatically from 14 yards with a well-placed shot.

An enraged Sherwood abandoned his seat in the stands and stormed down to the sidelines to vent his spleen. Naughton may have taken some of the sting out of the tongue-lashing he was likely to get at half-time by helping Spurs to cut the deficit immediately. The full-back crossed from the right and this time it was a Southampton defender who goofed, Nathaniel Clyne botching the clearance and allowing the ball to run to Eriksen, who rammed it into the net from close range.

Sherwood, you suspect, still gave full voice to his anger during the break and his team soon cheered him up. Two minutes into the second period feeble Southampton defending enabled Spurs to equalise. Soldado outmuscled Dejan Lovren as the Croatian tried to let the ball run out of play near the corner flag and the striker's low cross was allowed to run across the face of goal to Eriksen, who gratefully tucked away his second goal.

Now confidence coursed through Tottenham and consequently their play flowed more smoothly and showed more attacking verve. They took a grip of central midfield, where Sigurdsson was introduced for Mousa Dembélé.

The influence of Southampton's Lallana, a sprightly conjurer for much of the first period, faded. Chadli and Eriksen both blasted efforts into the side netting after swift attacks by the home side. Eriksen then fired wastefully over from the edge of the area after being given a clear run on goal in the 69th minute.

But Southampton eventually steadied themselves and began to chase victory. Lambert nodded over from six yards and then, in the 88th minute, went even closer, flashing a powerful drive inches wide after a period of sustained pressure. A draw would have been a suitable outcome but Spurs were not content to settle for that. In the second minute of time added on, Sigurdsson ignited jubilation at White Hart Lane by collecting a pass from Eriksen and firing low into the net from 25 yards.

Man of the match: Christian Eriksen (Tottenham)

Paul Doyle

Tottenham v Southampton – as it happened | Ian McCourt

Posted: 23 Mar 2014 08:25 AM PDT

Minute-by-minute report: Gylfi Sigurdsson's injury-time goal completed a Tottenham comeback from two goals down

Ian McCourt

Bellini obituary

Posted: 23 Mar 2014 07:49 AM PDT

Captain of the Brazilian team that won the 1958 World Cup

The footballer Bellini, alias Hilderaldo Luiz Bellini, who has died aged 83, was Brazil's centre-half and captain when they first won the World Cup, in Sweden in 1958. A powerful, resolute and sometimes abrasive central marker, he was one of the key players in the four-in-a-line (or flat-back-four) defence that Brazil introduced at the tournament and that would go on to sweep the game after their triumph. In 1962 he was passed over for the team that contested and won the World Cup in Chile, his place going to Mauro; but he was centre-half in 1966, playing in the first two of Brazil's three ill-fated games in England.

Bellini was born in the town of Itapira, in São Paulo state, and his first club was the local Itapira Atlético, followed by the São João da Boa Vista club, and Vasco da Gama in Rio de Janeiro, from 1952 until 1962. He then moved to São Paulo, and remained there until 1968.

"Being an easygoing sort of chap," Bellini wrote, "I was perhaps not as ambitious as some." He gained his first international recognition only at the relatively late age of 26, when he was chosen to be part of the squad for the South American Championship in Lima in 1957, though the centre-half role was filled by Edson. Bellini did not have to wait long to be capped, however. Hard on the heels of that tournament, Brazil played two World Cup qualifying games against Peru, and he was chosen for both of them. He did well enough not only to keep his place right through to the 1958 World Cup finals but to become captain. After victory in the final he was presented with the trophy on the pitch and lifted it triumphantly above his head – an unusual and expansive gesture for the times, and one that was to be much copied in subsequent years by other captains. A statue of Bellini in that pose was eventually erected in front of the Maracanã stadium in Rio.

"There was nothing extraordinary about our defensive methods," he said about the team's performance in Sweden. "I took it upon myself to tackle an opponent entering the defence from our right, a striker from the left being handled by Orlando." Broadly speaking, Bellini was a dominant figure throughout the tournament, placing an emphasis on studying the opponents' buildup from midfield and assessing where the thrust would come from.

He did have one fortunate moment during the goalless draw against England in the Ullevi stadium, Gothenburg, in Brazil's second match. Derek Kevan, England's centre-forward, was racing through when Bellini brought him down. There seemed good claims for a penalty, but the referee allowed play to go on.

He had stronger opposition to contend with when Brazil played France in Stockholm in the semi-final. The French players Raymond Kopa and Just Fontaine had proved a devastating combination, with little Kopa making the bullets for the quick, strong, stocky Fontaine to fire. Bellini called him "the best getter of goals I saw in Sweden".

Early in the game it seemed that Brazil would be in for a tormenting time, but an injury took the accomplished French centre-half, Robert Jonquet, off the pitch and the 10 French players eventually lost 5-2, with Pelé scoring a hat-trick. In the final, which Brazil also won 5-2, Agne Simonsson, Sweden's centre-forward, did break through past Bellini for Sweden's second goal but, by that time, Brazil had the match won.

In Chile four years later, Bellini was understudy to Mauro and did not get a game. Nevertheless, he felt that he made his contribution to Brazil's success in training, tactical talks "and helping to stimulate and maintain the spirits of the party".

In 1966 Brazil picked an older side, re-calling Bellini at the age of 36. He and the team survived their opening match against Bulgaria in Liverpool, winning 2-0. But in the second game Bellini and his fellow defenders could do little against the inspirational play of Hungary's ubiquitous centre-forward, Flórián Albert. Bellini was dropped from the team, who also lost their third match, against Portugal, and were thus eliminated. He retired from football in 1969.

Bellini saw himself as a gentle giant, "a peaceful man off the field". He went into business with his in-laws, opening a shop, "and in that role I look very little like a football player, particularly the hard, combative player I am said to be." According to an interview in 2008 with Brasileiros magazine, he also trained as a lawyer, though he never practised. In recent years he had suffered from Alzheimer's disease.

He is survived by his wife Giselda, whom he married in 1963, and their two children, Carla and Junior.

• Bellini (Hilderaldo Luiz Bellini), footballer, born 7 June 1930; died 20 March 2014

Brian Glanville

Kalou 'rejected' Arsenal in January

Posted: 23 Mar 2014 06:21 AM PDT

• Former Chelsea forward wanted to stay in Lille
• Kalou says he was asked about last-minute loan

The former Chelsea forward Salomon Kalou has revealed that he turned down the chance to join Arsenal in the January transfer window.

Kalou, who now plays for the Ligue 1 side Lille, said he was approached about a last-minute loan deal at the end of the transfer window. However he said he rejected Arsène Wenger's approach in order to help his club qualify for Europe.

"A possible departure?" Kalou told L'Equipe. "Yes, to Arsenal. It could have been done as a last minute loan. But I want to finish third, prepare for the World Cup Stadium and go to the Stade de France to compete in the final of the Coupe de France."

The Ivory Coast striker has confirmed, however, that he will leave Lille in the summer and he has previously expressed an interest in returning to the Premier League, to add to his six seasons at Chelsea from 2006 to 2012. He has been in good form in France, scoring 24 league goals in 57 appearances for Lille.

Vicente Sánchez and Deshorn Brown on the spot as Rapids fell Timbers

Posted: 23 Mar 2014 06:00 AM PDT

Colorado Rapids defeat Portland Timbers with two penalties while unbeaten FC Dallas beat Chivas USA 3-1

Liverpool fans can dare to dream, says Brendan Rodgers – video

Posted: 23 Mar 2014 05:25 AM PDT

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers says his side can't wait to play in front of their fans again after three games away from home

Bayern rule out move for Draxler

Posted: 23 Mar 2014 05:20 AM PDT

• Draxler had been linked with move to Arsenal in winter
• Bundesliga match report: Mainz 0-2 Bayern Munich

The Bayern Munich chairman, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, has rejected speculation that the club will make a summer move for the Schalke attacking midfielder Julian Draxler, a rumoured Arsenal transfer target.

There had been speculation in the German media that Bayern were planning to make a move for Draxler in the summer transfer window but Rummenigge, speaking to Die Welt am Sonntag, rubbished the rumours claiming that Draxler was not in the club's plans.

"We are not buying any player from [Borussia] Dortmund or Schalke just to hurt these clubs," he said. "We are just buying players who can give FC Bayern more quality straight away. I can rule out that we will sign Julian Draxler in the summer," he added.

Rummenigge also said that he expected the striker Mario Mandzukic to remain with the Bavarian club, despite interest from several other clubs as well as the impending arrival of Robert Lewandowski on a free transfer from Dortmund. Mandzukic leads the Bundesliga scoring charts with 17 goals so far this season; Lewandowski is behind him in second with 16 goals to his name.

"I am aware that several clubs are interested in him but I think he will stay past the end of this season," Rummenigge said. "I am noticing something by the players. They know what it means to play for Bayern and they appreciate it. They live in a beautiful city, a beautiful stadium, the best manager and the club is well known internationally."

Meanwhile in the Bundesliga, Bayern, who have drawn Manchester United in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, beat Mainz 2-0 but were forced to delay their title celebrations for another week after Dortmund took three points from their match against Hannover.

Pep Guardiola's side needed late goals from Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mario Götze to ensure that they stretched their unbeaten run in the German top flight to 51 games.

A-League: what we learned this weekend

Posted: 23 Mar 2014 05:07 AM PDT

Kate Cohen: Van 't Schip's balancing equation; Jets firing at long last; Brattan's passing a wonder to behold; Farina remains on shaky ground

Kate Cohen

David Moyes hails 'great' Wayne Rooney goal at West Ham – video

Posted: 23 Mar 2014 03:59 AM PDT

Manchester United manager David Moyes says Wayne Rooney's 57-yard goal shows how vital he is to the club

Andre Marriner should not be dropped for Arsenal blunder, says ex-referee

Posted: 23 Mar 2014 03:35 AM PDT

• Dermot Gallagher believes referee's confidence would suffer
• Marriner sent off the wrong player in Chelsea match

Andre Marriner's confidence would be shattered if he was stood down for the rest of the season for sending off the wrong Arsenal player at Chelsea, according to the former Premier League official Dermot Gallagher.

Marriner apologised to Arsenal for his error in Saturday's match at Stamford Bridge, in which Kieran Gibbs was mistakenly dismissed after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had handled the ball. The incident resulted in a penalty in the 17th minute of the match, which led to José Mourinho's Premier League leaders going 3-0 up en route to a 6-0 rout.

The former World Cup referee Clive Thomas subsequently called for Marriner to be stood down for the rest of the season but Gallagher believes that is the last thing the 43-year-old needs, and would be happy to see him straight back into the action at the next available opportunity.

"I can't see that would do a referee any good. I can't see it would do Andre any good," he told BBC Radio 5 Live's Sportsweek programme. "You've got one of the leading referees in not only England but in Europe, and you're going to stand him down? That doesn't do the Premier League any good because he is a top top-flight referee – he's made one mistake and his confidence would be shattered if that happened. I can't see that would do him any good whatsoever."

Gallagher thinks the experience will help other officials. "Every referee will learn from this and identify what they can do if a similar situation ever occurs again," he said. "For Andre, maybe he wants to get straight back into a game next week, maybe he just wants a cooling-off period to take pressure off. But he certainly doesn't need to be out for the rest of the season."

On whether he should get straight back in the saddle, Gallagher said: "I would endorse that. If you are in a position where you're going to stand a referee down for whatever period, whenever he goes back, the focus will be on him. He's made a genuine mistake and that's all it was."

He added: "It's an error that can be corrected off the field for Arsenal later this week. Arsenal will appeal that Kieran Gibbs didn't handle the ball, which the DVD quite clearly shows, and his red card will be rescinded and obviously Oxlade-Chamberlain will say he handled the ball and he will be the one suspended."

José Mourinho: Chelsea destroyed Arsenal in 10 minutes – video

Posted: 23 Mar 2014 03:10 AM PDT

Chelsea manager José Mourinho says his side only needed 10 minutes to sweep aside Arsenal and cement their spot at the top of the Premier League

Trick or tweet: the boy who hoaxed the football world

Posted: 23 Mar 2014 02:00 AM PDT

Sam Gardiner is a football-mad schoolboy, but no one took his opinions seriously. So he created a fake Twitter personality and soon was talking tactics with Premiership players. Tim Lewis meets the spoofer extraordinaire

For five minutes, Sam Gardiner panicked. He had been rumbled: he wasn't Dominic Jones. He hadn't spent years as a football scout, going to games most nights, searching for that one-in-a-million prospect, getting home at 3am, as he once claimed in an article he had written. He wasn't now a reporter for Goal, the international football magazine. He didn't look anything like the picture that was his Twitter identity.

But then Gardiner calmed down. He did a web search to check his legal position, which indicated that he hadn't committed fraud, because he had invented a new persona, not stolen someone else's. He went back on Twitter and with a few keystrokes created Samuel Rhodes, a freelance journalist for the Daily Telegraph and Financial Times. He trawled Google images for a byline photograph and on page 11 he found a clean-cut, blond chap with a resemblance to the Australian actor Simon Baker. His Twitter profile was back up instantly and scarcely any of his 3,000 followers even noticed.

Gardiner, of course, is not Dominic Jones or Samuel Rhodes; the reality is both more interesting and more humdrum. Gardiner is a 17-year-old from High Barnet, north London. His dad runs a financial trading company and his mum has a business selling leather coats and sheepskin products. He is currently doing his A-levels at JFS, an academic powerhouse that is Europe's largest Jewish secondary school, and he wants to study politics and economics at university. I meet him at Nando's in Kingsbury for an early lunch, squeezed in between double maths and politics.

In January, the Samuel Rhodes account – at that point with 20,000-plus followers – was deleted by Twitter. He was busted on this occasion by Kate Day, director of digital content at the Telegraph. "I had more followers than her," Gardiner notes, slightly peeved, before conceding: "I don't know, she was probably right." Depending on how you view these things, Gardiner is either a harmless hoaxer with an opportunistic spirit, or he's a reminder of the dangers we all face now that we're taking more of our news from social media and non-traditional sources.

So why did Gardiner do it? "I wanted to prove a point," he says between mouthfuls of peri-peri chicken. "When I was 15, I created a Twitter account that was me – Sam Gardiner, Arsenal fan – but no one was taking me seriously. I had 300 followers. Adults don't want to listen to 15-year-olds and I don't blame them, to be honest. But I was getting really frustrated, because I love football, I love talking about football and I just wanted to air my opinions to as many people as possible."

Gardiner set himself the goal of engaging 50,000 followers, and whatever you think of the morality of it, the tactics he used were smart. Football fans are obsessed with transfer rumours, and the most respected voices – rightly or wrongly – are journalists, who supporters believe have an inside track on any deals going through. So, first as Dominic Jones, until a real writer for Goal alerted Twitter, and then Samuel Rhodes, Gardiner used their made-up credentials and his knowledge of European football to start spreading gossip.

"I had formulas for the rumours and they seemed to work," he says. "Chelsea were always looking for the new Didier Drogba; Arsenal were always looking for that marquee signing; United were always looking for the new Paul Scholes; and Liverpool were looking to waste some more money… I knew which players would go to which clubs because I watched so much football. And that's why a lot of my rumours came true." Later he'll boast: "I figured out the trends. I conquered the transfer market."

Gardiner's exaggerating a tad there – he was certainly wrong much more than he was right – but he did make one eye-catching prophecy. In November 2012, he claimed on Twitter that he had spoken to a Chelsea representative and the manager Roberto di Matteo would be fired the next day. Unexpectedly, he was. "It was complete luck," Gardiner says, "but that gave me a lot of credibility."

These posts might not sound too malicious, but Gardiner became more ambitious. He'd claim he was speaking to a player, ask his Twitter followers for questions and then get back to them with replies. One of his supposed interviewees was Yohan Cabaye, a French international who seemed perennially on the verge of leaving Newcastle United (which he eventually did in January). Gardiner recalls: "I'd be like: 'Cabaye says he loves Newcastle, he loves the club, it suits his style well.' I'd quote him – well, I didn't, I wouldn't quote him, I'd quote what I thought he'd say."

Gardiner notices my eyebrows knitting sceptically. "I felt sorry for Newcastle fans, because they were hoping he'd stay, so I wanted to make them happy."

As Samuel Rhodes's following grew, even professional footballers (as well as legitimate sports journalists) started buying into it. The first was Wigan's Scottish international James McArthur, who put him in contact with his then teammate Grant Holt, now on loan at Aston Villa. Gardiner would send them private messages telling them there had been rumours – of a prospective transfer, say, or a bust-up on the training ground – and he was keen to put their side of the story.

The high point for Gardiner was an exchange he had with Holt on Twitter last Christmas Eve. "My parents weren't interested," he says. "I'd be like: 'Mum, I'm talking to Grant Holt right now; he plays for Wigan.' And she'd be like: 'OK. Get on with your homework.'"

No one else involved was especially keen to speak about what Gardiner had done. Wigan Athletic and the Telegraph's Kate Day both declined to comment. Perhaps there's some embarrassment that they were hoodwinked by a schoolboy – for the record, neither of the footballers shared anything too scandalous with Gardiner – but in fact many of us would have been guilty at some point of taking something we'd seen on social media at face value. It has never been easier to create a fake online identity or post inaccurate information and we have probably never been so lax about trusting what we read.

If there's a salutary lesson to be taken from the Sam Gardiner episode, it's that it is welcome to be reminded of our vulnerability to deception when the information at stake is merely whether Mohamed Salah, an Egyptian winger, would join Liverpool or Chelsea.

Meeting Gardiner, it's hard to feel you are in the presence of an amoral con artist. He keeps reiterating that he just "wanted to prove a point" and show to adults that some kids do know what they are talking about. He's obviously mischievous – "I'm really naughty in lessons," he admits, "I answer back a lot" – but neither his school nor his parents have considered the matter worthy of further censure.

In fact, Gardiner is already back on Twitter: he's been taken on by Yakatak, a company that develops sports apps, and asked to run their football feed. This time, however, he's planning to stick to facts and opinion, not speculation. "Most of my friends have to get jobs as waiters," says Gardiner, "and I'm getting paid to watch football and talk about it."

The new gig, Gardiner hopes, will be a stepping stone to his eventual dream career as a football journalist. Or, even better, he could take Daniel Finkelstein's job at the Times, writing about his own twin passions of football and politics. "The world's my oyster," he says, as we walk back towards his school. "I could be an MP…" And it suddenly occurs to me that Gardiner might just have alighted on the perfect profession for his skills.

Tim Lewis

Western Sydney Wanderers 3-0 Perth Glory

Posted: 23 Mar 2014 01:16 AM PDT

Western Sydney Wanderers maintained their undefeated record against Glory with a result that ended Perth's finals hopes

Melbourne Heart 1-2 Central Coast Mariners

Posted: 22 Mar 2014 11:29 PM PDT

Melbourne Heart's chances of finals football are all but over despite a brilliant goal from Orlando Engelaar

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Monday, 24 March 2014

Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com

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Monday, 24 March 2014

Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com

06:39

Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com

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