Stop playing games

T he question at full-time that hung over an empty Anfield echoing to the whoops and shrieks of celebrating Chelsea players is whether a home defeat any longer counts as a shock for the team still known as defending champions by convention alone. Currently they are defending nothing of what they won last season - beaten again, for the seventh time in 13 league games, and this the unprecedented fifth in a row at home. A game that was lost to a Thomas Tuchel team that is resurgent under their new German manager, while in the other technical area the greatest German manager that the English game has known seemed to be running out of options. His team looks crushed. They cannot dominate opponents as they did and the goals that once rained in from the Premier League’s most dangerous forward line feel like a faint memory. Sadio Mane missed a first half bouncing ball in front of Chelsea’s goal by such a considerable margin that it was hard to call it a shot. Mohamed Salah was replaced … [Read more...] about Liverpool lose five league games in a row at home for first time as Chelsea climb into top four

Rangers have been crowned Scottish Premiership champions for the first time since 2011 after Celtic were held to a goalless draw at Dundee United. The club's fans flouted lockdown rules at Ibrox to celebrate the 55th crown for the second day running . However, Rangers were keen to focus on the positive after Steven Gerrard claimed the first major league title of his managerial career. A club statement celebrated their unassailable 20-point lead in the league table. "After a superb campaign so far, Gers' win over St Mirren yesterday put them on the verge of glory, with results elsewhere today meaning they can mathematically no longer be caught, with incredibly six matches still to play. Advertisement "It's title number 55 for the club - the most of any football club in the world - and the first in 10 years following one of the most arduous decades in the club's history." Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player … [Read more...] about Rangers crowned Scottish Premiership champions for first time in a decade – with six games to spare

O ne month after arriving in England and declaring he would build a Chelsea team that nobody wants to play against, Thomas Tuchel is sticking to his word. It has not been particularly pretty, and this goalless draw with Manchester United certainly was not, but Tuchel remains unbeaten as Chelsea head coach and his safety-first approach may yet be enough to secure a top-four spot. After switching to a back three, Chelsea have conceded just two goals in nine games under Tuchel and nine goals scored during that period have been enough to claim six victories in all competitions. But this will go down as a missed chance to really push themselves back into the top-four picture in the Premier League, with United missing Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes some way from his best. The visitors argued, perhaps correctly, that they should have been awarded a first-half penalty against Callum Hudson-Odoi, but, like the hosts, they lacked invention and quality when it really mattered. Such is … [Read more...] about Var penalty decision takes centre stage in Chelsea vs Manchester United draw

Philip Whiteside, news reporter Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is a British-Iranian woman who has been in jail in Iran for five years. The Iranian regime claims she was working against the state when she was arrested on a visit to the country to see her parents with her daughter. Here is a timeline of events that have left a family split apart and resulted in diplomacy at the highest level. October 2010 Joins Thomson Reuters Foundation Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe joins the Thomson Reuters Foundation, a charity that says it promotes "socio-economic progress" and the rule of law through a series of training programmes. Advertisement Before the move, she worked for BBC Media Action for around 18 months, the corporation's international development charity which uses "the power of media and communication to help reduce poverty and support people in understanding their rights". June 2014 Birth of her daughter Gabriella, the only daughter of Mrs … [Read more...] about Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: The five-year fight for freedom

T he thing about this Manchester City team at the moment is that every few weeks another player seems to be spurred on to new heights. For a good while, it was Ilkay Gundogan and, before him, Kevin De Bruyne. Then Phil Foden took over. Thereafter, Raheem Sterling hit the goal trail again and Bernardo Silva’s renaissance gathered pace. Joao Cancelo ? How could we forget about him? And that’s just offensively. On Tuesday night, it was the turn of Riyad Mahrez and Gabriel Jesus to step it up another notch. Wolverhampton Wanderers, somehow, were actually threatening to steal a point here for all of 18 minutes in the second half but, for the majority of this game, the threats to Nuno Espirito Santo’s side were constant and widespread; so many good players, full of confidence, playing so well within a system that, on occasions such as these, looks almost impossible to stymie. By the end of an exhilarating night at the Etihad Stadium that really did warrant a full house, the scoreline … [Read more...] about Manchester City march on with Gabriel Jesus scoring two to dispatch dogged Wolves