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More Daniel Farke, speaking to Sky, and an explanation of his goalkeeping selection: “First of all, we have to say Karl Darlow is always reliable and done a really solid job when we needed him. We make no secret out of it that we have signed [Lucas] Perri as number one. Overall we had a difficult week. We had a few players struggling with a few physical problems. We tried to find a good mix. We cannot afford to play without all of them.

Andy Irving is a cult hero at West Ham. Ironically so far, though the club are calling out for a hero who isn’t called Jarrod Bowen.

This week’s action saw an astonishing 71 goals over two nights, with the Premier League responsible for many of them

• Barcelona’s youth system. Ahead of Sunday’s edition of El Clásico between Barcelona and Real Madrid, the two clubs won their midweek matches. Real Madrid’s opponents were Juventus, in the type of heavyweight clash the Champions League’s rejig into a 36-team group stage was supposed to throw up on a regular basis. Wednesday’s meeting fell short of classic encounters like 2003’s meeting of Madrid’s Luís Figo and Zinedine Zidane with Juve’s Pavel Nedvěd and Alessandro Del Piero. In 2025, Juventus are not the force of yore, though they made Madrid sweat. The sole goal came from Jude Bellingham, England’s great enigma.

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You could cast Anfield today as flop striker Alexander Isak versus flop striker Benjamin Sesko, if you wanted. Jonathan Liew would rather you didn’t.

Frank Lampard’s Coventry, to give them their legal name, are flying. The thought of them back in the top division is rather stirring to those of a certain age.

As Brighton’s young hearts ran free, a canny campaigner condemned Newcastle to another defeat at the stadium where they have never won. Danny Welbeck’s two goals were moments of rare composure amid a slugfest of a contest. They denied the Toon Army’s latest folk hero. Nick Woltemade’s backheel flick, a speciality, had levelled the scoring.

Welbeck’s first was a moment of equal delicacy, his second saw him thrash – first time – a loose ball home; his third winner against Newcastle in the last 12 months. Brighton snatched a third win of the Premier League season, each over opponents in this season’s Champions League, Newcastle following Chelsea and Manchester City. Newcastle, meanwhile, are yet to win away from St James’ Park.

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Troubling news for Chelsea: Cole Palmer, who has not played since September, faces six more weeks out with a groin injury.

The latest on Maccabi Tel Aviv’s visit to Aston Villa:

Senior government officials will meet on Friday as they look to reverse a decision by West Midlands police to ban fans of the Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv from a European match at Aston Villa next month.