Arsenal beat Liverpool by 3-2 on Sunday in what was an extremely interesting contest, full of tempo and emotion, and not short of controversy either. There was plenty of good football to see, along with fighting spirit clearly visible in both sets of players.

Gabriel Martinelli broke the deadlock for the hosts after less than a minute, and Darwin Nunez silenced some of his critics with a 34th-minute equalizer. Bukayo Saka made sure Arsenal were ahead at the break after the 45 minutes had already gone, and Roberto Firmino, who had come off the bench to replace the injured Luis Diaz, set the score back level in the 53rd. However, Saka was on target for Arsenal again in the 75th, this time from the penalty spot.

Gunners attack in waves

After taking the early lead, Arsenal…

Cristiano Ronaldo said there are no limits for Manchester United after hitting a superb hat-trick to guide the Red Devils to a 3-2 win over Tottenham.

Ronaldo netted his second Premier League treble to boost United s hopes of Champions League qualification, doing so 14 years and 59 days after scoring three in a 6-0 win against Newcastle United, marking the longest gap between a player s first and second hat-tricks in the competition s history.

After his 49th career hat-trick, the Portuguese legend has also scored a treble in each of the last 13 seasons of his club career, a run which stretches back to the 2009-10 campaign.

The Old Trafford victory lifted United into the Premier League s top four, albeit having played four games more than fifth-placed Arsenal, a…

Former Leeds defender Gaetano Berardi has announced his retirement aged 34.

Berardi, who made over 150 appearances for Leeds in all competitions during a seven-year spell with the club until his departure in 2021, posted his farewell message on Instagram.

He said: “A word can contain many emotions, many feelings, many memories and most of all many people. I choose one to close the chapter: THANK YOU!”

Berardi’s committed playing style made him a fans’ favourite at Elland Road, where he was a key member of the side which won promotion to the Premier League under Marcelo Bielsa in 2020.

The Swiss right-back, who made one senior appearance for his country, joined Leeds from Sampdoria in 2014 and recovered from a serious knee injury to make two top-fl…

David de Gea never considered retirement despite spending over 12 months out of football between his Manchester United exit and his arrival at Fiorentina.

De Gea left Manchester United as a free agent in 2023 after being heavily criticised throughout Erik ten Hag s first season at Old Trafford, with Andre Onana replacing him with a view towards implementing a more possession-based approach.

The Spaniard won one Premier League title, one FA Cup, two EFL Cups and the Europa League throughout his 12-year stay with United, while Petr Cech (162) is the only goalkeeper to ever better his 147 Premier League clean sheets.

However, he found it difficult to find another club and spent the entire 2023-24 campaign out of the game amid rumours linking him with a move to Saudi…

Sarina Wiegman has told England s silky-skilled Lionesses to be on their guard for a physical battle from Germany in the Euro 2022 final.

The England boss has won all 11 of her European Championship matches as a manager, including her run to glory in charge of the Netherlands five years ago.

Arguably the ultimate test awaits on Sunday at Wembley, though, as England tackle eight-time champions Germany.

The fearsome Alexandra Popp leads the Germany attack, having grabbed two brilliant poacher s finishes against France in the semi-final to match Beth Mead s tournament-leading six-goal haul.

Both Popp goals came from crosses, and Wiegman suspects Germany will often look to take a direct route to the heart of England s defence, where Millie Bright and Leah Wi…

Best odds: 13/25

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VfL Bochum are set to play host to Borussia Dortmund at the Vonovia Ruhrstadion, some 10 miles west of Dortmund s Signal Iduna Park, on Friday evening in the opening match of the 30th round of the 2022/23 season in the Bundesliga.

Both teams have everything to play for points are vital for them, at different parts of the table though they are.

VfL Bochum

It s the final stretch of the race and Bochum must do the best they can to avoid relegation. At the moment, they re just above the danger zone with 27 points, five more than Hertha Berlin in last place, three more than Schalke 04 in 17th, and two more than VfB Stuttgart in 16th which leads into relegation play-offs. They re also two points behind Hoffenheim in 14th, and three…

Eddie Howe has insisted he remains committed to Newcastle United amid links to the vacant England head coach position.

Southgate, who led England to back-to-back European Championship showpieces, resigned on Tuesday following the Three Lions Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain.

Howe is among several names linked with the role alongside Graham Potter, Lee Carsley and an ambitious swoop for Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola.

Newcastle chief executive Darren Eales has already expressed his desire for Howe to remain at St. James Park, having led the Magpies to Champions League football during the 2022-23 Premier League season.

It is an unbelievable football club. I’m very, very proud to be the manager, Howe told BBC Radio Newcastle at the club s pre-s…

The final round of Premier League fixtures before the World Cup break produced a huge shock at the Etihad Stadium.

After missing out on England s World Cup squad, Ivan Toney struck twice to give Brentford a sensational 2-1 victory over Manchester City.

That result confirmed Arsenal would be top heading into the World Cup interval, and they increased their lead to five points by cruising past Wolves at Molineux as Martin Odegaard scored both goals in a 2-0 triumph.

Tottenham and Leeds United played out a seven-goal thriller at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with the hosts eventually running out 4-3 winners.

Elsewhere, Chelsea fell to a third straight league defeat as they were beaten 1-0 by in-form Newcastle United.

Here, Stats Perform looks throug…

Jhon Duran s dramatic late double earned Aston Villa a thrilling 3-3 draw with Liverpool at Villa Park, but the hosts will still have to wait before they can be sure of sealing a top-four Premier League finish.

Duran came off the bench to score in the 85th and 88th minutes to help Villa avoid what had looked set to be a fourth straight defeat in all competitions.

Emiliano Martinez s own goal gifted Liverpool the lead two minutes in on Monday and Cody Gakpo restored that advantage for the visitors after Youri Tielemans had Unai Emery’s side level.

It looked like Jarell Quansah s first goal for the Reds early in the second half had sealed the victory, but Duran’s late intervention ensured Villa emerged from the game with a valuable point.

Villa remain i…

In a rematch of the 2022 Champions League final Real Madrid will travel to Anfield on Tuesday on a mission to inflict more pain on Liverpool in the round of 16.

Madrid got their hands on the famous trophy in Paris last May, but while the Reds have struggled in the Premier League this campaign, their European form would suggest they should provide a tough test for a side who have had their number in recent years.

Meanwhile, reigning Europa League champions Eintracht Frankfurt will look to continue their sparkling European form when runaway Serie A leaders Napoli roll into town.

Napoli have taken on all comers this season, proving to be a force in Europe while they have taken Serie A by storm.

Courtesy of Stats Perform, here are some of the key stats and fa…