Manchester City captain Bernardo Silva said anything other than victory at Liverpool would have meant that the Premier League title race was all but over after Pep Guardiola’s men snatched a dramatic 2-1 win at Anfield. The visitors were set to fall nine points behind leaders Arsenal as they trailed to Dominik Szoboszlai’s stunning free-kick late on. Silva’s equaliser on 84 minutes sparked a crazy finale. Erling Haaland put City in front three minutes into stoppage time, but there was still more chaos and controversy to come. Rayan Cherki thought he had sealed victory by rolling into an empty net from the halfway line as Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker went forward chasing a leveller. However, the goal was ruled out after Szoboszlai pulled Haaland back before the Norwegian retaliated in similar fashion. Szoboszlai was instead shown a red card for committing the first offence. “For the distance that we have to Arsenal, coming here, it is the toughest place in the League by far. I feel the whole team knew before the game, if we lost it then the title race was probably over. We felt we needed to win. The hope is there and we are going to fight until the end. We need to keep doing our job that we haven’t lately,” said Silva. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
10 February,2026 09:18 AM IST | Liverpool | AFPBrooklyn Beckham, son of Manchester United great David Beckham and former Spice Girls star Victoria, has quietly removed a tattoo on his arm that was dedicated to his father amid a worsening family feud. David Beckham The 26-year-old has reportedly replaced the word ‘Dad’ on his arm — part of a larger tattoo depicting an anchor — with small symbols. Brooklyn had recently posted a six-page comment on Instagram, slamming his parents’s behaviour towards his wife Nicola Peltz ever since their 2022 marriage. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
09 February,2026 09:57 AM IST | Mumbai | AgenciesMikel Arteta said Viktor Gyokeres has raised his game to the “highest level” after the striker’s brace in a 3-0 win over Sunderland on Saturday. Victory took the Gunners nine points clear at the top of the English Premier League. Martin Zubimendi scored the other goal. “Confidence is the magic word. When you feel confident, that’s when you can take your game to the highest level, which he has,” said Arteta. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
09 February,2026 09:50 AM IST | London | AFPPep Guardiola insisted Erling Haaland is the “best striker in the world” despite refusing to confirm if the misfiring Manchester City star will start Sunday’s crucial English Premier League (EPL) clash with Liverpool. Haaland has scored just twice in his last 12 appearances, and Guardiola elected to drop him to the bench for City’s 3-1 win over Newcastle in the EFL semi-final second leg on Wednesday. He has suffered a significant loss of form after scoring 19 goals in 14 games in all competitions in a blistering start to the season that included become the fastest player to reach 100 EPL goals. Haaland’s form, a concern City have subsequently struggled during Haaland’s dip, falling six points behind league-leaders Arsenal. The Norwegian scored when City beat Liverpool 3-0 earlier this season, but Guardiola would not reveal if he will feature against Arne Slot’s side this weekend. “I don’t know until tomorrow. But all I say is Erling is the best. Erling is the best striker in the world,” Guardiola told reporters on Friday. Pep Guardiola City have won just once at Liverpool since Guardiola’s arrival as manager in 2016, with that fixture in February 2021 played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Guardiola was asked whether Anfield is the hardest fixture on the Premier League calendar. “Yep. Always a tough opponent and a difficult place and stadium, especially with the quality of the players and the managers. Yes, it’s been tough,” he said. Guardiola coy about future Guardiola side-stepped a question about his own future as speculation mounts that this will be his last season at City, saying: “I have one more year on my contract. It is the same answer I answered two months ago.” The Spaniard signed a two-year contract extension in November 2024 and the deal is due to expire in June 2027. The 55-year-old also doubled down on his comments about the “hurt” he feels for victims of conflicts in Palestine, Ukraine and Sudan after Jewish community leaders told him to “focus on football”. “To be honest I didn’t say anything special. I think why should I not express how I feel just because I am a manager? So I do not agree but I respect absolutely all opinions,” he said. OneNo. of times Man City have won vs Liverpool at Anfield since 2016 — in 2021 ZeroNo. of goals for Man City’s Erling Haaland in three appearances at Anfield This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
08 February,2026 09:11 AM IST | London | AgenciesManchester United profited from Tottenham captain Cristian Romero’s red card to secure a 2-0 win at Old Trafford in the English Premier League (EPL) on Saturday. Goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes ended an eight-game winless run against Spurs for the Red Devils. Bruno Fernandes This was United’s fourth win under interim manager Michael Carrick, and skipper Fernandes reckons things are looking brighter. “It’s incredible [beating Spurs]. We’ve had moments when we were not great, but when you win games, everything looks brighter. Michael [Carrick] came in with the right ideas of giving the players the responsibility, and freedom on the pitch. We hope we can help him more,” said Fernandes. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
08 February,2026 09:04 AM IST | Manchester | AFPManager Michael Carrick oozed confidence ahead of Manchester United’s English Premier League (EPL) clash against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, suggesting that coming through a run of tough games on the winning side has awakened the Red Devils. Carrick has made a rip-roaring start to his tenure after taking over from Ruben Amorim, winning all three of his EPL games in charge, including two convincing victories over rivals Manchester City (2-0) and Arsenal (3-2). They also edged out Fulham 3-2 with a last-gasp winner. “Certainly the three wins have been fantastic in different ways, so we feel confident we’ve got a lot of growth in the team and the squad. It’s a big challenge ahead [playing Spurs], but we’re looking forward to it,” said Carrick. Michael Carrick Tottenham, meanwhile, are at a low ebb, sitting in 14th place (29 points from 24 games). There are plenty of fans calling for coach Thomas Frank’s ouster, while there appears to be internal turmoil brewing, which came to the fore in a recent social media post by skipper Cristian Romero, wherein he slammed the club’s ‘disgraceful’ lack of spending in the transfer window amidst a raft of injuries. Nevertheless, the North Londoners have not lost to United in their last eight encounters, which is why Carrick urged his squad to be cautious. “They certainly bring a challenge. They’ve got really good attackers who look to stretch the backline and play forward and attack the box an awful lot. It’s something we’ve got be aware of,” said Carrick. Meanwhile, Frank took solace from their last two draws and reckons his side can take the fight to the Red Devils. “I think the performances are more competitive and consistent [recently]. Are they perfect? No, but we are getting closer,” said the Danish manager. 04Man Utd’s current standing in the EPL table 07No of matches since Man Utd’s previous loss in the EPL This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
07 February,2026 10:06 AM IST | Manchester | AgenciesManager Pep Guardiola hailed Manchester City’s consistency after securing a 3-1 win over defending champions Newcastle United (5-1 on aggregate) in the second leg of the EFL Cup semi-final on Wednesday. City effectively ended the tie in the first-half itself, scoring thrice via striker Omar Marmoush (7th min, 29th min), and Tijjani Reijnders (32nd min). Although Anthony Elanga pulled one back for the visitors in the 62nd minute, it was too little, too late. This is the sixth time 11 years that the Sky Blues will play the summit clash at Wembley Stadium, demonstrating their incredible consistency in this competition, something which Guardiola referenced after the match, while admitting he does not take this for granted. Pep Guardiola “I’m really pleased [with the result]. Except last season, we have been an incredible machine, and that’s good. [But] it’s not for granted [because] I know how difficult it is,” said the Spanish coach. Guardiola also lauded how his team approached the game: “To reach the final you have to be consistent over two games and we were really good. What I like the most is that we started like it was 0-0. It was 2-0 [on aggregate], but we didn’t play to control what we won there [in the away leg], it was completely the opposite.” Man City will now face Arsenal in the final on March 22. Meanwhile, Newcastle boss Eddie Howe was left to lament an underwhelming first-half performance from his charges. “Really annoyed with the first-half display. We pride ourselves on being really organised and tactically we want to be able to handle any problem the opposition gives us. [But] that first-half we weren’t good enough individually and our duels were off and it gave us huge problems,” said the English coach. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
06 February,2026 10:04 AM IST | Manchester | AgenciesKai Havertz scored in stoppage time against his former club Chelsea to earn Arsenal a 1-0 win in the second leg of the EFL Cup semi-final on Tuesday, sealing a 4-2 victory on aggregate and a ticket to Wembley in March. ‘Deserved to go through’ “We are so happy. Over the last two games, we deserved to go through. It was a long match, we expected that, [but] we wrapped it up at the end in a beautiful way, with Kai [Havertz] scoring the goal in the manner that he did and the reaction from the crowd. It was just magical. So I’m really happy because it was a really tough match against a great opponent and we’re in [the final],” said a delighted Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta. Mikel Arteta The Gunners are hunting for their maiden trophy since 2020, and midfielder Declan Rice reckons that hunger to finally end their title drought has fuelled not just their EFL Cup run, but also their English Premier League march. “The last three years we’ve been at the top of the EPL competing and got really close, but haven’t been good enough,” said Rice, referring to the team’s three straight runner-up finishes. “That’s why this season we have that extra desire and fire in our bellies to go one step further in every competition. There’s a long way to go but to be in a cup final with this club is amazing,” he added. Blues boss defends tactics Meanwhile, Blues manager Liam Rosenior defended his passive tactics. “You can come away from home, press all over the pitch, and you could [either] go 2-0 up or you could go 2-0 down. I felt that the psychological aspect of the tie was very important as well and I felt in the stadium as well [it was better to play defensively],” said Rosenior, before adding that although he was disappointed with the result, he could not fault the team’s effort. 02No of times Arsenal have reached the final of any competition since Mikel Arteta took charge in 2019-20 09No of times Arsenal have made the EFL Cup final; Only Liverpool (15), Man Utd (10), and Chelsea (10) have reached the final more often 15No of months since forward Kai Havertz scored his previous EFL cup goal (30 Oct, 2024) This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
05 February,2026 11:50 AM IST | London | AgenciesCathedral and John Connon School (Fort), and Campion High School (Colaba) clinched the U-12 girls and boys Dream Sports Mumbai School Sports Association (MSSA) inter-school Knockout Cup respectively at Azad Maidan recently. In the girls final, the Fort outfit edged past Bombay Scottish School (Mahim) 2-1 to win the inaugural edition of the tournament. Jane Nadar opened the scoring (18th min) with a fine solo effort for Bombay Scottish, but in the 20th minute, Ivaanika Mehra scored the equaliser for Cathedral, before an own-goal three minutes later sealed the fate of the tie. Meanwhile, in the girls third-place play-off, Nita Mukesh Ambani International School (BKC) defeated JB Petit School (Fort) 3-0, thanks to Natasha Kapoor’s hat-trick. The triumphant Campion boys Earlier, in the boys final, Campion beat Cathedral and John Connon School (Fort) 5-4 via tie-breaker. After the match ended goalless at the end of regulation time, Campion goalkeeper Kian Jain produced three crucial saves in the penalty shootout to tilt the contest in his team’s favour. Alymer Fernandes, Aryan Mehta, Avyaan Jain, Riaan Souhani and Kian Jain scored for Campion, while only Viaan Shah, Aahan Swarnkar, Arin Bhana and Yuvan Bhatia could score for Cathedral. In the boys third-place play-off, Don Bosco High School (Matunga) defeated Fazlani Academy (Mazgaon) 2-0, with a goal each from Zidanne Sequeira and Zlatan Fernandes.
04 February,2026 09:19 AM IST | Mumbai | Rufus VedanayagamIndia made a big splash at the inaugural SAFF Women’s Futsal Championship in Bangkok recently, finishing second. And two key pillars of the side, Nishka Parkash and Diti Kanungo, are proud products of the Mumbai Knights football club, who ply their trade in Div-II of the Indian Women’s League. For Parkash and Kanungo, the only two Mumbai girls in the national team, this was their maiden outing in Indian colours, and they are extremely proud of it. “I never believed I could reach this level… that I could play and also score for India. When I scored my first goal of the tournament [vs Maldives], I celebrated by kissing the India badge on my shirt. I couldn’t believe it. It was a defining moment of my life,” Parkash, 21, who resides in Mahalaxmi, told mid-day recently. “Wearing the India jersey was the best feeling ever. My best outing was against Nepal, where I scored four goals in our 8-1 victory” said Grant Road-based Kanungo, 20. India ended the tournament in second place, winning four of their six games and losing two. Mumbai Knights coach Preetam Mahadik Transitioning from football to futsal is no cakewalk. The latter demands a lot more from an individual in terms of speed, skill, strength and stamina. It involves only five players per side on a compact field, with the ball also being smaller and slightly heavier. But luckily for Parkash and Kanungo, their training regime at Mumbai Knights under coach Preetam Mahadik, set them up perfectly. “At Mumbai Knights, our coach makes us practice on beaches, so when you play on that rough terrain, your close-control skills on the ball improves a lot,” explained Parkash, who is studying for a Bachelor in Financial Markets from HR College. “Also, a lot of our training features five-a-side matches. We even participate in a lot of five-a-side amateur tournaments in Mumbai. That helps sharpen our ability to pass the ball in tight spaces,” said Kanungo, a Bachelor of Commerce student at NMIMS. The rapid rise of his charges has left Mahadik brimming with pride. The Bandra-based coach, who masterminded his senior team to the MFA Women’s Premier League title last year, while also guiding the sub-junior team (U-13) to the MFA title, believes Parkash and Kanungo are role models for his other players: “I feel proud. Playing for the country was the ultimate goal that I had in mind for them. Both Nishka and Diti are extremely good technique-wise and are strong physically. I was confident they would do well in futsal.”
04 February,2026 09:17 AM IST | Mumbai | Ronan CarvalhoPep Guardiola eased the pressure on his side by saying he wants his charges to simply focus on playing their natural game in the second leg of their EFL Cup final against Newcastle on Wednesday, which they lead 2-0 on aggregate. “We have the chance to make our fifth [EFL Cup] final in ten years. [We just need to] play our game for our people and our fans,” Guardiola told the media on Saturday. However, he admitted that despite holding a two-goal cushion, they cannot afford to take their opponents lightly. “I would prefer to start 2-0 up, but I know the many times we have played Newcastle, the pride they have, so we need to be prepared,” said Guardiola. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
04 February,2026 09:13 AM IST | Manchester | AgenciesADVERTISEMENT
