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NEWCASTLE SEAL DOMINANT WIN OVER ARSENAL TO REACH CARABAO CUP FINAL

Jacob Murphy and Anthony Gordon fired Newcastle to a second Carabao Cup final in three years as the Magpies secured a thumping aggregate win over Arsenal and moved a step closer to ending their 70-year wait for a domestic trophy.

Murphy and Gordon struck either side of half-time to seal a 2-0 victory over the Gunners at St James’ Park, to go with their win by the same scoreline at the Emirates Stadium last month, to book a Wembley showdown with either Liverpool or Tottenham.

Fourteen years to the day from a remarkable 4-4 Premier League draw between the sides which was secured by the late Cheick Tiote’s wonder strike, his son Rafael was among the mascots as the Magpies dispelled the pre-match nerves of the home fans to claim a 4-0 semi-final win on aggregate.

If Eddie Howe’s three-man rearguard – he had drafted in central defender Sven Botman as a replacement for injured midfielder Joelinton – set the tone for an uncompromising display, it was the pace and potency of striker Alexander Isak, for so long the subject of speculation linking him with the North London club, which terrified the visitors.

Isak’s stunning early finish may have been ruled out by VAR but it was his incision which led to the opening goal and the attention the Gunners had to pay to him throughout was instrumental in what followed.

The game kicked off amidst a cacophony as the home fans attempted to roar their side on after back-to-back home defeats.

They thought they had got their reward within four minutes when Gordon slid Isak in behind Gabriel and he sent a thunderous shot high past David Raya and into the top corner, only for a lengthy VAR review to result in an offside decision.

Relieved as the Gunners were, they looked rattled as the Magpies pressed high, although they gradually began to impose themselves with Leandro Trossard in particular making in-roads down the right.

Lewis Hall volleyed Jacob Murphy’s 15th-minute cross into the side-netting from an unlikely angle but Arsenal skipper Martin Odegaard forced a block from Botman and then clipped the outside of the post seconds later.

However, Newcastle made the most of their escape with 19 minutes gone when Gordon once again picked out Isak’s run and, although the Sweden international’s shot came back off the post, Murphy steered the rebound past the stranded Raya.

Opposite number Martin Dubravka had to make a solid reaction save to deny Trossard four minutes later with the visitors scrapping for a lifeline.

Mikel Arteta’s men were dominating both possession and territory but they were playing largely in front of the massed black and white ranks.

Early substitute Ethan Nwaneri’s pace down the right gave the Gunners renewed threat but Gordon curled a right-foot shot just wide in first-half stoppage time after leaving Declan Rice for dead.

The former Everton forward might have put the game beyond doubt within four minutes of the restart when he robbed William Saliba with Raya out of his goal but he could not find the target from distance.

But Gordon made no mistake with 52 minutes gone when Fabian Schar caught Rice in possession from Raya’s ill-judged pass and the England international gleefully fired home.

The Gunners were laboured in their efforts to claw their way back into the tie, with Dubravka fielding Nwaneri’s tame 74th-minute attempt comfortably as Howe’s men saw out a third win of the season over Arsenal with little difficulty.

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BOHEMIANS SIGN FORMER €13M STRIKER LYS MOUSSET

Bohemians have signed Lys Mousset, a former €13 million Premier League player with Sheffield United.

The 28-year-old had been on trial in recent weeks, and has now become Bohs’ seventh new signing ahead of the new League of Ireland season.

Mousset, who Sheffield United signed for £10 million (€13 million) in 2019, was a free agent for the last year.

The striker played with Bournemouth before Sheffield, and has eight France under-21 caps.

Mousset said: “It feels very good to sign, I am happy to be here.

“The manager called me, I had a good feeling after speaking with him. He told me to come here and enjoy it, and that is why I have signed.

“I am very happy here. The people at this club are very welcoming, and they have made me feel good.

“I am very excited to get started, to get back playing football and to do my very best for this club. I think we will enjoy this year.”

Welcoming Mousset to Dalymount Park, manager Alan Reynolds said: “I am over the moon to bring in a player of Lys’ quality to the club. He has been in with us the past few weeks and we have really liked what we have seen and he has really settled in well.

“The level Lys has played at speaks for itself. He is an exceptional talent and he wants to come here, enjoy his football and score goals.

“I know that Bohs fans will take to him. There has been a lot of excitement from our fans since news broke that Lys was training with us but they will know too that we will have to be patient with him.

“He hasn’t played for a period of time, so it will take him time to get him up to the level we want him to get to fitness-wise.

“But he has a natural level of real star quality that will excite supporters and be a massive threat for us up front.”

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SPURS SIGN ST PAT’S STAR, MASON MELIA FOR RECORD FEE

St Patrick’s Athletic have brokered a deal with Tottenham Hotspur to make their teenage striker Mason Melia the first-ever million-pound League of Ireland player.

The Saints are guaranteed an upfront fee of £1.6 million (€1.9 million) with incremental bonuses including Ireland caps potentially doubling it, plus a 20 per cent slice of profit on any future sale from Spurs.

Melia, from Newtownmountkennedy in Co Wicklow, cannot join a UK club until he turns 18 in September so he will remain with the Saints for their upcoming campaign kicking off against Galway United on Friday week.

His five-year contract with Spurs begins in January 2026.

A multitude of clubs from the UK, including initial interest from Manchester City, and the continent, were tracking the talent but Celtic were the last club to compete with Tottenham for his signature.

Melia was represented in contract talks by former Ireland international Clive Clarke who, as well as being his agent, is the brother of his mother Pamela.

His uncle was central to interactions with Spurs over recent months, accompanying the youngster on trips to their plush training ground, and meetings with first-team manager Ange Postecoglou and club legend Ledley King. Once he passed his medical on Tuesday, the transfer was confirmed by both clubs.

“Our Chairman has been negotiating this deal for a number of months,” said Saints director of football Ger O’Brien about the involvement of Kelleher in securing the deal.

“It’s a record transfer fee for a League of Ireland player and something the club is proud of.”

Saints have been trailblazers in this regard, receiving a record fee of €300,000 for Keith Fahey from Birmingham City in 2008, and double that when James Abankwah was snapped up by Udinese in 2022.

This package trumps those deals, further vindicating Kelleher’s decision to purchase the Saints all of 18 years ago.

Since then, the property tycoon is estimated to have pumped over €10 million into the Inchicore outfit, a large portion funding an underage system he was enthusiastic about from the outset.

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CHELSEA FORWARD, JOAO FELIX JOINS AC MILAN ON LOAN FOR REST OF SEASON

Chelsea forward Joao Felix has joined AC Milan on loan for the remainder of the season, six months after moving to Stamford Bridge from Atletico Madrid.

It has been an underwhelming second spell in west London for the Portugal international, who since his £46million move in August has largely been limited to substitute appearances in the Premier League, with six of his nine starts coming in cup competitions.

The deal with the Serie A side includes a £5m loan fee and does not come with an obligation to buy.

Head coach Enzo Maresca has repeatedly said chances for the former Barcelona player have been restricted by Cole Palmer, who has started all 24 league games this season in the number 10 position, Felix’s preferred role.

He has scored seven goals since rejoining the club for whom he played on loan in the second half of the 2022-23 season.

Of those only one has come in the league, the sixth goal in Chelsea’s 6-2 victory away against Wolves on his first appearance back.

He scored four times in the Conference League, helping the team progress to the last 16 in first place, while he also netted twice in the FA Cup third round against Morecambe in January.

Despite arriving to great fanfare following a successful loan spell at Barcelona, the 25-year-old has not settled, with his inconsistent performances when picked reminiscent of his troubled first spell at the club.

That the majority of his starts have come in Maresca’s second-string cup selections has long pointed to a possible exit, which has now been confirmed.

A club statement said: “Chelsea forward Joao Felix will spend the remainder of the season on loan at Serie A side AC Milan.
He becomes the fifth former Chelsea player in head coach Sergio Conceicao’s squad alongside Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori, Christian Pulisic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Meanwhile Chelsea have confirmed the signing of St Etienne midfielder Mathis Amougou for £12.5million.

The 19-year-old, who has agreed an eight-year deal, was part of the team that won promotion from the second tier last season and moves having made 17 appearances this term in Ligue 1.
He is expected to join up with Maresca’s first-team squad.

“I’m very happy,” Amougou said. “It’s an honour for me to sign for such a big club like Chelsea.

“They believe in young players and the process they have in place to develop us is fantastic.”

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OLLIE WATKINS RUINS DAVID MOYES’ RETURN TO GOODISON PARK.

Ollie Watkins ruined David Moyes’ Everton homecoming with the only goal as Aston Villa secured their first away win in six attempts.

There was no dream start to the 61-year-old Scot’s return to the Goodison Park dugout after a gap of almost 12 years as he was unable to make an immediate impact.

Even the emotion of the occasion could not help rectify many of the problems predecessor Sean Dyche had encountered as they failed to score in an 11th Premier League match of the season.

It was perhaps understandable, considering Moyes had only had a couple of coaching sessions, there might be a few mistakes as new ideas were put in place and one of those errors led to the goal.

Not for first time on the night Jarrad Branthwaite carelessly gave away possession on the halfway line and Morgan Rogers punished him with a through ball beyond James Tarkowski which left goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in two minds whether to come or stay.

That brief moment of hesitation probably cost him as Watkins comfortably placed the ball out of his reach to ultimately move Villa level on points with sixth-placed Manchester City.

On the positive side Dominic Calvert-Lewin, without a goal in 16 league matches, was more involved but even so Everton did not manage a shot on target after Villa scored until added time at the end of the second half.

The last Premier League game Moyes failed to win at Goodison as Everton manager was a 3-3 draw with Villa in February 2013 and he then went on to win his final six.

What he would now give for half-a-dozen wins from their remaining 18 fixtures with the team currently just a point above the relegation zone.

Almost 23 years after first walking out at Goodison – and 13 since he left – Moyes played it low-key to begin with as he spent most of the warm up stood, hands in pockets, watching Villa go through their paces.

With limited resources available the Scot made just two changes, one of them enforced with injury to Armando Broja, from Dyche’s last league match in charge – the 1-0 defeat in which they failed to register a shot on target – with Calvert-Lewin and Jack Harrison coming in.

In his pre-match television interview, Moyes said it was “sentiment out the window and down to business” and, after a brief wave to all four sides of the ground, greeted with a huge cheer, straight from kick-off Pickford tried to find Calvert-Lewin.

Finding the out-of-form striker early seemed to be the priority with Calvert-Lewin running the channels and finding some support.

But Villa had the best chances, with Rogers’ early low shot tipped around the post by Pickford, making his 300th appearance for the club, Watkins steering wide from Ashley Young’s errant backpass and Jacob Ramsey missing the target in added time.

Calvert-Lewin looked livelier than recent games and, after a left-footed shot drifted across goal and wide, he had a late effort taken off the line by Boubacar Kamara.

In between, Abdoulaye Doucoure had registered only Everton’s second shot on target in three matches with an outside-of-the-boot stab at Vitalii Mykolenko’s cross.

But six minutes into the second half Watkins struck and, with Everton’s problems in front of goal, that was enough as Calvert-Lewin ballooned over their last chance from six yards in added time.

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ALEXANDER ISAK NETS BRACE IN NEWCASTLE 3-0 WIN OVER WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS

Alexander Isak became the first Newcastle player to score in eight successive Premier League games as his double helped condemn Wolves to a 3-0 defeat at St James’ Park.

The 25-year-old Sweden international opened the scoring with a deflected 34th-minute effort and then helped himself to a second after the break to take his tally to 16 goals in as many games and 17 for the season before setting up Anthony Gordon for a third.

His efforts were instrumental in securing a club record-equalling ninth successive win in all competitions for the Magpies and eased them into the top four.

The visitors started brightly with Joao Gomes lively in the middle of the field, and they might have made an impression had Goncalo Guedes not missed his kick when Rodrigo Gomes picked him out in the middle after Sandro Tonali had inadvertently diverted the ball into his path.

In the event, it was Jacob Murphy who unleashed the game’s first meaningful attempt with six minutes gone, forcing a sprawling save from Jose Sa.

Both sides were wasteful in possession as play switched quickly from end to end with the Wolves press particularly effective in the early stages, and they passed up a second good opportunity with 13 minutes gone when Guedes dragged a shot wide after Hwang Hee-chan’s cross had been allowed to travel across goal.

However, Sa had to get down well to repel Murphy’s 24th-minute strike and Emmanuel Agbadou made a superb block to deny Gordon seconds later before Santiago Bueno repeated the feat.

Isak dragged a 31st-minute effort wide after running on to Bruno Guimaraes’ fine through-ball with the Magpies piling on the pressure, and they finally made it tell 11 minutes before the break.

Murphy picked out Isak on the left and the Swede cut inside and worked his way into a shooting position with the help of a kind deflection before going for goal with a shot which looped up off defender Rayan Ait-Nouri and wrong-footed the keeper.

The visitors almost got themselves back in it with two minutes of the half remaining when Lewis Hall slipped as he and Gomes chased Guedes’ ball over the top and the wing-back crossed for Jorgen Strand Larsen, whose first-time shot clipped the outside of the post.

Half-time substitute Matheus Cunha warmed keeper Martin Dubravka’s hands with a 48th-minute snapshot and Gordon saw another attempt deflected over at the other end as the pace of the game showed little sign of abating.

But the Magpies gave themselves breathing space with 57 minutes gone when Guimaraes picked out an unmarked Isak deep inside the Wolves penalty area and he controlled before beating Sa with ease.

Cunha twice went close to reducing the deficit as Wolves rallied, but they succumbed once again 16 minutes from time with Isak this time the provider for Gordon, his goal surviving a lengthy VAR check unlike Bueno’s late consolation strike, which was ruled out for handball after a review amid a late flurry.

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PALACE PUNISH LEICESTER IN SECOND HALF 2-0 SHOW

Jean-Philippe Mateta and Marc Guehi struck in the second half as Crystal Palace won 2-0 at Leicester and condemned the Foxes to a sixth straight Premier League defeat.

Boos rang around the King Power Stadium at full-time after a result that left Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side still two points from safety.

Leicester had produced a rare display of dominance in the first half but went into the break goalless despite having 11 shots, although Mateta had squandered a glorious chance to put the away side in front.

And it only took seven second-half minutes for Palace to click into gear as Mateta made amends for his miss, before Guehi wrapped up the points for Palace with 12 minutes left.

Three chances fell by the way of Jamie Vardy within the first 18 minutes but he managed to miss all three, with the best one coming after Stephy Mavididi played a through ball to the striker but he shot straight at visiting goalkeeper Dean Henderson.

Leicester were in total control but have recently made a habit of giving their opponents goals, and they almost did it again.

Palace did well to force the hosts back into their own half following a string of passes and Victor Kristiansen’s clearance was chased down by Will Hughes straight into the path of Mateta, who somehow shanked his first-time effort over the crossbar.

Leicester continued to create chances, with James Justin the next to come close from a free-kick which left Henderson rooted to the spot but flew wide of the post.

The visitors waited right until the end of the opening half for their best spell. Tyrick Mitchell’s initial blocked shot sat nicely for Hughes at the edge of the area but the midfielder fired his powerful effort over the crossbar.

Leicester paid the price for not cashing in on their first-half dominance in the 52nd minute.

Mateta bullied Jannik Vestergaard to pounce on Ismaila Sarr’s perfectly timed through ball before he rounded Jakub Stolarczyk and made no mistake this time in slotting into an empty net.

The visitors continued to pile on the pressure in the opening 15 minutes of the second half and Stolarczyk had to spread himself brilliantly to deny Mitchell from close range to keep the deficit at one.

Van Nistelrooy’s triple substitution midway through the half aimed to reassert Leicester’s command but Patson Daka and Vardy failed to hit the target either side of Boubakary Soumare’s strike which hit the upright.

And Palace again punished Leicester’s wastefulness as Guehi wrapped up the points in the 78th minute.

Eberechi Eze’s dinked free-kick dropped for the England defender, who lashed high into the net for his third goal of the season.

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ARSENAL TRIUMPH IN COME-BACK LONDON DERBY WIN AGAINST TOTTENHAM.

Arsenal breathed fresh life into their Premier League title chase with a 2-1 comeback win against Tottenham in an electric north London derby.

Following consecutive home cup defeats to Newcastle and Manchester United, Arsenal fell behind at the Emirates after Son Heung-min’s 25th-minute opener for Spurs.

But they were back on level terms with 40 minutes gone when Gabriel’s header from a corner rebounded off Dominic Solanke before Leandro Trossard put them ahead on the stroke of half-time.

Arsenal saw out the second half to move back into second place and within four points of leaders Liverpool, who were held to a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest on Tuesday.

For Tottenham, it marked a fourth defeat from their last five league matches to leave them 13th in the table, eight points clear of the relegation zone.

In a week where a first-leg Carabao Cup semi-final defeat to Newcastle was followed by a third-round FA Cup exit to Manchester United, this felt like a win-or-bust fixture for Arsenal’s season.

On the eve of the derby, manager Mikel Arteta demanded the greatest atmosphere the Emirates had ever seen, and the home supporters answered his call with a raucous welcome for their arch-rivals.

And the players delivered, too, with a high-tempo opening 20 minutes where the Gunners had Spurs firmly on the ropes.

Trossard and Thomas Partey both had shots blocked before Kai Havertz charged down Antonin Kinsky’s clearance only for the Spurs stopper to rescue his own blunder.

However, for all their possession, Arsenal failed to create a clear-cut opening, and midway through the first half, Gabriel was required to poke the ball off Solanke’s toes with the former Bournemouth man poised to pull the trigger.

From the ensuing corner, David Raya forked out a fine reaction save to deny Dejan Kulusevski but the warning signs were there, and, less than a minute later, the visitors were ahead.

Arsenal failed to clear their lines and Son, hovering on the edge of the penalty area, guided a side-footed volley – with the help of a deflection off William Saliba and through Partey’s legs – into the Arsenal net. Raya had no chance and Ange Postecoglou held his left arm aloft in celebration.

Arteta would have been desperate for a response before the interval and, crucially for the Spaniard, it arrived with five minutes of the first half left.

Kinsky had dealt with all of Arsenal’s previous six corners but, at the seventh time of asking, he couldn’t get near Declan Rice’s delivery. Gabriel got the better of Radu Dragusin at the back post to get his head on the cross, hitting Solanke’s stomach en route to the back of the net. Gabriel led the celebrations but it went down as a Solanke own goal.

Spurs were rightly furious because it should not have been a corner in the first place – Trossard’s cross clearly ricocheting back off the Belgian.

The Emirates crowd did not care and four minutes later Arsenal were ahead. Partey robbed Yves Bissouma on the half-way line, with Martin Odegaard switching the play to Trossard on Arsenal’s left. Trossard drove at the Spurs goal before unleashing his effort on target.

A diving Kinsky got his left glove to the ball but the Tottenham goalkeeper did not do enough and Trossard’s stinging strike flew in.

James Maddison was introduced by Postecoglou to perform a rescue act. Raheem Sterling might have provided daylight but for an air kick on the hour mark and Solanke then saw his shot blocked by Gabriel before Rice slammed his effort at Kinsky’s chest. It remained a breathless affair.

Arsenal were desperate to kill the game but Spurs remained in the contest and, when Gabriel thwarted an attack with 10 minutes left, he celebrated it like his equaliser, beating his chest and conducting the crowd to respond.

Odegaard should have put the game to bed with six minutes left but another opportunity passed by when he shot wide.

Five minutes of injury time were signalled and Pedro Porro’s shot nearly caught Raya off guard when it thudded off his post.

Whistles reverberated round the Emirates before referee Simon Hooper called time on a pulsating fixture that keeps Arsenal in the Premier League hunt.

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FOREST BEAT WOLVES 3-0 TO MOVE WITHIN SIX POINTS OF LEAGUE LEADERS LIVERPOOL

Nottingham Forest opened the door to a surprise Premier League title challenge after a sixth win in a row with a 3-0 victory at Wolves.

A brilliant season under Nuno Espirito Santo continued at Molineux thanks to first-half goals from Morgan Gibbs-White and Chris Wood and Taiwo Awoniyi’s strike at the death.

It meant they racked up six top-flight wins for the first time since 1979 when Brian Clough was in charge – a fitting achievement as Monday marked 50 years since the Forest great was appointed at the City Ground.

Nuno could be about to rekindle the magic Clough produced as Forest moved six points behind leaders Liverpool, who visit the City Ground next week in a clash which could decide whether they really are title contenders.

It was an especially good night for former Wolves player Gibbs-White and Callum Hudson-Odoi, who gave watching England manager Thomas Tuchel food for thought with a goal and an assist respectively.

Wolves, missing talisman Matheus Cunha, remain in trouble at the other end of the table, losing under new boss Vitor Pereira for the first time, with three missed chances in the first half proving costly.

Moments after being goaded by the Wolves fans, Gibbs-White shut them up in the best possible way by scoring in front of the home end in just the seventh minute.

Elliot Anderson set Gibbs-White free to break at pace, he played in Anthony Elanga and got the ball back to sweep home from 14 yards, with the aid of a slight deflection.

He was happy to remind the Wolves fans of their early barbing by celebrating with his hands in his ears in front of them.

Forest should have surrendered their lead soon after but two heroic acts denied Wolves.

First, Murillo produced a fine goal-line clearance after Hwang Hee-chan had burst into the area and teed up Jorgen Strand Larsen, who looked primed to score from a few yards out.

Then goalkeeper Matz Sels, one of Forest’s players of the season, produced a magnificent flying save to tip over Rodrigo Gomes’ fierce volley.

The visitors were living dangerously and Sels denied a certain goal in the 28th minute as he did well to block Strand Larsen’s close-range header from Gomes’ wicked cross.

Forest were under the cosh but thought they should have had a penalty in the 33rd minute when Ola Aina’s cross hit the partly-outstretched arm of Rayan Ait-Nouri, but referee Peter Bankes waved away protests and VAR Alex Chilowicz did not see it differently.

They did not sulk at that decision and doubled their lead in the 44th minute.

Hudson-Odoi made it, skinning Matt Doherty on the left and cutting back to Wood, who swept home into an empty net for his 12th of the season.

The second half was played on Forest’s terms, happy to give up possession and look to counter, and Wolves were unable to put their visitors under any sustained pressure.

The nearest they came to getting back into the game was in the 67th minute when Strand Larsen was again denied by Sels, who turned a deflected effort around the post.

Awoniyi made it 3-0 with the final act, tapping in from James Ward-Prowse’s tee up.

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WESTHAM HOLD TALKS WITH GRAHAM POTTER WITH JULEN LOPETEGUI FUTURE IN BALANCE.

West Ham United have held talks with Graham Potter about the managerial position in the event Julen Lopetegui leaves the club. Sky Sports News have confirmed.

Lopetegui remains in situ for now, but the club have been discussing his future following a run that has seen West Ham pick up eight points from their last eight games.

Reports say Lopetegui will be sacked once they have an agreement in principle with a preferred target – understood to be Potter.

Julen Loptegui

As it stands, there is no agreement with Potter or any other manager.

Another source revealed that Everton is interested in Potter, should they decide to replace Sean Dyche.

Potter has been out of work since he was sacked by Chelsea in April 2023 after a seven-month spell with the club, despite signing a five-year deal to replace Thomas Tuchel.

The 49-year-old was previously with Brighton for three years, helping them to a ninth-place Premier League finish in 2021/22, their highest-ever finish at that time.