English Clubs

No, you were not seeing things as Fabian Delph made a rare Premier League appearance while wearing the wrong socks, but it was hardly the most bizarre sight on Friday at the Emirates. Everton handed the Gunners a 1-0 defeat as keeper Bernd Leno committed the exact type of embarrassing own goal the Arsenal owners committed earlier in the week.

A week that began with Arsenal joining 11 much better clubs to try to create a Super League ended with massive protests outside Emirates Stadium calling for an end to Stan Kroenke’s ownership and yet another ignominious defeat on the pitch.

LONDON — Former Manchester United soccer star Ryan Giggs has been charged with assault against two women, police and prosecutors said in statements on Friday.

Giggs, 47, has been charged with causing actual bodily harm to a woman in her 30s and common assault of a woman in her 20s, as well as one count of coercive and controlling behaviour between 2017 and 2020.

When Wycombe earned promotion to the Championship for the first time in 2020, the Chairboys became instant favorites for relegation.

This was a side that finished 17th in League One in 2018/19 and was predicted to be near the bottom end of the table once again in 19/20. Manager Gareth Ainsworth's side finished eighth in a COVID-shortened season and only earned a playoff spot due to the points per game formula applied by the league.

One way or another, it seems Daryl Dike is going to be playing in the Premier League next season. While there are plenty of current EPL suitors, another match winner from the 20-year-old American has his new club Barnsley within touching distance of ensuring a place in the promotion playoffs. 

The new UEFA men’s Champions League format in 2024 was quietly announced on Tuesday while all the noise from the Super League drama drowned out any other sound. This new format is, well, a little too similar to the Super League for my liking.

Here are all the details you need to know for the new Champions League format starting in three years (for the men’s competition).

Chelsea all but clinched the FA Women’s Super League crown by holding off Manchester City for a 2-2 draw on Wednesday. Sam Kerr scored and drew a penalty converted by Pernille Harder as the Blues maintained their two-point margin atop the league with two games to play — despite two costly mistakes at the back.

In a dressing room like Tottenham's, it's not enough to have the stars on your side. The kind farewells to José Mourinho from Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, Spurs' two best players, don’t mean much if the rest of the squad doesn't follow their example. 

José Mourinho, according to The Times on Wednesday, could have been sentenced by the fears of the board, led by Daniel Levy, that the Portuguese had lost control of the dressing room, and thus compromised the short-term objectives: the Carabao Cup final and the qualification to European competitions next season.

MANCHESTER, England — The European Super League collapsed on Wednesday as eight of the 12 founding members from England, Italy and Spain abandoned the breakaway project under massive pressure from fans, politicians, soccer officials and even the British royals.

Founder and Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli told Reuters he was reluctantly calling time on the new league after six English clubs withdrew on Tuesday, with Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid following suit and AC Milan indicating they would too.