Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold admitted he was guilty of underestimating Manchester United star Marcus Rashford and consequently experienced his most difficult outing.

Rashford was deployed wide on the left by Jose Mourinho and scored twice in the first 24 minutes when Liverpool visited Old Trafford and suffered a 2-1 defeat on March 10, 2018.

Alexander-Arnold was making just his 15th Premier League start and had a torrid time against the United attacker but was not replaced until the 80th minute.

The 21-year-old right-back has since lined up against teams including five-time Ballon d Or winners Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo but that battle with Rashford remains his most testing appearance.

[That match against United was] the toughest in …

Mauricio Pochettino finds constant talk of Chelsea’s billion-pound spend tiresome and remains convinced his under-fire players will develop into “an amazing team”.

Blues boss Pochettino has overseen an underwhelming campaign since arriving at Stamford Bridge last summer and his expensively-assembled squad faced further criticism following Sunday’s Carabao Cup final loss to Liverpool.

Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville branded them “blue billion-pound bottle jobs” late in their 1-0 extra-time defeat to opponents deprived of a host of star names due to injury.

Former Tottenham and Paris St Germain manager Pochettino is confident he retains the backing of Chelsea’s co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali and is adamant the club’s costly long-term projec…

Market: Mallorca double chance

Odds: 4/7 @

Two sides who will be looking to sign off their respective La Liga campaigns with a flurry, Mallorca will welcome Rayo Vallecano to the Estadi Mallorca Son Moix on Sunday evening.

Starting with the hosts, last seen getting hit with a routine 3-0 loss away at newly-crowned Spanish champions Barcelona earlier in the week, Mallorca will certainly be glad to make a return to home soil here. While Javier Aguirre’s men might have mustered just a pair of wins from any of their last six La Liga appearances, the Pirates will be excited by what has been a hugely impressive run at the Estadi Mallorca Son Moix. Knowing that three points on Sunday evening could be enough to see them claim a famous top-half finish, the former Legan…

Cardiff City manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has expressed excitement at the prospect of new signing Kenwyne Jones leading the line.

Jones completed his move to south Wales on Tuesday, as part of a swap deal that saw Peter Odemwingie move to Stoke City.

The Trinidad and Tobago striker proved inconsistent during his three-and-a-half year stay at the Britannia Stadium, but Solskjaer has no doubt Jones can prove a success as Cardiff aim to escape the Premier League relegation zone.

Speaking after Tuesday s 2-0 defeat at Manchester United, Solskjaer said of Jones: He s what I need. He s a striker I ve admired for many years.

He s always been difficult to play against. I m looking forward to seeing him play.

What he did in training (was fantastic). It s a shame we …

(GSM) Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz has been relived of his coaching duties, the Portuguese Football Federation has confirmed.

The former Real Madrid boss was dismissed after being handed a six-month ban for allegedly insulting anti-doping agents before this year s World Cup.

A federation statement read: Given the recent events, and after reviewing the current situation concerning the national coach, the directorate of the FPF decided unanimously [to end] the contract with the national coach, Carlos Queiroz, with immediate effect.

This decision was communicated to Carlos Queiroz.

The federation handed the coach a one-month suspension in late August, but the ban was later extended to six months by Portugal s anti-doping authority.

Queiroz admitt…

Zinedine Zidane does not feel his close relationship with Bayern Munich boss Carlo Ancelotti will have too great a bearing upon Real Madrid s Champions League quarter-final clash with the Bundesliga giants.

Zidane served as Ancelotti s assistant when Madrid collected a 10th European title in 2014 and stepped up to be at the helm himself when number 11 arrived last year.

Speaking before the match at the Allianz Arena, Ancelotti said the experience of working alongside the France great served to inform his coaching style – stating that he now places more emphasis on player morale than tactical intricacy.

Such learning was a two-way street but Zidane, who grinned his way through the most probing moments of his own briefing in Bavaria, believes both men will take a…

Manchester City have exited UEFA s settlement regime after meeting the requirements imposed upon the club over breaches of the governing body s financial fair play (FFP) regime.

UEFA s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) Investigatory Chamber has confirmed that the club has complied with the objectives of the settlement agreement that was signed in May 2014.

City were sanctioned along with Paris Saint-Germain and seven other clubs in the first wave of FFP penalties, and the then-Premier League champions agreed to pay a conditional £49million fine.

The ruling also included a three-year cap on maximum losses, as well as a freeze on their maximum wage bill and limits on spending in the transfer market for the same period. The club s 21-man squad for European fixture…

Tottenham have reached an agreement with the Football Association (FA) for their remaining 2018-19 home games to be played at Wembley if required.

Spurs took up residency at England s national stadium last season while White Hart Lane underwent a complete rebuild.

The north London club intended to be in their new arena from the start of this campaign, but delays in the process forced them to return to Wembley. They expect to provide an update on the situation in December.

Spurs now have the option to stay put for the rest of the season, although the permitted capacity will be reduced to 51,000 following the match against Chelsea on November 24.

However, the FA has requested to Brent Council that from January it be increased to 62,000 and special dispen…

Jurgen Klopp described Virgil van Dijk receiving praise from Franco Baresi as like being crowned by the king after the defender led Liverpool s strong representation in this year s Ballon d Or list.

Van Dijk narrowly finished second behind Lionel Messi in voting for the 2019 award, with the centre-back one of four Reds to be included inside the top 10.

Yet the Dutchman deserved to scoop the individual honour, according to the legendary Baresi, with the former Italy and AC Milan star stating Van Dijk was the best when quote-tweeting a picture of the newly-crowned winner.

Sadio Mane came in fourth, one spot ahead of team-mate Mohamed Salah, but received comforting words from the man who lifted the trophy, with Messi stating how it was a shame the Senegal forwa…