Virgil van Dijk has slammed the “ridiculous” criticism Liverpool faced before they ended their Premier League losing streak against Aston Villa. The Netherlands defender has hit out at the negative “outside noise” which greeted a run of form which saw the Reds lose successive league games against Crystal Palace, Chelsea, Manchester United and Brentford.
Unai Emery has been warned that Ollie Watkins could still be "upset" over how the manager used Marcus Rashford as Aston Villa's "main man" last season, only to fall back upon the ex-Brentford forward this campaign. Rashford, who has since joined Barcelona on loan from Manchester United to resurrect his career, became the focal point of Villa's attack during his short stay in the West Midlands, but not everyone in claret and blue may have been thrilled about it.
Jadon Sancho has been urged by a Premier League legend to improve his attitude so he does not waste the latest opportunity to kickstart his career at Aston Villa. Sancho is into the third loan spell of his disastrous time at Manchester United but he has struggled to get into Unai Emery's side, playing just 52 minutes in the Premier League so far.
Alexander Isak start to life at Liverpool has been far from smooth, and Arne Slot has shared a disappointing injury update ahead of their Premier League fixture against Aston Villa. There were high hopes when Isak arrived to spearhead the Reds' attack after his British-record move from Newcastle United, but his battle with fitness issues has derailed those ambitions. The forward limped off during their 5-1 demolition of Eintracht Frankfurt and hasn't featured since.
With the title race having already swung back and forth while the top-four and relegation battles are as open as they have been for a few years, the Premier League is becoming increasingly difficult to predict. Sure, the odd match still follows the formbook, but a number of teams are proving tough to pin down and figure out what to expect from them on a game-to-game basis.
Harvey Elliott moved to Aston Villa from Liverpool on loan with an obligation to buy on deadline day. Elliott, who excelled for the England at the U21 Euros, was forced down the Reds pecking order following their high profile signing of Florian Wirtz. However, things haven't quite gone according to plan for the 22-year-old at Villa Park following his move to the Midlands.
Unai Emery gave his honest verdict on Harvey Elliott after he left the Liverpool loanee out of Aston Villa's matchday squad for the third game in a row against Manchester City on Sunday. The Villans clinched all three points against Pep Guardiola's side courtesy of a first-half goal from Matty Cash as they moved up to eighth in the Premier League table, tied on points with reigning champions Liverpool.
Pep Guardiola has moved to address Erling Haaland injury fears after Manchester City fired a blank at Aston Villa on Sunday. City saw a five-game unbeaten streak end at Villa Park as Matty Cash's first-half strike proved to be the difference between the two sides in the Midlands. Defeat saw City lose further ground in the title race, with leaders Arsenal picking up a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace.
Manchester United loanee Jadon Sancho has been branded as an "embarrassment" after being subbed on and off in the same game. Fans also called out Sancho's "awful behaviour" after he appeared to give the cold shoulder to Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery on the touchline, having only been given 45 minutes of action in their 1-0 victory over Manchester City on Sunday.
Jadon Sancho remains a potential future Ballon d’Or winner despite his struggles at Manchester United and a series of unspectacular loan spells, claims former Borussia Dortmund manager Edin Terzic. The England international winger has rather lost his way, with a big-money move to Old Trafford not working out as planned, but there is still potential in his game to be unlocked.
With the title race having already swung back and forth while the top-four and relegation battles are as open as they have been for a few years, the Premier League is becoming increasingly difficult to predict. Sure, the odd match still follows the formbook, but a number of teams are proving tough to pin down and figure out what to expect from them on a game-to-game basis.
John Terry has revealed his confusion at the fact he does not receive more job offers, while seemingly giving up on his ambition to manage Chelsea. The former England captain has not held a first-team coaching position since working as an assistant at Leicester City in 2023, as offers do not appear to have materialised.
The UK Government has expressed its disappointment following the unexpected move by Maccabi Tel Aviv to refuse any ticket allocation for their upcoming Europa League fixture against Aston Villa. A government spokesperson described the announcement as "deeply saddening", emphasising the principle that football supporters must be able to enjoy matches free from intimidation or violence.
Aston Villa defender Lucas Digne showed the true meaning of 'no pain, no gain' after Sunday’s clash against Tottenham. The Frenchman suffered a gruesome ankle gash following a crunching tackle from Kevin Danso, later unleashing an X-rated tirade at the fourth official. The 32-year-old later shared a graphic image of his injury on Instagram.
The highly-anticipated derby clash between arch-rivals Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv had to be suspended after violent riots broke out among supporters that led to “endangerment of human lives”. Several members of local police forces suffered injuries after becoming caught up in chaotic scenes prior to the game in question getting underway, with a number of arrests being made.
Tottenham captain Cristian Romero was replaced by Kevin Danso in Spurs’ starting line-up after suffering an injury during the warm-up ahead of the Premier League clash with Aston Villa, which the Villans won 2-1. Romero missed a huge chunk of last season due to injury and it’s another major headache for Spurs boss Thomas Frank, who is already without a number of senior players on the long-term injured list.
Aston Villa
