The words, "It's Carrick, you know, it's hard to believe it's not Scholes" reverberated around Old Trafford during Manchester United's stunning 2-0 win over Manchester City on Saturday, and watching the Red Devils tear into their local rivals with gusto while putting the ball in the net five times, it was hard to believe that Ruben Amorim was in charge of this team for so long but never got them to play like this.

Manchester City ceded more ground in the Premier League title race as they went down with a whimper in Saturday's 2-0 defeat to local rivals Manchester United. Erling Haaland failed to lay a glove on the home side's defence, while an inspired Gianluigi Donnarumma kept the scoreline respectable. This was one of City's worst performances of the season, with Pep Guardiola's side left hoping that leaders Arsenal will slip up at Nottingham Forest later in the day.

Real Madrid reportedly want former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp and prolific Manchester City striker Erling Haaland to be their "saviours", with ambitious plans for the summer of 2026 being drawn up at the Bernabeu. Los Blancos recently parted with head coach Xabi Alonso and continue to struggle in meetings with Clasico rivals Barcelona. Those issues will be addressed with a sense of urgency.

Sportico have released their annual highest-paid athletes list, with Cristiano Ronaldo sitting at the top of that chart. The Portuguese GOAT earned double what eternal rival Lionel Messi pulled in over the course of 2025, with the Al-Nassr forward making $260 million (£194m). There are 13 football players in the top 100, with Brazilian icon Neymar tumbling down the standings.

Fans were left puzzled after Arsenal's opening goal against Chelsea in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final was allowed to stand on Wednesday night, despite Manchester City having a strike disallowed the day before for a similar infraction from Erling Haaland against Newcastle United. Robert Sanchez flapped at a corner which allowed Ben White the simplest of headers, but Viktor Gyokeres appeared to be in an offside position as he tangled with Marc Guiu, who was defending on the line. The Gunners ended up claiming a 3-2 victory at Stamford Bridge, handing Mikel Arteta's side a strong advantage as they bid to reach the final at Wembley.