Football news LIVE: Haaland message to Real Madrid amid Haaland links, Arsenal beat Liverpool, pressure grows on Hodgson

Want him?

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has challenged Real Madrid to make an offer for Erling Haaland if they really want him.

There were reports in Spain last week that Haaland dislikes life in Manchester so much that he wants to leave the club.

Perhaps inevitably, it was suggested Real Madrid were monitoring the prolific Norway striker's situation.

Yet Guardiola, who has seen such activity before, is confident it will not work and suggests any interested club should just say so.

Guardiola said: "For one report, for one journalist or one Twitter account, one Instagram account, do you think they are going to change something that is going to happen? It's not going to happen.

"It's going to happen when Erling decides to extend the contract or not, when the club decides to extend a contract or not, or when we have potential offers to him or not.

"If someone wants Erling, it's easy. Call Man City and ask. It's what we do when we want to sign someone. It's not more complicated than that."

Scheduled

The 2026 World Cup will kick off Mexico City's Aztec Stadium on June 11, with the final at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey 38 days later, governing body FIFA has announced.

The showpiece event, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, will involve 48 teams for the first time.

Mexico hosted the finals alone in both 1970, when Brazil lifted the trophy, and in 1986 - when Diego Maradona guided Argentina to success after scoring his 'Hand of God' goal against England in the quarter-finals.

FIFA later confirmed the 2026 final will take place at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New York on July 19, which will see the tournament last a record total 39 days. The third-place play-off will be hosted in Miami.

Canada's first game will be held in Toronto on June 12, while the USA's opening match will be played in Los Angeles on the same day.

There will be a total of 16 host cities, including Monterrey and Guadalajara elsewhere in Mexico.

Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle had all been named as the other host cities in the US, with Vancouver the other venue in Canada.

The 2026 World Cup will feature 12 four-team groups and also a last-32 knockout round for the first time. In all, the new format will involve 104 matches being played.

Winners and runners-up in each of the 12 four-team groups will advance to a new round of 32, where they will be joined by the eight best third-placed teams.

The game's global governing body had ditched plans for 16 three-team groups, acknowledging the 'risk of collusion' in that format while also having been persuaded to stick with four-team groups after the drama which unfolded at the end of the group phase at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which was the last tournament to feature 32 teams.

Having a laugh

Jamie Carragher has seen the funny side of things after criticising Martin Odegaard's celebration of Arsenal's win over Liverpool.

Odegaard decided to take a picture of Arsenal photographer Stuart Macfarlane on the pitch as the team soaked up the jubilant atmosphere at the Emirates Stadium.

Carragher suggested it was over the top while watching the scenes during his punditry work for Sky Sports and added to his point in hilarious fashion with a well-known Neil Warnock quote.

"By all means enjoy it, but enjoy it by being disciplined!" Carragher said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

All a bit Messi

Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham was booed and angry fans chanted for a refund after Lionel Messi did not play in a pre-season friendly in Hong Kong.

Messi, who has been suffering with a hamstring injury, was left on the bench as his side beat a Hong Kong XI 4-1.

In footage posted on social media, fans could be heard chanting 'refund' before a post-match speech from Beckham was greeted with boos.

The Hong Kong government said match organisers Tatler Asia could face a reduction in funding.

"The Government today expressed deep disappointment over Messi not playing at Tatler XFEST Hong Kong, Hong Kong Team vs Inter Miami CF, and the organiser failing to provide a detailed explanation promptly," the government said in a statement.

"The event has been awarded 'M' Mark status, as well as a matching grant of 15 million [Hong Kong dollars; £1.5m] and a grant for venue of 1 million by The Major Sports Events Committee (MSEC).

"The Government has also provided a variety of coordination and assistance, including venue arrangement and crowd management, in order to offer football fans a wonderful game and an opportunity to witness the world-class player showcasing his skills.

"Many Hong Kong fans looked forward to the match with enthusiasm, and a lot of tourists came to Hong Kong particularly for the match.

"The Government, as well as all football fans, are extremely disappointed that Messi could neither play in the friendly match, nor explain to the fans in person upon request.

"The way that the organiser and Inter Miami CF handled the situation could not meet the expectations of the fans who showed strong support to Messi, especially those visitors who came all the way here for the match.

"The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau and the MSEC will rely on the terms and conditions of the agreement in requiring the organiser to take responsibility, including a reduction of the amount of funding as a result of Messi being not able to play in the match."

Jur not happy

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was unhappy with a number of decisions which went against his side, but admitted Arsenal deserved their victory.

"In general it was not our day I think, we can admit that," Klopp said. "Arsenal deserved the three points, even when the circumstances were obviously a bit strange.

"A lot of things came together in one game. We didn't play enough football or use Trent (Alexander-Arnold) in the way we wanted to.

"I'm not over the moon but it's what it is, that's life. You take that and work with it. We should have played better but everything went against us."

Arsenal 3-1 Liverpool

The Gunners have breathed new life into their Premier League title bid but were helped by some calamitous Liverpool defending.

Gabriel Martinelli's goal, which put them 2-1 up, came after a dreadful mix-up at the back between Virgil van Dijk and Alisson, but the Reds captain took full responsibility for it.

Van Dijk told Sky Sports: “The 2-1 goal I take full responsibility for that, and that’s a big turning point in the game, I should have done better and I should have made a better decision there.

"It hurts for me and it hurts for the rest of the team. It’s a big turning point, we were so good after the break, we were having opportunities, we were dominant, I think the energy started to drain a little bit.

"We were very dominant and then the turning point is my responsibility.

"I should just try and clear it but I made the split-second wrong decision and unfortunately these things happen sometimes in football but that doesn’t take away that it hurts."

"We can only pray"

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has admitted the prognosis doesn't look for defender Lisandro Martinez.

The Argentine had only recently returned from a football foot injury but appeared to hurt his knee in a tangle with West Ham United right-back Vladimir Coufal.

Commenting after the 3-0 win for the Red Devils, Ten Hag said: "I can't say (what the situation is) but it doesn't look good, so there's a big concern.

"But we have to wait for what is the diagnosis and then we can tell you more.

"Of course we do everything to get the right diagnosis and see what the damage is.

"He is very sad, very disappointed. We are all. We feel really with him.

"First of all, it's a personal disaster when it's really bad but let's wait for what it is. But also for the team it's really bad because he definitely brings us a lot."

Apologies

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has apologised to the club's supporters after their 4-2 loss to Wolves.

The Blues slumped to their 10th defeat in the Premier League this season in front of their fans at Stamford Bridge.

Goodwill towards the Argentine, who once managed rivals Tottenham Hotspur, is now thin on the ground in west London.

During the game the fans made their feelings clear, and Pochettino addressed them in his post-match press conference.

He said: "Of course I understand the feeling, we are Chelsea and we need to accept that they want to win, they want the best. Yes, they feel disappointed, I apologise from the team because I think they feel disappointed like us."

On the brink?

Stamford Bridge gave Mauricio Pochettino his worst response yet during a damning 4-2 defeat to Wolves.

Chelsea were sent into the bottom half of the Premier League table with their tenth defeat of the league season as England’s record signing Moises Caicedo had an afternoon to forget.

The £115million man earlier grabbed his first assist for the Blues by setting up Cole Palmer, but he was then dispossessed in midfield for Matheus Cunha’s equaliser before losing Rayan Ait-Nouri who made it 2-1.

Cunha secured the three points in the 63rd minute, and the Bridge turned on their manager and owner.

A chant of ‘We’re f***ing s***’ rang out as the cameras panned to Pochettino who looked lost for ideas.

Later, with the game fizzling out despite Thiago Silva making it 4-2, his wife took to social media to give her views.

Hired

Former Southampton boss Nathan Jones is back in management after being named new Charlton boss.

Jones has signed a long-term contract with the Addicks, who are currently fighting for survival in League One.

He said:  “I am extremely excited by the challenge in front of me at Charlton. It is a club that I have fond memories of from my time here and I want to play my part in moving the club forward.

“I have been approached by a number of clubs to get back into management but I have been waiting for the right opportunity. From my conversations with the board and given the long-term nature of the contract, I can see there is a real appetite to build something here which I am really looking forward to being a part of.”

He's back

Neil Warnock is set to return to management again with his first job outside of England and Wales.

The 75-year-old is in talks with Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen, and could be in the dugout for a clash away at Rangers on Tuesday.

Warnock has been out of work since parting ways with Huddersfeild in September 2023, and was linked to the Sheffield Wednesday job.

However, he will now head to Scotland for the first time following the dismissal of Barry Robson.

Settled

Harry Kane is proud of how he handled a 'difficult' time settling into his new life in Germany.

The England captain swapped London for Munich last summer as he left boyhood club Tottenham to join Bayern.

He spent the first few months of his stay in Germany in a hotel as his wife Kate and their children stayed behind before they all made the move into a new house after Christmas and a new chapter in their lives is now in full swing.

You would never have known Kane was finding it tough given his performances on the pitch, scoring 28 goals in his first 27 games for Bayern.

"It wasn't easy, the first four or five months being in the hotel and being away from the family," he told the PA news agency.

"That was for sure difficult so I was proud of the way I was still able to perform on the pitch in those circumstances.

"We've had a good winter break and everyone came back with me, the kids are in school, we have got the house.

"Month by month it starts to feel more like home, you meet parents at school, my wife is meeting new friends and you just start to meet new people and see new things.

"Everyone has been fantastic, all the fans here, the club have been great and trying to make me welcome and so far it is nothing but praise for everyone here."

Hodgson under pressure

Roy Hodgson vowed to carry on fighting as Crystal Palace manager despite some of the club's fans turning on him during the 4-1 Premier League defeat at Brighton.

Hodgson cut a forlorn figure on the touchline as goals from Lewis Dunk, Jack Hinshelwood, Facundo Buonanotte and Joao Pedro once again left his future under scrutiny.

Palace sacked their previous manager, Patrick Vieira, following a 1-0 defeat in this fixture last season so Hodgson, on a run of just four wins from 17 matches, could be on thin ice.

The 76-year-old knew it was not going to be his day when Michael Olise, on as a substitute, lasted just eight minutes before suffering a recurrence of a hamstring injury.

That led to chants of 'you don't know what you're doing' from the away end with the Brighton fans, never shy to revel in their rivals' misfortune, responding with 'Super Roy Hodgson'.

"Wonderful, wasn't it?" quipped Hodgson. "Is it nice? No it isn't. Yes, my years of management have given the me resilience me to cope with that, absolutely, and taunts from away supporters are part and parcel of our lives.

"At the moment our fans aren't very happy with everything that is happening at the club and they are making their feelings known as well.

"But I signed up to be the manager and coach of this football club and I've got the strength, resilience and determination to see things through. I'm certainly not going to be cowed by that type of thing."

Learnings

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta revealed he has taken 'a lot of things' from Jurgen Klopp's reign at Liverpool but admits the next step has to be emulating his trophy success.

Klopp and Arteta will come head to head at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday with the table-topping visitors able to move eight points clear of their hosts with a win.

The German has already announced he will leave Liverpool at the end of the season having taken over in 2015.

During that time he has guided the Reds to a Premier League title, Champions League glory and both the FA Cup and League Cup.

Arsenal sat top of the table for 248 days last season before being usurped by Manchester City but realistically they need to beat Liverpool on Sunday to maintain a chance of pipping both clubs to the trophy this season.

As he prepares for what could be their final meeting in the dugout, Arteta - who has form for rowing with Klopp on the touchline - explained what he has taken from his success in England.

"A lot of things. Especially the identity that his team has, the identity that the club has," he said.

"It is very clear. He is someone who is so determined to make sure that stamp is put in across the club.

"The team has very clear intentions and behaviours, regardless of where (each player) plays. I love that about what he has done at Liverpool."

Confident Kane

Harry Kane is confident he will win silverware with Bayern Munich this season before trying to lead England to Euro 2024 glory in Germany.

The 30-year-old is blazing a trail in the Bundesliga following his summer move from Tottenham, scoring 28 goals in 27 games as Bayern are locked in a title race with Bayer Leverkusen and also in the knockout stages of the Champions League.

He hopes his goals continue Bayern's domination of German football before aiming for more glory in his new homeland with England in the European Championship.

"I'm feeling confident," he said. "Bayern Munich have been winning their league for the last 11 years or so and also won the Champions League a few years ago, there's an expectation to be winning every trophy that we're in.

"The focus is to win both tournaments."

Asked whether the summer tournament was England's best chance of ending their trophy drought, he said: "I would probably say 'yes', if you look how close we got in the last Euros and getting knocked out in the quarter-final to a great team in France.

"I am just looking at it from a point of view where our experiences as a team, our different ages in terms of having good younger players, good experienced players, young exciting players.

"When you look around the European nations now, we will be looked at as one of the favourites.

"There won't be too many teams wanting to play us but games in tournaments are hard to win, they're not easy, that's why we haven't won one in 60 years.

"We have to go there and try and achieve it. A great opportunity for us. We're in a great moment as a team, but as always, we have to go there and make it happen so it is an exciting challenge to do that but a tough one as well."

Wat a player

Ollie Watkins hit double figures for goals and assists in the Premier League on Saturday as Aston Villa thrashed Sheffield United 5-0.

Villa took the lead after 12 minutes when John McGinn smashed in a rebound from close range after Watkins' chip hit the post.

The England international then found the back of the net moments later with a low finish before assisting Leon Bailey to make it 3-0.

Villa held a 4-0 lead at the break as Youri Tielemans fired in on the half-hour mark to continue the rout in Yorkshire.

Watkins proved influential in the second-half too as he teed up Alex Moreno for his volley just two minutes after kick-off.

As a result, he has become the first player to hit double figures for goals [11] and assists [ten] in Europe's top five leagues this season.

He is also the first player to do so for Villa in the Premier League since Dwight Yorke in the 1995/96 campaign.

Son of a gun

Joachim Andersen was involved in an angry altercation with a Crystal Palace fan as pressure builds on Roy Hodgson's side following the 4-1 defeat to Brighton.

The heat has been increasing around Hodgson's position with the clash against rivals Brighton seen as a huge contest in which to get their season back on track.

However after shipping in four goals at the Amex Stadium to Roberto De Zerbi's side, frustrations started to boil over at full-time.

As Palace's players made their way to the away end to thank them for their support, fans seemingly made their opinions felt leading to angry scenes.

In footage filmed by fan Ryan Aird, Palace defender Andersen appeared to confront one of the fans along with goalkeeper Dean Henderson.

Fans clearly had some choice words with them before stewards and Palace coach, Paddy McCarthy, dragged the centre-back away.

Back you go

Real Madrid have decided they will not keep Kepa Arrizabalaga and the goalkeeper will return to Chelsea in the summer.

The 29-year-old signed for Los Blancos in the summer on a season-long loan as cover after No.1 Thibaut Courtois suffered an ACL injury weeks before the new campaign started.

Kepa hoped he would do enough to remain at the Bernabeu beyond his loan but, according to Spanish outlet Relevo, Real have already decided they will not be keeping him.

It means Kepa will be back at Stamford Bridge in the summer where he will either battle Robert Sanchez for the No.1 shirt at Chelsea, or perhaps be sold.

The report claims Real Madrid are not satisfied with Kepa's performances this season and don't see him as necessary to their plans when Courtois is back to full fitness.

It is even claimed Real are ready to give No.2 keeper Andriy Lunin a chance as their starting man between the sticks, due to Kepa's recent performances, as they apparently 'trust him more' than the Spaniard.

'Flappy'

Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario has been criticised after Tottenham's 2-2 draw at Everton.

Spurs twice let the lead slip as the club's slim Premier League title hopes suffered a crushing blow at Goodison Park.

Richarlison gave Spurs the lead after just four minutes, before Dominic Calvert-Lewin levelled the match thanks to a tactical number on Vicario that many fans said should have been ruled out.

But the Tottenham No.1 didn't cover himself in glory throughout the match, flapping at crosses and looking shaky between the sticks.

Richarlison's fine finish put Spurs 2-1 up but Cristian Romero's backwards header got the better of Vicario and Jarrad Branthwaite got a touch to poke the ball over the line in stoppage-time to rescue a point.

It's seen the Italian glovesman criticised, including from his own fans who admitted he'd let his team down.

'Flappy' Vicario questioned as Spurs 'show why they can't be considered title contenders'

Class act

Richarlison was applauded by Tottenham and Everton fans after scoring against his former club at Goodison Park.

The Brazilian swept the ball in the net to make it 1-0 to Spurs and initially behind the wheel away in celebration.

But he quickly halted, probably remembering where he was and who he'd scored against, in a show of respect for his old side.

And it appears he is still much loved in the blue half of Merseyside despite his transfer to north London, with Toffees giving him a good reception.

A decent stat for Tottenham fans - Richarlison is now on nine Premier League goals this season, which is more than Arsenal stars Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli combined...

Follow Everton vs Tottenham live on talkSPORT below!

Everton 2-2 Tottenham LIVE REACTION: Branthwaite claims crucial point for Toffees

Hanging up his boots

Former Everton and Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellaini has announced his retirement at the age of 36.

The Belgium international finished his career with Chinese club Shandong Taishan, where he played for five seasons after leaving Old Trafford in 2019.

He announced he was leaving the Chinese Super League club at the end of last year, having played his final game in the Chinese FA Cup final against Shanghai Shenhua in November.

But he has now decided to call time on his career in professional football.

In a lengthy Instagram post, the big-haired midfielder paid tribute to each of his clubs and their fans as he bid farewell.

Making their voice heard

Everton fans hijacked the TV broadcast of their Saturday lunchtime clash with Tottenham to protest their treatment from the Premier League.

Thousands of angry Toffees are expected to protest during the game at Goodison Park - live on talkSPORT.

And poor Peter Crouch, the former Liverpool striker, was caught in the middle as the local crowd started early outside the stadium.

Speaking ahead of the game, Crouch was pictured on TNT Sport's coverage with a group of Everton supporters in the background holding up the same card - which read, 'You don't know what you're doing', along with the Premier League logo.

Fans are protesting their ten-point deduction from league chiefs, with the club's appeal of the sanction underway, although they have been threatened with a second points deduction for further alleged spending breaches.

Angry Everton fans hijack TV broadcast to send six-word message to Premier League