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Crystal Palace have now opened talks to sign a Champions League player on a free transfer this summer, according to a report.

Eagles have lofty ambitions after FA Cup triumph

Oliver Glasner is expected to remain at Selhurst Park beyond the end of the campaign, despite no doubt catching the eye of some of Europe’s top clubs by leading Palace to FA Cup glory, and Steve Parish has now insisted the board must match their manager’s ambition.

The Palace chairman said: “He (Glasner) will stay here, for some period of time,”

“Of course we want him to stay but things happen in football, clubs evolve and move on and I’d love him to stay but the club has to develop and show the ambition in terms of the things we have to do to move it forward for people to feel part of something. If that all aligns maybe it will.”

With the summer transfer window now fast approaching, the Eagles have started to identify some ambitious transfer targets too, with Paris Saint-Germain forward Lee Kang-In and Lyon star Rayan Cherki entering the frame in recent days.

There has now been a new update on a defender Crystal Palace are keen on in a report from The Sun, which states they have now opened talks over a deal for Atletico Madrid’s Reinildo Mandava, who is set to leave the Spanish club for free this summer.

Mandava’s contract is set to expire this summer, and he is attracting a lot of attention from the Premier League, with Everton and Fulham also being named as potential suitors, although they are seemingly yet to make any formal moves.

Crystal Palace now keen to sign £20m maestro; could join in Guehi swap deal

Palace have set their sights on a midfielder, who could join as part of a swap deal for Marc Guehi.

By
Dominic Lund

May 26, 2025

It appears as though the Eagles are more advanced than their Premier League rivals in their pursuit of the Atletico ace, having already entered discussions to sign the 31-year-old, with Glasner keen to wrap up a lot of his transfer business early this summer.

"True gladiator" Mandava could be shrewd signing

The report states the Atletico defender is being targeted to provide competition for Tyrick Mitchell at left-back, and there are certainly indications he would be able to do exactly that, given his experience at the top level.

The left-back has made 25 appearances in the Champions League, while also featuring regularly for Atletico in La Liga over the past four seasons, indicating he could be a solid back-up option for Mitchell at the very least.

Average per 90	Tyrick Mitchell	Reinildo Mandava
Assists	0.15	0
Tackles	2.65	2.13
Blocks	1.98	0.96
Clearances	3.14	2.82

Lauded as a “true gladiator” by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, Mandava is an experienced defender, who could provide depth heading into a congested 2024-25 campaign, given qualification for the Europa League, but Mitchell has proven himself as more of a well-rounded full-back over the past year.

Leeds United will be playing Premier League football in the 2025/26 campaign after they secured their promotion from the Championship earlier this month.

The Whites celebrated their ascension to the top-flight after Burnley’s win over Sheffield United on Easter Monday, which came shortly after their own 6-0 win over Stoke City at Elland Road.

Daniel Farke and his staff will now be looking ahead to the summer transfer window, although there is still one more match to play against Plymouth Argyle at Home Park this afternoon.

It is going to be a critical summer of business for the West Yorkshire outfit because they know that they have to build a squad that is capable of avoiding an instant relegation from the Premier League.

This means that the players in the current squad will be under the microscope as Farke will have to judge which players are good enough to make the step up, and which of them will need to be replaced with better talents.

One of the stars whose place in the squad is up in the air heading into next season is centre-forward Joel Piroe, who is unproven at Premier League level.

Why Joel Piroe may not be Premier League quality

There is no doubt that the former Swansea star has been a key player for the Whites in this promotion-winning campaign with his goals and assists.

Piroe has racked up 19 goals and seven assists in 45 appearances in the Championship so far this term, and is currently the top scorer in the division – leading by two goals – ahead of the final round of matches today.

This shows that the Dutchman has been the most effective goalscorer in the second tier, as no one has scored more than him, but that does not guarantee that he will be a success in the Premier League.

Sammie Szmodics (27), Adam Armstrong (21), and Leeds’ Crysencio Summerville (19) ended the 2023/24 campaign as the top three scorers in the Championship, and all went on to play in the Premier League this season.

This season, Szmodics (four), Armstrong (two), and Summerville (one) have combined for seven goals in the Premier League for their respective clubs, which illustrates just how big the gap is between the second and the first tier.

24/25 Championship

Joel Piroe

Appearances

45

Goals

19

Assists

7

Duels won per game

1.6

Ground duel success rate

33%

Aerial duel success rate

20%

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, Piroe has made an impact at the top end of the pitch, but he has also been dominated in physical battles.

This suggests that he could fall the same way as the likes of Szmodics, Armstrong, and Summerville, who are all slight in frame, by failing to make the step up to the Premier League.

Leeds eyeing up Premier League striker

The Whites could, however, sign a striker who is way better than Piroe as they are reportedly keen on a star who has already proven himself in the Premier League.

According to The Boy Hotspur, as relayed by MOT Leeds News, Leeds United are one of a number of clubs to have shown an interest in Tottenham Hotspur centre-forward Richarlison.

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Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

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The report claims that the Whites, Newcastle United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Fluminense, Al Hilal, and Al Shabab are among the teams keen on a swoop for the Brazil international.

It also states that Everton are already in talks with Spurs over a deal to sign the versatile attacker, who left Goodison Park to join Tottenham in the first place.

The outlet adds that the Premier League side would like to sell him permanently, for a fee in the region of £30m, but that a loan with an obligation to buy the forward next summer is also a possibility.

With this in mind, Leeds must push to win the race for the Brazilian striker’s signature because he could come in as a way better option than Piroe next season.

Why Richarlison is way better than Joel Piroe

Richarlison is a Premier League-proven centre-forward who would come in as an experienced, high-quality, option for Farke at the top end of the pitch.

The 27-year-old star, who was once described as a “goalmouth monster” by Ange Postecoglou, has scored five goals in 19 appearances in an injury-hampered season this year, but did produce 12 goals in 31 games in all competitions for Spurs last term.

Richarlison has a good track record of scoring goals throughout his Premier League career with Watford, Everton, and Spurs in his eight years in England, which means that Leeds would be signing a player who is a known quantity in the top-flight.

Whereas, Piroe has yet to make an appearance in the top-flight and his goals in the Championship are not enough, as proven by last year’s top scorers, to suggest that he will be a star in the Premier League.

Richarlison’s Premier League career

Season

Appearances

Goals

Minutes per goal

Assists

24/25

14

4

103

1

23/24

28

11

137

4

22/23

27

1

1,023

4

21/20

30

10

253

5

20/21

34

7

410

3

19/20

36

13

237

3

18/19

35

13

206

2

17/18

38

5

565

4

Stats via Transfermarkt

As you can see in the table above, Richarlison, bar a disappointing 2022/23 campaign, has been a reliable presence at the top end of the pitch throughout his time in the league.

The Brazil international has also scored 20 goals in 48 caps for his country at international level, whilst Piroe is yet to be capped by the Netherlands, which further illustrates the gap in quality between the two players.

These statistics, in club and international football, suggest that Richarlison would be a way better option for Leeds than the Dutch marksman, who is set to fight against history to prove himself in the Premier League after a decent goal return in the Championship.

Related Bad news for Byram: Leeds want to sign "outstanding" £34k-per-week star

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Therefore, Leeds should push to sign the Brazilian star from Spurs in the upcoming summer transfer window because it would provide Farke with a Premier League-proven goalscorer who has the quality to hit double figures for goals in the league, whilst there are still big question marks over Piroe’s suitability for the top-flight.

It has been a strange season for Alejandro Garnacho. The Manchester United attacker has ten goals and eight assists across all competitions this term, but just six of those 18 goal involvements have come in the Premier League, in 31 games.

With that being said, the 20-year-old has achieved a huge milestone this season. Last weekend, he scored his 15th Premier League goal, coming against Newcastle United as Ruben Amorim’s side slipped to a 4-1 defeat.

Impressively, that took him past his idol, and one of the best players in United’s history, Cristiano Ronaldo, for goals at the same age. At 20 years old, the former Red Devils number seven had just 14 top-flight goals.

However, Garnacho certainly has a way to go before he can match Ronaldo’s legacy at Old Trafford.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Man Utd legacy

Once described as “the greatest player of all time” by former teammate Gary Neville on Sky Sports, few in history have done it like Ronaldo. The 40-year-old is now plying his trade in Saudi Arabia, but his extraordinary career really took off during his first spell at Old Trafford.

After signing for United in 2003 for a reported £12.24m, the Portugal star scored 118 times and grabbed 60 assists in 292 appearances for the English giants.

He was phenomenal, winning three Premier League titles in a row and the Champions League in 2007/08.

That 2007/08 campaign was nothing short of extraordinary, with United winning the double and Ronaldo the Ballon d’Or in 2008, becoming the best player on the planet. He scored 42 goals and provided eight in 49 games in all competitions that season.

His move to Real Madrid in the summer of 2009 for a then-world-record £80m was certainly devastating for the Red Devils. He was, in many ways, irreplaceable. Although their success continued, it was never easy to replace someone like Ronaldo.

Well, they might well be in danger of a repeat situation this summer, in a deal worth even more than Ronaldo’s back in 2009.

Man Utd’s new Ronaldo in 2025

If you asked United fans 16 years ago which player they would least like to be sold, Ronaldo would likely have been the answer. Well, in 2025, the answer to that question would surely be Bruno Fernandes.

It has been an unforgettable season for United’s captain Fernandes, in what has been a poor season as a side. He has an incredible 16 goals and 18 assists in 46 games in all competitions for the Red Devils.

His eight goals and ten assists in the Premier League this term ensures it is his second-best season in terms of output since his move to United back in 2020. The only season he exceeded those numbers was 2020/21, when he scored and assisted 29 goals. As Statman Dave said, he is a “machine”.

It isn’t easy to pinpoint one performance from the Red Devils’ number eight that has been his best this season. He has managed multiple goal involvements in a single game eight times, but his best was arguably the excellent hat-trick against Real Sociedad in the Europa League.

Indeed, Fernandes’ underlying FBref numbers compared to other midfielders in the last 365 days are astounding. For example, the 30-year-old averages 9.32 progressive passes, which ranks him in the top 3% of midfielders.

Goals and assists

0.65

99th

Key passes

3.15

99th

Progressive passes

9.32

97th

Shot-creating actions

5.93

99th

Ball recoveries

6.10

85th

United fans – and Amorim – may be worrying that their captain will leave the club, given Madrid were recently linked with a move. At the end of March, the Daily Star claimed Los Blancos are targeting a £90m move for their talisman.

That would see him leave for even more than Ronaldo did all those years ago, and given Fernandes’ importance to this United side, there is certainly a case to be made that this would be an even bigger loss.

The Red Devils will surely be hoping Fernandes doesn’t become their new Ronaldo, in that sense.

Upgrade on Rashford: Man Utd leading the race to sign £30m "monster"

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ByJoe Nuttall Apr 16, 2025

Jimmy Adams upstaging Wasim Akram in St John’s or Pat Cummins’ Australia beating Bazball? Pick between two classics

Deivarayan Muthu08-May-2025Update: This poll has ended. The ENG-AUS 2023 Birmingham Test moves to the round of 16.

West Indies’ one-wicket jailbreak vs Pakistan – St John’s, 2000

After more twists and turns than a whodunnit, Jimmy Adams upstaged Wasim Akram to complete a one-wicket heist with a healthy helping of luck. West Indies benefited from two umpiring errors and Saqlain Mushtaq fluffing two run-out chances, including one when Adams and No. 11 Courtney Walsh were both stranded at the striker’s end.When West Indies were 202 for 9, still 14 runs away from victory, Saqlain panicked under pressure and failed to gather the throw cleanly at the bowler’s end. Adams and Walsh eventually scrambled a leg-bye, leaving Pakistan wondering what might have been. Walsh held on limpet-like for 72 minutes with his captain Adams, who remained unbeaten on 48 off 212 balls, as West Indies clinched one of their most memorable and dramatic wins in Test cricket at the turn of the century in St John’s.Despite the lapses in the field, Akram had kept Pakistan in it by taking out four of West Indies’ top six – he came away with a match haul of 11 wickets – but Adams had the final say when he squeezed a single to point off Akram.

Australia beat Bazball – Birmingham 2023

“Boring, boring, Aussies” was the chant from the Hollies Stand at Edgbaston on the fourth afternoon when Usman Khawaja was digging in and slowly building for Australia in their pursuit of 281. By the fifth evening, the crowd was stunned into silence as Australia aced the old-school long game to beat England’s new-age fast play.When Khawaja fell for 65, with Ben Stokes ending his near-five-and-a-half-hour vigil, Australia had slipped to 209 for 7. Then, when Alex Carey’s wicket left Australia at 227 for 8, it certainly felt like England’s Bazballers were on their way to another famous win. Australia captain Pat Cummins, though, flipped the mood and result with an unbeaten 44 off 73 balls, with No. 10 Nathan Lyon hanging on in an unbroken 55-run partnership for the ninth wicket.After having come under fire with his defensive fields on the opening day, Cummins played the decisive hand on the final day, absorbing good balls from Stokes and Ollie Robinson and lining up Joe Root’s part-time offspin for a brace of sixes. After sealing the deal, Cummins let out a big roar, threw his bat and punched his fist in a rare show of emotion that summed up how much this win meant to him and Australia.

They are embracing the challenge of trying to level the Border-Gavaskar series 2-2 in Ahmedabad

Andrew McGlashan07-Mar-20238:21

Rohit Sharma: We focus too much on the pitch here in India

Australia’s bid for a series-levelling victory in Ahmedabad, which would go down as one of their finest results, could begin in front of a world record Test match crowd amid further intrigue over what the pitch will offer with India seeking to bounce back from a rare home defeat.The opening day of the final Test will see a brief but elaborate attendance by the Prime Ministers of both countries with Narendra Modi, who the stadium is named after, hosting his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese.Quite what the crowd ends up being around the first ball remains to be seen, but if it’s above the 91,112 which attended the first day of the 2013-14 Ashes Boxing Day Test at the MCG then Melbourne will lose its crown. However, the authenticity of the record could be up for debate given reports have indicated up to 85,000 families and students will be bussed to the stadium.Parking the politics, there are some practicalities to consider should a huge and loud crowd eventuate when play gets underway. Perhaps most significantly will be judging reviews that are based around edges but also communicating with team-mates over other line calls.Related

• 'It's ruthlessness, not overconfidence' – Rohit disagrees with Shastri's assessment

• Smith: Can't remember being unsure two days out which pitch I would be playing on

• All to play for in Ahmedabad as fascinating series reaches climax

• Rahul Dravid: Need to be realistic about batting in these challenging conditions

• Has any visiting bowler bettered Nathan Lyon's two eight-fors in India?

“The talk has been excitement around actually playing a Test in front of that [size crowd] then actually just the logistics of it on the field – how you deal with reviews, all that sort of stuff, because the noise will play a huge part in that,” Daniel Vettori, Australia’s assistant coach, said earlier in the week. “Guys will be trying to be as pragmatic as possible around how it’s actually going to play out.”It’s uncertain what size crowd will attend on the other days – however long the game lasts – or indeed how many will remain in the stadium once the early formalities are complete. Both leaders are only expected to stay for around an hour of the first session.Attendances have been encouraging during the series. But whether fans will get to see a fourth day for the first time was hard to judge two days out with what appeared a bit of further byplay going on around the pitches.Two surfaces were covered and uncovered at regular intervals, as both were being considered for use, but just before Australia left a few of the squad did gather around the drier-looking of the two pitches.Nathan Lyon and Steven Smith inspect conditions in Ahmedabad•Getty ImagesThen when India began their training session there looked to be confirmation that it was the chosen pitch with Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma taking turns to ask for the cover to be pulled back. That was further reinforced when the television cameras were being put into place later on Tuesday afternoon.The greener of the two surfaces may have come into play had India won in Indore. Before the game Rohit had raised the prospect of a more seamer-friendly pitch to aid preparations for the World Test Championship final. As it stands now, however, India still have to guarantee their berth against Australia, although the result in Christchurch, where New Zealand face Sri Lanka, may yet make the outcome in Ahmedabad irrelevant in that regard.India were effectively beaten at their own game in Indore on a pitch that was rated “poor” by the ICC. The venues themselves have no control over the surfaces with BCCI centralising the process but it’s unlikely the board would want to suffer back-to-back sanctions even if they plan to appeal the Holkar Stadium judgment.The two Tests played at the Ahmedabad ground since its development were against England in 2021. The first, a day-night contest, ended inside two days with Axar Patel taking 11 wickets and Joe Root 5 for 8. The second only went a little longer with spin again dominating, although batters were able to succeed with Rishabh Pant making a century and Washington Sundar 96.Pitch debate has dominated this series from the moment images emerged before the first match in Nagpur of the selective watering. After the Indore defeat, Rohit was unapologetic about the nature of the pitches, saying it was what India wanted and they accepted that it could go against them when conditions were extreme.”Honestly the pitch talk is getting too much, every time we play in India focus is only on the pitch. We focus too much on the pitch in India,” he said. “I don’t think that is necessary. Honestly speaking, these are the kind of pitches we want to play on. This is our strength, so when you’re playing at your home, you always play to your strength, not worry about what people outside are talking about.”One of the key reasons Australia were able to fight back in Indore was because they have not taken a negative view to it, rather embraced the challenge to finding solutions.”Personally I really enjoy playing on these kind of wickets,” Steven Smith said after Indore. “I prefer this than just a genuine flat wicket that goes five days and can be boring in stages. There’s always something happening on these wickets. You’ve got to really work hard for your runs. But it’s showed that the guys can do it. You’ve got to work hard for them and you need some luck.”If Australia can channel their positive outlook one more time, it could secure a drawn series against the odds, and against the conditions.

Stats highlights from India’s comprehensive win in the second Test in Chennai

S Rajesh16-Feb-2021317 – The margin of victory, India’s largest, in terms of runs, in a Test against England. The previous highest was 279 runs, at Headingley in 1986. India have also beaten England six times by an innings.2 – Instances of R Ashwin scoring a century and taking eight wickets in a Test; he had earlier achieved the feat against West Indies in Mumbai in 2011, when he scored 103 and took 9 for 117 in a memorable drawn Test which ended with scores level: India finished on 242 for 9 chasing 243 for victory. No other India allrounder has managed this in a Test.9 – India bowlers who have taken a five-for on debut; Axar Patel became the latest to join this group with his 5 for 60 in England’s second innings. The only other left-arm spinner in this group is Dilip Doshi, who took 6 for 103 against Australia in Chennai in 1979.ESPNcricinfo Ltd21 – Test wins in India for Virat Kohli the captain. He equals MS Dhoni’s record for most wins by an Indian captain at home. Overall, India have won 34 Tests under Kohli, which is seven clear of the next-best, 27 under Dhoni.10 – Instances of Ashwin dismissing Ben Stokes in Tests. Stokes averages 17.8 against him. Stokes and David Warner are the two batsmen who have been dismissed most often by Ashwin in Tests. Both average less than 20 against him.ESPNcricinfo Ltd298 – England’s match aggregate, their third-lowest in a Test against India in which they lost 20 wickets. Their lowest is 230 (102 and 128) in that Headingley Test in 1986. It is their second-lowest in any Test in Asia.4 – Instances of a team winning the second Test of a series by 200-plus runs after losing the first by a similar margin. The three previous instances were by South Africa in England in 2017, by South Africa at home against Australia in 2014, and by West Indies in England in 1950. On both occasions when South Africa fought back to win the second Test, they ended up losing the series, 3-1 to England and 2-1 to Australia.ESPNcricinfo Ltd0 – Half-centuries for Joe Root in the match; it is the first time Root hasn’t passed 50 in a Test, in the eight matches he has played against India.8.16 – England batsmen’s average when playing the sweep shot in this Test – they scored only 49 runs off the shot and were dismissed six times. In the first Test, they averaged 38.75 when playing the shot, scoring 155 runs for four dismissals.15 – Test wins for India at Chepauk, which is their highest at any venue. They have 13 wins in Delhi and Kolkata each.238.9 – Moeen Ali’s strike rate in the second innings: he scored 43 off 18. It is the highest by an England batsman for any innings of 15 or more balls (in matches where balls-faced data is available). For all teams, this is the second-best, next to Abdur Razzak’s 17-ball 43 against Zimbabwe in 2011.

Umpire Sean Barber has officially accomplished a rare feat. He made Shohei Ohtani angry.

Barber was behind the plate during the Los Angeles Dodgers' matchup with the Milwaukee Brewers and he made a call so egregious that Ohtani argued with him—something the reigning National League MVP almost never does.

Ohtani was at the plate to open the top of the sixth inning as the Dodgers trailed 7–0. On a 3–2 count, Freddy Peralta threw a changeup that visibly missed low and inside. Barber called it strike three. Ohtani immediately protested, said something, then demonstrably shook his head on the way back to the dugout. It was a rare, justified, outburst.

Video is below.

That's a brutal call, and Ohtani had every right to be upset about it. There is likely some mounting frustration for the star slugger and his teammates. They appear on their way to their fourth loss in a row, and Ohtani entered Monday night with a .136 batting average in July so far.

It's understandable he was upset when he appeared to have worked a walk but was called out.

The Boston Red Sox shocked the MLB world on Sunday by trading away designated hitter Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for a collection of pitchers and prospects.

The move comes amid a season of unrest between the Red Sox and Devers, with Devers expressing frustration about being moved off of third base to make room for Alex Bregman, and the team’s front office frustrated with Devers’s lack of interest in pivoting to play first base after injuries made such a move necessary.

In the end, the Red Sox pulled the plug, shipping off a player that they had committed to with a long-term deal just a few years ago.

Understandably, Red Sox fans were upset. Not only was Devers one of the best players on the roster, he was also a certified Yankees killer—one of the most important aspects of ascending to the top of Boston athletics.

On Sunday, Devers proved he was a nightmare for the Yankees until the very end, smashing a solo home run against New York to help Boston to a 2–0 victory just hours before he was traded across the country.

Of the 214 home runs Devers has hit in his career, 30 came against the Yankees—more than any other team in the majors.

He will undoubtedly be missed by Red Sox fans, but the team is apparently ready to start its next chapter.

GOAL reviews the major takeaways from Americans playing in Europe, including Agyemang getting back to his best.

The USMNT have a few good strikers to work with. What they don’t have, at least not yet, is a great one. This crop is full of ideas, full of talent, but none of them are the finished product. And that in itself comes with a certain appeal: the familiar excitement around what a player isn’t quite yet, but maybe could be. Could Folarin Balogun become world-class? Possibly. But he’ll need a few tweaks – and a sustained run of fitness – before that conversation gets serious.

That uncertainty is what fuels the weekly churn of the U.S. striker discourse, a position where relevance is gained and lost by the game. Patrick Agyemang was barely mentioned a few weeks ago; now, after a well-taken goal in a defeat, he’s back in the mix. Josh Sargent is still struggling to actually put the ball in the net, but a much-needed assist nudged him into the conversation again. And then there’s the mercurial Ricardo Pepi, who scored and assisted for PSV as his manager shifted to a two-striker system just to get him in the side. 

And even in a week in which Christian Pulisic missed action due to an injury, and Chris Richards misfired for Palace, there remains reason for optimism for USMNT hopefuls and regulars alike. 

GOAL looks at the major takeaways from this weekend's Americans Abroad.

Getty Images SportMore to come from Agyemang?

Agyemang's signing with Derby was a puzzling decision at the time. He was scoring goals for Charlotte FC, performing at a high level, and at the very least giving Mauricio Pochettino something to think about. Sure, the money was always going to be better in the EFL Championship, but he had things pretty good in MLS.

Yet when Derby beckoned, Agyemang answered – and saw his income jump dramatically, from $104,000 at Charlotte to a reported $1.5 million. On the pitch, though, the move hasn’t always made sense. Since returning from the injury he suffered in MLS before the transfer, Agyemang hasn’t consistently looked like a natural fit for John Eustace’s side, alternating between No. 9 and No. 10. He’s a fine footballer, but also a fairly one-dimensional presence.

Still, the form is coming. And on Saturday against Middlesbrough, he scored a truly lovely goal.

It was a proper striker’s move – reading the bounce, accelerating away from his defender, and shaping the perfect angle to slot past a helpless goalkeeper. Agyemang isn’t quite the finished product yet, but he’s a regular starter and already has six goal contributions for Derby.

After the match, Eustace praised him. Odds are, there’s more to come.

AdvertisementAdams defies logic

Have a hit, yeah, Tyler? Sometimes, watching football is hard to comprehend why, exactly, a player does what they do. Sometimes it's a silly decision: a backpass that goes awry, or an ill-advised attempt at a nutmeg. But on Saturday morning, it was Tyler Adams deciding to shoot from 50 yards. And why? It seemed, in real time, a truly puzzling move. But as the ball floated, and the camera adjusted accordingly, his whack down the field looked a stroke of genius. 

You will see few better goals this season than Adams' long-range clip, the American midfielder recognizing in an instant that the goalkeeper was 15 yards off his line for no apparent reason. It capped off a fine performance in defeat for Adams. He seems to have three lungs these days, a perfect element in the middle of Andoni Iraola's Bournemouth machine, all whirring legs and instinctive moves. Bournemouth lost 3-2 – but if football is about individual moments, then Adams had the best of the weekend, by far. 

GettyRichards fails to deliver against United

Sunday morning's game against Manchester United felt important for Crystal Palace. It will, in all likelihood, be a tricky season forThey secured European football last year, but didn't invest enough over the summer to prove that they can stay there. But big results, such as a late win over Liverpool earlier in the season, showed that there remains plenty of fight here. 

And Richards will be central to that effort. He has performed wonderfully on the right side of a back three for Oliver Glasner for over a year now, and has been part of a well-drilled defensive system. Man United seemed to be a good test. These are the kinds of games that Palace should win – especially at home. Instead, they were a little mixed. Richards won his headers, but wasn't quite convincing when the ball was on the ground. To be clear, he can't be totally blamed here, but Palace really shouldn't have conceded twice. And the American was part of that letdown. There will be better days…

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Getty Images SportMoments you might have missed

+ Ricardo Pepi scored and assisted in PSV's win over lowly Volendam

+ Brenden Aaronson came off the bench in Leeds' 3-2 loss to Man City

+ Christian Pulisic missed Milan's 1-0 win over Lazio with a knock

+ Weston McKennie played all 90 minutes in Juve's nervy 2-1 win over Cagliari

+ James Sands went the full 90 but couldn't make an impact as St. Pauli conceded a 93rd-minute winner to Bayern Munich 

+ It was a frustrating one for Malik Tillman, who couldn't quite make an impact as Bayer Leverkusen lost 2-1 to Borussia Dortmund 

+ Folarin Balogun was feeding off scraps, but Monaco got the job done in a 1-0 win over PSG

+ Josh Sargent finally found a bit of form and grabbed an assist in Norwich's much-needed victory against QPR 

+ Tim Weah played all 90, but Marseille threw away a late lead against Toulouse 

+ Yunus Musah did not play in Atalanta's 2-0 win over Fiorentina

+ Tanner Tessmann shined in Lyon's 3-0 win over Nantes

Abject. It is, painfully, an accurate way of summing up Liverpool’s form this season. The Premier League champions will not retain their belt, not like this, not with such deep tactical cracks and incoherent players and non-existent belief in Arne Slot’s plan.

The most concerning part of the recent 3-0 defeat in Manchester against Pep Guardiola’s resurgent outfit is that Liverpool were outplayed across the park. Be it physical, mental or tactical metrics, Manchester City shone, and the Reds were blinded by their opponent’s superiority.

Jeremy Doku stood out, darting this way and that, scoring a stunning goal in the second half after breaking away from Ibrahima Konate. The Belgian winger completed seven of eight dribble attempts and created three chances, as per Sofascore.

Liverpool have got so many problems, and the recent wins over Aston Villa and Real Madrid provided only the veneer of a revival as City hit the Merseside club with a sobering reality check.

Among Slot’s biggest concerns is the enduring slump of Mohamed Salah. For so many years, the Egyptian has been an unstoppable force for Liverpool, but, aged 33 and at the front of a sinking ship, he is struggling to recover more than a flicker of his former greatness.

Mohamed Salah is becoming a problem

Will we see the best of Salah in a Liverpool shirt again? There’s every chance that the right winger expended incredible amounts of mental and physical energy driving his club to the league title last season, and across all competitions, he scored 34 goals and supplied 23 assists.

Almost three months into the new campaign, Slot’s second in the dugout, Salah has recorded eight goal involvements, but his general play and the accuracy of his shooting have paled in comparison to the many years behind him. Salah is not himself.

This is a worry, to be sure. Not just because Liverpool are playing without their talisman in his groove, but because Slot has shown a hesitance toward unleashing Federico Chiesa right from the start of last season, and that doesn’t look like it’s going to change any time soon.

How much longer can it go on like this? Man City reduced Liverpool’s superstar to half-chances and a role within the defensive press. How many times has Salah picked Pep apart? How often has he been the leading light against this arch-rival of modern times?

Premier League

19

9 (6)

Champions League

2

2 (1)

Community Shield

2

1 (1)

FA Cup

2

0 (0)

Carabao Cup

1

1 (0)

There is, of course, the caveat to all this that Salah would be far better placed in a system of greater fluency. This has been anything but the case for the Anfield side this season.

But Father Time is not on the Premier League legend’s side, and, having penned a new two-year extension worth £400k per week in April, Salah has around 18 months to show that FSG have received more than bang for their buck one final time.

But there’s a very real possibility that Salah is past his prime, and that Liverpool need to find a successor.

An onerous task if ever there was one. However, Liverpool actually have a Kirkby prospect who has what it takes to swipe the icon’s shirt.

The Liverpool teen who can take Salah's #11

Slot needs to find a solution to Liverpool’s current woes, but let’s all take a breather, just for a moment. Liverpool have so much talent. Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz will come good. But, more excitingly, there’s a wealth of teenage talent soon to be at Slot’s disposal, with one prospect a cut above the rest.

Rio Ngumoha knew he was headed to the upper crust of the Premier League, and a youth system that has shown itself since Jurgen Klopp came along to be a hothouse for those immensely gifted young stars.

Chelsea’s loss was Liverpool’s gain. Ngumoha was poached from Cobham in 2024 and made his professional debut against Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup midway through his maiden year on Merseyside.

A left-sided winger with incredible speed and dribbling, the 17-year-old Ngumoha has the potential to become a superstar at Liverpool, with his physical, athletic and fierce playing style offering shades of that man Doku, Anfield villain last weekend.

You could say Ngumoha is preternaturally talented. After all, journalist Kieran Gill is among those to have singled him out as a “generational talent”, and he certainly illustrated his potential with an incredible strike on his Premier League debut, netting the winner against Newcastle United at St. James’ Park in August.

Since then, he has featured sporadically for the Redmen, playing seven games in all competitions but only starting in the Carabao Cup, among that youthful group who were brushed aside by Crystal Palace last month.

Ngumoha’s time will come. He is so fast, so sure of himself when on the ball. He is among the youngest goalscorers in Premier League history, and that goal is sure to be the first of many.

1

James Vaughan

16 yrs, 8 months, 27 days

2

James Milner

16 yrs, 11 months, 22 days

3

Wayne Rooney

16 yrs, 11 months, 25 days

4

Rio Ngumoha

16 yrs, 11 months, 26 days

5

Cesc Fabregas

17 yrs, 3 months, 21 days

Time must be afforded to one so young. Take Doku. Criticised often at Man City for being endowed with such ferocity and fleet-footedness, but lacking end product and elite decision-making.

Doku is only 23, and his performance against Slot’s beleaguered lot last weekend was the display of a winger reaching new levels of maturity and technical understanding.

Ngumoha will only get better and better as the years go on, and while he can contribute this season, these foundational years could see him bloom at the end of next term, when Salah supposedly leaves, and he could take his shirt, stepping up as Liverpool’s new wide talisman.

Can Nghumoha reach those heights, take that #11 from Salah himself? You’ll have to stay tuned. But Ngumoha will make it easy to do that. Watching him play football is a treat, and he has the capacity to not just emulate a stylistic peer like Doku but become one of the very best in world football.

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