Dutch club relegated in wake of Guardian and TBIJ investigationDocuments appeared to show financial ties to Abramovich The Dutch football association has deducted 18 points from Vitesse Arnhem, officially confirming the club’s relegation, in the wake of an investigation by the Guardian and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) that uncovered apparent financial ties between the club and the Russian oligarch and former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich. The KNVB, the governing body of Dutch football, said it had imposed the record sanction because the club, formally known as SBV Vitesse, failed to meet the requirements of its licensing regulations. Continue reading...

Europa League quarter-final, 8pm BST kick-off (first leg: 3-0)West Ham v Bayer Leverkusen: join our MBM reportLive scoreboard | Read Football Daily | Send Michael a mail “One of Bergamo’s notable sons is the early 19th-century composer Gaetano Donizetti,” emails Peter Oh. “Among his works is a semi-serious dramatic opera called Emilia di Liverpool, which features a happy ending for the main character, a member of the Liverpudlian noble class. I’m being semi-serious when I say that I would love to see a new opera written today, one with an unexpected twist of a happy Scouse ending. Jürgen di Liverpool!” Liverpool at full-strength. It’s Alexander-Arnold’s first start since 10 February, while Gakpo is preferred to Darwin up top, with Endo left on the bench as Klopp opts for a more attacking midfield. Continue reading...

England prospect showcased his ingenuity by scoring four goals in Monday’s 6-0 Premier League thrashing of Everton Sometimes it is possible to watch football and know what is going to happen next. That’s Erling Haaland dispatching a one-on-one, or Virgil van Dijk coming out on top in a duel. Other times you watch not knowing, but hoping, the possibilities determined by your imagination. Such moments are less certain, but they are altogether more exciting, and Cole Palmer seems to revel in them. Moments such as the the goal which sealed his hat-trick against Everton on Monday night. Intercepting Jordan Pickford’s clearance, the Chelsea forward could have done a number of things to make the keeper pay, but he chose the most immediate, the most daring, the prettiest even. With Nicolas Jackson looking for a lay-off and yards of space in front of him, Palmer chose instead to hit an instant right-foot wedge shot from 35 yards. At first it seemed to loft too high into the west London night, but then the ball dipped, just in time, ducked under Pickford’s crossbar and set the crowd alight. Continue reading...

Plus: the most far-apart country clash in the Euros, an excruciating marriage proposal and moreMail us your questions or tweet @TheKnowledge_GU “During the international break, St Kitts and Nevis played a pair of friendlies against San Marino, who went in at 210th in the Fifa world rankings. Their next international will be a World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica, who are currently ranked 147 places higher than San Marino. I’d bet the farm on this not being the biggest gap in the rankings between consecutive international opponents: so what is?” asks Jack Hayward. Stephan Wijnen gets the ball rolling from the recent Euro 2024 qualifiers. “The Netherlands played against France and Gibraltar on 24 and 27 March 2023. France were No 3 in the rankings at that time, with Gibraltar at No 200. That is a gap of 197 places. With 210 countries on the rankings that seems hard to beat.” From the same campaign, Carl O’Reilly points out the Republic of Ireland’s back-to-back games with Gibraltar (then No 201, on 19 June 2023) and France (No 2 on 7 September 2023), for a difference of 199 places. Continue reading...

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk says they should have beaten Manchester United and the 2-2 draw "feels like a loss".

Updates from the 3.30pm BST kick-off at Old TraffordGet in touch: Send John an email with your thoughts Bruno Fernandes speaks to Sky: “We play against a big team that has a lot of qualities. It’s going to be a tough, intense game. These games against Liverpool always are.” And so does Virgil van Dijk: “We have to do better than we did in the cup. You have to shut it out completely anyway, whether we play first, second or third. Everyone knows how big this game is but we have to stay calm and play our football like we have all season.” Last time out: Alexis Mac Allister the star man, and the night that Cole Palmer haunted the club he once supported. Continue reading...

The defender, inspired by pep talks from his detective father, has become one of Tottenham’s most indispensable players this season Micky van de Ven’s father, Marcel, is well known in their native Netherlands for being one of the lead detectives on Hunted, the TV series in which the hunters (ie Marcel and his team) track down contestants who have gone on the run. Marcel got the gig for a reason. Previously, he had worked as an undercover agent for a unit based at a secret location that tackled the most notorious criminals in the country. So when Marcel talks to his son, who has made such strides since his £34.5m transfer from Wolfsburg to Tottenham last summer, about the need to maintain a professional calm at all times, to accept the chaos that often rages around him and embrace it, he does so from a position of some authority. Continue reading...

For a fraught second-half spell at Anfield Sheffield United were level and Liverpool were in peril of a most unexpected slip-up. Step forward Alexis Mac Allister. The World Cup winner restored Jürgen Klopp’s team to the Premier League summit with an exquisite strike as Liverpool yet again held their nerve and their slender command of the title race. With Gary McAllister appropriately looking on, the Liverpool midfielder settled Anfield’s anxieties after a Conor Bradley own goal had cancelled out Darwin Núñez’s first-half fluke and given Arsenal and Manchester City hope of a shock point for Chris Wilder’s battling side. Mac Allister has now been involved in a Liverpool goal in the last six matches, scoring three and delivering four assists as he steps up to the pressure of winning a Premier League title. Cody Gakpo provided the comfort of a third in the final minute – the 80th goal that United have conceded this season – but this was far from the cruise that many anticipated between the league’s top and bottom clubs. Continue reading...

Ajax chief executive Alex Kroes has been suspended by the Dutch club's supervisory board over allegations of insider trading.

Everton must find goals, Forest need tight games to go their way and there’s a mighty showdown in Manchester Eddie Howe turned radical as Newcastle lost their FA Cup quarter-final at Manchester City earlier this month, deploying a back three. For a confirmed four-at-the-back manager, it represented quite a departure but retaining it might just suit Newcastle’s personnel – particularly against West Ham at St James’ Park this Saturday. Given that Sven Botman is sidelined for nine months following ACL surgery – and with hindsight the Dutch defender should have had that operation when he first damaged his knee in September – the best back three would surely be Jamaal Lascelles, Fabian Schär and Dan Burn flanked by Kieran Trippier, if fit, or Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall. Hall has disappointed following his summer loan from Chelsea but a left wing-back position might finally enable him to demonstrate why many once believed he was an England player in the making. With Schär showing off his ball skills at sweeper, 3-5-2 might yet propel Newcastle into Europa League combat next season. Louise Taylor Newcastle v West Ham, Saturday 12.30pm GMT Bournemouth v Everton, Saturday 3pm GMT Chelsea v Burnley, Saturday 3pm GMT Nottingham Forest v Crystal Palace, Saturday 3pm GMT Continue reading...

Germany continue their preparations for the Euro 2024 finals on home soil with a 2-1 comeback win over the Netherlands.

Scotland coach Steve Clarke says his players "had to pick him up" after the 4-0 humbling against the Netherlands.