T'was meant to be the season to be jolly :Picture by @YTJourno Premier League Chelsea (1) 1 Joao Pedro 37 Aston Villa (0) 2 Watkins 63, 84 Rampant. Dominant. Urgent. Chelsea played Villa off the park for nearly an hour, but ended up empty-handed. It was impossible to see how such a vibrant, physically imposing first-half display could bring no reward but the visitors somehow found the gears to get back into it and had Ollie Watkins up their sleeve. The England striker came of

Gunners v Seagulls by @JTaylorSport Arsenal 2 Brighton & Hove Albion 1 Engulfed with relief, the outstretched arms of Declan Rice at the end of this latest battle of nerve said it all. Apart from the occasional moment, there were few festive frolics on show at the Emirates as Arsenal dug out a 2-1 win over Brighton to force themselves back to the top of the Premier League table. The Gunners made heavy weather of managing the game at times after they went a couple of goals ahe

Gtech Saturday : Picture by @YTJourno Premier League Brentford (2) 4 Schade 7, 51, 90+6, Petrovic og 38 Bournemouth (0) 1 Semenyo 75 Kevin Schade doubled his goals tally for the season with a treble that sent a struggling Bournemouth packing and further cemented Brentford's place among the comfortably well off in mid-table. Schade quickly had the Bees in the driving seat against a Bournemouth side without a win since late October - a run of eight games. Igor Thiago's simple p

Post match views from Lions boss Alex Neil : Picture by @YTJourno Millwall dropped out of the play-off places but will take heart from a battling draw against third-placed Ipswich at the Den which was a fine response to successive defeats which clipped their paws. The one big issue it again threw up, however, is the modest goals return and the continuing imbalance in the goal difference. The Lions have now netted just 25 times after the first half of the league programme has

Boxing Day at the Den : Picture by @YTJourno Championship Millwall (0) 0 Ipswich Town (0) 0 It's not often the Lions get top billing in London - especially on such a traditionally significant day in the English football calendar. But with no Premier League matches taking place in the capital, this felt very much like the Boxing Day game to see. It was given added kudos too by being the sixth placed team v third in the Championship. Alas, the end product did not quite match pr

The Rest is Merch : Picture by @YTJourno Carabao Cup Quarter-Final Arsenal (0) 1 Lacroix og 80 Crystal Palace (0) 1 Guehi 90+5 (Arsenal won 8-7 on pens) It wasn't as goal-laden is the cup tie between the two sides in the same competition a year ago but the denouement to make it arguably even more memorable. It needed an own goal from Maxence Lacroix and a 'miss' from the luckless Eagles defender to settle it after an endless shoot out of 15 perfect kicks in a sequence that l

Fulham may have been off-key but they struck the right note with Silva : Picture @capitalfootball It may end up as the least memorable match at Craven Cottage all season, but its importance cannot be overlooked. Fulham ensured a struggling Nottingham Forest just below them in the table were further distanced, thanks to a penalty from Raul Jimenez in first-half injury time. It was a game bereft of quality and excitement but for Whites boss Marco Silva, it was ideal. It felt vi

Picture by @YTJourno Premier League Fulham (1) 1 Jimenez 45+5pen Nottingham Forest (0) 0 Fulham continue to trade in crucial wins to keep themselves afloat. Here was another vital one against another of the division's strugglers. A similar outcome at 18th placed West Ham on Saturday would be ideal for them, although their advantage over the Irons is already now at 10 points. The Whites were way below their best and arguably missed the drive of Alex Iwobi in midfield, the atta

Picture: @capitalfootball Thomas Frank has refused to condemn the lack of self-control that saw two Spurs players sent off in Saturday night's 2-1 defeat to Liverpool at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Xavi Simons was red carded after 30 minutes for recklessly raking the calf of Virgil van Dijk and skipper Cristian Romero once again showed that he can be a liability at times when he petulantly kicked out at Ibrahima Konate to earn a second yellow. It was not a great night for

Andy Woodman reflects on another job well done: Picture by @YTJourno Andy Woodman is making no bones about it. He believes his side has what it takes to go up. Bromley enter the Christmas period in second place in League Two following Saturday's 2-0 victory over Grimsby Town - a brace from Will Hondermack sealing yet another home win for the Ravens, who have yet to lose in the league at Hayes Lane. "Let's not shy away from it, why shouldn't we be charging for the top spot?,

Seasonal offering : Picture by @YTJourno Premier League Tottenham Hotspur (0) 1 Richarlison 83 Simons s/o 32, Romero s/o 93 Liverpool (0) 2 Isak 56, Ekitike 66 Spurs crashed to a fifth home loss in nine home league games as they paid the price for a first-half red card for Xavi Simons. It piles the pressure on Thomas Frank, who was booked protesting Liverpool's second goal, which arrived 10 minutes after the opening goal had further taken the wind out of Tottenham's sails. T

By Alessandro Schiavone in Cologne 1.FC Köln 0-1 Union Berlin Goal : Schafer 91' Lukas Podolski in his prime leading the line would have suited Cologne to the ground on Saturday afternoon in their 1-0 home defeat to Union Berlin at RheinEnergie Stadion. Jakub Kaminski put in an energetic first-half display for his lukewarm side and twice came close to an opening goal. Yet his first attempt was comfortably parried by Frederik Ronnow while the volley flashed just off target. Mo

Christmas fun and jinx at the CopperJax : Picture by @YTJourno League Two Bromley (1) 2 Hondermarck 12, 55 Grimsby Town (0) 0 It's now seven wins in eight league games for the Ravens, who are now up to second in the table. This is threatening to be a great season for them as the potential to reach new heights as a club becomes clear. A brace from Will Hondermarck set them up for the win, which ensures they retain the division's only unbeaten home record too. Their no-nonsense

By Alessandro Schiavone at Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund Signal Iduna Park Bundesliga MD 15 Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Borussia Moenchengladbach Goals: Brandt 10' , Beier 97' Former Chelsea starlet Carney Chukwuemeka's Borussia Dortmund bagged the last three points of the calendar year thanks to a 2-0 Bundesliga win over Borussia Moenchengladbach on Friday night. Introduced in the 71st minute to replace goalscorer Julian Brandt, the man who quit Stamford Bridge for Signal Iduna Park

By Alessandro Schiavone in Lausanne Conference League Matchday 6 Lausanne Sport 1-0 Fiorentina Goal: Sigua 58' (LS) Pablo Mari's woeful Fiorentina side are still on course to spend the upcoming season in the second-tier of Italian football all while playing in Europe. With hindsight, the ex-Arsenal defender's side would have required a 3-0 win over the Swiss to seal a top-eight spot ahead of lowly Aek Larnaca on 12 points. Instead Serie A's bottom side suffered a 1-0 defeat

Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner by Capital Football Crystal Palace 2 KuPS Kuopio 2 The night was punctured with some class, some quiet desperation and surprise – but Crystal Palace will have to negotiate the Uefa Conference League playoffs, after a 2-2 draw against KuPS Kuopio. Palace almost paid for long spells of going through the motions - albeit with a starting side which was largely an unfamiliar one – but they did eventually salvage a point. It is, though, insuffi

Cardiff City (0) 1 v Chelsea (0) 3 Garnacho 57 Turnbull 75 Neto 82 Garnacho 93 By Kaz Mochlinski at the Cardiff City Stadium Football League Cup Quarter-Final Chelsea were taken to within eight minutes of a penalty shoot-out by a spirited Cardiff City side before being rescued from an immensely embarrassing result against League One opposition through fine finishes from second half substitutes. A double from Alejandro Garnacho and an equally crucial goal from Pedro Neto justi

Brentford (0) 1 v Leeds United (0) 1 Henderson 70 Calvert-Lewin 82 By Kaz Mochlinski at the Brentford Community Stadium Premier League Matchweek 16 Jordan Henderson’s first goal for Brentford proved precious in picking up a point against Leeds United to take the Bees a little further from the threat of relegation in the lower reaches of the Premier League table. In a close encounter between two excellently-coached, well-organised and evenly-matched sides, Brentford took the l

Picture: Wikimedia Commons / Adam Haworth A first win at Turf Moor since April 1951 has given Marco Silva's team vital breathing space in the battle to avoid getting sucked into a relegation campaign. Goals from Emile Smith Rowe, Calvin Bassey and Harry Wilson gave Fulham a crucial 3-2 win at Burnley and takes them to 20 points and moves them up to 13th place in the table - seven points clear of 18th placed West Ham , who occupy the third relegation place. It was a perfect s

Post-match reflections from Oli : Picture by @YTJourno Oli Glasner said he took as much satisfaction from the performance against Man City on Sunday as in some games the Eagles have won this year - despite the 3-0 loss. Palace could have leapt up to fourth in the table with a win and their first-half performance suggested they might unseat the title chasers, as they did in May's FA Cup final. In the end, Erling Haaland's header gave Pep Guardiola's team a fortunate lead and

Selhurst setting : Picture by @YTJourno Premier League Crystal Palace (0) 0 Manchester City (1) 3 Haaland 41, 89pen, Foden 69 The Eagles may have the eternal happy souvenir of that famous May day at Wembley against City, but haven't had too many fond memories to look back on against them at Selhurst in recent times. And so it continues. They could have leapt up to fourth in the table with a win over Pep Guardiola's men but, as against Man United in the last match, did not hav

Premier League Arsenal (0) 2 Johnstone og 70, Mosquera og 90+4 Wolverhampton Ws (0) 1 Arokodare 90 For the second week running, Arsenal shipped a last minute goal which looked certain to see them squander vital points - and did it against the one team who should not have had a prayer against them. Rock-bottom Wolves - without a win all season and only two measly draws to set alongside defeat after defeat should have been easy fodder. They had only scored once away from home t

Let the routine home win commence. The Bridge ahead of kick off : Picture by @YTJourno Premier League Chelsea (2) 2 Palmer 21, Gusto 45 Everton (0) 0 They didn't even have to play particularly well to get the job done - but victory over Everton at Stamford Bridge is always pretty much a given, give or take the odd draw. It is something of a minor miracle that this fixture draws any away fans. The Toffees had failed to win any of their previous 29 league visits to the Bridge a

Tottenham Hotspur (1) 3 v Slavia Praha (0) 0 Zima (og) 26 Kudus (pen) 50 Xavi Simons (pen) 79 By Kaz Mochlinski at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Champions League MD6 Tottenham Hotspur edged encouragingly closer to the Champions League knock-out stages, extending their excellent European run with another home victory as they battled to beat Slavia Praha 3-0. However, it took an own goal and two penalties to maintain their 100% winning start in the competition this season in N1