GARY NEVILLE SLAMS KONATE; CLAIMS LEEDS STRIKER CALVERT-LEWIN IS PHYSICALLY OUTCLASSING HIM
Will Gary Neville be proven right? Konate faces a physical battle at Anfield to save his Liverpool career and title ambitions.
Ibrahima Konate is probably hoping for better luck against Dominic Calvert-Lewin this week.
The Liverpool defender probably remembers his last game against the striker. Konate gave away a penalty against Leeds earlier this month. Calvert-Lewin scored, making it 2-1 after Hugo Ekitike's goal had put Liverpool up 2-0.
After that, the Reds fell apart. Leeds tied the game, and even though Dominik Szoboszlai put Liverpool ahead again, Leeds scored late to grab a point. And, of course, we all know what happened after the game with Mohamed Salah.
Konate will have another chance when Leeds comes to Anfield on New Year’s Day. But it's not just that game that's on the Frenchman’s mind.
Konate also had a bad time against Calvert-Lewin back when the England player was still at Everton. Liverpool's title hopes were disappearing during Jurgen Klopp’s last days as manager in 2024. The final blow came when the Reds lost 2-0 at Goodison Park.
Calvert-Lewin really gave Konate a hard time. A few minutes after he scored Everton’s second goal from a corner, Konate was taken out and replaced by Jarell Quansah.
Gary Neville, commenting on the game for Sky Sports, said, When Calvert-Lewin is playing well, he can cause problems for centre-backs.
Konate is a big guy, but Calvert-Lewin has gotten to him. Centre-backs don't like losing aerial battles, and Everton are good at them. He's got great energy, that Calvert-Lewin.
Konate was chosen to be Virgil van Dijk's partner, but it hasn't worked out. They can't handle Calvert-Lewin. He's outplaying Liverpool's centre-backs. He's on fire.
Neville continued to criticise after the game.
In his podcast, Neville said Liverpool seemed to be outmuscled in this game. I wouldn’t say outfought because Liverpool teams work hard, but Everton was stronger in the key moments in both boxes.
“Liverpool lost the game because they lost those battles in both boxes. They physically lost the important battles.
“That was unexpected. I was surprised that Konate, whom I thought was the right pick to play next to Van Dijk, was getting pushed around.
“I expected them to be strong and dominate in those areas.”
Konate hasn’t had a great season, and his performances haven't helped the negative opinions among fans as his contract nears its end.
Liverpool has the worst record in Europe’s top leagues when it comes to defending set pieces. It’s time for Konate to change things around, and playing well against Calvert-Lewin this week would be a good start.
AWONIYI DOUBLE LEAVES NOTTINGHAM FOREST ON THE VERGE OF PREMIER LEAGUE SAFETY
Nottingham Forest moved closer to safety with a 3-1 win over Chelsea, while West Ham fell into the relegation zone after Spurs won.
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Nottingham Forest came out of the weekend looking pretty safe after pulling off an impressive 3-1 win at Chelsea. They’re almost clear of the relegation mess. Tottenham’s big away win at Aston Villa shook things up too, and now West Ham are back in the bottom three, running out of time faster than ever.
Forest have stepped up just when they needed to, leaving West Ham and Tottenham behind with a string of solid performances. Honestly, no one saw this coming, especially since Vitor Pereira shuffled his lineup with eight changes, fresh off a Europa League win against Aston Villa.
Even so, Forest were ahead within 90 seconds, thanks to Taiwo Awoniyi’s quick strike. By the 15th minute, Igor Jesus calmly buried a penalty after Malo Gusto’s reckless foul in the box. Chelsea had a chance to get back in it, but Cole Palmer wasted a penalty right before the break after a scary head collision involving Jesse Derry.
Awoniyi doubled down and scored again early in the second half, pushing Forest six points ahead of West Ham with just three games left.
West Ham’s weekend started badly; they looked flat and lost to Brentford. Things got worse Sunday night when Tottenham pulled off their first back-to-back Premier League wins since August 2025, beating a heavily rotated Aston Villa side 2-1.
Forest is now out of West Ham’s reach, or almost. Tottenham’s still close enough for Nuno Espirito Santo’s team to worry, but with three tough games coming up, Spurs could stay up even without another win, unless West Ham digs deep and pulls off something unexpected before their home finale against Leeds.
Right now, Forest can practically taste safety. Spurs finally see a way out after weeks of struggle. As for West Ham, they’re left hoping for a miracle, a last-minute twist to dodge the drop.
CESC FABREGAS CONFIRMS INTEREST IN PREMIER LEAGUE RETURN AMID CHELSEA'S MANAGER SEARCH
As Chelsea searches for a new manager, Cesc Fabregas breaks his silence on his future at Como and his Premier League ambitions.
Cesc Fabregas recalls exactly how a conversation with Jose Mourinho prompted him to join Chelsea, despite having the opportunity to return to Arsenal.
After winning six trophies in just three seasons, the Spanish World Cup winner left Barcelona for the second time in 2014. That summer, Fabregas made a move back to the Premier League, signing with Chelsea for about €33 million.
He already knew English football well. Fabregas had arrived at Arsenal as a 16-year-old from Barcelona in 2003 and made 212 Premier League appearances for them. When he decided to leave Barcelona, Manchester City also wanted him, but Chelsea convinced him, mostly thanks to Mourinho.
Talking with talkSPORT’s Rory Jennings on YouTube, Fabregas laid out how it all happened. “Honestly, when I made up my mind to leave Barcelona, my first thought was just to go back to Arsenal. They had this buyback clause; they had two weeks to use it after I told them I was leaving. They knew about it but didn’t take it. That surprised me a little, but in the end, I had to think about my career. I was 27, at the peak of my career, and I wanted to continue performing and winning trophies. City and Chelsea were both options.
“But when Mourinho spoke to me, that was it. He showed me his plans for the team and told me about Diego Costa, Courtois, and Filipe Luis and how, with those guys, we’d win the league. He was right, by the way. We won both the Premier League and the Carling Cup.”
Fabregas wasted no time winning over Chelsea fans. On his debut at Burnley, he set up two goals, including a stunning assist for Andre Schurrle. He finished his first season at Chelsea with five goals and 24 assists, along with Premier League and League Cup medals.
Things dipped the next season. Fabregas got just 15 goal contributions, and Chelsea slipped all the way to tenth. But when Antonio Conte took charge in 2016-17, they bounced back, and Fabregas picked up another league title.
He added an FA Cup win in 2018, his second, after his earlier one with Arsenal, and left for Monaco a few months later. His last Chelsea match came in the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest. When he got subbed off, he couldn’t hold back tears.
Chelsea supporters still sing about him; that “Oh, Fabregas is magic...” chant sticks around. And with his name in the conversation for a possible return, maybe they haven’t seen the last of him yet.
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