IS MARC GUEHI OVERRATED? OLIVER GLASNER’S HONEST ADMISSION ABOUT PALACE’S FAILING SET-PIECE DEFENSE
Liverpool has Europe’s worst set-piece record. We analyse whether Marc Guehi is the solution or if Glasner will keep him at Palace.
It’s not just Liverpool struggling with set pieces this season. Crystal Palace’s boss, Oliver Glasner, has been pretty vocal about his team’s problems too—a message that could make Liverpool think twice about some of their transfer targets.
Everybody knows Liverpool’s set-piece defending has been a mess this year. They even made a change, letting set-piece coach Aaron Briggs go right before the new year. At that point, Liverpool actually had the worst record for defending set pieces across Europe’s top five leagues. Now it’s up to Arne Slot and the rest of the coaching staff to figure out how to fix it.
So what’s next? People are talking about Liverpool signing a new defender in January—Marc Guehi’s name keeps coming up. He almost joined Liverpool last summer, but that deal fell apart at the last minute. His contract runs out at the end of the season, so there’s a real question: Does Liverpool wait and get him for free, or do they try to sign him now and boost Slot’s options in defence?
But then Glasner’s latest comments kind of throw a wrench in that idea. Even with Guehi in the team, Palace are still leaking goals from set pieces.
After Palace lost 2-0 at Newcastle on Sunday—their fourth defeat in five games—Glasner told Sky Sports, “It was a good performance, but in the last four defeats, we lost three just from set pieces. It’s not acceptable, and I have to find solutions to support the players better. We can’t afford to give so many goals away from set pieces. That’s why we lost today. I was pleased with how we moved the ball and defended, but we need to look at where we can improve. In the second phase, it’s just too much. We need to do better.”
So, if anything, Glasner sounds even more determined to keep Guehi at Palace for the rest of the season, even if that means letting him leave for nothing in the summer.
He’s already hinted that Guehi is staying put through January. On the other side, Arne Slot isn’t exactly fueling rumours about Liverpool spending big in the winter window. Slot said last month, “This is our way of working at Liverpool. People think we have unlimited money, but that’s just not true. You insiders know—everyone else just talks about our spending—what we actually bring in to spend.”
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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