As the Cherries’ third-most expensive signing of all time, the young man, who turned 21 in February, has high expectations on his shoulders. The Burkina Faso international would represent a new and exciting threat on the break, one whose speed and vision had helped him to accrue six goals and six assists for Lorient across the first half of the 2022/23 season. After seven consecutive league starts, he has yet to score in the English top flight, but he has provided three assists.

But today, it was not so much his attacking play that drew praise, but rather his ability to contain Liverpool full-back Andy Robertson. Ouattara’s close marking of the Scotsman helped to close off a valuable avenue on the Reds’ left side. Nonetheless, the Burkinabé did have two promising moments in the Liverpool penalty area. One-on-one, he took the ball around goalkeeper Alisson, but spurned his effort into the side-netting in the ninth minute. Just 19 minutes later, he fired in a powerful cross that found its way to Billing, who scored his 6th goal of the season.

Bournemouth not only secured three points to lift them out of the relegation zone, but they also managed to claw back a hint of integrity. In the reverse fixture at Anfield, Liverpool had beaten them 9-0. Furthermore, this was their first clean sheet in this fixture since 1968 – and only their second-ever.

Liverpool entered the game on a high, having beaten high-flyers Manchester United last weekend 7-0, in what was the Red Devils’ worst Premier League defeat since 1931. They would be mistaken in believing that today’s fixture against Bournemouth was their chance to reignite their top-four chances. Instead, they capitulated on the south coast. Dango Ouattara had a pivotal role in what may turn out to be a massive win for the Cherries.

GFFN | Brendan Cox

The 57-year-old owns three other clubs in addition to Les Gones: Botafogo in Brasil’s Série A, Crystal Palace in the English Premier League, and Belgian side RWD Molenbeek. He received death threats over the transfer of Jeffinho from Botafogo to its new sister-club Lyon in January.

“Twitter doesn’t work for me, honestly,” said Textor in an interview with Globo.

“Because it’s very rare for all four clubs to win on the same day, and it’s almost never a good idea to celebrate something on Twitter. One group is feeling great while the other is feeling bad. This is football. So, recently, it made more sense for me to just not comment anymore.”

Two years ago, the Textor name was far less present in the footballing world. He owned zero clubs, until his first foray into football ownership came in August of 2021 when he took joint ownership of Crystal Palace.

Now, in 2023, he owns or part-owns four clubs, three of which are in Europe. This has led certain fans to become disillusioned with his business mentality; they have criticised his ‘multi-club structure’ approach to football. He has claimed that while his method of business is not best summarised by this term, he conceded that there was “no better term for what his organisation were doing”.

GFFN | Brendan Cox

The player had collapsed on the pitch during a league game against SOL FC. He appeared to take several steps backwards before losing his balance near the centre-circle. Teammates and opposition players immediately called for the referee to stop the game.

Club president Logossina Cissé revealed to AFP that Sylla had died in the ambulance on his way to hospital. The player had only arrived at Racing last September from Malian side Djoliba AC.

Racing Club d’Abidjan were promoted to the first division of Ivorian football in the 2018/2019 season, and went on to win the league just one year later in 2020. Racing has had a partnership with OGC Nice in France’s Ligue 1, as pointed out by RMC, where it acts as a feeder club to provide African talents with the chance to play in Europe.

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In a press conference after today’s win, the league’s youngest manager (30) underlined his passion for the role:

“It’s a special day when you win with the last kick of the game. These kinds of emotions are why we do this job.”

The Belgian-British dual national has eight wins and eight draws across his first 16 games, and his next task will likely involve converting draws into wins. But there is no rush: since he arrived, only PSG have collected more points in the league than Reims. This is particularly indicative of his success, considering the fact that the previous manager, Óscar García, collected only one win across their first ten games before he was dismissed.

Importantly, the Marne club have managed to hold back opposition from higher positions in the table. They registered two scoreless draws against OGC Nice, as well as two late draws with LOSC Lille (1-1, 2nd January) and reigning champions Paris-Saint-Germain (1-1, 29th January). Their next two fixtures against both AS Monaco (3rd) and Olympique de Marseille (2nd) will be crucial, but they will enter both games with well-earned confidence.

GFFN | Brendan Cox

The Unico supermarket has been owned by the family of Antonella Rocuzzo since the 1980s. She married the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner in 2017. Police said that two men on a motorcycle fired fourteen shots into the metal shutters and front door of the supermarket, before leaving a message written on a piece of cardboard. It was addressed to the 2022 World Cup winner:

“Messi, we’re waiting for you. [Pablo] Javkin (mayor of Rosario) is a drug trafficker, so he won’t take care of you.”

The store stayed closed for the day, and Mayor Pablo Javkin attended the scene, where he publicly condemned the attack. Rosario, a city of more than 1.5 million people, is Argentina’s most dangerous city, the site of more than 280 homicides in 2022 alone. In January, there were at least 39.

The attackers’ motives are as yet unclear, but a local TV station has speculated that the men were attempting to extort money from the former Barcelona man. Messi is expected back in Argentina in late March, as they face both Panama and Curaçao in international friendlies. He has not commented on the incident.

GFFN | Brendan Cox

Whereas Thomasson’s injury came in Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Montpellier, Boura’s ankle injury came in yesterday’s training session. Their injuries come at a bad time for RC Lens, who have won only three of their last 10 league matches. Though they remain in fourth place, their injury list seems to be growing. Should they struggle to recover, the two could join Wesley Saïd, Wuilker Faríñez, Jimmy Cabot, Steven Fortés, Alexis Claude-Maurice, and Adam Buksa on the sidelines for Lens.

Wednesday’s game against current Coupe de France champions Nantes will be tough. Les Canaris are 13th in the league, and were knocked out of the Europa League by Juventus last Thursday. Retaining French Cup now seems like their only chance at silverware during the 2023 season, and Lens will need to be mindful of this as they travel to the Loire country.

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The 29-year-old had been on the bench during Juventus’ 2-0 loss to Monza in late January, but he was unused. On his recent addition to the squad, Massimiliano Allegri said: “Pogba will be called up, and will play if necessary.”

“He doesn’t have a lot of game time in his legs, but has more than enough time to return.”

The Frenchman returned to Juventus last summer after a six-year spell at Manchester United, where he struggled to mimic the form he has displayed for the national team. He scored one of France’s four goals in the 2018 World Cup final, and was pivotal throughout their tournament success alongside N’Golo Kanté. His current string of injuries precluded him from playing in their most recent World Cup campaign, though France still managed to make it to the final against Argentina in December.

He previously played at the Turin club from 2012 to 2016, but he has not yet played a game for them since his return. Thursday’s fixture pits Juventus in eighth against Torino in ninth, meaning that the derby game is particularly significant. His return to the field could be the confidence boost that Juventus need this season, after they were docked 15 points in January for their involvement in the Serie A capital gains scandal.

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The 2018 World Cup winner has played in southern Spain since 2019, where he has accrued a total of 20 goals and 24 assists across 114 appearances. His injury comes at a frustrating moment in the season for Betis, who are currently fifth in the league with a Europa League clash at Manchester United on the horizon. The Red Devils already have plenty of experience in Spain this season, having played against Real Sociedad in the competition’s group stage. Last week, they knocked out Barcelona in the play-off round. Fekir’s absence will be a huge blow for Los Verdiblancos.

The 29-year-old is no stranger to ACL injuries. In 2015, he suffered the same injury to the right knee when he was playing at Olympique Lyonnais. Fekir will undergo surgery in the coming days.

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In hindsight, Manchester United fans may share a hint of regret over the transfer that took ten years to materialise. The Mancunians were interested in the then-RC Lens player, but sought instead to endeavour with the development of new arrival Chris Smalling, and so negotiations for Varane fizzled out.

The young central defender would go on to establish himself as one of the most reliable pieces of the 2010s-era Real Madrid puzzle. In contrast, while the Red Devils would make a strong start to that decade, they fell to pieces after the retirement of Sir Alex in 2013. In the ten years since, Manchester United have seemed a shadow of their former selves, and have failed to win a single Premier League title. It is only now, under the leadership of Erik Ten Hag, that United look at all like the team they were when the great man retired.

As many could have predicted, Varane has become a central figure at the Manchester club since his arrival in 2021. Of the history between himself and the club, he said: “I’ve spoken to Sir Alex Ferguson since I arrived here, but not about what happened then. It’s a long story, and I didn’t want to say anything negative. I have too much respect for him.“

Serial trophy winners under Sir Alex Ferguson, who managed the club from 1986 to 2013, the Reds have a chance to win their first piece of silverware since 2017 in this evening’s League Cup Final against Newcastle. In that time, Varane has won 11 trophies. Had he made the move to Old Trafford at a time when Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidić were still on the roster, the past decade may have left a much sweeter taste for Manchester United fans.

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Les Olympiens will have entered the game slighly disheartened after PSG managed to claw back a late win against LOSC Lille earlier in the day. Behind (3-2) at the 86th minute, two late goals from Kylian Mbappé (87′) and Lionel Messi (90+5′) were enough to resuscitate Les Parisiens to collect three valuable points. With Le Classique playing out today, PSG could have entered next weekend’s top-of-the-league clash with just two points separating them in the table.

Marseille also endured a nervous finish to their game, albeit from a winning position. They went behind early, thanks to a Thijs Dallinga goal in the third minute, but took the reins during the second half and registered three goals to put them clear of Le Téfécé. They were shaken by an Ado Onaiwu goal in the 87th minute, but managed to keep their opposition at bay to retain their 2nd-place position. A loss for Marseille would have seen them leapfrogged by Mediterranean rivals AS Monaco, who also won earlier on Sunday.

After coming last in Champions League Group D, Marseille are out of European competition this season. But their determination for glory in domestic competitions remains undeterred. After their match against PSG tonight, they face Ligue 2’s Annecy in the Coupe de France quarter-final three days later – a competition that they have not won since 1989.

GFFN | Brendan Cox