OLIVER HOLT IN TAMPA: If this game represented anything‚ it represented the beginning of hope. Because however much we try to quell it‚ the hope always takes hold. There are 11 days until England's opening game of the World Cup against Croatia in Dallas but there is enough talent in this squad to let the hope flourish and to clutch at the tentative signs of encouragement on view here. Harry Kane played‚ Harry Kane scored and Harry Kane was not injured. That was the best news because without Kane‚ there probably is no hope. Him staying healthy was more important than him scoring the 79th goal of his England career in his 113th appearance.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as England get their final World Cup preparation underway in Tampa‚ Florida‚ with Oliver Holt‚ Craig Hope and Mike Keegan reporting from the ground.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as PSG take on Arsenal in the 2025-26 Champions League final at the Puskas Arena in Budapest‚ with Oliver Holt‚ Ian Ladyman and Isaan Khan reporting from the ground.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Bournemouth welcome Manchester City to the Vitality Stadium in the Premier League‚ with Oliver Holt and Jack Gaughan reporting from the ground.

OLIVER HOLT AT THE EMIRATES: And then there was one. Just one more obstacle for Arsenal. Just one more ordeal. Just one more river to cross. Crystal Palace await in south London on Sunday afternoon and if Arsenal win there‚ the Premier League title will be theirs. It does not matter what Manchester City do against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Tuesday evening. It does not matter what they do against Aston Villa on Sunday at the Etihad. If Arsenal hold their nerve one last time at Selhurst Park‚ the title will be theirs. They only scraped past relegated Burnley at the Emirates. They crawled over the line courtesy of a majestic first half header from Kai Havertz from a Bukayo Saka corner. Maybe some will call them Set Piece FC again but they will not care about that.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Chelsea and Manchester City clash at Wembley in the FA Cup final‚ with Oliver Holt‚ Kieran Gill and Jack Gaughan reporting from the ground.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates from this Sunday's Premier League fixtures including West Ham vs Arsenal‚ Nottingham Forest vs Newcastle‚ Burnley vs Aston Villa and Crystal Palace vs Everton. With Oliver Holt‚ Isaan Khan‚ Gethin Hicks‚ Nathan Salt and Tom Collomosse reporting from the grounds.

ARSENAL 1-0 ATLETICO MADRID (2-1 AGG) -OLIVER HOLT AT THE EMIRATES: They had turned the flights of steps at the front of the Emirates into an impersonation of the old terraces on which another generation of Arsenal fans once stood.

Follow Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Arsenal host Atletico Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final‚ with the Gunners aiming to reach their first top-tier European final in 20 years. Oliver Holt‚ Ian Ladyman and Isaan Khan report from the ground.

OLIVER HOLT AT STAMFORD BRIDGE: It was suggested before the game that Vitor Pereira‚ the manager of relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest‚ had taken a huge gamble by resting his best players for the Europa League semi-final second leg against Aston Villa on Thursday and playing a second team against Chelsea instead. Well‚ the second team was plenty good enough. Chelsea were so pathetic in this shambling 3-1 defeat that Forest's third team would probably have got the job done as well. And if Forest had a fourth team‚ I'd have backed them to beat this sorry rabble in blue‚ too. Chelsea were that bad. Stamford Bridge was as quiet and as subdued as I have ever heard it. I'm afraid that this is what happens when you have a club hierarchy‚ with its two co-owners and its five sporting directors‚ so inept‚ incompetent and confused‚ that they fire Liam Rosenior and entrust their last chance of qualifying for the Champions League‚ a prize worth more than £100m‚ to a novice temporary boss who has not even completed his coaching badges.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Chelsea welcome Nottingham Forest to Stamford Bridge in the Premier League ‚ with Oliver Holt and Kieran Gill reporting from the ground.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Arsenal host Fulham at the Emirates in the Premier League with Oliver Holt and Isann Khan reporting from the grounds.

ATLETICO MADRID 1-1 ARSENAL - OLIVER HOLT IN MADRID: Football spent most of Wednesday catching its breath. After the light-show in the Parc des Princes between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich on Tuesday night‚ after the fantasy football laid on by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia‚ Ousmane Dembele‚ Michael Olise‚ Harry Kane‚ Desire Doue and Luis Diaz‚ the baton was passed. 'Follow that‚' Atletico Madrid and Arsenal were told.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Atletico Madrid host Arsenal in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final at the Metropolitano‚ with Oliver Holt and Isaan Khan reporting from the ground.

OLIVER HOLT: It is a feeling that approaches certainty. It is a feeling of pride in its team and an expectation that it will win. You could feel it Barcelona when Pep Guardiola was the manager there. You could feel it in Madrid in the days of Ronaldo and Benzema. You could feel it in Manchester when Sir Alex Ferguson 's side was the best in Europe.

OLIVER HOLT AT WEMBLEY: Enzo Fernandez is enough of an unprepossessing individual that‚ at the start of this month‚ he was banned for two matches by his own club but he is still capable of being a very fine footballer for Chelsea when the mood takes him. On Sunday afternoon at Wembley‚ the mood took him. The histrionics of some of his team-mates - Moises Caicedo and Pedro Neto deserve special mention - might have made the unflinching heroes of Chelsea's FA Cup winning team of 1970 weep in despair. But Fernandez played with the kind of unrelenting steel and unremitting excellence that would have allowed him to hold his own amid the blood and thunder of earlier eras and it was fitting that it was his first half header that took Chelsea to the FA Cup Final‚ where they will meet Manchester City on May 16.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Chelsea take on Leeds at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final‚ with Oliver Holt‚ Kieran Gill and Tom Collomosse reporting from the ground.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Manchester City host Arsenal in the Premier League‚ with Oliver Holt‚ Jack Gaughan and Isaan Khan reporting from the ground.

OLIVER HOLT: Forget the idea that Arsenal made club history on Wednesday night by reaching the Champions League semi-finals for the second year in succession. That is not the kind of history to boast about.

ARSENAL 0-0 SPORTING (agg 1-0) - OLIVER HOLT AT THE EMIRATES: Outside the Clock End‚ where the Sporting supporters were streaming into the ground in their green and white hoops and the smoke of their flares turned the air acrid‚ some of the greats of Arsenal stared down on the scene from a giant mural. Tony Adams was there‚ leading the troops into battle‚ his shoulder to a cannon. David Rocastle was by his side. Martin Keown looked wide-eyed with aggression. Frank McLintock was there‚ too. It looked like one of those masterpieces of Soviet-era iconography‚ heroes of the proletariat coming to the aid of the motherland in its hour of need‚ square-jawed and upright‚ never doubting‚ never yielding.

OLIVER HOLT: Tony Adams is sitting at the head of a table in a downstairs room at a townhouse in Marylebone. He is wearing a purple suit and a white shirt. The man looks dapper. He looks flamboyant. He looks happy. He looks well. He will be 60 later this year. He says he has decided against a big party with former team-mates and older friends and family. He has decided against razzamatazz. Instead‚ he is opting for a night with a dozen people who have played different roles in his road to recovery from alcoholism. Because this year is not just his 60th. On August 16th‚ It's his 30th‚ too. It is 30 years since he announced he was an alcoholic. It is 30 years since he went on a 44-day bender after England were knocked out of Euro 96. It is 30 years since he started to get his life back.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Arsenal host Bournemouth at the Emirates in the Premier League‚ with Oliver Holt and Isaan Khan reporting from the grounds.

OLIVER HOLT AT THE PARC DES PRINCES: This is a Liverpool weakened by internal strife and tortured by the growing antipathy of the fan-base towards manager Arne Slot and his beleaguered players.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as PSG host Liverpool at the Parc Des Princes in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie‚ with Oliver Holt reporting from the ground.

OLIVER HOLT: Sure‚ Liverpool may be struggling this season but they are still way ahead of the curve when it comes to their recovery from the departure of Klopp. The fact is‚ Slot's way ahead of the curve‚ too. He deserves credit‚ not brickbats‚ for the job he's done.

OLIVER HOLT AT ST MARY'S STADIUM: A beautiful story is unfolding on the south coast of England. Fifty years after their team of second tier underdogs pulled off one of the biggest shocks in FA Cup history by beating Manchester United in the final‚ Southampton are threatening to do it again. Their new incarnation of second tier underdogs are following match-winner Bobby Stokes and his teammates of 1976 into folklore by making it back to Wembley for the semi-finals half a century later. This time‚ their top tier victims were an Arsenal team whose season is shrinking. Until a fortnight ago‚ they were in pursuit of the Quadruple but they were humbled by City in the Carabao Cup a fortnight ago and last night they fell victim to one of the biggest giant-killings of the season in the competition's quarter-finals.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Arsenal take on Southampton at the St Mary's Stadium in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup‚ with Oliver Holt reporting from the ground.

OLIVER HOLT AT WEMBLEY: So this was farewell. This was the send-off. This was the last time a crowd will see England play until they touch down in Florida at the beginning of June and start the final stages of the build-up to their opening game of the World Cup against Croatia in Dallas on June 17. It was not a fond farewell. England did not take their leave of Wembley wreathed in laurels and serenaded with hosannas‚ put it that way. Ben White was booed again and Harry Kane was badly missed. So was Jude Bellingham. Maybe some people will start to wake up to just how important he is to this team one day. England attempted a lap of honour at the end but gave up half-way round. The crowd was quiet during the game‚ the players looked lethargic and‚ actually‚ rather apprehensive. The passing was disjointed. Some of the defending was naïve. And‚ as for players staking a final claim to a place on the plane to the USA‚ Canada and Mexico? None of the fringe candidates stepped forward.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as England welcome Japan to Wembley for an international friendly ahead of the 2026 World Cup‚ with Oliver Holt‚ Ian Ladyman‚ Craig Hope and Jack Gaughan reporting from the ground.

OLIVER HOLT AT WEMBLEY STADIUM: There are‚ apparently‚ 82 days until England begin their World Cup campaign against Croatia in Dallas on June 17. After this dirge of a football match‚ it was tempting to view them not as opportunity to hone a challenge but as a stay of execution. This was a dour night at Wembley‚ typified by the fact that England's goal‚ nine minutes from time‚ was met with a crescendo of boos when it became clear the ball had been prodded over the line by Ben White‚ recalled to the squad after walking out on England at the 2022 World Cup. England as World Cup favourites? Really? This may have been a second team but it was still a performance that did very little to suggest England have any momentum as they head towards the tournament. It is to be hoped Tuesday's match against Japan offers more shoots of hope.

OLIVER HOLT: Where were you when you heard Bill Shankly was quitting? They still ask old-timers that question sometimes on Merseyside.

OLIVER HOLT AT WEMBLEY: A gateway had opened for Arsenal in the last few weeks of this football season. When they arrived at Wembley on Sunday afternoon‚ there was a feeling that if they could march through it‚ then the promised land would open up before them and its bounty would be theirs to claim. The two best teams in the country cancelled each other out in a first-half notable only for its sterility but in the second-half‚ City overwhelmed the Premier League leaders.

OLIVER HOLT AT THE TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM: Tottenham Hotspur have set a low bar for reasons to be cheerful this season and on Wednesday night‚ they cleared it comfortably. Sure‚ they were knocked out of the Champions League round of 16 7-5 on aggregate by Atletico Madrid but‚ believe it or not‚ that was a sign that things are looking up quite considerably.

OLIVER HOLT AT THE LONDON STADIUM: Earlier on Saturday evening‚ Arsenal's clash with Everton at The Emirates was goalless as the game went into the last couple of minutes of normal time and then Jordan Pickford made a mistake‚ Viktor Gyokeres scored‚ and Max Dowman added another. Mikel Arteta celebrated as if he knew this could be a pivotal moment. That result left Arsenal 10 points clear. It also left City needing to beat West Ham United at the London Stadium to retain a realistic hope of catching Arteta's side. City took the lead through Bernardo Silva but West Ham pegged them back immediately through Konstantinos Mavropanos and‚ try as they might‚ City could not find a winner.

OLIVER HOLT: Manchester City skipper Bernardo Silva admitted his team's prospects of making it through to the Champions League quarter finals felt 'really dark' after Pep Guardiola's side was humbled by Real Madrid in Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. City fell to a crushing 3-0 defeat‚ and a stunning hat-trick by Federico Valverde‚ in this Round of 16 first leg tie that leaves them with a daunting task when they try to overcome it at the Etihad next Tuesday.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for tonight's Champions League ties featuring Real Madrid vs Manchester City and PSG vs Chelsea‚ with Oliver Holt and Kieran Gill reporting from the grounds.

OLIVER HOLT AT ONE CALL STADIUM: Just before kick-off‚ a man with an exceedingly long beard drifted expertly away from the group of sponsors walking off the pitch and sidled up to Gabriel Jesus ‚ Arsenal 's captain for the day.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Mansfield host Arsenal at the One Call Stadium in the fifth round of the FA Cup‚ with Oliver Holt reporting from the ground.

OLIVER HOLT: A strange kind of rage is consuming English football‚ an impotent fury simmering around the fact that Arsenal are heading for a first title in 22 years and that no one appears good enough to stop them.

OLIVER HOLT: It has already been widely established that Mikel Arteta and his Arsenal team are responsible for the ruination of English football‚ the desecration of the beautiful game and the top flight's obsession with set-pieces. The charge sheet against the Premier League leaders may swell soon to take in the loss of the Easter fixtures‚ the new fad of up-and-under kick-offs and the collapse of Adam Peaty's relationship with his parents. The Brighton fans even pinned the political performance of the Prime Minister on the league leaders in their fury at being unable to break down the Arsenal defence. 'Keir Starmer‚' they sang‚ as half-time approached‚ 'he's one of your own.'

OLIVER HOLT: 'There's something deep-lying that we need to get to the bottom of‚' Rosenior said. 'It's not about the punishment. It's about finding the reason why.' I can tell him the reason.

OLIVER HOLT AT THE EMIRATES: Arsenal celebrated St Totteringham's Day on Sunday. This year‚ it barely registered. The day in each season when it becomes mathematically impossible for Spurs to finish above their North London rivals came earlier than ever but no one at The Emirates cares too much about parochial squabbles this spring. There are bigger prizes on the line. All that mattered on this Sunday in Islington was beating Chelsea and restoring the five-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the Premier League as the title run-in starts in earnest. Arsenal were made to sweat for this 2-1 victory but their brilliance from set-pieces got the job done.

OLIVER HOLT AT HILL DICKINSON STADIUM: The resurrection of Manchester United under Michael Carrick continued on a damp‚ dank Monday evening on the banks of the Mersey when his club found a way to conquer new ground in enemy territory. United's scrappy‚ gutsy‚ hard-fought 1-0 victory was their fifth win in six games since Carrick took charge of the club and lifted them above Chelsea into fourth place in the Premier League. They are now only three points behind Aston Villa‚ who are third. It was United's first appearance at Everton's magnificent new Hill Dickinson Stadium and they did not waste any time breaking their duck here. It felt for a long time as if the match was drifting towards a draw but United ended that impression with a brilliant second-half break-away goal.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Everton host Manchester United at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in the Premier League‚ with Oliver Holt‚ Chris Wheeler and Nathan Salt reporting from the ground.

OLIVER HOLT: Strikers‚ more than any other players‚ thrive off confidence and Gyokeres is brimming with it now. Instead of being the player who could cost Arsenal the title‚ he might just be the guy who wins it for them.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Tottenham host Arsenal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Premier League‚ with Oliver Holt and Isaan Khan reporting from the ground.

OLIVER HOLT: There is something special about JJ Gabriel's talent that marks him out as one of the brightest young stars in the world game.

OLIVER HOLT AT THE GTECH STADIUM: Keith Andrews saw the Brentford equaliser hit the back of the net. He hurtled off the bench and leapt on the shoulders of Jordan Henderson‚ who was waiting to come on. His elation was for his team but his jump of joy may well have been re-enacted a couple of hundred miles to the north in Manchester. Keane Lewis-Potter's 71st minute goal meant two dropped points for Arsenal and signalled the rebirth of a title race that many had declared over when Liverpool went ahead against Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday. But City fought back to win that game and now Arsenal have faltered and Mikel Arteta's side only hold a four-point lead over City with 12 games left to go. City swept Fulham aside the Wednesday night and Arsenal's failure to do the same at the Gtech Community Stadium means the battle has been joined.

OLIVER HOLT: The United hierarchy got something right for once when they turned to Carrick for help. Don't ruin it now just when a sliver of light is appearing at the end of the tunnel.

OLIVER HOLT AT OLD TRAFFORD: An open-air service took place on the Old Trafford forecourt before kick-off to remember those who died in the Munich Air Disaster 68 years ago this week. Thousands stood beneath the Munich Clock and leaden skies and observed a minute's silence. A couple of lines from the Book of Ecclesiastes were read out to a few thousand supporters who had gathered there. 'A time to weep and a time to laugh‚' the words read‚ 'a time to mourn and a time to dance.' The words were beautifully read and beautifully observed. And some did weep as the names of the Busby Babes who perished were read out‚ and all mourned. And then the fans poured into a stadium where they have learned‚ in the past few weeks‚ how to laugh and to dance again.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Manchester United host Tottenham at Old Trafford in the Premier League‚ with Oliver Holt‚ Chris Wheeler and Nathan Salt reporting from the ground.

OLIVER HOLT AT EMIRATES STADIUM: The steam rose from the players on a grim winter night at the Emirates. The rain fell in a relentless downpour and the cold bit through the padded jackets of the supporters. On the touchline‚ the Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior urged his players on and on. He was so drenched he had to take off his glasses so he could see properly. They had become windscreens without wipers. But when the steam lifted and everyone could see‚ Kai Havertz had scored a late‚ late winner that made the tie safe and Mikel Arteta and his Arsenal side had survived an increasingly frenetic‚ tense and ill-tempered battle of attrition to advance to the Carabao Cup final next month.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Arsenal host Chelsea at the Emirates for the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final‚ with Oliver Holt‚ Kieran Gill and Isaan Khan reporting from the ground.

OLIVER HOLT AT THE TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM: Jose Mourinho being overcome by modesty. Harry Kane missing in front of goal. Arne Slot getting the credit he deserves at Liverpool. Roy Keane saying something nice about Michael Carrick. Chelsea buying a player over the age of 30. Every single one of them may seem so far-fetched as to be utterly laughable but‚ trust me‚ at half-time of Tottenham's game against Manchester City‚ none of them seemed as absurd as the notion that Spurs might rescue something from a game that had turned into an embarrassment for them. When the half-time whistle went‚ the boos rained down on the Spurs players as they trudged towards the tunnel. Two goals down‚ with the promise of more to come‚ they were heading into the eye of an humiliation. They were steeling themselves for the lampoons that were surely coming their way.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Tottenham welcome Manchester City to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Premier League‚ with Oliver Holt‚ Matt Barlow and Jack Gaughan reporting from the ground.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Leeds host Arsenal at Elland Road in the Premier League‚ with Oliver Holt and Isaan Khan reporting from the grounds.

ARSENAL 2-3 MAN UNITED - OLIVER HOLT AT THE EMIRATES: It is a while since The Emirates has been like this. It is a while since frustration gripped it and angst overcame it and fear stalked it. The crushing anxiety that accompanies the anticipation of old failings had stayed away from Arsenal's home this season but now it is back. And it may not go away again. What Sir Alex Ferguson called Squeaky Bum Time has come early to this part of North London. When Matheus Cunha scored Manchester United's winner three minutes from the end of normal time‚ the frustration of the Arsenal supporters boiled over. The ground became a tortured vision. A forest of hands pointing‚ a sea of heads shaking‚ a cacophony of angry voices yelling.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Arsenal host Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium with Oliver Holt‚ Isaan Khan and Chris Wheeler reporting from the ground.

OLIVER HOLT AT OLD TRAFFORD: There have been a number of false dawns at Manchester United over the last 13 years‚ a number of occasions when it felt as if the cloying‚ demeaning‚ desperate purgatory of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era might finally be drawing to a close. The night when they won the Europa League under Jose Mourinho in Stockholm in 2017 was one of those moments. The night at the Parc des Princes in March 2019 when they overturned a first-leg deficit to beat PSG in the Champions League Round of 16 was another. Maybe this will just be another of them. Maybe this afternoon of glorious pandemonium at Old Trafford and the giving of thanks for a magical 90 minutes in which United played Manchester City‚ their tormentors for much of the last decade‚ off the park will be a prelude to more misery.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Manchester United host Manchester City at Old Trafford in the Premier League‚ with Oliver Holt‚ Ian Ladyman and Chris Wheeler reporting from the grounds.

OLIVER HOLT AT STAMFORD BRIDGE: In the build-up‚ everything went beautifully. Liam Rosenior‚ Chelsea's new coach‚ stared out from the front cover of the programme for this Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Arsenal‚ looking thoughtful and studious and confident in a smart jacket and a casual shirt on the occasion of his first match in charge at Stamford Bridge. If body language is important‚ then Rosenior struck all the right notes. As his players walked back to the tunnel after their pre-match warm-up‚ Rosenior was waiting for them on the touchline‚ shaking hands with every one of the squad as they passed him‚ and his backroom staff‚ too. Then‚ when the stadium joined in a minute's applause for former Chelsea left-back Eddie McCreadie‚ who died this week‚ Rosenior beckoned all the substitutes to join him and his staff on the touchline to pay tribute to a legend of the club.

OLIVER HOLT AT FRATTON PARK: This was football without the mute button. This was football unsanitised. This was football‚ raw and testing‚ and ragged and exposed at one of the most evocative and atmospheric grounds in the country. This was a place where Pompey Sailor Kevin strutted around the pitch before the start in a sailor suit‚ holding up a sign reading 'Play Up Pompey'‚ and gently riling the visiting supporters in their section behind one of the goals.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Portsmouth welcome Arsenal to Fratton Park in the FA Cup‚ with Oliver Holt reporting from the grounds.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Charlton host Chelsea at The Valley in the FA Cup‚ with Oliver Holt reporting from the grounds.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as leaders Arsenal host champions Liverpool in the Premier League at the Emirates with Oliver Holt‚ Isaan Khan and Lewis Steele eporting from the ground.

OLIVER HOLT AT THE LONDON STADIUM: In the bitter cold of an aast London night‚ the walk from Stratford tube station through the sleet across the winter wasteland of the Olympic Park‚ to the unloved bowl of the London Stadium‚ had rarely felt bleaker than it did on Tuesday night. There were rumours that 15‚000 tickets had been sent to resale sites by disillusioned West Ham United fans and inside the arena that once hosted Super Saturday‚ the swathes of empty seats suggested the home supporters were treating this as a Terrible Tuesday. And so it came to pass.

OLIVER HOLT AT THE ETIHAD: When Liam Rosenior takes over at Chelsea this week‚ he will inherit a club that sits 17 points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal and is level-pegging with Manchester United in a struggle for the last place in the top five that is a contest between two of the three most dysfunctional clubs in the division. The other is West Ham. The top five does not concern them. He will discover a club marshalled superbly by U21 coach Calum McFarlane in his caretaker role‚ a coach who will be able to say he was the equal of Guardiola on his first venture to a Premier League touchline.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Manchester City welcome Chelsea to the Etihad in the Premier League‚ with Oliver Holt‚ Jack Gaughan and Kieran Gill reporting from the grounds.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Liverpool welcome Leeds United to Anfield in the Premier League with Oliver Holt reporting from the ground.

OLIVER HOLT AT THE EMIRATES STADIUM: Arsenal have waited too long for a shot at the Premier League title to let a fairytale get in the way of their dreams. Aston Villa had turned up in north London on Tuesday night on the back of a surge of victories that has revived memories of Leicester City's miracle Premier League triumph a decade ago. But they left with their ambitions shattered and their 11-game winning run brought to a brutal end by an Arsenal side that survived a difficult first half and then crushed their opponents.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Aston Villa travel to the Emirates Stadium to take on Arsenal in the Premier League‚ with Oliver Holt and Isaan Khan reporting from the grounds.

OLIVER HOLT AT STAMFORD BRIDGE: The sign on the back row of the Stamford Bridge press box shows a picture of a man sitting down with a red line drawn through him. 'Back Row Seating is Prohibited‚' the sign says. Two minutes before kick-off‚ Enzo Maresca took his seat there. For the next 90 minutes‚ Maresca went through agonies in that seat as an Aston Villa side that is the irresistible force of the Premier League executed a classic rope-a-dope on his Chelsea team and moved right back into the heart of the title race with Arsenal and Manchester City. After being totally outclassed by Chelsea in the opening 45 minutes‚ a second half triple substitution by Villa boss Unai Emery changed the game.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Aston Villa travel to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea in the Premier League‚ with Oliver Holt and Kieran Gill reporting from the grounds.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Chelsea host Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League‚ with Oliver Holt‚ Kieran Gill and Isaan Khan reporting from the ground.

OLIVER HOLT: When Arne Slot took over at Liverpool before the start of last season‚ he pressed pause on the period of transition that usually takes place at a club when a great manager like Jurgen Klopp leaves.

OLIVER HOLT AT STAMFORD BRIDGE: No one ever forgets where they were the first time they saw Lionel Messi play live. In my case‚ it was here in west London on a Wednesday night in February 2006. Messi was still only 18 that night when he came out in the colours of Barcelona . He had long hair‚ magic feet and an unmistakable aura of greatness.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Barcelona take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League ‚ plus action from the other games‚ including Marseille vs Newcastle and Manchester City vs Bayer Leverkusen - with Oliver Holt‚ Craig Hope‚ Kieran Gill and Jack Gaughan reporting from the grounds.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Arsenal welcome Tottenham to the Emirates Stadium in the Premier League‚ with Oliver Holt‚ Ian Ladyman and Isaan Khan reporting from the grounds.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as England host Serbia at Wembley in a World Cup qualifier game‚ with Oliver Holt‚ Ian Ladyman and Craig Hope reporting from the grounds.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Manchester City host Liverpool at the Etihad in the Premier League‚ with Oliver Holt‚ Ian Ladyman‚ Jack Gaughan and Lewis Steele reporting from the grounds.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Manchester City host Borussia Dortmund at the Etihad‚ whilst Newcastle welcome Athletic Bilbao to St James' Park in the Champions League‚ with Jack Gaughan and Oliver Holt reporting from the grounds.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Liverpool welcome Real Madrid to Anfield as Tottenham play host to Copenhagen at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Champions League‚ with Oliver Holt‚ Ian Ladyman and Matt Barlow reporting from the grounds.

Spence and Micky van de Ven stole the headlines when they blanked Frank‚ refusing his handshake and leaving him alone on the turf. A worrying sign‚ as Oliver Holt has written. Now‚ an expert lip-reader has told the Daily Mail what Spence said as he vented at his boss and damaged the team's image of unity.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Chelsea host London rival Tottenham at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League‚ with Oliver Holt and Kieran Gill reporting from the ground.

OLIVER HOLT: For two decades‚ the criticism aimed at Arsenal for their attempts to play beautiful football has been so withering it turned some players into stone and left them broken and in ruins.

OLIVER HOLT: The Premier League and their principal broadcast partners‚ Sky Sports and TNT Sports‚ represent an axis of greed that is laying waste to the traditions of English football that millions of supporters hold dear.

OLIVER HOLT AT THE GTECH COMMUNITY STADIUM: When they were kings‚ when they were rulers of England and Europe‚ when they carried all before them‚ Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah‚ looked to Jordan Henderson as their leader‚ the captain who drove them with a relentless hunger that never dimmed. Van Dijk and Salah have stayed at Anfield and won fresh honours but on Tuesday night‚ the odyssey on which Henderson embarked two years ago brought him up against the friends and teammates he won titles with for the first time. Henderson's travels have taken him to Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia and to the once mighty Ajax of Amsterdam and there were times before he arrived at Brentford in the summer when people thought his career was fast ebbing away.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Brentford welcome Liverpool to the Gtech Community Stadium in the Premier League‚ with Oliver Holt and Lewis Steele reporting from the ground.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ teams news and updates as Liverpool welcome Manchester United to Anfield in the Premier League‚ with Oliver Holt and Lewis Steele reporting from the ground.

Thomas Tuchel is walking a tightrope with England fans - like many of his predecessors - but here's why he might just be the exception‚ writes OLIVER HOLT

England will travel to next year's World Cup with genuine hopes of making the final - and now the squad debate begins after 5-0 thrashing of Latvia‚ writes OLIVER HOLT

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as England host Wales at Wembley in a friendly clash for the October international break‚ with Oliver Holt‚ Ian Ladyman and Jack Gaughan reporting from the ground.

Jude Bellingham in an England shirt screams entitlement - if he wants back he'll have to prove to Thomas Tuchel he's a team player‚ writes OLIVER HOLT

Arsenal crawled over the line in their 2-0 victory over Olympiacos as much-changed Gunners nearly pay the price for wasted chances‚ writes OLIVER HOLT

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest scores‚ team news‚ and updates as Arsenal vs Olympiacos and Monaco vs Manchester City headline the action in the Champions League‚ with Oliver Holt‚ Isaan Khan and Jack Gaughan reporting from the grounds.

Lionel Messi: Almost all over - or back into the light? OLIVER HOLT watches the GOAT and speaks to those around him as World Cup doubts emerge

Liverpool survive late scare to keep up perfect record as Jack Grealish-inspired Everton come up short in Merseyside derby‚ writes OLIVER HOLT

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Liverpool host Everton at Anfield in the Premier League‚ with Lewis Steele and Oliver Holt reporting from the ground.

OLIVER HOLT: When Erling Haaland smashed the record for the quickest player to reach 50 Champions League goals on Wednesday night - just 49 games for the relentless Norwegian - it sparked a debate about where Manchester City 's lethal forward stands in the list of all-time great strikers.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score‚ team news and updates as Chelsea travel to Bayern Munich in the Champions League ‚ with Oliver Holt and Kieran Gill reporting from the ground.