Mikel Arteta keeps cool, Jacob Murphy proves his worth and Elijah Adebayo states his case for a top-flight stay From touchline handbags in London with his manager a week ago to this: an individual performance of verve and efficiency to go with collective success, Mohamed Salah smiling once again. Much has been written and said about the Egyptian forward, of his recent struggles, future and behaviour. But a career as storied as his requires him to put aside the noise and go again, an internal wiring that is present among only the best. Salah was electric against Tottenham, striking the bar with ..read more

Two years ago Newcastle defeated Burnley to send them down to the Championship and the Clarets’ 22nd loss of this season felt like having the same result this time around as the hosts capitulated. Once Callum Wilson opened the scoring there was no way back for Vincent Kompany’s side who were completely outclassed, suffering at the feet of Newcastle’s wingers, Jacob Murphy and Anthony Gordon, who helped move the visitors up to sixth. Burnley are five points from safety with two games to play and only the greatest of optimists thinks they have a chance of extricating themselves ..read more

Elijah Adebayo’s return boosts Luton, Wolves seek another City shock and Alexander Isak eyes golden boot Friday night’s clash between deeply imperilled Luton and newly safe Everton ought to mean contrasting moods among the two sets of supporters at Kenilworth Road. Still, off-field alarms at Everton are likely to dampen the mood in the away end despite the impressive three straight wins that have delivered safety for Sean Dyche’s side. Luton’s much-admired campaign against the drop, by contrast, looks as if it is running out of road yet this well-run club have less to fear from relegation than ..read more

Erling Haaland grabs vital goal, Richard Masters gets a Molineux earful and Brighton’s season fades out Ange Postecoglou found enough blue sky in the Spurs squad he inherited to make a pair of sailor’s trousers out of the opening 10 games of the season. The rest of the season since then feels like a return to the mean. Spurs would currently be eighth in the Premier League if their form outside of that supercharged start was rolled out across an entire season. Fifth place is probably above par for this miscellaneous group of players and the manager’s own first look at the league. And while defe ..read more

Sheffield United are presumably relieved that their next league assignment in the north-east will be at Sunderland or Middlesbrough. Long before the final whistle brought confirmation of a relegation to the Championship that Chris Wilder had already deemed inevitable, his players had seen more than enough of Newcastle and the excellent and electric Alexander Isak in particular. Thirteen of the Premier League goals scored by Newcastle this season have arrived against the Blades and the latest quintet, with two registered by Isak, enhanced their hopes of hosting European nights this autumn ..read more

Newcastle manager wants to build team around midfielder PSG and both Manchester clubs admire Brazil international Eddie Howe has revealed that Bruno Guimarães’s £100m release clause expires in the final days of June and hopes that will save Newcastle from a summer of transfer speculation centred on their Brazil midfielder. “Having that was well planned and structured in the sense that there’s a finish point,” said Newcastle’s manager, who almost certainly has Dan Ashworth, the Manchester United-bound sporting director, to thank for inserting the cutoff when Guimarães’s contract was renegotia ..read more

Liverpool await a dead-ball salvo, Luton have to keep their chins up and things could get spicy at City Ground David Moyes will surely have taken note of Liverpool’s struggle to defend set pieces against Everton. Jürgen Klopp, who must be delighted with a 12.30pm kick-off on Saturday, should prepare his team for another bruising test when they visit West Ham. For Moyes, this is a chance to repair the sizeable damage to his reputation caused by last weekend’s collapse at Selhurst Park. West Ham were 4-0 down to Palace after 31 minutes and are preparing to part company with Moyes at the end of t ..read more

It’s a question most Crystal Palace supporters and perhaps even Roy Hodgson must be wondering – what would this season have been like if Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise had not spent the vast majority of it on the treatment table? A third successive victory for Oliver Glasner’s side thanks to Jean-Philippe Mateta’s 10th and 11th goals of the season ended Newcastle’s recent revival and left Eddie Howe’s side knowing they face a battle to secure European football again. It had been almost exactly a year since Palace last won three in a row after Hodgson returned to replace Patrick Vieira in a bla ..read more

Newcastle’s manager a long-term admirer of the Swede who is now back to full fitness to spearhead European qualification Alexander Isak was back on the pitch at St James’ Park last week, posing languidly alongside a Formula E car as cameras whirred and a commercial film shoot began. Isak does languid very well, but that was not why Saudia, the national airline of Saudi Arabia and a key sponsor of both Newcastle United and Formula E, decided the club’s Sweden striker was the right choice to drape his rangy limbs over a cutting edge, all electric, racing car. After becoming the first Newcastle f ..read more

Manchester United snatch chaos from jaws of serenity, Nicolas Jackson misfires and Liverpool stay in hunt Jammy, jammy Man United. To be fair, they did find a new way to be hopeless. Instead of the usual mayhem, they were in total control for 70 minutes, barely letting Coventry have a shot. But then, somehow, they snatched chaos from the jaws of serenity. ITV, and all their teatime viewers, couldn’t believe their luck as a cakewalk turned into a classic. United threw away a 3-0 lead, and for a minute, right at the end of extra time, they were 4-3 down – only for the VAR to come to their rescue ..read more