Premier League news live (2024)

News

• Man Utd defeat Man City 2-1 in FA Cup final
• Ten Hag says he will ‘go somewhere else to win trophies’ if he leaves Man Utd
• Southampton promoted back to Premier League
• Man United make contact with McKenna
• Rooney named Plymouth head coach

Features

• Why would an emerging coach want the Chelsea job?
• 'Thank you, legend' - Real Madrid's farewell to Kroos
• Xavi's exit a sad conclusion for a club legend
• Why do Bayern want Kompany?

Benfica have triggered a buy option to make their loan transfer of Manchester United left-back Alvaro Fernandez permanent.

Fernandez, 21, has made 13 appearances for Benfica since joining on loan from United in the January transfer window.

The Athletic reported earlier this month that Benfica were set to trigger the defender’s release clause.

More below

Daniel Farke insisted it was not the time for “upbeat messages” but said Leeds United were prepared for a second season in the Championship after defeat in the play-off final.

Leeds’ record of failing to win promotion via the play-offs extended to six attempts as a first-half goal from Adam Armstrong gave Southampton a 1-0 win at Wembley today.

United amassed 90 points over the regular season but missed a big opportunity to go up automatically to the Premier League and are now preparing for another campaign in the English Football League (EFL).

Farke, who signed a four-year contract with the club last summer, is expected to stay on as manager but Leeds will be forced into selling certain players in the transfer window, to balance the books and remain compliant with profitability and sustainability rules.

The German, who said Southampton had been “more effective” over 90 minutes, avoided discussing the 12 months ahead, saying: “To be honest, after you lose the final, it would be too early to be there with upbeat messages. Everyone suffers and is disappointed, with many tears on the pitch and in the dressing room.

More below

Southampton will sign Manchester City loanee Taylor Harwood-Bellis on a permanent deal for £20million following their play-off final win over Leeds United.

Promotion for Russell Martin’s side triggered an obligation to buy clause in the 22-year-old’s St Mary’s contract.

The defender has played a key role in Southampton’s promotion campaign, with 46 appearances this season including Sunday’s play-off victory at Wembley.

More below

Southampton secured promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking with a 1-0 victory over Leeds United in the Championship play-off final on Sunday.

The south-coast club were relegated from the top flight at the end of 2022-23 but will now join Leicester City and Ipswich Town in the Premier League next season.

It means more play-off pain for Leeds, with this a sixth consecutive time they have failed to go up via that route.

As well as the prestige of achieving promotion to the top flight, accounting firm Deloitte indicates Southampton will experience a revenue increase of at least £140million ($178m) over the next three seasons.

This boost could exceed £305m if they avoid relegation after their first season in the Premier League.

More below

Southampton go marching back into the Premier League after overcoming Leeds United in a battle of wills in the Championship play-off final.

Russell Martin’s side, who tumbled out of the top flight alongside Leeds last season, reigned supreme in the match dubbed ‘the most lucrative’ in football, winning promotion and an expected revenue increase of at least £140million ($178m) over the next three seasons.

Adam Armstrong’s first-half strike proved the difference as Southampton held Leeds at arm’s length at Wembley Stadium and they can now look forward to Premier League football in 2024-25, while Leeds will have to construct a Championship escape plan all over again.

Nancy Froston and Phil Hay break down how the play-off final was won.

Twenty-three minutes in and Southampton are 1-0 in the Championship playoff final!

Striker Adam Armstrong capitalises on some weak defending from the Leeds' back four, breaks through on goal, and finishes expertly past Ilian Meslier for his 24th goal of the season.

23' - Leeds 0 - 1 Southampton

Kyle Walker says Manchester City's Premier League title celebrations had no impact on their FA Cup final performance against Manchester United on Saturday.

City missed the opportunity to become the first team in the history of English football to win back-to-back league and cup doubles after a 2-1 defeat at Wembley.

Teenagers Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo netted first-half goals to put United in command. Jeremy Doku scored what proved to be a consolation effort late on.

Five days earlier, several City players — including Jack Grealish and Kevin De Bruyne — were pictured exiting a Manchester bar in the early hours of Monday morning after celebrating the club's fourth successive league title with staff and family.

“We celebrated on Sunday, this was Saturday. It’s six days. If us athletes can’t recover in six days there’s no chance for anyone," said Walker.

“We had to take that moment on Sunday because if we’re celebrating now, on a downer, it won’t feel right.

“The moment was right. The club, the players and staff made that decision. Let’s not blame that.”

USWNT captain and Lyon midfielder Lindsey Horan says that yesterday’s Women’s Champions League final was a “sign of where women’s football is going.”

Horan, 30, stated her side’s 2-0 defeat to Barcelona at the San Memes stadium. Goals from Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas secured Barcelona’s second consecutive Champions League victory.

However, despite the defeat, Horan believes that the game being played in front of a record crowd of 50,827 people was a step in the right direction for the women’s game.

She said: “Well, I hope everyone in the world is watching today. I think you see the atmosphere and yes, again, I know a lot of it is Barca fans.

“You see the atmosphere, you see a sellout crowd. I'm hoping the viewership is amazing. I think again, it's just a sign of where women's football is going. We have to be proud of that in general.

“I hope in a positive light, it was an entertaining game fo the fans. We have to go back, work hard and make sure that we stay on top.”

More on Barcelona's Champions League victory below

What a strange set of emotions Manchester City fans, players and staff will wake up with on Sunday morning.

Those back in Manchester will be gearing up for a bus-top parade around the city, an opportunity to celebrate the magnificent achievement of winning four Premier League titles in a row, a feat that was enjoyed long into the night just six days ago.

And yet there is the sickening feeling of not just losing a final, but one that was a Manchester derby.

Of not just losing a Manchester derby, but a final. There is no escaping that gut-wrench, especially against this Manchester United team, one of which so little was expected on the day by so many.

Full story below

Entire football seasons can turn on split seconds of action. Leeds United know from bitter experience that play-off games can turn on split seconds too.

There they were last Thursday, in the second leg of their Championship semi-final against Norwich City, with nasty shades of 2019: the same stadium, the same end of the ground, the same aggregate lead and not far off the same position on the pitch where it went up in flames at home to Derby County five years earlier.

Josh Sargent clean through, he and Illan Meslier one-on-one, Leeds 2-0 up and Norwich with their first glimpse of any hope at Elland Road. Two-nil is security; 2-1 is all bets off.

From any vantage point, Meslier’s save was a gem.

But how did the blur of Sargent’s attack feel to him?

What did he see and how did he execute his technique perfectly?

Was any of it luck?

Or was it pure goalkeeping excellence?

Let's find out

In the Netherlands, they would call it a ‘rampjaar’. Translation: a ‘disaster year’.

The phrase dates back to 1672, a time of conflict, division and political instability in the low countries during the Franco-Dutch War.

A time so bad that, at its darkest point, the Dutch ate their prime minister.

Erik ten Hag was always going to avoid that grim fate whatever happened at Wembley, but that is exactly how Manchester United’s season was being viewed at around 2.59pm on Saturday afternoon as they prepared to take on Manchester City.

An annus horribilis. A disaster year. A rampjaar.

Full story below

For Kylian Mbappe, the 90 minutes of his last appearance for Paris Saint-Germain will have felt like a blur.

From the moment a ball was kicked in the Coupe de France final, the intensity of the occasion will have taken over. It would be a mirror of his seven years at the club, now faded into memory.

But not everything will have passed so quickly, and that is not always helpful when clearing the mind for battle in a major cup final.

Indeed, the moments leading up to his last dance, when sat in the dressing room at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille, waiting for the start of the Coupe de France final against Lyon, would drag.

Time weighs heavily when the ending finally comes into view.

Full story below

Xavi says he would like to return to Barcelona in the future, despite being sacked by the club on Friday.

The 44-year-old was dismissed a month after it was announced he would be staying on as head coach, having previously decided to step down at the end of the season.

When asked whether he would consider coaching the Camp Nou club in the future, he said: “Yes, I would like a return, why not?"

Read what Xavi had to say in full below.

Plymouth Argyle have confirmed the appointment of Wayne Rooney as their new head coach.

Rooney, 38, has been out of management since he was sacked by Birmingham City after just 83 days in charge of the Championship club.

The ex-Manchester United and England striker succeeds former Plymouth manager Ian Foster, who was dismissed in April after less than three months at the helm. Plymouth finished 20th in their first season since 2009-10 back in the Championship, one place above the drop zone.

There were 20 injuries, including eight police officers, after rival ultra groups of Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon clashed ahead of Saturday night's Coupe de France final.

The incident took place at a toll both on the A1 motorway near Arras, around 40km from the Pierre-Mauroy stadium in Lille, where the final was staged.

Local police have reported that around 100 individuals were involved and that all the injuries were minor, with the incident starting as both sets of ultras pulled up to the toll booth simultaneously. A brawl broke out between the groups, which saw one bus burned and four others damaged, alongside multiple minor injuries.

Read the full story below.

Manchester United will play in next season’s Europa League following their FA Cup final victory, with Chelsea dropping to the third-tier Conference League and Newcastle United missing out on European football entirely.

Manchester United’s eighth-placed Premier League finish was their lowest final top-flight league position since 1990 and insufficient to qualify for European football, but yesterday's 2-1 win at Wembley over Premier League champions Manchester City has ensured passage into the Europa League as FA Cup winners.

The Premier League has seven European spots for the 2024-25 season: four teams in the Champions League, two places for the Europa League and one for the Conference League.

Read the full breakdown of 2024-25 European places for Premier League clubs below.

Erik ten Hag said he will “go somewhere else to win trophies, because that is what I do” if Manchester United decide to part ways with the manager.

Ten Hag, 54, was speaking after his side’s FA Cup final victory over Manchester City — the build-up to which was dominated by uncertainty around his future. United have sounded out potential candidates should they part company with Ten Hag, but the Dutchman was bullish in his post-match analysis.

United’s manager said the FA Cup final victory will allow him “to enjoy the summer” after it concluded a difficult season in which the club finished eighth in the Premier League — their lowest top-flight finish in 34 years — and a Champions League group stage exit.

Read what Ten Hag had to say after yesterday's FA Cup triumph.

Manchester United will conduct a season review next week — including the performance of manager Erik ten Hag — before deciding on next steps for the football club.

The build-up to United’s 2-1 victory over Manchester City in Saturday’s FA Cup final was dominated by questions over Ten Hag’s future, with the manager admitting afterwards that he “didn’t know” whether it was his last match in charge.

United have already begun contacting other candidates, including Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna, as they explore possible replacements for Ten Hag but have always insisted no final decision has yet been made on the Dutchman’s future.

• How Erik ten Hag got his tactical approach right
• Mainoo’s goal: the anatomy of a cup-final classic
• How United exploited City’s high line
• What went wrong for City?

Read our full analysis of a memorable day for the red half of Manchester.