Pro Soccer News

Unai Emery is in the perfect place to thrive at Aston Villa. When he was appointed as Steven Gerrard’s successor in November 2022, Villa were 14th and three points above the Premier League relegation zone. Now, Emery is on the verge of taking the club to the next level as they edge closer to Champions League qualification and ending a 28-year trophy drought.

Independence soccer has 11 shutouts through 15 games, but goalkeeper Miles Kipley's impact has been felt almost as much on offense as on defense.

While you can't particularly grumble about losing to a team of Liverpool's quality, Fulham's performance in the second half after working so hard to get the equaliser before half-time was a bit disappointing on Sunday. Marco Silva made one enforced change for the game as Willian dropped out for Bobby Decordova-Reid because of a minor injury. Willian has been a revelation since joining Fulham and on Sunday it was evident how reliant we are on him, particularly against sides higher up the league.

For much of this season, Leeds United have employed possession-based tactics, but after Middlesbrough won the arm wrestle for the ball in a crazy first half at the Riverside Stadium on Monday, Daniel Farke's tactics changed. “We said at half-time we don't want to be in a basketball game the whole match," striker Patrick Bamford said after the game. Without a victory in three matches, United had been accused of being predictable and of having trouble breaking teams down that sit back against them.

It has been a season with very little to cheer about, but two moments of joy have come in the games against our rivals for the league's wooden spoon: Sheffield United have lost both games to us, conceding nine goals along the way. Now I understand the raised eyebrows.

Saturday was a great day to be a Brentford fan as we secured another season in the Premier League – barring a massive set of improbable results. With Bryan Mbeumo outstanding in the front three and Ethan Pinnock imperious at the back, and even in front of goal too, it showed just what we can do with a much stronger side. It was clear the players and staff now think we are safe and the post-match scenes were reminiscent of those at Watford at a similar stage of our first Premier League season, when again an away victory secured our survival.

There is no time to stop and regret the weekend's mistakes for Chelsea and their staff. It feels like they only just stepped off the pitch after another heart-breaking defeat - this time against Manchester City - but they are back in action already when they go to Arsenal in the Premier League later. Mauricio Pochettino refused to complain about this scheduling, taking the high road while other coaches get in the mud battling with the FA and those behind the scenes making the decisions.

There is no doubt David Moyes has overseen one of the most successful eras in the club's modern history over the past four years. When he does leave, he should go down as a West Ham hero, and some may argue he deserves legend status for the way in which he has positively impacted our club. The likes of Alan Shearer and Stuart Pearce have both resorted to "be careful what you wish for" statements in recent weeks, suggesting West Ham fans have no right to be looking for more than what they are currently getting.

Arsenal’s progress this season is clear, even if they again fall short up against the behemoth that is Manchester City. The Gunners were controlled and convincing in their 2-0 win over Wolves on Saturday, and made it six Premier League away games in a row without conceding a goal. This defensive record is achieved through brilliant defending from the front but standing at the base is David Raya, a summer signing to which many raised their eyebrows.

Former Galaxy midfielder Eddie Lewis has built a post-career business with TOCA Football, a technology-based training platform growing in popularity.

Winger Nathaniel Mendez-Laing anticipates a week of "sleepless nights" as Derby County prepare to try to clinch promotion on the final day of the season. Mendez-Laing scored the winning goal at Cambridge United on Saturday to put the Rams on the verge of a Championship return. "It's exciting," Mendez-Laing told BBC Radio Derby.

Leon Balogun says Rangers showed their "resilience" to shut out Hearts and progress to the Scottish Cup final. "It felt good to be out there and show some resilience with a clean sheet," the 35-year-old said. Having gone three games without a win in the league, Balogun says it would have been "easy to watch those games back and feel sorry for yourself".

Plymouth director of football Neil Dewsnip says facing former boss Steven Schumacher at Stoke was not a distraction for his side.

United spent £85m on the Brazilian and he has not scored a single Premier League goal this season

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has accused Nottingham Forest of lacking "class" after the club launched a blistering attack on referees chiefs following Sunday's Premier League defeat at Everton."Stuart Attwell and Anthony Taylor (the referee) have had an horrific day today, awful, and they should be rightly criticised for that and that could have real implications for Nottingham Forest," said Carragher, now a Sky Sports pundit.

Relegation-threatened club are likely to be charged by the FA for bringing the game into disrepute

In August, Nottingham Forest lodged a complaint with the PGMOL over the performance of the officials in their 3-2 defeat at Manchester United. Then in March, Mark Clattenburg - the former referee who is the Reds' referee analyst - criticised the officiating in the build-up to Liverpool's dramatic winner at the City Ground. On Sunday night, the Daily Mail's website published a column by Clattenburg defending the club's response to the decisions made during the defeat at Everton.

Former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha says he "understands Nottingham Forest's frustration" after a club statement claimed they "warned" PGMOL that "the VAR is a Luton fan" before Sunday's defeat at Everton. The video assistant referee, who was Stuart Attwell, did not intervene for three contentious penalty claims against Ashley Young, which were all waived away by on-pitch referee Anthony Taylor. "They obviously wanted to get a particular message out," Onuoha told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast.

Abdallah Sima has given an optimistic assessment of the scale of the hamstring injury he picked up in Rangers' win over Hearts, plus more.

The Telegraph's Luke Edwards believes Mauricio Pochettino will be ruing "another missed opportunity" after his side spurned several big chances before eventually losing out to Manchester City in their FA Cup semi-final on Saturday. Defeat confirmed Pochettino will not lift silverware in his first season in charge at Stamford Bridge and Edwards believes there will be lingering frustration despite improved performances of late.