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Granit Xhaka had the entire Bayer Leverkusen bench fooled, including manager Xabi Alonso, with a fake injury celebration against Mainz.

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• Xhaka fooled Leverkusen bench with celebration
• Scored a stunning goal against Mainz
• Leverkusen extended their lead over Bayern to 11 points

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The former Arsenal midfielder opened the scoring for his team in the third minute against Mainz with a stunning strike from the edge of the box. After breaking the deadlock, Xhaka was seen clutching his hamstring. Alonso and the entire Bayer Leverkusen bench had worried looks on their faces, but the former Arsenal star then perked up and performed a dance to show he was actually still fine physically, prompting a huge collective sigh of relief.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Four minutes after the Swiss midfielder scored the opening goal, Dominik Kohr equalised for Mainz, but the hosts then restored their lead in the 68th minute as Robert Andrich netted the winning goal for the Bundesliga leaders. With the win on Friday, Alonso's side have now extended their lead over Bayern Munich to 11 points at the top of the table.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR BAYER LEVERKUSEN?

  Leverkusen, who remain unbeaten in the league, will be next seen in action on March 3 when they take on FC Koln in another Bundesliga fixture. Alonso is winning plaudits across Europe for the great job he's doing at Bay Arena, and has been linked with the top job at both Bayern and Liverpool.

Bukayo Saka hailed Arsenal fans' after they mocked Burnley supporters with brutal chants as the Gunners sailed to a 5-0 trouncing at Turf Moor.

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• Saka scored a brace in Arsenal's 5-0 win
• Fans humiliated home support with chant
• Forward loving their songs

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Saka continued his remarkable form with another Premier League brace, marking the second consecutive weekend where he showcased his prowess on the road. Following his two goals against West Ham last Sunday, Saka replicated his performance with another double in Arsenal's emphatic victory over Burnley.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The atmosphere was electric as Arsenal fans revelled in the team's success. In a moment of jubilation and to taunt the Burnley supporters, Arsenal fans unveiled a new chant that resonated throughout the stadium: "Who put the ball in the Burnley net, half our f*cking team did."

• WHAT SAKA SAID

  Saka was elated to hear the Gooners taking a dig at the opposition fans and said: "Yeah it was a lot of fun out there. I really enjoyed it and it's nice to see the fans coming up with new chants and stuff. I just loved it, so I enjoyed it."

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• SAKA CAN'T CALM BEFORE UCL

  Arsenal will be competing in Europe's marquee club competition when they take on Porto in the Champions League. After a strong start to the domestic season, Saka can't wait to replicate that form against the Portuguese outfit on Wednesday night.

  "The boss has told us we’re the first Arsenal team to win five in a row at the start of the year, so it's a nice achievement and we'll definitely build momentum going forward," he said. "Definitely now that, not only that I'm playing well, the team's playing well, we're scoring a lot of goals because we've got some really important fixtures coming up, starting on Wednesday and I can't wait to go there. I'm really excited. So yeah, looking forward to it and hopefully we can take this form into that game as well.”

The supporter who poked Sevilla star Lucas Ocampos' backside during a match has been fined and given a stadium ban.

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• Fan touched Ocampos during La Liga match
• Hit with fine and ban from stadiums in Spain
• Ocampos was outraged by incident

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Ocampos was preparing to take a throw-in during his team's La Liga match against Rayo Vallecano when a fan reached out and poked him. The game was paused as Ocampos alerted the referee and the national police soon got involved. The Spanish government’s anti-violence commission has since given the young supporter a €6,000 (£5,100/$6,400) fine and a one-year suspension from stadiums in the country.

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  WHAT WAS SAID

  The anti-violence commission said: "This serious incident against the integrity of the visiting team’s player caused the match to be stopped for several minutes. After what happened, the spectator and his friends displayed a joking and defiant attitude towards the player’s protests."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Ocampos spoke out in anger after the game, saying on : "Hopefully La Liga takes the incident seriously, like it does with racism… If this was to happen in women’s football, we know what can happen. I restrained myself because I have two daughters and I hope it does not happen to them in the future. I hope that the action that needs to be taken is taken and this does not stain an entire fanbase."

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• CRISTINA QUICLER/AFP via Getty Images
  

  WHAT NEXT?

  The Rayo Vallecano fan will have to pay the fine and serve his suspension before he can attend another match in Spain. In the meantime, Ocampos and Sevilla, who beat Rayo 2-1 that night, will come up against Valencia in La Liga on Saturday.

According to a report by TEAMtalk, via West Ham Central, GSB fancy signing Orlando City striker Daryl Dike this summer, who is currently on loan at Barnsley – prompting these Irons supporters to erupt on social media.

Dike, who has scored nine goals in 12 Championship starts since joining the club on a temporary basis in January, has also managed an impressive 5.8 aerial duels won per game (WhoScored).

The 20-year-old, as a result, is attracting interest from West Ham and GSB – with these supporters raving over the claims of their club’s interest.

As well as some supporters calling him ‘massive’, with the forward standing at an imposing 6 foot 2, a section of these Irons fans have likened him to star striker Michail Antonio.

One supporter even claimed Dike could take Antonio’s place in the side as Hammers plead for GSB to potentially sign the striker this summer from Orlando.

Find all of their best verdicts on the forward down below.

West Ham fans erupt over Dike claim

“Would be the best day of my life.”

Credit: @AndrewKane221

“Under Antonio’s tutelage this lad could be different gravy”

Credit: @Dylan_Rudisill_

“Oh my dayssssss”

Credit: @FromTheAnvilWHU

“We totally should. Think he could be a good option off the bench. Antonio style work rate. He’s massive as well”

Credit: @jordan_smith510

“MAKE THIS HAPPEN”

Credit: @joelitt78828048

“His link up play is improving & his flick ons & link up play since joining Barnsley are always improving!

I think he could bench Antonio”

Credit: @WhufcSloth

In other news: West Ham fans react as club confirm ‘great news’, find out more here.

Liverpool's flight back to Merseyside was cancelled amid the wind and rain of Storm Ciaran, after they beat Bournemouth 2-1 in the Carabao Cup.

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• Reds won in terrible conditions
• Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez scored
• Liverpool unable to fly back north

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Liverpool battled to a 2-1 win over the Cherries on the south coast on Wednesday, despite the wind and rain that plagued the encounter. Gakpo and Nunez scored to send the Reds into the quarter-finals of the competition, but the conditions grounded their flight back north.

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  Per Liverpool Echo journalist Paul Gorst, the Reds' flight back was cancelled, leaving the squad and staff stranded. Storm Ciaran brought strong winds and heavy rain to the United Kingdom overnight, with large parts of the country ordered to stay inside amid "danger to life" warnings. Liverpool, meanwhile, are not back in action until Sunday, when they face Luton Town away from home.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  The Reds have won the Carabao Cup on nine occasions and are aiming to repeat their 2021/22 success after overcoming the Cherries. They will face West Ham in the last-eight.

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  WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

  Klopp's side face newly-promoted Luton at Kenilworth Road this weekend.

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Rob Lee, who made 280 Premier League appearances, has urged Manchester United to sell David de Gea for £50million, following the emergence of Dean Henderson at Old Trafford.

Lee has spoken openly about the need for Man United to sell de Gea because of how good Henderson is, and he told FFC last month that the Red Devils should cash in for whatever they can this summer.

Since de Gea went to Spain for the birth of his child, the former number one has failed to win his spot back from Henderson, who has impressed mostly since being thrust into the spotlight at Old Trafford.

Speaking on why Henderson is good enough for Man United and how much they should be looking to sell de Gea for, Lee told FFC:

“He’s been under pressure and the spotlight at Man United, I think he’s done well and hasn’t put a foot wrong yet for them.

“I would sell de Gea, get him off the wage bill and sell him for £50 million or whatever you can get for him, and make Dean Henderson the number one.”

The £375,000-per-week shot-stopper was signed by Sir Alex Ferguson from Atletico Madrid in 2011 and he has been a mainstay between the sticks from almost the minute he joined the club.

It has been reported that Man United may look to move de Gea on this summer because of his huge wages not warranting a backup keeper role.

Eighteen teams remain in the running to lift the trophy in December ahead of the revamped postseason

It's that time of year. As the fall marches towards the winter, you can smell the chaos in the air. Ladies and gentlemen: Welcome to the MLS Playoffs.

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Unfortunately, the script writers couldn't quite fit Lionel Messi into the festivities. Inter Miami dug themselves too deep of a hole before his arrival, one not even the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner could quite shovel them out of. It would have been a wild sight, though: seeing Messi try and help claw Miami through the MLS postseason.

No Messi, no problem, though. As always, the postseason field is wide open, with any number of teams feeling like they can go on a big run. It starts on Wednesday with a pair of Wild Card matches featuring each conference's bottom two seeds. From there, the first round will be played in a best-of-three format, with each team hosting one of the first two games and the third being hosted by the higher seed, if necessary. After that, it'll be single-elimination right up until the MLS Cup final on December 9.

So how did we get here and who is likeliest to come out on top? GOAL takes a look at every team as we prepare for the start of the postseason:

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  Eastern Conference No.1: FC Cincinnati

  The league's best team in the regular season and the Supporters' Shield winners. It's hard to ever pick a favorite in MLS, but if you had to, it would be Cincy.

  They're led by the runaway MVP favorite, Luciano Acosta, who contributed an absolutely wild 17 goals and 13 assists this season. He's not alone, though, as he'll have U.S. men's national team star Brandon Vazquez alongside him in what may just be his last go-around before heading to Europe.

  Defensively, Matt Miazga may just be the Defender of the Year, while Colombian Santi Arias gives them ridiculously good wing-back play.

  Overall, they lead MLS in so many metrics, have playoff experience and will play every game at home the whole way. They're the team to beat.

  First round: vs. Charlotte FC/New York Red Bulls

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  Western Conference No.1: St. Louis City SC

  How in the world did they pull this off? MLS' newest team has shattered every expectation imaginable, going from expansion side to MLS Cup contenders almost instantly. They had the best record in the West during the regular season, led by Roman Burki, who will win MLS Goalkeeper of the Year.

  The big question is if this is all sustainable. The club outperformed even the most hopeful of projections and, admittedly, came back down to earth in the final weeks of the season. That's not to say that the St. Louis we saw for the first few months wasn't for real, but they are limping into the postseason somewhat.

  If this club pulls it off, it'll be one of the most absurd and unbelievable MLS Cup runs in history. For this league, that's saying something!

  First round: vs. Sporting KC/San Jose Earthquakes

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  Eastern Conference No.2: Orlando City

  Like St. Louis, we have to ask: how the hell did they get this far? The team with the lowest payroll in the league, Orlando City continues to silence the doubters. Head coach Oscar Pareja is an MLS miracle-worker, and he's done special, special things with this team so far this season.

  Duncan Maguire is following the likes of Daryl Dike and Cyle Larin as the club's great rookie striker, scoring 13 goals and providing three assists in his first season after college. Facundo Torres, meanwhile, is a bonafide star that will be in Europe sometime soon.

  Overall, Orlando is a well-rounded, well-coached team, and this may just be Pareja's best chance at finally turning regular season success into a deep postseason run.

  First round: vs. Nashville SC

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  Western Conference No.2: Seattle Sounders

  On the flipside of a few teams we mentioned, the Sounders are a team that are postseason regulars. Somehow, some way, they're always here.

  And this is a team that many thought wouldn't be. Key stars are aging out, with club legend Nico Lodeiro already having announced that he's leaving. Rising stars, meanwhile, are too young, with the club having spent this season blooding in some potential key players for the future.The Sounders should be in a rebuilding phase but, instead, they're going for another MLS Cup.

  With their playoff experience, it'll take complete performances to really bury this Seattle team, one that'll know exactly what they're signing up for as the postseason begins.

  First round: vs. FC Dallas

The Nigerian shares a deep bond with Naples and its people – but relations with his club are strained after two stupid social media posts

Ahead of Tuesday's mouth-watering Champions League meeting with Real Madrid at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, Napoli coach Rudi Garcia praised his side's illustrious opponents for replacing Karim Benzema with Jude Bellingham.

However, while the Englishman is a multi-skilled generational talent that has done an outstanding job to date of making up for the shock loss of one of the game's great goalscorers, he is not a No.9, as even Garcia acknowledged. So, it would be foolish – and indeed unfair – to expect him to maintain his current strike-rate of seven goals in eight games.

Of course, Joselu has made a reasonable start to his Santiago Bernabeu career, as Garcia also pointed out, but the 33-year-old is neither an elite-level striker nor a long-term solution. But let's face it, if Madrid want to get back to winning Champions Leagues, they need a world-class centre-forward, just like the one they will be going up against in Naples.

And what's so fascinating about this crunch Group C clash is that Victor Osimhen might even be attainable during the January transfer window, thanks in no small part to one of the most shocking social media gaffes in Italian football history.

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  Diplomatic incident

  Napoli posted two videos to TikTok after last month's 0-0 draw with Bologna. In one, Osimhen was mocked for missing a penalty. In the other, he was compared to a coconut. Both were eventually taken down – but by that stage it was too late. The damage had already been done.

  The posts had literally created a diplomatic incident, with Nigeria's sports minister, Senator John Owah Enoh, revealing that contact had been made with not only the player himself, but also the country's ambassador to Italy to ensure that "our athletes are afforded the respect they deserve and that they are not exposed to injustice, discrimination and unfair teasing".

  Napoli insisted that it had never been their intention to "offend" Osimhen, whom they described "as a treasure of this club", and pointed out that they had rebuffed every offer received for the forward during the summer transfer window to further underline how highly they value him.

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  'Nobody wanted to be hurtful'

  It was a very modern apology, though. Napoli were only 'sorry if anyone was offended' and the problem was that Osimhen was outraged by the posts. While he was deleting every single Napoli-related image from his Instagram account, his agent, Roberto Calenda, was threatening legal action.

  Garcia tried to calm the situation, arguing "Nobody wanted to be hurtful, not the TikTok with the video of Victor, nor Victor by taking down his photographs on social media. Nobody intended to hurt anyone, these are instinctive reactions and are understandable."

  However, Osimhen remains miffed. He appeared to blank his team-mates before Napoli's next outing, against Udinese, and also refused to celebrate after scoring in the 4-0 win at the Maradona. His subsequent strike against Lecce on Saturday was also met with a muted reaction, which only heightened the tension among Napoli fans.

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  'I will not allow anyone to come between us'

  Osimhen finally broke his silence the following day to express his enduring love for Naples and its peoples. "I will not allow anyone to come between us," he declared on Instagram. "The passion of the people of Naples fuels my fire to always play with my heart and soul, and the love for the badge is unwavering as I wear it with pride."

  Tellingly, though, Osimhen made no mention of the club itself, which has led to further speculation over his future.

  There's certainly no denying that this controversy could not have come at a worse time for Napoli, who are presently trying to tie Osimhen down to a new contract. An extension looked set to be signed during the summer, but the two parties have still not come to an agreement over the size of the buy-out clause, which is obviously of great interest to the many clubs interested in Osimhen's services.

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  Destined to leave eventually

  Al-Hilal, remember, offered a fee in the region of €200 million (£174m/$212m) for the 24-year-old during the off-season, only to be told by Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis, "Your offer can buy a single foot of Osimhen. For next year, I think you'll be able to offer €500m and we'll maybe consider your offer, but I'll repeat myself: maybe."

  The thing is, though, as it stands, Napoli won't be able to demand such a fee for Osimhen next year, given his contract expires in 2025. Therefore, it is absolutely imperative that they get Osimhen to not only put pen to paper on a new deal, but also get him to agree to a buy-out clause that ensures that Napoli will not be short-changed when the time comes to cash in on their most valuable asset.

  Because make no mistake about it: Osimhen will eventually move on. He's never hidden his desire to play for a top Premier League club (he grew up idolising Didier Drogba, for what it's worth), while it's also been claimed that Madrid are the only team he'd consider joining.

Liverpool’s scramble for a centre-back in January was certainly well broadcast following injuries to Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip.

Eventually, Michael Edwards managed to get two defenders through the door in the form of Ozan Kabak of Schalke 04 and Preston North End’s Ben Davies.

The two have had completely differing fortunes at Anfield; the former establishing himself in Jurgen Klopp’s starting XI but the latter having not yet been afforded even a minute of first-team action.

Meanwhile, the club could reflect on another failed transfer bid for SC Braga’s David Carmo.

According to the Portuguese club’s President António Salvador, the 21-year-old was almost a Liverpool player, apparently having “a foot and a half in Liverpool”.

Despite the youngster having sustained serious injury in the time since, the £7.65m-rated defender could certainly have been a useful addition.

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Even in his tender years, Carmo has already managed to accumulate plenty of experience in his home country having made 40 appearances for Braga in all competitions which includes back-to-back seasons in the UEFA Europa League.

Whilst that is not comparable to Kabak’s 89 appearances in all competitions at the same age, it could be argued that the Portuguese has outperformed his opposite number so far this campaign.

According to WhoScored, Carmo has made more interceptions and blocks per game compared to Kabak this season; 1.6 and 0.6 to 1.3 and 0.3. Meanwhile, the two players are also even on clearances.

The current Liverpool defender can only just outperform Carmo in tackles, with him edging ahead on just 1.8 compared to 1.6.

Surprisingly, Reds’ stalwart Van Dijk cannot get anywhere near those numbers, only managing to overcome the Portuguese on clearances, even during his peak of the 2019/20 campaign.

So with Liverpool having had defensive issues this season, Edwards should be regretting the failed move for Carmo, he’d have surely been a better option than Davies, who hasn’t been able to even get on the field for the Reds.

Had he been signed and given time to develop, he could have had the chance to become a Liverpool stalwart like Van Dijk, but alas, that wasn’t to be and as such, the Reds missed out on a very, very good player.

AND in more news, take a look at Liverpool fans’ thoughts on the failed European Super League…

Many Manchester United fans have been left to fume as utdreport relayed the news that Jonathan Moss has been appointed as the referee versus Burnley.

Moss was the official when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team lost 2-0 at home to the Clarets in the 2019/20 term and has also sent Marcus Rashford off before in a game against Sean Dyche’s men (World Football), so there is certainly some bad blood between the supporters and the official going into the match on Sunday afternoon.

Nonetheless, the Red Devils will be looking to grab all three points and thus cement their place in the top four of the table in the Premier League, coming off the back of a very impressive comeback away at Tottenham Hotspur.

If Solskjaer’s men can grab another impressive result this time around, finishing in the top two could start to look like something of a formality.

Manchester United fans on Moss appointment

These MUFC fans fumed upon reading that Moss has officially been appointed on Twitter, with one fan claiming that it is ‘frustrating’:

“Oh why”

Credit: @Helle66221114

“Advantage Burnley”

Credit: @the_WISH_utd

“Why does the worst PL ref constantly officiate our games?”

Credit: @sani_atk

“That’s a game spoiled then. Absolutely useless, the worse ref I’ve ever seen in the top flight.”

Credit: @YendoleCharlie

“They’ve planned a frustrating weekend for United”

Credit: @its_wilsy

“We are done”

Credit: @ManUtdVIPer

In other news, find out whose display versus Granada was slammed here!