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Manchester United are in the market to bolster their squad in January, and Fabrizio Romano has now delivered a frank update on their pursuit of West Ham United playmaker Lucas Paquetá.

The Red Devils have made themselves a much-improved force under Ruben Amorim in recent weeks, with new signings making their mark across the field after a tumultuous start to the campaign at Old Trafford.

Still, there is much to improve on for his side and supporters will be keen to see that come to fruition during the schedule ahead, though their recent fortunes have been in start contrast to West Ham’s difficult start to the Premier League campaign.

In among it all, uncertainty over Lucas Paquetá’s future has come to the fore, with murmurs starting to accelerate that he could be set for a January move before the 2026 World Cup, where he will hope to start for Brazil and help lead Carlo Ancelotti’s side to glory.

Frustratingly, his campaign hasn’t fully come to life yet, with two Premier League goals to his name against Chelsea and Nottingham Forest coming earlier in the season.

Harking back to Manchester United, it is well known that they are in the hunt for a midfielder, characterised by their pursuit of Nottingham Forest star Elliot Anderson.

Kobbie Mainoo has found himself struggling for regular minutes under Amorim, so it won’t come as a surprise to hear that alternatives are being considered at Old Trafford.

Now, Romano has delivered an intriguing update on the future of Paquetá, something that involves both Manchester United and West Ham.

Fabrizio Romano delivers update on Lucas Paquetá's future

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Fabrizio Romano has delivered an update on whether Manchester United could look to make a move for West Ham midfielder Paquetá.

He stated: “In January, if there is the right opportunity, Paquetá could have the possibility to go and leave West Ham. So keep an eye on that one, because it’s a concrete possibility.

“Many asking about Manchester United. At the moment, I am not aware of concrete or advanced negotiations between Paquetá and Manchester United or Manchester United and West Ham.

“That’s what I am told at the moment on the Paquetá story. Let’s see what’s going to happen. Because Paquetá could be very interesting in terms of role, in terms of quality. But financially, West Ham are not going to give Paquetá for free or for small money.”

Conceivably, any notion of an exit could depend on the money West Ham are presented with for the Brazilian playmaker. Although his side haven’t been in good form, he has still shown his creativity and fashioned 13 chances in the top-flight, per Fotmob.

Man Utd have also held talks to sign another midfielder

Manchester United have a hole left to fill in their midfield, creating an intriguing situation that may still have many layers left to unfold.

“Speed is my biggest strength, and I want to continue to maintain that strength,” Umran Malik, who is making his comeback from a hip injury, says

Rajan Raj07-Dec-2025Umran Malik will not compromise on his speed. It’s his “identity” and his “natural ability”, and though he is on a comeback trail after over a year out with injuries – a hip issue the last – he will keep bowling as fast as he can since it’s a point of difference between him and other quicks in the country.”Every fast bowler in the world knows that injuries are going to be a part of his career. But speed is my natural aspect. How can I compromise with that? Speed is my biggest strength, and I want to continue to maintain that strength,” Malik told ESPNcricinfo on the sidelines of Jammu and Kashmir’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match against Hyderabad in Kolkata on December 4.”You can’t bowl at 150(kph) straight away. You reach that speed gradually. I don’t want to show my speed to anyone, but I want to show my wickets. But it is also that after ten years [of bowling at a competitive level], I want to bowl at 140 [from 150] and not come down to a speed of 130 from 150.”Before turning out in the latest edition of the Ranji Trophy and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy tournaments, Malik had last played in in March 2024 in the IPL that year, for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) against Mumbai Indians (MI). He was with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2025 but could not play a single match.

“Money is not a concern. The first and last thing is that my fitness and form should be such that I play every match for the team and take wickets. If I can’t do this, then what will be my value as a player?”Umran Malik

Coming back from a serious injury takes a toll on the body as well as on the mind, and Malik’s focus has changed a bit now.”After spending time at NCA [BCCI’s Centre of Excellence] and talking to many experts, I have started to understand my body better,” he said. “I now know what things need to be managed better if I want to avoid injury.”Though KKR have let go of a number of their players, including some big-ticket stars, Malik has been retained ahead of IPL 2026.”I know that for many Indian fast bowlers, it is not that difficult to be part the IPL. It’s probably easy for me too, but I’m not just thinking of taking part in the tournament,” he said. “Money is not a concern. The first and last thing is that my fitness and form should be such that I play every match for the team and take wickets. If I can’t do this, then what will be my value as a player?”I will work as hard as I have to. I will learn where I make mistakes. I will take care of myself and want to make my comeback memorable.”Those who have watched him bowl this season have found a slightly different Malik, who has maintained his speeds while also appearing to bowl within himself a bit.At present, Malik’s eyes are focused solely on the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, but it is with an eye on the future, starting with the IPL.

Daniel Farke’s future at Elland Road has come into question after Leeds United slipped into the relegation zone following a run of four straight defeats in the Premier League.

The Guardian now reports that the German head coach is expected, by senior figures inside the club, to lose his job if they lose to Chelsea and Liverpool in their matches this week.

It has been reported elsewhere that former Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Gary O’Neil is in the frame to replace Farke, having been out of a job since he was sacked by the Old Gold last season.

Why Leeds should avoid Gary O'Neil

At face value, the English tactician would seem to be a shrewd appointment for the West Yorkshire outfit, given that he kept Bournemouth and Wolves in the Premier League in his first seasons with both clubs.

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However, the underlying numbers behind those two campaigns and his second season with Wolves suggest that that may have had more to do with the quality of the players at his disposal, rather than outstanding coaching.

Points

39 (15th)

46 (14th)

xPTS

34 (20th)

41 (17th)

xG

39.6 (18th)

47.6 (17th)

xGA

65.9 (18th)

68.9 (15th)

As you can see in the table above, both of his teams picked up more points than their performances deserved, as both Wolves and Bournemouth delivered relegation-battling numbers.

Those dismal performance numbers finally caught up with O’Neil in his second season with the Old Gold, as he lost 11 of the first 16 matches before being sacked, per Transfermarkt.

This is why Leeds should avoid a move for the ex-Wolves boss, because his Premier League career so far does not suggest that he would be the man to improve their performances, and that is why they should pursue Carlos Corberan instead.

Why Leeds should hire Carlos Corberan

If the Spanish head coach, who is a reported target for the club, is available and willing to come to Elland Road, the Whites should sack Farke and ignore O’Neil to bring him back to Thorp Arch.

Corberan, who was described as a “student of Marcelo Bielsa” by scout Ben Mattinson, worked for Leeds at U21 level and as a first-team coach for Bielsa before he made his first step into senior management with Huddersfield Town.

After play-off finishes in the Championship with Huddersfield and West Brom, the Spanish tactician was appointed by Valencia last season, and only lost five of his 21 LaLiga games in charge of the club, per Transfermarkt, to earn a 12th-placed finish.

Whilst O’Neil’s Premier League teams largely benefitted from an overperformance against their performance data, Corberan has been unfortunate with Valencia in LaLiga this term.

Per FotMob, the Spanish side are 15th in the league on 14 points from 14 games. However, they rank 12th in the division for xPTs (17) and have underperformed their xG, of 14.8, and conceded more than their xGA of 20.8.

Matches managed

62

35

Wins

9

12

Draws

10

12

Losses

43

11

Points

37

48

Points per game

0.60

1.37

This shows that Corberan’s coaching has been better than Valencia’s results suggest, as his players have not made the most of the situations that the system and tactics have created for them, whilst the opposite was true of O’Neil’s time with Wolves and Bournemouth.

The 42-year-old tactician has shown that he can manage in one of the top leagues in Europe, having previously shown his class in the Championship, and that should also appeal to Leeds if they are looking for a replacement for Farke in the coming days.

Farke, as shown in the earlier table, has a dismal Premier League record in his career, which is why appointing a manager like Corberan, who has been a safe pair of hands for Valencia and has a pre-existing relationship with the club, could be a great move.

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The likes of Corberan and O’Neil will now surely be watching on from afar with keen interest as Leeds take on Chelsea and Liverpool this week in the Premier League.

England’s senior batter prepares to return to ODI action, but talk of his technique for Australia’s pitches dominates

Cameron Ponsonby25-Oct-2025Little known fact. Joe Root has never made a hundred in Australia.It will be the sub-genre of the summer. A much anticipated Ashes series, in which one of the greats of the game has the chance to complete a caveat-free career. An away win, and a full set of centuries in every Test-hosting nation he has played. Except for Bangladesh and the UAE. They don’t rate him in Dhaka.Matthew Hayden confidently made the claim that if Root didn’t end the Aussie summer with a Test ton, he’d strip nude to run around the MCG. But others aren’t so sure.”Wrists limper than a French handshake,” former Aussie legspinner and broadcaster Kerry O’Keeffe said on Fox Sports. “It doesn’t work in Australia.””The first two Tests are huge for Joe Root. They’re nickers’ Tests. Perth? They nick for fun there. And Brisbane day-night? Everyone nicks in Bris.”Joe Root is a nicker. When he was last here, in his first eight innings he nicked off. Australia knows this. What will be his defensive set-up? I’m very bearish about Joe Root.”O’Keeffe’s argument is that Root previously chose to stay inside the ball, as he was of the belief they wouldn’t target him with the offcutter, only for a different weakness to appear, that meant he was playing away from his body.It is a rare technical examination of a player who has averaged 58.00 since Brendon McCullum took over, but a prescient one given Australia’s recent tendency to produce pitches that favour their seam bowlers. Since the start of the 2021-22 Ashes, top-seven batters in Australia have averaged 30.22 per dismissal, compared to 38.14 in the four-year cycle before that. By contrast, England’s pitches have gone the other way. The average in the four years before McCullum’s appointment was 30.90; it has since been 38.94.”England play pretty well on the flatter wickets, the way they play,” Steve Smith said recently. “So, if there’s a bit in it like there has been the last three or four years, with our bowling attack, it certainly makes things a lot more difficult for their batters.”Nevertheless, Root sees no need to tamper with his technique. Arriving in New Zealand ahead of England’s three-match ODI series, it will be the final three hits he has before lining up against Australia in Perth.”A lot of that prep’s already started back home,” Root said, explaining how he’s balancing his preparation for an ODI series today with the carrot of the Ashes starting tomorrow.”I think how I’d prepare now is different to how I would have done 10 years ago. A lot more mental. I’ve clearly played against a lot of their guys now. Know how they operate, know what they’re likely to try to bring to the series.”I used to be very technical in how I prepared. I’d want to make sure that everything felt lined up and my feet were in the right place, my head was in the right place, whereas now I’m a little bit more concerned about how I’m looking at the game, how I’m going to approach different situations, whether that be the surface, whether that be different bowler types, different angles, and being able to manage those different angles when they come wide of the crease. Things like that.”Related

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This will be Root’s fourth Ashes tour. His individual record is respectable, averaging 35.68, but not befitting of a player of his own calibre. England’s record across that time, however, is diabolical: 15 matches, 13 defeats, two draws, zero wins.”They’re all different,” Root said of how the build-up to this series has compared to previous tours. “I look at it at this time and I’m in a completely different stage of my career. I’m no longer captain, I’m playing some really good cricket, and so are we. We’re playing in a really exciting way. We’ve got a great group of players that we can go there and hit them with different tools than we’ve had on previous tours, so when you look at it like that, it’s a really exciting prospect.”Clearly, Australia are really good in their own conditions, with a great record at home, especially against us, but that’s the exciting bit right? There’s an opportunity there to do something a bit different and hopefully achieve something really special.”Despite the ODI World Cup being two years away, these three matches against New Zealand are not without complete jeopardy. England are currently ranked eighth in the world after winning only eight of their last 23 fixtures. Failure to automatically qualify for the World Cup remains unlikely, but only if they nip in the bud a continued slide in the format.”I don’t think that’s necessarily anyone’s fault of what happened before,” Root said of the ODI group’s relative stability under Brook and McCullum, compared to previous leadership.”You look at the number of crossovers of Test series and one-dayers, it was physically impossible to get there. There was a one-day series against the Netherlands when we were playing a Test match at Old Trafford. You think how can that happen?”New Zealand themselves haven’t played an ODI since April, but remain ranked third in the world. The weighting of points in the ICC rankings is such that it presents a major opportunity for England to win some matches, and lift themselves away from any potential future problems.”I don’t think it’s arrogant to say you look at the quality that’s within our squad, and we’re not an eighth-in-the-world team,” Root said. “We should be competing and jostling for that top spot.”New Zealand are a very good team and if you try to sleepwalk into it or you’re preoccupied with what’s around the corner, then they’ll hurt us really badly. We want to keep making strides under Brooky after what was a difficult Champions Trophy. This is a great opportunity to build on what we started over the summer.”

Sri Lanka are on the brink of elimination in the Asia Cup after sliding to their second successive defeat

Madushka Balasuriya23-Sep-20251:39

What went wrong for Sri Lanka’s batters?

An unbroken stand of 58 off 41 between Hussain Talat and Mohammad Nawaz saved Pakistan’s blushes as they stumbled their way through a middling chase to eventually come away with a five-wicket win against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup in Abu Dhabi.Having been set a target of 134, on a ground where the average winning total batting first was 183, Pakistan collapsed from 43 for 0 in five overs to 57 for 4 in the ninth over. Not long after it was 80 for 5 in the 12th over, but Talat and Nawaz got the job done for Pakistan without any further scares.Related

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Talat finished on 32* off 30, while Nawaz struck 38* off 24, while for Sri Lanka the wickets were spread between Maheesh Theekshana, Wanindu Hasaranga and Dushmantha Chameera.Talat had earlier made his initial impact with the ball, in a double-wicket over, removing both Charith Asalanka and Dasun Shanaka. It had followed a powerplay that saw Shaheen Shah Afridi pick up two wickets in the powerplay – he would end with three in total – as Sri Lanka lost their top three for the addition of 53 in the first six overs.From that point on Pakistan strangled Sri Lanka’s innings, as they only mustered 63 runs across the final ten overs. Kamindu Mendis’ 50 off 44 was the lone bright spot in an otherwise forgettable innings.The result means that Sri Lanka have lost two games, and are now dependent on Bangladesh beating India to keep their hopes of making the final alive.1:26

Aaron: Pakistan using three pacers up top made the difference

Afridi’s early impactPakistan got the best of the bowling conditions when the won the toss and elected to bowl, but it still needed to be utilised. Both Shaheen Shah Afridi and Faheem Ashraf found big movement early on, but that did not deter the Sri Lankan batters.Kusal Mendis clipped one in the air to short midwicket first ball, but Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Perera both found the boundary. Afridi then accounted for Nissanka as well, with the opener edging behind an attempted heave down the ground – one he had executed efficiently just a ball prior.Kusal Perera fell in the final over of the powerplay, miscuing one off Haris Rauf to mid-on. Sri Lanka had 53 runs in the powerplay, but Pakistan kept chipping away.2:09

Chopra: Talat holding one end up was important

Talat sets up the middle-overs squeezeDespite the loss of three wickets, Sri Lanka were still looking to attack – presumably reading that conditions were more than adequate for batting. However the two dismissals as a result of this approach, perhaps bordering on reckless at points, greatly reduced Sri Lanka’s ability to post a competitive total.The first was from Asalanka, who was batting well during his 19-ball 20, but ended up top-edging a short-arm pull to deep square leg. A ball later Dasun Shanaka nicked behind. Both those wickets came in Talat’s first over, and he went onto finish with 2 for 18 in his three overs.Sri Lanka’s scoring slowed to a trickle after that point, as they scored just 34 runs between overs six and 16. During this period Abrar Ahmed trotted through four overs, giving away just eight runs while picking up the wicket of Wanindu Hasaranga.ESPNcricinfo LtdTalat and Nawaz finish it offSahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman seemingly broke the chase with a 45-run opening stand, but when Theekshana picked up both batters in the final over of the powerplay – the latter courtesy an outstanding one-handed grab at mid-off by Hasaranga – Sri Lanka felt they had a sniff.Two Hasaranga overs later though and Pakistan had lost two more, and suddenly Sri Lanka were well and truly in it.A 23-run stand between Talat and Mohammad Haris briefly brought back some control of proceedings for Pakistan, but when Chameera burst one through Haris to peg back the middle stump, Pakistan still needed 54 more with half their side back in the dugout.Thankfully for them, Talat and Nawaz navigated the chase shrewdly, taking minimal risks to take the game deep. It was only in the death overs that they opened up, with Nawaz looking to take on Hasaranga and then finally Chameera. A trio of sixes off the latter brought the game to a rapid close.

Wolves are considering Rui Vitoria as a possible replacement for the sacked Vitor Pereira, but he has a woeful record against the ex-Molineux manager.

Wolves manager shortlist growing

It has been an eventful week at Molineux off the pitch following yet another Premier League defeat for Wolves, who parted ways with Pereira less than 24 hours on after the 3-0 loss at Craven Cottage.

Wolves are winless with just two points from their opening 10 matches and no side has survived in the top flight with so few points at this stage of a season.

Gary O’Neil, who was sacked by Wolves last December, pulled out of the running on Monday after looking likely to return to the Midlands.

It has been reported former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag is also under consideration after leaving Bayer Leverkusen in September, whereas Sam Allardyce is also open to the idea of returning to the dugout to try and guide Wolves to safety.

However, a new name is now thought to be on the Molineux radar.

Wolves now eyeing ex-Benfica manager Rui Vitoria

Football FanCast has learned that Vitoria has been sounded out over becoming the fourth Portuguese appointment at Molineux since owners Fosun bought the club in 2016 and would be open to taking over.

The 55-year-old, who plays an attacking 4-3-3 system, won two Portuguese Premeira Liga titles with the Lisbon side in 2016 and 2017 and also won the Saudi Pro League with Al-Nassr in 2019.

Following an unsuccessful spell in charge of Egypt, whom he failed to guide beyond the last 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations last year, his most recent appointment was with Greek side Panathinaikos, who sacked him in September after just two league games and a failure to reach the league phase of the Champions League.

In 2017, he became only the second Benfica boss to win a treble of the league, cup and super cup but failed to carry on that success, losing all six Champions League matches the following season before his dismissal in January 2019.

However, during his managerial career, he has lost all five meetings when coming up against former Wolves boss Pereira, but by the looks of things, he is a firm target.

Dream O'Neil alternative: Wolves chasing one of "England's best young coaches"

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has now identified a “special” Real Madrid star as a priority target, joining several other Premier League clubs in the race for his signature.

Man Utd's attacking prowess on show in win at Molineux

Man United returned to winning ways on Monday night, putting in a quality attacking performance to secure a 4-1 victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux, with Bruno Fernandes bagging a brace.

Bryan Mbeumo also bagged his sixth goal of the Premier League season in the rout, with Mason Mount getting in on the act too, and Amorim was very impressed by the Englishman’s performance.

After the attacking midfielder scooped up the Player of the Match award, Amorim said: “He can defend, he can attack, the quality when he touches the ball is really good, so it’s not a surprise for me,”

“He’s a different type of leader. It’s not like Licha [Lisandro Martinez], for example. It’s a guy that leads by the example.”

With Matheus Cunha also grabbing an assist in the routine win, which lifted United to sixth in the table, Amorim clearly has plenty of top-quality forward options at his disposal, but a Real Madrid attacker is now of interest.

That is according to a report from Caught Offside, which states Man United are now stepping up their pursuit of Arda Guler, who has been identified as a priority target by Amorim ahead of next summer.

Arsenal and Liverpool are also in the race for Guler’s signature, with Arne Slot’s side believed to be leading the race as things stand, although Madrid aren’t planning to sanction a departure easily.

The Turk is viewed as an important part of the Spanish side’s long-term project, so it remains to be seen whether the Red Devils can tempt them into a sale.

"Special" Guler could be fantastic long-term signing for Man Utd

Just 20-years-old, the attacking midfielder has managed to establish himself as an important player for Real Madrid this season, amassing three goals and seven assists across 21 matches in all competitions.

Former manager Carlo Ancelotti has also waxed lyrical about the starlet, saying: “I think the closer to goal, the better. He is very effective, he scores a lot with little space, he has a special talent. He shows it better closer to the goal.”

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Having already proven himself at a high level, setting up two goals in the Champions League in 2025-26, and scoring six goals in 26 appearances for Turkey, the £87k-a-week youngster could be a fantastic long-term addition to Amorim’s squad.

He’s been described as “the single best midfield prospect in world football” by writer Neal Gardner and the fact he finished second in the 2025 Golden Boys rankings, only behind PSG’s Desire Doue, says a lot.

That said, it is somewhat difficult to envisage Madrid sanctioning a sale, given that Guler remains under contract until 2029, so there is no pressing need to cash-in, and he has been a key player for Xabi Alonso this season.

He had suffered a neck injury while batting during the Kolkata Test last month

Alagappan Muthu06-Dec-2025Shubman Gill will be back playing for India at the start of the T20Is against South Africa on Tuesday with head coach Gautam Gambhir confirming that he is “fit and fine, hungry to go.”Gill suffered a neck injury last month – understood to involve a pinched nerve – while batting during the Kolkata Test match. He had moved to the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru to recover – the initial timeline that the BCCI had drawn up for him involved five weeks of rest before resuming training.After completing a 2-1 victory over South Africa in the ODIs on Saturday, Gambhir addressed the press saying, “yes, Shubman is ready to start. That’s why he has been selected. And obviously he is fit and fine, hungry to go.”In the absence of Gill, Rishabh Pant had stepped in as captain in the second Test in Guwahati, where India suffered their biggest Test defeat, in terms of runs. In the following ODI series, Yashasvi Jaiswal opened the batting, in place of Gill, along with Rohit Sharma and helped India win the decider in Vizag with his maiden ODI hundred. Gill is now set to return to the top in T20Is and reunite with his good friend Abhishek Sharma.India have been bolstered further by the return of allrounder Hardik Pandya after an injury had layoff kept him out of action for over two months.The five T20Is against South Africa will be played on December 9, 11, 14, 17 and 19 in Cuttack, New Chandigarh, Dharamsala, Lucknow and Ahmedabad respectively. Suryakumar Yadav will lead the side while Gill will be his deputy.India’s T20I squad for South Africa seriesSuryakumar Yadav (capt), Shubman Gill (vice-capt), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Washington Sundar

Tottenham are reportedly determined to give Thomas Frank time to succeed at the club despite their 4-1 thumping away to rivals Arsenal. Spurs have lost three of their last five Premier League games and have dropped to ninth in the table following their wretched performance at Emirates Stadium. But the Dane's future at the club is not under threat for now.

• Frank apologises for Tottenham drubbing

  Head coach Frank admitted he felt confident going into the north London derby but Arsenal dismissed Tottenham with apparent ease, with Spurs mustering an Expected Goals tally of just 0.07 and a paltry three shots on goal. After the loss on Sunday, the former Brentford manager, who joined Spurs on a three-year deal over the summer, apologised to the travelling fans. 

  He told Sky Sports: "I think it is extremely painful. I won't talk away from that. It was a bad performance. It was completely the opposite of what the intention was when we came here. We can only apologise to the fans for the performance. I think no matter if both teams wanted to play shirt, they got more out of that and we couldn't get out. When the team went long, we didn't win enough duels. That is exemplified by the 2-0 goal and the 3-0 goal, where a player went through two or three players. Bad performance and we lost. I have seen a lot of character and fight in this team but we didn't win enough duels. We can call that whatever we want but we didn't win enough."

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  Tottenham to stick with Frank

  According to The Telegraph, Tottenham want to give Frank enough time to get things right but there are concerns he is making life hard for himself by chopping and changing too much. The report adds that Spurs believe Frank's numerous rotations have contributed to their inconsistency and creativity problems. Some players are keen for Frank to focus more on his team's strengths, rather than the opposition's, but it is unclear how widespread that feeling is. The club's owners, the Lewis family, are targeting long-term success under the Dane, which suggests that no short-term decisions are being considered. Incidentally, Frank took the number of changes he has made to his starting XI to 29 for the Premier League so far – the third-most in the league after Wolves (39) and Chelsea (31).

• Tottenham tactics go awry

  Frank also said that he tried to deploy the same tactics Tottenham used in their agonising UEFA Super Cup loss to Paris Saint-Germain in August, but what he got was an "extremely bad" performance. 

  He added: "That's an extremely hard defeat to take. We are all emotional and frustrated and need to look at it with calm heads. I was very confident going into the game that we could be competitive and we weren't, which was disappointing. We tried to do something different that was very successful against PSG. Today it wasn't and I always take responsibility for my decisions and then when it doesn't go the way we want it to go, that's on me. We changed it at half-time but I am 1000% sure that no matter what formation you play if you don't win enough duels or are aggressive enough, it doesn't matter what formation you play."

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  What comes next for Spurs?

  The games don't get any easier for Tottenham as after the loss to table-topping Arsenal, they travel to defending Champions League holders PSG in Europe's elite competition on Wednesday. And one area Frank is eager to fix is their toothless attack. 

  He said: "That [lack of creativity] has been an ongoing theme that we are working hard to improve. It doesn't look good today or against Chelsea. We need to keep working on it. There were a lot of things in this game we need to do better. We are four months into it and they are further in their journey as a team and that was very obvious today. Of course there will be noise. We played against our biggest rivals and we lost badly. But we keep noise out and we focus. I know this tam is very competitive. I know this team is competitive and we showed that against Man City and PSG. Of course it looks bad today and it was not good enough."

Gloucestershire 65 for 3 (Bracey 18*, Price 16*) trail Northamptonshire 206 (Zaib 76, McManus 44, van Buuren 3-23, M Taylor 3-48) by 141 runsMatt Taylor and Graeme van Buuren produced standout performances with the ball as Gloucestershire made up for lost time on day two of their match Rothesay County Championship Second Division match against Northamptonshire at the Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol.Following a first-day washout, left arm seamer Taylor returned figures of 3 for 48 to take out the top-order, while slow left armer van Buuren claimed 3 for 23 to rip through the tail as Northants were dismissed for 206 in 63.5 overs in their first innings after losing the toss.Only Saif Zaib mustered meaningful resistance, the in-form left-hander top-scoring with 76 to take his first-class run tally for the season to 1,268 at an average of 63.4. Stubborn opener Lewis McManus contributed an obdurate 44, but too many Northants batters surrendered their wickets cheaply on a day when bowlers held sway.Gloucestershire fared no better in the final session, reduced to 40 for 3 by some incisive new-ball bowling from Northamptonshire’s seamers. Ollie Price and James Bracey then held firm to reach the close unbeaten on 16 and 18 respectively, bad light curtailing play with 11.4 overs unused. The fourth wicket pair will resume on 65 for 3 in the morning, still 141 runs behind.Stand-in Gloucestershire captain Bracey won the toss, elected to bowl and looked on from behind the stumps as Northants openers Luke Procter and McManus negotiated the first hour without any major scares on a green-tinged pitch. Only when Matt Taylor switched to the Bristol Pavilion end did Gloucestershire enjoy success, the left arm seamer hitting the top of Procter’s off stump with a ball that nipped back. Having chiseled 21 from 40 deliveries with three boundaries, Northamptonshire’s skipper departed with the score on 34. Taylor struck again three balls later, new batsman Calvin Harrison playing on as the visitors slipped to 39 for 2 in the 14th.That soon became 54 for 3, Josh Shaw locating James Sales’ outside edge and Ben Charlesworth taking a tumbling catch at first slip as the home side registered a first bonus point. Mindful of the need to shore things up, McManus continued to eschew risk as he moved to within seven runs of a half century, but Zaib adopted a more forthright approach, twice driving Ajeet Singh Dale for four and punching Zaman Akhter to the deep mid-wicket boundary as the fourth wicket partnership advanced to 46 by the time lunch was taken with the score on 100 for 3.The stand was worth 65 when Taylor made the breakthrough Gloucestershire so badly needed, McManus playing down the wrong line to a ball that hit off stump and terminated his patient innings on 44. He had faced 92 balls and accrued 3 fours and Northants were back under pressure at 119 for 4. Broad never looked comfortable against Singh Dale’s pace and was caught at the wicket for 12 with the score 147 for 5 as Gloucestershire’s seamers made further in-roads.Unfazed by events at the other end, Zaib continued to play positively, raising 50 from 78 balls with 9 fours and prompting Gloucestershire skipper Bracey to introduce spin in the form of van Buuren from the Ashley Down Road end. Zaib issued a statement of intent, hoisting the slow left armer over deep mid-wicket for six as he progressed towards three figures.Bidding to become only the fifth Northants player and the first since Rob Bailey in 1990 to score seven first class hundreds in a season, the 27-year-old left-hander fell short on this occasion, pushing defensively at a delivery from Akhter and edging a catch behind. His score of 76 from 112 balls included 10 fours and a six and served to keep his team afloat. Rob Keogh and Aadi Sharma mustered resistance thereafter, the seventh wicket pair making it through to tea with the score 194 for 6.Sharma fell soon after the restart, hitting van Buuren’s first delivery high to mid-on where Matt Taylor took a comfortable catch to reduce Northants to 199 for 7. Gloucestershire’s experienced all-rounder struck a further blow with his next delivery, pinning Ben Sanderson lbw without scoring as the visitors displayed signs of lower-order fragility. Ben Whitehouse survived the hat-trick ball, but the home side sensed an opportunity to dismiss their opponents cheaply.When Keogh was bowled for 13 in the act of playing across the line, van Buuren had claimed three wickets in a remarkable nine-ball burst and Northants were in freefall. Singh Dale wrapped up the innings in quick time, bowling Sanderson for six in the next over, at which point the visitors had lost their last five wickets for just 28 runs in 10 overs.If Gloucestershire’s intention was to see off the new-ball threat posed by Sanderson, it proved easier said than done, the veteran seamer summoning a superb in-swinger to bowl Charlesworth for 14 in an impressive spell of 1 for 10 in six overs with three maidens. Broad then accounted for Joe Phillips, who nicked off to Harrison at second slip, while Procter bowled Miles Hammond as the home side lurched to 40-3 inside 19 overs.Bracey and Price batted diligently thereafter, staging an unbroken fourth wicket stand of 25 to keep the visitors at bay.