Thomas Tuchel has been bold with some surprise names included and omitted from his 26-man England squad for this summer’s World Cup.

Tuchel has said he would be willing to drop the most talented players if it was right for the team, but the decision to leave Cole Palmer, Harry Maguire and Phil Foden at home is especially daring – proof that the German is willing to stand by his forthright words.

In-form Morgan Gibbs-White is unfortunate to miss out, while Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton is another surprise absentee. Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo is named, with Saudi-based Ivan Toney possibly the most staggering inclusion. Bayer Leverkusen’s Jarell Quansah and Newcastle defender Dan Burn keep Maguire out.

England squad in full

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, James Trafford, Dean Henderson

Defenders: Marc Guehi, Dan Burn, Jarell Quansah, Ezri Konsa, John Stones, Tino Livramento, Reece James, Nico O’Reilly, Djed Spence

Midfielders: Declan Rice, Kobbie Mainoo, Elliot Anderson, Jordan Henderson, Jude Bellingham, Morgan Rogers, Eberechi Eze

Forwards: Noni Madueke, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Gordon, Harry Kane, Ollie Watkins, Ivan Toney, Bukayo Saka.

The 7 biggest calls

• Harry Maguire – Out
• Kobbie Mainoo – In
• Djed Spence – In
• Ivan Toney – In
• Cole Palmer – Out
• Phil Foden – Out
• Trent Alexander-Arnold – Out

Other notable omissions: Lewis Hall, Morgan Gibbs-White, Adam Wharton, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Danny Welbeck, Levi Colwill, Fikayo Tomori, Luke Shaw, Jarrod Bowen.

Tuchel has got this badly wrong

This squad has certainly got people talking. Some huge calls from a manager famed for not being afraid to upset the applecart.

While on the face of it, leaving generational talents like Foden and Palmer at home appears a seismic move, both have been out of form for too long for their lack of influence to be easily rectified in a few World Cup group games.

Of the most stellar names to miss out, 66-cap Maguire, one of Manchester United’s most consistent players this term, is the one Tuchel has got badly wrong.

When Maguire sat down with journalists at St George’s Park in March, the thrill of being back in the England fold for the last set of friendlies was etched all over his face. He beamed with pride at being recalled. The fact, after so many caps, it still meant this much to him was heartwarming to witness.

Maguire should not only be in the squad, he could easily have started against Croatia on 17 June. His leadership on and off the pitch is vital and is a key reason United executives were so desperate to tie the 33-year-old up to a new contract.

Read more

• Our writers’ Player of the Year: Bruno Fernandes, Antoine Semenyo, David Raya
• Daniel Storey: Arsenal took your hate and won the title with it

He openly admitted in March that he had changed with age to focus solely on the team and not on the individual. Maguire insisted he would be willing to go to the US and play one minute of action all tournament – if he could still help the team in any way, perhaps even offering younger charges advice, he would.

In a tournament that could come down to goals from set pieces, as knockout football often does, Maguire offers more aerial threat than any of his counterparts too.

For a nation that has produced many in the pantheon of central defensive greats, this is arguably the weakest group in English footballing history. Maguire’s absence makes a mediocre set of options look worryingly short.

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The season is almost over, so what better time to think about the Player of the Year awards?

Arsenal were crowned Premier League champions for the first time in 22 years, while Manchester City won their second Women’s Super League title in club history.

We asked our football writers to make a case for who they think deserve the glory.

Kevin Garside, chief sports correspondent

Men’s Player of the Year: Bruno Fernandes

Manchester United’s outstanding contributor since his arrival in 2020, Fernandes has embroidered every season with his class. The difference this time is an improved squad responding to his orchestral prompts. A record 21 assists, can’t argue with that.

Women’s Player of the Year: Khadija Shaw

Shaw fills a Manchester City shirt with the same prolific presence as Erling Haaland, scoring 21 goals in 22 appearances. There are many reasons why City climbed the summit again for the first time in a decade, but arguably none are as significant as the fit and functioning Jamaican.

Daniel Storey, chief football writer

Men’s Player of the Year: David Raya

My Player of the Year, as described so eloquently here, is David Raya. If he were an attacking player I reckon that he would be heavy favourite because he has changed Arsenal matches like nobody else. So he deserves it.

Women’s Player of the Year: Khadija Shaw

In the WSL, Manchester City were so dominant that there is no other choice but “Bunny” Shaw. Top scorer, piss-taker and the one that got away, if City let her leave.

Pete Hall, north-west football correspondent

Player of the Year: Bruno Fernandes

Easiest decision I’ve made in my entire career. The Manchester United skipper has been playing a different sport to everyone else this season. Just look at the chances-created numbers, if you think that is hyperbolic in any way. Having carried this fallen giant for years, Fernandes somehow keeps getting even better. A great person off the pitch, too.

Women’s Player of the Year: Alessia Russo

Another stellar season for Alessia Russo, who contributes so much more than goals for Arsenal. A third successive season reaching double figures in front of goal, along with six WSL assists, is no accident for a player who has shown an ability to drag Arsenal through some difficult moments on her own this season.

Mark Douglas, northern football correspondent

Men’s Player of the Year: Antoine Semenyo

First the mitigation: Arsenal are the best team in the land but their story is one of collective brilliance. Bruno Fernandes? Forgive me but it’s easy to look good in a team with no European commitments that got knocked out of both Cups early.

It’s Semenyo for me – who not only won the FA Cup with the best goal in a final for many a year but also played a huge part in Bournemouth’s brilliant campaign. His conduct during the Man City transfer was exemplary, and he has made a massive difference at the Etihad.

Women’s Player of the Year: Khadija Shaw

Sorry to be predictable, but she’s got the goals and now the WSL medal to back it up. Manchester City’s dominance is in large part down to Shaw’s 21 goals, and no one can really touch her when it comes to influence.

City should move heaven and earth to keep her.

Read more

• Daniel Storey: Arsenal took your hate and won the title with it
• Tim Stillman: I met my wife through Arsenal – this title win means everything to us

Michael Hincks, sports writer

Men’s Player of the Year: Bruno Fernandes

I am willing to board the hype train because of how much Fernandes has carried Manchester United to the Champions League, whereas Declan Rice and Erling Haaland feel like obvious, but not entirely outstanding, picks from greater collective efforts. That makes this a backhanded compliment; an award to the one-man team that is Bruno United.

Women’s Player of the Year: Khadija Shaw

A third-straight Golden Boot has been followed by the first of what the Jamaican has craved since joining Manchester City in 2021, the Women’s Super League title. Few deserve it more than one of the world’s best strikers.

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Newcastle United have recruited a rising Silicon Valley star as they accelerate plans to build a data department they hope can rival the Premier League’s best.

The i Paper can reveal that Kaustubh Deshpande, a 26-year-old AI specialist who has joined from top US tech firm Scale AI, began work at the club’s Benton training base last week. Deshpande’s route into the Premier League is not the usual path travelled – he graduated from UCLA with a masters in applied statistics before going to work in Silicon Valley – but there is satisfaction at the club that they have been able to attract a rising tech star to the North East.

Newcastle fought hard to get a work visa for Deshpande. The i Paper understands he is set to be joined by a second data specialist early in the summer as part of a new “vision” for the club.

Sporting director Ross Wilson, who was part of a Southampton set-up that pioneered the use of data a decade ago with their “black box” that continuously monitored potential targets, has worked with technical director Sudarshan Gopaladesikan on the strategy. It has the enthusiastic support of majority owners PIF, with data having been part of conversations at the recent Matfen Hall “off-site” summit.

Club sources have stressed that the appointments should be viewed as part of a plan to “build foundations” around the use of data at Newcastle rather than a short-term fix ahead of the next summer transfer window.

It comes alongside significant investment in scouting networks with Newcastle recently creating new roles to monitor youth markets in areas like the Balkans, Croatia and Southern Europe. The Magpies, it is being stressed, will continue to lean heavily on having expert eyes on every potential target.

Deshpande’s job will focus on recruitment but he is not a scout. He will not be finding the next Malick Thiaw or Sandro Tonali for Eddie Howe but he will help build systems and software that could give Newcastle a cutting edge when it comes to evaluating potential targets.

How Newcastle will use AI

Both new hires are about giving Newcastle deeper knowledge of the transfer market and crunching the numbers in a way that makes the almost endless amount of data out there more accessible. AI, for example, can be harnessed to accurately predict performance, injury risk or tactical fit – but it requires real experts to make that actually work in practice.

The i Paper understands that the club have already developed complex algorithms that quickly match players from around the world with their unique style of play but are keen to go much further.

Deshpande would be well-placed to help Newcastle develop their own ChatGPT-style chatbot that would allow the football and scouting department to ask quick questions of complex data.

Want a Bundesliga left-back under 24 who averages four progressive carries per game? Imagine a tool that crunches reams of data to create that shortlist in seconds. That is the sort of thing that could be coming to Newcastle in the near future. And sources insist that is just the tip of a very deep iceberg.

His arrival appears to be a sign of the direction the club is moving in. Just this week Newcastle announced a £30m investment in the existing training ground, stadium and pitch – and that will be matched by recruitment efforts centred around overhauling the squad.

There was a changing of the guard feel at St James’ Park last weekend as Kieran Trippier and Emil Krafth moved on and Howe admitted there may be a “freshness” about the squad that starts next season. But behind the scenes, new roles are being appointed and existing departments are being reshuffled.

As The i Paper reported earlier this month, former loans manager Shola Ameobi is changing roles and there will be a review of the department by Wilson.

Howe appeared to confirm on Sunday that the club’s long-serving head of medical Dr Paul Catterson is departing Newcastle at the end of the campaign too – seemingly for a new job with the Premier League.

The transfers it could lead to

The i Paper gave Analytics FC – a data-driven sports consultancy used by leading Premier League clubs and across Europe – a commission to go and find under-the-radar talent who are affordable and fit their needs through the spine of the team.

Strikers

Mohamed Kader Meite (Al-Hilal)

“He’s raw but profiles superbly as a quick, high energy striker with great off ball movement. Registration rules or squad bloat might mean both parties would be open it,” says Alex Stewart,

Fisnik Asllani (Hoffenheim)

Stewart admits he is a ‘left-field’ shout but has “a high shot volume, is tall striker with superb defensive output and clever creativity”.

Promise David (Union Saint Gilloise)

Stewart says he is “unproven but has the raw tools – and the sign-off of USG’s excellent scouting department – to prosper”.

Midfielders

Nicolo Fagioli (Fiorentina)

We asked for Tonali replacements if he goes – Analytics FC reckon he could be an upgrade, offering more in terms of passing.

Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest)

“The gold standard” is what Stewart calls him. The £100m-rated signing would surely only sign for Newcastle, though, if they sold bit.

Angelo Stiller (Stuttgart)

Not as defensively strong as Tonali but would give Newcastle a different profile. “He gives more ball progression from a screening six role, and can carry through a press,” Stewart explains.

James Garner (Everton)

“Stability, work-rate and a decent dead ball ability,” says Stewart. Recently capped for England.

Read more

• Mark Douglas: The awkward conversation Newcastle need to have this summer
• Pete Hall: Aston Villa and Newcastle lead four-way race for £40m goalkeeper

Goalkeepers

Diant Ramaj (Borussia Dortmund)

Was on loan at struggling Heidenheim but has impressed. “Long distribution is excellent and he’s a great one v one ‘keeper,” says Stewart.

Kayne van Oevelen (FC Volendam)

“A 6ft 7ins Dutch keeper with excellent passing skills, he looks like a decent prospect,” says Stewart.

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After Arsenal’s win over Burnley on Monday evening, I went back and forth on how to watch Bournemouth vs Manchester City. My friends who I go to games with had long since resolved that they would watch the game together in Islington. That’s the thing about going to lots of football games, you are always planning, scheming even. You always have your eye on the ramifications.

I resolved to watch it at home. I will be at Selhurst Park on Sunday and I will be in Budapest next week. My wife and my five-year-old daughter won’t be with me at those games. If the good thing was going to happen, I wanted to be at home with my family. And if the good thing didn’t happen, well, I could just go to bed and shrug it off and contemplate yet more grey hairs sprouting from my temples on the final day.

I met my wife through Arsenal but she had yet to experience a league title victory. A member of my immediate family has been at every coronation game since 1953. She was at my side at the 2015 and 2017 FA Cup finals. We watched the 2020 FA Cup final together while she was in labour. Our daughter was born 20 hours after the final whistle blew at Wembley.

Watching Arsenal this season has been an exercise in cardiovascular discipline. Arsenal have won 18 games by the odd goal this season. They have been behind by more than one goal for less than 30 minutes of the entire campaign. Nearly every game has been in the balance. Add to that, watching the team you are competing with for the league title and willing their opponents on. That is a lot of nervous energy to expend.

The instant the match kicked off, my heart rate climbed. I was at West Ham last weekend and if the heart really is a muscle, the four minute stoppage-time VAR check ought to have built supreme endurance levels. My wife and I watched this game and tutted and swore and kicked every ball. When Eli Junior Kroupi scored at the end of the first half, it’s incredible that our daughter remained asleep as we celebrated.

The second half was torture, just as Arsenal’s nervy second-half display against Burnley, which we were both at, had been 24 hours previously. Just at the point we had begun to relax and enjoy the inevitable, Erling Haaland scored with 90 seconds remaining. It was typical of Arsenal’s season that we simply could not be allowed to enjoy the run-up to the final whistle and the end of 22 years of hurt. We had to white knuckle it. Again.

The whistle finally blew and I just wept. I knew I would, there was no pretence. I had been in the press box 12 months ago when Arsenal Women won the Champions League in Lisbon. If I couldn’t keep it together in a place of work, there was simply no chance I would be able to keep a lid on it in my own home.

My wife and I met as a direct consequence of this football club. What’s more, she is from Brazil and only through the true globality of the Arsenal fan base and the immediacy of digital communication was that possible. The last time we watched Arsenal win a trophy together, she was undergoing induction and my breathing was probably just as laboured as hers.

Our daughter was asleep upstairs, so we could not scream and shout or run into the street. On this occasion, we did what most other Arsenal fans did. We sat on the sofa with a glass of wine in hand and watched footage roll in from all around the world. The Arsenal fanbase is a much more global phenomenon than it was in 2004 when I watched us win the league at White Hart Lane.

We looked on as the streets filled around Emirates Stadium, as fans desperate for company took trains, buses and hastily hired and discarded lime bikes to experience the moment with their fellow fan. 22 years of hurt expelled in an instant and the deep, primal instinct for companionship manifested itself on the streets of N5.

Read more

• Daniel Storey: Arsenal took your hate and won the title with it
• Kat Lucas: The four ways Arteta transformed Arsenal from bottlers to champions

But not just in London, we watched as videos rolled in from Africa, Asia and America. We watched as the Botswana government clarified there would be no public holiday for its citizens. We watched the whole world convulse under the weight of our collective happiness.

The last time Arsenal did this was a generation ago, I was 22 years old and several pounds lighter than I am now. I hadn’t met my wife, I didn’t have my daughter, I hadn’t begun to forge my career, I didn’t even have regular access to the internet. They say the past is a different country but 2004 feels like a different galaxy.

This feels so much bigger than it did then and that’s simply because it matters to more people and we all have access to one another on a daily basis. Football has taught me many lessons, chief among them is the power of perspective but also the power of memory. Because when you experience euphoria and you reflect on it in subsequent years, it’s more than just a memory. You feel that joy again.

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Freiburg 0-3 Aston Villa (Tielemans 41’, Buendia 45+3’, Rogers 58’)

BESIKTAS PARK — How is it that one night can make 30 years of waiting feel instantly worthwhile? Only football can do this, because only football delivers the gut-wrenching lows that make the highs so much sweeter.

Aston Villa, who have lost four Wembley finals since 2000, who were a Championship side in 2019 and escaped relegation on the final day a year later, are Europa League winners in 2026.

With Prince William watching on, the 3-0 victory over Freiburg crowns Unai Emery an all-time Villa great, and in winning this competition a record-extending fifth time, the Spaniard has the silverware his tireless efforts to transform this cub deserve.

PRINCE WILLIAM ABSOLUTELY LOVES IT pic.twitter.com/HQyyMyzfJK

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 20, 2026

And it was sealed in royal fashion. Wondergoals from free transfer Youri Tielemans and Emiliano Buendia, who almost left last summer, put Villa in dreamland before Morgan Rogers sealed it, paving the way for future Villa Park statue John McGinn to become the first Villa captain to lift a major trophy since Andy Townsend in 1996.

Villa’s journey under Emery had dominated the build-up, so too the sense his reign needed something more tangible than a top-four finish and wins over Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich.

It made for a claret-and-blue air of hopeful expectation in Istanbul, and in the city where continents collide two rival tribes gathered in the narrow streets off the main shopping strip on Tuesday night – ex-Villa players Stiliyan Petrov, Ian Taylor and Lee Hendrie included – to speculate about the final to come. It was clear both sides knew who the favourites were.

Favourites is an unusual tag for Villa. In the domestic finals since their League Cup win 30 years ago, they had lost to Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City. They were the underdogs who left empty-handed.

This time though the onus was on Villa. The free shot was Freiburg’s, who were playing the biggest match in their 122-year history, and the 10pm local kick-off time only added to the tension. “Three hours to go and now I’m scared,” one passing Villa supporter said down to the phone to a loved one.

Thankfully the rain that had turned roads into rivers earlier in the day relented and Villa supporters made their way to Besiktas Park, making the 20-minute walk from the fan park clutching cans and dreaming this would be the night. Parents who remember the 1982 European Cup and the two Coca-Cola Cups in the 90s eager to share a positive memory with a generation who have grown up witnessing near misses and the spiral that led to three years in the Championship.

Sensational from Youri Tielemans

An absolute rocket to give Aston Villa the lead in the Europa League final

TNT Sports & HBO Max pic.twitter.com/zOZAIDXLKg

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 20, 2026

They have their memories now, but amid the rising noise inside the ground, first a concern for Villa before kick-off when goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez clutched his hand during the warm-up. The problem was unclear but tended to, and a thumbs up indicated the Argentine was okay to start.

Once under way, misplaced passes displayed early nerves from Villa, but their first chance arrived inside three minutes when Morgan Rogers forced an early save from Noah Atubolu.

Freiburg were physical, pressing high, and as supporters had noted before kick-off, their best chance of winning was from set-pieces. That almost rang true just 17 minutes in, but from the half-cleared free-kick Nicolas Hofler dragged his shot wide when he should have hit the target.

Early yellows for Buendia and Matty Cash were proof of Villa’s frustration defensively, while going forward decisions were letting them down. Ollie Watkins shying away from a shot, the ball not quite settling for McGinn. Something special was required.

Freiburg meanwhile were growing in confidence. The gameplan was working and 20-year-old Johan Manzambi in particular looked threatening.

Then something special came. Rogers’ cross, Youri Tieleman’s volley, a strike so clean yet so filthy. To even attempt that in a final, let alone score it. The Belgian who had scored Leicester City’s FA Cup winner in 2021 had set Villa on their way.

Then something special again. This time Buendia curling in a stunner to give Villa fans a half-time party. One hand was on the trophy, and just before the hour-mark it was all-but theirs when Rogers poked home.

Buendía brilliance

Emiliano Buendía with a beauty to make it 2-0 to Aston Villa just before half-time

TNT Sports & HBO Max pic.twitter.com/sVmWF0Leoa

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 20, 2026

It had been too long, but this coach in this competition with this core of players. It was the perfect match, and in the line of dominoes leading up to this moment – the 2018 takeover, the 2019 play-off win, the 2022 appointment of Emery – a nod must go out to Thomas Bramall.

Last year referee Bramall controversially ruled out a Villa goal at Manchester United on the final day of the Premier League season. It meant Villa missed out on the Champions League and played they Europa League instead.

Villa were furious then. They won’t be now.

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The appropriate way to assess Mikel Arteta’s season is to conceive what might have happened had Arsenal finished second for a fourth straight season. How could his players ever truly believe him again? Another lead, chance, season all gone. The bridesmaid may have hung on, for a while, but the doubts would be too deafening.

That is the right starting point because it contextualises everything else and because for a while it was our mistaken assumption. It lifts Arteta higher because of the sheer risk involved. Too often we are guilty of melodramatising the fine margins between success and perceived failure. Here there was no other conclusion to draw.

There were doubts, within the fanbase and within the media because Arsenal, and their manager, had become the personification of just-not-quite. And then they went top of the Premier League in early October and never went anywhere else.

The Brent-ian elements of Arteta’s managerial persona have certainly become a bit much at times – the lightbulb, the whiteboard drawings, the actual fire. Don’t get me wrong, Eddie Nketiah is a lovely bloke but should he be working here? We’ve all winced at a few press conferences and it has lost Arteta many supporters amongst those who would previously have considered themselves broadly neutral.

But they were also constructs, tangible visualisation tools to persuade a group of young men to believe in intangible concepts: pressure, desire, hope, fight, camaraderie. When Arsenal finished second three times in a row, Arteta had to abandon or turn up the heat. He chose the latter. He probably knows that some of it sounds silly, but doesn’t care.

And, sorry to burst the bubble here, but this is how lots of people in elite sport think and talk. It deflects much of the pressure off players and focuses the spotlight on the manager, who copes better with the control and the pressure than having neither. Your hero probably owns a Steven Bartlett book: this is life now.

Arteta’s principal strategy is relentless positivity in front of the media. It can be grating to outsiders: every challenge is a beautiful opportunity, every battle a privilege, every opponent a great warrior that it will be an honour to face, every moment in training a sliver of family love.

But Sir Alex Ferguson used to describe how his press conferences were primarily a tool to speak to his players and I think that’s basically Arteta’s modus operandi. He demands a huge amount from his players. He has taken them to three second-place finishes in succession and he has to maintain absolutely positivity to eliminate all doubt.

Related: who was the last player to want to leave Arsenal that Arsenal would have been unhappy to lose? Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in 2022, perhaps? For four years, Arteta has seemingly kept a squad that has won nothing happy and kept them convinced in their title credentials. There must have been interest in Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Declan Rice. It never seemed a possibility that any would leave. That is a masterclass of man-management.

Arsenal have played with control but far less often with penetration this season. Arteta backed the team to produce either individual moments of brilliance in open play or set-piece prowess to rule all and maximised their impact through rigid defence. Arsenal built their way into matches, leading only 17 times at half-time (Manchester City, by contrast, had a half-time lead in 23 games).

That was so inherently risky that it staked Arteta’s entire reputation. Had Arsenal finished second again, having narrowed the margins at their manager’s behest, it would have been understandably interpreted as tactical cowardice with lasting repercussions.

Read more

• Pete Hall: Arsenal crowned champions for first time in 22 years
• Kat Lucas: The four ways Arteta transformed Arsenal from bottlers to champions

Not only that, it wilfully railed against Arsenal’s modern traditions. The last dynastical manager here ruled through tactical idealism and a philosophy for how football should be played. Arteta doubled down on his own pragmatism and watched on as that became the perfect paradigm of the league itself. Either that’s a stunning coincidence or else Arteta has bent the division to his own will.

So put away your memes. Silence those barbs. Make peace with the fact that you (and I) got this one wrong. Arteta heard the criticism, took a breath and transformed it into his fuel. Arteta willingly walked the tightrope and ended that journey as a king. He will be lifted on the pitch on Sunday by those who never doubted him.

And update your records. Arteta is the second youngest Premier League-winning manager in history. He is the first manager to win the title in his first job since Kenny Dalglish in 1990. He is a Premier League champion, 22 years after he arrived in England and 22 years after Arsenal last managed it. The Premier League landscape is now his playground.

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STAMFORD BRIDGE – It is never wise to celebrate too early. Winning the lottery before the cheque has cleared. Fancying yourself to have signed Eberechi Eze before the paperwork is finished. Or believing you have stayed up at the expense of a West Ham side who have inexplicably proven even more chaotic.

For Tottenham, every one of those anxieties, every imaginable kind of neuroses will follow them into the final day of the season. It bears repeating: Tottenham Hotspur will go into the last gasps of this campaign of misery fighting for their Premier League lives.

Whatever happens next, that is a damning indictment of an appalling situation which may yet turn into a catastrophe for this grand old football team.

A glimmer of hope

Those Spurs supporters crammed into a corner of Stamford Bridge hoped they had suffered enough indignities for one evening upon hearing news of Arsenal’s coronation, a sorrow they have not had to endure for 22 years. It was about to get even worse.

We do not yet know whether Chelsea will welcome them again next season, or whether they will tour the string of teams definitely consigned to the Championship: Portsmouth, Preston… Southampton.

But in the present day the Bridge was treated to an exquisite effort from Enzo Fernandez, hit with his left to leave a powerless Antonin Kinsky – in goal over a fit again Guglielmo Vicario – rooted to the spot. In the away end, heads wilted into shaking hands as Randal Kolo Muani’s careless pass set away Cole Palmer to spark the move for Andrey Santos and Chelsea’s second.

In Richarlison, there is always hope. Without him Tottenham would have been gone long ago. He picked the ball out of the net in a gesture to epitomise Spurs’ current feel: they are not finished, it is not over, but goodness, are they in a bad way.

A treacherous race to the bottom

Their record here is so abject the pain was simultaneously familiar and newly injurious. When Roberto De Zerbi’s men face Everton on Sunday they will begin two points clear of West Ham, who play Leeds.

Even if they are favourites to escape, for a group who have looked so fragile and bereft of confidence as this one there are no guarantees of the point they need.

And ultimately that is the logical outcome of this treacherous race to the bottom, where trying to run your football club mildly better than David Sullivan is the aim. De Zerbi has injected bite but that is the minimum requirement and has not yet overridden the most glaring issue – a simple lack of quality going forward. Kolo Muani and Mathys Tel took turns blazing over. “That’s why you’re going down,” delighted the Chelsea fans.

Read more

• Pete Hall: Aston Villa and Newcastle lead four-way race for £40m goalkeeper
• Michael Hincks: The cost of Tottenham relegation: 75% pay cuts, key sales and £200m lost
  

That darkest of chapters in Tottenham’s history may not materialise. Relegation would be utterly unthinkable. Yet if you were to peruse the results of a team who failed to win a game between 28 December and 25 April, it is undeniable how terrifyingly fine they are cutting it.

In the desperate tension of the dying minutes, there was no full reenactment of the Battle of the Bridge but the reality of that ominous plight was setting in.

Should the worst happen, this will have been a demise inflicted not here at Stamford Bridge but in a north London boardroom over years of neglect and complacency. Tottenham have 90 minutes to save themselves from their own shadow.

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