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Hegemony is not what it was. Over five winless games and one humiliation the neck of the Premier League has been well and truly wound in. All that pearl-clutching at Uefa over the financial heft of football’s mother country looks entirely misplaced.

Perhaps they should relent and allow English clubs competing in Europe to spend more than they earn (as teams not in Europe are allowed to do) to bring them wholly to heel.

Despite the mortification of Tottenham in one quarter of Madrid and the humbling of Manchester City in another, the commentary died hard.

If Richarlison had netted for Spurs with the score at 4-1 against Atletico on Tuesday, who knows what might have happened was the sentiment poured through the ether by TNT’s Spanish deniers.

Twenty-four hours later in Paris, Glenn Hoddle shared the view that Chelsea had nothing to fear from Paris Saint-Germain and, with the score at 3-2 with four minutes to go, will fancy their chances in London.

His deliberation was interrupted by a flash of brilliance by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia that took the score to 4-2. He would rubber-stamp that with another in added time, three goals in 15 minutes rubbing English hauteur into the dirt.

Premier League leaders Arsenal required a late goal to exit Leverkusen with a draw in the early match, a feat beyond Liverpool in Tuesday’s hors d’oeuvres in Istanbul, where again the commentary team struggled to reconcile what we were seeing with their framing of the tie.

Even though they led early, Galatasaray did not do so by virtue of their own quality, according to the general tenor of the commentary, but as a result of the mistakes made by Liverpool, who would shortly set that right to reaffirm eminence.

Except they didn’t because Galatasaray were a handful spearheaded by that noted penalty box vandal Victor Osimhen, supported by a swarm of fleet-footed attackers with whom the English audience was largely unfamiliar.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scores again in stoppage time to make it 5-2

Chelsea have a mountain to climb in the second leg…@tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/HAHVgoUIRi

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 11, 2026

There is always next week, of course, when the teams gather for the second legs. Liverpool will hope Anfield stills the feet of the opposition, and Arsenal have the power to progress should they overcome the creep of performance anxiety triggered by fear of defeat, which seems such a problem for them.

It would be negligent not to reference Newcastle’s draw with Barcelona. But for a clumsy challenge on Dani Olmo in the sixth minute of added time that brought Lamine Yamal into the game from the penalty spot, St James’ Park would have been celebrating a deserved win. In that encounter at least, the hauteur was all Barca’s.

The strength of the Premier League is its depth, made so by the equitable spread of the vast broadcast wealth it attracts. This is a feature worth applauding. And it must be said, the sense of superiority it engenders is not shared in the same way by the players and coaches, who experience elite competition in a different way to supporters and broadcasters selling product.

The capacity of Real Madrid to set aside domestic form in the Champions League, especially for the visit of Manchester City, would not have been a shock to Pep Guardiola, who, like all the English coaches must negotiate the consequences of that deeper domestic depth, fatigue, injuries, etc. Nevertheless, he could have done without a first half hat-trick from Federico Valverde.

The performance of Real’s Uruguayan skipper was a reminder that underpinning the Galactico model is a base level of grunt required of all successful teams. At least Guardiola did not choose this game to change keepers, although he might had he had prior warning of Gianluigi Donnarumma’s weird reluctance to use his left arm for the first goal.

The selection of Antonin Kinsky over Guglielmo Vicario at the Metropolitano had the feel of an ill-judged gamble by the ill-fitting Igor Tudor even before he lost his footing and then his mind. Similarly in Paris, where Liam Rosenior’s decision to axe the imperfect Robert Sanchez for a keeper untested at this level always felt like an abstraction too far by a young coach seeking to prove his credentials. 

Filip Jorgensen demonstrated his technical qualities in denying Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele with fine saves, but suffered a mental lapse with the match poised at 2-2 by gifting the ball to an attacker on the edge of his box. His subsequent fragility was then exposed by the Georgian Messi.

As former England manager Graham Taylor was fond of saying, the bad days are never as awful as they seem and the good never as great as they appear. The English had better hope there is something in that when the teams reconvene. Hubris is the hardest pill to swallow.

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Zak Vyner would never have wanted to be the poster boy for this, but the cap fits. The academy kid, the boyhood fan, the longest-serving player; it all mattered. And then Vyner left for AFC Wrexham in January, a cut-price fee because his contract was up in the summer.

It was Vyner’s first words as a Wrexham player that stung the most. Asked why he had left Bristol City after six straight seasons of Championship football, to cross the border, Vyner was sure: “It’s the ambition. I think the project is well underway and you can’t help but admire it from afar.”

The undertones were unintended, but bruised Bristol City supporters extrapolated them anyway: that club is going places: (this one isn’t); I gave my all (and for what?); I played well (but where did it really get us?). In an exit statement, Vyner described himself as “one of you [fans] now”. To which the sarcastic reply might be: unlucky, pal.

Bristol City supporters rarely get angry; apathy would be a far more accurate diagnosis. If anything, there is an argument that the fanbase has been a little too passive over the last six years. But in recent weeks, mutiny has bubbled over. At the Sheffield Wednesday game in January, “Sack the board” chants were audible. Owner Steve Lansdown and technical director Brian Tinnion are both coming in for serious flak.

For his part, Lansdown voiced his annoyance at the criticism. He pointed to the “hand in my pocket” investment over many years and the necessary long-termism: “People think we just do nothing – absolute twaddle… They’ve got to understand that we can’t do everything straight away.”

There is no crisis at Bristol City; not really. They sold Vyner and Anis Mehmeti in January, but money was reinvested. There is much doubt as to whether manager Gerhard Struber will work out and they have only won three of their last 12 games. They are mid-table in the Championship. Again, none of this is deeply unacceptable.

But it is not only a crisis that gets people angry. Bristol City, their fans say, have got completely stuck. In their last six seasons, Bristol City have won between 15 and 17 league games. They took 22 points from their first 12 league matches in 2025-26, just to raise the heart rate a little. It is 28 from 24 since.

It is not the hope that kills you, but hope only as a prelude to eventual disappointment sure wears you down. And here: a 13-game unbeaten run to go fifth in 2018-19, fourth in December 2019, third in November 2020, a current run of five straight seasons with a higher league finish than the previous year, a playoff place last season (they lost 6-0 on aggregate), the start to this campaign. Every time this team moves forward, it is magnetised back to mediocrity.

Expectation without resources or reason to believe equals entitlement; that doesn’t fit the bill here. Bristol City routinely post the highest revenues of non-parachute Championship clubs. This is the biggest club in English football’s bridesmaid city, ranked eighth according to population and god knows where according to football performance.

Nor can anyone claim that Lansdown has not spent money – a rough estimate is just shy of £300m over his long tenure. He built a new stadium that is certainly magnificent. The club regularly post significant losses that Lansdown permits, ostensibly through generosity and his connection to the club and the city.

None of that erases the question: where are Bristol City going other than nowhere? Clubs repeatedly talk about identities, but what is that here? Over the last 15 years they have had eight chief executives and nine managers. Fifteen years ago, they were mid-table in the Championship. They still are. All that money, all that effort, all that time, all that wastage.

There is a temptation to caveat supporter anger with a reflection of the Championship’s tilted stage; parachute payment clubs clearly have an advantage. But really, that does not wash here.

Look at the current top seven clubs in the Championship: Coventry City, Hull City, Ipswich Town, Millwall, Middlesbrough, Wrexham, Derby County. Three of those have been in League One since Bristol City were. Three others finished below them last season. The exception, Coventry, have a lower annual revenue. Why is promotion always someone else’s realistic dream?

I wonder if mid-table finishes create their own problems. Dealing with repeated seasons of the same experience is hard to process as a supporter as ennui loops to apathy and back. Loyalty disallows you giving up; Bristol City are still likely to have 22,000 season ticket holders next season.

But repetition is also hard for the clubs too. You tell yourself that better is just around the corner; there is never enough going wrong to rip everything up. We have seen it repeatedly: plight can often be a prelude to progress beyond where you started. At Bristol City, the opposite. The entire identity inadvertently becomes simply being a Championship football club.

There will be those, as ever, who warn that supporters should be careful what they wish for: local billionaires do not grow on trees. Which is both absolutely correct and yet misses the point. At Leicester City on Tuesday evening, there were barely 300 away supporters and they watched a performance with no modicum of positivity: 2-0 down early on, missed penalty, more chants against the club’s hierarchy.

The answer: there are no easy answers. But one thing is certain, and those in positions of power must learn to accept it: this club, and these supporters, need to believe in something. Hearing that things cannot change immediately is no good when nothing ever seems to change at all. Otherwise we can all meet here in another three years, ploughing ruefully over the same old ground.

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Manchester United are starting to draw up a shortlist of centre-backs to provide more reliable cover in the heart of defence with Lisandro Martinez facing another extended layoff.

Martinez is set to miss his fourth consecutive match on Sunday against Aston Villa with a calf injury he picked up last month.

Coupled with the mystery around Matthijs de Ligt’s back injury – the Dutchman has been out for three months with no return date in sight – plans are afoot to address the situation.

The i Paper has been told that despite centre-back not previously being a priority position to strengthen in the summer transfer window, the focus being a new left-back, left winger and at least one central midfielder – yet more injury setbacks have forced the club’s hierarchy to draw up a list of potential defensive reinforcements.

The identification process is still in its infancy, but Nottingham Forest’s Brazilian defender Murillo features, The i Paper understands. The 23-year-old has the “perfect blend” of youth and Premier League experience without the ego, one source added, with new co-owners looking for the type of player who can handle the big stage, without the baggage that comes with more marquee names.

Murillo is not understood to be agitating for a move as yet, having only signed a new deal until 2029 last January, but Forest’s hand could be forced if they are relegated. Should United or another interested party – Liverpool, Chelsea and Real Madrid are understood to be monitoring the Brazilian – make their move, it is thought his mind can be changed.

United’s injury issues also push Harry Maguire towards a new contract. The veteran England defender has, alongside Martinez, been crucial to United’s revival since Michael Carrick took charge, with his experience, several sources said, pivotal to keeping the dressing room together.

No decision has been made over whether the 33-year-old will be offered a new deal yet, but The i Paper understands a proposed contract on a reduced salary, down from £190,000-a-week to around £100,000, is being considered.

The player is understood to be willing to consider the reduced terms. One potential sweetener could be offering Maguire a two-year deal instead of one, the club’s preference for an ageing star. Should no agreement be found and Maguire seeks pastures new, another centre-back will be a must.

Youngsters Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven are seen as the future of United’s defence, with the plan to embed both slowly. Martinez and Maguire’s partnership has allowed for that to happen, but the Argentine, who has been plagued by injuries since joining United, has again proven unreliable in terms of fitness and dependability.

De Ligt is a more bizarre case. His back injury was only thought to be a small setback, but week after week, Carrick is having to explain why the Dutch defender – one of United’s standout performers this term prior to his injury – is again absent.

“Matthijs has had a back issue which has been a bit slow to progress,” Carrick said a few weeks ago. “It’s something we’ve been working through, he’s in the right direction but a bit further behind. It’s the nature of the injury, the issue in the back. It’s a difficult one to pin down time wise. He’s definitely improving.”

A fully fit pairing of De Ligt and Martinez are arguably United’s first choice pairing. Keeping either of them fit for any length of time is the hard part. Long-term injury absentees in key positions could be the difference between challenging for titles again or further years in the wilderness. Unless the issue is addressed in the summer.

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ST JAMES’ PARK — Newcastle United need to throw everything at persuading Lewis Hall to sign another long-term contract this summer. Such is the speed of his progress this season, a commitment until 2029 no longer feels like enough.

Hall is a quiet character off-the-pitch, almost unassuming in the way he carries himself. But put him on the biggest of stages – and they do not come much grander than a direct duel with Lamine Yamal in a Champions League knockout tie – and he is a man transformed.

Barcelona’s prodigous forward may have ended the night celebrating his match-saving penalty with an insouciant shrug in front of the Leazes End but it was the only time Yamal had looked comfortable all night. For most of it he struggled to lay a glove on Hall.

That is seriously impressive stuff. Good enough, surely, to punch his ticket for the World Cup where – if Thomas Tuchel has an ounce of sense – he will start at left-back when England step out against Croatia in Texas in June.

It was that sort of night, when reputations are enhanced and markers laid down. Hall began well against Yamal but it was his in-game IQ that really stood out. When Barcelona briefly wrested back the initiative mid-way through the first half – the point at which Hall and Dan Burn nearly conspired to let the visitors have a sight of goal – he stepped deeper to address the danger.

But mostly he was on the front foot in a way that evoked memories of Ashley Cole’s epic battles with Cristiano Ronaldo. Cole won his spurs because he took the game to the brilliant Portuguese, betting that his pace and technical ability would cause his opponent as many problems as he would face. Hall took a leaf out of that book here.

It sets up both players for a fascinating second leg. Yamal, like Barcelona and a visiting press pack who laughed, chatted and took phone calls through Hall’s pre-match media briefing, seemed to arrive on Tyneside with the air of visiting royalty. You can bet they have a bit more respect for Newcastle next week – which will surely make Hall’s night that bit more difficult.

But Eddie Howe’s side should travel to Spain with belief, even if the late leveller means they are outsiders to progress to the quarter-finals. If Joelinton and the outstanding Jacob Ramsey – who is quietly turning into Newcastle’s king of quick transitions – can replicate their muscular displays there is no reason why the Magpies can’t cause them problems.

Yamal’s late goal means they will have to do it the hard way but that has been the case all season. A sickness bug meant Anthony Gordon, the Champions League’s second top scorer, couldn’t start against Barcelona and once again, the problem was converting chances rather than creating them.

As for Hall, this was the sort of performance that gets scouts purring. There has been much conjecture about the future of Sandro Tonali and Tino Livramento but Newcastle’s left-back could have his pick of Europe’s best. “Outstanding” was Howe’s appraisal and his performances in the Champions League have shown he belongs on that stage.

Newcastle know that and a new deal is understood to be in their thoughts. It really should be a priority.

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Igor Tudor’s reign is turning into one of the all-time managerial disasters.

In Madrid, spineless Spurs were left shamed, abject, morose. If it is possible, they look even more broken than they did under Thomas Frank. The rut feels both strangely familiar and unprecedentedly bad – it is the first time in the club’s history they have lost six in a row.

It is not fair to judge anybody simply on optics and still it is hard to conceive of 17 minutes of worse vibes. Antonin Kinsky, the 22-year-old second-choice goalkeeper, was thrown in for his Champions League debut. After a gut-wrenching horrorshow that saw him taken straight back off, he did not receive so much as a nod of acknowledgment from the interim manager.

Not since Loris Karius has any stopper endured a Champions League night quite like this. Karius would never recover from the mortification.

There is hope that Kinsky may yet, because he had the support of three teammates in particular: Joao Palhinha, Conor Gallagher and Dominic Solanke, who followed him down the tunnel to console him, all perhaps as bewildered at the team selection as he was.

Under Tudor, Tottenham have lost four out of four games and conceded 14. There were the usual mitigating factors; the injuries, a pitch that seemed to have been greased with vegetable oil. Oddly there were elements of this 5-2 defeat that were not that bad, but there can be no losing sight of what Tudor was brought in to do.

The three-month contract he was handed in February was effectively a free hit. Try not to insult the players. Put some of them in the correct positions. Get the fans on board. Take responsibility and offer solutions, rather than diagnosing three problems with the Tottenham Hotspur of 2026: the attack, the defence, and come to think of it, the midfield.

That was the prognosis after the loss at Fulham, and the goalkeeping situation was a notable omission from Tudor’s synopsis. He refused to accept that his system was even a relevant talking point.

A nightmare moment for Kinsky on his debut as his mistake leads to Llorente's opener for Atlético Madrid @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/SsHpJxYNIz

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 10, 2026

Yet he chose Atletico Madrid away as the moment to drop Guglielmo Vicario – not entirely without reason. The Italian has the most clean sheets in the Champions League this season but his domestic form has long been a problem; it was far from unthinkable that his back-up should be given an opportunity.

It was from there that Tudor’s approach became inexplicable. Such was his peculiar attitude towards his own players that when Djed Spence was substituted, he made a point of tapping his coach on the shoulder, as though to make a point that they ought to be shaking hands. There is a vacuum of leadership at all levels of the club.

Even as he remains wedded to his back three and to not starting Palhinha in a game tailor-made for the occasion, no one could seriously blame Tudor for the state in which Spurs find themselves – all but out of Europe and a point above the Premier League drop zone.

He was only asked to avoid two things – relegation and humiliation. On the latter count he has surely failed already. One Atletico fan was seen in the stands revelling in such complacency that he began to make a batch of Iberian ham sandwiches.

To be so ridiculed and unserious is the worst nightmare of a club of Tottenham’s stature. All while hoping to lure back Mauricio Pochettino. As he sat in the crowd there must have been a temptation to blindfold him and whisper that it was 2019 and Harry Kane was still the No 9.

Before the game some had the temerity to question if Atletico, famously the bridesmaids of Spanish football, were the most cursed club in the world.

As Spurs fans began walking out after 20 minutes, wondering if this was the new manager bounce, there can be no arguments. Imagine what might have happened without a new-manager bounce.

The peak of the Tudor period so far has been a half-hour spell that still ended in a 4-1 defeat in the north London derby. Or was it the brief rally at Fulham once the game was beyond their reach – no, the optical illusion of taking a lead against a weakened Crystal Palace before self-destructing moments later?

In the scheme of those results, a comprehensive defeat at Atletico ought not to signify. It matters only in that it feels terminal – and there is zero evidence that Tudor can dig them out of it.

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Bournemouth will reopen contract talks with manager Andoni Iraola in the upcoming international break in an effort to ward off potential interest from Crystal Palace, Tottenham and Manchester United.

Iraola’s current deal runs out at the end of the season and his achievements on the South Coast – especially after losing some of the club’s best players in the last six months – have seen his stock rise.

He is a target for Palace and sources have indicated he has been discussed at both Spurs and Old Trafford – as well as for potential vacancies in Italy and Spain.

Iraola’s future

Palace’s interest is perhaps the biggest threat as they look to replace Oliver Glasner but Iraola was on the shortlist last summer when Spurs eventually decided to hire Thomas Frank and is certain to figure in their thinking if they manage to stay up.

Iraola has kept his cards close to his chest but Bournemouth are aware of how highly rated he is and want to resolve his future before the end of the campaign.

The club believe that they have illustrated their ambition and done everything they can to match Iraola’s own aspirations in a year in which they had to sell players to address issues around profitability and sustainability rules (PSR).

While there is an element of confidence that they can persuade Iraola to stay, talks over a new deal first began a year ago and are yet to reach a breakthrough. Recent reports suggesting Iraola is close to signing a fresh contract are inaccurate, which may indicate he is keeping his options open.

When talks are set to begin

Talks have been paused as the club focus on pushing for another top 10 finish – with Europe an outside possibility – but the international matches coincide with a three-week break for Bournemouth and is viewed as the perfect time to reengage.

Iraola has a reputation for carefully considering his options when it comes to his career and would never have left Bournemouth before the end of his contract, whatever offers came his way.

There is hope that he will have seen the fates of fellow up-and-coming managers like Frank and Ange Postecoglou and decide that a stable club with well-defined structure and a supportive owner in billionaire Bill Foley is his best bet.

Bournemouth have managed to sell more than £300m of talent since the end of last season thanks to a smart recruitment strategy. The sales were necessary as the club’s PSR position was potentially perilous.

Bournemouth’s summer plans

The i Paper understands Bournemouth’s squad cost ratio is now around 80 per cent, which gives them leverage to invest without selling in the summer. Although Marcos Senesi will leave in the summer, and there are release clauses in the contracts of several other stars, another close season of departures is not expected.

Indeed there is real satisfaction at how desirable the club has become to potential new players.

Bournemouth’s signing of Brazilian wonderkid Rayan from Vasco da Gama is viewed as a good example of that ambition. He had interest from top Premier League clubs and two firm offers that outstripped Bournemouth’s, from Al Hilal and Zenit Saint Petersburg.

Yet Bournemouth’s ability to develop players before allowing them to sign for the likes of Real Madrid, Paris Saint Germain, Liverpool and Manchester City has caught the eye of agents and players.

Rayan wanted to play regularly and saw Bournemouth as the best chance for that. He has a €100million (£86m) release clause that can be activated at any time but there’s an expectation that he stays for at least a season. The Cherries will hope Iraola is on the same timeline.

How Iraola’s sides could line up

By James Price

Iraola’s predecessor, Gary O’Neil, had led the side to 15th in the 2022-2023 season before departing. Iraola arrived and delivered a 12th-placed finish, creeping into ninth the following season.

The Cherries are just eight points behind Liverpool in sixth and the promised land of European football.

Iraola’s sides are flexible whilst being high-pressing – almost to a fault – with Bournemouth ranking sixth for goals conceded in the top flight this season – the same as Tottenham.

Here’s how both Palace and Spurs could line up under Iraola’s preferred system.

Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Sarr, Bergvall; Simons, Kulusevski, Kudus; Tel

Crystal Palace (4-2-3-1): Henderson; Munoz, Lacroix, Riad, Mitchell; Wharton, Doucoure; Nketiah, Pino, Johnson; Mateta

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If you were to ask Pep Guardiola, Arsenal are “the best team in the world”. Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler screams at them to “f***ing play football”. It is fair to say the ability to grind out wins can divide opinion.

Over two-and-a-half years in north London, Declan Rice has got used to all the noise. First, the £100m fee, then three successive title races. Arsenal are on the cusp of a first Premier League trophy in 22 years – and should there one day be history books written on this season, his set pieces will be among the first chapters. There can be no doubt as to their effectiveness.

“We’ve got something we’re really good at – so much goes into it, it’s not just we whip in a corner and someone heads it in,” Rice tells The i Paper.

“Execution, the timing, what we plan has to be bang on the money for us to score a goal – and we’ve done that many times this season. So credit to all of us because they’re long meetings going through set pieces, doing it on the pitch, repetition.

“Every team changes the way they play and the way they defend against us, so it’s on us to find ways to score and we’ve been doing that.”

Arteta-ball is quite clearly being emulated across the country. No other team has enjoyed the same results: 19 set-piece goals, with Manchester United, Tottenham and Newcastle closest behind on 15.

“It comes from us, the way we set up and then everyone talks about it and then everyone does it – so it’s confusing!” Rice says.

“But they’re not doing it to the level that we do it. You can see that when you’re seeing teams take corners. We can still get better and that’s the good thing about it.”

This could well turn into Rice’s greatest season. His first at Arsenal, upon arriving from West Ham in 2023, produced seven goals and eight assists. He is currently on four and five respectively, with the Gunners still in four competitions. Does he pay attention to those stats either way? Yes and no.

“I’ve been in and out of that in my career, to be honest. I was probably worried about my numbers, then not worried about the numbers.

“In your career, I don’t think you ever know what you’re going to go on to achieve. As the seasons evolve and you’re playing week in, week out, and the game gets better and better, there can end up being no limits to what you can achieve.”

Rice’s own evolution into a No 8 is partly a result of how the pieces of Arsenal’s midfield have shifted around him. At first, he operated most regularly with Thomas Partey (58 appearances together) and Jorginho (48). Both have since moved on. He has forged a new partnership with Martin Zubimendi that has added “different bits to my game”.

Zubimendi, he argues, is a “typical Spanish No 6”.

“He moves the ball so well through the lines, keeps it calm, simple, a real calm presence who’s won a lot in his career already”. The other alliance which may yet prove to be the most important of his career is a burgeoning one with Elliot Anderson, the “high-energy” England teammate set to partner him at the World Cup.

“We’re like a hybrid of each other really,” he says of Anderson. “We both play six, we both play eight, both love to attack the box, defend the box. He’s a player I really admire.”

Rice is currently odds on to win the PFA Player of the Year, having already been named Men’s Footballer of the Year at the London Football Awards. And should they win the Premier League or Champions League, this Arsenal team will go down as one of the club’s greatest ever. The players are well aware of “what you can become” if they deliver either of those, Rice admits.

Then, inevitably, there are Ballon d’Or rumours, which he laughs off.

“That is far, far away. There’s still so long to go in the season, need to win a few trophies, need to keep playing well. I don’t get caught up in it, just try to live in the moment. Keep playing football and see what happens.”

The curious thing about the focus on his attacking stats – and the fixation on Arsenal’s goalscoring more generally – is that it can lead to other aspects of a potentially title-winning side being overlooked.

In games like the 1-0 victory over Brighton, which prompted Hurzeler’s comments, the aim is still always to “play good football, exciting football”.

“Sometimes you’re going to have games where it isn’t going to be that for obvious reasons,” Rice says. “One, if you don’t play well, two, the opposition do something to stop you playing well. We play against good teams, good managers, that’s the reality of the Premier League.

“We didn’t play the best against Brighton – it’s down to them to find a way to score against a team that didn’t play well. We kept it strong – an amazing part of our game is defensive solidity. We’ve got different ways of winning – and we’ll keep using them.”

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