Alex Connor

Football Journalist

The Telegraph •

Cole Palmer sent off as Spurs storm Stamford Bridge to leave Chelsea red-faced

So much for Xabi Alonso’s call for cool heads from his Chelsea players. Cole Palmer lost his and was sent off, while goalkeeper Mike Penders punched the ball into his own net to give Tottenham Hotspur a helping hand on their way to a second win at Stamford Bridge in 42 attempts.This was hardly “the Battle of the Bridge”, but Chelsea blew up during a ridiculous 10-minute spell towards the end of a game in which Tottenham had bossed possession but not looked like scoring.Palmer was lucky to stay o...
The Telegraph •

England hammer France to keep Rugby League World Cup hopes alive

With Samoa beating Papua New Guinea 64-6 earlier on Saturday, England’s task was put into stark and imposing focus. The Pacific Islanders have a points difference of plus-132. Courtesy of this mauling, England’s is plus-64. So they must see off Papua New Guinea by a big number next Friday and then pray that Tonga defeat Samoa two days later. That is their only route through.In truth, that is as much as McDermott could hope after their initial shortcomings, as they seek to avoid missing out on th...
The Telegraph •

Bournemouth thrash AC Milan to seal greatest victory in club’s history

Milan could not even point to being down to 10 men for the last hour as mitigation; long before, Bournemouth had treated the Rossoneri with contempt. When Ruben Amorim’s side trudged off, soaked and silenced, they had not mustered a single shot on target.Few nights have better encapsulated the Premier League’s power. Bournemouth have never finished higher than last season’s sixth in the top flight of English football; AC Milan have won seven European Cups. But the Premier League’s financial clou...
The Telegraph •

Aston Villa 2.0 are making mockery of the early-season doom merchants

Two months ago there were many doom merchants insisting that Aston Villa were heading for a season of struggle, but that feels like a trick of the imagination now.After a summer of uncertainty and much change, Villa are stepping into a brave new era and find themselves joint-top of the Champions League table after three matches.






























With co-owner Nassef Sawiris in attendance, Villa fans are dreaming of another magical season almost four year...
The Telegraph •

Slow and dull Man Utd are just not good enough

Manchester United are like John Toshack’s duvet. You fix one problem – being far too vulnerable to conceding goals – only to create another – lacking the threat to score. It is all very Meh United not Man United. The indisputable fact is they are just not very entertaining to watch. They are slow and dull.In the end it also points to another thing. The thing highlighted in midweek by Lisandro Martínez after the Champions League defeat at Atlético Madrid: they do not have the strength in depth to...
The Telegraph •

Newcastle jeers tell Matthias Jaissle his ‘vertical’ football is not working

Newcastle United look like a poor team playing badly. The evidence is increasingly damning after Matthias Jaissle’s side were loudly booed off at the end of this limp defeat.This has all the makings of a long, hard season. Anger is already rising to the surface, even though Jaissle claimed Newcastle deserved more from a game they “controlled” in the first half and “dominated” in the second. Those comments jarred with what we had just seen.After four years of enjoying an upward trajectory under E...
The Telegraph •

England’s Rugby League World Cup hopes in tatters after Tonga defeat

McDermott was full of credit. “They’re a big team, a strong team,” he said. “They’ve got some tremendous players in there, and I thought we stuck toe-to-toe with them for nearly all the game.“They scored some tries through kicks, which are always hard to defend, and then towards the back-end of the game we made some errors chasing the scoreboard.”It should be factored in that this was McDermott’s first match in charge and strides have clearly been made since England were woeful in losing the Ash...
The Telegraph •

Aston Villa rout Fenerbahce as Nicolas Jackson ends Ollie Watkins debate

Unai Emery had been intent on signing Nicolas Jackson ever since his arrival at Aston Villa and it is easy to understand why.Jackson is proving invaluable to Emery on their reunion in the Midlands and is already paying back the record £65m transfer fee that made him their marquee summer signing from Chelsea.There were many observers, admittedly away from Villa, who questioned the wisdom of selling England international Ollie Watkins to Al-Hilal in August, but Jackson has almost instantly ended t...
The Telegraph •

Man Utd make worst start in 40 years after being hauled back by 10-man Spurs

Manchester United fans were never going to pass up the opportunity to aim a volley of abuse in the direction of their bitter rivals.By the end of another deeply unconvincing performance, though, they were more preoccupied by the problems afflicting their own team than the cheating scandal engulfing Manchester City.Against City at Old Trafford last month, United lost to a team who were down to 10 men after just 23 minutes.This time around they could not hold on to a lead against a Tottenham Hotsp...
The Telegraph •

All Blacks copy Springbok playbook to dismantle Australia

The greatest compliment you could pay the All Blacks for dissecting Australia was that their dominance and ruthlessness were Springbok-esque, comprehensively popping the Wallabies’ recent bubble under head coach Les Kiss.Both teams came into this contest at the All Blacks’ Eden Park fortress having last played South Africa: Australia knocked off the world champions in Perth while New Zealand lost the Greatest Rivalry series 3-1.A telling feature of those matches was the Springboks’ aerial domina...
The Telegraph •

Saracens storm Leicester to launch new Venter era in style

Two English rugby heavyweights, a Sunday battle royale on terrestrial television, and Saracens shading a 12-try thriller – the Prem is undoubtedly back, and there could not have been a better advert for it.As Brendan Venter and his coaching entourage roared with glee at the final whistle, a scrum penalty all but sealing an improbable victory, Saracens knew that they had taken a serious scalp in the most improb...
The Telegraph •

Australia hold on to beat Boks in Test match for the ages

If the Wallabies play like this in their own backyard at their own World Cup next year, boy we are in for a treat. After years in the doldrums, this five-try victory over South Africa was the latest reminder of their transformation under the stewardship of Les Kiss. Their gritty performance in Perth – the city where Australia will open rugby’s showpiece in 12 months’ time – was caveated by the fact they were facing a second-string Boks side. But there can be no denying they are on an upward traje...
The Telegraph •

£329m spent and still no goals for sorry Tottenham

Tottenham Hotspur have never before in the club’s history begun a league season without scoring a single goal in the first four games, although having done so after spending £329m on new players really does take some doing.“Please score a goal!” was the homemade sign from two Spurs fans upon which the television cameras lingered at the end of the game, although the jaunty felt-tip design and glued-on team crest were rather upbeat compared to the gloom of the stadium. Spurs have tried to outrun t...
The Telegraph •

Newcastle’s limitations exposed by Bournemouth before hosts fight back for draw

This was the definition of a hard-earned point. Newcastle United came back from two goals down to rescue a point against Bournemouth, but this was not a convincing performance from Matthias Jaissle’s side.Newcastle were abject for the first half an hour and the visitors could have been out of sight. It was disjointed and lacklustre as Bournemouth dominated before the break and regularly threatened Lukasz Hornicek in goal.Even during the fightback, Newcastle lacked cohesion and penetration, but f...
The Telegraph •

Manchester United’s attack may be their best form of defence this season

Is attack going to be Manchester United’s best form of defence this season?There was plenty to like going forward, particularly once United had nudged their way in front after their second lucky break of what had hitherto looked like being a tricky afternoon.Give this team a little space and they have the attacking players to inflict some serious damage, none more so than Bruno Fernandes who, just five days after collecting the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award, scored a hat-trick in what wa...
The Telegraph •

£380m = zero points: Big-spending Tottenham humbled by Newcastle

These remain the earliest of early days but the blunt facts are there for all to see. Tottenham Hotspur, the club that has spent around £380m this summer in search of instant improvements, have played twice and lost twice in the Premier League. After making eight new signings, they have so far scored zero goals and won zero points.Not since 1974 has a Spurs team lost the first two games of a league campaign without finding the net. The summer enthusiasm in this corner of north London is therefor...
The Telegraph •

Munoz earns Liverpool draw with Nottingham Forest in Premier League

Andoni Iraola wanted to talk about his team and their need to improve but how could he concentrate on something so straightforward when he had seen something so bizarre?It is important, first and foremost, to explain this is not painting a narrative about Liverpool being unfortunate. Far from it. Iraola hissed his dismay that Nottingham Forest had shown more intensity and been the better team for long periods in an entertaining 2-2 draw.But the penalty that changed the contest? Iraola, his coach...
The Telegraph •

All Blacks stun Springboks in statement win

Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry did not begin with the year’s greatest game, but a New Zealand victory against the odds, at high altitude in Johannesburg, has poured intrigue and interest on to a series which was already brimming with them.The All Blacks’ recent record at Ellis Park, the Springboks’ spiritual home, is by no means shabby – this was their fourth victory from the last six visits – but few fancied Dave Rennie’s galvanised Kiwis on Saturday, against the back-to-back world champions, after a...
The Telegraph •

Arsenal play like the champions they are as title defence starts with a bang

Mentally liberated and physically rested, Arsenal began the new Premier League campaign with a performance befitting champions. Gone are the anxieties of last season, when the title race gnawed away at their minds and bodies. Gone are the pressures of chasing a first Premier League trophy in more than two decades. Arsenal look slick, refreshed and hungry for more. “Champions of England, we know what we are,” sang the home supporters in this thrashing of promoted Coventry City. The players moved...
The Telegraph •

Max Dowman weaves his magic against Girona as Arsenal hit the ground running

Teenage sensation Max Dowman was the star of Arsenal’s first pre-season match, as he scored one goal and assisted another in a 4-1 victory over Girona.Dowman, 16, was joined on the scoresheet by new signing Christos Tzolis, who struck with a low effort in his first game since his £34m move from Belgian side Club Brugge.Established attackers Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus also scored for the Premier League champions, who were largely comfortable against opposition from the Spanis...
The Telegraph •

England have to qualify for World Cup hard way after worst performance of Wiegman reign

When the Lionesses battled to a gutsy 1-0 victory over Spain in April, the question was: Can they win the World Cup playing like that?The answer appeared to be yes. That spirited and determined performance was only two months ago, but it felt a world away watching England brutally dismantled here on Spanish turf.The four goals they conceded were all poor, but Spain were superior in every department. They can certainly w...
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