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Mauricio Pochettino claimed it is easier for new players to settle at Manchester City than at Chelsea due to the huge upheaval at Stamford Bridge during the last 18 months. Eight of the 11 that started Chelsea’s 4-1 win at Pochettino’s former side Tottenham on Monday have joined since owner Todd Boehly bought the club in May 2022, with a further nine named amongst the substitutes. Only three of the side that began Chelsea’s 1-0 victory over City in the 2021 Champions League final are still at the club – Reece James, Ben Chilwell and Thiago Silva – whilst all 12 of the substitutes from the game in Porto have departed, along with manager Thomas Tuchel. By contrast, Pep Guardiola can still call upon seven of the 11 that started in the final, with the group having formed the nucleus of the side that won the competition last season along with the Premier League title and FA Cup. Few of the players signed by Chelsea under Boehly have enjoyed an instant impact despite a combined total transfer outlay of over £1billion, whereas City have seamlessly incorporated new recruits into their side, most notably Erling Haaland who netted 52 times during his debut season. Ahead of Sunday’s meeting with the champions at Stamford Bridge, Pochettino said much of that contrast in fortunes is down to City already having in place the kind of settled culture that he is starting to build at Chelsea. “When you arrive at a club and in a team that is very confident and solid in how they operate and in their structure, always it’s easier,” he said. “If you arrive at a club that is in a process of building something – (City) are ahead (of Chelsea). “When a player arrives in a very consistent organisation, it’s only about performing. But the possibility of a player signed by City to perform is higher than if we sign a player here, at the moment. “We are trying to find the best organisation, the best way to operate, the best way to play, to know each other. At City, you arrive and Pep… doesn’t need to talk too much. The player knows everything they need to do and how they need to behave. “They know how it works, the club. But here we are all new. Too many players (are new) and the organisation is in a moment where it is evolving and developing, and trying to find the best way to work.” One player who has impressed since arriving at Stamford Bridge is Cole Palmer, who swapped the Etihad Stadium for west London on the final day of the transfer window. The 21-year-old has been a standout performer during the improved form that has seen Chelsea win three of their last five in the league and discover an attacking fluency that was conspicuously absent last season. “It’s not fair to say it surprised me (that City let Palmer go) because now he’s performing and he didn’t play too much at City,” said Pochettino. “We’re two different clubs with different visions and different objectives. “Maybe Chelsea fits really well for Cole, but maybe it would have happened with different players.” Asked if there was a player whom Palmer reminds him of, Pochettino added: “(Angel) Di Maria, no? It’s difficult find someone to compare.” The Argentina winger struggled after swapping Real Madrid for Manchester United in 2014 and never settled in England, a problem Manchester-born Palmer has not faced. “He’s from Manchester,” said Pochettino. “It’s not easy for a Manchester boy to come to London and to adapt and to settle here. “(But) he knows the Premier League. It’s easy for him to adapt a new club. When a player comes from outside of England, you don’t know if they’ll understand the language, culture, food, weather.”

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There used to be a banner that hung from the top tier of the Stretford End. It was an exercise in mocking Manchester United’s neighbours, containing a number that rose by the year. The ticker had reached 35 before it was taken down. Yaya Toure was the man who removed it; not physically but because of what was, until Saturday, the biggest Manchester derby ever held in the FA Cup. The 2011 FA Cup was Manchester City’s first trophy in 35 years. It was secured by Toure’s winner in the final against Stoke; even that felt less important, however, than his semi-final decider against United. The balance of power in Manchester was shifted by Sheikh Mansour’s millions, by the management of Roberto Mancini, even if Sir Alex Ferguson then had the last word, Manuel Pellegrini and, most emphatically, Pep Guardiola, by some of United’s missteps, by a host of City players. Vincent Kompany is their most successful captain, Sergio Aguero their record scorer, though Erling Haaland is eating up other goalscoring feats, there was a case for calling David Silva their greatest player and there are growing reasons to instead give that mantle to Kevin de Bruyne. But Toure’s catalytic impact meant he has always had an argument to be the most significant. “From the moment I signed for the club I always had the feeling it was going to be a huge project,” he said. “My head was about trying to change things and make things happen.” More than most, he made things happen. United had won six of eight derbies since City’s 2008 takeover; they had also overturned their one defeat in the second leg of the League Cup semi-finals. Then they arrived at Wembley in April 2011. “Winning that first trophy was important. Of course, in that period United were so comfortable - they’d win week in, week out, they were winning the league easily,” Toure recalled. “At the beginning it was very tough. It’s only now, as I look back, that I realise how tough.” Bought from Barcelona, Toure was one of the trophy winners City had hired to try and change their attitude. Another made his own contribution in the dressing room. There was a rousing team talk from City’s most experienced and decorated player, the World Cup winner Patrick Vieira. “He delivered a great speech,” Toure recalled. “We all remember the message.” And yet, as Toure noted, United still began in imposing mood. Like City now, they were going for a treble. “In the first half we were getting battered,” he said. “They were dominant in all aspects: defensively, offensively, all over the field. Whereas the second half we knew we had to change the mentality and go for it. Because after that it’s going to be so noisy, the city.” To borrow Ferguson’s phrase, Toure turned City into the noisy neighbours. His goal, he argued, was “not something creative, just desire”. He felt Michael Carrick was the United Sergio Busquets, the holding midfielder comfortable in possession. But he closed him down and robbed him. “Then I only had to push the ball past [Nemanja] Vidic because I believed in my strengths and was arriving at pace. [Edwin] Van der Sar came out - he’s big - but I just knew I had to put the ball between his legs. I didn’t think a lot,” Toure said, making it all sound easy. He had often been a defensive midfielder for Guardiola’s Barcelona. He played as a centre-back in the 2009 Champions League final. But he was unleashed in Manchester as an attacking midfielder, one who scored 24 goals in the 2013-14 season. “In England, I had the freedom to run,” Toure said. “I think most of my game was about taking advantage of those sort of moments at speed and I think that few seconds against United was like a resume of my career at Man City.” That City career was not without its controversies. Nor was that of another whose arrival came at a cost to United; a more direct one, arguably. Carlos Tevez swapped red for blue in 2009, City infamously announcing his arrival with a billboard that read, ‘Welcome to Manchester’. The Argentinian went on to lift the 2011 FA Cup as City captain. “Tevez was one of the biggest players and to take him from a big rival and bring him to you, you can maybe understand why Ferguson was frustrated and pissed off,” Toure said. “Tevez was incredible in that period. I was at Barcelona then but I remember being away at the time and seeing it on Sky and it was a big thing. ‘Tevez switches from United to City’. It was incredible. Tevez had been someone who was so important in the reign of United. [Dimitar] Berbatov, [Wayne] Rooney, [Ryan] Giggs: this team was unbeatable. So to see one of their talismans go to their rival like that is something; you could see something was changing.” Yet he accelerated the change. City have won the Premier League six times since United last did; Guardiola’s side could emulate Ferguson’s team of 1999 by doing the treble. City have now won more since Toure’s 2017 departure than they did with him, but, like Eric Cantona for United, he will always have a status as the man who ended a wait that spanned decades. Now he is coaching Tottenham’s Under-16s. “I dream to one day be a manager,” he said. “We never know in life; maybe I’ll meet Man City one day again.” Or maybe he will face United again. Which may cause them tremors. The FA Cup semi-final was not even their most famous derby defeat in 2011; five months later, with Toure at the heart of the midfield, City scored six at Old Trafford. “I think what hurt United the most - the club, their fans - was the 6-1 win.” Toure added. “That was impressive from us. After the FA Cup, we believed we could beat them even at Old Trafford with Ferguson. Ferguson is one of the great managers. Old Trafford is the most emblematic stadium around the world. Most of their players were there. It was like a slap in the face of United fans.” Toure still has a memento, a souvenir from United in his house. “It’s in Ivory Coast,” he said. “That teamsheet is in a United frame.” Read More 5 key talking points as rivals Man City and Man Utd clash in FA Cup final The year that sportswashing won: A season that changed football forever Premier League 2022/23 season awards: Best player, manager, transfer flop and breakthrough act

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With the retirement of England’s record goalscorer Ellen White in the wake of last summer’s Euros triumph, much of the responsibility for providing the side’s attacking threat could now fall upon the shoulders of Alessia Russo. Russo, 24, who has just moved from Manchester United to Arsenal on a free transfer, grew in influence as that tournament progressed, regularly emerging from the bench to replace White and scoring twice in a 5-0 thrashing of Northern Ireland, as well as netting arguably the goal of the tournament in the semi-final: an utterly outrageous backheel to embarrass Sweden. Born and raised in Maidstone, Kent, Russo is of Sicillian heritage and took to football from an early age, both her father Mario and older brother Giorgio having played at non-league level. Rising through the youth ranks of first Charlton Athletic and then Chelsea, she briefly appeared for Brighton and Hove Albion in 2017 before enrolling at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she spent two years playing college soccer for the North Carolina Tar Heels alongside Lotte Wubben-Moy, scoring an impressive 28 goals across 58 games over two seasons before having to curtail her time in the United States because of the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Subsequently signing for Manchester United, she has scored 22 goals in 48 games for the Red Devils over the last three seasons, form that has earned her the attention of Sarina Wiegman and a move to the multiple title-winners, where she will link up next season with Lionesses’s teammates Leah Williamson, Wubben-Moye and Beth Mead and European greats Vivianne Miedema and Stina Blackstenius. The goalscoring form of both Rachel Daly and Bethany England last season means Russo’s place in the starting lineup as White’s natural replacement is by no means a given, however. Read More How to watch England vs Haiti: TV channel and start time for Women’s World Cup opener Women’s football world rankings: Who could take No 1 at the World Cup? Women’s World Cup TV schedule: How to watch every match today

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England boss Gareth Southgate says he understands the criticism Jordan Henderson has received for joining Saudi Arabian club Al-Ettifaq but feels the midfielder’s beliefs have not changed. Henderson’s move to the fast-growing Saudi Pro League came under scrutiny due to his long-time support for the LGBT+ community and the Premier League’s Rainbow Laces campaign. Homosexuality is illegal and punishable by death in Saudi Arabia, while the state stands accused of a host of other abuses including placing harsh restrictions on women’s rights and the right to political protest. Pride in Football, a network of LGBT+ fan groups, said the England midfielder had “lost the respect of so many people who valued and trusted” him but Southgate says it is not a black and white matter. “It’s not for me to judge any individual whether they’re in football or in any other industry,” Southgate told talkSPORT. “I don’t think he’s changing his view on what he believes in. So now we’re in a really complex world where, what are we saying, nobody should go to Newcastle? Should nobody work for companies that the Saudis own in London or should nobody buy oil from the Saudis? “I think it’s very complicated, I completely understand the argument of, you know, you’ve supported the LGBTQ community and I can understand why they would have a really strong view on it. “I think it’s so difficult to say, you know, is Henderson saying he doesn’t support that community anymore? Well no, he isn’t, but of course people are going to say his actions are the reverse of that.” Henderson will be making more money than he ever has before, with a reported £700,000 per week salary, but the standard of football in the league may affect whether his England career continues. Southgate revealed the 33-year-old sought assurances about the prospect of being overlooked if he were to move. The England boss added: “I spoke to him in the summer, the question he wanted to know was, ‘If I move here, are you going to automatically rule me out?’. “We would be stupid to do that. Why would we rule anyone out based on where they are playing? We have got to see how they are playing. “We have an idea of what that league will look like but we won’t know until we actually start to see the games. “If you asked me three months ago what that league would look like, I’d have a very different idea to what it is looking like as more and more players decide to go there. “Big-name players but not so many that are in the prime of their careers but not players past their sell-by date. “I think that whole project is fascinating for where it is going to head and what that might look like over the next few years. “But Henderson won’t be playing in the Premier League. He won’t play in the Champions League, which is the easiest assessment for the level he is playing at.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Iain Henderson backs Ireland wing Jacob Stockdale to fight for World Cup spot Ewan Ashman sets sights on Scotland starting spot at World Cup England hoping Tom Curry will feature in World Cup build-up despite ankle issue

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