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Taylor Swift's appearance gave Sunday Night Football's ratings a significant bump.

Micah Parsons scolded Rodney Harrison while defending Zach Wilson.

Wales are in talks to play world champions Argentina. Lionel Messi and company have been lined up as potential opponents for the Dragons with Wales keen to play Argentina in Cardiff or Patagonia, where thousands of Welsh emigrants settled in the 19th century. “There is an ongoing discussion between us and them,” Football Association of Wales chief executive Noel Mooney said about a possible friendly between the two nations. “We spoke to them in the last few days about playing in Cardiff. “I met the Argentinian ambassador when he was in Cardiff talking to the Welsh Government. “I used the opportunity to talk to him about the opportunity for Wales to go down to play in Argentina. He was excited by the idea, although he obviously he doesn’t decide who plays who.” Wales have played only once at Cardiff’s 74,500-capacity Principality Stadium since 2011 – a friendly against former European and world champions Spain in October 2018 – and many Dragons’ fans dislike the idea of playing at the home of Welsh rugby. But Wales will return to Principality Stadium should UK and Ireland win their bid to host Euro 2028 in Switzerland next month – and the Dragons qualify for the tournament. The Principality Stadium is among 10 venues to be used across five nations should the UK and Ireland bid be successful. Mooney said: “You’d have to assume we’d need to play some matches there before the competition to get spectators and players used to it. “We haven’t thought that much about it, but what I can say is that we know who we’d like to play if we had to – World Cup winners Argentina. “We may not be at the very top of their queue, but if you look at Patagonia and the relationship between the two countries it would be great. We’d love to do it. “There is a connection and history between us and Argentina because of the Patagonian links and the Welsh people who settled there. “I could feel from the Argentine ambassador that warmth they have behind Wales and I’d love to see Lionel Messi playing in Cardiff.” Patagonia is at the southern end of Argentina – around 1,000 miles from the capital Buenos Aires – and in 2006 the Wales rugby team played at Puerto Madryn, a city founded by Welsh settlers in 1865. Wales and Argentina have only met twice before, with their last fixture being a 2002 friendly at the Principality Stadium when Craig Bellamy scored in a 1-1 draw against the South Americans. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Consistency the key for Vincent Kompany as he bids to lift Burnley Courtney Lawes says ‘selfless’ England will play to strengths at World Cup Steven Davis ‘very honoured’ to become Rangers interim boss

Mykhailo Mudryk and Armando Broja were on target as Chelsea claimed west London derby bragging rights with a 2-0 Premier League victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage. Mudryk opened the scoring before Broja doubled their tally – one minute later – to give the Blues an important three points on the road. The win brought Chelsea’s three-match winless run in the league to an end and relieved some pressure from the shoulders of Mauricio Pochettino as his side began to turn a corner. Chelsea started with intent. The visitors enjoyed touches of the ball in dangerous areas and looked positive through the likes of Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez, who fed the pacey Mudryk, who blazed over his first attempt in the 10th minute. But the Ukraine international did not have to be asked twice when he put Chelsea ahead after 18 minutes. Levi Colwill’s curled pass unleashed the rapid Mudryk, who calmy finished past Bernd Leno to score his first-ever Chelsea goal. And a minute after the restart, the Blues doubled their lead. Palmer – who started in his first league game for the away side – pounced on a misplaced pass and slipped through Broja, who found a gap and fired home to give Chelsea a 2-0 advantage. It was two big chances and two goals for Pochettino’s men, who finally began to show signs of being clinical, having gone three English top-flight games without finding the back of the net. Fulham were anonymous for much of the first half, but they had a half-chance when the misfiring Raul Jimenez jumped highest at a corner and directed his effort wide of Robert Sanchez’s post in the 41st minute. Marco Silva brought midweek scorers Carlos Vinicius and Alex Iwobi on at half-time in search of a response and Nigeria international Iwobi started bright when he got on the end of Willian’s cross – but his effort fell kindly into the gloves of goalkeeper Robert Sanchez. And Carlos Vinicius was lucky to avoid red when he appeared to strike Thiago Silva with his hand before he combined with Iwobi on the hour, where he was stopped in his tracks by Chelsea’s tight defence. The visitors sought a third on the break when Broja and Palmer worked together to find substitute Ian Maatsen. But his first-time effort cannoned off goalkeeper Bernd Leno’s post before Fernandez’s rebound was denied by the German in goal. Craven Cottage cried for a goal in the 73rd minute as time ebbed away. Timothy Castagne marauded down the right flank and did well to beat his man before his driven cross found the head of Vinicius, who again failed to test Sanchez. The Cottagers looked flat all game and were in clear need of an strong outlet up front to challenge Axel Disasi and 39-year-old Thiago Silva, who were making light work of any Fulham attack. This was summed up in 12 minutes from time when Sasa Lukic missed a golden opportunity from six yards after Willian’s well-weighted pass. Chelsea continued to nullify any threats from the hosts and held on to seal victory during five added minutes to move up to 11th in the table. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Courtney Lawes says ‘selfless’ England will play to strengths at World Cup Steven Davis ‘very honoured’ to become Rangers interim boss England complete World Cup preparations with rain-affected win over Bangladesh

Manchester City legend Francis Lee has died at the age of 79, the club has confirmed. Lee is widely regarded as one of City’s greatest players of all time, having scored 148 goals in 330 appearances for the club in a trophy-laden eight-year spell between 1967 and 1974 that saw them claim one First Division title, one FA Cup, one League Cup, a European Cup Winners’ Cup and two Charity Shields. He also earned 27 caps for England, scoring 10 goals, and enjoyed further trophy success at Derby County after leaving City, helping the Rams to the league title in 1975. Man City confirmed his passing in a club statement: “It is with the deepest sadness and heaviest of hearts we announce the passing of former Manchester City player and chairman Francis Lee, aged 79. “Franny passed away in the early hours of this [Monday] morning after a long battle with cancer. His wife Gill and children Charlotte, Jonny and Nik say he will be sorely missed and would like to thank everyone for their kind words. “Everyone at Manchester City would like to send their condolences to the friends and family of Francis at this very difficult time. As a mark of respect, flags around the Etihad Stadium and City Football Academy are flying at half-mast.” Lee had begun his career with Bolton Wanderers before Manchester City manager Joe Mercer signed him for a club-record transfer fee of £60,000 in 1967. He also made history at Mexico in 1970 where he became the first England player to receive a card at a World Cup. After his playing career finished Lee ran a successful toilet roll business, becoming a millionaire, and returned to Man City as club chairman in 1994, spending four years at the helm. In the 2016 New Year Honours list, he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to football and charity. Lee’s first club Bolton posted their condolences on X, formerly Twitter, stating: “All at Bolton Wanderers are saddened to learn of the passing of former forward, Francis Lee. The thoughts of everyone at the club are with Francis’ family, friends and loved ones at this difficult time.” Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher, who is a big Man City fan, also posted on X: “FRANNY LEE RIP”. “Former Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and England striker Stan Collymore – who now works as a football pundit – also expressed his sorrow at Lee’s passing. He wrote: “Sending sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Franny Lee. Had some lovely chats over the years on here and at City where he rightly had his status acknowledged by the club over the years. Another legend gone too soon. Rest in peace, Franny.” Recent City captain Vincent Kompany wrote on X that he was “Saddened to hear of the passing of Francis Lee today, aged 79. I had the honour of meeting him and speaking to him on more than a few occasions and will cherish these moments”. Another City stalwart Paul Dickov wrote: “A gentleman, proper football man with a great sense of humour. The main reason I signed for @ManCity with his sheer love for the club & will be forever grateful.” Read More Chelsea finally catch a break as Mykhailo Mudryk gets his moment Sir Jim Ratcliffe reportedly considering minority stake bid for Manchester United Premier League now faces a credibility ‘crisis’ after latest VAR farce Chelsea finally catch a break as Mykhailo Mudryk gets his moment Sir Jim Ratcliffe reportedly considering minority stake bid for Manchester United Premier League now faces a credibility ‘crisis’ after latest VAR farce

Arsenal’s preparations for their first away Champions League game in six-and-a-half years were thrown into chaos due to travel delays. Mikel Arteta’s side face Lens in their Group B clash at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis on Tuesday night but had to cancel their pre-match press conference on the eve of the game. The Arsenal boss was due to speak to the media with France defender William Saliba at 1900 local time but their chartered flight was grounded at Luton airport. The Gunners had trained at London Colney at 1130BST before being due to travel to France on Monday afternoon but bad weather saw those plans cancelled. The PA news agency understands Arsenal will not face a fine as the cancellation was out of their control – with the squad waiting over three hours at Luton before being able to make the short hop over the channel. Among the travelling party stuck at Luton were Bukayo Saka – who was passed fit to travel despite limping off injured at Bournemouth on Saturday – and fit-again midfielder Thomas Partey. Partey had been sidelined since August with a groin injury and the club hoped to have him back for the visit of Manchester City on Sunday. “He’s progressed really well in the last two weeks and he managed to train in the last two or three days with the team and that’s great news for us, obviously,” Arteta said of the Ghana international. “I think his progression in the last week has been very good. He might have some exposure tomorrow depending how the game goes.” Both Arteta and Saliba later spoke to a small number of reporters over the phone and the latter insisted everything would be fine heading into the game. Asked if he was confident the team would still be at their best, he replied: “Yes, of course. We have to arrive first but tomorrow is another day and we will give our best against Lens. We know it won't be an easy game. It is a really good team who finished second last season William Saliba “It is a really good feeling. My second game in the Champions League with Arsenal. I can’t wait to play in France so it is a good feeling. “We know it won’t be an easy game. It is a really good team who finished second last season. “They didn’t start well but in the last two or three games, they are better so we have to be focused on tomorrow and give our best.” Read More Mikel Arteta delighted to see Arsenal’s ‘human qualities’ after Kai Havertz goal Kai Havertz off the mark for Arsenal in rampant 4-0 win at Bournemouth It is the food – Mikel Arteta suggests reason behind string of Basque coaches Football rumours: Juventus seeking new long-term deal for Adrien Rabiot Arsenal break Women’s Super League record – but suffer shock Liverpool defeat That win goes down to the manager – Craig Dawson hails Gary O’Neil

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Jamie Carragher believes that VAR is at a “crisis point” in the Premier League after the shocking error that occurred in the game between Liverpool and Tottenham on Saturday. Liverpool have made a formal request for the audio recording between officials, and PGMOL were forced to issue an apology for a “significant human error” after Luis Diaz scored in the first half only to see the offside flag raised to rule out the goal. “I don’t think the feeling around VAR has ever been lower. I really feel like this is almost a crisis point for VAR in this country,” Carragher said on Sky Sports. “It’s not just on the back of this decision, it’s what’s been happening all over this season. On the first Monday Night Football there was a situation with Wolves at Manchester United.” The Liverpool situation was even more chaotic when it was revealed VAR official Darren England drew lines to check for offside and determined Diaz was on side, but failed to realise the on-field referee Simon Hooper and his assistant officials had initially ruled the goal out for offside. The “check complete” decision then instead of awarding the goal, gave the go-ahead for a restart with a Tottenham free-kick, ruling out Liverpool’s legitimate lead. “I don’t want to pile on an official – or Howard Webb because I imagine they feel absolutely awful the last couple of days,” Carragher continued. “And I’m not into the conspiracy theories about this one favours this team or this one favours that – no one gains anything from this. “We’ve all been there and made mistakes, so we all feel for them but it was a horrendous mistake that isn’t unprecedented and you can’t quite believe the explanation that’s being given. “The bit on this that I’m really struggling with is…the mistake has been made and then play restarts.” Read More Liverpool request VAR audio of match-altering Luis Diaz goal decision Liverpool seek clarification about disallowed goal before deciding on next move The Premier League now faces a credibility ‘crisis’ – and latest VAR farce is just the tip

Matthew Stafford connected with rookie Puka Nacua on a 22-yard touchdown pass on the first possession of overtime as the

Liverpool have made a formal request to receive the recording between officials from the weekend defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, while internal discussions have taken place within the Professional Game Match Officials Limited [PGMOL] over when to release the audio file. While it is now expected that will eventually happen, there has been a growing pressure to do so sooner rather than later. That all comes amid disquiet among some of the other Premier League clubs over the strength of Liverpool’s statement. Refereeing body PGMOL were forced to issue an apology for a “significant human error” after Luis Diaz scored in the first half, only to see the offside flag go up to rule out his strike. What has since followed can only be described as one of the more chaotic and improbable scenarios in the Premier League since the introduction of the video technology, as it was revealed VAR official Darren England drew lines to check for offside and determined Diaz was actually onside - but failed to realise that on-field referee Simon Hooper and his assistant officials had initially ruled the goal out for offside. That meant they relayed a “check complete” decision, intending to mean a goal, but actually giving the go-ahead for a restart with a Tottenham free-kick, thus leaving Liverpool without a perfectly legitimate 1-0 lead in a match where they ended up having two sent-off and lost 2-1 late on. The Anfield club released a statement saying “sporting integrity [was] undermined” and that they would “explore the range of options [...] for escalation and resolution” - with their first step now being to now formally request to PGMOL for the audio between officials to be released to them. The Independent has been told that there have been internal discussions over whether to publish the audio as early as Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football broadcast for the match between Fulham and Chelsea. There is a feeling the matter will only be settled once the recording is released, although one counter-argument is that a full review should take place first. A number of officials at other Premier League clubs are expressing increased disgruntlement about the controversy, with a growing feeling that Liverpool should just accept that mistakes happen to get on with it like everyone else has. While there was initial sympathy for the Anfield club about the scale of the error, the strength of the subsequent statement perturbed other executives. Among the reasons for that were a feeling that it could “open a can of worms” that sees every decision disputed in a way that sport can’t function, a suspicion that this could see referees pressured, and the basic idea that “it is what it is”. Other clubs have been privately stating that they have lost points and millions of pounds in prize money due to refereeing decisions, but they have accepted that’s just the nature of the game. None of this has yet led to significant backlash or open debate, but it is a sentiment that has been growing. As was reflected in Liverpool’s statement, the Anfield club would argue that the scale of the error for the Diaz offside warrants greater transparency, and that it is for the better of the game as a whole. Read More Every VAR apology so far: From Liverpool offside to Man City handball More VAR disapproval as Nottingham Forest and Brentford both berate decisions Bizarre reason why Liverpool goal wrongly ruled out by VAR revealed

Liverpool have made a formal request to access the audio related to Saturday’s offside controversy at Tottenham, the PA news agency understands. The club had a Luis Diaz goal ruled out in north London due to miscommunication between VAR Darren England and on-field referee Simon Hooper. The Premier League game was goalless at the time of the incident, with the Reds going on to lose 2-1. PA understands the Reds have now formally requested the audio of the conversation between the two from referees’ body Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL). Liverpool issued a statement on Sunday night saying they would “explore the range of options available given the clear need for escalation and resolution”. Much of the focus since has been on precisely how the club would like the matter escalated and resolved, and their first step has been to seek access to precisely what England and Hooper said to each other which led to the mistake. PGMOL issued a statement on Saturday night acknowledging a “significant error” had occurred. Hooper and his assistants had given offside against Diaz on the field, and the PA news agency understands that although England followed the correct procedure in drawing lines, he lost focus and mistakenly thought the initial on-field decision had been onside. This resulted in him issuing a ‘check complete’ notice to Hooper, rather than advising of an intervention and the goal being awarded. Once the officials realised an error had been made, play had restarted and VAR protocols state that once that has happened, there is no way back to revisit a decision. England was replaced as a fourth official for the Nottingham Forest v Brentford match on Sunday while his assistant VAR at Tottenham, Dan Cook, has been replaced for Monday night’s match between Fulham and Chelsea. Referee and VAR appointments for the coming weekend’s matches are due to be announced at 10am on Tuesday morning. The controversy over the Diaz goal has led to calls for the conversation between England and Hooper to be broadcast. PGMOL has not ruled out the possibility of the audio forming part of the next ‘Match Officials Mic’d Up’ programme, which is due to air next Monday. England and Cook had been part of a team of officials who oversaw a fixture between Sharjah and Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, arriving back in the UK on Friday morning. Requests for English officials to take charge of domestic matches overseas are made to the Football Association, with permission for officials to travel granted jointly by the FA and PGMOL. Just as players involved in Europa League matches on a Thursday do not return to domestic action until Sunday, so officials’ duties are balanced to take account of any overseas assignments in the week. For instance, Michael Oliver, who refereed the match in the UAE last week, was a fourth official on Saturday but was back to refereeing at Forest on Sunday. Nor was the UAE trip unusual. It was the fifth time in the last 10 months that officials have overseen domestic matches overseas, with Tom Bramall and Andy Madley leading teams to Japan in January and the early summer respectively, Oliver officiating a Saudi match in April and Craig Pawson going to Greece in May. That is on top of English officials frequently being called upon for club and national team matches in international competitions. Liverpool’s statement said the error that occurred had led to sporting integrity being undermined, but Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said on Monday he still had complete “trust” in referees. “Well, I’m not so often giving comment on refereeing because they do what they have to do,” the Dutchman said. “Of course, the standard has to be high and it’s a part of the game. “Of course, you can expect, we can expect, teams can expect, the fans can all expect, that it has to be a high standard – so it should be because it’s Premier League. “But I think and I’m sure they do what they can. They are very professional, so they will give their best and I trust them.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Liverpool seek clarification about disallowed goal before deciding on next move Scotland’s Finn Russell says second best will not be good enough against Ireland Rory McIlroy says he began thinking about Ryder Cup quest a year ago

Former England and Manchester City striker Francis Lee has died aged 79, the Premier League club have announced. Lee, who also had a spell as City chairman in the 1990s, scored 148 goals in 330 appearances for the club between 1967-74. City said in a statement: “It is with the deepest sadness and heaviest of hearts we announce the passing of former Manchester City player and chairman Francis Lee. “Everyone at Manchester City would like to send their condolences to the friends and family of Francis at this very difficult time.” Lee, who began his playing career at Bolton, joined Derby from City in 1974. He won 27 England caps, scoring 10 goals, after making his full international debut in 1968 and appeared at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. City added: “Franny passed away in the early hours of this morning after a long battle with cancer. “His wife Gill and children Charlotte, Jonny and Nik say he will be sorely missed and would like to thank everyone for their kind words. “Everyone at Manchester City would like to send their condolences to the friends and family of Francis at this very difficult time. “As a mark of respect, flags around the Etihad Stadium and City Football Academy are flying at half-mast. More tributes from the club will follow in the coming days.” Lee’s first club Bolton posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “All at Bolton Wanderers are saddened to learn of the passing of former forward, Francis Lee. “The thoughts of everyone at the club are with Francis’ family, friends and loved ones at this difficult time.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live