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England has finished third at the Rugby World Cup for the first time by stopping waves of late Argentina attacks and prevailing 26-23 in their riveting playoff in Paris

Mauricio Pochettino empathises with supporters angry about the Premier League’s decision to move Chelsea’s trip to Wolves to Christmas Eve, admitting it has thrown his festive plans and anniversary celebrations with his wife into chaos. The league confirmed on Thursday that the fixture, which has been pushed back 24 hours to accommodate TV coverage, will be the first played on December 24 since Manchester United played Leeds in 1995, a move that has drawn a backlash from fans. Scheduled for a 1pm kick-off, it could leave supporters struggling to make travel arrangements with train timetables typically amended or curtailed the day before Christmas, while there are also concerns it will impact time supporters traditionally spend with family. Pochettino is set to be doubly affected by the move, as not only is it Argentinian custom to begin Christmas celebrations late on December 24, the previous day also marks his and his wife’s 31st wedding anniversary – which he will now spend travelling to Wolverhampton. Despite not being consulted by the league he conceded that the club has little choice but to go along, but backed objections by supporters who have spoken out. “It’s a little bit strange but we need to accept the rules of the Premier League, that we need to go there and to play,” said Pochettino. “(In Argentina) we celebrate on the night of the 24th. At 12 o’clock on the night we start to celebrate Christmas. More than the 25th because you’re asleep nearly all day. Here it’s different because you celebrate on the 25th with the family. “I need to see things in a different way. For sure our fans are not happy but we need to accept this new era in football. “(The Premier League) didn’t ask us. They wanted some meeting with me and all the coaches one week before the season. I said I’m more than happy to share time with you, but it’s better if you prepare the meeting before the end of the season to prepare the next season. “If they ask me I will give my opinion, but at the moment we are not involved in the decisions.” He added: “I don’t know what to do (with my wife). I need to find some ideas to compensate. (Search online for) ‘unhappy wife’.” The Wolves game is the first of three in seven days for Chelsea over the Christmas period, with Crystal Palace due at Stamford Bridge on the evening of December 27 before visiting Luton on December 30. The Palace game has been moved from Boxing Day in order to accommodate the controversial Christmas Eve fixture. Pochettino reiterated that supporters’ concerns must be paramount in scheduling decisions. “We play and we work and all that we are doing is for our fans,” he said. “Without fans, football (is nothing). We need to protect, and to care, and to look after our fans. “Of course I agree with them, that I am not happy if they are not happy. It’s common sense. I can understand. “I don’t know what is behind it. I don’t know why. No one explained. I cannot tell. I hope it’s one time and never again, but we’ll see what happens. “People love football in England and they are going to be there. Our fans are going to be there supporting the team. But I don’t know if it’s going to be a regular situation.” Asked whether the club would offer a new contract to Conor Gallagher – who has captained the side in the absence of injured pair Reece James and Ben Chilwell – Pochettino likened the situation to the balancing act he now faces on the home front. “It’s like how we were talking about my wife,” he said. “It’s about to match and to feel good being together. It’s like a marriage with the club. They both need to feel good, then you can drive at a good deal. “He is a player that is doing fantastic. He’s an amazing player and we’re so happy with the way he is doing things.” Read More Kyle Walker says Manchester City will be wary of Marcus Rashford in derby Tottenham extend lead at top of Premier League with victory at Crystal Palace Lauren Hemp effort enough as England edge Nations League victory over Belgium Tyson Fury: Ngannou fight like Djokovic facing table tennis player at Wimbledon Matthew Mott wary of ‘raging favourites’ as England look to avoid further shame Pep Guardiola condemns Man City fans who sang offensive Sir Bobby Charlton chant

Manchester City defender Kyle Walker has warned that his England team-mate Marcus Rashford remains an opponent to be feared. The Manchester United striker has been in poor form this season and has scored just one goal for the club heading into Sunday’s derby against City at Old Trafford. It is a far cry from last term when the 25-year-old netted 30 goals in all competitions, including the winner in the corresponding Premier League fixture against City. Walker said: “I think Marcus has shown over the years that he’s the sort of player who can create problems for any side if they don’t match him. “He’s been important for both United and England since he was a teenager because of the threat he offers to any team he’s in. He’s got a lot of different qualities and we know he can be dangerous at the weekend.” Rashford’s decisive 82nd-minute strike on City’s last trip across town in January capped a controversial fightback by the home side. United had cancelled out Jack Grealish’s opener just four minutes earlier through Bruno Fernandes despite Rashford having been in an offside position during the build-up. After bouncing back spectacularly by winning the treble – and beating United in the FA Cup final – Walker insists City are not motivated by revenge. “I don’t think we think like that,” said the right-back. “Last season is done, we lost at Old Trafford and went on to win the treble. Ultimately that’s what matters. “Of course this game means a lot but it’s part of a bigger picture and, OK we lost last season and the luck didn’t go in our favour, but we bounced back from that and did what we did. “We want to win the game because of what it means and because ultimately it will help us in trying to win the Premier League again. We don’t need to think beyond that. “We’ve had some great games against them in recent years and our focus is on giving the fans something to enjoy again on Sunday.” City are in a strong position despite a blip before the recent international break, when they lost to Wolves and Arsenal, and lacking the intensity they showed at the end of last season. If it was hard to get motivated then we wouldn’t have won three Premier League in a row Kyle Walker Walker said: “People keep saying how hard it must be to get motivated because of what we achieved last season but we’re all competitors who want to win. We’ve shown that year after year. “If it was hard to get motivated then we wouldn’t have won three Premier Leagues in a row. “We go into every game wanting to win, for ourselves, for this club and it’s the reason we’ve been so successful. That doesn’t go away just because we did something special last season.” Read More Wolves v Chelsea on Christmas Eve means ‘unhappy wife’ for Mauricio Pochettino Tottenham extend lead at top of Premier League with victory at Crystal Palace Lauren Hemp effort enough as England edge Nations League victory over Belgium Tyson Fury: Ngannou fight like Djokovic facing table tennis player at Wimbledon Matthew Mott wary of ‘raging favourites’ as England look to avoid further shame Pep Guardiola condemns Man City fans who sang offensive Sir Bobby Charlton chant

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Lauren Hemp’s first-half strike was all it took for England to secure a vital 1-0 Nations League group-stage victory over Belgium in front of 28,321 at Leicester’s King Power Stadium. Belgium had entered the contest as Group A1 leaders but by the final whistle they had been knocked off the top spot by the Netherlands, while the Lionesses moved up to second place. The first of two October legs with the Red Flames also marked a return to England action for midfielder Fran Kirby, who came on as a substitute in the 65th minute after more than a year out due to a series of issues, including the knee injury and subsequent surgery that kept her out of contention for the World Cup. England need to finish top of the group to progress in the tournament, which also serves as a qualifier for next summer’s Paris Olympics. Both teams entered wearing black armbands in honour of England World Cup winner Sir Bobby Charlton, who died on Saturday morning. Niamh Charles – one of three changes for Sarina Wiegman – got herself involved early, linking up with Alex Greenwood before cutting into the penalty area, where a flurry of chances for the hosts ended with Chelsea defender Charles sending an effort over the crossbar. It was not long before the Lionesses were back on the prowl, Hemp forcing a quick one-handed reaction from Belgium goalkeeper Nicky Evrard, the ball bouncing threateningly loose from the one-handed stop but – to the relief of the visitors – away from any white shirts. The Red Flames finally broke free and won a corner, initially handled by England, but the ball remained inside the Lionesses’ half where it was quickly collected by Tessa Wullaert, who floated a cross into Justine Vanhaevermaet. The Everton midfielder connected and forced a save from Mary Earps, who spilled the stop and the ball clipped the post before she was able to cradle the rebound. England soon took the lead following a narrow miss from Millie Bright, who connected with Chloe Kelly’s corner and pinged a backwards header off the right post, but the ball took a favourable bounce into the path of Hemp, who turned it past Evrard with her left foot. Both sides had further first-half chances, with Earps forced into a precautionary dive when Wullaert’s effort deflected off Bright’s lower leg before Kassandra Missipo fired over. England missed an opportunity to make it two when Alessia Russo could not quite connect with Charles’ delivery across the face of goal and another late chance for the Arsenal summer signing landed squarely in Evrard’s arms for a simple stop. The Lionesses began the second half aggressively as Kelly’s cross deflected off Tine De Caigny in the area and into the path of Russo, who sent an effort over. Earps elicited a roar when she leapt to her left to deny substitute Sarah Wijnants, but while the hosts enjoyed double their opponents’ three attempts on target as the encounter entered its 70th minute, they still had just Hemp’s opener to show for it. Wiegman made two substitutions, swapping Russo for Rachel Daly and replacing Ella Toone with Kirby as England pushed for more, next through Greenwood, who aimed her free-kick for the top-right corner where it was tipped away by Evrard. The Lionesses survived a scramble in front of Earps and Wiegman made another change, bringing on Jess Park for Kelly as the 85th minute approached. England staged another late surge and perhaps should have scored more but – in the end – it was just Hemp who made it count. Read More Tyson Fury: Ngannou fight like Djokovic facing table tennis player at Wimbledon Matthew Mott wary of ‘raging favourites’ as England look to avoid further shame Pep Guardiola condemns Man City fans who sang offensive Sir Bobby Charlton chant Mikel Arteta calls for increased squad sizes as Arsenal suffer fresh injury blow ‘High chance’ Sandro Tonali plays for Newcastle this weekend despite 10-month ban Mike McMeeken’s move ‘out of comfort zone’ to Catalans earned England recall

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