England

An FA Cup Third Round Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton was decided by a wonder goal from 18-year-old Reds midfielder Curtis Jones on Sunday. Although Liverpool had the support of Anfield behind them, Jürgen Klopp fielded a much younger and less experienced side than his counterpart Carlo Ancelotti.

Australian tour de force Sam Kerr made her highly anticipated Women’s Super League debut for Chelsea on Sunday and provided an assist in the club’s 3-1 victory over Reading at Kingsmeadow in London. 

A forward pairing of Kerr and Bethany England looked terrifying on paper ahead of the former Chicago Red Star striker’s first appearance, and that certainly proved the case on Chelsea’s opening goal in the 40th minute.

Back in June after he had just watched England lose 3-1 to the Netherlands in the UEFA Nations League semifinals, little-known striker Tom Pope talked shit about defender John Stones’ performance for the Three Lions, calling him weak as piss.

Seven months later, Pope backed up those words.

Pope, a 34-year-old forward who plays for Port Vale in League Two, scored in his first opportunity to go up against John Stones in an FA Cup third-round match with Manchester City.

If ever there were a weekend to focus on the FA Women’s Super League, it would be this one. The Premier League is off on break for the FA Cup while leagues in Italy, Germany and France are all off as well. 

Sam Kerr’s Chelsea debut will be broadcast on BBC on Sunday against Reading, with four other matches slated for Jan. 5. One match, however, will not go on as scheduled.

Wayne Rooney is back on the pitch in England and he’s already making an impact with new club Derby County.

The former Manchester United striker left MLS side D.C. United at the end of the 2019 season to become a player-coach for the English League Championship club. He’s been training with the team and coaching under head coach Phillip Cocu, but wasn’t eligible to play until the opening of the English January transfer window. 

Southampton forward Danny Ings required just 17 minutes of action in 2020 to begin utterly embarrassing defenders. In Wednesday's 1-0 victory over Tottenham — which saw the Saints move up to 12th place on 25 points — Ings kept up his red-hot form with a goal which is sure to leave Toby Alderweireld with nightmares. 

Coming off a tantalizing victory against Manchester City sealed by an 89th minute Matt Doherty winner just 43 hours earlier, fifth-place Wolves made Liverpool sweat as the Reds held on 1-0 to record their 10th straight victory in the Premier League and run their unbeaten league home streak to 50 games on Sunday. 

For 82 minutes against Chelsea on Sunday, Arsenal put forth a performance of rare shape, commitment and defensive solidity on manager Mikel Arteta’s home debut. But then Mason Mount’s innocuous free kick fluttered over the despairing arm of Bernd Leno and the excrement hit the air-conditioning again inside the Emirates.

Norwich City, with no hope of getting off the bottom of the table before the new year, held Tottenham to a 2-2 draw thanks to a slapstick Serge Aurier own goal on Saturday at Carrow Road. 

Mario Vrancic put the Canaries ahead in the first half and the home side could’ve led by two but for a VAR reversal on Teemu Pukki. Christian Eriksen struck a brilliant free kick to briefly pull Spurs level before Aurier bundled the ball into his own net. Jose Mourinho was spared a second loss this week when Harry Kane drew and converted a penalty kick in the 83rd minute.