Josh Kerr said his post-injury return to the top of a global podium was a “family win” after he reclaimed his 3,000m title in thrilling fashion to secure Britain’s first medal at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Poland.

Kerr, who won gold in the event on home soil in Glasgow two years ago, had his world 1500m title defence ruined by injury in Tokyo in September.

But, six months after sustaining a calf tear during that final, Kerr demonstrated his return to full fitness by overpowering world-class opposition as the complete line-up of Olympic 1500m medallists went head to head.

The 28-year-old, now a three-time world champion, made his move on the final lap and would not be denied as he distanced his rivals before crossing the line in seven minutes 35.56 seconds.

Kerr’s comeback from crutches to re-establishing himself at the top of the sport was aided significantly by his mum, who doubles as his physiotherapist.

“From where we were in Tokyo to right now, having another world gold medal, that’s all down to coaching, it’s all down to my physio and my mum,” Kerr told BBC Sport.

“That’s a family win right there.”

American Cole Hocker, who denied Kerr Olympic 1500m gold in 2024 and won the world 5,000m title last year, had out-kicked the Briton in their only previous meeting this season over two miles at the Millrose Games.

But Hocker had no response to Kerr’s dash for gold and had to settle for silver, with Frenchman Yann Schrub taking bronze.

However, Kerr was still not entirely pleased with how he managed the race.

“I think I created the problems myself tonight. For people watching, that is not how you win a gold medal!” said Kerr.

“I knew that I had to get that close right or else I would be having a pretty tough conversation with my coach tonight.

“I got in my own head about trying to not waste energy and there were some moves in there that made me have to show my hand a little bit.

“I was just trying to relax in the chaos and trust that I’m fitter and better than the other guys.”

From crutches to another world crown

Kerr’s rehab for his devastating Tokyo setback began immediately, with much of the initial guidance he received on that front coming from his mum, who was in the crowd on Saturday to witness the culmination of their hard work.

The grade-two calf tear he sustained originated from a “freak accident” when he overstretched at the end of his semi-final, straining the muscle which eventually gave out in the medal race.

Kerr has since admitted his decision to hobble to the finish line likely caused more damage yet his comeback has been much quicker than expected for someone who not long ago “couldn’t even walk to breakfast”.

The two-time Olympic medallist’s self-belief remained unshaken as he set his sights on beginning a new season by achieving a fifth global podium in five years – and he once again demonstrated his propensity to thrive on the sport’s biggest stages.

Kerr remained patient as he gradually moved through the field, with Ethiopia’s Addisu Yihune setting the pace at the front with medal contenders Hocker and Olympic bronze medallist Yared Nuguse following closely behind.

Positioning himself further forward heading into the penultimate lap, Kerr hit the front at the bell and proved too strong as Hocker attempted to close the gap in the closing stages.

“I was extremely fit coming into this,” Kerr added.

“I had a couple of problems coming through the British Championships, but this was always the main goal.

“I needed this one.”

Asher-Smith ‘disappointed’ but happy with new direction

Dina Asher-Smith placed seventh in her first world indoor 60m final in 7.07 seconds, having equalled her British record time of 7.03 to qualify.

The 30-year-old former world 200m champion has begun a new coaching partnership with Michael Ford in Texas after a “challenging” 2025 in which she left her training set-up under Edrick Floreal midway through the season.

“It wasn’t the most fabulous final. I’m a bit disappointed but overall happy with my indoor season and how things are going with my new coach,” Asher-Smith told BBC Sport.

“I was ultimately just having fun. I haven’t been having the most fun for the past few years.

“I feel so much more stable and happy in terms of going out there and putting out these performances.

“If you’re not in an environment where you’re happy then the results aren’t going to come.”

Italian Zaynab Dosso won gold in 7.00 secs, ahead of American Jacious Sears and St Lucia’s Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred.

World 200m silver medallist Amy Hunt did not progress from her semi-final after finishing fourth in her race.

Meanwhile, Sweden’s pole vault star Armand Duplantis captured his ninth global title – and a record-equalling fourth world indoor gold.

Duplantis set a championship record with a first-time clearance at 6.25m to put the gold out of the reach of Greek Emmanouil Karalis, but decided not to attempt another world record.

LeBron James set the record for the most regular-season games played in NBA history as he helped the Los Angeles Lakers to a dramatic buzzer-beating 105-104 victory against the Orlando Magic in his 1,612th outing.

James, 41, moved one clear of Robert Parish’s 1997 record of 1,611 appearances, in a game the Lakers won when Luke Kennard scored a three-pointer with 0.6 seconds left.

“It just kind of happened. It was not on the list of things that I wanted to accomplish,” said four-time NBA champion James.

“I wanted to be the best player in this league at some point. I wanted to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, to ever play this game. I wanted to be an NBA champion.

“I wanted to possibly win rookie of the year, make All-Star appearances, win a gold medal, win some MVPs – those were some of my goals.

“But some of the stuff that’s just been happening over the course of the last few years has been super-duper cool.”

James – who is the first player to take part in 23 consecutive NBA seasons and is also the NBA’s record points scorer – contributed 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals as the Lakers beat Orlando for a ninth straight win.

The Lakers are third in the Western Conference, while Magic are eighth in the Eastern Conference.

“Availability, I’ve always wanted to be available to my team-mates,” added James.

“It’s a mental toll, trying to play a lot and being out there. I just give a lot of praise to the man above and [it’s about] just loving the game and appreciating the game.”

James was not the only player to achieve a milestone as Kevin Durant passed NBA legend Michael Jordan to go fifth in the all-time scoring list in regular-season games.

Durant moved to 32,294 – two ahead of Jordan – courtesy of a 27-point display for the Houston Rockets, who are fourth in the Western Conference, in their last gasp 123-122 win against the Miami Heat, who are ninth in the Eastern Conference.

“It means a lot,” said Durant, who passed Jordan with a three-pointer in the fourth quarter.

“I’m grateful to be here and for this incredible journey it’s been. I’m looking forward to continuing.”

Elsewhere, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points for the Oklahoma City Thunder as four players were ejected in his side’s fiery 132-111 win against the Washington Wizards.

The Thunder’s Ajay Mitchell, Jaylin Williams and Cason Wallace were ejected, along with Washington’s Justin Champagnie, following a mass brawl near the end of the second quarter.

Reigning NBA champions Thunder remain top of the Western Conference, while the Wizards are one place off the bottom in 14th place.

Leicester City striker Alisha Lehmann is arguably the most recognisable female footballer in the world.

Boasting nearly 16 million followers on Instagram and a further 11.8 million on TikTok, she walked the catwalks of Milan last year while playing in Italy and her striking looks regularly catch the attention of the tabloids.

By her own recognition, that can establish a certain public perception – and it is something she is keen to quash after swapping Mediterranean life for a relegation battle in the East Midlands.

The publicity surrounding her January move focused as much on her off-field persona as what she brought to the team.

“When I was younger, it affected me more because I didn’t know how to handle the situation,” she says. “There were moments where I was really sad and I used to ask my mum if I could not play football anymore.

“Football is the thing I love the most and it’s what I have put the most time into. I rest so well, I sleep every afternoon and I would never do anything before training or a game that would affect how I play. I care so much about it.

“People don’t know how much effort I actually put in when they say ‘Oh, she’s not a footballer’.

“But now, I’m fine. I love my life and the people around me and I don’t get affected by it.”

She is likely to spearhead Leicester’s attack on Sunday in the BBC-televised game against Aston Villa (14:45 GMT).

Swiss-born Lehmann, 26, has spoken in the past about how she hopes to use her social media platform to build the profile of women’s football and bring the game to a new audience.

For comparison, England’s Chloe Kelly and Alessia Russo have 1.5 million and 1.1 million Instagram followers respectively, while ex-US star Alex Morgan has 9 million.

Her posts alternate between lifestyle content and her football, catering for a broad and diverse following, but make her a target for those who seek to criticise.

“Sometimes, it’s frustrating,” she tells BBC Sport. “People don’t see the work that I put in. They think I just train and then go home to make TikToks – it’s not true.

“I’m very professional. I always give everything on the pitch and I want to be the best. If I’ve not done my best when I check my data after training, I will do extra rounds to try to improve.

“People can think what they want but everything I do is focused on being the best player I can be.”

Lehmann first moved to the Women’s Super League in 2018, joining West Ham after scoring twice in the 2018 European Under-19 Championship.

Across six years in England, she made 108 appearances, scoring 19 goals and providing 10 assists during spells in east London, Everton and Aston Villa.

After a difficult time in Italy with Juventus and then Como, Lehmann says returning to a country she thinks of as “home” was an obvious decision.

“I signed a long-term deal in Como but after a month I realised I didn’t like it and wanted to return to England,” she explains.

“I love it here, the football is better and England feels like home to me.”

‘Incredible’ Lehmann ‘works harder than anyone else’

Lehmann’s January arrival at then 11th-placed Leicester City headlined boss Rick Passmoor’s attempts to recruit experienced players to help dig his youthful team out of trouble.

She was joined at King Power Stadium by WSL stalwarts Ashleigh Neville, 32, from Tottenham and Manchester United striker Rachel Williams, 38, among others.

However, the ploy has yet to bear dividends.

Last week’s defeat by fellow strugglers Liverpool, coupled with West Ham’s draw against Manchester United on Wednesday, means the Foxes are adrift at the bottom by three points with five games to go.

Having scored just eight goals all season, the prospect of a relegation play-off against the third-placed side in WSL 2 is looming.

Despite their perilous position, Passmoor believes Lehmann has made a positive impact and backs up how his striker perceives herself.

“She is incredible,” he says. “She’s exactly what you want – a leader, a professional. She works harder than anyone else in the building.

“She wants us to be successful and she wants to win football matches. If we could mirror her mindset across the football club, we’d be in a very good place.”

Lehmann remains convinced Leicester can get out of trouble.

“The situation we’re in now isn’t the best,” she says. “We’re all doing everything we can to be the best version of ourselves and stay in the WSL.”

When Liverpool came to Brighton last May, the away end was in party mode at the full-time whistle despite the defeat as they sang and celebrated with inflatables and balloons.

By then, Arne Slot’s side had won the Premier League title and a trip to the south coast was another excuse to enjoy themselves. And rightly so.

Ten months on, Liverpool tasted defeat against Fabian Hurzeler’s side again but this time the away end was half empty by the time Slot made his way over to the travelling supporters.

Their latest defeat is the 10th in the league this season, making it only the seventh time the reigning Premier League champions have lost 10 or more games during their title defence.

Since starting the campaign with five wins on the trot, Slot’s side have won just nine of their next 26 games in the league. With that kind of form, Liverpool do not look like a team that has it in them to qualify for the Champions League.

It is all but certain that the Premier League will get an extra place in the Champions League and Liverpool currently occupy that fifth spot, though they have a game in hand on sixth-placed Chelsea who play later on Saturday.

Much had been made in the build-up about the 62 hours Liverpool had to prepare between their Champions League win over Galatasaray at Anfield and this trip to Brighton.

With Alisson and Mohamed Salah forced out with injuries, Liverpool‘s situation worsened when striker Hugo Ekitike was forced off early on.

“What went wrong started off with the lead up to this game,” Slot said.

“As so many times has happened this season, when we played a very good game [against Galatasaray] and we thought we could bring that level to the next game, or even better, we had Mo Salah injured, we had Alisson injured and, after two minutes, Hugo Ekitike out.

“That has happened to us so many times this season and what happened to us a lot this season is that the first chance of the other team immediately went in.

“But in the second half Brighton were the better team and deserved to win.”

Slot was the first to say that his side deserved to lose here and it would hardly have surprised him. Of their 10 Premier League games this season following a Champions League fixture, Liverpool have lost five of them.

Questions have to be asked about fitness and, despite spending £450m in the summer, Liverpool lack proper squad depth.

“It makes complete sense if you win the league last season and you spent £450m that the expectations are high, and those expectations were high for the pundits, for the media, for me, for the fans,” said Slot.

“At our club we’re also looking at the situation and the challenge we had during this season, and then we might be a bit more realistic [about] why the season has gone why it is gone.

“But still it’s not good enough no matter how much excuses I can come up with – it’s still not good enough for the position we’re in right now.”

‘A backwards step for Liverpool’

Liverpool‘s only goal at the Amex came from a Brighton mistake and, even after going behind again in the second half, Slot said that the Seagulls were more likely to make it 3-1 rather than his side earning a draw.

“This is a backwards step for Liverpool,” said former Premier League goalkeeper Rob Green on 5 Live. “You just don’t know what you are getting from this team. The spine of the team is not there. They are looking around saying ‘what’s going on?’. They can’t find an answer.”

As ever, it would be hard to pin the blame entirely on the manager but, ultimately, it is his team that are regularly underperforming.

For a man who has always emphasised his desire to play good football, he cannot have enjoyed what he has seen for bulks of this season.

Liverpool were superb in midweek against Galatasaray but have been woeful in their past three Premier League games picking up just one point against Wolves, Tottenham and Brighton.

Those 62 hours between Galatasaray and Brighton are gone and it is now about the next fortnight, where most of the Liverpool players will be on international duty. Slot will know that it may well go a long way to defining his future.

“Let’s hope the national team coaches help us out by not playing 180 minutes over two games,” he pleaded on Match of The Day.

When they come back, Liverpool travel to Manchester City for their FA Cup quarter-final against Pep Guardiola’s side before a trip to Paris to take on Paris St-Germain in the same stage of the Champions League. The return leg at Anfield is six days later.

“If they go and play like that in Paris it could be 10-0,” said former Liverpool left-back Stephen Warnock on 5 Live.

“That’s how bad Liverpool were today. Brighton weren’t clinical and tried to walk it in, but PSG will be clinical. It’s very, very worrying for Liverpool“

With seven top-flight games left, Liverpool‘s tally of 10 Premier League defeats this season is already their most since 2015-16.

When BBC Sport asked Slot if it was a worry that his side is making the wrong kind of records, he responded: “Of course. It says a few things.

“First of all, it says what a great team Liverpool have had in the last 10 years and a great manager as well. I could come and tell you all the reasons why we’ve lost this season 10 times.

“One of them is late goals. Today sums it all up in terms of our injury problems – to go without three great goalscorers [Ekitike, Isak and Salah] is never helpful for any team.

“But it’s not my job to make excuses. My job is to find answers and that’s what I tried to do again today.

Slot has already conceded that it would be unacceptable if Liverpool are not playing Champions League football next season, even if he stays in the job.

And the reality is that he needs answers quickly or else those unwanted records may no longer be his only worry.

Arsenal and Manchester City’s battle for domestic supremacy shifts to the Wembley stage on Sunday – but this feels like more than just another Carabao Cup final.

Mikel Arteta’s side currently hold sway with a nine-point lead in the Premier League and a place in the Champions League quarter-finals, while Pep Guardiola’s City were eliminated by Real Madrid in Europe’s elite competition for the third time in four seasons.

The two clubs are still involved in the FA Cup – but the first major final of the season offers the possibility to strike a psychological blow as the campaign enters its closing phase.

It could be the first of three meetings between the pair before the season is out, with a huge league match at Etihad Stadium in April and a potential FA Cup tie.

Could a win at Wembley (kick-off 16:30 GMT) give either an edge in the matches to come and provide momentum for further glory?

Will Arteta end Arsenal’s barren run?

Arteta’s Arsenal will be desperate to shed their tag as the side that has come up short in recent years.

The Gunners and their manager are seeking a first piece of silverware since they beat Chelsea in the 2020 FA Cup final, only nine months after he left Guardiola’s side as his assistant at City to take over at Emirates Stadium.

In that same period, Arteta’s managerial mentor Guardiola has a trophy haul of the Champions League, four Premier League titles, the FA Cup and the EFL Cup, as well as the Uefa Super Cup and Fifa Club World Cup.

Arsenal, since Arteta last tasted success, have lost in the Europa League semi-final to Villarreal in 2021, EFL Cup semi-finals in 2022 and 2025 to Liverpool and Newcastle United respectively, as well as last season’s Champions League semi-final against eventual winners Paris St-Germain.

The Gunners have finally broken that pattern to reach a final, but Arteta must also release Guardiola’s stranglehold, having only won four of their past 16 meetings against him – including the Community Shield in 2023 – while losing nine.

This suggests it is Arteta who is in urgent need of breaking the cycle of finishing empty-handed.

Former Arsenal and England defender Matt Upson told BBC Sport: “I think overall, Arteta needs it most because he has not won enough trophies in his time at Arsenal for how well they have done.

“It has been a case of ‘nearly but not quite’ for Arteta after the seasons in which they have finished second in the Premier League. They have not quite got there, so this is a big one for Arteta.

“I think Arteta and Guardiola need it for very different reasons, but I feel Arteta needs it more because he needs to put some silverware in the trophy cabinet.

“The overall pressure is on Arteta, but it is also fair to say the short-term pressure is on Guardiola. It is very important City get that win to try and at least dent Arsenal’s confidence. That would be really helpful for them in the last eight games of the season.”

Former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha says victory could still be of huge significance to his former club.

“City have just had the pain of defeat in the Champions League, but they can use that in the Carabao Cup final to express how much going out to Real has hurt them, and potentially take that and use it at Wembley,” he said.

“This is 100% a great occasion for them to bounce back, and to be able to potentially sign off with the last game before the international break lifting a trophy can change your perspective on the whole season significantly.”

Will Wembley match shape title battle?

Arsenal are in a commanding position to win their first Premier League title since Arsene Wenger’s ‘Invincibles’ in 2003-04, as they stand nine points clear of City having played one game more.

The Gunners have been relentless, while City have faltered by dropping points in draws against relegation strugglers Nottingham Forest and West Ham United in their past two league games.

So could Sunday’s Wembley showpiece have a defining impact on the rest of the season?

Upson does not believe defeat will damage Arteta’s side, saying: “Arsenal have shown me they have a good enough foundation. They know what they’re about. I don’t think a defeat, if they do lose, will damage their title chances or impact the title race.

“I think their foundation is too strong. If they lost, I don’t think it will derail them.”

Upson added: “Victory for Arsenal, on the other hand, would be huge. It would just be like confirmation of where they’re at. To beat City in a Wembley final would be massive. It would be a big psychological blow – more to City than vice-versa.

“Arsenal’s style has been criticised but they shouldn’t care and I don’t think they do.

“Arteta has looked at it and asked himself, ‘how are we definitely going to win the Premier League?’ If it has to be like this they are going to do it unapologetically. It is ingrained in the players and they are winning.”

Former Arsenal and England forward Theo Walcott told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Monday Night Club he believes the occasion could shape the immediate future for his old club.

“That’s the game,” said Walcott. “That’s the one that essentially sets the tone for how this whole year is going to look for Arsenal.

“I think Manchester City will drop points. I think Arsenal will still drop points. It’s that cup final in between.”

Onuoha said: “From a City perspective, you do get the feeling their season could go either way here. They are obviously not out of the title race, but are out of the Champions League.

“If they were to potentially lose the final, then the feeling going away for a couple of weeks would be difficult – but then contrast that with if they were to win that final at Wembley, against the team they are trying to chase in the league. To be able to get that feel of them, to beat them, and to beat them at the home of football.

“That could be massive. On the flip side, it could be massive for Arsenal as well if they win. It is a really exciting game that carries huge significance for both teams.”

Who will emerge victorious at Wembley?

Upson feels this EFL Cup final falls into the “too close to call” category – but believes one factor makes him just favour Arsenal.

“It is as close to a 50-50 split as you can get,” he said. “I have to go Arsenal – just – because I think I pretty much know what sort of performance I’m going to get from them. I know what I’m going to see.

“City are still a fantastic team who have the quality to beat anyone when they get it right, but they are more unpredictable. They could be far better and win it, or they could be a bit sloppy defensively and concede a couple of sloppy goals.”

Onuoha said: “I am never confident about calling who will any game of football ever, especially not a final, because I think we have seen in finals that it is not always the team who plays the best football in the moment who wins. It can just be about finding a way to grind out a result.

“This season, so far, we’ve seen that Arsenal have been pretty much better than anyone else in the Premier League at doing that, finding a way to win games, but again this is a one-off game.

“From my perspective as a Blue, I know they can do it – and I hope they do it as well.”

Chelsea are in freefall after their latest defeat – 3-0 at Everton – and now have a two‑week international break during which to stew on 10 damaging days.

After suffering an 8-2 aggregate loss to Paris St‑Germain in the Champions League last 16, Chelsea‘s defeat at the hands of Beto and Ilman Ndiaye on Saturday means back‑to‑back Premier League losses and no wins in four in all competitions.

This has led to increasing scrutiny of head coach Liam Rosenior and the club as a whole, not least from vice‑captain Enzo Fernandez, who said Chelsea had lost “identity, structure and direction” since former boss Enzo Maresca left the club in January, adding the players did not understand why he left.

Although Fernandez went closest to scoring and embraced Rosenior after the match, his comments paint a worrying picture.

Once again on Saturday, Chelsea were outrun, error‑prone and tactically open, as Everton played through them for a comfortable win at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

The result leaves Chelsea sixth in the Premier League, still just one point behind fifth‑placed Liverpool in the race for Champions League qualification.

However, Everton are now seventh and only two points behind Chelsea, part of a group of sides capable of leapfrogging the struggling giants with seven matches left to play this season.

“I don’t focus on the noise,” Rosenior told BBC Match of the Day. “I know the reality of where I’m at and where we are at as a club and what we can achieve, which is still some amazing things.

“It’s been a really testing period for these lads. We’ve had a lot of setbacks and we have to dust ourselves down and make sure we come back fighting.”

Does Rosenior know his best squad?

Former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin told BBC Radio 5 Live that Chelsea are “not getting the best” out of their players at present.

“You need to find out why that’s happened,” he said. “That can’t be allowed to happen in the Premier League.”

Rosenior has faced criticism for his level of rotation, with no club having made more changes than Chelsea‘s 99 in the Premier League from match to match.

That rotation has increased under the 41-year-old, who says he does not have a recognised number one goalkeeper, with Robert Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen in rotation.

Sanchez’s form has dipped as a result, with further mistakes against Everton. He was caught in possession early on by Beto but was rescued by defender Jorrel Hato, before allowing a shot from the striker to slip through his fingers in the second half.

There was further criticism for others, including defender Wesley Fofana, while even star attackers Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro struggled to create as Chelsea went goalless for a third consecutive match.

“What I need to do better is make better decisions in terms of team selections, how we freshen up the team and rotate the team to make sure we are competitive in these games,” Rosenior told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“Having the international break has probably come at a perfect time for us to gather and restock. We also have some clear weeks to get on the training pitch to work on what we want.”

Who is to blame?

Before large numbers of the travelling Chelsea supporters left Everton‘s stadium before the full-time whistle, they were singing anti-ownership songs. Rosenior approached the remaining fans to apologise and thank them for their support but some see his appointment as symptomatic of wider problems in the hierarchy.

After home matches against Port Vale in the FA Cup quarter-final and a home match against Manchester City, fans of Chelsea and Strasbourg, who are also owned by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, will march on Stamford Bridge before the home game with Manchester United (Saturday, 18 April).

“In every area of the game, Everton fought and battled in such a way that has shown Chelsea up,” Nevin added.

“Are they not buying into the manager? Is it that they are exhausted after the season they’ve had? Have they just been beaten on the day?”

Unfair criticism?

Defeat by Everton means Chelsea have lost three of their past four Premier League matches – as many defeats as in their previous 18 games in the competition.

They have also failed to score in three consecutive matches in all competitions for the first time since September 2023 despite attempting 52 shots (16 on target) across those fixtures.

That profligacy in front of goal has been matched by defensive issues, with Chelsea conceding the opening goal in four consecutive Premier League games for the first time since November 2023.

There is also the well‑publicised statistic that Chelsea have been outrun by every Premier League opponent in every match this season.

“We have played 10 Premier League games in my time here and have 17 points,” Rosenior told Match of the Day.

“We are not in as bad a place as the noise suggests – but we need to come out of it very quickly.”

Indeed, since Rosenior replaced Maresca, Chelsea are fourth in the Premier League form table, winning five of their 10 games.

Only Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City have picked up more points in this period.

Wayne Rooney, who had Rosenior as his assistant at Derby County in 2021 and 2022, believes the Chelsea boss is getting unfairly scrutinized.

“I do [think he is receiving harsh criticism]. He has been from the moment he went in,” Rooney told Match of the Day.

“Liam knows he will get judged on results. He started really well, they have hit a bad run of form over the last couple of weeks but he needs to figure out a way to get out of it.

“I know he is a fantastic coach, but it’s going to take time.”

How crucial is Champions League return?

There are many reasons Champions League football is so important for Chelsea. The most obvious is prestige.

Without it, Chelsea risk being unable to attract key transfer targets. Striker Liam Delap is believed to have chosen a move to Stamford Bridge over Manchester United for the chance to play in the Champions League.

Meanwhile, there is also the issue of revenue. Qualification for the competition is the single biggest way for a major club to boost its bottom line. TV income, prize money and matchday revenue are far greater than those generated in the Europa League or Conference League.

It is especially important for Chelsea, who still lack a long‑term front‑of‑shirt sponsor and whose stadium, Stamford Bridge, lags behind the bigger and more modern grounds used by many of their league rivals.

It’s for all these reasons that before the season, the primary club target for former boss Maresca was to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

And for Rosenior, who was expected to bring stability, that is the continued expectation.

Mr. Dirar Fesehaye, member of the Public Relations office of the Commission of Culture and Sports, indicated that the Eritrean Football National Team has arrived in Meknes, Morocco, to play its first-leg match against Eswatini’s National Team in the qualifiers for the 2027 African Nations Cup.

Upon arrival in Casablanca, the National Team was welcomed by Mr. Paulos Weldehaimanot, President of the National Football Federation of Eritrea and the Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations, along with officials of the Moroccan Football Federation.

The national team includes 12 players from inside the country, as well as 14 Eritreans currently playing in football leagues in the UK, Egypt, Germany, Sweden, and Australia.

The players of the National Team from inside the country have already conducted their first training session as part of the preparation program, while the remaining Europe-based players are expected to join the team in the coming days ahead of the much-awaited first-leg match scheduled for 25 March.