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Congratulations to Rangers … and to Spurs and Chelsea, the other stars of this MBM! Remember them, after all that Ibrox drama? Sure you do. Thanks for reading this report. Nighty night.

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Updated at 00.09 CET

James Tavernier speaks to TNT. “We did it the hard way … but we got to the next round … the special nights in European football that you can’t replace … we didn’t actually practice penalties this week!”

Jack Butland, exhausted but jubilant, adds: “When this club is going like this, we are something special … I wanted to put something on for the fans, to get it done … you can’t top it … we fully believed we would get the job done … the boys dug deep and this is the reward you get … we deserve this!”

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Ibrox en fête! The Light Blues celebrate in the wild style. Having lost their first-leg lead, how well they did to dig in during the final stages of normal time, then extra time, to force penalty kicks. Barry Ferguson races across the pitch to join in the fun; Jose Mourinho, drained, throws consoling arms around a few of his men. They’ll travel to the Basque Country for a quarter-final showdown with Athletic Bilbao!

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PENALTIES: Rangers 3-2 Fenerbahçe; Rangers into the quarter-finals!

Wow! Rangers don’t half enjoy this competition!

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Updated at 23.53 CET

PENALTIES: Rangers 3-2 Fenerbahçe. Yandaş has to score now. Bedlam in Ibrox. Yandaş crumbles, hoicking wildly over the bar, and Rangers are through! Bedlam in Ibrox now all right!

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PENALTIES: Rangers 3-2 Fenerbahçe. Lawrence hammers home that advantage by battering an unstoppable one down the middle!

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PENALTIES: Rangers 2-2 Fenerbahçe. Fred shuffles on his run-up and aims for the bottom left. Butland reads correctly and sticks up a strong hand. Advantage Rangers again!

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PENALTIES: Rangers 2-2 Fenerbahçe. Barry Ferguson can’t look as Hagi makes his way upfield. Eğribayat takes his time over a swig of water. Hagi aims for the bottom right, but it’s not tucked into the corner, and the keeper turns the ball onto the bottom of the post and away. Level after three kicks apiece!

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PENALTIES: Rangers 2-2 Fenerbahçe. Djiku, who scored in the first leg, scores his penalty here. Bottom right, having sent Butland the wrong way. Calm as you like.

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PENALTIES: Rangers 2-1 Fenerbahçe. Černý takes a long run up and batters hard and handsome down the middle. The keeper no chance!

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PENALTIES: Rangers 1-1 Fenerbahçe. Džeko marks his 151st European appearance by whistling his pen into the left-hand side of the goal. Butland guessed correctly, but it was a futile effort.

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PENALTIES: Rangers 1-0 Fenerbahçe. Tavernier grimaces before taking his kick. Then blows hard. Then whips into the bottom left. Eğribayat went the right way, but it was too powerful, too precise.

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PENALTIES: Rangers 0-0 Fenerbahçe. Tadić up first. Butland takes his sweet time to get into position. Tadić whacks straight down the middle … and Butland, despite diving, kicks clear!

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Updated at 23.46 CET

The pens will be taken in front of the Rangers fans, the Copland Road end, far away from the away supporters. Fenerbahçe to take the first kick.

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Pre-penalty postbag. “At least Rangers will have a full, eh, two days to recover physically and mentally before their next game at, eh, Celtic Park on Sunday, while their bitter rivals have had a free week and are 16 points clear at the top. I’m sure that will be of some comfort to Barry Ferguson, whatever happens tonight” – Simon McMahon

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EXTRA TIME, FULL TIME: Rangers 0-2 Fenerbahçe (agg 3-3)

Penalties it is, then! No double-hitting, lads, please. Not again.

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ET 30 min +2: Fenerbahçe get the ball forward in pursuit of a dramatic winner. Souttar clears twice in short order. Then Kostić drives into the box from the left and goes over. Tavernier slides in from behind to win the ball, and though Fener are collectively livid again, it’s the correct decision to deny their request.

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ET 30 min: There will be three additional minutes. Some bampot in the stand flings an object at Eğribayat. Thankfully it doesn’t hit the keeper, but dearie me.

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ET 29 min: Turns out it wasn’t Yandas who was booked, but his mate Kahveci for his part in the post-penalty-claim brouhaha.

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ET 28 min: Kahveci crosses deep from the left. Tadic volleys goalwards from the right-hand corner of the six-yard box. Butland parries well, then the flag goes up for offside.

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ET 27 min: Fener claim a penalty kick, Yandaş going over in the environs of Raskin. There’s no contact. Yandaş is insistent, though. He goes into the book, and so does his manager for taking the argument too far.

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ET 26 min: Yilmaz is booked for saying his piece about a garden-variety foul in the midfield.

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ET 24 min: Akçiçek is allowed to advance a long way down the inside-left channel, past a couple of tired challenges. Akçiçek reaches the edge of the box but he’s knackered too, and dribbles a weak shot towards the bottom left. Butland claims.

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ET 23 min: Černý tries to feed Igamane down the right, but the latter puts the brakes on. Igamane has been poor.

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ET 22 min: Now it’s Eğribayat’s turn for a muscle rub, as he goes over with cramp. He’s back up again soon enough.

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Updated at 23.32 CET

ET 21 min: Incidentally, Rangers nearly made a sub themselves during the extra-time break. It looked like Danilo was coming on for a knackered-looking Černý, but the latter made his feeling known after a quick muscle rub, and Barry Ferguson changed his mind. Danilo went back into the dugout and made some feelings of his own crystal clear, battering the walls of the dugout with angry fists.

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ET 19 min: Tavernier curls the free kick viciously towards the left-hand side of goal. It’s heading in, but Eğribayat claws it out. Fine play all round.

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ET 18 min: Hagi nearly successfully spins Djiku down the inside-left. Just before he enters the box, he’s clipped, and it’s a booking for the defender and a free kick to Rangers. Tavernier’s eyes light up.

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ET 17 min: Kostić crosses low and hard from the left. Souttar does well to block with opponents hovering, and the ball pings off one of them for a goal kick.

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The second half of extra time starts. Fenerbahçe get the ball rolling, having replaced their two-goal hero Sebastian Szymański and … hmm, I’ll get back to you … with İrfan Can Kahveci and Mert Hakan Yandaş.

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EXTRA TIME, HALF TIME: Rangers 0-2 Fenerbahçe (agg 3-3)

Just enough time left for Kostic to reach the byline on the left. He pulls back for En-Nesyri, who prepares to slam home from eight yards, only for Lawrence to nick the ball off his toe. The whistle goes, and the tension mounts.

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ET 15 min: There will be one additional minute to this first period of extra time.

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When Ange Postecoglou does not like a question, usually from a broadcast journalist, he lets them know in pretty short order, latent hostility to the fore. The one he fielded on Wednesday was always coming.

Tottenham’s season will be on the line on Thursday night when they face AZ Alkmaar at home in the second leg of the Europa League last 16, trailing 1-0 from the first. And after the season Spurs have had, Postecoglou’s second at the club, it is plain that he could really do with a result. So, Ange, win or bust for the season and also for you and your project. How do you feel about that?

“There are not many professions in the world where you have to come in and answer questions like that, is there?” the manager glowered. “No, there isn’t. I am going to be polite and say we’re focused on winning the game and need to put in a better performance than we did last Thursday [in the first leg].”

Postecoglou would immediately bring levity. When the English-speaking TalkSport representative began his question, Postecoglou scrambled for the Uefa-issue interpretation headset and put it on. It was a funny moment, as the reporter acknowledged. “Thank you,” Postecoglou replied. “Let’s keep our sense of humour.”

It was more like the tone Postecoglou wanted to set; relaxed and positive as he seeks the right mindset from his players. He had bemoaned the absence of it during the first leg in the Netherlands when there was no intensity, no intent with or without the ball. Why had it been that way? Postecoglou said he had analysed and reviewed the game but he did not give an answer.

What is clear is that there will be a lot of emotion inside Spurs’ stadium, with the supporters almost permanently on edge these days; a lot of pressure. Postecoglou was not about to run from that. It was standard, he suggested. It can be inspiring.

“There’s always pressure and, yes, it’s a big game but if we’re successful tomorrow night, it’ll be the same in the next round,” Postecoglou said. “When you’re in the later stages of European or any cup competition, you know every game is meaningful because it either means the end of the road or you progress. We need to embrace that.”

Postecoglou reported that Kevin Danso was out with a hamstring problem, the winter-window signing feeling it towards the end of the 2-2 Premier League draw at home against Bournemouth on Sunday. Muscle injuries have been perhaps the emblem of the season, particularly for defenders, and it has taken Danso seven games to succumb. “We will give him every chance to get back, he will be pushing for sure,” Postecoglou said, which did not sound good.

But the injuries are broadly clearing and Postecoglou stands to have his four main leaders – Son Heung-min, Cristian Romero, James Maddison and Guglielmo Vicario – on the field together for the first time since 19 October and the 4-1 home win against West Ham.

There is no doubt that the persistent fitness problems have provided Postecoglou with a get-out for the club’s underwhelming results, notwithstanding whether those issues are partly down to his high-intensity style of training and playing. Now is the time for the real Spurs to stand up.

“Tomorrow, the real Spurs will be judged just on winning,” Vicario said. “The good Spurs will be just the winning Spurs. We know exactly what the game means. It’s about getting in the best mindset. The best version of Spurs for tomorrow is togetherness from us on the pitch and the fans in the stands. With this mentality we can go through.”

What is the real Spurs under Postecoglou? It is essentially the version that was on show before they started to be worn thin by the injuries – confident, energetic, enterprising. Postecoglou believes absolutely in his approach; he is not for changing, rather reassembling the correct pieces and trying again. Are the answers still there? Or will the mental and physical scars that have built up stymie a revival?

“The manager has been very committed to his approach since day one when he joined,” Vicario said. “He delivered to us the same way to play the game because he truly believes in this. We can be successful in this way and we are fully behind him, fully trying to do the right things. When we are at 100% here in the brain and very, very committed to that I think we showed what we can do.”

Postecoglou always wins a trophy in his second full season at a club. He mentioned that in no uncertain terms in the early running of this one and it is a soundbite that has tracked him in unforgiving fashion. Not that Postecoglou regrets saying what he said. He was simply making a factual statement.

“If it doesn’t happen this year then I cannot say it any more if I’m asked next year. But what was I supposed to say? ‘I’ve always won in the second year everywhere I’ve been … here it won’t happen.’ Is that what people want to hear?

“I’m really comfortable and proud of the fact that everywhere I have been I have won things. I wouldn’t be sitting here if I hadn’t. Whether I win something in my second year here, time will tell.”

Credit Tottenham for their resilience. Credit their character for coming back into the game. Credit them for battling their way to a point that never really seemed plausible until Son Heung-min converted an 84th-minute penalty. But let nobody get carried away: this was a game that raised more questions for Spurs than it answered. It was not a performance that should reassure anybody.

The daffodils were out in front of the flats on the Seven Sisters Road. There was some warmth in the sun. Fans uncertainly cast off their thick winter coats. Finally, Tottenham’s injury crisis is beginning to ease. At last Ange Postecoglou has had some time to work with his squad. Spurs had won league games on three successive weekends. Even with a 1-0 defeat by Manchester City in their last league game, it might have been possible to believe that winter is over, that renewal has begun.

Then came Thursday and a miserable performance away to AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League. That it was only 1-0 at least offers some hope for Thursday’s second leg – and that Postecoglou can maintain his much-vaunted run of always winning a trophy in his second year at a club, but on that the entire season hangs. And nobody can be too bullish after another weirdly sloppy home display.

Cristian Romero has always been an erratic presence but even by his occasionally unreliable standards, the first four minutes were desperate. Twice his attempts to play out from the back got Tottenham into trouble, presenting chances to Evanilson and Justin Kluivert. Only a pair of fine saves from Guglielmo Vicario prevented Bournemouth taking an early lead. It is not just the Argentinian; the vast majority of Tottenham’s problems would disappear if they stopped giving the ball away needlessly in their own half.

That at least was not the source of Bournemouth’s 42nd-minute opener, although that the ball was given away in the opposition half is perhaps not an inconsequential variation on the theme. Milos Kerkez intercepted Pedro Porro’s pass, surged forward and crossed deep for Marcus Tavernier to score with a controlled volley at the back post. Kerkez immediately turned to his manager and, after they had pointed at each other in mutual admiration, exchanged a double high-five in celebration. The execution of some tactical master plan? Perhaps, although inducing Spurs to give the ball away felt more a case of waiting than anything complicated, the goal then resulting from the directness of the Hungarian’s run and the excellence of the cross.

Although a penalty shootout victory took Bournemouth past Wolves into the sixth round of the FA Cup last week, they have been a little out of sorts recently, losing three of their previous four league games, a run that had dropped them into the mass of sides just outside the expected Champions League qualification slots. With 10 games to go, everybody in the top half has a realistic chance of a top-five finish – a broad grouping that, notably, does not include Tottenham.

That’s why frustration is mounting at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the greatest lower mid-table arena in the world. Without Dejan Kulusevski, they look desperately short of creativity. Postecoglou picked a functional midfield of Yves Bissouma, Pape Matar Sarr and Rodrigo Bentancur but if the intention was to add an extra curtain of protection, it didn’t work and left Spursreliant on their wingers for creativity.

The introduction of Lucas Bergvall and Son half-time, then James Maddison on the hour, offered greater attacking threat but also made Spurs look terribly vulnerable to the counter. Although Son had a shot deflected against the base of a post and Sarr dragged inexplicably wide after neat work from Maddison, Kluivert had already had one goal ruled out for offside when a shift of body weight took Kevin Danso out of the game as he slipped in Evanilson to dink home Bournemouth’s second.

When Sarr did eventually score two minutes later, it was a mishit cross that looped in off the far post. Bergvall had hit a post seconds earlier and Kluivert then hit a post from another breakaway as the game collapsed into a reckless openness. Nobody embodied that more than Kepa Arrizabalaga, whose careless lunge at Son conceded the penalty that brought the equaliser.

Preamble

Afternoon everyone and welcome to a game that should be good to watch. Yes, it’s mid-table, but with Liverpool proving that you do sometimes walk alone and the three promoted clubs heading straight back down again, the middle is where the intrigue is.

You never know what you’re going to get from Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs – slick football or slapstick. Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth seem far more settled and sorted, but after a fine season they have begun to falter. Their results over the past six league games are just as Spursy as Spurs’: won three, lost three.

On even more recent form, Spurs have the edge. Their three wins have all come in the four games since the beginning of February, whereas Bournemouth have three defeats in their last four. During this time, strange as it may sound, Spurs have had the joint-best defence in the Premier League: they’ve conceded only two goals in four games, the same as their old friends Arsenal. But then they did manage to lose at AZ Alkmaar on Thursday. And their home form in the league has been dismal for months, with just one win in nine, while Bournemouth tend to be stronger on the road.

When the two teams met in December, Bournemouth won 1-0, thanks to a header by Dean Huijsen. But the scoreline flattered Spurs. On expected goals, according to fbref, it should have been 3-1 or 4-1 (3.5-0.9).

Bournemouth’s blip has taken them down to ninth in the table, but the battle for the Europa League places – now, deliciously, involving Man City – is so tight that a victory today would lift them to sixth. Spurs are 13th and will stay there even if they win, as they’re five points adrift of Brentford.

This is the Dominic Solanke derby, although the man himself may not appear. He came on as a sub in Alkmaar, only to go off again after a knock that drew a vivid description from Ange: “Obviously it’s a knee going into the backside, so it’s sore.” The irony is that Solanke is one of the few Spurs players who haven’t spent the season looking as if they need a kick up the arse.

Guglielmo Vicario has said he “understands the frustration of the fans” after the Tottenham goalkeeper was involved in an emotional exchange after his side’s 1-0 defeat at AZ in the first leg of their Europa League tie.

Vicario kept Ange Postecoglou’s side in contention to reach the quarter-finals with several fine saves as Spurs put in a disappointing performance in the Netherlands. The Italian went to the away fans after the full-time whistle and raised his arms in a gesture that appeared to be encouraging them to show more support. That did not go down well with some and Vicario reacted angrily before leaving the pitch.

“I can assume the disappointment [was] for the night because we didn’t play our football,” he said. “So I can understand the frustration of the fans. But we still have a lot to play for, especially in the second leg. It’s just a way of trying to stay together because we have the opportunity to go through to the next round.”

Asked whether the Tottenham supporters could make a difference in Thursday’s second leg, when Rodrigo Bentancur will be suspended after a yellow card, he said: “We need them every game, home and away. We know they are very important for us and now is a big moment of the season and with them we can play with one more man on the pitch, so it’s so important … It’s the moment to stick together.”

The Europa League is Tottenham’s only chance of a trophy this season. They are 13th in the Premier League and entertain Bournemouth on Sunday.

Son Heung-min insisted that ­Tottenham’s defeat by AZ in the Europa League must be a “wake-up call” for their hopes of winning silverware this season as Ange Postecoglou admitted his side did not have the “right mindset for an away game in Europe”.

Spurs managed only one shot on target in the first leg of their last-16 tie and Lucas Bergvall’s own goal handed the Dutch side a slender advantage for next week’s second leg in north London. In the second half, Son was replaced by Dominic Solanke, who was then forced off himself. The England striker had just returned from seven weeks out with a knee injury, but Postecoglou said he hoped the latest problem was just a knock.

Son, the Tottenham captain, was highly critical of his side’s display and called on the team to adopt a different mindset for what he described as “the biggest game of our season next week”. “This was nowhere near the level we should be in terms of our performance,” he said. “This is very disappointing, including from myself, and it is a big wake-up call ahead of the biggest game of our season next week. It is tough playing away from home in the Europa League. We were sloppy and not performing how we should. Everyone is disappointed and we have to look at ourselves. No excuses and it was nowhere near good enough. It is just 1-0 and the tie is not finished. Next week we have to be much better than we were tonight.”

Postecoglou acknowledged that the deficit could have been greater had AZ taken their chances. “We didn’t really come to grips and have the right mindset to tackle an away fixture in Europe,” said the head coach. “It is always tough and we obviously conceded the goal, which was a disappointing set of events but even after that we didn’t really ­settle down into the game at all.

“You are going to face some pressure when you play away from home in Europe and weather the storm and get to grips with it, but we never really did so that was a disappointment. It’s only 1-0 so I guess that’s a positive in that we didn’t let the game get away from us.”

Asked about the extent of Solanke’s injury after he had to be helped back to the dugout by a physio having landed awkwardly after a challenge, Postecoglou added: “I am not even sure. It looks like a knock but I haven’t really seen it. Hopefully ­nothing too bad.”

If Ange Postecoglou was hoping that things might be different for Tottenham in the Europa League then he was sadly mistaken. An abject display in which his side fell behind to an early own goal from the unfortunate Lucas Bergvall and then failed to lay a glove on AZ Alkmaar means the Australian’s chances of maintaining the record of winning a trophy in his second season at every club he has managed now rest on next week’s second leg.

The home side – who are known as the cheese farmers – could have been out of sight after repeatedly finding holes in the Spurs defence had it not been for two excellent saves from Guglielmo Vicario, including one to deny Tottenham academy graduate Troy Parrott in the first half. Even though they have not reached the quarter-finals of this competition in five attempts since 2013, Postecoglou said beforehand that his players sensed an opportunity to win it now that some of his players are back from injury. But the sight of Tottenham’s record signing, Dominic Solanke, limping off late with a suspected back problem on his return from seven weeks out with a knee injury made it an even more disastrous evening for the head coach.

Postecoglou had seemed encouraged by the prospect of welcoming back Solanke and the defenders Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven after their spells on the sidelines. But he and the 950 away fans who made the trip will have had their enthusiasm diminished having seen Mathys Tel once again fail to make an impression up front and be removed at half-time as Spurs struggled badly.

Liverpool’s Arne Slot cut his teeth as manager of AZ before moving on to Feyenoord – following in the footsteps of Louis van Gaal and Dick Advocaat. The club up the road from Amsterdam have a decent pedigree in this competition having reached the semi-finals in 2023. Maarten Martens’ side was packed with players who helped them to win Uefa’s Youth League that year, although they were missing playmaker Sven Mijnans and Ruben van Bommel – son of the former Netherlands captain Mark.

AZ’s current youth team dumped Real Madrid out of the same competition on Wednesday and the senior side have a formidable record in their compact home ground, having beaten Galatasaray 4-1 in Alkmaar in the previous round. Roared on by a boisterous crowd, Ernest Poku helped set the tone as he immediately caused Djed Spence problems down the left flank. The breakthrough came from a corner when Parrott volleyed the ball back in the general direction of the goal and it took a wicked slice as Bergvall attempted to clear before looping over the helpless Vicario. The stadium announcer initially gave the goal to Parrott, who looked like a man on a mission against his former club.

Tottenham struggled to get to grips with a bumpy surface and looked vulnerable whenever they lost the ball to a midfield being patrolled by veteran Jordie Clasie, once of Southampton. Son Heung-min was guilty of not tracking Denso Kasius when he played in Parrott for a golden opportunity to double AZ’s lead but the Republic of Ireland striker could not find a way past Vicario. Despite dominating possession, Spurs finally had an effort worthy of note when Brennan Johnson fired over from distance five minutes before half-time. They somehow survived a goalmouth scramble from another corner when Parrot and Poku had been allowed acres of space in the buildup. Something clearly needed to change.

Postecoglou decided to bring on Wilson Odobert for Tel and move Son into the centre, with Bergvall coming close to making amends after a driving run that ended with him curling a shot just wide of the post. AZ continued to look dangerous and it needed a full stretch save from Vicario to keep out Poku’s drive after a clever flick from Parrott. Rodrigo Bentancur did not help Postecoglou’s mood when he was booked for a late challenge that will rule him out of next week’s second leg.

Solanke, Pedro Porro and Pape Sarr were summoned from the bench, with the disappointing James Maddison one of those to make way. It did not seem to make much of a difference as Tottenham continued to look ineffective. Parrott was given a standing ovation when he was taken off with 10 minutes to go and AZ’s only regret will be that they could not find a second goal their superiority deserved.

For Postecoglou, the pressure is only mounting and he will need to find some answers if Spurs are not going to finish yet another season empty-handed.

Ange Postecoglou believes Tottenham’s rejuvenated squad can sense an opportunity in the Europa League to make up for their disappointing season but confirmed that Dejan Kulusevski is set to be out until after the international break.

The defenders Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven, and their record signing, Dominic Solanke, have all travelled to the Netherlands for the first leg against AZ Alkmaar on Thursday, with the Spurs manager set to make a late call on whether they will feature after extended periods on the sidelines.

But while Postecoglou revealed that Kulusevki has been nursing a foot problem for several weeks and will miss next week’s second leg in north London, he insisted that his returning players who have missed chunks of the campaign are determined to make up for lost time.

“I think it is fair to say the boys really understand there is a great opportunity for us,” he said. “I think they’ve appreciated the fact that the guys who have been playing through are now able to recover and train and prepare themselves better for games.

“That’s coincided with seeing their teammates come back and certainly the guys that have been out injured, we’ve already seen with guys like [Guglielmo Vicario], Brennan [Johnson], [James Maddison] to a lesser extent [due to time out] but Wilson [Odobert], Destiny [Udogie] – they’ve come back with a real hunger and desire to help the team because I think they’ve all been frustrated to sit on the sidelines and see how difficult it has been for the group of players who have been playing. They’ve just wanted to help and now they get that opportunity.”

Romero was called up by Argentina this week despite not having started a Premier League game since limping off against Chelsea at the start of December. He is in contention to start alongside Kevin Danso in central defence and the Austria international has talked up Tottenham’s chances of going all the way in this competition.

“A hundred per cent and I think it’s possible,” said Danso. “I said before the [Manchester] United game with the week of training that we had with some of the injured lads coming back – it was a lot of positive energy around the place and we ended up winning that game and keeping a clean sheet. It’s the same feeling now with Mickey and Cuti [Romero] back in the squad and everybody is wanting to finish the season strong.”

AZ beat Galatasaray 4-1 at home in the first leg of their playoff and reached the Dutch Cup final last week. The former Tottenham striker Troy Parrott, who moved to the Netherlands on a permanent deal last summer, missed a penalty in the semi-final shootout but has scored 17 goals in all competitions this season. The Republic of Ireland international insisted he has no regrets about leaving Spurs a few weeks after Postecoglou took over.

“For me it just didn’t happen. I’m OK with that,” he said. “I’m here, I’m really enjoying myself, I love life over here. Now I’m just focusing on where I am right now and trying to progress and keep getting better here.”

Rick has emailed in with his view on the proposed change to the WSL format…

“The proposal to grow the WSL by adding teams each season by eliminating relegation to arrive at perhaps an 18 team top division by 2030 and a similar sized WSL 2 is all very well, but the main problem is the massive funding gap that has already opened up with Chelsea already having turned the WSL into a one team league.

“I’m afraid that women’s football is now mainly money driven and with that will come the professionalism aka cheating that has spoiled the men’s game.

“Unless a more radical restructuring is introduced to stop a small number of top clubs dominating the WSL financially then wishful thinking this can be avoided by reducing risk to investors is delusional.

“Has anyone had a look at what safeguards are in place to stop the wrong people buying in to women’s football?”

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Here is what some WSL managers had to say about the proposed scrapping of relegation…

Robert Vilahamn: “I definitely want to have a relegation battle. You need competition up and down in the table. If it’s for one or two years to make sure we can have a big investment in those teams, show me the case, what they think about it and then we can listen. I think the fans want to see games where you compete up and down in the leagues.”

Gareth Taylor: “I have always had this thing of potentially making the league bigger, more teams, 14, 16 teams I think it would change a lot, would create more competition within it. On first visual of looking at that piece this morning around no relegation, I can completely understand the reasons why, because it allows stability a little bit for those clubs to invest and create more competition. There’s positive and negative to both things. I think sometimes I’ve always been about keeping it simple. I think promotion and relegation are always going to be what supporters and teams play for and crave. I think that really is going to be difficult to move away from that.”

Renee Slegers: “I think there’s a reason why most competitions work like that in different countries, because you want to have that competitive element. But at the same time, the decision makers on this have more detail and more knowledge. I understand that there needs to be a foundation and levels of professionalism to be able to provide the quality that we need in women’s football.”

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Preamble

What a week it’s been in women’s football.

From managerial incomings and outgoings to proposed format changes that would alter the pyramid completely, it feels like we’ve seen it all. We’ll talk about those things a bit later, but for now the focus is on today’s six Women’s Super League fixtures.

To kick things off, Manchester United host Leicester City at Leigh Sports Village. Then, Aston Villa take on Everton while Tottenham face Manchester City. Brighton go head-to-head with league leaders Chelsea before Arsenal meet West Ham for a London Derby this evening.

Perhaps the most interesting fixture of the day, however, is Crystal Palace vs Liverpool. Both clubs sacked their respective managers earlier this week, which came as a huge shock to fans. While Liverpool are yet to find a permanent successor to Matt Beard, Norwegian coach Leif Smerud has replaced Laura Kaminski at Palace. The question is - will the London side get that ‘new manager bounce’ this afternoon?

Join me!

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For 45 minutes, it was tempting to wonder where this version of Manchester City had been hiding? They were energetic and incisive, threatening to tear Tottenham apart. Erling Haaland was back in the line-up after a knee injury and his 20th goal of the Premier League season – and 28th overall – was scant reward for their control.

City’s previous visit to this stadium had brought a Carabao Cup exit and it is remarkable to consider how they have fared since then. Before kick-off here and taking in that defeat, their record showed 14 losses in 27 matches in all competitions. They looked set to make a more coherent statement.

Then the second half happened and we were reminded of why City have sunk so far. The conviction evaporated in the face of Spurs showing plenty of it themselves and an equaliser looked on. Ange Postecoglou’s team were a different entity, pressing hard and they had the chances.

They could not get one to go in, the big one coming right at the end – 98 minutes on the clock, four more than the board had shown. That was because of a lengthy VAR check for what would have been 2-0 for City, Haaland eventually denied a second goal for handball.

Spurs went straight up the other end and when Pedro Porro crossed and the ball was flicked on, there was the substitute, Pape Sarr. He could not get his body into position and he sent the header high. City could exhale.

City were in the mood at the outset. They bristled with attacking intent, Guardiola starting Omar Marmoush up alongside Haaland. Jérémy Doku and Savinho brought their threat from wide areas. All four were involved in the breakthrough goal and it had been coming, Haaland having swiped at a chance moments earlier from a Matheus Nunes pull-back.

Marmoush has looked the part since his arrival from Eintracht Frankfurt, his touches and sharp turns easy on the eye. There was more from him here. He got City moving when he rolled away from Kevin Danso and Savinho found Haaland, who went left to Doku. Haaland made for the middle and when Doku, having teased Porro – not for the last time – crossed low, the ball deflected and fell for the City No 9. He was close in. It was simple.

Did Postecoglou have one eye on the first leg of next Thursday’s Europa League last-16 tie at AZ Alkmaar? He started with Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski on the bench; attackers with good scoring records against City. They have played an awful lot of football lately.

City were dominant in the first half. They poured forward at pace and from all angles. When Nunes stepped up from right-back into midfield alongside Mateo Kovacic, it allowed Nico González to push higher in a left central position. Outside him, Doku was electric. The Belgian had served notice of his intent in the early running, giving Porro a headstart in a race for the ball, getting there and winning the shoulder-to-shoulder challenge. The cross for Haaland came to nothing but he kept on coming, chills down spines in the South Stand when he ran with the ball.

Doku jinked inside before working Guglielmo Vicario while he teed up Savinho for a glorious chance; his teammate’s first-time finish was high and wasteful. There was also the moment on the half-hour when he set up Haaland, who shot too close to Vicario. It was a big chance. Savinho blazed into space up the right, cut inside and saw Danso block his shot. The game could have been over well before the interval.

There were boos from the home fans upon the half-time whistle. It is virtually a tradition when their team is behind. They had seen precious little, save for a looping Danso header that Ederson tipped over. From the corner, James Maddison tried to work it short only for Doku to intercept and set off yet again. Nunes overhit the final pass with Marmoush and Haaland free to his left. It was another let-off for Spurs.

Spurs brought greater intensity upon the second-half restart and the crowd responded. Maddison had flickered on the ball in the first period. Now he drove his team, although he was booked for a horrible tactical foul; he practically rugby-tackled Savinho to stop the break.

When Porro whipped over a cross after some Maddison promptings, Wilson Odobert could not stretch enough at the far post. Spurs had other moments, half-chances, including for Danso and Rodrigo Bentancur on set pieces. And some clearer ones. The transformation was remarkable. Now it was Spurs pouring forward. City wobbled. When Destiny Udogie robbed Savinho and raced upfield, he was so close to setting up Mathys Tel. Postecoglou made changes, Son and Dejan Kulusevski among those to come on – the latter playing in the No 9 role for a time. Djed Spence also came on. He set up another replacement, Sarr, who could not finish.

Spurs had a huge chance when the substitute, Brennan Johnson, got away up the right to cross for Son, whose shot was well saved by Ederson. The additional minutes brought drama but nothing for the home team.