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Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium in North London has come at a cost—both figuratively and literally—but is it a price worth paying for the Premier League giants?

Finally opened for business last term, and at an overall project cost of £1 billion, the new stadium was hotly anticipated before it was finally unveiled for the public.

The final cost is much greater than what had been initially estimated for the London heavyweights.

At the outset, it was estimated that the construction of the new stadium would incur costs of around £400 million, but in 2017 it emerged that it would actually be nearly double that - around £750m.

Since then, however, reports in the British press have suggested that the new stadium cost Spurs roughly £1 billion in the final analysis.

It’s a major increase, but this isn’t unusual in construction ventures, even if it is dramatically more expensive than the reported €240 million that Atletico Madrid parted with in 2017 to construct the 68,000 Wanda Metropolitano—a  comparable project.

It’s worth noting that the construction of the new Wembley stadium ran well over budget as well, spiralling from just over £450 million to around £830 million.

Making the Spurs project even more complex, is that changing circumstances—and specifically the complications around Brexit—also had an effect on the price of this project.

Predictably, construction of the new stadium has had a dramatic impact on Tottenham’s overall finances, and this was even before the global health crisis that is the coronavirus pandemic further dented the coffers and prevented them from recouping the cost of the stadium build.

According to Deloitte’s Annual Review of Football Finance for 2020, which took into account clubs’ debt up to and including the 2018-19 season, Spurs’ current net debt is £534 million.

For context, only Chelsea—with a net debt of £1.3 billion—are more in the red than the Lilywhites, while the likes of Liverpool (£157 million) and Manchester United (£204 million) don’t have the kinds of liabilities that Spurs do.

Such has been the impact of Covid, that as recently as summer 2020, Spurs took £175 million from the Bank of England crisis fund to help to balance the books.

The Athletic recently, providing an update on the Deloitte study, suggest that Spurs now owe £733 million.

However, despite the costs and the consequences of the spend, few could deny that the end result of the stadium has been a success.

Feted as a state-of-the-art venue for viewing sports, it was imperative that the new stadium was a success given the importance to the club of their previous White Hart Lane home.

The old WHL was Spurs’ home for 118 years, and while they had flirted with moving to the London Stadium following the 2012 Olympics, and spent several years residing in Wembley while their new home was developed, it was imperative it was a hit with fans…and felt like home!

While there was much nostalgia and emotion attached to their previous White Hart Lane home, the ground’s 36,284 capacity proved limiting for a club with ambitions of solidifying their place among Europe’s giants.

This is why the club signed off on the ambitious Northumberland Development Project, which had the aim both of building a spectacular new ground and regenerating the local area.

Construction of the stadium itself—situated on the High Road in London’s N17 area—did not begin until the summer of 2015 due to delays arising from a Compulsory Purchase Order challenge.

Amidst the key features outlined in the plans for the ground, Spurs’ stadium was to boast a retractable pitch with a synthetic surface beneath a grass turf, a ‘Sky Walk’ which would allow visitors to walk onto the roof and take in views of the city, and conference facilities for businesses in the East Stadium.

For the matchday experience, there was to be a microbrewery, run by Beavertown, and food and drinks outlets throughout the ground.  

Every pound spent in the construction is evident in the facilities themselves, as well as the capacity, which, at 62,062, is an increase of over 25,000 on the previous capacity of the old White Hart Lane.

The South Stand alone houses 17,500 supporters—more than the stadiums of several clubs in the EFL Championship—and indeed, only Manchester United now have a bigger ground in the English football league.

The new White Hart Lane is eclipsed only by Old Trafford and Wembley when it comes to football stadiums in England, and certainly, the majestic new ground eclipses Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium or Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge.

Spurs fans will be hoping that the board can take care of the debt, and that Mourinho’s side can produce the on-field success to truly make the new ground feel like home.

Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer has been sweating over the fitness of Gabadinho Mhango ahead of his side's clash with Cape Town City on Tuesday evening at the Orlando Stadium.

Mhango scored the winner for Pirates on Saturday in their edgy 1-0 win over Uthongathi FC in a Nedbank Cup last 32 encounter.

However, just eight minutes after netting in the 63rd minute, Mhango was replaced by Kabelo Dlamini.

“I don’t know what's wrong. Even the last time, he scored and had a problem with his muscles. I hope it’s not something serious, we have to see,” Zinnbauer was quoted saying by the Citizen.

“I hope he is available for the next game," Zinnbauer added. "Not only him, Paseka Mako and other players as well. We have to give Zakhele Lepasa and Tshegofatso Mabasa more time. But there are other players like Thabiso Monyane, who is an option in the offence.”

Mhango, last season's top scorer in the Premier Soccer League with 16 goals, only started his season in December due to injury. Since returning, he's struggled to find any rhythm and has often started on the bench or come off before the full 90 minutes.

The Malawian has not seemed to be 100 percent fit, but with the injuries to Lepasa and Mabasa, Zinnbauer has had little option but to turn to the former Bidvest Wits marksman.

Mhango's issues have only served to emphasize something Pirates have been missing this season, a cutting edge in front of goal.

All the while, though, newly-signed striker Jean Marc Makusu Mundele has barely featured and when he has, the DR Congo forward has struggled to make an impression.

Pirates will now come up against a City side for whom striker Tashreeq Morris scored a hat-trick in a 4-0 victory over Bloemfontein Celtic in the Nedbank Cup last weekend.

The Citizens are unbeaten in their last three league matches and have made their way up the table to sixth position – two points and one place behind Pirates.

Simba SC captain John Bocco has been left out of a 27-man squad for their first match in the Caf Champions League group stage against AS Vita Club on February 12.

According to the list of players travelling for the first round meeting and obtained by Goal, Bocco, who has been struggling with injury, has been dropped by coach Didier Gomes Da Rosa, with the team set to leave for the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Tuesday.

Another player missing from the squad is new signing Perfect Chikwende, who is not eligible to feature having turned out against the Msimbazi giants for FC Platinum in the second round of the competition.

Chikwende scored against Simba for Platinum in the first leg clash staged at National Sports Stadium in Harare but Simba returned home to hammer the Platinum Miners 4-0 and advance to the group stage of the competition on a 4-1 aggregate scoreline.

However, Ghanaian forward Bernard Morrison, who missed the two-legged clash against Platinum due to injury, has been included in the squad, as is the new signing from Uganda Tadeo Lwanga.

Other players in the squad include the Kenyan duo of defender Joash Onyango, midfielder Francis Kahata, Zambian midfielder Clatous Chama, goalkeeper Aishi Manula, and striker Meddie Kagere.

Coach Da Rosa is confident they will make a good start in the group, insisting his target is to make sure they get a point in the away matches and win their home fixtures.

“We can easily make it from the group if we achieve the targets we have set, we want to at least snatch a point away and then win all our home matches. If we do so, then Simba will easily reach the quarter-finals,” Da Rosa told reporters after the team drew 2-2 with Azam FC in a Mainland Premier League match on Sunday.

Simba will be taking part in the group stage of the competition for the third time in history and have been drawn in Group A alongside defending champions Al Ahly from Egypt, Vita Club from Congo, and Al-Merrikh from Sudan.

After playing against AS Vita, they will return home for their second group match against Al Ahly at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium on February 23.

Goalkeepers: Aishi Manula, Beno Kakolanya, Ally Salim Juma.

Defenders: Shomari Kapombe, Joash Onyango, Pascal Wawa, Ibrahim Ame, Erasto Nyoni, Peter Muduhwa, Kennedy Juma, Gadiel Michael, Mohamed Hussein.

Midfielders: Tadeo Lwanga, Jonas Mkude, Larry Bwalya, Said Ndemla, Mzamiru Yassin, Luis Miquissone, Hassan Dilunga, Francis Kahata, Ibrahim Ajibu, Clatous Chama, Bernard Morrison.

Strikers: Meddie Kagere, Athumani Miraji, Chris Mugalu, and Junior Lokosa.

Bayern Munich are hard at work in Qatar as they seek to add the 2020 FIFA Club World Cup crown to their envious list of trophies won in the 2019-20 season. 

Having beaten Egypt's Al Ahly in the semifinal 2-0, thanks to a brace from Robert Lewandowski, the European champions will now be up against Mexico's Tigres in the final on Thursday. As they prepare for that clash, the team have been given a first-hand taste of what the facilities in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup will be like.

They played their semifinal at the Ahmad Bin Ali stadium, one of the eight planned venues for the global showpiece event next year. Head coach Hansi Flick and star player Joshua Kimmich have been left impressed by Qatar's infrastructure. 

Hansi Flick, who led the club to a memorable treble last season, felt the conditions in Qatar were perfect to play football. Bayern are no strangers to Qatar, since they normally hold their winter training camp in the middle-east nation. 

"Generally it’s always special to play here and Bayern Munich naturally want to win every match, and we have just perfect conditions here," said Flick ahead of their semifinal win on Monday. "I just had a look at the pitch here in the stadium, the conditions are top-notch, the stadium is beautiful," he added. 

Flick also felt that the world-class infrastructure means that the 2022 World Cup will be a memorable event. 

"So, in that sense, you can tell that everything will be in great shape to host the World Cup 2022. And for us, that means we want to leave Qatar with the best result possible."

Meanwhile, Kimmich, one of the mainstays in this Bayern team, felt that the infrastructure and stadium was as modern as it gets. However, he was extremely pleased with the quality of the pitch at the Ahmad Bin Ali stadium. 

In fact, the 25-year-old went on to describe the pitch as a 'dream'.

"Luckily in Germany, we have very modern, beautiful and big stadiums too, we are happy to play in modern stadiums here too, especially when seeing the pitch here, it’s really a dream – a perfect pitch. That’s why we are really looking forward to the game," he explained. 

Ghana U17 coach Ben Fokuo is not perturbed by the losing outcome of Monday’s international friendly defeat to Morocco.

In the first of back-to-back fixtures in Rabat, the Black Starlets ended as the unfortunate side as they suffered a 2-1 loss, going 2-0 down early before halving the deficit after half-time.

Ghana have a prompt opportunity to make amends on Thursday when they clash with their Moroccan counterparts in the second game on Thursday.

“I think in the early stages of the game we were surprised by the Moroccans. The team is still young and we are still developing the players for the future,” Fokuo said after Monday’s game, as reported by the Ghana Football Association’s official website.

“The first half wasn’t the best but I think we improved in the second half. The players were playing in cold weather for the first time and you could tell from their performance that they aren’t used to the environment.”

The game is part of team-building processes for both teams for future international assignments.

“I am not worried about the score line. At this stage results don’t matter in these kinds of situations. We are looking ahead to the future, player development, team performance, exposure, technical ability and all other ingredients that are needed to make the team better in future,” Fokuo added.

“So, for me, results don’t matter at all. The players needed this tour badly to get exposed to playing abroad and that was the purpose of coming here and it’s been well achieved here in Morocco.

“Tomorrow, we will have a brief recovery training to get those who didn’t play some drills. For those who played today, we will continue with their recovery before we do group training on Wednesday for the second game.”

Ghana are trying to pick themselves up from their disappointing showing at the recent Wafu Zone B Cup of Nations, where the team were eliminated at the group stage.

The first round exit also caused the team a potential qualification for the 2021 Africa U17 Cup of Nations tournament to be hosted by Morocco.

A late Ishan Pandita goal in the final minute of the match forced Sergio Lobera's Mumbai City to share the spoils in the 2020-21 Indian Super League (ISL) fixture on Monday. 

The six-goal thriller ended as a classic that the neutrals would love to watch but it wouldn't have been as exciting for the head coaches in the dugouts. 

The Islanders will be hugely disappointed to have allowed the Gaurs to come back into the game after taking the lead twice. They were two goals up for most of the first half and had ample opportunities to amass an even bigger lead before heading into the tunnel for the break but instead, lost their focus and allowed Goa to score their first goal. That was the game's first turning point. 

Mumbai City had the zeal and the confidence in the way they started the game and took 20 minutes to open the scoring. FC Goa themselves were not sitting back and that hurt them. On this occasion, their full-backs had marauded so far up the pitch during a foray forward that a quick break and a pass from Adam le Fondre sent Hugo Boumous clear on goal. 

The celebration after turning it in also told a story. Boumous, desperately wanted to score against his former team, and Lobera was also visibly elated. The second goal followed soon after, with FC Goa's defence completely guilty of not picking their men up, leaving both Hernan Santana and Le Fondre completely free in the area during a corner, with the latter turning the ball in.

Although Goa hadn't played too badly, they were looking ineffective in the final third and as a result, there were all the signs of a runaway victory for the Islanders. 

But it was too early to write Goa off. But it appeared that that is what Mumbai City did after taking a commanding lead. They started to relax as half-time approached and paid the price for it. And there were warning signs they should paid heed to. Amrinder was forced to pull off a diving save before Glan Martins decided to produce a moment of inspiration, belting a piledriver in from distance to give some oxygen to FC Goa.

The game was back on and the pendulum had swung. Shortly after the restart, Mumbai City were guilty of lax defending as Igor Angulo broke their offside trap to head in the equaliser. 

Mumbai City, given a rude awakening, started to exert their influence on the game again and had a couple of gilt-edged chances to take the lead again but were just wasteful with FC Goa's defence looking extremely shaky.

Borges, however, seemed to have stolen a win for Mumbai at the beginning of added time when he guided the ball past Dheeraj Singh from a Hugo Boumous free-kick from the left flank. The celebrations began as Mumbai City thought they had found the winner but FC Goa, as they have done so often this season, ended up having the last laugh. 

The bigger issue for Lobera is that Boumous was sent-off in the aftermath of FC Goa’s third equaliser in the injury time. It remains to be seen how many games the French attacker would miss consequently.
 
Mumbai, as much as they looked comfortable in the opening 20-25 minutes, they didn’t create a many clear-cut chances. In fact, they were guilty of being lackadaisical which allowed FC Goa to comeback, not once but twice in the game.

A point was enough for Mumbai to seal their berth in the playoffs but they will have to consider the game as an opportunity wasted to extend their advantage over second-placed ATK Mohun Bagan. Not only has FC Goa's result made other playoff contenders happy, Mumbai City have opened up the league stage title race for ATK Mohun Bagan. 

Swansea City loanee Paul Arriola will face former team-mate Wayne Rooney later this year in a late-season Championship clash of personal significance.

Rooney, now managing Derby County, was a mentor of sorts for the winger when they were together at D.C. United. Since then, Arriola has overcome a torn ACL to regain a role in the U.S. men's national team squad and earned a transfer move to Europe.

Arriola and the Swans will face Rooney's squad on May 1.

What did Arriola say about Rooney?

“Playing with Wayne Rooney was amazing," Arriola told Swansea City's club website. "Wayne is a great guy, he is a great player. Not just in his leadership on the field, but off it too.

“I only have great things to say about him and my experiences with him. He definitely raised my level of playing, as was the case with my team-mates at the time.

“Obviously, it is exciting for him to now be in a new chapter being the gaffer.”

How has Arriola fit in at Swansea City?

Arriola has benefited from the joint loan arrival of USMNT team-mate Jordan Morris and said the Swans have been welcoming in training.

“[Morris] and I play together for the national team, and we go quite a way back over a few years," Arriola said. “We had both spoken about the potential move earlier in the month, and how good it would be to be part of this club.

“It’s been a lot easier, and will be an easier transition to have a familiar face who is such a good friend around."

The bigger picture

There is more than just Rooney in the near future for Arriola: the versatile playmaker is in contention to make his debut against Manchester City in the FA Cup on Wednesday. The high-profile matchup presents an opportunity to burnish his overseas credentials from the onset and knock off a club that served as Rooney's rivals for some time.

Rio Ferdinand has claimed Manchester United “have choked” in the Premier League title race.

The Red Devils topped the table after 19 games of the season, but a run of two draws and a loss from their last four games has seen them fall off the coattails of Manchester City.

United are five points adrift, having played a game more than City, and Ferdinand feels the opportunity to win the Premier League in 2020-21 has gone.

What was said?

'You can't defend it,” the former Manchester United man said on Rio Ferdinand Presents FIVE. “Man United were sitting pretty at the top of the league. 

“You see the league table, you look at the results, you get excited. When you put yourself in that position, Man United have to strike. 

“When there's an opportunity you've got to go. The problem is we've let this opportunity slip through our hands.

"You can see Man City with their experience, they've smelt blood, they've put their heads down, they've gone.

“But Man United have stuttered, we've got the choke going in and out, haven't got it quite working properly. 

“We have choked, it's simple as that.

"I'd put us out of the title challenge unless we go on a run and we change our habits and our lack of consistency.

“But I haven't seen enough to suggest we can go on a ten, 15-game winning streak. We're tripping ourselves up all the time.”

What can United achieve in the 2020-21 season?

They are still in the title mix, five points is not a huge gap in what has been a hugely unpredictable season.

However, City have the momentum of a runaway freight train at the moment - having amassed a top-flight record of 14 wins on the spin in all competitions.

Not only are Pep Guardiola’s side the form team in the division, they are playing the best football and have also shown an ability to grind out results. It would take a huge dip for the men from the Etihad not to win the title.

United came into the season with few expectations, and many felt they would struggle to break into the top four. That now has to be the aim, which would allow manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to build again - knowing Champions League football had been secured - and strengthen his squad in the summer transfer window. 

Further reading

Christian Pulisic has emerged as one of the United States Men's National Team's most exciting prospects, having been named the youngest player to captain the squad and a hopeful sign of the side's promising future.

The forward became the most expensive North American player of all time when he moved to Chelsea in a £58 million (€64m/$73m) transfer in 2019.

He is regarded as one of the United States' brightest overseas talents - but how do you pronounce his surname? Goal takes a look.

'Pulisic', which is a Croatian name, is technically supposed to be pronounced 'POOL-uh-sitch'.

Pulisic, however, who was born in the United States, prefers for his surname to be said as 'Police-sick' in an Americanised fashion, with a hard 'K' at the end.

UEFA confirmed the pronunciation in their guide to saying unconventional names here, cheekily adding: "English speakers tend to mangle foreign names".

Due to Pulisic's Croatian heritage - his grandfather was born in the country - the forward was able to apply for a Croatian passport, allowing him to start playing for Dortmund at 16  - much earlier than he would have been able to with just his U.S. citizenship.

At Borussia Dortmund, Pulisic revealed how ex-Bayern Munich midfielder former Croatia manager Nico Kovac helped him secure a path to playing in Europe as a non-EU citizen.

"Niko Kovac supported me back then in getting my Croatian passport. He helped me a lot," Pulisic told Sport Bild.

Kovak was content to help Pulisic out, saying at the time: "It was always my dream as a young boy to play for a top club in Europe. When the opportunity to play for BVB came up, I really wanted to take it."

Wilfried Zaha stressed his importance to Crystal Palace after the Eagles lost 2-0 to Leeds United in Monday’s English Premier League outing.

Since the beginning of 2014-15 when the Cote d’Ivoire international re-joined the Selhurst Park outfit from Manchester United, Palace have lost 89.4 percent of English top-flight games played without him.

They have also failed to score in 15 of those 17 defeats (both home and away).

The 28-year-old did not travel to Elland Road for the game versus Marcelo Bielsa’s men owing to an injury setback. He limped off during their 2-1 triumph at Newcastle United owing to a hamstring injury expected to rule him out for weeks.

"We don't know how long it's going to keep him out but he certainly won't be available for this game and it could even be much longer than that,” manager Hodgson told the media.

"You never know with these hamstring injuries, Wilf is incredible in terms of recovery so I wouldn't want to put a definite timeline on it.

"But it is a muscle strain and all muscle strains take time to heal."

In his absence, Anglo-Nigerian Eberechi Eze and Ghana international Jordan Ayew made the starting XI, albeit, they could not prevent their team from losing with strikes from Jack Harrison and Patrick Bamford giving the hosts all maximum points.

Following this result, Hodgson’s men have now lost ten games in the 2020-21 Premier League campaign to sit in the 13th position on the log having accrued 29 points from 23 games.

Zaha, who featured for Cardiff City on loan in 2014 and has found the net nine times in 19 Premier League games so far, is also expected to miss Saturday’s tie with 17th-placed Burnley.

His consistent form for the South London outfit has seen him linked to a number of Premier League clubs but the Eagles have managed to hold on to him.

On the international scene, the forward is also a key member of Elephants and has made 18 appearances for the West African country since his debut in 2017.

He has been playing a significant role in his side’s quest to qualify for the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.

Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane remains proud of his side despite Monday's Fifa Club World Cup semi-final 2-0 defeat by Bayern Munich, as the Red Devils were dispatched by the European champions.

A Robert Lewandowski brace fired the Bavarians into the final of the tournament in what was Mosimane’s first defeat while in charge of the Egyptians in 23 games.

The former Mamelodi Sundowns coach does not see the defeat as a major setback in what is his second shot at the tournament, having overseen the Brazilians' campaign in Japan in 2016.

“Our reaction should have been better than what happened. Bayern Munich dominated the match significantly,” Mosimane told the media. “We knew that facing Bayern Munich was not easy at all, and we played well against a big and strong team.

"There was room to choose the best way to preserve the ball, take possession and exit the attack against Bayern Munich, but this is not bad," he added. “We could have had a corner kick or a foul in our favour, we should have reacted better even at the start of the second half.

"Our pace was slow, but it is not bad and there is nothing wrong with that. No coach can lose and be happy. It is normal for me to feel sad.”

Al Ahly now prepare to to meet Copa Libertadores champions Palmeiras in the fight for a bronze medal on Thursday.

The Egyptians have previously finished third in this tournament when they settled for bronze in 2006.

“We are now looking forward to achieving third place against Palmeiras," Mosimane continued. "We will work hard and fight to achieve that.

“My team was not afraid in front of Bayern Munich, who are the European champions, but at the same time we achieved a good level [of performance], especially in terms of defence.

“Bayern are number one in Europe. They didn't allow us to have the ball for a long time. We rarely had the chance to play our game. Defensively, we were well organised. Now we are looking forward to the third-place match.”

With Al Ahly failing to reach the final, Africa's wait for the Club World Cup title continues.

Mamelodi Sundowns will meet Polokwane City in the Last 16 of the Nedbank Cup as they look to defend their crown, while Orlando Pirates will have to deal with Maritzburg United.

Sundowns beat Stellenbosch 3-2 after extra-time in the Round of 32 last week to proceed to the next round.

They will now face GladAfrica Championship side Polokwane City as they campaign for a sixth Nedbank crown and their second on the trot.

Polokwane City saw off the challenge of Steenberg United to get to this stage of the competition.

Following the elimination of Kaizer Chiefs, TS Galaxy and Baroka FC from this tournament by first division teams, Downs know that they will have to approach this match with more caution than some of their PSL rivals.

After missing out on the MTN8, the Nedbank Cup is another chance for Downs to end the season with a treble as they are also in pursuit of Premier Soccer League and Caf Champions League glory.

Another traditional giant, Orlando Pirates, will have to go past Maritzburg in the Last 16 of South Africa’s premier knockout tournament.

They would be seeking to improve from last season where they exited at the Round of 32 after losing to Bidvest Wits on penalties.

The Buccaneers face a Maritzburg United side struggling in the PSL and flirting with relegation.

However, the Team of Choice’s woes might not count for Pirates who have been inconsistent of late and had to narrowly beat GladAfrica Champion outfit Uthongathi FC 1-0 to reach the Last 16.

While in the middle of a difficult season, Maritzburg edged Sekhukhune United 2-1 to progress to the next round.

Elsewhere, Swallows FC have been drawn against fellow PSL side Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila.

The Dube Birds have been impressive on the league front where they are already being mentioned as title contenders.

However, Tshakhuma will further test their ability to thrive in the Nedbank Cup, a tournament they have previously won five times.

Swallows beat Cape United to advance to this stage while Tshakhuma dismissed SuperSport United in what was a huge victory for them.

Black Leopards have been paired with AmaZulu, while Richards Bay, who eliminated Kaizer Chiefs, will face fellow GladAfrica Championship side TS Sporting.

Patrick Bamford has revealed he was forced to put rugby studs in his boots at half-time of Leeds United’s 2-0 win over Crystal Palace.

The Elland Road pitch has commanded plenty of headlines in recent weeks, and it was relaid last month after the players were seen slipping throught the game with Brighton on January 16.

The stop-gap fix, at a reported cost of £300,000, drew praise from coach Marcelo Bielsa after the game with Everton, but Bamford had issues during the win over the Eagles on Monday and took drastic measures at the interval.

What was said?

“It is important to turn your home ground into a fortress, but it is difficult with our pitch at the minute,” Bamford told Sky Sports. “We almost suit playing away better.”

When asked if the new pitch is helping, Bamford paused and smiled, and then replied: “It is better.

“It is hard to stand up, that’s all I will say.”

Asked about his change of footwear at the break, Bamford said: "I am still wearing studs, but I had to put rugby studs in at half-time.”

Bamford’s role under Bielsa

The Bielsa system demands a lot of those who play in it, and arguably the centre-forward is asked to do work above and beyond that of a striker.

Goals are not everything for Bielsa with regard to his forwards, what he wants is work and the ability to defend from the front.

“Non-stop running is first and foremost. You have to give 100 per cent,” Bamford said. “The first job as a striker is to defend. You have to start with that defensive pressure. 

“It is physically demanding and I can’t do it for 90 minutes, so I have to have the odd little walk, but it pays off and he has developed me into a stronger person and player.”

Is it Fantasy to say Bamford can top the Premier League scoring charts?

Liverpool’s Mo Salah may prove difficult to catch, as he is on 16 goals, but Bamford’s 100th career strike in the win over Palace took him to 12 for the campaign.

"The most important thing was the three points, but it was nice to hit a hundred,” Bamford said. “To be honest it is long overdue, but it’s nice to get there.”

He is in some elite company, as Harry Kane, Bruno Fernandes, Son Heung-min and Dominic Calvert-Lewin are one ahead of him on 13.

Leeds sides under Bielsa have a history of fading in the second half of seasons, but if they can keep up the pace then Bamford will get plenty of chances and 20 goals is an achievable target - and he will have an incentive to score after revealing that "I captained myself (in Fantasy Football)."

Further reading

West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek is dismayed by the online abuse hurled at Mike Dean after the referee controversially sent him off against Fulham over the weekend.

While Soucek thought the red card, which has since been rescinded, was too harsh given the accidental nature of his slight contact with Aleksandar Mitrovic, he doesn't condone fans sending death threats to a referee.

Soucek never intended the issue to become personal and regrets that some Hammers supporters have apparently made it that way.

What's been said

Soucek took to Twitter on Monday upon learning of the abuse Dean has received.

"Whatever decisions are made on the pitch should stay on the pitch," Soucek wrote. "I don’t like hearing about it interfering with personal life and I send Mike Dean and his family my support. There is no place for abuse of any kind. It is in the past and I’m now focused on the rest of the season."

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters similarly defended Dean.

"It is inexcusable that Mike Dean and his family have received online abuse, including death threats, as a result of doing his job officiating at a Premier League match," Masters said in a statement. "It is completely unacceptable that we are seeing abusive behaviour aimed at players, managers and match officials regularly on social media platforms.

"Mike and his family have our full support in reporting this to the police. This once again highlights the need for greater proactive intervention from social media companies to stop online abuse and identify offenders."

Authorities are investigating the matter, according to Sky Sports.

Dean, who was also involved in a controversy during Manchester United vs. Southampton, has reportedly asked to be excluded from this weekend's slate of games.

The bigger picture

Online abuse continues to be a huge problem for the Premier League and competitions around the world. Antonio Rudiger (Chelsea), Axel Tuanzebe (Manchester United) and Anthony Martial (Manchester United) have been targets of racism on social media in the last couple of weeks alone, joining a long list of players threatened or discriminated against on platforms meant for positive connections with fans.

Anthony Nwakaeme’s late minute effort sealed Trabzonspor’s 2-0 triumph over Yeni Malatyaspor in Monday’s Super Lig clash.

The Nigerian had gone on a run of four games without finding the net in the league. Against the visitors, nevertheless, he rediscovered his scoring form with a fine strike.

Having played eight games without defeat across all competitions, the Black Sea Storm travelled to the New Malatya Stadium with the ambition of extending their awe-inspiring run against Hamza Hamzaoglu’s team who laboured to a 2-2 draw versus Goztepe their last time out.

From the blast of the referee’s whistle, both teams showed the desire to grab all maximum points by creating several goalscoring opportunities. 

Nwakaeme put the visitors ahead in the 28th minute, albeit, it was cancelled by referee Erkan Ozdamar after VAR replays ruled that the Super Eagles had been in an offside position.

Five minutes into the second-half, Anastasios Bakasetas handed Trabzonspor the lead. With goalkeeper Abdulsamed Damlu punching out a dangerous free-kick, the Greek forward picked the rebound, controlled the ball before unleashing a beauty past Damlu.

That deficit saw the hosts come out in their numbers in search of an equaliser. However, their efforts met a strong resistance from a solid Black Sea Storm backline.

In the closing stages of the tie, Nwakaeme had the final say – dribbling past Issam Chebake before sending a ferocious shot past the goalkeeper.

That strike was the former Hapoel Ra'anana and Hapoel Be'er Sheva forward's sixth of the 2020-21 campaign in 19 outings.

While he was on parade from start to finish, Ghana’s Caleb Ekuban who was named in the starting XI got substituted for Flavio in the 77th minute as Congolese striker Benik Afobe replaced Cape Verde international Djanini Tvaris with four minutes left to play.

For the hosts, Morocco's Chebake, Zimbabwe's Teenage Hadebe plus Ghana's duo of Afriyie Acquah and Benjamin Tetteh were in action from start to finish. Cote d'Ivoire's Moryke Fofana was introduced for Zeki Yavru in the 82nd minute. Whereas, Burundi international Jospin Nshimirimana was an unused substitute.

With this result, Trabzonspor occupy the fourth position having accrued 42 points from 23 games - six points behind leaders Galatasaray.

Luis Suarez's excellent start to life at Atletico Madrid continued on Monday night as he broke a record set by Cristiano Ronaldo with his goals against Celta.

The Uruguay international struck on the stroke of half-time at the Wanda Metropolitano to pull Atletico level with the visitors, who went ahead through a Santi Mina goal just 13 minutes into the match.

The 34-year-old struck again early in the second half to give the home team the lead and put them on course to extend their lead at the top of La Liga.

Suarez breaks La Liga record

The goals take Suarez's goal tally for Diego Simeone's men up to 16 in just 17 La Liga appearances since making the switch from Barcelona last summer.

The former Ajax and Liverpool star is the first player to score 16 goals in his first 17 games for a team in the Spanish top-flight in the 21st century.

The previous best of 15 goals in the same number of matches was set by Cristiano Ronaldo during his stunning start to his successful spell at Real Madrid from Manchester United in 2009.

A win for Atleti on Monday would put the capital club 10 points ahead of Barcelona and Real Madrid at the top of the table, though Simeone's team still have a game in hand.

Suarez has been pivotal in their impressive season so far. He leads the league goal chart, having scored three more than Barca sensation Lionel Messi.

Barcelona's Suarez mistake

The Camp Nou side's decision to let Suarez leave to join their domestic rivals has been ridiculed as a mistake by many, with his former team-mate Iago Aspas adding his voice to the list of critics  last week.

Atletico boss Simeone said last month that he knew the attacker would make a big impact in the Spanish capital after his first phone call with him before the move went through.

Meanwhile,  Ronald Koeman recently admitted that he would have preferred the forward had joined Ronaldo at Juventus instead of posing a threat to Barcelona's title hopes.

Suarez even more important amid Covid-19 outbreak

Atletico will be even more reliant on Suarez in the build up to their Champions League match against Chelsea later this month.

The Spanish side have seen several players ruled out of their upcoming matches with Covid-19.

Thomas Lemar and Hector Herrera are the latest to test positive , with Joao Felix, Moussa Dembele, Yannick Carrasco and Mario Hermoso already in isolation.

Those six will not be able to feature against Thomas Tuchel's side unless they return negative tests before the match, which could be moved to a neutral venue because of travel restrictions in Spain .

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