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MUNICH: Bayern Munich are monitoring former Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as caretaker manager in case they sack Thomas Tuchel, according to reports in Germany.

The Bavarian giants suffered three successive defeats which saw them fall eight points behind in the Bundesliga and face a one-goal deficit in the second leg of the last 16 of the Champions League.

Tuchel faced a lot of criticism with yesterday’s 3-2 defeat at Bochum increasing the pressure on the former Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund boss.

Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso has been linked as a long-term replacement, while former manager Hansi Flick has also been touted for a role until the end of the current campaign.

However, according to Sky Germany , Solskjaer appears to be another name on the radar to take over at the Allianz Arena.

Journalist Florian Plettenberg alleged last night that the 50-year-old coach was being scouted as a potential replacement, even though the club bosses are still trying to keep Tuchel at this level.

There is no concrete agreement between the two parties but Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund has ‘followed Solskjaer’s every step for many years.’

The news is somewhat surprising considering Solskjaer’s lack of management experience, including his failure to manage his former club.

The Norwegian citizen has not had any coaching duties since being sacked at Old Trafford in 2021 following a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Watford which completed his record of seven defeats in 13 matches.

Solskjaer now serves as UEFA’s technical observer, attending Champions League matches and providing reports throughout the season.

WEST BROMWICH: The FA Cup clash between Wolves and local rivals, West Bromwich Albion was stopped today after supporters fought until some were injured.

Play was stopped by referee Thomas Bramall late in the second half at the Hawthorns when fans stormed the pitch as a brawl broke out in one corner of the stadium.

A supporter was seen being escorted out with blood flowing from a cut on his head.

The ugly incident happened in the first meeting between the two rivals with fans allowed to watch the match after 12 years.

Violence erupted shortly after Matheus Cunha scored to give Wolves a 2-0 lead in the 78th minute of the fourth-round clash.

West Brom football hooligans appeared to attack Wolves supporters sitting in the away section.

Police and stadium guards rushed to the scene of the fight as objects were thrown and punches broke out between fans.

Both teams left the pitch to return to the dressing room, with West Brom defender Kyle Bartley holding his son in his arms after carrying him away from the area near the brawl.

Prior to that, there were numerous incidents including flares being thrown onto the pitch after Wolves opened the scoring in the first half and objects being thrown at Tommy Doyle as he prepared to take a corner.

There are no signs of the match continuing and it may have been stopped for safety reasons.

MIDDLESBROUGH: Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino blamed his attacking line-up for a 1-0 defeat to Middlesbrough in the League Cup semi-final first leg at the Riverside.

Hayden Hackney scored the only goal of the game in the 38th minute to overcome a line of Chelsea stars who once again failed to produce a convincing performance away from home.

Chelsea have lost five of their last six away games and 21st time overall away from Stamford Bridge since the start of last season – the most for any Premier League side.

The Blues need to recover in a return action at home on January 23 to ease the pressure on Pochettino in his first season with Chelsea.

“If we evaluate the overall performance, we were the better team, had more goal chances but weren’t sharp enough and failed to take advantage of them. It happens often this season,” said Pochettino.

Boro manager Michael Carrick lost his leading scorer Emmanuel Latte Lath just three minutes into the game.

Carrick also had to take Alex Bangura off early in the first half, but that didn’t stop the second division club from taking the lead ahead of the second leg.

“It’s very special. I know it’s two rounds and the challenge isn’t over, but with what we’ve had to go through, injuries to players, to beat a team of Chelsea’s quality is unbelievable,” said Carrick, the former Manchester United midfielder.

Middlesbrough have never conceded against Chelsea in 17 years. In the previous nine games between them, Chelsea won all of them by an aggregate score of 21-0.

Another semi-final action features a clash between Liverpool and Fulham.

LONDON: Less than a week after British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe became a minority shareholder in Manchester United, manager Erik ten Hag is focused on the next game against Nottingham Forest and is undaunted by the latest developments.

The Dutchman has yet to speak to anyone from Ratcliffe’s INEOS group as he is busy over the Christmas period, which saw United beat Aston Villa 3-2 on Tuesday and then face Forest at home early tomorrow morning.

“I am looking forward to it. They want to work with me, I want to work with them, we will discuss, meet,” Ten Hag told reporters referring to the INEOS group which will take over the day-to-day affairs of the club’s football operations.

“I’m focused on the match so far, so I said no (discussion). At this point I don’t want any distractions. In the next few days, next weeks, there will be time for us, then we can negotiate.

“I think it’s a good thing, it’s very positive. We’re really looking forward to working together. INEOS wants to work with me in this structure and I want to work with them.”

The manager is also waiting for players to return from injury but not for the visit to Forest.

“It’s the same squad as against Villa,” Ten Hag told reporters.

“In mid-January we expect a lot of injured players back. Mason (Mount), Casemiro, (Lisandro) Martinez, (Tyrell) Malacia, so we also expect Harry Maguire, of course.”

At mid-season, United were seventh in the league, 11 points behind leaders Liverpool.

Despite their injury problems, United came from 2-0 down to beat Villa, something Ten Hag was very pleased about.

United face Forest, fresh from a 3-1 win over Newcastle United at home on Tuesday, in the second game under new manager Nuno Espirito Santo.

LIVERPOOL, England: Liverpool scored two late goals within a minute including Trent Alexander-Arnold’s winning goal in the 88th minute before overcoming Fulham 4-3 in the English Premier League action late last night.

Wataru Endo struck in the 87th minute, while Alexis Mac Allister’s opener and an own goal by Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno following a stunning Alexander-Arnold free-kick lifted Juergen Klopp’s men to second in the table with 31 points.

“Honestly it’s mental strength,” Alexander-Arnold told Sky Sports.

“A very up and down game. Leading twice, then clearly behind with about five minutes to go, got the equalizer and then the winner.

“It was an incredible match, full of emotions. Just so happy to get the win and manage to deal with the challenge of the opponent.”

Liverpool are two points behind leaders Arsenal, while Manchester City, who drew 3-3 with Tottenham Hotspur, are third on 30 points. Fulham is in 14th place.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a game with so many exciting goals,” Klopp told Sky Sports.

“We scored amazing goals today, but we conceded three times and we have to say that too. We did very well in this game, but it’s 2-2 and deservedly so at the break.”

Fulham looked capable of ending Liverpool’s unbeaten record at Anfield in the league since October 2022 before Mohamed Salah fed Endo who shot hard from distance.

After rushing back into the middle, Alexander-Arnold met Kostas Tsimikas’ header to fire home the winner from the corner of the penalty area.

“I already guessed it, watching the ball come towards the edge of the goal,” said Alexander-Arnold. “I thought I was just trying to get the shot right but obviously it hit the net. You can see how much this goal meant.”

Harry Wilson, Kenny Tete and Bobby De Cordova-Reid scored for Fulham who came back two goals down.

MANCHESTER: Manchester United risk dropping out of Europe next season after Jim Ratcliffe, who also owns Nice, took over the Old Trafford club.

Ratcliffe and his company, Ineos, already own Nice and will complete the purchase of 25 percent of United’s shares in the next few days.

Ahead of next season’s Champions League, France’s top flight is given three automatic slots and one play-off while the English Premier League gets five automatic slots.

Under European Football Union (UEFA) multiple ownership rules, the only way for Nice and United to compete on the European stage next season is for one club to automatically qualify for the Champions League and the other for the European Conference League.

Nice are now just one point behind Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain, while United are sixth in the Premier League.

If both clubs qualify for the European Champions League, the higher-placed team will play and the other will be banned from the tournament.

If Nice and United finish in the same position, England’s ranking on the European stage allows Erik ten Hag’s squad to qualify for the European Champions League compared to the French club.

In another situation, if Nice are fourth in Ligue 1 and lose the play-off, while United remain sixth in the English league or win the FA Cup, the Red Devils will still be banned from the Europa League.

United can only aspire to European competition by qualifying for the Conference League through seventh place in the league or winning the League Cup.

The UEFA rules also have an impact on Manchester City and Spanish club Girona, which is owned by City Football Group.

Girona made a surprise in La Liga this season when they topped the ladder ahead of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.

LIVERPOOL: Mohamed Salah extended his scoring record at Anfield by scoring two goals in a 3-0 win over Brentford.

The Egyptian has scored 12 goals this season, nine of them at Anfield, as Liverpool continue their perfect record at home.

Nine of Salah’s goals came from Darwin Nunez and the Uruguayan helped break the deadlock in the 39th minute after his goal was disallowed. Twice Nunez scored but had it disallowed for offside.

Salah is the first player to score in Liverpool’s first six league games on home soil.

Salah then headed in Kostas Tsimikas’ cross for his 12th goal of the season.

Diogo Jota scored Liverpool’s third goal with 16 minutes remaining for his side’s ninth win and 27th goal in nine games at Anfield this season.

Liverpool will face City in their next game after a two-week international break.

LONDON: Tottenham surged to the top of the English Premier League after Son Heung-min and James Maddison secured a 2-0 win over Fulham.

Ange Postecoglou’s side extended their unbeaten run to nine league games thanks to Heung-min’s opener and Maddison’s first goal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium since his move from Leicester.

Tottenham bypassed Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool to go top with a two-point advantage over their nearest rivals.

Fulham are the only team to beat Tottenham this season, knocking them out of the League Cup on penalties in August.

They bounced back from that defeat with three league wins in a row to become one of the main contenders for the league title this season.

“They are quality players. Both are leaders at this club. They work hard for the team and credit to them,” Postecoglu said of Heung-min and Maddison’s performances.

Tottenham’s brilliant start under Postecoglou reignited the club’s dream of winning the league for the first time since Bill Nicholson’s side’s double in 1961.

Tottenham have not won any trophies since 2008 and the presence of the Australian manager has had an immediate impact.

Postecoglou now holds the record as a new manager for the most points in his first nine Premier League games, at 23 points, surpassing the previous record held by Mike Walker and Guus Hiddink.

CARDIFF, Wales: Wales revived their chances of qualifying for the Euro 2024 finals as Harry Wilson’s brace helped them to a 2-1 win over Croatia in Cardiff early this morning.

Rob Page’s men snatched second place from the World Cup semi-finalists in Group D with Croatia now at risk of missing out on a major tournament for the first time since the 2010 World Cup.

Page’s position as coach is in doubt after Wales’ poor start to the qualifying campaign.

Defeats 4-2 at home to Armenia and 2-0 at the hands of group leaders Turkiye in June looked almost certain to end their dreams of qualifying for a third straight European Championship.

“Actions speak louder than words,” Page said in response to his critics.

“I’m sick and tired of having to answer questions about my future. Let’s talk about the players and their performances in the middle of the pitch.

“I became more emotional because I’m very proud of them and they deserve every credit. We can’t wait for the next game.”

Turkiye’s 4-0 win over Latvia ensured their progress leaving Wales and Croatia to grab second place and automatic qualification to Germany next year.

The two sides are tied on 10 points, but Wales enjoy the head-to-head advantage after a 1-1 draw in Split earlier.

However, Croatia clearly face an easy game next month when they travel to Latvia and await the visit of Armenia to Zagreb.

Wales also visit Armenia before playing Turkiye at home for their final two games.