Blame the pitch, perhaps, but what what should have been a Monday night cracker between two of the Premier League’s most exciting sides turned out to be something of a damp squib, writes Gerry Cox

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino is plotting Barcelona’s downfall safe in the knowledge he will never manage the Spanish giants, he has told Spanish daily Marca.

Raheem Sterling insists scrutiny surrounding his gun tattoo has not negatively affected World Cup preparations, with the England forward instead taking heart from the love showed to him by the public.

Is it a product of my age or of the age we live in?

I see that Wembley is up for sale, writes Michael Moynihan.

Confirmation that the Football Association is considering an offer to buy Wembley Stadium from American billionaire Shahid Khan has prompted an outpouring of opinion, ranging from anger to approval.

The Football Association has announced it has received an offer to buy Wembley.

We have all been Billy Murphy for a good 10 days.

Manchester United were unable to match the intensity shown during Jose Mourinho's extraordinary pre-match press conference, but headers from Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matic saw them through to the FA Cup semi-finals at Brighton's expense.

The period 1991 to 2006 will probably carry little significance to most people reading these words, but in that not inconsiderable time frame, Manchester City registered precisely zero victories over Arsenal. To say the Gunners had become a bogey team was to massively misunderstand the word bogey.

Rochdale manager Keith Hill celebrated his team’s FA Cup draw with Tottenham - and defended the right of Dele Alli to win the penalty that almost shattered the hosts’ hopes.

Tottenham climbed to third in the Premier League after Harry Kane scored a second-half winner to settle the north London derby against Arsenal.

Arsene Wenger admitted his side could not afford to lose the north London derby after Harry Kane's winner for Tottenham left Arsenal clinging onto their top-four ambitions.

Tottenham 2 - Brighton 0: Tottenham, who seem to be playing the Premier League in the shadow of their own Champions League excitement, needed a fortunate goal from defender Serge Aurier and a late deflected Heung-min Son effort to beat Brighton and keep their top-four challenge alive.

England are on course for a place at next summer's World Cup after coming from behind to beat Slovakia 2-1.

Manchester United hold the only 100% record, Tottenham and Arsenal both endured familiar frustrations, while West Ham, Bournemouth and Crystal Palace all lost again.

Chris Wood grabbed a dramatic late equaliser as Tottenham suffered more Wembley wobbles.

They are supposed to be embroiled in yet another ‘crisis’ at Stamford Bridge, but a dramatic victory over London rivals Tottenham at Wembley, inspired by two-goal Marcos Alonso, showed pretty emphatically that the Chelsea spirit is very much alive, even in the post-John Terry era.

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has challenged his players to make Wembley home and insists their poor record at the national stadium is nothing to do with the unfamiliar surroundings.

Tottenham and Chelsea play at Wembley Stadium on Sunday in the Premier League.

Alexis Sanchez will miss Arsenal's opening two Premier League games through an abdominal injury as manager Arsene Wenger refused to reveal if the club had received any bids for the forward.

It felt like one of those slow-motion car-crash moments when Koscielny recklessly clattered into Valencia during last Sunday’s climax to our league campaign.

Tottenham will play all their home games at Wembley next season, the club have announced.

Arsene Wenger's future may remain up in the air but he is confident Alexis Sanchez will sign a new Arsenal contract this summer.

Last week, we presciently noted here that “post-cup final matches are notorious for slumbering drop-offs in performance”, although one might at least argue that Saturday’s overall entertainment value was almost up to Wembley’s standards.

The Zlat was at it again…

St Etienne 0 Man United 1 (United win 4-0 on aggregate): Jose Mourinho expects influential Manchester United duo Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Michael Carrick to miss the EFL Cup final through injury.

The Red Army are on proper full-scale excited manoeuvres week, via massed visits to Blackburn, St Etienne, and Wembley, with the scent of silverware in spring nostrils.

Let’s get the formalities out of the way first. Mouthy BBC pundit Ian Wright has sternly told us that anyone not worshipping at the altar of Wayne Rooney this past weekend is “disgraceful”.

England 2 Spain 2: England captain Jordan Henderson admits it was devastating to concede two late goals to draw 2-2 with Spain at Wembley.

Tottenham 0 Bayer Leverkusen 1: Dele Alli voiced his frustration as Tottenham’s Wembley curse struck again as Mauricio Pochettino’s men slipped to a 1-0 defeat in the Champions League.

Mauricio Pochettino has dismissed suggestions Tottenham could struggle with the transition to Wembley when they host Monaco in the Champions League tonight.

David Meyler is desperate to ensure that he is not a Wembley loser for a second time when Hull City face Sheffield Wednesday in this afternoon’s Championship play-off final.

West Ham 3 Watford 1: Andy Carroll and Mark Noble were on target as West Ham kept their chances of a top-four finish alive with a 3-1 win over Watford.