Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino is confident Dele Alli can handle the hype after Alex Ferguson said he was the most talented midfielder since Paul Gascoigne.

Swansea 1 Chelsea 0: It was, of course, Alan Hansen who famously suggested “you can’t win anything with kids” 21 years ago before a youthful Manchester United won the Premier League title.

West Ham 3 Arsenal 3: Arsene Wenger called his players naïve for the way they defended against West Ham’s hat-trick hero Andy Carroll, but maybe the Arsenal manager will also be questioning his own approach to the last London derby to be played at Upton Park.

A photo in the papers on Thursday morning, from the previous night’s PSG-Man City game, pretty much sums up where we’re at as football negotiates the fabled run-in.

Louis van Gaal is counting on Wayne Rooney to give Manchester United an extra spark as the season comes to a close.

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today.

For a long time now journalists have spent the majority of their time on Liverpool’s big European nights writing about the past, about the iconic moments in history which make the club so seeped in nostalgia.

For a long time now journalists have spent the majority of their time on Liverpool's big European nights writing about the past, about the iconic moments in history which make the club so seeped in nostalgia. But this night in Dortmund was all about a glimpse of the future.

Manchester Utd 1 Aston Villa 0

So much for any post-Upton Park honeymoon period, judging by two colleagues’ exchange after the whistle on Saturday.

Christian Eriksen is desperate to have the last laugh in his friendly feud with Kasper Schmeichel as Tottenham’s title rivalry with Leicester gets serious.