Chelsea dismissed manager Frank Lampard after 18 months in charge on Monday after the man at the heart of much of their greatest success as a player failed to deliver as coach despite spending over $300 million in the summer transfer window.

Former Paris Saint-Germain manager Thomas Tuchel is the favorite to replace Lampard, British media reported.

Lampard, who led the club to a top-four finish and the FA Cup final in his managerial debut 2019-20 campaign, leaves with Chelsea ninth in the Premier League after a run of five defeats in eight league games.

One week after Manchester United and Liverpool delivered a 0-0 Premier League stalemate that’s already been largely forgotten, the eternal rivals more than made up for that shit on a stick performance with a roaring FA Cup fourth round match that saw the Red Devils ultimately prevail 3-2 at Old Trafford on Sunday.  

Most expected to see fireworks when Manchester City visited third-division Cheltenham Town in the FA Cup on Saturday. Few expected they would be literal fireworks.

The FA Cup fourth-round match, which the Premier League side rallied to win 3-1, was suspended for five minutes late in the first half as a fireworks spewed above Jonny-Rocks Stadium on Saturday. The referee halted proceedings as some of the sparks actually landed on the pitch. Fortunately, nothing caught on fire, even if players were left bemused by the display.

Newcastle United's French winger Allan Saint-Maximin is set to return following two months out after suffering the long-term effects of COVID-19, manager Steve Bruce said on Friday.

Saint-Maximin has not played for Newcastle since their 2-0 defeat at home to Chelsea on Nov. 21, but Bruce said he could feature in Saturday's Premier League game at Aston Villa.

The 23-year-old returned to light training last week.

Manchester City players will be getting changed in the bar at Cheltenham Town's stadium when they visit for an FA Cup clash on Saturday, but their fourth-tier hosts aim to make Pep Guardiola's men as comfortable as possible, manager Michael Duff said.

City, whose market value is estimated at over 950 million pounds ($1.3 billion) by specialist website Transfermarkt, play its fourth-round clash at the Jonny-Rocks Stadium where away teams have used the Victory Bar as a changing room during the COVID-19 crisis.

When Newport County goalkeeper Tom King took a goal kick in a League Two game at Cheltenham Town on Tuesday, little did he know he would be writing his name into the Guinness World Records book for the longest goal ever scored.

Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has said UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin is weighing up whether to stage the European Championship in one country this year rather than across the continent as planned due to COVID-19 concerns.

However, UEFA responded by saying it was continuing to work on existing plans for 12 countries to host the tournament. The 24-nation event, a major revenue generator for European football's governing body and the national federations, was postponed by 12 months due to the pandemic.

Every keeper dreams of the day when everything is perfect for absolutely bombing balls downfield. Your legs are fresh, the footing is good and the wind aligns perfectly at your back to create ideal kicking conditions. 

You step on the field and feel the breeze run through your hair while having visions of recreating Tim Howard's famous goal against Bolton. Picking out teammates? Never heard of it. I'm here to hit absolute piss missiles.