Paul McCallum was Eastleigh’s last-gasp hero as the National League side sent League One Reading packing in the second round of the FA Cup with a 2-1 win.

Femi Azeez had seemingly rescued a replay for Reading with his 86th-minute strike, which cancelled out McCallum’s first-half opener.

But the Eastleigh striker popped up deep in stoppage time to send the non-league outfit, who sit 38 places below the Royals on the pyramid, through to the third round for the third time in their history.

The home team had the better chances at the Silverlake Stadium, with McCallum poking them in front in the 21st minute when he got on the end of Scott Quigley’s cross.

McCallum had the ball in the net for a second time three minutes before half-time but the goal was ruled off as he shoved a defender out of the way to head home.

Reading goalkeeper Joel Pereira made great saves to deny Quigley and McCallum either side of the break.

Not to be outdone, Eastleigh keeper Joe McDonnell produced a fine stop to keep out Lewis Wing from close range four minutes into the second period as the Royals searched for the equaliser.

The visitors’ pressure eventually told late on when Azeez unleashed a fierce effort which flew into the back of the net.

But there was another twist to come as McCallum’s 18th goal of the campaign secured the Spitfires a third-round trip to either Newport or Barnet.

Substitute Adam Idah scored a stoppage-time winner as Norwich came from behind to earn a 2-1 Championship victory over Bristol City at Ashton Gate.

Jason Knight fired the home side ahead in the 34th minute with a crisp finish from 12 yards after Norwich goalkeeper Angus Gunn had parried a low George Tanner cross into his path.

But the visitors drew level 13 minutes after the break when an intended cross from the left by Dimitris Giannoulis deflected off defender Tanner to wrong-foot Max O’Leary and beat him at his near post.

The match was deep into five minutes of injury time when Idah outpaced Zak Vyner onto a long ball forward and held off the centre-back before firing low into the bottom corner.

Bristol City had wasted good opportunities to extend their lead at 1-0 and could have no complaints, having failed to create significant openings in the second half.

Norwich started the game brightly and forced three early corners, but the first 20 minutes were largely forgettable.

The game sprang to life when Robins midfielder Taylor Gardner-Hickman brought a diving save from Gunn with a sweetly-struck drive from outside the box.

Suddenly both sides created openings. Ashley Barnes fired over for Norwich with a volley and seconds later team-mate Onel Hernandez hit a post with a first-time shot from Jonathan Rowe’s cross.

Mark Sykes shot narrowly wide for the hosts before Knight’s precise finish broke the deadlock.

Tommy Conway then had two good chances to extend the lead, but shot tamely at Gunn and then was denied by a brave save from the Norwich keeper as he broke clear onto a Sykes pass.

Knight saw a header from a right-wing corner tipped over by Gunn as the home side finished the first half strongly.

Norwich regrouped at the interval and began well again, Barnes and Marcelino Nunez testing O’Leary before the visitors drew level just before the hour.

The equaliser was fortunate, but merited, as Tanner’s deflection took Giannoulis’ ball into the area past O’Leary.

Tanner’s afternoon went from bad to worse when he was cautioned for a foul on Giannoulis that saw the Norwich player hobble off and be substituted.

Bristol City were looking well-drilled under new head coach Liam Manning and passed the ball neatly to spread the play without being able to carve out the chances they created in the first half.

Knight sent a half-volley from the edge of the box high over the crossbar as the game entered the final 10 minutes.

Norwich defended their box strongly and threatened on the break, but also lacked the final pass to add to their goal tally until Idah’s dramatic late strike.

David Wagner’s players celebrated in front of their travelling fans at the final whistle, having shown good spirit to claim the three points.

Brendan Rodgers claimed he had never been angrier as a manager after watching Celtic’s “soft” first-half performance in a 3-1 cinch Premiership comeback win over St Johnstone.

Celtic trailed at half-time after conceding from an inswinging corner for the second weekend running. Diallang Jaiyesimi got the final touch as the champions struggled to deal with Graham Carey’s delivery and the aftermath.

David Turnbull had Celtic’s sole shot on target in the first half as Saints threatened to take more points off the league leaders following a goalless Parkhead draw in August.

With Mikey Johnston off the bench for Yang Hyun-jun, the visitors were much improved after the break. Callum McGregor and Matt O’Riley netted with powerful strikes before substitute James Forrest scored on the counter-attack in stoppage-time after Jay Turner-Cooke had come close at the other end.

But Rodgers said: “I’m still angry, if I’m honest. The first half was nowhere near what you expect from a Celtic player and team. Just the level of intensity and ambition in the game, the speed, we were absolutely nowhere near it.

“We got bullied for the goal and we were soft in everything, with and without the ball. Half-time was the angriest I’ve ever been as a manager.

“People who have been around me will know I’m normally very calm. It was nothing tactical – this was about desire and what it takes to play for this club.

“Thankfully in the second half the players were brilliant. Callum McGregor was outstanding and I got more of the energy and ambition that I want.

“It was what I expected in the first half. We’d gone a game-and-a-half and not scored, with the greatest of respect, against St Johnstone.

“Craig (Levein) had organised his team well and they got their goal from the set-piece that we were soft at. I expect much more from us.

“Second half, it was a real testament to the players, because they could have folded and been nervy, but they got to the level I demand from them.

“They were fantastic goals and we could have had more. It’s a reminder that if you go soft, if you go timid against any team, they can hurt you.”

Craig Levein was disappointed by the turnaround but encouraged by his side’s overall display.

“We did a lot of good things and defended really well,” the Saints manager said.

“We’ve lost to two wonderful pieces of skill. Those two goals were like a kick in the whatsits. The last goal I’m not bothered up – we were gung-ho by then.”

Levein added: “One of the things I’m confident we can improve is our fitness.

“We tired a bit in the second half, which is understandable. There’s a lot of concentration needed to cut off passing lines, close spaces and defend the box in the right areas. That’s tiring.

“But I know we can get fitter – and that will help us in our quest to climb the table.”

The third-round draw for the FA Cup was made on Sunday, with Premier League and Championship clubs entering the competition.

All fixtures will be played over the weekend of January 6/7 and include an all-Premier League meeting between Arsenal and Liverpool, Wear-Tyne derby clash between Sunderland and Newcastle, while reigning holders Manchester City face Huddersfield.

Here the PA news agency looks at some of the best ties to watch in the third round.

Sunderland v Newcastle

One of the biggest draws of the third round sees fierce rivals Sunderland and Newcastle go head-to-head for the first time since 2016.

The last meeting between both senior sides came in the Premier League, resulting in a 1-1 draw at St James’ Park in March 2016 and ending the Black Cats’ run of six derby victories on the trot.

Both sides have endured plenty of changes since then, with Sunderland suffering back-to-back relegations and reached the Championship play-offs last season, while since their takeover, Newcastle have challenged at the top end of the Premier League table, securing Champions League football this season.

Their first meeting in seven years will take place at the Stadium of Light.

Arsenal v Liverpool

An all-Premier League clash sees Arsenal host Liverpool at the Emirates.
Both teams are meeting for the first time in the competition since 2014, when the Gunners earned a 2-1 victory in the fifth round and went on to win the trophy that season against Hull.

Arsenal have since won the competition three times, while Liverpool were last crowned winners in 2022 after beating Chelsea on penalties.

Wigan v Manchester United

Last year’s finalists Manchester United will make the short trip to former champions Wigan.

The Latics won the competition in 2013 with a huge upset against Manchester City at Wembley as Ben Watson’s late header clinched the trophy.

The club have since fallen on hard times, suffering relegation from the Championship last season and started their League One campaign this year with an eight-point deduction due to off-pitch issues.

Wigan progressed to the third round with a 1-0 win against York on Saturday and come up against United, who have won the competition 12 times in their history but have stuttered this season under Erik Ten Hag.

Ramsgate/AFC Wimbledon v Ipswich

A tough test lies ahead for Isthmian League South East Division side Ramsgate if they can get past League Two outfit AFC Wimbledon on Monday night.

Currently the lowest-ranked side left in the competition, Ramsgate overcame National League strugglers Woking to book their spot in the second round of the competition.

The winner of Monday’s tie will face high-flying Ipswich, who are second in the Championship table having only lost two games so far this season.

Manchester City v Huddersfield

Current holders Manchester City kick off their defence against Championship strugglers Huddersfield.

In an all-Manchester final back in June, City earned a 2-1 win against rivals United through Ilkay Gundogan’s double and went on to secure the treble the following weekend.

Pep Guardiola’s side will be aiming for back-to-back FA Cup victories starting with a third-round tie against Huddersfield, who are lingering above the Championship relegation zone.

Kylian Mbappe’s first-half strike helped lift 10-man Paris St Germain to a 2-0 victory at Le Havre after Gianluigi Donnarumma was sent off 10 minutes into the Ligue 1 contest.

Hosts Le Havre at times came close to an equaliser, but instead saw their five-game unbeaten streak snapped while making it five games in six without a goal.

Vitinha netted against the run of play in the 89th minute to seal the result for PSG, who have now won seven consecutive league matches for the first time since September 2021.

The result gave the league leaders a boost after Tuesday’s disappointing Champions League draw against Newcastle, with the Parisians now four points ahead of second-placed Nice.

Le Havre wasted a golden chance after the ball pinged around the 18-yard box before landing at the feet of Gautier Lloris, who would have netted an opener but for the quick reaction of Carlos Soler to clear off the line.

Then goalkeeper Donnarumma, already under scrutiny, completely misjudged a challenge on Josue Casimir and immediately saw red for a high boot.

On came Arnau Tenas to make his PSG debut, replacing forward Bradley Barcola, who boss Luis Enrique decided would be the necessary sacrifice.

The visitors would not be pinned back and Mbappe was first denied by a good save by Arthur Desmas with a left-footed effort but made no mistake with his second attempt, firing through three blue shirts from centre before the ball clipped the inside of the post and crossed in for a 23rd-minute opener.

Mbappe had the ball in the back of the net again before the break but the offside flag was raised, while Casimir could only watch agonisingly on when what should have been an equaliser sailed just wide of the post after finding himself in space inside the area.

Le Havre, desperate get something out of the man advantage, applied more pressure to begin the second half as Yassine Kechta forced Tenas to tip the ball over the crossbar, while Mohamed Bayo sent a weak effort into the arms of the replacement PSG goalkeeper.

Ousmane Dembele nearly doubled the Parisians’ advantage, his effort clipping the edge of the post before going wide, before Tenas saved Danilo Pereira from scoring an own goal after Bayo’s attempt took a deflection off the PSG defender.

Pereira would soon prevent substitute Nabil Alioui a chance at levelling, while the hosts showed off their own defensive prowess when Christopher Operi prevented a threatening Dembele from getting a decent shot away.

Alioui skied an effort then twice-tested Tenas, who was quick to react at his near post as the hosts desperately searched for an equaliser, Antoine Joujou side-footing the ball past the post before Alioui tried again.

But there was no coming back after Vitinha’s strike took a deflection off Lloris and in to cap off a disappointing ending to a once-promising afternoon for the hosts.

Celtic survived a stoppage-time scare as they came from behind to beat St Johnstone 3-1 in Perth.

Celtic trailed to Diallang Jaiyesimi’s first goal for St Johnstone at half-time after failing to deal with an inswinging corner for the second weekend running – Motherwell netted a late equaliser at Parkhead from the same source.

Craig Levein again threatened to mastermind Brendan Rodgers’ first league defeat as Celtic manager as the Hoops took their time to get back in the game. Levein was manager of Hearts when the Jambos ended Rodgers’ 69-match unbeaten domestic start to his first Celtic reign in December 2017.

But Callum McGregor netted with a powerful strike in the 67th minute and Matt O’Riley hit his seventh cinch Premiership goal of the season 11 minutes later when he finished brilliantly from 22 yards.

The final outcome though hinged on two incidents in time added on. Saints substitute Jay Turner-Cooke headed off the post from seven yards before Celtic broke seconds later and Tomoki Iwata squared for fellow sub James Forrest to guide the ball home.

Celtic had looked set to sweep Saints aside in a dominant start. Kyogo Furuhashi and O’Riley could not make the most of decent chances in the penalty box inside the first six minutes.

Centre-forward Jaiyesimi, making only his third Saints appearance, forced a save from Joe Hart from the hosts’ attack after holding off Liam Scales but Celtic continued to press.

David Turnbull saw a goal disallowed after a clear offside against Yang Hyun-jun and the former Motherwell midfielder was soon denied by a brilliant diving stop from Dimitar Mitov after turning on to his left foot on the edge of the box.

Saints grew into the game and put Celtic under a bit more pressure in the final third before taking advantage of Graham Carey’s inswinging corner.

O’Riley could only knock the initial contact back towards goal and, after several players competed for the ball on the line, the midfielder’s next attempted clearance bounced off Jaiyesimi and spun in.

Hart claimed for a foul but referee Don Robertson had seen no foul and his view was backed by video assistant referee Kevin Clancy.

Mikey Johnston came on for Yang at half-time but there was another scare for Celtic when Cameron Carter-Vickers took a poor touch in his box. Carey shot first-time into the side net.

McGregor opened the Saints defence with a through ball to Furuhashi but Mitov was out quickly to block the Japan striker’s shot.

Oh Hyeon-gyu came on for Turnbull and the South Korean striker played a key role in the equaliser nine minutes later.

Oh controlled Johnston’s low cross at the near post and backheeled the ball across the face of goal. Mitov palmed it out and James Brown’s clearing header fell invitingly for McGregor, who drilled home first time from 16 yards.

McGregor had a long-range effort saved before Celtic went in front after taking advantage of a rare chance to catch St Johnstone on the back foot after winning the ball following a home throw. Furuhashi laid the ball off to O’Riley, who took a touch and smashed a shot with his weaker, right foot high into the net from 22 yards.

Forrest replaced the injured the injured Luis Palma and quickly forced a good parry from Mitov before having the final say.

Portugal coach Roberto Martinez has warned his team's perfect Euro 2024 qualification record will count for nothing at next year's tournament, though he is content with their group-stage draw. 

Portugal were drawn into Group F at Saturday's draw in Hamburg, alongside Turkiye, the Czech Republic and a yet-to-be-decided play-off winner.

Georgia, Luxembourg, Greece and Kazakhstan will battle for the final place in Portugal's group in March's play-offs.

Portugal have won all 10 of their games since Roberto Martinez replaced Fernando Santos in the aftermath of last year's disappointing World Cup exit, scoring 36 goals and only conceding two as they dominated their qualification group.

Having led Belgium to the last three major tournaments, Martinez is experienced enough to know that will count for little when Portugal begin their campaign against the Czech Republic on June 18.

Asked whether he was satisfied with the draw, Martinez said: "Yes, because the format of the European Championship is unpredictable, there can be three teams that qualify.

"They are difficult opponents. The Czech Republic is a bit of an unknown because they don't have a coach.

"Turkey won their qualifying group against Croatia and Wales. It is a team with a mix of talent, youth and experience. 

"We want to have a perfect preparation. We qualified very well, but that doesn't give us an advantage in the tournament. We need to be prepared."

Martinez's main focus was on the logistical implications of Portugal's draw, and he was relieved to discover that their final two group games will be played in the neighbouring cities of Dortmund and Gelsenkirchen.

"For us, it is good news to be in Group F," he said. "We are based in the centre of Germany and we will have extra time to prepare for the first game. This is important for us." 

Arsenal will host Liverpool in a blockbuster third-round FA Cup tie next month.

The Premier League giants are meeting for the first time in the competition since Arsenal won a fifth-round tie 2-1 in 2014.

The Gunners have come out on top in their last three FA Cup clashes, with Liverpool’s last victory back in the final of 2001.

The other standout tie of the draw saw Championship side Sunderland paired with neighbours Newcastle, who will travel to the Stadium of Light over the weekend of January 6 and 7.

It will be a first meeting between the North East giants since they were both in the Premier League in 2015/16, while they have not played each other in the FA Cup since 1956.

There were several other all Premier League ties, with Tottenham hosting Burnley, Everton travelling to Crystal Palace and Brentford facing Wolves.

Reigning champions Manchester City were handed a home tie against Championship strugglers Huddersfield while Manchester United will make the short trip to former champions Wigan.

Maidstone would no doubt have hoped for a plum tie following their second-round win over Barrow but were handed a home date with Stevenage or Port Vale.

Non-league Ramsgate will host Ipswich if they can get past AFC Wimbledon while a trip to The Hawthorns to face West Brom awaits the winners of Aldershot and Stockport.

Gareth Southgate says England must have the “humility to start again” as the Euro 2020 runners-up look to go one glorious step further in Germany next summer.

Impressive progress during the former defender’s seven-year reign means the side ranked third in the world are among the favourites to lift the European Championship trophy in Berlin.

England found out their Euro 2024 group and potential pathways to the July 14 finale in Saturday evening’s draw at the stunning Elbphilharmonie concert hall in Hamburg.

Southgate’s top seeds avoided a so-called group of death after Slovenia and Serbia followed Euro 2020 semi-final opponents Denmark, but there is little chance of complacency seeping in.

“Well, certainly when Denmark came out, and you could still have Denmark, Croatia, Italy or something like that, then you’re wondering where it’s heading,” the England manager said.

“But then, of course, you have to be very careful not to underestimate the opponents you have.

“I’ve been fortunate as a coach and a player to have been to eight tournaments.

“I’ve seen a lot of teams that were fancied and well ranked going into tournaments not deliver and not get out of their group.

“So, we have to have the humility to start again, as well as we’ve been playing and as well as we’ve built over a long period of time.

“We’ve been ranked in the top five in the world for five years, so we’ve had consistency of performances and results.

“But a new tournament means a new challenge and the first objective is to get out of the group again.”

England have progressed from every group during Southgate’s tenure, going onto reach at least the quarter-finals at all three major tournaments.

There were signs of progress before they lost at that stage to eventual finalists France at the 2022 World Cup, having gone within penalties of becoming continental champions in the last edition of the Euros.

Put to Southgate that opposing teams and players have praised his work and the England team, he said with a smile: “Yeah, well, I take that with a pinch of salt. Managers are good at that… because I do it myself!

“It’s clear the team are heading in a good direction. The rankings came out this week and we were third in the world, so I think our performances across the calendar year have been good.

“Eight wins, two draws, we won the toughest qualifying group and we won it comfortably, but that’s history and you have to go again in the next calendar year.

“It’s nice when we travel around Europe I have to say do get well received and we do get a lot of credit, which is lovely.

“But of course we know there’s still a step we want to take and that’s what drives us.”

This is shaping up to be Southgate’s final tournament in charge, with his contract at the Football Association expiring after next year’s finals.

The 53-year-old had considered quitting after Qatar this time last year but decided to give it another go at winning a trophy he and the nation craves.

“Probably the biggest pressure is what you put on yourself because of what you want to achieve and what you what you want to bring for your country, really,” Southgate said.

“But it’s no more or less than when I started in the job seven years ago.

“We now have a lot more experience, a lot more experience of big matches, a lot more experience of navigating tournaments, so we’re looking forward to it.

“We’re hoping that we can give our fans, our public some more great nights like I think we have in the last three tournaments.”

This summer will go down in history if England flourish in Germany, where fans will make the journey to a tournament en masse for the first time during his time in charge.

“The most recent tournaments have been a little bit different,” Southgate added.

“It wasn’t so easy to get to Russia or Qatar, and in the Euros we were coming out of Covid and was very different as well.

“This will be a little bit more like the tournaments when I was playing and when I was growing up and, yeah, we’re looking forward to that.

“We’re pleased that our fans are excited because that’s what it’s all about.”

Rangers have expressed “regret” at the fans’ pyrotechnics display at Dens Park last month as they warned of potential sanctions against the club if further incidents occur.

The cinch Premiership game against Dundee on November 1 was delayed by 45 minutes after the Gers team bus was held up in traffic and then suspended for 18 minutes after the travelling supporters let off a large number of flares that triggered fire alarms under the stand.

Rangers have been subject to an SPFL investigation and ahead of the home game against St Mirren on Sunday, a Rangers statement read: “As everyone at Rangers FC prepares for a massive month of fixtures, the club reminds supporters the use of pyrotechnics is not only dangerous, but also illegal within sports stadia.

“Supporters who bring pyrotechnic devices to football matches are at risk of arrest and put the club at risk of football sanctions.

“Rangers regrets the display of pyrotechnics at Dens Park last month, which resulted in a fire alarm triggering and our match with Dundee FC being temporarily suspended.

“This led to an investigation by the SPFL and has put Rangers in a position where a repeat has the potential for the club to be subject to disciplinary action.

“Rangers will continue to engage positively with the SPFL, Scottish FA, Police Scotland and the Scottish Government on this matter.

“The club thanks all our supporters for their fantastic, ongoing support during this busy spell of matches.”

Rob Page has called on his Wales team to give their supporters the chance to enjoy the Euro 2024 experience.

Wales are still two wins away from qualification but now know that if they can make it to the tournament they face mouthwatering matches against the Netherlands, Austria and France in Group D.

Page and his team will have home backing from the ‘Red Wall’ for their play-off semi against Finland on March 21 and the final against either Poland or Estonia on March 26 should they progress.

He wants his players to be buoyed on by the thought of setting up a Welsh party in Germany after challenging assignments for the fans at the last two major tournaments.

“Off the back of 2016 we’ve had Euro 2020, but because of Covid we were limited with travel,” he told the PA news agency.

“The World Cup (in Qatar last year) was very difficult for our supporters to get to, and respect to the supporters who got out there.

“For them to have a tournament that is close by, well organised, you know what the tournament is going to be like. For our supporters to experience that will be an extra bit of incentive to go and get the results (in March).”

Wales and France have faced each other six times before but never competitively, while Wales have lost all 10 of their previous encounters with the Dutch.

Nevertheless, Page is relishing the matches facing his side if they can make it to Germany.

“When you dream of becoming a footballer as a kid, you want to play against top teams, you want to play against top players, and those teams that are drawn in that group certainly fall into the category,” he said.

“They’re the best teams in Europe and well respected in world football and rightly so.

“For us to get there will be a big achievement and to look forward to playing those teams is incredible for the players again.”

Page also believes playing such big competitive matches less than three months before the finals will stand his team in good stead.

“I think so. It’s important that we strip the emotion out of it, I thought we handled (the World Cup play-offs for Qatar) really well and the big players on the occasion stepped up and delivered,” he added.

“It’s a different team, a different squad, we’re in transition. I’m trying to introduce some of the young players in like Brennan Johnson and Harry Wilson.

“We will be fully focused on March to get the games won, but what a carrot that (draw) is.”

Wales’ first match would be a 2pm UK time kick-off against the Netherlands on Sunday, June 16 should they make it, before facing Austria at 5pm UK time on June 21.

A match against France at 5pm UK time on June 25 would round off the group campaign.

Scotland boss Steve Clarke is reading nothing into Germany’s struggles heading into Euro 2024, warning the tournament hosts are “always on it” when it comes to major finals.

Scotland will have the eyes of the continent on them on June 14 next year when they take on Germany in the tournament’s opening match in Munich.

Germany failed to get out of their group at the World Cup in Qatar, with a 2-1 defeat to Japan contributing to their exit. A 4-1 loss to the same opponents in a friendly in September cost Hansi Flick his job.

Results have been mixed since, with former Bayern Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann succeeding Flick at the helm.

But Clarke does not see Germany as a vulnerable opponent in any way, shape or form. They are three-time Euro winners with a further four World Cup titles to boot.

“When Germany get to the finals of a major tournament they are always on it,” Clarke told the PA news agency.

“I don’t think it will be a poor Germany team, I think it will be a very, very good Germany side.”

Clarke’s team are also up against Hungary and Switzerland in Group A, as they aim to become the first Scotland side to go beyond the first stage of a finals tournament.

“The first thing for us to do is just to prepare properly,” Clarke said.

“Make sure we’re competitive, play as well as we can in the games and then after that we’ll count on the points and see if we’ve got enough.”

Clarke’s team qualified with two matches to spare, finishing second in their group behind Spain but ahead of a Norway side infused with the star quality of Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard.

“I think what impressed me most about this group of players (in qualification) is that they want to be competitive every time they go out there,” he said.

“We want to continue to improve – they feel as though they can improve a little bit more and hopefully between now and next summer, we do improve and we can be very competitive in Germany.”

Gabriel Martinelli is determined to ensure Arsenal stay at the Premier League summit after the Gunners’ narrow victory over Wolves guaranteed them top spot heading into the midweek fixtures.

Mikel Arteta’s side ran out 2-1 winners at the Emirates Stadium as early strikes from Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard were enough to seal the points despite a nervy end after Matheus Cunha halved the deficit late on.

Having moved top with victory at Brentford the previous weekend, the Gunners are now where they want to be.

Last season Arsenal were top of the table for 248 days before being caught by eventual champions Manchester City in the closing stages.

It is the longest period a side has been at the Premier League summit without going on to win the title – and this time Martinelli does not want any slip ups.

“We know we are top of the Premier League now,” he said.

“We want to be there; we want to be top of the Premier League for the rest of the season. We’ll try our best.

“We tried our best (against Wolves), we kept going, we didn’t start to play like it was already won.

“As I said, we tried our best to score another goal, but we didn’t score. But the most important thing is three points.”

Wolves have already beaten City and Tottenham this season and recovered from two early blows to run Arsenal close.

Gary O’Neil’s side have amassed 15 points from their 14 games to date and host Burnley on Tuesday night.

“We need to keep working because on Tuesday we have another game and we need to think positive and prepare the next game well. We play at home, so we will go with everything,” said Toti.

The centre-back also felt Wolves put in a good shift in north London, despite ultimately coming away empty-handed.

“We knew we were having a tough match,” he told the club’s official website.

“It’s not easy to come here, play against Arsenal and leave with a good result, but I think we did our best.

“It’s not easy to suffer those two goals at the beginning, but we had to stick together after those two goals so we could not concede more.”

Harry Maguire has warned Manchester United their need to be more aggressive if they are to achieve their ambitions for the season.

Erik ten Hag’s men slipped to a 1-0 defeat at Newcastle on Saturday evening – their third successive loss in all competitions against the Magpies – and were decidedly second-best until they very nearly snatched a point they really did not deserve amid a late rally.

England defender Maguire, who was one of their better players on the night, admitted as much in the wake of a disappointing display and called for a reaction against Chelsea at Old Trafford on Wednesday evening.

He told the club’s official website: “We know we’ve got to do better, we’ve got to play better, the team’s got to perform better.

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“We’ve got to play with a lot more intensity and tempo. We’ve got to win more duels – I feel that in the first half, we lost far too many duels. Every 50-50, we got beat in.

“We’ve got to be aggressive, we’ve got to play on the front foot, we’ve got to play at a big tempo and we just didn’t do that well enough tonight.”

Anthony Gordon’s 55th-minute strike ultimately settled the game at St James’ Park, although Kieran Trippier had earlier hit the crossbar with a fine free-kick.

The visitors thought they had snatched a draw at the death when substitute Antony’s shot was unwittingly deflected into the Magpies’ net by Maguire, but he was in an offside position and the flag went up swiftly to dash their hopes.

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Maguire, who played in both last weekend’s 3-0 win at Everton and the 3-3 Champions League draw at Galatasaray, said: “The boys are disappointed. I don’t think we played to our level.

“It’s been a tough week – three away games in six days – but we don’t use that as an excuse. We didn’t play well enough, especially in the first half.

“We grew into the game in the second half and maybe could have got the point. We put a lot of pressure on them in the last 10 or 15 minutes but it wasn’t enough and, in the end, you’ve got to say Newcastle deserved it.

“We allowed them to get into our box far too easily, so it’s something that we need to work on – all of us as a team.”

Eddie Howe is confident there is more to come from Anthony Gordon as he attempts to force his way into Gareth Southgate’s England squad for next summer’s Euro 2024 finals.

The 22-year-old, a £45million signing from Everton in January, scored for the fourth successive Premier League game at St James’ Park to secure a 1-0 victory over Manchester United on Saturday night to further enhance his blossoming reputation.

Howe has studiously avoided pressing Gordon’s case for a senior international call-up, but knows further improvement will inevitably catapult him into Southgate’s thinking.

Asked how much more there is to come from the youngster, Howe said: “I think there is a lot more to come, but I would say that, that’s always been my mentality to players, especially if they want to improve.

“Anthony has got this desire to get better every day. Every day he steps on to the training pitch, he’s wanting to do extra. We have to sometimes take him off the pitch ourselves when we feel he’s done enough.

“But he’s got a burning motivation to be the best that he’s capable of becoming and we’re loving working with him.

“There’s an openness in him, he is inquisitive, he wants to ask questions, he wants to start that dialogue and debate his game which is great from our perspective.”

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Gordon’s 55th-minute intervention proved decisive on the night as he timed his run to meet Kieran Trippier’s inviting cross and slot past keeper Andre Onana.

He also scored the winner against Arsenal on November and registered against both Crystal Palace and Chelsea to underline his rich vein of form.

Asked if his consistent level of performance put him in contention for England’s Euros campaign, Howe said: “I’d agree that he’s playing at a very, very high level and he has done this season. When you’ve come here to watch Anthony, that’s been his level.

“He is getting the goals and you need the headlines if you are going to force your way into the England squad with the competition that he has in those positions.

“There’s a long way to go to that squad and he’s just got to keep very level and focused on playing so well for us, and hopefully the rest will take care of itself.”

The only sour note for Newcastle was an injury to keeper Nick Pope, who is to see a specialist after dislocating his left shoulder late in the game.

Howe said: “That’s the disappointment of the night. Nick looks like he’s dislocated his shoulder. It was such a strange thing, really, because he has made that dive thousands of times, but it looks like the arm has kept going maybe on the moist floor and his shoulder has come out of joint.

“We’re going to have to seek specialist opinion and see what happens, but it doesn’t look good for him.”