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• Xavi 'convinced' Barcelona U-turn is right decision

  Xavi believes staying at Barcelona is the right decision after he performed a U-turn on leaving the club.

  Reports emerged on Wednesday that Xavi, who had initially decided to leave Barca at the end of the season, had changed his mind.

  Confirmation arrived on Thursday, with Xavi and Barca's club president Joan Laporta holding a press conference.

  And Xavi has no doubt he is making the right call.

  “You know that I am a very big Barcelona fan and I always try to do the best for the club," he said, as reported by Football Espana.

  "The most important thing is to think about the institution. When we met with the president I put my position at his disposal, but I saw that I enjoy great confidence from the president and the entire board.

  "The players have been very important, they have made me see that this project has to continue. We are working well, it is a winning project. The project is not finished.

  "The fans have also made me see that I must continue. The staff too. I think about what is best for the club.

  "In January I thought it was best to leave, but now I see it differently. I think it is the best decision.

  "I am 100 per cent committed. The trust they have placed in me again is spectacular. Let's get to work."

  Crunch talks with Laporta were reportedly key to Xavi's decision, and Barca's president added: "It's great news that Xavi is staying. Stability is one of the keys to success."

  Since taking charge of Barca in 2022, he has taken charge of 137 games in all competitions, winning 85 of them (62 per cent), drawing 24 and losing 28.

  His team have scored 261 goals, winning two trophies – the 2022-23 LaLiga title and the 2022-23 Supercopa de Espana.

  Barca's last-gasp defeat in El Clasico last weekend saw them fall 11 points behind LaLiga leaders Real Madrid with just six games remaining.

• Carragher says Liverpool may need to move on from Salah and Nunez

  Jamie Carragher believes Liverpool's next manager has a big decision to make regarding Mohamed Salah's future, adding the Reds definitely need to move on from Darwin Nunez.

  Liverpool's title hopes suffered a potentially fatal blow at Goodison Park on Wednesday, as goals from Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin handed Everton a memorable 2-0 win.

  The defeat – Liverpool's first at Goodison since 2010 – means they are three points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal and one clear of Manchester City, who have two games in hand.

  Jurgen Klopp now looks likely to end his final season at the helm with just February's EFL Cup triumph to show for his efforts, with Carragher declaring Liverpool's title hopes to be over on Wednesday.

  He also believes Klopp's successor – which could be Feyenoord's Arne Slot if reports are to be believed – may need to shake up Liverpool's frontline.

  "Mo Salah is Liverpool's goalscorer and he's gone off the boil. That's shone a light on others," Carragher told Sky Sports.

  "There is a real discussion for the new manager about what the future holds for Mo Salah – it's the first time we've asked that question. He only has a year to go on his deal.

  "He's looked a shadow of himself for a lot of this season but especially since he's come back from injury. He is Liverpool's legend, superstar, one of the all-time greats, but he's been so far off it."

  Salah has 17 Premier League goals this season, but 14 of those came before he went to the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt in January.

  Prior to that tournament, Salah boasted a shot conversion rate of 21.54 per cent for 2023-24, netting with 14 of his 65 total attempts in the competition. Since returning, he has only converted 8.57 per cent of his 35 efforts.

  Salah's strike partner Nunez has also come in for criticism, with only Erling Haaland (30) missing more big chances than the Uruguayan's 26 this term. Haaland has, however, converted 34.78 per cent of his big chances to Nunez's 18.75 per cent.

  Carragher does not believe Nunez is capable of further improvement after two up-and-down campaigns on Merseyside, saying: "I think I'm at the stage with Nunez where I'm not sure there's a question to ask.

  "You want him to do well because he gives everything, he causes trouble, he gets the odd goal. 

  "But after two years, when Liverpool are going for the title or in big games, you need your man to score at Old Trafford or at Goodison Park. This is the business end, the time to win. 

  "He's ground to a halt. After two years there's going to be no improvement in him. This is what he is. 

  "He can cause trouble but he's erratic with his finishing – it's not enough to win you trophies so there's a big decision to be made on him. It's not acceptable when you're going for a title."

• Guardiola insists Man City share same title hunger as challengers

  Pep Guardiola insists Manchester City share the same hunger to lift the Premier League trophy as their title rivals, warning perfection may still be needed for the champions to retain their crown. 

  It has been a mixed week for City's rivals thus far, with Arsenal thrashing Chelsea 5-0 on Tuesday before Liverpool suffered a surprise 2-0 defeat in Wednesday's Merseyside derby at Everton.

  Those results mean the Gunners sit four points clear of City and Liverpool lead the champions by one, but with two games in hand, the title race is still very much in City's hands.

  They go to Brighton and Hove Albion on Thursday before facing Nottingham Forest on Sunday, and Guardiola still thinks even the slightest slip-up could prove costly. 

  Asked whether City need to win their six remaining games to win the title, Guardiola said: "Yes, absolutely. They gave us a chance, with the fact they lost last week to Aston Villa and Crystal Palace. 

  "But we knew what we had to do before those games, and now we have to win all games so that at the end, we have it in our hands to retain our title. 

  "Nothing changes. The fact is, we knew what we had to do before, and now nothing has changed."

  Guardiola was then asked whether City are as motivated to win the title as their rivals, having lifted the trophy in five of their seven seasons under him to date.

  He said: "I would not be here [if not]. There are so many games, and to be in this position after what we have done in the past, it would not be possible [without the desire]. 

  "We know the difficulty is extreme, and it will remain difficult because we have tough games coming up. We go one game at a time, and we know that if we lose, it will be so tough to retain the title. 

  "Last Saturday proved the many difficulties we have, especially the schedule and recovery time after the game against [Real] Madrid. The players were unbelievable."

  Guardiola hit out at the busy nature of the schedule after Saturday's FA Cup semi-final win over Chelsea, saying he couldn't understand how his players had managed to perform just three days after their penalty shoot-out defeat to Madrid.

  Those comments have sparked renewed debate about the football calendar, and Guardiola was asked whether elite clubs had a right to complain while organising money-spinning pre-season tours around the globe.

  "Yeah, but we have to do it," he said. "We have to pay the salaries of the players and the manager, and the club has fans all around the world who want to see us. They are an income for us. 

  "It's not easy, but we have to get resources. I would love to say don't go to another continent to play, have another week of holiday, and then train here. But we have to understand the club. 

  "It's not just Man City. Every club needs those financial resources to be sustainable. Now that we've won a lot, for many years, we have a lot of supporters. That's why it's necessary to do, and you have to adapt. 

  "But that is not the reason why [he complained]. The reason is that the schedule is so tight. I'm sorry, it's not."