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Man Utd tipped to lose EVERY game except one as Rio Ferdinand reveals Red Devils relegation fears
RIO FERDINAND fears that Manchester United might not win again in the Prem this season.
The Old Trafford legend has no confidence in Ruben Amorim’s side — who are still in the Europa League and FA Cup but only 12 points clear of the drop zone.
In fact, the former centre back has expressed fears of a potential relegation to the Championship.
United are rotting in 15th place in the table after losing for the 12th time this season following a 1-0 defeat by fellow horror show Spurs.
The 12 defeats are the most from their first 25 matches of a league campaign since 1973-74 – which ended in the club being relegated.
Ferdinand, 46, said on his YouTube channel: “Only Wolves and West Ham separate my club from the relegation places.
“Do you realise we’re that close? Someone said we need 11 points just to stay up.
“I’ve got the fixture list: Everton away, Ipswich at home, Arsenal and Nottingham Forest away.
“Before hosting Man City, and going to Newcastle away, and then Wolves, Bournemouth, Brentford, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Leicester.
“The only place I see us getting anything — and I’m not even saying a win — is Leicester.
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“I’m not seeing wins. That’s the problem.”
One month ago, Everton were nine points adrift of the Red Devils but have now climbed a point above them in the table under the new manager bounce leadership of David Moyes.
Ferdinand’s nerves come after United endured their eighth Prem defeat under Amorim, who joined the historic club in November.
A couple of wins would of course ease those concerns and leave United on track for what must be now regarded as a best-case scenario – mid-table obscurity with some deep runs in the FA Cup and Europa League.
But a fresh injury crisis threatens to complicate an already dire situation.
Amorim, 40, was without 12 squad players at Spurs, including Amad Diallo, Kobbie Mainoo, Manuel Ugarte, and Christian Eriksen.
Meanwhile, Wolves will continue fighting and put in a stunning second-half display against Liverpool on Sunday.
In fact, Vitor Pereira’s side could’ve got something out of the game – which finished 2-1 – after restricting the Prem leaders to zero attempts in the second 45 minutes.
With 29 points after 25 games, and 31 points behind leaders Liverpool, United are now only two spots above the drop.
DAZN host Diletta Leotta stuns in figure-hugging leather dress for Serie A derby as fans hail ‘perfect Sunday evening’
DILETTA LEOTTA showed she’s a master of the dark arts as she once again put her fans under her spell.
The DAZN presenter, who is married to ex-Liverpool keeper Loris Karius, was all in black, including a leather dress, at Juventus against Inter Milan.
A simple yet sizzling look, her 9.1million admirers on Instagram reckoned.
The broadcaster wore a see-through top for Inter Milan’s 1-1 home draw with Napoli last November.
And her fashion fame went even more global with a backless black dress at the Fifa Club World Cup draw a month later.
This time, she added a wintry long coat and high boots to her appearance as she switched to the Allianz Stadium.
Francisco Conceicao fired the only goal on 74 minutes as hosts Juventus stopped Inter returning top of Serie A – and went fourth themselves.
And while the match was a predictably tight affair that either side could have won, it was one-way traffic in terms of praise for Diletta.
One fan suggested the 33-year-old “Goddess” made it a “Perfect Sunday”.
Another described the broadcaster somewhat cryptically as “the third best thing of the evening”.
And if that was a little strange, how about one viewer calling her “the real MVP of the match”.
Most Valuable Presenter… maybe.
Other comments included: “Wonderful”… Gorgeous” and “Incredibly beautiful”.
Leotta’s growing status in the broadcasting world comes as her German partner Karius is reviving his career after a switch to his home-country second-tier club Schalke last month.
Love Island in fix row as fans spot clue about ‘real’ winners in shock All Stars final
LOVE Island has become embroiled in a fix row after Casey O’Gorman and Gabby Allen won the second series of All Stars.
Even the couple were gobsmacked that they beat Grace Jackson and Luca Bish, who appeared to be extremely popular with viewers.
Luca was previously voted the most liked male by the public, and those watching at home noticed how much the pair were cheered throughout the final.
Despite that – and the fact they were the bookies favourite – it was Gabby and third time lucky star Casey who won the £50k.
Taking to social media to discuss their win, one person remarked: “Did you not hear the shout for Luca and Grace?? Sooo much louder than Gabby and Casey, it’s a fix.”
A second said: “This has got to be a fix how has CASEY won.”
While a third added: “What an absolute fix that was.”
Speaking ahead of the shock result, Casey said: “Genuinely, I’ve honestly had the time of my life here, no wonder I was back for a third time.
“It was so much fun, I know I didn’t find anyone in the past couple of times but it’s just amazing here and it’s such a great experience, why would you not do it?”
Speaking about Casey, Gabby said: “Well I always fancied him… I was excited from the get-go.”
They also beat fellow finalist couples Elma Pazar and Sammy Root, Catherine Agbaje and Omar Nyame, , and Ekin-Su Culculoglu and Curtis Pritchard.
Casey O’Gorman and Gabby Allen win Love Island All Stars as they triumph over Luca Bish and Grace Jackson in shock final
THE Love Island All Stars winners have finally been revealed – scooping the £50,000 prize in a dramatic live final.
It’s been a season packed with drama, bombshells, and second chances.
In the end, Gabby Allen and Casey O’Gorman stole the crown.
The pair were the underdogs in a nail-biting finalie, facing the bookies favourites to win, Grace Jackson and Luca Bish.
They also beat fellow finalists Curtis Pritchard and Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu who came in third place, and Catherine Agbaje and Omar Nyame who were revealed in fourth place.
Also in the running were Elma Pazar and Sammy Root who came in fifth place.
Host Maya Jama made a jaw-dropping entrance into the villa, looking sensational in a daring cut-out dress as she announced the results.
Gabby and Casey looked completely stunned as their names were called, sharing a celebratory kiss as fireworks erupted behind them.
The couple, who found love in the South African villa, have gone from strength to strength and now they leave with both each other and the cash prize.
Speaking to Maya before they were crowned, Casey gushed over Gabby and insisted he had already won.
He told Maya after finding out they had made the final two: “I absolutely adore her (Gabby).
“She has just blown me off my socks since I got here.
“As soon as that first conversation I had with her, it was game over for me.”
SECOND TIME LUCKY
Gabby went from being paired up with her Love Island ex who cheated on her whilst they were on holiday together to winning the show.
The beauty first shot to fame in the ITV2 reality series back in 2017.
She initially faced a tough few days when she returned to the villa, after the public coupled her up with her cheating ex Marcel Somerville.
However, the pair eventually worked through their difficult past to become good friends.
Gabby was then swept off her feet by surprise bombshell Casey – who was back for his third stint in the series.
Casey initially entered Love Island in 2023 as a bombshell, before returning for the first series of All Stars last year.
TEXT MESSAGE ROW
A dozen axed stars also returned to South Africa and in a chaotic live final, islanders were seen and heard taking swipes at each other throughout the show.
Tonight, the finalists were also involved in some of the drama after Grace was accused of fakery.
Olivia Hawkins claimed she’d seen explosive text messages, allegedly from Grace, stating she had a game plan before entering the villa – and host Maya didn’t shy away from the conversation.
Before bringing it up with the warring pair, Maya told viewers: “It’s only our second year of All Stars and what a series it has been … it’s ended in complete chaos, just how we like it.”
The presenter said to Olivia: “Absolute scenes when you came into the villa the other day.
All Stars final results in full
WINNERS: Gabby Allen and Casey O’Gorman
2nd Place: Grace Jackson and Luca Bish
3rd Place: Curtis Pritchard and Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu
4th Place: Catherine Agbaje and Omar Nyame
5th Place: Elma Pazar and Sammy Root
“The question we all want to know, do you have the receipts?”
The axed Islander doubled down on her comments and insisted she “had the reciepts.”
Olivia replied: “I’ve seen them, I’ve said what I’ve said. You know me, I’m very straight talking. I’m straight to the point. I honestly wish them the best.”
Grace retorted “I’m straight talking” adding “there were no receipts” and said she looked forward to “apparently seeing them”.
Elsewhere, viewers at home thought Sammy Root looked fuming that he came in fifth place after winning Love Island first time around.
One tweeted: “Sammy’s disappointed he didn’t win again! He thought Elma being favourite girl would get him the 50k.”
Monster who chased down mum-of-three ex, 26, and stabbed her to death in busy street is jailed for life
A MAN who stabbed his mum-of-three ex-girlfriend to death in a busy street after chasing her down has been jailed for life.
Logan Burnett, 27, has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 24 years for horrifically killing Courtney Mitchell, 26, in broad daylight last August.
The monster waged a twisted campaign of harassment against Courtney before launching a ferocious attack while the young mum was out with friends in Ipswich, Suffolk.
Burnett was sentenced on Monday at Ipswich Crown Court after pleading guilty in November to the murder of Courtney.
Courtney had dumped Burnett prior to his attack but he had refused to accept the end of their relationship.
The “violent coward” had cause a flood in her Courtney’s home before he chased her down and knifed her in broad daylight on August 6, 2024.
Police were called to Burrell Road in the Suffolk town shortly after 7.10pm where they found Courtney lying on the pavement.
The young mum died in hospital a short time later, despite the best attempts of paramedics and members of the public to save her life.
A Home Office post-mortem examination concluded that the cause of death was fatal injuries from stab wounds to the chest.
Courtney had told her friends of the vile physical and verbal abuse she had suffered at the hands of Burnett prior to the attack, including alleged threats to kill.
The monster attempted to contact Courtney 22 times in a five-hour period on the day he brutally murdered her, and he was also in contact with associates of the pair on the day, where witnesses reported he made threats to kill Courtney.
He was caught walking on camera from his home towards the town centre, while Courtney was seen in town walking with a group of friends on the tragic evening.
The group noticed Burnett while walking across Stoke Bridge and instantly turned around and fled towards Burrell Road.
However, the killer caught up to them and then assaulted Courtney before fatally stabbing her.
The murderer fled the scene after the attack towards the river, with CCTV enquiries later showing he crossed the river to avoid being detected.
Police immediately identified him as the suspect and officers began extensive enquiries to locate him, later arresting him at a house in north-east Ipswich the following morning.
Upon being arrested on suspicion of murder, Burnett asked an officer, “What, so she died?”.
‘COURTNEY WILL ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED’
Courtney’s heartbroken family released a touching statement in light of Burnett’s sentencing.
It read: “Although we got some sort of justice today for our daughter, it won’t bring her back and no justice will ever be enough.
“We have made a promise to Courtney to keep her memory alive and she won’t just be remembered as the young woman who got murdered, she will be remembered for greatness and change.
“We vow to her, to do everything in our power to raise awareness in her name and for the public services to listen to the cries for help regarding domestic violence.”
The statement continued: “Women are dying every day at the hands of men, enough is enough, it’s time we take a stand and fight back against violent men, violent relationships and knife crime.
“This is a national problem that needs to be taken seriously, people are dying. We want you to know, you are not alone and there is help you can receive.
“Our daughter fought endlessly in the last year of her life trying to escape from those around her. She will not be another statistic; we will do everything in our power to fight.”
Her family added: “She has three beautiful young children who now have to grow up without their mummy.
“We as a family are now serving our own life sentence without her and it’s the hardest thing we’ve ever had to do.
“She had so much more life to live and so many plans for the future, which we believe she would have achieved.
“In her last six months of life that monster ripped everything away from her.”
Courtney’s family also paid thanks to the emergency services, first responders, and members of the public that desperately tried to save Courtney’s life and were with her in her final moments.
They also praised the investigation teams for “bringing justice for Courtney and her children”.
Their statement added: “We would also like to thank the passers-by for trying to save her and staying with Courtney in her last moments and for the person who tried to prevent it.
“It took a massive amount of bravery and courage to do so, and you gave her some comfort in her last moments which we were robbed of, but we will be forever grateful that she wasn’t alone.
“Although everything was ripped away from Courtney before she was murdered, she left behind three beautiful children.
“She should be here to raise them, but we will do the best we can.”
They continued: “We are just so grateful that she decided to have children, if not we would have been left with nothing but fading memories.
“Looking into their eyes every day is a constant reminder that she is loved and had lived.
“Courtney will always be remembered and the person who took her life will rot away behind a cell and eventually be forgotten by society.
“She is a mummy, a daughter, a sister, a granddaughter, an aunty, a niece and a cousin.
“We love you always Courts, we promise to live on and fight every day for you to keep your memory alive.”
Following the sentencing, Detective Superintendent Nicola Wallace said: “The sentence handed out by the court today can never bring back the life of a young woman who was attacked in the street of our county town on a summer’s evening.
“This brutal attack was planned and carried out in front of innocent members of the public and Courtney’s friends who are all affected by the actions of Logan Burnett – actions that were described by the Judge when passing sentence as ‘a personal execution.’
“I would like to commend the bravery of Courtney’s family who have shared the impact of this tragedy with the court today and will forever be reminded of the tragic events of 6 August 2024.
“Suffolk police are committed to tackle domestic violence in all forms across our communities, with the aim of trying to prevent such horrific attacks and the impact on victim’s and families in future.”
Families of hostages take to streets in plea for release of Gaza hostages – as Israel marks 500 days of war with Hamas
FAMILIES of hostages still held in Gaza yesterday pleaded for their release as protests were held across Israel to mark 500 days of war.
Relatives took part in a 500-minute fast while marches blocked roads in towns and cities.
Released hostages spoke at rallies and told of the horrific conditions they were held in.
One freed captive lost nearly 4st — but was given huge amounts of food including rotting vegetables ahead of his release so he did not look emaciated.
Ten-year-old Emily Hand, released during the November 2023 ceasefire, told a conference that her “dreams are not always good ones”.
She said: “I miss my kibbutz, my friends, and the people we lost.” Ohad Ben Ami, 56, released ten days ago, said: “There were six of us in terrible conditions in six square metres (65sq ft).
“I appeal to the government and people of Israel: Keep going, go out, fight.”
Levi Ben Baruch, whose nephew Edan Alexander, 21, is still being held, led a prayer for the return of hostages in front of PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem.
He said: “Our hearts are torn apart.”
Shimi Calderon, uncle of recently released hostage Ofer Calderon, said: “Three months ago, he weighed 25kg (55lb) less.
“When Hamas realised he would be among those freed, they fattened him with rotten veg.”
The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas killed about 1,200 people in Israel and took 251 hostages.
Of those, 73 remain in Gaza of whom 36 are believed to be dead. On Thursday, the bodies of up to five killed in Gazan captivity will be returned.
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Baffled Arsenal fan buys two match tickets for £350 only to be told they belong to a star forward
A FAN says he bought two tickets for an Arsenal match — and found they were given free to Gunners star Gabriel Martinelli.
Nathan Shaw, 51, paid £350 for the pair of tickets clearly marked “Player Complimentary”.
They were for seats in the away end for his team’s 2-0 win at Leicester on Saturday.
He said that after buying them, he was called by a club official saying they were originally allocated to injured £180,000-per-week Brazilian striker Martinelli, 23.
But last night, Arsenal insiders said Martinelli had not applied to use the tickets.
They were put in a central pot and redistributed to a contractor who asked for some. Sales manager Nathan, from Hawkhurst, Kent, snapped the tickets up from website Livefootballtickets for £175 each.
He had failed to get two of the 3,200 seats in the away end for himself and pal Cillian Oliver when Arsenal sold out their allocation of the £30 tickets.
Nathan, who has a season ticket for home games, got a message from the site telling him to pick up the tickets at a collection point at Leicester’s ground before the match, and to bring ID.
The message named a club worker.
Our source said the contractor had given the tickets to a pal who sold them to the site.
Nathan said: “I was delighted to get tickets but stunned when I picked them up and they were clearly complimentary ones given to a player.
“I got a call as well before the game, and the guy told me they were Martinelli’s.
“I don’t blame Martinelli and suspect he might have just not used them and someone else has sold them on. I doubt he needs the money.”
There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by Martinelli, who did not travel to the Midlands.
Arsenal and the site were approached for comment.
Is Ruben Amorim in danger of axe? Inside Man Utd boardroom disagreement that could have seen Thomas Frank hired
CAST your mind back 11 years to the last time David Moyes was in a Goodison Park dugout for an Everton v Manchester United match.
Then, we were treated to the ghoulish sight of a bookmaker’s stooge dressed as the Grim Reaper, seated yards away from Moyes, dangling his scythe at the soon-to-be-former United boss.
Everton won 2-0 and two days later, Moyes was sacked.
‘The Chosen One’ banner, displayed at Old Trafford since he had replaced Sir Alex Ferguson, was hauled down after eight months in situ.
And 11 years later, the Red Devils haven’t recovered from their spiral of chaos and doom.
On Saturday, Ruben Amorim takes what remains of his battered United squad to Goodison for his club’s final visit to Everton’s historic home.
And this time, Moyes himself can play the Reaper.
The Scot, 61, who returned to the Toffees last month, has amassed 13 points from his past five matches — four wins and a dramatic draw against runaway leaders Liverpool.
That points tally is only one fewer than Amorim has mustered in 14 league games as United boss.
One month ago, Everton were nine points adrift of the Red Devils and also West Ham.
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Already, Moyes’ side have leap-frogged both of the clubs who scorned him.
It would be too simplistic to claim that if United had stuck with Moyes back in 2014, rather than becoming just another hire-and-fire Premier League club, then everything would have turned out fine and dandy.
It is likely that no manager in world football could have successfully succeeded Ferguson.
United’s squad was ageing and Fergie was a genius who had run the whole Old Trafford empire, leaving behind no recognisable modern management infrastructure.
And perhaps Moyes’ skill-set has always been better suited to overachieving at clubs just outside the elite, rather than getting the best out of world-class players.
But still, the contrast in fortunes between Everton and United is glaring.
Amorim’s side plunged into the bottom six at an advanced stage of a Premier League season for the first time when they lost Sunday’s ‘Hell Clasico’ to fellow strugglers Spurs.
There, the Portuguese named eight teenaged substitutes who had never previously played for United’s first team, using only one of them — forward Chido Obi — as a 91st- minute replacement for a gone-at-all-levels Casemiro.
Perhaps Amorim should actually have named his 63-year-old goal-keeping coach Jorge Vital among his subs in North London having claimed last month he would rather select the old boy over Marcus Rashford.
Defeat by Tottenham was United’s sixth in nine league matches.
And looking at the table, it is easy to imagine United finishing in the bottom six.
Their position is not a false one, unless you want to argue that they should actually be even further down, among the dead men.
Three of the four league wins Amorim has mustered have been fortunate — they trailed 1-0 at home to Southampton after 80 minutes, they were 1-0 down to Manchester City before a miraculous late derby turnaround, and won 1-0 at Fulham with their only shot on target, which was massively deflected.
Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou offered no sympathy for Amorim’s current injury crisis — ‘welcome to my world, mate, try it for two months’ was his comment.
But United had left themselves wide open to this eventuality by loaning out Rashford and Antony in the winter window, without replacing either.
The subsequent season-ending injury to Amad Diallo — the one bright spark of Amorim’s reign — would not have felt quite so debilitating had United not left themselves so short of attacking numbers.
And the fact that Antony has now won three successive man-of-the-match awards for Real Betis, while Rashford is showing early promise at Aston Villa, only adds to questions over Amorim’s decision-making.
His insistence on refusing to compromise on a 3-4-3 formation, even when robbed of the services of 12 senior players, is beginning to look like severe bloody-mindedness. Beware of the dogma.
There’s much to like about Amorim, such as his unswerving, often damning, honesty about United and a charismatic strength of personality which makes it believable he could turn around the club’s fortunes in the long term.
But there comes a point at any major club — and we still have to regard United as one of those despite a dozen years of trauma — when things become so bad that you have to wonder whether the manager even has a long-term future.
Amorim’s appointment seemed like a massive coup.
He was the hottest young property in management after an excellent spell at Sporting Lisbon.
And yet it is increasingly intriguing to consider why Dan Ashworth — United’s hugely-respected, short-lived sporting director — should have left after just five months having disagreed over Amorim’s appointment.
Ashworth is believed to have favoured replacing Erik ten Hag with a manager experienced in the English game.
His three previous appointments — Eddie Howe at Newcastle, Gareth Southgate at England and Graham Potter at Brighton — were all great successes and all three were linked with United.
By the time Ten Hag was sacked, Brentford’s Thomas Frank was Ashworth’s pick, with Amorim the choice of chief executive Omar Berrada — the finance man, rather than their football man.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has spent £25million in hiring and firing Ashworth, sacking Ten Hag and poaching Amorim with some of this cost being recouped in demoralising mass redundancies among the club’s staff.
United must sell before they buy this summer, reviving the prospect of stars Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho being flogged off to keep the club in line with Profit and Sustainability Rules.
With a dysfunctional current squad and no quick fixes in sight, Amorim, 40, must be wondering whether he made a serious mistake in taking on the biggest basket case in world football.
So perhaps, at Goodison Park on Saturday, Moyes should bring along a Scary Movie mask and scythe.
Man Utd ratings v Spurs
MANCHESTER UNITED slipped to a 12th defeat in the Premier League with Rasmus Hojlund coming under fire again.
Here’s how SunSport’s Katherine Walsh rated the Manchester United players against an underachieving Spurs side – who are now three places above them in 12th – in North London.
Andre Onana – 3
United can’t do anything with him between the sticks. Can’t be trusted to collect anything.
His opposite number Vicario showed him a thing or two after returning for the first time since Spurs thrashed Man City in November.
At fault for the first goal when he palmed out a relatively weak bouncing shot into Maddison’s path in the 13th minute.
Noussair Mazraoui – 5
An OK performance. Clever link-up play with Zirkzee but couldn’t get hold of Spence down the left-hand side.
Pulled out an excellent cross for the Dutchman’s headed chance late-on.
Matthijs de Ligt – 6
His clearance stopped an obvious 2-0 before the half-an-hour mark.
Harry Maguire – 5
A mixed bag. Long ball over the top for Hojlund’s chance in opening 10 minutes and went on a few attacking runs himself in the first half.
Did well to stop Dejan Kulusevski from having a go at the edge of the box. But bizarrely stopped in his tracks when a cross came flying into Son later on.
Diogo Dalot – 6
A difficult afternoon for the Portugal international as Son and Djed Spence left him for dead a few times.
Hesitated when asked to shoot from five yards to make it 1-0 but helped Onana out with some clearances too.
Patrick Dorgu – 4
A Prem debut to forget. He was almost invisible from the left-hand side. And lacked quality when asked to get involved more in the second half.
Was stupidly caught offside with Bruno Fernandes offloading a stunning cross pitch pass and booked late-on.
Casemiro – 5
Looked every bit a player that hasn’t played Premier League football for two months. Unsurprisingly booked for a late one on Son.
Bizarrely dropped to the turf asking for a free-kick when nobody touched him. Was forced to play 89 minutes with eight teenagers on the bench. A difficult afternoon, indeed.
Bruno Fernandes – 5
Interceptions and breaking up play is not a part of the captain’s game. An uncharacteristically poor cross left United open on the counter.
Did get back to stop Son from having a shot at Onana on the hour mark and started ticking in attack in the final 20 minutes.
Alejandro Garnacho – 4
Looked shaky and cut a frustrated figure after blazing over an absolute SITTER from 10 yards to level the scores.
A bit of a shocker and looked a completely different player to the one who got United into the fifth-round of the FA Cup last week.
Woke up a bit in the second half as Vicario kept him at bay with several superb stops. But the 20-year-old is clearly better off the bench.
Joshua Zirkzee – 6
The best of a desperately poor front three. There’s a street player in there and he’s great with his touches at times.
But curled wide from 23 yards, stuck a header wide in the 70th minute and kicked an air shot in the final five minutes.
Rasmus Hojlund – 3
Is Hojlund the worst No 9 in United’s recent history?
The young Dane, who was unlucky to have a chance saved by Vicario, was second best in every loose ball and kept losing possession.
He was even caught offside after a pass from an Onana goal-kick in the first half – how often do you see that happen?
Tottenham captain Son Heung-min reveals conversation with James Maddison following scathing Roy Keane criticism
SON HEUNG-MIN has told Roy Keane: You are wrong about James Maddison.
Midfielder Maddison made it clear Keane WAS the target of his ‘shush’ celebration after netting the winner against Manchester United on Sunday, with a TikTok video posted later that night.
It came after Red Devils icon Keane, 53, belittled the oche-obsessed star’s ability last week, saying: “Maddison isn’t bad, when he’s not at the darts.”
Now Tottenham skipper Son has leapt to his team-mate’s defence, revealing the pair discussed the stinging criticism and how to prove it to be wide of the mark.
South Korean international forward Son, 32, said: “Everybody has an opinion but I don’t care what they say.
“Madders is one of the best team-mates I’ve played with in my career.
“In big games, he steps up and scores goals, that’s why we’ve missed him.
“Me and Madders had a chat about this because he’s always had a good personality and been able to move on.
“He’s shown people that it’s wrong. He showed great character and put on a great performance.”
Keane’s comments about Maddison went viral — to the point where they even caught the Tottenham midfielder’s attention.
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United’s legendary Treble-winning captain Keane claimed: “If you think he’s going to come back and get Spurs into the top six, you’re in cuckoo land.
“He’s a talented player. But if you’re a player in Spurs’ dressing room and Maddison’s back in the squad, you wouldn’t be looking and going, ‘He’s back, we’re going to be fine’.”
Keane’s dig appeared to fire up Maddison against the Irishman’s old club, as he returned from three weeks out with a calf problem to net the game’s only goal after just 13 minutes.
England star Maddison then hit back with his celebration where he made a ‘talking’ gesture with his hand before his trademark darts-throwing routine and then shushed Keane with his finger.
He did not name who it was aimed at in his post-match interview.
But it became clear later that evening with a video posted on social media platform TikTok.
The footage started with Keane’s criticism, then fellow pundit Ian Wright urging Maddison to “silence” the former midfielder’s damning verdict, before a clip of Maddison’s goal and celebration to the backdrop of amusingly dramatic music.
Maddison, who attended the Bafta Awards after-party on Sunday night, was one of four Spurs players to return from injury against United along with goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and subs Brennan Johnson and Wilson Odobert.
After a long three months with so many absentees, Spurs’ problems look to be easing with Dominic Solanke, Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven hopefully back soon.
Son paid tribute to youngsters like Archie Gray, 18, and 19-year-old Lucas Bergvall for stepping up over the winter in the absence of the injured senior pros.
The Tottenham captain added: “I don’t want to dwell on our dreams or blame anything on us missing our main players.
“In the period of time they have been out, everyone at the club should appreciate the job the young players have done and never forget all the tough moments they have faced in the last two-and-a-half months.
“They didn’t deserve it but they have handled it really well.
“Now it’s the turn of the senior players to step up.”
