Here is your daily briefing for the latest Premier League stories on Friday 1 May.
How Carrick and set-pieces have supercharged Fernandes' assist run
Since Michael Carrick’s January appointment, Bruno Fernandes has not only been reinstated to his favoured No 10 role, but he has taken his game to another level.
Fernandes has four games left to at least match the Premier League assist record of 20 in a season, set by Thierry Henry in 2002/03 and equalled by Kevin De Bruyne in 2019/20. With four games to play, you’d expect the Manchester United maestro to trump the pair.
Carrick has granted Fernandes the freedom to drift to the right to wreak havoc in the final third. “I float a lot in that zone there now with Michael [Carrick],” Fernandes told Opta Analyst. “He doesn’t want me to just be stuck in the middle, so often asks me to find that pocket [of space].”
And it’s not just from open play where Fernandes is doing damage; the 31-year-old is a dead-ball extraordinaire.
His total of 32 chances created from set-pieces is more than any other player in the Premier League this season, and his 10 assists from set-pieces put him just one short of equalling the record for a campaign.
Most Premier League set-piece assists in a season
Player Set-piece assists Season Steven Gerrard (LIV) 11 2013/14 Bruno Fernandes (MUN) 10* 2025/26 Muzzy Izzet (LEI) 10 2003/04 Chris Brunt (WBA) 9 2014/15 Nicky Shorey (REA) 9 2007/08
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*With four matches to play
“When we talk about set-pieces and needing to hit the ball in the right space, it’s sometimes harder than a standard pass,” Fernandes explained. “The way corners and free-kicks have been, my team-mates ask me and demand where they want the ball. Sometimes I’m going to get it right, sometimes not so much.
“I will tell you that five years ago, I would go to take a corner and just put the ball into the middle of the box and let’s see if someone gets it,” he added. “And nowadays I have to hit a spot, so sometimes it’s even harder to get an assist from a set-piece than it actually is in open play.”
Fernandes has created more chances (114) than any other player in the Premier League this season. Furthermore, the Portuguese playmaker has created over 200 chances more than anyone else in the competition, since his debut in February 2020.
Hurzeler reveals Brighton's innovative MMA tactic
“I don't always want to be known as a club that is nice.”
Fabian Hurzeler was blunt on the reasoning to bring in an MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) coach to help Brighton & Hove Albion on set-pieces. “We brought him in because I think we spoke a lot about set-pieces, about blocking, new trends in the Premier League. We tried to adapt to it as well.”
It seems to have had a positive effect on the Seagulls. They’ve conceded fewer goals from set-piece situations, excluding penalties, (5) than any other team in the Premier League this season.
“There are different ways of using a block, different techniques to win one against one duels, especially at set-pieces. And an MMA fighter always has one-against-one duels,” said Hurzeler.
In a quest to gain an advantage over an opponent, teams are going to greater lengths than ever before. The use of an MMA fighter to improve set-piece proficiency means Brighton's upcoming opponents Newcastle United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Leeds United and Man Utd could be in for a rough 90 minutes.
Why Guardiola chose Stockport over PSG v Bayern Munich
While some settled in for a nine-goal thriller between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, Pep Guardiola instead travelled to Edgeley Park to watch Stockport County fall to a 2-1 defeat to relegation-threatened Port Vale.
And ahead of the game against Everton, the Manchester City boss was asked why he favoured the League One clash.
“The day before, I saw the calendar, PSG v Bayern Munich and said, 'What a disaster game'," he quipped.
“[The] Managers are not good, Luis (Enrique), Vinny (Vincent Kompany). So, I decided to go to... I'm in love with English football, and I went to see Stockport.”
For a manager locked in a title race and with an FA Cup final looming, the Spaniard seems as relaxed as ever.
The stats that support Rice's Player of the Season chances
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta took the chance to praise key man Declan Rice ahead of his side's meeting with Fulham.
The England international has started all but two league games for the Gunners this season and is a driving force behind their title push.
And should Arsenal go the distance, the Player of the Season shouts will only grow louder.
Rice's stats compared with Arsenal team-mates, 2025/26
Stat Rice Rank in Arsenal squad Chances created 61 1st Big chances created 16 1st Tackles 63 3rd Interceptions 39 2nd Shots blocked 11 2nd Passes 1,936 1st
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"What Declan is doing again is incredible," Arteta said. "To play the amount of games, minutes with the quality that he's shown in every game is something extremely difficult to do, and he's doing it, not only this season, but the last few seasons that he's been with us.
"To show that level of consistency is extremely rare because the demands and the standards are very, very high."
If Arsenal manage to pip City to the post, then the Gunners star will surely be a leading contender for the award.
De Zerbi's hope for 'special' Maddison
Roberto De Zerbi is remaining positive in Tottenham Hotspur's bid to avoid relegation, and key to their hopes could be the fitness of James Maddison.
The creative star hasn’t played a competitive game this season having suffered an ACL injury during the club's pre-season tour of South Korea last August.
Maddison was an unused sub against Brighton and Wolves, raising hopes that he could feature in the final four games of the campaign.
"I don't know, I would like to play with him, because he's a special player, he's a different player, but we have to consider the physical condition, a lot of things," De Zerbi said. "But I think he can be important in the next three games.
"[He brings] experience, personality, calm. Because anyway, if you have much experience, you are calmer. You can consider the timing when you have to speak, when you have to say something or not.
"And I want him to stay inside even if he doesn't play, because when he will be ready to play, I want him 100 per cent inside of the plan of the team."