Manchester City star defender Ruben Dias wins the Premier League player of the season. Ruben Dias had an excellent contribution to City's title run this season. He did a wonderful job in his debut season for City after they brought him from Benfica for £65m.

Dias beats his City teammate plus Captain Kevin De Bruyne and Tottenham star Harry Kane to the award. Two years in a row a player from Manchester City has won the PFA player of the season award. Last year it was Kevin De Bruyne and this year it's his new teammate. Bruno Fernandes, Jack Grealish, Mohamed Salah, Mason Mount were all on the shortlist of nominations.

Ruben Dias has scored 1 goal and kept 15 clean sheets in his 32 appearances. His partnership with Stones at the heart of the city defence stopped the goal conceding flow and restricted it to mere 32 goals in the league. They went on a stomping 15 match winning streak in midseason increasing Dias's impact on the team.

Previous Defenders to win the Player of the season award

Ruben Dias puts himself on an elite list of defenders after winning the PFA player of the season title:

• Nemanja Vidić (08/09)
• Nemanja Vidić (10/11)
• Vincent Kompany (11/12)
• Virgil Van Dijk (18/19)
• Rúben Dias (20/21)

Pep Guardiola wins Manager of the season

Ruben Dias's boss Pep Guardiola also managed to bag the award of Manager of the season after guiding City to its fifth premier league title. The Spaniard earned his third league title in just four years. Guardiola beat the likes of Marco Bielsa, Ole Gunner Solskjaer, David Moyes and Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers to win his third manager of the season title.

Guardiola's team scored the most number of goals (83) and conceded the least (32) across the campaign and went on a 21 game winning streak in all competitions.

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Phil Foden scored twice as Manchester City came from behind to beat Manchester United 3-1 on Sunday and close to within one point of Premier League leaders Liverpool.

Erling Haaland also struck in stoppage time to leave the title race perfectly poised ahead of City's trip to Liverpool next weekend.

Marcus Rashford's wonder strike had fired United into a shock lead at the Etihad.

Erling Haaland was then guilty of a miss that will go down in Premier League folklore when he fired over with an open goal just before half-time.

Phil Foden ensured City did not slip up in the title race as he blasted into the top corner to level and produced a composed finish 10 minutes from time.

An 11th league defeat of the season for United leaves Erik ten Hag's men 11 points adrift of the top four with 11 games remaining.

Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali was banned for 10 months by the Italian soccer federation on Thursday for betting on teams he played for. Tonali joined Newcastle from Milan on a five-year contract with the English club. He became the second player suspended in the widening case. Tonali's agent, Giuseppe Riso, recently acknowledged that his client has a gambling problem and that Tonali told prosecutors he bet on AC Milan and Brescia when he played for those clubs.

The federation acted following an investigation by Turin prosecutors into football players using illegal websites to bet on games. Tonali's ban means he will not be able to return in time for Euro 2024. Defending champion Italy has not qualified yet. His cooperation with authorities allowed the minimum ban of three years for players reduced to 10 months.

FIGC President Gabriele Gravina said Tonali was suspended for 18 months but that eight of those months were commutable by attending treatment for gambling addiction and making at least 16 public appearances at centers for young soccer players and associations for recovering addicts.

"We can't just think about punishing the boys and not helping them recover," Gravina added. "I think it's worth a lot more, rather than a month ban, eight months of giving talks about what they went through, in an honest way and with the right behaviour."

Last week, Juventus midfielder Nicolò Fagioli was banned for seven months after agreeing to a plea bargain with the federation.

Liverpool climbed to the top of the Premier League with a 2-0 win over 10-man Everton in the Merseyside derby. Jurgen Klopp's side worked hard for all three points after Everton started the match brilliantly at Anfield. Dominic Calvert-Lewin missed a golden chance to put the Toffees in front within the opening minute which cost them severely.

The Reds then started to create opportunities although Jordan Pickford didn't have much to do during the first 45 minutes. But Everton received a huge blow when Ashley Young was sent off for two bookable offences.

Everton defended superbly throughout the second half until they gifted the reds a penalty. Mohamed Salah got the chance from the penalty spot. The Egyptian right-winger took the opportunity by smashing the ball into the corner to give Liverpool a much-needed lead.

Everton couldn't make a comeback from there but Liverpool did double their lead in the 90+7 minute when Nunez provided a decent pass to Salah which he finished comfortably. Liverpool are always dangerous on counters and once again they showed whys that. The 2-0 lead was enough for Liverpool to clinch the three points and go top of the table.

The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) 2023 awards was hosted last night and it was a blast as usual. All the winners were well deserved and brilliant figures of the game. They made football look really simple to the naked eyes which is definitely not the case in real life. So here we take a look at the PFA Premier League team of the year and for obvious reasons it's filled with Arsenal and Manchester City players.

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Team of the Year

Aaron Ramsdale

In front of the goal we have future England No.1 Aaron Ramsdale, who was vital in Arsenal's unexpected success last season. Although Arsenal crumbled during the final weeks of the campaign, but Aaron Ramsdale's performances was never going to be overshadowed by that.

The Englishman's best match was against Tottenham(away) and Liverpool(away). He pulled off fine saves and made life very difficult for the strikers. To top things off, he also has 14 clean sheets to his name.

John Stones

John Stones is one of the most underrated players in the Premier League. He played as a centre-back for Pep's team and was very critical for their treble winning success. This season he was given a new role of venturing forward and finding spaces in the midfield too, which improved his game a lot.

He has been seen in the final third of the pitch a lot and is expected to do the same this season too. John Stones was also responsible for City conceding the joint fewest goals in the top flight.

Ruben Dias

The Portuguese defender returned back to form last season after experiencing a dropoff in his performance. He has been extraordinary at the back and was equally responsible for City conceding the joint fewest goals in the Premier League.

He acted as a leader on the pitch and outside of the pitch when his team needed him the most. Ruben Dias has been among the top defenders at the moment and a treble to his name just solidified how good he is.

William Saliba

The Frenchman, who's often been referred to as "Rolls Royce" by the Arsenal fans, has also been named in the PFA Premier League team of the year. He has been one of the greatest revelations of the season.

He returned to Arsenal from a loan move in the French league, where he was also named in the team of the year, and has been one of the biggest influences on the team. Saliba was vital to Arteta's project, so vital that when he got injured Arsenal fell off the cliff and lost the title to Manchester City in the final weeks of the campaign.

Kieran Trippier

Kieran Tripper is one of the two players outside of Arsenal and City's squad who was included in the PFA Premier League team of the year. He captained Newcastle United to great heights last season and it was an unbelievable leap from being on the verge of relegation to Champions League qualification.

The last season was unbelievable for the Magpies and Trippier was one of the main reasons behind it. He's arguably the best right back in the league as he possesses strong defending qualities and is very good in making runs behind the winger and crossing the ball in the box.

Rodri

The Spanish midfielder was arguably the best defensive midfielder in the league and it would've been a blunder to not include him in this team. He was been in the middle of everything City did in the 2023 season.

He scored the winning goal in the Champions League final and secured City's treble. His role was a bit different this season, with John Stones going forward he was responsible for making interceptions and revive the ball, and start a new attack. But his occasionally going forward and scoring important goals for the team in clutch moments proved to be one of the main reasons behind City's triumph.

Martin Odegaard

The Arsenal captain was bound to be included in this team. He played with great passion and desire for the club and gave it his all. With finesse shots and clinical finishing he was the highest scoring midfielder in the league.

In 37 matches he scored 15 goals and 7 assists which are great numbers but his contribution to the team were not just limited to these numbers. As a young captain of a young side he brought everyone together and fought till the very end and was responsible for one of the many Arsenal comebacks.

Kevin De Bruyne

The Belgian has been featured in this team before and it seems like it has become a natural phenomenon for the midfielder. It feels like he's getting better under Pep year after year and very rarely do we see him struggling in the game.

In 32 matches, he was able to acquire 7 goals and 16 assists, more than anyone in the league. People are right to consider him as one of the best Premier league midfielders of all time as he has been at the top of his game for quite some time now.

Bukayo Saka

The Arsenal left winger was also named PFA Young Player of the year, so he was inevitably going to make this team. The Hale End prodigy excelled at his game and created noticable chaos in the right side of the pitch. He's Arsenal's starboy, which means when the team needed him the most, he always delivers, let it be a match winning goal or an equaliser.

He was one of the few players to have played in all 38 matches last season which is an achievement in itself considering how physical the game has become. Also, he has scored 14 goals and assists his teammates 11 times during the course of the season.

Harry Kane

The England captain is another player who's outside of Arsenal or Manchester City's team. He has shown last season why he's considered one of the best strikers of the game. Although his team didn't perform well and failed to qualify for Europe, which ultimately led him to leave Spurs and go to the Bundesliga, but no one could question his performances.

He scored 30 goals in a season, that too in a team where there was a drought of goal scoring opportunities. It was an extraordinary effort by the Englishman and he was unlucky not to win the golden boot. He has also been featured regularly in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year but as he left Premier League, this one could be his last one.

Erling Haaland

The PFA Player's Player of the Year, Erling Haaland concluded the list of PFA Premier League Team of the Year. He signed for City last year in the summer transfer window and became the best player in the league. There was no doubt about his goal scoring abilities, but the way he adapted to the new circumstances, was magnificent.

He scored 36 goals in 35 games, which is an believable record to have on a debut season but Erling Haaland was able to do it. There came a point in the league where he was scoring in every game which made the other strikers in the league doubt themselves.

Liverpool center-back Virgil van Dijk has been charged with improper conduct and could see his one-game suspension extended following his red card against Newcastle on Sunday.

The Liverpool captain was shown a straight red card in the 29th minute at St James' Park on Sunday for fouling Newcastle forward Alexander Isak.

The defender appeared to argue with referee John Brooks while VAR reviewed the incident.

The FA says Van Dijk allegedly used "abusive and/or insulting words".

"Virgil van Dijk has been charged with a breach of FA rule E3.1 following Liverpool's Premier League game against Newcastle United on Sunday, 27 August," said the FA in a statement.

"It's alleged that the defender acted improperly and/or used abusive and/or insulting words towards a match official after being sent off in the 29th minute."

The 32-year-old Netherlands centre-back, who also appeared to argue with the fourth official before making his way down the tunnel, has until Friday to respond to the charge.

Currently, Virgil Van Dijk will serve a one-match ban for the initial red card and miss Liverpool's next game against Aston Villa on Sunday.

The charge comes after referees' chief Howard Webb said he was "determined" officials would not "turn a blind eye" to bad behaviour from players and coaches this season.

The incident occurred three minutes after Liverpool went behind to Anthony Gordon's opening goal and with the visitors under pressure in the game.

Darwin Nunez came off the bench to score twice late on and hand Liverpool a 2-1 victory to maintain their unbeaten start to the season.

The Netherlands international has until Friday to provide a response to the charge.

Virgil Van Dijk will miss Liverpool's home Premier League encounter with Aston Villa on Sunday but could miss the trip to Wolves on Saturday September 16 if his ban is extended.