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With quiet confidence, they are continuing to announce their presence at the World Cup

Firdose Moonda12-Oct-20231:40

Steyn: South Africa bowlers had the energy that Australia lacked

Kagiso Rabada was not so much laughing at Steven Smith as with technology when the big screen flashed three reds. It confirmed that the delivery Rabada bowled, which straightened from middle stump and struck Smith high on the pad would go on to hit leg stump, something very few people, other than Quinton de Kock, thought would happen.It was on de Kock’s nod that Temba Bavuma decided to review what seemed an appeal for appealing’s sake. On immediate assessment, the ball appeared to be missing leg even going over the stumps. Rabada himself was “hoping for an umpire’s call,” so South Africa could retain the review and Smith would be temporarily stopped from taking him on. The previous two balls were hit for four and Smith looked in imperious form but with the help of the DRS, his stay was cut short and Rabada created an opening into Australia’s middle-order. It was as good a time as any to have a chuckle.Related

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The significance of that wicket lies both in the fact that it was Smith who was dismissed and that it was Rabada who did the dismissing and the events it triggered. The pair have history, of course, dating back to 2018 when Rabada’s shoulder made contact with Smith as he celebrated removing him in a Test match at St George’s Park. Then, the incident sparked the unraveling of Australia in a series now known as Sandpapergate. This time, it also prompted a collapse: Australia lost four wickets for 20 runs starting with Smith and Rabada was responsible for three of them.He cleaned Josh Inglis up – a wicket that was clearly a wicket – and had Marcus Stoinis caught behind off the bottom glove, which may or may not have been in contact with the top glove. Technology, again, smiled on South Africa.But it would be grossly unfair on South Africa to attach their win to the gains they made on the DRS – though it is worth mentioning that the only time Australia asked for a review on the field half-heartedly was when they thought Quinton de Kock had nicked off Cummins and UltraEdge showed only a flat line – and not give credit to a flexible batting blueprint backed up by potent attack. Unlike in Delhi, where South Africa could capitalise on the last 10 overs, where they scored 137 runs against Sri Lanka, on a surface that slowed up in Lucknow, they had to start well and did.De Kock and Temba Bavuma are now South Africa’s most successful opening pair by average and have shared four century stands. De Kock, freed from the burdens of continuing in this format post the World Cup, is playing as well as he has ever done but that does not mean he is doing it recklessly. In fact, his starts have become more circumspect, his shot selection more careful and his understanding of his scoring areas more clear. Today, he targeted the short boundary, just 63 metres square of the wicket and played a selection of reverse-sweeps just wide of that in a display of pinpoint placement.That de Kock is having a good World Cup so far after South Africa’s poor showing in 2019 bodes well for the team; that Rabada is, is even better.Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi were on fire with the ball•Getty ImagesFour years ago, Rabada was bowling in an attack that was supposed to be led by Dale Steyn, who ended up having to withdraw with a shoulder injury. Now, he is supposed to lead the attack – which is without its most intimidating quick Anrich Nortje and its death bowling specialist Sisanda Magala – and is also supposed to do it from first change. South Africa have made what Rabada called a “team decision,” to open the bowling with Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen in a search for any early swing. That paid off handsomely in Lucknow.While the heat of the day was leaving the city, it found a home in South Africa’s new ball bowlers, Ngidi in particular. His opening spell of five overs included two scoreless ones and the wicket of David Warner, cost nine runs and was consistently delivered at 144 kph. He stuck to back of a length and maintained tight lines and said after the match that he feels fitter and stronger than before. Given who South Africa are missing, that’s good news.South Africa are also demonstrating qualities of adaptation that are needed in a long tournament across various venues. In Delhi, they picked four seamers and a spinner, in Lucknow, they opted for a three-two combination on a surface that was expected to, and did, offer some turn. By the time Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi were called on, the bulk of the damage was already done and there may still be questions over how quickly they cleaned up the Australian tail. For Rabada, South Africa played ‘pretty much the perfect game.”Over the last seven years, they have an exceptional record against Australia and had beaten them in 15 out of 20 ODIs before today, including winning a recent home series 3-2. That was the only competitive cricket South Africa played between April and this World Cup. Australia, on the other hand, have competed in an Ashes, a white-ball series in England and South Africa and played ODIs in India before the tournament and could, understandably, be spent. Their fielding performance suggested as much and the crowd kept a tally of their missed chances and displayed them on a banner to remind them how much they were getting wrong. It would also be that given the recent results, South Africa have figured Australia out. But there’s another option here. It could also be that South Africa have finally figured themselves – the squad that came to this World Cup – out.Their bowlers came into this tournament with some big names and reputations but without Nortje and Magala were very much seen as the supporting cast to their stellar top six, who are expected to set the tone. It’s helped that they were put in to bat in both matches and have yet to be tested in a chase. It has also helped that they have come in under the radar in both their own country and this one. South Africans are focused on the Springboks – who play a Rugby World Cup quarter-final against hosts France – this weekend and in India, the focus is on the home team, on England, on Pakistan and now, on whether Australia can get back on track.Perhaps quietly, that has given South Africa the opportunity to have a laugh amongst themselves as they continue to announce their presence at this event. But is it too early to dare to dream? Obviously.”We’re still a long way away but there are plenty of positives to take. It’s just about leaving this behind once we leave that behind and focus on the next game, that’s it,” Rabada said.And for now, that’s it that we’ll say about South Africa.

He could have been a high-flying management professional, but this Rajinikanth devotee chose a different path

Shashank Kishore20-Sep-2021″I was a bright student, inclined towards academics. It’s generally the other way round, especially in orthodox South Indian families, where parents push kids to focus on studies. In my case, my mother pushed me towards playing cricket.”Venkatesh Iyer, 26, couldn’t have been more thankful to his mother on Monday, after being handed his IPL cap by the Kolkata Knight Riders.Iyer, who bats in the top order and bowls handy medium pace for Madhya Pradesh in the domestic circuit, started like most kids in India – playing for fun. “Honestly, I started playing when my mother would often nudge me to get outdoors and burn energy rather than being cooped up indoors with books all the time,” he laughs. And then life happened, and academics would soon take over. Cricket wouldn’t make an appearance until he was nearly 19.Iyer enrolled for a B.Com degree, alongside a chartered accountancy degree. Once he cleared the intermediate examination in 2016, Iyer had a decision to make. Attempting the CA finals would mean giving up the game, or at least temporarily putting his cricket career on hold.He had already made his T20 and 50-overs debuts for the Madhya Pradesh senior team and was captain of the state’s Under-23 team. A first-class debut was imminent, and he let his instincts take over.”I decided to give up my CA and pursue an MBA in finance,” Iyer says. “I gave a lot of entrance exams, had decent scores, and enrolled into a good college. I was fortunate the faculty liked cricket, and they saw I was doing well, and gave me the cushion by taking care of my attendance, preparing notes and rescheduling exams.’I quickly realised you could have a conversation with just about everyone’ – Iyer on the KKR team environment•KKR”Honestly, I didn’t have to put in a lot of effort to manage both. I’m not bragging, I’ve always been a bright student, I can’t say the same about my cricket. That is the kind of confidence I have in my academics. Had there been no cricket, I would have landed in an IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) or IIM (Indian Institute of Management).”If it came down to training or classes, I’d often choose training, because my grasping power was good. But if I went to college for just two hours, I’d ensure my focus would completely be on those two lectures. They anyway gave me the cushion of lower attendance. That helped me pursue an internship too.”During the off-season, when it rains in Indore, I’d play weekend league cricket in Chennai, and focus on my studies during the week. Everything was very smooth, there was nothing even worthy of time management. If anything, maybe I could have worked on my fitness better.”Iyer landed a job with the “Big Four” accounting firm Deloitte, at their India headquarters in Bengaluru in 2018. It was decision time again, and Iyer let go of the offer, which he eventually wouldn’t regret, because he soon made his Ranji Trophy debut for Madhya Pradesh in December that year.”I knew I wasn’t going to take up the offer,” he says. “I would’ve had to move cities, and that would’ve meant the end of my cricket. We all need a Plan B in life, right? So my MBA was just that. My parents anyway wanted me to complete a basic degree. Dad is a Human Resources consultant, mom has spent many years in hospital administration. A basic degree is all they asked of me. With their help and of course the faculty at college, I was able to focus equally on both academics and cricket.”While letting the job go was tough, Iyer justified it in his own way. “I had a good one-day season, I hadn’t got a hundred, but then we had two three-day practice games against Chhattisgarh. In the first game I got out cheaply, but the second one was the turning point,” he says. “I had my MBA internal exams, so I went to college, gave the exams, left early, jumped a few signals on the way, and when we got to the ground, we were 60 for 6.”I was actually thinking about the answers I missed, things I could’ve written better, but as I took guard I went blank. I made a century in the game. Actually I ended on 96 overnight, so I came back the next day, finished my batting, I think I made 130 or 132, and then went back to college late in the afternoon to give my internals the next day. And soon after that game I got to make my Ranji debut.”Venkatesh Iyer made his Ranji Trophy debut in December 2018•PTI While he has been around the domestic circuit since 2015, Iyer came into his own in the truncated 2020-21 season, when he had a prolific white-ball season. He topped the run-charts for his side in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, with 227 runs in five innings at an average of 75.66 and a strike rate of 149.34. Then in the one-day competition, the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he came into his own, hitting a blistering 146-ball 198 against Punjab that helped Madhya Pradesh amass 402 for 3.In the first half of the IPL, match time eluded Iyer, but he says time spent with the team helped him gain a perspective around his cricket. He credits the hierarchy of communication at KKR for this, and the openness with which he could communicate with the senior leadership group. He also derived great satisfaction at being able to play the likes of Pat Cummins and Sunil Narine in the nets.”It’s a great set-up, you learn so much being in a team environment,” he says. “Sometimes as young players you tend to get overawed, you tend to feel ‘oh, but can I go up and talk to them.’ For me, I looked at all this very normally. And in this set-up, I quickly realised you could have a conversation with just about everyone. That is the best part of the group and I’ve enjoyed the time with the franchise.”Off the field, Iyer loves reading, and watching cooking shows and movies. He is a huge Rajinikanth fan. “A (boss) devotee,” he laughs. “I can watch his movies ‘n’ number of times. He’s a legend.”Iyer doesn’t believe in looking too far ahead, but wants to make the most of his opportunities as they come. For starters, he wants to make a mark in the second phase of the IPL and then translate that into success in the upcoming domestic season.In the Tamil blockbuster , Rajinikanth’s character belts out the punchline “.” It translates to something like “my way is unique.””That line has become my punchline too,” Iyer says. “It’s been a fabulous journey, hopefully with many more learnings and good experiences along the way.”

Aaron Boone called upon relief pitcher Fernando Cruz to get the Yankees out of a bases-loaded jam against the Red Sox on Tuesday night—and he did just that, leading to quite the fired-up reaction.

After taking over for starter Carlos Rodón in the top of the seventh with runners on first and second, Cruz retired three of the four Boston batters he faced—finishing the frame by forcing Trevor Story into a pop out to deep center field.

The inning-closing out had Cruz understandably fired up. Take a look at how he celebrated:

Boone's decision to leave his starter in Rodón in the game for as long as he did nearly backfired, but Cruz saved his manager's you-know-what. One question remains, however. Where'd his hat go?!

The Yankees and Red Sox are tied 3–3 in Game 2 as they enter the ninth inning from the Bronx. The winner of the American League wild-card series will move onto the divisional round, where they'll take on the Blue Jays.

Mookie Betts just can't get right, even when fans try to boost him.

For months, Betts has been mired in the worst slump of his career, one in which the numbers he's posting are inexplicable. The Los Angeles Dodgers star can't find his way out of it.

On Monday night, as he stepped into the box for his first at-bat against the St. Louis Cardinals, Dodgers fans gave the eight-time All-Star a sustained ovation in an attempt to give him a boost.

It didn't work.

Betts went 0-for-4 as the Cardinals beat the Dodgers 3-2. The 32-year-old flew out twice, grounded out, and struck out looking as part of the feeble offensive showing from the Dodgers.

The hitless night dropped Betts's batting average to .231, and his on-base percentage fell to .302, he's slugging .355, and his OPS is a woeful .657. All of those numbers are career lows.

We're 103 games into the season, and Betts hasn't looked anything like himself. An ovation from fans didn't help him. We'll see if he can figure it out himself.

Mike Trout is back to doing Mike Trout things and MLB is better for it.

The three-time MVP, who missed almost all of May with a left knee injury, had three hits in four at-bats Monday against the Boston Red Sox, leading the Los Angeles Angels to a 7-6 victory on the road.

His first hit of the night was an absolute bomb of a home run. With two runners on in the top of the first inning, Trout smashed a 454-foot home run to left center that came very close to leaving the entire stadium.

Check out this blast:

Fans rightfully loved it:

Admitting when one is wrong is not easy, especially for some MLB umpires.

And to his credit, that's exactly what home-plate umpire Laz Diaz did during the New York Mets' 5-1 win over the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night at Fenway Park.

In the bottom of the ninth inning with no outs, Red Sox phenom Kristian Campbell was at the plate facing Mets reliever Edwin Diaz. With the count 1-and-1, Campbell took a slider at the knees on the outer half of the plate. For all intents and purposes, it looked to be a ball.

But Diaz called it a strike, leading Campbell to literally jump into the air in frustration at the call. Moments later, broadcast mics picked up Diaz immediately owning up to the mistake while speaking directly to Campbell.

"That's on me, Kristian," Diaz said. "Hey, that's on me."

Campbell went on to draw a walk and then the Red Sox were set down 1-2-3 to end the game.

In terms of accuracy metric, Diaz grades out as MLB's fourth-worst caller of balls and strikes in 2025, and he has routinely ranked on the lower end of the precision spectrum over the last few big league seasons. In short, he's no Mark Ripperger.

Being wrong is one thing. Being wrong and continuing to insist one was right is utter foolishness. But being wrong and having the gumption to admit it, especially when an entire broadcast of viewers can hear you, is a respect-earning move by Diaz.

After the October international break, Arne Slot conceded that there could be no more excuses as far as Alexander Isak was concerned. "Fitness-wise, he is close to the level he should be," the Dutch coach acknowledged ahead of Liverpool's meeting with Manchester United at Anfield, "and we can judge him in a fair way from now on." Just three weeks later, though, Slot was back pleading for patience with the most expensive player in British football history.

"I know that I said that his pre-season had ended, and that it was time for us to see where he is, but I have to go back on those words," the Reds boss told reporters on November 7. "Because if you are only doing rehab for three weeks, that doesn't bring you back to the level you were at."

Isak should be there now, though. And he really needs to be, too, because nearly three months after his arrival at Anfield, the Sweden striker is still looking like a player that Liverpool didn't necessarily need to sign – and certainly not for £125 million ($163m).

• Getty Images Sport
  

  The striking striker

  Isak leaving Newcastle for Liverpool was the story of the summer, a transfer that was as acrimonious as it was protracted. Everyone had an opinion on it – but not everyone had "the whole picture", according to the Swede.

  "I can't control everything that is said or written," Isak said of the bitter backlash to his successful strike. "There is a lot to discuss, and it can be discussed for a long time. But it has been educational, and I'm happy with the final result. I'm proud to be a Liverpool player. I don't want to go into details or talk about that situation too much. It is a closed chapter, but I have never had any problems."

  Unfortunately for Isak, Liverpool and indeed Sweden, he's had plenty of problems since forcing through his move to Merseyside.

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  Fitness issues

  During his first interview with his new club, Isak admitted that he wasn't entirely sure when he would be physically capable of making his Liverpool debut. "I've had a tricky summer," he said – which was obviously putting it mildly. 

  Because of his refusal to even participate in Newcastle's pre-season friendlies, let alone their opening three Premier League fixtures (one of which was against the reigning champions), Isak joined Liverpool without having played a single second of football for more than three months. Their shared "ambition" was for the forward to feature in the first Premier League game after the September international break, against Burnley, but even though he saw 18 minutes of action in Sweden's World Cup qualifier in Kosovo, Slot decided against risking Isak at Turf Moor.

  "We got him from Newcastle in a state where you could say his pre-season was only going to start then," the Dutchman told reporters after Liverpool's 1-0 win on September 14. "He needs proper minutes of training before he has a certain base, let alone for him to play twice in three days. So, that's what we do, we try to prepare players for the beginning of the season once a week, and then we try to do more and more and more before we go into the rhythm of two games a week, so that they are ready for that schedule."

• Getty Images
  

  Surprisingly positive debut

  Despite adopting a wisely cautious approach with Isak, Slot threw him straight into the starting line-up for Liverpool's Champions League opener against Atletico Madrid four days later and even the manager was taken aback by how well it went.

  "I wasn't surprised by his quality, as we know all about that, but I was positively surprised by how fit Alexander was during his 60 minutes," Slot told . "But that maybe tells you that it might be different to sign a 20-year-old from a different league than a 25-year-old used to playing in the Premier League.

  "Although he only trained for two weeks, he has so many games under his belt [at the highest level]. One of the things you need if you want to compete for the Premier League and the cups is mentality, fitness and quality and, today, we saw all of that."

  However, if Slot thought that Isak was going to get back up to speed quicker than expected, he would be sorely mistaken.

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  'Unprofessional' and 'naive'

  Isak may have opened his Liverpool account with a characteristically neat finish in the Carabao Cup win over Southampton on September 23, but that remains his only goal of the season so far, and that's in spite of the fact that he started three consecutive Premier League games between September 27 and October 19 – all of which were lost.

  The 26-year-old may have registered an assist in the 2-1 defeat at Chelsea on October 4, but it was an attempt to control the ball for himself rather than an intentional lay-off for goal-scorer Cody Gakpo. The sad fact of the matter was that in complete contrast to fellow forward Hugo Ekitike, who had hit the ground running after his summer switch from Eintracht Frankfurt, Isak still looked miles off the pace of the Premier League. Unsurprisingly, sympathy was in short supply – and not just on Tyneside.

  "It was unprofessional and naive not just to down tools, but to sacrifice his match fitness for whoever he was going to play for," former Liverpool attacker Don Hutchison told . "I think he’s been managed and advised really badly by his agent all summer, but it comes down to the player, ultimately. He’s under contract with Newcastle, he owes them fitness and professionalism.

  "Bigger picture, if you end up at Liverpool, you have to [be ready to] hit the ground running. Now he's playing catch-up and it's because of how he behaved."

كشفت تقارير صحفية عن رد فعل أنطوان سيمينيو لاعب بورنموث، تجاه أنباء ارتباطه بانتقال محتمل إلى ليفربول، واهتمام مانشستر يونايتد بضمه.

ويقدّم سيمينيو أداءً رائعًا هذا الموسم، مع بورنموث، حيث سجل ستة أهداف في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز مع فريقه.

وزادت التكهنات حول مستقبل سيمينيو، وقد أفادت تقارير أن مانشستر يونايتد ومانشستر سيتي وتوتنهام وليفربول مهتمون بالتعاقد معه.

وأفادت صحيفة “ميرور” البريطانية، نقلاً عن شبكة “سكاي سبورتس” في تقرير لها، أن سيمينيو يشعر “بالإحباط” من التلميحات حول رغبته في الرحيل عن بورنموث.

اقرأ أيضًا | ليفربول يحسم موقفه من رحيل سوبوسلاي إلى ريال مدريد

ويوضح التقرير أن سيمينيو سعيد في صفوف بورنموث، والتقارير التي تشير لرحيله المحتمل عن الفريق، تجعله يشعر بالإحباط.

وسبق وسُئل سيمينيو عن مستقبله، وأجاب: “لا أفكر في الأمر كثيرًا، أحاول أن أكون حاضرًا قدر الإمكان، ترى الأخبار طوال الوقت، وأنا أيضًا أراها، لست غافلًا عنها، لكنني أحاول الحفاظ على تركيزي”.

وارتبط سيمينيو في الصيف الماضي بانتقال محتمل إلى مانشستر يونايتد لتعزيز هجوم الفريق، وتحرك توتنهام أيضًا للتعاقد معه، لكنه بقى في صفوف بورنموث.

KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal batted through the morning unscathed in Manchester to provide supporting evidence to Shubman Gill’s belief that this was “a good toss to lose”.Ben Stokes asked India to bat first after winning his fourth consecutive toss of the series, citing the gloomy overhead conditions, but his seamers failed to make inroads. Jaiswal rode his luck early on, with Chris Woakes repeatedly beating him on the outside edge, but there were no genuine chances in the first two hours of the match.Rahul continued his impressive form, going past 400 runs in the series and becoming the fifth Indian batter to score 1,000 Test runs in England. He played the ball as late as possible and was happy to play senior partner: after Jofra Archer dismissed Jaiswal in both innings at Lord’s, Rahul soaked up 25 balls in Archer’s initial five-over spell.

Jaiswal – who had to replace a broken bat early in the session – largely played within himself, prompting Alastair Cook to suggest on the BBC’s Test Match Special that he must have been reminded of his responsibilities by India coach Gautam Gambhir between Tests. But he did hit the only six of the morning shortly before lunch, throwing his hands at a back-cut when Stokes dropped short and wide.No team has ever chosen to bowl first at Old Trafford and gone on to win a Test match, and Stokes’ belief that his team can defy that trend will be tested after a wicketless first session. The morning started with the stands half-empty and long queues outside, which Lancashire said were prompted by strict bag searches.

It’s hard to think of another point in recent memory when Arsenal have had such a strong squad.

Rival sides might have spent hundreds of millions of pounds on individual superstars, but Mikel Arteta and Co have built a group with few if any real weaknesses.

With that said, even though there are talented players in every position, it is still quite easy to proclaim Bukayo Saka the pick of the bunch and the Gunners’ most important star.

Moreover, should they get up to speed, one of Arteta’s summer signings could help the Hale Ender reach the level of Thierry Henry as a creator.

Thierry Henry's creative genius

When most people think of Henry, the first thing that usually comes to mind is his incredible goalscoring ability.

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After all, during his time with Arsenal, the Frenchman racked up an astounding haul of 228 goals in 377 games, and if that wasn’t enough, he also chalked up a tally of 51 goals in 123 senior caps for France across his career.

However, what is sometimes overlooked by non-Arsenal fans is just how creative a player he could be, for the simple fact that assists and chances created are generally less memorable than a goal.

Henry’s Arsenal record

Appearances

377

Minutes

30532′

Goals

228

Assists

104

Goal Involvements per Match

1.13

Minutes per Goal Involvement

91.96′

All Stats via Transfermarkt

Yet, during his time with the Gunners, the Les Ulis-born legend managed to rack up an impressive tally of 104 assists, which works out to one every 3.62 games, and if that wasn’t enough, he also managed 20 goals and 20 assists in the 02/03 league season.

But what made the Frenchman such a creative force? Well, playing with a host of world-class attackers and under the management of Arsène Wenger certainly helps, but it was more than that.

It was in part down to the same reason he could so wonderfully place a shot into the corner of the net, but also his general attitude to trying risky things.

For example, he said that, “I know it sounds stupid, don’t be scared to make mistakes. That stops a lot of players.”

In all, Henry was an extraordinary creator as well as a world-class goalscorer, and while Saka might not ever quite reach his level when it comes to the former, a recent signing could help him do that for the latter.

The Arsenal player who could help Saka reach Henry levels

While Eberechi Eze and Martin Zubimendi could help Saka get closer to Henry’s goalscoring levels through the chances they end up creating, it’s Viktor Gyokeres who could help the Englishman reach his creative level.

Now, it has to be said, that with the current goalscoring form of the Swede, such an idea may seem absurd. After all, he’s been so hit or miss that Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville described him as a “misfit”.

However, it’s important to remember the league season is just eight games old, he’s already put the ball in the back of the net three times and his form over the last two years was nothing short of world-class.

For example, during his two seasons with Sporting CP, the 27-year-old “monster” as he was desribed by journalist Alex Turk, scored a staggering 97 goals and provided 28 assists in 102 appearances, totalling 8417 minutes.

That works out to an average of 1.22 goal involvements every single game, or one every 67.33 minutes, so while he won’t get those numbers in England, he hasn’t just lost the ability to get shots off and find space in the penalty area.

In fact, this was something fans finally saw in the game against Fulham, as while he failed to score, there was a moment in the first half that his smart movement gave him the chance to, and who did the pass come from? Saka, of course.

The second reason the former Coventry City star could help the 24-year-old’s creative numbers explode this season is down to this movement, his physicality and the fact he, as Mattinson says, plays with “real venom.”

This bulldozing approach to centre-forward play is already freeing up more space for Saka to operate in, and once again fans saw the fruits of this at Craven Cottage.

Saka’s game vs Fulham

Minutes

99′

Expected Assists

0.55

Total Shots

2

Key Passes

7

Dribbles (Successful)

7 (6)

Big Chances Created

1

Touches

86

Fouls Won

5

Ball Recoveries

9

Ground Duels (Won)

20 (13)

All Stats via Sofascore

In his 99 minutes of action, he amassed an expected assists figure of 0.55, took two shots, took 86 touches, completed six of seven dribbles, created one big chance, played seven key passes – yes, seven – and was named the man of the match.

Ultimately, while he is firing yet, Gyokeres’ innate finishing ability and the fact he drags opposition defenders away from Saka so often could help the Hale Ender reach Henry-esque creative numbers by the end of the season.

Related Hale End's "Saka regen" left for £0, now he's outscoring Arsenal's starboy

Arsenal had a Bukayo Saka regen in Hale End that Edu allowed to leave.

Posts ByBen Gray Oct 20, 2025