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West Ham boss Nuno Espírito Santo is already feeling the heat, and his first home game as manager was quite simply the stuff of nightmares.

West Ham break club record after dismal loss at home to Brentford

During a match boycotted by large portions of the Hammers faifthful, amid ongoing protests against David Sullivan, Karren Brady and the board, Brentford took West Ham to the cleaners.

Keith Andrews’ side, bar an effort from Jarrod Bowen which nearly crept in at the far post, were never troubled by a lacklustre, uninspired home side who looked devoid of confidence, rhythm and a clear identity.

In truth, the 2-0 loss flattered West Ham, as Brentford also struck the crossbar twice, forced great saves from Alphonse Areola and had another goal chalked off by VAR just before half-time.

Nuno’s line-up was, at best, pretty questionable too.

Sunderland 3-0 West Ham

West Ham 1-5 Chelsea

Nottingham Forest 0-3 West Ham

West Ham 0-3 Tottenham

West Ham 1-2 Crystal Palace

Everton 1-1 West Ham

Arsenal 2-0 West Ham

West Ham 0-2 Brentford

The Portuguese, in Niclas Fullkrug’s absence due to a thigh injury, experimented with Lucas Paqueta as the centre-forward — but he failed to convince, was largely isolated and gave the ball away carelessly.

Olly Scarles and Kyle Walker-Peters took up unusual full-back roles on their opposite sides, with Freddie Potts and summer signing Soungountou Magassa sacrificed for a leggy midfield partnership of Tomas Soucek and Andy Irving.

Brentford exposed West Ham’s fragility time and time again, with the centre-back partnership of Max Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo – who was given his first start under Nuno – having a night to forget against a rampant Bees side who had 17 shots in total.

The result means that West Ham have now lost all four of their first home league games for the first time in the club’s long history, and if things don’t change soon, it is clear that Nuno has a relegation dogfight on his hands.

Last term, the Irons escaped a drop to the Championship owing to how poor all three promoted sides were, as was the case in 2023/2024 as well, but West Ham may not have that luxury this time around.

The 51-year-old needs inspiration from somewhere, and one West Ham player is said to be working hard in an attempt to prove his worth to Nuno at Rush Green.

Igor Julio impressing Nuno in West Ham training

That man is summer signing Igor Julio, who joined the east Londoners on a season-long loan from Brighton.

The Brazilian, who’s made 37 Premier League appearances for Brighton since joining them from Fiorentina in 2023, was limited to just a single Carabao Cup appearance this term and signed for West Ham in pursuit of more game time.

Nuno is yet to start Julio in any of his first three matches as West Ham boss, having played just one minute off the bench against Everton, and he didn’t even feature in their matchday squad for Brentford.

Considering just how leaky West Ham’s defence looks right now, with Kilman and Todibo really struggling on Monday night, the 27-year-old could sense an opportunity to play his way into contention.

As relayed by The West Ham Way, Julio is believed to be impressing in West Ham training, and as Nuno experiments to try and find out his definitive best side, the door could be open for him to usurp the likes of Todibo, Kilman and Konstantinos Mavropanos.

Let’s face it, matters could hardly be any worse at the back right now, with West Ham conceding the most goals of any side in the Premier League so far.

Julio appears to be hard at work to earn a place in the starting eleven, and a tricky test away to Leeds on Friday would act as a baptism of fire for the new arrival who’s looking to get his Premier League career back on track.

Former Seagulls coach Inigo Calderón is on record calling Julio an “animal” of a defender, which is exactly what Nuno is crying out for.

Bell, meanwhile, cannot wait to bowl at Mandhana, her Southern Brave team-mate in the Hundred

Valkerie Baynes27-Jun-20251:32

Mandhana: ‘Shafali is a world-class player and always will be’

Smriti Mandhana vs Lauren Bell. It’s a contest Bell, spearhead of England’s seam-bowling attack, couldn’t wait to get stuck into on the eve of the opening match of India’s tour, the first of five T20Is at Trent Bridge on Saturday.For Mandhana’s part, she is looking forward to reprising her opening partnership with Shafali Verma, who is making a comeback – in this format at least – having fallen out of favour after India’s group-stage exit at the T20 World Cup last October and lean ODI returns at home against New Zealand later that month.Mandhana stood in for an unwell Harmanpreet Kaur at India’s pre-match press conference on Friday but expected her captain to be fit to play the first match. She was full of praise for Shafali’s efforts to earn her recall through the domestic circuit and the WPL, where she was the fourth-highest run-scorer with 304 runs at a strike rate of 152.76.Related

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The metamorphosis woman – third time could be a charm for Shafali

“She’s had an amazing year,” Smriti said of Shafali. “Once the setback had come, she went to domestic cricket, scored bucket-loads of runs and had an amazing WPL.”No one had any doubts about her talent, the way she had come into the Indian team and dominated. She is a world-class player and always will be, but for her to go back and do what she did in the last year was amazing to watch. She deserves this comeback and I’m really excited to open with her again.”Shafali was the leading run-scorer in the Senior Women’s One-Day Trophy (527 runs, 152.31 strike rate, 75.29 average) and the Senior Women’s One-Day Challenger Trophy (414 runs, 145.26 strike rate, 82.80 average) – as captain of Haryana.Shafali Verma was the fourth-highest run-scorer at WPL 2025•BCCIMandhana and Shafali are second on the list for most partnership runs as an opening pair in women’s T20Is with 2636 runs and a partnership run rate of 7.90.Bell was keen to catch up with Mandhana, her Southern Brave team-mate in the Hundred, albeit on opposing sides.”I’m looking forward to bowling at Smriti,” Bell said. “I’ve obviously played with her, we’ve had a few net battles at the Brave before, so that’ll be a good challenge, playing against her. It’s exciting to be up against some of the best players and that normally brings the best out when you’re playing against the best.”The last time I played India, it’s always been Smriti and Shafali opening the batting, so it’s a challenge we’ve had before and one that is really exciting. They’re both very talented and play differently, so I’m hoping it just brings the best out of us. As an England player, you really look forward to these series and thrive off the challenge and how good the opposition are.”Last summer, as England went unbeaten through their twin white-ball series against New Zealand, Bell was working on changes to her action, which is now more upright and allows her to swing the ball both ways. She is satisfied with where she’s at but by no means feels that she is the finished article.”In terms of that whole chapter, I’d say I’ve got into a really good place and I feel really, really happy,” Bell said. “But I don’t think you can ever say you’re complete as a bowler.0:56

Bell: ‘Looking forward to bowling at Mandhana’

“There’s always stuff that I want to get better, but the big shift and the big change, I’m feeling in a really good place… hopefully we’ve moved on.”Bell was the leading wicket-taker during the T20I leg of West Indies’ visit, which – like the ODI series – England swept 3-0, with seven wickets at an average of 9.72 and economy rate of 5.66.Her series-best figures of 3-28 in the second T20I at Hove were eclipsed by fellow seamer Em Arlott, with a Player-of-the-Match-winning 3 for 14 having made her international debut just two days earlier in encouraging signs as England prepare for a tougher test from India.”They’ll pose us a few more challenges,” Bell said. “We had people making debuts and some people playing different roles, so they can take a lot of confidence from that. It was a really good series to have first up in the summer.”Meanwhile, India have some new faces in their seam attack, handing maiden T20I call-ups to Kranti Goud and Sayali Satghare for a squad missing the experienced Renuka Singh and Pooja Vastrakar.Mandhana said: “The WPL has been good in terms of finding new people and of course the domestic system as well, the amount of matches the girls play nowadays. All the girls have rich experience in the domestic format.”I’m really excited to see them. Young talent, whenever they come in, it’s always very exciting. Everyone’s been prepping well and what better place than England to come in as a pacer? Of course, they’ll take a lot of lessons out of it and I’m sure they’ll do the job for the team.”

“I do like experience though, experience has served us really well over the proud years that we’ve had”

ESPNcricinfo staff19-May-20253:14

Cricinformed – CSK’s worst top-order show

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have had a strange season in IPL 2025. Their success in this tournament – five title wins and 12 playoff appearances – was built around having a core group of experienced players who could navigate the ups and downs of T20 cricket. Even when they were on a winning run, that philosophy was brought into question. Now that they’re losing – and have had to turn to their youth to see if their fortunes might turn around – coach Stephen Fleming was asked if there has been a strategy shift. He was emphatic there wasn’t.”No, I don’t care how old players are,” Fleming said on the eve of CSK’s game against Rajasthan Royals in Delhi. “I do like experience though, experience has served us really well over the proud years that we’ve had. It hasn’t worked out quite well for us this year and that could be a bit of form. It can be strategy, it can be a number of things, that just don’t quite work out.”The competition is very even, so the fact that we’ve been so consistent over a number of years, to have a poor year has sort of shaken everybody, but it’s understandable given that, the excellence in which the franchises are operating in.”Related

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Fleming could see that CSK were off the pace early this season. The bets they made at the auction table last November did not come off. They brought back R Ashwin. He had been a proven performer for them before and he continued to do well after he left them. They hoped to revive Rahul Tripathi or Deepak Hooda or Vijay Shankar in the same way they did Shivam Dube and Ajinkya Rahane but that didn’t work out either. The collective failure of players who have been around the IPL for years caught them off guard. But that hasn’t yet pushed them to re-evaluate their whole way of doing things in T20 cricket. Over the last five seasons, CSK have either missed the playoffs, or won the title. It’s been a bit of a see-saw.”The challenge for us is making sure out of this that we do go over everything that we are doing [now] and have done in the past to make sure we are keeping up with the philosophies [of the time], but also identifying talent.” Fleming said.”It’s one thing to say we want a team full of young players, but you’ve got to find them. So it’s identifying talent and making sure they fit in. To the experience which I’ll say again, I do like [it] and you have a look at the, the top run-scores and wicket-takers and you see there’s a fair bit of experience there, but what it’s sprinkled with is some amazing performances by young players who are playing sort of fearless cricket.”B Sai Sudharsan, who is yet to play 50 IPL games, has the Orange Cap. Prasidh Krishna, who missed the last two IPLs, has the Purple cap. The past couple of seasons have revealed that lesser-known players have been able to make the step up. Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh have been a compelling opening combination for Punjab Kings who qualified for the playoffs for the first time in 11 years. Digvesh Rathi, playing his first IPL, has more wickets than Kuldeep Yadav.Fleming has seen this and believes some of the people they’ve brought in – like Ayush Mhatre, Noor Ahmad and Dewald Brevis – have a future with them but he isn’t ready to burn the CSK playbook yet.”They have certainly had an impact which is positive from a season that has been a challenge,” he said. “But we realised that early on that we were off pace. So to be able to introduce these players, they are definitely in line for the future as we regenerate the team and redevelop or reconfirm our philosophy of how we want to play,”So it’s getting that balance right. But most importantly, it’s getting the player and the person right, and that’s what we’ve been looking for.”CSK have two matches left this season. After playing RR on Tuesday, they go to Ahmedabad to face Gujarat Titans on Sunday.

Despite sitting comfortably in the middle of the Premier League table, Everton’s start to the season hasn’t been quite as smooth as they might have hoped.

Off the back of a strong end to last season, following the return of David Moyes to the dugout and some inspired summer business that included the likes of Jack Grealish and Tyler Dibling, the Toffees went into the season hoping to kick on.

However, Everton’s two league defeats have dampened moods for two similar reasons. Their 1-0 defeat to Leeds in August from an 84th-minute penalty was a disappointing three points dropped, particularly given the nature of the late spot kick scored by Lukas Nmecha.

This weekend’s 2-1 defeat against Liverpool was equally frustrating as the team were unhappy with some of the refereeing decisions in the derby, including the limited amount of stoppage time when they were pushing for an equaliser. After the match, David Moyes praised his team for showing “a great deal of resilience” against the League Champions.

While tenth is a strong position compared to the relegation dogfights they have found themselves in over recent years, it may still feel frustrating given the circumstances of both defeats. However, Moyes is looking ahead for the rest of the season, and it seems he may be plotting to galvanise his team with some youthful flair in the not so distant future.

15-year-old Jonathan Nsangou makes Everton U21 debut

15-year-old Jonathan Nsangou has been making a name for himself in the Everton academy and has been playing beyond his years. This weekend saw the teenager make his U21’s debut, skipping two age groups.

The Liverpool Echo’s Joe Thomas was full of praise for Nsangou after his debut, as, despite being the youngest on the pitch: “He did not look daunted, regularly going in search of the ball, making himself available and forming part of the press that led to Beaumont-Clark’s goal.”

While his U21’s debut was a landmark moment for the youngster, it was not his first of the season. Earlier in the year, he made his U18’s debut and, even more impressively, he was called up by David Moyes to train with the first team, which Thomas attested to “how highly thought of he is”.

It’s not just at Everton where Nsangou has impressed, as he has also started making waves in the England set-up. Last season, he scored a hat-trick in an international friendly, and Thomas describes him as a “part of a talented core” that the England youth system is currently working with.

Nsangou's path to the first team

While 15 seems young to be breaking into the first team, it is something that has become more common over recent years. In the last three years, three 15-year-olds have made their Premier League debuts, with the most recent being Arsenal’s Max Dowman. Moyes may see the success that these young debutants have had as a reason to gamble with Nsangou at some stage in the season and make him the fourth Premier League 15-year-old.

The Wolves fixture seems unlikely to see too much rotation, given how seriously Moyes seems to be taking the League Cup this year. In their 2-0 win over Mansfield, Everton played a side that could compete against most Premier League teams, and when they made substitutions, it was for senior players rather than youngsters.

Outside of youth games, Toffee fans may have to be patient to see Nsangou in the senior team, but with a dense fixture list of three domestic cup competitions, injury and fatigue may allow the youngster to push his way in.

With the frantic transfer window now over and done with, and the opening set of Premier League fixtures finished, Sunderland will appreciate this downtime for the international break.

Indeed, Regis Le Bris’ Black Cats have headed into this mini break with a promising two top-flight victories already picked up, as the whole host of new signings gifted to the Frenchman over a lengthy summer largely impressed.

Therefore, a moment of rest could do the Wearside outfit the world of good, ahead of the fixtures coming thick and fast again, with a trip to Crystal Palace awaiting them next weekend.

Brian Brobbey will no doubt be clamouring for some action at Selhurst Park, having sealed a deadline day move from Ajax to the Stadium of Light to bolster the Black Cats up top, and steal the limelight momentarily as another statement buy at the £21.6m mark.

Brobbey & Diarra: Sunderland's standout summer purchases

In a window that saw Sunderland regularly splash cash excessively, deadline day was no exception for the ambitious Premier League new boys.

Brobbey would go down as the Black Cats’ second most costly purchase of the summer, with pressure now on the Dutchman’s shoulders to live up to the hype that once saw him be dubbed a “goal machine” by scout Jacek Kulig.

From 284 career appearances both in the senior side at the Johan Cruyff Arena and on the youth pitches, the lively 23-year-old has a ridiculous 141 strikes next to his name, with Marc Guiu’s surprise return to Chelsea in the final few days of the window not hurting so much after the late capture of Brobbey was unveiled.

He wasn’t the most expensive capture, however, with that crown being handed to Habib Diarra far earlier in the summer, when he broke Sunderland’s transfer record at the £30m region.

The ex-RC Strasbourg ace has since featured in all four of Sunderland’s competitive games so far this season, with a calm 83% pass accuracy averaged in the Premier League.

Diarra will be hoping he can pick up goals and assists for fun soon, as he grows more used to the testing environment of the English top-flight.

On top of that, one of the Senegal international’s new teammates in the middle will also be praying for more first-team opportunities to come his way, as he staggeringly boasts an even heftier price tag than both the expensive 21-year-old and Brobbey.

Sunderland star looking to outshine Brobbey & Diarra

Le Bris will have plenty of selection headaches to contend with over the course of the season, off the back of a mammoth 15 fresh signings entering the swollen Sunderland ranks this summer.

With the arrival of the £30m-rated Diarra to the building, it has seen the likes of Chris Rigg struggle for gametime early on this campaign, despite the 18-year-old being heralded as a presence that will “obviously play in the Premier League” by commentator Ian Darke last year, after consistently shining bright for Le Bris and Co in their hunt for promotion glory.

Having made his senior debut at just 15, the wide-eyed Rigg has always punched above his weight and shown that he belongs in the taxing environments sprung onto him, with four goals and one assist coming his way last season to help his side achieve promotion.

Unfortunately, with the wide array of talent at Le Bris’ disposal now, the teenage sensation has only been limited to one meagre minute of Premier League action to date.

However, Sunderland will still be very aware of how much a prized asset Rigg is, having tied him down to a new contract until 2030 recently, amid previous interest in his services from the likes of Manchester United.

Even Real Madrid are allegedly keeping a close eye on the 18-year-old, with the big bucks needing to be splashed to obtain such a “phenomenal” talent, as he has been lauded by analyst Ben Mattinson.

Games played

106

Goals scored

10

Assists

5

Positions played

7

Value

£40m

While Black Cats fans far and wide will no doubt bask in the number of standout signings their side has made this summer, they will gain even more joy from Rigg’s sharp rise from academy prospect to first-team regular, with the England U19 international now rumoured to be valued around the £40m mark.

That’s amazingly more than Brobbey’s £21.6m valuation, on top of trumping Diarra’s much-talked-about £30m price by £10m.

For the Wearside outfit’s sake, they will hope they don’t fall victim to another Jobe Bellingham-style sale anytime soon, though, with Rigg surely only getting better at his hometown club if more minutes are afforded to him across the 35-game league marathon to follow.

Sunderland's most expensive signings of all time

Who is the Black Cats’ record addition?

ByCharlie Smith Sep 5, 2025

Barcelona have been dealt another major blow with Gavi ruled out for five months after undergoing knee surgery, but coach Hansi Flick insists there is 'good news' in the setback as he backed the 21-year-old to return stronger.

Gavi's injury woes continue

Barca have been dealt a huge setback with Gavi ruled out for five months after undergoing surgery on his right knee. The 21-year-old suffered the injury just two weeks into the new season, and his absence is now set to stretch into early 2026. The Spaniard has already endured a long spell on the sidelines after tearing his cruciate ligament in late 2023, forcing him out of the first two months of last season. This time, the meniscus problem in his right knee turned out to be worse than initially feared, leaving Flick without one of his most dynamic midfielders once again.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportFlick sees positives in Gavi’s long layoff

Speaking before Barca’s clash with Oviedo, Flick admitted the blow hurts the team but insisted the diagnosis gives clarity. 

"When you receive news like this, you think it’s bad news, but for him personally, it’s good news," he said. "Now we know what to do. He’s 21 years old and has a very long career ahead of him. We have to think about this, to get him 100 percent fit and stay strong.

"He has a huge heart, he's very emotional, I wouldn't say he'd die for this club, but he lives for it. It's not easy for the team because he brings a lot of quality. We'll all help him get back to his best."

Barca boss praises Gavi’s mentality

The Barca boss also spoke about how the youngster is handling the situation mentally, adding: "He has the quality to come back. We need help; he's a professional and we need him. He's a top player. Now, with his second injury, he needs to have a lot of discipline, get back into rhythm… we'll help him, but he knows it will be tough. If anyone can handle this, it's Gavi."

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GettyWhat's next for Barcelona?

It’s not just Gavi missing. Barca are also without Fermin Lopez, who will be out for around three weeks after suffering an iliopsoas muscle injury in his left leg during Sunday’s 3-0 win over Getafe. The midfielder had only just come off the bench before being forced out at the end. With two key young players sidelined, Flick will now have to lean heavily on Pedri and Frenkie de Jong as Barcelona prepare to face some tough fixtures in the coming weeks.

Last week, Ruben Amorim suffered the ignominy of Manchester City fans chanting his name ironically. But last night, his Manchester United players proved that they believe in his project and are ready to fight for him. Facing Chelsea was probably not what the coach wanted in his next outing after the chastening derby defeat but his side made a flying start and eventually earned a 2-1 win.

The Red Devils had a massive helping hand from the reckless Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez and to tell the truth they should have been assured of their victory long before the final whistle sounded.

But even withstanding the clumsy fouls from Casemiro which earned the Brazilian two yellow cards and cancelled out Sanchez's sending off, plus the fact his team were pushed to the limits by the visitors deep into added time, there was something hugely encouraging about the manner of the win for the coach.

His players, especially the defenders, put their bodies on the line to get the win over the line. Amorim's team showed the aggression he has been asking for. And, with the exception of Casemiro, they did not lose their heads. They withstood the pressure and for once they did not cave in. It cannot be denied that nearly everything went in United's favour, from the early red card, Bruno Fernandes' goal being marginally onside and Cole Palmer being forced off injured. 

But not many people were backing United to win this game before kick off given the negative mood around the club and when push came to shove they emerged with the three points against a Big Six side, something they had not previously done at Old Trafford on Amorim's watch.

GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from Old Trafford…

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WINNER: Bruno Fernandes

  While this was not a typical case of the captain carrying the team on his back, Fernandes still played a crucial role in this victory and there was extra significance as it was his 200th game for United and his 100th goal. Even though he was supposed to be sitting in midfield he was the furthest forward when Dorgu flashed a header across the box and bundled it in.

  He was in the thick of the action as United had to scrap in the second half, nearly scoring a second after surging forwards by himself and firing a shot which Filip Jorgensen superbly tipped around the post. Fernandes was substituted for Kobbie Mainoo in the 85th minute, a rare occurrence for him. But he was never going to sit down quietly, roaring his team-mates on to victory from the edge of his seat.

  "The most important thing is the influence he has on the squad," said Amorim. "Sometimes he's not in the best position to be the main man in every game, but the point of the captain is to be the best he can be in every situation to help the team to be better. He's doing that. He deserves all the praise. That guy deserves to be in the history of our club, not just for what he does but for what his team conquers."

Advertisement

• Getty Images Sport
  

  LOSER: Robert Sanchez and Casemiro

  Chelsea fans were mostly pleased with their club's summer transfer business as they refreshed their squad with 10 new players while turning a profit. But there was an elephant in the room: why had they not signed a new goalkeeper?

  Sanchez had enjoyed a relatively comfortable start to the season but less than five minutes into the game he underlined why there are so many doubts about his status as Chelsea's No. 1. It was reckless of him to charge out of his area to stop Bryan Mbeumo and Enzo Maresca admitted that he would have been better off letting the forward score and leave his side one goal down rather than one man down.

  Sanchez made a joint-Premier League high of five errors leading to goals last season and although this error will not add to that unwanted tally it effectively cost his side the game. He also made unwanted history by giving away Chelsea's earliest ever red card in a Premier League game and getting the third-earliest red card of any goalkeeper in the competition's history. The good news for the Spaniard is that he will not miss any league games and will only be suspended for their Carabao Cup tie at Lincoln City.

  The goalkeeper's blundering gave United a wonderful advantage and all they needed to do was not even it up by having one of their own sent off. But Casemiro did not get the memo, making two needless fouls and earning two yellow cards in the space of 37 minutes, giving Chelsea a lifeline. Strangely, Amorim praised the Brazilian for "being so aggressive". He might not have been so charitable had United not clung on for all the points.

• AFP
  

  WINNER: Amorim's electric wing-backs

  Wing-backs are utterly crucial to Amorim's system working and at last it looked like he had two players who had the mental and physical capacity to implement his ideas. Patrick Dorgu was a thorn in Chelsea's side throughout the first half, tearing into Reece James from the off. He fed Mbeumo a wonderful delivery in the opening minutes which the forward should have made more of. Moments later jumped into the area and was about to shoot on goal before James blocked him off.

  The Dane then sparked United's opening goal with his header which Fernandes helped in and continued to go for the jugular, his relentless attacking eventually leading to Casemiro pouncing. Dorgu has been getting closer and closer to what Amorim asks of him and he was quietly impressive going forward in the defeat at City, just lacking the final ball. That was no problem today though.

  And Noussair Mazraoui was equally impressive on the other wing. Both goals were sparked from swerving deliveries from the Moroccan's right boot. It was his cross which Dorgu headed in the direction of Fernandes and another of his deliveries created the chaos from which Casemiro eventually pounced. 

  When Mazraoui wasn't raining in crosses he was looking to play in Mbeumo down his right wing. And despite being fully involved in the attacking play he made sure he kept Chelsea at bay, sweeping up and clearing before he was taken off for Cunha. Mazraoui missed the start of the season but he has seized on the opportunity Diogo Dalot's absence afforded him and the Portuguese will not find it easy to win his place back.

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• AFP
  

  LOSER: Cole Palmer

  Cole Palmer dismayed some Mancunians by turning up at Old Trafford wearing gloves. Perhaps being down south for two years have softened the lad from Wythenshawe. But leaving aside the gloves, he did not look right from the off and Maresca's decision to play his star man three days after completing 90 minutes against Munich in his first match from a groin injury has badly backfired.

  Palmer had set alarm bells ringing in Munich – his first start since hurting his groin on the opening weekend of the season at Crystal Palace – by clutching his groin towards the end of the 3-1 defeat, looking concerned. Maresca had said on Wednesday that Palmer was OK because the player had said he was not injured but it quickly became clear that that was not the case. After the defeat, he admitted that Palmer was not 100 percent fit but had wanted to play regardless.

  Palmer chucked his shin-pads on the floor in frustration as he trudged towards the sidelines in the 21st minute after being replaced by Andrey Santos. and soon after slowly walked down towards the tunnel, being subjected to chants of 'City reject' from the gleeful United fans, who must have been relieved to no longer be facing the man who had scored in four of his previous four matches against them. Chelsea will now be crossing their fingers the damage to their talisman is not too severe as they face Brighton, Benfica and Liverpool in the next two weeks. If he is out for another period, then both the player and the coach should accept the blame for taking such a big risk.

أشاد إريك جارسيا، مدافع نادي برشلونة، بمستوى فريقه في لقاء الأمس أمام ريال أوفييدو، وذلك ضمن منافسات بطولة الدوري الإسباني للدرجة الأولى.

برشلونة حقق انتصارًا مستحقًا على حساب ريال أوفييدو يوم أمس الخميس بثلاثة أهداف مقابل هدف واحد خارج ملعبه، ضمن بطولة الدوري الإسباني لحساب الجولة السادسة.

وجعل هذا الانتصار برشلونة يعزز موقعه في وصافة الدوري الإسباني برصيد 16 نقطة خلف ريال مدريد المتصدر بفارق نقطتين فقط.

طالع .. أراوخو بعد فوز برشلونة على ريال أوفييدو: كنا نعلم أننا سنعود في النتيجة

وتألق جارسيا في لقاء الأمس وسجل هدف برشلونة الأول، والذي كان بوابة العودة في المباراة ومن ثم تسجيل الهدف الثاني والثالث.

وأكد جارسيا في تصريحات إلى قناة نادي برشلونة، أن مباراة اليوم أمام ريال أوفييدو كانت معقدة ، حيث قال: ”أعتقد أن المباراة كانت معقدة، ضد فريق يضغط بقوة ولم يكن الشوط الأول سهلاً”.

وأضاف جارسيا في حديثه: “كان من الصعب علينا خلق الفرص، لكنني أعتقد أن التعديلات التي أجريناها في الشوط الثاني كانت أفضل وفي النهاية حصدنا ثلاث نقاط مهمة للغاية”.

وعن صعوبة المنافسة مع ريال مدريد هذا الموسم أوضح جارسيا: “نعلم أن ريال مدريد في الصدارة ولا يمكننا تحمل أي تعثر”.

كما أهدى جارسيا انتصار برشلونة أمس إلى جافي، والذي سيغيب لمدة خمسة أشهر عن الملاعب بسبب الإصابة، حيث اختتم: “هذا الفوز نهديه إلى جافي، إنه لاعب مهم جدًا للفريق داخل الملعب وخارجه، إنه يعرف قيمة برشلونة ولديه شغف رائع وسلوكه وروحه القتالية، آمل أن يتعافى جيدًا ويعود إلينا”.

There is supposedly a “good chance” that Dele Alli heads to Wales as a free agent, with Wrexham and Swansea both being credited with interest.

• Ex-England international released by Como
• Proven performer but lacking a spark
• Linked with ambitious Championship teams

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Ex-England international Dele finds himself without a club after seeing his contract at Como terminated. He made just one substitute experience during a troubled spell in Serie A, which ended in a red card being picked up, and has been alarmingly short on game time across the last two-and-a-half years.

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  Another fresh start is now being speculated on, with the 29-year-old expected to return to his homeland after flopping in Italy. With memories of what he once produced at Tottenham beginning to fade, Dele faces the prospect of having to step away from top-flight football.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Teams in the EFL are said to be mulling over an approach, with Wrexham, Swansea and West Brom all in the mix. Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are pulling the strings at SToK Racecourse, while Luka Modric and Snoop Dogg form part of the ambitious Swans’ ownership team.

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  Explaining what happens next, report: “There is a very good chance that Dele Alli ends up in the Championship and that could very well be in Wales. Wrexham have shown an interest, they know there is a talent there and Phil Parkinson wants quality in this squad. But there is interest elsewhere in Wales with Swansea also keen. Alli knows he needs to pick the right club and there are a few in the Championship.”

Indian leg spinner combined with Rob Keogh as seven Leicestershire wickets fell to spin on day one

ECB Reporters Network17-Sep-2024Spin duo Yuzvendra Chahal and Rob Keogh combined forces again to share seven wickets and give Northamptonshire the upper hand on the opening day of their Vitality County Championship game against Leicestershire.The pair, who bowled Northamptonshire to their first victory of the Division Two campaign last week, dismissed the visitors for 203 at Wantage Road, with Chahal taking 4 for 82 and Keogh 3 for 20. Opener Sol Budinger’s 56 was the only score of note for Leicestershire, who opted to bat after winning the toss but struggled to get to grips with the home spinners.Paceman Scott Currie picked up two wickets as Northamptonshire reached stumps at 134 for 3 in reply, with James Sales undefeated on 34.Rishi Patel, who blazed a majestic hundred during Leicestershire’s Vitality Blast visit to Northampton earlier in the summer, registered a duck this time as he fell to Saif Zaib’s low catch at point.Budinger, back in the Foxes’ four-day line-up for the first time since late June, cracked Ben Sanderson for successive off-side boundaries, while Ian Holland looked more skittish at the crease. Holland batted almost an hour for 12 before he fell victim to Chahal’s third ball, bowled attempting an ambitious reverse paddle – and the Indian leg-spinner was unlucky not to gain further reward prior to lunch.Chahal had strong lbw appeals against both Lewis Hill and Budinger turned down, but it was fellow spinner Keogh who achieved the breakthrough just before the interval, castling the Leicestershire skipper for 32 with one that pitched and turned. Rehan Ahmed should have followed without scoring soon after the resumption, driving Chahal straight to mid-on only for Sanderson to fumble the catch, one of several instances of sloppiness in the field.Despite that, Northamptonshire captured wickets at regular intervals, with Budinger – having reached his first half-century of the campaign – leg before to Jack White and Louis Kimber nudging Sanderson behind. Rehan belted Chahal over the top for two sixes in his quickfire 30, but picked out the long-off fielder when he tried it a third time before Ben Cox swung and missed to provide the spinner with another wicket.Liam Trevaskis, who survived what looked suspiciously like a bat-pad catch off Keogh, did enough to shepherd the Leicestershire innings beyond 200, finishing unbeaten on 25 as the spinners cleaned up the tail on the stroke of tea.Luke Procter launched the home side’s response with an unconvincing edge off Holland that whistled between first and second slips, but the skipper soon settled down and advanced the scoring rate with a series of cleaner strokes. Having rattled off an uncharacteristically rapid 38 from 36 balls, Procter was caught behind swishing outside off stump at Currie – who also pinned George Bartlett in front for a fifth-ball duck in his next over.Gus Miller batted solidly, digging out a vicious yorker from Currie before he began to play with greater freedom and looked on course for a maiden half-century as he dispatched successive Tom Scriven deliveries to the rope.However, those hopes were dashed when Miller was given out lbw to Scriven for 37, despite appearing to get a thick edge onto his pads and it was left to Sales and Keogh to steer their side through to the close.