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Sunderland stars Wilson Isidor and Noah Sadiki were left in hysterics after seeing a Black Cats fan deliver a brutal one-liner at the expense of former Newcastle striker Alexander Isak. The Sweden international left Tyneside during the summer of 2025, with his transfer wishes finally being granted – after going AWOL at one stage – when a £125 million ($167m) move to Liverpool was completed.

• Isak stunned Newcastle when forcing Liverpool transfer

  Isak’s behaviour understandably did not go down well with those at St James’ Park. A loyal fan base had taken the Swedish frontman to their hearts, only to see him tarnish that reputation when forcing his way towards the exits.

  Neighbours in the north east, such as derby rivals Sunderland, found the saga slightly more amusing. Their supporters delighted in seeing a Premier League superstar ditch the Magpies and pack his bags for Merseyside.

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  Cheeky jibe aimed in the direction of Isak

  Isak has not enjoyed the best of times at Anfield, scoring only two goals through 14 appearances, and remains a figure of fun to those on Wearside. That includes one supporter taking part in a talent show put on by .

  Ahead of the Tyne-Wear derby on Sunday, one cheeky fan aimed a brutal dig in Isak’s direction. The man in question, a comedian called Dan, recounted a tale of how he underwent a heart transplant five years ago – but made sure to work Isak into his story.

  He said: “I’ve been supporting Sunderland for over 30 years, and as you probably know, it’s been very up and down. We’ve had a lot of tough times. To show the stress it puts on you, look at this scar on my chest – it’s from a heart transplant, I had an operation about five years ago. My heart stopped working, like Alexander Isak this summer.”

• Sunderland fan gets the response he was after

  Upon hearing that line, Isidor and Sadiki immediately burst into fits of laughter. Presenter Adam Smith responded with: “Wow, oh my god.” Isidor eventually composed himself enough to say: “It’s not funny, man, he had a heart attack.” Sadiki admitted he could not explain why he was laughing so much.

  After receiving an apology, Dan went on to say of getting the response he was after using Isak to make light of what was a stressful episode in his life: “It’s okay, it’s the reaction I wanted. You laugh as much as you want.

  “It’s not only on the body that the stress of supporting Sunderland for over 30 years takes its toll. As you can see, the hairline as well. Thirty-plus years of being a Sunderland fan, you’ll see that there’s a lot of Sunderland fans that have this hairstyle after all the years supporting.”

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  Tyne-Wear derby: Isak watching on from afar

  Isak spent three years on the books at Newcastle, scoring 62 goals and registering 11 assists through 109 appearances in all competitions. He established a reputation as one of the most fearsome forwards in world football.

  Sunderland found that out to their cost when facing the Magpies in FA Cup competition. Isak bagged a brace in a 3-0 third-round win for Newcastle at the Stadium of Light in 2024.

  He has since faced the Black Cats with his new employers, having seen Sunderland return to the Premier League in 2025-26. The Swede drew a blank on that occasion despite spending 86 minutes on the field.

  Those at the Stadium of Light have had plenty to smile about this season, with Sunderland picking up 23 points through 15 games. That is the same return as Isak and defending champions Liverpool have managed – with the Reds currently languishing tenth in the table.

  Regis Le Bris’ team have one more point to their name than Newcastle, who sit 12th, and will put more daylight between themselves and old adversaries if they can pick up another positive result on home soil this weekend.

  Isak will be among the interested observers watching on from afar, with followers of Newcastle and Sunderland taking great delight in the struggles that he has endured since becoming the most expensive player in British football.

Rangers are heading into their most hectic period of the season with a depleted squad, making Danny Röhl’s already difficult task even more daunting.

During the international break, first-choice centre-back duo John Souttar and Derek Cornelius both suffered long-term injuries, while Mikey Moore and Youssef Chermiti also missed Saturday’s narrow 2-1 victory over Livingston.

On Thursday night, the Gers will welcome Braga to Ibrox in the Europa League, very much in need of a victory, considering they sit rock bottom of the gigantic table, without a point to their name.

Given all the injury issues, which “colossus” will be starting this pivotal European tie, hoping to replicate a recent Rangers legend?

Connor Goldson's Rangers career

Plenty of figures have been key to the success Rangers have enjoyed in the last decade.

Steven Gerrard delivered the only Premiership title since 2011, Giovanni van Bronckhorst led the Gers to the Europa League Final while, in terms of players, captain James Tavernier as well as Connor Goldson were central figures for many seasons.

When the then-26-year-old defender arrived in 2018, he was not very well-known and had hardly any top-level experience.

Goldson’s time at Brighton & Hove Albion was derailed by a heart defect detected during a routine screening, requiring preventative surgery, eliciting fears that he may never play again, thereby making just three Premier League appearances for the Seagulls.

Nevertheless, after making the move north of the border, he would become a rock at the heart of the Light Blues’ defence, representing the club 309 times, winning all three domestic trophies.

The centre-back scored plenty of crucial goals, bagging both during a 2-0 victory at Celtic Park towards the start of the title-winning campaign, before departing to join Aris Limassol in the summer of 2024.

Given that Wes Foderingham, Leon Balogun and Ross McCausland also now ply their trade at the Alphamega Stadium, whoever is Aris Limassol’s head of recruitment must enjoy watching Rangers season review DVDs.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Fast-forward to the present day, Rangers have not had a dominant, reliable centre-half since Goldson’s move to Cyprus, but could that be about to change?

Rangers' new Connor Goldson

With Souttar and Cornelius sidelined until Christmas at least, this has presented opportunities for others, with forgotten man Emmanuel Fernandez at the front of the queue.

On Saturday, the man who joined from Peterborough United in the summer for a reported fee of £3.5m started for the first time since August, marking the occasion by breaking the deadlock inside nine minutes; his towering header did not give Livingston goalkeeper Jérôme Prior a chance.

Overall, Fernandez’s statistics at the weekend made for impressive reading.

Goals

1

1st

Accurate passes

80

2nd

Passing accuracy %

90%

3rd

Defensive actions

15

1st

Clearances

10

2nd

Blocks

2

1st

Interceptions

2

3rd

Duels contested

14

3rd

Duels won

9

1st

Aerial duels won

7

1st

Touches

110

3rd

SofaScore rating

8.3

1st

As the table documents, Fernandez put in a dominant display against Livingston, ranked first for defensive actions, blocks, duels won and aerial duels won, while only Nicolas Raskin completed more passes.

As already alluded to, this was just the centre-back’s third start for the club, scoring on debut against Alloa and then in the lineup at St Mirren the following weekend, but he had seen just a solitary minute of action since 24 August beforehand.

Nevertheless, he certainly staked a claim for more involvement in Röhl’s team and, well, considering the scarcity of alternatives, the German coach does not have much choice.

The Englishman was certainly popular at his former club, with Peterborough Chairman Darragh MacAnthony labelling him a “colossus” and a “gentle giant”, also adding that he is a “great organiser and talker”.

Like Goldson, the majority of Fernandez’s experience prior to arriving at Rangers has come in the EFL, even representing non-league clubs Sheppey United, Margate and Spalding United.

Thus, joining the Glasgow giants is the 24-year-old’s massive move, now looking to take a gigantic step forward in his career – just as Goldson did before him.

So, after seeing very limited opportunities up until this point, he will be thrust into the limelight, poised to make his European debut when Braga visit Govan on Thursday night.

Rohl's own Maeda: Rangers begin talks to sign "very pacy" sensation

With Rangers set to heavily invest in January, they have reportedly began talks to sign a “very pacy” star who would be Danny Röhl’s own Daizen Maeda.

ByBen Gray Nov 21, 2025

England seamer’s heroic rearguard could yet be his final act in international cricket

Matt Roller04-Aug-2025

Ben Stokes meets Chris Woakes after his valiant effort•Getty Images

It was an extraordinary sight at the end of an extraordinary series. On Friday morning, Chris Woakes was ruled out of “any further participation” in the fifth Test at The Oval. Three days later, he walked out to the middle with his left arm in a sling, tucked underneath his jumper, preparing to face up one-handed – and wrong-sided – with England 17 runs away from victory.Woakes marched out through the dressing-room, down the stairs of the Bedser Stand, and punched gloves with Gus Atkinson. It was a rousing moment to rival Rishabh Pant’s hobble to the crease with a fractured foot in Manchester, with the sense of theatre only accentuated by the drama and tension of the final day of the match – and the series.England have not yet given official confirmation but Woakes is understood to have dislocated his shoulder while diving in the field on the opening day of this Test. He will see a specialist this week to determine the extent of the damage, but will not play again this summer and is already considered a major doubt for the first Ashes Test in Perth on November 21.Related

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• The agony, the ecstasy: 56 minutes of Test cricket at its most glorious

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• Pant bats with fractured foot to add crucial runs at Old Trafford

• Six-run thriller – India script their narrowest win in Tests

It was an act of mercy that Woakes did not have to face a ball: Prasidh Krishna yorked Josh Tongue, England’s No. 10, with the final ball of the 83rd over, and Atkinson managed the strike thereafter. But even that caused Woakes serious pain: he grimaced repeatedly after every run, and had to ask umpire Ahsan Raza for assistance after dislodging his sling while sneaking through for a bye.In any other sport, Woakes would have been substituted immediately after his injury on Thursday evening but – for better or for worse – cricket remains an outlier. Instead, he watched on from the dressing room as England’s three-man attack toiled on Saturday; as they took the chase deep into Sunday afternoon, he went down to the indoor school for an exploratory hit.Woakes initially tried to hold the bat as usual, facing some gentle throwdowns, but as soon as the pace ramped up, the pain became excruciating. He then tried again with his left arm back in a sling, facing up with a left-hand batter’s stance: it allowed him the control of a “top” hand, but more importantly, ensured his shoulder would be as far away from the ball as possible.He needed help from Ben Davies, England’s physio, to get padded up on Monday, and had to get creative with his equipment: he wore two small arm guards on his right arm, and as much protection as he could on his left, which was tucked underneath a jumper to try and keep everything in place.2:02

Harmison: Woakes put his career on the line by coming out to bat

When Woakes scrambled through for a bye at the end of his first over at the crease, Mohammed Siraj was furious. ” [didn’t you tell him?]” he asked Shubman Gill, after landing his wide yorker only to see Dhruv Jurel’s underarm throw miss the stumps. But Woakes had other things to worry about, wincing in pain and clutching his left arm.He managed to take his helmet and right glove off in order to put his left arm back in place, and then asked Raza for help on realising that he would not be able to put his glove back on alone. As he took a deep breath and prepared to stand at the non-striker’s end once again, the sold-out fifth-day crowd began to understand the extent of what he was putting himself through.Woakes was again in agony off the next ball, scampering back for two as Atkinson swung Prasidh into the leg side, and scrambled through for another single off the final ball of the over as India – bizarrely – kept nine men on the boundary. One ball later, however, Siraj pegged back Atkinson’s off stump and, after 16 minutes of anguish, Woakes’ job was done – albeit in a heartbreaking, six-run defeat.India’s fielders made a beeline for Woakes after their initial celebrations, and Brendon McCullum, England’s coach, praised his bravery. “Good on Woakesy,” he told the BBC. “He’s in an immense amount of pain after that unfortunate injury, but it was never in doubt for him that, if needed, he was going to walk down the stairs and try to get us across the line.”1:19

Sanjay Bangar picks his moment of the series

It provided a fitting finale to a dramatic series in which 32 players have had their physical and mental resilience tested to the limit across 25 days of cricket. Both teams have lost players to injuries along the way after punishing workloads, but Siraj and Woakes, the only fast bowlers to play all five Tests, battled through right until the very last ball.”He was in a lot of discomfort,” Ben Stokes said, having himself been forced to miss this Test with a shoulder injury. “We’ve had Rishabh going out to bat with a broken foot, Bash [Shoaib Bashir] going out there bowling – and batting and fielding – with a broken finger. Then we go to Chris out there today, trying to get his team over the line with a quite recently dislocated shoulder… Everyone’s left a lot out on the ground for their countries.”Woakes’ innings can be used by both sides in the ongoing debate around injury replacements: it was difficult to watch a player in such clear physical discomfort risking aggravating a serious injury, but also an incredible display of bravery and perseverance. Stokes simply doubled down on his view that substitutes are impracticable: “If someone gets injured, tough s***. Deal with it.”It could yet prove to be Woakes’ final act in an England shirt: he is no longer involved in the white-ball set-up and, at 36, his Test future will also be in doubt if the injury is severe enough to keep him out of the Ashes. If so, this would be a sad but fitting end for a player who has always given everything he has across more than 200 international appearances.

Vote for the best individual Border-Gavaskar Trophy performance by an Indian in Australia since 2000

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Oct-2024Update: This poll has ended. Rishabh Pant’s performance goes into the quarter-finals. Check the other polls here.ESPNcricinfo LtdRishabh Pant helped India achieve the unimaginable at the Gabba•Patrick Hamilton/AFP/Getty Images

Rishabh Pant – 89* in Brisbane, 2021

India won by three wickets, and the series 2-1All the things that didn’t make sense on this tour – India all out for 36, their three jillion injuries, the hassle of cricket in quarantine – found meaning when Rishabh Pant began to play the innings of a lifetime. He was 23 and he helped obliterate a record that had stood for way longer than he’d been alive. Australia’s undefeated streak in Brisbane was 32 years old when it was finally laid to rest. “This is one of the biggest things in my life right now,” Pant said after a performance that proved just how dangerous a batter he could be when he adopts even the smallest bit of restraint.Chasing 328 at the Gabba – 324 on the final day – India still needed 161 runs with about 43 overs to go when Pant walked in at No. 5. He got going, and kept going, even as wickets fell and the overs ticked by. Eventually, with only minutes left on the clock, he lashed Josh Hazlewood down the ground to accomplish one of the greatest series wins in Test history.By Alagappan MuthuWatch the highlights of these performances on the Star Sports network at 10am, 1pm, 4pm and 7pm IST, from October 25 onwards.Ajit Agarkar razed Australia in Adelaide•Tony Lewis/Getty Images

Ajit Agarkar – 6-41 in Adelaide, 2003

India win by 4 wickets, lead the series 1-0On the previous tour of Australia in 1999-2000, Ajit Agarkar was given the infamous moniker of ‘Bombay duck’ after he was dismissed for five consecutive ducks – four of them first ball – in the Test series. On his second trip down under Agarkar, only 17 Tests old, had the responsibility of leading a young pace attack comprising injury-prone Ashish Nehra and debutant Irfan Pathan, after Zaheer Khan was injured.After conceding 556 to Australia in Adelaide, India narrowed the first-innings deficit to just 33, with less than two days remaining in the Test. In a stunning spell of swing bowling, Agarkar got Justin Langer and Ricky Ponting with the new ball, and then reversed the old one to dismiss Simon Katich and three lower-order batters in a jiffy. In just 16.2 overs, Agarkar picked up 6 for 41, and Australia were shot out for 196 in less than two sessions, giving India enough time to chase down the target.It was fitting he was at the crease when Rahul Dravid hit the winning runs that gave India their first Test win in Australia since 1981 and a 1-0 lead in the series.By Shashank Kishore

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