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Batsman says he’s feeling good and he wants to do well away from home for his team

Firdose Moonda23-Jan-2021If Faf du Plessis sounds confident ahead of South Africa’s series in Pakistan it’s not necessarily because he is. It’s because he wants to be.Like every member of the touring party, he is entering the unknown and in an especially important period of a rebuilding Test team, he wants to make the best impression he can. “Fake it til you make it,” du Plessis joked, even though he is the batsman in the line-up who has truly made it.After his gracious stepping down from leadership last summer, du Plessis enjoyed a successful IPL and a stunning international return with two half centuries in South Africa’s T20 series and a career-best 199 against Sri Lanka. Without the weight of leading the team, du Plessis has played and spoken with freedom. “It’s coming from a place of contentment,” he said. “I am intentional in making sure I really enjoy my cricket. If that comes through in performances or the way that I speak, then I am glad that it’s happening.”But he also accepts that comes with some additional responsibility, especially when it comes to batting in conditions that are foreign to everyone. “I am batting well at the moment, feeling good and I really want to play my best cricket. I also want to put in some good performances in the subcontinent. It’s really important for me to do well overseas,” du Plessis said.Asia and England are two places abroad that du Plessis has not scored a hundred and the subcontinent is where his statistics are the least impressive. In 15 Test matches across India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the UAE, he averages 22.70, well below his overall average of 41.08. Given that South Africa have talked up Pakistan as being the best place for batting in the subcontinent, du Plessis could well be eyeing it as the tour to improve on those numbers but he hasn’t seen enough to be sure it will be as batsmen-friendly as its been hyped up to be.South Africa had their first training session at the National Stadium on Saturday but they have yet to see the surface they will play on and are still playing a guessing game on what to expect when the Test stats on Tuesday. Previous South African sides, like the last one that toured the country in 2007 and included coach Mark Boucher, noted that Pakistan was flatter than India or Sri Lanka and took less turn, while from the practice facilities Kagiso Rabada said he expects reverse swing to play a role. Du Plessis thinks spin will have a big say, especially as Pakistan look to make use of home advantage and South Africa’s historic weakness. “I think the wickets will be a bit more subcontinent like than it used to be back then and spinners will probably be a little more in the game,” du Plessis said.Faf du Plessis is coming off a career best 199 that he hit at home•Associated PressAfter tough tours of India (2015 and 2019) and Sri Lanka (2018), perhaps du Plessis is predisposed to saying that. Or maybe it’s the memories of playing Pakistan in their adopted home in the UAE, of a trial by turn, that inform his opinion of this tour. “Every time I went out to bat there, Saeed Ajmal was warming up. Sometimes I would wake up in the middle of the night and he would be bowling at me.”Ajmal actually only dismissed du Plessis once in three innings in the 2013 series that South Africa won, but in an earlier rubber, and even though it was at home, du Plessis struggled to pick the doosra. There’s no-one in Pakistan’s squad who presents that kind of threat for this series, but there’s still a danger man in Yasir Shah.”From a spin point of view when you come to the subcontinent, the theory is like when we are playing in South Africa when we play and miss against the seamer. If he bowls a good ball and it spun past your bat, it’s just making sure you see it as a good ball and it went past your bat and you played it well,” du Plessis said. “But it’s also about making sure you are looking at two or or three ways of getting off strike. The challenge is when a spinner bowls a lot of dot balls and you feel stuck and you can’t get off strike and he settles into bowling a good area which Yasir Shah is very good at. He has really got good control. If you just let him bowl at you, he will bowl really well at you. You need to make sure you’ve got some plans to either get ones off him or have scoring options to get some boundaries.”He also identified left-armer Shaheen Shah Afridi, who “has been hot the last two seasons,” as another threat and warned South Africa of Pakistan’s captain as well. “Having Babar back is massive for them. I would say he is up there with the top three batters in the world at the moment,” du Plessis said. “His last two seasons, in all formats, have been nothing short of remarkable.”Babar currently lies sixth on the ICC Test rankings, third on the ODI charts and second in T20Is and his value for Pakistan has been reflected in the enormity of his absence. He missed the Tests in New Zealand with a fractured thumb and his return makes Pakistan a more competitive team. “With any team if you take out their best batter, it leaves a hole and If you take his runs out of the team, Pakistan becomes a team you feel you can get on top of quite easily,” du Plessis said.Pakistan might feel similarly about du Plessis or even Quinton de Kock, who had a poor series against Sri Lanka and appears to be straining under the weight of captaincy. Though du Plessis is not looking to take back the reins, he can see that de Kock is receiving support. “From a management point of view, they are trying to make sure they don’t put too much on his plate. (Mark) Boucher tries to do most of the things when it comes to setting up practices, talking, planning and meetings,” du Plessis said. “They are trying to make sure they are taking some of the burden off him so he can focus on just playing cricket. That’s when he is dangerous.”Though de Kock will return home with the Test squad and won’t captain the T20I side against Pakistan in Lahore, he will also lead South Africa in the home Test series against Australia and the white-ball matches against Pakistan that are scheduled to follow. By then South Africa will have spent several months in a bio-secure bubble, which, like many cricketers du Plessis thinks “is not sustainable,” and will need to be reconsidered as the pandemic wears on.For now, du Plessis is enjoying the challenge and ready to take on Pakistan. “Right now I am still in a good place. I am still motivated and driven but I can only speak for myself,” he said, with his game face on. Or not.”Fake it til you make it,” remember? The next few weeks will tell.

علّق المدير الفني لمنتخب نيوزيلندا، دارين بازيلي، على قرعة بطولة كأس العالم 2026 والتي تم سحبها مساء الجمعة، في مركز “جون كينيدي” في الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية.

وتستضيف كل من الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية، كندا والمكسيك نهائيات النسخة المقبلة من بطولة كأس العالم، في الفترة بين 11 يونيو و19 يوليو.

وتُعد تلك هي النسخة الأولى من بطولة كأس العالم، بعد استحداث نظامها، حيث سيشارك فيها 48 منتخبًا، سيتم تقسيمها على 12 مجموعة، ويتأهل متصدر ووصيف كل مجموعة إلى دور الـ32، بالإضافة إلى أفضل 8 منتخبات في مركز ثالث.

وشهدت القرعة تواجد كل من: بلجيكا، مصر، إيران ونيوزيلندا في المجموعة السابعة في بطولة كأس العالم الصيف المقبل (لمطالعة التفاصيل كاملة عن القرعة من هنا).

وقال دارين بازيلي، في تصريحات نشرتها صحيفة “1news” بعد القرعة: “استغرق الأمر بعض الوقت، كنا آخر فريق يتم سحب كرته في القرعة”.

وأضاف: “إنها مجموعة صعبة، جميعها فرق قوية، ولكن بالنظر إلى المجموعات الأخرى كان من الممكن أن تكون الأمور أسوأ”.

وواصل: “الآن يبدأ العمل، بالنسبة لنا هنا سنبحث عن الملاعب والفنادق وملاعب التدريب المناسبة لنا، لدينا فترة تدريب في مارس قبل كأس العالم، لكننا الآن نعرف من سنواجه، ويمكننا البدء في الاستعداد بشكل جيد”.

وشدد بازيلي في تصريحاته نفسها: “لدينا مباريات صعبة، ولكن الفوز فيها أمر ممكن”.

Liverpool have now joined the race to sign a defensive reinforcement alongside interest from rivals Chelsea and Manchester United.

Slot shaping Liverpool future without Salah?

Arne Slot simply had to make a big call last weekend. PSV Eindhoven’s 4-1 thrashing took Liverpool’s form from a blip into a full-blown crisis and something had to give. Unfortunately, that something against West Ham United was Mohamed Salah.

Liverpool’s Egyptian King was forced to watch on from the bench as the Reds finally put in a more controlled performance and Alexander Isak netted his first Premier League goal for the club. But as much as that victory came as a relief, it also raised a serious question about Salah’s place in Slot’s best side.

Ahead of Liverpool’s crucial clash against Sunderland on Wednesday evening, Slot revealed Salah’s reaction to being dropped – telling reporters: “It’s a normal reaction from a player that is good enough to play for us.

“He wasn’t the only who wasn’t happy he wasn’t starting. The way he behaved is the way you would expect of a professional. He handled himself really well. A top professional.”

Whether we’ll see Liverpool’s star make a return to action in midweek remains to be seen. After returning to winning ways, Slot may be asking himself whether he can afford to change things up.

Related He's like Arteta: Liverpool line up "best coach in the PL" to replace Slot

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Of course, it’s worth noting that a large part of the Dutchman’s backline simply can’t be changed. Whilst Conor Bradley is back in training, he won’t be ready to face Sunderland, which leaves Joe Gomez as the only other more recognisable right-back unless Dominik Szoboszlai drops in again.

Meanwhile, Slot still has just two centre-backs available in Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate, which is a problem that the Reds could solve by signing Castello Lukeba in January.

Liverpool join January race to sign Lukeba

As reported by Caught Offside, Liverpool have now joined the race to sign Lukaba alongside Man United, Chelsea and Newcastle United in the January transfer window.

The RB Leipzig defender no longer has a release clause worth €90m (£79m) and will be available for just €60m (£52m) in the winter window. As concerns continue to grow that Liverpool could still miss out on Marc Guehi, Lukeba has suddenly emerged as an ideal option.

Compared to Manchester City’s Josko Gvardiol by the Bundesliga’s official website, the Frenchman could yet make a similar impact on England’s top flight next year, ranking in the 99th percentile against other centre-backs in the top five leagues for successful take-ons.

League stats 25/26

Lukeba

Gvardiol

Minutes

990

789

Progressive Passes

46

55

Tackles Won

6

8

Ball Recoveries

63

28

It’s easy to see where the comparisons with Gvardiol have come from. Lukeba is an excellent central defender who’s great on the ball, capable of carrying or passing it forward and destined for a big move.

Dubbed “unique” by Como scout Ben Mattinson last year, the Leipzig star is also still just 22 years old and yet to reach the peak of his powers. Even if Konate does sign a new contract at Anfield, Lukeba could arrive and take his place in Liverpool’s strongest side in 2026.

Better move than Semenyo: Liverpool set to table bid to sign £53m "machine"

Rangers’ truly miserable European campaign continues, with their hopes of reaching the knockout stages now hanging by a thread.

On Thursday night, despite taking the lead through James Tavernier’s spot-kick, the Gers were held to a 1-1 draw by ten-man Braga at Ibrox, with the Arsenalists equalising shortly after Rodrigo Zalazar had been sent off for headbutting Nicolas Raskin.

This ended a sequence of seven successive European defeats, the longest streak in the club’s entire history, but they will almost certainly need to beat Ferencváros, Ludogorets Razgrad and Porto to stand any chance of reaching the Europa League knockout stages, which isn’t particularly likely.

Having finished eighth in last year’s inaugural league phase, before reaching the quarter-finals, this quite the fall from grace.

Much of the blame lies at those at boardroom level, hence why chief executive Patrick Stewart and sporting director Kevin Thelwell were both sacked on Monday, much to the delight of many supporters.

Nevertheless, new manager Danny Röhl still has to build a cohesive team with the pieces he has been given, so which of Thelwell’s summer recruits did not impress on Thursday night?

Nasser Djiga at fault once again

The final Tuesday of the final international break of 2025 could prove to be a pivotal day in Rangers’ season.

Mere hours apart, one in Mount Florida and the other in well, Miami in actual Florida, both John Souttar and Derek Cornelius suffered long-term injuries that’ll see them sidelined until Christmas at least.

Thus, just as Röhl had found his first-choice centre-back pairing, he will continue to be without them going into the busiest period of the season, left with no choice but to keep picking Emmanuel Fernandez and Nasser Djiga, despite the continued poor performances of the latter.

Djiga was massively at fault for Braga’s crucial equaliser on Thursday night, completely misjudging a cross into the box which allowed Gabri Martínez to slot home.

The 23 year old joined Wolverhampton Wanderers from Crvena zvezda in January for a reported £10m, but barely featured for the Premier League side, suggesting why that might have been the case since making the loan move north of the border.

It did not start well for Djiga, sent off on his Premiership debut for tripping up Finlay Robertson as the Gers were held to a 1-1 draw by Dundee at Ibrox, before this inexplicable decision which allowed Romeo Vermant to score the first of Club Brugge’s nine goals in the Champions League play-off round.

Djiga, frankly, is costing Rangers points time and time again, which has to be a concern ahead of three winnable Premiership matches in a week against Falkirk, Dundee United and Kilmarnock, but which other starter from Thursday night may have just played himself out of contention?

Rangers summer signing who struggled vs Braga

Röhl made a couple of surprise selection decisions against Braga; Connor Barron came into midfield, while Max Aarons got the nod over Jayden Meghoma at left-back.

The Bournemouth loanee has been in and out the team all throughout the campaign, deployed in both full-back positions, but did not stake a claim for more regular minutes here.

The statistics document the Englishman’s tough night.

Aarons’ statistics vs Braga

Stats

Aarons

Match rank

Accurate passes

26

13th

Passing accuracy %

76%

12th

Key passes

Zero

10th

Attempted crosses

3

4th

Accurate crosses

Zero

7th

Defensive actions

3

16th

Tackles won

3

7th

Interceptions

Zero

12th

Clearances

Zero

19th

Possession lost

17

4th

Touches

59

6th

SofaScore rating

6.8

12th

Stats via SofaScore

As the table documents, despite the fact only two Rangers players, namely Tavernier and Fernandez, had more touches of the ball than Aarons, he did very little with all this possession.

The full-back completed just 26 passes, fewer than Braga goalkeeper Lukáš Horníček, was accurate with zero crosses and turned over possession on 17 occasions.

Fair to say, the Rangers support have not been enamoured by Aarons from the very start.

Under Russell Martin, he was controversially starting Champions League qualifiers instead of long-standing captain Tavernier, which most fans were not on board with, especially when Aarons was sent off just eight minutes into their 6-0 annihilation at the hands of Club Brugge at Jan Breydelstadion.

More recently, Aarons has been asked to fill in on the left-side, which he can do, but does not suit him naturally, especially on the ball, having to play on his weaker side.

Thus, for upcoming Premiership matches, where Rangers will dominate possession, expect Röhl to recall Jayden Meghoma at left-back, even if he has been far from convincing either.

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As for long-term, it would be no surprise to see both Aarons and Djiga return to their parents clubs in the new year, or at the end of the season at the very least.

Related Forget Djiga: Rohl must bin Rangers flop who lost the ball every 2 touches

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Posts ByBen Gray Nov 28, 2025

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Desde o anúncio até a estreia, Ferreirinha nunca escondeu sua paixão pelo São Paulo. Torcedor declarado do Tricolor, o atacante sabe da qualidade do grupo e mostrou que está disposto a deixar o ego de lado para ajudar sua nova equipe.

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➡️ Siga o Lance! no WhatsApp e acompanhe em tempo real as principais notícias do esporte

– Viemos sabendo da qualidade do grupo, vai ter briga por todas as posições. É um grupo campeão. Viemos para ajudar, independentemente se for começando o jogo ou no decorrer da partida – afirmou o atleta durante apresentação no CT.

A busca do São Paulo por um ponta rápido e driblador é antiga, e Ferrerinha sabe da responsabilidade que carrega para suprir tal carência na equipe de Carpini.

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– Eu já vim sabendo que o São Paulo procurava um jogador com minhas características há muito tempo. É meu estilo de jogo. Vou uma, duas, três vezes para cima do adversário. Como disse, venho para somar, para ajudar e espero ser muito feliz aqui – comentou.

O torcedor são-paulino vive a expectativa pelos clássicos contra Corinthians e Palmeiras, mas Ferrerinha repetiu o discurso de Carpini e pregou foco no duelo de sábado (27), contra a Portuguesa. O atacante deve ser titular na partida contra a Lusa, no MorumBIS.

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➡️ Veja os grupos e datas dos confrontos no Paulistão

Clássico é sempre importante ganhar. Todo clássico é uma final. Vamos pensar na Portuguesa no sábado, mas depois no Corinthians e no Palmeiras. O importante é ganhar, começar bem com título, mas primeiro pensar na Portuguesa – destacou Ferreirinha.

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São Paulo

The Los Angeles Dodgers held their championship parade on Friday in Los Angeles, just two days removed from capturing their second World Series title in the last five seasons.

It was an interesting call to hold the parade on a Friday, especially on a notoriously bad traffic day in any metropolitan area, but especially in Los Angeles, which is one of the worst cities for traffic on the globe.

Why is this relevant? Well, on Friday morning, the Dodgers' championship parade got off to quite a slow start, as several of the team's victory buses got stuck in Los Angeles traffic within minutes of the convoy beginning.

At least they still had drinks and nice weather and could enjoy themselves.

He and Graham Clark put on 181 together to break their own record for Durham’s highest T20 stand

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay18-Jul-2025Durham secured a home quarter-final in the Vitality Blast as a record-breaking partnership from centurion Alex Lees and Graham Clark led them to a resounding nine-wicket win over Northamptonshire Steelbacks.Steelbacks won the toss and batted first and David Willey (62) exploited a platform set by Matthew Breetzke (52) with some destructive hitting, but an excellent spell from Matthew Potts helped reel Northants in late on as they finished on 203 for 5.Lees and Clark made an excellent start to the Durham chase as they raced to 100 within eight overs and they continued the charge as they broke the record for Durham’s highest T20 partnership, previously held by the same pair against the same team.They made the chase look easy, hitting 12 sixes between them in a partnership worth 181, while Lees reached his maiden T20 century as he steered his side home with plenty of time to spare.Northants started well, but there was a big let-off for them early on as Will Rhodes dropped Breetzke on 10 when the South African opener mistimed a pull shot off Potts. He made Durham pay for that mishap as he heaved a Codi Yusuf ball over the legside boundary for six to continue his positive start.Breetzke continued his onslaught as he smashed three consecutive balls from Yusuf for six, but Durham struck through Callum Parkinson as Ricardo Vasconcelos tried to smash one down the ground but he could only find Potts at long-off.Breetzke continued his side’s charge and he passed fifty from 31 balls, his fourth in the competition, but he then fell for a swashbuckling 52, with Nathan Sowter picking up the wicket as the opener holed out to Rhodes on the boundary.Willey then made the most of some short-pitched bowling from Parkinson as he smashed back-to-back sixes down the ground.The Northants skipper then reached his fifty from 25 balls with a six off the bowling of Sowter to continue his team’s charge towards a massive total.Willey then continued his devastating display of hitting as he smashed a Raine ball over the long-on boundary for six.Potts removed Ravi Bopara for a tidy 33 to halt the Northants charge, with a jumping David Bedingham taking a nice catch, and Willey’s excellent knock ended as he feathered a Potts ball through to Ollie Robinson for 62.Potts struck for a third time in the final over to remove George Bartlett, but the Steelbacks finished on a total of 203 for 5.In pursuit of 204, Lees and Clark got off to a solid start, with the former clubbing a Ben Sanderson delivery down the ground for four.Lees then pulled off an inventive shot as he scooped a Willey ball for six and he backed that up with one that he whipped away for four.The Durham skipper sent George Scrimshaw’s first ball into the stands as he produced an excellent pull shot and he did the same thing with the following ball.Clark then pulled a Luke Procter ball for six as the hosts raced to 78 without loss in the powerplay, while Lees reached his half-century from 23 balls at the other end.Clark then heaved a Sanderson ball for six to reach his half-century from 26 balls as Durham continued their charge.Clark pummeled a Lloyd Pope delivery down the ground for six and Lees followed that up with two more blows over the long-on boundary.Lees then hit a beautiful cover drive off the bowling of Procter for four, but the partnership was finally broken by Procter as Clark went for 79 as he miscued a ramp shot and was caught behind.Lees then reached his century from 48 balls and guided his team home with 21 balls to spare.

'Give Erling Haaland the ball and he will score' had proved to be a pretty effective tactic for Manchester City over the previous two months, but Aston Villa have exposed its flaws. They found a way to blunt the Norwegian's edges on Sunday, ending Haaland's run of scoring in 12 matches in a row for club and country while also becoming the first team to keep a clean sheet against Pep Guardiola's side in nine games.

Villa are far from the only team to have noticed that stopping Haaland means stopping City this season, but they were the first ones to see their plan through. It should be said that Unai Emery's side were a touch fortunate, and on another day Haaland might have scored. However, Haaland instead fired straight at Emi Martinez when played in by Bernardo Silva before heading a late cross straight at the Argentine goalkeeper. He even managed to find the net at the death, clattering into the post in the process, but the goal was ruled out by a marginal offside against Omar Marmoush.

It was a reminder that, contrary to what you might think looking at the jaw-dropping runs of form throughout his career, Haaland does not actually score all the time and cannot be expected to either. And unless City come up with a contingency plan, they will not be able to win the title back.

• AFP
  

  'Put the ball in the net'

  Guardiola's diagnosis of the game was that City had not played badly and simply failed to take their chances: "It was just the finishing. Put the ball in the net. We made a more than good game, we were impressive. We played against a very good team. Sixteen shots [it was actually 18] not bad, in general a hard match, little details. The spirit in the side was really, really good. We (only) missed the last action to shoot better, to cross better."

  Villa boss Emery, meanwhile, said his team "needed everything to stop him" when asked how they had nullified Haaland. The coach took a physical approach, adding more height in midfield with Amadou Onana alongside Boubacar Kamara while encouraging his centre-backs Ezri Konza and Pau Torres to double up on the Norwegian, who had just four touches in the hosts' box. 

  It's an approach many managers have taken before, only for City's other stars to capitalise on the extra space. But that did not happen on Sunday.

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  Argument doesn't add up

  Half of City's 18 attempts on goal were blocked by Villa's stubborn defence. Of the nine attempts that made it towards goal, Haaland had three of them, getting all of them on target.

  Josko Gvardiol and Tijjani Reijnders both missed the target twice while Matheus Nunes also had a stray shot, and the only other player to actually test Martinez in addition to Haaland was Savinho. Bernardo Silva and Oscar Bobb had zero attempts and so too did Jeremy Doku, who got more than half an hour from the bench.

  So if Guardiola felt the only problem was his team not putting the ball in the net, then only Haaland and Savinho were to blame. That seems unfair, and instead the coach needs to ensure that other players are also taking on the burden of scoring.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Lack of support

  The trend of leaving it to Haaland did not begin at Villa Park. When Bernardo scored City's second goal against Villarreal in the Champions League on Tuesday, he interrupted a run of eight consecutive goals that had been scored by Haaland. 

  The last player other than Haaland to score for City in the league was Burnley's Maxime Esteve one month ago. That leads us to an awkward fact about City's leading scorer behind Haaland in league games: It's Esteve, who scored two own goals when City blitzed the Clarets 5-1. 

  While Haaland has a chart-topping 11 goals in the Premier League, only four of his team-mates have managed to score at all. Phil Foden, Rayan Cherki, Reijnders and Nunes are the lucky ones to have found the net while neither of the team's two main wide forwards, Savinho and Doku, have hit the mark. 

  Foden and Doku, meanwhile, are the only players aside from Haaland to have scored in City's three Champions League fixtures to date.

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  Shadow of treble team

  Haaland outscoring his team-mates to a large degree is not a new phenomenon. In his first season at City, he scored a record-breaking 36 Premier League goals and a frankly ridiculous 52 in all competitions. But despite that being his most brutal campaign to date, he was not doing it all alone. In fact, City won the treble because all the other big hitters also had rip-roaring campaigns. 

  Six other players scored at least five goals in the league, with Foden notching 11 and Julian Alvarez nine. Ilkay Gundogan got eight and Kevin De Bruyne seven, as well as a bucket load of assists. Haaland drew blanks in the FA and Champions League finals but City still took home the trophies thanks to Gundogan and Rodri scoring at Wembley and the Ataturk Stadium, respectively.

  When City won a fourth consecutive title the following season, Haaland's team-mates further reduced the burden on him. His 28 goals were still enough to land him a second Golden Boot, but Foden stepped up with 19 strikes, Alvarez got 11 and even Rodri, ostensibly a holding midfielder, got eight. Opponents knew that if Haaland didn't get them, then someone else would.

“As a leader, I want to empower everyone to be the best version of themselves”

Valkerie Baynes13-May-2025Nat Sciver-Brunt hasn’t just been juggling life as a new working mum in recent weeks, but also an intensive rehab programme on an Achilles injury that means she will start her tenure as England Women’s captain playing as a batter only.Speaking publicly for the first time since her appointment as Heather Knight’s successor a fortnight ago and becoming a mum with wife Katherine in March, allrounder Sciver-Brunt said she had been battling Achilles tendinopathy “on and off for years”. But her maternity leave had allowed a clear six-week window to treat the injury – including painful shockwave therapy – which had her on track to bat during her first assignment as captain, when England host West Indies in two white-ball series starting on May 21.”For now I haven’t been bowling,” Sciver-Brunt said. “Just from an Achilles perspective to build up my workload through playing, batting is important in terms of the next step up. So certainly for the first part of the summer I’ll be playing as a batter.”My intention is to keep bowling. I mean, bowling 10 overs every 50-over match probably isn’t something that is sustainable for me. But I’d like to have a good role with the ball as well.”It just came to a head and was very sore during the winter, so I was really glad to have a chance to have a good period of rehab so that I can go through the summer more pain-free, obviously with a big 50-over World Cup after the summer. I’m on track, which I’m really happy about.”Related

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Sciver-Brunt must put England back in business

Chinelle Henry to miss West Indies tour of England

Sciver-Brunt said she was still adjusting to “a new normal” since the arrival of son Theo, who will join Nat and Katherine on tour as England look to put their 16-0 Ashes drubbing at the hands of Australia in January behind them.”It’s been interesting, obviously doing everything I can to get back into cricket and whilst rehabbing my Achilles was important,” she said. “Doing all of that and then being at home and there for Katherine and Theo has been tricky at times, but looking after a newborn is really rewarding.”To be asked [to be captain] is a huge privilege and one that I didn’t want to turn down. Obviously that doesn’t come without its challenges in terms of where I’m at in my life and the changes that have happened outside of cricket, to becoming a mum and getting used to all of that, so it will be a new thing to get used to, but hopefully something I can take in my stride.”West Indies named their squad – without the injured Chinelle Henry and Deandra Dottin – on Tuesday and England were set to follow suit within 48 hours. During that time Lydia Greenway is expected to be confirmed as the national women’s selector, a new position created to work alongside head coach Charlotte Edwards, England Women’s managing director Clare Connor and director Jonathan Finch on a four-person selection panel.Unlike Knight, Sciver-Brunt won’t be part of the selection panel as captain, although she will have share her views in pre-selection meetings with Edwards and have a say in the starting XI for each match.England are yet to settle on a leadership group to support Sciver-Brunt and on whether they will have a vice-captain. In her role as deputy, Sciver-Brunt was called upon a number of times to lead the side in Knight’s absence, most recently midway through their T20 World Cup defeat to West Indies in October which resulted in England failing to reach the knockout phase of the tournament. Sciver-Brunt has a 9-3 win-loss record in the 12 matches she has captained for England – 11 T20Is, including at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, and one ODI.”We’ve had some great success when I’ve stepped in to captain, but also lost a few games as well,” she reflected. “Just learning from those experiences and working out the best way to help everybody on the pitch stay level and in the best place to perform well, that’s the biggest learning, how to help people get back to their normal, which we’ve done a lot of as a group over the last year or so.”I’ll be having conversations with everybody just to work out the best way to work with them when we’re on the pitch and what they would need from me to help them best work.”As a leader, I want to empower everyone to be the best version of themselves, as a group I want us all to work really hard for each other and the team and themselves, and also making smarter decisions, with learning about the game and different experiences and using what we’ve done really well in the past and just tweaking it a little. We’ve got a great chance with a new coach, a new captain to start fresh I suppose, and look forward as a group. We’ll look to tweak a few things and hopefully we can win a few more games.”

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O prejuízo para o São Paulo em Cuiabá foi muito além da derrota por 2 a 1 na partida de sábado (22), pelo Campeonato Brasileiro. Depois de receberem cartões amarelos, Luciano e Calleri estão suspensos do confronto do Tricolor ante o Bahia às 11h (de Brasília) do próximo domingo (30), no Morumbi. Um temor que vai continuar por um bom tempo já que ninguém tem tantos atletas pendurados quanto o clube do Morumbi: 11 ao todo.

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Estão pendurados com dois cartões amarelos Pablo Maia (que recebeu o segundo cartão amarelo no sábado), Alan Franco, Alisson, Caio, Marcos Paulo, Michel Araújo, Patryck, Rafinha, Raí Ramos, Rodriguinho e Wellington Rato.

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Além dos atacantes, também estará suspenso para o duelo com os baianos o técnico Dorival Júnior, expulso em Cuiabá.

Dorival, inclusive, é mais um dos pendurados. O treinador tem dois cartões amarelos juntos de seu filho e auxiliar, Lucas Silvestre, que deverá ficar no banco no domingo.

A situação dos ‘indisciplinados’ é um contraste na temporada no momento em que o São Paulo vê diminuir cada vez mais a lista de contundidos em seu plantel. No jogo contra o Cuiabá, por exemplo, foram apenas sete atletas impossibilitados de jogar por conta de contusão.

O número deverá cair ainda mais no compromisso ante o rival Corinthians às 21h30 (de Brasília) de terça-feira (25), no jogo de ida da semifinal da Copa do Brasil, já que Alan Franco voltou a treinar sem limitações com os companheiros.

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