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It was far from a rip-roaring classic at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday evening between Chelsea and Spurs in the Premier League.

But, in the end, Enzo Maresca’s Blues wouldn’t care one bit, as a hard-fought 1-0 win was secured that sees the West Londoners jump into the top four positions temporarily.

Joao Pedro answered back to his critics with the winning strike in the tight clash, with the former Brighton and Hove Albion attacker now out of a ten-game streak of no goals, after placing a fierce first-half effort past a busy Guglielmo Vicario.

Pedro's redemption arc versus Spurs

In pre-season, Pedro looked every bit worth the £60m splashed out on his services in the summer, with goals galore coming his way in the Club World Cup.

However, in the bread and butter of the Premier League this season so far, Pedro has looked shaky, with only three strikes falling into his lap in the top-flight from ten games, before being handed a chance on a plate by a relentless Moises Caicedo against Thomas Frank’s hosts.

He thumped home the resulting chance that did come his way, with the up-and-down Brazilian stating at the full-time whistle when speaking to Sky Sports that he really “needed this goal” to get his personal season back on track.

Hopefully, more and more goals come Pedro’s way in the coming matches, as Chelsea aim to be nearer to runaway Premier League leaders Arsenal when another London-based rivalry is on the menu at the close of November.

While Pedro undoubtedly strengthened his grip on a first-team spot with this decisive winner, there is another Chelsea attacker – at this moment in time – who will sense they’re on uneven ground when it comes to their own concrete position in Maresca’s starting XI.

Chelsea star on borrowed time after Spurs

Alongside splashing the cash on some fresh recruits – such as their brand-new number 20 joining in the summer to up the entertainment levels in attack – Chelsea have also looked towards the next generation coming through in West London to steer the Blues to some captivating wins in recent weeks.

Indeed, both Marc Guiu and Estevao were recently on the scoresheet against Ajax, as the youthful attacking duo aim to be senior regulars down the line.

Guiu will feel knocked by Pedro looking revitalised away at Spurs, but Estevao will feel that he’s even more deserving of first-team minutes down the right flank shortly, when analysing how poor Pedro Neto’s below-par showing was on Saturday.

Neto’s performance in numbers

Stat

Neto

Minutes played

85

Goals scored

0

Assists

0

Touches

45

Shots

3

Accurate passes

20/25 (81%)

Accurate crosses

1/3

Successful dribbles

1/6

Possession lost

18x

Total duels won

2/11

Stats by Sofascore

Neto ended up being replaced by the much-talked-about Brazilian for the final moments, after a dire day at the office saw the former Wolverhampton Wanderers forward only complete one successful dribble from six attempts, while also only registering one accurate cross as a gung-ho option that often lacked the killer pass, to back up his rapid pace.

Moreover, when Neto wasn’t frustrating fans with an overhit cross or giving up the ball entirely – with possession given away a high 18 times – the £54m buy ended up just fading out of the contest entirely, with his tally of 45 touches even being beaten by Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez at the end, who amassed 51 himself on the way to clinching a clean sheet.

Thankfully, Neto’s dire afternoon didn’t cost his team the three points in the end but Maresca would surely fancy giving the likes of Estevao more chances in the first team soon over the hit-and-miss number seven, with the exhilarating 18-year-old already on to three goals and one assist for the season, despite his limited first-team starts.

Neto only has two goals next to his name, on the contrary, with Daniel Sturridge’s comments about Chelsea putting in an “absolutely brilliant” showing against Spurs for the most part still ringing true, even if the direct Portuguese attacker looks to now be on borrowed time in the first team picture.

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Posts BySean Markus Clifford Nov 1, 2025

After starting poorly at the top of the order, the batter moved lower down and began to have spectacular results

Danyal Rasool11-Sep-20253:12

Jaffer: Pakistan clearly taking a new T20 route

There’s something slightly ersatz about players feted solely for their ability to score big at the top of a T20 batting order. The ball is at its hardest. There are open spaces on the boundary. There’s often no situation-induced pressure, and ample license from the management to go for it. It’s early enough that a first-over dismissal will be too far removed from memory of most viewers to be scapegoated as a match-influencing error.Boasting about big runs at furious strike rates at that stage is a bit like bragging about not being frightened of walking alone at night when you live in a city like Reykjavik. Every possible condition to produce a desirable outcome has been catered for; it’s no surprise there is a surfeit of players eager to move up the order to give themselves the best chance of success.For a while over the past few months, Hasan Nawaz appeared to be exactly that sort of player. In a team beginning to shake off the Babar Azam-Mohammad Rizwan approach to batting for something more volatile, Pakistan gambled on Nawaz, plumping for him in five T20Is in New Zealand earlier this year on what, in retrospect, looks surprisingly scant evidence of his record in domestic cricket. Nawaz later said he had “never played in conditions like [these].”Related

• First-timers Oman face in-form Pakistan

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Aqib Javed was still interim coach of the Pakistan side in March, having been in the role nearly as long as his full-time predecessor Gary Kirsten, and actually overseen more games. Some might argue that punting on Nawaz was a stroke of inspiration. But, in truth, Javed has a penchant for tinkering based on little more than hunches. Weeks earlier, he had promoted Babar to open the batting in the Champions Trophy, a role he had performed only on two occasions a decade ago, and one which bore no fruit.Nawaz’s elevation into the side and up to the top also backfired disastrously; four of his five innings in New Zealand combined to produce a total of one run. In fact, five of his first ten T20I innings were ducks, the most for a player of a Full Member nation. The belief that Nawaz would succeed in New Zealand was rooted solely in the T20 Champions Cup in 2024-25, where he finished as the second highest run-scorer with a strike rate over 142. But as far as more substantial evidence went, there was none: Nawaz’s previous cricket of any pedigree had come a full 13 months before that.Fortunately for him and Pakistan, in the middle of those four low scores in New Zealand, Nawaz produced an astonishing counter-attacking knock – an unbeaten 105 off 45 balls that helped Pakistan win their only game of the tour, chasing down 205 at Eden Park with four overs to spare.Like good films that seed the final reveal early, there were signs of the kind of player Nawaz could become. They lay not in the powerplay, where he appeared as scratchy as he did in the other four innings that series and was fortunate not to nick off more than once early on. Post-powerplay, though, as the field spread out, Nawaz went on a tear, pummelling 77 runs off 28 balls, punishing both pace and spin to rip the game out of New Zealand’s hands.Hasan Nawaz has scored the fastest century for Pakistan in men’s T20Is•AFP/Getty ImagesBoth his PSL franchise Quetta Gladiators and latterly Pakistan took time to work out how to use him, but now having cracked that code, his results down the order have been spectacular. During Gladiators’ run to the final of PSL 2025, Nawaz’s strike rate after the powerplay was behind only Kusal Perera and Sikandar Raza’s for any Gladiators batter to have faced a minimum of 80 balls. But more remarkable was Nawaz’s reliability despite his high-risk game in the tournament. He faced more non-powerplay deliveries than any other batter in the league, and averaged a staggering 121.66 while striking at 166.66.Nawaz’s powerplay numbers are well below average: he strikes at just over a run a ball in the first six overs, ranking 190th of 232 batters who have faced at least 60 balls in the powerplay this year. Despite that handicap, only Abhishek Sharma, Dewald Brevis and Tim Seifert have superior T20I strike rates this year among players with 300 T20I runs. Nawaz’s ranking among those elite batters is due to his big hitting when others typically slow down, striking at over 174 outside the powerplay. It is a number exceeded only by Brevis and Tim David among players from Full Member nations.That potential to go big lower down is invaluable for Pakistan. They may have stocked their lower-middle order with batting potential to have more depth, but true explosiveness is hard to find outside the top order, especially during the horror run Mohammad Haris is enduring in the middle overs. Against less decorated bowling attacks, Salman Ali Agha and Mohammad Nawaz have made valuable contributions, but Hasan Nawaz’s six-hitting ability when the squeeze is on remains unmatched.It may be evident with the eye test, but raw numbers make for equally startling reading. Nearly 60% (34 of Nawaz’s 57 T20I boundaries) are sixes, the highest among players from Full Member teams with at least 50 boundaries in T20Is. While that makes sense on some level – after all, a high strike rate when more fielders are on the boundary means you’ll have to clear them rather than thread gaps – his ability to sustain that number across a widening sample size makes Nawaz’s player profile an almost uniquely exciting one.Hasan Nawaz’s six-hitting ability when the squeeze is invaluable to Pakistan•Emirates Cricket BoardFor context, Nawaz has already hit more sixes than Ahmed Shehzad or Kamran Akmal managed in their entire Pakistan careers, just two behind Saim Ayub, three short of Asif Ali, and four behind Shadab Khan. And though Nawaz favours pace on, those sixes have been split equally between spinners and seam bowlers at 17 apiece.There are, invariably, caveats to each spring of optimism. Nawaz is a 23-year old precocious talent in the hands of a nation with a supremely efficient history of turning such players into a 27-year-old domestic cricketing journeyman. That hundred at Eden Park came at one of the smaller grounds in world cricket. PSL form hasn’t always been a reliable indicator of prolonged success at international level. Pakistan haven’t necessarily played against the highest class of opposition – certainly nowhere close to what they will encounter against India in the Asia Cup on Sunday. And in the three games against Afghanistan, who boast among the world’s best spin attacks – Nawaz’s one clear weakness – he was subdued: 33 runs in three innings at a run a ball, with Noor Ahmad and Rashid Khan dismissing him once each.Pakistan cricket will always give you reasons to curb your enthusiasm. But in a cricket board and a nation that has, of late, come to question the authenticity of everything that happens around them, there is nothing ersatz about Hasan Nawaz.And that, on its own, is perhaps getting worth excited about.

Returning for the first time since he suffered an injury in the IPL, Gaikwad scored 184 off just 206 on the opening day of the Duleep semi-final

Ashish Pant04-Sep-2025It’s been close to five months since an elbow injury at the IPL 2025 kept Ruturaj Gaikwad away from top-flight cricket. He had a stint at the pre-season Buchi Babu tournament but playing a first-class game – a Duleep Trophy semi-final, no less – after a substantial gap, he would have liked to ease into the red-ball grind.Instead, Gaikwad found himself walking in at 10 for 2, only 19 balls into the semi-final. West Zone lost both openers under cloudy skies and the Central Zone bowlers Khaleel Ahmed and Deepak Chahar extracted plenty of movement. Gaikwad had seen Yashasvi Jaiswal trapped lbw to a Khaleel nip-backer and Harvik Desai caught at first slip, courtesy of a Chahar outswinger.Gaikwad knew counterattacking could be catastrophic, so he took the defensive route. He was beaten multiple times and had a couple of lbw shouts turned down. But he remained unmoved. As the weather cleared up and the sun started beating down, the surface at Ground B of BCCI’s Centre of Excellence played fewer tricks. By this time, Gaikwad had also started moving better. He was leaving the ball well, getting the long defensive strides in.Once Khaleel and Chahar finished their first spells, Gaikwad became proactive against the spinners and the third fast bowler, Yash Thakur. He guided offspinner Saransh Jain’s first ball past slip and then swept him to the left of deep square leg. In Jain’s next over, he struck him for two successive fours, and in no time caught up with his partner Aaryan Desai.Even when Aaryan fell, Gaikwad continued to shift gears, reaching his half-century before lunch, taking West Zone to safety.”I thought it was a good challenge to be part of,” Gaikwad said on countering the fast bowlers. “They were three really good fast bowlers with great skill set and to be able to face them, to be able to score runs against them would be a great challenge. That is what I thought and obviously, I stuck to it and [I am] really happy that it came off.”Ruturaj Gaikwad paced his innings well in his first first-class match of the season•PTI With the conditions for batting improving after lunch, Gaikwad opened up his shoulders even as West Zone lost Shreyas Iyer and Shams Mulani cheaply. A hallmark of Gaikwad’s knock was his foot movement against the spinners. On multiple occasions, he threw them off their lengths by going down the track and driving through covers and then going right back and guiding them late past slip.It didn’t take Gaikwad long to record his eighth first-class century, getting there with a push to mid-off off Harsh Dubey. And once he got to the landmark, he notched up a gear, particularly against the quicks. In the first over after tea, Gaikwad hit three fours off Thakur, which included two crisp straight drives. Soon after, he went after his Chennai Super Kings (CSK) team-mate, Khaleel. Taking advantage of Khaleel’s around-the-wicket angle, he first thrashed him for two consecutive fours, one through cover and the other through deep third. Then there was a delightful square cut followed by an upper-cut that went for six before he ended the over with an imperious cover drive.Gaikwad’s century was a masterclass on how to pace an innings. He took 72 balls to reach his fifty, 59 to go from 51 to 100, and just 47 balls to move from 101 to 150. By the time Gaikwad fell for 184 off 206 balls, beaten in flight by Jain and stumped, he had put West Zone in a position of strength.Despite playing first-class cricket after a gap, Gaikwad said that he didn’t have any pre-conceived goal in mind at the start of his innings: “It was just about following the process, whatever it is. Red ball needs a lot of patience, lot of process to be followed and it was just about getting into that rhythm. And I did it for almost a month and a half, and obviously, Buchi Babu as well and then it happened here as well.”

“It was a very fluke injury [in the IPL] and nothing anyone could do about it. I just had a good family time, enjoyed my time at home, and then obviously [now I am] trying to get into the rhythm, get into the routines, do the small things.”Ruturaj Gaikwad

Gaikwad fractured his elbow after being struck by a Tushar Deshpande delivery during IPL 2025. As a result, he missed a chunk of the IPL and India A’s tour to England in May-June. He later also pulled out of a County deal with Yorkshire due to a “personal issue at home”.The 28-year-old agreed that it wasn’t ideal sitting on the sidelines, but said there was a silver lining with him getting to spend more time with family and time to prepare for the domestic season.”There are some things which you cannot really control, and I think it was a very fluke injury and nothing anyone could do about it,” Gaikwad said. “I just had a good family time, enjoyed my time at home, and then obviously [now I am] trying to get into the rhythm, get into the routines, do the small things. I really loved the process throughout the time I was at home and then coming here as well [for rehab].”I got good time to prepare, especially after not playing the India A series. And then after coming back, I decided to work on red ball, give it some time and obviously still working on it. Still there is a long way to go.”

علق أحمد حسن مدير منتخب مصر الثاني، على أزمة تصريحات أحمد عاطف مهاجم الفراعنة، بعد استبعاده من القائمة المشاركة ببطولة كأس العرب لصالح زميله مروان حمدي.

وتنطلق بطولة كأس العرب 2025 في الأول من ديسمبر المقبل وتنتهي في الثامن عشر من نفس الشهر بمشاركة 16 منتخبًا.

وقال أحمد حسن في تصريحات تلفزيونية عبر قناة “الكأس” القطرية: “نحن نحرص على لاعبينا، ودائمًا نكون حريصين لأنهم في الأول والآخر أخواتُنا قبل أن يكونوا لاعبين يمثّلون مصر، ونحرص على أن يَخرج اللاعب بصورة جيدة، لكن يمكن أحمد عاطف أنا تفاجأت بصراحة بكمّ التصريحات التي قيلت، ولم يكن لها أي داع إطلاقًا، لأننا كنّا نرغب في أن يستمر معنا، كنّا نرغب في أن يظل موجودًا”.

طالع.. أحمد عاطف لـ “بطولات”: جهاز المنتخب أجرى فحوصات لإثبات إصابتي دون علمي

وتابع: “نحن بالمناسبة لدينا لاعب آخر اسمه إسلام سمير لاعب الاتحاد السكندري، متواجد معنا، وكان موجودًا لأننا كنّا كذلك في المعسكر، ولا قدّر الله لو حدثت إصابات لأي لاعب، كنا سنُجري استبدالًا آخر، لأن في كرة القدم، قد تحدث أي مشكلات؛ قد يُصاب لاعب بمزق، قد يُستبعد لثلاثة أسابيع، وبالتالي لا يكون حاضرًا في البطولة”.

وواصل: “أنا حزين طبعًا، لأنني تحدثت مع أحمد عاطف، وكابتن حلمي طولان قبّل رأسه اليوم صباحًا وقال له (أنت معنا، وأنت مثل أي لاعب، وهذا موقف فقط)”.

وأردف: “كابتن حلمي أبلغه أن مروان حمدي لاعب معنا منذ ثلاثة أشهر في كل المباريات والمناسبات وكل المعسكرات، ومتواجد معنا، ونعتمد عليه، أقصد أننا لم نُقصّر مع أحمد عاطف”.

وأشار: “لكن فوجئنا بسيل من التصريحات بدون إذن، وبدون أن يرجع إلينا، وأنا أرى أنه إن كان أساء، فهو لم يُسِء لمنتخب مصر، بل أساء لنفسه بهذه التصريحات، لأنه كذلك يؤثّر على زملائه وعلى منتخب مصر بشكل عام”.

وزاد: “سأقول إنها قلة خبرة، وسأقول إنه ربما كان حزينًا، وهذا أمر طبيعي بالمناسبة، وقد جلستُ معه، والحضري جلس معه، وكابتن حلمي جلس معه، لأنه واحد من إخواتنا أيضًا، وكان يجب أن نوضّح له الأمور بشكل جيد، وكان من المفترض أن يكون على علم بهذا الكلام قبل أن يغادر مصر، وهذه هي المشكلة هنا”.

وأوضح: “وهذا ما أحزنني أنا شخصيًا، وأحزن كابتن حلمي، لأنه كما تعلم قد يحدث استبدال، فلماذا كل هذا القدر من الإثارة والتي قد تؤثر، حتى على زملائه، وليس علينا نحن؟”.

وأردف: “بعد تصريحات اللاعب الأخيرة، بقاؤه حتى وسط زملائه لن يكون أفضل شيء، لأننا حافظنا عليه، ورغبنا في أن نُخرجه بصورة جيدة، وكان ذلك الأفضل”.

وأتم: “لكن ما حدث قد حدث، ونحن على العكس كنا نتعامل على هذا الأساس، لكن في النهاية، كما قلت كل شخص يتصرف تصرّفًا يتحمّل نتيجته”.

Real Madrid are close to finalising a loan move for out-of-favour striker Endrick as rumoured suitors Manchester United fall behind in the pursuit of the Brazilian wonderkid. The 19-year-old has struggled to find minutes under Xabi Alonso, and a temporary transfer has been arranged to relaunch his career after a frustrating few months at the Spanish capital.

• Lyon beat Manchester United to the punch

  According to , Real have approved a deal in principle after lengthy talks with Lyon. The French giants are currently seventh in the Ligue 1 standings under Paulo Fonseca and beat competition from United and Aston Villa, who were exploring late loan offers. The Red Devils wanted to bring the Brazilian in after Benjamin Sesko got injured, but their approach came too late, and Endrick's mind was already made up. The teenager sees Lyon as a platform to rediscover his form, with regular minutes and a starting role that could potentially reignite his hopes of making Brazil’s 2026 World Cup squad. 

  When Los Blancos secured Endrick from Palmeiras in 2022, in a deal worth up to €60 million (£53m/$70m), he was billed as the next great Brazilian export, following in the footsteps of Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo. Yet his transition to Europe has not gone to plan. In his debut season under Carlo Ancelotti, he showed flashes of promise, scoring seven goals in 37 appearances, but his second campaign has been derailed by injury and competition. A hamstring problem forced him to miss the Club World Cup and the opening months of the season, and once he regained match fitness, Alonso had moved on to more established names in his roster. To put things into perspective, Endrick has managed just 11 minutes of league football so far in 2025-26, with his lone cameo coming in September’s 4-0 win over Valencia.

  "Of course, I’d like him to have played already," the Real Madrid coach admitted. "But the situations in our recent matches have been very tight since Endrick returned. I hope he can get those minutes soon. He’s training well, he’s ready, but the right moment has to come."

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  What are the details of the loan deal for Endrick?

  The transfer to Lyon will be sealed closer to the January transfer window. Both clubs have agreed to insert a mid-season recall clause allowing Madrid to bring Endrick back if an injury crisis hits the Spanish giants. It is claimed that negotiations began in mid-October, and according to sources close to the player, Endrick himself was eager to make the switch. He has already started house hunting in Lyon, which indicates that personal terms are agreed and only formal paperwork remains to be done. For Lyon, this is being considered a massive coup. Fonseca’s men have struggled for goals this season, with Czech forward Pavel Sulc leading their scoring charts with only five strikes to his name. 

• Real Madrid's long-term faith remains unshaken

  Real Madrid have no intention of parting ways permanently with Endrick. The club views the Lyon move as part of his growth plan, similar to how they handled Dani Carvajal’s early development when he was loaned out to Bayer Leverkusen. Sporting director Juni Calafat, who spearheaded the original transfer from Palmeiras, remains convinced Endrick will fulfil his potential in Spain. Madrid had originally preferred to loan him within La Liga, which would have eased his integration into Alonso's squad. Moreover, the forward is just six months away from obtaining a Spanish passport, which was another reason for searching for a club in Spain. But Endrick pushed for a move abroad, prioritising a club that could offer him consistent starts. Carlo Ancelotti, who is now the head coach of the Brazil national team, mentioned that Endrick must rack up minutes to make a case for himself.

  "It’s important for Endrick to start playing again," said the Italian coach in an interview with . “I spoke with him at the start of the season. He was injured, but now he’s fine. He needs to think with his team about what’s best, talk with the club, and decide what suits him."

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  A new chapter for the Brazilian talent

  For Endrick, this move could be a defining moment in his career. Lyon offer a stage away from the glare that comes with wearing Madrid's iconic white shirt. It is a club where he can rediscover his sharpness with regular game time. If all goes to plan, the young Brazilian will return to Spain next summer rejuvenated, as there is no buy clause in the loan deal, ready to stake his claim in the Real Madrid starting XI.

Lionel Messi has lifted the lid on a shock "childhood dream" that was scotched by his Barcelona debut. Messi’s life pivoted sharply when Barcelona chose to take a chance on him at a moment when Argentine clubs, including giants River Plate, backed away from the cost of treating his growth hormone condition.

The napkin that changed football history

Signed on 14 December 2000, the napkin has become one of the most iconic artefacts in football. The blue-ink message, hastily scribbled by Barça sporting director Carles Rexach, carried a personal commitment to sign a 13-year-old Messi "regardless of any dissenting opinions." Alongside Rexach’s name were those of transfer advisor Josep Minguella and agent Horacio Gaggioli, men who had championed Messi’s potential when others hesitated. The napkin emerged amid growing anxiety from the Messi family. After his trial, weeks drifted by with little communication from Barca. As Christmas approached in 2000, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid hovered as possible alternatives. Messi’s father, Jorge, feared the moment would pass. Rexach, aware the club were close to losing a generational talent, invited Jorge Messi to lunch, and, lacking an official document, wrote the pledge on the only material available. Messi was officially signed a month later, and history took its course.

Translated into English, it reads: "In Barcelona, on 14 December 2000 and in the presence of Messrs Minguella and Horacio, Carles Rexach, FC Barcelona's sporting director, hereby agrees, under his responsibility and regardless of any dissenting opinions, to sign the player Lionel Messi, provided that we keep to the amounts agreed upon."

AdvertisementGetty ImagesA debut that closed one door, and opened the world

Messi’s Barcelona debut followed three years later, on 16 November 2003, in a friendly against Porto. Frank Rijkaard introduced the 16-year-old in the 71st minute. Even then, whispers circled La Masia suggesting that the teenager from Rosario possessed a talent beyond comparison, though few could predict the scale of what would unfold. His competitive first-team bow came the following year on 16 October, in a La Liga fixture against Espanyol. At 17 years, three months and 22 days, he became Barcelona’s youngest-ever representative in official competition. The dream of playing for Newell’s faded in that moment, but a new reality began.

In an interview with Messi has now said: "I always say that my childhood dream was to play for Newell's first team. I'd go to the stadium, I played there, and I dreamed of becoming a professional in Primera. Then my life changed completely because I left at 13, debuted for Barcelona, and everything that happened afterward. It's something I never would've imagined, not even in my best dreams. I lived things much bigger than anything I could have dreamed of."

The Messi era at Barcelona

Messi would go on to score 672 goals in 778 games for Barcelona, win 10 La Liga titles, lift four Champions Leagues, and establish an era-defining legacy before leaving for Paris Saint-Germain in 2021. Hence, despite the romanticism attached to a homecoming, Messi never managed to fulfil that childhood wish. When he left PSG, the option was emotionally appealing but professionally unworkable as Inter Miami ultimately offered the stability and vision that Newell’s could not. Now 38 and still guiding Argentina as they prepare to defend their World Cup crown, Messi accepts that the story of his early years remains unfinished. Whereas the same napkin was sold for an astonishing £762,400 at auction, far surpassing its £300,000 starting price.

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AFPAll eyes on the 2026 World Cup

The 2026 World Cup, spread across the United States, Canada and Mexico, looms large. Argentina, the reigning champions, are among the favourites once more and will learn their group-stage opponents when Friday’s draw takes place. For Messi, the tournament represents an opportunity to win back-to-back World Cups as captain. His Newell’s dream may remain untouched, but everything else, the records, the glory, has exceeded his dreams.

Thakare, Dubey then dismissed the Rest of India openers late in the day, leaving them with only eight wickets in hand

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Oct-2025

Vidarbha put themselves in a strong position to win the Irani Cup by setting Rest of India a target of 361 and then taking two wickets in the fourth innings.Starting the day at 96 for 2, Vidarbha were troubled by Anshul Kamboj and Saransh Jain but useful contributions from the lower-middle order lifted them from 105 for 5 to 232. No. 6 and Vidarbha captain Akshay Wadkar made 36, No. 7 Harsh Dubey contributed 29 and No. 9 Darshan Nalkande scored 39.Kamboj, the pick of the Rest of India bowlers, dismissed Vidarbha’s Nos. 3 to 6. Danesh Malewar’s inside edge onto his pads was taken in the slip cordon. Dhruv Shorey was lbw by a length ball angling in. Yash Rathod was caught behind with a ball moving away. Wadkar was also dismissed to a catch by wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan with the new ball. It took Kamboj only 12 overs to return figures of 4 for 34.In their chase of 361, Rest of India lost both openers before stumps. Aditya Thakare bowled Aryan Juyal through his defences to knock his poles back. Dubey then dismissed Abhimanyu Easwaran lbw which the batter reviewed unsuccessfully.Ishan Kishan (5*) and Rajat Patidar (2*) were not out at stumps, leaving Rest of India needing a further 331 runs with eight wickets in hand. Vidarbha are chasing a third Irani Cup title in the last decade, having won in 2017-18 and 2018-19.

Even three-time MVPs make mistakes sometimes.

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani commited a so-called cardinal sin of baseball during the club's 5-4 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday. With two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning and reigning World Series MVP Freddie Freeman at the plate, Ohtani found himself on second base after swiping the bag moments before. As Blue Jays lefthander Brendon Little delivered a strike to Freeman, Ohtani took off for third in another stolen base attempt but was caught stealing for the last out of the inning.

One of baseball's oldest adages is, never make the last out of an inning at third base. Effectively, the logic is, don't kill a potential two-out rally. While one can quibble about the veracity of this statement, it seems that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts at least partially subscribes to the thinking..

"That was his decision," Roberts, addressing the sixth-inning play, told reporters after the game. "Not a good baseball play."

Aside from the baserunning blunder, it's difficult to pin the blame for Sunday's loss on Ohtani, who belted his 41st home run of the season, tied for the National League lead, while collecting another hit and a pair of walks.

Roberts's frustration with Ohtani's aggressiveness gone wrong on the basepaths was likely a microcosm of how he felt about the game as a whole. Los Angeles had chances to add to its thin 3-2 lead throughout the game, stranding 16 baserunners and going 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. The Dodgers' struggling bullpen then surrendered the lead in the top of the eighth inning when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Addison Barger both homered off of Blake Treinen.

"This is frustrating because I just felt there’s no way we should lose this game today," Roberts said. "We had them on the ropes numerous times. And for us not to win is so frustrating."

The Dodgers, clinging to a two-game lead in the NL West, will next take on the Los Angeles Angels before a pivotal divisional face-off against the surging San Diego Padres.

Florian Wirtz's £100 million ($130m) move from Bayer Leverkusen to Liverpool didn't just upset Bayern Munich. It also hit hard at Koln. After all, Wirtz had come through their academy only to leave for Leverkusen in the summer of 2020 – and for a paltry €300,000 (£265,000/$350,000). Koln were furious. They felt Leverkusen had broken a 'gentleman's agreement' by signing one of the most exciting young players they'd ever produced – but there was nothing they could do about it. Wirtz's contract was expiring and he wanted to leave.

However, while Koln may have missed out on a massive transfer fee with Wirtz, it looks like they're going to make a colossal profit on the €350,000 (£310,000/$405,000) they invested in another potential superstar. Indeed, Said El Mala has just received his first Germany call-up after taking the Bundesliga by storm this season, and has already attracted the attention of both Bayern and Borussia Dortmund, as well as a string of top clubs across the continent.

So, who is Koln's new teenage sensation? And how long might it be before one of Europe's elite pays big money to sign him? GOAL breaks it all down below…

Getty Images SportWhere it all began

El Mala was born and raised in Krefeld in western Germany. Both he and his brother Malek – who is one year older than Said and also on Koln's books – got their love of the game from their Lebanese father Mohammed, who played as a centre-back for local side Linner SV. El Mala briefly followed in his father's footsteps before joining Malek at Borussia Monchengladbach in 2017. However, he was released three years later.

"Said was still very small back then, making him extremely inferior athletically to his opponents and not competitive at that level," El Mala's former coach at the Gladbach Under-15s, Sven Schuchardt, told . "Some boys simply need a little more time to develop."

El Mala was nonetheless devastated by the rejection. "It wasn't easy to process," he later admitted in an interview with . "Everything turning around, just like that. As a 14-year-old, you ask yourself: What did I do wrong?"

He even considered quitting the game and was only convinced to continue by Malek. The two brothers would ultimately reunite at TSV Meerbusch and then again at Viktoria Koln, where they excelled in the same Under-19s team. 

AdvertisementGetty Images SportThe big break

El Mala's impressive performances at youth level led to him making his senior debut in a third-tier clash with FC Saarbrucken on February 21, 2004 – just two days after signing his first professional contract with Viktoria. However, just four months later, he was snapped up by Viktoria's city rivals Koln. Crucially, Koln were unable to register new players at the time, so in order to get a deal done for the in-demand youngster as quickly as possible, they agreed to immediately loan El Mala back to Viktoria for the 2024-25 campaign.

It proved a pivotal moment in his development, as the winger benefited enormously from regular game time at a lower level. He scored 13 times in 32 appearances across his first full season in the professional ranks, resulting in him being awarded the 3. Liga's Newcomer of the Season award, and then shone for Germany's U19s during their summer run to the semi-finals of the European Championship, with four goals and three assists.

Consequently, El Mala belatedly arrived at Koln brimming with belief. 

How it's going

Despite El Mala marking himself out as one of Germany's most promising prospects over the previous year, Koln coach Lukas Kwasniok was reluctant to place too much pressure upon the teenager's shoulders and decided to carefully manage his game time. Consequently, El Mala has been employed primarily as an impact sub in 2025-26 – but to devastating effect. The attacker has already racked up four goals and two assists in this season's Bundesliga, even though he's only started three times. 

Julian Nagelsmann also felt that he'd seen enough of El Mala to warrant inclusion in his squad for this week's crucial World Cup qualifiers against Luxembourg and Slovakia.

"Said should get the chance to show his carefree and easy-going style of play," the Germany boss told reporters. "We keep an eye on our U21 players and always want to give them the chance to feature for the senior national team."

As for El Mala, he was taken aback by his rapid promotion to Germany's senior squad and revealed that he had initially ignored Nagelsmann's call.

"I was at home when it arrived but I don't like answering unknown numbers," the teenager revealed to . "Then, he sent me a message saying, 'Hi, this is Julian Nagelsmann, please call me back!' I immediately showed the message to my brother and that's when I realised, 'I guess I'm in!' But you can't take it all in during one week. It takes a bit longer. But I'm incredibly excited for the game [against Luxembourg on Friday], and I can enjoy whatever comes after that."

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Biggest strengths

In Germany, El Mala is considered something of a throwback, the kind of old-school street-footballer that one rarely sees anymore.

He's a refreshingly direct dribbler. His first thought always seems to be to take on his man – which makes sense, as he's blessed with wonderful close control and a blistering turn of pace, meaning he's a nightmare for full-backs in one-v-one situations.

He's also got one hell of a strike on him. Time and time again this season, we've seen him come off the left flank and cut in onto his favoured right foot before unleashing fearsome shots on goal.

It has become a frustratingly familiar sight at Liverpool, with Alexander Isak trudging off in the second half against Inter Milan having had little impact up against last season’s beaten Champions League finalists.

The man whom Virgil van Dijk lauded as “the most in-form striker” in the world ahead of March’s Carabao Cup final, the 26-year-old looks like a shadow of his former self right now.

With just two goals to his name in all competitions thus far, only one of which has come in the Premier League, the Reds are in need of far better, with Isak running out of rope despite the potential impact of a lack of pre-season.

Of course, a delayed start to life at Anfield, following that need to get up to speed fitness-wise, has played its part in the Swede making just 14 appearances to date, while the chaos around him has likely not helped matters either.

Indeed, as the explosive Mohamed Salah debacle has epitomised, Arne Slot has yet to settle on a consistent forward line in 2025/26 – might that all change in January, however?

Latest on Liverpool's transfer search

For all the talk of a £450m spend over the summer, there is evidently a need for further reinforcements at Anfield heading into the New Year, with centre-back still an area of concern amid the lack of depth beyond Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

Having come agonisingly close to moving to Merseyside on deadline day, Marc Guehi seemingly remains a leading target ahead of the winter window, with the Englishman now left with just six months on his existing deal at Selhurst Park.

Of course, the exclusion, and potential exit, of Salah has also highlighted the need to bolster the ranks at the top end of the pitch too, with Slot particularly short on depth on either flank.

Well, with that search underway, the Reds might have received some welcome news, with TEAMtalk reporting that Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo has made Anfield his ‘preferred destination’, if and when he does decide to leave the south coast side.

As per the report, despite rival interest from the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, it is Liverpool who are believed to be the Ghanaian’s ‘first choice’, with there a ‘real chance’ that he could move on next month.

Available for £65m, due to his much-publicised release clause, the 25-year-old wouldn’t exactly break the bank, but he could be the missing piece for Slot’s attacking jigsaw.

How Liverpool could finally get Isak firing

There’s no denying it, Liverpool look like they’ve been burned by their £125m investment in Isak, with the 6 foot 4 marksman almost unrecognisable from the player who terrorised Premier League defences for the Magpies.

It may matter little considering his current form, although it’s worth remembering just how highly-rated he was just a matter of months ago, having ended 2024/25 with 23 league goals to his name, after netting 21 times in the top-flight the year prior.

The difference? Well, in the view of Slot, it could be the lack of a suitable supplier from the flanks, with the Dutch coach pointing to the fruitful partnership that Isak enjoyed with Jacob Murphy at St James’ Park.

As per Transfermarkt, Murphy assisted his free-scoring colleague 11 times in all competitions for the Tynesiders, with the unsung hero offering a reliable source of creativity from his right-wing berth.

While no doubt a step above the Englishman, having been hailed as the “best winger in the country” by Chris Waddle, Semenyo could be the Murphy-esque figure that Isak is in need of, having wreaked havoc down the flanks in recent seasons.

Currently looking “unstoppable” under Andoni Iraola, in the view of pundit Darren Bent, the ex-Bristol City man has six goals and three assists to his name this season.

With blistering pace and lethal on either foot, Semenyo is in the form of his life right now, having also ended 2024/25 with 16 goals and assists in the Premier League.

The key benefit for Isak would be the 11 ‘big chances’ that the £65m man created last term, as per Sofascore, highlighting how he could emerge as Isak’s chief supplier under Slot’s watch.

As was evident with his stunning, solo goal on the opening day at Anfield, the Bournemouth talisman can also turn defence into attack in an instant, while occupying defenders to free up space for those around him.

That sense of chaos and unpredictability could help to breathe new life into Slot’s forward line, with Isak likely to be the big beneficiary if he can convert the ample opportunities that should fall his way.

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