Bayern Munich legend and former CEO Oliver Kahn has opined on Vincent Kompany's decision to field Manuel Neuer in their Bundesliga match against Union Berlin last week. This comes after the German goalkeeper's mistake cost the side their 16th straight win from the start of the campaign, forcing them to play out a 2-2 draw, their first of the season.
Newcastle United extended their unbeaten run to three games after a 2-1 victory over Premier League strugglers Burnley at St James’ Park.
Eddie Howe’s side were able to bounce back from their disappointing draw with Tottenham Hotspur in the week to pick up all three points on this occasion.
It took Eddie Howe’s side until just past the half-hour mark before they managed to open the scoring. Their goal was scored in magnificent fashion, too. Captain Bruno Guimaraes pulled off the lesser-spotted stunt of an Olympico, scoring directly from a corner.
Then, deep into first-half stoppage time, the Magpies had their second goal. Burnley midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu gave away a penalty for handball, and Anthony Gordon obliged, stepping up from 12 yards to double Newcastle’s lead.
It was not all plain sailing, though. Burnley, who had ten men after Lucas Pires was sent off in the first half, managed to pull a goal back.
They were also awarded a penalty for handball, this time from Jacob Ramsey, with Zion Flemming firing home. It was too little, too late, though, for the Clarets, and Newcastle held on to win the game.
The two goal scorers were Newcastle’s standout players on the day.
It has been quite the week in front of goal for Guimaraes and Gordon. Not only did they score on Saturday afternoon, but they also bagged both of the Magpies’ goals against Spurs in the week.
Guimaraes’ strike against the Clarets was surely better. Scoring directly from a corner is no mean feat, and it took a superb curling effort to nestle into the back of the net.
Aside from the goal, the Magpies skipper won six from eight duels and made six recoveries, as per Sofascore.
As for Gordon, he shone in key moments. Of course, the England winger bagged his second goal from the spot in a matter of days, but he also played Anthony Elanga through on goal, which led to the Burnley red card.
One person he impressed was Lee Ryder, the chief Newcastle writer at Chronicle Live. He gave the former Everton winger a rating of 8/10, praising him for remaining a ‘threat throughout’ against a depleted Burnley defence.
It has been a good week individually for two of Newcastle’s biggest stars, but another of their marquee players struggled against Scott Parker’s side.
It was an afternoon to forget for Newcastle’s big summer signing, Nick Woltemade. The German striker was not very involved against the Lancastrian outfit and was described as “sloppy” by journalist Craig Hope.
His stats from the clash at St James’ Park reflect what was an underwhelming evening. He only managed 17 touches, fewer even than Magpies goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
The Newcastle number 27 could only manage one shot and win a single duel, too.
|
Woltemade stats vs. Burnley |
|
|---|---|
|
Stat |
Number |
|
Touches |
17 |
|
Passes completed |
11/12 |
|
Shots |
1 |
|
Duels won |
1 |
|
Key passes |
0 |
|
Stats from Sofascore |
|
His poor performance was reflected in the post-match rating Ryder gave. The journalist said Woltemade a 6/10 and prefaced that by saying ‘he did not get a great deal of service’ against the Clarets.
That display was also significant for Newcastle because Yoane Wissa made his long-awaited debut for the club. He replaced Woltemade with 15 minutes to go, and received a warm welcome from his new home fans.
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With the striker’s return to full fitness, it will be fascinating to see whether or not Howe keeps the German in the side or brings Wissa into the fold instead.
After a performance like that from the former Stuttgart attacker, where he was so isolated, it would not be hard to blame the Magpies boss for rotating him out.
It is also worth considering the number of games the North East side have coming up. They have Premier League, Champions League and Carabao Cup games before the year is up, plus the FA Cup at the start of January.
Howe will surely want to manage the minutes of his squad, so they can be at their very best in a testing few weeks. It would be no surprise if Woltemade drops out of the side next time out.
Eddie Howe has already found a bigger talent than Anderson at Newcastle
Howe’s Newcastle side are showing green shoots after a difficult start to the season.
By
Angus Sinclair
Dec 5, 2025
Chasing 208, WI folded for 133 in 39 overs on an unusually dark pitch in Dhaka
Mohammad Isam18-Oct-2025
Rishad Hossain kept striking for Bangladesh•AFP/Getty Images
Rishad Hossain’s 6 for 35, which included the first five West Indies wickets in a chase of 208, paved the way for a Bangladesh win in the series opener in Dhaka. After being on 51 for 0, West Indies were dismissed for 133 in 39 overs.The visitors’ chief tormentor on an unusually dark Dhaka pitch was Rishad, who became only the second legspinner to take the first five wickets in an ODI innings. Sri Lanka’s Jeffrey Vandersay is the only other legspinner to this feat, when he took the first six wickets against India last year in Colombo.Brandon King and Alick Athanaze had started well for West Indies, putting on a half-century opening stand. King struck Taskin Ahmed for a flicked six in the third over before Athanaze slammed Tanvir Islam for three fours and a six in the fourth over, which cost Bangladesh 18 runs.Bangladesh the dried up the boundaries from the fifth over. Rishad struck in his very first over, the 12th over of the chase, when he trapped Athanaze lbw for 27 off 36 balls. Then, in his fifth over, Rishad had No.3 Keacy Carty caught at slip for nine off 30 balls. Saif Hassan took a straightforward catch at slip after dropping Carty on 3 off Islam.Rishad struck the big blow when he had King caught behind for 44 off 60 balls with a fizzing legbreak in the 22nd over. Wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan took the catch on the second attempt. Sherfane Rutherford fell for a duck in the same over, also caught behind off a beautiful legbreak.Rishad completed his five-for in the 24th over when he had Roston Chase caught behind for six. He became the first legspinner from Bangladesh to take a five-wicket haul in ODIs.Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Islam then got into the act, removing Gudakesh Motie and Shai Hope. Motie was lbw to Mehidy for three, before the West Indies captain, Hope, gave Nurul his fourth catch of the innings. Romario Shepherd fell trying to force the pace against Mustafizur Rahman in the 35th over. Mustafizur proceeded to dismiss allrounder Justin Greaves for 12 off 23 balls. Rishad wrapped up the game with Jayden Seales’ wicket, with Mehidy taking the catch at slip. It was just reward for Mehidy who tasted victory for only the second time in 11 ODIs as captain.West Indies had earlier controlled Bangladesh’s run-rate for most of the first innings. The home side lost their openers Saif and Soumya Sarkar within the first three overs, before Towhid Hridoy and Najmul Hossain Shanto added 71 runs for the third wicket.Both batters, however, remained mostly circumspect hitting three boundaries each. Shanto made 32 off 63 balls before Hridoy reached his fifty off 87 balls. Bangladesh struck just three boundaries from the 11th to the 36th over. Mehidy and Mahidul Islam also batted slowly, with the latter, making his ODI debut, finishing with 46 off 76 balls. He struck three fours before Chase bowled him in the 46th over.Rishad also contributed with the bat, his 26 off 16 balls, including two sixes and a four, helping Bangladesh pass 200. His cameo ended when Seales yorked him in the 49th over. His job wasn’t done yet. He played an even bigger role with the ball to carry Bangladesh to victory.
Leeds United are in crisis up front. The Whites have simply not been good enough in front of goal in the 2025/26 campaign, which is no doubt one of the reasons why they are relegation contenders in their first season back in the Premier League.
This term, Daniel Farke’s side have only found the back of the net 11 times in just 12 games. That is worse than all but one side in the top flight, bottom-place Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Their expected goals tally is not much better, standing at just 15.21xG. The likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has one goal this term, have not yet got going.
With the January transfer window around the corner, it might not be a surprise to hear the West Yorkshire side are targeting a new number nine.
It is certainly frustrating for Leeds that they are in the position of needing a new striker.
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Of course, they signed Calvert-Lewin on a free this summer after his deal at Everton expired, and Lukas Nmecha on a free following the expiration of his Wolfsburg contract.
Yet, here we are again, with the Whites back in the market for a number nine.
According to talkSPORT, the player could be AZ Alkmaar and Ireland striker Troy Parrott. The 23-year-old is said to be ‘high on their list of striker targets’.
However, they are not the only Premier League side looking to get a deal for the 33-cap Ireland star.
Fellow strugglers, Wolves are also looking into a deal, with the report suggesting a fee of at least £20m is what it would take to sign him.
It would certainly be a good addition for Leeds if they were able to bring Parrott to Elland Road this winter.
He has been in scintillating form for Alkmaar, with 14 goals in 15 games this term, taking his total up to 34 strikes in just 62 appearances.
He is certainly a “rejuvenated” striker, according to football talent scout Jacek Kulig.
Indeed, his underlying stats are impressive too. This season in the Eredivisie, the former Tottenham Hotspur academy star is averaging 1.04 goals and 0.74 goal-creating actions per game, which rank him in the top 7% and 2% respectively.
Those stats show just how effective he is in the final third.
|
Parrott – 25/26 Eredivisie stats |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Stat (per 90) |
Number |
Percentile |
|
Goals |
1.04 |
93rd |
|
Shots on target |
1.63 |
93rd |
|
Expected goals |
0.93xG |
98th |
|
Take-ons completed |
0.5 9 |
83rd |
|
Goal-creating actions |
0.74 |
98th |
|
Stats from FBref |
||
Of course, it is not just for his club where Parrott’s form has been excellent. In November, he became a hero of Irish football, scoring two goals against Portugal and then a hat-trick against Hungary to see his nation reach the World Cup playoffs.
The third goal against Hungary was an extraordinary 96th-minute winner.
If he were to move to Elland Road, the 23-year-old would no doubt love to replicate another former Irish striker who impressed in West Yorkshire.
Robbie Keane spent 18 months at the club between December 2000 and August 2001. After initially joining on loan from Inter, he made the move permanent that summer, before joining Spurs a year later.
He only played 56 times for the club, but certainly left a mark.
Keane bagged 19 goals in that time, which included three goals in the UEFA Cup and a memorable brace away to Manchester City at Maine Road.
It is easy to see the comparison between Parrott and Keane, as two clinical, highly-rated Irish strikers. The younger man, for instance, was even hailed in the past as the “best prospect” to have come out of Dublin since his compatriot, in the view of then-Belvedere F.C. Director of Football Affairs Vincent Butler.
The Alkmaar star is slightly older than the former Inter man was when he signed, yet both additions are examples of the Whites buying into potential and investing in the future.
If Parrott were to make the move to Elland Road this summer, he would no doubt love to follow in the footsteps of Keane and have the same sort of impact as his countryman did at such a young age.
Biggest error since Aaronson: 49ers have "wasted funds" on huge Leeds flop
Leeds United now has a bigger waste of money than Brenden Aaronson in flop, who is struggling to settle in the Premier League.
By
Kelan Sarson
Nov 26, 2025
After all the joy they experienced in Perth, day one in Adelaide served as a wake-up call for the visitors
Alagappan Muthu06-Dec-20240:45
Pujara: India should have got 250 on this pitch
“Get ready for a broken …” This Australia team don’t say things like that. But Nitish Kumar Reddy managed to get a rise out of their captain when he bailed out of facing the first ball of the 35th over on day one of the Adelaide Test.Pat Cummins has spent this news cycle dealing with questions about the unity of his men and the way they play. He’s been met with whispers of his own decline and insinuations that he takes defeat too easily. None of them seemed to wind him up as much as seeing a perfectly good ball go to such waste. He immediately went bouncer, at 143 kph, and Reddy, despite being ready this time, was barely able to duck for cover. The Adelaide Oval loved that.Related
Stats – Starc gets to Adelaide fifty, Bumrah to 2024 fifty
Starc uses his favourite combination to give Australia just the day they needed
India were finally in the Australia they would have expected before coming here. Loud. Demanding. Hostile. Frustrating. Stingy about rewarding good work and gleeful in punishing mistakes. Towards the end of the day’s play, when Mohammed Siraj expressed his annoyance at having to expend more energy than he needed to for the same reason – a batter pulling away from his stance at the last moment, because of a fan running into his line of sight with a beer snake no less – he was told off by 50,186 people and then laughed at when he conceded a four off the next ball.A lot of the talk leading into this game was about India’s batters having to adjust to the pink ball, given how little they play this flavour of Test cricket. But it seems the bowlers had just as much to get used to. In a strange way, just like in Perth where they got a chance to bowl when the conditions were still helpful, a blessing in disguise if there is such a thing when you’re all out for 150, Jasprit Bumrah and Siraj got to use the pink ball just as twilight was about to hit.Nathan McSweeney and his top-order colleagues employed the leave to telling effect•Associated PressA lot of Australia’s success in these games has been built on batting first, batting big, and sticking the opposition in during the final session (usually of day two) when the floodlilghts take effect and wield a strange power over the game. In 2022, they had West Indies 102 for 4 at stumps on day two after declaring their own innings close to the final session’s play. Their fourth wicket had fallen at 428. In 2021, they took the fairly straightforward call to give up the runs their last two batters might have been able to add to their 479 in order to unleash Mitchell Starc at the England top order, and he delivered with a wicket in his second over, with Michael Neser backing him up before stumps. Australia had had 176 on the board before going two down. England had 12.India would have been hoping for something similar; to leverage the twilight session to make their way back into the Adelaide Test. But it felt like they were getting too much movement and struggled to calibrate their lines and lengths to make it count. An under-fire Usman Khawaja and Nathan McSweeney were able to leave 18 of the first 30 deliveries they faced, and that trend continued. Australia didn’t play at half the balls they faced in the first 20 overs. They had a better understanding of the bounce available off the pitch, which made India look like they were missing their marks.”The lengths could have been slightly fuller to encourage more play,” India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said. “I thought Australia left very well as well. It seemed to be a trademark of the way they play, those two [McSweeney and Marnus Labuschagne, who have put on an unbroken 62 for the second wicket]. They left on length very well. We kind of feel the swing and the seam was a little bit inconsistent which makes it difficult for both parties.”India batted to a plan too. They discerned that the good-length ball contained the potential to cause the most problems, and looked to be proactive against anything either side of that. It was in the course of this that KL Rahul and Virat Kohli fell to balls they realised they could leave but not until it was too late. This may have been a mix of what happens in Australia and what happens with the pink ball.”From Tests gone past, and probably no different today, there’s times in a pink game where the ball can get soft and it’s hard to score, hard to take wickets, a dead patch in the game,” Starc said, “Then for whatever reason the ball starts to do a little bit more again.”India have their task cut out after 77.1 gruelling overs in Adelaide•Associated PressIndia left for their hotel at the end of day one with a sense of what could have been. Another feeling well-known among away teams that come here. Shubman Gill missed a straight ball that he could have driven for four. Yashasvi Jaiswal wandered too far across his crease to be able to connect with a ball on leg stump. Rahul and Kohli were indecisive.”Obviously to lose a wicket of the first ball, sort of sends jitters through the change room,” ten Doeschate said, “But we recovered really well and [from] 69 for 1 we probably feel like we missed a chance there. I also feel that’s the nature of the pink ball. Things can happen quickly. Things happen in clumps, we lost wickets in clumps which we wanted to avoid. There’s lessons to be learned in that first innings and we’ll go away and look how to play in the second innings.”Even their most eye-catching spell of play – when Harshit Rana seemed to get inside McSweeney’s head by asking him to use the bat and when Bumrah found his usual control to beat Labuschagne’s bat – didn’t really amount to anything. They felt something might happen. It didn’t.”I don’t think 86 for 1 is a true reflection of how we bowled,” ten Doeschate said. “I thought there were a lot of played-and-misses. Obviously the edge [that we dropped in the seventh over]. I know the score looks like there’s a big gap between the two teams but we still feel we’re in the game and with a few tweaks tomorrow, if we bowl slightly better, we feel like we can get back in the game tomorrow.”India have loved being in Australia. They’ve had things to do at every turn, literally. The e-scooters available for rent on the streets were a huge hit with the team in Perth. There, at the end of every single day, they found themselves in a pinch-me-I’m-dreaming situation. After 77.1 overs in Adelaide, they’ve received a bit of a wake-up call.
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