Everton’s good form continued with an impressive 3-0 win at the Hill Dickinson Stadium over Nottingham Forest.

The Toffees move into fifth in the Premier League, taking their record since the start of November to four wins, one draw and one loss.

It was a fast start for David Moyes’ side. Just two minutes into the clash with the East Midlands outfit, Forest centre-back Nikola Milenkovic headed a cross into the back of his own net, to give Everton the lead almost immediately.

Then, in the third minute of stoppage time before half-time, the Evertonians doubled their lead. It was a significant moment for Thierno Barry, who got off the mark in that famous Blue shirt after some impressive performances of late.

Iliman Ndiaye carried the ball to the edge of the Forest box before laying it into the path of Barry, who slotted home.

The perfect day for Moyes’ side was capped off in the 80th minute when another summer signing, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, drilled home a volley after the ball bounced to him from a corner. Everton ran out deserved winners to continue their excellent form.

It was a day to remember for the Toffees, with some standout performances.

Everton’s standout players vs. Forest

This will certainly be a day that Thierno Barry remembers. The Frenchman bagged his very first goal in an Everton shirt, showing the sort of quality in front of goal that earned him the big move to the Premier League from Villarreal in the summer.

What a tidy finish it was from the Toffees’ number 11, too. Ndiaye drove towards the penalty box, with Barry making a good diagonal run to find space.

The finish was composed, slotting it past Matz Sels.

Speaking of Ndiaye, the Senegalese attacker was in imperious form once again. So often the source of everything the Merseysiders do well in attack, he was a handful for the Forest defence and, of course, set Barry up.

One person who was impressed by Ndiaye’s efforts was Chris Beesley, Everton reporter for the Liverpool Echo. He gave the attacker a 7/10 rating, praising him for ‘always providing an outlet for his side’ throughout the night.

However, neither Barry nor Ndiaye were the stars of the show for Moyes’ side in a fantastic win.

Everton’s best player in their 3-0 win

What a performance it was from another of the Everton summer signings, Dewsbury-Hall.

The Englishman was at the heart of the Toffees’ midfield today, scoring his excellent goal late on, putting in the cross for the own goal, and offering plenty more on the ball.

The stats reflect just how well Dewsbury-Hall performed against the East Midlands outfit. He had 56 touches and 86% of his passes.

Off the ball, it was a masterclass from the former Leicester City star. He won an exceptional 8/13 ground duels and made five ball recoveries.

Touches

56

Pass accuracy

86%

Opposition half passes

16/20

Ground duels won

8/13

Ball recoveries

5

Tackles won

3/4

Goals

1

Dewsbury-Hall left thousands of Toffees fans impressed with his performance against Forest. Well, the same can be said for journalists, with Beesley giving him a 9/10 for his efforts, explaining he was ‘bright from the start’.

There is a case to be made that Dewsbury-Hall, described as the club’s “most important and best” player by journalist John Merro, is their best signing since Ndiaye.

The Senegalese attacker has been sensational since moving to Merseyside last summer, racking up 17 goals and assists in 54 games.

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As for the English midfielder, he has brought creativity and final third threat to Moyes’ side in just 15 games, with four goals and two assists so far.

However, the tenacity off the ball, on full show against Sean Dyche’s side, has been crucial this season too. It is certainly easy to see why Merro is of that opinion.

After paying just £28m for him this summer from Chelsea, it is looking like one of the biggest bargains in 2025. The all-action midfielder has shone so far, just like Ndiaye has on Merseyside.

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Tottenham Hotspur’s recruitment in recent years has left something to be desired, and though this is a squad of heroes who conquered the Europa League before the summer, domestic form has been cemented at a lower-than-expected level for a while now, and that needs to change.

It’s not all doom and gloom, though, with £55m summer recruit Mohammed Kudus among the most exciting players in Thomas Frank’s Lilywhites outfit.

The Ghanaian winger hasn’t been perfect, but he’s certainly underlined his credentials as a difference-maker under Frank’s wing, with his five assists in the Premier League this season a joint-divisional best.

That statistic juxtaposes with Tottenham’s creative struggles this season, and it adds substance to the emerging rumours that Tottenham plan to sign an even more exciting winger to help elevate Frank’s project down N17.

Spurs leading race for new winger

Tottenham are anticipated to be busy over the coming transfer windows, with improvements needed across a range of areas. However, there’s no denying Frank’s frontline have been blunter than expected, and that must be a priority.

Kudus has been a terrific addition, but wingers like Brennan Johnson and Xavi Simons are flattering to deceive. Perhaps this is why ENIC Group are aiming for the stars.

Indeed, according to Spanish sources, Tottenham are leading the race for Real Madrid star Rodrygo, and that’s despite growing interest from the Premier League’s heavyweights.

Rodrygo, 24, is also attracting interest from Liverpool, and though Real are open to selling the Brazilian talent, they would expect to bank something in the ballpark of £70m.

Why Rodrygo would succeed at Spurs

Rodrygo is currently embroiled in a crisis of confidence. He has gone 30 La Liga matches without a goal, and has been pushed out to the fringes of Xabi Alonso’s squad.

But let’s not forget that this is a truly special player, praised for his “world-class” quality by former Los Blancos teammate Luka Modric, and the depth of his technical quality goes far beyond that of Kudus, who is devastating on the ball but lacks clarity and output.

Goals scored

0.32

0.14

Assists

0.24

0.23

Shots taken

2.94

1.89

Shot-creating actions

4.65

3.41

Touches (att pen)

6.64

3.78

Pass completion (%)

85.4

78.8

Progressive passes

4.37

2.59

Progressive carries

6.00

3.44

Successful take-ons

2.38

3.05

Ball recoveries

3.77

5.44

Though Kudus has enjoyed a fine start to his career in north London, he doesn’t match Rodrygo’s breadth of skill. The Madrid man is one of the best forwards in the world, after all, and his recent drop-off does not negate that fact.

Crisper on the ball, more progressive with his passing and more active in dribbling forward himself, Rodrygo might not have Kudus’ same snappy speed, but that’s not to say that he isn’t a dynamic physical force in his own right.

Moreover, he has so often been shunted out onto the right flank in Madrid over the past several years, lower down the pecking order than the likes of Vincius Junior and Kylian Mbappe. The right-footed Rodrygo is at his best, his most prolific, when playing off the left.

Now, he has been reduced to a truly bit-part role, only afforded three league starts under Alonso’s management this term.

It feels like Rodrygo’s departure from the Santiago Bernabeu is a matter of when, not if, and while there are a multitude of high-profile suitors looking to excavate him from the hole he has fallen into, Tottenham have put in the hard yards for some time now, and Frank’s project would promise him a leading role.

Then it would be up to Rodrygo to prove that he is the real deal. On the basis of the evidence already, he is at that, and this would see him take on a more influential role than someone like Kudus down N17.

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Former England batter ends playing career at Somerset to forge new beginning in Bristol

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Nov-2025

Fran Wilson, the former World Cup-winning batter, has been named as Gloucestershire Women’s head coach after ending her playing career with Somerset.Wilson, 33, made 64 international appearances across formats between 2010 and 2021, including eight of England’s matches at the 2017 World Cup, en route to their victory over India at Lord’s in the final.She also featured in the 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia, and made the last of her international appearances on England’s tour of New Zealand in February 2021.Domestically, Wilson made her Somerset debut in 2006, before joining Western Storm in 2016, and also represented Gloucestershire in the 2022 and 2023 Vitality Women’s County T20 competitions while developing her coaching skills through the county’s Girls Emerging Players Programme.In the course of her career, she also represented Sunrisers, Middlesex, Kent, Hobart Hurricanes, Sydney Thunder, Welsh Fire, Trent Rockets, Oval Invincibles and Birmingham Phoenix.Now, she will be taking full-time charge of Gloucestershire in Tier 2 of the new women’s county structure, having worked with the first team on a consultancy basis during the 2025 season.”I’ve done a lot of coaching alongside playing over the last five or six years, but it’s really exciting to now step into that journey fully,” Wilson said, “especially with Gloucestershire, a great club that I’ve been involved with for a long time.”We all want results, but the real goal is to build sustainable success and to put the foundations in place that allow us to compete and thrive as a Tier 1 Club.”A huge part of my role is about building those foundations from the first team right through to the age groups, having a genuine influence across that pathway.”By developing the resources we already have in the county and creating a strong network and structure around the players, I believe we can achieve long-term success.”Jon Lewis, Director of Cricket at Gloucestershire Cricket, added: “Everyone at Gloucestershire is really excited about the appointment of Fran Wilson as Women’s Head Coach.”We went through a thorough recruitment process, and Fran was the standout candidate throughout. With strong roots in cricket across the South West, a deep passion for Bristol and Gloucestershire, and a long-standing connection with the Club, that understanding of the region was an important factor for us.”Fran demonstrated an exceptional range of qualities during the process and this marks a hugely significant appointment in an area where we have serious ambition. It also comes at the start of a landmark year for the Club, with Bristol set to host England Women v India in May, followed by six matches during next summer’s ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in June.”An outstanding playing career, a history of success at both club and international level and a deep understanding of elite performance make this an appointment we are extremely proud of. The environment Fran will build will be welcoming, driven and true to the ‘Gloucestershire way’.”Our aim is to provide the best possible environment for our players to learn and develop and we believe Fran is the ideal person to lead that journey.”

Harry Kane netted his 25th goal of the season as he bizarrely emerged as Bayern's only scorer on the night in their 3-2 win over Union Berlin in their DFB Pokal round of 16 clash on Wednesday night. Kane was also guilty of conceding a second penalty just five minutes after the break, as his foul allowed Union to reduce the deficit to one goal, but the Bavarian giants held on to progress.

Kane on song as Bayern reach DFB Pokal quarter-final

Bayern dominated possession right from the start as they looked hungry to establish an early lead. And the deadlock was broken after just 12 minutes when Union Berlin forward Ilyas Ansah accidentally put the ball into his own net. Aleksandar Pavlovic cleverly shielded the opposition goalkeeper as Joshua Kimmich's corner deflected off Ansah's thigh and into the back of the net.

Star striker Kane doubled his team's lead midway through the half with a glancing header from Kimmich's inch-perfect corner. The England captain successfully got the better of his marker inside the box and guided the ball home via a touch on the goal-line. Kane has now scored in all three rounds of the DFB Pokal in the 2025-26 campaign.

As the game approached the half-time break, the hosts got an opportunity to reduce the deficit when Jonathan Tah handled the ball inside the Bayern box when trying to block a shot. After a lengthy VAR check, Tah was found guilty of a handball as the spot-kick was awarded to Union. Leopold Querfeld found the back of the net from the resulting penalty.

The German champions, however, bounced back quickly as they restored their two-goal lead from a second own goal. Michael Olise sent in a cross hoping to find one of his team-mates but before any Bayern player could reach the ball, Diogo Leite flicked it into his own net, handing the opposition a 3-1 lead going into the break.

Just five minutes into the second period, Kane was guilty of committing a foul inside the Bayern penalty area and the referee pointed to the spot. The English forward was booked for his challenge as Querfeld made it a brace by converting again.

Union Berlin looked much more lively in the second half and an early goal after the break provided the much-needed motivation to go for an equaliser. After Luis Diaz had a goal ruled out, Querfeld could have completed his hat-trick late in the game, but his header from a close range went agonisingly off target.

AdvertisementAFPThe MVP

Kane, who is having a stellar campaign in the 2025-26 season, once again stole the limelight. In a bizarre encounter that saw Union Berlin score two own goals, Kane was Bayern's only scorer of the night. The experienced forward converted the clinical header which had doubled his team's lead in the first half. 

The big loser

Ansah and Leite were definitely the villains for the hosts tonight as their own goals in the first 45 proved costly for Union Berlin. The way the team bounced back in the second half and kept pressing Bayern in quick counter-attacks means the first-half own goals will surely haunt them after their elimination from the cup.

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AFPMatch rating (out of five): ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Desert Vipers gained from their tactical decision to retire Max Holden out, going on to win the contest by one run

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Dec-2025Desert Vipers won a one-run thriller over MI Emirates in the ILT20 on Tuesday night, and fun as the game itself was, nothing beat what transpired in the 16th over of the first innings, which involved a declined stumping and a retired out, off successive balls, involving Nicholas Pooran and Max Holden.Batting first after losing the toss in Abu Dhabi, Vipers had started the 16th over on 110 for 1. Max Holden and Sam Curran were in the middle, but were going nowhere. The four preceding overs had netted exactly 20 runs, and Shimron Hetmyer and Dan Lawrence were in the shed.Vipers needed a move on, and Englishman Holden, their top-scorer in the innings, was on strike from the third ball after Curran had hit a four and taken a single off Rashid Khan. But no runs came off the third and fourth balls, and MI Emirates lost a review off the last of those when Pooran felt Holden had nicked the ball but the ball had only come to him off the pads. The fifth ball went for two.Then the drama began.Rashid to Holden. Holden charges down the track and goes for maximum, but misses the line completely as Rashid keeps it wide. He is so far down the pitch that he doesn’t even attempt to get back. Pooran has the ball, but isn’t interested in effecting the stumping. Holden realises what Pooran is up to and returns to ground his bat.

Tactics? Oneupmanship?

Nicholas Pooran chose not to stump Max Holden, but the Vipers had a trick up their sleeve as well, retiring the batter the very next ball.

What do you make of this? #DPWorldILT20 #AllInForCricket #WhereTheWorldPlays pic.twitter.com/CPK4D0H4lW

— International League T20 (@ILT20Official) December 9, 2025