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.

Leeds’ hunt for a new centre-forward

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.

Why Parrott would be a good signing

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.

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.

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Nov 26, 2025

It was a complete team effort by Nepal, who outplayed the two-time world champions in every facet of the game

Hemant Brar27-Sep-2025Nepal created history as they beat West Indies by 19 runs in Sharjah for their first-ever win against a Full Member across formats. They had beaten Afghanistan in a T20I in 2014, but Afghanistan were an Associate back then.Even if you keep the win aside for a moment, it was a historic occasion for Nepal. It was their first T20I against West Indies and the start of their first bilateral series against a Full Member. They made it even more special by outplaying the two-time world champions in every facet of the game. It was a complete team effort by Nepal: six of their batters hit at least one six, six of their bowlers took at least one wicket, and their fielding was top-notch.Leading a second-string West Indies side that featured four debutants, Akeal Hosein opted to field after winning the toss. Nepal did not start well and both their openers were back in the pavilion by 3.1 overs. Kushal Bhurtel was beaten by an arm ball from Hosein and was stumped. Aasif Sheikh stepped out to Jason Holder but miscued the lofted shot and was caught by a backpedalling mid-on.Until the final over of the powerplay, Nepal had hit just two boundaries. Their captain Rohit Paudel doubled that count with back-to-back fours off debutant Ramon Simmonds in the sixth over, but it was Kushal Malla who provided the real momentum. He first smashed Fabian Allen to the long-on boundary for a four and then, in the spinner’s next over, deposited one into the stands for the first six of the innings.Malla hit another six, off Obed McCoy this time, to take Nepal to 68 for 2 at the end of ten overs. He and Paudel added 58 off 45 balls before both holed out against debutant legspinner Navin Bidaisee. Gulsan Jha and Dipendra Singh Airee tried to keep the momentum going, but Bidaisee struck again, getting rid of Jha to finish with 3 for 29 from his four overs. Then, in the 19th over, Holder picked up three wickets. But thanks to West Indies’ catching that oscillated from jaw-dropping grabs to face-palming drops, Nepal had a fighting 148 for 8 on the board.File photo: Rohit Paudel top-scored for Nepal with 38 off 35 balls•AFP/Getty Images

Kyle Mayers kicked off the chase with a first-ball four. But it all went downhill for West Indies from there. It started with Bhurtel’s direct hit to run Mayers out in the second over of the chase. Ackeem Auguste, another debutant, hit two delightful sixes but he too fell inside the powerplay.Still, West Indies were placed fairly well at 40 for 2 after six overs. But the Nepal spinners spun a web around the West Indies batters from which they could not come out. Paudel and Lalit Rajbanshi gave away only 16 in the next four overs while picking up a wicket each.With West Indies needing 93 from the last ten overs on a pitch where the shot-making was not easy, Nepal were the favourites. Three overs later, Airee’s brilliance in the field sent back Keacy Carty. Carty had set off for a non-existent single after pushing the ball towards covers. His partner sent him back but he could not beat Airee’s bullet through to the wicketkeeper.After that, West Indies depended heavily on Holder but he could manage only 5 before holing out to deep midwicket off Bhurtel. Bidaisee, Allen and Hosein tried to keep the fight on with their big hits but they could not keep up with the asking rate. West Indies needed 70 from the last five overs, and 49 from the last three.In the 18th over, the otherwise flawless Nepal fielders dropped Hosein twice in two balls. The first one went for a four and the second for a six. But Karan KC removed the West Indies captain in the following over, leaving Allen to score 28 from the 20th. He could not pull that off.

Paris Saint-Germain loanee Randal Kolo Muani shone against his parent club with two goals and an assist, but his heroics ultimately counted for nothing as Tottenham slumped to a comprehensive 5-3 defeat at the reigning European champions. Spurs went ahead twice in the game. but were undone by some dismal defending as PSG scored five times and took home all three Champions League points.

Tottenham took a shock lead on 35 minutes with a well-worked goal. Archie Gray did well to get down the left flank and dig out a cross for Kolo Muani, who rose well to power a head back across goal and give Richarlison the simple task of nodding into an empty net.

The goal looked to have stunned the visitors, but they were back on level terms before the break. A corner in from the left was only cleared as far as Vitinha on the edge of the box, and the Portugal midfielder was not closed down quickly enough and smashed home a ferocious strike that flew past Guglielmo Vicario and in off the underside of the bar.

The two sides traded goals again at the start of the second half. Kolo Muani volleyed home from inside the penalty area after PSG failed to clear a corner, before Vitinha grabbed his second of the match three minutes later with a curling effort that beat Vicario. 

PSG then took control of the game, although they were given a helping hand by Spurs. Cristian Romero's ball to Pape Matar Sarr saw the midfielder gift possession away in a dangerous area, allowing Fabian Ruiz to sweep home and put the visitors in front for the first time. More disastrous defending allowed Willian Pacho to make it 4-2 from a corner, before Kolo Muani grabbed his second of the night after a rare poor moment from Vitinha.

However, the Portuguese had the last laugh by walking off with the match ball. Romero conceded a penalty for handball as he tried to block a shot, allowing Vitinha the simple task of completing his hat-trick from the penalty spot. PSG were reduced to 10 men in added time when Lucas Hernandez elbowed Xavi Simons in the face, but it was too late for Spurs to capitalise on this advantage.

GOAL rates Tottenham's players from Parc des Princes…

AFPGoalkeeper & Defence

Guglielmo Vicario (6/10):

Conceded five goals but couldn't do anything about Vitinha's first two strikes and was let down by his team-mates for the other three

Pedro Porro(6/10):

Put some great deliveries into the box going forwards and kept Barcola fairly quiet but, like the rest of the Spurs defence, was guilty of some poor moments after the break.

Cristian Romero (4/10):

Sloppy second half from the captain. Put Sarr in trouble for the third goal that saw PSG finally take the lead and gave away the penalty for the fifth.

Micky van de Ven(6/10):

The pick of the bunch when it comes to Tottenham's defence, but that's not saying much.

Djed Spence (5/10):

Came up against Kvaratskhelia and did a good job in the first half, though did have a few lazy moments after the break.

AdvertisementAFPMidfield

Rodrigo Bentancur (6/10):

Should have blocked Vitinha's shot for PSG's second goal but seemed to move out of the away and could only watch in dismay as it flew past Vicario. Made amends somewhat by robbing Vitinha and finding Kolo Muani for Spurs' third.

Archie Gray (7/10):

Put in a strong display and covered so much ground. Played a key role in two of Tottenham's goals and showed why he should be playing more.

Lucas Bergvall (7/10):

Back in the team and made a real difference. His flair and quality on the ball has been badly missed and he was excellent, particularly in the first half.

Pape Matar Sarr (4/10):

Disastrous second half from the midfielder. Caught in possession just outside the box for PSG's third goal and failed to clear the ball as the hosts made it 4-2.

AFPAttack

Richarlison (7/10):

Nodded home an easy finish from two yards for his third goal in three games. Also played a big part in the second goal, heading the corner back across goal and causing panic in the PSG defence.

Randal Kolo Muani (8/10):

Showed up against his parent club with two goals and assist. Teed up Richarlison with a great jump and header and then reacted quickly to fire home the second. Made Vitinha pay for a poor moment with Tottenham's third of the night.

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AFPSubs & Manager

Joao Palhinha  (6/10):

Brought on to freshen the team up but the game was already gone.

Mohammed Kudus (6/10):

Also arrived too late to make an impact.

Destiny Udogie (N/A):

A late sub who contributed little.

Xavi Simons (N/A):

A few lively moments after arriving late in the day. Also took a painful-looking elbow to the face that saw Hernandez sent off in stoppage time.

Wilson Odobert (N/A):

Didn't see much of the game as a late sub.

Thomas Frank (6/10):

Made five changes to his team from the dismal derby defeat to Arsenal and saw his team give it a good go. Twice Spurs went in front, but they were left down by some really poor defending which will be a major source of frustration for the boss. 

“If you’ve been watching me in the nets, it’s been a frustrating experience because I feel like I’ve had no rhythm whatsoever,” Alyssa Healy says of her patchy form of late

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Oct-2025

Alyssa Healy compiled an 84-ball century•Getty Images

Chasing 331 to win. In a World Cup game. With the stands full of noisy opposition supporters. Not the easiest job, unless you are Alyssa Healy. Or Ellyse Perry, for that matter. It required a record-breaking effort with the bat, and Australia did it with a whole over in hand. “That’s a really cool stat”, Healy said afterwards, and will give the batters “a heap of confidence” for the rest of the tournament.The innings Healy played – 142 in 107 balls – was the bedrock of that chase. Her sixth ODI century, but her first since April 2022. She has missed a fair bit of cricket in the interim period but it’s still a gap of 25 innings between centuries, and only her second fifty-plus score of the calendar year. Talk about good timing.”I think I was just trying to contribute. I think it needed somebody to make a hundred to chase down that total. Obviously you’d probably like two to make hundreds just to make it easy, but somebody needed to, if they got set, to cash in and have a good day,” Healy said at the press conference afterwards. “So, yeah, it was probably… it was my day in the end. It hasn’t been my day of late, but it was my day today, which was really cool.Related

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“And to get ourselves, obviously I would have liked to be there a little bit longer and probably see it home a little bit more, but I think to get ourselves in a winning position at that point in time was really cool, and I’ll probably reflect on that a little bit later and be a little bit happy.”N Shree Charani and Deepti Sharma returned excellent economy rates of 4.10 and 5.20 respectively, but the other three frontline bowlers – Amanjot Kaur, Kranti Gaud and Sneh Rana – were expensive. Particularly impressive was Healy’s takedown of the quicks, Amanjot and Gaud, each time she faced them.”It wasn’t a distinct plan as such. Charani was getting actually quite a bit of spin; she was kind of the pick of the bowlers today,” Healy said. “We identified that really well and thought if we can capitalise on some of the pace bowlers, that would be handy knowing that they really have [only] five bowlers in their attack. So, yeah, we thought if we could attack that it’d be great. But it wasn’t really a plan as such, it just panned out that way on the day and I think with the wicket sliding on it probably enabled us to do that.”Coming into the game with scores of 19 (against New Zealand) and 20 (against Pakistan), Healy wasn’t in rhythm, as she confessed. But where rhythm was missing, competitive instincts did the job, especially against Gaud, who had Healy’s number in each of the three ODIs in the bilateral series prior to the World Cup.2:24

Healy: ‘It was my day today’

“If you’ve been watching me in the nets, it’s been a frustrating experience because I feel like I’ve had no rhythm whatsoever, been struggling to find it, and I didn’t really know where it went before I came into the World Cup,” she said. “But I think once you step out on the field, your competitive instincts kick in and you kind of just lock-in to getting in the contest. Obviously aware that Kranti had got me out a fair bit throughout the ODI series, so an opportunity to go out there and lock in a contest with her and just sort of, I don’t know, have a bit of fun in that regard, I think sort of got me going and that was really a really enjoyable experience. And like I said, it was my day today, and hopefully it continues but if not, I’m sure it’ll be someone else’s, which is cool.”That Australia were chasing 331, “just” 331, was thanks in large measure to Annabel Sutherland, whose 5 for 40 from 9.5 overs took out the middle order and stopped India slightly short of where they might have been after being 192 after 30 overs.”Bellsy’s spell, I think, we got our length right in that department. We bowled a little bit poorly at times and probably gave India an opportunity to cash in whether that be at the start of the over or the end of the over, and I think we couldn’t really create a lot of pressure,” Healy said. “But Alana King and Annabel Sutherland actually created a little bit of a partnership there, created some pressure, created some opportunities. And then Bellsy sort of cashed in at her end. So that was really cool.”And I thought the bowling unit as a whole really hung in there, hung tough and created a whole heap [of pressure] in that back ten to, like I said, restrict them in a way to 330, which is a little bit daunting, but I think did a great job at the back end, which was cool.”

More than a test of his ability, the five-match series will be a test of Jaiswal’s adaptability

Sidharth Monga16-Jun-20250:58

Chopra: ‘I will back Jaiswal to do well in England’

Open trials are a wonderfully democratic notion. A place where you can bypass the need for local loyalties and connections. Especially when said trials are being conducted by an IPL team. However, in reality you have a short window of time to impress while facing bowlers you most certainly have not seen before, or heard of even.Most players are invited to trials on word-of-mouth recommendations from local rumour mills that get excited seeing young talent. One such boy at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai was then 16-year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal, yet to have played for the Mumbai senior side. His journey to the trials was astounding: leaving home, a village in Uttar Pradesh, at the age of 10 to live alone in big, bad Mumbai, starting out lodging in a tent at Azad Maidan.Nobody cares for such stories at these trials or any selection. You do so much yet you are still just one of hundreds who have turned up, hoping to catch the eye of a scout or a coach. The first ball Jaiswal faced in the nets, he moved across and ramped. This audacity, this courage, struck a chord with the Rajasthan Royals (RR).Related

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There’s nothing to say Jaiswal wouldn’t have made it through the traditional route of playing for his state side – after all, he had made it this far doing the same, and would go on to play for India Under-19 before turning 17 – but this is how it transpired. RR happen to be an anomalous T20 franchise that is format agnostic at their High Performance Centre in Talegaon in Maharashtra. It might not be all philanthropy. They realise kids in India don’t grow up playing a lot of T20 and come with little understanding of the format. So it is better to eliminate errors and have kids expand their games holistically rather than focus on a format they don’t yet know the grammar of.In Jaiswal, RR struck gold. His hunger and drive were comparable to the greats of the game. The courage was evident in his audacious journey from Bhadohi to Bombay. This level of ambition and RR’s investment in him were a match made in batting heaven. RR’s High Performance Centre is led by former Mumbai opener Zubin Bharucha, whose technique and understanding of the game is highly regarded by no less than Sunil Gavaskar. They went about dismantling Jaiswal’s game and then putting it back together.Yashasvi Jaiswal lived in the groundsman’s tent in Azad Maidan while training•Satyabrata Tripathy/Hindustan Times/Getty ImagesWhen Jaiswal played for India Under-19, former Test captain Rahul Dravid was in charge of India’s development squads. Even if he didn’t tour with every Under-19 or A team, he was the one who established the structure and oversaw the feeder systems to India’s senior teams. He remembers Jaiswal as exceptionally talented but someone who needed improvement to do well at senior levels. He was not in the league of, say, Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli before him.When Jaiswal made it as a standby batter for India’s squad for the final of the 2023 World Test Championship, Dravid was the head coach. He saw a much-improved batter. “Some of the practice pitches leading into the Test match were really spicy,” Dravid tells ESPNcricinfo. “It had been raining, and they were not well prepared. And he was willing to go out there and bat against whoever. Side-armers, [Mohammed] Shami or [Mohammed] Siraj or whoever. He just wanted to bat in those conditions, which for me and our other coaches was, ‘Wow, he wants to learn, he wants to improve. He wants to get better.’ From the time that I saw him at Under-19 to then, just his range of shots had improved.”Those who saw Jaiswal and Bharucha work in the intervening years talk of an obsessive streak. There were days when Jaiswal played 300 reverse sweeps to a variety of deliveries: different angles, height of release, pace, length, line. Any shot that needed work was met with similar dedication. There were days when they would practise just the sequencing of reverse sweep, orthodox sweep and the single down the ground. Or just the side-arm replicating bouncers at extreme pace from different angles. Often he left the nets with bloodied palms.Rahul Dravid was wowed by Yashasvi Jaiswal’s hunger to get better•AFP/Getty ImagesJaiswal was still a relatively blank slate so they could work on developing his ability to play shots to where fielders weren’t, and did so relatively safely. The idea was to face a variety of angles and deliveries in a single session. Sometimes he would face close to 100 overs of throwdowns and over-arm deliveries in a day.Skill was only part of it. This is a challenge to the notion that India has so many people playing cricket that they should automatically dominate the world. Amid such high competition, only the most desperate make it, but they also tend to be those who have had a hard childhood, which results in their desperation to succeed in the first place. In Jaiswal’s case, the RR medical team found that his body had been deprived of nutrients most kids his age should grow up with.It is again a testament to Jaiswal’s determination that he has kind of caught up when it once looked impossible. Only deeper into his career will we know how well he has progressed. Jaiswal became extremely diligent about nutrition, more deliberate in how he trained and worked out, realising this could be the difference between a good innings and a big innings, or 50 Tests and 100 Tests.If anything, Jaiswal might be a little too absorbed by his game. Those who have observed him describe him as a maverick, but one who can at times get caught up in his own head. While it is what gives him laser focus, it has the potential to ruffle those around him. That aspect of his personality is also something he has had to work on.Yashasvi Jaiswal celebrated a hundred on Test debut•Associated PressBy the time Jaiswal made his Test debut, his hunger for big innings was apparent. The West Indies attack wasn’t great in Dominica but they were disciplined on a slow pitch and slower outfield. The hosts had been bowled out for 150 so there was time in the game and Jaiswal made sure he nailed this opportunity. He went into stumps on 40 off 73, but completely shut shop the next morning when Jason Holder and Kemar Roach tested him. He added just seven in nearly an hour and ended up with 171 on debut.When conditions and match situations called for it, Jaiswal dominated England in only his third series, charging James Anderson, scoring two double-centuries, hitting 32 sixes. This ability to adapt his game to the demands of the conditions and the match situation is what most impressed Dravid, who exists between tolerating the notion of natural games and appreciating those who play the situation.”They’re all an ability to say I want to score runs, I like scoring runs, I know how to score runs and I’ll do whatever it takes to score runs,” Dravid says. “Sometimes bat aggressively, sometimes bat defensively, sometimes play from middle stump, sometimes play from outside leg stump. That’s a really good trait.”4:19

Jaiswal ‘the greatest news’ to come for India in Australia

In Australia, on tracks with excessive seam movement, Jaiswal’s usual set-up on middle stump followed by a shuffle was exploited by Mitchell Starc to get him on middle and leg. Jaiswal was quick to correct it by starting from outside leg. He was the first Indian batter to walk at the bowlers without compromising on back-foot shots. He was the second highest run-getter in the series, India’s best batter by a distance, and easily the best opener.In a young career of 19 Tests, Jaiswal has 14 fifty-plus scores at strike-rates ranging from 40.38 to 141.17. In a treacherous era for batting, he is averaging 52.88 when the overall average for openers in Tests he has played is 36.42.Jaiswal comes to England as a key member of the Indian Test team. There’s no Kohli or Rohit. Jasprit Bumrah will likely play only three Tests. Along with Rishabh Pant, Jaiswal has the most accomplished record among India’s Test batters.If England stick to playing Bazball, the pitches will be truer than the one we saw in the World Test Championship final. Such surfaces will call for Jaiswal to capitalise on starts and go big. If it seams, he will need to perhaps counterattack and respond to England’s methods. Conditions can vary a lot with the weather in England. More than a test of his ability, this tour will be a test of Jaiswal’s adaptability. And he’s shown plenty of ability to adapt already.

The top-order batter knows he is in a selection race ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup

Andrew McGlashan02-Oct-2025Tim Robinson admitted to mixed emotions after his maiden T20I century against Australia, both from the fact that it was in defeat and also that his opportunity to play only came because of misfortune to a team-mate.Robinson had not been due to feature in the opening match of the series until Rachin Ravindra was ruled out having suffered a nasty facial injury colliding with the boundary board during training.Shortly after walking in at No. 3, Robinson was faced with a scoreboard that read 6 for 3 in the second over. But he was able to transform that into a respectable total of 181 having turned 10 off 14 balls into a century from 65 deliveries, brought up when he scooped Ben Dwarshuis to fine leg off the penultimate ball of the innings. However, it still proved well short of challenging a power-packed Australia line-up who cantered home with 21 balls to spare.Related

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“Bittersweet is a perfect way to describe it,” Robinson said. “It’s definitely a bit of a double-edged sword. I’m obviously personally pretty happy with how I went but probably trumped by the fact that we lost that game.”I wasn’t expecting to play,” he added. “Firstly, I’m really disappointed and upset for [Rachin], and he’s one of my close mates. It’s horrible to see him injure himself and miss out on playing for a team that he loves.”But in saying that, it’s given me an opportunity. So that’s, again, a weird feeling, because I wouldn’t be playing tonight if that didn’t happen. I’m always grateful for any opportunity I can to put on a black jersey, that’s for sure. But I’m really disappointed and gutted that my mate’s gone home. So it’s a bit of a funny one.”Robinson’s hasty call into the XI also meant some hurried conversations with his dad, David, back on the family farm in Rangitikei, lower North Island, where Tim himself had been helping just a week earlier having returned from his county stint with Northamptonshire. After doing farm work on Wednesday morning, David made the four-hour journey to Bay Oval to watch his son score a century.”We had all hands on deck last weekend for docking [sheep],” Robinson said. “We smashed through them. I got off the plane from England…and was straight into it on Saturday and Sunday. It was good. I was on the horse, so I didn’t even have to walk, so I was happy.”Robinson is now averaging 38.40 from his first 13 T20Is with a strike-rate of 137.63 after making his debut in Pakistan last year. His unbeaten 106 trumped the 75 not out he made against South Africa in Zimbabwe during July’s tri-series, where despite that innings he was only able to play two matches.Robinson knows he’s in a selection race for next year’s T20 World Cup with New Zealand having plenty of top-order options if everyone is available. Alongside Ravindra, they are missing Finn Allen and Kane Williamson against Australia from those who will compete for places in the top three.”Absolutely [this is a] trial window,” he said. “And that’s why I want to make the most of everything that comes my way. I love it. Competition for spots is fantastic. It breeds hunger and it’s sort of uplifting for everybody. I think it’s fantastic that we’ve got such good competition for spots and making [head coach] Rob [Walter’s] job really hard. My goal is [to] make him make hard decisions.”

Arsenal star Gabriel aimed a dig at Richarlison on Instagram after the 4-1 victory against Tottenham Hotspur in Sunday’s North London derby.

The Gunners capitalised on Manchester City’s slip-up at Newcastle United by defeating Tottenham at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, solidifying their place at the top of the Premier League table by moving six points clear of nearest-rivals Chelsea.

With just under a third of the campaign played, it is still very early days for Mikel Arteta’s side, but they will no doubt be starting to believe they can finally go all the way this season, having finished second for three years on the spin.

After blitzing Spurs at the weekend, the north Londoners are now the joint-highest scorers in the Premier League, while they also have the best defensive record, having shipped just six goals this term, four fewer than any other side.

Gabriel has been key to the solid record at the back, having formed a formidable partnership with William Saliba, although the centre-back was forced to miss the North London derby after suffering a hamstring injury on international duty with Brazil.

Gabriel takes swipe at Richarlison on Instagram

Despite recently linking up with Richarlison on international duty, with Brazil suffering a 3-2 defeat against Japan, before going on to defeat Senegal 2-1, Gabriel couldn’t resist having a dig at the striker, tagging him in his celebratory Instagram post after the match.

Although the defender was ruled out for Sunday’s game, he had a dig at his compatriot, who was arguably one of Spurs’ better performers, having scored their only goal of the game, catching out David Raya with a strike from distance.

However, that long-range effort was the centre-forward’s only major contribution, having struggled to make an impact on proceedings, completing just five of the ten passes he attempted throughout the match.

Piero Hincapie, on the other hand, looked solid in Gabriel’s absence, making four clearances, one interception and one tackle to keep Spurs at bay, with the visitors being limited to very few chances.

Arteta will no doubt be hoping to have the Brazil international back soon, having recently said: “It’s clearly a blow. It’s our leader in our backline. To miss him is never a positive thing. The good thing is we have some very good options. They need to stand up now.”

However, having recruited well in the summer, signing Hincapie and Cristhian Mosquera to bolster squad depth, Arsenal should fancy their chances heading into a congested run of fixtures.

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Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk is one of the best defenders in the world.

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Italy captain says when he is asked about the plan for the 2026 World Cup, his reply is, they’re planning to “win every game”

Matt Roller12-Jul-2025At least one will play at a next year. Italian football is in chaos: their men’s national team have a proud World Cup history but have failed to reach the last two, and sacked their manager after losing the opening match of their qualifying group for the 2026 edition. But in a small Dutch town on Friday, their cricketers created their own legacy.Italy lost by nine wickets to Netherlands in Voorburg, but Jersey’s win over Scotland earlier in the day – and their own results over the previous week – meant that it did not matter. Instead, Italy wrapped up one of the two spots available at the European Qualifiers for next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, the first time that Italy have reached a major ICC event.”It’s still very surreal,” Joe Burns, Italy’s captain, told ESPNcricinfo on Saturday morning. “We’ll probably take a few weeks to get home and decompress a bit to fully realise the impact that the occasion will have on so many people. It was an emotional moment that we’re going to try and reflect on as a group as much as we can over the next few months.”The crucial result for Italy was their 12-run win over Scotland on Wednesday. It was launched by Emilio Gay, the Durham opener, who cracked 50 off 21 balls; set up by Grant Stewart, the Kent allrounder, who hit 44 not out off 27; and sealed by Harry Manenti, who has played a couple of BBL games for Adelaide Strikers, and took 5 for 31 with his medium pace.Those names are reflective of a disparate group of players who are based all over the world, but their heritage provides a common thread. Burns’ own story is typical: his roots are in Calabria, in southern Italy, but his grandfather was a prisoner-of-war in North Africa during the second world war and the family relocated to Australia. He has always felt a connection with Italy, and made his debut for them last year.

“I think we had six Australian-born players in our team yesterday… If we do play Australia and I’m on the field, it’ll obviously be a very special occasion”Joe Burns

It was a long way removed from his first international career, which saw him hit four hundreds in his 23 Tests for Australia. “When you play for Australia, there’s such a history to the baggy green that you’re honouring the past and representing the people that have gone before,” Burns said. “When you’re playing for Italy, it’s very much a blank canvas, trying to shape the future.”Burns first reached out to Cricket Italia in 2009, when qualification rules were stricter, and had to undergo a three-year cooling-off period from his final Australia appearance, in 2020, before he became eligible. But he has thrown himself into his new challenge, taking over the captaincy this summer, and has worn the number 85 shirt in tribute to his late brother, Dominic.”A lot of our grandparents left Italy after World War II, so it’s very much a shared story to come together and to represent past generations,” he said. “I know my grandparents would be very proud, and I know mum and dad have been following the games really closely. There are Italians dispersed all over the world, and I hope this team is a beacon for Italians everywhere.”Burns admires his medal•International Cricket CouncilItaly ramped up preparations for the qualifiers last month with a training camp in Rome, and Burns has demanded the full focus of his team-mates: “I told the guys that I don’t care if we’re playing Luxembourg in the sub-regional qualifiers or India in a T20 World Cup final: I want our team to be the most prepared team in world cricket for every game that we play.”This has all come together on the back of a lot of planning. People ask me what the goal for the World Cup is and I say, ‘Look, we’re planning and preparing to win every game – so we’re planning to win the World Cup.’ I want the guys to enjoy the experience and play with freedom – but you have to earn the right to play with freedom on the back of really solid preparation.”Cricket is a niche sport in Italy, but World Cup qualification will unlock new sources of funding. “It will go a long way for us,” Burns said. “We don’t have any turf facilities, and very little facilities in general, but this gives us an opportunity to develop the game. We’ve had a lot of support from CONI (the Italian Olympic Committee) which keeps building in the background.Time to celebrate after Italy qualified for the T20 World Cup for the first time•International Cricket Council”Associate cricket is very much the grassroots of international cricket, so for us, it’s about trying to unlock funding and build facilities to create opportunities for future generations to come. It’s very rewarding. At different stages in your career, you have different motivations, and I think this came at a really good time for me. It really reinvigorated my love for the game.”Italy will welcome back Wayne Madsen – a man with more than 20,000 runs in county cricket to his name – for the World Cup after he missed the qualifiers due to his Derbyshire commitments, but Burns hinted that he himself may step aside before the main event. “This [qualification] was such a big goal for me,” he said. “It’s probably going to take me a few months to think about it.”But if Burns, 35, does play on, there is one team he would relish the chance to face next year. “We’ve said briefly as a group that we want the big stage. We want to be drawn against the best in the world, and we want to take it on. I think we had six Australian-born players in our team yesterday… If we do play Australia and I’m on the field, it’ll obviously be a very special occasion.”

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Mais de R$ 220 milhões em reforços entre os anos de 2023 e 2024. Sem técnico. Sem patrocínio máster. Sem Diretor Comercial. Promessas de grandes melhorias no CT Moacyr Barbosa. Três pontos de 12 disputados no Brasileirão. Este é o panorama atual do Vasco.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasFora de CampoNarrador da Globo viraliza ao falar da torcida do Vasco: ‘Aplaude o momento histórico que vivemos’Fora de Campo27/04/2024Fora de CampoJornalistas e influenciadores detonam Vasco após derrota: ‘Ridículo, péssimo’Fora de Campo27/04/2024Fora de CampoJornalista dá forte declaração após goleada do Criciúma em cima do Vasco e detona equipe: ‘Desprezível’Fora de Campo27/04/2024

➡️ Tudo sobre o Gigante agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso canal Lance! Vasco

Panorama fora de campo que se reflete nas quatro linhas e sugere ao torcedor, o maior patrimônio do Vasco, que o clube terá mais um ano de sofrimento. São muitos “sem” para uma gestão, que aparentemente, não aprendeu com os erros de um passado recente. 2023 foi logo ali.

O Vasco vai para o quarto técnico no comando e para o terceiro diretor executivo de futebol. Antes de Ramón Díaz, Jorginho e Barbieri foram os treinadores. Como dirigentes cruz-maltinos, Paulo Bracks e Alexandre Mattos antecederam Pedro Martins, que tem o acerto encaminhado.

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Quais são os reforços da “Era SAF”, dentro dos mais de R$ 220 milhões gastos, que são unanimidade? Apenas Léo Jardim, Lucas Piton, Paulinho e Vegetti.

Há responsáveis no Rio de Janeiro, sim. No entanto, os maiores culpados estão nos Estados Unidos. Por que a 777 Partners e a 777 Football Group não se manifestam? Porque os donos da SAF não se comunicam com o torcedor? Qual o protejo esportivo do grupo? São essas e tantas outras perguntas que os vascaínos se fazem e estão sem respostas até então.

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Quem vê se questiona se foi para isso que o Vasco se tornou SAF, que de fato foi uma solução financeira para o clube. Porém, não é o dinheiro que entra em campo.

Grande parte dos que cobram não estão torcendo contra, muito menos estão sorrindo com o caos. Na verdade, só querem parar de ver o Vasco agonizando por mais alguns anos.

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Chaos was on the menu in Williamsport, Pa. Wednesday night.

In an elimination game that went to extra innings at the Little League World Series, the team representing the Southeast region from Irmo, S.C. gave up five runs in the top of the seventh inning to their opponent out of the Midwest region from Sioux Falls, S.D.

With just three outs for South Carolina to overcome a five-run deficit to keep their LLWS title hopes alive they somehow pulled it off.

The rally started right away in the bottom half of the seventh as South Carolina had their first batter draw a walk to fill the empty first base before they drove in a run on their next at-bat. Brayden Gerard doubled next to drive in the second run of the inning to trim South Dakota's lead to three runs.

Then South Dakota let up two walks in a row, first to load the bases and then to force in a run. South Carolina's next batter struck out, putting South Dakota two outs away from shutting the door, albeit in a bases-loaded jam.

Another bases-loaded walk drove in one more run that cut the lead down to one run, which put South Carolina one base away from completing a miraculous comeback in extras. Their catcher, Andrew Bogan, played hero when he stepped up to the plate, doubling to right to secure the walk-off win despite a valiant effort from South Dakota right fielder Grayson Rehfeldt who laid out to try and make the grab.

You can watch the wild sequence with all of South Carolina's scoring plays to win the game in extras below:

Great time for an offensive explosion from both sides who each scored one run apiece in the first six innings.

South Carolina keeps the dream alive and will play the team from Las Vegas representing the Mountain region Thursday in yet another elimination game. The winner of South Carolina and Las Vegas will move on to the United States final against Fairfield, Conn. out of the Metro region. We'll see if South Carolina has some magic left.