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The Mexican national team player was named the MVP of the Nations League with four goals

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Mexico won their first Nations League title

El Tri beat Panama 2-1 with a brace from Jiménez

The forward reached 39 goals with the national team

Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱AFPWHAT HAPPENED?

Raúl Jiménez was showered with praise after his performance in the CONCACAF Nations League Final, where he scored two goals against Canada in the semifinals and a brace against Panama to lead Mexico to their first title in the history of the competition.

The three-time World Cup player became the first player to score four goals in the finals, surpassing Christian Pulisic's three goals in the 2023 edition.

French football legend and CBS Sports analyst Thierry Henry praised the Fulham player, saying “They have a player who makes the difference, Raúl Jiménez, who I believe was the difference. If you put that player on the Canada team or the United States team, he can help you win tournaments, that’s what he is.”

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At the end of 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jiménez was carried off the pitch on a stretcher after a collision with David Luiz while playing for Wolverhampton at the Emirates Stadium. The striker suffered a skull fracture that could have ended his career.

After several months of recovery, he returned to the pitch and continued scoring goals. Since coming back from the injury, the Mexican forward has played 118 club matches with Wolverhampton and Fulham, the team he was transferred to for the 2023-24 season. During this period, he has scored a total of 28 goals. For Mexico, he has added 13 goals since recovering from his injury.

Getty Images SportWHAT RAÚL JIMÉNEZ SAID

“It's fantastic to come back after everything I've been through, I'm very happy, and it's a great example that you should never lose faith and keep going. The team's work, when we had to defend, we did it, and when we had to attack, we did it. We changed our mindset, that desire that both we and Vasco have to represent Mexico at home, we have the same motivation," said Jiménez after Mexico's victory.

Getty Images SportDID YOU KNOW?

With the four goals he scored in the Final Four of the Nations League, Jiménez reached 39 with El Tri, surpassing Cuauhtémoc Blanco (38) as the third-highest scorer in the history of the Mexican national team.

The striker is now chasing Jared Borgetti (46) and Javier Hernández (52), who is the all-time top scorer for the Mexican National Team.

Celtic will head into Christmas day at the top of the Scottish Premiership table after they were held to a 0-0 draw by Dundee United at Tannadice Park on Sunday.

The Hoops are nine points ahead of their closest rivals, Rangers, in second place and have built a healthy lead to take into the second half of the season.

Brendan Rodgers’ team have also already won the League Cup, beating the Gers on penalties at Hampden Park earlier this month, and are on course to qualify for the play-offs in the Champions League.

The Scottish giants scored three goals in the final at the national stadium, albeit they still had to win on penalties after a 3-3 draw, against Philippe Clement’s side.

However, they were unable to carry that goalscoring threat over to the clash with Dundee United away from Glasgow on Sunday, as they were held to a goalless draw.

Rodgers was without the likes of Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty, and Nicolas Kuhn, but he was still let down by players who are capable of better, including central midfielder Luke McCowan.

Luke McCowan's struggles against Dundee United

The summer signing from Dundee was selected to start against his former club’s rivals on Sunday, with Arne Engels and Paulo Bernardo left on the bench.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast's Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

McCowan had produced five goals and four assists in 14 outings in the Premiership for Celtic and Dundee combined this season prior to the clash at the weekend, which suggested that the manager was bringing in a player who could make a difference at the top end of the pitch.

Unfortunately, however, the central midfielder let Rodgers down with a poor performance in the middle of the park for the Scottish giants, struggling in and out of possession throughout his time on the pitch.

Minutes

62

Shots

2

Key passes

1

Possession lost

23x

Duels won

2/10

As you can see in the table above, McCowan consistently gifted possession back to Dundee United, losing the ball 23 times in just 62 minutes of action.

The midfielder did create a chance and recorded two shots on goal, but they were not enough to either help a teammate score or to find the back of the net himself.

There was a Celtic player, however, who was even worse than McCowan at Tannadice, as centre-forward Kyogo Furuhashi struggled badly.

Kyogo Furuhashi's performance against Dundee United

The Japan international was selected to lead the line against United and did not do enough to justify his inclusion in the starting XI, with a poor display through the middle for the Hoops.

In a tight game that would have been decided by one goal, Celtic needed their lone number nine to be the difference-maker in the final third, but he fluffed his lines when the biggest chance of the game fell his way.

After Adam Idah was brought on to play alongside the forward, the Ireland international flicked a brilliant ball through to send Kyogo clear through on goal, only for the Japanese dud to get caught in two minds and accidentally trickle the ball towards the goalkeeper’s body.

The effort was so poor that Sofascore did not even register it as a shot on target or ‘big chance’ missed, instead judging it to be a dreadful touch, rather than a shot.

Minutes

90

Shots on target

0

Key passes

0

Pass accuracy

44% (4/9)

Touches

18

Possession lost

10x

As you can see in the table above, Kyogo’s all-round play was not good enough in the disappointing draw with Dundee United, even if you disregard him missing the biggest opening of the match.

The Japan international only completed 44% of his attempted passes and failed to create a single chance for his teammates in 90 minutes on the pitch, which shows that his link-up play was well below par. He did not do enough to get his fellow attackers involved to make things happen in the final third.

Kyogo’s complete lack of impact, and wastefulness in possession throughout, despite playing the full 90 minutes is a big concern, and shows that he was even worse than McCowan, who at least created a chance and completed 75% of his passes.

Why Kyogo Furuhashi should be dropped

The Celtic head coach must react to this performance by finally ditching the experienced marksman from the starting line-up on Boxing Day, as his performances have been less-than-impressive over the course of the season so far.

He has found the back of the net twice in his last nine appearances in all competitions, with zero assists in that time, and this shows that the forward has failed to provide a consistent goal threat for the Hoops.

Kyogo’s finishing in Europe has been particularly disappointing, with a return of one goal from 2.36 xG in six outings in the Champions League, which shows that he has not made the most of the high-quality chances that the team have created for him.

The 29-year-old attacker has also been incredibly wasteful with his finishing in the Premiership this season for Celtic, but has remained the first-choice in his position.

Appearances

15

Starts

11

Goals

6

Big chances missed

14

Pass accuracy

68%

As you can see in the table above, he has started the majority of his appearances in the division and has missed more than twice as many ‘big chances’ as he has scored goals, and you could argue that the number should be 15 ‘big chances’ if you count his effort against Dundee United as a shot.

The Japanese forward must finally be ditched from the starting XI and Idah should be given a run of games to prove his worth in a Hoops shirt, with five goals in five starts in the league so far this season.

As well as Yang: Rodgers must drop Celtic man who lost the ball 23x

The Celtic star failed to make the most of his opportunity to impress Brendan Rodgers.

ByDan Emery Dec 23, 2024

Rodgers should give the Irishman, who has one goal less than Kyogo in six fewer starts, an opportunity to play week-in-week-out and establish himself as a starter for the Scottish giants.

ESPNcricinfo’s experts were divided between Harshal Patel and Arshdeep Singh for the third seamer’s spot

Sidharth Monga15-May-2022India should pick their T20I seam attack from the quartet of Jasprit Bumrah, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh, ESPNcricinfo experts Daniel Vettori and Piyush Chawla have said. They were full of praise for Shami on ESPNcricinfo’s analaysis show T20 Time:Out after his figures of 4-0-19-2 helped Gujarat Titans keep Chennai Super Kings down to 133 on Sunday.Related

Arshdeep for T20 World Cup? Bishop and Vettori like the idea

Shami: Umran needs to 'be accurate at high pace'

Shami now has the joint-most wickets in the powerplay in IPL 2022, and he even bowled a boundary-less 20th over in which he got the wicket of MS Dhoni. Shami is joint-fourth on the wicket-takers’ list, with 11 of his 18 wickets having come inside the powerplay. However, it is his maturity at the death that has impressed the experts.”This is one of the best seasons for Shami,” Chawla said. “Because we have seen him previously that he generally bowls well with the new ball and by the time he comes to bowl in the death overs he goes for a lot of runs. But this season he has worked on it, and he has bowled well in the death overs as well. We all know he can bowl really well with the new ball. The only problem was in the death overs. But this year he has shown that he has those clear plans for death overs, and he has executed those plans beautifully.”Vettori would have Shami even without that death-bowling improvement. “It shows that Test-match bowling works for the first sort of 16 overs of a T20 game,” Vettori said. “He normally relies on heavy lengths, and a little bit of seam movement. We talked about how [Mohammed] Siraj has lost the ability of seam movement because of his seam position. Shami’s seam position is impeccable.”It is what all young fast bowlers should look at. His release and his ability to hit a consistent area and then letting the ball do the work. He is not asking too much of the ball. He is not trying to swing it too far. He just hits such lengths. And the improvement and maturity that we are talking about in the death bowling. Whereas in the past Shami could be hit or miss like Umesh Yadav. But now he actually has strong plans and backs himself to hit that yorker.”Arshdeep Singh has the best death-overs economy rate of any bowler who has delivered at least eight overs in that phase this season•BCCIBoth Chawla and Vettori had Shami in their first India XI, but disagreed on the third quick.”If you talk about his [Shami’s] current form, he definitely looks like one of them [three picks for an India pace attack],” Chawla said. “He has got pace, he has got that seam movement, the seam position and the wrist position is so amazing that even when there is nothing on the pitch he gets something out of it. Definitely, the way he is bowling, he should be one of the picks.”Vettori wouldn’t even bowl Shami at the death, but would have Bumrah and Harshal do the job. “I think Bumrah and Harshal Patel have to be in the team because of their death bowling,” Vettori said. “What they bring to the table. Harshal can bowl through those middle stages. The third seamer is tough to pick but Shami is potentially clearing out because of his ability to take wickets in the powerplay, bowl aggressively through the middle stages and with the back end taken care of by Bumrah and Harshal.”For Chawla the difficult choice is between Harshal and Arshdeep. He was full of praise for the Punjab Kings left-arm quick. “For me I think I still pick between Harshal and Arshdeep,” Chawla said. “The way Arshdeep has bowled this tournament. He has just been outstanding at the death. He is somebody who doesn’t use new ball much. There would be a pick between Harshal and Arshdeep, and Bumrah and Shami for sure. The powerplay is really important, and it is important to pick up wickets. Gujarat Titans have picked wickets in the powerplay, and that shows in the points table.”Among the 23 bowlers who have bowled a minimum of eight overs at the death during this IPL, Arshdeep has the best economy rate of 7.14, over 14 overs. Bumrah is second with 7.46 in 14.2 overs. Harshal has gone at 9.46 an over but has picked up more wickets than Arshdeep and Bumrah.

Celtic are interested in signing a midfielder who could be available in the January transfer window, according to a report.

Celtic transfer news

The Hoops’ Scottish Premiership campaign could hardly be going any better, having won 14 and drawn one of their opening 15 games, but manager Brendan Rodgers is still looking at ways in which he could improve his squad.

There has been a promising recent development in Celtic’s pursuit of Chelsea midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka, with reports indicating they are now leading the race for his signature, despite interest from Serie A giants AC Milan.

Signing a new midfielder appears to be a priority for Rodgers, given that the reigning Scottish Premiership champions have also been linked with an ambitious move for Manchester United’s Christian Eriksen.

Eriksen would be a big-name signing for the Hoops, however there are some important obstacles they would need to overcome, not least the fact that the Dane currently earns £150k-per-week.

Celtic update on Mahamadou Diawara

As such, it may be more financially prudent for Rodgers to take a risk on a lesser-known player, and one midfielder he is well aware of is Mahamadou Diawara, having attempted to bring him to Parkhead back in the summer. That move did not transpire, however according to the same report from L’Equipe (via Sport Witness), Celtic remain interested in the 19-year-old, and they have now been given renewed hope of signing him this winter.

The youngster had been keen to play regular first-team football for Lyon in Ligue 1 this season, but that has not been the case, meaning he is now growing increasingly unsettled and his future in France is very much uncertain.

With the idea of a January move now gaining ground, the Hoops have been given renewed hope that a deal could be possible, should they meet the midfielder’s demands of being part of a project where he receives regular game time.

Celtic lead European giants in race to sign "powerful" £100k-a-week player

He could be a brilliant addition for Brendan Rodgers.

1 ByHenry Jackson Dec 9, 2024

U23 football scout Antonio Mango was full of praise for Diawara when he signed his first professional contract with Lyon back in the summer of 2023.

However, the Frenchman is yet to establish himself in the Lyon first team, making 11 Ligue 1 appearances last season, and he has since fallen out of favour even more, having featured for just 14 minutes in the French top flight.

As such, it would be a risk for Celtic to pursue a deal, but the central midfielder is clearly a player Rodgers likes, having targeted him in the summer, and he is still very young, meaning he has plenty of time to fulfill his potential.

Brevis and Tilak Varma put on a show, but Punjab Kings had enough on the board to weather it

Karthik Krishnaswamy13-Apr-20223:04

Chris Lynn breaks down Dewald Brevis’ power game

Having strengthened their bowling at the cost of batting depth, Mumbai Indians twice committed the cardinal sin of T20 – losing wickets to run-outs – and ran out of hitting power in a tense chase of 199. In a high-scoring match full of sparkling boundaries, Punjab Kings prevailed by the margin of 12 runs – two sixes – to pick up their third win in five games.Mumbai did a lot right in the match including winning the toss, and two of their young batters, Dewald Brevis and Tilak Varma, gave the match its most dizzying passage of play when they put on 84 off 41 balls, but none of it mattered as far as the result went. They remain winless after five matches.Agarwal and Dhawan set things up
Mayank Agarwal came into this game having made three successive single-digit scores, each of them the result of early aggression not quite coming off. That run of low scores didn’t change his approach, as he provided the early ammunition for PBKS to charge to 65 for 0 after six overs – the fourth-highest powerplay total of the season and the highest in Pune.Mumbai penalised for slow over rate

An IPL statement on Wednesday night said Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma was fined INR 24 lakh [USD 31,000 approx] and the rest of their playing XI was handed an INR 6 lakh penalty or 25% of their match fee, whichever is lower, for maintaining a slow over rate in the game against Punjab Kings.

This was Mumbai’s second offence of the season; Rohit had copped an INR 12 lakh fine [USD 15,700 approx] for the team’s first over-rate-related offence, in the game against Delhi Capitals on March 27.

Agarwal’s most concentrated burst of hitting came in the fifth over, when he went 4, 4, 6 against the legspinner M Ashwin. The six was particularly impressive both for intent and execution – he stretched out and wasn’t quite to the pitch of the ball, which was also turning away from his hitting arc, but he went through with the shot anyway and cleared the fielder at long-off.He tried a similar shot in the 10th over off the same bowler, but miscued it to bring an opening partnership of 97 to its end. Shikhar Dhawan wasn’t necessarily less attacking during that stand, but Mumbai’s bowlers found him a little easier to tie down by denying him room, even though the best shot of his innings – a ramp over the keeper off Jasprit Bumrah – came when he had next to no room.Mumbai pull things backThe ball before Agarwal’s dismissal, ESPNcricinfo’s forecaster predicted a PBKS total of 195. By the end of the 17th over, when Dhawan fell for 70 off 50 balls, it had dipped to 182.Various components of Mumbai’s strengthened bowling attack – they went with five out-and-out bowlers on the day – contributed to this fightback – for instance, having given away 17 in his first over, Ashwin conceded only 17 in his next three – but foremost among them was Bumrah. Mumbai’s spearhead targeted the yorker length right through his four overs, no matter what phase he was bowling in, and generally got it right. On one occasion he got it spectacularly right, bursting through Liam Livingstone to bowl him for 2. He ended the match as the most economical bowler on either side, with figures of 4-0-28-1.Jasprit Bumrah sent in the perfect yorker to get rid of Liam Livingstone•PTI Jitesh and Shahrukh apply the finish
In the end, PBKS exceeded the total that had been forecast before Agarwal’s dismissal. This was thanks primarily to Jitesh Sharma, who clattered Jaydev Unadkat for two sixes and two fours in a 23-run 18th over, on his way to an unbeaten 30 off 15 balls. There was impressive range to his shot-making, which included both a bent-knee drive for six over extra-cover and a shuffling reverse-scoop over short third.Shahrukh Khan did his bit too, muscling two straight sixes off Basil Thampi in the final over, and PBKS set a target that would severely challenge a truncated Mumbai line-up.Rohit comes out swinging
Mumbai had only six proper batters and Unadkat slotted at No. 7. This, however, didn’t cause the top order to bat with extra care. Rohit Sharma, facing plenty of questions over his form, set the tone by attempting two lap-sweeps in the first over, off Vaibhav Arora. He edged one for four, and he middled the other for six.Having taken him to 28 off 16, though, Rohit’s aggression cost him his wicket, when Kagiso Rabada cramped him for room on the pull. Then Arora got the ball to move off the seam and nicked off Ishan Kishan, and Mumbai were 32 for 2 in the fifth over.Brevis announces himself
Brevis gave off an air of anxiety early in his innings, when he swung hard at Arora and Arshdeep Singh but struggled to middle – and on a couple of occasions even connect with – the ball, which was still quite new and still moving around.A back-foot cover drive for four off Arshdeep and a slightly hurried pull for six off Odean Smith served everyone a reminder of his precocious talent, but no one could have seen what would come soon after.When Brevis came on strike for the second ball of the ninth over, Mumbai needed 135 off 71 balls. When that over ended, the equation read 107 off 66. On ESPNcricinfo’s forecaster, Mumbai’s win probability shot up from 13.3% to 48.5%.2:57

Manjrekar: This season might be remembered for the ‘new lot’

Rahul Chahar was at the receiving end as Brevis went 4, 6, 6, 6. The legspinner’s lengths kept changing over those four balls, and his lines too, but Brevis kept hitting him straight or over long-on. His feet took him where he needed to be, and his still head and unfettered, golfer-like bat-swing did the rest – the very qualities that have led cricket watchers all over the world to liken him to AB de Villiers.With Tilak Varma finding the boundary frequently as well – his two sixes were a scoop-pull over short fine leg and a back-foot slash over backward point – Mumbai were flying to their target, as overs nine, 10 and 11 brought 53 runs. Brevis was even dropped during this phase, but he was caught at deep backward square leg off the very next ball, the last of the 11th, to bring PBKS much-needed relief.Suryakumar fights, but run-outs sink Mumbai
Mumbai needed 79 off the last 48 balls. That’s a required rate below 10, which typically favours the batting side so long as they don’t lose two quick wickets and expose the lower order. As it happened, they gifted PBKS those two wickets, with Tilak Varma run-out in the 13th over following a mix-up with Suryakumar Yadav, and Kieron Pollard run-out in the 17th when he couldn’t match his partner’s fleetness of foot but still responded to his call for a second run.In between, Suryakumar and Pollard scored only 19 runs off overs 14, 15 and 16, as PBKS tightened up with the ball, and as Mumbai made what seemed a conscious and forced effort to take the match deep, given the paucity of the batting to follow.When Pollard was run out, Mumbai needed 47 off 23 balls. Still doable in the normal scheme of things, but they had only one recognised batter in the middle.Suryakumar kept their hopes alive with successive sixes off Arora in the 17th over, but he could only get on strike for two balls of the 18th over, as Arshdeep conceded just five runs with a mix of stump-to-stump yorkers and wide yorkers. By the end of that over, the left-armer’s death-overs economy rate for the season stood at 4.33Forced to go after everything now, Suryakumar holed out off Rabada in the 19th over. It left Mumbai needing 22 off the last six, and a pulled six from Unadkat off the first ball gave them their last injection of hope. But Odean Smith, switching to round the wicket, dismissed Unadkat off the third ball, and eventually ended the game with a nine-run, triple-wicket over.

Colombian star James Rodriguez has rated himself above several Real Madrid legends including Zinedine Zidane, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos.

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Rodriguez looks back on his career Feels he compared favourably with the greatsTips Bellingham to win Ballon d'Or Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Rodriguez shot to fame at the 2014 World Cup when he scored a sensational goal against Uruguay and ended the tournament as the top scorer. The Colombia star earned a move to Real Madrid off the back of his heroics in Brazil and played under Zidane at the Santiago Bernabeu and alongside the likes of Modric and Kroos.

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The 33-year-old has now been quizzed about his career at Real Madrid and which players he feels are the best in the world. He told Edu Aguirre on the program that his top three are “Mbappé, Bellingham and Vinicius.” Rodriguez also went on to rank himself above Modric, Kroos and even legendary Frenchman Zidane. He revealed: "Zidane was very good, he won the World Cup in his prime, but… James.”

WHAT RODRIGUEZ SAID

Rodriguez also tipped Bellingham to be named the best player on the planet in the future. He added: “I scored more than 14 goals and 15 assists, I think. It was a spectacular year, similar to the year Bellingham had in his first season. I really like the way he plays. I think he could win a Ballon d'Or. Of course, to win the Ballon d'Or, I had Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Iniesta, Xavi, Suárez, Neymar… in 2014, I finished eighth, with these greats ahead of me. Yes, I would have liked to win the Ballon d'Or; I came close, but it's true that I was more focused on winning titles like the Champions League.”

gettyWHAT NEXT FOR RODRIGUEZ

Rodriguez has enjoyed stints all over the world during his career and currently plays for Mexican side Leon after mutually terminating his contract with La Liga side Rayo Vallecano in January. Leon currently sit second in the table, just a point off leaders Club America.

Ronaldinho attended stadium groundbreaking and witnessed dominant Greenville Triumph's 3-0 victory over defending champions

Ronaldinho participates in BridgeWay Station stadium groundbreaking ceremonyGreenville Triumph secures impressive win against Union OmahaBrazilian icon's presence highlights growing ambitions of USL League One clubWHAT HAPPENED

Brazilian soccer icon Ronaldinho made a surprise appearance at Greenville Triumph's match against Union Omaha on March 12, capping off a historic day for the USL League One club. The 2002 World Cup winner first attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the team's new stadium at BridgeWay Station in Mauldin, before witnessing Greenville's emphatic 3-0 victory over the defending league champions.

Greenville Triumph head coach Rick Wright expressed his excitement about the day's events: "The day was definitely one of the highlights of this club's history. You could feel the excitement in the air today, and it translated to a great performance on the field. The players rose to the occasion and we had a great team performance on both ends of the field."

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Ronaldinho joined the club's ownership group through his brother and business partner, Roberto Assis, as well as his Grupo Ronaldinho business management firm in October 2024, bringing his global star power to the third tier of American soccer. The Brazilian star has expressed his desire to support soccer's growth at all ages and levels in the Upstate community.

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WHAT’S NEXT?

Greenville Triumph will look to build on this momentum as they prepare for their next match, an away fixture against Asheville City SC in the opening round of the 2025 U.S. Open Cup on March 19. The club will aim to continue their impressive form and make a deep run in the tournament.

Sanju Samson scored a half-century for Royals, but struggled to cut loose on a slow Wankhede pitch

Deivarayan Muthu02-May-20221:09

Vettori: KKR superb with their bowling plans for Buttler

Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh offset an early wobble and ensured Kolkata Knight Riders chased down 153 to snap their five-match losing streak, on a slow, grippy Wankhede Stadium track. After Trent Boult and Prasidh Krishna had made early inroads for Rajasthan Royals, Rana and Rinku dismantled R Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal respectively to bring the target within Knight Riders’ reach.Rana cracked Ashwin for 23 off 14 balls on Monday, taking his overall head-to-head to 99 off 52 balls without being dismissed by the spinner in the IPL. He first forged a 60-run third-wicket partnership with Shreyas Iyer (34) and then a livelier 66-run stand with Rinku to usher Knight Riders home.Sanju Samson’s wretched luck with the toss continued – he has won only one out of ten tosses this IPL – but despite that Royals made a decent fist of their defence by dragging it deep. However, with 31 needed off 18 balls, Rinku whacked back-to-back fours off Chahal to effectively kill off the game. It was Rana who ultimately finished it with five balls to spare, with an uppercut six off Kuldeep Sen.Sanju Samson began brightly but slowed down considerably after the 30-ball mark•BCCIRoyals’ go-slow
Umesh Yadav got the new ball to swing both ways to threaten both edges of Jos Buttler in his first over. Ankul Roy, who was picked in place of the out-of-form Venkatesh Iyer, kept Buttler – and Devdutt Padikkal – quiet with his stump-to-stump darts. Umesh struck in his second over when he had Padikkal spooning a return catch for 2.After watching Royals gulp down 18 dots in the first four overs, Samson got a move on in the fifth over, hitting Umesh for back-to-back fours. Buttler uncharacteristically dawdled to 22 off 24 balls before Shivam Mavi combined with Tim Southee to dismiss him. Southee had bowled one in his slot – or perhaps just short of it – and Buttler shovelled it away in the air with his powerful bottom wrist. For a moment, the ball seemed to sail away for six, but Mavi intervened by leaping athletically to his right at long-on to pluck the ball out of thin air. At that stage, Royals were 55 for 2 in the ninth over.Samson, Hetmyer give Royals a leg-up
Samson was more fluent, often jumping outside leg to manufacture swinging room and scoring opportunities. He progressed to 40 off 30 balls, but managed only 14 off his last 19 balls. The pick of his eight boundaries was a regal cut off Mavi, but the seamer bounced back to remove Samson for the fifth time in seven IPL innings. During the toss, Shreyas explained that Mavi had slotted back in place of Harshit Rana because of his favourable match-ups against the Royals batters. Mavi did his job, returning 1 for 33 in his four overs.Riyan Parg only flickered briefly (19 off 12 balls), but Shimron Hetmyer fired in the slog overs, as he has often done in the recent past, clattering an unbeaten 27 off 13 balls. He was particularly brutal on Southee, taking him for 17 off just five balls.Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh added an unbroken 66 for the fourth wicket•BCCIKKR’s go-slow
Samson’s early impetus and Hetmyer’s late blows gave Royals’ attack something to work with. Trent Boult swung the new ball and bothered both Aaron Finch and B Indrajith – Knight Riders’ fifth different opening combination this IPL. It was Sen who made the first incision when he rushed Finch and had him chopping on for 4 off 7 balls.Indrajith showed a glimpse of his improved white-ball potential when he ramped Prasidh over short fine leg for four. Prasidh, however, banged in a head-high bouncer next ball to have Indrajith top-edging a hook to fine leg, who had been pushed back onto the boundary after that four. Knight Riders stuttered to 32 for 2 in the powerplay.The Rana-Rinku show
Ashwin was introduced into the attack in the next over, and Shreyas carved his first ball away between backward point and short third man. Rana then laid into him in his third over, picking him off for 4,6,4 with a variety of sweeps, including the reverse-hit.Boult had Shreyas caught by Samson down the leg side for 34 off 32 balls, but Rana and Rinku completed the job for Knight Riders without much fuss. With Rana vulnerable to rapid pace and bounce, Rinku took on both Prasidh and Sen before lining up Chahal too. Often confined to being KKR’s regular substitute fielder in the IPL, Rinku showed off his batting chops by contributing 42 off just 23 balls to an unbroken 66-run stand with Rana.

Newcastle United are set to make a massive move to sign a new forward in 2025, according to a former Premier League scout.

Newcastle keen for additions

It was a tough summer for Eddie Howe and Newcastle United, and that has translated into a difficult start to the 2024/25 campaign too.

A 3-3 draw against Liverpool in their most recent outing was one of their best performances of a season that has otherwise been inconsistent, with the Magpies having managed just a point more than Manchester United at this point, though the congested nature of the league means that they remain just three points outside the top five.

With a favourable run of fixtures ahead, they will be hoping that they can finally string together a run of form to push back towards the top of the Premier League, but there is concern that they will struggle to strengthen in January amid financial fair play concerns and hefty prices.

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Leicester City (Home)

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Howe’s demands have been clear since the summer, with the Newcastle boss wanting at least another centre-back and a right-winger added to his side. So far this season, Anthony Gordon has been asked to play on the right flank this season, while Dan Burn has been repurposed in central defence, but neither are long-term solutions at St James’ Park.

There is a hope that the club can move Miguel Almiron on to raise some funds, and now they have been tipped to secure a massive deal in the summer.

Newcastle want to make statement signing

That is according to former Manchester United scout Mick Brown, who has claimed that the Magpies are looking to complete a summer deal to sign Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford.

The Bees attacker enjoyed an excellent start to the season under Thomas Frank, with eight goals to his name, leading to the Brentford boss labelling him a “top” player.

“For me, he’s a top player. I’m convinced one day he will play for a bigger club; I will definitely buy him if I was at a bigger club”, Frank explained.

Now, it is Newcastle that want to secure the Cameroon international, who they believe could be the perfect upgrade on the right-side of attack in the wake of a potential Almiron departure.

According to Brown, Mbeumo is “definitely their top target for the position”, but that it would “take a huge fee” to get him out of the G-Tech Stadium.

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“It won’t happen in January, I’m fairly certain of that, because Newcastle are restricted in what they’ll be able to spend”, he added, pointing to a summer deal being far more likely.

Brentford are not prepared to let Mbeumo leave in January unless a massive offer is tabled for him, something that Newcastle may struggle with midseason. However, the forward has just 18 months left to run on his £45,000 a week deal in London as things stand, and the summer could be the last time for the Bees to land a serious fee for the talent.

His potential summer arrival could finally provide Howe with balance in attack, and allow Gordon to return to his favoured left-wing position while providing a massive upgrade on Almiron for the Magpies.

Tottenham Hotspur are back in Premier League action again today, seeking to maintain their unbeaten start to the campaign with what is, on paper, a far easier task than their recent clashes.

Having overseen challenges from Arsenal and Liverpool to hand them a first loss, Ange Postecoglou, with the help of James Maddison and co, will be hoping that it is not newly-promoted Luton Town who now achieve the unthinkable.

How is James Maddison playing?

Should their £40m creator maintain his blistering form, there is little worry of any kind of upset occurring at Kenilworth Road, who are yet to oversee a win at home.

The former Leicester City man has taken to life in north London with remarkable ease, translating his impressive form from last term and arguably taking that up a level. His 8.03 average match rating actually makes him the division's second-highest-rated player, with his six goal contributions, 3.1 key passes and ball recoveries per game emphasising his relentless creativity but impressive work rate, via Sofascore.

11 Mar 1992 (a)

0-0 D

16 Nov 1991 (h)

4-1 W

01 Apr 1991 (a)

0-0 D

22 Dec 1990 (h)

2-1 W

02 Dec 1989 (a)

0-0 D

Stats via 11v11

Whilst Heung-min Son seeks to alleviate the huge offensive burden the 26-year-old carries, with six goals and zero assists, the South Korean is doing little in the way of creating.

That is a task seemingly left solely to Maddison, who would likely love some additional firepower to both afford him more space and allow him to push into those goalscoring zones.

Fortunately, the fitness of Giovani Lo Celso might just have returned at the perfect time.

How good is Giovani Lo Celso?

There is arguably no easier game for Postecoglou to ease the injury-prone Argentine back into action, given they are set to dominate possession and enjoy an easy afternoon.

After all, the former Real Betis magician has reportedly trained throughout the week, and could be handed a start to blow the hosts away before substituting him early.

Having spent last season on loan with Villarreal, the £70k-per-week maestro showcased that creativity that Maddison would surely crave alongside him, with the former Celtic boss having also favoured a system boasting two offensive number eights in the past.

In fact, when compared to other attacking midfielders across Europe, Lo Celso actually ranks in the top 6% for assists per 90, the top 4% for shot-creating actions per 90, and the top 1% for progressive passes per 90, via FBref.

There are arguably few better players to place beside the 5 foot 9 maestro, especially given the additional praise that journalist Milena Gimon handed to the left-footed star. Translating his Spanish adulation, she branded the 27-year-old "the master of the last pass".

With his ability to dictate a game from deep, perhaps his inclusion could truly unlock Maddison, helping him inject more goals into a play style that is already seemingly at its peak.

Were Lo Celso to start today, as the Lilywhites seek to make it six wins from eight games in the league, it would actually mark just his second start for Spurs in over 20 months, having featured in their EFL Cup defeat to Fulham last month, spent all the last campaign and a half on loan, and last started in their cup exit to Chelsea back in January 2022.

Even if it's for a half, the former Foxes superstar would certainly be appreciative of his presence.