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The home bowlers work hard to get the better of a slow pitch and a resolute opposition

Sidharth Monga27-Nov-20212:00

Vettori: Axar’s pace, consistency and accuracy were brilliant

Far too often, India win far too easily at home these days. Since the last time they lost a series at home, India have lost two of 38 Tests, and drawn five (three of them weather-affected). Of the 31 wins, only one has been by a margin of under 100 runs or six wickets. The two losses have been when they have lost a crucial toss.However, once in a while, along comes a pitch so slow and low, and along comes a No. 1 team in the world who doesn’t make unforced errors. Edges keep falling short, ones that beat them keep missing the stumps, turn keeps getting slower and slower, and we have a proper challenge.Watch live cricket on ESPN+ in the US

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When the third day started, India knew they were in for a hard day’s work. They had bowled 57 overs on this pitch for no wicket even though they had produced 56 false responses from the batters. As a comparison, India were bowled out in 96 mistakes. It points to some good fortune for the New Zealand openers, but also to how slow and low the pitch had become. You could beat them with sideways turn, which kept increasing, but taking wickets was going to be hard work.In other words, this was not a pitch or an opposition that you could run through with two good bowlers. In three days, there has hardly been a single opportunity at bat-pad. Gully has been kneeling on the floor. Each of the bowlers had to do a job here, and they did.He might have got just three wickets, but R Ashwin was masterful in his 11-over spell in the morning. Axar Patel, who ran away with a five-for, his fifth in just four Tests, was asked what advice he would give his batters on day four given the conditions. He said there wasn’t much to worry with the pitch; only if the spinners are patient can they trouble batters.Ashwin hates the word patience. At least in the traditional parlance, which is to say keep trying your stock ball, experiment less, and the results will come. He was anything but patient. He poured out a career worth of tricks in a spell. He changed the angles of the seam, he changed the angles on the crease, he changed the points of release, he changed the pace. He bowled the carrom ball, he bowled the arm ball, he bowled a legspinner’s topspinner, and he bowled a lot of offbreaks.Related

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At one point, Ashwin caused a pause in play because the umpire was so flummoxed by the angle of his run-up, which was perfectly legal but is so rarely used it is hard to remember anyone doing it. He ran in from the umpire’s right, got extremely close to him, the closest you can without whacking him, released the ball from practically in front of the umpire, and kept running along the diagonal. While doing this, he made sure he was not close to the danger area.Even while he did all this, Ashwin had the ball on a string. It dipped and drifted beautifully, giving the batters hardly any easy boundary, if at all. On a pitch that other bowlers have drawn a false shot once every seven balls, Ashwin did so once every five balls. This was one of the great spells of spin bowling just for the sheer number of times he beat batters in the air on a pitch that had not yet begun to help the spinners.Tom Latham is an expert batter, tight in defence but severe on anything loose. He batted close to seven hours for just 95 runs not because he was overly defensive, but because he was not given anything to score off. Batting often gets easier the more time you spend on the wicket, but it kept getting difficult the more Latham faced Ashwin.Despite a determined show from New Zealand, India’s bowlers kept creating mistake after mistake, bowling good ball after good ball.•BCCIAnd it wasn’t just Ashwin. It can’t be on such pitches. Ishant Sharma put in a spell of 6-2-20-0 in the morning before other spinners took over. Umesh Yadav then produced his usual brute out of nowhere to take out another big batter Kane Williamson.When so much pressure has been built, it is imperative the change-up bowlers don’t release it. Forget releasing the pressure, India’s change-up bowlers on this day are experts of exploiting it. The harder newer ball drew quicker response from the pitch, and Axar and Ravindra Jadeja started targeting the stumps.Axar had the better day of the two. Interestingly, he said the wider he went on the crease and the lower he went on the release, the more assistance he got from the pitch. So he just kept mixing up high-release straighter deliveries with roundarm turning ones. The accuracy was unerring. He was lethal once it started misbehaving.The endeavour of Test batting, especially away from home, is to see off the main threats and then cash in on either tired or lesser bowlers. There was no lesser bowler. In the pleasant temperatures of Kanpur, which ironically means the cracks didn’t quite open up sooner, there was no question these bowlers were tiring.It took India 67 mistakes to get their first wicket, the most it has taken for an opening wicket to fall in India since ESPNcricinfo started keeping control stats. It took India 133 mistakes in all to bowl New Zealand out. But they kept at it, creating mistake after mistake, bowling good ball after good ball.It will take more of the same in the second innings – although it is getting progressively difficult to bat on – but if India can manage to pull off a win here, New Zealand’s innings of 142.5 overs will be the fifth-longest first innings by a visiting team in a lost Test in India. This win will not have come easy.

Sri Lanka’s batting imploded in the face of a disciplined Zimbabwe attack, as they fell to a 67-run defeat in the second match of the men’s T20I tri-series in Rawalpindi. They were bowled out for 95, chasing a target of 163. For Zimbabwe, it was the perfect response to their opening game defeat to Pakistan.The wickets were spread among each of the six bowlers used by Zimbabwe. Richard Ngarava was excellent picking up figures of 2 for 15, but he was outdone by the ever-reliable Brad Evans, who ended with match best figures of 3 for 9.For Sri Lanka, only Dasun Shanaka, the stand-in skipper, produced an innings of any promise, during a backs-to-the-wall 34 off 25. The only other player to reach double digits was Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who struck a pained 11 off 18 playing his first T20I since January.Zimbabwe, who had been put in at the toss, had a much better time with the bat, led by Brian Bennett (49) and Sikandar Raza (47). It wasn’t a perfect innings as they limped to the finish, but it proved to be more than enough in the end. Wanindu Hasaranga picked up innings-best figures off 3 for 32, while debutant Eshan Malinga also impressed with 2 for 27.

Bennett and Raza set the tone

Bennett, as he has been doing increasingly of late, gave Zimbabwe a fast start inside the powerplay as he and Tadiwanashe Marumani put on a 26-run opening stand in a little over three overs. Sri Lanka though struck back, through Maheesh Theekshana and Malinga, to share the opening period with Zimbabwe on 46 for 2 after six oversSikandar Raza added 61 off 44 balls with Brian Bennett•Pakistan Cricket Board

However, Raza pushed himself up the order, likely in response to how their innings had fallen apart against Pakistan two nights ago, and together with Bennett set about putting up a 61-run partnership off just 44 deliveries.While Bennett fell for 49 for a second game running, the pair had ensured a solid platform as Zimbabwe’s 100 came up inside the 14th over. Raza continued on unbothered, on his way to 32-ball 47, inclusive for three fours and two sixes. With Raza at the crease, 180 was on the cards, and it would take a fantastic running catch in the deep from Shanaka to end his innings.With Bennett and Raza both back in the dugout, Zimbabwe’s innings closed out with a relative whimper; they struck 22 runs in the final three overs to sneak past the 160-mark. Malinga added to his impressive debut with a double-wicket penultimate over, while Dushmantha Chameera also gave away just 12 runs bowling two of the final three overs.

Sri Lanka’s house of (batting) horrors

Chasing 163, after the powerplay Sri Lanka had found themselves on 25 for 2, their lowest powerplay total in 14 T20Is in 2025. Zimbabwe’s combination of tight lines and lengths, and solid plans, had short-wired the thinking of the Sri Lankan batters.Pathum Nissanka had chipped one to midwicket in the opening over and Kusal Perera skied one to short fine leg in the next, but what followed was truly calamitous.Dasun Shanaka walks back after being dismissed•Associated Press

The returning Rajapaksa and Kusal Mendis ate up 26 deliveries in their 19-run stand, and such was the pressure being built by the likes of Ngarava, Tinotenda Maposa and Evans during this period, that the Lankan batters were starved of boundary deliveries and forced to take ever more risky singles.It was one such ill-fated run that brought an end to the partnership, as Rajapaksa struck one straight to cover before setting off on a non-existent single. By the time he looked up to realise his partner still at the other end, Rajapaksa was already halfway down. Not even a wayward throw to the wicketkeeper could save Kusal Mendis, who had made a belated dash for safety.An over later, Rajapaksa was at the non-striker’s end turning down a fairly straightforward single and nearly had Shanaka run out – a wicket spared only by a truly horrendous throw to the keeper.It wasn’t long before Rajapaksa himself was dismissed, clean bowled looking to hit out. It meant Sri Lanka had lost their top four inside the opening 10 overs – it was five midway through the 11th when Raza snuck one past Kamindu Mendis. Only Shanaka showed some defiance, but when he edged one behind from Ryan Burl, Sri Lanka’s faint hopes went with him. The rest of the batting dragged the game to the death, before Evans cleaned up the innings off the final delivery.

كشف هاني زهران محامي رمضان صبحي، تطورات موقف اللاعب بشأن الأزمة التي يعيشها لاعب فريق الأهلي السابق وبيراميدز الحالي.

وكان رمضان صبحي قد تم حسبه على خليفة قضيةالتزوير نتيجة دخول أحد الأشخاص مكانه لأداء الامتحانات في أحد المعاهد المصرية.

كما تم إعلان إيقافه لمدة 4 سنوات بسبب التلاعب في عينة المنشطات الخاصة به من قبل المحكمة الرياضية الدولية.

وقال زهران خلال تصريحات لبرنامج “نمبر وان” المذاع على قناة سي بي سي”: “أمامنا 30 يومًا للطعن على قرار المحكمة الرياضية بإيقاف رمضان صبحي أربع سنوات، (رمضان ما يستاهلش يبطل كورة)، هو لم يتعاطَ أي منشطات”.

وأضاف: “نخوض الطريق لآخره للدفاع عن رمضان صبحي، وبإذن الله ربنا يوفقنا في هذه الخطوة، ونسبة احتمالية قبول الطعون في المحكمة الفيدرالية السويسرية لا تتعدى 7%”.

طالع | قرار عاجل من محمود الخطيب بشأن أزمة “حبس وإيقاف” رمضان صبحي

وتابع: “وفي حالة عدم التوفيق سنصعّد القضية، ومن الممكن أن نلجأ للمحكمة الأوروبية لحقوق الإنسان في قضية رمضان صبحي”.

وأكمل: “لم يحدث تواصل مؤخرًا مع النادي الأهلي في قضية رمضان حتى الآن، ممكن يكون مع أسرة رمضان، لكن لم يحدث تواصل معي من النادي الأهلي حتى الآن”.

Rain has followed New Zealand from Colombo to Navi Mumbai, compounding their problems, while India, after three successive defeats, are running out of opportunities as well

Sruthi Ravindranath22-Oct-20254:02

Preview: A knockout game for New Zealand

Big picture – Time and chances running outThe pressure on India is higher than ever. Three successive losses in matches they could have won, mounting criticism, and five games in, they are still tinkering with combinations. But they now return to Navi Mumbai, a venue many in the squad know well through T20Is and the WPL, needing just a win against New Zealand to reach the semi-finals.New Zealand haven’t had it easy either. Their last two matches were washed out, and qualification now requires them to win both remaining games, against India and England. It’s a tougher ask, but not beyond a side that just celebrated the first anniversary of their T20 World Cup win, where they beat India in the opening match. They have won 34 out of the 57 ODIs against India, including six of their last nine encounters since 2022.Related

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Their campaign this time started with heavy defeats to Australia and South Africa, before they bounced back against Bangladesh. But they remain over-reliant on Sophie Devine with the bat, and their thin spin attack – with just Amelia Kerr and Eden Carson – has had limited impact on slower pitches.India, on the other hand, have had different contributors in every game but haven’t settled on a clear first-choice XI. After four matches with five bowlers, they dropped Jemimah Rodrigues to play an extra bowler against England. The move did seem to work as England were kept to 288 for 8 after a strong start, but India’s batting faltered under pressure in the chase, which has been a familiar story. They will want to address that.The weather could, however, have a say. Devine called the washouts in Colombo “frustrating”, and the forecast for Thursday isn’t encouraging either. Rain hit Navi Mumbai for over two hours in the evening two days before the match, cancelling India’s training session. A washout, however, would favour India, considering New Zealand have a tougher opponent in England to face in their last game, and just haven’t been able to get any sort of momentum going.More than anything else, Sophie Devine will want New Zealand to get a full game to show what they have got•ICC/Getty ImagesForm guideIndia LLLWW
New Zealand WLLWWIn the spotlight – Kranti Gaud and New Zealand’s openersAfter a promising start to the tournament, India’s young pacer Kranti Gaud has hit a bit of a bump. Her early spells, full of discipline and pinpoint yorkers, have been impressive, but her death bowling has come under the scanner. Against South Africa, she opened with a tidy 1 for 19 in five overs, only to concede 40 off her final four. She went wicketless in the last two games, conceding 73 runs off nine overs against Australia and 46 off eight against England. On a Navi Mumbai surface expected to be more batter-friendly, Gaud will need to recalibrate quickly if India are to keep New Zealand quiet.New Zealand are still waiting for their openers to turn up. Suzie Bates and Georgia Plimmer have endured a poor run – their partnership average of 10.66 is the second-worst among all teams this tournament. Bates followed two ducks with a 29 (run out) against Bangladesh, while Plimmer has managed just 35 runs across three games, struggling for fluency throughout. A more batting-friendly pitch probably awaits them at the DY Patil Stadium, where they will hope to give their side a strong start.Renuka Singh did well against England, but will she have to make way for Jemimah Rodrigues?•Getty ImagesTeam newsWill India revert to five bowlers for the crucial fixture? While their bowlers pulled things back well in the last ten overs against England, India might think they need the experience of Rodrigues at No. 5.India (possible): 1 Smriti Mandhana, 2 Pratika Rawal, 3 Harleen Deol, 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 5 Richa Ghosh (wk), 6 Amanjot Kaur, 7 Sneh Rana, 8 Deepti Sharma, 9 Renuka Singh/Jemimah Rodrigues, 10 Kranti Gaud, 11 Shree CharaniNew Zealand had kept their senior pacer Lea Tahuhu out tactically in the match against Sri Lanka, but brought her back in for the Pakistan game. They are likely to stay with the same XI.New Zealand (possible): 1 Suzie Bates, 2 Georgia Plimmer, 3 Amelia Kerr, 4 Sophie Devine (capt), 5 Brooke Halliday, 6 Maddy Green, 7 Isabella Gaze (wk), 8 Jess Kerr, 9 Rosemary Mair, 10 Eden Carson, 11 Lea TahuhuPitch and conditionsWhile the Navi Mumbai pitch didn’t seem to offer much for bowlers in the last match, Sri Lanka could post only 202 after opting to bat against Bangladesh. Chamari Athapaththu had said that there was some dew in the second half. There has been some unseasonal rain in Mumbai, and an interruption is likely on Thursday too. It’s expected to be hazy in the afternoon, with a chance of rain in the evening.Stats and trivia India have their poorest win-loss ratio for any team in ODI World Cups against New Zealand Bates is 67 runs away from becoming the second-leading run-scorer in ODIs. She needs 75 runs to complete 6000 runs in the format. Tahuhu will be playing her 200th international match. India have played eight T20Is at the DY Patil Stadium, winning four including one in a Super Over against Australia.

Jack Edwards and Nathan McSweeney scored fifties on a mixed-soil pitch to keep Australia A in the contest

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Sep-2025
Half-centuries from Nathan McSweeney and Jack Edwards, and Manav Suthar’s five-wicket haul, headlined the opening day of the second four-dayer between India A and Australia A in Lucknow. Picked as the lone specialist spinner, Suthar took 5 for 93, reining Australia A’s middle order in, on a mixed-soil pitch.After Shreyas Iyer, who had led India A in the first four-dayer withdrew from the second, Dhruv Jurel took over as captain and shared the wicketkeeping load with N Jagadeesan. Both wicketkeepers are likely to be picked in India’s squad for the two-match Test series against West Indies starting October 2. Allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who was playing his first competitive game since suffering a knee injury on the England tour, bowled eight overs and went wicketless on the first day.Incumbent Australia opener Sam Konstas, who scored a 122-ball century in the first four-dayer, played a more subdued innings in the second, scoring 49 off 91 balls before falling to Mohammed Siraj, who had been drafted into the team for this game along with KL Rahul, in the lead-up to the West Indies Test series. Siraj had Konstas nicking behind, with Jagadeesan taking the catch having just switched keeping duties with captain Jurel three overs ago.This was the second time in two matches during this series that Jurel and Jagadeesan had switched keeping duties in the middle of an innings, with the latter taking over the gloves from Jurel at the beginning of the second day’s play in the previous four-day game.Nathan McSweeney and Sam Konstas played out most of the first session•Tanuj Pandey/UPCAOllie Peake made 29 off 39 balls before Suthar breached his defences in the 45th over. When Suthar also dismissed Cooper Connolly, for a duck in his next over, Australia A were wobbling at 150 for 4. Their captain McSweeney, though, brought up his first half-century of the tour, in humid conditions, and moved to 74 before Punjab’s towering quick Gurnoor Brar, who has had a stint with the senior India team as a net bowler, had him caught by Ayush Badoni, who had replaced Iyer.”The pitch is playing quite nice,” McSweeney said after stumps on day one. “I think it has a little bit more pace in the wicket than last game, so you get great value for shots. The ball swung around a bit more than probably anticipated. But I thought the way Sammy [Sam Konstas] and I were able to play during that first session set up a decent day. Sammy’s playing beautifully, continuing on from last week. A pretty solid day at cricket.”Suthar was consistent with his lines and lengths. He had an economy rate of 3.32 while all of India’s frontline seamers went at over four an over.”I thought their left-arm spinner [Manav Suthar] bowled beautifully,” McSweeney said. “He bowled quite slow in the first session and the way he was able to be really consistent in the second, changing his pace, he got a few wickets. He was building pressure today. It’s a great template we can follow going into the next innings.”Josh Philippe and Edwards counterattacked, with both batters having strike rates of over 100. While Suthar cut Philippe’s innings short on 39 off 33, Edwards ran away to 88 off 78 balls, including 11 fours and a six. Todd Murphy, batting at No. 10, gave Edwards good company and ensured the innings did not slide to a premature end.Their ninth-wicket partnership ended on 55 when Brar removed Edwards in the 82nd over. Murphy and No.11 Henry Thornton survived the remaining 2.4 overs on the day and took Australia A to stumps.

Shohei Ohtani is now a World Series champion, but it's clear he wants more.

Soon after the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Yankees to win the World Series in five games on Wednesday night, Ohtani ran into Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. He immediately made a promise.

When the Dodgers gave Ohtani and 10-year, $700 million contract, the goal was to win championships. According to , Ohtani found Friedman and said, "Alright. Nine more, nine more."

The nine he's referring to is World Series titles. Ohtani has nine years left on his contract. So the greatest baseball player on the planet was saying his goal is to win a title in each year he plays with the Dodgers.

After that interaction, Friedman said, "In his first year, he won a championship. He's like, 'This is easy. We're just gonna do it again nine more times.'"

It's hard to argue against Ohtani having the best first season with a new franchise in MLB history. He hit .310, with 54 home runs, 130 RBIs, an OPS of 1.036 and he stole 59 bases becoming the first player to ever notch 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. Then, to cap it off, he led his team to a World Series title.

It will be hard for Ohtani to top his 2024 campaign. But if anyone can do it, he can.

New York Yankees star Jazz Chisholm Jr. stepped into the batter's box in the bottom of the 11th inning on Wednesday night with runners on first and third against the Kansas City Royals.

With the infield playing in to try to prevent the game-winning run from being scored, Chisholm hit a slider to the left side of the infield. Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. couldn't make a play after his diving stop, and the game-winning run came home to score as the Yankees walked off a 4-3 win in the Bronx.

The walk-off hit by Chisholm was consequential given the state of the playoff race in the AL East. The Yankees win and Baltimore Orioles's loss to the Boston Red Sox moved the Yankees into a game-and-a-half lead in the East.

For Chisholm, the first walk-off hit of his professional baseball career at any level was really special.

"Hit it where it's pitched and find a hole. Not trying to do too much, just trying to get a runner in," Chisholm said with a smile on his face after the win. "This is my first career walk-off so it means a lot right now."

Moments later, Chisholm was doused in an ice bath and had an incredible reaction.

"It's too cold in New York for those!" he said with a laugh.

Chisholm has kept it light and has been himself every step of the way since being acquired from the Miami Marlins in a trade earlier this season. Now he's playing a key role in a playoff race for the Yankees.

With talks continuing over Steven Gerrard’s potential Rangers return, an ex-Ibrox ace is now reportedly open to joining the former Gers boss in Glasgow.

Steven Gerrard has positive talks over Rangers return

It’s a big couple of weeks for the 49ers and the Gers, who were forced to face their first major mistake recently when sacking Russell Martin. The former boss won just one game in seven attempts in the Scottish Premiership and a draw at Falkirk proved to be the final straw in a tenure that was historically disappointing.

So, it’s back to square one for those at Ibrox and this time they must get things right on the manager front. They’re not short on potential options, either, when it comes to Martin replacements.

However, whilst Sean Dyche, Danny Rohl and others have been mentioned in recent reports, it looks as though Gerrard is emerging as the favourite to make his return to Rangers.

The former manager remains the last to dethrone Celtic in the Scottish Premiership and could now return to the dugout four years on from leaving the club for Aston Villa.

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According to reports, Rangers have already held positive talks with Gerrard, who has been out of a job since leaving Saudi Arabia side Al-Ettifaq in January.

Unlike other candidates, Gerrard’s appointment shouldn’t come with major risk factor. He’s been there and done it at Rangers. Even if the current job is arguably tougher than it once was, his experience with the Gers should prove to be invaluable compared to the likes of Rohl and Dyche.

What’s more, the 45-year-old has already been handed a key boost when it comes to his potential coaching staff in Scotland.

Defoe now open to joining Gerrard at Rangers

As reported by TeamTalk, Jermaine Defoe is now open to joining Gerrard at Rangers and reuniting with his former club in the process. The former striker was briefly an assistant manager after Gerrard left the Gers in 2021 and may now have the opportunity to return to the role for the first time in four years.

There’s little doubt that Defoe would say no to any potential Rangers offer, either, having told reporters:

It’s all slowly coming together for Gerrard and Rangers, who could have their replacement for Martin sealed sooner rather than later.

Tottenham boss Thomas Frank will “definitely” be without a star player for this weekend’s trip to Leeds United, with the Dane looking to get back to winning ways after a hard-fought draw at Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League.

Tottenham display grit again after rescuing 2-2 draw at Bodo/Glimt

For the third time this season, Spurs were forced to come back from a deficit to salvage any kind of result, with their 2-2 battle in Norway following Tottenham’s draw at Brighton by the same scoreline and a dramatic 1-1 at home to Wolves last weekend.

On this occasion, an 89th minute own goal by Jostein Gundersen rescued Spurs from what would have been an embarrassing defeat at the Aspmyra Stadion.

Thomas Frank’s managerial record at Tottenham so far

Stats

Matches

10

Wins

5

Draws

3

Losses

2

Points

15

Points per game

1.80

The match marked a return to the venue where Tottenham had triumphed in last season’s Europa League semi-finals and booked their place in Bilbao against Man United, which proved crucial to Ange Postecoglou ending their 17-year wait for silverware, but this visit told a very different story.

Bodo/Glimt dominated for extended periods, with Jens Petter Hauge scoring twice shortly after halftime to put the hosts 2-0 ahead.

Micky van de Ven, wearing the captain’s armband, pulled one back just minutes after Hauge’s second before the dramatic late OG gave Spurs an arguably undeserved point.

Frank’s tenure thus far has attracted mixed reviews from the Lilywhites fanbase due to Tottenham’s lack of real dominance over lesser sides, and this was certainly on full display in the Arctic Circle.

That being said, you can make a very real case that all the best sides in Europe are capable of getting results despite not playing at their very best.

It is also worth remembering that Tottenham impressed against PSG in the UEFA Super Cup final, battered London rivals West Ham and got the best of Premier League title contenders Man City at the Etihad, so there is reason to believe that Spurs are definitely improving from last season.

Their grit to battle back from losing positions so far is testament to this, and it is perhaps a sign of things to come under Frank as the tactician continues to assess his new squad.

Tottenham have been forced to deal with a plethora of absences for key players too, with James Maddison out for the majority of 2025/2026 after a nightmare pre-season injury, Dejan Kulusevski on the comeback trail and Radu Dragusin still recovering from an ACL problem.

Summer signing Randal Kolo Muani has been absent with a dead leg as well, but while the Frenchman is expected to return imminently, the same cannot be said for £140,000-per-week striker Dominic Solanke.

Dominic Solanke "definitely" set to miss Leeds as Tottenham given timeline

The England international was forced to undergo minor surgery on a niggling ankle problem, and while Frank doesn’t expect his lay-off to be long, journalist Tom Barclay has stated that Solanke will “definitely” be unavailable for their trip to Elland Road.

However, Tottenham are hopeful he’ll return after the international break.

His fitness issues have been a real cause for concern, with Solanke missing a total of 22 games through injury since joining Spurs from Bournemouth in the summer of 2024 as Harry Kane’s heir.

Richarlison has started almost all of Frank’s game in charge as a replacement for Solanke, scoring three goals, but concerns have surrounded the Brazilian as Tottenham’s focal point.

Last season, Solanke scored 16 goals and provided eight assists across 45 appearances in all competitions when fit and available — proving integral at times — and Frank needs the England forward back in his fold ahead of crucial matches against Aston Villa, Monaco, Everton, Newcastle and Chelsea right after the October internationals.

It wasn’t the start to their Champions League campaign Chelsea would’ve been looking for last night.

The Blues travelled to the scene of their greatest European achievement, but instead of getting another one over Bayern Munich, they were comfortably beaten.

Now, there were several starters who put in a good showing, like Cole Palmer and Robert Sanchez, but there were more who let themselves down.

One of those was Enzo Fernández, and since he’s not really been at it this season, Enzo Maresca should look to drop him for the Premier League clash against Manchester United in two days.

Fernandez's slow start to the season

Now, there is no doubting Fernandez’s quality; he’s a World Cup winner after all and played a pivotal role in Chelsea’s success last year.

Chalkboard

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

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However, as was the case at the beginning of last season, the former Benfica gem has not started the campaign in particularly impressive form.

For example, while he managed to bag a goal and assist in the win over Fulham, he’s only created one big chance in five appearances.

Moreover, in the Premier League, he has averaged just 1.5 key passes per game, been accurate in 20% of his crosses, completed 41% of his long balls, and been accurate in just 76% of his passes when in the opposition’s half.

Last night was probably the Argentine’s most underwhelming display yet, as even though he was moved further up the pitch, he offered practically nothing in attack while also lacking off the ball.

Fernández’s game vs Bayern

Minutes

81′

Expected Goals

0.23

Goals

0

Expected Assists

0.01

Assists

0

Touches

34

Accurate Passes

17/21 (81%)

Key Passes

0

Crosses (Accurate)

2 (0)

Long Balls (Accurate)

2 (0)

Shots on Target

0

Big Chances Missed

1

Lost Possession

9

All Stats via Sofascore

In fact, he amassed an expected assists figure of just 0.01, failed in 100% of his crosses and long balls, failed to have a single shot on target and missed a huge chance created by Palmer.

It was a performance that saw the Standard’s Simon Collings award him a 5/10 match rating at full-time, which was probably rather generous.

In all, it feels like Maresca should do what he did last season and take Fernandez out of the team for a little while, especially when he already has a player who could be the ideal replacement.

The player Maresca should start in place of Fernandez

While there are a few options Maresca could pick from, the player we think he should start against United is Andrey Santos.

Now, there is certainly an argument to be made that handing the 21-year-old his first Premier League start at Old Trafford, a ground Chelsea haven’t won at for over a decade, is a little foolish.

However, the young Brazilian does not seem like the sort of player to be overawed by that sort of thing, and his overall play from last season warrants him getting this chance.

He’s more than comfortable playing in a couple of midfield roles and has shown himself to be just as effective at breaking up play as he is at scoring and creating goals.

For example, in 34 appearances for Strasnourg last year, totalling 3024 minutes, the Rio de Janeiro-born ace scored 11 goals and provided five assists.

In other words, he maintained an average of a goal involvement every 2.12 games, or every 189 minutes.

Moreover, according to FBref, he ranks in the top 2% of midfielders across Europe’s top five leagues for tackles won, the top 4% for goals per shot and tackles in the middle third, the top 10 for tackles plus interceptions and more, all per 90.

Santos’ Scout Report

Statistics

Per 90

Percentile

Tackles Won

2.23

Top 2%

Non-Penalty Goals – npxG

+0.11

Top 3%

Goals/Shot

0.19

Top 4%

Tackles (Mid 3rd)

1.59

Top 4%

Non-Penalty Goals

0.27

Top 5%

Tackles

3.22

Top 5%

Pass Completion % (Long)

78.2%

Top 7%

Touches (Def 3rd)

19.12

Top 8%

Goals/Shot on Target

0.57

Top 9%

Goals + Assists

0.37

Top 10%

Tkl+Int

4.30

Top 10%

Fouls Drawn

2.00

Top 10%

Dribblers Tackled

1.42

Top 12%

Penalty Kicks Won

0.03

Top 12%

Stats via FBref

These numbers help to back up the claim made by analyst Ben Mattinson that the youngster is a “duel monster” who is “brilliant at screening the backline.”

Going even further than that, talent scout Jacek Kulig called him a “one-man war machine in midfield” due to his ability to seemingly do it all and constantly dash from one box to another.

Ultimately, there would be an element of risk in starting Santos over Fernadez on Saturday, but the Argentine hasn’t looked anywhere near his best this season, and based on his performances last year, the Brazilian could be just what Chelsea need.

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Posts 1 ByJack Salveson Holmes Sep 18, 2025