Liverpool have taken their Premier League title challenge with Manchester City down to the last day of the season after taking all three points from St Mary’s last night.

Jurgen Klopp made the decision to rest key players like Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold for their penultimate league game after a tough 120 minute FA Cup Final on Sunday against Chelsea where the club picked up their second trophy of the season.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-liverpool-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-salah-gnabry-isak-romano” title= “Read the latest Liverpool news!”]

Luckily for the German coach his decision to rest players paid off. Although the game was tight between the two teams, Liverpool pulled through and prevailed in their efforts winning 2-1.

Despite the tight scoreline, the Kopites dominated in every area of the game with 71% possession, 20 more shots, over twice as many accurate passes and winning more duels than Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side on Tuesday evening.

The goal-scoring started with Southampton taking an early lead when Nathan Redmond found the back of the net in the 13th minute of the game, but it wasn’t enough to hold off Liverpool’s FA Cup and Carabao Cup top scorer Taki Minamino who delivered a defiant response by equalising in the 27th minute.

In the second half, the hosts struggled to contain their visitors and Joel Matip managed to put one past Alex McCarthy in the 67th minute to kill the game and ruin Manchester City’s Premier League title party and take their title chances all the way to the final day of the season.

One player who didn’t get on the scoresheet but remained resilient and put on a solid performance to become Klopp’s unsung hero in the game was James Milner.

According to SofaScore, the 36-year-old midfielder was supreme in possession, making 123 touches, 86 passes, six key passes and successfully delivering 100% of his long balls.

The former £150k-per-week England international was also superb from a defensive point of view, winning 80% of his duels whilst making four tackles, one interception and producing a clearance, proving that he was a huge presence in the centre of the pitch.

With those kinds of statistics in mind, it’s hardly a surprise that writer Taj Ali took to Twitter to describe the veteran as a “beast.”

The Liverpool vice-captain is currently negotiating a new deal with the club after Jurgen Klopp reportedly wants to keep the former Man City star at the club for next season, and spoke out on Klopp and his current contract situation recently in an interview with Alan Shearer for The Athletic:

“He’s one of the very best managers in the world and if he wants me here for another year, it would be silly not to play, wouldn’t it?”

The Merseyside giants will have to hope Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa can steal the game from Man City on Sunday if they have any chance of winning the league but Klopp’s side have done their job in making sure they can stay involved with the challenge which is all the manager can ask from his side ahead of their Champions League final clash with Real Madrid at the end of the month.

AND in other news: Liverpool eyeing bid for “complete” £36m-rated colossus, he’s even better than Fabinho…

Sherfane Rutherford’s maiden ODI century helped West Indies break their 11-match losing streak against Bangladesh with a five-wicket win in St Kitts. The home side hunted down a target of 295 to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, with Rutherford’s 80-ball 113 comprehensively overturning a slow start to the chase. West Indies, who had at one point needed 161 off 114 balls, reached their target with 14 balls remaining.Rutherford, who was struck twice on his helmet during his innings, reached his century when Bangladesh conceded six runs via overthrows in the 47th over. He celebrated the milestone with consecutive sixes off Soumya Sarkar, over long-off and midwicket. Then he squeezed one to short third man where Nahid Rana completed a catch, but by then West Indies only needed seven more.Rutherford struck seven fours and eight sixes as he went from 19 off 29 balls in the 32nd over to score a further 94 runs in 51 balls. He now has five consecutive 50-plus scores in ODIs, becoming the fourth West Indian after Gordon Greenidge, Chris Gayle and Shai Hope, who have six in a row each, to achieve this feat.Rutherford added 99 runs for the fourth wicket with captain Hope who contributed an 88-ball 86 after coming in at 27 for 2. Then Rutherford and Justin Greaves blasted 95 runs off just 57 balls for the fifth wicket. Greaves scored the winning runs and finished on an unbeaten 41 off 31 balls with five fours.West Indies were in trouble for much of the first half of their chase. They lost both Brandon King and Evin Lewis in the first powerplay and couldn’t get going against Bangladesh’s fast-bowling trio. Tanzim Hasan Sakib trapped King lbw for 9 off 17 when he tried to pull one that wasn’t short enough, and Nahid Rana struck Lewis’ back pad in front of the stumps with a 148.9 kph delivery in the next over It was then up to Hope and Keacy Carty to consolidate.Shai Hope and Sherfane Rutherford added 99 runs for the fourth wicket•Randy Brooks

They added 67 runs in the following 13.3 overs for the third wicket, with Carty scoring a cautious 21 off 37 balls. Rishad Hossain’s short ball had him caught at short midwicket in a disappointing dismissal for the in-form West Indies batter.The home side slowed down significantly during this third-wicket partnership, and the required rate reached eight an over with 21 overs remaining in the chase. That’s when Hope slammed his opposite number Mehidy Hasan Miraz down the ground for six. It broke a spell of 28 balls without a boundary.That hit opened the floodgates as Rutherford struck Mehidy for a four and a six in the 32nd over, before driving Taskin for a boundary in the 33rd. Hope hammered Rishad down the ground for sixes in consecutive overs, and Rutherford, bothered by the short ball until this point, pulled Rana for a six in between. He reached his fifty in the 36th over.Mehidy then gave Bangladesh a lifeline when he had Hope caught at deep midwicket, but the 99-run fourth wicket stand had already given West Indies much-needed impetus. Greaves then hit three fours in as many overs, and ensured he kept the momentum going.Rutherford then upped the ante when he pulled Tanzim for his third six, following it up with his fourth in the following over off Mehidy. Rutherford reached his highest ODI score in the 43rd over, with twin sixes off Taskin. When Greaves carved Tanzim through the covers in the following over, West Indies’ required rate came down to a run a ball, with just 37 needed.Tanzid Hasan played his shots from the get-go•Randy Brooks

Bangladesh’s innings had also revolved around three significant partnerships. They got off to a quick start before Soumya Sarkar fell in the fifth over. Soumya, fresh from becoming the GSL’s Player of the Tournament, struck Alzarri Joseph for consecutive fours before falling caught behind later in the same over. Litton Das followed him shortly afterwards, getting caught behind to Romario Shepherd.Tanzid Hasan, however had already struck a straight six and three fours. He added 79 runs for the third wicket captain Mehidy, who survived two chances, with Carty dropping him on 1 and 31. Mehidy rode his luck, top scoring with 74. Tanzid looked by far the more confident of the two, hitting two more sixes over long-off and finding boundaries all around the wicket.Tanzid, however, fell against the run of play in the 24th over when Alzarri Joseph had him caught at point. He made a run-a-ball 60, walking off disappointed at missing out on a bigger score. Mehidy meanwhile continued to rotate the strike with the returning Afif Hossain. The fourth-wicket pair added 54 before Shepherd got Afif caught on the leg-side boundary.Mehidy eventually made 74 off 101 balls, hitting six fours and a superb whipped six over fine-leg off Jayden Seales. He fell to the same bowler in the 38th over, skying to extra cover where Rutherford took the catch.Mehidy had laid the perfect foundation for Jaker Ali and Mahmudullah, who added 96 runs for the sixth wicket, 84 of which came in the last ten overs. Mahmudullah smashed three sixes on the leg side, and as many fours, in his unbeaten 50 off 44 balls.Jaker also struck three sixes, one of them off Joseph landing outside the stadium’s premises. He made 48 off 40 balls, falling off the penultimate ball of the innings to Shepherd, who finished with three wickets. Jaker and Mahmudullah struck all their six sixes in the last 6.3 overs of Bangladesh’s innings.

Bayern Munich's honorary president Uli Hoeness has appeared confirm that Nicolas Jackson won't join the German champions permanently next summer. Jackson completed his move on deadline day after Bayern agreed a deal with the Blues for the Senegalese striker to join on an initial season-long loan with an obligation to buy next year for £56 million (€64.5m/$76m).

Bayern chief confirms Jackson unlikely to join Bayern permanentlySigned for Bayern on loan on deadline dayFell out of favour at ChelseaFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Jackson, who fell out of favour at Chelsea under Enzo Maresca, was linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge throughout the summer. Towards the end of the window, a deal was finally agreed where he would sign for Bayern on a loan deal. The move, however, was on the verge of a collapse as the Blues told Bayern they could not proceed with the transfer after Liam Delap's hamstring injury. The striker and his agent had already reached Munich, but were ordered to return to London. In the end, though, the transfer materialised as the Premier League giants recalled Marc Guiu from his loan spell at Sunderland. 

AdvertisementAFPTHE BIGGER PICTURE

While many believed that Jackson's association with Chelsea was over following his switch to Bayern, the German club's honorary president Hoeness has cited one clause in the deal that could prevent the striker's permanent transfer next summer, as it is unlikely to be fulfilled. 

WHAT HOENESS SAID

Speaking to , the Bayern chief said: "The player and his agent contribute for €3m, so we pay €13.5m loan fee. There will definitely not be a permanent contract. That only happens if he plays 40 games from the start, it will never happen."

Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR JACKSON?

For now, Jackson remains focused on impressing Bayern boss Vincent Kompany in a bid to revive his career. The Senegal international could make his debut for Bayern on September 13 as they take on Hamburger SV in a Bundesliga clash.

Dutch batsman’s new deal will take him through to his 40th birthday

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Oct-2019

Ryan ten Doeschate is drenched is bubbly by his team-mates•Getty Images

Essex’s Championship-winning captain Ryan ten Doeschate has signed a one-year extension with the club, putting an end to speculation that he would follow Ravi Bopara out of Chelmsford.Ten Doeschate told ESPNcricinfo he would “take stock” before committing to a new contract at the club after leading them to a second Championship title in three years, saying he was “deeply aware there’s a time to move on.”But after his team-mate of 16 years Bopara left the club to join Sussex on Wednesday, ten Doeschate confirmed that he would spend the 2020 season at Essex.Ten Doeschate said: “I’m really pleased to extend my contract at the club and my affinity for Essex and the players just grows stronger and stronger.”We had an amazing season in 2019, but we’re constantly striving to improve and we want to build on our success.”I’m excited about the challenges and battles we’ll face in 2020, and I’m looking forward to giving my all in what will hopefully another successful year.”Ten Doeschate captained the club across formats from 2016 to 2018, but relinquished the T20 captaincy to Simon Harmer this year. He has represented the club 477 times in all formats, scoring 27 hundreds and taking more than 300 wickets in the process.He is currently in the UAE, where he will hope to play a key role in leading Netherlands through the T20 World Cup qualifier.Anthony McGrath, Essex’s head coach, said: “Ryan is a huge player for us, both on the field and in the dressing room, so we are all delighted that he will be staying for at least another season.”He’s a natural leader and has led this side to some fantastic achievements over recent years, and hopefully with any luck, there will be more to come.”

MatériaMais Notícias

da betway： A delegação do time feminino do Corinthians foi impedida de embarcar nesta terça-feira para a Argentina, onde disputará a Libertadores. Isso porque a companhia aérea Turkish Airlines entende que brasileiros não podem ir para a Argentina, por decreto daquele país relacionado ao coronavírus.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasCorinthiansCássio e mais sete: Corinthians confirma surto de Covid-19 antes de clássico contra o PalmeirasCorinthians02/03/2021CorinthiansWalter se despede do Corinthians antes de ser anunciado pelo CuiabáCorinthians02/03/2021Futebol NacionalCorinthians x Palmeiras, Barcelona x Sevilla… saiba onde assistir aos jogos da quarta-feiraFutebol Nacional02/03/2021

da jogodeouro： O clube divulgou que a diretora Cristiane Gambaré, ainda no Aeroporto Internacional de Guarulhos, conversou com a Conmebol e com a Turkish para tentar embarque ainda nesta noite. Por volta das 19h, o clube foi informado que, de fato, não seria possível o embarque e, como alternativa, foi oferecido uma troca de voo para esta quarta-feira, com as Aerolineas Argentinas.

“O clube informa que condiciona a troca mediante garantias de embarque, já que a espera de cerca de quatro horas no aeroporto causou desgaste para atletas e funcionários e os expôs em um local de grande circulação de pessoas em meio a uma pandemia”, diz trecho do comunicado divulgado pelo Corinthians.

Apesar da proibição do governo argentino, atletas e demais funcionários que disputarão a chamada “competição-bolha” poderiam embarcar, porque são testados e isolados.

A equipe estreia nesta sexta, pela Libertadores feminina, contra o El Nacional-EQU, às 17h, no estádio Nuevo Francisco Urbano em Morón, Província de Buenos Aires.

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher fears the club's failure to sign Marc Guehi could come back to haunt them in the Premier League title race.

Liverpool missed out on Guehi signingCrystal Palace pulled plug late onCarragher fears it could cost LiverpoolFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Guehi, 25, was on the brink of joining the Reds on transfer deadline day after they agreed a £35 million fee (€40.5m/$47m) with Crystal Palace for the defender. However despite undergoing a medical with Liverpool, Palace pulled the plug at the last moment following reports that manager Oliver Glasner threatened to quit should the transfer go through without his side securing a replacement.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE

And while Carragher believes Liverpool remain firm favourites for the Premier League despite missing out on Guehi, he says the club will now be sweating on the fitness of defensive duo Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk in their pursuit of a second successive title in 2025-26.

WHAT CARRAGHER SAID

Speaking to The Overlap Podcast, Carragher – who made 737 appearances for Liverpool – said: "Might they [Liverpool] regret that [missing out on Guehi]? Listen, they are three games in, nine points from nine and probably not played that well, so we would probably all say they are big favourites, Liverpool. But that is the one area [defence] where that could come back and blow up in their face because they haven't really got that [cover]. What Guehi was getting was giving Liverpool competition at centre-back. They haven't really got that. They've got two starters and two understudies.

"Joe Gomez, injury-prone himself, and the young lad from Italy [Giovanni Leoni], he is going to be a great prospect, but if you think if one of them had to play for a couple of months, it is a big difference."

DID YOU KNOW?

Guehi showed no signs of lingering frustration over his scuppered Liverpool move after starring in England's victories over Andorra and Serbia during the international break. The former Chelsea centre-back started both games and scored his first Three Lions goal in the thumping 5-0 win over Serbia on Tuesday.

da betsson： Glasgow Rangers transfer business in January stretched to three loan signings – albeit one has an obligation to buy clause – and it is clear that Philippe Clement is aiming for the summer window in order to spend money on new arrivals.

da bet vitoria： His budget may well be determined by how many players the 49-year-old coach can move on, and with six players out of contract at the end of the season, a large portion of the wage budget could be cleared.

Unfortunately, this is how the club have to operate in this day in age, and it means the Light Blues have missed out on more than their fair share of transfer targets.

Over the previous few years, Rangers could have signed Ivan Toney, Joey Veerman and Luis Palma if they had been a bit less stringent on the purse strings and all three have enjoyed success elsewhere, notably Toney.

This hasn’t just been happening since the club retained their top flight status, however, as managers such as the late Walter Smith and Dick Advocaat have also missed out on the odd superstar, which could have bolstered the Ibrox side significantly.

Back at the turn of the century, it was the Dutchman who was keen on signing a promising compatriot, yet he lost out to Manchester United…

Rangers came close to signing Rudd van Nistelrooy

Following their second successive title win during the 1999/00 campaign, Advocaat looked at strengthening his side so they could progress in Europe, something they had not done under the Dutchman’s reign thus far.

The Gers were keen on bringing Ruud van Nistelrooy to Glasgow that summer, yet Advocaat admitted later that the club had failed with a £15m bid to lure him from PSV Eindhoven, where he had emerged as one of the finest young strikers on the continent.

"We could have brought van Nistelrooy into Ibrox so I called his agent because he comes from the same town in Holland where I was brought up,” said Advocaat. "But he told me that there`s no way Ruud will come to Scotland.”

The striker instead chose to sign for Manchester United in a deal worth around £19m in the summer of 2001, although injury had prevented him from joining the year before.

It shows that Rangers were eyeing up a move for a player who would turn into a world-class centre-forward, but instead, they spent £12m on bringing Tore Andre Flo to Glasgow from Chelsea in November 2000.

What might have been for the Light Blues if they had managed to convince Van Nistelrooy that Ibrox was the place to be 24 years ago? Instead, he shone in the Premier League for the Red Devils before joining Real Madrid.

Ruud van Nistelrooy would thrive for Man United

Sir Alex Ferguson had led the Old Trafford side to three league titles in a row and the signing of Van Nistelrooy in 2001 looked like it was the final piece of the jigsaw as he sought to become the first manager to win four straight titles in England.

Arsenal won the double that season, however, but the Dutchman’s goals ensured they would win the Premier League during the 2002/03 campaign and the former PSV striker ended up scoring 80 goals during his first two seasons in Manchester, a staggering total.

He led United to the FA Cup in 2004 having plundered another 30 goals for the side, but this would be the final campaign that the supporters would see him at his very best, as injuries began to take their toll on the forward.

His final two campaigns at United saw Van Nistelrooy score 16 and 24 goals respectively, but only the League Cup was won before he departed to join Real Madrid at the end of the season.

At his peak, the Dutchman was one of the most lethal centre-forwards in the world and former teammate Rio Ferdinand lauded him, saying: “Van Nistelrooy was the most devastating finisher I have ever played with. We could win a game by three or four goals but, if he hadn’t scored, he would sulk.”

Ruud Van Nistelrooy's career statistics

Games

Goals

Man United

219

150

Real Madrid

96

64

PSV Eindhoven

90

77

Hamburg

44

17

Heerenveen

39

16

Malaga

32

5

Den Bosch

4

2

Via Transfermarkt

High praise indeed and the player won two La Liga titles at Madrid, before ending his career at Malaga in 2012.

Imagine the success Rangers could have had if the former Man United striker signed for them instead?

Rangers struggled without Ruud van Nistelrooy

Having missed out on his compatriot, Advocaat oversaw a woeful campaign in which the Gers finished a distant second behind Celtic, who looked rejuvenated under new manager Martin O’Neil, securing the domestic treble in his first season in charge.

While a cup double was secured under Alex McLeish – Advocaat’s successor – the Light Blues once again struggled in the league.

There is no doubt they would have certainly challenged Celtic a lot more closely had they been able to call upon the goals of Van Nistelrooy on a regular basis, as Flo simply was not worth the £12m Rangers shelled out on him.

During his time at the club, the former Chelsea forward scored 36 goals in 79 matches for the Glasgow side, and while his awkward nature in the opposition box was certainly successful, he failed to really hit it off with the supporters.

Van Nistelrooy, on the other hand, went on to showcase his talents in arguably the best league in Europe, while also shining in the Champions League and missing out on him must go down as a massive what if moment for the Gers.

This is all conjecture, of course. He may have arrived in Scotland and failed to settle. At a time when money was seemingly no object, the Ibrox side made their fair share of wrong moves and failing to sign the Dutchman was certainly one of them.

While Clement won't be able to sign players in a similar class to him, he will be hoping that the board back him significantly and that he signs the players who not only can improve the team, but will also generate the team plenty of profit in the long run.

Antony was welcomed back to Spain with a huge reception from the Real Betis fans on Monday night after completing his move from Manchester United.

• Antony joins Betis from Man Utd 
• Completed the move on deadline day
• Fans swarmed the Brazilian's car in the city

Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Real Betis fans gave a rousing reception to Antony in the city of Seville on Monday night, after the Brazilian completed a last-gasp move from Manchester United on deadline day. Antony's future remained in limbo throughout the summer, with the La Liga side unable to meet United's valuation. But the player and the fans will be absolutely ecstatic for the stint to continue.

Advertisement

• WATCH THE CLIP

• Getty Images
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Antony spent the latter half of the 2024-25 season on loan at the Benito Villamarin, scoring nine goals in 26 games across all competitions as Manuel Pellegrini's men earned a runners-up medal in the Conference League and a sixth-place finish to qualify for this season's Europa League. With Betis remaining hopeful of signing the former Ajax wonderkid, and no other teams showing serious interest, the Red Devils decided to sell Antony for a cut-price €25 million (£22m/$29m) fee. He joins Los Verdiblancos on a five-year deal, until 2030.

• AFP
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR ANTONY?

  The left-footed winger will be keen to revive his career at Betis and earn a spot in Brazil's squad for the 2026 World Cup. He will be expected to feature in his first game in the 2025-26 season on September 14, against newly-promoted Levante. 

Led by a new captain, South Africa could hand out at least two new caps; India likely to pick Dhawan over Rahul

The Preview by Karthik Krishnaswamy17-Sep-20199:14

Agarkar: Don’t want Pant to curb instinctive game

Big Picture

India’s home season was supposed to begin in Dharamsala, but rain ensured it did not. Our preview for the first T20I, therefore, could serve just as well as a preview to the second one in Mohali.If you’re looking for the TL;DR version, here goes.

WATCH on ESPN+

India v South Africa is available in the US on Hotstar and ESPN+. Subscribe to ESPN+ and tune into the three T20s and three Tests.
Wednesday, Sep 18, 9.20 am ET on ESPN+: India v SA, 2nd T20, Mohali
Sunday, Sep 22, 9.20 am ET on ESPN+: India v SA, 3rd T20, Bengaluru

South Africa, looking to rebuild after a terrible ODI World Cup, have an entirely new-look squad – four of their players are uncapped in T20Is and two are yet to play any international cricket – led by a new captain, Quinton de Kock.India, meanwhile, seem to be stepping away from their old, ODI-influenced T20I template, with their selections pointing towards a desire for increased batting depth. The wristspin twins, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, have as a result given way – temporarily at least – to a plethora of spin-bowling allrounders.For both teams, the series gains extra significance with a T20 World Cup coming up in just over a year’s time.That World Cup will be played in Australia, and if any Indian ground can simulate Australian T20 conditions, it is Mohali. The resemblance isn’t as much to do with the pitch, which is usually true and flat rather than fast and bouncy, as with the vast outfield, which gives bowlers a little more leeway and adds a bit more of a tactical dimension to matches, with sixes a slightly scarcer commodity than usual.

In the spotlight

Hardik Pandya has batted 61 times in 66 matches for Mumbai Indians, but only 24 times in 38 T20Is. How have India underutilised his hitting skills to this extent? The answer, perhaps, is that they have for far too long batted too conservatively at the start of their innings, and as a result not allowed him enough time in the middle. Will their new emphasis on batting depth also free up the top order to take more risks?He didn’t have the greatest of World Cups, and he’s slipped away from the spotlight in the months since while the world has raved about Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer. It might surprise you to learn that Kagiso Rabada is younger than both of them. He’ll want to begin this new international season, and this new era in South African cricket, with a bang, and remind the world that this other incredibly gifted young fast bowler is still around.Associated Press

Team news

Who will partner Rohit Sharma at the top of the order for India – Shikhar Dhawan or KL Rahul? From their practice session on Tuesday, it appeared that Dhawan might win that race.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan/KL Rahul, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Manish Pandey/Shreyas Iyer, 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 Washington Sundar/Rahul Chahar, 10 Deepak Chahar, 11 Navdeep SainiTemba Bavuma, Anrich Nortje, and the two spin-bowling allrounders, Bjorn Fortuin and George Linde, are yet to make their T20I debuts. At least two of them might do so on Wednesday.South Africa (probable): 1 Quinton de Kock (capt & wk), 2 Reeza Hendricks, 3 Rassie van der Dussen, 4 Temba Bavuma, 5 David Miller, 6 Andile Phehlukwayo, 7 Dwaine Pretorius, 8 Bjorn Fortuin/George Linde, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Junior Dala/Anrich Nortje, 11 Tabraiz Shamsi

Pitch and conditions

Mohali is expected to be warm and dry on Wednesday, with no rain forecast. The pitch usually produces evenly balanced T20 contests, with seven matches in the 2019 IPL season giving us an average first-innings total of 171, and the chasing team winning five times.

Stats and trivia

• Virat Kohli’s average of 28.83 against South Africa is his second-poorest against any T20I opponent. He’s done worse only against Ireland, against whom he’s scored nine runs in two innings at 4.50.
• David Miller has scored 730 runs in 29 T20 matches in Mohali, at an average of 45.62 and a strike rate of 150.51. Only Shaun Marsh has scored more T20 runs at the venue.

Quotes

“They’re both good players in their own right. It’s always going to be a good competition. They like being very positive in the way they play their cricket, and it could a great thing to watch.”

Do Arsenal need a striker? Probably. However, their 6-0 drubbing of West Ham United last Sunday proved that they can indeed score a bucket load of goals without that typical no.9 in their system.

Leandro Trossard was a menace to the Irons backline, scoring the fourth goal after picking up a lovely little pocket of space inside the area.

A week prior Kai Havertz had also flourished in that false 9 role, proving to be a "handful" – in the words of Ray Parlour – to the Liverpool defenders in that 3-1 win at the Emirates.

So, where do the Gunners go from here? Well, after a run of three games around the New Year period where they scored just once across three games, a new forward will likely still arrive in the summer.

Who is that man? Well, there's one name on the lips of plenty at the moment; Ivan Toney.

The latest on Arsenal's hunt for Ivan Toney

With the threat of exceeding financial fair play guidelines in January Arsenal decided against signing anyone.

Even if they had the money, trying to get any deal over the line would have been a difficult task. After all, Toney had been touted in some circles as an £80m transfer waiting to happen while another target in Victor Osimhen is set to cost over £100m.

Arsenal reportedly 'want' the Brentford striker and Bees manager Thomas Frank has already admitted it's likely he'll be moved on in the summer.

Frank recently stated: "It is relatively obvious that Ivan Toney will probably be sold this summer. "We also know what he is worth. I don't think there are many strikers in the world who are better than him right now."

Toney's response was rather damning, suggesting the Dane no longer wanted him in west London. This feels like a marriage reaching breaking point as the next transfer window fast approaches.

Mikel Arteta and Co seemingly have the perfect opportunity to acquire the striker, then, but agreeing on a fee for a man with three goals in four outings since his return from a betting ban will be the major stumbling block.

Therefore, are there other options? Well, turning to the academy, something Arteta hasn't favoured too much, could be a solution.

Arsenal's academy solution

The Arsenal boss has overseen the development of Bukayo Saka during his tenure in north London but as this Arsenal squad gets better and the demands become greater, he's not favoured the usage of the Hale End academy.

Considering Saka's breakthrough it's rather disappointing. It meant the end for the free-scoring Folarin Balogun in London and it's also seen Omari Hutchinson bite the dust too, moving to Chelsea.

Lino Sousa has now departed for Aston Villa but thankfully, some of the club's brightest young talents remain. One of those is Ethan Nwaneri.

The 16-year-old became the youngest ever player to feature in the Premier League when he was a substitute against none other than Toney's Brentford, and was used again for the first time since that debut outing versus West Ham last weekend.

In time another 16-year-old could become Arsenal's striking solution. Toney may well be signed but if the club are priced out in a few months time and thus, opt to stick with their current options in the summer, we could well see a blossoming academy talent unleashed sparingly.

That happens to be Chido Obi-Martin. You may well know the name. He went viral earlier this season for scoring ten goals in one game against Liverpool. Yes, ten. 10. It's a staggering accomplishment.

Talk about putting pressure on yourself too. In an official capacity, the vibrant attacker has found the net three times in six outings for Jack Wilshere's U18s this term and has already made his debut for the U21 side, featuring twice in Premier League 2 to date.

The teenager seems to have a habit of scoring goals by the bucketload, netting a hat-trick versus Southampton this term and also scoring four goals in one game for Denmark's U16s back in August.

Having trained with the first team too, it's clear that Obi-Martin is on the radar of Arteta and if Nwaneri's fleeting appearances are anything to go by, he could be seen in the first-team before too long.

Described as a "very special" talent by Arsenal pundit Adrian Clarke, it would be unrealistic to suggest Obi-Martin could get anywhere near Toney at this moment in time.

That said, should the Gunners fail to get a move over the line this summer then diving into the academy could be a serious consideration for Arteta and his coaching staff. The teenager will not become an overnight hit but if they invest in his development, they could unearth a prospect capable of becoming a real star in a few years time.