St James’ Park proved to be a fortress once more for Newcastle United on Saturday evening when Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City travelled to Tyneside.

This season so far in the Premier League, the Magpies are yet to win away from home, with three draws and defeats depressingly next to their name. At home, though, it’s a much different story, with four league wins collected with confidence, which now includes a 2-1 triumph over the Citizens.

Harvey Barnes was the difference maker on the day with two well-taken efforts under pressure, with this being the first time Newcastle have got the better of their opponents from Manchester since a slim 1-0 success in the EFL Cup back in 2023.

On that day, it was Alexander Isak who would break the deadlock, and while the sting of his departure to Liverpool was certainly felt in the immediate aftermath of his exit, Eddie Howe’s Toon aren’t dwelling too much on him no longer being around now, with the 47-year-old boss no doubt pleased with the attacking display on show from Barnes and many others.

How Newcastle downed Manchester City

Howe was beaming from ear to ear at the full-time whistle, as he finally got a career win over Guardiola in league action.

He would also be over the moon for the aforementioned Barnes, with the 27-year-old winger repaying his manager’s faith in him when being handed a fifth Premier League start of the season, as his first effort was stylishly placed home, before the vital second goal was somehow bundled into the back of the net.

Nick Woltemade would have felt aggrieved that he couldn’t get on the scoresheet, though, with four efforts passing him by. Still, with four Premier League efforts next to his name this season, away from drawing blanks up against Gianluigi Donnarumma, he has filled the void left behind by Isak expertly.

Both Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes also stood out during the 2-1 victory, as Guimaraes assisted Barnes’ first breakaway strike, while his Italian teammate won six duels and three tackles as a combative counterpart.

Yet, there was one star who stood out throughout who could now be labelled boldly as Howe’s next Isak, even with Woltemade at his disposal, for how influential he’s become in such a short space of time.

Howe's new Isak-esque figure

Of course, while the £125m sale is now struggling to settle at Anfield, he was a consistent top performer on Tyneside when he was still donning the famous black and white stripes.

Indeed, a deadly 62 strikes were tallied up by the lethal Scandinavian during his 102-game stay at St James’ Park, with Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher even hailing him as the “best striker in the Premier League” off the back of such potent form.

He immediately hit the ground running in England, too, with two goals from his first three league appearances for the Toon, with Malick Thiaw also making the transition from European football to English shores look easy, making him a strong candidate to be considered Howe’s next most influential player, much like Isak was.

With an 86% pass accuracy averaged across his eight Premier League games to date, and a commanding 4.6 duels won on average, some have even hailed the German as a “top five centre-back in the league this season”, with Isak also in the same esteemed conversations as a top five forward in the division.

Minutes played

90

Goals scored

0

Assists

0

Touches

36

Accurate passes

20/25 (80%)

Tackles won

1/1

Last man tackles

1

Interceptions

1

Clearances

7

Blocked shots

1

Ball recoveries

6

Total duels won

2/4

Thiaw has only enhanced his reputation for being an influential member of Howe’s first team with his commanding showing against Guardiola’s visitors, with 14-goal hero Erling Haaland completely negated by the former AC Milan defender, who restricted him to just 23 touches of the ball and two shots on target.

NUFCBlog hailed the performance as “outstanding” against “the best striker on the planet” as Thiaw even impressively stood his ground one-on-one with the frightening Norwegian early in the second half, before a last-ditch intervention saw a chance go rarely astray for the number nine.

On top of that moment of ice-cold maturity, Thiaw would also bow out from the 2-1 win with seven clearances and six ball recoveries amassed, as City found it very difficult all night long to break down the Toon’s resilient back line.

The hope will just be that Thiaw gets better with more time in the Premier League, like Isak, who transformed into a £125m-calibre beast.

Although this time around, Howe will also pray he doesn’t have to give up the 6-foot-4 defender to the likes of Liverpool or any other suitor, as Thiaw becomes the manager’s most crucial player.

Last season, that was reserved for Isak. This season, it’s reserved for their new towering centre-half.

9/10 Newcastle duo look even more important than Bruno G & Tonali

These two players stood out in Newcastle’s 2-1 win over Man City

ByJoe Nuttall Nov 23, 2025

Another abject batting display condemns hosts to thumping loss despite rain delays

Valkerie Baynes15-May-2021A belligerent half-century from Keith Barker and 11 wickets for the match to Kyle Abbott sealed victory for Hampshire against Middlesex on a dramatic third day at Lord’s.Abbott followed his 6 for 44 in Middlesex’s first innings with 5 for 41 to restrict the hosts to 101 in their second, setting Hampshire a target of 66.In keeping with the theme of the match where batting was tough going, the run-chase was far from straight-forward amid wickets, rain and fading light, with the forecast for heavy showers throughout much of Sunday’s final day meaning time was of the essence.Earlier, Barker defied the narrative, playing with freedom and smashing four sixes and nine fours on his way to 84, which gave Hampshire a narrow first-innings lead after they had resumed on 131 for 7, still trailing Middlesex’s paltry 172.A first-innings lead of any sort looked unlikely for Hampshire when they slumped to 9 for 3 and Barker’s 54-run partnership with James Vince on Friday was crucial in giving them a fighting chance.Related

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• Tom Westley seeks uplift after 'strange' start to Essex's twin title defence

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• Chris Rushworth equals Durham wickets record as Worcestershire feel the squeeze

• Alex Lees resists with 99 as Josh Tongue five-for lays marker for Worcestershire

In the end, he only managed to get the advantage up to 29 runs as his remaining batting partners all fell cheaply but managed to hang around long enough for him to raise his score significantly from 23 not out overnight.Shortly after Abbott was bowled by teenager Blake Cullen for 6, Barker pulled Ethan Bamber sweetly for four through midwicket. Barker helped himself to 11 in the next over, including a straight drive for four to bring up Hampshire’s 150 and a six over deep midwicket off a Cullen short ball.Barker struck back-to-back fours off Tim Murtagh, both powerful strikes over the head of deep mid-on, the first bringing up his 50 and taking Hampshire into the lead.Murtagh responded with the wicket of Brad Wheal, edging behind to John Simpson, but he came in for more Barker punishment in his next over, 18 runs worth, as he was pummelled for sixes over deep square leg and deep midwicket and crashed straight down the ground for four.Barker hit his fourth six off James Harris way over Peter Handscomb’s head at long on. It was the same bowling and fielding combination, however, that brought about his downfall, Barker swinging his bat one too many times, on this occasion at a short ball from Harris and picking out Handscomb at mid-on to end the innings.Vince’s tenacious 62 the previous day was Hampshire’s only other score of note as they found the going almost as difficult as their opponents had.With pace duo Abbott and Mohammad Abbas back in action – they took nine wickets between them in Middlesex’s first innings – it was far too soon from the hosts’ perspective that they were three wickets down and still 10 runs in arrears.The pair accounted for the first five Middlesex batters in their second innings, including a magnificent return catch to Abbas diving forward in his follow-through to dismiss Robbie White, before Abbott’s lbw dismissal of Handscomb, whose 24 was his highest score in seven innings so far for this Championship campaign.By that stage, Middlesex were in awful trouble at 49 for 5 and that was before Barker chimed in with the wicket of Martin Andersson, lbw for 9. Wheal’s pin-point delivery then bowled Simpson, also for 9, and at 67 for 7 with the sky as bright as it had been all match, they were once again braced for the inevitable.At 93 for 7 the rain did arrive, bizarrely a heavy sun-shower after the players had shivered through two days of bitter cold and gloom. Tea was taken a few minutes early as a result and when play resumed, it looked as though spring had finally – finally – arrived, the sky above Lord’s actually, positively, yes, most definitely, sunny.So too was Hampshire’s outlook when, on the eighth ball after the break, Abbott had Harris out lbw to claim his 10th wicket for the match. Abbas then trapped Cullen lbw and Abbott wrapped up the innings with the scalp of Bamber, also lbw.Ian Holland and Joe Weatherley set about the run-chase with care, Holland’s cracking drive for four through extra cover off Cullen bringing a roar from the Hampshire balcony as a bank of dark cloud hung over the Pavilion.The visitors were 23 for 0 when another downpour arrived but, with a result in sight and the sun reappearing once more, play resumed at 6.45pm with eight overs remaining.Bamber struck with the third ball back when he had Weatherley out lbw and there was nearly a run-out chance when Holland and Liam Dawson got involved a mix-up moments later while Bamber was appealing unsuccessfully for lbw against Holland.Dawson, promoted to No. 3, then fell lbw to Murtagh, who claimed another when he had Holland out plumb with 26 runs still needed.The Middlesex fielders were keen to remind the batters of the next day’s forecast in the fading light, but Hampshire had the final say, Sam Northeast’s consecutive fours off Murtagh leaving them in need of 16 off the final two overs of the day and Tom Alsop made it eight required off the last with two fours off Bamber.There was more drama when Northeast got a leading edge on a Murtagh delivery, which sailed straight to mid-on where Cullen spilled the chance and Northeast made the most of his reprieve with fours off the next two balls to finally seal victory.

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has responded to an approach by Juventus this week as the Serie A giants search for Igor Tudor’s replacement.

It’s been an extremely mixed start to 2025/2026 for Maresca after delivering two major trophies in the space of a few months earlier this year.

A win of four straight wins in all competitions before their damning loss to Sunderland at Stamford Bridge last weekend best sums up their inconsistency thus far, with Chelsea only just getting past Premier League bottom side Wolves in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.

The west Londoners were 3-0 up and cruising thanks to first-half goals from Andrey Santos, Tyrique George and Estevao, but the home side seriously threatened an unlikely comeback when Tolu Arokodare and David Wolfe pulled it back to 3-2.

Summer signing Jamie Gittens was then on hand to score Chelsea’s fourth and his first ever goal for the club, which ultimately sealed their place in the quarter-finals, even if Wolfe bagged another for Wolves in added time to make Maresca’s side sweat.

The 4-3 win at Molineux was overshadowed somewhat by Liam Delap’s needless red card, with Maresca lambasting his two bookable offences as “embarrassing”.

Delap is now set to miss Chelsea’s crunch clash against Tottenham this weekend through suspension, despite only just returning to the fold after weeks on the treatment table with a hamstring injury.

Away from the pitch, Juve are believed to have contacted Maresca’s entourage on the same day that Chelsea edged past Wolves.

Enzo Maresca responds to Juventus approach with Chelsea demands clear

Reports earlier this season suggested Maresca’s long-term future at Chelsea is far from certain, with tensions existing between the Italian and his club hierarchy.

As well as this, journalist Simon Phillips reported that both Cole Palmer and Reece James aren’t fully behind Maresca’s methodology, so if results continue to be topsy-turvy, this situation is worth keeping an eye on.

Now, Phillips has provided another update on the 45-year-old’s future.

Writing via his Substack, the reporter shares news that Juve approached Maresca’s camp on Wednesday amid their search for a new manager.

However, the tactician’s response is clear — he’s not looking to leave midway through the campaign.

While a move to Turin at the end of the season isn’t ruled out, Chelsea will demand a huge compensation fee — which could reach up to £10 million.

Chelsea are braced for a crucial run of games from now till the end of November, including Spurs, Arsenal and La Liga champions Barcelona in the Champions League.

Given their pretty weak defence and lack of options, particularly at centre-back, the Blues could also look to reinforce Maresca’s ranks in January.

Chelsea hold talks with Premier League centre-back over cut-price January move.

MatériaMais Notícias

da prosport bet： O Sport foi rebaixado para a Série B do futebol brasileiro e agora começa a planejar o seu elenco para a temporada 2022.

+ Veja no aplicativo do LANCE! o resultado dos jogos da rodada

Se nos bastidores o Leão trabalha para segurar Hernanes, por outro lado nomes como, por exemplo, Marcão e Sander podem sair.

O principal motivo é a questão financeira. O volante e lateral-esquerdo possuem altos salários e precisariam reduzir seus ganhos.

No caso de Marcão, o meio-campista tem contrato até 31 de dezembro. Se renovar, ele vai precisar diminuir o salário.

Enquanto isso, Sander, que tem acordo até o fim de 2022, precisa entrar em acordo com a diretoria para firmar um novo salário.

RelacionadasBragantinoBragantino encerra 2021 com 98 gols marcadosBragantino19/12/2021ChapecoenseChapecoense oficializa a chegada de novo preparador físicoChapecoense19/12/2021Futebol InternacionalPasseio histórico! Benfica goleia o Marítimo e busca aproximar-se de líderes da Primeira LigaFutebol Internacional19/12/2021

Michael Olise and Harry Kane starred as Bayern Munich ran riot against Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

Article continues below

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• Olise netted a brace
• Kane broke Sancho's record
• Bayern score win 5-0

• TELL ME MORE

  Bayern Munich were dealt a major injury setback moments before kick-off as Manuel Neuer felt some discomfort in his thigh during warm-up. Vincent Kompany immediately replaced the veteran goalkeeper with Sven Ulreich in the starting lineup.

  The visitors broke the deadlock in the 23rd minute through Olise's strike, who converted a simple tap-in from Kane's assist. Nine minutes later, the former Crystal Palace star set up Jamal Musiala after a brilliant solo effort inside the Werder Bremen penalty box. Olise cut in from the right side and then dribbled past three defenders before squaring the ball towards Musiala in front of goal and the German doubled the team's lead.

  Kane got his name on the scoresheet within 12 minutes from the start of the second half as he scored a milestone goal from Olise's assist. The forward became the highest-scoring English player in the league's history, surpassing Jadon Sancho's tally of 40 goals.

  In the next eight minutes, Olise completed his brace while Gnabry netted a fifth goal as Kompany's side registered their 20th goal across all competitions in the past seven days, taking their overall tally to 29 goals after just six matches into the 2024-25 season.

Advertisement

• Getty Images Sport
  

  THE MVP

  New Bayern signing Olise stole the show with a double and a couple of assists as he spearheaded the team's dominant performance. The 22-year-old has taken German football by storm having already scored five times in six appearances across all competitions.

• AFP
  

  THE BIG LOSER

  Bremen's defenders had a forgetful outing on Saturday as they were unable to contain the lethal Bayern attackers who have now scored 20 goals in the last seven days. The backline looked clueless, especially in the second half where they got toyed by the Kane-led attack.

• Getty
  

  WHAT COMES NEXT?

  With four consecutive wins in the Bundesliga, Kompany's men will be next seen in action against reigning champions Bayer Leverkusen in a league clash on September 28.

A whole lot of local knowledge went into a performance that brought him his tenth Player-of-the-Match award in Tests

Alagappan Muthu22-Sep-20242:52

Manjrekar: Ashwin as good as he was five years back

R Ashwin has a job on his hands. He fails on the first try. It’s not even close. There’s even a chance he isn’t as focused as he should be. His daughter forgives him and gives him a second go at opening what looks like a bottle of (rosewater soda) she’s carried down to the ground. But again it doesn’t go well. Dad’s not on his game. He’s facing too many distractions. This is the problem with scoring a century and taking a six-for and winning a Test match for your country on home soil.Ashwin remembers the first step he ever took into Chepauk. He vlogged about it on his YouTube channel, about attending trials at the Under-14 and Under-16 levels and waiting to see if he’d made the cut. He cherishes being part of this ground’s history; he was here when Sachin Tendulkar scored that epic hundred against Pakistan and he wouldn’t let his father take him home until he bought him pads just like the ones Tendulkar wore.He remembers the bus he took to get to the ground when he was younger. “12G [you have to catch bus No. 12G],” he said in an episode for in 2023. “It will go straight to Anna (road). There, if some uncle is nice enough to give you a lift, you can get to the ground in like 10 minutes. If not, (you have to trudge all the way with the kit bag).”Related

India and Bangladesh brace for lower bounce on black-soil pitch in Kanpur

Ashwin: 'Bowling and batting are very separate sports in the same game'

Ashwin's double act of hundred and six-for secures 1-0 lead for India

Stats – Ashwin equals Warne; Pant goes level with Dhoni

He has memories of being coached not just by those he went and trained with but people who just happened to see him play on the street. “Everybody loves giving advice, especially when it comes to cricket. Once when I tried to hit a ball and it took an inside edge and wandered away – no run. Leg side, no runs. One uncle who was going to the hospital – there’s a hospital near my place – he just came to me and said, ‘Pa, how many matches have you seen? You play with a straight bat and the ball will go beautifully down the ground. . Keep the bat-face straight.'”The century that he scored and the five-for that he took here against England in 2021 are still etched in his mind. “I’ve wondered if I would ever play on this ground and if people would turn out and clap for me,” Ashwin said two years ago. In truth, they went way beyond that, calling his name out to the tune of “Sachiiiiin-Sachin” even when all he did was take his cap off his head, because they knew this meant he was coming on to bowl.R Ashwin picked up 6 for 88 in Bangladesh’s second innings•BCCIIn that game, against England, his home crowd gave him a feeling he is very familiar with, having seen millions of masala movies, but for perhaps the first time, he was experiencing it from the other side. For those five days, he was Rajinikanth in or Shah Rukh Khan in or Tom Cruise in . And he doesn’t get that too often, if only because Test cricket in India doesn’t follow a set schedule like it does abroad. Melbourne knows it’ll get a Boxing Day Test. Lord’s knows it’ll be the biggest event of the summer. Ashwin and his beloved Chepauk don’t have that luxury. At 38, even he isn’t sure if he’s played his last Test here.”I don’t know,” he said in the press conference on Sunday. “What is a Chepauk swansong? Every time you walk out to the park, it’s a swansong. You are talking about a Test match, yeah. Maybe, maybe not. Who knows? Like I said, every day, every Test match I am playing is a big thing. Not only for me, you can ask any cricketer, to go through a Test match or a Test series is a grind. And you never really know what is next when it comes to Test matches. Because you put in that effort, everything, and then you need to be lucky enough to get those performances, also work hard and simultaneously manage your ups and downs. These are all huge challenges for any Test cricketer. So I haven’t thought so far ahead but if that was my swansong, what a swansong!”Rescuing India from 144 for 6 and on the way levelling MS Dhoni’s count of Test centuries. Sealing a 280-run win and on the way levelling Shane Warne’s count of five-wicket hauls. Being a threat on a pitch that didn’t necessarily take that much spin until the third morning. Walking away with a tenth Player-of-the-Match award. All of this was a result of painstaking preparation – Ashwin worked heavily on his batting prior to the TNPL – and a rapid assessment of the conditions he was faced with when he came on to bowl.”The beauty about a red-soil [pitch] is, you put revs on it, there is value [even if there is no turn]. Because there is bounce. You will get hit but there is bounce. You play on some black clay surfaces around the country elsewhere, without naming them, you have to do a lot of hard work. You put a lot of revs and see nothing come out of it. And sometimes, it’s better to not put revs on in certain places. So, to even understand all these things, to begin to understand and talk about it, is a fair amount of learning for me. And it’s happened over the years. Like I said, this one’s got solid bounce. And I love to play on a surface like this and get hit than play on another surface.”Knowing what the pitch will do is only one part of the challenge. The batter presents the other one and Ashwin has to find a way to get through them. On the third evening, he had seen evidence of the bite that was available to him if he dropped his pace right down. Mominul Haque went for a sweep and both he and the wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant were beaten comfortably by extravagant bounce. That ball only clocked 80.4 kph.5:08

Ashwin: If it was my Chepauk swansong, what a swansong!

The bowler in him understood that he needed to be slow through the air to get purchase. The batter in him then augmented that piece of information. “Tamim [Iqbal] is standing next to you,” Ashwin told the host broadcaster. “He’ll tell you that if you keep going slower on these surfaces, you can go on the back foot a lot more.”Ashwin combined this knowledge to set his traps. At first, he would feed Bangladesh the quicker, flatter deliveries to keep them pinned on the crease. Then he’d toss one up and if everything went to plan, the batter, having been set up to expect a certain pace and a certain length, would be undone.”I was earning my right to bowl slower every now and then. Because on certain pitches where you get help out of surface, you can afford to toss the ball a little more, but this is a surface where need to change up your pace, change up your length, and then pull the one that’s slower. So very often the one that was reacting off the surface was really slow.”Three of his six wickets came off deliveries in the early 80s.Two others spoke of how good he is at picking apart a batter’s defence. He bowled around the wicket for virtually the entire Test match because there were a lot of left-hand batters and he was playing on their inside edge. He would bring them forward with his length and leave them stranded with his overspin, because the ball was primed to dip on them and then kick up off the pitch.Shakib was caught at short leg as this sequence played out.The best of the lot was Mominul, bowled on the outside edge. Ashwin was somehow able to get enough turn to beat the bat but not so much that he would miss the stumps. Going a little wider of the crease helped create the angle into the batter and make him play down the wrong line and then he did something with the seam to limit the help he would get off the track.Normally an offbreak bowler would have the seam pointing to first slip. This one was pointing a lot squarer. It also turned scrambled as the ball began its descent into the pitch. An upright seam is usually the driving force behind the turn and bounce that a fingerspinner gets. Here Ashwin put limits on both specifically so that what happened had a chance to happen – beating the batter but not the stumps. It doesn’t always work this way. Sometimes the turn might not be enough, and the angle takes the ball straight into the middle of the bat. But this was Chepauk and Ashwin knows it has always got his back. “Some energy just pulls me into this ground.”

One of the standouts for Manchester City this season has been Phil Foden. Last term wasn’t the easiest for the versatile midfielder, but he has shone under Pep Guardiola in the 2025/26 campaign so far and has seen a real resurgence when it comes to his form.

His newfound role in midfield, operating slightly deeper as a number eight, has really helped him rediscover his best form. That was followed by his deserved recall into the England squad by Thomas Tuchel for the Three Lions’ final two World Cup qualifiers, a testament to his resurgence.

In a season where Foden looks back to his best, it is perhaps no coincidence that Erling Haaland is also firing.

Foden and Haaland’s connection in numbers

The connection between Foden and Haaland has been excellent over the last few seasons. According to Transfermarkt, the Stockport-born star has only linked up for a goal more times with Kevin De Bruyne than Haaland, 18 with the Belgian compared to 14 with the City number nine.

One of those came this season, against Napoli in the Champions League. It was a superb assist from Foden, taking the ball on the half turn and lofting it from close range into the path of his teammate.

Haaland did the rest, heading home inside the box.

The City academy graduate has spoken this season about his relationship with the Premier League’s top goalscorer. Foden said the pair are “definitely building that relationship,” explaining that he is “finding him more in behind and where he needs the ball to score.”

Well, that is certainly an exciting prospect for City fans. They might well be able to look forward to even more assists from their number 47, teeing up Haaland, especially given Foden’s performances are improving week by week.

Incredibly, the Citizens are linked with another attacking midfielder who could replicate Foden’s impact.

Man City now targeting another Foden

The January transfer window is almost upon us, and City are seemingly chasing a particular expensive attacking target. Real Madrid star Arda Guler is said to be a name they are looking at, in a deal which could cost the club upwards of £88m.

Should Guardiola’s side get a deal for the Turkish international over the line, it would represent another wonderful attacking acquisition. The 20-year-old has impressed for Los Blancos this term after being given a key role by new manager Xabi Alonso.

In 16 games across all competitions, the former Fenerbahce star has scored three goals and assisted six. Interestingly, all of those assists have been for Kylian Mbappe, as per Transfermarkt.

He has the creativity to provide goals for the world’s best attackers, which Haaland certainly is.

The 20-year-old has already made a great impression despite being a short way into his career. In fact, analyst Ben Mattinson said he can be a “Ballon d’Or level” player back in 2023, and with the form he is putting up now, it is hard to argue that could one day be the case.

There are certainly similarities between Guler and Foden. One of those, of course, is their playstyles, which mirror each other in many ways. They are both left-footed creative midfielders who excel between the lines and offer a big creative outlet for their sides’ attackers.

The pair are also noted as statistically similar players among their midfield European peers, as per FBref.

That has been seen this season, with Turkey star Guler averaging 3.68 key passes per 90 minutes, compared to the City number 47’s tally of 2.66 key passes each game.

It is easy to see how Foden and Guler are quite similar players. With the creative force they possess in the final third, plus the fact that they excel in central zones, Guardiola could have two exciting creative midfielders to choose from.

If Guler can recreate with Haaland the partnership he has with Mbappe, the Citizens could become even more of a threat in attacking areas than they already are.

As important as Doku: £50m star just had his best ever game for Man City

Manchester City smashed Liverpool 3-0 in the Premier League on Sunday, Jérémy Doku the star of the show, but another player shone for Pep Guardiola.

1

By
Ben Gray

Nov 10, 2025

Time was when a trip to Anfield was like stepping into your own personal horror movie. Liverpool have spent much time planting the seeds of fear on their home turf, and Jurgen Klopp made that garden grow.

Then Arne Slot put on the gloves and helped Liverpool evolve into an even smoother and more stylish outfit than when Klopp departed, taking the Reds through the campaign and out the other end with a Premier League title in tow.

But that’s no longer the case. This season, Manchester United, Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest and PSV Eindhoven have all beaten Liverpool on Merseyside. This sanctum of stability has been reduced to just another ground, and Slot has to fix that quickly if he is to continue his project over the coming years.

Liverpool might have avoided defeat at home to Sunderland on Wednesday evening, but the point gained merely papers over the glaring problems that have left many fans shaking their heads at the false dawn at West Ham United last weekend.

It was a performance which left plenty to be desired.

How Liverpool performed vs Sunderland

After the draw, Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris spoke of his surprise that his side were afforded so much time and space to play through Liverpool and carve out opportunities in the danger area.

There lies the crux of Liverpool’s problems. They are too weak and brittle, not just suffering from a soft underbelly but a doughy outer shell too.

Alexander Isak toiled in the final third, a few wayward strikes illustrating the record signing’s lack of sharpness. However, it is inconceivable that FSG should have spent around £200m on the Swede and Hugo Ekitike only for Slot to implement a system that cuts off pathways to the central strikers.

Some will take encouragement from the home side’s gear-raising final flurry, seeking out a winner after the fleet feet of Florian Wirtz led to a Nordi Mukiele own goal to restore parity.

But Liverpool are not just shorn of confidence but tactical fluency too. Slot’s strategising across the 2024/25 campaign earned him a reputation for being a “genius” and a “football scientist”, as remarked by Dutch legend Marco van Basten.

Gone is that air about the former Feyenoord boss. Against the Black Cats, Liverpool secured a hard-earned point to narrow the gap on Chelsea after their defeat at Leeds United. Elland Road is where Liverpool head next.

But imbalances and erraticness have become indivisible for the champions this season, whose title defence is in tatters and whose players have fallen by the wayside.

Ibrahima Konate was culpable of some shaky moments, as has so often been the case this term, but there was another Redman who struggled against Sunderland, leading observers to suggest he has morphed into that late version of Fabinho.

Liverpool star looks "like Fabinho in his final season"

Alexis Mac Allister has been abject this season, so far removed from the “superstar” of a midfielder, as said by pundit Joe Cole, who influenced Klopp and then Slot’s trophy-winning campaigns of recent years at Liverpool.

Having spoken about this testing start to the season earlier this week, Mac Allister suggested that he is now back to full fitness after missing out on pre-season and suffering early injury issues. But this was a performance that left much to be desired, underlining the drop-off that is suggestive of a player whose athleticism has gone walkabouts.

Against Sunderland, the 26-year-old failed to impress. Again. He was so slow and stodgy on the ball, and while he won both of his tackles and three of five contested ground duels, as per Sofascore, no chances were created by a player who need to do more and remind the Premier League of his all-encompassing skillset.

Goals

0.17

0.00

Assists

0.17

0.20

Touches

64.41

64.04

Pass completion (%)

83.5

85.4

Shot-creating actions

4.16

2.73

Progressive passes

6.13

4.34

Progressive carries

1.25

1.72

Successful take-ons

0.55

0.40

Recoveries

5.13

4.14

Tackles won

2.01

0.61

Interceptions

0.76

0.61

Aerials won

0.66

0.51

After the draw, one content creator even said Mac Allister “looks like Fabinho in his final season”, having “physically fallen off a cliff”.

Fabinho was a stalwart for the club over an illustrious period of Klopp-led success, but he did indeed succumb to a loss of aggression and physicality at the end, at the epicentre of Liverpool’s abject 2022/23 campaign.

This feels similar. The only difference is that Mac Allister is supposed to be stepping into the prime of his career, and is instead languishing so far below expectations it beggars belief.

Can Slot spark a turnaround? Should the Dutchman do so, it feels like Mac Allister will be needed in fine and sustainable fettle, and that has been anything but the case over the past several months.

Mac Allister has been terrible, but his struggles are symptomatic of the wider tactical and mental plague that has spread across Slot’s system this season.

It’s not good enough. It needs to change. Mac Allister is 26, but already he is starting to look like the leggy version of Fabinho, who was sold to Saudi Arabia has Klopp began a midfield rebuild that started with Mac Allister’s signature.

FSG could see £75m bid accepted to sign Liverpool their best LW since Mane

Liverpool are in the market for a left-sided winger this winter.

2 ByAngus Sinclair Dec 3, 2025

After an ordinary start, the New Zealand bowlers too got into the swing of things

Sidharth Monga19-Jun-2021

We have only had a little over two sessions’ worth of cricket on the first two days of the World Test Championship final, but what we’ve had has been high-quality cricket worthy of the occasion. When bad light curtailed the second day to just 64.4 overs after the first day was washed out, India, asked to bat in challenging conditions against a deep attack, were 146 for 3 and, you’d suspect, the happier side.New Zealand will be disappointed but not despondent: it could have been worse after a 62-run opening stand between Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill as Tim Southee and Trent Boult got off to an uncharacteristically indifferent start. Towards the end of the day, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane looked sublime in fading light, playing the ball delightfully late and biding their time as New Zealand didn’t offer easy scoring opportunities. No batting duo now has more fifty-run stands for the fourth wicket or lower.It was one of those “good toss to lose” days, but it turned out both sides would have liked to have had a bowl after the pitch had been under covers for two days and with the sun unlikely to make an appearance. The coin fell Kane Williamson’s way, but his opening bowlers didn’t get his side off to a desired start.Part of it was possibly down to proactive Indian openers. By repeatedly walking down the pitch to meet the ball before it had swung, they made a statement to Southee and Boult. When they tried to bang it in short – which was not often – Gill pulled with disdain.New Zealand are the most economical attack in this WTC cycle. They keep the runs down and then let the subtle skills of their bowlers take. Here, though, both Southee and Boult went searching too often with the new ball. Did the batsmen upset their rhythm? Did they feel the pressure of expectation when your captain hands you the ball in such conditions? It is anybody’s guess, but Rohit and Gill punished them every time they pitched too short or too full, which was often. By the time Williamson brought on his first-change bowler, Kyle Jamieson, India had 37 on the board in 10 overs.The first maiden of the innings was the 12th, bowled by Boult; then Jamieson and Colin de Grandhomme added one each on top of it. Not long after, Jamieson drew the first fatal error from India. Rohit pushed away from the body for the first time in his innings, edging the outswinger, but not before giving India their first 60-plus opening stand in England in over a decade.There might have been the mildest of question marks against Neil Wagner’s inclusion in the final XI because in early summer conditions in England you hardly need his trademark method of hustling batters with short-pitched bowling. However, within three balls of his introduction into the attack, Wagner vindicated his selection. He swung the first ball back into Gill and then, from the exact same length, the third ball held its line. Gill had to play at it because of the earlier swing, and BJ Watling – playing the final match of a stellar career – pouched a catch behind the wicket. India had now lost two wickets for one run.A fascinating spell of play followed either side of lunch. Cheteshwar Pujara went about his usual business, taking 36 balls to get off the mark and then showing intent to upper-cut Wagner. At the other end, Kohli, who has mastered the quickest and the scariest of bowlers, had to swallow his ego and play maiden after maiden from de Grandhomme’s dibbly-dobblies.de Grandhomme bowled with just the right (lack of) pace and amount of movement to nag Kohli, who had previously faced 10 balls from him in Test cricket for one run and one lbw dismissal. Here, too, de Grandhomme seemingly tried to set up the same, bowling outswingers from middle and off. Once he nearly took the edge, but that ball that shapes up to swing one way and then seams the other didn’t arrive. Kohli faced 21 balls from de Grandhomme for just four runs, but didn’t once try to hit out.Pujara saw out Jamieson, then made Wagner switch to bouncers, one of which got him in the head as he looked to hook, which he rarely does, but just ask Australia what usually happens when Pujara battles through a tough phase. With a five-man attack, though, New Zealand kept coming back at him. The next test was Boult, who had got Pujara out four times for 48 runs outside India. Today, the first he bowled to Pujara was right on the money: swinging in for the lbw, Pujara seemed to have covered the swing, but it seamed some more after pitching, beating his inside edge and trapping him in front.Rahane can be a flashy starter, but he got a gift down the leg side first ball, which he clipped away. A general indicator of where Rahane’s form is how late he plays the ball early in his innings. He was in no hurry here. Except for a near run-out early in the piece, there was nothing flashy from him.The player of the day, though, was at the other end. On that calendar it might have been over 18 months since Kohli has scored an international hundred, but he has batted as well as anyone in this period. It was on display here again. Except for a mini phase in the stop-start final session when he began to push at Southee outswingers, Kohli looked in control against everyone.New Zealand’s response was to block his scoring areas. The cover drive and the flick through midwicket were well guarded. So Kohli had to wait for the errors in length. He did. But even when they erred, they fed possibly the only shot that Kohli doesn’t relish: the cut. However, Kohli kept scoring through point with pushes and punches. The conditions demanded for nothing short of Kohli’s best: even the 60-over-old ball swung under the clouds.Close to eight hours have already been lost in the Test, but they can be made up with an extra half hour added to the remaining days and a whole reserve day in the bank. Any further interruptions will start eating into the Test, which, going by the quality of the contest in the limited time we have had, will be a massive shame.

Good performances in West Indies and Bangladesh could yet make the selectors change their plans

Andrew McGlashan16-Jun-2021There is no guarantee from Australia’s selectors that all the players who made themselves unavailable for tours of West Indies and Bangladesh will immediately return to the fold for the T20 World Cup if others take the chance to impress in their place.David Warner, Pat Cummins, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis withdrew from contention for the upcoming tours for a variety of personal reasons while Daniel Sams, who contracted Covid-19 in India before the IPL, had previously opted out to manage his mental health.Trevor Hohns, the national selector, reiterated that individual player circumstances were understood and respected at a time where international cricket requires bubbles and quarantine but admitted it was “frustrating” not to be able to have a full squad together with the World Cup four months away.”We are obviously disappointed that they made themselves unavailable, but we totally understand and respect their decision,” Hohns said. “In saying that we also see it as a good opportunity for others who have been included to push their case for inclusion in the T20 World Cup squad. I also see it as a good test of our depth.”If a player wishes to make himself unavailable that’s his prerogative to do so, we can’t force them to go on a tour but what we can say is that they are giving someone else an opportunity.”Related

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Australia’s final lead-in to the T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to start in mid-October and may yet be moved to the UAE, remains uncertain but there had been plans for a tri-series which would likely clash with the resumption of the IPL. Detailed conversations have yet to take place, but Hohns laid out his expectation of the players’ priorities.”It will certainly depend on their commitments and what we think they should be committing to regarding Australia at that time,” he said.The mass absence has meant recalls for Ben McDermott, Ashton Turner and Dan Christian plus a maiden call-up for Wes Agar. There is also another opportunity for others who were part of the T20 squad in New Zealand such as Josh Philippe and Riley Meredith.Dan Christian is one of the players with a chance to make a late push for the World Cup•Getty Images

Australia’s T20 selection has been disrupted since the start of the last home season due to a combination of biosecure bubble requirements, injuries, resting players, the initial plan for twin tours of South Africa and New Zealand and now the latest withdrawals.However, Hohns said the selectors had most of a likely World Cup squad inked in a few months ago but, while some of those missing will walk straight back in, strong performances in the coming weeks may sway other positions. There is also a likelihood that squads will need to be larger than the traditional 15.”That’ll be an interesting discussion for us going forward, there’s no doubt about that, depending on performances in West Indies particularly by the extra inclusions for this tour,” he said. “So if someone was to really shoot the lights out with bat or ball we’d have to stand up and take notice.”One player not considered for the tour despite the number of missing names was Marnus Labuschagne with the decision taken to allow him to continue his Glamorgan contract. A key part of that was the chance to play a significant amount of T20 cricket rather than being sat on the sidelines on the tour where he may only have featured in the ODIs. He has enjoyed an eye-catching start to the T20 Blast with three consecutive half-centuries, one of which was an unbeaten 93, and handy wickets.”Marnus went over some time ago to play county cricket and he also has the opportunity to play a lot of T20 cricket which is something he expressed to us that he would really like to do,” Hohns said. “He was totally involved in this decision, he thought it was in his best interest to continue to play cricket in England. We are certainly watching his performances in the T20 competition so that’s not gone unnoticed.”