
Football transfer rumours: Neymar agrees Barcelona return; Man Utd eye Onana
Saturday's football transfer rumours include Neymar, Amadou Onana, Michael Olise, Gift Orban & more.
2023-08-12 16:21

Thomas Frank salutes ‘fantastic’ Brentford as they grab late equaliser
Thomas Frank credited his “fantastic” Brentford side after Bryan Mbeumo’s late equaliser against Bournemouth earned a 2-2 draw in the Premier League. Mbeumo’s fourth of the season cancelled out goals from Dominic Solanke and David Brooks after Mathias Jensen took the lead for Brentford in the first half. And Frank praised his team’s second-half display which saw them extend their unbeaten start to the season. “First half we were good but second half we were fantastic,” Frank said. “I think we ran over Bournemouth in the second half and we created chance after chance. “I would love to have 10 points (Brentford have six) and I think we could easily say we deserve to have more, but it’s up to others to discuss if we should have eight or 10. “I think we had a chance to win all three draws at home (Tottenham, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth), the Tottenham and Crystal Palace games were tight but it was clear we should have won them and we have to keep going.” Cherries boss Andoni Iraola admitted Brentford’s late goal hurt as his side searched for their first win of the season. And the Spaniard revealed his side rued a series of mistakes which led to Mbeumo’s goal. “The worst thing for us is the way we concede the goal,” Iraola added. “It comes from our own goal-kick and we made two or three mistakes because we were probably not at our best but we have have to know how to finish the games because we had run a lot and (played) good stretches of football. “To lose it in this way hurts. “In set-pieces they have very good players and we needed maximum help in the duels and the crosses we received in the last minutes but it didn’t work as we conceded the second goal. Iraola highlighted that Bournemouth suffered out of possession in the lead up to the final goal. He said: “The game was a little bit territorial and the advantage was very important because we were suffering when they were playing in our half and they had set-pieces like corners, free-kicks. “Whenever the game was in their half I think we were playing better, we were more in control of the situation and so at the end they had nothing to lose and put more bodies up front and closed with three defenders. “We tried to defend the long balls, crosses and throw ins better because sometimes you have to suffer to win the games and be compact.”
2023-09-03 12:22

Arsenal enjoys a 'special' win over Man City to end losing PL streak. Liverpool held 2-2 at Brighton
Perhaps the pendulum has finally swung Arsenal’s way in the fight for Premier League supremacy
2023-10-09 03:25

The Sam Kerr mystery is over and Australia are World Cup contenders again
Incredibly, there was another level of noise for the crowd of over 75,000 at the Olympic Stadium to reach. The loudest roar of the night came when Australia were already through. Leading Denmark by two goals, the Women’s World Cup and its co-hosts got the moment they had been waiting for. Sam Kerr, the face of the tournament, had finally arrived. Ruled out of the group stages due to injury, Kerr got her first minutes of the World Cup as the Matildas stood with one foot already in the quarter-finals. With the game won and Denmark well beaten, Kerr’s touches were inconsequential; that her only shot from the angle flashed over the bar did not matter. But Australia have their star back, the final piece for a team who are delivering for their country and are growing with the competition. Kerr’s introduction came moments after Hayley Raso had sent the home crowd into a frenzy, doubling Australia’s lead with a crisp finish from another clinical counter-attack. The crowd in Sydney had been electric when Australia attacked, a rolling wave of noise that grew from Caitlin Foord’s sublime opening goal. Nothing, though, could compare to the welcome Kerr received and what it represented for a team who are starting to believe they are contenders again. For so long at this World Cup, Kerr had been forced to watch on as a kind of mascot: the star who could not play. A calf injury had cruelly ruled the Chelsea star out of Australia’s opening game, an absence that grew to three matches as the Matildas were forced to find a way to survive the group stage without their leader. But Australia’s performance in thrashing Canada 4-0 also ensured that Kerr did not need to be used. Once again without Kerr, this time in the last-16, their display against Denmark meant the game was won when she finally arrived. Because with Kerr sidelined, Australia have managed to adjust, instead becoming a different side entirely. It clicked against Canada, a 4-0 win that not only saved their World Cup but sparked their tournament into life. Players who looked lost without Kerr were suddenly released, and they have now grown with the responsibility. Foord was outstanding once again against Denmark, a constant, driving threat on Australia’s left. She was released for the opening goal by the brilliant Mary Fowler, the 20-year-old who excelled as she manipulated the space between the lines, while Raso scored again with another clinical finish. Suddenly Australia now have goal threats across the front line, with the best striker in the world still to add against either France or Morocco in the quarter-finals. “It’s the icing on the cake,” beamed the Australia manager Tony Gustavsson, but Kerr also returns to a team who have changed in her absence and where actually she isn’t guaranteed a start in the quarter-final given how the side has performed. Australia now have multiple goalscorers and other players have taken some of the weight off her shoulders. “It’s a massive boost,” Foord said. “For other teams looking ahead, it’s pretty scary for them that she’s back with us.” The question now, though, is how and when Kerr returns to the starting line-up, and who drops out. Without Kerr, Australia have settled on a 4-4-2 system that is devastating on the counter-attack, an unassuming loaded gun of formation that is built to spring into life on the break. In the atmosphere of the Olympic Stadium, this sort of gritty, counter-punching team, willed on by a wall of sound, looks so dangerous. Foord fits it superbly. A forward with guts and spirit and as well as skill, who has found her confidence since her underwhelming opening displays against Ireland and Nigeria, she was Australia’s player of the match for the second match in a row. She was released by Fowler’s stunning turn and pass for the opener: Foord, with so much time in which to find the finish, kept her head to bury the shot through the legs of Lene Christensen. Australia’s second was also played out to the soundtrack of a team crashing forwards. The break developed on the left, with Kyra Cooney-Cross’ overlapping run from midfield. Emily van Egmond laid it back to Raso, a player who has found her scoring touch. The finish was fired low into the corner for her third goal of the World Cup. Kerr had called to warm-up only a couple of minutes earlier, the excitement rippling around the stadium, yet Australia did not need her really. This was a composed and confident performance, entirely measured, and avoiding the sort of draining emotional energy that accompanied England’s penalty shootout victory over Nigeria earlier in the day. Denmark barely threatened after going behind. Their early chances invariably came through Pernille Harder, their roaming menace who Denmark are just unable to support. Harder went through twice in the opening stages - driving at a retreating Australia defence, first she went to the outside and shot wide, before then ducking inside and firing straight at Mackenzie Arnold. On both counts she knew she should have done better. Denmark were largely forgotten about here as the hosts cruised through and the Kerr mystery was solved. The theories that the extent of Kerr’s injury was being covered up would have grown when she only watched on during Australia’s warm-up, wearing her boots but wrapped under a heavy coat that did not come off. At half time she was not among the players loosening up on the pitch. But for Australia, getting Kerr back was the final step of a tournament that has been defined by their reaction to overcome challenges. After the chaos of the group stage, where they stood on the brink of an early exit, there was finally a comfortable win. This is a team who are galvanised, coming together, and just at the right time. Read More England survive penalty drama to reveal vital quality in Women’s World Cup dream Who and when do England play next? Lionesses route to the World Cup final Women’s World Cup TV schedule: How to watch every match today Chloe Kelly: England’s woman for the biggest occasion strikes again A timeline of Donald Trump’s spat with Megan Rapinoe How many games will Lauren James miss at Women’s World Cup after red card?
2023-08-07 22:30

Stokes undergoes left knee surgery in bid to be fit for England test tour of India starting January
England test captain Ben Stokes has undergone surgery on his left knee
2023-11-30 02:47

Women's College World Series odds and prediction (Florida State is undervalued)
The Women's College World Series is set with Game 1 scheduled to take place on June 7.No. 1 Oklahoma will face No. 3 Florida State in an anticipated series between two of the top teams in the country. Oklahoma deserves its top ranking, going 51-1 this season with its only loss coming at the...
2023-06-07 06:28

3 Braves who won't be back after crushing NLDS loss to Phillies
The Atlanta Braves lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 4 of the NLDS, ending their season well short of expectations. Here's who won't be back.
2023-10-13 11:47

Ole Miss tight end Michael Trigg no longer with program
Mississippi tight end Michael Trigg has left the program amid his second season since transferring
2023-09-28 02:50

The Whiteboard: Duncan Robinson catches fire, Carmelo Anthony retires
Carmelo Anthony officially retired, setting off a nonsensical Hall-of-Fame debate. Also, Duncan Robinson is knocking down 3s again as the Heat keep rolling.The five-year, $90 million contract Duncan Robinson signed after the 2020-21 season looked like an overpay at the time. In the nearly two ye...
2023-05-23 02:17

Who is Paige Spiranac's best pick for US Open 2023? 'Beast of a golf course'
Paige Spiranac explained her choices for the US Open in 2023 and details about the golf course in a Twitter video
2023-06-15 15:29

Barcelona & others missed out on Uruguayan wonderkid to Qatari side Al-Gharafa
Barcelona were interested in signing Uruguay youth international Fabricio Diaz prior to his surprise move to Qatari outfit Al-Gharafa, while he was also wanted by Brighton, Chelsea, Liverpool and Man Utd,
2023-09-19 18:15

When is the last time Texas beat Alabama?
The Texas Longhorns and Alabama Crimson Tide are the featured matchup during Week 2 of the 2023 college football schedule. What's the history of this matchup?
2023-09-08 22:57
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