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Manuel Akanji admits Manchester City need to cut our the errors after being exposed in their comeback victory over RB Leipzig at the Etihad Stadium. The holders trailed 2-0 after a lacklustre first-half display in Tuesday’s Champions League encounter before a Phil Foden-inspired recovery saw them fight back to win 3-2. With their place in the last 16 already secure, there was little cause for alarm on the night but, after recent Premier League draws against Chelsea and Liverpool, the champions are not fully firing. Switzerland defender Akanji said: “We didn’t play well in the first half. We did a lot of mistakes, (in) a lot of duels. “We had it change it in the second half. We spoke in half-time that we needed to do better. It still wasn’t great but we improved a lot, we didn’t do many of the mistakes. “It happens sometimes. We didn’t plan to go into the game like this. The first goal was me losing a duel off the long ball, the second one was Ruben (Dias) after the pass and it happens sometimes. “Normally we don’t do these mistakes but the good thing is we’ve got a good team. “Now we have important games before the Club World Cup against Spurs and Villa and we need to really focus on these games. We need points because we drew twice so it’s really important to get winning again.” Akanji was indeed at fault for the first of Lois Openda’s two first-half goals, with Dias caught out for the second. Foden sparked the comeback when he teed up Erling Haaland to become fastest player to reach 40 Champions League goals in just his 35th appearance. The England midfielder then scored a sublime equaliser before showing further nimble footwork to set up the late winner for substitute Julian Alvarez. The victory ensures City, who travel to Red Star Belgrade next month, will finish top of Group G. With John Stones again not fit enough to feature, Akanji played in the defence-midfield hybrid role his colleague has excelled in. “I like it,” Akanji said. “I play wherever the manager puts me but also in the Chelsea game and the weekend against Liverpool I felt more comfortable in there because I got used to the position. “When you come from defence into midfield it’s a big difference because normally you have all the game in front of you and suddenly there are players coming from all angles. “But I got a better orientation with the game set-up so I felt more confident. I can adapt pretty good. I play in different positions. I try to listen and do what the manager wants from me.” Read More Will Zalatoris back in the swing after enduring ‘golfer’s worst nightmare’ John Turner aiming to push T20 World Cup hopes on England’s tour of Caribbean On this day in 2015: Great Britain end long wait for Davis Cup win First half was the worst I’ve seen us – Phil Foden savours thrilling fightback Rodrigo Bentancur set to be out until February after tearing an ankle ligament Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink wants aspiring black managers to get ‘a fair chance’

Alexis Mac Allister has admitted he struggled to stay awake during a team meeting ahead of the clash with Manchester City due to jet leg.

Bruno Fernandes has revealed how he helps younger Manchester United players deal with criticism of their performances.

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A video review official has been removed from his Champions League game on Wednesday, one day after having a key role in a disputed decision to award Paris Saint-Germain a stoppage-time penalty for handball against Newcastle which contradicted Uefa’s own advice to referees. The VAR specialist from Poland, Tomasz Kwiatkowski, is no longer listed to work at the Real Sociedad-Salzburg game and has been replaced by a German match official. In Paris on Tuesday, Kylian Mbappe scored in the eighth minute of stoppage time to salvage a 1-1 draw after a ball struck Newcastle defender Tino Livramento in the chest and then deflected off his arm, and a penalty was awarded by Polish referee Szymon Marciniak following a VAR review. Marciniak refereed the Champions League final last season and the 2022 World Cup final with Kwiatkowski in his team. Marciniak initially allowed play to continue Tuesday but awarded the penalty after he was advised by his video assistant to review the incident on the pitchside monitor. However, a Uefa panel of storied coaches and former players said in April that “no handball offense should be called on a player if the ball is previously deflected from his own body, and, in particular, when the ball does not go towards the goal.” The advice to be given to match officials this season was detailed by the panel, chaired by Uefa Chief of Football Zvonimir Boban, in an April 25 statement headlined “Uefa Football Board urges more clarity on handball rule.” “The handball rule, for example, will always be disputed, but we can make it more consistent and aligned with the game’s true nature,” Boban, the former Croatia and AC Milan great, said in April. Uefa declined to comment, in line with a policy not to discuss field of play decisions. The current laws of the game allow for handballs to be penalized even if the contact was not intentional and after a deflection if a defender’s arm is judged to be in an unnatural position. “But his hand is not in an unnatural position,” Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said after the game, “(his hands) are down by his side, but he is in a running motion.” The cross from Ousmane Dembele that struck Livramento was also going backward — and not towards goal. The penalty decision in the PSG game directly affected the standings in the tightly fought Group F, as it kept PSG two points clear of Newcastle in the second qualifying place for the round of 16 behind group leader Borussia Dortmund. “I feel it is a poor decision and it’s hugely frustrating for us as you know how little time there is left in the game,” Howe said. “There is nothing we can do about it now.” Newcastle must now win its home game against last-place AC Milan on Dec. 13 and hope PSG fails to win at Dortmund. The second-place team advances to the Champions League round of 16 and the third-place team goes to the Europa League knockout playoffs. Read More ‘He is the future’: Newcastle and Lewis Miley robbed of night to remember VAR the villain as late penalty call denies Newcastle rearguard win in Paris Newcastle fans attacked in Paris before Champions League match On this day in 2015: Jamie Vardy scores in 11th game in a row Football rumours: Victor Osimhen keen on making Chelsea move The sporting weekend in pictures

The New England Revolution exercised the permanent transfer option on forward Tomas Chancalay, making the player an official Designated Player through the 2026 Major League Soccer season.

The 2023 Major League Soccer Best XI is here.

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher believes a trial of sin bins at higher levels of football could rescue the game from being “ruined” by red cards - but former England captain John Terry says it could make the sport “boring”. Football’s lawmakers IFAB have backed a trial of temporary dismissals of players for offences such as dissent and tactical fouls and a proposed change to the laws of the game will be considered at its annual general meeting in March. If approved, sin bins could be introduced at the higher levels of the game by the start of next season and those backing the changes will now look to develop a protocol and a system for trialling after its successful implementation at grassroots levels. Like in rugby union, which operates a 10-minute sin bin for yellow card offences, players would be removed from the pitch temporarily under the new rules, with the emphasis on improving behaviour towards the referee. Sin bins were introduced across all levels of grassroots football from the 2019-20 season in an attempt to to improve levels of respect and fair play in the game and the rule change was implemented up to step five of the National League system. The IFAB also backed a proposal which would only allow the team captains to talk to the referee in certain in-game situations. Carragher said he has not been a “fan” of sin bins in the past but said football could benefit from a system of “orange cards” where players are not sent off for the full match for accidental dangerous play. The Sky Sports pundit cited recent red cards shown to Liverpool’s Curtis Jones at Tottenham and Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford at Copenhagen where the punishment awarded was too severe. “I’ve never been a fan of sin bins before, but we are watching too many games that have [red] cards and for me it ruins the game,” Carragher wrote on Twitter/X in response to former England team-mate Terry, who said he was against the proposed change. Terry argued teams would be encouraged to sit back if they had a player sent to the sin bins and warned it could lead to “inconsistencies” from week to week. “I personally don’t like it because the level of tolerance and inconsistencies from referees will differ every week!" Terry wrote on social media. "Also what will happen is the team that goes down to 10 men for three minutes will go into a low block and make it difficult to break down, which will become boring for every one watching!" he added. Pierluigi Collina, chairman of the Fifa referees committee who sits on the IFAB’s technical subcommittee, said the proposed trials would “very probably” involve professional football. “The idea is to go deeper into all of the details because it’s easy to say we do (it) and it’s a bit more difficult how to regulate everything,” he said. “But the idea is to start working on this as soon as possible to provide those who would be involved in the trial a protocol to be used. “The trial was very successful in a grassroots competition. Now we are talking of a higher level, very probably professional or even high professional football. We need to draft something that works or is worthy for top football.” IFAB board members also agreed any new VAR measures should not result in any additional delays to matches, while supporting the need to continue developing semi-automated offside technology. Additionally, they discussed potential strategies to address time lost in matches and tactics aimed at disrupting the game’s tempo, including in relation to the six-second restriction for goalkeepers, delaying restarts and managing injuries. A possible law amendment, which would result in handball offences for which penalties are awarded being punished in the same way as fouls in terms of yellow and red cards, was a further consideration. Includes reporting from PA Read More ‘He is the future’: Newcastle and Lewis Miley robbed of night to remember Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta believes he still has something to prove in Europe Champions League: What do Man United, Arsenal and Newcastle need to reach last 16? ‘He is the future’: Newcastle and Lewis Miley robbed of night to remember Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta believes he still has something to prove in Europe Champions League: What do Man United, Arsenal and Newcastle need to reach last 16?

Gary O’Neil insisted on Monday, after his team were again on the wrong end of a controversial VAR call, that livelihoods were at stake over this misuse of the technology so controversially gaining a further stranglehold over football around the world. But there is something greater at stake – something that is irreplaceable, that untold millions cannot make up for. Lewis Miley’s performance in the Parc des Princes deserved to be talked about for generations of Geordies. The 17-year-old from County Durham should have been able to tell his future grandchildren about the time, on his full Champions League bow, against the might of Paris Saint-Germain, on their own turf, he went toe-to-toe with one do the best players in the world in Kylian Mbappe and won. It was a performance of honour. There were no spectacular goals or moments of jaw-dropping skill, more that a teenager not yet legally allowed to buy fireworks and his injury-ravaged side held the Parisien millionaires at bay for the second time in three months to achieve their greatest-ever European away result. Instead, we are talking about a ball brushing against an arm, again, and whether the interpretation of a single rule needs to be rectified. How depressing. “I just try to enjoy football and I’m just tired of discussing these matters,” Newcastle defender Kieran Trippier said. “If you’re on the end of it, in a good way or a bad way, nothing can change it. The referee makes a decision. “He had the chance to go to the monitor, which he did. So I don’t understand it, from my point of view you can clearly see that’s come off his chest and onto his arm. I’m standing here, discussing the decisions, why can’t officials? Why can’t the referee come out and explain why he gave that penalty? “We didn’t make one sub, it was 11 against 16 tonight. The lads have given absolutely everything, as I’ve said over and over again. We’ve all just got to keep stepping up. Everyone can see it is just not a penalty.” Trippier was well placed to be able to witness what Miley had just done to one of the world’s best players. Between them, Miley being 16 years Trippier’s junior, they nullified Mbappe for long periods of the encounter down the Newcastle right, and when presented with the opportunity, especially in the first half, the pair countered at will. There was no shirking responsibility or any appreciation for the magnitude of the occasion, Miley looked for the ball and carried it forward at every opportunity. In fact, no player in black and white made more entries into the final third than the talented teenager. “He was quality, again,” Trippier added. “Seventeen-year-old. He can go all the way to the top. “To come to a place like this, against this opposition, he wasn’t out of place. He was showing he is calm on the ball. He is an unbelievable player. He’s got a bright future ahead of him. “The good thing about him is he it feels like he’s played 500 games already. He is going be the future for Newcastle.” Such composure under pressure, authority on the ball, spirit to lead his team forward should not be forgotten, but it will. In 20 years time, the next generation of Geordies should have been the ones searching out clips of Miley’s coming of age – the moment one of the greatest players in the club’s history, which many who know him now keep suggesting he can become, announced himself to the world. Instead, such a performance will be lost in the vitriol. Something nobody asked for when technology was brought into our beautiful, storied game. Read More Xavi hails Barcelona winning mentality while Dortmund top ‘group of death’ Jamie Carragher and John Terry split opinion on sin bin trial in football Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta believes he still has something to prove in Europe Xavi hails Barcelona winning mentality while Dortmund top ‘group of death’ Jamie Carragher and John Terry split opinion on sin bin trial in football Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta believes he still has something to prove in Europe

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is working on a deal to sell a majority stake in the NBA franchise to the family that runs the Las Vegas Sands casino, a person with knowledge of the talks said Tuesday night. The agreement would be in the valuation range of $3.5 billion and take weeks for the league to process, according to the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because details weren’t being made public. Cuban would retain control of basketball operations in the deal. NBA reporter Marc Stein was the first to report the potential sale. The family of Miriam Adelson, widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, announced earlier Tuesday it was selling $2 billion of her shares to buy an unspecified professional sports team. Cuban said almost a year ago he was interested in partnering with the Sands. He has been a proponent of legalizing gambling in Texas, an issue that didn’t make it out of the state Legislature in a biennial session that ended earlier this year. The 65-year-old Cuban, who just announced he was leaving the popular business TV program “Shark Tank” after a 16th season next year, rose to fame quickly after buying the Mavericks in 2000. Dallas was one of the worst franchises in pro sports in the 1990s, but turned into one of the best under Cuban, with a lot of help from star forward Dirk Nowitzki. The Mavericks, who won the franchise’s only championship in 2011 with Nowitzki leading the way, are worth $4.5 billion, according to Forbes magazine. Read More Boston Celtics continue unbeaten run with 124-114 win over the Brooklyn Nets Sacramento Kings coach chokes up speaking about Maine mass shooting Damar Hamlin offers message of support after Bronny James suffers cardiac arrest