List of All Articles with Tag 'al'

Wayne Rooney came out firing in post-game interviews after MLS All-Stars' 5-0 defeat to Arsenal.

Nick Saban not having a good feel about the quarterback situation this late into the offseason is less than ideal for the Alabama Crimson Tide's chances of winning another national title.Eventually, Nick Saban will have to choose who will be the next Alabama starting quarterback.During ...

Across the NFL landscape, there are several teams who may have erred in judgment when making key decisions for the upcoming 2023 season.Despite its reputation for being a "slow" time of the year, the offseason is when NFL franchises hustle to ensure that the upcoming season ends with a...

The 2023 season hasn't even started, but there are already murmurs about whether or not he'll be hanging the cleats up at the end of the year. Yes, it's not even August. Not a single preseason game has been played. Aaron Rodgers has yet to don a Jets jersey in a real, meaningful g...

NFL fans can expect these three top-ranked quarterback-receiver combinations to dominate the league throughout the 2023 season.Among the NFL's leading offenses, the symbiotic relationship between quarterback and receiver can appear more individualistic than it is in reality.Aaron Rodger...

The curse of Chelsea’s number nine shirt claimed its latest victim after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s unhappy 21-game spell was ended by a move to Marseille. The last dozen players to wear the shirt have struggled to make a prolonged impact – including three club-record signings up front, but also a holding midfielder and a certain Dutch defender. Here, the PA news agency looks at the “Curse of Khalid Boulahrouz”. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, 2022-23 “It’s cursed, it’s cursed, people tell me it’s cursed!” said then-manager Thomas Tuchel last summer, adding: “There was not a big demand for number nine, nobody wants to touch it.” Aubameyang was not deterred but, after arriving with a broken jaw sustained in a robbery at his Barcelona home and seeing his former Borussia Dortmund boss Tuchel sacked the day after his debut, he failed to establish himself under Graham Potter – he was not even included in the squad for the Champions League knock-out stages, despite scoring two of his three Chelsea goals in the group stage. Romelu Lukaku, 2021-22 The Belgium striker returned from Inter Milan for a second spell at the club for £97.5million but within months his frustrations became clear in an interview with Sky Sport Italia. Despite 15 goals in all competitions, it was no surprise when he returned to Inter on loan. He scored 14 goals in the season while wearing number 90 at San Siro and has been left out of Chelsea’s pre-season tour of America. Tammy Abraham, 2019-21 Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was the last inarguably Chelsea number nine but amid almost £250m spent to fill the troublesome shirt in the 18 years since his departure, academy product Abraham produced arguably the most successful spell with 15 league goals and 18 in total in 2019-20. Twelve more the following year earned a move to Roma under former Blues boss Jose Mourinho. Gonzalo Higuain, 2018-19 The Argentinian’s loan from Juventus yielded five goals in 18 appearances. He was shunted to number 21 on his return to Juve and terminated his contract early the following season to move to Inter Miami. Alvaro Morata, 2017-18 A then club-record buy for £60m, the Spaniard scored 15 goals in his debut season but fell out of favour, switching to number 29 and adding another nine goals before joining Atletico Madrid. Radamel Falcao, 2015-16 The Colombian scored once in 12 games in an injury-hit season. Fernando Torres, 2011-14 The then British-record £50m signing from Liverpool got the longest run at making the Blues’ number nine shirt work for him, wearing it 172 times across three and a half seasons. He scored 45 goals, including a memorable Champions League semi-final clincher against Barcelona, and set up another 26 but several prolonged scoring droughts saw him move on to AC Milan on loan and then his boyhood club Atletico Madrid. Franco Di Santo, 2008-09 Fourteen scoreless substitute appearances were all Di Santo had to show for his time in west London. Steve Sidwell, 2007-08 The former Reading midfielder managed only 24 appearances, scoring once. A largely defensive player, he would have been a glaringly unlikely wearer of the number nine shirt had it not been for his immediate predecessor… Khalid Boulahrouz, 2006-07 The versatile Netherlands defender was assigned one of the few available numbers after his £8.5m arrival from Hamburg. He lasted one season and 23 appearances in all competitions before a loan to Sevilla and a permanent exit to Stuttgart. Hernan Crespo, 2005-06 The Argentina striker had already spent a season at Stamford Bridge wearing number 21, scoring 12 goals, and a year on loan at Milan before Mourinho recalled him and gave him number nine as a show of faith. He added another 13 goals and a league title but soon returned to his earlier employers Inter. Mateja Kezman, 2004-05 Inheriting the shirt from Hasselbaink, Kezman failed to make a similar impact with just seven goals in his sole season. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Marcus Smith teased by England team-mates over Racing 92 speculation England’s Lotte Wubben-Moy begins Doodle Diary again – Friday’s sporting social Rory McIlroy feels he still has chance of winning 151st Open despite Friday’s 70

Mauricio Pochettino has continued his Chelsea clear-out with striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang completing his move to French Ligue 1 side Marseille. Marseille confirmed the signing of the 34-year-old Gabon international on Friday, which brings an end to his miserable time in west London. Aubameyang scored one goal in 15 Premier League appearances for the Blues and was left out of the squad for the Champions League knock-out stages by then boss Graham Potter in February. Aubameyang has previous experience in Ligue 1 having played for St Etienne for two years from 2011 and 2013 as well as loan spells with Dijon, Lille and Monaco. The former Arsenal striker joined Chelsea on a two-year contract from Barcelona last September in a deal that saw Marcos Alonso move in the other direction. But he struggled to settle following the departure of boss Thomas Tuchel and it became increasingly evident that his stay at Stamford Bridge would not be a long one. Aubameyang follows the likes of Kai Havertz and Mason Mount out of the club this summer while Romelu Lukaku – who preceded Aubameyang in the club’s supposedly “cursed” number nine shirt – Hakim Ziyech and Callum Hudson-Odoi are all absent from the club’s current pre-season tour of the United States. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

The Women’s World Cup continued with three games taking place on the second day of the tournament. Spain and Switzerland got their campaigns off to a winning start against Costa Rica and the Philippines respectively. However, Canada were forced to share the spoils with Nigeria after Christine Sinclair’s spot-kick was saved. Here the PA news agency takes a look at Friday’s action. Dominant Spain Spain started their campaign by easing to a 3-0 victory over Costa Rica. Valeria del Campo’s own goal was followed by strikes from Aitana Bonmati and Esther Gonzalez in the next six minutes. Jenni Hermoso also had a penalty saved by Daniela Solera before half-time, meaning that there has been a spot-kick awarded in all five games in the tournament so far. The match also marked the return of double Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas, who played the final 13 minutes of the game following her return from an ACL injury. Missed chances for Canada It was not the start to the tournament that Canada were hoping for after being held to a 0-0 draw by Nigeria in Group B. In a tense clash, veteran Sinclair had the opportunity to put Canada ahead from the penalty spot, but she was denied by brilliant diving save from Nigeria’s goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie. The Super Eagles had Deborah Abiodun sent-off in the final stages of the game. Nnadozie’s stellar performance earned praise from Nigeria coach Randy Waldrum. He said: “Chiamaka has done this before and I will say this and I will embarrass her in front of you all, but I think she’s one of the best young goalkeepers in the world right now.” Swiss top Group A Switzerland take the advantage into the next round of fixtures after they beat the Philippines 2-0 to top Group A. It was a tough start for the Filipinas on their World Cup debut after Katrina Guillou had her effort ruled out for offside in the 16th minute. Ramona Bachmann then put the Swiss ahead with a penalty before the break and Seraina Piubel secured victory with her strike in the 64th minute. Switzerland are level with co-hosts New Zealand on three points and will face Norway next on Tuesday. Picture of the Day Quote of the Day This may be our first time out here but it doesn’t feel like it. We have way more to give. We’re going to look forward to the next one and bring it as hard as we can. Philippines goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel Post of the Day Up Next Group E: USA v Vietnam (2am, Eden Park, Auckland)Group C: Zambia v Japan (8am, Waikato Stadium, Hamilton)Group D: England v Haiti (10.30am, Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane)Group D: Denmark v China (1pm, Perth Rectangular Stadium, Perth)all times BST Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leaves for Marseille as Chelsea exodus gathers pace ‘People tell me it’s cursed!’ – Aubameyang latest victim of Chelsea’s nine shirt Marcus Smith teased by England team-mates over Racing 92 speculation

On July 12, Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer held a grand opening party for its new flagship on Fifth

MLB Trade Grades are in for the Cardinals and Blue Jays after St. Louis shipped Genesis Cabrera to Toronto in exchange for a catcher prospect.The MLB trade deadline is barreling towards us and it's possible the Cardinals just opened the flood gates.St. Louis has admitted they're se...

With the SEC expanding to 16 teams in 2024, South Carolina star Tonka Hemingway is really going to miss the Gamecocks' annual rivalry with the Georgia Bulldogs going forward.During SEC Media Days in Nashville, South Carolina standout Tonka Hemingway said what we are all thinking about confe...

In the latest MLB trade rumors, the Dodgers are engaged on Ohtani, the Cardinals could cash in, and the Mariners are undecided on their path forward.It's Friday, July 21st as of this writing. We are 11 days away from the pure chaos of the MLB Trade Deadline.Here's the latest on wha...