List of All Articles with Tag 'eppersons'

West Ham moved to the top of the Premier League with an impressive 3-1 win at Brighton. James Ward-Prowse scored his first goal for the club to open the scoring, with Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio wrapping up the points after the break. Pascal Gross grabbed a late consolation for the Seagulls, who slipped to a first defeat of the season.

Mikel Arteta insisted it has not become a psychological issue for Arsenal after they conceded in the first minutes of a home game for the third time this year against Fulham. Bukayo Saka’s blind pass let in Andreas Pereira to score for the visitors after just 57 seconds in front of a stunned Emirates, after the team made similarly poor starts against Southampton and Bournemouth last season. The hosts had looked to have done enough to seal a fine comeback victory when substitute Eddie Nketiah slotted past Bernd Leno from Fabio Vieira’s cross 18 minutes from the end. That was two minutes after Saka made amends for his early error and equalised from the penalty spot, with defender Kenny Tete penalised for tripping Vieira as he charged into the box from Gabriel Martinelli’s pass. And when Calvin Bassey was shown a second yellow card for bringing down Nketiah near the halfway line, Fulham’s hopes seemed to have gone until Joao Palhinha found space inside the box to hook Harrison Reed’s corner beyond Aaron Ramsdale in the 87th minute. Arteta lamented that his side had gifted Fulham a point by gifting two poor goals, but praised the way the players regathered their composure and went at their opponents after yet another bad start. “When in the first minute you make a mistake that we made and you give a goal to the opponent, the game becomes much more difficult,” said Arteta. “The reaction after that, even the first half, the number of situations and chances we generated, we didn’t give anything away. We controlled the game for full periods, but we didn’t score the goal. “In the second half we made some changes. The dynamic changed, we had better relationships. I think the subs (Nketiah and Vieira) made a huge difference and impact. I loved the determination and confidence they brought to the team. “We go 2-1 up and then you have to defend the box with your life. You cannot concede a goal after everything we’ve done, because we should have scored five, six, seven. “We had a big (error) here last year against Fulham where we gave a goal to (Aleksandar) Mitrovic. It’s part of football. “I haven’t seen it (playing on the players’ minds). I don’t see that afterwards, the way the team played. In any other sport you would win by a hundred points difference, but this is football. “We drew, we conceded two very, very poor goals. In the Premier League, when you give something (away), you’re going to get punished, and we were today. “If I compare the game we played against Fulham this season and last season, we were at least 10 times better today than last season. We were much better than last season. Last season we won 2-1 in the last minute, today we drew 2-2.” Arsenal had struggled to find a way back into the game despite putting Fulham under near constant pressure after going behind. It was not until the introduction of Nketiah and Vieira midway through the second half that their fortunes turned. Vieira showed ready instincts to anticipate Martinelli’s clever ball in behind to win the penalty, then his pinpoint cross was expertly timed for Nketiah to crash home their second to send the Emirates into raptures. Gabriel Jesus, who returned to training this week after surgery, was kept in reserve until being brought on in added time, a decision Arteta defended. “The way we generated chance after chance I didn’t think it was necessary (to bring on Jesus earlier),” he said. “In the last minute we decided to bring him in, he’s only had a few days of training sessions after the surgery. But I’m very happy with the subs, the way they came in. “Fabio, I’m delighted with him because he hasn’t played any minutes this season. To see a player that comes with a determination and positiveness to the team and has the impact he had, it’s difficult. I’m really pleased and I’m happy for him as well.” Fulham boss Marco Silva reflected on a point hard earned as his side recovered from the disappointment of their 3-0 home loss to Brentford last time out. “Really tough and emotional,” he said. “After the last defeat against Brentford – a harsh result for us – we wanted to react. “People said that (the Emirates) was not the best place to show a reaction. Our idea was completely different, that it was the best place for us to show a reaction. “In my opinion Arsenal are going to be even stronger than last season. The quality that they have is impressive. I have to say they are going to be contenders again.”

Everything you need to know ahead of Atlanta United vs Nashville SC.

Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs has agreed to a one-year contract worth up to $12 million, according to a person with knowledge of the deal

Wolves head coach Gary O’Neil admitted there were large spells in Saturday’s 1-0 Premier League victory over Everton which he did not like but he was more than happy with the outcome. The visitors scored with their only shot in target in the 87th minute when substitute Sasa Kalajdzic glanced home a header just two minutes after coming on. By contrast Everton had 15 shots, seven on target, seven corners to Wolves’ none, but struggled to end a long-standing problem of scoring. “I thought it was a decently-balanced performance with large spells I didn’t like,” said O’Neil, who only took over on the eve of the season after the departure of Julen Lopetegui. “But I have to remind myself that we have not been here nine months, we have been here 15 days and there will be spells where it doesn’t quite look like what you want.” Kalajdzic’s impact was all the more impressive as it was only the Austrian’s third appearance in a year for the club after rupturing an ACL on his debut last season. “He has worked very hard since I’ve been here and he’s still got a long journey getting back to full fitness,” added O’Neil. “With us arriving in good areas, I felt we could put some good crosses into the penalty area and I thought Sasa could be that guy. “It was a really smart finish as he is facing the wrong way and it’s easy to get disorientated.” Kalajdzic goal not only secured Wolves’ first points of the season but was their first on the road in 10 attempts and resulted in them winning three-successive league games at Goodison Park for the first time. Both teams had begun the afternoon pointless in 18th and 19th in the table but O’Neil tried to play down the significance of the victory. “I think winning Premier League games is big, every single one, especially on the road and especially the first one with a new group,” said the manager. “It’s a tough place to come but it doesn’t feel big because us and Everton were both on zero, it just felt like a win the boys deserved after the work they have put in over the last 15 days.” With Dominic Calvert-Lewin out with a cheekbone injury and deputy Neal Maupay misfiring, Everton boss Sean Dyche opted to give loan signing Arnaut Danjuma his first start up front but he also lacked the sharpness needed to end a goalless run which is already at 270 minutes this season. Everton are struggling to find further new signings before the close of the window – their interest in Southampton striker Che Adams has yet to materialise into a concrete offer – but Dyche insisted they would continue to pursue every avenue. “If we had loads and loads of money, we would change all sorts because things have not been right for a long time,” he said. “I am trying to remodel a group with the players that are here and if we can add to that, we will be doing. “All these names that get bandied, there are some that are real and some that are not.”

Manchester United had its worst-ever start to a Premier League game and still managed to win

The 2023 college football season is upon us. Much like last year, "In the Market" will look at the top quarterback prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft class.

Oleksandr Usyk defends the unified heavyweight titles against Daniel Dubois tonight, as the pair square off in Poland. Thousands of Ukrainian fans are expected to be present in Wroclaw, where Usyk looks to stay unbeaten and hang on to the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO belts. Usyk, 36, took the titles from Anthony Joshua in 2021 before outpointing the Briton again last August to retain the gold. The southpaw faces another British heavyweight tonight, as 25-year-old Dubois seeks to upset the odds in his toughest test yet. The heavy-handed challenger, fittingly nicknamed “Dynamite”, has achieved 18 of his 19 wins via knockout, and his sole defeat came at the hands of Joe Joyce three years ago. • Get all the latest Usyk vs Dubois betting sites’ offers Can Usyk move a step closer to a much-anticipated clash with Tyson Fury – a fight to crown the first undisputed heavyweight champion in over two decades? Or will he fall at the hands of underdog Dubois? Follow live updates and results from Usyk vs Dubois and all undercard fights, below. Read More Daniel Dubois misses Ryanair flight ahead of Oleksandr Usyk fight The misleading narrative of Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois Oleksandr Usyk may produce his greatest counter yet against Daniel Dubois

England coach Steve Borthwick lamented his side's poor tackling after a 30-22 defeat by Fiji -- their first loss to the Pacific islanders -- ended a...

Max Verstappen has revealed Sebastian Vettel told him he will break his record of nine consecutive victories after the home favourite put his Red Bull on pole position for Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix. The unstoppable Verstappen will equal four-time world champion Vettel’s streak from 2013 if he takes the chequered flag in front of 105,000 expectant fans. Verstappen starts his quest from the front after he topped a chaotic wet-dry qualifying session in Zandvoort. Verstappen finished nearly six tenths clear of second-placed Lando Norris with a mighty final lap. George Russell qualified third for Mercedes, one place ahead of Alex Albon – the London-born driver continuing his impressive campaign with Williams. Lewis Hamilton lines up only 13th after he was surprisingly eliminated in Q2. Verstappen dominated the opening half of the season, taking 10 victories from the 12 rounds so far, and he has emerged from the sport’s summer break still as the man to beat. He last failed to win in Azerbaijan on April 30, and it will be a major surprise if his crushing run comes to a halt in front of his orange-clad army. “After five wins in a row, Seb texted me to say, ‘well done with what you are doing at the moment, keep it up, you are going to get the record’,” said Verstappen following his eighth pole of the campaign. “I was like, ‘that’s nine wins in a row, and that is something very impressive’. I never thought I would be able to get to eight. If it is possible tomorrow of course I go for it. “But it is not something that is in the back of my head. I am not in this sport to try and break records. I am just here to win in the moment.” Verstappen is in a league of his own as he closes in on a hat-trick of titles. But it has been suggested that his reign – akin to Michael Schumacher’s emphatic dominance for Ferrari at the turn of the century – has been a turn-off for the sport’s booming fanbase. “It is clear that unpredictability is what makes the sport exciting,” said Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff. “You want to look at the television on Sunday and see a fight. That is not the case at the moment. “But that is because one team and one driver are doing a much better job than anybody else, and we need to acknowledge that.” While Verstappen has been aided by his all-conquering Red Bull machine, it is worth noting that his team-mate Sergio Perez – the only other driver to win a race this year – qualified seventh here, 1.3 seconds behind in the same car. Qualifying started on a wet track before a dry line emerged for Q3. Two red flags followed as Logan Sargeant and Charles Leclerc crashed out. By this stage, Hamilton was back in the Mercedes garage. The seven-time world champion appeared to be impeded by AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and he failed to post a time fast enough to progress to Q3. The incident was noted by the stewards, but Hamilton did not feel he lost time. However, Wolff added: “Tsunoda is a nice guy but he clearly impeded Lewis. “The answer is to penalise. If you know you don’t go to prison for cheating tax, you cheat the tax. I don’t understand why these things are not penalised. “You could say Lewis dived on the inside and it didn’t cost him much. But going from a dry line, to a wet line, and back to a dry line costs time and a tenth of a second would have put him into Q3. “We need to be harsh on penalties and then people will start looking in their mirrors.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Max Verstappen is one of the best drivers in F1 history – Lando Norris Daniel Ricciardo ruled out of Dutch Grand Prix after breaking wrist in practice Daniel Ricciardo to miss Dutch Grand Prix after suffering broken wrist in crash

Caroline Wozniacki is getting ready to play her first Grand Slam match in more than 3 1/2 years at the U.S. Open when the tournament begins next week

Fiji has defeated England for the first time ever by producing three sensational tries from nothing and winning 30-22 in a Rugby World Cup warmup at a damp Twickenham