List of All Articles with Tag 'football'

Josh McDaniels gave a moronic response when asked about late field goal decision.

The college football season is now one-third of the way through, so we're looking at the SEC standings, only doing so with the teams ordered by point differential.

Jonny Evans is convinced Manchester United have a “good thing going” under Erik ten Hag despite their shaky start to the season. Things have gone awry after a promising first campaign under the Dutchman, with the Red Devils losing four of their first six matches in all competitions for the first time since 1986. There were some mitigating factors in that poor run but that did not stop the pressure mounting on the Old Trafford giants heading into Saturday evening’s Premier League trip to Burnley. Ten Hag’s troops were far from their best but Bruno Fernandes’ brilliant volley secured a 1-0 win for a side that begin their Carabao Cup defence at home to Crystal Palace on Tuesday. Evans watched February’s Wembley triumph from the stands and is now back at the club he came through at as a boy, with the experienced defender confident about United’s future. “I’ve had some up and down moments at Man United over the years,” said the defender, who won three Premier League titles and a Champions League during his previous spell at the club. “I think you get that if you want to be at the top. You know, it’s going to be very up and down. “You’ve got to be able to deal with setbacks and this club is a fantastic club, always want to be challenging at the top, so it’s all part and parcel of it. “The manager’s got a good thing going here. “I’m a fan of the club so I was able to watch them a lot last year, been at both finals to support. Like I say, I think the manager’s got a good thing going.” Evans made his second appearance of the season and first United start in eight-and-a-half years on Saturday evening. The 35-year-old impressed against Vincent Kompany’s Burnley, scoring a goal that was disallowed before providing an exceptional pass for Fernandes’ volleyed winner. “That was great,” the beaming Northern Irishman said after his 200th United appearance. “I was really looking forward to it all day. “I got the shout yesterday in training that I was going to be starting, so I couldn’t wait for the game, really. “I was more nervous in the pre-season, my first pre-season game, to be honest, playing up in Edinburgh. “I didn’t feel any nerves tonight. I actually felt a lot of excitement going into the game. I couldn’t wait for it and I felt good, I felt ready.” Evans produced an impressive all-round display at Turf Moor, leading captain Fernandes to pass on the man of the match award that he had been handed. The centre-back joked it was just the third of a career he never expected to return to such heights having left Leicester on the back of relegation and an injury-hit campaign. Asked if he ever thought he would get back to this level, Evans immediately responded: “No, definitely not. “It’s not a case of winding down. I think people’s career trajectories kind of end up that way and it’s very difficult for a club when you’re 35 years old to take a chance on you. “I had a lot of injury problems last year as well, so for the club to do that and see the value in me, I’m very grateful to be given the opportunity. “On one side it feels really surreal and then on the other side it just feels completely normal. “It’s quite difficult to get my head around sometimes, but I’m loving it. “For a 35-year-old I suppose to come back in – they wanted me to come back in and provide cover – not many people get to do that. “I know it’s going be a big challenge but hopefully it’s one that I can take on. “I feel like it’s one that was perfect for me at this stage of my career.”

Pep Guardiola has joked he may come out of retirement for Manchester City’s Carabao Cup trip to Newcastle. The treble winners are three games into a run of seven matches in three weeks and manager Guardiola intends to make changes for Wednesday’s third-round tie at St James’ Park. However, with injuries affecting the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, John Stones, Mateo Kovacic and Bernardo Silva, the options for rotation among his main first-team squad are actually limited. That has prompted the former Barcelona midfielder to jest that at 52, 17 years after calling time on a distinguished playing career – and notwithstanding his recent back surgery – he could lace up his boots once again. He said: “Some players who’ve had a lot of minutes are not going to play against Newcastle. “The Carabao Cup is great for all the guys who don’t play regularly. They can play some minutes and that’s perfect. “But for the other players I’m not going to waste one per cent of energy for Carabao Cup. The likes of Kyle (Walker), Ruben (Dias) – playing 90 minutes for us, 90 for the national team, they are exhausted already. “That’s why we are going to play with the guys who need it, the Academy, maybe me. My back is getting better so I might manage a few minutes!” One decision taken out of Guardiola’s hands is the availability of Rodri after his sending off against Nottingham Forest on Saturday. The Spain midfielder picked up an automatic three-game ban for violent conduct for raising his hands to the neck of Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White in City’s 2-0 Premier League win at the Etihad Stadium. It is unlikely Rodri would have been involved at Newcastle but his absence against Wolves next weekend, and particularly Arsenal on October 8, could prove costly. Guardiola was rather more serious when expressing his anger over the conduct of his key holding midfielder on Saturday. It seems unlikely the club will appeal against his suspension. Guardiola said: “I have to talk with the club but I’m not going to change it. For me it’s not three games, but the rules are the rules. Part of that, he has to learn, and hopefully it won’t happen again.” Rodri’s absence could offer a chance for England midfielder Kalvin Phillips, who has found opportunities limited since his arrival from Leeds in the summer of 2022. He played the final 39 minutes against Forest as City reshaped with 10 men. Guardiola said: “He played really well, the type of game that we needed. I’m so pleased for him because he’s an incredible guy. “He’s not fazed about his minutes and he’s a national player with England. With us he hasn’t played much but he’s really helped us.”

Alvaro Morata struck with two headers as Atletico Madrid clinched a rare LaLiga win over arch-rivals Real Madrid, winning 3-1 at the Metropolitano Stadium. Morata and Antoine Griezmann gave Atletico a 2-0 lead inside 18 minutes and after Toni Kroos reduced the deficit before the break, Spain captain Morata headed his second against his former club a minute after the restart. Atletico, who had won only one of their previous 14 league meetings against their rivals, halted Real’s five-game winning start to the league season. Villarreal’s former Liverpool defender Alberto Moreno was sent off as his side drew 1-1 at Rayo Vallecano. Kike Perez equalised for Vallecano a minute after Alexander Sorloth had fired Villarreal into a first-half lead and Moreno was shown his second yellow card in the 77th minute. Real Sociedad sealed their second league win of the season in a seven-goal thriller at home against Getafe. The visitors led 2-1 at half-time through Carles Alena’s header and Borja Mayoral’s penalty after Takefusa Kubo had given Sociedad an early lead. Mikel Oyarzabal’s second-half double – his first coming from the penalty spot – sandwiched Brais Mendez’s effort to put the home side 4-2 up before Juan Latasa headed a late third for Getafe. Guido Rodriguez’s second-half equaliser earned Real Betis a 1-1 home draw against Cadiz, who had led at half-time through Chris Ramos. Las Palmas overcame the second-half dismissal of Mika Marmol to secure their first win of the season, 1-0 at home against second-bottom Granada, thanks to Kirian Rodriguez’s stoppage-time goal. Italy midfielder Federico Dimarco’s first goal of the season clinched Inter Milan a 1-0 win at bottom club Empoli and kept them top of Serie A. Dimarco struck early in the second half as Inter extended their 100 per cent league record this season to five matches. Reigning champions Napoli were held 0-0 at Bologna and are now seven points behind Inter. Fiorentina kept pace with the top four as goals from Lucas Martinez Quarta and Giacomo Bonaventura secured them a 2-0 victory at winless Udinese. Atalanta, a point behind Fiorentina, won 2-0 at home against second-bottom Cagliari, with former Everton winger Ademola Lookman and Mario Pasalic both on target. Duvan Zapata’s late header rescued a 1-1 draw for Torino at Roma, who had led through Romelu Lukaku’s second-half goal. In the Bundesliga, Bayer Leverkusen are level on points with leaders Bayern Munich after beating newly-promoted Heidenheim 4-1 at BayArena. Victor Boniface’s early opener for Leverkusen was cancelled out by Eren Dinkci in the second half, but Jonas Hofmann put the home side back in front and after Boniface had converted a penalty, Amine Adli completed the scoring. Eintracht Frankfurt and Freiburg sit eighth and ninth respectively after drawing 0-0 at Deutsche Bank Park. Paris St Germain climbed to within two points of surprise early Ligue 1 leaders Brest by thrashing Marseille 4-0 at Parc des Princes. Goncalo Ramos notched a second-half double after first-half efforts from Achraf Hakimi and Randal Kolo Muani. Strasbourg and Le Havre are among the early pace-setters after winning 1-0 at Metz and 2-1 at home against rock-bottom Clermont respectively. Teenager Habib Diarra fired Strasbourg’s winner as they notched their third league win of the season, while Nabil Alioui and Mohamed Bayo put Le Havre 2-0 up inside seven minutes before Cheick Konate replied for Clermont. Lens registered their first win of the season in all competitions, 2-1 at home against Toulouse, thanks to Morgan Guilavogui’s late strike, while Rennes were held 0-0 at Montpellier.

Sheffield United have no immediate plans to sack Paul Heckingbottom after the club suffered their heaviest league defeat when they were hammered 8-0 by Newcastle. The Blades were put to the sword by a rampant Newcastle to go six games without a win on their Premier League return, but Heckingbottom’s job is currently safe, the PA news agency understands. There has been speculation linking former boss Chris Wilder to a Bramall Lane return, but even this embarrassing defeat will not change the board’s position. When asked whether he will be the manager for the next game, he said: “Yes, 100 per cent. “This might be a theme now by the looks of it. I can’t answer any of that, the game, the players, my department, yeah no problem, but things like that you are asking the wrong man.” Heckingbottom, who guided the club to promotion last season, has overseen a difficult few days following the death of women’s player Maddy Cusack earlier in the week. The midfielder, who also worked for the club’s marketing department, was just 27 and the club were left “devastated”. And the boss admits he will be glad to see the back of a horrible week. There were poignant pre-match tributes to Cusack and Heckingbottom said: “It has affected a lot of people, there were tears on the pitch before the game. “But we were determined to end what has been a really tough week strongly and we weren’t able to do that. It has been a tough week for everyone at the club and one we want over.” The Magpies rewrote the history books, registering their biggest away win and also becoming the first Premier League side to have eight different players score in a game. Eddie Howe’s side, who endured a difficult start to the season, now look like they are clicking and performed superbly on the back of their midweek Champions League trip to AC Milan. They did not take their foot off the gas in the second half as they racked up the goals and that was the most pleasing thing for the boss. Howe said: “It has been a great week for us. That is football for you. “Before the Brentford game, we knew the importance of that game, a massive point in the week and great to see us back to our very best today. “I never doubted us in the final third, we have got some outstanding players, and we have had a very tough start to the season in terms of fixtures, but today we were ruthless and kept looking to score, which is they key thing. “We respect Sheffield United and Paul Heckingbottom and the job he has done here but we just had to do our thing and keep pushing and trying to score goals. “We weren’t aware of anything during the game regarding the records. We were just trying to keep pushing the lads to keep scoring goals, having that mentality and desire that we want in every game. “We want to attack well, we want to entertain and be good value when people come and watch us play. One of our fundamental beliefs is that we are always looking to score. “With top-quality players, results like this can happen, but very rarely, that is why we will enjoy it tonight. “You hope this ignites something in us and we try to repeat, not the scoreline, but the performance on a regular basis. That is our aim, but the Premier League is very difficult.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Sam Hain reveals sleepless night before impressive England debut Mauricio Pochettino says Chelsea need to grow up as a team after fresh setback Jurgen Klopp hails ‘massive steps’ made by Darwin Nunez after latest Liverpool goal

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Cleveland Browns wide receiver Amari Cooper was called out of bounds on what would have been an obvious touchdown

It was a seven-minute snapshot into the enduring enigma of Darwin Nunez. There was the profligacy and the potential to be prolific, the glaring miss and the terrific goal, the possibility he could have been the man to cost Liverpool victory and the eventuality that the pivotal moment in their sixth successive win was his strike. In a world of certain guarantees, David Moyes’ record at Anfield remains one: after 20 trips as a manager, the Scot still has not won, despite the chances West Ham had to end the former Everton manager’s long wait. But Nunez remains the great wildcard. The only guarantee is unpredictability and, if Nunez himself is not entirely sure what will happen, opponents can stand little chance. West Ham first benefited and then suffered from Nunez being Nunez. Liverpool fashioned two glorious opportunities shortly after half-time. Mohamed Salah released the Uruguayan for the first: unmarked, by the penalty spot, he sliced a shot wide. When Alexis Mac Allister chipped a pass over the West Ham defence, the £64m man timed his run and angled his volley, perhaps in ungainly fashion, but certainly in an effective manner. And so the table is taking on a familiar look, with Liverpool the closest challengers to Manchester City, as they often have been in recent years. That owes something to Nunez: mainly his explosive double at Newcastle, in perhaps the most startling comeback of the season so far. His return for the Premier League campaign now stands at a goal every 73 minutes, surrounded by examples of wastefulness. Perhaps Liverpool have to accept the trade-off with Nunez: that his physicality and irrepressibility mean he will enjoy plenty of opportunities and the probability that some will be missed in embarrassing fashion. Yet on a day when their other two goals were scored by more clinical finishers, in Salah and the substitute Diogo Jota, Liverpool offered an example of their firepower. Nunez’s charisma is such that Salah can find himself overshadowed on occasions but the Egyptian was the outstanding player on the pitch. He extended his record of either scoring or assisting in each of his last 13 games with a penalty he both won and converted. Jota came off the bench to clinch victory: part of Jurgen Klopp’s task is perming the correct options from his five main forwards and Nunez, granted just a second start of the league campaign, proved the right choice for this. The Portuguese’s sharpness makes him a valuable substitute and he had the predatory sense to volley in when Virgil van Dijk headed Andy Robertson’s cross into the six-yard box. Nunez had departed by then, but his contribution to Liverpool’s opener was typically idiosyncratic. It involved each of the front three. Luis Diaz, who oozed menace, fed a pass into the penalty area. It flicked off Nunez’s boot, perhaps without his knowledge, for Salah. He was upended by Nayef Aguerd and rifled in the resulting penalty. And yet what both preceded and followed it was revealing of both teams. For a side who have had a terrific start to the season, Liverpool are slow at beginning games. They often trail and, even on a day when they struck first, they could have conceded twice in the opening eight minutes. First Tomas Soucek meeting Lucas Paqueta’s cross with a header Alisson saved superbly. Then, when Soucek crossed, Michail Antonio made a mess of his header. There is a fragility at the back, with clean sheets rarities this season, but their potent attack can find ways of compensating. Meanwhile, even in defeat, West Ham showed why they briefly topped the table. Moyes’ men have a threat and, without wanting much possession, some ambition on the ball. Jarrod Bowen was both excellent and, in his own way, their Nunez. The winger equalised, stooping to head in Vladimir Coufal’s cross, guiding it past Alisson; Van Dijk’s attempt to stop the scorer lacked conviction. Any feelings of injustice West Ham had when the winger had been denied a penalty a couple of minutes earlier after a Mac Allister challenge were channelled into levelling. Yet Bowen, too, spurned a golden chance: unmarked, heading straight at Alisson from James Ward-Prowse’s free kick, a few minutes before Nunez restored Liverpool’s lead. And so West Ham, who had acquitted themselves well against City last week and lost 3-1, repeated the scoreline and with a similar sense. History repeated itself in another respect: they were defeated by a Nunez goal on their previous visit to Anfield. Amid the wildness of his game, the confusion as to what will happen, perhaps the one certainty is that he will score at home against West Ham. Read More Jurgen Klopp hails ‘massive steps’ made by Darwin Nunez after latest Liverpool goal Jurgen Klopp hails ‘massive steps’ made by Darwin Nunez after latest Liverpool goal Liverpool vs West Ham United LIVE: Latest Premier League updates Why isn’t Liverpool vs West Ham live on TV?

Ange Postecoglou hailed Tottenham’s bravery at Arsenal, but expressed his bemusement at the handball rule and joked “armless defenders” will be required after Cristian Romero gave away a penalty in the 2-2 draw. Spurs grabbed a share of the north London derby spoils after captain Son Heung-min struck either side of half-time. An own-goal from Romero in the 26th minute broke the deadlock at the Emirates, with the Argentina defender deflecting Bukayo Saka’s shot beyond team-mate Guglielmo Vicario. Son fired home before half-time from James Maddison’s cross, but Arsenal made the perfect start following the restart when Romero was penalised for handball after he blocked Ben White’s shot from close proximity. Saka rolled home the 54th-minute spot-kick but 108 seconds later Tottenham were level when Maddison won possession from Jorginho and played in Son, who netted his 150th Spurs goal. “It’s not about being happy with the result, for me it was about the performance,” Postecoglou said. “You can get a result here, a draw, and like I said before you can walk away knowing that ‘you know what, we escaped’, but I don’t have that feeling now. “I think we went toe-to-toe with a top team and at times I thought we really asserted our dominance on the game. At times they did but that’s what happens when you face top sides. “Even if we had lost today, and I don’t like losing, but for me to keep pushing these guys, they need to feel that out there that what we talk about and work on, they can see it come to fruition and when it does against a top team, being brave with our approach, that’s the key thing. For me I’m pleased.” Postecoglou was less enthusiastic about the decision to award a penalty for Romero’s close-range block on White and likened it to the handball given against Wolves’ Joao Gomes at Luton on Saturday. He added: “I’ve got no idea about the handball rule. I really don’t. I saw the one yesterday at Wolves and it just seems if it hits your hand it’s a penalty and then other times if it hits your hand, it isn’t a penalty. “I’ve got no idea. It is the one rule in the game I just don’t understand. “Unless we start developing armless defenders I don’t know how you are supposed to block things and be in a natural position. “It is what it is. You kind of hope these things even themselves out over the course of a year but I don’t understand the handball rule. “I think any clarity would be good because I have got no idea.” Opposite number Mikel Arteta was disappointed Arsenal failed to make it three wins in a row over their rivals. A key moment occurred after Romero’s own-goal when Gabriel Jesus won back possession from Maddison inside the area, but his 14-yard effort was blazed over the crossbar. Arteta said: “We are very disappointed not to earn the three points, that’s for sure, and especially when you go in front twice in the game and have the opportunity to win it. “We had control of the game, could have made it 2-0 with Gabi and then you concede the goal and you have to bounce back. We did and scored the goal but it’s a shame that within a minute you concede the other one. “I think that affected the team emotionally quite a lot and we lacked some composure to make more passes in the final third.” Arteta also leapt to the defence of Jorginho, who was introduced at half-time in place of the injured Declan Rice, after the ex-Chelsea midfielder was robbed of possession by Maddison for Tottenham’s second goal. “What happened is I love him and we love him,” the Arsenal boss insisted. “Errors are part of football. They’re allowed to make errors because they play and we don’t play. We are all with him.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Roberto De Zerbi critical of Brighton’s performance despite win over Bournemouth Ajax’s match with bitter rivals Feyenoord suspended by protesting fans Kaoru Mitoma sparks Brighton’s comeback win over Bournemouth

Mauricio Pochettino said his Chelsea players need to grow up as a team after they were beaten 1-0 at Stamford Bridge by Aston Villa to fall to their third loss of the season. The game turned with the sending off of Chelsea’s Malo Gusto after 58 minutes when the score was still 0-0. His challenge on Lucas Digne was late and caught the Villa defender on the ankle, and after a pitchside VAR review referee Jarred Gillett upgraded the initial yellow card to a red for dangerous play. Pochettino brought on Ben Chilwell and moved Axel Disasi to right-back, but the dismissal did not much alter Chelsea’s attacking intent as they continued to seek out a winner. It was a decision that would come to haunt them, as with the home side committed inside Villa’s half Moussa Diaby broke with the ball and fed Ollie Watkins, who after seeing his first shot blocked by Levi Colwill scored with his second, angling the ball beyond Robert Sanchez and in off the far post. It was the second time in two seasons that Watkins has netted in a Villa victory at Stamford Bridge, as Unai Emery’s side took full advantage of Chelsea’s ongoing inability to turn promising situations in the final third into goals, before pouncing when their own moment came. Striker Nicolas Jackson, who has scored just once since his £31million summer move from Villarreal, again cut a frustrated figure as he picked up his fifth booking of the season for attempting to block a Villa free-kick, incurring him a one-game ban. Pochettino refused to criticise the officials and said it is the players that must take the rap for the team’s poor start to the season. “It’s our responsibility and the players’ responsibility,” said Pochettino. “We can’t blame the VAR or the referee. The situation, we need to act different, in a different way. I’m not going to blame or say anything against Malo Gusto. Situations happen in football and they affect the game and the team in a negative way. “We need to grow up like a team, not only in an individual way. A player like Nico (Jackson) that is so young, feeling the Premier League and he’s learning, he needs time. In this type of game, we’re competing and we want to win. But players, when they are young, need to learn with experience. “That’s why we feel disappointed because we are playing too many situations like this. Another small detail and in the end we are losing the game. We are in a situation we need to change as soon as possible.” Chelsea largely dominated up until the red card with Raheem Sterling and Mykhailo Mudryk particularly lively attacking down either flank. But the team were dogged by a familiar failure to turn pressure and possession into gilt-edged chances as their scoreless run in the league extended to three games. “It was a little bit unlucky,” said Pochettino. “How many chances did we have like Aston Villa? They shoot, we block, then they shoot and it touches the post and goes in. For us, how many one v one against (Emiliano) Martinez? We were a little bit unlucky but that happens. “We need to accept the reality. But it was unlucky because how many chances did they create? Not many. With 10 men we were forcing them to go back. We need to grow up like a team, not only in an individual way. In this type of game, we’re competing and we want to win. But players, when they are young, need to learn with experience. Mauricio Pochettino “That is unlucky. We need to be aware about what is going on but in some way we need to be calm because the team is creating, the team is alive, the team is fighting every single action. “We cannot say anything about the players, we cannot say that they gave up after 70 minutes. They were fighting until the end with one player less.” Villa boss Emery reflected on a performance that he said was proof of his side’s powers of recovery after their 3-2 loss to Legia Warsaw in the Europa Conference League on Thursday. “Overall I think we are progressing,” he said. “We changed some players, we had some difficult injuries. The most important thing, we tried to create our style and ideas as quick as possible with the players we added this season. “The first way to get it I think is to be consistency defensively, be competitive like we were today. “We’ve been strong at home, playing really good and winning a lot of matches. But away we have to try to get the same performances and the same structure. “Today, to win here at Chelsea, 90 minutes everything that happened today was something normal. To win here is not easy. If the match had gone different we could have lost as well. I’m very happy. We felt strong defensively, better than the last match we played away.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Sam Hain reveals sleepless night before impressive England debut Jurgen Klopp hails ‘massive steps’ made by Darwin Nunez after win over West Ham I don’t understand handball rule – Spurs’ Ange Postecoglou bemused by penalty

The 2023/24 Premier League season is under way and you can follow every game and every goal right here with The Independent. This year sees Manchester City try to defend their crown and claim a historic fourth title in succession. Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering City, who also won the Champions League and FA Cup last season, will have to see off Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and the rest to claim an unprecedented sixth league title in seven years. Meanwhile Luton Town are making their first appearance in the Premier League, having risen from non-league in an incredible decade of progress. They followed Championship winners Burnley and second-placed Sheffield United in earning promotion to the top flight. Follow the latest action from the Premier League below.