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Leeds United boss Daniel Farke is coming under increasing pressure after his side moved closer to the relegation zone, and Brendan Rodgers is now a contender to take over at Elland Road.

Despite a decent start to the Premier League campaign, the Whites have begun to feel the reality of how difficult it is to claim a regular stream of results in the top-flight as other clubs begin to get their act together after indifferent performances.

Nottingham Forest fit that bracket and took Leeds apart last weekend at the City Ground, leaving the Yorkshire outfit one point above West Ham United and two above the Tricky Trees, who are beginning to show signs of life under Sean Dyche.

With pressure mounting on Farke to deliver results, he responded post-match by indicating that his side have to be better when it comes to fine margins, something that can so often determine whether newly-promoted sides are able to stay in the top division.

He told BBC Sport: “Football games on this level are decided with small details. We have to make sure we are more switched on. We concentrate on the things we can influence and should have defended the cross situation. It was crucial.

“We didn’t follow their full-back and that can happen, but not after we’ve just celebrated. We lost two 50/50 duels, and then the cross comes in. We could have defended the situation more competitively.”

Journalist Graham Smyth labelled the Whites’ performance “desperately poor” and some supporters are now at the point of demanding change at Elland Road.

In that case, who could come in to replace Farke at Leeds? Ian Ladyman has let slip one potential contender that could come to the forefront if that scenario were to take place.

Leeds could replace Daniel Farke with Brendan Rodgers

According to Daily Mail football editor Ladyman, Leeds could replace Farke with former Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers after he left the Scottish champions following a public fallout with Dermot Desmond last month.

Suggesting that the Irishman may well be a candidate to take over at Elland Road, he explained: “Now we are eleven games in and Leeds are on a bit of a sticky run with only win in six and games against Aston Villa, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool to come the other side of the international break.

How has Brendan Rodgers fared in the Premier League?

Matches

302

Wins

139

Draws

71

Losses

102

Points claimed

488

“Farke doesn’t deserve the sack, far from it. But that doesn’t mean he won’t get it. And the moment Brendan Rodgers left Celtic a couple of weeks ago, every manager in the lower half of the Premier League became a little more vulnerable.”

Intriguingly, he averaged over two points per game in his second spell at Celtic, adding another two Scottish Premiership titles, a Scottish Cup and a Premier Sports Cup to his haul of 11 trophies while in Glasgow.

Leeds could sign a talented Championship star in January

Of course, his time at Liverpool and Leicester City is still fresh in the memory, and the Carnlough native may be the sensible choice to replace Farke at Leeds due to his ability to turn the tide via his man-management skills.

Chelsea have now joined the race to sign a “hugely impressive” £70m forward, who recently broke a Champions League record.

Blues' winning streak ended by Sunderland

After winning four games on the spin in all competitions, Chelsea fans could be forgiven for expecting a comfortable victory at home against newly-promoted Sunderland, but their winning streak was brought to an abrupt end.

Chemsdine Talbi’s stoppage-time winner secured all three points for the visitors, with the Blues hardly laying a glove on their opponents, recording an xG of just 0.90 throughout the match, which will no doubt be a concern for Enzo Maresca.

It was a very poor performance from the hosts, and perhaps the only slight positive was Alejandro Garnacho’s performance, with the summer signing scoring his first goal since arriving from Manchester United.

It is still early days, but Garnacho will now be hoping he can kick on and silence the doubters, with journalist Ollie Holt not convinced the winger’s move to Stamford Bridge will pan out.

According to a report from Caught Offside, Chelsea have also joined the race for another young forward, having sent scouts to watch Bayern Munich forward Lennart Karl in action, but a deal is expected to be on the expensive side.

Indeed, Bayern value their break-out youngster at around €70m – €80m (£61m – £70m), which means the west Londoners may need to shell out a huge fee to tempt the German club into a sale.

Having recently smashed the previous record to become Bayern’s youngest-ever Champions League goalscorer, a number of top clubs have joined the race for Karl, with Arsenal and Manchester City also named as potential suitors.

"Hugely impressive" Karl could be future star

It is a very promising sign that the 17-year-old has managed to force his way into Vincent Kompany’s plans at such a young age, featuring six times in the Bundesliga this season, during which time he has chipped in with two goal contributions.

Having also gotten off the mark in the Champions League, the teenager has proven he could be a future star, but there are doubts over whether he is the type of signing that Chelsea need at this stage.

Worse than João Pedro: Maresca must drop Chelsea flop who lost 100% duels

Chelsea were ignominiously beaten 2-1 by Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, and Enzo Maresca must drop a flop who lost 100% of his duels.

By
Ben Gray

Oct 26, 2025

The Blues added Jamie Gittens and Garnacho to their ranks this summer, so it is questionable whether they need to bring in another young winger, with Paul Merson recently emphasizing that a lack of experience is a real issue.

Merson said: “The team is too young. The oldest player there is 23, 24? When you get a young team, you’re up and down, they have wingers who are very inconsistent.”

As such, rather than signing Karl, who has been described as “hugely impressive” by scout Ben Mattinson, Chelsea could do with bringing in players with more experience, instead of being so hell-bent on only signing young players.

England fell to a 1-0 loss to Scotland earlier this week and were defeated by the same scoreline by Lithuania on Friday. Tomas Jonyla scored the only goal of the game as he got the better of George Mair with a 17th-minute free kick. Lithuania were able to hold out for a narrow victory, which leaves England with a mountain to climb if they wish to progress to the U17 Euros.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  England have lost back-to-back matches

  The Young Lions crashed to a narrow defeat against Scotland at the Excelsior Stadium on Tuesday as Luke Douglas broke the deadlock in the 94th minute as the two sides looked set to share the spoils. Charlie Holland was sent off at the full time whistle in the 1-0 defeat for throwing the ball at an opponent after Luke Douglas bagged a late, late winner.

  Douglas celebrated the victory to the fullest, which Holland took offence to. The young Chelsea midfielder threw the ball into Douglas' face right in front of the referee, who promptly sent the England skipper off.

  And without their captain, England struggled on Friday as they failed to break Lithuania down. Oliver Boast came close to drawing England level only to hit the post as Lithuania held out for a huge win in their own bid to secure a spot at the U17 Euros.

  England now need to beat Sweden next week if they are to harbour any hopes of progressing to the tournament. Liam Bramley's side have lost both games so far and sit bottom of Group H heading into the final round of matches next week.

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• England U17s well represented

  There is ample Premier League representation in the England U17s for their meetings with Scotland, Lithuania and Sweden. George Mair of Newcastle United has started between the sticks for both games so far and is expected to keep his place between the sticks for Monday's must-win game. Fellow Newcastle player Sam Alabi captained the side in the absence of Holland.

  Elsewhere, Chelsea pair Calvin Diakite and Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli both featured from the outset against Lithuania, as did Arsenal duo Kyran Thompson and Josiah King. Young Gunners teammate Marli Salmon came off in the bench in the 69th minute, while Tottenham forward Oliver Boast led the charge for Bramley's side.

  Manchester City, Leicester and Everton stars Archie Thornton, Hugo De Lisle and Reuben Gokah also made the cut for the Young Lions on Friday.

• AFP
  

  How does the qualification system work?

  The top two teams from each group progress into League A, which will consist of seven groups of four teams vying for a spot in the finals. And only the winner of each group will progress to the finals, which take place in 2026.

  England, therefore, are in danger of missing out on a place in the 2026 finals altogether after losing both games so far.

  England won the competition in 2010 as they beat Spain 2-1 after extra time courtesy of goals from Andre Wisdom and Connor Wickham. Gerard Deulofeu scored Spain's goal in their narrow loss in Liechtenstein, while Ross Barkley, Jack Butland and Conor Coady were also part of the England setup 15 years ago.

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  And England followed up their 2010 triumph with victory in Malta in 2014, as they beat the Netherlands on penalties in the final. Dominic Solanke scored England's goal in the showpiece event, which ended 1-1, while Ryan Ledson, Taylor Moore, Callum Cooke and Jonjoe Kenny all scored from the spot in a 4-1 shootout triumph.

  Joe Gomez and Patrick Roberts also featured for the Young Lions back in 2014, while Gregor Kobel, Steven Bergwijn, Ruben Neves, Enes Unal and Renato Sanches also featured for their respective nations in Malta.

  Portugal are the current champions having eased to a 3-0 victory over France earlier this year in Albania. Spain, though, are the most successful team in the competition's history having won the U17 Euros nine times in their history.

Are Manchester City being overlooked as Premier League title candidates?

A lot of the recent spotlight has been on Liverpool, considering the champions have lost three top-flight matches in a row for the first time since February 2021, with many thereby anointing league leaders Arsenal as overwhelming favourites.

However, considering Man City have been champions in six of the last eight seasons, they are very much in this race.

Pep Guardiola’s team have yielded 13 points from their last five league outings, going in search of a fourth straight league win when they take on Aston Villa on Sunday.

Ahead of this one, the Sky Blues have actually lost their last two visits to Villa Park, failing to win any of their last three outings there, despite a sequence of five successive victories in Birmingham beforehand.

If the Citizens are to get back to winning ways in the Midlands, should Guardiola boldly drop one of his most loyal disciples and start a forgotten star instead?

Bernardo Silva's Manchester City importance

Just in case anyone was doubting Bernardo Silva’s importance to Manchester City, he was on target at Estadio de la Cerámica on Tuesday night, heading home the second goal that rather cemented three Champions League points against Villarreal.

This was his 418th appearance for the club, only 13 men have ever made more, 18 behind Willie Donachie and his namesake David Silva, who sit ninth and tenth on the all-time list.

Bernardo himself has now scored 73 goals and registered 74 assists for the Sky Blues, while he is the player who has made the most appearances under Guardiola in his entire managerial career, clear of Kevin De Bruyne, Ederson and İlkay Gündoğan, all of whom moved on to pastures new this summer.

Still only 31 years old, there are discussions about Silva’s role in the current Man City side, given that he has not started any of the last three Premier League matches, before returning to the lineup in Eastern Spain on Tuesday.

So, the Portuguese international may well once again be left on a Premier League bench come Sunday afternoon, given that Guardiola needs to make space in his team for another sensation.

Guardiola must start Manchester City's 'freak'

So far this season, Manchester City have been rather over-reliant on the goals of Erling Braut Håland; his tally of 15 goals already accounts for 65% of their entire tally across the Premier League and Champions League.

However, could the return of Omar Marmoush help ease this attacking burden?

The Egyptian suffered a knee injury during Egypt’s World Cup qualifier against Burkina Faso in Ouagadougou in September, so had not been seen since, until coming off the bench for a brief four-minute cameo at El Madrigal on Tuesday.

His return is certainly a major boost considering that last season, for two different clubs, he was one of the most in-form strikers in Europe, as the table below documents.

Top scorers in 2024/25*

Player

Club

Goals

Kylian Mbappé

Real Madrid

31

Mohamed Salah

Liverpool

29

Robert Lewandowski

Barcelona

27

Harry Kane

Bayern Munich

26

Mateo Retegui

Atalanta

25

Alexander Isak

Newcastle United

23

Erling Braut Håland

Manchester City

22

Omar Marmoush

Frankfurt & Man City

22

Ousmane Dembélé

Paris Saint-Germain

21

Serhou Guirassy

Borussia Dortmund

21

Patrik Schick

Bayer Leverkusen

21

Ante Budimir

Osasuna

21

Mason Greenwood

Olympique Marseille

21

*in Europe’s top five leagues

Stats via FBref

As the table documents, only five men across Europe’s top five leagues scored more league goals than Marmoush last season, an impressive feat considering the Egyptian changed clubs in January.

Shortly after arriving at the Etihad, he scored a hat-trick against Newcastle, before securing the Premier League Goal of the Season award courtesy of this absolute rocket against Bournemouth in May.

On top of his £59m transfer fee, Marmoush is the club’s third-highest earner, currently pocketing a reported £295k-per-week, behind only the aforementioned Håland and Silva.

Journalist António Mango labelled him a “well-rounded… freak”, international teammate Mohamed Salah heralded him as a “great player with a lot of talent”, while former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger described him as “mobile” and “powerful”, impressed by the “special” talent’s adaptability and versatility.

Marmoush is not only a goalscorer, proving during his short Manchester City career so far that he can get involved in build-up play as if he was a world-renowned attacking midfielder, while also capable of running in behind, thereby creating space for others.

Well, on Sunday, Guardiola will come up against an Aston Villa side who will press ferociously at times and defend with a high line but, as noted by Ali Tweedale of Opta’s the Analyst, Unai Emery’s team are susceptible to transitions, often caught out by opposition counter-attacks due to the fact that their offside trap, once the best in Europe, is no longer watertight.

Thus, while Bernardo offers technical brilliance, this may be a game best suited to Guardiola’s direct attackers.

With that in mind, Jérémy Doku and Savinho appear the obvious choices to start out-wide, the latter rewarded for his scintillating display at the Cerámica this week, having looked ‘Leroy Sane-esque’ on the night.

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Through the middle, Marmoush should be chosen to complete the attacking trident, getting forward to support Håland in a second striker role, because his profile is best suited to causing the Villans all sorts of problems, and his return could be a serious game-changer in the title race in general.

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Posts ByJoe Nuttall Oct 24, 2025

It has been a slow start to the season for Leeds United’s new number nine, Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

The former Everton striker joined the club on a free transfer in the summer, after his contract on Merseyside expired.

The 28-year-old England international has been an important part of Daniel Farke’s side since his summer move to Elland Road, featuring in six games so far, starting the last four in the Premier League.

However, he’s only managed to bag one goal, with his strike coming against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the 3-1 win at Molineux last month.

Farke will be hoping Calvert-Lewin can be a better option up front than Patrick Bamford was towards the end of his Leeds career.

Bamford's rocky time under Farke

For several years, former England international Bamford was the first-choice centre-forward at Elland Road. He notched up 205 appearances for the club, scoring 60 times and assisting a further 25 goals. He was a favourite disciple of the great Marcelo Bielsa. Sadly, all good things must come to an end.

His time at Leeds ended this summer, with the club agreeing to terminate his deal by mutual consent. His final two seasons at Elland Road were spent under the tutelage of Farke, although it wasn’t an easy couple of years.

In total, Bamford played 54 times under the German, bagging nine goals and setting two up. The 2023/24 campaign was more than respectable, with the Grantham-born striker netting eight goals in 33 Championship matches.

It was the following term that proved to be problematic for Bamford. He couldn’t get into the side under Farke, and played just 17 games in the Championship, hindered further by a 14-game injury issue.

He didn’t score that campaign, and was later told by the Leeds boss that he is “not in my plans” for 2025/26. Thus, his deal was terminated.

Calvert-Lewin could certainly be seen as the new Bamford, given he is, in essence, a direct replacement.

Yet, there is another Leeds star who could be considered Farke’s new version of the England striker.

Leeds star in danger of being the new Bamford

Things certainly ended in a disappointing way for the Chelsea academy graduate, with the Leeds boss up front about the fact he would have no role to play in the Premier League this season.

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Well, just as Bamford struggled to get game time last season, another Leeds striker could be headed down a similar path.

It has been a tough campaign so far for Dutch striker Joel Piroe. The former Swansea City star has previously shone under Farke, making 97 appearances under the German, to great success, too.

In that time, the 26-year-old scored 33 goals and assisted a further ten. His Championship form was impressive, racking up 13 league goals in 2023/24, and 19 last term as the Whites won the title.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the boss hailed him as “the best finisher” he’s ever worked with only a few weeks ago.

The underlying stats from those two years, showed just how well he has done at Elland Road so far.

For example, two seasons ago, Piroe had a 22.22% conversion rate, and last term, he averaged 0.6 goals per game, an example of why former Swansea boss Russell Martin called him “clinical.”

Piroe – last 2 Championship seasons

Stat (per 90)

23/24

24/25

Goals

0.5

0.6

Conversion rate

22.22%

26.76%

Chances created

1.2

1.1

Duels won

2.8

2.3

Ball recoveries

3.7

2.7

Stats from Squawka

This term has been a completely different story for the Dutchman. The arrivals of Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha have greatly restricted Prioe’s opportunities, and he’s only played three Premier League games, racking up 147 minutes.

It is easy to see how this situation compares to Bamford’s last season. The former Leeds striker had few opportunities to stake a claim under Farke, and the start to 2025/26 has been similar for Piroe.

He will be hoping that the opportunity arises in the coming weeks. The stats are certainly on his side, with the former PSV Eindhoven striker putting up some good numbers over the last couple of years with the German in charge.

If this continues, Piroe is certainly in danger of becoming the new Bamford at Elland Road.

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Posts ByJoe Nuttall Oct 12, 2025

The adjectives came thick and fast: “remarkable,” “mind-blowing,” “other-worldly,” “unprecedented,” “exceptional.” Yet nothing could have truly prepared the cricket world for what unfolded on Monday night in Jaipur during IPL 2025. A 14-year-old kid, facing seasoned professionals with years of top-level experience, delivered a performance so astonishing that even Ian Bishop – a man who has witnessed more cricket than most – admitted, “It’s hard to really speak logic to this.”The basic facts, in case you missed it: Vaibhav Suryavanshi, from Bihar, who turned 14 after this IPL started, took on a bowling attack of Rashid Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Ishant Sharma, Washington Sundar, Prasidh Krishna, Karim Janat and R Sai Kishore – 694 international caps between them – and smashed them for 101 runs in 38 balls. It was the second-fastest century in the IPL, and it was much else besides.It might have come as a surprise to many, but not to Vikram Rathour, the Rajasthan Royals (RR) batting coach, who has been watching the INR 1.1 crore auction buy up close for the past few months.Related

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• Suryavanshi, 14, shatters records to keep RR alive

“We have been watching it in [the] nets the last few months. So we knew what he was capable of and what kind of shots he can play,” Rathour said in the press conference after RR had beaten Gujarat Titans (GT) by eight wickets, chasing down 210 with 25 balls in hand. “But to do it in front of this kind of crowd and in a situation like this, against a really good bowling attack, was really special.”Saw him maybe four months back when he came for the trials. All of us knew we had found something special. It was up to us to nurture him and bring him to this level. Credit to him, he kept his nerve, he has a solid head on his shoulders, he has showed what he is capable of.”He certainly did, leaving Bishop and Varun Aaron searching for words on ESPNcricinfo’s Time Out show.”They are allowing young players to come in, most franchises, and be free, be fearless, ‘don’t worry about your failure’, and that’s a big shift in Indian cricket, with guys like Yashasvi Jaiswal and others,” Bishop said. “That’s a big shift in Indian cricket – let’s not look past that. A few generations ago, ‘play properly, you get two failures [and] you’re gone’. Now it’s a different culture.”

WATCH – Highlights of Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s record-breaking hundred on JioHotstar (India only)

It’s a culture that, in IPL 2025 alone, has thrown up future stars Priyansh Arya, Shaik Rasheed, Ayush Mhatre and now Suryavanshi.”I don’t care what GT served up [with the ball] on a platter, the kid is 14 years old! He demolished what was served to him tonight.” Bishop said. “You can take nothing away. Going forward, [we can ask] how do they come at him in the next game, how does he counter what’s going to be thrown at him, but for tonight, I don’t care whether [the bowlers] served him oranges…”I hope we don’t go too far with praising him, but you cannot step back from the fact that tonight was absolutely mind-blowing, other-wordly.”

How does a 14-year-old hit with such power?

On the night, Suryavanshi hit 11 sixes and seven fours. Most of his sixes went a long, long way. As we have spoken about elsewhere on ESPNcricinfo, there’s a unique bat-swing in his game that could be the source of his power.5:27

‘Otherworldly’ Suryavanshi wows Bishop, Aaron

“If you look at the way his backlift is, it starts here [near the back ear] and then it goes almost like a whip. So he gets a little extra whip into his shots, because it’s not like a conventional up-and-down kind of backlift,” Aaron said. “It will be really cool to see one of those trackers which we have which track the backlift; it’s a very different backlift and I think that’s what makes his unique and he gets so much power into the shot with that effort for somebody who is that young.”Visualise what Aaron said, or just revisit Suryavanshi’s batting last night, and the name that pops up is that of Yuvraj Singh. It did for Bishop for sure. “Pendulum swing. I remember when Yuvraj came to the scene, and with pendulum swing, and you can see the full range in motion. How do you… phew!”

‘This is new territory for Rahul Dravid’

Now comes the question about the future. There are enough cautionary tales in Indian cricket about early success and all that can go wrong thereafter. Being around Rahul Dravid and Rathour can only help, but that’s only for a few months every year.”He’s lucky to be part of Rajasthan Royals and under Rahul Dravid, because Rahul Dravid is one of those cricketers who almost symbolises how to keep it low-key,” Aaron said. “If he can pass those values to him, be like, ‘you know what, this is just the beginning, take it easy, put your head down…”5:13

What’s the best way to handle Suryavanshi?

But, as Bishop pointed out, Suryavanshi’s age makes things just that little bit tricky.”It’s unprecedented, 14 years old. This is new territory. This is new territory for Rahul. This is going to be new territory for the parents,” Bishop said. “The scrutiny on him when he plays the next game, and if he doesn’t score any runs, you know, there are going to be detractors out there.”Brian Lara was always one of the greatest guys I saw [when it comes to] dealing with failure. We played against each other since we were 14-15 years old – he was able to take failure, let it run off his back, and move on to something great. This kid if going to be tested. Rahul is great. He has a great track record. His parents are going to have to be so close to him, and hopefully – I am sure they are great parents – you’ve got to surround this kid with proper people for the next five years to ensure this high that he’s got so early in his career, there isn’t a drop.”This is going to take a special effort from his parents, the BCCI…”

Free-scoring Man City striker Erling Haaland has revealed he’s feeling the pressure from rivals Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe in the race to be Europe’s top goalscorer. Haaland bagged another against Brentford to take his total for the season to nine, but accepts the battle to win the top prize will be fierce.

Haaland's continues scoring run

Man City secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory against Brentford in the Premier League, with Haaland’s early goal proving to be the difference between the two sides. The Norway striker opened the scoring in the ninth minute, demonstrating his strength to power past the Brentford defence and fire a low shot past Caoimhin Kelleher. This was Haaland's ninth Premier League goal of the season and his 18th in 11 games for club and country, set up by Josko Gvardiol's left-footed pass over the top. City dominated the first half, creating several chances, Phil Foden came close to extending the lead, curling a shot just wide after being set up by Tijjani Reijnders and Reijnders himself was denied by an excellent save from Kelleher. 

Unfortunately for City, midfielder Rodri was forced off due to injury in the 21st minute, another worrying setback for the Spaniard, who had only recently returned from a long rehabilitation period for an ACL injury. Brentford showed signs of life in the second half, with Igor Thiago having their best chance but was denied by a superb save from Gianluigi Donnarumma. Despite Brentford's increased pressure, City defended stoutly to hold on to their slender lead and secure the three points. This victory marks City boss Pep Guardiola's 250th Premier League win, a milestone achieved in a record 349 games and the result lifts City to fifth in the Premier League table, three points behind leaders Arsenal, heading into the international break. Brentford remain in 16th.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportKane and Mbappe in his sights

On the race for the European Golden Boot and battling Kane, Haaland said: "Don't forget Mbappe as well, he had a great start as well. They're doing amazing, so I need to keep up. I have never felt better than I do now. It is about preparation, getting ready for the games. You can be physically ready but you need to be mentally ready. With a kid it makes me even better because I disconnect more than ever – I don't think about football at all. When you are young you think of this and that and maybe worry about things but when I get home I relax even more. I think I need to give a shout-out to my son. This for me, this goal is top. This was one of my better goals for me because of the whole thing."

Race for top spot

As it stands, Haaland (11th), Kane (7th) and Mbappe (13th) are some way down the scoring chart, but that’s due to many of the leagues being out of sync – where some divisions have played 20+ games, many are still in single digits. And there’s a weighting system, so the tougher the league you play in, the more your goals are worth, so there's no doubt the trio playing in Germany, England and Spain will occupy the top spots come next May. And you can check the latest table here. 

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Kane has started the 25/26 season in prolific form for Bayern, continuing his impressive scoring rate from previous seasons. He’s bagged 11 goals so far in the league and recently achieved the milestone of becoming the fastest player to reach 100 goals for a club in Europe's top five leagues, doing so in just 104 games. Meanwhile, Mbappé is top scorer in LaLiga with nine goals and leads the Champions League with five goals after Matchday 2. He also recently surpassed Thierry Henry to become France's second-highest scorer of all time.

Ashwani’s 4 for 24 was the best figures by an Indian on IPL debut, as MI extended their record against KKR at Wankhede to 10-2

Alagappan Muthu31-Mar-20251:36

Aaron: ‘Skiddy’ Ashwani quicker than batters expected

Mumbai Indians (MI) got on the IPL 2025 board in IPL 2025 with an eight-wicket victory over defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), which took their record against those opponents at Wankhede Stadium to 10-2. The win was set up by the most unlikely source: a fast bowler named Ashwani Kumar picked up the best figures by an Indian on IPL debut – 4 for 24 – to knock KKR over for 116.Debutant Ashwani’s dream dayAshwani is 23 years old. He had played only four T20s before this. Naturally, he was nervous when he was told he would be playing this game. He didn’t eat lunch. It’s possible he may never do so on any match day given how well this one went and how superstitious cricketers can be. Ashwani picked up a wicket with his first ball, and it was the opposition captain Ajinkya Rahane. Over the course of a dream day, he took down Rinku Singh and Andre Russell as well. This league does not present any higher quality of wickets.The most impressive thing about Ashwani was how hard he was to line up. He has an orthodox bowling action. His speeds were largely in the early to mid 130kph. Those are the kind of bowlers that get smashed around in the IPL. But try as they might, KKR were not able to do it.Ashwani came to prominence because of his performances in the Sher-E-Punjab T20 trophy last year, when he displayed an affinity for the death overs. Ashwani didn’t really bowl in that phase of the innings against KKR, but did show why he could find success in high-pressure situations. It was his control of length.Trent Boult struck in the first over for the 30th time in the IPL•Associated PressRinku tried to take him down, but one ball after using his feet and hitting him for four, he was caught on the deep-point boundary. Ashwani pulled his length back to surprise the batter. Russell tried to take him down, but one ball after clearing his front leg and smacking him through the line, he was beaten by a bouncer and then bowled by a 140kph pitched-up delivery that surprised the batter, again. Ashwani was innately aware of when to vary his lengths and was able to do so even when high-quality batters were attacking him and putting him under pressure.Boult continues romance with the first overAshwani tripling his career tally of T20 wickets – from two to six – over the course of one evening relegated everything else to the side. But he was merely exploiting a lovely platform set by two high-quality new-ball bowlers.Trent Boult once again showed off the freakish ability he has to take wickets in the first over. For the 30th time in the IPL, he provided his team with a perfect start, rearranging Sunil Narine’s stumps. From the other end, Deepak Chahar took away Quinton de Kock’s strengths – hitting balls at the stumps over square leg – by keeping his lines wide and having him caught at mid-off.KKR continued to attack, conscious that the Wankhede Stadium is a chase-friendly venue. Despite those early wickets, they indulged in eight aggressive responses in the first four overs. Some worked. Some didn’t. This is T20 cricket in the modern age. There is very little holding back. Rinku could have. He fell playing a big shot right after finding the boundary, even though KKR only had Russell and Ramandeep Singh as recognised batters with nearly half the innings left to play.3:07

Does Rohit have a technique issue?

Rickelton comes goodRyan Rickelton was beaten by each of the first four balls he faced. His first four came off an inside edge, first six off a top edge, and all of a sudden, it really did look like T20 cricket was flipping hard. A pitch that was supposed to be a belter – because of the pace and bounce on offer – was being harnessed by the fast bowlers on both sides to telling effect.But with only 117 to chase, Rickelton could bide his time, and when his opportunity came – Harshit Rana trying too hard to pick up wickets and giving away a slower-ball on the half-volley – he nailed a straight drive and never looked back. Rickelton brought up fifty with a six off Narine, and was at the other end when Suryakumar Yadav brought up victory with a six. Rohit Sharma, though, had another failure, falling for 13. The worries around his batting form continue.

تقدم فريق بيراميدز بالهدف الأول أمام منافسه الجيش الرواندي، في المباراة التي تجمع بينهما الآن ضمن منافسات بطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا.

وتقام مباراة بيراميدز مع الجيش الرواندي، في إطار منافسات إياب دور الـ 64 من مباريات بطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا، وذلك على أرضية استاد الدفاع الجوي.

طالع | تشكيل بيراميدز أمام الجيش الرواندي في دوري أبطال إفريقيا.. ماييلي في الهجوم

وكان فريق بيراميدز قد حقق الفوز في مباراة الذهاب على الجيش الرواندي التي أقيمت في كيجالي بثنائية نظيفة أحرزها مهاجم الفريق فيستون ماييلي. 

سجل مصطفي زيكو، لاعب بيراميدز، هدف فريقه الأول أمام الجيش الرواندي، بعد تلقيه تمريرة داخل منطقة الجزاء صوبها مباشرة في المرمى بالدقيقة 42. هدف بيراميدز الأول أمام الجيش الرواندي في دوري أبطال إفريقيا

 

It is no secret that Tottenham are in the market for attacking options this summer, and have been for quite some time. However, the need to back Thomas Frank with proven new faces has increased tenfold in the last week.

Burnley (home)

August 16

Man City (away)

August 23

Bournemouth (home)

August 30

West Ham (away)

September 13

Brighton (away)

September 20

Spurs have now lost playmaker James Maddison to a crippling ACL rupture, with the England international poised to undergo surgery on his right knee after being stretchered off in a pre-season friendly against Newcastle last Sunday.

The 28-year-old had only just returned from a knee injury which kept him out of the Europa League final, but Frank won’t see Maddison don the Lilywhites jersey again for another six to nine months – which is the typical recovery time for ACL injuries.

This devastating blow comes right after legend Son Heung-min sealed an MLS record-breaking move to LAFC, bringing an end to his glittering 10-year stay at Spurs where he cemented himself as one of the club’s greatest ever Premier League players.

Frank has also confirmed that Dejan Kulusevski will remain out injured for a “long time” as well, so Tottenham go into their UEFA Super Clash against PSG next week in a very sorry state.

Some experts believe that the Sweden international may not return until November at the earliest, so it is absolutely non-negotiable that Daniel Levy enters the market for new forwards – or risk yet another lacklustre Premier League campaign right after their 17th-placed finish.

Tottenham have been linked with a host of attacking options in recent days, including the likes of Man City outcast Jack Grealish, AC Milan’s Rafael Leao, Liverpool sensation Harvey Elliott and Man City winger Savinho.

Now, as per journalist Graeme Bailey of TBR Football, versatile £212,000-per-week PSG forward Randal Kolo Muani remains a target for Frank’s side.

Despite being firmly out of Luis Enrique’s plans at the Parc des Princes, Kolo Muani enjoyed a stellar second half of 24/25 on loan at Juventus – showcasing his very best and letting suitors know that he still possesses serious quality.

At Eintracht Frankfurt, the Frenchman bagged 23 goals and 17 assists in all competitions during his best-ever season to date in 2022/2023, so he could be an excellent option.

Tottenham eye Randal Kolo Muani with PSG very keen to sell

According to Bailey and TBR, Tottenham are considering the signing of Kolo Muani, with Juve’s talks to sign the 26-year-old going nowhere.

However, they face competition from Newcastle, who are desperate to sign a striker after their failed move for Man United no.9 Benjamin Sesko.

“Kolo Muani has been set for Juventus for most of this summer, but his people have been doing work on other options in recent weeks as talks with PSG have stalled,” Bailey said.

“I am told that Kolo Muani was open to a move to England in January before he opted for Italy and Juve, but now a Premier League option is available again.

“Spurs are still interested, but Newcastle are now very much in the mix and pushing forward with talks as they are looking to see what a deal would look like.

“PSG are more than open to a deal, and we understand they have informed Juventus that they are now talking to other clubs.”

The former Bundesliga sensation can play as a centre-forward, second striker and in both wide areas – so he could be a very useful asset to Frank as a replacement for Son, or even Richarlison if the Brazilian leaves.