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Chelsea salvaged a last-gasp draw against Bournemouth but will be disappointed to have ceded more territory as Enzo Maresca’s winless run in the Premier League stretches to five fixtures.

There’s no question that the Italian tactician has surpassed expectations with his start to life in west London, but Chelsea need to rally after another setback.

The Cherries showed great fight, but dominant Chelsea should have put the game to bed. While it’s disappointing, Reece James proved to be a bright shining light as he restored parity in the dying embers.

Reece James is back

James fired true as he breached Mark Travers’s line, roaring to the Stamford Bridge crowd as he reminds English football of his elite quality after injury plight.

Replacing Romeo Lavia before the hour mark, showed flashes of quality with some slick passing and energy but he looked rusty defensively as he continues to build his fitness levels.

But make no mistake, James is one of the best players in the Premier League when at the top of his game and if he can stay match-ready, the Blues will be back to winning ways in no time.

Minutes played

34′

Goals

1

Assists

0

Touches

35

Shots (on target)

1 (1)

Pass completion

23/27 (87%)

Key passes

1

Dribbles (completed)

0 (0)

Duels (won)

6 (3)

However, not everyone caught the eye – not for the right reasons, anyway.

Moises Caicedo played his worst game of 24/25

Moises Caicedo has been brilliant this season, a pillar of strength in central midfield. However, he’s played in an inverted right-back role to accommodate Lavia and he struggled with the pace of trickery of Antoine Semenyo, foiled by a winger once again.

He was hastily shuffled back into the centre as James entered the pitch, and started to look like his normal self but this serves as another reminder to Maresca that the Ecuadorian is not the solution in the makeshift role, something that James’ return will hopefully put right.

But he will be frustrated all the same, with the Daily Express branding the 23-year-old with a 4/10 match rating after he clumsily gave away the penalty that Justin Kluivert dispatched shortly after the interval.

Maresca will think twice about reprising Caicedo’s place on the teamsheet. It’s clear that opponents will seek to capitalise on his inexperience in the role.

And anyway, when he plays so well as the all-influencing midfield engine, his coach will surely recognise that this isn’t the solution. Unfortunately, Caicedo might have suffered his worst display of the campaign, but that’s really a marker of his immense efforts.

Correspondent Felix Johnston called Caicedo out for his “reckless” challenge on Semenyo, bundling him to the ground. It’s clear that James’ fitness is imperative to the lasting success of the west London outfit, creating the balance and fluency to keep an outside chance of closing down first-placed Liverpool.

Their next Lampard: Chelsea planning massive bid to sign "world-class" ace

Chelsea could be down to clinch a stunning transfer in 2025.

ByAngus Sinclair Jan 14, 2025

Unai Emery sent out a message to Marcus Rashford as the Aston Villa boss outlined a new plan for the Manchester United loanee.

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Rashford is shining under EmeryHas three goals and four assists since joining VillaEmery eager to deploy him in a new roleFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

The England international netted twice in Villa’s FA Cup victory over Preston North End, and he carried that momentum into the Premier League with a goal in Wednesday’s dominant 3-0 win against Brighton. Rashford’s contributions since joining Villa stand at three goals and four assists, a clear indication of his upturn in form.

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Against Brighton, Ollie Watkins was left on the bench, allowing Rashford to lead the line as Villa’s central striker. However, Emery is now contemplating a tactical setup that allows both Rashford and Watkins to play together in the attack.

WHAT EMERY SAID

Speaking to Emery said: "Keep going is the message for him. Playing more minutes means he’s getting physically better, he’s scoring more goals. We’re playing him as a striker and trying to compete with Watkins. Maybe going forward we can play them together. Try to exploit his [Rashford’s] qualities. He’s in the best confidence moment. On Sunday, we planned to play him as a striker, and he scored two goals, so I decided to go again and he scored."

Emery was then asked if Rashford can regain top form at Villa and told BBC Sport: "This is the challenge he has. And the challenge we have in our squad, signing him for those months, of course, he’s getting better, feeling confident, as well getting the understanding of our style, our demands, how difficult it is to face each team in each competition. Of course, his qualities, his skills are very important in the squad. Scoring goals, assists, we have the combination with the players, they are understanding better, each match we are playing for him is very important."

Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR VILLA?

The Birmingham-based club will be looking to maintain momentum when they host Nottingham Forest on Saturday. Following that, they travel to France to take on Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie, a game where Rashford’s experience on the European stage could prove invaluable.

Blackburn have now tabled a £1.75m offer to sign a new face for John Eustace this month, who has already shown he knows where the back of the net is when he has faced Rovers previously.

Blackburn stumbling in the Championship

Progression into the FA Cup fourth round at the expense of fellow Championship play-off hopefuls Middlesbrough ended a wretched run of form for Blackburn that had seen them fail to win in almost a month, taking just two points from their last five games in England’s second tier.

It has left their early hopes of securing a place in the play-offs dented, with Rovers now a point behind sixth placed West Brom and a further point behind Boro, though they have a game in hand on both sides as the trio look to make up ground on the four runaway leaders atop the Championship.

Championship Table: Latest standings for the 2024/25 season

Latest English Football League Championship standings 2024/25.

ByStephan Georgiou Apr 22, 2025

Speaking earlier in the month, Eustace admitted that his side need “help” to sustain their play-off hopes: “We are doing the right things but we have to keep positive and we think we can be a top side in this league. But we need help. Hopefully, we can get that to stay in the push of where we want to be.”

To that end, the club were in talks to sign Liam Kitching from Coventry, but that deal appears to have fizzled out with the defender scoring to help Coventry into the fourth round of the FA Cup over the weekend.

Rovers also wanted to sign Ben Brereton Diaz, but any potential move faces a major stumbling block with the Chile international wanting to join Sheffield United over any other side. As a result, the Lancashire outfit have been forced to look elsewhere for reinforcements, and have now identified an alternative.

Blackburn make offer for another Coventry ace

According to Sky Sports, Blackburn have now tabled a £1.75m offer to sign Coventry City forward Brandon Thomas-Asante.

The forward, who can play across the frontline, only joined Coventry in the summer transfer window from West Brom but has struggled for game time at the CBS Arena. He has started just eight times in the Championship, and just once since the arrival of Frank Lampard.

Position

Appearances

Centre-Forward

112

Right-Winger

30

Left-Winger

21

Though he has only found the net once this season, Rovers fans are well aware of his goalscoring prowess, with Thomas-Asante having scored three times against them in his last two appearances, including his sole goal this campaign in the 3-0 win over the Lancashire side in October.

With attacking trio Andreas Weimann, Yuki Ohashi and Makhtar Gueye having combined for just 15 goals between them this season, there is certainly scope to add more goals to Eustace’s side, with their 28 goals scored the lowest of any side in the top half of the Championship and fewer than several sides in the bottom half too.

Could Thomas-Asante be the man to fire them into the play offs as they look to return to the top flight?

Faf du Plessis, Chris Jordan, Rashid Khan and Liam Livingstone also included in the first round

Andrew McGlashan22-Aug-2022Trent Boult, Shadab Khan, Andre Russell and Jason Roy are among the headline names confirmed as platinum players for the BBL overseas draft.There are 12 platinum players overall, featuring a mixture of names who had already been announced and a significant group confirmed on Monday after the registration process closed the previous evening.The full list of platinum players, who will be paid AU$340,000 (US $233,853 approx.) regardless of how many games they are available for, reads: Faf du Plessis, Roy, Liam Livingstone, Sam Billings, Kieron Pollard, Russell, David Willey, Shadab, Dwayne Bravo, Rashid Khan, Chris Jordan, and Boult.Related

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Of the above list, Billings (Sydney Thunder), Russell (Melbourne Stars), Shadab (Sydney Sixers), Jordan (Sydney Sixers) and Rashid (Adelaide Strikers) are available for retention by the clubs they played for last season.Of the platinum names, only Willey and Shadab are not, as yet, involved in either the South Africa league or ILT20 of the UAE. Those heading to the new tournaments will likely be available for the BBL until late December, but exact details are still being confirmed.Shadab is part of a large group of Pakistani players to be included in the final draft list, which has 279 names overall.There had been doubts as to whether the PCB would issue NOCs to any of their players for the BBL or other domestic T20 leagues in the early-2023 window because of a host of domestic and international fixtures – England and New Zealand are visiting between December and February, and the PSL starts in mid-February – but more than 40 players are involved.That includes Mohammad Amir, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Wahab Riaz, but none of the multi-format stars such as Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi.ESPNcricinfo LtdFrom the last group of names confirmed, Boult is among the most significant, having recently stepped away from his New Zealand central contract. Even though his availability will be limited, his wicket-taking skill with the new ball and at the death, along with his left-arm angle, will likely make him sought after in the first round of the draft where only platinum players are available, although a club does not have to select one.Rashid is one player almost certain to be retained, with Strikers expected to utilise their option should another club try to grab him. Given his recent form, Stars could well look at keeping hold of Russell.Overall, there are 26 players eligible for retention, which also includes James Vince (Sixers), Alex Hales (Thunder) and Mujeeb ur Rahman (Brisbane Heat), who are likely to be in the gold category. Players can decide which band to nominate themselves in.Daniel Worrall, who now plays county cricket for Surrey, has nominated himself for the draft as he is now considered an overseas player.Full draft list (player availability TBC)Afghanistan
Noor Ahmad, Qais Ahmad, Ijaz Ahmadzai, Zia ur Rehman Akbar, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Shafiqullah Ghafari, Usman Ghani, Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Hamid Hassan, Hamza Hotak, Waqarullah Ishaq, Rashid Khan, Zahir Khan, Nangeyalia Kharote, Izharulhaq Naveed, Azmatullah Omarzai, Abdul Rahman Rahmani, Waqar Salamkheil, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Mohammad Shahzad, Naveen Ul Haq Murid, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Ghamai Zadra, Hazratullah Zazai
Bangladesh
Al-amin Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Ripon MondolCanada
Subash Khakurel, Kairav SharmaEngland
Colin Ackermann, Rehan Ahmed, Kashif Ali, Tom Alsop, Martin Andersson, Gus Atkinson, Josh Baker, Sonny Baker, Jake Ball, Jacob Bethell, James Bracey, Henry Brookes, Patrick Brown, Brydon Carse, Matthew Carter, Jordan Clark, Joe Clarke, Josh Cobb, Ian Cockbain, Jordan Cox, Mason Crane, Matt Critchley, Steven Croft, Alex Davies, Liam Dawson, Joe Denly, Brett D’oliveira, Jacobus Leus Du Plooy, Stephen Eskinazi, Laurie Evans, Matt Fisher, James Fuller, George Garton, Richard Gleeson, Lewis Gregory, Sam Hain, Alex Hales, Miles Hammond, Tom Hartley, Jack Haynes, Freddie Heldreich, Tom Helm, Ryan Higgins, Max Holden, Adam Hose, Benny Howell, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Danny Lamb, Tom Lammonby, Jack Leaning, Jake Lintott, Liam Livingstone, Lewis McManus, Ben Mike, Tymal Mills, Daniel Mousley, Steven Mullaney, Craig Overton, Jamie Overton, Callum Parkinson, Matt Parkinson, David Payne, Michael Pepper, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Ben Raine, Adam Rossington, George Scrimshaw, John Simpson, Prem Sisodiya, Nathan Sowter, Mitchell Stanley, Cameron Steel, Olly Stone, Callum Taylor, Jack Taylor, Tommy Taylor, Reece Topley, Liam Trevaskis, James Vince, Paul Walter, Joe Weatherley, Ross Whiteley, Chris Wood, Luke Wood, Saif Zaib, Tom Abell, Tom Banton, Daniel Bell-Drummond, Luc Benkenstein, Sam Billings, Alex Blake, Solomon Budinger, Tom Curran, Joey Evison, Luke Fletcher, Ben Geddes, Nicholas Gubbins, Haseeb Hameed, Chris Jordan, Tom Lawes, David Lloyd, Adam Lyth, Wayne Madsen, Tom Moores, Daniel Moriarty, Samit Patel, Jason Roy, Phil Salt, Darren Stevens, David Willey, Daniel Worrall, Rob YatesIreland
Mark Adair, Andy Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delaney, Josh Little, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector,Namibia
David WieseNepal
Sandeep LamichhaneNew Zealand
Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Mitch McClenaghan, Colin Munro, James NeeshamNetherlands
Bas De Leede, Brandon Glover, Fred Klaassen, Maxwell O’Dowd, Vikramajit Singh, Timm Van Der Gugten, Roelof Van Der Merwe, Paul Van Meekeren, Tobias Visse, Shariz AhmadOman
Bilal KhanPakistan
Bilal Khan, Tayyab Abbas, Asif Afridi, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Sohail Akhtar, Kamran Akmal, Umar Akmal, Faisal Akram, Asif Ali, Mohammad Amir, Shahnawaz Dahani, Salman Fayyaz, Zafar Gohar, Muhammad Hafeez, Mohammad Haris, Dilbar Hussain, Muhammad Imran Jnr, Salman Irshad, Usman Khalid, Azam Khan, Junaid Khan, Maaz Khan, Musa Khan, Shadab Khan, Sharjeel Khan, Ahmad Daniyal Latif, Syed Faridoun Mahmood, Shan Masood, Usama Mir, Muhammad Salman Mirza, Saad Naseem, Usman Qadir, Momin Qamar, Rumman Raees, Mamoon Ur Riaz, Wahab Riaz, Ali Majid Shah, Usman Shinwari, Hussain Talat, Imad Wasim, Muhammad Zahid, Zeeshan Zameer, Muhammad ZeeshanPNG
Norman VanuaScotland
Michael Jones, George Munsey, Mark WattSouth Africa
Shane Dadswell, Marchant De Lange, Francois Du Plessis, Pieter Malan, Migael Pretorius, Rilee Rossouw, Imran TahirSri Lanka
Dinesh Chandimal, Dushan Hemantha, Prabath Jayasuriya, Ruwantha Kellapotha, Ramesh Mendis, Lakshan Sandakan, Maheesh TheekshanaUAE
Vriitya Aravind, Alishan SharafuUSA
Harmeet Singh Baddhan, Unmukt Chand, Andries Gous, Ali Khan, Jaskaran Malhotra, Saurabh Netravalkar, Monank Patel, Smit PatelWest Indies
Chris Benjamin, Joshua Bishop, Carlos Brathwaite, Dwayne Bravo, Johnson Charles, Rivaldo Clarke, Sheldon Cottrell, Amrit Dass, Mark Deyal, Dominic Drakes, Fidel Edwards, Matthew Forde, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Chemar Holder, Akeal Hosein, Joshua James, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Keemo Paul, Anderson Phillip, Khary Pierre, Kieron Pollard, Ravi Rampaul, Jeavor Royal, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Jayden Seales, Kevin Sinclair, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh, Tion Webster, Kesrick Williams, Nyeem YoungZimbabwe
Ryan Burl, Eddie Byrom, Elton Chigumbura, Christopher Mpofu, Tawanda Muyeye, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava

Luis Suarez has revealed Inter Miami teammate Lionel Messi's stance on potentially playing for Argentina at the 2026 World Cup.

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Messi has 'desire' to play at WC 2026, says SuarezPair talk 'jokingly' about retirementBoth still impressing in MLS at Miami Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Suarez was speaking exclusively to earlier this week. The Uruguayan was asked if he and Messi talk openly about retirement. The long-time teammates talk about the subject "jokingly", replied Suarez. The 38-year-old then revealed that Messi still has the drive to represent Argentina on the biggest stage, perhaps even through to the 2026 World Cup in North America.

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Messi was absent from Argentina's recent World Cup qualifiers against Brazil and Uruguay, as he was nursing an abdominal injury. Persistent fitness issues have led to speculation over the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner's international future, but Suarez feels his Miami colleague still wants to be part of La Albiceleste's global title defence next year.

WHAT LUIS SUAREZ SAID

When asked if he and Messi talk about when they will both retire from football, Suarez, who stepped down from Uruguay duty last year, said: "No, yes, we often talk jokingly, but he also has that desire to play in next year's World Cup.

"Obviously, after being away from the national team for a bit, that's becoming less of a problem for me than for him, but we haven't talked about it yet. Yes, we can talk about it here, when we're older, we can make the decision, but we haven't really talked about it in detail."

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AFPWHAT NEXT FOR LUIS SUAREZ AND LIONEL MESSI?

Messi and Suarez could both feature again for Inter Miami when they take on the Columbus Crew in MLS this weekend. The longtime teammates will also be looking ahead to their semi-final tie in the Concacaf Champions Cup. Inter Miami are set to face the Vancouver Whitecaps over two legs, with the away tie kicking off on the 24th April.

Carter, Orr provide key support as Worcestershire’s victory hopes are thwarted

ECB Reporters Network15-Sep-2022Sussex 220 and 312 for 6 (Alsop 137*, Carter 55) drew with Worcestershire 438 for 5 (Libby 215) Sussex’s Tom Alsop led the resistance with an unbeaten century as Worcestershire’s promotion hopes in the LV= Insurance County Championship suffered a potentially fatal setback.Alsop’s 137 not out – his fourth Championship hundred of the season – and valuable contributions from Oli Carter (55), Ali Orr (48) and Tom Clark (36) took Sussex to 312 for six, a lead of 92, when the players shook hands with 13 overs remaining at the 1st Central County Ground.Worcestershire picked up 14 points but they are 28 points behind second-placed Middlesex with two games to play and will almost certainly be in the second division again next season. Sussex remain seventh and have little prospect of improving on that position with two matches to go.The visitors were ultimately left to rue the loss of 84 overs to the weather. There were a couple of moments on the final day when they sensed an opportunity but Alsop held things together impressively for the hosts.The wicket at Hove didn’t really deteriorate but Sussex were still 130 runs in arrears when they lost opener Orr, leg before when Ben Gibbon found some late inswing.Alsop had come to the crease in the sixth over of the day after nightwatchman Brad Currie had two stumps knocked over by Josh Tongue’s inswinger.It was hard work at first but gradually Alsop, fluent as always on the leg side, and Clark began to find some rhythm as the ball softened.Clark went down the wicket to hoist Brett D’Oliveira for a straight six but in the next over he was brilliantly caught down the leg side by the diving Gareth Roderick off the persevering Dillon Pennington after adding 83 in 27 overs with Alsop.Worcestershire sensed their chance but Carter proved an excellent foil for Alsop in a fifth wicket stand of 110 in 30 overs.Alsop went to his century with a clip to the mid-wicket boundary off Tongue but two wickets in five balls after tea, when they took the new ball, gave Worcestershire renewed hope.Carter, who hit nine fours as he passed fifty for the sixth time this season, was beaten by a fine delivery from Pennington which trimmed the bails.Then in the next over Joe Leach bowled Fynn Hudson-Prentice with one which kept low. Sussex’s lead was just 64 at that stage and their lengthy tail was exposed.But Alsop stood firm and James Coles belied his inexperience to offer solid support at the other end as they put on 30 runs before the players shook hands. Alsop’s innings spanned 228 balls and contained 18 fours and he departed to a standing ovation.