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Kylian Mbappe scored a brace and Hugo Ekitike opened his international account as France cruised past Ukraine to secure qualification for the 2026 World Cup. Les Bleus stuttered in the first half, but an outstanding display in the final 35 minutes ripped apart Ukraine's feeble resistance. Didier Deschamps' men have had a near-flawless qualifying campaign as they have won four and drawn one of their games to rack up 13 points from a possible 15.

France are going to the USA next summer!

The Parc des Princes stood still before a ball was even kicked as a minute's silence was observed to remember the victims of the deadly Paris attacks 10 years ago, on November 13. One hundred and thirty-two lives were lost, and around 352 were left injured as gunmen open fired on cafe terraces and at the Bataclan concert hall. Against that heavy backdrop, France stepped onto the pitch for their 2026 World Cup qualifier, expected to seal their participation in next summer's showpiece event with a routine victory. 

From the first whistle, it was one-way traffic. France enjoyed the bulk of the possession, pinned Ukraine back, and peppered their penalty area with touches, 21 inside the box before half-time. But the scoreline stubbornly refused to budge. In the 17th minute, they created the first significant chance of the match as Mbappe drilled in a low left-footer, but Ukrainian keeper Anatoliy Trubin was equal to it. Before the half-hour mark, Cherki tried his luck from distance, but it failed to trouble the keeper. Frustration was creeping in and Manu Kone mistimed a challenge on Roman Yaremchuk, collecting a yellow and ruling himself out of France’s next qualifier in Azerbaijan. Four minutes from half-time, Barcola curled a peach towards the top corner and once again Trubin clawed it out with a spectacular leap. As the teams headed towards the tunnel, France were furious as Ukraine’s low block was a fortress they failed to breach. 

After a tepid first half, drama started to unfold in the second. In the 50th minute, Dayot Upamecano’s high foot caught Yehor Nazaryna in France’s box. VAR had a good look at it and asked the referee, Slavko Vincic, to come to the screen. Vincic was seen engaged in deep discussions with the VAR officials, and after a careful review, he deemed the offence to be not severe enough to award a penalty.  

Four minutes later, Taras Mykhavko clattered straight onto Olise’s left foot, and Vincic was certain that it was a stonewall penalty. Up stepped Mbappe and the forward scored from the spot with a cheeky Panenka as the keeper dived to his left. After breaking the deadlock, France did not think of taking their foot off the gas pedal and instead pressed for the insurance goal. 

Ukraine were living dangerously, and Olise doubled the lead with a ruthless finish after being fed by N'Golo Kante. The floodgates opened as tired Ukrainian legs struggled to keep up with the hosts' tempo. Mbappe scored the third from a rebound that fell kindly for him after Ekitike's attempt was blocked by Trubin. And the icing on the cake was the Liverpool forward's first international goal in the 88th minute. 

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Mbappe was undoubtedly the star of the match. The Real Madrid forward was anonymous in the first half, but he sprang to life after converting from 12 yards. His partnership with Olise was simply unstoppable as they found spaces despite a five-man defensive setup by Ukraine. His two strikes see Mbappe reach 55 international goals and close in on Olivier Giroud at the top of France's all-time goalscoring list. He also reached 400 career goals, an astonishing feat for the 2018 World Cup winner. 

The big loser

Ukraine manager Serhiy Rebrov got the tactics right in the first half, but after falling behind, everything unravelled in spectacular fashion. He did not have a Plan B, and suddenly, the defensive block became too porous.

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Getty Images SportMatch rating (out of five): ⭐⭐⭐

تحدث فيديريكو فالفيردي، لاعب الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي ريال مدريد عن فوز فريقه أمام أتلتيك بلباو ضمن منافسات الدوري الإسباني

وحقق الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي ريال مدريد، فوزًا مهمًا على حساب أتلتيك بلباو، بثلاثية نظيفة، في المباراة التي جمعتهما ضمن منافسات الدوري الإسباني.

وواجه ريال مدريد نظيره أتلتيك بلباو، مساء أمس، الأربعاء، في إطار منافسات الجولة 19 المقدمة من بطولة الدوري الإسباني، على ملعب “سان ماميس”، في الجولة الاستثنائية من “لا ليجا”.

بتلك النتيجة، رفع ريال مدريد رصيده إلى النقطة 36 في المركز الثاني بجدول ترتيب الدوري الإسباني، بفارق نقطة وحيدة عن برشلونة المتصدر.

اقرأ أيضًا | أول تعليق من فينيسيوس جونيور بعد فوز ريال مدريد على بلباو في الدوري الإسباني

وقال فالفيردي، في تصريحات نقلتها صحيفة “ماركا” الإسبانية: “أنا سعيد جدًا بكوني جزءً من هذا الفريق، إنه لشرف لي أن أحظى باللعب بجوار زملائي في الفريق وأن أواصل تطوير أدائي”.

وأضاف: “كان الهدف الثاني مذهلًا، هجمة رائعة شارك فيها معظم اللاعبين لكن أيضًا علينا أن نسلط الضوء أكثر على تصديات كورتوا الرائعة”.

وعن ارتداء شارة قيادة ريال مدريد أردف: “ارتداؤها أمر رائع، أسعى جاهدًا لتقديم أفضل ما لدي وفي المباريات الأخيرة كان من الصعب عليّ عدم القيام بذلك”.

وأتم: “أتدرب لأُخرج أفضل ما لدي، أُقدر دعم زملائي في الفريق الذين يساعدونني دائمًا والجهاز الفني لثقتهم بي”.

Shubman Gill will be back playing for India at the start of the T20Is against South Africa on Tuesday with head coach Gautam Gambhir confirming that he is “fit and fine, hungry to go.”Gill suffered a neck injury last month – understood to involve a pinched nerve – while batting during the Kolkata Test match. He had moved to the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru to recover – the initial timeline that the BCCI had drawn up for him involved five weeks of rest before resuming training.After completing a 2-1 victory over South Africa in the ODIs on Saturday, Gambhir addressed the press saying, “yes, Shubman is ready to start. That’s why he has been selected. And obviously he is fit and fine, hungry to go.”In the absence of Gill, Rishabh Pant had stepped in as captain in the second Test in Guwahati, where India suffered their biggest Test defeat, in terms of runs. In the following ODI series, Yashasvi Jaiswal opened the batting, in place of Gill, along with Rohit Sharma and helped India win the decider in Vizag with his maiden ODI hundred. Gill is now set to return to the top in T20Is and reunite with his good friend Abhishek Sharma.India have been bolstered further by the return of allrounder Hardik Pandya after an injury had layoff kept him out of action for over two months.The five T20Is against South Africa will be played on December 9, 11, 14, 17 and 19 in Cuttack, New Chandigarh, Dharamsala, Lucknow and Ahmedabad respectively. Suryakumar Yadav will lead the side while Gill will be his deputy.

India’s T20I squad for South Africa series

Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Shubman Gill (vice-capt), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Washington Sundar

Former Crystal Palace chief John Textor has revealed an interesting partnership with Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis that allows the pair to 'adjust' transfer fees in deals between clubs. Textor previously owned a 43 per cent stake in Crystal Palace, which he sold in June this year for £190million. Textor considers Marinakis to be a close aide and a 'partner' in the world of football.

Textor shares close bond with Marinakis

Former Palace chief Textor, who exited the Premier League club in June by selling his 43 per cent stake, recently opened up about his special bond with Forest owner Marinakis. The two club owners reportedly 'adjusted' transfer fees as part of their understanding while dealing in player transfers between their clubs.

Marinakis currently owns Nottingham Forest, while Textor sold his stake in Palace for £190million in June. They also have a portfolio of clubs worldwide; The Forest boss also owns Olympiacos in Greece and Rio Ave in Portugal, while Textor, through Eagle Football Holdings, has Lyon in France and Brazilian giants Botafogo. 

AdvertisementGetty Images Sport'He has really become the partner that we wanted to have'

Speaking to , Textor said: "The relationship is, though we do not own Nottingham Forest, and Marinakis does not own any piece of Eagle Football, he has really become the partner that we wanted to have with Crystal Palace. It’s important, I believe, to have a strong Brazilian club, to have a strong European club, to have a strong United Kingdom club. I would like a partner in Portugal. I might even prefer a partner in Spain more than a partner in France, but Marinakis has effectively become that partner because he has clubs in Portugal, clubs in Greece, and a club in the UK, and he, more than any other owner I’ve met in the world of football, believes in Brazilian talent. 

"That’s my first explanation. The second part of the question is, you have to understand that you do your best to allocate the transfer price on an athlete-by-athlete basis. But you also understand that if you have a large relationship and you’ve been trading players in Brazil and elsewhere because he’s sending players to us in France, we sent some younger players to him in Portugal, right?"

Were transfer fees adjusted between Marinakis and Textor?

When asked adjusting fees while dealing transfers between their clubs, Textor added: "You feel really stupid when suddenly Igor Jesus (who Botafogo sold to Forest for £16.5m this summer) is the best player against Liverpool and you’re sure you should have gotten paid more money for him. But the fact is his injury history was the greatest reason we didn’t get paid more for him. A lot of those numbers will bounce around and sometimes you’ll look stupid and sometimes they’ll make sense. And sometimes it’s part of making an adjustment because you trade with that particular friend in a lot of situations."

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'Every deal is a negotiation'

Further speaking to , Textor said: "A team owner can say, 'Give me a break on this new one; you know I overpaid for the last one, based on performance.' Every deal is a negotiation, and if you desire to continue trading with a particular owner, you sometimes agree to another owner’s perception of value, sometimes forfeiting your own perception of value. These negotiations swing both ways. 

"If you adjust the negotiation of a transfer fee, that’s not the same thing as adjusting a transfer fee.' But won't fans feel aggrieved if a player they like was sold for a specific fee just to keep a 'partner' happy? 'It’s my money, right?' Textor snapped back. 'But you’re ignoring the rest of the conversation about that same answer. 'And what I object to is people saying there’s some sinister relationship between me and Marinakis, and because people are going after him."

He added: "What if I have a strategy where I’m creating a pathway; a regular pathway from Brazil into the Premier League? You can watch a Premier League game between Leeds United and Nottingham Forest and see Botafogo players on both sides of the pitch. And that’s never happened before."

Over-reliance on Sciver-Brunt, and continued fielding concerns, hamper preparations for main event in India

Valkerie Baynes23-Jul-2025Reliance on Sciver-Brunt leaves England exposedAfter England were thumped by 97 runs in the opening match of India’s visit, the first T20I at Trent Bridge, Sciver-Brunt wearily set out the truth after her innings of 66 limited a damaging scoreline: “One person can’t win a game, so it is all about partnerships with the bat and showing our physicality as well, making sure that we’re coming back for twos and keeping that energy high.”Her words rang true once more when she and Emma Lamb staged a third-wicket partnership of 162 to briefly give England hope of staging a record run-chase to win the final ODI and that series. Their next-best stand, between sixth-wicket pair Alice Davidson-Richards and Charlie Dean, was only worth 36, which was telling as India won by 13 runs, a margin which flattered the hosts. Even Sciver-Brunt and Lamb struggled to get going, chewing up 41 dot-balls in a powerplay of 22 for 2.When Sophia Dunkley and Davidson-Richards combined for a fifth-wicket century stand in the first ODI in Southampton followed by 71 between Sciver-Brunt and Lamb and 55 between Dunkley and Sophie Ecclestone, it still wasn’t enough to win, although their performance pushed India harder in their four-wicket win than their latest outing in Durham. If former captain Heather Knight recovers from injury in time for the World Cup, she promises to add reliability to the batting lineup.”The positives have been around our batting,” Edwards said. “I think how we’ve performed with the bat over this series has followed on from the West Indies series and India have been exceptional.”They’ve been really disciplined with the ball and it’s something we can really, really learn from. They’ve outfielded us, hence why they’re probably lifting the trophy today. We’ve certainly learned a lot about our squad over the last two, three weeks.”Sciver-Brunt and Emma Lamb produced a century stand that raised hopes of a record chase at Chester-le-Street•Getty ImagesFielding remains a worryIndia had amassed 318 for 5 in Durham amid some sloppy fielding and, with the exception of Sophie Ecclestone, an expensive bowling attack. England clearly missed Sciver-Brunt’s ability to provide an option while she recovers from a long-standing foot injury. She is still hoping to bowl at the World Cup, even if fulfilling a ten-overs-per-game allocation looks unrealistic.Sciver-Brunt also took a superb catch to remove centurion Harmanpreet Kaur, further highlighting her all-round importance. And while England only dropped one catch – Lauren Filer putting down a sharp chance off Richa Ghosh – their ground fielding cost valuable runs.Related

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Any errors in the field are bound to come under the spotlight after that abject showing at the T20 World Cup, and the marked gap between England and reigning World Cup champions Australia during the Ashes. Both captain and coach admit it remains the biggest area for improvement.Sciver-Brunt told the BBC: “We do work very hard on it. The engagement that we have and the effort in training is excellent, so translating that into a game is where we are missing a little bit. Some people maybe seem surprised that the ball is coming to them.”Edwards said fielding ability would come into consideration when picking her World Cup squad.”It is going to be a selection point, isn’t it?” she said. “That will certainly be an element, the athleticism piece and how people field, it’s not just going to be who’s the best batter. It will be, who’s the best fielder?”We are certainly doing a lot of work getting round to the counties, providing them with support around fitness and fielding. I think they come hand-in-hand in many ways. There is definitely talent ID being done as well.”England’s fielding has been under scrutiny since their dreadful display at the T20 World Cup in Dubai•ICC/Getty ImagesTime is tightWith ten weeks to go until the World Cup, England have played the last of their scheduled ODIs in preparation and it is still only July. With a training camp in Abu Dhabi and possible warm-up games to come, England’s lead-up closely mirrors that of the T20 World Cup a year ago, in which they didn’t make the knockouts. But Edwards believes she has time to make her side contenders.”We’re going there to win it, clearly,” Edwards said. “Getting to the final would be a real success for us. That’s a long way off but we are certainly going there to really compete and we believe we’ve got a team that can really compete.”We know up in our dressing room what we are doing and how we are progressing, and that’s the most important thing to me, if I’m honest, that we are really progressing, we’re really improving.”I think there is enough time. We’ll take a lot of the learnings from this series… we’ve got to keep learning really quickly. At times, I don’t think we’ve learned and done things as quickly as I’d like throughout this series. But the more we keep getting in these situations, the greater the learning is.”I feel really fortunate that we’ve had this series leading into a World Cup, where clearly India are going to be one of the favourites, because they’re playing some absolutely amazing cricket at the moment. We know we are not far off, which gives us a lot of confidence.”

Nawaz took 5 for 19 – including a hat-trick – as Afghanistan chose the most important day of the series to put in their worst performance

Danyal Rasool07-Sep-2025A remarkable five-wicket haul from Mohammad Nawaz – including a hat-trick – on a surface that gripped on a dewy Sharjah night helped Pakistan steamroll to the tri-series title, scything though Afghanistan for 66 and securing a 75-run win. The 141 Pakistan put up in a spasmodic display after electing to bat first appeared inadequate halfway through, but an astonishing spell either side of the powerplay saw Afghanistan lose five wickets for four runs. It asphyxiated the chase before it began, giving Pakistan a handy boost ahead of the start of the Asia Cup next week.No side has lost a match after batting first throughout this tournament, and Salman Agha made no secret that was the reason he opted to set a target at the toss. Pakistan ran into early trouble when Sahibzada Farhan’s quiet series whimpered out as he fell for a first-over duck. Pakistan rebuilt cautiously but with Afghanistan’s spinners assisted by the deck, never truly breaking free. Several batters fell after starts, and by the end of the stuttering innings, none had crossed 30.But it didn’t matter once the chase rolled around. Shaheen Shah Afridi dispensed with Rahmanullah Gurbaz early to trigger a phase where the runs were strangled. It created the perfect conditions for Nawaz to come in and wrench the game from Afghanistan’s hands. It included four wickets in six balls before rounding the spell off with Rashid Khan’s scalp in front of a now-silenced Afghan-majority crowd that saw their team choose the most important day of the series to turn in their worst performance.Nawaz the matchwinnerOnly one place to start. Three years ago, Babar Azam famously referred to Mohammad Nawaz as a matchwinner, and over the past couple of months, the left-arm spinner has begun to fit that characterisation. Thrown the ball in the fifth over, he was slightly fortunate with an lbw shout he positively squeezed out of the umpire under duress with the strength of his appeal, before following up Darwesh Rasooli’s dismissal with an edge that got rid of Azmatullah first ball.Mohammad Nawaz hit a couple of sixes in his 21-ball 25•ACCOn a hat-trick, a lovely bit of flight drew Ibrahim Zadran out of his crease and Mohammad Haris whipped off the bails to catch him out stranded. Three balls later, an already incredible spell veered into the surreal with a fourth wicket to reduce Afghanistan to 32 for 6, trapping Karin Janat in front when he miscued a sweep. That kind of day would almost inevitably conclude with a five-wicket haul on a day Nawaz credibly looked like he might take a wicket off any delivery he wanted.Rashid Khan’s takedownPakistan’s display with the bat was little more than ordinary, but perhaps a now-forgotten over late in the first innings stood out as an exception to the trend. With the innings petering out, their run rate was just a smidge over six after 16 overs and five wickets down, Rashid Khan entered the attack for his final over to try and burrow into the tail.Salman Ali Agha was enduring a torrid time, having scratched his way to 12 off his first 23 balls. But when Rashid darted one in, he launched it towards square leg, clearing the fence before doubling up two deliveries later. Rashid did come back off the penultimate to get rid of the Pakistan captain, but Faheem smashed his first ball for four to bleed him for 17 in the over. In a game where spin found so much assistance, Pakistan’s ability to take 38 off one of the world’s best spinners was particularly impressive.

India will face the winner of Thursday’s clash between Bangladesh and Pakistan, while Sri Lanka are out of contention now

Karthik Krishnaswamy24-Sep-20251:20

Chopra: Very little the bowlers could do against Abhishek

India are in the final of Asia Cup 2025, where they will meet the winner of Thursday’s Super Fours clash between Bangladesh and Pakistan. Sri Lanka are out of contention, and their game against India on Friday is now a dead rubber.India sealed their place in the final with a 41-run win over Bangladesh that was, for the victors, both comfortable and discomfiting. Bangladesh never really looked in contention at any point during their chase of 169, with their limitations as a T20 side exposed by the depth and variety of India’s bowling. But they would feel they should have made a much better fist of that target, after their bowlers had done brilliantly to haul India back when Abhishek Sharma had seemingly put them on course for 200 and beyond.Related

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Abhishek continued his magnificent tournament, following up his 39-ball 74 against Pakistan with a 37-ball 75, but India struggled when he wasn’t at the crease.Their innings followed a pattern not unlike Pakistan’s against their bowlers on Sunday: a strong start followed by a dramatic slowdown when the ball became older and harder to time. India scored 95 runs in overs 3-11, when Abhishek ran rampant, and just 73 runs in the 12 overs either side of that stretch.In the end, Abhishek’s innings proved the difference between the teams. Bangladesh didn’t have anyone in their line-up with that level of relentless boundary-hitting ability, even if Saif Hassan showed the promise in their ranks, hitting five sixes in a 51-ball 69.Bangladesh begin brightlyBangladesh could have dismissed Abhishek for 7 off 8 in the third over, had the wicketkeeper held on to an edge off Tanzim Hasan Sakib, who came into an XI with as many as four changes, and bowled brilliantly with the new ball, swinging it prodigiously while also hitting the deck hard.The wicketkeeper who shelled that chance – and Bangladesh’s captain on the night – was Jaker Ali, standing in for Litton Das who was ruled out with a side strain.That moment ended the first chapter of this match, which Bangladesh dominated without quite being able to separate Abhishek and Shubman Gill. Tanzim had beaten Gill’s bat twice in the first over, and left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed had used his swinging arm ball cleverly to take the ball away from Abhishek’s hitting arc in the second. By the end of the third over, India were still going at less than a run a ball.Abhishek and Gill take overGill began the counterattack by stepping out to the first two balls of the fourth over and hitting Nasum for four and six. That began a torrent of boundary-hitting that Bangladesh seemed powerless to stop. Abhishek looked unstoppable once he got to grips with the conditions, hitting Mustafizur Rahman for two sixes in the fifth over, peppering the off-side boundary with four fours off Mohammad Saifuddin in the sixth, and carrying on in similar vein beyond the powerplay.In all, Abhishek hit five sixes and jumped to joint No. 7 on India’s all-time T20I six-hitting charts. He has now hit 58 sixes in just 21 innings; Suresh Raina, with whom he drew level, hit 58 in 66 innings.2:57

Chopra questions India’s batting order logic

Experimental India slow downIndia were 112 for 2 at the start of the 12th over, and Bangladesh seemed powerless to stop Abhishek. But they did, via a run out manufactured by Rishad Hossain’s brilliance at backward point. He dived to his left to stop a dab from Suryakumar Yadav and sprang up, ready to throw in one motion, leaving Abhishek with little chance of regaining his ground at the non-striker’s end.That moment changed the complexion of the game, exposing India’s middle order to an issue that has troubled every line-up in these conditions in the UAE – the difficulty of starting innings against the old ball. Bangladesh’s bowlers did their bit too, with Mustafizur, Tanzim and Saifuddin finding plenty of purchase with their slower cutters and with Nasum varying his pace cleverly, and India only scored 56 runs across their last nine overs. Hardik Pandya, who was out off the last ball of the innings for 38 off 29, did the bulk of the scoring.India’s slide looked worse for coming against the backdrop of batting-order changes that didn’t come off on the day. India promoted Shivam Dube to No. 3, and sent in Hardik, Tilak Varma and Axar Patel above Sanju Samson, who did not get to bat at all.Handshakes all around after India completed an easy win•AFP/Getty Images

Saif wages lone fight as Bangladesh fade awayBangladesh seemed in with a real chance at the halfway mark, but the required rate kept slipping further and further away from their reach. Jasprit Bumrah, once again bowling three overs in the powerplay, struck in his first over, and looked close to unhittable with the new ball, finding prodigious swing and at one stage beating Parvez Hossain Emon’s bat six times in eight balls.And then, just as Emon had seemed to shrug off that early struggle with a six off Bumrah and a pair of swept fours off Varun Chakravarthy, he fell while miscuing a slog-sweep in Kuldeep Yadav’s first over, the seventh of the innings.Then it became a game of two ends. At one end, Saif showed off his hitting range, particularly off Axar whom he hit for three sixes. At the other, batters came and went, with Jaker’s run-out dismissal in the 13th over, while trying to steal a quick single to get Saif to his fifty, effectively bringing Bangladesh’s challenge to an end.All that remained was for Kuldeep to pull off his customary two-wickets-in-two-balls trick, for India’s fielders to shell a series of catches to extend Saif’s innings into the 18th over, for Bumrah to come back and pick up a second wicket, and finally for part-timer Tilak to roll his arm over and end the match with three balls to spare.

Manchester City's Ruben Dias has thrown a warning shot at title rivals Arsenal after the defender's side romped to victory over Liverpool on Sunday. City tore through a feeble Liverpool defence to win 3-0 and go within four points of the league leaders, who dropped two precious points away to Sunderland following Brian Brobbey's late equaliser at the Stadium of Light.

• City thrash Liverpool to send statement

  City announced their intentions to wrestle back their Premier League crown in their demolition of the Reds. Erling Haaland, Nico Gonzalez, and Jeremy Doku were on the scoresheet for the hosts as they ran away with a comfortable win over their title rivals. Arne Slot’s side were disappointing and have offered little indication that they can get back into the race with their opponents and Arsenal.

  The defeat of Liverpool sent a statement to Arsenal and the rest of the Premier League that Pep Guardiola’s men are back hunting the top spot in the division. Prior to last season’s collapse, City had won the previous four titles and developed a habit of racking up silverware. Now back in the groove of winning, they threaten to spoil Arsenal’s hopes yet again.

  Speaking after the game, Dias insisted that few teams can match the level of City and suggested that they are back to their ruthless best. With Haaland scoring more than a goal a game, few can write off City from clawing back the slim advantage Mikel Arteta’s team have at the top of the tree.

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  Dias sends message

  Speaking to Sky Sports, Dias said: “Obviously very happy for him [Pep Guardiola on his 1000th game as a manager]. We live for games like this. There is no higher level than this kind of level. Everyone did a great game. We need to push all of us. Everyone, myself, we need to push everyone.”

  The defender praised the performance of Doku and the work rate of Haaland throughout the game, drawing comparisons between their displays and the great City sides of years gone by.

  “I remember before I came to this club and watching this club, these were the details that made them win so much,” he said. “Differences of everyone ready to show up and ready to sacrifice for the guy next to him. This is not new, this has been going on for a while now. We have been talking about a rebuild since last season.”

  City have added to their squad with a flurry of recruitments, but Dias insists that the level of quality has not declined with their arrival. This is in stark contrast to Liverpool, who after a record-breaking summer of recruitment, have seemingly regressed on the pitch.

  “Yes, of course, there are new faces because of the ones that left, but that quality stays the same, and we keep on pushing. It is still early in the season, feet on the ground,” Dias added.

• Arsenal set the standard

  Arsenal have been the standout team in the Premier League so far this campaign. The Gunners have had an impregnable defence this season, conceding just five goals in all competitions, and had appeared most likely to mount a runaway lead.

  Yet, with a disappointing draw against the Black Cats allowing City to move within touching distance, the pressure will inevitably begin to grow around the Emirates. The challenges will keep coming for Arteta’s men too, with fixtures against Tottenham Hotspur, Bayern Munich and Chelsea to come after the international break.

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  Magpies to steal City gold?

  City will have their own challenges to deal with once they return from the break. A trip to St. James’ Park to take on Eddie Howe’s Newcastle will prove a difficult fixture for Guardiola to navigate. The Magpies have not been at their best this campaign, but they are always capable of upsetting the bigger teams.

  Home games against Bayer Leverkusen and Leeds United follow as Dias and his team can continue their impressive winning run. The Gunners will need to take maximum points from their upcoming games if they want to keep City at arm's length.

The wicketkeeper-batter hit 125 off 107 balls for a Cricket Australia XI against England Lions

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Nov-2025Cricket Australia XI 341 (Blackford 86, Wyllie 71, Harvey 52, Potts 3-49) and 235 for 2 (Inglis 125*, Harvey 58) beat England Lions 299 (Gay 78, Maladay 3-47, Sinfield 3-87) and 273 (Kellaway 59, Anderson 3-42) by eight wicketsAmid intrigue over what Australia may do with their batting order for the rest of the Ashes, Josh Inglis hammered a rapid century for a Cricket Australia XI against England Lions to signal that he would be option should the selectors opt for significant change.Travis Head’s remarkable century in Perth after being elevated to open due to Usman Khawaja’s back spasms has prompted talk about whether that should be a permanent move which would likely spell the end of Khawaja’s career and create a vacancy in the middle order.Related