West Ham United could sign a very highly-rated replacement for midfielder Lucas Paqueta in a Martin Odegaard-like player at a price of around £20 million, with under-fire manager Julen Lopetegui needing all the help he can get right now.

Lucas Paqueta faces spot-fixing allegations at West Ham

The Brazil international’s future in east London is precarious at best, as Paqueta faces allegations by the FA for spot-fixing on multiple occasions since his £51 million move to England from Lyon.

West Ham player who AC Milan have wanted for ages could leave in January

The Rossoneri could have another opportunity.

ByEmilio Galantini Nov 20, 2024

The FA have accused Paqueta of purposely influencing play and the betting markets by picking up deliberate yellow cards, which relate to matches against Leicester City, Aston Villa, Leeds United and Bournemouth in the Premier League.

Match

Date

Opponent

Competition

Result

#13

09/11/2024

Everton (H)

Premier League

0-0 draw

#12

02/11/2024

Nottingham Forest (A)

Premier League

3-0 loss

#11

27/10/2024

Man United (H)

Premier League

2-1 win

#10

19/10/2024

Tottenham (A)

Premier League

4-1 loss

#9

05/10/2024

Ipswich (H)

Premier League

4-1 win

#8

28/09/2024

Brentford (A)

Premier League

1-1 draw

#7

25/09/2024

Liverpool (A)

Carabao Cup

5-1 loss

#6

21/09/2024

Chelsea (H)

Premier League

3-0 loss

#5

14/09/2024

Fulham (A)

Premier League

1-1 draw

#4

31/08/2024

Man City (H)

Premier League

3-1 loss

#3

28/08/2024

Bournemouth (H)

Carabao Cup

1-0 win

#2

24/08/2024

Crystal Palace (A)

Premier League

2-0 win

#1

17/08/2024

Aston Villa (H)

Premier League

2-1 loss

The 27-year-old has released a statement proclaiming his innocence, while West Ham have reportedly hired top lawyer Nick De Marco in an effort to back Paqueta in court.

In any case, West Ham have been criticised for not performing their due diligence on Paqueta before spending north of £50 million on him, with ex-Hammers recruitment employee Mick Brown telling Football Insider it was a real lapse in judgement.

“I was told there was an £80million deal going on with Man City,” said Brown.

“That failed as a result of the accusations against him. So somebody at the club has to question how it was that they didn’t know that there was an issue. The same thing happened with the Italian midfielder at Newcastle [Tonali].

“You’ve missed out on a big-money sale and then the player gets taken away, essentially, without anything coming the other way. How did the FA know enough to investigate, but West Ham didn’t? You have to ask real questions of the club in that situation.”

West Ham could sign James McAtee for just £20 million

According to CaughtOffside, Man City midfielder James McAtee is being considered as a potential long-term heir for Paqueta – as Irons chiefs hold a theory that he would be ideal for that role.

The English talent is attracting interest from a host of other sides, though, including Leeds United, Celtic, Lens, Lille, Southampton, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, Feyenoord, VfB Stuttgart and Girona.

West Ham could sign McAtee for around £20 million, as per this report, which is quite the bargain considering his stellar reputation and likeness to Arsenal captain Odegaard.

“He’s a bonus player in that he plays midfield and you have an extra number in there, but then he can just attack,” said former Sheffield United striker Carl Asaba.

“He’s like Odegaard. You play him in midfield so he’s defending for you, he’s another body for them to try and navigate away from but he likes the ball 30 yards out because he can go past you like you’re not there.”

The Catalan giants were indebted to their Brazilian winger and the brilliance of their goalkeeper to secure a first-leg advantage in Lisbon

Barcelona, with 10 men, put in a gritty, professional performance to beat Benfica 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday.

An electric opening to the first half saw Wojciech Szczesny make an excellent stop 30 seconds in, while Robert Lewandowski was denied by a brilliant double save from Anatoliy Trubin.

On 20 minutes, Benfica broke beyond Barca's press and Pau Cubarsi brought down Vangelis Pavlidis on the edge of the box with a slide tackle. As the last man, Cubarsi was sent off by the referee, a decision that was upheld by VAR.

Benfica repeatedly tested Szczesny, but on the hour, 10-man Barca took the lead as Raphinha intercepted a loose ball in midfield, drove forward, and took aim from range, finding the bottom corner via a slight deflection.

Szczesny was fortunate to avoid giving away a late penalty, as he fouled Andrea Belotti in the box, but the Italian was ruled to be offside in the build-up. The Pole then made a superb late save to deny Renato Sanches at the death.

GOAL rates Barcelona's players from Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica…

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Goalkeeper & Defence

  Wojciech Szczesny (9/10):

  Superb throughout. Some exceptional saves, repeatedly denying Benfica as they laid siege to the Barca box. Could have given a late penalty away after bringing down Belotti, but VAR came to his rescue as the Italian striker was offside. Given his performance, he deserved the good fortune.

  Jules Kounde (7/10):

  Kept busy throughout but defended excellently. Wasn't able to push forward as much as usual due to obvious circumstances.

  Pau Cubarsi (2/10):

  Made a dramatic last-ditch tackle on Pavlidis but mistimed it and was sent off.

  Inigo Martinez (7/10):

  Took a nasty knock in the first half but recovered to play on and put his body on the line whenever he could.

  Alejandro Balde (7/10):

  Some surging runs from left-back, including one that saw him take out three Benfica players with some fancy footwork.

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• AFP
  

  Midfield

  Frenkie de Jong (6/10):

  Always takes great care of the ball but somewhat struggled with Benfica's aggressive press before being subbed.

  Pedri (7/10):

  Ran the game on the ball. Had a lot to do defensively and mucked in manfully, even if it really isn't the best side of his game.

  Dani Olmo (6/10):

  Subbed after the red card. The unfortunate victim of Flick's tactical shift to a 4-4-1.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Attack

  Lamine Yamal (3/10):

  The red card completely ruined any chance of Yamal getting any rhythm going, but he was anonymous, and was hooked on 55 minutes.

  Robert Lewandowski (6/10):

  Denied twice in quick succession by a superb double save from Trubin in the first half. His best moment and he was subbed late.

  Raphinha (8/10):

  Scored an excellent goal, driving home from range. Always so positive, and willing to take responsibility. Has matured into perhaps Barcelona's best player.

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  Subs & Manager

  Ronald Araujo (7/10):

  On for Olmo after the red. Dominated aerially in a fine display.

  Ferran Torres (5/10):

  Came on for Yamal early in the second half. Just as ineffective.

  Gerard Martin (5/10):

  Replaced Lewandowski. Barely touched the ball.

  Marc Casado (N/A):

  On for De Jong late to get some fresh legs into midfield.

  Hansi Flick (8/10):

  Bringing Araujo on for Olmo paid immense dividends. His tactical shift required Barca to defend well throughout, but they did exactly that. A fine night's work.

MatériaMais Notícias

Após cair na Copa do Brasil, o Internacional voltou a campo pelo Gauchão e derrotou o Aimoré por 1 a 0 dentro do Beira-Rio.

– VEJA A TABELA DA SÉRIE A DO BRASILEIRÃO

Apesar do triunfo, a equipe foi vaiada pelo torcedor, que demonstra uma grande insatisfação pelo momento do time.

Questionado pela nação vermelha, Alexander Medina concedeu entrevista coletiva pós-vitória e garantiu que não sente nenhum tipo de pressão dos diretores.

‘Não me sinto questionado para nada, internamente se faz uma valorização do trabalho diário, do que acreditamos, do que estamos convencidos, do porquê foram nos buscar. Futebol é resultado, mas tem que ter paciência para que as coisas aconteçam ou troquem de rumo. É um trabalho diário, que ocorre com os jogadores. Temos que melhorar, sabemos, somos autocríticos, mas estamos levando um processo de trabalho, pode custar mais, menos, mas sinto que há evolução em alguns jogadores’, afirmou.

Agora, o Internacional volta a campo na quarta-feira. O adversário é o Grêmio, no Beira-Rio.

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Arsenal could sign a league’s “standout” forward for just £25 million, with Mikel Arteta’s side holding a serious interest in what would be a bargain transfer.

Arsenal drop points away to Fulham in Premier League title blow

Following an imperious run of four wins in four games across all competitions in the build up to their visit to Craven Cottage, many fancied an in-form Arsenal side to do the business in west London and make up ground on Premier League leaders Liverpool.

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Posts 1 ByBen Browning Dec 9, 2024

However, Raul Jimenez was on hand to give the home side an early advantage and send a very clear message to Arteta that this wasn’t going to be a routine afternoon by any means.

The Mexican’s strike kept Sunday’s score at 1-0 for a large portion of the contest, but Arsenal’s potency from set-plays was on hand to rescue the Gunners yet again around 10 minutes into the second period, when star defender William Saliba tucked home a close-range effort from a corner.

Arsenal’s next five Premier League games

Date

Everton (home)

December 14

Crystal Palace (away)

December 21

Ipswich Town (home)

December 27

Brentford (away)

January 1

Brighton (away)

January 4

Thomas Partey missed a glaring opportunity to give Arsenal the lead from another corner – failing to bury a header unmarked – before Bukayo Saka had a late winner chalked off due to Gabriel Martinelli being in an offside position from his cross into the box.

Arsenal couldn’t find a winner despite all of their efforts to break a resolute Fulham side down, in what was a real blow for Arteta, who also watched Chelsea thump north London rivals Tottenham 4-2 to become Liverpool’s closest contenders.

“Gutted that we didn’t win it, because I think we deserved to win from the beginning to the end,” said Arteta on Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Fulham.

“We did almost everything that we had to do to win it. But this is the quality of the opposition, with one chance they score a goal. And then the margins of the league as well. For millimetres, we could have been sitting here with three points after a really strong and dominant performance against a really good team.”

Arteta’s struggles to break down a team in the low-block has become a reoccurring theme of the club’s season, leading to reports that Arsenal could look to sign another forward in 2025.

Gabriel Jesus is misfiring and failed to make any impact off the bench on Sunday, with Martinelli also criticised at points this season and Leandro Trossard not exactly reaching the heights of 2023/2024.

Arsenal could sign Atalanta star Ademola Lookman for just £25 million

According to GiveMeSport, a player who the club are seriously looking at is Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman.

The ex-Everton star, who ended Bayer Leverkusen’s historic unbeaten run with a hat-trick against them in the Europa League final last season, is enjoying quite a year personally – having scored 20 goals in all competitions across 2024 so far.

The Nigerian is seen as one of Serie A’s “standout” stars, as per GMS, who also write that Arsenal could sign Lookman for just £25 million – considering his deal expires in 2026 and Atalanta may be forced to sell on the cheap.

It is believed Arsenal hold a “significant” interest in the 27-year-old, alongside a host of other clubs, with Lookman potentially available for a bargain fee. While this transfer is more likely for later in the year, rather than January, it is certainly one worth considering for next season.

It is also worth noting that Lookman employs the same agents as both Kai Havertz and academy manager Per Mertesacker.

قرر المستشار علاء قنديل، رئيس لجنة الانضباط بـ الاتحاد المصري لكرة القدم، التقدم باستقالته من منصبه خلال الساعات الماضية.

وعلم بطولات من مصادر خاصة أن قنديل قددم استقالته وأن اتحاد الكرة بصدد إعادة هيكلة لجنة الانضباط بالكامل.

طالع.. خاص | اتحاد الكرة يوضح سبب اختيار 20 مايو موعدًا لنهائي كأس مصر

ومن المنتظر أن يُعلن اتحاد الكرة خلال أيام قليلة عن التشكيل الجديد للجنة، تمهيدًا لاستئناف عملها في مراقبة وضبط السلوك الرياضي داخل المسابقات المحلية.

ويترأس حاليًا هاني أبو ريدة مجلس اتحاد الكرة حيث انتخب بالتزكية في الجمعية العمومية التي أقيمت في شهر ديسمبر الماضي.

Setting their sights on the future, Leeds United are now reportedly set to beat rivals Manchester United to the arrival of a young gem who has already impressed at Thorp Arch.

Leeds transfer news

With the January transfer window right around the corner, those at Elland Road have reason for cautious optimism on the promotion front given that they sit just three points adrift of Championship leaders Sheffield United. That said, Daniel Farke will no doubt hope to see his side get back to winning ways against Oxford United next weekend after being forced to rescue a late point against Preston North End last time out.

It was another game in which Illan Meslier struggled in the spotlight, fumbling Brad Potts’ opening goal into the back of the net in another moment to forget for the Leeds shot-stopper. With every mistake, the question marks continue to grow over whether he is the man for the job at Elland Road – question marks that look destined to end in a damning answer.

The Yorkshire club are seemingly already thinking about the future of their goalkeeping department too. According to The Sun, relayed by MOT Leeds, Leeds are now set to sign Robbie Cook ahead of Manchester United after the young goalkeeper impressed on trial at Thorp Arch.

Whilst the Red Devils failed to move ahead in talks to sign the young goalkeeper, Leeds are reportedly ready to welcome Cook with open arms in the hope that he’s ready to one day become Farke’s undisputed number one.

Tottenham eyeing Archie Gray repeat to sign "crucial" Leeds United star

Another potential blow…

1 ByTom Cunningham Dec 15, 2024

Still just 17 years old, the Perth Glory gem is likely to make an impact in Leeds’ youth sides, before eventually breaking into the senior side as a player ready to compete for a place with Meslier.

Cook can eventually end Leeds' Meslier problem

If Leeds achieve promotion in the current campaign, then they must think about replacing Meslier. The 24-year-old was guilty of throwing points away against Sunderland earlier this season and was once again among those at fault for Preston’s opening goal this weekend. It is the type of unreliability that ends in Premier League relegation in what would be a nightmare scenario for the Whites should they go up this season.

If Leeds remain patient, however, then Cook could end their Meslier woes for years to come. At 17 years old, the goalkeeper’s best years are yet to come, which could see Leeds’ reported early swoop become an act of genius when he is ready for a starting role in the coming years.

Cook’s rise could undoubtedly spark plenty of regret at Manchester United, who reportedly failed to push ahead and secure his signature. Those at Elland Road, meanwhile, could reap the ultimate rewards if he reaches an ever-increasing potential whilst swapping Perth for Leeds, making him one to watch over the coming years.

MatériaMais Notícias

Com a vitória por 2 a 1 sobre o rival Corinthians, nesta quinta-feira (17), no Allianz Parque, o técnico Abel Ferreira superou mais um capítulo de agressões verbais sofridas. Chamado de retranqueiro e ofendido, o português foi à forra. Disse que se sente cada vez mais como um torcedor do Palmeiras e ironizou aqueles que olham a posse de bola como fundamento essencial, dizendo que ganha quem finaliza mais, na verdade.

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– Mais do que nunca sinto e sei o que é palmeirense. Vamos ficar bem fechados. Elenco, direção e torcida. Acreditem que estamos a trabalhar, que essa direção é muito responsável. Sei que o torcedor quer, eu também quero, mas não podemos perder equilíbrio financeiro, esportivo. É para chegar ao final de cada mês e todos funcionários receberem seus dinheiros. Queremos sempre mais e melhor, mas sinto orgulho na responsabilidade que nosso clube tem. O Palmeiras é um exemplo para muito clube brasileiro.

Em meio às críticas, Abel diz que não se abala. Usa o mantra ‘quem sabe dançar na chuva e dançar na tempestade, anda tranquilo sobre o sol’, destaca que é reservado, foca em suas orquídeas e aquilo que vem de fora usa apenas para motivar seu grupo.

– Estou no futebol há muito tempo. Sei de onde vim e quem eu sou. Onde quero chegar. Sei que sou novo e tenho muito a aprender ainda.

Parte desse aprendizado vem para fazer com que o português aprenda a lidar quando lhe chamam de retranqueiro. Diferente dos jogos contra São Paulo e Santos, desta vez Abel enalteceu o fato de que o Palmeiras buscou o ataque o tempo inteiro e poderia ter ampliado o placar. Por conta disso, enalteceu as qualidade que segundo ele são cobradas do elenco, como a finalização, desarmes e competitividade, sem levar em conta o posse de bola.

– As pessoas falam de posse de bola como se fosse um fator importante. Eu deixo para os analistas e os torcedores. Não adianta ter posse de bola e não completar as jogadas. Para mim posse de bola não ganha jogos. Não é um fator de rendimento. Sei que por aqui passara muitos treinadores fãs do tiki taka, mas não ganharam.

Diante desse cenário, o treinador fechou apontando que o Palmeiras ainda não está em seu nível considerado ideal. Ele alerta que as derrotas virão (a equipe está invicta no Paulistão). E por isso o foco precisa estar antenado e focado no trabalho proposto.

– Não vamos ganhar sempre. Não existem equipes invencíveis. Aqueles que torcem, vou dizer, vamos perder.A equipe tem muito para trabalhar e crescer. No Brasil se empolga muito, temos de ser humildes e temos muito trabalho a fazer pela frente. Nossa equipe é jovem, tem presente e futuro. O que vem de fora é igual, o que eu controlo é o trabalho, dependo dos meus jogadores. Toda minha energia vai para eles. Tudo que vem de fora, positivo ou negativo, pode nos fortalecer. É fundamental que estejamos unidos. Quanto mais unidos estivermos, mais temidos vamos ser.

TABELA
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We are now into the business end of the tournament, and while some teams will already be dreaming of glory, others will be harbouring serious regrets

After a breathless fortnight of football of the highest level, the final eight clubs left in this season's Champions League have been decided. The quarter-final line up is a mouth-watering one, too, with Bayern Munich set to face off against Inter, holders Real Madrid taking on Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund tackling free-flowing Barcelona, and Aston Villa standing in the way of a new and improved Paris Saint-Germain.

A host of players stole the spotlight in the round of 16, but managers were not kept completely in the shade as shrewd tactical decisions turned the tide in several games. There were late goals, wonder strikes, and high-profile mistakes aplenty as fans were treated to end-to-end thrillers, fascinating chess matches, and the odd demolition job.

In the end, Liverpool, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Benfica, Feyenoord, PSV, Club Brugge and Lille were all sent packing. A couple of those teams can point to bad luck as one of the main reasons for their failure, but others were guilty of freezing or underperforming on the biggest stage, and will spend the next few months doing some difficult soul-searching.

With all of that in mind, GOAL brings you the biggest winners and losers from the 2024-25 Champions League last-16…

• Getty
  

  WINNER: Luis Enrique

  After PSG's 2-0 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on October 1, for which Barcelona flop Ousmane Dembele was dropped for after an argument with Luis Enrique, you'd have been forgiven for thinking that the French giants were on course for yet another season of European disappointment. PSG also lost to Bayern and Atletico in the league phase, compounding an underwhelming start to the post-Kylian Mbappe era.

  But Luis Enrique never doubted himself, or the potential of his young squad, and his patience has paid off. Now, PSG suddenly look like the best team in Europe. They were incredibly unfortunate to lose the first leg of their last-16 tie after battering runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool, and outplayed them again at Anfield, eventually emerging victorious after a dramatic penalty shootout.

  Dembele is flying as the focal point in a frightening front-three alongside Bradley Barcola and January signing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia; Vitinha is proving to be a massive upgrade on Marco Verratti; Marquinhos and Willian Pacho have formed a rock-solid centre-back partnership, and Gianluigi Donnarumma has been almost faultless between the sticks. It's Luis Enrique who deserves most of the credit, though, because in the space of just four months, he's transformed PSG into something they've never been before: one of the genuine favourites to win the Champions League.

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• Getty
  

  LOSER: Mohamed Salah

  Before Tuesday, you'd have been hard-pressed to find anyone who didn't view Mohamed Salah as the frontrunner for the 2025 Ballon d'Or. Liverpool's 'Egyptian King' had 53 goal contributions to his name from 41 appearances in all competitions this season, including seven in the Champions League, and the expectation was he would continue his march towards a maiden Golden Ball by masterminding PSG's downfall at Anfield.

  But after 120 minutes of pure frustration, the picture looks far less rosy for Salah. Nuno Mendes pocketed the 32-year-old at Parc des Princes and repeated the trick on Merseyside, albeit after an early burst from Liverpool that saw Salah spurn two golden opportunities.

  Salah, who was visibly emotional after the final whistle, will surely be replaying those moments in his head for weeks to come. It doesn't matter how many more records Salah goes onto break en route to his second Premier League title, the Ballon d'Or is almost certainly out of his reach now, because his main rivals have all made it through to the latter stages of the Champions League.

  The Liverpool talisman has blown his chance at being crowned the world's best player. Even if he ends up signing a new contract at Anfield, it's very difficult to imagine him repeating his superhuman exploits of this term. Salah has turned up on the biggest stage more than any other Liverpool player over the last seven years, but he'll pay a steep price for going missing against the Ligue 1 champions.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WINNER: Harry Kane

  Bayern stormed into the quarter-finals with a 5-0 aggregate victory over domestic rivals Bayer Leverkusen, and Kane grabbed three of the goals to take his overall tally in the Champions League for 2024-25 to 10 in 11 games – the most ever scored by an Englishman in a single season of the competition. Kane also provided the assist for Alphonso Davies to wrap up the 2-0 second-leg win at the BayArena, which saw him become only the second Three Lions player to ever reach 50 goal involvements in the Champions League after a certain David Beckham.

  Those are remarkable achievements, and ex-Manchester City defender Vincent Kompany is in no doubt about how important Kane is to his Bayern team. "It helps when you have a top player who wants to run and fight for the team like a youth player," the head coach said on Tuesday. "I played against him as an opponent and he has become better with age."

  Indeed, Kane seems to have reached an even higher level than he did at Tottenham. Bayern are still not convincing everyone as a collective, but must be considered genuine Champions League contenders due to Kane's presence alone, with the England captain thriving as more of an out-and-out No.9 under Kompany.

  Kane's trophy curse will end in May, because barring a dramatic collapse, Bayern are destined to win back the Bundesliga title, and they will also take some beating in Europe. There are others ahead of Kane in the Ballon d'Or race at the moment, but he's a real dark horse, and will be worth backing if he keeps up his prolific scoring rate.

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  LOSER: Xabi Alonso

  Xabi Alonso has done a remarkable job at Bayer Leverkusen. He secured legendary status after leading the club to a historic domestic double last season, and showed great loyalty by penning a new contract instead of buying into links with his old club Real Madrid.

  But it has been disappointing how easily his side have surrendered the title of Germany's best team back to Bayern. Leverkusen have been unable to match the Bavarians' consistency in the Bundesliga this time around, falling eight points off the pace with only nine games to go, and they have only the DFB-Pokal to play for this term after being taught a harsh lesson in the Champions League.

  Leverkusen let the first leg of their last-16 tie get away from them after a red card to Nordi Mukiele, and never looked like staging a comeback in the second. "To get to the next level is not easy. Bayern is a different level in this competition," Alonso admitted after the defeat.

  Those words will be tough to swallow for the Leverkusen faithful given the quality Alonso still has at his disposal. This season must be considered a serious failure, and Alonso's inability to keep the team progressing will adversely affect his chances of landing a job at one of Europe's big boys in the near future.

The Whites earned a crucial three points to retain their spot atop the Championship table amid a push for automatic promotion

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Leeds defeat Millwall 2-0 in Championship actionUSMNT's Aaronson stars EFL clash stay atop standings with three pointsFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

U.S. international Brenden Aaronson and Leeds United defeated Millwall 2-0 on Wednesday, retaining their spot atop the English Championship.

The American played all 90 minutes, putting on a brilliant midfield performance to secure all three points. A third-minute own-goal from Millwall's Jake Cooper opened the scoring before Ao Tanaka put the match to bed with an 85th-minute dagger.

With the win, Leeds sit on 79 points in first place, while second place Sheffield trail them by two points while all 24 teams are now level on games played with 37.

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The 24-year-old midfielder was recently omitted from Mauricio Pochettino's March CONCACAF Nations League squad for the USMNT. The Argentine manager claimed that Aaronson was a victim of a small squad selection, but was adamant he's still someone that the national team is watching.

"I think we have too many players for only one position and this was a possibility to provide balance," Pochettino said in a press conference.. "When you have 23 players to call in a competition for two games in a short space of time, balance is important. It's only really 20 players because you have three keepers, of course. We talk about [Brenden], but we can talk about many other players and we are disappointed we cannot call all of them. In our mind, Brenden is still a player that we consider so highly, but he'll have to wait until the next one."

DID YOU KNOW?

Leeds fell to Millwall just over a month ago in the FA Cup, being shocked 2-0 at home at Elland Road.

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Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR LEEDS?

The return to Championship action on Saturday against QPR. They'll look for another three points to secure their hold at the top of the Championship.

All games will be played in Karachi and the ODIs will count towards the ICC Women’s Championship

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Apr-2022Sri Lanka Women are finally set to play their first big series – apart from qualifier tournaments – since the 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia when they tour Pakistan for three T20Is and as many ODIs in May-June this year. The Commonwealth Games Qualifiers earlier this year, which they won, is the only series Sri Lanka have played since the pandemic began after their tour of Pakistan late last year hit a stumbling block following a change in management at the PCB.The Sri Lankan and Pakistani teams will arrive in Karachi on May 19 for the three T20Is on May 24, 26 and 28 followed by the ODIs on June 1, 3 and 4, which will be part of the ICC Women’s Championship. A group of 26 Pakistani players will also undergo an 11-day camp at the Academy Oval ground adjacent to the National Stadium.Related

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It will be the first series for Pakistan Women at home since West Indies toured the nation back in December 2018. A PCB release said it will also be the first international series in Pakistan that will be played outside the hard Managed Event Environment since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.It will also be the first series to kickstart the third edition of the ICC Women’s Championship, to run from 2022 to 2025.All participants of the series, including the players, team officials and match officials, will undergo on-arrival tests and will be expected to follow the SOPs to protect themselves from the virus. Anybody who tests positive will be required to undergo five days of isolation.”It is a great privilege for us to play the ICC Women’s Championship on our home soil and the side is very excited to welcome Sri Lanka,” Pakistan captain Bismah Maroof said. “This edition provides us an opportunity to start fresh and make the most of the home advantage.”I am sure the team will perform to their fullest potential and the Pakistan cricket fans, who have extended us great support, will get to see better and consistent results.”At the end of the tour, the Pakistan players will fly to Ireland for a T20I tri-series involving the hosts and world champions Australia, before they move to Birmingham in England for eight-team Commonwealth Games.