Mariners outfielder Victor Robles is working his way back to MLB after suffering a shoulder injury while making a phenomenal catch in the outfield earlier this season.

Currently rehabbing at Triple-A Tacoma, Robles was ejected from Sunday's game after a truly wild outburst stemming from him getting hit by a pitch. The first pitch of Robles' at-bat in the third inning ran up and inside, prompting Robles to chop at it in order to avoid getting hit.

Irate, Robles retaliated by launching his bat in the direction of the pitcher's mound, immediately resulting in the home plate umpire signaling for his ejection. Robles had some words for the opposing pitcher before attempting to charge the mound, though he was ultimately held back by the umpire and some of his teammates.

The meltdown didn't end there, however. After exiting the field, Robles continued his tirade into the dugout where he proceeded to litter the field with some snacks before eventually retreating into the locker room.

A truly shocking meltdown from the veteran outfielder.

كشفت صحيفة ماركا اليوم السبت، عن التحدي الذي ينتظر دين هويسن، مدافع نادي ريال مدريد ، خلال الفترة المقبلة مع الفريق الملكي.

ويمضي هويسن موسمه الأول كلاعب في صفوف نادي ريال مدريد، حيث تعاقد معه الفريق الملكي خلال صيف العام الحالي قادمًا من صفوف نادي بورنموث مقابل 58 مليون يورو.

وأصبح هويسن لاعبًا أساسيًا ولا غنى عنه في تشكيلة ريال مدريد وأثبت نفسه تحت قيادة المدرب تشابي ألونسو، والذي يعول كثيرًا على المدافع الشاب في طريقة لعبه.

ويمتاز هويسن بقدرته على اللعب بقدمين اليمنى واليسرى بنفس الكفاءة، إضافة إلى براعته الكبيرة في التمرير وكسر الخطوط، مما جعل اللاعب الشاب مدافع بدرجة لاعب وسط.

وأفادت ماركا، بأن هويسن ينتظره تحدي كبير حول القتال على مركز أساسي في تشكيلة ريال مدريد خلال الفترة المقبلة، وذلك في ظل تواجد أنطونيو روديجر.

ويعاني هويسن في الوقت الحالي من إصابة خفيفة، لكنه من المنتظر أن يكون جاهزًا في الفترة المقبلة، مما جعل ألونسو يعول على روديجر بشكل أساسي.

أقرأ أيضًا .. تيباس مهاجمًا ريال مدريد: من الصعب اختلاق هذه الأمور مثلهم وعاد روديجر مرة أخرى إلى التواجد في تشكيلة ريال مدريد الأساسية، بعدما غاب الدولي الألماني عن الملاعب خلال الفترة الماضية بسبب الإصابة.

وأشادت الصحيفة بثنائية إيدير ميليتاو وروديجر، والتي أتت ثمارها خلال مواجهة ريال مدريد وأتلتيك بلباو الأسبوع الماضي في الدوري الإسباني، حيث انتصر ريال مدريد بثلاثية نظيفة.

وأوضحت الصحيفة، أن تحدي هويسن مختلف في الوقت الحالي مع ريال مدريد، ليس من أجل إثبات نفسه في تشكيلة الميرنجي الأساسية، وإنما العمل على تطوير مستواه.

وأردفت ماركا قائلة، إن تواجد روديجر مع ميليتاو وكذلك هويسن يعطي متنفسا كبيرا لألونسو، والذي لديه عمق قوي الآن في خط الدفاع.

ويستعد ريال مدريد لمباراة سيلتا فيجو غدًا الأحد، وذلك ضمن منافسات الجولة الـ15 من بطولة الدوري الإسباني على ملعب سانتياجو برنابيو.

MatériaMais Notícias

O São Paulo visita o Cobresal-CHI nesta quarta-feira (8), pela quarta rodada da fase de grupos da Copa Libertadores. A bola rola a partir das 21h30 (de Brasília), no Estádio Zorros del Desierto, em Calama, no Chile, com transmissão da Globo e do Paramount+.

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Aposte R$100 no Lance! Betting e ganhe R$384 se o São Paulo vencer os dois tempos contra o Cobresal

Confira abaixo todas as informações que você precisa saber sobre o confronto (onde assistir, horário, escalações e local).

No Lance! Betting, as odds apontam 1,58 para vitória do Tricolor, 4,03 para o duelo terminar empatado e 5,95 para o triunfo do Cobresal.

✅ FICHA TÉCNICA
Cobresal x São Paulo – Libertadores
4ª rodada – Fase de grupos

🗓️ Data e horário: quarta-feira, 8 de março de 2024, às 21h30 (hora de Brasília)
📍 Local: Estádio Zorros del Desierto, em Calama (CHI)
📺 Onde assistir: Globo e Paramount+

➡️ Assine o Star+ e acompanhe o melhor da Libertadores quando e onde quiser!  

⚽ PROVÁVEIS ESCALAÇÕES

COBRESAL (Técnico: Gustavo Huerta)
Requena; Pacheco, Bechtholdt, Alarcón e Sandoval; Navarro, Mesias, Munder e García (Valencia); Diego Coelho, Lezcano.

continua após a publicidade

SÃO PAULO (Técnico: Zubeldía)
Rafael; Igor Vinícius, Arboleda, Diego Costa e Welington; Pablo Maia, Alisson, James e Luciano; Ferreira e Calleri.

Tudo sobre

Futebol NacionalLibertadoresOnde assistirSão Paulo

Tottenham Hotspur have now submitted a £62m opening offer for Athletic Club forward Nico Williams, and they are confident a deal will be finalized soon.

Spurs are now stepping up their pursuit of a new forward, amid doubts over the capabilities of some of Thomas Frank’s current attacking options, with Jamie O’Hara particularly scathing of the frontline after the 1-0 defeat at home against Chelsea earlier this season.

The former midfielder said: “We’ve got a garbage team – going forward at home at the minute is absolutely terrible. “We’ve spent £60m on Xavi Simons, £60m on Richarlison, £60m on Ndombele. The money we spend on some players… our recruitment is an absolute disgrace.”

Not only that, but Dominic Solanke has been unable to overcome his persistent injury problems, with the striker missing 15 Spurs games already this season due to an ankle issue, and Mathys Tel has scored just two Premier League goals so far this season in the Englishman’s absence.

The Lilywhites need goals from somewhere if they are going to push for the Champions League places this season, and they have now made their first move to sign a new forward…

Tottenham submit opening offer for Athletic Club star Nico Williams

According to a report from Spain, Tottenham have now submitted a €70m (£62m) opening offer for Athletic Club forward Williams, matching the bid made by London rivals Chelsea, with both clubs confident they will be able to finalize a deal soon.

The 23-year-old’s future at the Spanish club is now up in the air, with Spurs looking to triple his salary, having emerged as serious contenders for the winger’s signature, given that he is viewed as a perfect fit for their forward line.

The north Londoners are trying to get a deal done in the January transfer window, and there is every indication the Athletic Club star could be a real difference-maker in their bid to secure Champions League football for the second season running.

Perhaps the Spaniard’s most impressive attribute is his dribbling, averaging 3.33 successful take-ons per 90 over the past year, which places him in the 99th percentile, when compared to other attacking midfielders and wingers, while also ranking in the 90th percentile for progressive carries.

Lauded as “world-class” by journalist Zach Lowy, the 30-time Spain international has also made a promising start to the season in La Liga, chipping in with two goals and two assists in nine matches for Athletic Club.

With a number of Tottenham’s current attackers struggling, including Simons, who is yet to score since making the move to north London, bringing in a new winger in January might be necessary, and Williams has proven he could be an excellent addition to Frank’s squad.

Nico Williams has been named as one of the best wingers in the world The Best 15 Wingers in World Football Ranked (2025)

Who is the best wide man in world football right now?

ByCharlie Smith Nov 28, 2025

Opener’s willingness to produce a tempo against type allowed England to build towards another famous win

Vithushan Ehantharajah25-Jun-20251:53

Did we see a refined version of Bazball?

The initial concept of Zak Crawley was simple.A languid driver, a devastating puller, sharp reactions to the quick stuff, good interception points for the bouncy stuff. The judgement outside off stump… steady, don’t worry about that. Faults against medium pace? Who cares mate. Get him in and let him loose against the best bowlers, particularly when Test matches need to be seized, and lie back and think of England. Tall bloke goes brrrrrr – England win.Yet, despite being the one constant in the opening partnerships that have launched England’s highest successful chases, Crawley has somehow become the straight man. Outscored by Alex Lees (56 to 46) in the 107-run stand that toppled 378 against India in 2022, he “reprised” the subdued role on Tuesday, against India once more, in a stand of 188 that helped topple 371. Crawley’s 65 off 126 balls – his slowest of 22 Test half-centuries – came while Ben Duckett managed 41 more having faced just three extra deliveries. Duckett would eventually finish on 149, earning him the player-of-the-match award and the back page of every British newspaper. Not for the first time, the smaller bloke went brrrr, and England won.Sensing this one-way love-in, Ben Stokes made a note including Crawley when answering almost every post-match question about Duckett. “The way Zak played was huge,” was the England captain’s variation of that message to the written press.Duckett offered similar: “Massive credit to Zak. The way he played… I take my hat off to him.” Magnanimous from the bloke who has often done most of the scoring in their increasingly fruitful alliance.Since coming together for 2022’s winter tour of Pakistan, Duckett and Crawley have been England’s most productive partnership. Their 2,114 runs in tandem have come at an average of 44.97, and their rate of notching fifty every three stands is the best globally among the 10 opening pairs to have had at least 20 partnerships since Crawley’s debut in November 2019.Duckett and Crawley left India floored with their 188-run stand•Getty ImagesInterestingly, of their 16 fifty-plus stands, Duckett’s runs have come at a strike rate of 92.55, while Crawley has gone at 77.28. It is as much a recognition of the gumption that underpins the former’s consistency as the peculiar route the latter takes. Peculiar, because it is an evolution of sorts, even though his overall numbers haven’t advanced that much.Since Brendon McCullum and Stokes took over, Crawley averages 33.41, which remains unspectacular even if it is a five-point improvement on his 21 Tests prior to the 2022 summer. His overall Test average is 31.55, while his first-class figure is similar at 32.20. Even his four-match start to this season with Kent in Division Two reads 31.28. He remains achingly early thirties, like a tote bag with a Substack.As Crawley says, he “doesn’t really think like that” when it comes to worrying about his place during bad patches, which has been a luxury afforded to him throughout by this management group. And while he did finish the 2023 Ashes series and the 2024 tour of India as England’s most productive run-scorer, he has not used that freedom to be more daring. Think of this as public funds being misappropriated to fix the potholes, rather than build the big slip-and-slide we were promised in the public square.”He is definitely thinking about batting differently now,” Duckett said, having had a front-row seat to Crawley’s move towards conservatism. “He’s still smacking the bad ball away, but his thought process is so calm.”The same, Duckett said, had been true in their 231-run stand against Zimbabwe in their previous Test at Trent Bridge, when Crawley’s share had been 124 from 171 balls.”Zak getting a hundred against Zimbabwe, you’d probably guess it was off 75 balls,” he added. “But the way he was so determined and ground out a score was huge. Same today.”Crawley, himself, feels in a good spot, particularly when it comes to patience and concentration. “I was glad to hang around with Ducky,” he said, a sentiment which also goes against his apparent type, but was absolutely what was required. Said patience allowed him to have a clear-headed approach to Jasprit Bumrah.Related

• Bazball essentials: England tick two out of three boxes

• Ben Duckett on the road to joining the best

• Stokes hails 'incredible' opening stand as England repeat history

• Stokes has the last laugh as England's have-a-chase ethos wins big

• Duckett 149 lays the foundation as England hunt down 371

“I’ve faced him a lot now and you know there’s a couple of crackers in there and you put it behind you,” Crawley said. “A lot of teams have star bowlers who you’re eyeing up to take it a little easier against, and Bumrah is certainly one of those. I feel like I kind of know how I want to play against him, but he’s a massive threat and a great bowler.”No one has faced Bumrah more often in Tests – 204 deliveries since the start of 2024 – and yet the dismissal at Headingley, caught at first slip at the end of the first over of the match, was only the second time Crawley has fallen to him.Crawley currently averages 48.50 against a fast bowler who, rightly, is being talked about as one of the greatest of all time. And he is doing so not by trying to hit him off his lengths, or put pressure back on him, but offering the utmost respect.Has the Crawley story jumped the shark? The one player with a licence to be an island unto himself – freely expressive, expansive strokes, the large adult son of Bazball – is now the sensible one. Negotiating, grinding out, surviving and existing, like every other opener to have played the game.Some England fans reading that will wonder if they’ve been hoodwinked all along. Crawley’s century-less 2024, with an average of 27.80 across 14 Tests and a list of potential replacements for this summer, already seems a little out of date. The alternative to the original Crawley, an opener with traditional values, is now seemingly this one. You either die Zak Crawley or live long enough to become a different Zak Crawley. This Crawley is coming from inside the house.None of this has been straightforward. It certainly has not been easy for the man himself.”I wasn’t playing how I wanted to play in the winter and I feel a lot better about my game now,” Crawley said, referencing a run of 10 single-figure scores in 19 innings since the end of last summer. That included such a torturous tour of New Zealand, averaging 8.66, that he probably still checks to see if Matt Henry is lurking under his bed. That was followed by an SA20 campaign in which he was dropped from the Sunrisers Eastern Cape side, the worst fate for any overseas signing.”The leadership of the team don’t really talk about these things,” he said. “If my place was under pressure, they certainly wouldn’t tell me, so it was never explained to me like that.”I wanted more runs but I was pleased with how I played, and my patience. I knew that was what the team needed at that point. But for me it’s all about how I’m playing, and I’m playing a lot better now.”A 1-0 lead in a five-match series, and victory at the first attempt in a 10-match blockbuster against India and Australia, all delivered with a chase to savour. And done so with Crawley, the one player relied upon to push the tempo against the very best teams, playing it slower and steadier than ever before.

Rawal, Harleen miss nailing down their spots as India build towards a home World Cup this September

Shashank Kishore24-Jul-2025Kranti Goud – the breakout starIt’s hard to believe now, but the 21-year-old seamer from Madhya Pradesh, Kranti Goud, wasn’t in contention for the national team even as recently as April 2025. She wasn’t part of the ODI squad for the tri-series in Sri Lanka until an injury forced seam-bowling allrounder Kashvee Gautam out. Goud debuted in the final, where she ended with 0 for 22 in five overs.Then, when the preliminary squad for the England tour was selected, Goud’s name was missing from the original longlist of around 30, who were asked to submit their passports for the UK visa. But when she impressed at the specialised skills camp in Bengaluru, she was a belated addition.Related

Onus on England to process lessons from India series loss

Harmanpreet wants India to 'pass that benchmark'

Harmanpreet ton, Goud six-for seal 2-1 series win for India

With Renuka Singh and Titas Sadhu injured, Goud came into the ODI series in England knowing she would potentially have to tussle for one bowling spot with Arundhati Reddy, since India had made it clear they were going to go spin-heavy, with Amanjot Kaur the other seamer in the mix.On Tuesday in Chester-Le-Street, Goud became the youngest India player, at 21 years and 345 days, to take a five-for in a women’s ODI, surpassing Jhulan Goswami’s record. Goud’s nip-backers and the ability to hustle batters made her a challenge for England’s batters. Goud’s use of slower deliveries and yorkers – like the one she bowled to dismiss Lauren Filer first ball – with England’s lower order looking to jailbreak were equally impressive.Her match haul of 6 for 52, which included a sensational inswinger that cleaned up Tammy Beaumont in the first over, didn’t win her the Player-of-the-Match award. That her captain Harmanpreet Kaur dedicated her award to Goud, while handing over a signed match ball with her bowling figures jotted down on it, showed how special the performance was. In a video posted by BCCI, Harmanpreet said: “It’s a great achievement for a bowler. We’ve been dying for a fast bowler like you. Well done, Kranti, you deserve it.”Like her statemate Pooja Vastrakar, Goud has shown all the attributes to be categorised as “fast”. Her dismissal of Richa Ghosh at the senior women’s one-day final on December 30, 2024 – a game where she picked up four wickets in a match-winning spell – got her noticed. Then when she sent back Meg Lanning at the WPL, Goud truly marked her arrival on the big stage. Four months on, he might have won her ticket to the World Cup.Harleen Deol (and Pratika Rawal) didn’t have that one standout performance that would cement their places in the side•Getty ImagesRawal vs Deol: No clear winnerPratika Rawal’s solidity at the top of the order helped stitch opening stands of 48 and 64 in the first and third ODIs with Smriti Mandhana, but there was a sense that she missed out on both occasions. Rawal’s own scores in the series read: 36, 3 and 26. At a strike rate of nearly 70. Middling, not eye-catching. Rawal’s manner of run-accumulation – steady to start with and playing catch-up later on – worked against slightly weaker attacks like Ireland and West Indies. It didn’t in England.The pattern was somewhat similar with Harleen Deol, India’s No. 3, who made scores of 27, 16 and 45 at a strike rate of 66.16. Deol’s string of dots may have also led to Mandhana taking extra risks in the third ODI – she eventually perished in search of a boundary after making 45 in the series decider.There’s the obvious temptation to look at Shafali Verma, for her explosive style of play. While she hasn’t been in the ODI mix since October 2024, she is a part of the conversations. If the idea is to have one of Rawal or Deol bat at three, it’s likely they will trial there when India play Australia in three ODIs next month, their last set of games before the World Cup.However, if they are both going to hold on to their current spots, perhaps a conversation on their scoring rate needs to be had.Harmanpreet Kaur got to her century in just 82 balls in the final ODI•Getty ImagesHarmanpreet Kaur is back!All through the ODI series against Ireland, while the rest of the top order piled on the runs, Harmanpreet was out nursing a niggle. Prior to that, against West Indies, she made three quick starts, but couldn’t convert any of them. All told, she hadn’t hit an ODI half-century since October 2024, and had averaged 29 in 13 innings coming into the final ODI against England.On the surface, this wasn’t a real concern since the top order was delivering.But after scores of 17 and 7 in the first two ODIs, the captain needed to step up, and step up she did. Harmanpreet took till her 11th delivery to get off the mark, but looked mostly in control with her shot selection and timing. She even shelved the sweep until after she had passed fifty, and took the attack to the cleaners in typical style – tonking spin, hitting pace down the ground.Harmanpreet helped overcome the quick dismissal of the openers, steadied the innings with Jemimah Rodrigues, and made up for the middle-overs slowdown. Having underscored the importance of topping 300 in every innings, Harmanpreet had walked the talk in giving their four-pronged spin attack the cushion to choke England.”It was a very important match for us and I want to dedicate this to my dad, he has been waiting for this kind of knock,” she said after the game. “I was a little under pressure and wanted to do well for the team, and when you work hard the right time will come to deliver. Today was the right platform to deliver.”

If you are of an Arsenal persuasion, then it’s likely you’re sitting very happy right now. The Gunners are top of the table, and Mikel Arteta’s side have just dispatched their fierce rivals. Life doesn’t get much better, right?

The sequence of events that played out at the Emirates made their 4-1 victory all the more sweeter.

Speaking in the build-up to the game, Thomas Frank jokingly replied to a reporter’s question about Eberechi Eze by saying, “Who’s Eze?”

The England international infamously rejected a move to Tottenham in the summer despite everything looking as though it was agreed. He joined their rivals instead, heading to his boyhood club, the club of his dreams. The club that rejected him when he was just a boy in the academy.

Well, let it all work out. Frank certainly knows who Eze is now. Draped in Arsenal red, following a few slow months to start the season, he is now a hero.

Arteta’s men strengthened their grip at the top of the Premier League table by recording a remarkable win and much to Frank’s dismay, Eze was the man of the moment, scoring a quite breathtaking hat-trick.

How Eberechi Eze downed Spurs

Wow, just wow. What a moment this was. A few years ago Eze revealed that he cried in his room when he was rejected by Arsenal.

It was always his dream to play for the club and well, that dream became a reality in the summer. Never in his wildest dreams, however, did he expect what played out on Sunday, even if he did pray for such a moment to occur.

This was one of the finest individual performances from an Arsenal player that we can remember. To recount more recent memories, it’s up there with Declan Rice’s performance against Real Madrid last term, with Andrey Arshavin’s four-goal haul at Anfield. Sometimes a player delivers a performance that is so perfect it gets talked about for years to come. This was that moment.

Eze has had to work hard to find form this term, playing a mixture of games on the left flank and in the middle. With skipper Martin Odegaard out injured, he’s had a chance to showcase why he was purchased for £67.5m in the summer.

Yet, before that clash with Spurs, the former Crystal Palace man had scored just once in the league. How quickly things change in football.

Each goal Eze scored just seemed to get better. The first was supplied by Declan Rice and perhaps rather fortuitously, he managed to get a shot away amidst a bunch of Spurs players. It rifled past the goalkeeper to make it 2-0 after Leandro Trossard had opened the scoring.

Eze’s night got better in the second half when, minutes after the half-time interval, he darted onto Jurrien Timber’s pass and found the corner of the goal with his left foot.

His third and final goal came late on when Spurs had thrown players forward. Trossard was at the centre of things again, playing the ball into Eze, who was standing inside the area. He took a touch to set himself and then lashed it home. It capped off an incredible performance, one that will live long not just in his memory, but in the memory of supporters.

Still, he’s not the only one in red and white who had their best game in Arsenal colours.

Not just Eze: Another Arsenal star had his best game for the club

There was a primary reason Arsenal signed Eze in the summer. They needed more depth and they needed more quality on the left flank.

Noni Madueke had already been signed from Chelsea but in Gabriel Martinelli and the aforementioned Trossard, they lacked spice. Between them, they scored eight goals each in Premier League action last term.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

The Belgian was perhaps questionably handed a summer pay rise to keep him at the club but when Eze signed, his career at the Emirates Stadium looked as good as done.

Well, how wrong were we? Trossard, in the words of Arsenal writer Connor Humm, has “arguably been the best winger in the Premier League this season.”

Always a man for the big occasion, the 30-year-old rose to the mark again and put in a performance that was equally effective as Eze’s.

Trossard opened the scoring in the first half in brilliant fashion. It was a run from out to in, one that was said to be “like Robert Pires” by Gary Neville on Sky Sports commentary, that made the goal.

Mikel Merino still had plenty to do, however, but he clipped a pass beautifully into the path of Trossard. He took the ball down, spun and then found the net on his left foot. Advantage Arsenal.

Trossard’s work was not done there. The £27m man registered two key passes, one of which proved decisive as he supplied Eze’s goal that sealed his hat-trick.

As The Standard’s Simon Collings noted when the Belgium winger was substituted late on, it was “probably one of his best games in an Arsenal shirt.” Quite.

Minutes played

78

Goals

1

Touches

39

Accurate passes

11/23 (48%)

Key passes

2

Assists

1

Shots on target

1

Accurate crosses

1/1

Successful dribbles

0/4

Duels won

4/10

It was a tireless performance and one that epitomised the former Brighton forward’s time in London.

In the 32 matches in which Trossard has scored for Arsenal, they have never lost. The games he’s scored the most goals of his career against? Liverpool (6), Chelsea (4) and Spurs (4).

The winger is no Usain Bolt, he’s not the quickest player in the world. He’s no Bukayo Saka either, he lacks the same explosiveness. However, what he lacks in that regard, he makes up for in technical ability and mental fortitude. He is a mental giant and one of the hardest-working players in this team.

Eze certainly stole the show at the Emirates but Trossard deserves his flowers too.

Arne Slot says with the players Liverpool have, their wretched run "cannot continue like this" after a 4-1 thrashing by PSV Eindhoven. The Reds are picking up unwanted record after unwanted record, with this latest defeat their ninth in 12 matches. This is their worst succession of results in 71 years and now manager Slot has challenged his players to get over this slump.

Liverpool nightmare continues

After six losses in their last seven Premier League games, few expected Liverpool to also be turned over by the Dutch side at Anfield on Wednesday night. But just a few days on from conceding three at home to Nottingham Forest, the Reds let in another four to heap more misery on Slot's side. The disaster began when captain Virgil van Dijk handled in the box and Ivan Perisic converted from the spot. Dominic Szoboszlai equalised with a tap-in shortly after but the second half was where the horror show truly unfolded. Guus Till restored the visitors' lead and then a late double from substitute Couhaib Driouech led to a mass fan exodus as boos greeted the final whistle. The Merseyside outfit have suffered consecutive losses in all competitions by a margin of three goals for the first time since December 1953, as pressure on Slot continues to mount. 

Advertisement'Really hard to watch'

The former Feyenoord manager cut a resigned figure following this latest setback. Despite his players putting in another awful display, Slot said he is not questioning them and he still believes they can turn their fortunes around.

He told beIN Sports: "The end result is, of course, what people remember. Mainly, people also remember the last 5-10 minutes of the game. That was really hard to watch for all of us. Not only were we already 3-1 behind, but we also even conceded the 4-1, and that is a scoreline which I think no-one would have expected at half-time. 

"No, I'm not questioning the players, because I know that we have very good players. Their mentality after us going 1-0 down was also what I was hoping for, but also what you have to expect if you are a Liverpool player. So it's something normal for me that you're questioning your line-ups, you're questioning your tactics, you're questioning the substitutions you make, but that's also what you do if you don't lose every single time. But it's normal for me to question the choices I make, because I've said many times that I'm responsible for this situation. But the players have so much quality that this cannot continue like this. And I think again today, especially the first half, we showed how many chances we can create, but it's not for the first time this season that we don't score them." 

Slot's resolve being tested

After the Forest defeat, Slot said he felt his side were not far away from getting back to winning ways. That view may have been tested on Wednesday as he saw his side capitulate again. Naturally, he said his emotions were "very negative and disappointing" after the game.

When asked how does he get Liverpool back to how they were playing at the start of this season and all of last term, he replied: "No, I think what has happened mainly with all the losses we had is that so many times if we have a good spell, we concede. And that moment changes the momentum. I think the thing we have to start doing is making sure that if we are in a better phase and we do create a chance, that we then also score the goals. That the scoreline is also positive. I think the mentality is great from these players as well. Apart from the quality, the mentality is also great. Otherwise, you can't go after three minutes, after losing on Saturday, three minutes down, 1-0 down, and then have a performance as we had the first half. That can only be possible. But their mentality, as they also reacted well after 2-1 down, because I think then we had our chances as well. So yeah, I don't think we are that far off, which sounds weird because the results tell us something different. But the games, the performances give me a different opinion about how we play than the scoreline does."

He added to TNT Sports: "The emotions are very negative and disappointing. The way we conceded the 1-0. I want to be positive about the reaction of the players when we went 1-0 down. We came back into the game and had chances to go 2-1 up. I don't think anyone thought we would lose 4-1."

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Getty Images SportLight at the end of the tunnel for Liverpool?

After the match, Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones could not hold back his fury. 

He told RTE: "I don't have the answers, honestly, I don't. It's just unacceptable. I'm past being angry inside. I'm at the point now where I just don't have the words."

But Liverpool don't have long to find the answer as they are away to lowly West Ham on Sunday in the Premier League. Previously, that would have seemed like a banker three points but now, anything could happen.

Sam Fanning and debutant Teague Wyllie both made half-centuries but the home side chases the target with room to spare

AAP20-Oct-2025Tasmania’s perfect start to the One-Day Cup continued with stalwart Jordan Silk top-scored in a four-wicket win against Western Australia.In a Bellerive Oval fixture restricted by rain to a maximum of 44 overs each, WA posted 248 for 9 with Sam Fanning top-scoring with 66 from 91 balls.Tasmania, set 252 runs to win under the DLS system, lost six wickets and reached their target from 38 overs to win with 36 balls to spare.Silk dominated with 81 from 75 deliveries, scoring his 2000th domestic one-day run in the process of Tasmania banking a fourth win from as many outings.Silk, who struck nine fours and a six, and a batch of experienced team-mates were untroubled in the run chase. He combined with fellow veteran Matthew Wade (46 not out from 43 balls) in a defining 104-run partnership for the fifth wicket.Opener Caleb Jewell set the Tasmanian tone with an aggressive 48 from 37 balls featuring seven fours, and evergreen Ben McDermott made 42 from 49 deliveries.The quartet overpowered WA’s bowling attack with paceman Mahli Beardman the sole multiple wicket-taker.Earlier, WA opener Fanning’s composed knock and an aggressive 56 from 51 balls from one-day debutant Teague Wyllie underpinned the visitor’s total.Fanning and fellow opener Joel Curtis put on 50 runs in eight overs amid early rain interruptions. Curtis, Cameron Bancroft and Sam Whiteman all failed to capitalise on promising starts and when Fanning fell in the 29th over, the visitors were 147 for 4.Allrounders Hilton Cartwright and Ashton Agar were both dismissed in the following 10 overs as Wylie launched at Tasmania’s bowlers.The 21-year-old struck four fours and a six before edging to wicketkeeper McDermott from the bowling of Brad Hope, who impressed with 3 for 40 from seven overs.

It may not have seemed that way when Pakistan were 146 for one, but by stumps, South Africa had clawed back enough into the Test for Keshav Maharaj to call it an even day. The left-arm spinner – who did not play the first Test owing to a groin injury – began South Africa’s comeback when he dismissed crowd favourite Babar Azam early on in his innings. In the final session, Maharaj struck once more when he drew Shan Masood into a sweep, which he could only drag to Marco Jansen at square leg. By the end, there was time for Kagiso Rabada to snag a fifth wicket, forcing Pakistan to see off the final half hour cautiously. They finished on 259 for five.”I think it was an even day,” he said. “We managed to control their run rate. When the ball gets softer – which happens quite quickly because the wicket’s quite hard, we managed to just go to old-fashioned Test cricket… I felt if we got one more wicket at night, we’d probably have had a little bit of an upper hand.”Related

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The first two sessions were shaping up to tell a different story, using the same, frustrating script for the visitors. Having lost the toss and being inserted to field once more, they were sloppy, putting down five catches – just as they had on the first day in Lahore. Abdullah Shafique was the primary beneficiary, with South Africa spurning three opportunities to dismiss him. Earlier, Marco Jansen had nipped one in that Shafique left. The ball had kissed the off stump, only for the bails to be left undisturbed.”As a collective we know how important catches are, not just in the subcontinent. No one means to drop catches; it was nice to see the guys bounce back and take the catches that they did. Bit frustrating but no one means to drop chances.”Simon Harmer bowled 23 overs of spin to complement Maharaj•AFP/Getty Images

The fielding tide for South Africa began to turn when Tony de Zorzi took an excellent catch, which sent Babar on his way. South Africa have placed a lot of faith in their leading offspinner; he bowled 31 overs – the most for any bowler on a day this series. Harmer bowled 23 further overs of spin, but Senuran Muthuswamy, the leading wicket-taker in Lahore, sent down just four.Maharaj, who said he regretted being unable to play in Lahore, called the decision to use Muthuswamy more sparingly “tactical”. “We saw that the wicket didn’t play like Lahore and we felt like we just wanted to try and restrict the Pakistani batters. I don’t think there was an issue. Sen came back nicely with the second spell that he bowled.”In the end, Pakistan scored 54 fewer runs than they did on day one in Lahore, with South Africa drying up the runs, giving the final session a slightly different tinge to the first day they had during the first Test. They will be further encouraged by the knowledge that Pakistan have a collapse in them, something Masood highlighted following the first Test. In the first Test, Pakistan lost their last five for 16 in the first innings, and their last six for 17 in the two innings. One more wicket, and South Africa will know there are opportunities to run through the lower order.”Tomorrow’s an important day,” Maharaj said. The first sessions in the series so far have been quite action-packed. “Hopefully, we can make inroads tomorrow morning. The main thing is to try bowling as many dot balls as we can. We saw for a period of time when we did do it, that it brought us a little bit of reward, and we created opportunities. I think it’s important we start really well tomorrow. Hopefully we can get Saud and Agha early in the morning and open up an end with the lower-order batters. But it’s about just trying to bowl our best balls for long periods of time.”