Category Uncategorized

Zimbabwe took a 233-run lead, and then prised out one Afghanistan wicket before stumps

Ekanth21-Oct-2025Zimbabwe scored 229 runs and lost eight wickets. Afghanistan scored 34 and lost one. On paper, day two was a day of shared honours. In reality though, the hosts were left holding all aces after having bundled out Afghanistan for 127 on day one, and then converting a three-run lead to a 233-run lead, thanks mainly to a gritty, layered 121 from Ben Curran and a calculated (if not slick) 65 from Sikandar Raza.Ziaur Rahman’s 7 for 97 was a dreamy career-best on Test debut. He became the first bowler to take seven or more wickets via bowled or lbw in a Test innings since Imran Khan in 1982. Afghanistan batted for 12 overs before stumps and lost opener Abdul Malik to Richard Ngarava. Ibrahim Zadran got off to a start and was unbeaten on 25.On a day tailor-made for pacers, the proactivity of Brendan Taylor and the experience of Craig Ervine were no match for the reveries of a Harare pitch offering up-and-down as well as sideways movement. Taylor got an edged boundary through gully (over 41.2) and a chipped four through mid-on (43.3).Despite being decisive and even picking up a boundary to third from a semi-educated edge off a flashing cut and looking solid in defence, the right-handed Taylor fell to a vicious inducker from Ziaur, who then used his allies – low bounce and seam in – to trap the left-handed Craig Ervine lbw.Curran, at the other end, grew into a natural rhythm. One undeterred by being beaten and edging. Raza came in with his problem-solver hat on, walking down the pitch and shuffling sideways against the pace of Ismat Alam and Ziaur. He had nervy moments – like a chip to cover off Alam (50.2) – but overcame them while disregarding the threats posed by the conditions and some skillful bowling.Yamin Ahmadzai’s accuracy and consistency in a six-over collection, split across two spells between overs 38 and 56, saw two maidens, just 11 runs but no wickets. The Morne Morkel-esque Ziaur didn’t face a case of pretty figures. Alam created more nervy moments, especially against Raza, but also conceded more boundaries.Curran and Raza built their 99-run stand in 160 balls with Curran scoring 33 despite facing a healthy share of 72 balls. The clear roles and the duo’s commitment ground down Afghanistan, who had an upbeat presence at the start – with chatter and buzz from the keeper and cordons. Zimbabwe went into lunch on 214 for 4, with Curran on 79* and Raza 37*.The older ball, tiring bowlers and the fewer challenges posed by Hashmatullah Shahidi’s part-time bowling and Khalil Gurbaz’s awkward action, helped the two batters consolidate.Curran brought up his 217-ball ton off Shahidi’s flick and virtually levitated with open arms, a bat in one hand and helmet in the other, in celebration.Ziaur Rahman picked up a five-for on Test debut•Zimbabwe CricketRaza hit three fours off Sharafuddin Ashraf between overs 69 and 72, but then fell on 75.3, looking for the fourth, after top-edging a slog sweep to Yamin Ahmadzai running around from deep square leg to take the catch.Afghanistan took the new ball one ball after it was available and got it changed 3.5 overs later. Meanwhile, Curran hit three fours in the space of four balls that he faced. There were immediately more threats after the second ball change.Ahmadzai and Ziaur went back to what they did earlier in the day to first threaten edges and dry up scoring, and then Ahmadzai took Curran’s wicket on the stroke of tea. Low bounce and seam in was a culprit again as Curran was hit on the back leg and was out plumb lbw for a 256-ball 121 across 423 minutes.Zimbabwe slumped from 302 for 6 to 359 all out after tea. Ziaur came into his own against a helpless lower-middle and lower order as the final three batters fell for single figures. The carnage began with Tafadzwa Tsiga and Ngarava being lbw in successive balls.Ahmadzai missed the chance to run Blessing Muzarabani out. Perhaps that was because the bowling division of the cricket Gods wanted to watch Ziaur send Muzarabani cartwheeling its way back halfway to the keeper. Evans pulled through against spread-out fields and took Zimbabwe past 350 before Chivanga fell to Ziaur, thus wrapping up the innings.Muzarabani juggled jaffas with the odd bouncer to make Afghan opener Malik’s short stay a scarring one. There were two close shaves in the third over where the ball nearly took the edge – one against each batter.When Ngarava went after Malik with a less attacking plan of bowling short from around the wicket, an attempt to break the shackles was made and an aerial pull went into Muzarabani’s hands at deep-backward square leg.Amid lightmeter readings and some fiery pace bowling, Ibrahim seasoned a crafty little knock while Rahmanullah Gurbaz batted through to stumps. With the visitors still being in the deficit by 198 runs, an innings-win for the hosts is on the cards.

They suffered a collapse, their fast bowlers sent down unusually high number of overs, all while lagging behind in the Test

Vithushan Ehantharajah15-Dec-2024When a day starts and (almost) ends with Will O’Rourke batting, you know something strange has happened.New Zealand’s No.11 admits he does not have “the most talent with the bat going around”. A Test average of 3.00 suggests he might even be overselling it.But his sticking power was twice called upon on day two of this third Test. Firstly to stand by Mitchell Santner as he lifted New Zealand to a first innings of 347. Then, with 20 minutes of play remaining, to consolidate an advanced position. Despite O’Rourke falling for an eight-ball duck in only his second go as nightwatcher, his team head into day three leading by 340 for the loss of three wickets.Related

New Zealand take control after O'Rourke, Santner trip up England

In between dead-batting, O’Rourke triggered England’s abberation of 143 all out. A three-wicket spell that included Kiwi destroyer Harry Brook – for a golden duck, no less – triggered the implosion, which the tourists did little to stop.Was it in the air? A little, you know.A tedious start to the day had England adopting club cricket’s patented “chasing the pro” tactics for the final wicket; everyone on the boundary for Santner, before the field constricted for the few deliveries O’Rourke faced. This despite the second new ball being just two overs old.When they forgot to bring fielders in at the end of the second over of the day, allowing Santner to knock an easy single to retain the strike for the next over, something seemed off. New Zealand only managed 32 from that peculiar 15.1 overs stanza, but frustrations were evident.That the man who has held England’s first innings together on this trip was snared for a first-baller was the real killer. Brook’s 171 in Chrirstchurch and 123 in Wellington were the backbone for totals of 499 and 280, respectively, both of which resulted in leads. Perhaps it was no surprise, then, that they crumpled without him in Hamilton.And how. An overall collapse of 8 for 66 in exactly 20 overs was the second-worst of Stokes’ tenure, and the 10th time England have lost as many for under 100 runs in that time. If you take collapses in India at the start of the year as par for the course, it was the second-worst SENA total they have posted in the Bazball era. Top of the list on both are 7 for 49 and 141, arriving in the same game – the first of this project, against New Zealand at Lord’s in June 2022.Evoking memories of the very start of all this certainly does not equal regression, of course. Let’s not forget, England have already bagged this series, their first in New Zealand since 2008, with two convincing performances in the first two games. New Zealand, already defeated after a mixed year of Test results, had far more on the line. Not just pride, but a farewell for Tim Southee, one of their all-time greats. This matters more to them, but when the series mattered more, England ran away with it.Assistant coach Paul Collingwood dismissed the notion that this being England’s 17th Test of a gruelling 2024 has anything to do with it. Similarly, Stokes entered the match dismissing the word “ruthless,” citing it as one used after the event. To be fair to him, he is right. England were not lacking ruthlessness on Sunday. Just application.Poor shots were shared around like Secret Santa gifts. Zak Crawley’s loose return catch, falling victim to Matt Henry for the fifth time in as many knocks this series; Jacob Bethell’s neither-forward-nor-back punch; Joe Root’s insistence on the late cut even when followed by a sharp riser from O’Rourke; Stokes’ attempted slog sweep.As is the way with collapses – particularly Bazball collapses which go even quicker – England’s bowlers were the collateral. Just 35.4 overs after finishing off New Zealand’s first innings, they were back out for more labour. Barely enough time for a shower, sandwich and a good long sit down before strapping on their pads.The bowling boots followed not long after, as all four seameers were dismissed in the space of 22 deliveries. Three of them have had to go back-to-back across these three matches.”I think when you’ve only got 30-odd overs of rest it’s not quite ideal,” said Collingwood. “Especially when the weather is hot. They’re fast bowlers, you know they’ll come back out and toil away. It can be difficult when that is the situation, and thankfully it doesn’t happen very often.”Harry Brook’s golden duck made things worse for England•Getty ImagesBrydon Carse looked cooked on Sunday morning before being roasted further in the evening’s harsh 27-degree heat. The Durham quick has been the find of the winter, with 27 wickets at 19.37 (at the time of writing). But his workload has spiked with England. Across five appearances in the last two months, he has bowled 151.1 overs – more than what he managed in both of the previous domestic seasons. As far as first-class overs go, 2024 is comfortably his busiest, despite serving a three-month ban in the summer for betting offences.Gus Atkinson showed similar signs of wear. Even during what has been an incredible start to his Test career, there are signs to heed about his management going forward. His pace dropped as the home season went on, registering the importance of not overburdening their new opening bowler.And yet, he was back with the new ball in his hand a few hours after shuffling in for 26 overs across days one and two – his biggest ask in an innings of his career to date. He has only once bowled more (27 against Hampshire in April) for his county, Surrey.Even Matthew Potts, in his first appearance of the series, set a new career-best in terms of output, even if the figures fell short on that measure with 4 for 90. An average speed of of 80mph in the first innings dipped to 77.6mph 24 hours later.Of course, Stokes was never going to shirk the graft and ended up taking more of the share. New left knee, reinforced left hamstring, 23 overs across three spells on Saturday – the most in a day’s play since Trent Bridge against the same opponents in 2022 – was an undoubted positive. England’s captain is re-emerging as the balancing allrounder of his own XI.After a false slog sweep ended what up to 27 had been a valiant stabilising effort, he gave himself the short straw of the toil overs that come in these kind of third innings. With New Zealand’s lead at 304, he brought himself on from the City End.An array of bouncers, mixed in with full deliveries and a fair bit of chat – exclusively for Rachin Ravindra after he had burned O’Rourke as the nightwatcher with 20 minutes of play to go – brought a couple of dismissals. The lack of celebrations reflected there was more repenting to be done.It was reminscient of Stokes’ previous self-flagellating spells, desperate to hinder runaway opponents. Headingley 2019 comes to mind, prior to his miracle with the bat.This, however, feels less clinging onto the bumper of a car and more like hugging the landing skids of a helicopter that is rising steadily into the stratosphere. The only question is when in the next two days England let go and come crashing back to earth.

A series taking place two years out from the next World Cup is unlikely to offer much of use for either team

Danyal Rasool03-Nov-2025ODI cricket in 2025 is a bit like a premium tablet, a product in search of a use case rather than the other way around. It was revolutionary when it first came out, but now most of its functions can be better catered to by something bigger and more luxurious, or smaller and more easily mass-produced. But since it already exists, justifications for its existence have to be manufactured, and they tend to take the form of niche situations. Perhaps you’re on a flight, where you can’t bring your laptop, and your phone is too small. Or, in the case of ODI cricket, maybe a World Cup is just around the corner.The issue is that most of the time, you’re not on a flight, just as most of the time in a four-year cycle, a World Cup is quite far away. It’s still two years out from the next one – around this time in 2027. What Pakistan and South Africa can extract of value in Faisalabad to be deployed in Southern Africa half a world and half a cycle away is unclear. Not much else is staked on ODI cricket these days, especially with a T20I World Cup three months away.Perhaps it’s where these three ODIs will be held this week that provides the most meaning to this series. Faisalabad last hosted international cricket 17 years ago, and will become the fifth international venue in Pakistan since cricket returned to the country in 2015. It was due to host two T20Is against Bangladesh in May, but was forced to have its wait extended by another half year after skirmishes between Pakistan and India’s armed forces led to the PSL overrunning its schedule, and scrapping the Faisalabad leg of the Bangladesh series altogether.Faisalabad did, in recent memory, hold what was then billed as a prestigious enough tournament to act as a test case for future international cricket. The 2024 Champions Cup, Pakistan’s domestic 50-over competition, was given a glamorous makeover and played at Iqbal stadium. It serves as the most recent reference point for the kind of pitches likely to be served up to Pakistan and South Africa. If much of that tournament, held at a similar time of year, is an indicator, high-scoring games are likely; only in four of the ten group stage matches did the side batting first fail to post 300.Faisalabad saw many things during the 2024 Champions Cup, including Babar Azam bowling•PCBThat is par for the course at most ODI venues in Pakistan now, though this is the first time since their ill-fated home Champions Trophy campaign that Pakistan are playing ODI cricket at home. There were two away series losses in New Zealand and the West Indies to compound the misery and raise further questions about this team. These three ODIs right now are unlikely to answer them.Pakistan have selected a full-strength squad for the series, with Fakhar Zaman back after fitness issues kept him out of the T20Is last week. More excitingly for Pakistan’s supporters, the trio of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah will bowl together again for just the ninth time since they first caught fire at the 2023 Asia Cup. They achieved great success at the backend of last year, winning a series in Australia before whitewashing South Africa, taking 31 of 47 opposition wickets in five games. Replicating that success in Pakistan, though, has proved trickier, as evidenced by their indifferent showings in the Champions Trophy.South Africa have no such qualms about their ODI form, coming off the back of away series wins in Australia and England following a Champions Trophy run to the semi-finals. Their squad, however, is decidedly not first-choice, bearing something of a resemblance to the one that played a tri-series in Pakistan at the start of the year. Matthew Breetzke, who debuted then, is now captain, while Quinton de Kock’s un-retirement provides premium top-order experience to a side that will need plenty of it.Their biggest concern is likely the bowling on what will be batting-friendly surfaces. Corbin Bosch demonstrated he could bother Pakistan in the T20Is, but he didn’t get enough support from the other seamers. In that tri-series earlier this year, run-scoring was not a problem for South Africa. They put up 304 against New Zealand and 352 in their game against Pakistan, but a bowling unit denuded of their best assets failed to defend either.Ultimately, any result of this series risks being dismissed in a week’s time as an irrelevance to any larger picture. The cricket will be entertaining in the moment, especially for Faisalabad’s starved viewers, but it is likely to be little more than a dopamine hit. Not unlike the reasons for buying a tablet.

Manchester United have been warned off a £100 million ($134m) move for Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson, with ex-Red Devils defender Paul Parker explaining to GOAL why such a swoop would be “foolhardy”. Transfer plans at Old Trafford are being drawn up heading towards 2026, but they are being advised to steer clear of a highly-rated England international.

• Wanted man: Anderson attracting attention

  Anderson has been generating plenty of hype since bursting onto the Three Lions scene under Thomas Tuchel. He helped England to secure faultless qualification for the 2026 World Cup and is expected to figure prominently at that tournament.

  Said event will provide the classy 23-year-old with a global window in which to showcase his talent. The expectation is that more names will be added to what is an ever-growing list of suitors – with United reportedly forming part of that pack.

Advertisement

• Getty
  

  Engine room: Man Utd looking for midfield reinforcements

  The Red Devils are mulling over additions to their engine room as questions continue to be asked of how long Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro will remain at Old Trafford. The former is being linked with teams across Europe and the Saudi Pro League, while the latter is seeing his contract run down towards free agency.

  Anderson would be a different kind of ‘No.6’ to Casemiro, with his game more about retaining the ball than winning it back, but would he be a good fit at Old Trafford at the price being mooted?

• Price tag: Would Man Utd spend £100m on Anderson?

  When that question was put to Parker, the former United full-back – speaking in association with gambling portal British Gambler – told GOAL: “I keep seeing his name bandied about. When it’s Manchester United, everybody wants to throw out someone all the time. Everyone goes with it.

  “I’m not used to labelling players with numbers. You just want a midfield player who has got the capability to go up and down, wants to go up and down, and he definitely has that. I’m quite sure a lot of these young players don’t want to be labelled anymore. They did all that when they were kids playing FIFA. When it gets to the real world, you see that they want to get about. In my opinion you want midfield players like a Roy Keane, a Paul Ince, a Bryan Robson – players who can and want to do everything.

  “I see where he is [Anderson] and I quite like him. The moment you mention it with Manchester United it’s £100m. That seems to be the going rate. Are United going to go and spend that kind of money on one player? I think it would be foolhardy if they go and do that.

  “When you look at Anderson, he is a high-energy player but there are a lot of high-energy players out there. To be in the Premier League now, it is about how athletic your team is. There is a lot better chance of getting results at weekends, gives you an advantage and opportunity, when you have got athletic players. Sunderland are proving that at the moment. One player for me in midfield is not enough. They need a major rebuild.”

• Getty
  

  World Cup window: Man Utd could explore other options

  It remains to be seen whether United formalise their supposed interest in Anderson. Ruben Amorim also needs to determine how he is going to split any transfer funds that are made available to him. As alluded to by Parker, it is unlikely that all of his recruitment eggs will be lumped into one basket.

  Forest will not be dropping their demands, though, so anybody wanting to lure Newcastle academy graduate Anderson away from the City Ground will need to dig deep. He is tied to a contract on Trentside that is due to run until the summer of 2029.

  The Reds are under no pressure to sell and that may force the likes of United to use next summer’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico as an opportunity to assess alternative options that come with a slightly more budget-friendly price tag.

MLB's Speedway Classic was slated to take place on Saturday and while everything at Bristol Motor Speedway great, the weather was not interested in cooperating.

First pitch for the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds was slated for 7:15 p.m. ET. Rain started pouring well before that, causing a delay that lasted well over two hours. Just before 10 p.m. ET the two sides took the field and tried to play.

It did not go well. The contest was called before they could complete even a full inning. And it was no surprise to any viewer who stuck around long enough to tune in, because the field was a slippery mess full of puddles.

Here are some still images to give you a complete picture:

Given Shohei Ohtani's injury history there was real cause for concern as a Los Angeles Dodgers trainer visited him on the mound Wednesday night in the fourth inning of a start against the Cincinnati Reds. And even more when he abandoned the start to play DH, though staying in the game at all was an optimistic sign.

The Dodgers announced that Ohtani left his start due to cramping and after the game the two-way superstar provided further information after his team suffered a 5-2 loss.

Through an interpreter he said that he felt cramping in his right hip during the first inning but was able to work through the discomfort until it became a problem and affected his delivery.

"I don't play defense. I think that helped," Ohtani said. "But also at the same time, we were playing a close game so I wanted to help the team win."

Manager Dave Roberts appeared optimistic that Ohtani would be able to make his next scheduled start under better conditions back in Los Angeles.

"He'll have a week," Roberts said. "It'll be at home, so there won't be humidity to deal with."

After finishing the series with an average of 151, Kohli said he wants to push his boundaries and see where he goes

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Dec-2025Virat Kohli feels his “whole game is coming together nicely” and is batting at a level he hasn’t in the last two-three years. Kohli stayed unbeaten on 65 in the ODI series decider against South Africa, which India sealed by a comfortable nine wickets with more than 10 overs to spare in a chase of 271.Kohli’s half-century came after he struck back-to-back centuries in the first two ODIs to finish the series with a tally of 302 and a staggering average of 151. Kohli now has four straight 50-plus scores after he had bagged two consecutive ducks in the ODIs in Australia, which was his first series since the IPL finished in June.”Honestly, just playing the way I have in this series has been the most satisfying thing for me,” Kohli said at the presentation. “I don’t think I’ve played at this level for a good two-three years now and I feel really free in my mind and just the whole game is coming together nicely, [it’s] very exciting to build on. And something that I’ve always tried to do as a player, maintain my own standards that I’ve set for myself and play at the level that I can make an impact for the team. I know when I can bat like that out there in the middle, then it of course helps the team in a big way because I can bat long, I can bat according to the situation and just being confident makes me feel like any situation out there in the middle, I have what it takes to handle that situation and bring it in favour of the team.”Related

• Rohit and Kohli take centre stage before receding to the background

• Stats – India finally end their rotten luck with the toss

• Jaiswal, Rohit, Kohli lead India to 2-1 series win

Kohli took home the Player-of-the-Series award for a record 22nd time in international cricket, and 12th in ODIs. He also smashed a record 12 sixes in the three games, easily his personal best in any ODI series, including World Cups. His series strike rate of 117.05 was also his best in an ODI series since January 2023.”Well, you know, when I play freely then I know I can hit sixes,” he said. “So I just wanted to have some fun because I was batting well, just take a bit more risk, just push my own boundaries and see where I go. There’s always levels you can unlock and you just need to take a risk.”Kohli further said that since he has been around for more than 15 years in international cricket, he has gone through “many phases where you doubt your ability” because as a batter it comes down to making one mistake. It is, he said, “a whole journey of learning”.”You tend to go into a space where you feel like maybe I’m not good enough, the nerves take over and that’s the beauty of sport, especially a skill like batting where you have to keep overcoming that fear every ball that you play and eventually play long innings and get into a zone again where you can start playing confidently. It’s a whole journey of learning and getting to know yourself better and becoming better as a person along the whole way. I can surely vouch for the fact that being a batsman and realising so much about myself, what kind of negative thinking patterns I have, where I can get into a zone where I don’t feel confident or when I’m feeling like myself, what are those small little details, it just improves you as a person in general and your whole temperament becomes much better and balanced over so many years. So, yes, I’ve had many phases where I’ve doubted myself and I haven’t been shy to admit that.”

Michael Neser has been added to the squad, and Brendan Doggett could be closing in on a Test debut in Perth

Andrew McGlashan15-Nov-2025Australia have suffered a huge blow ahead of the Ashes, with Josh Hazlewood ruled out of the opening Test in Perth with a hamstring injury three days after initially being cleared when he left the field during New South Wales’ Sheffield Shield game against Victoria at the SCG.Hazlewood will not travel to Perth this weekend, and Queensland seamer Michael Neser has been added to the squad, which has also lost Sean Abbott to a hamstring injury.Related

Hazlewood suffers Achilles soreness during hamstring rehab

Doggett awaits his day as Perth Test debut looms into view

Pope hopes No.3 scrutiny can bring out his best for Ashes

Will Australia's pitches be juicy for the Ashes?

England's Ashes squad have pace in abundance, but do they have the miles?

Pat Cummins had already been ruled out of at least the opening Test as he recovers from a back injury.”Initial scans Wednesday were clear of muscle strain, however follow-up imaging today has confirmed the injury,” a CA statement on Saturday said. “Early imaging can occasionally underestimate low-grade muscle injuries.”The latest injury means that Brendan Doggett could be closing in a Test debut with even more onus now on Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland.The news of Hazlewood follows England having a scare around Mark Wood who went for a scan after reporting hamstring tightness of the first day of the warm-up game against the Lions in Perth although on Saturday the ECB said he had been cleared.Hazlewood, who sits on 295 Test wickets, had bowled superbly in the white-ball matches against India last month and again looked in good rhythm in his Shield outing. However, after completing his spell on the third morning, he told Steven Smith, who was captaining NSW and will lead Australia in Perth, that he was feeling some tightness in his hamstring and Smith told him to leave the field immediately.He walked to a clinic next door to the SCG to have a scan which, before the match had ended, came back clear. Cummins, who had been at the ground to see the physios before speaking at a commercial engagement, said Hazlewood had been in good spirits after the result.Last season, Hazlewood missed three of the five Tests against India, firstly because of a side strain and then a calf injury.Since 2014, Australia have only twice played a Test at home without Cummins and Hazlewood, but won on both occasions – against England in 2021 and West Indies in 2022 – which are also the two Tests Neser has played.Doggett, the South Australia quick, has been in excellent form since return from his own hamstring problem with 13 wickets in two matches. He was a traveling reserve for the World Test Championship final earlier this year and had been due to tour West Indies before injury ruled him out. If Doggett makes a debut in Perth he would become Australia’s third Indigenous men’s player and it would be the first time a men’s Test XI featured two Indigenous players, alongside Boland.Cummins has recently increased the intensity of his return to bowling with an eye on a potential return in Brisbane although that remains a race against time. He said he was operating around 90% during a spell in the SCG nets last week.”[The Gabba] is what we’re building towards,” Cummins said. “Hopefully by Perth, I’m up there near 100%, and then see where we’re at. It’s still pretty aggressive, going from nothing to trying to get ready for a Test match in four weeks. But we’re going to give it a good shot.”Australia’s pace-bowling depth is already being severely tested and further injuries would leave them scrambling for more options. Jhye Richardson has been named in the Cricket Australia XI to face England Lions and there is hope he could become an option later in the series as he returns from shoulder surgery. Xavier Bartlett is another who could come into contention.

MatériaMais Notícias

Os torcedores do Flamengo estão indignados com a relação de Tite com Gabigol. Para os rubro-negros, o técnico não tem o mesmo comportamento com Pedro e só coloca o camisa 10 “quando o calo aperta”. Veja a revolta abaixo.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasFora de CampoWeb compara trabalho de Tite com de outros técnicos do Flamengo: ‘Nota zero’Fora de Campo07/05/2024Fora de CampoInternautas perdem a paciência com jogador do Flamengo: ‘Menos um’Fora de Campo07/05/2024Fora de CampoMauro Cezar critica jogador e solta o verbo em derrota do Flamengo: ‘Atuações ridículas’Fora de Campo07/05/2024

➡️ Siga o Lance! Flamengo no WhatsApp e acompanhe todas as notícias do Rubro-Negro

Tudo sobre

FlamengoFutebol NacionalGabigolTite

Chelsea have been handed an injury blow ahead of their Women's Champions League clash against St Polten as first-choice goalkeeper Hannah Hampton has been ruled out of the match due to injury. Swiss international Livia Peng is set to take Hampton's place in the starting XI for the match in Austria as Sonia Bompastor's side aim to maintain their unbeaten start to the league phase.

• Chelsea lose Hampton to injury

  Bompastor has confirmed that Hampton has been sidelined with a minor quad injury and will undergo further tests to determine the severity of the problem. Hampton has therefore been left out of Chelsea's 22-strong travelling squad for the game in Austria. Peng and Becky Spencer are the two goalkeepers named in the travelling party for the Blues, while Lauren James and Naomi Girma are also involved again after recovering from injury. Here's the squad in full:

  Goalkeepers: Livia Peng, Becky Spencer

  Defenders: Sandy Baltimore, Nathalie Bjorn, Millie Bright, Lucy Bronze, Veerle Buurman, Ellie Carpenter, Niamh Charles, Naomi Girma.

  Midfielders: Erin Cuthbert, Oriane Jean-Francois, Maika Hamano, Wieke Kaptein, Sjoeke Nusken, Lexi Potter, Keira Walsh.

  Forwards: Lauren James, Sam Kerr, Catarina Macario, Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, Alyssa Thompson.

Advertisement

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Blues aiming for back-to-back European wins

  Chelsea will be hoping to make it back-to-back wins in the Champions League campaign after opening up their campaign with a 1-1 draw away at FC Twente, followed by a 4-0 win over Paris FC. The Blues will be hot favourites for victory against St. Polten but will have to make at least one change to their starting XI with Peng coming in to replace Hampton. Peng moved to Chelsea in the summer from Bundesliga side Werder Bremen, after featuring for Switzerland at Euro 2025, and made her debut for her new club in the draw at Twente. That Champions League outing is her only appearance so far this season but she will surely be relishing the chance to take over from Hampton again on Tuesday night at the NV Arena.

• Peng living the dream at Chelsea

  Peng admitted that moving to Chelsea was a dream after putting pen to paper on a four-year contract in the summer. She told the club's media: "It feels so good to be here. When I was 10, I dreamed of playing for Chelsea. Now, my childhood dream has come true and it's so exciting. I'm really happy to join the Chelsea family and get started. It's such a big club. Chelsea want to win titles and so do I. We're a good match. I'm hungry to win here."

  Chelsea complete a domestic treble (WSL, FA Cup, League Cup) last season without losing a game and will be hoping for more silverware in 2025-26. The Blues have made a strong start to their Women's Champions League campaign and sit in second place in the Women's Super League table, just one point behind current leaders Manchester City after eight games played.

  "I think we are still early on in the season and I'm not worried about where we stand right now in the table," Bompastor has said of her team's start. "We always want to be the leaders and leading this league but the most important thing for us is to be leading the race at the end of the season. I trust my squad – the quality I have in the squad to be able to do that. Not the result we wanted to have coming into the game, but we are still in control and I am quite confident."

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• AFP
  

  Big win on the cards for Chelsea?

  Chelsea head into the match off the back of a controversial draw with Arsenal which extended their unbeaten run in the WSL to 33 games. The Blues now switch focus to continental competition and will be hoping to win a maiden European crown in 2025-26. Bompastor's side will certainly be expected to make light work of St. Polten. The Austrian side have conceded nine goals in their two Champions League outings so far, and anything but an away win will be a big surprise.