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Cole Palmer is set to miss Chelsea’s Champions League trip to Atalanta despite only just returning from injury, with the Blues opting for a carefully controlled recovery plan after his long spell on the sidelines. The midfielder was absent from training at Cobham ahead of the flight to Italy, but his omission is precautionary rather than due to any new physical setback.

• Palmer misses Chelsea training ahead of Atalanta

  Chelsea finalised their preparations for Tuesday night’s Champions League meeting with Atalanta during an open training session, but Palmer was notably absent. His exclusion from the squad travelling to Bergamo is not related to a fresh issue, but instead part of a pre-planned recovery schedule after weeks out with a recurring groin problem and a fractured toe, as per various reports. Having only just made his first start since September in Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Bournemouth, the medical staff opted to ease his workload to prevent aggravation.

  The England attacker's recent return has been closely monitored, beginning with a 30-minute cameo in last week’s defeat to Leeds before starting against Bournemouth at the weekend. Chelsea want to avoid overloading him, especially given the two-month gap between competitive starts, and viewed the Atalanta fixture as one that could be safely skipped. Palmer is expected to resume full involvement ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash with Everton at Stamford Bridge.

  With Palmer not featuring in training, the door opens for alternative No.10 options, including Facundo Buonanotte, who did take part in the session. The Brighton loanee has played only sporadically under Enzo Maresca but represents the most natural fit to replace Palmer behind the striker. Other creative attackers, such as Joao Pedro or Estevao Willian, may also be considered as Maresca reshuffles his forward structure.

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  Chelsea already contending with numerous injuries

  Chelsea enter the Atalanta clash on 10 points, level with the Italian side, and know victory would go some way to helping them secure automatic qualification from the Champions League league phase. The Blues have shown signs of improvement in Europe, particularly during their convincing 3-0 win over Barcelona, but they remain inconsistent domestically as injuries continue to disrupt momentum.

  The list of absentees is already significant, with Liam Delap out after sustaining a shoulder injury against Bournemouth and long-term casualties including Romeo Lavia, Levi Colwill, and Dario Essugo. Reece James may also be rested given Moises Caicedo’s return from suspension increases tactical flexibility.

  Maresca has emphasised that building physical rhythm is essential for Palmer after missing more than two months of action. The Chelsea boss recently explained that the midfielder’s gradual increase in minutes is intended to stabilise his condition before restoring him as a permanent starter. With the Premier League schedule intensifying, the club’s sports science department is adamant that short-term caution will lead to long-term gain.

• Palmer's disrupted season post Club World Cup

  Palmer’s stop-start season has been defined by two separate injuries: the groin issue that first sidelined him in September and the fractured toe sustained in a freak accident at home. The latter setback delayed his planned comeback, leaving Chelsea without their chief creative outlet during a congested part of the calendar. His absence was felt sharply as the Blues struggled for goals and consistency, making his eventual return even more significant.

  Despite missing 19 matches across competitions, Palmer remains central to Maresca’s tactical vision as the side’s primary playmaker. His performance in the No.10 role offers a unique blend of threat and creativity that few in the squad can replicate. That is precisely why the Blues are determined not to jeopardise his recovery by rushing him into high-intensity European matches too quickly.

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  Palmer to be ready for the Everton game

  Palmer is expected to resume training in the coming days and is being prepared to start against Everton on Saturday. The Premier League fixture is viewed internally as the more important game for maintaining Chelsea’s domestic trajectory.

  Looking further ahead, Palmer’s reintegration will be pivotal to Chelsea’s hopes in both Europe and the Premier League. If the club’s phased recovery plan succeeds, he should be able to return to the consistent match rhythm that makes him one of the most dangerous players on the planet on his day. A fully fit Palmer remains essential to Chelsea’s ambitions, and that is why missing Atalanta is seen as a necessary sacrifice rather than a setback.

Roy Keane left Wayne Rooney, Gary Neville, Ashley Cole and Jamie Carragher in stitches during the latest episode of The Overlap. The former Manchester United star was left stunned and was then ruthlessly mocked by his colleagues when his mobile phone starting ringing midway through their conversation, with Keane admitting he was "raging" at the interruption.

Who's calling Keane?

Keane is known for his uncompromising style and high disciplinary standards both on the pitch and off it but came a cropper during the latest episode of The Overlap. The United legend's phone rang and interrupted Cole in a hilarious moment that led to raucous celebrations from his colleagues. "The ill-discipline!" crowed former team-mate Gary Neville as Keane looked fairly mortified at the situation rapidly unfolding before his eyes. "If that was anyone else!" yelled an unbelieving Ian Wright, while Jamie Carragher was simply desperate to know who was on the other end of the line. As for Keane, he couldn't quite believe what had happened. "My phone is always off," said Keane by way of apology. "I'm raging with that. My phone is always on silent." Meanwhile, Rooney drew some more laughter by adding: "And he [Cole] was just saying them older players are so important to learn from!"

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Getty Images SportKeane's phone rage

Neville went on to remind Keane about a similar incident in a press conference during the Irishman's time as manager at Ipswich when a phone went off. The former Red Devil wanted to know who  the culprit was and Keane revealed he did find out much later. "I done an Ipswich game last year for Sky," he explained. "The guy whose phone was ringing came over and apologised. A reporter came looking for me and I asked him. I said, 'well why didn't you switch it off? All them years ago?' He said 'I was nervous. I didn't know what to do'. But he apologised for that and I apologise for that."

Carragher came up with a quick quip in response: "Whoever made that phone call's gonna get it!"

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What comes next?

Neville, Rooney, Keane and Carragher are regulars on television screens across the land and will be back to debate the latest hot topics following another weekend of Premier League action that brings some enticing fixtures. The standout game of the weekend comes at Stamford Bridge on Sunday as Chelsea take on Arsenal in a top-of-the-table clash. Elsewhere, Man Utd aim to return to winning ways at Crystal Palace, Liverpool are away at West Ham and Manchester City host Leeds United at the Etihad.

After finishing last in 2024, Mumbai Indians retained their Indian core, bought a couple of experienced New Zealand players, and have invested in a lot of untested youth

Vishal Dikshit17-Mar-20255:07

Can Hardik-led Mumbai Indians bounce back this season?

Where they finished last yearMumbai Indians (MI) finished in tenth place, at the bottom of the league, after winning only four out of 14 games. Their campaign was marred by hostile receptions for the new captain Hardik Pandya at the Wankhede and around the country amid reports that their dressing room was not a happy place.What’s new in 2025A year later, those issues appear to have been sorted out. Jasprit Bumrah was MI’s top retention; Rohit Sharma led India to two ICC titles in the last 12 months; Hardik won back popular support by being part of the T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy triumphs; and Suryakumar Yadav was elevated to India’s T20I captaincy.Related

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MI have reinforced their pace attack this season, bringing back Trent Boult and buying Deepak Chahar, but now must contend with the injury-forced absence of Bumrah for their first few matches. They also picked up the experienced and reliable Mitchell Santner, who comes into the IPL in good form after leading New Zealand to the Champions Trophy final.The rest of the MI overseas contingent doesn’t have much – or any – IPL experience. South Africa’s Ryan Rickelton, who is likely to open with Rohit, and Corbin Bosch, and New Zealand’s Bevon Jacobs are playing their first season. Reece Topley played five IPL games across the last two years; Will Jacks made his IPL debut last season; and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who was out with injury for much of 2024 but proved his fitness by finishing as Paarl Royals’ highest wicket-taker in the recent SA20, will be playing the league for the first time since 2021.With their batting order packed with power, MI’s biggest challenge will be to balance their bowling attack during Bumrah’s absence at the start of the season. Boult and Chahar have the powerplay covered between them, but the death overs could pose a problem.Likely best XII1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Ryan Rickelton* (wk), 3 Tilak Varma, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Hardik Pandya (capt), 6 Robin Minz, 7 Naman Dhir, 8 Deepak Chahar, 9 Corbin Bosch/Mujeeb Ur Rahman*, 10 Mitchell Santner*, 11 Karn Sharma, 12 Trent Boult*Full MI squad.How do you replace the irreplaceable is a question MI are going to have to answer•ICC/Getty ImagesBig questionWatch out forBevon Jacobs, 22, had played fewer than ten T20s on New Zealand’s domestic circuit when MI bid for him at the mega auction in November 2024. In the 2023-24 Super Smash, Jacobs had a strike rate of 188.73 for Canterbury. He returned to Auckland this season and scored 263 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 140.64, including a 90 off 56 against Northern Districts. Earlier this month, he struck his maiden century in senior cricket – 157 against Central Districts in first-class cricket just before he left for India for the IPL.The MI franchise also picked Jacobs for MI Emirates in the ILT20, but he faced only 27 balls there for 26 runs in three innings. Whether he can replicate his big hitting in Indian conditions at the IPL is always the question for rookies who make a splash at home.Deepak Chahar played only eight games for CSK last season because of injury. He was far from his best, conceding 8.59 runs an over and picking up just five wickets. He is likely to get more help at Wankhede than at the M Chidambaram Stadium in terms of pace, bounce and the swing he is known for. With Bumrah likely to miss the first few games as he recovers from his back injury, MI will want Chahar to stay fit through the season and provide wickets in the powerplay.Key stats MI have made the playoffs just once in the last four seasons, in 2023, and finished at the bottom twice, in 2022 and 2024. Suryakumar is heading into the IPL in wretched T20 form. His scores against England earlier this year were 2, 0, 14, 12, 0. He had a middling run before that as well, recording a strike rate of only 132 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Boult was the Player of the Final for MI Cape Town in their victorious SA20 campaign. He finished the league with 11 wickets and an economy rate of 6.94. Mujeeb, who played for Paarl Royals but is with MI in the IPL, took 14 wickets while conceding 6.77 runs an over in the SA20.Who’s out or in doubt?Bumrah has been managing back trouble since India’s tour of Australia ended in January. He missed the Champions Trophy, and after going to the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru for rehab, it has emerged that he is set to miss MI’s first few games before joining the squad in April. How the BCCI and MI manage his workload before the five-Test tour of England in June-July will be key. Apart from him, MI replaced the injured Lizaad Williams with Bosch and AM Ghazanfar with Mujeeb.

Former Real Madrid striker Mariano Diaz believes a move to Lyon could be the best step for Endrick if the Brazilian leaves the club in January, saying regular minutes matter more than staying on the bench at the Bernabeu. Mariano, who made the same move in 2017 after struggling for game time, says there is "life beyond" Madrid.

Endrick’s season stalled at Real Madrid

Los Blancos signed Endrick from Palmeiras in 2022 in a deal worth up to €60 million. His first year under Carlo Ancelotti showed promise, with seven goals in 37 appearances, but injuries halted his progress heading into this season. A hamstring injury kept him out of the Club World Cup and the start of the new campaign. By the time he returned, new manager Xabi Alonso had settled on other attacking options, leaving Endrick with just one brief appearance against Valencia earlier this month, where he played just 11 minutes. The lack of consistent minutes has raised concerns about his development, especially with the World Cup coming next year.

AdvertisementAFPMariano advises Endrick to embrace a move abroad

Speaking to , Mariano sees parallels between their situations and says leaving Madrid does not mean giving up on a future at the club.

“If Endrick ends up leaving, or a player who isn’t getting much playing time has to go abroad to play, I would tell him to enjoy it a lot, to appreciate that if he’s going to be a starter on the team, that’s the best thing that can happen to him,” Diaz said.

He stressed that regular starts give players a real chance to prove their ability. 

"You have to try to prove yourself when they give you that confidence, because it’s not the same when you play a few minutes every three games. You can’t prove your worth in a few minutes. But if they trust you and you’re a starter, that’s when you can prove a lot of things. In this case, if he [Endrick] leaves, he could also return to Madrid," the 32-year-old added.

Endrick stands at same career crossroads Mariano faced

The Dominican Republic international knows what it feels like to wait for chances at Madrid. The forward broke into the senior team during the 2016-17 season, scoring five goals in 14 appearances, but spent most of his time behind the famous 'BBC' trio of Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale, and Cristiano Ronaldo. The Los Blancos went on to win the Champions League and enjoy their most successful campaign in decades, but Mariano’s role was limited.

"It was one of the best teams I’ve ever played for because it wasn’t just the starters, but also what the press called ‘Plan B’. It was a bit curious, but the truth is that Plan B was like Plan A."

At the end of that season, Diaz moved to Lyon to play regularly, a decision he now sees as crucial in his development. However, he returned a year later after Cristiano Ronaldo's shocking move to Juventus. 

"As it was Madrid, I wasn’t going to say no,” Mariano recalled. "But they told me that this time it would be different, and that was one of the reasons I wanted to return."

Injuries derailed his progress, and he was again playing a bench role until his exit in 2023.

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Getty Images SportBrazilian forward sees Lyon as the right move for development

Several clubs have shown interest in Endrick, including Manchester United, who saw him as a replacement option after Benjamin Sesko’s injury. But the 19-year-old prefers Lyon, viewing the French club as a place where he can earn minutes, regain confidence and stay in contention for the 2026 World Cup with Brazil. Madrid had initially wanted to loan him within La Liga to help him adapt more smoothly and keep him close to home as he approaches Spanish citizenship in six months. However, Endrick pushed for a move abroad, prioritising consistent game time over location.

Ancelotti, now the Brazil national team coach, is yet to call up the young forward in any of the international breaks. However, the former Madrid coach has also urged him to play regularly if he wants to remain in the national-team picture.

"He has to think with his entourage about what’s best. Talk to the club, to see what’s best for him. Endrick is very young, this won’t be his last World Cup," he said. "He could play in the 2026 World Cup, because he has the quality for it, but he could also be in the 2030 World Cup, or the 2034 World Cup, and maybe even the 2038 World Cup (laughs). I believe it’s important for him to get back to playing and show his qualities.”

MCC’s incoming president on the challenge of engaging with Tech Titans, and opening Lord’s up to state schools

Andrew Miller11-Nov-2025″For a lot of my life, I’ve been a little bit unsure about spending so much time thinking about sport,” says Ed Smith, the newly installed president of a 238-year-old sporting institution. “Is it disproportionate, should I do something else? Actually, the way things have gone in the last 15 years, I feel that sport really has never been more important, more useful, if that doesn’t sound too utilitarian.”There’s plenty to unpick in that soundbite from Smith, the former national selector whose latest role in cricket would appear to be rather more ceremonial in nature. After all, the list of his predecessors as MCC president reads like a print-out of Burke’s Peerage – among them, the late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who served two terms in 1949 and 1974. With the greatest respect to the status of Smith’s new office, utilitarian principles haven’t traditionally seemed like a key criterion at Lord’s.And yet, it’s hard to imagine many more fascinating years to be at the helm of Marylebone Cricket Club, the modernisation of which has been one of English cricket’s subplots for decades. The club’s reputation may have been built on exclusivity, but the current remit is to broaden its appeal – and 2026 promises progress on two distinct, but complementary, fronts.First, there are the implications of the Hundred equity sale. In commanding an astronomical valuation of £295 million, MCC’s co-owned franchise, London Spirit, has demonstrated – in stark, financial terms – the central importance of Lord’s to the whole edifice of English cricket. Without the history and prestige of its grandest ground, the sport in this country would be significantly diminished.At the opposite end of the pyramid, meanwhile, there is next year’s maiden staging of the Barclays Knight-Stokes Cup, a newly conceived state-schools competition that will culminate in a Finals Day for boy’s and girl’s teams at Lord’s in September, and has already attracted entries from 1,084 teams across 750 schools, or one in five in the country.Smith served as England’s national selector from 2018 to 2021•Getty ImagesBetween these two apparent extremes sits Smith, with his remit to be a forward-facing, welcoming ambassador for the club – very much a non-executive, but a potentially crucial executor of MCC’s soft power, as it were.”I don’t like the word brand, but there is a brand power to Lord’s, and I would love that to be used for good and to widen access to cricket,” Smith tells ESPNcricinfo. “I’m very excited to do what I can do, and hopefully we can do a little bit of good in a year.”He pushes back at the suggestion that his role will mainly entail “pressing flesh” with the rich and famous who cross his path in the pavilion and president’s box. However, he doesn’t entirely dismiss the importance of his hosting role, particularly when it comes to engaging with the tech entrepreneurs who coughed up £145 million for their 49% share in London Spirit, and who are likely to pop along at some stage next summer to savour the spoils of their investment. To give him the credit that his intellectual reputation has earned, he potentially offers a higher-brow level of small talk than some of his forebears.”Yes, watching cricket at Lord’s with very interesting people is one of the things that happens in a president’s year,” he says. “People love coming to Lord’s – its draw has been clear in the partnership with the Tech Titans – so that’s not to be underestimated, even though there’s more to it than that.”Having spent a bit of time with some of them over the summer, I think they’re keen on winning and growing the franchise, and having some fun too. And there’s a fast-tracking potential here for some really exciting innovations, just because of the people involved and their opportunity to have a canvas.Related

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“It’s a really exciting partnership, but I’m just keen to get stuck in and do some hard graft behind the scenes, and not just on the major match days.”It’s clear, however, that Smith’s main passion for the coming year lies at the grassroots end of the club – in particular, making sure that the inaugural Knight-Stokes Cup is as much of a success as it needs to be.”I come from a family of teachers,” he says. “Both my grandfathers were state-school head teachers, and my mum’s dad founded a secondary modern school in 1953 outside Bristol. He’d lock his office door and go and roll the cricket square, because he believed you build a school’s community and identity through doing things together. Sport is one of, if not the pre-eminent, way of coming together as a community.”He accepts, however, that the world has moved on since the 1950s, and that harking back to times long gone is clearly not the way to resolve the disconnect that has opened up between the nation’s summer sport and its largest pools of future fans and players.”There are all sorts of ways in which teachers’ time has become precious,” Smith says. “Their roles have become much more regulated, what they do is much more scrutinised by the state. However, the need for them to do lots of different things hasn’t gone away, and amid the rise of smartphone addiction and social media, I think this is the moment for us to restate the case for sport in education.London Spirit was the most sought-after franchise in the Hundred equity sale•ECB/Getty Images”People being distracted is a commercial driver of a lot of modern life. Sport is a way that we can lose ourselves in play, while also pursuing mastery. Whether you end up being very good or no good at all doesn’t really matter. If you’re lost in doing something, and the concentration and the absorption that comes with that, then you’re probably going to get an awful lot out of it.”Smith has a vested interest in the debate, seeing as his own son and daughter, aged 12 and 9, are budding cricketers whose school was one of the first to sign up for the regional qualifiers.”It was great to see the excitement that comes from a good idea that’s been well launched,” he says. “To see that interest and excitement in young peoples’ faces at home on that first day was great, and shows what can be done.”Let’s be realistic. No one believes it’s the total solution to nurturing, reigniting and elevating cricket in state schools. There need to be other contributions from other perspectives, whether that’s the state, whether that’s the schools themselves, whether that’s counties running their pathways.”There’s lots of different pieces that have to come together if there’s going to be a real transformation. But this is a very good contribution, it’s a start that everyone at the MCC is really determined to build on, and I’ll be doing everything I can to support it this year.”It should be said, there has been a certain degree of revisionism regarding the origins of the Knight-Stokes Cup. From the outset last summer, and in subsequent communications from the club, the project has been framed as an MCC-led initiative when, in fact, the creation of a “national Under-15 state school finals’ day for boys and girls” was one of the specific recommendations of the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC), whose damning report in 2023 castigated English cricket in general, and MCC in particular, for institutional “sexism, classism and elitism”.Smith doesn’t dispute that the club is still playing catch-up in terms of its public image (he unapologetically ducks the thorny issue of Eton-Harrow, stating that it falls outside the remit of his one-year term). He does, however, point out that MCC has long had genuine advocates for state-school cricket among its leadership: most notably, Mark Nicholas, the club chair, and Lord King of Lothbury, his own predecessor as president.In 2005, those two (along with the former Worcestershire chair Duncan Fearnley) were co-founders of the charity Chance to Shine, which has taken cricket back into hundreds of primary schools in the intervening 20 years, and given a first taste of the sport to literally millions of pupils.

“Amid the rise of smartphone addiction and social media, I think this is the moment for us to restate the case for sport in education”Smith is an enthusiastic advocate of MCC’s new state-schools competition, the Knight-Stokes Cup

“There’s obviously a huge amount more for the game to do, I don’t think anyone doubts that,” Smith says, “but they’ve done so much to get cricket bats into the hands of boys and girls at a really young age, and help them fall in love with the game.”We often talk about sport at the sharp end – what it looks like by the time it’s very visible to us, and when it’s manifested as elite teams and national teams. But of course, all that relies on what happens beneath the waterline of the iceberg, and the health of the game more generally.”Some of that, Smith adds, was on display at the MCC Foundation’s national hubs final in September. It was the fifth such staging of a competition that attracted teams from 164 regional sites across the country, and for whom the prospect of competing at such a prestigious venue was a significant drawcard.”I attended the finals day at Lord’s with my family, and I was partly watching the cricket and partly watching the crowd,” he says. “Whether it was a player or a parent, or a sibling, or a supporter, I watched them file out of the ground, and I saw a lot of smiles on a lot of faces. Your expectation is that their love of cricket would be deeper and stronger after that day. That’s one of the things that Lord’s can do.”Plenty other issues will fall across Smith’s desk in the course of his presidency. In particular, there’s the juicy prospect of the maiden Hundred auction in March – an event that surely cannot help but whet the appetite of a former England selector? On the contrary, he’s keen to be respectful of his designated place within the club structure.”I’m very interested in recruitment and selection, but the people who are living it every day are the best in the business,” he says, deferring to London Spirit’s management duo of Mo Bobat and Andy Flower, who will take charge of all such matters. “I’ve got a lot going on, and hopefully I can add value as president, but in a good organisation, you want people to be given clear authority and role clarity about what they’re up to.”

Allrounder produced composed half-century in rare opportunity, but couldn’t set up victory

Valkerie Baynes18-Jul-2025Doing her own thing served Alice Davidson-Richards well in her comeback to the England Women’s ODI squad, even if it didn’t serve those back at HQ quite so well at the precise moment of her recall.Davidson-Richards scored a half-century in a 106-run stand with Surrey team-mate Sophia Dunkley in the first of three ODIs against India on Wednesday night.Their fifth-wicket partnership rescued England from 97 for 4, but it wasn’t enough to win the game, India prevailing off the back of Deepti Sharma’s unbeaten 62 to make Saturday’s match at Lord’s a must-win prospect for the hosts.Related

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It was Davidson-Richards’ second innings for England since 2023, having played twice against West Indies earlier this season, although she was only required to bat once and scored 7 not out in a series dominated by the home side’s top-order.She said she had been so focused on playing for Surrey that, when England Women’s head coach Charlotte Edwards came calling, Davidson-Richards was in another world.”I had six missed calls,” Davidson-Richards said. “Lott was like, ‘where you’ve been?’ I said, ‘I was in a theatre with no signal, pal.'”They were waiting for the email for the squad to go out and I hadn’t got a signal, so I hadn’t found out yet. It was a bit of a surprise to come out and have all the missed calls and then speak on the phone with Lott, it was a pretty epic evening.”Davidson-Richards also said she hadn’t let Edwards’ edict that domestic performances would have greater influence on international selection into her mind too much, as she amassed 289 runs in the Metro Bank One Day Cup at an average of 48.16 and strike rate of 102.84, with a highest score of 100.She was also instrumental in cementing Surrey’s position at the top of the T20 Blast table with an unbeaten 28 and 3 for 11 against Warwickshire earlier this month.She credits working with Surrey sports psychologist Louise Byrne and head coach Johann Myburgh with helping her through nearly two years on the fringes of England selection. Now, her recall has come at an opportune time for Davidson-Richards, with the World Cup in India just over two months away.

“For me it’s always been a goal. It’s never gone away, but the focus on just myself and trying to win games for – then it was South East Stars and now it’s Surrey – became the main focus”Davidson-Richards on playing for England

“The main thing for me has being trusting my game and trusting myself and the skills that I do really well,” Davidson-Richards said. “I’m quite an up-and-down human at times, so trying to stay as level as possible and keep trusting myself as the games go on.””For me it’s always been a goal,” she added of her desire to play for England. “It’s never gone away, but the focus on just myself and trying to win games for, then it was South East Stars and now it’s Surrey, became the main focus.”When I started focusing on those sorts of things first, and the little things, then the stuff further along the line tends to come along.”Dunkley, who has batted up and down the order at international level in recent years, showed her own comfort at No. 5 with a top score of 83 in the opening ODI against India, where she enjoyed being reunited with Davidson-Richards.”I’ve batted with her loads at Surrey,” Dunkley said. “We’ve batted together in a lot of different partnerships, she’s great to bat with, really calm and really good at ODI cricket so it’s nice to bat with her.”I really like batting in the middle. I’ve batted all different places and I think I’ve settled in that role, batting four for Surrey and now batting five. It suits my game quite well and hopefully I can impact the game more going forward there.”The immediate task will be keeping the series alive at Lord’s, the scene of Deepti’s run-out of Charlie Dean while backing up, which sealed a 3-0 sweep of the corresponding series in 2022.Deepti and Dean have since played as team-mates at London Spirit in the Hundred, with Deepti telling ESPNcricinfo she had parked the dismissal as an “in-the-past” thing.If, at the time, the incident had represented India asserting themselves at the home of cricket, then they have gone a step further on this tour. India’s 3-2 victory in the T20I series was more comprehensive than the scoreline suggests, comprising three emphatic wins against two last-ball thrillers that went England’s way, including the dead-rubber fifth match. They have since gone on to win a scrappier affair at Southampton that left both sides with clear areas for improvement.For India, their fielding came under the microscope amid a rash of dropped catches, as did a top-order which failed to capitalise on starts and relied on a fifth-wicket stand worth 90 between Deepti and Jemimah Rodrigues to keep a modest target in sight.England found themselves at least 20 runs short upon batting first and will be looking for more from the top order which crushed West Indies at the start of summer.

Jordi Alba has rubbished comparisons between Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal, claiming that Barcelona’s all-time leading goalscorer “has no rival”. Teenage wonderkid Yamal has been thrust into an obvious debate ever since he stepped out of the La Masia academy system. He has become a global superstar in his own right, but there will never be another Messi.

• Messi vs Yamal: La Masia graduates always being compared

  Alba, who spent many happy years alongside the iconic Argentine at Camp Nou and is now a club colleague of the all-time great at MLS side Inter Miami, has always considered Messi to be the best in the business.

  Yamal, at 18 years of age, is showing signs that he could tread a similar path. Records have tumbled around the youngster on the back of making his senior debut at just 15. As a left-footed forward that glides past opponents and boasts an unerring eye for goal, he was always going to be likened to Messi.

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• Getty/GOAL
  

  Nobody like Messi! Alba steers clear of Yamal debate

  Alba is, however, eager to steer clear of that discussion. He told when naming three other Barca stars that deserve the same amount of credit as Yamal: “I think he's a great player, but there are others at Barca, like Pedri, Gavi, [Frenkie] de Jong. And I'm leaving out many. I think comparing him to Leo… there's no comparison, but that's because Leo has no rival.”

  Alba is preparing to sever professional ties with Messi. While the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner has committed to a new three-year contract at Inter Miami, his close friend has decided to retire at the end of the 2025 MLS Cup play-offs.

  Explaining that decision, 36-year-old full-back Alba said: "Honestly, physically I could have lasted another year or two. But because of how I've felt, especially at the beginning of the season, and because of the new projects that are coming up…

  “It's a well-considered decision, and I'm very clear about it. I'll miss football, but I'm happy with what I've been able to achieve. I still enjoy the matches, but the day-to-day grind and traveling every week is harder. The enthusiasm you have at 20 years old fades. When you have a family, it shows.”

• Retirement calls: Will Suarez follow Alba & Busquets?

  Sergio Busquets is heading into the same direction, as he prepares to hang up his boots, with Alba adding on his fellow former Barcelona legend: “His retirement? Obviously, these decisions are very personal. We've talked about the situation we were in during the year. It's a decision for each of us. I'm lucky to share a team and a friendship with him; our families also get along very well. We live very close to each other in the same residential area.”

  Luis Suarez is another ex-Barca star that is yet to decide what the immediate future holds for him. The Uruguayan striker has struggled with knee problems in recent times, but continues to score goals ahead of turning 39 in January.

  Alba added on Suarez potentially playing on alongside Messi: “There he is, the guy. I don't know if he has a contract for years, but it's everyone's own decision. It's not just about changing teams anymore, it's about quitting football, what you've done your whole life. I'll be sad, but it hasn't been hard for me. I've accepted it and I'm taking it calmly.”

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  MSN reformed: Will Neymar reunite with Messi & Suarez?

  It has been suggested that Messi and Suarez could see their fabled ‘MSN’ strike force with Neymar reformed in 2026. That is because the Brazilian superstar is running down his contract at Santos and heading towards free agency.

  Any move to Florida would generate plenty of interest, with some headlines being stolen away from Yamal in Europe. The teenage wonderkid does, however, appear to be destined for greatness himself – with some suggesting that he could go on to eclipse Messi’s record-shattering haul of Ballons d’Or. Yamal finished second in the 2025 Golden Ball vote, behind Ousmane Dembele, but has time very much on his side – unlike Alba and Busquets.

Manchester United have kept their unbeaten run going by the skin of their teeth. The Red Devils drew 2-2 away to Tottenham Hotspur, and it took a late goal from Matthijs de Ligt to secure the point and extend the unbeaten run to five games.

Indeed, the Dutchman’s strike in the 96th minute was enough to bail his side out of yet another defeat under Ruben Amorim, although they had previously led in the game.

Bryan Mbeumo scored a header which put United 1-0 up at halftime.

However, Spurs struck back after lots of pressure in the second half. First, Mathys Tel fired home, with his effort flicking off De Ligt’s foot and into the back of Senne Lammens’ goal.

Richarlison thought he had won it in the 91st minute with a clever header, before United’s number four cancelled his goal out moments later.

It was a largely uninspiring performance from United. They played an incredibly passive game, happy to let Spurs dominate the ball. In total, Amorim’s side had just five shots, with the only two that were on target ending up in the back of the net.

Their first goalscorer, Mbeumo, continued his fine form in front of goal.

Bryan Mbeumo’s stats vs. Spurs

October’s Premier League player of the month is off the mark in November. Mbeumo has been one of the signings of the season, and now has seven goals and assists in just 12 games for the Red Devils.

His strike on Saturday lunchtime away to Spurs was one of good centre-forward play and a deft touch.

The United number 19 got in between two Lilywhites defenders, before glancing his header home into the back of the net.

That was not Mbeumo’s only positive contribution against Spurs, though. He was a constant problem for the opposition defence, having 44 touches and making three passes into the final third.

The attacker was excellent off the ball, too, and made four recoveries.

As well as the 26-year-old played against Spurs, however, there was a United player who arguably outshone him.

United’s standout player vs. Spurs

United’s draw away to Spurs was certainly frustrating. Amorim was critical of his side post-match, explaining that “we should do better, be more aggressive, feel the environment in the stadium, the three points were there.”

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However, one player, like Mbeumo, who stood out, was Amad. It was a different role for the Ivorian from the start today, operating as the right number 10 rather than at wing-back.

However, he was his usual energetic self, posing a threat going forward and worked hard defensively.

In fact, it was the attacker’s cross from which Mbeumo scored. What a delightful ball it was, too. Amad picked the ball up just inside the Spurs’ penalty area, lifting his cross from a standing position to the back post for his teammate to guide home.

That was one of two chances he created, on an afternoon where he also played four passes into Spurs’ third.

Amad stats vs. Spurs

Stat

Number

Touches

48

Passes completed

23/32

Duels won

7

Ball recoveries

5

Passes into final third

4

Chances created

2

Assists

1

Stats from Fotmob

Amad’s excellent performance certainly stood out, with journalist Liam Canning saying it was an “unbelievable” showing from the Ivorian attacker, while lauding him as the actual man of the match.

There is certainly a case to be made that Amad is becoming Amorim’s new version of Bruno Fernandes. Often, it is the Portuguese attacker who has shouldered the creative burden at United. Yet, it has been different this season, with the captain’s three assists matched by Amad.

A reason for that could be the role United’s manager uses his skipper in. A number 10 by trade, Fernandes now plays deeper in the pivot, and with their number 16 operating high and wide at wing-back or in the pockets as a number 10. He is certainly far more involved in the final third.

This is not a bad thing for United, who have relied solely on Fernandes for too many years. But, Amad is certainly taking up more creative responsibility, and is slowly becoming their new version of Fernandes.

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Mohamed Salah’s name has dominated the headlines at Liverpool for so many years, but never as intensely, and as negatively, as in recent days.

The Egypt international’s incendiary interview after Arne Slot’s side blew their advantage and drew at Leeds United has torn at fraying fabric and left Liverpool in dangerous and unknown territory.

The iconic forward, an all-time great on Merseyside and in the Premier League, is facing the very real possibility of leaving Liverpool in January. There is a good chance he has played his last game for the club.

This is a painful situation, to be sure, but Salah is ageing and ostensibly past his prime.

Slot does, however, need to get a tune out of the club’s expensive summer signings, with Florian Wirtz’s struggles a stark representation of the dysfunctional tactical set-up.

Why Wirtz has struggled under Slot

It’s fair to say Wirtz has not been good enough this season, far below the standard expected when Liverpool signed the German midfielder for a £116m fee. It’s also fair to say he’s walked into a burning building, making it difficult to shine against the backdrop of the flames.

It is clear that when Liverpool signed Wirtz this summer, they had landed one of the most talented playmakers in the world. It was also clear that Slot planned to reorient Liverpool’s creative supply line after Trent Alexander-Arnold left for Real Madrid.

So many variables have been at play this season, but there is no excuse for the toothless, spineless performances that Liverpool have laboured through this season. Slot has to take responsibility, and he has to get more out of Wirtz, who won the Bundesliga Player of the Year in 2023/24 after steering Bayer Leverkusen to an invincible title.

Wirtz has what it takes to succeed. Claims that he lacks physicality are simply untrue. Moreover, he ranks among the top 6% of positional peers in the Premier League for progressive passes and shot-creating actions per 90, as per FBref, so he needs just a little nudge in the right direction, with an uptick from Liverpool’s wider system too.

Liverpool need results, and they need them quickly.

Liverpool lining up Slot replacement

According to Anfield Index, FSG chiefs Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes have held talks with Como manager Cesc Fabregas as they continue to weigh up Slot’s future.

Fabregas, 38, is one of the brightest young coaches in the world, and he’s enjoyed a stunning start to life in Serie A, his Como side sixth in the standings.

The Spaniard’s expansive, free-flowing brand of football is not too dissimilar from Slot’s own vision, and this suggests he could dovetail into Liverpool’s first team, taking the reins at the season’s midpoint and restoring balance and confidence.

He may also be the perfect coach to give rise to Wirtz’s latent quality.

Why Liverpool should appoint Fabregas

Fabregas is a young and talented coach, but some would understandably have reservations over his youth and inexperience. However, were FSG to make the appointment, they would no doubt reference Arsenal’s meteoric rise under Mikel Arteta’s wing as a yardstick which they could follow.

Fabregas knows the Premier League, having featured 350 times in the division as a player, having scored 50 goals and supplied 117 assists across stints with Arsenal and Chelsea.

Moreover, Fabregas knows a thing or two about playmaking in the Premier League, lauded as a world-class “maestro” by former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho during his trophy-laden spell at Stamford Bridge.

Truly, he was a “genius” of a footballer, as claimed by former boss Antonio Conte, and he has translated that wealth of footballing knowledge to the coaching scene, with Como playing some slick attacking football this season while maintaining a steely defensive line, for the most part. In the words of one notable analyst on X, he’s “football’s next elite manager.”

This foundation could be perfect for Wirtz, who shares certain tactical tendencies with the rising managerial star. Look at Nico Paz, for example, who has been immense this season ahead of his much-anticipated return to Real Madrid.

Paz, 21, is one of the hottest creative talents in the business, and he has been in fine fettle for Como this season, posting five goals and five assists apiece across 15 matches in all competitions this term.

Like Wirtz, he’s as naturally gifted as they come, but he has also been tasked with defensive responsibilities that have given him a coating of completeness that Fabregas’ tactics would play into Wirtz’s own game.

One thing’s for certain, Liverpool have crumbled under Slot’s wing. After that blistering start at the beginning of last season, the Reds have slowly tapered off, shipping so many goals and losing so many games.

27

Games

52

23

Wins

26

3

Draws

10

1

Losses

16

2.66

PPG

1.69

73

Goals scored

91

27

Goals conceded

69

Liverpool have a whole host of problems that have shown little sign of abating this season, but among the most egregious issues are the woes of Wirtz and Alexander Isak, who look shells of their former selves.

This cannot continue. Changes are needed. While FSG will continue to persist with Slot for the time being, given that Hughes has held preliminary talks with Fabregas (and who knows who else?), we can be sure that the plug will be pulled if improvements are not seen quickly.

Fabregas, with fresh and innovative ideas, could be the shrewd solution.

Sell him before Salah & Konate: FSG must bin Liverpool's "major issue"

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