Turning their attention towards the summer, Manchester City have now reportedly joined the race to sign a bargain World Cup winner who could replace Kevin de Bruyne.

Man City transfer news

The Blues weren’t afraid to splash the cash during the January transfer window, welcoming as many as five fresh faces in Omar Marmoush, Vitor Reis, Abdukodir Khusanov, Juma Bah and Nico Gonzalez. And they’ll likely approach without fear once again in the summer transfer window as they look to rebuild a side which has been a shadow of its historic best.

Even with victory in their grasp against Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League tie, it was Ederson’s turn to endure an out-of-character moment by sending his pass straight back towards the La Liga giants, who instantly profited to level things up before Jude Bellingham netted a late winner. Within the space of 12 minutes, City had gone from leading to taking a 3-2 defeat to the Bernabeu.

With plenty of work to do, Pep Guardiola and those above him at The Etihad look destined to endure a busy summer transfer window which could yet end in the arrival of a World Cup winner.

According to reports in Spain, Manchester City are now entering the race to sign Paulo Dybala, who has a release clause as cheap as €12m (£10m) this summer. The Argentine attacking midfielder, at that price, would be an undeniable bargain and could yet see the Cityzens replace De Bruyne in intelligent fashion.

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As things stand, the Belgian is set to bow out as a free agent at The Etihad at the end of the season, bringing to an end an iconic tenure at the Manchester club. Leaving a gaping hole in the middle of the park, Dybala could quickly emerge to ease any of Manchester City’s concerns.

"Phenomenon" Dybala would be surprising option

If De Bruyne really is to bow out of Manchester City at 33 years old, then Dybala would be a surprising option for the Citizens to turn to. At 31 years old, the Argentine wouldn’t solve Guardiola’s problem for long and instead add another ageing midfielder to a side full of stars at the back end of their peaks.

Even if Dybala is yet to show signs of following in the footsteps of the likes of Ilkay Gundogan, who has struggled this season, City wouldn’t have the chance to enjoy the peak of his powers for long enough to make any deal worthwhile this summer. Instead, they should set their sights on rising stars such as Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz.

The AS Roma man could still have a decision to make this summer, however, and could yet bow out as a hero at his own club in the coming months. Once described as a “phenomenon” by Roma legend Francesco Totti, Dybala certainly has plenty of fans in Italy.

Leeds United supporters will be hoping that the club can secure a return to the Premier League over the next couple of months with just 14 Championship games remaining in 2024/25.

The Whites are currently in their second season at this level after missing out on promotion last time around in the cruellest way possible – the play-off final.

However, Daniel Farke has done a superb job of leading the club to the summit of the table in recent weeks, with their 14-game unbeaten run in the league undoubtedly aiding their cause.

If they were to secure a return to England’s top flight, the German would have to do what many teams have failed to do over the last couple of seasons and avoid an immediate return back down the ladder.

Should they secure promotion, the hierarchy would have to provide the manager with the resources to be a success once more, learning from their previous mistakes of signing players not at the level required.

Leeds United’s transfers in 2022/23

Leeds’ last season in the Premier League was a challenge from the get-go, losing Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha to Manchester City and Barcelona respectively – with the pair two of their star players at Elland Road the season.

Subsequent funds were spent across the team to provide depth in all areas, with full-back Rasmus Kristensen joining the club from RB Salzburg.

The Dane made 26 appearances during his only season as a first-team member in Yorkshire to date, leaving on multiple loan spells after relegation at the end of the season.

He was just one of nine senior additions during the course of the aforementioned campaign, but he and his teammates were unable to prevent the club from dropping back into the Championship at the end of the season.

One of the signings joined in January, offering a last-ditch attempt to turn around the dismal form, but was subsequently unable to – thriving away from Elland Road in the last couple of seasons.

The Leeds player who’s similar to a £92m talent

Weston McKennie arrived at Leeds on loan from Juventus in January 2023, looking to add the needed quality to the midfield department to fight off any lingering relegation threats.

The American would make 20 appearances but was unable to prevent the inevitable, leaving the Whites at the end of the season and moving back to Serie A, forcing himself back into the first-team picture in Turin.

The 26-year-old has now featured 64 times in the last two campaigns for the Italian giants, registering 18 combined goals and assists, with his latest strike coming in the Champions League against PSV last night.

As a result of his displays, McKennie has since been ranked as a similar player to Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard – highlighting how much he’s developed away from Yorkshire after his temporary stint with the Whites.

The Norwegian, who’s valued at £92m by Transfermarkt, has been a key member of Mikel Arteta’s side in recent times but has been unable to produce better stats than the former loanee who’s bettered the midfielder in various key areas.

Games played

18

16

Goals & assists

5

5

Shot-on-target accuracy

56%

30%

Pass accuracy

85%

83%

Tackles won

1.3

1.1

Blocks made

0.8

0.3

Take-ons completed

55%

47%

Aerials won

1

0.4

The Juve star has registered the same amount of goal contributions in the league, whilst posting a higher shot-on-target accuracy rate, outperforming the former Real Madrid star who’s more of an attacking option.

McKennie has also completed more of his attempted passes and won more tackles per 90, showcasing his excellent box-to-box playstyle, finally starting to fulfil his potential after his spell at Leeds.

It’s bonkers to see such a quick progression after his short spell in Yorkshire, with the American undoubtedly one of the leading talents within Juventus’ current squad under Thiago Motta.

Outperforming Odegaard is no mean feat given his own form in recent times, with it being great to see a former Whites player thrive after a difficult period in his professional career following relegation in 2022/23.

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Since taking the reins at Tottenham Hotspur in 2023, Ange Postecoglou has endured his ups and downs.

In terms of the latter, the Australian has had to deal with an unbelievable number of injuries, which derailed his incredible start to last season and sees his team down in 12th in the Premier League this year.

However, one of the undeniable successes of his time in North London is how he took what was a diabolically boring team to watch under Antonio Conte and turned them into arguably the most entertaining in the league.

Moreover, the former Celtic boss is trying to reshape the squad with younger, less experienced but more promising players for the long term, whereas that didn’t feel like a goal under Conte, especially as one of the players he sold in 2022 is now back in the Premier League and worth an astonishing 2300% more than the fee he left for.

Spurs' 2022 sales

Before getting to the player in question, it’s worth looking at a couple of other sales made that summer, starting with an attacker who could never quite get to grips with English football: Steven Bergwijn.

The Dutch winger was undeniably talented and had some stellar moments during his time with the North Londoners – like that late comeback against Leicester City.

However, as he never established himself as a key member of the first team, it made sense to move him on when Ajax came in with an offer of around £26m in July 2022.

The 27-year-old winger would go on to score 29 goals and provide 12 assists in 83 appearances for the Amsterdam side before agreeing to join Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Ittihad for around £17.7m in September.

Since then, he has scored eight goals and provided six assists in 21 games while picking up a salary of £147k-per-week.

Appearances

149

83

80

21

Goals

31

8

29

8

Assists

41

8

12

6

Goal Involvements per Match

0.48

0.19

0.51

0.66

Another exit from the summer of 2022 was centre-back and American international Cameron Carter-Vickers, who rejoined Celtic on a permanent deal for around £6m after spending the previous season on loan with the Scottish giants.

The Tottenham academy gem only made five first-team appearances for the club but has since become a key member of the Hoops’ first team, racking up 146 appearances, in which he’s scored seven goals, provided two assists, won three league titles, three League Cups and two Scottish Cups as well.

However, there was another exit that summer, a player who has since returned to the top flight and is now millions more than he was when he left Spurs.

The Ex-Spurs player worth millions more today

Now, it’s famously difficult to judge how good a young player is and how good they could one day be, so every club has several youngsters they probably let go too soon, and in this instance, that youngster was Jack Clarke.

The Englishman joined Spurs from Leeds United in 2019 for about £8.5m, but after a number of lacklustre loan spells back with the Whites, Queens Park Rangers, Stoke City and a slightly better six months with Sunderland, the club opted to sell him to the latter in July 2022 for a fee reportedly as low as £750k, but with a 25% sell-on clause.

Over the next two seasons, the often “unplayable” ace, as dubbed by pundit Alan Clarke, racked up a brilliant haul of 26 goals and 18 assists in just 92 appearances for the Black Cats, which comes to an average of a goal involvement every 2.09 games, which was also enough to convince Ipswich Town to splash £15m on him in the summer.

Now, while the talent is undeniably there, it would be fair to say that the York-born dynamo has struggled at points this season.

The step-up to the top flight has seen his output come down by a significant margin, but even then, he’s been able to score three goals and provide four assists in 23 appearances, totalling just 883 minutes.

Appearances

23

Minutes

883′

Goals

3

Assists

4

Goal Involvements per Match

0.30

Minutes per Goal Involvement

126.14′

That means he’s still been able to average a goal involvement every 3.28 games for the Tractor Boys or, more impressively, every 126.14 minutes.

This, combined with his previous campaigns and the fact he’s still just 24, has seen his valuation remain relatively high, with Football Transfers pricing him at €21.7m, which is about £18m or a massive 2300% increase on the price Spurs sold him for under Conte.

Ultimately, the club probably made the right call for Clarke’s career, but we reckon they might regret letting him go for such a low fee.

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Sky Sports agrees to share rights for MCG clash with free-to-air broadcaster

Vithushan Ehantharajah10-Nov-2022The T20 World Cup final between England and Pakistan will be broadcast on free-to-air television in the UK and Ireland.While Sky Sports are exclusive UK rights holders to the tournament, it was announced on Thursday* that an agreement had been reached to share Sunday’s showpiece event at the MCG with Channel 4, as they did in 2019 for the 50-over World Cup final.The deal had been struck in principle before England’s semi-final against India, which Jos Buttler’s team won comfortably by 10 wickets. Sky will also show the final free on their Showcase channel, and were willing to partner with Channel 4 again after the success of three years ago, when England beat New Zealand in a nailbiter at Lord’s to win their first men’s 50-over title – a game that drew peak viewing figures of 8.3 million.Related

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“We’d be immensely happy with that,” Buttler said in his post-match press conference in Adelaide. “That would be fantastic for the game in our country, as many eyes as we can get on that final would be great. That’d be brilliant if that happens. It’s important that we always look to grow our game and showcase cricket to the next generation especially, so we’d really welcome that if that was possible.”Channel 4 broadcast England’s tour of India in 2020-21, the first time Test cricket had been shown free-to-air in the UK since the 2005 Ashes. The BBC has also had rights to show a limited number of men’s and women’s T20 internationals since the start of the 2020 broadcast deal.The T20 World Cup final, which begins at 8am GMT, will see England and Pakistan once again do battle 30 years on from their famous MCG encounter in the final of the 50-over competition.Jonathan Licht, Sky Sports managing director, said: “We know the importance of this game, so we are pleased to be able to share this great sporting moment with our whole nation thanks to our strong relationship with Channel 4. Whether you’re supporting England or Pakistan, this will be one to remember.”Ian Katz, chief content officer at Channel 4, added: “We are thrilled that Channel 4 and Sky have struck this deal to make another great national sporting moment available on free-to-air television to audiences across the UK. As the days draw in, some thrilling international cricket from the southern hemisphere should offer some welcome cheer.”Several fixtures at the World Cup have been affected by bad weather and there is another poor forecast for Sunday. In the event that the final spills into Monday’s reserve day, it is understood that Channel 4 will still look to broadcast the game in full.* 1600 GMT – This story was updated with confirmation from Sky and Channel 4

Nicholas Pooran has stepped down as white-ball captain of West Indies following the team’s first-round exit from the 2022 T20 World Cup, Cricket West Indies has confirmed.Pooran had taken over the captaincy from Kieron Pollard in May earlier this year. Under his captaincy since he took over full-time, West Indies won just four out of 15 ODIs and four out of 15 T20Is. In the T20 World Cup, West Indies, who came into the tournament as two-time champions, were stunned by Scotland in the opener and then went on to lose against Ireland, finishing the tournament with just one win – against Zimbabwe – and crashing out in the first round.”I have given the captaincy a great deal of thought since the enormous disappointment of the T20 World Cup,” Pooran said. “I took on the role with great pride and dedication and have given it absolutely everything over the past year. The T20 World Cup is something that must not define us and I will readily get involved in the upcoming reviews. And whilst it will be several months until we reconvene as a squad, I want to give CWI plenty of time to prepare for the matches against South Africa in March and beyond.”This is not me giving up. I remain ambitious and still view the captaincy of West Indies cricket as an honour that is bestowed upon you. There is no doubt I remain fully committed to West Indies cricket and I look forward to providing my services as a senior player in a supportive role.”Pooran’s own form has been a concern in recent times. He has scored just 94 runs in his last 10 innings in T20Is and finished the T20 World Cup with scores of 5, 7 and 13.”By stepping down now as the West Indies white ball captain I believe it is in the best interests of the team and for me personally, as I need to concentrate on what I can deliver to the side as a player,” he said. “I desperately want us to be successful and the most value I can give to the team is through fully focusing on the role of consistently scoring runs at crucial times.”Jimmy Adams, CWI director of cricket, said: “On behalf of CWI I want to thank Nicholas for his time leading our white ball teams. Having spoken with him I know he remains fully committed to West Indies cricket and I am convinced he has a big role to play in our future.”In Pollard’s absence last year, Pooran, who was vice-captain that year, had led West Indies to a 4-1 T20I series win against Australia. He was elevated to captain after Pollard announced his retirement from international cricket in April.Pooran was also recently released by Sunrisers Hyderabad, who had bought him for INR 10.75 crore this year, ahead of the 2023 IPL auction set to take place on December 23.CWI, however, is yet to announce Pooran’s replacement in both formats. Rovman Powell is currently the vice-captain of the T20I side while Shai Hope holds the position in ODIs.West Indies’ next white-ball series is in March 2023 against South Africa, where they will play three ODIs and three T20Is following the two-Test series.

Inter Milan boss Simeone Inzaghi has hailed Lamine Yamal as an "incredible" talent and says his side will do all they can to stop the Barcelona ace.

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Inter face Barcelona in UCL semi-finals Inzaghi hails "incredible" talent YamalSays Inter face "impossible" taskFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Yamal was in irresistible form in the first-leg of this Champions League semi-final, and Inzaghi suggested the 17-year-old is the one to watch in the return fixture at San Siro. He added that the Italian team will double up on the winger but it is "impossible" to stop him getting on the ball entirely.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesWHAT INZAGHI SAID

He told reporters: "Lamine Yamal? We have to try to keep the ball from getting to him, but it’s impossible. He will obviously be double-marked, he’ll be a marked man, and we’ll try to pay close attention to him. Seeing him live, he’s an incredible talent, truly very dangerous — everyone gives him the ball. What impressed me was his speed of thought; he always knows what play to make."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Yamal won the young player of the year award at the 2024 Ballon d'Or but now the question is shifting to, 'is he the world's best player'? If Inter are to progress to the Champions League final, they will need to be at their defensive best to keep the Spain international quiet.

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Inter host Barcelona on Wednesday in this finely poised tie after a dramatic 3-3 first-leg. Yamal could be the key man but both teams have match winners all over the pitch.

Rangers supporters have endured a mixed season at Ibrox so far, it is fair to say.

In the Premiership, the title race was over before it ever really began, with the Gers having lost four matches already, all coming away from home, leaving Philippe Clement’s side a whopping ten points adrift run-away league-leaders Celtic, who have a game in hand.

Meanwhile, as has so often been the case in recent times, the Light Blues’ highlights have come in the Europa League, enjoying victories over Malmö, Nice and Steaua Bucharest, also holding Tottenham to a credible draw, so are already through to the knockout phase, seeking to sneak into the top eight when Royale Union Saint-Gilloise visited Ibrox on Thursday.

His European exploits in particular have left one Rangers player in high demand, a key figure Clement will be determined to keep hold of.

Rangers star striker in demand

As reported by Camillo Forte of Tuttosport, Everton are ‘on the verge’ of completing a deal to sign Rangers striker Hamza Igamane, claiming returning Toffees boss David Moyes is eager to bring in a new forward, given the underwhelming form of both Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Beto.

Igamane joined Rangers as recently as last summer from Moroccan club AS FAR for a reported £2.5m, but Mick Brown of Football Insider believes the club would sell for a “huge” price this month, adding that the Gers’ financial situation “means they’ll listen to offers for all of their players”.

The 22-year-old Moroccan has 13 goals to his name this season, four of which have come in the Europa League, most notably breaking the deadlock when Tottenham visited Ibrox in December.

He also slotted home a brace in the French Riviera during the demolition of Nice in November, before scoring a first hat-trick for the club earlier this month against Hibernian.

Given his recent form, Igamane would be a massive loss, should he depart before Monday’s deadline, but could Rangers return to the African market for a possible replacement?

A perfect Igamane replacement for Rangers

A report from South African-based outlet Soccer Laduma prior to the January window opening suggested that Rangers were ‘keeping a close eye’ on Mamelodi Sundowns striker Iqraam Rayners.

The 29-year-old has four international goals to his name, most recently on target for Bafana Bafana during an AFCON qualifier against South Sudan in November.

However, it is his club form that has attracted attention; he scored 17 goals last season for Stellenbosch, earning him a move to current African Football League champions Mamelodi Sundowns last summer, scoring 13 times in just 22 appearances for them.

Clifton Mabasa of Goal described Rayners as a “goal-scoring machine”, with his manager Manqoba Mngqithi claiming his star player to be “one of the best goal-scorers” in South Africa right now.

Well, to back that assertion up, according to OptaJabu, Rayners scored 24 goals across all competitions in 2024, a tally only bettered by six players in the history of the South African Premier Division. So, how do Rayners and Igamne compare?

Appearances

22

27

Minutes

1,660

1,550

Goals

13

13

Assists

1

3

Big chances missed

1

5

Big chances created

1

6

Dribble success %

80%

47.4%

Average Sofascore rating

7.03

7.35

This season, the duo have played a near-identical number of minutes, there’s just under two hours in it, both with 13 goals to their name.

Rayners appears to be a more clinical finisher, missing only one big chance, compared to Igamane’s five, while the South African is a significantly better dribbler, albeit the Moroccan has created exponentially more chances for teammates, registering more assists too.

It’s also worth bearing in mind the respective levels the duo are plying their trade at; according to Global Football Rankings, the South African top-flight is the 58th strongest league in the world, while the Scottish Premiership comes in at 43rd, showing Rayners would need to make a step-up should he move to Glasgow, although not a ginormous one.

So, should Rangers lose their talismanic centre-forward this month, they’ll need a ready-made replacement, and Rayners could be just that, likely to cost less than if they were buying from another European club.

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يخطط نادي برشلونة الإسباني لصفقة من الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، خلال سوق الانتقالات الصيفي، وفقًا لتقارير صحفية.

وقاد المدرب الألماني هانز فليك، فريقه برشلونة للتتويج ببطولة الدوري الإسباني، وكأس السوبر الإسباني والسوبر الأوروبي في موسم 2024-2025.

ويسعى برشلونة للبناء على نجاحات الموسم، وتعزيز الفريق من أجل المنافسة على مزيد من الألقاب في الموسم القادم.

وبحسب ما ذكرت صحيفة “ذا صن” البريطانية، يدرس برشلونة التعاقد مع لاعب آرسنال، توماس بارتي.

وبدأ برشلونة محادثاتٍ مع وكلاء بارتي، لضم اللاعب مجانًا في صفقة انتقال حر هذا الصيف، حيث لم يجدد عقده مع آرسنال.

ولم يصل آرسنال لاتفاق لتجديد عقد بارتي، رغم تصريحات ميكيل أرتيتا مدرب الفريق، بنيته في الاحتفاظ باللاعب الغاني.

اقرأ أيضًا | خوان جارسيا يحذر برشلونة: أريد اللعب أساسيًا.. وما حققته في موسم واحد “صادم”

أفادت مصادر مقربة من بارتي لصحيفة “ذا صن” أن اللاعب بمثابة حل مخفض السعر لخط وسط برشلونة، والمدرب فليك من أشد المعجبين به.

وأثرت الإصابات على بارتي وعلى مشاركته مع فريقه آرسنال، وهو ما فتح باب التكهنات حول استمراريته مع الفريق.

ويذكر التقرير أن بارتي لديه رغبة في الاستمرار مع آرسنال واللعب تحت قيادة أرتيتا، وعلى الجانب الشخصي يرغب في البقاء مع عائلته بلندن.

وإلى جانب اهتمام برشلونة، هناك اهتمام من أندية الدوري السعودي ببارتي، لكن النادي الإسباني اتخذ خطوة في المفاوضات.

Two late wickets allowed South Africa to claw back but they still face the prospect of conceding a significant lead

Firdose Moonda17-Dec-2022

Stumps Australia have almost edged ahead in the first Test against South Africa after a 15-wicket opening day at the Gabba. On a green pitch, South Africa were bowled out for under 200 in a fifth successive Test, in two sessions. Only two batters scored more than ten runs and there was only one partnership worth more than 15. In response, Australia were shaky at 27 for 3 before a 117-run fourth-wicket stand between Steven Smith and Travis Head put them within sight of the lead. Two late wickets allowed South Africa to claw back but they still face the prospect of conceding a significant lead.The end-of-day scoreboard was a more accurate reflection of the difference between the two sides than the current World Test Championship table. While Australia’s performance, especially in the field, underlined their authority at the top of the table, South Africa’s batting belied their second place and revealed a familiar set of concerns in their line-up. Only Dean Elgar and Temba Bavuma have previous Test experience in Australia and neither has scored a century in this cycle of the WTC. Two others, Sarel Erwee and Kyle Verreynne, have hundreds in this edition of the WTC but the overall lack of confidence and application is glaring even against an Australia attack that was not at its best.Australia’s opening bowlers were wayward upfront, often bowling too short and unable to maintain a consistent line, but they still got rewards. Mitchell Starc strangled Elgar down the leg side with a 140kph rib-high delivery before Pat Cummins forced Rassie van der Dussen to play a delivery in the channel and got him to nick off.Scott Boland’s double-strike rocked the South Africa top order•Getty Images

But it was Scott Boland, who really rocked South Africa. He had Erwee caught low down by Cameron Green in the gully and in the same over had Khaya Zondo lbw to a delivery that hit him on the back pad. Zondo reviewed but was out on umpire’s call. South Africa were reduced to 27 for 4 with the last of the specialist batters at the crease.All eyes turned to Bavuma, who has not batted in a competitive game since the T20 World Cup, and Verreynne. The two were frenetic at first and offered two run-out chances but ended up being the ones who lent the innings some respectability. Their 98-run stand was built on Verreynne’s aggression against the short ball and Bavuma’s patience. But that ended when Starc returned for a third spell and Bavuma inside-edged a delivery that moved off the seam on to his stumps. Verreynne had brought up his fifty by then but no-one in the lower order hung around long enough to support him.South Africa went on to lose five wickets for 20 runs in 52 balls, including three to Nathan Lyon. He removed Marco Jansen, who stepped out to hit him over long-on but top-edged to a running Green, Verreynne, who played for turn and edged a straight one behind, and Anrich Nortje, who was done for bounce and lobbed the ball to silly mid-off. In between, Starc picked up his 299th Test wicket when he set Keshav Maharaj up with a bouncer and then had him caught at slip off a full ball.Kagiso Rabada goes up in celebration after dismissing David Warner•Cricket Australia via Getty Images

As has so often been the case in the last two years, South Africa’s bowlers kept them in the contest with statement opening spells. Kagiso Rabada started with a snorter of a short ball to David Warner, who jumped to ride the bounce and was caught one-handed by a leaping Zondo at short leg. Lungi Ngidi struggled for rhythm but Jansen also struck with his first ball and had Marnus Labuschagne stuck in the crease and caught at second slip. In the next over, Nortje’s first, Usman Khawaja was caught on the back foot and edged to Simon Harmer, substituting at third slip.Australia were exactly where South Africa had been and could have sunk into a similar collapse when Nortje thought he had Head for two. He nicked a back-of-a-length ball to second slip, where Elgar was unsure he had picked it up cleanly. A soft signal of not out was confirmed by the third umpire’s office, where replays showed the ball bounced before reaching Elgar.The momentum shifted from that point as Head returned to his natural fast-scoring game and raced to a 48-ball fifty. He was particularly severe on Ngidi and took 14 runs off his fifth over, including a flick over deep square that went for six and brought up his half-century. Smith was more circumspect and regularly practiced his stance at both ends but provided steady support before he was bowled by Nortje with less than five minutes to the close.Boland was sent in as nightwatcher and lasted only four deliveries before he edged Rabada to Verreynne, and the late incisions kept the tension in the contest at the end of a highly entertaining day. A record 29,306 people were at the Gabba, the biggest first-day crowd for a non-Ashes Test at the venue.

Liverpool took a huge step towards claiming the Premier League title this afternoon, beating defending champions Manchester City 2-0 at the Etihad.

Goals from Mohamed Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai secured all three points for Arne Slot’s side, claiming their first victory against the Citizens on their home turf in a decade.

The victory moves the Reds 11 points clear of second-placed Arsenal, with just 11 games remaining, looking in a superb place to secure a first title in five years.

It would be a phenomenal achievement by the Dutchman after taking the reins in the summer, providing the perfect transition after Jürgen Klopp stepped away from the role.

Numerous players impressed in Manchester during the victory, playing a pivotal role in moving the side one step closer to bringing the title back to Anfield.

Liverpool’s star performers against Man City

Egyptian winger Salah provided the goods for Liverpool once again this afternoon, getting himself on the scoresheet for the 25th time in just 27 matches.

The 32-year-old also registered an assist for their second goal, making it the 11th game in the league throughout 2024/25 in which he had achieved such a feat.

In a game where Slot’s men only had 34% of the ball, it was pivotal that the backline resisted the pressure from the hosts, something which played perfectly into the hands of Virgil van Dijk.

The Dutchman made nine clearances, eight of which were with his head, winning 75% of the ground duels he entered – maintaining a clean sheet for the 11th time this campaign.

However, despite the performances of the aforementioned duo, one other first-team star produced a magnificent display in the North West, massively boosting their title credentials.

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The Liverpool player who may have just won them the title

For the clash against Pep Guardiola’s side, Slot produced a tactical masterclass that saw the Reds switch to a 4-2-4 system, operating without a recognised striker despite having Darwin Núñez and Cody Gakpo on the bench.

It allowed for two false nines to drop into a deeper role along with the two central midfielders, creating a four-man box system in the middle – subsequently outnumbering the hosts in the centre of the park.

Curtis Jones was one of the players who operated in the aforementioned role, along with Szoboszlai – with the latter producing a performance to remember at the Etihad.

Despite the slightly unfamiliar role, the Hungarian international starred throughout, registering a goal and an assist during the victory, linking up excellently with Salah in the final third.

However, his underlying stats were just as impressive, with his numbers undoubtedly edging the side ever closer to ending their five-season wait for a Premier League title.

The 24-year-old, whose display was dubbed “sensational” by journalist Lewis Steele, registered 37 touches during the victory, four of which came in the opposition box, including his strike to double the lead.

Minutes played

90

Touches

37

Goals & assists

2

Dribbles completed

1/1 (100%)

Shots taken

3

Tackles won

2/2 (100%)

Recoveries made

3

Szoboszlai completed 100% of the dribbles he attempted, registering two other efforts on goal, in what was an all-around quality performance within attacking areas.

However, despite his impressive attacking display, he also produced some phenomenal defensive numbers, winning 100% of the tackles he entered, making three recoveries and excelling in the false nine role.

As a result of his showing, Szoboszlai was handed an 8/10 match rating by The Express’ Archie Griggs, further highlighting his impressive showing against the defending champions.

It was a phenomenal showing from the Reds, one that could well prove to be the clincher in their title ambitions come the end of the season.

Salah and Szoboszlai were undoubtedly the two stars at the Etihad, inflicting yet more pain on Guardiola, whilst further showcasing what a superb side Slot has built in a short period of time.

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