Last week, Ruben Amorim suffered the ignominy of Manchester City fans chanting his name ironically. But last night, his Manchester United players proved that they believe in his project and are ready to fight for him. Facing Chelsea was probably not what the coach wanted in his next outing after the chastening derby defeat but his side made a flying start and eventually earned a 2-1 win.

The Red Devils had a massive helping hand from the reckless Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez and to tell the truth they should have been assured of their victory long before the final whistle sounded.

But even withstanding the clumsy fouls from Casemiro which earned the Brazilian two yellow cards and cancelled out Sanchez's sending off, plus the fact his team were pushed to the limits by the visitors deep into added time, there was something hugely encouraging about the manner of the win for the coach.

His players, especially the defenders, put their bodies on the line to get the win over the line. Amorim's team showed the aggression he has been asking for. And, with the exception of Casemiro, they did not lose their heads. They withstood the pressure and for once they did not cave in. It cannot be denied that nearly everything went in United's favour, from the early red card, Bruno Fernandes' goal being marginally onside and Cole Palmer being forced off injured. 

But not many people were backing United to win this game before kick off given the negative mood around the club and when push came to shove they emerged with the three points against a Big Six side, something they had not previously done at Old Trafford on Amorim's watch.

GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from Old Trafford…

Getty Images SportWINNER: Bruno Fernandes

While this was not a typical case of the captain carrying the team on his back, Fernandes still played a crucial role in this victory and there was extra significance as it was his 200th game for United and his 100th goal. Even though he was supposed to be sitting in midfield he was the furthest forward when Dorgu flashed a header across the box and bundled it in.

He was in the thick of the action as United had to scrap in the second half, nearly scoring a second after surging forwards by himself and firing a shot which Filip Jorgensen superbly tipped around the post. Fernandes was substituted for Kobbie Mainoo in the 85th minute, a rare occurrence for him. But he was never going to sit down quietly, roaring his team-mates on to victory from the edge of his seat.

"The most important thing is the influence he has on the squad," said Amorim. "Sometimes he's not in the best position to be the main man in every game, but the point of the captain is to be the best he can be in every situation to help the team to be better. He's doing that. He deserves all the praise. That guy deserves to be in the history of our club, not just for what he does but for what his team conquers."

AdvertisementGetty Images SportLOSER: Robert Sanchez and Casemiro

Chelsea fans were mostly pleased with their club's summer transfer business as they refreshed their squad with 10 new players while turning a profit. But there was an elephant in the room: why had they not signed a new goalkeeper?

Sanchez had enjoyed a relatively comfortable start to the season but less than five minutes into the game he underlined why there are so many doubts about his status as Chelsea's No. 1. It was reckless of him to charge out of his area to stop Bryan Mbeumo and Enzo Maresca admitted that he would have been better off letting the forward score and leave his side one goal down rather than one man down.

Sanchez made a joint-Premier League high of five errors leading to goals last season and although this error will not add to that unwanted tally it effectively cost his side the game. He also made unwanted history by giving away Chelsea's earliest ever red card in a Premier League game and getting the third-earliest red card of any goalkeeper in the competition's history. The good news for the Spaniard is that he will not miss any league games and will only be suspended for their Carabao Cup tie at Lincoln City.

The goalkeeper's blundering gave United a wonderful advantage and all they needed to do was not even it up by having one of their own sent off. But Casemiro did not get the memo, making two needless fouls and earning two yellow cards in the space of 37 minutes, giving Chelsea a lifeline. Strangely, Amorim praised the Brazilian for "being so aggressive". He might not have been so charitable had United not clung on for all the points.

AFPWINNER: Amorim's electric wing-backs

Wing-backs are utterly crucial to Amorim's system working and at last it looked like he had two players who had the mental and physical capacity to implement his ideas. Patrick Dorgu was a thorn in Chelsea's side throughout the first half, tearing into Reece James from the off. He fed Mbeumo a wonderful delivery in the opening minutes which the forward should have made more of. Moments later jumped into the area and was about to shoot on goal before James blocked him off.

The Dane then sparked United's opening goal with his header which Fernandes helped in and continued to go for the jugular, his relentless attacking eventually leading to Casemiro pouncing. Dorgu has been getting closer and closer to what Amorim asks of him and he was quietly impressive going forward in the defeat at City, just lacking the final ball. That was no problem today though.

And Noussair Mazraoui was equally impressive on the other wing. Both goals were sparked from swerving deliveries from the Moroccan's right boot. It was his cross which Dorgu headed in the direction of Fernandes and another of his deliveries created the chaos from which Casemiro eventually pounced. 

When Mazraoui wasn't raining in crosses he was looking to play in Mbeumo down his right wing. And despite being fully involved in the attacking play he made sure he kept Chelsea at bay, sweeping up and clearing before he was taken off for Cunha. Mazraoui missed the start of the season but he has seized on the opportunity Diogo Dalot's absence afforded him and the Portuguese will not find it easy to win his place back.

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AFPLOSER: Cole Palmer

Cole Palmer dismayed some Mancunians by turning up at Old Trafford wearing gloves. Perhaps being down south for two years have softened the lad from Wythenshawe. But leaving aside the gloves, he did not look right from the off and Maresca's decision to play his star man three days after completing 90 minutes against Munich in his first match from a groin injury has badly backfired.

Palmer had set alarm bells ringing in Munich – his first start since hurting his groin on the opening weekend of the season at Crystal Palace – by clutching his groin towards the end of the 3-1 defeat, looking concerned. Maresca had said on Wednesday that Palmer was OK because the player had said he was not injured but it quickly became clear that that was not the case. After the defeat, he admitted that Palmer was not 100 percent fit but had wanted to play regardless.

Palmer chucked his shin-pads on the floor in frustration as he trudged towards the sidelines in the 21st minute after being replaced by Andrey Santos. and soon after slowly walked down towards the tunnel, being subjected to chants of 'City reject' from the gleeful United fans, who must have been relieved to no longer be facing the man who had scored in four of his previous four matches against them. Chelsea will now be crossing their fingers the damage to their talisman is not too severe as they face Brighton, Benfica and Liverpool in the next two weeks. If he is out for another period, then both the player and the coach should accept the blame for taking such a big risk.

Tottenham Hotspur have spoken to a Premier League club as Daniel Levy and co weigh up an “ambitious” late signing, according to a former Spurs employee.

Thomas Frank was gifted a major boost with the signing of playmaker Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig, who joins Spurs in a deal worth £52 million after putting pen to paper on a potential seven-year contract.

An agreement with Leipzig was reached “overnight” (Fabrizio Romano), with a medical taking place on Thursday as the north Londoners dished out a hijack of their own on Chelsea – just over a week after Eberechi Eze was stolen from them by Arsenal.

Simons’ arrival does wonders to combat the losses of James Maddison, who’ll miss most of 25/26 after rupturing his ACL, and Dejan Kulusevski, who remains out for some time with a knee problem.

While Simons is over the line, reports have suggested that Tottenham may not be done in the attacker market just yet, as they’ve been after a winger too.

Spurs’ talks for Savinho, despite Levy’s best efforts, ended up going nowhere – with the Brazilian very likely to stay at Man City barring a dramatic late twist as the Lilywhites turn their attentions to alternative targets.

Son Heung-min’s departure to LAFC earlier this month has left Tottenham short out wide, and one man who could fill the void left by his exit is Aston Villa star Morgan Rogers.

While the England international, valued at £80 million by Villa, is naturally a CAM, he can be deployed on both the left and right-hand side – featuring a lot in those areas under Unai Emery last term.

Rogers bagged 14 goals and 16 assists in all competitions across 24/25, and signing the 23-year-old with Simons would be a major statement of intent.

Tottenham have spoken to Aston Villa about signing Morgan Rogers

According to Tottenham’s former scout, Mick Brown, the north Londoners have spoken to Villa about signing Rogers, in what would be an “ambitious” move from the club.

Some credible reports have stated that Frank would even ideally like two new playmakers rather than one (Gary Jacobs), and Rogers would certainly fit this bill too, but the odds of a deal are growing slimmer by the minute with deadline day on Monday.

The former South Africa quick questioned their decision to not play Tabraiz Shamsi in the Champions Trophy semi-final

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Mar-20251:31

Is Bavuma still the best bet to lead SA in ODIs?

Former South Africa fast bowler Vernon Philander has backed Temba Bavuma to continue leading South Africa in ODIs, even as they lost their Champions Trophy 2025 semi-final against New Zealand on Wednesday.South Africa fell short by 50 runs in a chase of 363 in Lahore. Bavuma made a half-century as he tried to anchor the innings, Rassie van der Dussen contributed 69 off 66 and David Miller scored a second successive semi-final hundred but it wasn’t enough.”I think he’s a fantastic leader,” Philander said of Bavuma on ESPNcricinfo’s Match Day show. “I think what he has done over the last 24 months is that he has started to win that change room over. I think he’s done phenomenally well in the Test match arena [where they will play the 2025 championship final] and I don’t think we play near enough ODI cricket to play judgement down on it.”But if you look at his numbers, you look at his records in ODI cricket, I think he has been a wonderful player for South Africa. I think he has led from the front with the bat.”Of course, this evening he just couldn’t get going, but yeah they were heavily reliant on his form to get South Africa to where they are this evening – obviously falling one hurdle short of another final.”But I wouldn’t make a call too early. It’s still early days. I think Temba still has a couple of years left in him,” Philander said. “I just think Cricket South Africa will need to have an overall look at the way they approach, the way they prepare [for ICC tournaments].””And that starts from the top – from your coaches, from your video analysis: ‘What’s going to make my players more effective?’ and then you give the charge over to the captain and say ‘off you go’. So yeah, I just think a lot more planning that needs to be taking place heading into these tournaments.”3:51

Philander: ‘Honest conversations will need to happen’

Philander also questioned South Africa’s decision to play just one specialist spinner in Keshav Maharaj, saying that left-arm wristspinner Tabraiz Shamsi would have been a more “effective” option ahead of a fourth seamer on a flat pitch.”I do feel it’s a conversation that needs to happen at the top. I think we’ve got enough players playing in the IPL. They’ve got enough experience playing on these slower surfaces,” Philander said. “So it is a conversation, and an open conversation. At the end of the day you also need to be honest sitting around the table when those kinds of chat do transpire.”But I do feel from a talent point of view, South Africa have got plenty. But it’s about making those right calls for the conditions at hand. I certainly feel we are not too far away from lifting silverware, but at the end of the day, those honest conversations will need to be had sooner or later.”From a management point of view, for years we have stuck to our guns in terms of backing our seamers. But I think we need to go and reassess.”Philander expanded on that, saying the team may need to veer away from playing to their strengths to playing the conditions.”This is not our first tour to the subcontinent,” he said. “There have been generations that have been here before. It is certainly time, from a leadership point of view, we start taking accountability, and for generations to come, what’s going to be effective touring the subcontinent? And certainly in the spin department, we also have to then make sure we produce the quality and calibre of spinners to win you games in the subcontinent.”But if you look at conditions this evening again, [Shamsi] is definitely a much more effective option on those kind of surfaces given the fact that the seamers were really skidding on and the batters enjoy the ball coming onto the bat.”I think it’s a conversation that needs to start at the top, the management needs to be part of it. I think we need to be challenged differently. For far too long, we persist with ‘seamers are going to win you the game’ irrespective of whether it’s at home or in the subcontinent.Philander pointed out, as an example, that bringing spin on earlier could have helped slow down Rachin Ravindra, who took on South Africa’s pacers to give New Zealand a strong start.”Today it was illustrated again. Had we brought spin on earlier in the powerplay, we could have curbed Ravindra from getting off to an absolute flyer at the start. Those are little things that you have to put into play,” he said. “You can’t just play one brand of cricket and hope for results to go your way. Conditions these days play a massive factor in all outcomes of cricket matches and you have to factor in conditions. I don’t think you can be naïve and say that we will go with our four seamers and boss a game in the subcontinent.”

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has a plethora of star players in his squad, and some have been reduced to fewer minutes than they’d like.

BlueCo are spearheading another major reshuffle of the squad, and perhaps even more so this summer, with the expectation being that Chelsea are poised to offload many more squad members as new players fill their spaces.

Carney Chukwuemeka, Axel Disasi, Raheem Sterling, Ben Chilwell, Christopher Nkunku, Nicolas Jackson and Alfie Gilchrist could all still leave Stamford Bridge before the summer transfer deadline on September 1, as UEFA pressure Chelsea to produce a positive transfer balance by next month.

The aforementioned seven could follow a host of players out the door, with Kepa Arrizabalaga, Basir Humphreys, Noni Madueke, Marcus Bettinelli, Mathis Amougou, Djordje Petrovic, João Félix, Ishe Samuels-Smith, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Armando Broja and Lesley Ugochukwu parting company permanently.

For most of a portion of this window, defender Benoit Badiashile has also been linked with exit door, but the Frenchman’s future has proved more complicated.

While Badiashile isn’t exactly at the forefront of Maresca’s plans, starting just three Premier League games last season, he did play in all but two games of their Conference League campaign.

The 24-year-old was a firm regular of their ‘B team’ last term, so to speak, but remains behind the likes of Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah and Levi Colwill in the pecking order.

Unfortunately for Maresca, Colwill is now set to miss most of the new campaign after damaging his ACL in training, with Chelsea thought to be exploring new centre-back options in the transfer market as a result.

Chelsea could even sign a new defender on an emergency loan, according to some reports, but any deal for the right player will be hard to do considering how late it is in the window.

They also remain in ongoing talks to sign both Xavi Simons and Alejandro Garnacho respectively, and bringing in the attacking duo would take Chelsea’s summer spending to well past the £300 million mark.

Maresca could well be forced to consider more internal solutions to their centre-back shortage, with Badiashile now receiving plenty of support at Cobham.

Chelsea defender Benoit Badiashile praised by staff behind-the-scenes

According to journalist Ben Jacobs, speaking on the London is Blue podcast this week, the former AS Monaco man is earning real admiration from members of the Chelsea staff.

Those within the club are convinced that Badiashile can develop into a consistent and reliable player for Chelsea, with Maresca told to take note of the ex-Ligue 1 star as a potential option – even if he’s currently injured himself right now.

Badiashile is expected back around September, though, so he could soon come in as cover for Colwill if Maresca opts to head in that direction.

In another interview on Playback, Jacobs also revealed that Badiashile has a fierce work ethic, with there being a growing sense that his signing has “slipped under the radar”.

Urvil Patel, who had smashed the second-fastest T20 century in November last year, carried his fine form into the red-ball format to hit a maiden first-class hundred in Gujarat’s innings-and-98-run victory over Saurashtra in their Ranji Trophy quarter-final match in Rajkot. Gujarat will play the winner of the ongoing fixture between Kerala and Jammu & Kashmir in the semi-final.Urvil top-scored with 140 in Gujarat’s massive total of 511 in the first innings, which gave them a 295-run lead over Saurashtra, who managed only 216 after being sent in. Urvil was supported by Jaymeet Patel (103) and Manan Hingrajia (83) as they wore out a competent Saurashtra attack by batting out 159.1 overs.But Saurashtra were in the game at one stage when Gujarat were reduced to 78 for 3 early on the second day. Then Hingrajia and Jaymeet put together a 144-run stand to set the foundation for a mammoth score.Saurashtra began the fourth day trailing by 262 runs with all ten wickets in hand but were bowled out in under two sessions. Left-arm seamer Arzan Nagwaswalla picked up three wickets for Gujarat, while seamer Priyajitsing Jadeja got four – including the big strike of Pujara. Ravi Bishnoi, who had linked up with the squad following his return from national duty, picked up two crucial wickets in the second innings.Saurashtra eventually made just 197 in the second innings, with Harvik Desai top-scoring with 54. Cheteshwar Pujara finished a modest season with scores of 26 and 2. Barring the 234 against Chhattisgarh in the second game and 99 against Assam last week, Pujara’s highest score in the eight other innings was the 26 he made in the first innings against Gujarat.Saurashtra’s exit marked the end of a decorated career of their batter Sheldon Jackson, one of their stalwarts. He finishes his first-class career with 7283 runs in 174 innings at an average of 45.80. Jackson hit 21 hundreds and 39 half-centuries in all, with the high point being the Ranji Trophy win in 2019-20.

Fabrizio Romano has shared some transfer news out of Tottenham in what is a big boost for Thomas Frank, with chairman Daniel Levy adding to their short list of summer signings ahead of an imminent deadline day.

Spurs have just four days to bolster Frank’s squad in the desired areas, as Levy attempts to back the Dane before a very long and arduous campaign where the Lilywhites will be competing on four fronts.

Related £69m attacker "really" wants to join Tottenham with Xavi Simons

Spurs is a desired landing spot ahead of the deadline.

Posts 2 ByEmilio Galantini Aug 28, 2025

They’ve made an excellent start to the new Premier League season, rounding off impressive wins against newcomers Burnley and heavyweights Man City in the past fortnight, but injuries to key players have partly prompted a late scramble for new recruits.

James Maddison is set to miss a large portion of 2025/2026 after rupturing his ACL in pre-season, while Dejan Kulusevski could be out until much later in the year as he continues his recovery from a knee problem.

Radu Dragusin also suffered an ACL injury back in the winter, and the Romania international still isn’t ready for selection.

Tottenham’s confirmed summer signings

Price tag

Mohammed Kudus

£55 million

Kota Takai

£5 million

Mathys Tel

£30 million

Joao Palhinha

Loan

Kevin Danso

£21 million

As a result, Tottenham have been in the market for a new centre-back, number 10 and winger over the past few weeks, with club legend Son Heung-min also waving an emotional goodbye to the club earlier this month before joining LAFC.

Spurs were in talks to sign Savinho from Man City, but Pep Guardiola’s side appear to have blocked the move despite the Brazil international’s extreme eagerness to move down south for more game time.

Their search for a playmaker hasn’t been plain sailing either, with Levy missing out on both Eberechi Eze and Morgan Gibbs-White in spectacular, dramatic fashion this window alone.

However, according to reports, Tottenham’s mission to sign a new number 10 could now be coming to a close.

In the last 48 hours, Spurs began talks over hijacking Chelsea’s deal for RB Leipzig sensation Xavi Simons, who was a former member of Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy before switching to PSG’s youth ranks.

The 22-year-old has been dazzling in Germany with Leipzig for two years, making his move there permanent in January, but he’s now set to join the Lilywhites after successful talks.

Xavi Simons signs Tottenham contract after "overnight" agreement

According to Romano, following an “overnight” agreement, Tottenham are set to sign Simons in a deal worth £52 million, with his medical already completed and contracts now penned.

The Netherlands international, who can also play on the left, will provide Frank with versatility, attacking flair and proven quality in the final third.

Despite suffering an ankle ligament injury at the start of 24/25, Simons still managed 11 goals and eight assists over 33 appearances in all competitions, with Bundesliga expert Kevin Hatchard previously sharing exactly what Frank can expect from his newest arrival.

Tottenham got off to a perfect start in the Premier League last weekend with a thumping 3-0 win over newcomers Burnley in north London, with Thomas Frank sealing his first competitive win as Spurs boss early doors.

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Richarlison’s brace (including a very early goal of the season contender) and a goal from Brennan Johnson rounded off what was an excellent opening day win for the Lillywhites – but there will be many tougher days ahead.

Frank’s side are back in the Champions League and face a hectic fixture calendar across 2025/2026, with a rejuvenated Man City side, who’ve seriously reinforced their squad throughout the summer window, awaiting them next.

To give Frank the best possible chance of a successful first full campaign in charge, chairman Daniel Levy, technical director Johan Lange and CEO Vinai Vinkatesham have been working tirelessly on recruitment behind-the-scenes.

So far, Tottenham have signed Mohammed Kudus from West Ham for £55 million, and the Ghanaian got off to a fantastic start in their Burnley victory with an impressive display on the right – setting up Richarlison’s stunning overhead kick with a deft cross after a neat bit of skill to beat his man.

Kota Takai also joined Spurs for what was a J-League record £5 million fee for a Japanese player, with Levy also triggering Kevin Danso’s obligation to buy and signing Mathys Tel permanently in a cut-price £30m deal from Bayern Munich.

Now, the north Londoners are actively trying to seal a deal for Crystal Palace playmaker Eberechi Eze as their next major incoming.

Levy and Eagles chairman Steve Parish held direct talks over the £100,000-per-week forward on Monday, with Spurs prepared to pay up to £60 million (including add-ons) for his signature.

Tottenham want both Eze and Man City winger Savinho in separate deals to bolster Frank’s attack, and it looks increasingly the former will be coming through the door first.

Eberechi Eze agrees personal terms to join Tottenham

According to GiveMeSport, the former QPR star is ever closer to N17 and could even play against Man City on Saturday – considering he may be a “member of the Spurs squad by the end of the week”.

Eze has already agreed personal terms with Tottenham, and an agreement in principle with Palace is described as on the verge of being done too.

It’s added that Levy is prepared to ‘spend big’ in the final days of this transfer window, starting with Eze, and Spurs are boosted by the fact Palace are currently trying to find the 27-year-old’s replacement.

As per GMS, they’ve made an approach to sign Leicester City playmaker Bilal El Khannouss, whose contract includes a £22.5m release clause, so a move for the Moroccan could well progress quickly.

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Alan Shearer heavily criticised Ruben Amorim's tactical rigidity following another poor Manchester United showing away at Brentford on Saturday. The Newcastle legend believes United's predictable approach makes them easy to play against, and that Amorim's inflexibility could cost him his job.

• Pressure continues to build on Amorim

  Manchester United's form has been wildly inconsistent under Amorim, who succeeded Erik ten Hag in the Old Trafford hot seat in November last year. Despite significant investment in new players during the summer transfer window, United are 14th in the Premier League table after just six games of the new season, with their latest setback coming in the form of the 3-1 defeat to Brentford. The criticism of Amorim is mounting and questions are being asked about his ability to turn things around.

Advertisement

• Getty
  

  'He's right, everyone else is wrong'

  Amorim's refusal to budge from his preferred 3-4-3 system and defensive substitutions have raised the most eyebrows, with Shearer among those who believe the Portuguese is trying to fit too many square pegs into round holes. The former Newcastle and Blackburn striker said when reacting to United's latest defeat on : "Brentford without doubt had their plan. He [Amorim] was out-schooled by Keith Andrews, and what Brentford did. It really will be his downfall, unfortunately for him, because he’s not going to budge. He’s right, everyone else is wrong, I guess.

  "It was alarming what he was doing, moving so many different players around. the subs he brings on, moving right-centre-back into centre-back, middle of centre-back into left-centre-back. Then [Bryan] Mbeumo was right-wing-back. And then Mason Mount came on as a 10 for four minutes. Then he brought [Joshua] Zirkzee on, and then moved Mount to left-wing-back. It’s like, goodness me, what on earth is happening here? It’s incredible."

• Why INEOS may be delaying sack call

  Shearer went on to suggest that United's part owners INEOS, led by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, are only delaying Amorim's sacking to save face. "I genuinely believe that the owners, or the people are running the club at the minute, have made that many errors in the last two years or 18 months since they’ve been there, it would look terrible to admit another error," he added. 

  "And secondly, whether you look at the ticket increase, whether you look at people losing their jobs, whether you look at the new stadium, whether you look at paying for Dan Ashworth and then sacking him, and then his contract being paid up, then for them to go and say, ‘Actually, we went hell bent on getting this manager and paying a fee for him and demanding he comes now, rather than when he wanted to come’ for them to now say you’re firing him, and then pay out another huge chunk of wedge to for someone to lose their contract. I genuinely believe that’s probably one of the reasons why he’s still there, because they’re not any better, they’re not getting any better. They look miles off it."

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• AFP
  

  Sunderland next: Win or bust for Amorim

  Amorim has only taken 34 points from his 33 Premier League games in charge of United to date, and has yet to oversee back-to-back wins. The former Sporting CP boss faces intense pressure to improve the Red Devils' performances and results immediately. Upcoming fixtures will be crucial in determining his future at the club, starting with next Saturday's home fixture against newly promoted Sunderland.

Iyer points to the sluggishness of the pitch and Abrar’s tight spell as reasons for India not being able to bat more aggressively

Andrew Fidel Fernando24-Feb-20252:07

Manjrekar: Shreyas now looks comfortable against the short ball

“Can you just tell me how many overs were left?” Shreyas Iyer asked journalists, right at the top of his press conference. “Forty-five balls? Okay.””I think we could have won a bit earlier. It would have been a convincing win.”Uhh, what? Is a six-wicket win with more than seven overs left not convincing enough?There was almost no stage in their chase of 242 in which India appeared troubled, and almost no stage in the first innings in which Pakistan appeared capable of getting to a score that would test India.Related

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“But if we could have played more aggressively, we could have won a bit earlier,” Iyer said. He’d hit 56 off 67 balls.Through his innings, Iyer had to battle legspinner Abrar Ahmed, who was the most economical of Pakistan’s bowlers, taking 1 for 28 in his ten overs. That one wicket came from a spectacular delivery to Shubman Gill.Iyer had some good things to say. “I think Abrar bowled brilliantly. It was important and crucial for me to play out that spell and rotate the strike at the same time. It took some time and then once my eyes were set, I thought that sweep and reverse sweep would have been a great option to put them on the back foot. And I think that worked pretty well for me.”It wasn’t easy to take charge against Abrar. In that particular phase, it was important to take singles as much as possible and take the team to the end. Once we reach 30 or 40 runs, it is easy to charge on from there.”One of the things that the experts noted about Iyer’s innings against Pakistan was that he didn’t seem to find handling short deliveries too difficult.”When he came back [after playing domestic cricket] against England, the first innings that he played was flawless,” Sanjay Manjrekar said on ESPNcricinfo Match Day. “It was like a huge difference between the Shreyas Iyer of before and this one, and especially with the short ball. How comfortable is he looking against the short ball [now]! He’s not played [shots] out of desperation or trying to get himself into a counter-attacking mode. He’s just playing that shot carefully and with lots of confidence.”Anil Kumble agreed that playing domestic cricket had changed Iyer. “Whenever he has batted [against] the faster bowlers, earlier on, he would move around in his crease very early in his innings, irrespective of what the situation was. But we have never seen that in today’s game.”This is the second match India have played in Dubai in this Champions Trophy, though this was a different strip from the one they had faced Bangladesh on. And the bowlers who took pace off the ball complicated Iyer’s progress.Shreyas Iyer scored an important half-century against Pakistan•ICC/Getty Images

“As we know, even in the previous game we played over here, the wicket is a bit slow,” he said. “It’s spinner-friendly, of course. The amalgamation of all their bowlers and the experience they possess brings a lot of clarity to their bowling.”India were chasing a modest target, but still, Iyer’s start had been somewhat slow – he made 12 off the first 28 balls he faced.”It’s important to attack, but it’s not easy to go in and straightaway start smashing the ball,” he said. “You need to see the pace of the wicket, and how it’s coming on to the bat. If you show that intent every ball, it’s difficult for a batsman, to be honest.”It’s better to take some time, see how it’s coming to you, and let the ball do the talking.”

Everton failed in their efforts to sign a player with a “huge future” right at the end of the summer transfer window, seeing an offer for his services turned down.

Rohl "really excited" about Everton move

The Blues managed to complete the signing of Freiburg midfielder Merlin Rohl on deadline day, adding in one more player talented player to David Moyes’ squad.

The German is clearly raring to get going at his new club once club football returns after the international break, speaking of his delight at his move to Everton after his switch was sealed.

“I’m really excited and full of joy to sign for Everton. It’s a big club, with great history and great fans. It’s the right time for me to join Everton. It feels like a shifting point for the Club. The future looks really good and I’m excited to be part of it.

“I’ve watched the evolution of the Club closely. With the manager and stadium, there are a lot of positives. “I just love to play football and can’t wait to play in front of such passionate fans in such a great stadium.”

It was a strong summer for Everton overall, with Jack Grealish and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall among the star additions, while Tyler Dibling is a player with a big future in the game. Now, it has been claimed that the Merseysiders missed out on signing another young star.

Everton failed with bid for future star

According to a report from reports in Spain [via Sport Witness], Everton submitted a last-gasp offer for Espanyol right-back Omar El Hilali, but were rebuffed in their efforts to snap him up before the window closed. Nottingham Forest, Wolves and Como were all in the same boat, but the £22m-rated defender ended up staying put at his current club.

It is a shame to see Everton fail to sign El Hilali, considering what an eye-catching young player he is, already making 90 appearances for Espanyol at the age of just 21.

He has also been capped at both Under-23 and Under-20 level for Morocco, while scout Jacek Kulig has tipped him to have a “huge future” in the game.

Hopefully, the chance still arises for Everton to go back in for El Hilali in the near future, whether that be in January or next summer, with the Moroccan a footballer who could add so much long-term quality to a position that has too often seen ageing players used there in recent years, from Seamus Coleman to Ashley Young.

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He could also provide good competition for Jake O’Brien, who has become a very solid right-back for the Blues, but is also a centre-back by trade.