At the very last moment, just when all hope was nearly lost, Arsenal pulled off one of the greatest transfer hijacks in recent memory by usurping Tottenham to a deal for Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze.

Earlier this week, Spurs appeared to have Eze’s signing all done and dusted when they reached a verbal club-to-club agreement for the 27-year-old, after also agreeing personal terms with the player himself.

However, Kai Havertz’s injury prompted Andrea Berta to make a last-minute dash for Eze after laying plenty of groundwork earlier this summer and holding extensive talks with the England international’s representatives.

Arsenal matched Tottenham’s bid, leaving Eze with the final decision, and he ultimately chose a return to his boyhood club – 14 years after being released by them as a young academy prospect.

The transfer, now estimated to cost Mikel Arteta’s side around £67.5 million, is great news for QPR as well – as the Hoops inserted a 15 per cent sell-on clause on any profit for Eze when they sold him to Palace in 2020.

Eze started undergoing his Arsenal medical on Friday morning, so Arteta will soon have the Londoner at his disposal in what is a seismic boost for their Premier League title challenge.

Now, the question is, how will Arteta utilise the attacking star who bagged 14 goals and 11 assists in all competitions for Palace last season?

Arsenal's plan for Eberechi Eze after hijacking Tottenham

According to journalist Graeme Bailey, Arsenal plan to use Eze as a number 10, which is “fascinating” because it’s a clear indication that Arteta was planning a similar role for Havertz, before the German’s forced absence.

Daniel Levy has brought an end to his 25-year stay at Tottenham with the announcement of his resignation as executive chairman on Thursday – huge news which came completely out of nowhere.

Since taking over from Sir Alan Sugar in 2000, Levy oversaw the transformation of Spurs from a largely mid-table side in the late 1990s to one of the Premier League’s ‘big six’, but his running of the club was also marred by protests from supporters over a lack of success on the field.

The Lilywhites are now one of Europe’s most valuable clubs — boasting a state-of-the-art new stadium and training complex — with Tottenham also the ninth highest revenue-generating side in world football, according to the Deloitte Money League.

Real Madrid

£1.2 billion

Man City

£727 million

PSG

£700 million

Man United

£668 million

Bayern Munich

£664 million

FC Barcelona

£659.5 million

Arsenal

£621.5 million

Liverpool

£620 million

Tottenham Hotspur

£533 million

Chelsea

£474 million

via Deloitte Money League

Off the pitch, Levy’s work deserves high praise, but just two major trophies in two and a half decades frustrated the fanbase.

The 63-year-old’s perceived lack of squad investment during his tenure also attracted fierce criticism, but ENIC’s decision to part company represents a “new era” for the north Londoners.

In the aftermath of Levy’s shock exit, questions are being asked about why this has happened now and so suddenly.

BBC journalist Sami Mokbel and other reliable media sources are reporting that the decision to part ways was ultimately taken out of Levy’s hands, with ENIC effectively pushing him out of the door.

Club insider Paul O’Keefe has also shared some intriguing bits of detail about the story.

ENIC plan "weakened" Daniel Levy's grip on Tottenham before resignation

Taking to X, Spurs in-the-know claims that ENIC’s plan to get properly involved — namely through Lewis’ kids Vivienne and Charlie — is said to have “weakened” Levy’s “vice-like grip” on Tottenham before he was forced out.

ENIC appear set for a more hands-on role in the wake of Levy’s departure, and in that sense, a new era certainly has begun at Tottenham.

Their controversial ownership hasn’t exactly been popular among Spurs supporters, but time will tell whether they manage to turn the tide when it comes to public perception.

For Levy, the ex-official and his family are still a beneficiary of ENIC, owning a near-30 per cent stake in the group, but his club involvement will now cease with immediate effect with no notice period (BBC).

Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi saw a proposed summer transfer to Liverpool fall through at the 11th hour last month. But rather than simply resurrect a deal that would see him switch to Anfield by next summer at the latest, the England international looks set to have a number of other high profile clubs to choose from – including Bayern Munich as they make their own move.

'Concrete' interest from Bayern

According to Sky Sport Germany's Florian Plettenberg, Bayern are already "concretely" looking at a move for Guehi. Senior sporting executive Max Eberl is described as a "big admirer" and early stage talks with the player's representatives are said to have already taken place, establishing Bayern's serious interest in taking Guehi to the Bundesliga and gauging the response from the other side of the table.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportGuehi's contact situation unresolved

Although Guehi has been widely praised for how he has handled himself in recent months – as opposed to the transfer-forcing tactics employed by the likes of Alexander Isak, Viktor Gyokeres and Yoane Wissa during the summer window – his days at Crystal Palace still appear numbered.

His contract is due to expire at the end of the current campaign and the Eagles have arguably lost their best chance to command anything close to a reasonable and fair transfer fee for him. Selling in January, due to his contract have just a few months left to run by that stage, is unlikely to bring big money because it makes more financial sense for suitors, unless desperate, to wait until July.

January also brings something else into play because, from New Year's Day, Guehi would be able to enter into a pre-contract agreement with an overseas club that locks in a free summer transfer. That is something that Liverpool will want to avoid, as it theoretically gives Bayern an advantage. Plettenberg also names Barcelona and Real Madrid, both in need of defensive reinforcement, as other rival suitors that stand to give Guehi a plethora of incredible options.

Familiar faces in Munich

Were Guehi to choose Bayern, it wouldn't be a complete jump into the unknown, despite leaving the home comforts of English football and the Premier League for Germany and Bundesliga.

Star winger Michael Olise was a teammate of Guehi's at Crystal Palace for three seasons, from when they both joined the Eagles in the summer of 2021, until Olise was sold to Bayern in 2024. Guehi also plays alongside chief Bayern goal-getter Harry Kane for England.

Then there is Bayern coach Vincent Kompany, a Manchester City player for the best part of a decade, before two years in charge at Burnley. Guehi will additionally have come up against both Luis Diaz, signed from Liverpool in July, and Nicolas Jackson, on loan from Chelsea. He may also have plenty of knowledge of Jamal Musiala due to shared time in Chelsea’s academy, albeit in different age groups.

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Getty Images SportHuge clubs in need of a centre-back

Plettenberg further noted that Bayern's final decision to approach Guehi will depend on the respective futures of Dayot Upamecano and Kim Min-jae. But the Bundesliga champions aren't the only top side in need of a defensive boost.

After running out of time to sign Guehi in September, Liverpool have been left horribly exposed by the long-term injury to summer signing Giovanni Leoni. Ibrahima Konate is also nursing a problem, potentially leaving Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez the only fit centre-backs in the squad.

At Real Madrid, Dean Huijsen was recruited in June, but Los Blancos could feasibly be short once more if David Alaba is to leave. Antonio Rudiger, 33 this season, isn't getting any younger. Barcelona similarly lack quality depth behind Pau Cubarsi, with Ronald Araujo's future uncertain.

Or is it the other way around, and they are not good enough at this stage to be in demand?

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Mar-20255:11

Knight: ‘Next thing for Jofra Archer is to evolve’

And then there were ten. IPL 2025, at this stage, has just ten players from England. There were 12, but Harry Brook and Brydon Carse (injury) have withdrawn. Feels different from previous years, doesn’t it? So, has the England players’ attitude towards the IPL changed? Are they not good enough anymore, and the IPL franchises are just not interested in them? Is it something else?”Rob Key, who is in charge back at the ECB, has basically tried to – and he’s fairly right – encouraged his players to play as much for England [as possible],” Nick Knight, the former England opener, said on ESPNcricinfo TimeOut. “They’ve got a five-Test series against India. They’ve got an Ashes to follow. They’ve got multi-format players, like Harry Brook and Mark Wood – they’re pretty well looked-after now. And they’re going to have to be looked after.”There’s a bit of that influence. So they perhaps don’t need to travel and play in all these leagues around the world. There are other leagues popping up as well. If you’re not going to get the full price [at the IPL auctions] that perhaps you might want to get, you might want to play in another league. So there are a number of these sort of factors flying around for some of these players.”Related

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The ten players from England that are a part of IPL 2025 are Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Phil Salt and Reece Topley. Brook and Carse have opted out. Ben Duckett, it’s understood, was contacted by Delhi Capitals (DC) to be Brook’s replacement, but he chose to stay away.Compare this to IPL 2024, when there were 18 players from England divided among the ten teams. Some of them withdrew at various stages of the IPL, but that’s a significantly higher number than now.ESPNcricinfo’s Matt Roller suggested that some of the England players’ stocks have dwindled in recent years, possibly a reflection of their failures at ICC white-ball events of late. When the last mega auction was held, before IPL 2022, England were the defending 50-over World Cup winners and then won the T20 World Cup in 2022. They were in big demand.”Perhaps the stock of some of these players is not quite as high because of the ICC trophies, and the way some of these competitions globally have been going,” Knight said, agreeing to the point. “You know, you look at Sam Curran. Go back a couple of T20 [World Cups] back in Australia, he was the Player of the Tournament.3:45

Has England’s IPL love affair changed?

“And he goes into the IPL auction, gets an absolute full whack. So there are a number of factors that are combining to make a few players less [in demand] than you’d expect.”A bit of a chicken-and-egg situation, isn’t it? Did the England players get better at T20s by playing in the IPL, or did they come into the IPL because they were that good? And how does it work now?”A lot of people have benefitted from playing in the IPL, because a lot of them got better playing against spin, and also wickets that were slow,” Ambati Rayudu said. “We have seen the England side in India [for a white-ball series in January and February this year]. Somehow, they are just playing one-dimensional cricket, especially in the middle overs, and especially against spin. To go hard against spin, you also need skill. So where do you develop that? You develop that in the subcontinent, or on wickets such as these. So… it’s quite a Catch-22 situation.”

أبدى ييس توروب المدير الفني لفريق الأهلي، رضاه عن نتيجة مباراة الأمس أمام إيجل نوار البورندي في دوري أبطال إفريقيا. 

وكان الأهلي قد حقق الفوز على فريق إيجل نوار البوروندي بهدف دون رد، في ذهاب دور الـ32 من بطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا. 

طالع.. أسعار تذاكر مباراتي الأهلي أمام سيراميكا كليوباترا والزمالك ضد بيراميدز في السوبر المصري

وقال ييس توروب في تصريحات على قناة “الأهلي”: “كوني ألعب مباراة مهمة بعد مرو 3 أيام فقط من تولي المسؤولية، وكان مهم أن نبدأ بالفوز، لذا أنا سعيد أننا حققنا الفوز”.

وأضاف: “راض عن الأداء في الشوط الأول، ولكن في الشوط الثاني أشعر أن الأداء نوعًا ما كان به سلبية، لكن المهم إننا بدأنا بداية جيدة وفزنا بالمباراة”.

وتابع: “أعلم أنني في أكبر ناد في إفريقيا، واحترم تاريخه، وجئت لإضافة ألقاب للنادي وأسعد جماهيره”.

واختتم توروب تصريحاته قائلًا: “أتشوق لرؤية جماهير الأهلي، ودوري أبطال إفريقيا رحلة طويلة نأخذها خطوة بخطوة، وإن شاء الله نحقق كل ما نريد”.

LSG’s in-form batters will come up against KKR’s spin attack on a hot afternoon at the Eden Gardens

Sreshth Shah07-Apr-20252:15

Bangar: Varun and Narine will be key to counter LSG’s big-hitters

Big picture – Pooran vs KKR’s spinnersOnly Rishabh Pant and Ravi Bishnoi are yet to hit their stride, but otherwise, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are steadily assembling a winning formula in IPL 2025. Mitchell Marsh has notched up three fifties in four games, while Nicholas Pooran is the top run-getter of the season. When Pooran faltered against Mumbai Indians (MI) last Friday, Aiden Markram, Ayush Badoni, and David Miller stepped up. The Indian seamers have been impressive, and Digvesh Rathi is already a contender for the tournament’s emerging player.LSG are at the right juncture to take off but their ability to handle spin, especially under the hot afternoon sun at Eden Gardens, could define the outcome against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Since IPL 2024, Markram has fallen to spin five times in 12 innings; Marsh’s strike-rate plummets from 194 to 139 against spin and Pant averages just 15.4 against legspin.Pooran is the exception. He has crossed 200 runs this season and has the best strike-rate (209) against spin since IPL 2024. But even he has struggled against Sunil Narine. That said, if Pooran and Miller can launch against KKR’s spin attack, it could swing the game.Related

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KKR, too, seem to be clicking into gear, especially after their impressive showing against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Venkatesh Iyer and Rinku Singh adapted well on a sticky pitch, which might be a recurring feature at Eden Gardens this season. Ajinkya Rahane and youngster Angkrish Raghuvanshi have offered consistency, but they’d want better starts from their openers and more time in the middle for Andre Russell.Off the pitch, the clash also carries a unique flavour for Kolkata’s football faithful. The last few seasons have witnessed plenty of Mohun Bagan fans from Kolkata shift allegiances to LSG for one day; the two teams are owned by the same group headquartered in the city.Form guideKolkata Knight Riders WLW
Lucknow Super Giants WLWTeam news and likely XIIKolkata Knight RidersQuinton de Kock smashed a 97* against Rajasthan Royals but he’s scored in single digits in the other three games. It remains to be seen whether KKR would consider Rahmanullah Gurbaz in place of him. Even though Moeen Ali did not bowl against SRH, he could retain his spot in place of Spencer Johnson, based on pitch conditions.Likely XII (probable): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Ajinkya Rahane, 4 Angkrish Raghuvanshi, 5 Venkatesh Iyer, 6 Rinku Singh, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Ramandeep Singh, 9 Moeen Ali, 10 Harshit Rana, 11 Vaibhav Arora, 12 Varun Chakravarthy2:23

Rayudu: KKR could look to open with Moeen and give Narine a break

Lucknow Super GiantsMayank Yadav, who is bowling at “90-95% fitness” at the Centre for Excellence, is not yet available. They can use Markram as a third-spinner, but otherwise, left-arm spinners M Siddharth and Shahbaz Ahmed – who is also an allrounder – could be tempting options.Likely XII (probable): 1 Aiden Markram, 2 Mitchell Marsh, 3 Nicholas Pooran, 4 Rishabh Pant (wk), 5 Ayush Badoni, 6 David Miller, 7 Abdul Samad/Shahbaz Ahmed, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Avesh Khan, 10 Akash Deep, 11 Digvesh Rathi, 12 Ravi BishnoiThe big questionAndre Russell has faced only 16 balls all season and scored ten runs. Given KKR’s batting-heavy line-up, Russell has been batting down the order and is expected to start hitting as soon as he walks in. Even though he has hit his strides with the ball, are KKR underutilising one of their most expensive retentions by not giving him enough batting opportunities?In the spotlight: Ravi Bishnoi and Vaibhav AroraRavi Bishnoi’s effectiveness has dropped since IPL 2024. This season, it has worsened. He has the poorest economy of all spinners in IPL 2025 with only three wickets in four outings. Rathi is outshining him, and despite being one of three retained LSG players before the mega auction, Bishnoi could lose his place in the XII if his season does not turn around. The surface on Tuesday, though, could suit him.Vaibhav Arora has been in sensational form this season•BCCI

Vaibhav Arora was called KKR’s powerplay specialist by Venkatesh after their win last game. Left-handed batters average only 9.60 against him, but against right-hand batters, like the openers he will encounter on Tuesday, he has been less effective. They score at a strike rate of 152.63 and average nearly 38 against Arora. Will he be able to turn it around?Pitch and conditionsIt was a sticky surface with patches lacking grass last time. Expect the same for the LSG fixture. Dew should not be a factor in the second innings although temperatures are expected to be around 33 degrees during start time, which could dictate the toss decision.Stats and trivia Only two times has a captain opted to bat at the toss this season. Both were in day games Since IPL 2023, the team batting first has won eight of the 17 games at Eden Gardens. The average first innings score has been 191 while the lowest total defended is 176 (excluding shortened games) In 19 balls across five innings, Russell has hit Thakur for 54 runs at a strike-rate of 284 Pooran has scored only 25 runs in 33 balls against Narine in the IPL

أعلن الألماني هانز فليك، المدير الفني للفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي برشلونة تشكيل لاعبيه لمواجهة ريال مدريد في كلاسيكو الدوري الإسباني.

ومن المقرر أن يواجه برشلونة نظيره ريال مدريد مساء اليوم الأحد، في تمام الساعة السادسة والربع بتوقيت القاهرة ومكة المكرمة.

ويستضيف ملعب “سانتياجو برنابيو” مباراة الكلاسيكو بين ريال مدريد وبرشلونة ضمن منافسات الجولة العاشرة من بطولة الدوري الإسباني “لا ليجا”.

ولن يتواجد فليك على مقاعد بدلاء برشلونة في مباراة اليوم أمام ريال مدريد بسبب العقوبة الموقعة عليه، بعدما تم إشهار البطاقة الحمراء له في مباراة جيرونا.

اقرأ أيضًا | قبل الكلاسيكو.. لاعب برشلونة السابق يحذر من انهيار لامين يامال

ويحتل برشلونة المركز الثاني في جدول ترتيب الدوري الإسباني برصيد 22 نقطة، فيما يتصدر ريال مدريد الجدول برصيد 24 نقطة.

ويعاني برشلونة من غيابات عديدة أبرزها الحارسان خوان جارسيا وتير شتيجن، جافي، ليفاندوفسكي وداني أولمو، رافينها. تشكيل برشلونة اليوم أمام ريال مدريد في الدوري الإسباني

في حراسة المرمى: فوتشيك تشيزني.

في خط الدفاع: جول كوندي – إريك جارسيا – باو كوبارسي – بالدي.

في خط الوسط – بيدري – فيرمين لوبيز – دي يونج.

في خط الهجوم: ماركوس راشفورد – فيران توريس – لامين يامال.

Enzo Maresca is an imperfect head coach, but there’s no denying the progress he has made at Chelsea since replacing Mauricio Pochettino at the end of the 2023/24 campaign.

Last season, Chelsea finished fifth in the Premier League and recovered their place in the Champions League, having gone two years without a taste of top-drawer European action.

The Blues are rebuilding, and their sights are set on the biggest prizes out there, aforementioned. The transfer strategy has been polished in the windows since those turbulent early BlueCo days, but there is work still to be done, even with exciting additions across the summer.

It’s not just ensuring Chelsea get bang for their buck with incomings, but getting it right when selling a first-teamer too. There have been a few to frustratingly slip through the Stamford Bridge turnstiles over the years.

Chelsea's worst modern sales

Chelsea typically sell well. While the Londoners catch their rivals’ frustrations with big-money transfer windows, this is enabled through the calculated and extensive impetus on the exit front, raking in hundreds of millions each year.

But it doesn’t always go to plan, and more historical cases would reveal the rueful sales of Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne, both of whom left Chelsea in the early stages of their careers and built themselves up in Europe before returning and cementing their legacies.

It would not be outrageous to claim that both would get into the Premier League all-time 11. Not outrageous, only contestable.

Romelu Lukaku also falls into that bracket, having left the young for Everton when young and since becoming one of the most prolific strikers of his generation. The fact that the Blues re-signed him for £97.5m and then he flopped emphasises the bungled club-player relationship.

Salah might be the most egregious of the lot, though, leaving for Roma in a £15m deal before returning to England two years later and going on to achieve greatness on Merseyside. Now he’s 33, still starring for an indomitable Liverpool team.

All-time PL Top Scorers

Player

Apps

Goals

Alan Shearer

441

260

Harry Kane

320

213

Wayne Rooney

491

208

Mohamed Salah

306

188

Andy Cole

414

187

Stats via Premier League

And there may be fears in the Chelsea offices that they have repeated that former mistake.

Why Chelsea sold Noni Madueke

Madueke arrived at Chelsea as an untested and unknown prospect. He had found regional acclaim in Holland with PSV Eindhoven and made the leap back to his homeland to form part of a new world order at Stamford Bridge.

It was a testing period for the club, and Madueke, at times, toiled, but that was to be expected; the winger was 20 years old at the time, after all.

Described as a “mentality monster” by personal coach Saul Isaksson-Hurst during his younger days, the 23-year-old struggled to maintain a consistent clinical level across his two-and-a-half years at Chelsea, but his attitude was right and the talent was there for all to see.

Arsenal certainly saw it, snapping him up this summer for £55m. A healthy sum, and one Maresca’s side can be forgiven for accepting, especially when considering the wave of attacking signings welcomed to the Bridge.

It was only last season, of course, that the England international scored a hat-trick in his favourite place, underscoring his potential in the Premier League.

And his start to life over in north London has shown Chelsea the error of their ways, with Madueke already making startling headway in Mikel Arteta’s system, even hailed by ex-Manchester United defender Paul Parker as being “better than Bukayo Saka.”

Some might take offence to that one, but it does underscore the player within, now coming into his own.

Madueke’s potential was always a lofty thing, and it’s telling that he has played six times for Arsenal and has yet to register a goal contribution. Even so, the consensus is unanimous: he’s been great.

According to data-led platform FBref, Madueke ranks among the top 1% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for progressive carries per 90, highlighting an incredible well of athleticism and pace from which he draws on each match.

Might Chelsea have a Salah repeat on their hands? Let’s hope not. It’s worth remembering that the Egyptian only left Italy and signed for Liverpool after he had turned 25, and eyebrows were raised in a similar fashion to Madueke’s cross-London switch.

Now, he’s an all-timer in the English game. Like Madueke, Salah is a right-sided forward, and he’s one of the greatest goalscorers to do it.

His is a tale which hammers home the fact that development in football is not linear. He came into his own at a later age, but, as with Madueke, both were talented enough as youngsters as to warrant Chelsea’s attention.

Chelsea have more than enough quality in the locker to ensure this does not detrimentally hamper them in their ambitions, but there’s no question that, if Madueke makes considerable progress over the next few years, this might become another sale to join the rueful departures of Salah, De Bruyne and the like.

Roman Abramovich, at least, didn’t sell Salah to a direct rival, and instead shipped him out to Italy, where he developed and grew the fundamentals that allowed him to return to the Premier League and become a superstar.

But Madueke already looks like a more polished and incisive player over at the Emirates, and while Arsenal have swept up so much of Chelsea’s rubbish over the years, it’s beginning to look like Madueke will buck that trend.

Related Maresca has a bigger talent than George who's "the future of Chelsea"

The sensational youngster looks the real deal for Chelsea.

Posts ByJack Salveson Holmes Sep 26, 2025

The total of 190 was “slightly short of par” and his team needs “to take more catches” was how Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni summed up his team’s performance in the five-wicket loss to Punjab Kings (PBKS), which knocked CSK out of the IPL 2025 playoffs race.”I think the batting, yes, it was the first time when we had put enough runs on the board, but was it a par score? I feel [we were] slightly short,” Dhoni said on the broadcast. “I felt we could have got slightly more. That partnership between [Dewald] Brevis and Sam [Curran] was excellent. And I feel we need to take some catches because that really helps to take wickets, you can slow down the opposition. Other than that, I feel from the batting unit as a whole, I felt it was a good effort.”CSK were at one point well on course to post a 200-plus total when the partnership of 78 between Curran and Brevis shot their run rate past ten, placing the team at 126 for 3 after 14 overs. However, Brevis fell at the start of the next over and after Curran was dismissed for 88 off 47 in the 18th, CSK scored only 18 runs off the remaining 14 deliveries. CSK didn’t last all 20 overs, though; they were bowled out in 19.2 overs after Yuzvendra Chahal took four wickets – including a hat-trick – in the 19th over. They slipped from 172 for 4 to 190 all out, losing six wickets for just 18 runs.Related

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Dhoni said that losing those three wickets to Chahal and not playing out the entire innings made a difference to the outcome. “Not to forget, when it’s a high-scoring games, we didn’t play the last four deliveries, and the second last over we got four batsmen out, another three deliveries and in close games, seven deliveries means a lot.”CSK’s below-par batting performances have been a theme this season. They have the poorest run rate (8.23) so far in this IPL. They brought in changes at the top of the order by replacing senior players with youngsters like Shaik Rasheed (20) and Ayush Mhatre (17), and they lost their captain Ruturaj Gaikwad to a shoulder injury early in the season. Some of their batters like Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja and Rahul Tripathi didn’t fire the way they were expected to either.Dhoni, however, was pleased to see Curran coming good with the bat following three single-digit scores after finally getting the kind of pitch they wanted at home.”Whenever he turns up, he wants to contribute, whether it’s with the bat or with the ball,” Dhoni said. “So, unfortunately, so far, when we tried to give him a chance the wicket was on the slower side and he found it slightly difficult. But I felt today’s wicket was one of the best that we have got in the tournament when it comes to the home venue. So I feel the wicket was really good and that’s the reason I felt we needed another 15 runs.”

After finally making his first Liverpool appearance against Atletico Madrid, Alexander Isak will have his sights set on the Merseyside derby against Everton and Arne Slot has already dropped a hint about his potential role.

Isak makes Liverpool debut

It was never going to be a game that saw Isak steal the show in the same way that he so often did for Newcastle United. He’s not quite there yet, as he works his way back to sharpness. But the Swede certainly showed plenty of glimpses.

What particularly stood out is how Florian Wirtz also burst into life for the first time in Liverpool colours when combining with his fellow summer arrival. That partnership, if it continues to click, will be one to watch.

Although it’s difficult to criticise a side that have won four from four in the Premier League, Liverpool looked far more balanced against Atletico Madrid before complacency forced them into winning late on once again.

Isak, Mohamed Salah, Wirtz and Cody Gakpo formed a formidable frontline, whilst Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch proved that they’ll be a tough midfield partnership to break up for the rest of Slot’s options in that department.

Jeremie Frimpong’s influence should also be noted. The addition of a natural, overlapping full-back – which Szoboszlai did not provide – allowed Salah the space that he has been craving to cut inside and return to his most influential form.

Not Salah or Van Dijk: Liverpool star is now "one of the best in the world"

Liverpool left it late once more to collect a Champions League victory at Anfield over Atletico Madrid.

ByKelan Sarson Sep 18, 2025

Finally complete now that Isak is up and running, the depth of quality that this current Liverpool side have at their disposal should be frightening for any Premier League rival. But after making his debut against Atletico Madrid, will Isak start against Everton in the Merseyside derby this weekend?

Liverpool vs Everton: Slot drops early Isak hint

Speaking about the Swede’s potential role against Everton, Slot told reporters that, whilst Isak surprised him, fans shouldn’t get their hopes too high for another start in a matter of days. Instead, Anfield may be forced to welcome their new star striker from the bench on Saturday afternoon.

Of course, such is the depth of talent in Liverpool’s squad, it will likely be Hugo Ekitike who starts against Everton. The Frenchman has scored two Premier League goals in four games and has looked more than capable of pushing Isak all the way for a starting place this season.