منح الجهاز الفني للنادي الأهلي بقيادة المدرب ييس توروب لاعبي الفريق الأول راحة لمدة خمسة أيام، وذلك عقب وصول البعثة إلى القاهرة صباح اليوم السبت، بعد مواجهة الجيش الملكي المغربي بدوري أبطال إفريقيا.
وحل الأهلي ضيفًا على الجيش الملكي، في الجولة الثانية من مرحلة المجموعات، وانتهت المباراة بنتيجة التعادل بهدف لكل فريق.
وكانت بعثة الأهلي قد غادرت ملعب مولاي الحسن مباشرة بعد المباراة متوجهة إلى مطار الرباط، لاستقلال الطائرة العائدة إلى القاهرة في رحلة استغرقت نحو خمس ساعات.
طالع أيضًا | مدرب الجيش الملكي: واجهنا أحد أفضل أندية العالم.. وكنا نستحق الفوز على الأهلي
وبمجرد الوصول إلى القاهرة، توجه المدير الفني ييس توروب ومعه أفراد الجهاز المعاون إلى الدنمارك لقضاء إجازة قصيرة والاطمئنان على أسرهم، مستغلين فترة الراحة التي حصل عليها اللاعبون.
كما حصل الثلاثي أشرف بن شرقي، أشرف داري، ومحمد علي بن رمضان على إذن خاص من الجهاز الفني بالبقاء في المغرب بعد انتهاء المباراة، على أن يلتحقوا بصفوف الفريق قبل نهاية فترة الإجازة المقررة.
وتجدر الإشارة إلى أن فريق الأهلي سيستعد عقب فترة الراحة، لمواجهة إنبي في بطولة كأس عاصمة مصر، وذلك يوم الخميس الموافق 11 ديسمبر المُقبل.
Being a referee in the Premier League is arguably one of the toughest jobs in football, with a select group of officials regularly entrusted to take charge of top flight fixtures.
Even though VAR is still causing plenty of controversy week in, week out, decisions on the field are now more important than ever, with technology doing its best to try and not get involved unless it is ‘clear and obvious’.
The game is also arguably faster than it’s ever been, so referees need to be extremely fit and quick to react. But who is the best referee in the Premier League right now?
Premier League referees ranked (min. 3 games)
Rank
Ref
1
Anthony Taylor
2
Michael Oliver
3
Stuart Attwell
4
Craig Pawson
5
Jarred Gillett
6
Darren England
7
Chris Kavanagh
8
Simon Hooper
9
Andy Madley
10
Peter Bankes
11
Robert Jones
12
Michael Salisbury
13
Tony Harrington
14
Samuel Barrott
15
Thomas Bramall
15 Thomas Bramall
One of the least experienced referees in the Premier League, Thomas Bramall was the man in the middle that made a huge mistake by disallowing Aston Vila’s goal against Man Utd on the final day of the 2024/25 season.
That arguably cost Villa a place in the Champions League, but the PGMOL have stuck with Bramall, who, at 35 years of age, appears to be a referee in the early stages of his top flight career.
14 Samuel Barrott
One of the card happiest referees in the Premier League, Samuel Barrott is one of the most inexperienced officials in the top flight after making his debut in 2023/24.
He took charge of 23 games in 2024/25, apologising for one mistake he made in Crystal Palace’s defeat to Brentford after wrongly ruling out Eberechi Eze’s free-kick.
13 Tony Harrington
Tony Harrington is among the referees to average the least amount of fouls awarded per 90, but that doesn’t make him a bad official.
He made his Premier League debut in 2021/22 but just hasn’t been given a regular run of games in the top flight. Harrington’s best tally of games came in the 2024/25 season where he officiated 18 fixtures.
12 Michael Salisbury
Michael Salisbury has never been a regular in the Premier League after taking charge of his first game in the 2021/22 season.
He was on VAR duty and instructed referee Robert Jones to look at Josh King’s goal against Chelsea which was incorrectly ruled out. Salisbury was dropped by the PGMOL shortly after.
11 Robert Jones
Nottingham Forest aren’t the biggest fans of Robert Jones, with Evangelos Marinakis’ side lodging an official complaint against the 38-year-old after a series of decisions against the Reds.
He was the first Premier League referee to ever perform a red-card rejection, however, some of Jones’ decisions are controversial and he averages awarding a penalty every three games.
10 Peter Bankes
Peter Bankes has now reffed more than 100 games in the Premier League since 2019, however, the Merseyside-born official has regularly come in for criticism from fans.
Former referee Keith Hackett even said Bankes looked “out of his depth” in 2025 after a decision he made in Man Utd’s clash with Bournemouth.
9 Andy Madley
A FIFA licensed referee who has taken charge of the FA Cup final, Andy Madley has taken charge of more than 100 Premier League games since 2017/18.
More recently, he has made some controversial decisions, including one between Everton and Man Utd which resulted in Toffees fan Tony Bellew calling him a “cheat”.
8 Simon Hooper
Often blowing early instead of allowing advantage, Simon Hooper has enraged Premier League players and managers in recent years.
An experienced top flight official after making his debut in 2015, Hooper has often come in for criticism and was actually injured at the end of October in Liverpool’s defeat to Brentford, while he was also the man in the middle during the Reds’ controversial defeat at Tottenham in 2023.
7 Chris Kavanagh
Chris Kavanagh has been a hot topic of conversation in recent years, whether it be for sending off Declan Rice for kicking the ball away or leaving Bruno Fernandes upset after he missed his penalty.
The Greater Manchester official has been on FIFA’s books since 2019 and is closing in on 200 Premier League matches at the age of 40.
6 Darren England
Another FIFA referee, Darren England caught the eye of the international governing body after two years as a Premier League official.
He was a part of the VAR team that somehow incorrectly ruled out Luis Diaz’s goal for offside in Liverpool’s defeat to Tottenham, but in recent years on the pitch, has been consistent.
Head coach admits team “exposed” in record defeat, despite having already sealed series
Firdose Moonda07-Sep-2025
South Africa pose with the series trophy•ECB via Getty Images
South Africa’s coach Shukri Conrad labelled his team’s record 342-run defeat to England in the third ODI “embarrassing” while captain Temba Bavuma said the performance “doesn’t do us justice” after their recent ODI success. South Africa have beaten both Australia and England 2-1 in series over the last month.Their loss in the third match in England, which was a dead rubber, came after a comprehensive win in game one and a nail-biting triumph in game two. That secured a first series in England since 1998. But the magnitude of the defeat in Southampton, which comes after a 276-run loss against Australia – also in a series that was already won – asks questions of how quickly and dramatically South Africa switch off, especially when the result does not matter.”Any excuse is better than none. We were definitely off today. And against a top side like England, when you’re not on top of your game, you do get exposed,” Conrad said at the post-match conference. “A similar thing happened in Australia, where after going 2-0 up, it was a complete aberration. They got in excess of 400 as well. But if we were going to be poor at something, we’d rather be poor at games that aren’t clutch games. We’re not making light of today’s defeat. That was slightly embarrassing.”Related
Concern for South Africa as Bavuma suffers calf strain
Jofra Archer: 'There was an ooh or an aah every single over'
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Bethell, Root tons, Archer four-for see England hand out record thrashing
Both defeats – South Africa’s two heaviest in ODIs – have come when they have fielded first and were accompanied by lack of discipline and dropped catches. Against Australia, South Africa bowled 15 wides and put down Alex Carey, who went on to finish the innings strongly. Against England, they bowled 19 wides and dropped two catches including Jamie Smith on 23 and Jacob Bethell on 44. Bavuma said at the post-match presentation that bowling that many extras was “far from ideal, not good enough” and said it “could be complacency”, while Conrad believed a wayward bowling performance impacted the rest of their skillset.”The bowling affects the fielding and the other way around, but nine out of ten times, Matthew Breetzke is taking that catch [off Smith, who offered a chance off a leading edge in the covers],” Conraid said. “We’re not going to read too much into that, but it’s a difficult one because when that edge is not there and something doesn’t go your way and the harder you try, it’s just not there. I’m not offering it as an excuse because it’s not supposed to be like that, but the fielding wasn’t at the usual high standard that we set. All in all, yeah, it was an embarrassing performance in the field.”Among South Africa’s bowling lows were Nandre Burger’s 0 for 95, which was the most expensive in their history, and Codi Yusuf’s 0 or 80, the worst by a South African debutant. Some of that may be down to inexperience especially in the absence of pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada, who has not played an ODI in either Australia or England as he recovers from ankle inflammation.Conrad confirmed Rabada could have been “really pushed and forced through today” but South Africa decided they “didn’t want to take any risks with him” ahead of the T20Is next week. “The T20 is the priority for us. When we earned the right to give him another rest, we definitely exercised that because with the T20 World Cup looming, we want to make sure that we get a good take on that. We’ve obviously got two massive Test series [against Pakistan and India] coming up.”Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, who was rested, and Marco Jansen, who has not played since the World Test Championship final where he broke his thumb, will all be back for the T20Is. A new concern is Bavuma, who could not bat after hurting his calf – but as he is not part of the T20Is, he will be assessed on his return to South Africa. Bavuma’s injury was among the reasons South Africa’s batting stumbled to their second lowest total in ODIs – 72 – as they went in pursuit of a target of 415 for which Bavuma said there is “no real formula”.In the end, they were blown away by a searing opening spell from Jofrra Archer, who took 3 for 1 in his first three overs and finished with 4 for 18. Archer’s first wicket was Aiden Markram, who nicked off against a short, wide ball and sent the rest of the line-up into freefall.”Aiden lost his wicket to a pretty innocuous delivery, and that probably summed up the day,” Conrad said. “And then from there, before you know it, you’re four down. Obviously, the disruption of Temba not being able to bat, that played a part as well but it is very difficult to explain. If you’re not on top of your game, if the edge is not there, then you’re going to get exposed.”Bashful as they were in this match, Bavuma also highlighted South Africa’s achievements over the last month after beating both Australia and England with a game to spare. “There are lots of positives in the series, coming to England away with a fairly inexperienced side and we wouldn’t want today’s performance to diminish that,” he said. “There are shining moments so we’ll try to highlight those. They can’t be wiped away by one performance.”
Gabigol está liberado para atuar pelo Flamengo, foi relacionado e tem presença confirmada junto à delegação rubro-negra para enfrentar o Amazonas nesta quarta-feira (1). O jogo vale pela terceira fase da Copa do Brasil.
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➡️ Vai ter gol do Gabigol? Aposte R$ 100 e fature R$ 263 se Flamengo e Amazonas balançarem as redes na Copa do Brasil!
Contudo, a presença do camisa 10 entre os titulares é improvável. Isso se deve ao período de “inatividade” do atacante no decorrer dos dias de afastamento, em razão da suspensão por tentativa de fraude em exame antidoping.
Durante o tempo ausente, Gabigol sequer estava liberado para treinar nas dependências do Flamengo. A suspensão determinava que ele não poderia praticar nenhuma atividade relacionada ao clube.
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Mesmo assim, o jogador manteve uma rotina de treinos por conta própria. O Lance! soube que Gabigol está bem fisicamente, mas para ficar no ritmo dos companheiros de Flamengo ainda é preciso tempo de readaptação e mais treinamentos. Desde quando o efeito suspensivo foi conquistado, o atacante estava à disposição, e o clube optou por relacioná-lo.
Uma possível escalação do time treinado por Tite para jogar a Copa do Brasil conta com os seguintes nomes: Rossi, Varela, Fabrício Bruno, Léo Pereira e Viña; Allan, Gerson e De la Cruz; Lorran, Bruno Henrique e Pedro.
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Com Gabigol entre os relacionados, o Flamengo recebe o Amazonas às 21h30, no Maracanã.
Thomas Frank’s time in charge of Tottenham Hotspur may not be going exactly to plan at this moment in time, as his side have been in concerning form of late.
The Lilywhites have conceded 11 goals in their last three games in all competitions, losing 5-3 to PSG and 4-1 to Arsenal in their last two outings since returning from the international break.
Tottenham have won one of their last six games in all competitions, keeping one clean sheet in that time, and this shows that Frank and his staff have plenty of work to do to improve the team’s defensive record.
Spurs let in 65 goals in 38 Premier League games in the 2024/25 season under Ange Postecoglou, which shows that this is not a new issue, and it may take time for the problem to be solved.
Whilst there is plenty of attention on the defensive side of their game, and rightly so given recent results, there should also be attention given to where they need to improve at the other end of the pitch.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, with one assist, was one of the standout performers for PSG, as he moved to eight goal contributions for the season, but Spurs do not have similar quality in their wide areas.
Ranking Tottenham's wingers this season
The Lilywhites spent £55m to sign Mohammed Kudus from Premier League rivals West Ham to bolster their ranks out wide in the summer transfer window, and he has been arguably the best winger at the club this season.
In the 2025/26 campaign, the Ghana international has more assists (five) than any other player in the squad for Spurs, with one assist on top of all of that creativity, per Transfermarkt.
However, even then, there is plenty of room for him to improve because of a return of one goal in 17 appearances in all competitions is far from an exceptional return for a £55m signing.
On the flip side, Brennan Johnson has scored four goals in 18 matches in all competitions, per Sofascore, yet he has failed to provide a single assist for his teammates, which shows that he needs to improve on the creative side of the game.
Ranking Tottenham’s wingers this season
Rank
Player
1
Mohammed Kudus
2
Brennan Johnson
3
Wilson Odobert
4
Xavi Simons
5
Mathys Tel
As you can see in the table above, Wilson Odobert ranks just below the two of them, because he has one goal and two assists in just 751 minutes of football as a young player who is still learning and improving.
Xavi Simons, signed for £52m from Leipzig, and Mathys Tel, who have both played centrally and wide, have each registered just two goal contributions in all competitions, which is why they must rank fourth and fifth.
All of this shows that Frank does not have many amazing options in the wide areas, but that could change for the second half of the season if things go to plan.
Spurs told that £50m bid will be accepted for Premier League forward
According to former Aberdeen, Everton, and Aston Villa chief executive Keith Wyness, Tottenham Hotspur could sign Savinho from Manchester City in the January transfer window.
The ex-Premier League chief has told Spurs that a bid of £50m could be enough for them to tempt the Cityzens into cashing on the Brazil international, after the Lilywhites failed with a £60m approach for the forward in the summer.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
Speaking to Football Insider, Wyness said: “There are a lot of City fans complaining about him, et cetera, et cetera. But I do think he’s a quality player.
“I think a change of scenery would obviously do him the world of good. And I think it’ll give Spurs a chance to get a better deal with City. And I do expect something like this to happen in January. So I do expect probably a bit of not so much cut-price, but certainly lower than expected, maybe around a 50 million mark even with bonuses for a player of that quality.”
Savinho has only started four matches in the Premier League for Manchester City so far this season, with the likes of Rayan Cherki and Jeremy Doku ahead of him, and Wyness seemingly believes that his lack of game time could open the door for Spurs.
It is now down to Fabio Paratici and Frank, though, to do a deal with City and to convince the Brazilian star to make the move to North London, because he could be their own Kvaratskhelia.
Why Spurs should sign Savinho
Like Kudus, Savinho is not a winger who is likely to come in and score 20 or more goals a season like Mo Salah or Vinicius Jr, because he has only scored four goals in all competitions since the start of last season, per Sofascore.
However, the 21-year-old talent is an exceptional dribbler and creator who could provide an exciting presence for supporters to watch out wide in the second half of the season and beyond.
Kvaratskhelia, who is valued at £79m, is one of the best wingers in the world, having won Ligue 1 and the Champions League, scoring in the final, last season, so it would be unrealistic to expect Tottenham to sign a winger who is exactly like him in every area of the game.
However, as you can see in the chart above, Savinho is very much like the Georgian star when it comes to creating chances and dribbling past opposition players on the wing, based on their respective statistics over the last 365 days.
In fact, the Brazilian Spurs target was one of the most creative players in his position in all of the top five major European leagues in the 2024/25 campaign, as shown in the table below.
Most LW assists in Top 5 Leagues (24/25)
Player
Assists
Raphinha
12
Bradley Barcola
11
Vincenzo Grifo
11
Vinicius Jr
10
Rafa Leao
10
Moses Simon
10
Alex Baena
10
Heung-min Son
10
Savinho
10
Zuriko Davitashvili
8
Stats via Transfermarkt
Whilst he may not be in the best moment at Manchester City, with one goal and two assists in 15 appearances, his form last term shows that he is capable of being an elite creator and dribbler in the Premier League.
Savinho, who Paul Merson claimed could be a “superstar”, ranked in the top 6% of his positional peers for xAG (0.27) in the Champions League and the top 4% in the Premier League with 0.35 xAG, per FBref.
These statistics and his statistics in comparison to Kvaratskhelia suggest that Spurs would be signing an exceptional young creator on the wing if they snap him up in January.
That is why Paratici should hope that Wyness is right and that a deal could be done for £50m, because the Brazilian could arrive in North London as their own version of the PSG superstar because of his creative and dribbling skills.
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Tottenham Hotspur look set to make a huge January move for a new centre-back.
Having declared overnight, India completed their demolition of WI after lunch on day three
Alagappan Muthu04-Oct-20255:02
Chopra: Gulf between India, West Indies there for everyone to see
Ravindra Jadeja has been building a case to be one of the best allrounders in the game. A four-for to follow a hundred against West Indies to start the new home season was just the latest evidence he offered in favour of that argument. On the back of his 104 not out and 4 for 54, India completed an innings win with two-and-a-half days to spare.A proud record stood tall between February 22, 2013 and October 25, 2024. It buckled 24 hours later. India lost a Test series on home soil for the first time in nearly 12 years. Many of the players who had contributed to that run are now retired, including Virat Kohli, R Ashwin and Cheteshwar Pujara. But Jadeja remains.He was there when India began that run against Australia in Chennai. He was there when New Zealand broke them last year in Pune. And he was there once again, lifting them back up against West Indies now. At 36 years old, it is unclear how much cricket is left in him but it was poetic that in the first of 66 Tests that India had to play at home without R Ashwin, his old pal came up with a hundred and a four-for.ESPNcricinfo Ltd
Alick Athanaze carried the West Indies flag, showing why he is rated as a good player of spin. He picked up length well. He was decisive going forward or back. And he remembered to put pressure back, two rock-solid reverse sweeps for four and one sumptuous cover drive for three highlighted his process. All of those scoring shots were against half-volleys that were well wide of the stumps. This is the judgment and the competence that convinced the coach Daren Sammy and the management to bring him back into the Test side.India, though, kept placing new threats in front of Athanaze. Jasprit Bumrah hit him on the helmet. Washington Sundar tested him with the ball turning away. They were waiting for Athanaze to be just slightly off with his process and eventually, after 73 balls, he was, closing the face of the bat, baited by an offbreak that pitched on middle. Washington took a simple catch, which then led to a symbolic representation of West Indies’ batting in this Test.Jomel Warrican tried to impose himself on Mohammed Siraj, swinging as hard as he could, only for his bat to fly out of his grip and land at square leg. The ball meanwhile settled in mid-off’s hands.Alick Athanaze offered some resilience for West Indies•Getty Images
West Indies are a side still building its best batters. Ahead of this tour, they were shorn of two of their best bowlers. This informed the challenge they could pose. They are struggling to find a better opener than John Campbell, 32, who is the third-most experienced player in this XI. He has 23 caps and in all that time, he has no centuries. Even in first-class cricket, after 101 matches, he has only nine centuries. In Ahmedabad, he fell for 8 and 14. The only slightly younger Tagenarine Chanderpaul finished with 0 and 8. Top-order returns like that just won’t do.Jadeja is sometimes accused of being that left-arm spinner who just fires the ball in and lets the pitch do its work. But he knows how to work batters out too. He saw Brandon King lunging forward to try and smother the turn and that helped him once. He hit a crisp cover drive for four. It also led to his downfall as Jadeja recalibrated his flight. It was still full so it triggered King’s instinct to get on the front foot. But he had no way of getting to the pitch of this one. Having committed to the shot, he ended up vulnerable to the turn and presented a straightforward catch to slip. All this happened in the space of two overs. In that small period of time, Jadeja turned what the batter thought was a strength into a weakness.Siraj was the other bowler among the wickets, taking five or more over the course of a home Test for the first time.West Indies lost 10 wickets in two sessions on the first day. They did it again on the third day. Only two players got into the 30s. Only two faced 50 or more balls. They have five days to address these problems before the start of the second game in Delhi. The wait to win a Test match against India in India, which is into its 31st year, continues.
ألغى حكم مباراة منتخب مصر الثاني والإمارات الهدف الثاني لصالح مصر، في المباراة التي أقيمت بينهما ضمن منافسات بطولة كأس العرب 2025.
والتقى منتخب مصر مع الإمارات، في الجولة الثانية من مباريات دور المجموعات لبطولة كأس العرب المقامة في قطر، في لقاء انتهى 1-1.
وجاء الهدف الأول لصالح الإمارات في الدقيقة 60 بعد هجمة مرتدة رائعة، حيث وصلت الكرة إلى لوكاس كايو أمام المرمى ليضعها في الشباك
طالع|فيديو | برأسية رائعة.. مروان حمدي يسجل هدف تعادل مصر أمام الإمارات
وأحرز مروان حمدي، هدف التعادل لصالح مصر في الدقيقة 85 من رأسية متقنة بعد عرضية من كريم العراقي.
وألغى حكم اللقاء هدفًا ثانيًا لصالح منتخب مصر سجله ميدو جابر في الدقيقة 94 بداعي التسلل على مدافع منتخب مصر في بداية اللعبة.
واستطاع منتخب الأردن تصدر المجموعة الثالثة من بطولة كأس العرب، برصيد 6 نقاط، ثم تأتي مصر ثانيًا بنقطتين، والإمارات ثالثًا بنقطة وحيدة، والكويت رابعًا بنقطة أيضًا.
وسيلعب منتخب مصر أمام الأردن في الجولة الثالثة من مجموعات كأس العرب يوم الثلاثاء 9 ديسمبر في تمام الساعة الرابعة والنصف عصرًا بتوقيت القاهرة، الخامسة والنصف بتوقيت مكة. هدف مصر الملغي أمام الإمارات في كأس العرب
Contratado pelo Santos por R$ 5 milhões, na expectativa de ser o principal reforço do clube para a Série B do Brasileirão, o meia Patrick ainda não conseguiu se encaixar no time titular do Peixe. Enquanto isso, o jogador tem buscado a forma física ideal.
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➡️ Vai dar Brasil? Aposte no Lance! Betting e fature com a Copa América
Desde que chegou ao Santos, há pouco mais de um mês, Patrick perdeu 1,5kg. Atualmente, ele pesa 79,5kg. O percentual de gordura, que é de 10,3%, está dentro da média do elenco, que é de 10,7%.
Por outro lado, os números em campo ainda deixam a desejar. Patrick ainda não foi titular pelo Santos, mas entrou no decorrer de cinco partidas, totalizando 159 minutos, média de 32 por jogo.
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➡️ Siga o Lance! Santos no WhatsApp e acompanhe todas as notícias do Peixe
No período em que esteve em campo, o camisa 88 não participou de gols e sequer finalizou. Tanto que perdeu a oportunidade de assumir a titularidade após a lesão muscular na coxa esquerda sofrida pelo atacante Guilherme durante a vitória santista sobre a Ponte Preta, no dia 15 de maio.
Patrick foi escolhido para entrar no lugar do companheiro contra a Macaca, mas não foi bem. No confronto seguinte, contra o Brusque, o técnico Fabio Carille optou por iniciar com Weslley Patati entre os titulares, o que se repetiu na derrota para o América-MG nesta sexta-feira (24).
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➡️ Veja tabela com datas e horários de todos os jogos do Brasileirão
Internamente, as avaliações do jogador são feitas com cautela. O entendimento é que ele ainda está passando por um processo de adaptação ao novo time, mas que será um investimento que dará retorno técnico não só na segunda divisão, como, também, no projeto do Santos para disputar a Série A em 2025.
Time was when a trip to Anfield was like stepping into your own personal horror movie. Liverpool have spent much time planting the seeds of fear on their home turf, and Jurgen Klopp made that garden grow.
Then Arne Slot put on the gloves and helped Liverpool evolve into an even smoother and more stylish outfit than when Klopp departed, taking the Reds through the campaign and out the other end with a Premier League title in tow.
But that’s no longer the case. This season, Manchester United, Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest and PSV Eindhoven have all beaten Liverpool on Merseyside. This sanctum of stability has been reduced to just another ground, and Slot has to fix that quickly if he is to continue his project over the coming years.
Liverpool might have avoided defeat at home to Sunderland on Wednesday evening, but the point gained merely papers over the glaring problems that have left many fans shaking their heads at the false dawn at West Ham United last weekend.
It was a performance which left plenty to be desired.
How Liverpool performed vs Sunderland
After the draw, Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris spoke of his surprise that his side were afforded so much time and space to play through Liverpool and carve out opportunities in the danger area.
There lies the crux of Liverpool’s problems. They are too weak and brittle, not just suffering from a soft underbelly but a doughy outer shell too.
Alexander Isak toiled in the final third, a few wayward strikes illustrating the record signing’s lack of sharpness. However, it is inconceivable that FSG should have spent around £200m on the Swede and Hugo Ekitike only for Slot to implement a system that cuts off pathways to the central strikers.
Some will take encouragement from the home side’s gear-raising final flurry, seeking out a winner after the fleet feet of Florian Wirtz led to a Nordi Mukiele own goal to restore parity.
But Liverpool are not just shorn of confidence but tactical fluency too. Slot’s strategising across the 2024/25 campaign earned him a reputation for being a “genius” and a “football scientist”, as remarked by Dutch legend Marco van Basten.
Gone is that air about the former Feyenoord boss. Against the Black Cats, Liverpool secured a hard-earned point to narrow the gap on Chelsea after their defeat at Leeds United. Elland Road is where Liverpool head next.
But imbalances and erraticness have become indivisible for the champions this season, whose title defence is in tatters and whose players have fallen by the wayside.
Ibrahima Konate was culpable of some shaky moments, as has so often been the case this term, but there was another Redman who struggled against Sunderland, leading observers to suggest he has morphed into that late version of Fabinho.
Liverpool star looks "like Fabinho in his final season"
Alexis Mac Allister has been abject this season, so far removed from the “superstar” of a midfielder, as said by pundit Joe Cole, who influenced Klopp and then Slot’s trophy-winning campaigns of recent years at Liverpool.
Alexis Mac Allister celebrates winning the Premier League with Liverpool
Having spoken about this testing start to the season earlier this week, Mac Allister suggested that he is now back to full fitness after missing out on pre-season and suffering early injury issues. But this was a performance that left much to be desired, underlining the drop-off that is suggestive of a player whose athleticism has gone walkabouts.
Against Sunderland, the 26-year-old failed to impress. Again. He was so slow and stodgy on the ball, and while he won both of his tackles and three of five contested ground duels, as per Sofascore, no chances were created by a player who need to do more and remind the Premier League of his all-encompassing skillset.
Alexis Mac Allister in the Premier League
Stats (per 90)
24/25
25/26
Goals
0.17
0.00
Assists
0.17
0.20
Touches
64.41
64.04
Pass completion (%)
83.5
85.4
Shot-creating actions
4.16
2.73
Progressive passes
6.13
4.34
Progressive carries
1.25
1.72
Successful take-ons
0.55
0.40
Recoveries
5.13
4.14
Tackles won
2.01
0.61
Interceptions
0.76
0.61
Aerials won
0.66
0.51
Data via FBref
After the draw, one content creator even said Mac Allister “looks like Fabinho in his final season”, having “physically fallen off a cliff”.
Fabinho was a stalwart for the club over an illustrious period of Klopp-led success, but he did indeed succumb to a loss of aggression and physicality at the end, at the epicentre of Liverpool’s abject 2022/23 campaign.
This feels similar. The only difference is that Mac Allister is supposed to be stepping into the prime of his career, and is instead languishing so far below expectations it beggars belief.
Can Slot spark a turnaround? Should the Dutchman do so, it feels like Mac Allister will be needed in fine and sustainable fettle, and that has been anything but the case over the past several months.
Mac Allister has been terrible, but his struggles are symptomatic of the wider tactical and mental plague that has spread across Slot’s system this season.
It’s not good enough. It needs to change. Mac Allister is 26, but already he is starting to look like the leggy version of Fabinho, who was sold to Saudi Arabia has Klopp began a midfield rebuild that started with Mac Allister’s signature.
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Shai Hope and Tagenarine Chanderpaul scored fifties, but no other batter made a big contribution as West Indies fell 64 behind in the first-innings exchanges
Hemant Brar03-Dec-2025
Jacob Duffy leads the team off the field after completing his first five-for in Tests•Getty Images
Jacob Duffy’s maiden five-wicket haul in Test cricket gave New Zealand the upper hand on the second day of the first Test against West Indies in Christchurch. Matt Henry also chipped in with a three-for as West Indies folded for 167 in response to New Zealand’s first-innings total of 231. This despite New Zealand dropping four catches, three of those off Henry, and giving away 28 extras. For West Indies, Shai Hope and Tagenarine Chanderpaul scored half-centuries but only two others reached double-digits. At stumps, New Zealand were 32 for no loss in their second innings, extending their lead to 96.In the morning, West Indies needed only three balls to take the last New Zealand wicket, Zak Foulkes edging Jayden Seales down the leg side. But they themselves lost an early wicket as Foulkes struck with the first ball of the second over. Bowling around the wicket, he induced an outside edge from John Campbell, and Will Young took the catch diving to his left at third slip.However, a few overs later, Young dropped a much easier chance when Henry got Alick Athanaze to edge one. Henry wasn’t to be denied for long, though. In his next over, he got the ball to jag back in from around the wicket to make a mess of Athanaze’s stumps. All this while, the scoreboard moved at a snail’s pace. After 12 overs, West Indies were 10 for 2.Shai Hope batted in sunglasses because of an eye infection, and scored a half-century•AFP/Getty Images
Hope and Chanderpaul, though, hung around without worrying about the scoring rate. The first boundary of West Indies’ innings came in the 23rd over when Hope, batting in sunglasses because of an eye infection, drove Duffy through the covers. In the next over, he drove Nathan Smith through mid-on for another boundary.Chanderpaul, meanwhile, enjoyed his luck. He was dropped twice, on 5 and 24, both times by Devon Conway at leg slip, first off the bowling of Smith and then Henry.Hope brought up his fifty after lunch. With Chanderpaul also looking comfortable, New Zealand were forced to change their plan. Duffy went short against Hope and had him hopping around. Once a short leg was deployed, Hope’s problems increased. Eventually, he ended up gloving a short ball from around the wicket to Tom Latham, who was keeping in place of Tom Blundell. Blundell had hurt his hamstring while batting on the first day and didn’t take the field in the morning.New Zealand dropped four catches – here, Devon Conway reacts after giving Tagenarine Chanderpaul a reprieve•Getty Images
Once Duffy broke the 90-run stand, Henry returned to pick up two in one over. Bowling awayswingers just around off stump, he had Roston Chase and Justin Greaves caught behind for ducks, leaving West Indies on 106 for 5.It didn’t affect Chanderpaul, though. He carried on in his unhurried manner and brought up his half-century. He and Tevin Imlach added 34 for the sixth wicket, a stand that was broken when Conway finally held on to a catch. Chanderpaul pulled Foulkes aerially towards square leg, where Conway flung himself to his left, went with both hands, and landed with the ball in his left.Henry forced Kemar Roach’s outside edge soon after. The ball was going straight to first slip but Michael Bracewell dived across from second and spilled it.Soon, it became dark enough that only spinners were allowed to bowl. But after a short rain break, the sky brightened up again. When play resumed, Duffy did not take long to mop up the remaining four wickets. With the first ball after resumption, he had Imlach caught down the leg side. The batter reviewed the on-field decision only for replays to show he had gloved the bouncer. Johann Layne was caught and bowled in the same over. Duffy then went full and bowled Seales and Ojay Shields to complete his five-for.