SEATTLE – These are the moments we hold dearest. When everything seems to come together perfectly, as opportunity meets joy. For someone like Eugenio Suárez, a 34-year-old veteran of 12 major league seasons and four teams and a .186 hitter in his second go-round with the Mariners, everything he loves most was within his grasp.

It did not matter that it happened as he was squeezed between a box truck and a concrete wall in a hallway outside the Mariners’ clubhouse Friday night. On the greatest night of his peripatetic baseball life, he held tight to his wife, Genesis, and his daughters, Nicolle and Melanie.

“This part is the best part of everything,” Suárez said. “This is something that you dream of. To be honest, to see the happiness of my daughters and my wife—they’ve been incredible supporting me—is the best.”

Oh, and that home run? The one that will take its place next to The Double by Edgar Martínez 30 years ago among the biggest moments in 50 seasons of Seattle baseball? The one that came with the bases loaded in the eighth inning of a tie game and put the Mariners one win from the World Series for the first time? The home run that made yet another manager pay for getting too cute running these postseason games? The home run off a Seranthony Domínguez 3–2 fastball that gave Seattle a roof-shaking 6–2 victory?

Yeah, that was not bad, either.

Genesis and the girls had flown in from Miami only the previous night, getting here around midnight. They arrived just in time, just as their daddy did.

“It makes it even more special,” Suárez said. “They were coming from Miami, a long way. Just for them to come such a long way and for me to do it in front of them is … I don’t know, it’s something. It’s something else.”

Suárez is known to be one of the good guys of the game with such a professional reputation that when the Mariners acquired him for a second time, this time from the Diamondbacks in a trade deadline deal, there was more talk about how he fit into the clubhouse than his 36 home runs. He finished with 49 homers, tying a career high, but his bat otherwise was a bust in the final two months of the regular season. Those 53 games are moot now, subsumed by a gigantic home run that should never have happened this way but for the cooperation of the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays were six outs away from going home needing one win for their first pennant in 32 years. Their 2–1 lead was facilitated by too-cute maneuverings from Seattle manager Dan Wilson, who with a 1–0 lead, pulled his best starter, Bryce Miller, who had thrown 10 shutout innings in this series against Toronto, His first two options out of the bullpen each allowed run-scoring hits to create the deficit.

As in a sloppy tennis match, it then became the turn of Toronto manager John Schneider to make an unforced error. The last, biggest at-bat in the way of a Toronto win was Cal Raleigh, the major league home run leader, who was leading off the eighth inning for Seattle. The right and obvious move is to bring in your best reliever, your closer, for the biggest at-bat remaining. You do not save him to pitch the ninth inning against the bottom of the lineup. The game was on the line .

And yet Schneider never had his closer, Jeff Hoffman, a 10-year veteran with 33 saves, warming. The manager brought in Brendon Little, a workmanlike lefty who had pitched only five times this year with a one-run lead in the eighth.

All series, Scheider has been partially driven by the Law of Exposure—the theory that the more opposing hitters see the same reliever over the course of a series the less effective the reliever becomes. It sounds plausible. Only it ignores track records, experience, stuff and what the scoreboard tells you.

“I wanted to see that part of the lineup see different guys,” Schneider said, as the 2-3-4 hitters were coming up for Seattle. “We talked about it all series. Little’s been one of our best pitchers in big spots. Tough guy to elevate. Cal’s a really good hitter.”

Behind home plate, about 20 rows back, Todd Raleigh, Cal’s dad and a veteran college coach, could scarcely believe it. The most dangerous part of the lineup was coming up for what should be the last time and the closer was not in the game.

“Yes, I was very surprised,” Todd said.

Cal, a switch hitter, had not taken a right-handed swing in a week. Todd knew that did not matter. As soon as Cal was old enough to stand, barely one year old, Todd put a big-barreled red plastic bat in his hands and practically handed him a soft ball for him to hit. Todd showed baby Cal how to switch his hands on his grip depending on whether he was swinging right-handed or left-handed. Nearly from the cradle, Cal Raleigh was a born switch hitter.

“I never wanted my boys to think one side was a strong side and one side was a weaker side,” Todd said.

Little threw one sinker. And then another. Cal took both. And then a third. This time he swung right-handed for the first time in a week. Raleigh hit it so high it was in the air for five seconds. For five seconds, an eternity for the outcome of a batted ball to be held in doubt, all of T-Mobile Park was an enormous snow globe, a tableau of wonder frozen in time. Necks craned, breath ceased, hope and fear filled the void. Left fielder Nathan Lukes drifted and drifted under it until his back was against the wall.

When the baseball finally landed, the game was tied. Raleigh had his 64th homer of the year. If anything, Schneider got burned by one of his best traits: his admirable faith in his entire roster.

“I trust every single guy on this roster, you know,” Schneider said. “It’s hard. No one feels worse than Little. No one feels worse than Ser right now, or me. But I trust every single guy on this roster.”

In Game 1, Schneider pulled his ace, Kevin Gausman, after just 76 pitches in which only a homer by Raleigh ended a streak of 16 straight batters retired. The Toronto bullpen lost the game. Schneider admitted he “had a hard time sleeping” after that decision.

In Game 5, he pulled Gausman quickly again, this time with 91 pitches after a two-out walk in the sixth. The Mariners were happy to see Gausman gone after they chased vainly at his splitter like trying to swat gnats in a windstorm. Gausman had 15 swings and misses, the most in his 11 career postseason games. Thirteen whiffs came on the 23 times Seattle tried to hit his splitter.

Louis (Everyday) Varland pitched out of the inning with a walk, but Schneider had started the bullpen carousel, which should not be a top priority. Schneider would commit the kind of unforced error that should never happen in October: losing a lead and a close game late without ever using your closer.

“Yeah, I thought about it, for sure,” Schneider said about putting Hoffman on Raleigh. Weirdly, Schneider put Hoffman on Raleigh in the eighth inning the previous night in a blowout win, 8–2. Hoffman retired him on a pop-up.

“Again, I think being … decisions are hard,” Schneider said. “I think being convicted in a process is important. You make a decision, and you leave it behind you. It’s part of baseball. Second-guessing is part of it.

“Thought about it, for sure. And, again, we have relied on every single guy on our roster to get a lot of wins this year. So I could have done that, and then you think about who do you want in the ninth inning, who do they have coming up? So, yeah, we talked about that situation, for sure. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out.”

The ninth inning would have been the bottom of the lineup. The game in the balance was when Raleigh stepped into the box to lead off. Little walked two batters, forcing Schneider to pull him. Still no Hoffman. Dominguez was next. Suárez is not a great two-strike hitter (.127), but he is dangerous because he retains his “A” swing. His homer was his 15th with two strikes.

The limb Scheider chose on his decision tree enabled Suárez a short time later to be sitting in the interview room with his two daughters by his side. Suárez originally signed in 2008 with the Tigers as a 17-year-old from Venezuela. Seventeen years later, this is the first time he is playing in a League Championship Series. Tears welled in his eyes as he tried to comprehend the meaning of what he had just done.

“Today was very special not only because I hit the grand slam,” he said, “but I give the opportunity to my daughters and my wife watching. They came here last night for this type of game. And I’ve been waiting for this. I just feel so grateful right now and feel so good because we’re going to Toronto with an opportunity in front of us to go to a World Series.

“I have a good amount of beautiful moments in my career, but today is something else.”

There will be pictures, many pictures, by which to remember the moment. Suárez following his long flyball to right field, the first fastball he hit the other way for a homer since July. Suarez floating around the bases, all the while saying a prayer of thanks. Suarez putting his hands together in the shape of a heart as he crossed home plate. Suarez looking for Genesis and the girls in the stands.

But no frame will hold the moment he shared the best night of his baseball night with his family. That is forever preserved in his heart.

Liverpool haven’t been very good this season. That’s an understatement, too, with Arne Slot’s side having fallen so far below expectations after so dominantly winning the Premier League last year.

Though the Reds have stopped the rot that was spreading after nine losses from 12 fixtures in all competitions, winning at West Ham before drawing against Sunderland at Anfield, there is still so much to be desired from this group, whose mini-revival is presently built atop a house of cards.

Whether the head coach finds the formula that will shift Liverpool back into a winning outfit is anyone’s guess, but it’s clear that performances and results have been so far below the firmly set standard that it beggars belief, and Slot needs to make changes before he finds himself on borrowed time, with potential successors already being touted in the media.

Liverpool looking at Slot replacement

According to Caught Offside, Liverpool chiefs Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes are putting serious thought into appointing Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner to replace Slot.

Glasner, 51, has defied the odds at Selhurst Park over the past few years, winning the FA Cup in May and then the Community Shield (against Liverpool) at the start of the current campaign. They are currently fifth in the Premier League.

It’s important to stress that there have not been any talks with Palace or the Austrian’s entourage. FSG remain committed to guiding their Dutch coach through this storm.

However, if it doesn’t abate, sources indicate Glasner is emerging as the preferred candidate to take the Anfield hot seat.

What Oliver Glasner would bring to Liverpool

Glasner has achieved great things with Crystal Palace, and his past Europa League-winning success with Eintracht Frankfurt corroborates the claim that he is a “top-five manager in the world”, as suggested by one English football content creator.

Though appointing Glasner would require something of a tactical transformation on Merseyside, with the Palace boss typically fielding a 3-4-2-1 formation, he is relaxed about the minutiae of his systems, which are interchangeable and open to tweaks. This tactical pliability suggests that he could be an interesting pick from the FSG hierarchy.

Glasner gets it. And, moreover, he speaks with the clarity and intellect to throw down with any top manager in the Premier League, perhaps even having the credentials to wage tactical battle against the likes of Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta.

The ever-outspoken Jamie O’Hara has even gone as far as to suggest that Glasner is “a better manager” than Arteta, with his trophy-winning credentials and the instant level-up he has overseen in south London bearing testament to that claim.

O’Hara’s football allegiances may lend themselves to a dislike of the high-flying Gunners project, but there is something to be said of Glasner’s success in taking over a Palace side that had lost their way under Roy Hodgson and have since achieved superstardom, plying their craft in Europe and enjoying new status as multi-trophy holders.

There is an urgency to Palace’s creative play that does not detract from their grace and elegance. They have created more big chances this season than both Arsenal and Liverpool. In fact, Manchester City are the only outfit with a higher count at this stage.

Man City

35

46

Chelsea

25

41

Brentford

21

41

Crystal Palace

18

41

Arsenal

27

40

Palace’s inherent playmaking prowess under Glasner’s wing suggests that he could be the perfect fit for a Liverpool side chock-full of devastating attacking quality.

Things might have gone stale in Slot’s system, but Glasner would prove the likes of O’Hara right by joining the Anfield side and elevating this Reds side back to illustrious heights.

Glasner could be the project manager Liverpool need to rival Arteta and Arsenal and reclaim their place on their perch, should Slot indeed face the axe in the coming months.

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Australia find themselves outgunned by visitors’ five-man pace attack on fire-and-brimstone opening day

Vithushan Ehantharajah21-Nov-20250:43

Carse: Each England fast bowler offers a different skill

As coy as England were leading into this first Ashes Test, announcing a 12-man squad featuring Shoaib Bashir, they confirmed at the toss what everyone, including Australia, knew. They were going all in on pace.This, of course, was not a decision made overnight, for a deck at the Optus Stadium pegged as the quickest they would grace over these five Tests. Nor was it made in the last week after Mark Wood was passed fit.Technically, they have been all in since the start of the 2024 summer, when Rob Key – and we’re paraphrasing here – said relying on traditional English seamers was hot trash in overseas conditions, and change needed to come quick. That change was forcing James Anderson into retirement. But even the axing of a great only confirmed the concept.Related

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Because deep down, not even the most optimistic mind within the ECB would have believed a day like this would come, and certainly not in this manner. When England, with the fastest attack on show, pushed Australia back, not just deep into their creases – the home batters were camped on the back foot for 66% of the deliveries faced so far – but behind a game they were running. On a day where 19 wickets fell, England’s batters served up arguably their most dispiriting batting performance of the Bazball era when it mattered most and still ended up 49 runs ahead at stumps.Had Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood been on the park, that buffer would have been a deficit. Mitchell Starc’s brilliant seven-for was set against little help from those around him.On the other side of the fence was a specialist foursome of Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Wood and Brydon Carse, dovetailing so well they returned to the away dressing room knackered but on cloud nine, after Stokes led them off in a hurry, sheepish after profiting from their hard work to nab the final five wickets. Remarkably, as the slowest of the five, Stokes’ top speed was still above 85mph/137mph.It was only Archer and Carse who took wickets. The former knocking debutant Jake Weatherald off his feet with a 92mph/148kph inswinger second ball of Australia’s innings, and then eliciting a satisfying “under-elbow” from Marnus Labuschagne. The latter turning Steve Smith inside out – feet in Athens, hands in America – before ripping out Usman Khawaja with a bouncer that sent the left-hander back early after a delayed entrance.Ben Stokes looked a little sheepish leading his players off•Gareth Copley/Getty ImagesAtkinson, though, was impressively sharp, tying down his own end while jagging the ball every which way. Three maidens to start a four-over opening spell maintained the pressure Archer had created, before smothering the usually rampant Travis Head, Atkinson responsible for 14 of the 24 dots Head was forced to eat. Stokes saw Head off – attempting to fashion a leg-side boundary – then bagged Cameron Green, who Atkinson should have had earlier with a return catch. That drop was followed, five balls later, by a hellacious Wood bouncer that clocked Green on the jaw.As Archer, Carse, Atkinson and Wood walked off, a thought crossed their mind – had they ever been involved in a better bowling performance? Certainly not as individuals as part of a cartel. And definitely not together.Despite collaborating on England’s famous World Cup win in 2019, this is only the second Test match Archer and Wood have played together. Even Atkinson and Carse have now featured together in five, having both debuted in 2024, though it is a quirk of their circumstances around fitness that all have been overseas. And yet, you’d be forgiven for thinking they were all thick as thieves, as familiar with each other’s games as Australia’s legendary trio.Even Stokes, who revved up his bowlers for the mini-session before tea. After 10 overs, Australia went into the interval on 15 for 1.”At the halfway mark Stokesy kept it quite simple,” Carse said. “He said we’ve got 50 minutes before tea, and I thought the way that Gus and Jofra started was phenomenal and we carried that into the [evening] session. I thought we were quite relentless as a group of seamers, and Ben rotated us well.Brydon Carse charges off after removing Steven Smith•Getty Images”I think when you have Mark Wood and Jofra Archer in your line-up they’re always nice bowlers to have. There was pace and bounce throughout the day, especially when the ball was still slightly new.”Our group of bowlers, we bounce off each other. We all have slightly different attributes, and keeping it relatively simple, I think that’s stood us in good stead today.”None of this is coincidence, of course. Stokes, Key and head coach Brendon McCullum are suckers for the sharp stuff, and the ECB depth chart of quicks has never been longer or more informed. Carse himself was the beneficiary of a new approach to opt for players on an “attributes over averages” basis. Following his 2 for 45, a Test average of 29.71 is over three points lower than his competitive first-class average for Durham (32.82).They have invested heavily, too, particularly in Archer and Wood, pouring money into their respective recoveries from a number of potentially career-ending injuries and keeping them sweet enough to not need nectars from the global T20 circuit.It is a luxury Australia also flex with Cummins, Hazlewood and Starc. Just last month, for instance, Cummins rejected a near $10 million a year offer to go all-in on franchise cricket.Among all this, it is worth remembering Test matches are not won on the first day, and definitely not Ashes series. But England should allow themselves a moment of joy.Having come to Australia and been comprehensively outgunned so often, day one showed they might finally be equipped with heavy artillery.

Under-fire Tottenham boss Thomas Frank is personally very keen on signing one marquee forward amid a major setback surrounding their chase for Bournemouth star Antoine Semenyo.

Thomas Frank under pressure amid woeful Spurs run

Frank finds himself navigating treacherous waters at Tottenham right now, with mounting pressure threatening his managerial position following a dismal run.

The Dane has overseen just one victory from Tottenham’s last seven fixtures across all competitions, culminating in Saturday’s disappointing 2-1 defeat at home to Fulham.

Spurs’ abject home form compounds their misery right now with just three wins at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2025, and only bottom-side Wolves have a worse record on their own patch this season.

16. Burnley

2

1

3

7

-1

17. Nottingham Forest

2

1

4

7

-5

18. West Ham

2

0

5

6

-9

19. Tottenham

1

2

4

5

-1

20. Wolves

0

1

5

1

10

Particularly alarming are whispers from within the Tottenham dressing room, where players have reportedly grown bewildered by Frank’s constant tactical tinkering.

Some media sources believe that strategies are frequently modified immediately before kickoff or abandoned entirely during matches, leaving squad members confused about their responsibilities (Jack Rosser).

Tottenham have also conceded eleven goals in their last three games, with goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario’s unbelievable error gifting Harry Wilson Fulham’s winning goal last weekend.

Frank’s relationship with supporters has also reached boiling point following his criticism of fans who booed Vicario’s mistake, and carried on jeering the Italian almost every time he touched the ball afterwards.

It wasn’t really the best move by Spurs’ boss to add fuel to the fire, considering his popularity was already waning among a lot of supporters, who are also extremely keen for co-sporting directors Fabio Paratici and Johan Lange to hire a new manager.

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Even more worryingly for the north Londoners, credible reports suggest that players feel a ‘growing disconnect’ with the fanbase (The Telegraph), and this quite simply must cease if Tottenham stand any chance of building upon their Europa League triumph in May.

Spurs’ lack of attacking creativity has been subject to plenty of debate too, but the Lewis family are apparently looking to back Frank in January and provide him with major forward upgrades.

It is believed that both FC Porto’s Samu Aghehowa, who’s been on fire for the last two seasons, and Premier League superstar Semenyo are both on Spurs’ radar heading into next month.

Frank 'intent' on signing Aghehowa as Spurs dealt Semenyo blow

The latter’s contract includes a tantalising £65 million release clause, including add-ons, which will be active in the early stages of January.

Of course, this has piqued real interest from Spurs, with the prospect of Mohammed Kudus on the right and Semenyo on the left coming as a very enticing thought.

However, as per TEAMtalk, Paratici and Lange have now been dealt a crushing blow in their pursuit of the 25-year-old.

The Lilywhites, Man City, Liverpool and Man United are all competing to sign Semenyo in January, but Pep Guardiola’s City side are now casting doubt over a potential move to N17.

This is because they are now the prime contenders with Semenyo ‘keen to engage’ in City talks, dealing Spurs a roadblock and making them outside contenders for his signature.

That being said, Frank personally remains ‘intent’ on signing Aghehowa for Spurs, and there is every reason to believe the Spaniard would be a serious improvement on their centre-forward options.

The 21-year-old has bagged 37 goals in all competitions since the start of 24/25, making him one of Europe’s most lethal strikers right now, but Tottenham will need to fork out around £70 million to make the deal happen.

This would be a club-record deal for Spurs, eclipsing the £65 million they paid for the injury-prone Dominic Solanke last year.

Solanke’s unavailability, concerns surrounding Richarlison and Mathys Tel’s rawness emphasise the need for a new number nine, especially considering Randal Kolo Muani is only at Tottenham on a straight loan.

In terms of pedigree and potential, you could hardly do better than Aghehowa, who’s already been compared to a prime Diego Costa.

Mohamed Salah has been brutally reminded that he is not Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, with the Liverpool forward accused of “tricking himself” into believing that he has become “untouchable”. The Egyptian superstar has delivered an explosive rant, having been benched recently, in which he accused Premier League heavyweights of throwing him under the bus.

• Unhappy Salah: Liverpool superstar speaks out after bench duty

  Salah’s stunning comments came after being named among the substitutes by Reds boss Arne Slot for a third successive game. He failed to make the starting XI against West Ham and Sunderland, before seeing no game time again in a thrilling 3-3 draw at Leeds.

  The 33-year-old, who only signed a contract extension at Anfield over the summer, chose to air his frustration in public after being forced to watch on from the sidelines as Liverpool allowed two more points to slip on a dramatic evening at Elland Road.

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  Nobody bigger than the club: Salah is not Messi or Ronaldo

  He has hinted at making a January move away from Merseyside, admitting to having no working relationship with Slot, with it suggested that he has become an unfortunate scapegoat for the Reds’ struggles this season. The comments have been met with widespread criticism, with Salah being informed that nobody is bigger than Liverpool Football Club.

  Stan Collymore, who once represented the Reds, has posted on social media after seeing Salah air his grievances very publicly: “I think I know a little about LFC, its supporters and how they view their club. Shaped of course by [Bill] Shankly then [Bob] Paisley, Kenny [Dalglish], Jurgen [Klopp] and now Slot. One thing remains constant, perhaps more than any other English club, it's always the club first and last, players and managers add their DNA to the club, but the club trumps the individual.

  “Now, Mo Salah has left plenty of winners DNA at Anfield and has taken his place in the pantheon of greats. So it's interesting to see his interview, dropping a grenade into the club because if I know Liverpool and it's supporters at all (I think there may be even a generational difference in responses, younger supporting the grenade, older shaking their heads) then their first reaction will be – Club, first and last, don't care who it is. It's a living and breathing mantra and one that even Mo Salah will find it difficult to duke it out against.

  “Now, could Arne Slot be less pally with players than Jurgen? Absolutely, he's a calm, relaxed, tad detached guy who (if you remember) was unimpressed with Trent [Alexander-Arnold] early doors and showed a nonchalant attitude in season one to ‘one of their own’ who'd won everything there is to win. I think that's impressive, but not as impressive as winning the title in your first season. So he's earned his respect too.

  “The team are playing well in spurts, comedy defending and decision making at other times. That includes everyone, and if you ask 99.9% of players if they'd accept 2 or 3 games on the bench for not hitting levels, all will say yes. Only in the madness of 2025 modern football would the cult of personalities not only question a reasonable conclusion of 'you're not playing well, here's a spell on the bench', but Mo maybe has almost tricked himself onto elevating himself to the untouchable status of Messi or Ronaldo, players who could, if they chose, literally do and say as they pleased in the last decade. Mo isn't them, and Liverpool as I said, isn't that club either.”

• Solution to problem: How Liverpool can fix Salah issue

  Collymore went on to say of how Liverpool can fix an unfortunate situation that nobody saw coming: “The solution to what is now a very open sore is simple (ish) 1. Player and manager talk privately. 2. Manager tells player what he wants from the player. 3. Player commits or tells manager he wants out. 4. If player wants out, make it happen quickly. If not, pick the player and let him be judged by his continued performances. If they're poor, manager can't lose, ‘I told you so’. If they're great, manager can't lose. So Slot playing Mo is a very good starting point, especially as 2 very big signings have yet to make Mo ‘yesterday's man’.

  “Arne Slot can help himself a little by using his natural openness to say ‘maybe I'm not Jurgen but I love my players and they couldn't have won a spectacular title last season without reacting to me and my methods a little too, but I hear Mo's comments and I can tell you all now, I love him to bits and he's ours to keep’. That heads off any ‘seniors’ with similar grenades to throw.

  “But one thing's for sure, I don't think there will ever be a Liverpool player past, present or future with valid gripes that would jeopardise the ‘club first and last’ ethos of Liverpool, and those who've had legitimate concerns I'm sure aired them at an appropriate time, not a flash interview when emotions are high. Liverpool FC have done as well for every player who's played for them as players have done for the club, so the institution has earned that private, rather than public critique. Whoever that's from.”

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  January transfer: Salah sees Anfield exit mooted

  Liverpool are currently in the process of deciding what to do next with Salah, with it possible that he will face punishment for speaking out against the club. Questions will also continue to be asked of his long-term future.

  He is due to represent Egypt at the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations, with another transfer window opening during that tournament. There has been talk of renewed interest from the Saudi Pro League, with big-spending teams there ready to offer Salah starting berths and a clean slate if professional bridges at Anfield prove to be beyond repair.

Everton have joined the race to sign a want-away England international in January, according to reports, but face competition from the likes of Manchester United.

Grealish admits "love" for Moyes & Everton

The general rule is that fans should never fall in love with a loan player, but what if a loanee falls in love with them? For Jack Grealish and Everton, the admiration is going both ways and the Manchester City man couldn’t help but heap praise on David Moyes and onwatching fans after scoring the winning goal against Bournemouth on Tuesday night.

Speaking to reporters, Grealish said: “It is a brilliant team and I love the manager to pieces. I have only known him a few months and I can’t speak highly enough of him as a person. How he makes me feel, how he makes me want to play for him – credit to him. We are doing well.

“I am so lucky that I have had such great clubs and great fanbases, this is another one of them. They have been so good to me today. They were singing my name before the goal, I feel like they wanted a bit more from me and I gave it to them!”

There was plenty of cautious optimism when Everton signed the England international on loan in the summer. He was struggling under Pep Guardiola, but a move away and much-needed minutes always seemed likely to spark his love for the game back into action.

It’s been such a successful deal that The Friedkin Group could look to strike a similar transfer in January. Reports have already linked Everton with moves for struggling stars like Joshua Zirkzee and they’ve now even set their sights on welcoming Conor Gallagher back to the Premier League.

Everton join Conor Gallagher race

According to reports in Spain, Everton are now racing to sign Gallagher alongside Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United and, of course, Man United.

The England international has struggled for consistent game time as of late, starting just three La Liga games so far this season – and is now ready for a return to the Premier League in an attempt to secure his World Cup place.

Man United’s interest has been well-documented in recent weeks, but Everton could yet spoil their January plans by swooping in. Whether it’s the Red Devils or the Toffees, however, deal is unlikely to come cheap. Atletico are reportedly demanding around €60m (£53m) to sell their midfielder this winter.

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Despite his current struggles, Gallagher often received praise during his time in England, with Chelsea legend Petr Cech telling reporters in 2024: “He’s one of the players that’s always cared about winning and about the club.

“You find that even young players can have special abilities to be a leader. Conor is one of those players – he’s always worked hard, he’s always cared and he always tries his best.”

Having seen the success of Grealish at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, Gallagher could yet follow suit to hand Moyes an impressive addition in January.

Everton eyeing up move to sign former Liverpool star who's been "fantastic"

Mayank underwent back surgery post 2025 IPL and was among the most critical questions LSG had to deal with during the retention exercise

Nagraj Gollapudi14-Nov-2025Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are set to retain India fast bowler Mayank Yadav but will release legspinner Ravi Bishnoi, South Africa batter David Miller and India fast bowler Akash Deep.It is understood that LSG have also decided to retain most of their core set of players including Rishabh Pant, Nicholas Pooran, Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh and Ayush Badoni. Among the bowlers set to be retained are mystery spinner Digvesh Rathi, who finished as LSG’s highest-wicket taker in his maiden IPL. The retention list is also set to include India fast bowler Avesh Khan along with uncapped batters Abdul Samad and Himmat Singh along with India allrounder Shahbaz Ahmed. Among the uncapped bowlers to be retained are left-arm fast bowler Mohsin Khan, Akash Singh, Prince Yadav and M Siddharth.Mayank, who underwent back surgery post 2025 IPL, was among the most critical questions LSG had to deal with during the retention exercise. The Delhi fast bowler, who forced his way to get an international debut last year, with his ability to shoot speeds in the vicinity of the 150kmph-mark consistently, was among the three players LSG had retained ahead of the 2025 mega auction, for INR 11 crore. Mayank, who bagged two Player-of-the-Match awards in IPL 2024, though, played just two matches in the 2025 season before a back injury ruled him out.Related

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Mayank, 23, is currently doing his rehab and is understood to resume bowling soon and is expected to bowl at at least 85% capacity by next February with the aim of getting fully ready come IPL. For LSG his lack of bowling was the critical question, but the think tank, which includes Tom Moody (director of cricket), Justin Langer (head coach) and former India bowling coach Bharat Arun (head of talent), is understood to have agreed it was worth retaining Mayank.Bishnoi, 25, was originally picked by LSG before IPL 2022 for INR 4 crore as an uncapped player. In 2022, when LSG made the playoffs, Bishnoi picked up 13 wickets at an economy rate of 8.44. A year later, now an international, Bishnoi bagged 16 scalps at an economy rate of 7.74 and played a role in LSG reaching the playoffs once again.Bishnoi was retained by the franchise ahead of the 2025 mega auction for INR 11 crore. However, in the last two seasons, Bishnoi returned below-par bowling figures. In 2024 he took 10 wickets in 14 matches at an economy rate of 8.77; in 2025 he bagged just nine wickets in 11 matches at an economy rate of 10.83. Overall for LSG, Bishnoi picked 48 wickets in 53 innings at an economy rate of 8.80 while never winning once the Player-of-the-Match award.It is learnt that it was his inability to develop into a consistent match-winner is what prompted the LSG think tank to release Bishnoi. The legspinner, who has featured in 42 T20Is for India, is understood to have been offered as a trade option to several franchises by LSG, but there were no takers.The decision to release Akash Deep and Miller, who were bought by LSG at the 2025 auction for INR 8 crore and 7.5 crore respectively, comes after their poor returns. Miller, known for his power-hitting and finishing skills, scored 153 runs in 11 innings at a strike rate of 127.49 in the last IPL season. Akash Deep, who missed the first half of IPL 2025 due to an injury he suffered during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, played six matches, picking three wickets at an economy rate of 12.05.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will remain in the spotlight while a big question remains on who replaces Shreyas Iyer in the middle order

Sidharth Monga29-Nov-20251:37

Saba Karim: ‘Expect Rohit, Kohli to do well in home series’

Big picture – India can’t be complacent despite recent dominance in ODIsWe can sometimes forget the unfortunate part injuries play in a team’s fortunes. India are now going into a third straight international match with a third different captain after Shubman Gill’s neck injury in the Kolkata Test forced him out of action following non-stop cricket for India’s newest three-format obsession. Their ODI vice-captain, Shreyas Iyer, is also out with a rib injury he sustained while taking a catch back in Australia.This format, though, is still the ideal sweet spot for India. Or at least this generation of players, up until the injured full-time captain and vice-captain. India have been dominant in ODIs, winning the last Asia Cup and the last Champions Trophy, and losing only the final in the last World Cup.Related

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However, they are careful not to be complacent because the next World Cup takes them to South Africa. So they are always going to be wondering if Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will still be good to go in late 2027, how to find a seam-bowling allrounder, how to manage workloads. And this is the format teams play the least of.India’s opponents are nowhere near as dominant in ODIs in recent times but they will be riding the high of having beaten India 2-0 in the Tests. This is a rare full tour as nowadays home teams prefer to split Tests and shorter formats to allegedly maximise the earnings. However, all-format tours have their own charm of one side trying to dominate the other team completely and the other looking for some redemption in the other formats.Also, South Africa are closer to full strength now with the exception of Kagiso Rabada’s injury-enforced absence. The return of Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma should add heft to their batting, and Keshav Maharaj should provide them the spin control they missed in Pakistan.These are just three ODIs and they will be forgotten quickly, what with more focus on T20Is right now, but they promise to be cracking contests while they last.Form guideIndia WLLWW
South Africa LWLLWMatthew Breetzke comes to India with a huge reputation to live up to•AFP/Getty Images

In the spotlight: RoKo and Matthew BreetzkeKL Rahul will take over India’s leadership as the selectors have resisted the temptation to go back to Rohit Sharma, who returned to the ODIs, his only active international format, with a century in the third match against Australia. It is a clear sign that Rohit and Virat Kohli will forever remain under extra scrutiny just by the virtue of how old they will be by the World Cup in 2027.Matthew Breetzke comes to India with a big reputation to live up to. He is the only player to have scored 50 or more in each of his first five ODIs, and he averages 67.75 while playing the difficult role of batting in the middle order.Team news: Shubman Gill and Kagiso Rabada are outYashasvi Jaiswal should be the natural replacement for Gill at the top of the order with Ruturaj Gaikwad primed to take Iyer’s slot in the middle order. If Gaikwad gets the nod, Rishabh Pant, who is back in the squad, will struggle to make the starting XI because India will need two allrounders. It remains to be seen if one of those allrounders will be a seam bowler in Nitish Kumar Reddy. In Australia, they played all three while the series was live because they wanted batting depth. If they repeat the formation, all three will get in.India (probable): 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Ruturaj Gaikwad/Rishabh Pant, 5 KL Rahul (capt, wk), 6 Washington Sundar, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 9 Harshit Rana, 9 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Prasidh Krishna1:09

Karim: An opportunity for Jaiswal ‘to cement his place’

Markram should slot back into the opening role, something South Africa have tried since the last World Cup where he batted at No. 4. Bavuma should take his No. 3 position.South Africa (probable): 1 Aiden Markram, 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Temba Bavuma (capt), 4 Matthew Breetzke, 5 Dewald Brevis, 6 Rubin Hermann, 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Corbin Bosch, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Nandre Burger, 11 Lungi NgidiPitch and conditionsThis is only the sixth ODI Ranchi is hosting. There has been only one score of over 300, which was defended successfully, but chases of 270-280 haven’t quite been cakewalks either. The pitch generally is on the slower side; in the last ODI there, Washington Sundar opened the bowling for India. The weather will be perfect to play cricket in, but a lot will depend on dew. Without dew, batting first is not a bad shout in Ranchi.Stats and trivia Since 2006, India and South Africa have played ten bilateral ODI series against each other. The scoreline is 5-5. Bavuma needs 59 runs to become only the 22nd South Africa player to score 2000 ODI runs.Quotes”Rutu, obviously, is a top-class player. We have all seen it. With whatever opportunities, limited opportunities he has got [with India], he has really utilised it and shown what he can do. Unfortunately, in ODI cricket, the top six or top five is quite settled. And they are performing really well.”
“When you add those two names to the line-up, we expect to see a full house tomorrow and that’s exciting. I think obviously two vastly experienced and dangerous players and they can cause a lot of damage to us, but we tend to try to focus on what sort of damage we can cause the opposition.”

Chelsea’s title ambitions were always more realistically viewed through a wider lens than the current campaign, but this recent drop in form has been concerning for Enzo Maresca’s side nonetheless.

A creditable draw against table-toppers Arsenal last weekend, preceded a bitter defeat to promoted Leeds United at Elland Road in midweek, and this one marked the perfect chance to bounce back and keep a toe in the early Premier League title race.

Bournemouth stood strong against the Blues on Saturday afternoon, but they also pulled their weight in the final third, recording an xG total of 1.37 compared to the visitors’ 0.88.

There was an undeniable bluntness to Chelsea’s attack, with a number of stars flattering to deceive on the south coast.

Chelsea's worst performers at Bournemouth

Robert Sanchez certainly wasn’t among Chelsea’s worst performers at the Vitality, having made a string of important saves throughout the contest to keep parity intact.

Neither was Moises Caicedo to blame. The Ecuadorian served the second game of his three-match suspension after seeing red against Arsenal, and his absence was keenly felt in the middle of the park.

Enzo Fernandez toiled without his dance partner in the engine room, but he was sloppy on the ball. Likewise, Cole Palmer looked rusty on his return from injury, only creating one chance and wasting a few decent opportunities before being replaced by Joao Pedro before the hour mark.

There was another attacking instrument under Maresca’s command who struggled to impose himself despite some hustle and bustle, looking like a teammate of his who has been absent for some time.

Maresca must bench Mudryk-esque Chelsea forward

Since leaving Manchester United and joining Chelsea this summer in a deal worth £40m, Alejandro Garnacho has blown hot and cold, scoring two goals and supplying two assists across 14 matches in all competitions. In the Premier League, Maresca has handed the 21-year-old six starts.

Against Bournemouth, though, he was part of a Chelsea side who succumbed to an absence of end product, hitting the woodwork and failing to build on his positive form of recent weeks.

Football.london did hand Garnacho a 6/10 match rating, acknowledging his optimism and energy on the ball, but he left much to be desired all the same, with his end product leading to a sense that he is shaping into the club’s next version of Mykhaylo Mudryk.

Mudryk is suspended at the moment, but from a footballing standpoint, his £89m transfer from Shakhtar Donetsk to Stamford Bridge in January 2023 ended up a major misfire from Todd Boehly and co, with the Ukrainian’s pace and technical skill unable to be applied with efficiency on English shores.

Having failed with all three of his attempted dribbles and proved unable to even attempt a tackle, the South American left something to be desired, and though he created a chance, he also lost the ball 11 times, and that having only completed 17 passes on the evening.

Alejandro Garnacho vs Bournemouth

Match Stats

#

Minutes played

77′

Goals

0

Assists

0

Touches

35

Shots (on target)

2 (0)

Accurate passes

17/20 (85%)

Chances created

1

Crosses

2/3

Dribbles

0/3

Ball recoveries

3

Tackles won

0/0

Duels won

3/7

Data via Sofascore

We already know that Garnacho has a penchant for the spectacular, but he needs to channel his craft and grow into the player he has been touted to be.

In this, he is not too dissimilar to Mudryk, though hopefully he has more opportunities to showcase his skills.

Mudryk and Garnacho share a likeness in that they are both athletic and dynamic wingers, but the latter needs to prove now that Chelsea are going to get bang for their buck, and perhaps a return to the bench might fuel him with the requisite aggression and focus going forward.

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England have defended their limited Ashes preparation ahead of the start of their warm-up game against the Lions at Lilac Hill in Perth on Thursday. The three-day match-up is England’s only match practice ahead of next Friday’s first Test at Optus Stadium, which assistant coach Marcus Trescothick described as “the way of the modern game”.Ashes tours have historically started with a series of warm-up fixtures between travelling squads and either domestic or invitational teams, but they have been greatly reduced in recent series as boards look to streamline schedules.England have largely eschewed warm-up fixtures since Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes took over as head coach and captain, preferring training camps and intra-squad matches, but have generally started series strongly. They have won all the first Test in each of their last five overseas tours, including in India, Pakistan and New Zealand last year.”It’s the way that the series are generally done – for us and for other opposition teams – around the world nowadays,” Trescothick told reporters in Perth on Tuesday. “With the volume of cricket that’s played [elsewhere], you don’t have the time for preparations like potentially playing two or three first-class games, which has happened in the past.”I think you generally roll with a prep game, or some facilities – whatever you have available – and you go from there. Of course, most of the guys have been playing in New Zealand for us. Some of the guys have come out from England, but it’s the way of the modern game nowadays.”Michael Vaughan, who opened the batting with Trescothick on England’s 2002-03 tour to Australia, has questioned the value in playing on a club ground which will “bounce really low” ahead of the first Test on an Optus Stadium which is expected to be fast with steep bounce.Related

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But Trescothick said England were “very happy” with their preparation: “We’ve had facilities here with the nets, and obviously then the nets out in the middle, and then we’ve got the preparation game here as well.”In my day, playing at the Waca was very unique and very different, but you prepare yourself for those sorts of changes in facilities and pitches as you go along. We’ll have three days of prep at Optus, just to get used to pitches and we go along with that, and we’ll go from there. We’re very happy at the moment.”Ben Duckett, who will open the batting in next week’s first Test, arrived in Perth last week and said that facing England’s fast bowlers in the nets has provided “pretty good” preparation following a white-ball tour to New Zealand.”I don’t know what the right answer is,” Duckett told the podcast. “We play a lot of cricket at the minute, and we’ve obviously just come off the back of our summer. We’re certainly not lacking any gametime.”I don’t make those plans, but I’m pretty happy getting ready in the nets. If we’re facing Jofra [Archer], Woody [Mark Wood] and those guys everyday, I think that will be pretty good prep.”England’s preparation has been heavily criticised by former players, with Ian Botham suggesting their slimline schedule “borders on arrogance”. It stands in clear contrast to Australia’s build-up, with 14 members of their 15-man squad for the first Test involved in the ongoing round of Sheffield Shield fixtures.