Kansas City Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino had an at-bat to forget during Wednesday's game against the Boston Red Sox.
During the first inning up against new Red Sox pitcher Dustin May, Pasquantino was sat down on strikes after swinging through a devastating sweeper. It was a nasty pitch, and it broke so much that despite Pasquantino swinging and missing, the ball ended up running all the way inside and hitting him square on the thigh.
It looked for a moment as if Pasquantino fouled the ball off, but in reality it just bounced straight off his thigh and he was ruled out on strikes.
On Thursday, the Royals first baseman posted the aftermath of his embarrassing strikeout on social media, revealing a massive bruise on his thigh while having a laugh at his own expense.
All in all, not a moment Pasquantino will look back too fondly on, though the welt on his leg will certainly serve as a frequent and painful reminder of it throughout the next few days.
O atacante Aylon, do Ceará, deixou o clube após o encerramento de seu contrato. O destino do jogador de 33 anos é o Operário-PR, rival dos cearenses na Série B do Campeonato Brasileiro.
continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasCearáCeará volta a buscar treinador após mais de um anoCeará11/12/2025Futebol NacionalCeará e Fortaleza voltarão a se encontrar na Série B após 17 anosFutebol Nacional11/12/2025CearáCeará negocia com técnico campeão da Série B; veja maisCeará12/12/2025
➡️ Tudo sobre o Vovô agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso novo canal Lance! Ceará
Aylon chegou no Ceará em 2024 e exerceu um importante papel no acesso à Série A. Foram 53 jogos em tal temporada, com 14 gols e três assistências.
Tendo um menor tempo de jogo em 2025, o atleta passou a ser utilizado como reserva de Pedro Raul, titular incontestável no ataque. Aylon atuou 39 vezes no ano, somando cinco tentos. Além do acesso à Série A, o atacante obteve dois títulos estaduais na passagem.
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➡️ Quando começa a Série B de 2026? Veja participantes
O Operário, novo clube de Aylon, foi o 12º colocado na última Série B, com 48 pontos. O contrato do jogador é válido até novembro de 2027.
— O Operário é um time que dispensa apresentações, sempre ouvi muito bem com relação à estrutura, ambiente e a cidade. Estou muito empolgado nesse novo capítulo da minha carreira – afirmou ao site oficial do Fantasma.
➡️ Ceará volta a buscar treinador após mais de um ano
Ceará volta a buscar treinador
A passagem de Léo Condé no Ceará durou 83 jogos. Foram 37 vitórias, 17 empates e 29 derrotas, com 103 gols marcados e 78 sofridos.
O clube já busca um novo técnico, que terá a missão de comandar o Vovô no Campeonato Cearense, na Copa do Nordeste, na Copa do Brasil e na Série B. A ideia é definir um nome antes da reapresentação do elenco, marcada para o dia 26 de dezembro.
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Manchester City are now obsessed with signing a “generational” forward, joining the race for his signature alongside a number of the Premier League’s top clubs.
Man City kicking into gear ahead of Real Madrid clash
Man City were a little shaky at the start of the season, losing against Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton, but Bernardo Silva believes they are starting to kick into gear, ahead of the tough Champions League clash against 15-time champions Real Madrid tonight.
Silva said: “The team has been growing a lot since [the start of the season]. We’re improving day by day. It’s true that our teams have always been much better in the second part of the season than the first and hopefully it happens again this season.”
Pep Guardiola’s side have looked very potent on the front foot, having already scored 35 Premier League goals, seven more than any other side, with Phil Foden starting to get back to his best, regularly providing goals and assists.
Phil Foden’s attacking record
Appearances
Goal contributions
Premier League
13
8
Champions League
4
3
EFL Cup
2
2
However, Man City remain keen on making more additions to their forward line, according to a report from Spain, which states they now have an ‘obsession’ with signing RB Leipzig star Yan Diomande, who has emerged as one of the most exciting youngsters in Europe.
A plethora of top Premier League clubs are keen on Diomande, including Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea, but City are the ‘most persistent’, having conducted a number of scouting missions since October.
Leipzig have no desire to sanction a move, with the German club eager to tie him down to a new contract, and interested clubs will need to make offers in the region of €80m – €100m (£70m – £87m) to tempt them into a sale.
"Generational" Diomande likened to Haaland
Journalist Bence Bocsak is a huge admirer of the left-winger, recently saying: “Just catching up on RB Leipzig’s game tonight and oh my Yan Diomande is a special player. I actually think he’s one of those players you break all your recruitment models for.
Yes, the same size is small. But he’s a generational talent.”
Bocsak also likens the Ivorian to a current Man City star, saying: “Haaland was another level even to Diomande but the RB Leipzig winger is not far off.”
It is clear to see why the 19-year-old has received rave reviews, most recently making a real statement by scoring a hat-trick in RB Leipzig’s 6-0 victory against Eintracht Frankfurt.
The four-time Ivory Coast international has now amassed seven goals and four assists in 15 matches in all competitions, which is a very impressive tally, given that it is his first season in the Bundesliga.
Pep's a big fan: Man City leading race for "superstar" and ready to bid £65m+
City have moved into pole position in the race for a new defender, with a bid now being prepared.
ByDominic Lund 6 days ago
City certainly aren’t struggling from an attacking point of view, but the opportunity to sign Diomande may be too good to pass up…
Eight matches into his Rangers tenure, is Danny Röhl any closer to figuring out which players he can trust and who he cannot?
On Thursday night, the Gers were held to a 1-1 draw by ten-man Braga at Ibrox, despite taking the lead through James Tavernier’s spot-kick in first half stoppage time; the fact that only 38,014 spectators were in attendance encapsulates the mood.
So, with just one point on the board after five games, a frankly pitiful effort, unless they somehow manage to beat Ferencváros, Ludogorets Razgrad and then Porto, which seems unlikely if we’re being honest, the Gers’ Europa League adventure will be coming to a premature end in January, having got all the way to last season’s quarter-finals.
This will allow them to concentrate on domestic matters, which may be a good thing, given that they’ve slipped down to fifth in the Premiership table, despite having won all four league matches since Röhl’s arrival in Glasgow.
So, ahead of a visit from Falkirk, who would actually leapfrog their hosts with a shock victory at Ibrox on Sunday, what changes should the German head coach make?
Youssef Chermiti's uninspiring form
Back on Monday, it was announced that both chief executive Patrick Stewart and sporting director Kevin Thelwell had been sacked, after overseeing a chaotic summer of recruitment, with the £8m, potentially rising to £10m, paid to sign Youssef Chermiti among the more egregious and baffling of their decisions.
So far, he has scored just one goal for the club, on target against Kilmarnock last month, already surpassing his tally of zero goals during two seasons at Everton, also brought to Merseyside by Thelwell for £14m when he was working at Goodison.
Aside from his lack of goals, the striker simply isn’t offering enough, often allowing matches to pass him by and putting in anonymous performances.
Following this week’s draw with Braga, Mark Atkinson of the Scotsman asserted that he is driving supporters ‘demented’, adding that he ‘spurned a couple of presentable’ opportunities and is so far proving to be a mere baffling expensive purchase.
So, ahead of a sequence of three Premiership matches in seven days, facing Falkirk, Dundee United and then Kilmarnock, Chermiti should be stood down and Röhl must instead deploy the “best player in the league” up front.
Rangers' superior Chermiti alternative
Of the 13 players Rangers signed in the summer, many are young and inexperienced, hoping to grow and improve in the coming years, but Bojan Miovski was supposed to be a ready-made starter, brought in to produce right away.
The 26-year-old, returning to Scottish football after a season at Girona, is a proven goalscorer at both club and international level, bagging his ninth goal for North Macedonia against Wales at the Cardiff City Stadium earlier this month.
Meantime, at club level, prior to his season in Catalonia, he had been outstanding during two years at Aberdeen, as the table below documents.
Bojan Miovski’s stats for Aberdeen
Stats
Miovski
Appearances
98
Goals
44
European goals
4
Goals vs Rangers
4
Goals vs Celtic
3
Shots on target per 90
1.1
Big chances missed
31
Average rating
6.9
Stats via Transfermarkt & SofaScore
As the table makes clear, Miovski was an elite-level finisher during his time at Pittodrie, scoring 32 Premiership goals, while his strike rate in Europe as well as against the two Glasgow giants underlines his quality.
Then-teammate Nicky Devlin asserted that Miovski was “the best player in the league in his position”, firing the Dons to a third place finish in 2022/23, before being sold for £6.8m, the Dons’ record outgoing transfer.
However, we are yet to see very much of that from Miovski in a Rangers jersey, scoring his first goal for the club against Hibs in the League Cup, while his only Premiership goal came at Falkirk Stadium in October, the day Russell Martin was sacked.
Since the appointment of Röhl, the North Macedonian has featured in all eight matches but has started just once, this coming at Dens Park before the international break, substituted at half time with the Light Blues leading Dundee 2-0.
So, for whatever reason, the German head coach appears to favour Chermiti and Danilo, despite the fact that Miovski is a proven goalscorer at both Premiership and European level, something this team desperately needs given that, 26 matches into this campaign, Tavernier and Djeidi Gassama are the only squad members who have four or more goals to their name.
Thus, when Falkirk visit Ibrox this weekend, surely Röhl has to bring Miovski back into his XI, ditching the ineffective Chermiti, with the former looking to net as he did against the Bairns once again, just as he did in Stirlingshire just last month.
Not just Djiga: Thelwell flop who lost ball 17x looks finished at Rangers
Rangers’ wait for a first Europa League victory goes on, held to a 1-1 draw by Braga at Ibrox, and a summer signing was just as bad as Nasser Djiga.
Manchester United are four games unbeaten in the Premier League. Since Ruben Amorim last tasted defeat, Anfield has been conquered, and it was goals galore during that thrilling win over Brighton at Old Trafford.
Here have been the first baby steps in a long and arduous journey toward the future, and with that exciting thought dancing at the back of the fans’ minds, we are inevitably turned back to the past.
Because it’s been a long, long time since the Red Devils enjoyed consistency at the top of the table, battling year on year for the biggest titles. Sir Alex Ferguson has not celebrated a Premier League or Champions League title from the stands.
If Amorim hopes to lead United back to such elusive glory, he will need more than just a string of favourable results to his name. He will need to rethread the Fergie feeling into the club’s DNA.
Curiously, there are signs this is taking place, with a number of United stars showing elements of that bygone era in recent weeks.
The Fergie-esque Man Utd stars
Topically, Amad Diallo would fancy himself worthy of a place in one of Ferguson’s one-time squads. The Ivory Coast international has developed something of a penchant for late goals, after all.
In fact, all ten of Amad’s Premier League goals have come in the second half.
However, he’s not alone in that regard. The frontline has been a place of contention for the Theatre of Dreams in recent years, and especially so since Amorim arrived and ousted the likes of Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Jadon Sancho.
Matheus Cunha looks a cut above, and even though the Brazilian has not yet found his Midas touch in front of goal, his quality is undeniable, with writer Wayne Burton claiming he has the “potential to be an all-timer”, so talented that he might be “the best player we’ve had since Fergie retired”.
Lofty praise, but undoubtedly wearing a ring of truth. This is all to say that there are promising signs at Old Trafford. Bryan Mbeumo looks a star, and given that he has singled out Cristiano Ronaldo as one of his biggest influences, you can see him succeeding in the long run. The Cameroonian plays with the same kind of robust potency as CR7 once did when cutting his teeth under Fergie’s wing.
United still need to make more improvements though, and the current struggles of wing-back Diogo Dalot emphasise the need for new blood on the flanks to help Amorim realise his lofty ambitions.
Once, Gary Neville dominated for the elite outfit; so underrated nowadays, the retired Three Lions star is one of the finest full-backs of his generation.
Dalot, 26, doesn’t look like he’s going to make that grade after once arriving from Porto as a teenager with such promise.
He’s not the only one, though. This is a recurring problem, and one which recalls a time when Sir Alex felt he had landed the next version of Neville, only for this player to fail to kick on.
The Fergie flop who was billed as the next Neville
The Fergie era at Manchester United was defined by meteoric highs. On the transfer front, the Red Devils had the ascendancy within the English game, but a few potential stars fell by the wayside.
One of which would be Rafael Da Silva, who did spend seven seasons at Old Trafford after graduating from the Carrington ranks, but perhaps failed to ever reach the potential his manager saw in him.
Time was when Rafael was viewed as having the potential to become a superstar. He and his twin brother Fabio had been brought over from Brazilian club Fluminense in February 2007, and he would make 170 appearances across all competitions, scoring five goals and supplying 14 assists.
Rafael’s time at the club could hardly be defined as a failure, but he probably served as more of a bit-part player than an instrumental cog in the machine.
14/15
10
590′
13/14
19
1,418′
12/13
28
2,317′
11/12
12
914′
10/11
16
1,201′
09/10
8
682′
08/09
16
1,055′
A three-time Premier League champion he may be, but Ferguson believed he was destined for greatness. The retired manager said in 2012, “I think Rafael will eventually be compared to Gary Neville.”
This didn’t end up being the case. Rafael ended up leaving when under louis van Gaal’s management, at odds with the Dutch manager, and several contentious career events beforehand, coupled with injuries, left his former manager’s prediction untrue.
There’s no question that he is fondly remembered, even considered by some supporters to be something of a cult hero, but Rafael was abundantly talented, and there really was a chance that he could have filled the void that was left when Neville wound down.
A fearless and tenacious attitude, coupled with a burning desire to make things happen and excite the crowd, won the Manchester crowds over instantly, and maybe why we look back now with an air of ruefulness about Rafael’s fizzled-out finish at the club, leaving for French side Lyon in 2015 for a small £2.5m fee.
In any case, it’s funny that you might say his robust and dynamic profile would be well-suited to the current Amorim-led system, but this only emphasises the need for a Neville-esque figure to ensure this new chapter at the club keeps moving forward after such interminable turmoil.
Because sadly, it feels like Dalot has fallen down a similar route, with content creator Liam Canning saying recently that the Portugual international is “becoming a worry long term”, given that he “doesn’t look like he suits the wing back role”.
Neville might be modest about his ability as a Premier League footballer, but it would take to knock him off that all-timer pedestal.
Carrington's "best talent" is a big Sesko upgrade in the making at Man Utd
Manchester United could yet improve further in attack under Amorim’s wing.
Hurricane Milton left a path of destruction in its wake across Florida. Among the areas impacted by the Category 3 hurricane was Tropicana Field, the home of the Tampa Bay Rays.
According to Marc Topkin of the , the damage to the stadium is still being assessed, though it's been made clear that the Rays won't be able to play at the stadium on Opening Day in 2025, which is scheduled for March 27.
Among the areas of the stadium most impacted by the storm was the roof, which was massively disfigured by Hurricane Milton, as well as some of the team offices, which Topkin indicated sustained "extensive" damage.
Topkin reports that it's not immediately clear where the team will play at the start of next year, nor how long they'll be displaced as the stadium undergoes repairs. It's possible they'll play at a nearby minor league stadium, though they'd likely need to play in a stadium that has a roof, something most minor league parks lack.
It seems, as more information about the condition of Tropicana Field is discovered, that the Rays have another potential obstacle to overcome before the start of next season, which figure to have significant impacts on the upcoming campaign.
Brathwaite scored just 0 and 7 in Grenada following 4 and 4 in Barbados with Sammy acknowledging a discussion would be had about his spot for Jamaica
Alex Malcolm07-Jul-2025
Kraigg Brathwaite made 0 and 7 in his 100th Test•AFP/Getty Images
West Indies coach Daren Sammy says there will be a serious discussion around Kraigg Brathwaite’s position ahead of the Jamaica Test, while remaining hopeful that his struggling batting group can find a way to back up the performances of the fast bowlers following a series-conceding defeat to Australia in Grenada.West Indies were bundled for 143 in the fourth innings, chasing 277 to win, on the fourth day with the margin of victory flattered slightly by Shamar Joseph’s late-innings hitting in the same manner it was in the first Test in Barbados.The hosts’ top order was against steamrolled by Australia’s relentless fast-bowling cartel, slumping to 33 for 4 at lunch on the fourth day. But while West Indies’ top-order struggles have mirrored Australia’s, the middle and lower-order were unable to rescue them as Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood ripped the game away in a six-over burst in the middle session to leave West Indies 99 for 7 and without a recognised batter left.Related
Starc, Hazlewood make quick work of West Indies to help Australia retain Frank Worrell Trophy
Lights for Sabina Park day-night Test need final approval
Sammy acknowledged that there was pressure on former captain Brathwaite, who is the only West Indies batter not to reach double-figures in the series to date. His 100th Test was a forgettable one, with scores of just 0 and 7 following 4 and 4 in Barbados. Brathwaite averages 18.68 in his last 35 Test innings with just three half-centuries.”He hasn’t looked good this series, and in a team where you are searching for performances, you get very close to say ‘okay, do we give somebody else a chance?'” Sammy said after the loss in Grenada. “But we will really have a good discussion, myself, the selection group, and the captain himself, about that particular situation.”Sammy conceded that it was a tough ask for his batting line-up to handle Australia’s attack on the two pitches that have been presented in the series so far and noted that most of the new-look line-up were at the start of a journey to becoming a more reliable Test batting unit. But he cited the example of Steven Smith in terms of how to make technical adaptations on a difficult surface to have success.1:08
Starc stars from around the wicket
“But I do understand the journey that I took on, and Rome is not going to be built in a day. So a little bit of patience, a little bit of reality as to where we are at is something that we are aware of, and then continue to put in the work.”The way the guys have bought into what we’re trying to do, yes, the results have not shown, but some of the attitudes that are changing and understanding what we’re trying to do, it gives me hope.”Sammy said there was a need for first-class pitches in the Caribbean to be better so that West Indies could produce some stronger batting stocks for Test cricket.”It’s hard to produce the quality of batters that we want to compete,” Sammy said. “When you look at the surfaces that we play on, it’s hard. If you look at all the averages, we barely have guys averaging 40-plus in [first-class] cricket. Those type of pitches, it doesn’t allow you to come up technically sound, because you’re really unsure. There’s always doubt. And in an ideal world, you want to see our guys perform because of, not in spite of.”It’s something myself, the director of cricket, the franchise system, we’ve looked at very, very closely in trying to change that, trying to send the head groundsmen all over, trying to get the sort of wickets that allow batters to trust their techniques and stuff like that. And we also have some probably technical deficiencies that carry on from the Under-19, the youth level up to the national team.”In spite of all of that, we still find ourselves in positions to win and compete, and that’s where you will need more of the mental toughness of the game to restrict you from getting too ahead of your stroke-play and show a little bit more fight and understand that we are playing against the No. 1 team, and be a little tighter, and when opportunities present to score then we do that.”1:36
Cummins heaps praise on ‘warrior’ Starc and ‘prolific’ Carey
Sammy was delighted with his team’s bowling performance overall after they bowled Australia out for 286 and 243 in Grenada to give themselves a chance at victory, although he was hopeful they could tighten the screws against the visitors’ middle order, having twice let Australia off the hook following early breakthroughs.”For some reason, after lunch, that session, whether we bat or bowl, we’ve been really poor,” Sammy said. “If you put our bowling between yesterday’s last 12 overs and this morning’s session, however many we bowled, this is a level of consistency we look at.”Our bowling, we can’t fault them, they’ve gotten 40 wickets. I don’t know when last we got 40 wickets against a top-three team in two Test matches. So the bowlers are doing the job.”Like Australia, Sammy said his side had yet to procure any pink Dukes balls ahead of the day-night pink-ball Test in Jamaica. But despite some concerns surrounding the preparation of the ground at Sabina Park, Sammy said it would be a historic event and was confident the match would be played under lights as planned.
West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen has launched a scathing critique of his side after they fell to yet another defeat in the Premier League. The Hammers were second best as they lost 2-1 away to fellow strugglers Leeds United at Elland Road and, after the game, the England winger did not hold back in his assessment of the team. With just four points in nine games, West Ham are in crisis.
Leeds punish feeble West Ham
West Ham were 1-0 down after just three minutes in Yorkshire when Brenden Aaronson was quickest to react to an Alphonse Areola stop that landed in the six-yard area. The USMNT star fired home to send the home fans wild and just 12 minutes later, they had doubled their lead. Taking full advantage of the Hammers’ frailties at set-pieces this season, Joe Rodon rose highest to knock in a header from a corner and all-but wrap up the game for Leeds.
As he so often has done the last few seasons, Bowen was on a one-man mission to come up with the goods for the Hammers. The skipper fashioned a number of chances out of nothing for him and his team-mates, but until the 90th minute, they failed to beat Lucas Perri. Producing a deft flick from Bowen’s whipped cross, Mateus Fernandes was able to glance into the corner and create a few jitters around the ground.
The Leeds faithful needn’t have worried, though, as it was too little, too late. West Ham were on the losing end of another Premier League game, their seventh from nine game this season, and they remain deep in relegation trouble. Only Wolves have accrued fewer points than the Hammers this season, and could leave Bowen’s team rooted to the bottom of the table should they win their game in hand against Burnley on Saturday.
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Bowen slams feeble Hammers performance
Speaking to Sky Sports, via the, after the game, Bowen shared his grievances about the performance which, he said, was "not good enough". The winger was frustrated that they had once again conceded from a corner and slammed the feeble defending.
He was open and honest at the state of the atmosphere at the club, and laid bare the worrying state West Ham find themselves in.
"A dressing room when you're second bottom of the league is low. The only way this will change is if we step up and show some fight. We need more of that. It's easy to hide and be scared almost. It's easier said and harder to do sometimes," Bowen said. "You have to face up to the reality of where we are and we're in trouble now."
The West Ham skipper continued to admit that they were not playing, but insisted that "we're the only ones that can change it".
"We've talked as a group, but it's down to the players as well. We speak to each other, but there's only so much. It's got to come from within. We haven't been great at home, but now is the time to roll your sleeves up."
No new manager bounce for Nuno
The defeat also spells the fourth game without a win for new manager Nuno Espirito Santo. The Portuguese coach was hurried through the door shortly after his questionable dismissal at Nottingham Forest to replace the outgoing Graham Potter.
Yet, if the Hammers’ hierarchy were expecting to get a new manager bounce, those hopes have fallen flat fast. Aside from a 1-1 draw away at Everton in Nuno's first game in charge, the club have not won a single point since August.
The fear of relegation will continue to grow at the London Stadium for as long as this poor run of form continues. Concerns will not be eased by the performances of the newly-promoted teams, with Sunderland (14 points), Leeds (11) and Burnley (7) already proving far stiffer competition than recent new arrivals in the division.
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What comes next?
West Ham are joined in the relegation zone by two of Nuno's former clubs. Wolves prop up the table, but could leapfrog the Hammers by the end of the weekend, and Forest, now managed by Sean Dyche, will be determined to add to their victory over Porto in midweek.
The tests keep coming for West Ham, too, with Newcastle visiting east London next weekend before they face a must-win game against Burnley. Relegation could become a real possibility, and the impact of such humiliation would be costly.
Leeds United central midfielder Sean Longstaff has established himself as one of the first names on the teamsheet in the middle of the park since his move to the club in the summer.
The Whites swooped to sign him from Premier League rivals Newcastle United in a deal worth up to £15m to compete with the likes of Ao Tanaka, Ethan Ampadu, Anton Stach, and Ilia Gruev.
Longstaff’s experience in the top-flight with the Magpies has helped him to hit the ground running at Elland Road with some impressive showings in midfield.
The 27-year-old star’s breakout performance for Daniel Farke’s side came in the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth last week, as he scored and assisted a goal.
His fantastic strike, as shown in the clip above, should have been enough to claim all three points for Leeds, but a stoppage-time equaliser meant that they had to settle for one.
Unfortunately, though, the English midfielder was not at his very best in the club’s narrow 2-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at Elland Road on Saturday.
How Sean Longstaff performed against Spurs
The former Newcastle man lined up in the middle of the park alongside Stach and Ampadu once again, as they have started to form an impressive unit in midfield.
However, Longstaff did not continue his impressive form. Instead, the Englishman was a bit too easy to play against at times for the likes of Rodrigo Bentancur and Xavi Simons.
The experienced star was dribbled past three times in midfield, losing half (5/10) of his duels, per Sofascore, which shows that the Spurs players got the better of him too many times.
His part in Mathys Tel’s opening goal summed up his overall performance. Longstaff failed to control a bouncing ball in the middle of the park and then got outmuscled by Bentancur on the turn, which then teed up Mohammed Kudus to set Tel away for his strike.
The Newcastle academy graduate could have prevented the goal by adjusting his body to control the ball from the initial header forward from Spurs, shielding Bentancur out of contention to take it off him.
Vs Spurs
Sean Longstaff
Minutes
90
Key passes
5
Shots
4
Shots on target
0
Tackles made
4
Dribbled past
3x
Duels won
5/10
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, it was not an utterly dreadful performance from the central midfielder, who created five chances for his teammates and made four tackles.
However, all four of his shots failed to find the target, he was dribbled past three times, he lost half of his duels, and he was partially to blame for Tel’s goal.
His underwhelming display should not be a cause for too much concern, though, because it was against the Europa League champions and he has shown that he can put in some excellent showings for Leeds.
Meanwhile, though, one of his teammates put in another concerning performance that may sound some alarm bells, as he is on course to become a flop if things do not improve.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
The Championship champions swooped to add some Premier League experience to their frontline during the summer transfer window, with the addition of Dominic Calvert-Lewin on a free transfer from Everton.
Unfortunately, though, there have been more worrying performances than there have been impressive ones since he made the switch to Elland Road in August.
Why Dominic Calvert-Lewin may become a Leeds flop
Bringing the 28-year-old in, even on a free transfer, was always going to be a gamble by the club because of his output in recent seasons for the Toffees.
Calvert-Lewin scored three goals from 6.75 xG in the 2024/25 season, seven goals from 12.93 xG in the 2023/24 season, and two goals from 5.84 xG in the 2022/23 season in the Premier League for Everton, per Sofascore.
This shows that Leeds signed a player who had struggled badly in front of goal for at least three seasons, underperforming against his xG in all three of those campaigns.
Calvert-Lewin’s debut for Leeds, as shown in the graphic above, did little to ease any concerns about his ability in front of goal, as he missed four ‘big chances’ and a penalty in the club’s loss to Sheffield Wednesday in the League Cup.
The former England international did score an impressive header against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a 3-1 win for the Whites last month, but that is his only goal for the club to date.
Calvert-Lewin had a big chance to find the back of the net against Spurs on Saturday, when Noah Okafor pressed the defence into a mistake, but the experienced striker fired his effort high and wide of Guglielmo Vicario’s goal.
The English centre-forward was even worse than Longstaff against the Lilywhites because he struggled with his play in and out of possession of the ball.
Vs Spurs
Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Minutes
90
Shots
2
Big chances missed
1
Big chances created
0
Dribbles completed
0/3
Ground duels won
0/6
Aerial duels won
2/5
Fouls committed
3
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, Calvert-Lewin lost the vast majority of his duels, failed in all three of his attempted dribbles, and missed a ‘big chance’, which was the aforementioned one that he fired over the bar.
This shows that he was even worse than Longstaff, who at least won half of his duels and created five chances for the team, and the striker is now in danger of becoming the next Pierre-Michel Lasogga at Elland Road.
The German striker spent the 2017/18 campaign on loan at the club in the Championship and scored ten goals in 31 league matches, but his general play was less-than-impressive.
Former Leeds forward Noel Whelan once criticised the brute number nine, who was on loan from Hamburg, saying: “He looked heavy, he looked leggy, he looked slow.”
Unfortunately, some of those criticisms could also be levelled at Calvert-Lewin, who has lost 63% of his duels and completed just 17% of his attempted dribbles in the Premier League this season, per Sofascore, to go along with one goal and five ‘big chances’ missed.
The former Everton attacker is in danger of becoming the new Lasogga at Elland Road because of how clunky he has looked on the ball and how sloppy he has been in front of goal.
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Calvert-Lewin must finally find his form in front of goal and start to become more reliable with the ball at his feet and in duels with opposition defenders if he wants to avoid going down as a flop in West Yorkshire.
Leroy Sane’s surprise move to Galatasaray has drawn heavy criticism from Bayern Munich legend Oliver Kahn, who claimed the winger “doesn’t want to be a top player” despite having all the qualities to dominate at the highest level. The German international left Bayern this summer after five years, turning down a contract extension in favour of a new challenge in Turkey.
Sane’s Galatasaray switch questioned by Bayern great
Sane opted to leave the Bavarians at the end of his contract negotiations, ending a five-year spell in which he scored 61 goals and provided 55 assists in over 220 appearances. Despite interest from other European clubs, he rejected several offers to join Galatasaray, citing the atmosphere at Rams Park as decisive. His choice, however, has not gone down well with the former Bayern figure.
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Kahn: Sane has everything, absolutely everything
Speaking to , the former Bayern goalkeeper expressed disbelief at the winger's decision, insisting he has all the natural gifts to be an elite player.
"When you see him, what qualities he has – in training, on the pitch, his speed, his style of football, his dribbling, even his finishing when he's focused: The boy has everything, absolutely everything, you need to become a truly top player," said Kahn
The German stressed that the biggest question around Sane isn’t his ability, but his mentality and desire to consistently reach the very top.
"If he doesn't want that, then it's his decision, then his career will just follow a little differently, and now he has to make sure he finds his place at Galatasaray. If I don't come today, I'll come tomorrow – that's just his character, often with his entire body language."
Bayern forced into transfer reshuffle
The 29-year-old's exit left Die Roten short of experience out wide, prompting the German giants to splash €75 million (£65m/$87m) on Liverpool’s Luis Diaz. While Galatasaray have enjoyed a flawless start to the Super Lig, winning all seven games, Sane himself has struggled to settle. With just one goal and three assists in eight starts across competitions, his output has fallen short of expectations.
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Next steps for Sane in Istanbul
Sane remained on the bench during Galatasaray’s Champions League victory over Liverpool. However, with a crucial clash against Besiktas up next, the German international will be eager to break into the starting XI and prove that his move to Turkey was not a step down from European football’s elite stage.