For seven innings of Thursday's game, the New York Yankees couldn't touch Seattle Mariners pitching. Mariners starter Bryan Woo tossed seven no-hit innings, then exited the game in the bottom of the eighth inning with a 5-1 lead after surrendering a sacrifice fly, entrusting the four-run margin to the Mariners' reliable bullpen. Only, this time, Mariners reliever Matt Brash, who has an ERA under 1.00, yielded a two-run home run to Giancarlo Stanton.
Then, something even stranger occurred. Mariners closer Andrés Muñoz, an All-Star for the second time this year, surrendered two earned runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to blow the save. And in stark contrast to how they fared against Woo, the Yankees were all over Muñoz.
There was a good reason for that.
After the game, Mariners All-Star catcher Cal Raleigh admitted that Muñoz was tipping his pitches.
"He was tipping it every time at second base," Raleigh said, via . “Obviously, they weren’t making it very discreet, I guess is the word. It’s part of the game. It’s our job. We should have known about that going into the series. That made it really hard there at the end."
Mariners manager Dan Wilson disagreed, telling reporters he didn't "think" Muñoz was tipping his pitches. That could simply be Wilson putting on a public front in an attempt to dismiss what the Yankees had done, as broadcast replays clearly show that New York seemed to pick something up from the Mariners reliever. In particular, every time Muñoz threw a slider, Yankees outfielder Trent Grisham, who was standing on second base, would wave an arm in the air to alert New York's batter.
Muñoz had tossed 8 1/3 scoreless innings entering Thursday's appearance. The Yankees went on to win on a walk-off sacrifice fly by reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge in the bottom of the 10th inning, completing a rare comeback that hadn't been seen in MLB in nearly 50 years.
As for the tipping pitches? Raleigh acknowledged it's something the Mariners are going to need to "figure out."
"Yeah, you try to do as much as you can without trying to distract him from what’s happening at the plate," Raleigh continued. "That’s something that we will have to figure out in the next couple of days for sure."
Seattle will next take on the Detroit Tigers in a three-game series before the All-Star break.
Manchester United’s squad at present is full of top-level talent in numerous areas of the pitch, but Ruben Amorim has so far struggled to make use of the players at his disposal.
The hierarchy have constantly splashed the cash in recent years, with over £200m being spent on new attacking talents during the recent summer transfer window.
The likes of Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Sesko and Matheus Cunha all made the move to Old Trafford, but they have only posted a total of eight Premier League goals combined in 2025/26.
Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 system has seen Mbeumo operate in a somewhat unnatural central attacking midfield role, no doubt taking away his best asset – cutting inside off the right-hand side – away from him.
As a result, one player has indirectly suffered this campaign, with the manager recently coming under fire for his lack of faith shown in the player over recent months.
The latest on Kobbie Mainoo’s Man Utd future
Just a couple of years ago, Kobbie Mainoo was a key member of the United first-team squad, with the midfielder often starting at the heart of Erik ten Hag’s side.
He emerged out of the club’s academy setup, often popping up with key moments, as seen by his incredible achievements during the 2023/24 campaign.
The 20-year-old scored a late winner in the clash against Wolverhampton Wanderers, whilst also netting in the FA Cup final against Manchester City – resulting in a place in the England squad for Euro 2024.
However, his career has taken a nosedive over the last 12 months, with Amorim evidently not seeing the academy graduate as part of his long-term plans at Old Trafford.
Mainoo has featured in nine league matches to date, none of which have come from a starting role, leading to one journalist questioning the manager over the midfielder after yesterday’s draw.
The 40-year-old simply laughed when asked about bringing the youngster on to try and win the game at the Theatre of Dreams, which sums up the faith he currently has in him at present.
However, an escape route could well be on the cards for Mainoo ahead of the January transfer window, with Napoli constantly tracking the Englishman over a potential transfer.
The Man Utd player that Amorim is misusing in 2025/26
The reluctance to utilise Mainoo in 2025/26 is just one of Amorim’s biggest failures to date, with the youngster massively deserving the chance to thrive under his guidance.
However, his recent spell on the substitutes bench highlights the lack of faith shown in him by the manager, with a solution desperately needed in the coming months.
The same could also be said about numerous other players, as seen by the struggles endured within the final third of the pitch over the last couple of matches in the Premier League.
Mbeumo has now failed to find the back of the net in each of his last three outings, but the forward is set to go to AFCON throughout January, which could leave a huge hole in the Red Devils’ attack.
His month-long spell away from Manchester could open up the door for Bruno Fernandes to once again feature in the number ten position – a role that is no doubt his best.
The Portuguese international operated in an attacking midfield role during 2024/25, resulting in the 31-year-old registering 37 combined goals and assists across all competitions.
However, the £200m spending spree in attacking areas has resulted in the United captain dropping into a deep-lying number eight position, which has taken away his creative nature in recent months.
He still currently has a total of five assists in his 14 appearances this campaign, but there’s little denying he’s endured a drop-off from his form last season.
Bruno, who’s been dubbed United’s “best player post Fergie” by writer Kaustubh Pandey, has now had to contribute more defensively, as seen by his increased tally of tackles won per 90 compared to last season.
However, whilst he’s still managed to play a part in winning the ball back for his side, it’s come with an adverse effect – subsequently resulting in a lack of creativity in attacking areas.
He’s only scored twice in the Premier League to date, one of which was a penalty, highlighting his lack of impact in terms of goal contributions in 2025/26.
Games played
14
Goals scored
2
Pass accuracy
83%
Shots on target
0.7
Chances created
1.8
Tackles won
1.8
Duels won
4.6
Interceptions made
0.6
It’s clear to everyone but Amorim that the Portuguese star is better in an attacking role, which means one of the £200m additions may need to be sacrificed.
Such a move could open up a free role at the heart of the Red Devils side, which could allow Mainoo to have the run of games he needs to save his United career
However, if Amorim is unable to make such changes in the near future, it could result in the 40-year-old losing his job at Old Trafford in the near future – with such a decision an easy one for him to make.
Fewer touches than Lammens & 100% duels lost: Man Utd flop must be dropped
Ruben Amorim has multiple changes to make after his side’s 1-1 draw with West Ham United.
NZ have lost all their last 15 completed ODIs against Australia, but captain Devine believes this stat doesn’t matter in a World Cup
Vishal Dikshit30-Sep-20253:02
Devine: ‘The wicket looks incredibly flat’
New Zealand captain Sophie Devine started her media assignments for the 2025 World Cup just like how she wants her side to play their opening game against Australia on Wednesday: with a hiss and a roar.She waltzed into the press conference room donning a White Ferns jumper in the freezing air-conditioned room. She had brought some warmth with her, it would seem. Except when she started to face some hard-hitting questions.”You haven’t beaten Australia in eight years,” she was coldly reminded straightaway of their record against the reigning champions. New Zealand have lost all their last 15 completed ODIs against Australia.Related
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“Thanks for that stat,” she retorted before quashing away such historical records. “I think it’s a great opportunity. Those stats are there and we’re aware of them, but at World Cups, it doesn’t matter. I think records and previous results go out the window for us. It’s a really exciting opportunity to take on the reigning one-day champions first up. We love any opportunity that we get to play against Australia. It’s sort of like our big sister. We’re really excited about that. And come game day, both teams start on zero. So, again, really excited for the opportunity.”Another journalist then asked something that stumped her again. “How does it feel to come out of retirement to lead your country again?” (She hadn’t, she is retire from ODIs after this World Cup).As if Devine knew that was coming, she shot back saying, “I haven’t retired. I haven’t retired,” she repeated to sear it into his memory. “Are you saying I need to retire? Is that what you’re saying? That’s okay. It’s okay.”Devine meant it all in jest though and normalcy soon resumed even when she was asked about the weaknesses in New Zealand’s middle order, which she didn’t quite agree with.Sophie Devine wants New Zealand to play ‘strong and aggressive’ at the World Cup•AFP/Getty Images
“…The middle order has been going considerably well,” she said. “Maddy Green, Izzy Gaze both scoring hundreds [in the warm-ups]. I know you’re probably talking about official one-day matches, but for us, we’ve built really nicely. We haven’t played a lot of cricket, especially one-day format, over the last six-nine months, but it’s certainly something that we’re aware of. We know that in this competition, especially on some of the wickets that we’re going to face over here in India, that run-scoring is going to be incredibly important. It’s up to everyone.”We can’t just rely on the top four, we need the middle order. There’s going to be crucial runs scored by the lower order as well at some stage during this tournament. I think if you look to the India-Australia series just before this, 400 nearly wasn’t enough. I think it’s really exciting. As batters, we certainly know that we want to take ownership and responsibility of being the ones that do the bulk of the work. We’re really excited to be able to play on wickets like this, which I think are really conducive for scoring runs.”New Zealand have the most unenviable task in this World Cup: starting their campaign against seven-time champions Australia. But even a win over them would not count for more than two points because each team plays seven league games and will need a consistent run of victories to make the semi-finals in the eight-team tournament.”I don’t think we can necessarily focus on one game,” she said about the clash on Wednesday. “I think for us, every match is going to be incredibly important. Absolutely, we want to start this tournament with a real hiss and a roar and make sure that we come out really strong and aggressive. And the fact that it’s Australia that we play first, I think for us, what we keep going back to is making sure that we play our style of cricket. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing against.2:02
McGrath on playing NZ: ‘We know each other’s game really well’
“Absolutely, everyone wants to win their first game, but there’s still a lot of cricket. It’s over a month of cricket to be played. For us, our focus is on making sure that we can execute to our skills for long periods of time. Absolutely. We want to beat these Aussies first up and get some points on the board, but it’s probably more important for us on how we play that game.”If New Zealand look at their trans-Tasman rivals as their “big sister,” their opponents also look at it as a not-so-intense rivalry.”We’ve got a really nice rivalry with New Zealand. We call it the friendly rivalry,” Australia vice-captain Tahlia McGrath said. “We’ve played each other a lot over the last 12 months and sort of know each other’s game really well through franchise cricket as well. And we just finished our prep meeting and think we match up really nicely. So we go ahead into this clash really, really confident and really excited.”McGrath agreed with Devine in saying that such records of a 15-0 streak in ODIs between the two teams became “irrelevant” in World Cups where the pressure is different and every game becomes “crucial.”But there’s no denying that the team that ends up winning by the end of Wednesday night will have its job of making it to the last four much easier.
There were moments of silence on Friday while state teams joined in putting their bats out
Andrew McGlashan31-Oct-2025
A moment of silence for young Ben Austin before the start of the Australia vs India T20I at the MCG•Getty Images
Tributes have been paid around the world for 17-year-old Melbourne cricketer Ben Austin, who died on Thursday after an accident batting in the nets.He was struck in the neck by a ball thrown by a sidearm while practicing at Ferntree Cricket Club. His life support was turned off on Thursday morning.Ahead of the T20I between Australia and India at the MCG, both teams stood with match officials and representatives from Austin’s cricket clubs for a moment’s silence, with a crowd approaching 75,000 at the time, while Austin’s image was shown on the big screen and his cap placed on a plinth on the outfield. Players from each team and the match officials also wore black armbands.Overnight at the women’s World Cup, both the Australia and India teams wore black armbands in their semi-final.In the Sheffield Shield matches that concluded on Friday, teams put their bats out in memory of Austin and wore black armbands while a minute’s silence was held before the resumption of the Victoria-Tasmania game at Junction Oval in Melbourne.Around the world, cricket boards and players offered their condolences.On Thursday, Austin’s father Jace said that cricket was a huge part of his life. “This tragedy has taken Ben from us, but we find some comfort that he was doing something he did for so many summers – going down to the nets with mates to play cricket,” he said in a statement. “He loved cricket and it was one of the joys of his life.”Cricket Australia and Cricket Victoria are providing support.”It makes you so proud to realise how connected the cricket community is and how much we look after each other … but it’s a shame that it’s these moments that remind you of that very fact,” Cricket Victoria CEO Nick Cummins told reporters on Friday.”Ben was the classic Aussie boy or girl who loved footy in the winter and cricket in the summer. He is how we would like all of our children to turn out, and was living the dream.”Victoria and Tasmania players put their bats out in memory of Ben Austin•Getty Images
The accident has raised questions about the use of sidearms, or wangers, at club and junior level and also whether greater protection should be mandated. Austin was wearing a helmet but it did not include a stem guard, which are now compulsory in Cricket Australia-sanctioned matches but currently only “strongly recommended” at community level.”I think the temptation in moments like this is to move to solution mode,” Cummins said on Thursday. “At the moment, our focus is around providing support and counselling for those people who experienced the trauma. There will be an appropriate time to review that and answer those questions.”Friend and team-mate Liam Vertigan said Ferntree Gully Cricket Club was in a state of shock over the death of such an energetic young man.”He lived and breathed his cricket,” Mr Vertigan told AAP. “He was just well loved by us all, very, very polite, always with a smile on his face.”Within hours of the tragedy, dozens of flower bouquets, sweet treats and a handful of cricket bats left by grieving friends had turned into a memorial for the teen.The accident came more than a decade after the death of Phillip Hughes, who was struck in the neck with a ball while batting in a Sheffield Shield game at the SCG. Hughes’ family were among those sending condolences, expressing hope that Austin’s family would be comforted by cherished memories of the teenager.As of Friday afternoon, a GoFundMe for Austin’s family had raised over AUD$120,000.
Ten T20I defeats in a row couldn’t sway resilient team from sticking to their guns in emphatic win
Shashank Kishore04-Oct-2024Sophie Devine had to scream her lungs out to get Maddy Green’s attention at long-off. She was unhappy with Green’s positioning and implored her to move a few yards to her right. The move was partly instinctive as much it was down to an understanding of Smriti Mandhana’s strengths, having played with her in the Women’s Premier League.Four balls into Eden Carson’s second over, the ploy was rewarded when Mandhana tempted fate and holed out to long-off. And just like that, Mandhana’s plans of playing a shot she scores a lot of runs off, especially early on against spin, were nipped in the bud.Devine revealed the plan for Mandhana was one among many that New Zealand put together for this World Cup opener, and while the results had been slow to come to fruition over the course of the previous year, what had remained was their steadfast belief in their methods.”Look, to be honest, we’ve been planning for this game for about, I don’t know, probably close to a year,” Devine said. “We’ve been really focused on this one game for a long time now, and the level of detail that we’ve gone into, in terms of match-ups, field settings, obviously it helps having played a little bit in the WPL.”It’s all well and good to have plans. If the bowlers can’t execute it, it doesn’t mean anything. But I thought the bowlers were outstanding. We were really clear around what plans we wanted to use and how we wanted to use them, and for them to execute and to pick up wickets regularly is something that I was really proud of. It’s a pretty cool feeling to have plans executed, and to be rewarded for it.”One of those plans that Devine touched upon, it seemed, was bowling a heavy ball. On a Dubai surface where the dew didn’t come on as anticipated, the ball was gripping more than a hint. And Lea Tahuhu showed the value of hitting hard lengths. The wickets of Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh and Deepti Sharma were reward for that unwavering discipline.Tahuhu’s natural swing, courtesy of her slingy action, tends to take the ball away. While she isn’t the tallest bowler in the game, she has worked previously with Jacob Oram, the former New Zealand allrounder turned bowling coach, on a slower bouncer to complement her hard lengths.Friday’s plan was confirmation of the extent to which the players have bought into the team’s methods, without being swayed by the uncertainty that a series of insipid results, including 10 successive T20I losses, can bring.”I think a word that got used today when we were presenting our jerseys was ‘resilient’ and, when I think of resilient people, I think of Leah,” Devine said. “She’s obviously been in and out of the side, she’s battled through injuries, she’s obviously got a young family now, and [she showed] her ability to just keep bouncing back and then to perform in pressure situations like she did today.Related
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“As a captain it’s a real privilege to be able to throw her the ball and know that she’s going to fight tooth and nail to do whatever she can for this team. And people like that are so important in a team environment, because that mongrel spirit is infectious and I thought she’s been great today. Long may it continue.”The brightest example of New Zealand’s spirit is Georgia Plimmer who was backed to open despite a horror run of form all through the summer. She made 26 runs in four innings during a winless England tour and had just one not-so-fluent half-century in the final T20I of an otherwise forgettable Australia tour.A T20I strike-rate that had been just a nudge above 84 revealed more than an inkling of struggle in the Powerplay. It may have been prudent for Devine to move up herself, but the New Zealand captain laid out what she termed a succession plan, for when she and Suzie Bates eventually decide to move on.One of those plans was to back Plimmer to find her feet in the pressure of international cricket. And on Friday, she launched a powerplay salvo that rattled India. In the context of her career and the match, Plimmer’s 23-ball 34 up top was worth so much more, even though there were other batters, such as Devine herself, whose unbeaten 36-ball 57 looks the more significant on the scorecard.”The cricket gods decided to be with us today and sometimes that’s all it is, isn’t it?,” Devine asked. “Sometimes you get a lucky bounce, sometimes you get, you know … a catch goes in the gap. I don’t think it’s through lack of effort, it’s not through lack of trying, it’s not through lack of preparation, I think it’s just sometimes the way cricket is.”So, I’m just really proud of this group to keep sticking at it, to keep believing in themselves. Trust me, we’ve been copping stuff from all over the place about the batting order, and I hope today shows exactly why we’ve been sticking with it for the last 12-18 months, because we believe in this batting order.”We believe in the openers, we believe in Melie [Amelia Kerr], and we believe in myself and the rest of the group. So hopefully that’s brought us a little bit of breathing space, but we know that it’s on us now to make sure that we back it up.”In a way, New Zealand played like a team that wasn’t burdened by the same expectations as India. Neither are they bound by history. Devine admits theirs is a transition that has loomed for longer than expected, which they’re trying to address in the best possible way.All told, New Zealand played like a team that would’ve embraced delight and dejection in equal measure, provided they didn’t deviate from plans that had been in the making for a while. And when the spotlight was on them on a grand stage against a more fancied opponent, they conjured magic to sting their opponents like few defeats in recent memory.
Manchester United’s topsy-turvy campaign continued on Monday night but fortunately, it was all smiles in the end as they demolished a dreadful Wolves side 4-1 at Molineux.
Bruno Fernandes was in supreme form, scoring twice and registering an assist but he wasn’t the only player on the away side who stood out.
Bryan Mbeumo ended his run of games without finding the net while Mason Mount continued his impressive form as one of the leading men in Amorim’s attack.
Amorim speaks out after Wolves win
There has been a lot of debate surrounding the position of Fernandes this season. The club captain is an attacking midfielder by trade but has been used as a deeper-lying figure under Ruben Amorim.
That said, he’s still impacting things and arguably had one of his finest games under the young Portuguese manager to date when they travelled to Wolverhampton.
Speaking after the game, Amorim was delighted with the performance, although he was critical of the opening 45 minutes.
He told the press: “I think, once again, after we scored a goal we were a little bit sloppy on the ball and that gave a little bit of hope to the opponent.”
Amorim continued: “But, we created a lot of chances in the first half also. We should have finished that half in a different way and then at half-time they understood that we have everything to win the game, to win three points. And they did that.
“I think the pace, the quality that we showed in the second half, understanding that the moment of Wolves is really hard as a team, as a club, so we took advantage of that.”
Mount receives the acclaim from Amorim
This has been a season of rejuvenation for Mount whose time at Old Trafford has been a difficult one to date, largely due to injury.
However, after scoring against Wolves, it means the England international has now scored three goals in his last seven outings for United. Not jaw-dropping numbers sure, but it’s a return to some sort of prominence for a man who’s been on the periphery for so long.
Amorim was seemingly ecstatic with Mount post-game, telling reporters: “He can defend, he can attack, the quality when he touches the ball is really good, so it’s not a surprise for me,” Amorim said.
The manager continued: “He’s a different type of leader. It’s not like Licha (Lisandro Martinez), for example. It’s a guy that leads by example.”
Amorim concluded by summarising how the former Chelsea man is around the training ground: “It doesn’t matter the situation, Mason Mount is always the same thing – training, talking, dealing with people around Carrington. That is not easy, so he’s a very, very good player.”
While Mount has played as a striker on the odd occasion this term, he featured in an attacking midfield role with Matheus Cunha leading the line instead against Wolves. It seemed to work a treat for United on Monday evening.
100% pass success & 100% duels won: Man Utd star is as undroppable as Bruno
Manchester United have unearthed another star after yesterday’s win over Wolves at Molineux.
Leeds United boss Daniel Farke has accused Gianluigi Donnarumma of "faking" an injury to allow Pep Guardiola to deliver a Manchester City team talk when the game was hanging in the balance. The Italian asked for treatment in the second half when Leeds had made it 2-1 and were in the ascendancy. The visitors got it back to 2-2 before Phil Foden's stoppage-time winner secured all three points on Saturday at the Etihad.
Man City survive Leeds scare
City were 2-0 up and cruising at half time thanks to goals from Foden and Josko Gvardiol but the second half was a very different story. Goals from Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha, after his penalty was saved, gave the lowly visitors a great chance of an upset. But Foden's second in the 91st minute eased the home team's nerves as they went second in the Premier League.
After the match, City boss Pep Guardiola told BBC Sport: "After Daniel [Farke] changed shape, long balls to Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha running behind, it was always a struggle. That emotion is part of the football. We had the chances and at the end finally we found our goal."
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Leeds boss wants rule change
While Farke was deflated after the loss, one moment from the game stuck in his craw. Just before the hour mark, City goalkeeper Donnarumma motioned to the medical staff to tend to him. During this break in play, Guardiola called the other 10 City players to him to deliver new instructions after Leeds changed their shape. While the Whites went on to equalise, City secured the win, but Farke was not happy with the Italian stopper's actions. The German, who stopped short of criticising Guardiola, said a rule change needs to be sworn in to stop things like this happening.
"Everyone knows why he went down, right? It’s not like the elephant in the room. You can ask me what I think about it, why he went down, I think it was obvious," he said. "It’s within the rules. It’s smart. If I like it, if it’s in the sense of fair play, if it should be like this, I keep it to myself and leave it to the authorities to find solutions to it. It’s within the rules. I asked the fourth official if he wanted to do something, he said, 'No, our hands are tied, we can’t do anything'. If we don’t educate our players in football what to do in terms of fair play, sportsmanship, if you try to bend the rules to your advantage, and you can fake an injury in order to do an additional team talk, I think it’s not something I personally like, but if it’s within the rules I can’t complain about it.
"My recommendation is if this happens, then every 50-50 to the away team rather than the home team. After 90 minutes at 2-2, I would have blown the whistle rather than all the time added on. There are tools you can use to make sure this doesn’t happen. There’s a reason why the goalkeeper goes down and not an outfield player; an outfield player would have to go off. I think for the authorities to find a solution, in the sense of fair play, I have my doubts. I don’t criticise my colleague. It’s not that he (Guardiola) went down. If he has time to do that and if there’s an injury, I would do it. We have such a great relationship, and Pep is by far the best manager in the world. To tweak something in a game, there is nobody better. There’s not one per cent criticism of Pep. The fact that this happens, everyone knows it."
Leeds show much-needed fight
While this was Leeds' fourth defeat in a row, heaping more pressure on manager Farke, the way the Yorkshire side came back into the game will encourage many connected to the club. But, ultimately, they came away pointless from Manchester.
He told BBC Sport: "We came here not for compliments or warm words, we came here for points. We had the worst possible start to this game. Normally, if you want points here, you have to win the set-pieces. I have to give many compliments to my lads. We deserved to equalise. Both teams could have won it. Heartbreaking for my lads. We’re disappointed because we deserved something but my boys should be proud of how they reacted to the worst possible start. They should take lots of confidence out of this."
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Crunch games for Leeds
Leeds, who remain 18th in the Premier League, have just begun a particularly tough run of games in the English top-flight. After the City match, they host third-placed Chelsea on Wednesday, before entertaining out-of-form Liverpool next weekend. A trip to high-flying Brentford and then a home match against a confident Crystal Palace round off a difficult run of fixtures before Christmas.
UEFA is facing separate legal battles worth a total of €4.5 billion as Real Madrid and A22, the company behind the European Super League, are suing the governing body in the wake of a court ruling. A22 have also sent a letter to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, demanding the controversial project be given full approval.
The €4.5bn lawsuit
According to , the European Super League’s organisers and Madrid are launching separate lawsuits against UEFA, arguing that the organisation's actions caused substantial financial harm to the divisive project. Attempts to block the competition, which aims to challenge the Champions League by pitting the continent's strongest teams against each other, were dashed when the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) determined in 2023 that UEFA and FIFA acted unlawfully by blocking the creation of the Super League. Then, in October, the Provincial Court of Madrid dismissed appeals lodged by UEFA, La Liga, and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), upholding the earlier judgment.
In a new letter to UEFA, A22 warned of legal consequences should they refuse to adhere to that ruling and grant official approval within two months.
"Despite our substantial concessions, no agreement has been reached," it read. "Consequently, we hereby reiterate our request for UEFA's formal acknowledgement of our proposal (amended to reflect the negotiations mentioned above) as soon as possible and, in any event, no later than eight weeks from the date of this letter."
Meanwhile, Madrid president Florentino Perez confirmed at the Annual General Meeting that the club will file their own lawsuit, which will take the entire claims against UEFA to €4.5bn.
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The new proposed format
The Super League was originally launched with 12 founding clubs as a closed competition, immediately sparking backlash across Europe. Following intense criticism and negotiations with UEFA, the organisers introduced several major reforms to reshape the project into a more open and competitive model. The revised format proposed expanding the competition to 36 clubs, divided into two groups of 18 in a “Super-Champions” style league, with the top teams advancing to the knockout stages. Governance reforms were also put forward, including a new board composed of participating clubs, UEFA or the European Football Council, and player representatives. Significantly, three player delegates would have voting power on crucial matters such as revenue distribution and competition format. A22 additionally suggested creating a unified digital platform called 'Unify' to stream free football content to fans worldwide.
Despite these amendments, UEFA ultimately rejected the proposals, sparking further action from Madrid and A22.
Madrid left alone in the fight
The Super League project, launched in 2021 by giants such as Madrid, Barcelona, Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea, collapsed almost immediately under massive fan protests and strong pressure from football authorities. The English clubs withdrew within days, leaving Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus as the project's remaining supporters. Over time, however, Juventus and Barcelona’s stances shifted. With UEFA introducing a new Champions League format that promises higher revenues, improved competitiveness and several structural adjustments, the Italian side pulled out in June 2024, three years before the other teams withdrew, and Barcelona followed in October this year. The Catalan side's exit leaves their Clasico rivals as the last remaining team still publicly advocating for the Super League.
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Madrid looking to get back to winning ways
UEFA will look to find common ground with A22 and Madrid before granting official recognition to the revamped Super League. Fans will hope that a solution emerges that serves the broader interests of football. Meanwhile, Madrid are set to host Olympiacos in the Champions League on Wednesday, with Los Blancos aiming to return to winning ways after suffering a loss and two draws in recent games against Liverpool, Rayo Vallecano and Elche.
Manchester City’s nine-match unbeaten run is over, with familiar issues coming to the fore.
On Sunday, Pep Guardiola’s team were beaten 1-0 by Aston Villa, Matty Cash the afternoon’s only scorer, condemning the Sky Blues to a third successive defeat at Villa Park for the first time since 1966.
Midfield was certainly the biggest problem position for the Citizens.
With Rodri still sidelined, and his natural deputy Nico González picking up a knock against Villarreal in the Champions League on Tuesday, Tijjani Reijnders was deployed as a one-man midfield in the Midlands, but struggled both in and out of possession.
So, with crucial and challenging fixtures right around the corner, should Guardiola recall an experienced member of his squad who has been compared to, arguably, the club’s greatest midfielder of the Abu Dhabi-era?
Rodri's importance to Manchester City in numbers
Manchester City’s downturn in results last season was primarily put down to Rodri’s absence, seeing a miserly 73 minutes of action in the Premier League, rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament against Arsenal.
Well, after starting only three Premier League matches to commence this campaign, the Ballon d’Or suffered a hamstring injury at Brentford earlier this month, a major blow for both the team and the player, and the date of his return is not yet known.
Since his debut at West Ham in August 2019, Manchester City have lost only 38 of 237 Premier League matches, with the Spaniard sitting out 17 of these defeats (45%), including 16 of 18 since 5 February 2023 at Tottenham.
In fact, August’s 2-1 reverse at Brighton was the first time Rodri had started a Premier League match and lost for 938 days.
In summary, to reiterate the obvious, he is very important to Guardiola’s team, who are simply not the same without their midfield fulcrum, so with both Reijnders and Nico struggling to fill his void, do Man City have the ideal candidate for this role in their squad?
Manchester City's ideal Rodri deputy
Having spent over £380m across the January and summer transfer windows, many of Manchester City’s existing players have rather been forgotten about.
Well, Mateo Kovačić certainly fits into that category, but he could certainly still be a useful contributor.
After requiring achilles surgery in June, thereby sitting out the Club World Cup, the Croatian international had not been seen in sky blue this season, before coming off the bench against both Everton and Villarreal in the last week or so.
Nevertheless, as the table below documented, Kovačić was a massively important figure in Guardiola’s team last season.
Kovačić 2024/25 stats
Stats
Kovačić
Man City rank
Goals
7
4th
Shots
51
7th
Goals – xG
+4.8
1st
Completed passes
2,020
4th
Key passes
35th
7th
Big chances created
6
8th
Passes into final 3rd
240
4th
Progressive passes
193
3rd
Tackles
74
1st
Interceptions
30
2nd
Touches per 90
87.8
3rd
Average rating
7.31
4th
Stats via FBref and SofaScore
As the table emphasises, Kovačić was one of Man City’s best performers last season.
Only Erling Braut Håland, Omar Marmoush and Phil Foden scored more goals across all competitions, while he also ranked very highly for chance creation, passing, touches and defensive metrics such as tackles and interceptions, which is a long-winded way of saying he was an all-action midfielder.
During his time at Chelsea, then manager Frank Lampard labelled him “intelligent” while, following a 3-2 win over Fulham 12 months ago, Guardiola described him as a “copy and paste” Rodri.
Meantime, former Man City defender Micah Richards described Kovačić as being “like Yaya [Touré]”, arguably the club’s best-ever midfielder, noting that the Croatian “can beat three players with his skill”, concluding that he is a vitally important player.
In his pomp, especially in the 2013/14 campaign, Touré was untouchable, both literally and metaphorically, possibly the best all round midfielder the Premier League has ever seen and, while he may not be that good, Kovačić certainly shares those same well-rounded characteristics.
Thus, with key games against high-flying Bournemouth, Borussia Dortmund and then beleaguered champions Liverpool all to come in the next fortnight, Kovačić’s return could be the Sky Blues’ under-the-radar secret weapon.
The Citizens travel to Swansea City in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, and it would probably be sensible for Guardiola to give the Croatian a run out, helping to rebuild his fitness, although who knows, those in South Wales may get a glimpse of the lesser-spotted Kalvin Phillips, after his cameo in round three.
0 tackles & 0 dribbles: Pep must axe 4/10 Man City star who won just 1 duel
Manchester City were beaten 1-0 by Aston Villa on Sunday, bringing to an end their unbeaten run, and player in particular stood out in a negative way.
Marnus Labuschagne forced to open after back spasm forces Usman Khawaja off the field
Alex Malcolm21-Nov-2025
AFP/Getty Images
Usman Khawaja was unable to open for Australia after an ill-timed decision to leave the field to get treatment for back spasms just before England’s first innings collapse on the opening day of in Perth leading to a hasty reshuffle of their top order.After months of debate about Australia’s batting order and the selectors’ decision to reinstate Marnus Labuschagne at No. 3, he was forced to open anyway alongside debutant Jake Weatherald after Khawaja spent the last three overs of England’s innings off the field as they lost 5 for 20 in 23 balls to be bowled out for just 172.”I didn’t know about it until the ninth wicket when he still had 10 minutes or so [to make up],” Mitchell Starc said. “We got caught off guard a little bit with the wickets falling pretty quickly in the back end there. It’s just unfortunate that was the case. He’ll manage that overnight and see how we’re at tomorrow.”Khawaja, 38, had left the field several times in the first three hours of play and exited again with the score at 152 for 5 after 29 overs. Khawaja battled back stiffness through the day and had a back spasm the second time he left the field.Related
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England then collapsed while he was stretching to overcome the spasm and it left stand-in captain Steven Smith calling for Khawaja to come back onto the field. Khawaja eventually did return to the field for the end of the innings but according to ICC rules had not returned for the equal amount of time he had been off and therefore was ineligible to open the batting.”I don’t think we really realised he wasn’t going to come out at the start of the innings. It was probably more unsettling for the Aussies,” Brydon Carse said after play.It is understood Khawaja did not have a prior back injury. However, Khawaja did play 18 holes of golf on Thursday, having missed Australia’s last optional training session, and also played several times earlier in the week. It is not unusual for Khawaja to play golf the day before a Test match. Scott Boland and Mitchell Starc, who took a career-best 7 for 58 on Friday, also played on Thursday along with several members of the coaching staff.It meant Weatherald faced the first over from Jofra Archer, although he may have done so anyway. Weatherald had not faced the first ball of an innings in each of his last 20 first-class innings before his Test debut, during a run of form that saw him earn his first Test cap.He was trapped lbw second ball by a searing full delivery from Archer that knocked him off his feet. His duck mirrored that of Nathan McSweeney’s on Test debut for Australia when opening against India at the same ground 12 months ago in very similar circumstances.Given the wicket fell so soon into the innings, it meant Smith walked out at No. 3 for the first time in a Test since 2017, although he had opened alongside in four Tests in early 2024 before returning to his preferred No. 4.Khawaja made his way to the middle at No. 4 after Labuschagne fell to Archer after tea. Like a few in the top order, he didn’t end up surviving long, gloving a superb delivery from Carse to the keeper for 2, as Australia followed suit in struggling with the bat and ended the day on 123 for 9.