
Mac Jones latest benching gives Patriots clear choice before trade deadline
The New England Patriots have a decision to make regarding quarterback Mac Jones and the team's future.
2023-10-09 05:54

3 QBs who should be benched after NFL Week 5
Another week of NFL football, another slate of poor QB performances. These players should start to feel the heat on their seat.
2023-10-09 05:54

Motor racing-Verstappen adds Qatar win to his title weekend
By Alan Baldwin DOHA Red Bull's Max Verstappen celebrated his first win as a triple Formula One world
2023-10-09 05:50

James Maddison pleased to see unbeaten Spurs ‘dig deep’ like ‘top team’ at Luton
James Maddison has urged Tottenham to keep acting like a “top team” after they headed into the international break still unbeaten in the Premier League. Spurs have faced Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal during their first eight league fixtures under new boss Ange Postecoglou and collected 20 points out of a possible 24. It represents Tottenham’s best start to a league season since their 1960-61 double-winning campaign, but they were forced to produce a different type of display on Saturday in a hard-fought 1-0 win at Luton, where they played the whole of the second half with 10 men. “You get the same three points here as you do beating Liverpool and United at home,” Maddison said. “It’s just as important. I absolutely loved the character of the lads. “You have 38 games in a season and not every game is going pretty, scoring goals, free-flowing, ‘AngeBall’. “Sometimes you have to dig deep and show the grit and determination. People are always asking top teams, do they have that side to them? The top teams all do and we want to be a top team. I’m so happy we showed that.” Ex-Celtic boss Postecoglou has only worked with this group of players since July, but they have quickly taken to his front-foot, attacking philosophy. Spurs have scored 18 goals in the Premier League with summer recruit Maddison involved in seven and topping the assist charts with five so far after he set up Micky van de Ven’s winner on Saturday, but he insists they remain a work in progress. He added: “We’re so early into the manager’s reign. We’re at the start. Even in training, sometimes the messages he’s giving us, it’s still new, we’re still working on it. It’s not like we’re three years in. “When you’ve worked with a manager for a long time, like when I was at Leicester with Brendan (Rodgers), I had been there that long I knew what he wanted from me. “I’d realise who we were playing at the weekend and have an idea of what my role would be at the weekend before we’d even trained or worked on it. You get that partnership and relationship. “We’re so early, we’re still at the start of that. It’s not about getting carried away. “Of course, it’s better to be up that end than the other end. Believe me, I’ve done both! I just want to continue that, continue working and that will leave it us where it leaves us.” You have 38 games in a season and not every game is going pretty, scoring goals, free-flowing, ‘AngeBall’. James Maddison Tottenham went top of the table on Saturday but Maddison played down talk of a title tilt yet. “We’ve played Arsenal, we’ve played Liverpool, we’ve played United. Coming here, it’s just a different type of challenge but it’s still tough,” the England international said. “Just because you’re playing Luton, it doesn’t mean there is more time or more space. It’s just a different challenge. “I probably didn’t expect us to be top of the league, unbeaten, no. “Realistically you would never even guess that far ahead. You just want to start well and we’re looking to continue that.” Read More Nottingham Forest are ‘living in the moment’ says boss Steve Cooper I had to make crucial tackle after doing Alan Shearer celebration – Danny Care Sean McDermott hopes Bills return to London despite loss to Jaguars He will not make it – Mikel Arteta confirms Bukayo Saka is out of England squad How did the VAR system fare after a week under the spotlight? Gabriel Martinelli snatches last-gasp victory for Arsenal against Man City
2023-10-09 05:49

Granada 2-2 Barcelona: Player ratings as late goal rescues point for Barca
Barcelona came from two goals behind to snatch a point away at a spirited Granada on Sunday evening.
2023-10-09 05:17

3 Patriots who should be fired or benched for Week 5 embarrassment
The Patriots got blown out 34-0 in Week 5's loss to the Saints. Here are the people to blame.
2023-10-09 05:16

Bavaria election results: Scholz coalition dealt a blow
Conservative and right-wing gains in Bavaria and Hesse will be felt across Germany.
2023-10-09 04:49

Pep Guardiola laments Rodri absence after Arsenal defeat
Pep Guardiola has admitted that Rodri's absence was a factor in Manchester City's defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
2023-10-09 04:29

3 unexpected NFL teams who should absolutely tank for Caleb Williams
Caleb Williams may be the best quarterback prospect to enter the NFL since Andrew Luck. These 3 teams may want to take advantage of a slow start and pivot to tank for him.
2023-10-09 04:27

Uefa postpones matches in war-torn Israel
Uefa has postponed all matches scheduled to take place in Israel over the next two weeks. War has left at least 700 people dead, a staggering toll on a scale the country has not experienced in decades. Israel were set to face Switzerland on Thursday in European Championship qualifying Group I but the match at Tel Aviv’s Bloomfield Stadium will not take place. The nation’s European Under-21 Championship qualifiers against Estonia and Germany on October 12 and 17 respectively have also been postponed. And European football’s governing body has also called a halt to an Under-17 mini-tournament involving Israel, Belgium, Gibraltar and Wales, due to run from Wednesday until October 17. Uefa said: “Uefa will continue to closely monitor the situation and will remain in contact with all teams involved before making decisions on new dates and on potential changes to other upcoming fixtures. “Uefa will take the coming days to assess whether Israel can take part in their Euro 2024 qualifier against Kosovo in Prishtina.” Read More Uefa torn over plans to reinstate Russian youth teams Liverpool-Tottenham replay possible under Uefa rules loophole
2023-10-09 04:26

Fortune favours Arsenal as Mikel Arteta finally outdoes Pep Guardiola
A crucial deflection, and maybe a diversion in the fortune of many of those involved in this growing fixture. Arsenal claimed their first Premier League victory over Manchester City since December 2015, and the first points for Mikel Arteta against his old employers. The Gunners came into the match facing the prospect of 13 losses in a row against the champions, but it was instead Arsenal that enjoyed the luck as the numbers finally changed. City themselves have lost two successive league games for the first time since December 2018, after Gabriel Martinelli’s opportunistic effort cannoned off the head of Nathan Ake and past Ederson for a win that may yet prove significant in the burgeoning title race. That shouldn’t just be dismissed as fortune, though, since Arteta’s side forced it. He had quite a telling intervention himself. At a key moment, the Basque introduced Kai Havertz, who offered a moment that may well prove a turning point in his early Arsenal career. It was the midfielder’s presence of mind and spatial awareness that set up Martinelli. It was also precisely the area that Rodri usually patrols, which ensured that these two league defeats in a row also made it three defeats from three without the defensive midfielder commonly seen as the best in the world now. That in turn made City look less than the European and English champions they are. They can admittedly point to other absences, but Arsenal were themselves missing Bukayo Saka to go with lesser depth. This will give the north Londoners much more substance, certainly from a psychological perspective. They won’t feel inferior any more. That could be seen in Declan Rice’s raucous reaction after the match, having put in a superb individual performance. It was more than deserved. City had never really been at it. Erling Haaland again went without scoring. One of City’s most productive periods of attacking was actually in the opening few minutes, only to be shut down by Rice. That was to become a theme. This moment was much more box-office than all the steadier work he did, as the midfielder headed a bouncing Josko Gvardiol strike off the line. It was in this period that City were closest to the Arsenal goal – if not necessarily any closer to a goal than that – as Julian Alvarez had evidently been instructed to hound David Raya for every touch. One quickfire interception was so close that it seemed like it rippled the inside of the net rather than the side. It felt like something that could end up proving influential, as did Michael Oliver’s first big refereeing decision. Rice and Jorginho did an awful lot to steady the general element of chaos about the Arsenal defending and get their side much higher up the pitch, and that evidently frustrated Mateo Kovacic. The Croatian went in wildly with two challenges. If Kovacic was fortunate the first wasn’t given as a red, it was simply remarkable it wasn’t two bookings. That just summed up how something wasn’t quite right about City. They weren’t always the only team like that, too. For a long time, it felt like it could be destined for a 0-0, amid that sense it was a game between the top two that came that bit too early in the season. There was a lot of frantic action but not that much focus or purpose. It was as if there was initially a subconscious awareness there was so much more football to come, lessening the stakes as well as the intensity. Neither of the managers felt like that, mind. They were watching in increasing agitation, looking to affect something. Arteta did so first. Arsenal did admittedly recover from their erratic start to assert themselves but most of their attacks were Gabriel Jesus or Martin Odegaard trying to dribble through. It was really as if Arsenal were missing Saka’s intensity. With a quarter of the match remaining, Alvarez was taken off for Jeremy Doku but City persisted with getting on Raya any time he got on the ball. Arsenal responded by introducing Havertz. It was to prove inspired, in a subtle way, which was a bit like how to describe the onfield product of that change. On 86 minutes, with the game looking like it was going to peter out in a stalemate but with Arsenal still pushing, the German found a bit of space around the area to also find Martinelli. The Brazilian forward took his chance and the shot, to claim the reward. He got some luck, but he had made that luck. It now completely changes Arsenal’s outlook for the season, as well as the very profile of the title race. Just nine days ago, after all, City had a 100 per cent record and looked like they could just roll to a record four titles in a row. They are now back in third, two behind both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, and one ahead of Liverpool. It is enticingly tight, even if it is still early. Arsenal’s late winner brought that feeling, as well as so much more emotion around the stadium. The significance of this was all too palpable, for the team, as well as so many individuals involved. This time, after that shot, it fell for them. Read More Brighton’s new midfield gem Carlos Baleba stays calm in the chaos of Liverpool draw Gary O’Neil plays down tension after Unai Emery walks away before handshake Substitute Mohammed Kudus earns West Ham a point with late equaliser against Newcastle How did the VAR system fare after a week under the spotlight? Gabriel Martinelli snatches last-gasp victory for Arsenal against Man City Arsenal deal blow to Manchester City, but the significance will only be felt in May
2023-10-09 03:26

He will not make it – Mikel Arteta confirms Bukayo Saka is out of England squad
Bukayo Saka will not join up with England for international duty next week, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has revealed. Saka was missing for the Gunners’ 1-0 win over Manchester City after struggling with a hamstring issue during recent matches. The absence of Saka ended his run of appearing in 87 consecutive Premier League games and Arteta says he will now sit out England’s upcoming fixtures with Australia (October 13) and Italy (October 17). “No, he will not make it,” Arteta said. “He has not trained for a single session. He is not available to play football at the moment.” The 22-year-old winger limped off during Arsenal’s loss at Lens on Tuesday, having also been withdrawn in last weekend’s victory at Bournemouth. England manager Gareth Southgate had stated on Thursday he would take no risks with Saka despite the Italy clash being a crucial European Championship qualifier. “I can only go via what Mikel (Arteta) has said about the last few games,” Southgate said earlier this week. “We look after the players as well as any country. There’s always a focus on our players because they are playing their club football, in the main, in England and then we are playing here as well. “Whereas all the other countries call the players that are playing in the Premier League and nobody looks at how they look after them and how they train them. “When we have really good dialogue with all of their clubs, I think they pretty much all would agree that we probably give better feedback than every other nation. “They have trust in us that we make decisions that are right for the long term whenever we can. We only have 10 matches a year. And there’s been times when… Bukayo, for example, we haven’t always played. “But there are certain key games where, if it’s possible to have your best players, then you do want to have them. “So we’ve got that responsibility of qualifying for the country but… I’ve been a player… I’ve never ever taken a risk on a player’s physical wellbeing. And nor would I.” Read More How did the VAR system fare after a week under the spotlight? Gabriel Martinelli snatches last-gasp victory for Arsenal against Man City Jacksonville Jaguars clinch back-to-back London wins by beating Buffalo Bills Louis Rees-Zammit focused on Wales glory over bid to be World Cup top try-scorer Aberdeen held to goalless draw by bottom side St Johnstone at wet Pittodrie Gregor Townsend eager for Scotland’s old heads to prolong international careers
2023-10-09 03:19