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Wyatt-Hodge scored her fourth half-century of the season while Strano starred with five wickets

AAP01-Dec-2025

Hobart Hurricanes have reinforced their standing as the team to beat in the WBBL, bolstering their grip on first spot with an 81-run demolition of Melbourne Stars on DLS method at Bellerive Oval.Danni Wyatt-Hodge’s classy 71 paced Hurricanes’ imposing 176 for 4 from 17 rain-reduced overs in the top-of-the-table blockbuster on Monday night, before Molly Strano (5 for 16) reduced Stars to a paltry 98 in response, after they were set an adjusted target of 180.Wyatt-Hodge moved past Meg Lanning to the head of the Golden Bat standings with her fourth half-century of the season, before pouching three catches.She started slowly with two off her first 11 deliveries, before blossoming in her 47-ball knock.”Sometimes you’ve just got to ride that wave and Lizzy (Lee) was smashing it at the other end, so I didn’t need to panic,” Wyatt-Hodge said.”It was just a matter of digging in, keeping the intent and staying brave. Hopefully we can keep the form up – everyone’s playing really well.”Hard-hitting South African Lizelle Lee was the early aggressor, but a 33-minute rain delay stalled her momentum and she holed out for 32 just after the resumption.Nat Sciver-Brunt (31) found Danielle Gibson in the deep, before captain Elyse Villani was run out late.Stars started horribly in reply and never recovered as their four-game winning streak came to a crashing halt, with tail-ender Sasha Moloney (31) offering the only resistance.Rhys McKenna (1) was trapped plumb in front by a hooping Nicola Carey inswinger, before Linsey Smith (2-29) captured the key scalp of Lanning (9), bowled after missing a cut shot.Smith dismissed Stars skipper Annabel Sutherland (11), before fellow spinner Molly Strano came on and bagged three wickets in her first over.Wyatt-Hodge snared a left-handed blinder at point to remove Amy Jones (19), before Marizanne Kapp (0) was caught behind and Gibson (1) holed out.Strano then picked up a fourth wicket with just her seventh ball when Kim Garth (3) offered Wyatt-Hodge another catch.The offspinner’s fifth scalp was Moloney, caught by player of the match Wyatt-Hodge.

Lyon, Abbott, Khawaja, Labuschagne and Carey all to feature in pivotal Shield round while Doggett and Webster miss again through injury

Alex Malcolm14-Oct-2025

Incumbent Australia Test opener Sam Konstas is set to face another stern examination from Scott Boland this week when New South Wales face Victoria at the Junction Oval with the selection of the Ashes first Test squad just three weeks away.Nathan Lyon has also been named for NSW despite a thought during the pre-season that he might miss the clash at the Junction. It’s understood he is keen for some more overs after bowling just 31.5 across two innings against Western Australia at the WACA ground last week.Australia A allrounders Jack Edwards and Will Sutherland will return to captain their respective states while Sean Abbott will play his first red-ball game of the season to push his case to be considered for the Ashes after being left out of Australia’s ODI squad. Australia A spinners Todd Murphy and Tanveer Sangha have also been named in their first Shield squads of the season.Related

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Zampa, Inglis to miss Perth ODI against India, Kuhnemann, Philippe called up

However, Josh Philippe is unavailable for the Blues after being called into Australia’s ODI squad to replace the injured Josh Inglis while Alex Carey has been sent to play for South Australia against Queensland as part of his Ashes preparation.Usman Khawaja has been named for Queensland while Marnus Labuschagne is expected to remain at No. 3 for Queensland with Angus Lovell set to open alongside Khawaja in place of Matt Renshaw who is away with Australia’s ODI team.South Australia will be without Brendan Doggett for a second straight Shield match due to his minor hamstring issue but he is expected to return for round three. Nathan McAndrew will return after missing the opening the Shield round following his five-wicket haul in the One-Day Cup match against Victoria.Elsewhere, Beau Webster will miss a second straight match for Tasmania due to the ankle injury he suffered at training prior to the opening round against Queensland, but he is expected to return for round three. WA will be without Cameron Green who is playing in Australia’s ODI team while Joel Paris is missing with a hamstring injury.Boland is set to back up for Victoria after bowling 35 overs in Victoria’s opening round win over South Australia in Adelaide. Konstas is coming off scores of 4 and 14 at the WACA in New South Wales win over Western Australia but Lyon said that those performances should be disregarded because of the pitch.”I wouldn’t look too much into that,” Lyon said on Monday. “It was a very naughty wicket. “It was wet, there were some big divots and it was quite challenging, even though I got 40 runs on it. There are [two] more games to play out before the Test side gets picked.”Konstas did make an enterprising 40 off 28 in the One-Day Cup match on a better WACA surface last Thursday. But Boland will be a significant test for the 20-year-old opener. He has dismissed Konstas four times in Shield cricket, the most of any first-class bowler Konstas has faced, including twice in their last meeting at the SCG in February when Konstas was bowled trying to paddle scoop off the 13th ball of the match.The return of Sutherland and Murphy alongside Boland and Fergus O’Neill will give Konstas a chance to make a statement against an attack with two Test and two Australia A bowlers in it.Meanwhile, Abbott has the chance to push his case to be next Test fast bowling option for the Ashes behind Boland. Victoria will add Harry Dixon back in from Australia A duty at the top of the order alongside Campbell Kellaway with Marcus Harris to remain at No. 3 ahead of in-form middle-order duo of Peter Handscomb and Oliver Peake.New South Wales squad: Jack Edwards (capt), Sean Abbott, Ollie Davies, Matt Gilkes, Ryan Hadley, Liam Hatcher, Sam Konstas, Nathan Lyon, Blake Nikitaras, Kurtis Patterson, Will Salzmann, Tanveer Sangha, Charlie StoboVictoria squad: Will Sutherland (capt), Scott Boland, Harry Dixon, Marcus Harris, Sam Harper, Peter Handscomb, Campbell Kellaway, Blake Macdonald, David Moody, Todd Murphy, Fergus O’Neill, Oliver Peake, Mitch PerrySouth Australia squad: Henry Hunt, Conor McInerney, Nathan McSweeney (capt), Jason Sangha, Alex Carey (wk), Jake Lehmann, Liam Scott, Nathan McAndrew, Wes Agar, Lloyd Pope, Jordan Buckingham, Hanno JacobsQueensland squad: Marnus Labuschagne (capt), Jack Clayton, Benji Floros, Lachlan Hearne, Usman Khawaja, Angus Lovell, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Jack Sinfield, Tom Straker, Mitchell Swepson, Hugh Weibgen. Jack WildermuthWestern Australia squad: Sam Whiteman (capt), Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Hilton Cartwright, Joel Curtis, Albert Esterhuysen, Sam Fanning, Aaron Hardie, Cameron Gannon, Jayden Goodwin, Liam Haskett, Matt Kelly, Corey RocchiccioliTasmania squad: Jordan Silk (capt), Gabe Bell, Jackson Bird, Nikhil Chaudhary, Jake Doran, Kieran Elliott, Bradley Hope, Caleb Jewell, Riley Meredith, Nivethan Radhakrishnan, Tim Ward, Jake Weatherald

Shohei Ohtani has had another incredible season at the plate as he hit more than 50 home runs for the second straight year with the Dodgers. He is also leading the National League in on-base percentage and slugging for the third straight season.

Ohtani has worked incredibly hard to hone his craft and it shows. Los Angeles found out just how hard Ohtani works very quickly. When their prize free agent showed up two years ago he told them there was one thing in their clubhouse that was not sufficient.

The batting cage.

According Dodgers executive vice president Lon Rosen, Ohtani pointed out that one batting cage was not enough. So they built a whole new clubhouse with two.

"We also built a new clubhouse last year because when we were signing Shohei, one of the things he noticed was we only had one batting cage," said Rosen. "So we rebuilt."

After adding the second cage Ohtani had the best season of his career with Los Angeles. And apparently that's when he explained why the second cage was so important.

"In the offseason Shohei came into the office and you know he went 50 for 50 and won the MVP and Stan [Kasten] says to him And he answers ."

No wonder Ohtani has plans to construct a "small hitting and pitching facility" at his new home in Hawaii. More importantly for the Dodgers, it's no wonder he's having another MVP-caliber season.

174 for 5 (Capsey 52, Baker 2-25) beat 152 for 6 (Lister 33, Wellington 2-27) by 22 runsOval Invincibles put their indifferent form behind them at Edgbaston as they racked up the third-highest score in the short history of the women’s Hundred to beat Birmingham Phoenix by a comfortable 22 runs.The Invincibles’ 174 for 5 was also the second-highest total this season – men or women – behind the 176 for 5 they themselves conceded to London Spirit on the opening day.”It’s nice to get a win on the board after two close losses,” said Alice Capsey, who top-scored with 52 off 29 balls. “The openers were brilliant. One of our reflections after the first two games was that we bat so deep we can take some more calculated risks.”They took the game on so nicely and it made my job pretty easy – to keep the momentum going and keep putting pressure on. The pitch played better than I thought it would and came on pretty nicely. “Getting over the line was the main thing and now we go back to The Oval; we can take a lot of confidence and we love playing there.”Having elected to bat, the Invincibles set their stall out early, Lauren Winfield-Hill and Meg Lanning breezing to 54 for 0 in the 25-ball Powerplay.Lanning’s dismissal for 36 off 19 merely brought in Capsey, who was barely inconvenienced by the loss of Winfield-Hill and Marizanne Kapp, raising a 28-ball half-century as Paige Scholfield also motored along at the other end.The two of them treated Aussie legend and Phoenix captain Ellyse Perry with disdain while Hannah Baker avoided the worst of the onslaught, finishing with a creditable 2 for 24 from her 20 balls.Meg Lanning gave Invincibles a flying start•Getty Images

When Phoenix batted, Aussie starlet Georgia Voll, who had conceded 20 from her five balls as a bowler, got off to a flyer but the experience of Kapp and Amanda-Jade Wellington started to tell.Emma Lamb and Perry gamely attempted to keep up with the spiralling rate but Wellington had her compatriot smartly held by Winfield-Hill behind the stumps for 29 off 16 to effectively put the game beyond Phoenix’s reach.Ailsa Lister and Amy Jones battled hard, the Scottish batter in particular impressing with an unbeaten 18-ball 33 including four fours and a six, but the Phoenix ended up well short and well beaten.

Brett Lee has encouraged Australia to give debutant Brendan Doggett the new ball on his Test debut against England on Friday, after Steven Smith declined to confirm who would open the bowling with Mitchell Starc.Doggett, a fast-medium outswing bowler, has been a prolific wicket-taker in the Sheffield Shield and has generally been used as an opening bowler by South Australia. Boland also opens the bowling when he plays in the Shield for Victoria but has built a formidable record as a change bowler across his first 14 Tests, taking 62 wickets at 16.53.Related

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Smith, who will stand in as captain for the first Test in the absence of Pat Cummins, would not confirm who will share the new ball with Starc in Perth. “We’ll see in the morning – or hopefully, maybe two mornings,” he said on Thursday.But Lee, who took 310 Test wickets as an Australia tearaway between 1999 and 2008, suggested that Doggett should open the bowling to help calm any nerves on debut.”Maybe that’s the best thing for his nerves,” Lee said at a Fox Cricket event on Thursday. “If they lose the toss tomorrow and they’ve got to bowl first, then Steve Smith might go, ‘Alright mate, you haven’t got time to get the nerves. Take the brand new ball and shape a few away.'”It’s not like he’s just been picked out of the blue. He’s been around the squad now for a long, long time. He’s trained with the guys, he knows the guys very well personally. He’s had a couple of really good Sheffield Shield seasons back-to-back, so he’s done the work and he’s earned that opportunity.”But when you walk out there tomorrow at 10.20am, it doesn’t matter. All that hard work is now going to be transformed. Take that nervous energy, take that pressure, take that opportunity, and hopefully he gets a bag of wickets.Scott Boland and Brendan Doggett will make history for Australia, the first time they have field two Indigenous cricketers in a Test XI•Getty Images

“The thing with Scott Boland is that he can bowl anywhere: I reckon he’d get the ball to seam off ice, he’s so good.”Smith said that Doggett had impressed in Australia’s training sessions at Perth Stadium this week, earning him selection ahead of Michael Neser: “He gets the ball down at nice pace, stands the seam up,” he said. “Hopefully, whenever we bowl, he can get the ball in the areas we know that he can. If he does that, I’m sure he’s going to create plenty of chances.”Curator Isaac McDonald has promised a pitch with “pace and bounce” for the first-ever Ashes Test at the venue and Lee believes that fast bowlers will be rewarded for “patience” across the five days, encouraging them to settle into a fuller length than normal due to the extra carry.”You’ve got to bowl a lot fuller, that five-metre length, over here in Perth,” he said. “The teams that get excited when the ball flies through [to the keeper] generally get punished, because nothing goes on to hit the stumps. [Aim for the] top of off, and that means a fraction fuller if it’s a wicket that’s quite bouncy.”They have to attack, but you can attack and still be patient…. You’ve got to adjust your length in order to hit the top of off stump, which brings in the slips. We will see a lot of catches go through the slips region if there is pace. As a bowler, my form of wicket and dismissals over here is I want the ball to go behind to the keeper, first or second slip, or gully.”

West Indies, however, have plenty of problems of their own, coming off a humiliating home series defeat to Australia

Karthik Krishnaswamy01-Oct-20259:01

Chopra: At home against West Indies ‘should be a relatively easier series for India in this WTC’

Big pictureEvery home season brings the same expectations from India, but this one also brings a set of new anxieties. They’re about to play their first home Test since 0-3, their first home Test under Shubman Gill’s captaincy, and their first home Test since the retirements of R Ashwin, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. An unusually green pitch in Ahmedabad adds another layer of anxiety, potentially magnifying the importance of the toss.India’s anxieties, of course, pale in comparison to those of their opponents: injuries to key fast bowlers, the loss of a T20I series to Nepal (albeit with a second-string team that has no overlap with their Test squad), the emergency review of the team’s Test-match performances that followed 27 all out in Kingston, and the existential questions around the team’s future in the World Test Championship. West Indies can’t turn anywhere without fear of getting punched in the face.But it could give them the license to throw a few punches of their own. Their captain Roston Chase put it simply on the eve of the Test match. “When you have nothing to lose, you can just go and play freely, because, I mean, everyone is expecting us to lose.”Related

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Everyone expects West Indies to lose. Everyone expects India to win. Everyone always expects India to win at home. From the start of 2013 to roughly the same point last year, India kept meeting these expectations again and again and again.Until they didn’t. Until New Zealand visited and won in a manner that showed just how much skill and effort it had taken for India to create and sustain the illusion of invincibility over such a long period. You might be the best team in the world, but you have to keep going out and proving it again and again, each time against a set of highly skilled athletes throwing a new set of challenges at you.Man to man, in personnel terms, this Test in Ahmedabad looks like a mismatch. But it will begin with the scorecard reading 0 for 0, in conditions from which no one quite knows what to expect.Form guideIndia WDLWL (last five Tests, most recent first)
West Indies LLLWLIn the spotlightThe last time India went into a home Test without Ashwin was all the way back in November 2010. As good as their spin attack is even without him, India will only really know what his absence means when they actually deal with it. In this scenario, Ravindra Jadeja becomes even more important than he usually is, with ball, bat, and as a leader, and not just because he’s vice-captain for this series.There is grass on the Ahmedabad pitch, but West Indies do not have Alzarri Joseph and Shamar Joseph. They do, however, have one of the world’s best young fast-bowling talents in Jayden Seales, whose 88 Test wickets so far have come at the hugely impressive average of 22.32. He’s quick, skillful, and bowls a fullish natural length that could bother India’s batters considerably if there’s any help available. If he gets on a roll, Seales has the potential to make the kind of impact that Suranga Lakmal did in Kolkata in 2017 or Matt Henry and Will O’Rourke did in Bengaluru last year.2:50

‘Nothing is pre-decided’ – Gill on Bumrah’s workload

Team newsIndia, as always, kept their selection cards close to their chest on the eve of the match, but Gill suggested they are considering playing a third seamer given the greenness of this red-soil pitch in Ahmedabad. Does this mean a third frontline quick in Prasidh Krishna, or does it mean the allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy? And what does it mean for the spin attack, and for Kuldeep Yadav?India (possible): 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 KL Rahul, 3 B Sai Sudharsan, 4 Shubman Gill (capt), 5 Dhruv Jurel (wk), 6 Nitish Kumar Reddy/Axar Patel/Devdutt Padikkal, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Kuldeep Yadav/Prasidh Krishna, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Mohammed Siraj.Jediah Blades, who replaced Alzarri Joseph in West Indies’ squad, had not yet joined his team-mates in Ahmedabad by Wednesday. This means Seales will be partnered in their pace attack by Anderson Phillip and/or the uncapped Johann Layne, as well as the allrounder Justin Greaves. Khary Pierre could also make his debut at 34, as one of two left-arm fingerspinners alongside Jomel Warrican.West Indies (possible): 1 Tagenarine Chanderpaul, 2 Kevlon Anderson, 3 Alick Athanaze, 4 Brandon King, 5 Shai Hope (wk), 6 Roston Chase, 7 Justin Greaves, 8 Khary Pierre, 9 Jomel Warrican, 10 Anderson Phillip/Johann Layne, 11 Jayden Seales.Pitch and conditionsIndia begin this new home season on an unusually green pitch, with potentially 4-5mm of grass on it. Selections and toss decisions could come down to how much moisture it retains on the morning of the match. The teams will also keep a wary eye on the sky and the forecast, with Ahmedabad experiencing intermittent rain in the lead-up to the Test and with showers expected on day one.2:10

Chopra: ‘I hope India don’t prepare rank turners’ against West Indies

Stats and trivia Since winning by 243 runs in Mohali in December 1994, West Indies have played 10 Tests against India in India, drawing two of them and losing the other eight. Roston Chase, Shai Hope and Jomel Warrican are the only members of West Indies’ squad who were part of their previous Test series against India in India, in 2018. All three of them, as well as John Campbell, also returned to India a year later for a one-off Test against Afghanistan in Lucknow. Ravindra Jadeja is 114 runs away from becoming only the fourth player in Test history to achieve the double of 4000 runs and 300 wickets. Ian Botham, Kapil Dev and Daniel Vettori are the three allrounders presently in that club. John Campbell is six runs away from the 1000 mark in Test cricket.Quotes”I’ve mostly played T20 here and I think it’s very different from playing a Test match, because obviously the wicket, over a period of five days, plays differently from a T20 match. The last Test match that we played here was on a black-soil [pitch]. We’re playing this one on red soil. So I’m also looking forward to seeing how the wicket is going to play over the next five days.”
“This is a new series, it’s a new day, so we just have to put everything behind [us] that has happened before, and just come out with the mentality that we’re looking to dominate, we’re looking to win, and just go out there and give your best, ask god for guidance, and stick together as a team. Obviously, we’re in India, we’re not going to have much support, so we have to stick together as a unit — coaching staff, players, management, we all have to support one another through the tough times and through the good times as well.”

واصل نادي ليفربول نتائجه السلبية بتعادل جديد أمس الأربعاء أمام سندرلاند على ملعب آنفيلد بهدف لمثله في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

وربما لم يكن التعادل مفاجئاً بسبب المركز الذي يقع فيه الفريقان في الدوري الإنجليزي حيث يحتل الفريق الضيف المركز السادس ويحتل ليفربول المركز الثامن.

ويستعد ليفربول لمواجهة ليدز يونايتد أحد الفرق الصاعدة هذا الموسم على ملعب إيلاند رود يوم السبت المقبل.

أقرأ أيضاً.. بعد جلوسه بديلا مع ليفربول.. تقارير تكشف عن الوجهة المحتملة لـ محمد صلاح

وكشفت “ليفربول دوت كوم” عن تحديثات جديدة بشأن موقف بعض اللاعبين وإصابتهم، حيث لم يشارك كونور برادلي في أي مباراة منذ فترة التوقف الدولي في نوفمبر الماضي بعد تعرضه لإصابة في العضلات.

وكان سلوت قد أعرب قبل مباراة سندرلاند عن رغبته بأن يكون اللاعب صاحب الـ25 عاماً جاهزاً للعودة ضد ليدز يونايتد.

أما عن جيريمي فريمبونج والذي لم تبدأ مسيرته بشكل جيد مع ليفربول بسبب مشاكل في اللياقة البدنية ويبتعد حالياً عن المشاركة بسبب إصابة في أوتار الركبة يتوقع عودته الأسبوع المقبل، وسيستغرق وقتًا أطول قليلاً قبل أن يعود للمشاركة في الملعب.

وسيغيب جيوفاني ليوني عن الملاعب لفترة طويلة بسبب إصابة خطيرة في الركبة تعرض لها خلال مباراة كأس الرابطة ضد ساوثهامبتون في سبتمبر، وسيغيب لأشهر أخرى ومن المرجح ألا يعود حتى بداية الموسم المقبل.

The allrounder continued her stellar year with the ball in women’s ODIs as she helped India sweep West Indies 3-0

Namooh Shah27-Dec-202412 – the number of times India have swept the opposition in a bilateral women’s ODI series of three or more matches now, equalling England’s record in the process.3 – five-fors taken by Deepti Sharma in women’s ODIs is the most by an Indian bowler, with Ekta Bisht, Neetu David and Jhulan Goswami the next best with two each.3 – occasions when only two bowlers (Deepti and Renuka Singh) picked up all ten wickets in a women’s ODI. The other two pairs are Khursheed Jabeen and Sajjida Shah of Pakistan, and Shabnim Ismail and Moseline Daniels of South Africa. This is also the first time it has happened since 2011.Related

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6 for 31 – by Deepti makes her the second player to claim a six-for twice in women’s ODIs. Sune Luus is the other.10 – wickets by Renuka in the series is the joint-second-best for a fast bowler in a three-match bilateral women’s ODI series, bettered only by Ellyse Perry and Ismail, who have had 11 wickets each. It is also the second-best by an Indian with Deepti at the top with 12 wickets in a series.24 – wickets by Deepti are the most by any player in 2024 in women’s ODIs, with Sophie Ecclestone second in the list with 21 wickets. It is also the most wickets Deepti has taken in a single year, bettering the 22 she took in 2017 and 2022.2006 – the last time when an Indian was the leading wicket-taker in women’s ODIs in a calendar year, when Nooshin-Al-Khadeer and Jhulan Goswami both took 23 wickets.

The harsh winter months have proven to be Manchester United’s recent undoing in the Premier League.

Since the 1st of November hit, the Red Devils have reverted back to their inconsistent selves under Ruben Amorim, with three wins on the trot in October then followed up by two unwanted draws on the spin, before a ten-man Everton got the better of Amorim and Co on their own patch 1-0.

They did respond to that home humiliation at the hands of the Toffees with a much-needed 2-1 win over Crystal Palace, but an unsatisfactory 1-1 draw last time out against West Ham United only saw the misery pile up once more.

How will the up-and-down outfit fare across their remaining five fixtures to come across a jam-packed December? Only time will tell.

Whatever does take place, United will be able to take some solace in the January transfer window reopening, as several bumper deals are alleged to be in the works…

Man United's list of transfer targets

Indeed, it does appear as if the red half of Manchester will be very busy during January, as Amorim’s men hunt down some improvements all across the pitch.

A clear priority, when looking at the rampant rumours coming to the surface, is United’s desire for a new central midfield talent, with both Adam Wharton and Elliot Anderson incessantly linked to the Theatre of Dreams.

Away from bolstering their personnel in the middle of the park, United also look to be on the prowl for some fresh winger additions, with a spectacular swap deal perhaps in the offing.

As per Football Insider, Paris Saint-Germain are keen on picking up Marcus Rashford in the summer as his Old Trafford future hangs in the balance. To smooth out a potential deal, the French giants could offer Bradley Barcola to the Red Devils who has shone in spurts at the Parc des Princes as a promising attacking talent.

The faltering Premier League side could have to wait it out until the summer for this swap deal to come into play, but it might well be a deal still worth persisting with, as Amorim potentially wins himself his next Amad Diallo in the blistering Frenchman.

How Barcola can be Amorim's next Amad

Amad hasn’t always found his stay at Old Trafford to be smooth sailing.

Under Erik ten Hag, the tricky Ivorian only managed to muster up a paltry three goals and two assists from a limited 24 appearances.

Amorim

41

9

11

Ten Hag

24

3

2

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

8

1

1

Ruud Van Nistelrooy

4

2

1

Ralf Rangnick

1

0

0

Transition to the here and now, however, and the 23-year-old is very much a consistent first-team presence under his hot-and-cold Portuguese manager, with an impressive haul of nine goals and 11 assists next to his name under Amorim’s reign, seeing him be described as an “explosive” threat by analyst Statman Dave.

Barcola would aim to reach these same heights under Amorim’s guidance if he were to swap Paris for Manchester shortly, having also been noted as being an eye-catching winger at the peak of his powers, with “devastating pace” to burn, as per U23 scout Antonio Mango.

Thankfully, the 18-time France international also has some lethal end product to back up all his entertaining tricks and flicks, much like Amad, with Barcola up to 31 goals and 33 assists in total now for his current employers.

Last season saw the 23-year-old put away a stunning 40-goal contributions in all competitions, with United praying that Barcola’s possible entry on the scene can take them to that next level, away from folding at the hands of Everton, as the left winger’s stunning exploits have even seen Luis Enrique’s men lift the Champions League trophy.

Off the back of helping his team clinch this unbelievable honour in Europe’s elite competition, Barcola had certainly lived up to his hype as “one of the best left wingers in Europe” which was handed to him by Como scout Ben Mattinson. The Premier League would be the next big test, though, for the slick number 29.

Looking at what Amad has managed to achieve under Amorim on the flanks, Barcola should be able to enter into a new daunting division and succeed.

It certainly won’t be a cheap deal to pull off, with a whopping £87m price tag previously touted, when Barcola was on Arsenal’s reported shopping list.

But if United want to make their attack even more of a mouth-watering prospect – away from already possessing Amad and the likes of Bryan Mbeumo – sealing a statement move for Barcola could be a phenomenal next step.

He’s "better than PL players": Man Utd have bigger academy star than Mainoo

This academy ace is a player Man Utd fans will see in the first team before long

ByJoe Nuttall 6 days ago

The Dodgers' superstars showed up when it counted most.

Los Angeles entered this weekend's series against the Padres on a four-game losing streak and just 10-14 since the All-Star break. San Diego had risen to the top of the division, with a chance to extend its lead during the series.

Instead, the Dodgers stepped up and swept the Padres to reclaim the division lead. On Sunday, former MVPs Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts, who have both dealt with slumps this season, rebounded from their woes to lead the Dodgers to their third victory of the series.

Freeman hit a three-run home run in the first inning to give the Dodgers an early lead. The Padres tied up the game by the top of the eighth inning, but Betts responded with a home run of his own to give the Dodgers the final 5–4 lead, and ultimately, the win.

Betts had not logged a hit during the series until that home run, and has been hitting a career-low .242 this season, but came through during the clutch against Padres All-Star closer Robert Suarez.

"It's about time I did something," Betts told Kirsten Watson of SportsNet LA after the game. "It's been all year, I'm just glad I was able to help the team win. … It felt great. I really haven't been driving the ball, last couple of games have been a lot better, hopefully we can turn the corner."

"I think Mookie's been very good for a couple weeks now," Freeman said following the win. "Anything he can take with confidence-wise, that was huge. 2-0 fastball, and he was able to stay through it, backspin the ball and hit it over the fence in a big situation. … Mookie Betts is gonna be Mookie Betts, and no one here is worried about him. Good to see him get some results, he's been working hard."

Sunday's performance should provide an added boost of confidence for the veteran stars, but the Dodgers' division lead is far from secure. They will need the momentum to carry through to next weekend, when they play their final series of the regular season against San Diego. That series will take place on the road at Petco Park, and winning it could go a long way for the Dodgers to try to claim the National League West.