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Real Madrid boss Xabi Alonso is under increasing pressure after a tough start to life back in the Spanish capital, with reports going so far as to claim the Los Blancos boss could be sacked if his side lose to Manchester City in the Champions League on Wednesday night. But is dismissing the former Madrid midfielder the right decision?

Alonso at risk of early dismissal

According to reports, the hierarchy at Madrid have held a meeting over the future of their head coach and offered no guarantees that Alonso will remain in the job if the club's form does not improve. The Spanish giants have forfeited their lead at the top of La Liga, and now sit four points behind champions Barcelona. That is despite beating the Blaugrana 2-1 in the first El Clasico of the season back in October. With the pressure now ramped up, Alonso faces arguably his toughest test yet – Pep Guardiola. 

The City boss is certainly not going to take it easy on his fellow countryman, and he refused to be drawn into speculation about his future. Guardiola said: "I wish Xabi all the best, but his future is an answer I don't know. You all know the situation better than I do; I'm far removed from it. I haven't spoken with Florentino, and he hasn't told me that tomorrow will be Xabi's last match. If you don't win big games, things get difficult. But Xabi is in control of the situation and knows what this whole thing is about. My concern is seeing what we've done well. To beat Real Madrid in this competition, it's not enough to be better; you have to be much better."

AdvertisementGetty Images SportMadrid must ease expectations

Alonso has a proven track record. He led Bayer Leverkusen to their first-ever Bundesliga title and their biggest success since claiming the 1993 German Cup. The 44-year-old then had the whole of Europe at his doorstep, begging him to join, but he chose Madrid, the club he represented 158 times during his career. There is no doubt that he is a world-class coach, and it would benefit Los Blancos to loosen the weight of expectation during his first term as manager. Understandably, it is not always that simple in Madrid, and failure is very rarely rewarded; however, despite their run of just one win in their last five games in La Liga, four points is not an insurmountable deficit to overturn in the second half of the season, and the club are better off putting their trust in Alonso, rather than ripping his project up and starting again.

Alonso's toughest task: Managing a team of superstars

One of Alonso's biggest threats is managing the ego-driven squad Madrid currently possesses. Sometimes, too many big personalities can cause more harm than good, and given time, the Spaniard can drive out the unwanted crop and replace them with players he knows will thrive in his system. Fans have already seen him clash with Vinicius Junior, but Alonso must also contend with the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Rodrygo, Jude Bellingham and Endrick. Three of the five mentioned have been linked with moves away from Madrid; perhaps that is the action needed to give the manager a stronger grip over his team.

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Getty ImagesPatience will be rewarded

Arsenal are the ultimate example of a club who are being rewarded for their patience and trust in the process. Madrid are not exactly battling relegation, although you could argue that with the quality of their team, challenging on all fronts is the bare minimum. After a few short months, it is incredibly hard to gauge an idea of how well things are going under new leadership, especially when that person is taking over from Carlo Ancelotti, a man who was given four years to deliver, and did not always manage it. If Madrid fans can take anything away from the opening months of the 2025-26 campaign, let it be the big wins rather than the losses. Victories over Barcelona and Juventus are clear indicators of what the team can be; it might just require a bit of patience in the short-term.

What do you think? Should Madrid sack Alonso if they lose to Madrid in Wednesday night's blockbuster Champions League clash? Cast your vote in the poll below!

Some welcome news has come across Major League Baseball ahead of the postseason.

As announced by the league on Tuesday, MLB is set to officially implement an Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System (ABS) beginning next season. Each team will receive two challenges per game that they can use to dispute calls made by the home plate umpire.

ABS was used by MLB this past Spring Training and received rave reviews. The league will now carry it into the 2026 regular season with the same format, allowing pitchers, catchers, or batters to challenge a call after a pitch is made—with no help from the dugout or other players on the field allowed. If a challenge is ruled successful, the team will then keep said challenge.

While the rule change is likely not a direct correlation, Monday night's game between the Brewers and Padres—one with major playoff implications—saw home plate umpire Roberto Ortiz miss 25 calls as San Diego punched their ticket back to the postseason.

With ABS in place in 2026, we will no longer see such a travesty.

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O Flamengo perdeu para o Bolívar, da Bolívia, por 2 a 1 na terceira rodada da fase de grupo da Libertadores. Esta foi a primeira derrota rubro-negra na temporada. Os gols da equipe boliviana, no Estádio Hernando Siles, foram marcados por Chico da Costa e Bruno Sávio, enquanto Viña descontou para o time da Gávea. Confira o Lance! Final no player acima.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasFora de CampoWeb perde a paciência com jogador do Flamengo: ‘Burro’Fora de Campo24/04/2024Fora de CampoTorcedores cornetam atuação de jogador do Flamengo na altitude: ‘Desgosto absurdo’Fora de Campo24/04/2024Futebol NacionalZico doa parte da renda do Jogo das Estrelas a 19 instituiçõesFutebol Nacional24/04/2024

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✅ FICHA TÉCNICA
BOLÍVAR 2 X 1 FLAMENGO
3ª RODADA – FASE DE GRUPOS DA LIBERTADORES
🗓️ Data e horário: quarta-feira, 24 de abril de 2024, às 21h30 (de Brasília);
📍 Local: Estádio Hernando Siles, em La Paz (BOL);
🟨 Árbitro: Alexis Herrera (VEN);
🚩 Assistentes: Tulio Moreno (VEN) e Lubin Torrealba (VEN);
🖥️ VAR: Silvio Trucco (ARG).

BOLÍVAR (Técnico: Flávio Robatto)
Lampe; Saavedra (Luis Paz), Orihuela, Jesús Sagredo e José Sagredo; Justiniano, Saucedo, Ramiro Vaca (Ervin Vaca) e Bruno Sávio (Henry Vaca); Pato Rodríguez e Chico da Costa.

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FLAMENGO (Técnico: Tite)
Rossi; Fabrício Bruno, David Luiz e Léo Ortiz (Matheus Gonçalves); Wesley, Gerson, Igor Jesus, De la Cruz (Lorran), Victor Hugo (Luiz Araújo) e Viña; Bruno Henrique.

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FlamengoFutebol NacionalLibertadores

The visitors went to the break at 72 for 2

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jul-2025

Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill chat in the middle•Getty Images

A sudden downpour in London forced India and England back into the changerooms early after 23 overs of play at The Oval. Shubman Gill, having lost the toss yet again, was in the middle dealing with challenging batting conditions but profiting thanks to a drop in the quality of bowling among the opposition. The visitors went to the break at 72 for 2.Gus Atkinson, one of four changes for England, acquitted himself very well, playing his first Test two months. He provided the first breakthrough, trapping Yashasvi Jaiswal lbw in the fourth over of the day. The on-field decision was not-out prompting stand-in captain Ollie Pope to review and finally get one right. He had not had any luck with his previous 14 calls but this one was perfect. Atkinson finished the session with figures of 6-1-7-1.KL Rahul was solid again but fell for 14 off 40. With 8mm of grass left on the pitch and most of the session taking place under overcast skies, the batters were very careful when the ball was pitched up in the 4-6m area but anything either side they knew they had to attack. Chris Woakes bowled short but not wide enough for the cut. Rahul went for the shot because of the pressure that had been built – England had given only five runs in the previous six overs – and was bowled off the inside edge.That brought Gill to the middle and he ticked past 732 runs, which means he has the most runs by an India captain over a Test series. Sai Sudharsan was at the other end, looking solid as well and exposing the drop offs between Archer and Stokes, who couldn’t play this game, and Josh Tongue (11 runs in wides in his first over) and Jamie Overton (3-0-16-0) who replaced them. A portion of the bowlers’ struggle was also because the landing area didn’t seem sturdy enough after the overnight rain.

Mumbai Indians allrounder Nat Sciver-Brunt, Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Smriti Mandhana and Gujarat Giants allrounder Ashleigh Gardner have been retained for the maximum price of INR 3.5 crore ahead of the 2026 Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction.The WPL officially released the list of players retained by the franchises on Thursday and Sciver-Brunt – not the captain Harmanpreet Kaur – was MI’s first retention. RCB wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh was retained for INR 2.75 crore, the second-highest bracket, while Harmanpreet and Giants opener Beth Mooney were retained for INR 2.5 crore each. There were a few notable surprises in the retention list. UP Warriorz chose not to retain Deepti Sharma, the recent ODI World Cup’s Player of the Tournament, holding on to only one player in Shweta Sehrawat. Among other major releases were Amelia Kerr, Alyssa Healy, and Delhi Capitals captain Meg Lanning.As per WPL retention rules, franchises can retain a maximum of three capped Indian players, two overseas players, and at most two uncapped Indian players. If a franchise wanted to retain five players, at least one of them should be an uncapped Indian player. The WPL has for the first time given teams right-to-match (RTM) options at the auction to buy back a player who was part of their 2025 squad.Each franchise has been allotted INR 15 crore to build their squad for WPL 2026. It is understood that the mega player auction will take place in Delhi on November 27.Here’s the full list of players retained by all five franchises:

Mumbai Indians

Players retained: Nat Sciver-Brunt – INR 3.5 crore, Harmanpreet Kaur – INR 2.5 crore, Hayley Matthews – INR 1.75 crore, Amanjot Kaur – INR 1 crore, G Kamalini – INR 50 lakh
Money spent: INR 9.25 crore; Purse remaining: INR 5.75 crore; No RTM option available
Notable players released: Amelia Kerr, Nadine de Klerk, Yastika Bhatia, Chloe Tryon, Shabnim Ismail

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Players retained: Smriti Mandhana – INR 3.5 crore, Richa Ghosh – INR 2.75 crore, Ellyse Perry – INR 2 crore, Shreyanka Patil – INR 60 lakh
Money spent: INR 8.85 crore; Purse remaining: INR 6.15 crore; One RTM option available
Notable players released: Renuka Singh, Sophie Devine, Sophie Molineux, Danni Wyatt-HodgeWhat they said: “Her association with risk and how she faces pressure situations is exactly what we want in our batting order,” new head coach Malolan Rangarajan said of retaining Ghosh. “And somebody we view with leadership potential as well.”

Delhi Capitals

Players retained: Jemimah Rodrigues – INR 2.2 crore, Shafali Verma – INR 2.2 crore. Annabel Sutherland – INR 2.2 crore, Marizanne Kapp – INR 2.2 crore, Niki Prasad – INR 50 lakh
Money spent: INR 9.3 crore; Purse remaining: INR 5.7 crore; No RTM available
Notable players released: Meg Lanning, N Shree Charani, Radha Yadav, Arundhati ReddyWhat they said: “It’s been really tough,” DC head coach Jonathan Batty told JioStar about not retaining Lanning. About who could now lead DC in WPL 2026, he said: “Jemimah’s got a great captaincy record [in domestic cricket]. Obviously, Annabel Sutherland captains in WBBL as well. So there’s lots of candidates out there. We also got the mega auction to come, so there’s some candidates out there as well. So we’re leaving our options open.”

Gujarat Giants

Players retained: Ash Gardner – INR 3.5 crore, Beth Mooney – INR 2.5 crore
Money spent: INR 6 crore; Purse remaining: INR 9 crore available; Three RTM options available
Notable players released: Harleen Deol, Deandra Dottin, Laura Wolvaardt, Phoebe Litchfield

UP Warriorz

Player retained: Shweta Sehrawat – INR 50 lakh
Money spent: INR 50 lakh; Purse remaining: INR 14.50 crore; Four RTM options available
Notable players released: Deepti Sharma, Alyssa Healy, Sophie Ecclestone, Tahlia McGrath, Alana King, Kranti Gaud, Chinelle HenryWhat they said: “I feel the thought process from the think tank, from the support group, was more so to go in with a clean slate, try and have as much money in the purse, to make sure we can not only get the team that we feel we need to win that championship, but also get a lot of these players back in the auction, given the opportunity,” Abhishek Nayar, newly appointed head coach, said. “But the thought process also behind having someone like a Shweta Sehrawat in the ranks and retaining her, was the faith this franchise has put into as a youngster playing three years, being someone who’s played almost every game for us and being able to perform, and now going up the ranks in domestic cricket. We just felt we would love to have someone like that back in our set-up.”

The New York Mets and Seattle Mariners put on a show Sunday night at the Little League Classic. Young ballplayers competing for youth baseball's ultimate prize got a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see their favorite MLB stars up close and a tremendous amount of fun was had per usual.

The Mariners organization and its fans would have had a decidedly worse time had their cornerstone outfielder Julio Rodriguez suffered a significant injury while sledding down a hill on a piece of cardboard, which almost became a reality when a member of security took a spill and nearly landed on his ankle.

Here's the footage, which thankfully ends with everyone invovled getting up and getting on with their day.

That is too close for comfort. And you have to feel for the security person here who was simply trying to hustle to do the job and ended up losing to gravity. Before they were even able to get upright some unhelpful person is joking about a potential Rodriguez ACL injury. It's rough out there.

Rodriguez will be paramount to the Mariners' playoff hopes going forward and their ability to make a deep run if they get there. Plenty of people breathing a sigh of relief realizing this could have been worse.

Stats highlights from MI’s fifth win in a row in IPL 2025, against Lucknow Super Giants

Sampath Bandarupalli27-Apr-20253:25

Rapid Fire: Can MI finish in top 2?

2714 Number of balls taken by Suryakumar Yadav to complete 4000 runs in the IPL – the third quickest to the milestone after Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers, both of whom took 2658 balls.10 Consecutive scores of 25-plus for Suryakumar in IPL 2025, after his 54 off 28 balls against Lucknow Super Giants in Mumbai. He’s only the second batter to achieve such a streak after Robin Uthappa had ten consecutive 40-plus scores in IPL 2014.174 Wickets for Jasprit Bumrah in the IPL after his spell of 4 for 22 against LSG. He is now Mumbai Indians’ leading wicket-taker, surpassing Lasith Malinga’s tally of 170.ESPNcricinfo Ltd16-0 MI’s win-loss record while defending targets of 200-plus in the IPL. They are the only team to defend all their 200-plus totals in the IPL.150 Number of matches MI have won in the IPL, including two via a Super Over. They are the first team to register 150 wins in the IPL.ESPNcricinfo Ltd5 Consecutive matches won by MI in IPL 2025 after starting the season with only one victory in their first five games. The previous instance of MI winning five consecutive IPL matches was in 2020.5 Number of LSG bowlers to concede more than 40 runs against MI at the Wankhede – only the third such instance in IPL history, after Rajasthan Royals against Sunrisers Hyderabad and SRH against Punjab Kings earlier this season.

Tottenham Hotspur are now leading the race to sign FC Porto striker Samu Aghehowa, with the Portuguese club willing to cash-in for a huge fee this winter.

Tottenham have struggled in front of goal at times this season, failing to score in three of their last four matches in all competitions, and the most recent result against Chelsea is likely to be particularly concerning for Thomas Frank.

Spurs fell to a 1-0 defeat at home against their London rivals on Saturday, failing to create a single big chance across the 90 minutes, which meant Randal Kolo Muani was limited to just 16 touches of the ball before being substituted in the second half.

Kolo Muani is yet to get off the mark in front of goal, while Mathys Tel has also struggled, scoring just one Premier League goal this season, and the Frenchman clearly hasn’t impressed Frank, having lost his place in the starting XI in recent weeks.

With that in mind, it would make sense to bring in a new striker in the January transfer window, and the door could be open to sign a Liga Portugal star…

Tottenham leading race for Aghehowa

According to a report from Correio da Manha (via Sport Witness), Tottenham are now in the lead in the race for Porto striker Aghehowa, alongside Chelsea, with the London rivals potentially set to do battle for his signature.

The Portuguese club are now willing to sanction the 21-year-old’s departure for a fee of €80m (£70m) in January, despite the youngster having a €100m (£88m) release clause included in his contract.

A £70m offer is deemed ‘irresistible’, so a deal could be on the cards if Spurs are willing to eclipse the £65m fee they shelled out on Dominic Solanke and break their transfer record.

Journalist Zach Lowy believes the Spaniard, who has the same agent as Mohammed Kudus, could be destined for the very top, singling him out for very high praise on X back in June.

The Melilla-born marksman had a fantastic debut campaign in Portugal, scoring 19 goals in 30 league games, and he has since gone on to make an impressive start to the new season, finding the back of the net nine times in 11 matches in all competitions.

Aghehowa’s goal record at such a young age indicates he could have what it takes to become one of the best strikers in the world, and with Tel and Kolo Muani struggling, it would make sense for Tottenham to pursue a move this winter.

Tottenham now main contenders to sign Jonathan David Tottenham 'main contenders' to sign £188k-p/w Juventus star and it's not Vlahovic

Thomas Frank’s side have been tipped to replace Richarlison.

ByEmilio Galantini Oct 31, 2025

This is getting serious now. Liverpool’s abject run of form under Arne Slot’s management this season has been a massive concern, but one which all of a Reds persuasion have been steadfast in their belief that the blip will be overcome.

Mohamed Salah’s flaming comments at the weekend have threatened to split the Slot machine wide open, with terms such as civil war and crisis being bandied about like never before.

What sparked this latest drama in a season weighed further and further down by setbacks? Well, Liverpool blew a two-goal lead at Elland Road in the Premier League, and Salah did not get even a flash of the action.

Liverpool's implosion at Elland Road

Liverpool just can’t pull all the strings together at the moment, having blown their two-goal advantage over Leeds United to draw 3-3. Dominik Szoboszlai thought he’d salvaged a draw late, but the hosts struck deep into stoppage time to condemn the Reds to their latest in a long litany of disappointments.

The frustrating part is Liverpool were comfortable and well worth their lead until spineless, error-riddled habits crept in after the break.

It was Konate’s lunging challenge, clumsy, needless, which started the Leeds fightback, and this underlines the point that Liverpool keep putting themselves through the wringer, incapable of playing to their strengths and retaining balance and composure throughout 90 minutes.

Konate is only months away from the end of his Liverpool contract, and while FSG continue to keep a door open regarding the France star’s renewal, Spanish sources suggest they could be open to cashing in for £15m this summer.

It would possibly be unwise to sell Konate right now, given the dearth of depth across Slot’s backline. Salah, too, is a player FSG wish to keep, but there is another struggler who flattered to deceive at Leeds and should be sold first.

FSG must get rid of Liverpool's "major issue"

Two things can be true: Salah has been well out of sorts this season, and he cannot convincingly tout the undroppable status he has carried through his glittering Liverpool career on his current form; Salah has every right to feel aggrieved, with players like Cody Gakpo reprising their starting berths in spite of dire performances.

It is Gakpo who is becoming a “major issue” for the Anfield side, and in more ways than one, as has been observed by analyst Raj Chohan.

Though the Dutchman has been a moderately efficient force on the left flank this season, scoring four goals and providing three assists in the Premier League, it’s clear that he is limited in his approach, and that the Reds could do with a more dynamic left winger to replace Luis Diaz, sold to Bayern Munich in August.

Gakpo, 26, has been at Liverpool for three years, scoring 46 goals and providing 21 assists across 149 appearances. He is versatile and has played his role throughout his time on Merseyside, but the Netherlands man has been exposed as lacking dimensions as Liverpool’s main man on the left wing.

There’s no doubt that Gakpo is a naturally prolific player, but if anything, this underscores the significance of the concerns surrounding his name: thee is a lack of expansiveness about his skillset, and he is averaging just 0.4 shots on target per Premier League match this season, ranking among the bottom 4% of league forwards for percentage of shots on target per 90, as per FBref.

Mohamed Salah

39 + 26

65

Cody Gakpo

23 + 11

34

Dominik Szoboszlai

12 + 14

26

Luis Diaz

17 + 8

25

Alexis Mac Allister

8 + 8

16

Someone like Antoine Semenyo, perhaps, who is ostensibly gearing up for an exit from Bournemouth in January, with Liverpool right at the top of the shopping list.

Liverpool may need a central defender, but there is a reason Slot suggested during a presser last month that he and sporting director Richard Hughes are looking further up the pitch as a priority position to smooth out the many wrinkles in the tactical fabric.

Though it would be foolish to start thinking about selling Gakpo in January, and an upgrade on the left is desperately needed, and bringing someone like Semenyo in would solve a ‘major issue’ and help launch Slot’s squad back into the ascendancy.

Salah and Konate’s respective futures are in doubt, but it might be that getting rid of Gakpo is the move Hughes needs to make first.

Salah upgrade: Liverpool prepare British record bid to sign £131m magician

Mohamed Salah may leave Liverpool in January after an extraordinary outburst at Elland Road.

ByAngus Sinclair 4 days ago

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Confiança e Sergipe se enfrentam neste sábado (12), pela finalíssima do Sergipano. A bola vai rolar a partir das 16h (de Brasília), no estádio Batistão, em Aracaju, com transmissão da TV Record de Sergipe e canal do YouTube da TV Atalaia.

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 FICHA TÉCNICA
CONFIANÇA X SERGIPE – FINAL (VOLTA) DO CAMPEONATO SERGIPANO

Data e horário: sábado, 12 de abril de 2024, às 16h (de Brasília).

Local: Arena Batistão, em Aracaju.
Onde assistir: TV Record de Sergipe e canal do YouTube da TV Atalaia.
Arbitragem: Ainda sem definição até o momento desta publicação.

PROVÁVEIS ESCALAÇÕES
CONFIANÇA (Técnico: Gerson Gusmão)
Jeferson Souza; Júnior, Raphael, Diego Ivo e Felippe Borges; Fábio, Betinho e Ítalo; Riquelmo, Willians Santana e Rafael Furtado (Ricardo Bueno).

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SERGIPE (Técnico: Marcelo Martelotte)
Igor Leonardo; Felipinho, André Penalva, Yuri e Ian Barreto; Diego Aragão, Arez, Mardley e Rafael Vila (Natan); Wallace Obina e Rafael Grampola (Tony)

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