Category Uncategorized

Chelsea youngster Josh Acheampong was sent a message by Reece James after making his senior debut on Thursday in the Blues' victory over Tottenham.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

Chelsea defeat Spurs 2-0Two Cobham grads make senior debutsAcheampong's crazy 12-minute statWHAT HAPPENED?

Goals from Nicolas Jackson and Trevoh Chalobah secured three points for the Blues against Spurs on Thursday, but it was a momentous occasion late on for two youngsters – who both made their senior Premier League debuts.

Josh Acheampong and Jimi Tauriainen came on with minutes to spare, and the former was congratulated by James on social media.

AdvertisementWHAT JAMES POSTED

On his Instagram story, the Blues' captain posted that he's buzzing for the youngster.

Instagram/reeceTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Acheampong came on late for Chelsea, helping close down the match with their 2-0 lead. The Cobham graduate came on in the 85th minute, yet somehow managed more blocks than any other Chelsea player across the entire match in his 12 minutes on the field.

With the Blues' since Under-8s, the youngster shined in his moment.

GettyWHAT NEXT FOR CHELSEA?

The Blues take on West Ham Sunday in Premier League action. They'll look to build on the morale from Thursday's victory.

Top-scoring for his team with 68 off 65 balls, Southee collected 29 of his runs behind square on the legside

Andrew Fidel Fernando26-Dec-2018Suranga Lakmal bowled brilliantly, but the period in which Sri Lanka’s younger seamers – Lahiru Kumara and Dushmantha Chameera – attempted a short-pitched barrage “worked in New Zealand’s favour” according to Tim Southee.Top-scoring for his team with 68 off 65 balls, Southee collected 29 of his runs behind square on the legside – a tally that included three top-edged sixes and two fours. Partner BJ Watling, with whom Southee mounted a 108-run seventh-wicket stand, also scored heavily off the short balls, hitting 26 of his 46 runs behind square on the off side.”I guess they changed their tactics that had worked so well for them for the first six wickets, and that probably worked in our favour,” Southee said. “The fuller balls worked better on that pitch than the shorter ones, and when they bowled short, we were just trying to cash in on that.”Lakmal, though, had maintained a relatively full length throughout his 19 overs, and picked up career-best figures of 5 for 54.”We knew it was going to be tough after losing the toss, but Lakmal bowled extremely well and asked some tough questions,” Southee said. “We’ve had other teams come to this part of the world and win the toss, and we’ve still been able to put a reasonable score on the board. A lot of credit has to go to the way Lakmal bowled. Early on he got his lengths right and was a real handful.”Having opened the bowling, Lakmal was unchanged until lunch, delivering 12 overs in the session, He then returned after the break to deliver four further overs, making it 16 in a row – the longest-equal new-ball spell by a seam bowler since at least 2001. He was instrumental in dismissing New Zealand for 178, taking four wickets in that first session, before picking up the wicket of Neil Wagner in the second spell to complete his five-for.”When you’re taking wickets, it’s tough to get the ball out of your hand. He was in a bit of a rhythm. He had the 40-minute break after lunch, but came out and bowled another few overs. It worked for him that we were bowled out, but if we could have batted a bit longer and asked him to come back and come back, then that might have tested him, but full credit to him. He bowled exceptionally in that first hour.”

Kohli brought up yet another hundred, Pant dominated a beaten and bruised attack, and Jadeja walloped a maiden Test ton before West Indies’ top order crumbled in the heat of Rajkot

The Report by Sidharth Monga05-Oct-2018
2:29

Walsh: Kohli’s hunger for ‘every Test run’ amazing

It was like an afternoon stroll on a warm winter’s day. By the end of it, Virat Kohli had notched up another inevitable-looking hundred, Ravindra Jadeja had entertained his home crowd with a maiden hundred, a run-out where he walked from mid-on and threw the stumps down as if playing marbles, and a wicket off his first ball, Rishabh Pant had attacked his way to 92, India had registered their highest total against West Indies, and the visitors ended the day 555 behind with four first-innings wickets in hand. It seemed so easy you would be forgiven for forgetting they were actually playing in dry, 40-degree heat.The availability of loose balls and defensive fields meant the India batsmen had to barely break a sweat when they resumed play on the second day at 364 for 4. Sherman Lewis bothering Pant with the short ball for about one over, and Keemo Paul beating his bat as a result of that, was the most competitive period of play in this Test.With nearly 400 on the board, Pant kept playing his shots, and when they come off they looked amazing. The flick off the pads was the most productive against pace, and once West Indies went back to spin, Pant was all over them. Over midwicket, over mid-on, taking on long-off at the boundary. At one point, Pant threatened to beat Kohli to the century despite starting the day 55 behind. Eventually, there was one shot too many, as he failed to pick a Devendra Bisho googly and edged a hoick.There was no such uncertainty around Kohli’s hundred. It seemed like batting practice for him. He was hardly challenged by the bowling and the conditions. It was like a session where a batsman is trying to reinforce the basics in the nets. Leave wide balls alone; drive if it is too full; if it is a touch straight, close the bat face late. He ran hard. There were enough bad balls in between for him to not need to take any risks to put the bowlers under pressure. His century was his 24th, taking him past Virender Sehwag on the list of India’s most prolific centurions, and placing him behind only Sunil Gavaskar, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar.When he off-drove the first ball he faced post lunch for only his eighth boundary, Kohli crossed 1000 runs for the third year in a row. He began to take risks now. Having survived a return catch before lunch, he picked a wrong’un and smacked it over midwicket for four. He began to walk down against pace, eventually getting a leading edge that ended his innings.Jadeja had by then established himself at the wicket, having added 64 with Kohli. As wickets fell at the other end, finally giving Bishoo some reward for his unremarkable toil that gave him 4 for 217 – the second-most expensive figures for West Indies, Jadeja grew adventurous. The half-century was uneventful, his sword-wielding promising that he had something special planned to celebrate a hundred.Thanks to their run rate, India had a lot of time to allow Jadeja a shot at the landmark, but they had lost eight wickets by then. However, Jadeja found support from Umesh Yadav as they added 55 for the ninth wicket. Jadeja showed the urgency required, hitting the second ball he faced after his fifty for a six back over Bishoo’s head. That was the first of his five sixes. He went from 50 to 98 in 34 balls despite refusing singles when batting with the No. 11 Mohammed Shami.That West Indies were a beaten lot showed in their captaincy. The first ball Shami faced was the 25th of the 10th-wicket partnership. The field didn’t change at all at the end of the overs, allowing Jadeja to take the single and retain the strike. Shami kept his end of the bargain, allowing Jadeja to get to the hundred. The celebration, it turned out, was joyous, involving a long look at the heavens above, but he didn’t add any variant to his sword dance.As India took the field, a seemingly flat pitch suddenly became venomous. Before he walked off clutching his side, Shami had removed the openers in a four-over opening spell. He bowled with a beautiful seam position, attacked the stumps, and benefited from the skiddy bounce he gets. R Ashwin soon got into the act, dismissing Shai Hope with an offbreak that didn’t turn. With the ball still new, and his seam parallel to the ground, it wasn’t entirely unintentional.Sunil Ambris and Shimron Hetmeyer went on to self-destruct. Hetmeyer and Ambris ended up at the striker’s end after Hetmeyer hit a shot a touch too well to Jadeja at mid-on. Jadeja teased him by walking slowly to the stumps and then throwing the ball on top of them. Ambris was teased by a flighted ball first up, which he looked to hit over mid-off but edged to slip. Shane Dowrich then tried to hit a big shot off Kuldeep Yadav, presenting him with a gate to burst through. Six wickets in 29 overs.

The margins of defeat at Edgbaston and the Ageas Bowl will leave India wondering what could have been

Nagraj Gollapudi02-Sep-20180:55

As captain, I don’t see too many negatives for India in this game – Kohli

How Test cricket exposes you ruthlessly and swiftly if you take your foot off the pedal. India’s top-order batsmen forgot to stitch together partnerships. Their lower order failed to show the spine and mental strength displayed by Sam Curran for England with the bat. India’s leading spinner, the only one, failed to dominate England on wearing pitch with huge pockmarks.All the good things that India did collectively to win the Trent Bridge Test evaporated in the warm and balmy air in Southampton over the last few days. Virat Kohli tried to put a positive spin in the end, but India had lost the series 3-1.Kohli admitted that England deserved to win this Test, and the series, because Joe Root’s men were relentless, something India were not for extended period of times. Although Ashwin’s ineffectiveness remains a talking point, the more significant weakness for India this series has been the failure of their openers. Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul had shown application in Nottingham where they played out the first hour, thus allowing the middle order lead by Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane to capitalise in both innings.Here Dhawan and Rahul failed twice after giving hope that they had turned the corner. Although Rahul was defeated by a grubber from Stuart Broad on the fourth day, in the first innings he had failed to counter Broad’s seaming in delivery, his Achilles heel for a while. Dhawan, too, would berate himself for playing shots at deliveries in both innings he could have played differently. In the second innings, the problems were compounded by Pujara being defeated by James Anderson’s inswing.Kohli agreed that the batting group’s failure to support Pujara and inflate the lead eventually hurt India badly. They did take a 27-run advantage, but that was too slender. That, Kohli said was a “big moment” his team lost. “It’s very difficult to recognise key moments in the first innings of a Test match,” Kohli said. “But they turn out to be very big moments in a Test match eventually in the course of the whole game.”Kohli, who made 46 in the first innings, chased a wide, fuller delivery from Curran and paid the price. “After I got out, I myself felt that had I batted for longer that day the lead could have been bigger. But even after that we thought we could get a couple of more partnerships and extend the lead if possible. Eventually Pujara had to play a blinder to get us to a lead of 30-odd. So that’s the only thing that I feel could have extended our lead a bit more in this first innings.”India’s top-three have failed miserably in the chases recently•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

England, despite the victory, have several of their own issues to contend with. Yet they came out on top and Kohli said that was because England were “brave” in “tougher” situations. Kohli said that was the difference between the two teams.Another significant difference between the two batting units has been the weaker contributions from India’s lower order, especially in the two closely-fought Tests here and at Edgbaston. Unlike Curran, who has two fifties, an average of 50 and is the third-highest run-scorer this series, despite having played three of the four Tests, India have failed to get similar returns from Hardik Pandya, their main allrounder. Pandya has one fifty so far, but has been poor otherwise. Kohli underlined that fact saying India need to learn from Curran, who has played “fearless” cricket.”It’s quite handy to have guys who can strike the ball well in those positions because you literally have nothing to lose and once you get a partnership going, it can get frustrating for the opposition. every team feels like that, when the lower order gets runs, you don’t likes seeing that. They have guys who are fearless down the order, they back their skills, they were braver in tough situations than us, they were more confident about what they wanted to do in tough situations, and that’s why they won this Test match. Those contributions lower down the order have been significant as far as this Test goes and the one Birmingham as well. I would like to congratulate Sam Curran. He has been a nice find for England.”Despite the series loss, Kohli felt India made England earn the victory and that is something he would tell his players to take forward in the final Test, which starts at The Oval on Friday. Asked if 3-1 was a fair reflection for the series, Kohli felt, it would be crude to measure the efforts put in by his team in terms of a “scorecard”.”You understand that cricket is not always defined by the scorecard – that’s just a thing to look at. You might be 3-0 up in a five match series, and the opposition manage to win the last two and say it’s a close series, but you know it’s actually not close. But when you’re going see-saw in every game apart from Lord’s, I would not count that, then you understand that it was a competitive and hard fought series victory for England. We definitely pushed England to earn a victory and they played better cricket than us for longer periods. That’s why they won the match.”However, in the end, Kohli did concede that India are yet to learn to “cross the line” which they failed to do at Edgbaston and here, losing by 31 and 60 runs respectively. “We can look at the scoreboard and say we were only 30 runs away or 50 runs away, but we have to recognise that when we are in the midst of the situation, and not later. We know that we have played good cricket, but we cannot say again and again to ourselves that we have competed. When you come so close, there is an art of crossing the line as well, which we will have to learn.”We have the ability and that is why we are getting close to a result, and we have belief in that ability. But when a pressure situation comes, how we react to it is something we have to work on a bit, something everyone is ready to work on that. We are not feeling that in the last Test we will not play with intensity. We still have one opportunity to improve our mistakes and to learn to capitalise during pressure situations.”

“We are doing all the practical prep stuff, guys bowling with wet balls,” the India assistant coach said on measures being taken to tackle dew

Alagappan Muthu05-Dec-20253:38

ten Doeschate: A different start time could bring down dew effect

India have been fighting the elements all the way through this three-match ODI series against South Africa, which sits at 1-1 ahead of the final game in Visakhapatnam on Saturday. Their bad luck with tosses has left them batting when conditions are better for bowling and bowling when conditions are better for batting.”The dew factor is, we’re actually trying to put a number on it and it varies between 10 and 20% [in terms of] what a big difference it makes [to the result],” India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said. “I think we’re one in a million statistically at the moment [the probability of losing 20 straight tosses], so if we can go two million tomorrow, that’ll be pretty impressive.”But again, it’s a bit of a joke, but the responsibility or the preparation is to beat whatever is put in front of us and eventually we’re going to win a toss anyway.”Related

Rahul: Toss plays a 'huge part' and 'making a huge difference' with dew

When South Africa and India went off the scale

Toss, dew in focus as South Africa eye rare double

Ten Doeschate highlighted all that the team is doing behind the scenes to cope with the dew. “We are doing all the practical prep stuff, guys bowling with wet balls. Again, you know, like setting up our store to get a premium score, figuring out how to defend, what is best to bowl with the wet ball when there is dew on the grass.”An unexpected complication is the way ODIs function now. Previously, there was a new ball at each end. But it seemed like that had skewed the balance of the game in favour of the batters, with the ball staying harder for longer and being easier to hit even late in the innings. The ICC took note of this and from this July, bowling teams have been choosing one out of those two balls to carry on for the last 16 overs.”The two balls,” ten Doeschate said, “if I just think about it logically, the whole point of going to one ball after 34 overs is that the ball does get a chance to wear and to get a bit softer. But the flip side is that [when there is dew] you have got one ball that is getting more wet essentially. I think the umpires have been very good in allowing ball changes, but then of course you end up getting a slightly harder ball which negates the whole point of going down to the one ball.”But like I said, the thing that has impressed me about this group this week is that we know the challenges, I haven’t heard anyone complain and the main thing is all about, you know, it is our responsibility to find ways around these challenges and that is just another one we have got to find a solution for.”Harshit Rana and KL Rahul enjoy a small chat•BCCI

India’s batters are also trying to do their bit by reassessing the totals they’re aiming for.”At the start of the first game, we thought 320 sort of par, and then we put a premium at 350 and we thought that the game in Raipur was the same. We thought 360, even given the dew coming, it was a good effort to get that score,” ten Doeschate said. “You always want more runs and again the conversations have been around how can we maximise. What we said about guys starting in slightly later on, what are the better options, we just had a good chat around that.”Ten Doeschate was asked if an earlier start time might help even things out. “I think it is, you know, the fact that the dew kind of falls as the second inning starts, it means the dew is there for the whole time.”So a different start time could bring that effect down a little bit if you started two hours early. That is a solution but obviously there are so many moving parts at play in terms of broadcasting etc. So I guess it is a futile conversation.”Over the course of this tour by South Africa, India have gone to their allrounders when they play Test matches and specialists when they’ve been playing the ODIs.”I guess that is a bit of an anomaly,” ten Doeschate said. “You know, you would think Test Cricket, you would have more specialists but it is just where we are at the moment in the cycle and the guys we think at the moment are the best guys to represent the team. Ideally, in Test cricket, you have a more solid base of batters and bowlers but we feel at the moment the guys who are doing the job for us just happen to be allrounders. I just think it is picking your best XI and that is just the way it is all in the world.”The ODIs being 1-1 right after India lost the Tests 2-0 has left the dressing room a bit wired.”It is a very different personnel of players, but the guys are very aware of the responsibility of what they are representing,” ten Doeschate said. “We always want to win, but certainly when a few losses do start stacking up and performances are below what we expect from ourselves. I think there is a slight aspiration to win the series tomorrow.”

Well, that was just what Tottenham Hotspur needed.

After Sunday’s dreadful defeat to Leicester City in the Premier League, Ange Postecoglou’s side had to pick up all three points in their home Europa League clash with Elfsborg last night, which is just what they did.

Now, genuine chances were few and far between for the Lilywhites in the first half, but the team stuck to their plan and eventually ran out 3-0 winners.

The victory, on top of news about an offer for Bayern Munich’s sensational Mathys Tel being accepted yesterday, has really lifted the mood around the club.

That said, while youngster Dane Scarlett has understandably grabbed the headlines for his impact off the bench, another standout performer showed why he could save Daniel Levy and Co from spending millions on the Frenchman.

Dane Scarlett's game vs Elfsborg

So, while the mood after the game was an understandably positive one, and the win was fully deserved, it would be fair to say that for the entirety of the first half and much of the second, it felt like Spurs were never going to score.

However, in the 66th minute, Postecoglou was forced into a substitute when Radu Dragusin went off injured – yes, another one – and opted to bring on the recently returned Scarlett. What a decision that was.

Just four minutes after stepping onto the pitch, the 20-year-old forward found himself perfectly positioned between two defenders in the opposition’s penalty area, jumped to meet a pinpoint accurate cross from Dejan Kulusevski and headed the hosts in front.

He wasn’t done there, though, as 14 minutes later he was involved in a lovely passing move that saw him provide fellow academy graduate Oyindamola Ajayi with the assist for his first senior goal to take the game out of sight for the visitors.

The Hillingdon-born poacher left quite an impression on Spurs writer Alasdair Gold, who awarded him a 9/10 match rating at full-time and wrote that the academy graduate was ‘terrific’ during his time on the pitch.

However, while Scarlett was certainly superb, there was another youngster who shone on the night, a youngster who played the full 90 and might have put in a performance good enough to tempt Levy into not splashing the cash on Tel this month: Mikey Moore.

Mikey Moore's game vs Elfsborg

Yes, the player in question is, of course, none other than academy star Moore.

The 17-year-old prodigy started the game out on the wing and looked entirely at home in senior football, so much so that he was undoubtedly one of the Lilywhites’ best players.

The “outrageous” talent, as dubbed by U23 scout Antonio Mango, was a constant threat throughout the game, making a couple of dangerous dribbles in the first half and then topping off his performance with a sensational run in the final minute of the game that ended in a goal; his first in senior football and the third scored by an academy graduate on the night.

Now, we would argue that this is the wrong conclusion to take from the incredibly exciting attacker’s display, but there is a chance the board might reassess their need for a new wide player after watching him boss the game from the word go.

With that said, someone who was very impressed with what he saw was Gold, who gave the teenage dynamo an 8/10 at full-time and praised him for his close control, goal and application.

Minutes

94′

Expected Goals

0.23

Goals

1

Expected Assists

0.09

Shots on Target

3

Shots Blocked

1

Successful Dribbles

3

Touches

64

Key Passes

1

Fouls Won

2

Unsurprisingly, the Southwark-born gem’s statistics from the game more than back up the praise he’s since received, as in 94 minutes of football, he produced a combined expected goals and assists figure of 0.32, took three shots on target, took 64 touches, completed three dribbles, played one key pass, won two fouls and, of course, scored the final goal.

Ultimately, for his goal and assist, Scarlett deserves all the praise he’s received since full-time, but for his efforts across the 90 minutes, Moore’s display was arguably just as impressive.

Their own Rogers: Spurs hold concrete interest in "unplayable" £60m phenom

The exceptional talent would be a game-changer for Spurs.

5 ByJack Salveson Holmes Jan 30, 2025

Reliable journalist John Percy has confirmed that Derby County have agreed a deal to sign Middlesbrough defender Matt Clarke, as well as holding talks for another signing.

Latest Derby news

The Rams’ disappointing run continued over the weekend, with Paul Warne’s side losing 2-1 away to Cardiff City, leaving them sitting in the Championship relegation zone.

It is now six defeats in a row for Derby in the league, leading to them plummeting down the table, with improvements badly needed sooner rather than later, in order to avoid a swift return to League One at the end of the campaign.

In terms of transfers, the Rams have been pushing to sign Oscar Fraulo during the January transfer window, with the 21-year-old midfielder currently at Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa youngster Lamare Bogarde has been linked with a loan move away from the Premier League club this month, with Derby thought to be one of the interested parties. Swansea City are also believed to be in the mix to bring in the defender on a temporary basis, as well as a number of unnamed clubs.

Journalist gives update on double Derby deal

Writing on X on Tuesday, Percy reported that Derby have agreed to sign Clarke and are also holding talks with his Middlesbrough teammate Dan Barlaser.

This is really exciting news for Rams supporters, who will know the importance of bringing in January reinforcements, allaying fears of relegation in the process. Clarke is an experienced head with a wealth of Championship experience, making 158 appearances in the competition, while Boro manager Michael Carrick has heaped praise on Barlaser in the past.

Appearances

19

Starts

11

Minutes played

1063

Goals

1

Assists

1

Key passes per game

1.2

Tackles per game

0.8

Pass completion rate

89.5%

While Clarke would bring nous and solidity at the back for Derby – he also knows the club well after his previous time there – Barlaser could be a great addition at the heart of the midfield, providing a combination of industry and quality.

Championship Table: Latest standings for the 2024/25 season

Latest English Football League Championship standings 2024/25.

ByStephan Georgiou Apr 22, 2025

The 28-year-old former EFL Trophy winner has chipped in with one goal and assist apiece in the Championship this season, while at international level in the past, he won two caps for England’s Under-18s. He has now proven himself at a good level for a sustained period, so signing him is a no-brainer.

Opener makes 27-ball half-century to make light work of sub-par Blaze target

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jun-2023Danni Wyatt backed up her semi-final heroics with another blisteringly quick half-century, as Southern Vipers condemned The Blaze to their first defeat of the season across formats, to complete an emphatic defence of their Charlotte Edwards Cup title at New Road.In a contest that stretched into the reserve day following torrential afternoon rain on Saturday, The Blaze limped from their overnight 53 for 4 in 9.3 overs to a sub-par total of 114 for 8 in 20. Shrubsole, who confirmed her retirement at the conclusion of the contest, was duly named Player of the Match after her two early wickets had proven key in denying the tournament pace-makers any chance to set a more imposing total.Their ambitions were blighted on the resumption by the offspin of Charlie Dean, who struck with her first delivery of the day as Sarah Glenn lofted a drive down the throat of long-off for 7, before the dangerous Nadine de Klerk gave herself too much room on the cut and lost her off stump for a run-a-ball 14.At 95 for 6 after 17 overs, The Blaze would have gladly settled for a run-a-ball total of 120, but Vipers’ skipper Georgia Adams denied them any late momentum as Sophie Munro was bowled first-ball for a duck. Mary Taylor bowled her solitary over of the final to close out the innings, picking off Lucy Higham with a slower ball to leave the contest very much in her team’s hands at the interval.Seeing as the Vipers opening pair of Wyatt and Maia Bouchier had racked up an imposing opening stand of 108 in 11 overs against Thunder on Saturday, a target of 115 in 20 scarcely seemed daunting. And sure enough, they clattered off in pursuit of victory, posting 67 inside the first seven overs before Bouchier drove too loosely at Sarah Glenn to be bowled for 25 from 20.By then, however, Wyatt was firmly into her stride, as she cracked along to a 27-ball fifty with 10 fours, including six from her first seven legal deliveries. De Klerk skidded one into an attempted pull to trap her lbw with 26 still needed, and though Ella McCaughan was stumped off Higham before victory was completed, Adams sealed the deal with back-to-back fours, with 34 balls left unused.A summer downpour forced the game into a reserve day•Getty Images

An emphatic victory had seemed on the cards even when play had to be suspended on Saturday afternoon, when The Blaze had struggled to 53 for four in 9.3 overs after choosing to bat first, before lightning in the area took the teams off at 4:35pm.Play was officially abandoned at just after 6pm, following torrential rain, with the decision made to come back on Sunday for the reserve day -bad news for some of the Vipers players who had been due to take advantage of the short break in the season by taking a holiday.In the 57 balls possible before the storm breezed in, former England fast bowler Shrubsole pinned her former international team-mate Tammy Beaumont lbw with a trademark inswinger with the third ball of the innings.She then found Sarah Bryce swinging straight up into the air in the following over as The Blaze slumped to 19 for two, and only reached 34 for two by the end of the powerplay.Spinners Lauren Smith and Georgia Adams then put the batting side into more trouble, with Georgie Boyce caught behind with one that popped, and Kathryn Bryce was bowled through the gate.The Vipers had earlier won their Eliminator against Thunder by 18 runs after half-centuries from Wyatt and Bouchier – with Thunder coming up short in the chase of 191.

Yassine Cheuko, the Argentine's bodyguard, has reportedly had sideline access at matches tightened by the MLS club

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Lionel Messi's bodyguard had access restricted in 2025
• Yassine Cheuko commented about the matter
• Decision reportedly made by Inter Miami
• Get the MLS Season Pass today!Stream games now

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Since Lionel Messi joined Inter Miami in 2023, his bodyguard, Yassine Cheuko, has been a regular presence at the MLS team's matches, clearly visible at field level as he patrolled the sidelines. However, Cheuko said in an interview this week that that his access to the pitch has been limited for the 2025 season.

  According to a report from The Athletic, Inter Miami confirmed that it was a club decision to limit Cheuko's movements on matchday. He remains an Inter Miami employee, according to the report, and is able to follow all security policies and protocols implemented by the club and league.

  In a statement issued to The Athletic, an MLS spokesperson confirmed that the league has not changed any policies regarding team security personnel, with multiple teams across the league having security guards that are stationed near team benches. Per the spokesperson, those security personnel are typically placed behind benches outside of the technical area – where the head coach is stationed during the match.

  Cheuko, who arrived in 2023 with Messi when he moved to South Beach, has been the Argentine's security personnel on the sideline of matches during his time in the league. Cheuko is known for chasing down pitch invaders during matches, while making an attempt to keep the talisman safe.

  “I was in Europe for seven years working for Ligue 1 and the Champions League, and only six people invaded the pitch,” Cheuko said in a video interview with House of Highlights, a social media channel. “I love MLS and CONCACAF, but we have to work together. I love helping. I’m not better than anyone, but I have a wealth of experience in Europe. It’s fine, I understand their decision, but I think we could do better.”

Advertisement

• Getty
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Cheuko, who is a mixed martial artist, has expressed his disappointment in not being able to patrol the sideline as much as he did in 2025. Messi, meanwhile, has reportedly shared a similar sentiment.

  “It’s been the case all year long,” a source told The Athletic. “(Lionel and Yassine) are quite upset about it – (Yassine) has always been really critical of all of the other security (across MLS) and suggested that if they were good at their jobs, he wouldn’t even be needed.”

  Cheuko now positions himself in a private box, or in the tunnel that leads to the pitch during matches.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Inter Miami are one of two undefeated MLS teams through the opening six weeks of the season. The are 4-0-1 (WLD) through five matches played, and sit atop the MLS Supporters' Shield standings heading into Matchday 7 of the regular season campaign.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR MIAMI?

  Miami returns for Matchday 7 of the MLS season this weekend in another edition of "Sunday Night Soccer" on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+ when they take on Toronto FC.

With little consistent support from the rest of his batting line-up, the Sunrisers Hyderabad captain had to play the dual roles of superhero and sidekick to lift them to their maiden IPL title

Nagraj Gollapudi in Bangalore29-May-2016Virat Kohli might have earned a considerable amount of applause for his mesmeric batting in this IPL. But in the biggest match of the season, the one man who had been challenging Kohli’s claim for the tournament’s MVP crossed the finish line ahead of the Royal Challengers Bangalore captain. David Warner was that man.He had dared Kohli by electing to bat first, telling Royal Challengers that he possessed a formidable bowling attack. But first, Sunrisers had to put a challenging total on the board.Unlike Chris Gayle, later in the evening, Warner was not destructive. As he has been throughout the tournament, he was attentive to the possibilities, his placement inch-perfect.Take this instance: Sachin Baby stood at short third man, Gayle at backward point. Barely 10 yards separated the two. Shane Watson erred for the third time in his first over, bowling full and wide outside off stump. Warner stretched to chop the ball neatly into the narrow divide. The fielders held their heads. Warner did not even look up. He knew what he was doing.Gayle then came on to bowl. He was firing his offbreaks into the batsman’s legs. But the first time he opted to flight the ball, the last ball of his third over, Warner swept him powerfully over mid-on for his second six.In no time – 24 balls – Warner raised his bat to mark his ninth fifty of the season, the most by any batsman. Kohli might have won the Orange Cap with four centuries, but Warner was not far behind – he finished with 848 runs to Kohli’s 973, his strike rate, 151.42, nearly identical to Kohli’s 152.03.Yuzvendra Chahal, the best spinner in this IPL, became a little predictable, bowling too many googlies at the left-handed Warner. Offered width, Warner cut Chahal for two fours in the ninth over.S Aravind finally forced Warner to edge one in the 14th. Did Aravind take the wicket or did Warner throw it away? Probably it was the latter. Offered a low full toss on off stump, Warner had punched Aravind for a straight boundary as soon as Kohli had brought the left-arm seamer back. Aravind’s next ball was a fraction wider, on the fourth stump. Warner went for an expansive drive, attempting to hit over cover, and ended up slicing into the hands of Iqbal Abdulla at short third man.Warner has not had the kind of support Kohli enjoys in Royal Challengers’ batting line-up. He has had to be both Batman and Robin for Sunrisers. For half the tournament he did not have the services of Yuvraj Singh, who proved a catalyst as soon as he returned from injury. Barring Warner, Shikhar Dhawan and Yuvraj, none of the Sunrisers batsmen – overseas or Indian – crossed the 200-run mark. At times Warner lost his cool and made his anger public: when the batsmen at the other end were throwing their wickets away in a tight chase in the second Qualifier against Gujarat Lions, he bared his emotions in the face of head coach Tom Moody, who remained speechless.Warner eventually took Sunrisers home with some late help from Bipul Sharma. He finished short of a century by seven runs, but he had won Sunrisers their first IPL final ticket, in their fourth season.On Sunday, late into the match, when Sunrisers had all but sealed the win, Warner was still fully switched on. In the penultimate over of the match, Sachin Baby hit a straight drive off Mustafizur Rahman. Warner was at wide long-on. He set off swiftly to his right, threw himself into a sprawling dive and interrupted the progress of the ball, relaying it two-handed to the fielder coming the opposite way from long-off.Moody said Warner had set high standards for himself, and inspired his team-mates to do the same.”The most important thing that I draw from him is he has a relentless passion to win,” Moody said. “He is a born winner and that rubs off on others. He has got incredible work ethic, incredible discipline and all those things are so important from a leadership point of view and that has rubbed off on the group.”David Warner thumped his chest. David Warner shrieked. David Warner was a proud winner.