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Azeem Ghumman, the Pakistan U-19 captain, is confident of a good showing in the ICC U-19 World Cup

Cricinfo staff17-Dec-2009Azeem Ghumman, the Pakistan Under-19 captain, has expressed happiness over his team’s performance in the recently concluded tri-series in Sri Lanka, despite their close defeat against the hosts in the final.”We were so close to victory and had a great opportunity to run the Sri Lankan batsman out in the final when they scampered through for the match-winning single” Ghumman told PakPassion.net. “The tri-series was very beneficial because it gave us an opportunity to assess our team’s strengths and weaknesses.”Evaluating his team’s prospects in the upcoming U-19 World Cup in New Zealand, Ghumman said that while he was satisfied with the team’s batting and bowling, they needed to work on their fielding. He expressed confidence that the young talent in Pakistan’s domestic circuit was as the best in the world.”Pakistan cricket has a bright future that I can say for sure, we have the best talent in the world at this level. There are a number of very talented boys that I think will form the nucleus of the Pakistan team in future. Babar Azam is an awesome talent, an excellent batsman at such a young age, Usman Qadir is a very good allrounder, Raza Hasan is a left-arm spinner and is another who has a bright future ahead of him in my opinion,” Ghumman said.Ghumman was full of praise for coach Ijaz Ahmed who assisted his leadership of the team. “I’ve captained teams from a young age and I enjoy the responsibility. As a captain I believe you are always learning from your mistakes. Our coach, experienced former Pakistan batsman Ijaz Ahmed, was so helpful and guided me with regards to captaincy and kept on offering me advice, which was great,” Ghumman said.

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Crystal Palace fans may think that Andros Townsend is an excellent foil for Wilfried Zaha’s talents on the opposing wing, and whilst the England international is a tremendous player, there is something missing that still sees Zaha get doubled, even tripled up on by the opposition.

The last piece of the jigsaw

The Eagles are finally looking like a very competent Premier League side with quality littered almost throughout their entire squad. Roy Hodgson has an excellent ‘keeper in Vicente Guaita in goal, and ahead of the Spaniard, the 71-year-old boss has Aaron Wan-Bissaka, James Tomkins, Mamadou Sakho and Patrick van Aanholt at his disposal.

That quartet makes up what is currently the fifth best defence in the Premier League with nine clean sheets, behind only Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham.

Be sure to check out the incredible story of the man who rose from a Tanzanian refugee camp to become one of Australia’s biggest football stars in the video below…

In midfield, the south Londoners are fairly overstocked, with even Max Meyer struggling for game time. Luka Milivojevic and Cheikhou Kouyate play at the base of the midfield, with either James McArthur or utility man Jeffrey Schlupp alongside them.

It is in attack where times have been tough, and whilst they have improved slightly with the arrival of Michy Batshuayi, Palace still lack someone with as much swagger and flair as Zaha.

Who could be the answer?

The Ivorian excelled in the Championship when playing close to another flair player in Yannick Bolasie, and seemed to always have space to work in as defenders were fearful of leaving one of them isolated.

Nowadays, defenders know they can put two or three men on Zaha and instantly nullify the Eagles’ attack.

One man who has just as much confidence as Zaha – shown by his outrageous decision to wear a Gucci headband in a match – is Nice’s mercurial forward Allan Saint-Maximin.

The Frenchman has hit six goals and recorded two assists in Ligue 1 this season, and can play either on the flanks or in the centre.

Palace must sign him and play him as close to Zaha as possible – if they do that, they’ll have a perfectly oiled machine and perhaps one of the trickiest duets in the Premier League.

Tottenham Hotspur are left with work to do in their final Europa Conference League group game after they endured an embarrassing evening in Slovenia.

Antonio Conte’s recorded his first loss since taking over from Nuno Santo as his side were agonisingly beaten by NS Mura in the final minutes of the game.

Tommy Horvat fired in a world-class opener from long range for the home side after just 11 minutes before Spurs wing-back Ryan Sessegnon received his marching orders for two calamitous and rash yellow cards by the 31st-minute mark.

In the second half, the Italian made vast changes and it looked to have paid off when his pair of substitutes Lucas Moura and Harry Kane combined for an equaliser in the 72nd minute.

But with seconds left on the clock, Amadej Marosa powered through Spurs’ messy backline to condemn them to a shocking, shocking loss.

Sessegnon, who was massively talked up by Conte during the pre-game build-up, badly let the manager and his side down with his erratic short-lived display.

“I can’t wait to see his performance because he’s a talented player, very young with great space for improvement,” the 52-year-old told reporters in his press conference.

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There were plenty of superlatives used to describe his red card from the press, ranging from “daft” by football.london’s Alasdair Gold to “stupid” by the Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick but perhaps the most accurate came from The Athletic’s Charlie Ecclesshare, who claimed it was “really needless.”

Indeed, it was. And the 21-year-old gem will have it all to do to convince his manager that he can be trusted again this campaign.

As per SofaScore, Sessegnon was graded at an abysmal 5.1 rating – comfortably the worst of any player on the pitch – and during his 36 minutes, he managed only eight passes and 16 touches, fewer than even goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini (19 passes, 25 touches).

He also lost 80% of his five duels, showing just how much he struggled with the lowly Slovenian minnows.

After being talked up so much ahead of kick-off and then named as a starter a few days in advance, the England U21 international very much let Conte down, so it would be a surprise to see him involved again anytime soon.

An absolute nightmare and disaster evening for the young lad.

AND in other news, Fabio Paratici could seal Spurs’ best signing since Son with £45m-rated “world-beater”…

Past the halfway point of 2021-22, Premier League finds Manchester City as the retainers of the Premier League titles.

However, several contenders could make a return, albeit a rocky start of the season. We will show you top-ranking teams’ odds to either retain or win the Premier League title.

Manchester City: Premier League Title Favourites

They were seen as favourites to keep the title even before the season kick-off. Manchester City seems to prove the predictions.

Given the strong start of the 2021-22 campaign and odds that evolved from 8/15 to 2/17 recently, with a 1/18 maximum, Pep Guardiola’s side remains at the top of the table.

Manchester City advanced ten points ahead of the main contestants, most recently following a 2-1 win against Arsenal. Rodri, one of the many team’s that are top FIFA performers of this season, scored the winner for Man City.

A win against Swindon Town seems to be a given. Still, the January 15 match against Chelsea may slightly affect its position. However, a 10-point advance and 95% probability of keeping the Premier League title is hard to topple.

The Main Contenders: Chelsea & Liverpool

With 12 wins out of 21 played matches, Chelsea may rival the 17 wins out of 21 matches feat of Man City.

Tuchel’s side, nonetheless, will have a hard time getting out of its string of constantly drawn matches, such as the most recent 2-2 result against Liverpool.

Is Liverpool the Main Contender?

This is also why some analysts place Liverpool as the second favourite, based on some bookie margins. And there is some truth to it.

The Reds have a better win percentage, with 12 out of 20. Additionally, both the objective number of goals and the goal difference are better than Chelsea’s, closer to Man City.

The most recent bookie odds place Liverpool at values ranging from 59/5 to 25/2, with the best choice being 61/5. Meanwhile, Chelsea’s odds are currently on the shift, with no consensus.

However, considering the point system of the Premier League title ranking, the Reds still lag behind Chelsea. But not by much.

Our educated guess is that the apparent instability between these two teams is rife with opportunities as far as betting is concerned. The Chelsea-Manchester City match will clarify it. While not resulting in the dethroning of the Premier League title favourites, a win or even a draw could put some distance between Chelsea and Liverpool.

The Rest of the Table

The official rankings show Arsenal, West Ham, the Spurs, and Manchester United to the remaining runners-up.

Other teams are sitting at under 30 points, or well over 20 points under the Premier League title favourites.

Bookie predictions also agree with the rankings, except for the presence of West Ham.

Manchester United

Manchester United disappointed many fans this season, especially given several high profile transfers, such as Jadon Sacho, Raphael Varane, and Cristiano Ronaldo.

However, following 19 matches, the team only accrued 31 points, and it seems to be in freefall.

Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur

The Spurs remain bookie favourites in matters of the regional rivalry with the Cannons, despite the former lagging behind the latter in the ranking ladder by two points.

We are hardly talking about Premier League title contestants. Still, as far as butting heads in the regional scene, the story is not clear-cut regarding Arsenal and Tottenham.

The Spurs can still challenge the Cannons for the fourth place, as the team is on the upswing. The wins to matches played ratios of the two clubs in this season are almost identical, with Tottenham Hotspur coming slightly on top. This trend is bound to continue, given the fewer games played by the team and Arsenal’s recent defeat against Manchester City.

However, just as for Chelsea, the draws the Sours faced hurt their rankings, compared to Arsenal that only saw a loss following a string of wins.

All things being said, the January 16 match between the two will clarify the rankings. A draw would not cut it for the Spurs, while the aggressive Arsenal playstyle may dish them the second notable defeat this season.

Final Predictions for the Premier League Title

Manchester City is bound to keep the title with no viable contestant. Neither Chelsea nor Liverpool have the time to close in the 10-point distance in half a season.

As for the second place in the Premier League title ranking, Chelsea will probably miss the mark and lose it to the Reds.

Arsenal does not have a steady enough hold on the fourth place. Tottenham Hotspur will advance in rank and will be a considerable challenge for the Cannons, judging by bookie odds.

West Ham United is another hurdle for the Spurs, as it still scores one point over the team. It has a better goal difference with similar other results. Nonetheless, West Ham failed to challenge Arsenal for advancing in the Premier League title ranking.

A final (potential) prediction for the Premier League title table would be:

Manchester City – the Premier League Title Winner Liverpool – the possible runner up in the future Chelsea – sent to third place if it fails to perform against Man City Arsenal – keeps its place only if it manages to beat the Spurs or ends with a draw Tottenham Hotspur – in case its advance stops with the Arsenal match West Ham United – it will probably be surpassed by the Spurs Manchester United – it can hardly recover from the season’s start Brighton and Hove Albion – it should manage to win against Crystal Palace Wolverhampton Wanderers – it may also maintain its 8th place if it performs well Leicester City or Crystal Palace – Leicester is falling in rank, while Crystal Palace has an opportunity to advance.

Is Manchester City guaranteed to win the Premier League title? No, but the team is the undisputed favourite of the 2021-22 season. No team has enough time nor a good enough performance to be a challenger. However, nothing is guaranteed, and the rankings, as well as bookie odds, are set to change in the future.

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Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski and Atletico Madrid hero Antoine Griezmann could be on the way to MLS, according to ex-USA star Taylor Twellman.

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MLS tipped to bring in more big namesBarcelona & Atletico stars could joinTwellman insists they won't go to Inter MiamiWHAT HAPPENED?

The former USMNT forward-turned-analyst expects big names to follow the likes of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez by making the move to the United States next summer. However, he does not expect to see them flood into Florida to join the South American duo at Inter Miami.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesWHAT TWELLMAN SAID

He told : "I am as intrigued as I've ever been, because I think 2024 summer after the Euros, after Copa America, I think you're gonna see some names being talked about that a lot of people right now would think I was completely out of my mind [for saying]. And I'm not sure I will be come July 15. Let's say [Robert] Lewandowski and Antoine Griezmann come to Major League Soccer this summer. They're not coming to Miami. What does Atlanta do? If Atlanta transfers Thiago Almada [away] for 25 plus million, you know they're not going to sit on their hands, they're going to bring someone else in."

He added: "You've got some real heavy hitters as owners now in this league. I think they're all kind of surveying the field waiting for this summer. And that's where I think that playing field could absolutely 100% be much more even than it is [now]."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

The likes of Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba have already followed their former Barcelona team-mate Messi to Florida. The American league will hope to recruit more big names from Europe in the coming years to boost its reputation across the world.

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GettyWHAT NEXT?

The 2024 season of MLS is set to get underway when Messi and Inter Miami take on Real Salt Lake. A few days after their opening game, the Florida side will then make the journey to California to take on the LA Galaxy.

South Africa’s batsmen have surged up the ICC Test rankings and occupy four of the top six spots after their colossal performance in the first Test at The Oval

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jul-2012ICC Test rankings

Batsmen: 1. Kumar Sangakkara (-), 2. Jacques Kallis (+2), 3. Hashim Amla (+3), 4. Shivnarine Chanderpaul (-2), 5. AB de Villiers (-2), 6. Graeme Smith (+4)

Bowlers: 1. Dale Steyn (-), 2. Saeed Ajmal (-), 3. Rangana Herath (+1), 4. Vernon Philander (+1), 5. James Anderson (-2), 6. Morne Morkel (+4), Ben Hilfenhaus (+1), Peter Siddle (+1)

Click for ICC Test rankings

South Africa’s batsmen have surged up the ICC Test rankings to occupy four of the top six spots after their colossal performance in the first Test at The Oval. Jacques Kallis is at No. 2, Hashim Amla (3), AB de Villiers (5) and Graeme Smith (6). Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara remained No. 1, while Shivnarine Chanderpaul dropped two spots to No. 4. Kallis also unseated Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan as the No. 1 allrounder in Tests.Kallis’ unbeaten 182 in South Africa’s 637 for 2 moved him up from No. 4 in the ranking for Test batsmen. Amla, whose 311 was a South African record, rose three places while Smith climbed four places from tenth. De Villiers, who did not get an opportunity to bat in the innings-and-12-run victory, dropped two spots from third.Among the England batsmen, Alastair Cook moved from ninth to eighth because of the 115 he scored in the first innings at The Oval.There were significant gains for South Africa’s bowlers as well after they took 20 wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series. Dale Steyn, who took seven wickets in the match, consolidated his place at No. 1 and is six points short of his career best rating – 902, which he achieved against Sri Lanka at SuperSport Park in 2011.Morne Morkel’s five wickets lifted him from tenth to joint sixth with Australia’s Ben Hilfenhaus, while Vernon Philander rose one spot to fourth place.All of England’s bowlers, who took only two wickets in 189 overs, dropped in the rankings. James Anderson went from No. 2 to No. 5, Stuart Broad from third to ninth and Tim Bresnan slid one place to No. 15. Graeme Swann’s wicketless performance cost him three places from No. 8 and he dropped out of the top ten for the first time since August 2009.South Africa need to win the series by any margin to take the No. 1 Test ranking from England.

Despite brief resistance from Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim, who completed his first Test century, India duly claimed victory on the last day in Chittagong

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga21-Jan-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Mushfiqur Rahim’s maiden ton could not avert defeat for Bangladesh•Associated PressTamim Iqbal’s brief resistance and Mushfiqur Rahim’s crowd-pleasing century were way too inadequate for Bangladesh who had no surprises lined up on the final day. Even with an off-rhythm Sreesanth making it a virtual three-man attack, Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan paved India’s way to an eventually comfortable win despite their first-innings failure and murky conditions curtailing action on every day of the match. Despite Mushfiqur’s knock – the fastest hundred for a Bangladesh player – alongside the tail, they could not last until the final session.In the end, it was the batsmen who let the Bangladesh bowlers down. Their bowlers might have shown they were better than ordinary, getting India out for 243 in the first innings, but both their batting efforts were ordinary. In the final innings, none of the batsmen showed either the aptitude or the inclination to bat out long periods on a flat pitch and on a day where bad light was bound to cut the day short.The signs were all there in the first ten minutes of the day. Mohammad Ashraful carried on from an edgy first innings. After surviving two slashes and edges in the first three overs, he drove on the up at an Ishant delivery that held its line enough to take a healthy edge. Raqibul Hasan showed the willingness to fight it out, even taking a blow on the elbow, but Ishant’s re-discovered offcutter proved to be too good for him, trapping him plumb in front.The only bit of fight came from Tamim, who survived the early thorough examination given by Ishant and Zaheer. He concentrated hard, and quelled his natural game for the first hour. Except for one loose drive in the second over, he resisted the cover-drives, and instead relied on bunting the balls close to him for singles. He did not concentrate for long enough, though. The way he tried to open up against Sreesanth and Amit Mishra showed that the first hour had taken a big extra effort. From 27 off 81, when the back-up bowlers were introduced, he moved to 50 off 106, bringing up the milestone with a reverse-sweep.Eight minutes before lunch, Tamim gave it all away. Virender Sehwag had replaced Sreesanth, and in his second over, Tamim went for a big booming drive when he was close to neither the line nor the length of the delivery. The outside edge was snapped well by an alert Rahul Dravid, and India were sensing the win.The only man who could hold them up was Shakib Al Hasan, and post the break, he got a special googly from Mishra that kicked at him and took the shoulder of his bat on its way to silly point. Mahmudullah, who scored 69 in the first innings, got into a personal battle with Zaheer, and eventually Bangladesh paid for it. Bouncers, verbals, hooks, upper-cuts, and then a tame edge outside off.Mushfiqur stood on the burning deck, hit his way to a personal best, added 60 for the eight wicket, then cut, pulled and lofted some more, made Sreesanth mouth off like a madman for no reason, manoeuvred the strike expertly, and managed a consolatory maiden century. Mishra kept at the task, mixing the googlies well with the legbreaks, and took out the last three wickets.

As per reports, Manchester City missed a major trick in the sale of academy graduate Cole Palmer to Chelsea despite the £42.5 million price tag.

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Manchester City sold Palmer for £42.5 millionDid not include a sell-on clauseChelsea happy with lack of clauseGettyWHAT HAPPENED?

Palmer's skyrocketing transfer value will benefit Chelsea financially, according to The Daily Mail, as Manchester City failed to include a sell-on clause when approving the winger's summer move to Stamford Bridge.

Advertisement(C)Getty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Considering Palmer had only made three Premier League starts prior to arriving at Stamford Bridge, City considered a £40 million guaranteed payout from Chelsea to be a decent bargain. However, the club may now start to regret the decision considering the player's form in the league for the Blues.

GettyDID YOU KNOW?

There have been tens of millions of pounds that City has obtained in recent years from moves involving former players like Jadon Sancho, Pedro Porro, and Romeo Lavia.

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WHAT NEXT FOR PALMER?

The 21-year-old will now be in action for Chelsea when they take on Newcastle United on Saturday, November 25.

Many pundits thought that Arsenal would struggle without star summer signing Gabriel Jesus up front. They thought wrong…

Pressure? What pressure!

Arsenal once again opened up a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League with a thrilling 3-2 win against Manchester United, with Eddie Nketiah flicking in a last-minute winner to spark chaotic scenes at the Emirates.

The Gunners striker was on hand to turn in Martin Odegaard's shot from close range to seal a crucial three points for Mikel Arteta's title contenders and deliver the perfect response to Manchester City's win earlier in the afternoon.

It was a deserved victory for Arsenal, who as well as restoring their five-point advantage over City having played one game fewer, have also opened up an 11-point lead over fourth-placed United.

It was far from plain sailing for the league leaders, who went behind early on to an excellent goal from Marcus Rashford, who drilled a thumping finish past Aaron Ramsdale from 25 yards.

Nketiah drew Arsenal level soon after with a fine back-post header from Granit Xhaka's cross and Bukayo Saka's spectacular shot then saw the hosts in front after the interval.

The lead didn't last long, however, with Lisandro Martinez heading in an equaliser which looked to have earned United a point.

But then, with just a minute remaining, Nketiah popped up with the all-important winner to give a thrilling contest the blockbuster ending it deserved…

GettyWinner: Eddie Nketiah

What an afternoon for Arsenal's young striker, the biggest performance of his career to date. This was his sixth appearance in all competitions since coming into the side following Gabriel Jesus' injury, and he's now scored six times during that run.

There was so much to like about his goal which cancelled out Rashford's early opener. Granit Xhaka's cross from the left may have been begging to be put away, but Nketiah's clever back-post run and header were a clear sign of the confidence he is playing with right now.

And his second goal, the crucial winner, was the type of clever, close-range finish we've come to expect from Arsenal's master predator.

There was plenty of concern amongst the Arsenal fanbase when Jesus got his injury, but Nketiah has proven – just as he did at the end of last season – that he has what it takes to make a big impact at the top level. He's now Arsenal's top scorer this season, with nine, and you wouldn't back against him adding plenty to that tally in the coming weeks.

AdvertisementGettyLoser: Ben White

He's not had many of them this season, but this was a difficult afternoon for the Arsenal right-back. An early booking did not help his cause, nor did having to come against Rashford playing the way he is right now.

But with the threat of that early yellow card hanging over him, White looked unusually nervy whenever United ran at him and it was clear that the visitors were looking to target him as much as possible. It was no surprise when the Arsenal man failed to reappear for the second half, with Mikel Arteta opting to replace him with Takehiro Tomiyasu.

GettyWinner: Marcus Rashford

A player operating at the top of his game. Rashford's stunning strike to open the scoring was his ninth goal in his last 10 appearances and was a finish of a player brimming with self belief.

White has been exceptional for Arsenal at right-back this season, but this was undoubtedly the toughest opponent he has faced this season. Rashford was quick, direct and looked to run at him at every opportunity during the first half. He was a threat whenever he got on the ball.

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GettyLoser: Wout Weghorst

There's not much to say about United's new striker. He was totally anonymous. If he is going to make a difference to Erik ten Hag's side between now and the end of the season, then he is going to have far more than he did at the Emirates. He was way off the pace.

Two players each from Manchester City, Everton and Leicester help make up an evenly spread XI

Getty Images1Bernard | Everton

Bernard scored one and created two chances in Everton's away win at West Ham.

AdvertisementGetty Images2Marcus Rashford | Manchester United

Rashford netted with his only shot on target against Watford, opening the scoring for the Red Devils.

Getty Images3Bernardo Silva | Manchester City

Bernardo Silva was directly involved in both of Man City's goals against Fulham, scoring one and assisting another.

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Getty Images4Abdoulaye Doucoure | Watford

Doucoure made more passes (61) and more passes in the opposition half (45) than any Watford player at Old Trafford.