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Pep Guardiola has revealed why he thinks Erling Haaland was ready to sign a new 10-year contract deal with Manchester City.

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Haaland signs 10-year deal with Man CityTied to Etihad until 2034Guardiola opens up on decisionFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Haaland has put all the rumours about his future to bed by signing a 10-year deal that will keep him at Etihad Stadium until 2034. When questioned at a press conference on Friday, Guardiola explained why Haaland signed such a long contract.

AdvertisementAFPWHAT GUARDIOLA SAID

Speaking to the media, Guardiola said: "Next season, if I’m still here, I will do 10 years [at Man City]. So he has to beat me. He comes from Norway; I think maybe the weather here [in Manchester] is better!

"And he settled perfectly, and I think what happened is because he loves the club, the people he is around, he loves the Premier League, he loves to be here with his wife and now he’s a father. So I think he visualised that there is no better place that he could be right now in the next 10 years. And that’s why he and his family decided to do this step. In 10 years, wow, you never know what is going to happen. It’s a long, long time, and always in a short career you have to say, ‘OK stay, see what happens’, and he proved what he wanted, and trusts the club."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Haaland has scored 111 goals and provided 15 assists in 126 appearances for City. Guardiola said further of the striker: "If he continues with the numbers since he arrived, yeah [his records will never be beaten]. But it will depend on the team, him as well. It’s exceptional news for all of us, the club. When one player decides to sign this type of contract never done before it’s because he wants to show how desperately he wants to be here.

"We have to create an environment where he is unstoppable, because there he is the best. He’s still so young, and I’m pretty sure he’ll mature by playing games, and games, and games, and it’s going to happen naturally. I don’t have the feeling that he’s a guy with a contract who says, ‘Now I have this I’m going to take a nap’. It’s not going to happen.

"He loves to play, a huge competitor, but at the same time he as the ability to get away from good moments and bad moments immediately. His mindset is really good to forget what happened, and think about the next."

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR HAALAND?

The Norwegian has scored 79 Premier League goals so far and he is still about just under 200 goals away from beating Alan Shearer's record for most goals in the competition. However, if Haaland stays at City for the next 10 seasons, he could very well be in the race to beat the Newcastle legend's record.

Leeds United head into the October international break frustrated that they did not claim all three points against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light in the Championship on Friday night.

The Whites appeared to be headed for an impressive 2-1 win on Wearside, after goals from Joel Piroe and Junior Firpo had given the away side the lead.

Unfortunately, Illan Meslier had a howler in the 97th minute as he allowed what seemed to be a harmless ball slowly bouncing towards him to slip past him and into the back of the net.

Leeds head coach Daniel Farke must now ruthlessly ditch the French goalkeeper from the starting XI when the side is back in action after the break.

Illan Meslier's Championship struggles

On the face of it, Meslier has conceded seven goals and kept five clean sheets in nine matches and that is an impressive defensive record for the Whites.

However, the 24-year-old dud has still managed to concede 1.47 more than the average goalkeeper would be expected to based on the xG of the shots on his goal, which also speaks to the structure of the team and the low-quality efforts they allow on their goal.

The former Lorient man, who completed just 47% of his attempted passes against the Black Cats, also ended the 2023/24 campaign with 4.49 more goals conceded than expected in the Championship, which shows that his weak shot-stopping this term is not an anomaly.

Farke must brutally bin him from the starting XI, allowing Karl Darlow to show what he can do, after the break. Meslier is not the only player who should be at risk of being dropped, though, as Joe Rodon continues to walk on thin ice.

Why Joe Rodon should be dropped

The Wales international has struggled at times since his permanent move to the club from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer transfer window, after his loan spell last term.

Meslier should absolutely take responsibility for the Sunderland equaliser but Rodon also made a rash decision in charging out of position to contest a header and lost it, which then allowed Alan Browne to send his effort, via Firpo’s head, towards the goalkeeper.

Losing duels has, unfortunately, become a habit for the centre-back this season. He currently ranks within the bottom 3% of centre-backs in the league for duel success rate (41.7%) and the bottom 3.6% for duels won (2.23) per 90.

Rodon lost all three of his aerial duels against Sunderland, including one for the stoppage-time equaliser, and has struggled in his duels throughout the season.

Appearances

9

9

Tackles + interceptions

0.7

2.5

Ground duel success rate

31%

56%

Aerial duel success rate

47%

71%

Error led to shot

1

0

Penalties committed

1

0

As you can see in the table above, Pascal Struijk has significantly outperformed the Welshman in a host of key defensive metrics this season, which suggests that the Dutch colossus has carried his partner at times.

Rodon has been far too weak against opposition attackers, which proved costly on Friday night, and must now be ruthlessly ditched from the team alongside Meslier, to either improve the team or to give them the push they need to improve their own performances.

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Australia captain braced for Covid-19 disruptions during India series

Andrew McGlashan18-Aug-2021Australia captain Meg Lanning is taking the likelihood of Covid-19 disruption to at least the first part of the season in her stride and believes the team will be ready to face India next month regardless of what their build-up eventually looks like.New South Wales is in lockdown. Sydney is expected to stay that way into October. Canberra, Melbourne and Darwin are also currently shut, leaving Cricket Australia with a logistical jigsaw puzzle to solve, firstly to ensure the team is adequately prepared and then to get the multi-format series through.Australia’s players from NSW and potentially Victoria are expected to enter quarantine in another state before the end of the month to enable the squad to gather ahead of the first ODI, which as it stands, is scheduled for Sydney on September 19. But that will have to change along with, most likely, the three-match T20I series in early October.Related

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Even the matches in Melbourne – the second and third ODIs – could hit roadblocks because of the need to then get the series into Perth for the day-night Test from September 30, although bio-secure plans may help smooth government exemptions. The squad will also have been vaccinated which is now a requirement of Western Australia for anyone entering the state from NSW.Australia’s plans for winter training camps in Darwin and Brisbane were scuppered by various Covid outbreaks and border closures meaning the players have not met up as a full group since the end of the New Zealand tour in early April, leaving that work to be done with the state set-ups and over Zoom conversations.”There’s an element of the unknown, we haven’t been together for quite a long time, haven’t had any practice, but to be honest, and we’ve spoken about this, these days there is no ideal preparation,” Lanning said. “You just have to make the most of what’s in front of you. You need to call on your experience and trust yourself a lot. That does challenge people but we’ve dealt with that really well so far and this series will be no different. Whatever preparation we get to do that will be good enough.”Shawn Flegler, the national selector, said: “Certainly there are challenges around it, our government guys are working through that and hopefully we’ll get the full series away. We want to get the girls together before the series, there’s still a few things that need to be ticked off before that can happen. It’s a really complex situation but our team are doing a great job navigating through that.”India will face two weeks of quarantine when they arrive in Australia at the end of the month, but unlike the hosts, they have international cricket under the belts in recent months with the tour of England with five players – Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, and Shafali Verma – staying on to play the Hundred.”They’ve been playing cricket in the UK recently so they’ll be match-hardened and we’ll have to be on our game from the start of the series,” Lanning said. “It’s about adapting and dealing with what’s in front of us. We understand in these times that things change really quickly.”

Their win over Central Punjab keeps their hopes of qualification still alive

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Oct-2021Southern Punjab kept their slender hopes of qualification to the knockouts alive with a second successive win, beating table-toppers Central Punjab by six wickets with an over to spare.Southern Punjab decided to field first after winning the toss, and made early inroads straightaway. Aamer Yamin struck up front to remove Kamran Akmal for a duck, while Naseem Shah dismissed the other opener Mohammad Akhlaq cheaply. Hussain Talat held the innings together with another half-century, his 46-ball 68 the spine of an innings that was falling apart at the other end. Fast bowler Zia-ul-Haq then burst through the lower order, taking four wickets to hobble Central Punjab, who ended up limping to 154.Waqas Maqsood and Faheem Ashraf struck early to give CP hope but saw it dashed by a 92-run fourth wicket partnership that effectively ended any hopes they harboured of getting one over their derby rivals. Tayyab Tahir and Khushdil Shah, each of whom struck half-centuries, shepherded the chase calmly, never really in danger of letting the run rate climb too high. Tahir fell with just three runs needed to win, but by then he had done enough to ensure a Southern Punjab win.

Wrexham's clash with League One rivals Birmingham ended all square in a dire game of football sprinkled with some Hollywood stardust.

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Wrexham held at home by BirminghamPoor game between promotion hopefulsVisitors remain top of League One tableFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱Getty Images SportTELL ME MORE

In a top-of-the-table clash at the League One summit, Wrexham had a ninth-minute lead. Ollie Palmer forced a turnover high up the pitch and Ollie Rathbone curled an exceptional 20-yard effort into the top corner.

But Birmingham had an equaliser by the 20th minute, as Lyndon Dykes found himself free in the box and headed through a crowd.

The game seemed to descend into a stodgy midfield battle thereafter, but James McClean came close on the hour, forcing an excellent save from Ryan Allsop with a close-range header from a corner.

On the 68th minute, Wrexham rang the changes and introduced both Paul Mullin and Steven Fletcher, for Palmer and Elliott Lee, as they attempted to twist, instead of sticking.

It was to no avail, as the two sides huffed and puffed, but were unable to find the required quality to win the game.

Birmingham subsequently stay top of the table, with Wrexham in third.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE MVP

Rathbone scored a brilliant goal and gave Wrexham hope of a seismic victory early on. A brilliant curling effort from range, the Welshman has Premier League quality in his boots, and this was a goal to remind fans that he came through the ranks at United.

THE BIG LOSER

Palmer is struggling in League One. The striker played the pass for Rathbone's goal but it is hardly an assist, given the quality of the finish from range, and this is now 10 games without a goal from a centre-forward who looks to have run into something of a brick wall when it comes to the quality on show in the third tier.

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WHAT COMES NEXT?

Wrexham play Stevenage on Tuesday, while Birmingham take on Huddersfield on the same evening. As it stands, Birmingham go into the game top of the table.

Aston Villa are set to be plunged further into a mini early season injury crisis as they return to Premier League action against Fulham after the October international break, it has been reported.

Aston Villa injury latest

Unai Emery’s side have put together an impressive start to the season, currently fifth in the Premier League, level on points with Chelsea and just one loss across all competitions. Their strong Premier League form has been backed up in other competitions, with two wins from their opening two Champions League games including a historic evening at Villa Park that saw them beat German giants Bayern Munich 1-0.

They are also in the next round of the Carabao Cup after a 2-1 win over Wycombe Wanderers, setting up a tie with Leicester City.

This has all come against a backdrop of injury concerns, with captain John McGinn still sidelined with a hamstring issue and not expected to return in time to face Fulham, while long-term absentees Tyrone Mings and Boubacar Kamara both work their way back to full fitness from knee injuries and Emiliano Buendia is being slowly reintroduced.

Amadou Onana and Jacob Ramsey also both missed their 0-0 draw with Manchester United before the international break, while Ezri Konsa went down in the early stages of that clash and had to be replaced, limping around the pitch with an injury that Unai Emery later admitted he was unsure of the severity of.

“I don’t know exactly, but I think it’s the hamstring. We don’t know if it’s a big or small injury. Hopefully, it’ll be a small injury,” he explained. Now, another player may miss the clash with the high-flying Cottagers.

Aston Villa’s injury list as it stands

Player

Issue

Tyrone Mings

Knee

Boubacar Kamara

Knee

John McGinn

Hamstring

Jacob Ramsey

Groin

Amadou Onana

Thigh

Ezri Konsa

Hamstring

Aston Villa winger a doubt for Fulham tie

That comes as The Athletic report that winger Jadon Philogene has picked up a knock while on international duty with England’s U21 side and is now a major doubt to face Marco Silva’s side. The winger was re-signed over the summer from Hull City, penning a five year deal worth £40,000 a week.

He had started each of Villa’s last two games against Bayern Munich and Manchester United, and was just beginning to find his feet at Villa Park.

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However, the report claims that after being withdrawn against Ukraine in the closing stages, Philogene “underwent scans on Monday” after an injury scare. Fortunately, the injury is not thought to be serious, which means that Philogene could return in the short term even if he is unable to recover in time to take on Fulham.

Emery will be hoping that his side can continue their strong form even without a host of first team options, with those out injured only set to add further depth to his squad as they return when the season wears on, aiding Villa’s bid for back to back top four finishes for the first time in their recent history.

James Seymour also made his maiden Shield century to put Victoria on top after New South Wales lost Trent Copeland to injury

Alex Malcolm05-Nov-2021Nic Maddinson looks set to be part of Australia’s extended Ashes squad and declared he wants to play Test cricket again after scoring a superb century against New South Wales, while Victoria team-mate James Seymour made his maiden first-class hundred on an entertaining opening day at the MCG.New South Wales lost Trent Copeland to a lower leg injury in just the fifth over the day after winning the toss and electing to bowl on a pitch with a thick matting of grass. Copeland pulled up lame as he attempted to begin his run-up and immediately left the field. He was sent for scans and did not return leaving the Blues a bowler down after they left out Harry Conway in preference of an extra batter. Coach Phil Jaques confirmed after play that Copeland had done some damage to his inner ankle but he might try and bowl in the second innings if he can reduce the swelling.Maddinson and Seymour made them pay with a 191-run partnership for the third wicket. Maddinson again stood out on a surface that had plenty of sideways movement and some steep bounce at times. Following on from his first innings 87 in difficult batting conditions at Drummoyne Oval last week, he made his 14th first-class century and his sixth Shield hundred for Victoria with an innings full of fluent stroke-play as well as some intelligent rotation of strike.He was equally proficient against pace and spin and producing a stunning hook shot for six to go with 14 fours. Since moving from New South Wales in 2018 Maddinson has made six centuries and 10 half-centuries in 39 first-class innings at an average of 58.34. He played for Australia A in each of the two summers against England Lions and India and looks set to do so again next month.”I’m playing Shield cricket because I want to play Test cricket again,” Maddinson said post play. “That’s the motivation for sure.”Maddinson was pleased with his performance, particularly in the difficult conditions. “It was about just trying to wear them down and spend enough time out there,” he said. “It was a little bit similar last week the wicket was a little bit tricky and tough to score on but if you hung in there you can kind of accumulate runs and get going that way.”Maddinson’s innings completely belied the surface given the challenges his partner had. Seymour fought exceptionally hard for his first Shield century. He was dropped on 60 off Nathan Lyon, with Jack Edwards spilling a dolly at slip, and was fortunate to survive two very close lbw shouts when twice not offering a shot. He was hit in the head twice and had a top edge just evade the gloves of Peter Nevill.But after all that he brought up three figures off 208 deliveries to warm applause from his team-mates and the small MCG crowd. He was out shortly after for 105 to Lyon who was finally rewarded for some excellent bowling. Maddinson looked set to bat out the day but finally fell in the shadows of stumps, gifting Lyon a sharp caught and bowled.Outside of the two century-makers, the rest of Victoria’s top order were well contained on a surface that gave the batters plenty of headaches. Marcus Harris was out for 1, caught at third slip off a brute of a delivery from Liam Hatcher, with the shoulder of the bat literally broken by a ball that leapt off a length.Peter Handscomb looked fluent in his 27 before being pinned lbw by a Sean Abbott delivery that nipped back sharply off the seam. Hatcher returned with the second new ball to castle Matt Short while Sam Harper holed out to point. James Pattinson ducked into a bouncer late in the day and was hit on the back of the head but was fine to continue and reached stumps alongside Will Sutherland with the game well poised.

Well, it wasn’t quite the swashbuckling win fans would have been hoping for after the performance on Saturday, but Tottenham Hotspur picked up another important three points in the Europa League last night.

Ange Postecoglou’s side didn’t blow away AZ Alkmaar, but they were undoubtedly the better team and had some of the attackers been that bit more clinical, they could have come away with a few more goals.

That said, a win is a win, and among the starting lineup were some impressive performers, notably the young Mikey Moore, who demonstrated why he should be starting more games in the future – quite the opposite of one of his teammates.

Moore's sensational performance

Postecoglou finally handed Moore his second start of the season last night, and while he looked impressive off the right in the first half, he reached another level entirely off the left in the second half.

The young Englishman may not have scored a goal or registered an assist, but for large parts of the second 45, he was undoubtedly the North Londoners’ best attacker and was able to get the fans on their feet every time he had the ball at his.

That may sound hyperbolic, but it’s an opinion shared by James Maddison, who described him as “Neymar on the left wing,” and the Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick, who awarded the 17-year-old an 8/10 on the night for his ‘electric display.’

It might still be ever so slightly too early to claim Moore should be starting every game for the club going forward, but based on his performance last night, he should now get far more game time, especially as the starter he replaced on the left put in a display that must see him removed from the lineup for some time.

Timo Werner's performance in numbers

German winger Timo Werner is the player in question who has surely played himself out of the team.

The former Chelsea ace started off the left against AZ and put in a performance so disastrous that Postecoglou hooked him at halftime, and for good reason, with Kilpatrick awarding him a 5/10 on the night and writing that ‘his woeful run in front of goal continued.’

It may sound harsh, but it’s an opinion backed up by the 28-year-old’s statistics, as in his 45 minutes of action, he took one shot on target and one off target, missed a big chance, failed in 100% of his dribbles, maintained a passing accuracy of 68%, misplaced 50% of his crosses and long balls, lost 100% of his aerial duels, lost the ball 11 times and was offside once.

Minutes

45′

Expected Goals

0.15

Shots on Target

1

Shots off Target

1

Dribbles (Successful)

1 (0)

BIg Chances Missed

1

Touches

33

Passing Accuracy

13/19 (68%)

Crosses (Accurate)

4 (2)

Long Balls (Accurate)

2 (1)

Aerial Duels (Won)

1 (0)

Lost Possession

11

Offsides

1

In all, it was an abysmal showing from the experienced attacker and one made to look even worse by the sensational display from Moore in the same position in the second half.

Ultimately, while the young Englishman has certainly played himself into contention for more games going forward, Werner has undoubtedly done the opposite, as if he cannot perform in the Europa League; what hope does he have in the Premier League?

Levy wasted £21m on Spurs flop who was just a "poor man's Soldado"

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Arne Slot was impressed by an "intense" Bournemouth side and admitted that Liverpool "had to play to the top of their abilities" to beat the Cherries.

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Liverpool churned out a difficult 2-0 victoryMo Salah made the difference in the eveningSlot lavished praise on Bournemouth & IraolaFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Bournemouth put up a determined fight, striking the woodwork twice through Antoine Semenyo and Marcus Tavernier. The Cherries constantly pressed for an equalizer after Salah’s first-half opener, but their efforts went unrewarded. With around 15 minutes left, Salah sealed the win with a moment of brilliance, curling a stunning shot into the top corner. That second goal deflated Bournemouth’s hopes and confirmed another to open up a nine-point gap at the top of the table.

AdvertisementAFPWHAT SLOT SAID

Speaking to after the match, Slot admitted that his team had to push themselves to the limit to overcome Bournemouth.

"Exactly the game we expected. They’re so intense and they keep running every second," Slot said. “I said before the game when we were 3-0 up at Anfield at half-time they kept on running. We had to play on top of our abilities and we needed a bit of luck to win this game. They were constantly trying to do things. I didn't think we controlled the game. It is a good team and a good manager. I am very happy that we could keep a clean sheet and score two goals.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE

After being rested for Liverpool’s midweek Champions League fixture, Salah returned in prime form as he scored in both halves, with his second earning high praise from his manager.

"Maybe that second goal was the difference between the two teams," Slot said. “It was not an easy chance, and he puts it in the net, but it shows you how much quality he has.”

While Salah delivered the goals, Slot also reserved praise for goalkeeper Alisson Becker, whose presence at the back was vital in securing the clean sheet.

"He does incredibly well," he said. "He has been so important for so many years, it is for others to judge who is the best in the world and the league.”

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR LIVERPOOL?

With Liverpool continuing their incredible form, the pressure is now on Arsenal, who host Manchester City in a crucial clash later in the weekend. Mikel Arteta’s side must secure a win to keep pace in the title race, as Slot’s Liverpool show no signs of slowing down. Their next challenge comes in the form of a high-stakes Merseyside derby against Everton at Goodison Park.

Decision will be based on Abu Dhabi conditions as new opening combo prepares to step up

Matt Roller09-Nov-2021England will make a late decision regarding the balance of their side for Wednesday’s T20 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand based on conditions in Abu Dhabi, their captain Eoin Morgan has revealed.With Jason Roy ruled out of the tournament due to a calf tear sustained in Saturday’s 10-run defeat against South Africa, England face a choice between maintaining their batting-heavy formation – which sees Liam Livingstone and Moeen Ali combining as the ‘fifth’ bowler to supplement three seamers and a frontline spinner in Adil Rashid – or bringing in a bowling allrounder to give themselves additional bowling cover.James Vince was added to the squad on Monday after spending the last three weeks in Dubai as a travelling reserve and is one of two spare batters, along with Sam Billings. Tom Curran and David Willey are the two spare bowling allrounders, while Reece Topley was brought into squad as an injury replacement for Tymal Mills ahead of the South Africa game.Morgan said that the decision as to who replaced Roy in the side would come down to conditions in Abu Dhabi, suggesting that they would lean towards an extra bowling option if they expect the pitch to be conducive to high-scoring, but would pick a batter if it looks like it will offer assistance for bowlers. It is understood that Wednesday’s game will be played on Pitch 7 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, which was previously used for South Africa vs Bangladesh and Pakistan vs Namibia in Super 12s fixtures and offered good bounce for seamers on those occasions.”Replacing him [Roy] with another bowler would mean that you’d have 28 genuine overs on the field, and a lot of options,” Morgan said at his pre-match press conference before England’s optional training session at ICC Academy in Dubai. “If you were to go with a batter, it would mean a like-for-like replacement.”When we turn up and look at the wicket, depending if it’s a really good batting wicket or predicting if going to be a really good wicket, you might need the extra bit of bowling, and if it’s not, we might need an extra bit of batting.”Morgan also confirmed that England had decided who would open the batting alongside Jos Buttler, suggesting that it is likely to be a player who has already been part of the side rather than a late entrant in Vince. Jonny Bairstow, an opener for England in ODI cricket and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL, is the probable candidate, with Dawid Malan offering the main alternative, and Livingstone and Moeen representing more left-field options.Related

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“Within the group, we’ve made a decision,” Morgan said. “I’m not willing to share that unfortunately but the balance of the side will be determined on how the wicket looks and how we match-up against the Black Caps.”I don’t think it is [a difficult call to have made]. I think we’re blessed with guys who can bat at the top of the order and actually want to bat at the top of the order. If you look around the highest run-scorers, the big-name players, they all want to bat or are batting in the top three in every team.”We’re lucky we have guys that queue up and want to bat in the top three, which is great because they want to go head-to-head with the big-name players in the tournament – they want to go head-to-head with the big-name bowlers in the opposition. I think we’re in a very lucky position that we have a number of guys to choose from.”Whichever option England choose, Roy will undoubtedly be a major loss: he is England’s second-highest run-scorer in this tournament and has been a key part of their white-ball set-up in the six-and-a-half years since their group-stage exit in the 50-over World Cup in 2015. Morgan said that he had been proud of his squad’s “resilience” in the absence of other key players in Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes, Sam Curran and Mills, and that reaching the final would be “a hell of an achievement”.”If you look right from the very beginning of our selection process leading into the World Cup, we’ve got a number of big-name players missing from our squad and that’s continued both pre-tournament with Sam Curran and into the tournament with Jason Roy and Tymal Mills,” Morgan said. “Other guys have found something else within themselves to either try and fill that gap or contribute in a different way to the team.”Like losing any of your experienced players, you can’t really replace that experience that Jason has: he’s played integral parts in our two previous World Cup campaigns. [But] of all the things we’ve done well throughout this tournament, probably our strongest point has been the resilience within our squad to be able to find a way to move forward and forge on.”