“Fernandomania” has broken out again at Dodger Stadium

HAMBURG, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 22, 2023--

China and Saudi Arabia signed a local-currency swap agreement worth around $7 billion, deepening their ties as countries

By Dietrich Knauth NEW YORK Bankrupt OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma can shield its owners, members of the wealthy

Authorities say a Las Vegas high school student was killed when 10 students between the ages of 13 and 17 beat him in an alleyway around the corner from campus in a prearranged fight over a pair of headphones and a vape pen

The end of the 2022/23 season cannot come quickly enough for Chelsea, more so than for any other Premier League club. A pair of transfer windows have yielded a huge turnover in the playing staff and more is to come this summer, while the eventual appointment of Mauricio Pochettino has to bring an end to months of farcical decision-making within the coaching structure. There’s so much to fix that even interim boss Frank Lampard cannot be held hugely accountable for their impending bottom-half finish - though what is now an 11 per cent win rate, following this 1-0 defeat to re-crowned champions Manchester City, certainly bears plenty of scrutiny in itself. All in all, it’s far worse than one which can be passed off as just a season to forget; lessons have to be learned, errors rectified, the few positives which do exist taken forward as cornerstones for next season and beyond. There aren’t too many of those, but Enzo Fernandez is one. As a £106 million midfielder perhaps declaring him a ‘positive’ is the absolute least Chelsea fans should expect, but since none of the £210m or so spent on Mykhailo Mudryk, Marc Cucurella, Benoit Badiashile, Noni Madueke and David Datro Fofana would even reach that level so far - nor the £10m loan fee for Joao Felix - then the World Cup-winning No.5 certainly qualifies as a notable exception. At the Etihad Stadium, the good and the bad around Fernandez’s game was on show. Not that the bad parts are his fault for the most part, mind; rather, they are the bad aspects of the team around him which are visibly and increasingly frustrating him in recent weeks. He was, indirectly, involved in Man City’s opener for example. Fernandez made a smart - if routine and expected - quick drop into space to receive possession off his central defenders. Sadly for the Blues, Wesley Fofana’s first-time pass to him was wayward, Cole Palmer rampaged towards the back line and Julian Alvarez did the rest. Similarly in the first half, Fernandez embarked on a defensive burst, stepping out of the midfield line to press one City player, then another. He turned, looking to Kai Havertz to follow him and step out for the next challenge - only to see him not bothering. Enzo berated his teammate, did it himself, dropped in, pressed again, turned around once more...and this time Conor Gallagher hadn’t closed in to his man either. The Argentine thrust his arm out, clearly disgusted, and gave up the ghost. Over and over across the course of this largely irrelevant occasion - the match reduced to serving as a central focus point for a title celebration after Arsenal’s latest choke - Fernandez was left irked by his teammates’ lack of effort, lack of movement, lack of quality. He, and few others in dark blue, interspersed the game with instances of technique: a lofted diagonal to set up Raheem Sterling in the first half, another clipped reverse ball in the final instances which almost brought a late equaliser for Cesar Azpilicueta. Fernandez has the capacity to take the ball on the half turn and execute the pass he has already seen; sadly, too many of those playing higher upfield than him either lack the willingness or the ability to make the necessary run on time. That will be one of Pochettino’s big jobs, once he is indeed confirmed as the new Stamford Bridge appointment. Chelsea lack the ideas and patterns of both how to build from deep and how to link up play in the middle and final thirds. Adding in the obvious issues of goalscoring they’ve suffered this term, Enzo Fernandez as the cog to build around makes most sense from both the perspective of a blank tactical canvas, and from trying to get most value out of their biggest investments. Lampard has made the Argentinian midfielder a key component in a failing side; it’ll be up to Pochettino to put him at the heart of a functioning one.

Major League Soccer teams' ability to cope with the demands of new international competitions is under scrutiny after two games on Wednesday highlighted the...

Itch.io is currently hosting a new charity bundle featuring over 750 works for $10, with the aim of raising money for abortion funds in the US.

Lyon boosted their chances of securing a place in Europe next season by coming from behind to claim a 3-1 Ligue 1 win over Monaco, whose slim hopes of finishing in the Champions League spots have been dashed. Within seconds of kick-off, Wissam Ben Yedder was upended in the area by Anthony Lopes, who was sent the wrong way from the resulting spot-kick by the Monaco forward at the Groupama Stadium. But Lyon regrouped and had several chances to draw level before they did through Alexandre Lacazette seven minutes before half-time, with the former Arsenal striker finishing from Bradley Barcola’s cutback. A diving header from Lacazette after the break was saved by Alexander Nubel but the Monaco goalkeeper could then only parry Rayan Cherki’s strike, with Maxence Caqueret converting the 57th-minute rebound. Cherki then got on the scoresheet himself 12 minutes from time after cutting in from the right and firing beyond Nubel to down Monaco, who are now unable to catch third-placed Marseille. Lyon remain seventh but are just a point behind Lille in fifth, albeit having played a game more. Lille take on Marseille on Saturday. Freiburg moved level on points with fourth-placed Union Berlin in the Bundesliga courtesy of a 2-0 victory over Wolfsburg in their final home game of the season. Substitute Christian Gunter opened the scoring within moments of being brought on as a substitute in the 70th minute alongside Nils Petersen, who wrapped up victory with a quarter of an hour to go. Nicolas Hofler was given his marching orders in the final few seconds but it did not affect a result which boosted Freiburg’s hopes of claiming a Champions League spot next term. Theo Bongonda’s second-half brace lifted Cadiz four points clear of the LaLiga drop zone after a 2-0 win over Real Valladolid, who had Martin Hongla sent off and stay just a point above the bottom three. Monza moved up to eighth in Serie A after hitting back from a goal down to win 2-1 at 10-man Sassuolo, with Matteo Pessina handing the visitors all three points in added-on time.

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The Atlanta Braves could make a trade with the San Francisco Giants before the deadline, but Joc Pederson seems unlikely.The San Francisco Giants have all the answers to the Atlanta Braves pressing question. Atlanta needs starting pitching, especially with Max Fried and Kyle Wright out long-term...

Republic of Ireland midfielder Denise O’Sullivan is in a fitness race ahead of her side’s World Cup opener after she sustained a soft tissue and bone bruise injury to her lower leg, manager Vera Pauw has said. O’Sullivan was taken to hospital after the Republic’s friendly with Colombia on Friday was aborted after 20 minutes due to what the Football Association of Ireland later described in a statement as an “overly physical” contest. An initial scan revealed the North Carolina Courage captain had not suffered any fractures, but Pauw would not make any predictions about whether or not O’Sullivan would be ready to start against Australia on Thursday night. Republic of Ireland Australia Canada Nigeria Speaking during the Republic’s training session in Brisbane on Monday, Pauw said: “We decided to be completely open about it, I’ve asked her if that was possible and she’s OK with that. “She’s off the boot and she’s been walking around. She’s going to do the bands now, core stability, then we start to run with her and we see where she is. “We will only know more after today and then we need to make it step-by-step and we work towards it, and if not it’s not, and if so then everybody is happy I think. “It’s a soft tissue and bone bruise, so it depends also on how much pain it is and how much she can bear and not getting other injuries with that, but the first thing is can she run on it? And you don’t know until you do it.” It’s not an ordinary game, but we have to bring it back to the tasks of the game, and at the end it’s the same pitch as what we have back home, right? Vera Pauw Pauw was otherwise feeling optimistic ahead of their group opener, when Ireland will make their long-awaited World Cup debut in front of over 80,000 fans at Sydney’s Stadium Australia. She said: “Of course we’re getting closer and closer. The last dots on the ‘i’ and then we’re ready. It’s not an ordinary game, but we have to bring it back to the tasks of the game, and at the end it’s the same pitch as what we have back home, right? “Pitches everywhere in the world have the same dimensions, and that is what this actually is. But I’m not saying, I’m not going in the direction (of) it’s a normal game, because of course it’s not a normal game.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live