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Is Sony angry at Pat Sajak for quitting without notice? ‘Wheel of Fortune’ host created chaos with abrupt decision
Is Sony angry at Pat Sajak for quitting without notice? ‘Wheel of Fortune’ host created chaos with abrupt decision
Pat Sajak left Sony executives in a big conundrum after quitting the show without any due notice
2023-07-15 16:49
Families in Gaza have waited years to move into new homes. Political infighting is keeping them out
Families in Gaza have waited years to move into new homes. Political infighting is keeping them out
A sprawling housing project in the Gaza Strip is meant to bring relief to hundreds of families who have lost their homes in fighting with Israel
2023-09-10 13:16
Erik ten Hag and Man United fall deeper into a desperate, dismal mess of their very own making
Erik ten Hag and Man United fall deeper into a desperate, dismal mess of their very own making
Three decades ago, when Manchester United were about to face Galatasaray, they were greeted with banners declaring: “Welcome to Hell”. Thirty years on, United may have found hell: not in Istanbul, but in Manchester. A second home defeat in four days has sent them spiralling into crisis. So much for Raphael Varane’s assertion that they can win the Champions League. At this rate, bottom of the group, beaten six times in all competitions already this season, they may not even be playing in the Europa League after Christmas. A 3-2 loss came courtesy of their own failings: of disastrous defending, of the indiscipline of the sent-off Casemiro, of the poor team selection by Erik ten Hag. Even a colossal contribution by Rasmus Hojlund, who scored twice, had another goal disallowed and provided a chance that Bruno Fernandes really should have taken, was obscured by United’s ineptitude. It says something that Davinson Sanchez – that Davinson Sanchez, the former Tottenham centre-back – registered two assists. The second encapsulated United’s haplessness. The Colombian’s header from his own half released Mauro Icardi to run through a shot over Andre Onana, a goalkeeper with a marked reluctance to save any shots. It was rendered easier because Icardi, escaping behind United’s centre-backs, was played onside by the out-of-position makeshift left-back Sofyan Amrabat. It was a wretched night for United’s full-backs: Amrabat was partly culpable for Galatasaray’s second equaliser as well when Bans Yilmaz raced into space behind him before finding Kerem Akturkoglu to finish. Galatasaray’s first goal – scored, with a certain inevitability, by Wilfried Zaha – could be put down to Diogo Dalot. Outmuscled by the winger as Sanchez’s long ball landed in front of him, he allowed Zaha to hook in a shot that bounced over Onana. It was not the first time United had grounds to rue their mismanagement of Sir Alex Ferguson’s last signing. Zaha played four times for them and has now scored four goals against them. Yet Zaha, too, was demoted to a supporting character in the broader tragicomedy of another display of United haplessness. They were a team who were twice reprieved and immediately conceded. Akturkoglu was guilty of a glaring miss when Onana spilled the ball; United let him score instead shortly afterwards. Icardi drilled a spot kick wide after Casemiro, in his final contribution, chopped down Dries Mertens. He was soon on the scoresheet anyway. And for Casemiro, cautioned in the first half, a third red card of a brief United career highlighted how his lack of mobility and their shambolic tactics are dual problems. The Brazilian cannot get to the ball as quickly as he used to. United leave him exposed and, after Onana gave the ball away, he slid in on Mertens. For United, defeat to Bayern Munich by a one-goal margin may have had a certain respectability, much as he 4-3 scoreline in Germany flattered them. A loss at home to Galatasaray has no such sheen. The Turkish champions struggled past Molde in a play-off and went 2-0 down to FC Copenhagen two weeks ago. They brimmed with spirit and showed quality in attack, but the architects of defeat were United themselves. Ten Hag has to take his share of the blame. Picking Hannibal Mejbri backfired and not merely because the youngster, who was hauled off at half-time, contrived to block a goalbound shot from Mason Mount. Yet to focus on the rookie would be overly harsh: senior figures were found wanting. And the one player who should escape censure was United’s youngest starter. Hojlund was outstanding, taking his tally to three goals in two Champions League games, twice putting United ahead. They should have led earlier, Fernandes miscuing a shot wide after the Dane wriggled clear to cross. Then Casemiro hooked a pass over their defence, Marcus Rashford chased it and lifted in a cross and Hojlund accelerated past Davinson Sanchez to head it in. The ubiquitous Colombian had a part in his second, too, slipping as the £72m man sprinted half the length of the pitch to lift a shot over Fernando Muslera. United could rue the moment when Rashford, in trying to provide Fernandes with an open goal, under-hit a pass and allowed Sacha Boey to intercept. Often criticised for his decision-making, this time Rashford’s execution was the issue. But they had far greater problems, lacking control or cohesion, wrenched open, taking the total of goals conceded in Europe this season to seven already. They have horrible memories of visiting Istanbul three decades ago and of being eliminated from the Champions League by Galatasaray. A return at the end of November could come with a similar fate. And a comparison would emphasise their failings: in a year when Manchester City won the Champions League in Istanbul, Manchester United could exit it there. Read More Antony returns to Man Utd squad for Champions League after five-match absence Man United vs Galatasaray LIVE: Latest Champions League updates Sheikh Jassim makes Man Utd takever decision as Sir Jim Ratcliffe considers new bid Consistency the key for Vincent Kompany as he bids to lift Burnley Sir Jim Ratcliffe reportedly considering minority stake bid for Manchester United Raphael Varane reveals formula for Manchester United to claim Champions League glory
2023-10-04 07:09
Suncor Energy's quarterly profit beats estimates on strong demand
Suncor Energy's quarterly profit beats estimates on strong demand
Canada's Suncor Energy Inc reported a better-than-expected first-quarter profit on Monday, helped by steady demand for energy amid
1970-01-01 08:00
Yen jumps and dollar slips as traders eye interest rate tweaks
Yen jumps and dollar slips as traders eye interest rate tweaks
By Harry Robertson and Tom Westbrook LONDON/SINGAPORE (Reuters) -The yen rallied against the dollar for a fourth straight session on
2023-11-21 17:14
IMF Blasts Pakistan Budget, Signaling Bailout May Not Happen
IMF Blasts Pakistan Budget, Signaling Bailout May Not Happen
The International Monetary Fund criticized the Pakistan government’s budget as insufficient to meet the goals of its bailout
2023-06-15 10:03
Yankees fans want Luis Severino sent to Siberia after another dud
Yankees fans want Luis Severino sent to Siberia after another dud
Yankees pitcher Luis Severino’s struggles continued with his latest shelling by the Orioles on Thursday night.There was a lot of booing in the Bronx as Luis Severino and the New York Yankees suffered a brutal 14-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday. Severino gave up seven runs in th...
2023-07-08 01:12
Are Carsten 'Bergie' Bergersen and Taylor Smith still together? 'Love Island USA' Season 5 couple walks away from commitment
Are Carsten 'Bergie' Bergersen and Taylor Smith still together? 'Love Island USA' Season 5 couple walks away from commitment
'Love Island USA' Season 5 star Carsten 'Bergie' Bergersen admitted that Taylor Smith is the second girl he has been this close to
2023-08-28 06:30
When Tina Turner Set a Guinness World Record
When Tina Turner Set a Guinness World Record
On January 16, 1988, Tina Turner performed for approximately 188,000 fans at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil—and made history.
2023-05-26 22:00
How to Complete the Jonathan David FUTTIES Favorite SBC in FIFA 22
How to Complete the Jonathan David FUTTIES Favorite SBC in FIFA 22
Here's how to complete the Jonathan David FUTTIES Favorite SBC in FIFA 22.
1970-01-01 08:00
Arsenal show how the Champions League should be done – Man Utd and Newcastle take note...
Arsenal show how the Champions League should be done – Man Utd and Newcastle take note...
It probably wasn’t Mikel Arteta’s pre-match team talk, but it could have been. “Forget brinksmanship. Group stage drama is for amateurs and also-rans. Just go out, do the job and wait until the Champions League’s proper action starts in February.” Perhaps it would have been emphasised with lots of hand gesticulations, had he taken that approach. After the week’s earlier drama involving fellow Premier League teams, Arsenal fans might have been feeling a little left out in that regard, but they shouldn’t be. Their side is far more complete, far further along the team-building process and far more prepared to go far in a major European competition. It’s probably also fair to note they have a far more routine group, certainly than Newcastle at least. This 6-0 drubbing of a distinctly second-rate RC Lens showed as much, as does the far more important fact of Arsenal qualifying for the last 16 with a game to spare. Sevilla collapsing to lose to PSV in the earlier kick-off felt as though it might give more of a contest at the Emirates, perhaps create more of a hint of jeopardy, but in truth it was never the case. A win still guaranteed top spot and in any case, there was more than a mere gulf between these sides. The early knockings told the truth of the expectation of a home win: Lens fans made the noise but Arsenal had all the control. Takehiro Tomiyasu roused the crowd with a blockbusting run down the flank to nowhere; Kai Havertz dropped a header wide after the Japanese international crossed deep. If he might have done better that time, Havertz did so only a minute later: following a cross into the area, the German got enough of a touch on Gabriel Jesus’s clever header into the six-yard box to prod past Brice Samba and over the line. And that was effectively that. A tempting line to pursue would be of the goal settling the nerves, but none had been on display. Arsenal were assured and competent throughout, clear by 25 minutes and able to bask in a quite literal glow as Lens fans lit a succession of bright red smoke flares at that point, with at least one hurled upwards into a home fans’ section above them. Gunners fans responded with a verbal volley of their own, informing the visitors they appeared to be rather similar in quality to some near north London neighbours, and suggesting they were not particularly good… in rather more rudimentary terms. If the former quip bore no semblance to reality this season, the latter was unfortunately accurate. Lens were a mile off the quality, intensity and even strength of their hosts in the first half, timid and reactive, absurdly out of their depth despite mathematics suggesting they still had a shot at a last-16 place. They don’t any more. The match, the points and Arsenal’s own qualification was settled in the space of six minutes. Bukayo Saka bundled through a couple of challenges, Jesus picked up the loose ball, dummied the last defender and buried a low finish for his fourth of the group stage. Injury and inconsistency may have made him a bystander in the early Golden Boot standings domestically, but he has a goal per game for the Gunners in Europe – the type of contribution they’ll need in the latter stages if Arteta believes they can go deep. Just two minutes later, two became three as Gabriel Martinelli darted infield, curled in a shot and Samba this time parried dreadfully into the hip of Saka, the ball bouncing straight in. The least-technically demanding goal of his career it might have been, but Saka was full of running infield and, not for the first time, made his own luck with his determination to continually be in dangerous areas. It was left to Martinelli, then, to complete the set of front-line goalscorers, perfecting his earlier trick to give Samba no chance and find the far corner for four. As for Lens, they carried no threat. They offered nothing: neither diligent, compact defensive structure to frustrate and bide their time, nor committing numbers and having a plan to counterattack with regularity. Elye Wahi, a talented young striker who surely has a much bigger team in his near future, made a handful of clever runs but the closest Lens came to scoring was his left-footed strike across goal, easily saved. Other than that, their best moments were Wahi skinning William Saliba multiple times down the left flank and Kevin Danso thinking about a long-range shot, before opting not to. It was genuinely that poor from them. Even Facundo Medina hitting the post just before the interval was an irrelevance, with the offside flag up. At the other end, Samba saved only one shot all half – and it still resulted in a goal as that was his palm-out into the onrushing Saka. Yet more torment for the Ligue 1 side was to come before the brief sanctuary of half time, with Martin Odegaard casually thumping in an injury-time volley: unmarked, unchallenged and unstopped. To their credit, or perhaps to keep warm on a freezing London night, Lens fans remained bouncing and noisy. With Arteta’s team stepping off the gas, job done well before Jorginho’s late penalty, their team also fared better in the second 45 but all they have to play for now is third and the Europa League. For Arsenal, every box has been ticked in the group stage: over-excitement, wake-up call, improvement and professionalism. And, they are through, which is really all that matters. Several seasons of progression has carried Arsenal into challenger territory, and with that comes an understanding that scorelines like this simply don’t matter, at this time of year. It is two and three months from now when everything will be on the line, when the world will be watching and when performances as well as results can truly drive expectations of success. What tonight’s result ensured was that they’ll be there – and that few will want to draw them in the knockouts. Read More A genuine dream – Mikel Arteta loved Arsenal’s rout of Lens in Champions League Arsenal through to last 16 as Manchester United squander lead again Champions League: What do Man United, Arsenal and Newcastle need to reach last 16? Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta believes he still has something to prove in Europe Arsenal vs Lens LIVE: Champions League result and reaction Football rumours: Juventus eyeing swoop for Thomas Partey
2023-11-30 09:40
Brian Szasz: Hamish Harding's stepson hits back at Cardi B for slamming him after he attended Blink-182 concert
Brian Szasz: Hamish Harding's stepson hits back at Cardi B for slamming him after he attended Blink-182 concert
'What a pos trashy celeb. Cardi B trying to get clout off me and my family's suffering', wrote Brian Szasz
2023-06-23 02:06