List of All Articles with Tag 'sports'

Carlos Baleba finished his first Premier League start in tatters. The 19-year-old had given everything to Brighton’s cause, and in the final minutes, he could be seen bent double, gasping for breath, telling his goalkeeper to keep hold of the ball for a few seconds longer, like a man begging for mercy. By this point, he looked a little disheveled, with his socks fallen down and shorts rolled up. His final act was to chop down Liverpool’s galloping Ryan Gravenberch, for which he was rightly booked. And when the whistle blew on this wild 2-2 draw, he dropped to the grass in relief and stretched out the cramp coursing through his legs. Baleba hobbled over to shake the hands of various Liverpool players, most of whom wouldn’t have known anything about this Cameroonian teenager before their team meeting on Friday. But after a performance full of energy, guile, skill, outrageous confidence and physical dominance in midfield – one that sapped his body dry – they do now. Ask people inside Brighton who will be the next diamond in the rough, the player who will be sold for five times their asking price after doing wondrous things on this Amex Stadium pitch, then you might be pointed to Kaoru Mitoma or Evan Ferguson, Mahmoud Dahoud or Joao Pedro. But those really in the know will point to Baleba. That includes the manager, Roberto De Zerbi, who said without hesitation on Baleba’s signing this summer: “He will be the future of the club.” If that sounded like hyperbole, there was enough evidence in this 100-minute sample to suggest the Italian is right, as he has tended to be about most things in his short Brighton career. After a Carabao Cup start and a couple of league appearances off the bench, De Zerbi showed enormous faith in Baleba with this full Premier League debut against Liverpool, and that faith was repaid in spades. This was Baleba’s kind of match, stretched and full of holes, with little fires popping up all over the pitch that needed putting out. As the defensive shield, he rushed to cover off counter-attacks and snuff out threatening direct balls. He stood in front of his back four checking over his shoulder for Mohamed Salah’s movement, and then cut out the through ball when it came. When Lewis Dunk pressed so high up the pitch that he left a void in Brighton’s defence, Baleba instinctively slotted back and filled the space. In possession, he was calm and composed and occasionally he injected little jolts of energy, like early in the first half, in his own half, where he threw in a stepover before charging away from Liverpool’s midfield and setting Brighton’s attacking players away as the crowd urged him on. Or a few minutes after Brighton had scored their first goal, when he dribbled through the centre of the pitch from the halfway line, jinked away from a defender on the edge of Liverpool’s box and hit his shot just wide. Baleba was a source of calm in what was a wild game. The first half could have been the subject of an art installation simply titled: ‘Get rid’. All three goals were the result of kamikaze passing at the back that went disastrously wrong, enough to boil the blood of proper football men everywhere. First, it was Virgil van Dijk plodding a pass to Alexis Mac Allister, which Brighton’s Simon Adingra (like Baleba, the 21-year-old winger was exceptional) stole and quickly swept past an out-of-position Alisson Becker for Brighton’s opener. Liverpool hit back with two goals of their own, first when Dunk misplaced a pass and Salah finished off a flowing counterattack, and then just before the break when Pascal Gross lost the ball in his own box and hauled down Dominik Szoboszlai, and Salah scored from the penalty spot. Brighton went into the break 2-1 up, so it was a compliment to the Baleba-Gross partnership when Jurgen Klopp brought on Ryan Gravenberch at half-time to stabilise Liverpool’s overrun midfield. It worked, and for a period Liverpool took control, but they failed to score a third and Brighton went hunting for an equaliser, which came late through Dunk’s close-range volley. Baleba never stopped, and his defensive nous regularly kept counter-attacks at bay. “I have to congratulate the club on finding two more amazing players, in Adingra and Baleba,” De Zerbi said after the game. “Baleba is very young and I think this club needs the characteristics of Baleba. He is a great replacement for Caicedo. But we can’t forget Ansu Fati, Mahmoud Dahoud, Joao Pedro.” In other words, there is plenty more where that came from. Why give Baleba his first start now? “I gave him the right steps. He played a part of the game with Bournemouth, played 70 minutes in Stamford Bridge [in the League Cup] in a big stadium. I gave him time to understand the new style of play, the timing of when to receive the ball, the right line of passing: our idea. It is not so easy [to learn] because our style, in the defensive phase we can change depending on the opponent, our build-up play can change. “He’s very young, a very good player with incredible potential, and he can be one of the most important midfielders in Europe in the future.” De Zerbi believes. And after this performance, we’re all Balebas now. Read More Brighton v Liverpool LIVE: Premier League result and reaction Liverpool’s new double-act are surprising even Jurgen Klopp Rumours: Brazilian is Liverpool’s January target and City want Haaland renewal No need for a replay as Liverpool return to normality in Europa League Liverpool vs Union Saint-Gilloise LIVE: Latest Europa League updates PGMOL rejects Ben Foster’s claim that refs pressured Sky into VAR cover-up

CHENNAI, India (Reuters) -India launched their home World Cup campaign with a six-wicket victory over Australia after Virat Kohli and

Virat Kohli has inspired India’s recovery from 2-3 in its reply to Australia’s below-par 199 all out to secure a six-wicket win for the host nation in its opening match at the Cricket World Cup

LEVERKUSEN, Germany Bayer Leverkusen cruised past Cologne 3-0 on Sunday to take the lead in the Bundesliga title

Victor Boniface has scored again and Bayer Leverkusen has returned to the top of the Bundesliga with a 3-0 win over local rival Cologne

The 2023/24 Premier League season is under way and you can follow every game and every goal right here with The Independent. This year sees Manchester City try to defend their crown and claim a historic fourth title in succession. Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering City, who also won the Champions League and FA Cup last season, will have to see off Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and the rest to claim an unprecedented sixth league title in seven years. Meanwhile Luton Town are making their first appearance in the Premier League, having risen from non-league in an incredible decade of progress. They followed Championship winners Burnley and second-placed Sheffield United in earning promotion to the top flight. Follow the latest action from the Premier League below.

Second-ranked Iga Swiatek won the China Open final with a near-perfect 6-2, 6-2 victory over Liudmila Samsonova, for her tour-leading fifth title of the season

Brighton and Liverpool traded defensive mistakes before settling for a 2-2 draw in the Premier League in another setback for Jurgen Klopp’s team

Bills starting linebacker Matt Milano sustained a knee injury in the first quarter of Buffalo’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars and was ruled out

Arsenal host Manchester City at the Emirates this afternoon, hoping to boost their Premier League title aspirations. In a game filled with tactical chess moves, Mikel Arteta’s side have lost the last 12 Premier League matches against the champions, but the fitness of Bukayo Saka is a big question mark heading into the contest. Pep Guardiola, meanwhile, will be forced into a big midfield decision, with Rodri suspended. “Having success against City is something you have to value, the way we played as well and it gave us confidence and a lift that we can beat them,” said Arteta. “One thing for certain is that we know we will have to be at our best in every department for 100 minutes and then we will have a chance.” Follow live updates from Arsenal vs Man City in the Premier League and get the latest match odds here. Read More The tactical conundrum behind Arsenal’s quest to end absurd Man City streak How do you replace the best holding midfielder in the world? Mikel Arteta gives Bukayo Saka injury update ahead of Arsenal vs Man City

Arsenal host Manchester City in an early meeting of last season’s Premier League title rivals. Mikel Arteta’s side led the title race for the majority of the season but were reeled in by the defending champions, with a crushing 4-1 victory by Pep Guardiola’s team in April leading to a third Premier League in a row for the eventual treble winners. Follow Arsenal vs Man City LIVE The Gunners, though, are tipped to be City’s closest challengers again this season, with just a point separating the sides after seven games played. But to do so, Arteta’s team will have to overturn a woeful recent record against City: Arsenal have lost 12 games in a row against City in the Premier League and have not beaten them in the top-flight since 2015. The Gunners did beat City on penalties to win the Community Shield at the start of the season, however. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of this afternoon’s huge Premier League clash. What time is Arsenal vs Manchester City? The match will kick off at 4:30pm BST on Sunday 8 October at the Emirates Stadium. How can I watch it? It will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, with coverage following the earlier match between Brighton and Liverpool. Subscribers can also stream the action via SkyGo. If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch major sporting events then you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN roundup is here to help: get great deals on the best VPNs in the market. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are and also with the terms of their service provider. What is the team news? Bukayo Saka is an injury doubt after limping off Arsenal’s midweek defeat to Lens in the Champions League with a hamstring injury, but Mikel Arteta said the winger is “in contention” to be available. Arsenal are missing Gabriel Martinelli, while Thomas Partey also remains out. Manchester City will be without Rodri, who continues to serve a three-match suspension, while Kevin De Bruyne remains out. Julian Alvaraz has been City’s main threat in recent weeks - alongside Erling Haaland. John Stones returned to the bench in Wednesday’s 3-1 win at RB Leipzig but Pep Guardiola said he is not available on Sunday. Predicted line-ups Arsenal: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Rice, Havertz, Odegaard; Jesus, Nketiah, Trossard Man City: Ederson; Walker, Diaz, Gvardiol, Akanji; Kovacic, Bernardo, Foden; Doku, Alvarez; Haaland Prediction Arsenal 1-3 Man City Read More The tactical conundrum behind Arsenal’s quest to end absurd Man City streak How do you replace the best holding midfielder in the world? Pep Guardiola does not think Arsenal clash will have major bearing on title race Mauricio Pochettino believes victory at Burnley will boost Chelsea’s confidence Pep Guardiola says he learned ‘a lot’ from Mikel Arteta ahead of Sunday reunion Pep Guardiola does not think Arsenal clash will have major bearing on title race

Formula One drivers will have to change tires at least every 18 laps in the Qatar Grand Prix