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CSK picked three spinners for their first home game of the IPL 2025 season against Mumbai

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Mar-20259:50

Rayudu: The MI-CSK rivalry is real

Chennai Super Kings won the toss in Chennai and had no reservations deciding to chase in their IPL 2025 opener against Mumbai Indians. The pitch wore a sheen and looked hard as against the expectations from CSK, who have three quality spinners in their line-up.Suryakumar Yadav, the MI stand-in captain, said he would have batted first anyway because there hasn’t been much dew around due to windy conditions in the night. There were two exciting newcomers for MI. Well they built them up at any rate. S Raju was the fast bowler expected to be their death specialist, and left-arm wristspinner Vignesh Puthur was a possible Impact Player when they start their defence later in the night.On a day that had been excellent for at least one Jharkhand wicketkeeper, MI handed a debut to Robin Minz to make it three Jharkhand wicketkeepers in IPL action on the same day.The third one, MS Dhoni, of course continued to be a leader for CSK without a title. As is the case usually with CSK, they were not handing out any debuts, banking instead on experienced players. R Ashwin came back to the team representing his beloved home town of Chennai. Nathan Ellis edged out Matheesha Pathirana. CSK had a more established left-arm wristspinner of their own in Noor Ahmad.Mumbai Indians 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Ryan Rickelton (wk), 3 Will Jacks, 4 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Naman Dhir, 7 Robin Minz, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Trent Boult, 11 S RajuSubstitutes: Vignesh Puthur, Ashwani Kumar, Raj Bawa, Corbin Bosch, Karn SharmaChennai Super Kings 1 Rachin Ravindra, 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), 3 Deepak Hooda, 4 Shivam Dube, 5 Ravindra Jadeja, 6 Sam Curran, 7 MS Dhoni (wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Noor Ahmad, 10 Nathan Ellis, 11 Khaleel AhmedSubstitutes: Rahul Tripathi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Vijay Shankar, Jamie Overton, Shaik Rasheed

Essex batter retires hurt on 103 two days after being called up for England’s Test against Zimbabwe

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay04-May-2025Jordan Cox suffered an injury concern while celebrating his latest England call-up with a century for Essex on the third day of their Rothesay County Championship match with Somerset at Taunton.The 24-year-old fell to the ground clutching his left side just above the hip after taking a quick single off Jack Leach to put him on 99. He had been feeling the same area while batting and remained prostrate while being treated before being helped to his feet.Related

• Jordan Cox: 'Dad was in the queue at Heathrow, I told him to turn round'

• Cox recalled to England Test squad for Zimbabwe

• Harmer, Cox help Essex turn tables on Somerset

Cox stayed at the wicket just long enough to hit a boundary off Leach and reach his ton at which point he immediately retired hurt. He took no further part in the Essex second innings and was replaced in the field when Somerset batted.Essex’s captain, Tom Westley, confirmed the extent of the injury at the close of play.”Jordan has a problem with his side, which our medical staff are in the process of assessing,” he said. “Unfortunately, because it is a Sunday it has not been possible to get the injury scanned. Hopefully, that will happen as soon as possible tomorrow and we will know a lot more then.”He played a tremendous innings and it was a shame he was not able to go on.”A broken finger forced Cox to miss England’s tour to New Zealand last year. On Friday he was recalled to the squad for the Test match against Zimbabwe later this month.The England squad are expected to assemble in London next week before a training camp in Loughborough leading into the four-day Test, which will be played at Trent Bridge on May 22-25. The encounter will be England’s first Test against Zimbabwe since 2003.

CSK’s latest signing Brevis has linked up with the squad in Mumbai and will be available for selection for Sunday’s game

Vishal Dikshit19-Apr-20254:12

Boucher: Brevis is a perfect candidate for No. 5

Big picture: CSK’s hopes starting to fade

Had either of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) had a result or two not go their way in the last few days in IPL 2025, the “El Clasico” narrative of this rivalry would have turned into “L Clasico”. CSK managed to break their five-match losing streak and will look for another win on the road, against MI, on Sunday evening.If results from nearly a month ago still instill some sort of confidence, CSK could have a feel-good factor in how they had won at home last month at the start of the tournament, but MI have since got back Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah to their side.Related

• IPL 2025 mid-season review: The importance of mega auction and local leagues

• Fleming says poor results have forced CSK to 'bring all squad members into play'

MI themselves had been grappling with two losses at the start of IPL 2025 but have picked themselves up in all facets of the game to win both at home and away, on different kind of surfaces, and batting first and chasing. Barring Rohit Sharma, whose form continues to be a concern, their top order has started scoring freely, their middle order is hitting boundaries at a good clip, and the all-international bowling attack has started to function like a well-oiled machine, as was seen in their last game, against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).CSK, despite beating a strong LSG side, are still trying to put their pieces together with several players still far from at their best, which has forced their think tank to look to younger options, as head coach Stephen Fleming said on match eve. After a strong bowling performance against LSG that would ease some of their worries before walking out at the Wankhede, CSK will now hope their batting steps up.

Form guide

Mumbai Indians WWLLW
Chennai Super Kings WLLLL2:45

Rayudu: Slower balls have worked for ‘wicket-taker’ Hardik

In the spotlight: Rohit Sharma and Shivam Dube

Shivam Dube has struck at 128.57 this IPL, a steep slide from his 150-plus strike rates in the last three seasons. He has improved in the last couple of games after sub-20 scores at the start, but still, scores of 43* off 37 and 31* off 29 suggest that he isn’t at his best yet. Oppositions have also started to keep spinners away from him to try and keep him quiet. Dube now returns to his domestic home ground where he once hit five sixes in an over in a Ranji Trophy game, and will hope familiar conditions help him hit the pedal.Almost everything is falling in place for MI, except for Rohit Sharma‘s form. Batters around him and after him are all scoring while his average for the season has dipped to just 13.66, having faced 57 balls this IPL. Since Ryan Rickelton and Will Jacks – his partners in the top three – have looked good in the last few games, this could take some burden off Rohit’s shoulders to try and get out of this rut.

Team news: Brevis links up with CSK

Legspinner Karn Sharma had split a webbing in his bowling hand while fielding in their last game and is unlikely to play against CSK after getting a couple of stitches on the hand. Depending on the conditions for this game, MI could bring in either left-arm wristspinner Vignesh Puthur or left-arm quick Ashwani Kumar, who took 4 for 24 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) the last time he played at the Wankhede.Mumbai Indians 1 Ryan Rickelton (wk), 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Will Jacks, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Hardik Pandya (capt), 7 Naman Dhir, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Jasprit Bumrah, 12 Vignesh Puthur/Ashwani KumarDewald Brevis has joined the CSK squad as a replacement player and is available for the game even though he didn’t train a whole lot since reaching India. Fleming said on Saturday that they are likely to give some of the younger players, such as bowling allrounder Ramakrishna Ghosh and fast bowler Kamlesh Nagarkoti, more chances. Ravindra Jadeja is set to continue at No. 4.Chennai Super Kings 1 Rachin Ravindra, 2 Shaik Rasheed, 3 Rahul Tripathi, 4 Ravindra Jadeja, 5 Shivam Dube, 6 Vijay Shankar, 7 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 8 Jamie Overton, 9 Anshul Kamboj, 10 Noor Ahmad, 11 Khaleel Ahmed, 12 Matheesha Pathirana

The big question

Pitch and conditions

Having lost to CSK in their opening game on a slow turner at Chepauk, MI would not want the kind of spin-friendly pitch they played on against SRH for the CSK game, especially without Karn, and with Noor Ahmad, Jadeja and Rachin Ravindra in the opposition camp. Their batting plans are falling in place, which means a high-scoring track – like the one against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) – may suit them better. Whatever the pitch, the team winning the toss is expected to chase as there has been some dew in Mumbai in hot and humid conditions.1:03

Who will finish in the top four?

Stats and trivia: Dhoni vs Bumrah

• Khaleel Ahmed bowled an impressive first spell of 3-0-22-1 against LSG and he will want to bowl to Rohit on Sunday because of this match-up: 28 runs in 43 balls for three dismissals and no sixes.
• Jadeja could have a similar feeling while bowling to Suryakumar Yadav, which could happen in the middle overs. Jadeja has conceded just 47 runs to Suryakumar in 62 balls while removing him three times.
• MS Dhoni is known to prefer pace bowlers as opposed to spinners. How he tackles Jasprit Bumrah could be interesting because he has scored just 60 runs off 61 balls against Bumrah in the IPL, hitting only three fours and two sixes while also falling three times. In the death overs, Dhoni has struck at 110.25 against Bumrah, which is only marginally better.
• The fierce rivalry between MI and CSK reflects in their head-to-head too: MI have won 20 out of the 38 clashes between these two teams. But CSK are on a four-match winning streak right now.

Quotes

“This pitch has been a little bit more high-scoring this year. So that’s the first thing we look at. But the greatest thing for us is to adapt to whatever it is on the day.”
“If it is going to be a slightly slower wicket like last game, we know he’s going to be a challenge. You’ve got to be quite smart against him. If he gets on a roll, he’s pretty tough to stop. As we’ve seen, he has bowled extremely well.”

While some familiar faces didn't put in vintage performances, Vlatko Andonokski's World Cup debutants stepped up in a lopsided win

It was set up to be Thailand 2.0, but this surely wasn't that. The United States women's national team famously kickstarted the 2019 World Cup with a 13-0 shellacking that, ultimately, was a sign of things to come. Vietnam, unfortunately for them, were set up to be the USWNT's World Cup debut/warm-up this time around. Like Thailand, they wouldn't stand a chance, right?

They didn't, of course, as the USWNT ran away dominant winners. It wasn't, however, as dominant as it could have been, as the U.S. left goals on the table in what ended as merely a 3-0 victory.

That word feels harsh: 'merely'. You can't understate how important wins are, even if you are the USWNT. Vlatko Andonovski's side got off to a good start with a win in which they were never threatened. Let's not let that get buried here.

Still, you have to wonder if the U.S. may regret not doing more. Goal difference could be a factor in this group, one which features Portugal as will as their 2019 final opponent, the Netherlands. Winning the group is paramount, and doing so would have been just a bit easier if they had scored more.

Because of that, how you view this one will depend on whether you're an optimist or a pessimist. The optimist will see an easy win headlined by some breakout performances from the youngest USWNT stars. The pessimist will see a performance that needed just that little bit more to make this group stage feel comfortable.

We'll leave that up to you. Meanwhile, the USWNT will take the win and move on. The Netherlands are next on Wednesday night.

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GOAL breaks down the winners and losers from the USWNT's 3-0 win at Eden Park:

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  WINNER: Sophia Smith

  A breakout performance from the USWNT attacker. This summer will be the one where Sophia Smith goes from rising star to superstar, and Friday night's effort showed why. The 22-year-old finished the match with two goals and an assist, playing a part in each USWNT goal in this dominant win.

  Her first goal was a fine finish, teed up by strong play from Alex Morgan. Smith made no mistake, blasting the ball past Vietnam goalkeeper Tran Thi Kim Thanh, who had a magnificent game. Her second came just before the half, calming a few nerves after a VAR review determined she was in fact onside.

  Not content to just be a scorer, Smith then turned provider, finding Lindsey Horan for the game's third. It was exactly the performance the reigning NWSL MVP would have wanted as she proved no World Cup nerves would hold her back.

  She'll be tough to handle for any team this tournament. The Netherlands are surely aware of that and will have been trying to plan for it for months. Smith, at this point, may be the USWNT's most dangerous player and, if they do go on a deep run this summer, it'll likely be with the Portland Thorns star leading the charge.

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  LOSER: Alex Morgan

  Let's get one thing clear: Alex Morgan did not have a bad game. Her role in the USWNT opener cannot be understated. It was a key moment from the team's most familiar superstar. But superstars can't miss penalties in 1-0 games. Superstars bury those shots and step up in those moments, no matter the opponent.

  It continued a weird trend of missed penalties at this tournament, with just two of six efforts from the spot having been scored after Morgan's failure. The USWNT star's effort was too tame and Thanh made a simple dive save to keep it out.

  The U.S., fortunately, weren't punished for it and, to be fair, they never were going to be. This game was in hand, with or without Morgan's spot-kick. It would have just been another goal, which would have been nice.

  There will be bigger games and moments to come and, perhaps, another chance from the spot. You'd bet on Morgan to score the next one, even if she was a bit off on this one.

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  WINNER: The Girma-Ertz partnership

  This, quite obviously, was the first time Naomi Girma and Julie Ertz had played together in defense. Girma is still a relative newcomer, even if she is a key player for this USWNT. Ertz, meanwhile, has only recently returned after becoming a mother.

  It was a surprise to see Andonovski roll with this center-back pairing, especially considering the fact that Ertz has been a No.6 for years. It paid off, though, as the pair both put in strong shifts in a game where they were relatively unchallenged.

  The U.S. obviously knew what they were up against in this one and how little the center-backs would be truly tested. Ertz and Girma were largely on clean-up duty defensively, with the most important aspect of their game really being their ability to kickstart attacks with the ball at their feet.

  Both put in strong shifts in that regard while showing chemistry as a duo that those outside USWNT camp couldn't have foreseen. Both looked entirely comfortable, as individuals and as partners.

  It was good to see, especially considering the USWNT's lack of depth at center-back. Does Alana Cook come back into the team for the next game? Maybe, maybe not. If Andonovski does roll with Girma and Ertz going forward, though, it seems they'll be up to it as a pairing, although there will be much tougher moments in the games ahead.

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  LOSER: Megan Rapinoe

  Almost 17 years to the day after she made her first USNWT appearance, Megan Rapinoe came on in the second half of this one for her 200th. She could have marked it with a goal. Or two. Maybe three.

  The USWNT icon had so many chances to score, but was unable to find the back of the net. She deserved a goal, and Eden Park would have erupted had she gotten one. It wasn't to be, though.

  Her best chance came in the 71st minute as she missed a sitter just moments before Horan made it 3-0. She'll certainly replaying that one back in her mind, wondering how she possibly did anything other than put the ball into the back of the net.

  Still, it was a good runout for Rapinoe, who was on a minutes restriction due to injury issues. This game was a good illustration into why she's here: to create chances in spurts when coming on as a substitute. She did that here, even if none went in.

  A positive day when you look at it big-picture, even if it was a slightly frustrating one as Rapinoe couldn't quite find her finishing boots.

Durham bowler concedes three runs in final over before downpour to take the contest on DLS

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay07-Jun-2025Durham 119 for 6 (Bates 34, Heath 29) beat Hampshire 33 for 2 by one run (DLS)Grace Thompson bowled an exemplary over just before it hosed it down to give Durham a dramatic one-run victory by DLS over Hampshire Hawks in the Women’s Vitality Blast.Durham had scored 119 on a slow track, thanks to Suzie Bates’ 34 and Bess Heath’s 29 – with Freya Davies and Bex Tyson each picking up two wickets.With heavy rain forecast, the race was on to bowl the five overs needed to constitute a match, Maia Bouchier got Hampshire ahead of the rate, but Trudy Johnson made sure the scores level on DLS at the five-over mark.Thompson, however, only conceded three runs in the following over before the rain got too heavy and umpires Ant Harris and Julia Jarvis took the players off – with Hawks two runs shy of a winning score.It handed Durham their first Blast victory and Hawks back-to-back defeats.On the same pitch that South Africa played Zimbabwe in preparation for their World Test Championship final, Hawks chose to bowl first – an obvious choice with heavy rain forecasted.Bates began with a crushing four, but it didn’t set a precedent for regular boundary hitting as the pitch didn’t offer a great deal of pace.Durham’s batting was summed by starts, regular wickets, and very little offside play; only 23 of the 119 runs not struck on the onside.Katherine Fraser was the first of six wickets to fall when she picked up to deep midwicket, with Freya Davies also bowling Emma Marlow to return figures of two for 20.Bates, the scorer of half the eight fours in the innings in her 34, was the first of two to get stumped off Bex Tyson, with Abi Glen following suit later in the innings.Hollie Armitage scored 18 before she was bowled by Mary Taylor and Mady Villiers powered to long on.Heath whacked a six over deep midwicket in a useful unbeaten 29 to take Durham to a challenging score.Hampshire knew they needed 23 runs if they didn’t lose a wicket in the five overs that were needed to constitute a match.But Mady Villiers ended Ella McCaughan’s three-match half-century run by getting her to chip to mid-off, before Charli Knott was bowled going back to Katie Levick.That upped the five over target to 30, which thanks to Bouchier hitting both Villiers and Trudy Johnson for back-to-back fours put the hosts in control.Hampshire were on exactly 30 at five overs – Johnson ending with two dots – so a tie would have been a result with the rain starting to come down, but it wasn’t enough to end proceedings.Thompson tied Freya Kemp and Bouchier up to only allow three runs in the sixth over, when five were required to win before the heavens truly opened and there was no argument that no further play was possible.

Since Sheikh Mansour took over at the Etihad, his investment in big-money signings has transformed Man City into a heavyweight of world football

Manchester City have been transformed into a global heavyweight since the arrival of Sheikh Mansour, with big-money being pumped into a squad that now has three Premier League titles to its name. Who, though, are the club’s most elaborate purchases? Goal takes a look at the top 10…

• 10Sergio Aguero | £38 million

  Considered to be quite a coup for City when they flexed their financial muscles in 2011 to land one of the deadliest strikers on the planet from Atletico Madrid.

  The Argentina international settled immediately in new surroundings, netting twice on his debut, and has now found the target 199 times in just 292 appearances. Last season he became City's all-time leading goalscorer, and his name was already written in City folklore after scoring a last-gasp goal to snatch the title away from Man Utd in 2011/12.

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  9Eliaquim Mangala | £42 million

  The France centre-back joined City in 2014 but only ever showed glimpses of his ability as he struggled to lead the defence in the way which was expected when he signed from Porto.

  His fee was initially reported as £32m but City later confirmed that they had also paid £10m to third parties to comply with Premier League regulations.

  Mangala has been a bit-part player for Guardiola and is likely to leave the club this summer, after spending the second half of the last campaign on loan at Everton.

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  8Bernardo Silva | £43 million

  After struggling to make an impact at boyhood club Benfica, he saw his potential unlocked in France with Monaco to earn himself a big-money move to England in the summer of 2017.

  Only three players under the age of 23 provided more assists in the 2017-18 season, but the Portugal international was overshadowed somewhat by the exploits of Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling in his first year at City after starting just 15 of his 35 league appearances.

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  7Raheem Sterling | £44 million

  Completed a controversial switch to the Etihad Stadium in 2015 after making it clear to those at Liverpool that he no longer wished to be part of the project at Anfield.

  Has faced accusations of lacking an end product at times, but reached double figures in terms of goals scored in his first two seasons at the Etihad and pushed on again in 2017-18 under Pep Guardiola, grabbing 23 goals in all competitions which saw him nominated for the Young Player of the Year award.

  The 23-year-old was scrutinised again in the lead up to the World Cup after it was revealed he has a tattoo of a rifle on his leg, but he has been an influential figure for England in Russia.

As the new year looms, Goal looks back on some of the best and most significant moments in football during the last 12 months

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  Messi's audacious Clasico shirt celebration

  Back in April, as the 2016-17 Liga title race was heading towards a heated finale, Real Madrid and Barcelona locked horns at the Bernabeu. Barca came into the clash at the Bernabeu behind their bitter rivals and needed a win to haul themselves back into the title race.

  Things got off to a bad start for the Blaugrana as Casemiro fired Real ahead, but Lionel Messi cancelled it out five minutes later. Ivan Rakitic then put Barca ahead mid-way through the second half, but James Rodriguez struck in the final five minutes to haul Madrid level. However, Messi rose to the occasion once again, blasting the winner past Keylor Navas in the 92nd minute. 

  What followed was one of the most iconic images of 2017 and certainly one that will endure in the annals of Clasico history as Messi coolly held aloft his shirt in front of Real Madrid fans to mark his 500th Barca goal and the one that saw him overtake Alfredo Di Stefano as the all-time Clasico top scorer.

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  Messi single-handedly dragging Argentina to the World Cup

  As the CONMEBOL World Cup qualification cycle came to a conclusion it looked like Argentina might not make it. Defeats to Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Ecuador, as well as too many draws, left the Albiceleste needing a win in their final in order to ensure their safe passage to Russia in 2018.

  The game against Ecuador in Quito got off to a disastrous start as Romario Ibarra shot Los Amarillos in front after the first minute and it looked like Jorge Sampaoli's men were set to miss out on a place at the world's biggest tournament for the first time since 1970.

  However, Messi was in no mood for such a narrative and he scored two goals within 10 minutes to put his country ahead before putting the icing on the cake with his hat-trick strike in the final 10 minutes. The Barcelona star had rescued his country and ensured that his talents will grace a fourth World Cup.

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  The retirement of Francesco Totti

  May 28, 2017 was an emotional day in Italy as one of its greatest sporting heroes brought the curtain down on his career. After 25 years, Francesco Totti finally called it a day and he was given his swan song as a second-half substitute in Roma's 3-2 victory over Genoa at the Stadio Olimpico.

  The World Cup winner bid farewell to the faithful with a passionate and tearful address, delivered from the pitch and it is a moment that will, no doubt live long in the memory.

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  Real Madrid win consecutive Champions Leagues

  Real Madrid are the most successful team in the history of the Champions League and they made yet more history in June 2017 when they became the first team to successfully defend the trophy in the modern era.

  Real won the European Cup four years in succession in the 1950s, while Bayern Munich and Ajax each won it three times in a row in the 1970s. AC Milan won it twice in a row in the late 1980s, but notably no club had managed the feat since the adoption of the new format in 1992.

  Los Blancos blew Juventus away in the final, easily beating the Italian champions 4-1 in Cardiff, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring twice.

The Liverpool star was back among the goals against Fulham, while Man City's midfielder is joined by a host of team-mates following derby victory

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  Hugo Lloris | Tottenham

  Hugo Lloris made five saves as he kept a clean sheet in Spurs' win over Crystal Palace – he hasn't made more in a single league game without conceding since October 2016 against Manchester City (6).

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  Kyle Walker | Manchester City

  Kyle Walker made eight recoveries in Man City's win over rivals Man Utd – more than any other outfield player in the game.

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  John Stones | Manchester City

  Whilst having a 95.5% passing accuracy against Man Utd, Stones also blocked two shots in the match – none of his team-mates made more.

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  Willie Boly | Wolves

  Boly won 100% of his aerial duels (2) and completed 100% of his tackles (2) in Wolves' draw away at Arsenal, also making three clearances and two interceptions.

Whether you think Manchester City's success is solely down to spending or not, there's no denying that the Premier League champions aren't afraid to take out the chequebook. The two biggest signings for the new season so far have seen City bring in striker Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund for a bargain £51 million ($63m) and then agree to pay Leeds £42m ($52m) for England midfielder Kalvin Phillips.

Much of the cost of those transfers will be covered by the high-profile exits of Gabriel Jesus, who has joined Arsenal for £45m ($55m), and Raheem Sterling – just snapped up by Chelsea for £47.5m ($57m).

However, with the transfer window shutting on September 1, there is the potential for more business to be done, with manager Pep Guardiola keen to bring in a new left-back and any deal could be funded by more outgoings.

Indeed, City have previously generated significant sums of money by selling academy graduates and loan stars.

And, as GOAL outlines below, some fringe players have already been sold to raise more money, and more are set to follow, meaning City could end up generating an additional £80m ($100m) before the summer is out…

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  Gavin Bazunu | Southampton | £12m

  The Republic of Ireland goalkeeper shot to fame when he saved a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo in a World Cup qualifier against Portugal.

  At club level, he made his debut for League of Ireland side Shamrock Rovers as a 16-year-old and has more recently had season-long loans at Rochdale and Portsmouth.

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  Romeo Lavia | Southampton | £10.5m

  The highly-rated 18-year-old midfielder made just two appearances for the first team but Southampton have still paid a significant transfer fee. 

  It could rise to £14m if add-ons are met and City will also receive 20 per cent of any future transfers as well as an option to match any offers with the Belgian tipped for a big career. 

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  Pedro Porro | Sporting CP | £7.2m

  The Spain international joined City in 2019 but never made a single appearance and joked that Guardiola did not even know he was at the club.

  After two years on loan at Sporting CP, he joined them in a permanent deal this summer with City making a slight profit on the £5.5m they paid sister-club Girona for the right-back in 2019.

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• Darko Gyabi | Leeds | £5m

  When Phillips completed his switch from Leeds, 18-year-old midfielder Gyabi made the move in the opposite direction.

  An England under-18 international, the Londoner broke into the club's under-23 side last season and was seen as a player with potential.

The Premier League's top scorer was shutout for the first time since August as Liverpool ended the champions' unbeaten start to the season

Manchester City suffered their first Premier League defeat of the season against Liverpool as their brilliant start to their title came to a dramatic halt.

Anfield has never been a happy place to go for City, having won there just twice in the past 40 years, so it's perhaps not a surprise that City were beaten by their closest rivals of recent seasons.

The defeat did, though, come in controversial circumstances, with a Phil Foden goal ruled out by VAR in an incident that Pep Guardiola said ignited the home fans.

Mohammed Salah then scored the only goal of the game after an individual error from Joao Cancelo when he misjudged Alisson's clearance.

But who came out of the game with any credit for City? And for whom was it a day to forget? GOAL breaks it down…

• The Winners

  The title race:

  In the build-up to Sunday's game, Jurgen Klopp claimed Liverpool were no longer challenging for the title. Of course, Guardiola dismissed those suggestions as rubbish, knowing exactly how difficult it is to win the Premier League, having done so four times in the last five years. Exciting title races have been one of English football's greatest selling points in recent years and it looks like we're set for another one all over again. Arsenal are four points clear of both City and Tottenham, with Chelsea just a further four points behind with a game in hand. And of course, Liverpool are now firmly back in the shake-up.

  Ederson:

  So often the focus is on Ederson's brilliant footwork while questions are asked as to whether he is a good shot-stopper. But on Sunday, he made one huge save with Salah bearing down on goal that could have had huge implications on the Premier League season. At first, it looked like the Egyptian had got his angles wrong as his shot rolled just the wrong side of the post and referee Anthony Taylor pointed for a goal kick. Only from the replays was the brilliant save from Ederson perceptible, as his outstretched fingertips diverted the ball inches off target. Unfortunately for City, he couldn't pull off the same trick twice.

  City's fixture schedule:

  Guardiola was set to take his side to Arsenal in midweek, but that game was postponed with the Gunners facing a rescheduled Europa League game against PSV. Perhaps that will play to City's benefit, as the squad can take a couple of days off before returning to training after a painful defeat. Anfield was electric, and the Emirates Stadium would have been the same with Mikel Arteta's side four points clear and sensing blood. Getting back on the pitch is often the best way to get a response, but a firing Arsenal would have been a major test at this stage of the season.

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  The Losers

  Joao Cancelo:

  Cancelo has been outstanding all season, but he made City's key contribution for all the wrong reasons at Anfield. Isolated with Salah following a City corner, Cancelo misjudged Alisson's long clearance, allowing the Liverpool forward a free run at goal that he took full advantage of. The defender looked rattled by the mistake and it affected the rest of his match as City tried to chase an equaliser. He must put it behind him quickly and get back to the brilliant performances which have been so important to Guardiola's side this season, and Phil Foden could be seen reminding him of that shortly after full-time.

  Erling Haaland:

  Jamie Vardy's record of scoring in 11 consecutive Premier League matches is safe – for now – after Haaland's blank at Anfield. Only 10 games into his City career, the Norwegian was threatening it already with goals in seven successive matches, but Liverpool shut him down for the second time this season, following the Community Shield curtain-raiser. Haaland had a couple of sights of goal in the first half, clipping a shot wide and sending a header straight into Alisson's arms. Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez were mostly successful in keeping him away from the width of the six-yard box, but when he got one big chance in that position, Alisson denied him again with a smart save.

  VAR luck:

  It's rare for City to fail to score and they've done it twice in a week, following their goalless draw in Copenhagen. Except they scored goals in both games, only for them to both be chalked off by VAR. Rodri's super strike in Denmark was cancelled after a slight handball in the build-up, and this time Foden's goal was ruled out for a perceived Haaland tug on Fabinho. Guardiola wouldn't be drawn into criticising either decision, but he's probably had enough of seeing referees called over to the monitor for a while.

• Man City Ratings: Defence

  Ederson (8/10):

  Made one huge save but couldn't pull off two when he was twice exposed into facing Salah.

  Joao Cancelo (4/10):

  Huge error defined his performance and he will want to forget it in a hurry.

  Manuel Akanji (6/10):

  Biggest game of his early City career and found it tough in the red-hot Anfield atmosphere.

  Ruben Dias (6/10):

  Strong first-half but a slip in the second let in Salah and it could have been costly.

  Nathan Ake (7/10):

  Tasked with stopping a reinvigorated Salah after his midweek hat-trick and worked hard to keep him away from goal as much as possible.

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• Midfield

  Rodri (7/10):

  Screened the defence with his expert reading of the game in a congested area of the pitch.

  Bernardo Silva (8/10):

  Started in a deeper role almost as a second holding midfielder and worked hard as a disruptor before moving further forward.

  Ilkay Gundogan (6/10):

  Tried to take up dangerous positions in the half-space behind the forwards and forced one good save from Alisson.