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On a hot and humid opening day, his knock puts Sri Lanka in a strong position

Mohammad Isam15-May-2022During the first Bangladesh-Sri Lanka Test in Chattogram, there were four players who had debuted in the 2000s. Among those, Angelo Mathews was the most capped one, and he had to squeeze out every bit of that experience to get Sri Lanka out of early trouble, consolidate in the middle, and then dominate by the end of the day.While Sri Lanka have many young players in their squad, a senior figure like Mathews finishing the day unbeaten on 114 is significant for the dressing room. Youngsters will soak up the lessons from his innings, which must have inspired those as well who are not-so-young but yet to hit their peak. Through his 213-ball stay, he added 92 in a third-wicket stand with Kusal Mendis and 75 in an unbroken fifth-wicket stand with Dinesh Chandimal, ensuring both Mendis and Chandimal could bat around him.In his early days, Mathews was a big six-hitter, a nifty seamer and an acrobatic fielder. But years in the international grind and several injuries meant that these days he is more of a quiet presence. His expression of experience and responsibility reflected in the way he batted on the opening day of the Test. He mostly played straight and didn’t fiddle with his wrists much. He tried to drive every full ball within his reach, covering whatever spin the Bangladesh spinners imparted on the ball, by showing the full bat face.Experienced players have their own way of showing their intention to opponents, and Mathews wasn’t any different. He struck Nayeem Hasan, who had just taken both Sri Lanka wickets in the first session, for a straight six to start the second session. He would hit four more boundaries down the ground, which forced Mominul Haque to send the mid-off and mid-on back. That itself deflates a spinner who would prefer the batter to miscue a drive to those fielders inside the circle.Mathews hit drives through covers, mid-on and midwicket quite regularly, while the rest of his fours came off filthy deliveries down the leg-side. There was not one boundary with the cut shot, which was hardly surprising since he was only reacting to what was being bowled to him: full and mostly straight.Mendis said that there was great value to Mathews’ innings, particularly in the situation they found themselves in at the fall of the second wicket. He also praised Mathews for his knock in this oppressive weather.”[Angelo Mathews] made a hundred, but [because of the heat and humidity] it can count as 150 or 170,” Mendis said. “There was so much heat. It is a little bit more than Sri Lanka. He played very well. He is the most senior guy in the Sri Lanka team. He played a dominating innings. I think it would be good if he goes on to make 150 or 200 tomorrow. The wicket was good, so we [told each other] that we can’t panic. A batter struggles for the first ten balls, but after that, he can play well.”There was praise from across the dressing room too. Mathews’ old team-mate Rangana Herath, who is now Bangladesh’s spin bowling coach, said the 34-year-old has a lot of drive to do well at the top level.”I know Angelo very well,” Herath said. “We have played a lot of games together. He always has the hunger to play for his country. Whether he is 34 or 36, he is always looking for a challenge. To be honest, as a Sri Lankan it was a fantastic hundred in the heat. I am sure he will continue to do a lot of things for Sri Lanka.”Herath said that the Bangladesh spinners did well for the first day of a Test in Chattogram, where the pitch was mostly unresponsive, on top of the heat.”Especially on the first day of a Test match, I am happy with how the bowlers did. Shakib and TJ [Taijul Islam] bowled well. Nayeem also took two wickets. He hasn’t played much cricket in the last 18 months but he has been practising a lot. In that case, I saw that he needed a bit of confidence, but when he got that wicket off the first ball, his confidence [was restored]”Bangladesh are hoping to shut Sri Lanka down within another 120 runs, but the visitors are targeting a 500-plus total on this pitch. If Mathews continues to play the way he did on Sunday, it will make things much easier for them. Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella, Ramesh Mendis and the tail have to give him company for as long as possible, but Mathews knows what he has to do. Experience matters. You can’t put a price tag on what Mathews brings to the table.

The India captain has crossed 50 just once in New Zealand, across three formats, so far

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Christchurch26-Feb-2020The Virat Kohli cover drive. What a shot, eh?ESPNcricinfo’s categories for logging shots played by batsmen have changed over the years, but counting “cover drive”, “off side drive on front foot” and “off drive” as descriptions of roughly similar shots (while leaving “off side drive on back foot” out of this far-from-scientific exercise), Kohli has scored more runs with it than any other shot in his Test career: 1911, off 1719 balls, with 282 fours and three sixes in the mix.He plays the shot brilliantly, and scores exceptionally quickly with it. He has a great eye, wonderful hands and wrists, and one of the longest front-foot strides in the game. This means he can play cover drives off a far wider range of lengths than most other batsmen. He can cover-drive balls that other batsmen might square-cut. More often, he’ll cover-drive balls that other batsmen might leave.And so, while scoring as many runs as he does with this shot (spectrum of shots, to put it more accurately), he also gets out playing it, quite a lot. He’s been out to it 25 times, which is as many times as he’s been out defending, except it’s taken him 3045 balls to get out as often while defending.ALSO READ: ‘Dry him up’ – Neil Wagner’s plan for Virat KohliKohli knows the risk-reward equation that comes with playing the shot this frequently, and he’s weighed it up and resolved to keep playing it, against every bowler and in nearly all types of conditions. And his judgment of when to play it is right far more often than it’s wrong; he wouldn’t average 54.30 otherwise.When he attempted the shot off Kyle Jamieson in India’s first innings at Basin Reserve last week, while batting on 2, and nicked it to slip, it may have therefore been a less terrible shot than it seemed at first glance. Especially when you consider that Jamieson had pushed Kohli back with his previous delivery, a well-directed short ball that climbed towards the batsman’s throat.But the early dismissal came on the back of seven limited-overs innings, all on this tour, in which he’d made a solitary fifty, 51 in the first ODI in Hamilton.It’s unwise to make too much of a run of scores that straddles formats, especially one that includes multiple T20I games, but it wasn’t just the scores.The first innings in Wellington was Kohli’s first innings since he’d played a strange little knock in the third and final ODI in Mount Maunganui, where he’d been beaten three times in his first five balls, hit his seventh ball for six – he usually never hits anything in the air that early – and slashed his 12th ball for a catch at third man. Kohli hadn’t batted or fielded in India’s three-day warm-up match in Hamilton, choosing instead to work on his game in the nets.

As unreliable and mythical a creature as body language might be, there’s been something just slightly off about it when Kohli’s been at the crease in the last few weeks. Or it might just be cricket writers doing the cricket-writer thing and seeing a pattern where none exists

In the second innings in Wellington, Kohli once again played his shots from the get-go, picking up a second-ball boundary with an uppish cover drive, edging his eighth ball between slip and gully while trying to work it into the leg side from outside off stump, playing another uppish drive – which fell a few yards short of mid-off – off his 15th ball, and showing a greater willingness to take on the short ball than any of his top-order colleagues. A top-edged pull off Trent Boult eventually got him out for 19 off 43 balls.After the match, Kohli suggested that more of India’s batsmen could have taken the short ball on, and tried to put New Zealand off their plan of using it as a defensive weapon. He said it would help India to try a more proactive approach in the second Test in Christchurch, and not let New Zealand keep playing the waiting game. At one point, he framed it as a question of team over individual glory.”[If] six-seven people can think like that, for sure two-three people will come good.”Knowing Kohli, he’s probably fully prepared to be one of the three or four batsmen who get out for a low score if the tactic pays off from a team perspective.But a positive, look-to-score-off-every-opportunity approach is one thing, and the nature of Kohli’s last few innings on this tour is another. There’s been something hurried, maybe even harried, about his manner at the crease, an over-eagerness to feel ball on bat, maybe, and hit that one impeccable drive or pull or flick that brings him back to his best form. He hasn’t appeared to be playing the game at his own pace, which could, perhaps, have something to do with frustration – conscious, subconscious or unconscious – over his recent run of scores. Something not dissimilar to Jasprit Bumrah’s seeming overeagerness, in Wellington, to take a wicket or two and feel the old rhythm again, having missed so much cricket over recent months to recover from a stress fracture of the back.Kyle Jamieson is pumped up after getting rid of Virat Kohli•Getty ImagesDuring his post-match press conference in Wellington, Kohli was asked to assess his batting on this tour.”I’m absolutely fine,” he said. “I am batting really well. I feel that sometimes scores don’t reflect the way you are batting and that’s what can happen when you don’t execute what you want to well. Look, when you play so much cricket and you play for so long, obviously you’ll have three-four innings that don’t go your way. If you try and make too much out of it, it’ll keep piling on.”I think it’s about staying in a good space and I know the chat on the outside changes with one innings. But I don’t think like that. If I thought like people on the outside, I would probably be on the outside right now. I think it’s all about doing the basics right and putting the hard work in practice.”You can’t really walk in thinking that I have to do it every time. You want to do it. But if it doesn’t come off, then you don’t have to beat yourself up too much. You take pride in performing for the team and I’ve always done that and I’m looking forward to contributing in a win in the next Test.”It doesn’t matter what I do. It’s never been about my performance on tour or about how many runs I score. It’s all about if the team wins, even a 40 is good. If the team loses, then even a hundred is irrelevant for me and I’m going to stay in that mindset.”He’d say that, of course, and it may even be true. But as unreliable and mythical a creature as body language might be, there’s been something just slightly off about it when Kohli’s been at the crease in the last few weeks. Or it might just be cricket writers doing the cricket-writer thing and seeing a pattern where none exists. Whatever it is, at 1-0 down, India would love for the Christchurch Test to contain a cathartic Kohli innings.

Jose Mourinho has revealed the hilarious reason he took Scott McTominay's shirt after the Champions League tie between Benfica and Napoli. After Benfica’s impressive 2-0 win, a result crafted through goals from Richard Rios and Leandro Barreiro, the Portuguese coach amused reporters by revealing an unexpected keepsake hidden inside a small bag he carried into the press conference.

A nod to an old protege

The Scottish midfielder, now thriving in Serie A, owes much of his early career to the coach who thrust him into the Manchester United first team nearly a decade ago. Mourinho handed the midfielder his senior debut in May 2017, introducing him off the bench against Arsenal before starting him days later against Crystal Palace. The then-20-year-old quickly became a dependable fixture in Mourinho’s midfield rotation during the 2017–18 season, even being preferred at times to record signing Paul Pogba, £89 million ($119m). Although Mourinho departed Old Trafford in late 2018, McTominay went on to make more than 250 appearances for the club, proving the value of the faith placed in him.

AdvertisementGettyMourinho steals the show with press room antics

Mourinho has never been one to leave a press room without creating a moment, and on Wednesday night, he delivered another classic. While Benfica’s players celebrated a crucial victory that keeps their European hopes alive, the 62-year-old manager walked in with a cryptic accessory that immediately sparked curiosity among the assembled journalists. When one asked whether he was handing out gifts, Mourinho responded with the kind of dry humour that has become his trademark.

While Benfica’s players celebrated a crucial victory that keeps their European hopes alive, the 62-year-old manager walked in with a cryptic accessory that immediately sparked curiosity among the assembled journalists. When one asked whether he was handing out gifts, Mourinho responded with the kind of dry humour that has become his trademark.

"The bag is mine," Mourinho said. "It's Scott McTominay's shirt. I put him in; I benched Paul Pogba for him at Manchester United. The least he could do was give me his shirt."

After years of fluctuating form in Manchester, McTominay reignited his career with a move to Napoli in 2024. It turned out to be transformative. The central midfielder helped drive the club to the Scudetto, delivering dominant performances in the heart of the pitch and posting a career-best 13 goals across all competitions. His influence earned him a remarkable 18th-place finish in the 2025 Ballon d’Or rankings and culminated in him becoming the 2025 Serie A Player of the Year, the first Scot ever to claim the honour.

Benfica deliver a statement performance

The humour stemmed from Mourinho’s satisfaction at Benfica’s victory. The two-goal win over Napoli was one of their best European displays of the season, and the manager made sure to highlight the significance of the result.

He said: "We deserved it, we played an extraordinary match. Some will say that Napoli weren't the team we know, but I disagree. Benfica did an extraordinary job, controlling the game at all times. For us, beating Napoli like this and still being alive in this competition is a great thing."

He went on to say: "We have six points. Benfica lost at home to Qarabag early on, otherwise we'd have nine and be one step away from qualifying. The schedule is incredibly tough, but losing that match put us on the edge right away. It was important to win today, otherwise the story would have ended."

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AFPDomestic pressure mounts despite European lift

While Benfica’s Champions League prospects received a much-needed boost, their domestic situation remains delicate. The Lisbon side sit third in the Portuguese league, eight points behind leaders Porto. With increasing pressure from supporters and a demanding December schedule, more slip-ups could derail their title aspirations. Their immediate task is to maintain momentum when they return to domestic action against Moreirense on Sunday. After stumbling in recent league fixtures, Benfica cannot afford another misstep if they are to stay within reach of Porto and Sporting in the title race.

Liverpool are reportedly considering making a £65 million move for Bournemouth star Antoine Semenyo in January. It emerged over the October international break that the 25-year-old has a £65m ($85m) release clause in the five-year contract he signed this summer. Now, the Reds are deciding whether or not to move for he winger in early 2026 or risk competition next summer from their Premier League rivals.

Bournemouth bat away Semenyo transfer question

When Semenyo signed a new Bournemouth deal until 2030 this summer, potential suitors may have felt their hopes of signing him had shrunk a great deal. However, the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, and Tottenham were given a boost after this release clause news emerged in October. With the January transfer window just over a month away, speculation is ramping up again that the Ghana international could be on the move in 2026. However, Cherries boss Andoni Iraola was in no mood to entertain such matters last week. 

He told reporters: "We are in November. Antoine is our player, he will continue being our player. In January, you can ask me about the market in January, but right now I'm not worried about the next markets. It's something that especially you know that I hate to talk about in August, January, the moments when the market is open, but it is not one of those moments. It's November. I'm more worried about the situation of the players to play tomorrow, the short-term, the things that really matter and in January, we will talk about whatever happens, the players we need. But it is not something that I'm worried about today."

AdvertisementGetty Images SportLiverpool's Semenyo dilemma

According to The I Paper, Liverpool have made enquiries about Semenyo, they know of the clause that allows buying clubs the 'first week or so' of the January window to sign him for £65m, and they see the ex-Bristol City man as potential competition for Mohamed Salah. The Egypt international is a Reds legend, but this season he has scored five goals in 17 games, which is underwhelming by his lofty standards, with Semenyo bagging six in 11 Premier League appearances. Liverpool are understood to be the front runners to sign the wideman but City also hold a genuine interest in him. Pep Guardiola's side are likely to move for him in the summer when his clause is reduced to below £60m ($79m). That would be Bournemouth's 'preference', with the Dorset outfit desperate to retain him for as long as possible. Semenyo is said to be happy on the south coast and is not actively looking for a move but concrete interest from City and Liverpool 'would change that'. 

Liverpool's form may dictate Semenyo move

Liverpool romped to the Premier League title in May but this season, they are a shadow of their former selves. The Reds have slumped to 12th in the Premier League, have lost six of their seven English top-flight games and tasted defeat in nine of their last 12 matches in all competitions  – a 71-year low. Manager Arne Slot is under increasing pressure to keep his job, with talk of a short-term return for Jurgen Klopp in the offing if the Dutchman is sacked. Incidentally, Liverpool's form between now and January could dictate whether or not the Merseyside outfit move for Semenyo in January.

"Recruitment is data-driven and scientific these days but football clubs are also emotion-led in some ways. When Semenyo’s stats were so good at the start of the season, £65m looked a snip for the best attainable attacker. It may be that if there is a slight drop-off now, they change those plans and January isn’t the right time for it," a source told The I Paper.

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Getty Images SportWhat comes next for Semenyo?

Aside from transfer talk, Ghana star Semenyo will be focusing on securing Bournemouth all three points on Saturday when they travel to Sunderland in a battle between eighth and seventh respectively. Both sides are locked on 19 points from 12 matches, and a win could potentially see the victor rise into the top four at the end of the weekend.

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Com uma lesão muscular na coxa direita, Tiquinho Soares pode desfalcar o Botafogo por até seis semanas. De acordo com o clube, o jogador foi submetido a exame de imagem que constatou a lesão. O camisa 9 sentiu dores na vitória por 3 a 1 sobre o Universitario, pela Libertadores.

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Com o desfalque do atacante, o alvinegro vive problemas no ataque para solucionar. Sem Matheus Nascimento, também lesionado, e Janderson, agora no Vitória, Artur Jorge deve sacar Eduardo para substituir Tiquinho no clássico contra o Flamengo.

Dessa forma, Tiquinho deve desfalcar o Botafogo nos jogos contra o Vitória na Copa do Brasil, contra LDU, Universitario e Junior Barranquilla na Libertadores, e Flamengo, Bahia e Fortaleza pelo Campeonato Brasileiro.

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Se a previsão de recuperação for cumprida, o camisa 9 deve voltar aos gramados no confronto contra o Athletico-PR, no Nilton Santos, pelo Brasileirão. A tendência é que o jogador já esteja 100% a partir do dia 7 de junho.

Tiquinho deixou o jogo contra o Universitario, pela Libertadores, aos nove minutos do primeiro tempo, após uma arrancada em direção à própria área. Em seguida o jogador parou de correr e logo pediu substituição em direção ao banco de reservas.

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Sheffield United have completed a free deal for Patrick Bamford following his departure from Leeds United earlier this season, with the striker signing a short-term contract until January 2026.

The Blades are desperately attempting to turn their season around following a miserable start which saw Chris Wilder return to replace Ruben Selles just three months after he left the club.

Now as low as 22nd and far from the promotion hopes that they had in mind, those at Bramall Lane suddenly find themselves in an early, unexpected relegation scrap which they’ll be looking to turn on its head after the international break.

Saturday’s 0-0 draw against Queens Park Rangers at least stopped the rot and handed the Blades their first clean sheet in four games, but they must find a way to turn a draw into all three points in a crucial clash against rivals Sheffield Wednesday on 23 November.

Speaking to reporters after the QPR stalemate, Wilder admitted his frustration afrer what he felt was a performance worthy of three points.

Goals were once again the problem for Sheffield United, but the arrival of Bamford could help put an end to their unexpected woes in the Championship.

Sheffield United sign Bamford

As reported by The Telegraph’s Mike McGrath, Sheffield United opened talks to sign Bamford just this week, and things have moved quickly as the Blades announced an agreement on Thursday morning.

The former Leeds forward has been a free agent since leaving Elland Road in August, but now seemingly has the chance to make a return to the Championship on a prove-it deal lasting just a few months.

If Wilder is looking for goals then getting the best out of Bamford will give him exactly that. The 32-year-old has stolen headlines in the Premier League at his best and has as many as 69 Championship goals to his name throughout his career.

Previously dubbed “fantastic” by Leeds boss Daniel Farke, Bamford has the perfect opportunity to get the latter stages of his career back on track by joining Sheffield United. And he could even get the perfect chance to impress on his debut in the derby if he proves his fitness in time to face Sheffield Wednesday.

Wilder set to make ruthless January decision as three Sheffield Utd players get the axe

Ben Charlesworth top-scores as experience counts at Guildford

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay08-Aug-2025Ollie Sykes struck a defiant 97 off 94 balls but Surrey were still overpowered by a far more experienced Gloucestershire at Guildford in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup.Ben Charlesworth hit four sixes and top-scored with an 83-ball 80 in Gloucestershire’s 293 for 9, before Josh Shaw spearheaded an excellent collective display with ball to restrict Surrey to 208 all out in reply.Fast bowler Shaw produced a five-over new ball spell of 3 for 19 as Surrey slumped initially to 33 for 3, but 20-year-old Sykes – in just his eighth List A game – belied his youth to counter-attack with two sixes and 12 fours and add 99 for the fourth wicket with Josh Blake.Blake top-edged Graeme van Buuren’s slow left arm to short fine leg on 26 to leave Surrey 155 for 5 in the 31st over and Sykes’ departure four overs later made it just a matter of time before Gloucestershire wrapped up the lower order.Ollie Sykes (file photo) fell just short of three figures•Getty Images for Surrey CCCVan Buuren and Ollie Price, bowling his offspin cannily, had built pressure on Sykes for several overs and their reward was a charge down the pitch to what became a legside wide from van Buuren and an easy stumping for keeper James Bracey.Surrey’s innings had begun with Ryan Patel skying a catch to backward point off Shaw, who then saw Tommy Boorman fling himself to his right at short fine leg to cling on to a full-blooded flick off his pads by Rory Burns.Burns made 15, Patel 16 and debutant Nikhil Gorantla was soon gone for a third ball duck, athletically caught and bowled by Shaw in his follow through inches from the turf.Adam Thomas was then held in the cover roles for 6 and Shaw finished with 3 for 29 and Jack Taylor, who cleaned up Surrey’s tail, 3 for 16.Gloucestershire’s total, a decent effort on a used pitch, was built around Charlesworth’s superbly-judged innings, which ended when he was fifth out in the 39th over.At halfway, on 125 for 3, there was a danger that Gloucestershire would post a below-par score for a ground with such short square boundaries but Charlesworth was joined in a timely 54-run partnership in ten overs by van Buuren once Jack Taylor had been brilliantly caught in the outfield by a diving Thomas off Steel.Van Buuren’s 33 was then followed by further useful late-innings knocks from Boorman (22), Daz Ahmed, who launched two sixes in a 21-ball 29, and Matt Taylor’s hard-hit 27 from 11 balls.Taylor thumped a six and four fours in the closing overs, topping off an innings which had begun with Bracey driving Yousef Majid’s left-hand spin for two straight sixes but which looked like losing its way once Bracey (24) had been spectacularly caught by a sprawling Gorantla at backward point.Cameron Bancroft was bowled for 18 by a beauty from James Taylor, Surrey’s stand-out bowler with 3 for 42 from his ten overs, and Price fell for 26 when he was bowled by Majid.

Premier League pair Liverpool and Manchester City are set to be embroiled in a club vs country row ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations later this year. The duo are expected to be without respective forwards Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush for the end of 2025 and start of 2026. However, both sides are unlikely to release their players for a pre-AFCON friendly in mid-December.

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  Liverpool and City among those affected by AFCON

  Egypt take on fellow AFCON rivals Nigeria in a friendly in Cairo a week before the tournament kicks off on December 21st. Clubs are expected to release their players in good time ahead of the competition to prepare with their respective nations prior to Morocco 2025.

  AFCON will run until January 18th 2026, meaning teams could be without key players for up to eight weeks. The tournament itself runs over the hectic festive period and with the expansion of the Champions League and Europa League, players could miss a number of league and continental fixtures.

  While Arsenal and Chelsea won't be affected by the tournament, both Liverpool and Manchester City are expected to lose a key player each with Salah and Marmoush set to lead the charge for the Pharaohs as they chase a record-setting eighth AFCON title. However neither side are prepared to release the players for the friendly with Nigeria, which takes place a day after Liverpool host Brighton, and the same day City take on Crystal Palace.

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• Salah & Marmoush could miss at least seven games

  Instead, City's EFL Cup meeting with Brentford on December 16th is expected to be the first game Marmoush will miss for Pep Guardiola's side, and could be the first of eight the former Eintracht Frankfurt forward sits outs. City teammate Rayan Ait-Nouri, who represents Algeria, is also likely to miss a substantial chunk of the season owing to AFCON.

  Liverpool, meanwhile, were dumped out of the EFL Cup on Wednesday night as Arne Slot named an inexperienced XI in their eventual 3-0 loss to Crystal Palace. Salah was a number of first team players who didn't even make the matchday squad for the disappointing home defeat.

  And the Reds expected the first game the 33-year-old would miss is the the trip to Tottenham on December 20th. In total, Salah could miss seven matches if Egypt, as some expect, go the distance in Morocco.

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  'We will see the situation and take the decisions'

  City boss Pep Guardiola, meanwhile, isn't worried about losing Marmoush and Ait-Nouri for an extended period of time. Marmoush only returned to the starting XI following injury in the midweek 3-1 win over Swansea, a game the 26-year-old scored in.

  Asked about the scheduling of the tournament, Guardiola said: "This competition [is] for their countries so they have to go. Always I try to solve the problem when the problem is in front of me. Right now I don’t think [about it].

  "I have to use them for Sunday and next Wednesday and next Sunday before the international break. When it is going to happen they cannot be here and we will see the situation and take the decisions."

  Sunderland are expected to be hit the heaviest by AFCON, and could be without up to nine players for the tournament. Manchester United, meanwhile, will be without Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo, who are expected to be called up for international duty by Cameroon and Ivory Coast, respectively.

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• Premier League becoming like the NBA

  Guardiola, whose City side take on high-flying Bournemouth this weekend, believes the Premier League is becoming more like the NBA. Liverpool ended City's dominance last season, while Arsenal are now the frontrunners for the Premier League title, mirroring the NBA, which has had a different champion in each of the last six seasons.

  "I remember when I was in Munich or Barcelona, I always heard the rumours that in England, everyone could beat everyone, I always had that sense. Maybe Liverpool and ourselves in the past changed that dynamic because we were so consistent in terms of points and arriving every season with 90, 90, 90 points, close to 100 points.

  "But I think the Premier League has always been like this, all the teams can beat each other, it is good. At some point like the NBA, there is not a dominant team in the last four or five or six years, there is always one different team and everyone can beat everyone. I think for the spectators and for the show of the Premier League it is really, really good."