Marc Guehi has given a surprising verdict on his failed summer switch from Crystal Palace to Liverpool. The defender looked set for a transfer deadline day move to the Premier League title holders but the Eagles pulled the plug on the deal at the 11th hour. Now, the England international has reflected on what might have been for him amid ongoing links with the Reds.
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.
The Chicago White Sox welcomed the Arizona Diamondbacks to the South Side's Rate Field on Wednesday afternoon as they trudge through their disappointing 2025 season, and in the middle of the second inning pinch-hit Austin Slater for one of their best bats in Luis Robert Jr.
Was a trade on the horizon? It would certainly make sense given not only Robert's value on the market, but also MLB insider Bob Nightengale's recent report that the chances of him being shipped out are "just about 100%."
While it was ultimately relayed by the team that Robert was removed from the game due to hamstring tightness, that didn't stop fans from speculating about his departure from Chicago. Here's a look at some of the top reactions from White Sox faithful across X (formerly Twitter):
While Robert is batting just .185 this year, he's second on the White Sox with 31 RBI and has hit eight home runs. The 2025 MLB trade deadline is set for July 31 at 6:00 p.m. EST.
Shortly after Shohei Ohtani crushed his 28th home run of the season on Thursday, MLB announced that the Los Angeles Dodgers star will be the starting designated hitter at next month's All-Star Game. Not surprisingly, Ohtani earned an automatic bid for receiving the most votes in the National League.
For the American League, New York Yankees' Aaron Judge earned the most votes in MLB and also received an automatic bid to start at outfield.
Last week, the league announced which players had received the most votes per position in each league, and Judge had the most votes overall and the most in the AL, while Ohtani had the most votes in the NL and the second-most votes overall.
This is Ohtani's fifth consecutive All-Star bid. This is Judge's seventh overall All-Star bid, and he's started in six of those appearances.
Phase 1 of All-Star voting ended on Thursday as the finalists for each position will be named that night. From there, the top two vote-getters in each position, as well as the top six outfielders, will move on for Phase 2 voting, which closes Wednesday, July 2. The winners of each position will be named that night. More explanation on All-Star voting can be read here.
The 2025 All-Star Game will take place on Tuesday, July 15 at Truist Park in Atlanta.
Captain immersed in challenge of firing county to rare heights, with England days long behind him
Vithushan Ehantharajah16-Mar-2025Does Rory Burns feel old? The laugh in response to the question suggests he probably does. Not because he turns 35 in August, but more the fact 2025 will be Burns’ benefit season.At Surrey, the decision to award benefit years to celebrate a player’s service is not taken lightly. Two members independent of the club management must write in to formally request one for a player, before that request is subsequently approved at board and general counsel level. That being said, commemorating an academy product who debuted in 2011 and is currently plotting a fifth County Championship as captain, feels like a no-brainer.”It’s something that I’m delighted to be awarded with,” Burns tells ESPNcricinfo. “I’d say it’s certainly making me level up my admin game, which, if you ask anyone that knows me, is fairly poor what with the dinners, golf days and matches.”Those that watch Burns operate will have a different take on his logistical skills. The batting, for instance, requires a great deal of organisation. The twitch of arms, canting of head and trigger-shift of feet are idiosyncrasies that require order to function effectively, which they did for 1,073 runs at 53.65 last term. It was the eighth time in the last 11 summers the left-handed opener’s first-class haul has breached four figures. And, really, how much of a scatterbrain can someone really be if they have marshalled a hat-trick of successive Division One titles?Indeed, as thoughts turn to going four in a row this summer, the computing wheels of Burns the cricketer are clearly in good order. Certainly, when it comes to history and ambition.”It is as cold now as it was when I lifted that trophy in September,” he recalls. “Big coats and beanies.Burns was a reassuring presence at the top of England’s order for much of his 32-cap tenure•Getty Images”In the immediate moment, with the trophy lift, you take stock of what you achieved and know you’ve done something pretty special,” referencing the fact Surrey became the first team since Yorkshire, 56 years ago, to win three back-to-back.”But then you look at Yorkshire; they won eight out of 10 (through the 1930s and after the Second World War). Or when we went seven in a row (1952-58). I think if you get the chance to go four in four, you want your next piece of history, I suppose.”Pursuit of another Championship – Surrey’s 34th – comes with change in the air at the Kia Oval. Alec Stewart is no longer director of cricket, but remains in a part-time high-performance cricket advisor role. New Zealand’s impressive bowling allrounder Nathan Smith will join the squad from May, while tall quick Matthew Fisher has moved down south from Yorkshire. Yet again, it is hard to look beyond the south London strutters as favourites.That Burns can be so open about chasing history speaks to what many at Surrey have known about him. He was always destined to lead, in part because of a level personality that seems to allow him the knack of compartmentalising his game and responsibilities.A diligent notetaker, he would constantly be scribbling in a pad during his early years, particularly when it came to details on opposition bowlers. When he was appointed Surrey captain at the end of 2017, it happened to coincide with a book he had on the go – “The Obstacle Is The Way” by Ryan Holiday, which Burns describes as “stoic philosophy”.During his time with England, he undertook a sports leadership and directorship course at the University of Liverpool, via a link-up between the Team England Player Partnership and football’s League Managers Association. He passed with distinction.”You have to write an essay on yourself at certain points – of how you see your leadership and what’s important to you. And realistically, the most important thing that comes across about leadership I think I’ve learned is you’ve got to be yourself.”I place an emphasis on the team and basically how I can do my bit – by leading from the front in my way. As an opening batter, I was focussing on that before captaincy, and I’ve tried to keep doing that. Because I suppose in leadership, when you’re looking for the first thing to do, it’s, the easiest thing to do is making sure you get your bit right. Being yourself.”Taking those learnings and applying them to what is to come in 2025 casts minds back to a time when Burns’ priorities were split between club and country. Surrey’s push for greatness runs parallel with a seismic year for England’s Test side, with an India series this summer followed by an Ashes tour. It is a carbon copy of the schedule from 2021 into the start of 2022. Those happened to be Burns’ last engagements as a Test cricketer.Out of context, Burns’ international record is modest; three centuries and 11 fifties across 59 innings, with a 30.32 average. But for most of his 32 caps, the first coming at the start of the 2018 winter in the immediate aftermath of Alastair Cook’s retirement, he was something of a banker. A rare point of a reliability in an inconsistent era.From Burns’ debut to the beginning of Brendon McCullum’s and Ben Stokes’ leadership at the start of the 2022 summer, England won just 17 of 44 Tests played, with 18 defeats. When opening batters were first on the block when things went wrong, Burns carried a degree of stoicism, to the point of being ear-marked as a future England captain.Burns endured a harrowing experience in Australia in 2021-22, and hasn’t featured for England since•Getty ImagesHe would eventually become part of that collateral. As ever, the final throes were the toughest. A dispiriting Ashes for all involved, a 4-0 loss exacerbated by Covid-19, began with Burns bowled leg stump by Mitchell Starc with the first delivery of the series. He was dropped after the first two Tests, then back for the last in Hobart, on hand to see Australia confirm a 4-0 shellacking, before missing out for the pre-Bazball tour of the Caribbean – Joe Root’s last as Test captain.Dropping straight back into the Kia Oval to plot the first of those hat-trick of titles helped ease the angst. Three years on, however, Burns has still not quite come to terms with his England career.”I don’t think I’ve actually fully taken stock of it,” he says. “I was so fortunate to keep jumping back in with Surrey and captaincy, I never had to overthink it. Where it had gone, where it had not gone.”It led me to some technical changes during that period. Thinking about it now, if I was exposed at a younger age to different conditions, some Lions stuff when I was growing up and scoring a lot of runs, would I have changed my technique rather than just churning out a load of runs in county cricket and got in that way? Would that have helped? I think I’m a better batter now than I was when I was playing Test cricket. But I’m going to think that because I’ve made some changes, and I’ve seen that they’ve worked.”The disappointing thing is it ended with just a 30-second phone call telling you that you’re back-up go on the tour to the West Indies instead of taking you. That was probably one thing that hurt the most. It wasn’t the last dropping (in Australia).”Related
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The Test team have since moved in an altogether different direction. The days of grinding your way into the XI off domestic performances, as Burns had done, are long gone, with McCullum and Stokes, governed by men’s managing director Rob Key, keener on raw talent rather than seasoned pros, and high ceilings over high domestic output.As far as Test cricket is concerned, the success rate of this policy has actually been pretty good, with Burns’ Surrey teammates Jamie Smith and Gus Atkinson among the players who have settled into the squad with instant results. But his measured take from his own experiences at the sharp end of the world game is that experience is a vital crutch to lean upon when the going gets tough.”I think when you’re just trying to cherry-pick or find another bolter, it might work and they might have good series. But in the long run, I think the churn of your players in your team will probably become more and more, and it’ll be less settled as it goes on. That’s just my opinion, and the guys in charge are making the decisions that they think are right.”Tom Banton’s a great example. I know it was white-ball, but how he got there (England) was, domestically, doing his thing, improving. Because he’s had that, he’s got more resilience about him and he understands his game that bit more. He also understands the ebbs or flows of when things don’t go right.”In terms of international cricket, it’s pretty tough up there. You need players who have somewhere to go when it doesn’t go right. And for that I think it helps massively to have those experiences first, before you can go and fly at international level.”Burns makes clear he would never say no to a recall, but acknowledges his nuggety, 50-strike-rate ways are not getting a look-in: “The profile of player they’re looking for probably isn’t, well… it isn’t my profile at the minute!”It is not time or distance that underpins Burns’ phlegmatic outlook, rather comfort given the situation he finds himself in at this stage of his career. Purpose and hunger undimmed, another legacy-enhancing summer awaits for Surrey and one of a storied county’s most revered leaders.
Before the second innings in Durban, the South Africa captain had 22 fifties but only two hundreds to his name
Andrew Fidel Fernando29-Nov-2024Yes, it is a bowlers’ era, and sure, this is not the strongest South Africa batting order there has ever been, but eventually people are going to look across your stats, find the column under “Hundreds”, and check.Temba Bavuma is aware of this. Painfully aware.Before the second innings at Kingsmead, he had only two trips to triple figures, compared to 22 fifties. The rock to throw at him is that this is a poor conversion rate, even if many of those fifties came in difficult match situations. Both his team-mates and his opposition, for example, have praised his first-innings 70, for having taken South Africa from a truly modest total to a halfway-respectable 191, given the conditions.Related
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Still, that column on the stats page has eyes on it. And on Friday, at Kingsmead, he raised the count to three, hitting 113 against Sri Lanka. Will people wonder how he has been doing as captain and see that he averages 54.22? Will they wonder how many of his innings have come at No. 6 and lower (51 off 103 innings, by the way), and reason that these are not positions where centuries are harder to come by? Perhaps not many will. Hundreds are kind of a big deal.”Getting to a three-figure mark is always a lot more satisfying, personally,” Bavuma said, about making centuries vs important fifties. “When you bat in positions where the team is in trouble, and you get to a 50 to 60, I guess it’s good in terms of getting the team into a competitive position. But once you’re able to go over, you really get the team into a strong position.”Hundreds are a currency as a batter as well, I guess that increases that value. There’s obviously a lot of confidence that comes from scoring a hundred, and I think in terms of the batting line-up we’re getting to a stage where we’re starting to believe that in each innings, someone is able to go and get a hundred, so it’s good to add to that confidence.”
“Getting to the three-figure mark was quite nerve-racking. I went over to him and said, ‘Stubbo, please get me on strike. I can’t wait on this end'”
Bavuma’s approach to the hundred was fraught, however. Between getting to 80 and getting to triple figures, there was an edge that dropped short of the slips, a ball that jumped up and hit him on the glove, plays and misses, and an lbw shout and a review to the shot (it came off his glove) he got to triple figures off. Bavuma had, in fact, been asking for the strike.”I think I’m not too good when I get to the 80s and 90s. I’m going to try and get there [to a century] as soon as I can. They had the second new ball as well, and there was still something on offer for the bowlers. I was always looking to score.”Then, obviously, getting to the three-figure mark, it was quite nerve-racking. Against the spinner [Prabath Jayasuriya], I got one off the first ball, and then the next two balls Tristan Stubbs blocked. I went over to him and said, ‘Stubbo, please get me on strike. I can’t wait on this end.’ He was able to do that, so I was always going to play that shot.”The shot was a paddle sweep, and he just managed to get a glove to the ball before it hit him on the pads in front of the stumps.”It was a bit high risk, but the way the spinner was bowling, I was thinking of getting to that three-figure mark and then kind of starting again.”Sri Lanka reviewed that lbw, shout, but Bavuma had known he had got enough on it. He politely waited for the big screen to show the little spike as the ball brushed his glove.Then he celebrated his third hundred.
Carlos Correa is going back to where it all started.
The Minnesota Twins dealt the three-time All-Star shortstop to the Houston Astros in a blockbuster move before the trade deadline, reuniting him with the team with whom he spent seven seasons and helped win the 2017 World Series.
Correa was reportedly a big fan of the reunion as he waived his no-trade clause to return to the Astros. "I let [the Twins] know there was only one team I would allow that to happen," Correa said.
Astros star Jose Altuve was also pumped about the Correa trade and shared a simple, two-emoji reaction on his Instagram Stories.
On Thursday night, Altuve reposted a graphic of Correa in an Astros jersey who was pointing to his wrist to signal, "It's time." Altuve added two clock emojis in the caption:
It should come as no surprise that the Astros second baseman is excited about the move given that the two were good friends and teammates from 2015 to '21.
Prior to the deadline deal, Altuve said he hadn't spoken to Correa about returning to Houston but did speculate on a potential reunion.
"Correa’s a guy with a lot of history here in Houston," Altuve said Wednesday. "He’s a great player, a great human being, great teammate, so I think anything that happens, I hope it’s the best for him and for us."
كشف الإعلامي هاني حتحوت عن كواليس حديثه مع حسام عبد المجيد، مدافع الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي الزمالك، بشأن مستقبله داخل القلعة البيضاء.
وترددت بعض الأنباء حول إمكانية رحيل حسام عبد المجيد عن صفوف نادي الزمالك خلال فترة الانتقالات الشتوية المقبلة.
وقال هاني حتحوت في تصريحات عبر برنامجه “الكلام المظبوط” على إذاعة “أون سبورت إف إم”: “التقيتُ حسام عبد المجيد برفقة أسامة فيصل ومحمود صابر، فهم من الجيل ذاته وفي المنتخب معًا، وجاءت المقابلة بالصدفة”.
طالع أيضًا | رمزي صالح: حزنت من شقيق حامد حمدان.. وهذه نصيحتي له بشأن وجهته القادمة
وتابع: “سألته عن آخر المستجدات وما يُقال في الفترة الأخيرة، فأجابني: عقدي ينتهي في الموسم المقبل وليس الحالي، وأنا مستمر في الزمالك بشكل طبيعي، ولن أغادر إلا عبر بوابة النادي”.
وأضاف: “سألته: هل أنت قريب من الرحيل؟ فأجابني: نعم، أنا قريب من الرحيل في فترة الانتقالات الشتوية، التي تبدأ خلال أيام قليلة في شهر يناير”.
واختتم: “ما علمته أن هناك عروضًا متاحة له من البرتغال وفرنسا، وأن هناك اتفاقًا مبدئيًا يقضي بأنه في حال وصول عرض مناسب، فسيتم بيعه في يناير، خاصة أن ملف تجديد عقده معقد، والزمالك لا يرغب في تكرار سيناريو زيزو مجددًا”.
Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper was the latest player to vent his frustrations at an umpire after some very questionable calls but somehow he was able to avoid being ejected for his actions on Sunday.
With the Phillies trailing the Angels by six runs, Harper worked a 3–0 count in the bottom of the eighth inning. A pitch that seemed to be out of the strike zone made it a 3–1 count and then a few moments later a similar pitch was called for strike three by Steven Jaschinski.
Instead of earning a walk, Harper headed to the dugout. But before he did that he shrugged his shoulders and waved his hand in disgust at Jaschinski two times.
This is often enough to get you tossed from the game:
The Phillies would go on to lose the game, 8–2.
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Red Bull Bragantino eBotafogose enfrentam nonesta quarta-feira (13), às 21h30 (de Brasília), noEstádio Nabi Abi Chedid, em Bragança Paulista (SP), pelo jogo de volta da terceira fase dos playoffs daLibertadores. A partida terá transmissão de ESPN, Star+ e Globoplay.Na ida, o Glorioso venceu o Massa Bruta por 2 a 1, no Rio de Janeiro, e chega com vantagem na busca por vaga na fase de grupos.
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✅FICHA TÉCNICA
Red Bull Bragantino x Botafogo
Playoffs da Libertadores – terceira fase (volta)
Data e horário:quarta-feira, 13 de março de 2024, às 21h30 (de Brasília)
Local:Estádio Nabi Abi Chedid, em Bragança Paulista (SP)
Ondeassistir:ESPN, Star+ e Globoplay
Árbitro: Wilmar Roldán (COL)
Assistentes: Juan P. Belatti (COL) e John Leon (COL)
VAR: Juan Lara (CHI)
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BRAGANTINO (Técnico: Pedro Caixinha)
Cleiton; Nathan, Lucas Cunha, Luan Cândido e Juninho Capixaba; Jadson, Lincoln e Eric Ramires; Helinho, Eduardo Sasha e Thiago Borbas.
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BOTAFOGO (Técnico: Fábio Matias)
Gatito Fernandez, Damián Suárez, Lucas Halter, Barboza e Hugo; Danilo Barbosa (Gregore), Tchê Tchê e Eduardo; Júnior Santos, Savarino e Tiquinho Soares.
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