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It has not been the season Chelsea fans would have been hoping for in the summer so far this year.

With nine games played in the Premier League, Enzo Maresca’s side are currently sat in ninth, with four wins, two draws and three losses to their name.

However, it’s not all doom and gloom as the club are without several of their star players, and for the most part, those that are fit have looked impressive.

Moreover, one star in particular is starting to embody some of the qualities that the legendary Frank Lampard had, and now, it’s not Moises Caicedo.

Chelsea's greatest players in the Premier League

Chelsea have been blessed with some of the greatest players in Premier League history, and while there are so many to choose from, there are usually three that stand out above the rest.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

The third player on that list is none other than the iconic Didier Drogba.

The Ivorian legend joined the Blues from Marseille in the summer of 2004, left in 2012, and then rejoined for a year in July 2014.

During his time with the club, the sensational striker racked up 164 goals and 82 assists in 381 games and had a real habit of scoring crucial goals in finals.

By the time he left Stamford Bridge for the second time, the 47-year-old had won four league titles, one Champions League, three league cups and four FA Cups.

Now, this is where it might get a little controversial, as while he could easily go down as the club’s greatest player in the Premier League era, Lampard comes in second on this list.

The game-changing midfielder joined the club in 2001 and finally left in 2014, with a tally of 211 goals and 149 assists in 648 games and one UCL, one Europa League, three leagues, two league cups and four FA Cups.

Moreover, the 106-capped Englishman remains the top-scoring midfielder in the league’s history and has more than his fair share of iconic strikes for the West Londoners.

Finally, when it comes to the number one player for Chelsea in the PL era, it’s impossible to ignore Mr Chelsea himself, John Terry.

The legendary defender made 717 appearances for the side between 1998 and 2017, and despite playing as a centre-back, racked up a tally of 67 goals and 27 assists.

Moreover, his trophy cabinet is the most impressive of them all, containing five league titles, five FA Cups, one UCL, one UEL and three League Cups.

Appearances

381

648

717

Goals

164

211

67

Assists

82

149

27

PL Titles

4

3

5

UCLs

1

1

1

UELs

0

1

1

FA Cups

4

4

5

League Cups

3

2

3

However, while Terry remains the greatest Chelsea player of the modern era, the legend being emulated by one of Maresca’s current players is Lampard.

The Chelsea player emulating Lampard

Now, there will be plenty of you who’d make the assumption that the player in question is Caicedo.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

After all, while he’s not as attacking as Lampard was, the Ecuadorian is a sensational midfielder who has a brilliant strike on him.

However, the current Chelsea star who is starting to emulate Lampard’s game is Reece James.

The first significant area where the 25-year-old overlaps with the Blues legend is leadership.

He was named club captain in the summer of 2023, at just 23 years old, and since then has fought tooth and nail to overcome constant injury problems and is now consistently demonstrating that he has what it takes to lead this squad.

Moreover, thanks to his coming up through the academy, he has a closer connection to the fans, which is something the legendary midfielder also had during his time at the club, even though he came up through West Ham United’s Rush Green.

Furthermore, so long as he remains fit, he now feels like a shoo-in for that right-back position in England’s World Cup squad, and could therefore go on to become as important to the Three Lions as Lampard was during his day.

With that said, the Redbridge-born monster could also see himself pick up some minutes in the middle of the park, as he’s no stranger to filling in there for the West Londoners, thanks largely to his having a decent shot on and sensational delivery on him.

Now, he’s never going to be as prolific a goalscorer as the former Blues star was, but that ability to whip a ball into the mixer and cause chaos is something he certainly shares with him.

Finally, aside from a loan spell with Wigan Athletic, the “joke of a footballer,” as dubbed by reporter Felix Johnston, has spent his entire career with the Pensioners, already racking up an impressive tally of 205 appearances.

Therefore, so long as he keeps performing and staying fit, he could end up finishing his career with a huge number of games played for the Blues and become a legend himself, just like Lampard.

Ultimately, there is a long way to go, but in James, Chelsea have an international superstar who could end up joining the pantheon of greats who have come before him.

Forget Guiu: Maresca can unleash Chelsea's "new Drogba" in 18-year-old star

The incredible youngster could become a world-beater like Drogba for Enzo Maresca and Chelsea.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Oct 28, 2025

Pasi’s 114 was the joint-highest individual score by a T20 debutant; Punjab seal Super League spot

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Dec-2025Debutant Pasi’s 114 propels BarodaBaroda’s wicketkeeper-batter Amit Pasi scored 114 off 55 balls against Services in Hyderabad to equal Bilal Asif’s record for the highest score on T20 debut. Pasi’s knock, featuring ten fours and nine sixes, propelled Baroda to 220 for 5. However, it was not enough for Baroda to progress to the Super League as they finished on 16 points. Services gave a tough fight but fell short by 13 .Opening the innings, Pasi reached his fifty off 24 balls, and his hundred off 44. He and Vishnu Solanki (25 off 12) added 75 in 5.2 overs for the fourth wicket. Bhanu Pania also contributed 28 not out off 15 towards the end.Kunwar Pathak and Ravi Chauhan gave Services a start of 84 in 8.2 overs, with both openers scoring 51 each. Captain Mohit Ahlawat’s 41 off 22 kept the chase going, but apart from Nakul Sharma, he didn’t find much support. Services finished on 207 for 8, their sixth loss in seven games. For Baroda, Raj Limbani was the most successful bowler, picking up 3 for 37.File photo: Ajinkya Rahane is now Mumbai’s highest run-getter in T20s•AFP/Getty ImagesSai Sudharsan’s hundred helps TN beat SaurashtraTamil Nadu and Saurashtra were well out of the race for the next stage, but B Sai Sudharsan single-handedly lifted TN from bottom place to fourth spot with an unbeaten 55-ball century for a tense three-wicket win. Jaydev Unadkat and Chetan Sakariya had reduced TN to 29 for 3 in the chase of 183, and Sai Sudharsan was running out of partners after Rithik Easwaran’s 29 off 17 balls. But he kept hammering from one end, racing to a 28-ball fifty as he smashed the ball all around the park with his flicks, pulls, aerial cuts and drives.The seventh-wicket stand of 37 runs in just 13 balls between Sai Sudharsan and Sunny Sandhu pretty much sealed the game for TN as it brought the equation down to six to win from 12 balls. Sai Sudharsan was on 97, and TN needed three to win when he drove the ball elegantly and over the bowler’s head for his century and a boundary. Unadkat valiantly finished with 3 for 30.MP lose to J&K but qualify for Super LeagueMadhya Pradesh narrowly lost to Jammu & Kashmir by 13 runs in their final game, but managed to finish on second spot in Group B for their Super League qualification along with table-toppers Hyderabad. Batting first, J&K stumbled to 150 for 9, with Abdul Samad (27 off 24 balls) and Auqib Nabi (32 off 21) making the major contributions.MP’s only partnership of promise was between opener Harsh Gawali (33 from 32 deliveries) and No. 4 Harpreet Singh Bhatia (32 off 29) worth 68 off 51 balls. But they soon went off track after the stand was broken, and the experienced Rajat Patidar (2) and Venkatesh Iyer (23) could not contribute much. Three wickets each for Nabi and Sumit Kumar soon bowled MP out for 137.File photo: Naman Dhir hit 61, with four fours and three sixes•BCCIDhir, Harpreet help Punjab seal Super League spotNaman Dhir’s rapid 61 off 36 and Harpreet Brar’s all-round show propelled Punjab to a competitive total of 188 for 8 to seal their 75-run win over Gujarat and earn them a Super League berth. Dhir blasted four fours and three sixes at No. 4, followed by cameos from Salil Arora (30 off 19) and Sanvir Singh (30 off 17) before Harpreet smashed 24 off just eight balls at No. 9.Harpreet was particularly belligerent in taking apart Harshal Patel for 24 runs from his six balls, as the pacer leaked 57 runs from his four overs. Ravi Bishnoi was also expensive, conceding 36 runs from his four. Gujarat crumbled to 113 in 16.1 overs in reply, with opener Urvil Patel bagging a duck, and only one of their top nine crossing 15. Ashwani Kumar, Ramandeep Singh, Harpreet, Sanvir and Gaurav Chaudhary took two wickets apiece.Haryana knock Bengal outHaryana were the other team to progress from Group C, as their top-four batters led them to 191 for 9 against a Bengal attack led by Mohammed Shami, Akash Deep and Shahbaz Ahmed. Bengal fell short by 24 runs, and were knocked out. Haryana captain Ankit Kumar (46 off 30), Nishant Sindhu (48 off 31) and Yashvardhan Dalal (31 off 22) led the charge with the bat to see off Shami’s spell of 4-0-30-4 while Akash Deep went for 4-0-32-2. Haryana scored 99 runs in the second half of the innings, which proved to be pivotal as Bengal’s lower order floundered after Abhishek Porel’s 47 off 24 at the top and Writtick Chatterjee’s 44 off 33 at No. 4. Only one Bengal batter went into double-digits after their top five.File photo: Virat Singh scored 69 off 36 balls•PTI Rahane 95* leads Mumbai to big win against OdishaMumbai, who had qualified earlier from Group A, along with Andhra, finished the league stage on a high by chasing down 168 against Odisha, as Ajinkya Rahane’s unbeaten 95 off 56 balls led them to the win. Medium-pacer Suryansh Shedge picked 3 for 46 to keep Odisha to 167 for 7.In reply, Rahane and Sarfaraz Khan smashed 74 runs in the powerplay in the absence of regular opener Ayush Mhatre. Angkrish Raghuvanshi then joined Rahane to finish unbeaten on 38 off 26 deliveries for a nine-wicket win with four overs to spare. Rahane became the top-scorer for Mumbai in T20s with 1727 runs, going past Suryakumar Yadav’s tally of 1717.Virat, Kushagra and Minz help Jharkhand beat RajasthanRajasthan and Jharkhand had already made it to the Super League from Group D, and they faced-off in a top-of-the-table clash in Ahmedabad. Jharkhand’s batting might, led by Virat Singh (69 off 36 balls), captain Kumar Kushagra (55 from 37), and Robin Minz (58 off 27) charged them to 215 for 5, which proved to be too much for Rajasthan, who were all out for 179, with three wickets each for left-arm spinner Anukul Roy and left-arm quick Sushant Mishra.

West Indies won the Super OverWest Indies prevailed over Bangladesh in the Super Over, beating the home side in Dhaka by one run. Akeal Hosein delivered an imperfect final over in extra time, defending ten runs, but he kept Bangladesh in check with several dots mixed with wides and no-balls. Saif Hassan, Soumya Sarkar and Najmul Hossain Shanto couldn’t do the job for Bangladesh, and so, the series is now 1-1.West Indies had earlier scored ten runs in their Super Over, with captain Shai Hope getting a boundary off the last ball, after Mustafizur Rahman had removed Sherfane Rutherford with his second ball.This was Bangladesh’s first tie in 814 men’s international matches.Hope carried West Indies in regulation time, getting the only half-century of the game. West Indies needed five runs off the 50th over to complete a chase of 214. Saif Hassan bowled two dot balls before conceding a single. Hope got on strike and even though he only had Hosein at the other end – the No. 10 batter playing his first game on tour – he chose to take another single.Saif punished Hope for that, bowling Hosein between his legs. Khary Pierre, the last man in, needed to get three off the final ball, but his top edge spun towards square leg. Wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan ran for the catch, but he dropped the chance. He also couldn’t pass the ball on in time to Mustafizur, who was stood by the stumps, as Pierre and Hope completed two runs, tying the match.West Indies became the first team to bowl spin for all 50 overs of an ODI. The visitors overhauled a record that had stood since 2004, when Sri Lanka plied Australia with 44 overs of slow bowling. Bangladesh topped that tally up with 42 overs from their own spinners, pushing the match aggregate to 92 overs of spin – another record in this format.Rishad Hossain came good with the bat again•AFP/Getty Images

When West Indies’ chase began, Nasum Ahmed removed Brandon King in the first over. Alick Athanaze and Keacy Carty batted solidly during the powerplay, with Athanaze hitting Mehidy Hasan Miraz over covers, followed by a straight drive off Nasum. He also struck two more fours, before Rishad Hossain trapped him lbw. Athanze missed with a sweep after connecting with one earlier in the over.Carty was Rishad’s next victim when he missed his reverse sweep, and the ball snuck through and hit his back leg. Debutant Ackeem Auguste swept Tanvir Islam straight to Rishad at square leg, falling for 17. Sherfane Rutherford was given out lbw next, in the 27th over, as West Indies lost half their side with 103 on the board.Gudakesh Motie and Hope tried to keep West Indies afloat, but they were separated six overs later. Rishad struck with a full ball that Motie went after with a wild slog, falling for 15. Roston Chase, batting at No. 8, followed soon after, caught behind off Nasum.From 133 for 7, Hope added 44 runs for the eighth wicket with Justin Greaves. The latter got run out trying to take a quick single, with Mehidy effecting a direct hit to get the crucial wicket. Hope handled most of the strike but Hosein struck a six, to take West Indies closer. Needing just 14 off 12 balls, it looked unlikely that they would let the game go into a Super Over.Earlier, Bangladesh struggled to get going for most of their innings after deciding to bat first. Saif was dismissed after hitting a six, while Towhid Hridoy and Shanto got out to poor shots. Hridoy top-edged a slog, while Shanto got caught at short midwicket, unable to time Athanaze’s long hop.Sarkar played some gorgeous shots in between a lot of dot balls. He made 45 off 89 balls with three fours and a six, before holing out in the deep in the 31st over. Bangladesh were 103 for 5, and looked in danger, until Nurul slammed a six and two fours for his 23, leaving Rishad to do the finishing. He struck three fours and as many sixes in his unbeaten 14-ball 39, all of which came in the last 2.1 overs of the Bangladesh innings.Athanaze was West Indies’ best bowler with figures of 2 for 14 from his ten overs, while Hosein, who flew into Dhaka on the day before the match, also picked up two wickets. Motie took 3 for 65, his figures spoiled by Rishad’s last burst of boundaries.

MatériaMais Notícias

Vitória e Bahia se enfrentaram neste domingo (21), pela terceira rodada do Brasileirão. Em jogo movimentado, a partida terminou empatada por 2 a 2, com gols de Matheusinho e Wagner Leonardo para o Vitória e Biel e Everaldo para o Bahia.

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Com o resultado, o Bahia segue na nona posição, com nove quatro pontos. A equipe tem uma vitória, uma derrota e um empate na competição. O Vitória, por outro lado, somou seu primeiro ponto no Brasileirão, mas tem um jogo a menos.

✅ FICHA TÉCNICA
VITÓRIA X BAHIA
3ª RODADA – CAMPEONATO BRASILEIRO
🗓️ Data e horário: domingo, 21 de abril de 2024, às 16h (de Brasília);
📍 Local: Barradão, em Salavdor (BA);
📺 Onde assistir: Globo e Premiere;
🟨 Árbitro: Raphael Claus (FIFA-SP);
🚩 Assistentes: Alex Ang Ribeiro (FIFA-SP) e Miguel Cataneo Ribeiro da Costa (SP);
🖥️ VAR: Rodrigo Guarizo Ferreira do Amaral (FIFA-SP).

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⚽ PROVÁVEIS ESCALAÇÕES:

VITÓRIA (Técnico: Léo Condé)
Lucas Arcanjo, Zeca, Bruno Uvini, Wagner Leonardo e Lucas Esteves; Willian Oliveira, Léo Naldi, Rodrigo Andrade e Matheuzinho; Osvaldo e Alerrandro.

BAHIA (Técnico: Rogério Ceni)
Marcos Felipe, Arias, Gabriel Xavier (Kanu), Cuesta e Luciano Juba (Rezende); Caio Alexandre, Jean Lucas, Everton Ribeiro e Cauly; Ademir (Biel) e Thaciano.

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BahiaBrasileirãoVitória

Dhoni also hopes CSK are able to ‘plug some loopholes’ in the mini-auction

Edited PTI copy02-Aug-2025MS Dhoni has said the return of Ruturaj Gaikwad will bolster Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) batting in IPL 2026.Gaikwad was ruled out of IPL 2025 after playing five games with an elbow injury. Dhoni took over the CSK captaincy but could not turn the team’s fortunes around; they finished at the bottom with just four wins from 14 matches, struggling to put together consistent batting efforts.”We are slightly worried about our batting order,” Dhoni said at an event in Chennai. “But I think our batting order is quite sorted out now. Rutu (Gaikwad) will be coming back. He got injured. But he will be coming back. So, we are quite sorted now.”Related

• R Ashwin asks CSK for clarity ahead of IPL 2026

• What can CSK do to rise from rock bottom next season?

• Dhoni on his IPL future: I have four-five months to decide

Dhoni said the team will try to further strengthen the unit at the mini-auction later this year. “I won’t say we [CSK] slacked off [in IPL 2025],” he said. “But there were certain holes that we needed to plug in. A small auction is coming in December. Some loopholes are there, and we will try to plug those in.”Gaikwad’s last competitive outing remains CSK’s match against Punjab Kings at Mullanpur on April 8. He had a county deal with Yorkshire but withdrew citing personal reasons. He has been named in the West Zone squad for the Duleep Trophy 2025-26, beginning later this month.MS Dhoni wants CSK to use the mini-auction to plug the holes•BCCI

Dhoni admitted CSK were below-par over the last two seasons, and said it was important for the team to identify the areas of concern.”Yes, the last couple of years have not been good for us,” Dhoni said. “We have not been up to the mark. But what is important is for you to see the learnings. Yes, you had a bad season. But what went wrong? And that was the question for us last year also.”We were like, ‘okay, there are some shortcomings’. But first we needed to exactly figure out what were the shortcomings and then look at solutions. I feel more often than not we have been able to figure out what exactly went wrong. In sports, you know you can have a very good time and at the same time there will be periods when you won’t be performing well. In CSK, more often than not, we are on the higher side.”So, we do talk about the processes. But at the same time we do want the result to come to our side. Last year it wasn’t there. But looking ahead, we will try to sort out most of the things, and we will hopefully be at our best.”Dhoni started his journey with CSK in 2008 and has led them to five IPL titles. He said his journey with franchise and the city has played an important part in his personal growth.”It’s a very long relationship that we have had and it started much before the start of IPL … 2005 was the time when I made my Test debut which happened to be in Chennai. So, it started from that point of time. And yes, CSK helped in a big way because all of a sudden I’m spending 45-50 days here.”So, I feel the relationship over the years has grown. It helped me improve as a person. It helped me improve as a cricketer. So, CSK just happened. I think it’s good for Chennai. So, today it’s good for me also. Nowadays when we go and say CSK, it’s not a brand only in India, but when we go to Australia, South Africa, or any of the cricket playing nations.”

The England opener said that Ben Stokes had been training like a “beast” since arriving in Perth

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Nov-20257:23

Will Joe Root finally score his first hundred in Australia?

Ben Duckett believes England will start the Ashes series without much “baggage” and said that the team’s aggressive approach to Test cricket is evolving beyond what has sometimes been perceived as reckless.Duckett is one of 11 players in England’s squad who have yet to play Test cricket in Australia while the average age is 28 compared to the home side’s 33. The players have been greeted in Perth by a series of comical headlines from the local newspaper but Duckett said they have been warmly welcomed.Related

• Will this Ashes be the making of Bazball 2.0?

• Stokes urges England players to go full throttle in intrasquad Ashes warm-up

• Stokes signals 2027 Ashes intent with two-year England deal

• England and Australia Ashes squads compared: who comes out on top?

• Mark Wood puts 'boring' rehab behind him as he gears up for bowling return

“This group we’ve got, I actually saw the other day I’m the fourth oldest, which was tough to see,” Duckett told the podcast. “So we’ve got quite a fresh group coming here where there’s not a lot of baggage, which I think will help us.”Since his Test recall in 2022, Duckett is the leading run-scorer among openers. In the 2023 Ashes he made 321 runs at 35.66. “I’m looking forward to the challenge,” he said. “You know how tough it is for touring sides coming over here. I’m not expecting or setting myself any targets. I know I’m opening the batting against probably the best bowling attack in the world in their home conditions.”For the first Test, at least, that attack will be missing Pat Cummins as he continues to recover from a lumbar stress injury. There remains hope he will be available for the second Test and went through another solid workout at the SCG on Tuesday.Ben Duckett will have a vital role to play at the top of the order•Getty Images

“You want to play against the best and you don’t want to have guys like that missing out in series like this,” Duckett said. “But on the flip side, I’m an opening batter and he’s probably one of the best bowlers in the world. So yeah, quietly, I hope it’s not too bad but obviously any game where he’s not playing is an advantage for us.”Much of the pre-series narrative is around how Bazball will go in Australian conditions, but Duckett said that both individually and collectively their approach was becoming more nuanced.”I think now it’s definitely about reading moments,” he said. “[Brendon McCullum] will come up to me and say, now you’re a better player than just getting 40 off 30 and getting us off to a good start.”There’s moments as an opening batsman, for example, it could be at Perth in a few weeks where we’ve got five overs to see at the end of the day. And I did it against India last summer where actually just get through it. I don’t care how many runs you’ve got, just be there in the morning.”I think that’s where we’re trying to go as a team now, it’s not just being this entertaining, reckless at times, side. And it’s something that I’ve got frustrated with myself in the past, where I might have got 80 off 60 and it looks great and stuff, but they’re going to put my side in a good position. So it’s realising moments and doing that and then kicking on and getting a big score. And I think that’s where we’re really wanting to go as a side now.”Duckett termed captain Ben Stokes “probably the most important man” in the team and had been taken aback by the intensity of his training. “I can only say we’ve been out here for a few days and he’s been in beast mode,” he said. “He has been running, bowling two spells, batting for two hours. The way he trains and stuff these days is something that I’ve never seen before.”He’s obviously probably the most important man in this side when he’s bowling. So hopefully he stays fit for all five tests and he’s bowling in all of them because he’s crucial for us.”

MatériaMais Notícias

Presidente do Flamengo, Rodolfo Landim deu forte declaração sobre o poder dentro do clube e a responsabilidade financeira da diretoria. Em entrevista ao portal “ge”, o dirigente afirmou que o trabalho da diretoria poderia ser destruído em “três meses”, caso a pessoa a frente do Rubro-Negro não prudente com os gastos.

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– Eu ouço muitos jornalistas esportivos fazendo comentários interessantes. Falam de gestão de empresa e eu ouço: “O Flamengo do jeito que está estruturado, vai passar 10 anos com desempenho maravilhoso”. E eu digo para vocês: com três meses de má gestão dá para destruir o Flamengo. Não precisa de muito tempo. Com a minha caneta, dá para destruir o Flamengo. Tudo o que se construiu a gente destrói em três meses. Eu compro o Neymar, o Mbappé e mais um. Coloco 600 milhões de euros de dívidas no balanço do Flamengo – declarou Rodolfo Landim.

– É exato. Isso é uma grande verdade (a responsabilidade ser sempre do presidente). No fundo, quem tem a caneta e quem tem o poder de mudar é o presidente do clube. Eu tenho o poder de trocar quem eu quiser. Se alguma coisa foi feita errada, a culpa é minha. Se foi feita certa, a equipe é brilhante, boa e mereceu. Se deu errado, é minha. A vida é assim. A responsabilidade maior é minha. Eu continuo achando isso. Os problemas do Flamengo, quando tem problemas, sou eu o responsável. Se foi cometido o erro por alguém, foi alguém que eu coloquei lá e dei poder para ele tomar essa decisão que saiu errada. No fundo, é isso mesmo – completou o dirigente do Flamengo.

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MAIS FLAMENGO!

Tudo sobre

FlamengoRodolfo Landim

The New York Yankees lost another game in ugly fashion on Monday night that started with closer Devin Williams blowing a save in the ninth inning when he surrendered a game-tying home run to Joc Pederson and ended with Jake Bird giving up a walk-off home run in the tenth inning.

Williams had lost the closing job earlier this year, which is his first season with the Yankees, but embattled manager Aaron Boone has turned back to him recently. That move didn't pay off Monday night, as Williams served up a pitch right down the middle to Pederson, who hit 408 feet into the stands in right field.

After the game Williams made a brutal admission about his performance, saying he felt good but just one pitch cost him.

"Like I said, I felt great. It was the one pitch that hurt me," Williams said. "Other than that I thought I was executing pitches but the game has to end there with me."

That one pitch was pretty costly. If Williams were able to close out the game, the Yankees would have been able to put an end to their losing streak and would get some good vibes moving forward. Instead they dropped their fourth straight game.

"Things haven’t been going well for a while and I think everyone’s well aware of that," Williams said. "I would say I’m trying my best, sometimes that leads to the opposite outcome you’re trying to achieve but you know at the end of the day you’ve got to get it done."

Williams has had a rough season with the Yankees. While he has 17 saves, Williams has given up six runs in his last seven innings and has allowed 24 earned runs in 42.1 innings on the season. In his last two years with the Brewers he gave up a combined 13 earned runs.

The Yankees are now tied with the Mariners for the third wild-card spot in the American League and are just 1.5 games ahead of the Rangers in that race.

The pressure will only ramp up for New York on Tuesday night when they face the Rangers again. If they have a lead late, it will be interesting to see if Boone goes back to Williams, or if he opts to use someone else to close it out.

Aston Villa have reportedly reached an agreement with Morgan Rogers over a new long-term contract. The 23-year-old's deal was set to expire in 2030, so Unai Emery's team are in a strong position when it comes to resisting interest from potential suitors in the coming months. Now, the attacking midfielder is said to be nearing a contract extension at Villa Park.

Aston Villa secure Rogers breakthrough

Like Villa's slow start to the season, the former Middlesbrough star looked lethargic, uninspired, and a shadow of the player who starred for much of last campaign. Indeed, in late August, he may have opened the door to a potential Villa exit in the not-so-distant future, despite being "happy" to be there.  

He said, "I’m happy here [Aston Villa]. I love football. I love nothing more than just coming out on the pitch and playing football and that’s what I’m doing. I don’t think about anything else. I can’t predict the next 12 months or anything in the future. It’s just about playing football, enjoying my football and showing everyone what I can do."

But in recent weeks, the England international's strong form has reappeared for both club and country. Now, The Athletic reports that he will sign a new deal until 2031, which will make him one of Villa's highest earners. 

AdvertisementGetty Images SportTuchel praises Rogers

Even though Rogers had a slow start to the season, England boss Thomas Tuchel has backed him to the hilt – even to the point of preferring him over Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham. 

After England's 3-0 win over Wales last month, the German said of Rogers: "Morgan was excellent like the whole team, he's very humble, he's very physical. He has the ability to score and to assist. He had a fantastic season (in 2024-25) and was deservedly voted as the young player of the season in the Premier League. Morgan was one piece of the puzzle but it is a team effort. 

"Morgan is what he is. He is a number 10 and he is competing for his place. He is in a good way. We are ready for any team effort. Serbia was the next example of teamwork. We created a lot of chances. We could use Harry Kane all the time, but we need to play without Harry and Jude – the guys are injured."

Emery wants Rogers to kick on

Rogers, who reportedly is being 'coveted by leading sides in the Premier League and abroad, has been challenged by Villa boss Emery to take his game to the next level. This season, he has one goal and three assists in 15 appearances, whereas last term, he notched 30 goal contributions.  

He said in October: "Every individual player needs the team. They need the structure and the shape to feel comfortable and to feel confident, and to set their individual performance. Morgan Rogers, he is improving at the same time which the team is improving and getting better, because he is feeling comfortable and confident to show his qualities and his power in everything. The goals and assists, his movement and confidence to beat an opponent is coming progressively through the team. Other players, we should help them as well to help them feel like Morgan is feeling and performing. We need to help and support every player, their qualities and characteristics in our structure. I will want to see more improvements, getting better and having the numbers, or overcoming the numbers he had last season with us."

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Getty Images SportBusy period for Rogers

Like Rogers, Villa have rebounded well from a sluggish beginning to the 2025/26 Premier League season, but they are still 11th in the table. Next up, they host high-flying Bournemouth at Villa Park on Sunday afternoon, before heading off for the international break. After that, Rogers could be in action for England as Tuchel's side prepare for their final two World Cup qualifiers, this time against Serbia and Albania on November 13 and 16, respectively.    

MatériaMais Notícias

Personagem mais falado nos bastidores do Cruzeiro nesta semana, Gabigol não jogou a toalha na semifinal da Copa do Brasil. Após a derrota para o Corinthians no primeiro jogo da semifinal, o camisa 9 usou suas redes sociais para mandar um recado aos torcedores celestes.

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O atacante entrou em campo aos 26 minutos da segunda etapa, no lugar de Arroyo, que foi o principal personagem na escalação de Leonardo Jardim.

Instantes depois do final da partida entre Cruzeiro e Corinthians, Gabigol publicou uma foto no X com a legenda ‘Faltam 90 minutos’, fazendo referência ao jogo de volta na Neo Química Arena.

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As equipes voltam a se enfrentar no próximo domingo (14), às 18h (de Brasília), em São Paulo. Para se classificar para a decisão, a Raposa precisa de uma vitória por dois gols ou mais, ou por um gol para levar a disputa para os pênaltis.

Estatísticas de Gabigol em Cruzeiro x CorinthiansMinutos em campo: 18Chutes: 2 (0)Passes: 7 (86%)Passes longos: 4 (75%)Ações com a bola: 12Perda da posse de bola: 2Contribuições defensivas: 1Faltas: 1Duelos no chão: 4 (50%)

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Leonardo Jardim viu superioridade do Cruzeiro no segundo tempo

Em entrevista coletiva, o treinador Leonardo Jardim analisou que a Raposa não esteve bem no primeiro tempo, mas dominou a segunda etapa.

– Em relação ao jogo, até o gol do Corinthians, não estivemos bem, em agressividade na marcação, nos passes. Mas aos poucos melhoramos, e no segundo tempo melhoramos muito. Nos passes, no gesto técnico. O volume de jogo foi baixo. Jogamos 45 minutos, jogo muito parado. O adversário parava o jogo, deitava no chão, isso atrapalhou muito. Jogamos menos de um tempo. No intervalo disse aos jogadores que muita gente dizia que seria fácil. Eu avisei que semifinal de Copa, com duas equipes grandes, não tem jogo fácil. Agora vem as críticas. Esta equipe, ganhou muitos jogos fora de casa, podemos fazer agora também e nos classificar. É importante focar para fazer um jogo digno de Cruzeiro – disse o treinador.

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Copa do BrasilCruzeiroFutebol NacionalGabigol