Brett D’ Oliveira took four wickets with his legspin as Gloucestershire faded after a brisk start before overseas experience came to the fore

David Hopps25-Aug-2018

Callum Ferguson led Worcestershire’s chase•Getty Images

ScorecardAnd then there was one. Worcestershire reached a T20 Finals Day for the first time when they made short shrift of Gloucestershire, scraping through by five wickets with seven balls to spare. Now only Derbyshire, among the 18 first-class counties, have never made it to what has become county cricket’s end-of-season knees-up, further emphasis of the competitive nature of England’s professional circuit.Never mind a knees up, without the skill and composure of Callum Ferguson Worcestershire might have gone boomps-a-daisy. Ferguson’s unbeaten 64 from 47 balls babysat the Blast’s youngest squad through to Edgbaston. Adelaide born, and like much in that charming city, relatively undervalued, he has been one of the stars of the county season.Michael Klinger, Gloucestershire’s captain, knew their mediocre 137 for 5 was vulnerable to one quality innings. “We didn’t bat well enough,” he said. “No one took responsibility like Callum Ferguson did for Worcestershire, guys getting 20 and 30 and not going on including myself. We didn’t get a big enough total.”By the time within the first four overs that Worcestershire lost Moeen Ali (like Jos Butter for Lancashire two days earlier, an England player introduced with no magical effect) and Joe Clarke with only 25 on the board, Ferguson was exploring a shrewd drive or two. When they faltered again at 66 for 4 – the 11th over in play, Benny Howell having trapped Brett D’ Oliveira and Ben Cox with unnoticed changes of pace, he had bristled with authority square of the wicket. Whatever met him, he dealt with it.Ferguson’s assessment even included an uplifting message about the value of club cricket. He was asked on about recognising the need to bat through the innings. “I reckon playing league cricket when I was younger helped with that sort of thing,” he said. “We have a lot of talented strikers in the side.” A man who respects the game – at all its levels.The game was broken in the 16th over. David Payne went for 22 in an 11-ball over which included two no balls, two wides and a free hit. Just by standing there, and looking as if he was about to unload against anything in his arc, the dangerous Ross Whiteley caused consternation. During the lifetime of this over, Whiteley struck two sixes, the first of them a remarkable stooping straight flick off a low full toss. A high full toss had hit him in the stomach but only served to sharpen his appetite.A rickety old ground on a flood plain, capable of cramming in around 5,000 spectators: Worcestershire are a world away from the ECB’s future vision of global short-form entertainment on the biggest international grounds. But now they have joined Lancashire and Sussex on what has the makings of a memorable climax at Edgbaston on September 15. Somerset and Notts contest the final place at Taunton on Sunday.The Rapids had another matchwinner. “Some good ones, some bad ones.” So said D’Oliveira about his spell of 4 for 24, becoming the latest legspinner to have a field day in the Blast, and one of the most unsung leggies in the tournament. D’Oliveira, a diminutive figure with an air of cheery innocence, adorned a season where he had taken only four wickets in 12 matches in the group stages.When he took his fourth wicket with a rank long hop, silencing Jack Taylor, Gloucestershire’s last hope of plotting an escape, with a ball that scuttled through at knee high, D’Oliveira held his hands to his face in a similar manner to Stuart Broad when he took eight Australian wickets in a morning session three years ago. Replace Broad’s amazement with a little more good-natured mischief and you get the idea.Alongside D’Oliveira, Daryl Mitchell was an effective sidekick. He did not concede a single boundary in a spell that conceded only 15 and also claimed Gloucestershire’s first wicket, that of Miles Hammond, whose 45 from 31 balls had energised an opening stand of 65 from 7.4 overs.Pat Brown, the 20-year-old seamer who has found himself the Blast’s leading wicket-taker was seen off in one over; Moeen Ali dispensed with his own bowling in two. Klinger was subdued but Hammond’s dash disguised it. Then Mitchell had Hammond lbw, sweeping, and the door was opened for D’Oliveira. Gloucestershire faded like colours under a tropical sun.Klinger, feeling the pressure, shook his head philosophically and drove D’Oliveira down long-on’s throat: Ed Barnard, a safe pair of hands. D’Oliveira trotted back from the stumps to clutch Benny Howell’s slog sweep. Then came two devilish long hops – Ryan Higgins hauling to long on when he might have sixed him over midwicket, Taylor betrayed and bereft.Barnard, an excellent fielder, ran out Ian Cockbain, who had reached 35 amid the chaos, 17 balls from the end, but even on a slightly tacky pitch few imagined that Gloucestershire had enough runs at the interval.

Lewis Morgan destroyed his former club Inter Miami, scoring three and setting up one more in a 4-0 win for New York Red Bulls.

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• Morgan scores three against Miami
• Was traded by Herons to Red Bulls in 2021
• Martino's side suffer embarrassing 4-0 loss

Watch Inter Miami with the MLS Season PassStream now

• TELL ME MORE

  Inter Miami were without Messi, but it was their defense that once again let the Herons down on Saturday. For the third time in as many MLS matches, Tata Martino's men conceded early. Having shipped goals to CF Montreal and D.C. United within the first 15 minutes of those games, Miami collapsed even earlier at a rainy Red Bull Arena as the hosts went ahead inside three minutes courtesy of Morgan.

  Playing against his former club, the ex-Sunderland striker opted not to celebrate and he would add another goal to his tally in the 51st minute. The Scot then turned creator 15 minutes later as he beat his defender to help set up Wiki Carmona for 3-0, effectively burying Inter Miami.

  Morgan, though, wasn't done there, as he completed his hat-trick in the 70th minute, capping arguably the best performance of his career.

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• DID YOU KNOW?

  Twice-capped Scotland international Morgan scored seven goals through his two seasons with Inter Miami, having joined the club after featuring for St. Mirren, Celtic and Sunderland prior to making the leap to MLS.

• THE MVP

  Absolutely no doubt here, as Morgan gets the nod. It was something of a revenge game for the forward, who couldn't be stopped by his former club. Having been one of the bright spots of Inter Miami's initial years in MLS, the club was forced to trade him after being hit with punishments for violating financial rules.

  That'll make the fact that it was Morgan who inspired New York Red Bulls to the 4-0 win even more painful. It's been a while since the ex-Celtic striker left and so much has changed for the Herons since, but there's no doubt that he'll have a big smile on his face after taking it to the team that got rid of him.

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• THE BIG LOSER

  Take your pick. When you lose 4-0, no one covered themselves in glory. No matter where you look on the field, you could find someone on Inter Miami to criticize.

  Suarez has bought some goodwill, so we'll give him the benefit of the doubt. The defense… well, plenty has been said about how bad they are. This game surely won't change opinions.

  The big loser, though, was probably the midfield. Without the pace of Diego Gomez and Federico Redondo, the Herons simply couldn't cope with the Red Bulls' press. Sergio Busquets was left to fend for himself, with Julian Gressel and Dalton Sunderland unable to help him out.

  The defense was terrible and the attack was quiet, but the midfield played a big part in Miami's total collapse.

MatériaMais Notícias

O técnico Mauricio Barbieri deve ter mais um problema no sistema ofensivo para encarar o Fortaleza. Trata-se do atacante Helinho, que sentiu um problema muscular na coxa.

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De acordo com as infos divulgadas pelo clube, o atleta havia manifestado um incômodo na região. Na última terça-feira ele não treino e deve ser uma baixa.

Lembrando que o Bragantino já não conta com o atacante Artur, que ainda se recupera de entorse no tornozelo esquerdo.

Outros desfalques

Além dos dois atacantes, Barbieri também não pode contar com o lateral-esquerdo Weverson e o zagueiro Léo Realpe.

Arsenal's unbeaten start to the 2023/24 Premier League season came to an end on Saturday as they were beaten 1-0 by Newcastle United in the evening kick-off. The Gunners came out the wrong side of the result at St. James' Park as Anthony Gordon's second-half strike was enough to secure all three points for the home side.

However, the winning goal was shrouded in controversy after a lengthy VAR check on three possible infringements that eventually saw the goal awarded to Eddie Howe's team.

There was an initial check to see whether or not the ball had gone out of play before a possible foul on Gabriel, and then a possible offside against Gordon. However, none of those three situations could be fully substantiated into a claim to disallow the goal and Mikel Arteta was incensed after the match.

Arteta's comments after VAR controversy at Newcastle

The Spanish tactician described the incident as "embarrassing" and a "disgrace" before going on to say that he is wasting his time as results are in the hands of other people – referees. Arteta went as far as to say that he feels "embarrassed" and is "ashamed" to be part of how the Premier League is using VAR and the technology available to decide matches, in some instances, with their decisions.

Of course, emotions were running high after a tight match that ended in defeat for the London-based outfit, and the choice of words may have been influenced by that. However, Arsenal then released a statement in support of their manager and added that PGMOL must take action to improve the standard of refereeing, as they believe that the league deserves a higher quality of officiating than it is currently getting.

Stephen Warnock slams Arsenal and Arteta

Whilst speaking on Sky Sports' Ref Watch segment, pundit Stephen Warnock ripped into the Gunners and Arteta for their reaction to Newcastle's winning goal.

The former Liverpool defender started out by questioning why the Gunners boss did not feel "embarrassed" to be involved in the division after Luis Diaz's goal was wrongly disallowed for offside against the Reds earlier this season in their 2-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. This point was also raised by The Mirror as they reported his previous comments about that VAR mistake that went against Jurgen Klopp's side.

The Gunners boss said that referees and VAR need to be given support and for people to understand that mistakes happen, which was a calmer and more reasoned response than the one he gave over the weekend after Gordon's goal. Warnock then went on to say that the club's subsequent statement was "distasteful" and that it should have been handled in a different way.

Whether or not any of this will lead to an improvement in refereeing or VAR standards remains to be seen, given that the Arsenal boss thinks that he is wasting his time, and it will be interesting to see how long it takes for the next major incident of controversy to take place.

Pat Brown is the Vitality Blast’s leading wicket-taker and Lancashire succumbed to his sleight of hand as Worcestershire won the first semi-final

Paul Edwards14-Sep-2018
ScorecardWorcestershire’s first appearance at Finals Day is not to be a brief encounter. Despite posting what seemed to be no more than a par total of 169 in their semi-final against Lancashire Lightning, Moeen Ali’s bowlers sucked the life of their opponents’ reply and ended the first semi-final deserved victors by 20 runs. Pat Brown, the tournament’s leading wicket-taker in his first full season, finished with a late flurry of wickets to return 4 for 21 in an extraordinary summer.Lancashire meanwhile are clearly not morning people. In seven appearances at Finals Day they have now lost the first semi-final on four occasions. Once again, the big occasion is the big disappointment. But perhaps it was to be expected. Most people fancied Lancashire, which is normally enough to condemn them to an early afternoon trip back up the M6. And so it is again.Worcestershire’s innings was an odd affair, a fact reflected in its two Manhattan two skyscrapers. Moeen Ali levied 23 runs off Liam Livingstone’s only over, the third of the innings and one in which Lancashire’s captain lost his line. But having reached 37 without loss halfway through the Powerplay, Worcestershire managed only 96 more runs off the next 15 overs and lost six wickets in the process. Their travails were most grisly when they lost three wickets off successive balls in what was something of a mongrel hat-trick Ali was caught by James Faulkner at long off for 41, Brett D’Oliveira was run out by Toby Lester without facing, and Tom Fell was stumped by Jos Buttler for 23 to leave Worcestershire on 70 for four after 8.1 oversLivingstone defends Faulkner’s absence

Liam Livingstone, Lancashire’s captain, defended James Faulkner after a minor calf strain left him unable to bowl at the death and Worcestershire escaped to what proved to be a matchwinning total.
Livingstone said of Faulkner’s spell, limited to two overs: “He has been one of the best death bowlers in the world for the last few years, so it was disappointing not to have him, but he pulled his calf so you can’t expect him to bowl when he’s walking on one leg.
“We backed our bowlers to do the job, we just didn’t bowl well enough at the right times.
“The way Mo played early on – things got away from us a little bit and we were always looking to drag it back, and the way Pat Brown bowled, trying to read his variations is pretty tough. He’s got a good method that’s worked for him, and there’s a reason that he’s right up there in the wicket-taking.”

The batsmen’s struggle was caused by Lancashire’s leg-spinners, Matt Parkinson and Zahir Khan, who conceded 47 runs off their eight overs and took three wickets. Zahir claimed the vital wicket when the Worcestershire skipper miscued a big hit. But Parkinson was a comparable irritant to the batsmen, removing both Tom Fell and Ross Whiteley while conceding as many runs in four overs as Livingstone had leaked in just the one.The innings continued in a similar vein until the penultimate over when Ben Cox hit three sixes into the Hollies Stand off Toby Lester, who having conceded 26 runs off his first three overs now went for 27 in his fourth. Cox ended the innings with 55 not out, secure in the knowledge that he had given his side a total at which they could bowl. His unbroken stand of 72 with Barnard, who was unbeaten on 28, was to prove vital to Worcestershire’s fortunes.Lancashire’s innings did not enjoy the spectacular overs enjoyed by the Rapids and that was probably integral to its failure. None of Livingstone’s batsmen could match the decisive innings played by Ali and Cox and all of them found it difficult to cope with the off-spin of Ali, who bowled Jos Buttler off the bottom edge for 12 and finished with 2 for 16 from four overs which reeked of international class. Neither could Livingstone do more than make 30 off 18 balls before he thick-edged Ed Barnard to D’Oliveira at short third-man.Keaton Jennings tried to anchor the last half of the innings but found no one who could help him score at a rate which climbed steadily. Needing 44 off the final four overs, Lightning lost three wickets in the 19th bowled by Brown, who ended the innings with figures of 4 for 21. But Ali’s accuracy, Barnard’s two run-outs and the coolness of Worcestershire’s fielders were just as vital to this fine result for a county which once again exceeded some expectations. Their players now have a final to which they can look forward.As for Lancashire, here they are again. Losing the first semi-final of the Blast is like leaving a party before it’s got going: the music’s tedious, the decent booze hasn’t arrived and nobody’s made an exhibition of themselves. Yet here you are, out on the street and God has banished all taxis from the face of the earth.Their supporters, meanwhile, are all revved up with no place to go. Except back to Lancashire. With what will they console themselves? Maybe there’s live football on the telly. There usually is. Or come to think of it, they could watch the final of the Blast. Actually, on second thoughts, maybe not.

كانت هناك أنباء عن اهتمام نادي الزمالك بضم الظهير الأيسر لنادي ميدياما المنافس في بطولة الدوري الغاني، حميدو عبدول فاتاو، خلال الميركاتو الصيفي الحالي.

ولكن اتجهت الأنظار في القلعة البيضاء إلى اسم آخر داخل الدوري المصري وهو لاعب البنك الأهلي، إسحاقو يعقوبو، وبالتالي لم تحدث مفاوضات رسمية بين الزمالك وميدياما حول الغاني.

ويعد فاتاو أحد أبرز اللاعبين في الدوري المحلي في مركزه وهو ما جعله ينضم إلى منتخب غانا أكثر من مرة رغم صعوبة ذلك للتركيز على المحترفين، ولكن يتم استدعاءه لأدائه المميز.

اقرأ أيضًا | عمرو أدهم: لا يوجد ناد في مصر يتحمل مثل الزمالك.. وننتظر الحكم في قضية باتشيكو

ولكن رغم ابتعاد الزمالك عن الصفقة إلا أن فاتاو يبدو وأنه لن يبتعد عن الدوري المصري، حيث تواصل “btolat.com” مع رئيس نادي ميدياما، توني أوبين، لمعرفة وجهة اللاعب بعد حضوره إلى هنا في الساعات الماضية.

وقال أوبين في تصريحات خاصة لنا: “هناك اتفاق مع نادي غزل المحلة (الصاعد حديثًا إلى الدوري المصري)، لكن لم يحدث أي توقيع رسمي للاعب”.

وأتم: “هو متواجد في مصر من أجل الكشف الطبي وإذا نجح سيكون هناك توقيع للعقد والانتقال الرسمي”.

It is rarely dull between Chelsea and Arsenal, with the London duo creating some Premier League classics over the years.

From FA Cup upsets to European routs and everything in between, there is hardly ever a bad game when these two teams line up on the pitch.

With that in mind, Football FanCast has created a list of the 10 best games between Arsenal and Chelsea.

10 2006: Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal

Right, we’re kicking things off with a game better remembered for what happened in the stands than the pitch.

The match was the first encounter between the two sides in the aftermath of Ashley Cole’s incredibly controversial transfer to Chelsea. The story was that the full-back made the move after being insulted by the contract offer he received from Arsenal.

Read more: Players to have played for Chelsea and Arsenal

This story infuriated the Arsenal faithful, who decided to make their frustrations known during the game when they threw fake cash onto the pitch with pictures of Cole adorning the front and back. Who says football fans aren’t subtle?

The game itself was still rather entertaining, mind, with Arsenal opening the scoring late in the second half before Michael Essien levelled things up for the hosts in the 84th minute with a sensational rocket.

9 1999: Chelsea 2-3 Arsenal

We’re going back to the 1990s for this one, and if there was ever a game that demonstrated just how brilliant a footballer Nwankwo Kanu was, this might be it.

Going into the match, Arsenal were looking for revenge as dropped points in this fixture the season before had cost them the title, and they did not want the same thing happening again.

Chelsea seemed to care little for their north London opponents’ title ambitions. However, by 52 minutes, they had established a comfortable two-goal lead, and it looked as if they would seal maximum points – until Kanu decided to put on a clinic, that is.

The Nigeria international pulled one back for the Gunners in the 75th minute and then grabbed another just eight minutes later to level the scores.

A sense of panic was now spreading amongst the supporters at Stamford Bridge, as well as with the Chelsea players themselves, and with just seconds left, Kanu fired home his third from a tight angle to give Arsenal the win.

8 2004: Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea

Nobody likes losing to your rivals in the league, but you’ll usually get over it pretty fast; after all, you’ll get the chance for revenge in a couple of months, anyway.

The same cannot be said for a Champions League knockout game.

The second leg of the 2004 Champions League quarter-final between Arsenal and Chelsea is one of the best all-English ties in the competition’s recent history. Still, it’s probably not remembered quite so fondly by the men in red.

The sides had played out a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge in the first leg, and so Wenger’s men – who were on their way to becoming invincible – fancied their chances of advancing at home.

Read more: Arsenal’s top 20 Champions League moments

A Jose Antonio Reyes goal on the stroke of half-time only reinforced the belief that the north Londoners would soon be semi-finalists, but a 51st-minute goal from Frank Lampard brought Highbury back down to reality.

The game was somehow even more tense from that point onwards, but the away side would finally cut that tension when Wayne Bridge put the Blues in front in the 87th minute with a match-winning away goal, breaking the hearts of Arsenal fans everywhere.

What makes this loss all the more painful is that the semi-final against AS Monaco, and arguably the final against Porto, were both very winnable games for this Arsenal side. Wenger could have had Old Big Ears to go alongside his golden league title that year.

7 2007: Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea

Another victory for the men in blue makes it into the list at number seven, although it wasn’t just any victory, as this was the 2007 League Cup final.

Arsenal were making their sixth appearance in the competition’s finale, and Chelsea their fifth, but it was the first time the sides had met one another in the showpiece event. Tensions were already higher than in previous finals, as the two sides were battling it out for the league title only two years prior.

The Gunners were the ones to strike first in the game as Theo Walcott found the back of the net in the 12th minute, although it took just eight minutes for Didier Drogba to level the scores.

In the 63rd minute, Chelsea captain John Terry had to be taken off the pitch following a collision with Abou Diaby that left him unconscious.

The game was finally won by the men in blue when Drogba put away his second of the game in the 84th minute.

However, the game once again exploded into life when an argument between Kolo Toure and John Obi Mikel resulted in a fracas between both sets of players. In the end, both Toure and Mikel were sent off, as was Emmanuel Adebayor, who had hit Wayne Bridge during the scuffle.

6 2014: Chelsea 6-0 Arsenal

We’re sorry about this one, Arsenal fans.

It’s never nice to lose to one of your biggest rivals, but to lose 6-0 is a whole other level of hurt, and so this game is surely one the club’s worst defeats to Chelsea.

The build-up to the game was dominated by talk of Arsene Wenger’s 1,000th game in charge of the Gunners, and there were a lot of very nice things said about one of the game’s true greats, but those words would mean very little if the players on the pitch couldn’t put in a performance.

Unfortunately for the Frenchman, Samuel Eto’o opened the scoring after just five minutes before Andre Schurrle added another two minutes later. Things would go from bad to worse in the 15th minute when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain handled the ball in the box, which led to a penalty and a red card – although not to him.

Somehow, match official Andre Marriner mistook Kieran Gibbs for the Ox, and sent the left-back off instead, causing sheer confusion among the players. The penalty was calmly converted by Eden Hazard, but things kept getting worse for the men in red.

Oscar scored a fourth on the stroke of half-time to make it 4-0 before scoring another in the 66th minute. The game was rounded off in the 71st when a certain Egyptian named Mohamed Salah scored his very first Premier League goal.

Wenger’s special day really couldn’t have gone any worse.

5 2017: Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea

The Gunners have generally had the number of their west London opponents in the FA Cup, and the 2017 final was no different.

Going into the game, Chelsea had just been crowned Premier League champions while Arsenal had missed out on the top four for the first time in Wenger’s reign, and so it was the men in blue who were the clear favourites, although, that didn’t seem to translate onto the pitch whatsoever.

Arsenal took the lead in the fifth minute thanks to a controversial goal from Chile international Alexis Sanchez, and they continued to look threatening right up to the break.

Things went from bad to worse for Chelsea in the second half as Victor Moses got a second yellow card in the 68th minute for diving. However, even with a man down, Chelsea managed to level the scores when Diego Costa found the back of the net in the 76th minute.

Unfortunately for the Blues, their reprieve lasted just three minutes, as Aaron Ramsey scored the winner in the 79th minute, securing the Gunners their 13th FA Cup.

What made this win all the more impressive was that Per Mertesacker made his first start of the season and put in one of the all-time great FA Cup final performances, leading to Arsenal fans referring to the game as ‘The Mertesacker Final’.

4 2022: Chelsea 2-4 Arsenal

Arsenal’s visit to Stamford Bridge in April 2022 delivered them their biggest away win against the Blues in over a decade as they put four past Thomas Tuchel’s disorganised side.

The first half was a thoroughly entertaining affair that saw the Gunners take the lead twice, only for Chelsea to level the scores in reply. The second half was just as entertaining, but the home side could not reply when Arsenal doubled their score.

The result ultimately meant very little in the grand scheme of things as the Gunners still missed out on the top four, but the fact that all four goals were scored by Hale End products must have given the fans a lot to cheer about, with Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka adding to Eddie Nketiah’s brace.

3 2020: Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea

If we’re being honest, finals are usually rather rubbish, aren’t they? They can become boring games in which sides are so afraid of losing that they don’t create anything.

Well, that certainly wasn’t the case in the 2020 FA Cup Final.

Going into the game, Arsenal were experiencing something of a crisis as they had just finished eighth in the league, sacked Unai Emery earlier in the season and generally looked poor. Granted, they had beaten Manchester City in the semi-final, but there was a concern that the final would be a step too far.

Chelsea, on the other hand, had made it into the Champions League and generally looked to be making decent enough progress under Frank Lampard, although we know how that turned out.

The game was a tightly fought affair, and the Blues opened the scoring just five minutes in courtesy of Christian Pulisic. However, Arsenal found themselves level just 23 minutes later thanks to a penalty from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and it was the Gabonese forward who then gave his side the lead in the 67th minute thanks to a lovely curled effort.

While Arsenal were by no means dominant in the game, this win might just have given Arteta the time he needed when things started to go wrong the following season.

2 2019: Chelsea 4-1 Arsenal

The Gunners’ 6-0 embarrassment was bad enough, but Arsenal’s defeat to Chelsea in Baku was arguably even more painful.

The Europa League final in 2019 was probably Unai Emery’s most important game as Arsenal boss; after all, he had missed out on the top four, failed in the domestic cups and built his reputation off the back of winning the thing multiple times with Sevilla.

So, surely he’d deliver this time as well?

Unfortunately for the Spaniard, what unfolded in the Azerbaijan capital must be one of the most one-sided European finals in recent memory as Chelsea dismantled an incredibly poor Arsenal side to win 4-1.

Read more: Eden Hazard’s greatest career moments

The first half ended goalless, but within 20 minutes of the restart, the Gunners were 3-0 down and facing a humiliation in front of the footballing world. Alex Iwobi pulled one back for the north Londoners, but the damage was done, and a fourth Chelsea goal just three minutes later compounded Arsenal’s misery.

The only reason this isn’t higher on the list is because it was so one-sided; we can’t call it the greatest game between the two sides, as only one team showed up that day.

1 2011: Chelsea 3-5 Arsenal

So, we’ve made it to our pick for the greatest game between these two sides, and we reckon a fair few of you will agree.

Now, there are usually a lot of goals when these two sides meet regardless of the competition, but the Premier League game at Stamford Bridge on 29th October 2011 took it to another level.

The eight goals scored on that day made this the highest-scoring encounter between Arsenal and Chelsea since the Gunners’ 5-4 victory back in March 1958.

Chelsea took the lead twice in the first half with a 14th-minute strike from Frank Lampard and a 45th-minute goal from John Terry, while Robin van Persie briefly gave the visitors parity in the 36th minute.

However, the Gunners soon took the lead in the second 45 thanks to goals from Andre Santos and Theo Walcott before the 55th minute.

Not sitting down, the home side once again levelled the scores in the 80th minute through Juan Mata, but two more strikes from Van Persie in the final stages of the match took the game away from the hosts and gave the men in red a famous away victory.

And there we have it, our picks for the top ten games between Arsenal and Chelsea. Let’s hope Saturday’s encounter can give us another classic.

Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers may face a challenge to keep hold of one of his first-team men in January after it emerged that another club is now keeping a close eye on his situation, according to reports.

Celtic's tale of two contrasting draws in the space of a week

During midweek, Celtic produced an awe-inspiring performance in front of a raucous atmosphere at Parkhead to record a 2-2 draw against La Liga high-flyers Atletico Madrid, with goals from Kyogo Furuhashi and Luis Palma enough to secure a point in the Champions League despite being pegged back twice by strikes from Antoine Griezmann and Alvaro Morata.

Finally getting off the mark in Group E, Celtic boss Rodgers praised his side's efforts as they prolonged their hopes of securing European football after Christmas, saying: "That was a really good performance, but we just couldn't get the win. I don't think you can say they'll fly back to Spain not knowing they've had a tough game. They didn't create so much. Their equaliser was fantastic and shows the quality at this level."

He then added: "Our reaction in the game was superb, having the courage and the bravery to play. We showed we can compete with a top level team. We can create opportunities. We can play the game the way we want to play."

Despite this, Celtic returned to Scottish Premiership action away to Hibernian at Easter Road on Saturday and a sluggish performance against a stubborn opponent could only yield a 0-0 draw in Edinburgh, with tired legs playing their part in a low-key affair.

Nevertheless, Rodgers commended his side for their points total in the first ten matches of the Scottish Premiership campaign and urged them to rediscover their best form against St Mirren at Parkhead on Wednesday, stating: "We've played ten games now. We've had eight wins and two draws and we've been to every ground in the country and did well in the main. The effort and commitment was there; now we need to recover and get ready for Wednesday."

Celtic's next five fixtures – all competitions

Competition

Opponent

Venue

Scottish Premiership

St Mirren (H)

Celtic Park

Scottish Premiership

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Celtic transfer update on Matt O'Riley

According to a transfer update from Football Insider, Celtic midfielder Matt O'Riley is on the radar of Brighton & Hove Albion, who have sent scouts to watch the Danish playmaker in action regularly as Roberto De Zerbi assesses his options in the engine room. From their observations, the Premier League high-flyers are believed to be hugely impressed by his exploits and have set their sights on a move.

The Seagulls are among a host of clubs that have watched the 22-year-old in action this term as he continues to go from strength to strength under the tutelage of Rodgers.

Adding goals to his game, O'Riley has gone on to notch six strikes and four assists from 14 appearances across all competitions for Celtic this season (Matt O'Riley stats – Transfermarkt).

Commended for his "wonderful attitude" by Celtic boss Rodgers earlier this year, O'Riley has taken his game to a whole different stratosphere in 2023/24 and, unsurprisingly, clubs from south of the border have started to take notice of his consistent form.

Pujara returned to bat after retiring hurt because of stiff neck while Ashwin hastened MP’s collapse in Dindigul

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Nov-2018Pujara returns with half-century after ‘stiff neck’
Fresh and well rested after a stiff neck forced him to retire hurt on 30, Cheteshwar Pujara returned to bat on the second day in Rajkot to make a half-century in Saurashtra’s first-innings total of 475 against Chhattisgarh. Pujara returned to bat after the fall of the fifth wicket and added a 65-run partnership with Sheldon Jackson who top scored with 147. Chhattisgarh were solid: 88 without loss in response with two days remaining.R Ashwin with a bagful of wickets
After toiling hard to pick up just one wicket in 21 overs on the first day in Dindigul, R Ashwin was rewarded for his persistence. He picked up three wickets on the second day to finish with figures of 4 for 85 as Madhya Pradesh were bowled out for 393 after being handily placed at 359 for 4 at one stage. In all, Ashwin sent down 38.4 overs, with five maidens. Ashwin was complemented by fast bowler M Mohammed, who picked up a hat-trick to trigger MP’s collapse. At stumps, M Vijay had faced six deliveries and was yet to get off the mark.

Mashrafe Mortaza and Mushfiqur Rahim, who had injuries during the Asia Cup, are expected to recover in the next two weeks to add experience to Bangladesh’s squad for the ODIs against Zimbabwe from October 21.With the selectors likely to name a preliminary squad by next week, the injuries to Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal have already left a gaping hole in the batting line-up. Bangladesh are scheduled to start a training camp in Dhaka from October 15.According to BCB’s chief physician Debashish Chowdhury, Mashrafe will need two more weeks to recover fully from his finger injury, which he sustained during the Asia Cup match against Pakistan on September 26.”The injury on his little finger is quite serious,” Chowdhury said. “It takes about three weeks to recover. We are hoping that Mashrafe can come back from that injury within two weeks. He was struck by a ball directly. We will have a further scan tomorrow to ascertain how much of a blood clot there is. Once we know about it, we will go for our next course of action.”Mashrafe is not too bothered about the injury though. He said he has already played two matches with it, and his bowling isn’t affected by the injury. The finger comes to use for his batting, of course.”Chowdhury said Mushfiqur, who injured his rib during the pre-Asia Cup training camp in Dhaka, has been rested for a week. “[Mushfiqur] has a cracked rib which usually takes four to six weeks to heal. Ribs usually take time as it is constantly moving. There’s no rest. We have asked Mushfiqur to rest for a week after which we will determine the next course of action.”If their recoveries don’t go to plan, Bangladesh might find it difficult to replace Mushfiqur in the middle order and Mashrafe as captain.The opening partnership was an issue for Bangladesh in the Asia Cup. Mehidy Hasan, who had a 120-run opening stand with Liton Das in the final, was last-gasp measure after Nazmul Hossain Shanto and Soumya Sarkar failed throughout the tournament.Even if the team management is looking to continue with Mehidy as opener in the Zimbabwe series, they would still want back-up. Despite scoring only 20 runs in three Asia Cup matches, Shanto remains the long-term option. Soumya could, for the fourth time this year, sneak into the squad despite a number of failures, as he has always been preferred either by the team management or by the BCB officials.Imrul Kayes could also be in contention for his experience, though he made only one fifty in three Asia Cup matches. Mominul Haque, Mosaddek Hossain and Ariful Haque will be competing for middle-order slots. Mominul and Mosaddek struggled in the Asia Cup while Ariful, who didn’t get a game, recently struck a maiden double-hundred in the first-class competition’s opening round.Mohammad Mithun made two vital fifties in the Asia Cup and would be crucial in the middle order, along with Mahmudullah. However, Tushar Imran, who scored twin hundreds in the opening first-class match of the season, might have to wait till early November as he may be considered for the Test series against Zimbabwe.Mustafizur Rahman and Rubel Hossain are likely to partner Mashrafe – if he is fit – in the pace attack, while Abu Hider is likely to continue as their understudy. Bangladesh could pick an extra pace bowler as cover for Mashrafe.Left-arm spinner Nazmul Islam could be leading the race to replace Shakib the bowler, though in the recent past the more experienced Abdur Razzak has had more success in domestic cricket. Offspinner Sohag Gazi also made a strong case for selection with a number of notable performances in the last 12 months.Chowdhury said Shakib’s recovery would be determined after a surgeon in Australia assesses him next week. “We have removed fluid twice within the last two-four days from Shakib’s infected finger. He is improving. His infection will come under control in a week through medication. He is likely to go to Australia on Friday, to determine whether he needs surgery,” he said.An update on Tamim’s injury might take about three weeks.