Como winger Assane Diao is in line to be called up to the Senegal national team for the Africa Cup of Nations, but Cesc Fabregas wants him to stay at the Serie A side for the time being. The 20-year-old has been limited to just four appearances in the Italian top-flight this season, sparking the coach to claim his involvement at AFCON is "illogical".

Injury problems at the root of Fabregas' decision

Diao moved to Italy in January after spending a season and a half at La Liga side Real Betis and quickly established himself as a crucial member of Fabregas' squad, securing eight goals and an assist in 15 Serie A appearances last season. In April, however, he suffered a broken foot and missed out on their last five Serie A fixtures of the campaign as well as the initial stages of the 2025-26 season. Diao made a comeback in late October, where he played 45 minutes against Parma. The Senegalese winger was slowly reintegrating him back into the lineup, but was called up to the Senegal team this month. Despite having an adductor issue, he participated in two training sessions for the African side, only to get further injured and return to Italy.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportFabregas finds Diao's national team call-up illogical

The 20-year-old has a hamstring injury, which will keep him out for a few games. Although Fabregas has mentioned his probable return date, he does not want the winger to return to the Senegal camp, with his major concern being the player's fitness ahead of the competition's December 21 kick off.  

"I don't want to send him to the African Cup of Nations? For me it's illogical," he said. "He's been out for seven months, he's played three games, now he's going to the national team, he'll get injured and be out again. Then maybe he'll go back to Senegal. In the player's mind, you have to do things right. For me, it doesn't make sense. They won't care, but we want what's best for the player. He shouldn't go. He went to training camp with Senegal with a minor adductor problem and did two training sessions. Then he got injured and came back here. We'll try to get him back with Inter, but it's more likely that we'll have him back with Roma."

Fabregas wants to face Torino with 'great attention'

Como sit eighth in the Serie A table after 11 games, having lost just one match so far. They are up against a Torino side sitting four points and places below them on Monday, and a win would see them leapfrog Juventus into sixth.

"You always have to approach every match at your best. If you think it's going to be difficult mentally, then it definitely will be," Fabregas said as his side prepare to take on a side on a six-game unbeaten run. "We have to win it with our own game, with what we have to offer. But we need to be more ambitious and get more points than we currently have. We had lots of chances to make it 2-0 against Cremonese, the penalty in Naples, and three or four chances to score in Cagliari. We need to manage it better, without losing our defensive stability. Torino are a team that play 5-3-2, with experienced defenders. [Kristjan] Asllani scored and comes from Inter, he's a great player. You know [Cesare] Casadei, he comes from Chelsea. Che Adams is an international player, [Cyril] Ngonge is a difference-maker for his team, he won the league with Napoli and I really like him. They are a well-organised team, and [Marco] Baroni is a great manager. The atmosphere, the stadium and the fans are also strong. We must go there with great enthusiasm, even if after the international break we must approach the match with great caution."

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Getty Images SportWhat comes next for Como?

Como will have three crucial fixtures after the Torino game, which might also shape their objectives for the rest of the campaign. On November 28, they'll welcome Sassuolo, and will later travel to the San Siro to face Inter on December 6. Post that, they'll meet Gian Piero Gasperini's Roma in yet another away game on December 15. 

Pakistan, meanwhile, are growing comfortable in Colombo conditions and hoping to challenge New Zealand

Madushka Balasuriya17-Oct-20251:08

Omaima: ‘The main challenge is playing the new ball’

Neither New Zealand nor Pakistan have had an ideal World Cup. The former is on three points after four games with just a solitary win, while Pakistan’s sole point has come courtesy a washout against England.That match, for all intents and purposes, should have been firmly locked under the wins column for Pakistan, but such has been the weather in Colombo that any result has been firmly at the behest of the weather gods.”I’ve been around this a long time and there’s lots of things you can’t control, and weather’s one of those. It’s just something that we’ve got to roll with,” New Zealand head coach Ben Sawyer said ahead of Saturday’s match against Pakistan.Related

Fatima Sana – a captain burdened, a fast bowler unrestrained

New Zealand look to stay in semi-final hunt against winless Pakistan

Rains have been forecast throughout the day for Saturday as well, but for Sawyer, the preparations remain the same with the past few days also allowing some time for reflection on their washed-out game against Sri Lanka.”I thought we bowled really well,” Sawyer said. “It was a target that we thought we could chase. We just didn’t get the chance to do that. So practised really hard the last couple of days and yeah, ready to go for Pakistan tomorrow.”For Pakistan too, the weather has proved an unwelcome guest, bringing their victory charge against England to an abrupt end. It was the first time this tournament that they had managed to produce a complete performance with the ball, and before rain ended play they were looking quite comfortable with the bat as well – an area they had struggled with in the lead-up to the game.”The pitches are supporting the bowlers, especially spinners. Our spin department and fast bowling department are also doing great,” Pakistan opening batter Omaima Sohail said. “But we need to step up in our batting.”Pakistan’s improvement is not something that has evaded Sawyer and New Zealand, who are acutely aware of what they are capable of.”Their top order is, they made it look like light work of maybe chasing down that total the other night,” he said. “So, they’ve been impressive. They’ve really challenged a couple of weeks or two of the top nations. So, been impressed in particular with their bowling.”2:14

Sawyer: ‘We’ve got to be really wary of the Pakistan attack’

One reason for this uptick has been their increasing familiarity with the conditions in Colombo, where batting hasn’t been the easiest. This will be just New Zealand’s second game at the Khettarama this World Cup, though the rains ensured they were unable to bat against Sri Lanka.”We played here four matches, so now we know what the situations and what the pitch acts [like],” Sohail said. “So, we know what to do in upcoming matches. We will do better hopefully.”For New Zealand their focus will be on trying to put up more complete performances. Their batting has been bolstered almost solely by runs from Sophie Devine and Brooke Halliday, who have struck 260 and 142 runs respectively over their four matches. Sawyer however is confident that the rest of the team will come good sooner rather than later.”They’ve [Devine and Halliday] looked great and to me, I know it might sound a bit silly, but it’s really exciting,” Sawyer said. “Yeah, we have had probably two batters do the bulk of the work for us at the moment, so if we can get three or four firing at once, I think we can post some huge scores.”It’s a long tournament; it goes for a month. I think we’ve already been on the road a month, as every other team has, and you’re going to have people firing at different times and hopefully we’ve got some that are really going to fire towards the back end. So I’ve got no doubt those runs are coming.”

How the mighty have fallen at Liverpool.

Expectations for the season heading into this campaign would have been that Arne Slot and Co could achieve the tricky feat of lifting back-to-back Premier League titles, having splashed the cash on the likes of Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz in the summer.

Yet, the Reds are now deep in a depressing patch of form that has seen them lose a staggering nine matches from their last 12 outings – which has left them marooned in mid-table in the top-flight – with a 4-1 defeat at the hands of PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Wednesday night surely the pick of a bad bunch.

Not a single Liverpool shirt would trudge off at the end of the shambolic loss at Anfield with much credit left in the bank, as Ibrahima Konate’s error-ridden season continued against the Dutch visitors.

Konate's disastrous season continues

Liverpool will want January to come around in a flash now, having been linked with Marc Guehi to fix their leaky defensive issues.

Konate wasn’t the only ropey figure in the Reds’ porous backline against PSV, though, with Virgil van Dijk setting the tone for what was in store when giving away an early penalty from a brainless handball.

But, after a “nightmare” showing against Nottingham Forest last time out in the Premier League, as it was branded by the Athletic’s James Pearce, the Frenchman did himself no favours in trying to get back into the good books of Anfield supporters, by putting in another shaky showing against Peter Bosz’s fortunate away side.

His woes were summed up when he failed to clear the ball away for PSV’s rampant third of the one-sided affair, which then resulted in second-half substitute Ricardo Pepi breaking forward with pace to play a major part in the Eredivisie outfit’s game-clinching strike.

For Konate’s sake, who has now been in the heart of a “disgraceful” defence – as it was bluntly branded by Reds-based content creator DAVEOCKOP – across Liverpool’s last three games, where ten goals have been given up, Slot should ditch him for the next away match at West Ham United.

Yet, worryingly, Konate was far from the worst performer on a night that will live long in Anfield infamy. Indeed, another underperformer faces the axe for their must-win clash at the London Stadium.

Not just Konate: Liverpool star faces the chop

Indeed, although it meant very little come the full-time whistle, Konate would, at least, come away from the game with just one misplaced pass next to his name and three ground duels won.

Unfortunately for the under-fire number five, though, his horror moment leading to PSV’s third is all that will be remembered, with Cody Gakpo also another figure that generated a lot of criticism come the full-time whistle, as his goalless stretch of form shows no signs of stopping.

Games played

6

Minutes played

315 mins

Goals scored

0

Assists

0

It’s now been six games in November for the Dutchman with no goals or assists coming his way, but it could have been very different against PSV on another occasion, as Gakpo spurned a big opportunity against his former employers when the score was just 2-1.

On top of fluffing his lines to the dismay of Anfield, the hot-and-cold 26-year-old also lacked the same cutting edge that PSV showed throughout when bursting forward with pace, with possession given away 21 times by Gakpo when attempting to set his teammates up for chances.

On an evening when the defence received the majority of the pelters, Gakpo wasn’t completely immune from scathing criticism himself, with Liverpool World’s Will Rooney handing him a very low 3/10 post-match rating after the dust had settled on the harrowing loss, noting that he needed to “be better” in various attacking scenarios to up his score.

Further labelled as “laughable” on the ball by one Reds content creator, Gakpo will surely be worrying now that he will be shoved down to the substitutes bench for the tie with the Hammers up next, as Slot makes selection decisions that he hopes save his skin.

Journalist David Lynch has stated that he doesn’t think Slot can “survive” his predicament, whatever he does next, but it does look like a smart immediate call anyway to drop both Konate and Gakpo, to attempt to steer the collapsing ship back on course.

Ranked: The worst title defences in Premier League history

Look away now, Arne Slot…

ByTom Cunningham Nov 25, 2025

Jordan Cox and Emma Lamb have been named PCA Players of the Year, capping stellar summers in which both players earned England recalls after consistent seasons in domestic cricket.Cox missed out on a Test debut for England last November due to an ill-timed injury and was left out of their white-ball squads at the start of the summer. However, he earned a T20I recall after scoring his maiden T20 hundred for Essex and finishing the Hundred as the leading run-scorer. He saw off competition from Joe Root, Ed Barnard and Dom Sibley to win the award.”My favourite moment of the year was taking my chance and scoring an international half-century [against Ireland],” Cox said. “It’s probably why I got selected to go to New Zealand, which means a lot. On the Lions trip [to Australia] I want to show the selectors I’m capable of playing Test cricket.”Lamb missed the PCA awards ceremony in west London on Thursday night – which are sponsored by Toyota – as she is currently in Colombo, preparing for England’s World Cup fixture against Sri Lanka. She was the leading run-scorer in Lancashire’s Metro Bank Cup triumph, and pipped Nat Sciver-Brunt, Kathryn Bryce and Georgia Elwiss to the award.Lamb said she was “very surprised” to find out she had won after England’s tense win over Bangladesh on Tuesday. “I wasn’t expecting it, but obviously I’m very happy,” she said. “It’s really lovely that my peers have taken the time to recognise my performances this year. It’s such an honour to receive this award… It’s been a very enjoyable 12 months.”Emma Lamb in action for England•ECB/Getty Images

Rehan Ahmed was named men’s Young Player of the Year after scoring five centuries for Leicestershire as they won promotion in the County Championship, while he also impressed for Trent Rockets in the Hundred. Davina Perrin, who scored a stunning 42-ball century in the Hundred’s eliminator, won the women’s award, having also impressed for Birmingham Bears.”I was a bit shocked to be honest,” Perrin said. “There’s been some great performances from young players, especially Ailsa [Lister] and Ella [McCaughan] who have had unbelievable seasons… The biggest thing for me is that I’m maximising my potential and hopefully the England honours will come.”Rehan said that the award “topped off a great season” for him. “My red-ball season was great,” he said. “I want to be a regular in the England [Test] team – it’s more important to me than the white-ball stuff – so being given the opportunity to perform and then repaying the coaches with my form for Leicestershire has been great.”The Outstanding Contribution Award went to Graham Gooch, for his “incredible support of the game” including his donations to the Cricketers’ Trust, while Adil Rashid and Nat Sciver-Brunt won Rado Recognition Awards for their England careers. The ECB’s Special Merit award went to Andrew Flintoff’s BBC series , while the players voted for Ian Blackwell and Gabi Brown as Umpires of the Year.Daryl Mitchell, the PCA’s chief executive, said: “The most prestigious awards ceremony in cricket is always a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our fantastic players who have worked so hard throughout the season. Another enjoyable year… culminated in everybody coming together to congratulate our four main winners at the PCA Awards in partnership with Toyota.”

2025 PCA Awards in partnership with Toyota:

Men’s Player of the Year: Jordan Cox (Shortlisted: Ed Barnard, Joe Root, Dom Sibley)
Women’s Player of the Year: Emma Lamb (Shortlisted: Kathryn Bryce, Georgia Elwiss, Nat Sciver-Brunt)
Men’s Young Player of the Year: Rehan Ahmed (Shortlisted: James Coles, Asa Tribe)
Women’s Young Player of the Year: Davina Perrin (Shortlisted: Alisa Lister, Ella McCaughan)
Outstanding Contribution Award: Graham Gooch
Rado Recognition Awards: Adil Rashid, Nat Sciver-Brunt
ECB Special Merit: Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams
Men’s Umpire of the Year: Ian Blackwell
Women’s Umpire of the Year: Gabi Brown

انتهت منافسات الجولة الثانية من المجموعة الثانية في بطولة كأس العرب 2025 المقامة في دولة قطر منذ قليل.

وحقق منتخب الجزائر، اليوم السبت، الفوز على نظيره البحرين، بنتيجة 5-1، في المباراة التي أقيمت على ملعب خليفة الدولي ضمن منافسات الجولة الثانية من دور المجموعات ببطولة كأس العرب 2025.

طالع| ترتيب مجموعة مصر في كأس العرب بعد فوز الأردن على الكويت

وحقق العراق الفوز على السودان بهدفين مقابل لا شيء، في ختام منافسات المجموعة ليضمن التأهل إلى دور الثمانية.

وبتلك النتائج، يتصدر العراق المجموعة برصيد 6 نقاط، متفوقًا على الجزائر صاحب المركز الثاني برصيد أربع نقاط، بينما السودان في المركز الثالث برصيد نقطة واحدة يليه البحرين بدون نقاط. ترتيب مجموعة الجزائر في كأس العرب بعد الفوز على البحرين

1- العراق 6 نقاط من مباراتين.

2- الجزائر 4 نقاط من مباراتين.

3- السودان نقطة من مباراتين.

4- البحرين دون نقاط من مباراتين.

O.K. everybody—exhale.

The longest game in World Series history is finally over (we double-checked, just to be sure).

After 18 long, grueling, tension-filled innings, the Dodgers scraped and clawed their way to a 6–5 win over the Blue Jays to take a 2–1 lead in the series, with first baseman Freddie Freeman delivering the decisive blow with a walk-off home run.

Freeman, last year’s World Series MVP thanks in part to his historic walk-off grand slam in Game 1, once again played hero in a game nobody who saw it will forget anytime soon.

“To have this happen again a year later, to hit another walk-off, it’s kind of amazing and crazy,” Freeman said afterwards. “I’m just glad we won.”

Monday’s Game 3 tied the mark set by the Dodgers and Red Sox in Game 3 of the 2018 World Series, which Los Angeles also won on a walk-off homer. 

But long before that conclusion, there were what felt like dozens of near-misses, almost-walk-offs and botched opportunities. The two teams combined to leave 37 runners on base. They went 4-for-26 with runners in scoring position. And there were six runners thrown out on the base paths.

Just accounting for the nine extra innings, one team nearly took the lead in at least half a dozen different ways. Here are all the moments that almost provided an “early” ending to an unforgettable Game 3.

Top of the 10th: Davis Schneider gets cut down at home

On a night marked by questionable base running, the Dodgers got extra innings off to an appropriate start by executing a textbook relay from right field to home. Teoscar Hernández made a perfect feed to Tommy Edman, who threw to Will Smith in plenty of time to nab Schneider.

Smith actually got the tag down well before Schneider arrived at home, but was able to gather himself and apply the tag before Schneider got his hand in.

Top of the 12th: Blue Jays leave ‘em loaded

Toronto threatened to take control in the 12th without ever getting the ball out of the infield. Alejandro Kirk walked to lead things off, followed by a failed sacrifice bunt attempt by Myles Straw. Kirk advanced to second on a groundout by Ernie Clement, then Andrés Giménez was intentionally walked to send Schneider to the plate. Schneider then hit a slow roller to Muncy, who opted to try for a force out at third, but the ball arrived too late.

That prompted Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to bring in Clayton Kershaw out of the bullpen, who, after running the count full, got Nathan Lukes to ground out to end the threat.

For Kershaw, who’s retiring at the end of this series, it was the first time in his career he’d ever pitched in extra innings.

Bottom of the 13th: Freddie Freeman nearly does it again

Before we get to Freeman, first, allow us to set the stage. Edman led the inning off with a double, then advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt. That drew the Blue Jays’ infield in and left Alex Call with an opportunity to end the game with a sacrifice fly. Instead, he popped up to shortstop.

As Toronto did four times on Monday, the team opted to intentionally walk Shohei Ohtani, then did the same to Mookie Betts to load the bases for Freeman. Freeman, who hit the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history in Game 1 of last year’s Fall Classic, nearly gave those at Dodger Stadium another one, driving a ball out to the warning track in center field a few feet short of the wall.

“I was just really trying to hit a single there,” Freeman said of the at-bat. “Get a base hit and move on, get this game over with three hours ago.”

Instead, the game pressed on. According to Statcast, the ball had a 103.9 mph exit velocity and a .600 expected batting average. Instead of history, it was simply a loud out.

Bottom of the 14th: Will Smith comes close

If Freeman’s fly out got people on their feet, Smith’s made them fall out of their chairs.

I mean, just look at this bat drop.

Statcast’s tale of the tape: a 101.5 mph exit velocity and a distance of 383 feet. It would have been a home run in exactly one MLB ballpark (Wrigley Field). 

Bottom of the 14th: Max Muncy’s foul ball

This one might not have been all close, but it certainly got the fans off their feet in a hurry.

Had that ball been fair, it would have been a fitting end given Muncy’s role in the longest World Series game of all time. That was Game 3 of the 2018 Fall Classic, when the Dodgers beat the Red Sox, 3–2, in 18 innings thanks to Muncy’s walk-off blast.

Bottom of the 16th: Teoscar Hernández nearly strikes again

By the 16th inning, the charm of a never-ending baseball game seemed to have worn off. There were far more visible empty seats than anyone would have expected in a World Series game, a product of it being nearly midnight and the thought of escaping the Dodger Stadium parking lot surely looming large in the minds of thousands of fans.

Hernández, who opened the scoring in this game with a solo homer in the second inning what felt like 12 days ago, almost brought things to an official end with an opposite field shot that—stop me if you’ve heard this before—died at the warning track.

The fans who’d left early got more time to scamper home to their TVs to watch the ending. The fans still in attendance were sentenced to more baseball.

Bottom of the 17th: Mookie just misses

Betts, who watched Ohtani walk five times on the night, had a chance to call game in the 17th. After roping a ball just foul down the left field line, he ran the count full against Brendon Little, the last man standing in the Toronto bullpen. Instead, he popped up to first base to leave the winning run on second base.

Top of the 18th: Will Klein becomes Houdini

If you hadn’t heard of Klein prior to Game 3, you’d be forgiven. The 25-year-old had made just 14 appearances for the Dodgers during the regular season, spending most of the year in the minors. He was left off Los Angeles’s roster for the first three rounds of the playoffs. And on Monday night, he found himself as the Dodgers’ last bullpen arm standing.

Roberts had used nine relief pitchers before going with Klein for the top of the 15th inning. He proceeded to fire four scoreless innings, throwing 72 pitches (his previous high this season at any level was 45). After walking two batters and allowing them to advance to second and third on a wild pitch, Klein struck out Tyler Heineman to end the threat.

At that point, Game 2 starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto—who threw 105 pitches in a complete game Saturday—was warming up in the bullpen, sending this game careening dangerously close to even more chaos. As it turned out, he would not be needed.

Bottom of the 18th: Freddie Freeman delivers the sequel

On the game’s 609th pitch, Freeman decided enough was enough. He parked a 3–2 sinker from Little over the wall in center field, adding yet another historic October moment in a Hall of Fame career full of them.

Given all the times it seemed like Game 3 was certain to end, and then didn’t, there was an element to the evening that felt like we were being tested, or pranked, or punished, or perhaps all three simultaneously. In the end, though, we were treated to one of the best baseball games of all time, all those teased endings merely laying the groundwork for a final scene straight out of a movie script.

MatériaMais Notícias

De olho em 2026, o Vitória já se movimenta no mercado de transferências para repor algumas saídas e melhorar o elenco em busca de mais tranquilidade na próxima temporada. Por isso, o Lance! lista abaixo tudo o que você precisa saber sobre a situação dos atletas no elenco rubro-negro. Esta matéria está em constante atualização.

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✅ Clique aqui e siga o canal do Leão no WhatsApp para ficar por dentro das últimas notícias

Vale lembrar que o Vitória estreia no dia 10 ou 11 de janeiro em jogo contra o Atlético de Alagoinhas, válido pela primeira rodada do Campeonato Baiano, no Barradão. O Leão também disputa a Copa do Nordeste, Copa do Brasil e Campeonato Brasileiro em 2026.

Contratações do VitóriaAinda nenhuma oficializadaQuem renova?

O Vitória ainda não confirmou nenhuma renovação dos atletas do atual elenco, mas o presidente Fábio Mota já demonstrou interesse em manter peças-chave da equipe que estão na reta final do contrato de empréstimo, como o goleiro Thiago Couto, o zagueiro Lucas Halter, os laterais Ramon e Jamerson, o meia Baralhas e o atacante Erick.

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Jogadores com contrato até dezembro de 2025:

Neste momento, três jogadores têm saída confirmada do Vitória, de acordo com Fábio Mota: Carlinhos, Willian Oliveira e Raúl Cáceres, esses dois últimos por motivos pessoais.

Outra incógnita é em relação aos atletas emprestados, já que alguns podem seguir nos atuais clubes, enquanto outros retornam à Toca do Leão depois de encerrarem o contrato de empréstimo que vai até dezembro de 2025. A tendência é que eles sejam testados nas rodadas iniciais do Campeonato Baiano.

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