Tag Futebol

It’s the first international game in India since the pandemic began, but the usual fanfare will be missing

Deivarayan Muthu and Sruthi Ravindranath02-Feb-2021There was an unmistakable buzz in Chennai during the Pongal festival when , starring Vijay, one of Tamil cinema’s biggest stars, hit the big screens. Theatres were only allowed to open to 50% of their seating capacity as a precaution against Covid-19, but that didn’t dull the usual fanfare: the first show in the city began as early as 4am, with ardent fans queuing up from midnight and unveiling large cut-outs of their hero.The first-day-first-show experience at Chepauk isn’t too different. While it reaches epic proportions when MS Dhoni is around in Chennai Super Kings colours, Test cricket has also historically drawn strong crowds. There was even a decent crowd when Virat Kohli had turned up for an India A fixture here in 2015. This game was originally supposed to take place at the SSN college ground in the outskirts of the city, but once it was moved to the MA Chidambaram Stadium, a few hundreds gathered to watch him train.Related

Chepauk's accidental curator set to roll out pitch with 'English look'

BCCI gives informal nod for spectators at second Test

How good are Anderson and Broad in India?

India's XI – four bowlers or five, and who will replace Jadeja?

About six years later, Kohli is back in town as a world-beater and new dad, and international cricket is set to return to India, but the usual buzz is missing in Chennai. This is because the first Test against England, starting on February 5, will be played entirely behind closed doors despite the Indian government revising its guidelines pertaining to spectators for outdoor sport. The second Test will be opened up to the public, but there will be no first-day-first-show fun.R Bhaskaran, unofficial cobbler of the Super Kings – and at times the India team – has witnessed nearly every match at Chepauk from 1993. But this time, although he has been permitted to work from his pavement on Wallajah Road, he can’t enter the ground to attend to players.”First I was told 50% capacity, so I was a bit happy but then they said no crowds,” Bhaskaran tells ESPNcricinfo. “I haven’t been allowed this time. Whenever there’s a match, it would be like a (festival). Just like how it is around IPL, even a Test match would have a similar atmosphere. This time I would be dealing with my regular customers. There’s no (excitement). Usually fans will start queueing up days before the match day. It is just sad that people can’t watch it at the stadium this time.”Chepauk wears a deserted look three days out of the first India-England Test•Gaurav SundararamanAlong the main Wallajah Road corner is Dhoni Sports, a popular sports goods destination owned by Syed Shahbaz, a former hockey player. His shop has been around for eight years, attracting spectators during the IPL as well as international games, but this time the mood is bleak.”People generally used to start gathering a week before a match,” Shahbaz says. “This is not just for tickets, they just curiously hang around the stadium to get a glimpse of the proceedings. The whole road will seem happening.”It’s totally dead now, there’s no activity. Every market, cinema hall is full, why not the stadium considering it’s an open space? It can make a huge difference to the fans. It would have been good for businesses too if they had allowed [fans].”

****

Around 5km west of Wallajah Road, Washington Sundar had received a warm welcome in Kilpauk, his neighbourhood, after returning from Australia. His homecoming included a special cake topped with a photo of him raising his bat after his debut half-century at the Gabba. Having played a vital role in India’s famous win in Brisbane, the Chennai Corporation named Washington a district election icon.Washington’s father M Sundar, a former Tamil Nadu prospect and long-time coach, watched the tied Test of 1986 and Sunil Gavaskar’s double-hundred against West Indies in 1983, among other games at Chepauk, but under the current circumstances he might not be there for Washington’s potential home debut.”It’s a bit sad, theatres have now opened up to 50% indoors, but this is an outdoor sport, and it’s unfortunate. Chepauk has a rich tradition; [international] cricket is coming back to India and two players from Tamil Nadu [R Ashwin and Washington] are in,” Sundar says. “They [India] are starting a new home season after winning a historic Test in Gabba, and it’s unfortunate that we and their fans can’t see them play from the ground.”A specially made cake welcomes Washington Sundar back to Chennai after his unforgettable Gabba debut•Whiteleaf TalentSundar recalls sweeter memories of watching Washington’s first Ranji Trophy hundred with his family from the stands in 2017.”Washi actually scored his first Ranji hundred at Chepauk. When he was on 30 or 40, I thought it will be good for him if he converts it into a century at his home ground. My whole family was there for the match against Tripura. At the Gabba, he missed a hundred, and here in his first Test at Madas, I’m hoping he can score his first Test hundred.”Siva Ananth, the co-writer of the documentary and Mani Rathnam’s , has also been a regular at Chepauk since returning from the USA in 1997. Ananth agrees it would have been “great to have crowds back”, but nevertheless he’s pleased to see cricket return to Chennai.”Traditionally, Chennai has been one of the oldest cricket-playing cities from the British India times, right? Obviously, it has been in the city’s DNA to play cricket,” Ananth says. “I think one of the standout games [I’ve been to] was the second day of the India-Australia Test match in 2004 when [Virender] Sehwag scored 155 and Shane Warne took his only five-for in India – 6 for 125. You could actually hear the ball hiss when Warne tossed it up, you could see the ball dip, and Sehwag’s innings was also outstanding – I was watching from the pavilion stands and had one of the best seats.”The other was the India-West Indies World Cup match in 2011. I was with a friend, I had to find a (alley) to park the car in Triplicane and run around. There was a cheer going up, and India was batting. We found our seats and sat down. [Sachin] Tendulkar hit the ball to square leg, scored a couple of runs, and got out [three balls later].”There was pin-drop silence. I know there was pin-drop silence because I dropped my cell phone and it sounded like an atom bomb! And that game also featured one of the most beautiful cover-drives by Yuvraj [Singh].”Shane Warne’s only Test-match five-for in India came in Chennai in 2004•Associated PressDuring India’s first Test against England, there will be a different sort of silence, and Aishwarya Haridas, a self-confessed cricket super fan who has hardly missed a game at Chepauk since 2004, says she will miss all the noise and chatter.”The entire stadium atmosphere, Chepauk will always be special, no matter how many stadiums I go to or I will go to,” Aishwarya says. “The Mexican wave, the random hi-fives with people, interacting with other country fans and in this case it’s the Barmy Army. The Chennai crowd always acknowledges the game of both sides equally, no matter which side is winning or losing.”After spotting reports of crowds being allowed for the second Test, she posted a message on a private cricket group on Facebook. “Who’s in for #CricketismAtChepauk for the second INDvENG Test?””You can speak to anyone from the [Chennai] crowd about the game, they will have an opinion,” she says. “You look at a random person you have never met and talk to him or her about the game, they will always have a response. And of course, the knowledgeable Chennai crowd tag has stuck with us since eternity. Stadium experience [at Chepauk] is truly something else.”The Chepauk faithful may have expected a familiar first-day-first-show experience. They’ll have to endure a first day, no show.

The Red Sox may want to consider wearing their Green Monster-themed City Connect uniforms on a full-time basis.

When shortstop Trevor Story punched a ground ball through the infield to drive in the winning run for a 2-1 victory over the Marlins on Friday night, it marked Boston's fifth walk-off win wearing their green uniforms which were just released this season.

The thrilling victory was Boston's 10th walk-off win of the year with half of those coming in their Fenway Greens. Considering they only wear the special uniform during Friday home games, that's a pretty remarkable feat. Plus, each game the Red Sox have won donning the green has come on a walk-off.

After the close win in the series opener against the Marlins, the Red Sox advanced to 67-56 on the year, currently 4.5 games back of the Blue Jays who hold the lead in the AL East. They are in wild-card position, though, currently two games up on the Yankees who hold the final spot and three games in front of the Guardians who sit as the first team out.

Down the stretch, maybe they should bend the rules and rock the Fenway Greens more often.

Baltimore Orioles designated hitter Coby Mayo hit for an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth inning Saturday, but as soon as he found himself safe on base, he was vulnerable again. The hit to the outfield was thrown in as Mayo was attempting to bag a second base, and he was caught in a rundown before he could reach second safely.

Mayo collided with Chicago White Sox infielder Lenyn Sosa, but appeared to try to sell a fielder's interference… or something… by pushing himself into Sosa on the infield grass. Sosa was exasperated, motioning to the umpire that he wasn't at fault with his shoulders shrugged. Sosa then attempted to confront Mayo over the shove after the batter picked himself up off the ground, and Mayo shoved him as he walked back to his own dugout.

Dugouts would come to him, though, with both teams coming into the field to talk things over after the shoves. No further physical expressions would be exchanged, but plenty of words were had.

As he watched the initial shove, White Sox color commentator Dan Plesac was not pleased with what he saw go down.

"Look at that. Mayo the first one to leave the pile. Isn't it funny how that starts? The guy who starts things off is the first one to leave the field. Make an exit, Mr. Mayo. Make an exit," Plesac of Chicago Sports Network said, incensed over the entire situation.

"Look at that! Come on," Plesac said when he saw the base-running blunder in slow motion replay.

It's not the first time the Orioles have been involved in a benches-clearing incident that was really a whole lot of nothing.

The New York Mets celebrated Memorial Day with a walk-off, 2–1 win against the Chicago White Sox at Citi Field, courtesy of a bases-loaded sacrifice fly from Francisco Lindor.

After the win, Lindor was interviewed on the field by SNY's Steve Gelbs. Lindor's teammates attempted to sneak up on him to celebrate with the old fashioned dumping of the sports drink cooler, but the star shortstop caught them in the act.

Instead of giving up on the Gatorade bath, Brandon Nimmo and Brett Baty continued on, prompting Lindor to use Gelbs as a human shield to deflect the incoming water.

Gelbs got drenched by Nimmo and Baty, much to the joy of Lindor who remained relatively dry.

Gelbs was a good sport about it, and was grinning ear-to-ear while complimenting Lindor on his maneuver, saying, "Well played. Well played."

Gelbs later addressed the incident on his own social media, too. "That was cold, Francisco… in more ways than one," he wrote on X.

The Mets trailed 1–0 for much of the game, but rallied late to secure the walk-off win. New York improved to 33–21 on the season and will play again Tuesday in the second game of a three-game set against the White Sox.

Glasgow Rangers head coach Danny Rohl has just over a month to go until he will have the opportunity to make his first signing since arriving at Ibrox to replace Russell Martin.

The German tactician came through the door well after the summer transfer window had been and gone, after sporting director Kevin Thelwell provided Martin with a host of signings.

Rangers, as shown in the graphic above, had a high turnover of players in and out of Ibrox after they failed to win any trophies in the 2024/25 campaign, under Philippe Clement or Barry Ferguson.

Unfortunately, though, Martin was unable to get a tune out of the squad after those changes in the summer and was eventually sacked last month after a run of five wins in 17 games.

With Rohl now in the building, the former Sheffield Wednesday head coach will have time to assess those summer signings and decide where he wants the club to strengthen the squad when the January transfer window opens.

One of those Martin and Thelwell signings whom the manager may deem needs to be replaced in the winter is experienced central midfielder Joe Rothwell.

Why Rangers need to replace Joe Rothwell already

Rangers swooped to sign the 30-year-old midfielder from Premier League side Bournemouth on a permanent deal during the summer window for Martin, who had worked with him on loan at Southampton in the 2023/24 campaign.

Unfortunately, the English lightweight has flopped at Ibrox, on current evidence, and is yet to play a single minute of action in the Scottish Premiership since Rohl came through the door.

He was ill and unavailable for selection against Dundee last time out, but the midfield flop was an unused substitute in the wins over Kilmarnock and Hibernian in the manager’s first two matches in the dugout.

This means that Rangers have now won one of the eight league matches he has played in and won all three of the games that he has not featured in so far this season.

Tackles

7

Bottom 29%

Interceptions

8

Top 29%

Duels won

16

Bottom 27%

Duel success rate

47%

Bottom 37%

Aerial duels won

4

Bottom 29%

Possession won in the final third

1

Bottom 18%

Ball recoveries

22

Bottom 40%

As you can see in the table above, Rothwell has struggled off the ball throughout the Premiership campaign, ranking poorly among his positional peers in the majority of the key defensive metrics, aside from interceptions.

On top of his defensive woes, the Englishman has no goals and one assist in eight appearances in the league, per Sofascore, which shows that he has not offered outstanding quality on the ball to make up for his defensive deficiencies.

This is why Rohl may already be considering replacing Rothwell in the January transfer window, and why the midfielder has been an unused substitute in the last two league games that he has been available for.

Rangers eyeing move for Premiership midfielder

The Scottish Premiership giants may be able to replace the former Bournemouth and Southampton flop amid reported interest in a star who plays in his position.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

According to TEAMtalk, Rangers are one of the clubs exploring the possibility of a deal to snap up Kilmarnock central midfielder David Watson in the January transfer window.

The report claims that the Light Blues are in talks over a possible move for the Scotland U21 international, whose contract is due to expire at the end of the season.

It reveals that Rohl is a big fan of the midfield starlet and wants to add him to his squad in the winter market, with the Gers looking to seal a cut-price deal due to his contract situation.

However, TEAMtalk adds that Hearts, Aberdeen, and unnamed clubs in the English Championship are also keen on signing the £1.5m-rated Kilmarnock star, which means that there is plenty of competition for his signature.

Why Watson would be an upgrade on Rothwell for Rangers

Thelwell could land a huge upgrade on Rothwell for Rohl if he is able to beat the likes of Aberdeen and Hearts to the signing of Watson ahead of the second half of the season.

For a start, the Scotland U21 international is ten years younger than the English flop. He has far more years left ahead of him to develop as a player and offer quality on the pitch for Rangers than Rothwell does.

This also means that there is the potential for his value to grow so that he could be sold on for a profit in the future, like a Hamza Igamane or Calvin Bassey, and that may not be the case with the Bournemouth man, as he is in the latter stages of his career.

In terms of the here and now, Watson could come in as an upgrade on Rothwell from an offensive perspective. The Scottish star has scored three goals in 12 Premiership matches this season, after netting four last term, with the Rangers dud yet to get off the mark at Ibrox.

The Scotland U21 international, who Kilmarnock commentator Andrew Milligan claimed has “no ceiling”, would also come in and offer a huge upgrade on the English flop defensively.

Appearances

12

8

Tackles + interceptions per game

3.1

1.9

Clearances per game

0.9

0.1

Duels won per game

6.0

2.0

Ground duel success rate

51%

46%

Fouls won per game

2.3

0.1

Blocks per game

0.5

0.1

As you can see in the table above, Watson has excelled out of possession in comparison to Rothwell in the 2025/26 campaign, making far more defensive contributions at a more efficient rate.

It is, therefore, easy to understand why Rohl is such a big fan of the Kilmarnock star and why he wants Thelwell to get a deal over the line for him when the January transfer window opens.

Watson’s offensive and defensive statistics suggest that he would arrive at Ibrox as a huge upgrade on Rothwell, who has struggled since his move to the club, and provide the likes of Connor Barron, Nico Raskin, and Mo Diomande with genuine competition for the midfield spots.

Thelwell let Rangers star go for £0, now he'd walk into the XI over Aasgaard

This former Rangers star who was released by Kevin Thelwell would walk into the current team over Thelo Aasgaard.

ByDan Emery Nov 18, 2025

In stark contrast to this time last international break, the mood around Arsenal is incredibly positive.

Mikel Arteta’s side are unbeaten in the Champions League, and more importantly than that, sit atop the Premier League table a point clear of Liverpool.

Moreover, it’s not as if the Gunners have ground their way to the top, as they have not only conceded fewer goals but also scored one more than the Reds.

Mikel Arteta has his side playing fun, exciting football. Yet, even though you might expect Martin Odegaard or Eberechi Eze to be their most creative players, it’s someone else who holds that title at the moment – someone far more surprising.

Odegaard vs Eze last season

Before getting to the player currently leading the team in a creative sense this season, it’s worth looking back at how the club’s chief creators got on last year.

Eze was still plying his trade with Crystal Palace at the time, and ended up having the season of his life, scoring 14 goals and providing 11 assists in 43 appearances.

In contrast, Odegaard was only able to amass a tally of six goals and 12 assists in 45 appearances for the Gunners, in a season in which some in the fan base felt like he underachieved.

However, when taking a look at their underlying numbers from last season, which midfielder ends up looking like the better creator?

Well, it might come as something of a surprise to many, given the way their respective campaigns were viewed, but when it comes to purely creative metrics, it’s the Norwegian who came out on top last year.

Progressive Passes

9.11

3.37

Progressive Carries

3.54

2.40

Expected Assists

0.25

0.16

Key Passes

2.36

2.01

Passes into the Final Third

4.61

1.70

Passes into the Penalty Area

2.85

1.35

Shot-Creating Actions

4.73

4.69

Goal-Creating Actions

0.69

0.35

Successful Take-Ons

0.95

2.33

For example, across all competitions, he performed better in various aspects, including progressive passes and carries, expected assists, passes into the penalty area, key passes, and more, all per 90.

Now, there are likely a couple of reasons why he performed so much better than the Englishman, such as the team they both played for and the fact that that Oliver Glasner relied on his former star to be more of a goalscorer. However, these numbers still prove Odegaard is a creative tour de force.

With all that said, neither he nor Eze top the list of creative Arsenal players this season.

Arsenal's most creative player this season

So, with Eze and Odegaard already out of the running, you might have expected Bukayo Saka to be Arsenal’s most creative player this season, or maybe even Noni Madueke before he went down injured.

Chalkboard

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

However, you’d once again be wrong. Moreover, even though Declan Rice tops the list for chances created in the Premier League, that is primarily down to his set-pieces.

With all that said, who has been Arteta’s chief creator this season?

Surprisingly, it’s been Jurrien Timber, who, according to Squawka, has created the most chances from open play in the entire team this season, clocking up eight chances at the time of writing.

The Gunners’ “game-changing signing,” as dubbed by respected analyst Ben Mattinson, has been exactly that so far this season, marrying his most monstrous defensive displays with this newfound creativity.

Perhaps the best display of this came in the game against Newcastle United, as he not only kept the Toon quiet on his side of the pitch but also continuously got forward to help create chances for his team.

It’s not just the eye test where the Dutchman impresses, though, as his underlying numbers really help to demonstrate just how complete he is as a player.

Goals

0.34

Top 2%

Goals + Assists

0.52

Top 2%

Non-Penalty Goals

0.34

Top 2%

xG: Expected Goals

0.31

Top 2%

npxG: Non-Penalty xG

0.31

Top 2%

Progressive Passes

6.38

Top 2%

Shots on Target

0.86

Top 2%

Passes into Penalty Area

2.07

Top 2%

Through Balls

0.86

Top 2%

Shot-Creating Actions

3.28

Top 2%

SCA (Shot)

0.69

Top 2%

GCA (Shot)

0.17

Top 2%

GCA (Fouls Drawn)

0.17

Top 2%

Tackles Won

2.41

Top 2%

Tackles (Mid 3rd)

1.55

Top 2%

Tackles (Att 3rd)

1.03

Top 2%

Tkl+Int

5.34

Top 2%

Touches (Att 3rd)

23.10

Top 2%

Penalty Kicks Won

0.17

Top 2%

According to FBref, he sits in the top 2% of full-backs in the Premier League for actual and expected non-penalty goals, shot-creating actions, progressive passes and tackles, the top 7% for total shots and pass completion, the top 11% for touches in the opposition’s penalty area and more, all per 90.

Ultimately, even though he doesn’t get quite as much attention as some of the other stars in the team, Timber is undoubtedly one of Arsenal’s most important and now creative players.

Arsenal can fix Odegaard blow by starting their "best attacker" in new role

The exceptional Arsenal star can help solve Mikel Arteta’s Martin Odegaard problem by playing in a new position.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Oct 9, 2025