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Cristiano Ronaldo was left out from Al-Nassr's matchday squad for the trip to Istiklol in Wednesday's AFC Champions League Two encounter, with fans served a reminder that the Portuguese icon is unlikely to play much part in Asia's second-tier continental competition. In Ronaldo's absence, Joao Felix led the charge and starred in an emphatic 4-0 win, continuing Al-Nassr's brilliant start to the season.

Al-Nassr get the job done in Ronaldo's absence

Saudi Arabian heavyweights Al-Nassr travelled to Tajikistan on Wednesday to take on Istiklol at the Markazii Jumhuriyavii Stadium for an AFC Champions League Two encounter. The visitors came away with a convincing 4-0 win and did so without the services of club talisman Ronaldo, who was left out of the matchday squad. 

Head coach Jorge Jesus decided to field a heavily-rotated side for the game, resting the likes of Sadio Mane and Inigo Martinez. What's more, Kingsley Coman, like Ronaldo, was not in the matchday squad. However, that didn't put a spanner in Al-Nassr's works.

Felix, who has been in scintillating form of late, opened the scoring in the 12th minute, firing a perfect penalty past the hapless Istiklol goalkeeper Nikola Stosic. Mohamed Simakan, formerly of Bundesliga side RB Leipzig, doubled the lead just five minutes from the end of first half, ensuring the visitors took a commanding 2-0 lead into the break. 

For long stretches of the second half, Jesus’ men drifted through the game without ever hitting top speed. However, the introductions of Sadio Mane and Ayman Yahya piled further misery on to the hosts. The ex-Southampton, Liverpool, and Bayern Munich forward converted Felix's assist to put the game to bed in the 84th minute, and before full-time Saudi Arabia international Yahya put the cherry on top of a dazzling performance with a stoppage-time goal.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportWhy doesn't Ronaldo play in AFC Champions League Two?

Even though Ronaldo will turn 41 in a few months time, he continues to demand the absolute best from himself and his counterparts. After an underwhelming 2024-25 season, during which Al-Nassr finished third in the Saudi Pro League, they could only manage to earn a place in the AFC Champions League Two, which is a second-tier continental competition in Asia, behind the more famous and prestigious AFC Champions League. 

So far, Al-Nassr have played five group stage matches in the competition, winning all five. Prior to their trip to Istiklol in Tajikistan, they had already travelled to face FC Goa in India and Al-Zawraa in Iraq. Yet despite the flawless start, the all-time great has not been included in a single matchday squad in the AFC Champions League Two this season. With that in mind, it appears unlikely he will feature in the final group fixture against Al-Zawraa next month.

"I thought this was the best time to rest Cristiano Ronaldo," head coach Jesus said last month ahead of an AFC Champions League Two game. "He’s currently 40 years old, and we fear he might suffer injuries, that’s why I decided to exclude him.

"For matches outside Saudi Arabia, we decided to rest Ronaldo. We have to make choices and we’ve decided to leave him in Riyadh to prepare for the upcoming matches… We need to preserve his fitness."

Felix has become the new star of Al-Nassr

sAfter experiencing failure at Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, and AC Milan, former Benfica star boy Felix arrived at Al-Nassr with hopes of reigniting his once-promising football career. The 26-year-old could have hardly hoped for a better start. With 14 strikes in 15 games, he has rediscovered his goal-scoring hunger and has even found his team-mate Ronaldo trailing him in the scoring charts across all competitions.

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AFPWorld Cup win the ideal endgame for Ronaldo

In an illustrious career spanning more than two decades, Ronaldo has won it all. Yet his relentless hunger still sets him apart – making him invaluable not only in the opposition box, but also as a leader whose elite mentality elevates everyone around him.

However, the World Cup continues to elude him. Even though he has admitted that lifting the world's greatest trophy won't change his legacy one bit, it goes without saying that he is ultra-motivated to lay his hands on the global crown. It wouldn't get any better than if he could score his 1,000th professional goal while leading Portugal's cause next year.

The Giants announced on Monday morning that they have fired manager Bob Melvin. San Francisco missed the playoffs after being just two games back from the Cincinnati Reds, who took the final NL wild-card spot.

Melvin led the Giants for two seasons, finishing his tenure there with a 134-136 record. The Giants went 81-81 in the 2025 season. The team's president of baseball operations Buster Posey exercised Melvin's club option for the 2026 season, but that won't be necessary now that he's been fired.

"After meeting with ownership, I met with Bob today to inform him of my decision,” Posey said in a statement. "On behalf of the organization, I want to express my appreciation to Bob for his dedication, professionalism, and class. I wish him all the best.

“After careful evaluation, we determined that making a change in leadership was in the best interest of the team. The last couple of months have been both disappointing and frustrating for all of us, and we did not perform up to our standards. We now turn our focus to identifying a new leader to guide us forward.”

This move doesn't come as a huge surprise as there was uncertainty surrounding Melvin's future in San Francisco. After the Giants' final season game on Sunday, which was a 4-0 win over the Rockies, reporters asked Melvin if he had been given an idea about his future with the team. He bluntly said "no."

“It is what it is,” Melvin said. “We’ll see what the next day brings.”

Additionally, Giants general manager Zack Minasian seemed to keep the team's options open regarding a coaching change when he was asked about it last week.

"As the season ends, we’ll evaluate the team, evaluate our system and our options going forward,” Minasian said last Wednesday, via MLB.com.

The Giants had a lot of pressure on their shoulders this season to make the postseason for the first time since 2021. The team acquired Rafael Devers in a surprising trade back in June, and the expectations for San Francisco grew even more. But, the team only went 40-50 since adding Devers to the roster. It seems like the Giants didn't play up to the standard the organization hoped for.

Khurram Shahzad chimes in with dynamic six-for

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Worcestershire 333 (Brookes 140, D’Oliveira 57) and 31 for 0 (Roderick 16*, Libby 15*) lead Warwickshire 184 (Smith 68, Webster 57, Shahzad 6-42) by 180 runsEthan Brookes’ dazzling century and Khurram Shahzad’s dynamic six-for left Worcestershire pressing for a much-needed Rothesay County Championship win over Warwickshire at Edgbaston.Brookes’ career-best 140 off 169 balls against the club that released him lifted Worcestershire’s first innings to 333 before Shahzad took 6 for 42 to send the home side all out for 184. Kai Smith struck 68 (100) and Beau Webster 57 (84) to narrowly avert the follow on but Worcestershire closed the second day on 31 without loss, 180 ahead.Bottom of Division One, Brett D’Oliveira’s side is strongly-placed to complete a victory that would open the survival race right up – and have nerves jangling at a few clubs above them.Worcestershire resumed on the second morning on 262 for 8 with Brookes on 80 and the 24-year-old showed no nerves en route to a poignant century at his former home ground. His century, warmly applauded by supporters of both teams, was reached with a six and he went on to strike eight sixes – the second most in an innings by a Worcestershire batter, behind only Graeme Hick’s 11 against Somerset at Taunton in 1988.Brookes and Adam Finch added 88 before the former fell at the end of a strange Dan Mousley over which included four off-side wides, two leg-side sixes, a dot ball and a wicket. Brookes eventually skied the spinner and, two balls later, Finch fell lbw to Tazeem Ali.Warwickshire’s top order was then blown away by Shahzad’s opening burst of 6-2-7-3. Rob Yates left one that knocked out off-stump, Mousley edged behind and Alex Davies dragged on a pull to bag a 25-ball duck.Shahzad had Zen Malik caught at first slip and when Ed Barnard offered Finch the simplest return catch in this fixture since John Cuffe dismissed Billy Quaife at Dudley in 1912, it was 66 for 5.Webster and Smith added 49 but the former’s attempt to bully debutant spinner Bertie Foreman backfired when he chipped to mid-off. After Corey Rocchiccioli pulled Shahzad to deep square and Bamber was lbw, Warwickshire’s last two wickets needed to find 31 to avoid the follow on.Smith calmly and capably ensured they did. He reached an 88-ball half-century with a six pulled off Ben Allison and showed a selectivity of stroke which some of his more experienced team-mates might seek to emulate in the second innings.The follow on avoided by one run, Smith nicked a waft at Finch and Olly Hannon-Dalby drove a full toss to extra cover four balls later. That left Worcestershire 17 overs batting and they quietly increased their advantage – and their chances of recording a first Championship win over Warwickshire in 22 attempts since 2000 and their first at Edgbaston since 1993.

The fast bowler and his Canterbury team-mate Mitch Hay could make their Test debuts in the second Test against West Indies

Deivarayan Muthu06-Dec-20251:57

Latham: Can’t fault the effort when we were a couple of bowlers down

Uncapped fast bowler Michael Rae has been called up to New Zealand’s Test squad for the second match against West Indies in Wellington. Rae, 30, earned his maiden New Zealand call-up after Matt Henry (calf) and Nathan Smith (side) suffered injuries during the first Test in Christchurch.Both Henry and Smith are doubtful for the second Test, especially considering the quick turnaround between the first two games. The Wellington Test will begin on December 10, four days after the end of the Christchurch Test. Injuries to Henry and Smith reduced New Zealand’s attack to two frontline seamers and left them shouldering a heavy workload.Rae and Blair Tickner, who was the reserve fast bowler in Christchurch, could be in contention for the XI in Wellington.Rae started the second round of the Plunket Shield for Canterbury and took 3 for 65 in the first innings against Central Districts in Napier before he sat out of the second innings. Fraser Sheat replaced Rae in the second innings as the latter prepares for a potential Test debut.Related

• Henry, Santner, Nathan Smith ruled out of rest of West Indies Test series

• Blundell, Smith, Henry sustain injuries in Christchurch; Jamieson returns to Plunket Shield

At 6 feet 6 inches, Rae could give New Zealand’s attack a point of difference and replicate shifts that his Canterbury team-mate Kyle Jamieson put in for New Zealand in Test cricket. Like Jamieson, Rae is also capable of bowling fuller lengths and swinging the new ball.Along with Jamieson, Henry Shipley and Zak Foulkes, Rae has been part of a tall, funky Canterbury attack.”It’s got to be one of the tallest bowling attacks in the world,” Paul Wiseman, current Black Caps talent manager and former spinner, told ESPNcricinfo last year. “Jamieson at 6’8” and then you also have Michael Rae, who is probably 6’6”, and then the others are about 6’5”. Henners [Matt Henry] is shorter, but he’s a genius. I don’t know if we can get all those guys on the park at the same time but it will be a real test for any batter, I think. They are an exciting group and it would be great to see all of them fit in at the same time.”Rae, with his retro headband, has been a regular in domestic cricket in recent years. He has played 69 first-class matches so far, taking 205 wickets at an average of 33.06, including three five-wicket hauls.He also has some first-class exposure outside of New Zealand, having played five games for Warwickshire in county cricket, claiming 14 wickets at an average of 30.28. Gavin Larsen, the current New Zealand selection manager, has tracked Rae’s progress closely both at New Zealand domestic cricket and Warwickshire. When he was with Otago, he had also worked with current New Zealand coach Rob Walter.Michael Rae, in action, with his retro headband on•Getty Images

New Zealand’s team management will also carefully monitor the progress of Jamieson, who returned to the Plunket Shield for the ongoing round, and tearaway Ben Sears, who is currently playing white-ball club cricket in Melbourne. Sears, who is also prone to injuries, will not be rushed back to red-ball cricket.”I’d say he’s doubtful [for red-ball cricket] given he is going through more of a white-ball stepping stone over in club cricket in Melbourne,” New Zealand bowling coach Jacob Oram said on Friday. “Just to get him some cricket on grass, good facilities, and a good training environment around him, which he’s got over there with a contact we had internally here. Speaking to Ben the other day, I know that he’s feeling really good about his bowling but the Test series will be a bridge too far for sure.”With Tom Blundell sidelined from the Wellington Test, with a hamstring injury, Mitch Hay is poised to make his debut and take over the gloves from captain Tom Latham, who kept wicket across both innings in Christchurch in addition to scoring 145 in New Zealand’s second innings.”It’s been a long shift. I don’t think I’ve done that many amount of overs behind the stumps before,” Latham said on Saturday. “Usually 50 [overs] is about my cap, but obviously not ideal losing Tommy either, but giving to the group as much as you can in a role that I’m used to keeping. So from a familiarity point of view it was fine, just the duration was a little bit more than I’m used to.”In Blundell’s absence, Daryl Mitchell stepped in as a substitute and put in a long fielding shift in the slips though he hadn’t fully recovered from a groin injury. Mitchell Santner, too, was not available for selection in Christchurch because of his own groin injury.

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Quase três semanas após a lesão ligamentar sofrida por Maycon, o técnico António Oliveira ainda busca um substituto para o camisa 7 no Corinthians.

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➡️A boa do Lance! Betting: vamos dobrar seu primeiro depósito, até R$200! Basta abrir sua conta!

O meio-campo do Corinthians mais uma vez foi o setor que recebeu críticas na vitória por 2 a 0 sobre o Nacional-PAR, pela Libertadores, e António Oliveira ainda não encontrou a formação ideal sem Maycon.

➡️ Siga o Lance! Corinthians no WhatsApp e acompanhe todas as notícias do Timão

– Temos sido castigados com muitas lesões, principalmente no meio-campo. Temos ausência de opções, uma delas, que era extremamente importante, não retorna nesta temporada. Quero deixar um abraço ao Maycon, é um dos jogadores mais inteligentes que já treinei. Tem um entendimento do jogo muito acima da média, é um jogador com um cultura tática muito grande – revelou o treinador corintiano durante coleitva.

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No duelo contra o Nacional, além de Maycon, António Oliveira não contou com Fausto Vera, Rodrigo Garro, Matheus Araújo e Raniele. Sem o quinteto, o treinador português optou por uma formação com Paulinho, Bidon e Biro.

➡️ Veja tabela com datas e horários de todos os jogos da Sul-Americana

MAYCON SEGUE NO TIMÃO?

O prazo de recuperação para a lesão de Maycon é de nove meses, e como o meia está emprestado ao Corinthians pelo Shakhtar Donetsk até o final da temporada, o camisa 7 pode não atuar mais pelo clube brasileiro,

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António OliveiraCorinthiansMaycon de Andrade Barberan

Predicting what's about to happen in a sporting event has become more commonplace during live broadcasts in recent years because it's objectively awesome when those predictions come true. Greg Amsinger of MLB Network's is the latest voice to prove prophetic as he saw Toronto Blue Jays leadoff man George Springer's first inning homer coming a mile away.

Here's Amsinger during Springer's at-bat. Amsinger pointed out that Springer has hit more leadoff homers than everyone in baseball history not named Rickey Henderson to explain his hunch. Then he went a step further and said that he only wanted credit for predicting the outfielder would go deep on Tuesday if Springer accomplished the feat in his first attempt.

As soon as those words left Amsinger's mouth, Springer connected with a deep drive to left field.

Amsinger really reveled in the moment, jokingly saying that it's his mission to teach baseball and conducting himself as though he had a sixth sense.

His desk partner Dan Pleasac, knowing he'd be hearing about this for a while, simply wandered away.

Great television.

Manchester City are constantly on the lookout for top talent and could now be set to pursue another exciting star who could arrive at the Etihad Stadium.

Man City looking to build Premier League title challenge

Despite Arsenal’s bold start to the season, Premier League fans would be naive to rule out the notion of Pep Guardiola taking his side to another title, and their tendency to kick on once the second period of the campaign kicks off will linger in the memory of their rivals.

Ultimately, January will be a decisive month as clubs look to recruit the missing pieces of their respective jigsaws to make the difference. Last year, the likes of Omar Marmoush were brought in to aid a top-four finish, and few would bet against another few shrewd additions to sharpen up their bid for silverware.

Peaks and troughs will happen between now and that point, meaning signings are needed to pick up the slack, and Manchester City are reportedly making enquiries to sign FC Koln winger Said El Mana, deemed to be one of Europe’s most direct wingers at this moment in time.

Guardiola is also personally keen on a move for Sporting midfielder Morten Hjulmand, though his side will need to fight off competition from Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur for the Denmark international.

Bernardo Silva and company have delivered countlessly over the years, though they will one day need to move on, leaving the Citizens with work to do in identifying long-term successors across key positions.

While that won’t be easy, their recruitment team are up there with the best around, and they may now be plotting a dramatic 2026 move for a star who could be a future dime at the Etihad Stadium.

Man City plot Lennart Karl move after scouting mission

According to CaughtOffside, Manchester City are plotting a potential move for Bayern Munich sensation Lennart Karl after sending scouts to watch him in action for the German giants.

The 17-year-old has shot to prominence and could command a transfer fee of just under £70 million, albeit Arsenal and Chelsea are also keeping close tabs on his situation.

Making 11 appearances this season, he has scored twice and delivered an assist against Hoffenheim and he appears to be thriving under the stewardship of Vincent Kompany, with Fotmob showing he has completed four dribbles so far in the German top-flight.

Earlier this year, Karl signed a new contract until the summer of 2028, meaning Bayern have leverage over his situation and could utilise their position to block any incoming offers.

With the summer looking the most likely time for a bidding war, the notion of ‘serious approaches’ from England could begin to take place, leaving the youngster with a huge decision in weighing up where best to continue his development.

Ultimately, his choice may boil down to game time. Manchester City are a breeding ground for elite talent, but they face stiff competition to push this one over the line.