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Manchester United’s work in the transfer market over the last couple of months has been hugely directed towards the central midfield department to bolster the options at Ruben Amorim’s disposal.

Other areas of the pitch have previously been improved by the hierarchy, with the attacking department transformed during the summer transfer window.

Over £200m was spent on new talent in the final third, with Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko tasked with leading the Red Devils up the Premier League table in 2025/26.

A new goalkeeper was also firmly on the agenda, but Senne Lammens’ arrival from Royal Antwerp has ended the need for added reinforcements between the sticks.

As a result, the midfield department remains the last one that needs work conducting to it, which has seen various players being touted with a move to Old Trafford in January.

The latest on Man Utd’s hunt for a new midfielder in January

Elliot Anderson has been United’s most talked-about target over the last couple of days, with the Englishman firmly in their sights ahead of the January window.

The 23-year-old has starred for Nottingham Forest over the last couple of months, even becoming a full England international as a result of his tremendous rise to stardom.

However, Amorim’s side have been quoted a fee in the region of £100m for his signature at present, but it’s unclear if the hierarchy would be willing to pay such a fee in the winter window.

He’s not the only player in their sights at present, with Portuguese international Ruben Neves a player they’re considering, according to one Spanish outlet.

Their report claims that the Red Devils have already made an approach to Al Hilal over a deal for the 28-year-old, who wants to return to the Premier League after previously playing for Wolves.

It also states that Newcastle United are also in the race for his signature, but the player hasn’t currently given his preference over which team he would want to join this winter.

How Ruben Neves compares to Elliot Anderson

Given his displays in the Premier League this season, many United fans will have Anderson as their top target this January – especially after his display against them earlier this month.

The 23-year-old featured for the entire contest at the City Ground, creating three chances and completing 100% of the dribbles he attempted – subsequently showcasing his talents in possession.

Without the ball, he was just as impressive, as seen by his 100% tackle success rate and 14 recoveries made – with the latter the highest of any player on the pitch.

He’s featured in every minute of the Premier League campaign for the Reds to date, undoubtedly being one of their key men, with the £100m price tag reflecting his importance to Sean Dyche’s men.

The Red Devils will have to match such a few to prise him away, but the hierarchy will no doubt be targeting other alternatives to try and improve the midfield department.

Neves is just one player who is on their radar, with the 28-year-old potentially offering a more experienced and cheaper option for Amorim’s current squad.

He made 177 appearances for Wolves before his switch to join Al Hilal, but could be available for as little as £20m this summer, with the player himself open to a return to England.

His stats from the Saudi Pro League this season showcase his talents, certainly backing up the praise he’s received from one analyst in the last few years.

Neves has completed 91% of the passes he’s attempted, subsequently creating 1.4 chances per 90 – which has led Raj Chohan to label him as “the most underrated player in world football”.

The former Wolves star has also averaged 97 touches per 90 this season, whilst being dispossessed zero times in his eight league appearances this campaign – further showcasing his talents in possession.

Without the ball, Neves has been just as impressive in recent months, subsequently winning 59% of his duels per 90, whilst also making 5.1 recoveries per 90 at present.

His box-to-box nature could allow Amorim’s men to finally end their pursuit for a new number six, which could see Anderson sounded out until the summer at least.

Neves’ Portuguese compatriot Bruno Fernandes is already one of the starting midfielders in the squad, with the pair able to take the club to the next level if they can replicate their success at international level.

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By
Joe Nuttall

Nov 20, 2025

Everton need to win against Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

It’s a strange thing to say, almost. Clubs seek victory each time they enter the field, but after just one win across seven recent top-flight outings, David Moyes’ side need to return to form at the Hill Dickinson and pause for the November international break on a high.

Crucial in achieving this will be the availability of talisman Iliman Ndiaye, who was withdrawn after an hour against Sunderland on Monday evening with a suspected knock, limping off the field.

The latest on Iliman Ndiaye's fitness

In short, Ndiaye has been cleared to play. The Senegalese winger has been nothing short of brilliant this season, with his return of four goals and an assist across ten matches.

But that hardly paints the full picture. It was the goal that counted at the Stadium of Light, but the manner in which the 25-year-old skipped his way into the box, wrongfooted one man, two, and then struck so sweetly past Robin Roefs, who was not wrongfooted but frozen in place.

He’s fast, furious and clever in his decision-making. So guileful. There has been concern that he will sit this one out, but Moyes revealed on Friday morning that the winger had trained as usual and is ready to play.

Given that Moyes has been so reluctant to start the 19-year-old Tyler Dibling this season, Ndiaye’s availability is crucial, not least because Fulham are a resilient and well-structured outfit, and his maverick nature could unlock that backline.

However, he’s not the only one who has the skillset to shine. Pitted against Everton at the Hill Dickinson will be their former star Alex Iwobi, and Moyes has found the Toffees’ new version this season.

Moyes must unleash Everton's new Iwobi

Iwobi was a trusty servant across his four years on Merseyside, and it was under Frank Lampard’s wing that he was resfashioned from an electric winger into a robust central midfielder.

Here the Nigerian’s creativity has been allowed to flourish, hitting 15 goal involvements in the league last year. Everton have missed this kind of player, but in Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Moyes might have signed the solution.

Dewsbury-Hall, 27, joined the club from Chelsea for a £28m fee this summer and he has impressed across his nine Premier League starts, scoring one goal, assisting one more, and creating four big chances. Sofascore record that he won 55% of his ground duels and completed 71% of his dribbles, too.

This is a complete midfielder, and while he doesn’t shirk from defensive responsibilities, Dewsbury-Hall’s bread and butter is his passing, and this makes him the perfect solvent of Iwobi’s talent, for he could overpower him in his number ten role.

The pair are considered statistically similar players in the Premier League this season by data-led platform FBref, and the £90k-per-week Dewsbury-Hall could now prove his worth by stepping up and leading the Toffees toward three points.

Playing balls in behind is Dewsbury-Hall’s speciality. He has the athleticism to dribble the ball forward, but is designated as the Blues’ conduit between midfield and attack, passing through the spaces and creating for his teammates.

Iwobi has probably enjoyed the better season so far, as the statistics will tell you above, but this is a chance for Everton’s summer recruit to properly announce himself and become the “revelation” that former boss Brendan Rodgers said he was at Leicester City.

Fulham are a tough team, and they thrashed lowly Wolves last weekend after skidding to four successive defeats. One point and one place behind Moyes’ side, they will be hungry to cause an upset.

If Dewsbury-Hall turns up, he could not only stand out and overshadow his opposite number in Iwobi but also take Everton back into the win column.

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By
Angus Sinclair

Nov 7, 2025

Ten New Zealand internationals have been named and will hope to further their credentials under coach Daniel Flynn

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Aug-2025Nick Kelly and Joe Carter will captain a young New Zealand A squad touring South Africa this month, with the team set to play three one-dayers and two four-day matches.Kelly, who will take charge of the white-ball side, and Carter, set to lead in the red-ball fixtures, head a 15-player squad with an average age of just 25. The squad includes ten New Zealand internationals.Among the most notable names are Muhammad Abbas, Zak Foulkes, Mitch Hay, Bevon Jacobs, and Rhys Mariu – all of whom have impressed on the international stage over the past six months.Related

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Foulkes starred on Test debut in Zimbabwe, taking a record-breaking 9 for 75 – the best figures by a New Zealander on debut. Abbas set a record in March for the fastest half-century on ODI debut, smashing one in 26 balls against Pakistan.Wicketkeeper-batter Hay was a regular feature in New Zealand’s white-ball squads last summer, setting a T20I world record with six dismissals in a single innings and rescuing New Zealand with an unbeaten 99 in an ODI against Pakistan in Hamilton.Jacobs and Mariu have both impressed in limited international appearances, with Jacobs hitting an unbeaten 44 on T20I debut and Mariu scoring an ODI fifty in just his second game.Two changes have been made from the New Zealand A squad that toured Bangladesh earlier this year, with Jacobs and Test quick Matt Fisher coming in. Auckland pacer Simon Keene and Jacobs are the only players in the squad yet to appear for New Zealand A.Joe Carter will lead in the red-ball fixtures•Mallikarjuna/KSCAKeene, 22, has impressed in domestic cricket with a first-class century and three five-wicket hauls in just 21 matches for Auckland.One player missing from the squad is Northern Districts allrounder Kristian Clarke, who was unavailable for selection after suffering a side strain during a recent New Zealand A camp.The team will be coached by Northern Districts assistant coach Daniel Flynn, who takes on the head coach role for the first time. He will be supported by NZC high-performance coaches Bob Carter and Graeme Aldridge.Flynn, a former international himself, is relishing the opportunity to lead a side filled with both emerging and established talent.”It’s an exciting blend,” Flynn said. “We have guys who’ve already had a taste of international cricket, and experienced domestic cricketers who are trying to push their case for that next level. “While development is a key focus, Flynn stressed that the team is also heading to South Africa with a strong emphasis on performance. “We’re obviously going there to perform and win games of cricket,” he said. “But we’re also conscious of balancing that with the development of the guys and the opportunity the tour presents for them.”The squad departs for South Africa on August 24, with the tour set to begin on Saturday, August 30.New Zealand A squad: Muhammad Abbas, Adithya Ashok, Joe Carter (red-ball captain), Josh Clarkson, Matt Fisher, Zak Foulkes, Mitch Hay, Curtis Heaphy, Bevon Jacobs, Simon Keene, Nick Kelly (white-ball captain), Jayden Lennox, Ben Lister, Rhys Mariu, Dale Phillips.

He had a couple of lives, on 61 and 98, but Labuschagne played with impressive fluency against Tasmania

AAP06-Oct-2025Marnus Labuschagne credited Steve Smith’s influence for helping him rebuild his game after he was dropped from the Australian Test team.Labuschagne took a major step towards reclaiming his berth for the first Ashes Test by top-scoring for Queensland on Monday in their Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania at Allan Border Field.Related

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While his 160 was not perfect, Labuschagne clearly won round one of the informal Shield bat-off for top-order spots ahead of the Ashes opener from November 21 in Perth.After a mammoth first innings of 612, Queensland were well-placed at stumps on day three, with Tasmania 62 for 1 in their second innings and trailling by 171.Labuschagne was dropped for the Test series in the West Indies after Australia’s World Test Championship final defeat to South Africa in June. While he starred in the Bulls’ Shield opener, on the other side of the country incumbent Test opener Sam Konstas notably failed again for NSW in their match against WA.Labuschagne said after Monday’s play that Smith had loomed large in his thinking after he lost his Test berth.”It’s always nice to score a hundred and to get the team in a position where we can win the game on day four, it’s always a good thing,” Labuschagne said. “I felt good out there. It felt like I was reading the conditions well. I took the game on at certain times.”I feel like I’ve really stripped it back and my focus is just scoring runs – it’s not really too technical … just what I need out there to score runs. The nice thing is, over the last six or seven years, I’ve played with one of the best players in the world and learned a lot from him.”So having a technique that’s adjustable and something that I can just use, rather than work out what’s the exact, perfect way to play – just going back to find a way to score runs.”Labuschagne also scored a domestic one-day century last month.National selector George Bailey was present in Brisbane as Labuschagne flourished after taking 12 balls to get off the mark.His big innings was not flawless – he was dropped on 61 and nearly blew his century with a wild swipe on 98. Labuschagne went down the wicket to spinner Nivethan Radhakrishnan and wicketkeeper Jake Doran could not take the chance. It was either a dropped catch or a missed stumping. The ball ricocheted off Doran’s glove and landed clear of Jackson Bird at first slip.Soon afterwards, Labuschagne brought up his 33rd first-class century with an all-run four. Labuschagne hit 17 fours and two sixes and only faced 206 deliveries.Queensland took control with their huge first innings, with opener Matt Renshaw also putting his hand up for a Test recall and current opener Usman Khawaja impressing.The pick of the Tasmanian attack was legspinner Nikhil Chaudhary, the Indian-born allrounder who plays for the Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL. Making his first-class debut, he finished with 5 for 108.He found out only two days before the match that he was playing. “Nothing can get better than having a five-for on debut,” Chaudhary said.

The success hasn’t always followed, but West Ham United have had some sensational players represent them in the modern era.

For example, while he ended up leaving for another London side, Declan Rice was unreal for the Hammers, making 245 appearances and captaining them to Conference League glory.

However, there is only really one player in the current side who can be classed as a legend: Jarrod Bowen.

The former Hull City star is the talisman and beating heart of the team, but in good news, there might now be another player on his way to becoming just as, if not more important to West Ham and Nuno Espírito Santo than Bowen.

Bowen's start to the season

While the rest of the team struggled last season, Bowen was once again the standout player and one of the very best attackers in the entire league.

In his 36 appearances across all competitions, totalling 3148 minutes, the England international scored 14 goals and provided ten assists.

That came out to a brilliant average of a goal involvement every 1.5 games, or every 131.16 minutes.

Therefore, while there was plenty of discussion over how the rest of the team would fare this season, fans and pundits alike were quite certain the former Hull star would once again excel.

Unsurprisingly, they were right, as while he perhaps hasn’t been at his very best, the 28-year-old has been one of the only players to show any fight this year.

For example, in 11 appearances, totalling 990 minutes, he has scored three goals and provided two assists, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 2.2 games or every 198 minutes.

More importantly, though, he has scored some crucial goals, such as the opener against Nottingham Forest and the equaliser against Everton.

That second goal gave Nuno a positive start to life in East London, and while he hasn’t scored since, he did provide an assist against Leeds United.

Moreover, even without a goal involvement, he was excellent against Newcastle United, playing two key passes, taking four shots and hitting the woodwork once.

In all, Bowen has been and remains West Ham’s most important player, but there is now someone else who, in the future, could take that title off him.

West Ham's future talisman

Now, the first thing to say is that with everything Bowen has done for West Ham and the brilliant level at which he continues to perform, it is going to take some time before another player becomes as important as him.

Chalkboard

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

However, with him turning 29 next month, there is going to come a point at which that is the case, and the player who looks like they could take his place is Freddie Potts.

Yes, it is still early days in the Englishman’s West Ham career, but he looked utterly sensational against Newcastle.

For example, even though it was his first competitive start for the club and in the Premier League, the 22-year-old looked as comfortable as a seasoned veteran and played like one too.

From breaking up attacks to kickstaring them for the Hammer, the academy graduate was truly excellent in all phases of play, and as presenter Tom Rennie put it, looks like “an actual dynasty player.”

It might sound like hyperbole, but his statistics from the game suggest otherwise.

In his 90 minutes of action, the Englishman played two key passes, completed two crosses, was accurate in 33 of 39 passes, took 57 touches, won 66% of his tackles, made six clearances and won 75% of his ground duels.

Now, another reason he could eventually become more important to the Hammers than Bowen, beyond the simple passage of time, is where he plays.

As an all-action central midfielder, the Barking-born monster could become the linchpin around which the team is built, someone who picks up the ball deep and carries it to the attackers.

In other words, if he ends up being as good as so many expect him to be, he could be the one who makes Nuno’s side tick a few years from now.

Ultimately, it’s early in Potts’ career and Bowen remains West Ham’s most important player, but in time, that could change.

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By
Dominic Lund

Nov 3, 2025

There are set to be at least five seasons and it will be the first professional women’s cricket event in Saudi Arabia

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Nov-2025FairBreak and Saudi Cricket have announced a five-year partnership to host the Women’s World T20 Challenge in Saudi Arabia from 2026. It is set to be the first professional women’s cricket event in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Cricket and FairBreak said in a release that the competition will feature players from more than 35 countries.FairBreak is a private company founded in 2013 that aims to improve gender equality in sport and previously hosted the FairBreak Global Invitational T20 in 2022 and 2023 in Dubai and Hong Kong respectively. A third edition was planned in 2023 in the USA but it was initially postponed to 2024 and eventually didn’t come to fruition.The FairBreak Invitational was fully sanctioned by the ICC and had six teams. It featured international stars like Chamari Athapaththu, Sophie Ecclestone, Laura Wolvaardt and Marizanne Kapp among others. However, the BCCI did not give No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) to the Indian players. It is also unclear as of now if any Indian players will feature in the new T20 tournament.The announcement said new T20 league is “in alignment with the ambitions of Saudi Vision 2030” and among its objectives are to develop women’s cricket talent through structured training programmes and pathways, to raise public awareness and inspire the next generation of players, to enhance international collaboration, and to bring in players from more than 35 countries.The Women’s World T20 Challenge will see Saudi Arabia increase its presence on the cricket map. The IPL auction was held in Jeddah in 2024 and the country was also poised to back a new Grand-Slam-style circuit of T20 tournaments. Saudi Arabia is also set to host some games in the future seasons of the ILT20.

By winning their last regular-season game Renegades also improved to fourth, while Sixers are third

AAP05-Dec-2025

Melbourne Renegades duo Georgia Wareham and Courtney Webb have produced a match-winning partnership to sink Sydney Sixers and keep the defending WBBL champions in finals contention.The win had significant ramifications ahead of next week’s finals, ending Sixers’ three-game winning streak and meaning Hobart Hurricanes will finish top of the ladder.That means Hurricanes will host the final on Saturday week. Adelaide will host Hurricanes tonight at Karen Rolton Oval, with Strikers needing an upset win to stay in the top-four hunt.By winning their last regular-season game Renegades also improved to fourth, while Sixers are third. But Renegades must sweat on other results to find out whether they play in the finals.Chasing 131 for victory, Wareham (49 not out) and Webb (33 not out) took Renegades to 134 for 4 from 16.2 overs on Friday in Melbourne.The pair put on a whirlwind unbroken 85-run stand, rescuing Renegades from a wobbly 49 for 4 in the tenth over.Wareham, who earlier took three wickets, finished with a furious flourish, cracking five fours and two sixes from her 29 deliveries. And Webb also found the boundary four times as Renegades (five wins, five losses) climbed from sixth to fourth on the table.Sixers (five wins, three losses) remain third after failing to capitalise on an Ellyse Perryspecial with the bat.Perry top-scored with 65 from 47 balls but Sixers struggled to 130 for 9. The allrounder dominated Sixers’ innings, hitting nine fours and a six, despite frequently losing partners.Only one other team-mate – Ash Gardner (16) – reached double figures amid some excellent legspin bowling from Wareham (3 for 21 from four overs).Alyssa Healy made a six-ball duck and the middle order failed to fire around Perry, who was dismissed in the 18th over when caught at long-on from the bowling of Alice Capsey (2 for 27).Ellyse Perry put on a one-woman show with the bat for Sixers•Getty Images

Renegades hit early trouble in their chase when Maitlan Brown snared two wickets in the second over.Opener Davina Perrin (28 from 27) and Capsey (10 from 15) briefly steadied before both fell in a three-over patch, leaving Renegades in serious strife four down.But Wareham and Webb launched a power-packed counter-punch with Brown (2 for 45) the only multiple wicket-taker for Sixers.All three games over the weekend will affect the top-four finishing order. The Melbourne Stars are second and on Saturday cannot afford a slip-up when they host the Sydney Thunder, who are out of finals contention.The late Saturday game will feature fifth-placed Perth Scorchers at home against bottom side Heat, while Sixers host Adelaide Strikers on Sunday in a massive end to the regular season.Only three points separates Stars from the sixth-placed Strikers.Tuesday’s knockout final will feature the third-placed team at home against fourth.The winner of that game travels to the second-placed team on Thursday for the challenger final and that will decide who faces Hurricanes for the title.

Arne Slot is not only facing an uphill battle to save Liverpool's season, but also his job. That is a sentence no Liverpool supporter would have imagined reading barely six months on from seeing the Dutchman deliver the club's second Premier League title, and yet it is no exaggeration. The Reds have plummeted to 11th in the table after losing six of their first 12 games in the 2025-26 campaign, which leaves them a whopping 11 points behind early pace-setters Arsenal already.

It's easy to forget now that Liverpool ended September three points clear at the summit, but a 2-1 defeat at Crystal Palace marked the beginning of an unprecedented downturn. Slot's men have only picked up three points from their last seven matches, with a 3-0 home loss to Nottingham Forest marking their latest setback, and look like a shadow of the team that dominated the division last term.

Despite a record-breaking £450 million ($589m) spend in the summer transfer window, Liverpool have gone backwards. New faces such as Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Milos Kerkez have all failed to make an impact, and their presence, along with the departure of academy talisman Trent Alexander-Arnold, has upset the balance of Slot's line up. The tragic death of Diogo Jota has also clearly taken its toll on the other players who were so instrumental to the club's 2024-25 success.

Liverpool can take a sliver of hope from Manchester United, who were only one point better off at this stage but went on to defend their crown in 1996-97. However, the Red Devils' final haul of 75 points remains the lowest-ever for any Premier League champions. A closer look at the history books suggests that the Reds won't be able to claw back Arsenal, or even come back to mount any kind of challenge.

The reality is, it will now take a monumental effort for them to avoid joining the list of the worst Premier League title defences ever. Below, GOAL has ranked the six teams that regressed furthest after lifting the hallowed trophy…

Getty6Liverpool 2020-21

The Liverpool faithful actually experienced a similar situation after celebrating their maiden Premier League triumph. Jurgen Klopp's side amassed 99 points to win the title in 2019-20, finishing 18 points ahead of Manchester City. However, they reached just 69 the following season after an injury-plagued year that saw the majority of games played behind closed doors due to the Covid-19 pandemic. That was only enough for third place, with City regaining their crown at the canter ahead of Manchester United.

Klopp had to make do without key players such as Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Jordan Henderson, Thiago Alcantara and Mohamed Salah for lengthy periods, and Liverpool completely unravelled after the festive period. Burnley ended the Reds' 68-game unbeaten run at Anfield on January 21, 2021, which started a miserable run of six successive home defeats.

Liverpool were down in eighth by March, and although they won eight of their final 10 games to qualify for the Champions League, including a memorable victory over West Brom that saw goalkeeper Alisson head in a stoppage-time goal, it wasn't enough to paper over the cracks of a disappointing campaign. The Reds' misery was compounded by a shocking 7-2 drubbing at the hands of Aston Villa and a 4-1 loss to Man City, the latter of which prompted United legend Roy Keane to dub Klopp's flops as "bad champions" on . 

AdvertisementGetty Images5Blackburn Rovers 1995-96

Blackburn Rovers' rise from second division strugglers to champions of England is one of the greatest Premier League stories of all time, and their swift fall is among the saddest. Ray Harford had a huge job on his hands to follow the act of Kenny Dalglish, who resigned from his managerial post after masterminding the club's glorious 1994-95 campaign, but few could have predicted Rovers would start a new era in such abject fashion.

Blackburn were down in 17th just six games into the new season, with a 3-0 defeat at Liverpool effectively ending their title defence. Consistency would continue to prove elusive for Harford, whose lowest point came after a 5-0 thrashing by Coventry City in December. He did gradually turn things around thereafter as Blackburn only suffered five more losses en route to a seventh-placed finish, but the damage was already done.

That was not enough to secure European football for another year and Alan Shearer's head was subsequently turned by Newcastle. Blackburn sold their top scorer off to St James' Park for a British-record fee, before falling to 13th in the table the following season. In the end, Rovers were nothing more than a flash in the pan.

Getty Images Sport4Leicester City 2016-17

Leicester City eclipsed Blackburn's fairy-tale story by clinching the Premier League trophy as 5000-1 underdogs in 2015-16, which gave beloved manager Claudio Ranieri legendary status at the King Power Stadium. But the euphoria didn't last long; the Foxes suffered a major hangover, partly due to the sale of star midfielder N'Golo Kante, and were only six points clear of the relegation zone in 15th by the end of 2016.

They fell to 17th by mid-February, and Ranieri was ruthlessly sacked. Former Leicester striker Gary Lineker described that decision as "unforgivable", but the Italian's temporary replacement, Craig Shakespeare, immediately galvanised the team. He won all of his first five games and guided the Foxes to a comeback victory over Sevilla in the last-16 of the Champions League.

Atletico Madrid ousted Leicester in the quarter-finals, but they eventually climbed to 12th in the Premier League to beat the drop. Statistically, though, it was by some distance the worst title defence ever, and a 6-1 loss to Tottenham at the King Power in their penultimate game summed up a turbulent year that saw supporters' dreams give way to nightmares.

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Hulton Archive3Leeds United 1992-93

Leeds were not technically defending the Premier League title in 1992-93, because that was the season the old First Division was rebranded, but they still started the campaign as English champions, and thus cannot escape the ignominy of a place on this list. The Whites capitalised on Liverpool's implosion to top the table in 1991-92, led by hotshot striker Lee Chapman and winter signing Eric Cantona, the latter of whom also scored a hat-trick in a 4-3 Charity Shield victory over the Reds that August.

But Howard Wilkinson's side only won three of their opening 10 Premier League games in the new season, and Cantona departed for Manchester United in November after boycotting training and handing in a transfer request. His arrival at Old Trafford propelled the Red Devils to their first domestic crown in 26 years, while Leeds descended into a full-blown crisis without their star man.

The Whites did not win a single away game all season, and finished 17th in the table of 22 teams, just two points clear of the relegation places. They lost 15 of their 42 fixtures and conceded 62 goals, the joint-fifth worst defensive record in the league. Supporters invaded the pitch after a dramatic 3-3 draw away at Coventry on the final day, but more out of relief that the pain was finally over.

It was a fall from grace for the ages, and to make matters worse, Leeds were also knocked out of the Champions League second round in a 'Battle of Britain' clash against Rangers. 

The other stars for Knight Riders were Usman Tariq and Saurabh Netravalkar, who returned 5 for 42 between them to stop Antigua and Barbuda Falcons at 166

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Sep-2025

Usman Tariq picked up two wickets in the same over to derail Antigua and Barbuda Falcons•CPL T20 via Getty Images

It was set up nicely for Trinbago Knight Riders after their bowling innings, with Saurabh Netravalkar and Usman Tariq, in the main, restricting Antigua and Barbuda Falcons to 166. Then it was over to Nicholas Pooran, with Alex Hales his able collaborator, to knock off the runs with 15 balls and nine wickets in hand – Falcons were out of CPL 2025, and Knight Riders are now in Qualifier 2, where they will take on either Guyana Amazon Warriors or St Lucia Kings, and take them on full of confidence.The last two games of the CPL group stage had been played in Providence too, and a total in the range of 185-190 might have been competitive based on that small evidence. On the night, though, Pooran made it seem like even 215-220 wouldn’t have been enough.Knight Riders had gotten off to a good start courtesy Colin Munro and Hales, who put on 25 in three overs before Munro fell. But that was it as far as Falcons’ bowling was concerned.Pooran signalled his intentions off only the third legal ball he had faced, sending wicket-taker Rahkeem Cornwall over deep midwicket for six to get off the mark. Then came Hales’ first six, in the last over of the powerplay, off Cornwall again, and Hales followed that up with two more sixes in the same over to end the powerplay with 59 runs on the board.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man!

Nicky P stands up for TKR! #CPL25 #CricketPlayedLouder#BiggestPartyInSport #TKRvABF #RepublicBank pic.twitter.com/ZcHyugJvtV

— CPL T20 (@CPL) September 17, 2025