Liverpool have had an unblemished start to the Premier League and Champions League this season after securing narrow victories against the likes of Arsenal, Atlético Madrid and most recently Everton.

First-half goals from Ryan Gravenberch and new signing Hugo Ekitiké were enough to see off their Merseyside rivals, even after Idrissa Gueye’s second-half goal looked like Everton may be able to mount a comeback.

After emerging victorious in the derby, Arne Slot was quizzed about how his team coped with a difficult run of fixtures: “This is also the reason why teams like us, Chelsea, all the ones that are playing in Europe need a squad like this, because you need to play so many games.”

The depth of Slot’s squad will be on full display in their opening League Cup game this week as he confirmed that five of the weekend’s starters will be absent from the fixture.

Five ruled out of Southampton League Cup clash

In his pre-match press conference, Slot confirmed that a number of players would be rotated when Liverpool face Will Still’s Southampton. The players that fans won’t be seeing on Tuesday night are Virgil Van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Mohamed Salah, Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai.

Van Dijk, Salah, Szoboszlai and Konate have played the most minutes of any Liverpool outfield players this season, and Gravenberch has played the ninth most, which is likely why they are being rested against this poor-form Southampton side, with all five also playing three games in the space of six days last week.

Despite being one of the favourites to push for promotion this season, Southampton have had a poor start to life back in the Championship with only one win from their opening six games.

While it has not been confirmed by Slot, another player who could be rotated for Southampton is Goalkeeper Alisson. Last week, The Daily Mail’s Lewis Steele shared that new goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili had been “pencilled in” for a debut in this fixture.

Predicted Liverpool XI vs Southampton

One of the biggest benefits of Liverpool’s big summer is that they have high-quality options on the bench when they need to rotate. When defensive changes have been made this season, it has been Joe Gomez or Waturo Endo who have filled in at centre-back, but it seems likely only the former will start there against Southampton. Gomez is likely to be paired with 18-year-old Giovanni Leoni, who arrived from Italian side Parma in the summer.

In midfield, Slot could start Endo and Curtis Jones. Jones had been out of the side due to an injury sustained before the international break, but he got minutes against Everton, suggesting he is ready to be reintroduced to the team.

Only three players have scored more than one goal for Liverpool this season, and with Gravenberch and Salah confirmed to be out of the lineup, they will need to come from elsewhere. This could be the perfect opportunity for Florian Wirtz to find his shooting boots and show fans why Liverpool spent so much on him.

Alternatively, Liverpool’s youngest-ever goalscorer, Rio Ngumoha, could be given a chance. His three appearances this season have only amounted to 20 minutes of game time, with the highlight being his late winner against Newcastle.

With Southampton’s poor form, trying out some of these lesser-used players will unlikely run much risk. Each of the players mentioned would find game time against Southampton valuable for different reasons, and the match may serve as the perfect opportunity for Slot to give them what they need.

Predicted Liverpool XI vs Southampton: Mamardashvili, Frimpong, Gomez, Leoni, Robertson, Jones, Endo, Wirtz, Chiesa, Isak, Ngumoha

انتقد خورخي فالدانو، أسطورة نادي ريال مدريد، فينيسيوس جونيور لاعب الفريق الملكي الحالي، موضحًا أن الدولي البرازيلي قد فقد السيطرة على نفسه مرة أخرى خلال مواجهة الكلاسيكو ضد برشلونة.

فينيسيوس قدم مباراة رائعة وساعد ريال مدريد على تحقيق الفوز على برشلونة بهدفين مقابل هدف واحد يوم أمس الأحد، في قمة الجولة العاشرة من بطولة الدوري الإسباني للدرجة الأولى على ملعب سانتياجو برنابيو.

لكن فينيسيوس أثار الجدل مرة أخرى، عقب اعتراضه على تبديله برودريجو قبل 20 دقيقة تقريبًا من نهاية اللقاء، حيث لم يصافح مدربه تشابي ألونسو وذهب إلى خارج أرضية الملعب مباشرًة.

كما دخل فينيسيوس في نقاش حاد مع نجم نادي برشلونة، لامين يامال، عقب نهاية المباراة وتحصل في النهاية على بطاقة صفراء.

اقرأ أيضًا .. لامين يامال ليس الوحيد.. موفيستار تكشف عن صدام جديد بين فينيسيوس وأحد لاعبي برشلونة في الكلاسيكو

وقال فالدانو عن فينيسيوس في تصريحات نقلتها صحيفة ماركا: “فينيسيوس يفقد أعصابه. إنه خارج عن السيطرة، يبدو خارجًا عن السيطرة على نفسه تمامًا حتى أنه يذهب إلى غرفة الملابس ولا يبقى على مقاعد البدلاء”.

وأضاف فالدانو في حديثه عن فينيسيوس: ”لا أعلم إن كان أحد يتحدث مع فينيسيوس في غرفة ملابس ريال مدريد أم لا. هل يتحدثون إليه ويقنعونه أم يعيد فينيسيوس النظر في تصرفاته ويعود إلى مقاعد البدلاء بسلام؟ إنها طريقته في قول جملة لقد انفعلت، سامحوني”.

وأوضح المدير الرياضي السابق لريال مدريد: “ما يحدث هو أنه بمجرد انتهاء المباراة، يخرج فينيسيوس عن شعوره مجددًا، هذه المرة ضد لامين يامال، هناك عنصر من فقدان السيطرة يؤثر على فينيسيوس”.

واختتم فالدانو في حديثه عن فينيسيوس: “فينيسيوس كان يلعب بشكل جيد للغاية، قدم مباراة جيدة وشعر بالراحة من الناحية البدنية وبدا قويًا للغاية، ولم يفهم التغيير لأنه كان مقتنعًا بأنه يمتلك القدرة على تحويل المباراة إلى الأفضل”.

Worcestershire lose eight for 46 in 25 overs to concede big first-innings lead after Jordan Thompson’s 70

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay12-Apr-2025

Yorkshire claimed eight Worcestershire wickets during a rampant second-afternoon performance as their seamers helped gain a stranglehold on this Rothesay County Championship match at Headingley.Jordan Thompson was Yorkshire’s standout player, but he wasn’t head and shoulders above the rest having completed a swashbuckling 70 at the start of day two before returning 3 for 27 with his seamers. There were a number of impressive performances.In reply to Yorkshire’s 456 all out, Worcestershire had reached 90 without loss shortly after lunch, but they lost eight wickets for 46 in 25 overs to slump to 136 for 8 at tea and were later bowled out for 162, conceding a lead of 294.The hosts, however, opted against enforcing the follow-on, and increased their lead in the day’s remaining 19 overs. They closed on 61 for 1 – 355 ahead.The day started with Yorkshire advancing their first innings from an overnight 425 for 8. Ben Allison struck twice to finish with an impressive three-for, while the excellent Ben Coad also completed a useful 31 amidst a ninth-wicket stand of 75 with Thompson.Coad, 22 with the bat overnight, also added a superb 4 for 39 from 15.3 overs later on.New-ball partner Jack White claimed two wickets and George Hill one, with Yorkshire’s catching behind the wicket particularly impressive. They took five slip catches added to two for wicketkeeper-captain Jonny Bairstow.Worcestershire captain Brett D’Oliveira suffered a dislocated thumb whilst trying to take a diving catch in the outfield before lunch, and he only batted at eight rather than his usual number six before losing his off-stump to White.The Pears had started their reply strongly through openers Jake Libby and Gareth Roderick, who posted 53 and 37 respectively on a pitch which has offered something for everyone. Good pace and carry is its most obvious feature.During the action-packed afternoon, the home attack were right at it. They hardly gave their visitors a moment’s breathing space.Yorkshire’s breakthrough came when White had Roderick caught at second slip by Adam Lyth, who also helped Coad remove Libby at 101 for 3 in the 37th over. Thompson forced Kashif Ali to play on to his leg-stump in between.Hill also held a juggling catch at first slip to help Coad remove ex-Yorkshire all-rounder Matthew Waite for one. Waite was the hero of last week’s draw with Somerset at Taunton, unbeaten in both innings for 32 and 87.Worcestershire suffered a first-innings collapse in that game of all 10 wickets for 84 but dug themselves out of a hole second time around. Whether they can do the same here remains to be seen.Thompson had Ethan Brookes caught at mid-on for 19 after tea before Coad wrapped things up when Jacob Duffy edged behind.The only wicket to fall in Yorkshire’s second innings went the way of Allison as Fin Bean played on for 14. Lyth will begin day three on 32.Thompson ensured an entertaining start to the day, moving from 48 not out to help Yorkshire secure their fifth batting bonus point for passing 450. The visitors also secured their third bowling point.Yorkshire lost Coad caught behind off Allison, leaving the score at 435 for 9.But Thompson took two sixes in an over off another Worcestershire seamer Tom Taylor – one pulled, the other reverse scooped over the wicketkeeper’s head. The second took his side beyond 450. He also reached his fifty off 48 balls.Yorkshire’s innings, however, was wrapped up when sub-fielder Rob Jones took a superb juggling catch on the deep square-leg boundary to help Allison remove Thompson, whose influence on the day was far from done.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru have chased four times in IPL 2025. Virat Kohli has scored half-centuries in all those four games, with RCB ending up on the winning side every time.Sunday night against Delhi Capitals was arguably their trickiest chase – they were set a target of 163 – and Kohli played second-fiddle to Krunal Pandya in a 119-run stand on a slow surface. Kohli highlighted the importance of “stitching a partnership and taking it deep,” especially in a season where he said it’s been difficult for batters to start hitting from the get-go.”The total on the board. What the conditions are like. Who are the bowlers that are due to bowl. Who are the bowlers that are going to be hard to get away,” Kohli listed as the things he factors in while chasing. “So, I try and make sure that my singles and doubles don’t stop. And then you keep getting the odd boundary in between. The game never gets stagnant. So, that’s always been my focus to keep working on rotating strikes, singles and doubles.Related

• Did Axar get his choice of bowlers at the death wrong?

• Bhuvneshwar has 'the perfect answer' for DC on tricky Delhi pitch

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• Virat Kohli, and the biggest missed opportunity in IPL history

• RCB go No. 1 after Krunal's all-round heroics

“People, I think, are forgetting the importance of stitching in a partnership or going deep into the innings in T20 cricket,” Kohli told the host broadcaster. “And I think this year around, you’re seeing that you can’t just come out and tee off from ball one. You need to have professionalism, to read the situation and try and get into a position where you can start dominating the bowlers.”And for that, you need to string in a partnership. And it won’t come easy on a slow pitch if you don’t know how to rotate the strike. So, yeah, that’s pretty much my method.”I analyse the conditions, understand what the score on the board is, understand what the situation demands of me and have the skills to kind of keep rotating the strike and not be stagnant on one end.”Chasing 163, RCB were reduced to 26 for 3 after four overs. While Krunal, promoted up the order, had a scratchy start, Kohli kept the runs ticking without taking too many risks. Krunal then accelerated from 17 off 21 to 73 off 47, while Kohli fell for 51 off 47, trying to hit Dushmantha Chameera for a six.”Whenever there’s a chase on or there’s a situation I go in, I keep checking with the dugout whether we are on course, what is my role, what is the kind of innings I need to play,” Kohli said. “It was a top win, we were under pressure, 3 for 26 and then me and Krunal getting a 100-run partnership.”Kohli has scored 245 runs across the four run-chases this season, and his average from those games also reads 245 since Sunday night was the first time he was dismissed batting second in this IPL. Overall, he has racked up 443 runs from 10 matches and is the leading run-getter of the season at this stage.

MatériaMais Notícias

Sport e Novorizontino fazem um confronto direto na parte de cima da tabela do Campeonato Brasileiro da Série B, neste sábado (5), às 18h, na Ilha do Retiro. O Leão está na segunda colocação, com 41 pontos, enquanto o Tigre do Vale é o terceiro, com 39 pontos.

+ Veja tabela e classificação do Brasileiro Série B clicando aqui

Pelo lado do Sport, o técnico Enderson Moreira tem dois desfalques confirmados: o lateral-direito Igor Cariús, afastado por estar sendo investigado pela Operação Penalidade Máxima, além do meia-atacante Jorginho, lesionado. O atacante Diego Souza, novo reforço da equipe, é dúvida para o jogo.

+ Quer apostar nessa partida? Então se liga nos mercados imperdíveis que a Lance! Betting preparou. É só clicar e curtir!

+ Tem promoção exclusiva para você abrir sua conta agora! Aposte R$50 e receba mais R$50 de bônus. Clique aqui e aproveite!

Já no Novorizontino, do técnico Eduardo Baptista, terá a volta do meia Marlon, que volta de suspensão. O Tigre aposta no ataque formado por Douglas Baggio, Aylon e Ronaldo, destaques da equipe.

SPORT X NOVORIZONTINO
CAMPEONATO BRASILEIRO SÉRIE B – 22ª RODADA

Local:Estádio Ilha do Retiro, em Recife
Data e hora:sábado, 5 de agosto de 2023, às 18h (horário de Brasília)
Árbitro:Savio Pereira Sampaio (DF)
Assistentes:Lucas Costa Modesto (DF) e Lehi Sousa Silva (DF)
Árbitro de vídeo:Daniel Nobre Bins (RS)
Onde assistir:SporTV (menos PE), Premiere (para todo o Brasil) e no tempo real doLance!

SPORT
Renan; Eduardo, Rafael Thyere, Sabino e Felipinho; Ronaldo Henrique, Fábio Matheus e Luciano Juba; Facundo Labadeira, Alan Rupiz e Vagner Love.Técnico:Enderson Moreira.

Desfalques:Igor Cariús (afastado) e Jorginho (lesionado)
Pendurados:Felipinho e Alisson Cassiano.

NOVORIZONTINO
Jordi; Adriano Martins, Paulo e Reverson; Willean Lepo, Geovane, Marlon e Léo Tocantins; Douglas Baggio, Aylon e Ronaldo. Técnico:Eduardo Baptista

Desfalques:Roberto, Raul Prata, Bruno Silva, Denner, César Martins e Ligger (lesionados)
Pendurados:Ronaldo, Raul Prata, Roberto e Jenison.

After the perfect start against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Newcastle United’s Nick Woltemade has revealed how he’s similar to the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Bayern Munich star Harry Kane.

Howe "really pleased" with "humble" Woltemade

Eddie Howe couldn’t have asked for much more from his £69m striker on his debut last time out. The 6’6 forward rose highest to head home what proved to be the winning goal against Wolves, before wheeling away in celebration. After waiting all summer for a new striker, St James’ Park got the emphatic introduction that they had been desperate for.

Like the rest of those watching on in Tyneside, Howe was left delighted with Woltemade, telling reporters: “It was a great moment for Nick. I was very pleased with how he played today.

“You saw his qualities, his technical qualities that we’ve been discussing and his intelligence but most importantly for a striker, when the ball comes into the box, you need to be there and he was.

“It was a great finish. I’m really pleased for him personally because that just settles him down and relaxes him, he’s a very humble guy, he wants to do well and he’s delighted to be here — I think it’s a great start.”

Woltemade’s debut goal would have surprised no one back in Germany. There’s every reason why Bayern Munich were so keen to secure his signature and even more reason why he stole the show at the U21 Euros in the summer. Now, he’s the man that could make Newcastle forget all about Alexander Isak.

Why Newcastle could be facing instant punishment from UEFA back in UCL

It could be bad news for the Magpies…

ByTom Cunningham Sep 17, 2025

The 23-year-old is hardly short on confidence, either, and has already told Newcastle fans exactly what they can expect from him in the coming years.

Woltemade makes Ibrahimovic comparison

Revealing the players that he’s most similar to, Woltemade compared himself to the great Ibrahimovic. One inch taller than the former AC Milan star, the German’s comparison is a fair one to make, given how he still maintains his technical ability despite his height. Whether he eventually reaches the same level as the Swede is the big question.

Describing his style as “rare” for someone of his height, Newcastle can expect the unexpected from their new striker, who will be looking to follow up his debut goal with another against Barcelona this week.

It’s not all good news for Newcastle United back in the Champions League amid reports that they’ve comfortably breached one of UEFA’s rules and could be facing a punishment as a result.

Where Newcastle stand financially

Whilst they were incredibly limited in 2024 when it came to spending in the Premier League, Champions League qualification and player sales quickly solved their domestic problems this summer. As such, Eddie Howe was finally in a position to welcome fresh faces again and after much toing and froing, he secured Nick Woltemade, Yoane Wissa, Anthony Elanga, Malick Thiaw and Jacob Ramsey.

Woltemade’s arrival would have come as a particular relief. The German was one of many options on Newcastle’s list of striker targets, as they were handed rejection after rejection. Eventually, it was the Stuttgart striker that arrived and, to his credit, he’s wasted no time before finding his feet – scoring on his debut against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

But after a summer of spending and the record sale of Alexander Isak, where do Newcastle stand financially? Football finance expert Kieram Maguire had his say and compared it to when Aston Villa sold Jack Grealish to Manchester City in 2021.

He told BBC Sport: “It will give them that financial flexibility that they didn’t have 12 months ago when they were forced to do nothing for a couple of windows. You don’t want that repeating, especially when the club are ambitious and aspirational.”

Ready to challenge Woltemade: Newcastle have found a "poor man's Haaland"

Howe might have a secret weapon in the final third at Newcastle.

3 ByAngus Sinclair Sep 16, 2025

So, as things stand, it looks as though PIF will satisfy the Premier League’s financial regulations. However, the same may not be said for UEFA’s financial rules. Reports are now suggesting that Newcastle could be facing further trouble away from the pitch.

Newcastle could be facing UEFA punishment

According to The Athletic, Newcastle have comfortably breached UEFA’s loss limit, which allows teams to lose up to £52m over three years. PIF recorded operating losses at St James’ Park worth around £68m in each of the last two seasons and could now be facing a similar punishment to Aston Villa and Chelsea, who were hit with fines earlier this year.

Even after the sale of Isak, the problem that Newcastle have is that UEFA have noted Elliot Anderson’s move to Nottingham Forest as a swap deal with Odysseas Vlachodimos. They’ve also reduced the sale of Allan Saint-Maximin to Al Ahli to nil profit due to the fact that the Saudi club are a shared party with the club.

Whilst the official financial reports for 2024/25 are yet to be released, it doesn’t look good for Newcastle once again. They will hope that this is the final time that they face such issues after selling big in the summer.

For now, however, it looks as though they’re set to join Villa and Chelsea on the list of Premier League clubs to be hit with a fine by UEFA, unless their accounts provide an unexpected twist.

West Ham United may have seen the transfer window come to a close, though they have concluded a surprise deal at the London Stadium as Graham Potter searches for unattached reinforcements.

West Ham look for togetherness with Premier League set to return

The Hammers have endured a mixed start to the Premier League campaign, and heavy defeats to Sunderland and Chelsea didn’t leave supporters feeling a great deal of optimism about what is to come.

However, a rousing 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest at the City Ground before the international break has stirred a little bit of excitement that West Ham could start to enter an upward trajectory, though Jarrod Bowen believes togetherness will be key to maintaining some form of momentum.

He stated: “It’s been an up and down couple of weeks,” he reflected. “The Premier League starting, you are on a high as you have waited so long for it. Then, to lose the way we did to Sunderland, followed by a defeat by Chelsea and one in the cup where we were in a good position to win the game was difficult.

“But I think the one thing we have got with this group is a real resilience and togetherness. You saw that at the weekend. I think everyone would have wrote us off at Nottingham Forest so to win 3-0, and it that could have been even more on another day, just shows that resilience to keep going even in the difficult times.”

Speculation over Potter’s position at West Ham has seen Frank Lampard mentioned as a potential successor. However, the former Brighton & Hove Albion is still firmly in charge, and will believe his side can string together a run of results in the English top-flight.

Still, his squad are short in a couple of positions, which has led Hammers chiefs to open talks over a deal for a veteran star who is known to supporters.

West Ham seal deal for Lukasz Fabianski

Despite his exit from the London Stadium this summer, West Ham have moved to bring Lukasz Fabianski back to the club on a free transfer following Wes Foderingham’s departure to join Aris Limassol.

Mads Hermansen and Alphonse Areola are the Irons’ only senior options between the sticks, creating a scenario where they have now drafted in their former stopper to fill the third-choice goalkeeper berth under Potter, with initial talks over a move reported by talkSPORT.

Why West Ham missed out on Mitrovic deal after late offer

He would have solved their attacking problems…

By
Tom Cunningham

Sep 7, 2025

Labelled “world-class” by Don Hutchinson, Fabianski is now 40 years of age and has kept 55 clean sheets in 216 appearances for West Ham, becoming a reliable presence during seven years in East London.

In addition, he also shares the same ROOF agency as Niclas Fullkrug, which perhaps helped to hasten negotiations between all parties in recent days. The Polish veteran has signed on a deal until the end of the 2025/26 campaign.

Intriguingly, West Ham passed up the opportunity to sign Andre Onana on loan from Manchester United before the deadline passed last week, something that may have paved the way for their swoop to land Fabianski.

When Diamonds aren’t forever, legspinner makes the most of precious opportunity further north

Valkerie Baynes23-Apr-2025When Durham won the right to field a team in the top tier of women’s domestic cricket, the worlds of every Northern Diamonds squad member changed in a moment.Yorkshire, which fed heavily into that now-defunct outfit, had been overlooked and instead placed in Tier 2 of the new county-based structure for 2025, albeit only for a year now with their inclusion in Tier 1 subsequently brought forward to 2026. It left a number of players facing a tough choice – relocate to play at the highest level or mark time at home in the lower ranks.One of those players was Katie Levick, the Yorkshire born-and-bred legspinner who has consistently been one of the nation’s leading bowlers outside of the England set-up over the past five years. She believes it is testament to the closeness of that Diamonds group that her decision to accept Durham’s offer of a three-year contract was met only with encouragement from her former team-mates.”The way everything played out last year we probably sort of trauma-bonded, that group of Diamonds girls,” Levick told ESPNcricinfo on the eve of Durham’s first game, against Essex in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup. “It was a tough time for all of us to try and make a decision.”One of the worst things for that particular team is that we were such an incredibly close-knit squad. We were genuinely a group of 15 friends that hung out together outside of cricket and just loved playing their cricket together. Unfortunately, the decision came, as it did, and we all chose different paths.”But that’s also professional sport, so we were all really supportive of each other, and we wanted to make sure we all made the right choices for ourselves, individually, and whether that was moving on to a new team, or if it was staying with Yorkshire, there was no bad blood and there was no malice anywhere.”Related

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Lauren Winfield-Hill: Tier 1 relocation is 'unsettling' for Diamonds players

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Levick has form when it comes to making difficult decisions. Barely into her 20s and having spent a year training with the England Academy, she chose to pursue a career off the field after finishing university, with central contracts still two years off being introduced. When domestic women’s cricket was restructured and a handful of professional contracts dished out in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, Levick was again faced with a choice between a full-time job on a now-established career path and an uncertain future with a just-convened regional team, Northern Diamonds, in a new competition.Over the next five years of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, Levick was consistently among the leading wicket-takers and finished in the top five during three of four seasons in the Charlotte Edwards Cup. She was also the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the Women’s Hundred in 2023 and ninth last year, with Birmingham Phoenix.The Hundred is set to receive an injection of funds under private ownership from next year and it is expected that both women’s domestic competitions will also benefit financially by aligning with the counties and their mens’ white-ball competitions as women’s versions of the Metro Bank One-Day Cup and Vitality Blast.Durham have doubled down on the one-club ethos, sending their women’s squad on a pre-season tour of Zimbabwe with the men, who have made the trip a number of times in recent years.All these changes have allowed Levick’s cricket career to continue evolving to the point where now, with her 34th birthday approaching in July, she is keen to keep playing “as long as my body allows”.

“I’m just thrilled that I clung on long enough to be a part of it, and hope I can still keep going for a few more years.”Katie Levick

“Ultimately, I wanted to play Tier 1 cricket, and so that was the decision I had to go with,” Levick said. “And Durham was just a really interesting prospect. To still be wanted at 33 and to be seen as an integral part of a team was a big draw for me, and also to be able to make history. We’re the first professional women’s team that’s going to operate out of Durham, and to be able to still make history at this later stage of my career, that was something that enticed me.”Levick isn’t the only Durham player to make a significant life move to play in the top flight. Mady Villiers has travelled from the former Sunrisers team which folded when its main components, Essex and Middlesex, split into Tier 1 and Tier 2 respectively. Villiers, whose England career looked set to take off after England played West Indies in their only series of the Covid-hit home summer of 2020, has linked up with the Durham squad after touring Australia with England A alongside former Northern Diamonds players Bess Heath and Hollie Armitage, their Yorkshire-born captain.”I’m just thrilled that I clung on long enough to be a part of it, and hope I can still keep going for a few more years,” Levick said. “The ultimate goal for anyone playing any sport is to represent your country, and to have to make a decision about that or getting a job and joining the real world, I’m so glad that girls don’t have to do that anymore.”Even if the ultimate end goal of international cricket isn’t what you reach, it’s still an amazing, fulfilling career you can have at domestic level, there’s so much franchise cricket around the world. There’s a platform and an opportunity to still show that, do you know what, I can play at this level and I am good enough, and that’s something that I still relish from this.”You’d be lying if you said you never had a ‘what if?’ But I think it was the right choice at that time in my career. Even looking now at the set-up, I’m so pleased I got to have the career I did. I think my career path, the way it’s gone, has actually probably just been the story that it was always supposed to be for me.”Obviously, I wouldn’t say no if an England cap suddenly fell at my door, but this has been enough for me that I’ve been able to show, or I hope I’ve been able to show with my stats, that I could have probably mixed it at that level if things had been slightly different.”

Cody Gakpo wrote his name into Dutch football history on Thursday night, becoming the first Netherlands player since Rob Rensenbrink in 1978 to score two penalties in a single match as the Oranje thrashed Malta 4-0 in a World Cup qualifier. The Liverpool forward converted from the spot twice and also assisted Tijjani Reijnders, leading the Netherlands to a comfortable victory in World Cup qualifying.

Gakpo matches Netherlands record with penalty brace

The Netherlands extended their lead at the top of their World Cup qualifying group with a 4-0 win over Malta, powered by Gakpo’s standout display. The 26-year-old opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 12th minute after Ryan Gravenberch was fouled, before doubling his tally early in the second half following another foul on Wout Weghorst. Gakpo later turned provider, setting up Reijnders for the Oranje’s third before Memphis Depay added a fourth in stoppage time.

Gakpo’s brace carries historic significance — he is the first Dutch player since Rensenbrink at the 1978 World Cup to score two penalties in a single game, excluding shootouts, as per OptaJohan. That feat ties the Liverpool forward to one of the most iconic names in the Netherlands’ football history, reflecting his emergence as a reliable and composed figure for the Oranje. His ability to handle pressure from the spot and deliver consistent attacking output underlines his growing maturity on the international stage.

AdvertisementAFPNetherlands dominate Malta — Gakpo impresses

The fixture was largely one-sided from the outset as the Netherlands dominated possession and dictated play. Despite having a goal ruled out for offside, Gakpo’s composure and creativity were evident throughout, as he created four chances and constantly stretched Malta’s defense. Depay, Donyell Malen, and Justin Kluivert all came off the bench in the closing stages, but it was Gakpo’s clinical finishing that defined the night.

Beyond the record, Gakpo’s performance comes at a crucial time for the Netherlands as they look to build momentum ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Ronald Koeman’s squad is entering a new phase, blending experienced internationals like Depay and Virgil van Dijk with emerging stars such as Xavi Simons and Gravenberch. In that mix, Gakpo’s versatility and experience make him one of the key attacking pillars for the team’s qualification campaign and beyond.

The result leaves the Netherlands three points clear at the top of their qualifying group, with Finland up next on Sunday. However, despite the emphatic scoreline, Ronald Koeman’s side will be aware that their overall performance lacked rhythm at times and will need improvement against stronger opponents. Still, the victory provided a confidence boost and highlighted Gakpo’s growing importance to the national team setup.

Gakpo enjoys strong start to the season with Liverpool

Gakpo's form also mirrors his steady progress with Liverpool, where he has been an increasingly influential presence this season amid Mohamed Salah's struggles on the other wing. His work rate, composure, and eye for goal have seen him evolve into a dependable performer for both Arne Slot and the Dutch national side. 

For Liverpool, Gakpo has carried similar form into the 2025–26 season, contributing two goals and two assists in 10 appearances across all competitions so far. Deployed mainly as a left forward or central striker, his intelligent positioning and finishing have made him a consistent threat in both domestic and European matches. That sharpness was evident once again for the national team, where his chemistry with Weghorst and Reijnders proved decisive.

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Getty Images SportGakpo needs to maintain form as Liverpool struggle

The Netherlands will now turn their attention to Sunday’s World Cup qualifier against Finland, where they can take another step toward securing automatic qualification. With confidence high after the win over Malta, Gakpo is expected to retain his starting spot as Koeman looks to maintain attacking momentum.

For Gakpo, the challenge will be to sustain this rich vein of form as both his club and country enter pivotal phases of their respective campaigns. With Liverpool struggling for form and the Netherlands eyeing to challenge for the World Cup in the summer of 2026, Gakpo will be hoping that he can carry his form for the rest of the season and avoid any injury setbacks.