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Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has hailed the game-changing contribution of Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford, crediting the English forward with providing the crucial width needed to unlock Eintracht Frankfurt's stubborn defence. The England international helped the Catalan giants fight back from a difficult first half to secure a vital victory in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

Rashford helps inspire Barca comeback

The encounter at Camp Nou was far from the comfortable evening many home fans had anticipated as the visitors from the Bundesliga arrived with a game plan designed to frustrate. For 45 minutes, it worked perfectly, stifling Barcelona’s creative engines and forcing them into congested central areas where chances were scarce.

However, the introduction of Rashford in the second half proved to be the catalyst for a tactical shift that turned the tide. The England international, who has settled quickly since his loan move from Old Trafford, replaced Ferran Torres and immediately offered a direct, vertical threat that stretched the German defence to breaking point, allowing Barcelona to eventually claim three points via two headed goals scored by Jules Kounde. It took just four minutes for Rashford to make his impact, whipping the ball into the back post for the Frenchman to level the tie.

AdvertisementAFPFlick delighted with Rashford role

Speaking to the media after the match, Flick offered a candid assessment of his team's tactical struggles in the first half and explained exactly why Rashford was the solution. The German coach admitted that his players, particularly the energetic Raphinha, had been too eager to get on the ball, drifting out of position and clogging the middle of the pitch.

"I wasn't surprised by Eintracht's approach," Flick stated. "I told my players to forget the past game [Frankfurt's 6-0 loss in Leipzig] because they are a good team.

"In the first half Raphinha was everywhere and maybe that wasn't the best, but his attitude is good. In the second half, we tweaked some things and Marcus was important to give width and stretch the lines."

Winning ugly at the new Camp Nou

Tuesday night proved that this Barcelona side possesses the grit to win ugly. The deadlock was eventually broken not through a flowing passing move, but via dead-ball situations—a testament to the work being done on the training ground.

"We scored two goals from set pieces but that is also part of the game," Flick noted pragmatically.

The manager knows that in the Champions League, particularly against physically robust Bundesliga opposition, the method of victory is secondary to the three points. The win is their third in six European matches this season, leaving them in 14th place in the table and two points outside of the top eight. 

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AFPRashford's growing influence

This performance serves as another significant moment in Rashford's Spanish adventure. Having already drawn praise from club legends like Gerard Pique for his surprisingly quick adaptation, the 28-year-old is fast becoming a vital weapon for Flick.

Initially viewed as a luxury depth signing, Rashford is making a compelling case for a permanent starting berth. His unique profile gives Barcelona a "Plan B" that effectively rescued them on Tuesday. Whether starting or coming off the bench to exploit tired legs, he is proving to be a difference-maker on the biggest stage.

The comeback victory puts Barcelona in a commanding position in the Champions League group table, taking a significant step towards automatic qualification for the round of 16, though they will still need to climb into the top eight over their last two matches of the round if they are to avoid the knockout play-off.

For Rashford, the focus will now turn to the weekend's La Liga action. With his impact from the bench undeniable, the question for Flick will be whether to unleash him from the start against Osauna, or continue to use him as the ultimate impact sub against tiring defences.

Manchester City are now ready to snap up a “superstar” Champions League player, with the same agent as two members of Pep Guardiola’s squad.

Man City looking to strengthen after Bayer Leverkusen setback

After putting together a solid run to re-establish themselves as Premier League title contenders, Man City have endured a dip in form over the past week, losing 2-1 at Newcastle United on Saturday, before succumbing to a 2-0 home defeat against Bayer Leverkusen.

It was a new-look defence for City, with Guardiola making wholesale changes to his starting XI, bringing in Abdukodir Khusanov to replace Matheus Nunes at right-back, despite the 27-year-old impressing in that area this season.

However, given that both Khusanov and Nunes aren’t natural full-backs, the Blues remain keen on bringing in another option, and there has now been a new update on their pursuit of Newcastle United defender Tino Livramento.

Transfer insider Dean Jones has now told TEAMtalk that Man City will be ready to sign Livramento if the opportunity presents itself, saying: “He’s happy at Newcastle, he is in a good position, he wants to push the limits of a new contract. But equally he knows he could secure a big transfer if he really wanted it.

“City have respect for his situation and have had to wait for him to decide what he does next. If he looks to leave, they are right there and will snap him up.”

"Superstar" Livramento could be perfect for Pep

Of course, any player in a Guardiola system must be comfortable in possession of the ball, and the Newcastle defender, who has the same agent as Stones and Nathan Ake, has averaged an 85.4% pass completion rate per 90 over the past year, placing him in the 87th percentile compared to other full-backs.

Once referred to as a “superstar” by Newcastle content creator Kendall Rowan, the three-time England international is also proven in the Premier League, having reached the 100-game mark in his side’s 2-1 win against City, during which the full-back made three clearances, two interceptions and two tackles.

Having been ranked as one of the best right-backs in the world, ahead of the likes of Nunes and Khusanov, Livramento could be a real upgrade for Pep at right-back, but a deal could be on the expensive side…

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Newcastle value Livramento at the £80m mark, which would make him one of the most expensive signings in Man City history, and given that Nunes has been impressing this season, it is questionable whether they should spend that much on another right-back.

Shohei Ohtani this, Shohei Ohtani that. The Dodgers’ two-way superstar is rightfully getting all the praise for the myriad ways Los Angeles can use him in Saturday’s winner-take-all Game 7 for the World Series title. But, with the season on the line for both sides, the Blue Jays can break out all the stops, too.

Toronto’s rookie righthander Trey Yesavage has been one of baseball’s best stories this year. He started Games 1 and 5 of the World Series, highlighted by his 12-strikeout performance in the latter where he threw seven innings of one-run ball to help the Jays to a win, taking a 3-2 lead in the series.

It all comes down to Saturday, though. Max Scherzer will toe the rubber for Toronto against Ohtani for L.A. in a matchup every baseball fan is eager to see. If Toronto wants to go to their rookie star on short rest, he’d certainly be open to it.

“I’m not sure, I haven’t heard anything from the people that make that decision,” Yesavage said Friday night when asked about his availability for Game 7 via CityNews’ Lindsay Dunn. “But I’ll be ready if my name’s called.”

If called upon, he’d be pitching on three days rest after throwing 104 pitches Wednesday. But, this is Game 7 of the World Series, and Yesavage wants to do what it takes to help his team earn the franchise’s first title since 1993.

After two All-Star seasons with the Braves, Atlanta chose to pick up pitcher Chris Sale’s $18 million club option on Wednesday, ’s Jon Heyman reported. He will remain in Atlanta for the 2026 season.

Next offseason, when Sale is 37 years old, he will become a free agent.

The 2024 Cy Young award winner started in 20 games this past season. Sale posted a 2.58 ERA and a 1.066 WHIP—His ERA was the best amongst his fellow Braves starting pitchers this past season. He threw 165 strikeouts (a team-high) over 125.2 innings pitched, while giving up 102 hits, 36 earned runs and 11 home runs.

Atlanta is believed to be in the market for another starting pitcher this offseason, so we’ll see who the team shows interest in to possibly join Sale in the rotation in 2026.

The Braves went 76–86 this past season and missed the playoffs after going to seven consecutive postseasons.

England and South Africa were left frustrated by the weather as a miserable afternoon of rain in Nottingham washed out their T20I series decider at Trent Bridge. Harry Brook and Aiden Markram both posed with the trophy after an anticlimactic finale, with the series drawn 1-1 after South Africa’s win in a shortened game in Cardiff and England’s drubbing in Manchester.The captains briefly headed to the middle for a delayed toss, but the rain became heavier as soon as they walked out. It relented for a short while but returned with a vengeance, and the umpires called the game off at 4.18pm. “It’s a shame that the weather has ruined it again,” Brook said.Markram said that South Africa were particularly disappointed that they would not have the chance to put in an improved performance after their 146-run thrashing at Emirates Old Trafford on Friday night. “We had a lot of motivation today to put in a good performance and rectify a few things… but when the weather is like this, there’s not much you can do,” he said.A couple shelter from the rain at Trent Bridge•Bradley Collyer/PA Images via Getty Images

Markram’s next international assignment is a month away, with South Africa touring Pakistan for two Tests, three T20Is and three ODIs. “It should be a good tour,” he said. “[I have] two or three weeks off now, which will be welcome, and then we hit the road for a full tour. It’s going to bring its own unique set of challenges, but the boys will be up for that.”Brook also has a short break lined up before England’s winter assignments in New Zealand, Australia, Sri Lanka and India, with Jacob Bethell taking over as captain in their T20I series in Ireland next week. “I’ve got about a month now,” he said. “I’ll go on holiday, soak up the sun, and look forward to New Zealand and the Ashes.”Phil Salt was named player of the series after his unbeaten 141 in Manchester. He started the series with a first-baller in Cardiff, but led the charge for England in their record win at his home venue on Friday night.

A report into the tournament was presented to Cricket Australia this week and will now be considered further

Andrew McGlashan30-Jul-2025

Private investment in the BBL has come a step closer after it was one of the recommendations put forward for the future of the competition, alongside the potential of a later start for the men’s tournament to avoid an extended overlap with Test cricket.Boston Consulting Group (BCG) had been commissioned by Cricket Australia (CA) to assess the current model and future structure of the BBL. They presented their findings to CA earlier this week and the report will now undergo further study over the coming months.BCG said that there was “significant existing commercial value” in the BBL and “strong potential for further growth.” Todd Greenberg, the CA CEO, said the report was a “strong validation” of what the BBL had achieved heading into its 15th season, but it was vital to keep the tournament at the forefront of the sport.Related

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“The success of the T20 format has been a huge boost for the game globally in attracting new audiences and increasing participation,” Greenberg said. “We need to ensure that the Big Bash remains among the world’s top sporting competitions.”We will now undertake an exploratory process of the recommendations in this report to ensure any action we take achieves this potential and is in the best interests of Australian Cricket and cricket fans.”Among major T20 leagues around the world, the BBL has remained one of the holdouts against private investment, but it is now seen as highly likely that it will follow that path, especially with the sums of money that have been produced in the recent sale of Hundred franchises in England with the teams valued at £975milion amid significant interest from India and the US.The BBL has seen an increase in salaries in recent seasons – a top-level overseas player in the BBL can now earn AU$420,000 – but continues to be challenged by the SA20 and ILT20 which run concurrently. An injection of private capital would allow salary caps to rise further.But away from overseas players, one of the big challenges for the BBL has been availability of Australian Test stars given the significant overlap with the Test summer which runs from late November to early January.This season the BBL starts three days before the third Ashes Test in Adelaide although there is a clearer window after the series ends, which could potentially allow players to appear during January. However, in the 2026-27 season, Australia will head to India for five Tests from mid-January. The next Future Tours Programme for beyond 2027 is currently being finalised.Given the pressures on the calendar and the marquee Boxing Day and New Year Tests in Melbourne and Sydney it is unlikely the BBL will ever have a completely clear window. The other issue is trying to complete the tournament within the summer school holiday window which goes to late January – there was previously a failed experiment of extending the BBL into February.Expansion of the BBL was also put forward by the report as an avenue worth further consideration. Earlier this year New Zealand Cricket chief executive Scott Weenink confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that there had been informal talks about putting a team into the BBL while Singapore has been mooted as an expansion location. Cricket ACT has also made clear they would like to host a team in Canberra.The WBBL has largely been able to carve out its own window in October and November although this season the schedule has been squeezed by the Women’s ODI World Cup which means it will begin in early November with the final on December 13, the day before the start of the BBL.The BBL went through a difficult phase when it expanded to a full home-and-away season in 2018-19 coupled with the challenges brought by two years navigating the impacts of Covid-19. In 2023-24 the tournament was reduced to a 10-game regular season.”It is very important to understand that no decisions have yet been made, and that any action taken will be for the benefit of the BBL, WBBL, fans and Australian Cricket more broadly,” CA chair Mike Baird said. “That would include providing strong benefits across the game including investment in participation initiatives and player development.”

Laura Wolvaardt, Ayabonga Khaka, Eden Carson and Fran Jonas join the podcast after two remarkable semi-finals

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Oct-2024Valkerie Baynes and Firdose Moonda reflect on two remarkable T20 World Cup semi-finals, and catch up with some of the star performers, including South Africa’s captain Laura Wolvaardt and seamer Ayabonga Khaka, a key member of the “bomb-squad” that out-Australia-ed Australia in Dubai to give the 2023 finalists another shot at glory.On the other side of the draw, New Zealand held their nerve in a tense finish against West Indies, to cap their own remarkable revival after a group-stage elimination last time out. Eden Carson and Fran Jonas represent the coming generation that has been instrumental in the turnaround.