Five-star Liverpool thrash Arsenal, Spurs stunned by Wolves

Agencies
December 30, 2018

Liverpool, Dec 30: Liverpool extended their Premier League lead to nine points as Roberto Firmino’s hat-trick hammered Arsenal 5-1 at Anfield, while Tottenham’s title challenge crumbled in a 3-1 home defeat to Wolves.

Manchester City could cut Liverpool’s lead to seven points when they look to stop a recent slump at Southampton on Sunday, but ahead of their trip to the Etihad on January 3, Jurgen Klopp’s men currently look well on course to deliver a first league title since 1989/90.

“For sure Tottenham’s result people out there reacted, but not inside the dressing room where they were completely concentrated on the match and not allowed to have that influence on our game,” said Klopp.

“That is how I want the team to stay which is to be concentrated, nothing else.”

Liverpool even overcame a rare deficit on home soil as for the first time this season after they trailed in the league at Anfield when Ainsley Maitland-Niles swept Arsenal into an 11th minute lead.

However, the hosts were level within three minutes and 4-1 up by half-time as Firmino struck twice in two minutes before Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah’s penalty made the points safe before the break.

Salah then passed up the chance to move out in front as the league’s top scorer after drawing level with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Harry Kane on 13 as he allowed Firmino to take Liverpool’s second penalty of the evening 25 minutes from time to complete the Brazilian’s hat-trick.

Spurs stumble

Tottenham had surged ahead of City into second place after smashing 11 goals past Everton and Bournemouth in the previous six days, but ran out of steam at Wembley as Wolves scored three times in the final 18 minutes.

A wonderful moment of individual skill from Kane put Spurs on course for a sixth straight league when he cut inside onto his weaker left foot, but still produced a powerful drive from 20 yards that beat Rui Patricio midway through the first half.

However, much has been made of Tottenham coach Mauricio Pochettino’s ability to extract the most from a stretched squad and Spurs finally looked like a side jaded by competing on four fronts in the final stages.

“We have had a very good run in the last few weeks and to keep that level is difficult,” said Pochettino. “I think we started to pay for the effort in the other games. We are not machines.”

The comeback began when Willy Boly rose highest to meet Joao Moutinho’s corner to equalise.

As the hosts pressed for a winner, Wolves broke in numbers and Raul Jimenez put the visitors in front six minutes from time before Helder Costa raced clear to score his first Premier League goal.

“I want to kill him”

Fulham are now just a point away from safety after Aleksandar Mitrovic saved Aboubakar Kamara’s blushes, but not the wrath of manager Claudio Ranieri.

The Frenchman ignored Ranieri’s orders to let Mitrovic take a late penalty with the scores still tied a 0-0 and saw his effort saved by Jonas Lossl.

“I said to Aboubakar Kamara to leave the ball to Mitrovic, he is the man who shoots the penalties,” said Ranieri. “It is unbelievable, he did not respect me, the club, the team and crowd. I spoke with him, it is not right.

“I want to kill him, that is normal when one man takes a ball, only because he scored the last penalty (against Manchester United). It should be Mitrovic, that is it.”

A missed penalty was also the turning point at the King Power where Cardiff goalkeeper Neil Etheridge saved James Maddison’s spot-kick for Leicester.

And Cardiff snatched a first away win of the season in stoppage time when Victor Camarasa unleashed a rocket to move the Welsh side four points clear of the relegation zone with a 1-0 victory.

Brighton also boosted their survival chances by beating Everton 1-0 thanks to Jurgen Locadia’s solitary goal.

Newcastle are also four points above the drop zone after they were denied a vital three points by Abdoulaye Doucoure’s late equaliser for Watford in a 1-1 draw at Vicarage Road after Salomon Rondon had opened the scoring.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
June 13,2020

New Delhi, Jun 13: West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo has said that wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni is the biggest superstar in cricket and is one of the easiest guys to interact with.

Bravo was doing an Instagram live chat with former Zimbabwe pacer Pommie Mbangwa and it was then that the all-rounder was asked to talk about his stint with Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

"I think a lot of credit for CSK's success has to be given to Dhoni and Fleming, obviously the owners, they trust both Fleming and Dhoni, so there is no outside interference when it comes to decision making, both are very big students of the game, players love MS and it's an environment and franchise that allows you to be you," Bravo told Mbangwa during the chat.

"MS Dhoni is the biggest superstar in cricket and in our team. He was one of the easiest people to interact with, outside of the cricket field, he is like playing video games, his door is open at all times, whenever you talk about the biggest superstar and then you think a person like Dhoni is the most humble of them all. CSK is a special team and we have the most loyal fans," he added.

Bravo has been with the CSK since 2011. He has played a total of 104 matches for the franchise, picking up 121 wickets.

The all-rounder has also managed to win the Purple Cap (most wickets in IPL) two times (2013 and 2015).

CSK has won the IPL thrice (2010, 2011 and 2018) and all the titles have come under the leadership of MS Dhoni.

Thirty-eight-year-old Dhoni has been currently enjoying some time away from the game. He last played competitive cricket during the 2019 World Cup.

Dhoni had to face criticism for his slow batting approach during India's matches in the high-profile game.

This year, Dhoni did not find a place for himself in the BCCI's centrally contracted players list.

The board had released the list of central contract list of players for the period from October 2019 to September 2020.

Dhoni is the only captain to win all major ICC trophies (50-over World Cup, T20 World Cup, and Champions Trophy).

Under his leadership, India also managed to attain the number one ranking in Test cricket.

He would have been leading the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) if the Indian Premier League (IPL) had commenced from March 29.

However, the tournament has been postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
July 7,2020

Mumbai, Jul 7: Australias second largest city Melbourne is set to go for another round of lockdown — for six weeks — from midnight Wednesday as the coronavirus has reared its ugly head in Victoria. And this has further confirmed that this years T20 World Cup in Australia is practically not possible. Even as the ICC keeps delaying the announcement, BCCI hopes that the official call will now be taken with this latest development.

Despite ICC's Financial and Commercial Affairs Committee (F&CA) chief Ehsan Mani as well as Cricket Australia making it clear time and again that hosting a T20 World Cup in the October-November window is practically impossible, the ICC hasn't made an official announcement and that hasn't impressed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Speaking to media persons, a BCCI official said that it is only the ICC which has kept speaking about delaying the inevitable — announcing a postponement — even as Cricket Australia chairman Earl Eddings wrote to the international body that it looks highly unlikely that a T20 World Cup can be hosted in these trying times.

"As it is there were so many logistical difficulties and that is perfectly understandable. The Australian government has been addressing the public health issue efficiently and there are regulations in place which are crucial to address the challenges. In that background even Cricket Australia has been practical in their assessment of the situation.

"With this present situation where Melbourne is in lockdown, the ICC really must take the final call of closure on the issue if they have any concept of responsible decision making," the official said.

Not just CA chairman Eddings, but also Mani — who is also the PCB chief — recently told the media that the T20 World Cup cannot be held in a bio-secure environment.

"We have had a lot of discussions and the feeling is it (T20 World Cup) would not be possible this year. ICC has World Cups lined up in 2021 and 2023, so we have a gap year where we can adjust this event. God forbid if some player(s) falls ill or mishap occurs during the tournament, it will have a big impact and create panic in the cricket world and we can't take that risk. Having a bio-bubble environment is feasible for say a bilateral series like Pakistan in England, but it is very difficult when 16 teams are involved," he had said.

Cricket Australia's interim CEO Nick Hockley echoed the sentiments when he said the biggest challenge was to get the players from so many teams into the country.

"Our biggest challenge is getting 15 teams into the country. If I compare it with the prospect of a bilateral tour, you're talking about bringing one team in and then playing individual matches. But the prospect of bringing 15 teams in and having six or seven teams in one city at the same time, it's a much more complex exercise," he had said.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
February 16,2020

Feb 16: Mayank Agarwal finally found some form going his way and Rishabh Pant mixed caution with his customary aggression as India's warm-up fixture against New Zealand XI ended in a draw in Hamilton on Sunday. The match was called off an hour after lunch with India reaching 252 for four just 48 overs into their second innings. Agarwal, who had gone through a wretched period since the second Test against Bangladesh, retired on 81 off 99 balls with 10 fours and three sixes to his name. To the relief of the Indian team management, Pant played in his customary manner to reach 70 off 65 balls, but also showed discretion when the opposition bowlers were in the midst of a good spell.

There were four sixes -- two each off leg-spinner Ish Sodhi and off-spinner Henry Cooper. While Sodhi was hit down the ground, Cooper was dispatched over extra cover on a couple of occasions.

He didn't curb his aggression though; there were times when he was ready defend against the spinners and also leave some of the deliveries that the Kiwi pacers bowled.

Even though Pant is easily the better batsman compared to his senior Wriddhiman Saha, the innings might have come too late in the day considering that the latter is a better keeper and possibly a more responsible batsman in pressure situations.

The biggest positive to have emerged from the second innings is Agarwal's poor run coming to an end.

The Seddon Park track easing out was definitely a factor but Agarwal's footwork was more assured as he played some glorious on-drives and pull-shots off fast bowlers.

Before this game, Agarwal had played 10 competitive games including first-class, ODIs and List A matches and couldn't cross the 40-run mark in 11 completed innings.

He even bagged a pair against New Zealand A in an unofficial Test match. Once he had got his form back, he didn't come out to bat after lunch giving Saha an opportunity to score an unbeaten 30, his runs coming mostly against non-regular bowlers.

The Agarwal-Pant pair added 100 runs in 14.3 overs and it also helped that part-timers like Cooper was introduced into the action. In the morning, Prithvi Shaw (39 off 31 balls) was bowled through the gate by Daryl Mitchell as the batsman left a gaping hole between his bat and pad.

Shaw, though, seemed to have done enough during his brisk 72-run stand with Agarwal, which could put an end to the debate around the opening slot even though the tracks in Wellington and Christchurch could be a test of technique for the flamboyant Mumbaikar.

It was a match that Shubman Gill would perhaps like to forget in a hurry as he was dismissed cheaply for the second time in a row. He scored 8 before Daryl Mitchell trapped him leg before.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.