The pressure is really ramping up on Liverpool boss Arne Slot after losing nine of the last 12 matches and now the Dutchman has been warned former boss Jurgen Klopp could be ready and poised to return to the Anfield dugout. It's been claimed Klopp and would be carried "shoulder high" by Reds fans who are desperate for the team's current disastrous run to finally come to an end.

• Klopp backed for sensational return

  The boos rang out around Anfield after yet another defeat, another poor performance and another four goals conceded as Liverpool slumped to a 4-1 defeat to PSV on Wednesday evening, the latest chapter in a horror show of a season for the English champions. Defeat in the Champions League came after back-to-back 3-0 defeats by Nottingham Forest and Manchester City and followed the Reds' 3-0 capitulation to Crystal Palace which dumped them out of the League Cup. Slot has stated the club hierarchy still support him, but the wolves are circling a manager who is failing to fix defensive frailties or improve the form of summer signings who are still struggling to integrate into the team. And prominent German journalist Michael Reif has backed Klopp to make a sensational return to Merseyside, if Slot fails to end the dismal run of results. The German boss enjoyed a trophy-laden nine years at Anfield, winning multiple domestic and European titles before leaving in 2024 and is currently the Head of Global Soccer for the Red Bull Group. 

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  Reif: 'Klopp's hovering over Anfield like a UFO'

  Reif told : "Liverpool isn’t just in a mess. It’s practically burned to the ground!. The timing of this statement (Klopp's appearance on Diary of a CEO) is terrible for Slot. He's hovering over Anfield like a UFO. All of Liverpool would carry him back on their shoulders. And it would be negligent if they didn’t try to bring Klopp back. In Liverpool, the scar from his departure is far from healed. I don’t know what it’s like being Global Head of Soccer, and whether you ever start to wonder, ‘Is this really me?’ He was exhausted after that time. It took its toll. Now he looks very rested. Almost as if Arne Slot has to watch out…"

• Under-fire Slot on borrowed time

  Anfield legend Jamie Carragher has weighed in on the debate and handed a stark warning to the Dutch boss, saying he has as little as seven days, across three fixtures to save his job. 

  Carragher told : "Arne Slot has a week to save his job. It is hard to believe that sentence is being written, but Liverpool’s next three games are against West Ham United, Sunderland and Leeds United. Anything fewer than seven points will make an already unacceptable situation untenable. No matter how much goodwill the manager has, Liverpool Football Club cannot sustain the drop in standards witnessed over the past three months. No one knows better than me how much that reality will be hurting everyone connected with my old club. Liverpool do not willingly sack coaches, especially those that bring great success."

  He added: "Nobody saw this drop-off coming, and there must always be caution about making statements with the benefit of hindsight. However, there were hints that the team was going in the wrong direction from March last season onwards, most notably in the performance away to Paris St-Germain and in the Carabao Cup Final loss to Newcastle United."

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  London calling for beleaguered Reds boss 

  Slot knows he can buy himself some breathing space if his side can secure three points when they head to West Ham on Sunday afternoon. But the Hammers are on an upward curve after the dreadful start to the season under previous boss Graham Potter, and are unbeaten in their last three under new manager Nuno Espirito Santo. But history is on the Reds’ side; West Ham have won just one of their last 18 Premier League games against Liverpool. Slot will be desperate for that run to continue at the London Stadium.

We must just turn up and wait for what treat he throws at us

Sidharth Monga21-Jun-20252:33

Manjrekar: The world knows how special Pant is

Rishabh Pant would have been right at home in England in an era gone by. Imagine him as one of the schoolboys in Cambridge in the late 1950s and early 1960s, an eccentric inspired by the Beat Generation of America, walking around with little regard for rules and convention, rejecting materialism that came with the post-war relative prosperity, looking all hip and dandy, doing things for rhyme or reason not apparent to observers, offending and confounding anyone who thinks they are an authority figure.Pant is actually quite at home even now. Only Alec Stewart and Matt Prior have more hundreds as wicketkeeper in this country. No visiting wicketkeeper has more than one. He has scored more hundreds in this country than Sunil Gavaskar and Virat Kohli.All he needs is long hair, a fisherman sweater, kohl in his eye, and he could somersault all over the streets. Rish the Beat, he could call himself, along the lines of the mad-genius singer-songwriter and guitarist of that era, Syd Barrett, who went by Syd the Beat for a while.Related

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Pant dances down the second ball he faces. Seemingly goes into his bunker. Occasionally tries to ramp-pull Josh Tongue, the bowler who troubled him the most. Plays proper dirty slogs off Chris Woakes, one of them in the last over of the day. Charges Brydon Carse early on the second morning.When the opposition wicketkeeper, Jamie Smith, tries to coax him into a reckless shot against Shoaib Bashir, Pant tells him the bowler is bowling well and the field is spread out so he can’t. And still goes ahead and slog-sweeps the next ball for the 79th six of his career, going past MS Dhoni and behind only Virender Sehwag and Rohit Sharma among Indians.He brings up his hundred with a one-handed six, having fallen in the 90s seven times, the same number as his centuries now. On three occasions, trying to hit a six. Once, he hit a six outside the ground, the ball was lost, and he got out to the replacement ball on 99.It’s like nothing really matters. What is a hundred? Just a material possession. The world is just random chaos we must embrace, we are but a minuscule part of what is just a pale blue dot, and the best we can do is live every moment to its fullest: cartwheel when we get a hundred, trudge back slower than Inzamam-ul-Haq when we miss it, sharing every expression of pain with the world. And then do the same all over again without a care for convention or hundreds or that pain of getting out to a creative shot.Rishabh Pant celebrates his century with a somersault•Getty ImagesOf course this is not the 1950s or 60s. Of course Pant is no shooting star. Since his debut, he is only the most consistent Test batter of the most high-profile and the most scrutinised Test team in the world. He just plays a high-pressure game with the lightness of a spiritually awakened person.There has to be some method to Pant’s batting. Until he himself talks about it someday – or he could choose to keep the mystery about it alive – we can only look to make educated guesses from some of the trends.He likes to go after seam bowlers early in the piece. He is more aggressive in more challenging conditions. He likes to hit balls where fielders aren’t, something ridiculously simple when spoken about but hard to execute.Pant is susceptible to balls bowled on good length and angling across or seaming away from him. It would seem all his creative shots are designed to avoid facing those deliveries as much as he can.After he charged down to Ben Stokes second ball, only one out of the next nine Stokes deliveries were pitched on that good length. In this innings, for example, he faced 108 balls of pace and played 22 false shots, a control percentage of a tick under 80. Only 35 of those 108 balls were on a good length of 6-8m from the stumps. He played 16 false shots to them.Pant had a wider range of interception points than other batters. He was likelier than anyone else to meet a quick delivery either more than 3m down the wicket or 0.5m from the wicket. And still his average interception point was further down than others.He thrives in this chaos where he has thrown the bowlers off their lengths. When he was playing just his second Test, having got off the mark with a six in his debut innings, he let Moeen Ali bowl good ball after good ball to him in Southampton. He tried to weather the storm in the traditional way. The storm didn’t subside. He ended up scoring a 29-ball duck, and said never again.There must be no rhythm or plan for bowlers when they come at Pant. The bowlers must be forced to protect as many areas on the field as possible, giving him more room for error when he attacks. Even his batting coach mustn’t know the gameplan. There must not be any yardstick to measure his processes by. We must just turn up and wait for what treat Beat Rish throws at us.

O’Neill took 5 for 26 while Boland claimed three as Victoria claimed a sizeable lead, but Liam Hatcher continued his fine game

Alex Malcolm16-Oct-2025

Fergus O’Neill continued to push his case to be part of an extended Ashes squad with yet another five-wicket haul while Scott Boland bagged three to hand Victoria an important lead in their Sheffield Shield clash with New South Wales at the Junction Oval.After the pair had scythed through the NSW top-order on the opening night, including Boland bagging Sam Konstas for a duck, O’Neill continued the carnage on the second day picking up 5 for 26 while Boland claimed 3 for 59 as NSW were bowled out for just 163.Related

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It handed Victoria a first innings lead of 77 which they pushed to 149 for the loss of only one wicket into the evening session but then suffered a late collapse under gloomy skies, losing 4 for 21 before bad light stopped play with 45 minutes left. Liam Hatcher claimed another three wickets to go with his five on day one.At the start of the day Matthew Gilkes and nightwatcher Ryan Hadley provided stubborn resistance in the first hour but when O’Neill replaced Boland from the northern end he showcased why he is the reigning Sheffield Shield player of the year. After a close shout for caught behind he pinned Hadley lbw for 5 off 54 balls with a delivery that jagged sharply in off the seam.O’Neill could have had Ollie Davies out three times after he was dropped twice at cover by Harry Dixon. But he did not survive his third chance in 15 balls when he edged another probing delivery to Peter Handscomb at second slip.Gilkes had fought harder than any other NSW batter to reach 41 off 98 deliveries before becoming O’Neill’s fifth scalp. O’Neill angled in from around the wicket with the keeper up to the stumps to prevent Gilkes from batting outside his crease to negate the impeccable length. Gilkes edged to Will Sutherland at first slip to hand O’Neill his eighth five-wicket haul in first-class cricket and bring his bowling average back under 21.Boland was more expensive than usual when he returned for his second spell of the day with Will Salzmann and Jack Edwards playing positively. After coming together at 96 for 6 they raced to a near run-a-ball 62-run stand. Boland looked visibly frustrated as they drove him on the up without much fear on a surface that had offered plenty of sideways movement.Salzmann finally paid a price on 33 when he didn’t offer a shot, trying to leave a good length delivery from Boland that nipped back sharply to clip the off bail.Edwards then ran out of partners to be left stranded on 33, as the last three batters, including injury substitute Charlie Stobo, fell for ducks with Boland claiming one of them while Mitchell Perry picked up the other two.Victoria were then cruising at 72 for 1, with a lead of 149, as Campbell Kellaway and Marcus Harris took control after the early loss of Dixon despite dark clouds lingering over Junction Oval for most of the afternoon.Kellaway played impressively to reach 47 while Harris rode his luck having been dropped by Gilkes off Nathan Lyon before tea. But his luck ran out on 20 off 80 balls when he cut Hatcher straight to backward point. Kellaway chopped Hatcher on not long after, three shy of a deserved fifty, before Ollie Peake was cleaned bowled through the gate two balls later attempting a loose flat-footed drive on the up.The umpires checked the light but allowed play to continue in the gloom. Handscomb then gloved Hadley to Gilkes attempting a pull shot. Three balls later the umpires sent the players off for bad light with Victoria only 170 in front with just five wickets in hand.

As Chelsea thrashed Barcelona 3-0 in the Champions League, former Stamford Bridge star Pat Nevin was left in awe of Estevao Willian, who scored a stunning individual effort in a true breakout performance for the young Brazilian.

The Blues started as they meant to go on, almost inviting Hansi Flick’s high-line, baiting Barcelona in. The Spaniards were handed plenty of warning signs, too. Wesley Fofana’s hand spared their early blushes, before the linesman’s flag suggested that Flick had picked his tactic well for the trip to Stamford Bridge. But the inevitable was clear.

Come the 27th-minute, Barcelona and Jules Kounde completed the job that Enzo Fernandez believed he’d done twice prior by finding the back of the net to hand Chelsea the lead. The own goal opened the gate in a half of onslaught that simply did not rest after the break, when West London was treated to the Estevao show.

On a night centred around one of the early 2026 Ballon d’Or favourites Lamine Yamal, it was Chelsea’s youngster who shined brightest to score a wonderful goal in the 55th-minute. The 18-year-old is proving to be one of the best signings of the Todd Boehly era.

Aside from Ferran Torres’ wasted effort early on, Barcelona didn’t have a sniff against Enzo Maresca’s dominant side. This was no 2005 display from the Spanish club. Instead, it was excellency from the hosts in the Champions League as they secured their biggest-ever win against Barcelona.

The impressive victory has made it three wins from five in the Champions League and highlighted them as a potential dark horse. They’ve got plenty of history in European football these days and have just added another night to remember.

Pat Nevin blown away by "utterly brilliant" Estevao

When news emerged earlier this week that Cole Palmer has fractured his toe in a home accident, there may have been understandable concern around West London about where the Blues would continue to find their spark. But Estevao wouldn’t have shared that concern. He saw an opportunity – an opportunity that he’s taken with both hands against Barcelona, of all sides.

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He ended the evening with three chances created, one goal, eight touches inside the Barcelona box and deserved praise from Nevin. The former Chelsea man was blown away by the teenage sensation, telling BBC Sport: “You know what? Start believing the hype! Estevao Willian is EXTRA special!

“The way he goes past the first player, there is no space whatsoever and he leaves him for dead. He did it just by pure skill and fast feet. He still had a difficult angle to overcome to finish it but he leathered it into the net.

“He is going to be absolutely and utterly brilliant. It isn’t a question of if, it is a question of when and how good he is going to be.”

Chelsea now "crazy" about signing "wonderful" assist king

Manchester United have made a series of exciting signings recently to try and breed a new era at Old Trafford, and they could now look to sign a rising star from within England.

Truthfully, the last decade has seen the Red Devils’ stock and reputation fall as they look to return to the elite of English football. Still, additions such as Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko have shown a sense of ambition under Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

Even with the need for a new midfielder at Manchester United clear amid uncertainty over Casemiro’s future, boss Ruben Amorim has indicated he is keen to get more out of Manuel Ugarte in the meantime following his move from Paris Saint-Germain last summer.

He said before his side’s clash with Everton: “You can sense a lot of very good players come here, and sometimes they struggle. He is struggling at the moment but it is our job to try to help and help him to feel like I felt when he was a Sporting player. But it is a different world. He needs to adapt, and he needs to improve, especially in training.”

Several targets have been linked to replace veteran Casemiro, with the likes of Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Joao Gomes and Atletico Madrid midfielder Connor Gallagher on their list.

Amorim will continue to build over the coming months and is likely to get time to implement his vision, albeit further signings will be necessary to make his formation a bona fide success as his squad continue to evolve.

Now, he may have an alternative England international firmly on his radar as Manchester United look to restore themselves among the Champions League slots at a minimum this term.

Man Utd set to bid for Elliot Anderson

According to TEAMtalk, Manchester United are set to bid for Nottingham Forest star Elliot Anderson as they up the ante in pursuit of a Casemiro replacement, with a move for the Englishman backed by both Jason Wilcox and Amorim himself.

The latter is unlikely to see his contract renewed at Old Trafford, and steps could now be taken to sign the Tricky Trees man, a move that may cost between £80 and £100 million.

Once January comes around, Manchester United could offer a package at around the £60 million mark, albeit that is unlikely to be enough to land Anderson in the face of his magnificent form at the City Ground.

Nevertheless, the former Newcastle United man, labelled “elite” by Thomas Tuchel, is open to joining a big six club and could be someone the club now values as a realistic target more than Brighton & Hove Albion star Carlos Baleba.

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For now, speculation will continue to mount over Anderson’s future, but the pursuit may be one to keep an eye on as Amorim looks to lead Manchester United to silverware in the coming years.

The home side crumbled on the final day before a last-wicket stand narrowed the margin

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff07-Oct-2025New South Wales opened their Sheffield Shield campaign with a memorable 74-run away win over Western Australia.Set 231 to win, WA crumbled for 156 on a tricky pitch at the WACA ground in Perth as unheralded Blues quick Liam Hatcher inflicted serious damage on the lower order. Batting with injured No. 11 Joel Paris, Australia allrounder Ashton Agar went down swinging.Related

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Paris and Agar put on an innings-high 53-run stand for the last wicket to give NSW some nervous moments before closing out the game.But Agar was bowled for 46 the first ball after drinks in the second session of day four, slashing onto his stumps off Ryan Hadley who finished with eight wickets in the matchNSW lost serious experience in the off-season with Jackson Bird moving back to Tasmania and Moises Henriques retiring from four-day cricket. The upset result is a huge boost for veteran Test spinner Nathan Lyon, who led the side in this match in the absence of Jack Edwards on Australia A duty.WA veteran Cameron Bancroft did nothing to impress selectors for a potential Test recall, out for 3 when he edged Hadley after making 10 in the first innings.Test allrounder Cameron Green fell for 24 on Tuesday, superbly held in his follow through by former WA quick Charlie Stobo, after making 19 in the first innings. Green, who is being eased back into bowling following serious back surgery last year, sent down just four overs in the match.NSW’s contenders for a potential Test spot – Sam Konstas and Kurtis Patterson – also failed to capitalise. Incumbent Test opener Konstas made 4 and 14, while Patterson, who played the last of his two games for Australia back in 2019, was dismissed for 8 and 4.

The India and RCB allrounder and self-professed rebel is the queen of comebacks

Hemant Brar16-Jun-2025When Sneh Rana dismissed Anushka Sanjeewani to seal India’s victory in the ODI tri-series final in Colombo last month, she raised her right arm, lowered her sleeve and revealed a tattoo. Inked in Devanagari, just below her wrist, it read – which translates to “rebel”.”If someone says something cannot be done, my automatic response is [to ask] why it cannot be done,” offspin-bowling allrounder Rana says. “It can be done. I rebel.”The tri-series was the latest in a long line of comebacks for her. Playing white-ball cricket after almost a year and a half, she took 15 wickets in five games and was the Player of the Series. Five of those wickets came against South Africa, a career best, for which she was named Player of the Match, becoming only the third Indian after Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma with a match award in all three formats.Related

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Soon after the series ended, Rana made another comeback. When India announced their squad for the England tour, she found a place in the T20I side after more than two years out of it. is not Rana’s only tattoo. The old adage tells us to treat our bodies like temples, but Rana treats hers like a journal, chronicling significant moments of her life on it in permanent ink. She made her India debut in 2014, but about two years later, she suffered a knee injury that kept her off the field for a year. People started to say her career was over. During that time she got a tattoo of an anchor on her left forearm with “I refuse to sink” written next to it.Read my arm: Rana is something of a tattoo aficionado”That one year was very difficult,” she says of the time she was out. “It was very important to stay calm and patient. In such times, people around you are equally important. I was fortunate to have my parents with me. They never let me feel down.”Rana stayed afloat and kept making waves in domestic cricket. It took her five years to stage a comeback, but she returned stronger. The bowling action was a bit more side-on; she put more body into it and gave the ball a proper rip.In her first game on return, her Test debut, in Bristol, she took four wickets in England’s only innings. When India followed on, she scored 80 not out from No. 8 and helped save the match. She impressed in the ODIs and T20Is as well. Ramesh Powar, India women’s coach then, called her “the find of the series”.It was an emotional roller coaster for Rana. A month before she was picked for the England tour, she lost her father, whom she was very close to. The date of his death is inked in Roman numerals on her left arm. “You know how a father-daughter relation is,” she says. “My dad always supported me, encouraged me, and protected me from all the negative things. He wanted me to play for India again. But when it happened, he was not there to witness it.

So finally after 5 long years the wait is over
PAPA this one’s for you
It’s an emotional moment for me and my Fam.I can’t describe my emotions.Just wanna thank each and everyone for your guidance and support throughout this journey.
Papa,wish u were here to live this moment pic.twitter.com/kjTQXikqPW

— Sneh Rana (@SnehRana15) May 30, 2021