LONDON: Gabriel Magalhaes headed Arsenal to a 1-0 win at Tottenham on Sunday as the Gunners overcame the absence of key midfielders Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard to extend their north London derby dominance.
Mikel Arteta’s side were without skipper Odegaard due to an ankle injury suffered on Norway duty, while Rice served a suspension for his red card against Brighton.
Losing two such influential players appeared to make Arsenal vulnerable on their trip up the Seven Sisters Road to face their bitter rivals.
But the Premier League title contenders dug deep with a combative display, benefitting from Tottenham’s latest display of wasteful finishing before Gabriel bagged the winner in the second half.
The Brazilian defender’s first goal since February made it three wins from four league games for unbeaten Arsenal as they chase a first title since 2004 after two successive runners-up finishes.
Arsenal have now won on their last three visits to Tottenham, losing just once, in May 2022, in their last eight meetings with their hated neighbors.
The second placed Gunners are two points behind Manchester City as they turn their attention to their Champions League opener at Atalanta on Thursday before traveling to face Pep Guardiola’s champions next weekend.
The 196th north London derby showed Arsenal have steel and spirit aplenty, but they also needed a dose of good fortune as Tottenham let them off the hook in the first half.
Failing to turn dominant spells into goals has been a familiar story for Tottenham this season and once again Ange Postecoglou’s men were let down by their lack of cutting edge.
Tottenham’s second successive defeat leaves them with only one win from four games in a worrying start to the season for Postecoglou after their late swoon last term cost them a top four place.
Turning to Jorginho and Gabriel Martinelli to replace Rice and Odegaard, Arteta had urged his team to show the “resilience, depth and hunger” needed to overcome their selection issues.
Arsenal had to call on all those qualities during a vibrant start from Tottenham, with David Raya making a fine save at his near post after Son Heung-min’s pass picked out Dejan Kulusevski for an instinctive strike.
Raya had to make an even more agile stop when Kulusevski’s cross flashed through a crowd of players toward the far corner until the Spaniard clawed it away at full stretch.
William Saliba had to make a crucial, last-ditch tackle to deny the unmarked Dominic Solanke, who took too long to shoot inside the area after Son pressured Arsenal into conceding possession.
Tottenham’s profligacy gave Arsenal encouragement and Kai Havertz rose highest for a close-range header that forced a superb save from Guglielmo Vicario, who was also equal to Martinelli’s curler moments late.
Picked out by James Maddison’s cross, Solanke did well to hold off Gabriel but his looping header dropped narrowly wide.
Amid a flurry of aggressive challenges, the simmering derby tension boiled over after Jurrien Timber’s tackle on Pedro Porro left the Tottenham right-back writhing on the turf.
Vicario confronted the Arsenal defender, with both players booked after a melee featuring a plastic bottle thrown from the stands.
By the time Kulusevski crudely up-ended Jorginho on the stroke of half-time, seven players had been booked in a fractious clash, including five from Tottenham.
Micky van de Ven’s glancing tested Raya soon after the interval, but toothless Tottenham were hit with a brutal sucker punch in the 64th minute.
With 23 goals from set-pieces since the start of last season, Arsenal have become dead-ball specialists this was another expertly worked routine.
Saka’s in-swinging corner arrowed toward Gabriel, who got away with a push on Cristian Romero before powering his header past Vicario from five yards.
Tottenham penned Arsenal back in the closing stages, but couldn’t find a way through as Kulusevski blasted just over.
Gabriel strikes as Arsenal hit wasteful Spurs with sucker punch in north London derby
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Gabriel strikes as Arsenal hit wasteful Spurs with sucker punch in north London derby
- Premier League title contenders dug deep with a combative display, benefitting from Tottenham’s latest display of wasteful finishing
Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr appoint former AC Milan boss Pioli
- The Italian replaces Luis Castro, who parted ways with the club on Tuesday after a slow start to the season, both domestically and in the AFC Champions League
- “Pioli is Nassrawi,” Al Nassr said a statement on social media platform X
RIYADH: Saudi club Al-Nassr announced Wednesday the appointment of Stefano Pioli as coach of the side headed up by Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Italian replaces Luis Castro, who parted ways with the club on Tuesday after a slow start to the season, both domestically and in the AFC Champions League.
“Pioli is Nassrawi,” Al-Nassr said a statement on social media platform X.
“We welcome Stefano Pioli as our new coach.”
The 58-year-old was AC Milan boss from October 2019 to May 2024, and oversaw the club’s Serie A title-winning campaign in 2022.
Prior to his near five-year stint at the Rossoneri, Pioli coached Italian sides including Fiorentina, Inter Milan, Lazio and Bologna.
He started his managerial career in 2003 with Salernitana and had worked exclusively in his native Italy up until his appointment by Al-Nassr.
His Portuguese predecessor Castro was the third coach to depart Al-Nassr since Ronaldo’s groundbreaking arrival in early 2023 on a contract that was said to net him 400 million euros over two-and-a-half years.
The highly decorated Ronaldo is yet to win a Saudi trophy with the Riyadh club, with his sole silverware so far being last year’s Arab Club Champions Cup.
Al-Nassr, who finished a distant second in the last Saudi Pro League season, have drawn twice in three matches at the start of the new campaign and on Monday drew 1-1 with Iraq’s Al-Shorta in their AFC Champions League Elite opener.
Essex fined 100,000 pounds over racism at club between 2001-2010
- Disciplinary body finds Essex guilty of failing to address racist or discriminatory language and conduct
- Last year, Yorkshire were fined 400,000 pounds for their handling of racism allegations by a former player
Essex have been fined 100,000 pounds ($132,190) after admitting to a charge of racism at the county club which they failed to address between 2001 and 2010, England’s Cricket Regulator said on Wednesday.
Essex were charged in June after an investigation undertaken by the Cricket Regulator, a body responsible for monitoring compliance with the sport’s rules which operates independently from the rest of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
An independent Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) panel held a sanctions hearing and published its decision on Wednesday.
“Essex County Cricket Club has admitted a charge in breach of Directive 3.3, in relation to the systemic use of racist and/or discriminatory language and/or conduct during the period between 2001 and 2010 which Essex failed to address,” it said in a statement.
The CDC panel also cautioned and reprimanded Essex while 50,000 pounds of the fine was suspended for two years.
“There is deep regret for what occurred in the past but these events do not reflect the Essex Cricket of today,” Essex chair Anu Mohindru said.
“The club have accepted the sanctions and remains committed to tackling all forms of discrimination, and is fully aligned with the ECB’s goal of making cricket the country’s most inclusive team sport.
“We have made significant progress in achieving these aims in the communities we represent through our excellent outreach work, as well as building a workplace that values and respects every individual.”
Dave Lewis, the interim director of the Cricket Regulator, said the racism experienced at Essex was “abhorrent” while the evidence was “deeply disturbing.”
Lewis added that the sanctions had been decided following a “long and complex investigation” after the club had conducted its own investigation.
The people subjected to abuse had “shown real bravery in speaking out,” Lewis said, adding: ” I hope that this prosecution will help ensure that no one suffers again as they did and that racism of this kind is never normalized.
“The CDC panel took into account the fact that Essex had pleaded guilty to the charge and has already taken significant action to address these issues and become a more inclusive club.”
Last year, Yorkshire were fined 400,000 pounds and given a 48-point deduction in the County Championship by the CDC over their handling of racism allegations made by Azeem Rafiq.
The former England Under-19s captain, who is of Pakistani descent, told a British parliamentary committee in 2021 of ‘inhuman’ treatment at Yorkshire and said he had been a victim of institutional racism at the club.
($1 = 0.7565 pounds)
English county side Essex fined after racism probe
- Half of Essex’s fine is suspended for two years
- The county have also been cautioned over their future conduct after being reprimanded by the Cricket Regulator
LONDON: English county side Essex have been fined £100,000 ($131,000) after admitting a failure to address “systemic” racist language and conduct at the cricket club between 2001 and 2010.
Half of Essex’s fine is suspended for two years and the county have also been cautioned over their future conduct after being reprimanded by the Cricket Regulator (CR).
The CR panel said the length of time covered by the charge and the systemic use of racist and discriminatory language suggested a culture that was “embedded” across most levels of the club.
The panel added: “This conduct continued without meaningful challenge from either Essex’s management or other senior playing members of the club even when it was brought to their attention.”
The panel accepted in mitigation Essex’s early admission of the charge and the punishments handed to individuals arising from the separate independent review commissioned by the club.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)’s own investigation had been prompted by allegations of racism made by former players Jahid Ali, Maurice Chambers and Zoheb Sharif.
ECB chief executive Richard Gould said: “Racism has no place in our sport. I’m appalled by what those who experienced racism at Essex have been through, and the way this behavior could become normalized.
“It is vital that as a sport we listen and learn from their experiences, and ensure that no one suffers like that again.
“I welcome the action Essex has taken in recent years to address these issues and become a more inclusive club, and the commitment it has shown to make further progress.”
Italy’s 1990 World Cup icon Schillaci dies aged 59
- Gabriele Gravina: ‘His goal celebrations, in which his face became the symbol of a collective joy, will remain forever part of Italian football heritage’
- Schillaci won the Golden Boot for being top scorer and won the Golden Ball as player of the tournament ahead of the likes of Lothar Matthaus and Diego Maradona
MILAN, Italy: Former Italy striker Salvatore “Toto” Schillaci, most famous for being top scorer at the 1990 World Cup, died on Wednesday at the age of 59.
Juventus were among Italy’s football clubs to pay tribute to Schillaci, who became an icon for his unexpected goalscoring exploits at his country’s home World Cup, simply saying “Ciao Toto” on social media with a picture of him in a Juve shirt.
Italian media report that Schillaci died at Palermo’s “Civico” hospital after suffering from bowel cancer.
The country’s football federation (FIGC) said that all matches played in Italy between now and the end of the coming weekend would have a “minute of reflection” before kick-off.
“His goal celebrations, in which his face became the symbol of a collective joy, will remain forever part of Italian football heritage,” FIGC chief Gabriele Gravina said in a statement.
Schillaci played for Juventus and Inter Milan after beginning his career in the early 1980s at Messina and had modest success in the club game.
His best club season came just before the 1990 World Cup, when he scored 21 times in all competitions as Juventus won the UEFA Cup and the Italian Cup.
But he went from hot club striker to national hero that summer by scoring six times as Italy reached the semifinals of Italia 90.
“At Juve we were lucky to be excited by him before he did the same to the whole of Italy during that incredible summer of 1990,” said Juventus.
“Goodbye, Toto. Thank you.”
Schillaci won the Golden Boot for being top scorer and won the Golden Ball as player of the tournament ahead of the likes of Lothar Matthaus and Diego Maradona, the former of whom won the tournament with the then West Germany.
Italy were knocked out on penalties by Argentina in the last four, as Napoli legend Maradona helped dump out the host nation in front of his own fans in Naples.
Schillaci, who was capped 16 times for his country, only scored one other goal for Italy in his career and four years after the 1990 World Cup left Inter for Jubilo Iwata in Japan, where he ended his career.
Indian bowlers finally getting due recognition, says Gambhir
- India’s Jasprit Bumrah has a knack for choking runs, taking wickets at critical stages
- India will take on Bangladesh in two-match Test series which begins from Thursday
Chennai, India: Indian cricket fans are traditionally obsessed with batsmen but star pacemen, including yorker king Jasprit Bumrah, were finally bringing overdue recognition to the side’s bowlers, coach Gautam Gambhir said Wednesday.
Gambhir took over from Rahul Dravid in July and will oversee his first Test for India in a two-match series against Bangladesh in Chennai from Thursday.
The 42-year-old former opener praised India’s world-class bowlers for making a difference to the set-up.
“It has not happened many times in India where we have started talking about the bowler now. It has always been about batters, batters, batters. India at one stage was a batting-obsessed nation,” Gambhir told reporters.
“Jasprit Bumrah is the best fast bowler in the world in all three formats,” he said.
“It’s an honor that we have got someone like Jasprit Bumrah sitting in that dressing room who can make a difference at any stage of the game.”
Bumrah’s slinging action has a knack for choking an opposition’s flow of runs and bagging wickets.
The 30-year-old has claimed 159 Test wickets since his debut in 2018.
Spin bowling usually prospers on Indian pitches and the hosts’ chances are likely to hinge on Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
Ashwin has claimed 516 wickets, while Jadeja, a left-hander who is also an attacking batsman, is six short of 300.
“India has been fortunate that we have got people like Ashwin and Jadeja, and they have bowled well in tandem, and we know what they can contribute,” Gambhir said.
“Those two can create a lot of impact in Indian conditions.”
Gambhir, a talented left-handed batsman who played a key role in India’s ODI World Cup win in 2011, coached Kolkata Knight Riders to an Indian Premier League title this year.
The former politician is also known for his short fuse and once had an ugly on-field altercation with Virat Kohli during an IPL match.
But Gambhir said he had good relations with all the senior players, including Kohli and ODI and Test skipper Rohit Sharma.
“My relationship with all the senior players has been really good,” he said.
“Sometimes people have made a lot of hue and cry about other things, but that’s not true.”
India remain clear favorites on home soil, but Bangladesh last month celebrated a landmark 2-0 series sweep in Pakistan — their first series win over the Asian rivals.
“We played very good cricket against Pakistan but that is the past,” Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto said.
“That gives us confidence, but we are here to play a good series.”
Commentators have disparaged Bangladesh in earlier series for lacking emotional restraint, affecting their on-field performance.
But Najmul said that characterization was a thing of the past.
“A lot of players (have been) playing for the last 10-15 years and are experienced,” he said. “We don’t get very emotional now.”
