A few weeks ago, it looked as though Glasgow Rangers were going to remain in the vicious cycle which had seen three managers depart before December over the previous three years.

Philippe Clement was teetering on the edge after a dismal start to the season. Premiership defeats to Celtic, Aberdeen and Kilmarnock ensured the Gers’ title challenge was over before it really began.

Wins over Nice and Killie recently have slightly eased the pressure, but the next seven days will likely define the season. The Light Blues face Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League, before a League Cup final clash against Celtic three days later.

If Clement can somehow win both of these, he may just remain in the Ibrox hot seat beyond 2024, which seemed unthinkable a few weeks ago.

Michael Beale and Giovanni Van Bronckhorst weren’t so lucky, with the Dutchman perhaps sacked slightly too hasty.

Giovanni Van Bronckhorst’s record at Rangers

The former Feyenoord manager arrived in November 2021 following Steven Gerrard’s departure to Aston Villa.

Having spent three years at Ibrox as a player, the Dutchman knew all about the club, which was looked on as a major advantage.

Domestically, the Gers struggled in the title race, eventually blowing a lead to let Celtic sneak through and win the Premiership. They did win the Scottish Cup, but it was scant consolation.

The greatest success came in Europe. Having secured qualification from the group stages in the Europa League, Van Bronckhorst led the Light Blues to wins over Borussia Dortmund, Red Star Belgrade, Braga and RB Leipzig before succumbing to Eintracht Frankfurt in the final.

The next step was Champions League qualification, and the club got it after an aggregate win over PSV Eindhoven. They ended up finishing bottom of the group with zero wins from six games, however, and soon after, Van Bronckhorst was sacked.

He didn’t enjoy much success in the transfer market, but one of his signings has since gone on to make the breakthrough at Manchester United – Amad Diallo.

Amad Diallo’s Rangers statistics

In January 2022, the Gers made three loan signings which the manager hoped would give his side a boost during the second half of the season.

James Sands failed to make an impact, so did Aaron Ramsey, who missed a penalty in the Europa League final shootout. The final signing was that of Diallo, who arrived from Man United.

He was looked upon as a wildcard option given his tender age and lack of experience in the game. Indeed, prior to this loan spell, the former Atalanta gem had played just nine times for the Old Trafford side and a temporary move would help him secure more game time.

The youngster took just two minutes to make his mark, scoring on his debut against Ross County, and it looked like the club had a wonderful gem ready to spark their title challenge into life.

Unfortunately, this was about as good as it got for the Ivorian, as he scored just twice more for the club. Diallo did win the Scottish Cup, but failed to make it off the bench in the Europa League final.

Since then, however, the winger has gone on to make his mark at United.

Amad Diallo now looks like a £100m player

Another loan spell during 2022/23 at Sunderland saw Diallo showcase his true talents, scoring 14 goals and grabbing four assists as the Black Cats just missed out on securing a place in the Premier League.

Injury issues hampered his 2023/24 campaign, but the 22-year-old did net the winner against Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-final and this was the catalyst for the player to finally star for United this term.

Diallo has featured in 20 games for the Red Devils this term, registering eight goal contributions in all competitions, and he could go from strength to strength under Ruben Amorim, that’s for sure.

Dubbed a “superstar” earlier this year by journalist Liam Canning, Diallo looks like he is on the right path towards greatness.

Metric

Premier League

Europa League

Goals

1

2

Assists

5

0

Big chances created

5

1

Key passes per 90

1.6

1.2

Successful dribbles per 90

1.3

0.8

Not only that, but he is similar in style to one of the finest wingers on the continent in Bukayo Saka.

The Arsenal star has registered 126 goal contributions – 65 goals and 61 assists – during his time with the Gunners, proving to be one of the most consistent attacking talents in the Premier League.

This is the level that Diallo will be looking to reach, and he certainly isn’t far from it, especially after a positive start to the season. According to FBref, Saka is the seventh-most comparable player to Diallo in Europe’s top five leagues, which proves that the duo are alike in many ways.

Furthermore, the pair have registered similar statistics across a variety of metrics domestically this season with regard to assists (five vs ten), shot on target percentage (31.3% vs 37.5%), shot-creating actions per 90 (4.84 vs 6.76), goal creating actions per 90 (1.02 vs 1.77) and successful take-on percentage (46.9% vs 41.4%) which suggests these two wingers enjoy plenty of success in the final third.

Saka is in a league of his own right now, and he is currently valued at €140m (£116m) according to Transfermarkt, and this value will continue to rise as long as the winger is delivering for Arsenal and Mikel Arteta on a consistent basis.

Diallo could become a player who is valued at over £100m, as it looks like he could emerge as a key player under Amorim’s leadership.

Where Are They Now

Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast's Where Are They Now series.

While he may not have enjoyed the most productive of spells at Ibrox, Diallo did manage to secure a Scottish Cup winners medal while gaining experience in a league that thrives on how physical it is.

This may well have made the winger stronger, being able to cope with a lot more on the field, which appears to be evident in his performances for United this campaign.

Sold for £500k: Rangers may regret losing star who's now outperforming Hagi

Rangers sold a player in the summer who is shining for his new club

ByRoss Kilvington Dec 7, 2024

Borussia Dortmund are set to face Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-finals, and Didi Hamann is causing a stir with his prediction.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Hamann makes surprise Barca claim
• Believes Dortmund will beat Catalans
• Criticised Barcelona's 'open' defence

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Former Germany international Hamann, currently working as a TV pundit for , made a bold Champions League quarter-final prediction, backing Borussia Dortmund to beat Barcelona and book a berth in the last four. Dortmund progressed to the quarter-finals after overcoming Lille 3-2 on aggregate. Barca, meanwhile, beat Benfica 4-1 across two legs.

Advertisement

• Getty Images
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  After securing a hard-fought victory to reach the Champions League quarter-finals with a spirited performance at Lille on Wednesday evening, Borussia Dortmund will now face Europe's top-scoring team, Barcelona, next month. Despite being in 10th place in the Bundesliga, Dortmund are widely regarded as the underdogs against Hansi Flick's men, who are arguably the best team in the world and the bookmaker's favourites to go all the way following Liverpool's elimination against PSG. However, Hamann is not ready to write Dortmund off and predicted a win for the Bundesliga outfit.

• WHAT DIDI HAMANN SAID

  The former Bayern and Germany international, himself a Champions League winner with Liverpool in 2005, said on Wednesday: "Barcelona are wide open at the back and I don't know if that will hold up in the long run. They score a lot of goals, of course, because they have some incredible players up front, but Dortmund know what it takes, they showed that last year. I think they'll knock Barca out over the course of the two games."

• AFP
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR BARCELONA AND DORTMUND?

  The Catalans will turn their attention towards La Liga, where they are currently in first place, level on points with Real Madrid. Flick and Co. have a game in hand, though, and they visit Atletico Madrid on Sunday in what could be a potential title-decider.

  Meanwhile, Dortmund will take on sixth-placed RB Leipzig on Saturday as they look to close the gap between them and the top four.

MatériaMais Notícias

da premier bet： As diretorias de Corinthians e Fluminense conversam para definir a quantidade de torcedores visitantes nas partidas válidas pela semifinal da Copa do Brasil.

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da aviator aposta： +Confira os jogadores do Brasil que estão no álbum da Copa do Mundo

A ideia da diretoria corintiana é tentar uma divisão proporcional, evitando o que aconteceu nas quartas de final da Libertadores, contra o Flamengo, quando os times acertaram que 4 mil ingressos seriam disponibilizados tanto para flamenguistas na Neo Química Arena, quanto para corintianos no Maracanã.

As críticas por parte da Fiel vieram principalmente pela falta de proporcionalidade, já que o estádio do Timão tem pouco mais de 49 mil lugares, enquanto o Maraca possui cerca de 79 mil.

+ Confira a tabela da Copa do Brasil e simule os próximos jogos

Diferentemente da Libertadores, que define que os clubes mandantes precisam disponibilizar 2 mil ingressos aos visitantes entre a fase de grupos até as quartas de final – aumentando para 4 mil na semifinal – a Copa do Brasil não prevê essa questão em regulamento.

A ideia é que a decisão sobre a distribuição de ingressos para os visitantes entre Corinthians e Fluminense seja tomada ainda nesta sexta-feira (19), para que os clubes já abram as vendas às suas torcidas. A CBF ainda não desmembrou a tabela, mas a tendência é que a partida aconteça nesta quarta-feira (24).

Leeds United came out with a 2-0 win over Queens Park Rangers in the Championship on Saturday to bounce back from their defeat to Millwall.

The Whites had lost 1-0 at The Den on Wednesday night and immediately bounced back to secure all three points at Elland Road at the weekend.

Goals from Jayden Bogle and Joel Piroe either side of half-time were enough to claim the win, with a fifth clean sheet in the last six home games providing the attackers with the platform to go and win the match.

There were a number of players who caught the eye with impressive performances for Daniel Farke’s side in the win over Marti Cifuentes’ men…

Leeds United's top performers against QPR

One star who impressed was the scorer of the opening goal in the game – Bogle. The right-back found the back of the net with a close range volley to make it 1-0 after several players fluffed their lines inside the box.

He also won nine of his 12 ground duels throughout the game to complete five of his seven attempted dribbles and win three tackles for his side, which shows that the full-back made an impact in and out of possession.

Central midfielder Joe Rothwell put in an assured and quality display in the middle of the park, completing 94% of his attempted passes and creating two chances. It was his burst and cross down the left side of the box that eventually created Bogle’s goal.

Central defender Pascal Struijk was also crucial to the clean sheet, winning five of his seven duels without being dribbled past a single time, with a dominant performance at the heart of the defence.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast's Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

There was also another impressive showing from Joel Piroe as a substitute for the Whites and Farke appears to have unearthed his own version of Jhon Duran.

Leeds United's own Jhon Duran

The Aston Villa striker has made a name for himself as a super substitute for the Premier League side, with four goals as a substitute in the top flight and one in the Champions League – four of those five goals were also match-winners.

Duran’s most memorable goal, arguably, was his terrific lobbed finish against Bayern Munich to win the match for the Villans in the Champions League at Villa Park.

Piroe came off the bench to score the second goal, to make sure of all three points, against QPR on Saturday and that was his sixth goal as a substitute in 2024, which is the most by any Leeds player in history in a calendar year.

The Whites record-breaker, who was once hailed as “dangerous” by journalist Josh Bunting, has been a reliable source of goals off the bench for Farke this term.

As you can see in the table above, Piroe has contributed with five direct goal contributions in eight appearances as a substitute for Leeds so far this season.

He has been a fantastic option for the German head coach to call upon in the second half of matches, to provide his team with a big threat in the final third, which has also been the case for Unai Emery with Duran.

Leeds star sold by Christiansen is outscoring Rutter & Summerville in PL

The former Leeds United star has gone on to enjoy a great career in the Premier League.

By
Dan Emery

Nov 8, 2024

Whilst Piroe may prefer to start week-in-week-out, using him as an impact substitute appears to be the most effective way for Leeds to make use of his quality right now.

أعلن الاتحاد الإفريقي لكرة القدم “كاف”، رسمياً مواعيد انطلاق بطولتي دوري أبطال إفريقيا وكأس الكونفدرالية لموسم 2025-2026، وكذلك مواعيد تسجيل اللاعبين.

وكان بيراميدز قد حقق لقب بطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا في الموسم الماضي لأول مرة في تاريخه، بعد الفوز على صن داونز بنتيجة 3-2 في مجموع مباراتي الذهاب والإياب.

بينما تُوّج فريق نهضة بركان المغربي بلقب بطولة كأس الكونفدرالية الإفريقية لعام 2025، بعد فوزه على سيمبا التنزاني بنتيجة 3-1 في مجموع المباراتين.

طالع أيضاً.. ميسي يكشف لغز هدفه في مرمى بورتو.. ويصرح: شعرنا بالمرارة بعد مباراة الأهلي

وتقرر أن تبدأ منافسات الدور التمهيدي في شهر سبتمبر المقبل وتستمر حتى نهاية شهر أكتوبر، بينما ستبدأ مواجهات دور المجموعات من شهر نوفمبر وحتى نهاية شهر فبراير من العام المقبل.

يذكر أن المشاركين من مصر، في بطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا هما الأهلي وبيراميدز، بينما سيشارك الزمالك والمصري في بطولة كأس الكونفدرالية. مواعيد مباريات دوري أبطال إفريقياالدور التمهيدي الأول

الذهاب 19-21 سبتمبر.

الإياب 26-28 سبتمبر. الدور التمهيدي الثاني

17-19 أكتوبر.

24 – 26 أكتوبر. دور المجموعات

الجولة الأولى: 21-23 نوفمبر 2025.

الجولة الثانية: 28-30 نوفمبر 2025.

الجولة الثالثة: 23-25 يناير 2026.

الجولة الرابعة: 30 يناير– 1 فبراير 2026.

الجولة الخامسة: 6-8 فبراير 2026.

الجولة السادسة: 13-15 فبراير 2026. ربع النهائي

الذهاب: 13-15 مارس 2026 .

الإياب: 20-22 مارس 2026. نصف النهائي

الذهاب: 10-12 إبريل 2026.

الإياب: 17-19 إبريل 2026. النهائي

خلال الفترة من 8 و24 مايو 2026. مواعيد تسجيل اللاعبين

فترة القيد الأولى للدور التمهيدي من 1 أغسطس 2025 حتى 31 أغسطس 2025.

فترة القيد الثانية للدور التمهيدي الثاني من 1 سبتمبر 2025 حتى 30 سبتمبر 2025.

فترة القيد لمرحلة المجموعات من 1 أكتوبر حتى 31 أكتوبر.

فترة القيد لبقية مرحلة المجموعات والمواجهات الإقصائية من 1 يناير 2026 حتى 31 يناير 2026.

The proposed plan involves a total of 22 matches, with a maximum of five overseas players in each XI

Nagraj Gollapudi13-Oct-2022The long-awaited women’s IPL is set to become a reality next year with the BCCI planning a five-team tournament for March 2023, immediately after the Women’s T20 World Cup ends in South Africa on February 26.The BCCI’s proposed plan involves a total of 22 matches, with each squad comprising 18 players with a maximum of six from overseas. No more than five overseas players can feature in a playing XI, with four from Full Member countries and one from an Associate nation.As per the plan, which the BCCI sent on Thursday to state associations and which has been seen by ESPNcricinfo, each team will play the others twice during the league phase (20 matches), with the league topper heading straight to the final. The second finalist will be decided via an Eliminator between the second and third-ranked teams from the league phase. The BCCI is yet to finalise the schedule of the WIPL, but it will be wrapped up before the men’s IPL begins, which is likely to be at the end of March.Whether the March window has been pencilled in for the long term remains to be seen, but the BCCI said in a paper on the WIPL that it has identified a “clear 25 days Women’s IPL window in the FTP cycle”. The inaugural WIPL is likely to clash with the inaugural season of the Women’s Pakistan Super League.”It will be a challenge to play the WIPL in the home and away format, because with five to six teams it is not possible to have a match every day,” the BCCI said in its paper on the WIPL, which was sent to the states as part of the wider agenda for the board’s annual general meeting scheduled in Mumbai on October 18. “It is suggested that the tournament can be played in caravan style, where after finishing ten matches at one venue, the next ten matches to be played at the next venue. Therefore, ten matches each to be played across two venues in the 2023 WIPL season, ten each in the next two venues in the 2024 season, and for the 2025 season ten matches in the remaining one venue and the remaining ten in one of the venues from 2023 season.”Where will the teams be from?
Unlike the Women’s T20 challenge, the precursor to the WIPL, where the teams were assembled randomly, the BCCI will sell the five franchises. However, unlike the men’s IPL, where franchises bid for teams in a particular city, the BCCI has chalked out two plans for the WIPL. The first one comprises selling teams across six zones spanning the country. A set of cities in each zone has been shortlisted and comprises: Dharamsala/Jammu (North zone), Pune/Rajkot (West), Indore/Nagpur/Raipur (Central), Ranchi/Cuttack (East), Kochi/Visakhapatnam (South) and Guwahati (North-East).The second plan involves teams being sold but without a solid home base, with matches to be played at six shortlisted IPL venues: Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai.The BCCI will present the WIPL plan at the AGM next week but a final decision will be taken by the IPL Governing Council chairman – who that is will be decided at the upcoming AGM – along with the BCCI office bearers.Exponential growth in participation – the reason behind WIPL
Women’s cricket in India became a big talking point ever since they reached the final of the ODI World Cup in 2017 at Lord’s, where they lost to England in front of a full house. In 2018, the BCCI launched the Women’s T20 Challenge, but it was restricted to just one match. Over the next three years, it expanded to a three-team competition. Voices across women’s cricket, both in India and globally, were critical of BCCI’s reluctance to launch a women’s IPL at the time.The board and several state associations were originally concerned by the shallow player pool in women’s cricket, but those reservations have gradually receded now.”With the rise in popularity of women’s cricket in the country mainly due to prominent performances by the Indian Senior Cricket team on world stage by qualifying for semi-finals in 2018 T20 World Cup, finals in 2020 T20 World Cup, securing silver medal in recently held 2022 Commonwealth games in Birmingham, we intend to conduct the Women’s IPL on similar lines with the Indian Premier League,” the BCCI said in its paper on WIPL.The growth on the domestic front was massive with the paper listing “an overall increase of 111% in participation of players along various categories” in the eight-year period between 2014-22. A further breakdown listed the number increasing by 129% in the senior women’s category and a 92% increase in the Under-19 category.The WIPL – and the proposed WPSL – will join the FairBreak Invitational, the Women’s Hundred, WCPL and WBBL as T20 leagues that bolster the popularity and growth of women’s cricket globally. The WIPL paper also noted that the BCCI had studied both the WBBL and the Women’s Hundred models before finalising its plan.

India wicketkeeper thanks Rajat Kumar and Nishu Kumar in first comments since his car crash

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jan-2023In his first public comment since his car accident on December 30, Rishabh Pant has singled out two individuals, Rajat Kumar & Nishu Kumar, saying he would be “forever grateful and indebted” to them for ensuring he was taken to hospital safely.Pant put out a series of Tweets on Monday evening, saying his “road to recovery had begun” and thanking the BCCI, Jay Shah and government authorities for their “incredible support”.”I am humbled and grateful for all the support and good wishes,” Pant wrote. “I am glad to let you know that my surgery was a success. The road to recovery has begun and I am ready for the challenges ahead.Related

• Pant on his life-threatening car crash: 'I felt my time in this world was over'

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• How Rishabh Pant was rescued: 'The car had already caught sparks so I and the conductor rushed to get him out'

• Pant suffers multiple injuries in serious car crash

“I may not have been able to thank everyone individually, but I must acknowledge these two heroes who helped me during my accident and ensured I got to the hospital safely. Rajat Kumar & Nishu Kumar, thank you. I’ll be forever grateful and indebted.”From the bottom of my heart, I also would like to thank all my fans, team-mates, doctors and the physios for your kind words and encouragement. Looking forward to see you all on the field.”