After beating Barcelona and drawing with Arsenal, Chelsea’s good week of results came grinding to a halt away to Leeds United.

Enzo Maresca’s side were defeated 3-1 at Elland Road, with two strikes in the first half and a late goal enough to sink them.

They did, of course, get on the scoresheet themselves. Pedro Neto was the man who found the back of the net, converting a Jamie Gittens cross at the back post just after half-time.

However, it proved to be too little, with Chelsea putting in a lacklustre performance overall.

It was a night to forget for the West Londoners, and in particular, Tosin Adarabioyo.

Tosin’s struggles vs. Leeds

At 2-1 down with 15 minutes or so to go, Chelsea were still in the game. However, it was an error from Tosin which gifted the home side the chance to score their third and seal an impressive victory.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin was the man who tapped home from two yards out. It came after Tosin played a risky backpass to Robert Sanchez, putting the Spaniard under immediate pressure in his six-yard box.

Leeds pounced, won the ball back, and it was a simple tap-in for their number nine.

The former Manchester City academy player has been a bit-part player under Maresca this term. Tosin has only played 13 games across all competitions, amassing 872 minutes. That is the equivalent of just nine full 90-minute games.

It will be interesting to see what his role is going forward after an error like that. Former Blues midfielder John Obi Mikel said in the summer that Tosin is “not a Chelsea standard defender.”

Well, after an error like that, it is easy to see why Mikel is of that opinion.

There is a defender waiting in the wings who Maresca could unleash to effectively end Tosin’s time at Stamford Bridge.

The Chelsea star ready to overtake Tosin

Chelsea’s depth at centre-back took a hit in August when Levi Colwill suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury. The full extent of Maresca’s squad at centre-back has been tested this season, including Tosin.

One man who has impressed and could leapfrog the 28-year-old in the pecking order is academy graduate Josh Acheampong. At 19 years of age, he has been described as the “future of Chelsea” by football talent scout Jacek Kulig.

Acheampong has certainly had his minutes managed by the Italian. He’s played nine times, but has impressed on each of those occasions, playing more than an hour four times in the Premier League.

He even got his first senior goal away to Nottingham Forest in the 3-0 win at the City Ground in October.

One of the standout attributes in Acheampong’s game is his ability on the ball. Kulig noted that he has “excellent technical capacity and range of passing,” which would serve him well in a Chelsea side that likes to dominate the ball.

In the Premier League this season, they average 58.7% possession, the third highest in the top flight.

In The Pipeline

Football FanCast’s In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.

Indeed, his underlying numbers reinforce the fact that Acheampong is such a good ball-playing defender.

The England under-21 star ranks in the top 9% of centre-backs in Europe for average passes completed per game, with 67.34.

Passes completed

67.34

91st

Pass accuracy

90.8%

80th

Carries

61.91

99th

Tackles won

1.09

76th

Interceptions

1.24

71st

Chelsea’s whole club philosophy at the moment is about investing in youth and looking towards the future.

Being a Cobham graduate, Acheampong certainly puts a big tick in that box and has already shown his quality at first-team level.

Tosin’s bad form could well be enough for Maresca to ditch him from the starting lineup. With injuries being an issue and such a need to rotate the squad, it might provide Acheampong with the perfect opportunity to stake his claim and lock down a permanent starting spot.

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UP Warriorz did not retain Deepti Sharma, the Player of the Tournament at the ODI Women’s World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Nov-20256:22

WPL 2026 retentions: MI, DC splash the cash; UPW release Deepti and Healy

Mumbai Indians allrounder Nat Sciver-Brunt, Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Smriti Mandhana and Gujarat Giants allrounder Ashleigh Gardner have been retained for the maximum price of INR 3.5 crore ahead of the 2026 Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction.The WPL officially released the list of players retained by the franchises on Thursday and Sciver-Brunt – not the captain Harmanpreet Kaur – was MI’s first retention. RCB wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh was retained for INR 2.75 crore, the second-highest bracket, while Harmanpreet and Giants opener Beth Mooney were retained for INR 2.5 crore each. There were a few notable surprises in the retention list. UP Warriorz chose not to retain Deepti Sharma, the recent ODI World Cup’s Player of the Tournament, holding on to only one player in Shweta Sehrawat. Among other major releases were Amelia Kerr, Alyssa Healy, and Delhi Capitals captain Meg Lanning.As per WPL retention rules, franchises can retain a maximum of three capped Indian players, two overseas players, and at most two uncapped Indian players. If a franchise wanted to retain five players, at least one of them should be an uncapped Indian player. The WPL has for the first time given teams right-to-match (RTM) options at the auction to buy back a player who was part of their 2025 squad.Each franchise has been allotted INR 15 crore to build their squad for WPL 2026. It is understood that the mega player auction will take place in Delhi on November 27.Here’s the full list of players retained by all five franchises:

Mumbai Indians

Players retained: Nat Sciver-Brunt – INR 3.5 crore, Harmanpreet Kaur – INR 2.5 crore, Hayley Matthews – INR 1.75 crore, Amanjot Kaur – INR 1 crore, G Kamalini – INR 50 lakh
Money spent: INR 9.25 crore; Purse remaining: INR 5.75 crore; No RTM option available
Notable players released: Amelia Kerr, Nadine de Klerk, Yastika Bhatia, Chloe Tryon, Shabnim Ismail

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Players retained: Smriti Mandhana – INR 3.5 crore, Richa Ghosh – INR 2.75 crore, Ellyse Perry – INR 2 crore, Shreyanka Patil – INR 60 lakh
Money spent: INR 8.85 crore; Purse remaining: INR 6.15 crore; One RTM option available
Notable players released: Renuka Singh, Sophie Devine, Sophie Molineux, Danni Wyatt-HodgeWhat they said: “Her association with risk and how she faces pressure situations is exactly what we want in our batting order,” new head coach Malolan Rangarajan said of retaining Ghosh. “And somebody we view with leadership potential as well.”

Delhi Capitals

Players retained: Jemimah Rodrigues – INR 2.2 crore, Shafali Verma – INR 2.2 crore. Annabel Sutherland – INR 2.2 crore, Marizanne Kapp – INR 2.2 crore, Niki Prasad – INR 50 lakh
Money spent: INR 9.3 crore; Purse remaining: INR 5.7 crore; No RTM available
Notable players released: Meg Lanning, N Shree Charani, Radha Yadav, Arundhati ReddyWhat they said: “It’s been really tough,” DC head coach Jonathan Batty told JioStar about not retaining Lanning. About who could now lead DC in WPL 2026, he said: “Jemimah’s got a great captaincy record [in domestic cricket]. Obviously, Annabel Sutherland captains in WBBL as well. So there’s lots of candidates out there. We also got the mega auction to come, so there’s some candidates out there as well. So we’re leaving our options open.”

Gujarat Giants

Players retained: Ash Gardner – INR 3.5 crore, Beth Mooney – INR 2.5 crore
Money spent: INR 6 crore; Purse remaining: INR 9 crore available; Three RTM options available
Notable players released: Harleen Deol, Deandra Dottin, Laura Wolvaardt, Phoebe Litchfield

UP Warriorz

Player retained: Shweta Sehrawat – INR 50 lakh
Money spent: INR 50 lakh; Purse remaining: INR 14.50 crore; Four RTM options available
Notable players released: Deepti Sharma, Alyssa Healy, Sophie Ecclestone, Tahlia McGrath, Alana King, Kranti Gaud, Chinelle HenryWhat they said: “I feel the thought process from the think tank, from the support group, was more so to go in with a clean slate, try and have as much money in the purse, to make sure we can not only get the team that we feel we need to win that championship, but also get a lot of these players back in the auction, given the opportunity,” Abhishek Nayar, newly appointed head coach, said. “But the thought process also behind having someone like a Shweta Sehrawat in the ranks and retaining her, was the faith this franchise has put into as a youngster playing three years, being someone who’s played almost every game for us and being able to perform, and now going up the ranks in domestic cricket. We just felt we would love to have someone like that back in our set-up.”

It wasn’t perfect, but Manchester United secured three points at Molineux to return to winning ways in the Premier League and gear up for another charge toward Champions League contention.

Bottom-of-the-table Wolverhampton Wanderers crumbled away after the break, and the Red Devils made them pay, with Bruno Fernandes’ brace coming either side of second-half strikes from Bryan Mbeumo and Mason Mount.

The home side might be at the centre of a catastrophic failure this season, but take nothing away from United’s slick attacking play, creating a platform to build on after labouring to a draw against West Ham United at Old Trafford last week.

How Man Utd beat Wolves

Amorim’s Red Devils have rekindled the feel-good factor. There is work still to be done, and the Portuguese tactician’s system leaves something to be desired, but Manchester United are just one point behind fourth-placed Crystal Palace.

Amorim knew his side would dominate the ball, and dictate the flow of possession they did, but he would have drilled into his troops at half-time a lesson about wayward shooting. As per Sofascore, United chalked up an xG total of 4.01 across the match, with 3.06 of that total coming after the interval despite 14 of the 27 shots on the evening being lashed across the first half.

It’s also worth noting that five of United’s seven shots on target came during the first half. This may have smacked of desperation in other circumstances, but at Molineux illustrated a tactical tweak orienting toward greater variation, a ramping-up of the gas that outfoxed a Wolves backline that crumbled under pressure.

One way of looking at it would be that United toiled, to little avail, before the break, but we also saw tactical adaptation from a manager who has been criticised for his obstinacy.

Content creator Adam Joseph said that “tonight doesn’t solve any issues”, but he praised the victory all the same. Now, Amorim needs to go one step further and deepen the nuances of his system, surely ending one protracted experiment which might have seen the visitors come unstuck, had they been playing a higher calibre of opponent.

Amorim must boldly drop Man United talent

Amad Diallo is one of the most talented players in Manchester United’s squad, but he’s also been played out of position for the lion’s share of the Amorim era, and the contest at Molineux issued a reminder that he cannot continue in an unnatural wing-back berth forever.

Not only does it hinder the 23-year-old’s attacking play, but it also fails to offer United’s system the balance and fluency it requires down the right channel.

This was by no means a, quote unquote, disasterclass, but Amad did leave something to be desired, lacking end product and culpable for a few defensive lapses. The Manchester Evening News recognised this, handing the Ivory Coast international a 6/10 match rating.

Amad, after all, was perhaps at fault for the Old Gold’s parity-restoring goal before the break, failing to close David Møller Wolfe as the wing-back cut back to Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, who scored.

There were flashes of quality, for sure, but we must remember that Amad is performing, dutifully, in a role that is not his own, and this was picked up by analyst Raj Chohan, who remarked that it has been “completely unserious squad planning” on Amorim’s part, shoehorning a fleet-footed forward into a position that he “does not suit playing” in.

This season, ten of Amad’s 15 appearances have come as United’s right-sided wing-back, with five outings made in an attacking role off the central striker.

There he plays his best stuff, and if Amorim is to succeed at the club and lead the squad for the long run, he will need to find a way to maximise this talented forward’s skills in a position that he can call his own.

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John Campbell, Brandon King, Shai Hope and Roston Chase offered resistance for West Indies, but they slipped from 153 for 3 to 205 all out

Sreshth ShahUpdated on 10-Dec-2025Stumps New Zealand’s patchwork fast-bowling attack delivered a strong show on the opening day of the second Test in Wellington, dismissing West Indies for 205 inside 75 overs at Basin Reserve. But the sight of Blair Tickner being stretchered off late in the afternoon with a suspected dislocated left shoulder took some sheen off their day of dominance.Tickner, playing his first Test in two years and leading the bowling with 4 for 32, was central to turning a bright West Indies start into yet another collapse, while Michael Rae, the 30-year-old debutant drafted into a severely depleted pace unit, complemented him with 3 for 67 in an energetic outing that gave New Zealand the bite they had lacked in the opening hour. That bite mattered because the first hour had belonged entirely to West Indies despite losing the toss, in a match where the hosts announced five changes and the visitors three.On a pitch far milder than the traditional green seamer, John Campbell and Brandon King put on 66 for the opening wicket. Jacob Duffy and Zak Foulkes, burdened with heavy workloads from the first Test after the injuries to Matt Henry and Nathan Smith in Christchurch, bowled honest but ineffective spells that allowed scoring opportunities.Campbell drove through the line, King played compactly, and West Indies looked assured.Michael Rae picked up three wickets in his first innings in Test cricket•Getty ImagesBut once New Zealand turned to Tickner and Rae – fresher workload-wise, and sharper in pace – the difference was visible. They operated either full or short but always at the stumps or the body, and the tone of the innings shifted dramatically.Tickner was the first to strike when he prised out King in the 17th over. King, playing the Test after Tagenarine Chanderpaul picked up a side strain on the eve of the Test, and opening for only the second time in his Test career, was pinned lbw when Tickner’s delivery from a short-ish length jagged in and hit him on the pad. One over later, Kavem Hodge was undone for a duck by a fuller ball from Tickner that tailed in late and struck him in front of middle and leg. The double-blow helped New Zealand quickly erase an indifferent start heading into the lunch break.Rae, who had leaked runs in his first spell in Test cricket, made an impact after lunch. Coming around the wicket, he angled a full ball across Campbell, who leaned into a drive with firm hands and edged to first slip, and at 93 for 3, West Indies’ position was slipping.Shai Hope and Roston Chase attempted to restore stability with a 60-run stand for the fourth wicket. Hope scored freely but never convincingly; Tickner and Rae repeatedly hurried him with the short ball, and he took two blows to the helmet with concussion checks following as the afternoon surface grew livelier. Hope reached 48, but Tickner finally cracked him with another rising delivery that he tried awkwardly to fend off, gloving a catch to Kane Williamson at third slip. That, Tickner’s third wicket, had seemed almost inevitable given the sustained discomfort he had caused the batters, and Chase followed soon after, cramped by a Tickner delivery that jagged in sharply to catch the inside-edge on to leg stump for 29.Justin Greaves, West Indies’ double-centurion in Christchurch, lasted 52 balls before Rae drew a faint outside edge with a tight off-stump line. Mitchell Hay completed the catch behind the stumps, leaving West Indies’ lower order exposed. Rae then trapped Kemar Roach lbw with a fuller delivery that kicked enough to beat the bat and straighten into middle stump, and at 184 for 7, the innings was in freefall.Blair Tickner had to be stretchered off after he hurt his shoulder•Getty ImagesBut New Zealand’s mood would sour dramatically in the next over. Tickner sprinted across from fine leg to stop a boundary-saving flick from Tevin Imlach and dived full-length near the rope. He landed awkwardly, stayed down, and the players signalled urgently as medical staff from both New Zealand and the venue rushed to him. After several minutes of treatment, he was stretchered off – sitting up, but in pain – to warm applause from the Basin Reserve crowd. He later left the ground in an ambulance, with early indications pointing to a suspected dislocated shoulder.Glenn Phillips, the most prolific wicket-taker in New Zealand’s XI with 31 strikes coming into the game, then removed the last recognised batter, bowling Imlach with a fuller ball that straightened just enough to beat the inside edge.Anderson Phillip was run out soon after attempting a risky single – first surviving a throw from Devon Conway but then succumbing when an alert Kristian Clarke broke the stumps on the rebound. Duffy ended West Indies’ innings by having Ojay Shields edge to third slip to end the innings at 205. West Indies lost their last seven wickets for just 52 runs.New Zealand openers Tom Latham and Conway batted nine overs before stumps, with West Indies’ seamers asking questions occasionally and inducing a couple of edges that didn’t carry to the slip cordon. The 24 runs they added before stumps gave New Zealand the firm upper hand, now behind by only 181 behind going into the second day where batting promises to be easier.

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