Tag Futebol

The Croatian is still producing midfield masterclasses at 40 years of age, while the egalitarian environment at Barcelona is reaping rewards

Play has resumed in Europe after the international break and, along with Liverpool in England, we still have five teams boasting flawless records in the other ‘Big 5’ leagues.

Unsurprisingly, defending champions Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain continue to lead the way in Germany and France, respectively. In Italy, Napoli have also made the perfect start to their Serie title defence but a resurgent Juventus are keeping pace with Antonio Conte’s team, while Real Madrid are four from four in Spain despite playing with 10 men for an hour on Saturday.

Of course, there were plenty of other major talking points over the weekend, so who were the big winners and losers from the latest round of action across the continent? GOAL breaks it all down below…

• WINNER: Luka Modric

  AC Milan threw Luka Modric a surprise 40th birthday party last week. On Sunday, he scored the only goal of the game as AC Milan beat Bologna at San Siro to make it two wins in a row after their embarrassing loss to Cremonese on the opening day of the new Serie A season.

  "It was a great way to celebrate," Modric told after becoming the oldest midfielder to ever score a goal in Italy's top flight. "We won, which is the most important thing, and now we have to focus on the next matches.

  "It was a good move, Ale (Alexis Saelemaekers) gave me a great ball and it was easy to score, it was more his pass than my finish.

  "I just hope people will not remind me of my age anymore!"

  There seems little chance of that, though, as what Modric is doing at the age of 40 is truly extraordinary. 

  Not only is he already looking like a fantastic free transfer for a Milan side that lacked both quality and character last season, he also appears to have every chance of representing his beloved Croatia at next summer's World Cup, having helped his country continue their 100 percent start to qualifying during the recent international break.

  Maybe he really is a magician, as the Gazzetta dello Sport labelled him on Monday morning.

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  WINNER: Hansi Flick

  Barcelona obviously have several special players. La Masia remains a precious goldmine, saving the cash-strapped Catalans an absolute fortune in the transfer market.

  However, it's also abundantly clear that in Hansi Flick the Blaugrana are blessed with one of the best coaches in world football. Indeed, it's hard to overstate just how good a job the German is doing at Barcelona.

  Since taking over in the summer of 2024, he's had a ridiculous amount of off-field nonsense to deal with, from registration rows to incessant stadium setbacks. For example, Saturday's Liga clash with Valencia was played at the 6,000-seater arena beside their training ground because the revamped Camp Nou is still not ready to open.

  Despite the constant distractions, though, the senior squad continues to go from strength to strength – and Flick is the key factor in that regard.

  The former Bayern Munich boss is a bold tactician, with his high-risk high line continuing to reap rewards, but he's also an outstanding man-manager who treats everyone equally – as the 6-0 rout of Valencia underlined.

  Raphinha is one of the most influential and important players at the club but Flick had no issue benching the Brazilian for the game at the Johan Cruyff Stadium after he arrived late to training the day before the game.

  The message was that nobody gets special treatment at Flick's Barca. Everyone is treated equally and, for that reason, they're all willing to work together towards a common goal – which is why Raphinha accepted his punishment without complaint before responding in the best possible manner by scoring twice after coming on as a second-half substitute.

  So, while the construction work at Camp Nou may be behind schedule, Flick has already built a brilliant Barca team in every sense.

• AFP
  

  LOSER: PSG's injury issues

  One would be hard pressed to find anyone that feels sorry for Paris Saint-Germain. They have one of most expensive squads in world football, with the added bonus of being in a position of being able to regularly rotate players in between big European games because PSG are so far ahead of every other team in France that it's farcical.

  However, last season's treble-winners are "in a bit of a difficult moment", as Luis Enrique put it, ahead of Wednesday night's Champions League opener against Atalanta.

  Having already lost Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue to injury during the international break, PSG saw the other member of their first-choice forward line, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, forced off just half an hour into Sunday's clash with Lens.

  Obviously, PSG still won the game, with Bradley Barcola scoring twice to underline the Parisians' strength in depth – and make it four wins from four in Ligue 1. However, Kang-In Lee and Lucas Beraldo also had to come off at the Parc des Princes, meaning the reigning European champions are short on numbers as they begin their title defence.

  Of course, if last season's Champions League taught us anything, it's that the majority of games in the league phase are inconsequential. It's possible to lose four times and still progress. Still, the scale of PSG's fitness problems suggest that Luis Enrique's men might yet end up paying a heavy price for their participation in last summer's FIFA Club World Cup…

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• WINNER: Footballing brothers

  Lilian Thuram was a fantastic footballer, easily one of the finest defenders of the modern era. His sons Marcus and Khephren are pretty good, too, though – as both proved in Saturday's sensational Derby d'Italia.

  With just under a quarter of an hour remaining in a thrilling encounter in Turin, Marcus nodded home a Federico Dimarco corner to put Inter 3-2 up. However, Khephren levelled matters with a fine header of his own just minutes later before Vasilije Adzic hit a long-range winner for Juventus in the dying seconds.

  Unfortunately, Inter coach Christian Chivu had to put some mischievous members of their media in their place for trying to make a controversy out of the fact that the Thurams shared a joke or two at the full-time whistle – but there was no spoiling what was a wonderful occasion for Lilian and and his two boys.

  "Both Marcus and my father tell me I'm not good with my head and should score more headers, so I was glad to score with my head today!" an ecstatic Khephren told afterwards. "Marcus told me with his eyes well done, because he's a great brother as well as a great player. He was proud of me."

  Remarkably, the Thuram brothers weren't the only set of siblings from France to score at the weekend.

  On Saturday evening, Kylian Mbappe maintained his red-hot start to the new Liga season with the opening goal in Real Madrid's hard-fought 2-1 win at Real Sociedad.

  The following day, his teenage brother Ethan came off the bench to earn Lille a 2-1 victory over Toulouse with a 98th-minute strike that sparked scenes of wild celebration at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

  Unsurprisingly, Kylian was among the first to congratulate his younger brother, labelling Ethan "STARBOY" in a post on Instagram. 

كشف حسام المندوه، أمين صندوق نادي الزمالك، تفاصيل جديدة حول أزمة أرض نادي الزمالك في مدينة السادس من أكتوبر، وذلك بعد سحب الأرض من قبل وزارة الإسكان.

وكان نادي الزمالك قد أعلن في وقتٍ سابق أنه تم سحب أرض النادي في مدينة السادس من أكتوبر، بقرار من وزارة الإسكان.

وقال حسام المندوه في تصريحات عبر قناة “النهار”: “نحن في حالة تواصل مع وزير الاسكان والشباب الرياضة ويوجد مراسلات مع مجلس الوزراء بشأن أرض 6 أكتوبر”.

طالع أيضاً.. خاص | تحديد عدد جمهور مباراة مصر وغينيا بيساو في تصفيات كأس العالم

وتابع: “موقف الزمالك في كل الأوراق سليم 100%، مستعدون للمحاسبة على أي خطأ قانوني قمنا به”.

وأوضح: “ظروف النادي المالية صعبة جدًا، جزء كبير من عملك والايرادات نحاول أن نحافظ على جزء منها لكرة القدم وباقي الألعاب، وهذه المبالغ لا تكفي، لذلك أقول الأرض هي الحل الوحيد أمامنا كنادي الزمالك”.

وأتم: “يوجد سعي كبير داخل النادي بشأن صرف مستحقات اللاعبين في الفترة المقبلة ونعرف أنهم متحملون أمور كثيرة جداً”.

Misson played five Tests for Australia between in 1960-61 and was a pioneer of physical fitness in cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Sep-2024

Frank Misson in action against Worcestershire•Getty Images

Former Australia and New South Wales fast bowler Frank Misson has passed away at the age of 85.Misson played five Tests across the famous 1960-61 home series against the West Indies and the 1961 Ashes tour to England but his Test career was cut short by an Achilles injury. He took 16 wickets at 38.50 including a career best 4 for 58 against West Indies in Melbourne.He played 71 first-class matches, mostly for New South Wales, and finished with 177 first-class wickets at 31.13 in a short career that spanned from 1958 to 1964.Misson was a stellar athlete in his youth, training with legendary Australian athletics middle distance coach Percy Cerutty who famously coached Australia’s Herb Elliott to Olympic gold and a world record in the 1500m in Rome in 1960.Misson carried that fitness and athletics background into his cricket career, bursting onto the scene to take six wickets as a 20-year-old for NSW on Sheffield Shield debut in the last match of the 1958-59 season. At the end of the 1959-60 Shield season Misson was selected in an Australian second XI that toured New Zealand and he took 17 wickets at 12.47.The following summer he made his Test debut against the West Indies in the second Test in Melbourne that followed the famous tied Test in Brisbane.Misson played two more Tests in the five-match series before being selected on the 1961 Ashes tour. Former Australian captain Ian Chappell wrote about Misson’s incredible fitness regime to prepare for the tour.”The 1961 Australian team travelled to England by boat, but Misson was not to be denied his training regime,” Chappell wrote. “As he ran laps of the deck, some of the less physically minded players sitting in the bar saw Misson flash past the window. Perhaps embarrassed by Misson’s zealous workouts, they decided to complicate his exercise regime by placing deck chairs in his path. When Misson hurdled the first set of obstacles and did the same to yet another layer of chairs, the bar rats relented and left him to train in peace.”Misson played the first two Tests of the Ashes series but an Achilles injury caused him issues for the remainder of the tour and he did not play another Test match.Cricket NSW chief executive Lee Germon paid tribute to Misson following his passing.”We pass on our sincerest condolences to Frank’s family and friends, especially all of those that played with him as part of the NSW Men’s Team and the Australian Men’s Team,” Germon said.”Frank’s career was cut short by injury, which was ironic considering the focus he had on health, diet and fitness in an era where sports science was not very prevalent.”His five Test caps are recognition of his talent and determination and there is little doubt that if it wasn’t for injury he would have played many more times for his state and country.”Misson’s attitude towards cricket fitness would have a lasting legacy on Australian cricket with his son David Misson becoming the fitness advisor for the Australia men’s team between 1998 and 2000 as well as with Cricket New South Wales in the early 2000s.

A six-wicket haul by Ben Coad carried Yorkshire to a crushing victory over Derbyshire by an innings and 204 runs on the third day of the Vitality County Championship match at Chesterfield.The pace bowler marked his return from a back injury by taking 6 for 30 with Sri Lankan paceman Vishwa Fernando claiming 4 for 58 to finish with 10 wickets in the match.Derbyshire were bowled out for 171 before tea with the only real resistance coming from skipper David Lloyd with 57 and Ross Whiteley who bludgeoned five sixes in his 52.Jonny Tattersall made 107 before the visitors declared on 451 for 9 leaving Derbyshire to score 375 to make Yorkshire bat again but Coad and Fernando ran through them in less than 43 overs.It was the first time Yorkshire had won back-to-back championship matches by an innings since June 2015 when they beat Nottinghamshire and Durham.The overcast conditions made it a good day for bowling but Yorkshire batted on to secure a fifth batting point and to allow Tattersall to complete his third first-class hundred.He reached three figures by steering Daryn Dupavillon behind point for his 13th four before the fall of three wickets for four runs left Yorkshire in danger of missing out on maximum bonus pointsJordan Thompson was lbw playing across the line at Luis Reece who then beat Coad’s big swing in his next over.When Tattersall pulled Dupavillon into Reece’s hands at mid-wicket, Yorkshire were still three runs short but an edge by Fernando to the third man boundary achieved their first target of the day.Derbyshire’s objective was to show some fight after the debacle of the first innings but they lost both openers without a run on the board.The first ball from Coad was in the channel forcing Mitch Wagstaff to play and Tattersall dived across to hold the edge.When Fernando trapped Reece on the crease in the next over, Derbyshire’s hopes of taking the game into the fourth day were already crumbling and by lunch, they were staring at a crushing defeat.Brooke Guest was pinned in front by another full length ball from Coad and after Lloyd pulled Fernando for six when he switched ends, the Sri Lankan struck again by trapping Wayne Madsen lbw.At lunch, Derbyshire were 57 for 4 but Lloyd showed some defiance after the interval, cutting and driving Fernando for two fours in an over before driving George Hill back down the ground on his way to a 73 ball 50.Lloyd and Aneurin Donald shared Derbyshire’s first 50 stand of the match but it ended when Donald played down the wrong line at Coad and had his off stump knocked back.Whiteley survived a sharp chance when a leading edge off Coad flew high to third slip but in his next over, he moved one away to have Lloyd caught behind.Coad completed a five wicket haul by swinging one back in to have Alex Thomson lbw and the next ball took the edge as Zak Chappell pushed forward to give Tattersall another catch.Sam Conners narrowly survived the hat-trick ball at which point Whiteley decided to go down swinging, driving Coad for a big six before dispatching Dan Moriarty for two more maximums.The left-arm spinner was driven and pulled for two more sixes in his next over but Whiteley then pulled Fernando to mid-wicket to give Yorkshire a memorable victory.

When Liverpool renewed Virgil van Dijk’s contract, they did more than just tie their star defender down to a new two-year deal.

Van Dijk is more than a world-class centre-back; he’s more, even, than a peerless skipper. The Netherlands icon has transcended his post as one of Liverpool’s star players, immortalising his name in Liverpool lore, right up there alongside Alan Hansen.

Yes, yes, he turns 34 next month. And, well, yes, Liverpool will need to be more careful in managing their captain’s minutes as he reaches the autumn days of his illustrious Premier League career.

But Van Dijk leads by example, and that’s on and off the field. He’s more than a defender; he’s a leader and rousing force. Tune in to Liverpool on the television, and you’ll hear the 6 foot 4 star baying at his teammates before heading out of the tunnel, switching them into gear.

Let’s enjoy him while we can, because FSG’s transfer chief, Richard Hughes, is already hard at work trying to secure a long-term heir.

Liverpool's efforts to sign the next Van Dijk

Dean Huijsen was written in the stars to succeed Van Dijk at Anfield. After a stunning breakout campaign at Bournemouth last year, the 20-year-old became one of the most sought-after young players in Europe, hailed for his incredible potential.

Van Dijk left Southampton to sign for Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, and Huijsen could have followed a similar path, each proving a cut above. Moreover, Huijsen, while a Spanish international, was born and reared in Amsterdam to Dutch parents before relocating to Spain when he was five.

It felt like the perfect move for the player, moving to Liverpool, emulating one of the greatest defenders of his generation – and technically a countryman at that.

Well, Real Madrid clearly turned a blind eye to such a poetic story, for they brushed Premier League competition aside to activate the prodigy’s £50m release clause and bring him home.

Arne Slot still needs a new central defender, and while Huijsen is a one-of-a-kind talent, there might just be an alternative option waiting across the continent, having been of a vested interest to Liverpool in the past.

Liverpool enter race for new centre-back

Huijsen’s off the cards, yada yada, but he’s not the only talented centre-back looking to take the next step in his career.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

According to Portuguese outlet O Jogo, Liverpool are interested in Sporting Lisbon’s Goncalo Inacio, 23, once again, having been routinely linked with the dynamic defender across the past couple of years.

The left-footed defender has a €60m (£50m) release clause in his contract, but suitors are optimistic that they can engineer a more agreeable figure.

However, with Manchester United and Newcastle United thought to be interested too, FSG will need to up the ante if they wish to find a fitting long-term Van Dijk heir.

What Goncalo Inacio would bring to Liverpool

Inacio has yet to compete away from his Portuguese homeland, but he hasn’t exactly done that badly in Portugal, appearing 213 times for Sporting after graduating from their academy.

Journalist Antonio Mango has drawn attention to Inacio’s “insane” range of passing, and that’s corroborated by the data, for Inacio has completed an average of 89% of his passes across his senior career, as recorded by WhoScored.

Moreover, Inacio’s aerial ability suggests he could offer a similar level of ability in that regard as Huijsen, whose rangy frame and composure, leading to expert timing, is something that would have seen him exceed expectations when stepping into Van Dijk’s boots at Liverpool.

His modern-tailored style is exactly what Liverpool are looking for, and he’s a left-sided centre-back besides. To add further substance to the argument, this is a player who has been tracked by Liverpool for a number of years, and he’s only got better and better.

Having been an influential member of a two-time Liga Portugal-winning backline in recent years, Inacio has fostered the perfect mentality for a place in Liverpool’s first team, and he’s also blessed with a technical level that most other central defenders across Europe can only dream of.

Most, but not all. Huijsen can certainly throw down with the Portuguese ace on that front, and when racking up the respective players’ skills against each other, you can see that both offer similar qualities.

Goals + assists

0.20

0.19

Touches

91.48

74.94

Pass completion

89.7%

83.4%

Passes attempted

83.61

60.26

Progressive passes

7.34

4.89

Progressive carries

1.28

1.52

Shot-creating actions

1.72

1.59

Ball recoveries

4.67

3.89

Tackles + interceptions

2.75

3.23

Clearances

2.91

7.34

Blocks

1.08

1.48

Aeriel duels won

2.04

2.52

Huijsen is a strong defender, but his range of passing and creativity, his ability to play through the lines, are the facets which define him as a future superstar.

Inacio perhaps outperforms him in that regard, and if placed in Slot’s high-flying Liverpool system, you can only imagine the progress he could make, following the likes of Cody Gakpo and Ryan Gravenberch in making remarkable progress under the Dutchman’s wing.

Further to the point, Inacio made only one defensive error across his 28 top-flight appearances last term, whereas Huijsen made four playing for Bournemouth in the Premier League, albeit playing at what is considered a higher level, in more intense and rigorous conditions.

He’s not perfect, but the Portugal international has the making of an elite-level defender, and he could prove the dream Huijsen alternative if signed this summer, learning from Van Dijk over the next couple of years before breaking away from the Reds legend’s shadow and becoming a sensation in his own right down the line.

The dream XI Liverpool could build: Wirtz signs & "the next Mbappe" arrives

Liverpool are making sweeping changes in the transfer market as Slot prepares to defend his PL title.

3 ByAngus Sinclair Jun 3, 2025

It is set to be a busy summer for Celtic.

A week on Saturday, the Hoops could secure a sixth domestic treble in nine seasons, but it is their European exploits that will have pleased Brendan Rodgers the most, reaching the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in 12 years, narrowly beaten by Bayern Munich.

The Scottish Premiership champions will enter next season’s Champions League in the play-off round, set for a very tough two-legged tie, given that Bodø/Glimt, Crvena zvezda, København, Dinamo Zagreb or Ferencváros are currently forecast to be their potential opponents.

Thus, with two huge games to come on 19/20 and 26/27 August, Rodgers will want Celtic’s summer transfer business to be completed quickly and efficiently, so, how could the Hoops go about replacing Kyōgo Furuhashi in a bid to do just that?

The legacy Kyogo left at Celtic

When Kyogo joined Celtic from Vissel Kōbe for a reported fee of £4.5m in the summer of 2021, becoming one of the first signings of the Ange Postecoglou-era, few could have forecast he would become a club icon.

The Japanese forward scored 85 goals in 165 appearances for the Celts, winning eight major honours, meaning he ranks right up there when it comes to modern-day great strikers that the club have enjoyed, as the table below highlights.

Kyōgo Furuhashi

165

85

8

126

Odsonne Édouard

179

87

7

140

Moussa Dembélé

94

51

7

121

Leigh Griffiths

261

123

3

118

Gary Hooper

138

82

5

136

According to Graeme Macpherson of the Scotsman, Kyōgo is Celtic’s best striker since Henrik Larsson, an assertion the table above supports, while Charlotte Cohen of BBC Sport adds that the Japanese international will always be a ‘fans’ favourite’ who thrived in the big occasion.

However, given that the 30-year-old joined Ligue 1 side Stade Rennais for £10m in January, Celtic are in the market for a replacement, so have they identified a striker who has the potential to become even better?

Celtic's hunt for a new striker

As has been widely reported since January, including claims from Denmark earlier this month, Celtic are pushing to sign Brøndby striker Mathias Kvistgaarden.

However, the Premiership champions are not the only club interested, with Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt having ‘intensified its pursuit’ of the 23-year-old, who is valued at €13m (around £11m).

Football Insider even reported back in February that Celtic are working hard to finalise this deal, claiming that the Danish U21 international is Rodgers’ ‘number-one option’ to replace the departed Kyōgo.

So, why is Kvistgaarden in such high-demand? Well, let’s assess his statistics to help answer this question.

Appearances

124

Minutes

6,961

Goals

46

Assists

18

Minutes per goal

151

Well, Kvistgaarden is currently the second-highest goalscorer in this season’s Danish Superligaen with 16, bagging 22 across all competitions, while he ranks top for goals-per-90 minutes as well as first when it comes to shots on target-per-90.

Scout António Mango describes him as “absolutely sensational”, Chris Beaumont of Total Football Analysis labels him a ‘quick and agile striker’, while Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout asserted that he is ‘only getting better’.

So, could he actually be better than Kyōgo? Let’s compare the duo to try and find out.

Appearances

165

101

Minutes

10.741

6,233

Goals

85

42

Mins per goal

126

165

Assists

19

17

Shots on target %

45.5%

48.8%

Shots per 90

3.34

3.14

Shots on target per 90

1.52

1.53

Big chances missed

69

32

As the table outlines, Kyōgo’s statistics are generally more impressive than Kvistgaarden’s, but this should not be too surprising, given that the Japanese forward arrived in Glasgow at 26-years-old, while the Dane celebrated his 23rd birthday just last month, having only, somewhat recently, established himself in Brøndby’s first-team.

What is clear is that Kvistgaarden is a top-quality player, not just now but set to be in the future too, scoring goals at a high level; according to Global Football Rankings, the Superligaen is the 13th strongest league in the world, with the Scottish Premiership down in 43rd.

Thus, if Celtic are able to get their hands on Kvistgaarden, they should absolutely do so, even if it means breaking their transfer record, which currently stands at £11m.

Celtic set to receive major bids for "absolutely brilliant" 33-goal star

The Bhoys could have a decision to make.

1 BySean Markus Clifford May 11, 2025

Given Celtic’s place in the global football pecking order, they are well-versed when it comes to selling a star player and being able to replace him.

Of course, a lot of the time, the Hoops’ excellent record in the transfer market means they’re able to replace their high-quality departures with signings.

However, Brendan Rodgers is also looking for his current players to step up and perform, with one player in particular having done exactly that this season.

Matt O'Riley impact at Celtic

Matt O’Riley arrived at Celtic from Milton Keynes for a reported fee of £1.5m in January 2022, and the fact he was then sold to Brighton two-and-a-half years later for a club-record £25m gives you a bit of an indication as to how well he performed in Glasgow.

The midfielder made 124 appearances in hoops, scoring 27 goals and registering 35 assists, winning seven major trophies as well as being named the club’s Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year before departing.

Ankan Bhowmick of Sports Illustrated labels the Danish international one of Celtic’s ‘best-performing’ players of their successful modern history, while Clive Lindsay of BBC Sport believes he has the quality to go to the very top, saying that his ‘languid running style’ can be ‘deceiving’ given that he’s a ‘quality…all-rounder’.

Given all of this, O’Riley was always going to leave a rather large void at Parkhead, but Celtic haven’t really missed him, thanks to a key player stepping up, but it’s not the player you might be thinking of.

Celtic's current creative focal point

Arne Engels was signed for a club-record fee of £11m from Augsburg on deadline day, to be O’Riley direct replacement.

However, as outlined by Andrew Newport of the Daily Record, the midfielder has, at times, not quite lived up to expectations so far, with the Belgian himself stating “I don’t care about the price tag… I think I have good numbers and good performances”.

Engels has accumulated ten goals and 12 assists in a Celtic jersey so far, but it is actually Alistair Johnston who has shouldered the creative burden following O’Riley’s exit.

The Canadian international was rewarded with a new contract back in November, with manager Rodgers describing the right-back as “phenomenal”, praising his “desire to improve in everything he does”, adding that “these are the qualities which make a great player”.

Joe Callaghan of the Guardian notes that Johnston has become a “cornerstone” for both club and country, with his performances seeing him included on the long-list for Best FIFA Men’s XI of 2024.

So, let’s analyse how he and O’Riley are similar, despite operating in different positions.

Alistair Johnston 2024/25 vs Matt O’Riley 2023/24
Statistics	Johnston	O’Riley
Appearances	29	37
Minutes	2,421	3249
Goals	4	18
Assists	8	13
Chances created	38	91
Big chances created	14	14
Passed attempted	2,023	1986
Through-balls	7	16
Take-on success %	50%	52.11%
Ball recoveries	100	208
Touches per 90	98	78
Note: All statistics are Scottish Premiership only.
Statistics courtesy of Squawka and SofaScore

Of course, due to the obvious aforementioned positional differences, Johnston and O’Riley’s statistics are often somewhat different, although the fact that both created 14 big chances certainly jumps off the page, with the Canadian registering more of those than any other Celtic player this season.

During the most recent international window in March, Canada’s manager Jesse Marsch stated “there are some weeks I watch Alistair and I think… the games are too easy for him… players do need to be challenged.”

So, while Johnston is playing like O’Riley on the park, could he follow the Dane’s path off the pitch by becoming the latest Celtic fan favourite to be sold for an enormous profit?

Now worth 3x less than Johnston: Celtic struck gold selling "immense" star

Celtic full-back Alistair Johnston has been exceptional this season, ensuring one man remains rather forgotten in the past

By
Ben Gray

Apr 18, 2025

It’s been a horror show with the bat for CSK in IPL 2025, and the hat-trick of losses at Chepauk underscores their inability to match the competition

Deivarayan Muthu12-Apr-20252:05

Is this the worst CSK have ever looked in the IPL?

At 10.27pm on Friday, CSK’s fortress Chepauk crumbled in front of empty stands. For the first time in an IPL season, they had suffered three successive defeats at home. Parts of the stadium had begun to empty out by 9.20pm, when CSK were limited to 103 for 9, their lowest total in Chennai. Even CSK’s most beloved fans couldn’t watch the horror show anymore.After CSK had struggled to 158 for 5 in pursuit of 184 against Delhi Capitals (DC) last Saturday, their coach Stephen Fleming had said it was “tough to watch” the chase. On Friday, CSK’s batting plumbed such depths that it might have been unwatchable.They meandered to 31 for 2 in the powerplay. They faced 20 dots during the phase and even allowed Moeen Ali to get away with a wicket-maiden. According to ESPNcricinfo logs, CSK’s batters offered an aggressive response to just five of the 36 balls they faced during the powerplay. They didn’t have the middle-order firepower to play catch up.Related

• Free-falling CSK meet high-flying LSG in clash of contrasts

• 'Smart' KKR trying to 'fill those boxes on the go' to stay in the race

• Hussey: 'We're certainly not putting the white flag up just yet'

• CSK's lowest totals: where does the collapse against KKR rank?

• Stats – CSK's firsts of the worst in the IPL

This has been a recurring problem for CSK in IPL 2025. The average powerplay score this season is 57. For CSK, that average is 45, which, of course, is way off the pace.Neither Devon Conway nor Rachin Ravindra are power-hitters. They rely more on timing. Rahul Tripathi has looked a pale shadow of the powerplay dasher he had once been, never comfortable against pace or spin this IPL.”Our openers not the ones who will start slogging or look to hit across the line,” MS Dhoni said after CSK were decimated by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). “But what is also important is not to get desperate seeing the scoreboard. You need, maybe, one or two boundaries and run rate keeps on going. If you start looking for 60 in six overs with our line-up, it will be very difficult for us.”It’s important to get partnerships going, maybe look to capitalise in the middle and the later overs. That’s what our strength will be. But if we lose too many wickets, the middle order needs do their role differently and the slog has been delayed for quite a while.”When CSK won the IPL title in 2023, they had a similar top order with two accumulators, but the middle order dripped with power and versatility. Ambati Rayudu was a particularly strong presence in that middle order and brought with him the ability to go – and go hard – from the outset. Since Rayudu retired after winning the title in 2023, CSK haven’t filled that void.1:18

Should Dhoni have walked in before Impact Player Hooda?

They tried Daryl Mitchell in that role in 2024, but he didn’t produce the kind of output CSK and their fans might have been looking for. Then, in the 2024 mega auction, they perhaps missed a trick by not going harder for a proven middle-order batter in the league, especially with Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja’s finishing abilities on the wane. They took punts on Vijay Shankar and Deepak Hooda, who were not regulars for their franchises in IPL 2024, hoping they would have late-career revivals at CSK like Ajinkya Rahane had in the recent past.But that certainly hasn’t happened yet with Vijay or Hooda. The story might have been different for CSK this season had at least one among Vijay, Hooda and Tripathi come good. The story might have also been different had one of Conway and Ravindra been more consistent at the top. An injury to Ruturaj Gaikwad, who has been sidelined from the rest of this IPL, has compounded CSK’s batting troubles.The first year after a mega auction can be challenging for most teams, including five-time champions like CSK. Mike Hussey, CSK’s batting coach, acknowledged that some of their new recruits were still working their way into their roles.1:31

Bangar: CSK very dismal with the bat this season

“Yeah, it [teams needing time to settle after a mega auction] is a good point,” Hussey said. “Yeah, we’ve got some new players that have come to the franchise, so it does take a little bit of time for them to really fit in and feel like they belong. We’re trying to fast-track that as much as we can. And then it’s just getting to know them and getting to know their games and how they play their best cricket as well. So, we’re working very hard behind the scenes with those guys.”And the players, you know, you cannot fault their work ethic. You know, they’re doing the hard work, but unfortunately, it just hasn’t quite translated into performances just yet. But one of the real strengths of CSK over the years is we’ll identify the players that we’ve wanted and then we really back them. Even if things aren’t quite going to plan at the moment, we’ll back them and keep working hard with them and keep showing some faith and trust in them. And then hopefully that will be repaid in the long run.”As of now, CSK are nearing a point of no return this season, and even their fans are running out of patience – and from Chepauk – with their seemingly outdated style of batting.

From 89 for 5, Thakur and Rinku Singh added 103, the third-highest stand for sixth or lower wicket in IPL

Sampath Bandarupalli06-Apr-2023204 for 7 Kolkata Knight Riders’ total against Royal Challengers Bangalore, the highest IPL total for a team after they lost their first five wickets inside the score of 100. The previous highest was also by Knight Riders, who made 202 from 31 for 5 against Chennai Super Kings in 2021.ESPNcricinfo Ltd103 Partnership runs between Shardul Thakur and Rinku Singh, the third-highest stand for the sixth or a lower wicket in the IPL. Kieron Pollard and Ambati Rayudu had an unbeaten 122-run stand – also against Royal Challengers in 2012 – while David Hussey and Wriddhiman Saha added 104 against Kings XI Punjab in 2008.9 Wickets for Knight Riders’ spinners in the match. These are the most wickets for a team’s spinners in an IPL innings. The previous most was eight wickets by Super Kings’ spinners on three instances.68 Thakur’s score while coming to bat at five down. It is the joint second-highest individual score while batting at No. 7 or lower in the IPL. Andre Russell scored an unbeaten 88 against Super Kings batting at No. 7 in 2018, while Dwayne Bravo struck 68 at No. 8 against Mumbai Indians in the same season.13.53 Knight Riders’ run rate after losing their fifth wicket at the score of 89 as they added 115 runs from the last 8.3 overs. Only once a team scored at a higher run rate after losing their fifth wicket inside 100 runs on the board in the IPL (where they batted for at least five overs). Mumbai had a run rate of 13.83 after they lost their fifth wicket at 46 against the erstwhile Kings XI Punjab in 2015.3 for 30 Suyash Sharma’s bowling figures are the second best for a spinner on IPL debut, behind Mayank Markande’s 3 for 23 against Super Kings in 2018. Suyash’s 3 for 30 are also the sixth-best bowling figures for an Indian on IPL debut.