Author: Anuraag Peesara

Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick has already suggested that there are way too many players at the club when he took over and he is looking to ship out some options. Leading the charge are Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard, whose representatives have made evidently clear that the players want to move in January as they are unhappy with the time they got. Martial’s agent made it clear that the player is seeking a move away in the winter transfer window. To add to it, the latest addition to this list is Edinson Cavani, who is open to joining Xavi Hernandez at Barcelona until the…

After a significant number of errors, the UEFA Champions League 2021/22 round of 16 draw was redone after clubs like Atletico Madrid, Villarreal and several others complained about the technical errors leading up to the draw. Andriy Arshavin, the ambassador for the final this season, which will be hosted in Petersburg, carried out the procession once again. Defending champions Chelsea managed to draw French league champions LOSC Lille twice in a span of three hours, whilst Atletico Madrid, who led the protest after the initial draw, managed to get Manchester United in the second go. Bayern Munich, the 2020 winners, will be playing against Austrian club RB…

The UEFA Champions League round of 16 draw took place on Monday, and ex-Arsenal man Andrey Arshavin, the ambassador for the final to be held in Petersburg on May 28, carried out the procession. Atletico Madrid drew the 2020 champions Bayern Munich, whilst the likes of Real Madrid and Liverpool finished with relatively easier draws. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will be reunited on the field as PSG were drawn next to Manchester United. Both these clubs previously faced off in the 2018/19 round of 16, where United edged the Parisian club, whilst they met again in the last season’s group stages, where both sides registered…

The Bellerive Oval in Hobart is set to become the first Tasmanian venue to host a men’s Ashes Test, as they will be hosting the visiting English unit in a day-night Test to round off this edition of the Ashes. This will also be the first occasion when two pink-ball Tests will be held in the same series, with the second Test in Adelaide also being a day-night affair. The fifth Test, which was originally set to be hosted by Perth, had to be moved away due to the ongoing travel restrictions in the state. It was going to be…

FC Goa registered a much-needed win to move their campaign ahead, and defeated Bengaluru on Saturday night in a frantic clash between both sides, which saw two players get sent off among the 22. This defeat keeps Bengaluru second-bottom on the table, with much concern to their manager and players. Ortiz Mendoza, who eventually got sent off for FC Goa, showed great promise in the early parts of the game, making some stellar runs into the box. On two separate occasions from the right flank inside the first 10 minutes, he went past the defenders with his pace, but his…

Despite going through a rough patch financially, Sampdoria registered a spirited 3-1 win in their fixture, whilst Juventus were held to a draw once again in the tournament. AC Milan dropped points at the home of Udinese courtesy of an injury time equalizer from Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Juventus dropped to the sixth spot in the table, and went 10 points behind league leaders AC Milan at full time. It was a disappointing performance from the Old Lady on their visit to Venezia, which saw them grab their fourth draw of the campaign, and they dropped points in nine games overall. Alvaro Morata got them going by…

Saturday’s action in La Liga involved some of the mid-table sides pushing hard for European spots, and the likes of Espanyol and Valencia registered much-needed wins for the side to move ahead in the race. Espanyol played out an absolute thriller against Levante, taking them much closer to their Catalonia rivals Barcelona. Sergi Darder opened the scoring for the club, but before the first half finished, Jorge de Frutos equalized for Levante, before the right-back Son took Levante ahead with a close-range header. Despite going into the first half break trailing, the hosts fought back almost instantly to get on level terms, with Raul de Tomas finding the target and…

Steven Gerrard’s return to Anfield remained the major talking point on a day when all the major teams in picture had won their games courtesy of some crucial penalties. Six penalties were scored on Saturday, which is the most on a single game day in nearly a decade. Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea managed to register wins, whilst Manchester United just about got three points against Norwich City. Aston Villa made life difficult for Liverpool at Anfield, and their defensive rigidity got them past the first half without conceding a goal. Villa had their half-chances throughout the game but lacked the clinical touch…

Ramakrishnan Sridhar has been one of the most prominent names in Indian cricket for a while now, working as the fielding coach of the U19 team back in 2014, and also serving Punjab Kings in that very year. But his big break came in August that year, after the IPL, when he was made the fielding coach of the Indian men’s team, a position he held until the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Having played an integral part in Ravi Shastri’s setup, the former Indian fielding coach revealed that Shastri was a wonderful man manager, and it was a delight to…

Since joining the club for a then-world record fee in 2016, Paul Pogba has been subject to great criticism for not reaching the standards he was expected to hit. For a long period of time, his agent Mino Raiola has been enticing a move away from the Old Trafford-based club, and with his contract ending in 2022, it seems like the player will move out as free agent. Manchester United’s new man in charge Ralf Rangnick, however, reckons that no player should be begged to stay at a club of this stature. The Frenchman, who has been out for a while…