Author: Anuraag Peesara

There has been no dearth in drama in the Indian Super League this season. Same can be said about the goals, which have been galoring in big numbers nearly every game. East Bengal, who were earlier involved in a sensational 10-goal thriller against Odisha, were once again in picture on Tuesday and played out a 7-goal fixture this time. Unfortunately for the side, they lost on both occasions. This time, however, they had thrown a much better fight, getting back at the much stronger Goa unit on three occasions, but once the fourth goal went in, that was curtains for…

AC Milan’s hunt to get into the round of 16 in the Champions League was clobbered at the hands of Liverpool, whilst Leipzig’s fantastic result against Manchester City earned them a Europa League spot despite losing their opening three games of the campaign. Ajax and Dortmund had a goal-fest in their games, whilst both Madrid clubs registered crucial wins. Fikayo Tomori opened the scoring for Milan, with the former Chelsea man pouncing on a rebound off Alisson, slotting home from close range around the half-hour mark. Their lead, however, lasted just 8 minutes, with the man in form, Mohamed Salah, scoring yet again. In the…

Massimo Ferrero stepped down as the President of Italian club Sampdoria after he was arrested for alleged financial crimes, which led to the club heading into bankruptcy. He was taken to San Vittore Jail in Milan and the court has ordered for the arrest of six more people, which includes his grandson and granddaughter, who have been involved with the club in some capacity. The club have been in severe financial troubles for a long time, and despite the club making great progress under the tenure of Ferrero, becoming a Serie A regular and also achieving Europa League qualification in 2015,…

Everton gained a much-needed 2-1 victory against Arsenal at the Goodison, which might keep Rafa Benitez at the job for a little longer. Although Martin Odegaard opened the scoring just before the first half ended, Richarlison and Demarai Gray scored late into the game as the Toffees emerged victorious after eight games without registering a win. The game turned out to be pretty dramatic, as it turns out, with Richarlison being flagged offside by the barest of margins on two occasions when he scored the goal, but he got lucky the third time. But the bigger talking point was Ben Godfrey’s challenge on Takehiro Tomiyasu.…

It has been over a week since the Ballon d’Or 2021 winner was announced, but the world doesn’t seem to be accepting the fact that Lionel Messi won the prize over Robert Lewandowski. The Argentine bagged the award for the seventh time in his career, on the back of a sensational league campaign with his club and also the Copa America triumph, which was Argentina’s first major trophy in 28 years. As it turns out, the votes from South American journalists proved to be decisive in helping Messi win the trophy ahead of Lewandowski, who was the popular choice for winning the trophy. …

Ralf Rangnick is off to a positive start in English football, and became the first German manager in the first division of England to register a win in his first game, a feat which wasn’t achieved by four of his former students in Ralph Hassenhuttl, David Wagner, Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel. Manchester United registered a 1-0 win over Patrick Vieira’s Crystal Palace on Sunday, with Fred scoring a stunning winner for the Red Devils. The Brazilian midfielder, who is often at the receiving end of severe criticism, relished the freedom to move higher up the pitch and made more ground than any other footballer…

Arthur Labinjo-Hughes was tortured and killed by his father and stepmother in June 2020, an incident that shook up the entire country of England. The murderers were finally sentenced to lifetime imprisonment on December 3, and to commemorate the justice served to the young boy, football clubs across the country paid tribute to the kid with banners and applause. The 6-year-old died of an unsurvivable brain injury which he suffered at the hands of his stepmother Emma Tustin, and this came after a series of torturous abuse from her and his father Thomas Hughes in Solihull last year. Tustin was jailed for a…

On December 4, Chelsea suffered a shock defeat to West Ham in an all-important London derby, a result which saw them slip to the third spot in the Premier League table. Despite Thiago Silva and Mason Mount scoring goals that gave them a lead, they managed to squander it twice and eventually conceded a bizarre winner in the 87th minute. Silva headed home the opening goal of the game, hitting it into the ground and past the keeper. A few minutes later, Jorginho, who was culpable for Jadon Sancho’s goal last week, once again made a poor back pass to Edouard Mendy. Chelsea goalkeeper…

Eileen Ash, the oldest living Test cricketer of all time, passed away on December 3. She was 110 years old, and the England and Wales Cricket Board paid tribute to her, calling her an extraordinary woman who lived a great life. Ash, whose birth name is Eileen Whelan, played seven Test matches for England on either side of the second World War. During the war, she was also made to be a part of the the UK’s secret intelligence service. She picked up 10 wickets at an average of 23 in her Test career, and played 22 games in women’s First-class cricket. Credit: Submitted Eileen was omnipresent in…

West Ham United boss David Moyes is having one of the best seasons in his career with the Hammers, and despite getting some names in the summer, he was disappointed by the fact that the club couldn’t find a way to bring back Jesse Lingard, who spent the second half of last season with them on loan. The midfielder had a massive revival outing with the London side last season, scoring nine times across 16 appearances and helped them finish sixth in the Premier League, winning them a Europa League spot. Manchester United wanted a figure of around 30 million pounds to ship him away on…