Author: WTX Sports Team

The Sports Team is responsible for delivering your Sports Brief. Weekly roundup to cover all things Football, Cricket, Tennis Formula 1, Boxing and Olympics and more.

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes admitted Manuel Ugarte had ‘surprised’ him with his ‘quality on the ball’ after the side’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool. Ugarte produced arguably his finest performance yet in a United shirt as Ruben Amorim’s side came away from Sunday’s Premier League thriller on Merseyside with a valuable point. The visitors carved out a golden opportunity to seal an unlikely victory deep into stoppage time, only for Harry Maguire to balloon his…

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Paul Scholes believes Joshua Zirkzee made the ‘wrong decision’ passing to Harry Maguire in the dying moments of Manchester United’s 2-2 draw at Liverpool, denying himself of a Diego Forlan-esque winner. After a difficult start with United, Forlan made himself an overnight hero with a pair of second-half goals at Anfield, which consigned Liverpool to their first home loss in almost a year midway through the 2002/03 season. Zirkzee’s struggles in the early stages of…

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Arne Slot rejected the chance to sign Manchester United midfielder Manuel Ugarte after taking over at Liverpool, according to reports. Ugarte was offered to a number of clubs, including United and Liverpool, after falling out of favour at Paris Saint-Germain. PSG spent more than £50m to sign Ugarte from Ruben Amorim’s Sporting Lisbon in 2023 but agreed to sell him at a loss just a year later. Ugarte has endured an underwhelming first six months…

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Former Premier League striker Michael Owen Michael Owen believes Newcastle United striker and Arsenal transfer target Alexander Isak would ‘walk into every team in the Premier League’. Isak is enjoying a superb season at St James’ Park, scoring 13 goals in 18 league games to help Newcastle climb to fifth in the English top-flight. The 25-year-old Sweden international was also prolific in front of goal last season, scoring 25 goals in all competitions to attract…

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Jamie Carragher fears there is ‘one thing’ that could stop Liverpool from winning the Premier League title. The Reds have opened up a healthy seven-point lead at the top of the table as they look to clinch their 20th league title and first since 2020. Liverpool saw title-chasing Arsenal drop points at Brighton on Saturday but failed to fully capitalise on the result as they too were held to a draw by struggling Manchester United.…

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Gary Neville discussing Man Utd’s draw with Liverpool Gary Neville believes Manchester United targeted a Liverpool player during Sunday’s Premier League clash at Anfield. There were fears United would be on the receiving end of an embarrassing scoreline given the fortunes of both sides going into the match. United had lost four games in a row and lost to Newcastle United, Wolves and Bournemouth without scoring a goal. Liverpool, meanwhile, had won four games…

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Gary Lineker believes Gunners forward Gabriel Jesus would benefit from specific ‘centre-forward coaching’ at Arsenal. Following a lengthy goal drought, Jesus has improved his record in front of goal recently with six goals in his last five appearances. Jesus did not score in the second-half of last season and then went 11 games of the 2024-25 campaign without a goal. Five goals in the space of four days against Crystal Palace gave Jesus a much-needed…

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Manchester United are interested in signing Victor Osimhen this month but Galatasaray are reportedly ‘100 per cent convinced’ he will not leave in January. The 26-year-old made the surprise move to Istanbul on loan from Napoli in the summer after pushing for a move away from the Italian side and no switch to the likes of Paris Saint-Germain or Chelsea materialising. The Nigerian has been a big hit at Galatasaray since arriving, scoring 10 goals…

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A third Manchester United star is pushing to leave the club this month and has already ‘basic terms’ over a January move, according to reports. Marcus Rashford revealed last month that he was ‘ready for a new challenge’, having stagnated at Old Trafford over the past two seasons. It was reported last week that Casemiro was also keen to leave Manchester United amid interest from clubs in Saudi Arabia. Reports in Italy say Joshua Zirkee…

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Mark Williams had to be hooked up to an oxygen tank during a snooker exhibition played in the spectacular setting of Lhasa, Tibet. The three-time world champion was joined by Judd Trump, Ding Junhui and Xiao Guodong at the Tianren Cup, Lhasa Winter Plateau Snooker Challenge which runs from 5-7 January. Lhasa is just short of 12,000 feet above sea level, making altitude sickness common and Williams was feeling it during the event. The 49-year-old…

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5 worst sports moments of 2024 England lost the European Championship final to Spain – the second successive Euro final defeat. Just four minutes before the end, Mikel Oyarabel scored the winner that handed the Spanish the silverware. Following the defeat, England’s boss Gareth Southgate stepped down after eight years in the top job. But in happier news, former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel became the new England boss.  Legendary German football manager Jurgen Klopp stepped…

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5 Best UK Sports Moments of 2024 Para-archer Jodie Grinham won gold for Team GB in the mixed team compound final – all whilst being seven months pregnant. She won bronze in the individual compound event earlier in at the Olympics. Team GB athlete Keely Hodgkinson wins gold in her 800-metre final at Stade de France. She is the first British woman to claim the 800m gold since Dame Kelly Holmes in 2024.  She later…

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Double Olympic dressage champion Charlotte Dujardin has been suspended from all competition for one year following a horse whipping controversy that saw her withdraw from the Paris Games. Dujardin was provisionally suspended by equestrian’s governing body, the International Federation for Equestrian Sports, on July 23 as it launched an investigation into a video from four years ago showing her making what she described as “an error of judgement” during a coaching session. The video showed…

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Declan Rice missed Arsenal’s midweek Carabao Cup clash Arsenal face a quick turnaround before another clash with Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday. The Gunners booked their place in the Carabao Cup semi-finals on Wednesday as a Gabriel Jesus hat-trick fired them to a 3-2 win over Palace at the Emirates. And both sides are at it again – this time at Selhurst Park on Saturday – with both hoping to build on…

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Ruud van Nistelrooy has suggested that Manchester United made an error by allowing goalkeeping coach Jelle ten Rouwelaar to leave Old Trafford following Ruben Amorim’s arrival. Ten Rouwelaar joined United as part of Erik ten Hag’s new-look coaching set-up in July but left his role after Amorim was appointed as manager in November. During his short stint at United, Van Nistelrooy believes Ten Rouwelaar played a key role in helping Andre Onana produce ‘the best…

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Dwight Yorke has warned Manchester United fans not to be fooled by last weekend’s derby win and fears Ruben Amorim still has just two players he can genuinely rely on. After successive defeats against Arsenal and Nottingham Forest, the enthusiasm generated by the appointment of a new, highly-rated young manager was beginning to wane. The manor of last Sunday’s win at the Etihad, however, has provided a welcome boost although Yorke has sounded a note…

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Liverpool are expected to make wholesale changes from their Carabao Cup win over Southampton when they face Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday. Arne Slot’s side got back to winning ways on Wednesday with a 2-1 win over managerless Southampton to book their place in the final four of the league cup. Attention now turns back to the league, with the Reds travelling down to the capital for a huge clash against Spurs. Should…

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Chelsea star Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is reportedly ‘allowed to leave’ in the January transfer window despite only being at the club for six months. The Blues paid £30m to sign the English midfielder from Enzo Maresca’s former club Leicester City in July but he’s struggled for top-flight minutes. Dewsbury-Hall, 26, has only played 55 minutes of Premier League football across five games under Maresca since he arrived at Stamford Bridge. According to the Daily Mail, there…

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Chelsea star Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is reportedly ‘allowed to leave’ in the January transfer window despite only being at the club for six months. The Blues paid £30m to sign the English midfielder from Enzo Maresca’s former club Leicester City in July but he’s struggled for top-flight minutes. Dewsbury-Hall, 26, has only played 55 minutes of Premier League football across five games under Maresca since he arrived at Stamford Bridge. According to the Daily Mail, there…

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