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Liverpool fell to a 3-1 defeat against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge this afternoon, with Arne Slot’s side failing to impress after their Premier League triumph last weekend.

A goal from Enzo Fernández, an own goal from Jarell Quansah and Cole Palmer’s late penalty secured all three points for Enzo Maresca’s side in their hunt for a Champions League place.

Virgil van Dijk’s header provided a late consolation goal for the Reds, but it wasn’t to be for the heavily rotated side in West London – with the manager giving numerous fringe players the chance to impress.

With the title in the bag, it was an excellent opportunity for Slot to evaluate the players at his disposal, giving him a clearer picture of what’s needed ahead of what’s likely to be a huge summer.

Whilst some players took their chance with both hands, many failed to grasp the opportunity handed in their direction – putting their future at Anfield in huge jeopardy.

Liverpool’s poor performers against Chelsea

Midfielder Curtis Jones was handed a rare start for Liverpool as part of the reshuffle, but was unable to extract his highest levels of performance – looking way off the high standards he’s set for himself.

The 24-year-old featured for the entire of the contest, only completing 33% of the dribbles he attempted, along with a 36% duel success rate – showcasing his lack of impact on the clash.

He wasn’t the only player to disappoint at the Bridge, with centre-back Quansah scoring an own goal and giving away the penalty that led to Palmer’s stoppage-time effort.

His disappointing showing didn’t end there, winning just two of the six duels he contested, whilst committing two fouls which led to him being booked.

However, despite the showings of the aforementioned duo, one other first team member failed to deliver in the capital – with Slot desperately needing to sell him in the coming months.

The Liverpool star who needs to be sold after Chelsea

Slot has done a remarkable job in 2024/25 to lead Liverpool to the success they’ve endured, a feat that was unthinkable when he took the reins from Jürgen Klopp last summer.

The Dutchman has lost just three league matches out of a possible 35, showcasing the incredible job he’s done, with only one of the losses coming on home soil.

However, the real task awaits him in 2025/26, needing to sustain the levels they’ve produced this year if they are to have any chances of making it back-to-back titles.

If they are to achieve their goal, changes will need to be made, including the sale of striker Diogo Jota, who’s been unable to impress over the last couple of months.

The Portuguese international was handed a start against the Blues this afternoon, but like so often this campaign, he failed to deliver – undoubtedly contributing to the defeat.

He featured for 58 minutes before being withdrawn, understandably so given his lack of impact during his near hour spent on the field.

Jota only registered a measly tally of 13 touches – the lowest of any player who started the game – whilst only posting a tally of four passes, showcasing how quiet and ineffective he was.

Diogo Jota’s stats for Liverpool against Chelsea

Statistics

Tally

Minutes played

58

Touches

13

Passes completed

4/5 (80%)

Dribbles completed

0/1 (0%)

Ground duels won

2/8 (25%)

Fouls committed

4

Shots on target

0

Stats via SofaScore

His poor showing didn’t stop there, failing to complete any of the dribbles he attempted, whilst only coming out on top in 25% of the ground duels he entered.

The forward also committed four fouls, and was unable to direct any of his efforts on goal, subsequently struggling to provide the goods needed within the final third.

As a result of his dismal showing, the striker was handed a dismal 5/10 match rating by the Liverpool Echo’s Ian Doyle – further showcasing how disappointing he was throughout.

Given his showing, Slot must be left with no choice but to sell Jota this summer, desperately needing another forward to help them in their ambitions of retaining their title.

He and Quansah need to be the first out of the door, with the pair’s potential exit allowing for added investment across various areas of the squad – handing the depth needed for another title charge.

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Posts ByAngus Sinclair May 4, 2025

Paris Saint-Germain star Ousmane Dembele has named two England legends among his favourite players of all-time.

Dembele announced as 2025 Ballon d'Or winner in Paris

PSG won their maiden Champions League crown in 2025, and Dembele was paramount to their success, picking up eight goals and six assists across 15 matches in the competition, while also amassing 29 goal contributions in Ligue 1.

As such, the Frenchman had been the favourite for the 2025 Ballon d’Or for quite some time, and he was crowned the winner at the ceremony in Paris on Monday evening, with Lamine Yamal, Vitinha, Mohamed Salah and Raphinha making up the top five.

Having failed to deliver at Barcelona, the 28-year-old’s career has undergone a major transformation since he returned to his home country, and the PSG talisman delivered an emotional speech after being confirmed as the 2025 winner.

Courtesy of scooping up the award, the winger joins a prestigious list of just ten players to have won the Ballon d’Or, Champions League and World Cup, having been part of the France squad that went all the way at Russia 2018.

Lionel Messi is one of the other players on that acclaimed list, and it will come as no surprise that Dembele once named the Argentina star as one of his favourite players of all time, but two England legends also make up the top three.

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Posts 3 ByBen Goodwin May 17, 2025

Gerrard named as England's "greatest ever" player by Messi

It is a bit of a surprise to see the Liverpool fan pick Beckham over Gerrard, as Messi himself once claimed the Liverpool legend is the best player England have produced, saying: “Personally, I think Steven Gerrard is England’s greatest ever player. I wish him a happy retirement.”

The 45-year-old was arguably one of the only reasons Liverpool were successful during his era, with the former captain instigating the dramatic comeback against AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League, and scoring some incredible long-range goals.

Beckham was also fantastic at striking the ball from distance, having scored the most goals from direct free kicks in the history of the Premier League.

Player

Free-kick goals

David Beckham

18

James Ward-Prowse

17

Thierry Henry

12

Gianfranco Zola

12

Cristiano Ronaldo

12

Consequently, both Gerrard and Beckham make their way onto the 20 best midfielders in Premier League history, alongside Kevin De Bruyne, Roy Keane and more.

The former Liverpool and Man United stars are undoubtedly legends of the game, but Dembele has also now cemented his place in the history books, courtesy of his 2025 Ballon d’Or triumph.

Find out who else makes the final XI – and the impact list – based on Smart Stats

S Rajesh27-May-2024Virat KohliVirat Kohli was the leading run-scorer of the season by far – no batter came within 150 runs of his 741. In IPL 2024, Kohli reinvented his T20 game with slog-sweeps and aggression against spin that hadn’t been seen before. His strike rate of 154.69 is his highest in an IPL season, and his aggregate is his second-best ever. Despite the aggression and higher boundary intent, Kohli maintained amazing consistency: he went past 25 in 11 out of 15 innings. His batting rating of 47.53 was the best among batters who played at least ten games in the tournament.Sunil NarineSunil Narine had an all-round season like no other player in IPL history: he became the first to score over 450 runs at a 175-plus strike rate and take 15-plus wickets at a sub-seven economy rate. No wonder there was daylight between him and the next-best in terms of ESPNcricinfo’s Impact Rating. At 79.66, Narine’s overall Impact Rating for the tournament was almost 20 points more than the second-placed Jasprit Bumrah’s 59.8. With Phil Salt, Narine forged a formidable opening partnership, adding 559 runs at a run rate of 12.46. Their six 50-plus stands were the most by any pair in the tournament. With the ball, he took 14 wickets in the middle overs at an economy rate of 6.15, and his bowling partnership with Varun Chakravarthy completely strangled opposition batters.ESPNcricinfo LtdSanju SamsonSanju Samson had a blockbuster 2024 season, scoring more runs, and more 50-plus scores, than in any previous season. To add to that, his strike rate of 153.46 is his second-best ever. Samson was sensational through the first 11 games of the season, scoring 471 runs at a strike rate of 163.54. As Rajasthan Royals’ fortunes dipped, so did Samson’s: his last four innings fetched only 60 runs at a strike rate of 103.44. That hurt RR in the playoffs, but despite that dip, Samson was by far the best at No. 3 – no batter came within 200 runs of his aggregate in that position.Riyan ParagAlong with Samson, Riyan Parag was the fulcrum of Rajasthan Royals’ batting. He scored almost as many runs in IPL 2024 as he had in five previous seasons – 600 in 44 innings. What stood out about his approach was the way he adapted his game to the match situation, often shepherding the team after early wickets before turning it on later in the innings. Parag went past 40 in seven out of 14 innings, which illustrates his consistency – only Kohli, with nine, had more 40-plus scores. Parag was the top run-getter in the middle overs (seventh to 16th), scoring 431 runs at a strike rate of 146.59, and he scored 251 more runs at No. 4 than the next best, Rajat Patidar.Nicholas Pooran was in fine form through the season•BCCINicholas PooranLucknow Super Giants’ overall run rate was the second-lowest in the tournament, but Nicholas Pooran maintained his high standards despite being around batters who struggled to switch gears. This was his best IPL season both in terms of runs and strike rate, surpassing last year’s 358 runs at 172.94. Unlike a few other batters whose performances flagged towards the end of the season, Pooran finished IPL 2024 with knocks of 48* (26), 61 (27) and 75 (29). He batted at the tough positions – Nos. 5 and 6 – and scored 467 of his 499 runs after the powerplay overs, at a strike rate of 173.60.Tristan StubbsTristan Stubbs was sensational in the death overs: between the 17th and 20th, he scored 223 runs off just 75 balls – that’s a strike rate of 297.33 – and was dismissed just once. Of all instances of batters scoring 100 or more runs in the last four overs in an IPL season – there are 144 such occurrences – no batter has achieved a higher strike rate. Stubbs struck a four every 2.2 deliveries, and a six every 4.17 balls in the death overs.Andre RussellAndre Russell faced only 120 deliveries in the season, thanks to the splendid batting form of the top order. But he did enough off those deliveries, striking at 185.00. His bigger contributions, however, came with the ball. Russell’s tally of 19 wickets is his highest in an IPL season, and though his economy rate was relatively high, he compensated by dismissing some of the top batters. His 19 wickets included Suryakumar Yadav and Rajat Patidar (twice each), Abhishek Sharma, KL Rahul, Will Jacks and Dinesh Karthik. His 13 wickets in the middle overs was fourth-highest, next only to Varun, Yuzvendra Chahal and Narine.Kuldeep Yadav was Rishabh Pant’s go-to man•BCCIKuldeep YadavIn a team that had the most expensive bowling unit of IPL 2024, Kuldeep Yadav stood out like a beacon. Delhi Capitals (DC) leaked 9.95 runs per over, the worst among all teams this season, and five of the seven bowlers who bowled more than 20 overs went at over 9.5. In this bowling unit, Kuldeep took 16 wickets from 11 games, and was Rishabh Pant’s go-to bowler. Thirteen of his 16 wickets came in the middle overs, at an economy of just 7.94. In two of the three matches that he didn’t play, DC ended up conceding 272 (to KKR) and 234 (to Mumbai Indians). Kuldeep was second only to Bumrah in terms of bowling impact ratings this season.Harshit RanaConsistency – both within a match and across the season – was the hallmark of Harshit Rana’s performances over the last two months. In a season where bowlers went for plenty, only three times did Rana leak more than ten runs an over, while four times he bowled at least three overs at under eight. He bowled more than 12 overs in each of the three phases, giving Shreyas Iyer the option of bowling him whenever required. He went at only 7.88 for his nine wickets in the middle overs, while he was excellent at the death too, conceding only 9.85 while taking six wickets.Jasprit Bumrah served up some magic more than once•Associated PressJasprit BumrahBumrah was the stand-out bowler of IPL 2024, which says something about his team, given that they finished at the bottom of the table. He was at the top of his game in each phase, and answered the captain’s call almost each time the team were in a crisis. Bumrah went at less than eight an over in each phase, but was truly outstanding in the death overs, conceding only 90 runs from 89 balls (ER 6.06), and taking ten wickets. Among the 20 bowlers who bowled at least ten overs in this phase, the next best economy rate was 8.92, by Mohammed Siraj. Not surprisingly, Bumrah finished second on the MVP list, after Narine.Sandeep SharmaTwenty-two bowlers took more wickets than Sandeep Sharma did this season, but his high impact numbers are a recognition of the tough overs he bowled: 28 out of 38 overs were in the powerplay or at the death. His 15 powerplay overs went at only 7.6 – among the 25 bowlers with at least 12 overs in this phase, only two, Bumrah and Trent Boult, had better economy rates. At the death, his economy rate of 10.07 was bettered by only five bowlers out of 20 (with a ten-over cut-off).Rajat Patidar was RCB’s enforcer in the middle overs•Associated PressImpact SubsRajat PatidarPatidar entered the party late – his first four innings fetched only 50 runs at a strike rate of 108.7, but when he did find his range, Patidar made a huge difference to RCB’s fortunes. In his last seven innings, he scored 286 runs at a strike rate of 195.89, and was RCB’s enforcer in the middle overs, striking at 196.61 in this phase. In just this period alone, his batting impact rating was 54.24, second only to Jake Fraser-McGurk (with a five-match cut-off).Varun ChakravarthyLike Patidar, Varun had a slow start to the season too – in his first two games he returned figures of 1 for 75 in six overs – but once he found his groove he didn’t let go. His 21 wickets were the second-highest haul of the season, with 19 of those coming in the middle overs, the highest among all bowlers. He went at only 7.66 in that phase, and along with Narine played a huge role in KKR’s trophy-winning season.Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma did a demolition job of the sort not seen in the IPL before•AFP/Getty ImagesThose who narrowly missed outTravis HeadTravis Head had a sensational season, and with Abhishek Sharma, he formed the opening pair of IPL 2024. But a poor finish to the tournament let him down. In his last four innings, he scored three ducks, including one in the final. In a season where so many openers did superbly, there was space only for two.Abhishek SharmaAbhishek was the other half of the opening pair of the tournament, and no batter topped his 42 sixes for the season. Yet, like Head, he went missing in the playoffs with the bat, scoring only 17 runs in his last three innings.Trent BoultBoult was the champion of the powerplays yet again: he topped the wickets tally in this phase with 12, including seven in the first over of the innings. His economy rate of 7.02 in the first six overs was second only to Bumrah’s, but there were other Indian options to fill the bowling slots in the XI.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Alliance with Stokes is a gamble – but playing it safe would be a much greater sin

Andrew Miller12-May-2022To paraphrase Monty Python, apart from 6453 runs in 101 matches, a highest score of 302 and a world-record 54-ball century in his final appearance, what has Brendon McCullum ever done for Test cricket?Well, if those numbers alone don’t impress you, how about his defining role, in the winter of 2014-15, in creating the team identity that, six years later, would result in little New Zealand becoming the inaugural World Test Champions, even while reaching three out of the last four World Cup finals across six years and two white-ball formats?Or what about the fact that, to all intents and purposes, he has already revitalised English cricket once before? Had it not been for the lessons he imparted in 2015 on his great friend and then-rival Eoin Morgan, first on the field in an extraordinary World Cup humiliation at Wellington, and thereafter in passing on the Kiwi philosophy that Morgan’s white-ball team would adopt as their own, there’s no way they’d have reached the 50-over World Cup final four years later, let alone swiped the trophy from their former mentors too.McCullum’s appointment as England’s new Test coach may look, on the face of it, to be a transcription error: the white-ball role would seem to be a far more natural fit. But in actual fact, it could prove to be a masterstroke, a chance to address head-on the listlessness that has defined England’s Test endeavours in precisely the same timeframe as New Zealand’s standards have soared. And at the very least – and in the words of Martin and Jeff’s not-quite namesake, Sheryl Crow – it could end up being My Favourite Mistake. Anyone else up for dying wondering? Thought not.Sure, the appointment will be greeted with horror by those who fear for the sanctity of the five-day game, and who are aghast at the notion of granting extra licence to an already slap-happy generation of batters – men such as Zak Crawley, whose inability to temper his attacking mindset has left that epic 267 against Pakistan looking like an outlier in his career record, rather than an expression of his generational talent.Related

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But if one thing is abundantly clear from the horrors of the winter just gone, it is that playing safe with this appointment would have been a far greater sin than taking an educated punt on a man who has never coached a red-ball team in his life.Over and above the need for a tactical genius or a ball-busting taskmaster, England’s Test team is crying out for an identity. In a captain-coach axis of Ben Stokes and McCullum – two men who could easily have been All Blacks had their New Zealand heritage panned out differently, who in differing ways have been obliged to rehabilitate their public image, and whose similarities even extend to their maxed-out tattooed torsos – it’s about to get slapped around the chops with personality.Not that McCullum will necessarily prove as gung-ho in his stewardship as his reputation might suggest. “People might not believe this, but most of my preparation for batting is geared around defence,” he told The Cricket Monthly in 2015. “If I can rely on my defence – defend straight and leave well – then the rest of my game flows from there.”That philosophy will be music to his new captain’s ears – there are few straighter blades in world cricket than Stokes’ at the outset of a Test innings. And McCullum will know too that good things come to those who wait, in more ways than one. On his first day as Test captain, at Newlands in January 2013, New Zealand were routed for 45 inside 20 overs – and that after the ugly sacking of his predecessor Ross Taylor, a situation that put a strain on their friendship and rendered the New Zealand team as unpopular as at any time in its history.That was New Zealand’s point of no return – the same point that England encountered at Melbourne five months ago, when they surrendered the Ashes with their 68 all out. Two years later, and after many honest conversations – including the soul-searching that followed the death of Phil Hughes in November 2014 – McCullum’s men were the darlings of their nation as they sashayed through the home leg of their World Cup with a beaming grin and an assassin’s creed. Even a thumping loss to the Aussies in the final couldn’t detract from the huge gains made.Stokes gets a handshake from McCullum after his 2015 hundred at Lord’s•AFP/Getty ImagesIt remains to be seen whether England’s Test fortunes can follow a similarly redemptive arc. But either way, McCullum’s appointment is an extraordinarily exciting prospect for a format that can still, just about, lay claim to being cricket’s “pinnacle”, but needs the continued endorsement of the game’s biggest names if it is not to collapse under the weight of its own self-importance.Stokes, who pulled out of the IPL even before his appointment as Test captain, has been beating that drum with increasing urgency since the Ashes. He has repeatedly stated that Test cricket is his “No. 1 priority” and judging by his ballistic display for Durham at New Road last Friday, he’s in quite the mood to back his words with deeds.McCullum’s resignation as Kolkata Knight Riders’ head coach is quite the symbolic step too – an expression of faith in an ancient format from the man, lest we forget, whose opening-night century for KKR in Bangalore 14 years ago was the innings that sent the IPL stratospheric in the first place.Not that this appointment should be painted as a Test versus T20 tussle. Quite the contrary, in fact: the worst mistake that cricket’s traditionalists (for want of a better word) can make is to forget quite how malleable the longest format can be, and quite how much and how often it has already evolved in its 145-year history.Ricky Ponting, Delhi Capitals’ coach and another man who featured on Rob Key’s long-list, was integral to the great Australia Test team of the early 2000s – a side whose brilliance owed so much to the fusion of skills that it absorbed from its hegemony in one-day cricket. Rattling along at four an over, with Matthew Hayden’s pinch-hitting approach at the top of the order offset by Adam Gilchrist’s death-hitting brilliance, and with Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath a contrasting pair of spearheads in each format, it set in motion a truly great era of Test cricket.The same can still hold true now. No-one who witnessed Stokes’ shot selection at Headingley in 2019, or Rishabh Pant’s berserk onslaughts in Ahmedabad or Cape Town could possibly claim that T20 has been detrimental to Test cricket’s overall standards. The trouble lies in its growing influence at the expense of all other formats. As Kevin Pietersen tweeted last week, even while missing the wider point that he was making about elite-level competition: “Every sportsman is a brand! All of you would work for less if you got paid way more for it! ALL OF YOU!”

And the world of cricket changed when T20 cricket became a real player for private owners. Every sportsman is a brand! You’re all going to have to deal with that. They’ll go where the cash is!

All of you would work for less if you got paid way more for it!

ALL OF YOU!

— Kevin Pietersen (@KP24) May 7, 2022