Manchester City already have one of the best players in the world in Erling Haaland. Having tied Phil Foden to a new contract, they believe they will soon have another.
Foden's long-awaited five-year deal was announced by City on Friday ahead of a big trip to Anfield this weekend.
This fixture, away at Liverpool, has seen Foden deliver two of his most complete performances in a City shirt in the previous two seasons, scoring and assisting in a 4-1 win in the 2020-21 campaign before grabbing another goal in last term's 2-2 draw.
Now, those sorts of displays are arriving with even greater consistency, prompting an even more prominent role for arguably England's brightest prospect.
When Pep Guardiola shuffled his pack at Copenhagen in midweek to rest key men for the Liverpool match, it was Haaland and Foden who dropped to the bench.
Haaland's 20 goals in 13 matches this season have stolen the show, but Foden, who matched the Norway forward in netting a Manchester derby hat-trick at the start of the month, has seven in 13 from a wide position.
With three assists, too, Foden is contributing a goal involvement every 81 minutes – more than justifying the faith City have shown in him by agreeing new terms.
"We are all so proud of Phil and what he has achieved already," said City director of football Txiki Begiristain. "But we know there is so much more to come.
"His natural talent and ability are obvious, but his hard work, professionalism and dedication make him really special. He loves football more than anything, and his desire to improve is really incredible.
"We feel he can progress further and become even better than he is today.
"By signing this contract, he now has stability and can focus absolutely everything on becoming one of the best players in the world, which we feel he can be."
Foden is still only 22 but has four Premier League titles to his name. Ryan Giggs, who won a record 13, had only three by the time he turned 23.
Although Foden has already tallied over 10,000 minutes across 182 first-team appearances, he initially had to bide his time under Guardiola.
Foden started only three matches in all competitions in the 2017-18 season and 11 the following campaign. Even in the season after that, 2019-20, when he had 17 goal involvements, just 18 of his 38 appearances were starts.
Now, however, the boyhood City fan is one of the first names on the team sheets in the biggest games – this Sunday's fixture undoubtedly included.
"He's not a young talent any more," Kevin De Bruyne said late last season of a team-mate then still just 21. "He's one of the guys."
Foden had 16 goals and 10 assists in 50 matches in 2020-21, then 14 goals and 11 assists in 45 matches last time out.
He appears certain to scale new heights this season alongside Haaland, who has assisted two of his seven goals, with De Bruyne teeing up three.
In the Premier League, Foden has six goals through City's first nine matches, doubling his output at this stage of last season – then a career high.
Guardiola's patient approach has clearly paid off, as Foden himself added on Friday: "I think he has made me 10 times the player I was."
There never appeared any doubt Foden would be staying at City, but that does not make Friday's news and the prospect of five more years in this side any less daunting to their title rivals.
Joan Laporta has told Barcelona fans to "keep believing" as they head into El Clasico on Sunday looking to hit back from a midweek Champions League disappointment.
A 3-3 draw with Inter on Wednesday was a blow to Barca's hopes of reaching the round of 16, but a win against Real Madrid in one of the most anticipated fixtures in world football would be a perfect response.
The fierce rivals head into the match level on points, with the Catalan giants top of LaLiga by virtue of their superior goal difference.
Barca president Laporta urged supporters to maintain their faith in Xavi and his players, telling BarcaTV: "Keep believing. We have a very competitive team, with very good players who are going to bring you a lot of joy.
"Stick behind Xavi, he needs your warmth and confidence. That's what we will give him and we hope the fans do too.
"I have my full faith in Xavi and his staff, and also with the players. We have a great squad and I'm sure they'll bring us a lot of joy. We have a team to compete against anyone in Europe.
"We'll get through this. We won't ever stop working for what we want. This club has had all kinds of ups and downs over the years, but we have always bounced back. And we can still do that, from every part of the club."
Laporta acknowledged just how important Sunday's fixture could be in the title race, adding: "We're top of the league and there's a big game on the way at the Bernabeu.
"El Clasico is very important, whoever wins get a huge injection of morale and the loser takes a mighty blow. It's the kind of game you want to see. We'll go there with our heads held high. We have a team to do things there.
"I hope the players will defend the Barca shirt with the right spirit, because whenever you get knocked down, you have to pick yourself up again. We want to show how good we are and that we can win the league."
Laporta spoke of his frustration at not securing a win over Inter that would have put their chances of progressing in their own hands.
"It was a big game for us and I am sad and angry that we didn't win despite scoring three goals," Laporta said.
"It was always going to be a difficult group. We should have got a better result in Munich because we were the better team.
"And the refereeing in Milan was scandalous. We shouldn't play the victims card, but we were very unhappy with the match officials, and I spoke to UEFA about it afterwards.
"Financially, missing out on the latter stages of the Champions League is a big blow."
Jamie Carragher has told Liverpool to focus on stopping Kevin De Bruyne in Sunday's clash against Manchester City, which he believes would cut the supply to Erling Haaland.
Jurgen Klopp's side welcome City to Anfield after a disappointing start to their Premier League campaign, sitting 13 points behind their opponents following a defeat to Arsenal last week.
Stopping City from extending that gap will be tough, particularly with Haaland in such incredible goalscoring form. The former Borussia Dortmund has already scored 15 league goals, only eight fewer than the 23 managed by Golden Boot winners Son Heung-min and Mohamed Salah last season.
While that may encourage Liverpool to pay special attention to the 22-year-old, former Reds defender Carragher believes the key factor will be limiting De Bruyne's influence on the game.
"I'd almost be more focused on De Bruyne rather than Haaland in this game," he told Sky Sports' Essential Football podcast.
"If you stop De Bruyne, you take 50 per cent away from Haaland as well as the connection the two have got is there already. And for me, De Bruyne is the best midfielder in the world.
Phil Foden has signed a new five-year contract with Manchester City, committing his future to the Premier League champions until June 2027.
The England international reportedly began negotiations over fresh terms more than 12 months ago, with a change in the creator's management delaying the finalisation of his new deal.
However, the Stockport-born playmaker has now reached an agreement over his future, having emerged as a key part of Pep Guardiola's team since his November 2017 debut.
"It's hard to put into words how happy I am to have signed this contract. It's a dream come true," he told the club's official website.
"I have been a City fan all my life. I've trained here for so many years and I've even been a ballboy. I love this club so much, so to know I am going to be a part of it until 2027 feels amazing.
"I've improved a lot in recent years and so much of that is down to Pep and his staff, who guide me every single day on the training field. Working with them gives me the best chance of improving even more and becoming the best player I can be.
"With the squad we have here, I feel I can keep learning and winning trophies. Those are the two most important things to me."
Foden has won four league titles and five domestic cups with City, as well as being named the Premier League's Young Player of the Season in each of the last two campaigns.
The 22-year-old has also started the new season in excellent form, scoring seven goals across 13 appearances in all competitions.
That includes a hat-trick in City's recent 6-3 drubbing of rivals Manchester United, a game where Erling Haaland also secured the match ball with a trio of goals himself.
Kieran Tierney was “gutted” to be overlooked for Arsenal’s win over Liverpool last weekend but says “I’m not going to be angry.”
Takehiro Tomiyasu got the nod at left-back over Tierney in the absence of Oleksandr Zinchenko, who has made an impressive start to his Gunners career after his move from Manchester City.
Japan international Tomiyasu kept Reds forward Mohamed Salah quiet in a 3-2 win at the Emirates Stadium that put Mikel Arteta’s side back on top of the Premier League.
Scotland international Tierney has vowed to try and earn his place back rather than feel sorry for himself.
"I'm gutted, that's all it is," he told Sky Sports. "I'm not going to be angry, I'm not going to try hard, I'm gutted because I want to play every opportunity I can.
"Especially in the big games, you want to play and soak in the atmosphere. There's nothing I can say. We went out and won and Tomiyasu played amazing and the game plan worked.
"I'm learning, I’m dealing with it, but it is tough, football is what I want to play. Unfortunately, I’ve not played too many but every time I get a chance to play, I'm so grateful. I work as hard as I possibly can for the team.
"I'll just try and get my head down, work hard. I can't change anything other than how I approach training, how I work. So I'm just trying as hard as I possibly trying to work my way back in."
Arsenal travel to Leeds United on Sunday looking for a seventh consecutive win.
Brooks Koepka holds a two-stroke lead of LIV Golf Jeddah after finishing the opening round eight under par in Saudi Arabia.
The four-time major champion made eight birdies in his round of 62 and did not go over par on any hole to head into the weekend ahead of second-placed Charl Schwartzel, while Patrick Reed is tied for third with Hideto Tanihara and Peter Uihlein at three shots off the lead.
The inaugural individual LIV Golf champion Dustin Johnson is T16 on two under par, alongside Open champion and world number two Cameron Smith.
Johnson, who has collected 121 points across the season, struck five birdies, but a double-bogey on the par-three eighth set him back.
Phil Mickelson and Lee Westwood fared slightly better at three under, the latter not carding any bogies in his round.
LIV Golf Bangkok winner Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra struggled to back up his performance in Thailand and is T28 at one under par, seven shots back from Koepka. Bryson DeChambeau, meanwhile, only managed a par 70.
After withdrawing from LIV Golf Bangkok with injury, Branden Grace carded a one-over-par round on his return to action.
The Buffalo Bills will have revenge on their mind against the Chiefs, having seen their past two seasons reach a disappointing climax in Kansas City – including a 42-36 overtime defeat in the divisional round this year.
Widely tipped as the favourites to go all the way this season, the Bills enter the Week 6 contest on the back of a 38-3 drubbing of the Pittsburgh Steelers last week.
That was their second win by at least 34 points this season – having had multiple such wins in just two previous seasons (1992 and 2021).
Against the Steelers, Gabe Davis had two touchdown receptions of at least 60 yards and finished with 171 yards, taking his yardage for the season to 309. An in-form Davis is a frightening prospect, particularly when paired with Josh Allen – who leads the NFL for passing yards this season (1651).
The Chiefs have a devastating weapon of their own to lead the offense though, with Patrick Mahomes fresh from guiding his side to a 30-29 victory against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 5 – the 40th occasion the Chiefs have scored at least 30 points since Mahomes took over as the full-time starter in 2018.
Ranking fifth for passing yards this season (1398), Mahomes has thrown more TD passes than anyone else in 2022 (15) and has a TD with 7.9 per cent of his passes, behind only Lamar Jackson (8.1 per cent).
In Travis Kelce, the Chiefs also boast the player with the most receiving touchdowns in 2022, with four of his seven coming last week – despite totalling just 25 receiving yards over the course of the game.
With elite quarterbacks and receivers on both sides, the defenses could decide the outcome of the game and the Bills have been relentless with their ability to keep opposing offenses at bay, allowing 61 total points across five games – only the San Francisco 49ers (61) having less.
On top of that, the Bills defense has allowed only three passing TDs this season, again behind only the 49ers (two), and rank second for the least yards allowed per game on average (260.4), meaning it could be a frustrating game for Mahomes and company come Sunday.
Pedri says it is "not possible" to emulate Barcelona legend's Lionel Messi's achievements as he prepares to face fierce rivals Real Madrid in El Clasico.
Barca teenager Pedri has emerged as one of world football's most talented prospects, showing maturity way beyond his years with majestic performances in the middle of the park.
The 19-year-old Spain midfielder looks set for a long, successful career and Xavi will be expecting him to step up on the big stage again when the Blaugrana face LaLiga champions Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.
Pedri has high hopes for what he can achieve, but believes it is too much to ask that he will emulate the feats of the mercurial seven-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi.
"I hope so," Pedri replied when asked if he would like to be named the best player in the world as many times as Messi has. "I know how hard I need to work to try to do something like that.
"There is only one Messi, however, and I think to repeat what he did is not possible."
Pedri is relishing the challenge of facing Madrid, with Barca above Carlo Ancelotti's side on goal difference at the top of the table.
"It’s a match where a lot of people watch from around the world," he said. "It's a match that I always try to enjoy and hope all the people watching enjoy too. This is why we play football – to entertain everyone and to have fun.
"I used to go to watch the games [against Madrid] with my parents and a lot of Barcelona fans. We used to be very lucky in that we won a lot of times. That's why we enjoyed it even more with each other."
- Pedri was speaking as a global brand ambassador for TCL.
Special Olympics Jamaica (SOJ) team members and staff will be presented with recognition plaques for their exceptional performances at the recent 2022 USA Games and Unified Cup in the United States.
The ceremony will take place on Friday, October 14 at 11:00 am at the SOJ’s Multipurpose Court at Independence Park in Kingston.
Jamaica’s team returned with 12 medals from the games held in Orlando, Florida from June 5 – 12.
Meanwhile, the SOJ football team went on to win the Unified Cup after beating Paraguay 2-0 in the division-one final at Keyworth Stadium in Michigan on Saturday, August 6.
The unified sports programme at the Special Olympics combines people with and without intellectual disabilities in training and competition. Special Olympics provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults.
The presentation of the plaques to the teams solidifies Digicel Foundation’s continuous support of SOJ. Since its inception, Digicel Foundation has provided donations in cash and kind, infrastructural support, help with fundraising activities and more to the Special Needs community.
The handover of the plaques will take place on October 14 at 11:00 am at the SOJ’s Multipurpose Court at Independence Park in Kingston.
Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz has signed a new long-term contract with the Premier League club.
Arsenal were said to have made two bids for the Brazil international during the last transfer window, with reports suggesting the Gunners' second offer of £23million fell some way short of Villa's £40m valuation.
Luiz's previous contract with Steven Gerrard's side was set to expire at the end of this season, and the 24-year-old was also linked with Serie A champions Milan.
However, Luiz has agreed a new deal to remain Villa Park, where he arrived in 2019 following a two-year spell at Manchester City.
He told the club's official website: "I love this club. This club opened the door for me when I came to England to play in the Premier League. I'm so happy because I’m staying here and my choice is here."
Luiz is set to face Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday, with boss Gerrard under pressure following a poor start to the season.
Fakhar Zaman has replaced Usman Qadir in Pakistan's squad for the T20 World Cup in Australia.
Batter Fakhar was selected on Friday, as leg spinner Qadir has not yet recovered from the hairline fracture on his right thumb that he suffered during the recent series defeat to England.
Qadir will be a travelling reserve along with Mohammad Haris and Shahnawaz Dahani.
Fakhar will arrive in Brisbane from London on Saturday along with fit-again paceman Shaheen Shah Afridi and will be available for selection in the warm-up matches against England next Monday and Afghanistan two days later.
The 31-year-old left-hander was out first ball in his last T20I appearance, a defeat to Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup final just over a month ago.
He has played for his country 71 times in the shortest format, scoring 1,349 runs at an average of 21.75.
Pakistan start their quest to win the World Cup by taking on arch-rivals India at the MCG on October 23.
Pakistan T20 World Cup squad:
Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood.
Mohammed Shami has been called up to replace the injured Jasprit Bumrah in India's T20 World Cup squad.
Bumrah was ruled out of the tournament earlier this month due to a back problem, which will keep the paceman out of action for around six weeks.
A BCCI statement on Friday confirmed Shami, who has not played at all over the past three months, has now joined India's squad in Australia.
Shami, who starred for Indian Premier League champions Gujarat Titans earlier this year, was included in India's squad for their T20I series against Australia and South Africa, only to test positive for COVID-19.
Mohammed Siraj was named the player of the series against South Africa, which India won 2-1, and has been named as a back-up alongside Shardul Thakur.
While Shami has not featured in recent months, he always seemed a likely option to replace Bumrah due to his experience of playing in Australia - he has played Down Under in two Test series and was one of India's best performers with the ball in the 2015 ODI World Cup.
The 32-year-old last played a T20I in last year's World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, taking six wickets in five appearances.
Shami helped the Titans to an IPL title in their maiden season in the competition, taking 20 wickets and playing in all 16 of their games.
India start their World Cup campaign against fierce rivals Pakistan at the MCG a week on Sunday.
India T20 World Cup squad:
Rohit Sharma (captain), Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chaha, Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, KL Rahul, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami, Suryakumar Yadav.
Antonio Conte claimed he has never been worried about the form of strike duo Son Heung-min and Harry Kane as Tottenham prepare to host Everton on Saturday.
Son endured an underwhelming start to the 2022-23 campaign, failing to score in Spurs' first six Premier League games before hitting a hat-trick in a 6-2 thrashing of Leicester City last month.
While those goals remain Son's only domestic strikes of the season, he scored a brace – including a crashing left-footed volley – as Tottenham earned a 3-2 Champions League win over Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday.
Speaking ahead of Tottenham's meeting with the Toffees, Conte said Son's quality prevents him from fretting about any lack of goals, adding he would feel the same if Kane endured a drought.
"I wasn't really worried about Sonny, or maybe last season, if Harry didn't score goals," Conte said on Friday. "We are talking about two important players for us, they work very well.
"It can happen during the season that you have a period where you can't score or are a bit unlucky, but I repeat, we are talking about two important strikers.
"For sure, by the end of the season, I know that they are going to score more goals to help us do our best."
Kane's tally of eight Premier League goals this season is only bettered by Manchester City's Erling Haaland (15), and the England captain has scored 13 goals in 14 league appearances against Everton.
That return includes six doubles – only Alan Shearer has scored multiple goals against a specific opponent more often in the competition (seven times v Leeds United; six braces, one hat-trick).
Kane's form has helped Tottenham cope with the absence of fellow attacker Dejan Kulusevski, who has been ruled out since last month after sustaining a hamstring injury.
Conte pledged not to take any "stupid" risks with Kulusevski's fitness as he ruled the Sweden international out of Saturday's match, adding: "We have the same players from the last game.
"Deki is still not available for the Everton game. The rest of the players are okay.
"We need to have a bit of patience with him, and to not take any stupid risks because we play a lot of games between now and November.
"It's important he recovers very well, and in this moment he is not 100 per cent in perfect physical condition. For this reason, it's good to respect the opinions of the doctors."
Conte has seen his sides keep clean sheets in all six of his Premier League meetings with Everton. Should Tottenham shut Frank Lampard's men out this week, the Spurs boss will match Roberto Mancini (seven v Wigan Athletic) for the most games against a single side without conceding in the competition as coach.
Chelsea head coach Graham Potter has given his backing to Steven Gerrard following a poor start to the season for Aston Villa.
Villa have won just two of their opening nine Premier League matches, sitting just three points above the relegation zone with only Wolves having scoring fewer than their goal tally of seven.
That has resulted in boss Gerrard coming under pressure, with speculation that Villa could move on from the former Liverpool captain if results do not improve.
Potter has made it clear that the situation can change swiftly, adding that there is "always somebody under pressure" in England's top flight.
"The margins are very small in the Premier League - I'm sure Steven will want to improve their results," he said ahead of Chelsea's trip to Villa on Sunday.
"If they had beaten Forest they would have gone above Liverpool so that shows you how quick things change.
"There's always somebody under pressure in the Premier League and at the moment it's Steven."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
