Suryakumar Yadav's unbeaten half-century saw India top Group 2 at the T20 World Cup as they set up a semi-final clash with England following a comfortable 71-run victory over Zimbabwe in Melbourne.

Heading into Sunday's game, Rohit Sharma's side knew their place in the last four was already secured after South Africa fell to a shock loss against the Netherlands earlier in the day.

But with top spot on the line after Pakistan comprehensively beat Bangladesh by five wickets, India knew they would need to post a similarly convincing win to overhaul their rivals.

They responded to the challenge with impressive power, guided by a freewheeling 61 not out off 25 balls for Yadav, ably supported by earlier knocks for KL Rahul (51) and Virat Kohli (26) to post a fearsome 186-5.

Sean Williams posted Zimbabwe's best bowling figures with 2-9, but could not help his side avoid leaking runs, and any prospect of a Zimbabwe chase appeared slim when Wesley Madhevere was caught first ball.

Sikandar Raza (34) and Ryan Burl (35) were valiant in pursuit, but India were out of sight thanks to a bowling attack led by Ravichandran Ashwin (3-22), to set up a showdown with England in Adelaide next week.

Yadav steadies fort after early wobbles

There was one nervy moment for India as they lost three wickets – Kohli, Rahul and Rishabh Pant – for 14 runs in a flash, slipping from 87-1 to 101-4.

But Yadav's emphatic turn ensured India put up a daunting total that proved well beyond Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe head home on a whimper

Having delivered one of the shocks of the tournament when they edged Pakistan by one run, a result that seemingly took the latter out of semi-final consideration at one point, this was a lacklustre final bow from Zimbabwe.

Though Craig Ervine's side were always likely to face an uphill battle to chase down India, their poor choices combined with a lethal opposition bowling attack left them with their lowest full-innings total at this year's T20 World Cup.

Jeremy Pena offered an insight into his mentality going from Carlos Correa's replacement to becoming the second rookie ever to win the MVP of the ALCS and World Series.

Pena's remarkable postseason was crowned on Saturday as the Houston Astros lifted the World Series with a 4-1 Game 6 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at Minute Maid Park.

The 25-year-old shortstop was named World Series MVP after having 10 hits, five runs including one homer and three RBIs throughout the six games.

Pena went two-for-four with a run scored in Game 6, capping a miraculous rookie season after coming into the side to replace two-time All-Star Correa who left after last season on free agency for the Minnesota Twins.

"I'd say the hardest part was just blocking everything that's not part of the game," Pena told reporters.

"There's a saying that you can't sink a ship with water around. It sinks if water gets inside. So I just try to stay strong and keep the water outside my head.

"Just keep playing my game, show up every single day, and just trust in my preparation."

Pena's rise was also capped by becoming the first-ever rookie shortstop to win the Gold Glove.

"It has a lot to do with my family, my upbringing," Pena said about his confidence.

"Shoutout to my teammates as well. They took me in since day one. They gave me the confidence to just go out and play my game and, yeah, shoutout to them, man. This is special."

Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker is feeling joy not relief after ending his record for most games managed without a World Series title with his side's Game 6 triumph on Saturday.

The Astros defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1 at Minute Maid Park to clinch the franchise's second World Series title and 73-year-old Baker's first as manager.

Baker, who first managed in the majors in 1993 with the San Francisco Giants, has led 3,883 games for 2,093 wins, with nine divisional titles and three pennants but Saturday's World Series crown marks the pinnacle.

"Now we can quit talking about it," Baker said when asked about breaking record during the post-game trophy presentation.

Baker's adoration was symbolised when he was mobbed by players and staff in the dugout when Kyle Tucker plucked the catch from Nick Castellanos' fly ball to right field to clinch victory.

"It's not relief," Baker said during the post-game press conference. "It's just sheer joy and thankfulness. It's not relief at all. Everybody was talking about it more than I was even thinking about it.

"I always said before that if I win one, I'll win two, but you got to win one first. The one was hell to get to this point. But it was well worth it. I'm in a great city, with great people, great fans, and I got a great ball club.

"I tried not to dwell on it, but tried to have faith and perseverance and knowing that with the right team and the right personnel and right everything that this is going to happen."

The Astros triumph comes after the franchise competed in four of the past six World Series, winning the title in 2017.

That period, however, was tarnished by the sign stealing scandal and Baker, who stepped in with the Astros in 2020 after A.J. Hinch's firing, spoke about the vindication this year's success offers.

"I think that's what drove this team," Baker said. "That's what motivated them. The boos and the jeers that we got all over the country, it bothered these guys, but it also motivated them at the same time.

"It wasn't an us against the world thing. It was more of a come together even closer-type thing. And what happened before, it doesn't ever pass over completely. But we have turned the page and hopefully we'll continue this run."

The Astros had to rally from behind after Kyle Schwarber's solo blast, with Yordan Alvarez delivering a three-run home run in the sixth inning.

Alvarez crushed Jose Alvarado's third pitch over center-field after Phillies manager Rob Thomson had opted to pull starter Zack Wheeler from the game with two runners on. Wheeler admitted after the game he was surprised by that decision which Thomson defended.

"I'm sure he was," Thomson told reporters. "He still had his good stuff. I just thought that that was a key moment in the game and that was a momentum swing that I thought Alvarado had a chance to strike him out. It was just I thought the matchup was better with Alvarado on Alvarez at that time."

The Phillies were the last side to book their postseason spot with an 87-75 regular-season record and reached the World Series after stirring victories over the St Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres.

"They have accomplished a lot," Thomson added. "It's still disappointing, though.

"I told them after the game, 'you guys have nothing to be ashamed of. You don't need to hang your head for anybody', because they came to the ballpark every day and worked hard and played hard and played as a team, had a lot of fun. They grinded through a lot of obstacles. I'm just so proud of all of them. I really am."

The Milwaukee Bucks overcame the absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo to reach a franchise-record ninth straight win to open the season with a 108-94 triumph over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday.

Antetokounmpo was absent due to left knee soreness, but Brook Lopez delivered with 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting including four three-pointers for the Bucks who are 9-0.

Jrue Holiday provided 13 assists with 10 points, while forward Bobby Portis pulled down 21 rebounds with 12 points.

Guards Jevon Carter and Grayson Allen scored five three-pointers each, contributing 18 and 19 points respectively for Milwaukee.

The Bucks shot 17-of-47 (36.2 per cent) from three-point range, while Portis' dominance in the paint helped them to 55-38 rebounds. Four of Portis' 21 rebounds were offensive.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander top scored for OKC with 18 points, while second-year guard Josh Giddey had 15 points with six rebounds.

Nets rally for back-to-back wins

Amid their off-court tumult, Kevin Durant led the Brooklyn Nets to back-to-back wins with a 98-94 victory over the Charlotte Hornets rallying back after trailing by 11 points in the fourth quarter.

Durant scored a game-high 27 points, including a clutch jump shot to open up a four-point lead with 32 seconds remaining, along with seven rebounds. The win improved the Nets to 3-6.

Cam Thomas stepped up off the bench with 21 points for the Nets who were without Kyrie Irving (suspension) and Ben Simmons (knee soreness).

Celtics hit franchise-record, Suns move to 7-2

The Boston Celtics scored a franchise-record 27 three-pointers with six each from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown as they got past the New York Knicks 133-118.

Tatum scored 26 points while Brown had a game-high 30 points, while Sam Hauser came off the bench to add five triples in his 17-point haul, with all nine of the Celtics used making a three-pointer.

Meanwhile, the Phoenix Suns improved to 7-2 with a comfortable 102-82 win over the Portland Trail Blazers, with Devin Booker scoring 24 points.

The Houston Astros have claimed their second-ever World Series title with a 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 6 at Minute Maid Park on Saturday.

Yordan Alvarez's monster three-run blast in the sixth inning flipped the game after Kyle Schwarber's solo blast had put the Phillies ahead at the top of the same inning.

The triumph may offer some vindication for the Astros, who's lone 2017 World Series title was tarnished in the eyes of many by the sign stealing scandal.

Astros manager Dusty Baker secured his first-ever World Series title in his third appearance, having won 2,093 MLB games, nine divisional titles and three pennants.

Starting pitcher Framber Valdez was outstanding with nine strikeouts across six innings, allowing only two hits and one earned run.

Schwarber's solo shot over right field was his sixth homer of the postseason. It came after Valdez had given up only one home run all regular season to left-handers.

But the Astros rallied immediately with Phillies starter Zack Wheeler, who was brilliant with five strikeouts, pulled after Jose Altuve and World Series MVP Jeremy Pena got on base. Alvarez hit reliever Jose Alvarado's fourth pitch beyond the hitter's backdrop over center-field for a 450-foot three-run blast.

Alvarado struggled to regain his composure, with designated hitter Christian Vazquez driving in Alex Bregman for a fourth run.

The Astros' sixth-inning rally seemed to suck the life out of the Phillies who had led the World Series 2-1.

Astros closer Ryan Pressly finished the job, getting the outs of Rhys Hoskins, Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos, who was caught at right-field by Kyle Tucker for the win.

A fantastic season for Jamaica Philadelphia Union goalkeeper Andre Blake ended in disappointment following a penalty shootout loss to Los Angeles FC, in a thrilling final highlighted by a stoppage time header from former Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale.

In the wild ride of an MLS Cup final substitute goalkeeper John McCarthy emerged as the ultimate hero, saving two penalties in the shoot-out after an astonishing 3-3 draw.

In front of their own fans on Saturday, LAFC took the lead through Kellyn Acosta's deflected free-kick but were pegged back just before the hour when Daniel Gazdag scored his 24th goal of the season.

Jesus David Murillo headed LAFC back into the lead in the 83rd minute, but Jack Elliott stung the hosts with another leveller two minutes later.

English centre-back Elliott looked to have won it when he put Philadelphia back in front deep into extra time, after LAFC goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau was sent off, but substitute Gareth Bale headed the hosts level in the eighth minute of stoppage time, with a powerful header that Blake had no chance of getting to.

Then the drama really went up a notch, with McCarthy, a Philadelphia-born former Union goalkeeper, pulling off saves from Jose Martinez and Kai Wagner, after Gazdag also haplessly missed from the spot.

Ilie Sanchez tucked away the clinching penalty in a 3-0 shoot-out triumph, sparking wild celebrations of the team's first MLS Cup triumph, with McCarthy named MVP.

The opening goal in the 28th minute owed plenty to fortune, with Acosta's 22-yard strike flicking off the head of 19-year-old Union midfielder Jack McGlynn and finding the bottom-left corner.

This was the first time since 2003 an MLS Cup has featured the teams that came top in the West and the East. They each finished the regular season with 67 points, but LAFC took the Supporters' Shield due to having more wins than Philadelphia, and that earned them home advantage.

The game's first equaliser arrived in the 59th minute when what looked like a wildly ambitious 30-yard shot from Jose Martinez inadvertently turned into a throughball for Gazdag, who controlled the fizzing low ball well before firing past Crepeau.

Murillo looked to have headed a winner for Los Angeles with seven minutes remaining as he powered home Carlos Vela's inswinging corner from the right. However, a terrific equaliser from Elliott, a fierce header after a free-kick from Kai Wagner on the left, brought Philadelphia level in the 85th minute.

Bale entered the fray in the seventh minute of extra time, replacing Vela.

Philadelphia then looked to have been dealt an outrageous injustice when Cory Burke raced through on goal and was scythed down by Crepeau, who was initially only yellow-carded for a clear professional foul, but it was soon upgraded to red. Crepeau looked to be seriously injured and had to be carried off, and on came McCarthy, the unlikeliest of heroes.

 

Barcelona eased to a 2-0 win against Almeria in Gerard Pique's final game at Camp Nou before retirement.

Goals from Ousmane Dembele and Frenkie de Jong made up for an early missed penalty from Robert Lewandowski, but it was always going to be Pique's occasion.

The 35-year-old centre-back played 82 minutes before being substituted, leaving the field to a standing ovation from every one of the 92,605 in attendance on Saturday as he tearfully hugged each of his team-mates.

Barca's win was their 11th in their last 12 league games and sent them back to the top of LaLiga before Real Madrid's trip to Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.

A VAR check saw Barca rewarded a sixth-minute penalty when Ferran Torres' header hit Kaiky Fernandes' arm but Lewandowski saw his spot-kick clip the outside of the left post after a stuttered run-up.

Despite Barca's dominance, a sloppy pass from De Jong was pounced on by Largie Ramazani and Marc-Andre ter Stegen reacted quickly to close down his shot.

It took less than three minutes of the second half for the hosts to find the opener as a long ball out to the right from Sergio Busquets found Dembele, who cut inside onto his left foot and beat two defenders before calmly rolling his shot into the far corner of the net.

Their lead was doubled just after the hour as a cross from the left by Jordi Alba found Ansu Fati, whose shot was saved well by Fernando Martinez before De Jong lashed home the rebound to seal the win as the Camp Nou bid farewell to Pique with a victory.

Olivier Giroud scored a late winner and was sent off for his celebration as Milan beat Spezia 2-1 to go second in Serie A.

Theo Hernandez put the Rossoneri on course for back-to-back wins after they hammered Salzburg to qualify for the Champions League round of 16 in midweek.

Daniel Maldini, son of Milan legend Paolo, then stunned his parent club by scoring Spezia's first away goal of the season to equalise in the second half.

There was late drama at San Siro, though, as Giroud came off the bench to volley an 89th-minute winner before being shown a second yellow card for whipping off his shirt.

 

Novak Djokovic overcame Stefanos Tsitsipas in a dramatic final-set tie-break to reach the Paris Masters final on Saturday, teeing up a meeting with Holger Rune. 

Djokovic's 12-match winning run looked likely to be halted when Tsitsipas found a mini-break in the decider, with the Greek having fought his way into contention after losing the opening set.

However, the 21-time grand slam champion stepped up when it mattered, winning the final four points of the match to seal a 6-2 3-6 7-6 (7-4) victory.

The Serbian, who will now take part in his record 56th Masters 1000 final on Sunday, opted to praise Tsitsipas for his role in a thrilling encounter following the win. 

"It's very sweet, obviously, when you win matches like this against one of the best players in the world," Djokovic said.

"I thought I started the match very well, again, great hitting, like yesterday in the quarters. I had chances early on in the second, I didn't break his serve. The momentum shifted, the crowd got into it. I think he elevated his level of tennis.

"We went into an even battle all the way until the last point, until the last shot. Some incredible points towards the end. I'm just really glad to overcome this challenge."

In Saturday's other match, Rune clinched his first Masters 1000 final appearance by posting a straight-sets victory over Felix Auger-Aliassime.

The in-form Dane seized control of the contest after breaking in the third game of the opener, and did not give up a single break point en route to a comprehensive 6-4 6-2 win.

In doing so, Rune exacted revenge for last week's defeat to Auger-Aliassime in the Swiss Indoors final in Basel, halting the Canadian's 16-match winning run.

Rune has now won eight career matches against top-10 opponents, and half of those victories (four) have come during his strong run in Paris this week.

Erling Haaland saved the day for Manchester City and spared Joao Cancelo's blushes as the striker's last-gasp penalty secured a 2-1 win over Fulham in the Premier League.

Cancelo had left City short-handed after an embarrassing red card, which came shortly after Julian Alvarez gave the Etihad Stadium hosts a deserved early lead.

City were seeking a 13th consecutive win against Fulham across all competitions, yet their hopes nosedived soon after the opener when Cancelo was ordered off for a poor challenge on Harry Wilson, handing Fulham a spot-kick that Andreas Pereira tucked away.

Fulham were moments away from a point, but then Kevin De Bruyne was tripped by Antonee Robinson and a second penalty of the game was awarded. Substitute Haaland's kick in the fifth minute of stoppage time was almost saved by Bernd Leno, but the ball squirmed under the goalkeeper, sending City above Arsenal at the top of the table.

Alvarez headed wide from a decent chance in the third minute after a delicious cross from De Bruyne. De Bruyne then had a typically scorching 20-yard drive tipped over the bar by Bernd Leno before Fulham gained any sort of foothold.

A mauling looked on the cards, and Alvarez thrashed in the opener off the underside of the bar in the 17th minute after Ilkay Gundogan's pass set him clear.

John Stones had a tap-in disallowed for offside, but the game changed in the 25th minute when Cancelo was red-carded for an absurdly lazy barge in the penalty area on Wilson, with Pereira slotting the spot-kick past Ederson.

Ten-man City remained dominant, yet half-chances came and went before Pep Guardiola summoned Haaland and Phil Foden from the bench in the 64th minute.

Haaland shot wide from a difficult opportunity, but then his moment looked to have come in the 74th minute, with De Bruyne's delivery from the left a thing of beauty and the striker's close-range header just deadly.

Yet the substitute was marginally offside, the VAR verdict saving Fulham. Just as they looked set to cling on for a valued point, the foul on De Bruyne and Haaland's cool head tilted the game back City's way.

Youssoufa Moukoko chalked up a Bundesliga record as he became the youngest player in the competition's history to reach 10 career goals – and number 10 was something special.

At the age of 17 years and 350 days, Moukoko showed why he is so highly regarded as his dazzling double helped Borussia Dortmund win 3-0 against visitors Bochum on Saturday.

Moukoko hit the opener in the eighth minute, fending off a challenge outside the penalty area before crashing a 22-yard strike with his left foot that arrowed just beneath the crossbar.

That took him to double figures, and an 11th Bundesliga goal for Moukoko followed shortly before half-time when he caught goalkeeper Manuel Riemann well off his line and lobbed in from close to 35 yards.

Between those goals, Giovanni Reyna scored a penalty for Dortmund, who allowed Moukoko a rest late on, substituting the star of the show.

The double for the teenager made him the third-youngest player to hit two goals in a Bundesliga game, with Opta confirming only Kai Havertz (17y 343d) and Timo Werner (17y 249d) have done so at a younger age.

Bayern Munich moved to the top of the Bundesliga table as Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting hit a brace in a thrilling 3-2 win at Hertha Berlin on Saturday.

Choupo-Moting scored twice in as many first-half minutes after Jamal Musiala opened the scoring, but Hertha clawed their way back into contention in an incredible opening period.

Goals from Dodi Lukebakio and Davie Selke, the latter from the spot, reignited the contest before the break, but Hertha never came close to equalising in a quieter second half.

Julian Nagelsmann's men consequently claimed their fourth consecutive Bundesliga win, moving two points clear of Union Berlin ahead of their trip to Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday.

Manuel Neuer, returning to the side, saved from Lukebakio early on, but Bayern took the lead with their first attack as Musiala collected Sadio Mane's pass before firing into the bottom-left corner after 12 minutes.

Choupo-Moting looked to have taken the game away from Hertha with his quickfire double, responding to Leon Goretzka's blocked shot to finish below Oliver Christensen before prodding home following a goalmouth scramble one minute later.

But Hertha responded in excellent fashion as Lukebakio volleyed Marco Richter's cross beyond Neuer and they reduced the deficit further when Benjamin Pavard pushed Selke in the area, the forward then converting from the spot on the stroke of half-time.

Bayern were denied a fourth as Alphonso Davies was found to have been offside when Marc-Oliver Kempf put through his own net after the break, before the Bayern left-back limped from the field after appearing to sustain a hamstring injury.

The second half was played out at a far slower pace than the first, with Nagelsmann's side holding on to their slender advantage after producing a controlled performance.

Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes held their nerve to guide England to a four-wicket win over Sri Lanka and into the T20 World Cup semi-finals.

Boasting a better net run-rate than hosts Australia in Group 1, England knew victory would be enough at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday to see them progress alongside New Zealand at the expense of the reigning champions.

Matters looked bleak for Jos Buttler's team, however, when a sloppy opening seven overs bowlers allowed Sri Lanka to advance for 65-1, yet spearheaded by Mark Wood's 3-26 and Adil Rashid's 1-16 – his wicket being the dismissal of the excellent Pathum Nissanka (67) – England took seven wickets for just 76 runs for the remainder of the innings, limiting their opponents to 141-8.

England looked to be strolling to victory at 75-0 from the opening 43 deliveries, with Alex Hales and Buttler excelling in the power play before the latter succumbed to Wanindu Hasaranga.

Hales, whose 47 included eight boundaries, was caught and bowled by Hasaranga two overs later, with Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone and Moeen Ali falling in quick succession as England wobbled.

Sam Curran picked out Kasun Rajitha at fine leg to pile the pressure on, yet Stokes (42) – so many times a hero – provided the composure, chipping away to leave England needing five runs from the final over.

It was Woakes who provided the final flourish, whipping a cut away to the boundary to ensure victory with two balls to spare.

England's redemption shot

Under Eoin Morgan, England reached the semi-finals of last year's T20 World Cup, only to fall short against New Zealand, who themselves were beaten by Australia in the final.

England – who have now won each of their last eight men's T20Is against Sri Lanka – will now face the winner of Group 2 for a place in the showpiece match this time around.

Pathum reaches Sri Lanka milestone

His knock might ultimately have proved fruitless, but it saw Pathum become the 10th Sri Lanka batter to accumulate 1,000 T20I runs, while he is the second-fastest to achieve the feat in terms of innings (after Kusal Perera).

Hasaranga also had a fine match with the ball, finishing with 2-23. It means he ends the tournament with 15 wickets, one short of his tally from the 2021 edition (16), which is the highest on record in the competition's history.

Such is the instantaneous nature of social media that one miss, one innocuous incident can see a player written off as a "fraud" or "finished".

It's up to every one of us how much importance we tie to those individual comments. Maybe they're jokes, maybe they're serious. But when you see thousands of likes or retweets on them, you get a picture of how widespread these quick judgements are, and in that sense it doesn't really matter if they were in jest or not.

This isn't to say we didn't use to be like this, the difference is now many of us have at our fingertips an outlet that reaches thousands of people within seconds.

Darwin Nunez came in for such treatment in pre-season. During a meaningless friendly against Manchester United, the Uruguayan missed a big chance and quickly became the target of ridicule on social media.

Granted, he had recently been signed for a lot of money, but the hysteria – given the game had nothing riding on it – was remarkable. For what it's worth, he scored four in one match nine days later.

Since then, a lot of column inches have been dedicated to Nunez, which is a bit fairer now the season's in full flow.

One thing many agree about is how the striker appears to be one of the most chaotic footballers in existence, but this shouldn't cloud what he's doing well. He's raw, but if you scrape away the surface, the signs for Nunez and Liverpool are very promising.

Untapped potential

Jurgen Klopp hit the nail on the head last week when talking about Nunez's potential. In his eyes, the 23-year-old potentially has an "incredible" ceiling, but he acknowledged there was still so much work for the striker to put in that it was unclear how good he'll eventually become.

"Nobody knows, he doesn't know. Nobody knows, there is a lot [of potential] and it is so exciting, but he has to stay fit, he has to be available all the time," Klopp said. "That's all important in the life of a professional football player. We have to work on all different areas. Then, the potential is incredible. It's not only speed, the attitude is really good, he is a real worker.

"Again, I tell you – and I know there are some people out there who think, 'Technically, not sure, first touch...' – it is incredible. That he doesn't bring it on the pitch all the time, the first touch might be here or there sometimes, is nothing to do with technique, it is just a bit too late, awareness, orientation and all these kind of things, but it is all possible to develop and to learn. That's where we are at, it's really exciting, but where it can go, I have no idea."

There was always going to be scrutiny for Nunez because of the transfer fee, but would there have been as much were it not for Erling Haaland's ridiculous start? Probably not, as they were brought in around the same time and both considered by many as the so-called final pieces of the puzzle for their respective teams.

As the past few months have shown, Haaland is a phenomenon, that's not up for debate. But Nunez taking a little more time to truly settle doesn't make him any less promising than he was deemed at Benfica.

In fact, you could argue his output has exceeded expectations at this point.

Darwin's evolution

"His numbers are incredible, to be absolutely honest," Klopp also said of Nunez last week. "If you speak about xGs [expected goals], I am pretty sure his xGs are pretty high as well. He had a few chances which he missed, but he scored as well. He is involved in a lot of finishing moments, a lot of things."

Klopp is correct here – the data firmly backs him up. While Nunez's tally of three Premier League goals doesn't sound much, we shouldn't forget he's already served a three-match ban for getting sent off against Crystal Palace. His record of 0.6 goals every 90 minutes is bettered by only seven players.

With that in mind, Nunez's 432 Premier League minutes is fairly low, but he's managed to pack a lot of action into that limited period – hence the "chaotic" appraisal earlier.

He ranks inside the top 10 for goal involvements per 90 minutes (0.8) and minutes per goal (144), but it's in the shooting metrics where Nunez's productivity really shines through.

No one is registering more attempts on a per-90-minute basis than Nunez (6.7), while only Haaland (2.6) is getting more shots on target than the Uruguay forward (2.5) each game.

But perhaps crucially, and back to Klopp's point, his non-penalty xG (per 90) is 0.76, only fractionally behind Haaland's league-best 0.81.

Of course, the issue here is Nunez isn't finishing as many chances as the average player would be expected to given the quality of the openings, while Haaland has been exceptionally ruthless with his opportunities.

But it would be more concerning if he wasn't getting chances at all.

Nunez's struggles could be explained by any number of factors such as confidence, adaptation, the roles he's being asked to play, maybe even a desperate need to impress, and that might explain some of his more erratic decision-making.

But the expectation is that with time and composure Nunez's figures will eventually level up with his xG. On the evidence of his attributes until now, when they do, Liverpool will have an exceptional striker on their hands.

Even the most ardent Arsenal supporter would struggle to convince you they could have envisaged their team making such a brilliant start to the season.

The idea of the Gunners being title challengers in the context of a disappointing end to the previous campaign, in which they were pipped for fourth by fierce rivals Tottenham having looked certainties for Champions League qualification, was pretty fanciful – even accounting for the shrewd signings of Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko from rivals Manchester City.

And yet, here we are – just two Premier League games to play before the top flight signs off for the World Cup break and Arsenal lead the way by two points from City having lost only once in 12 league outings.

Lovers of caveats will of course point out the blindingly obvious…we're still only in November. And indeed Arsenal do have questions to answer. Is their squad deep enough to take City all the way? Are they strong enough defensively to remain contenders?

But their success so far has been built on two longer term squad members, namely in the form of local favourite Bukayo Saka and the Brazilian flair of Gabriel Martinelli and they perhaps hold the key to sustaining their present position.

Their roles in this Arsenal team have been increasingly important with Arteta having to shuffle his pack following the exits of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette in January and June respectively.

The addition of Jesus has added significant star quality of course, but there is little doubt Saka and Martinelli have stepped up a gear so far this term.

Martinelli making his mark

In the North Bank at Emirates Stadium in August, Arsenal fans' chants were predominantly directed towards Hale End graduates Saka and Emile Smith Rowe.

But Smith Rowe's rise to first-team star has been tempered a little this term due to injuries, and Martinelli has grasped his opportunity at consistent playing time.

While the Brazilian made 29 Premier League appearances last season, he only completed 90 minutes on nine occasions and was subbed off in 11 of his 21 starts and received a red card against Wolves in February.

This season, Martinelli has started all 12 of Arsenal's league matches and has played the entirety of the game on eight occasions.

That has resulted in a significant improvement in front of goal, with Martinelli netting five times in 12 matches and sitting just one shy of the six-goal tally he achieved last term, adding two assists to boot.

Martinelli's involvement is up there with the best in the Premier League, standing eighth overall for the most involvements in attacking sequences (67) and ranking second in that regard for Arsenal, behind only Jesus (90).

Saka coming of age

On the opposing side, Arsenal continue to deploy Saka to expert effect, with the England international now in his fourth year as a regular fixture within the Gunners' ranks and showing real maturity at the age of 21.

While appearances have been plentiful, it has taken time for Saka to be integrated fully into his natural role after first making a breakthrough filling in at left-back, then featuring on the left-side of the attack.

Now in his favoured role on the right, Saka has shown his consistency with nine goal involvements in 12 matches (four goals, five assists). Only once in the past nine matches has Saka not registered a goal or an assist in the Premier League.

Managing Saka will be Arteta's biggest challenge given the amount of football he has played in the past four years and it is something that is clearly being considered, with Saka subbed off in seven of his 12 appearances this term.

Eyes will be cast towards the World Cup and Saka's important role for Gareth Southgate's side, which Arsenal fans may not find comfortable to watch given the injury risk to their star man – something that highlights the Gunners' need for depth beyond their first XI.

More to come

Settling into the side alongside Jesus, Arsenal's fluid front-three is one that is attracting envy across the Premier League and, worryingly for their opponents, the Gunners trio are still not at the peak of their powers.

For all their brilliance, neither Saka or Martinelli have quite managed to craft a deadly relationship with Jesus just yet – with Saka and Jesus yet to combine for an assist this season, while Jesus has laid on one for Martinelli.

In comparison, Martinelli has assisted Saka once, with two assists in the opposing direction. Last season, the pair did not combine for an assist.

The chances have been there, with Martinelli and Jesus combining for nine opportunities, while Saka and the Brazilian have combined for five. Improving those numbers will increase the chances of the assist tally also trending upwards.

The performances of Martin Odegaard, Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey have had a major influence on the attack, but if Saka and Martinelli can continue to improve their own output then Arsenal can continue to provide the role of unlikely challengers and, who knows, perhaps even end a wait for title glory that stretches back to 2004.

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.