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Liverpool head into the Champions League tonight against PSV Eindhoven looking like a bruised animal once more.

Last time out at Anfield, Arne Slot’s Reds were convincingly beaten by Nottingham Forest in the Premier League in a 3-0 loss, with the match preceding this humbling defeat on home soil also seeing the Merseyside giants lose by the same emphatic scoreline, away at Manchester City.

Thankfully, the Champions League has been a temporary sanctuary for the reigning Premier League champions, as was evident in their 1-0 win against Real Madrid, the last time they did battle in the illustrious competition.

Therefore, Liverpool will be hoping they can lick their wounds again and beat their Eredivisie opponents later on this evening.

If form doesn’t pick up, though, the January transfer window will be a very apt time to try and find upgrades on the underperformers consistently letting the side down…

Transfer latest at Liverpool

Despite their poor form as of late, the Reds will still see themselves as a significant superpower in any transfer window to come.

After all, a colossal £415m was spent just this summer on a raft of new signings, with fresh rumours now indicating that the Slot and Co. could be prepared to drop another £123m on Bayern Munich ace Michael Olise.

Moreover, Antoine Semenyo remains in their sights as another attacking signing that could boost a side let down by the likes of Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz to date.

On top of signings to add to their attacking arsenal, Liverpool are also allegedly looking to do battle with Real Madrid over the services of midfield talent Vitinha, according to emerging reports from Spain.

Indeed, the report elaborates that the La Liga giants are preparing a €150m (£131m) bid for Luis Enrique’s prized asset.

Yet, Liverpool are keen to accelerate a deal, as well, by matching the Los Blancos’ amount, ensuring they could actually eclipse the £125m club-record capture of Alexander Isak.

A next step to the Premier League is noted as being very appealing for the Portugal international, if a statement move were to whir into motion.

Vitinha’s arrival at Anfield might not be the news Ryan Gravenberch wants to read, however, with the classy Paris Saint-Germain number 17 a clear upgrade on the Dutchman, as the 23-year-old has noticeably struggled as of late.

Why Vitinha is a clear upgrade on Gravenberch

Alongside the vast majority of his teammates, Gravenberch has suffered from a notable dip in his performance levels in recent matches.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

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Once labelled as being “vital” to the way Liverpool tick earlier in the season by ex-Reds midfielder Steve McManaman, the former Ajax prodigy turned Anfield first-teamer struggled to be an influential presence in back-to-back defeats at the hands of City and Forest, with only four ground duels won in total across 14 attempts, as per Sofascore.

To make matters worse, the underperforming number 38 would also fail to notch up a single key pass, leaving him on just the one paltry assist for the campaign.

While Gravenberch has shown visible signs of decline, Vitinha has continued to stand out on some pressurised stages for Enrique’s men, with this wonderful move – which was kickstarted by the 25-year-old’s fierce burst of pace – in last year’s Champions League final, just one reason why his national team manager in Roberto Martinez has glowingly labelled him the “best midielder in the world.”

In league action for PSG, too, this season, he blows his immediate competition out of the water, with one goal and six assists from 12 games – among other numbers – sticking out immediately to Slot, as he attempts to make Liverpool a vibrant and attractive watch in attack this campaign, again, rather than sticking by their current stifled appearance.

Vitinha vs Gravenberch (25/26 League stats)

Stat – per 90 mins*

Vitinha

Gravenberch

Games played

12

10

Goals scored

1

3

Assists

6

1

Touches*

113.8

74.8

Accurate passes*

98.2 (94%)

54.8 (89%)

Key passes*

1.5

0.7

Big chances created

6

2

Ball recoveries*

4.9

3.5

Stats by Sofascore

It’s not just in the attacking department where Vitinha could improve the downbeat Reds, with the 5-foot-8 playmaker also averaging 4.9 ball recoveries so far this season in Ligue 1, next to Gravenberch’s lesser 3.5.

Of course, the Premier League is a different kettle of fish altogether from the French top division, which PSG consistently dominate.

But, Vitinha has actually shown off his swagger against Liverpool at Anfield, with the “incredible” midfield general – as Enrique has also labelled him – dictating play during PSG’s slim 1-0 away win in the Champions League last campaign when amassing a ridiculous 103 accurate passes.

Worryingly, his Dutch counterpart receded into his shell, with zero accurate dribbles registered, and possession was lost a costly 12 times.

The one-time Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee won’t be moving to England on the cheap, but it could be a splurge worth signing off on, as Slot attempts to reinvigorate his options all over the pitch.

Related Perfect for Isak: Liverpool make £122m sensation their "dream target"

Liverpool need to make changes in the transfer market once again.

Posts ByAngus Sinclair Nov 25, 2025

History will not be made in Detroit on Sunday, at least not on the Tigers' watch.

Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh entered the team's final game before the All-Star break just one home run short of tying Barry Bonds's record for the most home runs before the All-Star Game.

Raleigh hit two home runs during the Mariners' first game of their series against the Tigers on Friday, bringing him to 38 homers on the season. This left him one short of Bonds's record of 39 home runs in 2001, with two games left before the All-Star break to try and tie and/or break the record.

Raleigh did not manage to hit a home run in Saturday's 15-7 win over the Tigers, leaving him with one last game to tie the record on Sunday. After not recording the record-tying home run through the first eight innings, Raleigh had one more opportunity at the end of the game to try to hit his 39th home run of the season, but the Tigers intentionally walked him instead, keeping him from a shot at the record.

The Tigers were already down multiple runs in the game, but refused to offer a last chance for the record to be broken on their turf. Raleigh was walked three times total in the game, and will fall just one home run short of Bonds's record.

The decision was not received well by many fans, and especially Mariners fans, who wanted to see Raleigh take one more shot at history.

Though it would have been exciting to see Raleigh tie up the record, he still has put in a phenomenal first half of the 2025 season. He is MLB's current leader in home runs, and will shortly be on his way to his first MLB All-Star Game.

Chelsea are now the favourites to sign a Brazilian ace who’s also wanted by Barcelona and Bayern Munich, and a deal could be possible for a low fee.

Blues targeting another exciting Brazilian amid Estevao success

Estevao is enjoying an impressive debut campaign at Stamford Bridge, having established himself as an important player for the Blues, with the 18-year-old recently netting the second goal in the 3-0 Champions League rout of Barcelona.

It is clear to see the youngster has left an impression on Enzo Maresca too, with the manager saying: “I feel very lucky to be his coach because it’s exciting, you can enjoy. I’ve said many times that I think the fans pay for their tickets to see players like Cole [Palmer], like Estevao, this kind of player.”

The forward is an example of BlueCo’s recruitment policy of signing younger players paying off, and they are now looking to bring in another up-and-coming Brazilian ace, who has impressed the west Londoners’ sporting directors.

That is according to a report from Spain, which states Chelsea are now the favourites to sign Santos defender Souza, despite rival interest from both Bayern Munich and Barcelona, with both European heavyweights already making contact over a potential deal.

The signing of the 19-year-old certainly wouldn’t break the bank at around just €15m (£13m), with the Blues looking to get the move over the line before his value increases considerably.

There is a belief the youngster could go on to become a top full-back or even left-winger, given that he is a very well-rounded player, who is also capable of contributing on the front foot.

Chelsea now ready to trigger £44m release clause for "unstoppable" striker

The Blues are looking to sign a new centre-forward, who has been in fantastic form so far this season.

ByDominic Lund Nov 30, 2025 Souza emerging as key player for Santos

The teenager has already made 36 appearances for Santos at senior level, having established himself as an important player, and he has regularly impressed from an attacking point of view, chipping in with one goal and four assists.

Most recently, the starlet helped his side keep a clean sheet as they recorded a routine 3-0 victory over Sport Club do Recife, receiving a 7.7 SofaScore match rating courtesy of making a number of important defensive contributions.

Souza’s key statistics

Number completed

Duels (won)

9 (6)

Key passes

2

Clearances

3

Interceptions

2

With Souza yet to prove himself outside his native Brazil, he would very much be one for the future, and the aforementioned report makes it clear BlueCo are planning to loan the left-back to sister club Strasbourg initially.

During the January transfer window, it may be a better idea to focus on signing players capable of making an immediate impact, with a title race potentially on the cards, and amid Liam Delap’s slow start to life at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea have now joined the race to sign “one of the best strikers in Europe”.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Flamengo divulgou, na tarde desta terça-feira (23), uma lista de desfalques para a partida contra o Bolívar, pela terceira rodada da fase de grupos da Libertadores. Entre as ausências estão Pedro, Arrascaeta, Léo Pereira, Erick Pulgar, Allan, Ayrton Lucas e Varela. Além desses nomes, Everton Cebolinha também segue no Departamento Médico. A partida será disputada na quarta-feira (24), na altitude de La Paz.

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➡️ Mengão vai subir a montanha! Aposte R$100 no Lance! Betting e ganhe R$300 para vitória do Flamengo sobre o Bolívar-BOL

➡️ Tudo sobre o Mengão agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso novo canal Lance! Flamengo

Dentre os desfalques do Rubro-Negro, dois sequer viajarão com o grupo para a Bolívia. O volante Allan apresenta traços falcêmicos que podem prejudicar a alta performance em altitude, enquanto Léo Pereira tem quadro viral.

Já Varela, Ayrton Lucas, Erick Pulgar, Arrascaeta e Pedro seguirão planejamento da comissão técnica e não serão relacionados para enfrentar o Bolívar. O técnico Tite tem poupado jogadores nas últimas partidas por conta da minutagem estipulada pelo Flamengo para cada um dos atletas.

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Desta forma, o Rubro-Negro terá oito desfalques ao todo na terceira rodada da fase de grupos da Libertadores. Com uma vitória e um empate em dois jogos, equipe ocupa o segundo lugar do Grupo E e está atrás do líder Bolívar, adversário desta quarta-feira (24), que tem 100% de aproveitamento.

Confiante? Aposte na vitória do Flamengo!

Jogando na altitude e com muitos desfalques, o Flamengo é azarão para a partida, segundo as odds do Lance! Betting. Apostando R$ 100 na vitória do Mengão, você pode levar R$ 300 para casa na cotação de 3,00 do Rubro-Negro!

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Confira, na íntegra, a nota do Flamengo sobre os desfalques para o jogo contra o Bolívar, pela Libertadores:

Tudo sobre

ArrascaetaFlamengoLibertadoresPedro Guilherme

The Atlanta Braves have placed outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. on the10-day injured list after he was removed from Tuesday night's loss vs. Kansas City with tightness in his Achilles tendon, the team said Wednesday.

Speaking after the game, Acuna didn't sound optimistic about the discomfort he was experiencing.

"It's an injury; I'm worried," he said, per a write-up from . "It's more pain, but it feels kind of, I feel it a lot when I try to put pressure on it."

The outfielder noted that he first felt the pain when running the bases on Monday night.

"It happened when I scored from first to home on that play," he added, via an interpreter. "They are going to examine me tomorrow, so we'll see how it goes."

In their post on Wednesday, the Braves diagnosed Acuna's ailment as "right Achilles tendon inflammation." Though that's better than a tear, any missed time is surely a blow for the 2023 NL MVP, who missed the majority of his 2024 season with a torn ACL.

"It's an Achilles thing, it's going to take a while," team manager Brian Snitker added Tuesday. "He'll go on the IL, and hopefully in 10 days or so it'll clear up."

MatériaMais Notícias

Fernando Prass é mais um ex-jogador do Vasco que vive a expectativa do retorno de Philippe Coutinho. Para o goleiro, o momento de resgate do clube pede uma figura como o meia-atacante. Confira no player acima.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasVascoDiego Souza sobre possível volta de Coutinho ao Vasco: ‘Até eu estou empolgado’Vasco26/05/2024VascoNenê sobre retorno de Coutinho ao Vasco: ‘Sensacional’Vasco26/05/2024VascoVasco observa jogadores e estuda reforços para a janela de julho; veja um dos possíveis nomes!Vasco26/05/2024

➡️ Tudo sobre o Gigante agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso canal Lance! Vasco

Se isso acontecer é sensacional. Tem uma identificação com o clube. Nesse momento de resgate seria importantíssimo uma figura como ele

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declarou Fernando Prass. E emendou:

– No dia a dia não tem como falar porque a gente está falando do Philippe Coutinho de anos atrás. Com certeza ele mudou e voltou com outro peso. Mas é um talento incrível.

Philippe Coutinho já está no Brasil. O meia-atacante antecipou as suas férias e ainda marcou presença no casamento do atacante Matheus Cunha. O jogador desembarcou no Rio de Janeiro na sexta-feira (24), no Aeroporto do Galeão.

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Fernando PrassFutebol NacionalPhilippe CoutinhoVasco

يخوض فريق ريال مدريد مباراة مساء اليوم الأربعاء، ضمن مباريات بطولة الدوري الإسباني لموسم 2025-2026، حين يواجه نظيره أتلتيك بلباو.

ويلعب ريال مدريد المباراة خارج أرضه، حيث يستقبله أتلتيك بلباو، بملعب “سان ماميس” في مباراة مقدمة من الجولة التاسعة عشر للدوري الإسباني “الليجا”.

(محدث) تشكيل ريال مدريد أمام أتلتيك بلباو في الدوري الإسباني.. موقف فينيسيوس

وأعلن ريال مدريد إصابة لاعبه فيرلاند ميندي ليغيب عن المواجهة أمام أتلتيك بلباو، كما يغيب كل من داني كارفاخال، دين هويسن للاصابة.

ويحتل ريال مدريد المركز الثاني في جدول ترتيب الدوري الإسباني، برصيد 33 نقطة، بعدما تعادل في الجولة الرابعة عشر مع جيرونا بهدف لمثله.

وانفرد برشلونة بصدارة ترتيب الدوري الإسباني برصيد 37 نقطة، مستفيدًا من فوزه أمام أتلتيكو مدريد بثلاثية لهدف، في مباراة مقدمة أيضًا من الجولة التاسعة عشر لليجا. تشكيل ريال مدريد المتوقع أمام أتلتيك بلباو

حراسة المرمى: تيبو كورتوا.

خط الدفاع: ترينت ألكسندر أرنولد، إيدير ميليتاو، أنطونيو روديجر، ألفارو كاريراس.

خط الوسط: فالفيردي، تشواميني، بيلينجهام.

خط الهجوم: أردا جولر، كيليان مبابي، فينيسيوس جونيور.

ويُمكنكم متابعة أحداث مباريات اليوم لحظة بلحظة من مركز المباريات من هنـــا

There was no looking back after Ashwani struck with his first ball in the IPL

Dustin Silgardo31-Mar-2025

Alzarri Joseph | 3.4-1-12-6

MI vs SRH, Hyderabad, 2019Joseph, then just 22, was not slated to play IPL 2019 and only joined the Mumbai Indians (MI) squad as a replacement for Adam Milne. With Lasith Malinga unavailable because of his national commitments, Joseph got a game and had a dream start, dismissing David Warner in his first over. Vijay Shankar fell in his next, before Joseph dismissed Deepak Hooda, Rashid Khan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the space of four balls. He finished things off with the wicket of Siddarth Kaul as Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) were bundled for 96. Three of Joseph’s wickets were bowled as the SRH batters struggled to handle his pace.

Andrew Tye | 4-0-17-5

Gujarat Lions vs Royal Pune Supergiant, Rajkot, 2017Tye got his first IPL contract at age 31. By then, he was already known for his arsenal of slower balls, in particular his knuckleball, from his exploits in the BBL and the T20Is he had played for Australia. On IPL debut, he took four of his five wickets with knuckleballs as he restricted Rising Pune Supergiant/s in the middle and death overs. A hat-trick in the 20th over capped a fine display of his T20 skills. A year later, Tye saw his price tag rise from INR 50 lakh to INR 7.2 crore, as Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) splurged on him.

Shoaib Akhtar | 3-0-11-4

KKR vs DD, Kolkata, 2008Returning from a long injury layoff, Akhtar made a dramatic entry midway through the first IPL season, dismissing the Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) top four within his first 15 balls to derail their chase of 134. He got Virender Sehwag with swing, Gautam Gambhir and AB de Villiers with bounce, and Manoj Tiwary with pure pace. Akhtar would play only two more matches in the IPL, with Pakistan players not picked by any of the teams from 2009 onwards.

Ashwani Kumar | 3-0-24-4

MI vs KKR, Mumbai, 2025Not much was known about the 23-year-old left-arm seamer from Punjab when he made his IPL debut in MI’s third match of the 2025 season. Ashwani had played just a handful of domestic matches but had been part of trials at Punjab Kings (PBKS) before and impressed in the 2024 Sher E Punjab T20 competition. With his ability to skid the ball onto batters and surprise them with bounce, he ripped through Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) middle order on debut. Ajinkya Rahane sliced one to backward point, Rinku Singh was out to a short ball, and Manish Pandey and Andre Russell both lost their stumps as Ashwani became the first Indian to take a four-for on IPL debut.

Kevon Cooper | 4-0-26-4

RR vs KXIP, Jaipur, 2012After impressing in the Caribbean T20 and Champions League T20, Trindiad & Tobago allrounder Cooper was picked by Rajasthan Royals (RR) ahead of the 2012 season. He made an instant impression in the IPL, taking four wickets against Punjab with his combination of full balls and slower ones and helping RR defend 191 easily. He took another three wickets in his next game and remained an integral part of the RR side until 2015.