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The ambitious proposal by Lega Serie A to stage a historic league fixture between AC Milan and Como in Perth, Australia, appears to be on the verge of collapse. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has reportedly raised significant objections regarding the authorisation process, leaving the plans for the overseas showdown in serious doubt.

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  Australia plan suddenly under threat

  Serie A’s pioneering attempt to export competitive domestic football to international markets has hit a major roadblock. The fixture, initially slated for February 2026 at Optus Stadium in Perth, was designed to capitalise on AC Milan’s global popularity and the growing interest in Italian football in the Asia-Pacific region.

  The move was necessitated by the unavailability of the San Siro during the Winter Olympics period, forcing the clubs to look for alternative venues. However, despite initial optimism from Lega Serie A and the clubs involved, the project is now hanging by a thread. According to reports from Italy, the AFC – of which Australia is a member – has imposed administrative blocks that have effectively stalled the process.

  AC Milan president Paolo Scaroni said in an interview: "One of the ideas we pursued was to go to Australia to promote Italian football, not to make a financial deal that doesn't exist. I haven't given up on this issue yet, but there are so many authorisations to obtain that I'm starting to get worried. If it falls through, it would be a missed opportunity for Serie A, because our goal is to make Serie A attractive around the world. Serie A earns €200 million a year from international TV rights, the Premier League €2.2 billion, and La Liga €700-€800 million, which is explained by the fact that in recent years they've had two great players in Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The gap with the Premier League needs to be filled, but obviously there are many things to do, including new stadiums, because having beautiful, fully-filled stadiums is the foundation for achieving a certain level of television impact. I'm convinced that after San Siro, many other stadiums will be built in Italy."

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• The San Siro problem

  The driving force behind this venture was not purely commercial but logistical. With the 2026 Winter Olympics taking place in Milan and Cortina, the iconic San Siro is set to be repurposed for the opening ceremony. This renders the stadium unusable for football from February 6 until late in the month.

  AC Milan vs Como was scheduled during this window, on the weekend of February 8. The unavailability of their home ground presented the Rossoneri with a unique dilemma: play at a neutral venue in Italy or attempt something ground-breaking. The club, alongside the league, opted for the latter, identifying Perth as the ideal location to showcase the "Made in Italy" brand.

  Optus Stadium, a 60,000-seater venue in Western Australia, was selected to host the Lombardy derby. It was seen as a perfect marriage of necessity and opportunity, allowing Milan to engage their massive Australian fanbase while solving a fixture congestion issue.

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  The AFC's red light

  However, the plan has encountered a formidable opponent in international football bureaucracy. While FIFA and UEFA were reportedly open to the idea on an exceptional basis given the Olympic constraints, the final hurdle lay with the host confederation.

  Reports indicate that the AFC has withheld the necessary "green light" required to sanction an official European league match on its territory. The first major stumbling block is a reported ban on marketing the event as an official Serie A match. The AFC is allegedly insisting that the game cannot be promoted as a competitive league fixture in a way that might overshadow or conflict with the local A-League. This would effectively force the organisers to present a crucial Scudetto or relegation battle as if it were a pre-season friendly, severely damaging the commercial value of the event.

  Even more problematic is the demand regarding officiating. The AFC has reportedly stipulated that the referee and their assistants must be from their organisation, rather than the Italian Referees Association (AIA). For a competitive Serie A match involving points that could decide the title or survival, forcing clubs to play under officials who do not operate within the Italian VAR protocols or interpretation guidelines is seen as a compromise on sporting integrity that neither Milan nor Como can accept.

  With the Australian dream fading, the clubs are now scrambling for a domestic solution. The match may be delayed until later in February so that it can be played at San Siro as normal.

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• Echoes of La Liga's Miami failure

  The potential collapse of the Perth fixture mirrors the recent failure of La Liga’s own attempt to break the international barrier. Just months ago, the Spanish top flight was forced to abandon plans to stage the Barcelona vs Villarreal match in Miami, Florida.

  That initiative, driven by La Liga and promoter Relevent Sports, fell apart due to "insufficient time" to organise the event amidst legal and bureaucratic uncertainty in Spain. Despite receiving similar "reluctant" approval from UEFA to explore the option, the opposition from players' unions, the Spanish FA (RFEF), and the sheer logistical complexity forced a cancellation.

  In a statement at the time, La Liga expressed "deep regret" that the project could not go ahead, citing the "uncertainty that has arisen in Spain" as the primary reason for pulling the plug.

  It seems Serie A is now learning the same hard lesson: while the desire to globalise European domestic leagues is strong among executives, the governance structures of world football remain a formidable defensive line that is difficult to breach.

Doggett, who is a good chance of being in Australia’s Ashes squad, claimed six wickets to keep South Australia in the game

Tristan Lavalette29-Oct-2025

Cameron Green, playing as a specialist batter, fell for a duck but Western Australia team-mate Cameron Bancroft issued a reminder of his indefatigable approach at the top of the order with a determined century at the WACA.Bancroft’s 122 off 255 balls guided WA into a position of strength against South Australia on day two despite the stirring efforts of spearhead Brendan Doggett who finished with 6 for 48 from 21.2 overs.Related

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Doggett is pushing to be a fast-bowling reserve for the Ashes having been part of the World Test Championship squad earlier this year and originally due to tour West Indies before injury struck.”There has been a little bit of noise, but trying not to think about it,” Doggett said about his potential Ashes chances. “I just want to keep playing for South Australia and keep putting good performances together. I think that’s all I can control at the moment.”After missing the India ODIs due to side soreness, Green had a starring role in the field on day one as he eyes making a bowling return in WA’s next Shield match against Queensland starting on November 11.But Green, batting at his preferred No. 4, lasted just six deliveries after whacking Doggett straight to mid-off. It was left to Bancroft to anchor the innings and he returned to form with steely defence mixed with classical drives.A slow start to the season has seen him slip outside of the Ashes selection mix on the back of making just 344 runs at 26.46 last season compared to an average of 48.37 across WA’s hat-trick of titles.Cameron Green fell for a duck as he builds towards the Ashes•Getty Images

“I’ve had my time at that level, feel really grateful. If an opportunity came to play for Australia, that’s great, but certainly not feverish about it,” said Bancroft, who played the last of his 10 Tests during the 2019 Ashes.After dominating the opening day, WA resumed on 87 for 0 with Bancroft and skipper Sam Whiteman having to contend with far more disciplined bowling from South Australia’s quicks.In his return from a hamstring injury, Doggett had been sluggish late on the opening day but found his rhythm from the get go amid overcast morning conditions. Doggett had Whiteman edging to second slip to break the 93-run opening stand and immediately caused Hilton Cartwright problems by pitching up and targeting the pads.Cartwright was made to dig in as he shifted up the order from his customary No. 4 spot due to Green’s return. With the surface flattening out after notable sharp bounce and carry on the opening day, Bancroft and Cartwright started to take the game away from South Australia as they built a half-century partnership and batted into the second session.Cameron Bancroft drives during his century•Getty Images

With South Australia needing a spark, it was up to Doggett to bend his back and he did exactly that after lunch with a stirring spell that accounted for Cartwright and Green in consecutive overs.But South Australia’s momentum was halted by Cooper Connolly, playing his first Shield match of the season having recently impressed in the India ODI series. Connolly has already proven he’s a three-format player in his fledgling career and seemed set to add a sixth half-century in eight Shield innings as he scored at a run-a-ball pace.Connolly was particularly aggressive against offspinner Ben Manenti and the approach rubbed off on Bancroft with the pair trading sixes as WA powered past South Australia’s first innings total of 215.But Connolly’s cavalier knock ended on 33 when he whacked Nathan McSweeney to extra cover before rain halted play for an hour. On resumption, McSweeney unexpectedly turned the game briefly with the further scalps of Bancroft and Aaron Hardie, who threw away his wicket after miscuing a reverse sweep.WA did finish with a 92-run first innings lead but were unable to make a breakthrough before stumps were called early due to bad light.

Nitish Kumar Reddy complained of back stiffness which has impacted his recovery and mobility; Shivam Dube is in the XI for the first T20I

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Oct-2025

Fast-bowling allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy’s return to action has been set back by neck spasms, which has “impacted his recovery and mobility”, according to a BCCI update on Wednesday morning.Reddy, 22, had sustained a left quadriceps injury during the second ODI against Australia on October 23. He missed the following ODI in Sydney, which India won by nine wickets to cut down the series margin to 2-1.India are already without their premier allrounder Hardik Pandya, who is recovering from a quadriceps injury of his own. Without Hardik, India have looked unbalanced, but the good news for them is that Shivam Dube, the other seam-bowling allrounder in the touring party, is fit and was picked in the XI for the first T20I in Canberra after being sidelined from the opening round of the Ranji Trophy with back stiffness.Reddy has had a difficult time with injuries, especially this year. In July, he had been ruled out of the fourth and fifth Tests in England with a knee injury. He had suffered the injury while training in the gym before hurting his quadriceps in Australia.He has played 15 internationals for India so far, since making his debut in the Perth Test in November 2024.In the first T20I in Canberra, India picked three spinners in Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel, sticking to their successful template from the Asia Cup, which they won in late September.

تمكن الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بالنادي المصري من تسجيل الهدف الثاني ضد نظيره زيسكو الزامبي، في المباراة المقامة حاليًا، ضمن منافسات بطولة كأس الكونفدرالية.

ويلعب المصري ضد زيسكو على ملعب الأخير بزامبيا، ضمن منافسات الجولة الثانية من عمر مواجهات المجموعة الرابعة لبطولة الكونفدرالية.

ونجح المصري من استعادة التقدم في الدقيقة 24 من عمر اللقاء عن طريق منذر طمين لتصبح النتيجة 2-1. 

طالع.. فيديو | في دقيقتين.. المصري يتقدم وزيسكو يسجل التعادل

وسجل النادي المصري أولًا، عن طريق لاعبه محمد هاشم في الدقيقة 4 وبعدها بدقيقة في الدقيقة 5 تعادل فريق زيسكو بواسطة لاعبه فريدي مايكل كوبلاند. 

المصري يتواجد في المجموعة الرابعة من بطولة كأس الكونفدرالية، بجانب أندية الزمالك وكايزر تشيفز وزيسكو.

وكان النادي المصري فاز في مباراة الجولة الأولى على كايزر تشيفز الجنوب إفريقي بهدفين مقابل هدف، بينما زيسكو كان قد خسر أمام الزمالك بهدف دون رد في الجولة الأولى أيضًا. هدف المصري الثاني أمام زيسكو يونايتد

South Africa must find better support for lead spinner Keshav Maharaj, whose absence was felt in Pakistan

Firdose Moonda08-Nov-2025South Africa will leave Pakistan with only a share of a Test series after losing both white-ball contests, including their first ODI series under coach Shukri Conrad. Given that they have also won just five out of 13 T20Is since July, and there is a World Cup looming in three months’ time, it could be cause for concern. But there’s a caveat.Despite Conrad’s assertion that South Africa would have their first-choice players available more often than not, the opposite has happened. A packed schedule, the need to prioritise some series over others and the inevitability of injuries has meant that South Africa have not always been at full strength. That was the case for both the T20I and ODI series in Pakistan and so the post-tour analysis is likely to focus more on individuals than the overall result.This is what South Africa may have learnt:De Kock is back for realA four-ball one in Windhoek last month was not quite the way Quinton de Kock would have wanted to come back to the international game but he quickly found his old self, albeit in the longer white-ball game. De Kock was named player of the ODI series as he topped the run-charts with a century sandwiched between two fifties that served as a reminder of how vital he is at the top of the order.ESPNcricinfo LtdNo longer just a basher, de Kock was happy to let his young opening partner Lhuan-dre Pretorius take the lead while he dropped anchor and it worked a charm. The pair shared in three profitable opening stands and have given South Africa a good selection headache. Ryan Rickelton and Aiden Markram are the incumbents but it is difficult to see a situation where South Africa don’t find a space for de Kock, who continues to work on his game.”It’s my first time playing white-ball cricket in Pakistan and I learnt a couple of things about my own game,” he said on Saturday. “The wickets stayed low, reverse swing and there was a bit of a turn, so it was about how we adjusted to that.”De Kock will have a break before South Africa’s white-ball series in India, which could prove decisive in whether he makes the T20 World Cup squad.Breetzke’s diminishing returnsPakistan seemed to be Matthew Breetzke’s favourite place to play cricket earlier this year when he scored 150 on debut at the start of a run of five successive fifty-plus scores. Breetzke was the world’s leading run-getter after five ODI innings and the second-leading after eight but has since fallen to fifth after nine innings in what was a tough return, with additional responsibility.Matthew Breetzke enjoyed an excellent tour of Pakistan earlier this year, but in this one he made 42, 17 and 16•Getty ImagesHe was named South Africa’s stand-in captain and while he did a decent job in the field, his batting returns of 42, 17 not out and 16 were less than satisfactory. Breetzke was out to Abrar Ahmed on the two occasions he was dismissed – once trying a big shot and once on the forward defence – and like so many South Africans before him will want to work on his game play against legspin. In the third ODI, he wanted “to try and play as straight as possible with the variable bounce” but it proved trickier than he expected. Of course, Breetzke did not become a bad batter over the course of three matches but with a queue of top-order players knocking down the door, including Tony de Zorzi, his returns in this series may push him down the pecking order for now.Nandre Burger’s bowling With the first-choice fast bowlers – Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen – rested, left-armer Nandre Burger stepped up and finished second to Abrar on the wicket-takers’ charts. Four of his five wickets came in the second ODI, and three of those four in the powerplay, where he used the bouncer to excellent effect. Breetzke singled out Burger’s “aggression,” as a positive South Africa will take from this tour. Burger also found seam movement in the third match and sprinkled in slower-ball variations and has given South Africa an additional option to vary their attack.Nqabayomzi Peter, the 23-year-old legspinner, is likely to be part of SA’s future plans•Getty ImagesWhere are the next batch of spinners coming from? Keshav Maharaj was rested for this series and his absence only seems to highlight his importance, but South Africa must find another tier of spinners to come after him. Donovan Ferreira had a forgettable tour with ball, bat and as a temporary T20I captain and George Linde was expensive which leaves left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin and legspinner Nqabayomzi Peter to assess. Fortuin was South Africa’s most economical bowler of the ODIs, and conceded at 4.50 runs to the over, but was not particularly threatening while Peter, 23, demonstrated good control and is most likely to be part of South Africa’s longer-term plans.Playing in Pakistan is tough – for reasons other than the conditions While almost all the South African players interviewed described the pitches as the most difficult thing to get used to in Pakistan, there were also other challenges that come with touring a country so unlike their own. South Africa cited last year’s Bangladesh Test series as a tour that unified them like never before because they were confined to their hotel and this year’s Pakistan visit may have had the same effect.”You kind of get into a routine because you can’t leave the hotel,” de Zorzi said at a pre-match press conference. “So it’s a bit of a grind on and off. It’s almost just staying in that work mindset and only really focusing on cricket. There’s nothing else to focus on. There’s nothing else to do. Everything is a bit of a grind, but you kind of make peace with that. And anyone would be happy to do that grind. So you just have to remind yourself that you’re lucky to be here and it’s your job.”

Manchester City are now frontrunners in the race to sign a “world-class” £80m star, who Pep Guardiola has called “extraordinary”.

Man City eyeing new forward after Bayer Leverkusen defeat

Guardiola rung the changes on Tuesday evening, making 10 alterations to the side that lost 2-1 at Newcastle United at the weekend, and Bayer Leverkusen made them pay, emerging as 2-0 winners at the Etihad Stadium.

City did manage to create some chances, with Nathan Ake, Savinho and second-half substitute Erling Haaland all squandering big opportunities, but they weren’t clinical enough on the night, and the German side emerged as surprise winners.

Pep would’ve been hoping that his attackers would step up in the absence of Haaland, with Omar Marmoush being given the nod ahead of the Norwegian at centre-forward, but it was a subpar performance from the Egyptian, who received a 6.2 SofaScore match rating, the lowest of any player.

The defeat arguably underlined the need for the Blues to bring in another forward to support Haaland in the January transfer window, and there has now been a positive update on their interest in Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr.

According to a report from Football Insider, Man City are now frontrunners in the race to sign Vinicius, alongside Premier League rivals Chelsea, with the forward’s future at the Santiago Bernabeu in doubt, following a fallout with manager Xabi Alonso.

Talks over a contract extension have stalled, meaning the Brazilian could be set to depart the Spanish club, and City would have the financial muscle to get a deal over the line, with his current employers looking to receive £80m.

Should Madrid decide to cash-in this summer, with the 25-year-old’s current deal set to expire in 2027, a number of Saudi Pro League clubs would also join the Blues in the race, so there could be stiff competition for his signature.

"World-class" Vinicius could elevate Man City's forward line

With the likes of Savinho, Marmoush and Oscar Bobb failing to deliver against Leverkusen, Pep may be keen to bring in a forward who is already proven at the top level, and he is known to be a keen admirer of the Real Madrid star.

The City boss lauded the Brazil international as “extraordinary” last year, while he has also received high praise from Jurgen Klopp, who described the winger as “world-class” and a Real Madrid “legend”.

The former Flamengo man has been one of Madrid’s most important players for several years now, and he remained potent in front of goal right across the 2024-25 campaign, weighing in with 41 goal contributions in all competitions.

Same agent as Stones: Man City ready to snap up £80m Champions League "superstar"

There has been a new update on the Blues’ pursuit of a new defender.

ByDominic Lund Nov 27, 2025

As such, should Vinicius Jr become available, Man City should undoubtedly make a move, and £80m would be reasonable fee for a forward who is still young, and regarded as one of the best wingers in the world.

Brian Bennett and JJ Smit were the heroes for Zimbabwe and Namibia, respectively, in Harare

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Oct-2025Zimbabwe joined Namibia in the 2026 men’s T20 World Cup after they eased past Kenya in the second semi-final of the ICC’s Africa qualifiers in Harare. South Africa are the third African team in the World Cup, having qualified directly. Earlier in the day, Namibia had qualified after beating Tanzania in their semi-final contest without much fuss at the same venue.After the bowlers restricted Kenya to 122 for 6, Zimbabwe aced the chase in 15 overs with seven wickets to spare. Openers Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani smashed 70 together in the first six overs – only three times have Zimbabwe hit more runs in the powerplay in T20Is where ESPNcricinfo has data. Vraj Patel ended the partnership in the next over when he removed Bennett for 51 off 25 balls. Bennett’s innings featured eight fours and a six, including a sequence of 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 in the fourth over, bowled by Lucas Oluoch. He is currently the highest scorer in the tournament, with 299 runs in four innings at an average of 74.75 and a strike rate of 184.56.Vraj also got rid of Marumani for 39 off 27 balls in the 11th over, but by then Zimbabwe had reached 100. Captain Sikandar Raza fell for 10 off 18 balls, but Ryan Burl and Tony Munyonga got the job done for Zimbabwe without any further setbacks. Brendan Taylor, who had cracked 123 off 54 balls against Botswana in Zimbabwe’s 170-run win last week, was not needed with the bat.Zimbabwe’s bowlers had set up the win, with Blessing Muzarabani leading the line with figures of 4-0-19-2. Rakep Patel was the only Kenya batter to cross 20. He scored 65 off 47 balls before falling to Richard Ngarava, who finished with 1 for 31.File photo – JJ Smit was the best batter and best bowler on show for Namibia•AFP/Getty Images
As for Namibia, this will be their fourth appearance at the men’s T20 World Cup. They had also taken part in the editions in 2021 (Super 12s), 2022 (group stage) and 2024 (group stage).On Thursday, Namibia were asked to bat by Tanzania captain Kassim Nassoro, and put up a strong 174 for 6, familiar hands Gerhard Erasmus, the captain, and JJ Smit hitting fifties to help their cause.It hadn’t started so well for Namibia, with four wickets – Jan Frylinck, Malan Kruger, Louren Steenkamp and Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton – falling within the powerplay. But Erasmus and Smit got together at that point and scored quickly to snatch the momentum away from Tanzania. Erasmus scored 55 in 41 balls with six fours, while Smit hit 61 not out in 43 balls with one four and four sixes.That gave Namibia the runs they needed, and Smit was back in action, this time with the ball, to hurt the Tanzania top order. He picked up the first two wickets to fall, those of Arun Yadav and Dhrumit Mehta, off consecutive balls in the sixth over, and later removed Mukesh Suthar to finish with 3 for 16. Ben Shikongo was the other main wicket-taker for Namibia, returning 3 for 21.There were pockets of resistance from Tanzania, but nothing effective enough to change the course of the match as they finished 63 runs short despite batting out their overs.

Liverpool saw their mini-revival come to an end as they lost 3-0 against Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday. The Reds were unable to build on their victories over Aston Villa and Real Madrid in a sluggish performance which saw Erling Haaland, Nico Gonzalez and Jeremy Doku put them to the sword during Pep Guardiola’s 1,000th-game as a manager.

In a lacklustre start to the 199th meeting between the two sides, Liverpool conceded an early penalty when goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili brought down the electric Doku inside the area. However, Georgia’s No. 1 was able to make amends, diving to his left to deny Haaland. City didn’t have to wait long to get another chance, though – Norway international Haaland leaping above Ibrahima Konate to head home from Matheus Nunes’ cross after 29 minutes.

Still struggling to get a foothold, Liverpool thought they delivered a sucker punch when Virgil van Dijk met Mohamed Salah’s corner with a superb header. However, the goal was ruled out as Andy Robertson was adjudged to have been interfering with play from an offside position. And to compound the visitors’ misery, City soon doubled their lead when Gonzalez’s strike deflected in off Van Dijk.

Much better in the early stages of the second half, substitute Cody Gakpo passed up a great chance to pull a goal back for Liverpool, firing wide from Conor Bradley’s low cross. And the champions were then made to pay when Doku capped off a scintillating performance by curling home City’s third.

As the match wore on, Salah almost scored a late consolation but he stabbed his effort just past the post as City secured a huge three points which sees them – and not Liverpool – confirm themselves as Arsenal’s closest challengers for this season’s Premier League title.

GOAL rates Liverpool's players from the Etihad Stadium…

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Goalkeeper & Defence

  Giorgi Mamardashvili (6/10):

  Gave the penalty away by clipping Doku with his left knee, but the shot-stopper made amends by saving Haaland's resulting spot-kick.

  Conor Bradley (6/10):

  The youngster found it difficult to contain Doku, though he admirably stuck to the task. Going forward, he whipped in a number of teasing crosses, which his team-mates were unable to do more with.

  Ibrahima Konate (4/10):

  Getting involved in Bradley's battle with Doku when he didn't need to, with the Belgium ace subsequently squirming free inside the penalty area, the defender was mostly responsible for the spot-kick which Mamardashvili then saved. The France international was beaten in the air moments later as Haaland headed City in front.

  Virgil van Dijk (5/10):

  The Dutchman thought he had equalised with a brilliant header, but the goal was disallowed by the officials. And then to make matters worse, Gonzalez's low drive deflected off him and past Mamardashvili for City's second.

  Andy Robertson (5/10):

  While he failed to close down Nunes, whose cross brought about Haaland's header, the left-back appeared to be under instruction to stay narrow and not engage with the City man. He was then deemed to be interfering with play in the build up to Van Dijk's header, with the goal later being chalked off.

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• AFP
  

  Midfield

  Ryan Gravenberch (5/10):

  Was often second-best in his ground duels, winning just 22 per cent (2/9) of his attempted challenges.

  Alexis Mac Allister (5/10):

  Emerging successful from just two of his five ground duels (40%), he struggled to get near City's midfielders, receiving a yellow card for a foul on Doku.

  Dominik Szoboszlai (5/10):

  As Liverpool struggled to make inroads in the encounter, the Hungary international had few moments to do what he does best – marauding forward to launch attacks.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Attack

  Mohamed Salah (7/10):

  While he received little service, the forward was a threat whenever he did have the ball, curling in a great corner which led to Van Dijk's disallowed goal. The Egypt international went close to scoring late on, stabbing an effort just wide of the post.

  Hugo Ekitike (5/10):

  The striker was left to plough a lonely furrow as Liverpool struggled to muster up enough opportunities. He was then withdrawn early in the second half.

  Florian Wirtz (5/10):

  Operating from the left-hand side, the German allowed Liverpool to catch their breath on one or two occasions, floating infield on the counter-attack.

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  Subs & Manager

  Cody Gakpo (5/10):

  Introduced early in the second half, he should have converted one of Bradley's dangerous crosses but the forward completely missed the target.

  Milos Kerkez (5/10):

  A second-half substitute, the full-back found it difficult to make an impact.

  Curtis Jones (6/10):

  Replacing Mac Allister in the second half, the midfielder was neat and tidy as Liverpool pushed for a consolation.

  Joe Gomez (N/A):

  Brought on too late to effect the game.

  Federico Chiesa (N/A):

  Another late substitute, he was unable to register another strong cameo.

  Arne Slot (5/10):

  The manager could only watch on as his side struggled in an opening 45 minutes which ultimately decided the game. While Liverpool were slightly better in the second half, particularly in the first 10 minutes or so, they were comfortably second best throughout.

Sanju Samson: Traded to Chennai Super Kings from Rajasthan Royals in exchange of Ravindra Jadeja and Sam CurranShardul Thakur: Traded to Mumbai Indians from Lucknow Super Giants for INR 2 croreSherfane Rutherford: Traded to Mumbai Indians from Gujarat Titans for INR 2.6 croreArjun Tendulkar: Traded to Lucknow Super Giants from Mumbai Indians for INR 30 lakhMohammed Shami: Traded to Lucknow Super Giants from Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 10 croreMayank Markande: Traded to Mumbai Indians from Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 30 lakhNitish Rana: Traded to Delhi Capitals from Rajasthan Royals for INR 4.2 croreDonovan Ferreira: Traded to Rajasthan Royals from Delhi Capitals for INR 1 crore

Anthony Volpe has had a rough go of it manning shortstop for the Yankees this year.

That continued Saturday in New York's home series against their bitter rival. He airmailed a throw to first base in the ninth inning to try and beat Red Sox second baseman David Hamilton in an attempt to end the inning. In what was already a blowout, the throw sailed well over Ben Rice's head and let another Boston run score, widening their lead to eight runs.

New York let up three more runs before they could get out of the inning and lost to Boston 12–1 for their third loss in a row as the Red Sox will play for a four-game sweep at Yankee Stadium Sunday.

The missed throw resulted in Volpe's 17th error of the season, which is the most across the American League and tied with Reds star Elly De La Cruz for the most in Major League Baseball. In his defense, the throw was off-balance and there was a force out available at second base, but Jazz Chisholm Jr. couldn't get there in time to cover the bag. Nevertheless, the fans at Yankee Stadium let their shortstop and entire team hear it after the play, anything but thrilled with the Yankees' performance thus far against the Red Sox.

Volpe committed 16 errors last season and 17 the year before, and now has over 30 games left to eclipse his unfortunate career-high total. With the big loss, the Yankees (69–60) fell 1.5 games back of the Red Sox for the top wild-card spot in the AL. They have a three-game advantage on the Royals, who are the first team out of the AL's current wild-card picture.