Check out these photos Francis Ngannou’s superfight title victory over Renan Ferreira at PFL: Battle of the Giants, which took place at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photos courtesy of PFL MMA)
THERE was 1980s nostalgia in the air at Villa Park – so trust the bloke called Duran to bring the house down.
Aston Villa 1 Bayern Munich 0 is the most famous scoreline in the history of this great football club – ever since the night Peter Withe won them the European Cup in Rotterdam 42 years ago.
That was when Birmingham’s own Duran Duran were a permanent fixture at the top of the charts.
Jhon Duran, Aston Villa’s extraordinary supersub, always leaps off the bench, hungry like the wolf.
And he netted a spectacular late winner – his sixth goal of the season, and his fifth as a sub – to recreate the result of Villa’s finest ever victory.
With two wins and two clean sheets in this monumental Champions League group, Villa are proving themselves well worthy of a place back on European football’s grandest stage.
As Villa Park rattled and hummed with noise – with the words from the TV commentary of Withe’s winner plastered across the Doug Ellis Stand – here was a night worth waiting more than four decades to enjoy.
Bayern may have dominated for long periods but Villa defended manfully, had a first-half Pau Torres effort ruled out and ought to have seen Bayern defender Dayot Upamecano sent off before the break.
Whatever your opinion of the new group-stage format – and if you think it’s any good, then you’re wrong – this was one fixture, one occasion, which dripped with meaning.
Villa’s first home fixture in Europe’s elite competition in 41 years, and against the club they defeated to capture the trophy.
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The air was acrid with pyrotechnics and a huge banner was unfurled in front of the Holte End but in truth they didn’t need any gimmicks – Villa Park provides one of the last great authentic atmospheres in English football.
The old place rattled and hummed but the Germans had a strut on, bossing possession, making obvious they were the club who belonged in this tournament, and who’d won their opening match 9-2.
You only had to look at Bayern’s bench to recognise their immense strength – Jamal Musiala, Thomas Muller, Leroy Sane, Leon Goretzka, Joao Palhinha – never mind the 11 blokes Vincent Kompany had actually selected to start.
And the visiting fans were certainly in high spirits, with one caught on camera appearing to prepare to snort a substance off his hand.
Harry Kane had been passed fit after an ankle injury and his early header forced Emi Martinez to save with his boot, yet the England skipper was offside.
Villa were relying on counter-attacks and Dayot Upamecano was having kittens trying to deal with the pace of Ollie Watkins.
First the Bayern defender bundled Watkins over only for Romanian ref Radu Petrescu to wave play on.
The next time Villa broke, Watkins turned Upamecano again, was dragged down and Petrescu showed the yellow card he ought to have brandished the first time around.
The popularity of the match officials went down another notch when Villa were denied an opener by VAR.
A Lucas Digne up and under caused chaos and Pau Torres stabbed in. The Holte End went berserk and even the Prince of Wales was caught on camera punching the air.
Yet even the heir to the throne has no authority over UEFA’s robot linesmen, who spotted that Jacob Ramsey was marginally offside in the build-up.
Ramsey had to limp off soon after, replaced by Leon Bailey, who had been surprisingly dropped in favour of youngster Jaden Philogene in a bold call from Emery.
When Watkins broke again, the flailing Upamecano cleared only as far as Amadou Onana, who shot straight at Manuel Neuer.
Bayern had been rocking but began to reassert their authority.
Serge Gnabry dashed down the right and drilled into the side-netting when he ought to have centred for Kane, who swore at him heartily in English, not German.
Soon, Michael Olise’s curler from outside the box was tipped over by Martinez.
And the half ended with more eccentric refereeing from Petrescu, who refused to book Kane for wrestling over Morgan Rogers to halt a breakaway in what was one of the most obvious yellow-card offences it is possible to imagine.
At half-time, Kompany sent on Musiala for Kingsley Coman and Bayern continued to hog the ball – Ezri Konsa survived a penalty shout for handball and Olise had a couple of shots blocked.
Emery responded to Bayern’s dominance with a double change – ruthlessly subbing sub Bailey in the process.
His replacement, Ian Maatsen, then rifled a shot over after some neat work from Youri Tielemans.
But Musiala was finding his dancing feet, bobbing and weaving his way through half the Villa team to win a corner.
Next, Emery withdrew Watkins and sent on Duran and nine minutes later his moment arrived.
Martinez rolled out the ball to Torres who sent a through-ball up the right allowing Duran to lash home a first-time shot past the stranded Neuer.
Bayern continued to press but somebody must have saved a prayer for Villa.
Speaking after the game, captain Martinez revealed boss Emery was the mastermind behind Duran’s delight chip over Neuer.
He said: “We knew Neuer plays high. We watched a lot of movies with the manager this morning. He had that in his mind.”
On Duran’s impact, Martinez added: “He came back with a different mentality this season. He’s willing to work hard, he’s pushing Ollie all the way, they can play together.
“He’s a super sub, the first time he touched the ball, he lobbed Neuer, one of the best goals in history.”
Martinez also opened up over denying Kane on several occasions as he hailed Villa’s defence.
The World Cup winner said: “You know with Harry Kane, you know that he’s always going to hit on target at some point in the game so I’ve working a lot with moving and making saves.
“We are committed [more] defensively Champions League, we need to transmit that into the Premier League now, we are conceding some sloppy goals in the Premier League, we need to find that balance, we know we can keep clean sheets so we move on from here.”
On the result and Villa fans’ celebrations, he added: “It’s a statement, there’s still a lot to play. We want to qualify in the first eight, in the top eight, it’s one step at a time.
“We’ve got Bologna at home now in our second game, we are probably more relaxed but we want to win every game.
“It’s unreal to be fair. This is the loudest Villa Park that I’ve heard since I joined the club, that’s for sure, it was hurting my ears at some point. It’s a club that is moving forward.
“It’s the main reason why I stay in this football club. I love playing here, I love the fans, this is a win for them.”
Manager Emery was also full of praise for Duran, saying: “We’re working with him, but most important is his attitude and commitment now with us. He changed a lot in his mind, he’s being focused each minute he’s playing.”
He continued: “Try to enjoy the way. We want to keep it for long time, playing consistent in Europe.
“It’s very important defensively to be strong. Emi Martinez did amazing job, Carlos & Konsa were fantastic and others. Both players they needed to improve playing together.”
REGIS LE BRIS says Aaron Connolly is desperate to face some of the demons of his past and make his debut against former club Hull City.
Sunderland head to the Tigers knowing a victory would ensure they end the day top of the Championship.
Irish forward Connolly, 24, revealed last week that he underwent treatment for alcohol addiction after he was released by Hull this summer.
The brave ace, who famously burst on the Premier League scene aged 19 with Brighton thanks to a brace against Tottenham, opened up about how drinking had impacted his life and career to coincide with World Mental Health Day.
Following his spell in rehab, Connolly was handed a chance to resurrect his career by Sunderland.
And after scoring a couple of goals for the Under-21s in midweek, Le Bris says he is desperate to be unleashed against the side he got eight goals for last term despite claiming that his “life was a mess” while he was on Humberside.
The French coach said: “I think that it was a specific goal for him to be ready for this game.
“We haven’t rushed the project, it was perfect, and I don’t know if we will use him but he is available.”
He continued: “We knew before we knew we needed three or four weeks to assess his physical level.
“He was really fit at the beginning which was good news for us.
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“He needed to get to know his teammates and the team. We had two opportunities to play with the U21s and he did very well, he scored which is good for a striker.
“He needed time to connect with a structure, team and team-mates and now he’s ready.”
On the bravery of Connolly sharing his issues with the world, Le Bris said: “It is very interesting to share these ideas instead of hiding and pretending that it doesn’t exist.
“The first thing is to recognise your mistakes and then the next is to avoid any repetition.
“So it’s not a problem for us to talk about any problems a player has had in their career, whether it is a small detail on the pitch or a bigger one off it.
“I’m OK with that and it is a problem for the players in the dressing-room.”
And Le Bris says that he has not had to put a shoulder around the forward since he bared his soul.
But he did stress that everyone at the club would be there for him if he needed them.
Le Bris added: “I don’t exactly know Aaron’s personality, it’s been three weeks now, but I think that he doesn’t need specific attention.
“He knows what is important for him and that it is important to succeed now and he’s very connected to that project.
“We’ll take care of him and I’m not sure he needs attention at the moment.”
He will be vying with Wilson Isidor to start up front but Eliezer Mayenda is not expected to be available after injury until next weekend.
Dan Ballard is also likely to be back to face Oxford but summer signing Salis Abdul Samed – who is yet to play for the Black Cats – remains several weeks away from being available.
Abt Audi driver Kelvin van der Linde moved into the lead of the championship with victory in the penultimate DTM race of 2024 at Hockenheim, as Mirko Bortolotti could only salvage fifth place.
Starting from pole position, van der Linde was able to outduel Winward Mercedes driver Lucas Auer to claim his third victory of the season and overturn a 12-point deficit to Bortolotti into a two-point advantage ahead of the title decider on Sunday.
Ayanchan Guven completed the podium spots for Manthey EMA Porsche, while Auer’s team-mate Maro Engel kept his slim championship hopes alive by finishing fourth ahead of SSR Lamborghini rival Bortolotti.
At the start of the race, van der Linde pulled away cleanly from pole position, with Auer consolidating second place after securing his first front-row start in the DTM since 2022.
Bortolotti and Engel had qualified out of position in seventh and ninth respectively, but both were able to climb up the order on the opening lap, rising up to fourth and fifth behind Guven.
When the pit window opened at the 20-minute mark, Engel immediately pulled into the pitlane, with Winward sending him back out after servicing his car in just six seconds.
Bortolotti followed him on the next lap, but a sluggish 8.2s stop – down to a slow front-left tyre change – left him vulnerable to his Mercedes rival.
Mirko Bortolotti, SSR Performance Lamborghini Huracán EVO GT3
Photo by: Alexander Trienitz
Although the Italian managed to rejoin the track in front despite being delayed, Engel already had his tyres up to temperature and muscled his way past at Turn 8, taking fourth position away from him.
At the end of the same lap, van der Linde finally peeled into the pits from the lead of the race, with Auer – who had been on his tail in the first stint – covering him next time out.
Winward’s decision to delay Auer’s pitstop initially appeared to pay off as he rejoined the track at the front, but a lap later the Abt driver was able to pass him into Turn 2 to reinstate the status quo.
The Austrian kept the pressure up on van der Linde for the remainder of the race, with the two drivers even making contact at the hairpin on lap 30.
Ultimately, van der Linde was able to do enough to fend off his Mercedes rival, taking the chequered flag by 0.508s to put himself in the best position to win the 2024 DTM title in Sunday’s finale.
Guven had a lonely race en route to third in the lead Porsche, while Engel held off Bortolotti to put himself 20 points behind van der Linde in the championship standings.
Jules Gounon, substituting for Luca Stolz at HRT Mercedes, rapidly closed in on Bortolotti in the closing stages of the races, but ultimately had to settle for sixth place on his DTM debut.
The top Schubert BMW driver on Saturday was Rene Rast in seventh, ahead of HRT driver Arjun Maini and team-mate Marco Wittmann. Nicki Thiim completed the top 10 for SSR Performance.
Emil Frey Ferrari’s Jack Aitken was the only retirement from the race, as 19 of 20 drivers made it to the finish.
There was venom in the reaction from Southampton’s stunned fans when Anthony Taylor’s final whistle sounded. It was the sharpest of contrasts from the reception at half-time.
The statistics illustrate Martin’s reliance on passing, as they rank fourth in the Premier League with an average of 528 passes per game and sixth measured in possession, 55.6%.
Martin must now reflect on the more telling statistic that Southampton are bottom of the Premier League with one point from eight games, conceding 18 goals, second only to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
A journey through Martin’s managerial career does not offer any suggestion he will change his modus operandi, even though there must be increasing concerns around Southampton that such a poor start will be a main ingredient in a recipe for relegation.
From the start of his time at MK Dons from November 2019 his team were top of the table for both passing and possession in League One, averaging 469 passes per game and 58.5% possession until the end of that season, then heading that measure again the following season with 544 passes per game and 64% possession.
MK Dons finished 19th in 2019-20 then 13th in 2020-21, his approach earning him a move to Swansea City, where he succeeded Steve Cooper, Leicester City’s manager here, before the start of the following season.
The trend continued in south Wales, Swansea finishing top of the Championship passing standings with 598 per game and also the possession statistics with 63.9% as they finished 15th. The following season they were top of passing with 594 per game and second in possession on 64% as they finished 10th.
It was next stop Southampton for Martin, his style reflected once more as they played more passes per game than any other team, 667, enjoying 66.1% possession, the highest in the division as they came up via the play-offs.
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SAM TOMKINS hopes to bring a new dawn now he is England’s manager.
Do not think the legend is picking the team, that is still the job of coach Shaun Wane.
Instead, Tomkins is team manager, who normally makes sure everything is all right off the field – hotels are booked, activities are lined up, that everything is in place for players to concentrate on matches.
Now things are different, this team manager will be helping those taking on Samoa, giving position-specific tips, spotting areas to attack the Pacific islanders.
“Sam Tomkins, England manager has a different ring to it,” the Catalans Dragons star said. “It’s something I didn’t expect and something I’d not thought about until Shaun asked me earlier this year.
“It entails the usual things – making sure everything in camp’s sorted and organised, looking after everything off the field – but I’ll be adding a little bit of input on it too.
“I’ve got recent rugby experience, unlike team managers before, so I may do some video and position-specific things with players.
“I’ll work with Jack Welsby at full back, as well as the halves. The luxury of an international team is you’ve all the best players there.
“They don’t need much coaching, it’s ideas and guidance more than anything. If I could give Jack an idea, someone may think something else and I get a knowledge of what they think might work.
“Between us, we’ll work out collectively what’s good for us.
“And that recent rugby knowledge can kick in. Forgetting Samoa, I play against almost all of England’s players, so I know their strengths and weaknesses.
“I’ll add value in that regard, give the coaches a perspective from a player’s point of view. It’s certainly a different role to what a team manager’s done before.”
Tomkins, 35, admits he never saw the approach by Wane coming – but the fire is there.
Just two years ago, he was part of an England side that suffered an agonising World Cup semi-final defeat in golden point extra time.
Memories of Stephen Crichton’s drop goal sailing through the posts at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium remain fresh. Talk of revenge is not a marketing ploy, it is genuine.
Next Sunday sees job one at Wigan, then on November 2 it is job two in Leeds and the aim is to get both done against a side packed with the world’s top talent.
Samoa skipper Jarome Luai has won the last four NRL Grand Final, while Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Jeremiah Nanai have starred for New Zealand and Australia respectively.
Tomkins, however, believes England’s 24-man squad – and the moans about those who missed out – shows just how good they are.
And nothing short of a 2-0 victory will do.
Tomkins added: “It was just two years ago when we had the worst loss with England for a very long time. We undersold ourselves on that day.
“We missed a huge opportunity on home soil, that still hurts for people who were involved. It won’t make up for a World Cup semi-final but we’d love to get one over them.
“We met last week to decide the squad and there were some real tough decisions. There wasn’t a bad option, it was good or good.
“The fact some good players have missed out shows we’ve got a very strong side. 2-0 is the goal, we won’t be happy drawing this series.”
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