Here’s how SunSport’s Jack Figg rated the Blues stars.
Robert Sanchez – 8
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Excellent positioning to snuff out Forest counter on hour mark and made two sensational late saves to deny the visitor’s a winner.
Malo Gusto – 6
Wasn’t able to prevent Nikola Milenkovic’s flick on to set up Wood’s opener but he produced a great block to deny Gibbs-White in the box.
Wesley Fofana – 7
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Forming a good partnership at the back with Colwill. Finally some consistency at centre-half for Chelsea.
Levi Colwill – 7
Made a huge block to prevent Yates in the first half. John Terry-esque defending.
Marc Cucurella – 5
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Lacked attacking creativity down the left having filled in at centre-back at times. Failed to form much of a threat with Sancho.
Moises Caicedo – 6
Agonisingly close to getting ahead of Wood to prevent the Forest opener. Took the role as deep-lying midfielder in front of back line.
Enzo Fernandez – 5
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Still looks to be finding his best position under Maresca. Not a natural holding midfielder but denied preferred advanced role by Palmer.
Cole Palmer – 6
Looked lively when afforded space in the centre but the Chelsea superstar saw a huge chance saved thanks to Matz Sels double save.
Noni Madueke – 8
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Constant threat down the right side with his goal well deserved. But the winger finds himself guilty of making the wrong choice in the final third.
Jadon Sancho – 4
Largely absent throughout the match with Aina doing a stellar job in keeping the tricky forward quiet. Lacked killer instinct going forward.
Nicolas Jackson – 4
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Apart from pressing, quiet throughout. Slow to react in the box in a frustrating sign of inconsistency after recent goalscoring form. Spent more time arguing with team-mates at points.
Grealish, who is currently on Three Lions duty, has revealed that Mila was born on September 27, just hours before he lined up for Manchester City to play Newcastle.
Describing his hectic 24 hours, the England favourite told BBC Radio 5 Live: “Obviously had a little girl last Friday. It was the best moment of my life, as you can imagine.
“I don’t really know how to explain it. You feel so many good moments in your life, but that just tops everything
“It was an unbelievable day, because actually Sasha had a scan on the Friday morning and then she realised she was going to come a few weeks early, so I had to leave training on the Friday.
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“I got the train up to London and then it happened on the Friday afternoon. I stayed there obviously for two or three hours, and then I had to get a plane all the way to Newcastle.
“I arrived at probably gone midnight at the hotel and, yeah, I was playing the next morning at 12:30 at Newcastle away. It was an unbelievable 24 hours.”
He has now reported for England duty, with the Three Lions taking on Greece at Wembley on Thursday, before travelling to Helsinki for a clash with Finland on Sunday.
Should Grealish manage to score, he could treat Mila to a special celebration.
Asked if he had something planned, he said: “Yeah, to be fair, do you know what I’ve half thought about it for a while, I just didn’t manage to score yet.
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“Well, obviously I scored for England but in the moment just so much was going on and it being against Ireland and that I just completely forgot. So, yeah, maybe next time.”
Grealish has been with childhood sweetheart Sasha for 10 years.
She has been with him for virtually all of his football career, and celebrated with him on the pitch after he won his second Premier League title earlier this year.
However, intense interest in Jack’s private life came to a head in 2021 when England reached the final of Euro 2020, delayed a year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Because of their romance, Sasha was cruelly targeted by trolls on TikTok and Instagram, receiving 200 death threats a day from “young girls”.
The pair were spotted on holiday together following the tournament and slowly began showing more of their relationship on social media when the vile trolling died down.
In 2022, they celebrated their 10-year anniversary and purchased a seven-bed mansion set in 24 acres worth £5.6 million.
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They moved in to the home in late 2023, but Sasha and members of Jack’s family were subject to a terrifying robbery while cheering on the Manchester City star during a televised match just after Christmas.
Their latest milestone is Sasha’s pregnancy, which they announced on social media on July 7, and the birth of daughter Mila Rose on September 27.
Pennington believes she deserved to retain her title, but in the end she lost a split decision in the co-main event of UFC 307 this past Saturday in Salt Lake City. Pennington (16-10 MMA, 13-6 UFC) won one 48-47 scorecard but lost 48-47 to Peña (13-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) on the two others.
Many fans agreed with Pennington and voiced their outrage on social media that the result went the other way. In an Instagram post Tuesday, Pennington addressed her defeat for the first time:
I’m home and I’m healthy. My heart hurts but my head is high! I do not feel I lost that fight but this is just another wild detour in this journey of mine. I will be back better than ever! I want the rematch stat! Regardless what an amazing fight week, surrounded by so much love, support and blessings. Memories that will last a lifetime. I’m full of gratitude and I want to send a shout out to all the people who stand behind me. My amazing group of coaches @jhostriking @jason_kutz @tylerlarsenbjj @mennyboy12 @antwon_burton3 and @evierae_jaktmuscle My training partners who put in work with me this camp Cory, @ryan.ashleigh and @jjaldrich My recovery team @sabrinabishopselman @cismrehab @peakbalancefamily My amazing management group @vaynersports @sarahzemonek @botemplin @kcoll0207 and my amazing wife @teciatorres and my entire family who has been my biggest support since day 1. To all my true fans out there I love each and every one of you. We will be back!!! ❤️🏆 #TeamRocky
The decision was highly controversial, with 25 media members scoring the bout for Pennington, one scoring it a draw, and one scoring it for Peña, according to MMADecisions.com.
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With this result, Pennington, 36, saw her six-fight winning streak come to an end. She won the title that was vacated by Nunes when she defeated Mayra Bueno Silva by unanimous decision in January. But she failed to make a successful title defense Saturday.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.
Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.
Manchester City’s Jack Grealish believes he should have been part of England’s Euro 2024 squad and “can’t speak highly enough” of interim manager Lee Carsley.
Grealish, 29, was “devastated” after being omitted from Gareth Southgate’s 26-man squad for the tournament, in which England lost to Spain in the final.
However, Carsley has started the City playmaker in both games he has overseen since replacing Southgate on a temporary basis.
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“I will be honest with you – I didn’t really agree with it,” Grealish told BBC Radio 5 Live.
Grealish admitted he felt he “didn’t have the best season” for his club, but added: “You need a bit of a balance in every position on the pitch and I class myself [as] quite an experienced player now.
“I have won a lot of stuff now so, you asked me should I have gone, yes, I still think I should have, but obviously it wasn’t meant to be.”
On whether he felt he had a point to prove on his return to the England squad for September’s internationals, he said: “Of course, I wanted to come here and train well and play well.
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“I thank the manager Lee Carsley for giving me that chance and having that trust in me.
“It obviously really meant a lot, I think throughout my career when I have played under managers who have shown trust in me and communicated with me the way he has the last two camps, it really helps me.
“It makes me feel that the manager really does rate me and I can’t speak highly enough of him since I have been here.”
England recorded 2-0 victories over the Republic of Ireland and Finland in the first games under Carsley last month, with Grealish scoring against the former.
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A British record £100m signing when he joined City from Aston Villa in August 2021, Grealish will again hope to be in the starting line-up when England host Greece on Thursday, before taking on Finland on Sunday.
And while Grealish believes missing out on Euro 2024 was “probably the most difficult period of my life”, he said the birth of his daughter last week was “the best moment of my life”.
In an “unbelievable 24 hours”, Grealish had to leave training and take a train to London on Friday morning to be present for the birth, before flying to Newcastle – arriving after midnight – and starting for City in the Premier League at midday on Saturday.
“I don’t really know how to explain it, you know you feel so many good moments in your life but that just tops everything,” Grealish said.
Manchester City director of football Txiki Begiristain is set to leave the club at the end of the season.
The 60-year-old Spaniard joined City in 2012 and was instrumental in bringing Pep Guardiola to the club as manager four years later.
Begiristain was a former team-mate of Guardiola at Barcelona and with the Spain national side.
As Barca’s director of football, he was influential in Guardiola being named manager in 2008 although he left the Catalan giants two years later.
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He has been repeatedly praised by Guardiola for the work he has done behind the scenes with City’s recruitment.
Sources told BBC Sport that this season will be his last at the club.
The news comes as Guardiola enters the final months of his current contract.
Asked about his situation on Friday before his side’s 3-2 win over Fulham, Guardiola said: “I said at the beginning [of the season that] I’m not going to talk about this subject. What will happen will happen.”
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With Begiristain, Guardiola and chief executive Ferran Soriano working in tandem, City have become the dominant force in the English game, winning six of the past seven Premier League titles.
Their current run of four in a row is an English league record and in 2023 they became only the second English side to complete the Treble as they won the Champions League for the first time.
This news also comes in a week where there has been a verdict in City’s legal case against the Premier League over the league’s rules on commercial deals involving clubs’ owners, with both sides claiming victory.
That case is not directly related to the Premier League disciplinary commission which is underway into 115 charges against City for allegedly breaching its financial regulations, some of which date back to 2009.
However, the BBC say insiders have revealed the incident behind the dispute.
It relates to the last occasion Holding was in Palace’s senior squad – a 2-0 home defeat to West Ham in the Prem on August 24.
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Holding never made it off the bench that afternoon, and hasn’t made it ON to it since.
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That’s reportedly because he had a “disagreement” over a running session held after the final whistle of the home London derby.
The Beeb believe Holding has “accepted” being frozen out following that exchange and will keep training “professionally”.
But there is no sign of a resolution on the horizon
And with England’s Marc Guehi leading a sizeable batch of talented centre-backs at Selhurst Park, any hope Holding has of resurrecting his first-team career go beyond his issues with Glasner.
Pennington lost the UFC women’s bantamweight title via split decision in the co-main event of UFC 307 this past Saturday in Salt Lake City. The decision was a controversial one, with a lot of people feeling like Pennington had done enough to retain the belt in her first defense.
On Tuesday, “Rocky” released a statement addressing the loss, and her desire to get a rematch.
“I’m home and I’m healthy,” Pennington said. “My heart hurts but my head is high! I do not feel I lost that fight but this is just another wild detour in this journey of mine. I will be back better than ever! I want the rematch stat! Regardless what an amazing fight week, surrounded by so much love, support and blessings. Memories that will last a lifetime. I’m full of gratitude and I want to send a shout out to all the people who stand behind me.”
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Pennington and Pena were both competitors on season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter, which was ultimately won by Pena. The fight was competitive throughout, with Pena clearly winning the second and third rounds, while Pennington turned things around in the championship stanzas. The first round is what decided it, with two of the judges scoring it for Pena, who is now a two-time champion.
A rematch for Pennington is unlikely with fellow UFC 307 competitor Kayla Harrison earning a decision win over Kelen Vieira in the main card opener.
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