JJ Gabriel made his Man Utd debut at the age of 15 on Saturday and Leny Yoro believes the teenager has a big future in the game.
Leny Yoro was just 16 when he made his competitive debut for Lille and when he moved to Manchester United for £52million in the summer of 2024, he became the most expensive footballer aged 18 or under in the history of the game. So he is well placed to talk about JJ Gabriel.
The United teenager lit up the Strawberry Arena in Stockholm on Saturday with a lively late cameo in the 2-1 win against Atletico Madrid, making his first senior appearance at the age of 15 as his talent continues to bloom.
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Gabriel trained regularly with the first team last season and travelled to Trondheim for last weekend’s win against Rosenborg, but this was his first outing for Michael Carrick’s side and even though it was a pre-season friendly, he still caught the eye.
He scored 26 goals in 26 games in the Under-18 Premier League last season and has attracted interest from Barcelona, with United desperate to keep hold of a forward who looks like a generational talent, and Yoro has been impressed.
“He’s a really good player,” he said. “Still really young, still a lot to learn, a lot to improve. He’s really humble, still working, so I’m happy for him to get his first minutes, so I hope for him it’s going to continue like that.”
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As a fellow teenage sensation who made waves early in his career, Yoro knows what the attention on Gabriel is going to be like now and can see similarities in his own journey to the one the United youngster is embarking on.
“I can see myself,” he said. “[I would say] stay humble, just want to work, and this is what we need in the team, even for the young guys.
“They’re all doing really well, and JJ is one of them, so I hope he’s going to learn a lot, continue like that, improve, yeah. But he’s really good, a good player.”
Former Premier League goalkeeper Brad Friedel has urged Liverpool to sign Bradley Barcola and Desire Doue from PSG. He believes that the two players are needed at Anfield to make them a better side.
Speaking to the Daily Star, Friedel stated that Barcola and Doue are on the same level, and it would be hard to pick one of the two. He claimed that Liverpool should be looking to get both of them this summer and not just one and said:
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“It’s a toss of a coin between Barcola and Doue. I think both of them would be brilliant additions to L’pool and honestly, I think both of them would be great to help with the loss of goals and assists from Salah. Both players are excellent on the left and can also drift into the middle, which is something Iraola would like a lot in how he plays.”
“Watching both at the World Cup, they both have important assets which can benefit Liverpool and contribute to an exciting style of play. So, both of them would be my preference, to add good depth to the squad because as we’ve seen it’s a long season competing in all competitions so you need plenty of quality in the squad and both of them would be huge players.”
The Reds remain in talks with PSG to sign Barcola, and the Ligue1 are open to a sale.
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Jamie Carragher does not want Bradley Barcola at Liverpool
Jamie Carragher claimed that his former side do not need Barcola. He wants them to sign a right-winger and not another winger who prefers to play on the left and told Sky Sports:
“He’s a great player, there’s no doubt about that – I’d love to get Barcola at Liverpool. But he’s a left winger for me. Liverpool’s big thing that stands out like a sore thumb right now is replacing Mo Salah, a right winger. And I don’t think L’pool have got anybody really in the squad who looks fully comfortable playing right wing.”
“They probably have at least four players in the squad before Barcola joins, if he joins, who could play on the left-hand side comfortably. Now, I’m not saying any of those players are better than Barcola. But in terms of the balance of the squad, it’s not the position L’pool need right now. They need a right winger.”
PSG were looking to sign Yan Diomande this summer, but have switched focus to Maghnes Akliouche and Mika Godts, after Real Madrid hijacked the deal for the Ivory Coast star.
Gulveer Singh created history on Saturday by becoming the first Indian to win a Commonwealth Games medal in the men’s 5000m and the first Indian track and field athlete to win two medals in a single edition of the Games.After winning silver in the 10,000m on July 28, the reigning Asian champion added a bronze in the 5000m, finishing in 13:24.95 on the final day of the athletics competition.Kenya’s Mathew Kipchumba Kipsang won the gold in 13:23.61, while Australia’s Ky Robinson, who had earlier taken the 10,000m gold, claimed silver in 13:24.70.The 28-year-old Indian, who holds the national records in both the 5000m and 10,000m, finished well outside his season’s best time of 13:03.93. His timing on Saturday was also slower than his national record of 12:59.77.Gulveer stayed with the leading group throughout the race before making his move in the final lap. He edged Kenya’s Cornelius Kemboi to the bronze medal by just 0.04 seconds.Kemboi, who had clocked 12:56.02 in June and is a sub-13-minute runner, finished just behind Gulveer in the race.The bronze added to Gulveer’s growing list of achievements, which also includes the 10,000m bronze medal he won at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou.
With his baggy shorts and his black boots, Amad looked like he had returned to Manchester United this pre-season from the 1950s rather than a few weeks away after the World Cup.
The 24-year-old reported to Carrington at the start of the week and was a surprise inclusion in the starting XI against Atletico Madrid on the back of limited training. Joshua Zirkzee made way as Bryan Mbeumo went through the middle.
He certainly looked bright in his 45 minutes on the pitch. He was confident from the first whistle, although one pirouette pass to Leny Yoro almost sold the makeshift right-back short. They dovetailed better as the half went on and combined well to break in down that flank just before the break.
United were behind early on in Stockholm to Arnau Ortiz’s cross, which beat Yoro and Harry Maguire and left Tom Heaton stranded, but Amad came closest to an equaliser. It was Mbeumo who won a free-kick on the edge of the box, but Amad was the only player taking it.
The ball had ended up on the left of the pitch after the striker had been fouled, and Amad wandered off to get his hands on it. He wasn’t going to let go. A lengthy debate with the excellent Mason Mount and Mbeumo followed, but Amad drilled a low effort which took a slight deflection. Jan Oblak saved with his feet and grabbed the ball on his goalline.
Amad enjoyed a productive summer with the Ivory Coast, scoring against France in a World Cup warm-up and then netting two excellent goals before his country were knocked out by Norway in the last-32. He looks sharp and pressed brilliantly to win possession high up, allowing Shea Lacey to cross for Mbeumo, who glanced a header wide.
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It feels like a big season for Amad, who was disappointing last term and is set to face renewed competition for his place. In Amad, Lacey and Mbeumo, Carrick was starting three left-footed forwards who would probably all like to play on the right.
Every goal Mbeumo has scored under Carrick has come as a striker and with Benjamin Sesko still out, he could get minutes there. Lacey has started twice as a No.10 in pre-season, but will hand that shirt over to Bruno Fernandes soon enough.
All three could be in competition next season, which is why they all need to shine. Amad made his scheduled exit at the break and then watched Lacey continue to impress.
His quick feet and balance had been on show and he looked at home in elite company. A change of direction in the box earned a 53rd-minute penalty, which Mbeumo converted.
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Lacey is now a regular in first-team training, and his brief exposure to the senior set-up in January under Darren Fletcher marked him out as a player to keep an eye on. He struggled for minutes under Carrick but has been to the fore this summer and the decision to start him as the attacking midfielder has been a show of faith.
The 19-year-old isn’t available for loan this summer and with a crowded schedule in the first half of the season at least, he will get opportunities to continue his development. This was a step up from thrashing Rosenborg in Trondheim and he took to it like a duck to water.
Carrick will be glad of the competition in a season that will test him in ways last term didn’t. He had days on end to prepare for games and was able to field a consistent starting line-up. That won’t be doable now United are back in the Champions League.
So Amad and Lacey will get games and if Mbeumo ends up playing as a striker more often, they could all feature regularly. Mbeumo was the matchwinner here, bundling in Jack Fletcher’s low cross to turn the game on its head.
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There was even time for JJ Gabriel to make his first senior appearance, with the 15-year-old coming on for Mbeumo for the final 10 minutes and producing a couple of moments that marked out his dazzling talent.
Jun 18, 2021; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer reacts against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Five years after he last threw a pitch in the major leagues, former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher and 10-year veteran Trevor Bauer continues to blame others for his inability to find a roster spot within an organization.
In an interview this week on the YouTube channel “La casa de los Dodgers,” Bauer expressed regret over signing a three-year, $102-million deal with his hometown club. The 35-year-old right-hander currently is pitching for the Diablos Rojos del Mexico in Mexico City.
“I wish I had never played for them,” Bauer said in the interview. “… The front-office people, I wish them nothing but the worst because they treated me like s–t and I just don’t appreciate it. I don’t think you should treat a human being like that.”
During his first season with the Dodgers in 2021, Bauer was accused of sexual assault from two separate encounters with the same woman. The Pasadena (Calif.) Police Department confirmed the allegations.
After an investigation, charges were never filed, with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office saying there was a lack of evidence. The Dodgers still elected to part ways with the Los Angeles-area native after the process continued into April of 2022. The investigation uncovered disturbing details about the relationship between Bauer and his accuser.
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The incident followed a pattern of Bauer being combative on social media, as well as political views and opinions on political figures.
The 2020 National League Cy Young Award winner, as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, Bauer said he had the support of Dodgers teammate Mookie Betts and that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts offered emotional support on one occasion. He offered criticism of Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior.
Since his last pitch in the majors, Bauer has played in Japan and Mexico and had seven starts earlier this season with the independent Long Island Ducks. The Ducks transferred Bauer’s contract to the Diablos Rojos in June.
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In the interview, Bauer said that signing with the Dodgers “was really cool for me,” after he grew up rooting for the club. But he said the Dodgers’ clubhouse atmosphere “wasn’t as good as some other places I’ve been.”
He insists that he still is good enough to compete at the game’s highest level.
“I’d love to be back in the big leagues at some point, but it is pretty obvious at this point that the league will never allow that to happen,” Bauer said. “I think what they are doing is illegal and I just don’t want to waste my time and energy and money and everything suing them because I don’t think that is good for baseball.”
Bauer went 83-69 with a 3.79 ERA in 222 games (212 starts) with four teams from 2012-21.
With four races remaining before the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Chase begins, the battle around the cutline is one of the biggest storylines of the season. Denny Hamlin continues to lead the standings with 886 points and is closing in on the No. 1 seed, holding an 84-point advantage over Tyler Reddick. Behind them, however, the fight for the final Chase positions remains wide open.
Following the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Joey Logano climbed to 13th after another strong result, while Austin Cindric holds the final Chase spot in 16th with 518 points. Shane van Gisbergen sits 15th, 57 points above the cutline, and Ryan Preece occupies 17th with 480 points. Erik Jones remains in 18th with 474 points, just 44 behind the cutline.
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With Iowa, Richmond, New Hampshire and the finale at Daytona still to come, every race now carries major Chase implications. Several drivers are close enough that one strong finish, combined with a difficult afternoon for those around them, could quickly reshape the standings. Here are three NASCAR Cup Series drivers who still have a realistic chance of climbing above the cutline.
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3 NASCAR Cup Series drivers who could still fight their way into the Chase
#3 Michael McDowell – No. 71 Spire Motorsports
Michael McDowell – NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta. Source: Getty
Michael McDowell enters the final four-race stretch 20th in the standings with 442 points, leaving him 76 points behind Austin Cindric. While that is a sizeable gap, Indianapolis showed far more promise than his 18th-place finish suggests.
McDowell qualified sixth and spent much of the afternoon running near the front. He collected stage finishes of third and eighth, ranked among the race’s best on restarts and consistently looked capable of delivering a top-10 finish before late strategy dropped him back. Iowa has not been one of his stronger tracks, with an average finish of 25, but Spire Motorsports has made significant gains in 2026.
With Carson Hocevar and Daniel Suarez already comfortably positioned for the Chase, the No. 71 team can focus entirely on helping McDowell maximize points. The veteran last reached the NASCAR Cup Series postseason in 2023 and has the experience to capitalize in the final month.
#2 Brad Keselowski – No. 6 RFK Racing
Brad Keselowski NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400. Source: Getty
Brad Keselowski narrowly missed the playoffs last season and now faces another uphill battle. The 2012 Cup Series champion sits 19th with 468 points, 50 behind the Chase cutline, after a season that has produced only two top-five finishes.
However, the No. 6 RFK Racing team finally appears to be building momentum at exactly the right time. Keselowski followed a seventh-place finish at North Wilkesboro with sixth at Indianapolis, giving him consecutive top-10 finishes after an 11-race drought.
More importantly, the remaining schedule suits him well. Iowa has been one of his better tracks, where he finished 10th in the inaugural Cup race before leading 68 laps and finishing third last season. He is also a three-time NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series winner there. If Keselowski can continue stringing together top-10 finishes, the 50-point deficit could shrink much faster than it currently appears.
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#1 Ryan Preece – No. 60 RFK Racing
Ryan Preece – NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400. Source: Getty
Among the drivers below the cutline, Ryan Preece has the clearest path into the NASCAR Cup Series Chase. He sits 17th with 480 points, only 38 behind Austin Cindric, and remains within striking distance with four races still to run.
Preece delivered one of the strongest recovery drives at Indianapolis, gaining valuable ground in the Chase battle. The upcoming schedule also works in his favor. Iowa Speedway produced one of Preece’s best runs last season, when he finished fifth, and he is already an O’Reilly Series winner at the short track. The margin remains narrow enough that one excellent race could completely change the Chase picture before the field heads to Richmond and New Hampshire.
The Los Angeles Angels have scratched right-hander José Soriano from his scheduled start as the club weighs its options with the MLB trade deadline approaching.
Angels interim general manager John Mozeliak announced the decision Saturday, saying the team wanted to take a cautious approach with uncertainty surrounding the next 48 hours.
Soriano has emerged as one of the most intriguing names on the trade market, with the Angels reportedly receiving interest in the 27-year-old starter. The right-hander is under team control through the 2028 season, making him a valuable potential acquisition for teams looking for more than a rental arm.
The Angels entered the deadline period expected to be sellers after another disappointing season, with Soriano and left-hander Reid Detmers among the club’s most valuable trade chips.
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Soriano has posted a 3.29 ERA over 22 starts this season, establishing himself as one of Los Angeles’ most reliable starters. His combination of performance and contract control has made him a potential target for contenders seeking rotation help.
A replacement starter for Saturday’s game was not immediately announced.
France great Zinedine Zidane’s long-held ambition to coach the national team became reality on Tuesday when the French Football Federation appointed the former captain and World Cup winner as Didier Deschamps’ successor on a four-year contract. Here is what he had to say.
TNT Tropang 5G’s Kim Aurin during a game vs San Miguel Beermen in the 2026 PBA Governors’ Cup. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines–TNT had a host of heroes, but none bigger than Kim Aurin in the Tropang 5G’s 93-89 overtime win over San Miguel Beer in the 2026 PBA Governors’ Cup at Mall of Asia Arena on Saturday.
Without Roger Pogoy, Calvin Oftana, Jordan Heading and Jayson Castro, Aurin rallied his fellow reserves as TNT improved to 3-2 in Group A.
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“All elite physical performances start in the mind first and that’s what helped Kim towards the endgame. We didn’t have a lot of our guys, so we told them, let’s bring it on defense,” TNT coach Chot Reyes said.
“I made it a point to reframe the OT to a positive. Who would’ve thought? Don’t lose hope, who would’ve imagined we’d bring San Miguel to OT without our top three scorers?”
The Beermen held a slim 85-83 lead with 1:02 remaining in overtime before Aurin took matters into his own hands and sank a 3-pointer from the top of the key to put TNT ahead, 86-85.
TNT Tropang 5G during a game vs San Miguel Beermen in the 2026 PBA Governors’ Cup. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
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George King answered with a quick basket on the other end, but Aurin continued his onslaught with another 3-pointer from the right corner while drawing a foul. Although he missed the free throw, Aurin grabbed the offensive rebound and found Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson for the insurance basket that gave TNT a 91-87 lead with less than 10 seconds remaining.
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Aurin finished with 22 points and eight rebounds, built on six 3-pointers.
Rey Nambatac scored 21 points with nine rebounds while Hollis-Jefferson recorded a double-double of 20 points and 13 rebounds. The returning Poy Erram also chipped in 12 points in the win.
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King also had a double-double with 35 points and 16 rebounds for San Miguel. June Mar Fajardo added 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Marcio Lassiter and Don Trollano contributed 13 and 12 points, respectively.
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After six holes on Saturday, Haeran Ryu’s march to history seemed destined. Gunning for her third consecutive major win, Ryu had birdied three of her first six holes to stretch her lead to four at the AIG Women’s Open.
A coronation appeared to be in the cards. Chaos arrived instead.
Ryu blew her tee shot on the par-5 seventh into a thick gorse bush and had to take an unplayable. She made bogey and dropped another shot at No. 8. Bogeys at 10, 12 and 14 came like haymakers as Ryu went from up four to trailing by three as the wind and brutal back nine at Royal Lytham and St. Annes refused to let her off the mat.
As Ryu struggled to hang on, the chasers, whose chances of hoisting a trophy on Sunday once looked dire, got a second wind
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Charley Hull, who at one point was 10 shots back of Ryu after a shaky start, carded birdies at seven and eight and then added late birdies at 15 and 16 to get into the house at two under and give herself a chance come Sunday.
There was Lottie Woad, who was eight shots back of Ryu when she made the turn, steadying herself on the grueling back nine post three under and kept her title hopes alive.
“I think just the more times you’re in that position, the more comfortable you get,” Woad said after her third round. “Like I know I can play well in this tournament and I have done the last two years and had that experience being in the mix. And even this year, obviously a few weeks ago, I was leading at Evian, so I could use that experience as well. The more times you put yourself in that position is obviously a good thing.”
Jeeno Thitikul started the day two shots back of Ryu and seemed like the most likely contender to author a Saturday charge. But that deficit grew to six when Ryu raced out to a fast start while Thitikul struggled to get her putter to heat up. After back-to-back bogeys at No. 4 and No. 5, it looked like the northwest English winds had blown away Thitikul’s hopes for her first career major title. But the World No. 2 played her final 12 holes in one under par, finishing at four under par.
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Esther Henseleit, Lucy Li and Shiho Kuwaki also find themselves in the mix come Sunday after Ryu’s stumbles.
But no chaser got more life from Ryu’s fall than Yealimi Noh.
The 25-year-old American found herself seven shots back of Ryu after she bogeyed the par-5 seventh hole. But as Royal Lytham prepared to batter Ryu, Noh rediscovered her tempo and started to grab the year’s final major by the neck. She made birdies at nine, 10 and 11 to grab a share of the lead. When she made her final birdie of the day at No. 16, Yealimi Noh had suddenly gone from seven back to three clear of the field with 18 holes to play. From on the periphery to the final major’s main character in the blink of an eye.
Noh’s Women’s Open resurgence wasn’t on the pre-week script.
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She has made just seven of 14 cuts entering the week, with zero top 10s. Prior to her opening round 4-under 67, Noh had not broken par in an LPGA stroke-play event since April. She missed the cut at the KPMG Women’s PGA and the Evian before flying back to the U.S. to work on her game and re-center herself. The weeks off allowed her to “refresh mentally” and “not be so stressed” over the ball. Her fiancé, Jackson Suh, reminded her “that golf can be fun.”
This week, in the seaside town of Lytham St. Annes, Yealimi Noh is having fun. But Sunday will bring a different test. Noh has just two major top 10s in her career, has never held a 54-hole lead at a major and has only one career victory on the LPGA.
She’ll arrive Sunday at Lytham as the hunted — not knowing how she’ll react or what awaits on her 18-hole walk toward history — hoping her dreams await her on the horizon.
“I want to imagine it so I can manifest it,” Noh said after her third round about envisioning a win. “I don’t know, it’s just another round of golf tomorrow, and hopefully it all goes well, and I can do all the things after.
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“Sometimes it’s hard to be positive, especially with golf. Like it can be really tough. But manifestation is important.”
Noh arrived at Lytham just hoping to feel calmer over the ball and break par. An opening 67 set her up for a positive week. As Saturday began, it looked like Noh and others would quickly be exiting the proceedings to play a supporting role in Ryu’s march to her third consecutive major. Eleven holes later, Yealimi Noh tapped in for a closing par and a three-shot lead over Ryu, Thitikul, Henseleit, Li and Kuwaki. She leads Woad by four and Hull by five. All will have their ears pinned back, hoping to track her down on a baked-out Lytham.
Yealimi Noh will spend Saturday night in Lytham visualizing what she hopes Sunday evening brings. That her dreams will be in her hands as the sun sets over northwest England on Sunday night. That 18 holes and a positive mindset can deliver her something she’s always envisioned for herself, even if she might not have believed it would come this week. That sometimes golf can give you what you most need when you least expect it.
But if Saturday’s chaos-filled day at Royal Lytham showed us anything, it’s that there’s still a long way to go between Yealimi Noh and her dreams. In fact, her journey hasn’t even started.
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