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Erling Haaland hails ‘monster’ Gianluigi Donnarumma after controversial Manchester derby win

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Erling Haaland praised Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma as a “monster” after a crucial stoppage-time save secured Sunday’s contentious derby triumph against rivals Manchester United.

City managed to overcome Phil Foden’s controversial first-half red card to earn victory through a 60th-minute finish from Haaland. The goal was awarded after an extended VAR review despite Enzo Fernandez being in an offside position, which refereeing body Pro Ref subsequently conceded was an “error of judgement”.

The strike represented the 26-year-old’s ninth goal in a Premier League Manchester derby fixture, taking him past the records held by Sergio Aguero and Wayne Rooney.

Foden was sent off after 23 minutes for his reaction to an apparent kick from United captain Bruno Fernandes. However, despite enjoying a numerical advantage, the host side struggled to penetrate a resilient City defence.

Donnarumma kept a clean sheet against Man United
Donnarumma kept a clean sheet against Man United (AP)

Both Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo struck the post for United. Deep into stoppage time, Fernandes set up Bryan Mbeumo in space in front of goal, but Donnarumma diverted his shot away to preserve victory for City.

“Everyone just fights like never before and it’s amazing to see,” Haaland said. “We have to be proud because this [performance] gives motivation. This gives an amazing feeling inside all of us.

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“And again, this is [the kind of] things we expect from Gigio because he’s one of the best keepers in the world. So then for him to save this is as expected.

“But again, it’s the same as me, before the game, you probably expected me to score a goal and I did; so, I’ve done my job. Everyone’s done their job. Gigio managed to save us in the 95th minute, he’s a monster.”

Although discussion continues over whether Enzo Fernandez was interfering from an offside position, Haaland nevertheless produced a fine finish for the decisive goal.

Josko Gvardiol’s cross took a deflection off Patrick Dorgu, but an off-balance Haaland adjusted smartly to drive the ball powerfully into the roof of the net.

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“It’s just pure instinct, of what I feel is the right thing to do,” the Norway striker said.

Haaland has now scored nine Manchester derby goals in the Premier League
Haaland has now scored nine Manchester derby goals in the Premier League (Reuters)

“And, in the end, there’s no solution to this or that. How to finish, how to do this, how to do that, it’s just about trying to get the ball in the back of the net and shooting good enough so the keeper cannot save it. So that’s just what I’m trying to think of.”

The effort marked Haaland’s sixth goal across his last four outings for City.

“Of course, I have them but for me it’s about developing still,” he said when asked about his targets for the season.

“I’m still 26, I can still develop parts of my game. I have to be the decisive player so it’s about delivering what I can do for Manchester City, that’s my main goal and to take it game by game.

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“It’s a long season, just try to enjoy it.”

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2026 Top Week 1 NFL Performances by Players from West

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  By Stephen Vilardo, SuperWest Sports


The 2026 season opened with one of the highest-scoring season-opening weeks in NFL history.

NFL logoFollowing the Monday Night game, league teams have combined for 791 points, tying the record for most combined points in Kickoff weekend since 2012.

An exciting opening weekend for sure, and Week 1 in the NFL saw some phenomenal performances from players who played collegiately in the West.

Here are my picks for the best NFL performances by former players from the region.

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1. Josh Allen, QB, Bills/Wyoming

Josh Allen mug (1)Allen had a big game in the season-opening win over Houston, throwing for 334 yards and two touchdowns for a 130.5 rating, along with two touchdowns on the ground.

The former Cowboy is the sixth player in NFL history with at least four combined passing and rushing touchdowns in 25 career games.

He now has 303 combined passing and rushing touchdowns (222 passing, 81 rushing) in 129 games, becoming the fastest quarterback in NFL history to reach 300 career combined TDs.

2. Caleb Williams, QB, Bears/USC

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Caleb WilliamsThe former Trojan threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns for a 124.1 rating and rushed for 65 yards and two touchdowns in the Bears’ Week 1 win over Carolina.

Williams is the fourth quarterback in NFL history with at least 250 passing yards, 50 rushing yards, two touchdown passes, two rushing touchdowns, and a 120-or-higher passer rating in a game.

3. Fred Warner, LB, 49ers/BYU

Fred WarnerThe 49ers defense stifled the Rams in the season opener in Australia.

That San Francisco unit was led by the former Cougar, who opened his ninth season in fine fashion with a game-high 11 tackles, forced a fumble, and broke up a pass.

4. Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, Lions/USC

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Amon-Ra St. BrownThe former USC pass-catcher had 10 receptions for 67 yards and two touchdowns in the Lions’ comeback win over the Saints in overtime.

It marked his 12th career game with at least 10 receptions, tied for the third-most such games by a player in his first six seasons in NFL history.

5. Trey McBride, TE, Cardinals/Colorado State

Trey McBride mugThe former CSU star began his season with nine receptions for 95 yards and a touchdown in the Cardinals’ season-opening win.

It was his 38th career game with at least five receptions, tied with Antonio Gates and Kellen Winslow Sr., a pair of Hall of Famers,  for the second-most such games by a tight end in his first five seasons in NFL history.

6. Ashton Jeanty, RB, Raiders/Boise State

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Ashton JeantyThe former Boise State star opened his second season with a strong performance as the Raiders began the 2026 campaign 1-0.

Jeanty ran the ball 23 times for 102 yards.

He also led Vegas in receiving with six catches for 45 yards and a pair of TDs.

7. Dalton Kincaid, TE, Bills/Utah

Dalton KincaidThe former Ute was Josh Allen’s favorite target on Sunday.

Kincaid went over 100 receiving yards for just the third time in his career as he hauled in five receptions for a career-high 130 yards.

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His 26 yards per reception were more than double his career average of 11.3 yards per catch.

8. Justin Herbert, QB, Chargers/Oregon

Justin HerbertThe former Oregon signal caller threw for 209 yards and a touchdown against Arizona.

That brings his career passing total to 25,029 yards in 96 games.

In accomplishing that feat, he became the fourth-fastest quarterback in NFL history to reach 25,000 career passing yards.

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9. Quentin Lake, DB, Rams/UCLA

Quentin LakeThe Rams struggled Down Under, but the former Bruin had a fine start to his season.

He led Los Angeles with 10 total tackles.

He also added an interception in coverage, one of his three total passes defended in the season-opening loss to the 49ers.

10. Daiyan Henley, LB, Chargers/Washington State

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The former WSU Coug had a nice season debut for the Chargers.

He led the team with eight tackles, adding a half sack and getting an additional hit on Jacoby Brissett.

11. Cam Skattebo, RB, Giants/Arizona State

Cam SkatteboThe former Sun Devil showed little ill effects in his return from injury.

He opened the season with 18 carries for 81 yards and a TD as the Giants knocked off the Cowboys to begin the season.

12. Kenyon Sadiq, TE, Jets/Oregon

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Kenyon Sadiq mugThe former Duck TE caught three passes for 21 yards in his NFL debut.

The real noteworthy figure for Sadiq was his one carry on the ground for a three-yard TD.

In finding the end zone on the ground he became just the second tight end in NFL history to record a rushing touchdown in his first career game. (Ozzie Newsome did so for the Browns in 1978 in his debut.)

Other Notables (in no order)

Bryce Boettcher, LB, Colts/Oregon—7 tackles in NFL Debut

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Rigoberto Sanchez, P, Colts/Hawaii—5 punts, 52.6 yards per punt

Dillon Thieneman, DB, Bears/Oregon—10 tackles in NFL debut

Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Panthers/Arizona—5 receptions 75 yards

Matt Araiza, P, Chiefs/San Diego State—4 punts, 218 yards, 54.5 per punt

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Shree Charani Scripts ICC Rankings History With Never-Seen-Before Feat

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India’s victorious Asia Cup triumph in Dubai has seen a host of their players make eye-catching improvements up the ICC Women’s T20I Player Rankings. India cruised to a 72-run victory over Sri Lanka in the final of the eight-team tournament to claim an unprecedented eighth Asia Cup title, and it was the likes of white-ball stars Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma and Shree Charani that led the way, as per the ICC website. Charani picked up four wickets in that title decider at Dubai International Cricket Stadium to finish with 12 scalps for the tournament, and the left-armer has broken new ground on the latest rankings update as she moves further clear at the top of the rankings for T20I bowlers and becomes the first Indian bowler to surpass the 800-point barrier.

Only Australia fast bowler Megan Schutt (806) can lay claim to having reached a higher rating than Charani’s 802 points on the rankings for T20I bowlers, with the India spinner now joining an elite group that includes England tweaker Sophie Ecclestone (802) as the only female players to reach the magical 800-point mark.

And it is teammate Deepti Sharma who is now Charani’s closest rival in the rankings, with the star all-rounder rising four places to move to second on the list for T20I bowlers following her 14 wickets at the Asia Cup that included a spell of 3/19 in the final.

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There is further joy for India on the rankings for T20I batters, with Shafali rising one spot to move to sixth on this star-studded list following her tournament best 236 runs at an average of 47.20. It also helped the right-hander make gains of five spots on the list for T20I all-rounders as she jumps to 15th.

It is still Australian duo Beth Mooney and Georgia Voll that hold sway at the top of the rankings for T20I batters, with Nigar Sultana (up one place to equal 20th), Imesha Dulani (up two spots to equal 20th), Sharmin Akhter Supta (up three rungs to equal 40th) and Shawaal Zulfiqar (up four slots to 45th) among the other players to make ground following some good performances at the Asia Cup.

And there are gains for a host of Bangladesh players in the latest rankings for T20I bowlers, with Marufa Akter (up three rungs to equal 15th), Rabeya Khan (up three slots to 18th), Sultana Khatun (up five places to 32nd) and Fahima Khatun (up six spots to 49th) all making progress on the back of some good efforts at the Asia Cup.  

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Diving catches and an incredible interception – NFL week one best plays

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Baltimore Raven’s Zay Flowers, Derrick Henry and Kansas City Chief’s Kenneth Walker are amongst the action in the best plays of the opening week of the 2026/27 NFL season.

READ MORE: Bears, Bills and Ravens win on record-breaking Sunday

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Sachin Tendulkar’s ODI record broken: Zimbabwe’s Brendan Taylor makes history vs Australia | Cricket News

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Sachin Tendulkar's ODI record broken: Zimbabwe's Brendan Taylor makes history vs Australia
Sachin Tendulkar, Brendan Taylor

Zimbabwe veteran Brendan Taylor has gone past Sachin Tendulkar to become the longest-serving player in men’s ODI history after taking the field in the first ODI against Australia in Harare on Tuesday.Taylor’s ODI career now spans 22 years and four months, moving him ahead of Tendulkar, whose ODI career lasted 22 years and three months before he retired from the format in 2012.Tendulkar, however, still holds the record for the most ODI runs with 18,426 and the most appearances in the format with 463 matches.Taylor, 40, made his ODI debut in 2004 and has gone on to become one of Zimbabwe’s leading batters. Going into Tuesday’s match, he had scored a national-record 11 ODI centuries in 207 matches.Taylor retired from international cricket in 2021, but in 2022 he was handed a three-and-a-half-year ban for breaching the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Anti-Doping codes.After completing his suspension, he came out of retirement in 2025 as Zimbabwe began preparing to co-host the 2027 ODI World Cup with South Africa and Namibia.Meanwhile, Australia won the toss on Tuesday and decided to bat in their first one-day cricket international in Zimbabwe in 12 years.Australian captain Mitchell Marsh is one of the three survivors in both teams to have played in the last ODI in Zimbabwe which the host team won. Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza and Brendan Taylor are the other two players, who did compete in that famous Zimbabwe victory in 2014.Lineups:Australia: Mitchell Marsh (captain), Travis Head, Cooper Connolly, Josh Inglis, Alex Carey, Matt Renshaw, Ollie Peake, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson.Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Ben Curran, Innocent Kaia, Brendan Taylor, Craig Ervine, Sikandar Raza (captain), Wessly Madhevere, Brad Evans, Newman Nyamhuri, Wellington Masakadza, Blessing Muzarabani.FOLLOW LIVE UPDATES

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Real Betis vs Getafe Prediction and Betting Tips

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High-flying Real Betis welcome Getafe to the Benito Villamarín Stadium in a Spanish La Liga match on Thursday. Real Betis have a slight historical edge in this fixture.

Real Betis have enjoyed an excellent start to the season and sit third in the La Liga standings, with four wins out of five in the Spanish top flight.

Aside from a 5-2 away loss to Levante on matchday three, Los Verdiblancos have been supremely efficient and defensively solid, with 1-0 victories over giants Real Madrid and Real Sociedad at home, as well as Valencia away.

In their most recent La Liga matchup, Manuel Pellegrini’s men travelled to face Villarreal at the Estadio de la Cerámica on Monday, securing a come-from-behind 2-1 victory.

Gerard Moreno put the hosts ahead in the 29th minute, but Real Betis fought back as Cucho Hernandez and Natan netted before the halftime break to earn another impressive three points.

Meanwhile, Getafe are in 14th place in the La Liga table with five points from five games, tied on the same points as Levante, who are above Azulones on goal difference.

Getafe kicked off their league campaign with a 3-0 loss away to Alaves before earning their only win so far against newly-promoted Racing Santander at home.

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A 1-0 loss away to Osasuna was followed by a pair of 1-1 home draws against Celta Vigo and Deportivo La Coruña.

José Bordalás’ side looked set for the win after they took the lead through Ramon Terrats in the 66th minute, but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang equalized late in the match at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez on Sunday.


Real Betis vs Getafe head-to-head stats and key numbers

  • Real Betis have the slight upper hand in the head-to-head record against Getafe, with 17 wins out of 42 matches, along with 12 draws.
  • Getafe have beaten Real Betis on 13 occasions, including their most recent clash in La Liga last season, when they secured a 2-0 victory at home.
  • Despite that recent loss, Real Betis have dominated the fixture in the last five years, having lost to Getafe only twice in their last 11 matches.

Real Betis vs Getafe prediction

Real Betis are expected to dominate possession and dictate the tempo at home, using their creative midfielders and wide players to transition at speed and break down Getafe’s defense. Getafe will likely adopt a compact, low defensive block designed to disrupt Real Betis’ rhythm, before launching counterattacks and aiming to make the most of set-piece opportunities.

Real Betis have become masters of edging narrow victories, and we expect this encounter to end similarly in the home side’s favor.

Prediction: Real Betis 1-0 Getafe

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Real Betis vs Getafe betting tips

Tip 1: Real Betis to win

Tip 2: Real Betis to keep a clean sheet

Tip 3: Under 2.5 goals