Manchester City player ratings from the Manchester Evening News for the 1-1 draw at West Ham in the Premier League

Manchester City’s difficult March continued as they were held to a 1-1 draw with West Ham. The Blues are now nine points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal with a game in hand and have managed just one win from their last four matches in all competitions.

Bernardo Silva looked to have given City the advantage they needed, chipping Mads Hermansen with an effort that looked more accident than design. That built on a solid first 30 minutes for the Blues, but they immediately threw away their lead with some poor defending from a corner.

Erling Haaland went close and substitute Tijjani Reijnders hit the bar as City looked for a winner but they were unable to find one and must count the cost of two more points dropped. Here are the player ratings from the Manchester Evening News.

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Donnarumma: A horrible error to gift West Ham a way back into the game. Not much else to do but recovered. 5

Nunes: Composed in defence and offered an attacking threat down that right side. 7

Khusanov: Mopped up anything that Bowen or Taty tried in attack to keep City in control at all times. 7

Guehi: Mostly positive, especially building from the back, yet there were a few defensive lapses that put City in trouble. 6

Ait-Nouri: Looked good again, getting the better of his battle with Wan-Bissaka and giving nothing up. 7

Rodri: Pretty masterful in the first half, even if he again seemed to find the second half more of a struggle. 7

Silva: An inspired finish and he led by example with Rodri in midfield, doing what was asked of him. 7

O’Reilly: Everywhere in midfield, constantly getting the ball and pushing City onto the front foot. 7

Semenyo: Saw plenty of the ball but couldn’t do what he wanted to with it, seemingly happier to run onto the ball rather than have it at his feet. 5

Marmoush: Didn’t offer enough, straying offside a number of times to halt promising moves and end any goal threat. 4

Haaland: Had very little involvement again and missed one chance that he should have snaffled, although he did go close once. 5

Substitutes

Cherki (for Marmoush, 60) Gave City something fresh. 7

Doku (for Ait-Nouri, 60) Couldn’t outwit Wan-Bissaka. 6

Reijnders (for Silva, 75) Unlucky with his shot turned onto the bar. 6

Foden (for Semenyo, 75) Got involved. 6

Not used: Trafford, Dias, Ake, Gonzalez, Kovacic

Augsburg’s Keven Schlotterbeck has crossed paths with his little brother Nico plenty of times in the Bundesliga before. A scene just prior to kickoff during Saturday afternoon’s Bundesliga showdown against Borussia Dortmund still had a unique feel. Keven – now working as Augsburg captain in Jeffrey Gouweleeuw’s absence – had to square off against Nico during the pre-match coin toss.

While Keven has emerged as Augsburg’s new leader, Nico has also been donning the captain’s armband for Dortmund with Emré Can out. The two siblings have obviously had radically different career trajectories since their days at the SC Freiburg academy. Nico matured into a blockbuster Borussia Dortmund transfer, a €55m-valued player, and a 23-times-capped German international.

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Keven – despite remaining a German fan favorite who has even managed to out-score his younger brother in two of the last three Bundesliga seasons – remains a €6m-valued centre-back who has only represented Germany at Olympic Level thus far. Keven has always focused on delivering gritty play during his Bundesliga stints with relegation fighting teams like Union Berlin, Bochum, and Augsburg.

As usual, Keven showed no inkling of jealousy when speaking of Nico.

Keven Schlotterbeck on facing Nico at center circle

“It was defensively something special,” Keven said when asked about the feeling of meeting Nico in front of a packed house of 81,365 fans at Signal Iduna Park in the mixed zone “Of course, these are the sorts of things that one dreams about as a kid.

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“During the 90 minutes, you don’t really think about it, even though you naturally catch glimpses of your brother out of the corner of your eye,” Keven continued.  I’m still so proud of him for what he has achieved in recent years and is currently achieving.

“You can see he’s a top centre back,” Keven concluded. “One of the best in Germany. One of the best in the world, in my opinion.“

GGFN | Peter Weis

Leaders Bayern Munich held on for a 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen despite finishing with nine men in an eventful Bundesliga clash on Saturday. Second-placed Borussia Dortmund’s comfortable home win at Augsburg drew them nine points behind reigning champions Bayern with eight games to play. Aleix Garcia’s goal gave Leverkusen the lead and Bayern striker Nicolas Jackson saw red before half-time. Luis Diaz levelled things up but picked up a second yellow card for diving in the box.

Bayern held firm to grab a point, even as Leverkusen had two efforts chalked off in stoppage time.

Bayern also had strikes from Jonathan Tah and substitute Harry Kane ruled out by VAR for handball in a sometimes manic match at the BayArena.

“It was a poor performance from the referee,” Bayern coach Vincent Kompany told DAZN.

“Why he (Diaz) gets a red card, nobody in the stadium knows anymore, it’s insane…

“Someone needs to explain to me why that’s a yellow card at that stage of the game.

“It’s a huge blow and he’ll be out for the next game.”

Garcia finished off a fluid team move to put Leverkusen ahead six minutes in, the Spain midfielder collecting a Patrik Schick pass and chipping the ball over third-choice Bayern goalkeeper Sven Ulreich, playing with Manuel Neuer and Jonas Urbig out injured.

Former Leverkusen centre-back Tah looked to have levelled things up midway through the first half when he found the net from a corner, but VAR intervened.

Bayern’s hopes took a further hit when Jackson saw red for sinking his studs into Martin Terrier’s ankle just before the break.

With 30 minutes left, Bayern brought Kane on as a substitute after his recent absence with a calf knock and the England captain thought he had scored just 47 seconds later, but again VAR spotted a handball.

Diaz finally grabbed Bayern a leveller when he guided a pin-point Michael Olise pass in with 69 minutes gone. 

Chasing a winner, the Colombian went down in the box under light contact from Leverkusen ‘keeper Janis Blaswich and was shown a second yellow for diving.

Down to nine men for the first time since 2001, Bayern dug deep despite their numerical disadvantage in the dying stages to cling on for a point.

– Dortmund inch closer –

Dortmund moved two points closer to Bayern with Karim Adeyemi and Luca Reggiani both getting on the scoresheet in a 2-0 home win over Augsburg.

“We really enjoyed it today. We controlled the game,” Dortmund’s Felix Nmecha told DAZN.

Adeyemi gave Dortmund the lead in the 13th minute, turning in a Maximilian Beier pass from close range.

Stodgy and uninspired in beating a 10-man Cologne last week, Dortmund showed fluency in attack, although Adeyemi and Beier took turns in hitting the crossbar before the break as Augsburg stayed in the game.

But just before the hour mark, 18-year-old centre-back Reggiani headed in a Julian Ryerson corner for his first Bundesliga goal.

The victory took Dortmund to 58 points, one more than their final total last season.

Elsewhere, Arnaud Kalimuendo scored as Eintracht Frankfurt beat lowly Heidenheim 1-0.

Wolfsburg’s bid to beat the drop took a hit in a 1-1 draw at Hoffenheim which left them stranded in the relegation zone.

dwi/jc

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Marwan Rahiki vs. Harry Hardwick had the makings off an memorable recent banger after two rounds, but then the UFC Fight Night 269 main card bout was waved off.

After Rahiki (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) unloaded a barrage of heavy shots over two rounds in the featherweight bout at Meta APEX in Las Vegas, while also taking some blows of his own, Hardwick (13-5-1 MMA, 0-2 UFC) was unable to make it into the third round.

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Hardwick told his team his jaw was broken and he was unable to continue. The fight was waved off and Rahiki was awarded the TKO win after two rounds.

Joao Neves and Ousmane Dembele returned from injury to help Paris Saint-Germain rout Chelsea 5-2 in the last 16 of the Champions League.

They combined to set up the first goal after 10 minutes and Dembele scored with a brilliant solo effort late in the first half.

The third goal followed a blunder from Chelsea goalkeeper Filip Jrgensen, who passed the ball straight to PSG forward Bradley Barcola. He fed substitute Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who then passed inside to Vitinha and he neatly lobbed Jrgensen.

Kvaratskhelia added two late goals allowing PSG to take a healthy lead into next Tuesday’s second leg at Stamford Bridge in London.

“We showed we are capable of anything. We have to carry on like this,” Kvaratskhelia said. “We conceded goals but we have to analyze the mistakes we made.” 
Ballon d’Or moment 
Dembele’s speed and lucid thinking on his goal showed that the Ballon d’Or winner is getting back to his best in an injury-hit season.

He latched onto a pass near the halfway line and then accelerated clear before cutting inside and then outside to beat defenders Marc Cucurella then Wesley Fofana before firing a low shot across Jrgensen and into the bottom left corner.

“He played very well, he played like Ousmane Dembele knows how to and it’s very good news for us,” PSG coach Luis Enrique said. “We look forward to him doing it again in London next week.” 

 
Dembele came off midway through the second half but it appeared only as a precautionary measure rather than another injury flare up.

“When a player returns you have to give them the right amount of playing time,” Luis Enrique said.

On the opening goal, Dembele’s cross from the right was headed down by Neves for Barcola to score from inside the penalty area.

Dembele hit the crossbar moments later with a rasping shot. He came off midway through the second half.

Neves had been nursing an ankle injury since PSG advanced past Monaco in the Champions League playoffs last month.

Dembele shook off a calf injury. He had come on as a second-half substitute in Friday’s 3-1 home defeat to Monaco in Ligue 1.

Their return allowed PSG coach Luis Enrique to name a near-full strength side, although midfielder Fabian Ruiz remained sidelined with a left knee injury.

PSG last played Chelsea in July in the final of the Club World Cup, when Chelsea won 3-0.

India will take on England in the final of the FIH Women’s Hockey World Cup 2026 Qualifiers on Saturday, March 14, at the G.M.C. Balayogi Hockey Ground in Hyderabad. Both sides will be aiming to lift the tournament title after impressive campaigns.

Although India have already secured qualification for the 2026 Women’s Hockey World Cup by reaching the semi-finals, the final presents an opportunity for the hosts to cap off their home campaign with a trophy.

India booked their place in the final after edging past Italy 1-0 in a tightly contested semi-final on Friday. The decisive moment came in the 40th minute, when Manisha Chauhan converted a drag flick following a series of penalty corners earned by the Indian team.

Italy made a strong start and created early opportunities, but India gradually took control of the midfield. Goalkeeper Bichu Devi Kharibam played a key role with crucial saves, while the defensive unit remained solid to protect the slender lead.

In the closing stages, Italy pushed hard in search of an equaliser, but India’s disciplined defence ensured they held on to seal victory and confirm their World Cup berth.

Currently ranked ninth in the world, India enter the final as slight underdogs against sixth-ranked England. The Indian squad features a mix of experienced players and rising talents such as Bansari Solanki, Sakshi Rana, Annu, Ishika, and Deepika Soreng, all of whom have gained the confidence of returning head coach Sjoerd Marijne.

Marijne, who has begun his second stint with the team, prefers a style built around high pressing, quick transitions, and aggressive counterattacking play, which will be tested in the high-stakes final.

India are without veteran goalkeeper Savita Punia, who is unavailable due to personal reasons, while forward Sangita Kumari was also not included in the squad. As a result, the team will rely heavily on experienced defenders Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam and Nikki Pradhan. Improving penalty-corner defence remains a priority, something captain Salima Tete has emphasised.

The hot and humid conditions in Hyderabad, with temperatures close to 34°C, could also influence the contest. Teams such as Wales reportedly used sauna sessions during the tournament to adapt to the challenging weather.

In the group stage, India were placed in Pool B alongside Scotland, Uruguay, and Wales, while Pool A featured England, South Korea, Italy, and Austria. The top two teams from each pool progressed to the semi-finals.

Across both the Hyderabad and Chile legs of the qualifiers, the top three teams from each tournament, along with the best fourth-placed side overall, secure qualification for the Women’s Hockey World Cup. 
India vs England FIH Women’s Hockey WC 2026 qualifier final live telecast and streaming details 
When will the India vs England final of the FIH Women’s Hockey World Cup Qualifiers 2026 take place?

The India vs England final will be played on Saturday, 14 March, at the G.M.C. Balayogi Hockey Ground in Hyderabad. 
What time will the India vs England final of the FIH Women’s Hockey World Cup Qualifiers 2026 take place?

The India vs England final will be played on Saturday at 7:30 PM IST. 
Where will the live telecast of the FIH Women’s Hockey World Cup Qualifiers be available? 
The live telecast of the FIH Women’s Hockey World Cup Qualifiers will be available on the Star Sports Khel TV channel. 
Where will the live streaming of the FIH Women’s Hockey World Cup Qualifiers be available? 
The live streaming of the FIH Women’s Hockey World Cup Qualifiers will be available on the JioHotstar app and website.  

No. 1 seed St. John’s defeated No. 2 seed UConn 72-52 on Saturday in the Big East Tournament championship game for its second consecutive conference tournament win under coach Rick Pitino. The Red Storm recorded a wire-to-wire win for the third consecutive day.

On the eve of Selection Sunday, St. John’s (28-6) made one final statement to the committee with a convincing victory over UConn (29-5), a team vying for the final No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. 

After struggling in the last matchup against UConn, St. John’s star big man Zuby Ejiofor had a performance to remember. He finished with 18 points, nine rebounds and seven  blocks — which set a record for the most blocks in a Big East title game. The other player who accomplished the feat was Patrick Ewing (Georgetown) in 1984.

Now, UConn and St. John’s will await their seeding on Selection Sunday. The Big East is expected to send three teams to the tournament: UConn, St. John’s and Villanova.

More conference tournament scores, results: ACC | Big 12 | Big Ten | SEC

Get up-to-date results, plus what they mean for the NCAA Tournament bubble and seeding with our CBS Sports Bracketology LIVE BLOG.

2026 Big East Tournament scores, results

First round — Wednesday, March 11
Game 1: No. 9 Providence 91, No. 8 Butler 81 | Recap
Game 2: No. 10 Xavier 89, No. 7 Marquette 87 | Recap
Game 3: No. 11 Georgetown 63, No. 6 DePaul 56 | Recap

Quarterfinals — Thursday, March 12
Game 4: No. 1 St. John’s 85, No. 9 Providence 72 | Recap
Game 5: No. 4 Seton Hall 72, No. 5 Creighton 61 | Recap
Game 6: No. 2 UConn 93, No. 10 Xavier 68 | Recap
Game 7: No. 11 Georgetown 78, No. 3 Villanova 64 | Recap

Semifinals — Friday, March 13
Game 8: No.1 St. John’s 78, No. 4 Seton Hall 68 | Recap
Game 9: No. 2 UConn 67, No. 11 Georgetown 51 | Recap

Big East Tournament Championship Game — Saturday, March 14
Game 10: No.1 St. John’s 72, No. 2 UConn 52 | Recap

“We changed to make the players more dynamic, with Rayan, Jeremy [Doku] and Phil [Foden],” Guardiola told his post-match news conference. “But we could not win the game.

“We could be more aggressive in the first half maybe, but with the creativity, the crosses and dribbles this season, we are struggling. The team, they did everything, but they need to be better in the final third, and it has happened in many games this season.”

Asked about picking Semenyo over Cherki as number 10, he said: “Absolutely, for that role there is no-one better than [Cherki]. That is bad selection, you can criticise me, I deserve it.

“Sometimes for the balance, we are learning. We played Cherki and Haaland – incredible, but we do not have the stability teams in the Premier League must have. I try to handle that, and the team is still growing.

“Rayan’s impact off the bench is unbelievable, but sometimes he does not have the pace so we play Semenyo. I am still finding the best way to have stability and to balance the team.”

Haaland’s form is thrown into sharp focus by the fact he struggled against West Ham, a team against who he has scored 11 Premier League goals – more than any other side.

“It’s not about the lack of goals,” Guardiola said of the Norway striker. “We need to create more. He will be back.”

City cannot win well, and they struggle to win ugly too.

They have only lost once in their past 18 league matches, but during that period they have given up 10 points from winning positions – enough to cost them first place in the current standings.

In games where they were winning, they have drawn with Chelsea, Brighton, Tottenham, Nottingham Forest and now West Ham.

Given the latter came a couple of hours after Arsenal, starring Max Dowman, spectacularly dug out victory over Everton, this one will sting.

Guardiola laughed it off afterwards, saying he had been having a beer pre-match rather than following the Arsenal match with his team, as he served a touchline ban.

He also joked he would look to get more yellow cards as he preferred the view from the stands – and light-heartedly batted away a question on whether Haaland was limping.

It felt like if Guardiola didn’t laugh, he would cry.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola spoke about what next for the team in their Premier League title race with Arsenal

Pep Guardiola insisted his Manchester City team will fight Arsenal with everything they have left in the race for the Premier League title. The Blues dropped points for the second successive match with a 1-1 draw leaving them nine points off top spot with a game in hand.

Arsenal had left it late to beat Everton on Saturday night and broke the deadlock as City were going through their final preparations at West Ham. Bernardo Silva gave City the lead in the capital but some poor defending allowed the home team to level with a corner and Guardiola’s side were unable to get back in front.

City’s manager had suggested on Friday that the race would be over if they did not win at West Ham, but had a new reality after the draw at the London Stadium. As jubilant as Arsenal will be at another excellent day for them, they will go to bed knowing City will not roll over.

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“No. It’s not over. Because we didn’t lose. No, it’s not over. We continue,” Guardiola told TNT Sports. “We have an incredible team, spirit, we fought after an incredible amount of effort in Madrid with the result. How we played the first half with the shape, more control for the quality of players and about the energy in the second half with incredibly talented players. The last two games with Nottingham Forest we played much better, we are an incredible team. We played so good and until the end we continue.

Asked at the end of his interview if the title race was still on, he said: “Now we rest and I don’t know how many days off I will give and prepare Madrid and I ask to our people these guys deserve it. Nine points is a lot against Arsenal but we have a game in hand, we have the game at home (against Arsenal), we have to try it until the end. When it is not possible we congratulate the champion.”

Guardiola was left to rue another display where City hadn’t made the most of the chances they had created while letting in a goal from a rare defensive lapses. The manager thinks a lack of goals has cost them – especially in the second half of the season – as he reeled off a handful of games where they have been punished despite being the better team.

“We didn’t score enough goals when we had the quality to score and they scored and punished us,” he said. “We always had the ability to score a lot of goals – I don’t know how many times we scored five goals in 10 years – and this season we had chances: Sunderland, Brighton at home, Chelsea at home, today, Nottingham Forest.

“Except two games, Arsenal away and United away, we didn’t deserve anything. The rest, we deserved better but we didn’t score enough goals. That punished us this season.”