Man Utd youngster Bendito Mantato made his debut in the Premier League a few months ago, but has now suffered an injury.
09:38, 23 Mar 2026Updated 09:42, 23 Mar 2026
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Manchester United youngster Bendito Mantato is set to miss the rest of the season due to an ankle injury. Mantato suffered the issue after being introduced from the bench for the Under-21s against Chelsea at the start of the month.
The Manchester Evening News understands Mantato is wearing a protective boot and his season is considered to be over, which is a huge blow for the 18-year-old, who will miss out in the FA Youth Cup.
Mantato started against Peterborough, Derby County and Oxford United in the competition’s early rounds, but was forced to watch from the stands when the U18s beat Sunderland in the quarter-finals.
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The U18s face Crystal Palace in the Youth Cup semi-finals. If the youngsters progress, they could play Manchester City in a mini-Manchester derby final at the Etihad.
Mantato is one of the brightest talents in United’s academy. He formerly played at left-back in academy fixtures, but gradually progressed to play predominantly on the right wing, and his style has already led to comparisons with Bukayo Saka, who also started his career as a defender.
Last season, Ruben Amorim included Mantato in the senior matchday squad for home and away legs of the Europa League semi-finals against Athletic Bilbao. Mantato was subsequently included in the United States tour squad, and was handed his first-team debut against Wolves in December.
The academy graduate will target a return from injury in time to be involved in this summer’s pre-season tour squad, which will feature more young players than usual with the World Cup ongoing.
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Mantato has represented England’s Under-16, Under-17 and Under-18 teams in his career.
England’s 2026 World Cup kits
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England and Nike have launched the new home, away and goalkeeper kits to be worn at this summer’s FIFA World Cup. You can get free delivery on all orders with the code: ENGFREEDEL
The 2026 Texas Children’s Houston Open at Memorial Park in Houston, Texas, is the second-to-last PGA Tour event before the 2026 Masters, and the World No. 1 sits on top of the betting favorites. Here is everything you need to know about the Texas Children’s Houston Open odds and other betting favorites to start the week.
Texas Children’s Houston Open betting favorites
Heading into the Texas Children’s Houston Open, Scottie Scheffler is the prohibitive favorite with pre-tournament odds-to-win at +300.
Scheffler is currently ranked 6th in the early-season FedEx Cup standings. He’s also already a winner this year, having triumphed in his first start at the American Express.
But based on his results over the past three tournaments, the long-running World No. 1 seems to be struggling on the course (just don’t tell him that). After starting the year with finishes of 1-T3-T4, Scheffler has followed it up with a stretch of T12-T24-T22, the last coming in his most recent start at the Players Championship.
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With the 2026 Masters now just two weeks away, Scheffler is hoping an event in his home state of Texas will help him dial in his game for a run at his third green jacket.
In a distant second in the Texas Children’s Houston Open odds is Min Woo Lee at +2250 odds-to-win. Sam Burns and Chris Gotterup are next at +2450, followed by Brooks Koepka and Jake Knapp at +2600.
You can see the top 20 and ties in the 2026 Texas Children’s Houston Open betting odds as of Monday morning below, or download the Fanatics Sportsbook app to see the full list of odds and bets for this week.
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Scottie Scheffler (+300) Min Woo Lee (+2250) Sam Burns (+2450) Chris Gotterup (+2450) Jake Knapp (+2600) Brooks Koepka (+2600) Rickie Fowler (+2900) Kurt Kitayama (+3100) Harry Hall (+3500) Ben Griffin (+3600) Nicolai Hojgaard (+3500) Ben Griffin (+3600) Michael Thorbjornsen (+3600) Marco Penge (+3600) Harris English (+3700) Adam Scott (+3800) Shane Lowry (+4300) Keith Mitchell (+4600) Ryan Gerard(+4700) Jason Day (+5000)
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As senior managing producer for GOLF.com, Cunningham edits, writes and publishes stories on GOLF.com, and manages the brand’s e-newsletters, which reach more than 1.4 million subscribers each month. A former two-time intern, he also helps keep GOLF.com humming outside the news-breaking stories and service content provided by our reporters and writers, and works with the tech team in the development of new products and innovative ways to deliver an engaging site to our audience.
Remo Stars and Kano Pillars strengthened their chances of staying in the Nigeria Premier Football League with important victories on matchday 31, easing pressure at the lower end of the table.
In Ikenne, Remo Stars rallied from behind to beat Kwara United 3-1 in a thrilling contest between two teams unexpectedly fighting relegation.
Kwara United took the lead in the 34th minute when Ibrahim Yahaya converted Junior Aimufua’s cross. The home side responded quickly, with Ahmed Akinyele equalising just four minutes later. Kwara had a chance to regain the lead before half-time, but Ini Emmanuel Okon missed a penalty in added time, keeping the scores level at the break.
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Remo Stars took control after the interval, scoring twice in quick succession. Haruna Hadi struck in the 70th minute, and Victor Mbaoma added a third three minutes later to secure the comeback. The win lifted Remo Stars from 19th to 18th with 36 points, while Kwara United fell to the bottom with 33 points.
In Kano, Pillars claimed a 2-0 win over Enyimba, moving further away from the relegation zone. Chiedozie Okorie opened the scoring in the 11th minute, and former Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa doubled the lead just before half-time. The victory moved Pillars up to 14th with 39 points, while Enyimba dropped to 16th, level on points with Wikki Tourist, who occupy 17th place.
Rangers extended their unbeaten run to eight matches with a 2-0 win over El-Kanemi Warriors. Daniel Itodo gave Rangers the lead in the 30th minute, and Godwin Obaje sealed the victory with a second goal in the 80th minute, temporarily moving them to the top of the table ahead of Rivers United’s match at Nasarawa United.
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Elsewhere, Katsina United edged Shooting Stars 1-0, while Plateau United also won 1-0 against Bayelsa United thanks to Farouk Umar’s strike in the 50th minute. Warri Wolves and Bendel Insurance played a goalless draw in a tightly contested match.
In Owerri, Ikorodu City were held to a 2-2 draw by Kun Khalifat after conceding a stoppage-time equaliser. Joseph Arumala cancelled the hosts’ opener before Folarin Temitope put Ikorodu City ahead in the 53rd minute. Kun Khalifat were reduced to 10 men after Olanrewaju Molade was sent off, but Uchechukwu Onuoha scored deep into added time to secure a point. The draw kept Ikorodu City in contention for continental qualification while giving Kun Khalifat a valuable boost in their survival fight.
Matchday 31 concludes today with Niger Tornadoes facing Abia Warriors at Enyimba Stadium, and Rivers United traveling to Lafia City Stadium to face Nasarawa United as they aim to regain early-season form.
Crimson Desert is packed with hidden environmental puzzles that often yield valuable rewards. Two such puzzles can be found in the Mudridge Cabin, located in the swamps near the Unicorn Cliffs in the Pororin Forest region. There are two distinct picture-based puzzles in this cabin; one unlocks a strongbox, and the other opens up the cabin’s interior.
In this guide, we will break down how you can complete both picture puzzles in the Mudridge Cabin.
Crimson Desert: How to find the Mudridge Cabin
The Mudridge Cabin is located to the south of Unicorn Cliffs (Image via Pearl Abyss)
The Mudridge Cabin is located in the swampy region to the southeast of the Unicorn Cliffs, near Hernand.
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The area will be guarded by a few bandits, whom you can easily dispatch using ranged weapons. Make sure to clear it out before exploring. There’s a strongbox on the upper floors, so use the nearby pillars to climb up.
Follow the steps to complete the strongbox picture puzzle of Mudridge Cabin (Image via Pearl Abyss)
The strongbox attached to the wall is locked behind a sliding tile puzzle. The goal is to rearrange these files to form the picture. The puzzle is fairly straightforward, and here are the steps to follow to solve it:
1) Slide the center-right tile down
2) Slide the center tile right
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3) Slide the bottom-center tile up
4) Slide the bottom-left tile right
5) Slide the center-left tile down
6) Slide the center tile left
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7) Slide the bottom-center tile up
Unlocking the strongbox rewards you with the Flower Petal Earring (Image via Pearl Abyss)
The strongbox will unlock upon solving the puzzle. Inside, you will find the Flower Petal Earring, which also acts like a music box. If you have acquired a mask, equip it before looting.
Once you are done with the strongbox, climb down the building to reach the bottom floor and find the locked cabin door. The cabin door is also locked behind a sliding picture puzzle, depicting a car surrounded by foliage. This one is a bit complex and can trip you up.
Here are the steps you can follow to complete the puzzle easily:
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Focus on the cat’s body to guide you in the puzzle (Image via Pearl Abyss)
1) Slide the center-right tile down
2) Slide the center tile right
3) Slide the bottom-center tile up
4) Slide the bottom-right tile left
5) Slide the center-right tile down
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6) Slide the center tile right
Simply follow the steps to complete the door puzzle (Image via Pearl Abyss)
7) Slide the center-left tile right
8) Slide the bottom-left tile up
9) Slide the bottom-center tile left
10) Slide the center tile down
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11) Slide the center-right tile left
12) Slide the bottom-right tile up
The Alchemy Recipe for Meliara’s Lesser Elixir is on top of the tallest stack of books (Image via Pearl Abyss)
The cabin door will open once you solve the puzzle. Inside, you can acquire an Alchemy Recipe for Meliara’s Lesser Elixir, which offers healing benefits; other than that, there is not much to loot inside the cabin.
The recipe reward is enough for you to make a trip to the Mudridge Cabin early in the Crimson Desert, as it comes in handy against bosses later on. The puzzles can be tricky, but if you know how to solve them, then this is a quick upgrade in the game.
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Legendary college basketball coach Bill Self said Sunday he was unsure about his future in the sport after the Kansas Jayhawks lost on a buzzer-beater to St. John’s.
Self said he wasn’t sure if he was going to return for another season. The 63-year-old has won two national championships in 23 seasons with the Jayhawks. But the last few years have been marred due to heart issues and other health conditions.
Kansas head coach Bill Self reacts as the team plays California Baptist during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Friday, March 20, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
“I’ve gone through some stuff off the court, so I’ll get back and get with family and visit and see what’s going on,” Self said. “I love what I do. I need to be able to do it where I’m feeling good and healthy to do it fairly well. I’ll get back home and it will all be discussed.”
Self missed a game at Colorado in January after taking a precautionary trip to the hospital. He also had two stents inserted in his heart in 2023, and two more last year.
When asked about his health on Sunday, Self said he was unsure if he was “completely” healthy.
Kansas head coach Bill Self yells towards the court against St. John’s during the first half of a game in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Sunday, March 22, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
“But I’m feeling — I feel as good as I’ve felt in a long time,” Self added. “I’m not making any statements whatsoever. But every year, I think … when you get to be doing it as long as I’ve done it, I look at it in five-year increments. Now I’m probably looking at it in more two-year increments, so to speak. So I try to focus on this season and try to get us to a second weekend, which we failed at. So I’ll go back now and break it down and see where that leads.”
The 2025-26 season ended with St. John’s guard Dylan Darling hitting a game-winning layup as time expired in the second-round matchup.
“My career ain’t going to be based on one game,” Self said when asked if it would be tough to end his career on such a crushing defeat. “I said I was going to get back and evaluate my health situation.”
Self took over the Jayhawks’ job before the 2003-04 season after three successful years at Illinois. He is 648-166 as Kansas’ head coach. Kansas made the NCAA Tournament in each season. He’s only had five seasons in which he had at least 10 losses.
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Kansas head coach Bill Self motions towards the court during the first half of a game between Kansas and St. John’s in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Sunday, March 22, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
FORT WORTH, Texas — Olivia Miles was getting angry and emotional because she wasn’t ready for her college career to be done. TCU’s playmaking point guard was distraught when a potential winning shot didn’t go in at the end of regulation.
Yet she was resilient, just like the rest of the Horned Frogs, who are going to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the second year in a row.
Miles had 18 points and 10 rebounds while adding some big assists late as third-seeded TCU finally overcame Washington for a 62-59 overtime victory Sunday night.
“I owe it all to my teammates, to be honest. I was crashing out multiple times. I was angry, I was feeling all the emotions because I didn’t want to go home. I don’t want them to let my team down,” Miles said. “It’d be a disservice for me not to be resilient for them, and for myself.”
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Clara Silva had 16 points, with the go-ahead layup to start overtime after tying and tiebreaking baskets late in regulation on passes from Miles, and had eight rebounds. Taylor Bigby scored 15 points for TCU (31-5).
The Horned Frogs had never been to the Sweet 16 before last season, when they got to the Elite Eight. They are headed to Sacramento, where the Big 12 regular-season champions will play Saturday night against second-seeded Iowa or 10th-seeded Virginia, who play their second-round game Monday night in Iowa City.
“That was just a gritty, resilient game,” third-year TCU coach Mark Campbell said. “We were down the whole time, just stayed in the fight. And we grinded that thing out, got it to overtime and then we finally broke loose … Winning in March is so stinking hard.”
TCU won its 44th consecutive home game since February 2024, matching top seed Texas for the NCAA’s longest active streak.
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Sayvia Sellers had 18 points for Washington (22-11), and missed a 3-pointer as time expired in overtime.
After Silva’s layup on the first possession of overtime, she had a steal and then Miles assisted on a 3-pointer by Bigby. TCU had the first seven points of the extra session after Miles drove for a layup.
The Huskies were trying to get to their first Sweet 16 since Kelsey Plum led them there in 2017. Avery Howell, who last season as a freshman went to the Elite Eight last season with Southern Cal, had 14 points, while freshman Brynn McCaughy added 13.
Miles, who had only four points at halftime after a triple-double in the first-round win over UC San Diego, had a shot to win the game in regulation, but her 3-point attempt at the buzzer ricocheted off the back of the rim.
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“Oh yeah, I thought it was going in,” said Miles, the graduate transfer from Notre Dame in her only season for TCU. “My teammates had to calm me down. … I practice that shot a lot.”
TCU took its first lead since the opening minutes of the second quarter when Miles passed to Silva for a layup with 1:39 left in regulation that made it 51-49. Washington got even when McGaughy beat the shot clock with a layup with 14 seconds remaining.
The game was tied for the first time, at 47, when Miles made a nifty pass over her head to Silva with 3:57 left. Miles finished with eight assists.
Washington led 27-19 at halftime after holding the Frogs to six points in the second quarter. It was their lowest-scoring quarter and half this season, after they missed 14 of their last 16 shots before the break.
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Hannah Stines, who finished with 10 points, made a layup with just over 7 minutes left in the second quarter that put the Huskies from the Big Ten ahead 16-15, and they stayed ahead until TCU’s late surge. Then after Miles missed again, Howell hit a 3-pointer from the right wing.
Instead of getting to stay at home to play in the Sweet 16 at Dickies Arena, about three miles from their campus, the Frogs have to travel about 1,700 miles to California for the Sacramento Regional.
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Daniel Robert suffered a serious medical emergency while at the team’s training facility in Florida on Sunday morning.
Robert was at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater when he suffered a cardiac event, according to MLB.com. He was on the pitcher’s mound next to the half-field after he completed his first bullpen session since October.
Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Daniel Robert (48) pitches the ball against the San Francisco Giants during the eighth inning at Oracle Park on July 8, 2025. (Kelley L Cox/Imagn Images)
In October, Robert also had a cardiac event. Doctors inserted an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) near his chest over the winter. The device triggered when he was leaving the mound on Sunday, according to the report.
“I was standing right behind him,” manager Rob Thomson said afterward. “It was scary because he went down, he started to get back up again and he went back down.”
Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Daniel Robert (48) delivers a pitch during the ninth inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on July 25, 2025.(Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images)
Robert was taken to the hospital and was released hours after the incident.
The 31-year-old pitcher was taken in the 21st round of the MLB Amateur Draft in 2017 by the Texas Rangers. He made four appearances for the Rangers in 2024. He had six strikeouts in 5.2 innings.
Robert was traded to the Phillies in April 2025 for minor leaguer Enrique Segura. He made 15 appearances for Philadelphia, striking out 15 batters and allowing seven runs – six earned – in 13 innings.
Texas Rangers pitcher Daniel Robert (57) winds up against the Baltimore Orioles in the seventh inning at Globe Life Field on July 20, 2024.(Tim Heitman/USA TODAY Sports)
The fans want entertaining, pedal to the metal efforts, they want lots of offence, and they cherish close losses.
Ryan Strome has heard the narrative ever since he arrived at the trade deadline, but when asked after Sunday’s win over Tampa why it is important in the room to win with regularity, he came up with an answer every bit as impactful as his overtime winner.
“I’ve been through this before, and it’s really, really hard to snap your fingers and just become a winning hockey team,” said the veteran of over 900 games.
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“So I think if you throw these games away, you don’t compete, you don’t play hard, those habits leak into next year. Then all of a sudden you have a group that’s like, ‘okay, we’ve got to start winning,’ and you don’t have the characteristics. You don’t have those qualities and the leadership and all those things that it takes.”
“Hypothetically it’d be great to have the first-overall pick, and you can guarantee this and that, but it’s a team game, and there’s a lot of guys in here playing for jobs and playing for their life, and that’s important,” he said.
“The team is trying to build a culture and a confidence moving forward, and having been a part of this before, I know that it’s a huge piece of it. So I think the traits that we’re showing now are great things that will bleed into next season.”
The goal, as he crystallized, is to keep the culture strong.
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As undermanned as it is, this team will most certainly lose more games than it’ll win down the stretch run of a season in which the Flames are destined to finish in the bottom five.
Although unable to bottom out enough to fall below the shipwreck long steered into the rocks by a dysfunctional room in Vancouver, they’ll have anywhere between 8.5 per cent and 13.5 per cent chance to win the draft lottery (Vancouver gets a 25 per cent chance).
After catching both the Rangers and Blackhawks with Sunday’s win to sit in a three-way tie for second last (in which the Flames hold the tiebreaker), they’d enter the May 5 lottery with a 9.5 per cent chance to land Gavin McKenna, or whoever is chosen No. 1.
And while many fans cringe with every victory, the leadership of Mikel Backlund, Blake Coleman, Zach Whitecloud, and now Strome, continues to do a good job preserving and growing a culture in which hard work is non-negotiable.
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Just listen to the game’s best coach for further proof the Flames are moving in a healthy direction.
“Listen, Ryan (Huska) does a heck of a job here,” said Jon Cooper, whose Lightning had just been stunned 4-3 by the Flames.
“I like the way they play, their structure. There’s guys who played on other teams who weren’t fits, like Stromer. He is a hell of a player. He was just on a hell of a team in Anaheim.
“The Flames lost some big pieces here, but you get the hunger of some of these young guys that come in and want to make impressions this year, but also next. They’ve got a whole boatload of ’em out there. Good on them, they’re a tough team to play against, and I like what they’re doing.”
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There’s plenty for an undermanned mishmash of young and old to be proud of right now.
The backbone of the team’s win Sunday was Devin Cooley, whose 32-save performance was the difference in a game the Flames led 3-1 midway through.
After being scored on early, the Flames’ first goal came from trade deadline throw-in, Victor Olofsson, followed by a sublime finish from Morgan Frost who seems hell bent on proving over the last dozen games he’s capable of being the team’s first-line centre moving forward.
Backlund’s slapper beat Jonas Johansson high, short-side, before a Darren Raddysh point blast beat Cooley to make things interesting.
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The Flames appeared to go up 4-2 later in the period when a nifty backhand feed from Backlund to Coleman got the crowd on their feet, only to have the goal overturned via offside on a coach’s challenge.
It marked the fourth time in their last three games they’ve been so victimized.
Yet, despite that, and a late tying goal by Pontus Holmberg, the Flames managed to win in overtime, thanks to a brilliant play and centring pass by 19-year-old Matvei Gridin to Strome, who buried it.
A perfect illustration of how young and old are collaborating already.
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“For a young guy to have that poise, to hold on to it in overtime and make a nice little slip play is impressive,” said Strome, 32.
“He’s got a lot of great tools. And you know, a lot of these young guys, you give them a little more open ice in three-on-three, they can make good plays. Backs won the (opening) face off, did his job (was replaced by Gridin), and Grids just put it on a platter for me.
“With these young guys, I think winning is important. To have some confidence and to keep pushing forward here to the end of the year.”
The evening started with a focus on 23-year-old college signing Tyson Gross making his NHL debut in front of a Saddledome crowd he spent his youth sitting in.
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It ended with a 19-year-old making the play of the night, capping a collaborative effort the whole team could feel good about.
Those in attendance got their money’s worth, and the bold new direction the Flames have embarked on includes a healthy approach in which wins are coveted. They should be, as there won’t be too many of them for the next little while.
Mar 22, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty (8) skates with the puck against Utah Mammoth center Nick Schmaltz (8) and left wing Lawson Crouse (67) during the second period at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images
Nick Schmaltz scored his second goal of the game 1:46 into overtime and the Utah Mammoth beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 on Sunday night in Salt Lake City.
Schmaltz entered the zone 2-on-1, kept the puck and beat Darcy Kuemper with a wrist shot.
Lawson Crouse had two goals and an assist for the Mammoth (37-28-6, 80 points), who have won three of four and hold the first wild-card spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. Kevin Stenlund had two assists, and Karel Vejmelka made 33 saves.
Quinton Byfield had a goal and an assist for the Kings (28-25-17, 73 points), who have lost three straight and trail the Nashville Predators by two points for the second wild-card spot in the playoffs from the West. Darcy Kuemper made 30 saves.
The Kings’ Artemi Panarin tied it 3-3 at 16:30 of the third period, scoring in his third straight game. He entered the zone on the rush, briefly lost the puck but recovered it and sent a shot on net from a sharp angle along the right boards and it snuck under Vejmelka’s left pad.
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Crouse gave Utah a 1-0 lead at 7:04 of the first period. John Marino stole the puck from Sam Helenius, skated behind the goal and fed in front to Crouse, who scored on a quick wrist shot from the low slot.
Alex Laferriere tied the game 1-1 just 36 seconds later when he entered the zone 2-on-1, kept the puck and scored on a snap shot from the right circle.
Crouse put Utah up 2-1 at 9:19 when he got a pass at the bottom of the left circle and chipped it up, off Kuemper and into the top of the net.
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Byfield tied it 28 seconds later. Vejmelka made a save on Brandt Clarke’s long shot but couldn’t control the rebound. The goalie poked the puck away, but Byfield got to it and scored from the left circle.
The second period was scoreless until Schmaltz batted in his own rebound at 16:11 after winning a puck battle in front to give the Mammoth a 3-2 lead.
Olympic champion Hodgkinson secured her first world title with a dominant performance in her favoured event in Torun, before joining an unconventional British quartet to compete in the relay.
With the British squad short of 400m runners, Hodgkinson and sprinter Dina Asher-Smith stepped in alongside Tess McHugh and Louisa Stoney to record a fifth placed finish in the relay.
Asher-Smith, a 60m finalist, produced a strong time of 51.29sec for her leg before Hodgkinson, not a noted 400m runner, clocked the fastest split of the race clocked the fastest split of the race (50.10sec) in a sign of her excellent form.
Hodgkinson blasted away to clock 23.4sec through 200 metres, a time that left even her taken aback.
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“Sometimes I surprise myself,” the 24-year-old posted on X, formerly Twitter.
The women’s 4x400m relay was won by the United States, their sixth success in the last nine editions of the World Indoors. The Netherlands brought home the baton for silver, with the Spanish quartet pipping Poland to bronze in the final event of the championships.
Pep Guardiola may have added a more cerebral dimension to football management but he had a confession. “I’m not yet artificial intelligence,” said the Manchester City manager. “I’m a human being and I can celebrate.” For Guardiola, the emotion of a Carabao Cup final win was apparent in his own booking for running out of his technical area. Given Guardiola’s unpredictability, replicating his thought process might be beyond even AI.
For the Catalan, defeating Arsenal at Wembley was the sort of result that was rooted in the unexpected element of football. “Not even me gave £1 for the victory today,” he said.
Guardiola has had many a triumph over the years, but few against the odds. He has tended to win with the favourites. His previous two finals at Wembley were upsets because City lost, to Manchester United and Crystal Palace in consecutive FA Cup showpieces. This time he was on the right end of a shock.
Pep Guardiola and his daughter Maria celebrated victory on the Wembley pitch (AFP via Getty Images)
For much of his time in Manchester, there was the automatic assumption that whichever piece of silverware he had just collected would lead to more, often swiftly. Now it is not as clear.
Guardiola has his default answer, that he has one year left on his contract. Arsenal’s six-year trophy drought – Community Shields apart – underlines that most sides, even good ones, can find it difficult to collect any medals; in part, of course, because Guardiola’s charges often hoover them up.
Now there is the question if this is the end of something or a new beginning. Guardiola’s greatest rival, Jurgen Klopp, bowed out with a Carabao Cup that meant more to him because it was earned in improbable fashion.
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Jurgen Klopp’s final Carabao Cup with Liverpool was extra special (Getty Images)
There could be another comparison; except that, as Klopp would no doubt point out, Guardiola has won much more than him. One theory is that he would want to bid farewell with one of the big two trophies, and City are already out of the Champions League and nine points adrift of Arsenal in the Premier League.
But there are times when Guardiola seems genuinely excited by the potential of the third team he is fashioning. He believes they are not far off, and that sense may give him greater reasons to stay. “The team has something underneath that I can smell that they can flourish and winning helps to anticipate the process a little bit,” he rationalised.
Whether it is a side that will stay together and win together is another matter. As he stood at the end of the Wembley balcony, looking reflective as he watched his players bounce around in delight, the chances are he derived particular pleasure from seeing Bernardo Silva lift a first trophy as captain. Maybe a last, too, given that the Portuguese is out of contract in the summer and also deflects queries about his future.
Guardiola has plenty to ponder after his latest Carabao Cup triumph (Reuters)
Then, for different reasons, there are two of those Guardiola singled out for praise. Nathan Ake was parachuted in when Ruben Dias was hamstrung but one of Guardiola’s most solid citizens is probably fifth-choice centre-back now. The future has arrived; indeed, when it is Abdukodir Khusanov, his ally in a partnership of old and young, who does everything at startling speed.
Meanwhile, James Trafford’s early triple save meant the opening when Arsenal, in Guardiola’s words, “suffocated” City brought no breakthrough. Trafford returned to the Etihad Stadium last summer, little expecting City to buy Gianluigi Donnarumma two months later. At least the second-choice goalkeeper has some silverware banked from his second spell at the club but he will surely will be gone soon; he is too good to spend another season on the bench.
The rebuilding job is advanced in some areas, incomplete in others, perhaps complicated by probable departures in still more. At some stage, City may actually sign a right-back, though Matheus Nunes has a Wembley assist to show for his afternoon. Whether Nico O’Reilly will be a left-back in the long term remains to be seen; for now, anyway, he has the enviable tag of cup final hero.
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Of the 13 arrivals in the last three transfer windows, Rayan Cherki and Khusanov may prove the two best. The Frenchman looked a high-class No 10 at Wembley, just as Arsenal, in the absence of Martin Odegaard and Eberechi Eze, lacked one. Guardiola has spent plenty but Cherki, at £31m, is a bargain.
Rayan Cherki could prove to be Guardiola’s best recent signing (Action Images via Reuters)
Whether the Wembley way is Guardiola’s new blueprint, with two fast wingers, in Jeremy Doku and Antoine Semenyo, remains to be seen. There are times when, unusually for a Guardiola side, they look undermanned in midfield; it was one of their problems in the Bernabeu.
It would help if Rodri were to return to the dominant form he displayed before his cruciate ligament injury. It is far from certain he will. It is a safer bet Erling Haaland, after just five goals in 20 games, will become prolific again.
They could be fulcrums of a third great Guardiola side; or there may not be one. This might be the platform for more or a one-off win for a team in transition. Like much else at City, it comes back to the issue if Guardiola will stay or go. And if it is the latter, AI can’t replace him.
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