Manchester City fans on social media have called out Ruben Dias despite their 5-3 win over Sunderland on Sunday, September 20. The defender nearly scored an own goal and looked shaky in defence against Sunderland.
Enzo Fernandez gave the hosts an early lead after scoring a brilliant free kick from a difficult angle in the ninth minute. Three minutes later, Brian Brobbey finished from close range to level the scores.
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Rayan Cherki produced a decent finish from inside the box to give Manchester City the lead in the 29th minute. Four minutes later, Brobbey scored to make the score 2-2.
In the 43rd minute, Antoine Semenyo rifled the ball into the back of the net to make the score 3-2, and Semenyo also extended the hosts’ lead before the hour mark. Brobbey went on to reduce Sunderland’s deficit, but another from Haaland sealed a 5-3 win for the hosts. Meanwhile, Dias’s performance was a subject of discussion after registering an abysmal shift in defense.
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The defender failed to make a defensive interception, won three out of seven ground duels, and lost the ball four times (via Sofascore). Fans took to X to complain about Dias’s performance against Sunderland after the game, with one tweeting:
“Ruben Dias. Thank you. But it’s time to become an assistant coach.”
Other fans posted:
“It’s better to have three points more than less” – Enzo Maresca on Manchester City’s lead in the Premier League standings
Manchester City v Sunderland – Premier League 2026/27 – Source: Getty
Enzo Maresca revealed that it is better to be three points ahead of rival Premier League teams than to be three points behind in the title race. The Citizens manager added that it is too early to talk about the title race.
Maresca responded to a question regarding his side overtaking Arsenal in the Premier League standings following their 5-3 win over Sunderland. He said (via City Xtra on X):
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“It’s better to have three points more than less – no doubt. But at the same time, we know that it’s quite early…”
Manchester City have registered a perfect start to their Premier League campaign after winning their first five games. The Citizens (15) are also three points ahead of second-placed Arsenal (12) in the standings.
Atletico Madrid won the first capital derby of the season in the Spanish league with a 2-1 win against 10-man Real Madrid, while Manchester City prevailed in an eight-goal thriller against Sunderland to move clear at the top of the Premier League. Alejandro Grimaldo and Jonathan David scored second-half goals for Atletico, which moved to second place behind Barcelona. Man City beat Sunderland 5-3 to open a three-point lead over defending champion Arsenal in England. Atletico scored twice in the second half to beat its city rival, which played a man down nearly the entire second half at the Metropolitano stadium. Dean Huijsen was sent off in the 52nd for a foul that prompted the penalty kick converted by Grimaldo.
David added to the lead in the 59th, before Antonio Rudiger scored for Madrid in the 89th.
Madrid wanted a red card for Atletico’s Cristian “Cuti” Romero in the first half after he stepped on the leg of Jude Bellingham. The play was reviewed by the VAR but Romero was only shown a yellow card.
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The result moved Atletico within five points of Barcelona, which won 3-1 at Sevilla on Saturday with a hat trick by Raphinha.
Real Madrid dropped to third. It’s six points behind Baracelona, which has won seven in a row to start the season.
Vinicius Junior had a lackluster performance and was substituted in the 54th by Yan Diomande.
Man City extended its perfect winning start to the season to five games after City twice relinquished the lead and Sunderland striker Brian Brobbey outshone Erling Haaland with a hat trick.
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Haaland eventually ended the visitors’ brave fight with City’s fifth goal in the 81st minute.
Alexander Isak scored his fourth goal of the season as Liverpool beat Bournemouth 1-0, and Leeds drew 0-0 with Crystal Palace.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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NEW DELHI: Alan Curr has stopped counting how many hats he’s worn this week.
On Sunday morning, with a typhoon on the horizon, the Japan Cricket Association (JCA) COO pulled covers off the wicket. Later, he was putting up hospitality tents, checking security plans and helping transform a quaint cricket ground with 500 permanent seats into a venue worthy of hosting the reigning T20I world champions. By Tuesday, weather permitting, India will walk out against Japan in the country’s first-ever men’s senior international against a Full Member.
For Japanese cricket, getting here is success in itself and the scoreline almost secondary.
“A lot of success has almost already happened,” Curr says. “The fact that India have agreed to come, the fact that I’m sitting here talking to you guys, the fact that Japanese media are coming to learn about cricket — we’re having successes already,” he told select media.
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Cricket is not new to Japan, having been introduced in the 1870s. But adaptation is a different story. Baseball, Football, Sumo Wrestling, Basketball, Golf, Tennis, Boxing are some sports that are bigger. India’s arrival represents cricket’s loudest introduction in recent memory.
More than just another T20I match
Japan has played in Under-19 World Cups, faced India and Pakistan at youth level and competed in the Asian Games with its women’s team. But this is different gravy.
“It certainly helps to say that the reigning world champions, the No. 1 ranked team in the world, are coming to Japan,” Curr says. “It’s piquing interest, but we’ve still got a long way to go before cricket breaks into the mainstream sporting audience.”
That mainstream audience is precisely what the JCA hopes to reach. The timing is ideal: cricket returns to the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya just days later, allowing Japan to explain the sport through one of the country’s most recognisable sporting events.
“The Asian Games gives cricket legitimacy that it didn’t have before,” Curr says. “You can’t be what you can’t see.”
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Cricket’s quiet, but slow, growth in Japan
Behind the scenes, cricket has been expanding steadily in Japan. Registered players have risen from around 3,000 when Curr arrived in 2014 to 8,800 today. The Japan Cup — the T20 competition in the country — has grown from barely a dozen teams to more than 80, while the domestic 40-over league now spans four divisions.
“Kaizen is the word,” Curr says. “Continual improvement. That’s what we’re trying to do for the sport. But now and again there are moments like this where you can accelerate that,” he added.
Winning hearts and viewers, not necessarily the match
Japan harbour no illusions about the cricketing challenge ahead. “This India team is pretty good,” Curr said as a matter of fact. “It’s going to be an extremely difficult challenge for players who have never played at that level before.”
Instead, his measure of success is cultural.
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He points to Japan’s women’s team, praised recently for staying back after their Asian Games fixture against India to thank supporters and mingle with fans. That’s the identity he wants the men’s side to showcase too.
“We want cricket to be played hard but also be accessible and friendly,” he says. “We want cricket to be fun.”
If thousands of first-time spectators leave Sano remembering more than just India’s star power, Japanese cricket may have achieved exactly what it came for.
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How India fixture came into being
The historic fixture was never part of Japan’s grand plan to expand the sport. It began with clay.
Eighteen months ago, the JCA set out to relay the turf square at Sano with help from Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), whose groundsman travelled to Japan to identify suitable clay. The same surface was eventually used to build the Asian Games venue in Nagoya, prompting a simple thought: if Japan had international-quality wickets, why not invite the world’s best teams to use them?
Once the pitches were completed in March, Japan prepared a proposal and sent it to every Full Member ahead of the ICC conference in Edinburgh. Conversations with the BCCI began there — and, to Curr’s surprise, moved quickly.
“The BCCI were really keen to have an opportunity to train. It’s huge credit to them that they’re excited about coming here and building this relationship with the JCA,” he said.
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The timing made sense. With the Asian Games beginning days later, India men’s squad would otherwise spend nearly a week waiting for their knockout fixture without access to proper cricket facilities. Sano offered both a training base and, eventually, a match. Again, with fingers crossed that the weather doesn’t play spoilsport.
India vs Japan T20I will be broadcast LIVE on FanCode on September 22 at 9:30 am IST.
OXFORD, Miss. — Maybe LSU can focus solely on football for a while.
The Tigers certainly hope so.
Because the first three weeks of “football” have been complicated by all kinds of non-football stuff. It all came to a climax Saturday night with a 32-24 loss to Ole Miss.
The game was preceded by a week-long buildup to Tigers head coach Lane Kiffin’s long-anticipated return to the place that he all but promised he’d never depart and then left less than 10 months ago as the Rebels team he built was heading to the CFP for the first time.
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The battle between Kiffin’s current No. 7 team and his No. 8 former team was secondary to Kiffin’s return, just as the aftermath of LSU’s dominant 51-10 victory against Clemson two weeks earlier in its opener was complicated by the SEC’s flirtation with kicking the Tigers out of the conference because Kiffin was flirting with adding to his roster a couple of players who had gone to training camp with NFL teams before being released and enrolling at LSU.
The game Saturday was destined to be the most hyped game in recent memory as soon as the SEC released its schedule.
But the hype has been growing in recent weeks, partly because the two recruits in question that Kiffin brought in were former Rebels and partly because Ole Miss served another former Rebel, defensive end Princewill Umanmielen, with court papers related to the school’s lawsuit against him as the player was leaving the Tigers’ practice facility a few days ago.
Then LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt showed up on the Wednesday practice report out of the blue and was listed as doubtful before being upgraded to questionable on Thursday then removed from the list Friday and playing the entire game Saturday, all of which led to speculation that Kiffin was exaggerating if not fabricating any uncertainty about the quarterback’s availability.
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Leavitt certainly played like a quarterback who was less than 100 percent as Ole Miss rolled to a 24-7 halftime lead, though he led a 17-0 second-half blitz before the Rebels took the lead back in the fourth quarter and the Tigers’ final drive ended when Leavitt was intercepted on a fourth-and-goal pass in the end zone in the final minute.
LSU shouldn’t fall more than a spot or two in the AP poll and it still controls its CFP hopes – if it can successfully navigate a remaining schedule that includes four teams that were ranked going into Saturday and games against Kentucky and Mississippi State that seem trickier than they did when the schedule was released.
That’s a lot of football that shouldn’t feature Kiffin complications – with the exception of the visit to Tennessee, where folks were no happier about Kiffin leaving after one season to coach USC than the folks in Oxford were about the coach leaving last December after six seasons.
But there is always time for new Kiffin stuff to develop along the way.
To be clear, the Vikings’ playoff outlook is still in its infancy. What’s nevertheless true: a win in September counts just as much as a win in December.
Minnesota will therefore be counting ’em up with the aim of having enough to qualify for the tournament to end the NFL season. At 1-0 and on the way to tango with the 1-0 Bears, the Vikings are looking to put the division on notice that they’re for real in 2026. Climbing up to first in the division at 2-0 would be an early statement.
The Vikings’ Playoff Outlook | So You’re Saying There’s a Chance
Vikings Game Info:
Nov 16, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) under center for a snap during the second quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
The Vikings will travel to Chicago for a Sunday, September 20th game. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. CT.
NFC Conference Rankings:
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San Francisco 49ers: 1-0
Seattle Seahawks: 1-0
Minnesota Vikings: 1-0
Chicago Bears: 1-0
Arizona Cardinals: 1-0
Philadelphia Eagles: 1-0
New York Giants: 1-0
Detroit Lions: 1-1
Green Bay Packers: 0-1
Atlanta Falcons: 0-1
New Orleans Saints: 0-1
Carolina Panthers: 0-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 0-1
Dallas Cowboys: 0-1
Washington Commanders: 0-1
Los Angeles Rams: 0-1
1 Game to Watch:
Nov 2, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Les Snead, general manager of the Los Angeles Rams shakes the hand of quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) following a game against the New Orleans Saints at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Keep an eye on the Giants and Rams on Monday Night Football. After a pile of hype, Los Angeles stunk in Australia. Part of the issue was edge rusher Myles Garrett playing poorly; he’s now injured and unavailable. Aaron Donald seems likely to make his return. Can LA figure things out? I won’t bet against them.
The NFL Prophets, Prognosticators, and Pundits:
Nov 16, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) greets Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison (3) following a game at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images
Benjamin Solak predicts that the game will make for good viewing: “There isn’t a more fun schematic matchup in the entire league than Johnson versus Flores. This is Round 7 of their showdown. With a bad Bears defense on the other side of the ball, there should be explosive plays everywhere.”
Indian men’s hockey team at the Asian Games (Photo/ Hockey India)
The Indian men’s and women’s hockey teams wore saffron jerseys in their respective opening matches at the Asian Games on Sunday, despite Hockey India’s pre-event announcement that the teams would return to their traditional blue kits.Both teams wore saffron in their opening matches against Indonesia and Uzbekistan respectively in Kakamilgahara, Japan.The decision comes after the Indian teams, both men and women, had also worn saffron during last month’s World Cup in Belgium and the Netherlands, which led to a controversy within Hockey India.Indian hockey teams have largely worn blue jerseys since the country’s Olympic debut in 1928, apart from a few isolated occasions.Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey had earlier said that the change in jersey colour was made without the knowledge or approval of the federation’s elected leadership and Executive Board. The issue later led to a dispute within the federation, with Tirkey at odds with HI secretary Bhola Nath Singh, who was seen as having pushed for the change in kit colour.However, shortly after the World Cup and ahead of the Asian Games, Tirkey had said that India would return to its blue jersey as the primary kit for the continental event, with white as the other option.“The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) had given us options regarding the team kit colours and Hockey India selected blue as the first choice for the Indian team’s kit. Orange will be the second choice,” Tirkey had said during the send-off ceremony of the Indian contingent for the Asian Games.The teams, however, wore saffron in their opening matches on Sunday.The secondary kits would also not be completely blue, a Hockey India source was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. According to the PTI-quoted source, India will have a combination of white and blue as well as the saffron kit.“The two colours for the Indian teams’ playing kits for the Asian Games 2026 were always saffron and the combination of white and sky blue, which was approved by the HI president himself.”“As to why the president then said that India will wear all-blue at the Asian Games is something you need to ask the president himself,” the HI source told PTI.The change in jersey colour was initially explained on the grounds that blue jerseys against a blue turf created visibility problems.
India’s shooting campaign at the Asian Games got off to a flying start on Sunday as Sonam Uttam Maskar, Elavenil Valarivan and Vidarsa Vinod combined to win the silver medal in the women’s 10m air rifle team event, giving the country its first medal from the shooting ranges.
The Indian trio produced a strong collective performance to finish second with an aggregate score of 1898.0, behind a dominant Chinese team that shattered the qualification world record with 1904.2 points. China bettered its own previous mark of 1902.0, set at the Asian Championships in Shymkent in August last year, a record that had also stood as the Asian record.
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There was little to separate India and hosts Japan in the battle for the remaining medals, but the Indians held their nerves when it mattered. Japan finished third with 1897.1, just 0.9 points adrift of India, after a tense contest for the silver.
The team medals are decided on the basis of the qualification scores of the three shooters, with the aggregate determining the final standings.
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Sonam, who finished third in qualification, led India with an impressive 634.1. Olympian Elavenil, competing in her third Asian Games, added 633.5 to finish seventh, while Vidarsa, making her Asian Games debut, shot 630.4 to be placed 12th.
MMA fighter Suchika Tariyal was the first Indian athlete to assure a medal, reaching the women’s Traditional MMA 60kg semifinals.
Although Vidarsa missed out on the individual final, her contribution proved crucial in India’s silver-medal finish.
“Yes, it’s a great achievement. It’s another thing that I could not qualify for the final, but the team silver has given us a good start,” Vidarsa said after the event.
The 27-year-old from Kerala also showed considerable composure on a major international stage, insisting that the occasion did not overwhelm her.
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“I was not nervous. I was confident and just focused on my shooting,” she said.
Vidarsa’s performance was all the more creditable given that she had taken up the 10m air rifle event only two months ago. Her principal discipline is the 50m rifle 3-positions event, but she adapted quickly to the demands of air rifle and delivered a score that helped India stay ahead of Japan in a fiercely contested team battle.
“I am definitely confident that I will do much better in 50m 3-positions as it is my main event,” she said.
The day also brought individual final berths for Sonam and Elavenil, giving India another opportunity to add to its medal tally later on Sunday.
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Sonam’s third-place finish in qualification and Elavenil’s seventh-place showing put both Indians inside the eight-shooter final, raising hopes of another medal from the event.
China, meanwhile, underlined its strength in the discipline. Teenager Wang Zifei, a junior world champion, topped qualification with a stunning 638.8, setting a new qualification Asian record in the process. Han Jiyan also made the final after scoring 633.8 to finish fifth.
China had three shooters inside the qualification positions for the final, but with only two athletes from each country allowed to compete in the individual medal round, its third shooter missed out.
For India, the opening-day silver provides an encouraging start to the shooting campaign carrying significant expectations. The Indian shooters had produced a record haul of 22 medals — seven gold, nine silver and six bronze — at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, and the team will be looking to build on that performance in Aichi-Nagoya.
CLEMSON, S.C. — Bill Belichick called it earlier in the week before UNC football made its way down to Death Valley for the ACC opener against Clemson.
“The big thing with Clemson is going to be tackling,” Belichick said during his preview of the Tigers, adding that “tackling will be really important for us.”
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It proved prophetic Saturday, Sept. 20.
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Missed tackles in a flat second-half showing contributed to the Tar Heels’ 28-20 loss against the Tigers, who rallied from an early two-touchdown deficit to prevent UNC from celebrating at Memorial Stadium for the first time since 2001.
“Obviously, disappointing end. Proud of the way our players competed and Clemson’s a good football team. In the end, they made a few more plays than we did,” Belichick said.
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“In the last eight minutes of the game, we missed a couple opportunities on offense, missed tackles on defense. … Disappointing end. Just gotta keep working and getting better, which we are. Really not too much to say.”
The Tar Heels (2-1, 0-1 ACC) controlled the game in a first half that included a butt fumble and boos from Clemson fans, but the Tigers (2-1, 1-0) got going just before halftime with an 88-yard drive that sparked the shift.
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The energy was even more noticeable after a 2 ½-hour weather delay.
“I don’t think we had enough energy. … We just came out kind of flat,” McDonald said of the restart.
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Clemson racked up 284 yards and three TDs in the second half, including two scores in the final 4 ½ minutes to complete the rally.
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“We just didn’t play with great fundamentals the rest of the game,” McDonald said. “We just need to finish tackles.”
Six of Clemson’s seven explosive plays — defined as runs of at least 10 yards or passes of a least 20 yards — came in the second half, including two during the decisive final minutes following the delay.
UNC allowed 115 yards after the catch and missed a season-high 15 tackles. Five players were charged with multiple missed tackles. According to Pro Football Focus, the Tar Heels received a tackling grade of 50.4, its lowest mark of the season and its worst since producing a 32.2 grade in last year’s lopsided loss to Clemson in Chapel hill.
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McDonald pointed to a “lack of fundamentals” and “just us not finishing it” at crucial points in Death Valley.
“We have good play calls, we have good players,” he said. “We just have to execute.”
The performance marked a sharp contrast from the Tar Heels’ first two games, during which they allowed 13 points and held opponents scoreless for a stretch that reached nine consecutive quarters before the collapse at Clemson.
Now, it’s back to the drawing board for a defense that wasn’t at its best against a vulnerable offense led by a freshman quarterback.
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“Obviously, we’re disappointed,” McDonald said. “Losing is the worst thing, but we have a lot to look at and we have a lot to get better at. Get better this week and get ready for Notre Dame.”
Rodd Baxley covers North Carolina Tar Heels athletics for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding UNC? Send them to rbaxley@usatodayco.com.
MANCHESTER, England — No Pep Guardiola. No problem.
Not yet anyway for Manchester City after moving clear at the top of the Premier League on Sunday with a 5-3 win over Sunderland.
New coach Enzo Maresca extended his perfect winning start to the season to five games and goes into the international break three points ahead of defending champion Arsenal in second place.
But that doesn’t tell half the story of a chaotic match at the Etihad Stadium that saw City twice squander the lead and Sunderland striker Brian Brobbey outshine Erling Haaland with a hat trick.
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Eventually it was Haaland who ended the visitors’ brave fight with City’s fifth goal in the 81st minute.
Alexander Isak scored his fourth goal of the season as Liverpool beat Bournemouth 1-0, and Leeds drew 0-0 with Crystal Palace.
Maresca’s 100% record continues after taking on arguably the most daunting task in soccer when stepping into Guardiola’s shoes over the summer. Charged with the responsibility of continuing City’s unprecedented era of success, which included six league titles and the Champions League among 17 major trophies, he has made the best possible start in terms of results.
But City will likely have to tighten up defensively if it is to end a two-year title drought.
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Sunderland repeatedly cut City open, scoring three goals and creating numerous chances to add more.
City twice squandered leads in the first half before going in at the break 3-2 up.
Enzo Fernandez opened the scoring in the ninth minute with a free kick that curled into the near post, but Brobbey got in behind City’s defence to quickly level.
Rayan Cherki restored the home team’s advantage with a low effort from inside the area before Brobbey equalized for a second time as Sunderland again took advantage of slack City defending.
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Antoine Semenyo drilled a low shot past Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs shortly before halftime and lashed home his second in the 57th to give City breathing room.
Brobbey completed his hat trick by forcing the ball over the line from close range and Ruben Dias had to clear off the line to avoid the game being leveled again with an own-goal.
Haaland’s seventh goal in his last five games avoided a tense finish.
The 2026 MLB playoff field will be set in exactly a week, and five teams have now punched their tickets to the postseason. The Brewers, Rays, Yankees, Dodgers and Braves have secured five of the 12 playoff spots, and the Red Sox are set to be the next team to join them.
In the National League, the Brewers and Dodgers have both clinched division titles, and Milwaukee has the inside track to securing the NL’s No. 1 seed. The Braves are closing in on the NL East title, while the Cubs, Phillies and Padres are in strong position to earn wild-card spots as the Diamondbacks fade in the standings. That race heads into Sunday with the Cubs and Padres, the league’s hottest team, tied for the top spot and leading the Phillies by a single game. The Cubs, thanks to a strong record against the Phillies and Padres this year, own the tiebreaker and are currently hanging onto the No. 4 seed, which comes with home-field advantage in the first round. The Padres, meanwhile, have been on an impressive run since Labor Day Weekend.
The division races are more intriguing in the American League. The Guardians have pulled ahead of the White Sox in the AL Central, at least for the moment. The Rangers enter Sunday with a narrow lead over the Astros in the AL West, while the Mariners appear to have run out of steam. The Rays, meanwhile, have opened a five-game lead on the Yankees in the AL East and appear headed to their first division crown since 2021, while the Yankees — who placed Aaron Judge on the injured list again this weekend — and Red Sox appear headed to a meeting in the Wild Card Series.
Now, let’s get you caught up on the bracket, standings, clinching scenarios and more. All division and postseason projections referenced in the standings come from SportsLine.
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