The legspinner has battled injuries and illness to thump life into Australia’s World Cup campaign
ESPNcricinfo staff20-Oct-20231:11
Pujara: Zampa’s flatter trajectory made the difference
Adam Zampa has had to deal with back, neck, shoulder, and glute complaints – and even illness – in this World Cup, but he has overcome them to revive Australia’s campaign. After taking 4 for 47 against Sri Lanka in Lucknow, the legspinner bagged another four-wicket haul against Pakistan in Bengaluru on Friday, to help Australia secure their second successive victory. This, after they had started the tournament with back-to-back losses.Australia captain Pat Cummins was pleased with Zampa’s latest effort, which helped his side defend 367 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, which often spooks bowlers with its small dimensions and easy-paced pitch. Zampa claimed the key wickets of both captain Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, the highest run-getter in the tournament so far, to kill off the chase.”Yeah, Lazarus [Adam Zampa] has been awesome,” Cummins told at the post-match presentation. “He’s been in the bed for the last week or two. He was fantastic, and he just showed his class. He’s a real wicket-taker in the middle. Babar Azam and Iftikhar [Ahmed] at the end when he was going – two big wickets.”Related
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Marcus Stoinis, Zampa’s close friend and team-mate, felt that this was Zampa’s best spell in this World Cup. “I’m very happy for Lazarus (laughs). He’s had a flu, he’s had a sore back, he’s had a bad neck and he’s had a bad glute,” Stoinis said. “But he’s been bowling really well. This game was the best he has bowled, I reckon. So, he will rest up today and come strong tomorrow.”Zampa – and Australia – will have a four-day break before they face Netherlands in Delhi.Cummins also credited David Warner and Mitchell Marsh for setting up Australia’s victory on Friday with a 259-run opening stand. Both batters scored century and at one point Warner even threatened to convert it into a double-hundred. Pakistan’s bowlers then clawed their way back in the slog overs, but the openers had already inflicted severe damage on their attack by then.”Yeah, that was a great win,” Cummins said. “Pretty tough playing here at Chinnaswamy, but good to get a win. Yeah, that was proper from those two [David Warner and Mitchell Marsh]. That kind of set the tone for how we want to play our cricket: take the game on. Eighty-odd in the powerplay was fantastic and I can’t ask for any more. That [batting through] in ODI cricket is key and it can look easy at times and hard to get the breakthrough. You just need one breakthrough and the next guy suddenly looks a bit different. So, it was great.”Just five days ago, Australia were rooted to the bottom of the points table. They’ve now climbed up into the top four and are looking like serious contenders for the title once again.
Chelsea have confirmed the signing of Borussia Dortmund star Jamie Gittens after the winger was seen on the pitch following their win over Pameiras.
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Chelsea sign Gittens for £55mSpotted on pitch after win over PalmeirasWinger excited by transferFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Moments after Chelsea beat Palmeiras 2-1 in the Club World Cup quarter-finals on Saturday, the 20-year-old was seen with his new team-mates at Lincoln Financial Field. Now, the Blues have announced the England Under-21 star's arrival, for a reported £55 million ($75m) deal.
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Chelsea confirmed the former Manchester City academy player had joined on a seven-year deal until 2032.
On the move, he told the club's website: "It feels great. It’s a great feeling to join such a big club as Chelsea. I can’t wait to learn from everyone in the team and to push myself to the max here. It’s an amazing feeling."
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Gittens is seen as one of Europe's most exciting young wingers after providing 17 goal contributions for Dortmund last season. The speedy wideman adds more quality and strength in depth for Enzo Maresca's side, who are hoping to kick on from finishing fourth in the Premier League in 2024/25 and winning the Europa Conference League. Incidentally, his arrival could pave the way for Arsenal-linked Noni Madueke to move on.
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WHAT NEXT?
Gittens, who had already joined up with Chelsea's squad in the United States for their Club World Cup campaign, will hope his new team can win their next match against Fluminense in the semi-finals of the competition on Tuesday.
Qualified accountant had served in role since 2018 having joined board in 2014
ESPNcricinfo staff12-Dec-2023Fanos Hira has retired as chair of Worcestershire and stepped down from the board after nine years at the county.Hira’s involvement at New Road initially began as part of a subgroup of the board in 2014, and the main board in 2016 before becoming chair in 2018. Having replaced Stephen Taylor in the role after Worcestershire secured the T20 Blast title, he oversaw further on-field success as the club finished runners-up in the same competition in 2019 before earning promotion back to Division One last season. Hira was also an observer on the ECB board.As a qualified accountant, Hira used his expertise to produce a comprehensive report on the ECB’s finances, finding projections made in Deloitte’s assessment of the Hundred back in 2016 optimistic. The report, compiled with the help of new ECB chair Richard Thompson, claimed the competition, which began in 2021, had made a loss of £9million in its first two years.Hira has also advocated for transfer fees being introduced in county cricket to remunerate clubs that nurture and produce talent only to have them picked off by bigger teams. This summer alone, Worcestershire lost Dillon Pennington, Jack Haynes and Josh Tongue – all products of their academy – to Nottinghamshire.The 55-year-old leaves with the county in better financial shape, with Ashley Giles in place as chief executive since June – a position that had been vacant since 2019 – to continue overseeing cricket matters. Hira is due to be awarded Honorary Life Membership at Worcestershire, subject to ratification at the next AGM. The club will undertake an open process to appoint a new chair.”It’s been an honour to be involved so closely with Worcestershire over such a long period,” Hira said in a statement. “I am grateful to all staff, coaches, and players for their tireless efforts.”There have been many highlights for me, but this season, it has been particularly pleasing to see the immediate progress in white-ball and red-ball cricket under the leadership of the club’s coaching and management team.”I wish everyone associated with Worcestershire all the very best for the future, and I look forward to watching the team continue to entertain and compete in the coming years.”Paul Pridgeon, vice chair of Worcestershire, said: “His efforts and commitment, as a volunteer, have been tireless over the years. Fanos has guided the club through very tough times, including substantial governance reform, the challenging Covid years, and the recent cost-of-living crisis, and his impact on the club cannot be underestimated.”
Nottingham Forest have learned the price it will take to sign Manchester City's James McAtee but face competition from other teams around Europe.
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Forest face £25m fee for McAteeMan City open to summer departureAlso interest from Italy and GermanyFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
City are open to selling McAtee this summer, with Bundesliga clubs Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Eintracht Frankfurt, RB Leipzig and Stuttgart all previously linked with the recent European Under-21 Championship winner. Forest's interest is also well known and now claim a fee of £25 million (€28.9 million/$33.9 million) could be enough to prise the 22-year-old away from the Etihad Stadium.
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There is also admiration for McAtee from Italy, with Serie A sides Fiorentina, Roma and Atalanta all monitoring developments. Forest, meanwhile, will soon have cash to splash with the £55 million (€63.7 million/$74.8 million) sale of winger Anthony Elanga to Newcastle expected to be finalised in the near future.
DID YOU KNOW?
After spending two seasons on loan with Sheffield United, McAtee was kept in the City squad for the 2024-25 season. He was primarily used as a rotational option but still managed to contribute seven goals in 27 appearances in all competitions before helping England retain their Under-21 Euros title in Slovakia.
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McAtee didn't appear with City at the Club World Cup due to his international commitments but looks set for a defining month or so with his future expected to be decided. In the meantime, Pep Guardiola's side will get some much-warranted time off, with only one pre-season friendly against Palermo scheduled for early August.
Barcelona have reportedly learned how much it will cost to permanently sign Marcus Rashford from Manchester United.
Rashford nearing Barcelona loan moveMan Utd had set £40 million ($54m) price tagBarca can have him for cut-price feeFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Rashford is set to join Barcelona on loan from United, with the Catalan outfit having the option to buy him permanently in 2026. Aston Villa could have secured his services for £40 million ($54m) at the end of his loan spell at Villa Park last season but now BBC Sport journalist Simon Stone claims Hansi Flick's side can purchase him next year for €35m (£30m).
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Rashford has been holding out for a Barcelona move for some time now but his switch there could be complicated by registration issues – something that plagued the Blaugrana last season. For United, they will be keen to get his big salary off the wage bill but the price tag they once held out for is beginning to tumble as time passes.
DID YOU KNOW?
England international Rashford, whose lucrative Old Trafford contract runs until 2028, scored four goals and added six assists in 17 games on loan at Villa in the second half of last season. So far for United, he has scored 138 times and provided 79 assists in 426 matches.
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AFPWHAT NEXT?
The 27-year-old, who is said to be preparing to take a pay cut to join Barcelona for this season, will hope to join the Spanish giants in the coming days, and without the threat of any registration problems, too.
Strikers, who had lost their last four games, chased down 153 with 23 balls to spare to move up from the bottom of the table
AAP05-Jan-2024Adelaide Strikers captain Matthew Short led the way as his side pulled off the upset, crushing the previously unbeaten Perth Scorchers by nine wickets.Strikers had lost their last four games, but chased down 153 with 23 balls to spare to move up from the bottom of the table.Short (76* off 51) and Chris Lynn (50* off 33) put on 98 for the second wicket. Earlier, Matthew Short and D’Arcy Short (24 off 13) blasted 58 off the first 4.5 overs.Scorchers remained second, three points behind the table-toppers Brisbane Heat with a game in hand.The leading run-scorer In this season’s BBL, Short notched his fifth half-century of the season, hitting seven fours and four sixes. He also played a part with the ball, conceding just 11 runs from his three overs and dismissing Sam Whiteman with the second ball of the Scorchers’ innings.Two days after leaking 211 against Scorchers in Perth, Adelaide fielded an extra spinner, bringing in legspinner Lloyd Pope.Taking pace off the ball paid off, with the spinners bowling 11 overs and taking three of the first four wickets, and the Scorchers notching just six fours to supplement their seven sixes.Three batters got a start, but no Scorchers player reached 40 as the side notched its lowest score of the season.Josh Inglis (39 off 25) and captain Aaron Hardie (35 off 27) hit two and three sixes respectively in their 60-run third-wicket partnership, but both were caught off Pope.Laurie Evans, who smashed 85 off 28 balls in the Scorchers’ win over the Strikers on Wednesday, was contained to six off his first 10 deliveries on Friday. Evans (29 off 21) didn’t get his strike rate up to 100 until his 13th ball.
The reigning champions rode their luck in Tuesday's semi-final with Italy until a place in Sunday's final, against Spain or Germany, was sealed
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Perhaps England are just meant to win this year's European Championship. It certainly felt like the Lionesses were fighting alongside some sort of supernatural power as they battled back from the brink to beat Italy 2-1 in Tuesday's semi-final, just as it did five days earlier when they overcame Sweden in the last eight. On both occasions, England stared elimination in the face – and dodged it.
Nothing summed up the performance in Geneva better than the goal that sealed the Lionesses' place in Sunday's final. It came in the penultimate minute of extra-time, when Chloe Kelly's penalty was saved, only for the winger to latch onto the rebound and put the ball in the back of the net on the second attempt. It was scruffy, it wasn't convincing, but it was an example of England never letting up, of them giving everything to get over the line, and somehow crossing it.
There's no hiding from the fact that the defending champions were far from their best on Tuesday. With 33 minutes on the clock, Italy took the lead through Barbara Bonansea and, for most of the next hour, they held onto it well. Yes, England cranked up the pressure in the second half, but their final ball was often wasteful, their finishing wayward and their set-piece deliveries wildly inconsistent. As the clock ticked into second-half stoppage time, up came goalkeeper Hannah Hampton to attack a late corner – only for Kelly to send it straight into the side-netting. The Lionesses kept getting in their own way.
But while there were many of those moments for England where the wrong player attacked a pass, where someone opted to unleash a wild shot from range instead of playing in a team-mate, where possession was given away just as an attack was heating up, there were also those moments where Lionesses came up clutch.
Take Hampton, who had little to do except pick the ball out from the back of her net all game, until she made a huge double save in the dying moments to ensure England didn't go 2-0 down. Look at Michelle Agyemang, who marked what was just her fourth senior international appearance with her third goal and was so close to making it four from four, but for the woodwork to deny her a winning goal in extra-time. Or see Kelly, who didn't react in anguish when Laura Giuliani parried her spot-kick, but instead reacted quicker than anyone to pounce onto the loose ball and get the job done, despite initially failing to do so.
There is a feeling that grit and resilience can only carry a team so far when it comes to a tournament as elite as the Euros. Surely England's luck has to run out at some point, right? Surely they will need to turn in a performance of quality, as well as bringing all that fighting spirit and determination to the table, in order to beat Spain or Germany in Sunday's final? That's certainly what many will be thinking after Tuesday's game. But some will see it a different way. Some – and many heartbroken Italians are surely among them – will feel like everything is simply falling into place for England to retain their continental title.
GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from Geneva…
Getty ImagesWINNER: Michelle Agyemang
At this point, anyone who has paid attention to Euro 2025 will know Agyemang's story. They'll know that she wasn't in the Lionesses' picture until less than four months ago, when only a flurry of attacking injuries prompted Sarina Wiegman to call upon the inexperienced teenager; they'll know that she scored a beautiful goal just 41 seconds into her debut in Belgium; they'll know that she was a surprise inclusion in England's squad for this tournament, despite not playing for her country again after that debut; and they'll know that she is now justifying that selection and then some. Yet, all of that is worth repeating because Agyemang's story is incredible and its shine should not wear off just because it continues to be told again and again.
On Tuesday, she scored her third goal in four England appearances. That's as many goals as she scored in 17 Women's Super League games this past season, averaging a strike every 199 minutes during a loan spell at Brighton. For the Lionesses, she is finding the back of the net every 35 minutes. She is 19 years old.
The way Agyemang continues to impact games so forcefully makes her the perfect super-sub – or 'finishers' as managers, including Wiegman, like to call them nowadays. But has she gone beyond that now? Her ruthlessness in front of goal, her ability to cause chaos for opposing defenders and her raw and exciting talent is all game-changing for England. Could Wiegman be tempted to have it all in play from the start in Sunday's final? Perhaps it would be a risk, with Agyemang's inexperience. That said, it's hardly held her back so far.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesWINNER: Chloe Kelly
It would've been so easy for Kelly to be on the opposite side of things on Tuesday. After all, she didn't convert her penalty in the 119th minute. She exuded calmness and composure beforehand, but got her calculations wrong while Giuliani got hers right, and suddenly it looked like the momentum could swing right back in Italy's favour before the seemingly inevitable shootout.
All of that was there for a brief moment, maybe a second or two, until Kelly pounced on the rebound and directed it beyond the goalkeeper. It all sealed the winger's place in England folklore once again, enhancing the hero status she secured when she stepped up in extra-time during the final of Euro 2022 and scored the goal that delivered the Lionesses' first major title.
It's not been an easy year for Kelly, who looked a long-shot to make England's squad for this tournament when she was struggling to get a kick at Manchester City in the first half of the 2024-25 season. But a deadline-day loan switch to Arsenal in January changed everything, led to her lifting the Champions League trophy with the Gunners in May and, thanks to her increased game time, got her on the plane to Switzerland. She might continue to struggle to make the England XI on a consistent basis, but she certainly makes her mark when she gets her opportunities.
Getty ImagesLOSER: Cristiana Girelli
Every time the camera panned to the Italy bench after the hour-mark on Tuesday, Cristiana Girelli looked to be having a truly awful time. The Italy captain has been exceptional throughout Euro 2025, guiding the Azzurre to an unlikely semi-final not only with her leadership but with her all-round centre-forward play, which has included three goals in five outings. As her nation battled for a place in the final, though, she could only play her part for 64 minutes, at which point she was withdrawn due to an injury sustained at the worst possible time.
Forced to watch from the sidelines, helpless as Italy tried to get the job done without her, the 35-year-old was transformed into a fan, peering through her fingers and praying for the final whistle to come while her side were still ahead. Below the surface, meanwhile, was the possibility of this being her last game for Italy, with her admitting that she will think about her international future after this tournament is over.
If that is how Girelli bows out on the big stage, it won't quite feel fitting. This is someone who has delivered some of the greatest moments for the Azzurre in recent memory and it would be a shame for it all to end on such a negative note.
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Getty ImagesWINNER: Sarina Wiegman
There will be a lot of England fans out there who have mixed feelings about Wiegman after she guided the Lionesses into a third-successive major tournament final. Of course, that is a remarkable achievement – an unprecedented one, in truth. Until the Dutchwoman took over in September 2021, England had only ever been to one final of such magnitude, back at Euro 2009.
Yet, this was extremely close to being a semi-final exit instead – just as it was nearly a quarter-final exit six days ago, when the Lionesses scraped through against Sweden. In both games, Wiegman danced with death, waiting and waiting and waiting until she made her changes, showing an extreme lack of urgency in situations that seemed to need plenty of it. At the end of it all, though, Wiegman's subs paid off. Agyemang and Kelly scored the goals, with Beth Mead playing significant roles in both as well.
Of making big decisions as a coach, Emma Hayes once said: “If you get it right you’re an unbelievable manager. If you don’t, you’re a pile of sh*te." Wiegman certainly walked a fine line with her actions on Tuesday, that much is an understatement. But the final outcome means that when she walks out with her team on Sunday, she'll have coached in the final of Euro 2017, the 2019 World Cup, Euro 2022, the 2023 World Cup and Euro 2025. She is the best manager in the international women's game today – this latest accomplishment only emphasises as much.
Essex take grip with ball before Khushi thrashes quick fifty to cut into deficit
ECB Reporters Network19-Apr-2024Shane Snater rediscovered the form with the ball that deserted him last season to drive a massive hole in some fragile Lancashire batting on a rain-shortened day at Chelmsford.The Zimbabwe-born Dutch international blasted out the top three in the Lancashire order at a personal cost of one run before returning to add a fourth for figures of 4 for 42. Snater took just eight expensive wickets in an injury-ravaged campaign last year, having taken a combined 67 in the two previous seasons. He now has 10 wickets in three Vitality County Championship matches this April.He was ably supported by fellow seamer Sam Cook, who managed to marry both hostility and parsimony to finish with 3 for 18 from 14 overs, as Lancashire limped to 146 all out. In 12 overs under the floodlights, Feroze Khushi refused to hang about with nine fours in a whirlwind 53 from 33 balls as Essex knocked 68 off the deficit for the loss of his wicket, caught in the slips off George Balderson.A mid-morning downpour encouraged Essex captain Tom Westley to ask Lancashire to bat on a green-tinged wicket and local knowledge proved decisive inside the 45 minutes possible before lunch once Snater had been introduced. The seamer removed Keaton Jennings to a magnificent flying catch in the gully by Matt Critchley in his first over, and trapped the freewheeling Luke Wells plumb lbw in the next.Wells had plundered 13 runs – including a straight-driven four and a six flicked off his legs – in a Jamie Porter over that led to the bowler’s departure from the attack after conceding 22 runs from three overs.The brief morning session completed, the players had barely reached the pavilion for lunch when the latest April shower lengthened the interval by more than an hour and three-quarters. When they did return in mid-afternoon, Josh Bohannon faced just nine more scoreless balls before he edged Snater and Dean Elgar took a stunning one-handed catch low down at first slip.Cook bowled unchanged for nearly two of the truncated sessions and gained reward in his ninth over when Balderson failed to withdraw his bat in time and was caught behind.George Bell hit two of his four career half-centuries at Chelmsford last season, and added a high of 99 against Hampshire last week, but Snater’s first ball after tea had him bang to rights in front of his stumps for just 4. However, his one scoring stroke in 22 balls had been a sumptuous straight drive that was arguably the most aesthetic shot of the day.The Lancashire slide continued apace when Matty Hurst hung his bat out to Cook and was a second victim for wicketkeeper Michael Pepper. Tom Bruce got a leading edge to chip Porter to mid-on before 19-year-old Noah Thain claimed a wicket on debut with his third ball in first-class cricket when Tom Bailey steered to second slip.However, the ninth-wicket partnership between Jack Blatherwick and Will Williams proved to be the biggest of the innings, helping to repair the damage of 92 for 8 with some lusty hitting.With a six apiece, the pair put on fifty in 36 balls before Blatherwick went for another heave to Simon Harmer’s second ball of the game and holed out on the long-leg boundary. Cook wrapped up the innings when he had Nathan Lyon held at point to leave Williams not out on 32.
Following in the footsteps of Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi, the midfielder is generating buzz in Catalunya ahead of his return
There are some clubs that are able to churn out young players and bed academy talent into the first-team squad more seamlessly than others. At the very top level, there is no club better at that than Barcelona.
Lamine Yamal is the latest graduate of La Masia to take the world by storm, but there are plenty of other examples, past and present, that demonstrate Barca's ludicrous ability to find talent within the confides of their own walls. During a period of their history where money is tight and they are consistently up against it to even register new signings, promoting youth has proven a handy workaround on their way back to ruling Spain.
Culers will, then, be looking forward to the return of 6'3 midfielder Marc Bernal this season after what was meant to be a breakout 2024-25 campaign was cut short by an untimely ACL injury. With the 18-year-old approaching full fitness again, excitement is brewing in Catalunya about his prospects in Hansi Flick's side.
So, who is Bernal and why exactly is there so much hype around him? Is he really the next success story out of La Masia? GOAL has everything you need to know on the midfield prodigy…
Where it all began
You'd be hard pressed to find a Barcelona product more local than Bernal, who was born and raised in the Catalan municipality of Berga, only a few miles from Camp Nou. He joined his first club, CE Berga, when he was only four years old, and by the time he was six he had joined the Barca academy at La Masia.
There are many tales in England of kids and teenagers being considered too small to succeed at a professional, adult level. In Spain, and in the case of Bernal, the opposite often rings true. Barcelona staff were mesmerised by his combination of size and technique with his left foot, according to local outlet . When he played several age groups up in an Under-10s tournament as a guest of former club Gimnastic de Manresa, he scored a hat-trick in the final against Espanyol and was named 'best player' of the entire event.
Upon returning to Barca and La Masia, Bernal worked his way through the academy system and continued to impress for a decade before getting a taste of senior football.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesThe big break
Shortly after Bernal's 16th birthday, he was name-checked by Barcelona club president Joan Laporta as someone that head coach Xavi should consider bringing into the first-team fold amid their search for midfield reinforcements.
"Xavi would like to strengthen the midfield," Laporta said in July 2023, "but he knows that some options are not viable and we would be making a mistake. We would be cutting off the progression of the youth team. We have Marc Casado, Pau Prim, Gerard Hernandez or Marc Bernal. First we have to look at home."
This could have simply been a prime example of Laporta subtly informing Xavi that he would prefer funds go towards other positions rather than another midfielder, but his commitment to La Masia has remained true all the same. Barca have again and again been able to lean on the fruits of their youth development as an alternative method to fund success. Nevertheless, Bernal, now christened as 'the pearl of La Masia' by local press, did not make a senior appearance under Xavi, and he would have to wait until Flick's appointment as head coach in 2024 before making his debut for the Blaugrana. On August 17, he started Barcelona's 2-1 win at Valencia in La Liga and was their shining light in the middle of the park.
"It is a special and unforgettable moment that you imagine and dream about since you were little," Bernal said post-match. "It helps you on a personal level and on the field; it makes all this as easy as possible. So many years playing together with Lamine from a very young age and with Pau Cubarsi a little later makes everything very special."
He went on to praise Flick for having the confidence to start him in a competitive game at such a young age: "I didn't expect it and I will always remember it. My team-mates helped me and told me not to be nervous and I tried to enjoy every moment. Giving a 17-year-old boy his debut is not easy and I will always be grateful to the manager for that. I see it as something unique."
Getty Images SportHow it's going
Unfortunately for Bernal, disaster was waiting just around the corner. He followed his superb debut with similarly impressive performances in 2-1 wins over Athletic Club and Rayo Vallecano, but in the dying embers versus the latter, the midfielder went down clutching his knee. Barcelona's worst fears were realised when it was later revealed he had ruptured his ACL and suffered damage to his meniscus. August had not even rolled into September and already Bernal's breakthrough season had come to an enforced end.
Barca went on to enjoy a special 2024-25 campaign which saw them dominate Spain, winning all of La Liga, the Copa del Rey and Supercopa de Espana, but they came up agonisingly short in the Champions League, falling to Inter in extra-time of the semi-finals. Flick was hailed with making his team one of the most exciting in world football, though was criticised for throwing caution to the wind a little too much, and a strong defensive midfielder like Bernal may have brought more stability to their style.
As a teenager, it would have been easy for Bernal to spiral out of control and become self-destructive after such a fantastic start to his career was derailed, but as he told Barcelona club channels in May, he's had to do some growing up. "I've learned a lot, especially how to stay strong and try not to overthink when things aren't going well," he said. "There were moments when I just wanted to stay home and sleep all day."
Though he's been unable to contribute on the pitch, Bernal has spent this time on the sidelines improving from a physical perspective. When Barcelona fans got their first glimpse of him last August, he was a rather wiry and lanky midfielder. Since returning to training, he has looked far bulkier and muscular, while other clubs have also taken notice of his talents, with Roma and Real Betis credited with a recent interest. However, Barca are clear that Bernal will stay and play some sort of role for them in 2025-26, a stance best enforced by the fact they tied him down to a new contract with a €500 million release clause weeks after he underwent knee surgery last year.
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Getty ImagesBiggest strengths
As a defensive midfielder sculpted in the idyllic vision of Barcelona, Bernal is a player who can do a bit of everything. He is efficient at not only sweeping up in front of the backline, but keeping the ball ticking. His debut at Valencia came amid the chaos of Flick introducing a frantic system, yet Bernal stood out as someone who was metronomic and took good care in possession.
The physical advantages of Bernal's adolescence remain just as true in the adult world, more so in a competition like La Liga where smaller players are known to thrive. Even at 18, Bernal is one of the tallest players at Barcelona, and if his work in the gym has been effective, potentially one of their strongest too.
There are also extra intangibles about Bernal which mean he could be a huge hit at Camp Nou. Part of what makes Barcelona so good at blooding in academy talent is their clear philosophy on all levels, from Under-6s to the seniors, from the men's team to the women's. Bernal has lived and breathed what it means to play for and represent Barca his entire life. Had Roma been successful in their approach for the midfielder, he may have developed as expected at Stadio Olimpico, but Barcelona are the outlier in being a super-club who almost paradoxically believe in the importance of promoting local talent. It may be best for his career to actually be thrown in at the deep end.
Former England allrounder takes 1 for 21 before unbeaten 56 to defeat Derbyshire
ECB Reporters Network30-May-2024Veteran all-rounder Ravi Bopara hit an unbeaten 56 from 42 deliveries as Northamptonshire Steelbacks made a winning start to their Vitality Blast campaign in a final-ball thriller against Derbyshire Falcons.Former England all-rounder Bopara, 39, shared a partnership of 67 from 52 balls with 38-year-old Zimbabwe international Sikandar Raza – both making their experience count on their Blast debuts for the Steelbacks.Although Raza (38 from 27) fell to Zak Chappell with 25 still needed, Bopara – a Blast winner with Essex in 2019 – kept his head to steer Northamptonshire over the line along with Lewis McManus, who levelled the scores with a boundary off Luis Reece and struck the final ball for a single.Earlier, David Lloyd had top-scored for the Falcons with 41 from 22 as they posted 162 for 7 at Wantage Road, with Steelbacks skipper David Willey taking 1 for 17 from four overs.Teenage seamer Raphy Weatherall, one of three other T20 debutants for the Steelbacks, made the initial breakthrough after Derbyshire had been inserted, with Harry Came chipping his second ball tamely to midwicket.It was a tougher start for another of that quintet, former Falcons seamer George Scrimshaw, whose first over disappeared for 17 as Lloyd gave the visitors’ innings some impetus during the powerplay.Lloyd and Reece added 55 from 32 before the medium pace of Bopara (1 for 21) stifled the scoring rate along with left-arm spinner Freddie Heldreich, who claimed the key wicket of Lloyd as he mistimed a reverse sweep to point.But Willey looked unplayable at times, bowling tightly throughout his four overs and capturing wickets from successive deliveries as he ripped out Brooke Guest’s leg stump before having Ross Whiteley caught behind.Wayne Madsen (37 from 33) was bowled by Scrimshaw’s slower ball to reduce Derbyshire to 123 for seven, but they were lifted again by Chappell, who promptly belted his first two deliveries over the fence.With Northamptonshire’s laborious over rate forcing them to bring in an extra fielder for the final 15 balls, Chappell (18 not out from nine) and Alex Thomson (22*) gave their side something to defend.Northamptonshire stuttered at the start of their reply, with Pat Brown having South Africa international Matthew Breetzke caught at midwicket by the diving Reece and Willey skying Chappell into the hands of backward point.Ricardo Vasconcelos – whose unbeaten hundred had saved his side from defeat in their last Championship game – seemed to have transferred that form to the Blast with a knock of 42 from 31, punching two boundaries from Blair Tickner and slog-sweeping Thomson out of the ground.But the wily Brown tempted him to hole out to deep extra cover and it was left to Bopara and Raza to rebuild the innings, whittling the target down until the latter suddenly upped the ante, blazing Brown for enormous sixes in successive balls.Although Chappell had Raza caught at mid-off, Bopara bludgeoned Tickner for a straight maximum before Brown (three for 33) gave away just four in the penultimate over to leave the Steelbacks needing 14 from the last.But Bopara slammed the first of those six balls over the midwicket fence to bring up his fifty before McManus applied the finishing touch.