Category Uncategorized

Celtic’s board backed Brendan Rodgers in the summer transfer window by smashing the club’s transfer record to sign central midfielder Arne Engels.

The Hoops reportedly splashed out a fee of £11m to sign the Belgium international from German side Augsburg to bolster their options in the middle of the park.

Engels has produced two goals and three assists in seven appearances in all competitions for the Scottish giants, as he has hit the ground running in Glasgow.

He is not the only star midfielder within the squad, though, as captain Callum McGregor continues to go from strength to strength at Parkhead.

Callum McGregor's soaring market value

The former Scotland international, who retired from national team duty earlier this year, joined the club’s academy in 2001 at the age of eight, meaning that he did not cost the Hoops a penny.

He came up through the ranks in the youth system and made his breakthrough at first-team level in the 2014/15 campaign, after scoring 12 goals in 37 games for Notts County in League One in the previous season.

At the start of the 2014/15 term, McGregor was valued at just €750k (£628k) and he has since gone on to become club captain and played 475 competitive matches for the Bhoys.

At the time of writing (15/10/2024), Transfermarkt has his current market value at a whopping €8.5m (£7.1m), which shows that his value has soared throughout his time with the Hoops.

Market Movers

Football FanCast's Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club's star player or biggest flop worth today?

Expand Collapse

Celtic have hit the jackpot with the midfield maestro, given that he has emerged as the club’s captain and racked up almost 500 appearances after coming through the academy.

His performances so far this season have been so good, in fact, that FBRef lists Declan Rice as one of the most similar players to him in the Champions League.

Callum McGregor's form this season

In two outings in Europe, McGregor has completed 95% of his attempted passes and made 3.5 tackles and interceptions per game for the Hoops.

Meanwhile, Rice, who joined the Gunners for a fee of £105m from West Ham in 2023, has completed 92% of his passes and made 3.5 tackles and interceptions per match across two games in the Champions League.

This shows that both players have been incredibly efficient in their use of the ball whilst also being combative with their defensive work in the middle of the park.

24/25 Premiership

Callum McGregor

Appearances

7

Goals

4

Assists

1

Pass accuracy

93%

Dribbles completed per game

1.1

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, McGregor has enjoyed a stunning start to the 2024/25 campaign with a return of five goals and assists in seven appearances in the Scottish Premiership.

The 31-year-old, who was described as “amazing” by Rodgers, is not showing any sign of aging and remains one of the top players in the squad, as shown by his performances this season and his similarities to a £105m talent in Rice.

Celtic have struck gold with the Scottish maestro and Rodgers will be hoping that his strong form so far this term continues throughout the rest of the season.

Related Imagine him & Engels: Celtic told they should "definitely" target SPFL star

The Scottish champions have been urged to look at the Scotland U21 international.

Posts ByDan Emery Oct 13, 2024

The 18-year-old scored twice in extra time to save his side from cup embarrassment at home

Endrick enjoyed his first signature Real Madrid moment Thursday evening, bashing home an extra time winner – and then completing a brace – to carry Los Blancos past Celta Vigo in an eventual 5-2 victory.

Carlo Ancelotti's side were dominant for 80 minutes, poor for 10, and then turned it on in extra time to secure a win that was far nervier than the scoreline suggested.

Madrid came alive after a dour first 30 minutes. Brahim Diaz offered a real threat in a rare start, bursting down the right side before forcing a fine save out of Ivan Villar. Mbappe opened the scoring in the 37th minute. The Frenchman took the ball on the left, evaded his man, and finished across the goalkeeper to give Los Blancos a 1-0 lead.

The second came shortly after half time, and showed just how good this Madrid team could be on the break. Mbappe found Brahim Diaz, who slipped Vinicius through on goal – setting the Brazilian up for an easy finish. The Frenchman could have added one or two more, but put a header over the bar and saw a curled effort miss the top corner. Los Blancos thought they had a third when Arda Guler found the back of the net from a Vinicius pass – but the Brazilian was adjudged narrowly offside in the build up.

An Eduardo Camavinga mistake let Celta back into the game. The substitute underhit a backpass, which Celta worked into a clear opportunity for Jonathan Bamba – who finished well. The visitors grabbed a second in stoppage time, Marcos Alonso tucking one into the bottom corner from the spot after Raul Asencio gave away a silly penalty.

Extra time brought few good chances. Antonio Rudiger came closest, hitting the post from a corner before Endrick made it 3-2, pivoting before smashing the ball home from the edge of the box. Federico Valverde put the game beyond doubt late in extra time, pinging one into the top corner from 30 yards out, while Endrick backheeled home an audacious fifth to seal things for good – even if this was far from a convincing showing.

GOAL rates Real Madrid's players from Santiago Bernabeu…

Getty Images SportGoalkeeper & Defence

Andriy Lunin (5/10):

Got away with an absolute stonewall penalty in the first half. Made a couple of important saves in the second. Sent the wrong way on the penalty.

Lucas Vazquez (7/10):

Completed most of his passes, and was reliable in build up. An evening with very few defensive responsibilities – none of this can be blamed on him.

Raul Asencio (6/10):

Handled the physical Borja Iglesias relatively well. Looked to spray the ball long – which he did so effectively a lot of the time. Then went and threw it all away with a silly penalty.

Antonio Rudiger (6/10):

A bit mixed, all said. Won his duels, but was sometimes unsteady on the ball in deeper areas.

Fran Garcia (7/10):

A solid showing at both ends. Covered loads of ground and was rarely beaten defensively.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportMidfield

Aurelien Tchouameni (6/10):

Looked far more comfortable as a No.6 than at center back. Did some good things in central areas, but could have advanced the ball more effectively.

Dani Ceballos (7/10):

Grabbed himself a rare assist on the opening goal. Removed with a knock after a composed showing.

Luka Modric (7/10):

As ageless as ever. Created chances, floated around, found all of the cute angles.

Getty Images SportAttack

Brahim Diaz (7/10):

Lively in the first half, and was well denied. Set up Vini's goal. Unfortunate to be removed after 70 minutes.

Kylian Mbappe (7/10):

Brilliant solo run, clean finish for Madrid's opener. Took the attempt well and found the back of the net in tidy fashion. Missed a couple of others he would normally bury.

Vinicius Jr (7/10):

A calm finish gave Madrid some daylight. Missed a chance or two otherwise. Spent some time playing through the middle, which caused some problems.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

Getty Images SportSubs & Manager

Arda Guler (7/10):

Thought he had scored a third, but saw it ruled out for offside. Probably deserved a start.

Eduardo Camavinga (4/10):

Gave the ball away to gift Celta a goal.

Federico Valverde (7/10):

Offered attacking thrust in extra time. Smashed in an absolute beauty to secure three points.

Endrick (8/10):

Came on and ran around. Smashed one over the bar. Battered the winner into the far corner, and then added a fifth – despite not playing very well.

Rodrygo (N/A):

Lively in the second half of extra time.

Carlo Ancelotti (6/10):

Will be annoyed by this one. His side were firmly in control, but threw away a late lead. Madrid woke up when it counted, but this wasn't a great showing.

Wolverhampton Wanderers have conducted shrewd business in the transfer market in recent times, signing players for a cut-price before either making a huge impact on the first team or making the club a tidy profit.

Jean-Ricner Bellegarde is just one example of the former, joining the club in a £12.8m deal last summer, producing many moments of magic, which includes his excellent strike against Nottingham Forest last weekend.

Pedro Neto is another excellent talent who has made the club a lot of money, joining from Lazio for around £18m in 2019, before leaving this summer in a £54m deal – making the club a £36m profit in the process.

Boss Gary O’Neil will be hoping new big-money addition Andre can replicate such deals, after joining for £21m from Brazilian side Fluminense.

He could potentially form an excellent partnership with one player who’s also started after his own move to the Premier League in recent times.

Joao Gomes’ stats for Wolves

During the January window in 2023, Wolves dipped into the South American market to secure the £15m signing of Brazilian ace Joao Gomes from Flamengo, with the youngster flourishing after his move to English football.

Since his transfer, the 23-year-old has cemented himself as a key player in Gary O’Neil’s side, making 52 appearances for the club – scoring on three separate occasions.

His subsequent form has seen interest from the likes of Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Tottenham – an indication of how impressive he’s been since his move to Molineux.

The addition of Andre could allow O’Neil to operate with an all-Brazilian centre-midfielder partnership, with the pair having the talent and potential to thrive together and push the club back towards a top-half finish in 2024/25.

However, despite the recent excellent dealings, they must regret letting go of one player who’s taken his game to another level after leaving the West Midlands two years ago.

Joao Gomes' market value in 2024

After coming through the club’s academy, midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White had huge expectations of being a monster talent at Molineux.

He enjoyed a stellar campaign on loan at Sheffield United during 2021/22, registering 20 goal contributions in his 35 appearances – with a place in the club’s first-team to be expected after such a successful stint.

However, he completed a £25m move to newly promoted Forest – a decision that, two years on, the club may have a "tinge of regret" about, according to journalist Neil Moxley.

Appearances

37

1st

Goals + assists

15

1st

Assists

10

1st

Chances created

74

1st

Big chances created

16

1st

Possession won in final third per 90

0.6

2nd

FotMob rating

7.24

1st

The “incredible” Gibbs-White, as described by former teammate Billy Sharp, received his first senior England call-up last week, a reflection of his impressive form at the City Ground, with the Tricky Trees subsequently demanding around £50m over the summer.

His subsequent value is higher than that of current Wolves star Gomes, who was deemed to be worth over £40m in the recent window, after his own impressive run in the Premier League.

After his achievements under former Wolves boss Nuno Espírito Santo at Forest, it’s understandable that many would regret the departure of the midfielder.

He has the ability to operate in tight attacking areas and create a moment of magic out of nowhere, something which O’Neil’s side often lacks in the final third in recent times.

Whilst they made a huge profit on an academy graduate, his talents would be perfect in the current Wolves, potentially handing them the perfect opportunity to push for a top-half finish this season.

Worth more than Neto & Kilman: Wolves hit gold on “one of the best players"

He’s been incredible for the Molineux side…

ByAngus Sinclair Aug 26, 2024

Manchester City have made just two signings throughout the summer transfer window, but could the final few days see another player join the club?

Pep Guardiola will be aiming to win the Premier League title for the fifth consecutive time this term, while reclaiming the Champions League crown they lost to Real Madrid, but he may need some strength in depth.

City have lost the likes of Julian Alvarez and João Cancelo of late. Might the loss of the Argentinian in particular see the Spaniard sign another centre-forward?

Manchester City linked with move for Premier League striker

According to Football Transfers, City are chasing a late move for Brighton and Hove Albion striker Evan Ferguson. They face some competition from Arsenal, however, but Guardiola is ready to make an offer before the window closes.

It will cost the club around £70m to lure Ferguson from the south coast, although the report claims that the Etihad outfit would prefer a loan deal before settling on a price next summer.

Might the next few days see a new face in Manchester? As the striker would provide some competition for Erling Haaland.

Evan Ferguson’s Brighton statistics

The 19-year-old enjoyed a stunning breakthrough season in 2022/23, scoring ten goals in 25 games for the senior side under Roberto De Zerbi, emerging as one of the finest young strikers in the top flight.

Injury issues derailed his progress last term, however, as he scored just six goals all campaign, missing a handful of matches due to a knee injury.

Metric

2022/23

2023/24

Goals

6

6

Assists

2

0

Shots on target per game

0.9

0.7

Successful dribbles per game

0.4

0.3

Scoring frequency (minutes)

159

231

Despite his recent setback, Ferguson has been hailed by some truly great players previously. James Milner hailed the youngster, saying: “His finishing is phenomenal you know, just so good. If a chance is falling, you want it to go to him.”

It gets even better, as Kylian Mbappé even lauded the Republic of Ireland international as “a great player” ahead of the clash between France and Ireland in 2023, highlighting how good he was at such a young age.

Indeed, the centre-forward could also be a dream signing for Kevin De Bruyne too. The Belgian has enjoyed linking up well with Haaland over the previous two years, but Ferguson could feed off him well.

The 33-year-old created 21 big chances, averaged 3.3 key passes per game and grabbed ten assists for City last season, despite playing only 18 matches.

These sorts of numbers could see Ferguson thrive in front of the attacking midfielder, being presented with chance after chance in the opposition penalty area.

While Haaland would still be the main man at City, Ferguson is certainly a talent they can develop, with Guardiola’s guidance key to potentially turning him from a wonderful centre-forward into a world-class player.

There will still be twists and turns during the final few days of the summer transfer window, but a move for Ferguson would certainly add some depth to the City squad.

Man City ready to take £13m hit to sell star Pep called one of world's best

This is due to a big recent development at the Etihad.

ByHenry Jackson Aug 26, 2024

Manchester United are set to pull off an exceptional double deal to strengthen Erik ten Hag's ranks ahead of the new Premier League season, it has been reported, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe ready to back his manager with more additions.

Manchester United's transfer window so far

After early promise, Manchester United's first transfer window under INEOS ownership looked like it was threatening to stall. The Red Devils signed Joshua Zirkzee in a £34m deal from Bologna, before moving for young defensive sensation Leny Yoro, who arrived for £52m despite interest from Liverpool and Real Madrid.

However, departures have been holding up further investment, with only Mason Greenwood, Alvaro, and Willy Kambwala having left for fees over £1m this summer despite reports suggesting that the entire squad was up for sale. They are still hoping for more exits, with Victor Lindelöf, Casemiro and Scott McTominay among those that the club are seeking buyers for.

Any midfielder that departs may allow the Red Devils to finally bring in a fresh face in their engine room, with Manuel Ugarte a player that they have held protracted talks with PSG over the signing of, only to balk at the price tag despite having agreed personal terms with the 23-year-old Uruguayan.

But for now it is the defence that needs the most work, with Manchester United's Community Shield squad demonstrating the issues at the back. Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof and Yoro were all absent from the matchday squad at Wembley, leaving Harry Maguire to partner veteran defender Jonny Evans and Lisandro Martinez starting at left-back. Now, United have moved to reinforce their backline.

Triple move in progress for Manchester United

That comes as the reliable David Ornstein has revealed that three transfers to bolster the Manchester United backline are close to completion. The Red Devils have agreed a deal to sign Bayern Munich pair Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui after weeks of speculation, with both players set to pen five year deals at Old Trafford.

Ten Hag's side have agreed to pay €45m (£38.6m), plus a further €5m (£4.1m) in potential add-ons for De Ligt, who will add further depth at centre back and likely speed up any potential exit for Lindelof. His five-year deal includes an option to extend it by a further 12 months should the club wish to.

Meanwhile, Mazraoui will join in a separate deal worth up to 20m euros (£17m), of which £13m will be paid up front. His arrival will, like De Ligt's, be on a five-year deal with the option for another year, though his move hinges on the departure of Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

Talks on: Man Utd discuss personal terms with "special" £47k-p/w defender

He is wanted by clubs across the Premier League.

By
Ben Browning

Aug 10, 2024

Fortunately, that is now a formality, with Fabrizio Romano having confirmed that the defender is set to join West Ham, with the right back undergoing his medical on Sunday.

It is unclear how much the pair will take home at Old Trafford, though it is likely to be less than the mammoth £390,000 a week Bayern paid the duo during their time at the Allianz Arena.

Ten Hag has worked with both incoming defenders at Ajax previously and knows them well, which should help him introduce a more sustainable style of football at Old Trafford after clinging on to his job last season.

Glasgow Rangers have seemingly placed an emphasis on recruiting young players with the potential to improve in order to bolster the squad at Ibrox this summer.

Six of Rangers' seven first-team signings are under the age of 23, including Mohammed Diomande, Oscar Cortes, Hamza Igamane, Clinton Nsiala, Connor Barron, and Jefte, with Liam Kelly the only experienced addition as a back-up goalkeeper.

The Gers' Head of recruitment Nils Koppen and Philippe Clement are now seemingly looking at more experienced options as they have been linked with an interest in 32-year-old midfielder Kenny McLean.

Football Insider reported last month that talks were underway over a potential £1m deal for the Norwich City ace before it was later claimed a move fell through as they could not agree personal terms with the Scotland international.

Koppen could now land a better signing than McLean by swooping to secure a player who was linked with an Ibrox switch earlier in the window.

Rangers interest in Premier League bruiser

Earlier this summer, HITC reported that Rangers and Celtic are both interested in signing Manchester City defensive midfielder Kalvin Phillips.

The outlet claimed that both Old Firm giants are open to the chance to snap up the former England international before the end of the summer window.

It stated that the Premier League champions have told the former Leeds United star that he is free to move on this summer, following a loan spell with West Ham United during the second half of last season.

However, it does remain to be seen whether or not the Gers have a realistic chance of landing him on loan from Pep Guardiola's team, or if he would prefer to remain in England.

Why Kalvin Phillips would be a better signing than Kenny McLean

Firstly, an experienced midfielder could be a needed addition to the squad after John Lundstram and Ryan Jack moved on, leaving Mohammed Diomande, Nicolas Raskin, and Barron, who are all 23 or younger, as midfield options for Clement.

It could, therefore, make a lot of sense to bring in an older head with experience to guide the young players and set an example for them on and off the pitch.

28-year-old Phillips, despite being four years younger, has played more Premier League games (73) than McLean (68) and has won the English top-flight with City.

The English bruiser has only started five league games over the last two seasons since his move to City from Leeds but his form from the 2021/22 campaign suggests that the potential is there for him to be better than the Scotland international.

As you can see in the table above, Phillips could offer more reliability in his passing at the base of the midfield whilst also stepping in to win the ball back more frequently with tackles and interceptions.

Alongside his potential quality and greater experience at the top level, a season-long loan for Phillips, who was dubbed "exceptional" by Pep Guardiola, would give Diomande, Raskin, and Barron a season to learn from him and develop before kicking on.

That could make more sense than committing to signing McLean for multiple seasons and potentially blocking pathways for younger players in the squad to come through.

Therefore, Phillips could be a better signing for Rangers for a myriad of reasons and that is why Koppen must press ahead with a swoop for his services.

تمكن برشلونة من تسجيل هدف التعادل في شباك نظيره فريق بنفيكا، في مباراتهما الجارية حاليًا، في بطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا.

ويحل برشلونة ضيفًا على بنفيكا، في إطار منافسات الجولة السابعة من دوري أبطال أوروبا، مرحلة الدوري (لمتابعة اللقاء من هنا).

ونجح برشلونة في تسجيل هدف التعادل في شباك أصحاب الأرض، بنفيكا، في الدقيقة 13 من عمر الشوط الأول.

جاء الهدف من ضربة جزاء تحصل عليها برشلونة، بعد تدخل تقنية الفيديو، بعد خطأ ضد بالدي داخل المنطقة.

ونفذ النجم البولندي روبرت ليفاندوفسكي ضربة جزاء برشلونة بنجاح، محولًا إياها إلى هدف تعادل بعدما تقدم بنفيكا في الدقيقة الثانية. هدف ليفاندوفسكي في مباراة برشلونة وبنفيكا

They aren't a perfect team, but as they masterfully demonstrated last season, there are not many weaknesses in this Arsenal side.

For example, despite ultimately finishing second in the Premier League, Mikel Arteta's talented team produced the best defence in the league, conceding just 29 goals in 38 games.

Unfortunately, though, they scored five fewer than the Sky Blues, which brings us to the one position on the pitch that most fans will tell you could do with an improvement: striker.

Fortunately, recent reports have linked the Gunners with one of the most exciting centre-forwards in Europe, and a player who could be incredible at the Emirates and help players like Leandro Trossard reach another level entirely.

Arsenal transfer news

According to a recent report from Spain, Arsenal have maintained their strong interest in Sporting CP star Viktor Gyokeres.

In fact, the report goes a step further and claims that the Gunners have now agreed personal terms with the Swedish international, who has also caught the eye of fellow Premier League side Liverpool.

The only barrier to the North Londoners completing the deal remains to agree on a fee with the Lisbon outfit themselves, and according to the report, they are after around €80m, which converts to about £67m.

That's undoubtedly a lot of money, but it's considerably less than the £84m fee that was previously reported, and due to Gyokeres' incredible form last season, it's possibly value for money, especially as he'd help make Trossard unplayable.

Why Gyokeres would be an incredible signing

So, when it comes down to the main reason why Gyokeres would be an exceptional signing and an equally brilliant teammate for Trossard, it's very straightforward: his output.

The Swedish international is a goalscoring machine, and he proved as much last season, finding the back of the net on 43 occasions in just 50 appearances and chipping in 15 assists on top of that, for good measure.

This means he produced a goal involvement on average every 0.86 games, or in other words, he averaged 1.16 per match, which unsurprisingly, would have made him the most productive Arsenal player last season, and by quite some way.

Gyokeres' incredible season

Appearances

50

Goals

43

Assists

15

Goal Involvements per Match

1.16

All Stats via Transfermarkt

Now, imagine if the already effective Trossard was playing alongside a number nine as devastatingly effective as Sporting's "big game player," as data analyst Ben Mattinson dubbed him; he'd have far more goals and assists to his name.

This line of thinking is backed up by Understat's data on the Belgian. They concluded that in the league last season, he underperformed his expected assists by 2.25, which is unsurprising when the Gunners' two primary strikers, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz, both underperformed their expected goals, the former by 3.29 and the latter by 0.47.

Ultimately, Arsenal are a talented team, but they should have scored more goals last season, and like many of his teammates, Trossard should've had more assists to his name.

This suggests that a clinical number nine would be the perfect signing this summer, and there aren't many better than Gyokeres.

Related Arsenal struck gold on "wizard" who's worth way more than Reiss Nelson

The impressive winger has been a massive success in red and white.

Posts ByJack Salveson Holmes Aug 1, 2024

The incumbent Test opener has just 62 runs in nine innings this season

Andrew McGlashan12-Dec-2020Another failure for Joe Burns has left Australia’s opening-batting plans in tatters just days before the opening Test in Adelaide after he fell for just 1 on the final day of the pink-ball warm-up at the SCG.Burns never looked comfortable in his stay at the crease against Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami before being trapped lbw by the latter when he walked across his crease to a full delivery.Moments after Burns trudged off the television cameras panned to Trevor Hohns, the national selector, on his phone in the stand.Marcus Harris, who was drafted into the Test squad yesterday as a replacement for the concussed Will Pucovski, also failed when he was caught at leg slip.Related

Indians learn tough lessons as McDermott and Wildermuth hit hundreds

Joe Burns rediscovers the fundamentals of opening ahead of David Warner's absence

Adam Gilchrist urges selectors to lock in Joe Burns to aid final warm-up match

Australia's opening dilemma: what are their options?

Concussion rules Will Pucovski out of Adelaide Test; Marcus Harris named replacement

Heading into the final day of the game the situation was particularly acute for Burns who now has just 62 runs in nine innings. As it stands he remains in the Test squad for Adelaide, but another failure in Sydney will leave the selectors with a big decision to make.”There is some pressure on him, no doubt,” Chris Rogers, part of the Australia A coaching staff, said after the second day’s play. “He’s not stupid. So he has to make the most of this opportunity, that’s pretty important, and then it’s up to the selectors.”Rogers encouraged Burns, who has been backed by the selectors, captain, coach and team-mates during a lean start to the season, to cut out the noise surrounding his position. He is the senior opener in the absence of David Warner, who may also struggle to be fit for the second Test in Melbourne, while Harris has recalled after Pucovski was ruled out with concussion.”From my point of view, you can get to this point where you’re just putting so much pressure on yourself,” Rogers said. “You think you’re doing everything you can and it just doesn’t seem to be going your way.”You make one little mistake and all of a sudden you’re back sitting in the pavilion. A lot of the time it’s just about letting go, what will be will be and just go out and do your processes, do your routines and just try and stay in the moment and watch the ball as I know our Australian coach says.Joe Burns fell for a duck in the pink-ball warm-up game•Getty Images”So it’s a pretty simple message. There’s probably a lot of noise in their heads at the moment but the best thing they can do is just go out and worry about the next ball.”The Indians were far enough in front that they could have declared on the second evening and put Australia’s potential Test opening pair back in against the pink ball under lights. Rogers was a little surprised they did not take the chance to ramp up the pressure, but also understood what they were aiming to get out of the match.”They’re probably pretty relieved they didn’t get stuck under lights there,” he said. “That would have been a challenging little period.”They [India] are looking to get different things out of the game and batting under lights was probably gold for them as well, the experience they get.”Maybe on another day they might have thought ‘we’ll declare and have a crack at two potential opening batsmen for Australia in challenging conditions. But that was their decision.”But I know as an opening batsman I definitely would not have liked to be out there batting tonight.”

A despondent Brendan Taylor admitted he felt “lucky” to have received the Player-of-the-match award for his valiant century against Pakistan that took Zimbabwe close to a 1-0 lead. He pointed instead at the man who had ended his vigil at the crease, saying he believed Shaheen Afridi was a worthier recipient of the honour.”I feel very lucky to get this Man-of-the-match award as I feel Shaheen [Afridi] should have got it,” Taylor said at the post-match presentation. “You’re up against a very skillful attack at the death and they were too good at the end. It was that skill level at the death that took it away from us.”With little to split the two sides across the best part of 90 overs, it was the two bowling units’ contrasting performances in the final five overs at each innings that took Pakistan home. While Zimbabwe had been disciplined – if unspectacular – with the ball for the first 40 overs of the Pakistan innings, sloppiness crept in under pressure, and a few extras and full-tosses allowed Pakistan’s lower order to plunder 90 in the final ten overs. A more accomplished bowling attack may have smelled blood after reducing Pakistan to 205 for six, but Zimbabwe aren’t quite there yet.ALSO READ: Afridi tops Taylor to make it 1-0 for PakistanPakistan, meanwhile, very much are. Most notably Afridi, whose importance to this Pakistan side seems to grow larger with each passing game. When Zimbabwe required 88 off the final ten overs with six wickets in hand, they were ahead in the game at that stage, but Afridi turned things around.Benefitting from the added pressure after the dismissal of Wesley Madhevere by Wahab Riaz – another key point of differential between the sides – Afridi flummoxed Taylor with a perfectly disguised slower ball that was scooped scooped high up to mid-off, where Riaz dealt the killer blow. It was his third wicket of the night, and he’d come back for two more in his final over for his second five-wicket haul in ODI cricket. His captain Babar Azam was effusive in his praise, saying Afridi’s quality gave him comfort even when Taylor and Madhevere were flying high.”Shaheen Shah gave us an outstanding start, and at the finish, he was brilliant alongside Wahab Riaz at the death,” Azam said at the post-match press conference. “I had great belief in him because I know his qualities. Wahab Riaz is very experienced, but Shaheen is building up experience as well, now. That reassured me even when Zimbabwe were in a really strong position. That faith was vindicated in the way he finished the game off.”Azam also praised Taylor’s innings, terming it outstanding and saying it appeared as if he was a “one-man show” at times, but lamented Pakistan’s performance with the bat, promising improvement in the upcoming games. “When we started the innings the wicket was a bit two-paced,” he said. “Some balls came on to the bat really nicely but others didn’t. That puts you in doubt and a bit more hesitant to play your shots. I tried to remain positive but it was quite a tricky wicket to get set on, and that makes it challenging for the new batsmen.”The way we started was unfortunately not up to our expectations. But we were playing ODI cricket after a year and we were all a little rusty, and there are better performances to follow from us.”