Ƶ

Chelsea’s Delap may be out for weeks after injury during Fulham win, Maresca says

Chelsea’s Delap may be out for weeks after injury during Fulham win, Maresca says
Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah reacts after being fouled by Fulham’s Rodrigo Muniz before Josh King goal is disallowed following a VAR review during their Premier League match at Stamford Bridge, London, on Aug. 30, 2025. (Reuters)
Short Url
Updated 7 sec ago

Chelsea’s Delap may be out for weeks after injury during Fulham win, Maresca says

Chelsea’s Delap may be out for weeks after injury during Fulham win, Maresca says
  • Delap went down clutching his thigh 13 minutes into the home game
  • Three key Chelsea players have now suffered injuries this month

LONDON: Chelsea striker Liam Delap may be out for weeks after suffering a hamstring injury during Saturday’s 2-0 Premier League win over Fulham, manager Enzo Maresca said.

Delap went down clutching his thigh 13 minutes into the home game and walked straight into the tunnel after the medics had looked at it.

Three key Chelsea players have now suffered injuries this month, with attacker Cole Palmer also absent due to a groin injury and center back Levi Colwill ruled out for most of the season with a cruciate ligament tear.

“Injury doesn’t look good. He was full speed, hamstring, so that requires weeks,” Maresca told a press conference.

Maresca, who said Chelsea would look to sign another defender after Colwill’s injury, did not rule out going into the market for another striker.

“When you have two strikers, it is enough. When one of them is injured for weeks, it is probably not enough,” he said.

The manager said he could not tell if this summer’s Club World Cup campaign, which Chelsea won, played any role in the injuries.

Maresca, however, was happy to have two league wins in a row after being held to a goalless draw by Crystal Palace in their opening league game.

“I’m very happy. We have seven points, it’s important. I wasn’t happy after the first half because we didn’t play on the ball in the way we prepared. Second half, we were very good on the ball and good with second balls. We dominated the second half,” he added.


Oscar Piastri beats McLaren teammate Lando Norris to end his wait for pole at F1’s Dutch GP

Oscar Piastri beats McLaren teammate Lando Norris to end his wait for pole at F1’s Dutch GP
Updated 23 sec ago

Oscar Piastri beats McLaren teammate Lando Norris to end his wait for pole at F1’s Dutch GP

Oscar Piastri beats McLaren teammate Lando Norris to end his wait for pole at F1’s Dutch GP
Piastri set the pace at the start of the final part of qualifying for Sunday’s race and Norris couldn’t quite match it
“That was the definition of peaking at the right time,” Piastri said

ZANDVOORT, Netherlands: Oscar Piastri found new pace to beat his teammate Lando Norris by just over one-hundredth of a second and take Formula 1 pole position for the first time in three months at the Dutch Grand Prix in qualifying on Saturday.

Piastri set the pace at the start of the final part of qualifying for Sunday’s race and Norris couldn’t quite match it, ending up .012 of a second off the pace as the title battle between the two McLaren teammates intensifies.

“That was the definition of peaking at the right time,” Piastri said. “It was looking like a little bit of a tricky weekend so far.”

It was the Australian’s fifth pole position of the year but his first since the Spanish Grand Prix, six races ago.

Norris, who won last year’s Dutch Grand Prix and was fastest in all three practice sessions this week, said it was “not the end of the world” to start second, and suggested small changes in the wind could have decided the result.

Piastri leads Norris by nine points in the standings with 10 races left of the season. Norris has closed the gap in recent months with wins in three of the last four races.

Verstappen improves

Defending champion Max Verstappen is set to start third for his home race. He’s third in the standings but a 97-point gap to Piastri means his title chances are remote.

Verstappen said it was “always very special” to compete in front of his home crowd and he was pleased with the improvement after a “tricky” time in practice.

“This is a really good step forward,” he said. “I hope that we can keep that up also going into the race tomorrow.”

Hadjar’s surprising fourth

Isack Hadjar was a surprise fourth for Racing Bulls in a career-best qualifying result for the French rookie, who is considered a contender for promotion to Red Bull next season as Verstappen’s teammate.

George Russell is fifth for Mercedes, while Charles Leclerc in sixth again outqualified his Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton, who was seventh.

It’s going to be another difficult race for Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli after he qualified 11th. The Italian started his debut season strongly but has only been in the points in two of his last eight races.

Yuki Tsunoda was 12th in a result that doesn’t help his efforts to show he can stay on for next season at Red Bull.

Lance Stroll spun and crashed heavily into the barriers after getting two wheels on the grass. The Canadian was able to return his damaged Aston Martin to the pits but couldn’t continue and qualified last.

Besiktas reappoint former player Yalcin as manager

Besiktas reappoint former player Yalcin as manager
Updated 32 min 49 sec ago

Besiktas reappoint former player Yalcin as manager

Besiktas reappoint former player Yalcin as manager
  • The 52-year-old Turk has agreed a deal until the end of the 2026-2027 season
  • The club sacked Solskjaer on Thursday following their exit from the Conference League

ISTANBUL: Turkish Super Lig club Besiktas have appointed former leading player and manager Sergen Yalcin at their new boss, the club announced on Saturday.

The 52-year-old Turk, who will be making his second stint as the club’s manager, has agreed a deal until the end of the 2026-2027 season.

Besiktas, who have won the Turkish Super Lig title 16 times, finished fourth in the league last season.

The club sacked Norwegian Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the former Manchester United manager, on Thursday following their exit from the Conference League.

Besiktas had already been knocked out of the Europa League by Shakhtar Donetsk in the qualifying rounds and defeat by Swiss side Lausanne-Sport in the Conference League playoffs brought an end to Solskjaer’s time at the club after seven months.

During Yalcin’s first term as manager, Besiktas won a domestic double in the 2020-2021 season.


Man City face mid-winter trip north of the Arctic Circle in Champions League

Man City face mid-winter trip north of the Arctic Circle in Champions League
Updated 30 August 2025

Man City face mid-winter trip north of the Arctic Circle in Champions League

Man City face mid-winter trip north of the Arctic Circle in Champions League
  • City will play an away match at Norwegian champion Bodo/Glimt on Jan. 20
  • Pep Guardiola and his team of mega-stars will face harsh temperatures at the 8,000-capacity Aspmyra stadium

NYON: Manchester City face a trip north of the Arctic Circle in the middle of the European winter after the dates of this season’s Champions League games were published on Saturday.

City will play an away match at Norwegian champion Bodo/Glimt on Jan. 20, meaning Pep Guardiola and his team of mega-stars will face harsh temperatures at the 8,000-capacity Aspmyra stadium — a venue farther north than soccer’s top club competition has ever been.

Bodo/Glimt are a tournament debutant like Kazakhstan’s Kairat Almaty, whose first-ever Champions League match — at Sporting Lisbon — is the longest away trip in the competition’s history.

Kairat will have to travel across three time zones and more than 6,500 kilometers (4,000 miles) to Lisbon from Almaty, near Kazakhstan’s border with China, for the Sept. 18 game on the Champions League’s first matchday.

Almaty can have temperatures as low as minus-20 C (minus-4 F) in January — chillier even than Bodo/Glimt — so Club Brugge’s visit to Kairat on Jan. 20 could be the coldest game in Champions League history.

Paris Saint-Germain open the defense of their title at home to Atalanta on Sept. 17.

Kevin De Bruyne won’t have long to wait before his match against Man City, his former long-time club. He will make his return to Etihad Stadium on Sept. 18.


AC Milan signs speedy Christopher Nkunku from Chelsea

AC Milan signs speedy Christopher Nkunku from Chelsea
Updated 30 August 2025

AC Milan signs speedy Christopher Nkunku from Chelsea

AC Milan signs speedy Christopher Nkunku from Chelsea
  • The French player signed a five-year contract, Milan announced without providing financial details
  • The 27-year-old Nkunku came up through Paris Saint-Germain’s youth system

MILAN: AC Milan signed dribbling expert Christopher Nkunku from Chelsea on Saturday for a reported fee of 37 million euros ($43 million).
The French player signed a five-year contract, Milan announced without providing financial details.
The 27-year-old Nkunku came up through Paris Saint-Germain’s youth system before moving to Leipzig in 2019. He spent the last two seasons at Chelsea and his extra-time goal sparked the Blues to a win over Benfica in the round of 16 at the Club World Cup – which Chelsea went on to win – in July. He scored 18 goals in 62 matches for Chelsea.
Known for his 1-on-1 abilities and speed with the ball, Nkunku will be counted on to add pace to Milan’s attack. He can play both as an attacking midfielder and as a forward. He has made 14 appearances for France.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said in August that Nkunku would no longer be part of the squad – after joining on a six-year deal in 2023 that was worth 52 million pounds (nearly $70 million).
“Christo is a fantastic professional,” Maresca said Friday. “The only problem with him is that in his position we have Cole Palmer, so it was tough to find minutes for him.”
Milan bounced back from a loss at the San Siro to promoted Cremonese in its Serie A opener with a 2-0 win at Lecce on Friday.


Miranda Wang waits a long time for a short birdie and leads rain-delayed FM Championship by 2 shots

Miranda Wang waits a long time for a short birdie and leads rain-delayed FM Championship by 2 shots
Updated 30 August 2025

Miranda Wang waits a long time for a short birdie and leads rain-delayed FM Championship by 2 shots

Miranda Wang waits a long time for a short birdie and leads rain-delayed FM Championship by 2 shots
  • Most of the wet day at TPC Boston was a series of rain delays, and it wound up taking Wang some 10 hours to finish the round
  • Wang: I didn’t expect the weather because on the forecast we didn’t see any thunderstorms coming in this morning. But, well, that’s golf

NORTON, Mass.: Miranda Wang waited a long time to make a short birdie and finally finish a 5-under 67, giving her a two-shot lead Friday among those who completed their second rounds in the rain-delayed FM Championship.

Most of the wet day at TPC Boston was a series of rain delays, and it wound up taking Wang some 10 hours to finish the round.

Nelly Korda, scheduled for an afternoon start, managed to get in four holes (two birdies) and will return with the second half of the field Saturday morning.

Jeeno Thitikul, the No. 1 player in women’s golf, joined Hannah Green and defending champion Lauren Coughlin in jogging down the ninth fairway when they saw darkening skies and wanted dearly to finish their round before the next delay.

“I don’t think I could have mentally prepared myself for another delay,” Green said with a laugh.

Wang already has 16 birdies over 36 holes and has stretches of big birdie runs. She started the tournament with eight birdies in her opening nine. She finished the second round with three in a row, only it didn’t go all that quickly.

She had an 8-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th when the horn sounded — again — stopping play. Wang returned some two hours later and holed the putt to reach 11-under 133.

“I didn’t expect the weather because on the forecast we didn’t see any thunderstorms coming in this morning. But, well, that’s golf,” Wang said. “We’re playing in nature, so it’s sometimes unpredictable. We just have to face it and prepare mentally, physically for the thunderstorms and just try to stay calm and every time warm up just like you didn’t stop and just keep going.”

Madelene Sagstrom had a 66 and was at 9-under 135. Green (68), Azahara Munoz (68) and Celine Borge (66) were another shot back.

The LPGA was hopeful that with a reasonable weekend forecast, the tournament could be close to getting back on schedule by Saturday evening or Sunday morning. The plan was for the cut to be made and then to send threesomes off both nines.

Korda, who has yet to win this year, faced 32 holes on Saturday as she tries to stay in position for a chance at her first victory of the year.

Thitikul, who replaced Korda atop the world ranking earlier this month, charged into the mix with four birdies on the back nine. But she played the front nine in event par for a 68 and was four shots behind.

On this day, what mattered was finishing. It was her idea the group waste no time playing the ninth when they saw the clouds.

“The security guard told us ... three minutes left, so run, ready and go,” Thitikul said. “It was start and stop, start and stop. It was frustrating a little bit, but glad we’re done.”

Also four shots behind were Women’s British Open champion Miyu Yamashita (66) and Jodi Ewart Shadoff, who finished the opening round with four straight birdies to share the 18-hole lead. She had to settle for a 72 on Friday.