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Celtic maintained their place at the top of the Scottish Premiership table this weekend as they beat Motherwell 2-1 in dramatic fashion on Saturday.

The Hoops did not take the lead until Luis Palma struck in the 87th minute and then appeared set for late heartbreak as the hosts equalised in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

However, Denmark U21 international Matt O'Riley became the hero for Brendan Rodgers as he popped up with a 97th-minute winner to secure all three points for the Bhoys.

How did Luis Palma perform against Motherwell?

The Honduras international, who joined from Aris FC during the summer transfer window, caught the eye off the bench with an impressive cameo.

As per Sofascore, Palma provided two key passes, one of which created a 'big chance', and completed nine of his 11 attempted passes to go alongside his goal.

The 5 foot 10 ace, who was a hero alongside O'Riley, scored his first goal for the Hoops as he cut inside onto his stronger right foot from the left flank and whipped a shot, which may have been a cross, into the far corner from the edge of the box.

Rodgers must now unleash the 23-year-old ace from the start in the Premiership as the exciting winger is yet to make his full league debut for the club and he could form an exciting link-up with O'Riley at the top end of the pitch.

How many chances has O'Riley created this season?

The former MK Dons star, who has scored five goals in seven top-flight outings, has created 17 chances for his teammates so far this term.

This comes after the 22-year-old produced a whopping 84 key passes and provided his teammates with a staggering 16 'big chances' in the Premiership during the 2022/23 campaign.

He has made 0.6 more key passes per match than any other Celtic player this season and made 0.2 more per game than any of his teammate's last term at league level.

These statistics show that O'Riley is the club's outstanding creative threat from a central midfield position and Palma is a player who has the potential to profit from the Danish gem's invention.

How many goals did Palma score last season?

The Honduras international scored 13 goals and produced eight assists in 36 matches across all competitions for Aris in Greece last term.

He was a lethal scorer at league level for the Greek side as the Celtic ace scored 11 goals and only missed one 'big chance' in 20 Super League starts.

Palma, who was described as "ambitious" by Rodgers, rarely passed up a big opportunity in front of goal as he found the back of the net 11 times from just 7.84 expected goals, which shows that the young wizard is a phenomenal finisher from a wide position.

The summer signing has now showcased his ability in front of goal with the strike against Motherwell on Saturday and that is why Rodgers must finally unleash him from the start in the Premiership to see how he fares over 90 minutes.

O'Riley's outstanding level of chance creation from midfield could provide Palma with the opportunities he needs at the top end of the pitch to carry his superb scoring record over from Greece to Scotland.

England are on the hunt for a whitewash, Australia are looking to save face after their record hammering at Trent Bridge

Preview by Andrew McGlashan20-Jun-20181:53

By The Numbers – England shatter ODI records

Big Picture

The perfect day and the worst day. Rarely have emotions been so polarised than with England and Australia at Trent Bridge. The teams have less than 48 hours to reset themselves before starting again at Chester-le-Street with two distinct aims: a push for a whitewash for England and a face-saving exercise for Australia.There was talk of a whitewash the last time these teams met, in Australia earlier this year, but England’s ambitions on that occasion we scuppered by one of their eye-watering collapses when they slumped to 8 for 5 in Adelaide. That, perhaps, remains Australia’s best chance of taking something this time – that England have a day when they nick a lot rather than middle shots into the stands – although the bowlers took such a hammering at Trent Bridge that it will be tough to recover.It is a mark of the expectations around this England team that holes were picked in the first two performances of this series and it is rare for Eoin Morgan to sound as satisfied with an outing as he did in Nottingham – although if he wasn’t happy then, he may never be. Still, the perfect day in a bilateral one-day series against a poor team is one thing. England will want to save a few for this time next year.After a perfect display, perhaps the one thing England would like is a few more wickets with the new ball. Mark Wood has taken two scalps in three matches with Australia, by and large, not having too many alarms against his new-ball spells only to repeatedly stumble when spin is introduced. That’s working fine for England now, but if they can make impact with the new ball – which highlights the significance of Chris Woakes’ absence – they become even more formidable. And there’s a daunting thought.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
England WWWLW
Australia LLLLW

In the spotlight

Joe Root isn’t a slogger. He almost managed a wry smile when he walked out at No. 7 at Trent Bridge. It will have been one of the least-pressurised situations he will ever have batted – and he barely middled one shot. His fifty in the opening match, when England had lost three early wickets, showed how important his role in the side remains. He purred to a half-century at The Oval and eased into the 20s at Cardiff, but after the pyrotechnics in Nottingham he has had the quietest series of the top order.Tim Paine admitted he hadn’t had a worse day on the cricket field in his life than Trent Bridge. He’s a good man in a difficult position. His captaincy of the one-day team is even more of a sticking plaster than with the Test side, where he at least justifies his position. It’s hard to say the same in this side. You could even suggest he isn’t the best option in this squad: Alex Carey is a talented, dynamic keeper-batsman. If Australia are serious about reviving their one-day team, Paine does not look the answer. He may have just two more matches to make a case.

Teams news

England have bolstered their pace attack by calling up Craig Overton and Sam Curran. Morgan hinted at the potential for changes due to the lengthy journey from Nottingham to Durham and the short turnaround between games. Tom Curran and Jake Ball were already part of the squad, so may get first dibs.England (probable) 1 Jason Roy, 2 Jonny Bairstow, 3 Alex Hales, 4 Joe Root, 5 Eoin Morgan (capt), 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 David Willey, 9 Liam Plunkett/Jake Ball, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Mark Wood/Tom CurranWhat can Australia do? Shuffling deckchairs on the Titanic springs to mind. Justin Langer has suggested Nathan Lyon could get a call-up, although that may create issues with the tail. Andrew Tye may need to be benched after a tough couple of games. Aaron Finch’s move to No. 5 hasn’t worked, either.Australia (probable) 1 D’Arcy Short, 2 Travis Head, 3 Shaun Marsh, 4 Marcus Stoinis, 5 Aaron Finch, 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Tim Paine (capt & wk), 8 Ashton Agar, 9 Jhye Richardson, 10 Kane Richardson, 11 Billy Stanlake.

Pitch and conditions

Chester-le-Street can offer more help to the pacemen than some grounds around the country, although the Royal London Cup did feature scores over 300. The forecast is set fair for the day-night game and the match is a sellout, an important boost for a county that has had well-documented struggles of late.

Stats and trivia

• This is the first ODI at Chester-le-Street since 2015 – when England beat New Zealand in the decider to take the series 3-2
• Jonny Bairstow’s four centuries in 2018 already equals the most by an England batsman in a calendar year (David Gower in 1983)
• Andrew Tye’s series economy rate of 7.96 is the highest for an Australia bowler to have delivered at least 20 overs in a series

Quotes

“Their top three are brutal. The way they are playing is reminiscent of how we used to play in our day with Gilly, Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting at the top.”
“We’ve always looked at series like this, and games with one day in between, as quite rigorous for the bowlers. Their risk of injury goes through the roof. So we’ll have to see how they pull up, and what they can do.”

Alex Bregman potentially played his last game for the Houston Astros on Wednesday as the team lost in the wild-card to the Detroit Tigers.

The longtime Astros third baseman is set to become an unrestricted free agent this winter, and it's possible Houston won't pick him back up. However, many fans and even his teammates hope the Astros make an offer to him.

Jose Altuve was especially emotional after Wednesday's game, giving Bregman a big hug on the field and telling him "You're coming back."

Altuve spoke to media after the game and advocated for his teammate to be brought back to the organization next season. He can't imagine not playing on the same team as Bregman.

"Now, it's time to make it happen," Altuve said. "We're not going to be the same organization without him. In my mind, there's not a chance this is the last one."

Bregman admitted he hadn't really had time to process Wednesday potentially being his final game in an Astros uniform. He tweeted out a simple message to fans later in the night: "Thank you Houston."

Altuve's been an Astro his entire MLB career, as has Bregman. The two stars have been teammates since Bregman joined the Astros in 2016. They've won two World Series titles together.

Muttiah Muralitharan, pointed out two things about Ajantha Mendis – one that Mendis is far more talented than he was when he debuted and two, that Mendis will take the pressure off him and perhaps extend Murali’s Test career

Jamie Alter in Colombo26-Jul-2008

	Instead of placing his middle finger behind the ball, as he does for the googly, Mendis positions it at the lower edge of the seam on the right side for the doosra © AFP

Not since Michael Clarke’s first match has a Test debut been so anticipated and turned out to be so spectacular. Like Clarke against India in Bangalore in 2004, Ajantha Mendis has burst onto the five-day scene in style, becoming the first Sri Lankan to take eight wickets on Test debut. Muttiah Muralitharan, who took 11 wickets at the SSC, pointed out two things after Sri Lanka handed India their third largest defeat; one, that Mendis is far more talented than he was when he debuted and two, that Mendis will take the pressure off him and perhaps extend Murali’s Test career.There is plenty of evidence supporting his first claim. Offspinners (Mendis falls under that category, believe it or not) don’t usually bowl googlies. Yet there was Mendis, slipping it in silently between top spinners and various cutters. Mendis’s googly is rather unconventional, when you analyse it through the slow-motion replays. He releases the ball from the back of his wrist with the seam up, and he flicks the middle finger to spin the ball.Nothing summarised the impact Mendis has had on this Test more than the over in which he brought India’s first innings to a sad close. The whole over was magnificent as Mendis set up VVS Laxman with two legcutters and then finished him off with a googly.Laxman, who had batted supremely for a stand-alone half-century, pushed the first ball to cover but waved back the single. The second ball cut away and beat Laxman, who pushed the bat forward hoping to defend. He was beaten yet again off the third as he played down middle stump. The fourth was an orthodox offbreak and Laxman turned it to forward short leg. And the fifth was just absurd.It was Mendis’s googly, two-fingered and bowled with the wrist-spinner’s action. The ball looped up outside off stump and dragged Laxman forward on the defensive. It then spun in sharply past bat and pad and crashed into the stumps. Laxman held his shot in bewilderment for a few seconds and then tucked his bat and walked off. Later the googly also accounted for Rahul Dravid, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh.Watching highlights of Mendis run rings around India during the final of the Asia Cup recently was stunning, but to see him live, in cream, on a Test field, explains a few things. He is a rare breed, like Jack Iverson and John Gleeson, and should thrive in Test cricket. His ‘flicker’ ball – let’s settle on that, because that’s precisely what it is – could be to cricket what the knuckleball is to baseball: the erratic, unpredictable delivery that stymies big bats with its killer efficiency. It bamboozled Dravid yesterday, and that wicket set into motion a most stunning surrender to a lethal spin duo.

	Previously when teams played Murali in Sri Lanka they had the option of playing him out and making runs at the other end. That is not possible any more. In tandem, Murali and Mendis gave India’s batsmen no room to breathe. It was like a pressure cooker, Murali bounding in, wide-eyed, and Mendis harrying in, arm flailing. India simply choked

Murali’s second remark could also be true for Mendis compliments his senior partner well. With all the attention focused on Mendis’s every move, Murali quietly chipped away from either wide of the stumps in his 23rd Test at the SSC. Never in Murali’s career has he had a spin partner who bowls so well in tandem with him. Murali and Mendis are different because of their range of variation. Mendis is quick and wicket-to-wicket while Murali is slow through the air, relying on flight and turn to flummox the batsmen.Sample the differences in the dismissals of Laxman and Gautam Gambhir in the second innings. This time it was the length that got Laxman. Two deliveries in to his post-lunch spell, Mendis skidded one in – as opposed to turning it loopily – and Laxman was struck flush on the back pad. It was a quick delivery. Murali later dismissed Gambhir with lovely flight, drifting it in, luring him out of his crease, only to be deftly stumped.Murali reinvented spin bowling and created a new genre. Last year he started bowling more around the stumps and that new tactic has worked for him. Here he towered over India’s batsmen, bounding in and taunting them with offbreaks and doosras that were near unplayable. Dinesh Karthik perished to a doosra; quick offbreaks took care of Sourav Ganguly and Kumble. His slowness and guile meshed easily with Mendis’s line and assortment.India had a tough time picking Mendis’s doosra because they didn’t have much time to decide what to play. This is something Gary Kirsten, India’s coach, identified yesterday. Like for his googly, Mendis uses a flick of the middle finger for his doosra. But instead of placing his finger behind the ball, as he does for the googly, Mendis positions it at the lower edge of the seam on the right side. If he develops his offbreaks with the same action, he will be tougher to handle. Another feature of his bowling is his wicket-to-wicket method; if the ball misses the bat, chances are you’re lbw or stumped. On television, Mendis’s cluster of deliveries is stunning, making you wonder how he can be so accurate with that bag of tricks and varying hand and wrist movements.

	Never in Murali’s career has he had a spin partner who bowls so well in tandem with him © AFP

Previously when teams played Murali in Sri Lanka they had the option of playing him out and making runs at the other end. That is not possible any more. In tandem, Murali and Mendis gave India’s batsmen no room to breathe. It was like a pressure cooker, Murali bounding in, wide-eyed, and Mendis harrying in, arm flailing. India simply choked.But the two spinners are undoubtedly aided by intelligent field placing. Mahela Jayawardene is in a different league as captain compared to Kumble, and there was something almost uncanny in his decisions. All through the first innings he had the placements spot on – there was one waiting for the hook from Virender Sehwag, while short cover, deep square leg watched for mistimed sweeps. Today he employed a forward short leg and leg slip when Murali bowled to Sachin Tendulkar and Tillakaratne Dilshan’s excellent timing worked a charm.World-class spinners have always had a hold on certain batsmen and teams – just ask the English how much they worry about getting dominated by blonde wrist spinners and unorthodox doosras, especially those pitched on leg stump. Ask India about Mendis after this series and see what they have to say.

To say that Aston Villa are flying under Unai Emery this season would be an understatement. The Villans sit as high as third in the Premier League and just four points adrift of league leaders Arsenal, who they play next. By the end of the weekend, the Midlands club could sit just one point away from the top of the league with Christmas fast approaching, summing up just how impressive they've been throughout the current campaign so far.

Their last victory, coming over champions Manchester City, was arguably their best yet under Emery. But it's not all good news for those at Villa Park as the January transfer window approaches, with one particular player potentially on the move when the winter window swings open.

Aston Villa transfer news

When it comes to incomings, Aston Villa got it fairly spot on in the summer. Moussa Diaby's stats, four goals and five assists show just how quickly he's settled in alongside Pau Torres, whilst Youri Tielemans and Nicolo Zaniolo begin to find their feet under Emery. All of that has resulted in new heights for the club in the Premier League as we near the halfway point. Amid their successful summer, however, is one man who is yet to make his mark and could already leave the Midlands club.

Aston Villa join the race to sign "unbelievable" defender

The Midlands side have entered the running to secure the services of a new colossus.

ByChloe Chadwick Dec 7, 2023

According to Bild, Bayern Munich are interested in Clement Lenglet, who is currently on loan at Aston Villa from Barcelona. The La Liga giants are reportedly open to the move as long as the German side cover the defender's wages in full. Villa, meanwhile, reportedly want to see out their loan move for Lenglet, keeping him until the end of the season as planned.

This comes as a surprise, given Lenglet's game time. The Frenchman has not played a single minute in the Premier League and has been handed all of his opportunities in the Europa Conference League. Despite that though, Villa reportedly want to keep hold of their loanee.

"Quality" Lenglet needs move

When Lenglet secured his return to the Premier League after an impressive loan spell at Tottenham Hotspur last season, he would have been full of hope over his Aston Villa role – but things just haven't worked out. Whether it be Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres or Diego Carlos, Emery has opted for other options ahead of the Barcelona loanee, who may need a move elsewhere if he is to receive regular minutes in the current campaign.

With Bayern Munich reportedly interested too, Lenglet may not get a better chance to secure an end to a stint in the Midlands and a move to a club in the Champions League. It's a surprise that things haven't worked out so far at Villa, with Emery full of praise for Lenglet upon his arrival. Emery said:

"Lenglet was a very good opportunity on loan for one year. He has experience in Barcelona, Sevilla and Tottenham playing at a high level, playing in Europe. I'm very happy with him because he is joining us with his quality, his experience."

Leeds United were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2022/23 campaign after three years at the top table of English football.

The Whites were promoted under Marcelo Bielsa in 2020 and stayed up under the Argentine boss and then Jesse Marsch. However, a combination of Marsch, Javi Gracia, and Sam Allardyce failed to keep them up last term.

An instant return to the top-flight is now on the agenda for the Yorkshire-based outfit and German boss Daniel Farke has been brought in to secure it.

The impressive tactician won two Championship titles during his time with Norwich City earlier in his career and is now looking for a third promotion to the Premier League.

Points

94

97

Goals for

93

75

Goals against

57

36

Games won

27

29

Farke's Championship title-winning seasons with Norwich (via Sky Sports):

However, his squad was dealt a number of blows as the likes of Tyler Adams, Rodrigo, Max Wober, Robin Koch, Jack Harrison, Luis Sinisterra, and Marc Roca moved on either permanently or out on loan.

One decision that the German head coach made that may come back to haunt him, though, is the one to loan out talented young midfielder Sam Greenwood, who has outscored Wilfried Gnonto, Dan James, and Jaidon Anthony this season.

Why Leeds could lose Greenwood permanently

The Whites could lose the ex-Arsenal prospect on a permanent deal at the end of the 2023/24 campaign as they included a purchase option within his loan deal with Middlesbrough.

It was recently reported by The Athletic that Boro negotiated an option to sign Greenwood for £1.5m during next summer's transfer window if they decide the fit is right by that point.

This means that, essentially, Farke and Leeds have little say in what happens with the midfield technician next year as his current club have the chance to snap him up permanently if they want to.

If Middlesbrough do decide that they want to activate that £1.5m buyout clause and the Whites do not want to lose him then they would need to convince the player to turn down the opportunity to return to Teesside.

This could be a difficult task when you consider that Leeds were willing to sanction a possible permanent exit for him last summer and decided that he was not ready for their first-team.

Greenwood has been shown faith by Boro and may, therefore, prefer a switch to Michael Carrick's side over coming back to Elland Road if it comes down to it next summer.

Sam Greenwood's statistics this season

The 21-year-old whiz, who former Leeds ace Noel Whelan hailed for his "immense" ability, endured a slow start to life at Middlesbrough as his first four appearances for the club came as a substitute in the Championship.

However, he has since broken into the starting XI and has started each of their last four league matches, which has allowed him to showcase his quality out wide.

Greenwood has been deployed on the left of an attacking midfield trio behind the main centre-forward and has caught the eye with his recent attacking contributions.

The right-footed wizard has scored two goals in four starts, both of which came within the last three games, and the latest of those came in their 2-1 win over Norwich City on Tuesday night.

He produced a fantastic display against the Canaries earlier this week with a Sofascore rating of 7.7, which was the highest score of any player for either side.

The English dynamo scored the opening goal for Boro as he arrived in the right place at the right time to finish from close range after Norwich gave possession away on the opposite side of the pitch.

Greenwood also won seven of his 12 duels and completed all three of his attempted dribbles. These statistics show that the talented gem offered strength out of possession and helped to carry his team up the pitch with his dribbling quality.

To the latter point, the former Sunderland academy ace has completed 15 progressive carries in his last four matches for Boro and this shows that, alongside a goal threat, the Leeds loanee can provide value in transition.

Farke may now be looking at the gem's recent performances and wondering whether or not it was a mistake to part ways with the 21-year-old ace, particularly when he looks at how his current wing options have performed in front of goal.

Wilfried Gnonto's statistics this season

Gnonto has scored one goal in six Championship starts, with one further appearance off the bench, throughout the 2023/24 campaign so far.

The Italy international was brought back into the starting XI against Stoke on Wednesday night and failed to make the most of his opportunity to shine. He failed to provide a single shot on target, completed dribble, or chance created for his teammates in 70 minutes on the pitch.

Chances have not been particularly hard to come by for the 19-year-old whiz as he has already missed two 'big chances' and taken 1.6 shots per game, which suggests that his current return of one goal has been an underperformance.

Whereas, Greenwood has taken 1.3 shots per match and has not missed a single 'big chance' in front of goal to go along with his two league strikes.

Gnonto is not the only Leeds forward who has been outperformed in front of goal by the Boro star, though, as Anthony and James have also only scored one goal each in the league so far this season. The latter has, at least, provided four assists but the Bournemouth loanee is yet to register a single assist.

Meanwhile, Ian Poveda, Patrick Bamford, and Joe Gelhardt were all kept around to be part of the squad and have combined for zero goals and zero assists in 15 league appearances between them.

These statistics suggest that Leeds could have benefitted from keeping the 5 foot 11 dynamo as part of their squad to bolster their attacking options out wide.

The Whites have not had a steady stream of goals from those positions, outside of Crysencio Summerville's four strikes, and this was illustrated on Wednesday as Anthony and Gnonto started out wide and failed to make an impact in the final third as Farke's men lost 1-0 to Leeds.

Glasgow Rangers have parted company with Michael Beale on Sunday evening after just ten months in charge of the club following a disappointing start to the season.

The Ibrox side will now be looking for their third permanent manager in just two years and this cycle will need to be broke should they wish to return to the summit of Scottish football anytime soon.

Steven Davis has been placed in interim charge of the Gers whilst they search for a new manager and with a Europa League tie against Aris Limassol fast approaching, the Northern Irishman doesn’t have long to prepare his side for their second group stage tie of the season.

Why was Michael Beale sacked by Rangers?

The former first-team assistant at the Light Blues had taken over from Giovanni van Bronckhorst in November last year and whilst failing to secure any of the domestic trophies on offer, he was given the summer to rebuild the squad ahead of the 2023/24 season.

Beale did indeed complete a total revamp of the first team squad, showing no sentiment by allowing the likes of Alfredo Morelos, Ryan Kent and Scott Arfield to leave at the end of their contracts while selling Glen Kamara, Fashion Sakala and Antonio Colak.

In their place arrived nine new players, and it appeared as though Beale was certainly backed by the board in terms of getting his main targets and with Celtic losing Ange Postecoglou to Tottenham Hotspur, the Gers had a solid chance of battling them for the Premiership crown.

A 1-0 defeat to Kilmarnock in the opening league match of the season was a dreadful start, yet there was plenty of time to make amends, but the performances on the pitch weren’t exactly lighting up Ibrox.

Indeed, until the international break, the Light Blues played nine games and won just four of them, including a 2-1 win over second-tier Greenock Morton. Defeats to PSV Eindhoven and Celtic practically derailed their campaign before it was even up and running and handed the momentum to the Parkhead outfit, while the Gers also failed to qualify for the Champions League group stages.

There was a slight response by the team as they secured four wins in a row while failing to concede following the international break, but Beale was booed by the Ibrox faithful after the 1-0 win over Motherwell and the writing was on the wall.

Losing 3-1 to Aberdeen proved to be the last straw and now thoughts turn to who will be the 19th permanent manager of Rangers.

Who will be the next manager of Rangers?

There will likely be a cascade of names who put themselves forward for the role, yet the club must be wise about their next decision and not rush the process, otherwise the cycle will simply repeat itself.

The Gers are showing interest in Graham Potter, who is currently without a club having been sacked by Chelsea, while former Rangers defender Kevin Muscat has declared his interest in the vacant managerial role as of late.

Another name to have been linked with taking over at Ibrox is English-born Pascal Jansen, who is currently in charge of Eredivisie side AZ Alkmaar, whom he has guided to second in the league table.

Jansen would certainly be an interesting choice and would represent somewhat of a gamble, yet going slightly left field as opposed to the safer option is the direction the club should be going in, and the AZ coach could be an ideal successor to Beale should he be appointed.

Who is Pascal Jansen?

The 50-year-old spent the first few years of his managerial career taking charge of the PSV youth sides, including their U19 and U21 sides as he sought to gain plenty of experience ahead of landing a senior role in the near future.

He landed the post of assistant to manager Arne Slot at AZ before taking over the hot seat in December 2020, initially until the end of that season, yet nearly three years later, he is still in charge of the Dutch side.

The last three years has seen steady progress at the club, establishing a team which can challenge for not only domestic honours, but also success on the continent.

Indeed, Jansen led AZ to the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League last season, losing to West Ham United, and he clearly has plenty more experience than Beale in terms of managerial experience.

Third

2.16

Fifth

1.79

Fourth

1.97

Across his spell with the Dutch club, he has an excellent 1.97 points per game average while seeing his team score 303 goals over just 145 matches, which works out at just over two goals a game and this sort of attacking play is much-needed at Ibrox.

Beale in comparison, has just 1.77 points per game across spells with Rangers, QPR and Liverpool U21s, while his teams have scored 217 goals across 120 matches.

Jansen has much more experience managing in a more competitive league, while he also tends to play with a 4-3-3 formation which certainly fits the skillset of the players he would have at his disposal should he take over the Gers.

Reporter Graeme Bailey praised the coach before the Europa Conference League semi-final clash against West Ham, saying: “English-born, a truly fascinating and engaging character who would love chance to manage in the Premier League.”

This is the type of managerial appointment that the Light Blues should be all over. A coach who has plenty of years of experience yet is still only 50-years-old while challenging teams such as Ajax, Feyenoord, and PSV on a regular basis.

Whether or not the board take the same approach remains to be seen, yet in order for the Ibrox side to make any progress, risks will have to be taken and luring a coach such as Jansen to Glasgow could be the very first step in the road to success.

Davis will take charge of the team for the coming weeks before a decision is made on the future, yet with Celtic already seven points clear, the next manager must come in and hit the ground running, or the Gers face another trophyless campaign.

La Liga are investigating Vinicius Junior allegedly being called a "monkey" during Real Madrid's 2-2 draw with Valencia.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Madrid draw 2-2 at Valencia
• Vinicius Jr allegedly called a monkey
• La Liga investigating incident

• Getty Images
  

  WHAT HAPPENED?

  According to The Athletic, a video on social media, posted by ESPN Brazil, allegedly showed a young person using racist language towards the Madrid star – who scored both his side's goals at the Mestalla on Saturday. The report adds police were called during the game and now this matter will be looked into by the Spanish league.

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• Getty Images
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  This comes less than a year after Vinicius was the victim of racist abuse at the same ground. After being discriminated against and later sent off on his last visit to the stadium in May 2023, for the 23-year-old to be allegedly racially abused again is wholly unacceptable and shows Spanish football still has a long way to go in this regard.

• Getty Images
  

  DID YOU KNOW?

  After Vinicius was racially abused by Valencia's fans last year, he said "La Liga belongs to racists". He wrote on Instagram: "The championship that once belonged to Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano and Messi today belongs to racists. It wasn't the first time, nor the second, nor the third. Racism is normal in La Liga. The competition thinks it's normal, the federation does too and the opponents encourage it."

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• WHAT NEXT?

  While La Liga investigates this incident, the Madrid star is likely to be in action when they host RB Leipzig in the second leg of their round of 16 Champions League tie on Wednesday, followed by their La Liga clash on Sunday against Celta Vigo.

Dustin Silgardo, Sidharth Monga and Yash Jha analyse the talking points from India’s ODI series win against South Africa

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Dec-2025Did we see a new version of Virat Kohli? Can Ravinda Jadeja and Washington Sundar fit in the same ODI XI? Who impressed the most among the seamers? Dustin Silgardo, Sidharth Monga and Yash Jha get together on the Rock and Roll it podcast to discuss all that and more in their wrap of India’s ODI series against South Africa.