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FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. – Thomas Muller was sad his Vancouver Whitecaps side couldn't get past Lionel Messi and Inter Miami in the MLS Cup, but he wasn't disappointed. The German legend insisted this defeat was the start of a journey, rather than the end of one. He pointed to the team's young core and the fact the team converted a hockey city into one passionate about soccer as reasons why.

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  'We will come back stronger'

  Muller, for his part, asserted that the Whitecaps will contend next season – even if they fell just short this time:

   "It hurts, but in the best way it could hurt," he said. "We will come back stronger next season, even stronger. Jesper is in now for one year. It's only one year. I think nobody expected a season like that one year ago," he said. "And I think maybe it's not the right moment to talk about next year, but I still feel that our process is not at the top. At the moment, we are on our way up. We have a very young group, a very talented group, and a very hungry group. And you know how it is with the big losses, that gains a lot of energy for the future," he told reporters after the game." 

  He also acknowledged a hungry core of young players ready to push for more. 

  "We have a young group, a very young group, a very talented group, and a very hungry group," he said. "And you know how it is with the big losses that gain a lot of energy for the future. So I try to focus my emotions a little bit more on these upcoming months." 

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  Turning Vancouver into a soccer town

  Muller also acknowledged the impact of the Whitecaps' steps forward this season for the city of Vancouver, which currently faces an uncertain future. 

  "Yeah, that was it's so nice to hear that we created in a city like Vancouver, the hockey city, we created the buzz," he said. "We wanted to create that when we talked about it two or three months ago [when I considered joining], and that this happened. It was very nice to experience that by myself and with the group.

  "So we were happy for every support, and I hope the buzz continues next season." 

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  'Today we cry'

  Vancouver Whitecaps manager Jesper Sorensen also mentioned this loss was a important moment for the club. He asserted that he was proud of his team despite their 3-1 loss to Inter Miami in MLS Cup final Saturday night. The Whitecaps were in the game at 1-1, but conceded two second-half goals – both off Leo Messi assists – to see their dream season fall short. The first-year head coach has led the Canadian side to three finals in 2025.

  Sorensen admitted that his side was devastated after failing to win the final fixture of the season in their 3-1 MLS Cup loss – but in a postmatch press conference asserted that they could have few regrets after a fine campaign: 

  "We are a very strong group. And I think today, obviously, we cry, but I think what is important is that it is proud, tears, because I know that we have excited a lot of people in Vancouver," he said. "We have created something around us that people want to see and watch. And I also think that the behavior of our players throughout the season, both on and off the pitch, has been masterful. It's important you can be you can be a champion on the pitch, but you also have to be a champion outside the pitch."

  Still, for all of Vancouver's efforts, they failed to get Muller involved in the game. Sorensen believes Inter Miami were effective in denying the Whitecaps star from being able to play in his comfort zone. 

  "With that focus they had on Thomas, it was also about playing past him. But yeah, when you play against the team, they also have a plan for playing against you. It's obviously how football works," he added.

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  'It means everything'

  The loss comes among talk that the Whitecaps might find a new home next year. Their lease at BC Place is up, while their ownership made moves to undergo the process of selling the team 12 months ago. Sorensen insisted, though, that the Whitecaps will fight for the city.

  "We will play in the same style again. Next year, we will work hard and see if we can continue this great run together with the fans. And it means everything. It means everything, because football, this game, the beautiful game, is not just for the players. It's for the fans to interact [with]. It's for the atmosphere, it's for the tension, it's for the excitement, it's for everything. And the fact that we've been able to create that together with our fans in Vancouver, I think it's, it's the most important thing." 

The Los Angeles Dodgers made quick work of the Cincinnati Reds in their National League wild-card series as they cruised to a 8-4 victory in Game 2 thanks to big nights from Mookie Betts and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Next up for the defending World Series champions is a date with the Philadelphia Phillies in what should be must-see TV.

Major League Baseball seasons are marathons and teams rightly celebrate their accomplishments by going all out even if they have much larger goals in mind, so the Dodgers piled into their victorious locker room to party it up after sweeping the Reds. But not before manager Dave Roberts charged them with a responsibility.

"There's a lot of work to be done," he said. "My only ask is that every single guy be ready when called upon. Keep your minds right. We're going to need every single one of you guys. Stay in it. Stay focused. Keep playing for each other. Let's go!"

The end of the motivational speech meant it was time to pop bottles and Los Angeles, even despite all its recent history, enjoyed it like it was the very first time.

Fabrizio Romano has now revealed that Leeds United have received a response after making contact to sign an “outstanding” attacker in the past few days.

Leeds showing fight in battle for survival

Heading into a tricky three-game run against Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool, Daniel Farke would’ve been fearing the worst, given the widespread speculation about his future, but his side have managed to amass a very respectable four points.

Even in the 3-2 loss at the Etihad Stadium, the Whites showed heart, fighting back from 2-0 down, which will be very encouraging for Farke, and the 2024-25 Championship title-winners remain outside the relegation zone for the time being.

That said, it is still very close near the bottom of the Premier League table, with both Nottingham Forest and West Ham United starting to pick up better results since hiring new managers.

Consequently, it is little wonder Leeds have started looking at new signings ahead of the January transfer window, recently making an approach for Tromso star Jens Hjerto-Dahl, and they have now set their sights on £21m summer Como signing Martin Baturina.

That is according to Romano (via Leeds United News), who said: “Baturina is a player Como still wants to focus on, they’re not thinking about a January exit. I’ll tell you the behind-the-scenes story. In the last few days, Leeds has been in touch, the teams are starting to move.

“Leeds has proposed opening talks with Como and the player’s agents about a possible transfer, even a permanent one. Leeds would have practically repaid Baturina to Como,”

“The response I understand from both Como and the player was ‘No, thanks’. Baturina wants to stay at Como, he believes in the project Como is happy with Baturina, with how he trains, the potential he has.

“Baturina continues to work hard, but the door has been closed for Leeds. In short, it also marks some clarity regarding the rumours that have been circulating about the future of the Croatian midfielder.”

Leeds scouts now spotted watching "fantastic" European standout alongside Man Utd

He’s one to watch.

By
Tom Cunningham

7 days ago

"Outstanding" Baturina could have bright future ahead

Leeds will be frustrated they didn’t receive the ideal response after making a move for the 22-year-old, given just how impressive he was at Dinamo Zagreb, registering 22 goals and 39 assists in 165 outings, while he has also now scored his first goal for Croatia.

Scout Ben Mattinson has also waxed lyrical about the attacking midfielder, saying a little over a year ago: “His vision and weight of pass is outstanding.”

However, the former Dinamo Zagreb man hasn’t exactly hit the ground running since moving to Italy, being benched for the majority of Como’s Serie A matches this season, having recorded just one goal contribution in his first seven outings.

As such, Baturina clearly isn’t the finished article just yet, so it is not majorly disappointing that Leeds appear to have missed out.

The batter emerged from a form slump and set up Pakistan’s opening win in the Asia Cup

Shashank Kishore12-Sep-20251:59

Jaffer: Looks like Haris has worked on his game

Mohammad Haris is forever going to be compared to his predecessor, even if their styles may be polar opposites. If he comes off, it’s seen as a vindication in selection. If he doesn’t, there is invariably going to be murmurs about why Mohammad Rizwan’s experience ought to be used better.Rizwan is more of an accumulator, while Haris is synonymous with intent, which brings with it the inherent risk of being hit-or-miss. But when he comes good, he can deliver the thrill. The problem for Pakistan has been that Haris hasn’t been able to come good lately.Since his century against Bangladesh in Lahore in June, Haris had a highest score of 15 in 11 T20I innings until Friday. He had crossed double figures only twice. All through this run, the pitches he largely played on – from Mirpur to Lauderhill to Sharjah – weren’t exactly conducive to strokeplay.Related

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Then there was also the issue of Pakistan struggling to use him effectively. During this string of low scores, he batted everywhere from Nos. 3-8, a yo-yo existence that further added to the scrutiny. His record against spin in this period was also beginning to look suspect – five dismissals in nine innings that fed into the narrative that more accomplished spinners like Kuldeep Yadav or Rashid Khan can work him out.Yet, through this uncertain phase, one man had complete faith in Haris. Mike Hesson has only been in charge since June, but the shades of dominance he had seen sporadically, both at training and during the occasional big knock like that century in Mirpur, gave him the belief here was a talent worth persisting with.And against the ticking clock, on Friday, Haris delivered – a 32-ball half-century that promised much more, but ended on 66. It was, nonetheless, a knock on a slower-than-usual Dubai surface, which would have given him oodles of confidence.The start wasn’t pretty. He crawled to 16 off 18 as Pakistan were slightly hesitant in the first over. But Haris didn’t panic, and he didn’t throw it away. When Aamir Kaleem, nearly 20 years his senior, came on, he launched the left-arm spinner over deep midwicket with a slog sweep.2:08

Samiuddin: Hesson clear with his plans for Pakistan

Then, he produced the shot of the innings – an inside-out drive over extra cover for four. Sixteen runs came off that over, the last of the powerplay, and with it, the mood shifted. From there, Haris found a gear that had been missing for weeks.His next 25 balls brought him 50 runs, including a six that raised his half-century. There was variety and audacity in equal measure. The short-arm jab off seamer Mohammad Nadeem showed he was adept at tackling bounce. With the off-side ring fortified, it was Haris’ way of outsmarting the bowler, as he picked his spot slightly belatedly, but made a sweet connection.Then the sweep off Samay Shrivastava’s legspin exhibited his power and game sense of targeting the shorter boundary. It was as much muscle as it was about game sense. After the game, Haris spoke of how much the innings meant to him.”The confidence and backing is needed for any player,” he said of the 11-match slump since his previous century. “The way the captain and coach, and senior players, backed me, I’m thankful to them. It’s tough when performances don’t come – there’s a lot of criticism to deal with, but I took it positively.”Haris underlined the need to be flexible, but even by those standards, he cheekily took it to an extreme when he said he was ready to bat even at No. 10 if the team asked him to, impressing upon the need to be versatile. “I’ve been working hard with the batting coach, working on my calmness, and how to tackle spin,” he said. “The seniors have been helping, giving advice. I wanted to use all that and deliver for the team.”For now, he has done just that. More than the runs, it was the manner of scoring, the intent, the composure, the sense of belonging that will encourage Pakistan. For a team bold enough to move on from the superstars under a coach keen on giving them a sense of freedom, Haris’ knock was an inkling that the next-gen may be ready to lead the charge and deliver if persisted with.

Manchester City goal machine Erling Haaland shared a bizarre video of himself standing on the banks of a river to celebrate scoring 100 Premier League goals in record time. Haaland became the fastest player in history to become a Premier League centurion as he struck the opener in City's epic 5-4 win over Fulham on Tuesday at Craven Cottage.

• Haaland's bizarre clip to celebrate 100 goals

  Haaland reached the magic figure on Tuesday as he netted in the 17th minute against Fulham. City ended up winning the clash 5-4 as the Norwegian became the fastest player ever to reach 100 Premier League goals, doing so in 111 appearances. In the process, he also broke the previous record held by Newcastle legend Alan Shearer, who took 124 matches to reach the milestone. 

  A day after achieving the feat, Haaland shared a short clip of himself standing on the bank of a river and holding a special Manchester City home kit with 'Haaland 100 PL Goals' printed on the back. 

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• 'It's huge and I'm really proud'

  After reaching 100 league goals, Haaland spoke to Sky Sports as he said: "It's huge and I'm really proud. It's a massive thing, the 100 club is a nice thing to be in and I'm happy. I knew about it, that's what I tried to do. I try to help the team scoring goals, that's my job. Every game is a different game, you can't think of the game that's been, you need to focus on what's ahead. The reality is we lost against Newcastle and Leverkusen but now we have two in a row and we have to keep going. I think if you're sitting at home now you enjoyed that game. It was a crazy game, nine goals is a lot. In the end, we win and we're happy but it's not the best win."

  The 25-year-old is only the 35th player to reach 100 Premier League goals in the league's history. And given he has a contract with City until 2034, the Norway international is well placed to join Wayne Rooney, Harry Kane and Shearer as the only players to have netted 200 or more in the division.

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  'Hopefully he is hungry to continue getting goals'

  City boss Pep Guardiola was elated to see his star striker create another Premier League record. Congratulating the striker after the Fulham clash, he said: "Congratulations, it is incredible. What can I say? Today, he was outstanding. He was unbelievable and got a fantastic goal. Enjoy it, hopefully he is hungry to continue getting goals for this club."

  The Cityzens will return to action on December 6, hosting Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium in what promises to be another demanding stretch of the campaign.