Inter captain Lautaro Martinez has hit out at the refereeing decision that cost his side dearly against Liverpool in the Champions League. The Argentine striker labelled the late penalty award for holding as an "injustice" and insisted that football would become unplayable if every shirt pull resulted in a spot-kick, while also reaffirming his desire to win everything this season.

• 'We threw it away due to an injustice'

  The mood at Appiano Gentile is one of frustration rather than regret following Inter's contentious clash with Liverpool at San Siro. The Nerazzurri saw their hopes of a positive result dashed in the 88th minute by a controversial penalty decision that has left their captain fuming. Martinez believes the referee's interpretation of a tussle in the box was far too harsh and ultimately decided the outcome of a match that was balanced on a knife-edge.

  The incident occurred late in the game when defender Alessandro Bastoni was adjudged to have pulled the shirt of Liverpool substitute Florian Wirtz inside the area. While on-field referee Felix Zwayer initially waved play on, he was advised by VAR to review the monitor. Upon second viewing, Zwayer pointed to the spot, allowing Dominik Szoboszlai to convert the winner. Martinez argued that such contact is commonplace and that penalising it ruins the sport's competitive nature.

  "We are disappointed but not angry," Martinez explained to . "Because if you lose due to a referee's mistake, there is little you can do. We are sorry to have thrown everything away because of an injustice: if they were to whistle for penalties for every hold, we would never play."

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  Martinez targets success this season

  Despite the controversy in Europe, Inter remain firmly in the hunt for domestic glory. The Nerazzurri are currently embroiled in a fierce battle for the Serie A title, looking to add another Scudetto to their collection. With the Supercoppa Italiana also on the horizon, the fixture list is congested, leading to questions about whether the club needs to prioritise one competition over another to ensure success.

  However, Martinez was quick to shut down any suggestion that Inter should pick their battles. Drawing on the mentality that has seen the club reach two Champions League finals in the last three years, the Argentine insisted that the squad has the depth and the hunger to compete on all fronts. He emphasised that the club's recent history of lifting trophies has created an environment where settling for less is not an option.

  When asked to choose between the Scudetto and the Champions League, Martinez was defiant: "I don't choose. I want to go to the end in all competitions, just as we have done in recent years. We are on an extraordinary journey that has brought trophies and happiness back to Inter. It is not taken for granted to play two Champions League finals in three years."

• Inter still looking good under Chivu

  Martinez’s comments highlight the elite mentality that has survived the managerial transition from Simone Inzaghi to Cristian Chivu. While Chivu is still navigating his first season in charge of the senior side, the core of the squad remains battle-hardened from deep European runs in previous campaigns. They are still in good shape in both competitions, sitting a point behind AC Milan and Napoli in Serie A and in the mix for a top-eight finish in the Champions League table, which would guarantee an automatic spot in the round of 16.

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  What comes next?

  Inter must now quickly channel their frustration into performance. The fixture list offers no respite, with a Serie A match against Genoa coming up this weekend before they travel to Saudi Arabia to face Bologna in a Supercoppa Italiana semi-final, with Napoli and AC Milan going head-to-head in the other clash.

Girona are eyeing a move for out-of-favour Barcelona star Marc Bernal as La Liga rivals aim to snap up the La Masia graduate on loan in the January transfer window. The 18-year-old has made just four appearances for the Catalan giants following his return from the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, which saw him miss the majority of the 2024-25 campaign.

Struggling Bernal wants a move away from Barca

After emerging through Barcelona’s famous youth system at the start of the 2024-25 season, Bernal’s campaign was cruelly cut short after he sustained a serious knee injury in his side’s 2-1 La Liga victory over Rayo Vallecano in August 2024. However, after 382 days on the sidelines, Barcelona declared Bernal was fit once again on September 13, 2025. 

The Berga-born prodigy made the perfect return to action as he provided an assist in the Blaugrana’s 6-0 league victory over Valencia a day later, with Fermin Lopez, Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski all scoring braces at the Estadi Johan Cruyff. However, since his return, the teenager has played just six La Liga matches, out of which he has started in just one game. Overall, he has clocked only 120 minutes on the pitch and Bernal is getting frustrated with his role under Flick.

reported in November that Bernal is considering all his options ahead of the upcoming January transfer window opening in less than a month’s time. The report added that while the Catalan side are not planning on allowing Bernal to leave, the youngster is believed to be eyeing a loan move in his bid to earn more minutes.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesGirona eye temporary move for Barca outcast

According to journalist Nil Sola, Barcelona's La Liga rivals Girona are considering making a formal bid to sign the young midfielder on loan in January, as they look to bolster their squad midway through the season after making a nightmare start to the 2025-26 campaign. Girona have won just two out of their first 15 matches in La Liga and are currently placed 18th in the league.

Speaking on , Sola said: "One of the players that Girona would really like, and that is an option, but it remains to be seen whether it ends up happening, is Marc Bernal. If the loan option is open, it would be very interesting to repeat a formula like the one used with Eric Garcia a few seasons ago."

Bernal's lack of game time hurting the national team prospect

During the November international break, Bernal was left out of the Spain U-21 squad that competed in two Euro U-21 qualifying matches, with head coach David Gordo citing a lack of playing time for his exclusion. "Marc is one of our own, but he’s not in a comfortable situation right now," said Gordo. "He’s getting very little playing time. And we’ve brought the squad we think will best help us get six crucial points for our league position."

The Spanish youth side went on to beat San Marino 7-0, before edging out Romania U-21 2-1.

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Getty ImagesBernal's massive release clause

Bernam moving out of Barcelona permanently might not be feasible as the Catalan side renewed the contract of their teenage sensation until 2029 and inserted a huge €500 million (£420m/$545m) release clause. During the time of his extension, the club had said: "FC Barcelona and the player Marc Bernal have reached an agreement for the extension of the player's contract until June 2029. The signing took place on Monday morning at the Club Offices with the Barça president Joan Laporta, first vice president Rafael Yuste and director of the Football Area, Deco, all present."

From his massive release, it is clear that Barcelona rates the talented midfielder very highly and are thinking of incorporating him in the starting lineup in the long run. However, considering the player's benefit, they might allow him to leave temporarily in January.

The Los Angeles Dodgers continued their recent struggles Tuesday night with an ugly 10-7 loss at home to the Minnesota Twins. It was their 11th loss in their last 14 games and one ugly play in the top of the seventh inning summed up how things have been going for them lately.

The Twins had the bases loaded with one out when Royce Lewis hit a slow grounder up the first base line. Dodgers reliever Edgardo Henriquez ran over and scooped up the ball and then turned a made a horrible throw to first.

MORE: Dodgers fan makes sweet catch on Ohtani's HR

How bad was it? The ball ended up bouncing off the wall in deep right field, which allowed three runs to score and sent Lewis all the way to third base.

This was something straight out of a Little League game:

The Dodgers are still in first place in the NL West with a 59-43 record but they haven't been able to get out of their own way lately.

“Tonight, it just wasn’t pretty,” manager Dave Roberts told reporters after the game. “When you’re walking guys and the defense is spotty and things like that, it wasn’t a good one.”

It certainly wasn't.

The once-white-hot Chicago Cubs have been playing rather docile baseball as of late—they entered Thursday just 5-5 in their last 10 games.

However, they received some good news as a crucial piece of their collective puzzle returned Thursday against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cubs activated pitcher Shota Imanaga from the 15-day injured list and watched him pitch five shutout innings against the Cardinals.

Imanaga, 31, had been out since May 4 with a left hamstring strain. He is 3-2 on the season with a 2.83 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 44 2/3 innings.

To make room for Imanaga, Chicago designated pitcher Michael Fulmer for assignment. The 32-year-old has bounced around the big leagues since an excellent mid-2010s debut that saw him win the American League's Rookie of the Year award in 2016. He was named an All-Star with the Detroit Tigers in 2017.

The Cubs are currently 47-33; they lead the Milwaukee Brewers by 2.5 games in the National League Central Division.

Vote for the best individual Border-Gavaskar Trophy performance by an Indian in Australia since 2000

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Nov-2024Update: This poll has ended. Virat Kohli’s Adelaide 2014 performance goes into the semi-finals. Check the other polls here.ESPNcricinfo LtdVirat Kohli was batting on another level in Perth 2018•Cricket Australia/Getty ImagesVirat Kohli – 123 in Perth, 2018India lost by 146 runs, series level 1-1Virat Kohli was already one of India’s greatest batters before 2018. He stepped up to an even more rarefied level that year, scoring 1322 runs at an average of 55.08 over 24 innings, of which 22 were played in South Africa, England and Australia.Conditions in all three tours were hard on batters, but the more challenging they became, the more Kohli seemed to relish them. When he walked in to bat in Perth, everything must have looked familiar. India had lost the toss and conceded a bigger total than they should have, bowling well but not without spells of releasing pressure. Then they lost early wickets.In similar circumstances, Kohli had scored 153 at Centurion and 149 at Edgbaston. Now, from 8 for 2, he proceeded to play an even better innings. This was a proper trampoline of a pitch, and Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins were routinely getting the ball to rear throat-high from just back of a length. Kohli negotiated the vertical threat expertly, though not without suffering blows to his arm and ribs, but the standout feature of his innings was how well he dealt with Australia’s attempts to sucker him with full balls after pushing him back.Almost every time there was an opportunity to drive, he did so pristinely, down the ground or through the covers with a decisive front-foot stride. A 20th century version of this list would have undoubtedly contained Sachin Tendulkar’s 114 in Perth in 1992. Kohli’s innings came at Perth Stadium and not the WACA, and just as the new ground seamlessly carried forward the old one’s legacy of pace and bounce, a new master had carried forward an old master’s legacy.Karthik KrishnaswamyWatch the highlights of these performances on the Star Sports network at 10am, 1pm, 4pm and 7pm IST, from November 2 onwards.Virat Kohli was only the second batter to score two centuries on Test captaincy debut•Getty ImagesVirat Kohli – 115 & 141 in Adelaide, 2014India lost by 48 runsIn a career full of milestones, Virat Kohli has a very special place in his heart for these two hundreds. He’s made that plain on every subsequent trip to Adelaide. The runs that he made, the way he made them, getting hit on the head by a Mitchell Johnson bouncer early and brushing off the Australians who came up to him to ask him if he was okay just so he wouldn’t have to break out of that bubble he needs to be in to score those big runs, and the path that he put his team on, saying they will not be going for the draw – all played a big role in helping him decide what kind of cricketer and captain he wanted to be.His 114 in the first innings on captaincy debut kept India in the game after conceding 517, and his 141 in the second gave India hope that as long as Kohli was batting, there was a chance of pulling off an outrageous chase of 364. That performance made Kohli the first visiting batter since 1961 to score two centuries in a Test in Australia, and no once has done it since.By Alagappan Muthu

The New York Mets had their seven-game winning streak come to an end Monday night as they lost to the San Diego Padres, 7-6.

Home plate umpire Emil Jimenez had a brutal game behind the plate, frustrating both teams throughout the night with some bad calls. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza was ejected in the third inning after arguing balls and strikes and Juan Soto appeared to come close to getting tossed in the seventh inning after he was rung up on a bad called third strike.

One of the Mets announcers was rightfully not happy with how Jimenez stared down Soto after making the call, saying:

"I mean you watch this pitch, it’s clearly above the zone. That’s at his elbow. He delays, calls a strike and then stares at Juan wanting a reaction. ‘OK, you want to say something?’ Don’t make yourself part of the action."

Here's that moment:

Fans ripped Jimenez:

MatériaMais Notícias

Tanto Fluminense, quanto Vasco possuem em seus centroavantes os protagonistas de suas equipes. Germán Cano e Pablo Vegetti terão a chance de fazer um novo duelo após o grande clássico disputado no dia 16 de setembro de 2023.

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Naquele duelo, o Cruz-Maltino levou a melhor muito por conta da grande atuação do camisa 99, que marcou um gol e contribuiu com uma assistência para Gabriel Pec. No jogo aéreo, o Pirata levava a melhor conta a defesa do Tricolor.

➡️ Siga o Lance! no WhatsApp e acompanhe em tempo real as principais notícias do esporte

Por outro lado, o artilheiro da Libertadores passou em branco e não conseguiu ser o protagonista que costumou ser com o Time de Guerreiros. Mas Cano tem uma predileção por balançar as redes contra seu ex-clube no Campeonato Carioca.

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Em quatro partidas disputadas pelo Fluminense contra o Vasco, sendo duas pelo estadual e outras duas pelo Brasileirão, o camisa 14 marcou três gols. Todos esses feitos foram alcançados no Cariocão, sendo que a última edição ficou marcada por um golaço do centroavante do meio de campo.

MOMENTOS DISTINTOS

Em 2024, Vegetti e Cano iniciaram a temporada de maneiras distintas. O Pirata ainda não balançou as redes dos adversários com a camisa do Vasco. O atleta participou de dois jogos amistosos no Uruguai, além de duas partidas oficiais no estadual.

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Segundo Emiliano Díaz, filho e assistente técnico de Ramón Díaz, o centroavante vinha jogando longe de seu ideal por conta de uma lesão na costela. Embora o atleta tenha sido dúvida durante a semana para o confronto, sua presença em boas condições é essencial, visto que o Cruz-Maltino marcou apenas um gol nos últimos três jogos.

Por outro lado, Cano marcou gols nas duas únicas partidas disputadas pelo Fluminense com sua equipe principal no Campeonato Carioca. O atleta balançou as redes conta Bangu e Sampaio Corrêa, mas enfrenta seu primeiro grande desafio em 2024 para seguir dando sequência ao que já vinha fazendo com a Armadura Tricolor.

Tudo sobre

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New Phillies reliever Jhoan Duran was called upon to close out his first game with his new club against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night, and his first entrance was absolutely electric.

Duran, nicknamed the Durantula, was known during his time with the Minnesota Twins to emerge from the bullpen to intense music, a light show, and the home crowd waving their cellphone lights. That routine won't be changing now that he's in Philadelphia, as Citizens Bank Park gave him the same treatment.

Here's a look at the entrance:

With the Phillies holding onto a 5-4 lead, Duran needed only four pitches to get the job done, forcing a groundout, a foul-out, and a lineout to secure the victory.

It's been a whirlwind couple of days for Duran, who was heartbroken to be dumped by Minnesota. But, after being able to get his No. 59 jersey from his new manager Rob Thomson and securing his first save for the National League East-leading Phillies, he's surely already starting to feel right at home.

كشف عصام الطالبي، نائب رئيس نادي اتحاد طنجة والمتحدث الرسمي، عن موقف الفريق من إمكانية عودة عبد الحميد معالي بعد فسخ عقده رسميًا مع نادي الزمالك خلال الأيام الماضية.

وأنذر معالي الزمالك قبل أسابيع بفسخ العقد من طرف واحد، ولكن المهلة انتهت وبالتالي أقدم على فسخ العقد ليصبح اللاعب حرًا.

اقرأ أيضًا.. خاص | موقف أحمد حمدي من الاستمرار مع الزمالك.. وخطة بيضاء

وقال الطالبي في تصريحاته لـ بطولات: “هو ابن الدار ولا يحتاج إلى دعوة للعودة بعد فسخ عقده مع الزمالك”، مؤكدًا ترحيب النادي الكامل بعودة اللاعب إلى صفوف الفريق.

وتابع: “نرحب بعودة عبد الحميد معالي إلى صفوف اتحاد طنجة مرة أخرى، لم نبدأ الحديث معه بشأن ذلك ولكن سيحدث في الساعات القادمة”.

وأضاف الطالبي: “شكوانا ضد الزمالك لا تزال مستمرة، فهم لم يردوا على اتصالاتنا، وبالتالي، نريد حقوقنا المالية في الصفقة بعيدًا عن فسخ تعاقد اللاعب لأنه شيء لا يخصنا”.

وكان معالي قد انضم إلى الزمالك في الصيف الماضي من اتحاد طنجة ولكن النادي لم يدفع الأقساط المتفق عليها إلى الفريق المغربي، مما دفعه لتقديم شكوى للحصول على حقوقه المالية.

18 games, over 50 goals and plenty to take note of: Gameweek three of the Champions League provided us all with another spectacle. Once again, it was the usual suspects who dominated as Paris Saint-Germain handed Bayer Leverkusen an evening to forget and Liverpool got back to winning ways in style against Eintracht Frankfurt.

That’s not to say there were no shocks entirely, however. Thomas Frank’s Tottenham Hotspur side stuttered again, this time against AS Monaco, whilst Antonio Conte will certainly be having words with his Napoli side following their humiliating 6-2 defeat at the hands of PSV Eindhoven.

But in a week centred around goals galore, who stands out as the biggest winners and losers on matchday three of the Champions League campaign?

Winners: Wirtz ends wait and PSG thrash Leverkusen

Winner: Florian Wirtz (Liverpool)

After four straight defeats in all competitions, Liverpool’s trip to face Frankfurt suddenly became of the upmost importance. Defeat would have seen Arne Slot become the first Liverpool manager in the Premier League era to lose five games on the bounce and such a stat would have sparked the most serious concerns of his Anfield tenure.

When Rasmus Kristensen found the bottom corner of Giorgi Mamardashvili’s goal in the 26th minute, it looked as though the Reds were in for another miserable evening. It was the type of goal that they’ve become all too familiar with as of late.

A quick-fire triple from Hugo Ekitike, Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate soon signalled a sigh of relief around the Liverpool dugout, however, before Florian Wirtz made his mark in the second-half.

Assisting goals for Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai, the German ended his 10-game wait for a goal contribution and could now finally be on his way to stardom in a Liverpool shirt.

Winner: PSG

They may have stuttered in Ligue 1 in recent weeks, sitting second behind Marseille, but when the world is watching PSG remain in ruthless form. This time, it was Bayer Leverkusen who suffered. The once-invincible Germans looked anything but against the European champions, who found themselves 4-1 up before Leverkusen could even take shelter at half-time.

The onslaught only continued in the second period. Following goals from Willian Pacho, Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Nuno Mendes, Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele and Vitinha all got in the act to secure a stunning 7-2 victory.

In full flow, PSG once again look unstoppable and that may well leave them on course to retain their European crown this season.

Winner: Fermin Lopez (Barcelona)

When heaping praise on a La Masia graduate, it’s usually Lamine Yamal who finds himself in the headlines. Alas, in recent weeks, Fermin Lopez has finally received his flowers.

The Spaniard, who attracted transfer interest from the Premier League in the summer, has proved his worth at Barcelona and enjoyed one of his best games yet against Olympiakos.

Netting a hat-trick as Barcelona thumped the Greek side 6-1, Lopez is staking a serious claim that he should be starting for Hansi Flick’s side every week.

Losers: Salah woes continue and Simeone loses at his own game Loser: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

Liverpool desperately needed a win in Frankfurt and Mohamed Salah desperately needed a goal. After 90 minutes in Germany, however, only one of those things happened and the Egyptian was left to rue yet another missed chance.

Having been dropped for Hugo Ekitike in Slot’s frontline, Salah needed to prove a point when he emerged from the bench. But after failing to square the ball to Wirtz in an attempt to end his own drought from open-play, his current confidence problem was laid bare for the onwatching Reds.

Some have been quick to criticise the winger and he has since taken Liverpool out of his Twitter header in what could be a worrying sign for those at Anfield. Liverpool may be back to winning ways, but they’ve still got a major Salah problem to solve.

Loser: Bayer Leverkusen

Life without Xabi Alonso, Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and others was never going to be easy for Leverkusen. But their 7-2 humiliation at the hands of PSG in front of their own fans remains unacceptable. They tried and failed their Erik ten Hag experiment earlier this season. Now, it’s the turn of Kasper Hjulmand to turn things around.

So far, however, his side have been incredibly vulnerable defensively and serious steps need to be taken before they can compete among Europe’s best once again.

What makes the PSG thrashing all the more frustrating is the fact that Leverkusen entered the game without a defeat in eight games in all competitions. Those games featured plenty of goals, but there was at least an expectation that the Germans would hand the French champions a competitive outing. That proved to be anything but the case, though.

Loser: Diego Simeone (Atletico Madrid)

In one of the most highly-anticipated games in this season’s Champions League calendar, Arsenal played host to Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid side in a clash between two sides who perfect the defensive side of their game before launching forward.

It was the experienced defensive mastermind vs the new kid on the block in many ways, but it was the latter who came out on top. Simeone could do nothing but watch on as he was beaten at his own game and then some.

Arsenal ran riot, becoming the first-ever side to score four goals in 13 minutes against Simeone’s Atletico Madrid side, as they wrapped things up in a ruthless second-half performance.

It was a statement display from the Gunners and an evening to forget for Simeone, whose powers are beginning to fade on Europe’s biggest stage.