Charlie Dean takes 4 for 9 but visitors pinch points in last-over finish at Taunton

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay13-Jun-2025Ailsa Lister held her nerve to stage a match-winning innings of 28 not out from 19 balls as Lancashire Thunder beat Somerset by four wickets in a thrilling Vitality Blast T20 contest at the Cooper Associates Ground, Taunton.Chasing 133 to win, Thunder looked to be cruising when Emma Lamb and Eve Jones put together an opening stand of 60. But Somerset fought back, Charlie Dean claiming 4 for 9 to threaten a startling turnaround in fortunes.Needing eight off the final over, Lister edged Alex Griffiths for four through fine leg and then hit the winning runs with two balls to spare to see the northern county home by the skin of their teeth.Lancashire’s decision to bowl first paid dividends, Kate Cross claiming 3 for 21 and Sophie Morris 2 for 33 to restrict the home side to 132 for 7 from their 20 overs. Deep in trouble at 85- for 6, Somerset were indebted to the seventh-wicket pair of Amanda-Jade Wellington and Griffiths, who staged an exciting stand of 45 to at least make a game of it.This might have been the first time Somerset had staged a standalone women’s game under lights, but they will not look back on the occasion with any great fondness after coming off second best. The Cider county have now lost four of their five Blast outings this season, the other game having been washed out. As for Thunder, a third win in six games keeps them in the hunt for a top-four finish.Put into bat and missing injured England stars Heather Knight and Dani Gibson, Somerset made an inauspicious start, Amelie Munday missing a straight one from Cross and departing bowled without scoring, and Bex Odgers being stumped by Ellie Threlkeld off the bowling of Morris for 18 as the home side slipped to 26 for 2 in the seventh.Fran Wilson suggested a change in the balance of power, helping herself to a brace of boundaries at the expense of Morris to rouse an audience of around 3,000 – a record for a women’s match at Taunton. Cheers quickly turned to groans, though, Niamh Holland paying the price for hesitation and being run out for 10 by the ubiquitous Morris with the score 45 for 3.Charged with the task of rescuing a parlous situation, the experienced pair of Wilson and Sophie Luff combined deft placement and quick running to breathe new life into Somerset’s ailing innings, the fourth wicket pair adding 24 from 20 balls. But when Wilson was bowled by Morris for 25, Somerset were 69 for 4 with work still to do. Worse followed, influential captain Luff sending a leading edge to extra cover off the bowling of Tara Norris and Dean attempting to ramp a Cross bouncer and offering a catch behind as Somerset lurched to 85 for 6 in the 16th.Attempting to break the stranglehold, the hard-hitting Wellington plundered 25 from 14 balls, including five boundaries, to put the Lancashire bowling under pressure for the first time. Encouraged by the success of her partner, Griffiths opened her shoulders in raising 27 from 18 balls as the seventh-wicket alliance yielded 45 crucial runs in 4.3 overs at the death.There is something about playing at Taunton that brings out the best in Lancashire, who defeated Somerset in a 50-over contest on this ground earlier in the season and then beat The Blaze and Surrey to lift the Vitality County T20 Cup last month. Sure enough, their reply was afforded reassuring early impetus, Jones and Lamb taking advantage of some short and wide bowling to raise 50 in 6.4 overs and set the tone.The partnership was worth 60 when Jones, having scored 28, was pinned lbw by Dean in the ninth over. Lamb then went for 32 in the next over, held at short fine leg off the bowing of Ellie Anderson to give Somerset a glimmer of hope. When Wellington induced Seren Smale to hole out to long-off for 11 in the fourteenth over, Thunder were 91 for 3, requiring a further 42 to win off 39 balls.Dean bowled Threlkeld for 1 with the score 96 for 4, at which point the game was in the balance. But Lister calmed any nerves, hoisting Griffiths for sixes over long-on and midwicket in the 18th to put Thunder back in the box seat.Dean was still not done, bowling Fi Morris for 22 and then having Alana King held at point without scoring to leave Thunder needing eight off the final over. Lister then demonstrated nerves of steel to settle the issue.

The rain-hit affair was the last league match of GSL 2025 with Riders already in the final and Stags knocked out

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jul-2025Match abandoned The last league match of the Global Super League (GSL) 2025 was replete with rain interruptions, and eventually inclement weather had the final say.A downpour in Guyana in the morning delayed toss by 45 minutes. Nurul Hasan called right and Rangpur Riders opted to bat – despite the weather around – but had to wait more because rain returned. The game began 90 minutes later than scheduled time as a 17-over contest.Central Stags opened their bowling with spinners from both ends and pegged back Riders twice inside the powerplay: Soumya Sarkar holing out off offspinner Angus Schaw second ball and Ibrahim Zadran falling to left-arm spinner Jayden Lennox. The heavens opened up again and this latest stoppage meant the game was further reduced to 14-overs-a-side affair.Upon resumption, fast bowler Blair Tickner broke the back of the Riders middle order. He accounted for Mahidul Islam Ankon, Iftikhar Ahmed and Nurul Hasan to leave Riders reeling at 66 for 6. Schaw and Lennox returned to mop up the tail as the Bangladesh Premier League side folded for a mere 79. Which was when another spell of heavy rain forced abandonment.Riders are already in the final with Stags finishing third in the season.

“Sometimes we can be too humble. We don’t show off to the world enough what we’re capable of doing”

Firdose Moonda16-Aug-2025

Shukri Conrad wants South Africa to play with a little more chutzpah•Getty Images

It’s not whether South Africa have the skills and mental fortitude to come out on top in close games that concerns their coach Shukri Conrad. It is whether they have the confidence to show that they possess those qualities.In the aftermath of their last-over defeat in the T20I series decider against Australia in Cairns, which came after a last-over defeat in a tri-series final against New Zealand last month, Conrad asked his players to strut their stuff a little more if they want to become a champion side.”Sometimes we can be too humble. We don’t show off to the world enough what we’re capable of doing,” Conrad said, as he almost used Australia as an example of what self-belief could look like.Related

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“This has got nothing to do with the way Australia plays, but they have got a blueprint as to how they want to play. There are times when it looks absolutely brilliant and it’s box-office stuff. And there are times when you can have them in trouble, like we had them in the first couple of games. But they stay true to it. What does it mean for us? It’s easier on the batting front, guys like [[Tristan Stubbs] and Ricks [Ryan Rickelton] and Aiden [Markram] himself… there’s so much that they can do. But feel that they have maybe boxed themselves in a little bit too much.”Of the three Conrad mentioned, only Rickelton made a score of significance in the series – 71 off 55 balls in the first game – but even after that knock, he acknowledged that he started too slowly for South Africa to successfully chase 179. There was another name on Conrad’s lips when he spoke about how he wants to see his players approach matches: Dewald Brevis.Dewald Brevis finished the series with a strike rate of 204.54•AFP/Getty Images

The 22-year-old was the leading run-scorer in the series, became the holder of South Africa’s highest individual T20I score of 125 not out in the second match and had the highest strike rate among all batters of 204.54. He played in a way that is best described by the Afrikaans word , which is a mixture of confidence and cockiness and is maybe best explained by one of his shots in this series.In the second T20I in Darwin, Brevis was on 22 when he lofted Sean Abbott for six over long-on and didn’t even need to look at where the ball went. Watch the replays and you’ll see Brevis keep his head down until well after the ball has gone into the stands in a manner that seems to suggest, “I’ve hit that so well, I don’t even need to look at where it’s gone.” Off the field, Brevis is as modest as they come, and attributes his talent to God alone. Whatever ego he has is confined to what happens on the field but it’s enough to allow him to play with freedom, and Conrad hopes it will rub off on other players.Chief among them is Markram, who has gone 31 innings without a T20I half-century, and who was dismissed driving waftily in all three matches in the series. One reason for Markram’s under-performance in Australia is that he is still getting used to his new role as an opener; another could be that he has been too tentative in his shot selection. Whatever it is, Conrad knows Markram has it in him a little because he saw him do it just two months ago, when it mattered most. “I know it’s a different format, but in the World Test Championship final not so long ago, Aiden showed exactly what he is about,” Conrad said. “And I’m sure he is a couple of games away from unlocking that state of genius.”Even when he does, Conrad cautioned that South Africa could not expect to come out on top every time because that’s just the nature of sport but at least, they would be giving themselves a good chance. “It’s not always going to result in winning. But I just want us to show off a bit more.”Whether that’s Conrad talking up or having a little dig at his hometown is to be figured out at another time. For now, his work is to continue preparations for the next T20 World Cup in six months time. So far, under his watch, South Africa have lost two deciders – one chasing, one defending. Against New Zealand, they needed seven runs off the last over and Conrad believes they “should have won going into the last over” but “in and amongst all of that, I’m really happy with the growth”.That was a series played without several regulars, this is one that is only without David Miller, which has left the batting line-up unbalanced. Conrad conceded that South Africa were a “batter light” but explained that if the players they have were willing to play with a little more chutzpah, it could work in their favour. “If we want to be brave, we have got to select attacks to beat a team like Australia and if I can nudge a batting unit into playing a certain way where we are a batter light and I concede we were a batter light, imagine what they can do when we have got a properly balanced side,” he said. “It’s all part of the slightly longer-term plan.”He also rejected the idea that he has put his store in allrounders, albeit that both his left-arm spinners, George Linde and Senuran Muthusamy, were also picked on batting strength, and that his selections are conventional. “Your top six will be your best batters, and Nos. 7, 8 possibly allrounders, so there’s nothing untoward,” he said. “I’m not obsessed with allrounders in T20 cricket, I can guarantee you that.”And he said it with the kind of conviction he expects his players to have.

West Indian legend also highlights the responsibility of the board to make playing for the team financially attractive

Abhimanyu Bose07-Oct-20255:49

Bishop: Want WI batters to stop being satisfied with 20s and 30s

Former West Indies captain Brian Lara highlighted lack of funds and technology as factors in the team’s recent decline, but also called upon the players to show more passion in order to compete better.After West Indies’ defeat to India in the first Test in Ahmedabad, Test captain Roston Chase highlighted “infrastructure problems” and the continuous “struggle for finances” in the Caribbean. This was touched upon by the cricket strategy and officiating committee of Cricket West Indies, of which Lara and Chase are both a part.”If you want to get things done, you have to have the capital to do it. So that is a major part,” Lara said on the sidelines of the CEAT Cricket Rating Awards in Mumbai on Tuesday. “But at the same time, I would like to ask Roston Chase and the other guys to… do they have the cricket at heart? Do they really want to play for West Indies? And that is the most important thing because you would find a way.Related

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• West Indies' Test-match batting a symptom of far deeper issues

“I mean we did not have better facilities 30-40 years ago. Viv Richards didn’t bat on any better practice pitches or anything. We had to do the same thing, the same grind; but the passion was different. The passion to play for West Indies was different. So I urge the young players to realise that this is a wonderful opportunity. And I am almost sure that every single one of their parents would have had in the back of their mind, their son playing for the West Indies, their son doing well for the West Indies because it meant a lot back in those days.”So I agree with [Chase on West Indies’ struggles for finances], but I still believe there is an onus on each young player to create that love and desire to play for West Indies.”Saying that, Lara also acknowledged that the players should not be blamed for seeking lucrative deals in franchise cricket, and that CWI needed to find a way to make it financially attractive for them to represent the region.”I can’t blame any single player for wanting to pursue cricket as a career outside of the West Indies – because the disparity in what’s happening, playing five or six franchise leagues, compared to playing for the West Indies, is different [in monetary terms],” Lara said. “And you have to have empathy with that player. But you also have to feel that what can we do at home to make sure that that player, or future players, understand that playing for the West Indies is also very important.5:02

Chopra: Gulf between India, West Indies there for everyone to see

“The IPL has carved out a period of time where it’s exclusive to the IPL. But there’s six or seven different leagues that’s popping up around the world, and everybody’s wanting to do it. So I think the onus is on Cricket West Indies to find a way to create, unify the efforts of the young players who want to go out, but also have them playing for us.”And a series against India, we want to play good cricket against the best team in the world. So you want your best players out there. You don’t want your best players in America or somewhere else around the world.”Lara used an example of football legend Lionel Messi, who has spent his entire club career outside of his home country, but has been an integral part of Argentina’s national team.”I mean if you look at Argentina, Messi grew up in Europe, but he plays for Argentina. But he played for Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, and he was allowed [to play],” Lara said. “And there’s a lot more South American footballers that do that, and eventually go back and play for their country, and have the pride to do so.”Australia is able to do it. England is able to do it, to keep their players loyal to their country. So we have to find a way to do that and there’s no pointing any fingers at anybody. It’s just that we’ve got to come together as a team, as administrators, as coaches, as players. And really and truly if you have West Indies cricket at heart, you will find a way to move forward.””I am hoping I would like to see a stronger first-class performance before you get into the international scene” – Brian Lara•Associated Press

Batting has been one department where West Indies have struggled. The squad touring India don’t have a single batter who averages 30 in Tests. They have had promising talents like Alick Athanaze, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Kavem Hodge and Mikyle Louis break into the team, but none of them has been able to establish themselves as a regular.”I believe that if a player is being picked on potential only and he does not have the stats to go with it, it is very difficult for him now to get to this higher level, and [to] expect so much from him,” Lara said. “I believe that because of that situation, you would find players that are maturing later on. So it is either you stick with them – age 22, 23, 24, 25 hopefully reap the benefit when they get into their late 20s – or you look at players that are seasoned, Jason Holder and the guys who may have matured.”And if you remember, Graham Gooch scored the majority of his runs in his 30s. A guy like Adam Gilchrist, Mike Hussey, all these guys started playing late, and they came out to be some of the best in the world. So you are going to find, once in a lifetime, the Tendulkars. Age 16, 17, Afridi, the Garfield Sobers who were in their teenage, they were able to cope with it immediately. Everybody is not going to be blessed with that sort of talent.”So I am hoping that I would like to see a stronger first-class performance before you get into the international scene. Back in my day, you had to break records. You sat and watched cricket for two years, 20 Test matches, carry the towel, carry the water before you finally got in. And during that period of time, you grew, you matured. And some mature faster than others.”

Ireland leave Bangladesh with a 2-0 Test series defeat but their 26-year-old allrounder has impressed with his batting ability

Mohammad Isam23-Nov-2025In the aftermath of their 217-run defeat to Bangladesh, Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie was still proud of the fight put up by Curtis Campher, Gavin Hoey and Jordan Neill on the fifth day in Dhaka.The visitors batted 59.3 overs on Sunday, holding Bangladesh up till almost the tea break, when Hasan Murad removed Hoey and Matthew Humphreys with successive deliveries. Nobody could remove Campher though. He made an unbeaten 71 having faced the greatest number of balls by an Ireland batter in the fourth innings of a Test match (259). Hoey was second on the list with 104.”[Curtis Campher] is someone that is hard to get out when he is in his bubble,” Balbirnie said. “He is very determined not to get out even when he is in the nets. He has such a strong defense, he showed that today.”Bangladesh were pushed to a little bit of an extreme, bowling 100 overs for the first time in the fourth innings at Shere Bangla National stadium. Campher played a big part in that.Related

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“If he puts his mind to it, he can do it,” Balbirnie said. “It is a shame that no one from the top and middle order could hang around for long enough. I think the batters showed fight today, to bat till just before tea on the fifth day. We were behind the game a lot. Bangladesh deserved to win the series 2-0.”Balbirnie also talked about Hoey and his recently-developed skillset as an allrounder: “I play with Gavin in club cricket in Dublin. I have known him since he was a kid. His dad was an Irish international in the 1990s. He was a legspinner as well. I think [Hoey] has only been bowling legspin since [Covid] lockdown, so it’s been five years. He was a seam bowler [earlier].Andy Balbirnie was candid about Ireland’s inability to bat for long periods•ECB/Getty Images

“So to have that skillset in this short time is really impressive. He will get better and better from experiences like this. We have to make sure that he gets enough overs under his belt. We need to have our spinners develop consistency so that we do well in these conditions.”Ireland had some hope of batting the day out and coming away with a draw. “[There were expectations] probably just before Murad took the two wickets,” Balbirnie said. “There was a small bit of excitement in the dressing room at that drinks break. Credit to the Bangladesh spinners. They don’t miss their line and length too often. They test batters a lot. The two wickets in two balls put an end to that [hope] pretty quickly. It was an enthralling day’s play. I think Curtis can be proud of his work today.”The fact that the Test match stretched to the fifth day was also a tribute to the type of pitch prepared for the encounter. “A lot of us had seen the West Indies ODI series. We were a bit nervous coming here,” Balbirnie said, referring to pitches that had, on one occasion, witnessed fifty overs of spin in the first innings. “When we arrived, we thought [the pitch] would break up quickly, but it held together. There was turn, but it wasn’t every ball. It was a good cricket wicket. I thought it was a pretty fair wicket. We had two good wickets over the two Tests.”Balbirnie was also candid about what Ireland hoped for from the series. “We had won three Tests in a row before coming here, so there was confidence in the group,” he said. “We had to manage our expectations. You are coming to places that have experienced cricketers.”We are trying to get that consistency. Our top-order didn’t fire for the last two games. Bangladesh’s top-order showed us how to do it – to bat for a long time and get big hundreds. [Their batting] was the big difference. We weren’t competitive against Bangladesh for longer periods. They showed their class over the nine days,” he said.

After six full games of the 2015/16 Premier League campaign, Mark Hughes’ Stoke City currently languish 18th in the table among the dreaded relegation zone. Whilst it still remains early days for the Potters at this stage in the proceedings, six matches without a single win certainly doesn’t make good reading for the club’s loyal fan-base.

Although their side may have admittedly been leading throughout a handful of their fixtures so far this season – a notion you would nonetheless expect from a team as bolstered up as this particular Stoke City outfit – the Britannia faithful have witnessed their team subsequently throw away a succession of points in 2015/16, ending several games in a frustrating stalemate when they should have gone on to win them.

For a squad that eventually finished in an impressive ninth place last season, it remains difficult to explain just what has gone so wrong for the Potters so far this term. Perhaps the club’s decision to sign over ten new players over the summer has ultimately hampered the team’s cohesion out on the pitch rather than improve it.

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So then, in light of all the newly acquired faces currently struggling to tie down some decent form in the Premier League with Stoke – do the Britannia faithful have genuine reason for concern this campaign, or is a little faith from the Potters fan-base all that’s truly needed to get the new signings firing for Mark Hughes in 2015/16?

The sensible line of argument would seemingly follow the latter part of that question.

Whilst Stoke City have arguably gone down as one of the most organised and defensively solid units operating among the English top-flight in recent seasons, the overall level of entertainment value has hardly been extensive in and around the Britannia Stadium in the past.

Aside from some sections of the 2014/15 campaign – a seemingly transitional season for Stoke in which Mark Hughes admittedly tried to establish a fresher style of play that was much kinder on the eye – the Potters have previously arrived as a no-nonsense outfit that prioritized the points over literally any other aspect within football that makes the Beautiful Game oh so captivating and enticing.

Despite there being nothing technically wrong with taking the direct route and keeping things resolutely tight at the back, Tony Pulis’ notorious reign at the Britannia simply took such an approach a little too far with all things considered. The media may have been a bit harsh on Stoke for their previous match-day tactics – yet under the now current West Brom boss – the Potters were nonetheless seen as a side to look down upon considering their distinct lack of style within the Premier League.

It’s not enough to simply keep a side free from the threat of relegation, both Swansea City and Southampton have proved that it’s possible to survive in the Premier League and play good football at the same time.

However, in the current era Stoke City simply no longer resemble that very same side. Yes, the Potters still include several technically lacking players in their starting XI (especially among their back-line), but through the additions of Xherdan Sahqiri, Ibrahim Afellay, Marko Arnautovic and of course the wonderful talent that is Bojan – this is a team certainly trying to improve their public image.

Very few expected Stoke to complete as many promising signings as they eventually did over the summer – so although the new additions at the Britannia are certainly yet to truly find their feet in the Premier League – the club have ultimately taken some admirable steps in the long-run. It’s seemingly just going to take a little time to gel them all together and establish some proper team chemistry amongst Mark Hughes’ ranks in the English top-flight this season.

As things unfortunately haven’t gone to plan for the Potters so far this term, the word ‘transition’ still remains an apt one for describing the scene around the club in the modern era. Rome wasn’t built in a day after all. It’s going to take a little more time to get Stoke playing the beautiful free flowing football some of their current players are certainly capable of producing – and finally move on definitively from the Tony Pulis days that arguably only really served to damage the club’s overall identity among other football fans in general.

Although Stoke’s new signings may not arrive as the most consistent looking bunch on paper, with a little management here and there from Mark Hughes and co, the future remains as bright as it’s ever been down at the Britannia Stadium.

All that’s needed now is a little faith from the supporters and the results will likely follow…

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The attacks in Paris started midway through the first half of the game between France and Germany. It puts football into perspective – it’s just a game, yet it’s so much more than that.

When people lose their lives around a football ground, as they did around the Stade de France on Friday night, how can you think about football? When the events were taking place, every game going on around Europe at the same time was dampened. Football is irrelevant at times like that. But it’s in the direct aftermath of an attack like this that football becomes very relevant.

When Roy Hodgson’s England host France tomorrow night, England fans will stand together with their French brothers and sisters in defiance and solidarity. It will be a stunning display of Fraternité as English fans unfurl the French Tricolore and sing La Marseillaise.

After all, what we like to call our national sport is really a global sport. No matter who you support, the act of supporting already gives you something in common with a fellow supporter. Football has so much to offer anyone who finds themselves in grief because football has so much to offer anyone in any aspect of life – it brings people together more than it drives people apart.

Every week, football grounds are turned into modern temples, places of passionate outpourings of emotion, adoration and desire situated in and around our cities, lit up like beacons of hope. Watching your team play is the one time in your week when you can get caught up so thoroughly in emotion, you forget about the petty stresses of life just as easily as you forget about its sincere horrors.

What’s more, international football has become one of the last bastions of acceptable nationalism. One where, instead of being xenophobic or dangerous, nationalistic passion is left on the pitch. A display of nationalism purely within the confines of the 90 minute dance. Nations hold their collective breath. They chant together, they celebrate together, they get nervous together, they get outraged and angry together. But that’s it. When it’s over, it’s over.

Other than an emotionally traumatic event like this weekend’s atrocities in Paris, only football can create that level of raw outpouring of emotion and solidarity. During the fevered atmosphere of the Arab Spring, banners displaying the crests of the Ultras of the local clubs were seen. World Cups bring the kind of interest that nothing else can bring, even in the corners of the world where the darkest expressions of our humanity is found.

Football isn’t a Western thing, it’s a world thing. The raw human emotion that it creates makes the perfect expression of our humanity, wherever we come from. When protesters in Egypt fought for freedom from an oppressive government, bringing along a football banner was such a natural thing to do. It’s an obvious example of liberty, and one we take for granted in Europe.

So tomorrow night, when France come to Wembley, football will again show its power, and it will remind us that the things we take for granted are some of the most powerful things we have.

The drive to get England fans to sing the Marseillaise before the match is just a stunning gesture of emotional support for another country in the midst of a profound and horrific mourning. For 80,000 men and women, English, French and a whole host of others, of all colours and creeds, races and religions to stand up and sing the national anthem of the away team in solidarity is something that only sport can offer. It’s huge, it’s emotional, and if there’s a dry eye in the stadium and the extended television audience I’ll be surprised.

Everyone who stands up to belt out that most emotional of songs will do so equally. They’ll do it whether they speak French or not. No one will judge accents or pronunciation, it doesn’t matter how badly you sing or how badly you pronounce the lyrics because everyone is equal on the terraces, all driving towards the same goal. Football has the power to make you hug a complete stranger in the emotion of scoring a goal. Surely there can be no more powerful expression of humanity than during a football match.

Tomorrow night’s game is the ultimate act of defiance to an attack on humanity, an attack on football, because football’s values are humanities values in microcosm.

When English fans stand with French fans tomorrow night they won’t be standing up for nationalism, just for football. Football is the purest form of Liberté, Egalité and Fraternité. And on Tuesday night it will add one more to that list: Solidarité.

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Manchester City are having a mixed season. That sounds like a negative statement for a team that topped the perceived ‘Group of Death’ in the Champions League, have made the League Cup semi-finals, and are comfortably in the top four, very much in the title race.

However, games to Tottenham Hotspur away, Liverpool at home and the recent Stoke City clash show there are real frailties in the team. Injuries can only be part of the explanation, when at times the players appear to lack interest and motivation.

This brings us to a common conundrum facing expensively assembled squads: The problem with mercenaries. Yaya Toure is more bothered with birthday cakes than covering every blade of grass and other players drift through matches they expect to win with ease.

Luckily City have five stars that stand out from the pack. A spine that cares about the club as if they were fans themselves. Every match day is equally important to this core and their future goals all revolve around life at the Etihad.

Here are the five Manchester City players that care for the club…

David Silva

It can’t be understated how important David Silva is to City’s on-field performance. Whenever he is absent it’s like watching an orchestra without its conductor. For years, the player referred to as Merlin, has been playing at a level that would see him walk into the Barcelona or Real Madrid side.

He hasn’t even considered these overtures. His ambition is to win the Champions League at Manchester City, as he once again reiterated in the Manchester Evening News when he said; ‘I feel very good at City, the fans treat me very well there. We have won two leagues, cups – we just need to take another step in the Champions League.’

He also added he’d like to end his career at Las Palmas.

Joe Hart

The goalkeeper was signed from Shrewsbury Town long before the club was transformed with riches. But even then he saw the opportunity to play at City as a gift. He acknowledges the club stood by him and helped develop his potential.

His admiration for players like Frank Lampard, that served one Premier League team for a long period of time, has been the inspiration that led him to tell the Manchester Evening News: ‘I am really proud to have played 300 games for this club and I want to stay for as long as they want me.’

It shows on the field, where his passionate displays make him an unnamed captain for manager Manuel Pellegrini.

Pablo Zabaleta

The much loved Argentine fullback is another player that arrived before Sheikh Mansour – albeit by a day – and has survived an influx of new faces to establish himself as a key member of City’s squad. He has also won the hearts of the Citizens in the stands.

Their love for him is reciprocated as Zabaleta has fully embraced Manchester life and English culture. As he was quoted by The Mirror explaining, ‘After six years I can say I am a Mancunian.’

Adding how he’d like to show Lionel Messi a good time in an attempt to lure him to the Blues: ‘I would like to show him around Manchester. Maybe I could take him out to Didsbury and we could have some fish and chips. I think he would like that!’

Vincent Kompany

Vincent is the captain and for good reason. He arrived in 2008, before the transformation, and quickly understood the self-deprecating humour of City fans. Since then he’s been on the same journey as they have.

Starting out under Mark Hughes, he even played out of position as a holding midfielder for the good of the team. Since then he has established himself as one the world’s leading centre-backs and the cornerstone of the City side.

Marrying a lifelong City fan is symbolic of the commitment he has given the club.

Sergio Aguero

It’s hard to place anyone higher than Zabaleta or Kompany when it comes to devotion for the City shirt. Sergio Aguero takes that honour here because there is no doubt he can use the much overused title of ‘World Class Player’ without argument.

Aguero could quite easily have left Manchester at any point to join Real Madrid but he has stood steadfast in his duty. Being the pinnacle in the greatest ending to a Premier League season, when he scored the vital goal against QPR, created an unbreakable bond with the City fans.

He has previously been quoted as saying he’ll stay until City win the Champions League. Perhaps he’s realised that could mean he plays until he’s 87 years old, so recently said, as reported by Kick Off, he’d honour his current contract, ‘I have always said that I want to return to Independiente and I will do just that. I will return to Independiente when my contract with City expires. I do not want to make my comeback when I am too old.’

There’s not a City fan alive that will begrudge him a farewell when he’s aged 31, after giving the club his best years.

Chelsea will hope they have their season back on some sort of positive trajectory with their qualification to the third round of the Champions League.

Despite having a relatively easy group, the Blues were left needing victory on matchday 6 to win the group and they managed it thanks to their best performance of the 2015/16 season to date.

Whilst Willian shone yet again, Eden Hazard and Diego Costa begun to look like the players that were so crucial to their title winning campaign last season.

The removal of Cesc Fabregas from the starting XI raised eyebrows, but the tactical experiment from the Porto manager was the biggest mistake of the tie.

Fortunately for Chelsea, an own-goal gave them the lead and they never really looked back from that point. Diego Costa was at his powerful best whilst Nemanja Matic played with the assurance that made him such a rock throughout last season.

Here are THREE things we learned from tonight’s match..

Cesc Fabregas has been holding the team back

Chelsea fans rejoiced at the news that Cesc had finally been dropped to the bench, and his exclusion was justified in a quality Chelsea performance.

With Mourinho justifying his decision by saying he needed Ramires’ physicality, Fabregas’ work-rate may well be under question from the Chelsea boss and his woeful start to the season has been fundamental in Chelsea’s struggles.

The more Fabregas plays, the more work the rest of the team has to do and, when he is not creating, he is no more than a passenger.

Nemanja Matic has not forgotten how to play

Matic was arguably Chelsea’s most important player during Chelsea’s title winning campaign last season. Unfortunately, he has had a dire start to this season and looked extremely sluggish, but Matic looked back to his best against a combative Porto midfield.

He imposed himself on the game throughout and was clearly thankful to have the extra work-rate of Ramires alongside him.

Unfortunately, Matic has struggled to carry the extra burden of Cesc Fabregas next to him in the pivot and the Serbian often ends up isolated when playing with the ex-Barca man.

Kurt Zouma deserves to be first-choice centre back

As John Terry may well be in his last season at the Bridge, Kurt Zouma continues to highlight what a wonderful centre-back he will become.

Zouma, in my opinion, is already a far more accomplished defender than Gary Cahill and the French giant should be the first defender on Mourinho’s team sheet.

His pace and brutal strength were dominant throughout and, if Chelsea are to add John Stones to their squad at some point, would be boasting two of the best young centre-backs in Europe.

Mourinho is long gone, but Chelsea’s curse over Arsene Wenger and the Gunners is still alive and well in the capital.

From inside the first half, when we saw Per Mertesacker comically sent off for an appalling piece of judgement, Arsenal looked like they were fighting a losing battle as Diego Costa terrorised the title challengers throughout the first half and then defended solidly well into the second half.

Here we have some of the best tweets that have summed up this typically controversial London derby..

The last ditch Arsenal fans trying to defend the Big German.

As ever, Ozil disappointed everyone with a big game no-show.

Arsenal, as they seem to be every year, have been questioned for their ‘bottle’ when it comes to the tougher games.

The hatred for Costa continued to go through the roof after he got Mertesacker sent off and netted the goal to put the Blues ahead.

Spurs fans also faced their battle of which team they dislike the least between Chelsea and Arsenal.

Oddly, some Arsenal fans seemed more bothered about Mourinho NOT winning than Wenger winning.

And some high-profile Chelsea fans just can’t stop thinking of the Special One..

As Ozil disappeared, how it must have hurt to see Cesc out-perform the German!

The referee always gets a rough ride in this fixture and Clattenburg managed to nearly upset everyone today..

For all the improvement by Chelsea, it wasn’t much of a different performance from the Blues..

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